The sounds of horses woke me up, and my eyes burst open to the bright light of the sun. I covered my eyes, and blinked, trying to get my foggy mind to wake up. I then unclenched my hands, which were white from holding on to the reins.

"What is this?! Someone get me out!", screamed a desperate voice from the back, "Leo? Leo? Anyone!?"

I then heard the sounds of banging from the carriage. I groaned internally as I realized it was the princess. I looked back for a sliding opening, my hands shaking from my still groggy mind. When my hands finally caught the edge of the wood, I almost pulled before pausing. Wait, I thought, How am I able to think so clearly? 

I had clearly groaned at the princess, which would have usually given me even a minor headache, but for some mysterious reason, nothing happened. Even more so, now that I realized it, my mind felt… clear? My thoughts flowed freely as if the chains which had been holding them tight were released.

But more screaming from the carriage broke me out of the sight. I decided to still act like a slave until I could figure out what was happening.

As soon as the sliding door opened and the princess, who was sitting in the corner of the carriage and sobbing, caught sight of me, she paused sobbing.  Her usually beautiful blond locks were trashed and her face was covered with tears. Still pretty though. Anyway, she began to scream at me, losing her composure.

"Worm! What happened?! Why are you doing this?!"

When she saw me not responding, which obviously I wasn't because I wasn't supposed to, she screamed out, "Speak!!"

I tried my best to reply in a monotone voice, which was harder than before. 

"Princess. The dragon caused great danger to the party and the royal highnesses life. I chose the best course of action and removed your body from the situation." My mouth closed after the short sentence. 

Her bountiful chest still heaving up and down, she seemed to go into deep thought about what had transpired. After a moment she began to talk again, though in a more refined voice, but without the usual cheerfulness.

"And… where are we now?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not sure, your highness. I began to move the carriage in a direction i deemed safe."

She sighed and covered her face with her hands.

"What about the prince?" 

I panicked internally for a second.

"I couldn't find the prince and I could not figure out where the dragon was. I figured it was imperative to get the princess to safety."

Now that I think about it, before I had drifted off to sleep… Had I seen Matthias controlling the dragon? Or was it my imagination? I racked my brain trying to recapture the scene I had seen. But it was just out of reach, and the princess spoke again.

"We must go to the Kingdom capital for Mother. We… we must. And the dragon. It's strange anti-magic.." She muttered some more things under her breath.

I waited for a few moments, seeing if she would speak more, but she remained curled up and obviously in thinking or sadness, maybe both. I turned around, and leaving the opening open,I began to search for where the heck we were in the kingdom.

Our surroundings were a great forest, with massive trees coming around us. We were on a single dirt trail located between the giant green trees, and where the only sunlight was hitting the place. I recognized it as the Everdeen Forest, which we had passed on the way. This should lead to the capital. 

I thanked the gods that I had luckily gone in the right direction. If I just turned or led the horses in the wrong direction, we would have been in dire straits. 

For a few minutes, hours, I don't know, we continued down the road, until the trees began to thin out. The road became less bumpy and smoother. When we finally broke out of the tree line, I could finally see in the distance the glistening walls of the capitol. 

Farmland appeared in my vision, and we began to pass people working, the carriage thundering down the road. I glanced back, and I could see the princess now looking out the window, leaning against it with her arms beneath her face. I couldn't make out what she was feeling or what she was thinking. 

We continued on, the road growing larger, and the amount of people increasing until finally, we made it to the great gate of the city. The walls towered above us like the trees we had paused moments ago. 

I pulled hard on the reins, and the warhorses neighed but gradually came to a stop in front of a couple of guards who were standing guard. It was midday, meaning no one was allowed inside due to the danger of monsters, so none of the people were standing outside waiting to get in, which would have been the case.

"HALT!" One of the guards cried out. 

As our carriage got closer to them, I turned around. 

"Princess. Your permission to speak?"

She simply nodded.

Turning around, I yelled out in my hoarse voice, "The royal princess is inside the carriage. let us through immediately, it is an emergency!"

The guards, who were now close enough to get a look at the carriage, now held expressions of fear. However, one of the younger ones, before the others could stop him, said in a quiet voice. 

"Sir. We still need identificati-" he was silenced by another guard.

He bowed, and said, "Of course, if it is an emergency, we must open the gate. We will punish this soldier later and teach him the correct manners."

After a loud call by the guard up on the wall, after a few moments, the loud turning of gears resounded in my ears. 

I whipped the reins of the horses, and the carriage started to move again. The guards on either side bowed, and we continued through. Finally, I could see the buildings of the city. It was beautiful I supposed, buildings made of marble, with roads of massive stone, seemingly without imperfection. I could see thousands of people going about their business. But I knew this was a facade, the back of the city truly represented what it was. A cesspool of misery.

Regardless, I continued forward on the main road, people avoiding the front of the massive carriage. We approached another set of lower, but still significant walls which separated the second layer from the first. Unlike the main gate, a giant moat separated us from the other side, the side of the castle. Guards, of course, were stationed in front.

Approaching the new guards, I yelled, "Let us through, this is the Princess's carriage!"

This time, the guards did not reply. One of them, a captain of guards I recognized, stood in the front, planting his greatsword into the ground. When the carriage slowed down, they finally approached me.

"We need to see the Princess", the lead one growled at me. I looked back, and when I couldn't see her, I realized that she had opened the carriage door and left.

"I am Princess Isadora Eventide. I command you to lower the drawbridge and let us through."

If I hadn't seen her screaming and bawling her eyes out, I might have not realized she had. She remained the same, cold-faced and commanding. As she stood, the guards all stood down and kneeled in front of her.

"Princess!" the captain yelled, "My apologies, we didn't recognize the highness. We will lower the drawbridge immediately!"

He waved over one of the guards and whispered in his ear. The man began to chant, and I recognized who he was. One of the few hunters with the auxiliary abilities, probably one to trasmit his voice to someone else. I could see his mouth moving, but no sound. After a few moments, with the grinding sounds of metal, the drawbridge started to lower. 

When it finally crashed into the ground with a thud, the guards opened a path, bowing down, and I started the carriage.

Continuing forward, the roads suddenly became even cleaner, more perfect than before. There were no people, and flora covered the place. But what was more striking was the castle. Though it could be seen from the outside, it was partly hidden by the walls, but once inside, the grandeur revealed itself. It was covered in gold, glistening in the sunlight, and towering into the skies.

I finally stopped the carriage at the entrance to the castle. Closer, it seemed bigger than before. As if she had been waiting, she crashed open the door and began to run. Jumping off from the front of the carriage, I began to follow her.