I'm sleeping comfortably, blissfully unaware of recent events. Nothing else exists at the moment...just breathing clean air and enjoying a warm bed with an abundance of pillows all around me.  

"Click......Creaaaaakk." 

A strange sound wakes me up. It takes a few moments for me to realize where I am. The fact that my digital alarm clock isn't where it is supposed to be, was one of the tell-tale signs. The fact that another pillow was actually breathing quietly next to me was another.

"Kshhhhh."
The sound of a curtain ever so slowly sliding, put my mind into emergency mode. I turn around and see that the curtain indeed is fully open. I can see the starry sky from my bed. 

But what I see next...sends loads of adrenaline into my system. All of the following happens in mere seconds.

"Waaaaaaaaah!" the sound of a young girl's voice screaming nightmarishly in the dead of night, travels all through the Palace. It was my voice.

A creature is standing near the now open balcony doors....it's red eyes glowing in the dark. 
"What? What what?" Rose isn't online yet. She's still struggling to wake up. I don't know how to activate the lights, River turned them off for us. There's no switch that I know of.

"Heeeeelp!  Heeelp!  Guards! Guards! Guards!" I am finally able to shout something more helpful than just screaming. I shout with all my might, I'm pretty sure that help will be here soon. But will there be enough time?

I see the creature approaching us quickly while I push Rose out of bed....forcefully. She falls to the floor and I stand there next to her...ready to fight for my life.

Then, without any warning, the lights turn on to full brightness, blinding us for a few seconds.

"An Ashling! Quick!"  I hear a loud male voice command.

The guards! They're here! The guards run to the creature and that gives Rose and myself a few seconds to step back to safety.

But the creature has other plans...."Grrrrrowwwwl!!!!"

It throws the guards away, causing them to impact a bedroom wall. The guards are stunned, almost knocked out. It then focuses on us again. The creature is bleeding, but it now shows its large, sharp fangs...ready to attack. 

FLASH!  Something resembling a laser beam impacts the creature. I see Rose firing at it. 

"Grooowwll!" Yes, it is hurt!

Oh no...no no no.....that didn't stop it!  I try to do the same, but nothing happens. No magical laser beams are shooting from my hands...nothing is.

The creature sees my hands as a threat and decides to use its claws to protect itself.

"Ahhh!!!!!!" It hurt me! That bloody thing hurt me! My hand is bleeding! I instinctively use my left hand to put pressure on my right hand's wound.

And just before I see its teeth approaching my face, I just know that I'm a goner. 
But then....another bright FLASH.  

[ Perspective of Daisy's mother, the Queen. ] 

"Waaaaaaaaah!"  
I sit up straight in bed, completely awake. That...that's Daisy's voice!!!!

Just wearing my nightie, I grab my bathrobe and run to the stairs. My husband is just a few steps ahead of me. We both know that something terrible has happened.

"Heeeeelp! Heeelp! Guards! Guards! Guards!"

Oh goddess, no! It's definitely Daisy! She's begging for help!

We finally arrive upstairs, near her bedroom but guards are holding us back. We can't even approach her bedroom. I see more guards running this way.

"An Ashling! Quick!"  
I hear a guard commanding others to attack an....my goddess an Ashling!

"Ahhh!!!!!!" 
Again Daisy's voice.

"No! Please, let me go. She's hurt!"  I beg the guards to let me through, but they won't let me.

FLASH.

 

A flash blinds us. But then I see at least a dozen more guards entering the well-lit room, but I cannot look inside. They won't let me!

"Growwwl!!!!"

"Attack!!!!" 

More flashes can be seen.

"Eeeeeee."  

 

"All clear! It's dead! Let them enter!"

The guards let us go and we immediately run into her room.

I see the vile creature lying on the floor. Blood oozing out on all sides. My goddess, it is disgusting.

"Daisy! Rose! Where are you!" 
After scanning the room, I can't find either of them. Not even hiding beneath the beds.

My husband takes me in his arms and says, "Honey, they aren't here anymore."

"Noo!! Nooo!  Please, goddess, no. Have mercy! They are just children!!!"

Suffice to say that I cried for a very long time. 

Hours later, after our Mages had analyzed every bit of their bedroom, I was allowed back to hear the results. To hear what had transpired.

My husband is standing next to me, holding me, his arm around my shoulder.

"Your majesties. We have completed our investigation. We believe that Rose used her defensive magic skills to wound the creature. It then attacked your daughter, causing her to bleed."

"Nooo!!!" I can't believe it! But everyone just ignores my outcry.

"Continue" my husband demands.

"We have confirmed that it is her blood, but it only seems like a minor injury. As to where they are, it is our belief that Rose overloaded her mana and transported both herself and your daughter to another place."

"Where are they now?" My husband asks.

"We don't know, your majesty. But judging by the sheer amount of mana used for the spell, they must be far away. At least a week's travel, if not more."

"I see. And what should we do?"

"I'm afraid we can't pinpoint her location. But I suggest contacting the Adventurer's Guild and spreading the word. The sooner someone finds them, the sooner we can send help."

"Alright. See to it."

"Yes, your majesty. At once!"

The guards and mages leave the room, just leaving my husband and myself here...all alone.

I sit down on the bed. The sheets are still as they were when they were attacked. The wrinkles tell me they slept on opposite sides of the bed....each with their own plushie. Both sleeping in an unfamiliar place, only each other to keep company. Or perhaps not wanting to put a burden on our maids who then need to clean two beds. Good girls. <sniff>. Those two plushies were...no...are...Daisy's favorites. But that blood....no..no..no...

"It's okay, honey. Rose is a 2nd year student of magic, and Daisy....she's...not alone. They will be home soon. We will find them."

"<sniff>" I couldn't reply to him as I just had to cry, my face buried in his shoulder. I just had to. As tough as my husband can be, I could see tears in his eyes as well.

I see Violet standing near the door, shaking her head, her hand on her lips. 
The guards have kept her safe until now, following our orders. But now she walks over to us, speechless, tears in her eyes. I open my arms and just let her join our embrace.

Where are you, Daisy? Please find your way back to us. Once more.