Stargazer, Chapter 6

Chapter Six



Serena woke with a start on the cold, hard floor of the Palace dungeon. How long had she been out for, she wondered? Where was Jade? She tried to lift her head to look around, but a pain shot through her body. She couldn't move.

A tear rolled down her cheek and fell onto the floor, creating a wet stain. She wasn't sure if the tear was created by the pain which paralysed her body, or a tear from knowing they had failed.

They had been captured. It was over, the game was lost, they had let the island down. Now Doom would be set free to wreak havoc on the island and there was nothing they could do to stop him. How could they be so foolish? Their adventure had barely begun, and they had been caught.

The tears flowed faster now as Serena thought about everything that would never happen. She would never be a Stargazer. She would never learn how to use the magic of the elements. She would never see the island, but most of all, she would never find her father.

Serena wept silently, alone, until the pain forced her to sleep.



♦ ♦ ♦



"Was it any trouble?"

"No, sir, we followed them on our horses immediately after they escaped and soon discovered they were heading north. At first, our horses had trouble keeping up, but I am skilled in tracking and we kept following our path. A few days later we came across the remains of a large animal, which had obviously been eaten by …"

The King held up his hand and interrupted. "Please, spare the details. I do not have all day."

The young man standing before him coughed, turning bright red. "Y-yes, sir. S-sorry, sir." He stammered. Then he cleared his throat and continued.

"We found the girl in a village, but she saw me. Moments later, the dragon swooped from the sky and flew away with her. But the dragon was weak, and was no match for our arrows, which forced it from the skies. Neither girl nor dragon were much trouble, and none were injured."

The King nodded. He then waved his hand to dismiss the boy, he did not want to hear anymore. The young man in front of him quickly bowed, then left the room through two large steel doors.

The young man walked swiftly through the palace halls. He had lived at the palace for as long as he could remember, but he was not a servant. He was one of the King's men, a swordsman, and one of the best, having been trained from an early age. The King favourited him, and though he was only seventeen years of age, was placed in charge of men much older than he. A smile touched his lips just thinking about it.

The King had sent him out immediately with several calvaries to track down the dragon. It was nothing but a game to him, for he was also skilled in tracking. Once they had found the girl, they knew the game had been won. But he couldn't help feeling guilty. The girl did not seem to be much of a threat, so why lock her up?

He shook his head and ignored the question. She had heard too much of the King's plans, and besides, the King knew what he was doing. He shouldn't be questioning the King's motives. With the thoughts out of his mind, he turned to his room in the palace to get some much needed rest.



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"She wanted to get to Dragon Island." A voice said. The King looked up to see the large black dragon Doom looming over him with glowing red eyes. "There she was going to tell the King of dragons about us, and try to stop my …" He hesitated, "Our plans."

The King got up off his throne. "Could you stop listening into my meetings? It is getting quite annoying." He asked as he smoothed his black robe embroidered with red silk. Doom seemed to smile.

"I believe I have a right to hear everything that goes on. It is our plan, after all. Without me, you would be powerless and your plan would surely fail."

"You do make a good argument." The King admitted. "Well, we have the girl and the dragon. There is nothing to worry about. Our plan can continue." He said in a bored tone. He had spent nearly the whole day in his throne room listening to the complaints of the villagers. There was nothing he wanted more than to leave the dreadful room and get a good night's sleep, but Doom was blocking the exit.

"I suggest you put more security around them. I wouldn't doubt they will try to escape once more."

"Yes, yes. I will see to it when I have the chance that more guards are placed in the dungeons to prevent their escape. Now, if you will excuse me …" He tried to go around Doom's large body, but the dragon would not move.

"My advice is not to be taken lightly." Doom growled. Smoke poured from his nostrils. "The girl is not everything she seems to be. She is something … more." With that he moved out of the way and let the King pass, disappearing into the shadows once more. The King knew he was going to tell the other dragons about the capture.

He left the room, muttering to himself about Doom and dragons. "Do not take my advice lightly." He repeated mockingly. Who was Doom to tell him what to do? He was the King. He did not take orders from a stupid, smelly dragon.

He slipped under the covers on his large bed, still muttering to himself. Tomorrow, he would send more guards to monitor the dragon. But the girl. He would send someone to talk to her, then decide what to do.



♦ ♦ ♦



When Serena woke up the next morning, she found that she could move her body into the sitting position without being in too much pain. Her body was still sore, but she seemed to be healing quickly. All she had suffered from her fall were lots of bruises. She was lucky to have not broken anything.

Looking down, she realized she was dressed in a clean gown. It was a simple black dress, but it felt great to be in clean clothes again. There were no holes where her knees were, the bottom wasn't torn and dirty, and it wasn't covered in brown dirt. She liked the feeling of the material flowing over her skin.

She sighed and leaned back against the stone wall, noticing she was chained to the wall by her ankle. It provided some freedom to move, but not much. The minutes passed slowly. There was not much to do but stare at the gray floor all day.

"Serena."

Serena sat up straight. Was she hearing things?

"Serena." The voice said again. It seemed to be inside her head.

"Jade?" She called out, confused.

"Shh, Serena. Please be quiet. Do not be alarmed. I am speaking to you through my thoughts. I have said before, Stargazers of my species are telepathic, but our powers are limited. Do not try to respond with thoughts, I will not hear you. Do not shout either, the guards will hear."

"Where are you…" Serena whispered. Not caring if Jade heard or not. She was relieved to hear a familiar voice again.

"I am down the hall, in the largest dungeon." Jade must have heard her whisper. "They have me heavily chained and extremely guarded, else I would try to escape. Are you alright?"

"Yes," Serena whispered. She knew Jade's ears could hear what she said.

"Listen to me, Serena. I know it seems as if we have failed, but you must not think like that. As we speak, I am planning an escape. Dragon Blaze has been giving me information about Doom. I cannot speak much longer, as I have been sending Dragon Blaze messages all day and I am afraid I do not have much energy left. When the time comes, you must listen to what I tell you, understand?"

"Yes, but how long will we be here for?"

"I do not know. Hopefully no longer than two or three days. We still have time, Serena. We can still save the island." Serena was beginning to feel Jade's thoughts weaken. "Try to focus on the magic, it can help us…"

The last words were little more than a whisper in the back of Serena's mind. Serena knew Jade was weak, but she needed to know one more thing.

"How," she asked.

No answer.

Serena felt all of the tensions in her body loosen. She was alone, but not entirely, since she knew Jade was just down the hall from her. She was filled with a new confidence now that she had spoken to Jade.

Focus on the magic, Jade had said. Serena tried to recall what Jade had told her about Stargazers and magic. She remembered Jade telling her they created magic out of thoughts.

So I must think about using the magic if I want it to happen, she thought. Picking a random element, water, she focused on making a droplet appear in the center of her palm. She pictured the image in her mind and tried willing the water into existence. But nothing happened.

Serena did not give up so easily. For hours she tried, but it was to no avail. The water simply would not obey her wishes. Feeling tired from the effort, she lay on the ground breathing heavily. Her palms and brow were beginning to sweat. I will try again tomorrow, she told herself.

Her eyelids were beginning to droop when she heard the sound of footsteps and the door to her dungeon being opened. A servant came in and placed food on the ground. Serena recognized the servant. It was Madison!

"Madison?" She said, reaching for her old friend. Madison jumped back from Serena quickly with a frightened expression on her face. The fright in her eyes turned to sympathy and disappointment as she glanced at her former friend. Madison then turned and walked into the hall, closing the door and not looking back.

Serena felt slightly troubled after being shunned by Madison, but she understood why Madison had jumped back. The King must have consequences for any who talk to the prisoners without permission, especially prisoners such as Serena and Jade. Madison feared being hurt.

She turned to the food that was placed before her. She was starving. Slowly, she gathered enough strength to pick up the bowl of food. It smelled odd, she noticed, but ate quickly. Once finished, her vision began to blur and she was overcome by dizziness. She fell to the ground asleep.



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His footsteps echoed off the walls as he descended a flight of stairs down to a dungeon. His hand touched the damp walls to guide him downwards. At the end of the staircase guards were positioned to keep prisoners in and unwanted visitors out. They nodded to him silently as he passed.

The King had ordered him to go down to the dungeon to talk to the girl he had captured the day before. "Sources have told me she is not everything she seems." The King had said. " I want you to find out everything you can by talking to her."

And so he began walking down to the dungeons. He had gotten little rest, but his duties as one of the King's men were more important than his own needs. Maybe once he was done interrogating the girl he could get some time to himself.

He found her near the back of the dungeon. She seemed to be sleeping, but when he entered she moved and her eyes opened a sliver. He knelt down beside her, and helped her sit up while her focus returned.

Serena stared at the young man who had come into her dungeon. There was something familiar about him, as if she had seen him before.

"What is your name?" He asked. Serena recognized the voice as the voice of the boy who had captured her and Jade. She scrambled back quickly as far as the chain on her ankle would allow.

"What do you want?" She hissed. She did not trust this man. He leaned in closer, and Serena remembered where she had seen him before. He was the young man she had run into the day she was running from the King and his soldiers.

"I believe I asked first." He said calmly, "I want to know your name."

"Why?" She asked angrily. Serena would not give him any information easily.

"Do not ask why. You can tell me, or I can take the answers by force." Serena watched his hand reach down to his belt and touch the hilt of his sword.

"I…I am Serena, daughter of Izora." She announced. "You are?"

"Talen, son of an unknown." He replied, dipping into a bow. "I am sorry, but I am not done asking questions just yet."

"Why would I tell you anything? You are one of the King's men." Serena crossed her arms and glared at Talen. He gently touched the hilt of his sword as a reminder of what he would do if she did not obey. The glare disappeared and was replaced by a look of shock and worry.

"What would you like to know?" She asked reluctantly.

He leaned in closer and when he spoke it was almost a whisper. "What was your mission?"

"We were on our way to Dragon Island."

"Why?" Talen asked. The girl was stubborn and would not give the answers easily. He could feel the frustration growing inside of him. It took all of his skill to ignore it, luckily he had been in situations like this before and knew how to handle it.

"Doom." She said simply.

"Doom?" He asked. The big black dragon he had seen around the King? Why would they go to Dragon Island - wherever that was - because of Doom, who was here at the palace?

"I am sorry, but you are not being clear enough." He pulled out his sword and pointed it at Serena's throat. "Start explaining."

Serena looked at him and swallowed. How had she gotten herself into such a situation? She glanced at the sword, the tip was mere inches from her neck, she'd better start talking.

"I never meant for any of this to happen," she started. " I was a normal servant until one day when I saw a dragon being led by soldiers down the hall. They did not see me, and I quickly forgot about the dragon.

"Fortnights later, I overheard the King talking to a soldier about Dragon Island. He found out I had been listening, so I ran. That's when I bumped into you. As I reached the exit, a dragon jumped in front of me and carried me out of the palace. I thought it was going to kill me, but it did not.

"The dragon talked to me. Her name is Jade, and she is a Stargazer. She told me that I am also a Stargazer and when the time is right, Doom will betray the King and destroy the island. We were going to Dragon Island to tell the remaining dragons about Doom and get help, but because of you, we failed." Serena finished with a sad sigh.

Talen thought about her words for a moment. Then he lifted the tip of the sword away from her throat. "Is what you say true? That you are a Stargazer?"

"Yes," Serena answered. She wondered if, by telling him that she was a Stargazer, that she had given away too much information? Jade would not be pleased.

She must be weak, Talen thought, or else she would have used magic to escape by now.

"That is all I need to know." He said. Then he sheathed his sword and left.



♦ ♦ ♦



An hour later, Talen found himself standing in the throne room in front of the King. He was repeating everything Serena had told him. The King was pleased.

"So the girl and dragon are Stargazers?"

"Yes, sir."

The King stroked his chin, lost in thought. "This could prove very useful. We must convince them to join forces with us. What they say about Doom is nothing but lies, ignore that. Tomorrow I expect you to be up at dawn and down in the dungeon talking to the girl once more about joining us."

"Yes, your highness."

"You have done well. Go and rest, you are relieved of your other duties for the night. Take some time to yourself, for things will start to get busy once the plan is put back into action."

"Thank you." Talen said, bowing. As he turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of Doom emerging from the shadows to talk with the King. Talen frowned. Maybe what Serena had said was true, maybe Doom would destroy the Island after betraying the King. It was likely, Doom seemed like the sort who would do that. Talen had seen the King struggle to control Doom. It wasn't impossible.

That thought stayed with Talen throughout the day and he could hardly enjoy himself. During sword fighting practices, meals, while shining his beloved sword. It was all he could think about.

The girl may be right. He thought. Doom was evil, destructive, unstoppable. Even the way Doom killed his prey was violent and disturbing. It was believable that he would betray the King and destroy the Island. But why? Doom had been locked up for many years, which was more than enough time to plot his revenge against the humans for keeping him trapped in a room for so long. Could he be using the King for his own plans?

"I've got to stop this." He said out loud. "But how…?" He had captured and locked away the islands only hope - two Stargazers. Tomorrow he would speak to the girl, and maybe the dragon, if he was permitted.

He just hoped it wasn't too late.