Chapter 1: The forest of Dixreh was a hidden kingdom that was quiet but had a story to tell. The kingdom’s history starts with the family that ruled over the forest. The kingdom’s subjects and the royal family were not human. They had human body parts and human instincts, but they did one thing differently. They could erase the memory of any human that saw them, by playing a wooden flute. This power was ignited with the forest’s energy, that could not be found anywhere outside of Dixreh. But no one knew how much a small mistake could impact the entire kingdom. The humans invaded the forest, not knowing that anything could be there, since the last time they attempted the venture, their memory was erased. Over the endless skies that trail the clouds with a wonderous glory. Through every leaf. The castle, otherwise known as the Evergreen, is built on a sturdy tree, and its design is quite complex. Built on the tree is one simple room, but going off the roof of that is many other rooms that build up the Evergreen. Around the main floor, is a garden that is planted with blue flowers. The garden bed is surrounded by glass so that no intruders can make it in. Guards started running out of the Evergreen doors. Someone had forgotten to blow the flute. A human had made it into Dixreh, and all of the memory was still there. The King and Queen of Dixreh, King Azibo and Queen Terrina. They are now lying on the floor, dead. I ran into the Evergreen, hoping to find something that would bring my spirits up. And then I saw Princess Urvi, heir to the throne Princess Urvi is now fourteen years old, and the kingdom is on her shoulders. Even with the death of her parents, she refused to take the title of “Queen” Through the trees of Dixreh, there is a festivity going on at this very moment. Over at the top of the festival is Urvi, who looks uncomfortable, as always, when she is in formal wear. She rarely ever talks, and finds her enjoyment, outside of the luxury of her status. Urvi has her wooden flute with her at all times, ever since the death of her parents. She placed herself on a wooden log, as forest creatures quiet their soft noises. I watched as I noticed that even the animals of the forest respect her, but I am not sure if it is because of her personality, or if they are scared for their lives. That is another one of the things that the people of Dixreh can do, they can understand animals. They can’t talk, as in speaking their own languages, but they have a way of communicating so that they can see what the animals are trying to say rather than knowing it. I watch closely at Urvi but then she sees me, and I run for my life as she grabs her flute. I feel the leaves against my legs as I bolt across the forest. But I can’t run for any longer, as the music of the flute rings through my ears, and my world fades away. I blink my eyes repeatedly and try to adjust to my new surroundings. Urvi is there, but I didn’t have the time to think about it, since I feel the sharp pain of a foot on my back, forcing me to my knees. Rather than trebling in fear, I find some relief. I still remember everything that happened before Urvi used her flute. I also enjoyed that she had not ordered anything from me but stood there silently. I kept green my eyes on her face. Even when she was with her powerful presence, trying to look as scary as possible, she was beautiful. My name is Kaji, and I am a boy that has dedicated his life to saving the royal family from what I knew would come in the future. I just never thought that love for Urvi would get in the way.
Chapter 2: I had been trained my whole life for escaping security, so my first instinct was to look my captor in the eye with no emotion, so that they would think that I did not have a plan. Then I would slowly pull twist my arm so that the person that was holding me down, went after my arms, putting less weight on my back. And that is when I broke free. Rather than exiting the room and drawing more attention to myself, I simply stood there. My intention was to show the guards that they did not know who they were dealing with. Urvi was speechless, and I wanted to break into laughter at her expression, But I remained still. Showing disrespect to a royal would cause me to suffer more consequences than I am already going to experience. Then she came to recognize me. I didn’t want her to know who I was until later, but I couldn’t control her. “Kaji?” She whispered under her breath. She turned towards the guards signaling them to leave us. I smiled and dipped my head into a polite bow, “Princess.” Me and Urvi had quite the backstory. A human had intended to capture her. I still remember her shocked face. This was before her parents had died, so she didn’t always have her flute on her. I ran in front of the human and beat them to bits. I had never known why I did that, but it was worth it. King Azibo never figured out who I was, as much as he pleaded Urvi to tell him. I made her promise that she would never reveal who I was. She was the only person in the kingdom that knew my name. Even my parents don’t know who I was. Or more like, I never knew who they were. I had never met my parents, so I spent my life learning how to defend myself. And now, I need it to defend others. She didn’t know how much just being her could get her into trouble. I stared into her green eyes, almost getting lost in them. I snapped out of it before she could question why my gaze was headed towards her. The problem with where I was standing in this situation right now, was that to keep her alive, I had to put her in danger. I’m not sure if I have the strength to bring myself to do that. The human that killed her parents is still somewhere in Dixreh, and they are now out to get her. The only way to keep her hidden is by taking her outside of Dixreh, and among the company of humans. Conveying this to her will be the harder part. I explained everything very slowly so that she could take it all in. “Kaji...,” she started, her eyes looking into mine. “I can’t do this. Please don’t make me choose between life and my kingdom.” I nodded. “Your majesty, I’m not going to make you choose anything, but that doesn’t change the fact that the options are vital.” Light brown hair brushed across her shoulders as she shook her head. “Kaji, my friends don’t have to address me with a title.” She said with a smile. I grinned back, carefully making sure that I would remember what was at stake, rather than getting lost by her charm. “Please understand that Dixreh will strive if you just listen to me,” I told her. “I am listening to you but...” “But what?” I pleaded. “Who will rule the kingdom?” She asked. “I’m sure that you can find someone you can trust.” she, once again, shook her head. “You’re the only one. Not even my own guards I trust as much as you.” I had to hold my heart down from jumping out of my skin. I know she only thought of me as a friend, but we’ve got to feel our feelings, and they are one of the only things that we can’t hold back. Urvi put a hand on her flute. “I can remove their memory. I don’t have to leave.” She spoke. I knew that this would come. I knew her too well to think that this would be easy. “You know you need to leave.” I told her. Her response I had not expected. “I know.” And we were off, into a world that we might never return from.
