○ - ᴄᴀɢᴇᴅ ɪɴᴄᴀɴᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ - ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 5 - ○

Instructions

○ - ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ - ○ "Whew," Allie said, sighing in relief as she walked through the forest, headed towards the border of her kingdom. "That was close." She had just barely managed to escape from the house when the two men had turned their backs on her--leaving them in a very amusing conversation about whether or not she had magic. Honestly, they both were right, since Allie did have magic--it was just locked up inside of her. "The ultimate cheat in life," she mused, finally reaching the border. But before she could cross it, somebody shouted, "HEY, YOU! STOP RIGHT THERE!" Allie glanced over, seeing an ombragente flying over, landing right before her, glaring. "No humans can cross the border!" he informed her. "Now back up!" "What--I'm the princess! It's me, Allie!" "You look nothing like the princess. She has long hair," he retorted. "Seriously, what stupid thought did you have to think I could be tricked so easily? Arrogant mortals!" Allie glared at him. "Excuse me! My parents are Queen Amaris and King Tehl! Now let me past!" "Can't let that happen," he said snippily. "Now shoo before I make you." Allie opened her mouth to argue but paused, realizing--this could be a perfect opportunity for her to go out and see the world, instead of being babied by her parents all day. And she did love a good adventure.... She turned and walked away from the border, ignoring the ombragente's mocking comments behind her. It was a bit hard to hold her tongue--but it became easier when she imagined the look on his face when he found out that /the princess/ was missing and that he himself had turned her away. She held back a snicker. She couldn't wait. Later, she went back into the village, deciding that she should find a place to stay--but where, she didn't know. Then she thought back to the cabin in the woods--before shortly remembering that it had already been claimed. But maybe the men were gone by now.... Curious, she decided to head over to the forest, going straight to the cabin. Yep--they were gone. So Allie headed inside, noting how much cleaner it seemed. That strange black dust was gone, too. She looked around the room before heading down the hallway, finding a couple bedrooms. She went in one and found an odd bracelet lying on a small desk. She reached over to touch it, and shuddered, withdrawing her hand immediately. Waves of anger, guilt, and grief radiated from it. But somehow it felt familiar. She picked it up quickly and dropped it into the pocket of her dress, turning around and leaving the room. She walked around the rest of the house, finally stopping and taking in a deep breath, closing her eyes. When she opened them, she paused, realizing there were other people in the room. She stumbled back, but froze, realizing that they had to be fake. It was...a vision? A woman was standing in the kitchen while a young boy sat in a chair, flipping through a book about birds. Then a raven suddenly crashed through a window, shocking everybody. It squawked and cawed, and Allie could sense its despair. But then, to her surprise, it turned to a dark-haired girl with bright blue eyes who couldn't be more than five, sobbing hysterically. "Mar!" the boy exclaimed, and he and the woman ran over to the little girl. "What's wrong?" After a while, she stopped sobbing enough to wail, "Daddy! Daddy...." The woman, who must've been her mother, froze. "What about him?" she breathed out. "HE K!LL3D HIM!" the girl screamed. "HE K!LL3D DADDY!" The mother and the boy froze. Then the boy let out a sob, and soon the whole family was crying, hugging each other and mourning their loss. Allie's vision blurred, and she blinked, the vision fading away immediately. She backed up a step, shaking her head before she headed to the door, exiting the cottage and wandering around the forest a bit, eventually reaching the village again. She lingered there hesitantly at the edge of the walls, but then saw a kid running over to her, a grin on her face. "Wanna play with us?" she asked--she couldn't be more than nine years old. Her eyes glimmered brightly as she pointed to four other kids behind her. "We're playing hide-and-seek--but we'll go easy on you!" she giggled. Allie found herself smiling, unable to turn down the offer. "All right--but you gotta hide near here, or I won't be able to find you!" she informed the little girl, who grabbed her hand and dragged her over to her friends. "Count to...um...thirty!" the little girl told Allie before she rushed away. Allie covered her eyes with her hands and counted to thirty, making sure to be extra slow before she called out, "Alright, ready or not, here I come!" She stalked around the town square, finding a little boy hiding behind the fountain first. ○ - ᴇɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ - ○