Heya! This is the first book in the series: Makutu Legends This is chapter 2 TW: mentions of fighting and some blood
2 Blackout “Your Highness, I have a message for you.” The messenger caught Zelia by surprise and made her jump. “It’s from your father, the king.” “My father? Why would he send me a message? I just left the castle.” The messenger read the letter aloud, “I need you to return to the castle immediately, for you have been away for too long.” “What? Too long? I was gone for 2 hours!” Zelia thought to herself. She knew that it wouldn’t be good if she spoke aloud like that. She thanked the messenger and left for the castle. She saw all of the guards surrounding the castle. “I wish I could be a part of the guard and actually do something for this kingdom. The most I can do is write books and publish them in secret.” Her parents hate reading, mainly because they find it useless. If she were to ever be caught publishing or writing a book to send out for the kingdom to read, she could possibly be sentenced to execution! She uses this code She finally reached the throne room where her parents sat. It was quiet, which is rare. “Finally, you’re here!” her father, King Arlen yelled rudely. “You need to start taking your role as princess of Finrod seriously. You never take responsibility for this kingdom” Zelia was irritated. She tried her best to respond as politely as she could. Just by looking at her face you wouldn’t be able to tell she was mad. “I’m sorry father, I will try harder to fulfill my duty as princess of Finrod.” “Though you are an awful Makutu, you are the first heir. You are next in line for the throne and you must take responsibility. You are no longer allowed out of the castle until you can prove yourself worthy.” She was about to snap. She doesn’t even want to be queen! Her mother wasn’t paying much attention, she was too busy writing unnecessary taxes. “You’re on lockdown! Go to your room and don’t leave. Guards, keep an eye on her and guard the door.” Zelia didn’t even care that she would be quarantined in her room. It gives her a chance to work on her next book. “I’m done being pressured into looking like a fairytale princess. My father is worried I’ll use my Makutu powers against them one day, but if he took the time to pay attention once in a while he would know I would only use my magic for battle against enemies. I’m done with this life! I want to go somewhere where I can actually help people and where I have freedom.” Tears welded in Zelia’s eyes. She wasn’t much of a talker, she normally kept her thoughts to herself. Then suddenly, lights went out. It seemed like a blackout. She wiped her eyes and looked outside. That’s when things got strange. It was nighttime. “Why is it suddenly nighttime?” She heard a confused knight ask outside the door. She seemed to be the only one who knew what happened cause everyone was either confused or freaking out. “The cause had to be the Time Flower. I’m guessing those who never heard of it must’ve learned falsely in school that the planet turns and orbits the sun everyday. But in reality, it’s just the power of the Time Flower.” Only creatures with Makutu can manipulate the power controlling the balance of light and dark, so that must’ve been the cause. Zelia went to check if someone was blocking the door still and found to her surprise there was nobody there. She snuck out of the room and walked outside. The blackout wasn’t that bad to Zelia, but that was only because she could see in the dark. It’s a rare ability among elves called Nightsight. Like the name describes, it allows the user to see in the dark, very simple. “Someone check on the princess!” “Great, just what I need” Zelia snuck back into her room. Then all of a sudden, POP! The lanterns came back on and it was daylight again. Ok, something was definitely wrong with the flower.