The Princess now trapped

 Page 6.

The Princess now trapped gripped one of the withered branches from inside her oak tree dungeon and watched Dazerack parade around her claiming another victory. “O, yes he will come”, he called out, but surly he will first sent out scouts to test the strength of my powers and the true dangers it possesses”. Dazerack continued on, “ your fathers love for his daughter is stronger than life itself, but enough idle talk of kings and daughters and forgotten kingdoms for I am needed elsewhere”. Dazerack stood back from the black oak tree and directed the still swirling mass of his army of black winged creatures back into their hidden lair of the base of the dead tree. He glance toward the Princess and without saying a word his disappeared into the forest without making a sound. A thick smokey fog drifted quietly through a large opened field of small gray stones and soft brown earth. Overhead a bright orange sun painted the sky a faded blue and all around was very still. Reaching toward the sky around the perimeter of the field stood a boundary line of waist high nettles, their thorny fingers ever ready to grasp anything within reach.

The distant song of a nightingale could faintly be heard from deep within a far off valley. Suddenly a narrow section of earth began to move as some small rocks rolled a few inches from the movement. Peering out of the half moon shaped hole blinked two deep blue eyes. “Is it clear?’, a voice spoke as the blue eyes blinked again and raised themselves a little further from the opening. “Be still”, the blue eyes whispered, “ we have to be sure”. Cautiously the blue eyed figure raised itself chin high and gazed across the rocky field. “ Is it clear”, a second voice nervously whispered from behind, “ or is that keeper of Fir Wood Row merely playing his clever game of hide and death?”. “Quite, my Prince”, the blue eyed voice spoke softly, “ we must be sure no one is watching as our kingdom and freedom are in our hands. The blue eyed voice continued, “ we must not fail or allow ourselves to be plucked from the ground and flow off to some distant cliff and be picked apart by that black hearted watchman of the skies the raven of Fir Wood Row.

Quietly the other elf began to stir and his light green eyes sparkled like flashing minnows in a deep clear pond. Pulling himself out of their darken cave Sir Maxwell stood motionless and took a deep breath as his keen eyes once more canvassed their surroundings. “ Here take my hand”, said Sir Maxwell as he reached down for Prince Bowman who sat in though with a single tear running down his face. We must hurry whispered the blue eyed elf pulling Prince Bowman to the surface and patting his back in a comforting way for he knew his dear friends sorrow. Sir Maxwell spoke in a reassuring tone and looked directly into the eyes of the young Prince. “Take heed my Prince of the Golden Silver Wings”, he said, “ our quest if is one of life and the life after and unless we stop the evils of Dazerack and clip the wings of his black raven army we will never restore our forest and kingdom to it’s once beauty and everlasting peace.