The Princess and the Guardian

Connor heard four distinct clacks from the Forsaken Cage, making his heart stop in his chest. A defense mechanism was activated, releasing the cage and dropping it down the chute. He ran to the platform and watched helplessly as the cage and the princess fell.

Morrigan jumped down and grabbed one of the chains as she reached the other end of the chute. She plunged her fist into the wall to stop her fall and looked up. “Master, I require assistance.”

“Yeah, hang on!” Connor remembered the map layout from his team’s research and ran to the unconscious warden.

“What are you doing? We don’t have time to pick his pockets!” Xarae barked.

“You’ll see.” He grabbed the warden’s key and ran to the wall opposite the platform to unlock a hidden room. Connor grabbed one of their military-grade hoverboards and flew down the chute.

“One sec, Morrigan,” he urged her while opening the cage with the warden’s key. The princess ran into his arms and quietly sobbed. She still smelled of an endless flower garden even in that hellish prison.

Connor moved the hoverboard back, giving Morrigan space to release the cage before she joined him. “Nice work. I’d give you a raise if we settled on your salary ahead of time.”

“Get down! More guards are coming!” Xarae warned.

“Hold on!” Connor locked his feet to the hoverboard and held onto the princess as he flew straight down the chute. The hoverboard’s air shield blocked the guards’ bullets long enough for them to get out of range and reach the underside of the island.

“Whew. That was close.” He breathed a sigh of relief and took a moment to enjoy the fact that two very attractive women were holding onto him.

“Don’t relax now, they’ll catch up quickly,” Xarae warned.

“Not a chance. The armory can only be opened with the warden’s key, and there’s only one key at any given moment,” Connor assured her. “By the time they scramble a ship or a skyrider, we’ll be back at the Starchaser. It’s pretty much how we planned this prison escape to begin with.”

The princess remained silent with her face buried in Connor’s chest for the entire flight. He helped her onto the ship and sat her down at a table in the dining hall. Connor quickly made a sandwich and poured her a cup of juice to fill her stomach. “Here. Eat up.”

“Thank you…,” the princess replied quietly. “Forgive me, my name is Raina Almoria.”

Connor sat opposite her while she took a long drink. “I’m Connor MacAlister, Captain of the Starchaser.” He introduced himself.

“Your father is being corrupted by an evil entity that sits on the planet’s surface. If we can get close enough to him, Morrigan can sever that connection and reverse the damage,” he explained.

Raina perked up. “You can save my father?” She turned to Morrigan and took her hands. “I knew he was not of his right mind. Please, I beg you to help him!”

Morrigan sat still as the princess pleaded with her, prompting Connor to speak up. “We’d love to, that’s why we’re here. We just need to get close enough to him. Do you have any ideas?”

Raina turned to him and excitedly smiled. “I do! There is a passage that leads from the side of the island to the royal docks beneath the castle. The only people who know about it are my family and those closest to us.”

“Can you get us past the dock workers?”

“They’ll help us. They tried to convince me to escape after the king ordered my arrest,” Raina assured him.

Connor grinned. “You’re hardly the damsel in distress then,” he praised her bravery. “Set our course, and we’ll get underway.”

Raina took the navigation system and input coordinates known only to a handful of people throughout the kingdom. “It’s set,” she reported. “I’ll trust you with these numbers, even if you are a pirate.”

“Like I said before, my friends and I chose the ‘pirate’ job because it sounded cool,” Connor admitted.

“If we survive this, change your job to ‘explorer,’” Xarae commanded.

“Did your Laphnes just talk?” Raina heard her before, but with a clearer mind, she finally recognized just how odd it was.

“That’s Xarae, she’s a goddess of sorts in a Laphnes vessel. She’ll make sure we save your father.”

“A goddess? You mean, one of the divines who serve Salyane?” The princess was in awe.

Xarae gave him a sharp look, but Connor winked. “Yeah, so have hope, you have a goddess at your back.”

Connor took the wheel and sailed the Starchaser away from the docks while Xarae landed on the railing beside him. “Why did you lie to her? I can’t guarantee that we’ll save him. My abilities are limited to what you have already seen.”

“She needs hope. If she has that, then I’m sure everything will work out,” Connor explained. “A pirate, a goddess, and a Sentinel make for a good source of hope for any brave and daring princess.”

Connor pulled the ship alongside a plain wall of rock beside the island and deployed the gangplank. Raina approached the wall and held out her golden key, activating a mechanism that moved the wall to reveal a hidden tunnel twice the size of the ship. The ship sailed through once she returned to her post.

Raina was impressed that the Starchaser reached the royal docks in only a few hours. “It usually takes even our fastest ships half a day,” she remarked.

“I named this ship after the falling stars that trail across the sky,” Connor proudly stated.

“How nice. I wish I could just get on a ship and sail wherever the winds would take me,” Raina sighed.

“You know, I happen to need new crewmembers. How about you take over the navigation full-time?”

Raina smiled brightly for a moment, then demurred with a slight blush on her cheeks. “I-I’ll think about it.”

They disembarked at the royal docks and made contact with Raina’s supporters. The guards warned that the king ordered her arrest on sight. Connor happily pointed to their borrowed guard uniforms and simply took Raina into custody to infiltrate the castle under the pretense of following orders.

Raina led them through the castle, a mask of concern for the drained and lifeless guards and servants who stalked the halls. Darkness billowed out of the throne room as the doors opened for them.

“Father,” Raina announced herself.

“I sent you as far away as I could for a reason, you insipid child,” the king growled. Nezera’s influence reflected on his almost skeletal figure and darkened eyes.

“I know, because you wanted to protect me from the evil that is encroaching upon your soul.”

The king howled in pain as wisps of darkness flew from his body and into the nearby guards.

“Not good. Here,” Connor handed Raina his Nocturna. “Lock the door. Morrigan, execute the Light’s Asension system. I’ll clear the way.” He drew a rapier and formed a smaller light shield on his arm.