Lead The Way • Part 1

by Yihua Yuan, 13

An August 2024 Monthly Story Challenge Winner 

“Ray, come here,” Mother said in a whisper, as her disease was getting worse day by day. 

“Yes Mother,” it was hard being around Mother as I was terrified each moment I spent with her would be her last. And I would be left with my father. My abusive, unloving father who controlled all of Rolda. Who stripped Rolda of its wealth, saving it all for himself and his powerful commanders. Many people are dying outside of the castle like my mother, but I would be surprised if my father did anything about it. He barely visited my mother these days.

“Can you pick some flowers from my garden for me? I want my room to have some more color.” By room, she meant an old, windowless cell that my father “generously” lent her when she fell ill. My mother was not worthy enough for a bedroom or proper hospital room in my father’s eyes. 

“K.” I climbed the stairs to get above ground and slowly trotted to Mother’s garden. It was springtime, and the flowers were in full bloom. Daisies, tulips, forget-me-nots, and roses were all scattered around the majestic garden, adding a touch of life to this gloomy castle. I plucked two roses and five lilies, marveling at their color when I saw a hooded figure standing in the distance, under the biggest tree in our estate. I could tell it was a he as his tall figure stood unmoving under the tree staring at me. There was something off about the man, as no person should be inside the castle grounds right now but strangely I wandered toward him as if gravity was on his side. As I staggered toward him, I couldn’t help but wonder what am I doing? But curiosity got the better of me as I came face to face with him.

He couldn’t have been much older than me, with teal blue eyes and a sharp jaw which was rather handsome. He towered over me as he stared me down. 

“Come here,” he said in a low, raspy voice as he guided me toward the shadows, “I have something you want.”

“What do I possibly want from you?” I asked.

“A cure for your mother, an escape from your father.” My breath hitched as he spilled my deepest desires out his mouth like it wasn’t something I had kept hidden from everyone, under all my masks. He even looked bored as he said it like it was not a significant deal. 

“How-how did you know? What can you do? Who are you? What are you?”

“Calm down with your questions, you will get your answers soon enough, but you must come with me to meet my boss.”

“Wha-what?! I have to go with you to some unknown place? Do I even trust you?”

“Do you want a cure and an escape or what?” The hooded figure was losing his patience so I decided I shouldn’t press my luck any further and I slowly walked behind the man into the dark woods. What am I doing? Oh, I had no idea, but faeries would do silly things to get what they desperately wanted. 

I just now realized I had not spent much time in the forests behind our castle before despite growing up in this castle my whole life, which is not ideal right now if I were to escape. We lurched to a stop in front of a beat-up cottage nested between two trees. 

“Enter,” the man bellowed behind me, startling me half to death. The doorknob was dirty as I rested my palm on it, feeling mud and soil on my hands. It must have been to make sure no lights reflected off it so no one would find this place. Smart. The door screamed as I opened the door, eyes adjusting to the darkness. Inside the cottage was an old man sitting on a sofa chair, drinking a mug of hot chocolate. He looked undangerous, stubble covering his lower face as white hair clouded his vision. 

“Gran, I have brought you the princess,” the hooded figure announced.

“Nice job of you Kai, I shall give you your pay soon,” Kai’s grandpa said in a scratchy voice, sounding like he needed water. “So you are Princess Ray, aren’t you? Nice to finally meet you, your father has been hiding you from me.”

“What? My father is hiding me from you? What? Why? Are you dangerous?” I stutter, suddenly aware of how reckless and dangerous the happening is.

“No, no, no,” the grandpa chuckled, loud laughter booming and echoing in the small cottage, “Your pathetic father never wanted me to find you because I am going to lift the blind shields your father has on you and expose you to the real world,” he paused for dramatic effect, “Then you will never be the little pet your father has at his disposal and you will be amongst us, fighting for our civilians.” 

“What the heck are you talking about? Our civilians are fine!” At least I think they are fine. My father couldn’t have taken that much from his people right? But I do feel absurd for feeling interested in his mention of fighting against my father. 

“That’s what your father crafted you to think, but hate to break it to you, your civilians are dying outside of your castle due to lack of food and water. Your father has been hogging most of the kingdom’s income while leaving his civilians with barely any.” Guess I was wrong. 

“No one fights back?”

“HA! Everyone wants to fight back but the strict curfew and the soldiers stationed everywhere keep it under control. But we are fighting back now.” Curfew? Guards? Why has father never mentioned any of this?

“Why would I help you? Why are you guys telling me this!?”

“So many questions for a little girl. We need your help because there is something we need from the human world. You also need something from the human world, so you could pick up what we need on your way.”

“Human world…?”

“I wish I could do it myself but only someone of royal blood can enter the mirror room.”

“Wait wait wait, backtrack, so there is a human world that I don’t know of that can only be entered by something in the mirror room.”

“Yes.”

“Okay…but I know nothing about the human world and I’m going by myself?”

“No I’m coming along,” Kai says from the corner of the room. 

“So you will do it?” the grandpa asks.

“Yea, yea I want Mother to live.”

“Okay, I will have to wipe a selective amount of your memories.”

“Wha–” I barely had any time to think as Kai aggressively pressed a large hand over my mouth with a funny-smelling cloth. The edges of my vision slowly became darker and my consciousness faded to nothing. 

END OF PART 1