Prologue

In the land of Ode, the princesses were fighting. It was very late into the night and an emergency meeting had just been called when Ellis, princess of the Dream Kingdom, came back with worrying news.

"Are you kidding me?" Meera, the leader of the princesses, said. Her brown hair was dishevelled, her eyes bloodshot and her clothes askew. She stood with her hands on the table, glaring angrily at Ellis.

"There's been talk! People muttering the same lines in their sleep. Besides, you saw what happened last week!" Ellis replied angrily. Her blue and purple hair looked decent, but she was dressed halfway in battle armour, over a nightgown. Her people had been going crazy, acting possessed, muttering the same things over and over again while wandering the streets in a daze.

"Guys, I think we should look at the prophecy." Annie, the princess of the Locust kingdom, pointed out. She's been taking notes, putting the pieces together. She knew that they weren't just muttering random things. Someone was trying to show the princesses something.

Cassandra, The Princess of the Onyx kingdom, spoke up then. "Yeah. I mean, it's obviously the prophecy." She pointed to the wall, where a framed paper hung. Scrawled in jagged handwriting read the prophecy;

The prophecy

Full moon rises,

Power is born and lost,

Harmony is broken,

Powerful the cost.

Girl of water, spirit of air,

And another, born of darkness,

One born of fire and earth, scared of the flame,

One who wears a crown, praised by her name.

Strangest boy, talks to the beasts, Girl stuck, on repeat.

The six unite,

On the darkest day,

The reunion,

Of the coming age.

Darkness will swallow,

Raze, burn and destroy,

The world as they know it,

But only they can make it go.

Step into a timeless land,

Your body, mind, and soul to stand,

If the jewel is lost, forever gone,

Do not stay for long.

Sleep until you can sleep no more,

Wake to find,

A soul stone for,

the darkness.

The kingdom of evil,

Is where you seek, the second stone,

Of memory.

Return the bones of the fish,

To the rising crypt of his,

Don't forget to take the jewel,

buried deep within the earth.

The crown she wears,

Is useless in her hands,

But the power it holds,

Needs unleashed.

The beasts will rage,

To see you come,

But don't forget,

To get the stone.

Unite the gems,

Under the light,

To cast a power,

To dispel the night.

Meera sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Who are these kids?" She started to pace, reciting the lines of the prophecy.

"Well, it gives us nothing to go from." Ellis said, pointing at the second verse. "Girl of water, spirit of air? Who is that referring to?" She looked around at them all with a raised eyebrow.

Annie spoke up. "Guys. It's got to be someone important. Maybe a royal? Noble?"

Meera shook her head. No. It would mention it. The prophecy doesn't mention anything about royalty. These are mundane people."

"Well, not mundane enough, then. Because they got chosen for the prophecy." Cassandra laughed.

"Look at the second to last line. I think that one's a princess." Ellis pointed out. Everyone looked, then looked at each other.

"There's no way it's any of us." Meera said with certainty.

"Praised by her name? Who does that sound like?" Ellis asked. Meera went pale, dropping into her seat like the wind had been knocked out of her. "But that isn't possible. She's dead."

"Did anyone actually make sure she was?" Ellis No one replied. They digressed into silence.

"Okay, so what do we do?" Annie asked everyone, breaking the silence.

Meera looked around at them, "We get rid of them." She started to gather her papers. Cassandra didn't say anything, but Ellis and Annie both gasped in shock.

"What? Are you crazy? They're going to save the freaking world." Ellis snapped. "What kind of message would that send? "

"Annie agreed with Ellis. "Killing them doesn't stop the prophecy. It only worsens it. They might be our only hope."

"Well, only hope or not, how are they going to get together? The kingdoms have been separated for years. How would they stay in contact?" Cassandra asked. Meera shook her head.

Annie. "Maybe the prophecy will call to them?"

"Call them? Really, Annie, That's stupid." Cally, the princess of the Ancient kingdom and the youngest, spoke up with annoyance. She hated Annie.

"Hasn't it happened before?" Annie asked.

Cally said nothing.

"Guys. They're going for the gems… " Ellis pointed out, tapping the last line. She was, of course, referring to the six Royalty gems, which had been separated among the princesses for safekeeping.

"Who would be crazy enough to do that?" Meera gasped, horrified. "The last time someone did that, there was mass destruction. "

"The worst." Cally said. Everyone ignored her.

"So what, we stop them?" Cassandra asked.

"No. We have to trust them." Annie said angrily.

"No one can unite those gems. We have to wait for them to emerge, and then we kill them. We can't have that kind of thing happening. That would be disastrous." Meera said and stood up. "Meeting adjourned. Keep me updated about your kingdoms. We'll find them. "

"Guys!" Annie said. But everyone was already standing up and leaving. Annie sat there, unsure what to do. She had to warn them, but she didn't know where to find them. She would have to wait. She hated waiting.

Two days Later….

Annie was packing her things. She stuffed as many clothes into a bag as she could. She wouldn't be coming back. She took a look around her room. Pastel pink walls, coral coloured bedsheets. She would miss her room. But it couldn't be helped. She had to do it.

There were footsteps, and the door opened. "Going somewhere?" A mocking but familiar voice said. Annie turned around, facing Meera. She looked well rested, while Annie had got little to no sleep. She had spent the night writing goodbye letters to everyone. Even Meera, even though she didn't deserve it.

"Yes." Annie said, not daring to look away. Meera had a strange ability of taking her opponents by surprise. Annie didn't know how, but she knew she was an opponent, not that she'd ever been a friend.

"Good, I need-"

"It's not about you. And I'm done." She snapped. She was surprised by her sudden ferocity. But she liked it. She smiled a little at the look of astonishment on Meera's face.

"You-"

"I regret nothing, just like I know that Delasha didn't when she left. You may have everyone else under your thumb, but not me"," She slowly started to back up, grabbing her bag and the cloak laying out on her bed.

"You're bluffing."

"Am I?" She pushed past Meera, which was her grave mistake. Suddenly, she was being held at knife point. "Drop the bags and swear your loyalty, and I'll be on my way."

"Never!" She kicked backward, connecting with her knee but Meera just laughed. "Wow, you really should have taken those fight classes." The knife was pressed harder into her neck. Annie whimpered. "Swear. It. "

Annie could see no way out of this. But she had to try. Princesses weren't supposed to be controlling, manipulative or murderous. They were kind, fair, and gentle to all. That's what she believed. Meera didn't deserve to be a princess!

Annie got angrier and angrier, letting her anger take control. Ever since she was little, she was told to shut it out, not let things affect her. She had a nasty temper, and it caused devastating consequences to her opponents. Just what she needed.

The ground started to shake. "Stop that!" Meera pressed the blade harder, and Annie could feel blood running down her neck, but her anger helped her ignore the pain. "You are not a princess." She let all her anger out. She had been holding it for so long, told never to show her "dark side" but if she was going to get out alive, she was going to have to go against who she was.

"Oh yeah? And what makes you say that?" The whole corridor began to crumble. Chunks of the ceiling fell, chandeliers shattered. Thousands of glass shards sprayed them. "Oh you." but Annie wasn't done. Vines crawled their way up into the now windowless, corridor and snaked their way around Meera's hand. Before she could get a chance to kill Annie, the vine was lifting her higher and higher. But Annie didn't stop there.

"You've been nothing but a horrible person! I feel pity for you!" She grabbed her bags. "You will pay for this!" Meera screamed. Annie was sure she would, with how Meera would twist the story. She just hoped that the princesses knew who she truly was and didn't fall for it. She didn't have much hope of that happening.

She ran through the corridors, running past Cally. "Warn everyone, Meera is crazy" It was all she could get out before she continued running. Meera screamed in the distance, but Annie couldn't focus on that. Those weren't real cries of pain, and Annie knew that. She was never trying to hurt Meera, just protect herself.

The night air hit her skin, and she cursed herself for not grabbing her cloak. She looked both ways, she needed to get out fast. There were hurried footsteps behind her.

"Annie, wait." It was Ellis. She looked hurt, worried and confused. Annie wasn't sure what she came for. Maybe a goodbye hug? "Meera said-"

"Meera's a horrible person. She's controlling you guys, and I can't take it any more." Ellis looked hurt worse.

"Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know. I've got ties in some kingdoms. I think I could stay there until I can properly confront Meera."

"Annie?" Ellis stepped closer, her eyes shone with tears. This seemed a bit dramatic for Ellis, Annie noted.

"Yeah?"

"Stay safe, and I…." She trailed off and looked away. Annie took her face gently. "What, Ellis?"

"I- '' She looked into Annie's face, steeling herself. "Love you." Annie smiled. "I love you too, now I have to-" she tried to pull away. But Ellis pulled her in close, they were an inch apart. "You stupid, ditsy princess, I love you." Annie still didn't get it.

"I know, and I lo-" Then Ellis pulled her into a kiss. It was cool and hot, her hands holding Annie gently against herself. Annie didn't have time to react, but felt herself melting into the kiss.

"I love you. Now go, I'll keep Meera busy." Breathless, Annie couldn't think to move. She felt light-headed. She felt a weird sort of smile on her face, and she opened her mouth to say something. Ellis looked at her. "Get out of here!" Annie nodded, polling herself out of the stupor, giddily giving Ellis one more glance over her shoulder before she ran into the trees.

The sounds of yelling, Ellis laughing, and crashing sounded behind her. Bright lights lit up the sky. She hoped she didn't leave Ellis to die. Annie prayed for her safety as she continued running.