After about an hour, we descended through the low-lying clouds, and Snow carefully flew through the trees and into a clearing in a forested area of the mountains.
I slid off Snow and cautiously looked around.
The moonlight lit the little clearing, and Snow led me to some bushes, which she told me to push apart. I struggled a little with the dense foliage but finally found a small opening to a dark cave. I peered inside; it was pitch-black, and I quickly backed away.
“There is no way I am going in there,” I said to Snow out loud.
“Would you prefer to sleep outdoors?” Snow sounded confused. “I’m afraid I have no idea how to light a fire, and it will get cold. If you knew how to use your magic, you could do it, but since you cannot, we will have to make do with the cave.”
I nodded, feeling upset and a little nervous that I had no magic. I had no idea what was inside that cave, and I was not going in there to find out. I would much rather sleep outside. “I’ll take my chances. I’ll sleep against a tree or something.”
I looked around for a suitable spot and located an old oak that looked quite comfortable, relatively speaking. It was a massive, ancient-looking tree, and the thick trunk had a small hollow in it, big enough for a person to fit into. I maneuvered myself inside and slid down against the inside of the mossy trunk, hugging my knees together and resting my head on them. I was cold and tired, so I wrapped my woolen cloak tightly around myself as best I could, and despite the circumstances, I immediately started nodding off.
Snow stood next to me. “I will be here to watch over you, Princess. Do not worry. I just need a little rest, and as soon as dawn approaches we shall be on our way.”
“Okay,” I said in my mind, already half asleep. The cool, fresh air of the mountains was making me really drowsy. The leaves rustled gently, lulling me into a fitful sleep.
I hardly felt like I’d had any sleep at all when I heard Snow’s voice urgently calling to me in my mind. My eyes snapped open and I looked up, but it took me a minute to get my sleep-befuddled brain together. I scanned my surroundings quickly and got up from my place on the forest floor, using the big oak for support.
Two guards gripped Snow by her mane, and she struggled to get free. The men who restrained her wore black uniforms and held tarnished shields that bore the crest of a black rose.
“Morgana’s guards,” said Snow quickly. “Run, Princess; these look like scouts, so the Shadow Guard will not be far away. You must get out of here now.”
I whirled around in a complete panic. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t leave Snow to the guards. What if they killed her?
“Leave me,” Snow said. “Your life is far more important.”
Terror welled up in my chest, and I turned to run, but two more guards were coming out of the trees behind me.
I was surrounded.
“There is no use trying to run, milady,” said the gruff voice of one black-toothed guard. He grinned manically at me.
I took a step back and felt something sharp prick my back.
“Don’t move,” said another guard from behind me. I couldn’t see his face, but they all seemed to look the same: dirty, filthy, matted hair, black uniforms, and even blacker grins.
From the corner of my eye, I could see the bushes rustling. What else was out there?
I heard a low growl, and before I realized what was happening, a massive, lion-like creature with a mane of rich gold and deep red wings came leaping out of the darkness of the forest, its sharp teeth flashing in the moonlight. It had a jagged, spiked tail and the face of a man. I recognized the mythological creature from a picture I had seen in a book at my school library.
I froze in my tracks: a manticore!
It snarled, showing multiple rows of razor-sharp fangs, and pounced on the guard who had a sword to my back.
I heard more growls and screaming, but I didn’t look back. I ran for the trees, and I saw Snow moving toward me, free; the other two guards who had been holding her now had their swords out and were advancing on me. I tripped over a fallen tree limb and hit my shin. The pain didn’t register as I got up and tried to reach Snow.
I needn’t have moved at all, as the manticore flew over me and attacked the two guards, ripping out the throat of one and pouncing on the other, slashing his arms and legs with its deadly tail. I looked on in alarm as the guard screamed and tried to get away, but the creature tore out his throat with its razor-sharp teeth. The rest of the guards lay unconscious or dead on the ground around us.
I was rooted to the spot. Would the manticore turn on me now? I had no idea why it was here.
“Do not be afraid, little one,” said Snow calmly in my head. “You have nothing to fear from this creature. He is a friend and a protector; he came only because you were in trouble. All the creatures of the fae are loyal to your family.”
I stole a glance at the manticore. He was sitting on his haunches and did not move, looking straight at me with startling gold eyes full of intelligence. His fangs still dripped blood, much to my dismay, but his eyes looked kind and full of anguish.
I looked at the dead bodies strewn about the forest clearing, and I started to feel sick. I moved toward a tree and retched, but as I hadn’t eaten anything, there was nothing much to throw up. I wiped my mouth as best I could with
