All I had to do was get the princess to the end of the hall, and then we could take the secret passage out of the palace. My heart thundered as I stepped out into the hallway, my eyes wide though my expression was hidden behind the mask. The lights in the hall flickered, casting shadows along the portraits of the royal family’s ancestors. I heard screams below us, and I knew our enemy was making their way through the palace.

“Quickly,” I told the princess. My voice was distorted from the mask over my lips, the sound guttural and deep. She grabbed the back of my jacket as I sped down the hall. I heard her light footsteps behind me and felt her grip onto me as if her life depended on it. We were halfway down the hall when there was a loud BOOOOM! and the entire palace shook violently. I stumbled slightly, but the princess lost her footing behind me, wrenching me to the side as she nearly fell. I smashed into the wall, taking her into my arms, struggling to keep us both on our feet. I slung her duffel bag over my shoulder to free up a hand, then grabbed her hand and proceeded to drag her down the hall. 

They, whoever they were, were on their way. 

The palace was shaking, trembling as it understood that it was about to come crumbling down, but I could feel my mind clearing now. As adrenaline pumped through my veins, I kept hold of the princess, watching the hall in front of us as I lead us to safety. Pieces of rubble fell from the ceiling, and I dodged them quickly, focusing on the path.

From out of thin air, in a wasp of white smoke, appeared three men in iron armor. I quickly pushed the princess behind me.

“Well well well, what do we have here?” said one of the men. As they were covered from head to toe in shiny metal plates, I couldn’t even see which one was speaking to us.

“I think we found the princess,” said another one in a gruff voice. I felt the princess’s hand gripping tighter onto mine, and I knew she was hiding as much of herself as she could behind me. For a moment, I felt unsure, but then it was like a burst of sun through the clouds in my mind. I knew what I was trained to do as well as what I wanted to do. I wanted to save the princess. No matter what. I barely thought as I moved. I flung one gloved hand up, opalescent magic dancing around my fingertips. It glowed brilliantly, creating a ball in my hand, and then I pushed the light toward them. It was a impenetrable force field. They were thrown off their feet, hitting the ground and flopping around like fish washed up to shore as their armor made it difficult to move. I grabbed the princess with rough hands and created another force field underneath our feet, sending us zooming over the three men from where they fumbled on the floor. It was almost like we were flying through the hall, the stones rushing passed us in a blur. When we reached the end, and our feet touched the ground again, I spun around and faced the iron-clad men who were rocking left and right in an attempt to flip themselves over. They struggled to get back up, but then they were getting onto their knees. I wasn’t about to let them try to follow us. I lifted both my hands and forced them further down the hall, my sparkling magic pushing them back. They screamed as they moved toward the window. I gave one final mental push, and the glass smashed in a shower of opal, sending them outside into the dark winter night, and tumbling to the ground underneath. 

I held the princess’s hand as I twisted the light sconce on the wall. The palace walls were still shaking as the wall opened slowly, turning on a rusty hinge. I threw my weight against it to get it to open further, and then pulled the princess through the gap. Once inside, I pushed the wall shut behind us, flooding us in absolute darkness. The room was musty and dry, and the princess sneezed a few times in the dust. I reached over my shoulder to the side of the bag and pulled out a wormlight. I held it up so that I could see the faint creature inside the bulb on the end. It was a little fuzzy grey creature with shimmering silver wings.

“Come on, little guy, glow for me,” I whispered through the glass. I watched its beady eyes lazily open, and then the entire worm began to light up in its waking state. It flashed me a haphazard smile, the kind of smile that only came in ignorance of the world. With the dull glow, I saw we were standing in a dusty, stone tunnel and ahead of us was a long descent through the palace walls. The walls were rough and ragged, as was the ground, and it was a tight fit for the both of us. I could have reached out and put my palms flat on either side of the pathway.

The room shook with the vibrations of the palace, but I moved without hesitation, clasping the princess’s hand tightly. The stone tunnel was steep and provided little for footing, but I kept my steps even enough for the both of us. I didn’t stop, not even as the princess huffed and puffed behind me. After a while, the stone turned into dirt, and I knew we were now travelling underneath the palace and out to safety. Even then, I didn’t slow down. I couldn’t, not when I could feel the princess’s hand shaking in mine. Behind us, the sounds of the battle were growing soft. Before long, I couldn’t hear them at all.