The sky was painted a beautiful golden yellow as the sun slowly began to rise. The Castle of Freya, which is located at the very top of a mountain overlooking the beautiful city, glowed a glorious luminescent white, blinding to anyone who looked. Inside, a gentle humming could be heard, greeting any ears that came near. "How boring, nothing interesting happens anymore. My whole life is just going to be one day extended for many, many years. Is that a life to live?" Her name was Aurora, the princess of Freya. Her father had died only a few years ago from a sudden sickness, followed by her mother shortly after. Being the age of 18, Aurora was undoubtedly up next to rule. Of course, she wasn't allowed to become queen until proven she could handle the title.

"Oh come on now, how could your life not be interesting? Look at the world around you, kids dream to be in your shoes! Think of the future, think of the things you could create and have the people chant your name. You're their ruler after all, your life is most certainly not boring." Aurora's maid, Brynn, rested a comforting hand on her princess's back. "Now lift your head, you wouldn't want to be seen moping around!" Aurora hummed in agreement, brushing her long white hair from her face. "I guess you're right, but it's truly the worst job anyone could have. Just think about it, you have an entire city sitting on your shoulders, and one wrong move and who knows what'll happen!"

Brynn smiled, trying to muster some confidence from the princess. "I know you never had a true childhood, but you must see the bright side of things. Being a queen won't be easy, and can be scary at times, but I know you'll be perfect. I trust you with all my heart." Aurora gave a small smile as she gave Brynn a hug. She always had the right things to say to calm her rushing mind. Aurora struggled doing all sorts of things with the constant nagging of her thoughts swarming in all directions. If only she could be normal, be with kids her own age. Maybe life would be happier...

     The hallways felt hollow and tighter than usual. It felt as if everything was slowly closing in, sucking the life out of her frail body. Aurora, who held her pale arms close to her body, scanned the walls with worry sparkling her golden eyes. It was unknown to her what caused such a sudden discomfort in her own home. Such feelings only happened when an assassin of some sorts scurried through the halls. Aurora halted, digging her nails into her arms as she turned her attention to the ceiling. "Outside," she muttered, her soft voice hanging in the air. "Outside, something isn't right. I need to get outside!" Aurora exclaimed, charging down the halls at full speed.

     Guards, all unsettled by the princess's sudden outburst, quickly dashed after her, weapons at the ready. Reaching the front entrance, Aurora flung one hand which instantly opened the door with a gust of wind. "No... no, no, no, no... outside, of course it's not out here... in there! Something isn't right in there!"

"Princess!"

     A deep voice brought Aurora from her trance, shakily, she turned her head to meet the eyes of Commander Grey, the head of the Time Travelers guild. "You felt it too, didn't you? It was so sudden, it felt like... like death! Something is wrong in the time portal! It's like... it's like something is ripping life away jut like that!" Aurora couldn't breathe, her heart was pounding faster than usual and her body was sweating profusely. "Princess, I need you to calm down. We can't have you panicking now, your powers can become unstab..."

"Unstable!"

     She screamed, furiously pointing a finger at the commander. "There's something probably destroying life at this very moment, and your worried about my powers? I need you to gather a small team from your guild, and check the portal! This is no time to be sitting around! Now go! Hurry!" The commander mumbled an apology as he turned and left. Aurora, who was visibly shaking, looked up at the bright blue sky. She felt bad for the way she acted, but she knew deep down it was just her nerves taking control. Gently, Aurora slid down onto her knees, letting her eyes shut as she concentrated on her breathing.

It was black, lifeless, cold... from every direction not a single thing could be seen. Aurora took a few steps as she scanned the area in every direction. In the distance, however, she spotted a portal. It wasn't broken, but rather it had black acid dripping off of it. Once she reached it, the princess touched the black ooze only to be met with a sharp stinging pain.

"Who are you?"

A quiet voice snapped Aurora away from the portal. It was a voice she had never heard before, yet felt only slightly familiar to her. Fearful for her life, the princess backed away from the portal while keeping close attention to her surroundings. "I... I'm nobody. But who are you? Where are we? And what happened to that portal?" She asked, letting her guard slip slightly as she stared into the nothingness that surrounded her. "Who I am does not matter. What happened to that portal does not matter. Now who are you, and what do you want?" It was hard to tell where the voice came from. Aurora hummed a little as she glanced back over to the decaying portal.

"So do you know what happened to it then? You must considering you're talking to me right now. Come on out, let me see who you are." Aurora lifted her hands to show she was no threat, hoping whoever stared at her in the darkness would give a little trust in her. "Aren't you afraid of me?" The voice asked, a hot breath tickling the princess's ear as she jumped in shock. "Everyone is afraid of me, why not you? Don't you want to go home too?" Aurora felt her heart begin to race a little as she felt a presence lurking nearby. "I...I'm not afraid of you, I just want answers. Now tell me... what happened to that portal?" Her breath hitched a little as she swallowed a large lump forming in her throat. A soft giggle filled the air just behind her, making her heart stop for a split second.

"You're no different from everyone else, I can sense your fear. So tell me, don't you want to go home too?"

Clenching her fist, Aurora spun around only to stumble backwards in pure shock. "What the..." she gasped, falling down on her behind as she scrambled to gain a little distance. The thing was huge and pure black. A slimy red tongue slipped from its mouth to lick the matted fur of its muzzle. The bloody red eyes of the beast stared deeply into Aurora's soul as she couldn't force herself to look away. To her, the thing looked like a demonic wolf... fox... she wasn't sure. "You... what? What are y...you?" She stumbled, clenching her heart in fear. The beast chuckled, taking a few steps towards the princess. "I'll give you time, how about that? You want to be a hero, than be one. I won't tell you when, or how long or how soon, but I'll show up. Eventually, your home will be gone. Along with all the other little fakes in this world."

"Fakes? You... you can't destroy my world! Is that what this is? You're destroying time and for what? Tell me!" A sudden burst of confidence filled the princess and she scrambled to her feet. The beast's face was level with hers as she glared into its eyes. "Once more, I'll say it again..." it growled, thrusting its face into Aurora's. "Don't you want to go home too?"

Aurora woke up in her room, sweat pouring from her face. Beside her, Brynn sat with worry in her eyes. "Oh my! You're alive!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the princess in relief. The princess nodded, staring blankly in front of her as she recalled the events she had witnessed. "Brynn?" She whispered, breathing in a sharp breath as she glanced over at the door. "I saw something... It's hard to explain but I... I need to Time Traveling guild." Brynn furrowed her brows, "why? What on earth did you see? Now listen, you shouldn't overwork yourself. It's important to keep you calm or else your pow..."

"My powers are fine! For generations royalty have been able to keep their abilities a secret, why is it that you all think I can't? If you keep nagging me about it, then maybe we will all have a problem. I hate it so much, why are we even like this? Who decided to give royalty the ability to control every single power you could ever think of? How was this even a good idea? Now I'm being harassed by a bunch of adults over something I can't..."

"Aurora."

Brynn grabbed the princess's face in her hands as she gave a calming smile. "I'm sorry I said that, but you have to understand where I and everyone else is coming from. Having all this power is very dangerous, and who knows what'll happen if you become unstable. It's a rule that no one outside of these walls must know of your gifts, and it needs to stay that way. I know you, and I know you can handle it. Just please, I need you to stay calm." Aurora let out the breath she was holding in, blinking away the tears forming in her eyes. "I... I know, I'm sorry. It's just that something happened and I don't know what to do... I need the Time Travelers, they're our only hope..."

Brynn ran a hand through Aurora's long, white hair as she tried to calm the princess's breathing. "Whatever you saw, this could be the year you finally prove yourself worthy, huh?" She smiled, receiving a shocked expression from the princess. "It's about time we got a queen, right?"