"Oh, but where could she have gone off to?" spoke a maid in rags, looking positively frightened. "There's only so many caverns and hiding places! Not to mention the monsters lurking outside the village."

"I've already sent a letter to Lupert, dear. We'll know in his response," King Richard was saying to Queen Charlotte.

Yet, all the voices were like blurs to me. Nothing but the simple fact that Princess Emma's chair was empty mattered to me. Emma was missing. To make matters worse, she had run away.

"I was going to the powder room, you see," Willow was telling me. "I told Emma to stay sitting on the bed, and she nodded and said she would. Though when I came back, she was gone, like she hadn't been there in the first place! Oh, Dylan, it's horrible. I'm a terrible friend!"

"No, you aren't," I said. "It's not your fault. We'll find her, Willow. I promise."

She sobbed but inclined her head unsurely.

"Dylan, I've just sent a round of Knights to go find Emma," King Richard said to me. "I'd be ever grateful if you went with them. You, knowing magic, might be able to help. Please, find my daughter for me."

A part of me wanted to scold him. Being brutally honest, he was the reason she ran away. His anger towards her caused her to be frustrated and ultimately resulted in her rebellion.

But another part of me couldn't argue with the King, and also wanted to find Emma, so with a heavy sigh, I said, "I'll look for her, Your Majesty. I shall do everything in my power to find her."

"Thank you," he said. "Your succor will not be looked past."

Unless you fail, I thought he was going to add. But he just gave me a hopeful smile and dismissed me.

With not a moment to spare, and with haste, I made my way through the castle, took a quick detour for something important, returned and walked the entrance, and through the village gates where I found an entourage of Knights mounting their stallions.

"The King has asked me to assist you on your journey, men," I said. "We are to find the princess and shall not return until we do."

The Knights, including Jake, and the leader, all nodded. The leader came forth and said, "Thank you, Chosen One. We can give you the spare horse, if you'd like."

"No need," I said. "I have something just as capable as your steed."

Vex approached the men with caution. At first, they all looked up at the crimson creature in front of them with surprise, and the leader even said, "What is that thing?"

"A friend of mine," I said. "He'll be my ride on the forage."

"All right, then," said the Knights' leader with a slight edge to his voice. "Well, we decided to embark first to Azure Falls. There's a grotto there, which could very well be where the princess has hidden."

"While you all do that," I said, "I'll head for Ashborne Lake. Emma mentioned that was a wonder she dreamed of visiting."

The leader inclined his head. "Then we'll meet in Waypoint City and see if either of us has found the princess."

"Sounds like a plan," I said.

"Safe travels, Chosen One," said the leader. "Let's go, men. Yip, yip!"

"Safe travels," I said as they rode off, stallions galloping and Knights bestriding.

"How Dylan convince Guards to release monster like me?" Vex inquired.

"You're not a monster," I said. "You're my friend, and friends help each other. Now let's go. We best be off before Emma meets her bound-to-be-bitter fate in the wild. If we're being realistic, as disastrous as the world as, she might as well be facing a real monster right now."

"Statement be true," said Vex. "Climb on back, Chosen One. Then we set off."

I clambered onto the large hairy back of the crimson creature with a bit of trouble. I barely steadied myself on the hirsute surface when Vex went soaring through the air. The wind whipped my face, and it was nice and all, but I couldn't help but worry about Emma. Wherever she was, it couldn't be good.

Bound for Ashborne Lake, as I explained and directed Vex, the pair of us were off. Within just seconds, we found ourselves at least five hundred feet above the ground.

"It great to be flying again," Vex told me as he peered through the night, keeping his eyes peeled for the magical purple lake. "Especially with friend."

"Thank you," I said. "It's remarkable to be flying with you as well, Vex."

Vex giggled. "You know, while me was locked up, I developed something me like to call Cage Cramps. Ooh, those were worst. Could har'ly stand 'em. Painful aches, they were. Lucky you are to not experience such harm."

"I feel horrible," I said. "I mean, to spend a handful of months in a cell with no links to the outside world and no happiness. How did you get through it?"

"Was tough, it was," said Vex. "Har'est thing I ever had to do. But... Well, what got me through it was knowing Dylan was out there, saving world."

I smiled buoyantly. "It means the world knowing that, Vex... So why do they keep you locked up?"

"Many reasons why," said Vex. "I was refugee during Great Wars. I had to flee what used to be Grand Realm, a place where humans could visit wonderful sights that be monsters and even a place where both could live harmoniously. But that was before Wars. After Wars, and after me was driven from home, I and wide selection of other monsters were to be locked up. We was labeled as hideous creatures that ought be punished for what giants an' ogres did to humans. We was blamed because there was no one else to blame. I've been seen as criminal, among many other criminals, ever since."

I didn't know what to say. I felt even worse than before, but even more sympathetic, too.

"I... I simply can't believe they could do to... anyone. But especially people who are innocent," I said. "So all those monsters... they didn't even do anything wrong. And the cowardly foes who did do combat in the Wars... they simply... fled?"

"Retreated, yes," said Vex. "While monsters reign over world now, before they were powerless and weak and needed recover from Wars."

"So they recovered and came back?"

"Some monsters came," said Vex. "Others stay. Me assume it because they didn't want to start war again. Either way, when group of monsters came, humans weren't ready and... With Purple Storm an' all, it was too much... After that day, the Grand Realm was no longer grand... just crooked."

"Wait, so... It was during the Purple Storm that the Crooked Realm was created? I didn't know that."

"Few know of the dangers unleashed during time of Wars," said Vex. "Scary. Shudder just thinking abou' it."

"I bet," I said. "So... Since then, no one has tried to destroy the Crooked Realm besides me?"

"Oh, they've tried," said Vex. "Valiant heroes, they were. All single-handedly slaughtered by Crooked King. Nasty stuff to think abou'."

I shivered just imagining Thwart and Downfall with their pointy claws, stabbing into millions of knights... Heroes. A part of me wondered if my father was amongst those heroes. I never knew my father. The only thing I knew about him was name, which Grandma told me was Laritt. Strange, I know. They called him Larri for short, and he was apparently very brave and always strove to become a knight one day. I wish I knew him. I wish I could ask him for even a shred of advice on what to do when you have the whole weight of the world on your shoulders.

Be strong, Dylan, Grandma would say.

You've already done a sublime job, Grandpa would say.

I don't care. Just meet me at the Earl! Targan would say.

But what would my father say? I ached to know. And then there was my mother... I knew I had one, I just knew nothing about her... Her name, what she looked like... Grandma said I look nothing like my dad, though, so she must be the person I take after.

Then a thought crossed my mind. "Hey, Vex?"

"Hm?"

"Have you got parents?"

"I... don't know," said Vex. "Monsters kind of just... one body. A unison of helpless, frightened creatures who need way out... Seek way out, but can't find way out."

I took a moment to breathe in these words of wisdom. "So... you don't have a family?"

"I believe my family is monsters. All monsters. Not just one, not even two..." said Vex. "We're all family. And up till Wars, everyone was family. Even humans."

"So then..." I hesitated. "Are we family?"

"You are the closest thing to brother I ever had," said Vex.

I turned a shade as red as him. "That means a lot, Vex. And you're the closest thing to a brother I've had."

I couldn't tell, but it felt like Vex was crying. I could feel his body shaking with emotion. I gave him a big bear hug—or as big as one tiny human can give a gigantic nonhuman.

"We almost there," said Vex. "Ashborne Lake, here me and Dylan come."

"Here we come," I repeated.

~~~

It started with a violet river that trickled its way up a sloping hill. That river turned into a lavender pond, which turned into an imposing and wondrous beauty called Ashborne Lake. It was a purple body of water with one islet in the very heart of the tarn. Flourishing trees with emerald-green leaves flocked every part of land there was. Even the aroma was marvelous, and from where I sat, the view was breathtaking. Creatures big and small fluttered and swam and dove into the staggering waters, splishing and splashing playfully.

It was all so... prodigious. I felt like I was in another world, a part that wasn't full of lurking dangers or evil. Now I could see why Emma wanted to come here. The place was simply stupendous, and I could only wish to stay here longer. But there was no time.

I had to find Emma. I had to find her before someone—or something—else did.

"Land on the island," I told Vex.

He lowered himself with caution until we were no less than a few feet away from the sand. He dropped lightly and I clambered off his back. The islet was much bigger than I thought. I started scouring it for the princess, looking behind trees and in boles and under shrubberies, hoping against hope I would find her.

I had reached the final tree which seemed to be separated from the rest of the islet. It was a dying conifer, old as time, yet still somewhat ravishing. I scrounged every inch of the tree and did a do-over search. I even called out Emma's name a round of times, with no response.

A piece of me started fading. The pit of my stomach sunk as horror struck me. Then something appeared. Something that surely couldn't have been there before. It was a leather-bound tome as big as Vex's hand, and it was simply there. Right there, sunken into the dust and dirt.

I picked it up and brushed it off, realizing with a start that it must have belonged to Emma. It was titled, A Beginner's Guide to Spirit Seeking and had little pictures of spirits flecked across the cover. I ran my fingers across the sleek sleeve, hoping it would show me where she could be. Of course this didn't happen, and I was left forlorn.

She went looking for Spirits without me. Possibly in attempts to destroy Umbra's Sprit on her own. And now, she was missing. That had to be it.

I had to make a choice. I could either return to Waypoint City and tell the Knights what I found. Or, I could looking for Emma myself with this scrappy bit of a clue.

I would be wasting time if I went all the way back to the rendezvous point, but then again the men could be of service and one might even know where to like.

I opened the book and discovered that a page had been ripped out. I checked the table of contents and jolted when I noticed that the chapter on Vampire Spirits had been removed.

Could it possible that... No. No. That couldn't be it. I would kick myself for days if that were the truth...

...Could Emma have been...

...abducted by...

...vampires?

If so, I was about to get myself into a bit of a pickle. And by a bit, I truly mean a big bit. Oh, brother. I could only imagine where this would lead. Nowhere but somewhere ravenous, surely.