Quest for Camelot: Sasha's Journey

Prologue: Eighteen Years Ago

Torrents of rain poured down from the stormy skies. Dark storm clouds swirled in the sky, flickering with swift lightning and rumbling with powerful thunder. The rain drops sounded like pebbles hitting against the castle.
Arthur was pacing back and forth, striding with impatience as he waited outside of Leah's bedroom as she was giving birth to their first child. The sky rumbled with thunder, matching Arthur's frustration on how long it was taking.
He heard a noise behind him and he spun around to see Merlin stand behind him, standing next to the door.
Merlin's blue eyes shone with mysterious wisdom and gentle warmth. He has a long white beard and mustache. He wore a green cloak, the hems were lined with silver thread that glinted likes stars in the moonlight. It was fastened with what looked like a silver merlin bird for a clasp. His lean frame was donned in a green tunic and green pants of fine quality, he carried an elegant staff that held a softly glowing blue crystal in one of his hands.
Arthur rushed forward, having been expecting them for some time. Merlin held out a hand in a gesture telling him to stop. He froze, this time about two feet away from him, his face was drawn with worry and concern.
The castle was silent, the waiting knights mumbling quietly in the council room, whispering about the soon to be princess.
A single cry came from behind the closed doors, signaling that the child was born. Merlin closed his eyes, searching for the young girl's future. He nodded his head twice, and opened his eyes. Merlin stepped forward, addressing Arthur. "Arthur." His eyes glistened with unshed tears and looked down sadly. Arthur felt his heart become heavy and fearful for the worst. "Leah is..." Arthur sighed heavily and looked down, tears ran down from his face, already knowing the answer to Merlin's words. "But your daughter has been born." The grief in his heart faded a bit, but it was still there and it was mixed with the hopeful love of his daughter. "Something terrible will happen that will affect you all, the princess shall be taken, and she will disappear for years. Though you will search, you will not find her, only when she comes to you will she be able to return."
Arthur's face morphed into an expression of pure rage, his hands scrunched into fists and his eyes shone with unshed tears. As if reacting with his emotions, thunder exploded all over the sky, threatening anyone to take away his precious daughter. The townspeople and the knights started to come out, wondering what was happening.
Suddenly, the doors opened behind Arthur, and out walked a maid, summoning Arthur to come in. His anger quickly vanished and he walked into the room.
When he entered, his eyes quickly found the bed where his wife was laying still on the bed. Arthur swallowed, seeing that his beloved has been covered by a white blanket sheet and red roses. She looked like she was peacefully asleep.
Arthur quietly gathered his strength and found a basket in the silvery light of the appearing moon. As he gazed at the basket, there was a tiny bundle, wrapped in a white blanket. Arthur gently took hold of placing it comfortably in his arms. He pulled back the blanket to reveal a tiny baby girl with a patch of blonde hair on the top of her head and her skin was a rosy pink. When he reached to softly caress her face, her eyes opened, showing blue orbs that seemed to sparkle. When she saw Arthur, her pink lips slowly curled up to reveal her first smile. Arthur felt his heart tightened with love for his daughter, and the drive to protect her against anything. He quietly hugged his newborn daughter, while placing a kiss on his daughter's forehead.
"What are you going to name her?" Arthur looked over his shoulder to see three of his best knights standing before him. The three knights who had come to greet him were all from the region. Sir Bors was a great barrel of a man with a calm gaze, Sir Kay was King Arthur's adoptive brother and one of the longest serving Knights of the Round table, and finally Sir Tristan one of the younger knights who sat at the Table. But his fourth best knight, Sir Lionel, wasn't able to come to Camelot because his wife, Lady Juliana, is about to give birth to their first child and decided to stay at home to protect his family and meet his child.
Arthur remembered that his daughter needed a name. A name that represents her, a name that reflects off her personality. A name that shows the compassion and protection of Camelot.
"Sasha," whispered Arthur. He smiled warmly at his child as he held her gently in his arms. "Her name is Sasha."
When night has fallen across the kingdom, the moon was covered by dark clouds. A little cluster of rain clouds had passed through the evening, dampening the ground and filling the air with the scent of fresh rain.
Everyone in Camelot were safely asleep in their homes. The castle became shrouded in stillness — the kind that only happens in the middle of the night. In the daytime, the castle was filled with light and life. But now every corner was met with a soft, eerie glow from the moon. It raked in through the glass windows and gave the whole castle an eerie feeling.
Luckily for the cloaked man who crept through the corridor, it was easy to hide in the shadows. Any sudden noise could wake just one person and ruin his entire mission. The young princess looked like an especially light snoozer. The last thing he needed was some scaredy cat causing a stir and messing everything up. No — this was far too important a task to risk messing up.
It wasn't long before he found just the room he was looking for. The quarters of the newly "royal" Sasha. Now if only he get past that pair of alerts guards — everything he had ever wanted was within reach of his own hands. And a mere few minutes' time.
He knocked out the two guards with hardly any trouble and watched them both slid down to the ground. He pushed the heavy door, and it creaked open with little resistance. The room was illuminated by the moonlight, just like the rest of the castle. He quickly took stock of the sleeping form of the newborn princess. It was no easy task to maintain her silence as she crept toward the wooden cradle.
The man narrowed his glowing green eyes as he approached the cradle. He pulled back the blanket to reveal a tiny baby girl with a patch of blonde hair on the top of her head and her skin was a rosy pink. When she opened her eyes, blue orbs were shining at them. But when she caught sight of him, she started crying loudly.
At that, the man could be seen riding out of Camelot Castle on a black horse. Above the alarm was going out. Arrows, both night and flame, soared up after it in a futile attempt to bring the man down. The man merely rode onwards and upwards, ignoring the impotent missiles disdainfully as it soared out over the battlements and into the night.
Atop the battlements, Merlin let out a deep sigh, though whether in relief or despair none of the men on the walls knew. The old man turned and strode down the ramparts back towards the central keep. There was nothing for it but to trust to fate now, in the meantime, Arthur needed mending.
Down in the courtyard, he heard the call go up. "Send word across the land! The princess has been stolen!"
The drawbridge dropped as the gate rose and the knights rode out. Merlin sighed once more. Finding the young princess is not going to be an easy task. But it might be possible.