The Secret Realm

Chapter Fourteen

A few days went by and Celeste spent a lot of time with her father when she could. If not, she would hang out with her younger siblings, occasionally Jasper but not usually. She was having a nice time getting to know her siblings and father, and she was starting to get used to this realm.
Celeste would also visit Blaze in the jail cell every night, even if the guard was there because she was the princess and was now allowed wherever in the castle. The queen didn't like that she was able to roam around herself, but the king decided she could. She was making a plan to get Blaze out of jail and it was mostly convincing her father to get the queen to let him out. She didn't bring it up too often, worried she would annoy her father.
At breakfast that morning they all sat around the table talking and laughing together. Petal had especially taken a liking to Celeste since before she was the only girl. After their meal they all dispersed to go to their next activities. The children had home school and the queen and king had important things to do. Celeste decided she was going to go for a walk outside. She went to her room after breakfast and got dressed into a deep purple dress. It had straps and then disconnected sleeves that were baggy in a cute way. She also put on a little black half jacket so she wouldn't be cold. When she was ready she headed to the main door and out into the castle grounds.
Celeste was walking through the garden, looking at the beautiful flowers of all different colors, shapes and sizes. Vibrant red, purple, blue, pink and more colors flashed by Celeste's eyes. Some of the flowers glowed, but since it was daytime they were a little dull. As she was looking at some giant roses, she heard someone approaching behind her.
"It's nice to see you again, princess," a familiar voice said from behind her. She turned around and gasped. The person who had spoken was Willow, the magic user from the forest. She was wearing a hooded cloak that was black, most likely to hide her identity. She had put the hood down when she saw Celeste.
"Why are you here?" Celeste said in a panic.
"Can't tell you but guess what? You're coming with me," Willow smirked and flicked powder into Celeste's face. Celeste started to feel drowsy and tired and suddenly she felt her body descend to the ground. Her eyes started to close and the last thing she saw was Willow, smirking at her.

When she woke up, she was once again in a cage on a moving cart with Willow in the front. They were in an open area on a trail and there was nothing in any direction except forests.
"Where are you taking me?" Celeste asked, already knowing the answer.
"We're going to the kingdom of Olinn, and I'm going to sell you to their king!" Willow said cheerfully.
"How did you get into the castle grounds?" she asked.
"Queen Flora hired me to come and take you away, though she said not to tell anyone about that."
Celeste gasped and was upset. She knew the queen didn't like her, but to have her kidnapped is a whole other kind of dislike. She had thought they had started to get along too, but she must have been wrong. It made Celeste a little sad, thinking she could have a normal family was just a dream in her mind now.
They were silent on the way to the kingdom of Olinn, as Celeste had nothing to say to Willow. They passed by a lot of crop fields with strange vegetables and fruits growing in them. Celeste realized she still hadn't gotten Blaze out of jail yet and she started to worry about what would happen to him if she wasn't at the castle.
She tried to pry the bars of the cage apart but they didn't budge. Celeste started to think of a plan for when she arrived instead. When Willow opens the cage door, she could sprint out and run and hide. 'That could work' she thought to herself.
She thought more about her plan as they went along and realized that wouldn't work. Willow knows almost every type of magic and would easily be able to get her before she could hide. Even if she did get away, she'd be found by magic right away. There was no escape at this point. She lied in the cage in defeat and stared into space, zoning out.

"Let's go! Get out of the cage!" Celeste heard Willow yelling as she opened her eyes. She must have fallen asleep on the way. She got up and listened to Willow, slowly stepping through the door of the cage. She was instantly binded with restraints on her ankles and wrists when she got to the ground. She looked up and saw someone standing in front of her. It was a man who had a clean shaved face and short brown hair. He was looking at her with blue eyes intensely.
"Welcome to your end," he said with a evil smirk on his face.