The Stolen Children

Makayla wakes up in the middle of the night, with a sickly feeling in her stomach. She starts to hear a strange voice warning her of what's to come. It threatens to harm her family if she tells a single soul. This terrifies her and sends her into a panic attack. Mia wakes up and is able to calm her back down, making the voice stop entirely. Unfortunately, she allows Makayla to feel comfortable enough to tell what the voice told her, brushing it off as her imagination. After talking about it for a few minutes, the two of them decide to sleep once again.

The next night at dinner, the king and queen notice their third child has been awfully quiet all day and become suspicious. The King pushes Makayla for answer, and quickly makes her uncomfortable. The Queen sees this and tells him she'll handle it. She takes her daughter into her bedroom, hoping to show her a special item her mother left behind for her. She tells Makayla how special her mother was but this backfires as Makayla thinks her mother believes she's crazy now. The Queen realizes what is happening is not normal in the slightest and begins to fear for her daughter.

That same night, Makayla hears the same voice again. It hisses in her ears, angry that she told someone. She starts to cry as it continues to get louder and louder until it's screaming at her. The Queen wakes up and hears Makayla's screams for help. She hurries to the twins' room. For some reason, the hallway is thirty degrees too cold for the spring, so cold Queen Nora can see her breath. When she goes into her daughters' bedroom, the screaming has stopped. Mia is sat holding her sister, terrified as Makayla sits staring at her hands. The Queen pushes for an answer but Makayla will not give it. She asks Mia to go to their little sisters' room so the two of them can have privacy. Mia leaves and Makayla weeps once again. She asks her mother if she's crazy to which her mother tells her that not being able to explain something does not mean you're crazy. She jokes about a ghost in their castle, cheering Mak up a little. The two of them lay together for a while, talking about it until Makayla falls asleep on her chest.

### **The Warning**

Mia wakes up the next morning and realizes that Makayla isn't in the bed across the room from her. She assumes that she just woke up earlier, even though thats weird, and gets up to start her day. She goes to her broken dresser and pulls out a dress to wear, humming to herself. As she sits at her vanity a few minutes later, Makayla busts through the door happily and throws herself onto the bed. Mia questions where she's been and she tells her that she's been annoying their older brother Ezekiel.

Makayla takes the brush from Mia's hand and helps her with her hair. Something is still bothering her. She asks Mia if the warning could mean something. Mia responds that it was probably nothing and to not worry about it. Mia's words calm Mak's fears immediately.

A few minutes later, the girls head downstairs and meet their little sister Autumn at the end of the staircase, bored by herself. She asks the twins if they can play with her even though Aurora is able to. Makayla rejects this offer, thinking she's getting too old to be playing like a little kid. But Mia agrees, pulling Makayla along with her even though she didn't want to. Autumn cheers up as her and Mia run toward the forest just outside the castle walls, where they're forbidden to go. Mak trails behind, thinking to herself. She shakes off her negative thoughts and catches up with her sisters.

Makayla looks around admiring the forest as Mia kicks up leaves. Autumn jumps up trying to reach a tree limb but is ultimately too short. Mak teases her that she'll never reach that limb. She becomes annoyed and helps Autumn up, demanding her to hurry up and grab it because she's heavy. Mia panics and tells Mak to be careful to which Mak replies that she knows what she's doing. As the two of them struggle, Mia suddenly disappears.

Autumn suggests the idea that maybe she got bored and went home but Makayla knows Mia wouldn't do that. She begins to panic frantically searching behind trees. When Makayla turns back around, Autumn is gone too. She knows something is seriously wrong. Makayla starts to cry out for them, begging them to come out of hiding because she's scared and it's not funny.

Just as she goes to yell out again, two hands grab her aggressively, covering her mouth so she can't scream. She tries to kick them in some desperate attempt to escape but is thrown into the back of an old carriage where she sees her two sisters. They have horrified looks on their faces and Autumn is wailing. The man in the front demands her to shut up and threatens to hurt her if she doesn't. Mia whispers in Autumns ears, trying to comfort her, but it doesn't really work. Makayla curls in a ball as the voice spits at her again, but this time she doesn't panic. She just lays there and listens, knowing that she shouldn't have told anyone.

Mia watches as the peak of the castle disappears behind the trees. They are kidnapped.

### **Black Hole**

The girls watch as the carriage arrives at it's destination outside of a large camp. It has wooden spikes at the top and torn black flags. It's obvious to Mia where they've been taken but she isn't sure if her sisters' have realized or even know what it is. The girls are demanded to get out of the back of the carriage but none of them move an inch. Instead, Mia glares at the main man with a black bandanna, shooting daggers with her eyes.

The man sees this and immediately becomes furious. He grabs Mia up by the arm and tells her to not disobey him while Mak and Autumn scream. He then throws her off the back into the dirt, knocking the wind out of her. Makayla jumps down immediately to join her sister and make sure she's okay.

The man with the bandanna demands the other men to take Autumn to the chief, remarking that he'll love her. Mia begs for them to take her instead but none of them listen. The twins watch as Autumn is carried away, kicking and screaming.

The leader demands his men to take the twins, "down to the chambers." The twins are shoved forward with rifles against their backs. They start to walk to the unknown destination. After several minutes of walking, the group stumbles upon a crate covering a hole in the ground and the girls are immediately demanded to crawl down the ladder.

Makayla, upon realizing what is going to happen, begins to have a panic attack. She cannot move. She's frozen. So, Mia volunteers to go down the ladder first. When she reaches the ground, Mia lies to Mak to ease her fear and says that it's not bad when it really is. This helps Makayla out just enough to get her to go down too.

As she climbs down the ladder, the voice strikes again. It tells her that Autumn's "death" is her fault, even though Autumn is not dead at all. Makayla sobs hysterically, collapsing into her sister as the voice continues chanting. The crate is slammed across the hole again and the girls are surrounded in darkness. Mia sits down in the dirt with Mak and sings her a song she heard out of a book.

The two of them conversate about what the bandits' motives are and about Autumn. Makayla falls asleep on Mia's shoulder and Mia sits alone with her thoughts for a while.

### **Mind of a Warrior, Heart of a Lion**

Several days have passed since the girls were put in the dark hole. They're starving, dehydrated and exhausted. They don't have much hope for getting out of there so they find ways to entertain and distract themselves from the hunger.

Mia comes up with the idea to play Tic Tac Toe and draws six squares. Makayla is hesitant to play but ultimately agrees. After several minutes of playing the game, Makayla makes her final move, allowing Mia to win. She walks over to the corner to be alone while Mia continues to play in the dirt.

A few moments later, someone lifts the crate and sunlight bursts through for the first time in days. A bandit demands the two of them to get out because the chief would like to see them. It's a perfect opportunity to find out if Autumn is okay.

Mia quickly climbs up the ladder, desperate to get out. Makayla questions if she really wants to find out about Autumn and worries that the voice in her head is right. She tears up and climbs to the outside. The bandit reveals that the chief's name is Kayoni and places his knife on the table, symbolizing his trust with the twins.

The twins enter the tent and Mak grabs onto Mia's hand hard; too hard. Mia gets frustrated and tells her to knock it off causing the voice to come back and taunt Mak about it. When they look around, they see chief Kayoni sitting at a large table, waiting on them, looking rather peaceful. He pats on the table, asking them to come sit. The two of them approach him and Mia becomes brave. She questions him as to where Autumn is and what he wants. The chief realizes that Mia is the brave one of the three that everyone in the camp has been talking about. He finds it intriguing. Mia asks him once again where Autumn is and he finally fesses up.

Chief Kayoni throws Autumn's bloody handkerchief on the table, and the girls freak out knowing what this means. When the tension is the highest, Mia grabs Mak and makes a run for it. They continue to run until the bandits completely surround them.

Out of nowhere, Mak pulls out a knife, holding it out in front of her. The bandits don't take this seriously and burst into a fit of laughter, pointing at her. A man adds that that knife is his and questions where she got it. Dom hears the commotion and comes over to the area only to realize that it's the girls. He leans down in front of Mak, takes the knife and tells the group to split up and leave them be. So they do.

Dom tells the twins that he has a plan and that they just have to listen to everything he says. At first they don't trust him but he smiles at them and earns it. He takes them back to the chambers, pretending to be mean to them.

When they arrive at the chambers and Mia goes down, Mak starts to freak out. Dom takes notice of this and comforts her, telling her that she can go down when she's ready and that there's no rush. Eventually she calms down and goes down there. When the crate finally closes, Mak drops into the dirt screaming and crying. She blames herself for Autumns death to which Mia disagrees, telling her its not her fault. The twins sob together until they can't anymore.

Eventually night comes and Dom opens up the crate. He reveals that he's brought food for them. Mia tries to wake Mak up but he tells her to just let her sleep because she needs it. He doesn't stay long but he hands Mia a piece of paper with a map on it. She then realizes what he's given this to her for and knows what she has to do for them to escape, even if it's dangerous.

### **The Sacrifice**

Nearly a month later, Dom is down in the chambers talking to the twins. He tells them that the plan is complete and now all they have to do is meet the chief the next night in his tent just like the previous month but he warns them. If this fails, they will be killed so everything has to go perfect. Mak asks him if he truly believes that this will go according to plan to which he replies that it'll only work if she's sneaky enough and jokingly boops her nose.

When it hits midnight, Dom realizes he has to leave them and tells him that he'll see them the next night. He leaves the chambers quickly.

The next night comes and the twins are woken up by the grate being opened. Mia excitedly gets up, only to realize that it's not Dom but another bandit. Makayla becomes scared, knowing something is wrong. But, Mia tells her to just go with it. The man screams at them to get out and hurry up. They climb out and feel the night air on their faces. Mia skims the area, searching for Dom but they only find a crowd surrounding someone. Their stomachs fill with nausea when they realize that Dom is being nearly beaten to death and is bleeding profusely. Dom screams out for mercy but they continue to pummel him, completely distracted from the girls behind them. They kick him over and over until he goes limp and lifeless.

Mia grabs Mak's hand and tells her that their plan needs to take action now. She pulls Mak away from the crowd and runs behind tent after tent, trying to reach the chief. But Mak starts to hear her voices again in her head. They tell her that Dom and Autumn are dead because of her and soon Mia will be too. It causes her to freeze up and becomes mentally paralyzed. Mia begs her to keep moving but still, she doesn't. She just stands there. So Mia makes the choice to slap her across the face as hard as she can, snapping Mak out of it. She apologizes and then grabs Mak's arm, running once again.

The two of them reach the biggest tent in the camp and go inside. The chief seems to be talking to someone. Mia questions who he's talking to as he pours food into three bowls. He completely ignores her over and over. Mak sees Autumn's dress behind him and asks why he has that but again, they get no answer. Mia becomes annoyed and makes the decisions to pour her hot soup all over Chief Kayoni's lap. He screams in agony and asks her why she did that and she gives him no answer. She keeps him distracted and angry while Mak picks up a pan behind him. She hits him as hard as she can with it and knocks him out.

Mak throws the pan into the dirt and Mia searches end table for a weapon. Finally, she finds a knife and they decide to leave. As they go to leave, they hear the voice of a small child calling out to them, begging them to come back. The twins look at each other and come to the conclusion of who's voice it is. It's Autumns. They run to her, only to realize she's shackled by the feet.

They soon realize there's no way that Autumn can come with them just yet, she's too weak and she'll have to be left behind. Mia makes a promise that they'll come back for her no matter what. She tells Mak to go get the guard outside of the tent.

Mak crouches behind the man and stabs him in the back of the knee. He falls to the ground screaming. He alerts the other bandits and the twins take off out the back, running towards the forest. Mia climbs the top of the fence and pulls Mak up and over. They jump down and run through the forest, watching as the bandit camp disappears behind them. They're finally free.

### **Restitution**

The girls sleep in the dark forest over night and wake as the sun starts to beat down on them. Mak starts to hear a thousand voices chanting in her ears and she wakes up abruptly. She begins to panic and loses her breath completely. She tries to gasp for air but takes none in. This only escalates the situation more. Mak starts to sweat and the world begins to spin. In desperate attempts to make it stop, she starts to hit Mia on the back, trying to wake her.

Mia wakes up, frustrated at first but then becomes extremely concerned when she sees that Mak's face is turning blue. The very sound of Mia's voice makes Mak's breathing come back but now she's left with emotional effects from it. She starts to break down in Mia's arms.

Mia tells her that it was just a little freak out and that she's okay but Mak interrupts her stating that none of this is okay. She calls herself a freak as more emotional waves crash over her. Mia doesn't say anything else and just allows her sister to cry it out until it all gets quiet again. She then adds that she doesn't think Mak is a freak and she's just her sister, like she always has been.

Mak calms down slightly even though she knows that there is something wrong with her. She just doesn't know what.

The sun finally rises all the way and Mia starts looking around, trying to figure out where they are. She realizes that they're outside of Brookstone and shakes Mak happily. The two of them get up and start racing towards the town, trying to see who's faster. Mia runs ahead of her and then picks on her, telling her to stop being so slow. Mak then decides to run past her, to prove she is not a slow poke.

They reach the open gates of Brookstone and go inside, happy to feel something familiar. A woman suddenly slaps her husband in the arm, demanding him to get the guards because the lost princesses are home. She welcomes them into her home, feeling sympathetic after all they've been through, and even feeds them their first hot meal in a month.

The woman gives them two clean dresses and jokes that they probably wouldn't like it cause it's villager clothes but the girls kindly thank her and put them on. After they had been fed and cleaned, a guard stood in the door, waiting for them with a smile. He tells them it's nice to see them again and then asks them if they're ready to go home. So, they get into a small carriage, ready to journey home to their family. While in the carriage, Makayla asks the guard what day it is and he remarks that it's the thirteenth of May, a day after their twelfth birthday.

Upon arriving in front of the castle, the twins see Ezekiel scowling at them, menacingly, clearly unhappy that they're home. The King and Queen come running out, crying tears of joy, towards their children. They hold their babies in their arms for the first time since and kiss the top of their heads. The Queen then asks them where Autumn is. Mak yells telling her that she's still at the bandit camp and that they couldn't get her out because she was shackled.

The Queen breaks into tears, announcing that they have to leave. She tells Ezekiel to take her sisters inside and so he does. The King and Queen take off to find their lost daughter and the kids go inside.

Rue runs to her sisters, hugging them. She asks where Autumn is and when she gets the answer, she isn't too happy. But Mia reassures her that their parents have gone to find them and that everything would be okay. The three of them go upstairs and play dolls, happy that everything is going back to normal.

### **The Shadow Man**

Nearly Five months go by and the King and Queen have not returned home nor has Autumn. The kingdom comes to the conclusion that they must've been killed and grieves for them immensely. They soon decide that Ezekiel will have to be coronated as King if the country is to survive. Meanwhile, the memories of the camp are continuing to haunt both of the twins terribly, but Mak struggles significantly more, unable to move or come to terms with it.

On a night sometime in the fall, Mia is sound asleep while Mak tosses and turns, unable to drift off. The wind is howling and shaking the trees. A moon beam strikes the bedroom floor, mesmerizing Mak completely. She stares at it, bewildered by how peculiar it is. She looks over at Mia and becomes jealous that she's sleeping. Eventually she turns her attention back to the moon beam to find that it's gone; no, not gone, blocked by something. She screams out in horror upon seeing a shadow man with no face standing in the way. Mak falls onto the floor, traumatized but the shadow doesn't move.

Mia wakes up suddenly and asks Mak what she was screaming at. When she doesn't see her on the bed, she starts asking her where she is and then asks why she's on the floor when she finds her. Mak points behind her, shaking like a leaf on a tree but Mia states that there's no one even there. Mak screams that he's right there but there's no one, no one that Mia can see. She sits down and starts trying to get Mak to breathe and tells her that if there's no one there, it can't hurt her. Mia realizes that what is happening is absolutely not okay but can't tell her sister that.

The Shadow man disappears and Mak loses it, breaking down completely. After a few minutes, Mia asks her if she wants to talk about it and Mak tells her she doesn't. Mia offers to let Mak sleep in her bed with her and the two of them get up together. She tells her that she'll be her faithful protector and this makes her laugh just a little.

The two of them talk for a few minutes and then Mak asks Mia to go lock the door because she's too afraid to do it. Mia jumps out of the bed, skipping in a goofy way towards the door and again, makes Mak burst out into laughter. The two of them spend the rest of the night chatting until they finally fall asleep together.

The next day, Mia is hanging out in the horse stables, tending to her horse Bellamy and daydreaming. Her crush Elliot shows up and jump scares her. She runs to him, laughing and gives him a hug. Elliot peeks over to the garden, focusing his attention on Mak. He asks Mia if she's doing okay today and Mia replies that she just had a bad night and she's fine now. The two of them eventually run off into the castle, giggling like crazy. Mak rolls her eyes, thinking it's gross and goes back to reading her book.

Mak tries to focus back on reading but starts getting a very bad feeling. She starts to feel like there are a million people watching her. She makes an attempt to ignore it but the more she does, the more her anxiety levels rise. She starts to bounce her right leg, which is a new tick of hers, and her breathing starts to pick up. But yet, Mak still can't seem to tear her eyes off the page to see who's staring at her. She sits staring at her book page until she can't take the panic anymore. Mak throws her book into the dirt, screaming bloody murder, trying to get the feeling away. The screams alert the entire castle and many people come running out.

A maid comes running out to her in an angry manner and grabs her by the arm. She yells at her and asks her if she thinks scaring people is funny. Mak starts to tear up, feeling completely ashamed. The voice rings in her head, telling her that she's a freak and that no one likes her. Mia shows up behind the maid and demands her to let Mak go and so she does because Mia is the princess and has authority over her.

Mak runs inside of the castle sobbing, thinking she's a monster. She knows people are really watching her now but she no longer cares. She just wants to be alone. Mak locks herself in the bathroom and curls in a fetal position, crying her eyes out. Her emotions completely overwhelm her and she feels completely lost. She lays on the bathroom floor crying for nearly an hour.

### **In Memoriam**

The memorial is held for the lost king, queen and princess.

### **All Hail the King**

Logan's coronation and the end of the book.