As the guards dragged me into the dungeon, I could feel the stone floor moving beneath my legs. The back of my head stung from where one of the guards had hit me making me lose consciousness. I tried moving my hands but the ropes held them tight behind my back.

I opened my eyes slowly and as the lights flooded in, I could see the metal door of the prison cell in front of me. One of the guards opened it and the other pushed me in. With my hands and feet tied, I didn’t have much choice but to land on my face.

The door closed behind me as I lay there on the ground which somehow had a sweet scent to it. I rolled onto my back inspecting the small cell as far as my limited eyesight would allow. With only a window through which light came in, half of the cell was in utter darkness.

In the corner of the room, hidden in the darkness, I could almost see a figure moving ever so slightly. I could see from the corner of my eye now that whoever it was, he or she was trying hard to remain unnoticed. Too bad it wasn’t possible in a cell this size.

“Greetings. My name is Aevus Imperium. Am I to have the honour of knowing yours?” I said as I got up and moved to a nearby wall, sitting upright using the wall as a support.

I could see the figure move. As it came closer and into the light, I saw her face. With shoulder length raven hair, silver eyes with a tint of blue in them, and a skin as fair as the elves, I couldn’t help but stare.

“M-My name is Emmalyn. Emmalyn Elementa,” she said looking away for a brief moment.

Her hesitation could only add to her beauty. As her eyes came back to meet mine I couldn’t help feel my heart skip a beat. She stayed silent after that. I glanced at the ropes tying my legs and moments later she was untying them with her soft hands. Once she had finished, she looked up at me again. Her eyes saying the words her lips didn’t.

“Thank you for your generosity. However, I was capable of freeing myself My Lady.” I said with a smile as I brought forth my hands from behind my back.

She did not respond with words but instead, gave me a nod of acknowledgement. She then got up and brought me the bowl of drinking water the prisoners were provided. I looked into the clear liquid and took a sip. Closing my eyes I contemplated my chances of getting out of the cell.

“Emmalyn, why are you here?” I asked with my eyes still shut in order to force her to respond verbally.

“I-I-I used elemental magic,” she said looking down on the ground.

The queen of the kingdom had prohibited the use of magic. Her eldest son was struck down in war and the court mage trying to cure him only worsened his condition quickening his death. Enraged, the queen ordered the mage to be beheaded and decreed magic to be evil and its use punishable by death.

I opened my eyes and looked straight into hers for a minute. I knew that she had used her magic to save a child who fell into the well. The story was big news in the streets. The tyrant queen punishes a child’s saviour.

“Do you want to escape?” I asked her.

She nodded before speaking.

“But how? This metal door is too strong. I tried using the wind to blow it away but to no avail. I just do not possess enough power.”

I got up and put the bowl of water in front of her.

“Maybe it isn’t about power, but finding a weakness.” I said as I felt the door to find its deadbolt.

Once I found it and I gave Emmalyn precise instructions.

“First you need to make the wind blow into the water while passing lightning through it. Can you do that?” I asked to which she smiled.

I could see that it was a bit hard for her but she kept heart. I watched closely as the water started to move ever so slowly. From her hands, she managed to infuse the water with tiny bits of lightning. Once she finished I took the bowl from her. I tore a piece of my ragged prison clothes and wrapped it around the pin I had kept in hidden in my hair.

“I learned of this from a friend of mine. He does crazy experiments all the time,” I explained while I dipped the rag into the bowl and spread the liquid onto the deadbolt.

It started to rust as I applied layer after layer, scraping off the rust as I went. By nightfall I could see the bolt was weak and a well-placed kick was all it took to swing the door wide open.

“After you My Lady,” I said with a smile.

A few hours later, after a change of clothes and sneaking out of the castle, we were on our way to the kingdom of Illuminati when she finally asked me who I was and why I was caught. I didn’t respond but continued on our way as we passed through the gates to the kingdom of Illuminati. I could not help but smiled as my friend and advisor came running to my side.

“Prince Aevus, it was unwise for the future king of Illuminati to dress as a commoner and venture into enemy lands without protection.”

I looked at Emmalyn and could see her confusion. Sapias looked at the Emmalyn before he whispered in my ear.

“Of course. The future king needs his future queen.”

He smiled. It was evident that Emmalyn had forgotten of the little encounter that I had had with her when she was out in the wild looking for flowers and she was very much unaware of the fact that I had fallen in love with her at first sight.

After I changed into my royal attire in the castle, I walked over to her chambers. The door was open so I walked in to find her standing in the balcony.

“Emmalyn…” I started.

In the royal white gown she looked like an angel and as she turned around to look at me I froze.

“I remember…” she said with trembling lips and eyes that shimmered like stars in the night.

Walking up to her I kneeled in front of her as I spoke.

“Emmalyn Elementa… Will you marry me?”

There on the balcony, as I looked into her eyes from where I knelt, I felt the warmth of her hand as she held mine. With tears of joy in her eyes, under the moonlit night sky, once again she was silent but I could see the yes in her eyes.