• Deep in the Arcylian forest, a band of rebels silently creep through the darkness. They had just barely escaped the evil clutches of the dictator that over threw the Noble King of the Arcylian Empire. These rebals are the children of the royal families. The dictator had treated them like slaves. Making even the youngest child work. He made them sleep in cold cramped rooms, with no blankets and no warmth, but their body warmth, but even that didn't help. He fed them meals that wouldn't even satisfy a small animal. They had to escape.
    The dark cloud of night enveloped the forest. The children would be blindly stumbling through pitch black forest, had it not been for the luminescent light radiating from the full moon.
    The youngest of the group, Lucy, stumbled anyway. She was exhausted; they had been traveling for three nights, trying to escape the evil clutches of the Dictator. "Jade, can't we stop for a while?" She whined, her frail voice high pitched and out of breath. "No Lucy, we can't stop until we reach the Emerald Kingdom." Jade told her, her eyes searching for any gaurds.
    Drako looked back at Lucy. Her body was frail and she looked too skinny for her age. She started to lean forward, her blue eyes half way closed. In the blink of an eye, Drako had her on his back. Her curly blonde hair fell over his shoulders. Her deep blue eyes now shut tight. She had fallen into a deep sleep. He could feel her steadily breathing chest moving up and down in a slow rhythmetic motion against his back.
    Blade looked back at them all. His expression changed from stealthy to alert. Jade looked at him and quickly left her position in the back and walked up quietly to him. "What is it?" She whispered to him, searching for an answer in his sparkling silver eyes. Jade thought of her own dull emerald eyes. Blade's eyes were never dull, unless he was tired. They were always full of excitement and adventure. He put his hand up to silence her and to make every one stop. He closed his eyes and quickly smelled the air. A familiar scent wafted into his senses.
    He turned to Jade quickly. "Smell the air." He barked at her. She closed her eyes automatically obeying his order. "Can you distinguish that scent?" He questioned her with a frown on his face. He was obviously frustrated with himself because, He couldn't tell what it was. "It smells like..." Jade started taking a couple more small breaths.
    "Moonglade flowers, which means there's water nearby." She explained to him. "I know what it means!" He snapped at her glaring. She jumped slightly at the harshness of his voice. Blade never got angry at her. They were like brother and sister. His glare dissipated and he looked at her apologetically. "Sorry Jade... I'm just a little irritable from lack of sleep." He told her. Jade looked at him. She quickly noticed that his bright shining eyes had become dim and dull. She frowned, he was obviously exhausted.
    "All right then, let's move onward." Blade told them just loud enough for everyone to hear. Blade started to saunter onward, but Jade quickly placed her hand gently on his shoulder. "Let me be in the lead. You need to take a break." She told him, her soft voice gently flowing into his ears. He turned to look at her. Her expression was soft and caring. I don't think I could trust you with such a huge job... I know how you crack under pressure... He thought to himself. He sighed giving into the thought of her taking the lead. He needed the help and the rest. He nodded to let her take control of the group.
    Jade stepped in front of the group. she counted the heads of the children. Blade, me, Tanner, Drako, Helena, Miranda, Darren, Terra, Allen... We're missing one... Jade thought to herself fear spreading quickly through her body. "Where's Lucy?!" She asked them panicking. She saw Drako turn to his side and Lucy was latched to his back sound asleep.
    Jade smiled. "Okay, let's go." She said turning around and following the scent of Moonglade. She heard the sound of rustling frass and the crunching of leaves on the ground. She then felt a presence beside her on her right.
    "Jade?" She heard Tanner's scared voice begging for her attention. "Yes?" She replied, looking at him from her peripheral sight. "Is Lucy okay?" He asked her, slightly trembling. Hmm, why does he care that much? I thought he said he was in love, with Terra... Jade asked herself. "Yeah she's fine." Jade told him turning to look at him. He sighed in relief. "That's good!" He said smiling. Jade smiled at him from the outside, but on the inside she looked at him suspiciously.
    Darren looked ahead. There was a sudden chill in the air. He didn't mind it since he was used to cold weather. But it's summer... Why is it so cold in the summer? He asked himself. Suddenly the light from the moon disappeared. He looked up and thick black blotches of clouds had slowly crept onto the moon. Covering the bright face of the moon. He could smell rain wafting in the air. The scent covered everything around him, like an invisible mist. He frowned. "I smell rain." He said to Miranda turning to look at her. She had a distant look on her pale face. Her perfectly rounded royal blue eyes were looking to somewhere Darren couldn't see. He looked at her worried. Her long green bangs fell over her face, covering it's natural beauty. She was softly biting her lower lip like she always does when she's nervous or scared.
    Darren put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped then looked at him frightened. "What's wrong Miranda?" He asked her his eyebrows narrowed in cofusion and worry. "I-I... Had... An-another sign..." She explained to him slightly stuttering and her voice trembling. "B-but I don't kn-know what it means..." Miranda's frightened purple gaze pierced Darren's ember eyes, searching for an answer. "What did you see?" He asked her, walking in front of her and grabbing both of her shoulders.
    "I-I saw, a Moonglade flower... And th-there was blood all over it... And then th-there was screaming and blood going everywhere, then I saw a calm pond. Suddenly something fell into the water, and it started to ripple. Soon the ripples were huge wasve, crashing into rocks that jutted out from a shore of an isolated island... Then, pitch black; I felt the air become cold as ice... I could see my breath clearly as the steam rose from the heat of my mouth... There was... Snow... On the ground... Then... I saw a huge shadowy figure... It stood taller than the tallest Redwood tree. It towered over me... Then... Huge sharp teeth engulfed me... Then... Nothing..." She explained to him. As she explained, her eyes became more distant and they looked more horrified.
    "You need to tell Blacde or share it with Jade... Come on." Darren said to her, his expression serious. He grabbed her hand then turned to face the direction of the front where Jade was and pulled Miranda with him.
    He could feel her hand get clammy and feel it still trembling from the shock of the sudden vision. As soon as he walked up to Jade he quickly got her attention. He extended his hand out in front of her eyes. She yelped then jumped and started to fall backwards. She caught herself quickly. "What the heck was that for Darren!?" She yelled at him turning to him to glare.
    "Miranda had a vision." He stated plainly. Jade's expression quickly softened. "What was it sweetie?" Jade asked Miranda turning to her and seeing her horrified face. Miranda didn't say anything. She couldn't, she was still too stunned. Jade sighed and gently placed both her hands on each side of Miranda's forehead. jade's eyes quickly widened. The became completely white.
    Darren waited for Jade to return to herself. She finally closed her eyes and removed her hands from Miranda's head. "Oh dear..." Was all she said. "What?" Darren asked her anxiously. "Um... I'm not really sure what that means... But I think someone is going to die tonight... I have no clue about the ocean and the shadow though..." She replied looking towards the ground.
    Jade called Blade up to the front. She realized that the whole group had stopped. Blade walked over to her. "What?" He asked her still tired. Jade leaned in to his ear and whispered the vision to him, then asked him if they should continue. "Well, it doesn't show any of us dying... Does it?" He asked her looking into her eyes. Jade looked back at him. "I don't think so... But still, it's going to happen at th-" "Don't, let's just go... I'm sure we'll be fine." He told her, giving her a reassuring smile.
    Jade gave him a fake smile back. "Ok, let's go..." She said turning to the direction of the scent again. I don't think this is a good idea though... Jade thought to herself. Well... Blade's right... It didn't show any of us dying... So maybe it wasn't about us... She told herself just to clam down. She still had a huge black cloud of doubt on her.

    The light from the moon finally returned to reveal a big, round pond. Around it were the Moonglade Flowers. They had a long tube like petal that completely opened up at the top. They were a luminescent metallic silver color with a glow of baby blue. The stigma was a yellow color that had a glowing purple and orange outline to it. It has six outside petals. One is in the shape of a crescent moon; it is also metallic silver with an outline of blue. Another is in the shape of a full moon, and it has the same color. The rest of the petals are skinny and go outwards. They are a yello color with purple plka dots, with had orange outlines. Those petals also have a blue outline. The forest green stem of the plant normally has two leaves on it. The whole stem and leaves are covered in poisonous thorns. That's why they are so hard to get and they have many medical uses. They only grow anround water, but when the moon hits them just right, they glow and they are an amazingly beautiful sight.
    Jade smiled when they finally reached the Moonglade Pool that signaled that they where halfway there to the Emerald Kingdom. She heard many sighs of relief. They would set camp here for the night and rest until the afternoon. Then they would continue the journey to the Emerald Kingdom.