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It was one of those dark and creepy nights in the woods. John had been hunting in the woods for his mother, brother and sister. John lived at home with them because he was only 17.
He had gone in to the mountains and had been tracking a deer that had a broken leg. He had trekked deep into the foot hills for three days now. How can she still be with the group with her lame foot? Thought John. He was tracking them when he saw a random light come on in the middle of the mountains. As he stealthily crept closer to the source of light, he saw these dark figures on the top of the house that look like statues from some horror book he read.
He was thinking of a way to get to the light without being caught, killed, or dieing of hunger. As it was he was running low on food. All he had left was a loaf and a half of bread and stew. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud roar, and he noticed that the figures on the roof were gone. He looked up to the remaining fading light and noticed two giant figures flying in the sky. A sudden chill went through his body as he looked at them and another shrill roar burst into the night. All he knew was that they were not just your average bird you’d find in the mountains.
ONE
Through a wall of music, Princess Iynami heard the roars and she knew that they griffins were out to hunt in the woods. She heard a light tap on her door and said come in; it was only her best friend in the whole wide world, Emit.
They had known each other for the longest time. Emit had started to come see her when they first met in the woods. He had been out hunting in the woods and he stumbles upon her castle. He went back to his dorm in a near by boarding school. He went there because his parents didn’t want him around at home and plus, they had a lot of money. He was about 16 and Princess Iynami was 17.
“So, what brings you here? I thought you went back to your home in the mountains?” she asked giggling, with the music still blaring through the headphones. Princess Iynami was wearing a black fringy dress with about twenty rips in the front of the upper torso of the dress. Her parents were King Galbatorix and Queen Somaya. “I started to go but I forgot to tell you, my boarding school is having a dance on Friday. I figured you’d like to know before hand. Just in case you’d like to go.” Iynami looked at him like ‘are you asking me on a date?’ kind of face but he didn’t see it. The thing is, that Princess Iynami liked Emit, and Emit like her. But either one didn’t know if the other felt the same. “Cool. I’ll think about it and talk to my parents about it when I get a chance.” With that last remark, she put her headphones on and blasted the music even higher. Emit took this as a cue for him to go.
So, as he passed the throne room, he popped his head in to see if the King and Queen were around and lucky for him, they were. They were sitting in the throne room playing a game of chess. As he approached, he bowed and said, “King Galbatorix; Queen Somaya.” They looked up to see him standing there and said hi and to come forward. As he did, he said, “King, Queen, my boarding school is having a dance on Friday and I would like to let you know about it. I plan to ask princess Iynami to go, but she has yet to decide whether or not to go in the first place. Do you know if she would?” They looked at him and then at each other and said together, “We do not keep track of what our daughter does in her spare time, but we will find out if she is planning to go.” Then he bowed and left the room.
TWO
John looked around to see which way was the easiest to get to the light. When he found a good path to follow, he made sure that the two giant birds couldn’t find him.
It took him about an hour to get close enough to see what the source of the light was. It was a castle. He stood there for a few minutes just pondering whether or not to approach the castle when a twig behind him snapped with the eerie silence that followed. He froze with fright and slowly gripped his sword ever tighter. He slowly spun around to face whatever snapped the twig. He looked strait ahead and then he heard another twig snap in the other direction. This time he spun around to face the thing he was hoping not to meet; the 30 foot griffin from the top of the castle. Apparently the griffins saw him while he was following the path, abandoning the lame deer.
After staring at the griffin for three minutes, a second one appeared to his left. At this point he was ready to crap his pants. As he looked at the two griffins, he noticed that the one that was to his left was smaller than the one in front of him. By the look of it, the one to my left is a female. And the one in front of me is the male. He thought. He gulped and made no move to either escape or to challenge the griffins.
As princess Iynami watched Emit cross the small clearing that separated the castle and the woods, and the boarding school; she took out the picture of Emit and sighed. It was the only picture of him she had. He had given it to her when he had the year book pictures taken and he gave one to her. Even though her feelings for him were deep, she didn’t know if her parents liked him or approved of him coming to see her every day. As she was lost in her thoughts if him, her father knocked on the door and she scrambled to put it back just as he was coming in. “Hello daughter. How are you?” he asked while seating himself on her bed. “I’m fine father. What brings you here?” she replied with and uneasy feeling. “I came to see what you were doing. I see you’re listening to music and playing video games.” She nodded in a response. There was a small silence until her father said, “Princess Iynami, Emit told your mother and me about the dance at his boarding school.” He paused to take a breath then continued, “And your mother and I think it would be a wonderful idea for you to go.” She turned to look at him when she saw the griffins coming back, but they had someone coming in between them.
John was slowly counting the minutes as they went by as nobody moved. Finally, the female griffin walked and sat down in front of him, curious as to what he would do. He flinched but regained his composure as quickly as he lost it. The female griffin tossed her head toward the male and, catching John off guard, she said, “He didn’t run like the last one.” The male snorted in agreement and took his eyes off John for a minute to look at her, and sighed. He turned his gaze back to John and made a low grumbling sound in the back of his throat.
John was caught off guard that the griffin could talk. He didn’t think they still existed and could talk at all. Even though he never saw one, he still knew the legends of them. After a few minutes, the female looked at him and said, “Come. We will not eat you, but we will take you with us. Keep pace and you will not fall behind and be a snack for what lays in this forest at night.” The two griffins took their places in front and behind him. The female guided them out of the forest starting across the vast area of the clearing.
THREE
Instead of replying to her fathers’ comment, she only said, “Samoa and Simiyon are coming and they have someone with them.” Her father looked out the window and frowned. Not that many people find their way to the castle. Many of them turned and ran at the sight of the griffins. He rose and told princess Iynami to change into her better dress and to come downstairs before the griffins and their captive arrived. As soon as he was out of her room, she obeyed his order and put on this frilly pink and black dress with her heeled, laced up boots and started down the stairs to the Grand Hall.
John wondered who was living in a castle in the middle of the mountains with two griffins as pets. When there were three leagues away from the castle, the female stopped and turned around to look at him. She said in her unnatural voice, “There are things you must know if you don’t want to be be-headed and fed to us.” He gulped at the thought and remained quiet, indicating she could continue. “One: speak when addressed. You will know when you are being talked to. Two: do not speak out of turn. Three: bow before and after you talk with our masters. Four: speak in complete sentences. Five: do not make comments. Keep them to your self. And Six: look at the person talking at ALL TIMES.”
With that, she turned and they continued their small group and made it to the castle. John had never seen a castle in his life and now, for the first time, he was scared because he had never imagined any still existed. The ones he saw were from some far off place in books or videos he saw in school and they were all broken and falling apart and the earth was slowly reclaiming them.
When they arrived at the castle, the gates to the courtyard were already open and someone waiting for them to take John into the Grand Hall. The griffins and the man exchanged a few words then they went off to hunt again. The man motioned for John to follow him. As they went through the double doors, John marveled at the great details that went into decorating and the beautiful designs. At the end of the long hallway, there were three different rooms branching off. The man, John assumed was the butler, led them into the corridor on their first right and into the Grand Hall. There he stopped to see if John had followed. When John entered the Grand Hall, he looked around and was astounded at all the beautiful tapestries and stained-glass windows. One window caught his attention: it was a girl. She was wearing a beautiful dress and was surrounded by Lilies of the Valley. Once he turned his gaze back to the butler, he noticed three people besides the butler and him: a girl who looked to be about 17; a woman who appeared pleasant and thoughtful and lastly the man, who he presumed to be the one who owned this castle.

As princess Iynami waited patiently for the newcomer to finally realize that they were there, she carefully looked him over, soaking in all the new and odd details about him. He wore black jeans, a checked hoodie, white t-shirt, and flat sneakers. She tried hard not to blush when he did see them standing there. Also as she watched him when he was looking over the room, that he looked strait at the stained-glass window of her self. Thank goodness Samoa and Simiyon hadn’t eaten him or she wouldn’t be meeting him.
He remembered his “discussion” with the female griffin and realized that these people must be her masters. He bowed low and respectfully. When he stopped bowing, he saw that the two women were curtseying and the man was bowing himself. After they had returned to normal, the man addressed the man beside John saying, “Thank you for bringing our newfound guest to the Grand Hall. You may tell them to prepare the usual with one more plate and chair.” Then, as the man left, he turned his attention to John. “Well, I see you have managed to survive our griffins’ young man.” John realized he was being talked to, and replied, “Thank you, sir.” Then, the man asked, “What is your name, age, what were you doing here, and where did you come from.”
John answered, “My name is John, I came from a village to the west, and I was hunting for my family. As for my age, I am 17.”
Iynami was shocked at his age. He seemed older than that. Maybe 18 or 19, but not 17. He’s the same age! She thought, with a pounding heart. The queen was also shocked to see a boy the same age as her daughter.
John had the feeling he said or did something wrong when the man started to pace back and forth thinking for five long minutes, John thought. Finally he stopped and said, “I have pondered all that you have said,” pausing for effect, but continued, “and right now, I think I will spare you.” He looked around and he had a feeling he forgot something, then a small realization came to him; he had not introduced him self and his family to the newcomer. In a louder voice the man said, “Please forgive me John; I have not shown the courtesy that you have showed us. I have forgotten to introduce myself and my family.” He took a long breath and raised a hand and gestured saying, “This is my wife, Queen Somaya.” She curtseyed and he continued, “This is my daughter, Princess Iynami.” She made a low curtsey, and he finished off saying, “And I am King Galbatorix.”
Wow, thought John. I’m in the presence of royalty! He thought. Then the queen said, “Would you care to join us for a delightful dinner? We would love for you to stay.” Apparently, noticing the look on his face, Iynami chimed in, with her beautiful voice, “Do not worry. We wish you no harm. It would bring me pleasure to get to know you better.” Noticing a look from her parents, she added in, “For our benefit or if anything unfortunate happens, we may honor you if you should fall.”
John blushed slightly, hoping that they didn’t noticed, and thought about the offer and made a look, and apparently he was not aware of it, and after hearing her input, he chose his words carefully and replied, “I would be honored to dine with the King, Queen, and Princess on this fine evening.” Or I hope it’s evening, he thought to him self. The Princess grinned and the Queen clapped her hands and said, in a delighted voice, “Wonderful!”
FOUR
After another clap from the king, servants poured in to set the table that John had not seen earlier. One servant was carrying another chair and he guessed it was intended for him, if he accepted; in which he did.
The king clapped again and more servants had come to bring the food and drink. When they had finished, he said and motioned for John to follow, “Welcome to our feast. We hope it is to your liking. We had the cook prepare the finest. Please, seat yourself.” He was unsure of which chair to sit in, (there were two chairs at the head and the end of the table and then two on either side of the table) the princess sat on the right side of the table so he guessed that the other chair was his.
After the king had made a toast, in his honor, as a guest, he told them to go ahead and eat. He looked at the table, unsure of what to try first, Iynami suggested he should try the salad, or anything that looks appealing or appetizing to him. He nodded in thanks and turned to her mother asking, “If you do not mind me asking, what is in the food?” She looked at him and said she did not mind and recited the ingredients. He thanked her and turned back to the meal. At least there is nothing that might kill me. He told himself. He thought about the suggestions Iynami made and he chose the salad.
After the hearty meal, the queen asked, “John, what is it like in your village? We have never been out side our valley in 40 years. Have things changed, like the housing, the way people react to you and is it nice to be with other people?” John knew that she wasn’t being nosey, but he realized that in 40 years, a lot of things can change. He thought for a moment before responding and finally said, “To start with, the people in my village are nice people but if someone is mad, everyone will get out of their way, as not to cause any trouble. The village its self is good size. The houses are nothing compared to your castle. Some people could not afford anything like this. Most of the time, being around people is a good thing because then you don’t have to be alone, scared, or unhappy. Most of the people that know me for who I am are very nice. They talk and do things with me like, go trading, to work, or they already have families and children of their own.”
As Iynami listened to what he was saying, and she imagined herself as a village girl. Her thoughts were interrupted when she had a question, and voiced it, “John, what are the other girls like?” He couldn’t blame her for asking because there weren’t any around here. He chose his words carefully and said, “Well, the girls are not as pretty as the women in this room. They think they are popular and can boss other people around.” As she thought about it more, the village life would not suit her.
Her father clapped his hands and servants came to clean the table and he said to John, “Do you mind staying in our guest room for the night? We would not let our guest sleep outside where the animals would get him.” John accepted, and the king clapped his hand twice and the butler appeared and asked him to take John to his room. He nodded and John said, “Thank you and good night King Galbatorix, Queen Somaya, and Princess Iynami.” He smiled when she blushed, when he said her name and left to follow the butler.
FIVE
John surveyed the room he was given. It was a medium sized room with a queen sized bed, with a canopy, a dresser in the lower right corner to the left with a mirror on the wall above. There was a bathroom connected, with a full shower/bath, a mirror, towels, a sink and a toilet. There was also a small desk next to the dresser, a nightstand on one side of the bed, complete with a lamp, and a window in front when you first walk in, you see it. The walls were a cream color with a slight design that faded over time, and the carpets were a lavender color that he thought was perfect for the room.
He had taken his jacket off and put it in the edge of the bed. He sat next to it thinking, when he heard a light tap on the door. A small girls’ voice asking, “John, can I come in?” He got up and went to the door and beckoned her in. As she walked in, he noticed she changed into a light dress that was a little darker than the carpet in his room. She walked to the window and slowly turned around to look at him, and in quiet voice, “Would you like to take a walk with me to my garden?” he looked at her with surprise and accepted her invitation and grabbed his jacket and she grabbed his hand because he didn’t know his way around the castle. At the bottom of the stairwell, she lit a candle that would light their way to the door.
As they went outside, he immediately noticed how cold it got. To his right, Iynami grabbed his right arm, afraid to get separated, and she was cold so he took off his jacket and gave it to her. She looked at him quizzically and told her that when she touched him, she felt cold and offered her his jacket to keep her warm. When she understood, he offered again and this time she put it on with a thankful look. After she put it on, she took his hand and interlaced their fingers and she guided him to her garden. The garden had flowers he didn’t even know would grow in the woods.
She guided him to a smaller, littler section and bent down to fix some dirt around a few plants. When she was done, they resumed their walk under the stars. He looked up to see most of the constellations out. He counted six, while he was doing that, Iynami looked around and sighed. She was getting tiered and she put her head on his shoulder and they made their way back to the castle and up to his room. She thanked him for going with her and gave him back his jacket and a hug, then left to go to her room and ponder their walk.
SIX
The butler knocked lightly, waking John up, and asked if he would join his master and family for a hearty breakfast. He said he would and the butler left him to shower and change. (The king had cloths made for him) Once he was done, he made his way to the Grand Hall for breakfast and bowed to his hosts and said, “Good morning King Galbatorix, Princess Iynami, and Queen Somaya.” They nodded in response.
The servants came pouring into the hall with plates and dishes full of wonderful looking food. As he watched, he saw food that he was used to and foods he didn’t know. He saw waffles, pancakes, sunny-side up eggs and bacon with hash browns, a few crepes, and some others. John started with the crepes and some oj.
Princess Iynami had gotten up a little bit earlier to get dressed and fix her hair and make up. She chose a pink dress with a gold arrow embroidered in the front of the dress going down the back. She chose to wear a light pink pair of goth boots. She put her hair into two curly pig-tails. She parted her bangs with most of them to her left. After, she put a red flower in her hair with a bow attached and put on a red choke-necklace.
She asked her father to pass the waffles and some milk. She thanked him and started to cut the waffle into little pieces in a dignified and the proper manner. As he ate, the queen asked, “How was your night? Were the accommodations up to your liking?” He swallowed his food and replied, “They were wonderful. Thank you for your hospitality.” The king smiled and a deep booming laugh rolled off his flourished pink lips.
John sat nervously as he watched the family eat and laugh together. He felt out of place; not by how he looked, just how he acted and he felt like he was on one side of a mirror looking in on somebody else’s’ life. Like he was a spectator watching a play or a doctor messing up an order. His thoughts were interrupted when the king asked, “Are you ok? You look a little pale.” He came back to reality in time to hear the question and replied, “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for asking. I was lost in my thoughts.” He laughed that booming laugh again and smiled.
After he finished eating, the servants cleared the table and John wondered what he would do now. Would he be sent home, or would he be held as a captive? He walked around the throne room thinking and stopped to look at the stained-glass window of Princess Iynami again. As he pondered its brilliant beauty, Iynami slowly and silently, like a ninja, went to John’s left side and stayed quiet.
He looked to his left and saw her standing there and he bowed and said, “Princess Iynami.” She slowly turned towards him and said, “Would you like a tour of the castle and the courtyard?” He stood there, thinking and she awaited his response. After a few seconds, he agreed to her invitation. They started off for the courtyard first.
SEVEN
Emit
They arrived at the gate he had come thru when he was with the griffins. He followed her to the garden and to the clearing. As they kept walking around, Iynami noticed a figure coming their way. As the figure got closer, her heart skipped a beat and started pounding. It was Emit. She caught up with John, who had some how gotten off course, was looking at something. John went over to a particular spot of yard. He bent down to examine, what appeared to be some kind mushroom. He was no aware of the approaching figure, looming closer every second.
Emit was coming through the woods that separated the boarding school and Princess Iynami’s castle. As soon as he cleared the woods, he saw two figures out side in the courtyard. One he could guess was Iynami, but the other figure, he couldn’t guess who it was. As he loomed closer, he could tell it wasn’t another girl. When he got close enough to see the details, he got frustrated that there was another boy with her. Even HE knew that most of the people who came through the woods hunting, often fled at the sight of the griffins. He noticed the boy was wearing clothing that didn’t match his appearance; hair, or shape. He tried not to look unhappy when he approached Princess Iynami or the other boy.
He cleared his throat and Princess Iynami turned around and John stood up and looked at the boy. Emit bowed, Iynami curtseyed, and John bowed in return, and Emit said, “Princess Iynami. Sir.” He said sir because he didn’t know my name. Thought John. Princess Iynami stood up strait and in a proud voice, hiding her shocked, worried and feeling for Emit and the same for John. She was in love with both but tried to hide it as she said, “Hello Emit. Emit, this,” gesturing with her right arm, “is John.” She gestured at Emit, “John, this is Emit. He’s my best friend, not to mention my only friend besides you.” Her stomach had been tossing and turning from the minute he arrived. She grew ever nervous as the minutes passed as the boys surveyed each other. After a few minutes, John said, “Princess Iynami, if you do not mind, I would like to go back to my room for a while.” She looked at John and said it was fine with her and he left her to converse with Emit.
Once John was out of ear shot, Emit said in a bitter tone, “When did he come?” “For your I.N.F.O.R.M.A.T.I.O.N! He came with Samoa and Simiyon! As to when he came, that is none of YOUR business!” She said with her temper flaring, and stormed off to cool off and find John.
Iynami stopped in her tracks as she passed Johns’ room and heard something peculiar. As she stood there, she heard him talking to himself. And then quiet down and sigh to him self and punch a pillow so he wouldn’t mess up the room he was given by the king and queen. Iynami sighed herself quietly and a tear ran down her cheek. She understood his pain. She was highly upset with Emit. She passed on to her room to change.
As she was going in the door to her room, she was thinking about how Emit had been such a stupid person and he couldn’t respect her enough to be nice to another boy. She knew the real reason of his behavior; he was jealous that she made another friend and the fact that it was another boy. She also knew that he was afraid that if he moved into her life, he would lose his only friend. That was a risk she was willing to take. She walked over to her bed and sat down and rubbed her forehead. She walked over to her dresser and took out a pair of blue long jeans, a white t with slight sleeves, and a girl’s grey over vest. After she went to her closet and took out her favorite pair of sneakers. They were the grey DC’s. She changed and sat on her bed, just wondering what to do now.
John went strait to his room to cool off. He couldn’t believe that the other boy had been so rude! Granted he grew up with his mother, sister and his brother, and he was taught manners, polite conversation rules, how to eat, talk, and dress properly. That boy had no manners at all. He sighed and punched a pillow; not wanting to ruin the beautiful room the king and queen had given him during his stay. He sat there stressed and mad and upset, all at the same time. He put his head between his hands and looked at the floor.
For a full 12 minutes, John just sat there until he heard a knock on his door. He got up and got the door, surprised to see Princess Iynami. He stood there, shocked and awed. Shocked because he thought a princess was supposed to stay in dresses and not in jeans and a complete outfit with sneakers. He was awed because, she had taken time out of her day to see him. That made him happy. Snapping back into reality, he opened the door farther to let her in, bowed and said, “Princess Iynami. It is a pleasure to see you again.” She smiled the prettiest smile he had ever seen her have, with eyes twinkling. She walked over to him and gave him a hug, and whispered, “Thank you for being polite to Emit.” And gave him a kiss on the cheek, and stood up strait, smiled again and laughed. She strode to the window and looked across the clearing. She suddenly turned and asked, “Do you hate Emit?” He looked at her and shook his head. He didn’t want to open his mouth and say something stupid or what he was thinking. She went up to him and looked him in the eye and asked him even more seriously, “Do you really hate Emit?” He stood there, looking at her and choosing his words very carefully, he said, “In truth, no. I don’t like him. I know what he asked you. It was obvious that he was going to ask you why, and when I got here. Please, do not think I am rude like him, but he could do well with some manners.” When he finished, she was apparently satisfied with his answer walked to the door and asked, “Have you ever played Call of Duty 4 before?” He looked at her, thankful for the change of subject, but was confused as to what a Call of Duty 4 was. She saw his look and said, “Come on. I’ll show you.”
As Iynami led him out of his room, she told him that even though they are in the middle of the woods, they still had power for the things like video games and for the lights and so on and so forth. As they neared her room, Iynami heard someone in her room. Her parents never went in her room unless she was there and if they wanted to talk. She walked up and opened the door to see Emit sitting at her desk, looking at the ceiling, just waiting for her to come.
“Emit, what are you doing in my room, and without permission I might add?” asked Princess Iynami in an annoyed tone. “I came to see if I could ask you a private question and of course I see that won’t happen.” He said shooting a look ant John. “So I’ll come back later.” He bowed and left the room without a second glance.
“I’m sorry you had to be here when he is in a real mood. I’ll have to talk to him about his manners and how he presents himself later. I know where to find him.” said Iynami. She walked over to the entertainment system that was aligned parallel to the bed. She opened the wooden panels to reveal a television set, a weird box-shaped ting and two controllers. There was a stack of cases on the other side of the box. She took the two controllers out and put them on the bed. Next she bent down and turned the system on and the TV popped to life with a giant X across the screen. A minute or two later, the screen changed to a profile.
John sat on the bed and waited for Iynami to find the right disc and put it in the system before turning on the controllers and sitting on the bed next to John. “Ok. Call of Duty 4 is a video game. It’s more of a war game with all the blood and gore attached. There’s also a story line with it but we’re going to do multiplayer.” She said and handed John the controller with the second light lit. “For the first part, I’ll sign you in as Emit. You can choose if you want to be a good guy or the bad guy. After you choose what side you’re going to be on, you choose what gun would be better for the map that I chose. The map was a breifly small map, where you can find each other easily and it also makes that you can anticipate your opponents hiding places and where they would respawn.” Iynami explained. John sat there and soaked everything she was saying about the game. When she said ‘respawn’ he had no idea what that was. “Umm…, Iynami, what is ‘respawning’ exactly?” asked John. “Respawning is when, after your opponent shoots you and you ,” she did air quotes, “die in the game, there is a number that tells you how much time there is before you appear in another part of the map.” She finished.
It took John an hour before he finally understood how to play and the rules. At first Iynami gave him some slack and let him kill her a few times before he got the hang of the game. Once he was good enough that he could stand well on his own, she started to make it challenging for him and choosing some of the larger maps. Five out of then times, John was able to kill Iynami with a sniper in a building while she was running and looking in the streets for him. She kept laughing at him because he was getting better and better by the hour that they played.
When the hour became eleven, they called it quits. “It’s almost midnight and we need our rest for tomorrow. That is, if your still willing to give me a tour of the castle.” He said. “I’d still give you the rest of the tour of the castle if you’d like. I’ll take you after we eat breakfast or later after I kick your butt in Call of Duty 4? Your choice.” She said in a teasing voice. “I think I’ll take the offer with the choice of after breakfast. I think it would be pretty depressing after getting by but kicked in a game that early in the day for this. Ok? I’ll see you tomorrow. Night.” John said as he walked out her door, bowing and heading to his room.
Princess Iynami put the xbox away and started to clean up and she thought about the days events. How Emit was a total jerk to John when he first met him and how he did things like going into her room without permission. These things had to change while John was around. She changed her shoes and put on dark clothes and took a flashlight and a lantern with her and headed outside towards the boarding school.
Iynami whistled and one of the two griffins came to her. She lit the lantern and said, “Simiyon, I need to get to the boarding school. Can you take me?” The griffin nodded and bent down low so she could climb on his back and sit in the small of his back. As he took off, she made sure to tell him the directions and not to lose the lantern as he was flying.
A few minutes later, Simiyon landed inside the fence that was supposed to keep the kids from wandering into the woods but that didn’t work too well if Emit could visit her. She hopped of the griffin and told him to hide in the woods or to go back to the castle. “My lady, when do you plan to be back by? If you are this far from the castle, and you are in danger, I would not be able to come to your aid in time.” He said. “Then you may stay in the woods near by, this way you don’t have to worry about it. And in the meantime you can hunt if you’d like.” Responded the princess as she started to climb the uneven wall of the boarding school to the level that Emit was on.
She had only done this twice before and both times she had made it to the third level safely. The only problem was getting him to open the window without letting the other guys knowing she was there.
She made it to the window of the dorm room Emit shared with two other guys. Lucky for her, the other two guys were asleep already and Emit was looking outside his window; in the direction of her house. He, of course, didn’t know she was just under him and opened the window, like he was going to go down and see her, but something told him not to and leave the window open. He looked around but went to get his stuff and when he turned around, Princess Iynami was standing in front of the window. Looking at him.
“Princess Iynami…..” he said in a quiet voice and bowed, careful not to wake the others. “What are you doing here? I thought you were mad at me?” he finished. “I was and I am. We need to improve on your manners Emit. I don’t like them. They can be rude and mean.” She said in a low but firm voice. “Fine, come with me and we can do what you want.” He said in a snotty and annoyed voice and walked out of the room. Princess Iynami rolled her eyes but followed him out the door.
He lad her to one of the empty dorm rooms and he locked the door from the inside of the door so nobody could bother them. He sat on one of the beds and Iynami sat next to him. They just sat there like that for a few minutes and did nothing. Iynami was thinking how best to start off with the manners training. Emit sat there wondering something and he sighed and decided he’d go for it.
Emit turned to Iynami and, in one swift moment, kissed her on the lips. She couldn’t believe it. He actually got a kiss out of her when she wasn’t paying attention and she let her guard down. A minute or two passed before she snapped back to reality and hit Emit so hard, he fell over and she burst into laughter. Unable to contain herself. Emit was sitting on his butt and holding his elbow, his funny bone hit the cement, and had a hurt look on his face.
He picked himself up and walked over to Iynami, who was still laughing but not as hard, and in a sturdy, but hurt voice, he said, “Get the HELL out of this boarding school and just leave.” Iynami stopped laughing instantly. She looked at Emit and rushed out of the room and walked to the window in Emit’s dorm room, and swung her legs over the side. She whistled and a bid figure with wings popped into the sky. She looked back over her shoulder to see Emit standing two feet from her and she said, “I was going to go to the dace this place was having, but now, I think that’s out of the picture. Now you choose if your going to be on the good guy side or the bad guy side.” With that last comment, she launched herself off the rest of the window and onto the griffin, leaving Emit standing there. Speechless.
Eight
After Iynami launched herself from his window, he was left standing there, speechless. He couldn’t believe what just happened. At first she came to teach him manners, then he surprise kissed her, then she hit him hard, so that he hit the floor, then he told her to get out and at the end of all this, he was rejected to the dance. Worst of all, he now looks like an a*****e and he has to choose if he wants to be the guy in her life or be the bad guy and screw everything up even more! He couldn’t take it. The hurt and guilt he felt, was eating him and as he looked out at the moon, a tear ran down his face and onto the window frame where Iynami was been just seconds ago. This might even be the last time I ever see or talk to her! Ever! He realized. Not good, not good at all for him. He had to do something, but what. He didn’t know what to give her, how to write a poem or do any of that mushy stuff with girls. He’d have to ask one of the guys or one of his male young teachers that are in the school. But that would have to wait ‘til tomorrow.
As soon as Simiyon hit the ground, Iynami jumped off and gunned it into the castle. She was heading towards her room but stopped at John’s instead. She saw that his light was still on in his room and knocked on his door. Before he opened the door, she tried to wipe the tear stains off her face but it didn’t help because new and fresher tears came flooding out.
When John saw how bad she was crying, he invited her in, took her hoodie, and brought her over to his bed and he had her sit on his lap and comforted her by letting him cry into his shoulder and cry until there was nothing left to cry. It was about one-thirty in the morning by the time she let it all out. When she whipped her eyes, she saw she was close in his embrace and she moved a little to get comfortable, and woke John up.
He sat her ho his lap, in a better position and took some of the Kleenex that was on the nightstand next to the bed and began to clean her makeup off and talk to her. Once she was calm and her head didn’t hurt as much, he swung his legs onto the bed and pulled the covers down and told Iynami to sit next to him and tell him what happened.
At the mention of the kiss and what he said to her mad him mad, but he didn’t show it or say anything because she was close to tears again and he didn’t want that. It was a half hour before she finished the episode between her and Emit. How she rejected his offer to the dance his school was hosting, and what she said to him made him feel a little better and he gave her a hug and she was cold, he realized. He brought her closer to him and told her she could spend the night here so she wont feel alone or so she wont think about what happened. She smiled, gave him a hug and turned the light off. He laid down and Iynami snuggled closer to John and just like that, they both fell asleep.
By morning, the birds were already out and singing and the sound of Iynami’s father’s voice in the hall, woke them and Iynami looked at the clock: 7:30. She gasped at the time and aroused John. He was, of course bleary-eyed, but awake and wondering what happened. “John! John, look what time it is!” said Iynami in a very urgent whisper. He looked at his watch and looked at Iynami. Then it hit him. They missed breakfast. Not good. Then, just outside John’s door, Iynami’s father was ready to knock on the door, and they literally froze where they were. Terrified of what might happen to the other if her father was to come in and see them all bed ridden and sloppy and worse of all, together, alone in John’s bedroom. Before he opened the door, a female’s voice said, “Oh dear, leave him be. He is still tired. Come with me and give me a hand with the stuff.” He sighed and followed his wife down the hall and into one of the rooms.
Iynami and John relaxed and sighed. They were safe for now at least. “I had better get to my room and get ready before they fly off the handle with questions of where I was. You had better do the same.” said Iynami. She opened the door and stopped, turned around and gave John one last hug before going off. He smiled as he watched her go down the hall. Once she was out of sight, he closed the door and went for the shower and changed. When he was ready to go find the cook and ask if he could eat, he was surprised to find that Iynami had the same idea. Before he sat down, he bowed and said, “Princess Iynami. Good morning.” She couldn’t help but smile at his comment. She turned to the cook and asked, “Do you mind giving John something to eat?” The cooks said it wasn’t a problem and one minute later another plate of steaming eggs, bacon, toast and a little bit of home-style fries was ready for John.