The training session with Darion was pretty much the same as the one the day before, with the exception of lots of core training exercises like planks and a heavily weighted club that made it hard for her to balance while swinging it. Long story short, it was the epitome of a fun and jolly time! After finishing the session, she was walking back towards her room when she saw Matt in full armour walking towards the forest. 'Where was he going?' She Wondered. Even during all of the training sessions, Matt was never once wearing full armour. Jasmine was so intrigued by Matt sneaking off that she decided to follow him in lieu of going back to her rooms to prepare for the guests.

With the goal of being as stealthy as possible, Jasmine followed the path towards the castle for as long as possible before Matt disappeared out of view through the tree line and into the forest. She was only wearing a simple black cotton shirt and dark brown leather pants underneath her armour; not exactly appropriate clothing for a walk in the woods during the middle of winter, but this was Matt walking by himself away from the castle. 'He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, would he?'

Making sure that her dagger was still secured at her waist, she branched off from the path in the direction that she saw Matt go. She almost slipped on the way to the forest on a patch of black ice but saved herself by throwing her arms out.

Luckily, she got to the forest with no significant injuries and followed the path that Matt had left behind. Fortunately for her, his footprints were left in the snow, making it easy to see where he went. The tracks followed a primarily straight line along the edge of the forest, turning at some points to traverse around enormous obstacles like trees and boulders until all of a sudden, the path turned at a sharp 90-degree angle. The trail after the turn led into a deeper and more untouched part of the forest directly in the opposite direction of where the castle was. It felt eerie to her. She couldn't explain it, but the darkness she felt was similar to how she felt after her dream, where she sunk into the mud. It was like there was an imaginary force pressing on her from all sides.

It was getting so dark to the point where she could only see a few feet in all directions. The trees were also getting more prominent and the brush thicker. She unconsciously grabbed the hilt of her dagger and settled into a braced walk: the tension coming off her body was probably palpable. She was beginning to get scared when she saw a glow coming from up ahead. The was a clearing with a big hill in the middle and a cave in the middle. She redoubled her efforts at being stealthy and strayed from the main path opting to walk through the brush while surveying the hill.

The hill was covered in dark green moss and pale blue lichen. There were no signs of life, much less Matt. After waiting for a few minutes to make sure that she was alone, she slipped through the edge of the clearing and walked directly towards the cave entrance. The cave's mouth was draped in the same lichen covering the sides, and the floor was completely covered in moss. Every spot she stepped was like her foot was being grabbed by someone's hand. The cave was pitch black after the first few feet, and she could feel the ground starting to slope downwards. She stuck out her hand, the one not on her dagger, and ran it along the wall to keep track of where she was going.

Then she tripped. Actually, it was more like a full-on free fall that was broken by a graceful entrance into a pool of water that any self-respecting diving judge would rate a 10/10. Now soaked and freezing and gasping for breath after being submerged in the cold, biting water, she splashed around desperately trying to grab hold of anything. What she didn't expect was to see a bobcat staring at her from the far side of the shore bordering the pool where she was now swimming with Matt kneeling in front of it.

Matt did one of his signature single eyebrow lift when he turned his head and saw her. "Nice of you to drop in; we were literally just talking about you."

Still gasping for breath, she couldn't formulate any coherent words. She could only make sounds that most likely sounded like a rubber chicken being deflated. Being the ever so lovely prick that Matt was, he sauntered over to the shoreline and instead of helping her out, he grabbed a pebble and flicked it at her forehead. "Come on; you don't need my help. Waters supposed to be your thing." He sounded very enthusiastic while speaking.

Jasmine was struggling to stay afloat, much less swim. She was sinking. Utterly helpless and cold in the bottom of some cave, only God knows where she was being goaded on by a guy that was just a second ago kneeling in front of a wild animal. Despite her circumstances being similar to that of a traveller who ate the wrong mushroom type, she was calm. Again, she felt the cold seep into her bones, but this time she didn't fight the feeling: she embraced it. She let her whole body disappear below the surface of the water and sunk to the bottom of the pool; only she never touched the bottom. She could feel where it was beneath her, but she was hovering just above it like a hummingbird does plants, and weirdly enough, she wasn't even cold anymore.

Bracing, she slammed as much force as she could muster into her legs, intending to spring out in one fluid motion. But, unfortunately, it worked a little too well. She broke the surface like a cannonball and was sent sprawling onto her stomach just past matt and before the bobcat.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"That....was bloody brilliant!" Exclaimed Matt. "Although I've seen newborn calves with more grace than that."

Jasmine got up, anticipating to feel the chill of the air on her soaked clothing but felt nothing. She reached down without looking with one of her hands, already suspecting the answer. She was completely dry. Even her God damned socks were dry. "What just happened?" Jasmine asked, somewhere between furious and bewildered.

"Well, basically, you followed me through a forest and into a dark, scary cave like a creep and then demonstrated your gymnastic prowess to Fluffy and me after falling into a pool of water. Oh, by the way, that's Fluffy."He was pointing to the bobcat that was now licking its hind legs.

"Wait, is that the bobcat I saw the night I met you? No! NO! This is too much. How did you get down here? WHY are you down here? Were you kneeling in front of that bobcat- wait, Fluffly- just now?" 'What is going on?' Jasmine was at a loss for words, but this whole situation brought on a strong sense of deja vu.

"Do you want me to answer those in order or...?" Matt asked.

"No- just- Tell me what's going on right now. Please." Jasmine commanded.

Matt took a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking. "How do I put this shortly? Have you ever heard of the 6 God-Beasts?" He paused to wait for a nod of affirmation from Jasmine before continuing."Fluffy over here is one of those guys, and he kind of owns you now. All of these God-Beasts have an apprentice of sorts that they mentor and later lead them to inherit their powers. These pupils are called Shadows. Have you seen the tattoo on my back? I have that tattoo because I am a Shadow to the dragon God beast, Uthyr." He finished.

'She was a Shadow?' "So you're telling me that I'm some apprentice to a magical beast? Someone pinch me."

"My pleasure!" Matt reached out to pinch Jasmine, but Jasmine smacked his hand away.

"That was rhetorical, you prick!"

Jasmine was about to release hell on Matt, but Fluffy, the bobcat, moved in between the two and growled. The growl made the ground quake.

"That means he's hungry," Matt called out from behind him.

'Don't mind him. That's just how he always acts. Matt calls me Fluffy, but my true name is Phestos. I would love to explain more about myself, but there is something important that I think you would want to know. Right now, you and Matt need to leave this place. Not just this cave; the country. Right now, the castle is being sieged from the inside. The delegation that your father invited has ambushed the royal family.' Fluffy spoke directly to her mind in an ominous hoarse voice.

"What do you mean the castle is being overthrown? What happened to the knights and my family?" Jasmine questioned.

'I cannot say. They could've escaped as you have or perished in the ambush, but that's not important right now. You need to leave. Now. Matt will go with you. Go to the homeland of your mother; they will protect you, and no, you cannot go back to the castle for any reason. If you do, you will die.' He finished by sitting back on his hind legs.

Was the castle being attacked? No, that couldn't be possible; the war was over. Jasmine laughed off the idea mentally. It couldn't possibly be true. Some animal speaking to her mind? Impossible. She took a couple of breaths and then went searching for an exit from the god-forsaken cave.

"What are you doing?" She heard Matt call from somewhere behind her.

"Leaving." Before Matt could say more, she found a tunnel that looked like it led upwards towards the surface and dashed as fast as possible. The floor was slick black rock, so her speed was hindered. There were brackets on the wall that looked like they were made to house torches, so she grabbed them and yanked herself forward wherever she could. After about 5 minutes of running, she breached the surface through an exit on the opposite side that she entered. She could hear Matt calling out behind her as she went, but it didn't matter; she needed to see her family.

She sprinted through the brush, her skin getting shredded by the branches while she moved in the direction of the castle. She could feel the warm sensation of blood seeping from the fresh cuts and the brisk air biting at her eyes. Her vision was starting to get blurry from the tears forming, but she was beginning to hear sounds from the castle: people were screaming. The sounds of Matt running behind her were also getting closer, but he wouldn't be able to catch up. Then, finally, she could see the treeline glowing in front of her. That's when Helen jumped out of the bush beside her and knocked her to the ground.

They were both sent tumbling into some small type of shrub getting pine needles and dirt on them as they rolled, followed by them both muttering some expletives.

"What the hell!" Jasmine groaned out. She could see someone else behind Helen. Was that Matt?

"My lady, the castle is under attack! You must not go back there!" The man behind Helen finally came close enough for Jasmine to see him; it was the knight that knew her uncle, Sir Sven Sorrensonn. Matt was also coming into view.

Jasmine's head was spinning. She must have hit it on the fall. She couldn't process all the things going on. "Hey, can you see those stars around her head too?" Her voice was slurred.

"My Lady!" was the last thing she heard before she passed out.

Matt

He saw her get tackled by that maid of hers, Helen, tackle her into the brush pile as he was running. He slowed down as he approached Jasmine and Helen, who were currently tumbling on the ground, and saw the knight he sparred with yesterday, Sir Sven. He must have been following Helen into the forest. Matt was about to question the knight when he heard Helen yell Jasmine's name.

Jas was passed out on the ground, her body limp, and Helen was shaking her. "What did you do?" Matt growled out.

Helen whipped her head around, noticing Matt's presence. "She just passed out! I tried to slow her down, but we got knocked over when she crashed into me. Sir Sven and I were trying to find Jasmine. But, wait, what are you doing here?" Helen retorted.

"Maybe not the most important thing right now, yeah? Jasmine and I need to leave so are you coming with us? Sven, you can come too; the more, the merrier." He added.

"What do you mean you need to leave? Where are you going?" Helen asked inquisitively.

"Would you be mad if I said it was a surprise?" Matt asked joyfully.