~Zinniah~

I woke up to some rustling and yelling. It was distant, but you could still hear the echoes of the yells.

"I smell them. They're close by!" A man yells.

"We'll get them this time. We won't let them get away from us that easily!" I hear a woman yell.

"Come on, this way, they're scent is stronger near the lake!" After I heard that one I rose from my sleepy state, looked around and saw Amoerlli laying next to me, dead asleep. I started to shake her.

"Amorelli, wake up they're coming!" I whisper yelled and she just groaned and turned over. I then went to the lake and scooped some water in my hands. I went back over to her and splashed the water on her face. Knowing it was cold, she would wake right up. And that she did.

"What the-" I covered her mouth and made her listen to the yelling.

"I think I see them!" Yells a man. Her eyes go wide and we start whispering.

"What should we do?" She asks.

"I guess I have to shift now." She nodded and I turned into a hyppogriff. She got onto my back after a few seconds and we flew away. We could still hear them yelling though.

"There they are!" A girl yells and points to the sky.

"Don't you dare let them get away!" The man yells. They then shift into wolves and start running after us.

"Z, we have to go faster. Please what animal is faster than this?" She asked me and I thought for a minute or two but still ended up with nothing. I gave an exasperated noise and she pets my ears.

"It's okay. We'll think of something." Amorelli said comfortingly. We continued to fly for a while. However, five minutes into flying we had lost the rogues. Amorelli smiled and patted my back. After about an hour or two we stopped at a place called "Issyk Kul." It was a beautiful lake by the looks of it, and very large too.

"Alright, Zinniah, we can rest here for a while." After she said that I made my way down to the shore and when I landed Amorelli got off my back and I shifted back into human form and fell to the ground. Amorelli looked like she was worried but when she heard my groans she knew I was just exhausted.

"Water!" I started crawling towards the water and was about to drink some. All of a sudden Amorelli yells and stops me.

"Zinniah! Don't, it's saltwater not fresh." She said and I got sad instantly. Amorelli chuckled and started to swirl the water around in her hands. She looked at me and I became happy. She gave me a small smile and then looked as though she was heating the water. It was really cold here at the moment. She offered me her hands and I happily drank the heated water and I seemed to gain some little energy from it. Amorelli smiled at me and drank some water as well.

"Thank you Amorelli," I said kindly.

"You're welcome Zinniah." She looked around for a moment and noticed some trees off in the distance.

"Okay, do me a favor, shift into a wolf so you'll at least be staying warm somehow, and then I'll start a fire with the wood from the trees over there." She said that and I nodded, and shifted into a wolf and let out a soft sigh and had a small content smile on my face. Amorelli then made her way to the trees and grabbed some sticks and leaves and whatnot. She came back about five minutes later and started making a fire. I purred a little from the warmth of the fire when it was successfully created. Amorelli smiled at me and went closer to the fire herself. We ended up taking a small nap. I fell asleep almost instantly and was enjoying my peaceful sleep. Until I woke up almost an hour later from shouting.

---

~Amorelli~

I saw Zinniah fall asleep and was enjoying the rest. It was quiet and I could just listen to birds and other animals here. It would be amazing to live here. Next to the lake, probably swimming when it gets warmer. with a small family of my own, it all sounds so real. Maybe my mate and I could do that, get permission to build a small house out here and use it for vacations or when we just need to get away for a while. I started to yawn and laid down for a bit. A small nap wouldn't hurt me.

I fell asleep while listening to nature around me. Then all went dark and before I knew it I was asleep.

---

I woke up to loud thuds. I shot up so fast that I got light-headed. I rode through it though and looked around me, it looked as though it were wild horses. I calmed down a little from that and laid on my back, looking up at the sky. I then heard yelling from people, and once again looked up. My eyes went wide as I saw a whole heard of not horses, but not humans. It was a pack of Centaurs. They were galloping towards me and Zinniah.

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"Oh god. We're on their land." I mumbled to myself and quickly got up and went to wake Zinniah up. I saw that one had a bow and arrow and was aiming towards me. I saw that she had released the arrow and I quickly put up a water shield right before it hit me. I then created a small water barrier around Zinniah and I. I was not going to let her get hurt. I could still clearly see them through the shield. They stopped short, but we close enough to where they could touch the shield.

"Arise. And give us one good reason as to why you are on our land." The leader, as it looked to be, asked me.

"Promise you won't hurt her once I take this down," I said, my voice stern and determined. They knew that I was her protector and that if they tried anything I'd make sure to do something about it. He stood there quietly, almost as though he was thinking. He then huffed and said something that sounded Russian.

"U nikh ne postradal, no yesli oni kazhutsya kak by opasno, ustranit' ikh." ('Do not hurt them, but if they seem as though dangerous, eliminate them.') After he said that, his followers sheathed their weapons and I waited a moment before taking down the shield. After I took it down I then slowly stood up.

"Now, again, give me one good reason why you are on my land." He said sternly and dangerously.

"We were prisoners. There is a place in India where they have stolen every female child of royal blood. They are kept there as slaves. We were one of them and were about to be turned into sex slaves. However, one of the guards helped us escape and we've been on the run the past, two days I believe. And we might have burned down a town of rogue wolves, so they are also after us. I believe his name is Maverick or something. But we're trying to get to Russia, and we landed here about an hour ago." After I stated my case they all went silent. I heard a few gasps from the females of the group, and the leader seemed saddened, but also infuriated. I took a small step back in slight fear and he let out a huff.

"Where in India?" He asked angrily. I flinched a little and spoke up once again.

"I do not know sir. I just know we were in India, from what the guard said." I said and he let out a larger huff. He was very intimidating, so I didn't need to question why he was chosen as a leader.

"And why do you, both of you, need to go to Russia? What is so special to you in Russia?" He got all up in my face and I had to take another small step back.

"My mate," I said simply and they all started to laugh. I got angry about the fact that they were laughing at me. I had a mate and I will find him and get his help with everything.

"You some sort of lone wolf looking for love? Pathetic." The leader said to me and scoffed.

"How dare you speak to the princess of the seas like that. I will be treated with respect. My mate is the soon-to-be king of Russia. And I don't think he would like to hear about how some, centaur-" I paused and pushed him back and took a step forward "tried to intimidate me and put me in a place where I do not belong." I said as I stood tall and looked him in the eye. Then all of a sudden his followers gasped and kneeled before me with respect. The leader looked around in surprise, but it soon turned into anger.

"How dare you bow down to a low life such as her? For all we know, she could be lying." He said and one of the males spoke up.

"She is not lying, my lord. She speaks the truth. The princess of the seas and the prince of Russia are mates, as it is prophesied." He spoke with respect, then stood tall. The leader then took a hit and him and he fell to the ground with a thud. I gasped and staid in my place, afraid that I would be knocked down as well.

"Then if it is true, what is the princess of the seas name? Huh?" He asked angrily.

"Amorelli Agnelli," I replied for him. The centaur then looked at me and huffed. I stood tall and let out a breath myself.

"She is the princess of the seas sir. She isn't lying." A female spoke up and I looked at her for a quick moment before I turned my attention towards the leader.

"I do not care who she is. Princess or not, you are trespassing on land and there are consequences for doing so. It is the law." He said with a smirk and I gulped a little. I then heard a groan come from Zinniah and I turned around and kneeled to make sure she was okay.

"Amorelli, what's going on? Why is it so loud? I liked the peacefulness of the lake and the sounds of nature." Zinniah grumbled and I scoffed. I picked her up and her eyes opened up and she got upset.

"Hey, what's the big idea? Can't a girl get some sleep around here?"

"Not when centaurs are trying to punish us for trespassing," I said and she looked to her left and saw a whole pack of them.

"Oh." She said simply and just looked in awe. I scoffed and turned towards the leader.

"Look, I'm sorry for trespassing, we only wanted to rest. We really have to get going now." As I said this Zinniah continued to study the beings, almost as though they would disappear any minute.

"I don't think so, princess." He said and went to grab my arm. All of a sudden I was pushed back by Zinniah, as she transformed into a centaur herself. I gasped and as did everyone else.

"I am princess Zinniah Watters, and neither of us will be punished for trying to get home." She said as she stood tall and proud of her accomplishment.

"The princess of the Amazon! She was also taken as a child!" One of the other group members stated and they all nodded their heads towards her. The leader gave them all glares and they all stopped and looked down.

"And what makes you think you have the right to talk to me like that?" He said angrily.

"You talked to both Amorelli and me like that. Why does it matter if we do it to you as well?" Zinniah asked sarcastically. The leader looked astonished and if looks could kill, both Zinniah and I would be toast.

"Now, if you excuse us, we will be leaving. We have a prince to see, family to find, and a world to save. Have a great day." She said as she transformed into a hippogriff again and I quickly settled on her back.

"Tootles!" I said and Zinniah started to run before she started flying. The leader tried to follow us but he soon lost us and couldn't keep up. I giggled and turned forward.

"Go right Zinniah, maybe we can get there that way," I said that and she did as I said. I smiled and sighed, I laid on her and took another small nap.