START CHAPTER 10:

"All right, Hannah, I think that's enough for today." Hannah landed on the ground and fell to her knees, panting. They had been training for hours, and they were all completely exhausted! Tsuki walked over to her and handed her a brown, wooden cup with water inside. Hannah took the cup greatfully.

"Thank you, Tsuki," she said, drinking the entire cup-full in one gulp, "Man, that was some tough training." NiGHTS landed beside her, also panting.

"Yeah, that was really tiring," graciously taking the cup of water that Tsuki handed him, and blushed at the smile he got from her. Hannah stood up, then turned to leave.

"Hannah, where are you going?" NiGHTS asked, taking another sip of water.

"Just for a walk through the nearby village, Brother," she replied, beginning to walk off, "No need to worry, since I'll be easy to reach." Without another word, she walked away, leaving the others speechless for a moment or two.

"NiGHTS, maybe you should go follow her," Tsuki said, finally breaking the silence. NiGHTS nodded, then kicked off the ground and slowly followed her to the Nightopian village.

The village was strangly quiet for this time of day. No Nightopians could be found anywhere in the streets. Hannah walked slowly, making sure to check everywhere for the small happy creatures. They didn't seem to be anywhere outside of their homes. Something had to be wrong if the Nightopians weren't out enjoying this wonderous day, singing their merry little songs and laughing the day away.

/Something's not right here.../ Hannah thought, her face becoming serious, /Where are the Nightopians? NiGHTS said that they always come out and sing when they have visitors. Is someone here that is scaring them into their homes? What's going on here?/

"Huh?" she whispered. A bush beside her began to shake uncontrollably. Hannah walked cautiously over to it, but just when she was about to touch it, whatever was hiding there flew out at such speed that they looked like an orange blur, and quikly ran and hid behind a pole.

"Who are you?" Hannah asked politly, kinda freaked out that something could move so fast.

"It's none of your business," it said, running to hide behind a building, "Leave me alone, you servant of Wizeman!" Hannah gasped.

/Servant of Wizeman? ME? This poor kid's got it all wrong./ Hannah began to walk over to the building, but quickly turned around, kicked off the ground, and flew up into the air. The figure, thinking she was gone, peeked out from behind the building as Hannah secretly landed behind her. She was a little, orange Nightmaren girl.

"Okay, she's gone now, so I can find Sprinkle," she whispered, and right when she was about to walk away, Hannah gently, but firmly, put a hand on her shoulder. The little girl shrieked loudly.

"Let go of me!" she shouted, struggling to break free of Hannah's grip.

"Not untill you hear what I have to say!" Hannah said, her face clear of any emotion. The girl stopped struggling.

"I may not know who you are," Hannah said gently, "but I do know that you've got me all wrong. Me and my friends, NiGHTS and Tsuki, are trying to stop Wizeman. Personally, I don't think I'll ever even think about working for Wizeman. If I ever start working for him, I'll most likely be brainwashed, so there's nothing for you to worry about." The girl nodded.

"B-But," the girl stammered, "why did you s-scare me like t-th-that?" Hannah sighed.

"I never ment to scare you, " she whispered, bending down to be at eye level with the girl, "I just wanted you to know the truth." Hannah then let the girl go, and began to walk off.

"Wait," the girl said. Hannah stopped and turned to face her.

"I just want to know," the girl whispered, "who are you?"

"My name's Hannah," she said with a smile, "and you are?"

"Sunset," the girl whispered, "My name is Sunset."

"Sunset," Hannah whispered, "that's such a pretty name. Well, Sunset, would you like to come with us on our journey?"

"Sure," Sunset said, smiling, "but first, I have to find Sprinkle. He's my Nightopian friend. I found him when he was still in his egg 4 years ago, and we're still the best of friends." Hannah nodded, smiling at her.

"I'll help you find him," she said to her, making Sunset smile.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," Hannah replied. Then, Sunset ran over to her and hugged her.

"Thank you so much!" she said, looking up at Hannah's face.

"You're welcome, Sunset," she replied, returning the hug. With that, they both set out to find Sprinkle, unaware that someone, far away, was watching them the whole time...

:END CHAPTER 10

A/N: Whew! Sorry that took so long, and sorry it's so short! I haven't had the time to work on it lately, what with ballet, school, homework, CRCT prep, (That's Georgia's end of the year test!) and cleaning my room, which still hasn't been done. At least now it's Spring Break, so I can probably get out two more chapters by next Sunday!

Anaka Rose: Hey, everybody, I'm back!

TNP: Wow, Anaka, back already?

Anaka Rose: Yep! That was an awesome trip! I loved it!

TNP: Well, I sure hope you did, because I need you to go somewhere else for me.

Anaka Rose: Where?

TNP: This isn't for research, but I've just gotten you a round-trip ticket to go to France for the whole week!

Anaka Rose: Really? This is so AWESOME! Thanks, Hannah, see you on Monday! (quickly packs her suitcase and leaves)

TNP: Wow, that didn't take long. Hope she has fun on her vacation, because I know I will! Well, 'till next time!

xoxo,

The Nightopian Princess