Hello Everyone! I am an amateur writer and I'm giving this a try. English is my second language so feel free to point out any grammatical errors. Constructive criticism is appreciated as well. If you don't feel like leaving a review, you can send me a PM instead. Enjoy! ^_^

Disclaimer: The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy has nothing to do with me. None of the characters or stories belong to me. They belong to the one and only Clare B Dunkle. I only own whatever characters are born from my imagination. (And I'd like to mention that I fell in love with these books when I first read them!)

Prologue

'I love you Valeria…you can't imagine how much', the man before her had said with such passion in his voice, as he trapped her in his arms. His voice had been so soft and captivating. It caused her to shiver slightly.

She felt her heart pounding with violence in her chest. She did not want this. Not again. She could not let anyone tear her heart apart again. However, as much as her mind screamed at her to flee, her body remained frozen to the spot, not fighting the arms that were holding her so close. With horror, she realized how aware she was of his maleness and how attracted she felt towards him. The muscles of his chest felt strong against her graceful body and she could feel the power emanating from his whole being. With frightened eyes, she raised her head and looked into those whimsical eyes she had learned to love in the past few days. She could not find any deceit in them. The adoration pouring out from his face was almost unbelievable to her. 'It's all a trick' a voice in her head said 'it's all lies. Just like before'. She shut her eyes as many thoughts ran through her head and shook her head gently to rid herself of them. She did not want to think of him in such a way. She refused to think he would hurt her. But deep inside, a voice told her that he would. And another voice told her to let go off that fear and love him. But she refused to listen to both. The only thing she wanted at this time, was to wake up from this nightmare. At that moment, the man with the whimsical eyes lifted her chin up gently and whispered with a pleading voice 'Please…say something…'

But the young woman was stubborn, and shook her head silently. She would not look at him nor talk to him. He could bear her silence no longer. With sadness, he studied her face, his heart wincing at her obvious rejection. Then, his eyes stopped at the sight of her luscious, tempting lips. He looked at them intently, and could not help to desire those lips upon his own. For he had yearned to kiss them from the moment he saw her. He leaned down and pressed his lips against her, savoring the sweetness of her. The feelings that rushed through him at the mere contact almost caused him to stop breathing. It was a simple, chaste, loving kiss and it had caused him such bliss. And he knew then, that he would not be able to live without her. He needed her. His kingdom needed her as well. His heart grieved for a short moment for what he was about to do. Surely, she would despise him for this. But he had to. It was his responsibility. He had a duty and owed it to his people. She felt her trembling in his arms as he pulled away from her. As a result, she opened her violet eyes, and looked at him with surprise and horror. He, on the other hand, looked at her with pleading eyes, begging her silently for forgiveness. He placed a finger on her forehead and she slumped in his arms unconscious.

He cradled her in his arms lovingly and looked at her with grief in his heart. She would hate him once she came out of slumber. He had betrayed her. He knew it would hurt her. He could not help to compare his actions of betrayal, to the ones of him who had betrayed her and broken her heart a year ago. And with a heavy heart, he stepped out of the house with his bride in his arms.

As soon as his guards sensed him coming out of the house, they had appeared with their horses, ready to go back to the kingdom. They all wore black cloaks and concealed their faces with the hoods.

'Let's go home' he said to his guards and they nodded silently. One of them assisted him in getting on his horse and passing the unconscious young woman to him.

'What of the other woman?' one of his guards asked.

'She stays behind. Let's make haste to return home…' he said with final authority as he wrapped the sleeping young woman with another cloak.

His guards nodded again and he kneed his horse, ordering him to start heading home. He rode at the front of the group and led them into the forest.

But they were in for a surprise, for the young woman was not going to let herself be taken without a fight. The moon light and the forest were on her side. She was a daughter of nature after all, and nature held its own power and mysteries. It felt the young woman's distress and it started to reach out to her to assist her. And even though she was unconscious and her body was motionless at the moment, her inner power was not. It was gathering itself for an opportune moment. It was in turmoil. It would not leave her helpless to the mercy of the strangers that were abducting her.

Her abductor gasped as he sensed the magic humming through her, building up slowly to be released explosively. He cursed softly and urged his horse to pick up speed. It was imperative for them to reach the kingdom. His guards picked up the change in speed and felt the alarm in their leader's body language. Something was wrong. They readied themselves to assist their liege and followed him faithfully.

Silently, he berated himself for not noticing how powerful she was until now. He had sensed magic in her but had thought it was insignificant. He growled, angry at himself for being so careless. He had underestimated her. He looked down at her sleeping form and held her more closely to himself. Nevertheless, it was of small comfort to him to know he had made a great choice for a bride. He urged his horse to go faster one more time. His bride was making him anxious, for he did not know what to expect from her. He had thought he knew everything about her but yet, she kept surprising him in many ways. His guards started to sense an unfamiliar, strong magical presence, and realized it was coming from their lord's bride. Immediately, they rode closer to their leader, knowing he could need them any minute as they made their way in the forest. But all was for naught. Because once they reached a small, shallow river and started to cross it, all hell broke loose.