Scott gave Amber a worried look, “Are you ok?”

Amber couldn’t speak.  Scott was a splitting image of who she dreamed up.  Amber’s mind was spinning at what was happening.  Why did he have to look like the man in her dreams?  Was he going to kill her now?  Why would he want to kill her?  What was she going to do? 

As her thought kept going through her head her knees started to shake.  She backed up and put her back to the door as she couldn’t help but feel trapped by Scott.

“Amber?  Is everything ok?”

“Just… just stay back.”  She said.

Scott gave her a confused look, “Ok… did I do something wrong?”

Amber didn’t know how to reply to that.  Technically he hadn’t done anything wrong yet, but he will.  Or would he?  When was he supposed to kill her family, tonight?  Next year?  Will he kill her family?  It was too confusing.  Did she try to bring up her dream to anyone else?     

As Amber debated what to do, Scott said, “Well, this isn’t exactly how I expected things to turn out.”  He gave Amber a smirk which made her feel slightly more comfortable but not enough to calm her down.  Scott walked over to a chair and sat down. 

Amber waited a few minutes before she finally sat down across from him, but made herself prepare to run for the door if he moved an inch.  The minutes went by as no one moved.  Amber started to relax a little but she was still ready to run for the door.  Finally Scott said something, “You look beautiful.”

“…Thank you,” Amber said still trying to decide if she should trust Scott.  What if her dream of the future was only showing her what Scott looked like?  Was she willing to trust Scott to be open with?

Scott gave her a gentle smile as he said, “I can see we got off on the wrong foot.  Was it something I said or did?  Oh… was it what happen when we were kids?  Look I didn’t mean to be mean… I just heard stories about our families, and as you can imagine they kind of swayed my view.  Is that why you don’t like me?”

Amber slowly shook her head no, “It’s just that you reminded me of something.  Your right we did get off on the wrong foot.”  Amber took a deep breath as she realized she had to do this.  Standing up she walked over to Scott as he stood.  She took his hand and bowed in front of him.  “It is an honor to meet you.” 

“Like wise.  This room is kind of stuffy don’t you think?  Why don’t we take a walk somewhere more… pleasurable?  Is there a garden or something we can go?”

Amber smiled.  She couldn’t believe that he would want to go walk in the garden, “I would love to.”

Amber couldn’t stop laughing as Scott walked her back inside the castle.  He just finished a funny tale that she couldn’t believe happen to him.  A guard was waiting for them near the entrance of the castle.

“The king wanted to know if you were ready for dinner,” the guard said.

Scott looked at Amber, “I’m starving, how about you?”

Amber nodded as she couldn’t help but feel so relaxed around him.  “What are we eating tonight?”  Amber asked the guard.

“The king said it’s a special feast for our guests.  If you follow me I will lead you.”  Without further delay the guard led the two of them to the dining room where Amber’s family was waiting for them.

Joy was surrounded by so many of her people.  She would have been glad except for the fact that they were all trapped in a gigantic bag, and also for the fact that she was being crushed by everyone on top of her.  There was the sound of wailing, crying, shouting, cursing, and other noises coming from all the trapped tinies.  Joy tried to get everyone to calm down, but no one could hear her over the others.  For hours they were all trapped in the bag until the bag opened and a hand came in and grabbed a handful of them.  It came back and grab more and more until all of them were out.  Joy was the last to be pulled out.

She was placed in a jar that was on a table with a bunch of other jars.  Joy looked around her environment to see if there was any way out of this when she let out a gasp; her surroundings were too familiar.  The reason for that is because she was back in the castle and on a table.  She was in the kitchen with chiefs cooking and cleaning.  She saw one of the men who captured her getting paid, and then leaving with his empty bag.

Her captors have just sold them all to the king’s cooks to be made into a meal.  Joy felt hope rise up in her under the fear.  She was glad that she was in the castle because there is the chance that Amber will save her… right? 

Amber‘s father sat at the head of the table with Amber’s mother next to him on his right and with Scott on his left and  Amber sat next to Scott.  There were many more people who were at the table too.  About half way down the table Amber saw Henry take a seat.  The table didn’t have any food but some fruits.  When the last person sat down Amber’s father stood up and greeted everyone.

“Welcome everyone; I thank you all for coming.  Tonight is a special night for it the night that the bonds between our families,” He said gesturing for Scott to stand.  “Truly become united.  So for this special occasion we will have a special feast.”  On those words the kitchen cooks started to come through the doors and place platters on the table. 

Amber gasped at what she saw.  There on the platter in front of her was about 10-15 tinies tied up on the platter still squirming.  Some of them had different color sauces covering them.  Amber recognized some of them as she realized they were the ones she helped move from the castle.  Looking down the table she noticed that there were more platters with more tinies.  She knew most of them, and she became fearful of what was about to happen.  Amber was too frightful to move or say anything.  She kept telling herself to do something but her body wouldn’t listen to her.

Before Amber could act her father said, “Let the feast begin!”

Amber looked around to watch in horror as everyone started to dig in…

Joy was gently gripped by a man who started to slather her in a sticky substance.  The liquid had a berry like taste to it and made her feel slimy and sticky as the man proceeded to tie her hands and feet up so she wouldn’t be able to move at all.  She was then gagged with a small piece of cloth.  She noticed that the cries of the others were also growing silent as they were all being prepared like her.  Some others were not so lucky.  There was a fire going and a pot over the fire as she saw handfuls of tinies being brought over there, she quickly adverted her eyes.  She could hear the noises coming from that direction but dared not to look in fear of what she might see.

Joy was then placed down on a platter with a group of others who were gaged and tied like her.  There were different smelling odors coming off of each of them.  Joy felt the panic start to rise in her as she realized that she was about to be served as food.  That’s when it hit her… Amber.  Amber would be at the dinner table and be able to save her!  She will save all of them!  Relief tore through her until she heard the sounds of the unfortunate tiniest being cooked.  Not all of them would be saved…

After everything was prepared the cooks left the kitchen for some reason.  They must have been called away or something because there was no one in the kitchen.  Joy looked around to see if she could escape she could try and save the others.  Unfortunately she was bonded tightly and was barely able to wiggle.  Ready to give up Joy quit struggling and lay there waiting for the inevitable to happen.

“Joy?!” 

Joy heard her name called and quickly looked around.  She saw that on the ground level was Lucius shouting for her.  Trying to get his attention Joy tried to shout out but couldn’t make any noise.  She tried to move or get his attention but again she wasn’t able to.  Fearing that he wouldn’t notice her, Joy put all her efforts into alerting Lucius of where she was. 

“Joy!”  He shouted as he saw her on the table.  “Don’t worry I’ll get you all out of here!”  Joy saw him start running to her location trying to free her first.  She was so glad to see him now. 

Lucius heard a lot of commotion going on in the kitchen.  Usually it was busy in the kitchen at this time but there seemed to be more commotion than normal.  Curious he went to go check it out.  What he saw horrified him.  The cooks were making dinner and they were on the menu.   Lucius was tempted to go help but figured it would be pointless.  He couldn’t help anyone if he got caught.

When the cooks left for some reason he took that chance to go help the tinies he could.  He was about to climb a table when he saw a friend he knew.  That’s when he realized that the tinies being served were his friends that he helped escape this kind of life.  Fear washed over him when he thought of Joy.  Quickly he called out for her but didn’t get a response.  Fearing that she may be one of the ones in the pot, he scanned the table from below and noticed that she was on the far end of the table.  Joy spread through him at the sight of her alive.  Quickly he ran to the far table leg to climb it and free Joy.

He made it to the far end of the table and stared up at the height he would have to scale to save her.  It would be a long climb so he decided to quickly prepare.  Stretching he got ready to climb when he heard voices.  Freezing in place Lucius saw a couple of chefs walk in and grab the platters on the table above him.  Lucius felt his heart drop as he watched Joy being taking away to be served for dinner.

Lucius did the unthinkable… he started to chase after them.  Sadly he barely made four steps before they were gone.

Falling to his knees Lucius broke down right there, as he realized that Joy was gone forever…

Joy watched Lucius running for her but it was no use.  Even if he could keep up, what would he do?  Joy’s only hope was that Amber would save her. 

It wasn’t long before she was placed on the dining table and saw the hungry faces of people she never saw before.  She quickly looked around the best she could to see if Amber was around.  Her hopes instantly vanished when she realized she was at least 10 seats away.  Even worse she could see Amber looking for her, but she didn’t recognize her.  Dread welled up inside of her as she began to panic.  Then she heard the one thing that she feared, “Let the feast begin!”

The next couple of moments went by slowly for Joy.  To her right a giant hand reached out and grabbed the man next to her.  He let out a muffled yell for help which of course was ignored.  Joy watched in horror as the man was brought up to a nicely dressed man who took a giant bite out of the tiny.  Joy heard the sickening crunching noise of the tiny being chewed up. 

Another hand passed over her and grabbed a tiny female near her.  “Don’t you look delicious,” said the female who held the tiny.  The tiny let out a muffled scream which was quickly silenced by being shoved into the women’s mouth.  There was the sound of sucking and the smacking of wet lips as she proceeded to enjoy the taste of her meal.  Then without hesitating she swallowed the tiny whole.  Joy could see the outline of the women being pulled down the slender neck past the women’s collar to disappear forever.

The women made a sound of delight after taking a sip of wine.  Joy looked around up and down the table to see varies ways of people devouring tinies.  Some were being pulled apart and eating part by part, others were swallowed whole or chewed up.  The worse part though is through the commotion Joy’s view of Amber was blocked out. 

Joy felt her tears starting to flow as more and more tinies on the platter were being devoured around her.  The one thing she wanted was to see Amber’s face one last time before she was eaten.  As soon as that thought went through her head, a shadow fell over her body.  There was a giant hand descending on her.  Closing her eyes she let the hand grab her and pull her away from the platter.  She was then quickly held dangling in the air.  Still keeping her eyes closed she felt her body stay afloat in the air for a few more seconds and then… she was released.

She fell through the air and landed on a wet surface.  She was immediately assaulted by the heat and moister of her new environment.  Opening her eyes Joy was granted her last view of the outside world; as the gate to it started to slowly close, sealing her fate in the hot humid prison.

Joy lay there as she felt the tongue under her start to move her around and swish her around in the mouth.  Joy’s only thoughts were that of Amber, and how she was going to die.  Will it be a quick and painful death of being chewed, or a long and horrid death from stomach acid…?

Amber felt her body go numb as she saw people starting to dig in.  She heard muffled cries for help and muffled screams as they were being eaten by the people at the dinner table.  Horrified she looked down the table to see Henry even eating someone.  How could he? 

“Father?”  She said turning to him only to see him and Amber’s mother also eating some tinies.

Tears were starting to form as she could recall most of the faces she saw being eaten.  Fredrick, Molly, Jenny… they were all being murdered in front of her very eyes.  Just as soon as it started it stopped.  The platters were empty.  There were the sounds of burping, sighs of content, and other noises.  There wasn’t a single tiny that survived.

“How could you…” Amber said with tears in her eyes.

“What’s wrong sweetie?  Did you not get to try one?”  Her father asked.

“How could you all eat them?  They were people!”

There was a look of confusion that came across everyone’s face as they were wondering what she was talking about.

“Honey are you alright?”  Amber’s mother asked.

“No I’m not!  You just killed all those people!”

“The tinies,” he asked.  “But Amber, they aren’t people like us… their food.”

“No their not dad,” She shouted.  “They’re people like you and me.  They have feelings and families like everyone else.  We hunt them down and kill them for what, food?  I could never do what any of you do and still call myself human.”

Amber’s father than said, “But Amber… you do eat them.”

Amber was baffled, “W-w-what?”

Amber’s mother was the next to talk, “Our cooks put them in our food.”

Amber’s heart skipped a beat.  “What do you mean?”

Her father explained, “Well your mother doesn’t like the sound they make when she eats them, but she loves the flavor.  So I have the chefs mix them with our food: cut up or grounded up.  We have them with every meal.”

Amber felt her stomach do a flip.  She felt sick to her stomach and was about to throw up.  All her life she had been eating tinies.  The worst part was… she always liked the food she ate.  She was a monster!

Without a word Amber ran from the table with tears streaming down her face as she ran to her room.

“Amber!”  Her father, mother, and Scott all called in unison.

She didn’t listen as she ran away from the table.  Locking herself in her room she stayed there all night.  Scott tried to talk to her but she couldn’t work up any words as she was still too sick to try and talk.  Her mother and father stopped by but again she couldn’t muster up the will to talk to them right now.  Even her brother tried.

“Amber?  I have something for you.  Please you need to see this.”

Amber knew there was nothing she would want to see that could make her feel better.  She just learned that she has been eating tinies all her life, possible lost her closest friend, and her stomach wouldn’t stop feeling weird.  She could only say, “Tomorrow...”

With nothing more to say he left her.  The night went on and on and Amber couldn’t sleep.  She was too hungry.  She tried to sleep but her stomach wouldn’t let her.  Finial she decided to leave and get some bread to settle her stomach.  Quietly she left her room and headed to the kitchen to get some food that she knew for certain didn’t have tinies in it.  She grabbed some bread and ripped a piece off and started to eat it.

“Amber…?”

Amber paused as she heard Lucius call her.  She moved her candle down and saw him at the leg of the table.  She picked him up and set him down on the table.

“Oh, Lucius you’re ok!  Thank goodness… is Joy…” She couldn’t bring herself to ask.

Lucius hung his head in shame, “I wasn’t fast enough… they served her for dinner.”  He whispered.

Amber felt her tears fall at the news she didn’t want to hear.  Joy was gone.

“I’m sorry,” Lucius told Amber.

“It’s not your fault; I’m the one that should be sorry… I should have stopped everyone.”  Amber buried her head in her hands as she started to cry.  Lucius tried to comfort her but it was no use, Amber knew it was her fault and there is nothing she can do that will bring any of them back.  Amber stayed there most of the night until she got tired and decided to head to bed.  She didn’t want to be alone and asked Lucius if he wouldn’t mind staying with her.

Lucius accepted the invitation and allowed Amber to take her to her room.  She placed him down where Joy use to sleep on the night stand.  Amber felt another wave of sorrow wash over her but she was too tired to cry then.  She wished Lucius a good night and pulled the covers up and tried to fall asleep.  She was more tired than she thought and passed out as soon as she closed her eyes to a night of dreamless sleep.

Lucius lay there were Joy use to sleep.  He felt horrible as he realized that he couldn’t sleep here.  Getting up he jumped off the pillow and sat down on the wood.  It didn’t matter what Amber said, he knew it was his fault that Joy was dead.  If he were faster and didn’t hesitate he could have saved her life.  Having the event unfold in his mind Lucius sat there hating himself more and more.  He was too weak and pathetic to have been able to save her. 

He touched his pocket which held a vial full of Karath.  He could have saved Joy, but didn’t have the courage to strike the blow to the giants that plagued his life.  Throwing his body onto its back he lay there on the hard wood as he couldn’t sleep and let the night pass by till the morning came…

Henry walked away from Amber’s door after trying to talk to his sister.  She seemed so upset but she didn’t want to see him right now.  Depressed he headed back to his room.  There he closed the door as he got ready for bed.  He opened his hand and looked down at Joy with sad eyes, “I’m sorry about my sister.”

Joy shook her head, “Its ok Henry.  I’m just glad you didn’t eat me.” 

Henry gave her a smile, “You’re just lucky I was there.”

Henry recalled what happened a few hours earlier.  He was sitting at the dinner table wonder what was for dinner, when the cooks came out with a bunch of platters.  Looking up from his plate he was hoping it would be pig.  He loved the flavor of roasted pork and had a craving for it since lunch.  His wonder turned to confusion when the platters were set down and on them were a bunch of tinies covered in different looking colored sauces.  Curious he looked down to where his sister was sitting and saw the horror on her face.  He could see the dread on it as she looked down at the platter at her place. 

Looking back at the platter Henry was wondering what was going on when he heard his father say let the meal begin.  The man sitting in front of him reached out and grabbed a tiny who was squirming to break free.  It didn’t help the tiny as he was brought up to the man’s mouth.  The man took a bite out of the tiny and started to chew.

Then more and more people started to eat the tinies.  Henry didn’t know what to do.  He was curious about what they tasted like.  Surely trying one wouldn’t be so bad right?  Then he spotted Joy on the platter and then he realized he couldn’t do it.  He remembered his promise and felt ashamed of what he would have done.

Looking down the table he saw Amber still looking pale as he watched everyone but him and her eating.  He had to do something… but what?  Then a thought crossed his mind.  He only hoped Joy and Amber would understand.  Reaching out he grabbed Joy carefully.  He then brought her up above his head and dropped her into his mouth.  When he closed his mouth he tasted a berry like flavor on her.  Instinctually he started to roll her around tasting the berry juice that covered her.  It took all his effort not to chew or swallow Joy as she squirmed and filled his mouth with her taste. 

Henry then covered his mouth and acted like he was coughing into his napkin.  He quickly spit Joy out into his napkin and placed her in his lap covered up so no one would know where she was.  Around this time his sister was making a commotion and when she left there was a pot of stew that came out. 

Grateful that this would be something he could enjoy he waited until he was served.  Picking up a spoon he was about to eat when he saw a small arm float up.  Feeling a sick feeling in his gut he put his spoon down and pushed the bowl away.  It took all his effort not to throw up as he realized everyone was eating the soap that had tinies in them. 

“Henry what’s wrong?  You haven’t touched your soup?”  His mouth asked.

“I’m… not feeling so good.  I think the tiny I eat is still moving around.”

“Well maybe next time you will chew your food before swallowing it whole.”  His father commented to him.

“May I be excused,” Henry asked.

“Well if you’re not going to eat anything else then you may,” his father said.

Getting up out of his seat, Henry quickly pulled Joy out of his napkin when he placed it down on the table.  He then headed to his sister’s room to try and make her feel better after she left the dinner. 

“Thank you so much Henry,” Joy said as she was being placed down on his nightstand.

She couldn’t help but hear his stomach growl as she realized that because of her he didn’t get any food at all.

“I’m sorry I made you miss dinner.”

“Don’t worry about it I’m not that hungry anyway.”

She knew that was a lie but there wasn’t much she could do about it.  She owed Henry her life.  Unfortunately no one else survived except her.  Joy then felt the pain of so many of her kind being killed just to feed the appetites of those that are bigger than her.  She couldn’t help but feel her hand drift to her pocket.  It found a vial of purple liquid in it.  It was the same vial that Lucius gave her the first night she went out looking for tinies.  She didn’t know why she still kept it.  It was probably because it was one of the few gifts she ever got in her life.  Also it was from Lucius…

Then Joy felt hatred for herself start to grown in her.  If she had the courage to use it on the cooks or her kidnappers she and the rest of her people would still be alive.  What was the point of having something giving to her as a way to protect her and those around her if she wasn’t going to use it?  Maybe she was wrong about being able to live peacefully with Amber’s people. 

No matter how much she wants to live peacefully with them there will always be those who will want to collect them.  It was futile to attempt to rebuild their old lives when they will just be hunted down.  Her people were doomed to be nothing more than food for the bigger.

Henry then sat down on his bed and pulled the sheets back.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”  He asked Joy.

Joy shook her head and thanked him again for saving her life. 

“Are you sure… you look sad.  Don’t worry I’ll make sure my sister sees you tomorrow than you both can be happy again.”  Henry than blew out the candle and started to sleep.

“If only it were that simple…” She said as she tried to go to sleep.

Amber woke up with a weird feeling in her gut.  She didn’t know why but something was wrong.  Looking around there seemed to be nothing wrong with her room.  Pulling the sheets off her she sat on the edge of her bed and noticed Lucius was up and staring across her room out a window. 

Without turn his head he said, “You know this is the first time I have seen the sun rise.”

“Really?”  Amber asked baffled.  She usually woke up to the sun rising or right before.

He nodded his head, “I’m usually too busy hiding or sleeping from staying awake all night.”

Amber then felt guilty for stirring those memories up for him.  Then Amber thought of what Joy’s feelings were when she first saw the sun rise.  Just thinking about Joy made Amber feel empty on the inside.  She wanted to get back into bed and just stay there until the feeling went away.  Instead Amber sat there looking out the window with Lucius until the sun fully rose.  Lucius let out a tired breath as he got up from his seat.

“I have no idea what to do now…”Lucius said.

“We could go get some food?”

Lucius let out a chuckle, “I didn’t mean right now.  I meant what to do now that she’s gone.”

“You can’t give up!”  Amber said.  “Continue her dream of living peacefully away from this horrid place.”  Lucius looked up at her slightly shocked.  “What do you think Joy would want you to do?” 

Lucius didn’t say anything as he just looked down at his feet.  Then after a long pause he looked up with determination in his eyes.  “Your right, I’ll do what Joy wanted me to do.  I’ll continue to rescue others and I will find a safe haven for my kind.”

Amber gave him confident smile and said, “I know you will.”

“Thank you Amber.  That’s what I needed.” 

“How about we go and get some food,” Amber asked Lucius as she got ready to leave her room.  Lucius nodded and climbed into Amber’s hand.  Opening her door Amber left her room and started to walk down the hallway. 

She didn’t know why but she had a weird feeling as she continued down the hallway.  After descending some steps and crossing a couple of more rooms she stopped where she was.  The feeling was growing and Amber couldn’t help shake the feeling of dread. 

“Amber what’s wrong?”  Lucius asked as he noticed that she didn’t look so good.

“I… I don’t know.  I feel like there’s something wrong… where are all the guards?  Where are all the maids?  I haven’t seen anyone yet or heard anything.”

Lucius realized she was right.  The castle was big but normally there were people around or you could hear the sound of footsteps or someone talking.  Yet there wasn’t anything.  It was deathly silent.  “Maybe they are all eating?”

“Maybe…”  Amber said but Lucius could tell she didn’t buy it. 

As they continued to the kitchen Amber’s feeling of anxiety grew as each room she passed it was as empty as the one before.  Reaching the kitchen she found no one there.  Then a frightening thought came to her; her dream.

Panic welled up in her as she quickly started to run to see if her parents were ok.  As she dashed to her parents room Lucius tried to find out what was going on.  Amber didn’t have the time to explain it to him as she ran to the giant oak doors that lead to her parent’s room.  The doors were closed and no sign of anything wrong with them.  Still Amber knocked on the doors and waited for her parent’s response.

There was none.

“Mom, dad?”  Amber called as she knocked again.  She tried the door and found it was unlocked.  Slowly she opened the door and peered inside.  She didn’t see anything wrong but didn’t see her parents.  Entering the room she looked around to see if her parents were getting dressed or still in bed.

“Mom, dad; are you in here?”  Again there was no reply.

She reached another set of doors that would lead her to her parent’s bed.  The door was slightly cracked open.  Pushing it open slightly she looked inside.  She let out a silent gasp as the scene from her nightmare was repainted in front of her.   Her parents were lying there on the bed in a pool of dark liquid. 

Rushing over to her parent she went to see if they were still alive or… she didn’t want to think of the other.  She reached over and touched her dads arm and he let out a faint gasp.

“DADDY!!”  She cried.

“… sweetheart?... Thank… goodness your …. Ok.”

“Dad don’t say anything!  I’ll get some help!”

“No… don’t worry about …. Me.  Just … is your mother … ok?”

Amber looked over to where her mom was lying.  Lucius, after jumping out of Amber’s hand, was stand on her chest and looked up at Amber.  He shook his head no as he didn’t feel her heart beating anymore.

Amber held a sob in as she looked at her dad, “She… she’s just sleeping.”

Amber’s dad let out a painful sigh, “Good… I thought… he … hurt her.  Amber?”

“Yes,” She said as she leaned forward to listen to her dads words as they were starting to get fainter.

“Look after… your brother…”  With that her dad let out a loud sigh but didn’t inhale after… he was dead.

Amber felt her tears falling as she just watched her dad die in her hands.  Lucius quickly ran over to Amber and said, “Amber I know you don’t want to hear it but your parents are dead!  Someone is here to kill you and your family!  You need to get out of here-”

“Henry!!!”  Amber shouted as she realized what was next to happen in her dream.  She quickly grabbed Lucius and ran to Henry’s room.  All the while she was begging herself to wake up from this nightmare.  It had to be a dream!  There was no way that any of this could be happening.  But deep down she knew that it wasn’t a dream and it was happening for real.

She reached her brothers room and noticed the bedroom doors were open slightly.  She quickly pushed them open and couldn’t breathe.  There in front of her was Henry with a blade to his neck.  The man holding the blade was Scott.

“Well hello there Amber,” he said with a cold smile.

Joy slowly woke up from where she was laying down.  Siting up Joy looked out the window to see the sunrise.   She always loved watching a sunrise especially in Amber’s room.  There was something about it that always made her feel better, maybe because it symbolized a new beginning.  Joy just sat there watching the sky until the sun fully rose, and not long after did Henry wake up.  Yawning, he slowly got up.

“Good morning,” Joy said.

Henry walked past Joy not even acknowledge her.  He stumbled slightly but regained his feet as he yawned again.  That’s when Joy realized he must still be sleepy and didn’t hear her.  Letting out a sigh, she realized how much he was like his sister and how she sometimes forgets about her.  Joy would just have to wait for the right time to get his attention. 

Joy repeatedly tried to get his attention but Henry couldn’t hear a word she was saying.  Henry was dressed by now and was about to leave when he started to look around his room.  Joy jumped up and down and shouted for Henry.  A smile came to his lips, “That’s where I left you.”

Joy let out a sigh, well at least he found her now.  Henry walked up to his night stand and then past it.  Joy was dumbstruck by his action.  He quickly leaned over his bed and grabbed the necklace that he got for his birthday.  Joy didn’t know what to think; she was less noticeable then a necklace.  If she didn’t want to get left her all day she better do something fast.  If he couldn’t hear her she would have to find a way down by herself.  The first thing that came to mind was a crazy idea, but she had little time to come up with a better plan.

Henry turned around from his bed and walked past his nightstand.  Joy had to plan this at the right moment or she would end up badly injured or dead.  Waiting until he was just about to pass her she jumped off the night stand and reached her hands out to grab him.  She collided with him, and made a sound of pain as her body felt sore from the collision.  Opening her eyes she saw that she was grabbing the back of his shirt.  It shocked her that he didn’t feel her grabbing him and realized just how insignificant she was to their kind. 

Now she had to make her way up to his head and get his attention.  This was going to be a hard climb, she thought as she swayed slightly as he walked.  She realized that he was heading for his door when there was a knock on it.

Henry opened the door and Joy heard a voice she never heard before.

“Hello there.”

“… Hello.”  Joy could hear the nervousness that layered Henry’s voice.

“You must be Henry, right?”  Henry didn’t respond but Joy could see the back of his head move slightly signaling that he nodded.  “Do mind if I come in?  I’m worried about your sister Amber.  I didn’t see her at all last night after dinner and was wondering if we could talk?”

Henry was still hesitant but after a short pause said, “Sure… umm, what’s your name?”

“I’m Scott.”

Joy was starting to make her way up Henry’s shirt when she got a glimpse of who it was.  She felt a shiver run down her spine as the man looked exactly like Amber’s dream killer.  He was identical to every detail that Amber described him as.  Panic spread through her as she had to tell Henry of the danger he was in.  She was half way up his shirt when the man was already let into Henry’s room.  Luckily Henry had his back to the door as he followed Scott, who sat on the bed.  Scott wouldn’t be able to see her as she climbed.

“You have a nice castle,” He said.

“Thank you,” Henry replied.  “What did you want to talk about?”

Joy was up to Henry’s shoulder.  She could shout for him but was afraid it might alert Scott.  If he really was the man from Amber’s dreams then she didn’t want to force him into attacking.  There wasn’t much she could to save Henry if he were attacked right now, but if she could warn him of the danger maybe she could save him from his future.

Joy went to pull herself up but lost her grip.  She slide down the shirt slightly losing ground but grabbed on tightly to keep from plummeting to death.

“Did you know our families use to hate each other?”  Scott said.

“No…”

“No one knows why exactly, it could have been one of our families’ father killed the son of the other; It could have been that one of them stole land from the other; or it could just have been natural dislike for one another.  Whatever the reason was our families hated each other beyond belief.  I guess the reason I’m telling you this is that one day you might be king of this land and I just wanted let you know some back story.”

“Ok,” Henry said sounding slightly confused.

“My father told me all about the event that transpired between each family.  I can tell you they were not very nice,” Scott said sounding almost disappointed.

Joy made it up onto Henry’s shoulder.  She stayed low; hanging off of his shoulder and started to slide to the back of his collar to hide behind his head and then whisper to him.  She made it to the back of his head and pulled herself up.  What happened next was an accident.  Joy started to lose her balance and accidently shouted as she fell down and grabbed his shirt again.

The sudden noise startled Henry as he turned his head and said, “What was that.”

At this time the door open to reveal Amber and before Henry knew it Scott already pulled the knife on him when his back was turned around to look at the door.  Joy was just a few inches away from being crushed between Henry’s back and Scott’s front.  Joy didn’t know what to do.

“Well hello there Amber,” Joy heard Scott say.

“Scott what are you doing?”  Amber said with a horror filled voice.

“Don’t move or I’ll cut his throat,” Scott said as Joy heard Henry let out a scared gasp.  Joy knew she had to do something fast or Henry and Amber’s life will be over, but what?

“I’m just doing what my family couldn’t do, kill yours.”  Scott said.

“But why?”  Amber said with tears.

Joy looked up to see if Scott noticed her yet and saw him still looking past Henry and at Amber.  He shrugged.  “When we were kids my dad filled me with the tales of your disgusting family.  They slaughtered my family, my people.  They stole our land, crops, and animals.  Well now it’s my turn to repay you all with the same kind of pain.”  He let out a laugh, “I used you to get into the castle without suspicion.  Now I’m going to kill you and your brother leaving this kingdom with no leaders.  Then I will order my men to burn it all to the ground!”

Joy didn’t need to hear anymore as she made her way to Henry’s front without being noticed by anyone.  This was one of those times were she loved being small.  She saw the blade and the hand that held it to Henry’s throat.  What could she do… then she saw it!  She knew what to do! 

Henry felt panic as he felt the cold tip of the blade on his neck.  He felt tears starting to form as he feared for his life.  He felt the pressure starting to increase when all of a sudden, “OWWW!”

Henry felt the blade leave his neck.  Henry was too shocked to move but he could hear what Scott was saying.

“What the…”

Henry turned around shocked and saw that Scott was bleeding from his hand.  He looked down and saw that Joy was holding his necklace, and used it as a sword.  She cut Scott’s hand and he was bleeding.

“You bitch!” Scott shouted and used his hand to quickly knock Joy off Henry’s shoulder.  Joy went flying into the wall of his room and Henry could hear a disgusting cracking sound when Joy hit the wall.

“Nooooo!”  Henry shouted as he tackled Scott to the ground.  Scott fell with a grunt but was easily able to knock Henry off of him.

“Enough!”  He shouted.  “Time to die!”

Scott came at Henry and brought the knife toward Henry ready to stab him. 

Scott suddenly fell down. 

Henry couldn’t move as he looked at Scott who was lying on the floor not moving.  He was dead.  Henry went to check and found that Scott wasn’t breathing.  Quickly he ran over to where Joy hit the wall and saw that Amber was already over there.

“Is she ok?”  Henry asked. 

“I-I-I, I don’t know,” Amber said.  Henry looked at where Joy landed.  There was a red spot on the wall and there was a streak of blood that ran down the wall till the floor.  There he saw another tiny, Lucius, holding Joy in his arms.  Joy was in a heap as she lay in the tinies arm’s motionless, as a small pool of blood formed under them…

Amber sat on the throne that used to be her father’s.  It has been 3 years since the incident with Scott and a lot has happen since then.  With the death of her parents, and Henry’s age, Amber became the queen of Arcken.  As the queen she gave all tinies royal protection in thanks to Joy’s sacrifice.  Joy killed Scott using the Karath juice that she kept on her.  While Scott wasn’t paying attention she poured the juice over the blade and stabbed Scott on the hand; the effects of the juice took less than a minute to kill him.  With the royal protection on all tinies, no one was able to harm a tiny unless they will face life imprisonment.  With the help of Lucius she formed a group of tinies and guards to search for others hidden away or held captive.  With the help of the tinies, and their experiences the guards were able to find hidden areas that held jars of tinies that they wouldn’t normally look for. 

With the tinies free from being hunted Amber was able to give them a safe home to live near the picnic area that Amber went to.  To keep the peace between both races they both had representatives of each race.  Amber was the giant’s representative and Amber was waiting on the tinies representative to arrive.

Amber was holding the throne for when Henry grew up and got married.  She would then pass the position off to Henry and his wife.  Normally Amber would have to get married but many were willing to ignore it due to the fact that she was nearly murder by her suitor.  No one wanted a repeat, and to be honest there was no one for Amber but Joy.

Amber couldn’t help but think back to that horrid night, and what befell of Joy…

“Your highness, the representative is waiting for you in the garden.”  Mary said.

Amber shook her head at how late it was from the time of the meeting.  As she followed Mary out to the garden Amber recalled her dreams the night before.  It was of Joy and Lucius happily married and with a baby daughter less than a few months old.  Joy looked happy to be there with Lucius and that made Amber happy. 

“Do you wish for some snacks?”  Loren asked Amber when she reached the garden.

“Yes please, oh and make sure to bring some crackers for our guest.”

“Yes your highness,” both Mary and Loren said as they left Amber with her guest.  Amber walked over to the table were the person sat looking at the scenery. 

“It’s been a while, what a few months?  I thought you would like these flowers that I had planted… you always said you liked them,” Amber sat down and sniffed the air.  “I love the smell they give off.  I had another dream the other night.  Do you know what it was about?  It was about you, Joy…”

Joy turned her head to look at Amber and gave her a smile, “The same one about my child?”

Amber nodded.  Joy couldn’t help but let out a laugh. 

“You feeling ok?”  Amber asked, “You’re not too cold, hungry, or tired?  You feel ok… I mean not just from the childbirth but also from… you know the incident.”

Joy couldn’t help but laugh, “Slow down Amber.  I’m fine.  In fact I’m doing better.”  She got up and started to stretch, “See I can almost rise my arms all the way up.

Amber watched with Joy as she noticed that she was right.  After the injury that Joy received from being smashed into the wall she could barely move her arms or legs.  That morning nobody thought she would live but she did.  It took many months before Joy could walk.  It took long for her to be able to move her arms past her shoulders.  Of course she recovered fast, in about a year and a half she was able to run and move her arms further up.  Amber didn’t know if it was just who she was or if the tinies were fast healers but Joy recovered quickly.

“Ow!”  Joy said as she dropped her arms.

“Joy, are you ok!”  Amber said picking her up.  She quickly inspected her to see if she was alright.

“Amber!  Calm down, I’m fine.  Jeez, you’re over reacting again.”

Amber couldn’t help it; she was worried that Joy might hurt herself.  She looked Joy over one more time and satisfy that she was ok gave her a kiss on the head.  Joy couldn’t help but blush.

“How long are you going to stay here,” Amber asked.

“Lucius thinks I should spend some time away from the baby and relax.  He told me he can watch her while me and you… have fun.”

Amber couldn’t help but smile at how kind Lucius was.  Lucius didn’t mind if Joy spent some quality time with her while they discussed political issues.  Mary came back with a platter of chesses and crackers.  She placed them down and left them.  Amber set Joy down so she could try some of the food.  After a couple of bites Amber set her food down and said, “You know I’m hungry, but not for crackers.  I think I’m in the mood for some tiny!”  She said jokingly to Joy.

Joy laughed, “You know of all the mouths I have been in, yours is my favorite.”

“Why thank you.  If you’re up to it I would like to skip the snack and go right to the meal,” Amber said sexually.

Joy gave her a smirk, “What about the issues we were supposed to discuss today?”

“Well we have a couple of days.  We could all ways come back to it tomorrow?”

Without further discussion Joy dropped her food and said, “Lead the way your highness.”  With a smile of joy Amber picked up Joy and carried her out of the garden and to her room so she could get a long awaited taste of the woman she loved…