Em led the group into the palace courtyard with a heavy heart—it felt as if mere moments had passed since she had last been here with her father. The other members of her party gawked and trailed behind her. They couldn't believe it, they had found the Kingdom. Their footsteps echoed against the stone beneath them as they walked through the gateway.

Glancing towards the centre there stood a bronze tree with gold leaves in perfect elegance as the greedy eyes of the men behind her licked their lips at the jewel only to pause at the sight of a white dragon sleeping around the base of the unique jewelled tree. Its deep breaths provided a soft hum to the silence, smoke slowly seeping out from its nose. The men were quick to draw their weapons. Its rhythmic breathing rose and fell as Em watched the dragon sadly as it had grown in its endless slumber.

"Put away your weapons. Do you not know what that is? It's the White Dragon of Asreldion!" Em hissed insulted by their actions. Dastan paused glancing at her wondering if she had gone mad.

"Why should I care? It's a dragon for blasted sake!" Gwaine hissed hoping to not awaken the beast.

"It will not harm you. The dragon remains in slumber protecting Asreldion's heir and it shall remain in slumber unless they are threatened" Em informed as the group grew some comfort from this knowledge, however Dastan noticed Em's distance in her words. He saw the loss in her eyes as he gently walked to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder drawing her away from her thoughts.

"Come night is falling. We must make camp, we shall continue for the library in the morning" She informed as one of the muscular brothers scoffed at her words making her raise an eyebrow in his direction.

"Why should we continue to follow your orders? We've found Asreldion" He snarled with an evil smirk. Em grew cautious of his behaviour taking a step back as she felt something beginning to settle in the pit of her stomach. Something in that man's voice and manner made her uncomfortable and nervous before she shook her head sighing.

"If you wish to continue you may. I have warned you and that is all I can do, but for those who wish to live throughout the night, it would be wise to collect as much firewood as possible" She wisely informed as the men all turned towards Dastan as he gave a simple nod. Many followed her instructions and went to gather firewood as they made camp in the courtyard whilst Męrt and Tœm scoffed at the thought.

"Cowards. You can hide here till morning but we are going to find it now. Let's go" Męrt instructed as they walked in the direction of the main doors of the castle and pulled them apart widely. A surge of wind blasted the doors wide open as they were flung back down the steps followed by a hollow scream that had the others jump to their feet.

"What the hell was that?" Edvard shouted in fright. Męrt and Tœm merely scrambled to their feet before turning towards the young women whose face remained calm yet empty.

"It has started" Em whispered to herself

"What has started? Em what is it?" Dastan questioned sternly as he draws her closer and spoke through gritted teeth.

"Get a fire going we will need the cover of light in order to survive through the night" She instructed. Em found several torches and ensured they were soaked with oil. The men gathered a large pile of firewood and started the fire, even though the sun was still in the sky.

"Sleep now whilst it is still daylight. You will need your strength later" Em encouraged as she removed her cloak, folding it into a pillow under her head. They took watch, struggling to sleep as first because of the light but their exhausted bodies soon fell into a deep slumber.

"Dastan! Wake up! Everyone wake up!" Gwaine shouted as the sun was quickly starting to set. They all awoke to grab hold of a torch to see what had set Gwaine nervous. As darkness began to flow over the entrance to the castle silver figures started to hover. They were military dressed, similar to the clothing Em found in the caves.

"They're ghosts?" Dastan paused.

"They are the King's private guard, sent to protect his grave till the end of time" Em informed them as they saw the royal crest on the front tunic. There were just three standing before them, their eyes glowing towards the group.

"Why are they just standing there?" Crowen asked as the main bonfire behind them started to flicker. Harsh winds blew around them causing the bonfire to go out. However, their torches remained much to their luck.

"How many are there?" Dastan gasped as one by one more seemed to appear in a triangle formation.

"Fifteen" Em informed. Watching the ghosts opened their mouths letting out a piercing scream. Covering their ears to the deafening noise they saw that the moon was beginning to rise. One of the soldiers who had dropped his torch, stumbling away from the group was quickly plucked off.

The ghosts screamed towards him, running straight through him. His body fell backwards, skin ice cold and eyes emotionless. Instinctively the men spread out running to take cover. Swinging their torches at any ghosts that came near. They would screech and fly away from the heat vanishing into the night.

Em, Dastan and Edvard ran down the west corridor of the castle. Dastan constantly peered over his shoulder whilst Em's eyes remained forward. Swords wouldn't do them any good, the blades would just run straight through them.

A scream came from the left as a ghost seeped out from the wall. Quickly thrusting her torch into its face it clawed at the light before fleeing back into the stone. Hearts racing, they continued to run before pausing in the servant's halls.

"I didn't sign up for all this running! I'm going to have a heart attack any minute, I just know it!" Edvard gasped struggling to breathe. His old age was beginning to catch up with him as he leant against the stone and sat on the floor. Dastan tried to keep him on his feet, but Edvard wouldn't have it. He needed to rest.

"Edvard, pretend to be dead!" Em suddenly exclaimed taking both men by surprise.

"Now hang on a minute! I may be old but I am not –"

"No! They won't give you a second glance. You're practically at death's door in their eyes. You can't harm what they seek to protect!" Em knelt down informing him. Edvard had never felt so insulted in all his life. A scream echoed in the distance causing her head to perk up. Dastan stood protectively in front of them with his torch ready.

"Stay here, out of sight!" Em instructed Edvard as she pushed him towards the corner. Moving a large crate that was gathering dust in the corridor, she pushed it to encase Edvard inside. The screams got louder as Dastan grabbed Em's hand quickly pulling her away. They ran through several corridors avoiding the screams.

"This way!" She instructed shoving Dastan into the portrait gallery. The gallery had deep blue carpet and black walls. The portraits were framed in gold, with delicate skills to capture the beauty of past Kings and Queens. Gazing upon the large paintings and in awe of the talent, Dastan's jaw dropped.

"Woah!" He exclaimed dropping her hand to slowly turn and admire the paintings. Quickly running back and pulling him after her Em rolled her eyes at him.

"You can admire the paintings later Dastan!" She promised. The screams behind them got louder as they glanced over their shoulder to see two ghosts flying in their direction. Skidding to a halt they noticed another three coming forward trapping them.

"Great! Now what?" Dastan questioned as he gazed upon the wall. He saw a magnificent portrait of King Dominic, obviously when he had been crowned King. Another beside it was the King standing powerfully behind a chair, causing Dastan to frown. It was an odd painting, he automatically thought someone should have been sitting in the chair. He also noticed an empty frame, the painting missing.

"Quickly!" Em rushed as he noticed she had opened a secret passageway. The screams behind them cried out in fury as she leads him down a spiral staircase.

"How do you know your way around this place?" Dastan asked suspiciously.

"I've been here before! Now come on!" Em huffed as she shoved through the doorway leading them into a bedroom. Coughing at the dust that had settled in the air she dragged him out of the room into the corridor. Dastan didn't even have a chance to comprehend the fact that Em had been here before as another ghost appeared. It seemed to pause before the two before it snarled at Em.

"I don't think it likes you very much!" Dastan teased uneasily. It screamed reaching out for her as they ran coming to a split corridor.

"Split up!" Em told him about to run left but he caught her wrist and pulled her back.

"NO!"

"I will find you, but we will have a better chance if we split!" Em promised him holding his cheek. He saw truth in her words as he caressed the back of her palm before they fled in separate directions. Em knew that the corridor she had chosen was a dead end. The screams grew louder as she reached for her dagger. Ripping the collar of her tunic downwards, she dropped the torch to place her sword in her hand.

The ghost hissed at the blade in her hands. Its eyes glowed a darker grey, furious to see it in his hands of a stranger. Pulling out her necklace and letting it glow a bright green the ghost paused. She gulped watching as it slowly knelt before her. She dared not move until it had vanished before her legs collapsed under her.

Hearing the screams echo from outside the window, she reached for her torch to chase after Dastan. Cutting through familiar corridors as a short cut, she didn't realise how close he was.

"OW!" She groaned rubbing her forehead.

"You're alright? Are you hurt?" Dastan quickly looked her over to ensure she was ok. His hand rested on her waist as she pouted towards him.

"I fine besides a slight headache. Are you made out of rock?" She teased causing him to chuckle.

"I'm glad your humour hasn't changed." He smiled before they continued to run. They caught up with the rest of the group noticing that the other soldier whose name Em hadn't learnt wasn't with them. A scream echoed to the right as a ghost went to lunge at Em. Upon seeing who it was, it was about to halt however Crowen pushed her away. They watched helplessly as his body fell to the ground, eyes empty.

"NO!" Em cried out. The men were quick with their torches before it could strike again. Dastan bent down, to grasp Em around the waist and lift her up from the floor. Pulling her away they continued to run, knowing it would be a very long night.