The sour smell of damp straw filled my nose as I slowly tiptoed down the dimly lit stairwell. As the daughter of the Emperor, it was uncommon to even be seen near the prison, but I needed to see him. Most wouldn’t want to fraternize with the ragged and bitter smelling “creatures” as my father would call them. To me though, he was more than just an object trapped inside the prison walls. Though my father would surely not approve of me going anywhere near him, let alone talk to him, I had been sneaking down to the prison since the beginning of the month when he returned home. I still remember the first time I went down to the cells, how cold and damp it was compared to my upstairs bedroom, with barely any light. The smell was unbearable. I had to resist the urge to vomit as whiffs of salty sweat and musty straw entered my nose. But as the weeks went by my nose became immune to the once-unpleasant smells, still wrinkling once in a while when I entered the prison doors.As I closed the cell door his body tensed, his back was turned against me his head down.“Ash, it’s okay, it’s just me,” my voice broke the silence.Nothing. Not even turning around to see me.“Ash, come on. You know I’m not going to hurt you,” I said taking a step closer. His body shifted, that was a sign. Whether it was a good or bad one I wasn’t quite sure.“E-Ember-rr,” his voice was a hoarse whisper, but it was music to my ears.“Yes, it’s me,” I answered.“Wh-what happened to me?” His voice strained as he turned around. His dark green eyes looked deep into mine, searching for an answer I had already given him a thousand times.I stood in the cell trying to gain the strength to explain the truth he had forgotten once again. The truth was I didn’t know what exactly happened to him. All the problems started when he was drafted in the war, even though Sector 2- the sector he lived in- wasn’t supposed to be drafted. And being the kind and determined person Ash was, he went anyway. Naturally, I tried to stop him, tell him it wasn’t his job to fight these battles, but I couldn’t. So he left one dark and rainy night, and I prayed he would come home to me safely. Then about two months later I got the message. Ash and two other soldiers were captured by the enemy during battle and they hadn’t been seen since. After the message it was all a blur, no word came for weeks. Till about a month ago when I was informed that the three missing men had been found, and Ash was on his way home.As soon as I got word that he had arrived in Sector 2 I raced over to the hospital hoping to find him there. When I arrived they said he was transferred to the palace prison. The nurse informed me that Ash was accused of taking sides with the enemy and his charges were soon to be determined. After I was informed of Ash’s whereabouts I made my way to the prison to find him, and I will never forget the feeling I had when I first saw him. A mix of sorrow, pain. The bright morning sun peeked through my sheer curtains the next morning. The heat from the luminous rays landing on my resting face. I slowly got out of bed, my clothes from yesterday stiff and itching to get off my body. I quickly dressed and made my way to the dining hall. On my way as I was about to turn a corner I stumbled upon a conversation between a guard and my father’s chief advisor. Instantly I halted, trying to stay hidden and keep quiet so I could eavesdrop. “The Emperor himself has given me this message to deliver to you and only you,” my father’s chief advisor said. “Yes sir,” the guard stiffly replied. “I mean it, no guard gossip, this is between you and me,” the guard nodded in reply. “Alright then, the Emperor has charger Ash McCoy with high treason.” My world was put on pause. Treason. That meant death. And my father was the one responsible. The sound of the conversation was tuned out by the frantic error messages crossing my mind. I think I heard something about public execution, and it would be an example, but I wasn’t sure. All I was certain of was that I needed to get to Ash. I had to save him before it was too late. I quickly rushed down the halls towards the prison, hoping he wasn’t already being transferred. As I entered his cell door he glanced at me and quickly returned his eyes to the wall. “We need to get out of here now!” I yelled No change in his position. “Ash, please. We need to leave, my father’s charging you with the death penalty,” he glanced up at me, sorrow in his eyes. “I can’t go,” he replied bluntly. “What do you mean you can’t go? My father is trying to kill you are you’re not going to leave? Are you insane?!” “That’s what they’ve been telling me,” He muttered. “Listen to me,” I rested my hands on his shoulders, hoping it wouldn’t cause another panic attack. “You are not crazy! Please come with me, we can run away, start a new life.” “Ember, you don’t know how much I want to come with you, start a new life.

In a quiet town tucked between rolling hills, there lived an old clockmaker named Elias. His little shop was filled with clocks of every shape and size, their ticking blending into a symphony of time. But Elias held a secret: one clock in the back of his shop didn’t just tell time—it could bend it.Every midnight, he would wind the golden clock, and the hands would move backward or forward, showing glimpses of the past or future. No one knew, for Elias had sworn to protect the secret. That is, until a curious girl named Lila wandered in one stormy night, seeking shelter and warmth.Lila noticed the golden clock shimmering in the moonlight. “Does it tell the future?” she asked, eyes wide with wonder. Elias hesitated but saw a spark of courage in her gaze. “It can… but only for those who are brave enough to face what they find,” he said.Together, they peered into the clock’s world. Lila saw herself facing challenges, discovering hidden strengths, and helping people she hadn’t even met yet. And Elias glimpsed the innocence of her determination, reminding him of his younger self.From that night on, the shop was never just a place of ticking clocks—it became a gateway of hope, courage, and possibilities. The secret of the clock was no longer his alone, but theirs to carry into the world, one tick at a time.Days turned into weeks, and Lila became a frequent visitor to Elias’ shop. She learned the art of repairing clocks, polishing gears, and listening to the quiet rhythm of time itself. But the golden clock always drew her curiosity.One evening, Elias noticed Lila staring at it longer than usual. “You want to see more, don’t you?” he asked gently. Lila nodded, her eyes shimmering with both excitement and fear.Elias took a deep breath. “The clock doesn’t just show what might happen. It can… test you. It will show you choices, and the paths you could take. But beware—some truths aren’t easy to accept.”With trembling hands, Lila wound the golden clock. The room spun around them as the hands spun faster than ever before. Suddenly, Lila was standing in a world that was both familiar and strange. She saw her town in ruins, her friends in danger, and herself—hesitant and unsure.A voice echoed in the wind: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the choice to act despite it.”Heart pounding, Lila realized she had to make a decision. Stay safe in her own world, or step forward and help those who needed her. She reached out, and as her hand touched the shimmering clock’s surface, she felt a surge of confidence and warmth.In an instant, she was back in Elias’ shop. The clock ticked softly, almost as if it were sighing in relief. Elias smiled, a glimmer of pride in his eyes. “You chose wisely,” he said.From that night, Lila became more than an apprentice—she became a guardian of the clock’s secret, learning that the power to shape the future didn’t lie in the clock alone, but in the courage to face it.And so, the small town continued to tick along, unaware that in a quiet shop between the hills, two keepers of time were quietly shaping destinies, one brave choice at a time.Weeks passed, and the bond between Elias and Lila grew stronger. But one evening, the golden clock trembled violently, its hands spinning out of control. A dark shadow flickered across the shop walls.Elias’ eyes widened. “Something… or someone is trying to manipulate time,” he whispered. “And it’s dangerous.”Lila felt a chill run down her spine. Without warning, the room blurred, and she was thrust into a vision unlike any before. She saw a boy from the town, trapped in a collapsing building, calling for help. Panic surged through her, but she remembered Elias’ words: Courage is not the absence of fear, but the choice to act despite it.Determined, she grabbed the clock’s winding key and twisted it backward. The world around her slowed, giving her a chance to intervene. Lila ran through the vision, dodging falling beams and debris, until she reached the boy. “Hold on!” she shouted, gripping his hand. In a flash, they were back in the shop, safe.Elias watched her, awe in his eyes. “You did it,” he said. “You didn’t just see the future—you changed it.”But the golden clock continued to tremble, as if warning them that this was only the beginning. Lila knew the secret she and Elias shared was powerful—and that power always attracted danger.From that night, Lila’s training became more than learning to fix clocks. She practiced reading the signs of the golden clock, preparing for the day when time itself would demand her courage. And deep down, she knew: the clock didn’t just bend time—it revealed the strength hidden in those willing to act when the world needed them most.Lila had grown from a curious girl into a brave guardian of the golden clock. With Elias by her side, she learned that the clock’s power wasn’t just in bending time, but in revealing the courage and choices within a person. Together, they used the clock wisely,