Destruction of the Innocent

Chapter 2:

      Princess Sally pushed two bushes aside and walked out from between
  them.  She took a deep breath of the night air.  Sally had been unable to
  sleep, and decided to go for a walk.  The night seemed so peaceful and
  quiet, so serene to Sally.  It was so refreshing to be away from all of
  her royal duties for just a little while.  A walk alone in the moonlight
  would help her to get her mind off of them easily.  Then she knew that she
  would be relaxed, and could finally get some sleep.

      Sally turned to her left, and noticed an area of the woods covered
  with a thick canopy of trees.  Strange... she had never noticed this part
  of the woods before.  But, she figured, as long I'm out here, why not do a
  little exploring?  She walked over to the dark region, stepped over a tall
  bush, and entered.

      There was not COMPLETE darkness under the canopy - there were spots
  here and there where rays of moonlight shone down onto the forest floor.
  She watched her feet, making sure to be careful where she walked.

      "Saaaaaaaaallyyyyyyyy... "

      What was that?  She thought that she had heard a voice, a faint voice,
  calling her name, coming from futher into the dark area.

      "Saaaaaaaaallyyyyyyyy... "

      There it was again!  What WAS that?  Who would be out here at this
  time of night?  She began to walk a little faster.  She went further and
  further into the darkness.

      "Saaaaaaaaallyyyyyyyy... "

      Sally stopped.  She looked down.  The voice sounded like it was coming
  from right underneath her feet!  She squatted down and ran her forefinger
  through the dirt, curiously.

      "Saaaaaaaaallyyyyyyyy... please free me... "

      The sound made Sally jump up to her feet.  Then she squatted down
  again.  And she began digging.

      Soon she uncovered something.  A fairly small, brown chest.  She used
  all of her strength to pull it up out of the ground.  For a moment, Sally
  simply looked at it.  Then she reached into her vest pocket and pulled
  out...

      "Nicole," Sally began, "Inspect markings, signs of weathering and
  aging, anything on this chest that might determine its era of origin."
  "Inspecting, Sally," the soothing electronic voice stated.  A soft blue
  beam poured out from the top of the portable computer and ran itself
  across the chest.  Then it vanished and a holographic projection of the
  chest appeared above Nicole.  Almost instantly after this, Nicole spoke,
  saying, "Inspection completed.  This chest has been existent for
  approximately two centuries."  After obtaining this knowledge, Sally
  placed Nicole back inside of her vest, causing the holographic picture
  to vanish.

      And then Sally bent down and opened up the chest.  Inside of the chest
  there was a strange ring of some kind, and an old, yellowed letter.  The
  black, circular ring was about twenty inches in diameter and was about as
  thin as the wire of a coat hanger.  But, no matter how she tried, Sally
  couldn't bend it.  And it had seven strange hexagon-shaped holes cut into
  it, cut big enough that Sally could fit her fist into each of them.  Sally
  pulled the letter out and tried to read it.  But she couldn't under the
  darkness of the tree canopy.  Sally reached into her pocket, and again
  pulled out Nicole.  "Nicole," she said, "what IS this?"  "Scanning... "
  Nicole answered, and the blue beam again came out, this time going over
  the ring as Sally held it in her other hand.  Then the beam vanished.
  "Dark Ring of Chaos," Nicole began, "all further knowledge considered too
  dangerous, under security lock Level 6."  "Nicole," Sally said back,
  feeling frustrated, "bypass Level 6 security lock."  "That action is not
  possible," Nicole answered her.  Sally put Nicole in her vest pocket
  again.  She picked up the ring, and, with the letter in her other hand,
  walked out from under the canopy.  But even in the unobstructed moonlight,
  she couldn't read the letter.  It was still just too dark.  She decided to
  read it when she had returned to Knothole, and began the walk home.  One
  thing still puzzled her though.  Where was that voice coming from?