Chapter 9
Cerulean
"Look what we have here"
Hiro's Point of View
We woke up early to prepare ourselves for our arrival at the Kingdom of Cerulean. Cerulean is very well-known for its busy nature for their rapid economic growth because of the businesses that settled there. Because of the money and business outrage, the kingdom was dubbed as the Trading Capital of Ethiopia. A lot of large businesses and indrustrial factories are located on every corner of the kingdom. Small and medium businesses can also be found on the streets like the little stands, stalls, and stores which reminded me of when I take the afternoon walk towards are own kingdom's market. Since this place is basically the mother of all businesses, we can easily find anything here whatever it is that we wanted.
"Waaahh~" Kichi gaped in amusement and wonder as he saw the facade of the kingdom. Cerulean has two borders that needs to be crossed before we can enter its domain. We were still outside the outer gate but we can see the towering buildings inside the kingdom. I can even hear faint chatters from even a mile away from the people that are inside.
"That would be 2 gold coins for each person and 5 for the carriage," the man said from the small box stall beside the large gate. Before we can enter the first gate, we have to pay a toll first. Talk about capitalism. I paid the man and soon after, we could hear the clanking of the gate and got in eventually.
Like the common description that I heard from travelers, there were many people flooding the streets each making noise. Every store had their own products like clothing, furnitures, jewelry, fashion accessories, and there's even a shop that was selling Frog Legs. The people here came from different races from different kingdoms. There's the Elves, the Dwarves, the Witches and even Celestials like us.
Even though we passed the entrance, there was still a second gate where guards check for any threats. It's taking us too much time to enter because eventhough it was still early, there's already too many people here. There are only four guards that checks up on people by the gate that's why there's more people here by the second gate than inside the kingdom.
"What's taking so long Hiro?" Xael groaned.
"I can't push through. There's too many people here."
Xael looked outside the carriage window and felt dismay when she saw how crowded the place was.
"There's so many people here. It's making me hungry, Hiro" Kichi complained.
"We just ate."
"But I'm starving!" Kichi whined while looking at a carriage full of food.
"Bree, look over there," Xael called. She was pointing at a carriage full of weapons.
"Some knives, let's buy some before we leave, ok?" She said while looking at the knives that caught her eye then back to Bree with a grin.
"Whatever you say, hime" Bree said with a smile.
The girls continued looking outside the window while talking about the things they'll buy while I was stuck outside getting bored with Kichi beside me, checking to see if someone will rob us. I couldn't do as much so I unconsciously stared at the horse's butt in front of me. I'm...not sure why I did that.
Creep.
"Can we buy food now?" Kichi asked while tugging my shirt which kept me out of balance.
"Will you sit down properly?" I annoyingly asked. He didn't answer me or maybe he didn't hear me so I directed my attention to my left where I heard some folks talking about a rampage the other night. I overheard them saying about a beast in the forest. They said something about under the full moon and ice. But I didn't really paid much attention to them.
"Hey, Hiro!" Kichi called while standing up on the carriage's perch beside me.
"What?"
"Where are we going exactly?" he asked while placing his hands on the back of his head. I reached for the black compass on my pockets and gave it to him.
"That compass will point us towards our destination," I muttered. Lady Solaris said that this compass will point towards the nearest guardian between the guardian of Limbo and Lust. She said that it was given to her by the Guardian of Lust so she can find either the two of them after they parted ways from the last war.
"Ohh. So this compass will point towards our destination," he said. He just repeated what I said so I didn't answer him and just sighed while face palming.
"Hiro... why is it pointing..."
"What is it now Kichi?" I asked with a bored tone. I looked at him while he was holding the compass on his left hand and pointing south, towards the carriage with his right.
"...there," he said as we both looked at our carriage. We both side-glanced each other as suspicion arisens.
-•-
Xael's Point of View
We still haven't entered the heart of the kingdom but wow. Even from the inner gate of this kingdom it's still beautiful. The people. The stalls. The atmosphere. Just...wow.
Back in Furia, I wasn't allowed to roam around the kingdom that's why I usually sneak off during free time. I couldn't enjoy it to the fullest because I was always anxious that Mom will know that I escaped the palace. But now? I feel like I'm freed from the chains.
"Hime, be careful," Bree warned for the third time as I peeked my head outside the carriage window.
"I'm fine, Bree. You shouldn't be worrying about me," I said and scrunched my nose.
"I can handle myself. Besides, were safe as long as were inside this carriage, " I continued and smiled to ease her.
"It is still my job to assist you. I would be glad to help you whenever it is inconvenient for you, even the slightest bit. If anything happens to you, I wouldn't forgive myself," Bree said with a determined face. I was going to insist that she doesn't need to do that but I was cut off with an unfamiliar presence followed by the smell of cigarettes that slowly lingered on the atmosphere.
"Well, that's quite interesting..."
Who said that?!
We looked at where the voice came from and realized that it was beside us.
"H-how did you—" Bree stuttered as she held my hand as if protecting me.
"We have been expecting for you all, children," he chuckled and switched into a lighthearted aura from a dark and cold one. I could smell the awful smell of cigarette coming from his mouth.
"Who are you?!" I furiously asked as I furrowed my eyebrows and. The man was tall and looked like he can be the same age as my parents. He had black hair, black eyes and a semi dark complexion. He was wearing a grey hat that kept his face clean from stray hair and a black coat that helped emphasize his toned body. He was holding a cigarette which he puffed before throwing it on the carriage floor and stepping on it to put the flame out.
"Wait, you don't know me? Geez that woman didn't even introduce us to you guys?" he asked while looking confused and scratching his head. We didn't manage to reply so he decided to continue talking.
"No matter. It is I, the former Guardian of the First Circle of Hell, Magnus Lionheart the Guardian of Limbo at your service, my ladies"
"Mag-nus?" Bree uttered and raised one of her eyebrows.
"You bet'cha. I have come here to escort you to your destination," he said and bowed as a dramatic effect to his introduction.
"You must be Xael right?" he turned to me and asked while smiling.
"Y-yes I am," I said while failing to sound confident.
"Right. Xael let me tell you something. I sense a familiar magic within you. It's not your magic, it's like something is placed into you that doesn't belong there but I cant...put my finger on it" he said while squinting his eyes, trying to figure out what it was.
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Ahem!" Bree broke in.
"Smoking is strictly prohibited near, hime," she said in a monotonous voice and pulled me to her—away from Sir Magnus.
"It may cause numerous health problems like damaging her lungs that can instantly kill her,"Bree continued as she examined any bruises on my limbs.
"Wait, Bree. I don't think that's how it works," I said while placing my hands on her shoulders to stop her from overexamining me.
"We need to be careful, hime," she said and grabbed my face to examine my eyes.
"Interesting, Interesting," Sir Magnus mumbled and laughed.
"Are you girls alright?!" I heard Hiro shouted while opening the carriage door.
"Ohh, It's getting more interesting," Sir Magnus chuckled while anticipating who it was.
"W-we are fine here, Hiro" I said but I think he didn't hear it.
"Ohhh, so he's Hiro," Sir Magnus said and smirked.
"I told you two to tell us if anything bad happ—Who are you!?" His eyes widened the moment he saw Sir Magnus and drew his sword as soon as he arrived. He went inside and pointed his sword on Sir Magnus' neck. The man just smirked and stared at Hiro. Is he a psychopath or something?
"We're fine. It's fine. No violence needed," I said and went in between of the two men. Hiro just stared at Sir Magnus and eventually drew his sword back to its scabbard.
"Are you guys alright in there?" I heard the muffle of Kichi's voice from outside.
"Sir Magnus, meet Hiro. Hiro, meet Sir Magnus. He's one of the former guardians," I said, introducing them.
"How can we be sure that you are really one of the last guardians?" Hiro asked and squinted his eyes while slowly gripping his sword. Sir Magnus raised his shirt just along his V-line and showed us a fading tattoo. I stared at it out of curiosity and realized that it was a rather perverted act.
"Ew! Ew! Ew! We've seen enough. I don't want to be arrested for visually molesting an old man," I exclaimed as I covered my eyes.
"Okay, first of all, Im not old. Secondly, you can't get arrested for that," Sir Magnus said as he was tucking his shirt back.
"You say that you're one of the last guardians? You must be the one that Lady Solaris was talking about who was going to give us some assistance of some sort," Hiro said.
"Not...exactly. But I can take you guys to her," he said as he placed his hands on the back of his head and closed his eyes
"Her?" Hiro asked while raising one of his eyebrows.
"Yup. She's been expecting you all. Especially the princess," he said and opened one eye to look at me.
"Me?" I asked and pointed to myself.
"Yo!" Kichi appeared. "I came by to check on you guys. You weren't answering me so I checked up on you. It looks like everything's fine," he said and gave a thumbs up.
"Who's looking after the carriage?" Hiro slowly asked as he narrowed his eyes at Kichi.
"...you?"
"KICHI, YOU DING DONG! I SPECIFICALLY INSTRUCTED YOU TO LOOK AFTER THE CARRIAGE WHILE I CHECK UP ON THESE TWO!" Hiro angrily shouted.
"I'm sorry," Kichi said while looking down and fiddled with his fingers.
"Okay, break it up, you two," I said and placed my arms between the two of them.
"What took you guys so long?" Kichi asked as he took a bite of the carrot pie that he kept from his pocket.
"We needed to handle some matters," Sir Magnus replied.
"Oh. ok," Kichi said and reached for another pie. Before he could even grab it, he arrived at the realization that he doesn't know who the man was.
"Wait. Who is he?" he asked while pointing at Sir Magnus.
"Kichi, this is Sir Magnus, Sir Magnus this is Kichi. He's one of the former guardians," I said.
"Ohh. Nice to meet you, sir Magnus. My name is Kichi Tanaka and I love me some pie," he said while taking another bite of a different pie.
"Tanaka? You must be the son of Alexander," Sir Magnus said with his eyebrows raised.
"Wait how do—"
"I hate to intrude but I think we need to go?" Hiro said.
We made Sir Magnus sit beside Hiro since he's going to navigate so we made Kichi sat with us inside the carriage. He told us that it's too hot inside so we decided to tie him up the roof of the carriage since we didn't have time to debate with him.
"Hey! This is unfair! Untie me!" We heard him scream from atop.
We were now inside the kingdom and my amazement with this strange place was still intact. Beautiful. There's so much energy. There's so full of people—full of life. Heck if I was a thief, pickpocketing would've been easy as pie from the overcrowded place and nobody would even notice.
"We're here," Sir Magnus announced which was followed by the sudden stop of the carriage that almost sent me flying.
I took a peek on where we stopped and my eyes immediately caught a quaint two-storey building with a sign that suggests that it was an Antique Shop. Sir Magnus opened the carriage door and offered a hand to both Bree and I. We both thanked him and walked towards the shop.
"Hey! I think you forgot a certain person up here!" I heard Kichi yell.
"You can just enchant the rope to make it looser, you know" Hiro suggested.
"Oh, yeah," Kichi said and sweat-dropped. As soon as he freed himself, he teleported towards us. We opened the door and the sound of the door bell greeted us. This place had a cozy feeling. I could smell the old furnitures that keeps me nostalgic. After all, this was an antique shop so it would be natural for it to be old-fashioned.
"Follow me," Sir Magnus said as he placed his hat and coat on the hook beside the door. He gestured us to go with him towards the second floor of the building. The floorboard creaked as we walked which made me anxious of it collapsing.
We were greeted by food that was prepared on the dining table here on the upper floor. We were still by the door frame but I could already smell the tasty aroma of the beef steak from afar. I saw Kichi getting excited and rubbed his hands together as he licked his lips.
"Dig in."
The minute Sir Magnus uttered those words, we immediately sat down and placed as many food as we can on our plate. We still haven't had formal meals since the trip here to Cerulean.
We were like hungry wolves eating sheep as much as we can that we didnt bother to talk since we were busy chewing as if food was running out.
"Sir Magnus?" Hiro called his attention, "I thought you said that we were gonna meet someone?"
"Yes, indeed" Sir Magnus nodded.
"Sho herge ish dat pershon (So where is that person)?" Kichi asked while too much meat was stuffed in his mouth.
"My, My, My," a woman uttered as we hear the clicking of her heels.
"Oh. here she is," Sir Magnus said
"Look what we have here," the woman chuckled.
We stopped eating the moment we felt that intimidating presence. She was standing beside Sir Magnus while resting her hands on his chair. She had long curly brown hair that reached her waist and was wearing a green flamboyant dress. Silence creeped in for about a minute. No one moved. No one made a sound. My heart pulsated faster as she smirked and disappeared.
"You must be the son of River. Hiro wasn't it?" She asked. She was behind Hiro who was caught off guard when she whispered on his ear. He was about to speak when she disappeared again like a flash of light.
"And you must be the cheeky Kichi right? Son of Alexander?" She asked as whe reappeared behind Kichi. She was now holding a fan while she pierced Kichi with her intimidating eyes.
"Y-yes, Ma'am!" Kichi stuttered as he was startled at the sudden appearance of the woman. She laughed at his behavior and pinched his cheeks.
"Owww. That hurts!" Kichi cried. The woman laughed at his response and then closed her fan only to disappear again.
"Oh, my!" She muttered behind me. I felt tingles running down my spine as I felt her breath at the back of my neck.
"You must be Xael. Oh, you've grown so beautiful, my baby," she said and hugged me from behind. I felt electricity travelling to my veins as my skin touched hers.
"I don't quite know why people say that you look like Serenity but I don't really see the resemblance. You're much prettier than her and I think you aren't bossy like her..." She said and walked towards Sir Magnus.
"...oops! Don't tell her that" she continued as she placed her hands to her lips.
"Come on, love. You only say that because you hate her," Sir Magnus said and chuckled as he clung on her waist.
"And you only say that because you had a crush on her," the woman rolled her eyes.
"No, I didn't!" Sir Magnus denied.
"Yes, you did. You even asked Alexander to help you woo her," she said and removed his hands on her waist.
"It's not like I could court you. You were with Fendrel that time, remember?"
"I—and who do we have here?" She said and locked eyes on Bree who was standing by the door frame. She told me she didn't want to eat so she just stood there.
"You there," the woman signaled her.
"Yes Ma'am?" Bree asked.
"You're the fish right?" the woman bluntly asked.
"Fish?" the four of us simultaneously asked.
"P-pardon madame?" Bree asked and blinked several times because of the confusion.
"Quite messing with the children, love. You should eat. You're getting thinner everyday," Magnus insisted.
"So you're saying that I was fat?" the woman asked as she squinted her eyes.
"You should eat too, Bree. We're not in the castle so you can just join us," I told her.
"Yes, Absolutely. I have prepared this spectacular lunch just for you, babies" the lady said with her baby voice.
"Oh right, I haven't formally introduced myself. I am the former Guardian of the Second Circle of Hell. Raven De Spelle, the Guardian of Lust. I'm the sexiest and most beautiful woman that ever lived" she laughed in a villainous way as she struck a pose.
"Lady Raven...Since we're already here I—" Hiro was cut off when Lady Raven gestured her hand to shut him up.
"I know what you're gonna ask so I'm just gonna say it. You heard about the prophecy? Well the prophecy stated something about a Savior. A savior that will be the one to end Luna's craziness," she explained.
"Luna's...craziness?" I asked.
"But the savior isn't enough to take down armies from Kratos. So you need to find both the guardians and the Savior. I don't know much about the Savior since Solaris was the only one to know about that. Did she tell you anything?" She asked.
"No..." I quietly said as I was slowly processing what she said.
"The only thing I know about her is that she is the daughter of the moonlight," she said
"Moonlight..."
"I don't know much about the savior but I do know about the Guardians. They are people that have been committing major sins depending on the Circles of Hell. There are 9 circles in total: Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treacher. So there are 9 crazy powerful people you gotta find."
"But how can we find these people?" Hiro asked.
"That's where me and and my husband comes in. We will draw doodles on Xael's Forehead" she said with a smile
"What?" I asked
"Then shall we start?" Sir Magnus asked.