"𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳."
𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘺-𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳.
𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 ��𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥-𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.
-----
Kryva Pellemeur awoke.
The sun peeked through her room's curtains. She blinked, sending out a curse at the dreaded light.
She hated being awoken by anything other than her own body. She shut her eyes, hoping to get a few more minutes of peaceful rest. Only moments after she closed her eyes, she reopened them, knowing it was pointless when she was unable to immediately drift back to sleep.
She sighed as she reluctantly got out of bed. Since she had woken up early, why not do something productive in the time she usually spent sleeping.
Right before she got out of bed, her door opened and Kirva stepped in.
He paused in surprise when he took her in, knowing she was never one to wake up early. However, his surprise turned into concern and worry when he rose his hand hesitantly.
"Kryva...? Why are you crying?"
"Huh?" She rose her hand up and brushed her cheek. She glanced at her wet hands in disbelief before looking back at Kirva.
She stretched her memory, trying to remember what could have caused her tears. Her mind came up short, with only a single thing in her mind.
"I don't know...It was like a long, never-ending dream. I never wanted to wake up from it, but I can't remember why I never wanted to wake up."
Kirva pursed his lips in concern, before he brushed it away.
"I'm leaving for school right now. I was about to leave a few scrolls about our family magic for you." He gave a small smile at her.
She smiled back at her brother. Since she was only a Princess, and not the Lady Pellemeur, she did not have access to the entirety of her family library. While she did have further access to the library than guests, she was not permitted to enter any further than the basic magic scrolls.
The ones she requested Kirva, or rather, Lord Pellemeur, to retrieve, were those that detailed the very workings and core of her Flame magic.
"I'll see you later brother." He nodded at her words before disappearing into the otherside of her doors.
School had recently reopened for Kirva just two weeks ago.
Apparently, the school had closed for two weeks after the ceremony to allow the nobles ample time to grasp the reality they had been hit with that day.
For a quest to be initiated after who knows how long. She didn't know when was the last time a quest was issued considering the general confusion the nobles had. It had been four weeks since the banquet, and not a single noble knew of the way they would be selected.
She felt as if someone was hiding something. There was no reason for such an urgent mission to have been issued yet no evidence that there was even going to be one in the first place.
Why would the Supreme Oracle issue a quest but leave no clues as to how they would know they were selected?
She pursed her lips, pushing the thoughts of the Supreme Oracle away. She turned her attention onto the scrolls Kirva had retrieved for her.
She picked up the first one, titled, "Flame of Pellemeur".
She sighed, closing her eyes. She mentally prepared herself for something she wasn't meant to read. Her red eyes reopened and she gave herself one last calming moment.
Once she opened it, she would have to hide the fact that she had read it. Else, she might be severely punished by her family. She wasn't Lady Pellemeur. She was only Kryva Pellemeur, Princess of Achen.
She pursed her lips, took another shaking breath, and opened the scroll to the first page.
-----
"Your Highness."
Kryva was shaken out of her concentration by the knock on her door and the familiar voice of her servant.
She blinked, her eyes refocusing onto reality as the orange-red flames that danced on her palms disappeared, almost as if they never existed in the first place.
The knocks came again as she stared at the door, her mind still in a haze.
"Your Highness." The servant called louder.
Kryva blinked as she shook out of her thoughts. She quickly rolled up the scrolls, not bothering to tie them as it would take too long before the servant would come barging in.
She stood and opened the door slightly, just enough so her full body would show in the doorway, but not enough for anyone to look into the contents of the room.
"Yes?" She gazed up at the slightly taller servant, cursing at her own inferior height.
The servant bowed. "The Prince of Etherstorm is here to see you. He requested specifically for 'Kryva Pellemeur, the Princess of Achen', rather than Lady Pellemeur."
She blinked at the title of the male she had not seen for four entire weeks. The last time she saw him was when she and her brother had bid farewell to his family after the shocking announcement of the Supreme Oracle.
He had only given her an uninterested look before turning away, his amber eyes looking elsewhere.
She had to hide her hurt from her brother. It hurt to see the one person she could perhaps call friend at the party turn away from her.
She had even danced with him for Delusion's sake! They got really close and he decides that she wasn't worth talking to after the whole drop of the quest?
Her face flushed when she remembered how close she got to him despite his status being much higher than hers. She swore she wasn't thinking about how his strong arms pulled her towards him.
"I-I see. Would you be so kind as to inform him I will be out shortly?"
The servant bowed at her words and left, leaving Kryva standing to rebuild her composure.
She pursed her lips as she mentally prepared herself for her conversation with the Prince of Etherstorm.
She didn't know how to start a conversation with him.
Her eyes widened in realization. She didn't have to start a conversation. She only had to greet him and he would state his business with her specifically. He was the one who sought her out.
She was a genius!
She stepped out confidently, her red eyes focused and determined.
She was Kryva Pellemeur, the Princess of Achen and the next Lady Pellemeur.
She walked into the main hall and opened her mouth to greet her guest. However, the moment she laid her eyes on him, the words she attempted to speak died in her throat. She felt as if she had just swallowed a rock, blocking her from speaking her mind.
Just seeing the side of his face and Kryva was already speechless from the beautiful sight that was Houvdon Archelio.
He turned from the window he was staring out of, and she was able to see his amber eyes fully. They just as deep as she had remembered, his emotions hidden far below the depths of his eyes.
"Hello again, Kryva Pellemeur."
He bowed to her, but did not kiss the back of her hand the way he had at the ceremony.
He only did such things when it was required of reputation and appearance sake. In private, he dare not overstep his boundaries even if he was Houvdon Archelio.
She frowned disappointed at his lack of formality. A part of her secretly yearned to have physical contact with him. Yet, even with this displeasure in her mind, she was still barely able to form sentences in her mind and mouth alike.
"Hello Houvdon Archelio. You requested for me?"
He nodded, his golden hair falling into his eyes slightly. She resisted the urge to move the hair out of his eyes and merely held eye contact.
"Would you like to give me a tour of the manor first?" He looked around the large estate. "I would hate to get lost in here."
She sighed. "I supposed that makes sense. We can talk while I give the tour."
He gave her a tight smile, almost akin to a frown despite his obvious effort to smile reassuringly. "I would rather not talk of such matters while I am being gifted something as mundane as a tour, even if it is of a noble house."
She felt a pang of hurt at his words. Even if he didn't mean it, her house being called ordinary hurt more than it should've.
"I see. If that is how you feel..."
He didn't catch the double meaning behind her words. He only assumed she talked about what he had said about the "talk" rather than his unintentional degrading comment of her housing.
"Let us start from outside." He gave her a gentle look. "I saw how beautiful the hedge garden was from the outside. I'm sure it'll be just as breathtaking on the inside."
She nodded wordlessly and motioned for him to follow.
She turned and without waiting for him, exited the side doors of the manor to get to the entrance of the hedge garden.
She heard his footsteps following, trailing just a little behind her. She slowed down her steps just a little so she wouldn't get too far ahead of him.
The moment they stepped through the arch made of carefully trimmed hedges, she heard Houvdon take a sharp intake of air.
"It's...so beautiful." He whispered. His deep amber eyes that were once emotionless and full of cold warmed. She was able to peer into his eyes and admire the awe in his eyes. "My manor doesn't have a hedge garden. We only have gardens of flowers."
She smiled softly. "It's my mother's proud work. She worked hard to grow all the plants to be the exact size and shape you see before you."
His frown turned upwards just slightly, now a straight line instead of a troubled frown.
"I can see that." He closed his eyes briefly and exhaled. When he reopened them, he looked up at the sky, almost directly at the Sun.
It was almost at the very peak of its height in the sky.
His stoic face once again turned into a frown.
Kryva noticed his change in mood and gestured for him to follow her once again. He complied, staying behind her. His head swiveled admiring every ounce of effort Lady Pellemeur had put into the garden.
They took many turns, something Houvdon despised. He wished the garden was made so instead of seeming like a maze with the tall hedges and twisting turns, it would instead be a beautiful open view.
But it was not his. It was what Lady Pellemeur envisioned her garden to be, and he, as a guest, could only admire her work rather than criticize.
They eventually made it to a beautiful fountain. Water poured out of the mouths of the lions, one head facing each direction, perpendicular to each other.
She motioned for him to sit down, patting the space beside her. He complied with her request as a host, seating himself so he was close enough to her, yet far enough so he was respecting her space as a stranger.
"What is it you wish to talk to me about?"
"We aren't going to finish the tour?" He gave her an amused look, his eyes still full of coldness despite his attempt at mimicking human emotion.
"No. There is no need to if this may very well be your final time at my manor. Speak for I have things to finish, and you have school to return to."
He tilted his head so he looked back up the sky.
She looked up with him, trying to see the reason why he was looking upwards so often.
He shook his head, returning his gaze to the magnificent fountain in front of them.
"You know I have school today?" He continued to dodge around the topic, choosing to instead converse in small talk rather than the important matters he had.
"You go to the same school as my brother no? That's how you two know each other, as well as Zuxara. My brother still is in school, which means you ditched."
"You remember Zuxara?" He gave a small chuckle, purposely avoiding the last part she had spoken. "He does not deserve your attention."
"Prince of Etherstorm, I grow tired of your musings. Why have you come to speak with me?"
All traces of mimicked human emotion faded from his face. His gaze turned hard and his fist clenched. He relaxed his hand just moments after he had clenched it.
"I have found out the way we are being chosen to be apart of the quest to find the Sacred Artifact."
All annoyance caused from him, despite his charming looks, faded from her body.
"W-what?"
"You certainly are different today. You seem to not be as flustered as you were when you first laid your gaze on me at the ceremony. Today...you seem to be a different person." Of course, Houvdon decided to stray from the far more important topic at hand.
"Never mind my attitude." She growled, her annoyance once again rising. "What do you mean by finding the way we are being selected?"
He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. His shoulders slumped and his body gave off the image of a tired man.
"Two weeks ago, my friend was selected by the Greater Beings. Exactly fourteen days ago, her right eye was shifted into purple, the color representing the Greater Beings."
Her blood ran cold.
He cast yet another look up at the sky, and she looked up with him.
The only difference from the last time he looked up was the Sun was almost at its peak in the sky, slowly making its journey across the sky.
"Why do you keep on-"
"I look up at the sky because that's the only way I can curse the Sun." He let out a low sound from his throat, almost like a growl. "Why send us on this mission when we don't even know what is even going to happen on it? Anything can happen, so why send such a small group of people into the World's End?"
She reached out and touched his shoulder, flinching inwardly at the physical contact between the two even if she was the one who initiated it.
He paid no mind to her touch.
He turned to face her, his amber eyes boring deep into her eyes.
"I'm telling you this because you are the next Lady Pellemeur. Soon, your mother will relieve her duty as Lady, and you are next in line. You must know of these matters to be prepare you for the future."
"I'm not yet Lady. I don't see why you are telling me this information. This should have been told to Lord Pellemeur or Lady Pellemeur, not me."
Houvdon was quiet before he narrowed his eyes at her. "What have you been doing for the last four weeks?"
She inwardly flinched, but attempted to not show anything on the outside. She didn't want him to know that she had broken ancient laws.
He wouldn't understand not being able to master his own power.
His amber eyes narrowed and she shifted underneath his gaze.
"I've only been studying on my family's magic." Kryva decided to only tell half of the truth. She didn't wish to risk being exposed.
His amber eyes narrowed, and she can almost see the gears turning in his head. She frowned, and attempted to bring up another topic because she knew that Houvdon would eventually figure out what she was doing.
"What have you been doing for the past few weeks? Especially the last two after you found out your friend is going to apart of the quest?"
"I've been training...I've been trying to get stronger." Houvdon frowned at her. "Have you gotten stronger since the last time we met?"
She shook her head. "I've only been recently trying to get stronger."
He turned away and looked up.
His eyes widened in horror as he saw something the Princess could not.
"Hou-" She was about to speak his name when she felt a searing hot pain in her right eye. Shock filled her mind, overriding the immense pain she felt.
His head snapped over to her, his eyes full of rage and fury as he saw her cover her right eye with her hand, blood dripping out of it.
He cursed as he placed his hands on her shoulder, attempting to calm her down. "Kryva! Listen to me. The pain will pass. You just have to let it consume you."
Her mind was elsewhere, attempting to block out the pain. She felt the liquid run down her cheek, much like her tears just a few hours ago.
She let out a scream as she pressed her palm further against her eye, almost as if the harder she pressed, the less the pain will affect her.
Houvdon let out a growl when he released she wasn't listening to his words. He gritted his teeth as he felt his power starting to rise, surging through his body.
He glared back up at the Sun, which only seemed to mock him. The sheer spacial difference in distance was the same as the difference between the two in power. With it at the peak of its heights in the sky, it only looked down in arrogance.
The Greater Beings wished for them to retrieve the Sacred Artifact, Aurora Diemque. They weren't some puppets to be controlled. They were living humans too.
He looked back down at Kryva who had stopped screaming, the screams turning into whimpers of pain.
He closed his eyes and sighed. He ripped his robe's sleeves, tearing the fabric so he was able to get a piece of cloth big enough to wipe the blood off of her face.
She whimpered as she clutched the shoulders of his robes, still shaking in pain.
He hesitantly tore off more fabric from his sleeve, the ripping sound making him cringe. She opened her right eye hesitantly, the purple eye causing the Prince to shiver as a coldness ran down his spine.
She started to speak but Houvdon placed his finger on her lips. "Shh...let me wrap this around your eye first." He gave her a sad smile. He knew the heavy mental burden it caused. He had had to deal with it for days with Luna.
First Luna was chosen. Now, it was Kryva Pellemeur being selected for this path to death.
How were they being selected? And most of all...who is next?
-----
𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕰𝖓𝖉