Chapter 2: A Whole New World
Chirp, Chirp, Chirp
Little birds could be heard singing their tune, greeting the morning rays of sunlight that shone through a stained glass window, peeking past the curtains to illuminate a peaceful sight of a young girl sleeping in a large bed.
She appeared to be relatively young, roughly 6 or 7 years old, with silky white hair, which was currently dishevelled due to her lousy sleeping posture. She had adorable little features, including pale white skin with a hint of rouge, almond-shaped eyes, a cute little button nose, and rosy pink lips that had a trail of drool leaking down the side of her cheek.
Despite the sanctity of the scene, it was suddenly disturbed as a woman, dressed in a Victorian-style maid outfit, came through the door with quick yet practised steps. Her blonde hair, styled in a Dutch Braid Bun, bobbed with every step. She hurriedly approached the curtains before unceremoniously yanking them open to let in the majority of the light that had previously only been peeking through, revealing her smooth white skin accented with a hint of freckles.
As if she were a monster roused from its eternal slumber, the young girl groaned at the unexpected stimulation of her eyes as her closed eyelids went from creating pitch darkness to a vibrant reddish-white glare.
Rolling over to bury her face in her pillow in an attempt to return to the darkness, the girl once again groaned as she had already found herself too awake to fall back asleep.
She had been having the strangest dream about a metal giant who claimed to have fallen from the sky in a metal box. Thus, wishing to learn more, she desperately wanted to return to what she had been seeing before she was so rudely awakened. However, no matter how she tried, she couldn't fall back asleep, especially when only a few seconds after she had rolled over, she heard:
"Princess Ariana, it's time to wake up."
Releasing her third groan of the morning, Ariana replied.
"Just five more minutes…"
"Unfortunately, Princess, that won't be possible. Today is the King's birthday, and Her Majesty, the Queen, has requested that all her children be woken up by 8:30 this morning. As it is now roughly 8:35, your allotted 5 extra minutes have been used up."
Just as she finished her words, the maid yanked the blanket off Ariana, revealing her in a yellow nightgown. However, Ariana's nightgown wasn't the only thing revealed beneath the cover of the blanket.
Laying at her side was a creature that appeared to be a large lizard with leathery wing-like appendages on its back. Its scales were a shining white that ended in metallic black tips; it had white spines that ran along its spine that were currently flattened against its back and small horns that jutted from its head. It also had a long scaly tail that ended in a spear-like tip, which was currently curled around the front of its body as it slept. It presently appeared roughly 1.5m in length, counting its tail, proving how large the little girl's bed was.
With the loss of its own darkness, the lizard-like creature released its own groan before displaying its sapphire-like eye to peek at its surroundings. Realising it was being woken up alongside its mistress, the creature known as a Dragon arched its neck upwards while releasing a yawn, showing off its razor-sharp teeth hidden within, before resting its head back down on the bed.
Rising to a seated position herself, Ariana released an unrestrained yawn, much like the dragon, while rubbing her eye. After looking around and then settling her ruby red eyes on the dragon, a silly little smile developed across her face as she stretched her hand out and petted the Dragons head, stating:
"Good morning, Shirogane ~."
With a muted huff and a tap of its tail as a response, Ariana giggled slightly before turning her gaze to her left, only to feel all the hair on the back of her neck stand on end when she caught sight of the maids' grey eyes accompanied by a steely gaze and disapproving expression.
"Princess, what did Her Majesty say about having others in your bed with you?"
Realising she'd been caught, Ariana averted her eyes from the maid and mumbled
"It's not like Shirogane is a stranger; he's my best friend."
"Sigh… Be that as it may, you should really attempt to avoid getting into mischief, Princess. While Her Majesty is a Queen, she is also your mother, and all good girls should listen to their mothers."
"I know… but it's so unfair to Shirogane! Don't you feel pity for him to be sleeping all by himself on the cold hard floor, Julia?!"
Returning a deadpan stare at Ariana, the maid, Julia, couldn't help but look over at the assortment of luxurious pillows and bedding that had been custom made specifically for Shirogane.
Noticing what Julia was looking at, Ariana once again averted her eyes. She laughed a little nervously at the fact she had been caught in one of her exaggerations once again.
Deciding to divert attention away from the situation she'd found herself in, Ariana bounded out of bed, rushing toward the door of her room before stopping and turning around.
"C'mon, Shirogane! Let's hurry and get to the bath!"
Opening its eyes once more, Shirogane released a noise reminiscent of a sigh before rising to its paws and performing a cat-like stretch with its front paws stretched out front, and its rear raised high. Then, with agility and dexterity that dwarfed human capabilities, it bounded out of its position, reaching Ariana, before spontaneously growing to an intimidating 6m in length, tossing her onto its back with its head and trotting off toward the bath.
Listening to the peal of laughter that echoed as Ariana and Shirogane disappeared down the hall, Julia, as well as anyone else who heard it, couldn't help but release exasperated sighs while also wearing loving smiles on their faces.
Ariana was considered the baby of the Kingdom who was loved by all, the genius little girl who was born with both extraordinary intellect and magical prowess, as well as the Arcadian Royal bloodline, said to have descended from Dragons. Due to this bloodline, some royal descendants were born with a trait that allowed them to tame dragons. Ariana was currently the only one born with this trait, the first in generations, able to stimulate the hatching of an ancient dragon egg that had been passed down for centuries, at the startling age of 3 months old. This allowed her to form a mystical bond with the dragon, granting many different abilities, one such ability being telepathic communication between the two.
Now, with her approaching only 6 years old, Ariana had already mastered every basic level spell within the royal library as well as made headway with several advanced spells, magic typically only reserved for adult mages serving in the Kingdom's military.
Arriving at a large doorway made of special white wood, Shirogane pushed open the double doors with its snout, revealing a massive indoor bathhouse with steaming pools of mana-rich waters.
There was also someone who seemed to have been about to exit the bath and open the door when Shirogane had opened it.
Coming face to face with a young man, around the age of 16 or 17, Ariana's happy face shifted from her typical smile to a neutral expression, especially after hearing the boy's words.
"Scoff, watch where you're going, you stupid brat."
"Brother Adrian, I apologise; I didn't realise you were in here," Ariana replied in a cold monotone.
"Imbecile, of course, I'd be here first thing in the morning. And to think they call you the genius princess. You are not even able to understand that others would be bathing in the morning. How idiotic. It seems like you brought along your stupid lizard as well. I still can't comprehend how Mother and Father would allow you to bring this… animal… with you. Sharing a bath with such a creature is disgusting."
Ariana's eyes darkened as she listened to her elder brother's words. Just as she was about to lash out, she heard Shriogane's voice from within her mind.
"Ignore him, Ari. He's not worth our time."
"But! He spoke badly about you! I don't care what he says about me, but nobody is allowed to speak badly of you!"
"Leave it, Ari. He'll get what's coming to him soon. You have my guarantee."
"But-"
"Ari…"
"Sigh… fine."
Deciding to listen to Shirogane's words, Ariana replied.
"I apologise for the inconvenience, Brother. I'll make sure to be more careful in the future."
"See that you do, worm."
Having said his piece, Adrian left through the door and made his way back to his room.
With a sigh, Ariana hopped off Shirogane's back, stripped off her nightgown before taking a running jump into the nearest bath, one reserved explicitly for both her and Shirogane. Following after his mistress, Shirogane gently glided into the water and floated on its surface, much like a crocodile would do and began to meander around the edges while Ariana began scrubbing herself.
Being part of the royal family and the wealth such a position provided, there was a wide assortment of different types of soaps and sanitary products of varying scents to choose from, something that lower-class families, who usually shared one soap-block between a family of 5 would not be able to afford. However, as if such a thing completely eluded her mind, Ariana simply scrubbed herself with the water around her before attempting to leave.
Before she could, however, the doors to the bath were opened once again, revealing a pointedly-staring Julia. She had already suspected Ariana would attempt to proceed without following the proper bathing protocols.
Appearing as though she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, Ariana attempted to lie about having finished, only to be interrupted by Julia's hand pointing back towards the bath. With a huff, Ariana once again entered the bath, only to have herself lathered up and shampooed by Julia, all while pouting the entire time.
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With her bath having come to an end and being dolled up in a beautiful pink gown, accompanied by a sparkling silver tiara adorned with ruby-like gems, Ariana made her way towards the Throne Room with Shirogane, who was resting on her right shoulder, now roughly the size of an iguana.
Barging in without any sense of propriety, Ariana drew the attention of everyone in the room, including the strange woman and a group of strangers that were currently standing before both her Father and Mother. The woman sported round ears covered in white fur on the top of her head, accented with black around the edges, and a long spotted tail that trailed behind her. She had a lithe figure that displayed her natural athleticism, but also sported curves that were greatly accentuated by her traditional attire.
Evidently, she was from one of the Demi-human tribes that resided in the Arcadian Kingdom, specifically from the Snow Leopard tribe. She was accompanied by what appeared to be her relatives, brothers and sisters mostly, including a young boy that seemed to be around Ariana's age.
Feeling everyone's gaze fall upon her, Ariana began to feel slightly nervous, especially seeing her Father's serious expression, likely in response to the sudden intrusion. However, she soon found her lifeline, looking over to see her Mother smiling gently at her while also noticing her Father's expression soften considerably after realising it was her who had entered.
Seeing her parent's expressions, all of Ariana's fears faded away as she made her way over to her siblings, who, all but one, looked at her with similar gentle smiles. Noticing the look she received from Adrian as well as his subtle scoff, Ariana followed Shirogane's previous advice and elected to ignore him while returning a smile to her other siblings. Ariana had 4 elder siblings, 3 brothers and 1 sister.
Her eldest sibling happened to be her sister, Adriana, at 19 years of age. She had similar white hair to Ariana's and had almost identical features, except her eyes were blue.
The following three elder siblings were her brothers, Adrian, age 16; Aiden, age 12 and Andrew age 9, who also had similarly white hair and blue eyes like her elder sister, except for Adrian, who had slightly purple eyes.
Out of all of her siblings, the only one to treat her with hostility accompanied by clear annoyance and disdain was Adrian, the Crown Prince. The reason for this was Ariana's defining trait that set her apart from all her siblings. Her red eyes.
Those born with massive amounts of mana usually developed a certain shade of red within their eyes. The brighter and more vibrant the color, the more powerful and greater the quantity of mana the person possessed at birth. While it wasn't as though others couldn't develop their mana to similar heights through training and meditation, for Ariana, she had a clear head start above the rest, so much so that at the age of 3 months, when she had allowed Shirogane to hatch, her mana capacity was triple that of the Crown Prince.
Her mana capacity had also slowly begun to develop even further as she aged, allowing her to keep her lead above her siblings in terms of mana capacity. It was due to this that Adrian disdained her as he felt his position as Crown Prince was endangered due to her existence.
When he was born, due to the color of his eyes, he was praised as a genius and lorded as the miracle child of the royal family. Due to that sentiment, he grew up brash and arrogant, looking down on everyone around him, especially his siblings who only had clear blue eyes. However, when Ariana was born, Adrian felt as though his world was crashing down around him, especially when she had been able to hatch the dragon egg that he had failed to, despite repeatedly trying for years. He felt an extreme sense of inferiority towards his infant sibling and began to harbour malicious thoughts towards her.
Despite his mistress having ignored him, Shirogane still pondered over the expression Adrian had shown when Ariana had arrived. He began to recall an event that had occurred roughly 2 years ago.
(Flashback)
It was currently 2:35 in the early morning as Ariana peacefully slept within her bed with Shirogane coiled atop her chest in his much smaller form. She had retired to her room rather late last night after running around the castle grounds with her draconic best friend, causing her to be in a rather deep sleep, much like every other member of the royal family at a time like this. However, it was around this time that the door that led to Ariana's room inexplicably opened by itself before closing itself silently.
Sensing movement within the room that seemed to be approaching his mistress while also noticing a rather potent hostile intent, Shirogane opened his eyes while glaring at an empty spot in the room. Noticing whatever was there froze, halting its approach, Shirogane slowly climbed off Ariana's chest, hopping off her bed and spontaneously growing in size, around 7 or 8m. Using his now massive size, Shirogane proceeded to coil around the base of Ariana's bed, protectively, all while staring down the invisible intruder.
Realising that the intruder wouldn't leave without taking his eyes off of it, Shirogane rested his head on his front paws and closed his eyes. Sensing the intruder move once more, however, back in the direction of the door, Shirogane waited for the door to close once again before finally allowing himself to fall back asleep.
When the following day arrived, Shirogane relayed the previous night's events through the telepathic communication he shared with Ariana.
"I believe your elder brother attempted to kill you last night, Ari."
"Huh? Which one? Wait, let me guess. It was Adrian." Ariana asked. Despite the usual playfulness that she displayed to the world around her, Ariana was still a prodigy. She had understood how the world worked at a very young age and could easily recognise the difference in treatment she received from her eldest brother compared to basically everyone else she had ever met.
"You are correct. It was the eldest, Adrian. Despite entering your room cloaked in an invisibility spell, the boy has no control over his bloodlust, let alone the fact that such a spell doesn't even mask the noise one's movements make, nor their scent."
"I see; I was so exhausted after yesterday that I didn't even notice. It just goes to show how lucky I am to have you around, Shiro." Ariana stated, with an affectionate smile on her face.
"Please, Ari, as if I'd allow something so amateurish to bring harm to you." Shirogane replied smugly.
"Hahaha, yes, yes, praises be upon you, Oh Majestic Dragon King." Ariana said in a teasing manner, yet despite that, Shiro ignored her tone of voice and puffed out his chest in pride.
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(Present)
"It seems I'll have to keep a closer eye on him…" Shirogane thought to himself.
Ariana stood silently alongside her brother Andrew, who stood to her right, as she waited for things to proceed.
"Apologies for the interruption, Sana." The King said after seeing that Ariana had settled in her place.
"It's no problem, Amarant. I'm just glad to see that at least one of your children has taken after you." Sana replied with a teasing smile on her face.
Under normal circumstances, addressing a King in such a manner would be grounds for execution. However, Sana and King Amarant, as well as Queen Eleanora, all shared a long history, all three being within the same Adventuring Party when they were younger.
Seeing the teasing expression on Sana's face, Amarant couldn't help recalling the past he shared with her alongside Eleanora. In fact, the three of them had shared quite a number of intimate moments with each other before going their separate ways to fulfil their respective duties.
Clearing his throat in an effort to avoid expressing his embarrassment from the steamy memories that had surfaced within his mind, Amarant decided to move the conversation forward lest he ruin the image his children had of him.
"It's unlike you to request a private audience. Did something happen?" Amarant asked.
With her expression turning serious, Sana turned her head towards the young boy within her entourage, prompting him to step forward to pass her a beautifully carved wooden box, which she turned around and presented towards Amarant with the lid open.
Peering within the box, Amarant and Eleanora were able to see an absolutely gorgeous pendant that seemed to be formed from ice. Whenever the light refracted off of its surface, it would generate a sublime rainbow hue that seemed to entrance whomever stared for too long. The aura it radiated was so intense, that even the children who stood at the side could sense its splendor.
"Beautiful…" Ariana unconsciously said. Her words seemed to break the rest of the Royal Family out of the reverie they had found themselves in.
Hearing the utterance from the adorable little girl, Sana's serious expression couldn't help but falter slightly as she glanced towards Ariana with a teasing smile.
"What my daughter says is true; it is a marvellous piece… What is the material that it is made from?" Amarant spoke with shining eyes of fascination and an eager tone.
Returning her eyes to Amarant, Sana regained her serious expression as she replied,
"The material is made from an ancient magic that the Snow Leopard people, specific to my tribe, are innately born with. It takes decades to form even a tiny piece, but by working together, we, as a tribe, managed to complete a pendant of this size."
Due to the magical properties the material possessed, it could become a source of greed if others were to discover it. The pendant had the ability to amplify a person's spells by 3 times the ordinary strength while costing only a fraction of the mana required to cast. This could potentially bring disaster upon their tribe, which was specifically why Sana requested such an audience before this evening's events.
Amarant took hold of the pendant and allowed some of his mana to flow into it. Immediately after, his facial expression went from shock to one of extreme seriousness. He looked back at Sana, as if asking for confirmation that what he truly sensed was not an illusion.
Seeing the changes in the King's expression, as well as his search for confirmation, Sana returned a nod while her serious expression intensified.
Amarant passed the pendant over to his wife for her to observe its effects as well, causing her to experience the same changes in expression. Both of them looked at each other before looking back at Sana.
Unbeknownst to anyone, as they hadn't paid enough attention to notice, Adrian's expression briefly cramped at the sight of the pendant before returning to normal.
"I can see why you asked to see me. Judging by your expression, something has come up which involves not only this pendant but the existence of this material as a whole."
Seeing Sana nod once more, Amarant sighed. He, too, understood the gravity of the situation at hand. If someone were to discover this material, as well as the ability possessed by members of Sana's clan, there were no actions too costly that one would take to obtain either, if not both.
"So, what has happened that you decided to reveal such a secret to us?"
"Recently, there has been a lot of foreign activity within our territory. At first we assumed they were foreign slavers, coming to kidnap our people to traffic to the surrounding nations. However, we found that none of our members had disappeared recently and that the movements of these strangers appear more like those expected of reconnaissance units rather than your regular old traffickers." Sana replied. As the Chieftess of her tribe, slave traffickers were people she despised the most, causing her to be very proactive when they were suspected to be on her land.
"You believe that information about either the material or your people's talent has somehow been leaked and that this foreign movement in your territory is simply the beginning of something major?" Eleanora asked
"That's correct." Sana replied.
Amarant sat in silence as he pondered about what to do in this situation. He could easily send a division of soldiers to guard Sana's land, but that wouldn't reveal who was behind these movements.
If it were someone within his Kingdom, Amarant wished to bring them down, alongside protecting his comrades' tribe.
"In an ideal world, I'd use this situation to both capture the mastermind and protect your people in one fell swoop… However, we don't have any leads and cannot guarantee if those we capture would lead us to said mastermind." Amarant thought aloud.
"I will not risk the lives of your people for something that cannot be guaranteed. I believe assigning a squad of Espion agents to integrate within your tribe and monitor the situation would be ideal for now. Yes, we'll go with that."
Espion was a kind of secret service agency within the Arcadian Kingdom, they specialised in, as the name suggested, espionage, as well as a host of other covert operations and tactics. Each member was expertly trained in both close quarters combat alongside having a great degree of skill in magical combat. They were a group that answered directly to the King, and each member had to go through rigorous background checks and training to even be selected. With the ability to use long range communication magic to keep the King updated on the situation, they were the perfect option for this situation, in both being subtle while also having sufficient strength necessary to hold until reinforcements arrived should they be needed.
Feeling as though the weight on her shoulders had been slightly reduced, Sana appeared to relax a little as the relief she felt, knowing that she could still rely on her old comrades, brought her both a sense of peace and gratitude.
"Thank you, Amarant, Eleanora; I will forever be in your debt for this."
"Please, Sana, there's no need for that. After all, there were times in the past that either of us would not be here today had it not been for you. Whatever debt you believe you owe has been paid for in the past." Eleanora stated as she smiled at Sana with a heavy amount of affection.
Sana returned Eleanora's affectionate smile with one of her own, briefly feeling nostalgic.
"I'll have some of the Snow Leopard members of Espion integrate with your group once tonight's festivities come to an end. That should keep suspicion to a minimum."
"I understand. Thank you again, Amarant." Sana said, before adding in a neutral tone but with a beautiful smile while her eyes shined in subtle mischievousness and seduction, "Oh, and I hope you have a splendid Birthday. Make sure you keep 'active'. Old age tends to sneak up on those like us."
Seeing Sana display her usual beautiful smile and understanding her insinuation, Amarant subconsciously held his breath. Sana was an extremely attractive woman, especially with her exotic features. Had he not been in love with Eleanora at the time and had already planned to marry, Sana would most likely have been his next choice.
Noticing the state she had left the King in, due to the pheromones he was unconsciously releasing, while realising Eleanora had been left in a similar state, Sana's smile gained a subtle teasing quality as she squinted her eyes slightly before speaking once again.
"I believe I've occupied enough of your time; I'll take my leave. I look forward to the festivities and hope we can 'speak' again later tonight."
Seeing Amarant nod, while also noticing they'd both received her subtle suggestion of a late-night rendezvous together as a trio, for old times sake, Sana supplied a bow as was the custom and left the Throne Room with her entourage.
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