*7 hours ago*
"Quickly girls, this way" the queen ushers the two, almost running towards the main entry.
Mikayla follows along with the two royals, watching their identical almost white hair dancing with the wind. "Where are we going?"
"To our ship," the queen says, not slowing her fast pace, "we will reach there by our car, it's parked up front"
The two girls follow along, hands clasped tightly, and worried eyes looking around. They were leaving for the northern kingdom, the ball is still ongoing, they could hear the music and cheers from the other side of the castle, the previous royal banter seeming to fade away with the drinks.
"What about Noah?" Mikayla whispers, quietly to her friend's ears.
"He's not coming" the girl replies shortly.
"Why not?" Mikayla questions with a slight tremor in her stomach.
"He is with his family now. I don't know if we can trust him either" Olivia responds, with a sudden coldness that seemed to hit the brunette in her core.
"Okay" was all she managed to say with a voice so small, she didn't know if her friend heard her, her retreating back seemed to not show any emotion. She clasped her hands tighter, fearing she might leave her if she hadn't clung to her.
"This way my queen" a man urges them as they descend the stairs to the driveway.
"No one heard us right?" The queen asks, ushering the two girls inside the white limousine.
"Yes, my queen" the guard replies, bowing lightly with his head.
"Good, now let's get out of here," the queen says climbing in the car.
The guard bows again, before running to the passenger side of the limousine, "drive" the guard orders the driver, who in turn subtly nods to him before starting the car for the ship, his blue eyes glowing in the dark of the night.
"We're in a hurry?" He asks, flipping his hair to the side, revealing the scar running through the right side of his face.
"Yes. We should leave before anyone realizes we are gone" the guard says, not noticing the smirk building up on the driver's lips, "if only we could use our planes"
"No kingdom can use flying vehicles or machinery in other kingdom skies" the driver explains, rolling down the window, a blast of wind waving his shoulder-long golden hair.
"I know that" the guard bites down, "what's with your face anyway?"
"What ever do you mean?" The man asks, turning to meet the guards eyes, with a smug smile.
"The scar" the guard replies, tracing the tips of his fingers along his face, mirroring the man's scar.
"Just a little reminder" the man responds with a small shrug.
"Of what?" The guard proceeds to pry, his curiosity getting the best of him.
"My enemies" the man responds turning to look at the guard with a playful grin plastered on his face. "You know what they say. A friend makes a boy, an enemy makes a man"
**********
*7 hours later*
"A cloud?" The little prince asks his friend for another time.
"How did you know?" The tall boy asks, looking around the blue sky and sea of clouds beneath them.
"Can we play something else? The only thing we spy on is the sky, clouds, or the sun" the little prince calls out, with a big sigh.
"I spy" the tall boy starts again, causing the prince to fall in the fur of the winged lion with a groan, he reaches for his hearing aid, trying to shut down his friends voice befor he hears, "I spy with my little eyes, something red"
"Red?" The little prince asks, turning to meet his friend's eyes plastered before him, "there is nothing red.." he begins following his friend's line of sight to see a woman before them, standing on a small cloud.
"Who are you?" The woman questions, eyes jumping between the two boys.
"Umm.." The little prince fumbles out, at a loss for words from with the woman before him, he takes a moment before he speaks again, seeing her bright red hair with a small dark crown sitting atop her soft curls, and a long red dress, that almost makes her look like a red bride, dancing with the wind in perfect synchronization.
Zuba gives a low rumble, turning all attention to him. "I am Arthur Splitzerd, son of Edward Splitzerd, king of the eastern kingdom, We come here looking for the central world" the little prince finally blurts out, gaining the red woman's attention.
"The central world?" She questions, tilting her head, "and what does a prince seek from the central world?"
"Answers" He replies his grip on Zuba tightening.
"The central world has many answers, but you must know what your question is"
"We know our question"
"Are you willing to tell me? Or do I have to guess that?" The woman responds with a little smile.
"It's about the western kingdom prince, prince Cameron"
The woman stops smiling, her expression turning somber. "Follow me" she only says before turning and heading forward.
Zuba flaps forward, urging behind the red woman. The woman soars through the skies her red trail flapping behind her before she stops before a mountain top extending further up the clouds.
"Open" she commands, causing the very rocks on the mountain to retract giving an entrance to the inside, "welcome to the central world," she says turning to meet the gaping mouth of the two friends.
She soars forward, Zuba following close behind, entering a new world within the mountain. Both boys look around their surroundings, a small gasp escaping with every sight. They look down to see trees with clouds for leaves, a rainbow path cutting through the white grass, and glimmering skies that give the world a bit of sparkle.
"Close your mouths or a fairy might fly in," the woman says with a bit of a smile.
"Is it true of what we heard?" The little prince asks, eyes devouring the sight before him.
"What have you heard little prince?" The woman asks slowing down to be beside them.
"Of the magical creature that lives here and the magic that exists, can you use magic?"
"I am standing on a condensed watery vapor in the atmosphere, so yes I have magic," she says gesturing to the cloud below her bare feet, "the creatures are true, but they only show themselves to only those they fully trust, they are nothing but invisible to others, but be careful where you walk, for you might step on one"
"How do we gain their trust?" The tall boy speaks for the first time.
"Now that is a question we can't answer," the woman says moving forward, causing the two boys to exchange a look of confusion, but following close behind.
They fly through the wondrous skies, before reaching a castle of clouds and gold, proudly set on the highness point of the magical world.
"This is where you will find the council of the central kingdom. There is Cordelia, guardian of the day, and Althea, guardian of the night" she explains descending lightly on the cloud floors, "Bellona, guardian of the creatures of the skies, land, and seas. And Dalia, guardian of the earth and skies" she says, turning to look at the two boys sitting atop the majestic creature, "you can come down now, you'll find the clouds more stable than Zuba's back" she says with a smile.
The little prince slowly climbs down gently placing his feet on the cloud surface, he steps down on both feet wary of his weight, and he takes a small step followed by another before he jumps up and down testing the grounds. He looks back at his horrified friend with a big grin before he falls his arms fluttering upwards.
"ARTHUR!" The tall boy squeals out diving after his friend, he crashes on the cloud surface with a grunt, next to his all but smiling friend.
"So you do care," He says, resting his arms behind his head, and a proud grin plastered on his face.
"I hope your middle toe grows so suddenly, no shoe will ever fit you again" the tall boy spats at the boy lying on the cloud ground picking himself up to meet eyes with the amused woman.
"Who's the fifth one?" Craig questions the woman straightening his shirt, seeing the confused expression on the woman he continues, "the council is made from five guardians, but you only said four. So whose the fifth?"
"Eirene, guardian of magic and gifts," she says, with a small smile, before walking to the prince and extending her arms out.
The prince grabs onto the woman's tender arms, lifting him to stand, "I bid you luck with your quest" she says before heading for the world below.
"Wait!" The tall boy calls out, stopping her, "who are you?"
"You will find out soon enough," she says with her backs turned to them, "I hope then we see each other as friends" she finishes before jumping off to the world below.
The two boys rush forward, wanting to see her fate, looking for the red figure gliding across the skies. They graze below them, with their stomachs plastered on the ground, but see no trace of the red woman.
"That was strange," the tall boy says, picking himself up from the ground, trailing his eyes towards the golden gates before them, "we came all this way," He says, exchanging a look with his friend before stepping forward the gate.
"How does it open?" The little prince questions, followed by a loud clank and the majestic gate opening, revealing a long table with five seats, and a giant sparkling star, its gaseous mist sparkling around, in the center of the wide room.
"Now we go in?" The tall boy asks, for which his friend shrugs in response, "stay here Zuba" he says looking back at the winged lion grazing his back on the cloud surface.
The two boys walk into the majestic room, void of any decorations except the star and table, "Hello?" The little prince calls out, creating an echo through the room.
"I don't think they've heard you, do you want to try a little louder?" The tall boy says, accusing eyes plastered on his friend.
"What brings you here?" They hear a voice call out from all around them, causing them to jump in fright.
"I am.." The little prince begins.
"I know who you are prince" the voice calls out, followed by a woman with silky black hair, draped across her white bare shoulders and a long black gown, descending from the shadows, "I ask what brings you here?"
"To seek an audience with the council," the little prince says, bowing alongside his friend.
"Very well," she says before they are joined by the council members from left to right.
"How did you boys find us?" A woman with white curly hair and gray eyes, a white strapless gown, exposing her black shoulders, followed by a long trail, speaks up.
"A woman led us here" the tall boy explains looking around the room.
"What woman?" Another woman with golden hair and golden eyes, a long flowy golden dress, that rests on the ground, asks with a small smile that calms the two boys.
"She didn't tell us her name," the little prince says.
"What did she look like" the woman in black asks.
"She had red hair, like you," He says gesturing towards the woman with almost identical hair as the one before and red eyes like the prince, red long flowy gown, with a v-neck exposing her smooth dark skin, length grazing along the ground, "now that I think, she looked exactly like you, but her eyes were blue instead of red"
"Eirene" the women chant at the same, with a stern look on their faces.
"Where did she go?" The woman in red asks.
"She jumped from the cliff and she kind of disappeared" the tall boy explains suddenly very nervous.
"You encountered Eirene, previous guardian of the magic and gifts" the woman in black explains.
"She was banished from her position, for using dark magic and destroying the balance between the kingdoms" the woman in white continues.
"What did she do?" The little prince asks.
"She took the life of a prince" the woman in black says.
"Who?" The little prince asks, his throat suddenly heavy.
"The northern kingdom prince" the woman in gold explains with a soft voice.
"She is the reason for her death?" The tall boy asks, with a restless stance.
"The prince still lives, he is but in hiding," the woman in white says walking towards the wife's table, and resting on the chair followed by the others, the one in the middle left vacant.
"The northern prince is alive?" The little prince asks with bulging eyes, mirroring his friend.
"He lives, as he left" the woman in black explains.
"What do you mean?"
"He stays as the day he left his family. Merely a boy" the woman in gold explains, "no memories of his life, stuck in a 5-year-old boys body"
"Where is he?" The little prince asks stepping forward.
"He lives hidden in bare sight, believing his guardian as his father" the woman in red explains.
"Why didn't you bring him to his family then?" The tall boy asks, looking around the various eyes along the table.
"It is against council rules to intervene with kingdom matters" the woman in gold explains.
"So you just do nothing?" The tall boy almost roars, hands clenched in his side.
"Careful with your words boy" the woman in white warns, "you speak to wisdom beyond your years"
"Stop Craig" his friend whispers to him, tugging at his arms, "so where is he?" He asks the women.
"His whereabouts are not ours to tell" the woman in black concurs, "it will reveal itself in time"
"What about the magic with prince Cameron?" The little prince asks.
"Eirene has but extended her services, all magics and gifts are in her hands" the woman in red explains.
"So there is a way to travel between dimensions with magic?"
"The capability of magic extends beyond just traveling between dimensions" the woman in white explains.
"Can you provide us with such magic?" The little prince asks, pacing from one foot to the next.
"Only Eirene had those abilities in hand" the woman in gold explains.
"Is this the information you seek, young prince?" The woman in black asks the little prince.
"It's one of them," He says looking to his friend for comfort, "what caused the war, decades ago?"
"That is a story only Eirene knows of, for it is her meddling within kingdoms that caused the great war" explains the woman in red.
"Then what of the events today, will it lead to another war?"
"What of you speak young prince?"
The prince takes a deep breath in, "The planned assassination of the western royals" He says, clasping his hands together.
"And who plans for this outcome?" Asks the woman in red, eyes burning at the little prince.
"My father"
**********
Mikayla rests on her bed, her nails almost gone, from the constant biting, since this morning. She tucks her feet beneath her, hugging her knees tighter. She has been sitting in this position since she woke up, and saw her friend's bed empty.
She quickly went out to the corridor, looking for the sight of the blond, almost white, girl. She ran, almost sprinting, all across the majestic white castle, with silver details. She searched every corner ignoring, the cold in her bare feet and the eyes of the servants and guards in every corner. She run across the bright castle, with a kitchen knife in one hand, screaming her friend's name, until she was restrained and escorted back to their quarters.
Now she sits here, trembling with fear, fear for her friend's fate, fear for the danger that awaits them, and most of all fear for herself.
"That was amazing auntie!" She hears before the doors swing open, revealing Olivia followed by the queen of the north.
"Oh, I'm happy you enjoyed it," the queen says, gently kissing her niece on the top of her head.
"MK! You're awake!" Olivia calls out, almost skipping to her friend, "I was flying MK! Flying!" She says grabbing the trembling hands of the girl, "what's wrong? You're trembling"
"I noticed" Mikayla pulls her arms away with haste, standing between the girl and the queen.
"Oh, Mikayla. I do apologize Olivetti wanted to wake you, but I just wanted to have some alone time with my niece, that's all" she says, casting a glance towards the beaming girl behind, "I hope I didn't offend you"
"Oh, no. Mikayla doesn't mind" Olivia speaks up.
"Oh, yes. I mind!" Mikayla almost screams at her friend, causing her to stop in her tracks, "you know I mind, waking up and not finding my friend in her bed, running across this dammed too white of a castle, barefoot might I add, for an hour before I was 'gracefully'" she says with an air quote around gracefully, her tone dripping with sarcasm, "brought back knocking here, where I had to wait for another hour before you come skipping in" she says waving her arms around, in mock gesture, "and worst of all, I'm starving" she says through her teeth.
A deafening silence wafts through the room, with the two girls' eyes burrowed into one another, in a silent confrontation. "Then we shall have breakfast right away" the queen claps once, gaining their attention.
Mikayla breaks away to the bathroom with a huff, not forgetting to bow to the queen before her. Leaving the two royals alone.
"Now, what about we see some family pictures?" The queen asks, bringing a bright smile back to the girl's face.
**********
"And this is when your father first met your mother, he saw her be the most beautiful woman on earth, and of course, she saw a pile of mud," she says pointing to an image, with a big figure soaked in mud, standing beside a woman with her hands covering her mouth, "you should have heard how she screamed, the entire town must have heard," she says breaking to other fits of laughter with her niece sitting beside her.
"Oh my god, how did she even give him a chance after that?" Olivia laughs, at her father's misfortune.
"He didn't, I did," she says with nostalgia on her face, "and oh, how I struggled"
"He owes a great deal to you then," Mikayla says, watching the two royals with a small smile.
"He does. If it hadn't been for me he would have married Guinevere" she says with a sign.
"Who is Guinevere?" Olivia asks, eager for another story.
"That is a story for another day," the queen says, flipping the page for another image.
"Livie?" Mikayla calls out to her friend, "may I have a word?" She says, "in private" she adds in.
The girl nods following her friend to the corridor outside the reading room, throwing an apologetic Glace to her aunt on the way.
"What's wrong? Are you not feeling well again?" Olivia asks, placing her palms on her friend's forehead, feeling for a fever.
"I'm fine" Mikayla almost hisses, waving her friend's hand away, "it's you I'm worried about" seeing her friend's expression, she continues, "Livie are we sure about this? The only proof we have that she is your aunt is a couple of pictures and her claims, which I am sorry but amount to nothing," she says, causing her friend to recoil back, "I'm sorry Livie, you know I never want anything bad for you, I wish she was your aunt, I wish this was your home and I wish you finally found your family" she stops, catching her breath to swallow the lump on her throat, "I have always wished you the very best, and I always will. but please, let's not move so hastily, let's be 100 percent first," she says reaching for her friend's arms.
"No, your right," Olivia says, tightly grabbing hold of her friend's outstretched hands, "I've been insensitive to you, I know you're scared, I am too. I was brave enough to come here because I knew you would be here with me," she says, her eyes welling up in tears, "these past few days were, hectic to put it simply, with Noah and everything, it is impossible to trust even yourself, but that woman in there is my aunt, and I can vouch that with my life," she says, gently wiping the girls' tears from her cheeks, "come on, I think it's time you see the family portrait," she says, leading her friend away.
The two girls stop at the majestic door, hands clutched tightly together, fear and excitement combined. They push open the door to a throne room, a single throne standing idly on the end of the golden center aisle, draped on the white marble floors, with each side, white candle sticks, as tall as the two girls, guarded every two meters.
"Wow, this place is beautiful," Mikayla says, gaping eyes studying the grand room.
"It doesn't end there," Olivia says pulling her friend to the left side of the room, passing the candle sticks.
Olivia drags her friend across, stopping at the wall, on the left side of the throne room, she points to her friend with a bright smile plastered on her face. Mikayla looks up, eyes bulging at the picture in front of her. A family of four, the father standing on the right, sports white silky hair, a crown as dark as night on his head, with yellow eyes.
The mother, on the left, with jet black hair, a crown as white as day on her head, falling to her waist, and yellow eyes, standing next to each other, with the man's arms gently placed on the woman's waist. Two kids no more than 5 standing in front of them, the boy standing below his father, sports jet white hair with a black crown on his head, like his father, yellow piercing eyes, one hand placed on the sword to his right, and clutching his sisters' hands on the left. The girl, white hair falling to her shoulders, and a black crown on her head, stands below her mother, yellow eyes piercing through the image, her right hand clutching her brother's arms, and her left clutching her mother's arms.
Mikayla could not take her eyes off the beautiful image in front of her, the beautiful family, and the beautiful royals. She especially could not lift her eyes from the little kids, she could never forget the face of the twins, the twins that cried all day and all night, that would not speak a single word to the other kids in the orphanage, the twins that would beat up anyone that would mess with the other, the twins that would chase away anyone that would think about adopting them, the twins that she would call her family.
"It's you," she says, not stopping the tears this time, "both of you," she says choking on her tears.
"I never had any pictures of him," Olivia says, joining her friend on the floor, "I almost forgot his face," she says staring at the boy in the picture, "he was so beautiful," she says, her tears flowing from both sides.
"I'm sorry Livie," Mikayla says, hugging her friend to her chest, "I'm so sorry," she says, both sobbing on the cold floors of the castle.
**********
Cameron sits in his chambers, a book in one hand, 'the dark half' by Stephen King. He sits quietly, only the soft clangs of the china cups and the distant whistle of a bird heard. He quietly sips on his chamomile tea, his favorite, a soft clack sounding as he places it down, utter and complete silence filling the room.
"Cameron!" Voice booms, before his brother appears in front of him, his face fuming red with anger.
"Just because you don't need to use a door, doesn't mean you shouldn't," Cameron says, calmly putting his book down, "it's called chivalry," He says, folding his arms across his chest.
"Where is she?" The king asks, as bit calm as he was when he arrived.
"I assume you are talking about the princess of the north?" Cameron asks, leaning further back in his chair.
"THEN WHO ELSE!" The king booms, waving his hands in front of him in frustration.
Cameron shrugs in response, his eyes shutting and lips turning down with him. Throwing the king in another fit of rage, he grabs the tray of china, swinging them across the room. Cameron's gaze follows the cups as they shatter across the wall landing all over the floors.
"For years I sent you to bring her to me, and time and time again you failed me. Now we finally have her in our arms, AND YOU LET HER SLIP AWAY?!" The king screams, an accusing finger pointed at the prince.
"Excuse me brother, but I didn't know on babysitting duty," Cameron says, with a mock hand placed on his chest.
"I'M NOT JOKING CAMERON!" The king warns, earning an eye roll followed by a big sigh from his brother.
"I didn't know she was gone until this morning," he says calmly, standing up to meet his brother's eyes with a certain calmness, "I'm assuming she went with her aunt"
"She kidnapped my guest, she is asking for war," the king says a distant grin on his face.
"On the contrary, she rescued your prisoner," Cameron says walking over the shattered pieces of china on the floor, "you were asking for war," He says crouching down to pick up the small pieces.
"She wasn't my prisoner!" The king scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Oh, please. Explain to me what you were planning on doing with her again" Cameron says, standing up to meet the mirroring green gleaming eyes.
"I would use her, to try and stop Cylestia from forging any more wars," the king says, with narrowing eyes.
"Bait then?" Cameron says walking over to the table to place the broken pieces.
"Not bait! Leverage" the king says, sitting down on the chair his brother was on, hands covering his face.
"But we don't need leverage, queen Cylestia will not forge war" Cameron explains, sitting down opposite his brother.
"You know the prophecy" the king mumbles from his arms, "another war will break seeking, victory to one kingdom or all" He recites, remembering the seers' words.
"I know"
"No. You don't know" Cameron says, putting his arms down, "you are saying we don't have war in our future"
"I'm saying we don't have war with queen Cylestia," He says earning a frown from the king, "our enemy lies elsewhere," he says, bending forward to whisper to his brother.
"Who?" The king asks mirroring his brother's position, "the boogeyman?" He taunts, earning a shove from his brother.
"I'm not sure yet," Cameron says getting up to stand by the mirror, overlooking the land.
"Well, until your sure, I will be stopping war," He says standing up from the chair, "but I want the girl back one way or the other," He says, an accusing finger pointed at the prince.
The prince curtsy at this, mocking his brother. The king walks away, with narrowed eyes, walking out the door.
"Enjoy your stupid door," He says, blasting the hinges open and walking away leaving it in a gaping ashtray.
Cameron walks to his door, heavily groaning at his brothers' actions, he reaches for one door after the next then closes it, before he stops at the distant mumbling and laughing.
He quietly steps out, following the voice. He stops at the door, beside his room, standing ajar. He sneaks a peak through the doorway, looking for the sound.
"She is a fairy, living in the central world" the twins chant together followed by other fits of laughter.
Cameron watches the sight before him, his two sisters sitting on the floor facing each other, holding onto each other's arms, they both say a sentence starting with she is or he is and they fall into fits of laughter.
"He is a unicorn, also living in the central world" they chant, sending them into other fits of laughter.
"What are you girls doing?" He finally speaks up, gaining their attention.
"We're playing a game" they chant together, "Princess Olivia thought us," they say.
"Did she?" He says leaning against the door frame, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Do you want to play?" The ask, now fully facing him.
"Sure," He says walking over to join them on the floor.
"The goal is to create stories, about mom and dad, who they are where they are and what they are doing," they say, grabbing onto his arms, forming a circle, "here we'll start first, she is a citizen living in the smaller towns" they chant sending them to other fits of laughter, "now your turn," they say looking over to their brother.
Cameron smiles at the two faces, mirroring his mother's with a small smile, before taking a deep breath to continue, "She is a doctor from the town over, the best doctor this kingdom has ever known, she was known to heal almost the impossible of sickness and wounds, she would treat any living thing, either creature or person. She was the kindest soul" he says eyes jumping from one girl to the next.
"And he?" They both almost whisper, through glassy eyes and heavy throats.
"He is a warrior and a prince, the bravest and most arrogant one of all. He fought in every fight and took from punches to kicks, all to see the beautiful doctor he could never have the courage to talk to" He says, earning a smile from his sisters.
"Thank you" they chant, both getting up to hug him.
The three siblings stay there, masking in each other's comfort, the older sibling standing idly by the side of the door, silent tears streaming down his face.
**********
Mikayla reaches across the table for her friend's arms, resting them above hers. The girl smiles at the small comfort from her friend, listening to the word of the queen, her aunt.
"You have spent a long time without your powers, so your colors have drained" the queen explains, gently stroking the girl's blond, almost white hair, "your hair, should hold the power of light in its appearance, the light that lies within you"
"I've noticed it slightly change in color, these past days" Mikayla speaks up, looking at the queen.
"She has been with her kind and lands these past days, so the light within you seemed to have grown rather quickly, but there is still much to be done" the queen explains setting part to the bookshelves on the sides of the room.
The queen grazes the books with her fingers, searching for her target, before grabbing hold of a thick brown, leather-laced, book. "There it is," she says taking it to the two girls.
"This is the book that will teach you, everything there is to know about your gift abilities," she says handing the book to the girl, "you possess great powers, powers you first must learn about. You must learn of its history and origin before you learn how to wield them"
"I have to read all of this?" Olivia asks, flipping through the brown pages of the thick book.
"Yes. There are more.." The queen begins, earning a gasp from the blond girl and a giggle from the brunette, "..but for not, this should see fit" she says smiling with a wink.
"Take your time," Mikayla says gently tapping her friend's back, "no need to rush, right?" She continues, looking at the queen for confirmation, but instead met with a silent gaze.
"What's wrong?" Olivia asks, seeing the distraught face of the queen.
"I wish our reunion was met with peace and sobriety, but our enemies seem to be growing," she says, her eyes jumping between the two girls, "there has been a prophecy for a decade now, of a great war that will bring victory to one kingdom or all. This prophecy changes everything, we must stay on high alert. for we could win back our freedom, or lose a great deal"
"But what can I do?" Olivia asks, grazing along the edges of the book sitting on the table.
"You will fight, alongside your kingdom, your people, and your warriors. You will bring us victory and our freedom" the queen explains walking over to the distraught girl, "you hold within you great powers, my dear Olivetti. Do not be afraid, for I will stand with you every step of the way, but the fight is yours and only yours to win, victory shall come with you" she says, lifting her chin to meet her eyes.
"But how? I don't even know how to use my powers" Olivia says, her voice leaving a little tremble.
"I will teach you, and you will practice," she says, cupping both sides of her cheeks, "we have time for your training, but we mustn't be relaxed. Our enemies grow by the hour, we should practice as much as we possibly can"
"You got this Livie" Mikayla says, hands tightening around the girls' shoulders.
"This is your destiny, my Olivetti. It's written in the stars of your great victory, I know you can do this" the queen says, earning a small smile from her niece.
"Okay," Olivia says, turning her attention back to the book, sitting idly on the table, "when do we start?"
"Right away," the queen says, walking out of the sitting room, urging the two girls to follow her.
**********
The man with the scar stands by the door to the sitting room, where the queen talks with her niece and her friend, making plans for her training and strategy. He smiles hearing their schedules, his smile grows hearing their plans, and he almost bursts into laughter hearing the time and place of every action they will take.
He is still smiling to himself as they walk past him, sensing no wrong seeing the guard positioned by the door, missing the impostor with his glowing blue eyes. He still smiles as he follows them, the small bulge in the front pocket of his jeans, giving him all the humor and joy.