Lucia woke up at midnight. Her fever had drastically dropped and she felt very weak and hungry. Looking to the side, she could see Luke sitting by the window, with the moonlight kissing his face.
"You're awake?" Luke asked
"Yes" Lucia replied politely as she sat up "What happened to me?"
"You fainted" Luke said "Don't let your emotions get out of control. Your body still can't handle your heart form"
"Yes" Lucia replied back
"I'll tell Marcia to bring in the food from the palace" Luke said as he got up and left the room
Lucia stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. She wondered how her father was doing, and wished she could thank Jane for saving her from Annabel back at Neinhart. However, when the images she saw of Neinhart's current state entered her mind, she involuntarily clenched the duvet.
"Does it hurt?" she heard someone ask. When she looked towards the window, she could clearly see a hooded figure sitting in the position Luke once sat and her breath hitched
'An assassin?' Lucia wondered as she wanted to scream but nothing came out
"Don't worry. I'm not someone suspicious" the person said. The voice sounded so high pitched and cracked like that of a phantom
'You sneak into someone's room in the middle of the night, you have a hood on and your face is covered, your voice is weird, and you're using magic to stop me from saying anything' Lucia thought 'Sure. You're not suspicious'
"I've been waiting to get you alone like this" the hooded figure said "But it seems I revealed myself a bit too early. Forget about this and take care of yourself"
'Wait' Lucia wanted to shout as she stretched her hand towards the person but she felt very dizzy and fainted again
"Don't worry. We'll meet again" the person said before jumping out of the window and completely erasing their presence
******
Luke and Marcia entered the room with food on a tray only to find Lucia sound asleep.
"I guess her body is too weak to stay awake for too long" Marcia said as she dropped the food on the nightstand "I've never met a heart whose power could cause this much damage to their body"
"We'll slowly build up her body to be on par with her powers. We still have two years until Melvin dies" Luke said as he poked Lucia's forehead "Wake up and eat something" he said before poking her again which caused her to fumble awake
"Uncle Luke....what happened?" Lucia asked while sitting up
"You fell asleep" Luke said
"Can you eat by yourself?" Marcia asked and Lucia nodded "Well then, here you go" she dropped the tray on Lucia's laps and passed her the cutleries while Luke went back to his position by the window
'Why do I get the feeling I'm forgetting something?' Lucia wondered as she ate 'Like someone was here before I fell asleep'
******
That morning
Lucia entered a nice hot bath and it felt like all her fatigue was going away. The bath had several nicely scented herbs in it and the bathtub was made of green and yellow Lupinite.
She rested her head on the bathtub and the thoughts of last night flooded her head. She shook her head and got out of the bath before getting dressed. It took her longer to get dressed due to the lack of maids, and the difference in apparel between Neinhart and Lupin.
She got dressed in a violet bishop sleeved shirt, which had white lace details around the collar and cuffs, along with a white ribbon on her neck. Her hair was pulled back and lowered into two low ponytails with violet ribbons holding them together. And a dark blue flared midi skirt with black wedged heels. She wore a white cloak over it, and left the hood down.
As she stepped out of her room, she could see Luke and Marcia walking out of the same room. 'Seriously, what type of relationship do those two have?' she wondered as she approached them
"Good morning" Lucia greeted
"Good morning, Luce" Marcia said with a smile while Luke took a quick glance at her, nodded and continued ahead. This made Lucia puff up her cheeks and her brows to furrow
"I know he's my uncle but how did my mother and father put up with him. He's so mannerless" Lucia whispered to Marcia but she noticed Luke suddenly stop and his cat ears perked up. He turned to look at her....but to Lucia, it was more of a warning glare
"Care to repeat that?" Luke asked
"Sorry, Uncle Luke" Lucia said and Luke let out a 'tsk' before he continued walking away
"That's Lu-Lu for you" Marcia said before following Luke
"He's only ever nice with you" Lucia complained while following her
"He's nice with you, too" Marcia said "He's just a bit grumpy. You'll get used to it"
'Really?' Lucia wondered while staring at the back of Luke's head.
******
Once outside, the sun greeted Lucia with its warm rays. It had been a while since she could step under the sun like this and she really wanted to just sit there and do nothing.
"Keep in mind that nobody has your hair or eye colour here in Lupin" Marcia said and Lucia turned to look at her in surprise
"Even the nobility in Neinhart don't have golden hair nor do they have mystic eyes. Only the house of Roosevelt have golden hair while the mystic eyes you have are from my Sunshield family, alone" Luke said as put on black leather gloves. He was dressed in an indigo shirt, grey pants, and black leather boots
"My sisters don't have any of those traits" Lucia said
"They aren't part of the Sunshield family so, they naturally don't have mystic eyes. But does it really matter if they don't have golden hair?" Luke asked "The fact one of them gave you such a high level beast to keep you safe, is proof Melvin's blood runs deep in her" he said while pointing at Lucia's wrist
Lucia looked down at her wrist and seeing Jane's present, she smiled warmly. "Shall we head to town now?" she asked
"Why?" Marcia asked
"I thought we were walking" Lucia replied back
"Town is three hours away from here when walking. You'll be out of breath before even getting to look around" Luke said "Plus, who ever said anything about walking?" as he said that, he turned Lucia around to look at a narrow path
From that path, Lucia could hear the sounds of horses neighing and their hooves hitting the hard ground. Three horses approached them with one horse being mounted by a man and the other, by a woman.
"Woah" the man shouted as he pulled the reigns of the unmounted horse while the woman did the same with the horse she was riding
"Do you know how to ride?" Luke asked and Lucia nodded
"My sister taught me several times when I was younger" Lucia said and the woman got off her horse before pulling the reigns towards Lucia
"Rookie Knight, Irene, at your services your majesties" Irene introduced while Lucia began to pet the horse with a goofy smile on her face
"Nice to meet you" Lucia said
"Sorry we're late, Sir Luke, Queen Marcia" the man said while getting off his horse and walking towards Marcia with the other horse
"Don't worry about it, Jackie" Marcia said while taking the reigns from him
"J-Jackie?" Irene repeated
"It's Jackson, your Majesty" Jackson said
"Okay, Jack" Marcia said which made Luke shake his head while walking towards her
Irene noticed Lucia was about to mount the horse and opened her mouth "My Lady, it's not so easy to...." her voice faded when Lucia had mounted the horse without trouble, even though she was wearing a skirt
"This horse is quite small compared to the ones my sister let me ride" Lucia said as the horse moved a bit while Irene's jaw dropped
"My lady seems to be a natural with horses" Jackson commented
"Her sister is the heart of Elencia. Those people pride themselves in their ability to tame beasts" Luke said "Though, it might be because they are mostly like them" he mumbled that part as he took the reigns from Marcia and got on the horse, before stretching his hand towards her
"How romantic" Marcia said while blushing and placing her hands on her cheeks
"Stop teasing and get on" Luke said before grabbing her hand and pulling her onto the horse. Marcia immediately wrapped her arms around Luke's waist and let her head rest upon his back when the horse moved a bit
"As your guides for today, we'll lead the way" Jackson said as he got on his horse before Irene joined him. He directed his horse back the way he came "Follow me" he said before lightly kicking the side of his horse. As his horse began to move, Lucia and Luke did the same with their own horses
"Uncle, shouldn't you do something about your hair?" Lucia asked
"Unlike you, nobody would even notice I'm there" Luke said which made her pout
"It must be nice being a natural at magic" Lucia said before her head with her hood.
******
After riding for a while, they finally arrived at the nearest town. It was more like a city of towers with thin wires on poles, moving across the town. The streets were flooded with people and there were a couple of vendors here and there.
"Welcome to the city capital, Canna" Jackson said as Lucia stared in awe
"It's beautiful" Lucia said
"This city is at the center of Lupin...or to be more precise, it's the closest to the center" Irene said "The wires above head, are connected to a very large Lupinite crystal located within the palace walls" she pointed in a direction where the huge castle could be seen in a distance
"Canna is surrounded by other towns, Nemesia and Dahlia. With each having smaller town and villages under its jurisdiction" Jackson said "The only thing that both connects and separates the three towns, are the waterways around the kingdom"
Going into the town, Lucia noticed several people dressed in brown leather amour, and a couple of fairies interacting with the humans, as Jackson and Irene showed her different landmarks. Finally, there came a time where the horses couldn't pass by the large crowd
"Thanks for showing us around but, Lu-Lu and I will take it from here" Marcia said as she jumped off the horse
"Jumping off like that...are you trying to break your legs?" Luke said as he got off
"I'm hungry" Lucia said while get off slowly; so her hood won't come off
"Me too" Marcia said "Lu-Lu...we're hungry"
"There's a bakery across the street" Luke said before looking at Jackson and Irene "Thanks for your help"
"Anything for you and her majesty, Sir Luke" Jackson said as he redirected his horse and took off with Irene
Luke stared at the bakery before pulling the reigns of both horses and walking over. Lucia and Marcia where pretty much drooling by the window as they stared at the desserts inside
"That one looks so yummy" Marcia said while poking her hand on the glass
"I'm a fan of strawberries and vanilla when compared to chocolate" Lucia said "So that cake looks more attractive to me" she poked at a different part of the glass
"You have a point" Marcia said "Looking at the chocolate scones, reminds me of poop"
Luke who was standing behind them, was really confused by their conversation 'What are these two talking about?' he wondered with a sigh, before tapping them both
"Hah..." Marcia and Lucia both let out before Luke handed them the reigns of the horses and entered inside the bakery. He came out after two minutes, with two perfectly boxed cakes which made the two girls smile
"Let's head back. We've seen enough" Luke said as he handed the two pastry boxes to Marcia before picking her up, and setting her on the horse
"Okay" Lucia smiled as she mounted her own horse and Luke began to lead them back to the cave
Reaching the outskirts of Canna, Lucia felt a pair of eyes on her as she passed by an alleyway. She immediately turned the horse around and as she stared into the alleyway, there was nobody there
"Lucia, what's the matter?" Marcia asked while looking back which made Luke to stop walking
"I could have sworn I saw someone. Their eyes were piercing into the back of my head" Lucia said
"Lu-Lu, did you feel anything?" Marcia asked and he shook his head
"How many times have you felt that way?" Luke asked
"Last night....it felt like I was in the room with someone after you left....but I don't remember" Lucia said
"Do you think it's someone from Elencia?" Marcia asked
"I doubt it" Luke said before pointing at Lucia's wrist "That beast would have reacted if it sensed any danger around Lucia. And it can't be Neinhart, because of Diana's control over the people. Leaving only one kingdom..."
"The Unnamed kingdom?" Marcia asked in surprise
"What is going on?" Lucia asked "Why is this so important?"
"Oh. I forgot to mention it yesterday, but, the Unnamed Kingdom, for four hundred and fifty years, is still on its first heart" Marcia said "That's why she's called the Queen Of Hearts. She's the last remaining heart who made the rules" she added with a chuckle while Lucia was left with beaded eyes
"Seeing as Lucia has already caught unwanted attention, we can't return to the castle anytime soon" Luke said "Other than the guards stationed at the gate, nobody can know that I've returned. Especially, not now"
"I see" Lucia let out as she redirected her horse and continued following behind Luke and Marcia