"Who am I? You ask," The masked figure said, "Well, first of all, I should apologize for all the damages we've been causing, As it was not my intention for them to harm you… and your people. Now, as for who I am, I am-"
"The Crown Prince of Saga," I butted in,
"Tich-," they replied, "For a blind person, you're offly sharp. But as you said, I am the crown prince of Saga, Mildred Veststelea"
'Mildred Veststelea' (Vest-Stel-E-a) is a name with many meanings. Mildred, a name made up of 2 different words, "gentle" and "strength," symbolizing that at a glance, this person may appear to be a kind little pushover, but when looked at again would become something you wished you'd never crossed.
"What a scary name.."
"Hm.?"
And as for their last name, Vestealea. It's a name-bearing multiple different combined names, let's try and break it down. Starting with, "Vest" most likely from the name, "Vesta" a honed version of the name, "Hestia" or "Goddess of the Hearth" symbolizing that they are the protector of their nation, then there's "Stel" likely from the name "Stellar" meaning, "Child of The Stars" this one's pretty self-explanatory but it means they are to be something great in the near future. And finally, the last part of their name, "Lea," this part of their name is very special because it could have a multitude of different meanings. 'Lea,' from the name "Leatrice" could me the 'Bringer of happiness," or from the name, "Leann" it could mean they are also, ", Gracious and Merciful" but the meaning of the last name, "Eleanore" translating to, "The Ray of The Sun; or The Light of The Way." Those are all the names that I could think of that could possibly make this person who they are, but either way, when this person starts to shine, it very well may be the start of a new light.
"If you really are who you say you are, then you'd take off your mask," Grandma said in a dark manner, holding me up.
"Um– For personal reasons, I'd have to decline your request," They said in a worried tone.
"I think it'll be okay Grandma. 'Trust' is built off of our doubts and misunderstandings. Everyone has a reason for doing something or doing nothing, so I think it'll be okay to put a little bit of trust in everybody. Because in the end… it is 'them' who will feel the most pain when breaking one's trust."
"O– Okay Steamy, I trust you on this.. So listen up Crown Prince of Saga!" Grandma said in a loud tone, picking me up from the ground, "I will trust that you are who you say you are. So, what is your reason for coming here?
*Whew–* I thought I was going to be found out, but thankfully that girl over there saved me from an almost certain misfortune, *Sigh–* but that girl over isn't any ordinary girl, it's like she sees right through me, it's scary…
"So, What is your reason?" Grandma said impatiently.
"My reason?" My reason, my reason, my reason, what is my reason for coming here?!? Truthfully, I just wanted to run far far away from my brother, the 2nd prince, and find clues of my father's whereabouts. But, I really didn't expect my brother to come searching for me, and causing all this chaos while doing so... It angers me. I thought he was just mad set on looking for the 'Key,' but I guess he planned otherwise. This chaos must be stopped, Yes! For the sake of Saga, "It is my fate… to–"
"AHaha!"
Huh! Why is she laughing?
"Ah-, I'm sorry it's just, something funny just popped up into my head, hehe, please, continue."
They're so funny, coming here with no purpose other than to run away, and yet still being mad about your brother's chaos and turmoil in my Grandmother's country. It infuriates me.
Sigh– I really must be careful around this girl, it's like she can see through the 'Voice of The World.' Anyways, I don't know what to say... I don't want to say something I'd regret. So let's just tell them the truth... "I just-" *Zip* "It is my 'Fate' as the crown prince of Saga, I must put an end to this chaos my brother is causing."
"Really now?" Grandma replies, "And how will you do that, considering you are all on your own with no factions to stand behind?"
"I have come to request your aid, as an official alliance from the Crown Prince of Saga, Please help me retain order before my brother destroys it all."
AH! Wh– What AM I SAYING!?!? I wanted to tell them the truth, 'I just want to live peacefully, so I ran away from my country and then decided to search for my missing father.' That is what I would've said, but it's like something forced me to forge a different response. Is it that girl!?
"Ehehe" It snickered, "T̵h̴a̵t̴s̸ ̶w̶h̸a̸t̶ ̷y̴o̸u̸ ̵g̴e̷t̴ ̸f̵o̴r̶ ̸h̵u̷r̸t̶i̷n̶g̸ ̷m̸y̶ ̴f̷a̷m̶i̷l̷y̶." It quietly said to them.
But, that wasn't me, I'm not the type of person to manipulate someone like that. That's, Thats!
"Y̷o̵u̶r̷,̵ ̷s̷l̶e̸e̸p̴y̷"
"Gr– Grandma, Help.. Me–"
"Huh? What is it Steamy? Wait, Is that Blood!?!"
"So she called, Steamy Aye?"
As I started to fall asleep, blood could be seen falling down my face. But the color of my blood was tainted a dark black color and oozed with darkness chanting at its sight.
"Look Over there!" A Saga soldier said,
"GET THEM!!!"
"Quickly," Awhina responded, "If you truly want our help, then you know what to do."
"I- I understand.." The prince said, taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, they let out one word and said, "Stop."
*Freeze*
"I– I can't move!!"
"Hurry, I can't stop them for long." The prince said,
Was that manipulation magic? And with no incantation either, this generation really is something else huh?
"Let's go King Awhina,"
"Wait," Awhina said, "S̸h̵-̵O̷w̸ ̶IH ̶L̷a̴c̸k̶!" Chanting a spell, the sleeping beauty in her arms became covered in light and disappeared onto another location.
"A teleportation spell!" the prince thought.
"Quickly now," Awhina said, taking the lead in the escape.
Running away from the Saga soldiers, they ran out of what was left of the castle and into the burning city, but hearing, seeing, and spotting enemy soldiers they took a risky move. "Hurry, turn here!" Awhina said, making a hard left into an abandoned dark alleyway, it was a complete dead end making it the perfect place for them to get caught.
"Ugh! Where did they go?"
"The Captain is gonna kill us if we don't find them."
"Go, look over there, we have to check every corner of this place."
Steady but ready, the soldiers got ever so closer to finding our Steamys family. But taken aback, a corroded Captain enters the scene.
"What are you rats doing!!?"
"C-Captain! We just– We!"
"Quiet before I kill you all!" the captain threatened,
"Woah there," said another soldier from out of nowhere, "They were just looking for the suspected King of Solitude, Captain Fukushuu"
"That's 'Daisuke' to you 1st Lieutenant Aakil. Now move, not even an idiotic vermin would ever place themselves in a corner such as this."
"Sigh- if only we had someone with a bird's eye view, then we could be done with this whole mess a whole lot faster," Aakil said, seemingly picking at an old wound of the Captain.
"Shut up. SHUT UP!" The captain raged,
*Pant*
*Pant*
Another soldier comes running in, "Captain, a message from HQ!"
*Ugh–!* He sighed, "What is it this time!?!"
Taking a deep breath the soldier read out the following,
"Issued Order, Operation No. 014 has been granted,"
As all other operations have failed, 'I Cain II, verdict No. 014 to all Official Officers, Have Fun' :)
"D-Did the king really say that!?" the lieutenant scowled,
Another soldier spoke, "Look Captain, I know your past but... We can't just follow as the order says, we have to"
"Shut up." The Captain said with a loud tone of voice, "It doesn't matter what the order is, all that matters is what he said,"
"Wh- what did he say?"
'`Hehehaha'' the Captain snickered with an evil sadistic grin, "He said, 'Have Fun.' Didn't he?" he continued laughing
"Captain you-"
"I don't know where you are, King of Solitude, but I know you're still lingering somewhere around here. The fun has just Begun!" he yelled, "I will leave you for now, but in return, I'll play with those fools back at your Castle. At Least one of them can serve as a nice little plaything!" He snickered uncontrollably.
"Bastard!" Awhina said angrily.
"W-Wait just a minute," Mildred said, holding onto Lady Awhina's legs, "Please wait a minute!"
"NO" She responded, "They dare to mess with my Granddaughter! And I'll show them how Humble I've been since then." Starting to tear up, Awhina said, " She'd already suffered so much from when I found her (6 months ago) so for me to see her bearing any more pain, I– I– WILL KILL THEM ALL!!"
"No!" grabbing onto the legs of Awhina, Mildred said calmly, "Your Highness! Please don't let your emotions get to you! You have to be calm about this! For the sake of your people, and for the sake of your granddaughter" 'And for the Sake of me too!' "Please listen to me!!!" Mildred shouted, using their every last breath to calm down the raging storm.
.
.
.
"You're exhausting yourself. If you were to take off that helmet and such long-bearing clothes, then you'd not be having this problem." Awhina said after some time of calm thinking.
"NO!" Mildred responded, letting go of Awhina while re-securing their helmet.
"Alright fine, suit yourself, but we still have to keep moving, what that Captain guy said was very unsettling so hurry up. We're going back to the castle!" Ugh, the attitude of this generation is as bad as it gets.
Finding a shop that was close to the castle, they went inside, while Awhina's communication stone lit up,
"This, 1st General, Yaovilda Veta, Milord, are you there?"
"Lady Yaovilda, how are you doing."
"I'm fine, But how are you, my lord?"
"I'm alright too, but we had to move for some obvious reasons"
"Yes, I see."
"So how is Steamy?" Awhina asked,
"She woke up, but only for a moment. It seems., that her body is more unstable than what we once thought it was. She needs your help milord or else–
"BANG!*
"Lady Sow, what was that?"
"We had an unexpected guest show up, please bear with me"
" ̵Y̴o̷u̷r̶ ̶H̸i̶g̵h̷n̸e̷s̴s̸" A voice that sounded from afar spoke into the stone, "I know you can Hear me! I found your precious little princess. I–" the stone cut out.
"Damned Bastard! I swear, once I see him, he'll be dead!"
Looking around the shop, Awhina pulled out a few colorful stones and threw them on a table.
"Woah, are those all magic stones?!?" Mildred said surprised.
Magic stones Small Summary: Though usually small, magical stones (depending on their affinity) have the ability to use certain types of magical spells through the use of someone's magic abilities. For example: if you have an affinity for fire, a red or fire-type fire stone could help you atune for your magical abilities. Magic stones are also used as a power source for daily necessities such as lighting in a room, or blowing wind in your face to keep you cool. This can only be done if a mage of some sort infuses their magic and a spell they learned or have with them. The purer the stone, the more magic it can handle…
"This should be enough," Awhina said.
With 12 different types of magic stones on the table, Awhina put them all into a circular formation and charmed a spell, "Sh-Ow IH Lack Na"
"Hurry in the portal," Ahina said, " This should be enough to teleport us to the base camp."
"Oh– OK" Mildred dropped the book they were reading.
"Here we go!"
Please wait for me Steamy dear, Grandma' coming to save you.
End of Chapter 7