"Hello."
"Hi."
After which we just stood there, gaping at each other. That was until Anastasia noticed Queen Teagan's presence.
"Good afternoon, your highness."
"Afternoon, child. I am guessing you know who I am?"
Anastasia nodded her head like a broken rattle drum. "Yes, your highness."
"Good, this is Lexx Xerxes, crown prince of the kingdom of Xeroy. You both just happen to have something in common."
"Greetings, your highness." She said with a curtsey.
"Do you mind if I see the orb, Anastasia?"
She nodded.
Queen Teagan then led her into where I can only assume was a bathroom for ladies. They returned shortly after, Anastasia trailing closely behind the queen.
"Definitely the nature orb," she stated.
"Now, child, have you noticed anything weird about you since you got the orb. Specifically relating to your spells," she continued.
Anastasia knitted her brows together as she pondered on the question. " I feel stronger, definitely. To what extent, I haven't found out."
I was lost. "What do you mean stronger?"
Queen Teagan turned to me. "Well if the orb's aura is enough to grant the whole of Mirac with mana, it's safe to assume that the carriers would have some changes, no?"
I carefully thought about it. I had been so anxious the past week, I didn't consider it but my arcane core seemed to have undergone quite the change. There was a significant increase to the amount of mana I could retain and disburse. Every one of my senses had undergone a qualitative leap.
"It is decided then." Queen Teagan's voice rang out. "Until we have further news about the orbs and what they want, you two are to spend time learning about your newfound capabilities. Also try communicating more with the orbs, don't hesitate to share any information you gain from them. I wish to stay more but Ethera can't rule itself."
"I understand, your highness." I acknowledged.
Queen Teagan nodded. "Stay safe, kids. She admonished before leaving the library alongside some of the royal maids and knights. The rest blended into the library, seemingly absent, leaving me and Anastasia to ourselves, mostly.
We wandered through the labyrinth of towering shelves, filled with volumes of knowledge, the air thick with the scent of ancient parchment.
"So, what do you think about our situation?"
"What situation?"
"The orbs, silly."
Anastasia struck me as a smart, scholarly one, like my sister. Unlike Xandria though, she seemed very socially awkward.
"Right, I've heard of stories like these before, like the orbs but not quite."
I stopped in my tracks. "What do you mean, you've heard stories like this?"
Anastasia glanced back at me. "There's a lullaby my mother sang me every night before bed. It describes the orbs like every other bedtime story, however, it includes a fifth one."
"Well, that's weird, I never heard of a fifth orb."
"Apart from mother's song, neither have I."
"Where did she learn it?"
"Her mother."
"Could you perhaps sing it?"
Anastasia took a deep breath and started to sing, her voice a strong, resonating melody.
"Hush now, child, and close your eyes,
Hear the tale beneath the skies,
Of orbs that gleamed with mystic light,
Guardians through the endless night.
Four orbs glowed with colors bright,
Each a guardian of the light,
Blue for wisdom, green for growth,
Red for courage, gold for oath.
But Nexix fifth, with darkest greed,
Sought human essence for its need,
The strongest orb, it stole the day,
Turning life to cold and gray.
Wisdom's light and courage bold,
Growth's embrace and oath of gold,
Together formed a binding spell,
To cast the fifth into the well.
Hush now, child, and close your eyes,
Safe beneath the moonlit skies,
The four protect, the fifth is gone,
Guardians till the break of dawn."
"So, if we follow the logic of the lullaby, the fifth orb hates humans."
"More like hungered for them, but yeah." Anastasia shrugged.
"Could this be what the orb meant by impending doom?" I questioned.
"I thought so, but shouldn't Nexix be destroyed?"
I massaged my temples in confusion. "I don't know, but I have the feeling that these orbs are a great mystery, and possibly involve forces we cannot explain, and we are but a tiny little piece of the grand puzzle."
"I agree."