Sachi and Lori travelled slowly and reached the outskirts of Alsan Kingdom, the kingdom which is under Finla Empire and standing at the position number one. It is said that the king is the cousin of the current empress.
"So, this is the place you left?" asked Sachi looking at the kingdom from afar.
"Yes... the place I was born and the place where you will be safe" said Lori looking the lands and kingdom, her eyes lost in the memories of the past. These are the lands where she played with her friends and family, ran around wildly without care for the world. Many memories are attached to this land.
She came out of her reverie and ordered her mount to move forward. As the ladies neared towards the gates, people started gathering around as they saw the Pegasus and unicorn for the first time. They were captivated by their beauty and uniqueness. So, they gathered around to take a good look.
As the moved suddenly Sachi felt burning sensation on her chest. The pendant her mother gave became so hot like it was on fire. "Mom what is happening, why is the pendant so hot?"
Lori's expression changed "quick let's go inside, maybe the protections around the family building may help" she said driving the mounts faster.
"But why is it..." before Sachi can complete the sentence Lori answered her
"Someone is scrying on you."
"Scrying?"
"Yes, someone is searching for you or to say correctly trying to peek at you" she answered. "It needs lot of magi energy. The way the pendant is burning and light it is emitting I think someone powerful is using the spell to check on you" she explained.
Near the gates the guards were checking the people who are entering. They were attracted by the commotion and looked to see two new beautiful beasts racing towards them. They quickly formed in a line to stop them.
Lori saw the guards' formation, as she was in a hurry she took out a silver emblem and flashed it at the guards and shouted "emergency". The guards who saw the badge quickly moved out of the way and opened the special VIP gates for Lori.
As she entered inside with Sachi the guards closed the doors.
"That's the royal emblem, but all the royals are inside right" said one of the guards.
"But who is it this time, and they were in hurry. Anyway, so many higher officials are coming in for the past due to the news, maybe they are one of them, who cares" replied the other.
As the guards were chatting about the guests the guard captain neared them and asked about the ones who entered.
The guards informed that regarding Lori and Sachi as well as the emblem she showed, it was Silver royal emblem, with an elephant carrying lotus in its trunk on it. The captain was shocked because the royal emblem of elephant lotus is carried by only four people of the royal family.
He knew that the prince went out on an important mission and has yet to return. "But who are these women?" he thought.
"Did you see it correct, it was a woman and not man?" he questioned.
"Yes, it was a woman and there was a girl beside her" the guards replied. The captain quickly went inside and sent a signal. A man in dark clothes appeared in the shadows of the room. They were the secret messengers of royal family.
The captain quickly explained the situation without any delay. The man in the dark clothes disappeared.
*************
As Sachi and Lori raced towards the Van Dyna family some other place in the empire an old man in a majestic golden robe was sitting and meditating on a peak. He opened his eyes as he felt some disturbance in energy around him.
He looked towards the sky and was shocked. The alignment of stars started to change. The stars aligned themselves as if they were inviting someone.
This was the first time a scenario or an alignment like this has appeared in the entire history of empire, maybe the continent itself.
The old man was not sure what this indicated. He started chanting spells, as if to see the future, but soon he coughed up blood as the spell backfired on him, his face became pale. He felt exhausted. The spell was highly powerful and can be considered in category of taboo. Unless there is an unavoidable situation, mages would not use it.
The sky lit up with thunder and lightning as if to warn him.
The old man was shocked "What the hell is going on?" he thought. He slowly calmed himself down and slowly looked at the changes in the stars keenly so not to miss the changes; a few stars gathered forming a small bird, while the other stars were inviting it.
He snapped his fingers, and a dark cloaked figure appeared beside him, who knelt down immediately. "Go and gather all the recent information which happened in the empire. Nothing should be left out, even the smallest of the information may be of high importance" he ordered still looking towards the sky.
"Sure, high elder" the cloaked man replied.
As the man turned to leave "It should be done in secret and do not let anyone know about this" he said seriously.
"What about her highness?" the cloaked man inquired.
"That little girl will know eventually, so no need to worry I will speak with her personally" the high elder replied thinking about the empress. He is only one in the whole continent who can call the Empress little girl.
The old man looked to be in his 60's but is much older than he appears. He looked like an old wizards shown in movies on earth. Little wrinkles under the eyes, long hair up to his shoulders with a grey beard. Though old he still stood straight 7 feet tall without bending.
He is not only the high elder, but one of the four guardians of the empire as well. Normally the old man keeps himself secluded in the mountains for the whole year round, and goes out occasionally to check situation outside, also to enjoy the mundane mortal life sometimes.
The old man looked towards the sky once again observing the stars carefully. "I see that you have already entered, and I cannot stop it. So, I can only say welcome little bird, but will you bring fortune or doom to my empire, we have to wait and see. I will be watching you little bird."
Thunder and lightning rumbled once again at the old man's words as if a warning.