DISCLAMER: I DO NOT OWN ESCAFLOWNE OBVIOUSLY.
A/N: I would like to thank evilredmenace for betaing this story. I wouldn't have such a wonderful chapter if not for your help. Thank you.
In a nameless realm, in a desolate kingdom on the verge of extinction, two entities quietly bickered outside a room full of slumbering inhabitants.
"You are not calling on a nameless human to guide the Lady back to our Lord's side," Zenobia, the older of the two entities stated with a finality that had the other huffing in exasperation. Though the language of dragons was spoken nonverbally, Sora could sense the weight of his resolution in the message. The two had been there half the night bickering about this one matter that Sora briefly entertained the thought of her companion truly wishing for the full wrath of their Lord and Lady. Or perhaps dragons just happened to be amazingly stubborn creatures, she mused. Shaking her head of such thoughts, she returned her gaze to the subject of their conversation; a slumbering inhabitant of this realm that had wronged her sister and brother.
"Zenobia, you should know better than anyone that I would do anything for our Lady and Lord. Sadly, anything means bringing this nameless realm's inhabitant and possibly more of her kind into the heart of things. It is because of their ancestors that our Lady and Lord are now in danger. It is only fitting that they aid them in their time of need," Sora stated, glaring at the slumbering figure before letting her eyes rise to the sky.
"Lady Sora, I am well aware of the situation. May I remind you of whom it was that informed you of the Black Lord's minions doing as they pleased? I still disagree with using this weak and nameless child for such an important mission. If we are going to send one of these creatures to aid our Lady, at the very least, we should send one with a name." Zenobia replied, tired of arguing with the Lady's acting spokesperson. They had plenty of more reliable sources on Gaea for this mission but she had to insist on coming back to the root of the problem.
Which was that they knew none of these creatures; they possessed neither great ancestry nor exceptional cultural background, not even if the cursed inhabitants were dignified with their own names. For all they knew, Sora would find "the one" and her Ladyship would die before ever reuniting with their Lordship. Yet every minute they spent here meant another minute that the Black Lord's minions wreaked havoc back on Gaea. Unwilling to allow more needless time to pass, Zenobia was willing to abide by the judgment of Lady Sora. Even if, as he looked at the slumbering, human-like creatures in the room, Zenobia just couldn't see any of them being capable enough to properly aid their Lady.
"We now inhabit a realm that was cursed by our Lady for experimenting on her brother…A realm that spurned the same brother who sought aid for her reincarnation. And you're concerned with recruiting a nameless creature? Zenobia, back when we had physical bodies, we were the voices of our Lady and Lord after their deaths. I am insulted that you think I would allow just anyone to take on this task," Sora said with a small smile.
"Aye, we were their voices. And from the look on your face, you've found the one to set things in motion." Zenobia observed, as he repositioned his once-shiny scaled wings and moved a few feet away from the room.
"Aye," Sora replied before closing her eyes and clasping her hands as if to pray. "There is great evil afoot. I feel it in the wind. With their Lady in the Mystic Lands and their Lord without his shield, Gaea has no means of triumph. But legend once past can become legend once lived with a different conclusion." She whispered the last bit to her clasped hands, closing her eyes before releasing her hands in the direction of the rooms. She let her magic flow into the room, a stream of transparent crystal blue energy, guided swiftly with her eyes to the slumbering girl.
"May the Goddess grant her a swift journey," Zenobia said before bowing to Sora and taking off into the night sky. With a sad smile and a conflicted heart, Sora slipped through the window and gently clasped a crystal blue pendant onto the girl's wrist. "Keep her safe. His Lordship is possibly fonder of her this time around than last, and won't take kindly to her being harmed. May the wings of the Goddess guide and protect you," Sora said with a true smile before following Zenobia's example and taking her leave.