Once upon a time in the land of Mistletoe, there were four kingdoms that symbolized one element of their land and community. The kingdom of Noir symbolized the almost everlasting darkness that covered Noir's land. The kingdom of Illumise symbolized the almost everlasting sunlight that shined down upon the kingdom and it's people every day. The kingdom of Feather symbolized it's high population in waterfowl and exotic birds, and the kingdom of Marron symbolized the diverse, brown horns of it's people, the home of a unique race.
Though, long ago, the kingdom of Marron seceded to the kingdom of Noir during a war with Illumise. Illumise's king, believing he was outnumbered, forced control over Feather, not wanting to be defeated. Though, it wasn't long before an unknown force broke into his castle one night, murdering the king's wife and his son in their sleep, the son being mistaken for the king himself. The king, grieving, blamed the kingdom of Noir and forever broke any kind of peace or trade contract it's ruler proposed. Illumise waged war with Noir for years, until Noir destroyed Illumise's castle, killing the king.
Since then, years have passed and there has been silence between the two kingdoms. Illumise refuses to speak with Noir, while Noir tries to make peace with them. Though, the past isn't the only thing preventing Illumise's current king from speaking to Noir. It's the fact that Noir's current queen is a teenage girl.
Tap, tap, tap. Miku scrolled through the newsfeeds on her cellphone, 7 articles about the duke of a faraway kingdom named Venomania and his scandal with 30 women. The young girl already knew enough about what the duke did. Kidnapping women under the cover of night, hiding them in his castle, hypnotizing them, and so on. Miku was disgusted enough by it. Good thing it's in Akuyrin and not here in Mistletoe.
Things in Akuyrin were always odd in Miku's opinion. She had once heard about a princess from Akuyrin who had made a potion that put her whole kingdom to sleep forever. Another time she had heard of a queen with cannibalistic tendencies. The Duke of Venomania's scandal was just going to be another crazy story the people of Mistletoe would tell for laughs. As if the people of Illumise didn't have enough crazy, raunchy, untrue stories about both her and the land of Akuyrin anyway. Miku couldn't wait to hear how she was involved in the duke's kidnappings.
"Your Highness?" she heard a soft knock at her bedroom door suddenly, "It's Haku, I brought your lunch."
Miku sat up on her warm bed slowly, squinting out the large window in her dark room. Gloomy clouds hid the sun as they always did, light having not touched Noir or Marron land for thousands of years. Despite being used to the usual darkness, Miku always mistook it for nighttime darkness. She wouldn't know what time it was until one of her servants or her advisor told her.
"Come in," she told her servant, smoothing out the skirt of her nightgown and setting her pink cellphone on the mahogany nightstand next to her comfy bed. She watched Haku open the door and bow carefully with the full tray in her hands. Her snow white hair fell over her shoulder for a moment before falling behind her again, a large purple and black bow holding her hair back. When she stood up straight, her beautiful cherry red eyes met Miku's, a gentle, loving smile on her servant's face. Haku was the only one in the castle who didn't have horns, other than her cousin. Being of pure Noir descent, both Haku and Dell, her cousin, have served the royal family for years. Miku can clearly recall the times after her mother died and how Haku cared for her as if she were her mother. To this day, Miku still cherishes this special bond with Haku.
"I made duck soup with cabbage, hibiscus tea, a cinnamon bread roll, and a slice of blue velvet cake for your lunch today. I hope you enjoy it," she set the tray on a pop-up table by Miku's bed, setting a cloth napkin with polished silverware next to it. The young queen turned and sat on the edge of her bed, smiling. "I always enjoy your meals, Haku. I really wonder why you haven't become a master chef yet."
The servant giggled softly, her pale cheeks becoming a light pink. "Who would give you your favorite meals then? I don't think Ring or Neru know how to cook."
"Well, Gumi does make some superb chamomile tea, but she'll never top you. Perhaps you could become the master chef of the castle," Miku took a sip of her black tea, the sharp taste almost catching her by surprise. She loved it though. Haku blushed.
"I feel honored, Your Highness. I'd miss chatting with you though," she said, watching the young queen politely eat her soup. Miku picked up her cinnamon roll and tore a half of it off, handing it to her servant. The woman reluctantly took the piece, afraid that it may have been a test by the queen. Though, Miku's nod encouraged her to take a bite.
The servant waited until the queen was finished with her meal before bowing and taking the tray with it's dirty dishes. "May the food I make keep you healthy and alive. Good day, Your Highness."
Miku waved as Haku opened the bedroom door and walked out, allowing a girl in a wheelchair to come into the room. The queen recognized the girl as her advisor, Ring Suzune. The wheelchair moved on it's own as it entered the room, Ring's sky blue hair flowing over her shoulder, and her elegant, black ram horns on full display. Turquoise crystals hung from the tips of her horns, a Marronian's equivalent of earrings or barrettes.
"Good afternoon, Your Highness. Did you rest well?" the queen's advisor asked as Miku rubbed her fat, curved horns. The queen's horns resembled that of a devil's instead of some kind of animal. She hated to admit it, but she was jealous of how beautiful Ring's horns looked.
"Yes. I definitely wasn't reading books all night," Miku lied, laughing nervously. Her advisor raised an eyebrow, narrowing her sea green eyes. The queen scratched her head. "Sorry, the story I'm reading is just too captivating. I've been able to go without sleep for a whole five days before though!"
Ring sighed. "Your Highness, you need to be more responsible. Going without sleep can be quite dangerous."
Miku groaned, falling back onto her bed. "But I am being responsible! I sign our thousands of peace treaties that are sent to Illumise every day! I listen to the citizens' pleas for one thing or another! I fix whatever in our glorious government is broken! I think the nighttime is when I deserve to kick back and do what I please for once."
"My queen, you must sleep too. A tired ruler cannot rule a kingdom. It can lead to too many irrational ideas and choices," Ring told her, crossing her arms. Miku sighed again.
"Then how will I get free time to do what I please!? If I'm going to live life, I should at least have freedom to do things I want every once in a while! Otherwise my life can't be enjoyable!" the queen argued, sitting up. Ring shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but with the fact that Illumise may still be a threat we cannot rest. Now, could you please get dressed? You have a meeting today...as always," the advisor told her queen before turning and the wheelchair wheeling itself out of the room silently. Miku crossed her arms and huffed, falling back onto her bed in frustration and punching the mattress. Why can't I do what I please!? The kings and queens in stories get to bathe in chocolate bathtubs and eat cake & drink ale all day! Why can't I do the same!? Surely fiction displays some true facts of life?
She picked up her cellphone again, opening the newsfeeds and scrolling through them furiously. Though, she stopped when her thumb landed on a bright and color-filled advertisement. Forgetting her frustration for a moment, she stared at the characters displayed on the now opened advertisement. Each one of them looked like some kind of magical being, fierce looks displayed on all their faces. "ASSEMBLE YOUR PARTY AND TRAVEL THE FORBIDDEN LAND! FREE TO PLAY!" it read, the brightness almost hurting the young queen's eyes, but it gave her an idea. A party? An RPG party? Wait...yeah! I could assemble my own team and show Ring that a queen could stand to loosen up! I could show her how fun doing non-royal stuff is!
Miku jumped to her feet, sprinting to her closet, her bare feet slapping against the glossy stone floor. Once inside, she picked up a dress she wore for a Halloween masquerade party and pulled it on. With it, she put on black thigh-high socks and some red and white boots she found in the back of the closet. Finding a pair of silk black gloves and finger-less white and gold gloves, she pulled on both and stepped in front of the mirror. She admired the short red skirt of the dress and the boots, posing several times in the mirror to look like a true RPG heroine. Though, she spotted one problem: her horns. Wait, everyone knows I have devil horns! How do I cover this up!?
Rushing over to her vanity and hurriedly searching through it's mahogany drawers, she searched for paints or anything that could make it blend into her hair. Finding a can of Chameleon Spray, she squired the substance onto her horns, watching them slowly disappear as a smile on her face appeared. This will do. She tore her monochrome ribbons out of her turquoise hair, brushing her long locks before pulling parts of her hair up into two pigtails to cover the spot where her horns were. Finally tying them with a pink and white ribbons, she gave herself a relieved smile.
Miku snuck out of her bedroom next, avoiding the servants and maids in the hallways by hiding in and behind the various pottery and statues that littered the hallway. She was almost caught by Gakupo, one of her advisor's butlers and a bodyguard who she was sure had a sixth sense. She was lucky he didn't look inside the pot she was hiding in, otherwise she would surely get an earful.
After her close encounter with her paranormal butler, she slowly made her way through the lobby, avoiding her servant and bodyguard Neru's line of sight. Hurriedly throwing a ball to the other end of the lobby to distract her, Miku snuck out the front doors and dashed across the courtyard, meeting the wall that blocked out the outside world. Climbing the vines that sprawled across the concrete wall, she scaled it and jumped over, landing on her knees the dirt below.
"Oh, great," she grumbled, dusting herself off and getting up. She then jogged through a small forest before meeting the checkpoint wall that separated Noir from the Woodlands. With eyes adjusted to 24-hour darkness, she could spot two guards ahead, bright lights shining where they stood. Miku put on the best "happy traveler" expression she could, proceeding forward on the dirt trail leading to the lights. She tried to remain as calm as she could, her heart pounding against her ribcage as she approached the two guards. They're going to catch me, aren't they? Not many people in the kingdom have turquoise hair anyway. Perhaps I should have worn those purple contacts I borrowed from Duchess Teto.
"Evening, ma'am. Where are you heading?" one of the guards stepped forward as she reached them. The guard was tall with dark purple eyes and had their snow white hair in a pixie cut, a dark purple streak running down the side of it. A name tag on their uniform read "Flower". Miku had heard of them before. In fact, she had heard of all her guards before. She's talked to them before. She would have to disguise her voice.
"Oh, just visiting my granny who lives in the Woodlands. She's been getting quite lonely," Miku tried her best British accent, trying not to look nervous. Flower raised an eyebrow, their purple eyes scanning the young queen. Miku almost shivered.
"Merli, check her for any jewels or weapons please," the guard commanded their dark-skinned colleague. The navy blue haired girl walked over, patting her down and checking each known pocket.
"I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable," Merli spoke, finishing patting her down. Miku shook her head.
"Not at all, ma'am. I've gone through this many times while traveling," she lied, her accent still in use. Merli's eyes widened though when she finally got a good look at Miku.
"You kind of look like the queen," she giggled, to which Miku tried harder to not look nervous. Flower nodded, observing the young queen.
"Haha, I get that a lot," she thought she felt a bead of sweat run down the side of her face, trying to resist the urge to sprint out of this place. Suddenly, both of the guards giggled.
"Alright, go on, ma'am. Stick to the dirt trail and you won't encounter any creatures. It should lead you straight to all the villages in the Woodlands," Flower told her, pointing at the trail ahead of them. Miku nodded.
"Oh! Are you going to be by the Illumise kingdom by any chance?" Merli suddenly asked. Miku rubbed her chin.
"I might. I don't remember how far granny's house is," she told the guard. Merli dug an envelope out of her uniform pocket immediately, holding it out to the young queen.
"Well, if you go by there by any chance, I heard my little sister has set up a trade shop near there. Could you perhaps deliver this to her? It's been so long we've talked," she requested as Miku took the envelope. Merli then handed her a photograph. "Her name's Lapis. She looks like this."
The queen stared at the young girl in the photograph, who's pale skin was almost the color of the moon. She leaned on her sister's shoulder, her mouth frozen in a smile and her blue-fading-to-purple hair shined in the captured sunlight. Two thin pigtails rested on her bare shoulders and her cerulean eyes glittered like jewels. She looked almost as beautiful as her sister. Miku nodded. "I'll make sure to give this to her. I promise."
A smile came to Merli's face, her pearl white teeth shining. "Thank you so much! Safe travels!"
Miku waved to them as she continued onto the trail, smiling as she placed the letter and picture in her dress pocket. I can't believe it! My first RPG mini-quest! Though, getting a letter to a girl wasn't her only objective. The sound of guitar in the distance caught her attention then, reminding her of her true objective. A party isn't a party with just one member!