Chapter 2 : The Time Traveler and the Jaquin
When she came to, Arianna hurt all over. It felt like she had been trampled by a stampede, wrung out flat, then stampeded on all over again. Struggling to open her eyes, the young Princess immediately noticed a change in her surroundings. She wasn't outside, or in a dungeon — rather it looked like the ceiling of a very nice bedroom. Stifling a whine of complaint as she forced her eyes to open the rest of the way, Arianna winced.
"Oof, yep. That'll hurt for a while,"
Lifting a hand slowly to feel her forehead, Arianna sat up. She was set up nicely in a bed, tucked in and changed out of her dirt and mud smeared dress. Her hair was let out of its adventure braid and hung loose about her shoulders as the young princess continued to rub at her forehead. Where was she?
Arianna didn't get long to ponder as there was a light tap on glass off to her right. Blinking and turning, Calspher's blue form stood at the balcony window. His left wing was well bandaged, but he looked fine and generally unharmed. Opening the glass door with his tail, the Jaquin trotted into the room with a heavy sigh,
"Please, PLEASE stop falling long distances. If I have to catch you every time we fly, you and I are going to have some serious trust issues for life,"
"If you'd let me use a saddle then I wouldn't have to fall off,"
Rolling his eyes, Calspher laid his head on Arianna's lap as she stroked him, "I'm just glad you're safe,"
"Same here. Where are we anyway? What happened,"
"You knocked yourself out when you fell," Calspher explained, his feathered tail flicking back and forth as Arianna scratched the special spot behind his ear, "thankfully the girl from the square didn't want to kill us like everyone else does, and she brought you back here,"
"She did that?" Lifting her brows, Arianna shook her head, "why?"
"Cause it was the right thing to do,"
Turning, Arianna stiffened as a figure stood in the doorway of her room. It was the girl from the square — Elena. In her hands was The Scepter Of Light, "are you feeling ok?"
"I — I feel a bit like I've been trampled on a few dozen times," rubbing the place at her scalp, Elena frowned as she came to stand at the edge of the bed,
"I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to scare you — either of you. I was just taken off guard,"
"We shouldn't have been there in the first place," Calspher growled, causing Arianna to blush. Her brother, as per usual, was right,
"Listen, I'm sorry to have to jump into the questions so soon after your waking up, but I need to know. Where did you find this?"
Holding out the Scepter to her, Arianna frowned deeply as she followed the worn engravings with her eyes.
"It was passed down to me — to us — from my mother's side."
"I'm sorry for this next question, but who exactly are you?"
Hesitating for a moment, Arianna looked to Calspher who just shrugged. Turning back to Elena, who had taken up a seat on the bedside, Arianna sighed shakily.
"I am Princess Arianna Castillo Miranda-Flores, of Avalor. And this is my brother, Prince Calspher Castillo Miranda-Flores."
"Wait, you're both from the Castillo-Flores line?" Pointing at the two of them, Arianna nodded,
"My brother was turned into a Jaquin by an evil sorceress named Caldara, who tried to take the throne of Avalor from my family, but she failed -"
"Never underestimate the power of a 9-year-old girl," Calspher mumbled, causing Arianna to scowl at him as Elena's brows furrowed,
"It's just...you can't possibly be from the Castillo-Flores line. That's my family line. I am Elena Castillo-Flores, crowned princess of Avalor."
"Elena of Avalor?" Brows rising into her still aching hairline, Arianna groaned, "no duh, I'm so stupid,"
"Que? Explain, sister of mine"
"Queen Elena Castillo-Flores of Avalor. Did you pay attention in history — don't answer that," holding up a finger to her Jaquin brother, who still looked lost, Arianna turned to Elena,
"You, your majesty, are our great, great aunt."
"Aunt?" Elena tipped her head to one side in confusion — in a similar way to Calspher as Arianna sighed heavily.
"Yeah, I remember reading about your reign in school, and hearing the stories from Mami and Abuela about what Avalor was like before Caldara. Which means...Isabel — your Isabel, is our great, great grandmother."
Letting the pieces fall into place, Elena's eyes shined with curiosity while Calspher looked ready to faint at any moment,
"So that's why you look so much like my sister. You are descended from her. That's...I mean that's just amazing,"
Holding her head bewilderedly as Elena moved to pace, Arianna took the Scepter of Light in her hands. She immediately cursed at the long fracture in the gem tip. Good going Arianna. One more trick like this and you'll be done for.
Fingering the crack, Arianna swore loudly. This caused Elena to whirl around on her as the young Princess ran a frustrated hand through her locks.
"Hey, is everything ok?"
"No," turning the scepter over and over in her hands, Arianna allowed Calspher to look at the expanding fracture, "the scepter has been fractured since we got it, but we need it to turn Calspher back into himself — and to get home. But the more we use it and it's magic the worse the break gets, and the harder it is to use,"
"So that's why your spell backfired —"
Thumbing her chin with a hand, Elena seemed to be pondering something as Arianna resisted her urge to throw the artifact across the room,
"I won't have enough energy to get us home with the fracture like this, if I try we may end up even farther in the past then we already are,"
"Or farther into the future, which would be worse," Calspher mumbled, causing Arianna to groan again.
"Hold on, hold on don't panic. We can figure this out," sitting down on the bedside again, Elena seemed to have composed herself as she took deep breaths in and out, "ok, so. What exactly is going on in your time? Why is this...sorceress after you and your brother?"
"What else, she wants the Scepter," holding up the artifact, Arianna laid back against the pillows and blew a piece of hair from her eyes, "Caldara wants the power of light and darkness to become the most powerful Malvaga in the world. It's bad enough she already has half the court on her side,"
Folding her arms, Princess Elena blinked in confusion,
"Wait, what?"
"Caldara is our fathers royal advisor, Princess," Calspher said, shaking his head, "it seems only Ari and I know the truth of her intentions towards the throne,"
"Can't you tell your parents about this?"
"We've tried, but they are under a powerful enchantment. As long as Caldara has a place in the palace, the throne will continue to fall to her mercy,"
"That's terrible. But what I don't get is how the great, great granddaughter of my sister ended up being passed the scepter. Unless—"
"I'm supposed to be the crown princess," waving an awkward hand, Calspher nodded in agreement,
"She's right. Years ago, King Hernando contracted a terrible illness and passed away unexpectedly. Queen Lucia Castillo-Flores and the baby Princess Veronica Maria — the true rulers of the Castillo-Flores line — also died under mysterious circumstances —"
"Calspher was supposed to be the next in line for the throne," Arianna continued, "but Caldara had already infiltrated the court by then. He was cornered, and cursed to become a Jaquin."
"I couldn't return to the palace as Prince, so the honor was passed to my sister, who's not old enough to be Crowned Princess," nodding to Arianna, the girl made a sound in her throat, "our parents were placed under the enchantment, as they are currently the rulers of Avalor until Arianna is old enough to take the throne."
"And now Caldara is after me, and the scepter. The last obstacle between her and the throne of Avalor,"
"Oh wow." Running a hand across her face, Elena fell back against the mattress as she stared at the ceiling, "thats way more complicated then I thought,"
"You're telling us," Lifting his head from Arianna's lap, Calspher flicked his tail back and forth, "the longer we're away from our Avalor, the more power Caldara will gain. We shouldn't even be here — we could be changing the future as we know it, for all of us."
"Calspher is right," pulling herself out from under the blankets, Arianna moved to stand, wobbling on her feet, "woah-"
"Easy," holding out her hands, Elena helped steady the younger Avaloran princess as she shook away her dizziness, "the Scepter drains your energy. And if your created a...a portal, using it? I can't imagine the havoc that is having on your body,"
"You're probably right, it'll be a bit till I'm strong enough to travel again, let alone get us back to the right time,"
Stretching out as her muscles screamed, Arianna sighed, "thanks for helping us, Princess Elena, but we should probably go."
"You're not leaving, are you?" Eyebrows jumping up into her hair, Arianna nodded,
"We need to find something important, while in this time. Something that could help us in our future,"
"Wait, you can stay here in the Palace. We have more then enough room, and I'd be happy to help you find whatever it is you're looking for. My Royal Wizard, Mateo knows all about artifacts here in Avalor,"
"I — I dunno," glancing to Calspher, the Jaquin made a shrugging motion and looked somewhat resigned,
"We're already here, and it's better then sleeping outside — well, better for you not to sleep outside. I always sleep outside,"
"Cal!"
"I'm saying we might as well get help when it's being offered, hermana. That's what I'm saying, geez,"
Quirking a lip slightly at her brother being somewhat tongue tied, Arianna nodded,
"Alright. I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay a few days. But what about your familia? I've been mistaken for your sister all day long, how are you going to explain this to them?"
"We just tell the truth," smiling, Elena looked somewhat more at ease knowing a time jumping princess and a Jaquin weren't going to be running away from her again, "strange magic isn't unfamiliar around here. My Abuelo and cousin Esteban may be a bit hesitant about it, but they'll get over it. And Isabel will simply be over the moon to meet you."
"Then I guess it's settled," looking to Calspher, Arianna sighed heavily, "we're staying. At least for a little while."
A/N: Hello all! Rose here, back with Chapter 2 of Mark of Darkness. Before you ask, yes Arianna's magical abilities will be explained in future chapters — since she's not directly descended from Elena, but is Isabel's descendant. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this read and thanks for liking and reviewing! :D