While contemplating the news of a trial to face in the morning, Art noticed that Suzuri had passed out on him. She never was used to staying up too late, and she had a tendancy to tire out easy even when they were using the night to be affectionate. He lifted her up into his arms, trying so hard to let her stay asleep, and carried her out into the hallway.
"So, are you off to make a lasting memory of the special night?" Alicia asked with a wink.
"No," Art said, walking past her, "She's asleep."
"Asleep on your wedding night?" Seth asked, standing next to Alicia. "That's kinda boring."
Art grunted. "There's more important things to think about right now," he said, continuing up the grand staircase that led up to his room. One of the maids opened the door for him, said that she put some night clothes on the table for them both, and shut the door behind them. Art laid Suzuri in his bed once he pulled back the covers, and slowly walked over to his bedroom window. "In the tradition of Cannock, when I wake tomorrow, it will start. I'll have to figure it out by myself. I all ready know my own worst fears." He ran all sorts of scenarios around in his mind. "Oh, Celestria... I need your guidence."
Just then, the apparition of the beautiful goddess appeared befire him yet again. "My child, you have done splendidly in the eyes of who see you," she said gently. "You have done right by your princess and your faith. Even the spirit of Ciresso is more than happy for you."
"But the trial tomorrow, Your Grace," Art said. "I have no idea what I'm going to do."
"The only thing I can tell you is to trust your own instincts. The feelings you have fostered through your journey will be your best guide," Celestria said, always with her radiant smile on her face. "Your trial will test your courage, honor, and faith."
"I know, Your Grace," Art said, taking in a long breath. "I'm... I'm scared. For Suzuri, for our baby, even for the people who know that I'm going up to face this trial. I don't want to fail anyone."
"And you will not, my child, if you follow your own instincts," Celestria said. "I cannot tell you what your trial will be. That will be up to your own fears." She waved an arm and placed the Seal of Loto once again into his hands. "This is not for you. You will give it to your bride. This is all the aid I can give." She faded away, just as quickly as she had come. "I believe in you, Art Princeton of Cannock. It is time you did the same."
Art looked down at the seal, ever shining. "My beloved," he whispered. "It is for you I endure."
Unable to think about it any further, Art forced himself between his own sheets and snuggled up to Suzuri. He would have loved spending the night playing between those same sheets, but the impending trials tomorrow were a bit too much of a turn off for him. He placed his hand on her belly, whispered a prayer, and allowed himself to drift to sleep where no dreams awaited him.
Alicia had her ear on the door outside, and she stood there for about ten minutes before all she heard was snoring from the inside. "I guess it wouldn't be right for me to barge in there right now," she said to herself. "Princey's got a lot on his shoulders."
"So, then, we'll celebrate for them," Seth said, pulling her away. "I hear the beds here are the softest in the entire world. They gave us a room just down the hall."
"Who needs a bed?" Alicia asked, cackling with her evil laughter.
"You will, when I'm done with you," Seth said, grabbing her ass. Then he lept up and made a mad dash down the hallway after taunting her a few times.
Alicia gave chase down the hall and the door shut behind her, while Angelo was still tipsilly wandering the hallway. Tara found him and led him back to their room, kicking him inside.
"I can't take you anywhere," Tara grunted. "You're an embarassment!"
The castle collectively either fell asleep or stayed up to celebrate a victory which was not theirs, and night passed without a single problem or mishap. The sun came upon Cannock Castle as strong as it had stood for over a full century, waking everyone in the castle before Art rolled so far that he fell off of his bed.
He wasn't surprised at the idea of falling out of his bed, after all, it was intended for just one person, and Suzuri was someone who liked to have a whole bed to herself when sleeping. Art looked around his bedroom to find that Suzuri's wedding dress was neatly folded and placed on his table alongside all sorts of books from the library. He started to examine them, but he stopped himself. The trial was today, and it started as soon as he was awake. Everything was a sign or a puzzle, as he recalled from his lessons. The crown of Cannock would not allow just anyone to wear it, as if it was sentient.
He turned to walk out of his bedroom, where he found Seth standing by himself in the hallway. Was this really Seth, or was it an illusion for the trial?
"Mornin'," Seth said with a wave. "Hey, I heard that Suzuri went down to the dining room for breakfast a bit ago. You hungry?"
Honestly, Art wasn't, but he nodded anyway. "I'll go with you, sure," he said. "Even if I'm not hungry, I can still share the morning with my friend."
Seth smiled and handed him a crystal. "I'm just the first, Friendship," he said, his body fading away. "Follow the trail of your friends, and surely you will find what you seek."
Art grasped the crystal in his hand, letting its power warm his fingers. Celestria was right. Following the feelings he learned of on his journey, he would be on the right path. Of course, that was just the first, and most certainly not the hardest.
He walked down the hallway and continued down the stairs, putting the little crystal in his pocket. He came to the dining hall, expecting to see Suzuri on her breakfast as he heard, but he found Angelo there instead.
"G'mornin'!" Angelo called out to him. "Man, this place is the greatest. The beds are comfy, the food is perfect, your castle staff is friendly, and your lands are damn near monster free! Cannock should be the captial of the whole world, don't you think?"
Art shook his head. "No way, nowhere should be the capital of the world. Power is not used to rule the world, and it's wrong to think that any place is perfect. I am from Cannock, but that does not make it the best place ever. We have a lot of problems here, too, just like anywhere else."
Angelo said, "Hey, Suzuri said she'd be going down to the library. You should head down there to check on her, okay?" He stood up from his place at the table and said, "I am the second. Humilty." The phantom of Angelo tossed him another crystal of a different color, and Art caught it easily.
Not wanting to be distracted from his task, he wandered over to the library, finding on the floor one of Suzuri's favorite pieces of equipment, her Crown of Clarity. He gripped it to his heart. "You aren't missing," he said, "I just have to find you. I know that you leaving me is my worst fear. Suzuri, you are never far from my heart."
That's when Tara ran past him, followed by several tough looking monsters. "Eeeeek!" she squealed. "Atlas, Fowleye, and Sir Sanguinis at the same time is impossible!"
Art jumped in front of the monsters, blocking the Atlas' club from hitting Tara with his shield. "No, they aren't," he said, "Not if you have someone at your back!" He looked back at her. "We can take them!"
"Well," Tara said, drawing her axe, "Okay, Art, I trust you." Together, they took the monsters down, one by one. Then Tara patted his shoulder and put a new crystal in his hand. "I am the third. Trust." As she started to fade away, she added, "You should go look for Suzuri out in the gardens. She says she doesn't like flowers, but that's a bold faced lie."
Art placed the crystal in his pocket with the other three, feeling the strengths of all his friends with him. He should have seen this coming, but in the garden wasn't exactly Suzuri, but Alicia.
"I'm sure you came here looking for your darling new wife," Alicia said, grinning. "But I am here. Perhaps I can satisfy what she cannot?" She put her hand on his chest and said seductively, "Embrace your darker side, Art, and allow me to lead you to a world you've never known."
He shook his head, not even phased by the come on. "Alicia, you might be a temptress, and even a tad bit evil in your works, but you're still a good person at heart." He pushed her away gently. "You and I might not always get along, but I know you'd never try to take away what makes your sister the most happy."
Alicia nodded. "Yes," she said. "I am the fourth. Loyalty." With a fourth crystal in his pocket, she started to fade as the others had before her. "Carry with you all four, and you will find the gate to where Suzuri is."
"Thank you, Alicia," Art said. "I am glad we could finally see past our differences."
"Likewise," Alicia said. "Be careful, for your final test is your worst fear. Suzuri needs you to find her, and quickly." She was gone, and the fourth crystal sat with the others to create a very powerful magic in his pocket.
Art pulled the crystals out of his pocket at the same time, and they created a compass of sorts, leading him to the castle courtyard. They flew up into the sky to reflect the light of the sun into a single spot in the center of the courtyard. A door stood there, made of darkness and fear.
"This is it," Art said, drawing his sword. "My trial." He walked up to the door, and it opened on its own. "I'm here. There is no turning back."
Stepping inside it, he found a whole tunnel inside made of nothing but darkness. He couldn't see his own hand in front of him, much less his sword in it. This would make battle impossible. The door slammed behind him.
Courage, faith, and honor, Art repeated in his thoughts. He kept walking forward once he sheathed his sword. It felt like he was walking forever, until he found the ground under his feet was made of a different material. No longer was it like sand, but it was more like stone. Suddenly he heard an ear piercing scream. Art knew the voice.
"Suzuri!" he yelled out. "Is that you, love?"
He heard it again. She was screaming in pain. Art ran in the direction of the scream, hearing it again and again and again. Every time she made the sound, it was as if his heart was being stabbed with the sharpest knife ever made.
Finally, in frustration, he said, "I need some light in here, I feel like I've been running around in circles!" He used his own aura to call forth a fireball, which caused a reflection to gleam from somewhere in the distance. "...the... the seal?" he asked, running in the direction of the gleam. "Did she pick it up?"
"Art," Suzuri's voice cried, "Why are you doing this?"
Art turned around, looking for her. "For you, love, I'm doing this for you!"
She screamed in pain again, sending Art into a fury. He could no longer hold in his aura, and it dispelled the darkness around him.
He found himself in what looked like a dungeon lit with a few tall wall torches, and Suzuri lying on the floor in a bloody mess. He rushed to her side, finding her back covered with scars. Someone had been whipping her, and not in the playful sense.
"Oh, Love," he breathed out, kneeling over her. "Who's done this to you? Who hurt you like this?" He put her hands on her back, trying to call forth what healing spells he knew. "Suzuri, talk to me."
"Or what...?" she cried. "You'll beat me again?"
"I would never take a whip to you, not even playfully," Art said. "Why would I-"
"Oh, but you would." Over in the corner stood a shadowy figure that Art could not see. "When she thinks so fondly of her past beloved, you want to make her see that you are the only one in her life now, don't you?"
"Who are you?" Art asked, standing up. He realized Suzuri didn't even want him near her and so he decided to deal with the man in shadow.
"Why," the figure turned around and stepped into the light. "I am you. Your blasphemous side, fueled by anger and frustration."
Art was staring himself in the eyes. Every feature on that figure was exactly his, from his fluffy hair to his ice blue eyes. "I have no dark side," he declared.
"So you say," the shadowy Art said with a laugh. "So you say." He drew his sword. "Prove to me who you are, Art Princeton!"
The shadow lunged for Suzuri again, but Art stood there and blocked the attack with his shield. More attacks flew by, some even hurting him, but he did not move once. Art looked back at Suzuri. "You're safe now, and as long as I draw breath, you will be."
"A true knight," the shadow said in the middle of another attack, "Even with a crown on his head, lives and dies by the vows he makes. He does not fight unless needed. Instead, he will defend that which he has sworn to protect until his last breath."
Art stood his ground. "I have always lived by that code," he said, "And I will never change."
The shadow seemed satisfied. "I am the fifth and final. Devotion. You have shown nothing but love and kindness to all you pass, yet it is nothing without truly living for it. You have always been a manifestation of devotion, young prince, and you are fit to ascend to the throne of Cannock. Just be careful to not hurt the ones you consider closest, as you have always feared you would. If you live your life trying to avoid all pains, you will not really be living in the end."
The dungeon he was standing in vanished, and he stood before his entire kingdom's populace in the center of the castle's courtyard. There waiting for him was Suzuri, holding the crown that the King had been wearing yesterday.
"We all knew you'd make it," Suzuri said. "All of us." She walked up to Art and kissed him, then held up the Crown of Cannock. "After passing the trial of the royal family, Prince Art has earned the right to rule all of this land." She placed the crown on his head. "You are now our King, my dear."
"And you, our Queen," Art said, gripping around her.
The entire kingdom celebrated with fireworks and the feast continued well into the night. Things had never looked so good in the realm of Cannock.