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Chapter 8
Arrival

Cassandra couldn't help but bask in wonderment when she saw Esonctuaire's colossal stone bridge. She had already seen it when they still had some distance away from it. But, seeing it up close made her immensely impressed. When she looked towards what was ahead she saw the magnificence of the kingdom's castle. It wasn't as beautiful as Corona's (her allegiant bias still present), but she couldn't deny that it dwarfed her kingdom's. As they went through the towns, she could see the influence of magic in the daily lives of common folk. Though, their magics were not as flashy nor as explosive as the ones she had witnessed in her life's length. She now realized why the three fairies had told her that she might find the answers she needed once they arrived in the kingdom.

They arrived in the north-eastern region of Esonctuaire. Aurora, Phillip, and Cassandra observed that magic was much more common-place in this part of the kingdom. They saw establishments such as; charm stores, bookstores for spells, and anything alike which involved some sort of magic. Children played with little wands which emitted sparkles as they shot each other with it. A stray shot hit Cassandra on the nose. She felt a tickling sensation and started laughing on her own. Phillip watched the Coronian beside him go through the whole antic, he couldn't help but laugh along.

Another stray entered the window Aurora was looking through. She managed to dodge it. She was ready to scowl at the culprits, only to be met with two children giving her apologetic looks. The magic was harmless, she realized; when one of the children was shot, causing him some giggles as he chased for his other playmate. She couldn't get mad at them, they reminded her of Garderian children playing in the streets. Melancholy washed over her as she remembered times before the kingdom's ruin. She fondly smiled at the child who remained, prompting him to join back with his playmates.

The caravan was parked at a stable in the outskirts of a specific town, as the fairies had instructed to do. They said they, even Cassandra, all had business in this part of the kingdom before they could carry on with their lives (and journey). As Aurora, Phillip, and Cassandra were walking through the town, following the fairies' lead, they noticed that the fairies were slowly showing their anxiety; their uncharacteristic silence, their stiff posture, glimpses of their shaken expressions whenever they occasionally look back. For as merry the town is with their magic, realizing the context of their travel here, they did not come here to share the merriment.

They stopped by the door of a manor by the town square. Flora knocked on the door, polite as it may be, it was louder than it normally should… It signified urgency.

"Coming, coming," a muffled call from a mildly-aged woman could be heard. Then the sound of someone rushing to the door. As the door opened, they saw a woman clad in purple clothing. "Come in, Cinde-."

Lenore was quite surprised by who was at the door. "Flora, Fauna, Merryweather… And Princess Aurora?" She glanced behind them, "... And company. Come in, come in." While everyone was entering, she asked, "What brings you here on short notice?"

Merryweather started, "Everything is wrong. We hadn't enjoyed our stay back home. We needed to get away from the kingdom. Phillip and her highness are sad. We don't know what to do… Well, I don't know what to do. We can't get back to our old lives. There's no turning back. There are monsters in the wild. We can't-"

"Garderienne is gone," Flora interrupted the blue fairy's rant… Straight to business.

Lenore stopped dead on her tracks, turning to the group. "What do you mean?"

"The black fairy… She returns," the red fairy continued.

"The whole kingdom, in ruins by her hand. Maleficent and her monsters… killed everyone, destroyed everything. Everything and everyone in ashes and rubble" Phillip elaborated. "We travelled all through here to seek refuge. The fairies said that you can help us. We have nowhere else to go."

Lenore could not fathom what she just heard. Garderienne was destroyed... A whole kingdom was destroyed. She didn't think that the scale of destruction the Disruption would cause would be this tremendous. She had sensed and heard from other magical-beings that there have been sudden blights, pollutants, wildfires, and the like that had been happening in sparse in the entirety of the world. Their scale of destruction wasn't as immense, and it was nothing that humans and nature couldn't fix. It added to her worry and dread that a kingdom's fall could be caused by the Disruption. She hated that her hunch of powerful magical beings returning to the material world had been right. The situation had become more complicated, urgent, and dire. "This is worse than I thought, this is dire news, we need to prepare better for what might come next, we need to act fast. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear." She was now pacing back and forth by the fireplace, thinking of what to do given the situation, panic escaping through her gestures.

It had been an unwieldy moment for the visitors eyeing the purple fairy's envisaging of the next series of actions for the time being. "We came to you, because you have the most idea of this situation. And the three of us think that what we could only do is help with the pressing situation at hand. We seek a new place to start over," Flora appealed.

"Alright. I will make some arrangements for you to get settled in town. For the meantime, you may stay here or at an inn nearby until all is done and about," Lenore declared. She glanced around the rest of the visitors, studying who they were, their state and mood.

One was a knight, who seemed to be appointed to Princess Aurora. His face painted of stoicism. He had experienced battles, or at least had been roughed around with battles of intense training. The purple fairy sensed magic in his sword and shield, it intrigued her. The magic was familiar, it was eerily similar to the fairy-trio's. Armaments provided by them perhaps. Maybe this was the help that Flora had mentioned.

The black-haired lady was quite exceptional, Lenore quipped. Fully geared as if she was going on an adventure. The woman had a sabre sheathed. A warrior woman, a rare sight. And seemed to be as experienced as the knight. The purple fairy sensed magic coming from her chest. She didn't know exactly what kind or what its source is. She was indeed an interesting character.

The sound of knocking on the door interrupted Lenore's thoughts. The purple fairy went to answer the door once again. Cinderella and Skeever came just in time for today's lesson.

"Godmother, it's time for my lesson," the godchild greeted. As she was approaching the stairs, the lot of people in the living quarters caught her eye, Cinderella halted. "You have visitors."

"Yes. They have… urgent matters to discuss with me," the godmother said. "You go start your lesson without me, I'll attend to you after a short while."

Cinderella obliged, excused herself, then went upstairs.

The Esonctuairean princess caught the attention of another princess. One was caught by the appearance of the other. How one was a different version of the other, only with slight differences in physical features. Their eyes had only briefly met when the newcomer was peering at the visitors. Yet, they took note of the existence of the other. They had a feeling it was not the last time they saw each other.

Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather were surprised by the princess as she entered their view. They weren't as sensitive to magical presence as Lenore, but they could feel its dormance from within. Is the young lady part of Lenore's plan in response to the Disruption? Did Lenore already do to her what they planned to do to Phillip? They thought it was the case. They hoped it was the case. It would be easier to coordinate their efforts in honing their Champions, if that was the case.

"I suggest your highness to explore the town with your two companions. Look for a place to stay. Your godmothers and I have more things to discuss," the purple-clad old lady instructed Aurora.

Aurora nodded, and took her leave; the two warriors following suit.

"Come back when you're done looking. Take care," Fauna added as the princess and her company were on their way out.

Cinderella's godmother had been late for her lessons for about twenty minutes, she noticed. She had been taking a while conversing with her visitors. It might have been some discourse about important matters. Matters which involved the realm of magic. She recognized the three old women from when she had snuck in on the gathering in the caverns beneath the kingdom. Will they be part of her training as Champion? What of the others with them? Cinderella couldn't help but ponder, as she absentmindedly wrote runes as per Skeever's instructions.

"Skeever, did you see godmother's visitors downstairs?" the princess asked Skeever, as she was doing her rune-writing exercise.

"I might have caught a glimpse of them, yes."

"Do you recognize anyone of them?"

"I do recognize one of them, the young lady with ash-blonde hair. She is the Princess Aurora of Garderienne. I wonder why she paid Esonctuaire a visit."

She had known of Garderienne from the atlases she had read. "Have you been to Garderienne?"

"Yes. About two years ago, in fact; when the princess had just been returned to the royal family after sixteen years of her life in hiding. Garderienne is a beautiful place. Its castle is as grand as ours, and with beautiful architecture. And its people are very accepting and progressive. You might enjoy their company."

"It does sound like a wonderful place…" Cinderella noted. "... But, you mentioned something about the princess living in hiding?"

"Yes. She was hidden, because of a magical curse inflicted on her at her christening. Curse of eternal sleep, from what I remember the Garderians had told me. The curse had long been lifted by 'true love's kiss' by the time of my mission there," Skeever stated, with a mocked tone at the mention of true love's kiss.

Another princess with experience involving magic. Albeit on the opposite spectrum from her own… A curse. The story Skeever told of Princess Aurora sounded like it was fable. The counsilman told it as if it were one. But from what she had experienced in the recent years of her life, especially now; she had every indication that the story of the Garderienne princess may not be far from reality.

"But enough casual conversations, concentrate on your work," Skeever chided, interrupting her musings.

"Yes, teacher."

It took Phillip, Aurora, and Cassandra almost the entire afternoon to look for an inn to stay the night in. It was because they had done more than just look for an inn, they had explored the town for what it was and had. The Garderian couple would likely be living the rest of their lives in this kingdom, it was pragmatic to be familiarized with the place straightaway. After circles of walking on the town roads and three sets of tired legs, the three of them wound up sitting by a table just outside the inn they chose, beverages on the table. Tea for the princess, mead for the other two.

"Esonctuaire isn't so bad. Lovely people, lively atmosphere. Reminds me of Corona, but with more magic," Cassandra began.

"It's quite unexpected for me, actually," Aurora retorted.

"Why is that?"

"I read from history books that Esonctuaire had a long history of oppression towards people who associated with magic. They were forced into hiding. No one would dare use magic in public. Abuse and discrimination was prominent in the kingdom, especially in this region, where most of the population are magic-users." the princess explained. "Something might have happened recently for the kingdom being open for magic."

"Like a revolt?" Phillip chimed in.

"Maybe," Aurora answered.

"The people here seem happy, different from what they would be from what you read," Cassandra stated.

"I think it's better this way. As, I am all for the progressiveness of a nation."

"You can say that again, your highness," Cassandra added. "Are citizens from Garderienne lively like here? Before… you know…"

"Yes…" the princess answered. "... I… miss the sight of the merry folk bustling to get through the day." She glanced at a group of children playing tag, as they almost bumped a man carrying a barrel of fish. She was reminded again of the loss of the innocent men, women, and children of Garderienne. They didn't deserve what had happened to them. Lament washed over her, as the busy people of North-Eastern Esonctuaire made her miss her kingdom and her subjects.

Phillip had the same reaction as Aurora, for he too had missed Garderienne. With lament in his eyes, he watched a squad of town guards patrolling the area. It reminded him of his brothers in arms.

"I'm sorry," was all Cassandra could say, as she saw the Garderians' mournful faces.

They were snapped out of the gloom by someone tapping the princess' shoulder. "Sister, what are you doing out? Aren't you supposed-" the stranger stopped as the blonde woman turned.

Aurora saw a fair-faced lady in pink clothing, holding a basket of assorted pastries, "Do I know you?"

The two warriors looked at the newcomer strangely.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I've mistaken you for someone else. Sorry, sorry," the stranger apologized, then exited.

With the awkward interruption done, they continued to enjoy their drinks; over small conversations.

Aurora enjoyed whenever the three of them would have casual conversations. They often had it whenever they took breaks from traveling; usually during meals. She liked being the one to listen, especially when she and her prince conversed alone. She recalled her prince telling the story of what happened each day of duty, as if it were some kind of report; before Garderienne's ruin.

With Cassandra's company on the other hand, she felt as if she was getting left out. As conversations and topics would go, the two warriors always got heated either in argument or in relatability. She was secretly feeling jealous whenever she saw them get engaged with each other's words.

"Whoa, the Esonctuairean Guard uniform kinda looks goofy. Might look good on you, Mr. Prince," Cassandra teased, eyes on the town guard in formation. She received an eye-roll and a grunt,

Aurora chuckled as she pictured her beloved in the blue nutcracker-like attire. It interrupted her negative thoughts towards her new friend. Cassandra's company made their journey a lot easier. She heard her prince laugh for the first time after her kingdom's fall, right after the swordswoman joined them. It was fortunate that they had crossed paths, even for just until she would leave for Corona. The princess couldn't let her jealous tendency ruin their remaining time together. It was nonsense. She was better than that.

The southern tower of Esonctuaire Castle served as the Messenger's Tower. Messenger birds would come and leave the tower hour-to-hour, day-to-day. Members of the Castle Guard and a few stewards operated the facility, under supervision of the Overseer of Messages. They operated dutifully, none delayed upon delivery, none delayed from sending.

A messenger bird approached the tower in great haste. The steward by the window had a curious face as he saw it. It was a white pigeon, an emergency message delivered from a travelling caravan. Its feathers had stains of soot, strange. He took the scroll from its talons as the bird was placed in its designated cage. Black ribbon, a message to the palace. Wax seal indicated a message from the Crown Prince. The message was immediately delivered to the overseer, as protocol states.

The overseer's face filled with dread as he read through the letter.

The caravan for the delegate mission is at the southern boundary of the Moors as of writing this letter. A group of ghastly creatures attacked the caravan, setting them in flames. Three of my men and I are fled, we are the only survivors. Only the emergency pigeon was salvaged from the attack. Everything else turned to ash and stone. It might take long for us to come home, but we will survive.

To my father, have faith that my men and I will make it back home.

-Prince Henry of Esonctuaire

The Overseer of Messages ran out of the facility in urgent haste. The king must know immediately.

Author's Notes:

Belated Merry Christmas y'all. I fell like it's been 2 months since I updated. Been busy with year-end work, and family celebrations. Also writer's block, that contributes to that too.

Prince Henry is in a lot of pickle. HOW DARE HE CROSS THE BLACK FAIRY'S TERRITORY?! Kappa

Cinderella and Aurora look kinda alike to me. NoKappa. My fic, my opinions.

[Crossings of Paths Intensifies]

Feedback and Criticisms welcome.