"No need to be afraid." Copper spoke, his voice kind and gentle. He, Amber, and Agate were all soaked in the rain. "Do you have any rooms to spare? We've gotten lost, and we can't make our way through the fields in this weather." He explained, casting a sidelong glance at the pouring rain around him. Marie shakily nodded, and moved out of the way so that the royal family could walk through. Absolute horror had taken hold of her, chilling her to the bone. THIS IS THE WORST TIMING POSSIBLE! She internally screamed, panic rushing through her. She wasn't afraid for her own well being, but rather for Misty, Aaron, and Pebbles. They were monsters. Agate and Copper were one of the seven wizards who had sealed the majority of the species underground. And who knows how they would act if they found her friends. She felt frozen on the spot, before she snapped back to reality. "Young one, there is no need for fear." Agate spoke, putting her hand on Marie's shoulder. "We have no intentions to harm you. And, thank you for letting us in." "N-No problem." Marie spoke in reply, her heart racing. Agate let go. "I need to let the others know, so there's no...uh..." Marie trailed off, her words lost. Copper nodded, understanding.
Marie rushed into the hallway and quickly knocked on Aaron's door. "Aaron!" Marie whispered, and opened the door. Aaron was sitting up from his bed, his fiery form a bit dim. "Aaron, do not freak out. I need you, Misty, and Pebbles to HIDE. There's three people here, and two of them helped seal the barrier." Marie's quiet voice rang with panic and desperation. Aaron nodded, now looking frantic. "Get the others in here." He urged, getting out of bed. Marie nodded, and rushed to the other two rooms, waking up Misty and Pebbles. She rushed them to Aaron's room, not wanting to risk Agate or Copper seeing Aaron's bright flames. "In the closet, now!" Marie whispered, pointing at the closet in the room. The trio all nodded and rushed into the closet, all managing to squeeze in there. Marie walked out of the room and closed the door. She rushed to Percy's door and knocked, whispering for her. She opened the door. "Percy!" Percy was in bed, and she opened her eyes with a mutter. "Marie...?" "Percy, we have a situation. Three people are here, asking to take shelter. I had to let them in." Percy was sitting up now, looking worried. "Who were they?" Percy asked. "The Lightvales." Percy looked like she wanted to scream. She had a look of absolute horror, fear glimmering in her bright purple eyes. "I hid Aaron, Misty, and Pebbles in Aaron's room. They're in the closet. Go wake the others up, I'll take care of them." "You're not gonna attack them, are you?" Percy asked, confused. "No. I'll just be a good host. I'm going to help them to their rooms, of which are not occupied by our three monster friends, give them fresh clothes while theirs hang to dry, and hopefully we'll be good. Maybe they'll leave tomorrow, and not come back." Marie replied, her voice shaking with urgency. Percy nodded, and rushed out of the room to wake the others.
Marie walked back into the main room, feeling extremely nervous. Agate, Amber, and Copper all looked at her. "There are three rooms, all next to each other. There's clean clothes in the drawers." Marie spoke, managing not to stutter. "Thank you, miss!" Amber exclaimed, walking towards Marie. "I'm Amber! What's your name?" "M-Marie." Marie replied, managing to calm herself a little. Amber smiled in response. "That's such a pretty name!" She replied, her eyes bright. Agate chuckled a little, and Copper smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Marie. I assume you knew our names already?" "Of c-course!" Marie replied, smiling nervously. "You and Agate are two of the Seven Great Wizards!" "Oh yeah, forgot about that." Copper replied, chuckling. Through her panic, Marie could hear the joking tone. She smiled a little. "Now, your rooms are this way." Marie motioned to three rooms in the hall, belonging to Okami, Marcus, and Justin.
...
The next morning, Marie had barely slept. She fought sleep, but managed to doze off a bit. She had slept in Aaron's room, wanting to keep the three from being discovered. Misty had occasionally spoke, asking if they were gone. Marie had shaken her head no each time, aware that Misty could see her. That morning, Marie had gotten up, and walked to the closet. Aaron, Misty, and Pebbles were all asleep, somehow. Marie carefully arranged them in a more comfortable position in the closet, and closed the door to it. She walked to the door, shivering still. "I'm sorry, guys. You're gonna be out of action for a while yet." She carefully opened the door, and walked through. She closed the door behind her, and when she turned back around, Agate was in front of her. Marie let out a loud yelp, jumping back and almost into the door. HELL- Marie screamed internally, before calming down a little. Agate chuckled a little. "I did not mean to startle you. Are you alright?" "Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" Marie replied, sounding nervous. "Just a little shaken, is all..." Marie trailed off. "Of course. After all, Copper and I are the rulers of the various kingdoms out here. I would be surprised and shaken as well." Marie remembered about the disappearances of the other wizards shortly after the barrier had been installed, not that long after Aaron, Misty, and Pebbles had escaped. Marie nodded in response. "Did you, Copper, and Amber have a good rest?" Agate nodded, and stepped out of the way. "We did. And, Marie? Thank you. All three of us are grateful for you allowing us to stay." "It's no problem, really!" Marie replied, smiling a little. Marie knew it was a lie; this very much was a problem. But she had to stay strong and act like nothing was wrong, or else her monster friends would likely be found and seized, or worse. Killed. Marie forced her body not to shiver at the thought. Then, a thud was heard from the room.
"That did not sound good..." Agate spoke, pointing towards the door behind Marie. "I-I'll check!" She quickly spoke, blocking Agate from going forward. "...are you hiding something? Because that sounded awfully heavy." "Me? Hiding something? No, don't worry!" Marie said, forcing herself not to stutter. She was doing horrible under this sudden expression of pressure. "Totally not suspicious." Agate replied, her eyes narrowing a bit. "If you're truly not hiding anything, then what's in that room?" The sound of someone hitting the ground, likely Aaron by the sound of it, judging off of him letting out a small yelp of pain, was heard. Marie almost jumped out of her skin. This is bad... "There's someone in there." There was no denying what Agate said. "...what if that came from outside?" Marie suggested, but Agate was already facing the door. "NO, AGATE, PLEASE!" Too late, as Agate reached over and opened the door, and right away, she saw Aaron on the floor on his back, with Pebbles and Misty trying to help him up. Her eyes went wide, glowing with magic. NO!