You tried to lick your elbow, didn't you? I knew you would. And it doesn't work, does it? Told you it was impossible.

Chapter 10 - Hope and Liberty


The entrance hall was huge. It was made of ebony marble that had silver streaks running through it. White candles in silver holders were evenly spaced along the walls. A silver chandelier about three metres in diameter hung from the ceiling and held more of these candles.

Mimi felt the breeze pushing her again. Unsure of where she was supposed to go, she let it take her. She walked down a dimly lit hall. It felt like this walk was never going to end, when suddenly a door appeared in front of her. It was silver, same as all the decorations, and had a five petalled flower detailed right in the middle. Something compelled her to touch the lovely flower. Her hand reached out as Mimi watched with a detached air. She didn't even fully realise what she was doing until her hand hit the cool metal. The cold immediately turned to boiling hot, and Mimi pulled her hand back as fast as she could.

As she did so, the door swung open. Mimi walked forward, the slight pain in her hand forgotten. The room was entirely white marble. In the centre of the room an intricate design involving stars and swirls and flowers was carved into the floor. Past that, two tall thrones rose from the floor. Mimi felt a little sick at the resemblance to her mother and father's throne room. She walked over in a daze.

The first sign she had of the Guardians was a voice. "Come closer, Princess." One of them commanded.

"You… you know who I am?" Mimi stammered as she did as she was asked.

She was close enough to see them now. The one with the insignia of Liberty above her throne smiled slightly as she replied. "You forget. We know all of past, present and future."

Mimi lowered her gaze sheepishly to the floor for a moment before lifting her head to look that the guardians properly.

The Guardian of Hope sat on the left. She had waist length feathery black hair, giant dark green eyes and snowy white skin. She couldn't have been taller that five feet. She wore a long deep green dress with flared silk sleeves and skirt, and a velvet bodice. The top was a corset, and the scooped neckline revealed just a little cleavage.

The Guardian of Liberty had thigh length curly blonde hair that was kept off her face with an elfin silver circlet. She had clear blue eyes and the same pale skin and height as Hope. She was wearing a white bandeau that exposed her whole stomach and barely even covered her breasts, and a midnight blue fluffy hipster skirt that trailed along the floor even from the height she was at.

"You have come to us to find out your path, correct?" Hope searched for confirmation.

"Yes. That is true." Mimi was more sure of herself now. "I wish to know what I should do with my life."

Hope and Liberty nodded, then in perfect unison, Liberty raised her left arm, and Hope raised her right. A large bubble rose from the pattern in the middle of the floor. Mimi swirled around to face it. Their voices fused into one behind her.

"You ran from palace life because it was too demanding. Too restricting. You had no life of your own."

A picture of Mimi climbing down the rope to escape the castle walls slowly formed inside the bubble.

"You fled to Capelin and met a certain Mr. Ishida at the town inn. One could say you have a certain connection. One could go so far as to say you always have."

A picture fleeted through the bubble before Mimi could see it properly. She was disappointed, wishing it would return. What did they mean by 'always have'?

"But beware. Your paths twisted in, and they can twist out just as easily. Doing something for the greater good may spilt the two of you forever."

Mimi was shocked. She barely knew Matt, but she could no longer imagine life without him. Her heart would break and she should surely die. This realisation rocked her to her foundations, but at the same time she knew that it was completely true.

"As for the rest of your life, you are a Princess. You cannot deny this forever. Use this position in society for good. You hold more influence than you realise, and who knows who you will save."

Mimi tried to take this information in. She had a connection with Matt, but she may lose him. Her royal titulary, which she had tried to denounce, may bring about a heroic rescue. Her life seemed to be nothing but a mess of confusions.

"But beware, Princess Mimi of Celestria. There will be a point in your life when you will have to choose between yourself and another. Either choice is justified, either choice is valid. But you must, absolutely must, listen to your heart when deciding. To rationalise your feelings on this matter would be worse than facing the flames of Hades."

The bubble started slowly shrinking, and a fog began to seep out of nowhere to enshroud Hope and Liberty. Mimi heard one last thing, which sounded much like an afterthought.

"When all is lost, and darkness reigns, light can be found in the forgotten city of Altair."

The bubble in the centre of the room disappeared, and the Guardians seemed gone. Mimi, more unsure of herself now than she had been before, left the room the way she had come in. She returned to where the rest of the group was waiting, barely noticing the flowers blooming at her feet. She was trying to figure out their last warning. What could possibly make her have to choose between herself and another? Was it death she was facing? She had no clue. She could only suppose it would make sense later, when it happened.

As she reached them, they stood for her. Mimi had a painful flashback to ceremonies in her palace, where everyone would stand for the royal party to enter and exit.

"Did you find out what you needed to?" Asked Matt as he walked to her side.

"I… I am not sure yet." Mimi replied honestly.

Matt grinned. "That's okay. The Guardians' advice is most often cryptic, and can take forever to decipher. Or at least, that's what I've heard."

Mimi's heart fluttered a little under his presence. He would never fail to cheer her up. He would never fail her at all. She could do nothing but smile back.

Seeming content in the warmth of her smile, Matt continued. "Anyway, while you were having your fortune told, we were talking to our new friend Joe here. Apparently, there is a huge production being put on, and the theatre troop needs as many helpers as they can possibly get. The pay is good and accommodation is provided. So, enter us, the keen volunteers willing to learn all about staging."

Matt looked extremely happy, with a certain amount of pride shining through too. He was providing for his 'family,' and nothing could please him more. Mimi couldn't help but think what a wonderful father he would make. Maybe even to her children. Matt Ishida, King of Celestria. It sounded nice. But what sounded even better was Mimi Ishida, Queen of Celestria. Then naturally there would be five or six, maybe even seven little princes and princesses of Celestria running around.

Quite disconcerted by her natural mental return to the palace and her old life, Mimi turned to Joe, who was looking nervous and like he was about to trip over himself. "Where did you hear this?" she asked him kindly.

"Um… around… somewhere… I'm not sure. You just hear things when you're out on your own… you'd know that… wouldn't you?"

His words came out all jumbled and confused. He seemed scared somehow, as if he was about to get slammed if his information was unreliable or incorrect.

Mimi shrugged it off, despite her natural tendency to get worried over the slightest negativity in people. She turned her attention back to Matt, who was looking a little strangely at Joe too.

"So… whereabouts is this huge performance that is going to be the start of our staging careers?"

Matt flicked his eyes off Joe to look at Mimi. She was always so optimistic. Nothing could bring her down. Just one more thing to love about her. "Celestria." He said simply.

Mimi just about heard the crash as her world fell around her feet.


What did you think? Kind of rushed maybe? I wanted to get this update up quicker than the last ones, because I figured I owed it to you, my adored readers.

Emma's useless facts about nothing in particular

Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.