Dolly ran as fast as her legs could take her, hoping that she'd find someone, anyone from her team after finishing her battle with Jack. She did feel a bit guilty for leaving him by himself, especially in the state he was in. But regardless, Jack had proven himself to be capable enough to maneuver through Asperity without raising suspicions, so hopefully he'd find a way to sneak past Lilith in the case he ran into her.
Dolly kept running but the hallway seemed to be endless. She looked up to the ceiling and wondered if there was another way to enter the main floor.
"I can't be wasting time running through this hallway! I gotta find the rest of my team." Dolly said to herself as she looked at her palms for a few moments, but then shook her head," I shouldn't be wasting my energy like this, but…"
Dolly looked both ways, unable to see anything because of how dark it was. Just then, the ceiling above her began to crumble away like the lab and pieces of the ceiling were falling from above. Dolly clung to the walls and braced for cover, but the ceiling didn't deteriorate as quickly as the lab did.
Dolly studied the ceiling closely and a thought came to her.
"Why didn't I think of that earlier?" She asked herself.
When Teddy escaped from the domino room, she was at first determined to regroup with her teammates, but after so much walking around in the labyrinth better known as Asperity, her pace was slower though she became a lot more impatient.
"Have I been walking in circles or something? This is insane, there's no way I'll find everyone else at this rate." Teddy said to herself as she continued to walk around. Teddy was sure she had walked down this path before until something on the floor a few feet ahead of her caught her eye. She walked up towards it and in front of her was a glassy tile that showed a room beneath her. The room had a giant encasement of Everlight with a boy trapped inside it. When Teddy took a closer look, she felt her heart skip from being overwhelmed from the amount of magic she could feel within the room.
"There's only one person there though...could that be the owner of the mage's Patchwork Heart?" Teddy asked as she sat down in front of the glass tile," And that thing he's trapped in...it looks like the Everlight stuff that was found in the shards."
Teddy then stood up and smashed the glass open with her heel.
"If I can't find the rest of the team, might as well do something useful." Teddy said to herself as she hopped through the opening and into the room.
She landed in front of the encasement and once she appeared before the boy who she failed to recognize as Hayase. He was startled initially but seemed a bit skeptical after taking a good look at her. Teddy took a closer look too and noticed that his face looked awfully familiar but the one thing that she couldn't help but think was how he looked like a certain former Pretty Cure.
"I may have only seen drawings of her, but...you look like Cure Cheer." Teddy remarked as she tilted her head slightly," Are you two related or something?"
Hayase looked hesitant to respond, taking his gaze away from Teddy as he eventually answered with," She's my step-sister. I never knew her in person, she passed before I was born."
"Wow, so you're stacked for good genes." Teddy commented as she stretched her arms," But, it appears you're a bit stuck, might I be of assistance?"
Bubbly and Fantasy were running through the halls of Asperity alongside River who had the fairies on his shoulders. They just came back from the kingdom and were surprised to find Asperity in worse condition than when they left. It was hard to run through the main level without worrying if the ground beneath was going to collapse under your weight. But, the group was more focussed on finding either the rest of their team or Princess Arabella.
River stepped on a piece of the ground that was ready to disintegrate and nearly fell into the lower level, but Bubbly was quick and created a bubble to catch him. The bubble lifted him up a few feet and placed him right in front of the girls before it popped.
"I'm really sorry about the trouble I'm causing you two, I've been slowing us down." River said as he looked around," I don't think I expected Asperity to be in such shambles, especially when they've had the upper hand."
"Don't be sorry! We really need your help right now, so we don't mind at all." Bubbly said with a chuckle.
"He does have a point though, this place looks like it's caving in on itself. Is Asperity in any shape to try claiming victory?" Fantasy asked as she noticed the walls a few feet behind them were starting to crumble.
"I think Asperity is crumbling away because of them being so close to victory." Rani pointed out," It would appear they've reached a point where their hideout can't contain all this magic without Lilith to stabilize it."
"Wait, Lilith isn't here?" River asked as they continued to run.
"Does it feel like she is?" Nova asked, causing the three of them to stop and figure out for themselves.
Nova was right, despite the fact that they were at Asperity, it somehow didn't feel as if they were. Something, or rather someone, was missing. Because of all the chaos ensuing around them, they had yet to even notice until now.
"So...Lilith is missing in action?" Fantasy questioned as she looked past the hallway," But where would she be at a time like this?"
Lilith led Sterling into a room, similar to the conference room she had set up in Asperity but it was a bit brighter in here. It felt much more warm and Lilith hoped it would make Sterling feel a bit more welcomed but he only seemed weary as he took a seat opposite to Lilith at the table.
"What am I going to say will make Nixe only hate me more." Lilith declared, her voice oddly calm as she laced her fingers and placed them beneath her chin," I've missed you Sterling."
"You know I shouldn't forgive you for what you've done." Sterling pointed out to her," Your actions have given no other choice but to stand by my kingdom. What are we doing here anyways?"
"Didn't I say we needed to talk in private?" Lilith reminded him flatly.
"I didn't think we were going to talk…" Sterling retorted as he looked around the room. Was this supposed the hideout of Asperity? Or perhaps it was something close to it, since the real Asperity must've been more lively right now with the Pretty Cure around.
"Don't you think there's something wrong with your kingdom, with the Well of Wonder?" Lilith asked Sterling, who only kept quiet as he narrowed his eyes at her.
"Remember when you hated this kingdom?" Lilith questioned softly.
Sterling shook his head and flatly answered," It wasn't the kingdom I hated, I hated being royalty."
"I'm trapped. Hopelessly and undeniably trapped. I can't roam this land freely, I don't get to explore and to make matters worse, I won't even get to be a king one day." A young boy with dark brown hair thought to himself as he looked out the window of his bedroom. He walked towards his bed and crashed onto it, thinking it'd be much better if he didn't look at the world outside his window that he'd probably never get the chance to journey through.
"What a sad excuse for a life." He said to himself, his eyes glazed as he kept looking at the ceiling," The only person who might stand a chance to understand is…"
"Sterling! Let's play knights again!" A boy who appeared to be a year or two older than Sterling exclaimed as he popped his head into the doorway. He has wavy light turquoise hair and a bright smile on his face as his eyes met Sterling's.
Sterling narrowed his eyes at the boy, who may've been older but certainly didn't act like it at times. Ok well...maybe it wasn't that he wasn't acting his age but rather...Sterling's gloominess made him appear wise beyond years. But still, playing knights at thirteen years old wasn't really something that interested Sterling.
"Theo, didn't we play yesterday?" Sterling reminded him with a sigh. He knew it was unlikely that Theo would listen to reason, as despite being the older brother, he was a child at heart.
Sterling agreed to sword fight and so, about twenty minutes later, the two of them could be found in the castle's courtyard wielding a pair of foam toy swords. Sterling was stronger but Theo was quick on his feet, so that usually secured him his win. Only today, Theo seemed off his game and Sterling was able to knock him off his feet with ease. Theo crashed onto the ground and started coughing.
"You wanted to sword fight when you hadn't even gotten over your cold yet?" Sterling questioned as he knelt next to Theo to help him up.
"No better medicine than exercise!" Theo claimed between coughs.
"Theo? Theo!" A high-pitched voice called out from inside the castle. Out came a light green and yellow mouse with a quilted pattern on its body that rushed towards Theo as soon as he found him.
"My goodness my prince! How many times do you need to be told to stay in bed today?" The mouse asked, glaring at Theo who placed him in his hands. Theo looked at him sheepishly and started laughing.
"But Rudy, what else am I supposed to do?" Theo questioned as he clenched and unclenched his free hand, causing the mouse to float up into the air," You tell me no practicing my magic when I'm sick and then you say I can't swordfight? What's left for me to do?"
Theo had Rudy floating upside down and spun him around, which only made him even angrier than before.
"There's plenty of other things you can do, now will you stop spinning me around?!" Rudy demanded, while Theo and Sterling laughed at him.
Just then, a knight walked into the courtyard to greet Sterling and Theo.
"Your father wants to take you two out to the Elderberry Garden. We'll be leaving soon." The knight said to them. The two princes exchanged excited looks, but Theo remembered he wasn't in any condition to leave the castle grounds.
"I'll just have to go with you guys next time, ok?" Theo declared with a forced smile. Sterling nodded and the knight escorted Sterling out of the castle.
It wasn't often that the boys were allowed to leave the castle, except when they had to go to school or had special events where their attendance was mandatory.
Sterling was led to a carriage where his father was waiting for him inside. Sterling rigidly took a seat across from him and the carriage started moving once the knight got inside, taking a seat next to the king.
The king looked at his son with a pained smile, watching him look at the scenery around him quietly. He had overheard the boys were acting out a bit more than usual, must've been the summer heat getting to them. But, even though Sterling was given the chance to wander past the castle grounds today, he still held that unreadable, listless look in his eyes.
Sterling was never much of an optimist, nor did he speak all that much. Some thought he was only shy, but the king knew he was probably just uninterested in small talk.
The carriage ride went on for another half-hour, but then, they came to an unexpected stop. The three of them exited the carriage and found that the horse had become too scared to move an inch. The driver jumped off of his seat to take a better look at the horse.
"Is she ok?" Sterling asked the driver took a look at the horse.
"I can't tell, but something must've spooked her on the way." The driver explained," I can calm her down, just give me a few minutes."
The king nodded and failed to notice Sterling was already straying away from the group once he took a look around.
"Could it be because we took a different route than usual?" The knight asked the driver.
"Maybe...but we've been here before. Perhaps she's sensing something in the air." The driver suggested as he ran his hand through the horse's mane.
Sterling walked a bit more in the open field, surprised to see that it had been mostly empty. Nobody was around, just a wide field filled with flowers that brought Sterling a sense of calm as he searched around. He started to hear the sound of kids playing around faintly in the distance and he saw on his left a trio of children by a tree. Two of them were sword fighting and the only girl amongst them was watching while sitting on a tree branch.
Sterling didn't care to focus on the boys, since their form was inadequate to him. The girl was quite pretty though, her violet hair long and secured with a bow. Though she was watching the fight, she didn't seem very interested in it. Maybe she had watched these two fight one too many times and already knew who'd emerge victorious or she too was aware that their form wasn't quite right.
"She's bored." Sterling thought to himself as he watched the girl watch the sword fight. Sterling then had an idea and rose from his hiding spot, approaching the group. The smaller boy had just knocked the older one off his balance and left him on the ground. The older boy probably would've been able to strike him back twice as hard if his movements weren't so rigid.
Sterling got closer, but the group had yet to notice him, so he cleared his throat to get their attention. The three of them all looked towards Sterling, each with a very different expression from the other on their face. Sterling couldn't quite bring himself to look at the girl up close, so he gave his attention to the boys.
"Would any of you know where The Elderberry Garden is?" Sterling asked the group.
The smaller boy pointed behind them, not saying a word and awkwardly, Sterling nodded and thanked them, walking where he was directed to.
He did hear the boys squabble amongst each other in the distance and their arguing brought a smile to his face.
"How did you not know that was Prince Sterling?" The older boy chided.
"Well, how am I supposed to know? It's not like I've ever seen him until now." The younger boy claimed in his defence.
"Everyone knows the younger prince Sterling has been blighted with dark hair. It had yet to occur in the royal bloodline until now." The older one explained.
Sterling sighed and shook his head, not the slightest bit surprised by the older boy's explanation. What everyone else saw as misfortune, Sterling was indifferent towards. It would've been nice to blend in, but...he kinda liked how his hair colour made him seem even more out of place in his kingdom than he already was.
Once he realized he was a lot closer to the garden than expected, he looked back to see if the rest of the group had been nearby. The carriage could be seen in the distance, appearing to be running smoothly now. The group was probably going to get mad at him for going on ahead without them, but all Sterling could think about was the girl amongst the trio.
"I'd like to see her again." Sterling thought to himself as he looked towards the Elderberry Garden," I have to come back here, but… I don't know how I'll be able to manage leaving the castle grounds without being noticed."
He turned around to take a look at the three grownups amongst the group and wondered exactly how long it would take for each of them to notice his absence in the castle. Sterling thought about it a bit more and realized it didn't really matter how long it'd take, since him and his brother were bound to get caught, being the most protected ones in the castle.
"If I really do want to see her again, then what am I to do?" Sterling thought to himself as he was led into the Elderberry Garden by his father.
The Elderberry Garden was flourishing with berries and bright colours from all the rare plants and flowers in the garden. Even though everyone else except Sterling had been here quite a few times, the garden never failed to impress. The grownups of the group took their time walking through the garden, admiring all of the different flowers that existed here and couldn't be found anywhere else.
Sterling also thought the garden was nice, but strangely enough, he found himself getting more excited over the more mundane sights in the garden, like the trees that had their leaves changing colour prematurely from green to yellow in the middle of the summer. Sterling looked up at the tree, wondering why its leaves were already beginning to change.
Sterling walked around the tree and found the same girl from earlier, holding onto the tree as she looked up at the leaves. The girl had yet to notice him and when she did, she was a lot calmer than Sterling was when he saw her.
"It's pretty isn't it?" The girl said as she stared up at the tree," This is the only tree here that's leaves have begun to change colour so early."
Sterling nodded and took a step closer to her so he could join her in admiring the tree's leaves. The leaves changing colour of course meant the leaves would fall come soon and the tree would be without any leaves in a few months. It was pretty indeed, but it was also somewhat of a sad sight. Sterling looked over to the girl, wondering if she knew what would happen when the rest of the leaves changed colour.
"Do you think the rest of the trees will change just as quickly as this one?" She asked, finally placing her gaze on him," We should compare to see in a week from now."
Sterling looked at her wide-eyed for a few moments, in disbelief of what he was hearing as the girl stared at him. She had a blank expression on her face, Sterling had to commend her mentally for bold she was, even if she might not have realized it.
Sterling smiled shyly and nodded as he said," A week from now… yeah,I'd like that. "
"Sterling? Where are you?" The king shouted from a few feet away. Sterling sighed as soon as he heard his father calling for him and looked at the girl apologetically.
"I...I have to be on my way." Sterling said to her, his heart sinking as he looked into her eyes, trying his best to tune out the calls from his father," By the way, I didn't get your name."
"I'm Lilith." The girl responded, her gaze still set solely on Sterling. Looking the girl in the eyes was somewhat overwhelming for Sterling, as her grey eyes were so big and her stare was so intense, but it was endearing in a strange sense. Sterling smiled to her once more before he ran off to rejoin the rest of the group.
The king watched as Sterling took in his surroundings as he approached the group, under the impression that his son was beyond impressed by the sights the Elderberry garden had to behold. Once Sterling got closer to the group, the king began to explain why they came to the garden in the first place.
"This garden is very special to the kingdom, but it remains uninhibited by none other than the caretakers for it. Not only is the garden full of all kinds of flowers and wildlife, the garden is where the Well of Wonder resides."
The king led the group further into the garden and past a large group of trees into a clearing where the well of wonder could be found. Sterling felt nothing when he set eyes on the well, but the others could sense the overwhelming amount of magic that came from the well. Sterling glanced towards his father, wondering if he'd get chided for not even trying to sense the magic when he never had the ability to do so in the first place. Theo wouldn't have had any problem sensing all the magic that flowed out from the well, and knowing that made Sterling frustrated at times. Sterling pretended to be interested in the well as his father continued to speak.
"From time to time, we'll come to check up on the well and inspect it to ensure everything is in order." The king said as he led the group closer to the well," This well is a gift from our ancestors, it's sole purpose is to fill the kingdom with magic and bring life to all the kingdom's toys."
"Well, don't you mean only the plushmate toys?" Sterling rectified as he continued to stare at the well. It was such an odd feeling to be looking at something so powerful yet not being able to fully understand or feel its power. It was like meeting a celebrity but having no clue what they were famous for.
"Yes, only the plushmate toys." The king responded," Regardless, it is the king's job to watch over both his kingdom and the well of wonder. As the kingdom of toys, we can't have one without the other."
Sterling said nothing in response, only acting complacent knowing that his father's words didn't have much value to him as he wasn't going to be king. That was Theo's role.
A week had passed since their visit to the garden and now Sterling was growing frantic from having yet figured out exactly how to return so he could see Lilith again. Everything he thought was easy to get foiled, from sneaking out, to trying to barricade his bedroom so nobody could come in. He had a whole week to think of his grand escape and yet, nothing plausible came to mind. He knew if he were to walk, he could get there within an hour, but...to keep his absence unnoticed would've been tricky. Sterling looked down at the castle grounds from his bedroom window, shaking his head knowing his fantasy of spending the afternoon with Lilith was slipping out of reach.
"This won't work, at this rate I'll be stuck here all afternoon." Sterling said to himself in defeat as he pressed his fingertips against the window.
Theo then walked into Sterling's room without notice and caught him staring at the castle grounds outside. Theo had originally been planning to ask Sterling if he wanted to sword fight again since his health had been improving over the last few days. But when he saw Sterling's expression, he grew inquisitive and stepped into the room, walking over to Sterling.
Sterling appeared troubled, and Theo had difficulty recalling the last time Sterling was so...expressive. He offered Sterling a smile of sympathy and took a seat on his bed and asked him,
"What's the matter?"
"I need to get out of here." Sterling blurted out as he finally removed his fingertips from the windows, now facing Theo," I...I met someone at the garden last week. I'm supposed to see them again today."
Theo nodded in response, and zoned out on the ground as he tried thinking of a way to help Sterling. There hadn't been a moment in which he considered talking Sterling out of attending his little meeting. Sterling may've only just met the person, but Theo could tell that the person had to have been important to Sterling if they got him acting out like this.
Plus, Theo felt as if he was the one to blame for the fact that Sterling, along with himself, were always kept indoors.
Theo looked up to him and smiled as he said," Ok, I got something."
The plan was Theo was going to be 'helping Sterling with his studies by tutoring him'. Sterling wasn't feeling confident in his arithmetics and so, he had no other choice but to turn to the person he trusted the most. However, during this time, Theo requested that nobody was to come into Sterling's room as they worked away, claiming that this was to ensure that Theo would have Sterling's undivided attention during these study sessions.
Was it the best plan Theo could've come up with? Most likely not, but considering the amount of time he was allotted, Theo thought his plan was ingenious.
And so, Sterling got to reunite with Lilith, sneaking through the castle grounds and on the route he could remember as clear as day. He never thought his intense examination of his surroundings during the commute to the garden would've actually been of use to him.
When Sterling found Lilith in the exact same place as last week, Lilith looked somewhat surprised as she found Sterling walking towards her. But nonetheless, she was more than happy to see him.
Today hadn't been the last of their meetings, they decided to meet once a week, at the same place in the garden at the same time.
Their meetings lasted for years and the more time that had passed, the better Theo and Sterling had got at keeping these meetings a secret. But...as the years went on and the boys were beginning to be seen as more responsible, they didn't have to put as much effort in sneaking around the castle. But they still had to keep the fact that Sterling was meeting with a commoner top secret.
Sterling would wear clothes that made him blend in with the rest of the civilians in the kingdom, hoping that maybe this would hint at his interest in exploring outside of the garden with Lilith. But, despite the change in wardrobe, Lilith never seemed to have any intent on exploring beyond the garden. Sterling didn't mind, but he only wondered how much of the kingdom Lilith had seen outside of the garden.
"You always lived near the garden, right?" Sterling asked as he and Lilith laid in a flowerbed in the garden.
Lilith nodded, her gaze on the sky above her.
"The garden has always been quiet, not a lot of people visit. Even when people do visit, we typically don't approach them." Lilith explained as she sat upright," Usually, the only people we saw were those from the castle. But...from time to time, we saw others. Others who came to see the well."
"To see the well?" Sterling repeated curiously.
"Once in a while, we'd see well visitors who were good-natured, and wanted nothing more than to give thanks for the well and all it's done for the kingdom. But usually, the well visitors weren't very nice. They would come only to try and take some of the well's magic for themselves but...the well wouldn't let them."
"So what would the well do in retaliation?" Sterling questioned.
"I don't exactly know." Lilith answered as picked out a flower from the field," They'd disappear as soon as they tried to steal the well's magic, but I'm not fully sure what became of them,"
Sterling felt a shiver crawl down his spine as he thought about the ill-willed visitors, commenting," Scary."
"Hey, one day….would it be possible for me to meet your older brother?" Lilith asked, " He sounds like a very nice person, and I'm very grateful to him."
Sterling smiled in response and said," Of course, he really wants to meet you too."
When Sterling got home that day, he was in good spirits from getting to be with Lilith, but as soon as he stepped into the castle, he noticed everyone appeared to be feeling the opposite. He tried to determine what could've been bothering everyone and a thought came to mind that made him sick to his stomach.
He ran through the halls and found Theo in his bedroom, accompanied by a nurse at his bedside. Sterling didn't like the sight of it and walked into the room to see what exactly was going on.
"Why the long face?" Theo asked as he forced a chuckle," It's not like I'm on my deathbed."
Sterling put his hand on Theo's shoulder gingerly and replied," Please don't make jokes like that."
"But I'm fine! Just give me a couple of days and I'll be back to normal." Theo reassured with a cough but not even he sounded certain of his own words.
Sterling nodded slowly and eventually said," You better keep your word."
Theo's health only declined, but he never let himself be seen without a smile on his face during this time. Sterling was frequently seen with Theo during this time, scared of leaving his side and not being able to see him again.
Theo and Sterling were standing on the balcony in the castle, where Sterling was hesitant to make a request that he had been putting off for a while now.
"You know, Lilith has been wanting to meet you for a while." Sterling declared nervously.
"Ah, funny. I've been wanting to meet her too." Theo remarked with a chuckle, watching as leaves started to fall from the trees outside.
Weeks later, Theo had passed and once Theo was no longer in the castle, Sterling wasn't at home as often. He was nervous of what fate awaited him now that the future king had passed. He was in denial, insistent that no matter what happened, he would still be able to be with Lilith. He made use of this time by seeing Lilith more often, doing things aside from ambling through the garden. He insisted on taking her around the outskirts of town where it definitely wasn't as quiet as the garden, but certainly not so busy that Lilith would get overwhelmed. Sterling hoped the change of scenery wouldn't be too much for Lilith, he wasn't trying to pressure her into sightseeing at all. He only wanted to make the most of the time he had before anything prevented him from doing as he pleased.
Spending more time with Lilith was his own way of trying to delay the inevitable, shoving away the worry of getting forced into a role he had lost interest in years ago. But, even Lilith was aware of Sterling's inner turmoil, though she hadn't said a thing. Lilith didn't think the idea of him being king wasn't so bad though, but she feared there may have been some hidden reason as to why Sterling didn't want to be king. So, Lilith only played along, pretending that she hadn't noticed how distraught Sterling had been.
There were only months until Sterling's twentieth birthday and knowing that made him grow awfully anxious.
One day when Sterling came home from an outing with Lilith, everyone in the castle was waiting for him in the throne room. Sterling knew that the rooms absent of people were a bad sign. As soon as he stepped inside, he planned to run out of the castle, but there was a knight with blue and green hair that approached him as soon as he stepped in. Sterling groaned, the newest and most diligent knight, Knight River wouldn't dare let him skip whatever meeting was happening.
"Ah, Prince Sterling! The members of the castle have been waiting for you! We have a guest they'd like you to meet." Knight River declared as he led the way.
River's words made Sterling's stomach tie itself up into knots, he didn't want to move at all. But River was oblivious to how Sterling was feeling and only urged him to continue on.
When the two of them reached the throne room, the members of the castle were circled around a girl with pale pink hair with a large smile on her face, speaking to the group around her. She had this glow to her and she seemed to feel no discomfort whatsoever with all these people surrounding her. Sterling found her scary for this very reason.
"Sterling, this is Imogen." The king introduced as he put his hands on Imogen's shoulders," She comes from a very noble family, and she's been very excited to meet you."
Sterling narrowed his eyes on her, certain he had seen her somewhere before but his train of thought crashed as Imogen approached him, taking hold of both his hands.
"It's such a pleasure to meet you Prince Sterling!" Imogen greeted, that giant smile refusing to leave her face.
Sterling drew a blank and couldn't string together a proper response. He gingerly drew his hands back and only nodded in response rigidly.
"Don't mind him. Sterling's just a tad...shy." The king assured her, glaring daggers at Sterling, who rolled his eyes at his father.
Sterling knew exactly why he was being introduced to Imogen, and he didn't have any interest in getting to know her better as she was only to be a potential suitor. Maybe Imogen did seem pleasant to the others, and her personality would've made her a good candidate as queen, but regardless, Sterling didn't care much for her.
The king then smiled to Imogen, tapping her on her shoulder as he said, "Sterling and I need to step out for a moment to discuss some...confidential matters. We'll return in a few moments."
The king led Sterling out of the throne room, clasping onto Sterling's wrist and held it tight as if Sterling was a child.
The two of them walked to the other end of the hall, where they were out of earshot of the room. Once they were in private, the smile on the king's face disappeared in an instant as his eyes met Sterling's. Sterling wasn't at all affected by the change in behaviour from his father and was about to defend himself, but the king was quick to reprimand him.
"What do you think you're doing, treating Imogen like that? You're supposed to make her like you." The king snapped, his voice lowered to a whisper.
It was impressive that it only took a matter of seconds for the king to detect the distaste Sterling had for Imogen, perhaps it was a skill he developed after years of closely watching over his aloof son.
"Yeah but I don't like her." Sterling pointed out flatly, his eyes narrowed, " She's frightening. I don't really think we'd be a good match."
"It doesn't matter whether or not you think you'd be well-matched for each other. Regardless, marriage is a commitment more than anything." The king explained after he took a deep breath," When you finally understand that, you won't see Imogen as a nuisance. You need to think of the kingdom's future, your kingdom's future."
Sterling fell quiet and the king gestured towards the throne room. Sterling followed him to the throne room, thinking more about his words and feeling a sense of guilt come over him.
Later in the evening, Sterling was in his room, looking longingly towards the window. He walked closer to the window and let his fingertips touch the glass as he thought about today's events. He had a feeling if Theo was alive, him and Imogen would've made a good couple. But now he was stuck with the future that had been paved out for Theo, a path he lost the interest of following years ago.
A thought then struck Sterling's mind and he smiled. He pictured himself and Lilith escaping from the kingdom, running off to somewhere vast and mysterious like earth to begin anew and without the pressures that came with being a future king. If such a fantasy could become a reality, then Sterling would've undoubtedly been happier, even if that meant he had to desert his home and kingdom. His freedom meant more to him anyways.
But...if he were to abandon the kingdom, that would mean the kingdom would be without a new king. The thought of it didn't bother him until he thought about it more, and the sensation of guilt came over him again.
Asking about Lilith to become queen would've been out of the question. They wouldn't have accepted a commoner, much less one who lived willingly in exclusion from society to acquire the role of queen. It hadn't happened in the past millennium and it wouldn't happen now. Not even Sterling could envision Lilith accepting the role of queen.
"It wouldn't hurt to ask." Sterling thought to himself as he walked over to his bed.
From outside Sterling's room, Knight River could be seen looking as if he was ready to knock, but decided against it and instead leaned against the door to the room.
"I know I should confront Sterling on the matter, but am I in any place to do so?" River asked himself quietly. River looked down to the ground, thinking about the incident he saw a few days ago. He discovered Sterling, in disguise with civilian clothes and a mysterious girl near the Elderberry garden. He tried telling himself that it couldn't have been Sterling, but… there was no one else in the kingdom with hair as dark as his.
"Miss Imogen is very sweet, but if that really was Sterling at the garden, it would make sense of his behaviour towards her this afternoon." River said to himself," Sterling must be really troubled, having to deliberate between the two of them. I want to help him."
Everyone probably shared the thought of how if Sterling and Imogen were to marry, it would likely be Imogen ruling this kingdom because of her take charge attitude, leaving the timid Sterling to retreat and watch from the sidelines. If anything, it appeared as if they really just wanted Imogen to lead the kingdom rather than Sterling, the actual heir to the throne. River thought about how happy Sterling was in the presence of the mysterious girl from the garden and came to a decision.
"I'm going to prove to the king that Sterling can rule this kingdom and make the right choices as future king!" River declared as he clenched his hand into a fist.
Lilith waited at the Well of Wonder for Sterling, excited to see him after so long. (In truth it may have only been about a week.) She discovered a secluded little hideaway with a small playground but not a single soul could've been found there. It must've been really far from the cities if nobody had come near it. She couldn't wait to show it to Sterling and kept a lookout for him as she sat by the well.
Sterling finally appeared after a little bit, but he seemed much more tense than usual. As soon as he reached the well, Lilith waved to him and was about to hug him but Sterling grabbed a hold of her wrist and pulled her down with him to sit beside the well. Sterling sat low to the ground, as if he was trying to be obscured by the well and continued to wear the tense expression on his face.
"We've been found out." Sterling declared grimly, his gaze not even reaching Lilith. Lilith didn't seem as alarmed as Sterling expected, but she knew Sterling wasn't happy with this, so she placed her hand on his and said,
"Isn't this what we wanted though?"
"Well, yeah but...I...I didn't want it to be like this. Somebody told my dad that they found us and as soon as he heard, he wouldn't let me hear the end of it. He doesn't want me to see someone like you anymore." Sterling explained, shaking his head in disbelief," I don't know what else I can do...I'm running out of options quickly. Not only that, but there's not a lot of time left either. But, whoever ratted me out threw my dad for a loop saying we were in the city. So he didn't think much of it when I said I was going to the garden. I guess this is a blessing in disguise, but it won't last long. Especially since everytime I exit the castle, I have to leave with a pair of guards."
"Guards?" Lilith repeated confusedly before the two of them heard knights calling out for Sterling. Sterling shook his head once more and took a hold of Lilith's hands and looked her in the eyes.
"I'm so sorry you got dragged into this, I don't want you to get in trouble or to get punished because of me. I'm sorry but...we can't be together any longer." Sterling confessed, gripping Lilith's hand tight before he let go," I really don't want to do this, but I don't have any other choice if I want to keep you safe. I'm already in trouble but if we stop seeing each other, they won't be able to catch you. "
"But...I don't care about whether or not they catch me. I'd much prefer to-"
"Sterling! You better not be trying to make an escape!" One of the guards called out.
"Again, I..I'm so sorry for all of this. I really wish things could've been different." Sterling said to her, his gaze falling to the ground," There was nothing I wanted more than to be with you."
Lilith stared at Sterling and felt remorse, running her hand through Sterling's hair before he stood up. She didn't quite understand why he was apologizing to her as she felt in the wrong for what had happened. She knew he was a prince all this time and yet she didn't let that stop her from letting go, not even when Theo passed. But still, the feeling of rejection stung her and she couldn't help but feel uncared for.
Sterling stood a few feet away at the other side of the well, getting lectured by the pair of guards. They were mainly talking about how he wasn't supposed to stray far from them, not when the king had specifically requested for them to keep watch over Sterling. But then one of the knights made a comment that made her outraged.
"Seriously, you should've been using your head. No woman would ever come near you if you weren't a future king. She probably only saw you as means to the throne and nothing more. That's all you have going for you anyways Sterling." One of the knights said to him.
"This is the person they want as king? Someone they feel no regret in saying such harsh things to?" Lilith thought to herself skeptically.
Why was everyone in the castle so mean to Sterling? Lilith was well-aware that the Sterling she knew and the Sterling the castle members knew may as well have been two different people but regardless, that was no way to talk to him, especially since he was to be the next king. Sterling had probably been more distant than usual ever since Theo's passing, but it seems the castle members, at least the knights, had yet to realize that.
Once Sterling and the knights had left the garden, Lilith ran from her hiding spot and to the place she had planned to show Sterling. It was a bit farther than she remembered, but she didn't want to be anywhere else right now.
When she reached the hidden away playground, her lungs felt as if they were burning but she didn't care and heaved in her breaths as she looked at the playground. Still empty, and still pleasing to the eye with its absence of people. Lilith walked around the playground, a very thin layer of mist trailed through it that somehow made her feel calm. But then, Lilith noticed a stream on the far end of the playground. She walked over to the stream and knelt in front of it, clasping her hands over her chest. It was still hurting ever since Sterling parted ways with her, and all she wanted now was to see him again.
"How did things get so out of hand?" Lilith asked her reflection in the stream," All I wanted was to be with Sterling, was that too much to ask for?"
"If there's someone out there, a greater force, please...please fix this mess." Lilith begged as she closed her eyes," Don't let Sterling be forced into a role he doesn't want."
"Do you want the power to change your situation?" A voice then asked her. Lilith was startled when she heard the voice that seemingly came out of nowhere.
"You want to be with the Prince correct? I want to make your wish come true but you must help me in return." The voice said to her.
"If you help us, find some kind of way to keep Sterling from being hurt and being king, then I'll do anything you want." Lilith declared resolutely.
"If you want my help so badly, then all I need is for you to drink the water from the stream and my power is yours." The voice explained to her. Lilith did as told and drank the water from the stream. It was awfully sweet but as soon as she drank it, her vision blurred and she had to hold her hands against her mouth to keep the water from coming back up. It was hard to stomach, and the voice only became louder once she ingested the water. Tears were beginning to form in Lilith's eyes and she shook her head, wondering if she made the right decision.
"You want to keep the Prince from getting hurt, right?" The voice reminded Lilith, who nodded her head vigorously," Then tough it out!"
Lilith obliged and after a few minutes, her stomach settled down and she no longer felt as sick. But, she didn't quite feel like herself either. She felt disgusting warm, as if she just got a fever and her heart was racing. Lilith also didn't feel as if she had any control of herself either. She looked down at her reflection in the stream and noticed her eyes were now two different colours. One was grey as it was supposed to be, the other had turned violet. Lilith smiled as she extended her arm to get a better look at it.
"She's quite little, but I can make this work." Lilith reassured herself.
"I want to help reconstruct this kingdom," Lilith confessed to Sterling," We both know it's been corrupt for so long. There is still so much that needs to be fixed and after all this time, you and Imogen hasn't changed a thing and chose to uphold these backwards traditions and...if you let this go on, your children might just share the same fate we did."
"Lilith, your idea of reconstruction has become demolition, there's no way I can help you out." Sterling responded sternly," You really didn't expect talking things through would work after all this time, did you?"
Lilith narrowed her eyes at Sterling, he wasn't making this very easy.
Teddy banged her head on the surface of the Everlight, feeling light headed as she pressed her forehead against it. It was strangely cool in temperature and relieving since she had been working up quite a sweat to break open the Everlight.
"We're not getting anywhere…" Teddy stated as she heaved in her breaths, before she glanced over to Hayase," And there's nothing you can do like...magically?"
"I...I don't have much control over my powers." He admitted hesitantly while standing," But...maybe in a situation like this, it wouldn't be such a problem…"
"I mean...at this point, what's the worst that could happen, honestly?" Teddy asked him.
Hayase looked at her nervously for a few moments and then exhaled a deep breath, stretching out his arms and tried to concentrate, though he wasn't quite sure how this was going to work.
His hands were shaking as he tried to remain calm, clear his thoughts or whatever in order to make a magic-based attack.
Once he slowed his breathing, he felt a lot less tense and blue sparks were beginning to crackle out from his palms.
"For your own safety, to keep you out of harm, it would make me and your father so happy if you ignored your powers completely, please."
Hayase's concentration was broken immediately and all he could make was a single blue spark shoot out from his fingertips. The blue spark did nothing more than travel a few inches and plummet to the ground moments later. The two of them groaned at the same time, in disbelief that this was all he could manage.
"Aren't you the younger sibling to Cure Cheer?" Teddy reminded him impatiently.
"Well yeah, but...I was never allowed to use my magic. My parents didn't want anything bad to happen to me so...they made sure to keep me away from all of this Toy Kingdom anarchy." Hayase explained as he shook his head," I'm hopeless, I can't be of any use if I'm still scared of my own powers."
Teddy narrowed his eyes at him and crossed her arms, asking him," So...you're from Earth? Regardless, you're in danger now and it's not just you, it's everyone in the kingdom, and us and...I understand the whole being scared of your powers thing. But in my case, it was more of a sense of being not good enough. I just needed to get over myself and realize that...just because I'm not where I want to be doesn't mean I'll never get there. You've been curious about your magic, haven't you? But, you've been good to your parents, so you acted like you didn't care about your powers. Right now, I need you to pretend your parents never said those things to you, I need you to pretend that Cure Cheer is here cheering you on to put your powers to use."
Teddy took a step back, eyeing the Everlight encasement as she stated," I don't think I stand a chance to break this thing by myself, but you might."
Hayase looked at her skeptically but he knew she had a good point.
"I've done it once, even it was by surprise...but that just means I'm fully capable of using these powers. "Hayase thought to himself before all the memories from weeks ago of him testing out his magic crossed his mind,"At the rate we're going...I may never get to see what my powers can do if I'm stuck here and Asperity's taking over the kingdom."
Hayase looked down at his hands for a moment, that persistent feeling of doubt only getting stronger again. Even if he was literally being pushed into a corner, nothing was going to change his inexperience with his magic. He glanced over towards Teddy who only offered him a reassuring nod in return. He smiled at her, a somewhat defeated look on his face and he walked over to the edge of the Everlight encasement.
"It's not going to happen...I...I couldn't hope to discover the powers I've pushed aside for so long." Hayase stated as he stared at the ground,"You'd be better off rejoining the rest of your team right now."
"Yeah but that'd mean you'd get left behind." Teddy reminded him as she crossed her arms," I'm not really up for hearing some cheesy "go on without me" type of spiel. It'd benefit both of us if we got you out of here."
Teddy sighed quietly, her gaze still on Hayase as she stated," You're still in that mindset, convinced that your powers are a nuisance, that they bring nothing but danger to you. But...surely, they aren't all bad, right?"
Hayase fell quiet for a moment, as memories started to swarm through his mind of when he was a kid and used his powers freely behind his parents back. There was the faintest memory that appeared in his mind, so faint he couldn't really distinguish much. He could only identify sitting in a kitchen with someone he was having a hard time recognizing, the memory must've been from when he was very young.
"That was amazing! How did you do that?" They asked him as they put their hand on Hayase's head and messed up his hair.
"Who was that, Toya? It doesn't matter right now, I...I wasn't always like this. I wasn't afraid of the things I couldn't understand and I wanted nothing more than to use my magic to my heart's content. I need to revert back to that version of myself, I need to grasp onto that curiosity from years past. I need to be willing again."
Teddy pressed her hands against the surface of the Everlight and said to Hayase," Lilith had probably been running out of options since the Well's magic had disappeared. It's likely she intended to use your magic in the place of the well's along with the magic of the king's Patchwork Heart. I'm not gonna let you get used so easily, alright? We're getting out of this place and you're gonna... help my team out with your newfound powers."
Hayase stared at her for a few moments, a confused look on his face before he nodded in agreement. He closed his eyes and concentrated like before, only this time his face seemed more stern and less uncertain. Teddy caught a glimpse of Hayase and smirked, feeling a sense of a strange sense of accomplishment for not giving up on him.
Teddy's hands against the Everlight's surface caused the encasement to soften gradually under the heat of her palms, all that was left for Hayase to break it open from the inside.
Hayase squeezed his hands together as tight as he could, not letting his concentration break for a second. Soon enough, a bright blue aura flowed around him and his hands were glowing.
Teddy took one final look at Hayase and removed her hands from the surface slowly, calling out,
"You got this!"
Hayase separated his hands and in between them was a mass of blue mist with bright silver crescent moons and white stars inside it. Once he laid eyes on the crescent moons and stars, he felt oddly nostalgic for a moment.
"What do I do next?" Hayase questioned nervously as he looked over to Teddy.
"Whatever you need to do to break this thing open!" Teddy responded, giving the Everlight encasement a light kick.
Hayase nodded, and took note of how his hands were getting hot quickly from all the concentrated magic stored up in them. It was less scary now that he was starting to accept his magic, and a look of excitement appeared on his face.
He slowly brought his hands in front of himself and Teddy cleared out of the way to the corner of the room. The excitement bubbling up in Hayase was infectious as even Teddy was watching in anticipation from the edge of the room, not even worrying that the distance she created between the two had been for nothing.
Once Hayase placed his hands in front, a bright blue beam shot out from his hands towards the Everlight. Upon contact with the beam, the Everlight shattered into pieces and Teddy clung to the wall to not get hit with any of the debris. When the single section of Everlight had broken apart, the rest of it shattered, leaving Hayase standing in the ruins of the Everlight, his eyes wide as he took in the current state of his surroundings. He took in his breaths quicker and looked into the palm of his right hand. He shook his head slowly in disbelief as blue sparks began to crackle out again.
"I...I'm…" Hayase trailed off, zoning out on his hands. He had been so sure of the person he had become after all these years. The plain, average boy with good grades who worked his way up to student council president. The one who was always trying to encourage many clubs to pop up, knowing it'd benefit the students to polish up their special skills, while he had to hide his. The same student who had been so diligent and respectable to his parents, acting as if there was nothing more to him, that he was like everyone else on Earth, that he'd never have to share the fate of the sister he had never known if he shoved his own wishes to the back of his mind.
"Cure Cheer was my sister and I'm not gonna disappoint her, I've pretended her death meant nothing to me...so I guess that just makes me even more of a terrible younger brother. But, I don't plan on doing that any longer. I'm Hayase Mitarashi and a descendant of the Laruan Kingdom! " Hayase proclaimed.
Teddy double-blinked and had to give herself a few extra moments to collect herself and her words, being only able to sputter out," Do you mind repeating that?"
"Getting rid of the kingdom's magic?" Sterling repeated in disbelief," Just so we can fill it with the corruptive magic you've been creating?"
"No, just...all of it. It all needs to go." Lilith declared as she waved her hands to punctuate her sentence," The magic in the kingdom, both sides of it, have proven to be forces that tamper with the way of life. Just like how you can't trust Nixe's magic, you shouldn't trust the well."
Sterling looked at her inquistely and only repeated in response," Shouldn't trust the well?"
"You think it supplies the kingdom with magic, but it only wants to use the people of the kingdom to augment the strength of it…tell me, where do you think the Everlight stones really came from? It wants to make people grow stronger just to sap them dry again, only...the Everlight stones have become worse. They aren't just draining people of their magic, it's coming for their lifeforce now. The well will bring the kingdom to ruin." Lilith declared to him.
Sterling had yet to be convinced though, and responded with," An interesting claim, but if you don't have any evidence, if you can't name a single person who's fallen victim to the well, then I can't be of help to you."
Lilith opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it moments after, trying to figure out how to put this delicately. Just then, the two of them noticed the ceiling above the table was crumbling apart and moments later, a scream was heard followed by the collapse of the ceiling but surprisingly not the table beneath it. The two of them were coughing from all the dust and debris that came with the chunk of ceiling and heard a new voice in the room.
"Gimme a break, why does this place have to be so backwards?" A voice that sounded like Cure Dolly said as they struggled to free their lungs of the dust that clustered in it,"First I think I'm breaking open a ceiling, then all of a sudden I'm in a room that does nothing but spin around and breaks beneath my feet moments later."
Cure Dolly could be seen sitting on the table, not even aware of where she was until finally she looked around the room and found Lilith and Sterling.
"King Sterling, what are you doing here?" Dolly asked as she stood up on the table, before her eyes met Lilith. She couldn't bring herself to say a word, all she didn't was get a sense of the magic coming from Lilith and grew uneasy seconds later. Dolly stood up straight and conjured up her scepter, saying,
"Don't worry about a thing King Sterling, I'll settle things with her once and for all!" Dolly declared as she stood in a protective stance in front of Sterling.
"Actually...we were in the middle of a discussion." Sterling said to Dolly as he gestured for her to set foot off of the table," You should probably listen in on this too, as your team has as much involvement in all this."
Dolly nodded rigidly and stepped off from the table stiffly, moving herself towards the wall where she drew a lot less attention to herself. She smiled to Sterling and motioned to allow him to continue.
Sterling smiled back to her, but his expression reverted to that of a serious one moments after.
"So who had been the one to suffer the wrath of the Well of Wonder?"
Rubix just returned to Asperity, sneaking around the organization that had been in worse condition from where she had left it. It honestly wasn't surprising, since if at least herself or Lilith hadn't been here in Asperity, the magic in the organzationation would fail to stabilize, so it'd literally fall apart and crumble away. It hadn't even been long since the two of them left but it seemed the damage done was irreversible. Rubix didn't seem to care though and only continued her search for the Pretty Cure.
"Rubix, my dear, why did you keep me waiting like this?" A voice then boomed in the room, causing Rubix to jump.
"Those Pretty Cure went and got rid of my Defective army! I tried to keep them from coming back to Asperity and hold them off but it wasn't enough." Rubix explained desperately," If Nixe knows it was only two of them to defeat the whole army...I may never hear the end of it."
A grey and violet cloud then formed in front of Rubix, twirling around and grasping her by the waist as a humanoid figure formed at the top of the cloud, the two of them connecting from the figure's back. The figure made the cloud binding tighter around Rubix, and the figure came a bit closer.
"Do you think I wouldn't have known that the Pretty Cure had split in half, leading to only half of their team to defeat your entire army? I'm not actually upset by such a loss, however your doubt in how much I'd known is somewhat concerning." The figure stated as it brushed the fringe from Rubix's right eye," Your eye is my view to the outside world, didn't you ever wonder why it looked like this?"
Rubix drew back uncomfortably, but she was still in the grasp of the figure. The figure then took a grasp of Rubix's right hand and held it tight.
"Of course, if anyone else from Asperity were to screw up like this, I'd probably punish them severely. A whole army plus some corrupted knights to meet their demise by two little girls? Unthinkable. But Rubix, I won't reprimand in such a harsh way. Lilith may have found you, but you're the ace up my sleeve."
The figure brought Rubix closer and proclaimed, "You are much more worthy than Lilith will ever be. She isn't no longer to act as my vessel. She was only fueled by jealousy, a petty human emotion that has no value to me. You're filled with an intense rage that you can't even put into words, nor do you understand the meaning behind. A rage that only burns brighter whenever you see the Pretty Cure and stray from the self you've chosen to forsaken."
Rubix seemed tense at first in the hold of the figure, but she seemed to have calmed down after hearing them out. The figure looked at Rubix's right eye and felt as if they were looking into a mirror and only smiled at her.
"Rubix, I'm quite impressed. You're strong with or without my magic, you put a woman like Lilith to absolute shame. I'll admit, I didn't have much interest in you as an addition to Asperity, but your power has gotten stronger from your Pretty Cure days. I want you to accept all of my magic." The figure said to her.
Rubix's expression was blank, not a word escaped from her lips and she did nothing but nod in response. She held out her hand to the figure and said,
"It would be my pleasure."