Nora opened her eyes. Everywhere she looked was black. The only thing that shined in this empty space was herself. It's as if nothing could live here. She felt her breathing grow heavy. She felt trapped within this void, and it only felt like it was getting closer to wiping her away from existence. She brought her hands up to her chest as she clutched her heart. With her breath quickening, she grew tired and fell to the floor, if she was even standing on a floor. What was this place she was in? The brunette wanted to escape this cold, empty space. Then, she felt something move.

As if there was something else here, she looked up to see a glowing white light, hovering above her as if beckoning her towards it. She stood back up, but she couldn't move a step forward. She was bound in place, as if this void casted a spell on her. What appeared to her from that light was what grabbed her full attention. An item emanating from the light turned into something very specific. It was the Lock she had given her love. Still in full detail, the Lock hovered in front of her, as if looking for something. That's when she felt something move in her chest.

Strangely, the Key around her neck hovered from its hiding spot and floated before her as well. Somehow attracted, the Key tried moving closer to the Lock. It couldn't move any farther as it reached the end of the chain that linked to around her neck. It tried pulling her along with it, trying to get closer to its mate. Trying to move closer, also, Nora still couldn't move. It wanted so badly to be with the Lock, but the Key just couldn't reach it. She felt horrible for not being able to move forward. Then she realized something. And as she did, the Lock and its pleading light disappeared from the void, leaving echoed words around the space. 'A heartfelt promise kept under Lock and Key.'

She felt those words sink in with a terrible remembrance of the past. One she just didn't want to remember. Then, she opened her eyes.

Fluttering her eyes open slowly, she saw herself in her shared bedroom. It was all dream in her mind. But, like her Key to that Lock, she wanted to be with the owner of the Lock, especially from what it represented. She looked outside to see that the sun had risen. Noticing the bed next to her was empty, she remembered what was going on today. She and her sister were to depart with Prince Auron to the Kingdom of the Vale. Concordia must've woken up early.

Feeling her sister's presence coming from downstairs, she walked towards while her clothes changed into a dark green dress that matched her jaded eyes. Her hair forming into its usual ponytails, Nora walked, slowly, down the stairs and into the main shop where her sister waited alongside the Prince. Looking up at her, Prince Auron gave her a smile and a kind good morning while tipping his hat. She curtsied for him, not wishing to be rude, but at the same time not in the mood to let words come to her mind. Looking at her retreating back, the Prince gazed at her, confusion in his face.

"Don't worry about her." a voice asked. He turned to see that Concordia had spoken the words. She looked at her sister with sympathy.

"She may not know it, but she's acted like this for a very long time. Eleven years, to be exact." she stated numbly. All the Prince could do was widen his eyes in astonishment in the time difference. He wondered what could've happened to put this young woman under such a neutral trance.

"What exactly happened to her?" he asked the white-haired woman, turning his head to look at the sister that just walked out of the flower shop and remained like a statue before the carriage. She already accepted her fate for going to the Kingdom of the Vale. Concordia walked away from her place and went into the back of the shop. The Prince heard footsteps and looked to the sister that made her way back with something in her hands. She gestured for him to take a seat, so he did. Sitting opposite of him, she sighed as she handed a brown-bordered portrait to him. Leaning forward to grasp it, he looked at what was upon the frame.

A small photograph, in black and white, held the smiles of two people. They looked to be teenagers, in the Prince's eyes, of a boy and a girl. The boy held the girl in an embrace as she had her hands and head upon his chest. He looked to be in a military uniform, one that Auron hadn't seen in a very long time. He looked up to Concordia in confusion.

"That was her first and only love of her life. Nora was very happy with him. He was our best friend from childhood ever since she met him. When we grew older, he started to gently flirt with her, until the time she felt the same feeling for him. But, the war had separated them, and, seven months after, we received a list of fallen soldiers and his name was on it. She's never been the same ever since." Concordia explained. She didn't want to go into full detail.

Prince Auron looked back outside at the figure who stood like a statue. Sympathy filling his eyes, he couldn't help but feel terrible for putting them in this "Grand" Festival. What was so "grand" about it if it led to heartbreaks?

"I feel terrible about putting you two up to this. My heart aches just thinking about what she had gone through if it's already been eleven years. I don't think I could survive all that pain." he gently explained.

"It's because she has me." Concordia responded. The Prince looked into the eyes of the eldest. "She's not the only who suffered from a loss. But I do agree with you. I couldn't go through what she's still going through. So, I've moved on while she's in denial and still lingering on about him, even if she doesn't want to admit it." she continued.

Blocking their view of the girl, Natori beckoned his Prince's attention.

"We are ready, my Prince." he confirmed. Prince Auron nodded his head as he stood up and extended his hand towards Concordia. Knowing of her fate too, she accepted the hand and stood on her own two feet. He guided her outside and towards the carriage. The entire Vale was looking towards the sisters' presence. They didn't want them to leave, not just because they were their main source of protection, but because they cared, deeply, for them. Neither sister could bear to see the worried looks of the villagers, so they remained with looking at the ground. Even some of the children from Crop Plain Vale had come to see them off.

The Prince stood in front of the sisters, worried sympathy plaguing his features. With a turn of his head to the left, he slowly raised his hand to the open space beyond the carriage. With a flick of his wrist, a light blue portal appeared in front of the carriage. Concordia looked at it and instantly recognized it as a one-way portal towards the Kingdom of the Vale. The Prince looked at them again, Nora looking up to meet his gaze. The carriage door opened. Stepping to the right, Prince Auron gestured, with his left hand still extended, towards the vehicle.

"Shall we?" he softly asked. Concordia had to pull her sister up to the steps of the carriage. Nora was the first into the carriage, followed by her sister, the Prince, and then his advisor. The guards grabbed the side railings of the carriage and it wheeled itself into the portal. As soon as it made contact, the vehicle disappeared into the light. A few seconds after left the portal disappearing in plain sight.

It had taken two full minutes for another portal to open up onto a path of cobblestones. The carriage practically glided as it made contact with the grey stones as it made a beeline for a castle. The sister looked outside to see the features and scenery just beyond the curtains.

A castle lightly colored by grey with trimmings of golden yellow stood tall and proud in the center of a valley. On every side were manors and mansions by the dozen as they encircled the castle. Beyond that were the walls of grass and greeneries that detailed a valley. One end of the valley held a large forest with oak trees that bore different types of fruit. On the other end was the brightly, gleaming blue vasts of ocean, where you could see sailboats gliding peacefully among the waters. This was the beautiful and magnificent Kingdom of the Vale.

The sisters were in complete awe of the sights and sceneries before as they continued to stare out the windows of the carriage. As soon as the carriage rode upon a bridge that oversaw everything, that's when Prince Auron knew they were coming close to the royal castle.

A few minutes after the splendid sights led the carriage past a large wooden gateway that towered over them and into the main courtyard of the castle's vicinity. Not wasting anytime, Prince Auron kindly escorted the sisters out of the carriage and into the main doorway. Trying to keep pace with the Prince's long strides, the sisters had to practically jog in order to even stay close by his side. Suddenly stopping before a massive double-decking doorway, the sisters accidentally collided with the Prince's back. Stumbling, they fell to the floor while he moved a foot to retain his balance. He looked at the two figures on the ground and blushed at his mistake.

"Sorry. I have extremely agile feet." he apologized as helped the sisters up. Brushing themselves off, they kindly told him that it was nothing. He smiled at their kindness, something all women should possess. Unfortunately, not every woman was like these two. Turning back to face the gigantic doors, the Prince closed his eyes as he took in deep breaths. Raising both of his hands, he hovered over the door and waved them across the space, similar to what Concordia does when she sends something flying with her telekinesis. The two doors opened, recognizing the Prince's aura, and beckoned them in. He turned his head to look at the two girls standing behind them and gently marched forward, his hands clutched behind him. What was beyond the door is what surprised Nora and Concordia furthermore.

Author's Note: Hey everybody. Obviously, you understand what's going on (or at least I hope you do), now the sisters have entered into the realm of the Kingdom of the Vale. I decided, two chapters ago, that Nora shouldn't go by herself since she doesn't really know what's going on in her life anymore. So, I tagged in Concordia to come along with her. Right now, I'm just waiting for two messages from two different authors and hope they'll answer back soon. If not, I don't blame them. Spoiler, you already know about Auron, but next chapter will have Baron as well. So, stay tuned and please review. Ciao.