The celebration had gone into most of the night. The castle was lit up on the outside and if anyone was looking at it, they'd think it was a big night light that lit up the entire Vale. The moon rose into the starry sky and shined its rays down as well upon the Vale, but it paled in comparison to what the castle released. Nonetheless, it looked beautiful in the eyes of many.
Apparently, within the throne room, it was all surrounded by magic. Flurries of lights danced in the air, witches and wizards were showing off their abilities, and classical music played throughout the entire area. We find ourselves back to the sisters.
Concordia was flabbergasted by how many men flirted with her, some even threw themselves at her feet, literally. Eventually, she gave in to the flirting and started to dance with a few of them as she was passed along in between songs. She never felt so happy to be in the arms of strangers while they admired her, mostly from her beauty. Somehow, she had ended up in the hands of one of the Princes in only forty-five minutes before eleven.
The Prince of the Land, Prince Daron, held her hand as they danced for a few minutes. She was caught off guard by his eyes, they held so much mystery. Eventually, they separated while Concordia kept dancing, unlike her sister.
Nora, along with a few other guests, were sitting at tables that appeared from magic as most watched the dancing figures before them. Some of the men had asked her to dance, but she kindly declined their offer. Good thing is they didn't take it very hard. Just a bow from them. She never danced anymore. Breathing a sigh of defeat, the brunette got up from her seat and started to walk. She only got a few steps in, though, before she bumped into another guest.
"I'm sorry, I didn't watch where I was going." the voice apologized. Still rubbing her shoulder, Nora looked up to see the person she bumped into. It was a girl with jet black hair and mismatched eyes, her left being electric blue and her right being emerald green. She wore a pure white dress with a ribbon tied around her waist and matching silver flats that contrasted her hair, but, somehow, it worked for her. The brunette saw that this girl was at least four years younger than she was, but she wasn't jealous. She smiled a sad smile.
"It's okay. I wasn't really looking where I was going either." she replied. The mystery girl just giggled while Nora followed suit and giggled along with her. Extending her hand out, she got the girl's attention. "Anyway, I'm Nora." she continued. The girl took her hand and shaked.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Hana." the girl replied. She straightened out her hair by waving her hand over it when she saw a few curls, barely touching it. Nora's eyes widened.
"Are you a witch?" she asked. Hana looked up at the brunette, smiling.
"Yeah I am. My specialty is using lightning against my enemies." she responded. Nora studied her, then came to a theory.
"Does it have something to do with your eyes?" Hana's smile got a bit bigger.
"You're very perceptive. Yeah, I actually had matching green eyes, but I accidentally absorbed lightning into my body when I got zapped on a mountain that conducted electricity. The doctors that ran tests on me said that I was lucky to be alive considering how much I absorbed. My left eye was transformed and it's been like this for a long time. I'm actually called, by a few people, the Living Witch. I've gone through more life-risked problems than anyone in the Kingdom of the Vale. I was given that title by Prince Daron actually." Hana explained. Nora listened to everything she said, amazed by her story and how she got her powers.
"What about you? Are you a witch, too?" the black-haired maiden asked. Nora looked down.
"Partially, yes."
"What do you mean, 'partially?'"
"I mean, I am a witch, but my powers have been very weak at this time."
"Really? What powers do you have?"
"If they weren't very weak at the moment, I would be wielding the powers of Molecular Speed and Empathy."
"Molecular Speed?"
"Basically, I can freeze things."
"Wow, that's amazing. What about Empathy? You can read people's emotions?" Nora nodded her head.
"Yeah, that's basically it."
"Those are great powers." Nora chuckled.
"If you say so." she stated flatly.
Their conversation continued on for a few more minutes before they departed. One thing Nora thought about, was she just made a new friend in Hana. She was very interesting and very friendly.
About two minutes of walking around the throne room, Nora kept gazing over everyone that past her. She felt like she was looking for something, something missing. It wasn't her sister, since she could feel her presence and see her dancing with a man. It felt different, just what was she looking for? Suddenly, she stopped in front of a figure. Looking up, she saw it was one of the Princes, Prince Baron to be exact.
Prince Baron gazed into her eyes. His eyes were piercing, like he was diving into her soul. They stayed that way for about a minute, before the Prince raised an eyebrow at the "strange and mysterious" girl. Nora felt petrified under his gaze, but she looked away because she didn't want to deal with a Prince.
"I'm sorry, your highness, I didn't mean to get in your way. Please excuse me." she curtsied for him and walked back the way she came, although, she went out a side door, unknowingly. The Prince just looked at her retreating figure, slight confusion crossing his features.
Nora walked outside and away from all the other guests. At first, she felt relieved when she met Hana, but as soon as she fell under the gaze of the Prince, the brunette felt like a ghost. She felt like she didn't belong in this Vale, not with all those people. Walking for a minute led her straight into a massive garden. Fir trees decorated the border of the path she was on while bushes filled with different varieties of flowers and fruits on grass-filled areas surrounded and made up the garden.
Nora became mesmerized by how beautiful the garden was, wanting to see more of it. Continuing down the path, which led farther away from the castle, she came to a circle of fir trees bigger than the ones she had seen before. The path stopped right before the trees, about three feet, as if it ended right there. Curiosity filling her insides, the brunette sought for a way in, walking around the bordering branches to find an opening. No such opening was seen. Sighing to herself, she sat down on the grass in between the trees and the path. Her feet were tired. Having to stand for a few hours and walking through the gardens could take a lot out of a person. She looked up at the starry-filled sky and stared at the constellations. When she was a child, her mother would take her and her sister up to the camphor tree where they could lie on the grass and stare at the stars as they pointed out constellations. That never happened again when she became a witch. It's as if her mother lost the will to believe as she observed her whenever she practiced her powers inside the flower shop. Nothing was ever the same when she got her powers.
Looking at the crescent moon, alongside the stars, Nora noticed a faint light radiating into the tree encirclement. Getting back up on her feet, she walked back towards the trees that denied her passage through. She walked up close enough to touch the branches. The brunette noticed how the moonlight was shining through the minor gaps the branches displayed. Looking to her left, Nora saw a branch sticking out from its place. Curiosity hit her like a wave once again as she reached out a hand and gripped it. It popped out of place as soon as she, accidentally, tugged it down. Ripples formed in the branches of the trees as a sudden wind blew through the gardens. Nora had to cover her eyes from how much debris was flying through the air. What she didn't notice was how the branches swallowed her up.
Opening her eyes again, the brunette looked around to see branches encircling her. There was no way out, and the trees were too high to climb over. Just what had happened right now? The encirclement was bigger than it looked on the outside, when she walked around the entire thing. In the center, she saw, was a fountain with a statue of a heart. Walking up to it, Nora felt far more comfortable than she did a few minutes ago. It felt so peaceful to be near it. Why did she feel like this? She felt like she could spend eternity listening to the soft wind and the trickling water coming from the openings of the fountain. She never felt so relieved.
Lying her head down on the grass that surrounded the fountain, it felt like a bed to her that she wanted to cuddle up in. Suddenly, her eyes were growing heavy and she started drifting to sleep. Before she surrendered into sleep, she pulled out the Key around her neck. Staring at it, she found a new happiness emanating from this little "sanctuary" and into the trinket. She gently slid it back into place and claimed the sleep she desired. This "sanctuary" was small and simple, but that was the way she liked it. Now, dream land awaited her with a new story to tell.
