Nora had woken up early in the morning. Since she spent most of her time sleeping last night, on a bed in one of the many guest rooms of the castle, the brunette was walking towards the courtyard outside in the front. Since they were in a rush, she hadn't gotten a chance to admire the details outside. She didn't have to worry about her sister panicking since their sensing abilities allowed them to know where they are. It felt as if she was in a dream, being here in the Kingdom of the Vale. It felt so peaceful.

As she walked out of a side door, that led to the main courtyard, she noticed that servants of all ages were rushing about. Apparently, their job was to make the castle sparkle literally. Surfaces of stone gleamed in the morning sun as dusters and brooms were waved around to get every square inch known.

Nora looked on in awe. She had never seen so many workers in one small area before. If this is what it was like here in the courtyard, what is the rest of the castle like. She also noticed that there were some men and women, from last night, watching the servants every move also. Those people were laughing at their actions and agile feet. Another glimpse in front of her was a little girl of about eleven rushing with a laundry basket.

She tripped on a cobblestone that stuck out from the ground and it sent her falling to the ground. The basket had crashed to the ground, sending a small portion of dirty tunics into three of the girl's hair and faces. As they exclaimed with disgust, one of the two men waved his hand at the little girl. She was harshly raised into the air by three feet and she remained immobile. The man muttered a few insults as the women made their way towards the restrained girl. Thinking quickly, Nora made her way down a set of stairs and towards the front of the gate, where the fight ensued.

A woman in pink and exaggerated golden hair raised her hand to strike the little girl, while the girl's face cringed in fear. Before the blow could be dealt, our heroine grasped the woman's arm before making contact with skin. Nora looked at the woman, who apparently was at least two years older than her, and glared at her.

"You do realize it's impolite to strike someone when their restrained in the air." she calmly explained. The woman just glared at her as she reclaimed her arm once again.

"How dare you touch me with your filthy hands, you peasant. Merrick, if you please." the woman commanded the man who was keeping the girl in the air. He raised his other hand to make Nora suffer the same fate. But, she wasn't raised into the air. Her feet remained planted on the ground. The man just stared awkwardly at her.

Raising her own hand into the air, Nora mentally chanted a spell. The spell took into effect as the "bullies" were raised into the air themselves and sent flying out of the courtyard. The servants had watched the argument and stopped their duties to observe. Nora made her way towards the restrained girl and gently tugged at her arms. The power keeping her in the air suddenly lost effect and the little girl fell into the brunette's arms. She clutched onto Nora's shoulder to balance herself and in fear of what just happened.

"Are you okay?" Nora asked the little girl. She looked at the brunette. Nora saw that the girl had dark blue eyes and long black hair. She wore a scullery maid's outfit to show her position in the castle. The girl nodded her head in confirmation. The brunette smiled.

"What's your name?" Nora asked. This girl was beautiful if it wasn't for the dirt covering her features.

"Evangeline. My name is Evangeline." she responded, her voice soft and light as silk with a hint of an English accent. Nora placed her back on the ground and helped her with the scattered laundry. At this time, the servants returned to their duties as they remained in amazement that anyone would help one of their own. As the two girls gathered all the laundry back into the basket, Evangeline couldn't help but sneak a peek at the woman who helped her. Looking at the little girl, Nora smiled in contempt. Evangeline suddenly looked away, a little shy around her.

"Thank you for helping me." she suddenly said. Nora was surprised to hear a thanks from her. She thought she was very nervous around others that weren't servants. It looked that way, considering how she clammed up when that man lifted her into the air. It felt good, though, to help someone in need. It reminded Nora of home a little. Although, this was against a rude group of Wizards and Witches.

Once the laundry was placed back into the basket, Nora lifted it up and carried it in her arms. The little girl just stared at her.

"I might as well help you since I got myself into this mess. But, don't get me wrong when I say it felt nice to help someone." Nora commented. Evangeline could only stare at the stranger as she started walking ahead in one direction.

"Um, Miss?!" she shouted. Nora turned to look back at the girl now twenty feet behind her.

"My chore is to take that to the Umbral Lake. And the lake is that way." Evangeline smiled as she pointed to a door next to the entrance from where Nora exited. Blushing red, she smiled embarrassingly at the little girl as she started walking to the proclaimed door. Evangeline giggled to herself as she ran to Nora's side and past the door.

The two girls walked past the door and into the area where Nora walked into last night. Nora just stared at the gardens before her. They looked beautiful in the morning sun as the light highlighted most of the colorful blooms upon the bushes.

"What is this place?" she asked to the open air. The little girl heard her question.

"We are in the Penumbral Gardens, Miss." Evangeline responded with a smile. To Nora, it looked more like a meadow than a garden. The entire area was covered with grass with no paths whatsoever. There were bushes everywhere you could look and aligned perfectly away from each other as if it was a grid on paper. Some were larger than others and there were a few trees spotted along the borders of the entire area, considering a large stone wall covered half of it as it made its way towards the castle.

"Why is it called that?" she couldn't help but ask.

"I actually don't know, Miss." Nora looked at her.

"My name is Nora."

"Oh, well, then I don't know Miss Nora."

"You don't have to refer to me as 'Miss', Evangeline."

"Sorry. That's part of the rules to refer to guests as Sir or Miss."

"Well, you don't have to do it with me." Evangeline smiled.

Nora actually liked the company she got from the little girl.

"How old are you?" the little girl looked up.

"I'm fourteen. What about you?"

"I'm twenty-nine."

"Really? You look so much younger than that." she complimented.

Nora blushed at that. She wasn't expecting anyone to make that comment. But, she felt happy that it was from someone that was very nice. After all, she believed that children were innocent at heart. Looking ahead, she saw a large body of water a few yards away from them.

"What's that?" she asked, gesturing towards the water. Evangeline couldn't stop smiling.

"That's the Umbral Lake." she said, pointing at it with her index finger.

The Umbral Lake was dark blue in color and had no reflecting light, from the sun, across it. It looked as if it was still nighttime. Only a few ripples crossed its features as it gently swayed by a faint breeze in the air.

"It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it." Nora exclaimed. The little girl smiled.

"The best thing about this lake is that they say it has healing properties like nothing else. Some actually think it links to the ancient Fountain of Youth." Evangeline described. Nora looked down into the water. Not even her reflection could be seen in the lake.

"Exactly what are you supposed to do with these?" the brunette gestured towards the basket.

"I'm supposed to dip them into the water and then just fold them back into the basket. The water does the most work for me anyway."

"Won't they stay soggy and wrinkle when dry?"

"Nope. The water absorbs itself into the clothing to rid of any unwanted minerals and then just dry up once it's done."

Nora was impressed. If this water could do all of what Evangeline said, who knows how many other abilities it has.

"Evangeline! Evangeline!" a voice called. The two girls looked behind them as another girl came rushing forward. She had the same features as the younger girl but with a more older look.

"There you are. Hiromi told me that you would be here." the girl said, slightly out of breath. Evangeline giggled.

"Well, what did you expect? It is my turn to do the laundry." the little girl said. The older girl went red with exhaustion and embarrassment. Nora also slightly laughed. It was this feat that got the attention of the other girl.

"Who are you?" the brunette asked. Nora felt hesitant with how gruff her voice sounded. She didn't know how to answer.

"This is Nora. She's a witch. She helped me when I got myself into a little bit of trouble with a few spoiled nobles." Evangeline explained. Nora looked down at the girl, a little surprised at her behaviour.

"Evangeline, you know we're not supposed to refer to any of the nobles as spoiled or any other kinds of insults. Remember what mom told us." the girl told the younger. Evangeline looked down in sadness. Nora looked back towards the other brunette.

"It's okay. In my opinion, they were really spoiled considering how they were acting to all the servants. Besides, it wasn't her fault. They were pretty much asking to be sent flying to the sky." Nora said. That last remark made Evangeline giggle before going into full laughter. Nora joined in followed by the second older brunette a seconds after. After the laughter died down, the girl held her arm out towards Nora.

"Anyway, I'm Haruna. Although some people just call me 'Haru' for short. You've already met my little sister." she explained. Nora smiled and shook hands with her.

"It's nice to meet you."

-(Time Lapse)-

Nora was getting along pretty well with Evangeline and Haru. Throughout a bit of the day, she learned more of the customs that go on in the Kingdom of the Vale. The brunette also learned about her new friends' family and how both sisters needed a job in order to keep the cottage that they live in. So much apparently happened over the years that made the Kingdom of the Vale different than what it really is.

"Nora? Do you wanna know something?" Evangeline asked the brunette to her right. Haru was on her left as they walked towards another area outside the castle. The brunette looked down to the girl. "My sister is actually in love."

Haru had no time to stop her sister from saying that, not that she even knew what Evangeline was talking about. Nora looked at the older sister with amazement.

"Really? Do you know who?" Nora asked, a little too excited. Evangeline smiled.

"It's a boy in our little village outside the valley. I think his name was Machida?" Evangeline said. Haru couldn't stop blushing and looked away from the eyes of her friends.

"Are they the same age?" Nora teased. Haru looked at her in shock while Evangeline giggled.

"He's about a year older than Haruna, but it's close enough." the younger answered. Nora couldn't stop.

"Does he know she exists?" she teased further. This time, Haru scoffed dramatically while Evangeline laughed at her sister's antics.

"I'm not sure since my sister is very silent around him." she explained.

"Okay, I think that's enough prying into my life." Haru said as she wrapped her hands around her sister's mouth. But, Evangeline just kept laughing. Nora smiled at the two sisters and it reminded her of the fun times she had with Concordia, before they became witches. Being a witch isn't so bad, but it's a lot of responsibility. Haru looked up to the brunette who zoned out for a few seconds.

"What about you?" Haru asked. Nora looked at her in confusion.

"Do you like someone?" she continued. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She looked down in sadness, her eyes half open.

Evangeline was bewildered by Nora's expression when Haruna asked the question. Although, Haru got the message pretty loud and clear.

"Let me guess, he either cheated on you, or he doesn't know you exist, or he's a love that's lost forever." Haru said.

Nora looked at Haru in shock. How did she know what it might've been? All she did was look down at the ground.

"I guess it's one of those, right?" she continued. Nora looked away and sighed.

"The third." she answered.

"A love lost forever? Is he married or is he dead?"

"The latter."

"Oh… I'm sorry." Nora looked up at Haru.

"Don't be. It's fine. Although, I can't say I'll never look at a man the same way as I did him."

Haru felt very sympathetic towards her newly-made witchy friend. If she lost someone that she truly cared about, especially if it was Evangeline, then she would be very upset.

Clouds started to gather as it indicated that it was going to rain. Surrounding the entire castle, a few of heaven's tears fell from the sky and started the "bombardment."

"We better get back inside." Haru told the other two girls.

Evangeline started rushing towards the exit of the Penumbral Gardens, followed closely by her sister. Nora took three steps before she realized something.

She gasped. "I forgot! I'm supposed to meet Prince Baron under that giant tree!" she said aloud. Walking the opposite way, Nora made it past a few bushes and trees along the grassy terrain before it started to shower heavier. The brunette looked closely at the gardens. It nearly looked the same. How was she supposed to find her way to the tree?

Nora looked to her right, and saw the side door she had exited through the other night. She played the scene of last night in her head as she remembered how to get to her destination. Running down the path, she came to a corner and made a right which led her to see the giant tree she was looking for. The brunette slowly made her way down the three flights of steps, so as to not slip, and walked towards the stone wall. Taking a portion of hair, she squeezed any water that remained absorbed from all the rain. Her dress was completely soaked while her skin was covered in a few bubbles of water.

Nora saw no sign of the Prince. She looked to the left of the tree, and then to the right. He was nowhere to be found. The brunette sighed in defeat. Apparently, he had other, better, things to do than chat. The tree provided complete cover against the falling rain and she felt sheltered under its embrace.

Even though a few drops escaped from the leaves above her, Nora didn't mind at all. She let out another sigh as she sat on the stone wall once again. She rubbed her arms as she started to get a little cold from the air's temperature. She did love rainy weather, but right now she was feeling exhausted. She slid off the stone wall and onto the cobblestone floor beneath her feet. Nora was now curled up into a ball as the air around her grew freezing since her dress was still wet. She didn't know any spells to help her warm up, so she went with the old methods on how to stay warm, excluding contact with another person as an idea.

It had been twenty minutes already and the rain showed no signs of stopping. It was past noon by a long-shot. Or that's what Nora assumed. The sky was too dark and littered with clouds to know exactly where the sun was at this time. She wished that someone would come down those steps with at least an umbrella so she could come back inside the castle. Surprisingly, none of the flooding water came down those steps or even entered the large encirclement. Any drops that escaped from the tree were quickly drying up in an instant. Nora wondered for a second if the tree was enchanted before she went back to shivering. She remembered of a time where she was under that camphor tree while it was raining.

"I wish something like that happened again."

Author's Note: Sorry that I took like two months to upload another chapter. I've been too busy with applying for community college and a new job to get busy with writing again. Anyway, this chapter wasn't really all that I had planned. I didn't think of putting in Haru and Evangeline as sisters until I typed it up. I think it works, but it still was a last second idea. But, right now, can you guess? Will Baron show up to meet Nora? Or will she be under that tree, alone, until the rain stops?