[A/N] Time for another chapter of Royal Destiny! But before we return to the journey to that destiny, let us see what a particular girl has been doing for this entire time…she will become relevant shortly, after all… [A/N]

The warm sunrays touched the skin of her face, as the sun rose slightly above her window, with a fiery passion that seemed to bath her in an everlasting warmth, a loving caress that showed her face in all its innocence, as though the sun had chosen to be the herald of dawn, that would drive away all of the darkness that could surround the people around her, piercing it and enlightening it from the inside, and her face was relaxed, as though she was having a beautiful dream. She was, however, annoyed by the sunlight that tried to wake her up out of her beautiful dream, and turned her face.

As the light on her face changed, so did her look. It seemed now, with her face slightly in the shadow, her eyes hidden by her red hair hanging over them, that she was as cold as ice, as though the warmth in the room could be sucked away by her mere presence. The sunrays illuminated her pale white skin and she seemed unhealthy because of it. Her red hair was glistering by the touch of sunlight and seemed to burn with such passion that any man would desire to walk towards it, and be forever lost in that passion, or desire, that then hit like lightning and disappeared as fast as it had come, or became as wide and deep as the ocean, as only the deepest of dreams and desires in mankind can become. Her hidden eyes showed untold secrets, but mostly the will to stay hidden, to hide herself from the break of day and forever be lost in the sands of time, alone with her desires and dreams. And speaking of dreams…her face, in the new lighting seemed not to be shining with innocence and beauty. It seemed as though her face was in a weird grimace, and her mouth was slightly shaking, as though her dream of but a few seconds ago had turned into a full-fledged nightmare. It seemed as though children had been playing on the street and had to leave because dusk was arriving. Maybe not her dream was the nightmare, but the arrival of day itself.

The door to her room opened, albeit slowly, to stop it from squeaking as much as possible and to let her stay and hide in the beautiful landscape of her dreams for just a small, minor moment longer, as to keep her desires alive for those mere seconds longer. It would not matter. The squeaking and the sunlight had awoken her. She sleepily opened an eye and tried to look at the door, seeing the silhouette of her mother. She pulled the sheets over her head, like every day, every month, every year. The life to which she had been condemned didn't suit her, she did not want it, and with every passing night, she hoped to wake up the next day in another world, another bed, another house, another life, with the idea that her entire life up to now had been one nasty dream, a dream that would never have really happened, and she would be surrounded by her family and friends, other, yet not forgotten memories flooding her mind, showing of a past life that she had lived that was not this life. And every morning of every month of every year, that idea was shattered as the sunlight shone upon her face through the small window of their small house.

"Morning sweetheart." Her mother said.

Her mother Susan was probably the only thing in this world that was a smidge of the reality she wanted. After all, when Will woke up, she was surrounded by her family, her mother. She only hoped for more family…

"Hmhhmhm…" Wil mumbled, as she pulled the sheets over her head. "I don't want to get up now…"

Susan looked at the heap of sheets that desperately tried to keep her daughter with them, to keep her lingering in her dreams and desires, but Will shook them off herself, knowing they had already been shattered now by the break of day, and that there was no point in believing in them anymore…at least not for now.

"Morning, mom…" Will responded, trying to sound cheery, but her mother, of course, knew her very well and could easily see through her small attempt, but she tried anyways, as to make her mother feel better, to show that she still was trying to make the best of it.

"I already filled the tub with hot water. After all, you have to be clean for our visitor this evening." Susan said.

"Clean myself before our visitor arrives? Mom, I'll probably want to take a bath afterwards to cleanse myself of his filth, to wash away the raw lust of men and become innocent again, trying to retrieve part of my lost soul from among the depth of the darkness that lingers in me, trying to burst out every waking moment and leave those around me shattered and broken! Also, he's here in the afternoon, so that I can use the evening to cleanse myself." Will said, a sharp undertone in her voice.

Susan smiled. "I know, sweety."

Will rose an eyebrow. If her mother knew her visitor was coming this afternoon, then why had she said he would arrive this evening? Will shook it off and rose from her bed. She took some underwear from a drawer and looked at them. She then walked with them to the bathtub, which stood in the middle of the living room. She took off her clothes and right as she was undressed, there was a knocking on the door. Will quickly positioned herself in the tub, not allowing her body to accommodate to the hotness of the water, before she covered her entire body up to her breasts under water. Her mom opened the door and a rather fat man with a big cigar in his mouth stood in front of it. He was wearing a suit that was way too small for his posture. His underbelly was clearly visible and hanging over his pants. He took the cigar out of his mouth and threw it in the hallway, then put it out with his foot. Susan noticed, but didn't look and said nothing. Instead, she welcomed him into the house.

"Good morning, sir Walters. How has your weekend been?" Susan asked, as she extended her arm further into the hallway.

"Pretty good, miss." Walters said in a hoarse voice, that sounded full of money. "But I've been looking out for this day, as always."

"Yes, so did I." Susan answered.

That was a lie. Will knew mister Walters not all too well, but she did know her mother. Her mother often lied to her 'customers', as did Will to hers. Will knew that her mother actually hated this job, just like Will did. Though there was one great difference between Will and her mother: their expression of their hatred. Susan kept her anger inside, her hatred never allowed to flow, but channeled into love for her daughter and a pride to show her daughter that she would keep her head high, despite the situation they were in, and to tell her daughter that she should keep her head high too. Will, on the other hand, dealt with it in a much different way.

Susan accompanied her guest to the bedroom, but before mister Walters got there, he noticed Will sitting in the bathtub. He got a smile on his face, that seemed not filled with joy, but filled with pure lust, as his eyes went down from her face, to the top of her breasts, which were only barely visible above the water. He quickly looked away as he noticed he was staring, but the image lasted in Will's mind until long after he had disappeared into the bedroom with his mother, even longer than that she could hear her mother's moans and Walters' 'yeah, you like that, don't you?' s.

She laid back in the small wooden tub. She closed her eyes and the warm water slowly slipped through small cracks or openings in the wood, it slowly dropping on the floor in an enchanting way. The sound of it seemed almost hypnotizing: drip, drip, drip, drip. It felt as though time itself no longer had any meaning, did not exist, and as if space around her was nothing more than water and air. She pulled her knees to her breasts and took a deep breath, before letting herself be submerged by the water, letting her senses be numbed for as long as she could hold her breath, which, to her seemed endlessly long, even though it was only for about twenty seconds. She re-emerged again, and she kept still in the bath, pondering her thoughts and waiting until mister Walters had left again. There was no way she would leave the bath with him still around the house, after she had seen him lusting for her and there was the chance that he would leave the room and see her. She wondered what made men attracted to her.

She didn't think herself that particularly beautiful. After all, she could barely afford anything else than a bath. Yet, people seemed charmed by her. Maybe it was her red hair, that glistened in the sun's light and illuminating her, maybe it were here brown hazel eyes, that might possibly enchant her male companion. Maybe it was her skin, which she didn't feel was soft, but might be in the minds of others. Or maybe it was just the thrill. The thrill of knowing you were owning a fierce animal for a short moment, an animal that might strike back and, if you're unlucky enough, could kill you.

Mister Walters finally left, after about two hours, his lusts had seemingly been satisfied. For now. He paid a handful of money for Susan's services and cheerily said 'until next week!' before he left. Susan kept smiling for as long as she was visible, but her smile turned into disgust quickly after she wasn't anymore. She went to the living room, seeing Will still lying there in the bathtub, her eyes closed, pondering the thoughts previously described, her skin wrinkled.

"Get out you, mister Walters is gone." Susan said, mumbling 'thank heavens' afterwards.

Will got out and dried herself with a piece of cloth. Not the most efficient method, but it worked. After she was dry, she put on a pair of pants and a small shirt, leaving her belly and arms exposed. She knew her visitor liked to see at least a little bit of her before they engaged, and he would often pay extra if she did so. She knew that her mother could use a little bit more money the coming weeks. After all, in a fit of rage, Will had broken part of the furniture in the bathroom that now had to be replaced.

She went to the bathroom. The mirror was broken to pieces and there lay only one piece that was big enough to show her face. She picked up the piece and looked at herself. She saw her own brown eyes and nearly drowned in them. She saw the endlessness of her soul in them, and wondered if others could see that too. Was that the key to her attractiveness? She also noticed wisdom in them, but regret and pain more so. Her eyes weren't fully open, as in joy, but partly closed, as to slightly hide parts of her soul and the secrets she had stored in those parts. Of course, not all secrets could stay hidden forever.

She put the piece of mirror away and walked back into the living room, her wrinkles now quickly disappearing. She looked at the hourglass on a shelf. She had three hours left until her visitor came, she deduced, which was more than enough time to prepare herself. She said goodbye to her mother, like every day, and her mother gave her a kiss on the forehead, like every day. She then left for a hill about a mile away from the town, where nobody ever dared to venture. It was said that lightning was occasionally seen there and most potent to strike, and that it was a place of misfortune and evil. Of course, that was exactly why she went there, because it was nearly all true.

She left her house and wandered through town, before getting to the edge of it and leaving the stone road for a dirt one. She wandered over the dirt road towards her destination, pondering about the people in town. How she despised them. The women in town all tried to show they were of high wealth and esteem, even though it was a façade: almost all of them were poor. They could only afford the cheapest of things and never had any luxury at all. They were often bashed by the few women who did actually afford to buy luxury items. They were the most despised women in town. They never had to break a sweat for anything to be given to them. They once said that 'they produced all the things that creates a civilization', even though they have actually never produced anything, and Will wondered if they even lit their own candles, or had hired somebody else to do it. She hated them too, but she hated the other women more. There was a big reason for this. As the women of the upper class were bashing the women of the lower class, the lower class women couldn't do anything about it or say something back. Thus they had to do something else. Like bashing the even poorer, like Will and her mother. Susan often told Will about her past, in which she was working at the castle of Aetherfall and worked with some of her friends. She never dared to tell the reason why she had to leave Aetherfall, but she had always thought of one thing: exile. It was the only reason for her mother to fall from such a highly esteemed position as working in a castle to…serving men's pleasures in a squeaky, third rate bed. Nobody would ever really want to work with an exile…except for men who didn't care and just wanted their desires to be tended to. The worst part was that being exiled meant all your children would also be labeled exiles, and their children, and their children, until the exile was lifted by the ruler of the country you were exiled from, which rarely ever happened.

She pondered over the unfairness of the world as she arrived on her favorite spot in town. Well, near town. The lightning that would hit the spot was very true: she created it. But pure evil…that was something the people had made up. But it helped her, nobody would ever bother her here. It was her own personal sphere. In which she could do whatever she liked or wanted. And there was only one thing she wanted to do every day. Scream. And thus she did. She screamed in frustration at her life, her mother's life, and everything she could think of. Lightning crackled all around her body and she shot her lightning at the ground, at the sky, anywhere she could see, leaving the landscape bar and destroyed, violated even.

After she had left her frustration out, she fell on her hands and knees. She placed her head on the ground and cried. It was the only logical reaction. She felt so damn miserable, crying was the only logical reaction. One day she felt a hand on her back. It had been an older man, near his seventies, who had seen her and had come to her. Maybe he had wanted to help her. She would never know. In her anger and sadness she was shocked when she suddenly felt something on her back. She was frightened and in a reaction, she turned around and shot lightning all around her. She had killed him that day. It had horrified her. She had ran back home and told her mother, who had helped her burn the body in a ritualistic manner. Since that day, she had trained herself more in her unnatural power of lightning. And she had gotten quite good at it, though she tried to show restraint. It didn't always work. Sometimes she just…wanted to let go.

Remembering that past accident was something she did every day. She tried to find forgiveness. She never found it. She only found guilt. If it wasn't for something she and her mother had one day thought of, she would have gotten mad. She looked at the sky one last time, then went back towards her home.

Behind her home was a rock, with the top of it flattened. It was not quite smooth, so it was showing the hacks it had had to make the top flat. Will climbed on top of it and took a meditative pose. She focused on her breathing, trying to control the flow of it, of her thoughts.

"I am I. Repeat the mantra."

She opened her eyes. They drew you inward, even if they didn't have pupils when she was meditating. Vivid images came up. A man in a suit, a scream, a flash, more screams. And the colour and smell of blood.

"I did not kill that man knowingly. It was an accident. It was just simple self-defense."

More images filled her mind. The corpse of the man who might have wanted to help her, with blood coming from his mouth.

"I did not kill that man with the intent of killing him. It was an accident."

Slowly, the images subdued. But not before the man looked kindly at her, then frightened and then fell flat on the ground, his body like a broken doll.

Her pupils returned.

"I am me. I am I. Repeat the mantra."

She focused on her breathing again. It seemed slower, heavier, than she normally did. She looked to the skies and closed her eyes. Tears came up in her eyes and they slowly started to slide down her cheeks, seemingly asking for permission of their source before every little movement towards the bottom. She opened her eyes and placed her hands on her face, wiping away the tears.

"Will," Susan said, not sounding all too happy, "Your visitor is here."

Will sighed, not wanting this. Not again.

"Coming…" she said, trying to not let her voice sound broken.

Will walked around the house and entered it. In the hallway, the mayor of the city was standing. He was vividly talking with Susan and winked at Will as she entered. Will gave a weak smile to him and walked into her room. It had a bed for two people, even though she didn't share the room with anyone else. She heard the mayor stop his chat with Susan as she looked at the wooden clock, which pointed out it was 5 o'clock. She suddenly got a push from behind and she fell on the bed. She quickly turned around and saw the mayor, who had unbuttoned the top of his shirt already. He quickly bent over her so that she could not escape. She could smell the alcohol in his breath. The mayor kissed her gently in the neck. The mayor was the only one who was gentle with her, but still. It didn't feel right and she didn't want it. She bent slightly and her eyes looked at the clock again, pointing out it was one past five now.

'Just last until Six, Will…just last until six…'

…

N walked through the thick forest. Bugs were zooming around his head. The edge to where one could teletransport, or simply teleport for that matter, had been at the start of this forest. The forest wasn't all that large to get across. However, the forest itself made little sense in its pathing, so you had to try and navigate yourself through to the other side of the forest, which was easier said than done.

"I hate bugs so much…" N said to himself, as he slapped a mosquito that was resting on his arm.

He kept on walking in the direction he thought was right. He saw the sunlight growing stronger through the trees and a little smile crept on his face. He stepped through a dense bush and was blinded by sunlight. He was not on the edge of the forest, however. He was in a clearing. There was one large tree in the clearing and the sunlight smoothly danced through the small openings in the leaves, creating a beautiful play on the ground under his feet.

He looked at the tree and rose an eyebrow. It seemed familiar. He walked up to the tree and noticed a carving in it. He looked at it.

"N heart C…" N whispered. "Nicholas loves…Cassidy…"

He looked around. He had obviously been here before. He had journeyed to the north a long time ago, but that wasn't for a romantic trip with Cassidy. In fact, since he and Cass got married, he hadn't left Aetherfall with her.

Suddenly, a memory struck him.

'Kadma! Where do we have to go!'

N suddenly remembered it all. This place, with whom he had been here and why he had been there. He was here during that journey to the north.

"I hate flashbacks…Keep haunting me from the grave, don't you?"

Luckily the flashback also had some useful information for him, and soon he was on his way out to the edge of the forest. When he arrived there, he saw a small mountain range. Behind that was his destination.

…

Will lay on the bed. She hadn't moved since six o'clock. Her body felt heavy and she didn't want to move. A single tear rolled down her left cheek, falling gently on the sheets. The mayor had but just left. He had been busy with her until six o'clock, then lay next to her and started telling boring stories about his political life. She didn't care much for the man. It was now seven o'clock, and she had a few minutes alone. She knew this, as she had told her mother to come in five minutes after a man had left. She slowly curled up into a ball and cried. This time, she let the tears flow. Her mother quickly rushed in and started caressing her, taking Will in her arms and humming to let her calm down.

"It's so unfair!" Will screamed, but in Susan's arms, it didn't sound all too loud. "Why does it have to be us! Why did this happen to us, to me!"

Susan's eyes looked away from Will for a second. Will kept crying and she sometimes scratched her mother, who didn't react at all to the scratches, as they seemingly didn't hurt her. Maybe she had had to endure that pain so many times that she didn't feel it anymore?

"It's all my fault, honey. We're living this way because of me." Susan said.

Will looked up at her mother, her eyes red from anger and frustration. Or maybe it were just the tears.

"What do you mean? Is it that exile thing they always talk about?"

Susan nodded. "Yes…I never told you the story. But I'll tell it now. Long ago, I was a warrior in the Royal Army of Aetherfall. During my time there, I met five people that will always be in my memories. They were called Cassidy, Halinor, Yan-Lin, Kadma and Nicholas. They were the best of pals. They also…"

"C.H.Y.K.N.?" Will interrupted, getting a pout from Susan.

"Don't interrupt people when they are talking? How many times haven't I told you that?"

"Sorry, mom." Will apologized. "I won't do it again, I promise."

The promise of a sixteen year old girl, which would, of course, be broken at some point.

"Good." Susan said, fully knowing she would break it again. "And yes, some people called them C.H.Y.K.N. They were sorecers went to beautiful worlds and places on this world, taking orders from some guy they called the Oracle. I became a friend of Cassidy and she convinced Nicholas, whom I shall call N from now on, to take me with them on their missions. Oh, it was so beautiful, so exciting. It was way better than my job in Aetherfall. But when I asked them to whom they swore their allegiance, they kept referring to this Oracle guy. I thought they were trying to keep it hidden from me, as to not let my allegiance slide to somebody else. Oh, was I surprised when I actually met the guy in Kandrakar. Yes, he was a weird man, but also joyful, wise and thoughtful. I really hoped I could join their side, a side which didn't choose a side, if you get what I mean. They kept the balance in all these worlds. And on those worlds as well, to make sure no side would become too powerful. Except that Aetherfall was expanding really quickly. It had expanded before, right after Marcus Escanor came to the throne, but that wasn't as much as they were doing now."

Susan took a small break from her story, to let Will ask any questions she could have. She expected two in particular.

"Okay, hold up." Will said. "Who's Marcus Escanor, and where are Kandrakar and Aetherfall? If Kandrakar exists, that is."

"You doubt the thruth about my story?" Susan asked with an eyebrow risen.

"I doubt the 'going to other worlds' part. They'll probably have been excellent sorcerers and have been going to wonderful places…on this world. But tell me, who's Escanor, and what's Aetherfall?" Will said and asked.

"Marcus Escanor is the ruler of Aetherfall, which lies in the eastern part of the continent, but past the mountain ring you can see from here. Aetherfall is a large kingdom, it's ruler called the Grand General, who is chosen in a council of seven High Generals. It is therefore called the High Council. Marcus Escanor rose to the throne about 150 years ago. People think he's from an ancient race that has been forgotten through time, and that he has an enormously large timespan. Aetherfall had taken over some of its smaller neighbours during his rule and has annexed them completely, becoming bigger and the most powerful force on the continent, and probably the world. But, it wasn't enough for Escanor. He wanted more territory. And I, as a warrior in his army, had to fight. But…for that fight, he had gotten a special treat."

Susan's eyes seemed fit with rage suddenly.

"There were five sorcerers. They…they…they didn't kill the enemies. They destroyed them. Some sort of magical gas that incinerated their entire bodies as it touched them. It was disgusting to see. It was…it was horrible. I have never been traumatized more from something than I have been from that. And after that…I didn't want to serve anymore. I went to Cassidy and told her what I had seen. She looked horrified and she hadn't even been there. She imagined what it looked like and realized it must've been far worse to see it happen before your eyes. She sympathized with me. But it wasn't enough. I would tell Escanor exactly what I thought of it. And so I did. I went to his castle. I went to his room. It was dark and cold, as if every bit of joy and life had been sucked out of it. I told him what I thought about the gas and the sorcerers. He admired my courage and wanted to promote me for it. He just…didn't get it. He didn't get that people could be traumatized, that they didn't want anything anymore. That the only thing they knew for sure was that they didn't want to do what they were doing. So…I told him that. And I may have bad mouthed about him too. He didn't particularly like that last part. The rest didn't matter to him, but you didn't talk badly about him."

"He got so angry. He got up from his throne and a breeze behind me shut the doors. 'You dare say that to my face! You will pay dearly for that. That, my lady, is something I can guarantee you. You will be killed, or otherwise destroyed!' he screamed with an evil, maniacal grin on his face. I thought I knew what he meant. The gas. He was going to use it on me too. Alas, so I thought. Instead, he rose his right hand to the sky and a small energy ball grew in it. He was going to obliterate me with magic! I ran to the door, but it wouldn't open. I turned around, only to see that the ball had grown in size. 'Meet your demise, SUSAN!' he yelled. He brought his hand down and the ball wasn't shot at me, but it released large energy beams. I braced myself for the impact, but it never hit me. Instead, somebody had appeared in front of me. A person in a black cloak. The energy shot against a shield he or she had conjured and it hit the walls, shooting parts from them into the gardens below or severely damaging them. Lightning crackled around the shield due to the impact. The cloaked figure then placed a hand against the shield and, after a few seconds, new lightning emerged from the shield and followed the path of the energy towards Escanor, using them as a lightning rod."

"Well," Will interrupted, "that's quite an adequate term."

Susan looked at her daughter with an evil eye. "Sorry!" Will squeaked in response.

"It created a small explosion around him. The force of it put me to the ground, while the cloaked figure managed to keep standing. The figure turned around and because I had fallen to the ground, I could see his face. It was N. 'Get up!' he said. He quickly jerked me upwards and together we ran for the exit. A scream was heard. "CURSE YOU, SUSAN! DAMN YOU BOTH!" Another energy stream would've hit us, coming from the smoke, had it not been for N conjuring another shield. From the smoke, Escanor emerged, in full armor, having gotten rid of his kingly clothes, his sword in his right hand, its end pointing to the floor. His black hair was a mess and some parts of it were creating a dark shadow above his eyes, which seemed almost demon like in the darkness. They shone with a bright red, it seemed. We quickly got away. There were no guards searching for me, which we all thought odd. The next day, we found a notification on the walls, stating I was exiled for all eternity, on the grounds of treachery and high treason. I then left Aetherfall, leaving my possessions behind. I never saw them again. Except for one time, when N visited, asking me for directions to the north, to the desert. He had his friends with him, but they didn't really seemed interested in talking to me. I assumed they were on an important mission. So, that's my story. That is why both you and I are condemned to be exiles forever, until the ruler of Aetherfall proclaims it no longer to be in effect. But there's one more surprise to this."

Will rose an eyebrow. "And which might that be?"

A knock was heard on the door, right after she said that. Susan went to open the door and N was standing in the opening.

"Hello Susan."

"Hello, N. Perfectly on time."

"You know what they say: Wizards arrive exactly when they mean too. Can I come in?"

"But of course," Susan said, as she stepped out of the way and N stepped inside.

Will got up from her bed and she was clearly visible from the hallway. N looked at her from top to bottom, causing Will to instinctively place an arm to cover her breasts. She didn't seem to notice it. But N and Susan did.

"Who are you?" Will asked.

"I am Nicholas, Archmage of Aetherfall, former member of C.H.Y.K.N. and the father of Caleb, who is the son of Cassidy." N said, getting a surprised laugh from Susan.

"I knew that it would end up like this one day."

"And why are you here?" Will asked.

"To take you on a journey of a lifetime." N responded with a smile, while Will rose an eyebrow.

[A/N] So that's the sad story of Will, the Exile. I hope she'll get some better luck on this journey she's about to have. At least I can surely say it'll be a magical one. But that's like stating the obvious. The next few chapters will be more of the explanatory kind, although I will promise that in about two or three chapters things will start getting more difficult. Bloodier too! So stay for that. I also hope you liked N's part in the forest there. Oh, the mystery of his past. How I enjoy torturing you with the knowledge you don't have! Anyways, have a great day and as always, thanks for reading. Review if you like. [A/N]