Sometimes, Ferris' dreams manifested strange, but magnificent places. The golden hall she found now herself in was one of them.
Judging by the emblem molded into the frames of the tall windows to her left, this was meant to be someplace in the Monster Kingdom. Even for there being little decoration, the hall was very grand. The tile flooring had a simple, square pattern and a rich, honey color. Giant pillars easily three times her width stood on both sides of the long passage and there was one of the stars floating above a piece of ground not far from her. It was the kind of palace layout she'd likely never see in her waking hours.
Someone walked out of the adjacent hall at the opposite end to her own: A tall, lithe skeleton dressed in strange clothes—an ensemble of tasteful greys underneath a hoodless, brilliantly white cloak. A thin, wooden board and a bundle of papers were cradled in his arms. From the softer features on his face, he looked to be a painted skeleton like Castellar, however, the angles of his cheeks and jaw were much smoother.
The two looked enough alike that this could've been her mind's attempt at visualizing Castellar's father. If so, the illusion failed to show his background as a warrior. He had the same, straight walk; however, he looked far more like a scholar than a soldier.
Thoughtful eyes stayed trained on the path ahead of him. Despite her obvious presence, he passed the girl without noticing her.
Ah, this was one of those dreams where she was nothing more than a ghostly observer. She took full advantage of that freedom, moving over to one of the windows to peek outside. The unstable state of the vision made it too hazy to see much of anything, but there were birds singing from somewhere and she could make out the shape of flowers blooming along the outer wall.
When she looked back, something had changed. The first skeleton was long gone and a second, shorter one wearing even stranger clothes replaced him. His blue cloak cut at the waist and his pants at the knees, and his shoes didn't really seem all that sturdy. He stood only a little taller than herself and was big-boned. It looked like he was waiting for someone, the lights of his eyes completely blacked out.
That wasn't all. The location was the same, but the atmosphere surrounding it was different. The pressure in the air was almost suffocating. All of a sudden, she had a strong impression that she didn't want to be there; that whatever was about to happen wasn't something she wanted to be in the middle of—dream or not.
Light footsteps echoed toward them, but she was jarred awake before she could catch of glimpse of whoever approached.
She had less space in the bed than she did when she fell asleep. Ferris rolled over to find Ciara curled up against her side when she should've been in the other bed across from hers. Actually, they were used to sleeping this way, so Ciara must've climbed in next to her in the middle of the night.
Somehow, waking up back in the mill felt more surreal than her dream did. Here, there was only the echoing creak of the waterwheel and the gentle breath of wind pushing against the shutters of the window to greet her in the morning. Careful not to disturb her sister, Ferris got up and looked outside. The weather was clear, but she didn't spot any birds or other animals in the surrounding fields. Even with the expanse of trees and mountains beyond them, it felt like they were set on an island in the middle of a vast, lonely sea.
Ciara didn't awaken until after the eldest sister had donned on her boots and tunic. Giving her a few minutes to also get ready, Ferris stepped out the door. The one to Castellar's room was closed, and considering that he wasn't around to rush them, he probably wasn't fully up yet either. She headed downstairs.
If she thought she saw a humanoid shadow on the far wall, it must've been her imagination. Only the foxlike familiar was with her on the first floor, jumping down from the raised hearth as she reached the last step.
On an iron grill beside it, six eggs were cooking in a medium-sized pan. "Where did you even get these…?" Ferris murmured. Of course, she didn't get a response. Well, foxes were notorious for stealing and burying eggs for later, so maybe they could've been the prize from an unlucky farmer. At least they looked fresh…
Split evenly, there was two each for Castellar, Ciara, and herself. After leaving Ferris to mind the food, the fox didn't show much interest in it. Come to think of it, she'd barely seen the creature eat at all. Did familiars not have to, or was normal food simply unfit for them?
"Take it with you," Castellar's voice interrupted her thoughts. He'd just approached her from behind, already packed to go. When the fox stamped a paw on the floor and began to whine, he gave the familiar a scolding look that said if she kept it up, he'd give her something to whine about. "We can't stay and entertain you and you can't tag along."
As peaceful as it was there, Ferris had to agree. After a while, staying in a place this isolated would drive them mad. It was better that they left as soon as possible rather than get too comfortable, and they had never intended to stop in the first place.
Within ten minutes, Ciara came down the steps and Ferris tucked away their breakfast and the last of the rolls from the previous night. The skeleton only gave enough of a goodbye to limit offense, while Ferris couldn't resist offering the fox a light pat on the head. She had a strong feeling that this wouldn't be the last they'd see of the fox and, if Castellar's words were anything to go by, there was a chance that they'd meet her partner the next time as well.
They found a trail through the woods that was clearer than the rest and decided to follow it. Thanks to that, the trio made good time cutting back to a true wilderness.
Eventually, they neared the base of Mt. Ebott. It marked the half-way point of their adventure—literally, in Ferris' case, as she found one of the golden stars on a neighboring crest, perched by a unique rock formation in the shape of a tulip. Late-season honeysuckles thrived all around them, climbing every tree and cliff-face. The view was stunning, but the walk was terrible. The ground had become so rough and uneven that they spent half of their time travelling vertically instead of making any progress.
"Icefield is the next major town we should come across," Castellar directed, "It's fairly elevated, so we can expect to climb for another day or so."
Yippie… Her feet were already dragging at the thought.
The plan to cross through Monster territory wasn't looking so great anymore. They failed to reached Botan Grove, the trip to Heartwood had been a waste, and they had yet to meet a single one of Castellar's supposed allies. If she mentioned any of that aloud though, it would only put their guide in a bad mood. It wasn't like she had a better plan either.
Ferris stretched her arms skyward, pushing down the anxiety that bloomed within her chest. Turning away yet another opportunity to save her place in time made her jittery. Waiting had been the right decision, but this was taking too long. Back in Mollendale, she typically used the stars at least once a day. At this rate, if she was killed and still believed that going to the Arnaud Mages' Guild was the best option, she'd have to relive a few weeks. No: She'd have to relive them countering the knowledge of other seers like Valda all while being countered herself.
What had it been… her eighth death, when she'd endured the last great period without the stars? The longest she'd gone had been some time after her first death. She hadn't known what the stars were for and so avoided them entirely, concerned enough by her miraculous resurrection and the fact that she was the only one who knew about it. Because of that, she had to experience nearly two months' worth of fighting and hunger all over again when she died for the second time. It was a period that taught her several tricks as a pickpocket through trial and error, but she had also felt her sanity slip during that time.
That was far from the worst time. The mage hunters Castellar had killed hadn't been the only ones she'd crossed paths with, among other kidnappers. Near her eight death, there came a point when Ferris alone had been taken. She'd also been experimenting with using magic somewhat openly around then, so, in hindsight, that must've caught the wrong kind of attention. She'd been confined within a dark shack for several days with just a rancid bucket of water before anyone came for her. Luckily, one of the kidnappers had an awful temper: It didn't take much goading for him to send her back so she could avoid them entirely.
It wasn't simply the act of repeating events that took a toll on her. It was the act of repeating them while being the only one who knew about it. If she fought with a friend in one life and stayed angry at them in the next, they couldn't understand why. No one would ever cry over how many times that she died, not even her own sister. Instead, whatever lingering pain or nightmares came from those deaths would be dismissed since, for other people, 'it didn't happen.' It was just a bad dream. It was all in her head. She was remembering things wrong, even if she was the only one who remembered them at all.
She had a fleeting hope that, since Castellar knew about her ability, he would be more aware than others of any changes. In the very least, she'd have someone who'd believe her. However, she knew he wouldn't give her any comfort. Even if he did, since Monsters didn't have crimson magic, there was only so much he could understand. It was safer this way, and she was grateful for that, but… It could get a little lonely too.
Ferris shuddered as a red streak of light fired past her shoulders. She came to a halt, watching the horizontal beam as it evaporated along the horizon. Castellar and her sister kept moving. It was something else that only she could see, a warning that could randomly appear when she was in danger. Looking back in the direction it came from, she saw a dark shape hovering over the cliffs.
It was the avian Monster they'd spotted on the way to Heartwood. He dove through the air, heading straight toward them! Ferris had seconds to act. She ducked low and lunged to grab Ciara by her tunic—!
A rush of wings blew her hair in her eyes, the tips of claws raked her back. The sheer momentum sent Ferris to her knees. While the bird missed Ferris, there was still a high-pitched shriek as Ciara was snatched in her place.
She felt only an instant's disbelief. In the mere seconds it took to happen, Castellar also recovered from the shock of the attack and summoned his bow. Her eyes widened, "No!"
Kicking the ground, Ferris took off at a mad dash after the bird. In reality, she could never hope to catch his pace, but if he soared past the cliffs, they'd have no chance of getting Ciara back! If he dropped her at that height…!
A single, glimmering arrow tore past her next. It struck him right in the hind, a viscous screech tearing from his throat. Another arrow followed, aimed for the leg. It didn't stick, but still pierced the meat of his thigh. His claws instinctively released and Ciara began to fall.
It was only after her sister was in her arms—tiny fingers digging into her skin in a desperate vice—that Ferris noticed how slow her descent had been. Castellar had caught the child's soul with his magic to give her just enough of a gentle landing that she could land on her feet. He raced toward the nearest shelter of trees, "This way!"
The girls were already following him. Their attacker looped around in pursuit. They needed to find cover fast!
The area was too sparse: Whatever cluster of trees grew in any one place wasn't nearly enough to protect the trio for long. Even if they could, it would just turn into a waiting game with the avian circling them like prey—a hawk chasing after rabbits. The trio darted from cover to cover, not risking keeping to any one spot for too long.
Ciara couldn't quite match the pair of adolescents' much longer strides. Even pausing to carry her was too much, so Ferris dragged her along by the arm. Castellar stayed ahead of the sisters, racing sideways in order to shoot arrow after arrow to keep the other Monster at bay.
Until the ground swallowed him whole. He took one step back and vanished. Ferris barely registered what had happened when she lost her own footing and pulled Ciara down with her. Darkness blanketed over them and rocks scraped against the eldest's forearm. Ferris tightly curled herself around Ciara to shield her. Air burst from their lungs when they landed.