Alexa had already seen a place burned to the ground, it was how she'd ended up an orphan on the streets. She remembered returning from a short walk to the village only to find their once beautiful mansion now smoke and ash. Her parents perished in the flames.
Even though she knew what to expect and thanking the heavens she hadn't lost another person to it, it was still heartbreaking to see.
"There's nothing left…"
She turned to see Liana staring wide eyed at the remains of her one and only home. Her parents had built that cottage, she'd grown up in that cottage, she'd fallen in love in that cottage. And now it was gone.
Alexa caught her before she could collapse to her knees. "Liana!"
She couldn't remember the last time Liana had cried. Alexa was the sensitive one, the one that needed Liana to comfort her after anything went wrong. She hugged her and stroked her hair till her tears finally stopped.
They then remembered Melody who'd been silent this whole time.
Liana gently took out the mirror and gazed at her own reflection. "Melody? Are you okay?"
They waited for a few moments with no response.
"Slyder's gone, for now." Alexa whispered, glancing up worriedly at the sky.
They were wondering whether they needed to sing again before Melody finally appeared. Her voice came out in a whisper, "Liana, Alexa… I'm so sorry! You should just throw me far, far away before he comes back!"
"We're not throwing you away, Melody." Liana laughed through tears.
"What does that serpent want from you?" Alexa asked softly.
"It's his mistress, Lydia." The girl started with a grim face. "She must know I have the key…"
"The key… to what?"
"The Diamond Castle."
"A diamond castle?" Liana asked in disbelief. Could such a place really exist? She'd never heard of it before.
"I didn't believe it either at first..." Melody began with a sad smile. Her memories faded onto the glass, showing an orphaned and homeless child they knew was Melody singing on the streets for coins. It suddenly began to rain and she hurried under a nearby canopy. "One night, a horrible storm came to my village. I didn't have anywhere to call home, so I hid from it the best I could. That was when I first met her..."
A woman with red hair piled up high left the bookstore with a large stack but stopped herself when she saw the rain. She then noticed the little girl watching her in awe. She smiled warmly before sitting down beside her. "Well, hello there, I'm Lydia. Can you tell me your name?"
"M-Melody." The girl whispered. She quickly pointed to the flute attached to the woman's belt. "Can you play that?"
"Of course I can, I wouldn't have it otherwise." Lydia chuckled.
"And what are the books for?"
"Curious, are you?" She showed her the books she'd bought. All of them were on music whether it be compensation, theory, or even sheet music for numerous kinds of instruments. "I guess you could call me a teacher of all things music."
"Amazing…" Melody breathed. "I wish I could play something but I don't have the money for an instrument, or really anything at all…"
The woman then noticed her skinny form and sunken eyes and realized the girl's situation. She lifted the girl's chin to gaze at her. "Poor thing, you've been through a lot, haven't you?"
Melody glanced away in embarrassment. "It's alright, really! There's something that always keeps me going, music."
The woman smiled faintly. "Is that so?"
"Yes, I love to sing." She grinned, her eyes lighting up. "And listen to music, sometimes I even make my own songs!"
"Really? I'd love to hear one." She leaned to her.
The girl blushed. "O-Oh, I don't know…"
"Come now, just a little bit." The woman urged.
While she sang a infant version of her favorite song, Believe, the present Melody went into more detail. "After I sang, Lydia told me about a magical castle which was said to be the birthplace of music. Anytime a new song was performed anywhere in the world, a brand new diamond would appear on the walls. The Diamond Castle. She told me the three muses who cared for the castle took in anyone with a passion for music, including the less fortunate like me."
Lydia's common clothes suddenly melted into a beautiful Grecian dress before she offered Melody her hand.
"She said I was welcome to stay with them where I could learn all sorts of music and never have to worry about anything ever again."
Melody hesitated before taking her hand.
"It was a dream come true..."
A flash of images came to the mirror, showing Melody arriving with Lydia on a winged horse and staring at a gorgeous castle covered with diamonds.
Lydia introduced her to her fellow muses, Dori and Phaedra, who practically fell in love with the girl and her passion for learning, quickly naming her their apprentice.
As the years passed, it took the three of them raising me that made Dori and Phaedra realize there was more than just friendship between them, there always had been.
The two muses were always together in the memories, and they drew closer with every one. Soon enough, they shared their first kiss.
It wasn't long before they wished to marry and announced it to us all. Everyone was so happy… Everyone but Lydia. She'd grown bitter and jealous as the years went on, until one day she finally snapped.
"I've seen the truth!" Lydia announced with a chuckle as Melody hid behind her found mothers. "You two aren't fit to be muses any longer! You don't care about the music, all you care about is each other!"
"Lydia, we had no idea you felt left out!" Dori insisted. "But you can't be mad at anyone for us falling in love!"
"Of course I can!" She scoffed, pointing to Melody. "A great round of applause for our darling little apprentice! You're the reason all this is happening, I should've left you out in that storm to die!"
Melody gasped in shock, tears coming to her eyes.
"That's enough!" Phedrea suddenly yelled in a stern voice, stepping forward. "What do you want from us, Lydia?"
The woman paused as if to think. She knew she'd burned all bridges with her previous comment, their friendship couldn't possibly have survived. She'd have to convince herself she was all she needed… "I want… to be the only muse. Great singers like myself don't need a chorus!"
"What?" Dori whispered in shock. "But music is for everyone!"
"Not for long." Lydia growled. "I'll be back for this castle soon enough!"
As the woman stormed out the castle, she slammed the doors shut, unknowingly knocking two heart-shaped pearls off the frame. They tinked down the steps before falling in the river below, off to find their new owners.
Lydia found an ancient cave filled with forbidden power and the serpent, Slyder. She turned her flute into an instrument of great evil before she decided to come back to the castle and spread darkness everywhere…
Dori and Phedra ran, pulling their daughter along with them as the castle vanished from the sight and memory of the people.
They hid the Diamond Castle with their magical instruments inside and gave me the key in case anything should happen to them…
Melody watched nervously behind a large stone as her mothers tried to reason with Lydia but she wouldn't listen to anyone but herself. She pulled out her red, snake-like flute, playing a mesmerizing tune that caused tendrils of magic to wrap around the couple and their pegasi, turning them to stone.
"No!" Melody screamed, accidentally revealing her location to the dark muse.
"There you are, Melody~" Lydia sang softly before nodding to her minon. "Bring her to me!"
Slyder laughed before taking off after the girl.
Melody ran as fast as she could, looking for somewhere, anywhere to hide.
I ran, and ran, but Slyder was chasing me. And then I saw my only chance!
She slid to a stop, seeing an old peddler asleep, trinkets lying around her. With them was a dirty old mirror.
I hid…
Melody quickly played the magic whistle the muses had given her for emergencies, sending her into the mirror.
But in my haste, I dropped my whistle and Slyder broke it, trapping me in the mirror…
"I was so afraid, I never said a word…" Melody finished, looking up at the two. "And now look, I ruined everything…"
They sat in silence, processing what they heard before Liana spoke up. "But if you have the key… does that mean you know where the castle's hidden?"
"Yes." She whispered. "Near the seven stones, far to the west."
"Can Lydia be stopped?" Alexa asked nervously.
"I have to believe they can. If I had people to play the muses' instruments, I may be able to break her spells, or at least the very least set me free from the mirror.."
Liana turned to her lover who quickly noticed the look and shook her head. "No… Liana, no! Don't look at me like that! We can't just go on some adventure after we've lost everything!"
"Melody, what happens if Lydia gets the muses' instruments?" Liana suddenly asked, hoping to get more motivation.
"She wins." The girl in the mirror muttered, narrowing her eyes. "She'll have it all and spread darkness everywhere. Our world will be nothing but shadows and sorrow."
"…Kind of like our home." Alexa sighed, glancing back at the disaster.
"Exactly like our home." Liana grunted, standing up. "Lydia and Slyder did that to us! They'll do that and worse to other people. Can we let that happen?!"
Honestly, as long as she had Liana, Alexa wouldn't mind having to suffer through as usual but… "You want me to say no, don't you?"
Liana gave a pleading look despite having Alexa already wrapped around her finger.
"Okay, fine!" Alexa sighed, getting up. She linked arms with Liana before picking up her basket.
"Oh, you're the best, most kind-!" Liana cried, wrapping her arms around her and peppering her with kisses for every compliment. "Most beautiful-!"
"Really?!" Melody gasped as she was brought into the hug. "Oh, thank you, thank you!"
"It's the three of us now, Melody!" Liana announced with a big smile.
"The three of us?!" Melody gasped, not noticing Alexa narrow her eyes at that. It had always been the two of them after all. She supposed she'd have to get used to it.
"I found her, mistress!"
Lydia turned expectantly as Slyder landed with a chuckle, not seeing the girl anywhere. "Where is she? I'm in no mood for games, Slyder."
"Here, here!" The servant insisted, fumbling with the delicate little mirror between his claws. He showed it to her. "She's hiding, I saw her singing in the mirror!"
"Is that right? What a clever little trick..." His mistress smirked, snatching the mirror away. She quickly adjusted her hair in the reflection. "Melody~ Auntie Lydia would like a word with you!"
She waited but there was no response. And the longer she held it, the more apparent it became there was no magic in this trinket, and certainly no prisoner. She threw the mirror to the ground, shattering it before turning to a startled Slyder. "She's not in there! Where did you find it?!"
"Sh-She was singing with two other girls near a cottage." Slyder produced hurriedly. "One with light hair and one with dark hair…"
If she knew Melody, she would've picked loyal friends, ones that no doubt reminded her of her missing mothers. Still, they'd be no match for her powers. "Take me to them…"