Arthur entered his study and peered at the bookshelf, quickly finding the spellbook he wanted to read through. It had been a while since he had read that one chapter of it, and he felt like he needed a refresher on the topic. He grabbed the book and left the study, returning to the kitchen to grab the cup of tea that should just be finished brewing.
He placed the book on the counter with one hand while he removed the tea leaves from the cup, the strainer lifted in the other hand. Smelling the fragrant aroma of Yuvalon spices immediately invigorated him, making his wings slightly perk up. With the liquid sufficiently drained, he placed the strainer on its little plate, then picked up the cup and book together. He carefully carried both to his little balcony nook, where he had a lovely view of the Seelie Court Palace in the distance, in the heart of the Seelie Court's stronghold and capital city of Sovalon.
Just as he placed the cup of tea on the table, a ringing sound echoed into his ears from nearby, his wings stiffening in alert. Quickly realizing it was one of the family gemstones, Arthur rolled his eyes and dropped the book onto the table with the tea, before returning to the study. He opened the cabinet, where the gemstones not used on a regular basis were stored for safekeeping, and quickly spotted the one that was ringing.
The white gemstone, which was currently flashing green, was paired to the one kept with his human cousins. The Royal Family of Aegaimore had been passing their gemstone along to their royal children for ten generations, and it was now in the hands of Prince Alfred and Princess Madeline. Their parents had passed away in the last couple years, so they were currently the caretakers of the family gemstone and other royal possessions.
Arthur picked up the stone, and the ringing sound immediately disappeared as Madeline's voice came through with a message.
Can you please come visit us when you have the chance? Alfred and I need your assistance with a small matter.
Arthur nodded at the message as he channelled the gemstone's magic to find the destination of its partner gemstone in the human realm. Princess Madeline was a lovely young lady and he had no reason to refuse her request for a visit. If it was indeed a small enough query as she promised, he'd be back before his tea could get cold. Not that it mattered whether his tea got cold, a quick spell would immediately reheat it without compromising its original quality.
He summoned his magic, and triggered the teleportation spell that would lead him between realms. Swirls of emerald green magic surrounded him, growing in intensity until he could not see his study at all. After the peak of the magic's intensity, it settled down and faded away to reveal his new destination, a study fit for a king to spend his leisure in. Red walls and plush couches, and books lining every wall. Windows and balconies looked out to the sea, but were currently being covered by curtains by servants rushing to block out the burning sunlight for him.
Standing by the last open balcony, before it could be closed, were his cousins.
"Hello Arthur," Alfred welcomed as they both turned to face him.
"Your Highnesses," Arthur greeted with a slight bow of his head, "I was surprised to receive your summons."
"We have a serious matter we need your assistance with," Madeline told him as she approached, "If you are able to help us, of course."
"That will depend on your request," Arthur answered, "Shall we sit?"
"Yes, please do," Alfred agreed.
As the servants rushed to close the last curtains behind the twins, Arthur chose the nearest chair and sat down. His cousins chose the couch across from him, each sibling taking an end for themselves. They waited quietly as the servants rushed behind the couch and quickly bowed to the twins, before finally leaving the room and shutting the door behind them.
"Now that we have our privacy," Arthur noted, "What is the matter at hand?"
"As you likely recall, our father never declared either of us as the heir in his lifetime," Alfred started, "As such, the entire kingdom is waiting to see if I will marry and take the throne in the next few years here, or if I'll leave Madeline to rule with her own future husband."
"Ah yes, marriage," Arthur remarked, "I suppose you are now both at the prime age for this situation. What prospects are there?"
"Many, but none are to Alfred's satisfaction," Madeline elaborated, "All the noble ladies in Aegaimore, and several Princesses from other kingdoms, have come to Thagia to meet him, but Alfred has not been able to take a fancy in any of them. Meanwhile, the vultures are starting to circle me, plotting to marry me and take the crown for themselves when and if Alfred fails to find a wife."
"So that could lead to a sovereignty crisis soon," Arthur determined, "If Alfred doesn't choose a lady in time."
"Exactly," Madeline confirmed.
"Why am I here then?" Arthur asked, "Sounds like a choice you need to make."
"I want you to look into my future for me," Alfred requested, "Surely you have inherited the Kirkland clan's power of soothsaying, haven't you?"
"I have indeed inherited that magic," Arthur put together, "So you want me to use it and see who you will marry?"
"I want to marry for true love, not just because I need a wife and future queen," Alfred justified, "I want you to see if this happens, and if so how and where do I find my true love. If I'm not meant to marry, and Madeline is meant to be Queen of Aegaimore instead, then we can declare her as such and plan her marriage more carefully."
"Looking into the future to find love is not always a guaranteed path," Arthur cautioned, "When it comes to love, free will is unpredictable to even the strongest soothsayers. Since your life spans are three times shorter than that of the fae, humans tend to rush into romance as quickly as they can find it, and that does not always result in a healthy loving life-long relationship."
"Your point is?" Alfred pressed.
"You need to be careful what you're asking for," Arthur warned, "Yes, I can look and see who your true love is, and how to find her if possible. However, it's in your hands whether you can convince her to love you and marry you. This lady would have her own free will to refuse you, and to despise and resent you if you steal her away against her will. You must still earn her love, and persuade her to be your wife and queen. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal clear," Alfred promised, "This would be all for nothing if I spoiled it."
"Very well," Arthur complied, "Time to look into the future."
Arthur rose from his chair and gestured for the twins to follow him, as he walked to the side of the room where a mirror hung on the wall. He summoned his magic to his fingertips, where they started to glow green with his magic. Channelling his thoughts onto finding Alfred's true love, he swirled his fingertips just above the surface of the glass, spinning them in a circle until the magic distorted the reflection and began to show the visions.
The magic in the mirror revealed the vision of a young woman, sitting by a window looking outside. Her face was serious with sharp angles that made her look reserved and cold but in a beautiful way. While the magic's greenscale didn't show her exact hair colour, it was easy to tell that it must be some shade of blonde, and that she had grown it out longer than her body as it pooled by her feet and extended past the visible edge of the vision.
"Would you look at that," Arthur marked, "It seems you do have a destined true love after all."
"Indeed," Madeline observed, "Even from just this image, she looks very pretty."
"Yeah, she does," Alfred sighed, "I could get used to looking at that face every day."
"Well, that's a great start," Arthur uttered, "Let's see next where she can be found."
Arthur tapped the mirror again, directing the magic to show where this lovely lady in the vision might be found. The image moved past the lady and spun, showing that she was sitting on a balcony window looking outside of a tall tower. The single spire of stone stood 70 feet tall from the ground, with no visible entrances at ground level. Surrounding the tower was only forest, with a tall mountain in the horizon.
"She's in a tower somewhere," Madeline noted, "Looks like she wants out."
"I believe you are correct there," Arthur agreed, "And with no visible entrance to the tower, she may in fact be trapped."
"So I need to rescue her then?" Alfred realized, "I need to find this tower, find a way in, and help her get out?"
"It appears so, which leads us to the final question," Arthur directed, "Where exactly is this tower?"
With one more tap to the mirror, Arthur directed the magic to tell them where exactly this tower was located. The vision withdrew from the scene of the tower, leaving a marker to its position as it revealed its place on a map of the continent.
"It's at the northern edges of the Graimore Forest," Madeline described, "Where the woods meet the base of the Tailian Mountains."
"So that's where I need to go," Alfred plotted, "Catch a ship across the Eldarin Sea to Niba, then head north-east through Solyra after that for a few days."
"Perhaps it would be wise to take the family gemstone with you," Arthur recommended, "That way, if you need my assistance to find your path, I can be on call."
"I'd greatly appreciate that," Alfred accepted before continuing, "Lovino and Feliciano are sailing back to Niba in a couple days, I should be able to sail on their ship. That leaves us with only a short time to prepare."
"In that case, I should leave you to it then," Arthur concluded as he cleared the magic from the mirror and restored its natural reflection, "Unless you had any other queries for me."
"That is all we needed you for," Madeline confirmed, "Thank you, Arthur, we'll let you know when we have further updates for you."
"Of course," Arthur took his leave, "Farewell for now."
Arthur backed away from the twins and summoned his teleportation magic once again. Swirls of emerald green magical energy encircled him once again, obscuring his view of the human realm and revealing his study in his home once again. He placed the gemstone back in its place in the cabinet once again, certain the twins will let him know when Alfred begins on his journey. At that point, it would be worthwhile to keep the gemstone in his pocket at all times for a few weeks.
Arthur returned to his balcony nook and dipped his finger into his tea to test it, pleasantly finding it was still nice and hot. He sat at the table and grabbed his book once again, flipping it to the page he needed and trying to start reading, only for his thoughts to distract him.
There was certainly a bit of risk to Alfred's plans of recovering his true love. The journey to the Tailian Mountains could take as long as two weeks, and could always pose unknown dangers. However, the reward would be worth his while, as he'd return with a lovely young lady who, if she was well-wooed, would become his future wife and queen. With the rule of Aegaimore secure, all would be well.
And what of Madeline? Once her brother was married and crowned King, what would become of her?
Arthur placed the book down and summoned some magic to his fingertips. He spun them in the air to create a vision circle, like he did in the mirror in Thagia only the mirror wasn't needed in the fae realm. Once the vision circle had materialized in mid-air, Arthur asked who Madeline would eventually marry.
The magic recoiled at him and refused to show him anything.
Curious, Arthur changed the question, asking if Madeline was destined to get married at all.
The magic recoiled at him, once again refusing to show him anything.
Perturbed by both dismissals in a row of his questions, Arthur asked for it to show anything of Madeline's future.
The magic recoiled again, this time only strengthening the fog and clouds obscuring any visions of the future.
Arthur suppressed the magic and allowed the vision circle to dematerialize, contemplating how Madeline's future could not be foreseen. Perhaps there is a significant tragedy coming that would cut her future short, or there were far too many variables that made her future uncertain at this time. Were Alfred's journey to end in tragedy, becoming Queen of Aegaimore would naturally change Madeline's fate significantly.
Arthur nodded to himself as he finally sipped on his tea. It seemed that Alfred's journey to find his true love would also determine Madeline's unforeseeable fate.