Eclipse

Chapter 2

Aurelia

The next day was even weirder than the ones before the autonomy ball. 

The four maids, in my room, braiding my hair into many braids. They annoyed me. Mother did too. She removed all the books about portal physics form our library. She also wouldn't talk to me about it. 

I just knew that Mother was planning something. And that I didn't know what, annoyed me too. I only wished that it wasn't something dangerous.

And then there were the portals again. 

Never in my life did they fail, or did someone have difficulties going through—excluding me. 

I had never managed to survive a portal journey without throwing up afterwards. A truly impressive talent for a future queen.

The next meeting with the royal court was the next day, so after the maids were done, I decided to take a little walk. I had to get to the library there.
I had to find out more about the structure of portals. 

I did know the basics. In fact, natural science was one of my favorite interests. I didn't know much about portal physics, though.

Our dimensions are all different outcomes of a main realm. 

A dimension can be almost identical to another one except for one small detail. On the other hand, a dimension could also be completely different. 

If the creation of a planet were slightly different, it would change the entire planet. That's why our realms look so completely different. 

Now, for the portals, I didn't know that much. 

The Realm International School, I attended, only taught me the basics, because Mother took me out of this school after four years. The basics weren't enough to figure out what could be broken, though.

I changed into something that screamed "slightly wealthy merchant's daughter" instead of "crown princess." It wasn't perfect, but it was better than walking through Aurexis looking like I belonged on a throne. 

I wore a strapless, short top in light pink tones. It was ruched at the center and tied there with an elegant knot. My skirt was low-waisted and layered with light, flowing fabric.

The moment I stepped outside the palace, the heat of two suns greeted me.

I made my way away from our golden brown, sandstone palace.

After some time, big sandstone buildings came into my view. I loved this building style. 

Between the houses, people hung up big, colorful cloths to have a little shadow at least. Hundreds of people swarmed below the cloths in the small streets, absorbed in their daily callings. 

The Karyon Capital, the city surrounding the palace, was elegant, yes. But nothing ever happened there. It was for the rich. 

That's why I came here to Aurexis. Aurexis was the trade and transit city, and also the lowest class one I was allowed to go to as the princess.

 Aurexis was the city where immigrants went first, because there were solid working options.

I smiled while moving through the masses of people. Everybody moved fast. Some people stopped here and there to buy something; others just moved along quickly.

To my right and left, little tables and stands were opened, selling things especially from other realms. 

I stopped at a table with weird-looking fruits and stared at it. Noctryan Naviras. Naviras were fruits that only grew in Noctrya. But my mother stopped the trade to or from Noctrya, and they couldn't grow here.