* * *
Billie the elf-warrior from the elf kingdom of Javaad casually strolled inside the many halls of the great imperial castle in Arcade city. She was there because apparently, the self-proclaimed betrothed of the Arcadian princess has something to say again.
But she's not interested in what the sleazebag nobleman has to say this time.
There are other emissaries from Arcadian kingdoms and foreign allies as well that were invited inside the castle. The ministers of the empire and the imperial council are there too. All are trying to hold together an enormous empire of vast territories while the fate of the last heir of the Jaureguis is still unknown to most. Especially now that notorious bandits are taking advantage of the confusion and anxiety in the great empire, rampantly attacking villages and counties and big cities.
It has been a regular occurrence, having all these dignitaries and ministers in the same room since the murder of Emperor Michael and alleged abduction of princess Lauren. It should feel like it's the norm by now but somehow something doesn't feel right. Something doesn't quite add up . . .
Billie was there also to observe, as well as represent the alliance between her kingdom and the imperial house of Jauregui. However, in that particularly stressful moment in time, she is inside the enormous and grand imperial castle to look for a way to sneak the elf prince of Javaad in the bedchamber of the missing Arcadian heir.
She doesn't know how he gathered his information or how accurate or reliable it was, but according to the elf prince Zayn, the princess is indeed out on the run. Where exactly? That the elf prince would like to investigate further on his own, too bad she won't allow him to. He believes that the secret escape route in princess Lauren's bedchamber would somehow lead to a possible direction where she might've gone to. Now, for what reason the princess was running? It might as very well be that Bunloaf manchild making himself comfortable on her throne.
The elf prince strongly suspects that the Bunloaf lord was the culprit of the emperor's murder and is now using his every manpower and resources to get the princess to either coerce her into marriage or kill her. That what happened that night was an inside job orchestrated by Lord Brad himself and was aided by his cronies, which possibly includes the notorious serpentina bandits.
Billie thinks both. She thinks that Brad will force the princess to marry him then kill her as soon as the announcement of their union is publicly made. Good thing the princess managed to escape that night otherwise, they would all be looking up to a manchild lacking a few inches in height as the new Arcadian emperor by now.
An emperor without the magic of the blue fire in his blood . . .
Billie the warrior elf of Javaad thinks that as soon as the Bunloaf traitor manages to force the princess to marry him and the said marriage will solidify his title and place in the imperial house, he will kill princess Lauren. And if he somehow succeeds in that then it'll be just the beginning of a world wide chaos that will definitely affect everyone . . .
Because an emperor without the magic that runs in the blood of the Jaureguis will never succeed in keeping it all together. Billie knows this because she has lived long enough to know a few things about the old Arcadian magic known as the blue fire. A magic that only the Jauregui bloodline carries.
If the rampant attacks of bandits within the borders of the empire and the growing discontent of the citizens at the moment is not evidence enough, then Billie don't know what is.
But she didn't tell this to the prince because he's already anxious as it is, she doesn't want to add any more concern for his troubled mind. He truly cares for the princess and Billie has seen them both grow up together to know that for sure. Besides she also believes that the possible union between prince Zayn and princess Lauren is more beneficial for both parties.
"You are not allowed here,"
A guard in a shiny tin armor stops Billie from her walk. He was blocking a passageway that seems to be leading somewhere deeper inside the castle. And if Billie's hunch is correct, this passageway will lead her to princess Lauren's bedchamber.
"I'm so sorry, sir knight, I thought this is the way to the uhh . . . great hall is it? I mean there's just too many great halls around here, this place is so big . . ."
"The great hall where Lord Brad will make his announcement is all the way back downstairs," the guard points out behind the elf, "No one else is supposed to be here but the imperial guards,"
Billie studied the guard for a moment with her ocean blue eyes, taking note of the lack of coat of arms on his shield and armor. Her pointy ears were pricking up at the subtle noise she hears coming from the passageway that this guard was blocking.
"What is that noise?" she outwardly asks.
"The cleaners," the guard outwardly replies as well.
The two of them stare each other down, Billie the warrior elf trying to find out how the guard will react to her insistent inquiry, not concerned at all because she is very much willing to play her diplomatic emissary status. Any physical harm inflicted on her by any Arcadian will be considered an offensive act to her kingdom and it's alliance to Arcadia. The same goes for her too, but she knows where to draw her line.
"You should go back downstairs now, m'lady," the guard tells her again, more firmly this time.
Billie peeks behind the guard one more time, seeing an empty passageway but a subtle noise is absolutely reaching her pointy ears. And it doesn't sound like cleaners doing their cleaning at all. It sounded more like a rustle and bustle of clanging metals.
And her elf senses strongly tells her that this guard is not who he seems to be at all . . .
The guard blocks her view once more with a scowl, but before he can tell her off again, loud warning bells of Arcade city rings throughout the castle. And instead of leading Billie the warrior elf to safety, this guard with an unmarked tin armor strikes at her with an oddly glimmering blade. Being the seasoned warrior that she is, she manages to deflect it and strike back. She soon realizes that the odd glimmer of his sword was the signature poisoned blade of serpentina bandits and his friends are now making their presence known in that passageway.
Once again, the capital city of Arcadia is under attack . . .
* * *
"Your grace, the emissary sends his word that Arcade city was attacked again, everybody else in our envoy managed to get to safety. However, the imperial castle is now under siege,"
One of Queen Hailee's messenger tells her, panting and huffing. She has sent as many messengers as she can to spread the vital information she has gathered so far throughout the empire. But with the vast territories of Arcadia, she's only one kingdom in the north, she can only do so much.
This messenger however is from the group she sent in Arcade city to represent her. He has returned, hurriedly in a griffin just now, to deliver that terrible news.
She sighed, "Send word to Lord Agaso of Clifden County, that he must prepare this instant. The princess is alive and will be on her way here. As soon as her imperial majesty arrives, the old ritual must be commenced and then we shall all head out to the capital city to take it back. And hope to all divine beings that we crown a new empress to lead us all in peace and greatness once again,"
The messenger exclaims his delight at the news of the soon to be empress being on her way up north despite the troubling situation in Arcade city. He immediately leaves to do what the queen of Oakridge told him to do.
Everyone in that room was in a mix of hope and anxiety.
"What ritual?" Shawn breaks the momentary silence once the messenger has already left. He doesn't look like a homeless guy anymore but instead he is now dressed as a dignified member of the imperial army in his new suit and armor.
Everyone in the kingdom of Oakridge has been instructed to perform their designated tasks given by the queen to put things back in order after the attack of the Astorians and the Bunloafs, and also to prepare themselves for an impending battle.
"The blessing of the Arcadian tree of life," queen Hailee replies, "The princess must draw her blood and give it back to the tree that brought forth the first of her bloodline who built this great nation,"
"The Arcadian tree of life really exists?" Troye asks, not looking like a homeless guy also, however he's not wearing an armor like Shawn. He has also been cleared of accusations of being an assassin and member of the notorious serpentina bandits, "I thought it's only a myth,"
"No, it's not a myth . . ." The queen replies, "And no, the tree of life is neither standing on Clifden's territory or mine,"
"Where is it exactly then?" Austin asks this time, also not looking like a homeless loser but like the distinguished imperial army commander that he is.
"Only the true heir of the blue fire knows . . . As the history books tell us, an heir to the imperial throne of Arcadia enters a mine in Clifden and then comes out to the cave located in the northernmost village of Oakridge; Willow Creek. It's always unclear what goes on in there, but one thing is always consistent. Just like what emperor Michael had gone through, and his father before him, his grandmother before them both, they all recounted how they drew out their blood from their hands and give it to the tree, and then the Arcadian tree of life lits up a blue fire for them,"
"A blue fire is a rare kind of magic," Lucy the she-elf continues. She is still wary of Troye because he looks exactly like the man she saw in her vision despite his claims that it was indeed his wayward twin brother. There's a tension between them but both kept it cool because they both wanted the princess back, "It is an ancient magic that only runs by blood. No witch or wizard, no faerie or elf or any human or half-breed can wield its power and survive. Only those who were born naturally with it are known to be able to control the blue fire. And according to the ancient texts, the blue fire originally came from the Arcadian tree of life. It's magic being passed to three kinds; the humankind, the elfkind and the faeries. The elves are the first ones to abuse the power, destroying one another, so it no longer exists in any elfblood. I'm not sure about the faeries but seeing that Zaragoza has been infested with dark magic for a while now, maybe the blue fire in them has also faded away. And now, we have princess Lauren. The last of the humankind born from the Jauregui bloodline, the last one we know who has the magic of the blue fire,"
As this conversation moves along from the myths and legends of Arcadia and on towards planning the group's next move, which is essentially all about ensuring the safety of princess Lauren as she ventures to her right of passage as the next empress and eventual return to Arcade city, Dinah quietly observed in the corner.
Her mind still remained at the topic of the blue fire.
Because she knows someone in particular who can conjure up a blazing blue fire in just a snap of her fingers.
Camila . . .
She is in no way related to the Jaureguis but half of her is a noble-born faerie. Being a faerie alone already entails magic in themselves. But Camila is the only person that Dinah has seen to conjure up a blue fire. She used to feel slightly jealous of that power, because technically she's also a noble-born half faerie. But not at anymore. Because in time she learned to love herself just the way she is, that the magic in her may have been stunted by her tragic experiences in the past and it's alright. She learned from all the pain, she got wiser as time goes on. She can do other things and she has earned the lifelong friendship of four other people. And for her that's what truly matters.
But she can't help but think of the possibilities that Camila's blue fire can lead her to. What if her power-hungry father knew all about the magic of the blue fire in her and that's the only reason he's never come after her for so many years. That maybe, Alejandro bid his time to see Camila fully develop her magic and figure out how to use it to get him to the ultimate prize of them all; a kingdom of his own.
Or in this case, since the faerie kingdom of Zaragoza is now a death trap waiting for everyone, he will have an empire for him to rule . . .
The more she thinks about it, the more she grows concerned. The possibility of a cruel, vile and selfish man leading the greatest nation in the world is something she doesn't want to envision. And it stresses her out so she decided to leave the room as quietly as she entered it before. She prefers to stay by Normani's side anyway than get herself more tangled with all things Arcadian.
Even if the anxiety of what will happen next eats up at her . . .
Dinah enters the lavish room where Normani was staying in and she smiles happily to see the ebony beauty awake and smiling back at her. Just like that, all her worries disappear to the back hollows of her mind. And at that point, nothing else truly mattered to her but knowing for sure that Normani is indeed alright . . .
* * *
"Find him!!"
She hears the notorious Alejandro bellow as he kicks one severed head of an imperial minister like it's a soccer ball. His loud voice echoes throughout the massive hall like a tenor belting it out in an opera.
His group of snake bandits has finally succeeded in occupying the imperial castle but somehow, he still haven't caught her.
Billie the warrior elf remained stealthy in her moves throughout the attack and now she's quietly observing from behind the shadows and large pillars of the castle. As it turns out, the guard from earlier wasn't an Arcadian guard at all. He was a serpentina in disguise. And as soon as the warning bells of Arcade city rang throughout, he started attacking her and some of his friends joined in.
Good thing she's much more skilled and much more experienced fighter otherwise she'd be dead by now. But her efforts were not enough to stop the rest of the bandits from ransacking the imperial castle.
"Find that Bunloaf asshole!! He needs to be taught a lesson or two about ruling an empire!! And most importantly he needs to be taught how to not double cross the mighty lord of serpents!!"
The people whose lives were suprisingly spared cowered in absolute fear, the sheer intimidation of the man's deep voice booming like thunder. Add that to his stellar criminal rep, then fear is literally the trend right now. His cronies rigorously searched the castle and Billie began to move as quietly and inconspicuously as she could.
She was on her way back to that passageway she found earlier that the fake guard blocked her from. In the midst of all the confusion and chaos of the sudden attack of the notorious lord of serpents, the warrior elf of Javaad was about to take her chance on finding the princess' bedchamber and the hidden route she took to escape. It might have given her and prince Zayn the slightest clue to where exactly she was heading.
But now, her priorities has changed. She needs to get back to where the prince of Javaad is staying and make sure he is safe. Because looking at how ruthless the man commanding the imperial castle is at the moment, every single one of nobility present is a definite target for his next conquest.
She had to do her sworn duty first and that means protecting the future of the elvish kingdom of Javaad, prince Zayn.
This is exactly why the king sent her and not the prince despite his stubborn insistence. The risk of being held captive of whoever is responsible for all these chaos is just too high. The king of Javaad simply wants to keep the future of his kingdom safe. Too bad the prince is way too stubborn to follow his father's bidding.
Skirting around stealthily, Billie finally found a way out and on to the street where imperial guards of Arcadia are assembling a formation to attempt to get the castle back from the only bandit in the last two hundred years who successfully seized it.
But before she managed to jump out and off the ledge, her worst fear happened.
"Boss! We didn't find the crusty Bunloaf boy but we found someone definitely better looking!"
A female serpentina bandit dragged a cloaked figure that Billie knows all too well . . .
"Well, well!! If it isn't the heir of Javaad himself then I don't know who is this pasty looking elf you brought to me, Jelena!! Good job, kiddo!"
The lord of serpents pulls the hood of the cloak and indeed there he was, prince Zayn of Javaad.
"This must be my lucky day . . . Because after I'm done owning all of Arcadia," Alejandro hissed on the prince's defiant face, "I will be owning everything you have, little elf prince,"
* * *
🙂