Dream could not sleep that night. She thinks that her Father did not thought far ahead. Probably, the man always trust that he built a good back up for Dream in case something happened to him.
Or the man simply trust that he is almighty and will always come back from the war?
Dream never seen the man fights but she have heard great stories.
"You cannot sleep?"
Dream was surprised and hurriedly sit up to look at the open window. There sitting on her window sil is the owl with the moon reflecting at it's back.
The owl gently flew into the child's room and nestled itself on the bed's worn out comforter.
"We can converse comfortably, I made it so that the guards outside won't hear a thing. But man, your room is tiny! The bed is half of your size. Are you sure you are a princess??!"
Dream chuckled to herself.
"Apparently, I grew way too much the past year. The servants said, I was a lot taller than the twin princes when they were at my age."
"Hmm, interesting, I know that for sure that that selfish Spade bastard made sure that his descendants will be hundred percent get his genes. He is selfish to the ends of this planet that he bestowed all the strength to his descendants so that they can protect themselves. Boy, he doesn't care if his descendants earn the right to be the seal bearer, as long as they have his blood, they can match up with the seal bearers. He loves his children so much with Heart."
"I feel like you just threw a new random information to me?"
"Huh, that should be something everyone knows? Overly kind and wonderful Clover married that good for nothing Diamond and Bastard Spade married the pretty Heart."
"You really have a weird bias. But, you know it had been a tradition that the Emperor is the one with the Diamond seal and the Empress is the one with the Heart seal. Whilst the Clover seal never leave the Clover Country with the exception of my biological mother and the Spade Seal, I heard the royal family of Spade had killed every single one from the past generations."
The owl was astonished from the information it had learned.
"Re-really now, the times had changed so much. I am surprised that the humans had restricted the seal bearers this much. It is understandable with Clover seal bearers as they usually stay in their domain. However, for the other three seals. I feel like at some point something got twisted so bad in order to manifest a really evil scheme."
"Evil scheme?"
The owl then get comfy at the old worn out blanket on Dream's bed.
"Us with the seals are pretty strong beings. We have the power of the angels where their power originated from the highest being. Though the power might had been nerfed down a bit because the angels are not here with us on the lands of this planet, but we are still incredibly powerful than a regular human. As a matter of fact, you are quite special."
The word special made Dream's raise her eyebrows.
"Hmm, I did not expect that you will praise my existence."
The proud owl got mad by Dream's snide comment.
"Child! You are truly a soul that lived for too long, you are so good at making comebacks! But anyway! You are special just because you were lucky enough to be born with the clover seal and to be in a Spadian Royal body! Can't you imagine it?! A healer with magnanimous luck and with a sturdy built?! Child you can walk out of a war unscathed! Urhhhmmm..."
"Shhhss!!" Dream got hold of the owl's beak. "You are too loud!" Dream whispered back. "No one knows about that."
"But the knights outside are under the oath of your father. And are you forgetting that made it that they cannot hear us here? You are really the Clover seal bearer, you have the memory of a grandma. Though Clover herself is special and always thoughtful."
"Oath? But still I do not want them to be in a compromising position."
The owl just shrugged it's wings.
"So when do you plan to go? I am willing to help you as long as I can meet that Kaleid person."
Dream stared back to the owl's scarlet eyes.
"You can change my hair color?"
"Easy! I recommend going blonde as we are going to Diamond Country where blonde hair is pretty common."
"You can change my eye color?"
"Hmm, blue will be great with blonde and it will make you look holy."
"How about your appearance?"
All the feathers at the back of owl stood up.
"I will not change my majestic and beautiful appearance, that is why you should look holy!"
"So, they don't call me a witch? Because my appearance right now together with yours are perfectly looking evil?"
"Child! You should learn that speaking the truth is not always good! Hmp! Get some rest now, so we can make better plans tomorrow."
The owl flew and gently grab the tattered blanket and covered Dream with it. Dream hugged her blanket and pillow, and for once she feel relieved.
Her new ally seems quite reliable.
.....
"It is not a bad idea."
Anne and Lunard flinched from the comment of the voice from the man sitting at the throne of the Spadian King.
"Why...?" Anne could not help to question the man she loves even though she did not meant to.
"Hmm, well I can for sure feel a power of a seal from the princess but it is as weak as Lunard's which means the seal is not complete on her body. She might not have met the qualifications and the seal is lying dormant. The seal have to resurface in full power so that I can take it."
"But that is immoral." Lunard whispered to herself, but the Duke ignored that comment.
"I cannot use Soliard for the task and Lunard here is imposible as she is a woman. It is great that a Duke family that supports you came up with such a great solution."
Lunard glanced to her side to see Anne trembling. Anne clenched her fist with her eyes wide open.
She realized that she wanted to hear different words from the man she respects and love the most. She wants assurance that everything will be bright and great after all of this, but that is looking grim.
"I heard the Duke have three sons, with three there will be a higher chances after all the duke of Cancer seems to have infertility issues in the past. I will leave it you how to proceed on this matter. You can say that you are marrying off the only daughter of the Spadian Royal to protect her."
"Th-..." Anne choked on her words.
Cale sharply assessed the woman's demeanor and find the situation hilarious.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, Anne! Why are you having second thoughts now? You think I did not know how you hated that child? You were full of jealousy and just upon seeing her you are wretched with hatred."
"I've nev-"
"You have been abusing her right? I don't have to see it, I know you are. You will kill the girl before she could give birth to the next seal bearer and I cannot have that. Marry her off. It will be good for our plans and the better the plan proceed the better it will be for our family."
Cale stood up and started walking to the teleportation circle that Lunard had drawn.
"Lunard you will be busy calming down the other dukes and make sure that the Clover Country does not hear any of this. Though that will not be hard as that country is completely closed off inside out."
Once the man, adorning the former Emperor's face, is gone. The two woman stood still in silence until Anne's legs give out and she slumped unto the tiled floor and started sobbing.
"Mother!" Lunard tried to caressed the despondent woman but Anne paid her no heed.
Anne continued to sob her feelings. She wanted to hear that it was a ridiculous offer from the Duke of Cancer. That Cale will plan to cut the head of that disgusting pig. However, that was not what happened.
Anne with her blurring vision stared back to the throne of the King of Spade. The tears continued to roll down on her cheeks.
She watched the millennial princess being raised with utmost care by his own hands. Anne was jealous and wretched her heart from the far distance but at the same time she felt relieved that she will feel the same affection when everything is over.
However that is all but fantasy. That man's affection has been burned by the light and is now nowhere to be seen. The light that used to be so warm and radiant now is just something that will blind everyone and will cause famine.
....
Dream is walking and hiding stealthily towards the castle's storage house.
"Are you really will be able to open the lock?"
"Stop doubting me child, the inside of every locks are infinite darkness, as long there is darkness, this mighty being is omnipotent."
Dream glanced at her shoulder where the bird is resting at.
"If you are such a great being why can't you just teleport us inside." Dream whispered to herself where the owl with god send ears could vividly hear.
"Shush child! More walking and we will get there way faster than teleport."
It seems that teleport spells consumes time and energy and that is why the bird is unwilling to do such things if they could do a long way but a sure way too.
"Teleport is something I will only do in case of emergencies. It takes so much energy and it will alert all the mages in the vicinity. It is hard to pinpoint the location too especially with your bad sense of direction and my former recluse life style."
"Is that means that if ever you used it because we had an emergency, we might end up in a lion's den?"
"There is a fifty fifty chance. So it is not worth the risk."
"Why not just teleport to the place you know well in case of emergency, like the central?"
"Nah uh, if I could, I will teleport nonetheless as I can teleport back right away but the central block such spells. It is to avoid for it being discovered by common mages."
"It sounds so complicated."
"Yes child, and the central's invisibility got stronger once that child started resting or more likely got hidden in there. It is all great though. I ain't complaining, it is like he is protecting my home for free. Though it ain't it's will."
The owl whispered the last sentence however Dream heard it well. Dream start wondering about the child the owl snidely talking about here and then.
"H-hey by any chance that child you were talking about is-"
"Shhh! Child! There are guards walking this way. Hide your skinny being further into this bushes."
The owl hurriedly whispered to Dream. The owl then covered Dream's face with it's black feathered wings.
"What are you doing?" Dream whispered.
"Sshhss..."
The guards passed by without noticing the two dark little beings.
"That was close! The Spadians knights are known to be the strongest in the Empire. Sometimes simply hiding will not hide your presence. Good thing you have me, I can hide you into the shadows."
"What a convenient power you have."
"Of course! What I told you, as long there is darkness my power is omnipotent."
Then Dream's mind was struck by a sudden question.
"How about Light?"
The owl brush Dream's face.
"Yeah, I ain't no match with Light. Good thing we are partners."
Dream was stunned for a bit. Does it mean that Light is the strongest seal? What if the reason that Light have not returned to Night's side is because the seal fell into someone's hands.
"Hey what if..." Dream was intrigued and wanted to ask.
But the owl cut it, like it knows what Dream wants to say but do not want to hear it.
"Nahh, Light is super strong, he will not be captured by a mere human being. You seal bearers are humans and Light and I are not because we are special beings left by the four angels. Even one angel will not match with Light because Light have the power of four."
"Hey, you say Light was created to be with you. Can Light be recreated?" Dream's curiosity is mainly focused on what if's. Dream wants to know if there will be alternatives if worse comes to worst.
"There are requirements but those are quite hard to be fulfilled as the body of Light have to be the original offspring of the angels. Light was the offspring of Heart and Spade."
"What?!"
"I told you that those two were lovers. Oh will you look at that! The shed have no guards."
With their sneaking and conversing, the two dark beings finally reached their destination. The owl excitedly flew to the door and started fiddling into the lock.
Dream still have lots of questions but she remembered the diary she threw under her bed. Dream decided that it is wise to study the Diary.
Dream then heard a click and she met the red moon eyes of the owl. The happy red moon eyes look at her excitedly and it's wings were motioning Dream to hurry up to see it's achievement.
Dream chuckled to herself and happily ran to the childish but elegant being. When the owl flopped back to her shoulder and Dream open the creaking door. They were welcomed by a dark and dusty room.
"Oh, I can't wait to loot out this room." The owl excitedly proclaimed.
"Uh, we only need a few things. A cape or a hood, a small tent, a source of light, insulated bags for foods and probably medicines?"
The owl flapped it's wings.
"No child! We need money too!"
"I do not think we can get money here. Moreover, I've been secretly harvesting the jewels off of my old dresses and my father's chambers."
"Oh what a smart child!" The owl complimented Dream and tried to rub her head as a gesture but Dream avoid it.
"Sorry, you migght accidentally unleashed your power and get rid off the curse."
"What a auspicious child. Do not worry, it seems like, the seal will not need my power in order to unleashed it's full potential. The curse is almost gone."
"Yes, I can feel it too. That means I have to leave soon before that happens."
...