Yong wandered the ruins, climbing piles of crumbled bricks and disappearing behind stone walls. Something caught his eye as it blew in the wind; a banner hanging lopsided on the wall of one of the broken buildings. The boy climbed carefully over rubble until he reached the wall. Curiously, he held the banner down to stop it flapping in the wind. Upon it was an emblem bearing what Yong thought looked like an arrow head pointed upwards with three feathers sprouting out either side.
The young boy tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at the symbol.
"Admiring the emblem of my people?" A man's voice spoke and Yong spun around to see a green-eyed man with long brunette hair, pulled back into a bun.
"Uh...hi. I'm Yong- do you live here?" Yong asked with a friendly smile.
"My people used to." The man drew a sword and Yong's eyes widened.
"Oh. I think...I'm gonna go." The young boy jumped through a window on the broken wall beside him and a large man with tattoos and a big beard stopped him.
Yong huffed and took some firecrackers between his fingers, standing defensively.
"Maisie, get him!" The same voice from before called and before Yong could assess the situation, a woman with dreadlocks dropped down from atop the wall and knocked the boy to the ground.
"Not too shabby, huh?" Varian nudged Hugo, who had just finished checking over the wheel.
"Not bad, Goggles, not bad at all." The blonde grinned, adjusting his glasses.
"A compliment from you? I must've done a good job." Varian smirked.
"You fixed a wheel, V. I hate to say it's not that impressive."
Varian rolled his eyes then looked around, "Where's Yong? We need to get to the next village before sunset."
"He went exploring- I would have thought he would be back by now." Nuru looked off into the ruins.
"Let's split up and look for him." Varian looked between Nuru and Hugo and each of them nodded.
The group searched for Yong to no avail. Varian checked an empty stable for the boy then looked to the setting sun on the horizon. He hadn't heard from the others so it was unlikely they had found Yong either. Varian sighed and thought about heading back to the camper to regroup when something caught his attention from across the ruins.
He squinted his eyes at the red banner; he had to be sure he was seeing it correctly. He ran to it, tripping over rubble as he went. The boy smoothed his hands over the cloth and his eyes widened at the symbol upon it.
"Uh oh." He let out under his breath.
"Varian!" Yong yelled from behind him and the boy turned to see a group of Saporian's restraining his friends. Nuru was fighting against the woman with dreadlocks and a grey haired man with a top hat. Hugo had been lifted off of the ground by the large tattooed man and Yong was restrained by a little lady with a big hat covering her grey hair.
"Long time no see, friend." Andrew walked out from among the others and Varian looked between his friends,
"Are you guys ok?" He asked.
"I've been better." Nuru replied.
"Seconded." Hugo added.
Varian finally met Andrew's gaze,
"How did you...?"
"Escape? Well, luckily for us, we were being transferred from Corona's dungeons and managed to overthrow the prison barge."
"Let them go." Varian spoke again, reaching for his staff.
Andrew pointed a sword at him, the tip coming very close to poking his nose.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll surrender." Andrew told Varian, who stared back at him with unwavering bravery.
"Fine- I'll stand down, but let my friends go. This is between me and the Saporians. Leave them out of it."
"Why would we listen to your demands? We have you cornered." The small lady, Clementine, laughed.
A smirk flickered across Varian's lips, "Do you?" Varian whistled and chemical bombs began raining down on them. The Saporian's moved to dodge the attacks and Andrew caught sight of a raccoon with a rucksack running across the stone walls, dropping colourful orbs on them.
Hugo fought against the man restraining him, but he wouldn't put the boy down.
Nuru had been pushed by the man in the top hat into the trajectory of a pink orb and was now trapped, watching the little woman levitate Yong into the air, frozen in place, with the use of magic.
Andrew pulled back his sword, aiming at Ruddiger and Varian ran towards him as he threw it,
"Ruddiger!" The boy cried as the sword's blade graced the side of the raccoon, causing him to fall to the ground.
Varian ran to the animal as he laid in the rubble. Ruddiger chittered and the boy could see he was in pain,
"You'll be alright, buddy."
"Give up, Varian." Andrew retrieved his sword and pointed it at the boy once more. Varian glared and lifted Ruddiger into his arms as he stood.
The Saporian's led the four to what appeared to be an abandoned library. Andrew shifted an empty bookcase to reveal a trapdoor.
Beneath the trapdoor was a dungeon with Saporian banners lining the walls. Andrew lit torches while his followers chained their prisoners to the walls. The man turned to Varian, who watched his friends being chained up, a guilty look on his face.
"Oh, don't worry. We'll have no reason to harm them if you co-operate."
"What do you want from me? You said traitors of Saporia pay with their life- so kill me, and let my friends go." Varian responded, bitterly.
"I did want you dead; you cost us the destruction of Corona." Andrew growled and Nuru and Hugo looked to each other.
"But, I figure it's been almost three years since then..."
"So, you forgive Varian?" Yong asked, hopefully.
"Not exactly." Andrew replied, "But you could still be useful to us."
Varian raised a brow and Andrew grinned cruelly,
"Here's how it's gonna go. You make up more of that explosive chemical of yours and we'll let your friends go."
"Forget it, buddy." Hugo said and Andrew spun to face him.
"It isn't your choice to make." The man smirked.
"Don't do it, Varian!" Yong yelled.
"Quite the heroic friends you have." Clementine commented.
"Fine." Varian moved to face Andrew, "But if you don't hold up your end of the deal-"
"You don't have to worry about that. Once you've given us what we want, we'll have no use for your friends. Killing them would be too much trouble." Andrew joked and Varian glared at him.
Andrew escorted Varian back to the camper to collect supplies before returning to the dungeon. The pressure made it hard to work but he knew his friends' safety was in his hands.
"Hey- man-bun!" Hugo called and Andrew rolled his eyes before turning to look at him.
"It's Andrew."
"Yeah- whatever. D'you know who that is?" The blonde gestured his head to Nuru who furrowed her brows.
"Should I?" Andrew asked.
"Princess of Zephaeli."
"Really?" Andrew looked to Nuru, who nervously avoided eye contact, "What's a Princess doing so far from her kingdom?"
"Tryin' t'save her kingdom. Her dad, the king, really wasn't so big on the idea of her leaving home. If something were to happen to her, you'd have an entire kingdom as your enemy." Hugo explained.
"So you want me to let her go?" Andrew crossed his arms.
"I'm just tellin' ya how it is." Hugo shrugged.
"Maybe he's right." The man with the top hat suggested, "Is it worth the risk?"
"I don't see what trouble a Princess can cause us if we let her go." Maisie said and Nuru looked almost hurt.
"Fine. Let her go." Andrew told them.
Varian looked up from his work as the Saporians unchained Nuru.
"Take Ruddiger." He told her and Andrew glared, "Please? He's hurt."
Andrew rolled his eyes and handed the raccoon over to the Princess.
Varian glanced at Hugo. Whatever the blonde's plan was, it seemed to be working. Perhaps Nuru could find a way to save them; Varian had faith in her.
The Princess was taken from the dungeon at sword-point and told not to return if she knew 'what was good for her'.
Nuru watched as the Saporians disappeared back into their underground dungeon. She let out a shaky breath and her mind began racing. What now? What could she do to help the others?
She was outnumbered by far and if she stormed in there, they would surely just lock her up again. The girl steadied her breath and looked to the sky. The sun had almost completely set now and it was getting dark.
The camper, she thought. That was a good place to start. Maybe she could save them with Varian's chemicals or Yong's firecrackers.
The Princess rushed to the caravan, Ruddiger held tightly in her arms.
When she arrived at the camper, she placed Ruddiger carefully on the table and treated his wound while she thought.
"What am I going to do?" She finally asked, aloud. Ruddiger tilted his head at her and she attempted a smile.
"It's as though my worst fear has been recognised." She looked down, "I'm powerless- there's nothing I can do to save them...and it's all my fault- I should have gone after Yong, I knew something was wrong." She clenched her fists. Ruddiger chittered comfortingly and nuzzled her arm with his head.
Nuru petted the animal's head then began searching the trunk for anything useful. She had to put her feelings aside if she stood any chance at helping her friends.
When she came across the bazooka, she was hopeful, until it came to filling it. She had no idea how to fill the weapon, or what to fill it with. She couldn't help but be frustrated by this.
"It's hopeless..." She placed the bazooka back and caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window,
"Why can't you do something useful!?" She yelled at the window and Ruddiger's ears angled down.
Nuru took another steadying breath and opened the caravan door where she sat on the door step and stared up at the stars.
"Mother...I'm not sure if you can hear me, but..." The girl closed her eyes tightly, "I could really use your guidance. You had such control over your magic...I can't even seem to use mine." Nuru gritted her teeth, "The last thing I want is to let you down." The girl looked to the stars again. There was nothing for a while, then there was a shooting star. Nuru's gleaming yellow eyes widened as more and more stars shot through the sky. It was like nothing she had ever seen before, shooting stars glowing so brightly, they lit up her face.
"Mother...?" Nuru asked.
"Nuru..." A soft voice responded.
"Mother!" Nuru gasped, "Mother, I need your help- how do I use my magic?" She questioned, desperately.
"Nuru, my dear...you already are." The voice replied.
"I...I am?" Nuru looked down at her hands.
"Yes. You awakened your power quite some time ago." The voice told the girl.
"The Trial of Zephaeli..." Nuru raised her eyebrows, "Mother, you spoke to me."
"I did. And you used your magic to guide your friends to the end."
"My magic? But I thought it was the trial." Nuru looked puzzled and her mother's voice chuckled.
"My dear, that was you."
Nuru felt a heaviness lift from her. She had used her magic without realising and had the capability to do so now.
"Mother...thank you." Nuru smiled softly and watched as the shooting stars came fewer and fewer.
"My Star...I regret that I had to leave you so soon in your life. I wish I could have been there to guide you.
But you must know, you could never let me down, and I miss you dearly."
"I miss you too, mother." Nuru sniffed, a wide smile on her face.
The shooting stars stopped, but one star appeared in the sky, glowing brighter than the rest. Nuru gave an overjoyed laugh and looked down at her hands, which she clenched into fists. Then she remembered why she was there. Her friends needed her.
"How much longer, friend?" Andrew asked, standing over Varian as he mixed chemicals together. The boy furrowed his brows as the man blocked his light,
"I think we're past 'friend', don't you?" Varian shot back. Andrew rolled his eyes, "Get back to work."
Varian sighed, glancing over his shoulder at Andrew, "You're in my light."
The man scoffed and moved aside, "Seems you've developed an attitude since we last saw each other."
"Do you want this Quirinium or not? I need silence to concentrate." Varian removed his goggles and he and Andrew glared at one another.
"Wow. You really made him cranky." Hugo grinned.
"I need to pee." Yong told the blonde.
"What d'you want me t'do about it, Sparkles?" Hugo rattled his chained hands slightly.
"I'm just sayin'." Yong pouted.
"Maybe y'should get better control over-"
"You need quiet but you can put up with this?" Maisie asked, gesturing to Yong and Hugo.
"You learn to tune it out." Varian huffed, pulling his goggles back on.
Nuru made her way back to the ruins and into the abandoned library. She didn't exactly have a plan, but hoped she could get ahold of her magic enough to take out the Saporians.
The Princess held her hand out, fingers flexed and took a deep breath. She focused all of her energy into that arm and the bookcase covering the trapdoor.
"Come on..." She murmured and closed her eyes tight. She saw light through the lids of her eyes and opened them wide.
A circle of pure light began forming in the air in front of her. Nuru gasped and put out her other hand. Constellations began to form within the circle and it glowed brighter.
The Princess narrowed her eyes, not looking away from the magic once, despite the brightness.
Slowly, her palms met and she directed the energy towards the bookcase. The magic shot at it like an orb which erupted into a blast of light.
"What was that!?" Andrew pointed his sword towards the trapdoor and small stones crumble from the ceiling.
Everyone looked up and stayed quiet to listen for something else.
"Check it out." Andrew demanded. Maisie and Clementine nodded and climbed to the trapdoor. The man turned to Varian, "If you try anything-"
"Hey, this has nothing to do with me." Varian responded, innocently.
"For the sake of your friends, it better not."
Nuru hid behind a pillar as soon as she heard commotion below. Two woman appeared from the trapdoor. They scanned their surroundings.
"Split up and scope the area." Clementine demanded and Maisie nodded. Nuru bit her lip and watched as the women went off in different directions.
Clementine drew near to where Nuru was hiding, so she knelt down and focused her magic through her arms and into her fingertips as she had before. The short woman searched the area but by the time she had spotted Nuru, the Princess beamed an orb of light at the woman, sending her flying across the room.
"Who's there?" Maisie yelled, drawing her sword. Nuru stepped out from behind the pillar. Standing made her a little dizzy but she shook away the feeling.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Nuru swept one hand across her line of vision and knocked a bookcase over onto the other woman, knocking her unconscious. The girl huffed a sigh and shook her head of the drowsiness,
"Two down."
"What's going on up there?" The man with the top hat asked and Andrew gritted his teeth.
"Kai, Juniper- go; and don't let you guards down." Andrew ordered and the men left the dungeon.
"Whatever's up there's really takin' out your goons." Hugo grinned.
Andrew turned to the blonde, he showed a slight nervousness before turning to Varian again,
"How much longer?"
"I'd be done a lot quicker without all of the noise and distractions." Varian muttered and there were more crashes and thuds from above.
Andrew furrowed his brows and made his way over to Yong. The young boy looked to Hugo, nervously.
"What're you doing?" Varian asked, rising from his seat.
Andrew unchained Yong and grabbed him, pointing the sword at him.
"Let him go!" Varian growled.
"Unlikely. I think it's that Princess friend of yours up there." Andrew smirked, turning to Hugo, "I have to say it was a good plan- I never suspected a girl like that to cause us trouble."
"Hey- you got me; she's surpassed my expectations too." Hugo said, calmly, "But I'm the one who tricked you into letting her go-"
"But I bet you're not so easily restrained." Andrew spat, holding Yong close with the blade of the sword held against his neck.
Varian's eyes widened and he took a step towards Andrew.
"Don't take another step." Andrew shot a look at Varian, who froze, staring at the fear in Yong's face.
Hugo assessed the situation; if he only had something to pick the locks, he wouldn't be so helpless. There wasn't much he could do from the wall and Olivia was nowhere to be found.
He looked to Varian, hoping he had some plan of action but the boy was completely frozen. He looked terrified. He had never seen Varian look so scared. The blonde gritted his teeth then exhaled deeply, addressing Andrew with furrowed brows, "Who's t'say whatever's happening up there has anything to do with us? Let him go; he's just a kid."
Andrew ignored the blonde and watched the trapdoor. Hugo looked to Varian, desperately, but the boy didn't catch his gaze.
Then the trapdoor rattled and Andrew tensed up, Yong grabbing at the man's arm.
The door flung open and Maisie fell down into the room. She grunted as she landed on her hands and knees.
"Maisie?" Andrew lowered his sword and Yong ran to Varian and hugged him tightly. This appeared to bring him back from wherever his mind was and he held tightly onto Yong.
"What's up there?" Andrew asked and before the woman could respond, Nuru jumped down and landed beside the woman, holding her hand out towards the man,
"Drop the sword." The Princess demanded. Hugo looked the girl up and down, noticing she was seemingly weaponless. Andrew dropped the sword and backed up, trying to move closer to Varian and Yong.
"Stop where you are!" Nuru told the man, a ring of light forming in front of her. Everyone stared in shock as constellations began twinkling within the ring.
"Magic?" Andrew's eyes widened. Before he could say another word, Nuru blasted the light at him, sending him back against the far wall and knocking him unconscious.
"Is everyone alright?" Nuru asked quickly, moving towards Varian and Yong. Both boys looked shaken, their eyes gleaming with tears. The Princess placed a hand on each of their shoulders and rubbed them comfortingly, "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner-"
Varian wrapped his arms around the girl tightly and she felt Yong join them.
"Let's get back to the caravan." The girl moved away and smiled.
Varian and Yong gathered his equipment while Nuru unchained Hugo from the wall.
"That was pretty impressive." The blonde said. He was completely genuine, which made Nuru smile.
"Thank you...I think finally have control over my magic." She unlocked the cuffs with a key she found on Andrew's belt, "It feels good."
"I bet." Hugo grinned slightly and so did Nuru.
While none of them were really paying attention, Maisie pulled herself from the ground and grabbed Andrew's sword, "For Saporia!" She yelled and ran towards them.
Nuru reacted quickly and sent a beam of light magic her way. The woman flew into the opposite wall and fell to the ground, knocked out.
"Nice shot." Hugo chuckled. Nuru smiled but her head felt as though it was spinning and everything was getting fuzzy. She faltered slightly and Hugo raised a brow.
"You ok?" He asked, and just as he did, the Princess collapsed into him and he caught her.
Varian and Yong looked over at the others and Yong's eyes widened,
"Is Nuru ok?" He ran over.
Hugo checked her pulse then nodded,
"She's just exhausted. Using magic like she did can really drain you." The boy huffed then lifted the girl over his shoulder, "Let's get outta here." He smiled.
Varian didn't feel right about leaving the Saporians after everything that had happened. He thought they should alert the guard or something, but it was late and everyone wanted to get back to the camper more than anything.
Luckily enough, by the time they had gotten to the camper, there were a group of Royal Guards from Corona waiting for them. Hugo agreed to speak to them after he had put Nuru to bed. Varian still wasn't completely 'there'.
The guards explained that there had been reports of loud crashes and bursts of light so they came to check it out. Hugo directed them to the Saporians hideout and watched as they set off.
When the blonde entered the caravan, Yong was already fast asleep beside Nuru and Varian was sitting at the table with Ruddiger, stroking him absent-mindedly.
"Hey." Hugo said softly and took a seat beside the boy.
"Hey." Varian responded, quietly.
"That was...intense." Hugo leaned back in his chair, "The Princess really showed those Saporians, huh?" He smiled. Varian didn't respond so Hugo looked to him, furrowing his brows,
"Goggles?"
"I couldn't do anything. I- It's like I froze up. Yong was in danger and I just stood there."
"What else could you've done?"
"Something- I could have tried talking Andrew around like you did, but..." The boy sighed and slammed his fist on the table.
Hugo's eyes widened as Varian stood. The boy closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists tighter.
"V, what's important is we all made it out safe, right?" Hugo stood. Varian shook his head,
"Nuru came to me and told me she didn't feel useful. But tonight she proved herself wrong. And what did I do?" Varian gritted his teeth and Hugo walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey..." The blonde tried to meet Varian's gaze, "Don't let what happened tonight undo all of the good you've done. You couldn't do anything tonight, but there've been times you've been the one to step up...right?"
Their gazes finally met, though not for long before Varian pulled Hugo into an embrace. The blonde held onto him tightly and the quiet of the caravan was broken again by Varian's voice.
"I wish I was more like you. You didn't panic at all...you never do." His voice was muffled by Hugo's chest.
"Comes with years of practice bein' in tight situations." The blonde chuckled."It's...probably none o'my business, but why did you freeze up like that? Seemed like somethin' got to you."
"Let's just say I've...regrettably...been on both ends of a hostage situation."
"Right. Hit a little close to home?"
"Something like that." Varian sighed. When Hugo finally moved away, he took notice of the tiredness in Varian's eyes.
"You should get some sleep. I figure the donkey's had enough time to rest, so I'll make sure we get to the next village before morning." Hugo told Varian. The dark-haired boy thought about arguing but felt too tired to dispute the blonde.
"Alright." He nodded, "Be careful. It's not always safe to travel at night." Varian walked to his bed.
"I know where the bazooka is if I need it." Hugo grinned and he thought he saw a smirk on Varian's face before he pulled the blanket over him.
Hugo climbed to the roof and sat on the front seat of the camper, flicking Prometheus' reins.
Olivia accompanied him and squeaked in the boy's ear.
"Liv! Where've you been? Coulda used your help today." He furrowed his brows and the mouse squeaked.
"You were with the raccoon? Guess you two really are getting along." Hugo smirked.
Olivia moved down the boy's arm to sit on his hand. She squeaked yet again.
"Yeah...everyone's fine. The Princess actually saved us all...who'd've thought."
Olivia squeaked.
"Yeah, yeah...Little shaken up but we talked and I think he'll be fine."
Olivia squeaked again, wrapping her arms around herself, imitating a hug.
Hugo grinned,
"I know."