When Astara and Leo walked into the dining hall they were greeted by a bunch of dressed up people sitting at a really long table. Like it was so long there were ten seats on each side.
Astara spotted Breanna Lynn near the front of the table with King Harold and Queen Chrystal. Her dark hair was pulled up in a tight knot, unlike earlier when she had it free and tumbling around her shoulders. The princess looked small next to her parents.
One of the castle staff members led her to her seat, which unfortunately wasn't near Leo's. Instead she had to sit next to two adults, one a man and one a woman. Both looked like they hadn't seen sunlight in years. The woman had ruby red locks and chestnut eyes that had dark circles underneath. The man was very tall with huge muscles. He was also very...hairy. He had chest hair peeking out of his tunic, an unshaven face, and long brown hair that was held in a ponytail.
They were both very strange.
Though neither of them spoke. They seemed to be frozen in place, though their eyes darted around at every little noise. And every movement they made was so slight and careful...it was like they were afraid of breaking everything they touched.
But Astara was forced to stop thinking about the strange pair when King Harold cleared his throat and stood up.
"I would firstly like to thank everyone for coming! We are honored to have all of you here in Castle BlueBay this evening! I hope you all enjoy the food our castle staff has worked so hard to prepare." The King greeted everyone.
Queen Chrystal stood up and hooked her arm through his. "We are also using this dinner to introduce a very special Cornacapian to you all. I think you will find that she is very bright and has great spirit. She's going to make a very fine Cornacapian."
Astara flushed as most of the guests turned to her. It was kind of obvious that she was the "very special" Cornacapian considering she was the only unfamiliar face at the table.
"But we will have a proper introduction after we dine. Sorcerer Moon and his apprentice Leo Wyatt will be providing our entertainment for tonight. Moon, Leo...take it away!" King Harold exclaimed gesturing towards them.
Astara was excited. She had never seen an actual magic show before! Though she was a bit curious on how it would turn out, Leo wasn't that great at magic yet, at least that was what she had gathered when he nearly electrocuted her when they first met. She really hoped Leo would do well, she was getting kind of tired of being in the middle of disasters.
Mr Daniels started to give his introduction. "Good evening to all! Today my apprentice and I will be doing...well I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise now would I? Just sit back, sip your punch, and watch the show."
He gestured to Leo, who was looking extremely nervous at the moment. Leo took a deep breath and then grunted like he was trying to lift a heavy object. His expression made Astara want to laugh but when he launched a purple galaxy of shining stars into the air, she was too amazed to laugh.
A night sky with swirls of purple and blue floated over their heads. The stars shined bright and it all seemed to be moving. It was absolutely breathtaking. Then Mr Daniels started to move his hands as if he were controlling puppets at a puppet show. Then dark shadows formed in the sky above them.
"A long, long time ago there was a land before this. A different Cornacapia that was much too similar like the one we have today. There was magic and joy throughout the land, there wasn't a care in the world." Mr Daniels began. The shadows formed into a large castle, unicorns, and trolls to illustrate the exquisite kingdom. But the the shadows quickly became much darker and sinister.
"But then Cornacapia's sorcerer changed for the worse. The bitterness and regret that had been stirring in his heart for so long began to surface. He lashed out on Cornacapia, killing everything and everyone in his way. We lost many Cornacapians that day, including Queen Willow and King Briton. History knows this man as...The Raven."
A dark silhouette of a large bird filled up the sky, crumbling the castle and creatures as it flapped its wings.
Astara began to feel...weird. A low buzzing was filling up her head and vision was starting to get blurry.
What's going on? She wondered, a bit panicked.
Come forth little star...
She whipped her head around but nobody was there. Who had said that?
Don't be afraid, you will shine bright with me...
She clenched her eyes shut and mentally told whoever was speaking to her to shut the heck up. She was trying to enjoy her roast goose.
I wouldn't ignore me...you can't escape me...
STOP SPEAKING TO ME! Astara screamed in her head.
Fine, then I'll show you...
A bright flash took out Astara's vision. One moment she was in the dining hall and the next she seemed to be living in sudden bursts of life.
One burst showed of a man in violet robes speaking to a man in a golden crown.
"My king if I may—"
"You may not Edmund, you are only the castles sorcerer, do not forget your place." The King warned the man in the violet robes.
Don't forget your place,
Your place,
Place.
I'm going to change my place.
Then the scene changed as quickly as it had formed and Astara was staring at the same two men except this time something was wrong. Very wrong.
King Briton stumbled back. He was injured and bloody and bruised. "Edmund stop this nonsense! We can work this out old friend! Please, just don't throw away your life like this!"
But the guy called Edmund just laughed. "Since when have you cared about my life Briton?! Since the moment I declared that I would destroy you and your family at all costs?! I thought you'd be happy, I mean after all, I'm following your orders."
"And what orders would those be?"
Edmund grinned evilly and then grabbed the weak king by his head. "I've finally learned my place, old friend."
Then with a sickening twist and crunch, King Briton was dead.
The scene flashed again and this time it showed—
"STOP!" A voice that seemed very far away screamed with terror.
Then Astara snapped back to reality.
꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂
When Astara awoke from her strange visions she found herself gasping for breath and her hands shaking uncontrollably. Luckily no one was paying attention to her, they were all paying attention to Breanna Lynn Clove who, Astara was guessing, had screamed.
Breanna looked weirdly horrified. She was as white as a ghost and her breathing seemed faster than usual. She looked just as Astara felt.
Wait that couldn't possibly mean that she had seen those strange visions too...right?
It can't be, your the weird girl and she's a princess, there's not that big of a connection there. She thought to herself.
King Harold looked alarmed. "Breanna dear what's wrong?"
But Breanna was speaking so fast that it didn't make sense at first. Then she took a shaky breath and turned to Mr Daniels.
"I saw something, something...terrible. What did you do?! How did you do that?!" The Princess asked desperately.
But Mr Daniels looked just as shocked. "I—I didn't do anything! I was just doing the usual show, the one you've seen a thousand times. I didn't do anything different your majesty!"
Breanna shook her head. "No, no...there had to be something! It—it was so awful!"
Queen Chrystal took Breanna's shaking hand. "My love maybe you should go to your room to get some sleep, I know you've had a very tiring week."
Hurt filled Breanna's eyes and she jerked her hand away. "You don't believe me?"
"I believe that you've been under a ton of stress this week and only you know what goes through your mind. Clearly something has upset you and maybe it's best if you turn in for the night." The Queen told her daughter gently.
Breanna's eyes shot to Astara. "She saw it too. I know she did. If you don't believe me I know you'll believe her." Her golden eyes seemed to plead with Astara to say something, anything.
But Astara couldn't bring herself to relive the horrifyingly vivid scenes that seemed to happen right before her eyes. Her mouth felt glued shut and for once in her life she had no desire to open it.
King Harold reached for his daughter's shoulder. "Breanna I—"
Breanna pulled away. "No it's fine. I'm just crazy aren't I? I guess the only way to protect me is to lock me back in my room and pat yourself on the back for your good parenting," She turned to Mr Daniels. "I saw something, okay? I don't know what it was but I think you do. I know you do." And with that she walked briskly out of the room, leaving the dining hall in a stunned silence.
꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂
Astara couldn't sleep that night. Every time she closed her eyes all she could see were the horrific things she had seen in those flashbacks.
The way the man snapped King Britons neck with a sickening crunch—
"Stupid brain! I told you to stop thinking about that!" She lectured her brain. Though it didn't listen, which made her very annoyed.
She was also very bored. She was so bored that she was dangling upside down off her bed and sticking her tongue out while cross eyed. It some weird way she found it very entertaining. After about fifteen minutes of doing this Astara's head felt woozy from the blood rush so she stopped.
She scowled. "I thought staying in a castle would be more interesting. Hmm I wonder if I'd be allowed to take a walk?" She had to laugh at that. "Allowed? Ha since when have I cared about being allowed or not? I'm hilarious!"
So she quickly and quietly slipped a simple green dress, since apparently pants weren't a thing around here. She knew that there were guards outside of Breanna Lynn's room, which was across the hall from her, so she would have to come up with a deep, complex plan to get past them.
Or she could just make a run for it. Yeah, that sounded a lot easier.
Astara slipped through her large blue door narrowly. She studied guards and, to her fortune, they were sound asleep.
"Man I thought these things only happened in movies!" She whispered with glee. Somehow she miraculously made it throughout the entire castle without being seen. Seriously when did her life turn out this good?
When she finally pushed through the back door of the castle, she sucked in the fresh, crisp, Cornacapian air. Back in Queens a breath of fresh was...well none existent. For the first few moments of Astara's stroll everything was peaceful.
Until the screams started.
A series of short, high-pitched screams came from the back of Castle BlueBay. Followed by a bunch loud, wild neighs and sprinting.
It was Breanna.
Astara didn't even have to see the riders face to know it was her. She immediately ran to the horse stables just to see a wild black stallion wildly sprinting. The small rider was screaming and shaking with fear.
"Fane! Stop it please! You have to calm down!" Breanna shouted pleadingly.
Astara had no idea what to do. Weren't there supposed to be guards on duty?! Why weren't they doing anything?! Surely they could hear all the chaos!
Breanna let out another scream. That was it, there was no more waiting for the guards. She was going to have to handle this herself.
"Hang on!" She shouted to Breanna. Which, for Breanna's sake, Astara really hoped that she could. Astara had never ridden a horse before, but what better time to learn when attempting to save a princess from possible death or severe injuries?
She sprinted into the stables stopped at the nearest horse she could find, which just happened to be small cream colored pony.
"Oh you'll have to do! Okay pony up, I have a princess to save." She ordered the pony.
The pony stared back at her blankly.
She groaned. "Listen we don't have time for this! Just...listen to me!"
Then something strange happened. The pony suddenly stood up straight as if it were in the military.
"Ummm okay then...bend down so I can hop on and ride you. Please." She added as an afterthought. She figured she should be more polite to this noble stead who was miraculously listening to her for whatever reason.
The pony bent down and Astara climbed onto his back. Another scream and strangled neigh sounded outside. She had to get Breanna quickly!
But seriously, why were no guards coming?
"Onward!" She shouted and the pony let out what sounded like a battle cry and charged out of the stables. Astara had to hold on tight so she wouldn't fly off. At first she wasn't sure how she felt about this whole horse riding thing. But after feeling the wind in her hair, the swiftness of the pony, and how free she felt, her hesitation was quickly replaced with exhilaration.
"Woohoo!" She whooped in spite of herself.
Focus Astara, you have to somehow get Breanna off that huge stallion. She reminded herself.
Here was the problem, Astara was riding a small pony whereas Breanna was riding a huge stallion. Somehow she would have to get Breanna off the stallion and onto the pony. It seemed pretty impossible.
Good thing she liked a challenge.
"Catch up with that stallion!" She ordered the pony. The small horse looked scared but charged forward anyway. Soon enough they were side by side with the wild stallion, which had been so calm earlier.
Breanna was barely holding on. When she saw Astara the fear in her eyes lessened a little. "Astara what are you doing?!"
"Trying to save you obviously! Although I'm doing a poor job of it!" Astara shouted. "Here, take my hand!" She stretched her hand out as far as she could without falling off. Breanna did the same and they were so, so close to succeeding, but at the last minute Breanna's stallion, Fane, reared back. Causing Breanna Lynn to loose her grip and fly backwards.
She was falling,
Falling,
Falling.
But Astara was not going to let her touch the ground.
"We have to catch her!" She yelled panicky. The pony sprinted forward but Astara wasn't sure if they were going to make in time.
Breanna was getting far too close to the ground for the comfort. They had to make it.
They had to.
The pony whinnied, as if telling Astara that there wasn't enough time. But she refused to believe that.
"NO!" She screamed. She wasn't sure what exactly she was screaming at. Maybe it was at her pony or maybe at the stallion for going crazy. Or maybe it was at gravity, for moving way too fast.
But whatever she was screaming at, it did something. Her scream did something. It was rather strange and confusing but Astara didn't complain as Breanna Lynn froze in mid air and stopped falling to her death.
"Uhh what's going on?!" The princess yelled, clearly panicked.
"I have no idea but let's not complain! I'm coming!" Astara rushed over toward Breanna's floating body.
Astara stretched out her hand and, for the first time, Breanna took it.
Sorry for the late update, I've been sick (not corona so don't worry). Hope you liked it!-Vanna✨