The room itself was filled with women dressed in every color of the rainbow, dancing to the music of the orchestra. Speckles of gold fell from the ceiling like snow and coated every guest, making each individual look like they had been blessed by the sun itself.
Aurelia spotted her grandmother in the crowd and upon their entrance, her grandmother made her way up the grand staircase to where Aurelia and Ilaria stood. She was dressed in an orange ballgown, the color of the sunset, her most extravagant crown placed upon her head. “Are you ready?” She whispered.
Aurelia didn’t respond, her nerves growing as she twisted her hands, looking at everyone around her, wishing she could turn around and run to the quiet and safety of her room.
Clearing her throat, Elowyn waved her hand. The orchestra immediately ceased playing and the crowds of people quieted, turning to face the grand staircase, their eyes widening at the sight of their queen and an unfamiliar woman standing next to her.
“Welcome to the castle.” Elowyn’s voice echoed across the large room, calling everyone to attention. “It is wonderful to see so many familiar faces once more blessing these sacred grounds. May you enjoy the refreshments and fresh fruit signature of Calathis,” She gestured towards the terrace where a long table filled with drinks and fruits was splayed.
“However, this is no ordinary celebration.” She smiled at the crowd below her. “Please welcome home my lovely granddaughter, Princess Aurelia.”
The applause was deafening as Elowyn pulled Aurelia forward in sight of the hundreds of people at the bottom of the staircase and cheers echoed through the grand room. “Tonight, we celebrate her homecoming.”
The orchestra began playing a joyful tune once more and Elowyn took Aurelia’s hand, leading her down the staircase. Quickly they were engulfed by the crowd of dancing and what felt like hundreds of people coming up to the pair of royals, introducing themselves and pushing their way to their attention. It felt as if Aurelia had no room to breathe and she gasped for air, feeling as if she were suffocating, the crowd around her jostling her every which way.
Abandoning her grandmother to a group of women vying for her attention, she escaped to the terrace, where she gulped down a flute of champagne. If she were to make it through this chaotic evening of strangers, she would need some help. She gulped down the first glass, setting the empty one down and grabbing another, nervously glancing about at her surroundings.
Before she could finish her second one, her dread only lessening a small amount, a pair of giggling girls bumped into her and sent the rest of her champagne flying.
“Oh, no,” they gasped, watching as the champagne flute flew out of Aurelia’s hands, crashing to the floor, the liquid spraying across the group of them.
Before Aurelia knew what she was doing, out of desperation of quiet she summoned her magic and attempted to change something – anything – of her appearance before they recognized her as the star of the ball. She could just barely see blonde hair that now hid her usual auburn out of the corner of her eye before she focused on the women in front of her. The quickly fading sunlight was a blessing, for the increasing darkness added to the illusion.
“We’re so sorry,” One of the women, a blonde with long curly locks and donned in a vibrant green dress, easily one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen, murmured as she leaned down to dab the spot where it had spilled on Aurelia’s gown.
“Oh, it’s alright,” Aurelia said quickly. “As long as you get me another glass.”
The other woman, this one dark-haired and much more simple in a plain champagne dress and natural hair loose on her shoulders, laughed, the sound of it so rich and joyful Aurelia couldn’t help but smile too.
“I am on it.” She said, moving back towards the table with a tower of drinks and picking up three, one for each of them.
“I’m Calandra,” The blonde woman introduced as she stood to shake Aurelia’s hand.
“I’m Brina,” The dark-haired woman added as she placed another champagne flute in Aurelia’s hand, smiling at her. The two women couldn’t be more different – while Calandra was dressed to perfection, pearls adorning her ears and a diamond necklace around her neck, Brina wore no jewelry nor makeup, opting for an all-natural glow.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Aurelia said, smiling. “I’m…” Her mind went to the first name she thought of so that they couldn’t mistake her for anyone else. “Evora,” She introduced, stealing her mother’s identity to keep her own a secret.
They smiled at Aurelia. “Lovely to meet you. Your dress is beautiful,” Calandra gasped, taking a sip of her champagne, nodding approvingly at the handcrafted, golden gown.
Brina nodded in agreement. “We were just about to get out of here. Did you want to come with us?”
Aurelia tilted her head. “ And go where?”
Brina and Calandra looked at each other and shrugged. “Wherever the night takes us, of course.”
Aurelia only hesitated for a moment before agreeing to the adventure. “Let’s do it.”
By now, the sun had sunk beneath the horizon and the stars were starting to appear. She knew that if she went back inside with her grandmother, she would be stuck being introduced to people for hours on end. For once, she wanted to do something that felt like the old Aurelia. Just for today.
They walked to the edge of the terrace, and Aurelia nervously glanced around them, all of the other partygoers drinking and dancing, too distracted to notice their disappearance. Calandra swept her leg over the railing of the terrace and pulled herself over to the other side before beginning to climb down.
“Calandra!” Aurelia yelped, looking down at her retreating figure. “There’s an easier way, you know.”
Brina scoffed as she followed Calandra, winking at Aurelia before disappearing down the rock wall. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Aurelia chuckled before following suit, pulling off her heels and hiking up her dress to get over the railing before gently making her way down the cobblestone. Her bare feet landed in the grass that surrounded the castle’s gardens.
“This way,” Calandra called, motioning towards a pathway that led downhill. Brina and Aurelia followed suit, making their way towards the village, the bright castle lights fading behind them.
“So, Evora,” Brina said, turning to Aurelia as they continued walking, their bare feet on the cool, wet grass. “What’s your fancy for the evening? Enjoying the fresh outdoors? Dancing in the pub? Painting the stars in the sky?”
Aurelia tilted her head, her eyes focusing upon the stars that blinked down upon them, a small breeze whipping through their ball gowns.
“Oh, anything in the fresh air sounds perfect to me.” She sighed, inhaling the fresh air that emitted from the myriad of plants and trees.
“I agree,” Calandra added as they began to arrive in the village, the castle fading behind them.
The streets were much emptier than the last time Aurelia had been down in the town, surely because almost everyone was at the castle celebrating her arrival. The irony was not lost on her – though she couldn’t help the relief that had flooded her body as the sound of the chaos had faded.
At night time, the main square was just as spectacular, if not more so than the daytime. Orbs that looked like miniature versions of the sun floated along the main street lighting the cobblestones in front of them, the small streams of water reflecting the glowing light. The moonlight streamed through the branches of trees, illuminating the colorful plants littering the main street.
“Oh, how lovely,” Aurelia sighed, her eyes wandering around the town square and all of the shops that had closed for the night.
“I have an idea!” Calandra suddenly jumped. “Why don’t I go grab us some of those delicious donuts the lady at the local bakery makes? We could snack and look at the stars.”
“Wonderful idea, Cal,” Brina said appreciatively. “I could always go for one of those.”
“Will she be open?” Aurelia asked, motioning towards the dark shops. “I’m not sure if anyone is here.”
“Oh, she’ll open for me,” Calandra said with a grin. “Be back!” She rushed down the street, towards the shop on the far end of the square that had a striped awning and paint covering the windows.
Brina motioned for Aurelia to follow her to the left, through an alleyway to a grassy hill overlooking the valley below the city. The two of them hurried forward, finding an empty area of grass that had a wonderful view of the nature below the city.
“This spot will do,” Brina decided, plopping down. Aurelia sat next to her, her dress splaying out around her.
“So,” Brina began, turning towards Aurelia, a small smile turning up the corner of her lips. “Well, that is, Princess Aurelia, what in particular made abandoning your own ball so enticing?”
Aurelia froze at the confrontation, unsure of how she had discovered her hidden identity. “How--?”
Brina answered immediately, “Your blonde hair faded once we started climbing down the terrace.”
They both burst out laughing. “And I truly believed I was unrecognizable.” Aurelia’s shock was replaced with embarrassment and she chuckled at the absurdity, relieved her new friend did not despise her for the lie. “For the record, I only learned how to do that trick today. Give me a bit of slack.” Aurelia added, her smile fading. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it…I simply wanted to get away.”
Brina’s shoulders shook with laughter. “It’s alright, I’ve got enough magic expertise for the both of us—”
Aurelia’s laugh suddenly died in her throat.
There it was again.
She felt it, a familiar blanket of cold coating the land. The utter stillness; the silence overtaking the sound of crickets and trickling water. Brina and Aurelia made eye contact with each other, recognition dawning right before the screaming began.
They jumped up, rushing back into the village square to witness what one could only call a massacre. Brina immediately unsheathed two daggers that had been strapped to her thighs, throwing one to Aurelia who swiftly caught it as they took in the scene before them.
Another creature with the same red eyes was attacking that remained in the city square, the shop owners gathered in front of the beast in fear.
It was nothing like the bird-like monster that attacked Aurelia. This time, it resembled a reptile with black, scaly skin and spikes sticking out of the back down its spine, trailing down its tail to a ball of sharp spikes that it was currently whipping around the square. Aurelia could just barely see on the other side of the monster Clodovea and Mirela and a few other Royal Guards attempting to kill it, but they barely were able to defend themselves from its attacks, never mind overtake the creature.
Aurelia’s heart raced as thoughts whipped through her mind.
How had it gotten through the gates?
“Calandra,” Brina cried, watching as a flash of golden hair was thrown into the clothing shop. Brina turned to Aurelia, her eyes wide but calm despite the chaos.
“Help her,” Brina commanded, turning towards the beast. “I will help with the monster.” She turned to Aurelia’s unmoving body, still from fear of the beast before them. “We can’t risk losing you, Aurelia. Go.”
Aurelia shook off her fear, embracing her task at hand. With her dagger in hand, she scrambled towards Calandra’s unmoving body amidst the wreckage the creature had created among the shops.
Aurelia glanced back at Brina and pride flashed through her as she watched her newfound friend fight fearlessly among the Royal Guards, her fighting prowess establishing her an equal among the warriors.
Brina stood tall in front of the attacker, her dark hair whipping in the wind with not an ounce of fear in her body. She looked as if she were made to be a warrior, moving gracefully around the creature, her eyes narrowed and focused on the evil before her.
With grace she launched an attack on the horrifying reptile, her dagger in hand, joining the warriors as they worked to defeat the monster of night.
“Calandra? Calandra.” Aurelia murmured as she kneeled in front of her body, her one perfectly curled hair now stained with blood that pooled from her body.
Her face was cut from the glass she had landed on and blood seeped down one of her arms, but that was the worst of it. Aurelia forced herself to remain calm despite the panic that threatened to envelop her. She had only learned the most basic of solar magic, but she would be damned if she didn’t at least try to heal her like stories of solar magic foretold.
Aurelia gently placed her hands on Calandra’s body and closed her eyes, searching for that tiny gold thread she had practiced so much with Rehema. Like before, it now was right beneath her skin, ready for action. Gently, she pulled the thread into her hands and pushed the pulsing energy into Calandra, imagining the tiny golden thread stitching together Calandra’s wounds and piecing her friend back together.
Calandra moaned and Aurelia opened her eyes to find the worst of the wounds looking a bit better, though not healed completely. “Calandra,” Aurelia gasped and leaned down to hug her. “Are you alright?”
Calandra winced in pain, her face pale. “Could be better...” She paused at the sound of the fighting that went on behind them.
“Brina,” she whispered, and Aurelia turned to watch as their friend just barely dodged the tail of the creature. Clodovea and Mirela took the other sides of the creature, each stabbing and throwing balls of fire towards whatever open skin they could. Black blood oozed into the cobblestone when Aurelia’s mind went back to when she had been attacked and Dinevra’s words – few weaknesses, unless taken by surprise.
“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Aurelia asked Calandra as she stood up.
“Yes, I’m fine, I—No, what are you doing? Evora?”
Aurelia began walking towards the guardstower, only about twenty feet away. She turned back to Calandra, straightening her back. “It’s Aurelia.”
Aurelia ran to the guards post, climbing to the top where there sat a forgotten bow with three arrows.
Only three chances.
She hastily bent down and picked up the bow, arming it with an arrow and turning to point it directly at the beast. She only had three chances to shoot him in the head. Her hands shook from the nerves, unable to still from the cries of pain that were occurring before her eyes,
Taking a deep breath, she pulled the bowstring back, aimed, and then let it go. It hit the creature in the neck, and it roared deafeningly in response.
Two chances.
She armed the bow once more, took a deep breath, pulled, aimed, and then let go. This time it grazed its head, too distracted by the magical fire the warriors flung at it to notice.
One chance.
She took one more breath, steadying herself, transporting back to the training room with Clodovea where they had practiced shooting arrows for hours until her fingers had been rubbed raw from the bowstring.
Aurelia closed her eyes, opening them to focus once more on the beast, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she pulled the bowstring back. Aurelia aimed this time a bit higher than her two tries from before and waited for her best chance.
There.
She let the arrow fly.
It hit the creature in the mouth and it howled in pain, which was just enough of a distraction for Clodovea to stick her dagger directly through the roof of its mouth and up into its brain.
Dead.
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