Book 1- The Ark of Time

Chapter 13

"I see..." The brunette frowned, her eyes wandering to the ground, "Thank you for having us... We must leave now."
The woman smiled, "It is my pleasure to help you and your brother overcome this."
Immediately, the blonde paused, turning around, "I'm sorry, what?"
"The trees told me..." She reached for a pot plant that hid behind the couch, almost invisible, "You can't lie to an Earth magician..."
"I-I..." She clenched her teeth, drawing her lance, "I'm sorry, for this..."
The girl turned around instantly, she didn't want to believe what the Vesta was thinking of right now, "Cyra no!"
She swung her lance forward stopping at the woman's neck, "The house of Vesta silences you, with information that is forbidden to be known by the public."
"Don't!" Horatia pushed the weapon away and stood in front of the woman, her blades in front of her. A sword passed through the golden lance, freezing it in time.
Cyra was taken aback, "What difference does it make? " She let go of her weapon which was frozen in mid-air, "Now that you've revealed your power, we have to end her." Horatia paused time to turn around and look for a blade of light, she changed her spell to the time-slow spell to hit the light and freeze it in place.
The old woman smiled, "I guess I am in more danger than the time-bender right now... But you have no reason to kill me, despite the information I know."
"Enough!"

Cyra enchanted at least a dozen blinding blades around the woman, but Horatia was ahead of her, "Stop!" The blades stopped, a clear, yellow orb around each one, freezing them in place and letting the time outside of the bubble to continue. The girl's once red orbs glowed yellow, "Remove your spell right now and let the woman talk!" Horace leaped out of her coat, turning into a dragon.
The noble stepped back, her head held low, "Y-you-!"
"I have a bad history with the Ouranos, and they have become untrustworthy in recent years... The king himself is a good man, but it is the other royal family members. Many have been found guilty of heinous crimes, and the king's son is thought to have gone missing a few years ago. No one knows why he has not appeared in public." The woman stopped, looking up to check if Cyra was following, "The royal family took a lot from me and millions of others, so I ask that you avenge the souls of those who have died and those who have lost loved ones in return for keeping this information safe."
Sighing, the blonde woman hesitantly nodded, "I'm only taking your word for it since she wants to trust you. But if you break your promise, forget about avenging the people, I will avenge my brother and friend in the most painful way possible." She glared at the woman who until then, did not flinch even when she was nearly killed.

The two waved, leaving the shaken woman to recollect herself, "I feel betrayed." They exited through the front gate, "You ended up taking her side... We don't even know her. Do you know how dangerous that is?" Grumbling, she began to walk back, "No... What was I thinking?! We shouldn't have left her with the information she knows about you and this family."
Horatia grabbed her hand, "No."
"Do you realise how you sound like right now?!"
"I know it is dangerous, but even I can protect myself. If everyone around me doesn't get hurt, I'm fine with it."
"You don't know how dangerous this is!" She pulled her aside, away from the capital, "Look! It's not just you, it's Ruleum too! If anyone from the royal family finds out, you have no idea of the consequences, do you?!"
Horatia's lips were dry as she gazed at the woman, "I-I..."
"Look, you could be killed. Ruleum could be killed. Any of us could be killed. Is one life worth more than all of us?"
It festered within Horatia's stomach, her conscious cloudy as tears filled her eyes, "T-that's..."
"Is it?"
Her blood red orbs gazed at Cyra's golden ones, "No."

"Say, where did you learn that spell from earlier?"
"I didn't, it just... kind of happened in the spur of the moment, you know?"
"I'm surprised, that seems like a complex spell, but you just casted it, no effort required, no prior practice."
Horatia looked down at her hands, "I don't know, it felt like there was something tugging at me, and suddenly all your fast, light things just stopped in mid-air." She was now being dragged to a bookstore, "Why are we going to the bookstore?"
Horace immediately slithered down the girl and headed to a shelf in the back, "Books I can read!" She climbed up the top of the shelf, "Horatia can we get some?!"
"But I... Don't have any money..." The snake immediately fell silent, "Sorry..."
Cyra smiled, "I can buy a few if Horace wants them."
She looked up, "Can you?!" The spirit stretched over to the noble.
"Thank you, but we're good."
The woman shook her head, approaching the two, "Aurora will get sad if I stopped at that, which one do you want?" The snake jumped up onto the shelf and somehow pulled out a novel from the shelf, gesturing to it, "See? Horace wanted it, so let her go."
The girl nodded, "It's just that don't like the idea of you paying..."
Smiling, Cyra took the book from Horace, "It's fine, you're a friend, so I'm willing to buy anything you or Horace want as long as you don't go too far."