Book 1- The Ark of Time

Chapter 14

They bowed, being dismissed from the castle, "Straight home?" The teen gazed into the far distance, past the crowds of people in the capital to the mountains.
"Yeah, we've been out for too long." The woman grabbed onto Horatia's wrist, "Let's go."
Weaving past nobles and guards, they somehow passed the busy capital to the other outskirts, where Ruleum waited for them, "I still don't understand how it took both of you an entire day to go to the palace." He grinned, high fiving Horatia.
Cyra sighed, "The king requested it..." She walked through the door to the other side, "On the bright side, even though we spent a lot of time at the palace, we found some important information on who the wind magician is."
He stood, dazed, "Wow, that was easier than I thought."
The two women became quiet as the gateway clinked to a close behind them, "It's the king's daughter..."

"Sorry, what? The king has a daughter? Last time I heard, the only heir to throne was Aither? And he's an only child?"
Cyra facepalmed, "I guess you never needed the explanation, but her existence was hidden by the royal family for many years... They did not want to cause backlash within the community, particularly the nobles."
"For what?" Azar squawked, as they walked into the house.
"You see... She's..."
"She's... what?"
The woman looked over at Horatia, "I think it's better that I keep silent in case either of you say something unnecessary. Anyway, has anything happened while we were gone?"
"That's very suspicious, you know?" Brandon walked out of his room, approaching them quietly, "Well before I left, we had just realised that we haven't eaten anything in the past day."
"Of course you haven't, sit down, I'll make breakfast." She headed over to the kitchen, Aurora following close behind in excitement.

Ruleum was talking to Horace about something, "Hey! You should know I can control most of my magic now!"
The brunette whipped her around, "You can?!" She jumped up, embracing him tightly, "I'm so proud of you!"
The boy was being squeezed underneath her, "Wait, how did you get so strong in a day?!" She pulled back, smiling.
"I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders, "Something strange happened while we were in the capital though, I randomly come across this new spell that I never knew could be cast, but I did it anyway."
Suddenly, she realised that Azar was sitting on her shoulder, pecking her, "Show me!"
"Don't use magic this early in the morning..."
Both of them looked at him, "Time magic doesn't work that way." Ruleum turned to the girl, "Show me!"
This time, she pulled away, "No, I think Brandon is right. I shouldn't since it doesn't really affect time as a whole..."
"Come on! I can't with this!"
"I'll show it to you later!" Horatia laughed, trying to escape from him.

She was alone in the world, not a soul in sight, not a sound to be heard, there was no one there in her world. Her problems meant nothing to anyone but herself, where they gathered and broke loose, and all she could do was just talk about them. Until she stopped. And finally did something about them. That day, she walked up to her father and demanded that he accepted her way of life, and somehow, she had made it. The mask cracked, its fine details stripped away and replaced with something else. After years on that stage, she could finally bow to the world and begin her life behind the curtains. Her own life. To be accepted, to be free. For a long time, that was just a mere dream, and it still stands as only her reality. This time, the pale mask that adorned her face was not the same, this time, it was for revenge. "Rid the world of evil and destroy the Vesta family." Anger boiled within her blood, but maybe it was too hot this time.

"You remember the reason you're doing this?" The man's his silver eyes gazed at her in maniacal joy.
She turned around, lifting the mask up to her face, "Of course." In her mind, they were just another bloodline that had been led astray, "Let's go." She turned her head to look at the black owl on her shoulder, "Anemone?" The spirit flew down, turning invisible as she began to grow larger, "Thank you." The woman stepped onto the bird, gesturing for Dolion to do the same. He stepped on reluctantly, letting Anemone ascend, "I wanted to ask, I've never sensed your spirit."
"There is no reason to." He looked away, "Our spirits are not compatible."
Even though she was still curious, Celeste nodded, accepting his answer, "We'll be approaching them soon."
Time seemed irrelevant, all that mattered was that she got rid of them. It didn't matter how or even if they had done anything wrong; it just had to be done.

Dolion gestured for her to stop, "They're outside."
She turned around, surprised, "At this time?" He nodded, watching something move under the nearby trees, a blazing figure jumped out of the cover, making Celeste curious. "Should I get him and his spirit first?" She bore her weapons, their blades shining in the moonlight.
The man watched in silence, "I don't see why not." That was enough for the noble. She jumped down using the wind as a safety net, the sounds around her painting a clear image that she could almost see laid out in front of her.