𝕷𝖎𝖋𝖊'𝖘 𝕬 𝕼𝖚𝖊𝖘𝖙 | 𝐅𝐓𝐑𝐒 ✔️

Jilly....(Kayla P.O.V)

⊱ ────── {.⋅ 𝔼𝕕𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕕 ⋅.} ────── ⊰

This was bad. This was really bad. 

Maxine was missing. 

She wasn't a very big part of our plan, but she was still our friend, and we brought her here and we were going back with her. 

"No sign of her. What have we done?" Gilly groaned and sat down on a stone. 

"Maybe it's time to use a spell." said Auriana, putting her hand on Gilly's shoulder. 

"It's the best chance we have. Do we have anything of hers? Jewelry? Shoe?" asked Talia. 

"Well, we found this bead." Jocelyn opened the palm of her hand to show what she meant. Inside was a pearl the size of a ping-pong ball. 

"Great. Now Gilly, Auriana, let's do this."  Ollie moved closer to Jax. 

"Jilly....." he whispered in Jax's ear, trailing off. Jax slapped his hand. 

"OW!" he rubbed his hand. Jocelyn and I just laughed. 

Auriana took the pearl and place it on the ground. The girls held each other's hands and surround the pearl in a circle. 

"Crystal Locatum." the girls chanted. The pearl rose up into the air their magic circles appeared under their feet. It formed into yellow ball and hovered straight towards the castle. The faces of the princesses turned pale. 

"Amaru, transform." Talia instructed. Amaru glowed and turned into majestic pegasus and everyone's jaws dropped (except for Talia, Auriana, and Gilly of course). 

"I-" Jax started before Gilly put her finger to his lips. 

"Hush, we know, pretty crazy. But thinking you've been through a lot this past week, process it in your brain and not with words."she said sweetly. Is this Jilly I'm witnessing right here? I had no choice to let out a squeal the same time Ollie did. We both looked at each other. 

"You all stay right here, we'll see where this leads and then come back." Talia instructed. Jocelyn opened her mouth to process but Auriana cut her off. 

"It's best that you stay here." she said quietly. Auriana wasn't as upbeat as she normally was. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was droopy, even with the magic transformation. Jocelyn thankfully noticed Auriana's mood and stayed quiet. 

The girls hopped onto Amaru and he flapped his wings, taking off into the air. They flew farther and farther away until they were just a peck in the sky. 

---

30 minutes later, the girls came back looking very distressed. Gilly hopped off Amaru and started pacing.

"Praxina-Maxine-locked-dungeon-castle-couldn't-get-to-her-" Gilly panted, transforming back into her regular self. 

"We were so close!" Auriana yelled frustrated. 

"But we couldn't get near. There was a protection spell, and we couldn't get close enough, because Maxine attracted one of Praxina's moths by banging her hands against the cell cage." Talia rubbed her temples and transformed back. 

Jax, Ollie, Jocelyn, and I winced. Maxine had a thing for being loud when she needed to be quiet at times. 

"UGH!" Auriana groaned. She transformed back, her hair wilder than ever and her eyes going crazy. She marched to her tent and zipped it up. 

"What's up with her?" Jocelyn asked. 

"Well, you see, Auriana was keeping up a protection spell all night to keep us safe. And as a result, she didn't get much sleep, which made her pretty tired." Talia explained. 

"Why could you do it, you know, since you're the strongest princess?" Ollie asked, focusing on Gilly. 

"Shields and protection spells are Volta's thing. Ephidia's more harmony and peace." Gilly explained. 

"And Xeris?" I asked. 

"Xeris is power and strategy. We have the greatest army, and we're probably the greatest ally to have in a battle." Talia explained while pouring herself some water. My mouth formed an 'o'. 

Jax sat down on the bench next to Gilly.

"I guess we could execute the plan without Maxine. We just need to figure out how to get past the barrier to save Maxine as well." he thought out loud. 

"Auriana could do it. She just needs to regain her energy. A few hours of sleep should do her good." Talia said. 

"And that's why you couldn't get past the barrier?" Jocelyn asked. 

"Well..." Gilly trailed off, looking into the distance. "There were also booby traps." she said quietly. 

"Oh." Jax looked defeated.

"If only we could study the traps somehow. And find a way to- Wait, Talia, remember that spell which allowed us to get our stuff from our rooms." Talia nodded. "What if we used that same spell so we could study the traps?" Gilly and Talia's faces brightened. Gilly gripped Jax by the shoulders. 

"Jax! That's it! You're a genuis! I could kiss you!" Jax's eyebrows shot up. 

"Oh. I-I meant, like-"

"No, no, I'm pretty awesome." Jax said, smirking. Gilly's jaw dropped. She slapped the back of his head and crossed her arms in victory. Jax groaned and rubbed the back of his head. 

During the time that Jax and Gilly were teasing each other (ahem, flirting), Talia had made the simulation. 

"There we go. As accurate as can be." Jax took one look at the traps and his eyes widened.

"That's impossible." He stood up so he could see the floor properly. "These are the dungeon traps in Rose's castle. They must have the same traps since there enemies. I've been through these traps before with Snow's little brother, Heath. And I know exactly how to go through them." Jax said, a smile now on his face. 

Jocelyn showed visible confusion as well as Gilly. 

"Great! Then when do we attack?" asked Ollie. 

"As soon as Auriana is ready and it's night. Sneak attack." Jax answered. 

Ollie cracked his knuckles, "Let's do this me hearteys."