Afterlife

• Chapter Seven •

Light filtered in through an open window on the other side of the room.

     Celestia’s eye was blurry from sleep when she finally awoke from her deep slumber. Her arms stretched out in front of her as she sat up in the bed, slightly jostling the girl beside her. “S’that you?” Arielle’s voice was laced with exhaustion, her red hair spewed out in all directions and her blue eyes glazed over as she looked up at the Keeper tiredly. “Yeah, keep sleeping if you need to, I’m just getting up,” Celestia spoke somewhat in a whisper, gently crawling out of the bed to not disturb the princess. However, the efforts were only left in vain. 

     “No problem,” Arielle let out a big yawn, “I need to get up too. Besides, we have a big mission today.” Celestia cocked her head to the side, “mission? Wha- Oh, that mission. I already forgot.” She had to see Viola today. She had to confront the mysterious girl about the watch and what it was she wanted from Celestia. Arielle must have noticed the slight tinge of fear creep onto Celestia’s face as the girl suddenly placed a hand on the Keeper’s shoulder. “It’ll be fine. You have escape routes if anything goes wrong. If you feel like you’re in danger, just teleport right out of there.”

     “What should I even say to her? I can’t jump right into it, can I? Or is that what she wants?” Celestia scooped up her discarded clothing off the floor, mentally debating whether or not to put them on again. “No. I say you let her drive the conversation. She will have to know what you’re there for, so maybe she’ll allude to it. The main problem we have is finding her… you said she lived close by, right? Maybe she lives out in the forest outside of the kingdom.” 

     Celestia put on her suit jacket, despite having worn it the day prior. “I’ll walk through the village area before heading to the forest. Something tells me she won’t be too hard to find… what should we tell the others?” Arielle held out Celestia's shoes for her, a goofy grin crossing her features. “We’ll explain it to them, besides, they can’t say ‘no,’ this is technically a mission given to you by the princess.” Celestia chuckled, grabbing the shoes from the princess’s hands. “That is true. How much do you plan to tell them?” Arielle hummed, rocking back and forth from her toes to the heels of her feet.

"While Celestia was out, she met this girl who gave her this."

    Two of the three Keepers gasped in unison. Celestia and Arielle had finally agreed upon what should be discussed when they met the others. Whether or not they all could be trusted, Celestia could only hope Arielle knew them all well enough to trust them with everything.

     Arielle held out the worn pocket watch for everyone to see. Millie, whose eyes once were completely black, were now sparkling in awe at the object. "Where did she get this? It looks used… oh! And it has your mother's logo on it!" Celestia dug into her pocket, revealing the other watch to the others.

     "I met this girl… she had a bat soul like me, which was super shocking at first. Despite her calm appearance, her ears were twitching and she seemed very hesitant. She told me she had just moved close by recently with her girlfriend, Paige. Arielle and I assume she might live out in the forest. Before we split, she gave me a hug and put the watch that's in Arielle's hand into my pocket. If we're not mistaken, that watch and this one are the same watches." 

     "What do you plan to do? This might be a trap, maybe she wants you to seek her out." Ethan's voice was laced with worry. The curls of his pink hair began to sprout a few blue flowers as he looked at Celestia with eyes that screamed, 'don't go.' "That is a possibility," Celestia started, "but it's a risk I have to take. These watches have to be a sign of something. Maybe… maybe she’s trying to tell me something. Whatever it is, I have to find out."