All Shades of Magic

All Shades of Magic - Chapter 3

I woke up early the next morning to the sound of my balcony opening. As I lifted my head sleepily, the figure of Kimi became visible and I sat up straight, combing my hair with my fingers and trying to look unembarrassed.

"Hey sleepy head," Kimi sang. "Rise and shine!"

"Gimme a second," I grumbled, lifting myself out of bed and stretching.

"Here, put this on," Kimi said, handing me a villagers plaid plaid-skirted dress and white bandanna, as well as a pair of old boots. "It's a disguise," Kimi explained.

I took the outfit and got changed quickly in the bathroom, doing up my hair so my golden-bronze colored hair barely showed behind the bandanna. The only thing I was worried about now were my eyes, which were a sort of light teal color, but hopefully no one would notice that. Just in case though, I reminded myself to add a slight amount of dirt to my face to draw attention elsewhere.

I came back into my bedroom and saw Kimi had changed too into an almost identical outfit. Her hair was still bright and fiery, but the dark brown sort of top hat. Her outfit was similar to mine, although instead of a black plaid hers was red which was not helping disguise her hair at all. She noticed I had returned and came over to survey the outfit.

"Looks good Val," She commented, holding my waist and turning me around to make sure I had gotten the buttons that go up the sleeve of my arm. I could swear the butterflies were elephants in my stomach. "Alright, so how are we getting out of here?"

"We take the servants' corridors, they're hidden in the walls. They're also abandoned due to the fact the servants almost never use them," I said. "Since the palace is so empty," I added for clarity. Also because the silence felt too... too something.

"Ok then lead the way princess," Kimi replied. And I did. We snuck out into the hall and into the nearest servants door where we walked until we ended out the side of the palace where we get food deliveries from farmers. I took a deep breath of air and made sure I looked like a villager before we started our walk down to the border.

As we walked we saw people working, kids playing, adults chatting, and some kids even rushing off to school. I looked at the houses and the farms happily. I liked seeing my kingdom, I never got to. Kimi was also soaking in the surroundings, but I think she was more seeing the people than the kingdom itself. I guess I never registered that even though she came here a lot, it was always dark. She was technically seeing the village alive for the first time.

We chatted subconsciously as we walked, trying to keep an airy vibe and also not draw unnecessary attention from the friendly villagers. A few peeked up as we walked by or asked us to look at their shops but none really bothered us. Until we were about 20 minutes from the border and a young man approached me.

"Hello young maiden, I couldn't help but spot you from my shop. You are quite eye-catching," He said. "My name is James, James Soren," My stomach flipped. No one. I repeat, NO ONE had ever flirted with me before. Nonetheless a boy whose mother I stole pies from!

"Lovely to meet you," I replied, faking an accent. "I am... Hannah," I said, coming up with a name just in time before it looked suspicious. "Do you happen to be related to Amma Soren?"

"Yes of course, that's my mother. I am surprised you know her name, and also surprised we have never met. Someone as gorgeous as you would have caught my eye earlier," James gushed. I caught Kimi staring daggers at him and smiled. Maybe she does like me. I blushed at the thought and I guess James took that differently than expected. "Do you wish to come inside? Have some tea?" he asked.

"No thanks," Kimi cut in, not even accenting her voice but applying fierce force. "We must be going to take care of some business,"

"Yes, but it was nice to meet you," I added, trotting off with Kimi before the man could say anything else. Once we were out of earshot, I whispered. "That was odd,"