Disappearance of Roselei Hawthorne

Chapter One

I am Kallen Earthbound, the world's most pathetic witch. Kallen let out a grumble as he scanned the passing crowd.

"Auntie Lillia, do you see anyone?" Kallen sighed. His legs were aching, and he wanted nothing more than to just sit down. He and his adoptive aunt Lillia had been standing in the same spot all morning in the Grand Hall looking for people willing to help them and their cause.

The Grand Hall was a large tower that closely resembled a castle. Its ceiling was so high that it needed to be supported by thick marble pillars. The architecture both inside and out was incredible, and the inside walls were lined with paintings of the royal family. The Grand Hall was where everything important happened. Young knights could apply to the royal guard, and young witches could join or form their own adventuring parties. Not only that, but preexisting parties could seek out new members here as well. There were booths giving out information, small tables selling clothing and magic textbooks, and lots of people.

"I see many people." Lillia said as she examined a potted plant.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Kallen groaned. "What are you even doing over there? We're supposed to be looking for allies not plants."
"Plants can be our allies." Lillia insisted. "Why don't we take these flowers with us? I'm sure they'll be very useful."

"Auntie!" Kallen shouted.

"Sorry Kallen, but I don't think anyone would be willing to help us. I mean, we're probably the only ones who think that-"

"Auntie Lillia, at the very least could you please just try to help me?" Kallen hastily interrupted Lillia, for he did not want her to finish her sentence.

"Kallen... " Lillia looked down at her shoes. Sighing, she moved to stand by his side. "Look, I know you don't want to hear it, but you have to admit that we're the only ones who think that there is more to your mother's death."

"If that's true, then we're the only people with half of a brain." Kallen crossed his arms as he eyed the crowd in front of them. People were bustling about, hurrying from place to place, moving too quickly to even glance at the poor young boy and young lady holding a sign that read 'looking for allies'.

"Well, to be fair, we were the only ones that really knew her. Most people thought she was... well... not 'well in the head' to phrase it lightly. Your mother was a powerful woman, but she made strange choices. To most people, what happened would make sense for the person they thought she was." Lillia softly patted Kallen on the shoulder. "What I'm trying to say is, don't get mad at them for not believing in her."

"I'm not mad at them. I'm just... I don't know. I don't understand how everyone is so willing to just listen to what they've been told. That story... the one the king made up, it's bogus!" Kallen thought back to the first time he heard it.

Kallen was about the age of two when it happened. His mother's dead body had been found floating in the ocean. She was discovered by a group of pirates. There were no injuries, and it didn't appear as though she was under the influence of a spell. Kallen was told that his mother had thrown herself off of a cliff and into the sea.

At first, people were suspicious. Sure, Kallen's mother had the reputation of doing strange things, but throwing herself into the ocean? It didn't make sense. She didn't do anything without cause.

Unfortunately, when a group of investigators from the royal guard looked around in the small cottage where Kallen and his mother once lived, they found an abundance of alcohol. From that alone, they deduced that Kallen's mother was a drunk, and had 'accidentally stumbled' off of the cliff rather than purposefully jumped off of it.