The People We Are

Chapter II; Anastasia

Anastasia stood shaking. Behind her, her fiance, the man she had loved for so long. Her best friend. Her future husband, her King, her Beau. She had killed for him once, she'll just have to once more. It was her or Arlie now, her other best friend. She didn't want it to have come to this but it had. It was now or never.

That seemed like so long ago for many.
But for Anastasia? It felt like more than a lifetime.
She couldn't remember that short time she was dead.
But now everything was becoming just a bit clearer.

Anastasia awoke with a strange sense in her, feeling that something was wrong. She brushed it aside and went out to her porch. Beau was already sitting there, and jumped up when he saw her. "You could've come in." she said mockingly as she closed the door. "I didn't know. I was just wanting to wait for you, since we're all meeting the Prince today." They walked down the path to Soleil's as they talked. "I feel bad for him. For all of them. To seek shelter in Zellarid, when they would have passed through Imperial grounds and a good bit of Faormen." Beau nodded. "That's what worries me. They would've gone to King Luan and Queen Estelle if they were smart. They would obviously have taken them in, we may not have." They continued walking until they reached Soleil's, and all three made their way to Blaide manor, continuing the conversation.
They finally reached Blaide manor, where the three joined Ryaxleb and Arlie in the latter's room. Once they were all seated, Arlie introduced them to Ryaxleb. Once he knew who everyone was, Arlie and Ryaxleb started explaining the situation with the latter's boyfriend. Anastasia and Soleil agreed to help find him, and Beau felt pressured to do so as well. They left the home and headed to the plaza, where a makeshift camp had been set up for Rielweth citizens who weren't able to get a home in capital city. They figured that Calxyan would be there, as Arlie, Anastasia, nor Soleil saw someone with his description going with anyone. Arlie and Ryaxleb went one way, Soleil went another, and Anastasia and Beau went the last way. "I don't trust him. Or any of them in that house especially, it just doesn't add up." Anastasia was getting annoyed with him. "We don't know their situation, Beau. All we need to worry about right now is finding Calxyan."
They searched and searched, and eventually found someone who they thought matched the description Ryaxleb had given them. He was sitting on the ground with what they assumed was his family, and so they came up to them. "Hello, are you Calxyan?" she asked the boy who seemed to be her age. "Yeah, and who are you?" Calxyan asked judgingly. "I'm Princess Anastasia, and this is Beau. Prince Ryaxleb has us, as well as Princesses Arlie and Soleil looking for you." Calxyan's eyes lit up at the mention of Ryaxleb's name. "He is?" he asked, standing. "Yes. He's been worried about you, all of you." Anastasia said, looking at them all. Soleil came around the corner, noticing that they were all talking. "Arlie and Prince Ryaxleb are at the front" she said to Anastasia and Beau. "Go, Calxyan. Find him." Calxyan's mother said, pushing her son forward. Together the four made their way to the front of the plaza, where Ryaxleb and Calxyan recognized each other immediately. They ran to each other, clashing into each other in a loving embrace.
Arlie introduced herself to Calxyan, and the six began to walk around Zellarid as they discussed their journey here. They came to some homes, hearing commotion going on in one of them. All of a sudden, a boy ran out of the house. He was Dadokes, who had recently invented a new clothing item that he called the hoodie. He hadn't taken it off since he invented it, and now it seemed to have become his skin. He tried desperately to peel it off, all the while his parents screamed at the hideous monster that was their son. Dadokes ran away, his parents shutting the door. Without thinking, Anastasia ran to follow him. She heard the other five running behind her, knowing they had to do something about Dadokes. However, Dadokes was too fast. He ran out of Anastasia's sight, and the others convinced her to give up and turn in the case to the authorities. They went and told the people they needed to tell, or so they thought at the very least. Though worried about Dadokes, the six continued their walk.
They came to the bridge once more, where they saw another group of people coming. Anastasia heard Ryaxleb mutter something under his breath, repeatedly saying "No, not Luna too, not Luna too." He and Calxyan ran to the group, right up to a girl their age. She was dressed in all black, holding up her skirt to run to them. They all came closer to the others, and Anastasia Quickly realized that the young girl was Princess Luna of Mirirejar, and on either side of her was King Luan and Queen Estelle. Arlie ran to get her parents, Soleil to hers, and Beau to Anastasia's. Anastasia, Calxyan and Ryaxleb explained how the same thing had happened to Rielweth. However, this time Anastasia got more information.
"All these people started flooding the kingdom, pulling people from their beds as they slept and throwing them in the streets. What seemed like little lights landed on those who were thrown, burning them. Those who survived all fled away from Imperial City, and they left us alone once we were out. We fled here, knowing Faormen was next. There was no way to let them know." Queen Estelle explained. Eventually, the Rielweth and Zellaridian rulers got there and they all went to Archier manor, again. The six teens went into Anastasia's room once more, but this time Luna joined them. She was complaining to Ryaxleb and Calxyan about not being allowed to be down there from Anastasia's window seat as the Zellaridians sat on Anastasia's bed. Soleil kept eyeing Luna, Arlie was deep in thought, and Beau glared at the Miri's. Anastasia took it all in, concerned at just how much was going on for everyone. Anastasia grabbed her new book and frantically searched through it to find something to match the descriptions of the beasts that the Queen had described.
She had only been able to go through a few pages when Arlie's father came up to talk to them. The Mirirejar royals, or the Lee's, were to stay with the Seegols and the other citizens were to stay in the camp with the Rielwethians. The six said farewells and planned to meet up the next day to talk more by themselves. After the other royals had left, Beau stayed back. Together, they looked through the book and tried to find creatures that matched the Queen's descriptions. They eventually figured that the little "burning lights" she had described were fairies, and the strange people who shoved them out to the streets were nocturnal peculiar castaways. The fairies were the most common type, being those of the burning variety. The nocturnal peculiar castaways, or npc's, were also quite common as most npc's are unable to be in the daylight, though still called an npc.
"See? The Queen described these things. They can be quite threatening, I certainly don't blame them." Anastasia said, putting the book on her nightstand. Beau laid back, reclined on the plethora of pillows behind them. Thoughts raced through both of their minds. She knew he felt bad for them, but didn't trust them. All of a sudden, they heard commotion going on downstairs. "Anastasia! Beau! Get down here!" her mother called. They jumped up off the bed as Anastasia grabbed the book again and they headed down the stairs, not ready for what awaited them there.
The Faormen royals were there, sitting at the table with the other royals. The King helped his one-month pregnant wife sit down, and next to them stood the Prince and Princess, who introduced themselves and Ideus and Xayah respectively. Through all four of their full heads of flowing white-blonde hair stuck out their ears, for they were elves. Anastasia had never seen one before, and felt honored to finally meet them. Most elves lived in Faormen, though a few hadn't joined them when they had all fled from the old elf continent. Many died, but those who survived found shelter in Mirirejar. Their King grew to become friends with the Mirirejar King, who made him a King of Mirirejar. However, after the war between Zellarid and Miriejar, the Lee's grew power-hungry and demoted them to be the rulers of the new subkingdom Faormen, which was named after that great elven King. Now his descendants sat there, right in Anastasia's home.
Ideus and Xayah joined as Anastasia and Beau ran around Zellarid, getting the royals back once again. Once they were all together, the group of teenagers decided to go to the old forge to talk amongst themselves. They left Archier manor, Zellaridians on one side of the path and Miri's on the other. Anastasia didn't want them to be separate, but the Miri's, and Beau, sure did. She put the thought behind her as she thought of the morning. She felt something was off, and she was certainly right.