"What do you mean we let loose a Griffin?! How come no-one even told us about this?!", asked Anneliese, who was shaken to the bone by fear, partly of the Griffin and partly of what Ruby was going to do to her.
"I'm just as lost! All I did was cut a piece of rock!", said Violet, tears started to flow from her eyes.
"What are we going to do?! None of us are strong enough to take on a Griffin! We're children for god's sake!", said Natasha as she hugged Violet.
"I don't know. First things first, let's report back to my mom. We will only worsen the situation by trying to hide it.", said Violet as she once again gathered her courage.
"No way! She'll probably turn us into a rabbit!", said Anneliese, and yes, that had happened before.
"Anna, Violet is right. We have to face reality sometimes.", said Natasha as she let go of Violet.
"We? It was your idea to come down here. Violet struck down the damn door. There is no we! I'm a fucking scapegoat in these turn of events! I've done nothing!!", Anneliese replied angrily.
"Anna, I know you're scared. So is everyone else, but we can't be self absorbed right now. If we don't do anything, that Griffin can turn the entire Veridia into smoke.", said Violet as she approached Anneliese.
"This isn't fair to me! This is your doing! We shouldn't suffer because you thought it would be cool to let loose a mythical beast on Veridia!", said Anneliese pointing her wand at Violet.
"You can kill me if you want, Anna, but right now there's a kingdom out there that needs all the help it can get. Natasha said it herself, we're stronger mages than our school itself, the king could really use our help.", said she walking upto Anneliese and pressing her chest again the wand. This gesture broke Anneliese who collapsed crying into Violet's arms.
"I'm sorry!", she said sobbing, "I just don't know what to do".
"Shhhhhhh.. it's ok, nor do the rest of us, but we'll figure it out.", said Violet patting her cheek.
"I agree with Violet. Let's go see Ruby first. Only she'll know what to do.", said Natasha.
Off they went afoot after gathering their senses. They ran towards the kingdom and grew closer to the horrendous sounds of fire, screams and screeches. After an hour or so they finally landed where they begun the day, but to their dismay Violet's home had been smashed to dust and all that was left were oak stakes pointing from the ground.
"Oh no. Does this mean-", Anneliese was about to put forward an epiphany until Violet interrupted her.
"No! My mom wouldn't die this easy. She's somewhere in Veridia, we need to find her.", Violet continued.
Only seconds after she had said this, a cloud of bright red smoke emerged from behind them. It was Ruby. She stood there with a spellbook in her hand.
"My girls!", she said running towards the three and hugging them. "Are you okay?"
"Yes ma, we're fine. There's a lot we need to explain.", said Violet as her voice took a deep tone.
"Explain? What do you mean by that?", Ruby said raising her eyebrow.
"Ma, don't freak out, and I don't have time to unravel the whole mystery, but we're the ones that let loose the Griffin. It was an accident and I can't tell you all the details right now, is there anywhere safe we can go?", asked Violet tugging Ruby's apron.
"You let it loose? What do you mean by that? Violet, what is happening?!", said Ruby freaking out.
"Ma, I'll explain everything. Please just get us all somewhere safe, I beg of you.", said Violet who tried shaking her mom back to consciousness.
"Ah yes, a safe place. Girls, latch onto my apron, I knew this would come in handy some day.", she said pulling out a red sphere from her apron pocket. The girls gripped onto her tightly as she threw the sphere to the ground creating a mist of bright red smoke, when the mist cleared the four were gone.
"Hurry up! Hurry up, you lazy feet! The king has summoned all his knights and all his spearmen. We must at once be in the halls! There's a threat on the loose! Hurry up!", a voice came running down from the doors of the kingdom of Veridia. The kingdom was situated farther away from the Peak Of Peace, it laid behind a flowing river which was enchanted by holy water. The water created a barrier that could deter any being and only those chosen by the king himself could enter the gates, such immense was his power.
"All rise up for king Theodore the third!", said the same voice. The crowd filled with panic as knights, spearmen, horses and swashbucklers came rushing into the halls being summoned by the voice.
"Don't panic, my brave soldiers.", said Theodore as he took his seat, "This threat will be dealt with utmost care, but I require your energy and mind to do so. So, stay calm. We must do this together, all for one and one for all.", he said boldly.
"Hail king Theodore!", the knights chanted together.
"My king, what must be done?", said the advisor, it was her voice that had summoned the knights. The king was lost in thought for he didn't know how to deal with a mythic, but to show fear on his face would be deadly to the knights. He thought for a while and poof, a cloud of red smoke appeared at once in the centre of the hall, once the smoke cleared the four were seen.
"Ruby?", questioned the king, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Hail my highness. I'm afraid I come on pressing matters. I can tell you're aware of the gruesome monster terrorizing our kingdom.", said Ruby catching her breath.
"Yes, I am. I'm also aware of the teleporting pellets the wizard granted you. Quite clever of you to save them till now", he said chuckling.
"Why yes, I knew they would be of use some day. Anyway, I've come here seeking shelter.", she said.
Violet pulled her mom's apron and asked, "How do you know the king so well?!"
"We used to be best friends back in the day, until his father crowned him king.", she said smiling.
"Thats right, Violet. Your mother is a remarkable mage. I myself am one too, just not as skilled as her", he said looking into Ruby's eyes.
Anneliese whispered, "What is happening? Is the king into your mom?"
"Shut it, Anna! Disgusting!", said Violet, Ruby was her mother after all.
"So what were the pressing matters you come on, Ruby?", asked the king regaining his mind.
"Ah yes, I believe Violet has something she'd like to share", her eyes narrowed, "to all of us."
The courtroom at once glanced at Violet. All eyes were on her, eager to know of affairs.
"My king, I apologise in advance for the words that are about to escape my mouth. Me and my friends had a nefarious thought to skip class today and tour a garden where we saw unicorns and rainbows. In that garden we had a contest of exploding rocks for fun, in doing so I carved a chunk out the bottom of the Peak Of Peace as a souvenir of my victory. I had done this before on several occasions on multiple hills and didn't think it would be disastrous, but I was wrong. A door opened, cracked and revealed a Griffin. It flew into the kingdom knocking us all down to the ground with its flight. Please note my friends had nothing to do with this, all of this was my fault, any and all punishments should be mine and mine alone.", she said getting down on one knee. The king's eyes widened as he sank into his chair.
"You went into The Enchanted Garden?! How?! How is that even possible?!", the king yelled, astonished.
"I beg your pardon, my king. I don't know what you mean, we simply walked in.", said a confused Violet.
"That garden is protected by enchantments similar, if not stronger, to this very castle. No man or woman can tread into it effortlessly. That garden was created by the founding fathers of Arionis who imprisoned a mythical creature inside it. That garden is populated by mythics all over the world, Unicorns, Pegasus, and what not! One doesn't simply walk in it without any counterspell.", he said raising his voice.
"I wish I could help you out, my lord, but I'm just as confused as you are.", said Violet scratching her hair.
"This shouldn't make sense, I may only be a man but I have the gift of breaking any enchantment, a gift that comes along the crown of Veridia. However, even I am not permitted access into The Enchanted Garden, yet these three managed to enter lands never walked for centuries?! How?!", the king said under his breath as he examined the three top to bottom.
"You, with the wand, what's your name?", he said pointing at Anneliese.
"Me? Uhh, I'm Anneliese, your highness.", she said trembling.
"That wand. What's it's significance?", asked the king raising his eyebrows.
"It's called The Arcane Staff, my highness, it's a wand passed onto me on the deathbed of my father. He was one of the greats who put Arionis together, giving his life in doing so.", she said. The king stood up at once, for he knew what the matter was.
"Thats it! When the three of you walked in, the Garden didn't show any resistance because it recognised you as the founders themselves! That Staff is one of a kind, for it's power can never be mimicked. What you possess, my child, isn't any ordinary wand, it's a staff capable of doing wonders beyond your imagination.", said the king as he walked towards Anneliese. A confused Anneliese eyed her staff, it was a dark oak tree branch that hoisted a glass orb at the top, the orb would switch colors every second giving it a dazzling appearance, for the first time she looked at it with confusion.
"Uhh.. I'm not quite sure what you mean, your highness.", she said ever confused.
"It's really simple Anna, that shit is powerful as hell and you own it! Infact I reckon you can take the Griffin down on your own!", said Natasha with a geniune glimmer of hope(she had trouble differentiation expectations and reality).
"Me?! What?! Why me?! Why is it always me?!", Anneliese yelled.
"Shush! All of you, quiet! No-one is fighting the Griffin alone so you girls better watch your whimsy! Now is not the time for jokes, the kingdom needs all of us.", said Ruby, who was often angered by Natasha's sense of humor.
"She's right, ladies. We need to stay back here and strategize, the Griffin will not be able to enter our castle for its protected by holy water, but we can send an array of special tipped arrows from inside the walls, so I say we lure the Griffin in here and shoot it before it's too late. Thats how Veridia has won every great battle!", suggested King Theodore.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. The Griffin's skin is impenetrable to any weapon, only magic can harm it. We'll need all your finest mages, my highness, along with me and my girls.", said Ruby.
"Wait what?! So we are actually fighting the Griffin? Us four teenaged girls against a mythic that roamed Arionis for a millennia?!", asked a terrified Natasha.
"In simple words, yes. I know as a mother I should show my daughter and her loved ones some compassion, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I've seen the three of you in school, you're gifted mages with minds sharper than my own. You, along with the king's battalion shall be more than enough!", said Ruby as she bent down and touched Violet's cheek, "My precious daughter.", she said under her breath.
"My battalion is with you and your girls, Ruby! Take all the help you need. I too shall join in, for a king's life is boring deep in the castle. It's time for some action for me as well!", he said as he walked towards the center of the hall. The raised his arm in the air and a purple mist surrounded his palm, it morphed into a clean blade arched in the middle and settled in his hand.
"The royal sword will be cleaned with Griffin blood!", he said raising it to the knights.
"Hail king Theodore!!", a chant emerged from the crowds.
"Didn't Ruby just say that swords won't harm that creature?", asked Violet as she eyed the beautiful glimmering blade that the king held.
"This is no ordinary blade, my child, it's a blade designed to be wielded only by the king or queen of Veridia! My father held this as he won many a battles!", he said swashing the sword.
"Sick! Ok so now we have 3 mages, a king with a cool sword, Ruby and her apron, a magical advisor and a whole array of spellbinders at the king's arsenal! I think we stand a chance!", said Natasha excited.
"Indeed we do, my child. I'm afraid however a battle is won by brains not by number. We must develope a plan at once today, we can't let that horrible thing do any more damage.", said Ruby as she pulled out a map.
"That right there is where we're situated, at the ends of western Veridia. The Griffin started its path from the east, it's currently demolishing our watch towers in the heart of Veridia, but it's soon enough that it decides to tread our bounds, for it seeks vengeance with the king's heir.", she continued pointing at the map.
"The castle is protected though, so how must it come through?", asked Violet.
"The enchantment holds good as long as something stronger doesn't tread along. Against all our foes it's unbreakable, but against a mythic it might fold. We have to prepare for the worst.", answered the king. It was the king's bloodline that had imprisoned the Griffin in the Peak Of Peace, the Griffin aspired to kill the last surviving member of the bloodline and soon take over the whole of Arionis.
"This will be a battle of wits and a battle of the mind. None of us, even together, match the armed strength of a Griffin, for its stronger than most mythics that aren't Dragons. The Griffin are closely related to Sphinx in their way of battle and weaponry, with our knowledge of both we must destroy it while it's grounded. Griffins also tend to be arrogant and self absorbed, a trait they've acquired since their alliance with the Dragons. We must learn to exploit all of this!", continued the king.
"Any suggestions?", asked Ruby to the crowd.
"I have a plan, and it might just work.", said Violet stepping up.
"Do tell, child!", said the king with confidence.
A long discussion followed. Violet laid her idea of wits and brains that would be seen by the council as a perfect way to take out a Griffin! Ties were set, hands shaken and an army ready. It was time to wait and set up what Violet had proposed, and await the arrival of this horrible creature to beat it in its own terrain!
