The Archer's Legacy

★彡02|08 - "I do hope you don't bring grave news."彡★

It had been a full two months when Y/n's next letter finally arrived at Auradon. Thomas, the messenger, hopped off of his horse and tied it to a post, going to walk into the schoolhouse.

The young man caused a stir among the students, the marks of the North on his royal uniform informing them enough about his status for them to make way for him as he walked to knock on Fairy Godmother's door.

"Come on in!" called the cheery voice.

Thomas entered, bowing his head in respect. "Fairy Godmother."

"Bibbidi-bobbidi!" the woman exclaimed. "I do hope you don't bring grave news."

"On the contrary, ma'am, I've come to pick up study materials for Her Highness Princess Y/n of DunBroch, along with bringing a letter to her friends," Thomas answered, showing the envelope in his gloves hands. He didn't like the royal uniform, per say, but it was a necessity whenever he went on official business.

"Oh, I see, I see," Fairy Godmother nodded rapidly. "Well, I best be off to get her materials. Would it be alright for you to deliver the letter yourself?"

Thomas nodded. "Of course."

"Well, then," Fairy Godmother muttered, mostly to herself. "They should be... Mal's off again and Evie's not one for being alone so..." She nodded, raising her voice again for the next part of the sentence. "They're in room number 24, Jay and Carlos are the names on the door."

Thomas nodded again. "I'll deliver the letter and then I'll be back for the materials."

A minute later, Thomas raised his left hand to knock on the double doors of room number 24. There was a hustle inside before Jay came to the door, looking Thomas suspiciously up and down. "Who are you?"

"I deliver a message from Y/n of DunBroch, Crown Princess of the North," he explained, trying to read the boy in front of him to figure out whether or not that was actually a friend of Y/n's.

"Oh!" a soft and girly exclamation came from inside the room, followed by Evie shoving Jay aside and taking matters, as well as the letter, into her own hands. "Thank you! Will you be leaving in the evening?"

Thomas nodded, a bit puzzled by the manners of the teens.

"Okay, we'll get a letter ready by then that you can deliver to Y/n," Evie smiled, making Thomas take a step back as he readied himself to leave for Fairy Godmother's office again. "Thank you!"

Thomas nodded, that allowing Evie to shut the door and spin around with a beaming smile on her face, only to come face to face with Carlos who stood there, frozen, the controller remote of the game slack in his hands. In fact, he was having a hard time believing that Y/n was actually alive or hadn't, out of the blue, decided to cut off all communication.

Silently, Evie placed the letter in Carlos' shaking hands. The boy carefully folded it out, Jay and Evie standing behind him as all of their lines slid over the lines.

Hi guys!

I know it's been a while and I'm really sorry, I hope you didn't worry too much. A lot has happened, I promise I have an explanation.

You see, we think the Red Queen might be after us. Nearly three weeks ago, she (we assume) sent a wolf to kill me when I'd been out of the barrier for a swim. I survived only thanks to a vision.

Because of that, as much as it pains me to write down these words, I can't write to you as often anymore. Arthur, Thomas and I agreed that it wouldn't be smart for any of us to leave the barrier more than once a month, which is what our penmanship must be reduced to.

If I could do anything about it, I would, but the North's future is at stake here and you remember the prophecy: "But if she fails, all will fall, fate will crack and tragedy will stand tall." I just can't risk it, I have a responsibility to my people.

Despite everything, I hope we can continue to be friends. Just a few days ago I received a letter from my mother, updating us on the situation with Wonderland. Our side is doing well, the Red Queen is slowly growing desperate. That, of course, explains the attack against me.

That said, we have hope that everything will end in our favour in the near future and I hope I can come back to Auradon then.

In that time, however, I hope that you keep doing your best in your studies while I will do the same from afar. I'll keep you updated on the more major events, as I'll probably forget the smaller ones by the time it's again time to write to you.

Don't forget me!

- Y/n, your friend

Carlos looked at the letter and then at Evie. "I'm answering this time," the boy said, dead serious.

Evie smiled. "Be my guest."