ꜱᴄᴀʀ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋᴇʏꜱ

Chapter 38: Cazzlyn

Cazzlyn landed in the shadows of the king's castle softly. The person who had helped her, saving Rheton as well, grinned hopefully at her.

"You got this, Windstorm." the person assured her. A white glow surrounded her as the person spoke. She froze in her tracks. Castilla. "Go kill the king for me, Cazzy."

Cazzlyn couldn't hold her tears welling in her eyes. "I will, Castie," she smiled against her tears as the ghost fluttered into her view.

Castilla's hair was just like how she remembered it. Brown, always tied up in some way. It was in the same style it was the day she passed. This time her gaping wound in her stomach was healed, no blood in sight. The only memory of it being there was the scar dashed across her rib down her lower stomach. Her brown eyes had a soft look in them.

"I got a pass to visit you," Castilla smiled softly. "Took me a few times to figure out how to get in here, but I did," the ghost reached behind her back and Cazzlyn realized with a tingle of excitement and sadness that it was the bow. The bow she promised Cazzlyn on her sixteenth birthday, which was just in a few days. One day to be exact.

"I always kept my promises, didn't I?"

Cazzlyn looked up at her sister and smiled through her teared blurred eyes. "Yeah. You always did keep them,"

Castilla opened her hands and rested the bow in them. "Your practice will pay off. All your hard work will pay off in this exact moment,"

Cazzlyn willed herself to stop crying and turned her head up more to meet the eyes of her sister's ghost. "I'll be able to avenge you, and our parents. But I'll have to kill the king,"

Castilla's ghost let out a gruffly grunt. "Don't do anything unless he touches Rheton. You can't miss this. Let alone loose another one,"

Cazzlyn strapped the bow around her back with the extra bandages from wrapping around her gash on her thigh. She turned sharply at the mention of Rheton's name.

"You know his name? But how?"

Castilla's lips turned up into a smug smile. "Me and his brother just so happened to be watching over you two."

She looked at her sister again. "He has a brother?"

"Had," Castilla's tone darkened. "His name was Rouge. His namesake is what got him killed. Going into a rogue base. Aunt Ross's to be exact. I burst out laughing, well as much as a ghost can laugh,"

"What are you here for, then?" Cazzlyn snapped. It's not like she didn't want to see her sister, but Rheton was currently in a life or death situation, and Castilla was acting like nothing.

"The last two parts of the quest might make you go insane," Castilla began. "Me and Rouge will be keeping you two safe from insanity the best we can. You guys try hard not to drive us insane. You'll need your sanity for the final part. You'll be with Reylyn and Scarvern again,"

Cazzlyn's gut twisted. "Are they okay?"

She nodded. "Apart from Reylyn's fire triggering Scarvern to go missing, specifically in Maleni, they are fine. But you four getting separated for a few days was a part of the quest. If you find a key hole dragging you to it with the final key, ignore it. That's there to deceive you. The keyport will have four slots, not 2. You'll find your key underneath the king's throne. Rheton should be getting his soon, the moment he creates the plant and you lock eyes with the king." she paused. "Rouge will lead you and Rheton to Reylyn and Scarvern's location after you two have received the keys, understood?"

She nodded.

"Good. The key slot will be still on the mountain top of the highest peak of the quad kingdoms'. Essentially all the mountains from the prophecy from the ball. Oh, and you know that necklace?" Castilla gestured to the new necklace resting against her collarbone.

"What about it?"

"That's what will help you. It's the same one mom had. The time she went on the quest with dad,"

Rheton's scream echoed through her mind. "You're going into a state of shock," Castilla reassured her. "The screaming isn't real. It's an illusion by entering Basil's castle. Rheton's alright."

Cazzlyn forced herself to block out the remaining sound of his scream and instead focused on the pitter platter of the rain outside.

"Good," the ghost of her sister nudged her to the room the king was in. "It's your time to shine, Windstorm,"

She looked up at her sister one last time before standing in the doorway of the throne room. Castilla's ghost wished away. She locked eyes with the king. Second to final part.