Magi: The Goddess of Hope [DISCONTINUED]

💮Scene Two: Obsolete Dreams

The lavishly decorated Royal Palace was kept impossibly tidy; as protocol so as not to shame the new reigning King and his family.

Servants, old and some new, halted in their work as the entourage, bowing momentarily and returning to their work as soon as Balbadd's Young King and other golden persons of prestige hurried briskly through the halls.

Toto and Morgiana led Kougyoku gently through the corridors hands on her arm, while Alibaba proudly and giddily chattered to Sinbad, Ja'far and Kouha about his wife's obvious pregnancy.

Aladdin, being a soft man, merely floated above them, hurrying to get back to his hoard of dusty books.

Kouha, being the mischievous, good-natured (yet eccentric) person that he was, merrily grinned in happiness at the thought of another family member being added to the family line (and hopefully, a niece to spoil). Sinbad laughed  heartily at the news, and congratulated Alibaba, along with Ja'far who beamed and said his own piece.

He did like children after all. Ah, but if Seren  were alive-- nope. Derailed.

Oh! And Ja'far was an excellent babysitter. Hinahoho's children were not easy to look after; no matter the gigantic man's friendliness.

"--Ah, Mu will also be arriving with the Fanalis Corps and Titus in the afternoon." Alibaba added with a smile. "I heard Titus and Mu also wanted to hear and discuss findings about the Deserted Country."

"Oh, stop being so dramatic!" Toto rolled her eyes, causing Kōgyoku to laugh. "Toto thinks that name is eerie."

"Really? I find it really...mysterious...in a sense." Olba supplied to his lover. "It sounds like an ancient capital from before we moved in from the Old World!"

"But why would a country be in there though?" Sinbad wondered aloud. "There's not enough sunlight to grow crops and other plants; not to mention the lack of animals and water." The purple-haired monarch crossed his arms with a smile. "Well, whatever the country was, if the ruler was an exquisitely beautiful lady...I'd like to meet her."

Ja'far muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Womanizer of the Seven Seas'.

"Well, Goethe is an abandoned city, Brother Ja'far." Aladdin laughed as he tried to pacify the silver-haired man. "What I and Judal are curious about is how and why such a city fell into ruin. Judal suggested a mutiny; but there were no bodies or skeletons to be found and no visible trace of damage by force in the structures caused by weapons; which probably means they died out of hunger or something similar."

"All the damage done to structures was through weathering." Aladdin chirped cheerily. "Fortunately, some parts of the city remain well-preserved under the snow."

"Didn't you say it was a village, Aladdin?" Kouha raised a perfect eyebrow.

"Yep! That's how it looks like on the top. The snow had actually buried a larger part of the city." Aladdin grinned as he remembered how Kouen had gotten stuck knee-deep in the snow, spending minutes grumbling and glaring at the white snow as he pulled himself up; his entourage surprised at their master's...childishness, to put it lightly.

It was a sight to behold. The Emperor of the Kou Empire sinking into the snow each time he took a single step.

"But didn't you say you recovered--"

"-Artifacts, yes: We had to dig starting from the tallest tower there, which was no problem since we had my magic and Agares's powers."