Princess of the Sky

ARIANNA

AS IT WOULD TURN OUT, Elsewhere was more than just a crystal room after all.

Arianna floated aimlessly in an empty, white void. Strands of aether hovered around her, stuck in their pliable form. The human senses were slightly different in the Elsewhere. Sight was mostly the same, but when the corporeal and Elsewhere overlapped—like they always tended to do—one could see into both dimensions at the same time. A distorted sense of reality that would quickly, and surely, cause one to lose their place.

The sense of smell was non-existent, although scents could be engineered, like anything could using aether.

Taste. I'm not sure I'd like to consume aether as a meal, the princess thought. The trace amounts I take to develop these... powers... are already bothersome.

Touch, Is always interesting, the princess thought. It feels like the fabric mother always uses to make my woolen sweaters with... I should make one for her too, someday.

Hearing. "It's like an ensemble," she said aloud.

"That never stops."

The note Arianna had played still echoed behind her, albeit in near quiet at this point. The long bolt of aether that had carried her along had vanished beyond an unseen horizon way ahead, leaving a shimmering trail behind. She wondered where she was in this place. Was she still parallel to the palace? Or had she been taken so far in this dimension that she'd been dislocated to somewhere else entirely?

She tried to glimpse her corporeal body. It's there, she thought. But not so close as I would like it to be.

In other words, still a hope, as her entanglement remained intact.

The invisible thread binding Arianna to her body constantly tried to tug her in its direction. However, still unable to escape the aether bolt's influence, despite its being—for the lack of a better word—miles away, she could do nought but watch she was pulled even deeper into the unknown regions of the Elsewhere. I mean, wouldn't Kayn know these parts, having created my little 'playground' from it?

She continued to drift for sometime, trying to formulate an idea that might aid her escape.

Could I send a message to Kayn?

She thought on that for a second.

Kayn taught me about 'love letters once'. How princes would learn about the exact properties of their consorts' entanglements in secret.

The kingdom 'love games,' so they were called.

They'd send messages to them in the corporeal from Elsewhere. The aether they'd use would be irrevocably attracted to its intended receiver.

Arianna plucked a thin strand of aether about to pass her. I never saw much of Kayn out of the corporeal though, she thought. But perhaps I could find aether that would move toward his direction. I do know the direction of my body, so that would be a point of reference for me to act on.

She played around with the strand she picked, waving it about. It floated aimlessly when she let go of it, moving along her trajectory. It wouldn't work, and given the resources she had to work with, what with being in a near empty expanse, such a project would most likely take a very long time.

Sighing defeatedly, Arianna debated whether such a message would reach Kayn anyway, and not someone else. With only a direction to act on, there really wasn't much to do except to have a prayer at this point. And no one prayed in Civetia.

So, Crown Princess Arianna soared in the aether bolt's direction for quite sometime longer, formulating plan after plan, until finally something took her out of her concentration.