Chapter 3: Pale Phoenix
A hundred blinded eyes surrounded Nozomi, and though the masked fairies could not see or think, she could not help but think that, somehow, their empty eyes were watching her, judging her. They looked like broken dolls, their faces hidden behind porcelain. They did not react to Nozomi's touch, and their bodies were cold; their fur and feathers seemed withered, somehow, as if they could turn to dust on Nozomi's fingers.
"This is…" She could not think of a word. She just stared into their masks. She looked deep into the king's eyes, hoping she'd see a glimmer of life, but it was in vain.
"When I found them they were like this," Pinceau said, her voice making echoes in the empty hall. Beyond the light she had made, there was little Nozomi could see. Pillars dressed in darkness, windows far away, revealing themselves only when they showed lightning's bright claws. "The door was locked from the outside, but it was easy to open, it did not even need a key. Nightmare was not really trying to hide them, to keep them away. I think. I do not understand how people like them think, and I do not want to."
"But you are right," Reika said, "it is very odd. I wonder…" She closed her eyes the way she often did when deep in thought.
"Yes?"
"Maybe it was not just foolish carelessness from them. I wonder, what if they truly thought that no Precure would come to this place?"
"They should have known we'd keep fighting! It's like they don't know us."
"No, that's not what I meant. What I meant was, what if they thought they had a reason to be certain that they'd be unopposed? That our enemies knew that their triumph would be so absolute that not a single Precure would survive, that once they would be victorious, they would have no reason to worry?"
"That's too confident of them," Nozomi folded her arms.
"No doubt. As such, they must have had a reason to believe it, to make them so sure that they would have nothing to fear from the Precure. If only we could know what…"
"Well, it doesn't matter right now, does it?" Nozomi asked. "We can find out later, but now, we have more important things to do," she showed Coco to Pinceau. He was breathing loudly, painfully. "This fairy… He needs help."
"I am not a caretaker, I fear," Pinceau said, putting a hand on Coco's forehead. "Oh, he is burning! What has happened to him?"
"I don't know," Nozomi said. He became like this the moment he entered this room; his body began to shake, and his head was hot as burning coals. Something about all those poor fairies was making him sick, Nozomi had no doubt. "He's been suffering since I found him at…" She supposed there was no harm in saying it. "He's Prince Coco of the Palmier Kingdom. I found him like that, in the ruins of his own castle."
"Poor thing… But a prince, you say?" Nozomi and Reika nodded. "Oh dear, of course he will not wake up. Neither will King Donuts, or any other monarch of the fairy kingdoms. They are linked to their land, to their people. When their realm is healthy, so are they, and they enjoy power, longevity, but as their land falls into ruination, so do the rulers fall into a deep, cursed sleep, as if awaiting for hope's light to shine again over their lands. At least, that is what I have heard."
Pinceau began to walk away, and Dream and Beauty followed. Nozomi was thankful shed did not have to stare at these fairies any longer. Even as she walked away, she thought of their eyes; they were all staring at her, but at the same time, they weren't. They were all empty, and no thoughts raced across their little heads. Nozomi hoped so, at least. She shuddered at the thought that they might still be conscious behind the masks.
