THIRD BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘈 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘺. 𝘈 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳. 𝘈 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴.
Two sides of the same coin are brought to the light...
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Xanthy and June walked on an uneven road, literally. Sweat beaded on Xanthy's forehead with her back already a raging waterfall. What was with Lanteglos and why was it so hot?
The city was a swirl of roads and alleys, each one peppered with cubical buildings propped with painted wooden signs glowing with strange fairy squiggles. More than thrice, they passed some relevant statue standing on a fountain or on a stone slab. Xanthy edged away from them whenever the road curved too much to their favor. Their eyes seemed to follow her around.
Xanthy cast her eyes around for anyone suspicious that might be tailing them. Ever since June's cousin evaded Xanthy, she wouldn't sit still. Fairies in colorful robes strode past them with not much as a sideways glance, carrying on with their business in the Junction City.
Together with June and Canelis, they wove through throngs of fairies, both winged and not, and even humans who paraded through the trading squares, perusing booths filled to the brim with food imported from other territories, trinkets that Xanthy had never seen before, and even rare ingredients whose sweet and tangy aromas flavored the air. If Nyxis was here, he would have screamed his lungs off a long time ago.
This was how Yin-Alora would have looked if only what happened didn't. Xanthy chewed on her lip and watched her soles slap against the dusty cobblestones. Sweat dripped from the side of her face which she promptly wiped away with the back of her hand.
They rounded an alley and came about rows of multicolored mats, tents, and even decorated merchant carts. Howls, hoots, and other animal calls filled the air as Xanthy watched some of them bustle around in cages. Her heart wrenched. Shouldn't these animals be in the forests?
Chatter and rustle of fabric was as thick in the air as well as the humidity from the mass of bodies present in this portion of the city alone. Versallis clinked against each other. Vendors and their customers traded both light and hearty laughter. Xanthy's jaw opened partially. This city was a bluster of activity to rival that of Penleth's.
June speared through the masses, shouldering fairies and muttering his excuse. Xanthy stalked by his heels, resisting the urge to reach out and clutch his hand. Instead, she busied herself in making sure her bow wouldn't poke somebody in the eye. Canelis strode after them, a frown set against her features. In the sea of light brown skin, the pixie glowed with her pale complexion.
From the corner of Xanthy's eye, she watched the pixie drive fairies away with a glare. The sword by Canelis's hip flashed against the sun. Xanthy raised an eyebrow when her eyes ran over the pixie's white robe that remained unscathed even as she walked along the muddy road along with them. How did she do that?
No one gave them any hint that they were recognized. To the people, they were just part of the everyday crowd haggling for the best set of produce. Dagrine neighed at a distance. Would the roads in Nanvera be wide enough for them? Probably.
Then, June led them away from the chaos and towards a particularly empty alley. It was fairly clean. Why?
She got her answer when a single, circular building appeared in the far corner from the road they were tackling. Blue tiles that faded to light green covered the building by forming a dome. A set of twin doors stood in the midst of embedded columns and murals. There was no light coming from the carved glass windows which was a rare occurrence in highly-advanced cities like Nanvera.
