Kidnapped Princess

Worry and Agony

“Kanan?”

“What is it, Yō?” Kanan asked.

“Maru wants to see you.” Yō said.

Kanan got off of her bed. She followed Yō to where Hanamaru was at. Hanamaru greeted her and motioned for her to sit down. Kanan took a seat on Hanamaru’s bed.

“What’s up, Maru?” Kanan asked.

“There’s something you need to know.” Hanamaru replied with an emotionless expression.

“Okay?” Kanan was confused. She wasn’t sure what was so important that needed a meeting now.

“I… I was talking with Yohane last night. She told me something…” Hanamaru started speaking, “Remember when you were attacked with black magic? Apparently it actually did spread.”

“And how does she know this? I haven’t shown any signs.” Kanan asked.

“Because it only has affected your child.” Hanamaru replied, “Yohane said it’s made it so now she will definitely have her memories back.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Kanan asked.

“No. But, it will be a little strange. She’s going to have her memories back the moment she’s coherent. It’ll be like Riko just suddenly became a baby.” Hanamaru said.

“Oh… that’ll be weird for all of us.” Kanan said.

“Indeed. I’m not sure if she’ll be able to talk right away or if she’ll have to learn how to again. That’s the only other thing I don’t know.” Hanamaru said.

“Well, we’ll just have to hope for the best.” Kanan sighed.

“Indeed. Let’s hope these knights come quickly. I fear something worse is on the horizon.” Hanamaru mumbled, making sure no one but Kanan could hear her.

“Is this just a feeling or did you have a vision?” Kanan asked.

“Just a feeling. If I got a vision I’d have told everyone immediately.” Hanamaru replied.

“True… sorry.”

“It’s fine. Shall we go and see what everyone is up to?” Hanamaru said.

“Sure. I think it’d be a good idea to do a check.” Kanan replied.

…

Ruby, Leah, and Chika were back on the road again. This trip was going to take an entire month. The Glass kingdom is a lot farther away from the other kingdoms. They were rumored to have been the first kingdom in this land. The rumors also included them destroying many civilizations around, which is why they have so much territory. Whether the rumors have any truth to them is unknown.

They were a lot more hopeful about this kingdom. With them being a lot more open to magic, they hoped it would make this better. Chika was still told she shouldn’t talk unless they know for certain it is okay for her to. While the kingdom may be open to witches, it was never clear if that included familiars of witches. They didn’t want to take the chance.

“Do you think they’ll know something is up with me? The other two kingdoms both questioned why I was with you guys, so why would this be any different?” Chika worried.

“You have a fair point. They might figure out you can talk by themselves.” Leah agreed.

“Do you think they will know we have a witch? Even if we have Chika, that doesn’t mean we must have a witch.” Ruby said.

“Why are you worried about that?” Chika asked.

“Well, what if they don’t like Maru either because she was wanted. Well, to them she will still be considered wanted until we clear that up. If we clear that up.” Ruby replied.