Golden Afternoon

"Something wrong?" Asked Abyss smiling down at Luminous.

Luminous bit her lip trying to remember what she should remember about blue flowers, but no matter how much she rubbed her knuckles into her head she couldn't recall.

"It is the shortest pathway, you could also go undetected to since it's the back entrances." Continued Abyss. "Just continue going until you find the wooden cellar door, you'll find your way into the castle from there."

Luminous looked between Abyss and the garden overtaken by the night blue flowers.

"Oh, thank you, sister." Said Concord bowing his head to Abyss.

He went to pass through the garden when he was stopped by Abyss rolling a big round yellow shield in front of him.

"Ma. . .my shield!?" Exclaimed Concord picking it back up. "How did you? I mean thank you!"

Vainglorious eyed the nun with his stone-colored eyes. Abyss turned towards him, meeting his gaze.

"You don't have to pout at me like that. I saved yours too." She said, pulling out Vainglorious' wand from her sleeve and handing it to him.

Vainglorious contented to glare at her as if thinking of something.

"What about the map?" He finally asked.

"Sadly as much as I tried I couldn't recover everything." Abyss frowned, holding the torn beyond the legible map dantly in between her fingers as if she were holding a hanky.

"Oh, grate so now we just have to trust that you're showing us the right way. How convenient." Vainglorious scoffed.

"She can't get us anymore lost then you have snobs." Scoffed the Dawn of Fate.

"Plus, I'm pretty sure I can see the mansion from here." Added Luminous looking off at a really huge building in the distance.

Vainglorious wrinkled his pointed nose, reaching for the birch wand in Abyss' hand as if she were going to snatch his arm off if he didn't watch her every move carefully. He looked at his wand, but there was nothing visibly wrong with it at first glance.

He then walked past Abyss, her black habit blowing gently in the wind. Just like the garden full of blue flowers.

"You wouldn't happen to find anything else of mine? Would you, sister?" Concord asked scratching the back of his neck.

Abyss frowned softly, handing back a mangled pipe.

"Oh, well thank you, sister..." Said Concord the corner of his lip frowning slightly before following Vainglorious into the garden.

Luminous fell into step behind Concord when Abyss pressed something cold and metal up to her chest. Abyss leaned in, her red lips so close to her ear she could feel her warm breath.

"Keep the things that matter close to your heart, or else the creatures of the dark will come and tear them apart."

She removed her hand and Luminous caught the little heart-shaped button in the palm of hers.

"What does that me-"

Luminous looked back up, but Abyss had disappeared. Luminous couldn't help but stare at the spot she was just at, Abyss had to be fifteen just like she was, but she seemed so much more mature.

"Luminous, is everything okay?" Asked Concord looking back at the blonde.

Luminous blinked, looking between the lanky teen and where the beautiful nun stood before disappearing.

"Ya, I'm coming!" She shouted, hooking the button back onto her shoulder.

But as soon as she stepped foot into the garden she had an eerie feeling that the dark blue flowers were watching her under the bright white moonlight.

Luminous jumped over the group of blue flowers on the tall grass. Her dingy white sock landed on what probably used to be a stone walkway buried under the tall green grass. But the whole garden was covered in blue flowers so Luminous jumped over the next group landing on a small patch of grass in the middle of all the flowers.

"What in the name of folklore are you doing?" Asked the Dawn of Fate.

"Oh, I uh, didn't want to walk on the flowers." Said Luminous scratching the pink bandage on her soft fair cheek. "They're uh, sleeping." She whispered.

"What!?" Exclaimed the Dawn of Fate.

"Shh!" Luminous put her finger over her pink lips.

"The flowers are sleeping? This is ridiculous, for folklore sake short stuff just walk."

"But, the flowers are Ah!"

Luminous jumped, however, her foot caught on the uneven ground below and she began falling forward.

"Luminous I swear whatever stupid thing you're!-" Vainglorious turned around just in time to see Luminous falling on him.

Luminous' tiny arms flailed trying to catch her balance. But it was too late as her forehead smashed into his. Blue flower petals flew into the night sky as they both hit the ground.

Concord turned around to see Vainglorious laying on the ground with Luminous on top of him.

"Luminous?! Are you okay!?" Asked Concord, grabbing Luminous' hand.

In the middle of Concord helping Luminous up, Vainglorious pushed her off of himself causing her to fall into Concords long arms.

"Are you kidding me!?" Yelled Vainglorious sitting up. "Is she okay?! I was the one being suffocated to death!"

Concord looked down at Luminous who he was unconsciously hugging and blushed.

"Shh!" Luminous quickly got off of Concord and put her hands over Vainglorious' mouth. Her eyes darted around the flowers. "I don't exactly know why, but I fear that the flowers might wake up if you make too much noise." She said slowly, taking her hands off Vainglorious' mouth.

"Ya, now that you mention out of all the herbs I've come across before, I don't think I've come across a flower like this" Said Concord.

"Well then, I guess I shouldn't be doing this!" Yelled Vainglorious stomping on a flower.

"No don't!" Yelled Luminous.

"Oh, this is ridiculous." Said Vainglorious sticking up his nose and stomping on another flower.

"They." Stomp! "Are."Stomp! "Flowers."Stomp! He continued punctuating his words with each crunch on the flowers. "They. Don't. Feel. A. Thin..."

Crunch!

The wooden cellar doors that were covered in blue flowers and vines underneath Vainglorious' ankle boots splintered into pieces. Vainglorious felt a rush of wind escape the old cellar door run through his wavy white hair as he fell down into the dark hole.

"Vainglorious!"

Luminous rushed over towards the newly made hole. Kneeling down she couldn't see him because of how dark it was.

"Welp, time to find a new wizard. RIP snobs mc goober," Said the Dawn of Fate. "we didn't know him long, but then again we didn't have fond memories of him."

"What!? Don't say that!" Luminous squealed, turning to the sword on her back. "He's still alive! Right?" She said looking back into the dark cellar.

"It's okay, the cellar isn't as deep as it's dark." Concord took a rock and dropped it down into the hole. Not two seconds later and a thud could be heard not that far down. "See, Vainglorious is going to be fine."

"I'm coming to get you little Vainglorious! Don't be afraid!" Cheered Luminous climbing down the ladder.

"Well, she cheered up fast." Said Concord climbing down after her. "Slow down Luminous, I don't want you falling either."

Luminous made it down with the Dawn of Fate on her back and Concord behind her. She looked around the dark cellar and saw shelves and shelves around wooden barrels, but Vainglorious was nowhere to be seen.

"Vainglorious!" Yelled Luminous cupping her hands around her mouth.

"Well, there's no tiny scrawny body splattered on the floor, so that's a good sign." Said the Dawn of Fate.

"That's not funny Dawn, Vainglorious is scared and alone somewhere poor little defenseless boy."

"Defenceless?" Concord scratched the back of his green hair. He could distinctly remember a time where the little scoundrel picked a fight with Grinnin Barrett in front of the tavern Den and nearly froze half his body. And Grinnin was a pretty big guy. "I wouldn't really call Vainglorious defenseless."

Luminous walked around the concrete floor in search of her little wizard friend when she saw one of the blue flowers from outside on the cold gray wall next to her.

"Uhh..."

She didn't know why but the flower being inside the dark cellar with her made her feel...unnerved...

"What is it short stuff?" Asked the Dawn of Fate. "I thought we were in a hurry here."

"It's, on the wall..."

"You mean the flower?"

"Oh, ya sometimes flowers can grow on walls, and on vines, in bushes, and even trees." Said Concord. "That's normal, probably means that there is a source of water somewhere nearby."

"Oh," Luminous let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. "I feel really silly now." She chuckled nervously. "Silly..."

Until she suddenly heard something scampering across the floor behind her. Startled Luminous swung around jabbing the Dawn of Fate towards the noise. The sword stuck into the wooden barrel.

"Uhh..." Squeaked a tinny voice.

Luminous looked down and saw a black rat underneath the barrel she stabbed.

"You better not rat me out now little girl. Ya, that's right, I'm not supposed to be in here, but then again you're not either." Threatened the rat before slinking off.

Luminous blinked as she stared at the rat who disappeared into a crack in the wall.

"Okay, short stuff you scared the scavenger. Good for you, now can you pull me out. I'm getting sticky again." Said the Dawn of Fate.

"Oh ya sure."

Luminous grabbed the dark blue hilt of her sword with both her tiny hands and began pulling it out of the barrel. Red liquid dripped down on a blue forget-me-not flower that wasn't there before. Luminous could feel the sweat drip down her fair skin and across her array of colorful band-aids on her face.

"Luminous, are you okay?" Asked Concord, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Luminous jolted wiping her head around.

"I got a bad feeling about this. We have to find Vainglorious now!"

Luminous grabbed Cancords hand and ran out of the cellar into the dark ebony tiled hall.

"Wait! Do you even know where we're going?!" Asked Concord whose hand was being squeezed so tightly by the Luminous that he couldn't help but follow, even though she was smaller and weaker than he was.

"Hey how about we be quiet since we're in enemy territory and the walls here talk." Said the Dawn of Fate.

"The walls what?" Asked Luminous.

She couldn't help but look at the ebony walls she passed. Luminous struggled to remember where she heard that sentence before. Then the blue forget-me-not flowers began appearing on the walls and even in the paintings.

Luminous kept running down the halls, turning the corner. She saw a tiny figure in a navy blue trench coat and wavy white hair standing in front of her.

"Vainglorious!" Exclaimed Luminous relieved.

"Wa?"

Vainglorious was halfway to turning around when Luminous threw her arms around him in a big hug. Her boobs smashing into his face, making him drop the map he was holding.

"Oh, Vainglorious I was so worried about you!" Cried Luminous squeezing him tightly.

Vainglorious' snow-white face turned bright pink.

"Get off of me you LECHER!" Yelled Vainglorious kneeing Luminous in the crotch.

"Oww!" Yelled Luminous clasping to her knees holding her crotch. "What did you do that for?"

"Don't hug me!"

"But why? Who doesn't like hugs?"

"I don't," Vainglorious said curtly picking up the map he found off the floor.

"But why?"

"What did you find there, Vainglorious?" Asked Concord looking more closely at the map.

"If you have to know." Sneered Vainglorious curtly stepping away from Concord. "I found a servant's map of this old decaying place in the cellar."

"Oh good a map, give it here snobs so someone who can read maps can help find the way." Said the Dawn of Fate.

"I can take care of myself with just fine, sword!" Yelled Vainglorious hugging the big metal map to his small chest.

"Servants map? Wouldn't it just be easier to program the robots with a built-in map?" Asked Luminous.

"Well normally yes, but this place was obviously built before servers bots like your Penny bots, or nanny bots like Brenda." Said Vainglorious scanning the map. "A time before server bots, how primitive these people must have lived back then." He giggled devilishly.

"What are you looking for?" Asked Concord leaning over the younger boy's shoulder. "Maybe I can help."

"What I'm looking for is none of your beeswax!" Snarked Vainglorious shrugging away from the taller teen. "Plus I can find it on my own."

Vainglorious walked around pacing back and forth biting his lip.

"Okay snobs now I'm certain you don't know how to read a map." Said the Dawn of Fate.

"And you can't hold a map!" Yelled Vainglorious definitely.

"We can help you, Vainglorious, this is our mission to." Said Luminous.

The young wizard looked at Luminous. He knew she was stupid and probably too sheltered from the real world by delusion to help, but her pitiful face looked kind and genuine.

"Ugh, fine" Vainglorious begrudgingly handed her the map. "if you must know I need to get to the library. I need to find the book with the spell that can bring back the sun."

"Oh, uhh...where are we right now?" Asked Luminous tracing over the map with her finger.

"We're in the middle of the hall in between the cellar to the left and the kitchen up ahead." Said the Dawn of Fate. "and the kitchen is...the door we passed a while back on the left...nice going snobs mc goober, you missed your destination by a wide margin."

"Shut up!" Yelled Vainglorious sticking his tongue out at the sword.

He turned around running down the ebony hallway back tacking from where they were.

"We should probably slow down before we run into someone!" Yelled Concord running after the young boy. "Vainglorious!"

Luminous followed after the others. She turned the ebony hall to see a pair of huge double doors cracked open. Luminous pushed the door a bit walking in. The library was just as big if not bigger than the library back at her home in the red palace. It was filled with shelves and shelves of books, it even had an upstairs balcony like the library at the palace.

Luminous walked around while looking at everything until she bumped into Concord who caught her in his arms before falling over.

"You okay?" Asked Concord. Luminous looked up at him with her big blue eyes and Concord could feel his face flush. "I uh..would...hate for you to get hurt..."

"You're a tomato." Said Luminous pointing at Concords bright flushed face and his green ponytail.

"Ya, I'm a tomato...wait I'm a tomato?!"

"Ahem!"

Concord and Luminous looked over and saw Vainglorious glaring at them with his stone gray eyes while tapping his foot.

"If you two don't mind, I would like to find that sun spell sometime now." Said Vainglorious. "The book by the way is called, Zealous' Record of Wondrous Spells. It's actually written by Zealous the wizard himself, that's a very important thing when checking all these books authors page." Said Vainglorious shifting through the lower part of the bookshelf.

He tilted a book before letting it fall to the ground.

"Hey, snobs do you think stealth missions would work better if we maybe didn't leave a trail?" Asked the Dawn of Fate.

But Vainglorious stuck his tongue out at the Dawn of Fate before throwing another book on the ground. And if a sword had eyes the Dawn of Fate would be rolling them.

"Hey stretch, do you mind helping snobs reach the taller shelves? We have to get a move on here." Said the Dawn of Fate.

There was a pause where Concord looked around, his mint green ponytail swaying at the top of his head.

"Oh, you mean me again?" He pointed to himself.

"Who else here would be tall enough to be called stretch?" Scoffed Vainglorious. "What did you think he was talking to Luminous?" The young boy rolled his eyes.

"You know, you could be nicer." Said Concord.

But Vainglorious only rolled his eyes in response to this as he rummaged through books on the shelf.

"Okay, short stuff you can start on the other half of the room. Make this whole thing go faster." Said the Dawn of Fate.

"Sure thing." Said Luminous saluting the Dawn of Fate.

Concord watched Luminous run to the other half of the room. Her dirt-covered white socks thumping on the dark blue carpet. The huge sword in its sheath bouncing around clunky on her small back.

"She may not know a lot or be as strong as you, me, or Grinnin Barrett. But she's nice and generally cares about people you know." Said Concord thumbing through the books on the shelf above Vainglorious' snow-white head. "Someone like you could learn a thing or two from someone like her."

"Me learn from an idiot like her?" Scoffed Vainglorious. "Besides what would you know about her? You haven't known her for much longer than I have. You only like her because of her two huge personalities."

"Her two huge personalities?"

Concord looked over towards Luminous. She shook one of the bookshelves with all the force her tiny body could muster until a book had fallen from the top shelf smacking her right in the middle of her face.

Concord couldn't help but smile when he heard the sword on her back scold her, saying he told her not to do that.

"Eww! I knew it, look at you with that grin on your stupid face, you're thinking about it." Said Vainglorious disrupting Concords train of thought. "I know you saw when we came back to the tavern carrying Barrett. Her two huge personalities."

Concord stared down at Vainglorious' boyish snow-white face. Before he realized what he was talking about. He felt his own face go red again.

"You...you're really horrible, you know that Vainglorious. That's not the reason why. I mean that's not the only reason people... you might not know what love is yet because you're still young. But you'll understand what it's really all about soon enough."

"Hogwash." Scoffed Vainglorious rolling his eyes. "I'll never be in love. Especially with an idiot like Luminous."

Vainglorious turned his head curtly and went back to rifling through the bookshelf. Concord sighed going back to looking through the books on the top shelf quietly. When he spotted a book with a dark blue forget-me-not flower on the front cover.

Meanwhile Luminous began turning around in a circle with her finger pointed.

"I'll look for the next book over..."

"Hey, short stuff," said the Dawn of Fate. "Maybe you should pay attention to where you're going before you..."

"Oww!" Yelped Luminous hitting her knee on a desk.

"Told you."

Luminous rubbed her knee as she looked at a book that was sprawled open on the table.

"I've never met a fate more grimmer, for the payment of taking down the greatest sinner." She tilted her head sideways while reading the words spread across the page. Her short blonde hair stretching to the side as she tilted. "The song of gluttony, the song he wrote, Relic locked away with the one spell that he spoke."

Luminous stood up straight again picking up the book.

"Zealous' Record of Wondrous Spells." Luminous read the title, holding the velvety book in her hands. "Hey, this sounds familiar. Where have I heard this before?"

"Because it's the book we're looking for you dingus." Said the Dawn of Fate. "Give it to the ice priss."

"Hey, ice Pri...I mean Vainglorious! I found the book you were looking for." Said Luminous holding up the big heavy book.

Vainglorious' big gray eyes lit up as he spotted the book being held up in Luminous' hands from across the room.

"You found it!"

Luminous could have sworn Vainglorious teleported across the room. Because one moment he was kneeling next to Concord looking through the bookshelves across the room. Then the next he was clutching the velvet book in his arms, hugging it tightly like it was an old relative he had not seen in a long time.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Vainglorious squealed genuine glee on his face.

"Wow, and here I thought you were just full of yourself. But you're just a regular old fanboy huh snobs?" Laughed the Dawn of Fate.

Vainglorious' pale cheeks reddened as he hid behind the book.

"I...I'm not...I mean it's not like that."

"Oh, ya, say that to my face."

"You don't have a face, you're a sword!" Yelled Vainglorious sticking his tongue out at the sword on Luminous' back.

"Why you little twerp I ought to-"

"Who is Zealous?" Asked Luminous.

Vainglorious spun on her so fast his face could have fallen off.

"Did you just ask who Zealous is?!" He exclaimed, eyes growing wider. "Luminous! You, how could you, just. How could you not know who Zealous is?!" He scrambled for the words. "He's only the greatest wizard in history!"

"Oh, he is...what did Zealous do again?" Luminous blinked.

"What did he? Luminous! Are you serious?!" Vainglorious looked as if he was going to pull every white hair he had out of his head. "He defeated the dragon Zo'lrin before he could attack kingdom white! He learned from storm toads the best way to utilize storm magic to power most of our lights and robots! Luminous, we wouldn't have lights or server bots without him!"

Luminous watched as Vainglorious rambled on passionately. The way his eyes lit up while explaining something he has probably taken years to study. To the way, a soft smile graced his snow-white face, not a greedy or stuck-up smirk like his usual smiles, but a warm genuine one that made Luminous smile with him. It reminded her of herself and how she looks up to Chasm.

"He's also the only wizard who enchanted a carpet to fly. He enchanted a carpet to fly, Luminous! How many wizards do you know who can do that? Can the guy who enchant your sword do that?"

Vainglorious turned back to Luminous. His smile went flat when he saw her smiling up at him.

"What's with that stupid face you're making?" He barked at her.

"Oh," Luminous blinked out of her thought. "I uhh..." She scratched the back of her head. "It's just, I don't think I've ever seen you genuinely smile before. I think you're really cute, Vainglorious."

Vainglorious' boyish features contorted as his face redded.

"I..it's just...I..why do you have to be so weird!" Vainglorious Kicked Luminous in the shins before clutching the giant purple book to his chest, running off.

"Owch!" Yelped Luminous rubbing her shins. "What did I do?"

"Hahaha! Did you see the way he gaped?" Laughed the Dawn of Fate. "I might not have a face being a sword. But at least I can't make one like that."

"I think I'm going to bruise by the rate Vainglorious keeps hitting me."

"What happened? I heard Vainglorious scream at you then you yelp in pain." Asked Concord walking up to Luminous who was sitting on the ground rubbing her shins. "Did he kick you in the shins?"

"Ya, what's his problem anyway?"

"Don't worry about it short stuff, you just embarrassed him is all." Said the Dawn of Fate.

"How did I embarrass him?" Asked Luminous.

"Well first off you- look out!" Yelled the Dawn of Fate.

Luminous looked up to see an expensive-looking bust falling from the top of the shelf towards her head.

"Luminous!"

Concord jumped in front of Luminous. Pulling his huge yellow shield to guard both of them. The bust broke on the shield, and as soon as it did a burst of magic came from the shield.

Dark magic.