Echoes of Despair

A week had passed. Over the last few days, Emersyn had been spending time with her sister and the two young lads who had saved them with Elaine following them everywhere. But while they had been enjoying themselves, the culprit of the recent incident still hasn't been caught. More people have grown uneasy and restless as a few more enchanted trees appeared in public areas. The number of knights patrolling the streets increased and a curfew was placed. People were now forbidden from exiting their homes between the hours of ten in the evening till 5 in the morning. This caused a few complaints as a majority of the people start their work in the early mornings.

"This is quite delicious." Emersyn remarked.

"You sure are relaxed at a time like this." Ciaran commented with his chin resting on his palm. The four of them were in a bakery eating sweet desserts.

"He's right, sister Emie. The enchanted trees are dangerous, yet you don't seem frightened at all." Selena stated. "What if we encounter another one?" She frowned.

"No need to worry, the knights are patrolling and are on the lookout for any danger. You're in safe hands." The prince said in an attempt to reassure her.

"That's right. And although I seem relaxed, I still have my guard up. And besides, Elaine is guarding us, so we'll be fine." Emersyn claimed, gesturing to the noirette sitting at a nearby table.

"Alright.." Selena trailed off.

"By the way, we're heading to the Aldenri March this week. Do you two wish to join us?" Emersyn offered.

Ciaran used his ring. 'What's this trip for? You're not the type to do something like this.'

'There's a book I need to check and you might want to see it as well. It might just be related to this case.' Emersyn replied.

"Sure, I'll go." Ciaran declared.

"I'm afraid I must decline the offer. I need to stay in the palace for the time being and assist my elder brother."

"That's too bad. The scenery there is quite beautiful." Selena remarked.

The four went on with their conversation and continued their outing as time passed by.

***

Clank. The carriage shook. Emersyn, Selena, and Ciaran were in a carriage with the girls' father in a carriage up front.

'So what's this book you're planning to find?' He spoke in his head, facing her.

'It's an old book about fairies. I recall finding it in a hidden compartment as I was in the library. I'm not sure why it was hidden but it might contain information that would prove to be useful to our investigation.' She replied.

As the two communicated telepathically, Selena had fallen asleep and rested her head on Emersyn's shoulder.

'You must be a pretty good older sister for her to be so comfortable around you.' He commented.

'I guess you could say that. I've been spending most of my time with her in place of our mother. Even though my mother was merely a step-mother to her, Selena adored her so much. But now that she's gone, she's once again left with no mother.' A solemn expression arose on her gentle face. She recalled the times her mother had played with her and her younger sister. The three enjoyed spending time together and strolling around in the streets. They were wonderful times. But all good things come to an end, one way or another.

'This isn't really my place to say anything, but just know that things will work out. You plan to find your mother's murderer, don't you? I'll help you.'

'Thank you.' She said, smiling gently. 'I was quite troubled as I am not well connected within society. I have yet to have my debut after all.'

As the carriage entered the spatial transmit, their surroundings had changed from a bustling city to a small town. They had been transported to the March of Aldenri. Townsfolk were walking along the streets, with various stalls lined up and selling various items. The town was lush with greenery and the atmosphere was peaceful. Emersyn rested her chin on her palm as she gazed at the passersby. It had been a while since she last roamed the streets. The Most recent time was when she visited her mother's grave on the anniversary of her death. She had a look of longing and nostalgia as she stared into the distance.

Soon enough, the carriage had stopped as they had reached their destination.

***

"Alright, thank you father." Emersyn said and soon headed to the library where Ciaran and Selena had been waiting.

To her surprise, what awaited Emersyn as she entered the library was Ciaran reading a book to her sister. The book was titled 'The Princess of The Stars and her Dragon'. The tale was of a princess who fled from her castle to go on adventures with her friends. One particular friend of hers was a young lad who could transform into a dragon. Throughout their journey through several worlds, the princess had gained the blessing of the stars. It was quite a unique story. In countless tales, princesses are depicted to be fragile damsels who would be kidnapped by a dragon. A prince would then come to their rescue and they would live happily ever after. But in this story, the princess didn't need a prince to save her. Instead, she found happiness with the dragon and ventured with her dear friends. Many have raised complaints about the story. But, Emersyn loved it. It's her favorite book. It taught her that she could be strong as well.

Selena raised her head and her eyes met with Emersyn's amethyst ones. "Oh, sister Emie! We found this book about a princess and a dragon!" Selena exclaimed. "The princess is amazing and really strong!"

"I agree." She responded. "I've actually read this book before. It's a great story."

"Since you're here now, shouldn't we search for that book you mentioned?" Ciaran mentioned.

"That's right, follow me." She said, beckoning for them to follow. "I stumbled upon a small compartment behind some books on a bookshelf as I was searching for history books. It was quite well hidden — except for the fact that children can see the notches locking it from below." She added. She then extended her arm and reached for the underside of a shelf. Found it. A click sounded and a hidden space was unveiled behind some books. The security is quite lax. If the person who hid this didn't want anyone to find it, shouldn't it be more secure? They removed the books and discovered a dust-covered book. Ciaran picked it off and wiped the dust off with his handkerchief. Emersyn spoke up. "Are you sure it's fine for you to use that? It'll get dirty."

"That's what they're for — to clean." He responded and shrugged. "'The Mystical Fairies of Elmeire'. Elmeire..? Is that a place of some sorts?"

"It is. It's supposedly a kingdom of fairies and elves."

"Elves?" Selena chimed in. "So they really were real!"

"I'm not entirely sure if they exist." Emersyn replied.

Ciaran flipped through the book and stopped at a certain page. "Look at this page. 'Fairies are hybrids made from the blood of an elf and a winged beastkin. 700 years ago, fairies didn't exist until an elf who was greedy for power, messed with the laws of life and created the fairies through alchemy. This certain elf had been born without magic and went on the path of alchemy.'"

"Wait, fairies, are hybrids and artificial beings? Wouldn't their blood have strange mutations?" Emersyn questioned. "The last time someone had tried to create artificial beings, the resulting babies were deformed and couldn't last a day." She added.

"I don't think you'll like what this says." He said.

Emersyn read the page. "Oh Celeste.." She could feel her breakfast going up her throat. This lunatic used elf children to create fairies?! This is morbid.

Selena approaches the two. "Why? What does it say?"

"You shouldn't read this. It's not appropriate for children." Emersyn responded.

"But you're a child too! You're only two years older than me." She frowned.

"Well, uhm-"

"We're old enough for it while you're still too young." Ciaran interrupted.

"But!"

"You'll understand why when you're older." I'm sorry, Lina. But I can't let you read about these things.

"Fine.." Selena said, feeling dejected.

Ciaran spoke up. "It also mentions here that their blood has special properties that are similar to magic."

"Magic?" Emersyn repeated. "Could that be why they're targeting the fairies?"

"Possibly. But we'll need to locate the culprits."

"What if we compared the locations of each murder and see if we can find a common point?"

"Clever." Ciaran remarked. "But we need a map of the capital."

"Actually, I found one earlier.." Selena interrupted. In her hand was a map loosely rolled up. Its appearance was quite old with the edges slightly torn. Nevertheless, the map was still in a decent enough condition.

"Oh, thank you Lina." But, why did she keep the map with her?

Emersyn took the map from Selena and laid it out flat on the surface of a nearby table. She and Ciaran then began to mark the locations of where each murder took place with pens. Oddly enough, all the murders took place at locations close to the palace and were mostly frequented by commoners. Another thing was that when connected together, the locations form a circle with a certain warehouse exactly at its center.

"A warehouse? This might be where the culprits are hiding. But we'll need evidence first before we can report it."

"I can send someone to investigate the location." Ciaran stated.

"Then I guess we'll just have to wait until then."

Meanwhile, standing near the bookshelves, Selena was staring at a small sapphire gemstone she had picked up the day she was hypnotized by that enchanted tree. She thought it looked interesting so she had brought it with her.

The three spent the rest of the day roaming around the mansion. And on the next day, they departed and headed back to the capital.

***

Chirp, chirp. The gentle breeze blew through the windows with the curtains flowing.

A young man in his twenties was kneeling in front of Ciaran. "My lord, I have brought a report regarding the investigation of the warehouse."

"Alright, what were the results?" Ciaran questioned.

"I found a group of suspicious individuals discussing about fairies. They had spoken about plans to murder them."

"Alright, thank you. I'll need to report this to His Highness as soon as possible."

***

"Your Highness, Lord Erebus wishes to see you."

"Let him in."

The doors to the second prince's study opened wide as a young lad was revealed behind them.

Ciaran grinned. "I'm not bothering you, am I?" He asked shamelessly, knowing very well that the prince in front of him was buried in work. Which is quite strange as he's second in line to the throne and his elder brother was crowned as the heir. This prince also had no plans of challenging his brother for the throne. So why was he so busy? Ciaran didn't know. "I have some news for you." He added.

"What is it?" The prince replied.

"Well," Ciaran paused. "Lady Aldenri and I have done a bit of investigating."

"Let me guess, you were impatient and curious so you decided to try and find the culprit of the current series of murders?"

"Impressive, you know me so well."

"I've known you for years. Although, you are quite unpredictable at times. But I must ask, how did you end up dragging the daughter of Marquess Aldenri into it?"

"I just invited her." He shrugged. "Never mind that, we've found their base."

"And exactly how were you — two mere children — able to find their base when even the Royal Knights — a group of adults —couldn't?"

"Simple, we used a map, marked the locations of the murders, and found a common point." Ciaran responded. "Which is actually quite perplexing. Shouldn't the knights have already thought of this method?"

"That is true.." The prince pondered. "There are numerous possibilities. But we should focus on the matter at hand first. We need to capture those culprits."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll mobilize my personal knights as well as request my elder brother to send out the Royal Knights for back-up. It's important to be cautious. We do not know what those miscreants have in store. For all we know, they may have set up traps as a safety precaution."

***

The sky darkened, a sign of doom for whichever side came to a loss. As the sound of knights marching filled the air, one can only hope that there wouldn't be too much bloodshed. The prince held up his hand, signalling the knights to stop, having arrived at the location. A group of miscreants eagerly awaited outside, gripping their weapons in anticipation for the great battle that is to come. More opposing forces started to show up on all sides as the knights became surrounded. But from the look on their faces, one wouldn't think that they're surrounded at all. The prince smiled, happy that the potion worked well as the sight of outlined magical energy coming from underground revealed itself. Both sides grew still, but the sound of a charged bow was enough for the miscreants as they ruthlessly charged towards the Royal Knights, making sure to avoid certain spots and grinning as the mages cast some spells beneath their feet.

"You'll never win!"

"You filthy pawns will never know the taste of true power!

"Enough with your foolish nonsense!"

The sound of screams and the clashing of metal blades filled the air. Cries of anguish could be a heard everywhere as the battle grew intense.

As an enemy approached slowly, a knight donning metal armor and adorned in red cloth quickly raised his sword. His opponent wasted no time and quickly pounced on the knight, a glint of wrath rapidly increasing as the knight blocked his attack. The knight jumped back and the enemy followed, unaware of the trap set beneath him and was only aware of the knight blocking his way to absolute power. But, as the opposing force was ready to strike, he stopped and slowly looked down with a haunted look, desperately hoping for it to be a hoax. The metal pole that was stuck to the ground and the unbearable pain he felt from his lower body quickly washed away any thoughts of survival as he desperately tried to hold on to the string of life. Blood dripped down onto his chest as he clawed away at his body, hoping to get rid of the fiery pain he felt inside that seemed as if ants we're consuming his organs. He suddenly started feeling something inside him moving — expanding — and he only wished that his daughter would not feel too much grief before getting ripped in half. Blood splattered onto the ground and splashed everywhere as bits of flesh fell to the ground, warning the other miscreants of their possible fate.

In the sidelines stood a young ashen-haired girl. She was horrified by the gruesome scenery. This was not what she had expected when they planned to capture the culprits. There was so much bloodshed. She mouthed a few words to herself before retreating from the bloody battlefield. "It wasn't supposed to end up like this.."

The battle continued until all members of the group behind the murders were captured. Unfortunately, much bled had been shed and multiple members had lost their lives. Some knights have also lost their lives from the battle.

The knights rejoiced as the dust from the battle had settled. Some members were found running away from the battlefield but ultimately had been captured and detained. Some families mourned, some families celebrated, but unbeknownst to everyone, evil stil lurks somewhere in the shadows, close yet hidden.

The captured members were interrogated and, if they refused, were eventually tortured. They were able to get some answers, but not nearly enough to actually solve the case completely. The prince and his knights may have won the battle, but they certainly did not get what they wanted yet.

***

"Are you still upset about what happened?" Ciaran asked, continuously pestering Emersyn and poking her.

"Anyone would be, it was a complete nightmare." Emersyn responded. "Also, would you stop poking me?!"

"Fine, fine."

"How about we go to that bakery again?" The prince suggested.

"Yeah, sweet desserts always make everything better." Selena stated. She had no idea what was troubling her sister. Nevertheless, she knew she needed to cheer her up.

"I heard that there's an event being hosted there for their 20th founding anniversary." Ciaran spoke up. "There's some kind of cookie decorating that customers can participate in. They say you can even bring the cookies with you."

"Then why don't we head there?" The prince said.

"Sure, it seems fun." Emersyn responded.

As the four of them continued to walk with Elaine trailing behind them, they arrived at the bakery. They entered and signed up to participate in the event. The staff provided them with aprons, gloves, and other equipment. Then, they were guided with decorating cookies. They made a few messes here and there. They would often burst into small giggles when they looked at each others' designs. They enjoyed the time they spent there. After what seemed to be hours, they finished decorating more than a dozen cookies.

"Pfft, what's that supposed to be? An orange pig?" Ciaran teased.

"Hey! It's a fox, not a pig." Emersyn retorted. "What did you make then?" She mocked.

"It's a little white bunny." He said, showing her the cookie he decorated.

"Huh, it actually looks pretty good for someone like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh nothing~" She smirked.

Suddenly, a burst of screams rang out loud. People start running away, the sight of a dead fairy on the ground and the smell of blood lingering in the air as a few people begin to drop dead.

Amidst the chaos, a pair of eyes tracked down a particular pair. The eyes disappeared and a body replaced it as they signaled for more members to follow the ashen-haired maiden and the golden eyed gentleman. It wasn't hard to identify them, considering that they stand out quite a bit being the only people calmly leaving the crowd. The group followed them, unable to shake off the feeling that the pair of children actually know that they're tailing them. But that's impossible.. right? They compose themselves and follow on with the plan despite their senses warning them to not proceed.

'What do we do? It's pure chaos out here and we've been separated from His Highness and Lina. I can't see Elaine either. What if something happened to my sister?!' Emersyn communicated in her head, anxiously gazing at Ciaran as the two of them try to walk out of the crowd.

'Calm down, your sister will be fine. His Highness wouldn't let your sister be in danger. For now, we need to deal with the little rats on our tail.' Ciaran responded.

'Let's use the invisibility skill on the ring.'

'Good idea.'

The two disappear with the use of their rings and hide in a nearby alley. The group tailing them passed by, and they let out a sigh of relief. They try to wait it out. But unfortunately for them, luck was not on their side today.

"Emersyn!"

Smack. Thud. Her entire world went black. And the last thing she saw before completely losing her consciousness was the look of bloodlust on Ciaran's face.

***

The firm ground was damp and cold. A piece of cloth was tightly tied over her eyes, her mouth was gagged, and her limbs were restrained. Where was she? She didn't know. Where's Ciaran? What's going on?

'Ciaran, can you hear me? Ciaran? Answer me! '

'I can hear you.' He responded. 'I can't see but I can sense your presence. I think we're in the same room.'

'What should we do now? We're chained up and blindfolded. I don't know where this place is.'

As they continued to communicate with each other through telepathy, they suddenly heard a group of voices and they decide to pretend like they're still unconscious. The group of voices got progressively louder until it was clear that they were talking about the next location of their murder and their boss. Unfortunately, the only piece of information they acquired about the boss was that he was residing in the palace. On the other hand, they did have plenty of info to go through regarding their methods and power level just from listening to whichever voice commands the most.

The members leave and the pair start communicating immediately. They thought of plans to escape. They could either use the ring and become invisible long enough for the members to panic and search for them, leaving their actual selves in the room. They could negotiate with the weak willed for better supplies and more chances for absolute power. They could also stall and buy time until help arrives so that they could potentially learn more information.

They suddenly felt a wave of warmth cross over the room. They're not alone.

"Drop the act. I'm aware that the two of you are conscious." A man spoke and removed their gags.

The two sit upright. Ciaran spoke up. "What's the point of kidnapping us?" He questioned.

"You little rascals are an obstacle to my plan. You two are unexpected variables in my thorough calculations. You'll be staying here until everything is complete."

"Hah, what? You're a grown man and yet you're afraid of two little kids? You're a coward." Emersyn provoked him.

"I'm merely taking precautions. I know a lot regarding your backgrounds. I did a little investigating. Your mother, Daphne, was the daughter of a fallen noble house games for their skills in weapons — the Ruvian family — and became a prostitute due to financial problems. She slept with countless men until she became pregnant with you. Unfortunately for her, prostitutes weren't allowed to be pregnant, hence, she was kicked out. She wasn't accepted back into her family and ended up on the streets. Until she met your current father, that is. And the rest is history. Although, it's unknown what she did during the time she was on the streets, there were rumors of her teaching a young girl about weapons. I assume that you are that very same girl."

Tch. How dare he even so much as mention my mother's name. Unfortunately for him, most of those were lies fabricated by my mother. My mother was never a prostitute. She was never kicked out. "Admirable. But that means nothing." Emersyn remarked. "So what if I know a little about weapons?"

"You mother was famous for her versatility with weapons. She mastered countless weapons and was feared by many." He added.

That is true.

"So I have reason to believe that you may be skilled with certain weapons as well."

"Fair point."

"Whereas for the boy, it's known by everyone that his swordsmanship is on par with the Royal Knights." He stated. "It'd be foolish to underestimate one's skills merely because of their age-"

Boom! An explosion suddenly occured. The yells of numerous people rang out the halls of this dark space.

"Shit. I didn't expect them to find this place." The man whispered under his breath.

'Ciaran, what do you think is going on?'

'I'm not sure, but it seems like someone has invaded this place.'

"Lord Erebus, Lady Aldenri, I've finally found you." A young woman spoke.

"Elaine? Is that you?" Emersyn questioned.

"Yes, my lady. It is I, Elaine. I am at fault for failing to protect you." She said as she freed the two from the chains and removed their blindfolds. "This time, I'll protect the both of you. Let's go."

With Elaine leading the two, the three of them quickly escaped through a secret passageway that Elaine had discovered. They were able to escape, but so did their captors.