Written Destiny Part I

It took nearly an hour of walking through the dark quiet plains before they reached the city gates. The survivors were tired, the musky smell sweat and odor of days without a bath were unpleasant to say the least, some of the women and children that Hahzi managed to shelter were all in tears at the sight of civilization, needless to say, everyone including the soldiers were glad to be back.

"Home sweet home."

Charlotte stretched her arms in relief. One of the soldiers stationed outside came to greet her.

"Welcome back Captain! Do you have orders as to what to do with these survivors?"

"Have Murakano arrange them lodging, I don't want any of them roaming the city if anyone tries to, just shoot them in the legs or something."

"Yes, Captain!"

"That is all. Dismissed."

The soldier saluted her one more time before taking command from Gregor, which then he proceeded to lead the large group of people with the help of other soldiers stationed by the gate. Charlotte turned to Percival who seemed to be taking mental notes of what she was saying.

"Remind me to talk with him about this and Hahzi's envoy later."

"It shall be done."

She nodded.

"Thank you." After taking one deep breath she turned around and noticed Krieg carrying a sleeping Leona in his arms while Phoebe kept watch with her longbow. "Now while I'd love to talk about how we'll head to Nara, I think we all deserve a good night's sleep after today."

"Agreed." Krieg answered. "Although we haven't found any lodging during our short stay here so might I trouble you with directions?"

"Oh? I thought Murakano would at least offer you rooms." She sighed before muttering under her breath. "Stingy fool…" With one exasperated breath she continued. "Very well, since it's just you three I don't think my brother would mind. You can rest at my home today if you have no objections."

"None whatsoever, Lady Charlotte." He bowed slightly. "We appreciate your hospitality."

"Eh, don't mention it. You three have done far more for this city than some people have for years." She holstered her revolver and motioned for the soldiers in her squad. "Thank you for coming through in the moment of need, all of you are heroes and heroes should enjoy as such." She took a few gold coins from her pouch and handed it to each of them. Except for Cecile who declined the reward. "Are you sure? This isn't coming from your paycheck you know."

"It won't be necessary." She then quickly glanced at Krieg before continuing to address Charlotte. "But in exchange I'd like to talk with Leona once she wakes up."

"Huh… it's fine by me as long as her companions allow it."

"Fine by me."

Krieg answered which prompted Phoebe to also say.

"I'm fine with whatever Krieg decides."

"Well there you have it." The captain turned her attention to the others and saluted them. "Troops, dismissed."

"Aye captain!"

They all answered with a salute before heading through the main gate.

"Now, I think some rest is in order." Charlotte looked at Krieg. "Do you still remember how to go to Murakano's inn?" Once he nodded she then decided to head off. "I'll meet you there for dinner. I don't know about you but I'm starving."

Seeing how they were back safe and sound made Charlotte ease up a bit as she appeared to be back to her easygoing self as she hummed in a cheerful tone while walking to the gate. Krieg and Phoebe started to walk as well with Cecile accompanying them.

"This may not be my place to ask but-" Krieg started the conversation without looking at her since she was walking beside him. "-why do you want to talk to my liege?"

"I have a favor to ask her."

"Nnngh… what favor?" Leona muttered while stretching her legs and arms while still being held by Krieg. "I only caught part of your conversation." She was gently lowered until her feet reached the ground to which she smiled at him. "Thank you Krieg."

He bowed which made her turn her attention towards Cecile.

"Ah, Miss Leona, I didn't mean to disturb your rest."

"No, it's fine, I was already half awake when Charlotte was addressing all of you. So, what was the favor you wanted to ask of me?"

"About that… do you remember when I said my family originally came from Arcadia?"

"Yes, our conversation on the cart."

"Well… that's not entirely true." She took off her hood, revealing a rather sharp pair of ears, but they only gently protruded out of her long straight chestnut hair as opposed to Phoebe's whose ears occasionally pop out of her cloth head mask. "My father was a sailor in the Zenith kingdom. My mother, a humble servant of house Gracefell. They met when Eleonora led a group of elven survivors back to Arcadia." She paused for a moment as if the memory that followed left a bitter taste in her mouth. "Since I am a person of mixed blood, prejudice was one of the things that forced my parents to use the war as an excuse to leave Arcadia." Her golden eyes and chestnut hair were even more beautiful up close which made Leona wonder why anyone would want to harm her. "However, I was separated from my parents when we reached Akrapocalis. It has been years since that happened and it's likely they are not even in this world anymore, but I want to believe they are out there somewhere."

"I'm surprised you managed to live this long." Phoebe seemed bitter. "Being a half elf nonetheless."

"Calm down Phoebe." Leona glanced at her. "She did help us back there and I don't mean to leave my debts unpaid." She then turned back to Cecile. "Come to Arcadia after we settle matters with the death angel menace, I'll find a way to help you. That I swear upon my name."

"Thank you Princess Leona."

Charlotte didn't hesitate to lower to her knee and bow down.

"Now, now, no need to kneel." She patted her shoulder twice before pulling her hand up. "I would gladly have someone like you back in Arcadia. Your skills would be most welcomed." She then turned around, heading towards the city gates with a cheerful smile on her face. "Now come, let's go. Fighting has certainly built up my appetite."

Phoebe gave a stern look at Cecile before moving ahead, despite that, the half elf woman smiled with a relieved sigh under her breath.

"Sir Krieg."

"Yes?"

"Is Princess Leona always this gracious?"

He smiled faintly as he slowly walked to the city. Cecile accompanied his steps.

"I can say for sure, she is a one of a kind person."

As they walked through the narrow alleys of the maze-like city, Leona couldn't help but wonder during the fight against Wendigo there was a light coming from her pocket at certain times which prompted her to reach for the prismatic stone she had been given back in Arivaul.

'This thing… I'm sure it was shining earlier…' She thought as she inspected the piece of rock that now had a dull color due to the lack of proper lights. 'I wonder if…' She poured a bit of mana through it and at first it didn't seem like was doing anything, until she felt the prismatic rock heat up on her hand while also emitting a faint light blue glow that soon vanished. 'Huh…?'

It was a soothing warm sensation akin to when she would drink a mana potion but this time focused solely on her hand.

"Hey Leona, what's that shiny thing on your hand?" Phoebe asked as she jogged closer to her. "Wait… is that the rock that merchant gave us?"

"Yes, didn't you notice there were a few flashes of light when we were fighting Hahzi's brother?"

"I assumed that was from your magic." She observed the stone closely, but it didn't seem like it was doing anything, at least visually. "What do you think it does?"

"I don't know… I poured some of my mana into it and it glowed briefly."

"Huh… that's interesting. Maybe it emits more light the more mana you pour through it?"

"Hmmm… if that's the case I might try it tomorrow. I don't want to disturb the residents." She pocketed the rock and turned to Cecile. "I've been meaning to ask, how old are you, Miss Cecile?"

She seemed temporarily stunned by what she just noticed as her voice seemed to snap her out of it.

"Hah? Oh. I'm twenty seven. I've lived here for about five years already."

"Am I the youngest of everyone we've met?" She glanced at Krieg who shook his head as he had no idea how to answer her question. "I get the feeling I am."

"Luka is, or rather, was nineteen about a week ago. I believe after him is Khalid with twenty three, lady Charlotte, me, Gregor and Percival."

Seeing how the age only went up and not down made Leona hang her head low.

"I am the youngest here after all… being inexperienced sure hurts."

"I don't think so." Cecile said without hesitation. "You achieved many great things in less time than most of us. Not to mention when you managed to save an entire kingdom from being wiped off history by death angels."

"Anybody with common sense would do that, no?"

"If they could, maybe." Cecile looked at the stars. "When I heard about the story of a young girl claiming to know a terrible fate awaited the citadel, it was like reading through a storybook. Rumors of your exploits reached even as far and wide as the coastal city of Nara."

"Wait, have you been there?"

"Huh? Yes, I was accompanying lady Charlotte at the time as her bodyguard for her first voyage."

"That takes some courage…" Krieg caught up to them with Phoebe right behind him. He just heard the end of the conversation as he walked beside Leona. "Eleonora used to tell stories about how she had to reach Zenith through the ocean in order to confront the commander of the demon army."

"Cut a snake by the head." Phoebe commented. "Despite being a job for an assassin, the Queen assisted in the assault at the demon's headquarters. My mother was there with her when it happened, she would often retell the stories of Eleonora to me."

The way she spoke felt like she was leaving something out on purpose, but Leona didn't inquire more about it. At that point they had reached the entrance of the inn, it had a rather long line for a restaurant.

"Oh are you the captain's guests by any chance?" A soldier in uniform was right beside the double doors that led inside, while he didn't have the standard issue rifle with him he was still armed with a saber tied to the belt on his hip. He was looking at Leona, seemingly informed of her appearance. "Lady Leona right?"

"Ah, yes, she went ahead of us."

He gave her a short nod and a smile before he stepped to the side with his right hand motioning towards the inside of the establishment.

"Head on inside my Lady, our captain awaits upstairs."

Leona nodded in response while the rest of the group followed right behind her which left some of the patrons that were waiting with raised eyebrows. As the guard by the door tried to quell the clients outside, the group went in and were escorted by a half demon waitress of long gray wavy hair, eyes of similar color with wolf ears on top of her head. They would occasionally twitch towards certain higher pitched sounds in the establishment as they made their way through the restaurant.

"This way please."

She courteously bowed as she led them, Leona couldn't take her eyes off the waitress' fluffy ears. After climbing two sets of stairs they were standing by a fancy oriental paper sliding double door as the waitress slowly opened the right side of the door and announced their presence.

"Lord Murakano, Lady Charlotte, I brought our guests."

The interior of the room was well lit with incandescent light bulbs emitting a warm orange glow through the round paper lamp adorned with symbols that Leona didn't recognize. Murakano, who was sitting on the tatami floor beside Charlotte stood up and bowed towards the group before turning to the waitress.

"Thank you. Yasha, you may leave us now."

"As you wish my lord."

After bowing once again she stepped to the side to let them enter, after doing so she moved outside and closed the sliding door. Aside from Charlotte and Murakano, a young man wearing a formal suit, white cotton shirt and thick squared glasses was quietly drinking his water on the side of the table. Both his chestnut colored hair and amber sharp eyes closely resembled Charlotte, before Leona could say anything Cecile took a step forward and gave a slight bow.

"Greetings, lord Vladimir. Glad to see you in good health."

He finished drinking from his glass of water and stood up.

"Thank you Cecile." He turned his attention towards Leona who was in the middle of the group. "My name is Vladimir Toril. It is a pleasure to meet my sister's esteemed guests. I heard much and more about your exploits in the Akrapocalian battle. Princess Leona Crossford."

"The pleasure is all mine sir Vladimir. Your sister also told us how dependable of a guild master you are. Being the head of the merchant's guild also comes with a fair bit of pressure doesn't it?"

She sat on the opposite side of the rectangular table, seeing how everyone simply crossed their legs under it made her do the same. In the meantime Krieg and Phoebe filled the space to her left while Cecile sat beside her right.

"You must be all too familiar with it." He grabbed four small ceramic cups and put them in front of each of them before slowly pouring a golden liquid of thick consistency, almost like honey, in it just shy of overflowing. "This is an imported beverage from Nara, it's called elven lemon, I personally chose this for our meeting."

"Some for us too Vlad."

Charlotte slid two similar ceramic cups over the table which made the young man give his sister a stern look before he poured some of the liquid. After which he sat and poured some for himself.

"To our prosperity."

"Cheers."

Everyone raised their cups before drinking. Leona was a bit cautious, she would often hear from her father that a drunk strategist would be no better than a musket without blackpowder, but from the tiny sip she took from the golden beverage it sent a pleasant sensation throughout her whole body, the sweet aftertaste from the first acidic sip was something she didn't expect and while it was indeed an alcoholic drink, it was so faint she almost couldn't notice.

"This is… very refined." She looked at the thick golden liquid gently swirling in the bottom of the white cup and then to Vladimir who had just finished his portion. "You mentioned this was from Nara?"

"Yes, a fairly new creation. I heard it was the idea of a high elf that lived in the northern mountains near the capital."

Capital of Nara, the largest and most powerful kingdom of the eastern continent, Leona only knew about it through history books that portrayed the city as a marvelous haven for inventors. A city so bright it was possible to see it even far away from the ocean. Through trading, knowledge of electricity, gunpowder, clothing and crop rotation slowly began to be the norm in the Arcadian continent, allowing the overall population to grow exponentially.

But deep down Leona knew it was best for her to control her expectations as the once magnificent kingdom she read about in the books became nothing but rubble under the death angel might.

"How do they live in Nara?" She muttered to herself while holding the cup between her two curling hands. "Both Arcadians and Akrapocalians have such a hard time fighting off death angels that come from so far away and yet, the people at Nara still are able to trade with a big city such as Astera… it makes me wonder what they are able to do."

"Nara has some incredible individuals." Cecile had a faint smile on her face as she glanced at her. "My marksmanship improved after meeting a certain young man from the city, supposedly an instructor of sorts for the people defending the last bastion for humanity there."

"Young man?"

"Yes, I think his name was Miyamoto?"

The moment she mentioned that name a freezing chill went down her spine.