What could go wrong?

Acriestelion emerged from the highest and honorable lands in the continent. With this empire came with it's Empress and Prince ruling it's entirety in all it's glory. The Acriestelion family was one with influence, power and knowledge, a family that had rose up to become the history's next symbolic figures after the fall of the continents previous empire, rivaling close to no one at its feat. Acriestelion consisted of two noble children- Aminesria and Adelai.

Aminesria had been the oldest of the two, born with the sharpest of minds and serene beauty. As she grew, her allure had only become much stronger, blessed with an imagery of a painted swan with it's purity, elegance and grace. With skin smoother than silk sheets and hair softer than a swan's feather. For Aminesria— luck, fortune and people all came and about as natural as water flows. And if that water stopped flowing then it could only mean something bad.

On the other hand, Adelai was simply a confusing controversy compared to his sister. Since Adelai, no younger than 5 years than his sister, strayed far from ones expectation of an Emperor's son— A boy such as he, with a good build that's not too buff, tall and handsome, one with an allure of pure innocence and wisdom, one would think he would follow in the steps of his strict yet impressive father. A man full of thrive. Yet, Adelai pursued none of his father's brazen and wild demeanor. That boy, who was no older than 21 had been indifferent to the world. Every nobleman who had seen his face could see how beaten up his spirit had been and scorned his lack of passion that came incomparable to his sister's own. On the other hand, young ladies could clearly see the allure in this handsome young man's dispassionate personality. A handsome young man who had lost all hope, broken to the core and a serene face of matured pain was a delicacy for many ladies hoping to be the one person to bring life into those sea of green eyes whilst blindly hoping for a chance to run their delicate fingers through his sunflower hair and whisper secret words of love.

If the empire received a penny for every time Aminesria received the favor of every boy- both noble and unfortunate, then Acriestelion would not have been facing impending doom as of now. It was on what should have been a festive day in Acriestelion for Princess Aminesria's 21st birthday when the Emperor had died in heart failure. Bright decorations and hearty meals were replaced in an instant with the preparations for the former Emperor's funeral. As if that had not been enough, like wildfire in a forest, the Empress at that time, stricken with despair had fallen into her grief leaving young adult Aminesria to rule over the Empire as soon as the empress passed away. Truly, the Acriestelion empire seemed to be cursed at the eyes of those from afar.

Now, Acriestelion ruled over a new Empress for the last 5 years, Empress Aminesria Acriestelion. And with a new ruler in lead meant another stir of problems— nobles washed in dire disagreement. The sun stood high in the sky as bustling merchants and youthful laughter came a flood the busy streets of the capitol. It was a happy day for the entire empire after the situation of ransid bandits actively stealing from door to door had been taken care of. Leaving now in this holy Sunday only the conference room in the empire to be heavy with tension and... Political dispute, for this day was planned to discuss about the rumored calamity plaguing the outskirts of the country. Nobles sat side by side on the large round table, leaving the high middle as the Empress seat. Within the center space stood a single platform meant to raise awareness of the subject and report. Meant. The platform at the center had been meant for a reporter, however there was no reporter currently on the matter because the prince had yet to come back from his trip to gather information from the outskirts. Empress Aminesria sighed at his brother's lack of efficiency. She allowed her brother to take charge with this mission in hopes to prove to these flimsy-masked puppets of his worth. Prince Adelai had been given 2 months to do the investigation in secret yet here he was. No where to be seen. It shouldn't have even taken less than a month to begin with. Empress Aminesria rested a palm to her eyes, a whole hour had gone by without any sign of her dear brother's arrival. Aminesria had inherited her fathers golden eyes, along with it came with it's authority and pride. Years ago, many had lived to see those golden eyes take reign of the world, even more so when legend becomes reality. These golden eyes had been said to be blessed by the goddess of this world, bestowing upon them endless power and energy to preserve the world. However, a mortal body can not bear to handle such compelling authority thus it had been locked within golden eyes. Now these golden eyes glared pensively at nobles from beneath her hand, nobles who whispered soliloquies amongst themselves. Aminesria didn't need ears to know what they were talking about. Her brother had been another disappointment. Just when she was about to call off the meeting, the double doors pushed open. A numbered pair of eyes immediately glanced towards it's direction, some had expecting the prince, and some expecting a miracle to be excused from this room. The conference room had been cool and chilly, coming along with tea and freshly baked goods limited only to a very few, yet considering whom they were stuck with, all this space had become nothing but suffocating.

What they had been expecting was a tall blonde royalty, hopefully bearing reportings about the plague at the outskirts but soon those anticipating faces flashed into scornful resentment. A noble young lady entered, flashing teeth of pearly whites. Her eyes hid behind an intricate lace blindfold but still, her eyes had clearly been surveying the room before stopping in front of the round table to drop a curtsy. Her silver hair parted into two low half braid pigtails. But it had not been her disrespectful tardiness or blunt audacious attitude that provoked this level of anger, upon a second look, what really did put the cherry on top had been her outfit. She wore a pure white bodysuit with frills and laces, her sleeves were nothing but gauze, and leaving her legs to be covered with nothing but stockings and high heels to boot. It didn't take much to say, rather, only the use of five words. This was inappropriate to display. But what had this young lady cared about? Obviously not this.

Aminesria glanced at such a vulgar display and bit back a headache that was fast approaching. Great, first her brother, now her. She waved her hand and said "Lord Senia, I am pleased to see you've come to join us. Your performance had gone well, I presume?"

Lord Senia raised her head towards the empress sat up high at the center throne, "As always, Your Highness."

"So sad I couldn't come to see. I heard your plays are what's everyone has been talking about these days. I'll be sure to get the next one," Aminesria couldn't have cared less about some measly ballet performance but what could she do in front of this young lady who strutted up and about? Her teeth pressed against each other as Lord Senia took her seat happily at the empty spot at the table. The seat that had been rightfully hers. Aminesria couldn't help but grimace at the mere sight of this girl, just like everyone else had secretly been doing as soon as she entered the grand dooes. With such a naive and unsuspecting face no one would have predicted this girl to be god's vessel. A god's vessel. What a joke.

"Ever since the existence of god's vessels three centuries ago, the Acriestelion empire had been reduced to nothing but laughing stocks." Viscount Everson scoffed, his rugged beard grey of age. "That's true," Chimed in a noble woman from two seats far, "They claimed to receive the goddess blessing within those golden eyes but with the existence of god's vessels... Why I can't help but feel we've been poked fun of!" The woman's husband coughed in embarrassment at his wife's comment and subtly nudged his elbow at her. Slightly annoyed and upset, she begrudgingly stopped and remained quiet for the rest of the meeting. Aminesria couldn't say anything to do that. All of it had been true. Her mother would sit by her side back when she was little to tell stories of past Acriestelion rulers and their bloodlines history. All lived and died triumphant under the watchful gaze of heaven up until the very first recordings of god's vessels arrived on earth. These vessels were said to roam the earth as god's eyes and hands, bearing with them god's authority. A wild dispute soon erupted between the church and the empire after god's vessel had involved themselves with the world. It had taken years for the world to accept where god's vessels stood in position, and it had taken a century for Acriestelion to pull themselves back up from the shame the existence of these vessels had thrown them in. For that, Aminesria loathed the mere idea of these vessels. When Aminesria first accepted the role of Empress in her younger brother's stead, she hadn't quite expected to be working with one of them as soon as she stepped up. Her father, the former late emperor had struck a deal with god's vessel for the sake of the empire and kept it a secret within close nobles. Now finally taking his place at the throne, she finally understood just what trouble her father had gone through to face such death.

"I see the young prince hasn't arrived yet with the report, Your Highness?" The voice had come from none other than Lord Senia herself. Empress Aminesria smiled, never entertaining an answer to the young lady. Senia herself hadn't taken any offense to the Empress lack of interest towards her and continued to sip on the hot tea placed in front of her as time continued to pass. It hadn't taken long for the young prince to finally arrive with a crumpled paper rolled in his hands and hair messy from the rush he took to get there not any more later. And thus, the meeting had finally began.

Day had yet to fall when the meeting ended, leaving only the two royal siblings in the secluded hall. Aminesria stood in front of her younger brother, it had only been two months since she had last seen him when he departed to the outskirts for the mission and yet he had come back looking completely changed. Her brother had left the capitol as a sad broken man easily undone by a few words. Golden eyes perceived her brother once more. Appearance wise, nothing out of the ordinary could be seen through naked eyes but as her gaze trailed to his eyes, she could see the tiny, unbetrayable signs. She could blatantly see how his brows drew closer to his eyes. Could count the faint, tiny scars that healed, and even more so the fierce light in ocean green eyes. Adelai had been a striking image of their mother, even more so with his faltering attitude leaving a serene and gentle look on his handsome face but Aminesria had been the image of their father, an unyielding man with a sense of leadership. One would think these siblings would have gotten along. But somewhere along the way, the current had drifted too harshly and the waters had become too deep for these siblings to bridge a connection with each other.

"You could not have arrived any sooner?" Adelai did not satisfy his sister with a reaction for that question. Those sharp golden eyes could easily tear through every lie and excuse he had for himself, that was how his sister tore through every noble that went against her. Instead lowered his head in apology and said "There was a problem during the investigation. I had to stay for a little longer before rushing back here," He gripped on a folded piece of paper in his pocket and slipped it out neatly before handing it to his sister before he continued to speak, "The situation by the outskirts is more dire than I thought— All the villages near the outskirts have been plagued by some kind of curse. I've had someone interview a few affected families and..." Adelai failed to speak but Aminesria didn't need him to continue as she read the document he had given her. What she read on the paper was more shocking than she ever could imagine. An unknown curse had been plaguing the people by the edge on the country, leaving them bed-ridden with no cure nor medication to stagnate the disease. With every word Aminesria read, Adelai's face went blue with illness, "I saw one of the infected with my own eyes... It was horrible, they could barely move yet their eyes were terrifyingly wide as if they were stuck in a paralytic state as the disease ate away at their skin slowly." At the mention of this, Aminesria turned the paper over to reveal an image of the disease. The man had indeed been bed-ridden. His eyes were alarmingly wide and bulging out of its sockets. His skin had turned into a rotten yellow and purple as scabs surrounded his wounds inflicted by the disease. All this had been happening to the victim as he remained awake and unable to do anything to suppress the pain. What Adelai said wasn't an exaggeration. This was a serious matter, one in which Adelai hadn't mentioned within the court meeting earlier in front of the other nobles.

"Indeed, this is serious..." With her fingers shaking, Aminesria took a long breath. "It's a good call you didn't this in the council report otherwise the nobles would panic before we find a solution for what to do," She waved the paper to fan her sweating face, trying to bring the air back to herself.

"Has there been any signs that it's spread closer to the empire?" Aminesria asked. Adelai shook his head, "There hasn't. From what I can tell, we have enough time but we should still hurry to find a cure. It wouldn't take long before anyone else notices the urgency of this calamity." At this, Aminesria thoughts roamed back to the people within the conference room. Duke Everson had planned an expedition in the nearby coming months, there would be a chance he'd discover those infected villages and alarm the people. But what could they do right now with such lacking knowledge towards this curse? This had been very unheard of even for Aminesria. To find a cure would be picking tossed coins in bottomless oceans. Aminesria has never once sought to ask for help from other, nor did she bother to ask for answers— She demanded them. But facing such a high, risky wall with no gap to climb with, she unknowingly blurted out her thoughts and said "What should we do? If we don't do anything, the curse might reach us soon. There's nothing much we can do with such limited people in the know..."

Hearing those words would feel natural if it had come from another person's lips but Adelai had received them from his sister's own. The words help and what should we do? Never came from the same sentence before, much less coming from the woman who loathed assistance in the whole world. Adelai's eyes grew wide as moss on walls at his sister's desperation but harshly swallowed unwanted words down his throat. It's true, if they didn't do something soon the curse would surely reach them. His eyes grew tense as he stared intensely at the wall, his mind only coming back to one person as he glared at the mere thought of asking for that person's help. But what could he do by himself? His sister looked as if she was about to lose her head. If placed on a scale, it was already obvious whose comfort deserved more tending to. So coughing up an uneasy breath, he said in a low and hesitant voice "There might be one person who knows about this curse..."

Aminesria paused. Adelai didn't need to continue, she had already guessed what he meant— or rather— who he meant from that statement alone. Unconsciously biting her thumbnail was unladylike and bad mannerism but she could not care at this very moment. Just like Adelai, she was mortified at the thought of asking that person's help alone and yet she couldn't find anyone else better suited to fix this problem. Lord Senia would definitely know something of this unworldly curse. But Aminesria would rather die than personally ask for Lord Senia's assistance. It wasn't that she put pride above her empire but Lord Senia was... In retrospect— a cunning person. To ask her for a pen would be to flood an entire state, and to ask her for candy would be to give the entire world and place it on her palm. Needless to say, one would not cut off from her so easily once affiliated with such a person. Such a deal with the devil herself was what sent the last emperor to an early grave.

This hesitation from the empress did not pass by blind eyes. Adelai could see his sister considering their only option in her mind. The gears in her head were practically grinding against her skull exerting so much heat smoke had flared from her ears. Adelai couldn't continue to bear seeing her like this, in the moment of pure intention, he said the words she had been dying to hear "What if I ask her in your stead?"

Taken aback, Empress Aminesria almost fell stepping on her dress yet managed to hold herself up straight. Aminesria had already been taller than Adelai since young, now she had been practically a head taller than him with the heels. For Adelai, this only supplied her with a more threatening and authorative aura. For Adelai, who is currently faced with her sisters wide and dangerous eyes, he felt nothing but fear as he uttered out "I'll have Lord Senia on our side and help us with the curse. If it's me, it won't affect the empire too much even if I have to strike a deal with her. You would be too much of an advantage for her if she struck a deal with you."

Lord Senia is known to be quite cunning and opportunistic. Many have tried coming to her asking for her aid and only very few had been accepted. Regardless of her acceptance rate, every customer who owed a deal to her had come back a broken man with not even his soul to sell or a man who'd won life in three reincarnations. She was one with many connections to the world. Truly living up to being a vessel of god. It was only natural she was feared by most. Not even the empire could hope to control her.

Half of Adelai's mind wanted to expect her sister to decline and tell him he would be wasting his time. That they would look for another solution. But the crazed look in her sister's eyes had told him the answer himself. He would be to pay Lord Senia a visit. So many things could go wrong.