VIII

An Unfamiliar Face

Genevieve stood in the middle of her room, knuckle to her chin, while Lotus walked from corner to corner, looking through containers for any important items they might be forgetting.

"We shouldn't need more than the clothes we have now, right?" Genevieve asked. "I mean, we're spending a night there, at most."

"That's assuming we don't have any detours or distractions on our way there." Lotus responded. "We should assume we'll be set back by at least one day."

"So I'll wear this dress twice, big deal." Genevieve shrugged.

"Oh- on that note, we should carry soap with us. I hear the Land District is… dirty. For you."

"What do you mean 'for me?' I can handle a little dirt, Lotus, I'm not that sheltered." Genevieve laughed. "Besides, if we stay long enough to bathe, we'll be doing it in a river anyway. I don't think Clearbrooke's inns are going to have open baths right now."

"Ugh, you're right." Lotus groaned. "I'll have to stand guard and make sure no one watches you."

"Oh, Lotus, don't tell me- we're going to be truly alone for the first time in years, and you aren't gonna take the opportunity to bathe with me again?" Genevieve teased. "If someone sees us, let them watch."

"Ha!" Lotus gasped. "Your Highness! I might revert if someone walks in on us like that!"

Genevieve chuckled, and grabbed Lotus' wrist to stop her from flipping the room apart. "That's enough- we aren't forgetting anything… how armed do you think we should be?"

"Very." Lotus nodded, her expression hardening. "We're going to be traveling through forest to get to a city that's just proven itself to be anything but safe. It worries me enough that you don't want a military escort."

"Come on, Lotus." Genevieve pleaded. "You know why we can't do that. The less eyes on us we have, the better. Father's already nervous about us going to ‘Servus,’ Clearbrooke is out of the question."

"I know." Lotus sighed. "It's just… a lot of risk over what could be nothing."

"You're right. But I won't be able to sleep right until I put this feeling to rest." Genevieve nodded. "Besides, we'll have Midas with us if something goes wrong."

"Right."

"Oh- also!" Genevieve smiled, drifting her hand across Lotus' chin as she started walking toward her bedroom door. "If you call me 'Your Highness' again, I'm demoting you to the palace footstool."

"Hah! Don't tempt me." Lotus joked, and followed Genevieve out of the room.

The two walked out into the castle halls, toward the ground floor where Alexander said he would wait for them. However, not but a few minutes after they left the room, they ran into Rafael, accompanied by six guards at his side.

"Ah, Father!" Genevieve said, startled. "Good to see you!"

"Hello, sweetheart." Rafael smiled. "About ready for your retreat?"

"We were just headed that way, Your Majesty." Lotus remarked.

"Great. I hope you three enjoy yourselves. And- behave yourselves around my daughter." 

"Oh, Midas wouldn't try anything, he's a puppy." Genevieve waved her hand.

"I'm not concerned about Alexander." Rafael gave Lotus a dirty look, who darted her eyes away. "On a serious note, be careful. This is the furthest she's been from home without proper guardianship. I wouldn't dare doubt your abilities, Lotus, but please, protect her. No matter how capable she claims to be."

"With my life." Lotus bowed.

"Where are you going, Father?" Genevieve asked.

"Well, first I'll be visiting Renee Longsworth. He's recovering from a bandit attack, and it would be unbecoming of me to neglect my staff when they're in need." Rafael said. "A bit of advice when you ascend the throne, dear."

"Of course." Genevieve nodded. "It amazes me that someone that adept with magic could get overtaken by common thieves."

"We all have our blind spots." Lotus shrugged.

Rafael nodded. "The first shipment of gleamroot also just made its way to our storehouse. Samples are being taken to the facility as we speak, and I'll be overseeing the first steps of their dissection."

"Oh, the facility?" Genevieve piped up. "That's wonderful! How are they doing over there? Any developments?"

"The same boring lab coats doing the same mind-numbing research." Rafael laughed. "But maybe that's about to change."

"Perhaps I can help you oversee them once I'm back from my retreat?" Genevieve asked, both her and Lotus visibly eager. "I promise not to get in your way! I just want to see it!"

"When you're of age, dear." Rafael shook his head. "You know that."

"I still don't understand why." Genevieve whined.

"The Princess will be taking over in a few years anyway, right?" Lotus inquired. "Not to intrude, Your Majesty- but wouldn't it be good for her to familiarize herself with the facility before she becomes its supervisor?"

Rafael sighed. "It's just… it's confidential. Too many documents and other madness, the facility just wants to have as few loose ends as possible. Genevieve, don't let your expectations of that place get too high. It's just an old, depressing building."

"I know, Father, I just-" Genevieve stuttered. "...While you're here, I've been meaning to ask you. You approved a grant to expand the barracks in the Blue Reef recently. Why?"

"Oh, that?" Rafael cocked his head to the side. "You heard about the dragon attack in Clearbrooke, yes?"

Genevieve nodded.

"It's because of that." Rafael explained. "Agria and Xemmier are both forbidden from hunting on land. It's a law they've obeyed for quite some time. It worries me… I'm afraid the General might be scheming something. I want to be prepared."

"Worried enough to employ four thousand fosters to our army?" Genevieve asks. "We already outnumber the Sky District."

"Yes, but they're ten times our superior in skill." Rafael nods. "I met the General for the first time two weeks ago. He… he scares me, Genevieve. I know not the lengths he'd go to to have his war."

Genevieve and Lotus said nothing as Rafael walked away, looking like had seen a ghost. When he was gone, they shared a concerned look, and continued to the plaza.

On arriving, they found Alexander, and pulled him along as they left the palace, riding current paths to blow through Divitae and Agria, poking their heads out of the shore of the Drow Bank in just a few hours.

The three of them walked onto the beach, and shook off the water lingering on their hair and clothes.

"Sooo, straight on to Servus?" Alexander asked, inquisitively.

"Yep!" Genevieve said, hailing the border patrol soldier bowing at her arrival.

"Safe travels, Your Highness!" The soldier hailed. "Your lodgings at the Shambling Mound Inn have already been paid for. We patiently await your return."

"Thank you, sir, well wishes until I do." Genevieve said, before heading north, her companions close behind her.

Alexander watched Lotus and Genevieve closely. They were constantly looking over their shoulders, every few feet they traveled. Once all other signs of life were gone, Genevieve and Lotus switched directions, turning sharply to the left. Alexander nodded, rolled his eyes, and continued following them.

"There it is." He condescended. "Do I get to know where we're really going now? If you're going to pull me into your unbecoming schemes, I think I should-"

"Clearbrooke." Lotus answered. "Genevieve is curious about the razing."

"Curious?" Alexander asked. "What's there to be curious about?"

"Why would Agria just up and decide to raze a city so suddenly?" Genevieve explained. "After years of strictly following their pact, it just… doesn't feel right. I want to investigate, to see if there's something deeper going on here."

“It's not really our business, Genevieve.” Lotus frowned.

“It is if my father is expecting war.”

"I don't know anything about a pact, but I've heard rumors that the general told Agria to attack the village."

"Clear enough, it's the why that eludes me. I'm sorry- you don't know about the dragons’ pact?" Genevieve asked, dumbfounded. "I'll never understand why nobles think it's a good idea to keep our potential kings so ignorant."

Alexander shrugged, clearly a little hurt by the comment. "So, are we just headed there straight through the forest?"

Genevieve nodded. "We sure are. I hope you haven't used up all your energy today."

Alexander lifted his palms up, displaying a dim golden glow emanating off of them. "Dr. Midas is ready and willing."

Lotus smiled, Genevieve nodded, and the three of them made their trek through Dustlow Forest, the dense trees snuffing out the sunlight in mere minutes.

"You know, I wish Your Highness would just tell me about this next time." Alexander complained. "If I had time to prepare, I'd have gathered us a horse like I'm supposed to."

"Supposed to?" Lotus asked. "Dustlow forest is a little dense for travel by horseback."

"Well, sure, that's not what I mean." Alexander stuttered. "If a lady's family won't be providing transport for an expedition, etiquette calls for the nobleman to provide a safe and easy-"

"Midas." Genevieve frowned. "Listen to yourself- you don't believe a word of that! I'm the richest woman on the planet, if I needed a horse, I would have gotten one. Now would you please stop reciting your textbook to me?"

"R-right." Midas nodded. "Forgive me."

For a time, their travels were uneventful. They entertained each other with small talk, and Lotus kept a close eye on her compass to keep them on track. Soon enough however, a heavy fog flooded in through the trees, obscuring the trio from their own feet.

"Fog. How quaint." Genevieve remarked. "I don't see how Land Dwellers can put up with this so regularly- it's miserable."

"I hear it's even worse in the Sky District." Lotus chuckled. “If this is bad, try sitting through an actual cloud."

"Terrible." Genevieve responded. "I'd say getting to be this close to the sun makes this worth it- but we aren't exactly getting that, are we?"

"Mm, it felt so nice those first couple hours, though." Lotus said, hugging herself. "I'd give anything to get to feel that warmth all the time."

"Was this your first time out in the sun, Midas?" Genevieve asked.

There was no response.

"Midas?"

The two stopped and turned around, realizing Alexander had disappeared, without so much as a scratch in the dirt to hint where he had gone.

"Alex!" Lotus shouted, quickly retreating to find him.

Genevieve followed Lotus, trying to stay near her, but found herself incapable of keeping up with her flower at full speed.

"Lotus, wait- stay with me!" Genevieve cried, sensing something was wrong. Lotus, not putting it together in time, jumped over a fallen tree, and fell into the fog, vanishing without a sound.

"Lotus!" Genevieve panicked, leaning over the tree to find nothing but dirt and fog- no footprints.

Genevieve shot to attention as she heard the sounds of wailing cry out around her. She took out her trident, spinning around and trying to locate the source of the noise, as the wails grew in volume and intensity.

Then- out from obscurity- a terrifying phantom flew past Genevieve from behind, scratching its sharpened nails across her side, taking her by surprise and staining her torn dress with blood. Genevieve yelped in shock as the spirit flew away from her, stopping to face Genevieve once they were a few feet away. Floating three feet above, Genevieve stared in confusion and horror at this ghastly mess of rags and tangled hair chaotically wrapped around a frail, feminine figure. Her body- what little of it Genevieve could make out- reeked of disfigurement, and past beauty withered by the unfeeling touch of death and decay.

Genevieve felt an otherworldly chill crawl up her spine as she stared the banshee in the eyes. For a moment, her body begged for her to cower, and flee into a fog. But, resolute, she dug her feet into the ground, clutched her weapon tighter, and readied her spellhand for the coming battle.

The banshee charged at Genevieve again, reaching for her eyes as its unholy voice disoriented her ears. Genevieve ducked below the creature, sending her trident into its gut as she soared past her, and flinging her off in the same direction. The banshee took a moment to steady itself in midair, and Genevieve smiled, proud for countering her foe. 

Her smile faded, however, when she heard those same wails coming from other parts of the forest. Keeping her attention on the banshee she was already facing, Genevieve frantically looked around to see what exactly she was dealing with. As two more figures emerged from the fog, Genevieve's throat tightened as she realized she had been ambushed by not one, but three banshees.

The trio cut through the air, slicing at Genevieve, who desperately tried to stay out of their reach as their wails confused and discombobulated her. Try as she did, in a matter of seconds, she took blow after blow, overwhelmed by the mess of sounds and attacks thrown her way.

Genevieve stumbled back, her mind racing to find a way to turn the tides. Suddenly, she remembered something. A tool she hadn't had to use in over a year.

Genevieve held her spell hand to her chest, closed her eyes, and focused her thoughts on the tether her soul was tied to. With fierce intent, she reached her hand out, and spoke.

"To me, my flower!"

As those words left her lips, a small, translucent link of orange chains appeared in front of Genevieve's chest, and shattered, vanishing as soon as they appeared. At the same time, in a sudden flash of bright light, Lotus appeared above Genevieve's head, landing in front of her. She dropped gracefully on her feet, weapons already drawn and ready to use.

"I told you to stay by me!" Genevieve scolded.

Lotus briefly turned her head to look at the princess. "I'm sorry, I didn't think." She turned back around, and nocked an arrow, pointed at the centermost banshee. "Let me make it up to you now."

"Tear them apart."

Lotus let her arrow fly, piercing it in the dead center of the banshee's chest. It reeled back in pain, then three banshees resumed trying to tear the two apart.

Together, they fared much better than Genevieve could on her own. The much nimbler and more agile Lotus engaged the banshees directly, using arrows to force them to get within range of her daggers. Meanwhile, Genevieve cast various projectiles, shots of lightning, fire, and ice, to support Lotus and wear the banshees down. On the rare occasion a banshee slipped past Lotus and made a rush for the princess, her trident was at the ready to keep them at bay.

The duo performed so well that, soon enough, the first banshee that had approached them was brought to its limit, and met its end by Lotus' dagger sinking into the specter's throat. The banshee, which felt like a bundle of loose sting when held, sort of unwound as it collapsed on the ground beneath Lotus, its rags and strands of hair sprawling out and blowing in the light wind.

Lotus and Genevieve shared an excited look, quickly interrupted by the two remaining banshee rushing Lotus at once, landing a few good hits as they swirled around her, their voices mixing together and drowning out their victim's very thoughts.

While one banshee remained and squared off with Lotus, the other left to attack the princess. Genevieve held both ends of her trident, using it to keep the banshee away from her. As the two of them wrestled, Genevieve watched as the banshee attacking Lotus backed away from her, and lifted itself further into the air. As Lotus nocked another arrow, the banshee arched its back, jolted forward, grabbed its head with both hands, and screamed at Lotus. The intensity of the sound was enough to leave Genevieve's head spinning from the distance she was at. Waves of dirt blew away as Lotus stumbled and covered her ears in agony. Genevieve's heart sank as Lotus fell to her knees, and collapsed on the ground.

"LOTUS!" She screamed, forcing the banshee away from her, and sending two bolts of fire into its torso.

Genevieve saw the banshee arching its back as well, and panicked, fearing she too would fall victim to its draining cry. Thinking on her feet, she raised two fingers to the sky, and cast Silence. A large sphere centered at her fingertips, enveloping her as well as the two banshees, became a vacuum, completely devoid of all sound. The banshee lurched forward and made the motion to scream at Genevieve, but Genevieve heard, and felt, nothing.

 Genevieve opened a latch on her hip, and took out a boomerang she kept at her side. She wound her arm back, but instead of throwing it forward where the trees would inevitably collide with it, she threw the weapon upward, still at an arch, where it quickly disappeared into the fog.

Genevieve then threw her trident into the chest of the weakest looking banshee, who was already coming apart as it was. As the three pronged blades sunk into the specter's chest, it silently drifted to the floor as it cried fruitlessly in pain. Genevieve leapt up to the banshee as it was falling, and pulled her weapon back out from its slowly falling corpse.

Genevieve turned her head back to the final banshee. She cast a ray of frost, narrowly missing, but forcing it to approach Genevieve as well to attack her. The banshee charged the Princess, claws out, and Genevieve once again held her trident sideways to bar the specter. But the banshee reached around it quicker than Genevieve could react, getting a firm and piercing grip on her neck. Genevieve winced, and stood her ground. As the banshee's claws dug deeper into her flesh, instead of using her trident to slash her away, Genevieve took one step back- moving the specter slightly forward with her. She held her breath, and let the banshee's claws do what they would.

As the specter's terrifying gaze and bleeding hands began leaving Genevieve lightheaded, the banshee suddenly stiffened up, and jolted its head back. Though there was no sound, Genevieve could tell something had struck the banshee in the back of its head. Finally, Genevieve forced the dazed banshee's hand off of her neck, and thrust the trident through its chest, impaling her completely. The boomerang fell silently to the ground as the banshee's second life faded away.

Once the banshee stopped moving completely, Genevieve tossed the trident to the side, and rushed over to Lotus, still lying helplessly in the dirt. She fell to her knees and scooped her flower up in her arms, examining her for any signs of life, or injury. Though there were cuts and bruises all around her body, nothing seemed nearly serious enough to knock her out. On the contrary, the shocking coldness of her skin and the empty gaze on her face made it look like the life had been sucked out of her body. For a moment, Genevieve's hands shook and she assumed the worst- but she realized that Lotus' pulse was still present, and so too did Genevieve's heart continue to beat.

Genevieve looked up, staring helplessly at the fog surrounding them, as it gently began to fade away. She screamed, but made no sound. As tears streamed down her face, she continued to scream nothing to no one. But slowly, as the insidious fog went away, so too did the effect of her spell, and Genevieve's voice steadily faded back in.

"...-LEX!" She cried. "ALEX, I NEED YOU! PLEASE, PLEASE HELP! WHERE ARE YOU!? ALEX!"

"Genevieve!" Alexander's voice rang out, pushing through branches and bushes to find the Princess, having earned a few cuts and bruises of his own.

As soon as Alexander saw Genevieve kneeling over Lotus, he rushed to their side, and took Genevieve's place, activating his magic without hesitation.

"What happened? Where did you two go!?" He asked while tending to his patient.

"We didn't go anywhere!" Genevieve said. "Y-you both disappeared, I-I think we were separated! Oh gods, Lotus- is she okay!?"

"She's gonna be fine, just let me focus on her." Alexander assured.

Genevieve kneeled on the other side of him, taking Lotus' hand.

"Lotus, listen to me!" She begged. "Please, gods, please don't go! Come back, y-you have to come back! Don't leave me here, flower, I need you! I n-need you here!"

"Your Highness!" Alexander scolded, forcing space between the two so he could properly heal her.

After a few more moments of panic, Genevieve's racing heart was quelled by the groans and stirrings of the barely conscious Lotus. Wearily, she opened her eyes and confusedly looked at the two faces above her.

"Lotus! You're okay!" Alexander said excitedly.

Confused and dazed, Lotus squinted as she vaguely remembered what happened before she lost consciousness. She looked up at Genevieve, concerned.

"Are you safe?"

Genevieve let out an exasperated laugh, leaned down, and kissed Lotus- surprised by the embrace, but she went with it.

The two lovers embraced in the blood and dirt. Alexander shuffled away, and gave the them space. He sat down, still facing them, and awkwardly stared deeper into the forest as his friends shared a moment.

After a wonderfully long kiss, Genevieve finally got off of her flower, and sat down beside her. Coming to her senses, still laying on her back, Lotus turned her head towards Alexander, and reached her arm out toward him. He returned her gaze, confusedly, and approached her, taking her hand in his.

Lotus smiled wearily. "We… are so lucky… to have you."

Alexander said nothing, but smiled, closed his eyes, and nodded.