Dia came to Noctaria in her golden chariot. It was pulled by her pegagsus, Skypainter, who was the colors of the sunset. Her makeup sparkled despite the gray clouds, as did her gold jewelry. It had stopped raining, but the clouds had not cleared. She felt the cold wind, and Dia wished that she brought a thicker sweater. Linen was useless in these conditions. It was April, but yet winter's grip could still be felt. The architecture that surrounded her was of folk victorian houses, with hardly 3 feet between them. The townspeople stared at Dia, a tall, dark skinned, orange-haired woman dressed in white, red, and gold. She felt rather awkward.
Shivering, she told them, "I'm Dia, goddess of the sun, and princess of Illuminana. Could you tell me where I can find Midnight Maidens? My mother's birthday is arriving, and she'd love a rare flower."
The townspeople pointed her towards the castle in the center of town, Eventide Castle, detached from the ground. It was much older than the rest of the town, made in a more Gothic style, with spires that reached to the heavens, made of stones that were many shades of dark colors.
Dia wasn't sure if it was proper to just wait outside the crater underneath the castle until the guards noticed her, or she should yell at them to open the door. Thankfully, she wouldn't have to wait long. The collapsing steps were lowered, and Dia was escorted inside by both the guards. Her chariot and steed would be looked after by the resident stable-master.
The guards were star spirits, glowing, ethereal beings. Slim and somewhat effeminate looking, they wore armor the colors of distant galaxies. They were silent, their large white eyes made them look nervous and wary.
Dia knew that Eventide was a unique castle, but she was surprised to see the stars out the windows close to the ceiling. Is it a clever spell, thought Dia, or am I really in space right now?
Eventide was just as Gothic and foreboding on the inside, as well. The castle was full of rare magical artifacts, from gilded skulls on the mantelpiece, books on long-forgotten lore, and calendars that showed the movements of the planets and other celestial objects. Paintings of plague, disaster, horror, and suffering were proudly displayed along paintings that were of love, harmony, and discovery. All the furniture was dark and austere, the only vibrant and "fun" colors being silver and white, hinting at who once lived there. Dia thought she saw a black cat, but it disappeared before she could be sure.
Urainia met Dia in the library. She was a lot shorter than Dia, wearing a translucent starry veil and long, sleeveless dress with the same sparkling star pattern. Her hair was light indigo, pulled back into a neat bun, showing her divinity. Her skin was pale, like everyone in Noctaria. Dia explained her motive for coming there.
Urainia said to her, "The Midnight Maiden grows 10 miles north of here, in the Black Forest. It is a delicate plant, and only thrives in cold shade. I doubt it will live long in Illuminana. Wouldn't it be easier to commission an artist to paint one for Iris?" Dia shook her head. "I came for the Midnight Maiden, and I won't leave until I have it. There's spells for keeping areas cold and dark. All I need is a guide who knows the area."
At this moment, the princess of Noctaria was walking down the black spiral staircase. She had heard the conversation from upstairs, and was curious to see the stranger her mother was talking to. She was a short girl who was on the chubby side, dressed in a witch's hat, a navy blue apron dress, and black and teal striped tights. She shared her mother's hair color, with her hair in two low pigtails. Her skin seemed to be almost ridiculously pale, as if she had never been in the sun her whole life.
" I heard you needed a guide. I know the area pretty well."
Dia turned to her, and her heart skipped a beat. Out of nowhere, there was a beautiful stranger in front of her, more than happy to help. But she remained calm, shoving those feelings aside. "And who might you be?"
"Oh, I'm Noctave. Well, actually, I'm Princess Noctave."
Dia was shocked. She'd heard of there being a princess Noctave, sure, but never expected to meet her. Noctave had never showed up to any ball, was ever seen attending a festival (outside of Noctaria, at least), or seen when Urainia was having an audience with someone. She felt it was very out of character for her to just greet a stranger out of nowhere. Unless...
Noctave continued. "If you want to go to the Black Forest, you'll need heavier clothing. You might also want to lose the gold jewelry. The goblins that live there will likely steal it from you. And-"
Dia interrupted her. "Why are you helping me out? You don't know me."
Noctave giggled. "I guess I find great interest in you." Dia gave her a confused look, but she found her guide.
Urainia lent Dia a wool, button up royal blue sweater to wear in the forest. She took off her necklace and armlet, but refused to take off her sun earrings. They were her lucky charms, after all.
Noctave was dazzled by Skypainter,her hide shining bright in the partial sunlight. She petted her muzzle and gave her an apple as a treat. Skypainter nuzzled Noctave in return. Dia thought it was cute, but she didn't know how they'd both get to the Black Forest.
"I don't think the chariot is big enough for the two of us, Noctave." Noctave agreed. "I can give you a little bit of room if I stand over here." "Nevermind, I have a broom for that." A broom?, Dia thought, What use is a broom for travel? Noctave teleported away for a moment and returned with a broom that had a blue sparkling bow where the bristles were attached to the stick. "Alright, let's go to the Black Forest!" She mounted on the broom and took off like a comet. It took Dia and Skypainter a while to catch up with her.
With equal parts worry and amusement, Dia said."We almost lost you!" Noctave smiled, not acknowledging Dia's concern. "I knew you'd catch up to me. We should be getting there soon. If you see a dark green patch of land with a river running out of it, that's the Black Forest."
Dia spotted it first, and they landed right outside of it. Noctave said "You should leave Skypainter out here. And don't wander; this forest can be dangerous if you stray off the path." "Path? what path?" asked Dia.
Noctave took out her wand from her apron pocket. It had a crescent moon surrounded by stars, all made of jet, with the same sort of ribbon that was on her broom right under it. The wand glowed a light blue, as did the moon disk on her hat and the triple moon symbol on her apron's waistband. She hummed a melancholy melody, and a blue glowing path appeared in front of them.
"Can we hold hands? I'd rather not lose you." Noctave asked Dia. Hold hands? I barely know her...but I trust her... "Um...OK..." Dia responded. They held hands, Noctave leading Dia.
Dia felt the chill of the wind and the deafening silence of the woods. She noticed that Noctave didn't seem to notice it at all. Kind of strange, but she Dia usually loved nature walks, but these walks weren't in such ominous woods. The ground was hilly and covered in dead leaves, shrubs, mossy rocks, and glowing mushrooms. She spotted crows all over the area and glowing eyes in the darkness. Could it be the goblins Noctave told her about?
There were sounds of something scuttling in the undergrowth. Dia jumped, but was caught by Noctave. It revealed himself to them once Noctave used her wand as a torch. It was a long, white snake with many eyes. He stood up, making himself as tall as Dia. His 16 eyes looked at Dia with an otherworldly intensity.
Dia was frozen in fear, squeezing Noctave's hand. Noctave stepped in front of her.
"It's OK! She's a friend of mine! She's not a risk!"
The snake's gaze went to Noctave and slithered away. Dia tugged on Noctave's sleeve to her attention. "Who was that?" "Chryses. He is one of the guardians of the Black Forest."
Dia tried to hide her shock, but her eyes gave away her fear.
Noctave comforted Dia. "Don't worry, the Midnight Maidens are just up ahead. We'll be outta here soon enough." Noctave rubbed Dia's back to comfort her further. Dia nodded in response, her touch was electrifying.
The Midnight Maidens were growing in a spiral around a great tree, the thickest and oldest in the entire wood. It had some scars from attempts to chop it down, but they were only bark deep.
The Midnight Maidens were only 13 inches tall, with velvety texture and petals that were a midnight purple. The stems and leaves were a near black in color.
"So, Dia," asked Noctave, "how will you take them? Midnight Maidens can't and won't survive when separated from its roots, in addition to wilting at once exposed to sunlight."
Dia cast a spell that made one of the flowers arise from the ground and she guided it into a pink glass planter that was in her dress pocket. Noctave was impressed. But behind Dia, she spotted a jet black wolf nearby, traditionally thought as a bad omen. But it disappeared before Noctave could inform Dia.
The flight back was spent with Dia and Noctave having a conversation to get to know each other better. Noctave actually tried to keep pace with Dia this time. Dia asked the first question. "Where did you get your magic?"
"Study, mostly. Though I have a familiar to boost my magical prowess. Though I don't have much right now, it being the new moon and all."
Dia looked at the completely black disk in the middle of the sparkling ribbon above the brim of her hat. "So your power is connected to the moon phases? Seems like you're already fairly powerful. How far was that distance you teleported?"
Noctave thought about it for a bit. "I think...5 feet, though I'm sure my familiar helped me greatly. When you teleport, it helps to know exactly where you're going."
"I''ll keep that in mind. I' don't teleport often. Can you tell me a bit about your familiar?"
Noctave held Dia's hand."Of course, his name is Noxis, and he's a black cat." Dia wasn't thrilled to hear that. "I don't really like cats that much." "Don't worry, he has no fur!" Dia shivered at the thought of a hairless cat. "That doesn't make it better! That only makes it worse!"
Noctave frowned. "I guess I''ll shift the conversation. Do you have someone to do your makeup for you? Because it''s flawless." Dia felt flustered, her cheeks turning a deeper brown. Is this...flirting? "Oh, thanks Noctave. I mostly do it myself with help from my servants and mom."
Noctave asked her another question. "Is gold your favorite color?" "It's yellow, actually. But gold is such a warm and pretty color. What about you? What's your favorite?" "It's a tie between teal and purple."
Dia pointed to Noctave's hat. "That hat is really interesting, Noctave. Where do you find such hats?" "Well, it was once the fashion in Noctaria to wear these sorts of hats, especially by sorcerers, and I adopted it to show my heritage and power. The moon disk is synced to the moon, indicating my power level. The bow is just a cute detail, though the sparkles could represent the stars in the night sky." "That's really interesting!"
Dia stopped walking, thinking of what to say next. Noctave seems to be really into me...and I really like her, as well. But maybe she's just flirting to mess with me...No, no, we can't have another Halucina.
But...she likes me...She must, or else she wouldn't comfort me when I saw the snake. Or decided to help me out finding the flower.
I have to tell her.
Shyly, Dia asked Noctave"C-Can I confess something to you?"
Noctave was shocked. "We've just met! But if it's that important..."
After a bit of silence, Dia spoke again."Well, I must admit I am attracted to you. Romantically, I mean." Noctave breathed a sigh of relief. She expected something far worse. Winking at her, she responded with "OK, that's good. Well, I kind of have an "attraction" towards you. too. We should stay in touch."
They parted ways after trading post addresses. Noctave went straight to Castle Eventide and Dia went to Castle Dayspring. Neither told their parents of their newfound relationship.
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