A few weeks have passed and things have formed into a certain routine. Levi continues to eat alone but spends her mornings and mid-afternoons with Lady Celeste. The two keep it mutual with a nice walk or staying in and talking. With Levi worrying about the effects of her healing on Celeste, she always kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. So far, things looked normal, but she feared the worst and worried things would eventually turn out awful. 

Then she spent her late-afternoons and evenings with Sir Avan only every two days. It had been troubling to assist Avan during this time because young Conall was still in the healing room, waiting to recover. Everytime Levi went to the room, she was seeing him struggling on that hard stone table. Desperate, she wanted to disobey orders and help but sadly knew it would make things worse if it didn't help Conall and only make Casitas hate her more. On days she doesn’t have Avan, she just returned back to her room. Sometimes, Avan came by and brought her a book to read. Lately most of the books were fantasy novels. It was quite enjoyable reading something that wasn’t always for knowledge.

On some days, Levi read her books by her window. She sat there only to see Casitas leaving the castle from time to time. Other times, she just stared beyond the kingdom grounds to see the empty valley that was trapped by the hills of fallen snow. From time to time, she saw Casitas looking over his shoulder, looking upon her window. Levi pretended not to see him, but when she did she quietly smiled.

One late evening, as the day almost drew to a close. Levi sat down by her fireplace as she was about to put her book away. She glanced down at the title and traced her fingertip along the scripture, it was another fantasy novel Avan had given to her. 

She exhaled loudly and kept her eyes closed. Her senses heightened as she felt the wind in her room surrounding her; her hair flowed in the wind's path. In her mind, it was completely blank until there was the sense of snow touching her face. She carefully opened both of her eyes and found herself outside the kingdom walls. Sadly, it wasn’t true; only a projection she created. Her vision remained shifty and the colors mismatched to reality. Her head tilted right to change her perspective. Everything was so quiet and she could barely see anything. She tried to adjust her projection into another direction but the constant snowfall was making it hard to do.

Levi carefully opened her real eyes and found herself back in her room. She exhaled in exhaustion. “I didn’t think sealing everything away would make my powers so limited.”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Immediately she stood up and hurried to answer it. At the door was Casitas; he was still dressed in his royal attire but this time his hair was in a very messy ponytail with a few long strains of his hair covering his face. It was almost as though he was struggling to show how exhausted he was.

“Hello Lord Casitas,” said Levi.

“Come with me,” Casitas ordered. Levi quickly grabbed a winter coat and eyepatch before leaving her bedroom to follow Casitas. He didn’t speak a word to her as the two of them headed to the back of the castle. At the opposite end, there were large wall size doors that lead to the outside courtyard. Once opened, Levi could see that it was like any other winter setting but this time, the snow wasn’t as thick. It was able to see the sandstone paths, steel benches and the few winter trees that struggle to grow. As she looked around, she noticed a few small creatures roaming around the grounds. They fled the moment they saw the two of them.

Casitas walked to the center of the courtyard grounds, making Levi follow him. The moment he stopped, he turned to face her. His face was stoic and he quickly looked away from her.

“I need your help,” said Casitas.

Levi's eyes widened and she took a step forward. “What is it?”

“My brother and his group were supposed to send a messenger owl to let me know when they will arrive home but I haven’t heard anything from them,” said Casitas as he walked closer to her. The two were only inches apart; with him so close the two were able to see one another for the first time properly in a long time. “I’ve read that a Beast Charmer can summon animals and be able to see in their eyes. Is that correct?”

Levi nodded in agreement. “Yes. When summoned, we can consent to the animal and see in their eyes and direct them where they need to be.”

“Good,” said Casitas. “Can you do that?”

Levi nodded again. “I have done it a few times before; although I haven’t done such methods in a while.”

“Normally, our messenger owls are able to do such tasks on their own but the danger of wildlife has killed many of them. Our messengers are night fighters. So, I need your help to make sure one goes to my brother,” said Casitas. He reached into his winter coat and pulled out a polished silver flute. Levi got flashbacks from her childhood flute that she once played.

“This looks like-” before she could finish, Casitas handed her the flute. She took it in her hands and noticed that it was beautifully engraved with an enchanted aura of blood of the ancients. “My Lord, did-”

“We have to hurry,” said Casitas as he turned away. He reached his hand out and the faint sound of an owl hooting was heard. Hidden in the dead winter trees, a pure white owl with sapphire colored eyes. It flew to Casitas and perched on his reached out hand. Seeing closely, this owl was wearing a harness that had a cylinder brown leather case on its back. Casitas lightly petted the owl and turned to Levi. “This is Beryl. She is pretty young but trustworthy and proven to handle strong icy winds.”

“She is beautiful,” said Levi as she stepped closer. Her hand reached out and softly petted her as well. Already Beryl was cooing at Levi’s touch. “Is she called Beryl because of her sapphire eyes?”

The two of them sat down at the black steel bench in the courtyard. Beryl perched herself on Casitas shoulder and started to drift off to sleep. She cutely nuzzled along Casitas cheek and started coo-ing once again. Levi actually noticed Casitas struggling not to smile. She found him adorable at this moment, but she stopped to gaze about the flute on her lap. Her fingers traced along the engravings. “So, you want me to charm Beryl to get a message to your brother?”

“Yes,” said Casitas. Levi lightly licked her lips and swallowed hard. He noticed her hands trembling. “Is there something wrong?”

“Oh no. I am not nervous or anything. I guess my body isn’t used to the cold yet,” said Levi. That instant, Casitas draped his cloak over Levi and held her hand. She started to blush as he held her hand close to his face. Then, the moment was ruined because he had just been looking at her ring.

“Is the stone fading?” asked Casitas.

“No, it is working just fine,” said Levi. She took her hand back and started to sit upright. “Ok. I am going to try now.”

“What exactly will happen?”

“Well, how it is done it is like my conscious mind goes into the animal and I am able to see what they can see and control what I want them to do. For this to work, my body is in a holding-state. I cannot move and I cannot stop playing the music. If it stops, my mind and the animals will forever be entwined. I won’t be able to tell which mind is mine or the animals. The same for the animal.”

“What can I do?”

“Just make sure I stay warm enough where I can keep playing.”

“Then, maybe it is best to do this inside,” said Casitas.

“It would be better to be outside where I am close to more wildlife. I can connect to more than one life and will make it easier to find the one I want. If it was just us here, I wouldn't be able to find the animal to connect with.”

Casitas nodded. “Is there anything else I need to know?”

Levi turned to him. “This trip you want me to do, it will be a while because I am in unknown territory and I will be charming an animal I am unfamiliar with. I will probably be out here for a while.”

“I will stay the entire time needed,” said Casitas.

Levi lifted up her eyepatch and positioned herself in the seat. The wind whistled through the holes of the flute. She placed her fingers properly and perked her lips. Softly, she exhaled, releasing a single tune of the flute. The tune already awoke many creatures lurking around.

So soothingly, Levi began to play a sonnet. It was tranquil, making your nerves unclenched, as the melody was easy to follow. Casitas didn’t take his eyes off of her as the song played. Slowly, he noticed the wind around them changed directions. A pale streak of glittering gold began to form. It circled around them, growing stronger. The animals appeared from the shadows to approach Levi. All small creatures, from walking in the snow to flying in the sky. Beryl opened her eyes and the glittering gold circled around her. She opened her wings and left Casitas' shoulder to fly in front of Levi. Casitas was in complete ‘awe’, where he silently gasped under his breath. Levi's eyes stayed closed as Beryl soon followed. The gold surrounded Beryl like a ribbon. The music continued, everything became silent, even the wind. In a blink, Beryl's eyes turned gold! Levi remained motionless as she continued to play.

With this, Casitas took advantage and strapped a letter onto the harness cylinder. He stood between Levi and Beryl and knew that Levi was in a holding state. She couldn’t move until the task was done. So, he turned to Beryl.

“I need you to find my brother. He is in the mountains to gather. Go there and give him the letter and come back,” said Casitas.

That moment, Beryl flew away beyond the kingdom grounds to the empty valley of fallen snow. It wasn’t long before she wasn’t seen anymore. Casitas looked back at Levi and noticed that she was still playing the same song.

He sat down next to her and stared at her -for once with kind eyes.

“I promise I won’t leave,” said Casitas.