In the weeks that followed, the King offered the trio extended hospitality as honored guests. For Rune, it was the first time in her life she was actually permitted to relax—and it felt incredibly alien to her.
"Should we be worried about her?" Percy asked Vane late one evening, gesturing toward the courtyard where Rune was currently training under the moonlight.
"Just don't question it," Vane assured him, leaning against the balcony. "After the first few nights, I realized it's just her thing. She always works and trains at midnight." Vane watched her movements, still harboring his own quiet concerns about how quickly she could switch her personality. She was entirely soft and gentle around Princess Faye, but as cold as ice to everyone else.
"Fair enough," Percy said. "But hey, you guys never actually opened up about what a Silaxen princess and an Estoran vanguard are doing out in the middle of nowhere together."
Vane chuckled quietly, remembering the night she had casually flipped him over a castle wall. "Let's just say... we have our reasons."
Suddenly, a bright ball of magical sparkles floated past them, sent from the center of the courtyard where Princess Faye was practicing. "Sorry, Master Percy! I think I'm still getting used to the somatic components," she called out excitedly.
Percy blushed a deep crimson, his voice turning shy. "It’s quite alright, Princess. But... why are you training so hard to fight?"
"So I can be just as strong as Princess Rune!" Faye declared with a bright smile, looking entirely too adorable to be intimidating.
"And it's highly practical," Rune added, stepping into the light as she sheared her sword. "In case you ever get separated from your guards or your mages, you need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. Especially now that your health is completely restored."
"Oh! Which reminds me," Faye clapped her hands together. "Father wants to meet the three of you in the council room this afternoon."
Later that day, Rune, Vane, and Percy stood before the King. Vane officially explained that he had been dispatched by the Estoran crown to investigate the sudden onset of the shadow plague. Rune clearly stated her own purpose: to find the absolute truth, hoping to save not just Silax, but all Seven Crowns from the encroaching darkness.
Percy’s eyes textually sparkled at her words. He wanted nothing more than to ensure the world was safe for his princess. "Ooh! I could come with you, Knight Vesper! We can explore the continent and uncover the truth together!"
"Yeah, no. Not happening," Rune refused flatly.
"What?! But why?!" Faye asked, her face falling in disappointment.
"She is the sole princess of the Aethria Isles," Rune explained logically, looking at the King. "If something happens to her out there, the kingdom will fracture, and the nobles will tear the court apart fighting for the succession. I can afford to go because I don't even use my title, and even if I did, I have three older sisters to take my place. I am entirely expendable."
"Knight Vesper makes a valid point, Princess," Vane agreed gently. Faye huffed in sheer annoyance but remained quiet.
"Hey, it doesn't mean she’s isolated forever, Your Majesty," Percy chimed in, trying to comfort Faye. "Just until we ensure the shadow curse is broken. Which is exactly why I'm volunteering to accompany them. They're going to need a top-tier mage if they're seeking ancient truths."
The King remained silent for a long moment before nodding. He rose from his seat and led them down into the subterranean vaults of the old castle.
"I must admit," the King spoke as they walked. "When our borders first reported an Estoran vanguard—supposedly a metal-hungry creature with horns—and a Silaxen giant capable of swallowing the knowledge right out of a man's head... I didn't expect you to look so entirely human."
Rune let out a dry, sarcastic sigh. "Please tell me the propaganda in the other kingdoms isn't always this offensive. Though... you aren't entirely wrong about the size dynamic. Silaxen people are traditionally massive. I am essentially the only pocket-sized person in the entire royal lineage."
"Oh, well, that makes sense now," Percy teased, earning a sharp glare from Rune.
They reached the deepest chamber of the old ruins. The walls were lined with massive, shattered stained-glass windows, heavily resembling the architecture of the old castle back in Silax. However, several of the massive glass panels were missing, making it look like a storybook with half of its pages ripped out.
Rune’s eyes narrowed. The missing segments followed a very specific sequence. In the Silaxen palace, the glass depicting Estora and Igia was missing. But here in Aethria, those panels were intact, while the glass representing Silax and two other nations had been systematically destroyed.
Memories of her grandmother’s secret journal flashed through her mind. Rune reached into a hidden compartment inside her quartz armor, pulling out her notes. "Wait... could this be connected to what Grandma Ember was researching before she passed?"
"What do you mean?" Vane asked, stepping closer to inspect the glass.
"The late Queen Ember Rune spent her final years researching our forgotten history," Rune explained, tracing the stone framing. "Her final entry stated that centuries ago, a massive shadow curse fell upon the world. The Seven Kingdoms were forced to unite to trap it, but the records warned that the seal would eventually break. Our current textbooks claim that after the curse was sealed, the other six kingdoms grew jealous of Silax and tried to unleash the plague back onto our borders. But looking at this... I think our data is completely fabricated."
"Wait, what?" Percy interrupted, shaking his head. "That's completely backward from our history. Aethria's records state that Silax tried to conquer the other six realms under the belief that 'knowledge is power,' forcing the rest of us to isolate ourselves to survive."
Vane’s face went entirely pale. "In Estora, the story is completely different. Our books say that Aethria cast a horrific curse on Silax, and when the Silaxens retaliated with their massive armies, a continent-wide war broke out. The Seven Crowns broke ties ever since."
A heavy, suffocating realization fell over the room. The King, Faye, Percy, Vane, and Rune all stared at each other in stunned silence.
"Whoever engineered these false histories did it intentionally," the King voiced, his tone grim. "They isolated the Seven Crowns on purpose... so that when the shadow curse returned, none of us would stand together to fight it."
That night, Rune couldn't sleep. The data was spinning frantically in her mind, causing her internal psyche to fracture into a heated argument.
Avery (The Aggressive Logic): "Something is completely wrong here! Three separate kingdoms, three entirely different histories!"
Inser (The Rigid Defender): "Or they are simply lying to us! There is absolutely no way our Silaxen history is a fabrication!"
Avery: "Inser, keep telling yourself that, but the evidence is written in the stone. Everything is a lie until proven otherwise, and all signs point to our palace beliefs being complete trash. Hart might listen to your denial, but I am not letting you affect our tactical choices."
With a mental snap, Rune forced the bickering voices back into their cage, clutching her temples. To clear her head, she slipped into her armor and went down to the courtyard for a midnight training session.
"Mind if I join you?" Vane’s voice called out from the darkness behind her.
Rune didn't even look back, her blade catching the moonlight. "Are you always sneaking around, Vanguard?"
Vane chuckled, remembering their first encounter in the Silaxen palace. "Kinda. But tonight, I just can't sleep. I figured I'd join your midnight session."
For the next hour, the quiet courtyard was filled with nothing but the rhythmic clashing of steel. The moonlight reflected brilliantly off Rune’s shimmering quartz armor and Vane’s dark, obsidian plates.
By morning, the exhaustion caught up to him. "Wow, Vane, you look absolutely horrible," Percy commented as they packed the magic-tech bike for departure.
"You could have just admitted you aren't a night owl like me instead of sparring for four hours straight," Rune remarked dryly. She unlatched a small vial from her belt, drinking a dark, bitter green energy potion—her own custom remedy to keep her functioning through her double life as a proper princess by day and a fierce knight by night. "Here. You look like you need it for the road."
Vane accepted the vial and took a swig, only to immediately gag and spit it onto the dirt. "What the hell is that?! It tastes like actual dirt!"
Rune shrugged, taking another sip of her own. "What do you mean? It's barely bitter. It keeps your heart rate stable and provides solid caffeine for several hours."
"Oh! Let me fix that," Percy offered. With a quick flick of his staff, he cast a minor transmutation spell, sending a shower of sweet, shimmering glitter over Vane's vial. "There! Now that it's actually swallowable, we should be all set to head toward the Estoran border!"
"Wait!" Princess Faye’s voice called out as she sprinted down the steps, catching her breath before pulling Rune into a tight hug. "Thank goodness I caught you guys. I hope we figure out what our crystal keys open soon. You better send regular updates, Knight Vesper!"
Rune gave a small, respectful nod.
Faye then turned to Percy, her emerald eyes softening as she gently took his hand. Percy instantly blushed a bright pink. "Please be careful, Master Percy. I am incredibly grateful that you are volunteering to be Aethria's eyes and ears on this journey."
Percy stammered a response, looking entirely smitten. Faye smiled warmly, unclipping one of her ornate royal earrings and pinning it carefully onto Percy's traveling cloak like a brooch. "Let this be a promise that you must return to the Aethria Isles safely."
The atmosphere between them instantly turned incredibly intense and romantic.
Standing in the background, Rune made a visible face of absolute disgust. "I get that you two grew close during our training sessions these past few months, but you really could have done this in a private room," she complained loudly. "I don't need this mushy stuff ruining my energy potion. How disrespectful."
Vane offered a small smile, checking the coordinates on his bike. "Just ignore her, Percy."
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