Over 500 people were expected to fill the castle's stone walls today. From beyond the gated courtyard, across the carpets of emerald grass, the cloudy skies were filled with the snarls of mighty creatures whining in unison.
Two reptilian creatures still considered in their infancy despite the imposing size of their bodies alone, which was enough to put fear into most people who crossed their paths.
Dragons tended to roam over the grasslands or vast empty seas. The evaporating salts were good for their skin. Hard-to-miss creatures, you could still hear their cries of warning wherever they roamed.
Eric Cloud, the eldest son of the Patriarch, stood on the northern castle wall. He wore his armour underneath his fashionable black and red robes. He felt a slight chill caress against his fingertips as rouge winds swept across the empty valleys. Footsteps alerted him to the arrival of someone.
A lady covered in beautiful furs appeared; her cat-shaped eyes still looked very much the same. Eric always said that her coldness was natural. Even in her joy, she still felt cold.
"My wife." His voice carried lazily against the noisy wind. Lady Herone took measured steps before arriving beside him. She, too, pressed her expressionless gaze beyond the stone wall.
The Snarls of distant dragons echoed.
"Lotten has returned?" She asked plainly
"Indeed he has. Both he and Altos boy succeeded in their quest." Eric explained.
"He needs to be briefed on what to expect in the days to come. The plan begins today. And all the things set to transpire will shape this clan forever." Her icy tone stroked his ears. Eric always found it odd how a woman like her could compel him with words alone.
Over time, he wondered if this was what people called. A foolish love.
Eric leaned against the stone railing, cupped his hands together, and admired the peaceful valley, which felt like the calm before a storm.
A deep sigh breathed through his mouth. His half-closed eyelids tiredly raised.
"I can't wait for this to finally be over." Eric breathed quietly. Suddenly he felt her cold hands fall over his palms.
"It will be. We've set this plan in motion for 5 years now. It started with Lady Diane and her crippled son. And now we've reached the final stages. It ends just how it began." She explained. Eric still held his doubts. There were too many moving parts out of his control. Too many mistakes had been made. And too much emotion poured into this cauldron, which both he and his wife had started some years ago.
"Her son? So he was alive after all."
"He was, his death should've happened but alas the Gods had their plans."
Eric smoothed the loose strands of hair over his head.
"No doubt you've already tasked our daughter with making sure he's not a threat?"
Lady Herone laughed. "Of course, but how can a cripple ever stand as a threat to us. We are destined to rule this realm. Both you and I. And by the end of this week. Both you and I will stand as the heads of this clan."
Eric felt the cold wind walking through him. Today, the cold felt twice as sharp. Or was he just weaker? Age played a part, but he was assured of one thing: He was tired of the schemes and the games. It broke his heart to see the family he created out of love fill their hearts with malice for the sake of his own prideful dreams.
"Killing a sister was one thing. But adding my father to the list feels…it just feels-"
"Wrong? Fufufu- right and wrong, only the strong get to dictate that. My love."
Lady Herone delicately kissed him against his rough cheek.
"I told you before, I will actualise everything you ever wanted Eric Cloud. And with the backing of the kingdom. This will only open the doors even wider."
Her lasting words lingered on Eric's thoughts. His wife left him alone shortly, where the loud winds kept him company. His quest for power was an endless sea. Perhaps today felt indifferent because of the occasion. Or maybe Eric was just having one of those days.
Tears welled against his lizard-like eyes. His lips trembled as he spluttered words into the open air.
"F-f-forgive me, Diane. Forgive your foolish brother ."
Meanwhile,
Belle rubbed her dreary gaze a few times as yet another annoying carriage driver disturbed her from her meditation. However, her anger was quickly quelled when she noticed they arrived at the foot of the towering ugly castle.
Belle held one side of her tall wizard hat and poked her head out the open window. Squinting her eyes to see the very top, Belle thought only wizard families lived in old-fashioned castles like this these days. And usually the weird ones.
"How long you reckon this place been standing for Sir Mynx? I say a few old thousand years."
She pulled her head back inside and carefully patted her dress down. The orange and white tabby cat sat on the other end of the seat, licking its paws. The carriage wheeled to a grinding halt. Belle tapped her lap a few times to gesture to Sir Mynx a lot to come closer.
The cat ignored her, but that wasn't a surprise to Belle. And she wasn't disheartened by it either.
Belle stared blankly at a man with a thin, wrinkly face and well-groomed grey hair. He was dressed in servant's garb, and his two hands were warmed in spotless white gloves. The carriage door closest to her side opened.
"Welcome, honourable guest from the enchanted islands afar. Our Patriarch humbly welcomes you to the Cloud Manor, " the guard said, bowing. Belle jumped out of the carriage and stretched her entire body like a feline. The little tabby cat, in comparison, almost waltzed with valour towards the door before soundlessly jumping down. It gave a slight purr and a little scratch against its whiskers before curiously observing its new surroundings.
"Say, I'm feeling a little parched from that long journey. What sorts of beverages do you serve here?" Belle inquired, not missing the flock of servants rushing in and out of the arched twin doors behind the silver-haired fellow.
The silver-haired servant simply smiled, "What would the esteemed guest desire?"
"Spiced ale with a tiny bit of rum," Belle replied eagerly, making a squinting gesture with her two fingers. Sir Mynx a lot purred a little restlessly besides her leg. And Belle also took that as an affirmation of what the little cat wanted to drink.
"Oh, and freshly pressed cream with a pinch of cinnamon too. Will the castle be serving honey and scones?" She raised an eyebrow in curious wonder
The silver-haired servant lightly chuckled. "I'm afraid not."
Belle's mood soured after hearing that, after a short while of mulling over the negative things already about this side of the world, she shrugged her shoulders in defeat.
"Show me inside then, please. Oh, and please bring me that rum as soon as you can. I can't imagine doing this sober." She reflected, massaging her little forehead.
Belle looked around herself before her eyes delighted at the sight of her large brown trunk. She ignored the embarrassment of the two men struggling to carry it off the wagon. In comparison, she walked confidently to the large trunk. She shuffled into her little bag before pulling out a sturdy pale white wand. She tapped the edges carefully and whispered.
[Adapt & adjust]
A glittering purple light swept over the large trunk before shrinking it into a very casual-sized handbag. The flustered servants looked aghast. Blinking aimlessly at the back of Belle who she casually walked off with her tiny-sized trunk in her little hand.
The oddest thing about the ordeal was the little tabby cat trailing behind her. They were sure they saw the feline turn around one last time and chuckle before walking away proudly, wagging its bushy tail.
***
Belles's large eyes combed over the tall ceiling of this impressively well-furnished castle. Perhaps only the unseen colleges and the celestial court were more grandiose than this place. "If this place had a natural mana source, no doubt there'd be quite the pack of mischievous ghosts running around." She said aloud, aimlessly wandering along the wide hallways.
The silver-haired servant never stopped smiling. He brought her to the end of a long hall, where an opened door led into the grand dining room. The place was already richly furnished and stacked with large food trays over countless long tables. Belle looked dutifully impressed. Her first thoughts centred around the barrel loads of wine not finishing.
That was enough to rate this trip high in her esteem.
"Now then Sir Mynx where's that scoundrel with our drinks…Hm? Sir Mynx? W-wait, where has he gone?" The tabby cat had wandered off again without uttering so much as a sniffle.
Belle searched the area, making sure no one else had snatched him behind her back. She eventually retracted her footsteps but caught no signs of the nonchalant little feline.
"Oh dear." Belle spoke ponderously, tapping her chin.
From memory, there hadn't ever been a positive outcome whenever Sir Mynx A lot decided to wander off somewhere on its own. With this castle's size, she inwardly dreaded knowing where it went.
In the midst of her personal thoughts, a gruff noise caught her attention. A new servant was carrying a small tray with a glass of auburn wine inside and a silver bowl with what she assumed was cream.
"Sigh, oh dear.-oh dear" She sighed again.
"Will the esteemed guest need anything else?" Asked the servant.
Belle stopped massaging her temples and slowly raised her round face before blinking a few times.
"First, I'll need two more of those glasses. Second, I'll give you 100 points for telling me where you keep your treasures, special artefacts, or strange things. I assume some kind of eerie crypt?"
The servant stood there, dumbfounded and silent. Belle didn't want to insult the clueless-looking man, so she reached into her bag and slid the wand away.
She flipped her left palm over and held it slightly away from her.
[Book!]
A burst of bright particles danced around her hand before a very weighted-looking thick book suddenly conjured into existence. Given quite the shock, the servant jumped back and almost dropped the tray of milk and wine.
An annoyed Belle swiftly flicked her wrists once, and an invisible cyan hand stretched forward and grabbed the tray from falling.
"The clumsy type? Sigh- just my luck. Stand over there, would you? I need to see if I have a locator incantation somewhere."
Her little fingers hastily turned over the large pages. Belle hadn't remembered the last time she used a locator incantation. Sir mynx a lot was usually her most trusted scout.
"Oh dear, I hope he hasn't gotten into trouble," Belle said dishearteningly. Her actual gripe was less with losing Sir Mynx a lot and more so because she was almost a whole trip without incurring any violations of the celestial agreement laws for official Wizards.
Due to her rather extensive rap sheet for things going wrong on quests, Belle was more annoyed she was on course to lose two important things. One was her bet with a certain pompous know-it-all. And the second was her yearly bonus. Belle was the sort of person who had already started spending her earnings before they arrived.
"Hmph! Now I won't be able to get that new broomstick I wanted…stupid rules and nosy busybodies, tsk! Belle's not a liability. Who the hell do they think they are." She growled remembering those harsh talks, turning the pages more aggressively.
Meanwhile, the servant was left completely stupefied, caught between his fear of the floating book levitating over the girl's tiny hand and the See-through hand carrying the tray right above his head.
"This is way more than what I had planned today." He mumbled. His voice caught Belles's attention, annoyingly so, of course. But her anger quickly softened as she recalled something.
"Oh, and I haven't forgotten. I'll be needing those extra two glasses of wine…now please."