Axium

CHAPTER 2

She just finished fixing her hair as her foot touchdown on one of the back streets. She closed her eyes and searched the town for the shop she remembered. As her magic formed a map in her mind she opened her eyes and frowned. It was on the other end of the entire place. She didn't fill much like flying anymore and definitely not like walking.

Ah, what the heck may as well just teleport to it. She thought and pushed against the fabric of reality. A rift opened to the small bakery and she stepped through.

The owner of the shop seeing her appear threw up his arms and cried with delight, "Ah, Your Highness you returned. I trust you enjoyed your last meal here?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't." She answered with a smile.

The man practically jumped out of his skin with joy at her response as he asked, "What may I get you today?"

"I like fifteen of your bean buns," XRenia answered.

"Coming right up," he said pulling out a white bag.

As he filled the bag he said, "Out for a brisk flight?"

"huh?" XRenia answered.

He nodded with his chin towards her burnt clothes.

"Oh ya."

The man's happy attitude faded away as he set the now full bag on the counter and in a quiet voice he asked. "We're not going to war are we?"

XRenia's own smile almost faded but she forced it to stay as she replied, "Naw, I just like to keep in shape and pushed my natural limits while flying." Which was the honest truth but she couldn't help but feel that she was lying.

She reached into her dimensional inventory and pulled out two gold coins and put them on the counter.

The man's jolly white hat dropped to the floor as he watched her put the money down. "Oh no, that's far too much it's only one silver for each.

She picked up the white bag and forced open another rift. "Keep the change." She said and step through the rift to her favorite place in the world.

Thankfully the beautiful green meadows that stretched on as far as the eye could see were actually part of her family's kingdom. Because for the first time in her life she was not sure it would be wise or safe for her to trespass on another nation.

She pulled out a bean bun and took a bite of it and plopped herself down at the base of the great oak tree that sat at the top of a bluff that overlooked the pasture. She took two more bites and stared unthinkingly over the endless expanse.

Only when she had finished the pastry did she stir. "Okay, so if even the common people know about the tension then I must've been blind. Maybe this whole banishment thing might not be so bad. I mean it's not like they can stop me from coming back here. Even if I have to do so in secret."

She reached into the bag and pulled out another of the snacks. "It's not like I really am losing anything. My grandfather is very likely to outlive all of us and I never wanted to rule anyway." She chewed thoughtfully. "Thaxium on the other hand is a problem. With my magical powers, I'll probably still be able to construct a comfortable place to live. But without servants, I'd have to do a lot of the everyday menial chores."

XRenia finished the second bean bun and reached for a third. "Hum... Maybe mom's right if I got me a man he could do a lot of that stuff. But how in the world would I go about getting one?"

"Well, I guess I need to make a list of things he'd have to have or be first. Then I'd need to search for one that fits my criteria."

She laid the half-eaten sweet in the grass and raised her hands to eye level. She touched her thumbs and index fingers together and slowly drew them apart. A golden scrying bubble came into existence and she pushed energy into it expanding it into a large screen. She picked back up the pastry and continued munching. "Alright, the search part will be pretty easy. But what do I search for? Looks don't really matter that much if need be I can morph him with my magic after we are married. It might take some work to keep it always on him but I'm sure I can do it."

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, I guess first and foremost he has got to have a lot of magic power." She closed her eyes and sent her energy throughout the dimensional cosmos that supported their planet searching for the individuals with the most magical power. She quickly compiled a list of those she detected and arrange them from strongest to weakest.

She opened her eyes and sent the list at her scrying. Of course, her family was the first to appear. They were standing around talking about her no doubt. Her father instantly felt her watching them and turned towards her direction. "XRenia swe.." She swished her right hand to the left switching to the next in her list. "It was King Brokon the ruler over one of the eight other nations. She quickly turned off the sound of the scrying and dialed back the resolution reducing the magical footprint; so he couldn't detect he was being spied on. His magical power wasn't anywhere near that of her father's but he was still considerably powerful and it probably wouldn't end well if he found out she was peeping in on him.

XRenia pursed her lips and sat back against the oak tree. King Brokon was older than her but he could still be a possible candidate. She watched him for a moment as he talked to what she guessed was one of his advisors. If she married him essentially their two nations would become one and maybe she wouldn't have to be banished.

Oh, wait that would be a bad idea. Talk about offsetting the power balance. The other nations would have no choice but to band together to protect themselves. If anything would end up causing a war that would.

Not only that he was a king and he be very unlikely to let her do as she wanted. Much less do what she said.

She swished her hand again flipping to the next as she said, "Okay, so there's two things to add to list. No political ties and must be willing to do what I tell them to not the other way around."

The scrying now showed an old man with a long white beard. She recognized him at once from the memory circlet; it was headmaster Alton. "Wow, he's still alive?" She mused. "He must be older than dirt." She waved her hand. "Definitely not any old man. Especially not that old!"

The next one was an old lady with a giant nose and wearing an old black robe with a weird black pointy hat. XRenia rolled her eyes and flipped again as she eliminated women and girls from her list.

A cat walking along the top of a fence came into view. She flipped her hand. "No shapeshifters. They creep me out."

This time it was a man in a leather doublet with a giant two-handed sword on his back. "Sir Garrett ah nope he's married."

A man wearing a fancy outfit and standing on a stage flashed to life in the scrying. "Justin bevin, not my type."

XRenia mentally scrolled down the list not even bothering to bring them up on her magical screen. "Nobleman. Nobleman. No. no. Ew gross. Nobleman. Political ties." She sighed and reached for another Bean bun. When she looked back up an image of a boy about her age laying in the grass dressed in ragged clothing was floating on her screen.

"Huh, interesting." She zoomed in. She had never heard of or seen this boy before. But according to her list he was the thirteenth most magically powerful man besides her family. I could've sworn I know everyone in the top one hundred. "He must be in some type of disguise or something.."

A sheep walked up to the lad and nudged him. He sat up and started to pet the creature. That's when she noticed the shepherd's staff lying beside him. "A shepherd?"

Well, he had certainly piqued her interest. She reached out with her Magic and tapped him on the shoulder. XRenia fully expected him to jump to his feet but he didn't react at all.

She did it again this time a little harder but he still didn't react. She chewed on her lip and exhorted some force giving him a proverbial magic slap.

The boy didn't even budge. "He had to have felt that." But he obviously didn't. She zoomed in even closer and examine his skin, there were no magic lines flowing through the epidermis at all. The boy had never opened his magic!

But if that was true there should've been no way she could have detected his magical potential. Then again her parents were the ones that said such a thing was impossible but she personally had never actually tried so maybe she could.

A second lamb butted the lad and she could clearly hear him say, "okay, okay. I'll play, I'll play." He laughed as he rubbed the sheep's chin then reached down by his feet and picked up a harp.

XRenia frowned as he set the thing on his lap and started to play a melodious tune. Well, one thing was for sure he was no nobleman. No self-respecting man would play such a girly instrument.

She threw the rest of the bun in her mouth and put her hands behind her head as she listen. She had to give it to him his music was beautiful.   

She finished chewing picked up the bag and rolled to her feet. "Well, I may just have a candidate."

She zoomed out the scrying getting a good shot of the area. It was brownish-green field dotted with trees. She picked a spot and opened a rift.