When today feels like last day of your life, living it to the fullest is all you can do. It was the same with Chloe. Not sure if tomorrow would be in her life, or what would it look like; she spent her last day doing everything she used to, paying as much attention to them as she could. She missed her parents, she was so done with this world. Who cares whether they are the real parents, their love is real! After scolding her, the pain in their eyes was real!
The day passed by and the night fell. Colden and Chloe had dinner together, as per the rules. As the time came closer, the adrenaline rush increased, making her heartbeat go crazy. Crimson accompanied her to her room, before going back to her own.
They planned to sneak out during the guards switch for the night. As per planned they met at the rear end of the hall, crawled to the back door, using the small wall that was not visible from other side as shield. After getting to the garden, they tiptoed to the area where servant’s igloos were present, and crawled their way around. Crimson tried making a hole with her fire but due to the cold temperature, she was unable to generate even a spark of heat.
“What’s wrong?” Chloe whispered.
“It’s too cold. My body can’t take it. You generate water, let’s use hot water to melt ice.” She whispered back.
“I haven’t done it after that day!”
“Try it or we will be killed.”
“Should I try to get wings, I am a royalty, I must be having wings.”
“So that they see you and kill you. You highness, you don’t even know how to control it!” she sighed.
Chloe tried to generate water again, but all that she generated was more ice. She tried again but no luck. She slammed her hand on the ice, irritated. This was so irritating. Then suddenly she turned to Crimson, looking grim and threw a punch in her face, instantly placing her hands on her mouth to suppress her scream. Tears escaped her eyes as she groaned in pain. Chloe wiped her tears and closed her eyes. As Crimson was about to hit her, she pointed her hands to the wall and the spot melted. Crimson watched in awe. They crawled through it, and then walked to the frosted forest, even in their thick tiger skinned coat; they felt chilled to their nerves. They walked for what felt like an eternity, before a barren desert came in sight.
“This is no man’s land, after this is Conleth’s Realm. We will take the tunnel.”
Crimson removed a stone and cleaned the area; it led to an underground tunnel. They walked through the tunnel to its other end. Crimson gave her a pair of gloves.
“Hide your star mark. It makes you different!"
“What does that even mean?”
“For now, it means let’s try not to get discovered before meeting my majesty.”
“Okay.”
They reached the gate where checking was going on. Crimson generated a symbol of lion with her fire magic, and the guards removed the spears blocking the gate. She held onto Chloe hands, hoping to pass through together.
“Stop!” a guard shouted from behind, “Show your proof!”
Crimson walked to them and whispered something on their ears, a look of pity came from their eyes as they turned around, to check others.
The Conleth’s Realm was really different from Krystallos, it seemed more human, though the heat was unbearable. Vendors were shouting by the streets, kids were playing and announcements were being made. They entered a small restaurant; Chloe ordered some plain food, tired from the journey while Crimson had four bowls of rice. They were almost done eating, when a tall man with muscular built wearing a long cloak that was hiding his face, entered the restaurant, and sat next to them, making Chloe jump from her seat.
“It’s ‘Our Majesty, The King’!” Crimson whispered.
“Are you okay?” Blaze said.
“Yes, we managed the escape well.”
“Okay, so if we go to the emperor, there is a huge chance Colden will know and come to pick you up. There will be a fight, which is not an issue but Coco, I have my emperor ceremony in a week, so will you be able to stay in a farmhouse till then? After that you can come to the palace!”
“That works for me!”
Blaze escorted them to a farmhouse before leaving for his castle. The farmhouse was small but clean, with fresh water river running close to it. Chloe walked around, but she felt like she would get heatstroke if she stayed out.
“The temperature is so different Crimmy, I feel like I will melt away.”
“That’s because Conleth is powered by fire magic while Krystallos was built using ice magic.”
“Crimmy, my brother showed so much care for me, it’s so unbelievable that he wants to kill me!” Chloe let out a sigh.
“The world of power is not something a commoner like me can understand!” Crimson said, preparing to cook.
“I don’t even want power, I just want to go back to my parents, in mortal world and live with them.”
“It’s okay Princess, now King Blaze will surely make all your wishes come true.”
Their chatting was interrupted because of a large number of voices coming from outside. Chloe wore a cloak and wrapped her face with a cloth before going out. The huge crowd was gathered around, with an elderly woman, two kids and a dog, all of them seemed afraid and in a defensive position.
“Family of bad omen. Kill them or the curse will befall us!” Someone shouted.
“Let’s burn them to death!”
Panic rose in Chloe and even before thinking, she ran to them, protecting them.
“Why are you doing this to them?” she shouted at them.
“From the time they have entered the village, our birds are dying. They are bad omen. We must kill them.”