“Mistress, Aqui has returned,” said Mel, the head maid of Vishara’s court.

  Sitting in her chair, perusing reports after reports, behind a desk stacked with papers, in the deep centre of her private chamber, Vishara raised her gaze with a slow and solemn tenor. She stared at Mel in silence for a brief moment. Her gaze said nothing of her sentiment or the ck thereof.

  “She returned,” the maid added. “Without the princess. But there was someone else with her. The princess’ maidservant.”

  Whether Vishara was disappointed or frustrated or neither, she didn’t show it on her face. “I will speak to her. Send her in,” she ordered. “Have the servant wait outside.”

  Mel nodded and promptly left the room. Not a minute went by, and she returned with Aqui. She then took her leave after escorting the dispirited vampire.

  “Aqui. You returned, not with the princess, but with her maidservant.”

  Aqui dropped to her knees and lowered herself until she touched the floor. “My tremendous apology, Your Majesty. You gave me only one task and I failed to accomplish it. I don’t deserve any forgiveness.”

  Vishara rolled her eyes and waved her hand at the Aqui. “Rise.”

  Aqui complied but she was hesitant in rising all the way to her feet.

  “Please don’t do that again. I gain no pleasure or satisfaction from that. You’ll only leave a stain on the floor.”

  “I am sorry, Your Majesty. For everything, I’m truly sorry. I have no excuse for my failure.”

  “I hate excuses, but I do want an expnation and a report. So, speak.”“I have done all that you have asked of me, except for the most crucial part. I learned plenty of the

  kingdom’s pns. They would have done so much if it weren’t for the mutiny of their new advisor. In the midst of the chaos, I managed to secure the princess. I acquainted myself with the princess. I gained her trust. She was willing to follow me back to Verugo. We even began our journey. However, it was short-lived. The dragon intervened.”

  Vishara chuckled lightly. “How predictable. What did our dear dragon say?”

  “...He said many things but it all comes down to one point, to abide by the agreement and to not try anything against him.”

  Vishara ughed. “Agreement? What agreement? Argon Kingdom is no more. It has been destroyed, but unfortunately, not by my hands. Ah, once again, my clemency has prevented me from achieving my goals. As for his second point, it will be inevitable. Our values and sentiment are just… constantly at odds.”

  “Lord Henry used some harsh and vulgar words in his address to you, Your Majesty. I believe he even threatened you, albeit indirectly.”

  “I’m sure he did. He does look like someone who has a hidden, fierce and brutish side to him. What else is there?”

  “He has an unexpected… versatile ability.”

  “How versatile?”

  “I saw him open a portal to a different… pce.”

  “Teleportation portal.”

  “I had the same assumption at first, Your Majesty. However, I reckon it is not as simple as it looks. I do not smell anything in this world from the portal. Every scent and smell emanated from the portal is simply… foreign.”

  “How big was the portal?”

  “It was rge enough to fit a person through and it could fit many more within. He used that ability to stow away the princess, preventing any further attempts from me at snatching her from their grasp.”

  “Interesting,” Vishara mused. She finally put down the documents in her hand and straightened her posture. “What’s your observation of the portal?”

  “I saw a vast nd through the portal. It feels peaceful and serene. The air was… untainted by war or chaos. I am not aware of any pce on this continent that resembles such an environment. It could be a nd of another continent.”

  “Or it could also be something else entirely.” Vishara grinned. “Something… otherworldly.”

  “Your Majesty? Are you perhaps suggesting the portal was a—”

  “Pocket dimension, yes.”

  “...That’s absurd. Even for Lord Henry, having the power to not just manipute space, but also to create it? That is nothing short of an undertaking of a god.”

  “Then, it is even more pusible for it to be a pocket dimension. Looks like any future visits from him will have to be… closely and cautiously surveyed. If his pocket dimension could hold hundreds or even thousands of individuals, he could simply walk into this nd with an army and no one would even know it.”

  “Your Majesty, that’s… a very terrifying thought.”

  “Indeed, it is. Fortunately, Henry isn’t the type to strike first. As long as we don’t prod him, we will be safe from his retaliation.”

  “Are we to let the princess go?”

  Vishara smirked. “Of course not. She still has her uses but not right now. Currently, she isn’t worth the trouble with her being in Henry’s hands. The Argon Kingdom is not my only target. The traitors went their separate ways in the ter years of their lives. My vengeance is far from over. However, my vengeance would have to wait. We have more pressing matters and so does Henry. Tell me, what have you learned about our mutual enemy?”

  “I have learned the name of the one above the mutiny. His name is Nilus. He hails from a different world but he is very knowledgeable of this world. Using his knowledge, he constructed machines for the kingdom to be used for their warring efforts, or so the humans foolishly believed. The machines he built it was all for his own purposes. As for what his purposes are, I still can’t find the answer. My apologies, Your Majesty.”

  Vishara waved her off. “Don’t need it. Just continue. What is their battle strength?”

  “The machines are mostly… insignificant against our forces or Ulrum’s forces. The ones that are truly the threat are the Syers. They are constantly being improved. They are getting stronger and faster, and also smarter. They are also becoming harder to destroy. But the most concerning thing is that our enemy understands the real threat against them and they responded appropriately.”

  Vishara’s face turned pensive. “Go on.”

  “There was a Syer… It was different from the others. It was special. It was designed specifically to counter Lord Henry. It could withstand his fmes and his spells.”

  “That is concerning.”

  “If our enemy can succeed in negating the dragon’s powers and abilities, they can surely do the same to you, Your Majesty. I strongly suggest that we quell this threat as soon as possible before that premonition comes true. The longer we wait, the more time our enemy can prepare. I fear that he may even find ways to repel us, the vampires.”

  “I agree. This cannot wait, but we cannot rush. Haste will be of no use to us. We need more information about our enemy. As things stand, we still know very little about our enemy. We will only be rushing into the unknown or into a trap.” Vishara cpped her hands. “Everyone, to the council room, now.” She commanded with telepathy to all of her subjects.

  ****

  There was no clock in the pocket dimension. The movement of the sun in the pocket dimension appeared to follow the one in the real world, but Princess Lucianna was not savvy enough to determine the exact amount of time that had passed through the sun’s movements alone. She could only keep track of time with her own senses but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. The longer she waited, the more she lost track of it, to the point that time seemed to have slowed. At some point, anxiety took over.

  The ndscape wasn’t any help either in soothing her worries. No matter where she looked, everything was the same, an endless pin that spanned as far as the eye could see. She tried to explore the pins but at the same time, she was afraid that if she strayed too far from the initial point, she would lose her opportunity to leave once the portal opened once again. Trapped in a dilemma, she began to pace around.

  “Your Highness, you can stop worrying.”

  The sudden voice made Lucianna jump. She spun around in an instant. “Who goes there!?” she shouted in a commanding tone. To her surprise, there was no one, or at least she saw no one.

  Then, the space a few feet in front of her began to blur and ripple. Like a hanging cloth being torn down, the space fell apart, revealing a red-haired dy in robes, sitting cross-legged on the ground.

  “Y-you… you’re the missing mage. Kiera, was it?”

  “I’m honoured that the princess remembers me. Then again, it is no surprise. It is one of your many traits that garnered so much support from the people.”

  “W-why are you here?”

  “I’m a prisoner. Well, sort of. It’s temporary, or at least that’s what that idiot told me.”

  “That idiot? Do you mean Lord Henry? You’re involved with him? Does that mean that you have betrayed—”

  Kiera immediately shot the princess a gre. “That’s very audacious of you, Your Highness, coming from someone who seeks to overthrow her brother, the king.”

  “...I-I’m sorry. I misspoke.”

  Kiera rolled her eyes but she did not press the issue further.

  “Still, why are you here?”

  “I am a very valuable asset, according to Henry. He told me they were going to confront a person who could potentially be his biggest enemy and he doesn’t want the person to know of my affiliation with him. A trick under his sleeves, as he calls it.”

  Luciana had plenty to say to Kiera but she had trouble finding the right words. In the end, she simply reached out and grasped any words that came to mind. “Why were you hiding?”

  “Hmm? Hiding?” Kiera looked at the princess, funny. “Oh, I wasn’t— Well, maybe I was. To be precise, I was hiding from the sun. It’s bad for my skin and I hate the heat.”

  “I see…” The answer was not what Lucianna expected but it made sense. The sun was kind of gring but her worries had made her numb against the heat. “Say… have you been in cohorts with Lord Henry all this time?”

  Kiera smiled wryly. “I haven’t. I didn't even know the idiot until your dear brother, His Majesty, decided to send me out into the battlefield, a pointless war against Ulrum. As you heard, the kingdom’s forces were obliterated. I was the only survivor. He saw my potential and he let me live in exchange for my servitude.”

  “My brother sent you into the battlefield? You? An accomplished schor and mage?” Lucianna groaned. “That fucking idiot… How stupid can he be? What was he thinking?”

  “That’s the problem, Your Highness. I don’t believe he is capable of thinking. You might resent me for this but his death, I say it’s good riddance.”

  Lucianna was about to retort but it was at that moment that the portal suddenly reappeared. Her head was hanging low from her grim deliberation. She was not looking where she was going. She simply walked through the portal that was in her path. The slight differences in the elevation of the ground made her lose her bance and footing.

  “Ah!” Lucianna yelped as she fell to the ground and she left through the portal. Gone was the soothing warmth of the pins. The air became chilly and she couldn’t help but she shuddered as she gathered herself and hugged her body. Then, she noticed the change in her surroundings and she raised her head. Her eyes went wide. All around her were people but none of them were human, save for the two familiar women. The people all had some form of animal features on their bodies. More than that, she found herself being drawn to the towering walls and ramparts behind the people. It was as if the mountains themselves had been converted into a fortress.

  “Took you long enough,” Kiera grumbled as she walked through the portal behind the princess without stumbling or tripping.

  “Apologies. There were complications,” Henry said with a smile. “I trust that you have acquainted yourself quite nicely with the princess, no?”

  “We have but I won’t say it was ‘nicely’. It was brief.”

  “That’s enough for now.” Henry turned his gaze to Lucianna, his smile widening.. “Your Highness, welcome to Ulrum. By all means, do enjoy your stay here as I doubt it would be a short stay.”