Eve stared outside the carriage and fell into shock, her jaws dropping until it reached the floor. 'Woah. .'

The Kingdom of Fantasia was simply awe-inspiring. Standing on top of a fat, flat hill, the silver kingdom oversaw a range of snow-capped mountains. It stood tall and majestic, expanding its many reaches into the horizon, telling the world of its power and regality. Arrogant towers attempted to pierce the heavens as the azure eyes of god watched in amusement on the futile attempts of mortals.

Eve heard a loud and clear whistle that brought her mind to the great deep. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers as she saw the laws of science breaking before her eyes. Giant whales that were crowned with resplendent halos lazily swam through the sky, above the kingdom, as they sang a deep song that made Eve drowsy.

And for the final splash of color onto the canvas of human intelligence and wisdom, nature was added. Bright green filled Eve's eyes; a luscious carpet of grass spread out before the kingdom with various trees that had been molded into knights, dragons, and the many fantastical beasts that roamed the world.

Suddenly, a mysterious need to explore made Eve's body thirst for adventure. Her heart pounded against her chest as her mind commanded the circulation of Orix to her body. The familiar rush of adrenaline that came with wielding Orix raced through her veins to reach the ending at the crown above her head.

A bright flash of golden light flashed throughout the carriage, blinding both Eve and the princess to which Sephiria reacted by calling for her beloved sword and gripping the metallic handle of [Bloodfell].

'An enemy attack?!' She wanted to slash at the air to cut at the enemy but stopped as her eyes turned to Eve. She could not act too reckless in such a tight area.

As color returned to her eyes, most of her worries were put to rest when she regained her vision.

After she blinked a few more times and fluttered her eyes opened, the cold hands of shock grasped her heart. She unconsciously released her grip on her sword. 'What the... My lords.'

She saw Eve's true nature.

The sickly crown that just lazily floated above Eve's head was now glowing a healthy gold, sending waves of raw power that made the air groan and shiver. An aureate lotus formed out of nowhere as it etched itself on the middle of her forehead. A black, winged cape materialized and writhed across Eve's supple body that was highlighted by her midnight war-dress.

But that wasn't what shocked her. Sephiria winced as she could see the literal air howl and bend around the woman in subservience. Her necklace was trembling against her chest, trying to hold out against the waves of power that hit against her like a wind god's hammer.

Eve, however, was oblivious to the chills she sent down the princess's spine as a single thought dominated her mind.

'I need to go there. Now. Alone.'

And so, to the princess's surprise, Eve opened the embezzled door of the carriage. "Something came up. I'll see you later, princess."

"Wha-" But, Sephiria couldn't finish her question as Eve jumped out of the carriage and zoomed through the air, heading towards her kingdom with speeds that were unheard of.

'Well...I'll just let her be. She already has the royal badge so she'll be fine. Besides,' Sephiria bit her fingernails. 'It's not like I can catch up to her anyway.'

"My mother awaits my report too." The princess sighed before looking back at the speck on the horizon. "I just hope she doesn't forget the ball tomorrow night."

And, then the carriage was silent as it rode through one of the extensive bridges of the Fantasia Kingdom.

____________________________________________________________

Stolen novel; please report.

Meanwhile, Eve flew past the small hills that littered the plains with a queasy mind. 'What is this? It feels like a rock's sitting in my stomach. Why is this body suddenly attracted to the kingdom?'

Meanwhile, Eve flew past the small hills that littered the plains with a queasy mind. 'What is this? It feels like a rock's sitting in my stomach. Why is this body suddenly attracted to the kingdom?'

She ignored the sky whales that groaned in annoyance at the gales of wind that followed her speed as she massaged her head. 'Perhaps, there's something inside that's attracting it?'

'But that would mean that Eve, the past Eve, has visited this place before.' Eve frowned, imagining the dilemmas the theory would cause if it were true. 'Or is it just a simple attraction?'

"I don't know, but I'll have to find out." She picked up her speed and soon arrived in front of the Kingdom of Fantasia.

And that was when she realized the magnitude and scale that the word; "Kingdom" held.

Now that she was floating in front of it and the kingdom was right up her face, she realized how big the kingdom actually was.

As she stared at the kingdom, she noted that it had been cut into a total of four centers of livelihood by a long, flowing river like a pie that had been chopped into quarters.

Eve could see the bustling streets, the carriages that drove past the busy roadside stalls, the diligent messengers that rode griffins, the houses that had been built through a fusion of science and magic. And finally, as the sun highlighted all of the kingdom's faces, a sense of home wriggled inside Eve's heart.

"So I was right," Eve said, somehow feeling happy and excited at being in such close proximity with the kingdom. "This body has been here before. And depending on this body's reaction, it certainly didn't just stay here for fun."

Eve leaned forward. "Well, it's not like I'll find out the answers if I just stay here."

"Off I go then." She flew forward before hitting an invisible wall as she tried to enter the kingdom. "What the hell?"

Her hands slowly reached for the bubble barrier and was surprised to see it stretch as she sunk her entire hands in. She retracted her hands and tried to rush through it but failed as her kinetic energy pushed her back out.

She repeated the process several times before an idea popped in her head.

Eve took out her badge and stared at it. "This badge will allow you to pass through the barriers of the Fantasia Kingdom, huh?"

She then held the badge firmly and tried pressing it against the bubble barrier. And just as she suspected, a small little hole opened up, just enough for her hand to pass through.

She retracted her hands, ignoring the barrier that was quickly reforming itself. 'Maybe If I do this...' She stuck the badge on her chest. Then, she tried touching the barrier as the barrier slowly gaped to the size of a human.

'It worked!' Eve pumped a mental fist in her mind. She floated inside the human-sized hole and relished at the boisterous sounds of a successful society. She felt at home, the need to go somewhere inside this kingdom now roaring in her heart.

She was close, she could feel it.

But before that, she had to get down or else she might attract too much attention.

Eve looked around the kingdom, trying to search for a place to descend. It appeared as if she had arrived at the bottom right quarter of the 4 centers. As usual, the streets of the 4th quarter were packed to the brim with traveling merchants, vendors and most importantly, magicians.

Luckily, there was an emptier street, with just a few hundreds of inhabitants that was just around a few meters from where she hovered.

Wasting no time, Eve flew towards the idle street and descended on it. A pang of confusion hit her mind as its residents seemed to pause in time and stared at her with an odd look in their eyes. 'Why are they staring at me?'

'Do I smell or something?' She sniffed her shoulders and felt relieved when no bad odor entered her nose. In fact, she oddly smelled like fresh daisy and roses.

She ignored the looks and was about to walk when she felt the nagging sensation suddenly increase to its peak. She held her chest but looked down when she felt a tug at her stygian dress.

It was a little girl, no more than nine, decorated with cute scarlet pigtails for her hair that had been dirtied from mud and dirt. She wore a torn dress for her clothes, no, the state of her clothes looked far worse. It looked more like a rag that had its tips nibbled by rats. Yet, as Eve's eyes landed on the little girl's face, she knew the girl would grow up to be quite the beauty.

Her milky white face that had been adorned with large, dewy eyes that held the purest sky, a pixie's nose, and delicate lips all trembled with emotions Eve could not decipher as the little girl looked up at her.

Eve felt pity, shock, and most importantly, anger as she looked at the state of the little girl. Eve immediately held the emotions back as she felt the nagging sensation disappear entirely from her mind. 'Woah, what was that? I barely know the girl and I feel like I could have killed for the kid.'

"Miss, you're so pretty~" The little girl's eyes sparkled with childlike innocence as she looked up at the otherworldly beautiful woman that caught the entire street's attention.

Eve's heart throbbed with unknown maternal instincts as she smiled gently at the little girl. She crouched and carried the little girl in her arms. "Thank you, little lady. What's your name?"

The tattered beauty smiled widely, proudly showing off her pearly white teeth. "Aela! It means Angel of Love!"