Nova packed all of her necessities as neatly as time allowed. She would have to leave soon; she could not be late and give the Prince another reason to make fun of her. She did not know how she was going to survive an undefined period of time with him; his very existence made her want to disappear into another realm and never return. Of course, she would never do such a thing; she was loyal to Luminae. Her dad used to be an Astral Walker too, and seeing his dedication to the kingdom had inspired her. His hard work had put food on the table, and she could see the sparkle in his eyes every time she asked him about his day at work.
After mulling over it for a bit, Nova decided her packing was done. A quick glance at the small clock by her bedside let her know that it was time to leave. She carried her luggage and gave her quarters one last look, admiring the luxury and comfort she was sure to miss. She patted the smaller bag slung across her body, ensuring that she still had the journal and the pouch of coins. Her hand felt the rigidity of a longer object—the bell flower. The mini portal was also stashed within. Once she was satisfied, she made her way out the door, through the hallway, down the stairs, and finally outside.
Nova loved being outdoors at night. Luminae had made sure to plant natural bell flowers and star trees on every street. It reminded her a bit of Sugarvale, Miss Bubble’s realm. With the ground illuminated by the glowing flowers and trees, the only thing missing was the faint tune accompanying her steps. She walked straight towards the royal gardens, carrying her luggage and trying to be as silent as possible. She did not want to draw anyone’s attention.
The city was silent; the only sound was the laughter of families behind closed doors. As Nova passed several houses, their lit windows signaling the presence of people within, she felt a pang of jealousy. Just a decade ago, she had the same life: working hard every day—helping her mom in the gardens or learning to weave star fabric from her grandma. In the evenings, she would eagerly wait for her dad to return from work and pester him about his day. They would all sit at the table, enjoying a delicious meal while her family cracked jokes and relished each other’s company. She missed those days dearly.
Nova soon entered the royal gardens through a small entrance behind the palace. This entrance was a small, trimmed section of the green, thorny hedge that surrounded the massive garden and could only be accessed by Astral Walkers. Anybody else who tried to enter would be zapped back; a magical barrier protected it. As she walked quickly through the gardens, guided by the bell flowers lighting her path, she felt relief not seeing the prince anywhere. She had arrived first; it would have been incredibly annoying if she’d been late. Theron would not stop teasing her about it for the rest of eternity. That’s how he was: a spoiled little prince who had everything handed to him just for being born in the right place at the right time. In the time she’d known him, she had found him to be incredibly rude, flashy, wasteful, and stubborn. But those were not the reasons she disliked him so much. Prince Theron kept company that Nova did not approve of—people who had tormented her in the past and would not hesitate to do so again if her Astral status did not protect her.
As she waited for him, she wondered why he was this way. If she’d been a princess, surely she would be helping others in need instead of forming unnecessary friendships. The fact that the prince had so casually talked of the Netherplague earlier, without considering how his words would affect her, was a testament to how he truly did not care about those he deemed beneath him.
Nova was deep in thought when her eyes fell on the solitary ant on the ground. It seemed alone, separated from its family. It was probably panicking and frantically trying to find its way back. Did it miss its parents? Did it even have family, or was it alone like her?
“There you are!”
Nova shuddered back into reality, her eyes instantly shifting to the source of the irritating voice.
“You’re late, Prince,” Nova said, giving him an annoyed look. She wanted to emphasize his lack of punctuality. She’d hate being on the receiving end of this, but she wouldn’t miss an opportunity to ridicule Theron.
The prince rolled his eyes at her. “What were you staring at, the dust on the floor?”
Nova crossed her arms over her chest. “Why do you want to know? And where’s your luggage?”
“It will be here soon.”
Nova scoffed. “So you’re telling me you couldn’t even bring your luggage? Who’s hauling it here for you? Your servants? I thought we were not supposed to let anyone know where we’re goi—”
Nova was cut off by a strange rumble that echoed the automotive the Prince had been driving earlier, and then the advanced machinery came into view with all his luggage piled on the seats at the back. She couldn’t believe the Prince’s audacity.
Nova looked at the Prince. “Why is this thing here?”
The Prince returned her gaze with a quizzical expression. “It’s here to give me a massage. Why else would it be here?”
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Nova was growing tired of his antics. “Prince Theron, can you please be serious for once.”
The quizzical expression vanished, leaving the Prince looking as serious as she had ever seen him. “Alright, fine. It’s here to carry our luggage. You cannot possibly expect me to be hauling around all that,” he pointed at his bags piled sloppily on top of one another, “everywhere we go.”
“You cannot expect me to create a portal capable of teleporting you, our luggage, and that giant thing everywhere. It takes a lot of energy just to teleport by myself.”
“We are not using your portals, Nova.”
“Then how else are we going? I’m not going to be sitting on a ship for days before finally making it to Quartzvein. And besides, we will be too slow chasing that man if he has a portal with him as the reports say.”
“Don’t worry, I am not too keen on voyages either.”
“So what’s your plan?”
“My plan is,” Prince Theron performed an exaggerated cough, an attempt to clear his throat for what he was about to tell her. He walked to the machinery and placed a hand on it. “We’re going to travel on my enchantmobile!”
Nova was as far from excitement as she’d ever been. She looked at the Prince, then at the “enchantmobile”, then right back at him. “We’re traveling in that?”
“Yeah! You know it’s the newest model, everyone has been raving about it. I got approval from my father to buy one because of our task. He believes it’s much more convenient than a ship, and he’s right! It’s very fast—it can cover the distance a ship covers in an entire day in just 2 hours. Plus, you don’t even have to constantly operate it. You just set the destination, relax, and it weaves its way through any obstacles in its path while taking us there—”
Prince Theron was in his whole world as he listed all the merits of his enchantmobile. He looked utterly starstruck, a side of him Nova had never seen before. It was difficult to reconcile this enthusiastic, charmed demeanor with the dark, cruel future ruler of Luminae she’d envisioned. The Prince was still going on about it, saying something about how it levitates at the perfect height when she decided to cut him off.
“Alright, fine. We will go in this if you want. I can’t create a portal for this ‘enchantmobile’ of yours anyway so we might as well use it.”
Prince Theron’s face lit up at that. “Perfect! Get in then.” He gestured towards the passenger side of the round, almost bulbous device, and opened the door. “After you, Miss Crestwood.”
Nova rolled her eyes but got in anyway. The Prince shut the door and walked over to pick up her luggage. He hauled it off the ground effortlessly, walked back to the automotive, and shoved it in with his bags before getting into the driver’s seat. Nova realized he must have daily lessons, for her luggage was not that easy to carry.
Prince Theron looked at her. “You said we were going to Quartzvein?”
“Yes, that’s where the man was last seen.”
“Alright, then.” The prince pressed some buttons, and suddenly they were levitating. At first, they hovered low enough for Nova to be able to see each blade of grass on the ground, her eyes well-adjusted to the ambient glow of the flowers and trees. They maintained this altitude until they were well beyond the city’s borders. Once the city had faded completely from view, the enchantmobile accelerated, ascending higher and higher.
The machine made a buzzing noise, and suddenly, where once there was nothing between Nova and the danger of falling to her death, appeared a glass dome that enclosed everything within.
“Don’t you find this handy? We can enjoy the view without having to shout over the wind to talk.” Theron looked at her gleefully.
Nova thought he resembled a child receiving a present. “I suppose it’s a useful feature.”
“I am glad there is one thing we agree on. Anyways, what are your plans for finding this man?”
Nova paused, contemplating. Everything concerning this task had unfolded in just one day, leaving her little time to formulate a plan and determine the most effective approach to locating such a mysterious man.
“I believe the best course of action would be for us to get some rest once we’re there. We haven’t slept at all today, and it’s crucial to be well-rested when we’re on a task like this.”
Theron nodded his head. “I agree. We should find accommodation, get a good night’s sleep, and then spend some time tomorrow going through the material we have.”
Nova looked at him, surprised as to how seriously he was taking this.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like I’ve grown a third head.”
“You don’t even have a second head to begin with.”
“Maybe I’ve got one growing out of my behind.”
Nova grimaced at that. “You know you can be disgusting at times.”
Theo smiled at her. “Anything for you, Miss Crestwood.”
They both fell silent after that. Nova did not know what to say, as it was unfamiliar being with someone she found so annoying for a prolonged period. Glancing at the Prince, she noticed him dozing off. With Theron falling asleep, she could finally admire her surroundings without his watchful gaze.
They were so high up now that it felt like Nova could touch the sky if the glass were to disappear. She hadn’t seen Luminae’s stars like this before, and it was breathtaking. She had visited different realms where the sky resembled a river of stars, but Luminae’s sky dazzled with a variety of colors. The twinkling stars ranged from shades like gold, reminiscent of the warm touch of the Sun, to silver, evoking memories of cold winter temperatures. She spotted a cluster of stars the shade of lilac like the skies of Sugarvale. There were some others that resembled the blue of the Azure Ocean.
Nova continued gazing at the stars as her eyes grew heavy. Her mind raced through different thoughts: how she would accomplish the task, how her family would have been proud of her being chosen by the King for this, how she would visit Miss Bubble once all this was over. She drifted into her realm of dreams without realizing it.