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Chapter 21
Gracewind was a marvel. Ezabel never doubted it before and she did not doubt it now. Every broadway had her practically standing off of their wagon and every sidestreet saw her pining for its hidden corners. In all honesty, it might have been enough to have her forget the reason she had come. Luckily, the curiosities of her younger self were quickly tamed when the skyline around them suddenly began to sink.
They had assumed a slow and steady pace on a path far quieter than what they had been using for the last hour or so. She had not noticed until now, but the beginning of a slope was at hand. It was the base of a wide prominence where they were treated to a lofted view of the northern section of Gracewind.
Ezabel’s chest slowed, as if the air here was that much more potent. To be able to witness such a vast sight soothed her excitement and curbed her inquisitiveness. Leland and Dani could not see it, but her lips curled a genuine smile. She found a greater sense of appreciation for her situation then. Her fingers fell to the dagger Leland had given her. It was tied neatly onto her belt, just at the back of her waist.
As the sounds of the city slowly fell off in the distance, the street around began to transition into a clean-chiseled causeway. There were thick, white ledges on either side where black streetlights rose to hang the banners of the Order. It bore a white crown as a sigil, which laid above a pairing of flowers. On the right was a sword bell. It shone white and clear, Ezabel had seen it many times before. But, thanks to Jiro, she was now able to put a name to it. The flower on the left was still a mystery to her, however. It lay golden and vibrant; it was rounder than the sword bell and more stout. Yet, it felt far more robust.
Altogether, the causeway represented a regal shift in locale. Even in places where the slope experienced steepness, great lengths were made to ensure that the road became a grand path. Much of the land around the Citadel was of a similar grain. In fact, thanks to the effort, it was almost too easy for one to distinguish between the carven grounds of the stronghold and the standard fair of the rest of the city.
The difference in surroundings was not lost on Ezabel, who turned to face the top of the slope. She had read plenty about the castles and keeps of Ardyn, but the Citadel made every single of them seem like nothing more than homely boxes of stone. It was a proper fortress, and to be within its walls was to be in another town entirely; they had come to the palace of the High King of Ardyn and the home of the Attendant Knights.
Nothing had made that more apparent than when Ezabel began to catch fleeting glimpses of white cloaks amidst the many passing wards. Sure, she had met a couple of Attendants prior, but this was another thing entirely. She was in their headquarters. There was no end to the amount of legendary names she could run into here. Who would be the first? Could she even recognize them? Hell, what would she even say if it even happened!? Questions. She needed to come up with more questions--.
She lost her footing and nearly fell out of the wagon. They had come to an abrupt stop. Their steeds puffed hot air and scraped their shoes against the hard ground.
“Okay, off you go.”, Leland said without so much as a wave.
Ezabel and Dani exchanged a dubious look. They had come to an empty, grass ward whose only inhabitant was a deep stack of wooden crates. Her best guess pinned it as a staging area for miscellaneous needs. There would have been more people here otherwise, right? No matter. This was not the Citadel’s chief entrance. It was some out-of-the-way site where they were about to be dumped onto.
“Hey, you’re not going to take us all the way in?”, Dani complained.
“Yeah, no. Like I said, I got some things to take care of. - Watch your step!”
“But, we don’t even know where we are or what we’re supposed to do!”, Ezabel scooted next to Dani and scrunched her stare.
“You’ll be fine, you're a smart woman. I’ll see you in a few! - Gotta go!”
They whined. It was all a little too precarious for them. But, their feet eventually found the ground and Leland wasted no time in leaving. The horses clopped at a brisk pace and in its wake came a small plume of dust. They had been abandoned.
“Stupid Leland!”, Dani shouted as she kicked the dust. “He’s got to be the laziest guy in the entire realm. How did he even become an Attendant!?”
It was a quick rant, Dani admitted. But, even Ezabel felt a small tinge of her distress. Perhaps, they had relied a little too much on Leland as a guiding figure? He had brought a sense of security on the road. More importantly, he had direction. They would never divulge, but they might have begun to miss his lackadaisical face.
“Should we look for the main hall? - Wait, or is the main gate we need to go to?”, Ezabel was lost. They were on citadel grounds for certain, but where? There was nothing akin to a grand old gate that had passed them on the way here. Yet, they were surrounded by high curtain walls and battlements. Worse, the whole area was silent, save for the rustling of fallen leaves.
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“Ugh!”, Dani grumbled and scratched her head. “Okay, let's just go…”
“That way?”, they muttered in unison and pointed in two different directions.
Their fingers fell. At once, the same sense of doom came upon them. They had half a mind to start wandering until they lucked into the right place. In fact, their feet had nearly started in a random direction when a small voice called out to them.
“You may go no further, trespassers!”
It came from above, on a battlement that stood directly in front of the blinding sun. Ezabel and Dani squinted, they could not see it, whatever it was. Only when they had sifted the light through their hands, did they see a puny silhouette descend the wall. It floated downward at a constant pace and almost had them back away in fear. Almost.
The women blinked repeatedly, as if their eyes had deceived them. The voice had not come from anything they were familiar with. There was nothing like it in Vostia, at least.
It was a mouse-rabbit-rodent-thing? It hovered before them at head level and was about the size of an apple. Milky white fur covered its entire body. Its coat was flat and short, save for a singular streak of hoisted gold that ran down his spine and ended in a great, bushy tail. It glowed with a golden aura that seemed to support its ability to float.
“State your purpose or face the wrath of Zo!”, he squeaked the message aloud and glared with two, beady eyes. It was obvious, even to Ezabel and Dani, that the creature struggled to keep a stern face. His whiskers trembled and betrayed him. His tall, round ears were flushed red. He was not fooling anyone.
“It’s..”, Ezabel mumbled.
“..adorable.”, Dani finished.
“I am a steward of the Citadel and I will not allow anyone to--!”
Dani plucked him out of the air with wanting hands. It only took a single palm to hold onto Zo, but she cradled him in both while she squashed him against her cheek. He was soft as a fresh pillow and light as a feather. Dani was practically hopping with adoration and Ezabel joined in without pause.
“What should we name him!?”, Ezabel shouted.
“What do you think he eats!?”, Dani shouted louder.
“An echo spirit..”, Zo answered. “..is not a pet!”
His tiny limbs stretched as far as Dani’s vice grip allowed, and from his body came an aura even brighter than before. A sudden wind had been summoned into the ward and stirred a swarm of dried leaves. It rose high into the air and plunged onto them like a tidal wave. Ezabel and Dani were left dumbfounded and without a moment to react.
Together, they all fell under the pressure of Zo’s spell. There was the overwhelming sound of crunching leaves when they were thrown onto the floor. Zo squeezed out of Dani’s hold in the middle of it all and now hovered over them as they groaned. Even with a bed of leaves under their backsides, it was a hard fall atop cobblestone.
“Prepare to be detained!”, Zo folded his arms and nodded with pride, as if he had just accomplished a great feat. His shape shone once more with magic and prepared a second gust of wind.
“Detained!?”, Ezabel scrambled to pull the leaves from her hair. “Wait, we’re here as candidates! We’re going to become Attendants!”
“Candidates?”
“Yeah, Dannette Ormend and Ezabel Grover, look it up!”, Dani added.
Zo looked on, skepticism was clear on his snout. He enjoyed crossing his arms in victory. It meant that he had won. But, he would have to check his list of approved identities to verify their claim. And, that list was in his satchel. - Again, his whiskers trembled. Fine. With much reluctance, Zo unwound his little arms and retrieved his list.
Ezabel and Dani looked on as he pulled an impossibly long list of names. It unfurled like an old scroll and continued to do so as it reached the ground. They could hear him whispering to himself as he read each name.
An awkward pause ensued, the kind which often had someone looking off into the distance out of sheer boredom. Ezabel and Dani had done as much, choosing only to stand when Zo finally reached the bottom of his now bundled list. How it fit in his tiny satchel was beyond them. - He took a long breath.
“Liars! Phonies! There are no such names on my list!”, Zo crossed his arms once again.
“We’re not lying, we swear! - We’ve been sponsored by Captain Leland Hart. He can vouch for us.”, Ezabel explained with lifted hands, she had begun to feel the jitters.
“He just left not too long ago! I think he went that way?”, Dani declared.
“Oh. Sponsored. - That’s the other list.”
Zo pulled his arms apart once more and retrieved a second list from his satchel. This list was shorter, but it was still a mystery as to how it fit in his bag. Again, he read the names to himself with a whisper and scurried by each one until he had found them.
“Ezabel Grover and Dannette Ormend! I knew you weren’t trespassers.”, Zo stated proudly. He even gave the list a firm flick. “You’re late! Don’t you know the festival begins tomorrow?”
This floating rabbit-mouse-thing had Ezabel tilting her head in disbelief. It was like a child more than anything else. He had mentioned his identity as an echo spirit, which piqued her interest. It even spawned a slew of questions in her mind. But, they were quickly supplanted by the sudden possibility of being detained. Too much had gone on in too little time. Even Dani seemed somewhat astonished.
“Yes, but we rushed here as soon as we could.”, she answered.
“Then, as a steward of the Citadel, it is my duty to show you to your quarters. - Follow quickly, the other candidates have already begun using the grounds to prepare!”
Zo floated away at once and rounded a corner, out of sight. There were no words they could think of that would have been appropriate enough to break the immediate silence. Ezabel was still processing the entire conversation and Dani was left in a daze. A softer breeze weaved between them.
“C’mon, chop chop!”, Zo’s miniscule voice squeaked from the corner. His head peeked back at them and looked even smaller against the vast wall.
Thank goodness, they weren’t trespassers. - This job is so hard. Until Ezabel and Dani followed close, Zo closed his eyes and floated into the wall. He leaned onto it and rustled his heavy ears. The day was not starting off as easy as he thought. Shoot, I left the lists on the ground..
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