*Back to the present*

Location: Paradise Falls, Aquarium - Queen Puri’s Palace

Violet and Fae had gone to the showers to wash off the sweat and grime from their fight, so Kenrich was alone as he walked towards Queen Puri’s room. He had been told to go there himself and that they would catch up once they were finished. He was hoping that the queen would hold their meeting in the throne room so that he would not have to keep climbing this same set of stairs, but she must have had the same aversion to climbing them that he had. He walked towards the staircase at the end of the throne room and began his ascent. He had tried to ask Yui to make him a portal to bring him there quicker, but she refused. She never even gave him a reason why. After a few minutes of briskly climbing the stairs, he finally made it to the top. As he did, he witnessed an irritating sight – Fae and Violet were already there with Yui next to them.

“You really felt like taking the stairs?” Violet asked, confused.

“That must be how he stays in such good shape,” Fae smiled.

Kenrich shot a glare at Yui who turned her nose at him before making a new portal and jumping out of sight.

“I must have gotten on her bad side,” Kenrich said.

“There’s no way Yui has a bad side!” Fae said. “She’s too sweet for that.”

“Kenrich was probably pushing her buttons. He does it a lot,” Violet said.

“Is Kenrich really a button-pusher?!”

“He’s the king of it.”

“Shame on you, Ken! You’ll never get a girl like that!”

“I wasn’t pushing her buttons! She just asked me for something I couldn’t give her.”

“See, he’s stingy too,” Violet said.

“A stingy button-pusher!”

“Even in the safety of this palace, I’m always under attack,” Kenrich sighed.

“Okay, enough teasing. Let’s talk to the queen,” Violet said.

She went up to the door and gave it a knock. A few moments passed without a sound from inside the room, so Violet knocked again, but louder. There was still no sound from the room. They were positive that Queen Puri was in the room, so Violet knocked a third time, this time using the handle of her sword to make it as loud as possible. There was still nothing.

“I don’t like this…” Kenrich said.

He walked up to the door and tried turning the handle. It was unlocked. Violet and Fae got behind Kenrich and followed him as he slowly opened the door and made his way into the room. The room was dark, so Violet took out the same gemstone she used in the cemetery and lit up the room. They saw a lump under the covers of the queen’s bed. There did not seem to be anyone else in the room, so they approached the lump. As they got closer, they heard a low grumbling sound coming from the center of the bed. Fae took the lead and threw off the covers revealing Queen Puri. There was drool pooling under her face and she was wearing a nightcap and pajama set that had small, cute bear faces all over it. She was snoring loudly with a stuffed bear in her grasp. Kenrich let out a sigh of relief. Fae looked back at them and Violet just shrugged. Fae then turned back to the queen before putting her lips up to her ear.

“Wake up, your majesty. You have guests,” she said softly.

The queen did not move an inch.

“Let me try,” Violet said.

Fae took a few steps back as Violet went up the queen’s ear before yelling “WAKE UP!” at the top of her lungs. The queen jerked up with a scream that flung her nightcap off of her head. A second after, a portal shot up in the room and out came Yui holding a mace in one hand and a flame in the other.

“What has happened, my queen?!” Yui yelled.

Yui looked around and saw Queen Puri sitting up holding her ears with tears in her eyes.

“So…loud…” she muttered.

“Who did it?! Who made her majesty cry?!” Yui said aggressively.

Violet pointed at Kenrich immediately. Yui then ran at him with her mace.

“Fuck you, Violet!” Kenrich yelled, running around the table in the room trying to keep it between him and his attacker.

“C’mon, Violet. That’s not fair…” Fae said. “Poor guy has been through enough.”

“It-it’s okay, Yui! I’m in no danger!” Queen Puri said. “I should have been up a bit earlier; it’s my own fault they had to resort to such insolence.”

“‘Insolence’?!” Violet said, irritated. “It’s not our fault you sleep like a rock in a coma! We knocked like twenty times!”

“I’ll be up and ready in five minutes, so can you all please wait outside for a moment? And, Yui, you may go back to your work. I apologize for worrying you.”

Yui squinted her eyes at Kenrich before putting away the flame in her hand and placing the mace at her side. She then bowed to Queen Puri before making a portal and leaving through it.

“C’mon, guys. Let’s give the queen some time to get dressed,” Fae said, pushing Violet out of the room with Kenrich following them.

They made their way back into the antechamber. Immediately Kenrich confronted Violet.

“Take credit for your own actions next time, jackass,” he said to her.

“What? She already doesn’t like you, and we can’t afford to all get on the nerves of her personal maid.”

Kenrich just sighed and leaned on the wall opposite to Violet.

“You should be nicer to him, Vivi. We’re going to be spending a lot more time together, so we should all be nice to one another,” Fae said.

“I’m just practicing getting him mad when we need to use his power.”

“I told you that it doesn’t work that way!” Kenrich objected.

“What power?” Fae asked.

“Oh, I guess you don’t know about it yet,” Violet said. “Basically, when Ken gets super pissed off, he becomes extremely powerful. I’ve seen him take out entire squads by himself using that power.”

“There’s a lot we don’t know about how it works though,” Kenrich added. “It’s only activated twice so far, and it was only when Violet was in extreme danger. Also, I don’t remember what happens during the time I use it, so it feels like I’m not in control.”

“And that is why if we ever see him use this power, we need to keep you away from him, Fae. We don’t know if he’ll hurt you or not.”

“Has he ever hurt you?” Fae asked.

“No, but he did let me die in the forest last time. I don’t think there was any way for him to save me though, so I don’t know if that’s why or not. Either way – he’s dangerous when he becomes the human furnace, so make sure to keep your distance.”

“‘Human furnace?’” Kenrich asked.

“It needs a name and with all the heat you give off, I thought it made sense.”

“It feels like I learn something world shattering every few minutes…” Fae said, shaking her head. “Life was much less complicated when I was in that coffin.”

“Sorry, but you’ll never be going back into one, Fae” Violet said.

“I think I’ll have to someday, Vivi. The ring can undo early death, but I doubt it can prevent father time from taking its toll.”

“We actually heard from someone that the ring could undo death from old age. Apparently, it can reset someone’s age ten years once they die of natural causes,” Kenrich said.

“Ugh. I don’t want to be an old lady until the universe implodes…” Fae said. “What a dumb ring. It should reset me to being 21. Then it might actually be useful.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“It’s plenty useful to the old bastards who want to rule the world though. That’s why we have to destroy it,” Violet said.

Finally, they heard the turning of the knob to Queen Puri’s bedroom.

“You may come in now!” she called.

They entered the room which was now lit. Kenrich spotted the night cap that flew off the queen’s head still on the floor in the corner of the room.

“Alright, now we can continue our conversation from the other day, but before that, I believe this is the third person you two were talking about earlier, correct?”

“Yes! My name is Fae. I’m an old friend of Violet’s. I’m going to travel with them on this mission.”

“Fae? Your last name wouldn’t happen to be Hardt would it?”

“It is…”

“I see. The way Kenrich and Violet worded your arrival makes sense now.”

Queen Puri then turned to Kenrich and Violet.

“You two shouldn’t abuse the power of the ring. If you keep using it to undo past events, you might never give it up.”

“I promise that this is the only time we’ll use to do such a thing, your majesty,” Kenrich said, bowing. “You have my word.”

Queen Puri sighed.

“I guess it can’t be undone now. Please just remember your mission.”

“I will keep them in line, your majesty!” Fae said, saluting.

“Alright. I’ll leave it to you,” Queen Puri said, giving Fae a slight smile. “Now, let’s discuss the mission. Please take a seat-”

Queen Puri gestured at the table in her room which had four chairs sitting around it. Violet and Fae took their seats on one side, while Kenrich sat next to Queen Puri on the other side.

“How much have they told you about the mission, Fae?” the queen asked.

“We told her everything you told us so far, so we should be on the same page,” Violet said.

“Good. So, as discussed, you will need to get three different gemstones which are housed in Darkvent, Shangloo, and The Capital. The combination of these three stones will be able to create a temperature which would be enough to melt a gemstone, no matter how powerful. Darkvent would only be a few days south by horseback, so I recommend that as your first stop.”

“And what does this stone look like?” Violet asked.

“The one in Darkvent is known as the Lava Ring. It’s a gold ring housing a glowing orange gemstone. It should be held within the Darkvent capital of Duskletter. If you give Emperor Shender this letter with my seal, then he should give you the ring without issue.”

“Sounds pretty easy. Is there a catch?” Violet asked.

“Getting the gemstone from Darkvent will be the easiest of the three, but I think you should all expect a bit of resistance to you entering Darkvent near the border.”

“Why do you say that?” Kenrich asked.

“It’s likely that we are being monitored, and they likely know what we are hoping to accomplish as well as where we will go to do it.”

“The way you say it sounds like we’ll be running straight into a trap…” Kenrich said.

“That is what I’m saying. You should expect and prepare accordingly for a trap once you reach the border.”

“Why the hell would we do what they want and place ourselves straight into their hands?” Violet asked.

“Can’t we just go somewhere else first instead?” Fae asked.

“The Capital and Shangloo are both very far to the north. If you went all the way there, then had to come all the way back down to Darkvent, it would waste time that we don’t have. Even though you will be going straight into their trap, it is likely that they will still be heavily underestimating you all. I will personally see to it that you three will be unbeatable in combat.”

“That’s a high promise,” Violet said. “You must have some great warriors at your disposal to make such a claim.”

“More or less…” Queen Puri said. “Moving on, I will also be providing you with a letter to give to the leader of Shangloo, but you must get her alone before you show it to her. Shangloo is a puppet state, so there will be Admian eyes all around you. You will be looking for a gold necklace housing an ice blue stone. The ring is likely still hidden within the walls of the Shangloo Capital Building in Icefall, but Admian officers likely have access to it as well. If you show it to Queen Glacian, I promise she will help you, but if it’s revealed that she is helping you, she will likely be put to death for treason. Queen Glacian is a great friend of mine, so I beg of you to be careful when you arrive there.”

“How will we be able to operate so far behind enemy lines?” Kenrich asked.

“I’ll have disguises ready for each of you,” Queen Puri responded. “You’ll be undercover as Shangloo palace guards. I hope you are all good actors because it will truly matter if you want to keep innocents out of this fight.”

“No innocents will die on our watch,” Fae said.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Queen Puri said. “Lastly, let’s talk about The Capital. It goes without saying that no letter from me will pull any weight there. The gemstone you’re looking for is a bracelet holding a light green stone. I regret that I could not keep the bracelet within my grasp…Sending you three into such a dangerous place is so shameful of me, but I promise that I will make it up to you all if you manage to recover it.”

“I’m sure you had a good reason to let it go,” Fae said, grabbing Queen Puri’s hand. “You did it to protect your kingdom, right? There’s no shame in protecting your people.”

“Th-thank you, Fae…” Queen Puri said.

“We will return the bracelet to you, your majesty,” Kenrich said. “I promise you we will.”

Queen Puri gave a small nod.

“I really am grateful to you three for agreeing to do this. Before I let you go to start your training, we should talk about the strategy for retrieving my bracelet from the Capital.”

“Good, because I would very much like to know how we are supposed to steal something from the most secure place on the planet,” Violet said.

“It’s a simple strategy,” Queen Puri started. “You’ll just need to take it by force. I don’t feel good about having such a barbaric plan, but there isn’t anything else that will work. I’ll give you disguises that will get you into The Capital, but once there, there’s no way to get the bracelet without a fight. I believe that you three can do it. After your training, you will be far more powerful than they can manage. I promise you can do it.”

“Now that’s a plan I like,” Violet said. “I’ll be happy to give those bastards some hell. And you’ve been talking up this training for quite a bit now, so let’s get it started already!”

“I’m happy to see the enthusiasm,” Queen Puri said. “To prevent us running out of time, this training regiment will be three weeks long. After which, I’ll give you all the money and supplies you’ll need before sending you to start your journey. So, before we end, are there any questions?”

The three of them shook their heads.

“Great. Thank you three for your time. Go ahead and meet in the gym in twenty minutes and we’ll start your training!”

“Sounds good,” Kenrich said.

The three of them bowed to Queen Puri then she summoned Yui to take them to the bottom of the stairs. She made portals for Violet and Fae, then reluctantly made one for Kenrich at the request of Queen Puri. Now at the bottom of the steps, Violet took Fae’s hand and started running towards the gym.

“I can’t wait to start training!” Violet said. “I haven’t had any actual training in forever, and I’m ready to get stronger!”

“I’m happy to see you have that fire in you again,” Fae said. “I remember when you used to just coast along back in the academy, not caring about improving.”

“That was almost a decade ago, Fae! I’m a changed woman. Surpassing you is all I care about now.”

“Oh? So, it’s a competition now?”

“You bet it is. You only won our fight because this jackass called the fight too early.”

“You lost, Violet. You’d be a lot lighter if I didn’t call it when I did,” Kenrich said.

“Whatever! I’m going to head to the stable really quick and give Atlas his lunch, so wait for me here,” Violet said before jogging to the front door.

Now within the gym, it was only Kenrich and Fae.

“Hey, this is our first time being alone together, isn’t it?” Fae said.

“Actually, this is the second time, I believe,” Kenrich said.

“Is it?”

“Remember when you asked me for tips about your fight with Violet last night?”

“I…don’t remember doing that.”

There was a bit of awkward silence.

“B-but, you came to my door in the middle of the night. I told you about her strategies and the kinds of magic stones that she uses.”

“Sorry, but I don’t remember that happening,” Fae said.

Kenrich was utterly confused. Maybe it was just a dream?

“I was really tired last night, so I guess I just dreamt it or something…”

“Must have. You did seem really tired. Dreaming of me coming to your room alone after only knowing me one day though? How risqué!”

“I promise nothing strange happened!” Kenrich said. “You’re way too young anyway.”

“Glad to see you’re not a creep,” Fae said. “Violet really seems to trust you, so I will too.”

“You wouldn’t know it from the way she talks about me though,” Kenrich laughed.

“That’s always been how she shows her affection. She loves to tease people. Many didn’t appreciate it though, so it was always hard for her to keep friends back in the academy. I promise that she likes you though.”

“I know she does. I’ve seen her break from her shell enough to know how she really feels. She’s a good person.”

“She really is. I’ll be counting on you to help me protect her, okay? She’s going to try and take all of the burdens and pain on her own shoulders, so we need to be there to take some of the load.”

“You can count on me. I definitely owe her a lot more than that at this point.”

Fae smiled.

Suddenly, the gym doors opened and in came Violet.

“Did you miss me?” she said immediately.

“Of course!” Fae said, jumping up and giving Violet a hug.

Violet laughed before playfully pushing Fae off of her.

“How’s Atlas?” Kenrich asked. “Have they been taking good care of him?”

“Too good. He’s definitely going to be spoiled if he’s here too long.”

“He deserves a bit of pampering,” Kenrich said. “We’re going to be working him pretty hard once we leave after all.”

“That’s true. So, are our teachers here yet?”

“Not yet,” Fae said.

“She’s here now!” A familiar voice said from the door.

Violet, Kenrich, and Fae turned towards the doorway and saw Queen Puri standing there...alone.