ROYAL CAPITAL, IOLITE

After a day of constant flying, Princess Lucia flew past the border of Fornax, the state of Mensa, and lastly landed in front of the Royal Capital of Iolite.

Due to her unannounced arrival, the fairy folk and dwarves swarmed her like a pack of puppies. “Princess, you are back!” “You’re looking radiant as ever!” “Your Highness!” The princess even heard someone saying, “Can I get your autograph?”

The royal guards must check their vision once more to confirm that it is indeed the princess. They rubbed their eyes once, then twice. It was either the princess or a bird that was glowing in bright green. Emerald hair with a small tiara, wearing royal armor, wings glowing light green. Seems to match the description. Jade, one of the fairy royal guards, exclaimed, “Princess?!”

“Citizens of Iolite, please make way for the Princess,” Jade said, pushing through the crowd. His voice drowned amid the crowd. He was from the royal guard program, top of his class, and trained to fight through worldly crisis. Yet, still defeated by a swarm of citizens.

The Princess caught sight of the royal guard from the corner of her eye. “Jade!” With a small poof, the Princess disappeared, reappearing in front of the guard. When she picked him up from the ground, Jade felt lighter, as little motes of lime green light surrounded him. She announced to the citizens of Iolite, “Unfortunately, this royal guard here has to escort me to the castle. I will meet you all at the banquet one day!”

As he ascended higher and higher to the sky, he panicked. The fear of heights started to kick in. Fairies aren’t meant to be flying high, after all. Maybe about 2 meters above the ground, sure. The range of 3 to 5 meters was reserved for the aces. But Jade was pretty sure that he was tasting the clouds right about now.

“I can walk, Princess. Princess? I can fly on my own!” The poor guard wailed, struggling to escape her grip.

“Why resist, Jade?” The princess smirked, flying towards the royal palace at top speed. “I remember when you were a wee little child, didn’t you love this?”

After a while, Jade stopped struggling. Beside him, there was a flock of migratory birds that flew beside him. He gazed upon the princess. If it weren’t for the sun, she would be the brightest of them all. Loved by her family, her nation, and the Gods themselves.

“Why are you looking up?” Princess Lucia chuckled, pointing to the entire city of Iolite. “It was a decade since I left. Look how much the city grew.”

Jade looked down. He had been living in this city for so long that he didn’t notice. There were more fields, more houses, and happier people. After she reclaimed Fornax from the demons, the country’s mining industry had a significant boost, attracting merchants from different continents. Utilizing the minerals from the Shallow Gorge, more craftsmen took an interest in producing magical items and equipment.

The flying made the scenery awkward. The princess was dragging him, a fairy male with a larger build, across the sky. This could not be any more embarrassing. Jade tried to break the awkward silence. “Princess, you are back early.”

“Lucia,” she corrected. Her face softened.

That’s right, it was just Lucia and Jade when both are together alone.

“This is the war-loving Lucia, right?” Jade said with a slight worry. “Is everything alright?” Lucia kept quiet for the longest time, not saying a single word.

“We claimed the south coast. But I don’t know, something is off. I think I may have failed all of you,” Lucia said with a heavy heart.

“Why do you say that?” Jade asked.

“I was...” Lucia started, but she felt the pain again, “I was gone for a very long time, after all.”

Jade gave a small laugh. “You never change, do you? Don’t worry. You’re doing fine. I’m sure your parents would forgive you.”

Lucia’s nervousness caught up, as Jade felt a slight tremble in her arms. He turned his attention to the horizon. The castle seemed bigger now, not long until they land safely. Lucia felt a sudden tiredness in her back muscles. But there were no breaks on her flight. Literally.

“Jade, I might be slightly worn out,” Lucia said suddenly, forcing a smile. She flew for one day straight. What did she expect? “You might need to take over.”

“From this height, are you crazy?” He almost choked on the rain clouds. Fear and terror flooded his facial expression as he saw her wings slowly fizzing out, folding themselves back. Fortunately, or unfortunately, physics existed in the world of Axtral to let the dwarves keep their paycheck.

Jade and Lucia were now nosediving to the balcony of the castle. Panicking, Jade cast a lightning spell and a damage reduction spell simultaneously on the princess. “Lucia, as usual, control yourself!”

He spun on his axis, hugging the crazy princess tight. Of course, the walls of the castle had to be made of marble stones. Jade cursed under his breath, bracing for an impact. They made a loud crash of glass, while a few drops of blood from Jade’s back began dripping. Bridal style, he carried her to a safe spot before assessing her current state.

The standard procedure for flight rescue was deeply ingrained in his brain. First, check for breathing, good. She was merely drained of magic. Next, check for any major injuries. He removed her breastplate armor and turned the princess over to check for any major cuts that might cause blood loss. Nope. All good.

The set of warm knitted purple gloves caught his eye. Was she cold before this? He took out his gloves to check for her temperature. No fever. Before he could reach out to her glove, a familiar voice echoed throughout the hallway, “What’s going on here?”

Jade stood up immediately and bent forward to bow. “Prince Albireo, I apologize for the sudden intrusion. Princess Lucia had lost consciousness from excessive use of magic.”

The prince fluttered into the room. “My sister used too much magic?” Lucia, drained of her magic powers, was as rare as a white goose laying a golden egg.

Prince Albireo III Solace was the sole male heir to the throne, about two centuries older than Lucia. Since he was named the future king, he has spent his days maintaining peace, training, and educating himself. As of now, he was able to read and write nine languages fluently and was skilled in all forms of fighting, whether magical or sword fighting.

“Yes, I am not clear. I assumed that she flew straight from Fornax,” Jade answered.

“You are excused,” the prince said, waving his arm. Jade exited the room after a short, obligatory bow.

The prince examined his sister’s body. Magical paralysis. A condition where a person’s magic has been used over the brink. Served her right, she should have taken the entrance, like any other fairy. But her purple gloves caught his eye. He could have sworn that he saw a black flame escape her gloves.

He immediately pulled the gloves off, revealing a black flame that was eating her palm, dancing on the surface of her skin. Magical paralysis could recover after a day or two of rest, but her body wouldn’t last that long.

Albireo placed his hands on her abdomen and infused his magic into hers. Magic coursed throughout her body, crackling throughout her body. After a while, Lucia slowly regained her senses. “Jade?” She whispered.

“Lucia, explain this,” Albireo asked, pointing towards her hand. Lucia was startled, jumping up and backing away from her brother.

“A-Al?” She shrieked.

Lucia looked at her hands. The black flames were consuming her palm now, making their way to her wrist. “I- I’m not sure either. Yesterday, I had this. I tried dispelling it, but nothing works!” She tried to hide it by covering it with her gloves. “For the record, I never made a deal with the devil!”

“Probably, who knows.” Albireo’s face turned solemn, “All of this must be sudden for you. Sorry Lucia, but I can’t help. Father and mother might know someone who could help.”

Following in her brother’s footsteps, Lucia rose to her feet. The prince issued a directive to her, “Lucia, return to the palace after you’ve recovered from the curse.” She held her breath, sensing the urge to retaliate.

“What if I never recover?”

“The Princess of Iolite passing away from the curse of Abyss?” Albireo asked. His eyes remained unfazed. “If this is how your story ends, then that’s all you are worth.”

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Lucia’s eyes narrowed. “This was not my choice.”

“Father and mother had always let you do as you pleased,” Albireo started. “Gloria and you. We never asked for Fornax to be reclaimed when we had problems in the other states, yet you wanted to go to the battlefield with the demons.”

He took a breath. “For two centuries, we never wanted to expand our territory because the government wasn’t ready. Yet, you persist. We warned you and we called for you to come back to manage the country, but you chose to go. Sounds to me that you made the choice well.”

“You can’t say that expanding the territory to Fornax was bad. It had brought back the mining industry. The people are happy. Happy that finally, they don’t have to worry about demons. Have you ever thought of that?” Lucia responded.

Albireo sensed her resentment and spoke coldly and sternly, “How pampered. I understand that you’re passionate about what you’re doing. But this is not what the people need. You claim to have war with those demons, but all I saw was a little girl waving a sword she doesn’t know how to use, so she ended up injuring herself.”

“Are you saying that we should leave the Island of Fetters be and allow demons to attack the citizens? You are so busy sucking up to these nobles that you forgot what it’s like down there!”

“And you’re so busy fighting, you forgot that people could starve here. The weather made it difficult for plantations yet, we must divert our funds for your dear war.”

“Don’t push your blame on me when you’re incompetent in your job. Let me live my life!”

“Not with that hand,” Albireo said. His distant gaze didn’t waver. “This is an order. After the curse is lifted, come back and live with us in the palace,” he commanded.

“Yes, brother,” Lucia responded, her head hung low. Albireo was right, there was no way anything could be done like this.

She noticed that her brother was dressed differently from his usual royal garb. He was wearing his breastplate armor and carrying his sword.

“Where are you headed?” Lucia inquired.

Prince Albireo remained silent for a moment before responding, “The state of Antlia. There’s a little noise over there.”

THRONE ROOM, ROYAL CAPITAL, IOLITE

King Albireo took his seat on the throne beside Queen Vida. He had a luxurious grey beard, with short, wavy cobalt blue hair decorated with the crown of Iolite. The queen had long auburn curly hair, ornamented with evening primroses. She was dressed in a royal golden gown, with gold bracers around her arms.

The royal chamber was a majestic sight to behold, decorated in rich shades of yellow and purple. Its walls were draped in luxurious silks of deep, regal purple, embroidered with intricate golden patterns that shimmered in the light. The scent of exotic flowers filled the room, its vibrant yellows and purples lending an air of opulence and refinement to the space.

The advisors entered from a small door to the far right of the hall, but the King raised his arm. “You are all dismissed.”

“It has been a decade since she returned. A little early, don’t you think?” King enquired.

Queen Vida was slightly worried. “Maybe my words finally got through to her. Instead of winning this senseless war, we need to establish diplomatic relations with Berlag and Aehas. That is her rightful duty.” Her eyebrows creased slightly, “First was Gloria, now her. What has gone wrong with these children?”

The man held his wife’s hands. “You did all you could. They are contributing what they think is best.”

A sudden knock on the closed doors interrupted their conversation. “May I?”

Lucia pulled the doors open. As she entered, a sense of nostalgia grew in her. She smirked, noticing that the doodles at the corner of the hall were not erased after a decade. The paint she used was the flower of Dragon’s Clove, after all. Easily noticed, but hard to wash. It survived, she thought.

The grand throne hall was painted in indigo, highlighted with golden lines. The four rows of marble pillars were parallel to each other, directing the guest to look directly in front. She took her first step on the magenta carpet. The doors behind her closed on their own as she walked across the hall.

Upon catching sight of the throne, her heart throbbed with a surge of desire, yet with it came a gnawing pain that made her want to take the seat at any cost. A seductive whisper echoed in her mind, “Once you rule over Iolite, you won’t feel this pain anymore.”

Lucia’s eyes widened as she felt the same pain devouring her hand, but she held her ground and whispered back, “No... my parents are just and worthy rulers.”

“How would you know? They don’t think you’re worthy because you don’t listen to them. They don’t see how hard you trained, or how gracefully you fought.”

Lucia forcefully pushed the notion away, dismissing it as a mere product of the curse. Her mind was too strong to succumb to such weaknesses. However, the pain was seeping into her bones, making her feel disoriented and clouding her thoughts.

With a cold sweat trickling down her neck, she kneeled as soon as she reached the flight of stairs beneath the throne. The whisper ceased to respond. “King Albireo, thank you for accepting my appointment today. Where are your advisors?”

Lucia looked up to her parents, the King and Queen of this nation. Based on their expressions, the negotiations with other empires didn’t go well. The country was suffering. What was her country lacking?

“Rise, my child. I have sent them away. Let us celebrate your return. I have ordered a banquet tonight,” the King responded, gleaming with joy. The Queen got up from her seat, gliding down from the flight of stairs.

“My dear, the war stripped you from your youth,” she said, taking a good look at her daughter’s face. Before the girl could retaliate, the mother pulled her in for a long hug. “Is that a crease above your brow?”

“I used that dew-thing that ‘replenishes my youth’ every night before I sleep. Rest assured, I still look like a child,” Lucia said, rolling her eyes. Her mother looked barely over three centuries old. If they stood side by side in the same outfit, no one would ever notice the difference.

The queen cleared her throat, composing herself together. “A princess should always maintain her appearance to appear likable, trustworthy, and most importantly...”

“... be perfect.”

“... be perfect,” both of them said in sync.

“I missed you too, mother,” Lucia said warmly. “But unfortunately, I don’t have long to stay. I came here for your advice.”

Both went silent. If there was a problem that Lucia couldn’t solve, then it could be catastrophic. “From your reports, the war is going seemingly well. The three demon generals have been captured, and the enemy troops were forced to retreat to the island. What seems to be the problem?” The king asked, puzzled.

“We finally have access to the Island of Fetters using the rings. But there are only three of them. I have sent a spy team to investigate, to learn more about our enemy. Once we learn more, do you think we can dispense more military troops to the Island of Fetters?”

She whispered under her breath, “Hopefully we can change that depressing name as well.”

The King went solemn and thought, “Now, with the disturbance in Antlia, we must focus on building the government and the country. I’m afraid we can’t do much there.”

The queen noticed the disheartened princess and reassured her. “Of course, your efforts to reclaim Fornax were admirable. We have managed to pull in multiple investors from Berlag to purchase our minerals.”

The King eyed the emerald Princess. “Why didn’t you want to enter the barrier yourself?”

Lucia felt a mass in her throat, a feeling that the words don’t want to come out. After a while, she hesitantly said, “I am afraid I won’t be in Fornax.”

Noticing her sudden pause, the King enquired further, “Weren’t you planning to return to Fornax after the banquet?”

Lucia bit her lip. Never in her imagination that this curse would afflict her. “This was the whole reason why I came back,” she whispered. Her head hung low, even nervous to continue the question, “Do you, perhaps, know about a cure to the Desires of Andromeda?”

She bit her lips, the pain from her burning fingers brought her back to reality. In all likelihood, she will die. Her face grew solemn as she removed her gloves in front of her parents. The King recognized it immediately from the tales of his father during the Divine War, and though the symptoms vary from person to person, there was one common, undisputable symptom.

The black flames of Abyss burned in the afflicted areas, usually in small traces of black flames. But Lucia’s hand was burning in black flames like a torch. Queen Vida lost her composure as a tear flowed out of the corner of her eye. With a curse burning away her hand in one day, she wasn’t expected to live past a week.

Now that she had a good look at it, it was terrifying. Her heart skipped a beat.

She looked at her parents with a hopeful look. Her father grew solemn as he placed his hand beneath his chin, going over his thoughts. Lucia recognized that gaze. It was the same one he gave when she went away for a decade, hiding his grief behind the eyes. The Queen picked up her handkerchief and wiped her teardrops away.

The ominous voice resonated in Lucia’s mind, “Unleash our power. None possess the knowledge to break this curse. All you have to do is touch them. Give them a handshake or a hug. Like good old times.” The curse’s grip on her tightened, sending chills down her spine. In her mind’s eye, she witnessed a shadowy figure brandishing a sword, thrusting it into the weeping Queen’s back. Lucia rubbed her eyes, but the vision persisted. She realized it was but an illusion, yet the fear remained. She clasped her hand, struggling to keep the darkness at bay.

Her presence would kill them all. She placed the glove back on her hand, backing away from her parents.

“What do you think, my dear? There is no cure for this curse. Even the strongest cleric won’t be able to remove it.”

The queen wiped her tears. “I know of a sage. He knows almost everything in this world. Perhaps he might learn of a cure.”

The king asked, “Is he a friend?”

Lucia asked hopefully. “Who is he?” Anything to get away from this palace.

The queen sighed, “The champion of Hu’thoth, the God of wisdom. But don’t get your hopes too high up. He selects who he wants to help. But... there’s no known cure to the curse of Abyss.”

The champion of gods was as rare as a dwarf’s pinky toe. Some have it, some don’t. During the Divine war, the Gods bestowed a powerful gift to a single Creation, making them their champions to be able to protect their fellow citizens or to advance in the war.

Lucia’s heart sank. If this doesn’t work out, there was nothing to do other than wait for her death. She felt weak, falling to her knees. Her eyes felt moist, but she resisted the urge to cry. Her hand felt like it was pierced by a million needles, but she had to keep it in. No tears. Lucia took a few deep breaths, trying to control the emotions welling up inside her. Her lips quivered slightly.

The Queen placed her hand over her shoulder, “It’s alright, dear.”

“Lucia, you’re not alone in this. Leave matters of the kingdom to us and take as long as you need to find a cure.”

Hearing that, she couldn’t take it anymore, and the dam burst. Tears streamed down her face as she let out a sob, no longer able to hold back her pain. She buried her face in her hands, letting the emotions wash over her until she was spent.