"THE FIERY MOUNTAINS OF AGIR SHALL NOT BE VISITED, INHABITED OR CELEBRATED." ~LAWS OF THE WISE

Valerie walked to the main hall in the northern wing, her heart was hammering in her chest. the only comfort she had was Felix by her side. they passed through the beige-colored halls. the gold ornaments in the ceiling were shining as the sunlight hit them, Valerie hadn't realized just how many flags were splattered across the halls until today when every flag reminded her of the fact that she had to see the heartless king and her father who might have committed a crime. if it weren't for the wise counsel, the kings would've ruined this land years ago.

the wise counsel consisted of two intellectuals from each kingdom, they made the laws and monitored the prisons, they banned magic based on the history of the magic, if it was destructive and created conflict it would be banned.

it all happened when the Agir kingdom and Aav kingdom had got into a war and damaged their lands 100 years ago, the air kingdom was responsible for burning the trees and the nature of all the kingdoms that surrounded Aav as well as Agir, by using sorcery that bent and transformed fire at their will. the Aav kingdom was responsible for the drowning of several people in the surrounding kingdoms, they made the water of the ocean rise and fall by their will and this caused floods as well as droughts which the prideful Aavians claimed that "it was nature doing". the floods and fires had gone so bad that the rest of the kingdoms protested, the scholars claimed that this was ruining the world and eventually they would have no land to live on. the kings and queens thought it to be unfair for them to suffer all of this just because of two people's war.

so the rest of the kingdoms got together and formed the idea of a counsel outside of the king's powers and more under the control of the smartest and wisest people in each kingdom. the council immediately made a law to ban destructive magic, and since water was a natural element found in the oceans, rivers, and lakes, but the fire was only found in the Agir kingdom and was traded to the other kingdoms, they made the decision to ban the fiery mountains of Agir altogether. whoever was to step onto those mountains would be placed in the dungeons, whether it was a peasant or the powerful queen of Agir.

these fiery mountains consisted of extremally dangerous fires, unlike the usual areas in agir, which had very tame fires that would dissolve in a few days or months, these fires could burn down wherever you wanted with a snap of the hand and they would only dissolve once the carrier demanded. the fires were transported easily. Just like a fruit, it was first a rock shaped like a sphere and then it would ignite and grow at the will of a person who held Agir ancestry. it would take 5 weeks to fully grow, but unlike fruit, it was infinite and unlimited and once it had grown.

the Agir land consisted mostly of these mountains and the people usually derived their magic from these mountains, so when the news broke out that the fire had become illegal to use, the Agrish wasn't happy about it they protested every day for two years and it was still useless, cause no one was allowed within the premise of these mountains and if the Agir kingdom was to go against the laws, they would be thrown into the dungeons including the queen.

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Valerie turned another corner, the vast palace wasn't helping her racing thoughts and anxiety.

what if?

but that wasn't possible, even the queen wasn't allowed within the mountains, so how would anyone from her kingdom dare to do it?

what if?

that would mean someone from the fire kingdom was helping Valerie's father with his scheme, you couldn't control the fire from the fiery mountains unless you had Aghir blood.

what if?

was it possible after a century of these laws being made, someone would dare go against them?

valerie knew it was possible cause it had happened before.

too distracted by her thoughts, Valerie almost ran into a Corinthian column, but Felix grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his curls covering most of his face but the concern still was apparent.

"Felix, you dont think..." she paused "my father didn't do anything illegal did he?"

"my lady, if anything were to happen" he wasn't denying it, which made Valerie's heart beat even faster "Know that I am always here to protect you"

she looked around her, everyone was hurrying and preparing a feast for lunch, the maids, the butlers. there were workers from the village that had come to hang flowers and banners and create extravagant tables, this celebration was a fraud, did anyone else but her know it?

"Who else knows?"

"Sebastian suspects, he might bombard you and your father with questions" Valerie's face dropped even more than she thought it was possible, it was getting worse and worse

"Sebastian?" the man she hated the most, her cunning cousin that was to be the crown prince after the crown prince was king, his mother was a noblewoman from Aav, Valerie always felt like the people from that kingdom had Evil in their veins. " why didn't you tell me sooner Felix? why are you keeping things from me?!" she got looks from the maids s her voice got louder, but with one glare, they all went back to what they were doing.

"I'm not keeping things from you my lady, I promise" Distressed, he pushed his glasses up " I didn't know how to break the news to you...if he has any leads on whatever your father might have done, he will use them against you and your family"

it was time for lunch, the maids were preparing to take the food inside, which meant Valerie had to sit down with a family that didn't consider her family. they usually ate separately but at celebrations, it was different, especially since they were celebrating her father, she had to act like she was the happiest girl in the world when it was the opposite.

on days like this a certain person accompanied her and stayed by her side, this person helped her become better and more confident, but today she had to face the nightmares by herself.

she walked with Felix to the gates, before they were opened she asked Felix one last time "What do you think I should do? What's the best strategy for me at the moment?"

"smile and stay composed, pretend that you don't know anything, pretending to be clueless is your only card"

"is he gonna be inside?" tears formed in her eyes

"No, my lady"

the gates creaked and Valerie put on her best face