CHAPTER 56: THE MISTRESS
Candice took a good look at him, and Soren did the same. Her eyes, which were hidden beneath her glasses, were hazel gray. Beneath her crown of curly brown hair, she wore a fanciful auburn dress with frills that wrapped around her chest. Although her skin was fairly smooth, Soren could tell she was a bit older than the rest.
“The name’s Soren. Soren Andersen. Nice to meet you.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh my, how rude of me. I am Candice Silvers.” She pointed at the middle-aged man with silver hair and skin that’s been baked under the summer’s sun. He was taking off his vest and top-hat and hanging them from the door. “And he’s my husband, Nicholas Silvers.”
Soren shook her hand and smiled.
She glanced over to where Myrin was sitting—he was gracefully taking a bite from his chocolate cake slice. “So how was the trip? Clearly a lot happened, it seems?”
Myrin chuckled, “More than my stomach could handle, it seems…” He began explaining how their trip had gone. From meeting Soren at the designated place their Mistress had foretold, to their arrival at Point Sylvia, and their decision to split up with Tyrel so that he could lead the refugees away from the forest. He also told them about the spread of the Nameless Mist and the strange occurrences that had happened in Yadria alongside his own experiences in Floramere Keep and meeting the Saintess of Dreams.
“All of that happened?!” Cassia’s jaw dropped. “I should have come with you guys! This is unfair!” She puffed her chest with anger.
“Now now,” Candice said. “You had other duties to attend to…”
“Hmph,” Cassia crossed her arms and looked away.
Myrin continued, “Alongside the materials Tina had gathered, I too managed to contain a few samples of the Nameless Mist for study. I'll be giving a few of them to the Aelloran authorities once they give us the summons to the Citadel.”
“That is definitely a good idea… Actually, I also have some news to share.”
Cassia and the others glanced over at Candice. The man named Nicholas also sat on the sofa next to her.
“It seems that a peace agreement has been negotiated between Aellora and Staterra. For the first time, they plan to cooperate in diving deeper into the Avalon Ruins.”
Myrin’s lips curved into a smile, “How interesting… Does the Silver Moon Church agree with this?”
Nicholas spoke for the first time, “I believe they plan to not interfere… But that doesn’t really mean complete approval.”
“By Her silver grace…” Tina clenched her fists. “If they decided to cooperate, that must mean that whatever they discovered has to be something Aellora couldn’t handle on its own…”
“Indeed,” Myrin nodded. “The timing is also very… Impeccable. The Church of Nature’s ritual to the Greenfather is also going to be hosted fairly soon, and under the negotiation agreement with Yadria, they too will probably be participating in the Dungeon Dive. I honestly can’t believe it; this is the first time in probably 500 years that Aellora, Yadria, and Staterra have ever collaborated on anything together.”
Cassia finished her cake and gulped down the last of her drink. She swiftly stood up and smiled playfully. “Alright, enough chit-chat.” She glanced at Soren, “You’ll be coming with me now.”
Soren squinted, “To where?”
“To meet mistress Sienna, of course.”
----------------------------------------
Soren walked down the dimly lit corridor behind Cassia who swung her tail happily as she hummed joyfully under her breath. They had left the lounge area and everyone else in Star Fate Guild behind.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
“Uh, Cassia—”
“Call me Miss Cassia.”
“Miss Cassia,” he corrected. “Why did you decide to take me to meet the mistress? I know you said the interview was over, but I thought you said she was busy?”
She slightly corrected her cone hat as she glanced back at him, “It’s because the mistress told me to bring you.”
“Huh?”
Cassia continued walking, ignoring his confusion. The corridor ended at a fork—she took the tunnel to the left. Soren followed after her. For a while, all he could hear was the sound of their footsteps as she led him toward her mistress’ chamber.
After ten or so minutes of walking, the mouth of the corridor opened, and his eyes widened to what he was seeing.
The end of the tunnel had widened into a large luscious garden, filled with glowing trees, enchantingly long mushrooms, and flocks of fireflies roaming freely.
A miniature Feylith Forest.
Even though they were deep underground and it was eerily dark, the flora flourished under a veil of moonlight. He looked up at the ceiling, which reflected a false night sky with its own stars and constellations. A subterranean biosphere—one that bogged his mind.
Cassia ignored his reaction and kept walking. He didn’t know what to say so he simply followed after her. Soren took in the views—it was beyond beautiful. Between the trees, he spotted cyan eyes staring back at him—he assumed it was some sort of deer or other creature. Perhaps a Spirit Beast? Hard to say. They kept walking and walking, until they reached what felt like the center of this underground eden. A meadow came into view.
Soren spotted what looked to be a stone canopy at the center, surrounded by stacks and stacks of books scattered across the cyan grass. Inside the canopy was the enchanting visage of a woman—her hair fluttered on its own, as if being blown by an invisible wind. Her star-filled eyes stared into the distance, as if enamored by visions only she could see. Her snow-white skin glowed from the light emitting from what Soren could only describe as a miniature star. It floated freely above the woman’s palm, spinning swiftly. She donned a simple cyan robe paired with a cone hat of the same color, though a silver crown went around its brim, glittering in the starlight.
“Mistress Sienna,” Cassia took the strands of her robe and pulled them apart, took a graceful step forward and curtsied a slight bow. “I have brought to you the one in your prophecy, as instructed.”
The ethereal woman glanced at them and smiled. Her nebulous, silver hair fell down to her slim shoulders, no longer carried by the invisible wind. Even the mysterious miniature star had vanished, casting the canopy back into dimness.
“My dear, come closer.”
Cassia did as she was bid while Soren stayed where he was. She patted her on the head and pinched her cheeks. “What did I tell you about not eating too many sweets?”
Cassia turned red, “J-joyce offered it to me!”
Sienna giggled and turned back to where Soren was standing.
“You may approach me as well, Soren Andersen.”
His brows lifted, “You know my name?” He slowly walked toward her.
“I know more than just your name,” she replied. “Your arrival in Yarian was something this world’s destiny had foretold…”
Soren stepped inside the canopy. Taking a closer look, he was surprised to see that his initial observation wasn’t incorrect—there were stars swimming in her eyes, dancing faintly, as if her irises hid another universe.
“World’s destiny… Are you saying I am some sort of chosen one or something?” It felt embarrassing just saying the words.
She shook her head. “Nay, nothing so simple. The machinations of fate do not choose favorites. You may have a role to play in this world, but what that role is, is not rigidly defined. Mayhaps you will be the catalyst of its destruction, a gear in its progress toward something, or something in between the first two. But more than likely, it may relate to Yarian’s Celestial Fate.”
“I keep hearing about this Celestial Fate,” he stated with his arms crossed. “What does it mean?”
She chuckled while petting Cassia who was now sleeping on her lap.
“Fate is divided into three layers. Epoch, World, and Celestial. You can think of these ‘Fates’ as celestial objects orbiting around a center. Each represents a certain concept but all of them together are what we astrologers call the Orbits of Fate. The final orbit, Celestial, defines the meaning of this world’s movements in relation to other realms.
“Ever since Yasini’s Demise more than a millennium ago, this orbit had ceased all of its movements and hidden itself. Occasionally, glimpses of it appear whenever the rift opens its jagged maw. Especially when the Vynasians and their rift crossing fleets arrive here. But no movement, no hint, no glimpse has ever been so deliberate as the one you caused by arriving here, Mr. Traveler.”
His eyes widened in shock. “H-how do you know that title?”
Her enchanting smile widened as the stars in her eyes stirred, “Don’t worry about Cassia. She had already fallen asleep.”