A hush fell over the crowd as the aurora was announced. All games, performances, and interactions stopped dead. Everyone turned to look at the sky, so Soral followed suit. A beautiful tinkling sound filled the air, like sparkles and chimes. They slowly intensified until a loud bell tolled and a soft neon glow bloomed in the sky above them.

Soral glanced to his side to see Ruena’s reaction, only to realize they had been separated in the chaos of the festival. He did find Jazz, and picked the kitten up so he could have a better view. It wasn’t much better, since Soral was shorter than many of the people in the crowd. He decided to find a place to get a better view. He might be able to find Ruena from there as well.

As he hunted for some higher ground, a couple more musical chimes sounded, releasing different colored neon blooms in the sky. Soral caught sight of an old tower near the edge of the festival. The door was wide open so he went inside and climbed the stairs. He was surprised no one else had claimed this spot yet.

That probably meant he wasn’t supposed to be there, but Soral ignored that thought and found himself a nice perch on the roof to finish watching the show. He made it just in time to see a soft green light bloom right above him, slowly expanding outwards to the edge of his vision.

He wanted to be able to create beautiful magic like this too. He reached out his hand as if he could touch it, but it was probably an illusion in the first place. Soral stayed atop the tower until the end of the show, and watched the festival slowly pick back up again, but with a much smaller crowd. He used the opportunity to search for Ruena.

There! Soral caught sight of her and waved. She was nearby, so all she needed to do was look up. “Ruena! Over here!” he called.

She looked up, but not with the happy expression he had expected. She looked shocked and scared. “Look out!” he heard her cry from below the tower.

Before Soral could turn, a pair of hands grabbed him and pulled him backwards, and another reached for the kitten in his arms. This was bad! Soral reacted on instinct, shoving Jazz into his magic pocket.

“Where did it go?!” one of the assailants shouted.

Soral used the chance to get a good kick on the one holding him and darted to the edge of the tower. He could jump, but he wouldn’t survive. He took out some magic crystals from the day before and threw them backwards.

It made the first two falter, but the group was far larger than Soral had expected. Did he have a floating potion? One. That could work. There was no going down the stairs. Soral pulled out the potion while he still had the chance and downed it before going straight for a jump.

He was close, almost out of reach when he felt something grab his ankle. The potion wouldn’t last long, and the attackers seemed to have figured out he was getting things from his vest pockets and tried to steal it from him.

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As if he would let that happen. It looked like Ruena’s emergency was going to happen before either of them expected. Soral ripped off his vest and threw it towards her down the tower as the assailants pulled him in.

There was a metallic click as something cold snapped into place around his neck. One of them opened a portal and they began to drag him through.

Seriously? Wasn’t portal magic supposed to be lost or banned? This was cheating! But at least he could also make portals. They probably didn’t know that. As soon as they left him alone, he would disappear.

Unfortunately, the other side of the portal wasn’t some desolate basement dungeon as Soral had been expecting. Dungeon, yes, but definitely not desolate. They didn’t seem to be in a basement either.

“We lost the kitica,” one his attackers reported as they tossed Soral on the ground before a man and what appeared to be his heavily armed personal guards.

“And this boy?” the man asked.

“He was holding it.”

The man bent down to take a closer look at Soral. “So he bonded with one? Impressive. He doesn’t appear to be human either.”

Not human? What was that supposed to mean? No, this wasn’t the time for that. Soral tried to fire the purple spark ball from earlier at the man, but before it even formed in his fingertips an intense pain raced through him from the collar on his neck. It vanished without a trace the moment he stopped trying to use magic, but it left him a bit breathless.

“Quite the rebellious little thing,” the man laughed, “I’ll buy him. He should sell well at the auction.”

The man’s two guards lifted Soral up from the ground before locking him in a nearby cell as the man negotiated his price. This situation was far worse than Soral had thought, but he was glad he had been able to save Jazz. They wouldn’t go back for Ruena, right?”

==========

It had been a while since Soral had been separated, but it was difficult to move in the crowd, so Ruena impatiently waited. The aurora bloomed in the sky, shining its light down on the crowds below. If only she hadn’t lost him, they could have enjoyed it together.

Once the aurora finished, the crowds died down, and Ruena pushed her way towards the edge of the crowd. It might be easier to spot him if she wasn’t surrounded by people.

“Ruena! Over here!” she heard him call and looked up to see him waving, as well as two men approaching from behind with clear evil intentions.

“Look out!” she warned, a bit too late.

Ruena watched from the ground in horror as Soral fought a group of ten or more for freedom. They must have been following him for some time and tracked him to the tower. As his last desperate attempt was thwarted he made eye contact before ripping off his vest and throwing it to her.

She could only watch as the cloth fluttered to the ground. What should she do? Who should she tell? The authorities? She had a reputation for her wild stories so they might not believe her. It was a long shot, but maybe the Belleas Guild? Soral had been getting special treatment from Sibel Toll. They might be willing to help out.

After that she could contact her benefactor. He would be very displeased with the news. First things first, she needed to be sure she could contact someone. She ducked into the crowd and turned a few corners, just in case. Her heart jumped as she heard the voices she feared might be coming.

“Where’s the girl? That brat had a girl with him, didn’t he?”

“Forget the girl. She was magicless. Not worth our time. Focus on finding the kitica.”

Kitica? Was this because of Jazz? Now that she thought of it, they had been taking the kitten everywhere with them, carrying him in the open for everyone to see. She knew that kitica were powerful magical creatures, but beyond that, she didn’t know much. Another thing to ask her benefactor.

After some more careful turns, all deep within the remaining crowd, Ruena made it to the Belleas Guild. Thankfully, it was still open. Ruena walked up to the nearest worker before her remaining nerves broke down.

“I need your help,” she told them, her tone filled with the panic she was trying to swallow, “Soral has been kidnapped!”