FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘦-𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘺. 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘈 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳.
Xanthiene Vivenca's life drones on in a cycle of finding her next meal, ensuring...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Reeca's heartbeat didn't quite stop pounding in her ears even as their carriage slipped inside the Palace gates and lush gardens waved at her. They turned to the left, the opposite side of where the dungeon should be. As was the plan.
Reeca drew open the curtain in full as the carriage passed stables full of rows after rows of different colored dagrine. Servants dressed in tunics tucked into waist-high trousers tended to the animals.
Farther from the gate stood the sheds designed to be the sleeping quarters for servants. Triangular roofs covered with thin, gray shingles tapered towards the sky No one, at least according to Pikard's intelligence, gave servants a second glance so it's safe to mingle around as one.
The carriage lurched to a stop for the third time. Reeca gritted her teeth as she edged away from her seat and yanked a trap door by the carriage's floor. She gritted her teeth and pushed herself through.
Reeca dropped to the ground on both feet before crouching and scooting over as June did the same. She flexed her fingers and went to work again, this time, hiding both of their forms as they slipped from the carriage and ran to the nearest shed they could find.
To the watchmen gazing at from the top of the towers along the walls, they were only going to see a carriage stopping briefly before continuing on. If, again, Reeca's weaving trick worked.
Reeca shut the heavy, wooden door to the shed and leaned against it. The last thing she knew of their ride was the fading sound of its wheels cantering against the pavement as it went on its way. Here's to getting alive out of the Palace, then.
Without wasting a minute, Reeca and June tore their costumes off and stuffed the layers into a cabinet housing a bounty of servant tunics and trousers. June lobbed his leather shoes into a corner and Reeca pried the slippers off her feet. Both of them sighed in relief and wiggled their toes as if on reflex.
Within seconds, Reeca and June tiptoed out of the shed dressed like the servants hurrying around the Palace grounds. June even bothered grabbing a pail from the shed's washing area much to Reeca's dismay. They were here to infiltrate and not scrub stairwells.
On they went, tackling the lush fields that spread north and east. Reeca craned her head at the walls looming over her, connecting towers taller than a forest tree in Narfalk. As they followed the wall, Reeca counted eleven towers jutting towards the sky, each connected by walls forming some sort of concentric rings surrounding a tallest tower in the middle. Flags bearing the Cardina crest waved at her from their spires.
Tall, wide windows are scattered generously across the towers in an asymmetric pattern, each plated with glass that reflected the sun's rays off. Crenelations were chipped into the walls, reminding Reeca of teeth in a cog. Each one was fitted with crossbows that would come in handy should this place face a siege.
Marble fountains and trimmed topiary decorated the lush gardens, distracting Reeca from the dull gray structure. Colorful flowers danced with the early morning wind, waving at Reeca as she passed them by. The smell of freshly-trimmed grass dominated any other scent present in this part of the Palace.
