The Obsidian Void

Two: Moving Forward

The next morning, Artemis found herself immediately regretting her decision to get to sleep so late when an attendant burst into her room to inform her that there was a group of civilians requesting an audience with her.

"Isn't it usually Captain Monty who would attend to something like this?" She muttered, half-conscious.

"It sounds as if this time they are requesting to see you specifically, your highness. It seems to be a rather urgent situation."

Artemis mumbled her acknowledgement as she slowly rolled out of bed, prompting the attendant to awkwardly dismiss themselves from the room. She climbed to her feet, yawning loudly, and began trying to make herself look presentable as quickly as possible- throwing on a lilac and gold dress and slipping on her tiara, hoping it might divert everyone's attention from the fact she had no time to run a comb through her hair.

She dashed towards the castle throne room as quickly as possible, before practically leaping onto the throne mere seconds before the doors were opened for a cluster of concerned-looking civilians who poured into the room and collectively sank into a bow.

"Please, there's no need for that." Said Artemis, "What is it you needed to tell me about?"

"Y-your majesty!" One of the citizens stammered, "We s-saw a... Saw a S-s..."

"It's okay," She said, waving a hand and forcing a smile, while trying her very best not to fall asleep then and there, "Go slowly. Take your time."

"A Somnus! By the East Gate!"

"It was just standing there!"

"Menacingly!"

The guards and attendants around the room began muttering amongst themselves, along with a few gasps and worried glances. Artemis shared in their concerns, but took a deep breath and encouraged the witnesses to explain further.

As soon as the creature was spotted, it noticed that it was being watched and vanished. It didn't appear as if it had done anything else while it was there, but the mere sighing of it had greatly worried them, and they thought it right to inform the princess of what they'd seen.

"I appreciate you taking the time to visit me." Artemis told them, "I'll inform the Captain of the Guard of this and request that the area is thoroughly investigated."

The citizens breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Whilst I'm here," Artemis continued, turning to the entirety of the room, "I feel I ought to announce something. I'm going to be leaving for a little bit."

More muttering, this time more curious than concerned.

"I'm leaving in an attempt to locate the sorceress who performed the banishment spell-"

Before she could explain further, the room was flooded with talk. Everyone seemed intrigued by the news, most seemed very hopeful, some were more worried for the princess' safety. Still, the civilians were more than satisfied with their answer, and they left confident their concerns were in good hands. When the rest of the room attempted to throw questions at her, she decided to give up on explaining herself, insisted that they redirect all queries to Captain Montgomery and walked out of the room.

As soon as she'd left and the guards had closed the doors behind her, she was immediately greeted by a squeal and a hug from a somewhat unexpected person.

"You did change your mind!" Quinn beamed.

"How long were you waiting outside?" Artemis asked him, "Actually, why were you waiting outside?"

"I overheard that people were coming up to talk with you and I figured I'd tag along." He said, eager to get back on track, "Is it true there was a Somnus by the East Gate?"