The Crown, The Elixir, The Sword (on hiatus)

Rain

It rained hard. Sasha and Marcy rode out on their horses passing houses with snuffed out candles on doorsteps and under hutches. These candles sat out from the princesses birthday to the day she disappeared, the people hoped that one day they would guide her home. The rain made the roads slick, pattering against the stone rooftops. Sasha led with Marcy in tow, she was staring into her journal muttering under her breath.

"if we follow this path with a continuous pace we should reach-"

"Marcy."

"and if my translations are correct-"

"Marcy!"

"we will-"

"MARCY!"

"then- huh? oh sorry, did you need something?"

"Where are we going? and what the heck are we actually looking for? you haven't actually explained anything."

"really? Well there are legends about these stones, created by the great guardian. stories say that those who wield all three will be capable of great feats, even being able to create miracles." Marcy explained, her voice rising and getting faster as she spoke. "But they are very dangerous in the wrong hands, that's why they are called the Calamity Stones."

"pleasant." Sasha stared at the horizon, blinking through the fog. "Well, there's no better time than now for this lead. I feel the Queen has been losing hope, this may help her hold on just a little longer."

"And who knows, we might even find the princess on this quest." Marcy prayed.

"tch, yeah maybe." Sasha muttered.

The storm raged on as the duo rode down the old road. they watched in silence as the land turned from clusters of buildings, to spread out farmland. The stone road became dirt and mud caked the horses legs, the baying of cows and smell of horse manure filled the air.

"so," Sasha broke the silence, " this storm is getting pretty bad."

She wasn't wrong, with each strike of lightning the horses shook their heads and whinied. and the nauseas aroma of smoke moved by them.

"should we stop and find somewhere to rest for the night." she continued.

"where? The only places out here are old farmhouses. plus I doubt many people would be happy for two strangers to stay in their house for the night."

"might as well try." Sasha said, a wide smile plastered to her face as she turned to look at Marcy.

a small house appeared through the downpour, small with three stories. The first floor was stone with a red roof, the next two were wooden. a roost stuck out from above the door with a sign hanging from it, on the sign was a large letter P. the two rode up to the house, lights were on inside and they heard voices behind the door. Marcy hopped off her horse and walked up to the door, Sasha held up her arm knocking on the door. they waited on the front step for a few minutes, they were about to turn to leave when someone opened the door. The girl was just slightly taller than Marcy with medium length curly brown hair, and her brown sunkissed skin glittered in the warm light. She wore a knee length baby blue dress with a midnight blue ribbon around her waist. she stared at Sasha and Marcy, her deep amber eyes glowing like honey.

"Can I help you?" she asked

"Hopefully," Sasha said, stepping forward. "I am Sasha Waybright, youngest lieutenant to captain grime, this is Marcy Wu, one of Caecilia's best scholars. We are on a quest from the queen, but due to weather we cannot continue for some time. Would it be okay if we stayed here until the weather clears up?"

"Umm, I don't- HOP POP!"

from somewhere behind her an old man's voice shouted back.

"What is it Anne?"

someone walked out from a room, he was relatively short, the top of his head was bald and the hair he did have was pure white. His skin was slightly tanned and he wore a pale yellow shirt with a brown blazer and matching pants.

"these, uh, city folk," she said, glancing back at them from the corner of her eyes. "are on a trip, but got caught in the rain. they were asking if they could stay until the storm stopped."

hop pop looked passed Anne at Sasha and Marcy.

"I suppose, but" he said, directing his attention to the guests. "you two must leave any and all weapons outside, and you will follow every rule."

Sasha and Marcy nodded thanking him. Then they returned to their horses to gather some things and tack them in the grass.

"That girl, she looked kind of like-" Marcy started.

"Queen Junta?" Sasha interrupted, "you don't think she's the princess, right. I mean that wouldn't be possible, her being so close to the kingdom but never found."

"but her name is Anne, maybe it's just a coincidence but.." Marcy trailed off

The girls turned to look at each other, their mission had just taken an interesting turn.