Mischief in the Stars

Onto the Journey

Rory's eyes fluttered open, her heavy eyes weighing them back down in exhaustion. She could hear chatter around her, familiar voices everywhere. Swallowing thickly, she forced her eyes open despite the blinding light in front of her. She could faintly hear one of the twins shouting that she was awake. "What happened?"

"How are you feeling?" Aidan asked her, sitting down on her bed. She lifted her hand and rubbed the back of her neck, glancing around in confusion.

"You passed out," Maximus told her shortly, directly in front of her bed. Rory saw a bag hanging off his shoulder, filled to the brim with supplies.

"Did Eliphas find her location? What was the symbol?" she questioned as she sat up, suddenly more aware of her surroundings than before.

Aidan nodded, fumbling with a piece of parchment in his hands. He gave it to her reluctantly, swallowing thickly. "I know this symbol may not mean a lot to you, but it's the symbol of the same coven who hexed our mother."

Rory's eyes darted up to meet his own, worry and bewilderment consuming her. Maximus kept a cold expression across his features. Gingerly taking the drawing, she took in the amount of detail it had. There were two snakes on the paper; one was harshly sketched in with black while the other was white. Their long bodies laid in opposite directions across each other in an X formation. Both snakes consumed the tail of the other in their mouths. Rory inhaled sharply, handing the paper back to him.

"It's almost comforting that the evil symbolism of snakes is unchanging throughout the different universes," Rory remarked sarcastically. Maximus scoffed as a smirk toyed with his lips in amusement. "What does this mean? Does it give us a location?"

"It does, but as you probably guessed- it isn't the easiest of journeys. We have to leave now," Maximus informed her as he lifted his bag, and she nodded in response. "We brought down your bag. We're all ready to go. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, we should get going," she agreed, pushing herself off the bed. Aidan offered her his hand, which she took gratefully. He gave her a nod for encouragement before they made their way down the stairs. Rory continued to take in the details of the house. The gold details glimmered in the light, the designs outlining people. She noticed that as she descended the stairs, the details moved as the light hits in different directions. The gold silhouettes of the people moved in dance motions, elegantly changing with each step she took down the stairs. She watched in awe as the gold outline of a man twirled a woman, and by the time Rory reached the last stair, the man and woman were bowing to each other.

"Cool, isn't it?" Aidan quipped with a grin. Rory simply nodded in awe, continuing to admire the smart design. They made their way to the living area where the rest of their friends waited for them. "All right, are we ready?"

"Hold on, who's gonna run your kingdom while we're gone, huh?" Rory questioned with a raised eyebrow, holding up her hand to stop them.

"How about Iris and Birch?" Eira suggested with a shrug. Rory pondered for a moment before remembering them from the battle against Malakai.

"Oh good, that's just beautiful. By the time we get back, all of Fantamia will be wearing flower crowns and singing songs together," Aidan mocked with a roll of his eyes. Eira gave him an annoyed look, tilting her head. "And I'm sure they'll do a lovely job."

Eliphas scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I could get one of the other stray warlocks to do it."

"No," Channing immediately stated with a stern tone, "who knows what you have up your sleeve. They'll do a fine job together."

"I'll go find Birch and Iris, they'll both likely be in the woods," Eira said, shuffling quickly out the doors, "I'll meet you guys at the Bridge of Whispers!"