THIRD BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘈 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘺. 𝘈 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳. 𝘈 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴.
Two sides of the same coin are brought to the light...
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"Remember, hold your tongue until I say so," Elred said from the side of her mouth as they walked through Entobern's musty forests.
Reeca yawned before frowning at the shard fairy. What's the point of bringing her along, then?
Earlier, before the sun even replaced the moons, Elred dragged Reeca out of Abshire and flew out using a sled pulled by large birds with pale pink feathers. Reeca remembered blinking and scratching her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming but the shard fairy pushed her into the sled.
Soon, the Upper Cities and their vast estates zipped from under them. Elred used the flight as an opportunity to draw out the plans for evacuation. The shard fairy had pointed to a chunk of land with huge towers and expansive menageries. "That's Loni," Elred had said. "Controlled by the Caravaris clan across generations," she wrinkled her nose. "Ambitious enough to match Abshire's splendor but not quite there."
Reeca remembered raising an eyebrow. Biased, though.
Elred then pointed northwest to a city that resembled a brick wall with its cubical mansions arranged in perfect rows and columns flanked by lines that must be the roads. "Eryphos," Elred said. "Families and clans who didn't want to have anything to do with politics stay there."
Huh. Reeca's kind of city, then. She didn't need any more of this power drama.
Reeca rolled her eyes. She would rather die than get mixed up in these familial politics and drama.
"East of Abshire would be Xixora and Gingow," Elred looked back at the haze of thin clouds and forest canopies below them. The wind ruffled Elred's long hair back. "Xixora is controlled by the Herkalyn clan while Gingow is controlled by three."
Reeca shrugged. Was she expected to evacuate all those people?
"What about Entobern, then?" Reeca cast her eyes north, past the pale pink mass of feathers lugging their sled across the white sky.
Instead of answering, Elred joined her on the sled's front. "You'll see," was all the shard fairy said.
Now, as they disembarked in the middle of a forest thick with trees that had orange leaves and dark brown trunks that seemed to be the most common species in Helinfirth, Elred turned to Reeca. "Hold your tongue in the presence of the Entobern heads."
Reeca opened her mouth to speak but Elred turned and recalled the glass sled with a flick of her fingers. The sled broke into a million shards before disappearing in Elred's palm. How that happened, Reeca resolved to never ask.
Elred passed her hand on her face and immediately she was ten times more immaculate than what she's supposed to look like. Her limp dress changed into an elaborate gown and a diamond circlet glinted on her forehead. Then, Elred glanced at Reeca and frowned.
"That look simply wouldn't do," Elred wagged a finger in Reeca's face. "What are you trying to portray, a beggar?"
Reeca hugged herself and stepped back. Her eyes dragged down at her mud-plastered bark armor and equally stained boots. Elred shook her head and swept a hand in a dismissive way. "Change into something presentable."
