Chapter 3

Estelle did not, in fact, head back towards the Castle. Instead, she wandered aimlessly through the town, her head low. She had been quite upset with the Courts decision, her frustration at their choice running how trails down her face and mixing with the colder rain. But she was proud of herself for walking away. Still, she knew she wouldn’t be able to bring up the West again unless something significant developed. Oh, how she hated having to rely on larger tragedies to get the chance to help. It turned her stomach slightly at the thought of what the next reports were. Sniffling, she reached into her hood, and rubbed her eyes, sighing and just facing upwards, letting the cool water sooth her heated face. It was because of that; she never saw the person until they had already walked into her.

“Oof” Estelle felt herself muttering as she temporarily lost balance, but years of practicing footwork for fighting made it only half a second of wavering. The cloaked figure shifted away, muttering a soft apology but the Princess’ realized in that second something was missing. Instantly, she reached out, grabbing the hood of the other person and pulling down. Long, silvery hair came billowing out, and the figure turned, storm gray eyes widened. Estelle herself blinked. The figure was smaller than her, so she had assumed a child, but it was in fact a woman who had pickpocketed her. She groaned, and rubbed the hilt of her blade, debating. The gray eyes followed the movement, and tried to shift away from the other, who still had her hood firmly grasped in her hand. A standoff began. Estelle let out a sigh, suddenly letting go of the hood and shifting away. Instead of running off, the other woman paused, cocking her head.

“Why?” Her voice had almost a musical harmony to it, soft but… loud. It sent a chill down Estelle’s spine as she shrugged. “You happen to steal a scroll case. It might be re-sold, but there isn’t anything in the case. And if you’re willing to steal anything from a random person, you are in worse shape than me.” She smiled softly, watching the other woman falter, and shift. After a beat, that voice spoke again, “Worse shape?”

Estelle shifted slightly, glancing around. The storm kept people at bay, and the princess had taken to a side street to have a moment to herself, so no one was around. She debated briefly, before deciding, why not pour her heart out to a rogue looking for a quick pocket to pick. Sadly, the only thing the redhead had brought was the document case and her sword. She knew she wouldn’t be shopping, so no money was needed. Dropping the hood to be able to face the other person, Estelle couldn’t help but notice they didn’t recognize her as a nobility or potential nobility like most did when encountering her fiery hair color. Instead, the woman quietly waited.

“So, my father doesn’t believe in me. And normally I would throw a tantrum to get my way, but instead I tried to properly address the situation. He still denied me, and now, I am at a loss. All my older siblings have earned their place in hi-er, our home, but I haven’t found mine. It doesn't help all I seem to be good at is swinging a sword,” she pulled her blade, rolling it deftly down her arm with remarkable control. Still, the other woman flinched as the rapier was pulled, as if expecting it to be used on her. Realizing her mistake, Estelle put it away quickly, raising her hands in a form of surrender. The other hesitated, still nervous as she glanced about herself, before cocking her head slightly.

“Why not do what you want?” It was hard to tell if the other woman was asking a question, or stating her opinion, the odd tone to her voice messing slightly with the Princess’ ears. But she understood the intention and sighed. She sighed, finding herself leaving against the rain-soaked brick wall of the alleyway, and kicking the wet dirt as she thought.

“I was born into a family with high expectations for all of the members... except for me it feels like. Sometimes I feel like all my father wishes for me is to become quiet and docile, to marry me off once I’m of age. It all feels like my future was solidified the day I was born...” The silvery haired young woman joined her against the wall, an arm’s distance away, just in case, but looking at Estelle. She gave a snort and slight nod when the other mentioned solidified futures, but Estelle continued, “But I don’t want to follow a predetermined path. I want a chance to learn about the world on my own and find my own way. Life can’t just be about settling down and learning social etiquette.” Estelle rubbed the back of her neck, trying to ease the tension she felt building. She hadn’t said it before, aloud, to anyone but while rambling to a stranger she realized how little control she had in her own life, and how this whole West thing was a way to try and break free for once. It was a silly endeavor; she had come to realize and been shot down now multiple times. She felt her eyes begin to well up again and frustratedly scrubbed at her face.

“Change your stars.” The voice caused her to pause, and brown eyes met stormy gray as they darkened, as if now made from steel. “You are your own person. No one can speak for you. No one can make you do. You choose own actions.” It was then Estelle realized the oddly harmonic undertones were caused by some sort of accent, though what her native tongue was she couldn’t say. But though her words were short, they were to the point and brought Estelle a bit of comfort. It even made her laugh, causing her to shake her head in disbelief, a few droplets of rain scattering about. “Thank you for that. I think I knew that, in a way. But hearing someone else say it was nice.”

Estelle pushed off from the wall, brushing fake dust off herself, even though she was completely soaked, and any such dust had long turned to mud. “I think I need to head back home now; I’ve been away for too long and the others may have noticed my absence by now. Thank you for the talk.” She began to turn, before pausing and turning back, holding out her hand in a proper greeting. “By the way, my name is Estelle...” As she came to a stop, brown eyes widened and blinked a few times in shock. In the time it took to turn around, the mysterious pick pocket had disappeared. For a second, the Princess wondered briefly if her mind had snapped under pressure and just had imagined the other being. But a quick inventory showed the case was indeed missing. She stood there awkwardly for a beat, before turning back around. It was time to head home and face her father. Still, the strange encounter had brought a smile to Estelle’s face, and the journey to the castle was quite pleasant, even with the storm still raging.

It was quite a shock as she arrived, the castle seemed to be slightly frantic and in a mild form of disarray. One of the maids rushing by spotted Estelle and looked relieved, quickly approaching the Princess. When she was in 10 feet of her, she paused, and curtsied, “Blessed be by the Dyrth light, I greet the 5th Star of His Majesty.” It was a common greeting to royalty, and Estelle somehow managed to keep herself from rolling her eyes. She quickly nodded, letting the greeting be acknowledged before the maid spoke again, “Your Majesty, His Majesty the King has been looking for you. It seems he expected you to have arrived a while ago. It would be best to clean up and meet him in the North Cabinet Room. I will send word you have been found.” The maid scurried off just as quickly as she had arrived. At first, Estelle considered just going to visit the King, but looking down at her mud-covered dress, she figured such a state would displease her father. Turning, she headed for her own room, not at all shocked when she saw a bath had been drawn. ‘Word often travelled faster than feet in big buildings like this,’ she thought to herself as she quickly undressed. The bath was also a quick affair, and she soon found herself in front of the North Cabinet door. Unlike the Courts, Knights were not stationed at every door, instead strategically positioned throughout the castle. Instead, one of the maids, a different one than from before, stood waiting, and knocked lightly as she approached. Normally, a summons from the King would involve a proper wardrobe, but there had been an odd sense of urgency when speaking with the maid before. Instead of jewelry accented dresses and a perfect updo, Estelle chose a simpler gown, still elegant and refined in design, but easier to move in as to make haste with the summoning. She was sure her father knew how long it had been since she was informed to visit here.

It took only a few seconds before the door swung open, and Estelle entered, head slightly bowed politely. Once she curtsied and gave the standard greeting, only then did the Princess look up and realized she wasn’t just meeting with the King. A small group, every person she knew, sat or stood by the cabinet table. Standing slightly behind everyone near the wall was Sanders, and standing between two accompanied chairs was Rielly. Sitting at the head of the table was His Majesty, and flanking Rielly was the First Daughter Bellamy and the Second Son Dominick. They were all studying a map of the West, though Rielly spoke up as she entered.

“Greetings, 5th Star of his Majesty. May Giara support you as you journey through the lands.” Estelle noticed her father actually frowned at the words the Master of Travels used, but she just nodded at his words. Most greetings often invoked a blessing of some sorts, revolving around the greeter’s preferred worship. Dyrth for the Dawn, Chonova for Death, Zolarius for the Sun. It made sense one’s whole business being of Travel would invoke the blessing from Giara, the Land below one’s feet. Fwo, the Goddess of the Moon, was normally mentioned at night, and a few even used names of Spirits for blessings, but those people were few and far between. So, seeing her father bothered made Estelle raise an eyebrow.

It was her father who took the lead over the conversation. “Master Varvara believes you may have noticed something in the West everyone else overlooked…” His tone was gruff, unhappy to be proven wrong, but Rielly didn’t seem bothered by the tone, taking over the conversation. “Yes, His Majesty is right. Our flaw in thinking comes from the simple fact of when a report came in… He gathered a few pieces used for markers, and placed them on the map, slowly, as he spoke. “These were how the reports came in, normally a week or so apart.” As the pieces fell, Estelle studied the map and furrowed her eyebrows. There was no distinguishing pattern. Reilly saw the look on her face and smiled, taking the pieces back up. “Now, if you take a second and reshuffle the reports into when the events happened...” He began to place the pieces once more, but instantly, Estelle saw a line begin to form. She made a silent gasp, mouth falling agape. Rielly then grabbed a few other documents, “And with this knowledge, I found a few reports from the Central West area as well as the Northern West of missing people and supplies. They seemed to have looped back towards the West, if the reports are connected at all, but this is a bit different than what we had assumed earlier. Thank you for making us revisit the issue.” Rielly smiled at her genuinely before stepping back. During the conversation, King Hyder had clasped his hands in front of him, brow heavy in thought. Surprisingly, it was Bellamy who spoke next. Though she wasn’t truly in the running for the Crown, her lessons in etiquette and strategic conversations showed. “His Majesty reported you approached the Count beseeching the Kingdom to grant you rations and men to explore these claims personally. Although such a task is normally designated to a Knight of the Service, when discussing the matter, 2nd Prince Dominick pointed out no Knight nor advisor had seen the pattern. Even if you could not articulate, you seem to know something indeed was going on in the West. Because of your insight, we recommend you should lead the investigation, as you presented the desire in the first place.”

Estelle couldn’t believe her ears. She studied her sister’s face, trying to find any sign of a joke, or malice. Bellamy was extremely hard to read, trained for years to keep her emotions off her face. Dominick was smiling a bit and nodded his head slightly. He was only 3 years older than Estelle, making him the closest sibling in age, but also in connection. Many a day they would sneak off from lessons and play around in the gardens. So, to see him nodding, Estelle knew it was true. Her brown eyes finally landed on her father, the only one opening frowning at the situation. Meeting her eyes, King Ryder saw the hope and excitement in his youngest’s face. He sighed, and let his shoulders sag. He glanced at his two other children in the room, noting the older had an odd look in her blue eyes, making them look almost stormy, while his son’s blue eyes held tones of trepidation. But they had discussed at length the best course of action. And this was Estelle’s choice. “We also believe moving any Knights from the Kingdom without warning may cause unrest, and to send out advanced notice would cause delay. So, this mission must be carried out with just yourself and your Manservant, Sanders. You will be provided with rations, as well as a small coffer of gems to be used as currency on your travels. If you wish to hire a team of mercenaries, it would be advised if not encouraged…”

The King slowly rose and walked over to his youngest. Seeing the King approach, Estelle straightened but was shocked when she was pulled into a tight hug. His large hand came up, cupping the back of her head. He spoke softly, words from Father to Daughter. “I wish I could keep you safely in this castle, but you are my child, and I remember the desire to adventure. Denying you would be denying myself. Please, daughter, return safely. Even if you find nothing, I rather have you safe than placed in danger...” His words were deep with emotions, and Estelle felt herself choking up slightly, unable to speak. Instead, she just nodded. King Hyder squeezed her one last time, and straightened, but kept his hands on her shoulders, just staring at her. Almost like it was the last time he would see her. After a few seconds, his hands finally dropped, and he moved away.

“You will also be provided with 2 elite horses- if you decide to release them, please leave a note. Otherwise, we will assume you are in danger and send a rescue team. You will also be provided with paper and expected to report any findings or incidents at least once a week. Most of those who take on these important tasks have already debuted as members of high society. But, you have proven yourself to have insight exceeding your years. The preparations will be done on our side by morning, but if you need more time, take as much as you need..” Bellamy shifted slightly, earning a look from Dominick, but neither said anything. Estelle was too focused on her father to notice her siblings’ odd behavior, instead fighting the urge to run out and prepare right away. She cleared her throat, composing herself, gathering her skirt and curtsying properly, as she spoke, “Your Majesty, it is a great honor to be selected for this task. I promise to you with the breaking of Dyrth’s Dawn, I will be riding out to find more evidence of wrongdoing in the West. It is getting to be late night, and shall bow out to prepare. May Zolarius shine bright upon you, your Majesty!” Estelle made her way towards the door, before pausing, remembering herself. She turned, and curtsied to the 3 other people in the room, stating their names- 1st Princess Bellamy, 4th Prince Dominick and Master Varvara, before hopping back up and heading out the door. Sanders, bowing to those who still were in the room, before following his charge, a small smile on his face. After a beat, Reilly seemed to feel the tension in the room, and gathered the papers and pieces, departing with a proper blessing and a bow. Soon, only those of the Nuryzer bloodline were in the room.

Instantly, Dominick rounded on his sister, a snarl on his face. “How could you even consider letting Little Ese run around with just her manservant? I know we said she should find her place herself, but you are practically sentencing her to death!”

Bellamy scoffed, shaking her head at her younger brother’s outburst. Her own blue eyes danced with mirth as she spoke, “We debated our points in front of His Majesty before Princess Estelle ever entered the Cabinet. I just outdebated you. And my opinion was just. Anyways,” she waved her hand dismissively, “I am sure she will not find anything in the West. These patterns were found out weeks too late. Let her see the world, come home, and be married off like a proper extra princess. She should know her place.” Though Dominick looked like he wanted to say more, he bit his tongue. In part, he agreed with his older sister. But it didn’t dull the sting.

The king sat silently, wondering if he had made the right decision.

Chapter 4


Estelle practically skipped back to her room, dancing with energy. A few of the maids and manservants glanced back at her, muttering softly to one another, but no one stopped the Princess. Not that she minded them anyways. She made her way into her room, smiling and nodding to the servant who opened the door, before jumping onto her bed, screaming excitedly onto the pillow. She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling, her smile wide. Her father was allowing her to go West. She had his blessing. It was almost enough to make her pinch herself. After a beat, she sat up, her smile faltering a bit. She would not be given men, but would be allowed provisions and funds, in hopes she could find a group on the way. What group would she need? How many people did she want to travel with? What skills was she looking for in such a person? She had never had to answer these questions for herself, always just accepting those assigned to her.

Estelle moved from her bed, heading over to her desk. She rummaged through the drawers, before finding a map that consisted of the West. As royalty, she had visited many estates all over the Kingdom, but normally it was within a carriage and heavily escorted. The fact she would be going nearly alone still seemed impossible, but that also meant she had to plan the path herself. Scanning over the map at names she knew but didn’t actually know, Estelle began to realize as much as she wanted to set out right away, to be hasty may be a detriment in this situation. It was a little past lunch time, but not quite dinner. She had a good chunk of time to begin preparing to leave, but what was the best methods for gathering intel? Especially without starting rumors? She briefly thought of having a tea party with a few of the Ladies who came from the West, but that would take time to orchestrate, and such events were not favorable. It may in fact generate rumors faster.

While dwelling on such thoughts, it struck her some Solicitors often brought news from the West. While researching, she only focused on missing persons and items, not general news. Moving to the door, she pulled it open, blinking slightly as she saw the large frame of Sanders. She looked up at her Manservant and smiled, her mind already turning with the next step. “Sanders, perfect timing! We had a busy day today, so I do not expect much more to be done, but instead of heading out tomorrow, I want to gather intel. If you don’t mind bringing me any solicitations for the past 3 weeks, preferably from the West, about any news, events or celebrations that are coming up. I want to gather people as we travel but I want to show I am not doing this willy nilly.” She sighed happily, smiling at her Manservant. “I still can’t believe His Majesty is letting us head West…” Sanders smiled under his graying beard, but didn’t say anything. He understood- This was a great opportunity for Estelle, especially if it went well. He had joined the services of the Nuryzer family when Hyder was a Prince and had seen both grow up. It made him smile, a bit sadly, before clearing his throat and nodding.

“Of course, Princess. You should rest. You have earned it and you do look like you might need it.” He said the last bit with a slight mirth to his tone, noting how her restless sleep from the previous night had darkened the skin under her eyes. He saw Estelle’s eyebrow twitch, a trait she had inherited from her father, and suppressed a smile. He knew what would happen next- either the princess would admit to her exhaustion, or-

“Nonsense, Sanders. I am sure you can access some of those documents- and it isn’t even that late. I should get started right away!” Estelle spoke, puffing her chest out slightly and Sanders nodded, turning. He briefly thought, ‘Nobles are so easy to manipulate…’ before grabbing the reports, sorting out those not needed, and returning to the bedroom. Soon enough, Estelle was pouring herself over the documents, ordering a meal to her room instead of dining with any family. Very rarely did the family actually all dine together, though King Hyder ordered a meal once a month just to make sure he could check in on everyone in one fell swoop. Everyone knew the reason, but they still all enjoyed the time together. But Estelle’s mind was not on food as she sorted the documents, finding which may be useful, and which she could discard right away. No, if anyone asked, she wouldn’t be able to identify what she ate that night. And when the maids came to clean up her dishes, she was fast asleep on a pile of paperwork.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Estelle sat up in bed as the birds chirped outside, blinking in the morning dawn. A long sleep had dulled the redhead’s mind as she stared blankly. It was when she looked at the pile of paperwork did the young princess remembered the events of the previous day and shot out of bed. Someone helped her to change into sleepwear, the memories muddled in her mind. But after a long rest, she was wide awake. Throwing off the covers, Estelle made her way to the pile, ready to make headway of the paperwork. She munched on a quick breakfast of vegetables on toast, but otherwise was deeply engrossed in the documents.

It was here Sanders found her after lunchtime, a sandwich sitting forgotten on the table beside her. She still wore her sleepwear but had pulled her long red hair into a ponytail to keep it out of her face as she read. Periodically, she would make notes on a separate paper, a potential itinerary for their travels. Sanders stood for a decent amount of time before clearing his throat, drawing the Princess’ attention. Estelle took a long time to break her concentration, half turning her head a few times before the words drew her back in. But in a short amount of time, the brown eyes found Sanders, and the young woman smiled, happy to have her most trusted person in the room. Quickly, she shoved some of the documents, a few rolling off the desk and completely ignored, and a chair was pulled up as Estelle began to speak excitedly.

“Rakoria is hosting a tournament in a week’s time, a series of knightly events like sword fighting and jousting. It is on the way to the West, so we should be able to pick up someone there! Maybe a couple of people!” Estelle knew this wasn’t just her investigating the West- With a pension, this was her father telling her it was time to finally choose her Knights. Unlike many royal families, Nuryzer had a uniqueness in each person build their own personal Knights. Oftentimes, the lords or kings would select a group of knights to protect their children, but when one was raised with the blade, one must choose their own blade. It was a saying passed on through the years, and in this blessing of travel, Estelle understood His Majesty was granting her the chance to build her own army. In the history of the Nuryzer Dynasty, when a child built up their own forces, they never directed it towards their own family. Estelle did not plan to break tradition any time soon.

She quickly pulled out a map, placing two markers for Qalendor and Rakoria, and grabbed a few of the smaller pieces. Pathways. One showed an obvious direct route, the other showed a longer trail. But then again, a desert was involved. “If we decide to try and get to Rakoria in time for the tournament, there are two paths. One is to go around the Shervan Desert, but the drawback is a 6-day travel. It is safer, as I have never been through a desert before, but if there are any delays, we cannot reach the Tournament.”

Estelle touched the path going through the desert, “I do not know much about the Shervan Desert, but I do know it is only a 4 day walk. The downside of going through the desert is the horses would have to stay behind. Water cannot be guaranteed, and we would be out in the open through most of the journey.”

Sanders sighed softly. He could tell right away that the Princess had made up her mind on which way they would be heading. “I shall go and adjust the provisions we will need and have excess water skins for our journey. “Estelle only smiled brightly, her eyes drifting back to the map as the older man bowed and stepped to adjust their required equipment.

Within a few hours, Estelle was on horseback, fully awake and slightly jittery with energy. Sanders was mounting his own horse beside her, and each had a single satchel. To the untrained eye, the two may be going for an afternoon ride, but anyone used to high end magical items would instantly recognize the bag’s design. Known by many names, the Bag of Unusual size always deceived the eye in it’s carrying capacity. In fact, in Estelle’s bag, she had about 25 water skins, 25 rations of food, 10 torches, a bedroll, a tent set, a series of outfits, a bag of coin and a bag of gems, among other things. She merely had to think of the item and pull it out. Yet the bag felt light, weighing only the material it was made of. And if someone got their hands on the bag, and flipped it over, nothing would fall out. One had to know it’s contents to get inside. It had been a fair trade, getting the bags and planning on travelling by foot instead of using the budget to buy a carriage to skirt the desert. Especially when they planned on walking through the desert on foot.

“Lady Estelle, are we ready to go?” Sander’s voice cut through the Princess’ musings, and the smiling, and nodded. With a strike of her reins, letting out a single word as they began their adventure.

“Hyah!”