Legend of the Lost Star

Chapter 3~

The Wild Heart

If they didn't know better, it would be safe to assume that the cocky grin on Estelle's lips was permanently sculpted onto her face. The princess leaped into the air, a jump that would be nearly impossible by human standards, dodging the incoming blasts of magic that came her way. With her will power alone, she extended her wand and wielding it as a blade she blocked the incoming attacks, which made a clanking sound upon each impact on the surface of her weapon while she was in midair. Once she landed, one of the boys commanded a rock to rise from the earth and hurled it at the princess, to which she managed to break into small pebbles with one swoop of her blade.

The boy with sandy blond hair and dark gray eyes pointed his wand, creating strikes of lightning which bounced off of the ground, aiming at the princess. Estelle's wand had extended further in length, now resembling a staff, and absorbed the rays of light by rapidly spinning the staff with one hand. Once all of the energy had been absorbed, she pointed the tip of her wand at her two opponents. Bolts of electricity came shooting at rapid speed, but the two nimbly avoided the attacks, which ended up striking a nearby stone instead, breaking off the tip.

The blond boy came charging towards Estelle, unleashing an ice blast from his own wand. Estelle remained unfazed, casually redirecting the attack, which came in reverse and hit the boy right on his chest plate, knocking him down on his back.

The second boy, one with brown hair adorned with green streaks, came up from behind Estelle. His golden bands shimmered in the light and continuously pounded his fists to the ground, commanding it to rise beneath her feet in an attempt to knock the her off balance.

Feeling the earth tremble, Estelle leaped into the air once more, flipping in mid air and landing feet first onto the ground, right behind the boy. She flashed him a brooding smile, her flawlessly white teeth bare as she pounded her own fist into the ground with crushing force. Her golden bands glowing intensely, creating small earthquake. Boulders rose and the ground broke apart knocking the boy flat on his back. Never the less, the boy flashed the princess a grin. She arched an eyebrow.

With his hand pressed to the ground vines began to sprout. They wrapped themselves around Estelle's ankles and her wand glowed brightly. In a blinding flash, Estelle cut through the vines with ease and leaped into the air, doing a double flip and landing right behind the blond haired boy, who had gotten up after having melted the ice away with his heat spell. The moment he stood back up he had fallen to the ground yet again. This time, flat on his face. Estelle had jabbed his back with two fingers, knocking him unconscious. Several of the students laughed at seeing their fellow classmate now laying on the ground, snoring.

Estelle came charging towards the brunette standing, who in turn levitated two rocks beside him, also charging forward. He hurled them both at the princess, who actually took the chance and used the stones as momentum to jump on and lift herself up into the air. She flipped and sent a stream of fire at the boy as she descended downwards. The blast was so intense that the boy was pushed back, tumbling away. Once the flames had died down his face and cloths were coded in ashes, his hair was entirely singed. He got down on his knees and laid on the ground, completely disoriented.

Estelle spun her wand rapidly with one hand before placing it back inside her left side pocket. She wiped away the sweat from her brows with the back of her wrist. The students watching from the bleachers cheered, hollered and whistled wildly while Estelle approached the boy and offered him her hand.

"Good match, Chase. Really brought your A game today. I'm impressed." Estelle said as the boy, Chase, took her hand and she hoisted him up back to his feet. He placed his hands on his knees, panting in exhaustion. "Thanks, Estelle. Who knows, maybe I'll finally best you before you graduate."

"Unlikely, but I like that persistence." Estelle giggled and playfully punched his left arm. Chase laughed awkwardly as he rubbed the area she had hit. Estelle walked on over to the now sleeping secondary boy and gave a gentle jab on his neck. "Rise and shine, Zach!" she said.

The boy, named Zach, sprung awake, jumping up to his feet, lazily pointing his hand to nothing in particular. He calmed once his hazy vision cleared, seeing Estelle standing beside him and noticing the laughter of the other students. His friend Chase was not attacking, a clear indication that they have lost to the battle. Zach hung his head in disappointment, his arms dragging to his sides.

"Aww, man! I Thought we had her this time."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Princess." a man said as he approached her. He looked to be around his mid to late thirties with a high and tight haircut and a silver earring on his left ear. His skin was sun-kissed tan, his bulging muscles out in the open, the sleeves of his coach unicorn having been ripped right off. He wore black jeans, sneakers and a whistle around his neck. He smiled at Estelle, who bowed her head in respect.

"My pleasure, Coach Gunderson." Estelle replied, smiling politely.

Coach Gunderson smiled at the princess, beaming with pride. His expression melted into a stoic one upon looking at both Zach and Chase. "As for you two!" he spatted, speaking in a booming voice which caused the two young men to flinch and straighten themselves. Estelle remained collected and unfazed as the coach approach the boys. His tone softened a bit in addressing to the brunette.

"Chase Matthews, excellent performance with your earth magic." he said. Chase let out a sigh of relief, his muscles relaxed and nodded his head in gratitude. "But you gotta be more ferocious. Estelle was able to slice through your attacks and outmaneuver you with ease. Work on your timing and learn to think ahead of your opponent."

"Yes, Coach." Chase said, bowing his head. "I will definitely work on it."

"You better." Gunderson then turned to Zach, his eyes narrowing, his fist clenching as he approached the blond haired boy. The coach's voice rose once more, nearly blowing off his student's ears and his breath creating a breeze that whipped his bangs. "Zachary Flinn, your performance was pathetic! Your spells were lackluster and you lasted even less than your classmate! I expect more from you next time, soldier!"

Zach gave the coach a salute. His eyes widening in fear, his knees buckling. "Sir, yes sir!"

"Now give me twenty laps around the arena! MOVE IT!!"

Zach immediately high tailed it out of there and proceeded to do the twenty laps. Chase sighed in relief, thankful to have been spared of running the laps this time. Coach Gunderson looked down at his wrist watch and turned to the rest of the class. "Dismissed!" he shouted.

The students dispersed, grabbing their bags and heading to either their next class or to the lockers to clean up. Chase shook Estelle's hand once more before parting ways. Several of the students approached Estelle, congratulating her on her latest win.

The last two students to congratulate Estelle were her two best friends, Dahlia and Cecelia. Dahlia was a very fit looking young girl with olive skin, dark chocolate brown eyes, and long flowing light brown hair. She had a pair of golden hopped earrings, red eyeshadow and blood-red lips. She was considered one of the most beautiful girls in the academy.

Cecelia was a foot shorter than Estelle and Dahlia. A bubbly young woman with peach skin, dark yellow green eyes and bright fiery red hair styled into a tight ponytail. A patch of freckles were sprinkled onto the surface of her nose and shoulders and had on a pair of elegant glasses. She too had an athletic build, though not as full as that of Estelle or even Dahlia.

Cecelia was literally jumping for joy when Estelle approached them, taking the bottle of water from her gym back, swallowing down the pure liquid. "Oh, my Arion!" the red-head squealed, "Estelle, you were beyond amazing! I mean, you were flipping, and zapping and--"

"We get it, Cecelia." Dahlia interrupted, rolling her eyes, wearing a deadpan expression. "She was awesome. But seriously, Coach couldn't have signed you against Vincent, or Steve?" Dahlia's deadpan expression melted into one of disappointment while the three girls made their way to the locker room. "For crying out loud, you're one of the school's top seniors! Battling a couple of sophomores is just a warm up. Heck, more like a warm up to a warm up. That fight lasted, what, five minutes?"

"Dahlia, chill. It was just training, not a real test." Estelle said once they entered the locker rooms and started removing the armor platting she was wearing during the fight. "Coach's assistant was out sick so I volunteered to help out. Besides, I like training these guys. It helps build character."

Dahlia groaned in exasperation. "Whatever. This year has been a drag for new competition. I've battled nearly everybody at this school and its getting boring."

"But, you lose to Estelle every time, remember?" Cecilia reminded her. She immediately stepped back upon seeing the fiery look in Dahlia's face.

"Well, yeah." Dahlia admitted, flipping her hair and retreated to her locker. "But, really, who can beat Estelle? The prime example of a hunter?"

The blue haired princess rolled her eyes at the statement. While it was indeed true, hearing it over and over again did eventually lose its novelty and just became repetitive and dull.

Estelle removed her armor, revealing to have been wearing a light aqua shirt, long midnight blue pants and a pair of gray magenta boots with light gray pink outlines and gray purple platform heels. She pulled out a gray purple one shoulder shirt from her locker and wore it over her aquamarine one and a long cape that wrapped around her ribcage and two straps on her shoulders where her silvery white wings were. The ends of the cape were long, with two beads, one purple and one pink. Around her waist was a pink belt with a rounded yellow buckle.

"Dahlia, please, who are you kidding? I got creamed during my freshman year, remember?" Estelle said, placing her wide braid over her shoulder and wiped the remains of sweat from her face with a towel before tossing it into her locker.

"Yeah." Dahlia agreed, gazing at her reflection in the mirror that hung inside her locker door. "For like two minutes. It didn't take long for you to start from the bottom and reach the top in less than a week." she said.

"It's like you're supper human!" Cecelia commented, brushing her now loose red hair while Estelle drank from her water bottle. "Everybody knows it. You're the most popular and adored girl in all of Somorrah. Not surprising, since you're also the princess!"

"Which means, there's a lot more to this gig than just being popular." Estelle tossed the bottle into the locker before slamming it shut. Leaning against it she crossed her arms, resting one leg over her right. "If I'm going to lead these people one day I have to learn to treat them as equals and motivate them to be the best they can be. Even if it's something small like being a temporary teacher's assistant."

"But, you love punching people and taking names." Cecelia said.

Estelle chuckled under her breath, grinning. "Yeah. I do." the princess suddenly felt her nose twitch, feeling a sneeze coming. Dahlia has ambushed the princess by spraying some perfume onto her face, hair and cloth. Estelle coughed, fanning the powerful aroma away. "What are you doing?!"

"You smelled like sweat. You're welcome."

Estelle narrowed her eyes, snatched the perfume out of Dahlia's hands and sprayed her friends right in the face. "Hey!" Dahlia exclaimed, stepping back, "Not too much!" she laughed.

Estelle laughed as well, surprising Cecelia with the same perfume as well. The red-haired girl squealed in shock but then laughed along with the others. Estelle tossed the bottle back at Dahlia, flipping her blue bang. "Revenge is sweet."

*(~)*

The bell rung for the final time that day and students swarmed out from the building. Estelle, once again, was being greeted by many of the students and faculty. She jumped down from the stairs, not bothering to use them and was once again met with Dahlia and Cecelia. The three friends walked along the streets of Somorrah to their usual after school hang out.

It was Estelle's favorite time of day. After spending long hours listening to boring teachers go on and on about stuff she already knew it as nice to take a breather and just explore the vast and beautiful city she called home.

For anyone who has ever lived in this city, they all agreed it was close to paradise. Buildings of bronze metal and glass rose high into the sky. Window reflected shimmering colors of the rainbow. Houses adorned with stunning flower gardens grown by the people themselves, and vendors with fresh fruit and mouth watering slices of meat, curtesy of the hunters' latest killings, aligned the sidewalks. Cars drove by at such accelerating speed it made Estelle excited just by looking at them. The sound of a revving engine was like music to her ears.

Above her head, up in the clouds hovered airships, which served as offices for the weather patrol. One ship opened its hatch, and a flock of humans with wings on their backs flew out. They wore goggles over their eyes and full body jumpsuits with fingerless gloves, boots and high tech belts around their waists. They moved the clouds with their hands, commanded the winds with their wings and made it rain in specific areas for the plants, vegetables and fruits that needed the most in order to assist the farmers. Inside the airships, people used their wants to power the controls of the machine, as wands were often used for everything else in Somorrah. If not for magic, this city would not be the thriving metropolis it was today.

The three friends stopped at a sidewalk cafe, where they sat at their regular table outside. Umbrella canopies hovered above the table, with a single wand sticking from the top, powering it. The waiter arrived and took the girls' order. Cecelia looked around, pointing her finger directly at a dress shop on the other side of the road, opposite from where they sat.

"Oh, look at that one!" she exclaimed. Estelle turned her head, looking in the direction her friend was pointing at a particular dress on display. A couple of other teenage girls had already gathered around to admire it.

Estelle tilted her head. The dress appeared to be strapless, or at least she thought so. The so called "straps" were so thin she could barely see them. The dress was split to the side, exposing the mannequin's leg entirely, and the upper half of the dress was styled far too low that if Estelle ever tried it on she'd be desperately searching for a towel or anything just to cover herself up. The only positive thing she found about the dress was the seemingly effortlessly the blue and purple colors blended together. No doubt her mother would approve of it, due to the combination of the two colors. But the rest of the dress definitely needed some more work.

"It's perfect for your coronation/graduation dress!" Cecelia exclaimed, excitedly clapping her hands.

Dahlia tapped the side of her chin in thought, studying the dress and nodded her head. "Oh, totally! Plus, it's a Stella Moneh original. Your mother owns like a million of her gowns."

"Yeah, I know." Estelle replied in a bored tone, turning away from the dress and taking a sip from her glass. "But, I already have my dress picked out, so it's fine."

"Come on, Stelle! Your coronation is still a month away, plenty of time to make a switch. Not to mention it's on the same day as graduation. It'll be the first time anything like this has happened in, like, ever! It'll be one for the history books, all the more reason to put as much effort into finding the perfect dress as to finding the perfect boots for when we go out there and kill those beasts." a wide smile formed across Dahlia's face, clenching her fists with delight. "I can't wait to shish kabob my first manticore!"

Cecelia rested her chin on her palms, sighing dreamingly, "And I can't wait to have my picture up on the wall next to all those great hunters. Do you think I should dye my hair before graduation?"

"Why do you ask that?" Dahlia asked in confusion.

"Well, since we were talking about looking our best I thought maybe a new look would help commemorate the occasion. Oh, what about a bright honey yellow?"

"Oh, sure!" Dahlia said, smiling excitedly, right before quickly morphing her smile into a deadpan frown. "If you want to stick out like a midday snack for the monsters."

"So, that's a "no" on the honey yellow?"

Estelle sighed, letting her two friends continue their discussion about hair colors when a faint sound rang in her ears. Estelle jolted her head in alarm, focusing on the sound. She immediately identified it as a scream of some kind, but it was muffled due to the speeding cars. Estelle turned her head around, seeing on the other side of the road, a few blocks away from the dress shop, she spotted a pawnshop owner being harassed by a couple of roguish looking men in leather and silvery accessories and multiple piercings in their ears and noses, along with a variety of tattoos on their arms.

Estelle narrowed her eyes when she noticed that Dahlia and Cecelia were still debating about hair coloring, but rather than try and get their attention, Estelle boldly made her way across the street. Only then did the princess's absence grabbed the two girls's attention.

"Estelle? Where are you going?" Dahlia asked, only to face palm once she saw where she was heading. "Oh, no."

"Your payment is overdue, old man!" the apparent leader of the gang said as he lifted the defenseless man by the collar of his shirt. He was as buff as Coach Gunderson, and twice as large with a bald head which had a shark tattoo that went downwards to his back. On his shoulder was the shark's fin. Three more thugs stood behind him, each one with their arms crossed, smiling maliciously as their leader threatened the trembling shopkeeper.

"P-Please, I just need a little more time and I'll pay you, I promise!"

"I've given you enough chances already, old man." the thug said, his voice deep and threatening.

"Let him go this instant!"

The thug spun around, still holding the shopkeeper by the shirt, only to see a young blue-haired teenager standing before him. The princess stood firm, her posture straight and with her wand in hand, which she had used to teleport herself. The thug laughed, lowering the shop owner down while still gripping his collar.

"Or else what, little princess?"

"Or else you'll have to answer to me." Estelle wasted no time in unleashing a stinging blast that strike the thug's wrist directly. He cried out in pain, feeling as if a sharp needle has pierced his skin, prompting him to release the shopkeeper who quickly ran inside, locking his doors.

The thug growled in anger, pulling his own wand from his back pocket, only to hold back when one of his followers tapped his shoulder. "Boss, don't you know who that is?"

"Of course I know who it is, numskull!" the brute grinned, gripping his wand in his large hand. "She would make a fine little ransom." he said right before shooting a beam at the young woman, who immediately blocked it with a shield she had magically manifested. One of the thugs, a shorter one in comparison to their leader with dark skin and a green colored mohawk, outstretched his arm and a vine-like whip grew from his golden bands and lashed it at the young woman.

Estelle immediately caught the end in her fist, and pulled it back with brute force, taking the mohawk thug with it. Estelle grunted as she swung the thug around, making him crash into the nearest dress shop, knocking down the mannequin which, coincidentally, had the dress Estelle had mentally rejected moments ago. Various cars stopped to watch the events unfold.

Another one of the thugs came charging at Estelle, who evaded his punches and send a sucker punch to his stomach, pulled on his ear and forced him to the ground. A shadow loomed over Estelle. Looking up she saw another thug high in the sky. He was a bit slimmer in comparison to the rest, but still just as muscular. With his raven-black wings spread out, he flew higher into the air before landing downwards with a knife in hand ready to slice her in two. Estelle flipped out of the way the minute he came down with crushing force, his blade creating a crack on the sidewalk.

The second he landed Estelle zapped at him with her wand but the man immediately noticed that he was completely unharmed. The zap went right over his head. He laughed. "You missed!"

Estelle smiled smugly. "Did I?"

The thug arched an eyebrow. The smell of fried chicken reached his nostrils and noticed that his retractable wings had been burnt, preventing him from being able to fly. Seeing her chance, Estelle kicked at the man's hand, causing him to drop his blade and sucker punched him square in the jaw.

The leader, and the last one remaining, pulled out his wand, the tip glistening in the light like a sharp knife. Estelle used her own wand to create a powerful beam of light which blinded the man long enough for Estelle jump kicked him in the gut…three times.

The impact sent him flying backwards and landed on his back, inadvertently dropping his wand in the process. Estelle quickly picked it up and stepped on the man's chest, pressing her foot so hard he could hear his ribcage cracking. Estelle pulled out her own wand and extended it. The thug gulped upon seeing the incredibly sharp tip mere inches away from his face, daring to look up and gaze into Estelle's fierce dark silver blue eyes which burned with a fiery inferno that send shivers down his spine and sweat to perspire from his body. And, possibly wet his own pants.

"Unless you want another hole in that nose of yours, you and your buddies will come along quietly." Estelle spoke in a cold, menacing and unforgiving tone. The thug was now one hundred percent sure he would need a change in underwear.

Before he had the chance to answer, the sound of police sirens filled the streets. Pedestrians stepped back as the uniformed men came rushing out, aiming their wands at the thugs, each one disoriented from their fight with Estelle. Dahlia and Cecelia, who had been far too stunned to move, watched in awe with dropped jaws at Estelle single handedly besting four fully grown men twice her size.

The officers quickly cuffed the men and the two girls approached Estelle, checking her for any possible injuries. "Estelle, are you okay?" Cecelia asked, looking at her friend from top to bottom, "Are you hurt? Did you get a cut somewhere?"

"What were you thinking?!" Dahlia exclaimed in frustration. "They could have killed you!"

"The shopkeeper was in trouble, what was I supposed to do?"

"Uh, call the cops?"

"I'm a hunter-in-training and future queen, this is my job."

"Estelle, hunters are supposed to hunt monsters." Dahlia said, empathizing the last word. "Cops hunt criminals. And the queen is supposed to look dignified and solve everyday problems… not go around punching people like a maniac without warning!" Dahlia's breath quickened, her nostrils flared and her hands were half clenched.

Estelle placed a hand on Dahlia's shoulder, "Lia, chill. I'm perfectly fine. Not a scratch on me or hair out of place."

"Well, there is one." Cecelia pointed out, gesturing to Estelle's slightly unkept left bang. She quickly adjusted it.

A young police officer, around twenty or so, approached the three girls. Cecelia immediately blushed at his presence, adjusting her ponytail and slightly shoving Dahlia aside for him to get a better view of her. She batted her eyes flirtatiously, already so entranced by his attractiveness that she was nearly oblivious of the fact that his attention was solemnly on the princess.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" he asked with a look of genuine concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Estelle replied. The shopkeeper opened his doors, still trembling in fear, but upon seeing the princess he rushed towards her, getting down on his knees, practically weeping with his nose to the ground.

"Thank you! Thank you, your highness! Bless you, bless!"

Estelle blushed at his admiration. While used to people bowing to her, but this was a tad overdramatic. "It's okay, you don't need to bow." she said sweetly. When the man refused to get back up, Estelle bit her bottom lip awkwardly. "Seriously, please get up."

The shopkeeper complied, gripping both of her hands, shaking them in gratitude. "Is there anyway I can repay you?"

"You really don't have--" Estelle began, only to be cut off when Dahlia intervened.

"You think we could get a discount?" the brunette asked, only for Estelle to angrily elbow her in the cut, knocking the wind right out of her. "On second though, I'm more of a retail kind of gal." she said in a faint squeaky voice.

"Princess Estelle." The young officer called to her, completely oblivious to Cecelia staring at him dreamily. "Is it my obligation to inform you that we shall be escorting you back to the palace.

"That won't be necessary. I know the way home." Estelle said, already about to make her leave before the officer stood in her way again. Cecelia moved right next to him.

"I'm afraid t--" the officer noticed Cecelia's really, really presence and arched an eyebrow. "Could you politely step back, miss?" he asked. Cecelia only giggled and complied. Dahlia face palmed. Cecelia was always rather slow, but when it came to attractive men her entire brain just seemed to turn into a pile of pudding.

The officer cleared his throat before speaking. "As I was saying, I'm afraid there is no option. We will escort you home."

"Why?" Estelle asked, already growing a tad impatient. The officer sighed and showed her the caller ID on his cell phone. Estelle's eyes widened in terror. "Oh…"

*(~)*

The massive throne room had not changed over the years. It remained the same for as long as Estelle could remember. Whenever her mother was in a bad mood, the room became cold as ice piercing through one's skin. It was a feeling that felt like second nature for Estelle. The massively long size certainly added to the cold and distant feel. The two massive doors stood at least ten feet away from the throne.

Stone cylinders carved from hard stone towered over Estelle's head, the sides engraved with pearls, diamonds and amethysts. Slim golden poles aligned the hallway, resembling forks with elongated candles. Their amber flames flickered whenever the queen moved, her long cape quickly following, wrapping around her body before its ends rested onto the perfectly polished floor.

The walls were adorned with paintings of the Arions in shimmering armor and wielding their swords. At the very end of the room stood the throne, trimmed with gold and silver with an elegant silk cushion. Small stairs led up towards the regal chair. Above the throne was a circular stained glass window, which originally hardly ever experienced any light. Only when the windows on both the left and right hand sides of the room were open on a bright sunny day did the lights enter the room and danced on the walls in a dazzling, dream-like display. But, most of the times, the colorful masterpiece of a dashing Arion knight remained colorful, but hardly vibrant.

Luciana herself was as regal, flawless and mesmerizing as ever. Her skin remained as clean and clear as it did in her youth. Her long black raven hair was now often loose and curled with strands of shimmering purple and gold streaks. She wore a purple v neck dress that reached her knees, exposing her long legs while wearing a pair of black purple heels. Her sleeves were long with floral patterns, colored silver around her wrist. The same pattern was around her waist and on her V neck which reached towards to reach her said waist. A large pinkish opal stone engraved into a buckle sized broach rested on her front, laces of purple castrated downwards. The same fabric could be seen on both the left and right side of her skirt as well as a long cape behind her.

On her head she wore a small elegant hat on the left side of her head, made out of purple velvet with a while feather, held together by pink diamonds. The same diamonds dangled from her earlobes.

"Well. This is quite the predicament you've gotten yourself in." said the queen. Her voice piercing through the silence like a knife.

"I did what was expected of me." Estelle replied. Over the years, the young princess had grown become much bolder in addressing her mother. However, that still didn't diminish the reality that the woman was still as intimidating as she had always been. Estelle made sure to still hold the queen in high respects, but her teenager rebellious spirit often failed her at the worst of times.

"What was expected of you, you say?" the queen replied. Her eyes unwavering, her posture stiff and still, her hands held together close to her stomach. "You mean, causing a riot and destroying public property?"

"It was just a window and a mannequin!" Estelle said, "Nothing a replacement spell couldn't fix. Besides, I'd rather there be a broken window than innocent people getting hurt."

"Except people did get hurt."

"Yeah, the men who were responsible for harassing an innocent!" Estelle's voice grew higher, while taking a step further towards her mother.

"It is the police's job to apprehend criminals, not yours." Luciana replied, her voice also increasing in volume, her eyes slowly narrowing.

"What did you want me to do? Just sit there and do nothing? There weren't even any cops in sight at the time!"

"You should have called them the minute you saw what was happening. They would have arrived instantly at your command and you still could have saved that shopkeeper. There was no need to endanger yourself."

"That's a bunch of hypocritical crud!" Estelle spatted.

Luciana's eyes widened in shock. Her lips tensed as if trying to hold back her mouth from shouting. "Excuse me?" she asked tensely.

"I'm going to become a hunter soon, which means I'm going to be placing myself in danger every time I go outside that gate! If I can't handle a bunch of pea-brained thugs then how else am I going to deal with a man-eating monster? Besides, you're the one who keeps saying I'm blessed by the Arions and that they always keep me safe. Why is this such an issue all of a sudden?"

Luciana's shoulders rose as she inhaled slowly. Her eyes narrowed further and her frown was tense. Seeing her mother's state Estelle immediately reeled back. Once again, her temper flared and she acted without thinking. Luciana finally exhaled. Her shoulders lowered, her mussels relaxed as did her expression. She was silence for what felt like an eternity.

The silence was cut when the sound of clopping heels against the stone floor echoed throughout the room. Luciana stood before Estelle, apparently frozen, before spontaneously hugging her daughter. Estelle was tense, unsure on how to respond. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around her mother. Her body eased under the warmth of the embrace.

"You're not mad?" she dared to ask.

"No." Luciana replied, still hugging her one and only child. "I'm not mad. I'm actually really impressed with what you did. It's just…I worry about you. You've always had this fervid spirit that it's unpredictable." Luciana finally ended the hug, caressing her daughter's cheek. "I know you are capable of taking care of yourself but… I wish you had more restraint and control."

"I try." Estelle answered truthfully, her voice low and soft. "It's like an instinct thing, you know?"

She didn't even need to look at her mother to know what she was thinking. As talented and gifted as Estelle was, her wild-hearted spirit was still an issue. But, even if it was her duty to be the queen her people wanted, she still felt compelled to act when needed. At times, it served her well, but other times--like today--it didn't.

"I'm sorry I scared you." Estelle said, lowering her head.

"It's okay. I'm sorry I snapped." Luciana said, the intense fire in her eyes evaporated. Despite the dark coloring of her brown orbs, Estelle saw the genuine love and compassion behind them. "I know as a hunter you will be facing many dangers, but as future queen you do not engage in violence with your citizens, even if they are criminals. We are all a part of this city."

Estelle hung her head. "I'll…try to work on it."

"You better. Your coronation is in a month. I expect some improvement by then."

At these words, Estelle wanted to pull on her hair. She could already feel her restlessness bubbling to the surface but she swallowed it. She could always blow off some steam latter. For now, she would make her mother happy.

The teenager nodded her head and Luciana allowed her to retreat to her room to rest. As Estelle walked down the halls, her eyes darted upwards at the Arions on the walls. Their eyes looking down upon her. The princess walked up the stairs which led to her bedroom and the moment she did she fell flat on her pillow, groaning in exasperation.

A familiar furry creature poked his head from underneath the bed, wagging his tail happily and leaped onto the princess's back. Estelle lifted her head up, seeing the nyx's upside-down face staring at her. His tongue stuck out and he licked her nose and as a result Estelle's earlier funk instantly vanished. Stripes always had a way of putting a smile on Estelle's face. She was thankful to the Arions every day that her mother allowed the friendly furry creature to stay in the castle.

Estelle positioned herself onto the side of her bed, giggling as she wiped away the slobber from her face, which proved futile sine Stripes only licked her once more. "Okay, okay! I'm happy to see you too, boy!" Stripes finally ceased his licking and sat on her lap, still panting happily. While she continuously scratched behind his ears, Estelle reached for the drawer of her night stand, pulling out a perfectly wrapped gift with a note attached to it. Stripes fiddled with the yellow bow until Estelle kindly pulled it away from him before his claws could accidentally ruin the gift.

"Sorry, boy. This isn't for you this time." Estelle said before standing up form from her bed. She walked towards the glass doors that led to her bedroom balcony. Stripes trailed behind her, leaping onto the railing as Estelle rested her arms upon it, leaning forward. Her blue locks blowing in the cool winds. Stripes whimpered sadly at Estelle's longing gaze. Her dark gray eyes automatically drawn to the large gate at the very far end of the city from where she currently stood.

She remembered the events as if it was only yesterday. The night she dared to defy the laws of her kingdom and boldly stepped outside the gates after they closed. Every small detail, from the leafs to the individual subtle markings of the tree bark and the colorful blends of the flower petals were still fresh in her mind. She wondered if any of it had changed in the past ten years.

Rarely anyone within the city ever spoke of the outside world, and when they did it was often negative. Every professional hunter she had ever encountered shared the exact same opinion as everyone else. The highlight of their time outside was to kill the creatures they saw as a threat, but aside from that, any other experience outside was seen as a burden. Of course, they were more than willing to sacrifice their own personal disdain for the outside in order to eliminate all of the monsters in existence so that their city can finally put the untapped land outside to good use.

Still, Estelle oftener wondered if, perhaps, they wouldn't need to destroy everything out there. She didn't remember her first and last experience ever being a dreadful one. The rare trees, the plants, the full moon, the fresh otherworldly yet intoxicating aroma, it was also when she met Stripes, it was all wonderful. If anything, seeing all of those severed monster heads and dripping blood was the dreadful part of the experience that made her stomach turn. Her huntress training helped immensely so now she had managed to surpass it to the point she no longer flinched whenever she saw a rotting monster corpse.

Still, she didn't want to go out there again and return with nothing but dreadful stories where the only highlight was the killing portion. No, she wanted to experience it completely the same way she did as a child. Who knows, maybe there could be more innocent animals to save like Stripes. or maybe some rare plants or herbs they could use for medicine and such. As helpful as magic was, it did have its limits. It couldn't guarantee a cure for any disease and it couldn't expand one's life either.

As much as Estelle loved every bit of her fair city, she could never shake away that longing feeling of there being more out there. More that could help their city grow and expand just like her mother said it would one day. She couldn't wait for graduation and her coronation day. It would be the beginning of every she had ever strived her. Ever she had ever dreamed of. Everything she had ever wanted.

"Soon, Stripes." she said, "Soon, we'll see that world again. And we'll make our city even better."

Stripes gave a soft growl in agreement. Estelle's eyes then shifted to one corner of the city, where there was mainly farmland, trees and meadowy fields with small humble homes. Estelle looked over at her watch. It was only five fifty seven in the afternoon. She made a mental note to be out of there in approximately one hour and and two minutes.

If there was anything else, besides fighting, flying and practicing magic, that excited Estelle, it was to see her old friend on his day.

*(~)*