Towards the Palace

"Both of you look nervous."

Asty and Noelle smiled at Mrs. Pickinns.

"Mrs. Pickinns, I feel like I'm gonna throw up," Noelle confessed. "I don't feel so good."

Mrs. Pickinns rolled her eyes. "Noelle, for the love of God, grow up. You are a grown man and yet the thought of a ball scares you."

Noelle waved his hands in the air. "But Mrs. Pickinns, I have never been to a Ball!"

"It's just music and dancing. Once Asthenosthene delivers the envelope to the Duke, we can leave."

Asty's eyes were focused outside of the carriage. Her eyes fixated on the nearby trees that darkened their trail. Her lips were pursed in a straight line as she recalled what her mother had told her when she left her.

"Asthenosthene, you must return no matter what."

The thought lingered on her mind.

Asty's mother had once been in the Palace along with her Father. She worked as a cook for the King and for the Counts that reside in Palace who visits the King.

Her mother had bad memories inside the Palace.

"Asty." Noelle called out her name. "Asty."

"Oh, yeah?"

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Yes. I'm fine. Thank you."

Mrs. Pickinns could not take her eyes off Asty as she looked outside the window. Asthenosthene was truly different. No matter where she was put, she would stand out to the gossips.

The woodcutter's child.

The woodcutter's abandoned child.

A count's love child.

Cursed child.

Mrs. Pickinns knew nothing of these rumours were true. Looking at Asty, she knew that the child was human. She was scared of bugs and death. She had feelings and she can cry.

But a thought provoked her mind. Why would Rosellia entrust the envelope to Asty and not her?

It was not that Mrs. Pickinns was envious that Asty had earned Rosellia's trust. But it was because she was afraid that Rosellia had more plans than what she thought had been in store.

The woman clasped her calloused fingers and averted her gaze away from Asty. Her gaze reached the bright and soaring heights of the Palace beyond their carriage.

"You seem troubled, Mrs. Pickinns."

The woman looked at Noelle. "I suppose I can use this moment to speak with the both of you."

Asty looked away from the window and focused to listen to Mrs. Pickinns words. She curiously stared at her with her eyes.

"In the Palace, I'm sure you know about the King."

"Not much about him, but yes," Noelle replied. "He does not really show himself."

"The King today is a young twenty-three-year-old man."

Noelle and Asty looked at each other, astonished. "So young!"

"Indeed. He was crowned five years ago, when the former King died. He was in a legal age, thankfully. "

"Twenty-three. He's quite the powerhouse." Asty commented. "I heard from the farmers that he conquered the South in just two years. Was that true, Mrs. Pickinns?"

"He did." Mrs. Pickinns closed her eyes. "That was the biggest mistake he ever did."

"Why is that?"

"The South was supposed to be untouched." she continued in a strict voice. "The South is home to many Night Hallows. His reason was never heard of until this day."

"He must have had a good reason to do it, right?" Noelle asked. "I mean, he did provide necessities for the people. I don't think he is cruel."

"The fact that he donates does not signify the color of his heart."

Asty and Noelle nodded.

"When he conquered the South, he did not know that two of a unique breed resided in there."

"Breeds?" Asty looked at her with curiosity. "Night Hallows have breeds?"

"Night Hallows could be different creatures. There is a certain breed of a Night Hallow which the King did not underestimate."

"What is it?" Noelle asked.

"It has not been given a name. But this unique one can mold itself into different forms. A mimic if you may say."

"A mimic..." Asty repeated softly.

"A shapeshifter. A deceiver. Someone who could easily fool a person, even the King. The destroyer of trusts." Mrs. Pickinns' hazel eyes opened. "One is enough to destroy a nation."

The two sat there, perplexed and terrified. But curiosity still lingered in their hearts.

"The King befriended two of these creatures and made them a part of the society." she paused for a while. "They are the Counts and Countesses. Immortals that can even surpass the power of the King."

"Is that why he invited them to the Ball?" Noelle asked with irritation in his voice. "To make them feel welcomed so that they don't destroy Chesterfawn?"

Asty placed her palms at Noelle's broad back and comforted him. "Easy... Noelle."

"It is possible." Mrs. Pickinns replied. "But he did it for us."

"Even if he did not destroy the South, I'm sure there were a few unique Night Hallows lurking inside Chesterfawn." Asty commented. "You said he befriended only two of them, which lived in the South. So how come there are more of them that's coming to the Ball?"

"That's true." Noelle replied.

"Unique Night Hallows can't cross other continents, right? If they ride by boats, I'm sure the Sun will scorch them alive when they are on the sea. The only answer is that, the King has discovered more than just two of them inside Chesterfawn."

Mrs. Pickinns smiled at the two young children. "You children are too curious and smart," she complimented them.

Asty and Noelle scratched their heads and chuckled.

Suddenly, their carriage turned to a fading halt. The sound of chattering and giggling could be heard even from inside the closed carriage. The two stuck their heads against the window as their eyes get blinded by the flashing lights.

They have arrived at the Palace.

But somehow, Mrs. Pickinns stomach churned as she laid sight on the Palace when the navigator opened the door of the carriage. As Noelle and Asty scurried off excitedly, Mrs. Pickinns couldn't help but frown at the sight of the children.

Mrs. Pickinns had a bad feeling about this.