“Oh, that.” Maxwell whistled, the wind carrying the sound with it. From the distance, a single gleam of gold pulsed on the black sheet of the sky until it grew larger, flying toward them. It was a Carrier, a transparent spherical shell with swirling gray smokes which hid its content from plain view. The gold which gleaned from the sky earlier was its wings, a pair of thin strips of gold metal.Maxwell dipped his hand in the Carrier’s rubbery material and it disappeared up to his wrist. He withdrew a snaggy diamond bottle, containing a cerulean liquid that glowed naturally in the dim light.The prince plucked it from Maxwell’s grip at breakneck speed and stowed it inside his pants pocket.“Just in time,” he said in a monotone voice, his vision getting as far as the distance it could reach. “How come it took you so long? Good thing the last one’s still in effect for a few more days. I can’t get by without this.”Maxwell grunted and plopped himself beside the prince, the branch swaying a

Holly crossed her eyes and stared at the tip of her nose when a butterfly perched on it. She was breathless and unmoving, but she sneezed when it tickled her nose. Maxwell was to be seen creeping up behind her like a thief in the night. He flicked her nose, sending the butterfly flying away and Holly yelping in surprise and pain. “You!” She swung her arm, aiming for his face, but he easily deflected her attacks. Another one came, then another, but Holly was only able to land her punch in the air. “You really can’t let a day pass without doing anything that annoys me.”Clara stood up and was about to intervene when she saw Holly close to tears. And her anger was only fueled up by Maxwell’s derisive laughter. “It’s just a flick on your nose, Holly, and you’re already exploding. Don’t try so hard looking terrifying. It was cute.”The princess caught her breath when Holly conjured a spiked mace ball made of air. She flailed it at Maxwell who effortlessly deflected it. “I have always hat

Clara’s eyes popped on the red leather-bound book that was thicker and heavier than a normal book. There was a sign of old age, but there were no other damages. It also seemed to be well taken care of. She turned it over at a different angle to inspect and figure out anything, but nothing else—not even the name of its writer—was written other than the title itself.She held onto it tight against her chest before she strode quickly over the table in a jumbled mess. Thrill and excitement rushed into her system as she cleared the table of strewn parchments. She fixed the candelabra in a suitable position, so it could properly cast a light on the book’s pages.She sat on an uncomfortable squeaky old wooden chair and took a deep breath before opening the book on its first page. At first, Clara thought it was blank. She was about to turn it to the next page when words started to appear. Clara stared at it wide-eyed. Words appeared as they formed a sentence.‘Everything in this book is a hist

Clara plopped herself on the bed as soon as she arrived in her chamber from Caelholme. Her body was beaten up. They spent almost all the afternoon milling around the town, hopping in every shop for exploration; shop owners ended up frustrated as the two ladies left their shops empty-handed as they were just merely looking around even though they had the golds and silvers inside their pockets. Pacifying Holly after she burst into an endless stream of tears was a whole lot of job she hadn’t done before. But their day ended well, and now that darkness finally blanketed the sky, she had no idea what else to do. There was not even a single task their sages assigned them to do. Clara was humming to herself when her eyes spotted the red leather-bound book she stole in the hidden room beneath the redwood. Until now, she was wincing at the idea that she managed to steal a book that wasn’t hers. Over and over, she tried to console herself that she only borrowed it and would eventually return i

Alex strode without delay towards it and up he climbed the tunnel. Clara waited apprehensively at the bottom. Seconds turned to minutes and each time, Clara wanted to go up and follow him. She could only hear Alex’s grunt and the sound of struggling, and that alone sent a relief that at least she knew he was alive.Clara took a few steps back when Alex came back, sliding down the tunnel. His eyes held danger and he was clearly annoyed as he brushed off the dirt from his black dress robe. And this expression alone made Clara worried.“What is that noise?” “We’re trapped.” Alex huffed. He ambled towards the desk, ancient and frail-looking, but he managed to sit on it, arms and ankles crossed. Through the small curtain of hair that covered his midnight eyes, he looked at Clara with the kind of stare which held a power to render someone as stiff as a stone.“Trapped?” she asked and Alex gave one swift nod. “You looked rather… calm. What trapped us here?”“A boulder was jammed in the entra