We stepped out in front of the gates of the Gold Continent’s capital, and just stared at the beautiful craftsmanship before us. The door itself was made of the crimson-colored steel that was a specialty of the continent, and adorned with relief images of dragons.

Gold in color with green gems for eyes, these oriental style beings curled and intertwined in the middle of the gate. “It’s so beautiful.” Hazeel smiled, and seeing the joyous curiosity in her eyes brought a grin to my own lips.

“It really is. It reminds me of some of the relics back in Japan. There was a period where we destroyed our own history, so fully intact artifacts are somewhat rare.” Dantae muttered.

I turned to her. She was looking up at the gates with wide eyes, and a smile almost as big as Hazeels. As the gates opened for Leresa and Rexir, and we stepped through, I thought back to the conversation we all had after Vanessa had awoken.

---

“You what!?” Leresa’s voice rang out, cutting through the silence of the night. “You’re the goddess Tirania’s a-!?”

Rexir tactfully placed a hand over Leresa’s mouth, quieting her and eliminating the possibility of attracting unwanted attention. She looked annoyed, so Rexir slowly took his hand away.

“Ok, ok, I get it.” Leresa huffed, sitting back down on the log. “But why did you keep being Tirania’s adept a secret? Should you have just come out and said that from the beginning, the villagers would have never thought about laying a hand on Hazeel.”

Vanessa fidgeted uncomfortably, and sighed. “I… I would have if I could have. I didn’t actually remember everything until after she possessed me and said what she did.”

Hazeel put an arm around her, and Vanessa leaned into the wood elf’s embrace. I couldn’t help but grin at how well the two got along. Honestly, it sometimes seemed as though they were sisters, something which I was grateful for. Unfortunately for my nerves, I would be needing to have a serious conversation with the two of them soon.

“Rexir wants to know if this changes anything regarding the plans we discussed earlier.” Leresa asked while Rexir draped himself over the princess.

I shook my head. “Not at all. I had an inkling given what Tirania told me in the village, and… she also called me her chosen. In fact, it gives us a back up plan in case we find ourselves in some trouble. It would be nice to actually have a contingency plan for once, right, Hazeel?”

The wood elf grinned, and placed herself sideways in my lap. Disregarding the fact that she was much taller, she was still physically strong, and practically crushed my head into her chest.

“Yeah, I’ll be glad if we don’t have to use it though.” At this point, Vanessa raised a hand slowly, and fidgeted upon seeing that we had all turned to her.

“Actually guys, why don’t we just use that as a way to bypass the test completely? I’m sure listening to the apostle of a goddess is much more important to them than a traditional game.”

My mouth hung open as I just considered what she had said. I was so used to doing things the complicated and convoluted way because I had to, that I had completely disregarded a shortcut when it presented itself to me!

“That’s a good idea.” I said. “We should-”

“Rexir says no.” Leresa looked confused as she spoke, and turned back to look at the partner in question. “What do you mean by ‘no?’”

The two had a mental conversation in silence, and Hazeel, Vanessa, and I just looked at each other in confusion.

“Argh! You big, dumb, idiot!” Leresa pinched his hand, causing him to release her, and leaving Rexir to complain in silence.

She walked over to the three of us, and began, “In short, Rexir is stupid.” When the person in question gave her a dirty look, she shrugged her shoulders.

“What? You honestly can’t tell me that you’d rather take the longer route than a shortcut when both paths achieve the same result?”

Another silent conversation followed, before she replied, “Of course the end justifies the means! Don’t get sentimental just because of your stupid pride!” Leresa was fuming now, and Rexir looked to be in a mood as well.

“Alright, alright. Calm down you two.” I stepped in between them, and looked at Leresa. “For now we’ll do as Rexir wishes. We’ll let him have his attempt at glory through his own strength.”

The princeling grinned, and, I assume, started mentally rubbing it in Leresa’s face, as her cheeks became a deep shade of red.

“However,” I began again, turning to Rexir this time, “The moment I think that you can’t get it done on your own, or that any of us are put in danger because of this stupid political game, we’ll do it the easy way. Understood?”

He frowned, but nodded in agreement. “Good.” I said, walking back over to the carriage. Under my breath, I muttered, “I already paid the price for my hubris once already. It’ll only happen a second time over my fresh corpse.”

---

“Whoa! This place is amazing!” Hazeel was practically frolicking through the crowded streets, going from vendor to vendor and checking on their wares and foodstuffs. I watched over her with a happy look, while Vanessa and I had intertwined our arms, and were walking together.

Both Rexir and Vanessa had gone to greet the current Emperor, Rexir’s father. Since we had decided to use Vanessa and my status as chosen of Tirania as a contingency plan, I figured it was best if we stayed far away from the palace, and any members of the higher class.

“It’s been so long since we could just be us and enjoy ourselves. Honestly, even in the village, I was constantly stressed between the training, and the blaring hole in my memories.” Vanessa smiled and snuggled closer, and I had to agree with her.

What we were doing and how we were acting felt like a date we once had in central park after a mission. It was after I had first confessed my feelings to her, and we were both just wandering aimlessly, going wherever our curiosity dictated.

It was liberating. Feeling like nothing was driving me other than my will to explore the city with these two women. “Come on you two. I found an interesting booth!”

Hazeel came right up and grabbed our hands, pulling us into an alleyway that was barely visible from the street itself. After a few twists and turns, we found ourselves at a dead end, with only a small tent occupying the space before it.

The wood elf walked in boldly, leaving Vanessa and I to follow. What greeted us upon entering was a small room, illuminated by pale blue light. There was a table present, with a woman sitting at it. Her face was obscured by a veil, and her body by a cloak.

A crystal ball was on the table in front of her hands, and her eyes travelled to each of us as she spoke, “Welcome travellers. It is not often that people find this place. It takes a special level of power to-”

Her words froze as her gaze fell on Hazeel, who wore a wide grin. The fortune teller groaned and shook her head. “Gods damn it, Hazeel. I left that godsforsaken continent to get away from people like you.”

The wood elf grinned, and sat down across from the woman. “Oh, come on. Don’t be like that, Eina. Can you blame a girl for wanting to catch up with a friend?”

“Were we really friends though? My memory seems to recall being dragged around by you late into the night.”

“You did seem to enjoy most of those establishments though.” Hazeel’s grin grew wider, and the fortune teller averted her gaze.

“That was just making the best out of a bad situation.” She muttered, although the lack of confidence in her answer permeated her voice.

Hazeel turned back around to face us, and said, “Vanessa, Leo, meet Eina.” Eina pulled down her hood, revealing deep black skin, golden hair, eyebrows, and fully white eyes. “Eina is a moon elf, and number five in the original Coat of Arms.”