The sounds of horses trotting across the country combined with the whisking wind were all that was said inside the wagon. A sixteen-year-old Matthew was fixated on the setting: a vast field giving way to trees. An air of nostalgia had embraced him, a sense of eagerness to return home; yet, he also felt a tinge of regret.

The group had agreed to simply pass through a town, knowing full-well they would be home soon, the anticipation would be too much to bear. Not long after fields gave way to trees, so too did those trees give way to familiar sight: a wall that stretched left and right as far as the eye could see, yet not as high as the sights the group had taken in from their previous two years. There was something humbling to the teens, being able to compare their home to someone else’s. As they reached the gate, the last stop before they returned to their bastion, the group turned to the archeologists, to the woman who they shared many experiences with over two years.

“So…this is goodbye. It’s been a nice two years, but our families are waiting.” Matthew went to shake hands with the woman, but she pulled him in for a hug. “Take care Matthew, you and your brother. If things between him and the princess don’t work out, give me a shout, my daughter could use a real man.” The woman winked, the knight chuckled before letting Brian.

“One day I hope Lumina has skyscrapers.” The woman turned her sight to the kingdom, looking up to see nothing above the wall except clouds. “I’m sure one day they will. Maybe you can be the to get it started.” Jessica had stepped in front of Brian, “Hey, thanks for introducing me to coffee. And tee. And everything.” Without warning, the woman embraced the two of them. Eric and Adriana were next.

“You two better send me an invitation to your wedding!” The cleric blushed, the rogue had smiled, “Count on it.” With one last hug, the groups parted ways. “I’ll miss you kids.”

As the teens entered the gate, Matt couldn’t help but look back, watching the wagon disappear in the distance. Making their way down the path to the castle, they took in their surroundings. The streets weren’t filled with merriment like when they left, there weren’t people cheering their names or anything; in fact, the streets were baron. Unease was beginning to set in.

Reaching the castle entrance, they were confronted by the chancellor, Edward Heyl. “Master Matthew, Master Brian, Mas-“ Brian grabbed the man, his face red and sweaty, “speak man! Just tell us what happened!” Edward collected himself, wiping the sweat that was immediately replaced by more sweat, “The princess has disappeared! We believe she’s been kidnapped. Please, go to the queen, I’ve already informed everyone else!”

The group had hurried to the throne room, before them, a sat sight: the queen’s figure was demoralized, her head down, resting in her hands. The group began to kneel, “Don’t bother” the queen stopped them in a somber, yet still commanding tone, “I will make this brief. My daughter is missing, we have no idea who would have taken her, or if she was even kidnapped. I know you’ve just returned from a long mission, but please, I beg you to join the search for Elizabeth. Take time to recuperate, a week at most, then go. After she is rescued, by you or someone else, I will give you whatever you ask for.”

The group looked at one another, all held the same expression of despair and anguish. The princess was gone, their time at home cut short. Taking the queen’s advice, the group planned to take a week off. Matthew knew the news must have devastated Luke.

Upon entering his house, the grave look of his parents made his heart sink. “Matthew, Luke is gone. He disappeared the same day as the princess.” The young man’s head sunk as low as his neck would allow. “Please, rest today, we will begin the search. I know you want to search now, but you won’t be any good if you’re still beaten from your trip.” Matt had made his way to his room, dropping his supplied to the floor.

Laying on his bead, Matt had hoped to calm down and collect his thoughts. ‘The princess and Luke are gone. Who would do this?’ Many thoughts began to fill his head, forcing him to get and fill his mind with something else.

After dinner, he worked up enough strength to enter his brother’s room. It was empty, at least devoid of one younger brother. Looking around, he saw his brother had stolen some of his books and kept them in his room.

The bed was messy, the room was littered with books, yet Matt couldn’t help but feel something was missing. Taking notice of a book left on the desk, he opened it hoping there was some clue to what occurred. Analyzing the contents revealed it to be a journal. As he paged through the book, he noticed Luke had written down events pertaining to himself and the princess, a journey of a progressing relationship between the two. One detail caught his eye,

“Today Elizabeth showed me a secret passage, a really cool way to get around that nobody else knows about. She says to never use it unless she’s around, and to never get caught.” Could this passage way lead from the inside of the castle to the entrance? As he looked around, Matthew had suddenly realized what was missing within the room: a lantern.

“Did they run away?” Matthew wasn’t entirely convinced, but it would add up: after getting bullied, Luke, fed up with his parents, couldn’t stand living in Lumina and convinced the princess to run away with him. Flipping through the journal had revealed no more answers, leaving his mind to create various different scenarios. Yawning, he decided to sleep on this information until tomorrow.

‘The boy opened his eyes to a sense of warmness overtaking him, only to see he was outside. Moreover, he was surrounded by fire. The walls, the city, the castle, all on fire. “Oh Matthew” a familiar voice cooed. Turning around, Matthew saw his brother, again looking like his own reflection. Catching a glimpse of something, Matt turned his gaze downward to see Elizabeth, Bloody and unmoving. “I killed her Matt! And now I’m going to kill you!” The brother could do nothing as sharp claws had penetrated his stomach.’

Matt shot up immediately, hyperventilating, sweat dripping down his forehead. He didn’t think, he didn’t move from that spot or position, he simply breathed. “It’s just dream. It was just a dream” he repeated over and over, hoping whatever was bringing up this traumatic vision would stop.

The group had planned not to gather until the third day, leaving Matthew to wander Lumina. He had wandered through all the districts, sometimes looking for answers, other times just taking in the sight of his home. As he wandered the main streets of the middle class, a blonde girl dressed in green had approached him. “Excuse me, are you Matthew Baronia?” He nodded, unsure what the girl could possibly want. “My name is Sarah Kavy, I want to help you on your search.”

“Look Sarah, this search is personal to me.” The girl gave him a forlorn expression, “It’s personal for me too, I have friends who went missing from the search.” Matt’s eyes widened. If people disappeared during this search, what did that mean for Luke and Elizabeth? “Fine, you can join us at the castle entrance tomorrow, we’ll start planning what to do.” With that, the girl walked off, leaving the boy to his thoughts.

The following day, Sarah had joined Matthew as he met with the group. “Who’s this?” Jessica spoke, venom flying from her tongue. “Hew name is Sarah; she’ll be joining us for the search.”

“Nice to see a new face!” Brian was first to greet her, shaking her hand with enough force to take it off. “Don’t mind Jessica,” Adriana stepped up, making sure to give her a light shake, Eric doing the same. “Just don’t get in my way.” Instead of shaking hands, the mage simply glared at the newcomer, causing her to sweat. “Ehm,” Matt caught the groups attention, “We have four more days, let’s make our plan today so we can rest as long as possible.”

“It’s actually convenient you joined us when you did, Sarah,” All eyes were on Eric, “Adriana and I decided the best course of action is to split up into pairs. We would check towns in the east, Brian and Jessica would take towns in the west, and you would take towns to the north. I thought it was a little unfair you would go alone, but now you don’t have to. Any objections?”

“Can I go with Matthew instead?” Eric was about to consider the mage’s query, but Adriana stepped in, “No! You and Brian will be going together.” The dragoon and mage both whined, but Adriana was firm. “Any other objections?” Veering left and right, Eric got no one response. “Good, we set out in the morning, at your group member’s convenience. Remember, though this is an emergency, don’t drive each other crazy.”

“Before you guys go, I need to tell you something.” All eyes were on their leader. “Luke is also missing. When I checked his room, I found his journal. Considering he was close with the princess, he must have convinced her to leave. If you find him, he might know where the princess his.”

Matthew had disbanded from the group, leaving Sarah with the rest. “Who’s Luke?”

“He’s Matthew’s younger brother. He can’t use mana and was friends with the princess. He’s pretty infamous, I’m surprised you don’t him.” Sarah stopped rubbing her arm at the last comment, “I wasn’t a prodigy like you guys, I was more concerned with my group.”

“Speaking of, where is your group?” Jessica had made Sarah uncomfortable again, “They went missing during the search.”

“Went missing? Sounds like this mission is more dangerous than a simple search-and-rescue.” Adriana sighed, “Out of the frying pan and into the fire.”