'Wait, how did she know my name?' Recalling that she had never given her or her name yelled at by Zoe, she grew wary. "How do you know my name?" She posed as she looked at the lady across from her.
A faint beam of the sun's rays flashed on her face exposing her figure. Her dark crimson eyes, her short and pointed ears which suspended two opulent gems of earrings that drooped carelessly.
Her white hair cascading behind her as her black fur coat was now visible. It was a surprise that she could wear such clothing in such a weather. "I heard Mrs. Zoe yell it. I do have sensitive ears after all."
Her eyes squinted as she heard this. Sure she knew that vampires did have better hearing in comparison to humans however for her to catch her name out in the streets was impressive.
Some of the sounds from outside would occasionally pour in making it hard to discern what exactly was going on. "But I do appreciate you for accompanying me with my meal, Zarina."
Zarina who was getting ready to leave froze as she heard this. Her eyes darted back to Lirien who had a playful smile as she drank a light sip of her water. Her senses were warning her to get as far away from her as possible.
"Is this the part where you start running because if it is then I don't mind giving you a head start?" Zarina's breathes became more heavy and rugged as she heard this.
"To think that the princess of Aurorise would be such a coward. What a disappointment that is or no... let me guess. You'll get the other royal family and with the power of teamwork take me down?"
Ridicule was dense in her tone as a chuckle shortly followed. "If you're going to die, you might as well die like your father, in battle not by running away and die of old age."
Zarina watched the lady seated comfortably as her eyes landed back outside once more. She could feel a waterfall of emotions swirling deep inside her as her fists curled into balls.
The death of her own father was a grueling sight that she had forced herself to come to terms with, swearing that she would make Lirien pay for her actions however the more she looked into it, the more helpless she felt.
Lirien was a servant of Ashley, another scourge to the lands. If she were to somehow deal with Lirien, the chances of Ashley making a move was certain either through Sablestone or doing it herself.
The very same person who she swore she'd kill was seated right in front of her, callous of her presence and the only thing that she could do was watch as she disrespected her father and her kingdom in silence.
'I have to become stronger.' She vowed to herself however her situation was rather dire. She had no backing, no resources and no connections whatsoever while her opponents had the world in their hands.
It was an understatement that the odds were against her however regardless, she knew that she had to get stronger. "You know what, I'll give you a favor." A small bag fell ever so slightly onto the table.
"For your troubles." She withdrew a gold coin as she placed it on her plate before taking her leave out of the restaurant. She grabbed the small bag and upon inspection, she found that it was a small fortune.
'This has to be about 100 platinum quartz!' Such an amount was no joking matter as she could get her hands on a fortune however another thought crept into her head.
'You really think that you cannot die, Lirien? Your confidence will be your demise.' She mused as she tucked away the bag and collecting her plates to which she took to the back.
"Great! Elyse, you can now-" Before Zoe was done, Zarina walked out the front door with her tone certain. "I quit!"
*BAM*
The door slammed shut behind her which left Zoe in a daze. 'What does she mean that she quits? Who's suppose to help me run this job?' Her mind was lost before the shouts of angry customers brought her back.
…
Zarina's figure knew that going about it covertly and stealthily was already off the table thus she made her way towards the guild smith quarters. It was equivalent to a blacksmith however it was much bigger in size not to mention it held more uses than a regular smithing shop.
Not only was it full to the brim with all kinds of weapons but also jewelry were present. Such a shop was clearly reserved for the upper echelon of society. Discarding her guise, her beauty radiated as she made her way there.
She didn't waste that much time as she bought the best weapons they had. She was more fluent and skilled with a longsword and shortly after, she bought the appropriate clothing for what she was ready to do.
Stepping out of the guild smith quarters, it seemed as if she was ready for war however she had her sights on something that was just as unforgiving, the unruly nature of the wild.
She had planned on going out and train herself considering that she had yet to unlock her special skill, she realized just how far down she was and how pampered she was when she was with her father.
Unmasking her tier four ranking, she made her way towards one of the most prominent and luxurious inns that were available. Her plan of informing the royal family of Rien was still on the table.
Her presence as soon as she set foot in the hotel demanded attention as a local servant made their way towards her. "Excuse me Miss? How may I be of any service to you?"
He asked curtly as he tried to gauge the background of her. At first glance, one may be able to ascertain that her background wasn't so simple. 'Maybe it is one of the nobles daughter?' He concluded.
"I'm looking for Queen Zenia." Her voiced was laced with authority that came off as domineering rather than respectful and there was a visible shift in the servants face.
"I'm so sorry however we cannot allow anyone to meet her in such a fashion. If you want to meet her then you will have to make an arrangement." Zarina wasn't pleased as she heard this.
She was running out of time to be dealing with such triviality thus she decided to make it quick. "Do you know who you are talking to?" The servant was growing weary with the more this conversation dragged on.
In his mind, he had already concluded that it was one of those spoilt nobles children simply looking to cause a scene. "Look, miss. I don't think that you should be able-"
"What is going on here?" Another voice intercepted which took the two by surprise. Looking at the source, it was a lady donned in black. Her clothes chic which brought out her light pink eyes along with her pink hair.
But of course Zarina had no way of knowing that it was Arabella. The servant was glad as he thought that she would teach her some manners. "Princess Zarina? I didn't think that I would get to see you."
Arabella walked over with a smile on her face as she greeted Zarina. Zarina was baffled with how she knew her however she saw this as her opportunity to get out of her situation.
'Princess Zarina?' The servant was confused as he heard this. "Is this servant bothering you?" She asked as her eyes landed on the servant who was visibly distressed in the situation he was in.
"Thank you Miss however I don't think that we have met." Zarina started off as a smile washed on her face. "Right. I am a fellow trader that happened to pass through Aurorise before it was attacked. I had heard a lot about your beauty however the rumors don't come close to the real thing."
Zarina was aware that such was a common thing as traders would ship their products from one kingdom to another. "I'm headed to the same floor as the royals, I could assist you."
Arabella had already booked a room thus she was about to check it out, making sure that it was in the same floor as the royals. What had been preventing them from completely buying the whole floor off was that they couldn't be as free as they were in Rien.
"That would be pleasant." Zarina expressed her gratitude as she followed Arabella. The two made their exit which gave the servant room to breathe. 'To think that I would run into Zarina like this.'
His mind was slightly wary should he face any consequences. Sure Zarina couldn't act on her own accord however that didn't mean that she was completely powerless to do anything to him.
As the two appeared on the last floor which happened to have a beautiful vantage point over the kingdom, Arabella expressed her luck as for running into her.
"To think that I would run into Zarina was something that I had never anticipated." She mused with a smile on her face. "Thank you for helping me there Miss..."
"Arabella." She finished off for Zarina as the two walked down the halls. "Wait, do you think that I could help you meet the royal family? But that is if you'd like."
Zarina found a request nothing out of the ordinary as she could feel a sense of excitement radiating from Arabella. 'For a merchant, she definitely has childish antics.'
She brushed it off as she let Arabella lead her to the room that they were. There weren't any other residents on this level as the fee for this level was shot up exponentially to deter any others from coming to this floor.
The fee was a staggering fifty gold quartz per night which was down right absurd!
*Knock-Knock-Knock*
Arabella knocked on the door and after waiting for a while, the door was finally open to reveal Vesper's figure which was rather perplexed with the faces that landed right outside of her room.
"Are you neighbors?" Her voice starting off as she glanced at the two. Even she was aware about the price thus to see someone actually capable of affording it was a shock to her.
Zarina stepped forward. "Well Miss Arabella is however I'm not. I'm Princess Zarina of Aurorise and I have important information to relay to your mother." Glancing at the two, it was clear that they had something more to them than just their looks.
"Very well..." Vesper welcomed them only for them to be greeted with a huge room that reeked with opulence however none of them were fazed by any of it.
For Zarina, such a sight was normal when she was at Aurorise as for Arabella, it came of as mundane or if not substandard to some extent given the tools and technology she had gotten accustomed to.
"Please take a seat as I fetch Zenia." Vesper's figure disappeared once more as the two were left to admire the room. "To think that I would be able to not only meet Princess Zarina but also Queen Zenia in the same day, truly my luck is turning up."
Zarina found her statement to be rather comical as she realized the news that she would be relaying to her. After a short while, Zenia appeared once more in rather casual clothes which the two overlooked as she was escorted by her two daughters.
She was skeptical at first however after her eyes landed on Zarina, she was rather baffled to meet her in such a place. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess Zarina."
She started off as her eyes scanned the two momentarily. "Thank you for having us, Queen Zenia." Zarina shot back as well. "My daughter told me that you had some important information to tell me however let's have some tea first."
Elexa stood up as she left the room before she appeared once more with a tray. A kettle, some cups and some sugar lumps. She put tea for everyone before taking a seat herself.
Arabella took the initiative as she placed three sugar cubes in tea making Zarina realize that she had a sweet tooth. Given how childish her demeanor would shift at times, she wasn't surprised by this. "Very well, let's get right into it."