Part I, Chapter II ~☆~ Dahlia paced back and forth, while her good friend, and super-strong coworker, Fabian assured her that her worries were unnecessary, that Severin and Enrique were just fine, and were only taking a bit longer than expected. "But what if they aren't fine, Fabian? What if they're in danger? What if one of them got hurt?" Dahlia fretted, her wavy, white, heavenly dress fluttering with each step she took. "Should I check in on them?" Dahlia was like Severin and the rest of her coworkers- she was blessed with a Gift, magic bestowed onto humanity by some unknown higher power. She had the Gift of clairvoyance, and could perform sensory scrying- a method of seeing the world through another's eyes- anytime she wished with her Gift. "You worry more than my mother! And THAT'S saying something!" Fabian joked. "But, seriously, I'm sure the boys are alr-" Fabian was interrupted by the front door being flung open, and Enrique and Severin entering the room. "Oh my God! Severin! Y-Your arm!" Dahlia gasped, rushing over to try to inspect Severin's wound. He let her, thankfully. She grabbed bandages, wrapping them around Severin's arm. Rique laughed nervously, his voice cracking a bit. "Well, at least we got the map of Aquarion," he said, smiling. "Oh, we did? Good job, boys!" Dahlia smiled at Rique, and beamed at Severin. "Now all we need are the maps of Terrarin and Magmaria, and our collection will be complete!" She said, cheerily. "Yes, soon we'll be able to put our plan into action," Severin started, then continued. "We have Aquarion, Galela, Elecario, and an expert on Lumina- me, of course- so far. We'll be able to acquire some of the Republic's artifacts they stole from the rightful owners, which are indigenous peoples from uncharted lands of Petriac, from each Guild palace." Enrique nodded, then reviewed the locations. "Guild Mvura in Aquarion, Guild Anemo in Galela, Guild Lyn in Elecario, Guild Lux in Lumina, Guild Terra in Terrarin, and Guild Kaino in Magmaria. The perfectly balanced six Guilds of Petriac- the Republic." "But, recently, of course, the Republic has gone corrupt under Tyrak's rule," Amelia, the weapons expert and pyrotechnic, piped up. Dahlia turned to her, surprised that an 11 year old knew of government corruption. "Amelia is right. We need to retake the Republic, by taking the items they stole. Then, we need to find some kind of game changing object, which I believe the map to this object could be hidden in any hollow artifact- my suspicions of this artifact's location is Guild Mvura's palace." Severin said, thinking up a plan. "Those vagrants have always been selfish ones, haven't they?" Fabian bellowed, chuckling. "Especially that Lucien kid! Hoo boy!" Fabian was practically cry-laughing at this point. "Wait. Where's Étienne?" Dahlia said, concerned. Nobody answered. "I'll check in on him. Fabian, fetch me my sage and cloves. Enrique, light the candles. And I'll get one of Étienne's belongings." Dahlia gracefully walked into Étienne's living space, smiling at all his instruments hanging on the walls, the messy home-made music sheets scattered all over the floor, and his healthy, beautiful plants growing all over the place. She especially adored his azalea plants, in all their elegant beauty. She loved the magenta ones especially- after all, her favorite color was a deep, gorgeous magenta. Dahlia walked over to Étienne's wall, grabbing his flute. She then turned, leaving his room. "Hope you don't mind that I'm using this," Dahlia whispered, as if Étienne would hear her. She'd always liked Étienne. And not just as a friend- as a plus-one, her friends in Jean-Lucé, in Dahlia's opinion, the fanciest, most prestigious city in all of Petriac, would always say. "Oh, Ettie, please come back soon," Dahlia whispered. "I got his lute," Dahlia said, emerging into the main room where everyone else was. "His favorite instrument. This should strengthen the bond of my psychic link with him." "Good, good, now check where he is." Severin said. Dahlia set up the scrying on the table, and proceeded to look through Étienne's eyes. Dahlia gasped. Étienne was a captive! [to be continued in chapter 3]
