"Alright then, we will go pay this witch a visit in the morning and see if she can help us find our missing guardian," She conceded, before yawning as she picked up her spoon. 'But first', she thought, 'I'm long overdue for a warm meal and a nice long rest.'

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"You snore like a dragon in a hollow log."

Wren scoffed at the ever so blunt comment as he shouldered his bag, still looking sore about being rudely woken up from his dreams, again. This was the first time in many days that the two had been able to sleep in proper beds, so it wouldn't come as a surprise that the pair had overslept until almost midday. Between being so far from home for the first time in their lives, the modest state of the cabins on the ship, and the weight of their journey crashing down on them, their sea fare had not been without its fair share of obstacles. This held true for Celina especially, who had refused to come out of her cabin for the entire length of their trip, claiming she had important details to figure out about their quest, while in truth the thought that she was no longer on solid ground left her restless at night. The day they had stepped foot in Xiopia, they had let themselves be distracted by the novelty and wonders hidden beyond the shores of their own kingdom. But now, as the sun reached it's summit in the sky, the pair set out onto the busy streets in search of their mysterious witch.

"Firstly, I don't snore. And second, how would you know what a sleeping dragon sounds like?"

Most of their walk to the witch's shop passed with the two pointlessly bantering, the occasional stops to admire the city's many technological advancements, and of course to ask for directions whenever they got lost. And it wasn't long before they had to stop once more.

- Where are you going? That woman said that we should keep heading straight.

- The map, and the man before both stated that we need to take a turn here.

- We already took the turn. Are you sure you're reading the map correctly?

- Yes of course I am. I know what I am doing, thank you very much.

- Uhuh. Here, let me see.

Celina groaned in frustration as Wren snatched the map from her, examining the scribbles on it as he looked around, perhaps looking for a landmark. Though she wasn't sure what the boy expected to recognize since their map was, well, like a mosaic of children's mud drawings scribbled on by every person they had talked to thus far. She tapped her foot impatiently, glancing back and forth between Wren and the bustling sea of people, waiting for him to finish and realize that she was right so that they could be on their way once more.

- Have you realized the error of your ways yet?

- No, I know I'm right. It's just that uh let's just say some of these scribbles and drawings leave a lot to be desired.

Celina scoffed, on that they could both agree on. The girl resumed her impatient watch, only for her attention to be caught by a cloaked figure weaving their way through the crowd in a fury, as if their life depended on it. And perhaps it did, as a few men gave chase to the figure, shouting all the meanwhile. She couldn't make out much, apart from the fact that the men seemed to be wearing a matching uniform and holding staffs of some kind. Turning back to the figure, Celina froze. For a very brief moment, the cloaked figure had stopped and seemed to have been looking directly at her. There was also an intensity in the stranger's gaze that she couldn't quite place. Was that even possible? No, it couldn't be, could it? It had to be her imagination. After all, she didn't know anyone in Xiopia, so it was unlikely anyone knew her, right? Right. She shook her head to still her thoughts, but before she had the chance to find the stranger once more, her vision was clouded by a giant hand in her face.

- Celina? Celiina. Are you still with me? What are you looking at?

She groaned, swatting Wren's hand away as she pointed her finger in the direction of the crowd. "Over there, something strange I think you should see-" She stopped at his confused expression, glancing back at the scene. Both the figure and the men were gone, having left no trace that they ever were there, apart from shouting in the distance. "...Never mind. Did you figure out which way to go?"

Wren briefly furrowed his eyebrows at her behavior, but it was soon replaced by a grin as he shrugged it off. "Right. Well like I told you, I was right. Just follow me and try not to get lost." He replied, leading the way through a busy cobblestone street.

They had barely made it to the mouth of the street when someone bumped into Celina so hard, that had it not been for Wren's quick reflex grabbing her arm, would have made her stumble straight into a merchant's stand.

- Watch where you go-

- I need your help quickly, please! They're after me!

Celina stopped for a moment, regarding her assailant. She recognized them as the same cloaked figure as before, but now she could clearly see their face. It was a girl barely older than the two, with chopped hair as if she had just cut it with an axe, and shining amber eyes. She was surprised to see they weren't the same intense eyes that had stared at her earlier, but the pleading ones of a scared girl.

Wren was the first to react. "What's wrong? Who's after you?"

The girl pointed at a group of men further down the street. Celina recognized them as the same group that were chasing the girl earlier. One of them seemed in conversation with a passerby, no doubt asking about where the girl was, while the other two stood guard, combing the street with their gaze.

"Who are they?"

The girl paused for a moment, looking at the pair of travelers, before responding. "Bad men. They're going to hurt me, please, help me out of here."

Wren gave Celina a determined look, which she knew by now meant that he was going to help the girl, and she couldn't stop him. She sighed, before nodding at him. Their quest could wait, this girl seemed like she was in trouble. This made Wren smile as he turned back to the girl. "Alright you got it, we'll make sure you get out safely."

The girl beamed at him, enveloping his hand in both of hers and holding it up gratefully. "Really? Thank you so much!"

"Uh, yeah, don't mention it..."

Celina rolled her eyes at his embarrassed face, before ushering the two to follow her. "Let's just get out of here before they spot you-"

"I see them!"

The girl took a few steps back as the crowd parted quickly to let the men through. Out of the corner of her eyes, the Cresselian could also see a few of the merchants closest to the men packing a few of their merchandise to keep them out of harm's way, but paid no heed to them otherwise and went back to business as usual.

"Come out before the consequences get worse, girl."

Celina's hands reflexively went to the bow and quiver strapped to her back, her fists clenched around them as Wren stood in front of the girl protectively, "leave her alone."

One of the men gave them a look, as if just noticing them. "You don't need to get yourselves mixed up in this boy, now step aside and let us take her."

Despite herself, Celina spoke up too, tightening her grip on her weapons. "What gives you the right to torment a poor helpless girl?"

"Helpless? Clearly this one has fed you some lies to fool you. You don't know what she's capable of." The tip of the men's staffs began crackling with lightning, that was never a good sign.

"And you don't know what we are capable of." Before she knew it, Celina had fired a few arrows at them, taking the opportunity that they were busy blocking them to sprint forward to knock another arrow at a curtain hanging on a balcony above. It began to fall, only to get stuck on a ledge. She muttered a string of curses, before calling out to her companion. "Caster!" She nodded at the curtain, and luckily, after a moment of confusion, he understood and sped towards it.

She prepared to fire another arrow, only for lightning to strike her bow out of her hands. Celina barely had the time to jump back and react before the men were on her, restraining her before she could retrieve her bow. "I think that's enough."

The girl struggled in their grip, before going perfectly still just in time to get a glimpse of Wren's plan in action. To anyone else, it seemed as though the boy had found a rock and had made an extremely lucky throw at the curtain, but she knew better. There was no doubt that he had used his powers to make sure the rock hit the target with the right amount of force, making the curtain fall down on the men.

Celina used their confusion to slip out of her captor's grip, scampering out from under the curtain as Wren helped her up with a grin. "How's that for our first adventure in another kingdom?"

She couldn't help but smile, dusting herself off. "Let's just get out of here before we get banned from Xiopia for good." She turned to where they had left the girl, only for her smile to fade. She was nowhere in sight. "Where did she go?"

Wren looked equally as confused. "Uh, I have noidea. Wasn't she just there a second ago?" He patted his pockets, only for hisfrown to deepen, before giving her a helpless look. "We may have another problem...themap isn't there anymore." 

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A/N: I literally have no excuse for disappearing off the face of the earth for a year except that studies are hard. And as an apology gift, I left you on another cliffhanger...but hey, at least there are new characters? And the next chapter will come around much faster than half a year (Wow, what a consolation, I know). I hope you are all safe and well!