AKARI

We left Lilith after we had our lunch, Layla dragging away a reluctant Damian who didn't want to leave. We've been traveling so far for four hours after that, and Kieran estimates we'll reach Rialta sometime after nightfall.

As we're traveling through a field by a riverbank, my communicator that Nikita and Kit designed for Aria members to keep in touch while on missions hums in my pocket. I make sure that I don't fall off the back of Kaito's horse as I search for the device in my pocket, pulling out the compass shaped item and flipping open the golden metallic lid with an Aria symbol on top to reveal an incoming transmission from Evory. Once I accept the transmission, a holographic video call of Evory in the medical room pops into the air a few inches above my communicator, a blue stream of light keeping it suspended in the air.

"Evory?" I ask loudly, the sound of stomping horse hooves making it slightly hard to hear. "What's going on?"

"Is Reverence with you?" Evory asks.

"No, why?" I furrow my eyebrows. "Is something wrong?"

"We were doing some research on Azuma's realm and we found out that there's an advanced medical practice somewhere in the upper part of a kingdom called Rialta," Evory says. "We think that if they see Reverence's case, they may be able to help him more than we ever could."

"We're on our way to Rialta right now, but Reverence isn't with us," I frown. "Reverence, Sora, Miroslava, Merrick, and Azuma went to visit Azuma's home kingdom to try and sort things out while we settle issues with Rialta."

"I believe Miroslava has a communicator with her," Evory sighs. "I'll call her and inform them as soon as possible. All of you stay safe, alright?"

"Of course," I nod. "See you later, Evory."

Evory signs off the call and I move back to putting both of my arms around Kaito's waist.

"Was that Evory?" Kaito asks. "I couldn't hear everything over the horses."

"It was," I nod. "She thinks there may be a way to help Reverence if we can get him to the upper part of Rialta. She's going to call Miroslava to tell them."

"That's great, but how long until we can get him there? They're probably not even in Harmony yet," Kaito says.

"I don't know," I sigh. "That's what I'm worried about, but at least there's something now."

"Yeah..." Kaito breathes out quietly, spurring his horse on faster as he notices we started slowly falling behind the others.

"Oh, Reverence..." I sigh quietly to myself, turning my gaze to the bright blue sky filled with wispy clouds, my eyes sad yet hopeful. "Please, be okay."

***

We reach the gates of Rialta just at dusk, the pink sky burning as the sun sets over the kingdom thats tall stone walls rest in snowy hills. As we approach the gates to the kingdom, guards move from their posts at the front metal gate to greet us, their lances and shields drawn as precaution.

"State your name and purpose of travel," one of the guards says, his icy blue eyes boring into Kieran's soul.

"My name is Kieran Beaumont, King of Ciarran. I have come to discuss diplomatic matters with the throne of Rialta."

The two guards exchange looks before they step aside and allow the gate to be opened, providing us passage into the kingdom. Unlike how Ciarran is fairly close together with lots of buildings and streets, Rialta consists of a pathway through rolling hills of snow, surrounded by snow capped mountains and small villages in different areas of the hills. In the mountains, a giant stone wall separates the lower half of Rialta from the upper portion, another gateway being guarded similarly like the entrance to Rialta.

Our horses slowly make their way down the road and I glance at the colorful banners that hang overhead in the village we pass through as they blow in the wind. I furrow my eyebrows in concern, noticing how there's no civilians to be seen, no life to be seen anywhere I look.

"Kieran...was it always this way here? So...quiet?" Layla asks warily.

"No," Kieran shakes his head, frowning. "It's nothing like it used to be. It's...disconcerting."

"It's freezing here," Damian shudders. "No wonder nobody ever comes outside."

"Yeah..." I breathe out. "Especially if the land froze over down here when it wasn't supposed to be like this. It's...eerie. If we hadn't seen the guards outside, I would have been fully convinced nobody lives here anymore."

We follow after Kieran to the upper portion of Rialta where the palace resides, surrounded by frozen water on all sides. Rialta's palace sits directly in the center of a lake, which has wooden bridges that connect from pieces of land in the water to the castle grounds. The water then runs around the back of the palace and falls down a cliff side where it falls down into the kingdom below. However, due to all of Rialta being frozen over, the area seems almost lifeless.

The wooden bridges creak as our horses walk across them, causing some of the horses to grow anxious. In fact, it almost makes me feel anxious as well. Something about the entire place seems too, well, cold.

Upon reaching the front gates, a tall man in grey dress slacks, black dress boots, and a black v-neck with a long white coat that has black fur around the sleeves and the hood steps out of the front gate, his unruly white hair falling just above his blue-grey eyes as he looks at us calculatingly. He raises his right arm and we steel ourselves as wind whips around him, a white circular glyph forming in front of his hand. Before we can react, however, the gates fly open again.

"Eirwen, stop!"

A short blue haired woman shoves into his side and knocks him off balance as she rushes out of the gate, his glyph dispersing into particles of magic as he stumbles. Once he regains his balance, Eirwen looks over at the woman with surprise in his eyes and slightly raised eyebrows.

"Forgive me, Amaya, but when I see the head of a snake approaching, I tend to see that as a threat," Eirwen says, his eyes flickering between us and the woman.

"I'm so sorry, King Kieran and company," Amaya sighs apologetically, her blue eyes anxious as she scans over us. "My brother wasn't aware we were receiving guests."

"Forgive me if this seems rude, but what about you?" Kieran asks. "How did you know we were coming and what our intentions were?"

"I didn't," Amaya smiles softly, "I simply had faith in your intentions once I was made aware of your presence. While that may seem foolish of me, I felt that it was worth the risk. Please, come inside."

Eirwen reluctantly steps aside to let us in the castle after we cross the final bridge, crossing his arms as he watches us dismount our horses. The six of us then follow Amaya into the entrance of the castle, to which we're met with glass floor tiles and tall blue walls. In the center of the entrance room, a stone fountain sits between two blue carpeted staircases. Potted plants sit on either side of the fountain by the staircases, and water runs in streams below the floor. Above the front entrance rests a diamond chandelier, and on both sides of the wall by the door are rows of family pictures.

Amaya leads us up the stair and out a set of doors to a balcony that overlooks the kingdom. On the balcony, there's a large glass table with eight wicker chairs, and there's bookshelves on both sides of the door to the balcony. There's also a potted plant beside each bookshelf in the corners of the balcony. The eight of us take seats at the table and I sit where I can see a clear overview of Rialta. Right now, Rialta almost looks peaceful as it's blanketed in night snow, but the fact that I know it isn't supposed to be that way at all and that it's practically deserted outside makes it eerie instead.

"Now, what have you come to discuss?" Amaya asks, seated at the end of the table across from Kieran, her hands clasped in front of her.

"To begin with, Ciarran would like to donate a major supply of powder kegs to Rialta in an attempt to help unfreeze the waters of Rialta," Kieran begins. "And, for clarification, the previous throne of Ciarran was being honest when they said we had no more powder. All of our previous barrels exploded, which caused our kingdom great damage. However, thanks to the help of these travelers, Ciarran was able to restore itself and obtain powder kegs."

"And by obtain, you mean you now magically own powder kegs once more after having been completely exhausted of them while dealing with a crisis that was partially caused by them," Eirwen scoffs. "Somehow, I don't think so."

"I have no reason to lie to you," Kieran shakes his head.

"Only the reason of saving your kingdom from our forces, only the reason of saving face, only the reason of fixing your damned reputation," Eirwin retorts.

"Could you elaborate on how Ciarran was restored?" Amaya asks.

"Unfortunately, the two who fully restored Ciarran are on their way to Harmony at the moment," Kieran winces slightly.

"So, you can't even offer us any proof?" Eirwin raises a brow. "You shouldn't have even come."

"If I may," Layla starts. "While it would greatly help to have the abilities of our companions to restore Rialta in a similar manner that they restored Ciarran, I believe I have another idea of how to restore Rialta with the powder kegs. If you don't believe us about Ciarran having been out of powder kegs, that's fine. Don't believe us, but at least give us a chance to help Rialta. We've come here with honest intentions. King Kieran didn't need to reach out to you, nor did he need to attempt to save face with you while your soldiers were mercilessly slaughtering his people. Instead, he could have chosen to keep fighting, to be angry and livid on behalf of his people, and while it may seem like a plea for mercy to ask for allegiance, it's simply a genuine attempt to mend what has been broken. Not just for the sake of the allegiance, but for the sake of your people."

"Layla..." I breathe out, impressed by her words.

"Who are you people?" Eirwin asks, taken aback.

Amaya's eyes flicker between Layla and Kieran before they settle on her brother and she sighs.

"I see..." Amaya says, leaning back in her chair. "Alright."

"Alright?!" Eirwin's head whips in his sister's direction. "Amaya, you can't be serious."

"Alright?" Kieran questions hopefully.

"Alright," Amaya nods. "We're not in a position to refuse any help. While I don't feel certain about your story, I do feel certain in your intentions. They come from a place of genuine kindness. I couldn't refuse that."

"Bullshit," Eirwin scowls, standing abruptly to his feet, his hands clenching at his sides. "Trusting the intentions of someone from Ciarran? Don't you remember–"

"Remember what, Eirwin?" Amaya frowns, standing as well. "Remember how your father treated our mother? You can't hold anything against the kingdom of Ciarran just because your father was an awful person who happened to be from Ciarran. That's unfair to the people of Ciarran. By no means am I saying that you should forgive your father for what he did, but you shouldn't hold anything against Ciarran."

Suddenly, like a vacuum, the air seems to be sucked out of the surrounding area. The hollow silence that follows after Amaya's words is almost deafening, and I find myself wanting to stare at anywhere but the two of them. Yet, somehow, I can't take my gaze away. Eirwin stares at his sister with an unreadable expression before he slowly opens his clenched hands. His fingers twitch restlessly at his side and he lowers his gaze.

"Do what you will," Eirwin says quietly, turning on his heel to exit back into the palace, his coat flowing behind him.

"I'm sorry about that, everyone. Could somebody, um..." Amaya clears her throat, keeping her gaze directed at the floor in front of her.

"I'll go check on him," I offer, standing up.

"Thank you," Amaya nods gratefully, her eyes flickering up quickly to meet mine as she offers a sad smile. "I'm afraid I may have went too far this time, but he wouldn't listen, so I..."

"Thank you, Amaya," Kieran says, genuine warmth lacing in his voice, "for giving Ciarran a chance, for giving me a chance, and for giving all of us a chance. I know it wasn't easy, for a multitude of reasons."

"I just hope it was worth it," Amaya says quietly, and I almost miss her solemn words as I'm heading out of the room.