The Pagemasters Vol 2 Chapter 6
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Author: Literataku
Chapter 6:
To Close The Loneliness
We exchanged our information with Master before retiring to bed. For the most, we had all found out relatively the same information, pirates, potential invasion from some muscle headed, battle-freak noble, the prophecy of the Dark Queen’s curse and my arrival that will set the kingdom ablaze. I know that a lot of games make everything harder after the tutorial stage but… Come on!
It was decided that in the morning the three of us would go our separate ways for reconnaissance. Red was the Hero and our trump card so he would work on investigating things as he had promised the king. Master would head out of the Royal City and get a more accurate picture of the Noble’s forces and see if an impending battle was going to start on that side of the kingdom.
I was jumping across the rooftops in cat form, possibly holding the most dangerous task out of the three, and making my way toward the inner city and the castle proper. Minus the additional problems that were stacking up around this story we still needed to make sure that the baby Sleeping Beauty was properly written into Story Magic as Sleeping Beauty. A task that while I had said we could probably leave to Vi, Master wanted me to find out about the fairies and make sure they wouldn’t interfere again. Peter Pan was a contact and aid of theirs and if they used him again it could create a lot of problems.
I didn’t entirely mind since I was able to get a lot of wind practice. Leaping across rooftops, learning how to control my jumps and boosts. The tiles were fun to leap off from and land on. Not too slippery but enough give under my paws to increase the excitement. I could feel like a secret assassin… A four-legged assassin that probably couldn’t kill anyone.
Thankfully, I didn’t run into any other animals along my rooftop run. I could smell some other creatures who used the rooftops, and an occasional person but they had long past before me or possibly hiding themselves better than I could detect. Which suited me fine since I was probably risking getting spotted from below if someone took the right moment to look up and see my cat Parkour rooftop running.
Occasionally I stopped, looking over the side of one of the buildings to see the city folk below. It was almost like looking out my office window back home. Watching the hustle and bustle of the people catching the smells from some, already starting to prepare their wares for the lunch hour. It was nice to have this different viewpoint across the way.
Reaching the inner wall created a different challenge, now I had to drop down to get past. There were guards stationed on top of the wall and I wasn’t about to risk jumping that high. And I had been enjoying the feel of not being watched. While we still had no clue what was behind it, it only seemed to be on the ground level.
Making my way down one particularly slanted rooftop I looked for a good dismounting spot, catching sight of the porch roof just across from me. The wood looked a bit old but as long as I aimed properly… Coiling up and putting just a small bit of power into my paws I made the leap.
CRUNCH! CLATTER! SMASH! Tinkle tinkle tinkle…
Whoops…
“Stupid cat! Get out of my wares!”
I had crashed through the roof and landed in the middle of a table full of pottery and potted wares. The large woman who I guessed was the shopkeeper started screaming and cursing at me. I ducked as the cranky shopkeeper swung her broom in my direction watching her send more pieces flying as she cleared the table trying to hit me. Things breaking and shattering across the ground, sending her shrieks into a higher pitch with each breaking sound. Lady, did you ever think about opera singing?
“Begone! Out! Out! Putain de chat! Bête sale! Sentir la merde!”
She lunges at me using the broom like a spear as I jump and get out of the way. I’ll take that as I no then. Once I landed on the ground I took off running for the gateway as fast as I could. She didn’t give chase, thankfully, just staying by her shop screaming obscene language hot enough to make the guards look uncomfortable as I ran past.
It was nice, no one tried to stop me again, the inner city once again feeling like a different world with how empty it felt walking down the main road. I had hoped the feeling of being watched would decrease this time but for some reason, it felt like it was getting worse. I looked around, my ears flicking in directions trying to get some hint of noise to catch who was following me or why I was being spied on.
I took off suddenly and ran down a side street, zig-zagging my way along, ducking through alleys; jumping atop fortified walls, trying to see if the spying feeling would disappear. I couldn’t sense any change at all when I landed in some noble’s garden slipping behind a pair of bushes and waiting for a few minutes.
Fortunately, the castle was easy enough to find and I had |{Guide}| now if I needed help getting someplace. Master was somewhat impressed I had managed to learn the spell so quickly, he also told me to stop spamming him with messages unless it was an emergency. I’m just glad he was more impressed with my increasing skill than annoyed.
Sitting quietly I waited a few more minutes wishing that this feeling would fade, I guess I need a spell to get rid of it, instead. Since there seemed to be no reason to stay hiding I prepared to jump back over the wall and continue when I heard voices coming from the other side of the hedge. Stopping, I turned back and started peering through the bushes to see who had shown themselves.
“Girls, Girls! We need to calm ourselves down. Everything is still going to plan, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Dressilina. But, with that pirate escaping Neverland? Are we certain that this is what was intended?”
If I had eyebrows they would be flying off my head right now. Glimpses of a rainbow of colored lights floating in the air, nine different colored tiny creatures landing on a nearby table in a neat little circle. Fairies! I had stumbled onto a fairy meeting. Tilting my ears forward trying to pick up as much of their conversation as I could.
“Mayweather. We were told this plan was how things needed to be. If that Pirate Captain is loose there is a point to it and we have to trust in what that person told us. Evils let loose to prepare to lead and bring out the greater good.”
Dressilina appeared to be the red fairy talking, I could see a slight sway of her flight while she talked among the others who listened. The green one flutters in a slightly annoyed fashion, speaking out again, Mayweather I guess.
“The Greater good… If what we were told is true, that greater good destroyed everything over and over. We’re putting our existence on the line, Drissillina! And all for some unproven hope.”
“I feel sorry for the young Pagemaster. Even if he is older than he looks. Such a burden placed on him and now he thinks we are his enemies..”
The pink one spoke out quietly, the others all flickering with surprise. I only caught it because of my cat hearing. What the hell was this? Is this all just an act? Am I being played or is the Story Magic throwing me a bone?
“Hmph. Feeling sorry for what he’s done, Happenstance? If he ruins Princess Zellandine’s christening I’ll show him the Dark Queen isn’t the only one capable of deadly curses.”
“Mayweather! Stop throwing your fists around like that! Behave properly.”
I watched the green fairy dance around the table for a second, looking like she was ready for a fistfight when the red one admonished her again. She stopped moving and glowed apologetically. What that looks like, I can’t describe.
“The real question is what should we do with the Violet one?” Ironically this question is being asked by the violet-colored fairy, her voice the quietest out of the group I barely made it out.
“Nothing, Loreginia, unless she attempts to interfere. I think she is more worried about the PIrate Captain since he is looking out for her companion.” Dressilina answered.
“And since he hasn’t been seen hopefully he’ll be smart and not come here at all.”
“Mayweather give everyone else a turn to speak. No more side quips from you.”
“Yes, Dressilina. My apologies.”
“Anyone else have concerns or questions?”
Silence. A couple of the quiet ones shifting as if they were about to speak but deciding not to. Dressilina floating up a little higher than the others as she cleared her throat.
“Tomorrow is the christening, so we just need to watch the Pirate and that red hero. There is some strange magic coming from him. Once that is over then we can relax and return our focus on the rest of the plan. Mayweather, tomorrow you will go last.”
“I wanted to give her beauty…”
“Then you should learn how to conduct yourself like a proper fairy. If no one has further comments, everyone is dismissed.”
Watching them all fly away I stayed hidden in the bushes a little longer, the feeling of being watched still tingling along my back, but it was unchanged. Taking a deep breath I turned back to the wall and hopped up and over. Getting back on my original route to the castle. Mulling over what I had just heard and trying to decide who to tell first on the way. You just couldn’t help making things more complicated, could you? Anything el- Nope I’m not doing that again!
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