What beautiful flowers. The roses were ripe and red, the weeds and dandelions sprinkled all throughout her lush garden. The daisies and anemones were blooming, the vines of wisteria were twirling and choking the trees that were still big and strong regardless. Her garden was endless, ever expansive, and stretched for miles. She allowed nature to take its course while she planted the seeds and guided the prosperity as if the garden were her child, and she greeted the animals who came by with dignity and familiarity. She was one with nature, the bow on her back and spellbook in her hand weapons to help her survive. Her hair was the same brown as the giant oaks, tangled and messy after days of neglect. Her eyes were a bright, shining blue, the same color as bright noon skies while the sun shone high in the air. Her skin was fair yet calloused, with bruises and dirt covering her from head to toe. Some considered her to be the closest thing you could be to a princess without actually being one, but she had always rejected her noble roots in preference for the lush forests that surrounded her. Her uncle, King Cadence Canasettia of the planet Salaven, gave her access to whatever land she wanted to use, and would often visit her and take home flowers for his wife and daughter’s graves. Or, she should say his son's grave now. After Arcadia’s death, Cadence finally began to see him for the son he had always been.

  But to her, it was far too late for that. She didn’t think it was good to only believe what your child had been telling you after they'd died because of your failings as a parent. Arcadia had told his father for decades and decades that he was a man, but Cadence had ignored his every plea, his every begging word and cry for himself to be seen and accepted by the only parent he had left alive. It was only after his son’s death did Cadence realize that he should have listened, and mourned the son he had never decided to acknowledge before. But no, to her, it was far too late for that. He should have accepted his child long before he turned to suicide, even if she’d known all along that Arcadia’s death had only been faked.

  Though, she was impressed with how her uncle had handled learning his son was still alive, the reveal having happened not even a week ago. At first, when Kallan Sanguin had handed over that mysterious book they’d found in the villains’ lair and admitted what he knew about Arcadia, she was so certain he was about to be hanged. But then Adona stepped forward, another one of Cadence’s three personal guards, and admitted that she’d known Arcadia was alive as well. And then Seffi, Cadence’s most esteemed and respected oracle, stood forward and admitted to also having known the truth all along. So of course she, too, stood forward and admitted that Arcadia had actually come to visit her several times, and that they still had a close relationship even now. Because she was no coward, and if her uncle felt like hanging two of his most trusted soldiers, his prized oracle, as well as his niece, then so be it. But he wasn't that kind of man. In the end, he’d been forced to accept the truth of what happened and why the four of them had not told him, and they were all pardoned.

  She’d mostly done it to protect Kal. He was the one who’d stepped forward and decided the King needed to know, a very admirable decision, considering he’d been keeping the weight of that secret for over four hundred years. And she’d seen the utter hopelessness in his eyes when he’d told King Cadence the truth, like he really was expecting to be killed, and like he really didn’t care either way. After all, Kal never had valued his own life, and she didn’t like to see that. That’s why she’d stepped forward after Adona and Seffi, to prove to her uncle that Kallan was not the one who should be faced with his anger. The king had no one to blame but himself for his only son faking his death, and she had made sure to say so. She wasn’t afraid of him.

  Though, when she suddenly felt the familiar cold aura fill up space in her garden, she didn’t even turn around from where she was tending to her fresh blooms as three people walked into her space. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear… is that not what people always said?

  “Artemis,” came Kallan’s smooth voice, self-assured and almost haughty as he stepped through his portal of swirling shadows. He seemed almost sly, and the woman could clearly imagine the smirk on his pale face as he addressed her bluntly, “May I ask you for a favor?”

  “Oh, the playboy wants to ask me for a favor? I’m terrified of what that entails,” she responded lazily, not even turning around from her garden as she placed her spellbook on the ground, continuing to bless their roots and stems with the spell of nurturing so that her flowers and trees would grow big and strong. Though her spells often wore off after around a month, so she would eventually need to redo them.

  But Kal just laughed at her, hands on his hips as Lavimo and Haven both stood there rather awkwardly beside him. “Oh, c’mon, you make me sound bad. You know I’d never ask my underlings or superiors for any sexual favors, that’s just poor work ethic. I’d rather pick a pretty lady up at the bar. Not that you aren’t pretty, Artemis. You’re very stunning, of course,” he teased, the woman smiling a bit as she lifted her chin.

  “You’re right, I am stunning. It’s too bad for you I don’t swing that way. You got any sweet girls you could hook me up with?”

  “You should come with me to the bar, sometime, Artemis. There’s plenty of nice ladies there I’m sure you’d like. They’re all very friendly.”

  “That’s all well and good, but I don’t like alcohol.”

  “Then don’t drink? You’re the type of person who can act drunk when you get hyper enough anyways, even if you’re completely sober. It shouldn’t matter much.”

  “You know what, you’re right. Invite me next time you go. I’ll snag more pretty ladies than you, I bet.”

  “Well fine, that leaves more men for me. Best of both worlds, don’t you think?”

  “Greedy ass bastard.”

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  “I get that a lot,” Kal grinned, before Artemis finally stood up and wiped the dirt off her hands onto her pants, carefully glancing over the two people the man had brought with him.

  She hadn’t realized they were there before, both of them had been so quiet. But after getting a good look, she recognized one as Lavimo, the only remaining prince of Viscendant. Osiris could be considered a prince in some cases, but since he’d been adopted into the family, he’d never been in the line of succession. Lavimo was the only one left who carried his family’s bloodline. Though she didn’t recognize the person beside him… a small-statured person that barely reached the top of her shoulders, and Artemis wasn’t very tall in the first place. They looked extremely petit with their soft pink hair and big mint-toned eyes, and also somewhat fragile, like a porcelain doll. She thought they looked adorable. “Well, how can I help you three? You needed me for something?” she prompted, reversing gravity for her spellbook so that it fell right into her hands, Lavimo watching it with wide eyes as she shot him a smile. What a cute kid. She’d always thought Lavimo would make a great little brother.

  But Kal was, as always, cruel. Sometimes Artemis suspected he was a sadist, and times like these only helped her prove that point when he laid a hand on Lavimo’s shoulder and pushed him forward, the young man staring at him wildly. “Go on. You tell her what you need done,” Kal prompted with a wry smile, blood red eyes gleaming against Lavimo’s amber hues. “You’re the one who decided to hide evidence to do everything on your own, so clearly you must know what you’re doing. I’ll let you take the lead for right now. Show me what you can get done.”

  “Um! Okay!” Lavimo exclaimed, stumbling further forward against Kal’s push as he wobbled right in front of Artemis, the woman giving him a sympathetic expression as she cursed Kallan’s tough teaching approach. But… wow. The moment she started listening to Lavimo talk was the moment she felt she’d never put so much knowledge into her brain all at once before this very moment. Like someone had flipped an automatic switch in his mind, he started explaining detail for detail about what had happened in the lab, what the book had said nearly phrase for phrase, the evidence he’d found and hid, as well as what he and Haven had figured out about it. So many facts on the dimension of Oacabi slipped out of his mouth, as well as all kinds of theories about where the seashells might be from and what significance they must have, as well as possibly being able to trace the seal they’d found on the cages to any of these locations. It left Artemis wondering… was this man a book? Was he a dictionary? How could he have so much memorized? She was incredulous, and almost overwhelmed. And when Lavimo finished his bright rambling, Artemis could only stare at him as he announced innocently, “And that’s all, which is why we need your concept of spellcasting to hopefully track down where those seashells I told you about came from. Do you think you can do it?”

  Though, it was a bit silent as Artemis attempted to articulate that in her mind, Kallan throwing his face into his hand as he tiredly groaned. “See, you already failed step one. You need to make your explanations short and concise. You don’t need to ramble about Oacabi and all of its planets.”

  “I disagree,” Haven piped up, smiling fondly at Lavimo as they gave Kal a look of confidence. “I like it when he rambles. He’s so smart, so I don’t see why he should try and dumb himself down for anyone. If you don’t understand, that’s your own problem, not his. Maybe you should try reading a book.”

  “Um? Kid, do you know who you’re talking to?” Kal frowned, Haven shrugging carelessly as they moved to step beside Lavimo, setting a firm hand on his back as they rubbed it affectionately.

  “Don’t listen to them, Lavimo. I think everything you said was brilliant.”

  “Oh… thanks, I think,” the man blinked, a bit conflicted on who he should be listening to as Kal glared at Haven like they were some pest.

  But Artemis had more or less gotten the gist of things. That had been a lot of information to take in all at once, and honestly, half of it had already been forgotten… as she was fairly certain she didn’t need to know the difference between types of water that were on Trivanma and Pearalis, and how that might affect how seashells were made… all she needed to do was track it using her spellbook, so that didn’t really matter.

  “Whatever! I understand what you need me to do, so just leave it to me!” she announced firmly, opening her spellbook cleanly with one hand as the pages began to flip to the exact one she needed. “Gimme those seashells!”

  “Oh, alright, here you are. Thank you, ma'am,” Lavimo answered politely, digging into his trusty satchel to pull out the small see-through pouch, and Artemis carefully took it and shook out one of the shells to be placed right on top of the book’s vibrating pages.

  “Here we go. This is my tracking spell, so we can follow this seashell to wherever it leads us. Kal, we’re gonna need your portals for this,” she instructed, the man clicking his tongue as he obediently opened a hole of swirling shadows.

  “Here. Directly to Pearalis.”

  “Good, thanks,” Artemis agreed, before the seashell carefully began floating off the book the moment her concept seeped into it. Though it merely stayed in its place, shaking and trembling as it didn’t move from its position, which led the woman to tap at her book again. “Okay, let’s try Trivanma next. Do that one, Kal.”

  “Please, Kal, please open the portal to Trivanma for me, thank you so much, you’re such a great guy,” the pale man huffed, sarcasm ebbing through his words while he emphasized his pleases, his shadows carefully beginning to shift in front of them, their destination beyond the flurry of darkness swirling behind the portal. But then the seashell suddenly took off, Artemis quickly dashing after it as she headed into the fray of darkness.

  “Alright! The villain wants to meet us at Trivanma! Let’s go!”

  “Huh? You’re coming with us?” Kal glowered, but Lavimo and Haven were already following her through as the black-haired general gave an aggravated groan. If Artemis got killed out there, King Cadence would have a fit, and then Kal really would get killed. Why must these people make his life so difficult? But at least Artemis was skilled. She did have the concept of spellcasting and the concept of gravity to use and aid her, so she wasn’t helpless by any means. Still, he figured he’d be the main voice of reason this group had to offer, walking right into the villain’s space with a setting that was most certainly a trap, which meant it was time to be serious. And suddenly, Kal was on the job, his decisiveness and proactivity increasing exponentially as he stepped through his own portal, right onto the shores of the planet Trivanma. No matter what trap they got themselves into, he wouldn’t let any of these people die. He was the oldest and most experienced here, so he would take charge and make sure these people made it out alive, as they were more important than himself. As for what they found out on this plane, or what they might lose… he had no way of predicting.