Fantasy The Trial of the Seven Kingdoms [AnimeGenork & Spots]

[AnimeGenork]

Azalea

Azalea was still convinced this wasn't a good idea.

Even though it'd barely been a week since she and her twin sister had left home, it felt like this "mission" they'd decided to endeavor on to find their mother was going to take forever. Azalea was perfectly fine with diving in and just hoping they'd reach their various destinations, but Magnolia thought they should ask for directions. In a tavern, no less.

She didn't want to go inside, especially since somebody needed to watch the horse and supplies, but she also didn't want to leave Magnolia alone. Damn, being a twin was hard.

"Will you be alright by yourself?" she finally asked her sister, resting her hand on their horse's neck. A parting gift from their father, the horse nickered and stared at the sisters with its large brown eyes. "If you think you'll get into trouble, I should go, too. But we'd have to bring our things so nobody steals them."

Staring up at the tavern's worn and cracked sign, Azalea wondered what kind of people hung around this place. It wasn't the seediest tavern, but it wasn't exactly a picture of health either. Were they going to be okay here?

Azalea glanced over at her sister again. "Are you sure we even need directions in the first place?"

Stitches and Patchwork​

 

[Stitches and Patchwork]

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Magnolia
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Upon hearing her sister’s objections, a small sigh escaped the lips of the green eyed blonde as she turned her gaze from the tavern after a few minutes of giving it a nervous stare. “Yes Azalea. We do need directions. It will make this journey much easier if we followed something other than... this,” She proclaimed to her sister as she looked down at the leather bound journal in her hands. One of the only pieces that have left of their mother alongside the lute which hung fro her back and their guide gifted to them by their father. Unfortunately, unlike the polished and well kept lute, the journal was disorganized, filled with messily inscribed notes and vague notions. This was especially evident with the map terribly drawn on one of its crumpled pages, simply showing the land, divided into its various kingdoms as indicated by the sharply penned boundaries between them and the usage of colored pens to differentiate each kingdom, each kingdom surrounded by scribbles that could be read as confusing clues. But other than that, there was nothing. No pathways or roads. Not even an indication of where they were which honestly was worrying. They could be traveling in circles for days without knowing it without a proper guide. Thus leading to their situation here. Standing in front of a rotting and rather sketchy looking building where cries, cheers, and shouts came from known as a tavern.

"Besides it's... a tavern. I can handle it," Maganolia assured her sister as she closed the journal, placing it back into the satchel she wore at her side, as she returned to staring at the building, prepping herself. An activity that she had been doing for the past five minutes now. Nonetheless, she attempted not to spend the minutes in vain, as she finally took a step forward towards the tavern. And another. And another. However, with every step, paranoia strengthened its grasp on her. Thoughts raced into her head. About what could go wrong. About every detail of the building that seem to be unsettling. Simply all the negative possibilities. Until she stood tensely at the door, remaining an unmoving still figure, panic evident in her eyes. It seemed as though she was going to require a few more minutes to quell her panic.​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Azalea

Although she knew that their mother's journal wasn't much help, Azalea still wasn't a fan of asking strangers for directions. Would it have killed their mother to put a map of these places that was already drawn? Either way, she still felt uneasy about letting Magnolia by herself, so she gave her sister a few minutes to work up her courage.

However, after the allotted few minutes, Magnolia had barely made it inside, and was just standing there in the doorway. Azalea sighed and tied off their horse and double knotted their belongings before going to join her twin. "C'mon, get in there," she insisted, pushing her sister gently from behind. Stepping around her twin, she saw a less imposing figure than the others by the bar and chose to start there. Keeping a close eye on her, she walked over to the gentleman, who had a similar look on his face as she often found when she looked in the mirror.

"Excuse me, my sister and I are lost," she said, hopefully loud enough to hear over the other tavern patrons. "Would you mind telling us if we're going in the right direction?" She beckoned her sister over; she had their "map," after all.

Stitches and Patchwork​

 

[Stitches and Patchwork]

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Magnolia
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Before Magnolia knew it, she was paralyzed at the door, her hand frozen at her side despite her best attempts to lift it. Her smile, despite being initially confident, became more and more strained by the minute as paranoia now flooded her veins and all the possibilities filled her mind to the brim at a frantic pace.

Thankfully for her sister, this distracted Magnolia from Azalea as she tied their stuff, only perking up when she heard footsteps approaching her. But by the time that she turned, Azalea was already right behind her, gently pushing her in through the wooden doors of the tavern. Magnolia widened her eyes, stumbling forward as she released a small yelp. She managed to catch her balance however, her arms instinctively stretching outward to her side. They quickly fell back to her side stiffly as she straightened up, glancing around the tavern she had imagined to be a haven for havoc and chaos.

Already, she felt eyes piercing her, some of the tougher looking patrons who happened to be sitting near her having their attention attracted to the two girls by their yelp. A nervous chuckle escaped Magnolia's lips as she gave them a forced grin and wave, hoping the friendly gesture would allow them to simply pass by. That said, Magnolia turned to already see that Azalea was already walking off towards another of the patrons.

Right... she pushed her in. After she failed to enter herself. Magnolia felt her gut twist from the thought, embarrassed from the thought, as her nervous smile faded as she looked down, ashamed and frustrated with herself for being unable to perform that herself despite being so confident. Frustrated and ashamed herself for failing.

Nonetheless, she managed to take a deep breath, pushing this to the back of her mind. Just protect her. Like she promised father. She followed Azalea, listening to her offer and nodding along, a bit relieved she appeared to be showing the man courtesy. Only to tense when the attention was turned to her, tensing as now the patron turned his eyes to her. "O-oh um..." Magnolia spoke, evidently caught off guard as she quickly fumbled with the notebook, flipping through the pages until she found the map. She placed it on the counter, pointing to the so called Air Kingdom, and while intimidated, attempting to explain their situation. "W-we are just simply searching for directions to Brisere. We believe it is nearby and need to get there for a matter of g-great importance. If you do not mind telling us, we would greatly appreciate and be on our way and out of your hair," She quickly assured him, attempting to sound confident yet nervousness easily seeped into her tone and coated her words like a sheath as she glanced at the man, hopeful things would go fine but wary at the same time.

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Aaron
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Throughout his life, Aaron found his least favorite locations to visit were taverns. They were noisy, messy, and filled with havoc of some sort. And they always were the same. The one is his home village that he would visit to perform errands or a part time job at was as rowdy as the one in the village next over. And the village next over. Even in the kingdom next over. So it was no surprise to him that even one located in such a remote and secluded area such as the deep forests of the bordering lands was just the same chaotic safe hold as so many he had visited before for directions had been.

Nonetheless, Aaron had grown used to the ruckus, having been forced to experience so many times that he grew used to it, even developing a strategy of some sort on how to survive it. All he had to do was stick to his corner, keep to himself and bother no one, and focus on his mission. Thus, he would bother no one and no one would bother him and he would spend the least time necessary in this discomforting environment. Whether it be delivering something for the barkeep for money as he once did in his old village, purchase water for the road, or in this case, ask for directions, Aaron followed this plan to a T, and so far, it had not failed him. Including now, Aaron managing to easily get directions to the village they supposedly lived on the outskirts of from the barkeep with nothing spend but a small toll as payment and some time as he sat on the counter, analyzing and sketching on the map he had carried with him to ensure he clearly understood the path to the village and would not lead himself astray.

At least that was what he thought until Aaron heard footsteps approach him. Light yes but still alarming, since not only were they heading in his direction, but it sounded as though they belonged to multiple people. Aaron glanced up, his expression neutral as a sigh escaped him, hoping this was a matter he could simply deal with a peaceful matter so he could be on his way. And much to his surprise, it was, the source of the footsteps being simply two women, asking for directions. Nonetheless, he appeared rather nonplussed by their question as he gave them a long narrow amber eyed stare, ensuring his deductions were indeed correct, before turning his attention to the messily drawn map on the journal they carried. Placing a light hand on the journal, he glanced up at the woman who presented it to him. "May I examine it?" He asked, wishing for a closer look. The woman, noticeably hesitant but intimidated, nodded and he slowly pulled the journal in front of him, comparing to the map he held to deduce a path. The decrease in quality was astounding, but he managed to mentally draw a path in a matter of a few minutes as he soon pushed their journal back to them.

"You must travel 4 miles northwest. Specifically 21125 feet if one were to be specific. Then you must..." He proceeded to instruct them on the way there, his directions complex and specific as he attempted to describe the way to the location as intricately as he could, unaware of how difficult it could be to remember all the details as it simply carried on. "Following that trail, you should be able to reach Brisere with minimum difficulty," He stated as he rolled up his own map, standing up and giving them a nod of courtesy, as he had to go. "I hope my help was satisfactory," He added, his voice devoid of any sort emotion to indicate honesty yet seeming sincere in a sense.​

 

[AnimeGenork]

Azalea

Azalea wasn’t blind to the stares she and her sister were receiving. This tavern apparently wasn’t very popular with the female population, so they were just about the only women in there. That wasn’t exactly comforting. As the thought crossed her mind, one man’s shirt collar caught on fire. He swatted it out and stamped out his cigar, which he seemed to assume was the source of the fire. It was safer for him to believe that, in any case. Safer for Azalea and her sister, too.

Having asked the guy by the bar for his help, Azalea stepped back to let Magnolia show the man the map. She nodded the slightest bit as her sister explained how they were trying to find their way to the Air Kingdom. Brisere shouldn’t have been this hard to find, but considering their only map was terribly drawn and they had never really gone that far from home, well… Navigation wasn’t exactly either of their strong points, so they were already having trouble.

It wasn’t hard to note Magnolia’s nervousness. She flexed her fingers in case she needed to punch someone to get out of there—not that this tic of hers registered on her face. In a few minutes’ time, the man slid the journal back over to Magnolia and started giving them detailed and precise instructions. Azalea’s normally blank expression turned mildly sour as her eyebrows lowered over her eyes. Was this guy serious?

The guy seemed about ready to leave the tavern, and Azalea wasn’t about to let this crap slide. “Sir, I don’t want to be rude, but that was incredibly complicated. At the very least, could you write that all down or even show us on a map what you mean? I lost you after ‘northwest,’ and I’m not about to lead my sister into danger because I couldn’t remember whether you’d said a mile and then a left or a left and then a mile.”

Still, they’d bothered this man for long enough. Rubbing the back of her head, she sighed. “Never mind. Come on, Magnolia, let’s at least see if someone four miles northwest will be able to help us.” She turned to leave, cursing their luck that the most helpful person in this tavern wasn’t all that helpful at all.

Stitches and Patchwork​