It was a dark night, when the Wanderer was lost
Underneath their fingertips, the ground began to frost...

'Rob? Where are you?' Amelia called out for her Brother in exasperation, walking around the adults in fancy suits and dresses 'Seriously, he's always disappearing!' She sat on a bench near the grand piano in defeat, propping her head up with her left hand while fiddling with her crescent-moon pendant.
'Who're you looking for?' An unfamiliar voice asked, and she turned slightly to see a boy around her age with a cyan jacket, white undershirt and purple headpiece 'My Brother, he went somewhere earlier and now I have no idea where he is'
'Right... Do you want to go look for him? I'm getting bored and I want to explore' The boy grinned, adjusting his headset 'I'm Noah by the way, who're you?'

Amelia smiled, knowing she had finally made a friend 'Sure! And I'm Amelia, from Truncatis'
'Lucky! I got stuck with being part of the Void Kingdom, it gets boring being the Brother of "The amazing Vikram Barns, heir to the Throne!"' Noah sighed dramatically 'So you're the Prince of Void, huh? It just so happens you're talking to the Princess of Truncatis, and you have no idea how annoying that is' The Princess stood up and pulled down her lapis-blue hoodie 'Let's go! I want to hit the chocolate fountain later'
'They have a chocolate fountain?!'
'That's what I heard from the Aether King and Queen. I thought their Son was gonna be here too, I haven't met him-' She was cut off by a loud explosion, shaking the castle as loose mortar fell from the ceiling 'W-What was that?!'
'Attention all Guests! There's no need to worry, it was probably just the fireworks'
'Screw that! I've heard enough fireworks go wrong to know that noise, that was an explosion - We're under attack!' The main doors started to burn, and the wood warped as something heavy rammed into it 'Should we run? I think we should run' Noah suggested 'I'm fine with running away, running away is fine so let's go!'

The teenagers ran up a flight of quartz stairs, hearing the doors burst open as they reached the top 'Should we split? We can find other easier' Amelia looked over to Noah, and saw he was absolutely terrified 'Okay, we stay together. Are you gonna be okay?'
'I-I think - go left!' They slid over to a door and watched as a larger piece of rubble fell where they had just stood 'Thanks, Noah. If you hadn't of said anything then - Robert!' The Truncatis Prince looked over at them and sighed in relief 'What's going on down there?!' Fire started to creep up the carpets on the stairs, sealing them on the second floor 'We're under attack, everyone else is in the ballroom! Where's the Aether Prince?'
'He's with Vik, they're trying to get Landon's room door open but something's blocking it' Noah shivered, gripping the purple and red headset around his neck 'We should see if all the upper rooms are cleared, I think some people came up here earlier'
'Rob! We can't get it open!' An Australian boy yelled, tugging on a pale green door 'Where's Vikk?'
'He went to get something to try and force it open... Landon, listen to me. You're gonna be alright, I'm here' Someone else ran down the corridor, sliding to a halt outside the door 'I found a crowbar, tell your Brother to get away from the door' The metal rod swung into a wood, causing it to chip and splinter 'Let me try' Amelia spoke, taking the crowbar 'Stand back, this could go wrong'

She lifted the bar above her head before swinging it back down, creating a small hole in the wood 'Lachlan!' A young voice cried from the other side 'Stay back Landon, go right into your bed' His older Brother urged, and the metal came back down 'The hole should be big enough for someone small to get through, but Landon's gonna be too scared'
'I got it!' Noah jogged up to the door, and the others exchanged glances 'Who's -'
'Noah, are you crazy?!' The mocha-skinned boy protested 'You could get impaled on the wood, then what would we do?!'
"That must be Vikram, then" Amelia thought, before stepping forwards 'Noah, I kind of agree with your Brother but at the same time, you're the only one either brave or stupid enough to do it'
'See? She believes I can do it, you never think I can do anything right!' Noah said, before wriggling through the hole 'Is Landon okay?' The Aether Prince asked anxiously, and a boy about eight years old was pushed through the hole. 'Lachlan!' He cried, rushing towards his Brother and clinging to him tightly 'Are you okay? Did anything fall on you in there?'

The forgotten fire on the stairs crept closer, and Robert had to quickly side-step to avoid a crack on the ground 'We need to go, right now'
'What about Noah?!' Amelia protested 'He'll be fine, now come on!' Robert reached out to grab his Sister's sleeve, but she stepped back 'You go, I'll follow you when Noah gets out'
'There's no point, I'm trapped!' Noah shouted from the other side 'Just go, I'll find another - Holy Hell!' The Princess looked through the hole to see a dark oak beam fall between the door and the wall 'More of Ignis' warriors are attacking, they've got...what even are those?! They've got some kind of fire - and they've seen me' She looked around for the crowbar, then saw it on a plank as it fell back to the ground floor 'You've got to be kidding... Noah, I'm gonna barge the door'

A faint "Fire!" was heard from the outside 'Amelia, there's no time. Just go!' The window shattered as a blast of heavy fire burst into the room, and the girl screamed 'No!' A soft, translucent shield placed itself between the blaze and the Void Prince, directing the embers back out the window 'What just happened?!' Noah stood frozen in place, before his form shuddered and he collapsed 'Oh my gods Noah... Screw it' Amelia took a few steps backward, then shot towards the door and rammed it with her shoulder 'Ow! Okay, one more time' She copied the previous action, and the weakened door fell with a thud 'Noah? C'mon Noah, wake up. This is probably the worst time for you to pass out'
The younger Void Prince groaned, weakly swatting the air 'Five... More minutes...' He slurred, slowly opening one eye before squeaking and shooting up 'Why aren't I dead? That blast was enough to kill someone!' The Truncatis girl watched in slight confusion 'We'll talk about it as soon as we get out of here, right now the castle's falling apart' The two looked out the window to see most of the Ignis fighters gone, with only a few patrolling the outskirts 'Right, I've got a plan. We go to-'

The ground beneath them collapsed, and Amelia screamed 'We are going to die! I never got to tell my life story! Okay it was boring but I still wanted to tell it!' Noah grabbed her arms to stop her from flailing about, and looked her dead in the eye 'I've got an idea, but I don't know if it'll work. Truncatis' founders had the power to control Nature'
The ground was dangerously close, and Amelia froze 'What?! That's insane! It's just a myth, you can't possibly believe-'
'It's our only chance, Amelia. You've got to at least try!' His expression was full of fear, but a firey determination flickered behind his eyes '...Okay, I trust you'

She gathered the remaining strength she had and felt something deep within her shift, before the Princess gave a defiant shout and vines shot out from the earth, encasing them a few feet above the ground where they lay suspended 'That actually worked'
'Oh my gosh we're alive'
'How did that work?!'
'Who cares? We live!' The two glanced at each other and cracked up laughing, in both shock and relief 'Just to let you know, I had no idea if the story was true or not' Noah admitted, and Amelia looked over at him 'Right now? I'm not even mad'
For those few moments, everything seemed okay. Like nothing could hurt them, and they could just laugh away their problems.
They'd forgotten about the Ingnis guards 'Tell King Blaine that the Aether Kingdom have some magic users, it looks like Truncatis sorcery' A gruff voice said, followed by a seemingly shaken boy 'Can't we let them go?'
'We don't even know if they're alive, Kenny. Besides, if the King finds out we're dead meat!'
'They won't find out! I can't kill innocent people, Ali. They've done nothing wrong' A sword pierced the side of the vine cocoon, retracting and stabbing again until the vines fell apart 'Can you not?!' Noah yelped as they crashed to the ground.
'Ali, we can just let them go, please? Nobody needs to know'
'Shut up Kenny, it's our job to do this' By that time Noah and Amelia had stood up properly, making sure neither of them were hurt 'Why are you attacking the Aether? I thought Truncatis were your enemies' Amelia asked, her voice laced with confusion 'Truncatis' Royal family were said to be here, you wouldn't happen to know where they are? I'm sure you value your lives so I'll make this simple; Tell us where the Truncatis Royal's are, or-,' The boy they now knew as Ali pointed a sword at Noah's throat 'I pick you off one by one. Easy decision'

'Back off, I'll never tell you where they are' Noah spat, and the sword was pulled back 'Well then, this makes it much easier for me'
'Ali, don't!' The teal-eyed boy cried, but his companion's sword slashed Noah's arm 'You can't tell me what to do, Kenworth. Just stand back and watch how a pro does it'
'Y'know, you should really listen to your friend. He sounds like he knows what he's doing' Amelia said, taking off her hoodie and wrapping it around Noah's arm as he winced 'Let's just go, they're not worth your time' Kenny muttered, and Ali turned to him 'Who's side are you even on?! It sounds like we have a traitor in our midst'
'No, he just knows what's right' A new voice spoke with the authority only a Royal would have, and the four turned to see a shadowed figure emerging from the rubble 'Oh yeah? And who're you to say that?'
The shadows dissipated from the boy's body, and he pulled his hood down to reveal short black hair and chocolate-brown eyes 'You made a bad life choice when you hurt my Brother'
One by one, more shapes emerged from the broken castle until Vik, Lachlan, Robert, Landon and a small dragon stood before them.

'Good job looking dramatic, guys. Ten out of ten' Amelia called, keeping a close eye on Noah incase his injury progressed 'I'm fine, fine...Nevermind I'm about to pass out' The American tilted to one side, and the Truncatis Princess caught him bridal style 'My gods you're heavy' She sighed, lowering him to the ground 'Ali, we should go'
'Nonsense! This just got interesting. You stand on the sidelines if your so scared, but I'm fighting'
'Bad life choice number two; Disrespecting your partner. Any last requests?' The ground started to shake beneath Kenny's feet as he started to shake, but nobody noticed as they were too engrossed in their own battles.
'Here's one - Your death!'
'Ali, I'm being serious!' The blond yelped, narrowly avoiding a dagger being thrown at his skull. The brunette known as "Ali" growled lowly, before he notice water beginning to seep through the ground 'What the-'

All at once, a wave of water rose from the ground and began to douse the fire around them. Ali's jaw dropped - As did everyone else's - And he glared at Kenny 'So, you're a freak like them too?'
'I-I'm not a-'
'You're just as bad as them!'
'Ali, shut up!'
'Freak of nature, what would your Parents think?'
'I said, shut up!' The blond screamed, his eyes watering as the water moved to his command 'Do you think I wanted this?!'
'Well obviously, since-'
'Oi shortie, let him speak' Lachlan cut him off, before looking at Kenny who was looking at the ground 'Why are you so afraid of him?' He asked, and the older - yet shorter - boy sighed 'Because... Because I never wanted to fight in this War. It's stupid, nobody's gaining anything from it and all it's doing is taking innocent lives'