Where on earth did that goldfish go now?

Anna gently lifted herself off the sleep pile. The moment she removed Ray’s wings serving as a blanket over her body, the cold air blasted at her, reminding her just how frigid the night was. Her head hurt and she could still taste all the alcohol she’d drank the previous night.

Remind me to never drink again.

Groaning, she rose to her feet. The room swirled and she grabbed onto the closest furniture for support. Looking around confirmed she was in the men’s room. Muttering a low curse, she returned back to her room.

After taking a quick shower and brushing her teeth, she got dressed in thicker clothing and went out in search of Tristan.

The goldfish general was outside the inn, sitting on the front porch with his sword held tightly in his hands, and his gaze focused into the distance.

He’s keeping watch? Aww that’s so sweet. I thought he was planing something else.

Anna walked up to his side, peering into his face. He noticed her and turned.

"Your highness," he greeted with a bow of his head. "You’re awake."

"I noticed you were missing earlier," Anna joined him on the porch.

"I’m not one of your husbands. It’s improper for me to sleep in the same room as you."

Anna laughed. "Solid morals indeed." She didn’t even think about it much when the four of them hobbled home. Deep down in her heart, she knew that nothing would end up happening. None of the men saw her in a romantic light, that much was clear. Even Kai, she didn’t see his interest as romantic. It felt more like an obligation he needed to get rid of. He knew her secret and felt obligated to help her.

So, she clasped her cold hands in her lap and stared at the starry skies.

Is this the same star and moon I saw back on earth?

"Shouldn’t you be sleeping?" She asked him.

"I don’t sleep much," Tristan admitted.

"You should get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll continue our trip to the mines. You need rest."

Tristan turned to her, his eyes bewildered. "You care about me?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Anna blinked, taken aback with the question. "Yes I do."

"Why?"

She shuffled in her seat, feeling uncomfortable. "Because it’s the right thing to do. As the Princess I must care for all my people, and that includes you. Even if I find you annoying sometimes."

"You find me annoying?"

Anna sighed softly. "where are all these questions coming from?"

Tristan’s gem-like eyes remained focused on her face. He looked confused, annoyed, and happy all at once. Anna didn’t think it was possible to see such a hybrid of emotions on ones face.

"Is it wrong to have questions?"

"Not exactly, it just feels weird."

He turned away his eyes cast down to his sword. "Ah, I see. I shall refrain from asking questions."

"That’s not what I mean. Don’t go all cold turkey on me. Just...I don’t even know man. I’m terrible at this kinda stuff."

Tristan nodded. "Then I should—" he started to speak then paused. He sprang to his feet, drew his word and pointed it in the distance.

Anna’s heart skipped. "What’s that?" A bright silver light flashed, making her wince and squeeze her eyes shut. "Is that a Mirror?!"

"Go back inside, your highness." Tristan said, his voice cold. "I knew something was off."

Anna took a step back, her heart pounding in fear. A Mirror showing up out of nowhere? This close to a residential area? Something about it was wrong.

The Mirror stepped out into the open. Its reflective body caught the pale porch lights and bounced it off. Silently, it stalked forward. Closer and closer. Anna felt watched. Even if the creature had no face, it was watching her.

"Tristan, there are people inside." Anna whispered, her voice shaky.

"I will let no harm come to them." Tristan said confidently.

He charged forward.

It took seconds, and the Mirror was sliced in half. Anna exhaled, clutching her racing heart. It always amazed her how fast and efficient Tristan was at killing.

Huh? At killing? he’s very good at it.

"Your highness. Please head back inside. I’ll take care of this."

"How?"

He swiped his sword clean before sheathing the blade. "I need to bury the body. Or its friends will come looking for it."

Anna looked beyond the inn at the darkness ahead. A Mirror. Everything about it spelt bad luck. She took off her sweater and raced up to him.

"I’ll help you bury it. We need to work fast. Fuck...if we don’t get to the mines soon, this may very likely happen again."

"I can handle this. You don’t need to—"

Anna focused her spores around her hands, turning them into a semi solid substance. "That was an order, Tristan. Now, dig."

**

"Cutie? What’s the matter? You look like you barely got any sleep."

Anna lifted her head from the table and glared at Kai. "Shut up and leave me alone."

The shark beastman laughed, unbothered by her glaring animosity. He pulled the chair opposite her and sat. "I noticed you were gone last night. What happened? Did you do something fun?"

Anna looked around. It was morning and they were in the dining area of the inn, all ready to continue their trip to the mines. She sat at the table closest to the window, her head slumped over the table as she basked in the sun. the previous night, burying the body of the Mirror turned out to take much longer than she anticipated.

She forced herself to sit up, groaning and hitting her lower back with her fist. I need to work out more. Fuck that hurts.

"Here," someone said behind her. A cup of fancy tea appeared in front of her, steaming and fragrant. Anna turned to see Ray.

"Thank you!" she cried, throwing herself into his arms and hugging him briefly. She picked the tea and drank half of it, not minding the burn. "ahhh this is so good."

Ray pulled the chair beside her. "I’m glad you like it. Where’s Tristan?"

Anna shrugged. "He went to start the car. We should be leaving anytime soon."

Anna wondered if she should tell them about the Mirror attack. Looking out of the window at the street slowly rousing to life, she decided against it. Afterall, the Mirror was already dead and buried. No need to bring it up again.

The table lasped into an easy conversation. Kai kept asking why Anna was exhausted and she simply said she had something to do. Ray mentioned hearing a fight, and Anna said it must have been some super rats having a sword fight.

Ray and Kai stared at her with faces that spelt "are you kidding me?"

Meanwhile she calmy sipped her tea. "That’s the truth."

Anna wanted to ask Kai about the illegal restaurant, and what sort of events with his master must have led him there. She had no original memories of him leaving the palace, that would have been near impossible with the level of security.

Could it be Villis?

She glanced at Kai who was having a friendly spat with Ray. Asking about Villis will be too traumatic for him. Maybe later, after we get back to the palace. Yeah, later.

Tristan walked into the dining area, headed for their table. Anna perked up on seeing him, a smile spreading on her face as she prepared to hear the news that the car was up and ready to go.

Instead, Tristan’s face was grim. "Your—" he started and quickly looked around. Then he cleared his throat and continued. "We have a situation on our hands."

Kai was the first to get to his feet. "what happened?"

"How bad is it?" Anna asked, her tea long forgotten.

"You need to see this."

Tristan turned and walked out of the inn, the others following him. they got to where the car was parked.

"NO!" Anna gasped, her voice shrill. "No no no! when did this happen?"

"No one knows when it happened, your highness. I estimate it must have been while we buried the Mirror."’

"There was a Mirror in this place?" Kai asked, shocked.

"I knew I heard something." Ray replied.

Anna chewed her thumb, pacing the ground.

The car, their one source of transport to the mines, didn’t have tires anymore. Someone had slashed all four of the tires to strips.

"Surely there’s a way to get a car around here?" Anna asked, looking around.

"There is none. These cars are exclusive to the palace. Local citizens do not have access to one." Tristan explained.

"So, what do we do? Walk? That will take three days at most. We do not have three days. And our beast forms aren’t big or fast." The more Anna spoke and ran down their options, the more she realized how doomed they were. Kai and Tristan’s beast forms were useless on land. Ray was sensitive to the sun. And Anna was a Maine Coon, not good for long distances.

Why is everything going wrong now?! Why now?!

"I’ll fly to the palace," Ray said, stepping forward.

"In this heat? You want to die?"

"Your highness—"

"NO."

"I’ll go once it’s nightfall."

Anna turned to him, tears brimming in her eyes. Even if he went at nightfall, they’d still lose a solid day of travels. "That should—" she started to reply when a thunderous, ground shaking roar fired off into the air.

"ANNA!!"