Excursion

Poppy didn’t stop practicing magic. As the days progressed she only furthered her research and attempted various different spells and incantations.

She frosted a piece of fruit with her fingertips and breathed cyan smoke into the fireplace. She levitated several inches off the floor and swam around lazily as if she were in a body of water. She instantaneously learned an ancient language only to forget it ten minutes later. Poppy even soothed the aching pain in her ankle, although she left the bandages on to lower the risk of suspicion.

Poppy wasn’t supposed to be practicing magic without the prince around--he’d officially made it a rule, in case of another incident--so she made sure to hide any evidence of her daily magicking. She acted frugally with her pixie dust and once she ran out, only took blood from places hidden beneath clothes. She even ran in place for several minutes and used her sweat for a lesser, but still effective, pixie dust.

After completing a spell which temporarily turned her hair a shocking shade of yellow, Poppy sighed and sat down on the plush carpet. She fingered the bright strands and admired how the color seemingly attacked the pupils.

Poppy’s hair had always been a warm shade of brown. She didn’t mind her hair, nor did she ever particularly care for it. Subsequently, it had grown very long and unruly, as she never bothered to shear it or remember to brush it on a daily basis. Currently she didn’t mind brushing her fingers through the wavy expanse; it was part of observing her work, especially how shiny it remained even after changing color.

Well, now she knew a spell for if she ever needed to alter her appearance. Poppy appreciated the knowledge of each and every spell, although she wasn’t sure if she’d ever use this one again. It was a bit impractical, especially since the incantation was annoyingly long. Apparently there were a lot of specifics with changing hair color she hadn’t previously been aware of.

After several days of practicing, Poppy felt she was ready to try something out. She’d wanted to test out her skills on some lesser spells before attempting a more difficult one, especially after the fire incident. Poppy had also been practicing her control and precision. She evidently tended to overdo things at times.

But now, she felt ready. Poppy stared up at the vent in the ceiling, so very far away. It was twice the height of an average giant. Even the prince, who was particularly tall, seemed such a far distance away from reaching it. She took a deep breath and set her feet shoulder-width apart. Grabbed a fistful of coppery dust.

“Kash-ner-reh-vah!” Poppy shouted before throwing the dust into the air. The shimmering sparkles surrounded her and she felt the comforting warmth as pixie dust landed on her shoulders and coated her hair. It adhered to her body and made it appear as if she’d jumped into a vat of decorative glitter. “Ore-Vas!”

Poppy felt nothing different until she jumped, pushing against the floor with all her might. As if utterly weightless, she shot into the air at an alarming rate and raced toward the ceiling, the air vent growing close very quickly.

Poppy’s stomach lurched with the abrupt speed and she fought against her strong instinctual desire to look down. In the subtext on the page it had said losing morale would cause the spell to quickly lose effect, so it highly recommended not looking down. Still, Poppy had to keep her vision trained on the vent with mind-numbing determination in order to refrain from glimpsing at the increasing distance between her and the pretty rug below.

Poppy reached her arms above her head and felt her heartbeat practically thundering in the base of her throat. Her fingertips brushed against the metal slats and she immediately latched on, her hands slick with sweat.

Due to no gravity working against her, Poppy easily managed to lift herself up and through the slats, despite the lack of dexterity caused by her clammy palms. Once in the air duct, she heaved a sigh of relief and fell onto her back, immensely enjoying the feel of solid ground beneath her. Even the biting coldness of the metal felt good against her anxious temperature.

“Nive,” Poppy sighed.

Any remaining bit of weightlessness gave out then, and Poppy felt the comfort of weighing her own mass once again. Something about being utterly subject to a lack of gravity could make one very comfortable in their own skin.

Poppy allowed herself another minute before forcing herself to stand up and look around. The vents were as dark as she remembered them.

She planned on being back in the prince’s chambers by the time he returned in several hours, so she’d have to avoid dragging her feet this time. Or getting lost, for that matter.

She very well knew this was a chance for her to leave and never return, but something held Poppy back. Whether it was curiosity or her politeness as a guest, she simply couldn’t disappear just like this. It’d feel so anticlimactic that she wouldn’t be able to stand it. So she’d return before the prince would ever notice.

Today she came prepared. Poppy memorized a spell of markings which would lead her back from where she came. Her glowing sphere would also be much brighter this time around due to the stronger pixie dust she’d stashed in her satchel.

She idly wondered if she’d spot Oak on her venture. Poppy hadn’t seen him since her accidental descent a week ago, and she’d been occasionally wondering what he was up to. Probably the typical mouse things, but she hoped she didn’t somehow traumatize the poor creature by suddenly disappearing like that.

After all, they’d just gotten to know each other. It’d be a shame if he no longer liked her or had even already forgotten her. Mice didn’t exactly have the best memory.

Poppy set her glowing-ball-spell into place, hovering just above her hand. She didn’t plan on venturing too far, but she did have an interest in finding out exactly what this prince was up to when she wasn’t around.

After all, snooping was one of her specialties. In fact, being as small as she was, snooping was a downright talent. She just had to be sure where she was stepping, lest she fall through another vent.

With stubborn determination, Poppy began walking. The prince couldn’t have strayed too far from the royal wing, but even if she weren’t able to find him, mapping out the area would be a good idea. Poppy had packed shreds of paper and a chunk of graphite she’d broken from a pencil. Although her drawing was rough, she’d manage.

The first vent Poppy passed was one which looked down into the prince’s bedchamber. The room looked far smaller from up here, Poppy decided. Unimpressed, she moved on. It was another minute or so before she stumbled across the next vent. This one led to another sitting room, one Poppy had never seen before.

The walls were lilac and the furniture either pink or purple. A luxurious couch was the color of bubblegum and it actually sparkled beneath the light of a crystal chandelier. Poppy guessed this was the princess’s chambers.

After all, what else would a little girl’s room look like, if that girl had the power to make it look however she pleased? There was so much pink, Poppy could have drowned in it all. Even the curtains filtered the light coming in, adding a rosy glow to the room.

The princess herself was nowhere to be seen, so Poppy moved on. She made sure to sketch down the location she was at as she walked. Occasionally she also left behind faintly glowing orange marks on the metal walls to indicate where she’d been. The marks were designed to glow only when the person who cast them was around. That way no one would notice their air vents glowing at night.

Some time passed and Poppy continued walking, occasionally stumbling across a vent to spy through. All the rooms on this side of the castle were immensely elaborate. Even the maid’s closet was decked out with fine mahogany shelves and tools made of precious metals. Poppy snorted at the thought of sweeping her floor with a sterling-silver broom handle and bristles that were high enough quality to apply makeup with.

Shaking her head, she scratched down further details onto her paper. The map looked shabby at best, but it was coming along quite nicely. At least it was legible, and that’s all Poppy could have hoped for.

Poppy’s ears perked as she heard warped voices. They echoed and sounded faintly demonic from the effect, but she was certain they were nearby. Poppy moved silently yet quickly, and made sure to watch her step. One vent, two-- no, it was the third one.

She crouched low beside the vent and peered down into the room. It was another sitting room, although this one was noticeably different from all the rest. Clean, cream-colored walls and chairs made from similar-colored cushions and mahogany. Green, tropical-looking plants sat on small, circular tables and at almost every corner of the room.

The rug looked foreign, possibly from Urukash since rug-making was one of their specialties. In fact, a lot of the room’s decor must have come from multiple different countries, as not much of it looked like Gorryth handiwork. Gorryth held plenty of darkwood and its national colors were blue and green; however, this room appeared to be a multitude of colors with various woods and textures. It looked like a traveler’s room, albeit a wealthy traveler.

There was a man standing behind the cream-and-mahogany couch, his large hands rested upon the back of it. There was a stern expression on his face, although it was difficult for Poppy to register all his features from this distance away. Though, his entire posture looked to be one of frustration.

“Your presentation was good, I’ll admit this, but your disrespect for both me and your country is concerning,” the man’s words boomed as if talking into a voice amplifier. “You should have spoken with me first before presenting such an idea to the advisors.”

“Disrespect? How is trying to improve the empire disrespectful?” The voice who responded was deeply familiar, and Poppy strained to see who it belonged to. She knew it was the voice of the prince, although most of his body was out of view from her vantage point. All she could see were his polished shoes and the bottoms of his pressed trousers.

“Perhaps you took it as imprudent,” the prince continued, his voice frustrated, “but I saw my plan as something that would improve Gorryth for the better. All you think about is how things will directly relate to you, but as emperor, you need to think of things as a whole! Yes, opening our borders could be dangerous, but that’s why I proposed acquiring more guards, soldiers! What does it matter if our borders are open when we’re strong enough to protect the country?

“We’re closed off from even the rest of the empire. It’s despicable how we treat our own people as enemies. If you could explain to me the reasoning behind closed borders then perhaps I’d be able to understand.”

The prince was obviously heated, but he kept his voice under control. Poppy hadn’t once heard him yell, and it seemed as though he was able to reign it in, even when he was apparently angry. Unfortunately, the emperor didn’t hold the same quality.

“How dare you speak against me?” the emperor boomed and splayed his hand in the air. “Do you see all that I’ve given you? All of this has been possible due to my vast security and protection of this land. Now you want to throw all my hard work away, without even a second glance? You apparently have learned nothing about running a country, much less an empire if you continue to spout such nonsense.

“No matter how much defense or numbers we have, it will never combat what some of these countries hold. A sword could never hold up to magic!” the emperor proclaimed. “Get it through your thick skull, son, because so long as Azquet and even some of our own people hold the power of magic, there will be no chance of us opening our borders.”

Poppy scrambled backward, her ass sliding against the metal floor. Magic?

She knew there were still other beings out there who practiced it, of course, but she also knew they lived far, far away. To hear the emperor feared those who could wield magic filled her with an ecstatic sort of giddiness. She wasn’t really alone after all.

Poppy hurried back to the vent and listened for more, but the prince had already left. The emperor stood in the same spot, fuming and staring at seemingly nothing. His face and neck were as red as strawberries.

The emperor was a large giant, and not in the fat way Poppy had typically imagined him. There were strangely no paintings of him entirely, but only face portraits throughout the castle, so in a way this was her first time seeing the real him.

He was incredibly muscular, as if he thought working out alone would better help him fight off his enemies. He had an incredibly well-kept beard, his hair the same blonde shade as his son's, and simple yet luxurious clothing. His eyes were dark and scary-looking, too.

His gaze shot up and he seemed to be looking directly at Poppy. She swallowed her breath and darted back, far away from his view. Her pulse skyrocketed and made it feel like her heart was about to explode directly out of her chest.

Did he see me? No, it was impossible.

She made sure to quietly walk for several meters, but once she believed herself to be out of earshot, Poppy ran back the way she came as fast as she’d ever run.