XVIII - Temple of the Pit Vipers

Aurora snapped her war fan open, her mismatched eyes locking on Charlotte.

"Ah, good morning, Charlotte." she declared, knowing a smirk playing on her lips.

"I see… you've been doing hard work huh?"

Charlotte blushed, rubbing her neck sheepishly and almost stood dead on her tracks.

"I-I-I uh, yeah why— wait a second…P-P-Princess A-Aurora?!" she squeaked, untie her flour stained apron.

"Eek! W-w-what are you three doing here?!"

Aurora's smirk widened behind her fan, step inside she glanced over her shoulder, gesturing to her friends to come in.

"Come in, girls. Don't just stare at me like you see a ghost." she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

Four small heads poked behind their doorframe. 

Curiosity piqued in, four of them—Rafael Rayburn, the second brother, Sora Rayburn, third brother, Feyre Rayburn, the fourth sister and the last, Yuki Rayburn, the youngest sister.

Rafael let out a low whistle, while Yuki giggled before asking their older sister's love interest...her classmate, Aurora.

"Woah… is that the cat princess?" she asked, her widened grin that tells everything that makes Aurora's face flushed. Both hands clasped together in hope.

"!?"

Aurora choked on her breath, face instantly changed color into red as ripe strawberry, cat ears twitched then flattened against her dark blue hair.

"W-w-wha—? C-C-Cat Princess?!" she stammered, hiding her heating face with both hands.

W-w-what is she talking about? M-m-me?

"Yes, Yuki told us about you and Charlotte because she has mischievous energy." Sora explained, he was wearing vintage clothes, covered in flour despite timidness.

"She's telling fairy tales from the book." he explain, forcing himself to make his sister pleased.

A-A fairy tale? Oh no… kids have a lot of wild imaginations at all. Aurora thought to herself, her regal confidence changing into something vulnerable? 

She crossed her arms around her chest, staring at Yuki without scaring her.

"M-m-me? A-and Charlotte? W-w-what are you talking about, little one?"

Yuki's eyes lightened up, pointing her small finger on the older student. "Y-You…"

"Yes? And w-why you're eyes shining?"

"Are you… the princess who appeared in my dreams?"

"?!"

Aurora's eyes widened in shock, her regal confidence changing into something…embarrassed? 

She dusted some flour from her skirt, her short tail puffing beneath the fabric.

"Pppttt—! E-E-Excuse me? W-w-what did you say?”

Aria giggled, nudged Quincy's shoulder with her elbow, whispered to her one ear despite realization, Aurora remained able to hear nonsense thoughts in the distance due to her magic mana response.

"Don't mind my sister. She's already flustered easily around innocent children."

"A-Aria?! I hear that!" her older sister Aurora snapped, her mismatched eyes narrowed despite her regal posture faltering.

Charlotte folded her apron, while she placed the folded fabric on the counter.

Her own face flushing as Aurora's.

"A-Alright kids, that's enough for today okay?"

"But sister!" Yuki whined, pouted as she crossed her small arms over her flat chest.

"I need to talk to the real princess!"

"Please, Yuki. Don't distress the Princess, okay?" Charlotte said calmly to Yuki as she sank gently on her knees, placing her hand on the little girl's shoulder.

"B-But sister…"

"Please, go finish your breakfast at the dining table, okay?"

"Aww…" Yuki pouted, but gave Aurora a cute little wave of her small hand as Rafael, her big brother, led her away.

"Bye-bye, Cat Princess!"

"!"

Aurora's face flushing even redder, hiding her face behind her war fan as her cat ears were flat against her sides as almost hiding from the sight.

I'm gonna pass out after this… she thought to herself, her face still remained hidden as the four children were at the dining table, eating their own breakfast.

Charlotte chuckled nervously, apologized to Aurora by lowering her head like a real paladin.

"Pardon me, Princess. Yuki dreams a lot about fairy tales, a-and it's not based on our journey, okay?" she explained softly, rubbing her neck.

Aria, Quincy and Sarah let a low giggle near the doorway.

"Look, your sister is blushing~" Sarah whispered, clutched her stomach as she couldn't help herself from laughing.

Quincy chuckled, approaching her friend, placing a support hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, alright. That's enough for today. We have another mission."

Charlotte's determination returns after their slice-of-life moment between her younger siblings and Aurora's friends.

"What kind of mission is that?" she asked Quincy, her brown-golden eyes narrowed in both curiosity and awareness.

Quincy replied back, stepping from Aurora's side towards the kitchen and setting her travelling pack on the table.

She doesn't mind at all about the flour stain, instead she focused at their new mission anew for their fate.

"We actually have serious business, Charlotte."

"Yes, a serious business is this." Aurora interrupted, her hand found on her own bundle, pulling out the shimmering scale, remained pulsating faintly in cyan hue, which it's now part of Aurora's Dawn Wing mana and placing it to the wooden surface for a better view.

Charlotte leaned closer to examine the faint glow of the scales.

Her brown-golden eyes narrowed as she felt the subtle hum of ancient magic radiating. Her finger found on the tip, the light responded from her touch.

"Woah… this energy… it's responding to my touch." she murmured, staring at the dim glow of the single scale which her paladin duty kicked in.

She looked up from the scale, asked softly.

"Where did you find this?"

"On the academy grounds, we found this today since yesterday's attack." Sarah explained calmly, placing her hand over the table.

"Professor Zamora explained to us about this single scale in front of us."

"What is this name?"

"He called it—the Dragon's Valor."

"D-Dragon's Valor? What does it mean? And why does it look like it's from Aurora's signature?"

"Because, it reacts to Aurora's mana, which means we've chosen for the new trial." Sarah explained, staring at the glowing scale lay on the wooden table.

"Yes! A trial, additionally you two are not alone anymore!"

"What do you mean?"

"Because my flustered sister invited us as a team." Aria said tail swishing in both anxious yet excited for a new journey they face whatever difficult nor easy.

"A team? R-Really?" Charlotte murmured, looking up at Aurora as her expression shifted instantly into full paladin determination.

"Well then, we shouldn't waste any time. If it's the weather's fault because it acts like this, the source was already active."

Aurora adjusts her fans, its feather-shaped blade catching the dim light due to heavy unusual weather. 

Stepping forward as her regal posture suddenly restored—with a hint of faint yet noticeable pink on her cheeks still retained.

"Professor Zamora granted us permission to have a quest as a full party." she declared, her own mismatched eyes shining in determination, yet it glowed faintly on her own signature color.

"Our new destination begins—in ancient ruins at the edge of the valley. The Temple of the Pit Vipers."

"Wait? Temple Pit Vipers?" Aria blurted out, dark cat ears flattening.

Everyone turned their heads at the exact same time as the younger Bakeneko.

"……………"

"What?" Aria asked, crossing her arms around her chest as her head darted moving back and forth between them.

"Why does nobody mention snakes! Huge flying dragons are common in this realm, but slithering vipers?!”

Aurora stared at her sister nonchalantly.

"……………"

"Please don't tell me we're going into a dark cave full of poisonous snakes!"

"……………………"

Sarah chuckled, throwing a single arm on the younger's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Aria! You've got an elite squad with you. Additionally, Charlotte can just block them with her shield!"

Charlotte blushed, rubbing the back of her neck while she offered them a sheepish grin.

"W-W-Well… I-I'll certainly do my best as possible."

"Hmph, oh come on guys! There's no time to chat! We have a new trial to wait." Aurora said smoothly, though she nudged her war fans closer to her waist just in case.

"Conversation can wait, besides the Dragon's Valor scale is already guiding us." she finished, as her younger sister, Aria raised her fist in the air.

"I can't wait! We have to move now!"

Charlotte gave them a firm but disciplined nod.

"—Just give me two minutes to grab my gears. I won't let any creatures harm all of you, especially in this journey, Princess."

Aria smirked slyly from the doorway, leaning towards Sarah.

"Look at that, she's back to wearing light shining armor."

"Aria, be quiet!" Aurora and Charlotte shouted in unison, their faces flushing at the same time.

Quincy picked the glowing scale from the wooden table, handed it back to the rightful owner, Aurora, offered her a small nod without saying a word, fingers are curled around its smooth surface.

Without warning, the light flared, turning a small light into a blinding column of radiating light that consumed the entire kitchen.

The air pressure dropped instantly, whipping their clothes and hair into a frenzy.

A low humming magic vortex suddenly opened beneath their feat.

"W-w-whoa…! W-w-what is HAPPENING?!" Sarah yelled, clutching her hat as the light enveloped them.

"The scale! It's opening on its own! The waypoint!" Quincy called out during the rusting wind.

"Aurora!" Charlotte shouted, already on her duty armor as she lunged forward, both hands outstretched as she reached her princess.

"Sister!" Aria shouted, shielding herself from the gust of the wind.

Before anyone could take another step. Suddenly the gravitational pull snapped shut like a trapdoor.

A terrifying sense of weightlessness took over as five of them were sucked violently into a cyan swirling rift.

Leaving the Rayburn household completely silent, except the four children were unaware about their sudden disappearance...

꒰ა ✦ ໒꒱

“A—Aaahhhh!” The girls screamed in unison.

THUD!

Aurora groaned, slowly lifting her head as her mismatched eyes remained hazy due to impact as she adjusted the sudden damp darkness surrounding them with a dim glow of the wild mushrooms in the stone walls.

She sat up, dusting off her dressed battle attire as her cat ears twitching at the sound of distant dripping water, followed at the sound of slithering against the wall with a low hiss.

Hiiiissss…

"…Ugh, my head…" Charlotte murmured, her voice echoed nearby, boots clicking against the damp floor as she moved directly to stand guard at Aurora, broadsword drawn.

"I-Is anybody alright…?" she asked, Aria, Quincy and Sarah approaching them, groaned.

"…Yeah, I think so…" Sarah responded softly, though her hand was found on her hat.

"Aria and I were fine, but I don't think we're no longer in our hometown anymore." Aurora murmured, snapping her both war fans open, in case someone lured them in the shadows.

High above them, giant serpentine statues carved from the obsidian, towering over a massive, moss-covered archway.

Realization; they've arrived at the Temple of the Pit Vipers, surrounded with hidden mystery that they need to solve.