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thegreatpikminzx789 · 6 years ago

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Yggdrasil’s Nexus: Prologue (Chapter 6) - Etrian Odyssey Nexus Fanfiction

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Summary: Axel takes Korey and Hilda around their guild house. Of course, the Highlander is excited to tell Lynus the good news, so when the opportunity presented itself, so did several others...

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AN: This one actually took a while, mostly because I was playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Still gotta play it more, though), and because I had fun playing as The Dragon Quest Hero in Smash Ultimate. This is probably the biggest chapter I’ve written though, so it took some time. Hope you enjoy as always!

Azure, Axel, Lynus, Isiah, Hamza, and mentions of Zesiro, Drayce, the Angelward Guild, and Phaedron Guild (c) @theshatteredrose

Edit: 7/31/2019: I had to put this under a Keep Reading when I was about to head to sleep, and had to fix the tag as usual. Ugh, guess Fire Emblem Three Houses was more important than making sure everything was set up correctly... =_=

"Your guild is going to be that of a 'search and rescue' type of guild?" Hilda inquired, as she stepped past the guild houses' dinning hall, following Axel alongside Korey and Simon.

Axel nodded in response to Hilda's question. "We figured that if that's what it'll come to, we'll do so."

They take a detour to what seemed like a back porch of the guild house. Although they don't enter it entirely, Axel allowed Korey and Hilda a quick look at it, before walking on. The chatter of the other guild members of the Guardians was nearly distracting. And although two parts of the guild was familiar to Korey, they were all but strangers to someone like Hilda.

"Our guild is getting quite bigger, we'll more than likely find it easier to disperse groups of five for those types of missions." The Landsknecht continued, as soon as they were away from the noisy hallway.

"You're telling me." Korey began as he scratched his head. "I feel as if I'm in the same boat as you and Lynus with how many members I've gathered." He chuckled nervously.

Simon adjusted his glasses a bit, before chiming in. "Although to be fair, you never went above thirty guild members, let alone max out a guild to that size before."

The brown haired Highlander simply nodded in response, which was a huge relief to Simon. "Getting back to the topic at hand, it'll certainly be safer on the Maginia with a guild of a size like this to look over everyone." Simon continued.

"Yeah, most people probably wouldn't handle up to sixty guild members..." Axel admitted, making sure Azure was still following him. When he was sure he was, he continued walking, making their way back to the entrance of the guild house.

"But it seems like we're the only ones tolerable enough to put up with that many." Korey admitted, to which gave the landsknecht and highlander a good laugh for a couple of seconds.

"On another matter," Hilda intervened. "This Lemuria you speak of... is that our destination?"

A fair question to be asked, since they weren't told as much when they entered the Maginia. "Indeed it is." Axel answered confidently.

"With this many explorers on the Maginia, it seems that they were anticipating a new journey, even if it took them far away from home. It's an island, however, and though with that in mind, we don't know what it looks like, let alone know what kind of things lie there." He continued, noting that even the Guardians have little idea on what it looks like apart from what they know of it.

Korey placed his hands behind his head nonchalantly. "Sounds to me like we're heading off to some faraway territory..." He sighed, trying to focus back on the topic at hand.

The landsknecht simply nodded, before slowing down to a halt as he turned to Korey. "Yeah. It almost reminds me of that time we went to that thirty-first floor of High Lagaard's Yggdrasil to help save you and a guild member of ours from dying from a powerful creature."

Hilda couldn't believe what she heard from the Landsknecht's mouth. "He did what?!" She exclaimed, turning to Korey in the blink of an eye, which caused him to flinch back in surprise.

"I-It's a long story, Hilda-" Korey tried to explain.

"Honey, you knew it was strong, and yet you faced it regardless?! Are you insane?!" Hilda retorted, long before Korey could begin to explain.

Hilda tried to grab at Korey's clothes to bring him closer to her, but was stopped by Simon's arm intervening. "Hilda, please, there's no need to panic." The silver haired medic began, trying to ease the tension Hilda had suddenly built up.

Her anger induced eyes all but quelled at seeing Simon's calm and collective eyes. Before she knew it, she was calming down a bit. "B-But-" She stuttered, only to be silenced even further by Simon.

"It's like I said many times before; Lynus and his guild were in good hands. If Korey was able to stop something like the Ur-Devil, alongside a well known guild in High Lagaard, he can surely stand up to anything. He's endured as much from what he's told me, including whatever was beyond Iorys' Yggdrasil." As Simon explained, Hilda soon felt regret for lashing out at her husband like that.

She lets out a sigh, seeming to have calmed down from her anger outburst. Simon retracted his arm, and Azure soon came out from hiding behind Axel. "You're right, Simon..." Hilda began, looking at everyone looking at her, before tilting her head down a bit.

"I apologize for my outburst. I just got scared the moment I heard that my beloved faced something powerful..." She continued, trying her best not to let tears burst from her eyes.

Korey slowly approached Hilda and wrapped his arms around her, as the Arken woman placed her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around him. "It's alright, Hilda..." Korey spoke reassuringly, his calm voice reaching her ears as she felt him pat her back.

Simon, Axel, and Azure were left watching the Highlander comfort his alien wife as constant sniffles escaped Hilda's nose, despite trying her best to hold in her tears. "Although Ur-Devil was more powerful than that monster that killed your kind, I'm still here, alive and much stronger than I was before. I won't be dying on you or anyone else anytime soon..." He continued, doing all he can to calm her down.

Wiping her face of any tiny tears that escaped her eyes, she looks up at the Highlander. "You better keep to that promise, dear..." She sniffled, insisting he better not die on her, or their children.

Korey nodded, but felt more inclined to show his answer than to speak it. His hands trailed to interlock with Hilda's hands, as they stare into each other's eyes for a while, before they gave each other a quick kiss on the lips. If only he could just stay in her arms forever-

"Come on you two," Simon's voice called out to the lovebirds, seeing that Axel and Azure were waiting for them, along with the Midgard Medic. "You wouldn't want to be late for the rest of the tour."

"Gah, sorry Simon, we're coming!" Korey responded, as he and Hilda held each other's hand as they catch up to the three of them.

After arriving back at the entrance, Axel and Azure head up a spiral staircase of sorts. The others follow close behind him, arriving on the second floor of the guild house, stepping off of the stairs to enter the hallway. "And this is where our guild members stay in." Axel began.

"Me and Lynus' room is right in the middle, and Azure's room is just next to us.." He added, pointing towards the rooms he mentioned. "Why choose the middle room?" Hilda inquired, a little confused on their choice of picking the middle room.

Axel, thankfully, was more than glad to explain their reasoning. "You see, Lynus' is a little special. He's capable of reading auras of others." The landscknecht began.

"He can read auras?" Hilda marveled, surprised she had never heard of anyone capable of doing that.

"Indeed." Simon responded. "Many call him the Miracle Medic for lots of reasons, mostly thanks to his incredible healing and great care for others. But if I recall correctly, him having the ability to read auras allows him to try and get a more general understanding of that person." He explained to Hilda, who was able to understand what he was getting across to her.

"Korey?" A voice called out to Korey, as Korey turned around to see Hamza approach him. Axel and Azure notice Hamza as well.

"Hamza, it's nice to see you again." Korey beamed, as the two of them shook hands in greeting.

"I can say the same to you." He replied, his eyes soon noticing Hilda coming up to him. "You look strange... You're certainly not a Winged One, so what are you, exactly?"

Although she had zero idea on what species the Winged Ones are, she bowed, akin to a princess when they bow before someone. "I am Hilda, one of the last surviving Arken of my kind." She introduced herself, standing upright as she finished speaking. "Pleased to meet you, Hamza." Hilda added.

"Hilda, eh? Last time Korey talked about you, you were more human than what you currently are..." Hamza began, stopping when he noticed Hilda's eyes gazing at the ground.

"It's a... long story." She sighed, rather content with not having to speak much about her past to someone she doesn't know well enough. It felt too similar to when she didn't speak much about herself to Korey or her guild members back in Iorys before the incident at Iorys' third stratum.

Hamza looks away for a bit before looking back at Hilda. "My apologies if what I said sparked back some terrible memories." He apologized, hoping not to trend that line again.

The Arken woman looks back at Hamza, trying to move on as a small smile appeared on her face. "I-It's absolutely fine. I tried to move on from them as best as I can." She reassured him, relieving Hamza a bit of guilt that he might've had from earlier in the conversation.

"So Hamza," Korey spoke up, changing the subject. "You're still leading this guild, right?"

"Not really."

This surprised Korey. As much as he knew Hamza was the guild leader of the Guardians back in Lagaard, it shouldn't have surprised him to see him change leaders when he wasn't around... But just when he was about to ask his next question...

"I've handed down the leadership role to Axel and Lynus. I trust them more than anyone else to lead the guild I built." Hamza already answered his unasked question, like he was aware of what he was going to ask.

"I-I see... Guess it makes sense when you think about it; you got both the brain and brawn in one role." Korey began, only to feel a punch to his shoulder. He turned to see Axel right beside him.

"Heeey..." He groaned, rubbing his arm where he punched him.

"Heheheh, I just had to..." Axel chuckled, indicating that it was a light punch to the shoulder out of fun, and not anger. Korey couldn't help but chuckle once he figured it out.

Hamza formed a smile of his own, seeing Axel and Korey having a bit of fun. "It's almost like you never left High Lagaard, doesn't it?" The War Magus asked.

"As much as I want to say yes, it just feels like I'm reliving a memory." He replied, before getting yet another joking punch to his shoulder, as he quickly turned and brought a hand to his hair, nuzzling his hand against it, doing so for a couple of seconds. The sight of him and Axel having this little war zone of having fun gave Hilda a laugh, before separating him from Axel, leaving the landsknecht to fix his hair.

Axel looks over to Azure, and pats his shoulder. "You see, Hilda isn't so bad as you thought she was." He assured him, seeing his eyes no longer forming those worried eyes he's seen before.

"I see..." Azure replied, with some hint of nervousness in his voice. But he was at least starting to get used to Hilda, so as long as baby steps were taken to get him used to seeing her, all the better.

Simon turns around as he heard an approaching conversation to see some people walk down the stairs. Azure darts right toward them, seeing two people wearing Medic coats. Axel at the approaching people as well, seeing an orange haired medic stop in his tracks once Azure approached him.

Korey looks over to where Azure is, and gasps in surprise. "Lynus!" He exclaimed, rushing over to the orange haired medic as Hilda quickly follows suit, along with Simon and Hamza.

He noticed, much like Axel, Lynus hair was much longer than when he had met him the first time he came to Lagaard. "Korey? You're on the Maginia?" He asked, genuinely surprised to see the Highlander make it on the Maginia at all.

"Yeah! And man, do I have some news to tell you!" Korey responded with lots of excitement in his voice.

Lynus noticed Hilda standing next to Korey. He could tell that something was troubling her, based on the aura she radiated. Even though her appearance was all but new to Lynus, it was surprising to see that a troubled aura like Hilda's made its way to him.

"I guess our talk is going to be have to be tabled later, Isiah." Lynus sighed, talking to the other medic standing next to him. "Hey, it's fine, I don't have a problem with that. We can talk later, but I better go find Zesiro and stop his lousy ass from sneaking out before the Maginia takes flight around noon." The man named Isiah replied.

Korey heard Zesiro's name, and quickly looked up to the brown haired Medic, who was a bit taller than Lynus. He seemed to have a more up-front personality than Lynus, however... "Hey, weren't you from the guild Zesiro is in?" Korey asked before Isiah could stray far from the stairs.

"Indeed I am." He replied. "Lynus told me a bit about you."

Korey scratched his head, unsure if it was good or bad hearing from another medic like Isiah. "Ummm... great?" He braced himself a little, probably out of fear of what he can do.

"You're about as honest as one can find." Isiah began. "But if you try to be lazy, I'll be glad to change that mindset."

Korey flinched upon hearing him emphasize 'glad'. Hilda placed her hands on his shoulders, reassuring him despite not knowing Isiah much like he does. "I-I'm sure he isn't lazy, Isiah." Lynus commented, fully aware that Korey never harbored a thought of laziness in his life.

"Oh, I know. I just wanted to see him flinch a little." Isiah smirked, seeing Korey's surprised face in the corner of his eye.

"What?! That's not fair!" The Highlander yelled, as Isiah chuckled with laughter as he heads down the stairs.

Korey sighed as he tried to recover from his embarrassment. "Not the second person I expected merely wanting to get a simple reaction out of me..." He commented, trying to relax himself.

"Isiah's a good person once you know him," Lynus insisted. "He just... could be a bit harsh when people are lazy."

The orange haired medic looked around for a brief moment before looking back at Korey. "Anyways, let's discuss the news you have in our room before we get too distracted with the other guild members." Korey nodded in response, figuring that it's probably better to discuss it there rather than be distracted by everyone else.

"Speaking of others, I'll make sure that they're here by the time lunch is ready. I'll see you later." Hamza announced, as the group said their goodbyes to the War Magus, before following Lynus into his room.

As Lynus placed his satchel on the table, he turned to Hilda, wanting to get a good look at her. She felt too alien to be a Vessel, as she was more fit than the people of that race. Despite her arms being purple, it didn't clue into much from what he could gather at a glance. Hell, her entire appearance basically screams that she's an extraterrestrial being.

"Interesting..." Lynus sighed, a bit lost on deducing her race. "I don't think I've seen someone like you before. You're quite different than the Sentinels, Vessels, Winged Ones, and the Yggdroids..."

Hilda sighs as she sits down on the bed with Korey. "I know I am... It doesn't help that I'm one of the last surviving members of my race; the Arken."

Lynus was... shocked. Perhaps the aura emitting from Hilda was from the weight of being a lone survivor was getting to her much more than anyone realized. Yet, despite the pressure, she seemed to have pressed on, regardless.

"That must be haunting you ever since you've left, hasn't it?" Lynus inquired, to which Hilda nodded in response. "I was stupid to think anything would change if I had been in a relationship with people outside my kind." Hilda began, folding her hands as she placed them on her lap.

Lynus paid full attention, wanting to know what he can do to help her. "To know I'm one of the last hurts me to this day... Despite my people sealing it away, we were adamant about avenging them. So we broke the seal, and defeated the bastard monstrosity that killed my kind!" She continued, feeling some left over rage and aggression build inside of her.

"But despite all that, nothing could change the fact that only me and one other Arken are the last of our kind..." Hilda groaned, feeling Korey's hand placed on hers. She turned her head to see his reassuring smile, as she tried to form a smile of her own.

Lynus felt rather sorry that Hilda had to witness such a genocide of her species. Murdering was one thing, but to hear something like Hilda had said was quite warranted of the aura he had felt from her. To be the burden to ensure that her species survives... That was daunting, and scary in the long run.

Hilda took a deep breath before continuing on. "Throughout my journey through Iorys' Yggdrasil, and after we had defeated the Star Devourer, Korey was the only one who loved me through thick and thin. He loved me for who I am, and stayed by my side through thick and thin... And I can't thank him enough for that." She finished, nuzzling Korey's cheek a bit, as his cheeks started turning red.

"I'll be honest, had not we had children, my memory wouldn't have returned to me when we finally reunited in Tharsis." Korey added, tossing yet another surprise at Lynus. "Your memory's returned?" Lynus gasped.

The Highlander responds by nodding at him. "I'm going to be honest here," Korey continued. "There's something that's bothering me recently, and it feels like my memory hasn't fully returned to me."

"What would that be?" Lynus pondered, hoping to find out as to why. "It feels like there's chains wrapped around my mind, holding tightly onto some important clue as to how I left Iorys, but no matter how hard I think, it just won't let loose..." Korey explained, sighing as Hilda placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I was hoping you'd help me find out why." He had only one option, and that was through Lynus. Despite not being a burden to his team despite the memory loss, it has been rather tough to remember up until yesterday.

Lynus placed a finger on his chin as he paced around for a bit. "That must be one elaborate curse if it's targeting specifically memories..." He spoke aloud, likely guessing a possible answer to what's going on with him. "As much as I'd like to cure that, I'm afraid there could be repercussions to removing that curse without so much of a single thought." Lynus added, shaking his head as he recalled quite well about the curse plague that occurred in Lagaard.

Was this similar to what had happened there? Were Hexers capable of cursing a vital part of humans? Or was it the cause of something else...?

"So you expect him to wait it out some more? He's been waiting with every fiber of his being to reunite with his family and guild members, do you think waiting could solve a tiny bit more of his memory?" Simon questioned, feeling like waiting was an unjust answer for this solution.

"It has to be the only option that can guarantee that there won't be any harm to him, Simon. I'm afraid Lynus is quite right with this one..." Axel responded, trusting Lynus with the decision he made.

Korey placed his hand on his head, almost as if a sudden headache occurred. He needed to know the answer, but with it being so far away, it felt like he was back at square one when he first woke up in High Lagaard. "Korey," Lynus began, getting Korey's attention.

"I know it seems tough, especially when you were so close to fully recovering, but know that you're not alone anymore. Even if there is no way to reclaim that memory, you can still live a normal life now. That's about the most good news I can give you ever since we first met back in High Lagaard, where that red-haired female Monk introduced me to you." Lynus did his best to reassure him, and to his credit, he was correct.

In fact, that day he first met Lynus felt rather significant... It was almost as if she wanted to make sure she had a way to help him restore his memories day one, only to not get that far in the end. "Yukina..." He whispered to himself, placing a hand on his chest. It felt like it was only yesterday that he had met Lynus, yet time passed that he inevitably got his own memories back, all while making new ones along the way...

Lynus heads to his satchel and searches through it, seeming to grab something from it. He returns to Korey with something in hand. "I'd like you to have this Lapis necklace to carry around." Lynus began, placing the necklace around Korey's neck.

"From what I've read, it'll help you with focusing your thoughts and concentration. It could be the key to helping you restore your memory faster, or it could be a little bit of relief if you're losing focus." He added, as Korey stared at it in wonder.

He never needed a gemstone... At first, his interest for gemstones only happened when he wanted Hibiki to be free from her nightmare filled dreams. To think Lynus still cared about him, even when he was caring about everyone else...

Lynus felt a pair of arms wrap around him, as he didn't even have the time to notice it so quickly. "U-Uh..." He stammered a bit, surprised by the sudden hug.

"Thank you, Lynus. I'll keep it close at all times." Korey thanked, as he felt Lynus return the hug.

"Don't mention it, pal." Lynus replied. "This is the least I can do to contribute to help you make a full recovery." He continued, soon separating from the hug as he approaches Hilda.

"Hilda, though we've only met for a couple of minutes, this Garnet gemstone should help remove the negativity of the haunting past that follows you." Lynus' radiant smile was enough to surprise Hilda, that she didn't even have time to notice that he had placed the gemstone necklace around her neck.

She looks at the necklace in amazement. "With that, and Korey's reassuring presence, you should be able to relax more on the present and the upcoming future." Lynus added. Hilda looked at Korey for a moment, then back at Lynus.

"I... I don't know what to say." Hilda began, soon smiling with a bit of confidence. "Thank you, Lynus. You really are such a kind person..." She thanked Lynus, who simply nodded in return.

"And if anyone were to complain, they'd have me to deal with." Axel declared, as Korey chuckled at how true that remark is. The landsknecht pauses for a moment, then looks out the window.

Lynus approached Axel. "Something wrong, Axel?" He asked, to which Axel shook his head.

"No, nothing's wrong. I was just trying to think if there was a way Korey could have a guild house close to ours." Axel spoke up, as Lynus seemed to have some interest in the thought.

Korey continued to look at the Lapis necklace, seeing how it reflected under the light. "I pray this doesn't get lost in battle." He commented, not wanting to lose a gift Lynus gave him.

"Maybe put it under your shirt so the string wouldn't get cut off." Hilda suggested. "Or better yet, leave it at the inn."

Korey stared back at Hilda. "But what if I don't wanna leave it at the inn?" He inquired, which resulted in a shrug from Hilda. "Your loss." She sighed, ending the conversation there.

"But that's not fair!" Korey blurted out, causing Hilda to giggle, silencing her husband with a kiss on the lips, catching him off guard. "You can be quite easy to tease sometimes, dear..." She cooed, seeing his cheeks turn red again.

"O-Oh shut up." Korey could only comment, making Hilda chuckle as she and Korey get up from the bed. "Now, we better head back to the others." She insisted, as Lynus and Axel approached them.

"You're not staying to meet our other guild members?" Lynus inquired, seeing Hilda shake her head. "It has been an honor to meet you and all, but if we stay any longer, our children and guild members would worry on what's taking us too long." Hilda responded, as she gave him a reassuring smile.

"Besides, I'm sure we'll have time to meet the other members of your guild later on." She added, as Lynus sighs. "Oh, alright. I suppose we could find the time for you and your guild to get to know ours." He hummed.

As Simon opened the door and exited the room, Hilda and Korey made their way out as well. "Oh, yeah, one thing before we go." Korey stopped himself, turning to Lynus as the orange haired medic looked at him.

"When we get to Iorys, if you happen to meet someone named Drayce from the Angelward Guild, tell him to come visit my guild house sometime later. I want to catch up with him sometime before we land in Lemuria." He declared, as Lynus allowed himself to try and keep that thought in mind...

Someone named Drayce from the Angelward Guild... Lynus thought to himself, before looking back at Korey. "I can certainly pass that message along, as long as I hope the guild house isn't a riot by the time we get there." Lynus chuckled a bit, to which Korey and Axel chuckled alongside him.

"Alright then, that's all for now. I'll see you later!" Korey hummed, as Axel, Lynus, and Azure waved goodbye to him.

"See ya, Korey." Lynus said with a smile on his face. "It was nice to catch up with you." Axel chuckled, as Azure repeats what Lynus said to Korey, as Korey catches up to Hilda and Simon, who were waiting outside the guild house.

Simon adjusts his coat before addressing the married couple in front of him. "Well, I can only hope that things will work out for the two of you... Who knows what would happen should you two endure more suffering than what you two have been through." Simon voiced his concern.

"I hope so, Simon." Korey replied, hoping everything goes fine in the end. "I would've hoped that there would've been a simpler answer... but as long as most of my memory has returned, who's to say I'm alright with that?"

"Me, obviously." Hilda chirped, as Korey chuckled in response, before the two of them hold hands again. Simon rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You two are just the most romantic out of the people I've seen that are married, aren't you?" He questioned, surprised they're doing it more often than Altum and Amare. "Can you blame me, Simon?" Korey questioned, hearing the medic's small complaint as the three of them start making their way back to Vivian's Inn.

"It's been at least some time since I've been with my family, and with Hilda. I gotta make up for that missing time." He added, about to go on a tangent when someone calls out to him.

"Heeeeeeey!"

Korey turns around, and almost yells in surprise when a Highlander with purple hair, brown skin, and dark yellow eyes jumped onto him, losing his grip on Hilda's hand as he quickly recognized the female Highlander. "R-Rukmini?!" He exclaimed in surprise.

"Do you have any idea how long it has been since you've had me and the others waiting?!" Rukmini exclaimed, separating himself from Korey so as to not yell in his face. "T-To be fair, I was pretty sidetracked that the thought never crossed my mind..." Korey blinked, seeming to have forgotten that minuscule promise.

"And you call yourself a Highlander? Talk about keeping little promises..." Another voice called out specifically to him, as Hilda and Simon see three more Highlanders approach him; two males, and one more female.

The red haired Highlander was taller than the other Highlanders, yet seems to have remained at that height ever since. His blue eyes were similar to the blonde haired Highlander, who was around the same height as the male to her left, who had a lighter color of brown for his hair color, and his brown eyes remained ever so adamant. They were all taller than Rukmini, on the other hand... Once they approached the group, they stopped right before them.

"Alton, Eunomia, Sanjaya..." Korey spoke their names aloud, as Hilda turned to Korey in surprise. "You know these people, dear?" She asked.

"Dear?! Who're you calling a dear?!" Rukmini yelled, surprising both Hilda and Korey.

"She obviously means Korey, Rukmini." Sanjaya spoke up, shaking his head in disappointment. "Are you sure you've never seen a wedding ring in your life?" He added, but likely only did so to further confuse Rukmini.

Eunomia stepped up and patted Korey's shoulder. "Whatever the case is, I'm glad to see that our Highlander brother is safe." She beamed, making Korey roll his eyes once again.

"Former Highlander brother, Eunomia." Korey responded, intent on making his connections just that with the four Highlanders before him. "Look, it clearly won't make a difference if you speak the truth now, you'll always be a brother to both Eunomia and Sanjaya." Alton rebutted, making Korey groan in realization.

"I know, it's not like I've noticed that." The brown haired Highlander replied, as Simon stood alongside Hilda. "An adoptive brother and sister..." Hilda pondered to herself, coming up with a question on her own. "Korey, do you recall any of your skills as a Fencer?"

Korey shook his head. "No, my skills as a Fencer are just flat up gone... but I've been trying to get back into the swing of wielding a sword again." He replied, as Hilda sighed in annoyance.

"Oh well. As long as you're good at something, you'll do quite fine when we explore Lemuria." She reassured him, as Eunomia turned to face her when she approached Korey.

"...Uh, who are you? You're not exactly human..." Eunomia inquired, though the latter half of her question seemed to irk Hilda a bit.

"I'm Hilda, Korey's wife." Hilda introduced herself. "And it doesn't matter whether or not I'm human, this is my true appearance." She added.

"Oh, okay!" Though rather confused by what she meant by that, Eunomia rolled along with it. "I'm Eunomia!" Eunomia introduced herself, as Alton shrugs at the subject change to rolling right into introductions.

"The name's Alton." Alton began. "I'm Rukmini. My adventuring skill has been quite lacking, though..." Rukmini introduced herself, sighing at the amount of skill she needs to catch up to the others.

"And I'm Sanjaya. Pleased to meet you, Hilda." Sanjaya hummed, the most calm of the four Highlanders to be alright with Hilda's current appearance.

"My name's Simon Yorke. A pleasure to meet you all." Simon introduced himself, seeing as he was the last one to be introduced.

Alton turned to Korey after he shook hands with Simon. "So, what exactly have you been up to since we last spoke, Korey?" He asked, to which Korey took a deep breath as he exhaled and scratched his head.

"A lot has happened... That's as much as I'll say." He admitted, wanting to keep it short and simple for now.

"Awww, no adventuring stories?" Eunomia groaned, hoping to hear a lot about what had happened at High Lagaard's Yggdrasil. "I'm afraid it'll take too long, Eunomia. Besides, I'd rather be back with my guilds at this point." Korey explained, to which Alton raised an eyebrow once he mentioned 'guilds'.

"You're in more than one guild?" Alton questioned, as Korey lets out a sigh. "I suppose it's better to show you than to tell. After all, you did stop us while we were trying to get back to our destination." Korey declared, as he turns around.

Sanjaya and the others were right behind him. "Lead the way, young brother." He hummed, not noticing Korey's sudden anger.

"For the last time, I am not-!" The brown haired Highlander exclaimed, only to stop himself mid sentence and took deep breaths to calm down. "My apologies, I almost retaliated in anger. I'll just start walking to our destination..." He apologized, as he took Hilda's hand once again, starting the walk back towards Vivian's inn, without any more interruptions...

...........................................................................................

Yukina has traveled with Korey for some time. Ever since, she has since dedicated herself to being an adoptive mother to him. But since his reunion with his family, the memories from before seem like it was only yesterday... And from what his guild members in the Lux Guild have told her, they treat his guild as if they were a family. It all felt... surreal, to the red haired Monk.

"Yukina?" A voice called out to her, gasping as she turns around, seeing Kirjonen approach her. "Goodness..." Yukina sighed, taking a deep breath. "You scared me for a moment."

"My apologies." Kirjonen apologized, placing his hand on the railing. "I just noticed you were staring off, and I figured I could take one last look at Tharsis along with you."

Yukina didn't mind the company, though she would've appreciated if he was more silent than giving her a surprise out of nowhere. She gave him a nod, looking back at Tharsis through the Maginia with Kirjonen. Though they had only been in Tharsis for a year and a couple of months, it felt like leaving another home.

It would be amazing to return to Tharsis, and see all of the other places that she hasn't been to... Given that Yukina had no home to return to, she wondered what it would be like to settle down. To be with the people she cared for, maybe even raise a family with... Such pleasant thoughts made her sigh, placing her hand on her chin.

"I'm going to miss Tharsis... It was a nice change from Armoroad." Yukina spoke up, after the two spent more than their fair share of staring off at Tharsis.

"So am I, Miss Yukina." Kirjonen concurred. "But I'm confident this new journey of ours will certainly make us all closer in the end." He added, as Yukina nodded in agreement.

Yukina stands up and stretches for a bit, turning her back against Tharsis as she places her hands on the railing to balance herself. "I am quite curious as to what Korey's homeland looks like... Given what his sister has told me, it seemed like he quite enjoyed living there." Yukina brought up, curious to see if what Misaki said was true.

"The other members from the Lux Guild seem to speak highly about Iorys as well." Kirjonen added. "It seems as if it was a place that had long established a bond with all kinds of races long before Tharsis did..." He noted, seeming to find a strange similarity between Iorys and Tharsis.

As Yukina and Kirjonen continue their discussion, she notices someone approaching her, along with three other people she recognizes. "E-Elwood...?" She gasps in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"As someone who was left to look over the Daybreak Guild, I figured to gather everyone in the guild, including Seyfried, Gutrune, and Kujura, and come aboard this flying ship. I'm surprised to see you as much as you are to see me." Elwood responded, expressing the same shock Yukina has when she noticed him.

"More like we were dragged into this nonsense." Kujura muttered, though unfortunately, the girl next to him seemed to have overheard him. "Kujura, stop with this nonsense." Gutrune demanded of him.

"We know Korey's guild has done some questionable things in the past, but there's no need to hark on them for such actions now." She continued, as Seyfried turns to the blonde haired Shogun. "Gutrune is right; there's no need to remind them of the previous actions of the past." Seyfried explained, to which Kujura could only scoff and stare off into the distance.

Kirjonen was at a loss for what had transpired in Armoroad. "What... exactly happened?" He inquired. Yukina took a deep breath, likely psyching herself up to tell him a shortened version of the events that transpired in Armoroad.

"Back in Armoroad, we had quite a hard time choosing which side to join, and we ended up having to find a way to bring Seyfried and Gutrune back to normal." The red-haired monk began. "But one of our members, an Yggdroid named Nu, took the Proclean Offering and risked herself to activate it. Lightning struck her once she activated it, and somehow, Seyfried and Gutrune were free from their curses at the risk of her life."

Seyfried seemed to remove his crown after Yukina finished that sentence. It was a hard memory for him to forget, after all... Gutrune patted Seyfried's shoulder, likely to reassure him that everything was fine now, and that the biggest threat back in Armoroad was destroyed.

"In the end, we had to defeat the Eldest One in order to finish our journey... or so we thought. There was a lot more to do in Armoroad, and we even encountered Flavio, Arianna, Bertrand, Chloe, and Fafnir there." Yukina continued on, as Kirjonen fervently listened.

"I see..." He mumbled as she finished up. "That must have been painful to deal with..." Kirjonen couldn't possibly imagine if such an incident occurred near Tharsis' Yggdrasil... It probably might have been even worse than the Yggdrasil Titan alone.

"It was... but neither was the events after that battle against the Eldest One." Elwood commented, no doubt still furious at what drove the Daybreak Guild to fight Dragons and to inevitably defeat the threat that made itself known months after the incident.

Seyfried placed his crown back on with his Yggdroid hand as he approached Yukina. "Alas, we are not here to dawdle on the past. Do you know where Korey is?" He inquired, hoping to know where he is.

"I don't know, I could've sworn he was in the inn with us-"

"Miss Yukina!"

A voice interrupted the red haired Monk, as she found herself suddenly in a grip with a familiar looking Highlander, who all but nuzzled against her cheek with a rather joyous look on her face. "I had no idea you were here!" Rukimini squealed, as Yukina attempted to remove herself from the hug.

"O-Of course I was here, Rukmini..." Yukina exclaimed, desperately trying to free her arms from her hug. "You knew I traveled alongside Korey." She added.

"Apparently Rukmini forgot again... Just typical of her." Alton's voice called out, as Rukmini, Yukina, and the others saw Korey, Hilda, and Simon return with three other Highlanders.

"Oh shut up!" The brown skinned Highlander barked, hearing Sanjaya and Alton laugh before she turned around and returns nuzzling Yukina. Korey notices Seyfried, Gutrune, Kujura, and Elwood, approaching them as Hilda and Simon soon followed behind him.

"It's nice to see you guys again." Korey greeted, as Seyfried, Gutrune, and Elwood all nodded, sans Kujura, who merely eyed him.

Elwood shook his former guild leader's hand, patting both his and Simon's back. "You as well, Korey and Simon. It's been at least a year since we last spoke."

Simon simply grinned. "It has been a while since we spoke, Elwood. How's the Daybreak Guild doing?" He inquired.

"They're doing just fine." Elwood responded. "I made sure to gather them all onto the Maginia. Though like curious rodents, some of them decided to explore Maginia." The black haired Shogun noted, though he was sure Korey would've wanted them to explore the Maginia anyway.

Korey noticed Seyfried, Gutrune, Kujura, and Elwood look at Hilda with a curious eye. "Everyone, this is my wife, Hilda. She's one of the last of her kind, but she's got a really caring heart."

Hilda blushed a little bit when she heard the small appreciation from Korey, but quickly noticed Seyfried and Gutrune bowing before her. "Pleasure to meet you. I am Seyfried, king of the Deep City, and this is my sister, Gutrune, princess of Armoroad, along with her guardian Shogun, Kujura." Seyfried introduced the three of them, expecting to hear Kujura at least speak nicely to someone new.

But Kujura merely scoffs at the introduction and looks away from the group. "Kujura, stop that at once." Gutrune demanded, making Kujura flinch in surprise. Normally he doesn't flinch in response to the one he serves...

"He doesn't seem to take kindly to new people..." Hilda noted, to which Gutrune sighed, and bowed again. "My apologies, Mrs. Hilda, we're doing the best we can to make him open up to others ever since the incident in Armoroad... He's just very hesitant." Gutrune explained.

"I am not." Kujura rebutted. "You sure sound like it." Elwood commented, as the two Shoguns got into a bit of an argument.

"Honestly," Kirjonen began. "I'm just more concerned that the inn wouldn't be able to hold this much guild members."

It was true... The inn may hold a lot of guild members, but even then, there must be more than enough housing on the Maginia to truly get a guild house. It'd be less work for Vivian when they do get a guild house.

"We're going to need one soon. Don't want to overpay for all the people in our guild." Simon nodded in agreement.

Overhearing the conversation, Seyfried added his two cents, "I'm sure you'll find one suitable for all of the guild members you've made along the way."

Korey nodded, confident in what Seyfried said. "By the way, these other Highlanders are the ones who raised me when I was in High Lagaard." He noted to everyone else.

Hilda, building up some unforeseen confidence, walked up to the group of Highlanders with a smile on her face. "I never thought I would say this, but thank you for taking care of Korey. If you hadn't, we wouldn't have been reunited ever again."

"You're welcome~" Rukini chirped, before being whisked away by Eunomia.

"I swear, you're so bothersome..." The blonde haired Highlander sighed, as Rukmini struggles and exclaims that she just wanted to hug Yukina for a couple more minutes. Seeing that sight reminded Korey and Hilda about Demetria and Keiko so much that they couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"Hope we're not interrupting." A boy's voice spoke up, as Korey, Hilda, Kirjonen, and Yukina turned to see Riaels, Akakio, Tyro, and Hibiki exiting the inn. "Oh, no you weren't." Korey replied, assuring them that they weren't interrupting anything.

"That's good... We're going to take Tyro out for a walk before the ship takes off in an hour." Akakio explained, as Korey and Hilda nodded in response. The two boys, along with their Beast companion, didn't go too far when they noticed Hibiki stop to talk with Korey.

"Come your ways, didst thee findeth out whither our ultimate destination is?" She asked, curious to know where their end destination is.

"It seems to be an island called Lemuria." Korey responded. Hibiki gasped upon hearing Lemuria, as the Dark Hunter and Troubadour stood by her, seeming to overhear her gasp.

"Hibiki? What's wrong?" Riaels asked, seeing the confused look in Hibiki's eyes.

Lemuria...

The island named Lemuria...

"That name..." Hibiki began. "It's familiar to me... but wherefore can't I recall that island until now?"

Hibiki was at a loss as to how she had not remembered such a place. Was it due to the aftermath of what happened back in High Lagaard? Did her constant nightmares seem to wash away any memories she had there?

"Is there something of importance there?" Akakio asked next, trying not to rush her. She placed her hand on her chin, trying to collect some thought or importance as to what can be there...

"I don't recall..." She sighed, unable to conclude to anything. The name still lingered in her mind, however.

Hilda looked at Korey with worry. Like she was afraid Hibiki might never know the answer. After quickly assuring her, Korey asked his question. "Could Lemuria be your birthplace, Hibiki?"

"Ugh, your meaning escapes me... lest I getting a headache from trying to recall mine past." Hibiki replied, pressing her fingers against her head as if she had felt a headache. She felt a hand land on her shoulder, and she turned to face the brown skinned Dark Hunter.

Riaels' worrying face caught her a bit off guard. "Hibiki, don't rush it. Just take it slow, and we'll find out in due time." He reassured her.

"B-But..." She stuttered, wanting to know the answer with urgency. "Hibiki, trust us." Korey continued, his calming voice reaching Hibiki's ears as she paid attention to the Highlander.

"There's plenty of time before we set off to Lemuria. Just relax and maybe we'll find some clue as to where you were born on Lemuria." He added, patting Hibiki's shoulder as she takes deep breaths for a while.

Once she was calm, she looked up at him. "Thou art right... I'll taketh a breaketh after we wend for a walketh around the Maginia." Hibiki spoke with a smile on her face.

"Cometh, thee three." She urged, beginning to walk off as Akakio and Riaels caught up with Tyro and Hibiki. After seeing those four off, Seyfried approached Korey.

"You've grown as a leader quite well, Highlander." Seyfried expressed, as Korey stood up and looked at him with a confident smile. "Thanks, Seyfried." Korey replied.

"Excuse me." A voice called out, catching everyone's attention. A guard, presumably one of the guards that walked alongside two people within the square, approached them.

"What business do you have here?" Kujura inquired, as the guard turned to him.

"If someone by the name of Korey is present, Mueller would like to speak with him. He'll be waiting on the bridge." The guard spoke aloud, not just at Kujura, before returning to his post.

Hilda turns to Korey, smirking a little bit. "Seems like you've been summoned." She commented, as Korey lets out a sigh.

"Indeed it is... Guess I won't be relaxing quite yet." Korey groaned, hearing Hilda chuckle and patted his shoulder, urging him to continue on.

Before Korey could start walking, he felt his pants being tugged at. "Daddy, can me and Shreya come along?" Karim inquired, as Korey looks down at Karim and Shreya.

"And just how long have you two been listening?" Kirjonen inquired, to which Shreya turned to reply to him. ""Only a couple of seconds. But we wanna be with papa and momma!" She insisted.

Although the business he could be talking about could be important, how could he not keep himself away from his family anymore? He's been away from them for far too long, and yet, he's not quite sure. The look he's getting from Hilda seems to only urge him on...

Shreya felt herself getting lifted up and placed onto someone's shoulders. She looks down to see her father's eyes and smile. "You can come along, but it'll just be us adults talking. So I hope you won't be bored." He explained, but Shreya was far too happy to care.

"I promise, daddy!" She chirped with excitement, getting a chuckle from Korey. "Then let's go! Off to a new adventure!" Korey exclaimed, sprinting as he held on tight to Shreya, who was laughing as she too, held onto him.

Hilda could hear Shreya yell, "Move faster, Daddy!" alongside some chuckles and giggles. She picks up Karim and places him on her shoulders, before sprinting off to catch up with Korey. Yukina couldn't help but smile at the scene.

"Korey sure is a great father, even when he's heading to an important meeting." Yukina chuckled, as Simon and Seyfried nodded in agreement. "Well, let's just hope he comes back with a guild house for us to reside in." Elwood noted, hoping that the brown haired Highlander comes back with good news.

"Here's hoping..." Kirjonen nodded, as he oversees Korey and Hilda running off, Hilda taking quite the lead as she leads him to the bridge. He looks back at Tharsis, recalling the many times Korey's guild had helped him out.

"Farewell, Tharsis." He hummed to himself, as he motions for the others to head inside the inn. Seyfried, along with the group of four Higlanders, urged the others to follow, as Kujura closed the door behind Elwood, who made sure everyone got inside.

..........................................................................................................

The Count took a look outside his window, seeing the Maginia beginning to take flight. The steam the ship expelled was lifting the ship off of the ground, seeing it slowly turn once the people on board were sure they weren't going to damage any buildings. Margarita panted as she watched the ship start to take off.

Tharsis, however lively it was, has just gotten a little quieter. Two guilds of importance to him, the Refulgent and Phaedron, had just boarded the ship, promising them a new journey. No other explorers would be able to get new airships, but at the very least, some Imperials were kind enough to stay behind to ferry those who were going to visit Tharsis.

"Well Margarita," The Count began, petting her on the head. "It looks like we'll have to pray for their safe return." He closed his eyes, as he recalled the faces of the Phaedron and Refulgent guilds.

Margarita continued to pant for a while. "Phaedron and the Refulgent guild got along quite well," He commented to himself, opening his eyes to see the ship in the sky, fixated on a direction before beginning to move, it's destination locked in place. "I pray that the Guardians look over them well." The Count smiled, as he overlooked the departing of the Maginia.

After all, they'll build a bright, shining future, together. Each and every explorer he came across, as well as those of the Guardians, will build to a peaceful future, hand in hand.

#EO #writing #Etrian Odyssey #Etrian Odyssey III #Etrian Odyssey IV #etrian odyssey 2 untold #Etrian Odyssey V

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bryonygracev-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Olympus Reborn Pilot

Episode 1

Scene 1- Outside Estate, Day 1, Early Evening

ANASTASIA, an 18 year old girl, in dark clothes and a leather jacket that’s way too big for her, walks up the steps to an abandoned appearing Estate, she opens the front door without knocking and is met with a knife against her throat, held by NIKOLAI, a smartly-dressed 20 year old.

ANASTASIA

Now, now I thought we agreed we would stop trying to kill each other. [Lowers knife]

NIKOLAI

[Annoyed]

[Puts knife away] You should have knocked, or at least told us you were on your way back.

ANASTASIA pushes the knife away and follows the sound of people talking to the room to the left of the corridor, when she enters the room appears as it once was last time someone lived at the Estate. The room is bright, decorated in white and gold, a pearl white piano sits in the corner of the room, a young girl sits at the piano playing music, when she stops people clap. The sound dies out, the room fades to how it is now the wallpaper is faded, the piano is covered in dust. NEMO, INO, ANATOLIUS, AIMILIOS and XENIA are leaning against the wall on the left side, they greet ANASTASIA, their friend, with kind smiles. THAIS, ALEXANDRA, HALI and MATTHIAS are standing up straight opposite them, they greet ANASTASIA with worried and cautious looks. The difference in class is apparent in the way they are dressed, ANASTASIA, ANATOLIUS, AIMILIOS, XENIA and INO are dressed in everyday clothes, while THAIS, ALEXANDRA, NEMO, HALI, MATTHIAS and NIKOLAI are smartly dressed in clothes that would cost the others two months of wages.

MATTHIAS

[Clears throat, everyone turns to look at him] We [gestures to HALI and NIKOLAI] got here early so we could fix the place up, the kitchen now has a fridge, oven and all that and every room has working electric lights.

ANASTASIA

Awesome

MATTHIAS

Well, we didn’t have time to clean all the rooms, the bed frames are fine but I think we could do with some new mattresses and duvets and anything else people need to make it feel homey.

XENIA

[Exhausted by the situation they’re stuck in] And what are we supposed to do for tonight?

ALEXANDRA

We could crash in the living room, you got sofas and a TV right?

HALI

Yeah I’m sure we can find some suitable blankets some where, why don’t we all have a tour of the place?

There’s a moment of awkward silence, no one except HALI is feeling enthusiastic, HALI ignores this and walks out the room gesturing for them to follow him. They all reluctantly follow him.

CUT TO

The kitchen appears as it once was, the kitchen staff is rushing busy at work making tea, the kitchen is loud from the noise of the food being made and the kitchen staff making conversation. The sound dies out, the kitchen staff disappear, now the old kitchen appliances have been replaced by new modern technology, HALI steps into the middle of the kitchen, spinning round to show off the new kitchen, he stops and points at the fridge.

HALI

We also didn’t have time to do a food shop, [rubs the back of his head] so uh takeaway for tonight

XENIA

[Feeling bad about being snappy before, as it is not normally like her, fakes cheeriness] Sounds good to me I love takeaway

INO

[Noticing this, and to pretending to be more enthusiastic] You mentioned before that you sorted the rooms out?

HALI

[Wide grin] Yeah [Rushes out of the room, everyone following behind him, he darts up the stairs, still talking as he does] Everyone has a room on the East side of the house, [gets to the top of the stairs] that way we each get a room with a balcony [walking down the corridor], me, NIKOLAI, ALEXANDRA, INO, AIMILIOS and ANASTASIA are on the first floor, MATTHIAS, THAIS, XENIA, NEMO and ANATOLIUS are on the second floor, NEMO and ANATOLIUS if you two can manage to put up with each other you two are sharing a room.

NEMO and ANATOLIUS sneer at each other mockingly before cracking into a smile.

NEMO

That’s great thanks HALI

HALI stops at the end of the corridor and gestures to the room next to them.

HALI

That’s your room Anastasia

ANASTASIA opens the door, like before the room appears as it once was, everything in the room is pristine and decadent, it’s clear it once belonged to a young woman by the decoration of the room. It then appears as it is now, cold and covered in cobwebs.

ANASTASIA

[Distracted] Please call me Sia

Scene 2- Living Room, Day 1, Evening

ANASTASIA drops down onto the sofa next to NEMO and ANATOLIUS, HALI gestures silently to ANASTASIA to see if he could sit in the spot next to her, ANASTASIA nods in response. NIKOLAI watches this from the armchair he’s sat on with caution and worry, he has no trust for ANASTASIA and is protective of HALI. AIMILIOS, THAIS, ALEXANDRA and MATTHIAS are sat on the other sofa, INO and XENIA are sat on the floor fiddling with a puzzle.

ANASTASIA

[Dumps her bag in the middle of the room] Before I forget in there is your new birth certificates, passports and you all better know how to drive because I got you drivers licences as well.

They all search through the bag for their new ID’s.

ANATOLIUS

[Grimaces at his photo ID]

You could have chosen more flattering photos.

NEMO

[Looks at the photo]

Mmmm you look like a psychopath, [ANATOLIUS turns around and glares at NEMO] A very cute psychopath.

THAIS

Hard to look flattering in a photo when you’re not allowed to smile.

ALEXANDRA

[To THAIS] You are able to not smile?

THAIS

[Slaps ALEXANDRA’s arm] Nothing wrong with being smiley.

AIMILIOS

Guess this makes it official

MATTHIAS

No need to sound so glum

AIMILIOS goes to say something, ANATOLIUS knowing his friend well sends him a warning look

ANATOLIUS

Milo don’t

AIMILIOS

[Snaps] What part of the situation is good? We’re here because our home is being attacked, so we’re here stuck with people we don’t trust

NIKOLAI

Well, we’re going to have to learn how to trust each other.

ANASTASIA

You had a knife to my throat two minutes ago you idiot.

NIKOLAI

[Sternly]

You didn’t knock.

ANASTASIA

[Over dramatically, falling back onto NEMO’s lap]

Oh of all the things I have done I don’t think I will ever forgive myself for not knocking on the door to my own house.

INO

I don’t think your dramatics are going to help ANASTASIA.

ANATOLIUS

[Looking up at ANASTASIA] I thought it was funny.

INO

Don’t encourage her.

HALI’s stomach grumbles and everyone turns their attention to him and he blushes.

HALI

Come on let’s order some food, why don’t we stick a movie on, think we can manage to do that without ripping each others throats out?

ANATOLIUS raises an eyebrow at AIMILIOS causing him to crack a smile.

AIMILIOS

Yeah I think we can manage

ALEXANDRA

Why don’t we all change and grab some blankets for tonight

SCENE 3- ALEXANDRA’S BEDROOM, DAY I, EVENING

THAIS is leaning against the wall next to the bathroom, talking to ALEXANDRA who is in the bathroom getting changed.

THAIS

NIKOLAI was right, about how we need to work on the whole trust thing.

ALEXANDRA

[Talking from the bathroom]

Don’t tell Nik you said that you’d never hear the end of it.

THAIS

Come on I’m being serious… it’s not like we can blame them.

ALEXANDRA

[Opening the door and stepping out of the bathroom]

Blame them?

THAIS

For the rebellion, we can’t exactly blame them for who they are related too.

CUT TO

FLASHBACK- THAIS remembers back to ten years ago, she stands with ALEXANDRA, HALI, NEMO, MATTHIAS and NIKOLAI, they watch as a large group of people no younger than 25 and no older than 40 stand waiting for their judgement. KAIUS, a young man stands in front of the others, being the leader of the rebellion he is first to receive his judgement, the King stands on a podium before them.

KING

Kaius Shade for the crime of treason, you are therefore condemned to exile.

CUT TO

ALEXANDRA

No we can’t, but it’s not like they are not doing the same thing.

HALI O.S

They have a better reason for it

THAIS and ALEXANDRA turn around in shock, not noticing he had entered the room.

ALEXANDRA

[Shocked] You can’t be serious?

HALI

After certain things have happened [pulls the neck of his shirt to show three gashes across his chest] I’ve come to think that Kaius was right, come on food should be here soon.

The three of them leave the room and come to halt when they here a load of crashes coming from a room at the end of the corridor the crashes continue and then stops, AIMILIOS and ANATOLIUS back out of the room and slowly turn their heads to see HALI, ALEXANDRA and THAIS staring at them.

AIMILIOIS/ANATOLIUS

It’s fine… we can totally fix it

XENIA O.S

[Shouting from downstairs]

Hurry up or we’ll start the movie without you

SCENE 4- GRAVEYARD, DAY 1, EVENING

CZARINA a 12 year old girl, is walking through the graveyard, holding the hood of her raincoat over her head with one hand and a torch in the other. She walks over to a family crypt, which has the surname DRAYCE written above the doorway. CZARINA opens the crypt and takes a look inside, she gets a startled by something scurrying across the floor and jumps back knocking open one of the stone coffins and falling over, cutting her hand. She gets back up and closes the coffin, some of her blood dripping inside. Leave scene focussing on the blood dripping into the coffin.

SCENE 5- ESTATE LIVING ROOM, DAY 1, EVENING

The end credits of the movie are planning, they are all wrapped up in blankets.

HALI

Whose bright idea was it to watch a horror movie set in abandoned house when we are currently in an abandoned house?

NIKOLAI

Awe is HALI scared?

HALI throws a pillow at NIKOLAI, NIKOLAI gets up to clear the rubbish outside and stops when he sees Czarina outside from the window

NIKOLAI

[Seriously]

Guys I think there’s someone outside.

HALI

Not funny Nik

NIKOLAI

I’m not joking.

MATTHIAS gets up and looks out the window.

MATTHIAS

He’s not [pause as he looks closer], I think it’s a kid.

MATTHIAS rushes outside, and the others run to the front door, they see MATTHIAS ushering the kid, CZARINA, inside so she was out of the rain.

MATTHIAS

I’ll get you the first aid kit, [leaves]

ALEXANDRA

What are you doing outside alone?

CZARINA

[Matter of factly]

Went for a walk and got lost, do you have a phone I could borrow I should probably call my sister, mine died.

ALEXANDRA pulls out her phone and hands it to CZARINA

CZARINA

Hey Nat-

NATALIA O.S

[On the phone]

I’m coming to get you

CZARINA

How do you know where I am?

NATALIA O.S

Tracking your phone.

CZARINA

What the hell Nat!

NATALIA O.S

Shouldn’t wander off, is there an adult with you?

CZARINA

Yeah, there’s a bunch of people in the Estate

NATALIA O.S

Put one of them on the phone

CZARINA hands the phone over to ALEXANDRA.

ALEXANDRA

Hello

NATALIA

Hi, I’m Natalia, Czarina’s older sister, I’m really sorry she’s disturbed you, would you mind keeping an eye on her until I get there?

ALEXANDRA

Of course, are you driving over?

NATALIA

Yes, why?

ALEXANDRA

It’s just, it’s dark and raining and you’re driving across country roads so just be careful.

NATALIA

Will do.

ALEXANDRA

[Hangs up the phone, to Czarina]

Why don’t you grab a blanket and warm yourself up while you wait for your sister.

CZARINA

Thank you, [walks into the living room] how long have you guys lived here?, I didn’t know this place wasn’t abandoned anymore, then again I haven’t lived here long

ANASTASIA

[Hands CZARINA a blanket]

About 5 hours.

CZARINA

Huh

ANASTASIA

[Knows she was lying] What were you doing?

CZARINA

Like I said I went for a walk.

ANASTASIA

Through a graveyard at night?

CZARINA

I didn’t say I was walking through a graveyard.

ANASTASIA

You left the gate open [points to the window where NIKOLAI first saw the kid]

CZARINA

Someone from school dared me to go into the graveyard yesterday, when I did I saw a crypt with my surname on it, went back to have a look round.

INO

Find anything?

AIMILIOS

Don’t say you saw a ghost, you might give HALI a heart attack

HALI

I hate all of you

CZARINA

Just a bunch of coffins

MATTHIAS walks into the room with a first aid kit, sits down next to CZARINA

MATTHIAS

This is going to sting [begins cleaning the graze on CZARINA’s hand]

There’s a knock at the door.

ANASTASIA

I’ll get it [gets up to open the door]

ANASTASIA opens the door and ushers NATALIA inside.

NATALIA

[Angry, but relieved to see CZARINA is safe]

You are so grounded! How the hell could you be so irresponsible!

CZARINA

I’m fine!

NATALIA

Just because this time you’re fine means that is safe to wander off on your own like that!

ALEXANDRA looks out of the window and sees that the rain is getting heavier.

ALEXANDRA

It doesn’t look too good out there, [looks back at Natalia and Czarina] look I don’t think it’s safe for you to be driving at night in weather like this, there’s more than enough room in here you are welcome to stay.

ANASTASIA, NIKOLAI, AIMILIOS, ANATOLIUS, INO, HALI, XENIA and THAIS share worried looks.

MATTHIAS

ALEXANDRA is right

NATALIA

That is very kind, thank you

CZARINA

We’re not seriously staying here are we?

NATALIA

Czarnina don’t be rude

CZARINA

It’s an abandoned house

ANASTASIA

I think we’ve got some spare blankets upstairs, Nikolai would you mind giving me a hand?

Nikolai looks at ANASTASIA curiously, she silently urges him to follow her and he does.

CUT TO

NIKOLAI and ANASTASIA walk up the stairs, NIKOLAI waits till he knows they are out of ear shot before speaking.

NIKOLAI

You going to tell me what this is about?

ANASTASIA

I have a bad feeling

NIKOLAI

About what?

ANASTAISA

About this house, about them

NIKOLAI

Them?

ANASTASIA

[Stops at the top of the stairs]

I cut through the graveyard on my way here, there is only one family crypt and it belongs to the Drayce family

NIKOLAI

So?

ANASTASIA

So, that’s the family that used to own this house.

NIKOLAI

[Unconvincingly] Ok, it could just be a coincidence, they might not actually be related to them just share the same name

ANASTASIA

I just think we should look into it, that’s all

NIKOLAI

SCENE 6- DOORWAY OF THE ESTATE, DAY 2, MORNING

ALEXANDRA is at the front door waving off CZARINA and NATALIA, when the car drives away she shuts the door and turns to everyone waiting around in the living room.

ALEXANDRA

Alright, MATTHIAS, HALI, INO and XENIA stay here and start cleaning out the rooms, AIMILIOS, NEMO, ANATOLIUS and THAIS why don’t you guys take the moving van and pick out mattresses, duets and whatnot, NIKOLAI and ANASTASIA we are going to go food shopping.

XENIA/INO/AIMILIOS/ANATOLIUS

Yes Ma’am

SCENE 7- FURNITURE STORE, DAY 2, MORNING

AIMILIOS, ANATOLIUS, NEMO and THAIS walk into the furniture store.

AIMILIOS

Alrighty, we should get the heavy stuff out of the way first.

NEMO

It’s going to take a hell load of trips to get everything in the moving van.

THAIS

[Tying her hair back] We best crack on then.

SCENE 7- CAR, DAY 2, MORNING

ALEXANDRA is driving the car, NIKOLAI in the passenger seat and ANASTASIA in the seat behind him.

ALEXANDRA

So you idiots going to tell me what you were talking about last night?

NIKOLAI

Don’t know what you’re talking about

ALEXANDRA

Wow, after all the years we’ve known each other you still think you can lie to me, besides you two hate each other.

ANASTASIA

[Rolls eyes]

I wanted to look into the Drayce family, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that a possible Drayce ends up at our house the night we move in.

ALEXANDRA

Ok. And you couldn’t tell us this together why?

ANASTASIA

[Shrugs]

Didn’t want to ruin the fresh start with my suspicions, not until I found out if they were right or not

NIKOLAI

[Turns round to face ANASTASIA, curious]

Why did you tell me?

ANASTASIA

Didn’t think it would help with the whole trust thing if I started looking into the Drayce family without telling you, thought you would think I was up to something.

NIKOLAI

Fair, thank you

ANASTASIA looks shocked and goes to make a remark.

NIKOLAI

[Tries to hide smile] Don’t get used to it.

ALEXANDRA

Alright then, we’ll look into it together

SCENE 8- ESTATE BEDROOM, DAY 2 LATE MORNING

MATTHIAS, INO, HALI and XENIA are dancing around and lip syncing to the music that is on full blast as they clean one of the bedrooms, INO spins XENIA around as they pass each other in the hallway, the guitar solo part of the song comes on and HALI uses his broom as a guitar.

SCENE 9- SHOP, DAY 2 LATE MORNING

NIKOLAI is leaning forward against the cart as he pushes it along following ANASTASIA down the cereal isle as she picks five boxes of cereal, each one different.

NIKOLAI

Why do we need so much cereal?

ANASTASIA

INO and XENIA like the healthy bran cereal with fruit, but INO likes one with strawberries and XENIA hates strawberries so I have to get a different one for her, ANATOLIUS likes whatever has the most sugar, and AIMILIOS and NEMO like wheatabix and I got two because we’ve got to feed 11 so…

NIKOLAI

[Finding it interesting that she hasn’t mentioned herself] And you?

ANASTASIA

And me what?

NIKOLAI

What cereal do you like?

ANASTASIA

[Shrugs] Not much of a breakfast person, will your lot like any of this cereal?

NIKOLAI

Yeah

CUT TO

ALEXANDRA is in the household supplies isle, she’s trying to reach the kitchen roll on the top shelf but can’t reach.

ALEXANDRA

Dammit [checks to see if anyone is seeing] [mutters an incantation, it doesn’t work, she repeats it with more assertiveness and the kitchen roll drops into her hands]

When she turns around she sees someone at the end of the aisle watching her, she scurries off to NIKOLAI and ANASTASIA worried that they saw what happened.

CUT TO

ALEXANDRA rejoins NIKOLAI and ANASTASIA, NIKOLAI sees the worried look on her face.

NIKOLAI

Alex? What’s wrong?

ALEXANDRA

[Whispering]

I did a spell and I think someone might have saw, so we have to keep our heads down. [Looking over her shoulder, she sees the man who saw them following them down the aisle].

SCENE 10- OUTSIDE THE ESTATE, DAY 2, EARLY AFTERNOON

THAIS, ANATOLIUS, AIMILIOS and NEMO jump out of the moving van, ANATOLIUS and NEMO go to the back to open it, AIMILIOS notices a tattoo like mark on THAIS’ neck, two symbols one being the symbol of APHRODITE and the other something he doesn’t recognise.

AIMILIOS

Aphrodite huh?

THAIS

What?

NEMO

[Opening the front door, shouting]

Hey guys we could use some help getting the stuff in

XENIA, HALI, MATTHIAS and INO are heard rushing down the stairs, they open the front door and begin helping NEMO and ANATOLIUS take the stuff out of the moving van.

AIMILIOS

Your tattoo [gesturing to the back of her neck], its the symbol of Aphrodite right?

THAIS

I don’t have any tattoos

AIMILIOS

Well, its definitely not a birthmark on your neck

THAIS

[Panicking]

Take a picture

AIMILIOS takes out his phone and takes a picture of the mark on THAIS’ neck and shows it to her, THAIS panics even more when she realises he’s not joking.

THAIS

Is it pen?

AIMILIOS checks the back of her neck, INO gestures for the others to stop what they are doing when she sees the panic on THAIS’ face.

INO

Is everything ok?

THAIS

There’s something on my neck

AIMILIOS

It doesn’t look like pen, it looks like a tattoo

THAIS

I think I would have noticed if I got a tattoo

INO

Right why don’t we put this down for a se- [looks over at the others and notices a mark on ANATOLIUS', who’s standing next to her, neck] Toli you’ve got one too

ANATOLIUS

What?

INO

Everyone check each others necks now!

They all check each others necks. AIMILIOS has the symbol of ARES on his neck, ANATOLIUS- APOLLO, INO- ARTEMIS, NEMO- HESTIA, MATTHIAS- HEPHAESTUS, XENIA- HERMES, HALI- POSEIDON, and the same rune like symbol underneath.

SCENE 11- SHOP CAR PARK, DAY 2, EARLY AFTERNOON

ALEXANDRA is driving away from the supermarket, NIKOLAI in the front passenger seat and ANASTASIA sat behind him. ALEXANDRA looks in the rear view mirror and sees the person who saw her doing magic driving in the car behind, she turns left, the opposite way to get home, NIKOLAI and ANASTASIA notice this.

NIKOLAI

What are you doing?

ALEXANDRA

The man that saw me doing magic, they’re behind us

ANASTASIA

You just keep driving, we’ll keep an eye on the car

ANASTASIA and NIKOLAI keep their eyes on the left hand rear view mirror, ALEXANDRA keeps driving, getting to the quiet country lanes she speeds up in the hope of losing the car behind them. ANASTASIA’s phone rings, it is INO.

INO

[On the phone]

Check your necks!

ANASTASIA

What?

INO

Check your necks see if there is a tattoo there

ANASTASIA

[Confused]

Ok, [To NIKOLAI and ALEXANDRA] I need to check your necks, [leans over and sees that NIKOLAI has the two symbols, one being the symbol of ZEUS and the same with ALEXANDRA- HERA], [To NIKOLAI] Can you check my neck, see if I’ve got a tattoo

ANASTASIA turns around so NIKOLAI can check her neck, NIKOLAI sees that she has a tattoo, symbol of HADES.

NIKOLAI

Yeah, you do, it looks like the symbol of Hades, I don’t know what the symbol at the bottom is.

ANASTASIA

[To INO]

Yeah we’ve got them, what’s going on?

INO

Just stay calm and try and get home as soon as you can, we’re setting up defences, let us know when you’re almost home so we can open up the front gate for you.

ANASTASIA

Ok. [INO ends the call] [To ALEXANDRA] Step on it, we’ve got to get home

ALEXANDRA drives faster, the car behind them is still following them.

NIKOLAI

They’re still following us, we need to lose them

ALEXANDRA

[Shouting]

Don’t you think I’m trying!

NIKOLAI

I me-

ANASTASIA

No!

NIKOLAI

What?

ANASTASIA

We could get them hurt

NIKOLAI

And what do you think they want to do to us Anastasia?

ANASTASIA

[Hesitant, scared]

Alexandra?

ALEXANDRA

We can’t let them find us, find the others

CUT TO

FLASHBACK- ANASTASIA remembers back to ten years ago, the night of the rebellion, her father, KAIUS, kneels before her, tears appearing in his eyes, INO, ANATOLIUS, AIMILIOS and XENIA’s parents stand behind him.

KAIUS

I have to go

YOUNG ANASTASIA

[Cries] Why?

KAIUS

Because we can’t stand by while people need our help, ok? You fight Anastasia, you hear me? You fight for those that need your help, for the people that cannot protect themselves.

CUT TO

ANASTASIA looks back at NIKOLAI and nods, they turn around so they could see the car following them and they both say the same incantation, lightning hits the front of the car and a shadowy mist flips the car over. Both of them are shocked to see what happened, neither of them expected that to happen.

ALEXANDRA

What is it, what’s wrong?

NIKOLAI

Nothing just keep driving

SCENE 12- OUSIDE THE ESTATE, DAY 2 AFTERNOON

INO gets a phone call from ANASTASIA, she doesn’t answer just rushes over to the gate and opens it up letting the car in. ANASTASIA, ALEXANDRA and NIKOLAI rush out of the car and get the shopping out, with the help of the others.

ALEXANDRA

[Says an incantation to change the appearance of the car but nothing happens, repeats it again but nothing happens]

THAIS

What’s wrong? Why isn’t it working?

ALEXANDRA

Everyone stand around the car

Everyone gathers around the car.

ALEXANDRA

Just focus on a [type of car] with the licence plates [licence plates]

They all stare at the car focusing on the image until the car changes.

XENIA

Come on let’s get the shopping inside

They each grab two bags and head inside.

SCENE 13- KITCHEN, DAY 2, AFTERNOON

All of them minus XENIA are hanging around the kitchen.

AIMILIOS

[Shouting] You did magic!

HALI

Hey!

AIMILIOS

Ok, I know I’m shouting and I’m sorry, actually I’m not going to apologise, what you did was stupid and reckless!

ALEXANDRA

I said I’m sorry!

XENIA walks into the kitchen carrying a large leather-bound book, ignoring the argument taking place.

XENIA

We’re missing Demeter and Athena

AIMILIOS

What?

XENIA

You my dear have the symbol of Ares on your neck, I have Hermes, Thais Aphrodite, Matthias Hephaestus, Alexandra Hera, Anatolius Apollo, Ino Artemis, Nemo Hestia, Hali Poseidon, Anastasia Hades and Nikolai Zeus

ANASTASIA and NIKOLAI share a look, thinking back to what happened in the car.

AIMILIOS

What is it? [Pause] What is it?

NIKOLAI

We did cause the car to crash, but not the way we intended, lightning hit the car and then this shadowy mist flipped it over

XENIA

Zeus and Hades

THAIS

What about the other symbol?

XENIA

I can’t find it

THAIS

What?

XENIA

This book has every symbol of Hecate magic, so-

THAIS

So it has to be from more modern magic, magic not from [HIDDEN]

XENIA

Exactly

ANASTASIA

[To NIKOLAI] How much do you want to bet the family that used to live here were witches?

There is a loud banging on the front door, which causes them to jump up in fear. NIKOLAI leads the way, they all steadily walk to the front door, ready for a fight, NIKOLAI opens the door, and sees that it’s only CZARINA and they all sigh in relief. CZARINA is drenched from the rain, it’s dark outside, they all share a confused look as they were outside a couple of minutes ago and it was sunny and only the afternoon. MATTHIAS checks his clock.

MATTHIAS

[Confused] It’s 10pm

They all stare at each other in confusion, almost forgetting that CZARINA was standing there.

CZARINA

[Demands] Where is my sister?

NIKOLAI

What?

CZARINA

Natalia, where is she?

NIKOLAI

I have no idea

CZARINA

She said she was coming here and that was hours ago!

ALEXANDRA

I’m sorry but we haven’t seen her

CZARINA

That’s her car!

CZARINA points to the car parked next to theirs, they are all shocked because surely they would have heard the car, or seen NATALIA

INO

We’ve been here all day and we haven’t seen her

CZARINA

She said she was coming here.

ALEXANDRA

Why?

CZARINA

She wanted to know what you did to us

NIKOLAI

What?

CZARINA turns around and lifts her hair up, showing them the tattoo like mark on her neck, the same as theirs, the one at the top being the symbol of ATHENA.

XENIA

[To herself] That makes Natalia Demeter

ALEXANDRA

We’ve got them too [Shows CZARINA her mark] we don’t know how we got them either

ANASTASIA

Maybe she tried the front door but we couldn’t hear her, she could have gone round the back, why don’t we check.

They all move down the corridor to the back of the house, to the room overlooking the garden, there in the middle of the garden is a labyrinth made of hedges, their jaws drop, because that was not there before.

ANASTASIA

Ino, Alexandra stay with Czarina, call an ambulance just in case

ANASTASIA, NIKOLAI, NEMO, ANATOLIUS, THAIS, AIMILIOS, MATTHIAS, HALI and XENIA rush out the door to the garden, CZARINA goes to run after them but INO and ALEXANDRA hold her back.

CUT TO

ANASTASIA, NIKOLAI, NEMO, ANATOLIUS, THAIS, AIMILIOS, MATTHIAS, HALI and XENIA get to the entrance of the maze there’s three path ways, they split off into three, ANASTASIA, ANATOLIUS and NEMO run left, AIMILIOS, THAIS and XENIA run straight ahead and NIKOLAI, MATTHIAS and HALI run right.

CUT TO

ANASTASIA, ANATOLIUS and NEMO run through the labyrinth, they hold onto each others hands tightly, fearing what would happen if they let go and lost echoer in the maze. The rain is getting harder, making it more difficult for them to see where they are going.

CUT TO

ALEXANDRA is on the phone to 999.

ALEXANDRA

We need an ambulance at [Address]

CZARINA stares out into the maze, her eyes widen in fear.

CZARINA

There’s something in the maze, there’s something out there

INO

It’s probably just them

CZARINA

No there’s something out there, there’s something with them!

999 Operator O.S

Did she say there is something with them? Do I need to call the police?

CUT TO

NIKOLAI, MATTHIAS and HALI running through the labyrinth, they stop for a second when they get to a crossroad before making a decision as to what direction they should run in.

CUT TO

THAIS slips on the mud and XENIA and AIMILIOS pull her back up, XENIA hesitates.

AIMILIOS

What?

XENIA

Thought I heard something

CUT TO

ANASTASIA, ANATOLIUS and NEMO, they almost run past her, but NEMO is able to see her from the corner of his eye, a girl, NATALIA, lying on the floor, he pulls the other two with him as he runs towards her. There NATALIA is lying on the ground in the middle of the maze, NEMO is so focussed on her that it isn’t till ANATOLIUS gets him to look up it is that he notices it, a Minotaur. It stands opposite them, NATALIA lying between them, its eyes glare at them.

ANASTASIA

[At the top of her voice] Get out of the maze!

AIMILIOS O.S

Anastasia?

ANASTASIA

Get out of the maze!

The Minotaur snarls before turning around and running in the direction AIMILIOS’ voice was coming from, they contemplate going after it but realise they should take care of NATALIA. They rush over to her, ANATOLIUS checks to see a pulse and is relieved to find one.

ANATOLIUS

I think she’s just unconscious

ANATOLIUS scoops NATALIA up in his arms.

NEMO

We should get her inside

ANASTASIA

If we’re able to find out way out of here

CUT TO

AIMLIOS, XENIA and THAIS are running back the way they came, the sound of large footsteps and snarling, the Minotaur, is coming from behind them.

AIMLIOS

Don’t look behind you

They turn around a corner and crash into NIKOLAI, MATTHIAS and HALI, who hadn’t heard ANASTASIA’s warning, they all pick themselves up, NIKOLAI, MATTHIAS and HALI notice the scared looks on their faces and are about to question it when the Minotaur approaches around the corner and they no longer have to ask.

HALI

What the-

NIKOLAI grabs a stunned HALI and they run as fast as they can through the maze, AIMILIOS comes up with a plan.

AIMILIOS

I’ve got a plan, just keep running without me

XENIA/THAIS

What!

AIMILIOS

Just run

When they get to the next split turning, AIMILIOS runs one way and the others run the other, AIMILIOS waits round the corner and sees the Minotaur running after the others. AIMILIOS leans against the hedges as he thinks, hoping his plan would work.

AIMILIOS

[To himself] God of war come on Milo

AIMILIOS concentrates, trying to summon a sword, hoping that his new magic will work, AIMILIOS closes his eyes to concentrate better, he opens them when a sword appears in his hand. AIMILIOS grins and runs after the Minotaur.

CUT TO

NIKOLAI, MATTHIAS, HALI, XENIA and THAIS are running through the maze, the Minotaur right behind them, it reaches out and slashes at MATTHIAS’s leg, MATTHIAS falls and knocks the others down with them. The look up to see the Minotaur above them its arm is raised to attack again, they are all terrified, HALI mostly as he remembers the last time he was in a situation like this. A sword swings and jams into the side of the Minotaur’s neck, it screams out in pain, it rips the sword and throws AIMILIOS against the hedge.

XENIA

[To Thais] I’ll distract it.

THAIS nodded, XENIA jumps up, the Minotaur slashes for her but she dodges out of the way, the Minotaur goes to attack her again but XENIA dodges again, taunting the Minotaur. While the Minotaur is distracted, THAIS picks up the sword, she waits, making sure XENIA is out of the way, XENIA sees this and ducks down, THAIS plunges the sword into the back of the Minotaur, it pierces its heart, the Minotaur squirms and THAIS struggles to hold on. The Minotaur lets out one last wail before dropping to the floor. They all share a look of relief. Then the Minotaur disappears, along with the sword still in its back, then the labyrinth disappears, they are standing in the garden. ANASTASIA, ANATOLIUS, NEMO and NATALIA appear where they stood in the maze, ANATOLIUS is carrying NATALIA, they are just as confused.

NESRIN O.S

First task completed.

They all turn to see NESRIN, she appears in a light silver gown, she looks like an ethereal woman, apart from her eyes, the way she was staring at them scared them, as soon as she appeared she disappeared.

SCENE 14- OUTSIDE OF THE FRONT OF THE ESTATE, DAY 2 EVENING

NATALIA and CZARINA are sat on the back of an ambulance, a first aid responder is looking over NATALIA, another first aid responder is looking over MATTHIAS who’s sat on the front steps, NIKOLAI and HALI are sat with him, XENIA, THAIS, AIMILIOS, ANATOLIUS and NEMO are standing in the doorway of the house. ANASTASIA, INO and ALEXANDRA are talking to the police.

ALEXANDRA

We had a late night and an early morning trying to sort out the house, in the afternoon we decided to get some sleep, that’s how we didn’t hear Natalia when she got here, it wasn’t till Czarina came looking for her that we found in the garden.

POLICE OFFICER

What was she doing here?

ANASTASIA

They stayed here last night, Czarina was wandering around the graveyard Natalia came to get her and we couldn’t let them drive home in that weather, Natalia thought she left something here last night.

POLICE OFFICER

And what happened to your friend [gestures to Matthias], the 999 operator said they heard someone say someone was out there?

INO

Czarina thought she saw something in the woods, Matthias heard her and went looking, he tripped and gashed his leg, he said there was nothing there.

POLICE OFFICER

Ok, Czarina and Natalia say the same thing, looks like this was just an accident.

SCENE 15- ANASTASIA’S BEDROOM BALCONY, DAY 2 EVENING

ANASTASIA, INO, XENIA, ANATOLIUS and AIMILIOS are sat on the balcony ledge, a bottle of vodka between them and each has a glass in their hands.

ANATOLIUS

They’ll be back, Czarina and Natalia, with questions, questions we can’t answer.

INO

Maybe we should, they’re in this with us.

XENIA

Sia? What do you think?

ANASTASIA stares off in the distance, XENIA whacks her leg to get her attention, ANASTASIA turns her attention to them.

ANASTASIA

Sorry what?

INO

What are you thinking about?

ANASTASIA

Nothing

INO

Seriously what is it?

ANASTASIA

First task. That’s what the woman said, means this is far from being over.

ALEXANDRA O.S

Eleven of us against one of her, I like our odds

They turn to see ALEXANDRA, THAIS, NEMO, NIKOLAI, MATTHIAS and HALI standing there, ALEXANDRA has two wine bottles in hand, THAIS is holding the glasses, they scoot over to make room on the balcony edge. ALEXANDRA, NEMO, THAIS and NIKOLAI sit down, HALI grabs a chair from ANASTASIA’s room for MATTHIAS and helps his sit down gently. HALI looks at the balcony edge cautiously, not liking the idea of sitting on the edge of a fairly high drop.

ANASTASIA

Don’t worry if you fall we’ll catch you, [mockingly] your majesty

HALI

Please don’t call me that

ANASTASIA

[Offering a hand] Promise.

HALI takes her hand and sits on the edge, AIMILIOS offers him the bottle of vodka and reaches to THAIS to hand him a glass, HALI takes the bottle and drinks straight from it, everyone raises their eyebrows at HALI.

HALI

[Lying, to hide the fact that the Minotaur brought back bad memories]

I really hate heights.

There is a moment of silence as they gaze out at the view.

ALEXANDRA

[Not taking here eyes off the view]

Tomorrow we’ll go to the library, figure out more about the Drayce family, think the secret to all this lies with them.

The scene ends with them staring out at the view.

THE END