4: Blending In...

4:- Blending In...

White and Agrimitra packed all that they needed for themselves and their offsprings, then discreetly headed for the Forest of Dunwood, the Edge of the Realm. Agrimitra, riding high on a phoenix, spotted White dashing through the trees on an Ice-Wolfe, both holding their child in one hand and the reins in the other, and the command of their Lord's ringing in their hearts. Ultimately, they met at the Circle of Dunwood, the very end of the Elemental Realm with nothing but the void beyond. The Circle of Dunwood, as its name says, was a circular area of land bare of trees but filled with soft grass of seven sections that form a spiral pattern when seen from above. Agrimitra landed the phoenix and White halted the wolfe opposite each other and alighted.

"I see what my husband said is true," White said, looking at Agrimitra and the baby in her arm.

" 'Nd is mine," Agrimitra responded.

White took a step closer. "Our husbands are dead," she sniffed. "It's now up to us to see that their sacrifices were not in vain, and are avenged."

Agrimitra stepped closer. "Ah never imagined tha' Ah'ould agree with a yeti - but yes, they shall be avenged."

White nodded.

"But if we are tah do this thing tah-gether, Ah'ave a condition, Glacilian."

"Let us hear it."

"You do not get tah gimme orders."

"I understand. From now henceforth, we are no longer Sovereignesses, but regular people. I cannot use my former rank to overpower you as you cannot use yours over me. B-but... I do hope we can learn to trust each other and work together as fr- allies."

"For Fiammetta's sake," Agrimitra said thoughtfully, "Ah'll do anything."

"Very well, Mitra... Shall we?" White gestured to the centre of the Circle.

With their free hands, they both stretched forwards the center and let their element slip through their open palms until they collided above the point, the opposite element mixed rather than repel, ice and fire spiralling in a circle, thus opening the portal. They backpedalled and mounted their transport animals, and then, together, rode into the portal to the human world.

As they phased through time and space into the human world, their elemental appearances morphed into human form. White, as well as Frost's furry features, vanished leaving behind smooth fair skins, their long white hair became glossy black and shortened, their horns and tails retreated into their bodies as their increased height dropped a few feet and the yeti structure of their glassy blue eyes looked exactly human. Agrimitra and Fiammetta's golden-reddish skin and scales hid behind tanned skins, their fails deteriorated until it couldn't be seen, their oddly long tongues normalized as dis their heights and also their salamander eyes turned reddish-brown. Even the fashion of their clothing changed. The ice breathing wolfe White rode metamorphized into a white stallion, whilst Agrimitra's phoenix into a reddish-brown mare to fit in the human's animal kingdom. But all these physical changes had no effects on their elemental abilities.

It took several days for Royal Ladies to get accustomed to their new biology and physiques, and in these days they also wandered in the forest they had crossed into. White tutored Agrimitra on all she had to know about us humans, how we live, talk, eat, relate, communicate, developed, feel, quarrel, trade, work and our religious beliefs- a tiny benefit of being Lady of the Realm- and Agrimitra learn the bits she could. In the process of their conversing, they laughed, smiled, making references to how we tally to the Elemental Realm and also got to know about each other.

"So tell me why this thing... wha' did you call it?" Agrimitra spoke as they trotted through the forest.

"A job?" White answered, smiling.

"Yes, a job. Why is it important when ah gathered so much riches tah last two generations."

"Occupations are essential to earn a living and live a comfortable peasant life and not a poor and miserable one."

"Bah! Why should ah choose a 'comfortable peasant life' when ah can easily live a luxurious 'nd wealthy one, worthy of a Sovereigness - ahh, former Sovereigness?"

"With that eventually, Mitra, your riches to last two generations shall only see two seasons of the moon," White chuckled. "And after that, then what?"

"Well..." Agrimitra grew silent for a while. "Ah-d just sell back the servants and valuable things to recover money... Maybe then ah'll try comfortable peas-"

"Shhh." White hissed.

"You can't shush me-"

"No, no, Mitra... Shhh... Listen..." White raised her ears to the air. "Do you hear that?"

There was a faint noise in the air; tolling of a bell, crackling of cartwheels against a stony street, chattering of people, tapping of horse hooves and a whole lot of noise.

"Yes, but wha' is it?" Agrimitra asked, listening to the air.

"I believe we're close to civilization. C'mon, let's go! Hyah!" White whipped the reins of her horse and it galloped faster.

"But'ah don't know wha' 'sivolazashun' is...!" Agrimitra yelled after her. "Ugh, forget it... Hyah!" She caused her horse to race too.

"When we get into the city," White spoke as Agrimitra caught up, "let's separate."

"Separate?"

"We will still be in contact, but I would like to raise Frost on my own, and u believe you want the same with Etta. When the time is set, they'll be sure to meet. That's when we will take a step to the next level of their destinies."

"Is tha' an idea?"

"We won't be too far apart, I hope. Just not together. And don't worry, I'll be your regular customer in whatever job you decide to venture into... Just don't burn it all down." She smirked.

"Ah! Not guaranteed!" Agrimitra replied and they laughed.

They slowed their horses to a walk and rode out of the forest in the most normal way possible unto a nearby road which they took until they arrived at a city. This new settlement seemed strange but they moved on. They took time to observe and listen to these humans and being multilingual beings, they picked up the language of the area.

"Excuse me," White called, speaking in German, to a man riding a carriage pulled by two horses.

"Good afternoon, madams," the carriage rider greeted, halting his carriage for the attention of two beautiful foreigners.

"Err... Afternoon. Please, where are we?" White asked, trying not to sound so strange with her accented German.

Agrimitra let her do the talking.

"You are in Ortenaukreis in the west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. You ladies travellers?"

"Y-yes, yes, travellers. I and my friends like to travel the world and see new places." White smiled.

"Ahhh... I see. Welcome to the region." The carriage rider smiled back.

"I have another question, though."

"I'm all ears."

"Do you know where we can find cheap housing by any chance?"

"For rent or lease?"

"Uhm- lease?" White shrugged, unsure of what she was answering to.

"Well, you will have to go to Hornberg village. It is situated in the Black Forest, thirty-five kilometres s southeast of Offenburg, and twenty-five kilometres northwest of Villingen-Schwenningen." The driver pointed in the direction they should follow.

"Thank you. Oh, and please, what day is it?"

"Thirteenth of the sixth month, Fifteen-seventeen."

"Thank you very much for your time," White reached into her purse and got a couple of coins - they were golden coins. "Accept these tokens for your information."

The driver's eyes shone at the sight of the coins.

"Thank you, madam. Enjoy your stay," he said collecting the country before riding on.

"Wow. Aren't you quite the expert?" Agrimitra commented.

"They love their money." They laughed. " Let's head in the direction he pointed. We'll find our separate ways from there and perhaps get decent abodes not too far from each other."

"Indeed. Let's go..."

The ladies headed for the countryside which was more to their liking than the big city. Egg was a nice small town with little population, small houses, large green fields, farms, a lake, rivers, and mountain sights. They lounged at an inn for the time been while they searched for a house to purchase and it took a couple of days for them to formalize everything and settle down. They got cottages on different streets and it was sort of easy because they had to money (money brought from the Elemental Realm turned out to have more value in the human world, so they basically had lots). They acquired all they needed to make their new homes livable and comfortable, and within a span of two smooth and fast weeks, the Sovereignesses have settled landladies. And after a few more weeks of observing the settlement, they decided that whatever, the occupation they ended up doing, they wouldn't do it working under someone else, so as not to mingle intensively with the humans. They created jobs for themselves to earn a living.

White expanded her cottage, which was closer to the green fields at the edge of town. She purchase a few dairy cows and goats and kept them in the mini-ranch she had constructed at the back. She learned how to milk them, treat the milk, even sweetened it, and with the touch of her elemental powers, she preserved and cooled them before taking it to market. She also erected a stable for her Ice-Wolfe, which was now a horse. In a matter of months, her diary expanded as her chilled milk were in high demand, hence, she earned lots of money. She decided to add poultry fowls to her animal form and then sold the eggs laid, and sometimes the fowls. Due to the location of her cottage, she didn't have many neighbours but she was friendly to all her customers but made no close relationships with no one - no one but Agrimitra.

Speaking of Agrimitra, after weeks of contemplation, she took up the job of a baker. Back at Incendia, her fire-cakes and ash-biscuits were the best in the Realm, perhaps the humans too could have a taste of the wonders of the Elemental Realm. Unlike White, Agrimitra's house was in the midst of others inside the town, and it was a big house, a story tall. Though she converted the ground floor into a bakery she decided to run6 herself, accepting no assistance. With a few tips from the human bakers on the human bakery, she baked her bread, cakes, and biscuits, the likes humans haven't tasted before. With a lot of creativity and help from White who was her only supply of milk and eggs, Agrimitra surpassed all other bakers in the town in a matter of months. She even had orders from the city.

The Sovereignesses kept in touch constantly, keeping their relationship tight and all others very loose. Agrimitra bought milk and eggs from no one else but White, and in return, she ate no other bread, cake, or biscuits except Agrimitra's. They blended in with the humans as well as they could which was better than hiding out because they were hiding in plain sight. They lived peacefully with their offspring as they grew steadily, but they knew it was not forever.

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Cut the past few prosperous months the Sovereigness had in the human world by half, for the time was slower in the Elemental Realm. Zella, the Superior Sovereigness and Mistress of Darkness had not gotten her portion of total prosperity. Through, she had gotten all Elemental Sovereigns under her manipulation, hence the power in the Realm. The Sovereign vacancies in Incendia and Glacilia were occupied by the Head Shamans- which we're still puppets to the puppet mistress, Zella.

Balance has fallen out of place; the skies were never as bright as they use to be, the ice started to melt, flames started to quench, winds began to seize, the earth started to break, waters lost their calm and plants started to wither.

While all things fell apart, Espritia remained, excluded from the snares of darkness plaguing the Realm. The dwarfs managed to keep on hiding from the Dark Sovereigness, her minions, and her evil spells. Zella hunted relentlessly for the Gray Matter but Espritia was well cloaked, spelt by Espritian Shamans, Rune Masters, and Minders that no creature of the dark could see and locate the tribe which also served as a haven to other elementals that found their way to them.

Many rebelled against the Dark Ruler, a resistance force was formed by individual tribes, but all those who went against the Demon Witch never lived to tell a tale. Other elemental powers began to deteriorate as the darkness grew and elementals slowly lost their strengths, they began to break gradually. While some broke, others held on to hope, believing in the once-forgotten prophecy, and praying that Kügel is not completed in the hands of the Demonic Mistress of Evil Zella.

And without the Elemental Orb being whole, Zella could not march her army of monstrous shadowers to the human world to conquer and to expand the chaos and darkness she spreads...

Let's all hope Espritia, the last stronghold of the Realm, can withstand the Evil Sovereigness of Death until the prophecy comes of age and the union is achieved...

They had to wait - and wait patiently...

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