A/N: Lol, I honestly didn't think the last part of this story was a cliff hanger since well, the ball ended after that lol, but to each their own and that's fine.
Special thanks to Taco and the two anon readers who commented on the last part. One anon was concerned I've given up on this series. No worries I will continue to work on it until it's done. Remember I'll give ya'll a shout out here if you leave a comment for this part.
Huge thanks to my editor, Todger. He's great at what he does. No more beating around the bush, here's the next part.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was way past midnight when Noirin dreamt. She was walking in a foggy area and could barely see in front of her. What was going on? Where was she? It was then she saw something or someone and it was coming closer. Noirin couldn't see who it was at all for the person was covered in a cloak.
"Hello Noirin." The figure said.
The voice startled Noirin and it took her a second to realize the voice came from the figure in front of her. It was distinctively female too.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" she asked.
"I am here to help you. I have a clue for you to get you and the others started. Listen carefully now."
Noirin wasn't sure if this person was lying or not.
"How do I know I can trust you?"
Noirin did not see it, but the figure smiled.
"Then the clue I tell you will just lead to nowhere."
Noirin thought about this and decided to at least listen to the clue first. Another question popped in her head.
"What if I forget all of this?"
"You won't. But I recommend writing this down as soon as you wake up though. Here's your clue. Whether you chose to follow it is up to you.
'In the library of Isladam, count the number of years from the Ancient Prophecy to find the category, plus the number of the tarot card representing the Chosen of Jasper to find the ancient scroll. This category is hidden from eyes and can only be found by the History of Mulada's first king. The ancient scroll will lead you to your next clue.'
Best of luck to all of you." The lady said before vanishing.
Noirin didn't say a word as a light shone through and everything else vanished.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Noirin woke up instantly and saw sunlight coming through the windows. It was morning all ready? Remembering her dream, she jumped out of bed, but tripped out of it. She forgot that their beds were low to the ground. The noise woke up her mother, who was in the next room. Lady Ingrid looked through the open doorway and saw her daughter get off the floor and rush to a nearby chair and table before writing something down. Getting out of bed herself, she walked into her daughter's room.
Never one to prod, she simply said, "Good morning Noirin."
"Good morning mother. Sorry I am trying to write down this dream I had. Someone appeared in it and gave me a clue to help with the quest."
"Oh really? And how did you know she was being honest?"
"I am not sure. If this clue is rubbish, we'll find out right away. I am going to need your help with this clue too. There! I finished it. Can you read the clue please? There's a part talking about tarot cards." Noirin said before handing her mother what she wrote.
Lady Ingrid nodded and read it. Her eyebrows rose up at the clue.
"I can tell you what the number of the Chosen of Jasper is. The answer is found in my last reading. I always write down my readings and I brought that reading with me. I'll go get it." She said before going back to her room.
Soon she returned with a manuscript and opened up to her latest reading. Noirin got up and looked at the drawing of the spread. It was very big and took up both pages.
"Look at the center dear. The Jasper holder is represented by the card 'Strength'." Lady Ingrid pointed.
Noirin looked and saw that the number was 11. Well that part was easy, but what about the rest? She thought about it and decided to discuss it with the other girls and their guardians. She remembered that Puran's royal family had yet to decide on a guardian. She hoped they found one soon. The sooner they could get started, the better.
"Mother, can I write down the cards and whom or what they represent?" Noirin asked.
"On the next page I wrote down all the cards and their meaning. You can copy that," Lady Ingrid said.
Suddenly they heard a knock at the door and a servant appeared.
"Good morning ladies. Breakfast will be served soon. I'll be outside the door. Let me know when you're ready." The young lady said before leaving them.
"I'll write it down Noirin. You get dressed," Lady Ingrid said.
Noirin nodded and did as her mother instructed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the two arrived to a dining room, they found some of the other girls there with other people, including a few of the princes and several of their family members.
"Good morning." Noirin said shyly as she sat down.
She was back to wearing her normal clothes, which was a relief. Noirin's hair was pulled back into a chignon behind her neck. She had her reading spectacles in a pocket of her lavender long sleeved, button blouse. She had a buttoned up long plaid skirt that was violet with green and yellow lines on it. It was light material so she wouldn't get hot. It felt good to be back in her normal clothing. Several others were feeling the same way.
Noirin ended up sitting next to Skylar, who actually missed dressing up. Her red hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and she had on a yellow top where the neckline extended off the shoulders and short cap sleeves parted at the top. Around her waist was light cloth that was tied up. She didn't need to wear it now but it was a habit of hers because she normally put several of her work tools in it. Along with her top, she wore a short brown skirt with matching shorts underneath it. Her regular clothes might not be as fine as those she wore last night, but they were clean. Skylar was eating what was considered a traditional Mulada breakfast, flat bread with cheese and a common melon fruit called pusali.
The others who were there were Belinha, her two brothers Marco and Pedro, her sister Maria, Eneas, Mariko, Reika, Jiang, and his sister Mao.
Belinha's family wore simple garbs that were common in Histadel. While their clothing covered important parts they were still short. This was to prevent their clothing from getting caught in the trees. Belinha wore a simple peach dress that came to her calves but had slits on the side to walk easily. The top part of it wrapped around her shoulders to keep the gown up. Her blonde hair was loose with a simple flower in her hair. Eneas wore similar male attire to that of Belinha's brothers only they were of finer quality and sturdier. At the moment he wore a yellow short sleeve top with light brown trousers.
Mariko and the other Vinsumi folk wore regular attire too. Mariko wore a light blue, long sleeve top with a high collar, and the top went down to her hips. The ends of the sleeves were wide. Underneath the top she wore white pants made of semi-silky material. Reika and Mao wore similar clothing. Jiang wore a short sleeve silver-blue top with a high collar, but had a royal blue short silk robe over that was made out the same material as Mariko's shirt. Like her top, his sleeves were wide too and he had a dark blue, three-inch belt wrapped around his waist. His pants were black. There was a bo and katana around his chair.
"So where are the other girls?" Lady Ingrid asked to no one in particular.
"Koralia told me that she wanted to see her family this morning and she would eat with them. A missive was sent last night to tell them what happened, but she wanted to check on them herself." Skylar answered.
"How do you know this?" Mariko asked.
"She and I shared a room. I came on my own so I have no one to notify. Not here at least."
"Do you have family at home?" Reika asked.
"No biological family. I do need to notify my boss what happened though. He's the closest to family I have."
"You live in Puran right? I am sure messages will be sent to all our kith and kin about what's happened and why we're not returning home right away." Mariko assured her.
"I hope so. Everything feels so surreal right now though. I still can't believe all that has happened. The only reason why I know this situation is real is because of this." Skylar said, pulling out the Citrine fragment from her pocket.
The other chosen girls present brought out their fragments too and placed them on the table. It was still hard to believe that such small things could hold so much power. The girls though could feel the power of them as well as the connection to each other. It was a very unsettling feeling for all of them. Belinha barely said a word since waking up, which really concerned her siblings because she was normally very loquacious. A letter was to be sent to the rest of their family in Histadel, but would only include the bare facts. Their parents had traveled with them but at the moment were looking at their own stand and packing up their things from the place they had lived during their stay here. The rest of their family was back at home. Belinha's parents were beside themselves with worry after the ball and didn't want Belinha to go. No surprise since she was the youngest. Belinha had never seen her mother cry so much and even her father was sad. It really worried Belinha and she kept asking herself why the Carnelian picked her. At the time when she accepted the fragment, she felt so certain. Now she wasn't sure at all now that it was morning. Not finishing her meal, she instantly got up, grabbed the fragment, and started leaving.
"Belinha, you okay?" asked Maria.
"I'll be fine." Belinha said, trying to keep it together.
"You don't sound fine." Pedro remarked.
"Don't worry, I can take care of myself." She replied before running away.
Her siblings were at a loss for words.
