@Agent Winter, if you're not too busy, could you draw Kira?

Also happy B-day :) 

Chapter 5

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As it turned out, Roslin was going on a trip across the world to the edge of it with her majesty, two girls called Sylvia and Brigit, Bradley, a kid called Liam, a baker called Lena, and Marina, Kira, and Arc.

She still had no idea how Liam and Lena had gotten in on the trip, but something about Liam supplying armor and Lena supplying food. 

As she packed for Bella’s trip, Roslin felt like her brain was melting.

So . . . Arc had gotten cursed with bad luck and now they were gallivanting across the world to find a hermit that they didn’t even know was still alive, and Roslin was going with them?!?! Yeah, it was all very confusing.

So confusing that Roslin switched Bella’s day dresses with her evening gowns (why she needed to bring evening gowns on an adventure, Roslin didn’t know). Just as Roslin was fixing her mistake, a knock came on the door.

Roslin stood up, almost tripping over her skirts, and turned to open the door to Bella’s closet (which was larger than Roslin’s room).

Arc stood there, waving cheerfully, his arm bandaged.

“Arc!! Are you okay?!” Roslin cried, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t come over, I had to prepare things for Princess Bella.”

“I’m fine now that the witch-doctor patched me up, but do you want to go for a stroll in the gardens?” Arc asked, “I can catch you up on everything that’s happening.”

Roslin looked nervously back at the half-packed trunks and suitcases.

“It should be fine,” Arc told her, “Bella’s getting taught by Kira how to defend herself.”

“Okay, thank you, my brain is melting, let’s go,” Roslin said.

The morning sunlight shone weakly on the lush green carpets of grass and hedges and flowers in the royal garden. Arc and Roslin took a seat next to a burbling stone water fountain, carved in the shape of an enormous wine goblet. The air smelled pleasantly of roses.

“So, tell me, who are all these people? And why do we have to go to the edge of the world again?” Roslin asked.

Arc filled her in on everything, from him tripping over the black cat, to Princess Bella challenging him to a duel. Roslin was laughing, with tears in her eyes, by the time he finished.

“So yeah, it was originally going to be just me and Marina, but then Bella decided to join, and then things snowballed from there,” Arc said.

Roslin nodded.

Arc looked up at the sun. “Welp, I better get going. Can’t skip training any day,” he said, and stood up.

“Bye Arc!” Roslin said, waving as Arc left.

She sat there on the stone bench for a little while longer, listening to the running of water. 

And then it hit her.

Something weird, a weird feeling.

It was strange, peculiar, something Roslin had never felt before.

What was it?

It felt a bit sour, like lemons. Why was Rosling feeling like this?

Oh. 

It hit her again.

Arc had called her majesty Bella. Bella. Her first name. Not her majesty, not Princess Bella, not her grace. He called her Bella, as if she was a friend. As if she was more than a rude tagalong. He called her Bella.

And, even if Roslin didn’t know it at that time, that sour feeling had a name.

It was called jealousy.

Roslin shrugged the feeling off, and stood up. What a wonderful day it was, and it just so happened that she had to spend all day making preparations for Princess Bella’s trip. Well, the earlier she got things done, the sooner she would have a break.

Roslin headed back to the castle.

“Ohhhhhh Roslin! Do I look good?” Bella called from inside her room.

Roslin entered, taking in what Bella was wearing. Surprisingly, it wasn’t actually that bad. A yellow gingham long-sleeved dress, with a white apron, brown leather boots, and a flower crown. Granted, there were a lot of frills, but it was more suited for traveling than some of Bella’s other dresses.

“You look perfect, your majesty,” Roslin said, smiling.

“I know!” Bella said, “Let’s go on an adventure!”

Roslin hurriedly finished packing, and she and Bradley rolled Bella’s three trunks out to the carriage.

The carriage, which was supposed to be there, but wasn’t. Instead, an old farm wagon was there, with a couple of horses hitched to it.

Bella came out, and stopped dead in her tracks.

Her majesty won’t like this, Roslin thought, and braced herself for a very tiring couple of minutes ahead.

“Why is my carriage not here?” Bella asked petulantly.

“We can’t have a carriage, we need something that can carry more people. A wagon is the ideal choice,” Marina said, equipped with only a backpack compared to Bella’s three trunks, “And maybe you should’ve packed lighter, you should only have brought, at most, 1 trunk.”

Bella looked around. “Do you mean to say,” she said coldly, “that you expect me to sit in a farm wagon??”

“No, we don’t,” Marina said.

Bella sighed with relief.

“We expect you to walk,” Marina continued, “the wagon is for Sylvia, Brigit, and Liam.”

“WHAT?!”

Bella stormed forward, stopping right in front of Marina, and glaring at her. “I. Will. Not. Walk. I am a princess, and I expect to be treated like one. Bradley, get my carriage,” she said.

“U-um, your majesty, u-um, well, your father said-” Bradley stammered.

“WHAT DID MY FATHER SAY?!” Bella shrieked, turning to Bradley.

Bradley was shaking now. “U-um, that, um, if you wanted to go on an adventure-I’m sorry, I can’t do this,” he squeaked, and ran to load the trunks onto the wagon.

“He said that if you were to go on an adventure, you would have to do so without his support,” Marina informed.

Bella stared at her in shock.

“I . . . have . . . to walk?” she mumbled.

“Yeah,” Marina said.

Well, maybe it won’t be so bad, Princess Bella seems to be in too much shock to object to walking . . .

“Oh yeah, also, you have to leave two trunks behind,” Marina said.

Well shoot.

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my brain is melting too because of java classes qwq 

@Agent Winter, can you please draw Bradley?

Ok, here's Bradley. Hope you like it, lmk if you want me to change anything 

Chapter 6

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In the end, Bella agreed to walking and leaving two trunks behind, as long as Arc would keep her company. Roslin had to repack everything, so the most important things all fit in one trunk.

Arc waved apologetically to Roslin, and then strode to walk beside Bella, who was skipping and humming like she hadn’t just thrown a tantrum. Roslin watched as Bella took Arc’s hand, a sort of cold, seething rage building up inside her.

“Bradley, you’re driving the wagon, right?” Roslin asked, turning around to look at Bradley. If she kept thinking about it, her heart might as well go up in flames.

“No, actually, Brigit is. The wagon can only fit three people,” Bradley said, “so do you mind if I walk beside you?”

“Not at all,” Roslin said, shouldering her small backpack.

“Marina told me that we’re first heading through the enchanted woods to the eastern border of the kingdom,” Bradley mumbled.

Roslin nodded. As they walked along the dirt road, through the endless fields of crops and such, Roslin was unintentionally watching Arc and Bella.

“They’re a nice couple, aren’t they?” Bradley asked softly, fidgeting with his pack.

“No they’re not. Princess Bella is . . . well, she’s . . .” Roslin couldn’t get the words out.

“Spoiled and stubborn?” Bradley suggested quietly.

“Yeah, that,” Roslin sighed, “and I guess it’s nice that she finally has a friend. But Arc was my friend first, and like, I don’t know, it’s just . . .”

That cold, seething rage dissipated, floating like wisps of smoke into the air. Roslin couldn’t be angry. She couldn’t allow herself to be angry.

Bradley nodded. “I get what you mean. It’s hard to get everything taken away from you,” he said, staring off at the horizon.

Roslin put a hand on Bradley’s shoulder. “Oh . . . what happened?” she asked, unsure of herself.

Bradley looked at Roslin. “It was pretty long ago, but my mum and dad . . . I-I was supposed to be a page, and I-I had no choice you know? My mum and dad were having a hard time, and it was the only way,” he said, trailing off.

“Oh. I’m . . . sorry,” Roslin said.

“Don’t be sorry. It was the only way,” Bradley said, his voice taking on a bit of an edge, “anyway, let’s get going, we’re lagging behind.”

Roslin watched Bradley pick up the pace with mixed feelings. She felt sorry for him. She’d never gone through what he would have, and she held great respect for him for that, but at the same time . . . what had she done wrong?

Roslin shook her head.

“Heya, just got dumped by two people, amirite?” a voice called from behind her.

The boy, Liam, was leaning over the edge of the wagon, laughing.

“Don’t laugh Liam, it’s insensitive!” Lena called from in front of them, and stopped as they caught up to her, “I’ll keep you company, kid.”

“How old are you anyway? You don’t look that much older than me,” Roslin said, walking alongside Lena.

“I’m twenty-two, so, yeah, probably not, but I’ve still got five years on you,” Lena said playfully, poking Roslin.

Roslin laughed, but it was cut short by a peal of laughter from up front, where Arc was talking to Bella. Lena followed Roslin’s gaze.

“Sucks, doesn’t it? The princess gets everything, huh,” Lena said.

“Yeah, she does,” Roslin said bitterly.

Lena grinned. “Well, cheer up Roslin! You know what I always say, pies before guys!” she smiled.

“You’re a baker,” Roslin pointed out.

“Do you mean to say you don’t like pies?! Who doesn’t like pies!” Lena exclaimed, pretending to be offended.

Roslin laughed. “Okay, pies before guys, but I mean, I don’t like, like-like anyone anyway,” she said.

Lena gave her a mischievous smile. “Are you suuuuuuuuure you don’t like him?” she teased.

“No! I don’t like Arc, he’s just a friend!” Roslin exclaimed, feeling her cheeks turn pink.

“Funny you knew exactly who I was talking about,” Lena smirked.

Roslin hit Lena on the shoulder.

“Okay okay, fiiiiiine, I won’t say anything!” Lena laughed, whistling as she walked.

And then everything went dark.
Well, not exactly. It was dark where Roslin was, but she could still see. She looked around. Thick, gnarly branches curled around the sides of the path, contrasting with the long, thin boughs of trees laden with drooping leaves. Blue, green, and yellow foliage peeked through the darkness, lit by the rare spot of sunlight. Flowers bloomed in the shady green grass, followed by mushrooms and moss.

They were in the enchanted forest.

“Woah!” Roslin gasped, looking around.

It was absolutely beautiful. A family of birds darted past her head, chattering and singing. Animal calls came from all around her. Things were constantly shifting, lurking in the shadows, flitting through the light. This place was so . . . so, alive.

“Come on, you don’t want to get lost in here!” Lena said, taking Roslin’s hand, “The enchanted forest is nice and all, but it can be pretty scary and dangerous at some times.”

“Okay,” Roslin said, continuing along the path.

She couldn’t help but be amazed though. Roslin had been to many places with Princess Bella, but never somewhere as enchanting as this fantasy wonderland.

“Hey guys, look!” Liam exclaimed from the wagon, “There’s a weird glowing thing over there! Imma go see what it is!”

“I think it’s a good policy to stay away from weird glowing things-” Roslin began, but Liam had already hopped off the wagon and dashed past her.

“Do you think we should go after him?” Roslin asked Lena nervously.

Lena waved her off. “He’ll be fine, most glowing things in the enchanted forest aren’t that dangerous. It’s the things that don’t glow that are,” she shrugged.

And then a chilling scream pierced the air.

Roslin looked at Lena, wide-eyed. “We should definitely go after him,” she said, and took off.

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Oof Roslin :( f's in the chat for Roz.