The Pirate Princess
Lost Legacies Event - Week 3
The mystery of the Royal Envoy deepens as Aurelia is sent on a search for information about the Pirate Princess, Cordelia Thebe. Marina's behavior is only becoming more erratic, and Aurelia suspects that things will soon come to a head as her search first takes her through a chess match against the Envoy herself, and then to an investigation at the Municipal Muses Museum...
Wednesday morning started out normally enough. Aurelia was doing well in her classes and mostly enjoying them, though she couldn't help but feel restless. Something about the major just wasn't quite clicking... but maybe she just needed to give it more time.
A noise outside drew Aurelia's attention, and she went out to find the Envoy standing on her balcony. She could've sworn she locked the door to the outside... but Marina just smiled at her, as if this were an entirely normal place for her to be.
"Nice work finding two treasures so far." She remarked. How did she know? Aurelia wondered. She hadn't mentioned anything about the keys to the Envoy... "If you win a chess match against me," The Envoy continued. "I'll share some valuable information with you about Princess Cordelia Thebe. But I doubt you would win... you might want to get some practice in first!" Marina laughed. "I'll be at the park waiting, if you are up for the challenge!"
Before Aurelia could comment, or argue, or ask how Marina had gotten onto her balcony, the Envoy was gone again. For goodness sake!
So the Thebes were Marina's next focus, eh? As Aurelia turned to go back inside, locking the balcony door behind her this time, she encountered her Aunt Arabella, who had come to visit.
Aurelia hadn't ever spent much time with this particular aunt- she was always busy, between her potions and work at the hospital. But Arabella had happened to be in the neighborhood, giving a talk at Foxbury Institute, and was making the rounds to all her nieces in Britechester.
As they talked and caught up, eventually the Thebes came up in conversation. Aurelia mentioned Princess Cordelia, and Arabella's eyes sparkled.
"You know, despite being part of the royal family, Princess Cordelia was secretly a pirate." She told Aurelia. "She led a double life sailing the high seas, seeking hidden treasures. Rumor has it she stole a vast fortune, that's hidden somewhere in Ondarion."
"How do you know all this?" Aurelia wondered.
"A Spellcaster has her sources."
After bidding goodbye to her aunt, Aurelia headed back inside and decided to do some poking around of her own again. Taking to her computer, she began to browse through the internet, which was swarming with news and chatter of the new kingdom and new nobles. After a while, Aurelia came across several reports that backed up what her Aunt had said: Princess Cordelia had a keen interest in fine art, and was rumored to have stolen a priceless treasure.
Leaving her tiny apartment behind, Aurelia decided to spend the morning at Darby's Den, the Britechester Student Commons. It was an old, elegant building that spoke of decades of esteemed families who had attended debates and done research in its warmly decorated halls.
Aurelia was a little too preoccupied to fully appreciate its beauty. She wanted to know what the Envoy was up to- why did she want to challenge her to a chess match, of all things? Why seek out her help and then avoid her like the plague? How did she find out about the keys?
The keys Aurelia had left at home, unguarded. The thought flitted through her mind, but was banished by someone calling her name.
"Aurelia!" Ava called out cheerfully, running to greet her cousin. "I was wondering when I'd see you around here!"
"Ava, good to see you!" Aurelia exclaimed in reply, worries about the Envoy forgotten as they embraced.
"How are you liking the Commons? Is this your first time here?"
"It is, yeah, I haven't had much time yet to explore outside of classes."
"Oh, let me show you around! We should get together with Liliana and Aukai and go get dinner sometime."
"That sounds lovely." Aurelia agreed, letting the other young woman lead her into the Commons.
"Would you like to play a couple rounds of chess? The boards here are really nice."
"That does sound fun, and I could use the practice."
After all, who better than Ava to give her the edge she needed to beat Marina's challenge? She was top of the Chess Team in high school!
Aurelia arrived at Magnolia Blossom Park that evening confident and prepared to face the Envoy's challenge. The sun was setting earlier and earlier now, and the fireflies were already out as Aurelia made her way down the leaf covered path.
Sure enough, the Envoy was already there, waiting for her at one of the chess tables. Aurelia couldn't help but wonder if she'd really been there all day.
"So, you've accepted my challenge, have you?" Marina smirked at her. "Very well, let's play."
So they did. Marina started out very overconfident, almost gloating before they'd even made it five turns. Aurelia remained calm and collected, placing all of her focus on her own strategy. As the match continued, Marina's overconfidence faded, and she became increasingly agitated, and her strategy grew sloppier, until finally Aurelia had her cornered.
"Checkmate."
Marina's brows pinched in frustration. "Fine, you win!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Call me later and I'll tell you what I know!"
"Well, no, that's not what we agreed-" Aurelia protested, but Marina was already storming out of the park.
What a sore loser.
Wednesday night turned to Thursday morning, and Aurelia put on the news in the background again. She still wasn't used to the small town's quiet mornings. Working on her homework while half listening to the broadcast, Aurelia's attention suddenly snapped to the tv screen when the broadcaster uttered the name 'Thebe.'
Apparently, there were new paintings donated by the Thebe family to the Municipal Muses Museum in Willow Creek. Before Aurelia had time to watch much more, her phone started ringing.
When Aurelia answered the phone, the Envoy was on the other end. "Hi, Aurelia!" She sounded chipper, as if her defeat last night were completely forgotten. "Have you heard about the new paintings at Municipal Muses? You should really check the place out. There's so much to see and do there, it will surely be a good use of your time!"
Before Aurelia got a word in edgewise, the Envoy had hung up again. This woman was really starting to annoy her...
It wasn't a terrible idea, though, and Aurelia had to confess to being curious. And... maybe this would be the perfect time to ask Eren on a proper date.
Eren was happy to meet Aurelia at the museum, and before long they were walking the white tiled halls, examining the paintings both new and old. Nothing in particular seemed to catch Aurelia's eye- they were beautiful paintings, yes, but just paintings.
Aurelia was pulled from her thoughts by Eren saying something. "I'm sorry, Eren, say that again? I was distracted." She apologized.
"It's alright." Eren smiled calmly. "I was just asking how term was going."
"Oh. It's fine, I suppose." Aurelia shrugged. "I don't really feel like I've learned anything new yet."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe it'll get better with the later classes?"
"Maybe." Aurelia agreed. Why was she so disillusioned with how easy it was? "Let's go look at the exhibits upstairs."
Upstairs, among the paintings and small sculpture displays, was a large statue of Princess Cordelia the First. Not the current Princess Cordelia Thebe, mind- that was Cordelia the Fifth! Something about the sculpture caught Aurelia's interest, and while Eren was looking at the other displays Aurelia slipped behind the barrier to poke around.
Hidden behind the sculpture, Aurelia found a code written on a scrap of paper, carefully wedged into the corner almost out of sight. She snapped a picture, then quickly slipped out to rejoin Eren.
When they'd had their fill of the paintings and sculptures, Aurelia and Eren made their way down to the garden to enjoy the fresh air and each other's company. While talking, Aurelia realized: they'd never actually made their relationship official, did they?
It had been unspoken, something they'd quietly accepted as a fact. But maybe it was time to put a label on it.
"Eren, will you be my boyfriend?" Aurelia blurted out. "I've just realized I never actually asked you."
Eren smiled and laughed, kissing her cheek. "Of course, Lia."
The date ended sooner than Aurelia wanted, but she had work in the evening and Eren had to get home. "Let's go out for dinner this weekend." Aurelia told him. "I'll find a good restaurant."
"That sounds lovely." Eren agreed. "I'll see you then."
That evening, after she got home from work, Aurelia called the Envoy again, this time to tell her about the code she found in the museum. Marina just laughed at her.
"Oh, that code? Yes, I already used it. Strange hiding places these royals used... who'd have suspected a lonely bench along the river? You're a bit too late, I'm afraid."
Aurelia had a sneaking suspicion that whatever that was supposed to mean, it wasn't good. What was Marina up to now? But there was no time to do anything tonight, she needed to get some sleep.
In the morning, as Aurelia did her morning routine out on the balcony, she thought about what to do next. The Envoy had given her a hint, at least: a bench alongside a river. But that could be anywhere, in any kingdom! Most of them had a river running through them at some place...
But maybe she didn't need to stray so far from home? Her gaze moved across the street, looking out at Gibbs River. There were several benches along the sidewalks leading to the bridge, maybe she could start there.
Aurelia made a search of the benches along the riverside, finally finding success at one of them when she located a small, ornate box with a cipher lock. She entered the code into it, but when she opened it, the box was empty.
The Envoy had found whatever it was first, it seemed. The only thing left was a tarnished metal key with a skull handle, which Marina must have dropped in her hurry to leave.
Things were coming to a head, now. Aurelia was absolutely certain that the Envoy did not have the best interests of the royal family at heart, and whatever she was doing needed to be stopped before she caused general chaos throughout the kingdoms.
But first, Aurelia had one more day of classes. Marina's plot would have to wait a couple of hours.
Remember how I said I'd be posting on Tuesdays? I've realized Sundays are a lot more convenient, so welcome to Legacy Sunday lol.
Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next week for the Lost Legacies Finale!
- Paxxie
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