The silence in the alleyway of Ciribia Kingdom was broken by the running footsteps of a young woman.

“Dear god.” She breathed, leaning onto the stone brick wall of the alleyway. She gripped the bag and looked inside; it was just small loaves of bread shoved inside a small bag. The woman looked both ways before walking in the same direction as she was running. It took her a couple of minutes before she heard the loud chatter from the end of the alleyway. Taking off-her hood, she stepped out into probably one of the busiest places in the Ciribia Kingdom; The Vestimentum District. The woman looked both ways before walking toward a shop; you’d have to look around the district even to find the shop carefully. It was so small that people would walk past it, not even paying attention to it. As if it were invisible. She entered the shop and opened the door as the bell on the top rung. She took a few steps inside before hearing a voice next to her.

“Back again, Evermore?” she spoke, Evermore turned around and sighed.

“Okay, Kirei. What are you doing here?” Evermore said, glaring at her sister behind a bar cleaning the cups. She had long, curly platinum hair, light blue eyes, and wore black, casual bartender clothes. Kirei huffed.

“Well, I work here, so what's to say I can’t come here after closing hours?” Kirei asked, staring back at her sister. Evermore’s hair wasn’t at all neat like her sisters'; her hair was curly and pretty messy. She had platinum hair, like her sisters. However, Evermore's eyes were different; her left eye was brown and her right eye was blue; heterochromia. She wore a black leather jacket with a white shirt and jean shorts. And brown, very worn-out combat boots. The leather was already chipping away at them. Evermore sighed, softly.

“You do have the keys, right?” Evermore asked. Kirei dug inside her pocket before showing Evermore them. They dinged up in the air freely before Kirei roughly put them back in her pocket. Evermore heard footsteps coming down the staircase beside her and turned around. A girl with long, dark purple hair rushed down the stairs, holding a box filled with empty bottles.

“Excuse me!” She said, Evermore moved out of the way as the girl put the box on the table near her to see who she was talking to. She also wore bartender clothing, except black. It was more like a dark gray. She had dark green eyes, almost teal.

“Oh, hello there.” The girl said she glanced at Kirei, then glanced over at Evermore, and immediately, she connected the dots. “Oh! You’re Kireis’ sister, aren't you? She asked, sounding surprised.

“Yep, I am,” Evermore said. Kirei laughed at how deadpanned Evermore sounded. 

“Huh.” The girl said, she stared into space for a second before speaking again. “Anyways! I’m Eclipse. I’m a friend of your sisters.”  Eclipse held out her hand for Evermore to shake it. Evermore shook it cautiously.

“Nice to meet you, Eclipse,” Evermore said. Kirei walked over to the two of them, looking at the clock on the wall behind them.

“It's almost 7:00 PM now. We can continue talking at home.” Kirei said, looking at the two. Evermore and Eclipse nodded, 

“I should probably get these cups sorted out before we go,” Eclipse said. She picked up the box next to her and started walking towards the bar. Evermore looked at Kirei,

“How’d you meet her?” Evermore asked. Kirei crossed her arms.

“And you call me protective.” Kirei chuckled. Evermore narrowed her eyes down at her sister.

“Really?” She asked, “I’m just curious,” Evermore said.

“Sure,” Kirei said, sounding like she wasn’t taking it seriously. “I just met her when I went shopping around the district. We talked for a bit before she started ranting about how most jobs only pay you so little a day.” Kirei said.

Evermore chuckled for a bit, “Well, it's hard to find actual good jobs here. Especially in this district.” Evermore said.

Kirei nodded in agreement. “Yeah, especially in the richer districts.  The jobs are hard to apply to. It's stupid.” Kirei sighed. “Unlike the jobs here. They're easier to apply to. You just have to know where to look. Most jobs pay you per day and not per hour nowadays.” Kirei shook her head. “I wouldn’t be surprised if five-year-olds were the managers of these businesses.” Kirei joked. 

Evermore laughed, “Yeah,” and agreed,

“Anyways, continuing.” Kirei muttered, “I offered her a job here, and… well, she accepted. I had to keep bugging the manager though.” Kirei smiled. “They probably don’t wanna after that. But, Eclipse and I have been growing a bond ever since.”

“That's nice.” Evermore said, “I’m glad the manager didn’t fire you.” Evermore chuckled. Kirei sighed.

“Typical you,” Kirei said.

“Hey!” Eclipse yelled out, “I’m done!” She said as she ran over to the two. Kirei sighed.

“Alright, let's get going,” Kirei muttered as she walked toward the door. She opened it, gesturing for the two to get out, Evermore and Eclipse walked outside. Kirei closed the door as soon as they exited. Evermore heard a barely audible ‘click’ coming from the door as Kirei locked it. 

“Right, let us get going,” Kirei said. 

"We'd better be going home. I don't know if I can take any pit stops anywhere else tonight,” Evermore muttered.
“We are going home, dummy,” Kirei muttered 

The district was much less crowded as they walked back home. Most of the people there were just finishing up their shopping spree. Other people, however, were closing up their shops for the night. 

“Have any of you guys thought about leaving this place?” Eclipse asked, tired of the silence between the three of them.
“Yeah,” Kirei said. “I’ve heard a lot about the other kingdoms residing near here. They have much better jobs than... this place.” Kirei said.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Evermore scoffed.

Kirei sighed, “Well, we’re home now.”

The three of them stopped at a small stone brick building, it was at least 3 stories high. They stood in front of a spruce double door with carvings, and scratches, and even the wood was chipping off. It was old.

“This, Is where you guys live?” Eclipse asked. She looked worried about how old and abandoned the building looked

“Yep,” Evermore said.
“To be honest, it was the cheapest place we could find,” Kirei muttered as she walked toward the doors.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Eclipse said.

The doors opened with a creak. Evermore walked inside the place first while Eclipse walked in cautiously. 

“Hey, It's not like some ghost is gonna pop out and scare you.” Evermore joked, Eclipse sighed.

“I’ve just never been inside a place this messy,” Eclipse said, looking almost disgusted at how dirty the place was.  “I live in the richer districts.”

“Understandable,” Evermore muttered.

The three of them ended up in front of a door labeled ‘301’. Kirei dug in her pockets before pulling out a rusty-looking gold key. She put it in the lock below the door handle and turned it. A subtle click was heard, and the door opened. Kirei walked in, and Evermore and Eclipse walked in after. The apartment was pretty cramped. 

There was a shield on the right side wall that one would notice immediately when they entered. The borders said a quote in Latin that only Kirei understood... Since she studied the language for god knows how long. In front of them was a table shoved into a corner next to the kitchen, which looked like it had seen better days. Next to the table was a chest with rolls of maps pushed inside, compasses, and a few sketchbooks.

Two doors were on both sides of the wall, in the hallway where the chest was, which, presumably. is where the bedrooms are. 

“Well, have you guys heard about what happened in the Kingdom of Solania?” Kirei asked, gesturing toward the table.

‘With all the news going around? Yeah. I have.” Eclipse said.
“Kirei, it's the only thing you’ve been talking about for the past week” Evermore muttered.
Both of the girls sat down at the table. Kirei was already sitting down in a chair in front of the two.
“Well, apparently this kingdom is accused of planting one of those explosive traps in their mines.” Kirei muttered, “And, well, like 20 miners died in a cave after one of them triggered said trap.” Kirei pressed their lips together.

“Why are you bringing this up again? Was there something leaked?” Evermore asked.

“So like, You know how when a kingdom makes a trap, or like, a piece of clothing, or some other.. Stupid things like that. They always have to put ‘made by…’ and then the kingdom name, right?” Kirei asked.

“Yeah, what about it?” Eclipse asked.
“So. apparently. Earlier today, some people investigated the mine and found another trap. Which, the guy said, ‘Apparently, the traps were made by The Savalon Kingdom.’”
“Wait.” Evermore said, “Isn’t that kingdom dead? Like nobody is even told to live there anymore?”
“The kingdom is said to be destroyed, actually,” Eclipse answered. “Remember the papers that were passed out like last year?”
“What papers?” Evermore asked.
“Eclipse. You live in the rich districts. You get notified about stuff happening like what? Every two weeks? We live in the ‘lower’ districts. We don't get the benefit of getting major news.”
“Exactly,” Evermore said. 

“One of the reasons I want to leave this stupid place,” Evermore muttered.

“In fact...” Kirei said, “I was, and I am, saving up for you and me to travel to one of the far-away kingdoms. I heard it's pretty nice there.”
“Yeah, but can’t we just travel through the Nether?” Evermore blurted out.
Both Eclipse and Kirei stared at her as soon as she said that.

“Really?” Eclipse said. “You know that's one of the most dangerous realms out there?”

“Yeah, but, It's faster to travel in that realm! Plus, I’m pretty sure it's free to travel there.” Evermore said.
“Evermore. No.” Kirei said, raising her voice. “We’ve been over this.”

“Listen, Kirei. Traveling by land is boring. It takes way too long. Plus it’d be nice to try something new for once!” Evermore argued.
Kirei pinched the bridge of her nose, annoyed. She sighed, “We don't have the armor or gear to travel there safely. 

“Plus, Isn’t the nearest Nether portal like, In Solania Kingdom?” Eclipse asked.
“Exactly,” Kirei muttered. “We’d need money, either way, to go to the Nether. Traveling isn’t always free.” Kirei paused, “Plus the kingdom I wanted to go to doesn’t have Nether portals. They banned them.” Kirei finished.
“That's no fun...” Evermore muttered.  “Whatever. Just forget I mentioned the topic.” Evermore said.

Kirei laughed. “Okay,” She said,
“What even was the Kingdom you wanted to go to?” Eclipse asked, curious.

“Well...” Kirei walked over to the chest and pulled out a map and compass. She laid out the map in front of the two, dust flew off it as she did so.

“Are you trying to kill us?” Evermore coughed.
“Not yet,” Kirei answered. “In a kind, friendly way,” Kirei added.
Eclipse lagged, and Evermore just stared at her sister.

“Okay,” Evermore muttered and looked at the map.

“What's this for?” Evermore asked.

Kirei pointed at a place on the map. Evermore had to squint just even to see it.

“Wha... Girl… You know I can't see anything without glasses.” Evermore said.

Kirei chuckled. “The Celestial Kingdom,” she said.

“It's a small kingdom, but I've met some people from there. They said it's a nice place.” Kirei said. She rolled up the map again and threw it toward the chest. She missed the shot. Most likely on, purpose but who knows?

Eclipse looked over at the window to see the sky was just a pale tint of orange, and the sun was barely creeping over the horizon. It was sunset.

“Crap... I need to go right now,” Eclipse said, getting up from her seat.

“Ya need help walking home?” Kirei asked

“Nope, I know the route... sorta,” Eclipse answered. She stepped over the fallen map and opened the door, which creaked loudly. Eclipse winced.

“I’ll see you both tomorrow!” Eclipse shouted as soon as she closed the door.

Evermore looked over at Kirei.”How much ya wanna bet she runs into a rat the first time she goes down?” Evermore asked, clearly joking.
Kirei laughed and smiled.  “I’d have to check how many silver nickels I’d have left by now.”
Evermore chuckled. “Yeah.”

“Wanna get take out, or make something at home?” Kirei asked.
“I’m too lazy to cook,” Evermore muttered.
“So…You want to waste money on overpriced food?” Kirei stared at her sister.
“Hey, I know a new place that opened up. They might sell cheap food there. Wanna try it out?” Evermore asked
Kirei thought about this for a moment. “Sure. But I swear to god,  if we get food poisoning, I’m blaming it on you,” Kirei said, walking over to the door.

“You coming, or what?” Kirei asked.
Evermore smiled, “Hell yeah!” Evermore got up from her seat and opened the door, holding it open for Kirei, as she walked out the door.