Returning home! The lost stone?!

Aline sighed with relief when she took her last step on the hill and the royal castle was revealed before her. More than a month ago she had been here, at this exact same spot, seeing the castle exactly the way she saw it now. But things had changed, and instead of the joy and happiness and excitement over her new home she had felt in the past, she felt some kind of loneliness now, even though she felt more than ever she was home. She was here now, with her Queen and the Heir. And this time, she was not here as someone’s friend, but she was a servant to the queen. Somehow this felt so completely different. Not that the journey home had been that bad. She liked Queen Regina, and she liked Stelline as well. She had talked a lot with them during the journey, and she had definitely not been uncomfortable. But without Twinkle Star, she still had felt lonely. She didn’t feel like she had someone she could discuss everything with.

But it had been her own decision, and still she didn’t regret it. It would be good for her, she had decided, to be here on her own for a while. Make this her own home too, instead of the home of Twinkle Star where she happened to live in too. And when she looked at the castle, she realised it indeed felt like home. She liked to see the two towers of the castle again, and she was happy to see the fields were still green, as were the trees. Summer wasn’t completely over yet, though Aline could feel fall would come soon. She could feel it in the air.

She smiled at Stelline, who was now standing beside her.
“Well, looks like Ivy and Fleur didn’t wreck the place. That’s a good thing to start with, right?” Stelline said, and Aline grinned.
“Yeah. Though I wonder how the inside looks like.” She answered the unicorn.
“I’d say let’s go check it out. Are you coming mother?” Stelline said, now facing Regina who was still climbing the hill. They walked down the hill and to the front of the castle. Everything looked nice and neat and even the castle garden looked just fine. At least Ivy and Fleur didn’t wreck the place. Now if only the bathroom was all okay and clean, she could refresh herself and clean her hair. She could really use that after a week of only having a basket filled with water to clean herself.

“Hello there, my queen!” A voice said, and when Aline looked to the right she saw Tsuyo approaching.
“Hello there, Tsuyo! Glad to see you! How is everything over here?” Regina said to her servant, obviously also happy to be home again.
“Just fine, my queen, just fine. Ivy and Fleur behaved well. We have been a bit worried because you didn’t return by the time you said you would, so I am relieved to see you are well. But where are the others?” Tsuyo asked, looking around, trying to find Twinkle Star or any of the others that went with them on the journey.
"I’m afraid we returned with less than we set out. Like you know, Damina left us after a few days. Regala remained in Kin, and Twinkle Star and Crystal set out on a different journey to the land of Madash. But I will explain it all later, I think we all would like to rest first. Now, where are Ivy and Fleur?”
“Oh, I think they’re somewhere inside, in the kitchen or something.” Tsuyo answered her queen. Regina only nodded and then walked towards the door of the castle, which was open. Aline followed her and Stelline inside, and once inside she felt some kind of happiness to be there. Yes, this was home, and it was good to be here. She finally could get some rest!

Inside, they were greeted by Ivy and Fleur, who were truly relieved to see they had returned. They too asked where the others were, and Regina told her daughters she would explain over dinner. She wanted to get some rest first, and she told Stelline and Aline to do the same, and to unpack their stuff. They had received quite a lot of things when they left Kin, and one of the more special things was a ruby stone shaped like a heart, placed in a pendant with a golden necklace. It was actually Twinkle Star’s, but she had entrusted it to them because she didn’t want to take something as valuable as that on her new journey. Stelline had it now, though, as she was carrying all items of value. Aline carried the simple things. She put her bag with the items belonging not to her but the kingdom next to the kitchen door, and then departed upstairs. She walked through the corridors until, at the far end, she reached her own little room. It wasn’t much, but she didn’t really need a big room anyway. What would she use it for? She had a bed, and a closet, and a nice window with a view over the valley. No, she didn’t really have anything to complain about. She was happy to find out her room had been cleaned and her sheets refreshed. As a servant, you have to do those things yourself, usually, however Tsuyo had probably thought Aline would like a clean room after the long journey as well. She removed her few possessions from her bag, and then grabbed the bottle of her special herb-shampoo, and left to get to the bathroom. The fire below the tub was already on, meaning the water would be nice and warm, something she truly appreciated. She took a long time to clean her body ,and especially her mane and tail, thoroughly, and she just wanted to enjoy the hot water. When she left the bathroom and returned to her own room she was surprised to see the sun had already begun to set; it had to be late afternoon. The days were getting shorter, she noticed. Yes, fall indeed was coming closer quickly.

She quickly put her towel in the window opening so it could dry, and she went downstairs. Surely her queen needed her, by now. She didn’t expect to find all of the ponies in panic, though, but that was exactly what she found when she entered the kitchen. Ivy, Fleur and Tsuyo looked as white as Aline’s clean sheets and while Regina looked angry, Stelline appeared to be more concerned.
“What’s going on?” Aline asked, when she realised nobody was speaking to each other.
“Aline… do you remember the stone Damina brought with her, the special one, that she purified with Fiume’s water?” Stelline asked her. Yes, of course she remembered that.
“Sure I do. Twinkle Star thought it was highly interesting. What’s up with it?” She asked.
“It’s gone.” Stelline said so casually Aline began to doubt the truth of this message. “What do you mean, it’s gone?” She asked, stupefied.
“Well, when I went to the treasure room to place our gifts there, it wasn’t in the place where we left it. I thought maybe it had fallen down, or something, so I searched the room, but it wasn’t there. So I went outside to ask Ivy and Fleur, but they claim nobody had been in the room since we left.”

Aline was stunned. How could a stone disappear like that? Not that she cared that much for the stone herself, but she knew it was important for the country and Twinkle really cared to it.
“But how can it disappear?” she asked, though she knew perfectly well nobody had an answer for her. None of them responded, either.
“Please, Aline, will you take care of dinner with Tsuyo? I want to inspect the throne room with Stelline myself, and Ivy and Fleur can help me.” Regina stated, and Aline agreed. Soon, Regina and Stelline had left and Ivy and Fleur had followed them, feeling horribly guilty about the disappearance of the stone, though Aline was pretty sure they didn’t know much more, either.

“What do you think has happened to the stone?” Aline asked Tsuyo after a while, to break the silence.
“Oh, I don’t know. I never noticed anything, but then, we didn’t pay any particular attention to the room. It was locked securely, and that was that.”
“You think the stone just vanished, then?” Aline asked.
“No, I don’t think so. How could it just vanish? Not that I know that much about magical stones, but I don’t think they can vanish or something like that.”
“Well, but if it didn’t vanish…” Aline pondered while she began to chop the vegetables for tonight’s dinner, “Do you think it was stolen, then?”
“What? Stolen? Oh, no Aline. I don’t think that’s possible. I’ve been here all the time and didn’t notice anyone. Besides, who knew we had the stone anyway? Nobody did.” Okay, so it wasn’t stolen. It didn’t vanish. But then what happened to it?

After Aline and Tsuyo had worked on the food for a while, Regina and her daughters returned. They had found nothing, no clue whatsoever of what could have happened to the stone. It had simply disappeared. Dinner that evening felt weird to Aline. It was supposed to be a happy dinner to celebrate the return of the queen, but everybody felt a bit bummed by the vague disappearance of the stone. However, during dinner Regina told Tsuyo, Fleur and Ivy about the events in Kin, and Fleur and Ivy couldn’t help but be a bit jealous. The others had had such a nice time in Kin, and they didn’t go because they thought it would be miserable. Of course they wanted to be at a wedding as well! After dinner, Aline had to help cleaning everything, but she and Tsuyo were dismissed after that. There was nothing left to do, anyway. Tsuyo stayed with Ivy and Fleur to listen to the stories from Regina and Stelline, but Aline didn’t really feel like doing that. She had been there, she knew how it was. Instead, she sneaked out of the castle, to walk around in the fields a bit.

The flowers were gone now, of course. In fact, Aline was sure the grass wasn’t growing as fast as it used too. She sincerely hoped Twinkle Star would be home before winter. When did she said she would be back? Oh, yes, in four or five months. Winter would be here by then. Sure, the beach country didn’t really have cold winters, but surely the journey back would be hard. It would be nearly impossible to sleep outside. “Twinkle Star… Please be safe.” She whispered as she walked through the fields. And please be home soon, too, she thought.

Darkness. Once again, complete darkness as she walked through the corridors to His room. She had thought the time she brought the stone to Him, it would be the last time in a long while. But He had summoned her back much sooner than she thought he would. So now she was back, in His castle. The blind creatures opened the door for her when she was identified. The smell came back to her again, the strong smell of Him. It was something she probably would never get used to.
 “My Lord.” She said as she bowed. He didn’t reply, but she knew He was here. He had to. He never left. “You summoned me.” She said with an emotionless voice.
“Yes. You came. I want you to go on a mission.” A mission? He had just set her out on one.
“But, my Lord…”
“SILENCE!” He yelled. “This is a new mission with a higher importance.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“She is moving again.” He said statically. And even though it would have puzzled her otherwise, the tone of his voice made her realise exactly who He meant.
“What would you like me to do, my Lord?” She asked.
“Follow her. See what she is up to, and report to me immediately if you find something unusual.”
She nodded. “I understand my Lord.”
“Then leave, now.” He commanded, and she turned around and walked towards the door. Just when she wanted to open it, He began to speak again.
“And don’t forget… Don’t tell her. She has other things to do. This is your task.”
“I understand, my Lord.” She wanted to turn around again, but once more he began to speak.
“Understand this. You have to be careful. Do not let her see you. She is not alone, this time. Her sister is with her. And do not touch the little one, under any circumstance.” “I understand. I will report to you as soon as I know more, my Lord.” He didn’t respond, and she figured she was allowed to leave. She left his room, without looking back once. She didn’t like to keep an eye on her. She never saw any harm in her, and He was just overreacting. But she was at His command and His alone. So she would do her job, she would watch her, without revealing herself, and report to Him.