The nobles gathered in the council chamber, called together to discuss the many serious issues facing the kingdom of Wonderveil and to speak directly with Princess Celestia.
The atmosphere inside the room was heavier and more tense than usual. The long table in the centre was surrounded by nobles, every face serious and drawn with worry. Not a single person was smiling. The memory of the terrible defeat in battle only a few days before was still fresh in all their minds.
Celestia looked at each noble in turn. She knew news of Alice's failure had spread everywhere. Her eyes moved slowly from one face to the next, reading the anxiety and deep concern written clearly upon them. Though they tried to sit calmly, it was obvious their minds were filled with fear for the future of Wonderveil.
"Your Highness… what are we to do? We were utterly defeated by Princess Elowen in battle," one noble spoke up, his voice thick with worry. He rested both hands firmly on the table and looked straight at Celestia.
"I do not know for certain… but I saw how my sister's dragon attacked our forces. I truly never expected the beast to be so immensely powerful," Celestia replied, lowering her gaze slightly. Even though Elowen was her older sister, she had never truly understood just how strong the dragon's power was.
"Will that dragon come here and attack us next?" asked a noblewoman, clutching the edge of her dress tightly, fear plain in her eyes.
"I cannot say for sure… but I am afraid of it too. And right now, there is very little I am able to do to stop it," Celestia admitted softly.
Her answer cast a deeper silence over the room. Several nobles exchanged uneasy glances with one another.
"Your Highness… is there truly no other way to defeat Princess Elowen? She is your own sister—surely you must know of her weaknesses?" asked one of the men.
"I am sorry… but I do not," Celestia answered quietly. She truly had no answer to give them.
"Princess Celestia has never stepped onto a battlefield in her life, so do not ask her such impossible questions," Ryan spoke up firmly, coming to her defence. He shot a sharp look at the noble who had spoken, displeased to see Celestia being pressed with such difficult questions.
"We are all aware of that… but does that mean the Princess knows nothing at all of war or strategy?" the woman asked again.
"I apologise," Celestia said, offering a faint, hollow smile. "I can only do the very best that I am capable of."
"We are also rapidly running short of food supplies. We must secure enough stock to last through the coming months," another noble said, opening a stack of reports and spreading them across the table.
"That is true. Winter will arrive soon, bringing heavy snow. We will need plenty of stores to survive, so we must find more food immediately. If this situation continues without improvement, the people will surely begin to rebel," another noble added.
Many heads nodded in agreement around the table.
"What if we switch to planting a different crop—such as potatoes?" Ryan suggested, leaning forward slightly. He was thinking quickly, trying to find the most practical and fastest solution to their crisis.
"That is a good idea… but is there still enough time to plant potatoes before the snow falls?" someone asked.
"Certainly there is. Potatoes take only three to four weeks to mature fully," Ryan explained confidently.
They all nodded slowly, seeing the wisdom in his plan. Celestia gave a small, bitter smile. While the problem of food might have a possible solution, the far greater problem of war and Elowen's threat remained completely unsolved.
"I must also tell you… our numbers of able knights are very low right now," Celestia said softly, her voice heavy with guilt. "Too many were badly wounded in the last battle."
"Then tell us, Princess Celestia… what strength do you possess that can rival your sister's power?" a noble asked suddenly.
The question hung in the air, bringing total silence to the room.
"Hey! That is no way to speak to Her Highness!" Ryan snapped, answering before Celestia could reply. He hated seeing her questioned and challenged in such a way.
"I know I am not strong in the way my sister is," Celestia said, lifting her head to look at them all, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. "But I promise you—I will never give up fighting for all of you. Please, trust me in this."
The nobles nodded slowly. For now, they had no choice but to place their faith in Celestia and leave everything in her hands.
The meeting finally came to an end, leaving many questions unanswered and worries still weighing heavily upon everyone's minds. But for the moment, there was no other option but to trust their ruler.
Shortly after the council ended, servants and royal officials went out to instruct the people to begin planting potatoes in every field and patch of fertile land available. They provided tools and the best fertiliser suitable for the soil, and instructions were sent quickly to every corner of Wonderveil. Palace workers travelled from village to village, helping the people prepare and sow their new crops.
The people had no choice but to obey and plant the potatoes they would soon need to survive. Winter was coming fast, and they needed large stores of food to last through the months when snow would cover the whole kingdom.
Across the wide fields, villagers worked together, turning the earth over with hoes and tools. Some carried baskets full of seed potatoes, while others watered the freshly planted rows. Even though fear of war and the dragon still lingered in their hearts, they continued working. The coming winter would not wait for anyone, and they needed enough food to keep their families alive when snow finally buried the land of Wonderveil.
.............
Alice watched the local villagers beginning to plant potatoes in the fields, preparing their food stores for the coming winter. She observed their every movement through the eyes of Fin, who was watching from the shadows. A cold, knowing smile curved her lips as she saw them toiling away.
Through Fin's perspective, the people worked without rest across the farmlands. Some dug deep into the soil with hoes, others carried heavy baskets filled with seed potatoes, and many scattered fertiliser over the prepared ground. Although exhaustion was clear on their faces, they kept moving, driven by the knowledge that snow would soon cover the land.
"Winter is coming soon… and I still haven't managed to kill that dragon," Alice muttered darkly.
A furry creature approached her, stepping out from the darkness.
"Can't you just attack the dragon directly, Alice?" it asked.
"I cannot. It flies high and hides well; finding it is nearly impossible. I have searched the mountains before, but it never showed itself. I suspect it is the true guardian spirit of Wonderveil," Alice replied, her voice laced with frustration.
"What would happen if you succeeded in killing it?" the creature asked curiously.
"Without the dragon, this kingdom would lose its greatest protector. Darkness and chaos would flood in easily. But during the battle, there was a force—light magic—that managed to wound me," Alice said, touching her cheek where the burn had been, still remembering the searing pain.
"So your true enemy is this power of light?"
"No. No power can truly stand against me. But even if I cannot kill the dragon right now, I will still bring Wonderveil to ruin," Alice declared confidently.
"What do you plan to do now?"
"I will plant nightmares in their minds using my magic. Dreams so terrifying and vivid they will feel real. They will be consumed by fear, turn against one another, and soon enough, betrayal will tear Wonderveil apart from the inside," Alice said, her eyes gleaming with malice.
The creature smirked. "I never thought you would go to such lengths just to seize control of this land."
"Of course I would," Alice replied, a terrifying, wicked smile spreading across her face.
A heavy dark aura swirled around her, filling the abandoned mansion. The already desolate building grew even gloomier as shadows danced and thickened in the air.
That very night, while the entire kingdom lay deep in sleep, Alice wove her dark magic and sent terrible nightmares into every mind.
The dreams were always the same: visions of the dragon attacking Wonderveil alongside Princess Elowen, destroying everything in fire and fury. She painted Elowen as cruel, ruthless, and bloodthirsty, while showing Princess Celestia as weak, helpless, and unable to protect her people. She also planted visions of betrayal—someone secretly sending letters and information across the border into Elowen's territory.
That night was filled with quiet whimpers, restless breathing, and sudden screams. Many people woke up shivering in cold sweat, even though the night air was cool. Others gripped their blankets tightly, too terrified to close their eyes again, the fear feeling far too real to be just a dream.
The next morning, crowds gathered in the town square, their eyes red and swollen from sleeplessness. Some still shivered, wrapping themselves in thick cloaks and shawls.
"I… I am terrified. Were those just dreams, or visions of the future?" one man asked, his voice shaking.
"I think they were visions. It is impossible for so many of us to have the exact same nightmare otherwise," a woman replied, her face pale.
"Will the dragon really attack us? What are we supposed to do?" another woman cried out in fear.
"And I… I saw a traitor sending secret letters to Princess Elowen. That must be why Alice lost the battle—because someone here betrayed us," another voice added angrily.
"Disgraceful traitor! If we catch whoever it is, we should kill them!"
"We must keep watch tonight. We will catch whoever is carrying messages across to Elowen."
"Agreed!"
They all nodded in fierce determination, their faces filled with suspicion and fear. No one could forget the terrifying visions that had haunted them through the night.
When night fell again, several groups of people took up positions around the borders of Elowen's territory. Two men hid deep within the bushes, keeping a close watch on the boundary. Others spread out along the edges of the region, for the land was vast and they needed to cover every possible path.
They waited in total silence. The only sounds were the whispering wind and the rustling of leaves.
After hours of waiting, one of them spotted movement. A large grey wolf was moving swiftly toward Elowen's lands, a sealed letter held firmly in its jaws. It was Qas. He entered the territory easily, completely unaware that dozens of eyes were watching him from the shadows.
The hidden watchers gasped in shock. They knew they could not cross into Elowen's lands themselves—an invisible barrier always blocked them—but this wolf had walked straight through as if nothing stood in its way.
"It's true… there really is something wrong here," one man whispered, his voice thick with suspicion.
A few minutes later, Qas walked back out of the territory, carrying a different letter in his mouth, and began heading back toward the main palace.
The villagers rushed forward from their hiding places and threw a heavy net over him all at once.
"Hey!" Qas yelped in surprise, dropping the letter as the net tangled around his limbs. He struggled to break free, but the ropes held tight.
One man stepped forward, his face twisted with rage. "I never thought a beast like you would dare betray Princess Celestia."
"What?" Qas growled, confused and defensive.
The letter he had been carrying fell onto the ground. A woman quickly snatched it up and tore it open to read the contents. Her face turned to horror and anger as she read the words.
"So… you are the one betraying Princess Celestia all along?"
"Have you all lost your minds? How could a wolf like me write letters?" Qas demanded, trying to reason with them.
"We know exactly what you are," the woman snapped, holding the paper up so he could see.
Qas froze. The handwriting on the page was messy and scrawled, like chicken scratch, yet legible enough to read. But the worst part—stamped clearly at the bottom of the paper—was the imprint of a wolf's paw, exactly matching his own.
Qas's eyes went wide with disbelief. He read the lines over and over again, unable to understand how his paw print had gotten onto the document. He had never written a single word, nor touched a piece of paper in his life.
But the villagers surrounding him looked at him with nothing but hatred and suspicion. No one was willing to listen to his explanations. To them, the evidence was clear and undeniable: Qas the wolf was the traitor who had been secretly aiding their enemy all along.