Chapter Thirty Five: The Small Things

Penny and Ember had decided that they would travel to the Underworld, with Lysette's blessing. Penny's views on everyone had been changing so rapidly that she was not entirely sure whether she could trust the sincerity in Lysette's voice. But she had to hope that Lysette would do her best to not interfere. Because despite how much of a risk that Lysette could pose to the plan, Penny was willing to give her the opportunity to prove herself genuine.

Ember, was excited to get the chance to travel to the Underworld. The way that Penny had described it, made it sound even more beautiful than she could have possibly imagined. " So is it going to hurt to travel there or...I mean I've done something like this before" Ember asked, though Pen

ny assured her that the process was quick and painless for the most part.

After saying their goodbyes, Penny waved goodbye to Lysette and after closing her eyes, Penny proceeded to clutch the small necklace in her hand, picturing them back in the Underworld and after a few seconds, they could feel a sharp, cold breeze upon their face. Opening their eyes, the Two found themselves within the Underworld. The beautiful multicolored skies and roaming fields of red flowers were absolutely stunning to see again for Penny. Ember was quiet, in complete awe of the spectacle she was witnessing.

" This is beyond anything I was imagining. Holy crap this place is gorgeous" Ember remarked as she continued to look on in amazement.

"It's extremely beautiful but we still need to be careful" Penny advised as Penny began trying to locate exactly where they had landed. The Witches Kingdom was in the distance, so they were at least near it. Penny, decided it might be best to take up residency there since she had already been familiar with the King and Queen. She was not sure how much time had passed since she was last here, but, she knew she wanted to be as close to the Kingdom as she could. This is where her Mother would eventually reside for a time and this is where Kara would be born. Therefore, this would be the best place to observe things for the time being.

Penny and Ember began making their way through the fields, towards the Kingdom as Penny explained the surrounding locations to Ember so that she could have a better understanding. " And it was in this field that I first met Aurora" Penny pointed out as they stopped to rest for a short time. " And Aurora is the..bad Queen? " Ember asked. " Yes, she becomes selfish and greedy with power eventually. But when I first met her, she was very sweet and Kind" Penny at first had never thought that someone so sweet and inoccent could have turned into such a monster. But this would be something that Penny would witness herself. This was set in stone and was bound to happen. And this is part of the reason they were here now. To learn the truth about the people of her home.

" Well it feels as though if we could change her somehow, that would fix a lot of the issues that arise in the future" Ember hoped though even she knew that things could never be that easy.

" Well apparently from what I can gather, her going absolutely insane, is actually a benefit on some level. It does force care to see certain things that she needs to see and it does help hope and the long run. Though I do get your point" Penny smiles. As they begin walking towards the castle they spot a man, not far ahead of them, who seems to be bothered. As they approach closer, they notice that this man was actually a teenager, a little younger than Penny and Ember but very handsome.

" Hello" Penny called to the man, who turned to them quickly and smiled " Oh..hello there" the man spoke in a very, distinguished, almost posh like tone.

" What are you doing out here? " Ember asked, looking the man up and down, seeing that he was indeed of some form of royalty, as he had on very nice clothes, and his hair was flushed to the back.

" My name is Kalivare. How do you not know this? " he asked, almost seeming offended by their ignorance. " Well..we don't get out much? I guess you could say " Ember answered back, though Penny recognized this name as well. Her grandfather had taken a great deal of time to explain much of the history she would need to know. And this man, was a vampire. But not only that, he was the man with whom Queen Aurora would have a child, that child being Kara.

Kalivare seemed to not really approve of their answer but eventually, turned his attention away from them. " You know, you two being out here would not be the wisest decision. You could both get seriously harmed" he warned which Penny and Ember took as a possible threat. " We will be just fine. We can handle ourselves " Penny barked with Ember by her side, preparing herself in case the Vampire was going to attack. " Oh calm down" he commands them. " If I was going to attack you, I would've already done so. But I'm not here to bother with the likes of you two. I have more important matters" Kalivare looks towards the Witch Kingdom, smiling widely, showing his razor sharp teeth.

" And those plans are...? " Ember inquired, to which Kalivare answered " I am going to see the love of my life today.." he answered, seeming more cheerful as he thought about the prospects of seeing his love again. " And your love is..." Ember questioned which prompted Penny to lightly punch her in the arm. " Her name is Princess Aurora. And she, is everything I could ever want.." he answered, not taking his eyes off of the large crystal castle. " Aurora? But she is a crazy bit- " Ember was cut off by another punch to the arm from Penny. " Stop that!" Ember complained as she rubbed her arm, trying to sooth the soreness.

" Well, we wish you luck with that, come on Ember" Penny smiled as she lead them around Kalivare to continue heading towards the castle.

" Wait..." Kalivare shouted from behind them.

" If you are going to the castle, then I shall accompany you" Kalivare announced which Penny immediatly shot down the idea of. " Um..I don't think that is a good idea. Are Vampires even allowed in the kingdom?" Penny asked as they continued walking forward, Kalivare trailing behind them. " Well..no..but also yes? It's complicated" He suttered, stumbling over his answer.

" Again, I don't think it's a good idea. How do we know we can even trust you? " Penny asked, still trying to think of a way out of the situation. The Vampire thought for a moment before responding " I have never attacked anyone without being attacked. So of you don't attack me then I won't attack you" he assures, proudly.

"That doesn't really..answer my question.." Penny rolls her eyes as they continue walking, still being followed by Kalivare. " And at this point, you are following us anyway. So why does it matter? " Ember joked as she leaned over to Penny to whisper in her ear so that Kalivare would not hear " Why are we even walking? Why not just teleport us there? " Penny stopped, having realized this was something she could have, and should have done but now, was heavily more tempted.

" I'm sorry, but we have to go.." Penny announced as she took Embers hand and closed her eyes. Though, once her eyes were closed, she felt a small weight against her side, the side that Ember was not on. And once opening her eyes to see that she was in the Witches Kingdom, she also noticed that Kalivare, had gripped onto her right before the teleport and was now there with them. Penny shoved him away, annoyed that he would have done something such as that.

" Alright, listen here, you ass. Don't ever try that again" She hissed as Kalivare smiled back, unbothered by her frustration. " Well, we are here now and that is all that matters. And now, we shall part ways" and with that, Kalivare disappeared down one of the busy streets. Ember let go of Penny's hand and tried to take in the sheer amount of people that were here. " So what do we do? " Ember asked as she looked around, seeing markets and shops, people dressed in all different forms of multicolored and shiny fabrics that were exotic by earth standards. " Well we need to find a place to live for the time being. But seeing as how we do not have money...or jobs. I think we should probably find someone who can help us.

As they made their way down the streets, they found themselves stopped by a man whom seemed all to happy to see them. " Hello! " The man smiled, seeming to have known them. " Um..hello? " They both smiled at the friendly, elderly man who was now standing in front of them. " My name is Bartholomew and I am here to help " he smiles. " You can call me Barty if that's easier for you " he chuckles as the girls introduce themselves. " My name is Penny and this is my friend Ember.." Penny spoke in a friendly tone. " You are here to help us? " She asked, following the introductions. From her knowledge, Noone knew they would be coming so this was a little concerning to them.

" Yes, I am to lead you to your new home" Bart smiled as he lead them down the street to a small home that seemed to be in pristine condition.

" I'm sorry Bartholomew, but we can't afford this home. We don't have money and we don't have jobs " Penny tried to explain as Bart waved his hands to cut her off. " There is no need. It has already been taken care of" he said as he leaned down and pulled out a small silver key, unlocking the door before turning to Penny and handing her the key. " Wait..who paid for this? I am so confused " Penny expressed though Bart did not seem to either have the answer, or he was not allowed to give one. " A friend" he finally said as he walked away, leaving the two girls on their own.

" Well..that was easy.." Ember laughed as she entered the home. " Yeah.." Penny remarked, looking at the home one last time before entering.