Chapter Fourty Two: The Maiden

As they watched Raven disappear into the castle, Penny stood in shock, unable to move from the realization of meeting her mother for the first time. " Wait...if that's your mom..then let's go after her! " Ember suggests as she runs in front of Penny, motioning for her to follow but the Witch could not move.

" I...I don't think I'm supposed to meet her though" Penny uttered so low that Ember had almost not heard her.

" Then lie and say you are someone else. But this is your chance to get to know her. You've always wanted that and you are gonna hate yourself for missing this" Ember brought up good points but Penny was still unsure as to whether this would be a good decision or not. Though, still, Ember insisted that this would be a good idea.

" Fine " Penny followed Ember up the street and to the castle, finding themselves stopped by the same two guards. " You are not allowed to pass" the same guard spoke, not looking at the two.

" What do you mean? The Princess said that we could enter last time with her blessing" Penny argued with the guard who dismissed her complaints quickly. " The Witch is allowed within the castle but the human must remain outside" The guard explained which Penny was not willing to accept. " That's not going to work. Ember goes with me everywhere" Penny refused to give in to Aurora's pettiness despite the guard's instructions.

" I can assure you that the King will give me his blessing to allow Ember through" Penny argued though the guard shook his head. " This evening, the King has an announcement to make, and thus the restrictions are very high. This announcement only concerns Witches residing in the kingdom" the guard explains much to the dismay of the two. "It's fine, you need to go in there " Ember assures Penny. " I'll wait back at the house and maybe make me some more snacks or something. Just make sure you find your mom" Ember assured as she began walking back down the street back to their home.

Penny tried to stop Ember who continued to insist that Penny should just continue on without her. Neither one wanted to truly separate but the chance of getting to meet her mother was something Penny also did not want to pass up entirely. " No...we can't separate like that.." Penny fought against herself. " Of course I want to meet my mom but we are here to do something far more important and I'm not willing to risk something happening to you " Penny would not budge on this as she followed Penny back to the house.

Ember appreciated the sentiment but still wished that Penny had taken the chance to meet her mother. It was doubtful that Aurora would have tried anything and even if she did, Ember felt confident in herself to he able to handle the issue, whatever it might be. " There may be another chance to meet her anyway. But for right now, we need to find a way into the castle. Because I'm sure that announcement is important" Penny was focused on the guards words, knowing full well that this could be the source of important information for them going forward in the future. However, getting into the castle would be a little more difficult than she had originally anticipated. Aurora was trying to cut them off and they could not allow for that.

" I could maybe just teleport us into the castle. Though, if you get recognized, I don't know what is going to happen. Best case scenario is that you get thrown in jail, And the worst case scenario is that Aurora tries to attack you again." Penny tries to think of a way to keep Ember from being recognized but Ember didn't seem all to worried about it. " If she wants to fight again, then that is what we will do. I'm not scared of her. I don't care how powerful she is, I can take her. Not to mention I have you on my side, and with you there I can pretty much do anything" Ember smiles, having the upmost confidence in Penny who was flattered by the praise.

" I guess we can give this a shot and see what happens " Penny relents as she takes Ember's hand and they teleport into the courtyard of the castle. There was practically noone there except the two so they felt safe enough for the time being.

" So I'm going to assume the announcement, is going to happen in the main hall. This would probably also mean that Aurora will be there, if for nothing else other than obligation. I'm thinking that we should hang back a little. We need to hear what is said, not be front and center" Penny pointed out which Ember agreed with. " Being subtle seems like a good option".

As the two conversed about the plan, they heard a familiar voice call out to them from the courtyard " What are you two doing here? "Raven ran to them, seeming shocked that they had made it inside the castle. " Ember is not suppose to be here. If she gets spotted, Aurora will lose her mind" Raven takes them by the hand, leading them to a small room which seemed like some sort of supply closet for maintaining the garden based on the shovels and fertilizer contained in small wagons. " Wow you'd think with magic, they wouldn't need any of this " Ember laughed as Raven pushed them in the room and closed the door.

"What are you guys doing here? " Raven asked, whispering so that Noone outside the door could hear.

" We are here because we want to know what the King's announcement is" Ember answered loudly and was immediately told to keep her voice down.

" The King is going to announce a possible unification and alliance with the Vampires. Noone is really sure how that is going to be accomplished but a lot of people aren't happy about it" Raven explained which caused concern within Penny. " If they do align..then that really is setting up for..." Penny's mind began to race with the possibility of how close they were to Kara coming into the picture. If they did align and Aurora did mate with a Vampire, this would set the world down the path that Penny and Ember had come here for.

" Setting up for what? " Raven asked, confused as to what the two were referring too. " Its not important. Thank you for letting us know" Penny smiled at Raven who seemed still confused but happy to be of help. " So you are a Witch too? " Ember asked Raven who was a little surprised by the question. " Yes..I'm a Witch. But I'm forbidden to use magic" She answered.

" Why are you forbidden? " Penny questioned, having never heard this from Lysette before. "It's a long story but..you two seriously have to get out of here" Raven tried to explain, looking back to the door to make sure it was still closed.

" We are going to be fine. I promise" Ember smiled and nudged Penny to say something. " Um..could...maybe..well...could you meet us at our place later? I would like to discuss some stuff with you " Penny asked, hoping the answer would be yes and Raven nodded. " I mean..yeah I can meet you at your place but for long, I am expected within the castle for whenever Aurora should need me. But later tonight, I will come and we shall speak further" Raven assured as she opened the door, and rushed them both outside. " Now you need to get going before we all get in trouble' Raven urged as Penny and Lysette waved goodbye before disappearing.