Prologue

Synopsis
As her life came crumbling down, princess Calypso faced this problem the only way she knew how-- by running away. She ran and ran through a stone labyrinth underneath her castle. She recalls playing here as a child and how that helped her memorize the layout, which would give her the advantage when running away from the invading enemy soldiers. However, because she's just not a fast runner, an enemy soldier manages to catch up and block her path. The soldier says that if she is co-operative, king Sonniel would allow her to live under his new rule. Calypso accepts the offer to co-operate if they tell her why they invaded Hecadia. The soldier says that none of them have any idea since king Sonniel had kept it a secret to prevent information leaking to Hecadia and that they didn't need to know anyways because they believed in king Sonniel and knew that there must be a good reason-- so they'd all follow him no matter what. Calypso got mad and said that co-operation was off the table if she was dealing with someone who'd launch a deadly surprise invasion for a cause they didn't even know, and that if they played dirty she will return in kind. The soldier braced for combat, and Calypso snapped her fingers-- distorting the spaces around them and causing all but her to slow down. She stepped past the soldier, charging a ball of energy for a moment before unleashing it at him and snapping her fingers again. Time continues normally again and the enemy falls down, unconscious.

She tries to continue on running but using her time magic had greatly exhausted her. That was royal magic-- a category that only her bloodline could use that while powerful, consumes a large amount of her soul's stamina. Her pace slowed down even more and she began to feel light-headed. So she took a small vial of purple liquid from her pouch and downed it as she walked. But since it would take a while to kick in she decided to take a break. It didn't take long to find a door that led to stairs leading up and outside.

Calypso arrived in the training grounds a ways away from the castle. She looked up to see fleets of dragons dotting the violet sky. It was strange to see them replacing the usual peaceful pegasi, who are only used for transportation. She found a corner in a small room to hide in while she regained her energy. She recalled what that soldier had said-- about how he believed in king Sonniel and would follow his commands without an explanation. King Sonniel is a teenager like her but he's charismatic, manipulative, and a genius leader and tactician. He led Ferroburgh, a kingdom known for their unparalleled military strength. She wracked her brain for reasons for the invasion. She had not interacted with him much-- that last time she had seen him was at an annual meeting between the seven kingdoms half a year ago. He was on a balcony, overlooking Hecadia. The meetings always took place at the Union Peak, in a building on top a mountain situated where four kingdoms meet-- Ferroburgh and Hecadia included. King Sonniel had such a faraway look in his eyes as he surveyed the Hecadian plains. Calypso truly thought of him as an enigma-- something about him filled her with indescribable feelings. She had known one thing for sure: their fates were intertwined, one way or another. Was this what her intuition was telling her? Was he thinking about this invasion that day?

Her thoughts are interrupted when she hears frantic yelling outside. Something about sensing life. They must have a dryad with them-- they can all sense life. They approached her so she readied a ball of magic-- and stepped out of the room to blast them with it. She prepared another as they tried to find their bearings, but to her surprise-- one of them started... stabbing the rest of them. And they all fell down, paralyzed. Calypso stood there confused until the last soldier standing removed their helmet to show a familiar face. Calypso recognized him as Keith, her secret lover. That's a long story-- involving him saving her from a kidnapping and continuing their relationship in secret because of their difference in status. Keith looked at her tenderly, holding her face with a hand and gently circling his thumb on her cheek. He promised that he would protect her no matter what, and his eyes fell to her lips and he leaned in to--

"Lady Reyna! Miss Faye needs to talk to you!"

Recurring themes:

 * Sonniel's soldiers were blindly obeying his orders, believing that no matter what his cause was, it must be just (trust and loyalty)


 * Keith vowed to protect Calypso no matter what (trust and loyalty)
 * In her daydreams, Reyna uses the name "Calypso" (names and identity)
 * Keith had disguised himself among the knights, only to betray them once he found Calypso (deception) (betrayal)
 * Calypso thinks about how her childhood in the tunnels is now helping her (childhood staying with you)
 * Calypso had a feeling that Sonniel would play a big role in her life (logic versus intuition)
 * Calypso and Keith are in a secret relationship (relationships) (forbidden love)

Established World-building:

 * There are seven kingdoms, Ferroburgh and Hecadia among them, and they hold annual meetings
 * Ferroburgh is a powerful kingdom known for its great military. They also have dragons
 * Magic exists and so does a special royal magic
 * The royal magic of the Hecadian bloodline is time manipulation
 * Humans have a "soul's stamina" that is used for magic, which can be restored with the help of purple potions (that don't take effect immediately)
 * There exist a species called "dryads" which can sense life

Literary techniques:

 * The ferroburghan soldier says that he'd follow Sonniel "no matter what", and Keith says he'd protect Reyna "no matter what", implying that destructive loyalty and protective loyalty are two sides of the same coin-- especially since Keith had just stabbed a bunch of guys who may or may not be still alive (parallels) (regularly spoken phrases)
 * Keith had been very tender with Reyna immediately after stabbing multiple people (juxtaposition)
 * While made more clear next chapter, the opening line can apply to both Calypso running from the invaders, and Reyna running from her problems (foreshadowing)

Development:

 * Calypso's design is based on an old design for Reyna, which has purple hair
 * Previously, Keith would have rescued Calypso in the tunnels, instead of having Reyna take a breather in the training grounds first
 * The daydream prologue is a relatively new idea and originally the story would jump right into a chapter 1 where Reyna tries and fails to learn magic

Associated music:
Above & Beyond - You Got To Go