TBATE-ONESHOTS

Allegiance 9

Tessia stepped through the portal, entering Xyrus City, and immediately hunched over. The aftereffects of going through the portal hit her like a freight train, and she grabbed her stomach, feeling a little nauseous. Luckily, the nausea only lasted for a brief moment, and she was able to stand straight, composing herself.

Tessia twirled around to see how Arthur was doing, but to her surprise, she noticed he hadn't followed her through. Her brows furrowed in bewilderment, wondering if something had happened, until Arthur stepped through the portal with it closing behind him, and she smiled.

Like Tessia, the aftereffects hit Arthur and Sylvie hard, and he stumbled forward, grumbling at the nauseous feeling, while Sylvie curled up slightly on his shoulder. Arthur stood still, composing himself, letting the feeling run its course, and Sylvie was able to soon relax. Once the feeling washed away, Arthur took in a breath, opened his eyes, and looked at Tessia with a smile.

Sylvie shook herself off and looked at Tessia happily with a "Kyu!"

Arthur chuckled, "I don't think I will ever get used to that."

"Neither will I," Tessia jested before she tilted her head slightly to the right in a cute gesture. "Did something keep you? I noticed you weren't right behind me when I stepped through."

Arthur's smile faded, and he looked at Tessia seriously, "Yeah, actually." Arthur dramatically placed his hand on his sternum, looking at Tessia in shock. "Before I stepped through the portal, several elven guards attacked me, and I barely escaped with my life!"

Tessia went wide-eyed in astonishment, "Wait, what?!" She stepped closer to Arthur and gestured to him, shaking her head back and forth rapidly. "I-I don't understand... Why wou-" Tessia cut herself off, and her eyes narrowed on Arthur, seeing his lips curve into a frown and trying hard not to laugh. "You're joking, aren't you?"

Arthur burst into laughter and gestured toward Tessia, "HAHAHA! I had you going for a second, though!"

Tessia huffed, looked to the side, and crossed her arms in a pout, "Honestly, to think it would be a good idea to joke about something like that."

"Oh, come on," Arthur chuckled, wiping a stray tear from the corner of his eye from laughing so much. "It was funny."

Tessia looked at Arthur and gave a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes, "Oh yes, it was hilarious. So hilarious, in fact, I forgot to laugh."

Arthur sighed, looked to the side, and snapped his finger before he sarcastically said, "Dang, and here I was trying hard to get you to laugh. Guess I shouldn't be too funny."

Tessia pursed her lips, trying to contain her smile from Arthur's jest. Arthur looked at her with a side eye and smiled, seeing her trying to hold back a smile.

'And he said this wasn't a date,' Sylvie said, mentally rolling her eyes.

Tessia cleared her throat, composed herself, and gestured to the city, "Well, if you're done with the jokes, perhaps you would like to get some breakfast."

Arthur looked at her and nodded, "I would love to." He gestured to her, "Ladies first."

Tessia's lips broke in a smile, and she twirled around as she began to walk into the city, with Arthur walking beside her.

Xyrus City was large, with tall white buildings that had red-tiled roofs. The streets were made of red brick, laid out in a red circular design. Gray cement sidewalks lined the streets, which were filled with people of all races who were walking around happily and conversing with each other.

Tessia looked at Arthur curiously as they walked beside each other through the streets of Xyrus, "So what did keep you?"

"Back at the floating castle?" Arthur asked.