𝑳𝑶𝒀𝑨𝑳𝑻𝒀 & 𝑹𝑶𝒀𝑨𝑳𝑻𝒀 | 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒐

9

They sail for three days with barely any food or water, so when Shila saw green in this distance she was half tempted to swim there herself to get there faster but decided that if she could wait three days, a few more seconds weren't impossible.

"Listen carefully," The woman next to her who seemed unfazed by their lack of nutrition spoke, steering the boat gently. Shila noticed a small burn on her friends hand and reached over with fire-lit fingers. In under a minute, the wound had disappeared. Shaquanna sent her a thankful smile before continuing. 

"Once we land on the island, you'll have to place your hood on. I've got some gold and rubies to bribe anyone if we have to but we should preserve those for as long as we can. Additionally, we should avoid any extra contact with others, so when buying groceries I'll do everything. I'm not known out here at all, let alone back at the kingdom so we're safe as long as word doesn't spread too quickly."

"So basically, I just follow you around?"

They stared at each other for a few seconds before chuckling. "I like to over-explain things."

Shila nodded. "That seems appropriate in this situation."

~

The city is unlike anything Shila has seen before. It's all white and shiny and everyone around her is wealthy and happy. It's a stark contrast from her own kingdom where homelessness is an issue and the wealthy are only those who serve her father or are apart of his council.

It's another thing she keeps in mind for the rebuilding of her kingdom.

Both the princess and Shaquanna stick out like sore thumbs with their golden and black hoods which non-surprisingly led to many strange looks from strangers, but once again Shaquanna seemed unfazed so she only continued to follow the woman's lead. One day she would lead, but for now all she needs to do is survive.

While buying some groceries, Shila can't help but wander off to some of the sections where the books are. While peeking through different books she pauses at one with flimsy paper and a very bendable cover. 

Shila has no clue what it is even after opening it up.

"It's a comic book." A young boy says to her and she stares at him before tilting her head. He raises his eyebrows at her and gestures for her to hand him the 'comic book', to which she does hesitantly. He motions her closer to him and opens the first pages. 

"It's called Sora, Warrior of the Sea. It's my favourite series and I just got to this volume so I would really appreciate if I could take this."

She nods. He smiles and she melts at the sight. Children are always so adorable.

Together, they read through the story. With the boys enthusiasm, Shila finds herself cheering for the yellow member in the story with wide and expectant eyes, wondering how someone could possibly go invisible. But then again she can turn into a phoenix so anything seems possible now.

"Hey," A voice gently speaks, tapping the young boys shoulder. Shila blushes a little with embarrassment and stands up, acting like she wasn't fully comfortable as the boy read and explained the story to her.

But the black haired man didn't seem to mind at all, chuckling at her before returning his gaze to the boy.

"Did you make a new friend, Law?"