The Hidden Three (Book 1 of the Hidden Trilogy)

Chapter Twenty-Three: Journeying Through Sky

~Tsuki Hyashi~

(ATH)

Light whizzed past me as I followed Alena's trail. Thank goodness we got Rayn off my back. A small part of me hoped he would be safe. But they were overlapped with a disturbing thought of Eliana. She was keeping something from us- or maybe not. My senses were greatly dulled from my time away from the moon. I was stuck looking like a 16-year-old- at the very least- until we figured how to get back to our realms. Yeah, I'm not really 16, but that's a story for another time. Oh right, I'd have to investigate the blackness underneath Eliana. Something was definitely off with her- something I didn't sense when we first met. She seemed nice enough, in the way that she was friendly and kind. But if she was any threat to me, I couldn't afford to let her make a move.

We touched down in a grove surrounded by trees. When my feet touched the hard ground, I stumbled. Guess I still had to practice my landings. Alena was waiting, and Eliana appeared in a flash of light a few moments later. She fell over onto the soft grass. I suppressed a laugh and Alena helped her up. We sat down on the grass, each of us thinking about what would happen next.

"So, where are we?" Eliana asked. Good question.

"We're a good distance away from the capital," Alena said quietly.

"Then where do we go from here?" I asked, unsheathing and sheathing Yorukaze. Moondust's nose poked out from my bag.

"We could drop by the Moon Kingdom and the Sun Kingdom," Alena suggested. As she said that, I felt a strange eagerness growing inside me. The moon kingdom. I remembered the one spiraling pillar that looked over the only building there- a huge castle that changed with the tides on earth. Sometimes when the tides were low, the castle would be smaller. The hallways would change according to the amount of sunlight with the seasons. The moon was always changing, always larger or smaller, always near or far. I leaned forward.

"The Moon?" I said.

"Yeah. We might find clues there." Alena said. My mind drifted back and remembered the place. There were very very few inhabitants there. Most were moon beings, like Daisuke, created by Kaito. He'd always been the stronger one at magic than I. But I doubted he could do what the Sun Warrior could. I glanced at Eliana. She sat stiffly, her eyes nervous and uncertain, but she still glowed with determination.

"If I go back to the Sun," she said slowly. "I can regain all my memories?"

"There's a good chance," Alena answered.

"And I can also look for Kaito... As well as figure out how I ended up on earth."

"Sounds like a plan," Alena said, her eyes turning back to Eliana. "So, what do you think about going back to the Sun Kingdom?"

"I..." Eliana winced and kept her eyes on me. I furrowed my brows. Why was she looking at me like that? "Tsuki..." Her lips twitched slightly. "Why... Why is your forehead glowing?"

"Huh?" I put my hand to my forehead. I didn't feel anything. Alena turned to look at me.

"There's the moon there."

"Oh..." The moon. Kaito? My eyes scanned the underbrush around us carefully. Alena followed my eyes. She stood abruptly.

"Can you hear that?" She whispered. I strained my ears and could hear rustling. Then a snap of a branch. Alena sprang forward, causing Eliana and me to jump to our feet. I drew Yorukaze so fast I almost cut Moondust, who squeaked and buried into my bag. I ran after Alena, who was rummaging through the bushes. She sighed and turned back to me. "You heard that right?"

"Yeah," I said and Eliana nodded. Alena frowned and shook her head.

"I guess we'll have to stay the night." She pointed to the horizon, where the glimmering tips of the moon castle loomed over us. "We'll go to the Moon first. The Sun's transition will be on our way to..."

"Wait a second. Where are we going after?" Eliana held up her hands. Alena's eyes flickered.

"We... We're going to the Nartoch castle."

"What?!" I tried to keep my voice from quivering. I hated Nartoches. I didn't know why, but Shannon was not the first Nartoch I'd ran into.

"We have to keep the Universe safe. And Nartoches are doing coordinated attacks now, instead of random ones. There must be something behind this. That raid on the star village was well planned. They took able-bodied men first by luring them off. And no Nartoch would dare reveal themselves so publicly like Shannon. And the star that talked to Eliana. Something is very wrong here. I can feel it among the stars. They sense a growing darkness. Ali sensed it." Alena looked both of us in the eyes determinedly. "So we have to train. Together, as friends, we can finally put darkness back in its place. We can save the stars from all their suffering." I glanced at Alena. This Star Guardian was definitely strong.

"Alright." I smiled slightly.

"M'Kay!" Eliana said, then yawned. "Sorry."

-

-

"Eliana?" I whispered. Eliana slept beside me, but she apparently wasn't asleep.

"Ya?" She whispered back.

"Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me?"

".... I don't know anything."

"No, but-"

"I just found out a while ago that I am the Sun. I don't have memories, I don't have a family, and I don't have anyone there for me. But you and Alena." I heard her sigh.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean it like that. But you do understand, we're your friends now, and we'll be here for you whenever you need us." The words tumbled out unexpectedly. What just happened to me? I could feel my chest swell as I spoke those words. What a strange feeling. I'd never experienced friendship in this way before. I lay back down on my back and closed my eyes. Eh, might as well take a chance.