Ceremony of the Corpses

Rhai and Nagako

Morning came. There was a rainstorm that woke Aorinne from her deep sleep. Aorinne peeked inside her closet, and then walked up to it, pushing aside a black matte material door and revealing clothes. Aorinne took a pink kimono out of the closet and slipped into it. Talla knocked onto the door, as Aorinne told her that it was alright to come on in. Talla offered to do Aorinne's hair again, and that she can do it every single day if Aorinne wanted her to. Aorinne accepted it, and told Talla that she was very excited. Talla styled a dutch braid into Aorinne's hair, and took her to a separate room to get her bangs cut shorter so that she would not have to pin them aside. The process was completed quickly, and Rhai came along to escort Aorinne to her breakfast. Aorinne was told by Rhai to meet him at the gazebo by the river, to have an important chat. 

A guard granted Aorinne access into the formal dining room, where Aorinne's family awaited. Queen N'etalienne jumped up from her seat and jogged up to Aorinne, brushing Aorinne's cheek with her thumb. 

"I'm horrible, aren't I?" Queen N'etalienne said while turning away.

"Your Highness, I must say... You are." Aorinne replied.

Sali chuckled, looking over to Qent. Qent looked very well shocked, as well as Junmia. Tyrus just nodded his head yes. The Queen just laughed and then escorted Aorinne to her seat.

Aorinne remained silent for the entire meal, and when it was over, she was the last to leave the room, hoping that she could still show respect for the King and Queen. Aorinne feared them very much, actually. 

"You must leave, now, little one." The King said to Aorinne. Aorinne hesitated a step but then quickly left to go meet Rhai at the gazebo. However, Rhai was not alone. He was seating along with another boy that looked much his age, about 3 years older than Aorinne. Meaning, they looked 26, as Aorinne was 23. Aorinne walked up the steps of the wooden gazebo, fixing her dutch braids and pushing them behind her shoulders. 

Rhai pushed himself off the ledge of the gazebo, and walked up towards Aorinne. The other handsome man followed behind him. Rhai was close, and she felt her face heating up since she has never gotten close to a man. "Aorinne, meet Nagako. He is my best friend and he is from heaven, just like you and me." Rhai said bluntly with a cute smirk. However, that his appearance did not matter. Aorinne felt her heart pumping fast, and the two other men most likely heard it.

"Come again?" Aorinne asks, hesitant and still in very deep thought.

"We are all from heaven, dear." Nagako smiles.

"N-no... I'm from Earth. And you guys.. There is no way you guys can be from Heaven. God would never send his angels down here. You can only come here from Aesthanei and Earth."  Aorinne replied, fidgeting around with a hair pin in her hand.

"We were sent down here as spies. We were trusted." Rhai said to me, while beginning to walk onto a bridge.

***
Then, he told Aorinne the story of Tres Marias. 

Rhai told her about the 3 sisters. Aorinne was known to be one of their reincarnations. One of them is in the underworld, and one is in Aesthenai.

***

By that time, it was lunch. The two men and Aorinne scheduled another meeting for this evening after dinner and before curfew. Her hidden, wooden sandals clacked against the marble tiles inside the castle, as she walked alone to the dining area. Aorinne's 'family' were there standing, waiting for Aorinne. Junmia, the oldest sister was not packed, but the other family members were.

"We are going on a trip to Vizule. We will take no longer than 3 months there. Junmia will be keeping you company here at the castle. We are leaving right after dinner." The King announced, leaving with all the bags to put them in their wagon. "You must wait for our return. Junmia will get you used to what's going on in our kingdom and it will be up to you two, Rhai, Nagako and the discussion members on how the kingdom will be."

By the time dinner was over, Aorinne was on a horse ride with Rhai and Nagako. They all stopped by a freshly put out fire and lit it up once again. Rhai promised Aorinne that he would slowly heal her wounds. That night, Rhai and Aorinne planned for Nagako to meet with the Heavens and ask what they are to do about the situation. 

"I wish that war does not fall upon our realms. I cannot do such a scary thing. Eliminating people." Aorinne admitted, sighing and getting on top of her horse.

"But, I must learn how to defend myself. Please, teach me." Aorinne looked at both Rhai and Nagako as they too, were getting onto their horses.

"We will." They nodded. The trio came back to the kingdom.