Loyal Riptide

Part 2 Chapter 4

       Asa craned her chin up to get a better look at Yoko under the pressure of the crystal poking at her neck. Yoko's eyes changed; they were more tired looking and a glare that seemed to be set in stone right on her face, this wasn't the flamboyant girl she remembered. "You don't have to do this, you know." Asa simply said, stretching her fingers to feel the grass and the moisture within it. "All I care is that my queen finds you alive or in a rucksack in pieces, I don't wish to fail her." Yoko replied, her voice sounded rasped. Asa commanded the moisture from the grass to whirl around her fingers and stab in Yoko's leg who yelped back at the sudden pain in her leg.

Asa quickly got up and began running towards the forest that lied behind the military dormitories. She hasn't used the Heart of the Sea in awhile, not since she had to help water the fields during West Gate's drought season so it still felt foreign for her to wield such power. She whirled around and materialized Loyal Riptide into her hands and shielded herself from an over head attack from Yoko jumping from a rocky hill. Gold and crystal grind against each other before a kick sent Asa tumbling down a rocky hill and into a small creek at the bottom of the embankment. 

She commanded the mucky water in the creek to create a protective barrier around her and then quickly sent it as a large wave towards Yoko, who fell back into the rocky embankment with a thud. She didn't stay down for long as she got up and charged towards her but was stopped dead when she heard her name called from atop the embankment. "Yoko, stop!" Hizashi screamed as she steadily made her way down to the creek where her sister was inches away from cutting away at Asa. 

"Her majesty needs her... I can't fail her..." Yoko huffed as her sister cupped her face into her slim hands, "Asa is your queen, Yoko. She came back." Hizashi replied, giving her twin a small smile. Coral vines wrapped around Yoko's arms and abdomen to prevent her from moving or using her powers again and the vines led up the embankment to Shiro and Gordy standing at the top. "It seems we all have some explaining to do." He said.

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       Yoko sat still tied up to the dining room chair as everyone sat and paced freely around Gordy's dining room. "Nobody will know we are here, Gordy?" Asa asked, neurotically checking every place that could have anything used to spy on them. "Please, this kingdom stopped giving a crap about us ever since Taura claimed the throne, I wouldn't worry." She replied, folding her arms over her chest. "But isn't it not such a great idea having her here? She works for her." Kaiyu put in motioning towards Yoko who hasn't said anything since they arrived. "So do you, but yet you have learned to keep your damned mouth shut." Gordy replied with venom in her words, "Gordy... Don't you think any of us had a choice? At least you don't care about anything to have to worry about if Taura does want to use someone as her target practice." He snapped back.

He calmed himself down a bit before continuing, "I just want things to go back to the way they were, where we have no need to worry." Hizashi sighed and stood up from her seat at the opposite side of the table, "that masquerade ball I mentioned earlier is tomorrow and I already explained mostly everything but I'll let the others get up to speed with things," She said as she then explained to Shiro and Gordy everything that happened leading up to now. "Now, Taura has invited West Gate and the Mer-People to this ball every year but none of them has ever accepted the invite. But, his majesty of West Gate has accepted the invitation this time so we will have outside help for our master plan." She explained, before sitting back down.

"Wouldn't that be suspicious, though," Kaiyu piped in, "having Dorian all of a sudden showing up here after dragging those immigrants away from his kingdom?" The room slowly became darker as the seconds went by with the sun beginning its descent behind the mountains when Yoko finally spoke up, "that is precisely why he would show up. He most likely would come here to make some terms of agreements with her majesty, but I won't be surprised if one of those terms were to lose his head." She explained, her face hiding beneath the shadows. "I have seen this happen before with the late majesty of the Mer-People."

"Our plan at this moment is to have Asa and Shiro hide somewhere in the castle near the ballroom until Taura goes to make her speech to the kingdom as most of the guards are protecting the ports and ballroom. Then, we have Kaiyu and Gordy in the ballroom doing what they normally do at these appearances with Kaiyu steering clear of Taura as to not raise suspicion of why his friend isn't around, that is you Yoko." Hizashi explains. "So I just stay here?" Yoko asks, tucking her chin close to her chest. "I am afraid so."

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       Hizashi gently placed utensils and plates onto the detailed embroidered place mats in the ballroom where the ball will take place the next night. After her hands became empty she went over to a small cart holding more utensils, glasses, etc to begin setting another table. The ballroom was decorated with live plants hanging off pillars or covering the walls and even with the bouquet of flowers each table had. Taura appears to be more paranoid this year with nearly every surface that had plants or vines on them she was able to control... every section of this room she willed by her command.

"You weren't at the welcoming ceremony when I arrived." A familiar voice sang through her ears. She turned around to see Dorian striding into the room with his red embroidered cape and crown still on from the ceremony. "I was busy setting everything up, plus I wouldn't have been allowed in anyway." She replied, setting down the extra set of utensils she grabbed too many of. "And it probably was partly because of me, too I'm guessing?" He stated, coming closer to Hizashi who moved on to another table.

"Why did you just leave with them... and never said goodbye to us." Her voice went deathly quiet as to not alert anybody nearby... or not nearby. "Because I didn't want any of you to worry, that's all." He replied, grabbing the plates from her hands and setting them down on the white clothed table. "Plus, I wasn't about to have the whole kingdom thinking I kidnapped the princess."

"Enough about this, this isn't the place for it." Dorian said with a smile, "am I able to see you at the ball at all?" Hizashi shook her head and turned her attention away from her work and to Dorian, "servants don't necessarily get to be among the wealthy, you know. And besides I don't know how to dance." Dorian stood there for a moment before grabbing at Hizashi's wrist and pulling her towards the polished dance floor, "then why don't you come as my special guest? Its a masquerade ball where anybody and become anybody." He twirled her around and showed her some quick box steps for the Waltz. 

"You really mean that?" She asked, looking into his shining eyes. He nodded, "there's nobody out there I trust more in the world than the person that's stepping on my foot." Hizashi's crimson eyes twinkled and he swore he heard a giggle come from her mouth and that only made him twirl her around some more.