Chandler POV
We watched as my sister interrogated Vega. There was something oddly familiar about her. Not just the fact that her smile was enticing and her powers of persuasion were increasingly well... persuasive.
But the way that she smiled, her grin reminded me of someone...
My thoughts were interrupted by someone slamming their hands on the wooden table. Auriana jumped out of her chair, and yawned as she watched Dawn interrogate the now frightened yellow princess.
However, Vega didn't crack.
Suddenly, after maybe 10 minutes of interrogation, Vega cracked.
"Alright! We're on a mission to stop the Black Knight from disrupting the Balance." she huffed.
Dawn smiled proudly.
"But don't think I gave in to your Persuasion. I only did it because I was annoyed."
Dawn's posture sank. She walked out the tent flap.
"Great! You're done?" Talia asked, sitting outside with Nathaniel and Iris. Lyna and Carissa stood up.
"Yep," Dawn grumbled.
"Is there anyone in there watching her?" Carissa asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, Auriana." I said.
The obvious tension the forest made it hard to look at each other in the eye. After two minutes of looking at each other's feet, Iris was the first one to speak.
"Let's go for a walk." Iris muttered.
"I'll come with you." Lyna volunteered.
"So am I." Talia and Nathaniel chorused. They stared at each other with angry expressions.
Iris rolled her eyes and motioned for them to come with her. Nate and Talia both grumbled insults at each other and followed Iris. Lyna led the charge.
"We should go back inside." I ordered. Dawn and Lev followed me. Carissa was already inside when we heard a scream. Carissa poked her head out of the tent.
"Auriana and Vega are fine."
We all looked at each other wide eyed and bolted for the direction that Lyna had went. Auriana tried to come after us, but Dawn barked,
"No, Auriana, stay here!"
She frowned, but obeyed her orders.
We ran straight into Talia, who was panting from running so far. There was a large scratch on her left leg, and a few cuts on her face. There was a rope burn on her wrist, and her right knee was bleeding. There was an orange leaf in her hair, and more than a few twigs stuck in the cuffs of her jacket.
"Lyna... Black Knight... Iris... Help..."
Lev ran past all of us, with Carissa and Dawn close behind.
I shuffled my feet next to Talia, who plucked the orange leaf out of her hair.
"So..." Talia murmured.
"Yes?" Maybe I was a little too hopeful. Talia stared at me.
"Chandler, the break-up is final." she touched my shoulder, in the gentle way like a friend would. My shoulders slumped.
"Of course. I respect your wishes." I forced out my words through my gritted teeth. Talia smiled somberly.
"I thought you'd understand." she murmured.
"And I do. From your point of view. I don't really recall wanting to break-up with you." I said bitterly.
Talia opened her mouth to retort, but she really had no words.
"I thought you'd understand,"
Her expression hardened as I walked away from her.
"Chandler, I-" she called out.
I turned back, but my gaze must've been angrier than she expected. She stammered in the middle of her sentence, which was unusual for her. She eventually gave up on trying to finish her sentence and went silent,.
I never really understood. I tried to be patient, kind, loving, and caring towards her at all times. But it was exhausting. She just didn't understand. I huffed and followed Carissa through the forest.
Iris was trying to fly towards Lyna, who was trapped in a net.
"Lyna! Are you okay?" Lev called. She didn't respond. Talia was suddenly behind Lev, and said,
"She's been dosed with a sleeping potion."
"How do you know?" Nate asked.
"She isn't moving. She's trapped in a net. She's definitely not dead, otherwise she would disappear and her jewel would be left behind."
The net was lifted higher and higher by an invisible force, and Iris' power supply eventually gave out, leaving her in the air without any way to fly. Her blonde hair covered her face as she fell to the ground.
Carissa panicked.
"What're we going to do?"
Iris wasn't going to move, her energy was exhausted. Lev and Dawn ran underneath her, creating a crystal net for her to land it. Nathaniel rushed over, using one of his charms to strengthen the spell.
Iris landed softly in the crystal net, and after Lev and Dawn had let the spell falter, and an unconscious Iris fell into Lev's arms, and he handed the princess to her boyfriend. Nathaniel brushed Iris' hair out of her face, looked up at the sky, where Lyna was being captured, and reluctantly walked back to camp.
Auriana was there, staring viciously at Vega.
Vega carelessly averted her eyes from her gaze, and instead admired the nature.
Lev marched over to the tent, and stared down at Vega.
"Where did they take Lyna?"
Vega looked confused.
"Which one?"
"The green one." he snarled.
Vega smiled brightly.
"Oh, the one who offered me tea! She's very hospitable." she grinned as if nothing had happened. She was starting to get on my nerves.
"Where. IS. LYNA?!" I screamed. Vega looked up in surprise.
Talia stepped forward, uncomfortable with the entire confrontation.
"I think I know where she is. And you can forget interrogating her. She'll give us nothing." Talia spat at the floor.
Lyna was like the kid sister of the group, and she was the only thing that we cared about.
"Where is she?" I asked impatiently. Talia looked almost jealous.
"I saw the insignia of the Black Knight."
"How do you know it was the Black Knight's?"
"It literally had his mask on it." Talia rolled her eyes again. Iris growled under her breath. Nathaniel was sitting over her, placing a wet towel on her forehead.
"We have to go after her." Carissa insisted. Nathaniel rubbed his temples.
Vega suddenly walked through the door.
Talia was suddenly armed with a large crystal. Vega held her hands up in defeat.
"Chill, I just... disabled Auriana for a while. I didn't take away her powers or anything, I just... tied her up."
Lev rushed out the door, with Iris following suit. They both glared at Vega's back while leaving.
"Chandler, this is getting too out of hand. We should just leave her with her guards, who are probably searching for her, and go look for Lyna." Dawn whispered.
"I know, but Talia insists on-"
"This is why your relationship never worked out. She's too bossy. She praises work over her love life. She bosses you around like you're an employee. You're too good for her." my sister put her hand on my shoulder comfortingly. I put my hand over hers.
"Thanks sis."
Behind her, Talia glanced back worryingly at us, until Carissa suddenly screamed as the entire room was enveloped in a blanket of white light.