-{Liv's POV}-
I felt a pain like no other go on in my head, but I had to help Sakura. Aaron was by her side, Aphmau and Dante, too. Kawaii Chan was hugging Brendan for comfort, which was kind of cute! I was trying to get to Sakura's side, but each step I took, the nearer I got to her, the pain would get worse.
"Olivia, you're pale." Garroth told me quietly. He grabbed my arm and helped me stand straight. "I need to take you home." He said as he lead me closer to Sakura, which made the pain worse. My ears started ringing and I closed my eyes, shut tightly. The pain, it was horrid.
After we passed by, the pain started fading away, then once we got to my house, it was mostly gone. The little pain I had wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good, either. "Garroth, what about Sakura?" I asked as he set me down on the couch.
"She'll have to stay here, I guess. Or she can stay with Lady Aphmau." Garroth suggested as he headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water for me.
"She will have to stay with Aphmau, then. She can't stay with me, not while the negative energy is radiating off of her." I responded as he came back to the living room, handing me the glass of water. He sat down next to me as I chugged the glass of water. I finished it and set it down on the coffee table.
"I felt that negative energy, but it must be more powerful for a powerful human like yourself." Garroth said.
I sighed. "I just can't deal with the pain of her being here. I don't even know what's going on anymore." Once I finished the sentence, Dale bursted through the door without knocking.
He was out of breath. "Sakura, she's gone!" Dale said. I stood from where I sat, looking at him with a concerned look.
"Explain what happened." I said as I walked out the door with him, speed walking to the gate.
"We were trying to wake her up, then all of a sudden, she opened her eyes and they were completely white. She then disappeared, not even running off. She just... Poof!" He tried explaining.
We got to the gates and I saw everyone was in a panic and Laurance and Aph were trying to calm everyone down. "Liv, Sakura's gone." Aaron told me as I came nearer to the group.
"I know." I mumbled. I placed a wood block down and stood on top of it, whistling loudly to get everyone's attention. "LISTEN UP!" I screamed over everyone's talking. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me. "I know things are going badly, but we need to stay calm and figure this out without panic! This may seem fictional, but it is all too real! We all must stay calm and try to figure this out! Now, Magicks users, Guards, and any fighter will meet in the town square! The rest of you will go home and make sure you can help figure this out! Thank you!" I screamed to let everyone hear before jumping off the block and collecting it back.
-•-
As everyone was standing around, talking to one another, I needed to talk to Aphmau. "So what happened exactly?" I asked her as we stood away from the crowd.
"As Garroth took you home, Sakura was shaking and she had to be in pain. Zoey tried a lot to get her up, and so did Lucinda, but when I tried waking her up, her eyes opened, scaring me. I asked if she was okay, but once I saw that her eyes were pure white, I didn't know what else to say. She then just disappeared, like disintegrated, but she didn't at the same time." Aphmau explained to me.
"Okay. We need some type of plan to keep everything under control as a few people come with me to go find her." I was about to walk away, but Aphmau stopped me.
I turned around to face her, seeing she had a different look than before. This look was, 'is-this-true' instead of 'I'm-worried-for-her'. "Am I really your sister?" She asked.
I couldn't keep my eyes on her, so I looked at the ground, showing I was hiding something. "Y-... Yes, you are my sister. Garroth knows most of the story. You can... Ask him later." I said before I actually ran off to the group.
Everyone became silent as I stood on a little stair case that lead to another road. "This may seem like a really bad situation, but it will not be a problem for anyone to worry about! All I need you all to do is keep this village safe and healthy! Travis, Laurance, Dante, Garroth, Aphmau, and Aaron, please follow me! The rest of you may go home and relax. Take this day to relax, and keep your mind off of things!" I called.
Everyone went their separate ways as the 6 of them followed me to the gate. "Okay, I will need a small team to come with me to-" I was about to finish before Garroth stopped me.
"You are not going anywhere." He pushed.
"And why not?" I asked, putting a hand on my hip.
"Garroth is right, Liv. You've been through so much, I think you need a break." Laurance said to me.
I looked at Dante and Travis who looked at the ground, agreeing with them. "I think you're all wrong." Aphmau said. "Sakura is her best friend and I think she can handle herself." She paused as she looked at me with a smile. "I know she can be quite stupid sometimes, but she protects the ones she loves, and I think she can defend herself. She should lead a party, since she can actually take down Zane."
"Thank you, Lady Aphmau. Any objections now?" I asked with a smirk. None of them said anything. "Good! Now, anyway, I plan to have a search party go to the nether and one to figure out another place she could be, and another to go talk to other villages." I said, trying to figure out teams. "Aphmau, I know you have an alliance with many villages. I want you to go visit those villages and get some help on defending this village. That's an important part of this whole thing."
Aphmau nodded in response. "Garroth, Laurance, Travis, and Aaron are coming with me and we are figuring out where we could find another place she could be. Dante, that leaves you to go spy on Zane. That is the most difficult task. I need you to be very, very careful and you will have a way home." I said, whistling for Malisa. "This is Malisa. She is your new friend, and she will help you." I introduced.
"Hi Malisa." Dante said, petting the top of her head. Malisa was happy to have a new friend.
"Okay, we will head off now." Dante got on Malisa and they were off. Aphmau was about to go, but I told Aphmau to wait. "I will make sure Zoey takes care of Phoenix Drop, okay?" I asked.
"Of course. Now don't do anything stupid." Aphmau said with a smile, giving me a hug. "Be good, big sis'." She said.
"Don't get hurt, lil' sis'." I said before she let go, running home. I smiled as I saw her figure run off. I turned to see Garroth waiting for me as they left for my home. I smiled and followed as quickly as I could.
-{Zane's POV}-
"You WHAT?!" I yelled angrily, slamming my hands on the table.
"Sakura is gone, sir. She disappeared after you said that-" he tried explaining, but I interrupted him.
"I KNOW WHAT I SAID!" I growled, sitting back down in my chair, putting my elbow on the arm of the chair, my head in my hand. I sighed angrily, closing my eyes for a few seconds. "You're dismissed." I mumbled. He bowed before leaving me in silence.
I finally got up and walked out of the room, going to my room. I got to the balcony and looked outside. I looked at all the people working in O'Khasis, see people buying goods, selling goods, talking to each other. I'm proud of my village, the only thing is to marry someone of high power so I can rule over the powerful village of O'Khasis.
Who would I marry that had great power? Aphmau said no, and she would not give in, even when she loves another, and all her alliances with other villages got them all on my bad side. The only other high powered woman is Olivia, since I know her history.
I have files on everyone that I could find, and I know she was future lord of BrightPort and she was going to marry Garroth. Garroth should know that by now, but I'm sure he forgot about it.
She would be the perfect to marry, since she is half Shadow Knight and she was part of the Jury of Nine, AND she has a power that no one has. She would be the perfect woman to marry, even if I can get Sakura back.
I smirked evilly as I entered my room again, shutting the door behind me.
-{Dante's POV}-
What is he planning?
I looked around at the village and found my way to the hallway. I hid in the shadows, making sure I won't get caught by any guard. I thought someone might've spotted me, but they didn't care.
I found my way to a secret room, I somehow found, and it had filing cabinets full of, duh, files!
I found the letter S and O next to each other, which seemed odd. They had very little paper in it while A had a little more, but still had little. I grabbed them all and put them in my bag. I found my way to another cabinet, grabbing another A, Z, G, L, D, and T, which had a lot more paper than O, S, and the other A.
I heard someone coming, so I closed the cabinet quietly and hid. I saw an O'Khasis guard come in and open a cabinet. It was a girl, she had light blue hair and I think she had light blue eyes. I knew her!
"Katelyn?" I mumbled, loud enough for her to hear it.
She looked at me with surprise, then closed the cabinet drawer. "Jeez, Dante, you scared me." She whispered. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"I came to spy on Zane, but I found this room and I think this might have more information than I need. What are you doing here?" I explained.
"I came to find my files, and Jeffery's files. Then I was going to take them and leave a paper that said, 'Good luck finding information now!'" She explained quietly.
"Okay, grab them and we're going back to Phoenix Drop." I mumbled. She nodded and opened another drawer, pulling out 2 files that had the letters K and J. We then walked out, me being sneaky and her being like she was on the guard team.
We found our way to the roof and Malisa was no where to be seen. I whistled and she came, letting us hop on. We then flew home.
-{Liv's POV}-
I stood at the front door, looking out the door window, waiting for any of them to figure out a plan to get Zane and get him to tell us everything. "Maybe if we get the most valuable person to him and threaten to kill him?" Travis suggested.
"We aren't stooping down to his level." Garroth objected.
"I agree with Garroth. We can't turn into Zane." Laurence agreed, sitting down on the couch.
"Well, what do you suppose we do, Laurence?" Travis said, trying to start a fight.
"Something less stupid." Laurence responded quietly, but not quiet enough.
"You guys are acting like children." Aaron said as he leaned against the wall, near the fireplace.
"You weren't even giving us suggestions!" Travis argued.
"Maybe because it's a stupid idea to try and get Zane to tell us everything." Aaron responded in a calm tone.
Everyone, except myself, started bickering, making it grow louder in here. "Olivia, you haven't said anything." I heard Garroth say louder than the guys, making them stop. "Are you okay?" Garroth asked. I could feel all their eyes looking at me, which made me sigh.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Was all I said.
Garroth wasn't convinced. "Olivia, I know something's up."
"I said I'm fine." I said, raising my voice a bit. I sighed as I knew Garroth was shocked. I opened the door. "I need some fresh air." I said before closing it, leaving them in silence.
I walked away from the house and into the village, taking a deep breath. The birds were singing happily in the summer breeze, making me calm down a bit. I saw Donna talking to Logan, excited about, who knows what. I decided to leave them be, since I don't like to bother people anyway.
I walked to the path where it separates into 2, one to the docks and one to Aph's home. Aphmau was aborting her ship, going to the wheel. She looked back to see me waving goodbye, a smile on my face. She waved back before she was off, a smile on her face.
I sighed as little Levin and Malachi came running over, waving goodbye to their mother. "Liv, it's nice to see you again!" Zoey said as she walked over.
I giggled a bit at Levin smiling a smile I could never put on. "You want me to take care of them for a while? I never really got to hang out with my sister's children before." I asked Zoey, picking little Levin up and holding him while he smiled.
"You're mom's sister?" Malachi asked.
"Yup! I'm your Aunt!" I said as I pinched Levin's cheek, making him giggle.
"That would be wonderful. Just make sure to bring them back before 7, their bed time being 7:30." Zoey said before she walked away, to Aphmau's home.
I smiled as I grabbed Malachi's hand with my other hand as I still held little Levin. "So, how old are you both?" I asked in a soothing voice.
"I'm 7 and he's 8." Levin said with a smile.
"Well, what do you do for fun?" I asked curiously as we started walking to the woods.
"We like to play outside and play with toys." Malachi said in response.
"Lucky for you two, I have some toys that I use to play with, and they aren't barbies, trust me." I say as we finally got to the house. I heard some bickering, again, so I entered without knocking, since it is my house.
Everyone stopped as I entered with 2 small children. I put Levin down and Malachi stood next to him. "Come on upstairs. I'll show you where the toys are." I say as I lead the 2 kids upstairs.
I opened up a crate I had and pulled out toys, placing them down. One was a toy helicopter, some were stuffed animals, a box full of Legos was another, and lots more toys. I let them dig in as I headed downstairs to leave them be.
"You are all acting like children." I said angrily as I walked downstairs. They all stared at me blankly. "You guys need to start growing up. I brought 2 children, ages 7 and 8, and they acted more mature than all of you." I growled angrily. "And I know Zane has a lot of information, but he isn't going to give us any information, so just DROP IT!"
They all stared at me in shock. I've never freaked out at them, or I don't think I have. I sighed as I leaned against a wall, putting my head down.
I then heard flapping wings, Wyvern wings. Malachi and Levin came downstairs in excitement, opening the door and running outside. "Malachi, Levin!" I called as I chased after them. They headed towards the gate!
I ran after them, not knowing what was going on. When I got there, Dante was there with Katelyn, a person from the Jury of Nine, Jeffery's best friend. "Katelyn?" I asked as I came closer to her.
"Liv? Oh my Irene, Jeffery told me so much about you!" She said in shock.
"Jeffery told me so much about you, too!" I said in excitement.
"I don't think it's the time to be excited. Look." Dante interrupted, taking out 9 files with letters on them. I took the one with the O. I opened it and it was my full name, Olivia Lynn Bush. It had all kinds of information! Birthday, father, mother, first kiss, step sister, Aph's mom and dad, and a lot more where that came from. My history was on there, too.
Garroth was trying to get a peek at mine, but I closed it. I took the rest of them. "Thank you, Dante. You may go and talk to Aaron and the others. I want to go over these, with Levin and Malachi." I said as I walked back to my house.
They all looked at each other in confusion, but ignored it. Levin and Malachi followed, curious as what was in the files, just like I was, even for Z.
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Word Count: 2943