"Feel anything weakening you yet?" They were almost near the kingdom of Aires, and Zoe stared at Dylan's leg, wondering if he's okay.
"Um," Dylan chuckles, "I don't think so. . . At least, I think?"
"You think?"
"Y- yeah. I mean, I just feel a little light headed and. . . I think I need water." Dylan leans forward, almost falling to the ground. Luckily Logan was in front of him, catching him on his back.
Logan felt the other blond breathe down his neck. When he looked back, he sees Dylan's face completely flushed. "We got to hurry," growled the prince, as he lifted Dylan on his back, "It seems that snake is poisonous." His pace quickened and Zoe went after him.
Celesta was left, and she sighed. As quickly as she can, she went after the others.
After a while of jogging through the forest, they finally made it to the Aires kingdom. There was a read bricked wall with a golden gate. On the gate, the Aries symbol was right in the middle. Zoe walked ahead, and two guards that stood by the gate, straightened themselves. Logan and Celesta walked after, and once the gate opens, they can hear words from the other side.
"Aires is not as crowded as Centaur, so you don't need to worry about losing me in the crowd." She walked through people of red and brown hair, slipping through them just as easily as Celesta.
Logan on the other hand, bumped into quite a few.
"Hey, watch where you're going, kid!"
"S- sorry!" Logan called, before turning back to catch up to the girls. Once he succeeds, Dylan groans on his back like he had been drunk.
"Waaaaateeer," he slurred, "I want waaaaterrrr!"
"Yeah, yeah, we got that," replied Celesta, "We'll get you water when we get to Zoe's- Ow!"
Dylan tugged right at Celesta's hair, "Water!"
"We'll get it, Dylan!" Growling a bit, the female brunette tried her best to get her hair out of the boy's grip. "Let go- Dylan!"
He tugged at her hair again, before letting go. His hand dropped to the side, and his head rested on Logan. With his eyes closed, he kept mumbling, "Water. . ."
Logan sighed, "If this is one of the effects of the poison, I'm terrified to see how Cassidy would act."
"We're here." announced Zoe.
Logan and Celesta looked up, slightly amazed by the large, white and golden castle. To Logan, it looked like his castle, but larger.
The group walked in, and were quickly greeted by one of castle butlers. She explained the butler about the situation with Dylan, and he was immediately rushed to one of the guest rooms. Logan and Celesta on the hand, were held back by the butler.
"My lady, could you explain who these two are?" He asked, looking at both teens suspiciously. Especially at Logan who went behind Celesta a little.
"Oh! That's the friends of Dylan, Celesta and. . ." She paused, tilting her head at her partner, "Romeo?"
The prince flinched at his own given name, until he blinked and nodded quickly, "Yes! My name is Romeo. Romeo Elena." He bowed.
At this, Celesta raised an eyebrow. "Romeo Elena?"
"It was the first that came to mind." He whispered, just as he stood straight again.
"Oh," the butler nods, "Romeo and Celesta, huh? Well that's quite the name for the both of you!"
"Yes, yes, quite the name indeed!" Zoe rushed in front of him, "Now where is my father? I really wish to speak to him at this moment."
"Ah, his majesty is in the thrown room."
"Thank you. You may move along!" Zoe waved her hand, sending the butler off before he could even bow. After the now very confused butler left, Zoe walks up to Celesta and Logan. "I'll talk to my father about the cloaked men, and when he approves, we'll take Dylan over to Centaur where a friend of mine could help remove the poison permanently. The maids here could only keep him alive at the moment. Got it?"
Exchanging glances, the two air signs turn to the princess and nod. "Got it."
~ * ~
"So you guys are from another region, and you were suddenly attacked by that possibly high on drugs man, getting separated from your own friends?" Asked Leona, as she helped Yvonne over an over grown root.
"Most likely," confirmed Coal. He reached a another hand over to Cassidy, who stepped over a rock and mumbled, "Careful." Apparently he was holding her other hand, trying to keep her balanced since she refused to be carried.
"That must have been terrifying for you guys." Yvonne chuckled, "Do you even know why he attacked you?"
"No clue," Cassidy shrugged, pulling her hand away from Coal and giving him the book, "But like what um. . . What's your name?"
Leona smiles, "Leona, but you can call me Lee. This Yvonne, who we call Vonne."
"Ah," Cassidy nods, "Well. . . Like Lee said earlier, the man is possibly high on drugs."
Coal debated, "If he were high on drugs, then why did he know how to control snakes?"
"It was just an assumption! It's not like we actually confirmed that he was on drugs." The blunette frowns, turning away from the boy who just rolled his eyes.
Yvonne still can't help but laugh a little, even if she was still injured on the shoulder. Finally, when she looked ahead of the trees, she smiles for she sees the open gate of Centaur. "We're here!" she called.
She and Leona walked to the kingdom, with Coal and Cassidy following from behind. The minute they stepped right through the open gate, they could feel the life of the kingdom lift their own spirits.
To Coal's surprise, he felt an surprise feeling of sudden happiness. He looked to Leona and Yvonne, and tilts his head to the side.
The blonde giggles at his confusion. "Centaur has that magical effect," she said, "Whoever steps right through the gate, will suddenly feel happy."
"But the effect doesn't last long," added Yvonne, "Cause if something serious were to actually happen in Centaur, how can we handle it with happiness?"
Then the two girls made their way through the cheery crowd. Coal followed, holding Cassidy's wrist so she won't get lost. After all, it was really crowded, the people were quite tall, so it was rather easy to loose someone in such a place.
Stopping in front of a weaponry shop, Yvonne grins and steps right in. Leona goes after and the other two, were slightly hesitant. Once they were in, they hear bells above their heads as the door closes behind them.
"Ma! Pa! Granny!" Yvonne yelled through the store, "We've got visitors!"
Just as she announced their arrival, a young purple haired woman walks out with a cheerful attitude. She was followed by another older woman, who. . . Wasn't as cheerful as her daughter. A man with messy blond hair appeared behind the counter, scratching the back of his neck.
"What was that, hon?" the man's voice was scratchy, almost like he had a sore throat, "We've got visitors?"
"Oh, how exciting!" cheered the woman, "And it seems that Lee is here too! Give Joyce a hug here, you little lion!" Joyce reached out to Leona, pulling her right into a suffocating embrace.
"It's. . . Nice to see you too. . . Joy." Leona breathed.
The old woman walks straight to Coal, looking at him carefully with one eye. "And you must be the visitors. My name is Yvette, and you?" she extends her hand for a hand shake, and Coal nervously excepted.
"My name is Coal and this is Cassidy." he gestured to the blunette, who smiled warmly, "She's-"
"Your girlfriend?"
"Ye- No." Coal cuts, after realizing what Yvette really said.
Cassidy laughed awkwardly and shook her head, "No ma'am. I'm just a friend."
"Just a friend? Ah, well that's too bad for him. He might miss his chance to get a girl as pretty as you." She nudged, "Unless you're already taken?"
"Uh, no. . ."
"No boyfriend?! Oh, I got it. Yvonne's cousin is not to far from here, and I could call him. He's single and good looking too, looking for a lady to take of."
"Um."
"Sorry ma'am but she's here for something else entirely." Coal cuts in, with serious tone and expression.
"I was just messing with you young folks!" Yvette waved off, "But yes, I shall thank you two for saving my grandchild." She took Cassidy's hand, and shakes it.
"Wait, how did you know-"
"I saw the wound on Yvonne's shoulder, and you're wet from head to toe, along with that visible stab wound on you side."
"Oh. . ."
"But then may I ask, how? You're injuries seem to be very serious."
"A man just wanted to kill us," Cassidy mutters, "And well, he stabbed me and shoved me in the pond."
"I see. . . Don't worry dear, I shall repay you with my hospitality." Yvette turns her head to her grandchild and son in law, "Vonne! Take this young girl to the bathroom so she can be washed while I find her new clothes! And you, Kenneth, make yourself useful for once and get these kids some food!"
Yvonne nods, and walks over to Cassidy. "Come and follow me," she said, leading the younger girl out of the room.
Kenneth, Yvonne's father, groans and rolled his eyes. "Yes, Yvette," he mumbles, then waves his hand, "Come on, kid. I'll get you something to drink." Before walking back to where he came from, he looked to his wife who's still hugging the poor blond. "Joy, let go of the poor girl before you kill her!"
Joy finally let's go of Leona, and smiles shyly, "Oops, sorry hon."
"No, it's okay," Leona gasped, "I just. . . I just need more time to breathe."
Watching as Leona and Coal went to follow her husband, she looks to her mother. "Ma, do you think that those two kids are them?"
"Well, how should I know?" Shrugged Yvette, "I didn't see the proof just yet."
~ * ~
It was near night time as the skies in Iref were now the color of gray. In the halls of Aires castle, Zoe stormed through with an angry expression. "I'm busy dear, maybe another time? Oh no, not now! Please come back later, I have important matters to discuss about your fiancé's disappearance." she mocked. "He's always busy! He never has the time to even listen to what I have to say!"
Never.
She stopped at her sudden thought and clenched her fist. "Well since it's always like that, I might as well start doing things myself." Looking out one of the hallway windows, a frown was casted upon her face when she sees it was almost dark, "And he made me wait this long? Just how busy is he?"
Zoe shakes off her own thoughts, and quickly rushes to the room that Dylan had been sent to. Once she makes it, she walks right in and closes the door behind her. "How's Dylan holding up?" she asked, approaching the boy on the bed.
He was breathing heavily, with his face flaring red. Cold sweat ran down his forehead, as tears slipped from his eyes. Logan wipes the sweat away with a towel that had been provided for them.
"He's not doing so well. . ." Celesta's voice was low, "His condition just got worse." She watched Dylan with a worried expression ruining her delicate face. She thought about Cassidy and Coal, wondering if one of them were in this state as well. What if they were terrified about what to do? What if they were still lost in the forest looking for them? The thoughts were just too stressful.
"Did you get permission from your father?" Logan asked, patting Dylan's head with the towel.
Zoe shook her head, "He won't stop to listen, but Dylan's condition is what we have to focus on for now. Let's just go to Centaur so he can get treated."
"Wait, so you don't have permission? Then what are we going to do?"
"What I just said. We'll take Dylan to Centaur, and for now, I'll be traveling with you."
"What?!" Logan shot up from his seat, "But then if you travel with us, you'll be dragged into our danger!"
"I said that I can handle danger."
"And how about your father? He'll be looking for you like mine."
"Like my father even cares about me," she rolled her eyes, "And can't we talk about this later?"
"But-"
Dylan coughed violently in the bed, and whimpered in pain. Celesta rushed up to him, trying to calm him down. "Logan," she looked to the prince, "You can talk to Zoe about traveling with us later. Right now, we need to heal Dylan!"
The boy looked surprised by his friend's suddenly angry tone, but shrugged it off. He moved to Dylan and lifted him up bridal style. "Fine, let's go to Centaur." All three rushed out the door, their worry growing more as Dylan was breathing harder than before.
They rush down the hall, passing right by a few maids and butlers. Just then, Zoe stops in her tracks, the moment she hears something she never thought she'd hear.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The loud sound of a bell echoed through the castle, and everyone around them seemed to have panicked. Logan and Celesta looked around, not knowing what's going on.
"Zoe, what is that?!"
"The war bell," said the princess, her body tensing up, "One of the kingdoms are being attacked."
~ A/N ~
Sorry that I have been out for quite a while. I'm also focusing on drawing here but it seems that. . . *looks at half finished drawings* I'm getting lazy at the moment. However, I would still be active here as well as some other books. I have entered "Summer all day" and "Foreign Element" to #Wattys2016 so feel free to read, vote, comment, and share if you'd like! :)
Thank you!
(If you guys have drawing requests for the characters in this book, feel free to comment. High chance I may take long due to the fact it takes me at least two to three days to draw on my kindle)
~Aquarii-San