"I can see you better now, but your features are not that clear." Kazuya examined Arisa carefully.
The heat concentrating on Arisa's palm vanished as she deactivated the rune.
"What could you see?" she asked, looking at him.
"I could see your figure; it finally has taken a human shape," he replied. "I could see your arms and legs clearly, but your face's features were abstract. The horror."
Arisa glanced at her hand, ignoring his provocation. "I wonder where I drew the rune wrong."
At first glance, it seemed as if she had gotten better in drawing both runes. Despite the rune of disguise looking messy, she thought the spell would work after spending most of the day practicing it. She exhaled, thinking that sacrificing their training to focus on the runes was all in vain.
"Don't worry, Arisa," said a soft voice. "Stupid Brother must not be teaching you well."
As Arisa gazed at her front, she spotted two girls sitting in the middle of the room. One of the girls was busy reading a book placed on top of the short and small table. The other one had her light brown eyes concentrated on Arisa, distracting herself from her homework for a moment.
"He's probably not teaching you well so he can spend most of his time by your side," continued Mimi.
Out of nowhere, a small gust swirled on Mimi's two-toned head, messing her braided ponytail.
"Ah, big brother," Momo complained as the pages of her books flipped in response to the wind.
"Sorry," said Kazuya, gesturing with his hand. "I didn't mean to disturb you, Momo. It's incredible how you have to suffer the consequences of Mimi's provocations."
As the gust lost its strength, Momo flipped her book. "It's okay. I should have expected that this day wouldn't end without the two of you expressing your sibling love."
Mimi shot Momo a stare of disgust.
Arisa giggled. "That's cute."
"Not," protested Mimi, shifting her gaze to Arisa. "Stupid Brother is my rival. I will show mom how skillful I am for my age, surpassing Stupid Brother's record."
As Mimi fixed her messed hair, Arisa wondered if she would witness a day where Mimi and Kazuya got along. In the last month, she had lived with the Haruki family, all she saw was them annoying each other.
"Great," complained Mimi, sighing. "Now I have to ask mom to braid my hair again."
As soon as Mimi said those words, a white-haired lady entered the living room, holding a few papers.
"Good news," said Elise, excitement overwhelming her tone. "Dan said he's traveling to Earth after tomorrow, so he's available to take Arisa and Kazuya along."
The sound of a plate cracking on the floor leaped Arisa's heart. She gazed at her left side and saw that her grandmother had dropped one of the plates she was placing in the cabinet.
As everyone's attention fell on her, her grandmother bent over a little and picked the broken glass.
"Is something wrong, Mrs. Sorano?" asked Elise, her tone worried.
"I'm sorry," Arisa's grandmother replied. "I was distracted."
Arisa rushed to the other side of the room, joining her grandmother in picking the remaining broken glass.
"Ah, I'm so clumsy," her grandmother whispered.
As they picked the broken glass, Arisa gazed at her grandmother for a second. Despite her grandmother displaying a warm smile, Arisa could see that she was sad.
"Continuing with the news," said Elise, "Kazuya and Arisa will have to travel early in the morning to reach Aurora City the next day. I'll write another letter to confirm your journey with him."
Kazuya folded his arms. "I wasn't expecting our journey to start so soon. Arisa has yet to perfect the rune of disguise."
"By the time you reach Aurora City, she'll be better at it," said Arisa's grandmother. "After all, you have practiced for the whole day. Jin will practice with her before she goes to sleep."
Kazuya glanced at Arisa's grandmother, his face expressing doubt. Arisa understood his concern. She only discovered that rune two days ago and she still had difficulties to activate it. She hoped that with her grandfather by her side, she would succeed to normalize the features on her disguised face.
If she still struggled to master that rune before their journey started, they wouldn't have any other choice but to use the traditional way of disguising themselves. It would be better to wear a cloak than wandering around the streets with an abstract looking face that would surely call everyone's attention.
Sounds of quick steps hitting the stairs filled the atmosphere. As soon as Arisa set her view on the stairs by the cream-colored wall, she saw her grandfather joining the living room, alarmed.
"Arisa, Momo, Mimi," he said, his tone concerned, "you have to hide quickly."
Upon hearing those words, Elise signaled Kazuya to approach the staircase wall that had small brown tiles garnishing it.
"Eh, why?" asked Mimi as her mother helped her and her sister to walk.
As Kazuya pushed the wooden furniture that had a vase of flowers on top of it, Arisa saw a small wooden door.
Her heart hammered. "T-they're here?"
"I saw a faint light coming from the forest," said Arisa's grandfather, moving the window's curtain a bit. "I'm not sure if it's them, but it's better to hide you in case of trouble."
As her grandfather carefully peeked by the small space between the honey-colored curtains, Arisa gulped. Last night, Elise had come with an idea to disguise themselves if Royal Soldiers passed by their house. Since Arisa hadn't mastered the rune of disguise yet and the twins were too young to use it, Elise suggested finding a place for them to hide.
As the twins entered the small room, Arisa approached Kazuya, looking over her shoulder. Her grandparents smiled at her, whispering not to worry. She took a deep breath. Before she could bend over a little and access the new area, she heard one of the twins complain about the scent.
"Just deal with it for a few minutes, Mimi," said Kazuya.
"They're here," said Arisa's grandfather, dropping the curtain. "I saw a carriage approaching."
Arisa quickly bent over and entered the small room. She soon understood Mimi's complaint; the air in the atmosphere was too stuffy. As she sat on the cold floor with the girls, the last thing she saw was her grandparents and Elise writing a rune on their palms.
Darkness filled her gaze as Kazuya closed the small door. A screeching sound filled the atmosphere as Kazuya pushed back the wooden furniture. The twins quickly wrapped their arms around Arisa's.
"We'll be out soon," she whispered, patting their hands.
The girls lay their heads on her shoulder, sighing.
Knock, Knock!
Arisa's heart leaped upon hearing that sound. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down.
We'll be fine, she told herself. Everything will be fine.
Her heart failed to calm down as the heavy knocking on the door persisted. Judging by the way the being was knocking the door, it sounded as if they were in a hurry or in trouble.
"Open the door," demanded a deep voice with traces of a feline tone. "We know you're in there."
As no one said a word, the beings behind the door kept knocking it violently.
"If you don't open it, we'll open it by force," warned the same voice.
The twins tightened their grip on Arisa's arms as the heavy sound kept breaking the silence. Arisa caressed their hands to comfort them. Despite seeming calm, her heart couldn't stop racing.
"Coming," Arisa's grandmother finally said. "Please stop knocking the door like that."
Even though her grandmother's gentle voice sounded calm, Arisa could sense that she was nervous.
As she heard her grandmother walking across the room, Arisa curled her fingers. After hearing the sound of a creaking door, Arisa's heart pounded against her chest.
"How can I help you?" asked Arisa's grandmother. "Ah!"
Worry spread through Arisa's veins as she heard clanking sounds filling the atmosphere. She felt the itch to get out to see if her grandmother was alright. But she remained in her spot, telling herself not to expose herself and make everyone's effort be in vain.
"What?" asked a male voice. "Grandmother, who are these people?"
Arisa recognized Kazuya's voice.
"I-I don't know," said Arisa's grandmother, her voice cracking. "They suddenly got in."
"How unmannered of them," said Kazuya, "invading people's residence like tha—hey! Where do you think you're going?"
Arisa gulped and wrapped her arms around the girls. She failed to keep herself calm as her arms trembled; she could hear her heart thumping.
"Mother, Father," said a female voice across the room, "who's the man that is messing the kitchen? Wait. Who are you? We've never seen beings like you before."
As a brief silence fell, Arisa could hear someone pushing stuff in the living room. She curled her body, hoping that whoever was pushing their furniture, wouldn't reach their area.
"Really?" asked the voice with traces of a feline tone. "Our King has ruled Celestia for almost fifteen years and you have never seen an Eterian before?"
"We apologize." Arisa recognized her grandfather's voice. "We hardly leave this region; the only place we visit is Io Town. We didn't have the pleasure to meet our new fellow citizens."
Upon hearing her grandfather's words, Arisa couldn't imagine how difficult it was for him to call Eterians their fellow citizens. His hatred towards them was still strong and for him to say those words might have been painful.
"Right," said the voice with the feline tone. "We're members of the Royal Army. Introduce yourselves."
Nervousness and fear spread within Arisa, forcing her to breathe heavily. It was really them. A bit of disappointment attacked her. If she had mastered her power and both runes, then everyone wouldn't be in this situation as she would already be far away from Celestia.
"I'm Ryo and this is my wife Kaori," said Arisa's grandfather, saving Arisa from her thoughts. "This is Matthew, our grandson and his mother, Alice."
Clanking sounds filled the room as someone walked around.
"Where do you think you're going?" asked Elise.
Arisa could hear Elise running towards their area. She tightened her arms around the twins and closed her eyes. She could hear her heartbeat drumming her ears as she waited for one of the soldiers to push the wooden furniture and discover their hideout.
"You're invading our privacy!" Elise continued, her tone irritated. "Why are you doing this? What's going on?"
"We're looking for this girl," said the voice with traces of a feline tone. "Have you seen her?"
Arisa held her breath; she could picture the soldier showing her family a wanted poster.
A quick chuckle broke the short silence.
"A young girl is the cause of all this fuss?" asked Kazuya, still laughing.
"Yes," replied the soldier, his tone serious. "She may look innocent, but this girl committed a grave crime. She's a danger to the Royal Family."
Arisa curled her lips as she heard those words. It was unbelievable how the King was spreading lies about her all over the kingdom. She began to fidget, trying to remain calm.
"Then the Royal Family is weak and a coward," said Kazuya. "How can this girl be a threat to them?"
"Matthew," Elise warned Kazuya. "I'm sorry about my son's behavior. Please don't report us to the King."
Laughter filled the air.
"It's alright," said the soldier with the feline tone. "I agree with him."
Arisa blinked two times upon hearing that soldier's words.
"Careful not to badmouth the King, Ibo," said a male voice. "He might find out and burn you to ashes."
Arisa guessed that the being who just spoke was the soldier Elise had stopped from approaching the staircase.
"It's okay; I don't think our people will believe what these Celestians will say about us," said Ibo, his tone calm. "Besides, I could care less about His Majesty. He's not that threatening anymore. After he married that woman and allowed her to approach the two countries, our King lost part of what made everyone fear Dragon Kings."
"Yeah," the other soldier agreed. "It was a mistake for him to break his family's tradition. As the first Dragon King had mentioned, that would be the first step to bring a King's downfall. His own son has done a good job proving his ancestor's words."
Arisa frowned, curious about that soldier's words.
"If the rumors that he helped a Celestian instead of killing her are true," said Ibo, "then he can't be the next King. It's good to hear that the current King might lose his throne because of that thing he calls his son."
That thing?
Arisa clenched her fists. Even though they were no longer friends, she still was disgusted with the way the soldier referred to Zen. No mortal should refer to one another as a thing; no matter how different they were.
"If Reiji indeed falls," continued Ibo, "I hope the new King will get rid of his son. He's a shame to our people."
Arisa gazed through the darkness, her palms sweating. A bit of guilt flowed through her veins. If they had never met each other, maybe Zen wouldn't have been in this situation where his own people wanted him dead.
"We're done here," said the other soldier. "I don't think she passed by this place as well."
"Yeah," agreed Ibo, his tone irritated. "This work just never ends; darn prince. He'd better not make us work in vain and kill this girl once she's captured."
Arisa's heart sped as she remembered that a public execution was awaiting her once she would be captured.
The soldiers remained in the house for another minute, telling Arisa's family how to contact them if they see her around. They reminded them that a great reward would await them once they reported her to the kingdom.
Minutes passed after the Eterians left the house. Arisa lost herself in her thoughts, her arms still wrapped around the twins as they whispered when they would finally leave.
When Kazuya opened the small wooden door, Arisa blinked twice as the orange light irritated her eyes for a second. The twins were the first ones to rush out from the small room, relieved to finally leave the area. They trapped Kazuya in a conversation, telling him how good his acting was. Arisa remained in the room, relief calming her heart.
She was glad that in the end, everything ended well. Despite feelings of sorrow and anger flowing within her, part of her couldn't stop being bothered with the soldiers' conversation. She wondered what would happen to Zen if another Eterian King took his father's place. Would the new King kill him, like that Eterian hoped?
Something tightened within her and she touched her chest. After everything that happened between the two of them, she still couldn't stop worrying about him.
"You want to spend the rest of the night there?" Kazuya's voice pushed away Arisa's thoughts. "Looking around a bit, it certainly looks like a perfect place for you."
Arisa glared at him and he chuckled. He then offered his hand to help her get out. Arisa curled her fingers around his hand.
Before she stood up, she exhaled in an attempt to push away her worries and focus on her family and quest. Even though she and Zen were no longer friends, she hoped that everything would end well for him.