Ichigo: So Hana, now that we talked Ash and Robin into doing what we want, we might as well enjoy the show!
Hana: ...
Ichigo: Whats wrong Hana, did you lose your voice? I thought we want to watch Puck and Ash having an epic rap battle?
Hana: *popps up* Sure we do. I just got us some popcorn *holds up the bucket* every good movie needs popcorn!
Ichigo: Give me some!
Hana: Here you go ^^ Bon appetit - and now on with the show! *hops up and down on the sofa*
Ichigo: The question is where and when the battle will take place?
Hana: Puck can´t go into the iron realm without ending as a puddle of who knows what. Ash can´t go into the winter realm without Mab tearing him down... the human world?
Ichigo: That would be an option... or how about the summer realm? There we could annoy queen Titania too!
Hana: Annoying Titania? Sure, why not. Anything we missed out so far?
Ichigo: Meghan maybe? Let´s throw her into it too.
Hana: Okay? Why not. Oh, and the riddle! We forgot about the riddle.
Ichigo: Right. We do not own Ash, Meghan or Puck (and Glitch, let´s throw him into the mess too), but apparently we do own ourselves...more or less. If you solve the riddle at the end, send us a PM so nobody can cheat. Until then, have fun!
The other way to fight
"Calm down", I told my first lieutenant Glitch as he nervously let his gaze wander though the room. "Nobody is going to attack us here. Besides, there are enough guards of our court present to keep an eye on everything. We´ll be fine." He shifted uncomfortably. "I am not concerned about myself your highness, but rather about you. Coming here at this time…"
"Enough about that Glitch. We´ll be fine, I´ll be fine. You are here to protect me, as well as the guards are and Ash is running around somewhere nearby too. Apart from that" I shot him a glare, "I´m not a damsel in distress either. You know I can defend myself. And if everything goes wrong, I can still use my iron glamour against my opponents, who happen to be powerless against metal. "
"Still…"
A sigh escaped my lips. My first lieutenant refused to calm down. Restlessly he swirled his sword around in his right hand, while lightning bolts ran through his spiky black hair, illuminating it in all kinds of different colors. All I could do was shake my head and concentrate on my work again, he would not listen to me anyway.
Being the new iron queen was quite stressful; making me even gladder I got supported by my husband and Glitch. Because of that, I took them everywhere I went. Ash would not leave me anyway and my first lieutenant became almost a shadow of mine. It could be quite distracting, if both of them ran around me, constantly looking for danger, yet on the other hand it made me feel safe and needed
The swishing sound of Glitch´s sword continuously filled the room together with the scratching of my pen, which kind of got on my nerves."Please stop this horrible noise, I can´t take it anymore. Take a seat and relax already!"
"Your highness, we are on the enemies territory right now, I believe it is right of me to be concerned about your…"
"I know where we are. And I believe that you know that the door is guarded, the windows are guarded from the outside and I am guarded by you." To underline my statement, I pointed my finger at everything as I named it. "Furthermore, I layered the ground and the walls with a thin coat of iron, which makes it impossible for any summer fey to fight or even survive here inside the room. Do you think this is enough protection or do you want to set up some additional iron knights?" Even though I tried to hide the annoyance in my voice I could not cover it completely, making Glitch flinch a little. "I am sorry your highness, I´ll try to ease a little."
"Thank you"
Time passed as I scribbled on some important papers and tried to memorize each of its content. My father and king of the summer fey had invited me to a friendly gathering to discuss about the relationship of our two realms, which roughly translated into me doing a lot of paperwork. As if I did not already had enough of that!
Around noon Ash had got bored of sitting in the same room doing nothing, so he had ordered Glitch to watch after me, while he would look out for somebody to train with. I had no doubt this somebody was Puck and that training was an excuse for fighting. Why those two always felt the need to fight was beyond me, I was happily married and a queen, so there was nothing any of them could, or in Ash´s case, wanted to do about it.
"Your highness", my lieutenant started again after a while of silence. "It is time for your lunch, king Oberon insisted on you joining him."
"Fine, let´s attend another awkward dining session", I replied, closing everything. He helped me out of my chair, which was really necessary because of the ridiculously large gown I had to wear. Why couldn't I just put on comfortable jeans once? "This way", Glitch told me as he opened the door. Resisting a giggle about his behavior – and failing miserably at it, I walked out of the room, my lieutenant following me. "What´s so funny, if I may ask?" This time I really had to laugh. "You. I remember you on the battlefield being all serious and angry, shouting and ordering and planning new strategies. I also recall seeing you together with some knights joking around, but this extremely formal side of yours is something I probably never get used to."
The little lightning bolts in his hair started to crackle a little, something which told me he was embarrassed. On the one hand he probably though I´d never catch him joking around, on the other hand he surely felt awkward too when being formal around me. "You know you can always drop all those stiff actions and talk to me like a friend. I hate to be addressed as a queen, it makes me feel quite old."
"As long as we are at the summer´s court, I´ll stay like that, but as soon as we head back home, I´ll remember your words." I gave him a smile. "Thank you, Glitch."
We entered the dining hall, where Oberon and Titania already had taken a seat. The summer queen shot me a murderous glare, my father simply nodded, acknowledging my entrance. "Did your husband already left you, my dear iron queen?" A mocking grin appeared on the older woman´s face. I put on my best fake smile, fixed my dress and looked the queen directly into her eyes. "Ash needed some space I happily granted him, I do not want to act like a selfish brat that does not consider other persons feelings and needs." Her face darkened and I knew she understood the hint. "Is that so? Well then how about your lieutenant? It seems he has to follow you everywhere." Glitch stiffened behind me. It was his wish to escort me, he did not mind it at all and I made sure he got his well deserved time off as often as possible, even if it meant to force him to take a rest. "I told him he does not need to accompany me; I am capable of watching after myself. Its seems as if people just simply like being around me, maybe because I listen to them and approach them with kindness and respect." Titania jumped out of her chair, shouting at me. "You claim I do not respect my subordinates, that I am a horrible person?" With the same fake smile as before, I let Glitch help me sit down and looked at her. "I would never dare, queen Titania. In fact, I had no idea anybody would claim something like that."
My father looked at me with an expression that said something like here we go again, shortly before the summer fey exploded. "How dare you, you insolent little girl! Have you no respect for whom you are talking to! I am a queen!"
"So am I, Titania", I replied with a grin. "But unlike you, I did not insult anybody nor shouted. I recall this being a social gathering to improve our relationship. Sadly I see that you are not interested in doing so. I respect your decision, but I have to say that I am displeased by your attitude, which forces me to leave now. I´ll have my lunch at the balcony belonging to the guest room I am staying in. Glitch will accompany me. This unfortunate incident however will not have an impact on the relationship between our kingdoms. Hopefully dinner well be a more pleasant event. Now if you will excuse me."
With a graceful motion I thought I would never be capable of, I lifted myself out of my chair again and linked arms with Glitch, who had a hard time not to laugh. Together we strode out of the room, leaving an angry Titania and a quite amused Oberon behind.
Some minutes later, the guards in front of my room knocked, announcing some servants bringing my lunch. With a single movement of my right hand I commanded the iron to disappear, so the summer fey would not die while doing their job. My lieutenant was immediately at my side, examining the maids carefully. As soon as they left the room, he relaxed again.
We sat at a beautiful balcony, which gave us a wonderful view on the summer realm. I had to admit I loved all the nature, it was beautiful without compare, but I knew behind all this façade was a well hidden underhandedness. If you were not careful enough, you would end up in debt of someone. And I could live without that. My own realm was different, yet marvelous too. There was no way I would change what I got for anything. If I wished for more plants, I simply could ask for them, as they did not suffer from all the metal. Neither did animals, only fey had to fear it. Luckily my fey, the iron fey, were safe and did not need to fear it. They were friendly and kind, they listened to me, gave me respect and could trust in me too. I was a queen that lived for its people, and if that ever happened to change, I told Glitch and Ash and all my friends to wake me up again. To change me back into who I was before.
Speaking of Ash, where was he anyway?
"Glitch, have you seen my husband lately?" The iron fey blinked at me. He gulped down his bite and shook his head. "Sorry Meghan, but I am as clueless as you are." I smiled at him, so he did remember what I told him before and relaxed a little around me. Unfortunately this did not solve the problem of my missing beloved winter fey. Or rather ex-winter fey.
From our high position I scanned the courtyard, looking for any sign of Ash. He could not simply disappear. That was Grimalkin´s specialty, not his. It was quite unusual for him to be absent for such a long time too. Usually he would be back soon, after a maximum of one or two hours, but he was missing for a longer period of time already.
Something shiny caught my attention. It came from the left, where some trees and wild wine hid two benches and a small fountain from the sight of others. There two figures stood, with one of them carrying a long bright sword. Ash´s ice sword. So the other figure had to be Puck, which was rater easy to guess, as this fey had his trademark red hair. They faced each other, though there weapons remained at their sides. Why were they not fighting, but rather staring at each other? Did they finally solve their little…problem?
Glitch walked up next to me, following my gaze. "I guess you found your husband and Goodfellow."
"Yes, but what are those two doing down there?" Glitch looked over my shoulder. "It seems as if they are…talking?" He shook his head. "Since when are they only talking when they meet?" To be honest, I had no idea either. Before however I could come up with a plausible conclusion myself, Puck started to make some…strange movements. At first Ash only stared at him, as did I, than he seemed to get angry and annoyed. Strangely he did not grab his sword, but kind of copied Puck´s movements. To say it looked ridiculous would have been a big understatement. "What are they doing?"
"I have no idea Glitch, let´s get down there and find out."
Drawing his sword, he opened the door for me and ordered some iron knights to follow us. As fast as the dress allowed me to move I followed them. Nobody tried to stop us on our way, the little disagreement Titania and I earlier had must have made its way through the summer court already. Reaching the small clearing I had seen Puck and Ash in earlier, I ordered Glitch to follow me alone. The others had to wait.
Hidden behind some bushes, which was by the way not very ladylike, but since when had I been a lady, we hid and watched the show in front of us. Let´s just say both of us had a hard time not to fall over while laughing.
Even though I could not see everything clearly, nor could I hear everything they said, it was hilarious. Retelling everything would have been impossible, but here is what I caught:
Both of them stood opposite of each other, arms crossed. They nodded their heads and moved to a non audible rhythm. Sometimes they changed position, making strange gestures with their arms and heads. Puck even started to jump on one of the benches. This alone was funny and entertaining itself, but what they said, or rather, what they sang was pure gold.
I caught lines like "I can say with certainty your jealousy is showing, ´cause ice boy once you left the princess life continued going" or "There is no competition between you and me, cause I´m the king of frost and iron, while you continue as a low life like a bee."
They were rapping. Both of them were rapping against each other. I had no idea how this happened, but they were, right in front of my eyes.
Ash continued with something like: "There is no use in arguing, you do lack any pride, so face it little creature, I am king at Meghan´s side."
So they had some kind of rap competition that involved me? They were offending each other, including times when we were together! What had gotten into them?
"Nobody asked you to be all bark and no bite!"
This was enough for me, I just had to jump in and settle this argument once and for all! Even though Glitch tried to stop me, as much as it was possible for a shaking and quietly laughing person, I managed to jump in, surprising both of them.
"Come one guys! That is enough. If you want to solve this while singing, than here I go!
I am Meghan Chase, queen of shining metal, and if you both do not stop to be such kids I´ll just ruin your battle! So stop your stupid fight over something thats been so long cleared, if you do not quit it is my cold shoulder that has to be feared. Ash, my king I love you there is no denying it, so please wait and keep out of this, just stand over there a bit. Puck you hold a special place in my heart, I knew this from the beginning when our adventure was at start. But please do remember and always keep in mind, the iron of my kingdom is what kills you with all the acid combined. You are my best friend, which is what everyone can see, but unfortunately for you Ash is right for me. Now both of you come here and shake each others hand, so we can settle this once for all and everybody´s a friend."
They looked at me as if I had grown a second head, but I didn´t care. I was too proud of the fact that I just came up with some pretty awesome lines. Behind me, Glitch appeared, grinning like an idiot. "Now all of you have managed to rap patter that in any story ever told, all I can say is that this little show was simply pure gold!"
The first one to win back his voice was Puck, who just laughed nervously, shouted something about a cake that was in his oven he had to look after and disappeared. I just shook my head. "What was this all about?" My husband refused to look me straight into the eyes. "Glitch", he started, "Could you leave us alone for a second?"
"Sure, I don´t have a good line to reply anyway." With that, he was gone. Ash and I were alone. "So?" He scratched his head. "I had a deal with two strange girls, about having a rap battle with Goodfellow…"
"And you did what they asked you for?"
"They offered me something I could not resist! Besides, Puck insulted me."
"Who were those girls anyway?"
As soon as I asked, two females materialized out of nowhere. "That would be us", the taller of them answered. The other one giggled. "We are Hana and Ichigo, nice to meet you."
"I´ve never seen you before", I told them confused. They did not even look like summer fey, but more like humans! "And you´ll probably never see us again. Thank you for the great show Ash, it was a pleasure to see. Goodbye!"
"Goodbye!", the smaller one shouted too and together they vanished like Grimalkin. "Strange", was all I could say about them.
Ash pulled me close to his body and planed a soft kiss on my lips. "Let´s head back to our quarters my queen, I am hungry and want to forget what just happened."
"Alright, I guess?"
Picking up a still laughing Glitch and a bunch of confused iron knights, we went back to continue our meal.
Riddle: soon (sorry, I´m tired right now, its almost 2 in the morning)
If you know the answer, send us a PM with the solution. As soon as all 24 Stories for our advent calendar project are uploaded, the one who solved the most riddles can determine one of the stories we uploaded to extend to a "full story". For more Information, please look up our first story written by Hana.
Stories so far:
1st December: Inuyasha – Lord of the kitchen
2nd December: Artemis Fowl – The tale of the handsome commander
3rd December: Inuyasha – Miroku´s wish list
4th December: Iron Fey Series – Dream beaches
5th December: Kamisama Kiss – How to not freeze to death
6th December: Inuyasha – Surprise surprise
7th December: Kamisama Kiss – I´m going into town, Tomoe
8th December: Artemis Fowl – No one ever calls me to simply drink coffee
9th December: Tiger´s Curse – Tigers and Badminton
10th December: Inuyasha – Geography with Myoga
11th December: Iron Fey Series – Preperations
12th December: Iron Fey Series – The other way to fight
13th December: soon