A/N: The real plot takes off at chapter 4. These chapters have a bit of foreshadowing here and there, though.
The night breeze over the forest sent shivers up the backsides of the two royally-known Edenian beauties, and they walked at an easy pace to relax their muscles as they approached the monastery. Both of them were still covered in a thin coat of sweat from the sparring session that took place only a few minutes ago, and wanted to get their nightly rounds over with as soon as they could.
Kitana swiped a strand over to the left side of her dampened forehead, heavily contemplating a question she'd been wanting to ask the entire trip back to the monastery. She knew Jade was the single person she could trust besides Liu Kang, but this was a highly personal matter, and she feared Jade could not give her the honest opinion she needed. If she had never became Kitana's friend, she would only be her protector. All servants of royalty are taught to praise their leaders as if they were perfect, but behind closed doors, servants thought royalty were extremely snide, arrogant and selfish people.
"Fickle..."
Kitana continued to look on, and Jade's attention quickly shifted to the woman beside her. "I'm sorry?"
"I said, 'Fickle.' Do I come off as fickle?"
Jade was unsure of where a blunt question like that may've come from, but she could sense that her friend definitely needed some kind of reassurance.
"Kitana, of course not. How could you think something like that?"
After noticing Kitana's unchanged expression, she tried to delve further into the matter.
"If... you're referring to your situation with Liu Kang, it is to be understood that we have much to do, and if there was time, you'd surely be spending it with him." She glanced at the princess-
Still nothing.
Jade tried to think of something else that might've unsettled Kitana. She couldn't imagine any other context the question could've been asked in, so she asked, very simply,
"What, exactly, is troubling you?"
Kitana turned to face Jade, looking her in the eyes as they briefly split to unlock the door to the prisons. She could be straight-forward about it...
"He... I mean, Liu Kang." the princess shook her mistake away. "Liu Kang seems to be very shallow lately, and I have no idea why. It isn't usual for him. And on top of that, I can't come up with any explanation that will help me tell myself that everything is fine."
"But... everything is fine," Jade unthoughtfully said to herself, as she and Kitana watched the giant stone door rise to the acceptance of their signatures.
"Well, I suppose if you look at it from the bigger perspective, everything really is fine. I can see where you get that from." She and Jade then entered the dimly-lit prison, quickly scanning the upper-level security of all the cell doors in the room. "But, ruling an entire realm isn't as easy as I imagined it to be. Think about it for a moment, my friend. If you were in total control of rebuilding everything you ever knew, how could you find time for anything else?"
"Oh, Kitana," Jade sighed, as if she'd heard this all before. "We've told you many times, it's natural to need help from people besides yourself. Just because the role was forced onto you, doesn't mean you have to endure alone. I'll always be here for you, and so will Liu Kang, and Kung Lao. The other warriors from Earthrealm even said they'd assist you in any way you needed- if you said you ever needed it."
Jade always sensed that a few months ago, Kitana was struggling with her sudden role of power. She wanted to rebuild homes and entire villages, capture any and all villains who resided in her realm, while leading an army against another huge force of evil. She loved Kitana dearly, but she hated the fact that Kitana always felt weak accepting assistance in ruling over Edenia. She'd once told Jade, that if she were her mother's daughter, she could do this all on her own, but even Kitana should've known that wasn't true.
"I... I know. I believe I can rule by myself, I guess I just didn't expect there to be any obstacles in my path."
Flashing the princess a brief smile of approval, Jade clung to the left side of the prison, and Kitana, the right.
The Edenian warrior first checked the Tarkatan's cell, who sat quietly on the floor with his legs folded, and the fangs of his permanent grin were bared as usual.
In the second cell, an Earthrealm criminal slept with his head against the wall, and his hands folded over his chest.
She stood at the cell gate for a moment longer, observing the man as he peacefully laid himself to rest. Between the prisoners she and Kitana checked in on daily, they all seemed to be very calmed despite their current situations, as if they were waiting for something...
"Ugh."
Jade turned around from the cell she was examining, and walked over to Kitana. "What is it?"
Kitana pursed her lips, and crossed her arms toward the dark cell. "I hate it when he does this."
As the prisoner inched toward the bars, the scales on his dulling green claws slowly came to light. He then tightly grasped the bars, and pressed his monstrous mouth against the cell gate.
"Princess," he hissed, his tongue gently whipping around outside the bars.
Jade pulled Kitana's wrist to urge her past Reptile's cell. "He's just trying to get to you. But, Baraka's cell is secure, and Kano's as well. Everyone else above them seems to be sleeping."
Kitana nodded an 'ok' towards her friend, and continued on. She peered into the heavily clouded cell, just to be sure their were a pair of eyes somewhere in the back. "What about the newer prisoner on your end?"
Jade watched over her friend's back from the center of the room. "You mean the one Liu and Kung Lao brought back a few days ago?"
Kitana nodded, and turned back around.
"I don't worry about him."
"And, why don't you?" she asked as she approached Jade, with a frown.
"Trust me. You'll see."
Kitana followed Jade as they walked over to the last cell on the right row. A masked man in red and black stood at the window, and it was apparent that he still enjoyed looking out of it, despite how small it was. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he didn't bother to acknowledge the two women behind him.
The princess stared intently at the back of his head, feeling slightly disrespected. "Awaiting your chance to escape?"
"Release from captivity, not our escape," an echoing voice retorted, with a hint of hostility.
Kitana winced. "Release? You believe you've been wrongfully apprehended?"
He didn't answer the princess, and she turned to Jade, who merely shrugged in response.
"I suppose we can call it a night."
"I can, but we can't. Don't you remember the promise you made last week?" Kitana smiled, one of her eyebrows raised.
Jade blinked at the princess, dumbfounded. "No. What promise did I make last week, and to whom?"
Kitana giggled to herself, and began towards the prison exit.
"Kitana, I mean it. What are you talking about?" Jade asked, trying to remain close to the princess's side.
"By the Gods, Jade. Are you that forgetful?" She stopped outside the stone prison door as soon as it closed, and grabbed her friend by the shoulders. "Think back to a special dinner last week."
Jade stared into Kitana's eyes. "A special dinner?" A few seconds later, she remembered. "Oh, that one..."
She gently shook her friend. "Well?"
"Well what? Nothing happened that night."
Kitana's brows furrowed. "Someone asked you to meet him near the waterfall, in front of everyone in the palace, that night. Tonight is the day you agreed on, since you were too scared to do it the following night."
Jade's eyes widened. "Wow, I can't believe I forgot something like that."
Kitana let her arms fall back to her own side. "I can. You were so nervous, and you kept holding it off, saying you were busy with me..." she laughed briefly, letting out a long sigh afterward.
"So, my friend, are you actually going to go through with it?"
