"Have a safe trip," said Queen Elsa and King Truth to their departing daughters.
Fine and Rein waved at them as their air balloon took for the sky. They took one last look at their father and seven month pregnant mother and turned away from the window.
"I can't wait until we arrive at the Windmill Kingdom," said Rein excitedly. Fine gave her sister a quick nod.
Fine, Rein, and Poomo were headed to the Windmill Kingdom for the annual Air Balloon Race between the Jewel and Windmill kingdom. They went to the one held last year and were invited once again by Bright.
"Why am I flying the balloon-pumo," Poomo whined to the twins. Fine and Rein laughed nervously while scratching their cheek. Poomo sighed in defeat and continued to fly them towards the Windmill Kingdom. Rein shifted her body towards her sister and said, "I wonder who is going to win this year?"
Fine smiled and added, "Yeah, last year was a tie."
Rein nodded with her twin and then said, "I hope Bright wins." Before Fine can input her opinion Rein quickly added, "Oh wait, I hope Sophie wins." Fine and Poomo watched as Rein continued back and forth between the two.
"Agghh, I can't pick between them," Rein cried out. The other twin and the poomo fairy sweat dropped at the girl who was recently pulling her top hat down onto her forehead. Fine looked out the window and turned to her sister, poking her on the shoulder.
"Rein we're here!"
Both twins moved to look out the window. They smiled widely as they saw the familiar windmills on top of the several hills that made up the country's landscape. Poomo pulled on both strings and prepared to land the balloon into an open space. The twins bounced on their seats chanting for Poomo to hurry up. Finally, after many chants, they were safely on the ground. Fine and Rein speed walked out of the balloon wanting to quickly find their friends.
"Fine, Rein!"
Said girls turned around and smiled as they saw their friends. Poomo followed the twins as they ran up to the princesses and princes of the other kingdoms. This year along with Fine and Rein, Auler and Bright invited everyone else to watch the race. Everyone was their waiting for the twins who barely made it in time.
"Fine what took you guys so long," said a slightly annoyed Shade. Fine who reached the group first just laughed nervously and apologized to Shade and the others.
Bright chuckled at the ruby haired twin and turned to the still running Rein. "Hi Princess Rein."
Rein's eyes sparkled in joy. "Bright-sama!"
However, before she could reach the group she tripped on a rock and tumbled forward. At that same moment, Auler walked up to the group along with Sophie.
"Hi everyoAH—
Everyone watched with a startle, as Rein tumbled onto Auler. They both fell miserably on the ground with Rein on top of Auler's stomach.
"Oh my," said Sophie, who luckily avoided the impact. Fine and Bright quickly helped Rein off of Auler while Sophie and Shade helped Auler up. Both Rein and Auler held their heads; a bit dizzy from the fall. Altezza, who had been watching the whole thing, walked up to Rein with a frown on her face.
"Honestly. You are so clumsy."
"Altezza," scolded Bright. Rein and Fine sweat dropped at what Altezza said. She was right after all.
"Onii-san, are you alright," asked Sophie worriedly. Auler smiled and nodded in response, but when he moved his right arm to dust himself off he flinched. Rein noticed this and panicked.
"You're hurt Auler!"
Auler shook his head in denial and stretched his right arm. Not flinching he replied, "See. All good." Rein sighed in relief, but quickly stopped herself when she noticed Altezza glaring at her. She gulped and turned to Auler, clapping her hands together and said, "I'm so sorry Auler!"
Auler smiled reassuringly at her and replied, "I'm fine, really. It's alright." Before Rein could say anything else they all heard the sound of a horn.
It was almost time for the race to start.
Auler interrupted Rein's train of thought. "Let's get going Bright and Altezza." Bright nodded and turned to everyone. "Alright, everyone we'll see you guys after the race. I hope you guys enjoy it." Everyone send the four of them off with waves. Fine watched as the two siblings went over to the starting line and then turned to see her sad twin.
"What's wrong Rein?"
Rein gazed at the ground with downcast eyes and said, "I think Auler hurt his arm in the fall." Fine patted her sister's back and said, "You saw him. He was completely fine." Rein nodded her head but said, "I think he was faking it for my sake." Fine looked over at her sister in concern as Rein sighed deeply. She smiled tilting her head towards Rein's view and then took her hand. Fine pulled Rein along, following the others, towards the spot where they were going to watch the race.
"Come on Rein. Let's go watch the race," Fine said smiling widely for her sister.
Rein smiled and joined her sister in catching up with the others.
"Rein, Fine come sit here," called Mirlo and Lione. The twins and Poomo went over to the princesses and sat with them on the big blanket on the ground. Along with Mirlo and Lione were baby Narlo, Milky, the eleven seed princesses. Fine sat herself next to Lione while Rein sat herself next to Mirlo.
"How come Hero didn't come," asked Fine.
Lione blushed slightly and then straightened her posture.
"I invited him, but he couldn't come. He caught a cold," Lione replied sadly. Fine nodded knowing all too well how that was like. Rein who was also sitting next to her sister leaned forward in Lione's view.
She smiled mischievously and said, "Why didn't you go and nurture him to health?"
Lione couldn't help blush tomato red at Rein's comment and turned away from the twins. Mirlo, Milky, and the eleven seed princesses looked at the trio confused. "Who is Hero," asked all the other princesses. Lione's ears perked up at this question and her ears were now red. The twin princesses turned toward the others and began to explain. Lione desperately tried to make the twins stop talking, but it was no use because now the rest of them knew.
Every one of the girls looked at the flustered Flame princess with smiles in their faces.
"Don't look at me like that!"
All the princesses laughed as the shy girl covered her face. Fine patted the girl's shoulder trying to comfort her when Solo interrupted them all.
"The race is starting!"
The princesses, princes, and Poomo looked over to see two air balloons in the starting line. Inside one was Bright with Altezza right behind him and the other one had Auler and Sophie. The Windmill Princess looked over to the side and waved at her friends.
"HI SOPHIE," yelled the twins, standing up. Sophie smiled in accomplishment and everyone watched as she turned towards the other air balloon to look at Altezza. They all laughed when they saw Altezza pump her hands in the air and fume coming out of her ears. One can guess that Sophie probably said something to make the Jewel Princess angry.
Then one of the bird people flew in front of the two balloons with a green flag. He lifted the flag up in the air and swung it down by his side.
With that the race began. The crowd began to cheer as the balloons took off.
Bright took the lead of the race and entered the first obstacle. A distance away you could hear someone's proud laughter as she watched her children taking the lead.
Queen Camelia smiled with much pride and said, "My Bright is doing very well. We will win this year for sure."
King Randa shook his head and pointed towards the race. He then said, "Look there. My son is catching up." He then shouted, "Go Auler!"
In hearing his father, Auler pressed forward on his steering wheel. Sophie cheered as they were picking up speed and waved at Altezza as her brother passed them.
Up above King Randa smiled at his son's success while Queen Camelia bit on her handkerchief. King Randa turned to the air ship where King Aaron and Queen Camelia were currently on. He then said, "Let us enjoy this race. No matter who wins, it will be a great race. Our sons are both great racers." King Aaron nodded in acceptance while Camelia relaxed her grip on her handkerchief and smiled.
Down below, the racers have arrived at the second obstacle. Auler was still in the lead, but Bright was not far behind. The Windmill Prince decided to create some distance between the balloons so once again he pressed on his steering wheel. However, he pressed too rashly and felt a throbbing pain on his right arm. He let go of the wheel and grasped his hurting arm with his other hand. Before Sophie could ask what was wrong a strong gust of wind blew at their air balloon. Auler quickly took a hold of the wheel, but he wasn't able to control the balloon with just his left hand.
"What's going on with Auler's air balloon," asked Shade to no one in particular. Fine and Rein looked worriedly from Shade to the air balloon and gasped. The air balloon that Auler and Sophie were on took a sharp dip suddenly. Auler held on to the wheel, but Sophie was too late to hold on.
"SOPHIE," Queen Elena and Auler screamed in horror. Sophie cried out as she flew out of the balloon.
The princesses gasped in fear for their friend as they all stood up from the blanket.
"SOPHIE," shrieked Altezza.
"Regina," shouted Shade. The dragon ran up to his master and Shade hopped on the saddle and was off. Fine and the others watched as Shade rode down the mountain in amazing speed. Shade pulled on the reins and stopped Regina just in time to catch the falling princess.
Queen Elena collapsed due to overwhelming relief. However, King Randa caught his queen before she could ever hit the ground. "Thank goodness. My dear Sophie was saved," said Elena smiling.
Sophie opened her eyes that were squeezed shut. She looked up to see Prince Shade's face.
"Are you alright," Shade asked, out of breath. Sophie smiled at her savior and said, "Yes, thank you Prince Shade."
Fine and Rein let out a breath of relief. Sophie was safe and sound. Fine looked over at Auler's ship and saw as the said prince looked down and sighed in relief. She watched as he suddenly stood up and took control of the wheel. Another strong wind blew at his balloon, but his right arm was in too much pain that he wasn't able to fly his balloon upright.
"Oh No! Auler," shouted Fine. Bright and Altezza heard Fine's shout and turned to see Auler's balloon dive down into a mountain that inhabited the Jewel Kingdom.
"Onii-sama," said Altezza in a worried tone. Bright nodded and took the course that Auler recently fell into. Rein and Fine glanced at each other with panicked looks.
"Auler," called out Bright. Altezza looked around frantically in hope to catch sight of him. Bright stopped steering and turned to his sister.
"Altezza we can't keep flying inside. The crystals are too sharp and the path is too narrow. We can end up getting ourselves stuck and with no way out." Altezza eyes widened at this, but she said, "We should get off to search for him."
Bright nodded in agreement and landed the balloon on the only open space big enough for their balloon. The Jewel Prince jumped off the air balloon and helped his sister get off. Letting go of her brother's hand, Altezza looked around and said, "This place is like a maze. There are two paths. Which one should we take?"
She watched in confusion as her brother shook his head.
"You should stay here Altezza. I wouldn't want to lose you too."
"But, Onii—
"No buts, please stay here Altezza," asked Bright in a serious tone. Altezza glanced downward to her side in disagreement, but she agreed to her brother's request. Bright smiled and picked up a stone from the ground. He walked up to one of the tall crystal pillars and marked it. When he lifted the stone off of the crystal, all that was left on it was an engraving of a diamond.
"I'll mark up my path so I won't get lost. I'll return here when I find him. Okay?"
Altezza nodded, smiling at her clever older brother. Bright placed the stone in his pocket and with a wave said, "I'll be going now."
Altezza watched as her brother took the left path. When he was finally out of sight Altezza slumped down. Her puffy dress was now covering her arms as she placed her hands under her chin.
"Auler," whispered Altezza, then she added, "I hope you're alright."
Altezza was extremely worried about the Windmill Prince. He was a very important person to her. When her brother was taken over by the black crystal and she had hurt her ankle, Auler had been there for her. She didn't know what she felt for him, but whenever she thought of him her stomach would flutter like she ate a bunch of butterflies beforehand. Altezza cared about him and really appreciated his company. The Jewel Princess was talented in many things but when it came to her own feelings, she doesn't have a clue of what to do.
Altezza sighed as she was in deep thought, when she noticed a sudden light coming from the top of one of the crystals. She looked up and saw a beam of the sun shine on top of one of the crystals on the right path. The princess stood up and continued to look at it.
Could it be him?
With that in mind she looked over at the path that her brother took and back at the one with the strange light. Altezza knew that her brother wasn't coming back any time soon, so she decided to follow the path. She picked up a stone and did the same thing as her brother, but engraved a star instead of a diamond. She looked back at the balloon one last time and walked into the maze.
A few minutes later Fine and Rein along with Shade and Sophie ran up to where the Jewel Kingdom's air balloon was.
"Where are they," asked Rein, not seeing Bright and Altezza. Fine and Sophie shared worried glances and Shade walked up to the left path.
"Look here," Shade said, pointing at the engraved diamond. The three princesses hurried over to where Shade was and saw the diamond.
"They probably took this path. We should follow, they'll probably need our help," suggested Shade. The three girl nodded in agreement and followed the Moon prince inside the maze.
Altezza continued to walk deeper into the maze marking up her path as she went along. The only thing guiding her was the beam of light reflecting off of the tall crystals. After marking her seventh star on the crystal she something had caught her eye. Along with the light she noticed something blue sticking out on top of the crystal. She quickened her pace realizing what it could have been. After a few minutes of going through more of the maze, she reached a clearing and stopped in her tracks.
Right in front of her stood the air balloon that Auler was flying along with Sophie. She saw Auler sitting inside, hunched over. The princess ran up to the balloon and stepped on a stone that the balloon happen to be on top of.
"Auler!"
The said boy looked up and with wide eyes and mouth a gap exclaimed, "Altezza, what are you doing here?"
Altezza narrowed her eyes at him and replied, "What else? I was looking for you."
Auler blushed at what Altezza said, but once again felt the throbbing on his arm and flinched. Altezza relaxed her annoyed face and showed one of concern as she saw the boy in front of her grimace in pain.
"Are you okay?"
Auler looked up with one eye shut, emphasizing the amount of pain he was feeling. He nodded and said, "Yeah I'm fine Altezza." Altezza gave him a look of non-believing. Auler sighed and added, "It's my arm," he showed it to the girl he liked, "It's throbbing and it made me lose control of the balloon."
He then added sadly, "I put my own sister in danger."
Altezza looked at her sad friend and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see one of, well according to him, the most beautiful smiles on her face. He couldn't help blush at her sweet smile. Altezza then reassured him by saying, "She is alright. Shade saved her, remember?"
He nodded in response and sighed in relief, but only to be replaced with a grunt of pain. Altezza looked at him worriedly and narrowed her eyes in determination. She got off the stone that she was standing on and bent down to her shoe level. Auler looked over the carrier at Altezza and his eyes widened when he heard the sound of tearing.
"Altezza," he said surprised. Altezza ripped a strip out of the bottom trim of her dress. She climbed up again on the stone and said, "Wrap this around your arm." Seeing that he was not making a move to take it from her, she gently grabbed his arm and began wrapping it firmly around his arm.
Auler was in amazement and couldn't help but ask, "What about your dress? It's ruined."
Altezza scoffed at his response and replied, "It's just a dress. I'm not going to cry over a rip," she quietly added, "You are more important than this dress. You're my precious friend."
Auler felt his heart skip a beat at Altezza's words. Altezza blushed slightly realizing what she just said and felt her heart beat a bit faster. It was quiet between the two as Altezza finished wrapping his arm up.
"There," she tied the ends and added, "Feel better?"
Auler moved his arm slowly and realized that it didn't hurt anymore. He smiled at her and said, "Yeah, feels much better."
Altezza climbed off the stone once more to let Auler get off the balloon. He looked at the balloon and saw that it was no longer able to take to the skies. The carrier had a huge hole in the engine and the balloon was deflated. Altezza tapped his shoulder and told him that she had marked the path so they can find their way out of the maze. She turned away from and began to walk away when she was stopped by Auler.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. Altezza's heart was beating against her chest like drums and her cheeks were tinted pink.
"Auler!"
Said boy continued to hug her and said, "Thank you for coming for me Altezza. It makes me very happy that you came." Altezza let a small smile grace her features and hugged him back. Auler slowly backed away from the hug and Altezza did as well.
The Jewel Princess and Windmill Prince stared at the ground to embarrass to look up at each other. Altezza cleared her throat and looked up, but her head was looking the other way from Auler.
"We should go back now. Everyone must be worried about you."
"Yeah," replied Auler. He and Altezza walked side by side as they made their way out of the maze. Everything was calm between the two, but if you looked close enough, you could see a tint of pink on their cheeks. Auler looked down at Altezza, only to quickly divert his gaze. He awkwardly placed his left hand on the back of his neck. Meanwhile, Altezza giggled at the boy's nervous jester as they continued on their way.
"Bright-sama!"
The Jewel Prince turned around to see Rein, Fine, Shade, and Sophie rushing over to him. He completely turned himself and faced the blue-haired twin.
"Rein, everyone what are you guys doing here?"
Fine answered, "We're here to look for Auler as well."
Sophie nodded, but her eyes were observing her surroundings.
"Where is Altezza?"
Bright's eyebrows rose at this question and a he felt a churn in his stomach. He then asked, "Wasn't she at the entrance of the maze?"
Fine and Rein turned to each other, confused. Shade replied, "No there was no one there. We just saw your air balloon."
Bright quickly responded, "Are you sure!?"
Everyone nodded and the Jewel Prince began to panic. He specifically told her to stay and now she wasn't there. Bright mumbled what sounded like 'oh no' and began to run back the way he came from.
"Bright-sama," Rein called.
He yelled back, "I have to go find Altezza!"
"We'll go with you," replied Shade. The three princesses followed right behind the two princes as they returned to the beginning.
They've almost reached the end when Sophie happily yelled, "Auler, Altezza!"
The others looked over at Sophie and turned their gaze to the crystal. They saw two people on the other side of the transparent stone. Bright hurried to the entrance and went over to the entrance of the other path.
"Onii-sama," called out Altezza with a smile. Bright breathed out in relief and smiled back at her.
Auler and Altezza quickened their pace to where Bright was standing. The others caught up with Bright and smiled as they saw Auler and Altezza unharmed.
"Are you alright, Onii-san," Sophie asked worriedly as she walked up to her brother. He nodded and asked her the same thing.
Fine and Rein looked over at Altezza and noticed that her dress was ripped.
"Altezza what happened to your dress," asked Rein in a shocked tone. Altezza looked down at her dress and back at Rein and smiled.
"I ripped it," she simply replied.
Sophie who was listening to Altezza asked, "Why? Your beautiful dress is ruined."
Altezza looked over at Auler and grabbed his arm.
She showed everyone his wrapped arm and said, "It was for this."
Fine and Rein looked at each other with surprised expressions, but smiled when they realized what Altezza had done. She had sacrificed her precious dress for Auler's hurt arm.
"Awww, Altezza you are so kind," Fine said as she propped herself next to Altezza.
Rein and Sophie placed themselves on the other side of her and smiled.
Altezza huffed in annoyance and replied, "Well off course I am, it was for Auler afteraOO—
She quickly covered her mouth realizing what she was saying, but her princess friends didn't cease to notice.
"Ooo, so you're only kind to Auler," Rein cooed. Fine then added, "That's not fair Altezza."
Sophie then said, "You must like my Onii-san a lot."
Altezza turned beet red and chased the three princesses around. Her ears were fuming while yelling at her teasing friends.
The boys just stood there watching with awkward smiles and a sweat drop on the side of their foreheads. Auler then turned to Bright and said, "I guess you won this air balloon race."
Bright shook his head slightly in denial and replied, "No, let's just say we both lost by default."
Auler smiled and extended his hand to Bright. The Jewel Prince returned the hand shake and Auler said, "Alright then, but next year there will be no defaults."
Bright nodded and chuckled.
"There sure won't be. I will win for sure next year."
"That is not likely because I'm sure I will win."
Shade put his hands on both of the princes' shoulders and said, "Alright racers. We won't know until next year."
All three boys looked at each other and burst out in laughter. The four princesses stopped running and stared at the boys.
"What's so funny?"
Sophie, Rein, and Altezza looked at Fine and all four girls just shrugged their shoulders.
The twins looked at each other and smiled.
All's well that ends well.
The twins ran to catch up with the others who were walking out of the crystal mountain. It was another eventful day for the twin princesses of the sunny kingdom, indeed.