Second Glance
Chapter Twelve
"Will you go out on a date with me?"
The question had shocked everyone in the perimeter, but it had shocked Mina the most. It had shocked her after a couple of moments of silence that she needed for it to actually register in her mind, and she wouldn't have even realized what was going on if Seth hadn't suddenly butted in to stare at the High Priest who came. Axis Coltin had knocked on their door and asked for the young priestess named Mina, and asked her bluntly if she wanted to go on a date.
"Huh?" Mina replied with great confusion. It was already late afternoon, and she was already tired, but this seemed to wake her up.
"Who are you!" Seth bellowed, pushing Mina aside to get a better view on the man who was standing on their doorstep. "Hey, aren't you—"
"Ah," Axis cut in, referring to Mina. "Is it a yes or a no?"
"A date?" Mina blinked. It wasn't actually the first time she had been asked out, but she just couldn't refuse him just like that. She slowly glanced at Cain who was lying down on a couch and staring at the ceiling, and a smokie was napping on his chest. Mina called out to Cain, "Is it alright if I go out for awhile?"
Silence. Cain replied, "I don't care."
Anger suddenly gathered in Mina's face as she glared at Cain furiously. It looked like she was about to retort, but instead, she stomped out of the door and banged the door behind her. Cain. Was. SUCH. A. JERK.
"Ah, ah, ah…" Seth said as the door banged right in his face, and he stepped back a bit for effect. He looked over at Cain who looked aggravated at Mina's reaction. Without hesitating, Seth said, "Dear Cain, you're a dumb hypocrite."
"What the hell…" Cain muttered under his breath, his glare directed at Seth. He seemed to be in the mood to murder his partner.
"I'm wondering, though." Seth started pacing around the room. "Isn't that extremely weird? A date? They're both from the royal family, so that means they're more likely to be cousins… oh, wait."
Cain rolled his eyes. "Just because they both have royal heritage doesn't mean they're related."
"And it doesn't bother you that Mina's on a date with someone who might likely be her future husband?"
"Go to hell."
…………
"He's such a jerk!" Mina screamed at the top of her lungs, stomping on the pavement under her. Axis scratched the back of his head, probably wondering if this was his fault. Mina was so upset that she didn't even ask Axis how he found out where she lived.
"It's alright," Axis said softly. "If you want, it's not a romantic date, so tell your friend he doesn't need to be jealous."
The priestess looked sharply at Axis, most likely unconsciously. "Why would he be jealous? It's not like there's anything going on between us."
'Yeah, he didn't blush when Rai said he should.' Mina added in her mind.
Axis nodded in a 'If you say so' kind of way and smiled at Mina, who in return found herself calming down. There was something about Axis that just did that—he was so calm and patient that even the most upset people would find themselves forced to be mellow.
"You did say Comodo was your favorite place, did you not?" Axis asked her as he brought a gemstone out of his pocket.
"Yeah?" Mina replied as she watched him throw the gem in the air and emit a portal from the ground. He smiled at her and urged her to go in. The priestess looked at him questioningly and then stepped into the portal.
When her vision came to, she realized that the temperature had suddenly become warmer and she was stepping into something that gently made her feet sink a bit. It was pink sand, and there was music in the background! Comodo was actually much more mellow during the day, but it was still the place she loved.
Axis stepped out from his portal and stood beside her as she stared at the sea. She looked so amazed—she didn't lie when she said she loved that place. Mina was such a predictable person that pleasing her could prove very useful, plus the added fact that she seemed happy with just about anything you showed her. Axis nodded to himself, it was no wonder that people found themselves falling with such a pleasant priestess.
"Is this really alright?" Mina asked Axis, who smiled at her. She didn't think that they'd actually go there. It had been months since she had last been there, and it was the time Cain and Seth took her away from Maki and Rai.
"Of course!" Axis replied enthusiastically as he plopped down on the ground. "But I hope you don't mind that we'll only be here for awhile, since I have to get back to things right away. I just needed to talk to you about something."
Mina tilted her head a bit, inquiring about what he meant. She sat down beside him and squirmed uncomfortably at the gaze that he directed towards her. His eyes were very soft but the kind of gaze he gave away could melt just about any girl; but Mina was different, she felt uncomfortable rather than flattered.
"I hope you don't mind that I'm going to cut to the chase…" Axis said in a low voice. Mina looked up at him, waiting for what he was going to say next. The High Priest sighed to himself, seeming to pace his dialogue. Finally, after awhile, he said, "I know you're the princess, Mina."
Mina's eyes widened. "W-what?"
Chuckling to himself, Axis flicked her forehead playfully. "What, you didn't think a person like me would find out?"
"A person like you? What do you mean?"
The High Priest seemed to be at disbelief in her reply. "Don't you know who I am…?"
Mina's stare bore into his eyes, as she seemed to contemplate on it for a while. Finally, the extremely naïve girl seemed to realize it as her eyes and mouth widened and she pointed an accusing finger at the high priest. "Ah! I though you just had the same name as the would-be prince, but-but—"
The High Priest flicked her forehead again. "Yes, princess, I'm Axis Coltin, prince in a few weeks."
Silence. Mina had an unexplainable face as she stared at him.
"So… why'd you bring me here…?" Mina asked softly. He couldn't be after her life too, could he?
With a sigh, Axis looked out at the see. His hand was busily playing with a shell, and it seemed like he was nervous with what he was doing. "It's my uncle who wants me to be future prince and then king… I've actually never even met King Tristan, your father, and I suppose you've never met him either. He's supposed to be in his room, extremely ill, and they say he'll leave this world soon."
Mina nodded, and a painful pang met her chest. It seemed like a thousand knots suddenly emitted in her heart. She actually wanted to meet her father, though she never told anybody about that.
"And, well…" Axis continued. "I feel like I'm robbing you of something extremely huge. You should be able to step up to the throne."
Mina continued staring at him until she realized he was done saying what he had to. The priestess opened her mouth to explain, "I don't really want to step up. It's not because they convinced me not to, but I really don't want to be a princess. You shouldn't feel guilty, really."
The High Priest returned the smile she gave him, and he spoke up again, "Are you sure about that? I suppose being a prince or princess isn't exactly the most exciting thing to do. I'd actually love to have a much more normal life."
"So why are you doing this?"
"My uncle wants me to." Axis replied. Suddenly, he pulled Mina close and started whispering to her ear, causing Mina to blush profusely. "He's not a very good man, so I suppose what I'll try to do is minimize the hell he'll try to break lose." Then he let go of Mina, as if what he had just said was such a huge secret.
Laughing nervously, Mina looked up at him. "You seem like a very good man, Axis."
Axis smiled.
Silence.
"Hey, Mina."
Mina looked up from the ground and stared at him, and he was grinning widely at her, his cheeks scarlet. "Yes?" The priestess inquired.
"You're a great person." Axis told her. "I promise I'll try to do a great job just for you."
Mina seemed embarrassed by his statement. "No! You're supposed to do it for the citizens, Axis!"
Axis laughed and stood up, and he held Mina's hand to help her up. He seemed surprised by her weight as he said, "Mina, you're too light."
"Ah." Mina said sheepishly. "Everyone keeps saying that…"
The High Priest laughed. To Mina's surprise, he suddenly brought up two fingers and pointed it at her. The priestess stared at his hand with confusion and listened to what he said, "I've decided to make two promises to you. One is, I'm going to bring you to Juno someday to meet the Valkyries."
"A-ah?"
"Two is…" Axis ignored her immediate reaction. "I'm going to make sure you meet King Tristan."
Mina gasped, and she shook her head quickly, but Axis ignored her again.
"Sorry I have to go back to the castle now. This is for you, it's to Izlude." Axis told her as he took another gem from his pocket and caused a portal to appear on the floor. "It's going to be a pity, once people find out my identity, I won't be able to go around this much…"
The priestess smiled at him and thanked him, and approached the portal to go back to the town. She was surprised when Axis suddenly held her by the shoulder, and she turned around to face him.
"Third promise…" Axis announced.
Mina blinked. There was a third promise?
"I'm going to try all I can to make you fall in love with me."
Before Mina could react, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and gently pushed her towards the portal. She almost slipped if she hadn't regained her composure quickly, and she found herself right in front of their house. The priestess seemed shocked at what Axis had said as she stared at the ground, her cheeks blushing scarlet.
"Mina?" A familiar voice called out. Mina turned around to find Rai standing there, Maki beside her. Rai had a smirk on her face as she stared at Mina. "Why are you blushing? What happened?"
"It's… hot." Mina replied weakly, trying her best to lie. "That's why my face is warm."
Maki raised his eyebrow. It was early evening, and that temperature in Izlude was nowhere near warm. Rai shoved Maki away and pulled Mina in a tight hug, in the same time whispering, "Did you try what I told you with Cain?"
Mina seemed downcast and stared behind Rai to where Maki was standing. Maki seemed annoyed at something, probably at the fact that Rai shoved him apart. Mina whispered back to Rai, "He doesn't like me."
"WHAAAAAAT?" The dancer's voice echoed throughout the whole street, and Maki had to clamp his hand over her mouth to shut her up. She seemed so surprised at what Mina had said, but Mina didn't react—she just stood there, staring at the ground. A few moments after Rai had screamed, Seth came rushing to the door and was shocked to see Rai there. He blinked, and Rai blinked back at him.
"Hey, Rai!" Seth said loudly with a huge grin plastered on his face. Rai's face brightened up. Mina and Maki watched as the dancer suddenly ran up to Seth and hugged him, surprising Seth who stepped away a few inches in surprise as the dancer wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Seth! Seth!" Rai chanted with great enthusiasm. Seth grinned at her and beckoned Maki and Mina to come in.
"Mina?" Maki asked the priestess before she entered the house. Mina blinked and turned around to glance at him in question. "Are you alright?"
The priestess blinked. "Of course!" She said enthusiastically. "C'mon, I think they're about to eat dinner!" Mina grabbed Maki's wrist and dragged him inside, but was surprised when her face suddenly hit a chest that didn't budge. She let go of Maki and slowly looked up to see Cain staring down at her irritably.
"Cain." Maki said bluntly. That was probably his way of greeting. Cain ignored him as he stride to get out of the house quickly. Mina blinked and watched Cain's retreating figure, and the smokie that followed after. Maki approached Mina and asked, "Did you two have a fight?"
"No." Mina said quickly. "He's just a natural jerk."
Maki nodded as Mina led their way to the dining table, where dinner was already there. They all sat down to eat, and the only one missing was Cain. Mina didn't seem to be herself, and even Seth had noticed this. Maki and Rai were both surprised when Seth suddenly asked, "How was your date with Axis?"
"Axis? Axis Coltin, prince?" Rai exclaimed.
"Date! Mina had a date?" Maki exclaimed.
"Shut up, Maki!" Rai retorted, kicking the paladin under the table. "That's not what's important."
Mina smiled sheepishly at her two friends and said, "He just wanted to ask me a few things about. It's not like it was a romantic date."
Liar.
"LIAR!" Rai accused her. "When we got home, you were acting like somebody had professed their love to you!"
Right at that moment, a smokie stride up to the table with Cain followed it. Mina looked up at Cain who was staring at her, and she reached to her pockets to hand him a bag of pet food that she told him she'd get. Cain took it from her quickly.
"Mina!" Rai called out; Maki stared at the dancer, annoyed at her shouting and at what she was shouting. "Don't lie to me, that guy did confess to you! You were blushing and staring at the ground, we're not stupid…!"
"Rai, quit it." Maki said, trying to calm his friend down. Rai huffed impatiently and only sat back down when Seth held her arm to calm her down.
"He… didn't…" Mina said softly, twiddling her fingers uncomfortably. "He didn't confess." Which was true. He really didn't—he just said that he'd do everything he could to get Mina to fall in love with him. That wasn't exactly a confession, right?
"Twisting the truth. Hmph." Rai said under her breath. Mina stared at the dancer in disbelief—did she have some sort of psychic power or something? Or worse—Rai knew Mina too well at this point of their friendship.
"Room assignments!" Seth suddenly cut in. "Everyone's sleeping over, alright?"
Maki looked up from his plate. "I was going to go back, actually."
"Don't be a spoilsport, father." Rai said sarcastically. "I want to stay and you're not leaving me here."
Smiling sheepishly, Mina noticed the look of annoyance at Cain's face. The assassin cross still seemed to be a bit bothered by the way Rai got across as a brat, but that was just the kind of person Rai was. She was still a good person, after all.
"The girls can stay in Mina's room." Seth said. Then he stood up and grabbed Maki and Cain. "Rock, paper, scissors to see who stays in the other room, the couch, and on the alley!"
"Don't be stupid." Cain swatted Seth's hand away and glared at him. "I'm staying in the room tonight."
Silence.
"Rock, paper, scissors, Maki!" Seth said with a grin. He could be so hyper at times, and he was probably the male version of Rai. "To see who stays on the cou—"
"I can stay on the floor." Maki cut in.
"Don't be ridiculous." Rai said. "You can't sleep on anything hard, you baby."
The Paladin ignored Rai's comment, but in the end, it was decided that Seth stay on the floor and Maki could have the couch. Cain made up a good point that this was all Seth's fault in the first place, so he should be the one to suffer the most. Seth didn't seem to have a problem with that—as long as he was with Rai.
The house was pretty small, but they all seemed to be comfortable with it, even though Rai kept screaming. After a while, Seth and Rai had disappeared and nobody even wanted to wonder what the two were doing. After all, it had been months since they last saw each other and they probably had some 'catching up' to do.
Cain had also disappeared after awhile, probably to his room. Maki and Mina chat in the living room, a smokie on Mina's lap. Maki seemed to muse on the smokie, and the all-familiar question came: "Why was it so fond of Cain in the first place?"
"Maybe it sees something in him." Mina giggled as she pet the smokie on the head. "He's a pretty nice guy once you get to know him."
Maki stared at her sheepishly. He didn't have any intentions on getting to know Cain better. Since the first time they had met, he had already hated Cain's guts.
"Damn, I missed you, Mina." Maki said with a laugh as he stretched his back.
The priestess smiled at him and took the smokie in her arms. "I missed you and Rai, too!"
The paladin blinked. 'That's… not… what I meant…'
"I'm heading to bed," Mina told Maki. "I hope you feel comfortable here on the couch." Maki nodded as she walked away and headed for the hallway, which was out of view from the couch. As soon as she reached for her door, she remembered she still had the smokie. It was just about time since Cain came out of her room, and the smokie ran over to him.
"Night, Cain." Mina smiled at him. He shrugged.
Silence.
"Are you angry at me?" The priestess asked innocently.
"Why the hell would I be angry at you?"
Shrugging, the priestess looked at him. "You're correct, I suppose." Then she added in her mind, 'Except you're always angry anyway.'
Mina opened the door and walked inside. Cain blinked as he heard a soft yelp from the priestess as she crept right outside the room and slowly closed the door behind her. Her face was extremely red as she avoided Cain's stare.
"What?" Cain asked.
Mina shook her head, still avoiding Cain's eyes. She seemed so uncomfortable. Cain rolled his eyes as he pushed Mina aside and opened the door, peering inside the dark room. After a while, he closed it and had the same expression Mina had—embarrassment. They didn't see anything in action, but they did see two certain naked people asleep and covered by a blanket.
"Mindless idiot…" Cain muttered under his breath.
The priestess chuckled. "Maybe that's why it didn't matter to him where he'd end up sleeping." She joked. Cain stared at her as she started walking away.
"Where are you going to sleep?"
Mina shrugged. "On the floor by the couch, I suppose."
Silence.
The priestess's eyes widened as Cain kicked his door open furiously and mumbled, "Get in."
"But—"
"Get in."
There was something in Cain's voice that just made Mina follow him. He always had that air of dominance that made people intimidated, and even though Mina thought she got past that already, it seemed that Cain still had authority over her. She timidly went past him and inside his room, too afraid to go against him.
Why couldn't she sleep on the floor, anyway? What was so wrong with being near Maki? It seemed to annoy Cain to no end every time she was with the said Paladin.
The priestess felt nothing but being uncomfortable, as they lay on the bed, back to back. It was just like back in the ship, except this time, the smokie didn't serve as a barrier. It stayed on the floor and slept there.
Just when Mina was drifting off to sleep, Cain's voice woke her up.
"Did that Axis confess to you?"
Caught off-guard, Mina didn't know what to say. She fidgeted and buried her face in her hands, feeling her cheeks heat up again.
"If you lie to me, I swear I'll kill you." Cain added.
"He…" Mina said softly. "He didn't confess. He just said he'd try to make me fall for him."
"That's the same thing, idiot."
Silence.
"Why does it make you so upset?" Mina whispered as she clutched the bed sheet. This was so unlike of her—she wanted to be bubbly like usual, but she couldn't lie in front of Cain. Even though he said he didn't like her facades, she felt extremely guilty every time she showed him she was upset.
"Shut up."
Mina's eyes furrowed in anger and she wanted to get out of that room. He was such a jerk. "You confuse me so much." She hissed in a whisper. "Creep. Idiot." The priestess suddenly tried to sit up straight and walk out when a rough hand suddenly pushed her back down.
"Idiot…" Cain mumbled as he pinned her down under him, using his two elbows as leverages that were on either side of her head. She tried to get up, but he was really much stronger. Her cheeks went scarlet when she could feel his warm breathing on her lips; he was just a couple of millimeters away.
"What is it, C-Cain?" She asked, trying to sound as brave as she could, and failing miserably. Even in the dark, she knew that he was glaring down at her.
"You're mine." He mumbled. Mina seemed extremely surprised at this, and stopped struggling to get him off. She didn't know what to say, she thought that he didn't like her. "And if you do as much as piss me off, then I swear, get out of my sight before I kill you."
The priestess lay there as Cain took his weight off her and went back to his side, staring back at the wall again. Mina still didn't know what to say. Cain was full of surprises.
"I thought that I annoyed you." Mina said softly. Was it true, what he said? She was Cain's?
"No. Your dancer friend annoys me."
In the dark, Mina smiled sheepishly to herself. Of course, so many people found Rai annoying.
Before the assassin cross drifted off to sleep, a frail hand found its way to the front of his chest. He blinked as she nudged him to face her, and when he did, she nuzzled his neck softly. Mina took in his familiar scent—sandalwood.
"Good night." She mumbled against the arch of his neck. Mina felt him shiver for some reason, and she didn't know it was because her breath tickled him. He didn't give back her Good Night, but at the moment, she really didn't mind.
…………
The next morning, Maki, Rai and Seth were the first to wake up. Maki eyed Rai who was walking around with just a shirt that Seth was wearing the previous day.
"Odin, the least you can do is be less vulgar." Maki grumbled under his breath as he drank from his cup of coffee.
"What are you talking about?" Rai raised her eyebrow. "I don't see anything wrong with sleeping with somebody."
Seth and Rai watched at Maki's reaction—suddenly spitting out the coffee in surprise. Rai snapped at the mess he made, but he simply looked up at Seth and Rai in disbelief. Rai was so vulgar.
"She doesn't see anything wrong, but I'm her first." Seth whispered to Maki.
"Wha—HEY! Quit it, I don't want to hear this." Maki yelled. Cain came into the room and ignored their greetings of good mornings.
"There's nothing wrong with sleeping with somebody, so I don't see the need to be subtle." Rai hissed at Maki.
"I strongly disagree." Maki replied.
Rai rolled her eyes then looked at Cain who was seated down and pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Cain, do you think there's anything wrong with sleeping with somebody?"
Seth blinked as Cain gave Rai a 'What the hell' expression and drank from his cup. After a while, Mina came to the room and took a seat beside Cain after greeting everybody good morning.
"Wait…" Rai seemed to realize something. She grabbed Seth and started whispering, "Where did Mina sleep?"
Seth's eyes widened. He realized what Rai meant. Rai got this smirk on her face as she decided that it was time to tease certain people in the room, since she knew just how innocent Mina could get.
"Mina, do you think there's anything wrong with sleeping with somebody?" Rai asked out loud.
"Don't ruin her innocence, Rai." Maki said out loud.
Mina shrugged. "What's wrong with that?"
'Perfect.' Rai continued asking Mina questions, "Have you ever slept with a guy Mina?"
"Huh?" Mina tilted her head in confusion. "I just slept with Cain last night."
Silence. The only things heard was Maki suddenly jumping up from his seat and Rai suddenly bursting out laughing. Mina looked around, all confused. Maki was glaring at Cain and Rai was still laughing. She glanced at Seth who was also laughing and nudging Cain suggestively. Why?
Then she glanced at Cain who was ignoring Seth and drinking coffee intently, and his cheeks were bright red from Mina's reply to Rai.
"I told you!" Rai suddenly yelled, still bursting with laughter. "He's blushing, Mina! I tooold you!"
Seth continued nudging Cain suggestively, who was know getting more aggravated. He had an expression that seemed to suggest he wanted to kill his partner.
"I'm confused." Mina blinked. "What's such a big deal that I slept with Cain last night?"
"What the hell…" Cain muttered under his breath.
"Mina, Rai meant fornication." Seth grinned at her.
"What's fornication?" Mina asked. She glanced around, and saw Cain bury his face in his hands in exasperation. Annoyed, Mina looked up at Maki. "Maki, what's fornication?"
Maki seemed to hesitate, then he finally spoke up, "It's another word for sex."
Silence.
Everyone in their street seemed to wake up when the priestess whom they thought was so quiet suddenly screamed loudly from embarrassment. It was accompanied by the loud laughs of a certain dancer and a guy named Seth, and also a paladin who was trying to calm Mina down. The only one who wasn't making any noise in that house was an assassin cross named Cain.
To Be Continued