"Summer…." Rikiya trailed off at Summer's abrupt decision.
"It has been foretold in fate. I have to. I'm sorry." Summer kissed her knight on the forehead. "Find someone else to love, please…" she begged, tearing up inside. She was such a warrior and so brave; Rikiya only felt bad that they would have to actually face their problems.
"All right. I'll lead you back to the castle…. But remember… I'll protect you," he promised, giving her a long, meaningful hug. He bit his lip, not ready to tell her about himself yet. She nodded and let him take her back to the castle.
Once they arrived, Summer called forth an assembly of everyone in the castle. She even forced her mom to come.
"I was about to run away from this kingdom," she admitted, "and run off with the person I love. But on my way I found the Klastiam army on our border, getting ready to attack. They will kill us." Everyone gasped as they listened.
"Crap. Your father would normally deal with this, but…" Fall bit her lip. "…I put the responsibility of protecting everyone on your shoulders." She smiled at her daughter.
Summer frowned. "All right. The Klastiam army will destroy us, so—"
Winter cut her off. "They can't get past the fissure!" he reminded her.
"Someone gave them technology to go over it." She frowned.
"Damn that person," Peach grimaced.
"I thought only Kuya could do that sort of technology, though!" Fall remembered. Everyone was silent as they realized that Kuya could actually create things.
"I want some guards to go fetch him." Some of her army saluted. "Now, Klastiam will attack in three days…. I need some brave soldiers to listen in on their plans, someone who's sneaky and can do it." Nobody stood up and volunteered; finally, Snow's hand ventured up.
"I will. You and I are friends. I'll try to help you, Summer," she vowed. Daiki looked horrified. Now even Snow was in danger because of this kingdom! He grit his teeth and vowed that he would do his job properly and kill all the royalty.
"Thanks." Summer smiled. "Now… I'm going to try to negotiate with the kingdom when they attack. I'm going to offer our gold to their kingdom."
"Why would you do that?" Winter asked.
"I'm going to try to form an alliance with them…. I'll try to align our countries by marrying Prince Rikiya. If this doesn't work, I'll find him, seduce him and offer myself to him. I don't care if I'm not treated as an equal by him; I just need to save the kingdom." She thought to herself about her jerk of a father. She'd prove to him that she'd save everyone without becoming a jerk and leaving behind small children.
"Winter…. Take care of the kingdom for me if something goes wrong," she requested. He solemnly nodded.
"Wait! Gabehcuod was promised marriage with you!" Saburo piped up. "Does that mean I get to marry your brother?" he asked hopefully.
"No. Winter already has someone he'll marry. And that's me!" Peach smirked and nuzzled up to a very awkward-feeling Winter.
"Can I have Kuya then?" he asked. Everyone shrugged. Nobody liked him; seemed fine to them.
"Sure," Summer answered. She then turned her head to address the more important issues. "Stupid knight, I want you to gather all of our guards and make sure that they're ready to battle if things don't go well." Karl nodded, knowing that this was a situation that needed determination and lack of childish behavior. He decided to be noble for once in his life and not get distracted.
"Come, squire." He pulled Tama away so they could gather troops.
"Rein…." She looked at him, the strongest of the knights who hadn't been assigned to a duty yet. "Stay by my side for now…. Please…" she begged.
"I would never leave it." He leaned down to kiss her, but her finger stopped him.
"I don't want to feel any worse for how we can't be together," she told him softly. He nodded, wondering if she would hate him if she knew the truth.
"Summer…. When we have some alone time… I was wondering if I could talk to you." He stuttered out the words.
"Request granted." She smiled, and then turned back to the crowd. "Everyone prepare! The fissure won't be able to protect us this time! There's no miracle that will save us." She took out a sword to raise it and be dramatic.
"There might be, if you pray to Larissa…." Snow trailed off.
"You worship Larissa?" Summer stopped for a moment, remembering of the speech about Larissa that her kidnapper had given her. Snow nodded.
"Yeah, I do. Pray to God and miracles will come," Snow told her. Summer scowled, not being very religious herself. Especially after that kidnapping incident.
"There's no such thing. People have to supply their own miracles," she answered. Everyone cheered in the crowd at Summer's answer.
"Go off to your duties! Protect the people who can't fight. Hide the young children away, alert the townsfolk, and make sure anyone who can spare a hand can help," she ordered. They all nodded and ran off.
"I'm just going to paint, okay honey?" Fall asked, not that affected by the horrible things happening.
"Mom… I need you to be there when I speak to the army…. I'm a bit… worried…. Promise you'll be there… for me?" Summer asked.
Fall smiled. "I promise, sweetie." She hugged her daughter, and for once Summer believed it wasn't just an empty promise like normal.
After her mother left, Summer checked on the castle, seeing everyone working hard.
"You were amazing," Rein congratulated, "Sweet potato?" he offered, with one in his hand.
"Thanks…" Summer smiled. "I'm so tired from all of that…"
"It took a lot of courage…. How about you rest?" Rein suggested.
Summer smiled. "You're so sweet. All right," she answered, "Rein… you'll be there when I wake up, right?" she asked, worried.
Rein nodded. "I promise," he vowed.
"Rein, what was it that you wanted to tell me?" she asked after a yawn.
"Um…. Uh, nothing…. How about I tell you in the morning, Summer?" he suggested, losing his courage.
Summer nodded. "All right. I'm fine with that," she answered easily. She yawned again. "Thanks for supporting me on this horrible decision. I'm really sorry we couldn't be…."
Rein laughed nervously. "Not even marriage stops true love, Summer. We were meant to be; there are just a few complications." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "I will always love you." She smiled as he sent her off to bed.
So many thoughts were going through his mind. His county was getting ready to attack. Summer wanted to marry Rikiya…. Kuya might be a traitor…. What was he going to do? Rikiya clutched his head as all the thoughts whirled around. At least Summer had three more days of free life at the minimum, though.
Daiki quietly crept through the window with his kunai knife in hand. He saw Summer in a peaceful sleep.
"I'm sorry. I really am… It has to be though. For Snow, for my friend Karl's life… I must complete my mission." He raised the kunai knife above her, ready to stab it into her heart.
"Do you think Rikiya's okay?" Phedra asked her husband Goro, giving him some soup as he and the rest of the troops waited for the dawn of the third day.
"Yeah. He's a great soldier after all…." He nodded. "I can't believe Dad thinks he just abandon Klastiam. I told him that he had gone to murder the princess, but he laughed and pointed out that Princess Summer wasn't dead yet." He sighed, putting his head in his hands. "Why do you think he hasn't killed her yet?" He asked.
"Maybe he fell in love…. I mean, love finds everyone, right? Maybe it found Rikiya in Ebilon," Phedra suggested.
Goro laughed. "My brother would not fall in love. He's disgusted by the stuff. Thanks for trying to cheer me up, though. You're right. He couldn't have betrayed Klastiam or anything; he's probably just training or something." He laughed. Phedra went silent and decided not to point out that she wasn't being sarcastic.
The two went to bed to get the energy they needed for the battle.
So yeah, I maybe should have paced out putting these chapters down?