CHAPTER 29
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6 DAYS TO GO
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Joey woke up early as usual to do some exercise, but she was slightly tired from what she and Isabella had done yesterday
They caused some minor trouble in the town center, playing in the fountain and accidentally broke a pipe in the fountain; letting it turn into an instant geyser, destroying some stores near the fountain
Their mother, Queen Katherina, was dismayed but not angry with her daughters
She knew the reason for their mischief; and she hope she can handle their misbehavior for a week
Where will they go today?
What will they do?
The questions ran through Joey's mind will she took her last couple breathing exercises
"Lady Josephine?" Gina knocked on her door
"Come in!" She called back at her, stretching her arms up
"Breakfast is served in the dining room"
"I'll be down soon" Joey removed her clothes and changed into dress, just trimmed above her knees
She paced out her room and down to the dining room, casually greeting the servants as she passed by
"Ushishishi~"
"Bel?" She spun around, hoping to find her blond prince
"It's adorable how you miss him" Isabella giggled, walking up to her
"You got my hopes up for a second there" She sighed, continuing down the hall
"Aw, I miss Fran just as much as you miss Belphegor" Her sister hugged her arm
"We have 6 days. How can we blow that off?" Joey waited for the servants to open the dining room doors, she would do it herself but Isabella chained herself to her arm
"Buongiorno" their mother greeted, seated at the edge of the 5 meter, cherry wood table
"Buongiorno, mother" They greeted her in unison, separating to opposite sides of the table
"What mischief will you two cause today?" Katherina raised her cup of tea to her lips
"We still don't know, but we'll make sure to keep the town intact" Joey stirred her cereal, cornflakes with slices of strawberries and bananas, and fresh milk
"That would be highly appreciated" Their mother stated after a sip of French vanilla tea
"It's a beautiful day, but we're clueless in what to do" Isabella sighed, shoving a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth
"Camping!" Joey exclaimed
"In Cuore forest!" Isabella replied
"Absolutely not" Katherina interrupted, taking another sip from her tea
"Why not?" the youngest puckered her lips, and burrowed her eyebrows together
"Mother, we're completely capable taking care of ourselves. We'll make sure to be back by tomorrow afternoon!" whined Joey, shrugging her shoulders slowly
"Bring Gina along" The queen reasoned, looking over to the brunette servant, who instinctively nodded
"That's even better!" Joey and Isabella chimed in unison, hugging their mother
"Calm yourselves, sweethearts, even though I trust your safety with Gina, I'm still not sure about letting you push through with this idea"
The siblings sat straight and curiously stared at their mother
"It's bad to ogle, especially when we're on the table" Katherina replied, taking another long sip from the white porcelain cup
"The only thing allowed to do on the table is eating and living, anything else is bad!" Isabella remarked
Joey shook her head "On to more serious matter, what is with Cuore forest?"
Katherina laid her tea down and wiped her lips dry with a pastel blue linen
"There must be a reason why you don't want us to go there" Isabella pouted once more, bringing her glass of juice to her lips
"Excuse me, my daughters, I have something to attend to with the aristocrats" Katherina stood up from her seat
"Mother!" Her offspring's moaned at her, watching her leave the table
"If you want to go to Cuore forest so badly, then go and find out for yourselves why I do not want you to go there. Have a spirited adventure my loves, and take care of one another" She chimed before striding out the room
"…"
"Lady Josephine, may I proceed and pack your belongings for the camping trip?" Gina spoke up from behind Joey's chair
"No, we'll do it ourselves" The two chimed together
…
"Ne, I'm really curious about what's in Cuore Forest… Mother clearly didn't want us to be there" Isabella slipped on a pair of tight camouflage shorts over pastel green leggings
"I hope she's not that mad at us for persisting too much" Joey let out a deep sigh, tightening her black shin-high buckled boots
After Isabella slithered into a black, fitted tank top, Joey couldn't help but comment at her outfit
"It's like you belong to a fashion military camp" She pointed out, whilst Isabella was tying her hair into a side swept ponytail
Joey was wearing something simple: a purple shirt with its sleeves folded neatly up to her shoulders, black cargo pants and black, knee-high tops and her hair was tied to short pigtails
"Okay, okay. I look too high class. Let me be" She grumbled, hoisting her sleeping bag behind her
"I'm bringing my sleeping bag, a jacket, and my weapon" Joey stated, showing her closed weapon (metal rod form of her chain scythes) to Isabella
"Same here! Do you think Gina is done?" She walked out of Joey's room
"She'll be bringing the same and food as well"
"I'm ready, my ladies. Shall we go?" Gina greeted them in front of the courtroom, carrying a basket on her forearm; wearing the royal palace's maid uniform
Modeled after the French maid uniform, the uniform was a long sleeved dress, having a black sheer lace neck and sleeves. The ivory corset sculpted the perfect hourglass shape and its breezy, knee-length balloon skirt made it easy for servants to move. Palace maids are required to wear black stockings and 3 inched ankle boots
"We'll drop by mother first, we'll take a carriage ride going down town" Joey excused Gina and intently looked at Isabella
Her younger sister nodded and prodded off to the courtroom, where her mother sat on the throne
On both sides of the room by the throne, are the aristocrats of Aerbourne, 20 of them at least, they are named as the 20 nobles
"Mother?" Isabella and Joey walked down the aisle, hurriedly
"Are you about to depart? Have a safe camping trip, sweethearts" Their mother bid, her back straight, her arms folded like a lily on her laps, and her smile humble as it can be
"Th-thank you mother, but… you really won't tell us about Cuore forest?" the siblings jumped when one of the aristocrats pounded the table
"Cuore forest? Outrageous! Your majesty, you must not allow them to go in there!" A rather round man protested, standing up from his seat
"With all due respect, your Majesty, I, too, agree with Sir Mario" agreed thin man on the other side of the court
"Now, now, I can't hide this from them forever. They must find out sooner or later" Katherina calmed them down
"But your majesty…" Another man spoke up, anxiously glancing at Joey
Katherina lowered her head and closed her eyes "Josephine, Isabella, the reason why I don't want you to go to is because Cuore forest is where criminals, villains, sinners, and such are buried there"
"And so?" From Joey's peripheral vision, she could see the 20 Nobles' rumor among themselves
"IT'S HAUNTED!" Isabella jumped into Joey's arms, while a teenage boy laughed at her
"That's not funny!" the blue haired female scolded, blushing of embarrassment
"I'm sorry, your highness!" the slick, chocolate haired boy bowed down, holding back his laugh
Isabella scowled at him while Joey let her down
"Nathaniel!" A noble to their right sternly called out "Get back here!"
"All right, all right" He nonchalantly walked back by his father, hands shoved into his trousers pockets
"Actually, Sir Lucas, I would like to ask your son to accompany my daughters in their little camp" Katherina kindly asked the noble
"Why of course, your majesty! Nathaniel, will you accompany our highnesses?" His father placed a hand on his shoulder
"It's a mere suggestion, Nathaniel. You may decline if you wish" The queen added
"I'll go your majesty. It would be an honor to escort your daughters" Nathaniel bowed down
"Very well, you may go, Josephine, Isabella"
"But wait! That's it? Cuore forest is the burial sight of sinners?" Joey persisted
"Josephine, promise me that when you see the reason why I don't want you to go there, stay calm" Katherina remained stoic
"Okay…" She was honestly scared of her mother's current emotion
"We'll be going then, mother" Isabella bowed her head then took Joey's hand, leading her out of the courtroom, with Nathaniel tailing behind them
"Are you sure about this, your majesty?" Nathaniel overheard the elders talking
"In truth, I am not. I am afraid of how they will react, but like I had stated before, I cannot hide this from them forever"
…
-Carriage ride to the town center-
"So, Nathaniel" Joey broke the silence in the carriage
Joey, Isabella, and Nathaniel were inside the coach while Gina rode beside the coach driver
"Please, your highness, address me as Nathan" He laughed
"And that would be Joey to you" She replied
"And Isabella!" Isabella inserted, hugging her sisters arms
Nathan nodded at them
"So, Nathan, were you forced to come on our little trip?" Joey continued her question
"No, your high-er-Joey, I just came on my own whim. If you don't mind, may I ask why you want to camp in Cuore forest?" He asked, letting his green eyes clash with Joey's blue orbs
"We're blowing off a week until our flight back to Italy, so far, we have 6 more days to go" She replied, sighing inaudibly
"What business do you have in Italy?" Nathan inquiringly looked at them
"Promises" She smiled to herself, clutching to her own hands
"And love" Isabella nudged her, giggling
"And love" Joey's cheeks reddened, remembering Bel
"He must be quite a charmer to captivate a princess like you, funny, respectful, diligent, courteous…"
"You just described him, oppositely" Joey flatly stated, letting out a 'pfft' sound
"Then how can you love a man?" Nathan was obviously confused, raising a brow
"I guess that's it" calmly replying with a smile, Joey looked out the window
"He's immature, selfish, arrogant, and just a boy… but he still knows how to love so I gave him my heart… but if he breaks it, I'll definitely rip his own heart out… LITERALLY"
"Aha… how about you, Isabella?" Nathan's eyes moved to the beaming Isabella
"What about me?" She artlessly asked, shrugging her shoulder ever so lightly
"Why go to Italy?"
Isabella paused and smiled "I can't live without my sister… and also, I guess you can say there's a boy involved"
"Oh… is that so?" He seemed displeased
"How about you, Nathan, is there a girl you fancy?"
"There is, she's quite beautiful and very much my type, however… I believe there's no chance for us to be" He sighed
"Why do you think so?" Joey looked out the window and noticed they're a couple more minutes away from the town center
"She loves another. She barely knows me. I barely exist to her…"
Isabella took his hands "There's always hope as long as the bud will survive through winter, it will blossom soon. Please don't give up"
"We're here!" Joey interrupted, causing Nathan to retrieve his hands
Gina opened the door for them and Nathan went out first to help them get out of the carriage
"Aerbourne really likes to keep things traditional" Isabella remarked, hoping off the coach while holding Nathan's hand
"It's the reason why our country is rich. I've read some documents, that the reason why were partly modernized is to prevent corruption and poverty" He said, dusting his pants off
"My ladies, shall we?" Gina bowed down to them
"Wait, Nathan, you didn't bring anything with you!" the blue haired beauty exclaimed
"It's fine, I have survival instincts. I'm not like those stuck-up aristocrat sons who have 10 servants waiting on him every day" He scoffed at the idea of it
"I only have 1 servant, and I even treat her as my best friend" Joey grinned at Gina who smiled back
…
They almost reached the center of the forest already by dusk, running into some gravestones
"Hey, Nathan, were you serious about this forest being haunted?" Isabella started to hug herself, clutching to Joey's back and his arm
"Are you scared?" He seemed amused by her question
"I think we should set up camp here" She worriedly suggested
"I think it's best if we are at the center of the forest" Joey didn't mind her sister's fear and continued on
"Actually, my lady, your mother instructed me not to let you go any further" Gina informed them
"I'm getting sick and tired of this; you can't stop me, Gina. I'll push through and find out why we're not allowed here. It's just a sinner's graveyard" She irritably grumbled
"Do you remember that night when you went on an outburst after your mother rejected you?" the worried tone in Gina's voice made her turn around
"Why…"
"Josephine!" Isabella gasped, widening her eyes at the horizon
She snapped around and found a gravestone, engraved with the name "Jonathan Giovanne" followed by the words "Traitor of Aerbourne"
"What's the meaning of this…" Joey's eyes grew wet with anguish and confusion
"Please calm down, Lady Josephine" Gina grabbed Nathan's arm and pulled him back
"Why is my father in the sinner's grave?"
"Josephine, calm down" Isabella whispered, stepping back
"I'm the one who killed him, I should be here"
"Sir Nathan, I think it's best if you hide for now" Gina advised
Joey walked to the grave and fell on her knees "You don't deserve this…"
She balled her hands on the ground, both of her rings ignited
Purple and indigo flames merged as she opened her eyes and tears rolled down her face
"Calm yourself, Josephine"
"NO!" She clawed the loose soil with her fingers, releasing all the anguished flames
"Josephine! Believe it or not, everyone must have wanted him to be here!" Isabella called out
The flames disappeared in a snap, returning back to the mist and cloud rings
Joey slowly rose to her feet, not minding the dirt caught in her clothes and hands
"Do you want him to be here?" her sister's morose tone sent chills down her spine, Nathan's as well, while he stood behind a tree
"Of course not, Josephine…" Isabella coughed, feeling a different mood set in "But… we can't do anything about it!"
"YES WE CAN! WE CAN BEG TO MOVE HIS GRAVE TO SOMEWHERE ELSE! NOT HERE!" Narrowed blue slits turned to Isabella, making her take a step back
"I don't think… we can"
"Yes we can! He doesn't deserve to be here, I DO! I killed him! With my own hands! I slaughtered Aerbourne's king, my own goddamned father! I should be here!" Joey fell back on her knees and punched the ground
"You're Aerbourne's hero" Nathan unintentionally stated
"…" Joey looked up at him "For… killing my father?"
Gina and Isabella snapped their heads at him, mouthing at the same time "Shut up"
"I…" She chuckled "I was proclaimed my countries hero for killing my father!"
"You should have kept your mouth shut" Isabella whispered to Nathan, pushing him back more
"How could I forget this? They made a monument for me! FOR KILLING MY FATHER" Joey stopped laughing and blinked her insane eyes forward
"Josephine… what are you thinking of?" Her younger sister couldn't help but realize how familiar the look in her eyes were
That blood thirsty look… it was exactly the same as the day she turned her back on their father
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Sorry if it took so long, like always, SCHOOL was in the way.
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