The group was invited to the Wizard King office, although, instead of the Wizard King himself, inside they found a man Oriana had seen before, but couldn't remember his name. He had very distinguished hair...
"Yo, mushroom head," Yami took a long drag from his cigarette. "I hope this is important."
"My name is Marx!" the man shouted, but quickly composed himself. "I'm sorry for having you come all the way to the Headquarters, but the matter is rather urgent."
Marx observed the faces around him, probably to make sure everyone was listening.
"Unfortunately, there is a new threat. Even more unfortunate is that it escaped to the south and is endangering innocent, defenseless people," Marx explained. "The Magic Embassy of Japan contacted us, because there were reports of dark mana in their country, specifically, in the Miyagi Prefecture."
Oriana's heart skipped a beat. She just left the Miyagi Prefecture, how could it be?
"Do you know anything about the enemy?" one of the Coral Peacocks inquired.
"They haven't been able to identify the culprit, yet, but from what they have gathered, this new foe feeds off the negative feelings and energy from others and lately their mana has been growing stronger with every passing week. We have no idea of what their intentions are or if they are stable, but the matter has grown past their capabilities." Marx elaborated on the matter, then turned to Oriana and Suga, standing side by side. "Koshi Sugawara and Oriana White. The two of you lived in that area for the last year, correct?"
Unable to give a verbal answer, both of them nodded their heads.
"The Wizard King and I already read your reports of the accidents in that mean time. None of them seemed connected to this case." Marx spoke. "Since the two of you are familiar with the area, the Wizard King would like to ask you to return and investigate for how long necessary. Of course, the King is aware the both of you are preparing for the upcoming war with the new demon and this will affect your training. This is why it is up to you to decide if you want to go back to Japan and take the matters into your hands or if you'd rather stay and keep training. In case you choose the latter, another team will be sent."
"I don't understand…" Oriana was breathing heavily. "We just- we just left there and everything was fine. The Miyagi Prefecture is a small and happy town... where did this come from?"
"Something must have triggered the dark energy for this mage to feed on." Finral mumbled under his breath.
"They say heartbreak really fucks with you." Yami adds while biting his cigarette.
With wide open eyes, Oriana stared at something that wasn't there. Daichi. The Karasuno team. When Sugawara looked at Oriana, she didn't seem to be breathing. Sugawara himself was pale and his hands felt colder than ever.
Did we do this to them?
Given the rest of the day off, Oriana was not sure what to do with herself. For the first time in her life, she wasn't able to make a decision on the spot with her usual confidence. The Wizard King was kind enough to give her and Sugawara time to think. In about a week they would have to go back and report their decision, in case they said no, the Wizard King would just assign another team to go to Miyagi.
However, Oriana just arrived in the Clover Kingdom after a whole year. She had the determination to train alongside her squadmates and had a heat inside her that filled her with the will to fight, but if her Miyagi friends were in danger and if there was the slightest chance it might be her fault, she couldn't just do nothing about it. It was her theory that her and Suga's departure might have something to do with all this. She left not even two months ago and she might be coming back already. The travel time to Japan, investigating the occurrence, finding the culprit and a probable fight to stop whatever their intentions might be. This could take months of training she couldn't afford to miss.
Stumbling in her feet while passing in her room, she wondered what Suga might do. He seemed just as lost as Oriana. Then, her lungs seemed incapable of taking any sort of air. It was the feeling of drowning again. When things finally seemed okay, something had to happen and strangle her when she is already barely able to breathe normally. That knot in her throat, it seemed to never leave her alone. She had to get it under control, but her panicking heart started pounding inside her chest.
The open to her room suddenly opens and a familiar voice boasts in her ears.
"Hey, bean! If you're free come train with me! There is no time for you to slack off!"
Zora is as nagging as ever and was using his stentorian voice, making Oriana stop in her tracks. With her back turned to the door, she cleared her throat and put on a smile before replying,
"I know, I know."
"What's wrong with your face?" Zora asked puzzled.
"It's just my face." Oriana's voice had a brittle in it that Zora caught on to.
Gripping her shoulder, Zora stopped her from leaving the room. Oriana couldn't hold in her emotions any longer. Tears started to fill her eyes and fall into her clothes. Moving carefully, Oriana turned to Zora and wrapped him in her arms, crying into his chest. He sighed, but put a hand on the top of her hand and brought her body closer to his.
"Why are you crying? Aren't you happy to be with me?" Zora's voice was lowered for Oriana only.
Even though Oriana knew she shouldn't be holding him too close, she couldn't help it in her moments of weakness. She might have to go back to Miyagi once again, leaving Zora with prospects of his imagination of what might be like to have Oriana close like this all the time.
Oriana felt her body being dragged away from the door frame, almost making her stumble, and heard the door being shut closed. When she couldn't feel Zora's hands anymore, she looked up to his face with blurry eyes. Zora took his mask off and then dropped it on Oriana's desk that was within reach distance. Without a single word, Zora grabbed Oriana's arms and put them around his own shoulders. Before she knew it, Oriana couldn't feel the floor under her feet anymore and was being laid out sideways on her bed with Zora holding her close to him.
With his lips attached to the top of Oriana's head, Zora said,
"Only this once, let's skip the training."
After a moment, Oriana's breathing eventually became stable, with tears drying on her face. With all the overwhelm around her, at least this never felt wrong. Zora being the hand that reaches out to her, Oriana was the light that brought him to shore.
"I am happy." Oriana whispers before drifting off.
In the middle of the night Zora woke up in the same position in Oriana's bed. Her steady breathing against his skin and the stillness of her body told Zora she was still sleeping profoundly and probably would until the morning, even if he couldn't really see her face clearly. There was barely a sheen of light from the moon.
Zora didn't think he would ever be beside Oriana again. He knew how stubborn she could be and when she left, he was sure he would never see her again. The sky itself fell when he heard the news, and rage ran wild inside him for letting himself be fooled like that. Who knew, commoners can be as merciless and cold as nobles and royals. To prove that theory, he crumpled the letter Oriana left him and trashed it before reading it. However, a year is a long time.
Shifting carefully, Zora put Oriana and himself under the sheets. Maneuvering in the dark, he tried his best not to wake her up. His freezing skin welcomed the protection of the fabric and the heat coming from Oriana by his side.
Even though he was so sure he would never see her again, a small part of him was thriving on that wish. A year later, their bond and love was not lost. It wasn't too late.
The fierce wind made Oriana's black robe flutter in every direction as she and Zora made their way for today's mission. Clouds painted the bright blue sky every so often and greenery covered the ground of the forest below them. Oriana had secured her hair with an elastic on the top of her head, but her strands were so long that they still glued to her lips or covered her view. It was way too early to deal with Captain Yami's obnoxious request.
A priest had come directly to the Black Bulls headquarters that morning in a panic. A giant creature had taken over his house and he asked for help to retrieve his home from the beast. Bad timing was to blame, because Zora and Oriana arrived first to the main hall and just in time for Yami to assign them the mission. They didn't really have a choice or a saying on the matter, no one is to contradict Captain Yami's bad mood. It should provide them some battle training at least.
It took them awhile to find the priest's house in the middle of the trees and greenery, but Oriana spotted a lovely brick cottage in an open area and a lovely garden nearby. It had to be it.
"Did he even say what kind of beast it was?" Zora asked, jumping from his broom.
"The priest said he didn't manage to take a look at it. Only that it was huge and tried to eat him."
"Seriously…"
Taking a look around the house, nothing seemed suspicious. No noise from inside the house and they couldn't see anything weird from the windows.
"I'm going in." Oriana said, already feeling how irritable Zora was getting. "Maybe the priest just had a nightmare or something."
Zora clicked his tongue and crossed his arms in response.
Oriana opened her grimoire and turned the pages until she found the spell for her swords. Better safe than sorry. Opening the front door, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was a normal living room and the kitchen was clear too. If it was such a beast, she should have been able to see it by now. Although, just as she was turning to go back, she heard rattling inside the house and looked over her shoulder. Hissing right behind her was a gigantic serpent, with its eyes on her, ready to attack.
"Shit!" Oriana shouted, running outside.
"Huh?" Zora was peeking inside the house.
"Get out of the way!" as she yelled, she pushed Zora with her own body weight, making the both of them fall to the ground as the serpent jumped over them.
It's whole body had jumped out of the house and was now on the courtyard eyeing the duo.
"That's a really big ass serpent." Zora commented, snickering.
The serpent jumped again, opening its mouth. Oriana and Zora jumped out of the way, each to one side. The sheer force of the creature destroyed the entrance of the cottage. Unbothered, noticing it missed its target, the serpent turned to Oriana.
"Very well," Oriana said, getting rid of her swords and flipping the pages of her grimoire. "Bone Creation Magic: Morph Touch"
With this spell, long tendrils of bone came out of the nape of her neck, but before she had the chance to do anything else, the serpent jumped again in her direction.
"Velocity Rush"
In a blink of an eye, Oriana was in the air just over the serpent. Aware of how long the spell would last, Oriana knew she had to act quickly.
"Take this," Oriana shouted. "Blast Battler"
The tips of her tendrils lighten in a blue glow before blasting powerful bursts of mana towards the serpent. Although, these didn't seem to be doing much to the serpent as it hissed at her. Dodging another attack, Oriana noticed Zora on the side just observing the fight between her and the serpent with an amused look on his face and a hand on his hip.
"Are you having fun?" Oriana yelled at him.
"Yeah, sorry." Zora boasted, opening his grimoire and getting ready to draw a magic circle. "Your ability to distract me is unmatched!"
Snapping her head in his direction and ceasing her own atack, Oriana almost got swallowed whole by the serpent before evading.
"This is not the time to say things like that!" Oriana yelled. "You're impossible!"
"I'm ready!"
Looking down, Oriana recognized Zora's magic circle being drawn in the air. In one last evasive move, Oriana aimed all of her six tendrils towards the Zora. The magic circle in front of him engulfed the mana blast completely.
"Look here you ugly thing!" Zora boasted.
The serpent turned to him, seeing a prey completely open, it jumped in its direction. The serpent was too fast, the counter wouldn't be ready in time. Oriana deactivated her blasts and extended her tendrils to imprison the serpent seconds before it swallowed Zora. With Oriana holding the serpent in place, Zora had the chance to counter attack directly into the serpent's open mouth with twice or maybe thrice the power of Oriana's blast. Instantly, the serpent's body went limp in Oriana's bone tendrils. With the time she had left from her flying spell, Oriana made sure to drop the creature as far away from the priest's home as possible.
By the time they were coming back to the Black Bulls headquarters, Oriana's stomach was rumbling and she wondered if they would still be on time for breakfast.
"The priest should be pleased with our work, you think he might give us some sort of compensation?" Oriana asked.
"He better or I might kill him. And it better be food, I'm starving."
"Hopefully something Charmy can cook."
"Is there anything that woman can't cook? Or eat?" Zora snickered.
Suddenly, Oriana started to stare at the broom beside hers, annoyance filing her voice all of a sudden.
"Actually, if we get any reward, I'm keeping most of it. You barely did anything."
"Huh? What's up with that?"
"You were just standing there most of the time."
"I was appreciating the view." Zora hummed. "I might like you more than I had planned to."
His smirk made Oriana look away from him.
"Shut up. That's embarrassing."
"I know you like it!" Zora boasted.
Not a second passed before Oriana felt something landing in her head. Catching it between her finger and bringing it to eye level, a terrible stench filled her nose. Zora had just thrown a stink bug at her which Oriana got rid of immediately.
"You are such an asshole!"
As intolerable as this man was, Oriana would never admit to how fast her heart was beating inside of her chest. This might be the first time Zora openly admitted to having any feelings for Oriana whatsoever. Normally they would just behave like a married old couple, bicker and have some private moments. Although, ever since she came back to the Clover Kingdom, Zora has been more talkative and open towards her. On the other hand, Oriana feared that she didn't change whatsoever.
The dynamic inside the Black Bulls was the same as she remembered, but in the past few weeks, she had the chance to witness their individual growth. None of these people were the same as they were a year ago. They were stronger. However, as she looked in the mirror, Oriana thought of herself as weaker compared to them. Retrieving her usual blue, white and silver outfit, holding the Black Bulls robe close to her chest, she wondered if it was really enough to bring things back to normality. Was she any stronger than last time? Then she would snap herself back to reality, thinking how she was at it again and shaked all of her intrusive thoughts away.
That morning, at the Black Bulls base there was barely any time for breakfast before there was a loud roaring knock on the front door. Keeping her eyes on her plate, Oriana decided to ignore it as it might be another mission. Right now, nothing would come between her and Charmy's cooking. It seemed to exist a silent agreement around the table, as no one moved to open the door. The clinking of tableware being interrupted by the persistent knocking,
"Seriously? No one is going for the door?" Magna grunts.
Seeing no reaction, Magna put down his spoon and got up from his chair.
"I'm coming!" Magna shouted as the roaring knocks continued.
Oriana looked up from her plate, this situation seemed way too familiar for her taste.
"I said I'm coming, jeez!" Magna yelled again.
Before he could even get to the door, it jolted in his direction knocking him to the ground.
"Oh no, not again. Not during breakfast!" Finral cried.
An imposing figure marched in the Black Bulls base. The immense heat, the familiar mana, the red long Vermillion hair. All these clues were a call for trouble.
"There you are, you punks!" Mereoleona called. "You have nothing to do today, right? Then you are all coming with me!"
With no time to answer, claws made of magic fire grabbed the head of everyone present and pulled them from their seat.
"Oh c'mon let us eat!" Asta cried.
"Are we going to fight someone strong again?" Luck asked enthusiastically.
"It's not the vulcano again, is it?" Magna's voice was full of regret already.
"Wrong! Today I'm going to take you to a high class, Vermillion level training! You need it, you're growing weaker instead of stronger!" Mereoleona reprimanded.
"So mean..." Noelle commented.
"Especially you," Mereleona pulled Oriana to her eye level. "You are behind in all training. So you will be doing double the exercises as everyone else."
Oriana shrieked just from the thought.
"Please, Lady Mereoleona. Go easy on me." Oriana pleaded, grabbing the mana on her head, trying to get free from its grasp.
"I think that's fair." Zora boasted.
"Shut up!" Oriana yelled.
"Don't worry Oriana, I don't mind doing the exercises with you! Train me hard too Sisgoleon!"
"It's Mereoleona." the Vermillion roared.
"I already packed some lunches for the occasion!" Charmy chirped.
Without much of an option, the Black Bulls were dragged out of their base by the mighty Mereoleona Vermillion to the heating weather outside. It was only common sense not to defy her.
Oriana and the others followed Mereoleona thinking they were going to another sight with crazy levels of mana, but soon enough they arrived at the capital, which was unusual. Oriana then remembered the venue for the Magic Knights entrance exam, that would be a decent place to train. As the group followed Mereoleona's march, Oriana looked at her surroundings. They were becoming disturbingly familiar. She started to recognize the high tailoring stores, the restaurants. When a group of young kids ran past their group, Oriana realized those were the same streets she used to play as a kid with her sister before she became too sick to accompany her. Halting in her step, she looked ahead and there it was. The Clover Castle.
Her body froze, unable to move, Oriana tried to clench her fists to regain the control of her body, but she couldn't cease the trembling of her fingers. Her eyes were wide with terror when spotting the castle, high in the terrain. An alarm screeched inside her mind, taking a step behind Oriana thought of running in the other direction. If she caught Mereoleona distracted, maybe she could just run for it. Certainly she wouldn't miss one less Black Bull, there were so many. She took another step back. Anything but that place, she couldn't risk it.
"Hey, you! The one that's been playing hooky!" Mereoleona roared to the back of the group, but Oriana couldn't even hear her. "Don't get behind!"
Vanessa was the closest to Oriana, as the witch approached her friend in a daze, she spoke with a soft voice,
"Oriana? What's wrong?" Vanessa touched Oriana's hand, only to be slapped away. "Calm down, Oriana!"
Then, Zora intervened as well, gripping Oriana's shoulders, he called for her.
"Snap out of it!" Zora spoke.
Oriana couldn't hear his voice clearly, her eyes danced around his face unable to focus on one spot.
"Oriana, look into my eyes." Zora said. "Look at me."
Then she found them, those piercing blue eyes now searching for hers.
"Good, now breathe. Take a deep breathe, c'mon."
Following Zora's order, Oriana took as much oxygen as her lungs could take and let the air out.
"Maybe she could just skip this one time." Noelle suggested to Mereleona.
"Denied. If she is scared of something, she should just get over it!"
"I don't think that's how it works, Lady Mereoleona."
Dropping her shoulders, becoming aware of her surroundings, Oriana noticed a commotion that stopped in their tracks to observe her little episode. Zora took a step back from her, as Mereoleona approached her.
"Are you going back home crying?" the Vermillion asked, staring into Oriana's very soul. "Or are you going to stand up against whatever is scaring you?"
"I'm not running away, Lady Mereoleona." Oriana held Mereoleona's gaze when saying those words. After a few seconds, she had a content look on her face.
"Good call. Let's go." Mereoleona ordered. Then turned to Oriana again before heading ahead to the front of their group. "Your strongest muscle and worst enemy is your mind. Train it well and no fear will stop you." her voice almost a soft whisper.
Oriana nodded. Mereleona was right. The fear of her past will not stop her. The chains that hold her will not stop her.
It's a big castle, it's almost impossible I'll be running into them.
Oriana thought, walking with some hesitation on her step.
"Are you sure you are okay with this?" Vanessa whispered by her side. "You don't actually have to come if you don't feel comfortable."
"It's fine. I'll endure it." Oriana's words sounded confident, but her hands haven't stopped shaking.
Staying behind the group with Oriana, Zora slipped his hand into hers without saying a word. Oriana gently squeezed his hand and welcomed his warmth.
By the time the Clover Castle gates were opening, her hands weren't shaking anymore. In fact, they were now gripping Zora's hands, certain that nothing could go wrong.
In the main courtyard, in the space shared by the three Royal families, red robes of the Crimson Lions and silver and blue robes of the Silver Eagles filled Oriana's vision and she felt her hand getting almost crushed by Zora's thin fingers..
"Can't believe I got dragged to the midst of them royals. I knew I shouldn't have left the bed this morning."
While Zora was putting a fret and giving nasty looks to every royal looking their way, Oriana had a tense expression on her face looking directly ahead, to the Kira Estate.
There's absolutely no way in hell. Right?
"Stop harassing the royals, we have training to do." Oriana spoke.
"I see you're all better." Zora boasted, but didn't let go of Oriana's hand.
Being led by Mereoleona Vermillion, Fuegoleon Vermilion and Nozel Silva the three squads were divided into groups for separate exercises. Anyone with a black robe was sticking out like a sore thumb and there was some tension building up, especially with Zora around. Mereoleona had separated him from Oriana and left her older sibling to deal with Zora. Terrible idea to whoever you ask. Whatever Mereoleona's plan was, it wasn't working.
Oriana's head was filled with worry and it was difficult to concentrate on any of the targets in front of her. Worried her past would catch up to her and that Zora might actually commit a homicide that day, plus she was getting teased by Magna and Luck for barely getting a dent on her target.
"Don't get distracted by the red head! The target is in front of you, you know?!" Magna joked.
"You used to be stronger than this, Oriana!" Luck commented.
"You know what? Screw this." Oriana finally had enough. "Bone Creation Magic: Bone Swords"
With her swords, Oriana slashed the target into hundreds of pieces in a matter of seconds. Magna whispered, impressed and Luck cheered. These two really were like little kids sometimes.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Magna said.
By the end of the evening, Oriana could barely move her body. She sat on the floor with the other members of the Black Bulls completely out of breath with no strength left in their limbs.
"Good thing Finral is with us, I'm not sure I could fly all the way back right now." Vanessa sighed.
"Yeah, yeah. At least give me a minute. I'm not some transport service, you guys know that." Finral grunted.
"Black Bulls, to your feet. The Kira family is coming to greet us." Nozel ordered with a cold glare.
Oriana's body froze once again. Why were they coming? What was the need to greet the mages?
Stupid formalities, this is exactly why I left.
Oriana exchanged looks with Zora, he seemed exhausted just from being pissed all day. His presence definitely would make things harder. Maybe, just maybe if she hid in the back, she wouldn't be noticed. Oriana pulled the hood of her robe over her head and lifted herself to her feet, then joined her friends as the Kira family was took a peak from under her hood and recognised Finesse Calmreich, a frail looking woman, and the severe presence of her father, Albert Calmreich.
"Of course the king himself wouldn't come. We're probably not good enough for his Majesty to get his ass out of his chair." Zora commented and gained an elbow in the ribs courtesy of Noelle.
Just blend in the crowd, they won't even notice.
Fuegoleon introduced both of the members of the Kira family and Finesse and her father gave a brief speech that Oriana heard nothing of. Focusing her sight on the ground and all her other senses on just blending in, not standing out in any way, shape or form. When they were dismissed, Oriana dropped her shoulders as she turned away towards the exit. She barely took two steps before she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder.
"Excuse me," a weak voice spoke to her. "You have really beautiful black hair, it reminds me of someone I lost. Could you let me see your face?"
Finesse's voice was so gentle, her tone was so kind and humble, in comparison with most loyals, but this very moment, without even knowing it, she was cornering Oriana with her kind words. She thought of politely refusing. Knowing Finesse, she wouldn't cause a fret because of that, but like he was reading her mind, Albert Calmreich spoke with his usual stern tone.
"Have you not heard Lady Finesse's request? Take off that hood this instant."
His voice brought back memories of dark rooms and broken bones. Oriana decided that very second that all Gods had abandoned her.
"Oriana, that's incredibly rude." Finral whispered in her direction.
"That's my girl!" Zora's shrill laugh made some heads turn to his direction.
Oriana lifted her head. There was no other way around it. Any other scenarios she thought, none of those would result in a peaceful resolution. Only one way to not cause too much problem to everyone else besides herself. She would carry the burden. It was her problem, she would not involve anyone else. Even if it was too late for that already.
Turning to Finesse, Oriana took a step back before removing the hood from her head. Her brown and purple gaze buried into Finesse's purple eyes.
"My goodness." Finesse gasped.
Her father was observing every trace of Oriana's face speechless. She was incapable of smiling to them, of doing anything but her neutral expression. Fighting the urge to run away from the Castle, Oriana fixed her stance.
"Dulce?" Albert called.
Oriana ignored him, keeping her eyes fixed on Finesse's.
"Dulce, it's you isn't it?" her father took a step towards Oriana, but she backed away on instinct.
"Hm, what's going on?" Asta asked.
"It couldn't be…" Noelle's was also in disbelief. "It never even crossed my mind."
Oriana could hear the whispers and senseless chatter behind her, as they got more and more oppressive, she became unable to recognize the sounds. Then, she felt gentle hands cupping her face.
"It's really you." Finesse sighed. "My beautiful sister is alive."
Her teary eyes moved Oriana. She knew they were real, she knew the relief in Finesse's voice was real. Although she couldn't say the same about her own father's behaviour. There was some drama added to his stunned expression. He was never concerned about Oriana's well being, as long as she filled her role as the Kira's youngest daughter, her father was not one to care.
Oriana accepted Finesse's embrace, but now glared in her father's direction. The orange hues of the sunset made him seem older and his marble skin had more wrinkles than Oriana remembered, they twisted with the concern he was trying to portray, a facade that only Oriana could recognize. To everyone else around them, he would look like a distressed father who finally found his long lost daughter, but Oriana could see the malicious smirk behind the mask.
The screeches of Finral and Asta made Oriana break eye contact with her father.
"You're a royal?" they both screamed in unison.
"I heard about the missing Calmreich daughter. I never imagined it was you, Oriana." Noelle spoke by Oriana's side.
Finesse ended the embrace, but kept her hands on Oriana's shoulders.
"This is a motive for celebration. Dulce Calmreich is back with her family!" Finesse said with enthusiasm in her voice. "Right, father?" she turned to the speechless man.
"What? Wait a second, let's not jump to conclusions…" Oriana spoke.
"I'm so confused." Asta yelled. "How did a training session become a family reunion?"
"Shut up, Stupidsta. You are ruining the moment." Noelle reprimanded.
"No, wait. I'm not going…" Oriana was interrupted by her father, who decided to finally speak.
"Are you truly back?" Albert's severe tone did not change. "Are you ready to fill your role as the heir?"
It was just like Oriana suspected. His shock wore off rather quickly. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm still wearing the Black Bulls robe." Oriana spitted.
"This is not the time to argue," Finesse pleaded. "Father, let us forget the duties for one night. Please father, I got my sister back. It is an occasion to celebrate."
Oriana did not have the nerve to tell her sister the truth. As for their father, he was muted, pondering his oldest daughter's suggestion. A malicious grin grew on his face that made Oriana take a step back, but no one else seemed to notice. This time it wasn't even hidden behind a mask, it was right there in the public eye.
"It is settled. Let us welcome my youngest daughter with a feast!"
As her eyes widened, Oriana took a glance at her squad mates. Oriana could never forget that expression on her father's face. His punishments, his ruling hand. In her panic, she managed to spot Zora already half way through the courtyard on his way out and her heart fell from her chest. She couldn't let him go without saying anything, she made that mistake before. With that in mind, Oriana broke free of her sisters gentle hands and jolted in Zora's direction.
"Wait" Oriana called. "Zora, wait!"
Much to her surprise, Zora did halt his step and looked behind his shoulder.
"Don't you have a fancy celebration to go to?" Zora asked with disregard in his voice. That tone was never, not even once, directed to Oriana like that.
"I don't want a stupid celebration." Oriana said in her gasp for air. "I never wanted any of it. All I want right now is make sure you're okay."
"I'll be fine. I'm always fine."
"No, you're not."
"Seriously, just go." Zora started walking towards the exit. "Don't let your family wait."
"At least let me explain for once!" Oriana persisted, but the distance grew between them. "Damn it!"
Her sister's gentle hand found her way to her sister again, but Oriana could barely feel it. Her legs urged to run to Zora, but her sister's love pulled her inside the Clover Castle. Passing through her squad mates, her body was not answering to her own will anymore. She looked at everyone's shocked faces. Asta was the most confused of them all, but Magna furrowed his eyebrows in a preoccupied expression that not even his sunglasses could hide. Oriana held his gaze with her own. Out of anyone there, she knew Magna would be the one who understood that she was, in that moment, screaming out her lungs for help.
Noelle watched her friend being escorted inside the Clover Castle, into the Kira Estate. She had heard all about it, she remembered the environment in her house when it happened. When the youngest daughter of the Calmreich family had gone missing. Noelle had never met Dulce Calmreich and never had seen her face without the disturbance of adults legs or some sort of head piece, but it was a mourned name in the Royals' midst.
Albert Calmreich stayed behind with some of the Royal Guards. He remained silent, scratching his shin while he faced the two reunited sisters. He was acting strange for someone who had just found his long lost daughter, in Noelle's opinion. He did not cry a single tear or bend his mouth into the slightest faint of smile. In fact, he didn't dare to touch her. Before leaving and trailing behind his two daughters, he spoke to the Black Bulls with a cold and severe look in his eyes,
"You did some good, keeping Dulce alive. However, don't expect her to return." Albert divulged. "Her playtime is over. She will make her debut tomorrow night. as she should have years ago and she will fulfill her role. It is decided. Of course, all members of the Silva family will be welcomed." he was speaking to Noelle only. "Now it's time for you to go home."
With this, he turned his back to the Black Bulls, leaving the group in disbelief.
"What the hell does this mean?" Asta yelled, waving his arm around. "Give us Oriana back!"
"Stop it, Shrimpsta." Magna put a arm in front of Asta before he did anything stupid as usual. "We will need Captain Yami for this."