"You're doing it wrong. All of you!" Rayleigh expressed a disappointment in his voice while looking at the three princesses with sweats running down their foreheads. "It's wrong."
"Then what is right?!" Ann shouts, breathing heavily.
"You are angry and this power is not suitable to those whose anger clouds their judgment." Rayleigh did not waste his time bringing the three of them back into the Valley of Xavaria. The place is no longer sealed like it used to. Many of the Raftelians can now go in and out of it. Its purpose had been served all those years - that is to house those who had been cursed by the Black Magic of Teach.
"Your emotions are all over the place. You must focus." It is cruel to ask this from the three. They just found out the history of their birth, the history of their parents, and now, they are left with their powers to control amid their chaotic emotions.
Even if Rayleigh wants to stop to let them gather their emotions, he cannot. The circumstances do not allow such liberty when danger is upon them. With the revelation of their powers as well as the emergence of the three Magical Kingdoms, there's no doubt that these reached the enemies' ears. If the enemies are determined to end Raftel once and for all, they will grab this chance to attack when they are the most vulnerable, when the powers are still out of order.
"Breathe. Focus your minds, direct it to the depths of your soul. Remember, power comes from within."
Sab sighs heavily, sweating profusely from the exhaustion this training is causing. Not just her, but also the other two.
"Let them rest." Zoro can't help but intervene. The three High Princes have to watch the three princesses yell in frustration because no matter how many hours they spend training their minds, they can't seem to get a hold of Al Draig nor their innate powers.
"I know the situation is dire, but they also need rest, yoi."
Left with no choice, Rayleigh nodded as he sits on the nearby rock, watching the three princesses collapse on the ground. With great power comes great responsibility and with great risks in the body.
"Why is it so hard? You make it look so simple." Luffia complained.
"Al Draig is your will, a power coming from your subconsciousness. A power to protect your people. If you can't learn to clear your minds with the desire to kill your enemy, then you will not have a chance to control this power. Not only that, you will risk harming those you don't intend to. You will be attacking friends and foes alike."
No arguments followed after that for they know that Rayleigh is right, that their hearts are filled with bitterness, questions, fear, doubts.
The hatred they feel is immense towards their enemies, questioning what it was about this Al Draig that it made them greedy, pointing their swords at Raftel? At the bottom of their hearts, they loathe this power for it brought disasters to everyone. Now, they have the power that started everything.
Rayleigh can only shake his head as he leaves the sisters to be alone with the High Princes.
"Here." Zoro gave her a box that contains food to replenish her energy. He knows Luffia needs a distraction and what better way to distract her but to let her eat her fill?
"Thanks!" Even though she's smiling, Zoro can still see the hint of sadness in her eyes.
"Let's eat it in front of the beach. Come on." He spreads his wings, offering her a hand.
"But we're - "
"It's alright. We won't take too long." Luffia looks at her sisters as if asking their permission but the twins are caught up in a conversation with their mates that it doesn't matter if Luffia leaves with Zoro momentarily.
She takes his hand, feeling the light squeeze as he brings her closer to him, wrapping his arm around her waist till there's no space between their bodies. The heat that radiated from each other affected them, but they set that aside for now. It's not the best time to follow their instincts.
Just as they fly away only did the twins notice Luffia is gone with Zoro, but they are not worried for they know Zoro will take care of Luffia.
"You're tense." Marco's soft voice rings in her ears. Her eyes are closed, immersed in that comfortable feeling of the blue fire touching her back. Slowly, Ann feels the exhaustion decrease. He brought her to a place a little far away from Sab and Kidd who's also spending their time together. This is probably what they all need, just to be alone with their mates.
"Should I not?"
"Everyone is, yoi. Yet, I have a feeling you're keeping it bottled up inside of you. You must remember I am here too." Ann turns around to face Marco, meeting his blue eyes filled with worry for her.
"It's..." Marco squeezes her hand, letting her talk. Even with the bond they have, sometimes it is best to let out the emotions through words. The difficulty of doing so is evident in Ann's eyes every time she winces, or when she shakes her head, sighing in defeat. "I hate it. I hate the prophecy."
"Do you hate it because you are part of it?"
"No. I mean... I hate how it cost us our parents. Do they have to die just so the prophecy will be fulfilled?"
"I used to have the same questions, yoi." Marco kisses her palm then continues. "My parents died in that war. A war that originated because of jealousy and greed in the power that your mother had."
In the centuries that passed by, Marco lost count of how many times he despised the fact that the prophecy cost him his people and his parents. Sometimes, he wonders if the prophecy only happened because Rauscher was born. He almost wants to slam his head on the wall for being unfair to the Rareborn Princess, but who can blame him?
Many still hold a grudge against Rauscher for escaping, for hiding, and leaving all of them behind.
"But that prophecy led you to me." He continues. "It brought me the mate I wished for centuries ago. I almost lost hope till you came. We might be wondering what could have happened, but we're here now. We must face what is ahead, accept it. Your mother is one of the kindest beings I've ever known. She wouldn't have wanted you to feel this way. She wouldn't have wanted you to suffer or to fight, but we must. The power that you wield now is what your parents protected all these years."
Ann's tears fell off her eyes.
"I hate this." Her voice is shaking. "I hate them! Why do they have to do this?!"
"I know you hate them. I do, too. We all do. We cannot force ourselves not to feel that way, and it's why we must fight. All deities know how much I hate to see you fight in this war, but we must stand. For our people, yoi."
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"Here I thought that I am the reckless one, didn't think you'd be one too." Kidd voiced out, looking at Sab.
"What do you mean?"
"It's not like you," Kidd said. "It's not like you to not be able to control it."
"It's not easy!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "Why don't you try taking this power and tell me that you can control it?!" Her temper's rising. For an elf whose elegance is highly looked up to by the Raftelians, Sab at this moment is anything but elegant nor is she filled with grace. She's snarking like a beast, her temper's rising, and the magic power she wields is all over the place, disrupting the trees and even startling the animals that live nearby.
"You're angry."
"I am frustrated! This power is just uncontrollable!" She shouts, further proving her point. It's a good thing that Kidd is no push-over, had he been a weak beast, he would have fainted and possibly been put into a deep sleep just because of the direct contact with Sab's Al Draig.
"Frustration should not be a hindrance for you to control it. You're not my mate for nothing."
"Easy for you to say."
"Take it easy, Sab."
"Take it easy? How? We're at war! We don't have time to - " She exhales heavily. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, but in this case, it is the power.
"Think of this as a chance. Chance to get back to those bastards who messed our lives. We can't live peacefully like we want to if they are still there doing who knows what. I am eager to finish this war. It's been ongoing for centuries."
Sab realizes what this means to Kidd who also lost his parents to the same enemies that caused the death of her parents. This war is not only for them, the Royalties, but also for everyone.
"There are bad things that happened, so many of them that I lost count, but there are good things too. Huh, who could have thought that you're a Halfborn?"
"No one thought of it, not us."
Silence follows, each on their thoughts to ponder.
"You know that I hate being a sap about things like these, so don't make me say it, damn it! We're in this together and like hell, we will let that damn prophecy get the better of us! Prophecy or not, we will fight them regardless! So stop overthinking! Look what you did!" Kidd points at the withered plants around Sab. Whenever her magic power goes wild, it affects her surroundings.
His reactions made her laugh because it is true, even she doesn't see Kidd as someone who is the best in tackling emotional battles at all, much less make someone feel better by piecing profound words.
Despite that, his thoughts and consideration are very much appreciated.
"You're right."
"Of course, I am. Who do you think you're talking to?" He's feigning arrogance but his eyes shake a little.
"My mate." She whispers, smiling. She's calm now, calm enough to realize that what he said is right. It doesn't matter what the prophecies are. What matters the most is that they are fighting because they must and they want to.
"That I am. And you are mine. You will be the best High Queen of Beogia. I just know it. Huidel as well, now that I think about it." It may have been a surprise for Kidd when he found out that his mate is born as High Princess from the Magical Kingdoms, but it does not matter to him. Although, ever since Sab's powers were released, he can feel the increase of magic in his body. His senses reached greater heights.
"Are you dividing who gets which Kingdom?" She chuckles at the incredulous idea.
"No, I am not. I am saying what is obvious. You're an elf, Ann is a Fire Faery, and Luffia is a Cheshire Cat. I know your mother was a mix of three creatures but to have produced High Princesses with different races, that's got to be the first in history. Only Rauscher can do it, huh." Melancholy washes over him at the thought of an old friend. Despite what happened, even if at some point, Kidd hated her, it doesn't erase the memories he had with her. She's the older sister all the High Princes can ask for.
"It's a little funny. She's like an older sister to me, but it turns out, she will be my mother-in-law."
"Such an unexpected turn of events, huh?"
"It does. Anyway, stop with this sentimental talk! We need to work on that power of yours. You're a mess! No mate of mine is allowed to be weak! You're going to show those bastards that we're strong!"
Sab's eyes are teary-eyed. More than ever, she's thankful to have Kidd beside her for she knows he will there forever and so will she.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
The waves are surprisingly calm but that's what Luffia needs now. Ever since she was a child, she always loved the ocean. Its smell soothes her nerves, staring at the blue water makes her happy. It's a good thing that Zoro brought her here even though he doesn't know that she likes it. It was instincts that told him to take her to a place where she can calm down.
With all the pressure being onto them, not just the princesses, but including the princes. The war that can very well end them will depend on how well they can fight the enemies.
"Luffia..." Zoro calls out as soon as they landed on the beach. Luffia hums to answer his call, but her arms are still wrapped on his torso, embracing him tightly.
"Zoro, I'm hungry."
"I knew you would say that. I'll catch a fish for you, then we will roast it." Luffia lets go to sit on the white sand, waiting for Zoro to catch fish and cook for her. It didn't take long before he came back with food that puts a smile on Luffia's face.
Food always heals her whenever she's feeling down or confused.
"Tastes good! I love it!" Zoro only nodded, letting her eat her fill. "I still don't get what Uncle Rayleigh's trying to say." She pouts.
Zoro is silent, pondering on what Rayleigh's words meant earlier. Power comes from within. He does not have Al Draig just like the princesses, but he has an idea of what that means. The only thing to do is to explain it to Luffia in a way that she will understand.
"What's your favorite food?"
"Hmm? Meat!"
"Right. What do you feel when you eat a piece of meat?"
"It feels like I have a lot of energy especially if it's delicious!" Her eyes are shining now.
"Good! I feel the same when drinking Sake. If you have energy, where do you store it?"
"Huh? In my body!"
"Then think of it this way. You're eating and when you eat, your energy is refilled. When you're eating the best food you've ever tasted, you can't help but say it's delicious right? Then think of Al Draig like that." He's not sure if what he's saying will help her at all or make things worse. The way she's in deep thoughts, frowning at what he said makes him think that he might have confused her even more.
"Aha! I get it! But still, it's not easy!"
"Nothing is easy, Luffia. Just free your mind off other things. Think of it once everything is over. Thinking is not your forte, isn't it?"
"Is that an insult?"
"What insult?"
"No, no! I think you insulted me there!"
"You just misunderstood. Anyway, just do what you feel is right. Your instincts are always on point. Trust them. Trust what your heart tells you."
Luffia started staring into the ocean, melancholic at the sight.
"My instincts are telling me to go there." She points at the ocean in front as if they're calling to her.
"In the middle of the ocean? It's dangerous."
"It is not." She said this with conviction that is rarely seen in her eyes that it made Zoro shiver. Her eyes are profound, so deep that he sometimes gets lost staring into them.
"Is that really what your instincts are telling you? To go there?"
"Hmm, yes."
"Alright."
They both stand up from their sitting position. Zoro just followed Luffia in front of the ocean till their feet are soaked in the cold water. The light waves crash onto their legs. Zoro is silently staring at Luffia, wondering what she could be staring at.
"The voices. I know they come from here." She suddenly said.
"In the ocean?"
"Yes."
Zoro is not sure how to answer that. Rayleigh and Alamir may have mentioned that the Princesses' birth circumstances stirred the sleeping power within the three Magical Kingdoms, but he does not know what to make of it.
"Show yourself." Zoro thought it was for him, but it's not. Luffia looks like she's talking to someone else. At first, there's nothing, but soon, the calm water started stirring, turning into a whirlpool.
His hand automatically reaches for his sword, gripping the handle tightly, alert for any enemies.
And a minute has passed by when monsters from the deep sea appeared before them, staring at Luffia. Zoro's mouth is gaping.
'Your Majesty. At long last, you have finally awakened.'
"Wait, I can hear them!" Zoro said.
Luffia looks at him as if he's gone senile.
"Of course! We are mates, after all. Although we have not mated because of your stubbornness. You even dared to avoid me! The audacity."
"It's not my fault that you never said anything about the mark on your back! All you ever tell me is that we should mate."
"You never ask though!"
Zoro's feeling his head splitting into two from the argument that's been going back and forth since the identities of the princesses were revealed. Arguing with Luffia now will not make answer all his questions.
"We have not gone through the... the act." He blushes a little at the implication. "So, I do not understand why I can hear them."
'It is your connection to Her Majesty that allows you to hear us.'
"Right..."
"Shishishi! You're so silly, Zoro." He lets that slide so she can talk to the creatures in front of them. The moment he saw them, his instincts immediately told him that they are not enemies. It was confirmed when they called Luffia Her Majesty.
"You are the voices I heard ever since I was a child."
'Yes. Unfortunately, your mother had to erase your memories. But you are here now. We are at your command.' One of the creatures as big as the mountain said. Even though his face is scary, monstrous, its eyes are smiling towards Luffia, all of them are.
'We have been ready for this war for thousands of years, Your Majesty.'
"Thousands of years?"
'Yes. Ever since the First Queen faded, we have been sleeping. We thought it will remain so for eternity, yet here we are, awakened by you.'
'We waited for years before we can finally march to follow our leader. One word, and it shall be done.'
It's scary for Zoro to think that someone can have this much power. It is not scary for him, but just the thought that someone twisted, someone greedy who could have wielded this power sends his stomach churning with fear.
It could have been Akainu, but thankfully, he was not blessed with this power.
Anyone would have been drunk in power by now. Just the thought one's word can destroy anything is unfathomable. But not Luffia, or at least that's what Zoro believes.
"Can you help us in the war?" She's not commanding, she's asking them, a trait that not everyone has.
'No need to ask, Your Majesty. We are at your service.'
"As an exchange, let's be friends!" She beams at them, talking to them as if they are humans, not monsters from the deep and that took them by a surprise.
'Indeed, you are just like her. Our Queen.'
'No other Queen was born just like the First one. We are ecstatic to have you.'
"I am glad to have all of you too!"
'To have our second Queen, we are beyond lucky.'
"Queen?" Zoro uttered. "Had there been no rulers after the First Queen? Maybe a High King?"
'Of course, there's none, Your Highness. Our rulers can only be a High Princess born into Daerene, no one else.'
Zoro only nodded and let the creatures speak with Luffia. He's assured that at least, they will receive help from these creatures in the war that is heading their way.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"He's pitiful."
"Who?" Rayleigh thought if he's mishearing things.
"Sakazuki." Whitebeard's voice is calm, but beneath the calmness is a neverending worry.
"Why so?"
It's an hour past supper, the two men are sitting in front of the Villa in the Valley of Xavaria where the Princesses were born. The princesses are taking a rest after a gruesome training right before supper. The moments they spent with their mates made their mood turn significantly better than Rayleigh expected. He has the High Princes to thank for the improvements they made.
"Just because," Whitebeard answered. "He's succumbed to the pressure of the power that he believes he should have."
"Are you saying the previous High Kings and Queens are to blame?"
"No, I never said that. Maybe it's the custom and the traditions that are to blame. The old people still hold them with great importance. I am older than Sakazuki and I watched him grow up under the scrutiny of his people. Or maybe it is because no one believed in him, not even his parents did." He drinks his wine, eyes are looking at a faraway sight, tracing memories of the past.
"It's sad, huh?"
"It was a lost cause for him. At that time, the traditions were planted deep into everyone's mind. And he succumbed to the belief that everything should have been his. That had been his foundation when he delved into the forbidden powers hidden in history. He was obsessed with Al Draig that it destroyed him."
"And Teach?" Rayleigh heard Whitebeard take a deep breath upon hearing the name. It must have stirred bitter memories.
"He used to be a friend. I was fooled thinking that he has the same belief as we do, that peace is what he's after. We're wrong. The betrayal cuts deeper when it is from the people you hold dear."
He remembers it as if it happened yesterday, the laughter he shared with that man. When did things start turning worse for Teach? When did he start having malicious thoughts? He does not know the answers.
"I am not there when the war happened, but I can feel the weariness in your voice."
"Gurara! Indeed. You're too young after all."
"Hmp! Compared to you, of course, I am younger."
They laugh as they talk. It's been a while for Whitebeard since he had someone to talk to like this. He finds a friend in Rayleigh even though they have known each other for only two days. Perhaps it is because both have their fair share of experiences.
As they continue the conversation, little did they know that the impending doom is right at their doorsteps.
Two hours before dawn, the waves are crashing onto the ships sailing towards an island that is concealed from the eyes of humans.
But not to Akainu and his men.
They know that Cresta has barricaded itself against any possible attacks on land. If they are to attack Raftel through the land, they have to take over Cresta. A surprise attack in Raftel is impossible not when they have Cresta in the front.
This is why Akainu and his men are sailing towards Raftel, concealing themselves through the dark veil using Teach's powers. It won't be good if the Fishmen residing in the ocean then alert the Raftelians.
Three days after the Sacred Midnight, just as planned, they are launching an attack against Raftel.
"Today is the day, isn't it? Zehahaha!"
"Raftelians will be no more." Sakazuki is uttering a promise.
"Should we start?" Kaido's voice sounds like a child that is about to play.
"I am ready!" Big Mom unsheathed her sword and mounted her ride called Zeus. "Ah, little princes and princesses must be sleeping soundly. I would love to see their faces contort into pain once I send a thunderbolt on their way!"
"We will proceed as planned! If any of you will do anything to jeopardize this, I will kill you!" Akainu cannot afford to mess this up, not now, not ever. He will not permit a slight mistake.
"Of course, we know! The Royalties come first. They must be killed. Zehahaha!"
With everyone's acknowledgment, Akainu nodded as he signals the start of the attack.
"Then, let us start."
With that said, Teach began casting a dark spell looming over Raftel while Big Mom commanded Zeus to send a thunderbolt as soon as Teach cast his spell.
The land shook from the impact and awakened the Raftelians.
The war is here.