So, I should probably give you guys an update on why I've been dead with this story for the last two months.
Right after I published the last chapter, Musical at my school started and I was one of the stage managers for it. The Musical, Freaky Friday, only wrapped up on Sunday, so I've been mostly working on my smaller stories, but I didn't want anyone to think I'd abandoned this one. I love all of you so much for sticking with this story and your support for it. You guys are the best readers a writer could ask for.
But enough about my boring life!
I.O.N.
Enjoy!
Nathaniel chased after Rose. She had surprised him ten minutes earlier and snatched his book, starting the chase. If it had been anyone else, or if it had been the first time she'd done it, Nathaniel would've been furious. Unfortunately for him, Rose was just as adept at getting away from him as he was at finding her, and he was just slightly out of practice.
Before Nathaniel could follow her around a corner, he heard her yelp in surprise and a loud crash. "Rose!" Nathaniel shouted, now running to make sure she was okay.
"ImsorryImsorryImsorryImsorryImsorry!" Rose could be heard profusely apologizing. When Nathaniel caught up, he almost immediately wished he could travel back in time and avoid this whole mess. On the other side of Rose was Master Demarcus sprawled out on the floor.
"M-Master! Are you okay?! Let me help you up!" Nathaniel stuttered, rushing to help.
"Get off me you bumbling fool!" the older man growled. "You are fortunate that his Majesty requested that I bring both of you to him, or else you would be in charge of cleaning my brushes for the next month boy!"
Nathaniel gulped, "Yes Master."
"You said that King Ali wanted to see us, did he say why?" Rose asked, trying to defuse the tension between the two artists.
"That is not for you to concern yourself with, girl. All you need to know is that you have been summoned."
Rose's response was decidedly less cheery, and she noticed that Nathaniel looked like he wanted to smack his teacher, "Of course Mister Demarcus! Please! Lead the way!" As they walked, Rose did her best to contain her anger. It wouldn't be the first time one of the older attendants in the palace had spoken down to her. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she was only brought out of them when for the second time that day, she collided with someone. 'I'm getting to be as bad as Marinette!' Rose thought almost laughing until she realized what that thought truly entailed that her smile dimmed ever so slightly.
When Rose finally looked up, she saw that it was Max she had sent sprawling to the floor. "Max! Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I? What are you doing in this part of the palace? Mister Demarcus said we were summoned by the King. Were you summoned too?"
"Yes, Rose. The King, it seems, has something he would like to speak with us about." Max sighed, "It's too bad, he couldn't have done this at a better time. I was working on something quite important."
Master Demarcus launched into one of his long-winded lectures/rants, "Hold your tongue! When his Majesty summons you, there is nothing more important! How ungrateful of you to take advantage of his Majesty's and the late King's, may he rest in peace, hospitality and then have the audacity to say that a summons is inconvenient for you!" By the time he finished, only Max was paying attention, and that was only so he could tell the old man exactly where he could shove his rants. Master Demarcus blustered "You dare-!"
Luckily for their eardrums, Ali showed up, "Ah! Master Demarcus! Thank you for bringing them! The four of us have much to discuss!"
"Of course your Majesty. But if I might ask-"
"I assure you, Master Demarcus, there is no reason for you concern yourself." The dismissal was obvious.
"Of course your Majesty." Demarcus bowed and closed the door behind him.
"Are the three of you alright? I know he can be a bit intense." Ali asked once he heard the door click.
Nathaniel waved off the concern, "I've worked with him for a while now, so I'm used to his lectures."
"How he sees me is of little consequence." Max rolled his eyes.
"It's fine King Ali." Rose said kindly, "You said you wanted to talk about something?"
"Yes. I am afraid this is not just a friendly gathering." Ali took a deep breath and launched into the thick of it, "As you have undoubtedly heard, Max, there has been an increase in bandits throughout the surrounding areas, and I am afraid that they have even managed to get as close to the castle as the woods."
Max thought his answer through for a moment, "You are correct King Ali. The few reports I have been allowed to see, show a more concentrated focus on the capital than anywhere else. It seems someone in the bandits may be trying to rally them. But I cannot see how this has anything to do with Rose, Nathaniel, or myself. Would it not be better to discuss this with your generals?" he asked.
"If it were a normal case, yes. But I was hoping for a more... creative... solution that I feel only the experience the three of you have would suffice." The king looked each of them in the eye as he spoke, hoping they would understand his unspoken request.
They more than understood what he was asking and their demeanors shifted. Not by much, but Ali could tell he was no longer speaking to just Max, Nathaniel, and Rose. He was also talking to the long quieted pirates Gamer, Evillustrator, and Miss Fragrance, "Not to be rude King Ali, but if it is our past experience you are after, and I don't think I am out of turn in saying it is. Then what would we be getting out of it?" The king almost smiled, it seemed that even the noblest of pirates still needed a reason to help.
"Yes. Nathaniel does bring up an important point." Max added, "Asking us to... handle this problem ourselves could put us in a great amount of danger, is there anything you are prepared to compensate us with?"
"You are both right, of course. I wouldn't ask this of you out of the goodness of your hearts. Yesterday, a mail ship came with a letter from Mylene and Ivan asking if I knew of a large area that would be willing to host a wedding." Ali was interrupted by a loud squealing.
"MYLENE AND IVAN ARE GETTING MARRIED!? YES!"
With a small laugh, Ali continued, "Of course, I immediately thought to offer my home so that there might be enough room. So dealing with this problem would also ensure that the wedding would go off without a problem."
Max shared a look with his former shipmates and responded, "...King Ali, I believe you have our attention."
"That girl is so strange." A young woman whispered to her friend as Sabrina rushed past, heading towards the docks.
"Always off at that cliff. One would think she was some lovesick teenager!" Her friend added in. The others in their group nodded and muttered their agreement.
"You all know it's not right for us to assume anything with her. We know nothing of her history and don't know what she's been through." An older woman with faded orange hair spoke up from behind the group, making them all jump.
"Easy enough for you to say Caline! She's staying with you, of course, she isn't going to do anything weird! But I'm telling you, something isn't right about her!" One of the braver women spoke up. Few were willing to speak out against the teacher. They had all been taught by her, and they all knew what she could, and would, do.
Mrs. Bustier had apparently had enough, "And I'm telling you, Sabrina is a sweet girl. She is always volunteering to help the community and yet what she chooses to do with her spare time causes you all to gossip and paint her in such a dark light!" With one last dark look at the group of young women, she walked away and began to head toward the docks where Sabrina had last been seen.
She had no more turned the first corner when Sabrina nearly slammed into her. "THEIR GETTING MARRIED!" Sabrina squealed.
Caline laughed, "That's wonderful Sabrina! Who's getting married?"
"Some old friends of mine! We all knew they were in love, the two of them were just too shy to admit it! But now they're GETTING MARRIED!" Caline smiled as Sabrina continued to ramble, "Oh it's going to be just like a family reunion! I can't wait to see what they've all been up to!"
It was only after she'd finished talking that Sabrina realized she'd drawn a crowd from the girls who had just been gossiping about her. If she hadn't been so happy she would've blushed at having drawn that much attention to herself.
But at that moment, she was too happy to even try and wipe the smile off her face. She was finally going to see the rest of her family again!
I hope you enjoyed!
Comment what you thought!
I am so tired right now. Why am I like this!
See ya next time!