Hey guys! Welcome back to another chapter. I call this one, getting on with the plot finally. I'm such an awful writer for like, bug novels, because I like to add in a bunch of fun stuff to complicate my story and rough up my idea lol. This story is unforuantely suffering from that little curse, but imma try to fix it from here on out!
I was thankfully inspired to write a little more due to the newest Trials of Apollo (loved it alot, alot more than the last one -_-). Otherwise, life has been pretty demanding recently, and so I'm a little low energy for side projects. Bear with me for a little bit? One way or another I will finish this book! (P.s. if the formatting is weird this chapter, blame a miscommunication between this ole site and my sassy computer)
Please enjoy, and remember, review! ;)
"His name is Touka Bergatt." Said Obi, in Shirayuki's mind.
She pressed the gauze to her forearm, applying a good amount of pressure on the small cut.
Revo sat in front of her, holding up and studying a small vial of fresh red blood in his hands. It was a little bit smaller than her pinkie. He then pulled it to his chest and hugged it tightly. "Freedom." He breathed in relief.
"Touka Bergatt." Shirayuki repeated aloud. "Okay, maybe Zen will know him."
"He is an Earl, he runs a base up in the northern part of the kingdom." Revo supplied.
"Earl, right, okay." Shirayuki breathed. She wiped the cut the best she could then swiftly grabbed the antiseptic from the first aid kit she had lied next to her on the grass. She winced slightly at the burn, then grabbed a roll of gauze and wrapped.
Revo squeezed the vial. "I cannot thank you enough."
Shirayuki rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Remember you're sworn into that contract, any funny business and you're done for." She cast him a suspicious glare.
The whisp nodded, then bowed, low and deep. "Please take care, you have a lot of turmoil in your future."
Shirayuki pursed her lips, but then in a flash of blue fire, the will-o-whisp was gone.
She looked around the clearing, but Zen still wasn't back. She felt bad not telling the Prince, but at least now it was done and he would have to deal with the consequences – if any.
She finished bandaging her wound, then stood, brushing her gown off and starting back for the tent, when all of a sudden she heard the pound of horse hooves. Thunder and River perked up, ears trained towards the sound.
The former mermaid walked to River's side. She wasn't overly worried, since she had the Moon's blessing and all, but it was always good to be careful.
Two horses jumped through the brush. River and Thunder tossed their heads and backed up, Shirayuki stumbling back with River.
"Zen!" One knight called out, his hair a dull blue. He had a sword and the most casual armor Shirayuki could have ever seen, with chain mail around his thighs and arms, but those were resting over riding pants and a thick wool jacket. His horse stomped the turf, as if unhappy with the halt.
"He was supposed to be here." The other knight murmured. Her hair was a brilliant gold, curled over her shoulder in a tight side ponytail. Her eyes were piercing as she scanned the clearing. She wore a similar outfit to the man's, but her colors were more purple themed. Both had swords attached to their belt, and packs curled on the back of their horses' saddles.
Shirayuki took a breath. "Are you-Mitsuhide and Kiki?" She guessed.
Mitsuhide and Kiki's eyes trained on her, and Shirayuki watched for a still moment as their eyes widened, the contents of the clearing becoming visible to them. She could almost see the white blessing of the moon fall over them.
Mitsuhide's horse nickered almost excitedly at the sight of Thunder and River, ears flicking up and all over. Mitsuhide himself didn't look any less confused.
Kiki stayed clam, the only show of emotion shown in the slight twitch of her eyebrow. Her horse as well, simply gazed around the clearing again. "We are. Who are you?"
Shirayuki didn't know why she was still so nervous. "I'm Shirayuki. I've been traveling with Z-Zen."
Mitsuhide and Kiki exchanged a look.
Suddenly, the knife darted through the air and in front of Shirayuki, pointing sharply between the knights. Thunder and River's ears pricked and they tensed, standing at attention.
Mitushide and Kiki's horses did the same, their heads swiveling. Even Mitsuhide's steed, who so far didn't seem to be able to hold still, froze.
Shirayuki tensed.
Kiki and Mitsuhide twisted in the saddle, hands both going to their sword hilts in an almost synchronized motion.
Shirayuki clenched her fist and the river water began to swirl ever slightly at her touch of magic.
And then the pirates stepped through the brush and into the clearing.
Mitsuhide and Kiki's horses backed up, turning to face the men.
Shirayuki only recognized one of them from the port town, the man with the blue overcoat and the braids – and the other four she wasn't sure on. But the braid man grinned and leered. "Well, well, well." He drawled. "What else did we find today?"
"State your business." Mitsuhide ordered.
"My business?" The man blinked. He moved in a sort of slow fashion – like time wasn't moving the same speed as the rest of the world. As he gazed around casually, Shirayuki had an awful feeling that he could see her. When he really shouldn't have been able to.
As if reading her thoughts, the pirate met her eyes with his dark amber ones. "Yes, I believe I recognize that little red head over there."
Shirayuki shivered, but then all of her fear vanished when two more pirates stepped through the brush, flattening it. They held an unconscious Zen between them, each one of them had one of his arms around their necks. But Zen's mouth was gagged, his ankles tied.
"Zen!" Kiki and Mitushide shouted, but before they could do anything, Shirayuki rushed forward.
She leapt, the river swelling over the campsite and to her aid, rushing over her palm so she wielded the force of nature as a weapon. She crashed down, using the water like an oversized battering ram and whip. The men not holding Zen were tossed aside as Shirayuki directed her glare at the men holding Zen. She thrust out her other hand and the river changed course – midair. The water rushed over the wide eyed pirates, slamming them away from Zen but not touching the prince. Shirayuki pulled her hands back and Zen was pulled into her arms. The water receded into the river as she grabbed him and ripped away the gag.
Not that it mattered, the Prince's eyes were closed. He breathed a little unevenly, but other than a hard welt on his head, he didn't seem hurt.
"You…how did you…" Mitushide muttered behind him.
The pirate with the blue coat spat and laughed, flicking his braids off. "Not bad at all, for a mer!"
Shirayuki glared again. She stood, lifting Zen a little unsteadily and set him down near the knights. "Watch him." She told the two, her voice steady and low.
Kiki nodded, dismounting and grabbing Zen's head.
Mitsuhide still kept staring at her.
Shirayuki ignored him and pulled some of the water from the river again, letting it wrap around her arm in a flowing circle. She met the pirate's eye. "Leave this place, or drown by my hand."
The pirate laughed. "Miss, you aren't the only one who has been playing with magic." He stomped, and the earth rumbled.
Shirayuki tilted her head. "Land magic?" She guessed, as the ground ruptured by the man's feet, producing a molten hot but quickly solidifying spear.
The pirate shrugged. "Not my first choice, but our options are limited."
Shirayuki flicked her other hand out and the dagger rushed into it. She twirled it easily and tucked it over her neck, point out towards the man. "I didn't know humans could do magic."
"Not many can. But I had a great teacher." The pirate grabbed the spear and yanked it from the earth. Strangely, the shaft didn't just…end. A tether made of soil was attached to the bottom, keeping it tied to the earth.
Shirayuki could easily see the magic holding the weapon together, and she scoffed. "That is the weakest magic I've ever seen." She flung her hand out, and the water lashed like a whip. It smashed through the tether easily, and the spear immediately crumbled to pieces in the pirate's hand, falling to the grassy terrain in lumps of misplaced soil and stone.
The pirate cursed.
Shirayuki smiled. She let the water casually reach out and swing at the pirate, who had to duck to dodge it. "The earth is not your element. Run away now, thief, while you still can."
The other pirates didn't wait for the blue coat to decide. They bolted back the way they had come. It was just the other pirate standing in the clearing, face red and sweat beading his forehead. His jaw clenched, and Shirayuki tilted her head. "Well?"
The pirate scanned Mitsuhide and Kiki, then cursed and ran after his crewmen.
Shirayuki relaxed, letting the water fly back to the river, and releasing the knife. It twirled as soon as it was free of her grip, whipped around her, and darted after the pirates. Maybe to give them a few good pokes, Shirayuki wasn't sure. She turned and faced the knights, and Zen.
Both were on the ground. Mitsuhide had cut the rope binding Zen's ankles, but the Prince still wasn't coming to.
"What." Mitsuhide's gaze bored into Shirayuki. "The. Hell."
She had to smile. "There's…a lot Zen didn't tell you, I guess." She walked forward and sat down near the knights and Zen. "And I don't even know where to start."
When Zen opened his eyes, he thought he had died. He was hearing an angel, after all. It was a sweet serenade, speaking of healing and love, the joys of home and rest. He was tempted to close his eyes and drift away again, but then he realized he was feeling a slight pulse of something powerful up into his head. A small, almost microscopic pain was tingling there.
His senses awakened, and he realized he was lying on a soft pillow and a warm sleeping bag. He was staring up at a thin fabric, a tent. A familiar tent. He turned his head just a smidgeon towards the singing, and found Shirayuki sitting back, her knees up against her chest. She wasn't looking at him, just fiddling with a gauze wrapping around her forearm while she sang.
He stared at her with half lidded eyes, listening to the words of the song. Magic – Zen finally realized, threaded through every syllable. That's what kept pulsing through him, and that pain faded very quickly with the words. It was so soothing, he almost passed out again, when she finally looked up at him. Her song didn't falter as her eyes met his evenly. She held the last note, and Zen swore it echoed in the air around them as her lips closed.
"Good morning, how are you feeling?" Shirayuki asked.
Zen tasted his mouth. "Good." He finally said, realizing it as he said it. "I thought pirates had hit me."
"They did." Shirayuki confirmed, shifting out of her stance. "And your friends are here."
"My friends? Mitsuhide…and Kiki?" He confirmed. He felt a little tipsy, like he was drunk on magic.
"Yeah."
Zen started to sit up, but his body wasn't totally awake and he winced.
Shirayuki reached over and put her hand against his back, gently helping him sit up.
He stared at her. "Thank you."
She blushed and nodded.
"Did you just heal me? I've never heard that song before."
Shirayuki blushed even harder. "Yes. And you have, I used to hum it to my patients in the pod."
"Not like that." Zen protested. He wiped at his forehead, surprisingly not finding himself slick with sweat. His hair fell too far down his face for his liking and he tossed it back. "There weren't words before."
Shirayuki sighed, settling on her legs. "There's a million versions of the healers song. You have the hymn, which they sing in religious practices and such. Then you have the hum, which is just encouraging the body to heal. A million more ways, but I used the platonic song."
"Friends." Zen tasted the word. "Thank you." He felt strangely warm, and he wasn't sure if it was the leftover magic or just how honored he was. "So, this means we are officially friends?"
She punched him in the shoulder with a scoff. "Duh, don't be stupid."
Zen smiled. "Just checking." He pushed himself forward a bit, the drunk feeling wearing off, thankfully. "You said Mitsuhide and Kiki were here. Are they still-?"
"Yes. They're outside. Kiki is trying to convince Mitsuhide he's not insane."
"Why-Why would Mitsuhide think he's insane?"
"He saw me use the river to fight the pirates, and our magical knife isn't exactly helping."
"Great." Zen took a breath, then bravely went to stand up.
He also bravely nearly took a faceplant, but Shirayuki caught him. "Easy." She urged. She looped his arm around her shoulders and helped him out of the tent.
The sunlight was mostly gone, which Zen's eyes were grateful for. He thought he was seeing double, before he realized that Thunder and River had not multiplied. The other two horses – one a tan, the other a spotted Appaloosa, both looked at him warily. But he knew the tan one was Mitsuhide's, since it nickered and trotted in place for a few steps.
Thunder put her ears back and leaned away from the excited horse.
River just swished his tail and lowered his head to graze.
Mitsuhide was sitting on the river side, holding his head in his hands and staring at the water like he expected it to start dancing for him at any minute.
Kiki was not comforting him, but rather going through her provisions next to him. She looked up as Zen limped into the clearing. "Finally." She said, which was a very Kiki way of greeting.
He grinned.
Shirayuki let him go as Kiki stood and embraced him tightly. Zen sighed in relief. She pulled free and studied him. "I can't believe you're not dead."
"Me neither." He admitted. He grabbed her wrists. "I'm so sorry for all the chaos I caused. I've been gone for way too long."
"I'll say." Kiki snorted, dropping her arms and crossing them. "Izana first thought it was Tanbarun. Then, once our investigation couldn't find anything in the royal family, we thought it had to be some other organization-"
"Pirates." Zen agreed.
She shot him one of her famous scathing looks, which he had missed greatly. "Not just random pirates, the Claw of the Sea kidnapped you."
Zen blinked. "Refresh my memory."
Kiki's face was expressionless, but her eyes sparkled with joy. "They're a gang in Tanbarun. They're notorious for slave markets."
Shirayuki made a face alongside Zen's scowl.
"I know." Kiki's nose scrunched in disgust. "But that's not all. They've tried to kidnap royals before, the two youngest heirs of Tanbarun, for example." Kiki moved back to their supplies, ignoring the still shocked Mitsuhide. She pulled out a familiar knife – the one Zen and Shirayuki had found amidst the ship of dead bodies. She turned it and showed the symbol. "This is their branding."
"So, why did the Claw of the Sea kill the crew of The Poisoned Rose?" Zen asked, his brain still sluggish.
Kiki shrugged. "Because they failed? Who knows."
"Touka Bergatt, probably." Shirayuki offered.
Zen and Kiki stopped, stunned. Even Mitsuhide turned to look at the mermaid.
Shirayuki blushed under the gazes. "He's who hired Revo to try and kill us."
Zen leaned his head down towards her. "Um, excuse me? Since when do you know this? Where even is Revo?"
Shirayuki pursed her lips, hand touching her band aid subconsciously. "Ah, not the time. Just trust me."
Zen bit his lip, very much wanting to talk about it right there and then, but before he could Kiki continued. As usual, taking every bit of information in stride and not tripping.
"Touka Bergatt – he's the head of the Bergatt house up in the North. They've been stirring since you left, Zen, lots of rumors of uprising."
Zen bit back a curse. "Okay, sure. Also, while we're talking about traitorous nobles – Kiki, remember Hisame Lugis? He tried to kill me a few days ago. Did you know he could use magic?"
This finally made Mitsuhide stand. Zen waited for the knight to march over to him, but instead, he turned and walked himself into the tree the horses were tethered to. River tilted his head, and Mitushide's horse trotted up to him and began nudging him insistently.
Kiki didn't even blink. "Sure. Well then, we really should head home."
Shirayuki exchanged a look with Zen. "We're actually supposed to be traveling at night."
Kiki narrowed her eyes. "Why would you do that?"
"We have a little…divine intervention." Zen winced. "It's a long, long story." He glanced at the sky. "We have at least some time, however."
The fire crackled over the tense silence.
Zen threaded his hands together, studying his friends faces. Kiki was pretty expressionless, her eyes glowing as she thought. Mitsuhide's jaw was on the floor, however.
The knight stood up. "I don't believe a word of this." He declared.
Zen winced, and Shirayuki pushed a small smile.
Mitushide glanced around him, as if he was waiting for the joke to end. "Zen – you're telling me- mermaids, Atlantis, the-the freakin moon?!"
Shirayuki lifted her hand. "Do you want me to show you the Aigua again?"
"No!" He looked desperately to Kiki, who heaved a sigh.
"I always knew something was creepy about Hisame." She admitted thoughtfully. "Who could have guessed it."
"And now," Zen added with a groan, "we have to go back into the royal court and if we see him again – what? Pretend like he didn't magically throw me into a tree like, three times?"
Kiki hummed.
Shirayuki lifted a small smile, glancing at Kiki. Zen could tell Shirayuki had taken a liking to his aid, which was a relief to him. And she found Mitsuhide amusing, that was a given.
The blue haired knight grabbed his hair. "Kiki!" He pleaded. "Mermaids are real!"
"I was a merman, excuse you." Zen grumbled.
"Mermaids!" Mitsuhide insisted.
Shirayuki laughed, which made Zen smile, which made Kiki smile.
"About traveling," Kiki continued on, "we did bring an actual carriage. But if you want, we can ditch it in the next town and just travel on Mimi and Kitten." Kiki nodded towards her horse.
Zen thought. "I mean, a carriage would mean we could rest easier. But it'd be harder to travel at night with a carriage, and the Moon has laid out the right path for us."
"So far, we've encountered so much trouble with it, I wouldn't call it right." Shirayuki grumbled.
Zen nodded. "Fair point." He glanced up. It was almost twilight, and there was no path thus far. This made him frown, but he just looked to Kiki almost instinctively.
The knight was still lost in thought. "Well, you say the Moon appears every night. We can just wait for her. I wouldn't want to be the one to go against the Moon."
Zen nodded. "Sound good?" He turned and checked with Shirayuki.
She nodded.
"Meanwhile, why don't we take down the camp for the night." Zen offered, standing and giving her a hand.
"You got it." She turned for the tent, but before Zen could follow Kiki grabbed his arm.
The knight's eyes were mischievous. "Your Highness," she drawled, "what is your relationship with her?"
Zen blinked, then blushed. "She's a friend, Kiki."
"I think she's a bit more."
"I think you're loud." Zen hissed, pulling his arm free and shoving Kiki away, his ears feeling hot.
Thankfully, they were interrupted by the soft glow of the Moon's path, and when Zen looked to the way they had to go, he saw the goddess herself smiling at them. She nodded at Kiki and Mitsuhide. "Welcome, friends."
Zen smiled at Kiki's slightly parted jaw, and then laughed at Mitsuhide's wide eyes.
"THE MOON!"