Chapter Four
By Genavere
When she realized that she would become the Queen of the Heavens, it changed Yumemi's life and way of thinking. No longer did she pick courses or studies based on interest, instead she focused on languages, politics, economics, and began receiving lessons on the Heavens from Ryuely and Rui.
As she watched Munto, World Leaders, and other Heavenly Beings on TV discussing politics and trades, she took notes on everything and any concerns she had for both her world and the one she would live on in the sky.
On the day Suzume, Ichiko, and herself had gathered with their families to celebrate graduating from secondary school, Munto had arrived in all his grandeur and half-heartedly demanded her to be his wife, but whole-heartedly requested her to be by his side through all the rest of their days.
That night, while her father had celebrated a bit too hard, he sobbed to her the story how the King of the Heavens had actually knelt before him and asked permission to marry his daughter.
They had both grown so much since the day he had demanded she call him 'Lord Munto.'
She did not have the overflowing confidence that he did, even after the worlds were merged, but as she grew older, her umbrella was left at the door, and she learned how to be confident in her own way, her personal strength grew.
Supporting her, her friends were always there to help her, even if it meant dragging her to the rebuilt amusement park to relax or to help plan the wedding. Even with Ichiko's jealousy towards Munto, they were both happy to be part of the wedding and stand next by her.
It made her wonder when the two would come back to the island. While Suzume had officially married Kazuya after graduating, they lived on the Lower World and would visit when time permitted. Ichiko, on the other hand, had decided to take the direction of being part of both worlds. She even began spending more time with Rui, though if asked would venomously deny it.
"Did you know the Lower World has these creatures call 'Cats'?" Tormo's voice caught her attention and she looked at him. "Very peculiar creatures. One came up to me and began doing this movement that I can only call rubbing against my leg, but when I tried to reach down and pet the creature, it made an angry sound and hit me! I had an injury for a couple of days after that."
Giggling, she could not help but imagine what it had been like for the poor guard to experience the mood swings of a cat. Really, Icihiko reminded her of the feline creatures somedays.
The wind blew around them as they flew through the skies. She grasped Tormo's arm since she still struggled to keep up after a distance, though her and Munto continued to work on her Akuto control daily. Would that need to change now with the child?
Glancing over her shoulder back to where they had left Munto, she frowned at how far away it was from the palace and the city. The Island was not large in comparison to some places she had learned about, but it was still several miles from edge to edge.
"Milady?" Tormo slowed and soon they stopped midair with the other guard coming close. He glanced back to see what had caught her attention. "Did we need to go back, My Queen?"
It had already taken them several minutes to get this far from him, and they were still aways from the city. Even Lest who left before them, was nowhere to be seen. A stone began forming in her stomach. "Sorry for worrying you, but I feel we need to hurry."
She looked around them, trying to see if there was a threat around. The hairs on her neck stood up. "This was a trap."
"A trap?"
Resting her hand on her belly, she caught a shimmer in the sky. It was not very large, not a ship, but something was there.
A gust of wind grew around them blowing her dress around her legs.
"That's strange..." Tormo frowned. "I could have sworn I saw-"
His eyes widened.
Wrapping his arms around his Queen, he shouted a quick 'Forgive me!' before throwing her over his shoulder and took off quickly through the air. He wasn't the strongest or the best flyer, and with Yumemi over his shoulder he felt further off balance, but it didn't matter as an almost soundless, gasp-like implosion hit the other guard where they had just been. A silent gasp reflected on his face for a moment before Akuto scales covered his skin and a burst of Akuto crystals erupted as he dissipated. What kind of magic attack was that?!
The gravity of their situation turned deadly in less than a second.
Yumemi felt Tormo falter at seeing his comrade disappear in front of them, yet it took little time for his to begin to fly as fast as he could with her over his shoulder. With a quick look, she realized they were closer to the city than Munto, but if they went to the city, would whoever was attacking them continue their attack and harm the civilians until other guards and mages could arrive? Still... "Into the city, Tormo! If we can sound the alarms, we can fight whatever this is."
"R-right!" He quickly adjusted his grip on her, trying his hardest not to touch certain assets he knew only Lord Munto should be able to, and began flying as fast as he could towards the city. There was a watch tower near the outskirts they could alert. If they could get others, then he knew she would be safe.
Pushing herself up against his back, Yumemi watched behind them as she noticed the shimmering pursuing them. Something shifted in it and a void of light gathered around the end of it before it shot out towards them. She gave a cry in warning and felt him drop towards the ground to avoid it.
Crystals scattered through the sky and she briefly wondered if it was consuming the Akuto in the sky. What kind of weapon could do that? Was that what caused the circle of death they went to earlier?
Another void of light came and again she shouted directions to him to keep them from being hit. Yet, each time they swerved, she noticed they were moving further away from the city and towards the edge of the Island. "We need to head back to the city!"
"I am trying, Milady," he gritted, feeling more crystals pelt him in the face. Why were they being led them from the city?
Two smaller voids shot towards them suddenly, moving right towards them. She cried out at the realization they would hit them and raised her hand quickly. A shield of brilliant light erupted surrounded them as they managed to avoid one of them, but the second slammed into the shield.
An eruption of sound and light filled the area and spread far. The shield cracked and shattered. A searing fire tore through her entire body and briefly she realized they were falling.
Unable to keep them up any longer, Tormo wrapped himself around his Queen and used what energy he had left to slow their fall before they crashed into the ground and managed to take the brunt of it.
They rolled along the ground for several feet. His grip loosened on her and they separated before they managed to come to a halt. Pain rippled through his entire body. It felt like all the Akuto inside of him had been boiled and crystalized, but he was still there...he was still alive. "My Queen..." He tried to push himself up, he had to get her out of there.
A few feet from him, Yumemi quivered in pain. The spell on her stomach glowed, holding fast and continuing to protect the small one inside of her. Yet, her entire body felt completely drained, and the Akuto she had come to call upon was only a numbness in her fingers. Tears came to her eyes and she wished in that moment she had been stubborn and had stayed with her husband. "Munto..."
An arm wrapped around her stomach and lifted her up from the ground. This was not how Munto held her…and she felt herself rise higher and higher than her husband's height. This was not right.
"My Queen...! Put her down!"
She took in a ragged breath, trying to gather what strength she could against the pain and numbness fighting in her body. The way his arm tightened around her midsection did not help and she cried out in pain.
"How foolish of Munto to let something so precious alone with mere useless guards." That voice…she knew it, but from where? She tried to push against the arm holding her. "The power of the Magical Kingdom is now mine, and that foolish king will soon fall."
Something hard came down hard on her back. A surge of electricity went through her body any fight she had left quickly dissipated and darkness overcame her.
