Forced Emotions
Practice - Day 1: The Sword of Forgotten Love
A/N: Here's the next chapter! Happy holidays to everyone!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
"Mrgh..." the man groaned, one arm hanging over the blue, silk covered bed, his hair quite ruffled, a tad bit of saliva dripping out of the corner of his mouth. The man attempted to move his arm back onto the bed, but was so tangled up in his sheets that he fell off, fight on his face.
Mumbling how the royals should stick to cotton fabrics, (as they were not as likely to strangle you in the night,) the crimson-haired man got to his feet, staggering to his bathroom sink, still half-asleep.
He didn't flick on the light, already knowing that he could find his way to his sink, which he did.
Turning the two knobs to adjust the temperature, he cupped his hands under the running water and splashed it onto his face, doing so a couple of times to wake up some. He found a dry wash cloth and dabbed it on his wet face.
Walking back into his room, he turned towards his dresser for a shirt to wear. He could care less what it was, so he opened a drawer and fished around in it until his ungloved hand came out with a faint light blue, long- sleeved shirt, with a circled neck. The man shrugged and thrust the shirt over his head. He walked over to his mirror/table thing, (as he put it,) and put on his gloves that were on it. He stared at his reflection, (claiming to himself that he looked like hell every morning,) and looked for something to restrain his hair in. Opening a little brown box, the man found a thick, leather, stretchy, band-thing, and shrugged, putting his hair into a messy ponytail with it.
(Damn, what should I fight with in the tournament..?) the tall, yet slender man asked himself consciously, walking over to a rather large trunk that was under the windowsill. He peeked through the curtains to see how early in the morning it was. It was still dark, which gave him the thought that it was around 4 in the morning.
Bringing his attention back to the trunk, he unlocked it with the light stone key that was attached to his silver chain, which was on his neck. Heaving the heavy trunk open, he sighed, muttering to himself that he should cut down on making weapons; there was just too many to choose from! The more bizarre weapons he pulled out, the older the weapons got, until he finally came to the bottom, where a single broad sword lay safely in it's case.
"." The man moved his hand cautiously, hesitantly toward the sword, and picked it up. He remembered this sword. It was 'their' sword.
Slowly taking it out of it's sheath, the sword seemed to grow longer and longer, the blade shimmering in the darkness of his room, getting glassy, like his eyes were turning.
"...Yeah, I've missed you, too." came the voice of the man. It was shaken, weakened.
".I.I'm.sorry." he added, hanging his head, ashamed, gripping onto the sword tighter, his hands trembling. "I forgot.about you.I wish I hadn't, but I did.I still love you, though.from afar.
"This sword.has lost it's splendor.It's saddened.alone.deprived of it's true duty.the duty to kill.with the hearts of two.We were the two.
"I want to make it up to you." he whispered, holding the sword close to his heart. "Please."
Rod flinched all of a sudden, looking behind himself. He could've sworn that he had heard her.her voice. Faintly, but he was positive that he had heard her.calling to him.
Right then, he heard her again, but this time, he could make out what she said. Rod stood up, the sword tightly clutched in his right hand, the sharp tip of it pointing downward. He listened, turning his head toward his door.
"No. You can't be here." Rod said, convincing his self more than what he had heard. He held his breath, frozen in time, the steady pace of his heart all that he could hear.
Then, he heard a crash, and dashed towards his door, thrusting it open, taking hurried steps into the hallway, darting his eyes left and right, then straight ahead of him.
"Oh, no no no! I did it again!" the panicky servant whispered to herself, struggling to clean up the broken plates before anyone noticed.
Setting the sword down, (startling the servant,) Rod asked, "Do ya need any help?"
"Oh, uh, n-no! No, sir! I can handle it!" the servant responded, attempting a weak smile, her hands shaking as they took each broken plate and placed them in her apron, which she made into a makeshift cart.
Smiling a small smile at her, Rod walked over and knelt down, picking up a few pieces of the broken plates and putting them in her apron.
"Th-thank you." she squeaked out, going to her feet as she finished cleaning up her mess.
"No problem. You be careful, ok?" Rod answered, nodding to the servant.
"Y-yes, sir!" the servant said, a little more cheerily than before. She hurried down the hallways, and Rod watched her, until she was out of sight.
Rod sighed, thinking to himself that he was really paranoid, and went back, picking up his sword as he went back to his room.
As he closed his door and returned to his trunk, he gathered all of his other weapons up and put them away, except for the sword.
".I'm gonna fight with you in the tournament," Rod said aloud, putting the sword back in it's case, adding, "Now, let's go practice."
Courtyard~
All was quiet; you could barely hear the slashes of Rod's sword in the air. He was very quick with swords, especially, since he had mainly grown up around them.
Panting slightly, (and stopping for a rest,) Rod kneeled down; the sword's tip pointed downward, digging into the soft earth. He always pushed himself this hard before a tournament. Even in his spare time, he would go for at least an hour without any sort of break. That tells you that Rod's very dedicated at what he does best: fighting.
All of a sudden, Rod heard clapping. He jerked his head to his left to find Rue standing there. He must have been watching him.
"You are very talented with a sword," Rue complimented, walking up to Rod. "I see I'll have some competition, now."
Rod made a laugh, and replied, "You're damn right!"
Rue just smiled, looking around. He looked like he was deep in thought.
"How come you are training this early? It's still a little dark out," Rue asked before Rod could ask his question first.
"I couldn't sleep. Besides," Rod sat down, laying his sword down beside him, gesturing for Rue to do the same, "I always get up this early."
"At four in the morning?" Rue questioned in surprise.
"Yeah. Sometimes around three," Rod answered, looking over to the horizon. The sun was about to rise.
"Why are you up?" Rod asked, watching a glint of the sun go up ever so slowly.
"I." Rue stopped, making Rod turn his head and look at him, concerned. "I.don't know if I can do this."
"Do? Do what?" Rod asked, his attention all on Rue.
"This tournament.I don't know if I could help Mint out at all." Rue stammered.
"What, are you afraid that you won't get to fight up against Mint?" Rod inquired, Rue wincing a bit.
"Yes." Rue mumbled, hanging his head in shame.
"." Rod grabbed his sword swiftly, and jumped over to Rue, who scrambled away, barely missing the blade of Rod's sword.
"W-what are you doing!?" Rue asked, rushing to his feet and turning towards Rod, who sped at him.
Rue grabbed his Arc Edge, and blocked a mighty powerful blow from the Blade Star. They pushed with great force, and Rue slid to the left, making Rod go forward for a split second, Rue kicking off of his hip and into a back flip. Rod charged at Rue, the adventurer slashing a horizontal hit at him, making him back off a foot. Nonetheless, Rod jumped high up into the air, Rue looking up at him, heart beating with high-speed. Rod's sword crashed down onto the ground only inches away from where Rue was standing; Rue, in the meantime, gave Rod three blows, none in which he could block.
On the fourth swipe, Rod managed to block it, using all his strength to send Rue airborne and land uncomfortably on the ground.
"How can you doubt yourself? If you don't make it past me, then there's no way you can beat anyone, (not even Duke,) in the tournament," Rod stated firmly, walking over to Rue, looking down upon him.
"." Rue didn't have a reply for that, but he got up quickly and gave Rod another bash, where he blocked again.
"Yeah, if you don't get past me, someone else might go and make Mint's life miserable," Rod shot, hoping it would give Rue more power to fight him, knowing what might happen if he couldn't make it past Rod.
Rue twirled around, crouching down, using his right leg to trip Rod, sending him to the ground. Rue pulled up his Arc Edge, and slammed it down, aiming for Rod's neck.
There he stopped, the tip of his weapon tickling Rod's throat.
Rod smiled, pleased at how quick he was.
"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Rod said after a deep breath. "You'll win. I guarantee it,"
Rue brought his Arc Edge back to his side, Rod getting to his feet.
(That would be nice if I won, but. Mint said that she didn't want a forced marriage.) Rue thought to himself, putting his Arc Edge back on his back.
"Rue? Hellooo?" Rod must have been trying to get his attention, 'cause he was waving his hand in front of Rue's face frantically.
"Huh!? Oh, sorry. I was thinking," Rue rushed, coming out of his thoughts.
"Deep thinker." Rod said, shaking his head with a smile. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something."
"Sure. Go ahead," Rue replied, awaiting a question.
"Um." Rod scratched his head, thinking of the right words.
"Rod..?"
"I.wanted to know, if." Rod fumbled with his words, which he rarely ever did.
"What is it, Rod?" Rue wondered, questioning himself what question would make Rod this shy.
".Okay. I'll just come one out with it." Rod said, taking a deep breath, holding onto the head of his sword.
"Good, because I don't know what would keep you from saying anything," Rue replied with a crooked smile.
".Would it bother you if I asked Claire to marry me?"
Throne Room~
Wearing a red and gold, silk robe coming down to the end of her golden sandals, a white dress underneath, (with the hem stopping just where the dress did,) walking gracefully down the hallway towards the throne room. Her short, ginger hair was as straight as can be, the front of it behind her ears, revealing long, gold, dangling earrings with one ruby in the center of each.
She had a sinister smile upon her lips, (almost evil, in fact,) and stopped at the throne doors, looking at both of the guards before they let her in without a word. The clanging of her sandals echoed lightly through the high- ceilinged room, making her father's head turn from his scribe to her.
"Maya, my dear!" he bellowed, walking down the long and very wide runner that led the three thrones. "How is your morning?"
"It is fine, father. How is yours?" Maya replied sweetly, (as usual,) as the two of them stopped in front of each other.
"Oh, I'm so busy with the tournament preparations, it makes my head spin!" the king answered. "But, I always have time for my daughters. Is there anything you need?"
"Actually." Maya replied, starting to walk towards the thrones, "I would like to have a discussion about the tournament with you."
"About the tournament?" her father asked curiously, following a step behind her. "What could there possibly be to discuss?"
"I would like to talk to you about the rules," Maya stated, sitting to the right of the largest throne, which her father took a seat in.
"Go ahead," he motioned, turning to his youngest.
"Well. It all seems a bit unfair. I was going to be the queen, ever since you took the right of Mint's succession away. So, I took time to think about it, and came up with a perfect solution.
"I say, if someone in the tournament defeats Mint, that she will be given two choices. She could either one, marry him, or two, decline the throne forever and I would take the throne with a husband of my choice. That sounds rather fair to me, would not you agree?"
She turned her delicate head towards her father, and put a questioning expression on her face.
The king of East Heaven pondered for a few minor seconds, then gave a response.
"That does sound more fair than the rules before, and also more negotiable." he replied slowly.
"Then, will those be the new rules applied?" Maya asked with a sparkle of hope in her eyes.
".Yes. Yes, those will be the new rules. It gives both you and Mint a chance at the throne," the king said, smiling after he spoke. "Scribe!"
A little man with a clipboard came shuffling out from around the corner, pen in hand, ready to write down whatever the king said.
"Yes, my lord?" the scribe asked, kneeling for a moment before coming up.
"There will be a change in the rules. Follow me to the tournament grounds, and I shall explain on the way."
"Have a wonderful day, father," Maya called to him as he stood up, laving the throne room.
"You too, my darling daughter," he called back, hurrying and talking to the scribe nonstop.
"Humph." Maya snorted lightly, grinning with pleasure. It is almost too easy to persuade her father. She could just as well tell him to start a war and it would be done. The princess was just too persuasive at her age.
Maya twirled a strand of her hair about her finger, her elbow on the armrest, the other on her leg that was crossed over the other.
"Hehehe.haha.HAHAHA!!!" the princess laughed insanely, seeming to be the root of all evil as her voice spread swiftly throughout the castle.
Kitchen~
"Okey dokey! Prima, blow this up next!" the girl with the bubblegum hair stated with glee, throwing a decapitated pig in the air.
"Blow!!!" the little 'golden' boy yelled, a swirl of gold magic coming from his extended hand, the pig's body blowing up and it's remains scattering around the all ready messy kitchen.
"Yay! Go Prima! Go Prima!" Elena cheered, clapping, while jumping up and down as Prima took a bow. "Let's see. you've blown up pigs, watermelons, dishes, cakes, hams. What else is there?"
"Hmm." prima looked around, and spotted a stove. "I could practice my fire magic and light up the stove!"
"Yeah!!!" Elena cried out, striding behind Prima and giving him a shove forwards. "Do it!"
Prima responded with a nod, and held his hands out in front of him, closing his eyes for a minute. He hummed silently before his eyelids flung open, and he yelled, "Blaze!!!" The whole top of the stove caught on fire, and Elena cheered for her younger brother, while he started to sweat with panic.
"That was super-duper cool!!! Again!" Elena begged, scuttling up into Prima's face with big eyes full of amusement. "Now!"
"Uh..!" Prima darted his eyes every which way, viewing what he had to set out the fire. "I-I know!!! I'll use some water magic now!!"
"Ooh!! Bubbles!!!" Elena said in a frenzy, getting out of his way as the fire still grew, watching him like a little school girl, the most glassy eyes you've ever seen with the most delighted smile, too.
Prima didn't waste any time droning, and got right to the spell. "Stream of water!!!" he screeched, water jetting through his hands as they formed a blue glow around them. The water exterminated the flames upon the stove, and Prima let out a well-heard sigh.
"Phew. That was close." Prima said with relief, sitting on the floor, leaning up against a cabinet.
Elena leapt in front of him, making Prima wince from surprise of the hyper girl he called his sister. "TEACH ME!!! I want to do BIG MAGIC, too!!!"
"W-what!? M-me!?" Prima implored, pointing to himself, then to Elena as he continued. "You want me to teach you magic?"
The innocent-looking girl shook her head 'yes' repeatedly, showing Prima her zeal of interest.
"I.don't know how." Prima whispered, his voice full of doubt, Elena ending her enthusiastic acts.
"You don't know how..?" Elena questioned, her eyes full of disappointment. ".J-just teach me whatever Mel taught you!"
"But." The loud crash of hand to wood interrupted the two siblings, both of them jerking their heads towards the kitchen's main door.
"Uh-oh." Elena murmured, crouching down behind Prima, clutching onto his arm, hiding.
"I want an extensive lunch for me and my friends, pronto!! If I don't get it in five-" Mint came to a halt, her confused eyes scanning the area, wondering what had taken place before she had entered. "What the..?"
"H-hi, Mint." Prima said weakly, him and Elena slowly rising from their positions on the tile. "How is-"
"ARE YOU TWO INSANE!!?" Mint roared, stomping her foot with anger. "THIS IS A KITCHEN!!! MY KITCHEN THAT I ORDER CHEFS AROUND IN!!! IT'S NOT SOME PLAYGROUND!!!"
"Gee, Mint, we're sorry, but-" Elena started, but Mint wouldn't hear of it, and waltzed angrily up to the two of them, snatching each of the collars of their shirts each in one hand, shaking them for no reason at all.
"SORRY DOESN'T CUT IT!!! NOW GO!!! GO SOMEWHERE ELSE WHERE YOU WON'T CAUSE TROUBLE!!" Mint ordered, dropping both of them where they caught their breaths and ran past her. "Stupid idiots."
Mint knelt down, beginning to pick up the shards of dishware before someone got hurt.
(What were those two thinking of? This may be a castle in all, and we have plenty of servants, but. Dear Lord, wrecking MY personal kitchen!!?)
"Mint, what are you doing?" a feminine voice inquired, scaring the life out of Mint, her falling over, right into a pile of pig remains.
Mint flung her head up and gasped for air, Belle letting out a laugh.
"So this is what princesses do when they're off duty." Belle snickered, striding up to the right of Mint.
"No." Mint said, her temple starting to pump. "This is what princesses do when old hags come around and bother them." She said it with such seriousness, that it surprised Belle, and didn't even seem to hear the 'old' part.
".Damn, you look, (and smell,) like hell." Belle said, actually sounding sympathetic for once, but in a weird way, taking a clean towel off of a counter and holding it out to Mint, who grabbed it, mumbling with disgust as she cleaned her face.
"Argh. Those two." Mint started, giving the door a fierce look. "Belle, go tell some servants to come clean this up for me, will ya? I'll be in my bathroom until I don't smell like hell anymore."
"O.k." Belle nodded as Mint stormed out of the room.
Mint's Bathroom~
"Ooh, I just can't wait until I can beat those munchkins to a bloody pulp..!" Mint growled to herself, kicking her boots off, them smacking into her scarlet and carroty-colored wall. "Yeah.heh.that's what I'll do." East Heaven's now infuriated princess pushed the plug for her bathtub down, rotating the hot water knob until it wouldn't go any further, and did the same for the cold, but only went halfway around.
Tugging her green and golden dress, (like her normal attire,) over her head, tossing it to the ground, too, going to work on her shiny light- colored tights.
Pondering about how there were so many ways to get Elena and Prima back for wrecking her kitchen, Mint looked for a container that was filled with bubble bath, and spotted it beside her sink. She snatched it up, opened it, and just dumped the whole bottle into her tub, the bubbles multiplying quickly.
Taking off her bra, Mint thought, (Darn torture device.) and threw it to the floor, also. (Whoever invented those was crazy.)
Turning the knobs back to their starting positions, Mint stepped in, the warm water tingling her foot, then her whole body as its inviting heat engulfed all but her head. Mint took out her hair scrunches and slowly glided her fingers through her reddish-orange hair, moaning in pleasure.
"Ahh, now this is more like it." the teenager said with dreamy delight, closing her eyes. She took in a deep breath, and let herself sink into the fizz-filled 'bowl' that was wrapping her in warmth.
While Mint was off 'under the sea', a servant and a familiar, serious/gentle faced young man were talking behind her closed door.
"Oh, you know; it's not all that bad being a servant. I enjoy cleaning," the somewhat recognizable voice of the servant stated sweetly.
"If you say so, but. I'm just used to helping around and cleaning," Rue responded truthfully.
"I guess you could help me with a small little task. I don't want to get me or, more importantly, you in trouble," the servant answered, opening Mint's door. "Come."
Rue nodded, and stepped inside. Looking around, it didn't seem like Mint was there.
"You can start in the bathroom while I tidy up in here," the servant informed, Rue nodding yet again. As he walked into the bathroom, the smell of cinnamon was in the air. Strange. Mint doesn't seem to be one for fragrances. Anyhow, Rue spotted one of Mint's boots up against a wall, and the other was close by. In fact, it seemed like a whole outfit of Mint's was scattered across the light lavender floor.
As told, Rue collected Mint's clothes, carrying them like he would an infant. Then it hit him. Would Mint be angry with him, for.for coming into her bedroom? Will she yell at him? Kick him out? Thump him on the head..? He didn't know.yet.
"Ahem." the oh-so-familiar voice said from behind him. Spinning around, there was Mint's head, surrounded by bubbles in her rather large tub.
Rue turned as red as a ruby, staring at the princess, wide-eyed, gawking at her.
"U-uh, I, um." Rue could barely even say a word, but Mint didn't need any.
"So, you came to see if I was up, huh? Well, I actually get up just as early as you," Mint assumed, catching Rue off-guard. She thought that he had come to check on her..? That wasn't right.
"But," Mint continued, raising her eyebrow with suspicion, "why are you holding my clothes..?"
Rue got so embarrassed, he just dropped all of her garments and clasped his hands tightly behind his back, staring at the purple tiles, and still the brightest crimson you've ever seen on his face.
"Well, don't just stand there; get me a towel," Mint ordered, blushing slightly around her cheeks. "They're under the counter to your right."
"O-of c-course." Rue stuttered, hustling over to the pinpointed counter and opening it, grabbing a towel with his extremely sweaty hand.
(Unless you want to come in with me.) Mint thought dreamily, Rue jerking his head back to her, eyes as big as toy balls. "What? Get me a towel already!"
"Oh..! R-right!" Rue got up and walked over to his friend, holding out the towel.
"Thanks," Mint said with gratitude, smiling at Rue, turning his skin back to its normal color a little bit at a time. "You can put it by my sink."
"Sure," Rue answered, for once not stuttering.
"." Mint stared at Rue awkwardly, seeming to be waiting.
"."
"."
"."
".Um, do you want to see me naked that bad?" Mint asked, blushing.
"Huh..?" Rue had to process what Mint had just said through his mind. The words ran into his hormones, and. "Ye---I mean NO! I-I'm sorry! I'll be leaving now." And he rushed out the door before Mint could even say good- bye.
As he came out of the bathroom, (shutting the door,) Rue found that the servant was nowhere to be found. That puzzled him, but he rushed out the door to get some fresh air, thinking.
(Mint.just asked me.if I wanted to.) Rue paused, and then finished his thought. (Go in her bathtub..? While she was in it..?)
Mint, on the other hand, was drying herself off wildly, wanting to catch up to Rue. He had given her an odd look while he was getting her towel from the counter. She hadn't said anything. Mint didn't think so, in any case.
Bursting from her door, Mint jogged to her dresser, (her towel wrapped around her,) digging into it, and came out with the first thing her hand touched: a casual-formal dress.
"Oh my God." Mint said, but thrust the cherry blossom pink dress on, it stopping at a little above her knees. Mint didn't really care; she was in a rush, anyway. Beside: she wanted to go talk to Rue.
So, she grabbed some undies, (putting them on,) and didn't even bother with a 'torture device', then selected a pair of white, flat flip-flops before opening her door, where she ran right into Rue, both of them falling to the carpet.
"Ow." Mint started to complain, lifting up off of Rue with her hands, right on his sides. "That hurt."
"Are you okay?" Rue asked, sounding a tad bit worried.
"Fine. You?" Mint responded, getting off Rue, who turned on his back.
"Mint." Rue asked, looking up at the ceiling.
"Yeah?"
"Um.could you." Rue blushed slightly, not taking his eyes away from his spot on the ceiling.
"Could I-" Mint gasped, and tripped backwards, Rue closing his eyes while he heard a 'thump'.
"Thank you."
"No, thank you." Mint said, totally mortified. "I forgot I had this thing on."
"That's alright," Rue replied, coming to his feet to help Mint up. "You look-"
"Don't say it! It was the first thing I grabbed!" Mint interrupted, taking Rue's hand and jumping up, pointing her index finger at him accusingly. "So don't make fun of me!"
"Oh, no! No, I was only going to say that you looked nice in it," Rue said, gesturing with his hands for forgiveness.
"What..?" Mint never had been given the compliment of her wearing a dress. Sure, her dad and all the townspeople said she'd look good in anything, but it felt somewhat.special, coming from Rue.)
"Oh. Well, thanks," Mint said, blushing.
"Um, are you." Rue started, scratching his head, going red in the face a little as well, "do you have any plans for today?"
"Plans?" Mint thought for a minute. ".No. No, I don't think so, no."
"Then." Rue gulped before continuing. "Do you want to come with me? Into town, maybe?"
Mint was speechless. No one had ever asked her to just go someplace for no reason at all. She was overjoyed! Yes, yes! Of course she would!!
"I would li-"
"She really would, but the princess and I have already made plans," came a man with a slight British accent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
A/N: 'Ooh, who is that darn guy with the British accent!!?' you're all probably wondering, right? Well, I'll tell y'all in the next chapter! Buh- bye!
Practice - Day 1: The Sword of Forgotten Love
A/N: Here's the next chapter! Happy holidays to everyone!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
"Mrgh..." the man groaned, one arm hanging over the blue, silk covered bed, his hair quite ruffled, a tad bit of saliva dripping out of the corner of his mouth. The man attempted to move his arm back onto the bed, but was so tangled up in his sheets that he fell off, fight on his face.
Mumbling how the royals should stick to cotton fabrics, (as they were not as likely to strangle you in the night,) the crimson-haired man got to his feet, staggering to his bathroom sink, still half-asleep.
He didn't flick on the light, already knowing that he could find his way to his sink, which he did.
Turning the two knobs to adjust the temperature, he cupped his hands under the running water and splashed it onto his face, doing so a couple of times to wake up some. He found a dry wash cloth and dabbed it on his wet face.
Walking back into his room, he turned towards his dresser for a shirt to wear. He could care less what it was, so he opened a drawer and fished around in it until his ungloved hand came out with a faint light blue, long- sleeved shirt, with a circled neck. The man shrugged and thrust the shirt over his head. He walked over to his mirror/table thing, (as he put it,) and put on his gloves that were on it. He stared at his reflection, (claiming to himself that he looked like hell every morning,) and looked for something to restrain his hair in. Opening a little brown box, the man found a thick, leather, stretchy, band-thing, and shrugged, putting his hair into a messy ponytail with it.
(Damn, what should I fight with in the tournament..?) the tall, yet slender man asked himself consciously, walking over to a rather large trunk that was under the windowsill. He peeked through the curtains to see how early in the morning it was. It was still dark, which gave him the thought that it was around 4 in the morning.
Bringing his attention back to the trunk, he unlocked it with the light stone key that was attached to his silver chain, which was on his neck. Heaving the heavy trunk open, he sighed, muttering to himself that he should cut down on making weapons; there was just too many to choose from! The more bizarre weapons he pulled out, the older the weapons got, until he finally came to the bottom, where a single broad sword lay safely in it's case.
"." The man moved his hand cautiously, hesitantly toward the sword, and picked it up. He remembered this sword. It was 'their' sword.
Slowly taking it out of it's sheath, the sword seemed to grow longer and longer, the blade shimmering in the darkness of his room, getting glassy, like his eyes were turning.
"...Yeah, I've missed you, too." came the voice of the man. It was shaken, weakened.
".I.I'm.sorry." he added, hanging his head, ashamed, gripping onto the sword tighter, his hands trembling. "I forgot.about you.I wish I hadn't, but I did.I still love you, though.from afar.
"This sword.has lost it's splendor.It's saddened.alone.deprived of it's true duty.the duty to kill.with the hearts of two.We were the two.
"I want to make it up to you." he whispered, holding the sword close to his heart. "Please."
Rod flinched all of a sudden, looking behind himself. He could've sworn that he had heard her.her voice. Faintly, but he was positive that he had heard her.calling to him.
Right then, he heard her again, but this time, he could make out what she said. Rod stood up, the sword tightly clutched in his right hand, the sharp tip of it pointing downward. He listened, turning his head toward his door.
"No. You can't be here." Rod said, convincing his self more than what he had heard. He held his breath, frozen in time, the steady pace of his heart all that he could hear.
Then, he heard a crash, and dashed towards his door, thrusting it open, taking hurried steps into the hallway, darting his eyes left and right, then straight ahead of him.
"Oh, no no no! I did it again!" the panicky servant whispered to herself, struggling to clean up the broken plates before anyone noticed.
Setting the sword down, (startling the servant,) Rod asked, "Do ya need any help?"
"Oh, uh, n-no! No, sir! I can handle it!" the servant responded, attempting a weak smile, her hands shaking as they took each broken plate and placed them in her apron, which she made into a makeshift cart.
Smiling a small smile at her, Rod walked over and knelt down, picking up a few pieces of the broken plates and putting them in her apron.
"Th-thank you." she squeaked out, going to her feet as she finished cleaning up her mess.
"No problem. You be careful, ok?" Rod answered, nodding to the servant.
"Y-yes, sir!" the servant said, a little more cheerily than before. She hurried down the hallways, and Rod watched her, until she was out of sight.
Rod sighed, thinking to himself that he was really paranoid, and went back, picking up his sword as he went back to his room.
As he closed his door and returned to his trunk, he gathered all of his other weapons up and put them away, except for the sword.
".I'm gonna fight with you in the tournament," Rod said aloud, putting the sword back in it's case, adding, "Now, let's go practice."
Courtyard~
All was quiet; you could barely hear the slashes of Rod's sword in the air. He was very quick with swords, especially, since he had mainly grown up around them.
Panting slightly, (and stopping for a rest,) Rod kneeled down; the sword's tip pointed downward, digging into the soft earth. He always pushed himself this hard before a tournament. Even in his spare time, he would go for at least an hour without any sort of break. That tells you that Rod's very dedicated at what he does best: fighting.
All of a sudden, Rod heard clapping. He jerked his head to his left to find Rue standing there. He must have been watching him.
"You are very talented with a sword," Rue complimented, walking up to Rod. "I see I'll have some competition, now."
Rod made a laugh, and replied, "You're damn right!"
Rue just smiled, looking around. He looked like he was deep in thought.
"How come you are training this early? It's still a little dark out," Rue asked before Rod could ask his question first.
"I couldn't sleep. Besides," Rod sat down, laying his sword down beside him, gesturing for Rue to do the same, "I always get up this early."
"At four in the morning?" Rue questioned in surprise.
"Yeah. Sometimes around three," Rod answered, looking over to the horizon. The sun was about to rise.
"Why are you up?" Rod asked, watching a glint of the sun go up ever so slowly.
"I." Rue stopped, making Rod turn his head and look at him, concerned. "I.don't know if I can do this."
"Do? Do what?" Rod asked, his attention all on Rue.
"This tournament.I don't know if I could help Mint out at all." Rue stammered.
"What, are you afraid that you won't get to fight up against Mint?" Rod inquired, Rue wincing a bit.
"Yes." Rue mumbled, hanging his head in shame.
"." Rod grabbed his sword swiftly, and jumped over to Rue, who scrambled away, barely missing the blade of Rod's sword.
"W-what are you doing!?" Rue asked, rushing to his feet and turning towards Rod, who sped at him.
Rue grabbed his Arc Edge, and blocked a mighty powerful blow from the Blade Star. They pushed with great force, and Rue slid to the left, making Rod go forward for a split second, Rue kicking off of his hip and into a back flip. Rod charged at Rue, the adventurer slashing a horizontal hit at him, making him back off a foot. Nonetheless, Rod jumped high up into the air, Rue looking up at him, heart beating with high-speed. Rod's sword crashed down onto the ground only inches away from where Rue was standing; Rue, in the meantime, gave Rod three blows, none in which he could block.
On the fourth swipe, Rod managed to block it, using all his strength to send Rue airborne and land uncomfortably on the ground.
"How can you doubt yourself? If you don't make it past me, then there's no way you can beat anyone, (not even Duke,) in the tournament," Rod stated firmly, walking over to Rue, looking down upon him.
"." Rue didn't have a reply for that, but he got up quickly and gave Rod another bash, where he blocked again.
"Yeah, if you don't get past me, someone else might go and make Mint's life miserable," Rod shot, hoping it would give Rue more power to fight him, knowing what might happen if he couldn't make it past Rod.
Rue twirled around, crouching down, using his right leg to trip Rod, sending him to the ground. Rue pulled up his Arc Edge, and slammed it down, aiming for Rod's neck.
There he stopped, the tip of his weapon tickling Rod's throat.
Rod smiled, pleased at how quick he was.
"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Rod said after a deep breath. "You'll win. I guarantee it,"
Rue brought his Arc Edge back to his side, Rod getting to his feet.
(That would be nice if I won, but. Mint said that she didn't want a forced marriage.) Rue thought to himself, putting his Arc Edge back on his back.
"Rue? Hellooo?" Rod must have been trying to get his attention, 'cause he was waving his hand in front of Rue's face frantically.
"Huh!? Oh, sorry. I was thinking," Rue rushed, coming out of his thoughts.
"Deep thinker." Rod said, shaking his head with a smile. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something."
"Sure. Go ahead," Rue replied, awaiting a question.
"Um." Rod scratched his head, thinking of the right words.
"Rod..?"
"I.wanted to know, if." Rod fumbled with his words, which he rarely ever did.
"What is it, Rod?" Rue wondered, questioning himself what question would make Rod this shy.
".Okay. I'll just come one out with it." Rod said, taking a deep breath, holding onto the head of his sword.
"Good, because I don't know what would keep you from saying anything," Rue replied with a crooked smile.
".Would it bother you if I asked Claire to marry me?"
Throne Room~
Wearing a red and gold, silk robe coming down to the end of her golden sandals, a white dress underneath, (with the hem stopping just where the dress did,) walking gracefully down the hallway towards the throne room. Her short, ginger hair was as straight as can be, the front of it behind her ears, revealing long, gold, dangling earrings with one ruby in the center of each.
She had a sinister smile upon her lips, (almost evil, in fact,) and stopped at the throne doors, looking at both of the guards before they let her in without a word. The clanging of her sandals echoed lightly through the high- ceilinged room, making her father's head turn from his scribe to her.
"Maya, my dear!" he bellowed, walking down the long and very wide runner that led the three thrones. "How is your morning?"
"It is fine, father. How is yours?" Maya replied sweetly, (as usual,) as the two of them stopped in front of each other.
"Oh, I'm so busy with the tournament preparations, it makes my head spin!" the king answered. "But, I always have time for my daughters. Is there anything you need?"
"Actually." Maya replied, starting to walk towards the thrones, "I would like to have a discussion about the tournament with you."
"About the tournament?" her father asked curiously, following a step behind her. "What could there possibly be to discuss?"
"I would like to talk to you about the rules," Maya stated, sitting to the right of the largest throne, which her father took a seat in.
"Go ahead," he motioned, turning to his youngest.
"Well. It all seems a bit unfair. I was going to be the queen, ever since you took the right of Mint's succession away. So, I took time to think about it, and came up with a perfect solution.
"I say, if someone in the tournament defeats Mint, that she will be given two choices. She could either one, marry him, or two, decline the throne forever and I would take the throne with a husband of my choice. That sounds rather fair to me, would not you agree?"
She turned her delicate head towards her father, and put a questioning expression on her face.
The king of East Heaven pondered for a few minor seconds, then gave a response.
"That does sound more fair than the rules before, and also more negotiable." he replied slowly.
"Then, will those be the new rules applied?" Maya asked with a sparkle of hope in her eyes.
".Yes. Yes, those will be the new rules. It gives both you and Mint a chance at the throne," the king said, smiling after he spoke. "Scribe!"
A little man with a clipboard came shuffling out from around the corner, pen in hand, ready to write down whatever the king said.
"Yes, my lord?" the scribe asked, kneeling for a moment before coming up.
"There will be a change in the rules. Follow me to the tournament grounds, and I shall explain on the way."
"Have a wonderful day, father," Maya called to him as he stood up, laving the throne room.
"You too, my darling daughter," he called back, hurrying and talking to the scribe nonstop.
"Humph." Maya snorted lightly, grinning with pleasure. It is almost too easy to persuade her father. She could just as well tell him to start a war and it would be done. The princess was just too persuasive at her age.
Maya twirled a strand of her hair about her finger, her elbow on the armrest, the other on her leg that was crossed over the other.
"Hehehe.haha.HAHAHA!!!" the princess laughed insanely, seeming to be the root of all evil as her voice spread swiftly throughout the castle.
Kitchen~
"Okey dokey! Prima, blow this up next!" the girl with the bubblegum hair stated with glee, throwing a decapitated pig in the air.
"Blow!!!" the little 'golden' boy yelled, a swirl of gold magic coming from his extended hand, the pig's body blowing up and it's remains scattering around the all ready messy kitchen.
"Yay! Go Prima! Go Prima!" Elena cheered, clapping, while jumping up and down as Prima took a bow. "Let's see. you've blown up pigs, watermelons, dishes, cakes, hams. What else is there?"
"Hmm." prima looked around, and spotted a stove. "I could practice my fire magic and light up the stove!"
"Yeah!!!" Elena cried out, striding behind Prima and giving him a shove forwards. "Do it!"
Prima responded with a nod, and held his hands out in front of him, closing his eyes for a minute. He hummed silently before his eyelids flung open, and he yelled, "Blaze!!!" The whole top of the stove caught on fire, and Elena cheered for her younger brother, while he started to sweat with panic.
"That was super-duper cool!!! Again!" Elena begged, scuttling up into Prima's face with big eyes full of amusement. "Now!"
"Uh..!" Prima darted his eyes every which way, viewing what he had to set out the fire. "I-I know!!! I'll use some water magic now!!"
"Ooh!! Bubbles!!!" Elena said in a frenzy, getting out of his way as the fire still grew, watching him like a little school girl, the most glassy eyes you've ever seen with the most delighted smile, too.
Prima didn't waste any time droning, and got right to the spell. "Stream of water!!!" he screeched, water jetting through his hands as they formed a blue glow around them. The water exterminated the flames upon the stove, and Prima let out a well-heard sigh.
"Phew. That was close." Prima said with relief, sitting on the floor, leaning up against a cabinet.
Elena leapt in front of him, making Prima wince from surprise of the hyper girl he called his sister. "TEACH ME!!! I want to do BIG MAGIC, too!!!"
"W-what!? M-me!?" Prima implored, pointing to himself, then to Elena as he continued. "You want me to teach you magic?"
The innocent-looking girl shook her head 'yes' repeatedly, showing Prima her zeal of interest.
"I.don't know how." Prima whispered, his voice full of doubt, Elena ending her enthusiastic acts.
"You don't know how..?" Elena questioned, her eyes full of disappointment. ".J-just teach me whatever Mel taught you!"
"But." The loud crash of hand to wood interrupted the two siblings, both of them jerking their heads towards the kitchen's main door.
"Uh-oh." Elena murmured, crouching down behind Prima, clutching onto his arm, hiding.
"I want an extensive lunch for me and my friends, pronto!! If I don't get it in five-" Mint came to a halt, her confused eyes scanning the area, wondering what had taken place before she had entered. "What the..?"
"H-hi, Mint." Prima said weakly, him and Elena slowly rising from their positions on the tile. "How is-"
"ARE YOU TWO INSANE!!?" Mint roared, stomping her foot with anger. "THIS IS A KITCHEN!!! MY KITCHEN THAT I ORDER CHEFS AROUND IN!!! IT'S NOT SOME PLAYGROUND!!!"
"Gee, Mint, we're sorry, but-" Elena started, but Mint wouldn't hear of it, and waltzed angrily up to the two of them, snatching each of the collars of their shirts each in one hand, shaking them for no reason at all.
"SORRY DOESN'T CUT IT!!! NOW GO!!! GO SOMEWHERE ELSE WHERE YOU WON'T CAUSE TROUBLE!!" Mint ordered, dropping both of them where they caught their breaths and ran past her. "Stupid idiots."
Mint knelt down, beginning to pick up the shards of dishware before someone got hurt.
(What were those two thinking of? This may be a castle in all, and we have plenty of servants, but. Dear Lord, wrecking MY personal kitchen!!?)
"Mint, what are you doing?" a feminine voice inquired, scaring the life out of Mint, her falling over, right into a pile of pig remains.
Mint flung her head up and gasped for air, Belle letting out a laugh.
"So this is what princesses do when they're off duty." Belle snickered, striding up to the right of Mint.
"No." Mint said, her temple starting to pump. "This is what princesses do when old hags come around and bother them." She said it with such seriousness, that it surprised Belle, and didn't even seem to hear the 'old' part.
".Damn, you look, (and smell,) like hell." Belle said, actually sounding sympathetic for once, but in a weird way, taking a clean towel off of a counter and holding it out to Mint, who grabbed it, mumbling with disgust as she cleaned her face.
"Argh. Those two." Mint started, giving the door a fierce look. "Belle, go tell some servants to come clean this up for me, will ya? I'll be in my bathroom until I don't smell like hell anymore."
"O.k." Belle nodded as Mint stormed out of the room.
Mint's Bathroom~
"Ooh, I just can't wait until I can beat those munchkins to a bloody pulp..!" Mint growled to herself, kicking her boots off, them smacking into her scarlet and carroty-colored wall. "Yeah.heh.that's what I'll do." East Heaven's now infuriated princess pushed the plug for her bathtub down, rotating the hot water knob until it wouldn't go any further, and did the same for the cold, but only went halfway around.
Tugging her green and golden dress, (like her normal attire,) over her head, tossing it to the ground, too, going to work on her shiny light- colored tights.
Pondering about how there were so many ways to get Elena and Prima back for wrecking her kitchen, Mint looked for a container that was filled with bubble bath, and spotted it beside her sink. She snatched it up, opened it, and just dumped the whole bottle into her tub, the bubbles multiplying quickly.
Taking off her bra, Mint thought, (Darn torture device.) and threw it to the floor, also. (Whoever invented those was crazy.)
Turning the knobs back to their starting positions, Mint stepped in, the warm water tingling her foot, then her whole body as its inviting heat engulfed all but her head. Mint took out her hair scrunches and slowly glided her fingers through her reddish-orange hair, moaning in pleasure.
"Ahh, now this is more like it." the teenager said with dreamy delight, closing her eyes. She took in a deep breath, and let herself sink into the fizz-filled 'bowl' that was wrapping her in warmth.
While Mint was off 'under the sea', a servant and a familiar, serious/gentle faced young man were talking behind her closed door.
"Oh, you know; it's not all that bad being a servant. I enjoy cleaning," the somewhat recognizable voice of the servant stated sweetly.
"If you say so, but. I'm just used to helping around and cleaning," Rue responded truthfully.
"I guess you could help me with a small little task. I don't want to get me or, more importantly, you in trouble," the servant answered, opening Mint's door. "Come."
Rue nodded, and stepped inside. Looking around, it didn't seem like Mint was there.
"You can start in the bathroom while I tidy up in here," the servant informed, Rue nodding yet again. As he walked into the bathroom, the smell of cinnamon was in the air. Strange. Mint doesn't seem to be one for fragrances. Anyhow, Rue spotted one of Mint's boots up against a wall, and the other was close by. In fact, it seemed like a whole outfit of Mint's was scattered across the light lavender floor.
As told, Rue collected Mint's clothes, carrying them like he would an infant. Then it hit him. Would Mint be angry with him, for.for coming into her bedroom? Will she yell at him? Kick him out? Thump him on the head..? He didn't know.yet.
"Ahem." the oh-so-familiar voice said from behind him. Spinning around, there was Mint's head, surrounded by bubbles in her rather large tub.
Rue turned as red as a ruby, staring at the princess, wide-eyed, gawking at her.
"U-uh, I, um." Rue could barely even say a word, but Mint didn't need any.
"So, you came to see if I was up, huh? Well, I actually get up just as early as you," Mint assumed, catching Rue off-guard. She thought that he had come to check on her..? That wasn't right.
"But," Mint continued, raising her eyebrow with suspicion, "why are you holding my clothes..?"
Rue got so embarrassed, he just dropped all of her garments and clasped his hands tightly behind his back, staring at the purple tiles, and still the brightest crimson you've ever seen on his face.
"Well, don't just stand there; get me a towel," Mint ordered, blushing slightly around her cheeks. "They're under the counter to your right."
"O-of c-course." Rue stuttered, hustling over to the pinpointed counter and opening it, grabbing a towel with his extremely sweaty hand.
(Unless you want to come in with me.) Mint thought dreamily, Rue jerking his head back to her, eyes as big as toy balls. "What? Get me a towel already!"
"Oh..! R-right!" Rue got up and walked over to his friend, holding out the towel.
"Thanks," Mint said with gratitude, smiling at Rue, turning his skin back to its normal color a little bit at a time. "You can put it by my sink."
"Sure," Rue answered, for once not stuttering.
"." Mint stared at Rue awkwardly, seeming to be waiting.
"."
"."
"."
".Um, do you want to see me naked that bad?" Mint asked, blushing.
"Huh..?" Rue had to process what Mint had just said through his mind. The words ran into his hormones, and. "Ye---I mean NO! I-I'm sorry! I'll be leaving now." And he rushed out the door before Mint could even say good- bye.
As he came out of the bathroom, (shutting the door,) Rue found that the servant was nowhere to be found. That puzzled him, but he rushed out the door to get some fresh air, thinking.
(Mint.just asked me.if I wanted to.) Rue paused, and then finished his thought. (Go in her bathtub..? While she was in it..?)
Mint, on the other hand, was drying herself off wildly, wanting to catch up to Rue. He had given her an odd look while he was getting her towel from the counter. She hadn't said anything. Mint didn't think so, in any case.
Bursting from her door, Mint jogged to her dresser, (her towel wrapped around her,) digging into it, and came out with the first thing her hand touched: a casual-formal dress.
"Oh my God." Mint said, but thrust the cherry blossom pink dress on, it stopping at a little above her knees. Mint didn't really care; she was in a rush, anyway. Beside: she wanted to go talk to Rue.
So, she grabbed some undies, (putting them on,) and didn't even bother with a 'torture device', then selected a pair of white, flat flip-flops before opening her door, where she ran right into Rue, both of them falling to the carpet.
"Ow." Mint started to complain, lifting up off of Rue with her hands, right on his sides. "That hurt."
"Are you okay?" Rue asked, sounding a tad bit worried.
"Fine. You?" Mint responded, getting off Rue, who turned on his back.
"Mint." Rue asked, looking up at the ceiling.
"Yeah?"
"Um.could you." Rue blushed slightly, not taking his eyes away from his spot on the ceiling.
"Could I-" Mint gasped, and tripped backwards, Rue closing his eyes while he heard a 'thump'.
"Thank you."
"No, thank you." Mint said, totally mortified. "I forgot I had this thing on."
"That's alright," Rue replied, coming to his feet to help Mint up. "You look-"
"Don't say it! It was the first thing I grabbed!" Mint interrupted, taking Rue's hand and jumping up, pointing her index finger at him accusingly. "So don't make fun of me!"
"Oh, no! No, I was only going to say that you looked nice in it," Rue said, gesturing with his hands for forgiveness.
"What..?" Mint never had been given the compliment of her wearing a dress. Sure, her dad and all the townspeople said she'd look good in anything, but it felt somewhat.special, coming from Rue.)
"Oh. Well, thanks," Mint said, blushing.
"Um, are you." Rue started, scratching his head, going red in the face a little as well, "do you have any plans for today?"
"Plans?" Mint thought for a minute. ".No. No, I don't think so, no."
"Then." Rue gulped before continuing. "Do you want to come with me? Into town, maybe?"
Mint was speechless. No one had ever asked her to just go someplace for no reason at all. She was overjoyed! Yes, yes! Of course she would!!
"I would li-"
"She really would, but the princess and I have already made plans," came a man with a slight British accent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
A/N: 'Ooh, who is that darn guy with the British accent!!?' you're all probably wondering, right? Well, I'll tell y'all in the next chapter! Buh- bye!