I don't own Skies of Arcadia
===
Vyse's mother entered the kitchen. For a few minutes, she watched her son search through the cupboards, fully engrossed with his task. She doubted he even knew she was in the room with him.
Vyse's mother took a step forward, her hand going up instinctively. She wanted to pull her son away from his task, but knew that would be an impossibility. Once Vyse set his mind on something, it took more than harpoon canons to make him turn away.
Suddenly, Vyse banged his fist against the cupboard door. "It's useless. I can't find anything here."
Vyse's mother grinned. "Aika would probably beat you up for saying something like that, especially when you're trying to search for her."
Vyse jumped and looked at his mother, an embarrassed blush staining his cheeks. "Oh, hi."
"Hi."
"Uh, did you need something?"
Vyse's mother leaned against the wall and stared at her son. "I may have a piece of information that could be helpful."
Vyse pulled himself up on the counter and sat down. He stared at his mother expectantly.
"Did you clean your room?"
Vyse frowned. "Mom," he said warningly.
His mother held up a hand. "I'm just kidding, Son. The tension was getting way too thick for my liking so I thought I'd lighten it." She sighed and tried to recall what it was that Aika had originally said. "That night when Aika stayed in her house…she was with me."
"What?! EWW!"
Vyse's mother darted forward and slapped her son upside the head. "Don't be perverted." She went back to her wall and leaned back. "Like I was saying, she was with me because she wanted to ask about her parents."
"Her parents? Why?"
"Her parents have a very interesting bloodline that opens Aika up to many doors. When her father and mother first came to live on the island with us, they never told us of their past. I remember Aika's father was very Nasran. You could tell by her special moves. But, there's a reason that she only has the ability to reject ANY type of magic whatsoever."
Vyse bit the inside of his cheek. Truthfully, he never thought about that.
"Aika's father's bloodline, goes further back than Nasr. His parents were of Valuan blood and of course, Nasran. Her mother was Ixa'takan and Yufatoman. If we go further back, there is evidence of Ice blood in her mother's bloodline. Aika's mother had a lot of influences from the purple moon on her special moves.
"Vyse, the colors of the moon are red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. What color do you get when you mix all these?"
"Black," Vyse said.
"Exactly."
Vyse stared at his mother blankly, trying to figure out what black had anything to do with anything. Then, something in him clicked. He jumped off the counter and went to get his ship ready for sail.
===
The Queen of Valua watched Aika eat savagely. She didn't know how the red head could keep this air of calm while stuffing food in her mouth and when everything around her would tumble down into chaos if she weren't strong enough.
"Is there something on my face?"
Moegi blinked. "What?"
"Well," Aika began as she set her utensils down and leaned back into her chair, "you've been staring at me for a good ten minutes. There's either something on my face or you can't tear your eyes away from my exceptional beauty. Which one is it?"
Moegi laughed, feeling all the tension leave her. Aika usually had that effect on her. Whenever Moegi had been worried about Enrique when they were traveling to save the skies from the Armada, Aika was always there, offering a cheerful face and kind words.
"I'd say a little bit of both," Moegi replied good naturedly.
After a few moments of quick jesting, Moegi sat back. Something, since the first time she had seen Aika, was bugging her. "How can you do this?"
"Do what?"
"Keep your promise to me, after all this time." Moegi looked at her hand that was shaking slightly. It had been doing that for a while. "It's been almost a decade since we've last seen each other."
Aika had seen that gesture and winced. "I was supposed to see you almost two years ago. I promised you that I'd be here and I intend to keep it."
"But this is a dangerous task! I wouldn't have blamed you if you did not come. You could loose your life--"
"I know. However, you know as well as I do, that I'm the only one that can do it. There isn't many people with the heritage that I have…"
Moegi became reflective at those words. It was true she had searched out many people with the heritage that Aika carried. Only those who had all the moons within their bloodline could raise the final moon, the Black Moon that had properties that could heal or destroy a person, as it was written in the ancient Yufatoman books that Moegi brought with her from her home town.
Long ago, Moegi had tried the Black Moon Stones, but that only succeeded in making her live longer. The pain was still inside her, growing each day. Consulting several books from the ancient writings, she found out that the Black Moon could be harnessed by those with the properties of all moons.
Only Aika really fit that description.
The longer Moegi had traveled with Aika, the more she found out about the girl. The property that the red head had that really impressed Moegi was the power to repeal all magic. Holding onto a fragment of the black moon stone, the power could reverse and instead of repealing all the powers, Aika would be able to absorb them all then raise the black moon.
At one point, Moegi thought that Fina would have the potential to help her, but it turned out to be false. Although Fina could harness the powers of all the moons and the silver moon, she couldn't absorb it at all, and the only moon that sang in her veins was that of the silver moon.
"How are you feeling?" Aika asked suddenly, breaking Moegi out of her thoughts.
"Me?" Moegi looked a little shocked for a second then smiled. "I'm fine."
Aika snorted. "You're such a liar. I saw your hand shaking and you look pallor than before. You're not hiding your condition as well as you used to."
"No. It's too much trouble."
"Does Enrique know?"
Moegi shook her head. "He has a lot to deal with, trying to rebuild Valua and hold it together. There's still a lot of prejudice between the old rich and the old poor. I didn't think he needed to worry about me as well."
Aika grinned. "He's going to be pretty pissed when he realizes that you're not here anymore."
Moegi shrugged. "What about Vyse? How'd he take it when you said why you'd be leaving?"
"Err…" Aika blushed. "He doesn't really know why I left."
"WHAT?"
"I thought it'd be easier just to sneak off. I mean, if I told the lunkhead, he'd probably be trying to dissuade me."
"But Aika--"
"I know, I know. However, what's done is done. Come, we need to prepare for the ceremony, don't we?"
Moegi looked as if she were about to protest more, but Aika just gave her an easy smile and stood up. According to manners, Moegi was supposed to do the same. Scowling, Moegi got up too and followed Aika out of the inn.
===
Fina was still searching furiously through Aika's bedroom. She'd found several items inappropriate for male eyes, and thanked Vyse's mother mentally that she forbid Vyse to enter the room.
It was while Fina was opening a drawer that she heard something hit the ground. She bent down and stared at the object. It turned out to be a small knife, finally etched with patterns of ancient writings. Embedded all over the hilt were beautiful black colored stones.
"Where'd you come from?"
Fina looked beneath the drawer that she'd just opened. Underneath was a hidden compartment with a broken latch.
Picking up the knife, she placed it in a nearby satchel to show Vyse later on. He'd probably know what it was and it's importance to Aika. To have it tucked away like that most likely made that little knife important.
===
Vyse hurried, wondering where he could go. If Aika was doing whatever he thought she was doing, than she was a bigger idiot than he thought.
To raise the Black Moon and harness the power.
Why would she do this?
Sweat beaded at Vyse's brow as he tied the ropes of the sails.
And, if he knew his old tales correctly, the powers of the Black Moon could damage a person for eternity. It could even swallow this person up whole, throwing them into chaos and destroying their personal mind.
Vyse hurriedly finished his work when he heard soft footsteps approach. He glanced up, wiping his sweat stained hair from his face, and stared at three familiar faces he hadn't seen in a while. Before him stood Lindsi, Alan, and Jimmy, the three goons he played hide and seek with.
"Vyse?" Jimmy stepped forward. He stood straight and tall, with courage and recklessness exuding off of him. Beside him was Lindsi, her impish smile reminding Vyse very much of Aika. Alan stood straight and carried a wrench at his side.
"What?"
"Where're you going?" Lindsi asked, a soft gleam in her eye.
Vyse grinned. "I'm going to beat my best friend into submission. Why?"
"We'd like to help," Alan breathed, Jimmy and Lindsi nodding in agreement.
Vyse laughed. He looked at the three who reminded him so much of him, Aika, and Fina when they were younger. "Sure," he said and the three younger ones hurried onto the ship.
As the three worked on the ship, making little repairs, Vyse thought quickly. He knew Enrique had a lot of spies working about his empire. Maybe he should sail to Valua and ask his old friend if he heard anything on Aika and her whereabouts. Valua, being primarily the center of everything, would have more information than any other landmass.
Vyse nodded. He'd head to Valua next.
===
Even though Aika showed a type of nonchalance with the upcoming ritual, she was in actuality frightened to death; however, she couldn't let Moegi know that. The elder girl had this selfless thing down pat and would refuse Aika at any sign of regret.
Aika knew she would be grateful to not have to deal with raising the black moon, but she also knew what would happen if she didn't help Moegi.
It was simple: Moegi would die.
Well, people died almost every day, right? Why was Moegi so important?
That answer was simple as well: she was a queen. No, she wasn't just any queen, she was the queen of a reconstructed country, barely making it and one of Aika's good friends. Aika knew that a country like Valua needed strong leadership at this time. Any signs of weakness and there would be an overthrow.
Aika had hung out with Moegi and Enrique long enough to know that these two would be a just and fair people compared to some of the others that had their eye on the thrown. Some, who would only seek power, would use Valuan resources to create more war. That's not what the skies needed.
Aika had seen enough destruction to last her twelve lifetimes.
Moegi and her people needed her.
Besides, Aika made a promise the second she found out what was wrong with Moegi. Aika always tried to keep her promises.
She just wished she didn't have to break the one she made to Vyse.
As the two of them walked, Moegi said something that Aika didn't catch. "What was that?"
Moegi rolled her eyes. "I said, you remembered to bring the dagger, right? That's very important to the ceremony."
Aika snorted. "Of course I did. What kind of person--" Aika reached into her blue pack that hung limply against her hip. Her hand slid around the empty pack before patting it worriedly. "Oh, crap! I forgot it!"
Moegi's eyes lit up as Marco, their guard, suddenly scoffed and Lilly, Belle, and Nara (who used to ride with Claudia before they settled in Valua just to annoy Marco) laughed. "I thought you would. You're not neat! I knew you would've forgotten something," Belle giggled.
"Ha, Marco, you owe Belle thirty gold pieces!" Lilly cried.
"I should've known that a brainless twit like you would forget something important," Marco growled at Aika as he grabbed his coin purse.
Aika frowned. "I was forgetting exactly why I always wanted to pound my fist into your pug face. Thank you so much for reminding me."
Nara adjusted her glasses. "Well, we need that for the ceremony. We have to go and get it. Do you remember where it is?"
Aika shut her eyes, trying to retrace her steps. She had to have hid it in a special spot. "My house, underneath the drawer. Man, it's in Pirate Isle."
"Don't worry, Aika. We still have the Delphinus running. We'll just use it to sail over to Pirate Isle, okay?" Nara replied, matter-of-factly.
"Alright. The sooner, the better. Let's head over to Pirate Isle, right now, okay?" Aika said as she raced over to the docks.
===
Vyse found Fina coming out of Aika's home. She looked as if she were about to say something and pull something out of a satchel at the same time. Vyse, on the other hand, didn't have time for this. "Hurry," he said as he grabbed her sleeve. "We've got to get to Valua. The sooner we find Aika, the better."
===
A/N: Thank you for taking the time to review!
