Chapter eight's here.
Raine: -Sigh-
Chin up, sweetheart. I love ya', Regal loves ya', you'll be fine.
Raine: Yes. But not before you have a chance to toy with us a bit more.
Well...duh...Here we go!
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As she walked back toward the beach, Sheena Fujibayashi frowned quite viciously at the sand. Raine and Regal had just up and disappeared, out of the blue. People didn't typically leave their own wedding like that.
She dragged Zelos away from one of the attendants, whom he was flirting with, and pulled him off to the side. "Woah, woah, woah! What's up?" he asked, straightening his clothing and staring at her.
"Have you seen Raine and Regal? Or even either one of them would be good."
"No, I haven't - what, have we lost the Bride and Groom now? Are you sure they aren't just off alone somewhere?" he asked, innocently.
"Zelos!" she snapped. "I was looking all over Altamira for them, I don't know where they are." Sheena pursed her lips nervously.
"Sheena, why are you getting so anxious about this? C'mon. They're married, and probably wanted to spend some time together without the pressure of being watched by everyone. It's nothing to get so upset about. Besides, they're both pretty scary when they get mad - they can take care of themselves."
"That's what they thought last year," she snorted. "When Deryn made her grand appearance. I just want to make sure nothing like that happened again."
"Don't you think you're getting just a little bit overly-protective? And rather irrational. Deryn's life was ended in prison a few weeks ago, she couldn't possibly be out looking for them." Zelos shrugged, starting back toward the little brunette he had been talking to, but Sheena pulled him back.
"No, Deryn couldn't. But Deryn's friends could."
"Her 'friends'? Come on, Sheena--"
"Those three guys Raine and Regal said followed her everywhere. Ahh...Matthew...Eric...And David, I think. But they were pretty loyal to her, if I understood correctly - what if they blame those two for her death?" Sheena bit her lip. "Regal did say they were out of prison."
"But think about it! Why would anyone in their right mind commit a crime right after they were released? It just doesn't make any sense. Now stop looking for them, leave the new couple alone like they probably want, and go find someone else to bother." He grinned at her, patting her shoulder before he left, not giving her time to pull him back.
She scowled at his retreating back and turned on heel, skimming through the crowd to find someone who didn't have Zelos' one-track mind. "Lloyd? Hey, Lloyd!" she called. He would understand her concern. She hoped.
"Sheena?" asked the young man, coming over with Colette hanging onto his arm. "What wrong?"
"I think something's happened to Raine and Regal," she said immediately.
"Well...they did just get married..." Lloyd blinked, obviously not understanding what all the fuss was about.
"No kidding. But I can't find them anywhere, I think Deryn's group is up to something."
"Isn't Deryn..."
"Dead, yeah. But she had a possy of three men, and I think they might be scheming, if not putting some action into motion as we speak."
Lloyd and Colette looked at eachother, then back at Sheena. "I hope nothing bad happened," said Colette, letting go of Lloyd's arm to clasp her hands. "Have you looked everywhere for them, Sheena?"
"Short of going through every single room at the hotel, yeah. But there's no reason for them to be in any of thosse - they're rooms that have already been booked out for random tourists and people who came to see the wedding."
"Still. I think it's a little early to be getting very concerned," said Lloyd, thoughtfully. "I've got to admit, though, it is a little odd for them just to have vanished. Calm down, Sheena. I'm sure everything is fine."
And with that, he and the blonde-haired Bridesmaid walked off. The summoner watched them, incredulously. Was she just really paranoid? Was it just her imagination being hyperactive? But something just didn't feel right.
She sighed, leaving to take another tour of Altamira, in hopes of catching some glimpse of the couple, or find someone who had, anyway. She came across a chestnut-haired woman in her mid thirties, who was standing by the docks and apparently examining the ships there. "Excuse me," said Sheena.
The woman turned, and blinked at her. "Yes?" she asked smoothly.
She reminded the guardian-user of someone...Who? "Um. Have you seen Raine Sage and Regal Bryant anywhere around here?"
"You mean the Duke and that Half-Elf woman, who just got married? Other than at the wedding, no, I haven't. Why?"
"I can't find them. I, uh...need to talk to them." She didn't want to say it made her nervous - somehow, she didn't think she should share her concerns with this stranger. Something was off about her.
"Oh. I'm sorry, I was only here for the wedding. I'm leaving tonight...I really have no idea where they are." The woman dipped her head at Sheena, clasping her hands in front of her. "I hope you find them, miss."
Sheena watched her as she left, racking her brain to come up with the answer to her unspoken question. It wasn't til the other started running, that she figured out who. Deryn...
That couldn't be good. "Hey!" she shouted. It could have been a coincidence, but that was highly doubtful. She growled, bolting after the Deryn look-alike. But after a short distance, she'd lost her.
However, she did have something of a clue as to where Raine and Regal were...Now to convince everyone else.
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Good luck with that...But hey, at least she has some suspicions. See, Raine? SEE? It'll be fine.
Raine: Do you honestly think I'm going to believe that you - you, of all people - are going to let it end like that? You really are deluded.
Thank ya', ma'am.
