Book IV:
Of Princesses and Peons
Chapter XXIX
"This is never going to work out," Sarah told me inside our dream as I slept.
"Why do you always gotta be so negative. You should smile more often," I teased.
"You still have no bond with Mythra!" she said.
"I know, I'm working on it."
"You don't have a bond with any of your other blades either," she responded skeptically.
"I'm working on that too..."
"What about the people who are traveling with you? Rafi? Acacia? Gabriel? Do you even know why any of them are following you? Do they know why they're following you?"
"I...," I began, but couldn't think of an actual response.
"Silas, do you even know what you're doing with Mythra?"
"I don't... She asked me to help her find her memories. So I went and helped her get a diary. She said it wasn't hers, but King Zeke told her to look in the back of the book, but she hasn't said anything to me yet!"
"And why haven't you asked her? You've been training with her for the past week, did it not occur to you to ask?"
"I thought she'd tell me on her own!"
"Do you not even care about what you're doing?!" she scolded.
"Of course I do! I'm finally doing something with my life!"
"And what are you doing?" she asked. "Other than following her blindly to your death. You are her driver, act like it!" she scolded again before I woke up.
...
I got up, got dressed, and hurried to the main room, everyone else was already awake.
"You sleep ok?" Mythra asked.
I calmed myself down. "Yeah... yeah, I'm fine."
Gabriel looked skeptical. "You shouldn't sleep so late, we can't talk about game plans without you here, chum."
"Right," I said. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't help," Acacia said as she plopped down in a chair. "We need you to fix it, boy."
"Right...," I responded before my thoughts began to drift to Sarah and I's conversation.
"You alright there kiddo?" Kasandra asked.
"Silas look like he stressed!" Rafi added.
I decided to ask around. "Acacia, why are you here?"
Acacia looked up in surprise. "Beg your pardon?"
"Why are you helping Mythra and I?"
"Simple," she sighed. "I've been lied to for a long time, you seem to be in search of a truth that I wish to find as well, and I can't exactly return home."
"Gabriel? What about you?"
Gabriel laughed. "Dad always told me that I'd one day watch over the Aegis' driver, and that you'd need Kassy's and my luck if you were gonna succeed."
"Rafi?"
"Rafi love adventuring way more than stinky Juliani work! Rafi will follow Poppi to end of earth!"
"Mythra," I said, turning to her. "I promised to help you recover your memory, yet you've told me nothing. How's Brighid's journal coming along?"
She sighed. "Nothing. The last pages were ripped out. However, I remember everything since I was resonated, except for Waylon."
"After we're done here in Mor Ardain, what's our plan of action?" I continued asking.
"I think we should check back with Nia, she might have an idea where we can go next to recover more of my memory," she recommended.
I nodded. "Then we'll head back to Granny's afterwards."
"Without me, I presume?" Sheba piped up.
"If that is your wish," I responded. "We're not holding you against your will."
"We'll be better off anyway," Malos said rudely. "Don't need the whiney flirty bitch anyways."
"Quit being a dick, Mally," Acacia shot at him as Sheba pouted.
I had forgotten Azami was even in the room, which is surprising considering she was a massively tall embodiment of a marionette doll that was infatuated with me.
She came up behind me and hugged me as she picked me up. "Oh wow, you're so cute when you're being authoritative!"
"Azami please put me down," I pleaded, half panicked.
"Aw whatever, just trying to have some fun with my adorable driver!" she giggled unsettlingly.
"We are quickly approaching Mor Ardain, please prepare to disembark," KOS-MOS announces from the cockpit.
"Oh yay, can't wait to have fun in the middle of the desert," Malos said, rolling his eyes
"The request was to prepare to disembark, I did request your input," KOS-MOS said.
"Whatever," Malos said as he disappeared. "Just let me know when we've landed."
"Why are you flying anyway KOS-MOS? The ship's equipped with an autopilot," Acacia pointed out.
"I ran out of processes, and decided to designate my own objective. Is there a problem?" she asked.
"No, no! Of course not...," Acacia responded. "So wait... you got bored and decided you'd learn to fly the ship?"
"Affirmative."
"I can't believe you thought Adonis made her," Mythra laughed.
"Yeah, yeah, I made a mistake," Acacia admitted.
"This is your neck of the woods, eh Acacia?" Gabriel pointed out. "What's Alba Cavanich like?"
"Gang-controlled, sandy, hot, and not a fun place to be caught alone in."
"It that bad?" Poppi asked.
Acacia sighed, "It's... an acquired taste."
"Acacia, we've landed," KOS-MOS stated.
Sheba was the first one out the door and down the ramp.
"Mally, move your ass!" Acacia commanded as Malos emerged from his room and flipped her off.
"They are toxic for each other," I whispered to Mythra.
"I don't know, he seems at least entertained. Just as long as he's not destroying all of Alrest this time, I think we're good."
To our surprise, Juliani was waiting for us at the dock, it seemed she had been expecting us for awhile. Her two blades, the one adorned in what looked like water bubbles and the other that looked identical, only with icicles instead of water, Praxis and Theory, were standing by her.
We all exited the ship and met her face to face.
"This is quite the coup you've got here peon, I'm quite impressed. Does it really take this many peons to protect the Aegis?" she asked with a smirk.
I laughed, trying to play it cool. "We seem to get in enough trouble to warrant it."
She nodded. "You've been quite the superstar since you left Argentum. Wanted by that fool Adonis and completely banned from New Torna with an incredibly enticing bounty on both of your heads, my, it's simply enthralling!"
"You're not trying to turn us in, are you?" Acacia asked.
"Ah, the traitor, any traitor to Adonis is an associate in my eyes," Juliani laughed. "No, no! It's far too much fun to see you all drive him crazy!"
"What's your problem with Adonis? Figured you too'd be buddies between all the tricks you two are known for pulling," Gabriel accused.
"Watch your tongue, lest I cut it out!" Theory said as she drew her katana, pointing it at Gabriel.
"Calm yourself, Theory," Juliani answered. "He's but a simpleton, pay no mind."
She sheathed her sword and stood background.
"Where is Lila?!" Poppi jumped in and asked.
"Poppi?! Why, I thought you were decommissioned five hundred years ago! How on Alrest are you here?!"
Rafi had been hiding in the back, he seemed terrified of Juliani.
He poked his head out so she could see him. "Th-That'd be Rafi, Juliani... ma'am!"
She glared at him with an intensity even I could feel.
"You?" she said in disbelief before laughing. "This has to be a joke, you couldn't even fix a sink without having it blow up in somebody's face, much less a precious gemstone like Poppi."
"Rafi did fix me," Poppi interjected, "but how did Juliani get ahold of Lila?!"
"Simple," Juliani responded. "I am a descendent of Tatazo, therefore Lila is rightfully mine. She's been passed down through the family."
Poppi looked like she was having a lot of issue accepting that, so I took the chance to jump in.
"Juliani, It seems that the bracelet you gave Mythra had a core crystal in it," I brought up.
"Did you resonate with it?"
"Yes Juliani. But if you didn't mean to give it away then we'd be happy to put Sheba into your care if she'd like," I proposed.
"Nonsense boy," she laughed. "I knew the core crystal was there the entire time, the fact it took you so long to realize that just shows the intelligence of a peon."
Sheba seemed annoyed. "So this wasn't a mistake?! You just gave us to these peons?!"
"Is there a problem Sheba?" Juliani asked, giving her an intense look.
Sheba immediately cooled down and responded with no argument. "Of course not, Juliani."
"So why did you call us all the way on the other side of Alrest? It wasn't to waste our time, was it?" Gabriel asked.
"I heard that an artificial blade was roaming around Alrest, I had to check who it was, and Lila gave me the information I needed. I didn't even believe her until I saw her with my own eyes."
"What Juliani mean?" Poppi asked.
Juliani smiled at her.
"I want to invite you home, Poppi."
Readability Level: 11-12th Grade
Time Taken: 5 Hours