Clover Kingdom
Forsaken Realm
Grimmtowne
Somewhere in the Grimm Castle
"Are you sure we're going the right way, Sal," asked Zora, as he and Kirsch followed Sal, who was taking them on a trek through the mysterious Grimm Castle.
"Yes," replied Sal. Sal was on the hunt for her stolen grimoire. They needed her to have her grimoire before they took on the enemy that had been killing the townspeople and trapped them. Sal's storm magic was on a whole other level than Zora's ash magic and while Sal didn't have as much as mana as a royal like Kirsch, her experience far exceeded Kirsch's cherry blossom magic.
If Sal had her grimoire and with Zora and Kirsch's help, they'd make quick work of the enemy and it was best not to drag out the fight, as Sal had been captured for about a month. She probably needed a doctor more than she was letting on, despite Kirsch using his magic to give her a quick healing earlier.
"Stop making that face, we're going to be fine," said Kirsch, at Zora's side. When was it that the two always managed to walk side-by-side these days? Zora didn't know.
Zora continued to scowl. He knew that he had been hasty to get into the castle, his stupid Black Bull teammates were really rubbing off on him. "Yeah, yeah." Zora looked at pretty boy royal and noticed that he was tense. Kirsch's jaw was clenched and he kept wiping his hands on his robes.
It was mind-boggling to Zora that someone as confident and self-assured as Kirsch was nervous around Zora, though Sal's teasing didn't help. The teasing just made both him and Kirsch remember that awkward confession from months ago.
"Ah-ha, it's in here," said Sal, stopping at one of the doors. "You got my back, boys?"
"We're not much younger than you," said Kirsch, rolling his eyes. "And of course, we do."
Zora braced himself for an attack as Sal opened the door. Instead, Sal's grimoire flew at storm wizard and Sal caught it. A wizard or witch was unable to lose their grimoire, as it was magically bound to their owner until said owner's death. The only way to keep someone's grimoire from them was to barricade it behind very strong magic. Sal looked pleased to have her grimoire back.
"We're off to see the witch," said Sal, grinning. "Let's kick ass and get the hell out of here!"
Scoffing, Zora said, "Don't get ahead of ourselves. This place is still a maze."
"And we can't go knocking every wall down," interjected Kirsch.
Sal grinned wider. "Wow, you two are on the same wavelength sometimes, you know that?" Zora didn't dare look at Kirsch because he couldn't take seeing Kirsch's face red and cute anymore. It made Zora feel very guilty.
Sal, then, opened her grimoire. "Storm Magic: Storm Chaser." A giant weather vane appeared in front of them, spinning and spinning. "This will lead us straight to the witch!"
So, without a better plan, Zora and Kirsch followed Sal. The weather vane moved its directional every once in a while that only Sal was able to decipher. Zora thought things were going too smoothly as they continued down the unending hallways of Grimm Castle. The deeper they went the nicer the castle became and that bothered Zora.
"I think we need a plan," said Zora. But before Kirsch or Sal were able to respond, everything went pitch black. Zora felt his balance shift and he went to reach out for Kirsch who had been standing right next to him, but no one was there. "Shit, a trap."
Then, just as quick as things went dark and topsy-turvy, Zora was able to see again. He was in a different part of the castle. It was not as bright and cheery as the part he had been in earlier, almost as if the design of the castle changed. The style was dark and gothic. But more than that, he didn't see Sal or Kirsch. A pit of worry settled in Zora's stomach.
Grimacing and to no one in particular, "Well, I'm done with this bullshit." He opened his grimoire and used his trap spells to open a pathway for him to easily move around the castle. He was done being cautious in this hell of a maze castle. His companions could very well be in danger and Zora had no time to waste.
Clover Kingdom
Forsaken Realm
Grimmtowne
Somewhere in the Grimm Castle
Kirsch sighed for the umpteenth time as he cleared another room. Once he had been split up from Zora and Sal, Kirsch needed to be at the ready for another attack or trap. Thankfully, he had been blessed with a large mana supply. It was just he was very worried about Sal and Zora, who were skilled wizards, but they both were from the Forsaken Realm and hadn't been blessed with great mana. They'd tire out quicker than Kirsch, so he needed to find them both before the witch struck again.
He knew Zora's mana signature quite well and not because he was in love with Zora, but because Kirsch worked with him enough to know how to sense Zora's mana. He knew Sal's mana too, because it had a distinct smell that came with it, which most mana didn't have—her magic smelled like a summer day before a lightning storm.
His grimoire was opened to one of his best spells as he entered the next room. And Kirsch was stunned at the sight of the large room he entered. He spotted a stand with a huge grimoire on it, which was glowing with the mana of the witch he had been sensing since he stepped into this god-forsaken castle. Kirsch slowly moved, eyes scanning the room for the sign of the witch, who was bound to be nearby.
It was the biggest grimoire he had ever seen (Lord Julius's did not count since it was the only one that Kirsch ever had seen without a cover)—it was at least seven normal size grimoires by seven normal size grimoires.
"Hi! I'm glad you found me, Prince Kirsch," said a voice. Flying from the ceiling was a woman, who looked about Mimosa's age. She had black hair and green eyes, wearing blue ballroom type dress that Kirsch seen had women wear parties at Clover Castle.
Kirsch stilled. "Do I know you?" He didn't like that this woman knew his name.
"You should! Dorothy told you about me," said the woman, smiling wildly. Kirsch definitely didn't like that she knew his Captain's name.
"Storybook Illusion Witch Tuccia, you don't look very old," said Kirsch, calmly as possible. Captain Dorothy made it clear to Kirsch to stay away from the witches she told him about, except of course, herself, Vanessa, and Dominante.
"Certain witches have a certain type of immortality and eternal youth," said Tuccia, nodding. "What a good little royal boy listening to his precious Captain."
Kirsch sensed that this woman was very dangerous and tried not to make any sudden movements. "How do you know my name?"
Tuccia came closer. At closer look, she was wearing makeup, her lips were very red. "I've been listening to you and the peasant boy since you came into the castle to rescue that bore Sal, a fake royal."
"Don't insult them," said Kirsch, steely.
"I never see the day that a royal would willing defend two peasants," laughed Tuccia. "It's so sad that you're in love with someone who doesn't love you back, Prince Kirsch."
"What does that have to do with anything," asked Kirsch. He might have to risk engaging her in battle without Zora and Sal's help, as she came closer. She was shorter than him.
"Love has to do with everything, my dear Prince," said Tuccia. "Do you know the story about the Prince and Peasant?"
Kirsch tensed. "Everyone knows that story."
"It's all a lie! Did you know that the Prince in the story actually became King Kira Clover X? The fairy tales written down by a woman in this village were all big fat lies by the way. But Kira Clover X was the worst, even worse than your Kira Clover XIII. He did everything in his power to make himself look good, even making up fictional stories about himself," said Tuccia, green eyes flashing dangerously as she spoke of the current Clover King's great-grandfather.
Coming to the realization from the different versions of the story in question, Kirsch said, "You were the peasant girl."
"Wow, pretty and smart, that Zora peasant boy really has no taste," said Tuccia. "He made me promises you know. He promised me the Kingdom, to rule as a Queen, not like I would have if I stayed with my horrible sister in the Witches' Forest. But he was a liar and his love was not true. He sent the 24th Wizard King to seal me away in this castle, that bitch was far stronger than I gave her credit for, pity she had to listen that fool. But I'm much stronger than I was then."
"What's your goal," asked Kirsch. "Did you capture and kill the people that entered the castle for a reason?"
"I want to see True Love actually happen in front of me! No one proved it to me! Sal's husband didn't even come to save her himself! He sent you two! How pathetic that he doesn't love her enough," Tuccia replied. "But you're interesting. You have a big heart, Prince Kirsch."
"Fuegoleon loves Sal more than you can ever fathom. I'm sorry that Kira Clover X did you wrong, but that's no reason to take it out on everyone else," said Kirsch, "but I need to stop you and protect the people of Grimmtowne."
But Kirsch never got a chance to do his attack spell, as Tuccia's grimoire flipped and Kirsch stopped in his tracks. His eyes shuttered shut, but he was still awake in a weird way, as he could hear and sense what was going on around him. He felt hands lay him down.
He heard Tuccia whisper, "A big honorable heart you have, Prince Kirsch, such a pity."
Kirsch had no choice but to wait for rescue.
Clover Kingdom
Forsaken Realm
Grimmtowne
Somewhere in the Grimm Castle
As he stepped through his next magic escape route, Zora found Sal using her magic to destroy things rather furiously. Wincing, Zora waited until she was done with her rampage. He knew better than to interrupt someone when they were raging. "You done? We got to find Kirsch."
"Zora, good job finding me. Oh I see, you're going all out," said Sal, as Zora opened another magic seal to get to the next room. "Impatient to find Kirsch, huh? He can take care of himself. He is a Vice-Captain."
"Sal, please, stop teasing him," said Zora, glaring at her. "It's not funny when everyone does it. It's mean to him."
Sal said, apologetically, as she followed himself through the route he was making to find the witch, "You're right, I'm sorry, it's childish of me. But you really don't see it, do you?"
Zora rolled his eyes as he kept walking forward, trying to sense Kirsch's mana. "See what, Sal?"
"That you like him," said Sal, bluntly. "More than a friend, but you've been so messed up by the world that you don't recognize it."
Freezing, Zora whipped his head at her and snapped, "Don't you think I know my own goddamn feelings, Sal? Huh? I'm a god-damn grown-ass man. I don't hate Kirsch, he's my friend, but I don't like him as anything more than that or have the same feelings he has for me. I just wish everyone would stop bringing it up. It makes things harder to go back the way they were."
Sal shook her head and said, "It can't. Kirsch's in love with you and Vermillion don't forget love easily. There's always going to be that awkwardness, that awareness there that you both know how he feels."
"It won't matter in the end," snapped Zora. "He's getting married soon. Just drop it." Sal put her hands up and dropped the matter, though it looked like she had something else to say. Zora scowled, opening another pathway. They had to find Kirsch. What if he was hurt? Kirsch was still technically in recovery from the stupid Love Curse that he only suffered because the poor idiot had to go and fall in love with Zora.
It took another twenty minutes when they finally found something, or the witch just decided to stop playing around with them. Zora and Sal stepped into a large room, clearly the witch's room as evident from the massive grimoire.
Zora spotted Kirsch on the ground before anything else. "Kirsch!" He, followed by Sal, rushed to the unconscious body of Kirsch. Zora checked Kirsch's pulse and breathing and found that the royal was still alive. Zora looked at the witch, who was in her chair watching. "What did you do to him?" Zora felt the anger rise in him and he wanted to tear something apart.
"Calm down," hissed Sal. "Try to break him out of the spell, I'll take her."
"Oh, you'll take me, Sal Vermillion," asked the witch, tilting her head, as if she was cute and not a dangerous enemy. "I am Tuccia, the Storybook Illusion Witch, and you won't be able to beat me."
Sal patted Zora on the head. "Wake him up, Zora, I'll hold her off in the meantime." Sal wasted no time using her storm magic to fly herself at the witch, who was taken off guard by such a brazen attack.
He knew that Sal was no slouch, but while she'd be able to hold her off, but it would take the brains and the magic of all three of them to take her down officially. Zora knelt at Kirsch's side, as his grimoire flipped to a spell-breaking page. But of course, it didn't work. Zora kept trying as he heard the sound of Sal fighting the witch.
"Wow, Sal, that boy is a dum-dum," said Tuccia, mockingly. "Had he never heard of fairy tale before?"
"Shut up! Zora, you idiot! It's a True Love's Kiss breaks the spell deal," shouted Sal. "Come on you witch, come at me!" Zora glanced at the fight, as Sal threw lightning at the witch, who easily dodged it.
His ire grew. "I can't kiss him! That's ain't fucking fair to him, ain't it?"
"Zora, not the time," Sal screamed as Tuccia summoned three monstrous boars. "Just kiss him!"
Zora grimaced as he looked at the pale, sleeping face of Kirsch. He didn't want to do this to Kirsch, it wasn't fair. Zora knew Kirsch was a romantic at heart, because of course, Kirsch Vermillion was a romantic at heart. A kiss might not matter to Zora, but it'd matter to Kirsch.
It just there was no time to waste, so Zora pulled down his face mask, and leaned over Kirsch's face. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
And Zora kissed Kirsch as gently as possible, hoping that it'd work and Kirsch would wake up.
Clover Kingdom
Forsaken Realm
Grimmtowne
Somewhere in the Grimm Castle
The kiss was his end.
He heard everything in his weird state of being and Kirsch didn't think that Zora would do it. But then, Kirsch felt one of Zora's warm, calloused hands cup Kirsch's cheek, and the warm of Zora's breath on his face. Kirsch felt the press of the rough, chapped lips gently, yet awkwardly press again his. (Of course, Zora had chapped lips, just like Kirsch imagined, because Zora knew nothing of skin care or lip care and it was more endearing than Kirsch wanted to admit).
Kirsch wanted so much for the kiss to never end, but also for the ground to swallow him into the bowels of earth.
Kirsch was never going to be able to look Zora in the eyes ever again.
His eyes opened to see Zora's blue eyes staring intently into Kirsch's own golden eyes. Zora's mouth quirked into a small, yet awkward smile. "Hey, you're back."
Too quickly, Zora moved his face away from Kirsch, who mourned the closeness of the man he loved, but Zora helped Kirsch sit up. "Thank you," said Kirsch, earnestly.
Zora pulled up his face mask and uttered, "Yeah."
Neither looked at the other.
"Hey guys! A little help!"
Kirsch stood up, a bit woozy from the spell, which Zora caught him and propped Kirsch up. "Let's defeat this witch with a kickass combo spell and go home."
"Best idea all day," replied Zora.
Ch. End
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