Royal Rumble

Summary: Enchancia is hosting a competition called the Royal Rumble between their kingdom (as well as a few visiting members) and another kingdom called Carpus. However, what starts off as friendly rivalry quickly descends into madness as members from the opposing team start causing unnecessary drama and chaos. (Collab with MarionetteJ2X)

Disclaimer: Oh, boy… lol. I own the following: Corban, Alamea, Sir Finlay, Gabriella, Sapphire, Davina, Zinnia, Angel, Corban's new puppy named Ollie, and (if she shows up) Nina, and maybe a few others as well. All other OCs (especially Nana and Tanya) and the games belong to MarionetteJ2X (except a few that were from the show), and everything else is Craig Gerber's. Phew. Haha.

A/N: All righty, back to the physical stuff! And today, we're going swimming! Well…the teams are, anyway. Lol. In here, expect maybe a mini heart-to-heart with a few people, and a rather intense scene as well. And of course, there may be other random moments of hilarity and/or sweetness, like always. Haha. Enjoy!

Chapter 8: Royal Rumble Day Five

It was rather early in the morning, and Brandon was standing at a large window in the dining room, peering outside at the light rain that was falling. He knew that this might mess up the plans for the Royal Rumble challenge that day (a swimming competition), though he couldn't really find it in himself to care right now. His mind was in other places.

First of all, he was concerned about Zeke's recent actions and words to him. Zeke had always been a little off-center and moody, but after watching what he had done to cause trouble for the other team, he was growing extremely wary of him. Not to mention… He lowered his hand to his arm, wincing as he still felt a slight sting where dark magic had briefly coursed through his veins.

Brandon wasn't a magical connoisseur or anything, but he recognized dark magic when he saw it. It was clear that Zeke didn't walk along the same pathway that other royal sorcerers, like Cedric, did. Maybe that's why he was always going after Cedric? And what about Greylock? As another sorcerer, he'd been attacked too, and he couldn't even participate in the games anymore. Who else in that group was a sorcerer? Sir Finlay… And that Bonvis guy had mentioned something about magic at some point during one of their conversations in the common room. And there was that Dante kid… But there seemed to be many who had some correlation with magic in some way.

Princess Sofia… Zeke had his eyes set on her at the beginning, but now his attention had shifted more to eliminating the entire Enchancian team from the games, one by one, more than likely. However, considering how harshly he'd attacked a variety of people, he had to wonder if this was really just about the games anymore.

"Master Brandon?"

The steward slowly turned, seeing his protégé standing behind him, still dressed in his pajamas and his hair a complete mess. He sighed, rolling his eyes, and fetched a comb from his robe pocket, handing it over to him. "Porter, comb your hair. Even in the early morning, a steward must always look presentable."

Porter smiled wryly at that comment before accepting the comb and beginning to fix his hair. As he did, he noticed his mentor's concerned expression and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Just…" He gestured out the window. "It's raining."

"Yeah." Porter finished combing his hair and handed the tool back to the steward, who pocketed it. "It's been raining since yesterday."

"If it doesn't let up, the teams won't be able to compete in their Swift Swimming challenge."

"Well…" He shrugged. "Couldn't they switch days then?"

"The rest of the games all require outside setups, so no."

"Oh." Porter hummed curiously. "Well, I guess they could always wait till the next day, right?"

Brandon glanced at the teen and shook his head. "At this rate, I'd rather just get it all done so that we can return to Carpus."

"Is this about what happened with Violet?"

The man frowned. "No, Porter. It's beyond that." He tied his robe more securely around himself before brushing past the boy. "I'm going back to my room. Maybe the weather will improve so we can get this over with. See you later, Porter."

Porter watched his mentor in concern. He'd never seen him so downcast and serious before. He'd always seen Brandon as that overbearing and almost big-brotherly figure, despite their age difference, and now he was actually…worried about him. For someone normally so outgoing and energetic to suddenly become…this? He hoped for his master's sake that things returned to normal soon.

He glanced out the window as he saw the soft rain steadily continuing, though he could tell it would probably be breaking soon so the teams could continue their games. "I hope so…" With nothing more to say, he turned and headed back to his own room.

Sofia was still fast asleep, the girls curled up on the other side of the bed. She had gone to bed a bit later than usual, because she'd had to calm Nana during a particularly bad part of the thunderstorm last night. She had to wonder if it was linked to Erine's time lost in the woods with the wolves during the storm, or if it reminded her of when she collapsed before making it to the castle the first time, or if it was just a general fear. Either way, she'd had to sing her lullaby to her a few times before finally getting the little one to sleep.

Unbeknownst to the girls, the door to the princess's bedroom unlatched and slowly opened, a figure creeping inside in the darkness. The footfall was quiet enough not to cause a stir, but the dark presence surrounded both the room and the intruder.

Zeke stood before Sofia, his light brown eyes practically clouded over with a reddish hue as he observed the sleeping girl. He watched how she breathed, every little flutter of her eyelashes, her soft auburn hair falling across her face… He reached out and brushed some of her loose hair back, his hand trailing along the length, from her head, down her shoulders, her back, over the curve of her hip, to—

"Get your hands off my partner."

Zeke paused his hand's trek and smirked, turning to see Cedric standing there, wielding a wand his way. "Always come running when your precious princess is the object of someone else's affections?" He also withdrew his own wand, pointing it toward Cedric. "Let's settle this outside, so we don't wake Princess Sofia and the Never Realm byproducts you call your 'daughters.'"

Hearing those words, Cedric snarled and unleashed a quick but painful stream of magic, which struck Zeke directly in the chest, causing him to fall over backwards onto the bed, startling Sofia into alertness (and the girls as well). "Don't you dare speak of my children that way."

"Cedric?" Sofia asked, clearly not fully awake as Nana crawled into her lap and Tanya moved to sit behind her. "What's going on?" She blinked as she saw the other sorcerer growl and push himself up from her bed, jumping toward Cedric and tackling him to the floor. "Zeke?! Cedric! Guys, stop it!" She quickly moved Nana into Tanya's embrace before dropping to the floor, pulling on the Carpus sorcerer's arm. "Zeke, get off of him!" She yelled in pain as he elbowed her in the jaw, making her fall backwards.

"Sofia!" Cedric watched his partner collapse near her bed, her hand cradling her jaw. He glared back at Zeke. "You'll regret that!" With all the strength he had, he flipped Zeke over and punched him once in the face, then tightened his grip on the man's wrists so he couldn't strike back.

"Cedric, stop," Sofia told him a bit more weakly than usual, since she was holding her jaw and clearly in pain. "H-He's not worth it…"

He chanced a quick glance at his partner before glaring back at his adversary. "You're lucky she has such a good heart…" He applied a bit more pressure to the other man's arms than necessary, causing Zeke to groan in slight pain. "If you don't want me to interficio your very soul to the underworld, you better get out of my sight. Because if you attack my family, I will kill you, regardless of what anyone says..."

Zeke hadn't ever recalled hearing Cedric sounding so incredibly serious and passionate about anything, but he could tell from the blazing anger in the other sorcerer's dark eyes that he meant business. He smirked at him once he felt Cedric's grip loosening a bit. "To be continued then…" Without any warning, with a dark cloud of smoke and magic, he vanished.

"Dark magic teleportation…" Cedric didn't have time to ponder over that as he heard a soft whimper behind him. "Sofia," he murmured, turning and gathering her into his arms, hugging her. "Are you all right?"

"Been better," she mumbled as the girls slid down from her bed and onto the floor with their guardians. "My jaw hurts though…"

The sorcerer tilted her chin up a bit, frowning as he saw a bruise forming on his partner's face. "He will pay for that, Sofia, I promise you."

Nana climbed into Cedric's lap and reached up, gently cupping Sofia's face just beneath Cedric's hand. With a bit of concentration, allowed her healing power to flow. After a minute or two, she was able to heal her Mama completely.

Sofia smiled, leaning forward and kissing Nana's forehead, causing her to giggle silently. "Thank you, Nana…"

"What was he doing in here anyway?" Tanya wondered tensely, a look of uncertainty etched onto her features.

"I don't know," Sofia admitted, glancing back toward Cedric. "I locked the door last night, but…" She sighed. "Magic can definitely unlock anything, right?" She shook her head. "I just wish I knew what he wanted."

"He wants you, Sofia," Cedric reminded her, frowning darkly. "He's made that clear since he arrived here this past weekend. He probably thinks if he gets me out of the picture, then he'll be able to…" He couldn't even finish his statement as Tanya spoke next.

"I do not believe that he only wants Mama." Her eyes grew sharper and icier as she switched into her adult form, sitting a bit away from the group. "I think he may be after what she possesses… Perhaps the amulet, perhaps her powers…" She frowned in concern. "Perhaps more…"

"I won't let anything happen to you, Sofia," Cedric assured her. "And until they leave, I want you, Nana, and Tanya to stay with me every night." Seeing her stunned expression, he shook his head. "We'll talk to your parents and explain what we saw, if that would make matters better."

"No," Sofia insisted. "No, I don't want to worry them or put anyone else in potential danger. You saw the same thing I did; Mom and Dad couldn't stand up to dark magic… And I'd rather not have a repeat of the Malum In Se event." She sighed. "We'll stay with you, but I don't want my parents or anyone else knowing anything right now. I want to see if there's a way we can defeat Zeke without involving the others."

"You're asking for a lot, my dear…" He then nodded. "But very well… If that's what you think is best."

"Thanks, Cedric." She hugged him gently before looking up at him curiously. "What are you doing here so early anyway?"

He smiled sheepishly. "I…woke up earlier than planned and was hungry, so… I figured I would see if you were up and if you wanted to get an early breakfast…" His smile changed to a frown rather quickly. "Imagine my surprise to find that your door was already open, and that wretched, pathetic excuse for a sorcerer was standing over you and…putting his disgusting hands on you…"

The princess sighed. "It's over now. He won't bother me again, between you and the girls, and not to mention…" She closed one hand before opening it again, watching as some of her own hand magic pooled in her palm. "I'll think faster next time and take him down if I have to."

Cedric's smile returned. "Good." He stood and helped Sofia to her feet, watching her cradle Nana in her arms, before turning and offering a hand to Tanya. He watched as she blinked at his offered hand before taking it and standing. "Come to breakfast with us."

"Very well," she said. "Let me just change back into…"

"Come as you are," he insisted.

Tanya gasped at the request before slowly smiling and nodding as the partners and Nana offered her gentle looks of encouragement. "All right."

After a while, the rest of the castle was stirring, and it was soon time for the next event. The rain had let up about two hours prior, and the weather was calm enough for the event to continue.

Since the event would involve swimming, the Enchancian royals had managed to secure their royal schooner for the spectators to sit on while watching (plus that would keep them from having to sit in the wet grass and dirt). Once the spectators were in place, Violet (on the mainland) announced the rules loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Today's event is called Swift Swimming, which will involve quite literally fast swimming. To be fair, both teams' members will start at the same time and swim to the extra schooner in the distance." She pointed several hundred feet out, indicating the floating vessel which, indeed, was empty. "While it can accommodate all of you, the first group to have all members on board will win. No magic is allowed: just endurance and ability."

"Should be easy enough," James told the guys, shedding his shirt and tossing it to the ground, leaving him only in his swimming shorts. He stretched a bit, grinning at the others. "We've got this!"

"I think you mean, they've got this," Desmond corrected staring at the other team, already synchronized in their stances and matching brown shorts. "They look like they've been training for this their whole lives, while we…" He eyed Dante curiously as the young sorcerer was struggling to take off his shirt, ultimately yelping and falling over, a tangle of limbs. "…Well."

"Come on, guys." James walked over to Dante, pulling him to his feet, and then he yanked his shirt over his head before tossing it aside. He looked back toward the others. "We've just got to swim as fast as we can and hop into that schooner. Easy!"

"For you, maybe," Cedric corrected. "Some of us aren't exactly swimmers…"

"Fine." The prince smirked, folding his arms. "Pretend like Zeke is on that boat, practically breathing down Sofia's neck, and you are in a rush to get to her."

The royal sorcerer blushed a bit as the blonde smirked at him. He glanced toward Roland, noticing that the king had raised an eyebrow toward him. "Um…"

James snickered. "Then again, I don't know where the pretending part would come in…" He ignored his friend's flustered response before glancing back at the others. "All right, guys. It's swim time. Off with the shirts."

Everyone else (even the hesitant ones) took off their shirts and set them aside before following James to the starting point in the water. As Team Enchancia was preparing to swim, Team Carpus was doing the same on the other side of the water.

"Ceddy changed colors," Zinnia gasped from Greylock's lap, pointing toward Cedric.

Greylock smirked as he noticed Sofia's mildly flushed face as she watched the guys readying to race. "That he did, my darling. That he did…" He gently nudged the princess. "All right there, Princess?"

Sofia eyed him pointedly before sighing and smiling, nodding once. "Fine…"

"Mm-hmm," Amber remarked, snickering as Sofia tossed her a pointed stare this time. "I'm not saying anything else." She laughed as her younger sister rolled her eyes before turning back around. "Right now," she murmured to Alamea, who cooed at her.

"Hey, my daddy changed colors too," Isadora gasped. "Wow…"

Seraphina giggled. Children were so innocent.

Zeke eyed the other team with a stoic glare. He'd already gone after Cedric a few times, so going after him again would look far too suspicious. He instead turned his attention to the somewhat clumsy younger sorcerer: Dante. A small smirk formed on his face as he watched the younger guy shiver a bit, hopping from one foot to another in the water to stay warm. "Hmm…"

"Everyone, dip once under the water to get acclimated," Violet instructed. "And then, we will commence with the race."

Everyone did as asked, though at sporadic times. While under the water, Zeke smirked as he saw Dante duck, his hands covering both his nose and eyes to keep the water away from his face. He took that opportunity to send a quick magical stream toward him, unnoticed by anyone else, before resurfacing again.

"Yowch!" Dante yelped, the magic zapping him on his back and part of his legs. "I think something just bit me!"

Roland chuckled. "Must have been one of those feisty little turtles. They're not the friendliest creatures."

Sir Finlay smiled in amusement. "How many encounters with 'feisty turtles' have you had, King Roland?"

"Just a few… Enough to remind me whose home this is and not to mess with them."

"Are you okay, Dante?" Desmond asked curiously.

"I'm fine… I think." He reached back, brushing his hair aside and rubbing his back and grimacing. "Eh, the faster we get this over with, the better I'll feel."

Taking that as a sign, Violet called, "Everyone, to your positions." Seeing the guys do so, she waited a few seconds before reminding them, "First full team onto the royal schooner wins today's event. Ready? …Go!"

The teams both immediately took off swimming.

Meanwhile…

"…And then I asked him, 'Do you like capers?'" Nigel chortled with a grin as Cordelia snorted. "You know what he said?"

"No?" she guessed, causing the man to laugh uproariously.

"He said no! Hahahahaha! Oh, oh, and then I asked him, 'What's your favorite color?' Guess what he said!"

Cordelia grinned. "Chartreuse?"

"Tangerine! I just thought that was a baby orange! Hahahaha! And one time I lost an apple and I was like, 'Oh, no! Where is it?!' Guess where it was?"

The sorceress laughed. "In your mouth?"

"Close! In my hand! Haha!"

Tanya, now back in her child form, shook her head as she looked toward Sofia, who was trying to focus on the event. "Are they always that strange?"

"Yes," the princess answered almost automatically as her eyes stayed trained on Cedric and the others. "Ohh, looks like our team is a little bit ahead…" She stood up and called, "Come on, you guys! You can do it!"

As they swam, most were making good time and keeping a nice pace, but a few were lagging behind a bit. On the Enchancian team, Cedric, Desmond, and Dante were falling behind, and on the Carpus team, Benson was trailing the others a bit more.

Slowly, one by one, members from both teams began reaching and climbing onto the schooner, some collapsing tiredly onto the deck while others were leaning over the railing and cheering on their teammates. Soon, all who were left in the water were Cedric, Dante, Benson, Zeke, and Nakamo. Nakamo reached the schooner first, grabbing onto the railing and leaning back, extending his hand toward Benson, who took it and climbed onto the boat with him. Cedric was next, clambering clumsily onto his side of the schooner as James pulled him up. Just as Dante reached out to grab the railing, he felt a sharp pain in his back again, making him stop and groan in agony as he treaded the water. This allowed Zeke to climb onto the boat, thus allowing Carpus to win another game.

"Carpus wins!" Violet announced from her position on the mainland.

Cedric and Sir Finlay both reached over the railing, extending their hands toward Dante, who was in too much pain to even move.

"Come on, Dante," Sir Finlay urged. "Just a little more, and you will be on the schooner with us."

"I—I can't!" He whimpered a bit, a hiss escaping his mouth as he tried to reach down to his now-burning leg, but he was unsuccessful. And it was then that he noticed how incredibly exhausted he'd become all of a sudden. "I just… I need sleep…"

Yohanna, seeing this dilemma from her spot on the other schooner, frowned and sat on the edge of the boat, her hand grasping her necklace. She quickly transformed into her mermaid form, diving into the water and swimming hurriedly toward the young sorcerer. "I've got you," she told him once she reached him, wrapping her arm around his waist. "Put your arm around me so you don't lose your balance."

Dante nodded and did as she asked, staring at her in shock. "Y-You're a mermaid?"

She grinned. "The more you know, right? Come on…" She swam over toward the other schooner, helping the other guys maneuver the injured sorcerer onto the boat.

Seraphina watched worriedly as the other guys checked on her husband. She held Isadora gently, trying to soothe her concerned daughter. "It's okay, Issy… Daddy's okay."

Yohanna smiled as Bonvis held out a hand toward her, and she took it, sliding onto the surface next to him and sighing tiredly as her tail hung over the edge, dripping back into the water. "Thanks, Bonvis…"

Sir Finlay knelt near his former student, gently tapping his cheek. "Dante, speak to me. Are you all right?"

Dante finally managed to focus long enough to stare at his former mentor curiously and ask, "Anyone got any food? I'm starving…"

Tarrant laughed. "That's how you know someone's okay. They're hungry. My brother is like that too."

Roland observed the sorcerer's side and back, noticing some deep red welts there. He frowned uncertainly. "You said before we began that you felt something bite you, right?" Seeing Dante nod, he glanced toward Desmond. "Can bite marks cause welting though?"

Desmond tapped a finger to his chin. "Sometimes, I guess…"

"Perhaps small welts, but nothing like those," Prince Kabir admitted as the others glanced at him. "Those look to be caused by something else… Presumably inflicted force. It's almost as though you were whipped."

Dante shook his head. "N-No… I was just in the water and felt a sting, and now…"

"A stingray, perhaps?" King Haegan suggested.

"The best thing would be to return him to the castle," Angel told the others. "And he can be treated there. Some healing salve could probably help."

"I have some in my room," Nakamo volunteered. "I will treat him."

Zeke couldn't help the annoyed grumble he just barely allowed to escape his lips. All these goody-goody people, including some from his own team, continued interfering with his plans. Dante had been an easy enough target, but all the people surrounding him couldn't let it go, and now all his hard work would be undone by a simple salve. "Perfect," he mumbled.

King Hayden turned toward his royal sorcerer, raising his eyebrows toward him as Zeke paused. "Everything okay, Zeke?"

The fake smile that he plastered on his face was almost unbearable. "Everything is…fine, Your Majesty."

Once everyone was back ashore, Amber sauntered up to Desmond, smiling suavely as she held Alamea closely. She grinned as he gulped; she knew that he knew that look, and of course, he'd wonder what she was planning. "Desmond…"

He laughed uncertainly. "A-Amber…"

She reached out and lightly traced his collarbone with her free hand before trailing her fingers down his chest, causing him to gulp. "You did pretty well out there…. And I'm impressed."

"You are?" He blinked as she gently kissed his chest before leaning up and kissing him instead. "Mm…"

"Baby number two, coming to a castle near you," James teased as he walked by, grinning as his sister and brother-in-law separated, both flushed but laughing. "If you're gonna be that sappy, I'll take my niece, and we'll go have cool adventures together." He carefully pulled Alamea into his arms, grinning as she stared curiously at him. "Isn't that right, Ala? Your Uncle James will teach you the ropes."

"She's only three months old, James," Sofia giggled. "She is probably not ready for 'adventures' yet."

The blonde prince nodded. "True, but her parents are, so—"

Amber blushed darkly as her twin laughed. "James, shut up!"

While Nakamo took Dante to treat his wounds (his wife and daughter accompanying), the rest of the group pretty much dispersed for the day as well. Sir Finlay and Gabriella were gracious enough to let Nana and Tanya go with them to play with the girls, so Sofia was able to hold Cedric back after the others had gone.

When she was sure that they were alone, Sofia turned to Cedric. She blushed a bit when she realized that he was still shirtless, the water from before dripping from his hair and down his neck and chest. She shook her head, clearing her throat. "I need to…ask you a question."

He nodded. "What is it?"

"Dante… Was he really bitten?"

Cedric frowned and sighed. "I'm not sure, honestly, but… Between you and me, I don't think so." He glanced at her, noticing her curious stare. "I don't want to run the theory of 'it was Zeke' into the ground, but after that little stunt he pulled this morning… I wouldn't put it past him at all."

She shook her head. "Me neither. I'm going to watch him more closely and see if I can catch him in the act." She folded her arms and looked away shyly. "I was…distracted today."

A soft smile formed on the sorcerer's face at this information. "Oh, really? By what?"

Sofia laughed incredulously at his somewhat flippant question and vaguely gestured toward him. "N-Not that it's a big deal or anything, but… Well, you're always chiding me about my…e-epidermis, so…"

Cedric blinked at her response before blushing a bit. "Y-You were distracted…by me?"

Sofia giggled softly. "When am I not…?"

He laughed once at her admission before taking her hand. "Anything to keep your focus away from that wretched Zeke, I suppose…" He smiled coyly toward her. "Anything else you'd like to tell me?"

She could feel her heartbeat speeding up a bit when he took her hand and kissed it ever so lightly. "Cedric… I—"

"Cedric, Sofia!" James's voice echoed from the distance, as he was waving toward them with one hand while Alamea was secure in his other arm. "Come on! Baileywick said supper is ready!"

Cedric laughed and sighed, noticing the princess's sheepish expression. He leaned down, whispering, "To be continued?"

Sofia giggled and nodded before hugging him, the feeling of his warm skin next to her cheek somewhat startling yet not at all unpleasant. "Yeah…" She then smiled up at him. "To be continued…"

To be continued… (haha)

Next chapter: Royal Rumble Day Six