(29) Test
Xiao sighed as, once again, the two boys went at it. Thankfully at least, she decided, resting her chin in her hand, that it wasn't in a class room. Or the lunch room. Or the boys bathroom. Tong was speaking again, not that anybody was listening. Most gathered were waiting for the actual fight to break out. Xiao idly wondered what security was doing. Or the teachers. Somebody behind her was already placing bets. "How quaint," Da, sitting beside her, groaned quietly. This is what they got for walking with Ning, Xiao thought. Tong somehow always found him to start, at the very least, an insult throwing yelling match.
If it wasn't for the fact that there was already a circle around them, the two girls probably would have already left. But everybody in the school seemed to have radar on Ning and Tong. People were pulling out their cell phones to record the fight when it started. Unlike most school fights, Ning and Tongs usually actually got bloody. It was disgusting. One of the tables in the lunch room had broken because of the two idiots. The bell rang to get to class. Da cursed, spinning to see if there was a way out.
"Great," Xiao whined. They were going to be late. "Just great."
"They're so stupid!" Da huffed, stomping her foot in agitation.
"They aren't stupid. They're possessed by retarded ghosts," Xiao mumbled, flipping her hair. Da snickered. Tong shed the schools uniform's jacket, raising his fists. The circle roared. Ning, never wearing the jacket, simply smirked, raising his nose to look down at Tong. Tong rushed Ning.
"Security!" somebody yelled. Everybody started rushing to get away. Except Ning and Tong of course. They tried to kill each other in the two minutes it took security to get to them through the crowd. Da stumbled, trying to keep the skirt in a modest position and to not loose her bag in the rush. Xiao simply tried to stay standing. She kept most of her junk in her locker. Or she tried to at least.
The bell rang again. They were officially late. "I'm going to kill them both," Da swore, pushing the hair that fell out of her braid away from her face.
"Painfully I hope," Xiao mumbled with her own sigh.
"If I get in trouble for being late because of them-"
"Huang'll probably let you off," a voice said behind them, "if we get there soon enough." Both girls twisted to see Yu walking behind them.
"You got stuck too?" Xiao asked, beaming now.
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Better for us," Xiao cheered, "Mr. Huang likes you. If you come in with us, he'll surely let us off the hook!"
"That does take off some stress. Though I still hope we have time to finish the test by the time we get there."
"Test?" Xiao stopped, Yu running into her. "Test?"
"You didn't study did you?" Da snapped. "This is half of our grade, Xiao!"
"What are you going to do? I don't think it's a two day test," Yu said.
"Well," Xiao sighed, "I think I wore my lucky sock today." She grinned, trying not to panic. How did she forget about the test? Mr. Huang had been roaring-he roared, he didn't yell or talk- about it for the whole week. Suddenly feeling sick, Xiao wasn't happy when she saw room 1209.
Mr. Huang held out the stack of tests, staring down at all of his students. Everybody was of course silent. His military background made him quite scary, especially in a room full of chemicals. He had been a bomb expert back in his day, which, while during stories and labs was quite fun did not make it any easier to cross him. He made his way around the room, returning the test. Everybody remained silent, nobody talking about their grade just yet. It only made Xiao more nervous.
He handed it back as usual, face down on the desk. Xiao simply stared at it. From the corner of her eye she saw Da beam at her packet across the room. Xiao couldn't see Yu. He sat behind her by some seats. Xiao picked at the corner of the paper, and rolled it up with then bell rang. She didn't want to see it in class. She met Da and Yu outside, leaning against the railings. "How'd you do?" she asked Da and Yu, holding the rolled up paper against her chest.
"I got 92%" Da said giddily.
"A 96," Yu said. Da glared up at him.
"And how much did you study?" she sighed.
"I read my notes for a few days before the test," Yu said with a shrug, trying to hide his smile.
Da rolled her eyes, but smiled to Xiao. "How about you?"
"Um…" Xiao slowly unrolled the packet, "A 98!" Her jaw dropped. "I-ah, well, wow!"
"98?" Da screeched. "You didn't study!"
"She must be the luckiest girl in the entire school," Yu laughed, reaching for the packet to take a look. Xiao, feeling like the world could no longer touch her, grabbed the back of his head and pulled him into a kiss. Releasing him, Yu falling back looking more then just astonished, Xiao spun around and screamed to everybody on the first floor, "I'm the luckiest girl in the school! I'm acing AP Chemistry!" Most people ignored her, but some stopped to stare.
Ce walked up, wrapping his arm around Da's waist. "What's wrong with him?" he asked, ignoring Xiao screaming and dancing, instead paying more attention to Yu.
"Xiao kissed him," she giggled, leaning into him. "She's high off of happiness. She got a 98 on Mr. Huang's tests that she didn't study for."
"I wish I could guess like that," Ce sighed.
"Don't we all?" She stretched on her tip toes to give him a kiss. Ce kissed her back, a peck from both, and then slapped Yu on the back.
"Dude, stop drooling and make her shut up. I want to go get lunch." Yu stumbled, and glare over his shoulder at Ce.
(30) Rainfall
She watched him fall to his knees, sword ringing as it hit the ground and fell out of his hands. Then she looked to the princess in the bed. She hadn't stirred. Narrowing her dark eyes, the lady closed her eyes, and Ce's necklace burned again. He glanced up at her, though he didn't move. "Five people still walk the kingdom," she said, eyes opening. "Three are walking away from what is left of the temple. Two in the direction of the castle. Meet them at the bottom and tell them to leave if they know what is good for them, stranger." Then, without another glance to him, she turned and started to fix the veil around the princess's bed.
She stilled when the princess in the bed twisted a little, repositioning herself. "That wretch," she screeched, making Ce jump out of his skin. The woman threw the veil across the room, and glared at the door. Pressing her hand against it, she chanted, "Passage of the damned, may the portal open here." The door twisted and morphed in a hypnotizing manner, before it was a simple, sturdy looking wooden door. The only thing that made it different was the head of a ram carved from steel on it, the eyes glowing red and the mouth open and forked tongue hanging out.
She stepped back, and the door opened. Ci and Yu stepped through, Ci's sword held out dangerously for anybody attacking. "The hell?" Ci said, glaring around the room. "Where are we? Ce?"
"We were just walking into the castle from the garden," Yu mumbled, eyes wide. The woman, looking almost sickly from where she stood before the bed, glared at him.
"Guys!" Ce said, pushing himself to his feet. "I had thought, when the temple exploded-"
"Yeah, thankfully the place was sturdy," Ci mumbled, still staring at her. "She ain't friendly is she?"
"Not really," Ce said, sheathing his sword.
"You will give me that statue," she demanded, pointing to Yu. In his arms, wrapped in his jacket, he cradled it away from her.
"Pardon?" Yu said, raising an eyebrow. "That temple blew up because of this apparently. I'm not just handing it over to some devil woman."
"Yu, just give it up. This girl's probably got at least ten more spells before she passes out." Ce stepped back, and Ci stepped in front of Yu, his sword pointed for her throat.
"She's already swaying, Ce. Besides, I bet this is an illusion by the bandits that roost here. Or used to. It wouldn't surprise me that curses still linger in the area." Yu grinned, and some of his jacket fell away. "Besides, look at this beauty Ce! Carved masterfully from Fairy Stone, the Goddesses Nu Wa!" Yu grinned and kissed it.
"You wretched, foolish man!" the woman screamed, and from her glowing hand out shot a string of light. It traveled quickly, under Ci's arm, and hit the statue. The Fairy Stone exploded, turning into fine dust in Yu's hands. His gloves shredded, his hands now tender, Yu shrieked. The woman spun around, her white robes shuffling as she sat on the bed of the princess and held her hand with the most sorrowful expression.
"That statue!" Yu yelled, shaking his hands.
"What do I do?" Ci asked, glancing to Ce. "I imagine she has plenty of shields put up with charms. Somebody that versed in magic has to have that at least."
"I'm a brawler, not a mage," Ce whispered back, "I have no clue how to fight her in this little space." They all stilled when the golden haired princess rose from the bed, yawning and giving a stretch. Even Yu silenced himself.
"Is it all done, Da?" the princess said, blinking a few times and yawning again.
"No Xiao. It is not done. But you have awoken anyway."
"What?" The princess looked crestfallen in the bed. "But…"
"The fools from this era did not see fit to let history rest in its place." The dark haired woman glared over her shoulder at the three. "And with them they brought another enemy."
"Another one?" Da nodded with a frown. The princess got out of the bed, Da releasing her hand, and stretched one last time. Her nightgown was frills, reaching her knees. "Um, Da?" she said, freezing mid stretch. "Why is the temple on fire?"
"Because of the cads behind you." Da pushed herself to her feet, and when she stopped swaying, she moved to the balcony. Ignoring the broken glass she looked up to the sky. She took the opal that hung around her neck, kissed it, and tossed it up to the sky. It shattered with a burst of light, and in a moment, the rain broke from the clouds. The steady rainfall brought in a cold gust of wind, and the princess gave a slight shriek as she jumped back into the bed.
"How the hell can you control nature?" Yu yelled, pushing passed Ci.
"I have no reason to explain myself to you," Da snapped back, looking dangerous. But then she deflated. She looked tired, and she looked like she had lost a war. The sorrows on her face reminded Ce of his father, when his mother had died. And on the mothers when their sons hadn't returned from war. It looked like what he had seen on farmers when it didn't rain, and on children when they disappoint parents. But she said nothing, instead moving across the room and opened the closet to reveal the royal clothes.
"Come Xiao. Let us get you out of that gown and into something warmer." All three men had the decency to blush.
"Da," the princess said, plucking at the threads in the cover, "what's going to happen to us now? Won't he know I woke up?"
"Yes. The tremor in the magic plain will tell him. I do not think he is free yet though. He probably will send what minions he has on this plain of existence here to try and capture you."
"What about you?"
"I will protect you the best I can." Da pulled out a dress, and she handed it over to Xiao. "Go get dressed. Awake now, you must be decent."
She took the dress, and stared at Da. "So you're not going to leave me?"
"Of course not. Go. Men should not see you dressed as such." Xiao blushed, and rushed into the bath room that connected on the opposite side of the room. When the door shut, Da again turned to the men.
"Why," she asked, sounding just as tired as she looked, "are you still here? Go loot the castle and be gone with you."
"We can't just leave, can we?" Ce asked, turning to the other two.
"The fairy tale is real?" Ci snapped, lowering his sword and staring back at Ce.
"I feel a horrible headache coming on," Yu mumbled, hand against the wall to steady himself.
Rainfall is a continuation of Found in one of the last chapters. How painfully obvious is it that Sleeping Beauty played a role in it? Although I am proud of myself for not making Da the Sleeping Beauty. Again, I'm worried about my Taishi Ci. He always has such a one dimensional personality (By My Honor, I shall Forever serve Sun Ce! Darn it, he died. Guess Sun Quan'll have to do...Crap, I died) Probably why he doesn't get a lot of love here.
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