"What's on the agenda today, Umi?" Eli straightens her appearance as they get ready for the second day of Maki's party.
"Kotori said that they were going to view a meteor shower tonight." Umi replies.
"A meteor shower? Wow thats-" Eli stops and turns to Umi. "Did you just say Kotori?"
"Huh?" Umi stops buttoning her sleeves.
"The Princess. You called her by her first name." Eli smirks and Umi's face turns red.
"E-Eli!" Umi pushes Eli out of their room and into the hallway. Eli falls on the ground, laughing. Umi pouts and throws Eli's cap at her and slams the door shut.
"Aw c'mon Umi." Eli stands and knocks on the door. "Umi."
"Don't talk to me." Umi opens the door and Eli laughs. Umi puts on her jacket and fixes her hair. Eli quietly walks over to Umi and fixes her nameplate.
"There you go sis." Eli pats her head and takes one last look at herself in the mirror with an angry Umi and exits the room.
"Thanks." Umi replies.
The day went by fast. Umi noticed Eli was different today, and it was most likely due to the purple haired Princess who kept giving Eli sly looks every time after meals. But other than that, the Princesses were getting along and so were their underlings. Plus today was the day Honoka made her appearance. She arrived before lunch to bring in her family's famous sweets, and then Kotori sponsored her in as her plus one for the meteor shower tonight. Umi wouldn't be so lonely now after all, since now she has Kotori AND Honoka to keep her company while Eli runs off with Nico and Nozomi.
"Umi? Are you okay you've been spacing out." Eli nudges Umi and she looks up at her sister.
"Oh yeah, I'm just thinking." Umi replies.
"C'mon you live for this stuff, we're literally about to enter a forest to get to the spot." Eli and her horse run up to the front of the group, where Nico was leading. It was dark out so they made sure to bring plenty of lanterns. "We almost there?"
"Yeah, almost." Nico replies. "It's cold." Eli can see the other girl's breath in the air.
"Is it?" Eli asks, watching her own. "Oh, I guess so."
"Ugh, let's just pick up the pace." Nico rides a little faster and the carriages follow. Eli follows Nico in silence and then they stop when they get to a clearing within the middle of the forest. "Okay boys, lets set up all the blankets for our lovely Princesses." Nico jumps off her horse. Eli jumps off hers and helps set up the blankets. She spots Hanayo trying to carry a bunch of blankets by herself. Before Eli can lessen her workload, Rin is already there taking more than half of what Hanayo was carrying.
After a few minutes of setting up, the Princesses emerge from their carriages and spread themselves across the blankets that were laid out for them. Eli was walking around trying to kill time. As she walks near a group of Princess they all grow quiet. "Captain Ayase!" One of them yells. Eli stops and turns to them.
"Yes?" She asks. They all start giggling. Eli didn't get it, what was so funny?
"I just wanted to say that you look very charming. Why don't you come and sit with us and watch the stars? We'll help you keep warm." They all start giggling and the one Princess that was speaking had a blush across her face.
"Oh so thats what this is." Eli thought. "Thank you but I'll have to decline your offer." The Princesses groan. The only warmth she wanted was from Nozomi.
"Then how about you, Vice-Captain Sonoda?"
"M-Me?" Umi appears out of nowhere and is already a mess. "I have to...I have to go." Umi quickly walks away. Then Nico walks near them and starts whistling. She walks really slowly past Eli and the Princesses. No one says a word.
"Oh come on!" Nico curses to herself. "At least I have my Maki-chan..." Eli laughs and accidentally bumps into someone.
"Sorry." Eli turns to the person. It's another Captain, who Eli recognizes as Todo Erena, from the A-RISE Kingdom.
"It's alright, Captain Ayase." She pats Eli's shoulder and walks away. Eli shrugs it off and continues her walk. Walking near the carriages, she hears someone whisper her name.
"Elichi..!" Eli's favorite voice calls for her and she can't help but smile like an idiot. She spots Nozomi hiding and motions for Eli to come.
"Nozomi." Eli walks over to the purple haired Princess. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Nozomi replies and puts her hands behind her back. She gives Eli a shy look, "I just wanted to talk to you." A goofy smile appears on Nozomi's face and Eli can feel her face burning. She can't keep track of how many times Nozomi makes her heart skip a beat or blush.
"M-My heart..!" Eli thinks. "I want to talk to you too." Is all Eli can say and she looks over to the side while scratching at her cheek. "Uh about last night..."
"Oh?" Nozomi gives Eli a playful smirk. It makes Eli nervous, somehow she knew Nozomi would make her say stupid stuff or try to tease her.
"I know we moved fast and all...Like with the kiss and us barely knowing each other...But I want to know you more." Eli clenches her fist. "The Nozomi I know is only the one in my head...So I want take the time to know the real you." Eli didn't know how she said that without her voice cracking but she did it. This was the first time Eli's really felt this way about anyone, no one could ever make her so nervous and sweaty. But this was the first time Eli had seen Nozomi flustered. Her face grew red and for the first time since they met, she was speechless. "Uh..." Eli chuckles, "I'll take that as a yes?"
"Y-Yes!" Nozomi nods her head. "I want to know you better too, Elichi."
"And um...You look very pretty tonight." Eli scratches the back of her head and looks away.
"Thank you, Elichi." Nozomi places a hand on Eli's forearm. Eli touches Nozomi's hand with her own and rubs her thumb over it. Nozomi clears her throat, "I should let you get back to it."
"Right. Of course." Eli nods and puts her hand down. "I'll talk to you later?"
"Yes you will." Nozomi winks at Eli before returning to the other Princesses. Eli turns to meet with Nico. Nico was standing behind everyone just gazing at the night sky.
"Hey Eli." Nico starts.
"Yeah?"
"Can you feel it getting colder?"
"Colder?"
"Holy shit..." Nico points at the sky. "Can you see that?" Eli's eyes widen. It began snowing. In the middle of April. And the moon began shining bright.
"What the..." Eli mutters.
"Alright, that's it! If we stay any longer we're going to get hypothermia, everyone lets pack it up!" Nico yells and all the Princesses rush back into the carriages. Good thing Eli brought her cape. Eli meets eyes with Nozomi before she enters one of the carriages. She gives Eli a worried look and Eli only shrugs in response and waves her off.
It doesn't take long for the snow to cover the ground around them. It was getting thicker and worse. The moment everything is packed up is when Nico orders everyone to ride quickly back to the Kingdom. Eli rides at the back of the group. It's freezing and she's worried that her horse might not make it to the Kingdom.
Suddenly, Eli's horse runs in a different direction than the rest of the group. "H-Hey!" Eli tries to get back on track but it doesn't work. "C'mon, don't give up on me now!" Eli's horse runs toward the closest body of water, which was the lake that was right alongside the forest.
As she tries to gain control of her horse once more, Eli notices that the light from the moon wasn't over her anymore. She looks up quickly to see where the source of light was but can only see a giant meteor heading right toward her. Before she knows it, the meteor comes in contact with the ground with a loud boom and was quickly getting closer to Eli. Before she can think of anything, the horse panics and kicks Eli off, right onto the freezing lake.
She lands on the ice, but before she can make her escape, she falls through and into the water. Eli did everything in her power to swim up but the water was so cold that her body began shutting down. Within a few seconds Eli couldn't feel anything anymore and her lungs burned. She needed air, she needed warmth, she needed to be safe and see Nozomi again.
She couldn't leave Nozomi after all this time she spent searching for her.
But death is unfair and waits for no one.
After witnessing Eli's horse throw her into the lake and the giant meteor, Nico panics and changes course. "Do not stop for anything, return back to the Kingdom!" She yells at the Knight driving the first carriage and begins making her way toward Eli. The meteor seemed to have stopped as soon as it made contact with the lake.
"I'm coming too!" Umi yells and follows behind her. Before Nico can say anything to the other girl, she hears another loud boom. This time, a giant meteor surrounded with flames approaches them and hits the ground faster than the other one. It crashes in front of the course of the carriages and sets some of the trees on fire.
"Dammit!" Nico curses. "What the hell is going on?!"
"Leave Eli to me!" Umi yells, "Go back to them!" Umi races to Eli without another word.
When she gets to the lake, she jumps off her horse and carefully walks across the ice, where she spots a hole. She looks down the hole and doesn't spot her sister, but she hears a thud somewhere near her. She looks around and sees blonde hair underneath ice. "Eli!" Umi calls. She walks with enough speed but careful enough not to fall through. From there, she tries to break the ice with her katana. Umi grunts with every attempt. She tries to stab it once more and her katana snaps in half. Umi throws her katana and begins trying to break the ice with her hands.
She starts punching the ice. It hurts but Umi can't think about it. She'd rather have broken hands then have to live without her older sister Eli. The more she punches, the more blood that oozes from her knuckles. She can't give up, Eli is right there. Tears fill Umi's eyes, she could no longer feel her hands but she still couldn't give up. The ice was barely cracking. This is what she lived for. To protect those she loved. What would become of her, if she couldn't do something she vowed to do? Umi lets out a scream and she feels an immense amount of energy flowing through her body.
When Nico arrives to the scene, one of the carriages was tilted over and the horses were gone. The trees that were in front of them were knocked down and on fire. The Knight that was driving was passed out on the ground and she could see Princesses emerging from the carriage. She jumps off her horse and looks to the next carriage, "Go where its safe!" The Knight nods and quickly the last two remaining carriages vanish. "The rest of you, we're getting the Princesses out of here safely!" The few Knights that had their own horses helped a Princess out of the forest and came rushing back to get the next one.
Nico was guiding Nozomi and Kotori out of the forest. Before they can exit, Erena appears. "I'll take care of these two, but we can't find Princess Maki!" She yells.
"Maki-chan?!" Nico exclaims.
"Go!" Erena yells and Nico darts off without another word. The fire was blazing and Nico knew she was running out of time. She felt her lungs burning and the fresh air was close to gone. But she couldn't leave her dear Maki-chan behind. "Maki?! Where are you?!"
"N-Nico-chan!" She heard Maki's voice.
"Maki!"
"Nico-" She heard Maki coughing and spots the red head struggling to stand up. A piece of wood hits Nico right above her right eye and blood oozes down her face. Nico clenches her teeth and closes her right eye.
"C'mon lets get you out of here." Nico grabs Maki's hand and tries to get her to run but Maki trips. "Now's not the time to go falling for me!" Nico smirks and picks Maki up, bridal style. Normally she wouldn't be able to carry her Princess like that, but she had so much adrenaline flowing through her body.
As she runs to safety, Nico hears a tree cracking and Maki gasps, "Nico-chan, to your right-!" Nico jumped forward with everything she had and she felt an enormous force hit her back. Maki falls out of Nico's arms and lands in front of her. Nico tries to get up, but she assumes part of a tree has fallen on her. The tree against Nico's back felt hot and it was getting hotter by the second.
"Dammit..." Nico slams her fist on the ground. Her vision was getting hazy and Maki was looking at her with tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Nico wasn't strong enough to lift the tree on her own, and she knew Maki was too weak. "Go."
"What?! Are you insane? I'm not leaving without you!" Maki snaps.
"I said go!" Nico yells. It makes Maki flinch. "I'll catch up after."
"No..." Maki stands and tries to push the tree off Nico's back.
"Maki...Please." Nico replies. "Please go."
"No...!"
"Maki..!"
"I'm not giving up, Nico-chan...!"
As Maki musters up whatever strength she had left to save her Number One, she hears thunder and a light flashes throughout the night sky. It begins pouring rain and the fire dims down. The smoke overwhelms both of girl's lungs and knocks them both out.
Everything felt so cold. She tried to move to keep warm. Her little attempts didn't help, so she tried using her whole body. With all her strength, she tried to thrash around. But nothing worked. The cold was going to consume her. Suddenly it felt like she was falling. She felt her stomach drop and it was terrifying.
She needed warmth and safety. She needed...Nozomi.
Eli shoots up from her slumber and gasps for air. She breathes fast and takes a look at her surroundings. "Hey, hey..." A familiar voice calls out. Eli looks to her right and sees Nico standing, with her arms out trying to get Eli to calm down. Eli notices Nico's right eye was covered with bandages. And her forearms were covered. "Relax. You're scaring away the nurses." Nico points down and Eli looks to find herself covered in ice.
"Huh..?" Eli gasps and Nico puts her hand on Eli's shoulder.
"Watch." With a snap of her finger, a small flame appears in Nico's hand and begins melting the ice.
"What the hell?"
"I'm trying to concentrate, don't talk." Nico says as she narrows both her eyes. Eli can only watch in confusion. "I woke up a couple hours ago with the ability to control fire I guess? Or like to create fire. I'm not too sure but something with fire."
"But...How...?" Eli hears the door creak open and both girls turn to face the door. One of the Princesses, Kira Tsubasa from the A-RISE Kingdom appears, with Umi following behind her.
"I'm happy to see you both up and already figuring out your powers." Tsubasa says.
"Do you know what this is?" Nico asks. Tsubasa nods and walks to the window.
"In our Kingdom, we study the stars. A prophecy left by my ancestors said something like this would happen. Long ago, it said that meteors would strike Earth and give people abilities. And snowy ash would fall from the sky." Tsubasa points out the window and Eli stands up to look closer. Eli could see black ash falling from the sky. "It's been like that since the accident last night. It seems that those who have come in contact have gained abilities as well. But looking at you three..." Tsubasa turns to them. "You gained power directly from the meteors."
"Oh, the big rocks." Nico replies. "I've already sent for someone to inspect them."
"It seems that you three have elemental abilities. Captain Yazawa you can control fire, Captain Ayase can control ice, and Vice-Captain Sonoda can control lightning."
"Lightning?" Eli and Nico look at Umi.
"I already spoke with Princess Tsubasa about this but last night..." Umi looks down and clenches her fist. "Last night when I saved Eli, I was struck by lightning." Eli could see Umi's veins glowing blue and static appearing around her fist. She takes a deep breath and it disappears. "It seems I was the one who made it rain last night too."
"It's a miracle all of you are alive. Looks like your powers enhanced your bodies as well. Captain Yazawa had a tree fall on her but after waking up, she was up and already giving out orders." Tsubasa looks at Nico and she shrugs.
"I've always just been that strong."
"But are the Princesses safe?" Eli asks and Umi nods in response. Eli sighs in relief. "I should see Kotori and Nozomi. They must be worried sick." Eli tries to get up, but Umi puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Eli you can't see them as you are now. You don't know how to control your powers." Umi quickly takes her hand off Eli's shoulder. "Cold!"
"You have to learn how to control your body temperature." Nico takes off her cap and touches Eli with it. It begins to freeze and before it reaches Nico's skin, she touches the ice and it begins to melt. "It didn't take me long, just keep your emotions in check and concentrate. I've gotta go." Nico puts on her cap and exits the room.
Eli can only sigh and start trying to learn.
Nico quickly walks down the halls, to Maki's room. She hadn't seen Maki since the accident and was worried. Nico could see the doctors shuffling in and out of her room. "Ah, Captain there you are we need you." One of them calls and Nico quickens her pace. She can hear Maki screaming in fear.
"Princess, please calm down!"
"You have to stay calm, that's why everything's on fire!"
As Nico enters the room, she can see parts of Maki's bed on fire and a few burnt spots around the floor. Maki was standing in the corner of the room, shaking. "Stop." Is all Nico says and everyone gets quiet. "I'll take care of her." The nurses and doctors shuffle out of the room quickly.
"N-Nico-chan stay away from me." Maki's voice was quivering. "I don't want to hurt you." Maki slowly cowers in the corner and holds her head. The fires started by Maki in her room were growing larger. Nico slowly makes her way toward her Princess and kneels down in front of her.
"Maki-chan..." Nico mutters. "You're not alone." She puts her hand over one of Maki's and grasps it lightly. With teary eyes, Maki looks up at Nico.
"I'm not burning you..?" Maki asks. Nico shakes her head and snaps her finger. A small flame emits from her thumb and Maki's eyes widen.
"I told you. You're not alone." Tears leave Maki's eyes and Nico can only take the younger girl into her arms and hold her.
Nico was just as confused as Maki was, but she knew she had to be strong. She had to be strong for Maki because they had powers that could put not only themselves, but other people in danger. They always say with great power, comes great responsibility.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I didn't want a simple luv story so u know I had to do it to em. Feedback is always appreciated and comments give me motivation to put out chapters faster ;)