Eli, Umi, and Rin were training together in a cave not too far outside the Kingdom. The older girls ran into Rin on their way there and she asked to tag along. Rin wanted to get stronger, and what better training partners than Captain Ayase Eli and Vice-Captain Sonoda Umi?
Rin insisted that Eli and Umi team up and try to attack her. Rin knew that if she was going to get stronger, she'd need to go all out. With Rin's power being super strength, Eli and Umi knew they would have to be careful, they could be seriously injured during this training.
Within the 4 hours that they spent in the cave, Eli learned how to create thicker and stronger ice walls and ice shards. Although she could only create it from her feet. At first, Eli's ice walls were durable, but Rin was strong and broke them with ease. With all this ice around her, Eli's body was freezing.
Eli pants and wipes her sweat. Rin launches herself at Eli and Eli braces for impact. Rin was much faster and stronger than before. If Eli wasn't careful, Rin might kill her. Eli uses her forearms to try and block Rin's kick. The momentum sends Eli flying backwards. "Tch..!" Eli grits her teeth and stops herself from sliding back. "That was a good one, Rin!"
"Thanks, nya!" Rin smirks. Before she can say anything else, Umi quickly punches Rin with a 'lightning punch'. She goes flying into the cave wall. "Waah!"
"Do not let your guard down, Rin." Umi dusts herself off. Eli could see Umi's veins glowing in her right arm. Static was visible around her fist and Umi takes a deep breath. She walks over to Rin who was laying on top of some broken rocks. Umi holds her hand out for the smaller girl to take and helps her up.
"Umi-chan, you're so fast..." Rin rubs the back of her head. She clenches her fist and looks down, "Rin needs to train a lot more to be like you and Eli-chan!"
"In time." Eli replies. "Let's keep at it." Eli creates ice that quickly moves toward the other girls. They both jump out of the way. "Both of you, fight me." Eli smirks.
"You're on." Umi's veins glow blue and she propels herself to attack Eli. Umi's lightning punch was coming fast. Eli quickly surrounds her right fist in ice and charges at Umi. Their fists collide but both girls stay in place. Eli grits her teeth and starts pushing against Umi's fist. The ice that covered Eli's knuckles were shattered by Umi's knuckles. Eli could feel her hand getting sore.
Suddenly, Rin sweeps Eli's legs and she begins to fall. Then Umi punches Eli in the stomach and Eli lands hard on the ground. Eli grunts and holds her stomach. "Jeez, I wasn't expecting that..." Eli mutters. She slowly gets up from the ground and rubs her stomach. One thing she noticed about the three of them was that their bodies were stronger. Normally, that punch by Umi would've broken her ribs but she felt fine.
Rin's stomach growls and she laughs awkwardly. "Haha...I'm going to get something to eat. Did you guys want to take a break?"
Eli crosses her arms. "Hmm...I'll stay for a little while longer. I feel like I'm getting somewhere."
"I'll stay too." Umi replies. "We'll meet you at the Castle?"
"Sure, nya! Be safe!" Rin waves and exits the cave. Umi meets eyes with Eli.
"I suppose we should start trying to kill each other." Umi pulls on one of her gloves. Eli stretches her arms and sighs.
"Sounds about right." They both take a fighting stance. "You ready, Umi?"
"Bring it on!" She yells and they charge at each other. Eli creates ice shards at her feet and they fly towards Umi. Umi jumps and balls her fist. Her veins begin glowing again and Eli creates an ice wall in between them. Umi punches Eli's wall and it cracks a little.
"Close one." Eli pants. She kneels down on one knee and surrounds Umi in ice. Umi looks for an escape route but she's too late. The ice was already blocking her in and eventually Umi finds herself stuck. The ice grew and brought Umi above the ground. Her body was frozen in ice, except her head. "I win." Eli smirks.
"Damn it!" Umi swears. Eli watches as Umi tries to shake herself out the ice. "Haaaaah!" Umi yells in irritation. Her veins glow blue all over her body and Eli can hear thunder. Eli watches in horror as Umi's eyes glow blue. A bright light suddenly blinds Eli and she's sent flying into the cave wall.
She hits the back of her head hard on a rock. It makes Eli lose her breath. She holds her head in pain. As much as it hurt, she couldn't lay there in agony. Umi never held back during training. Ever. Their father raised them to never show mercy in battle. Eli grits her teeth and slowly stands up. She looks over to find Umi with lightning coursing around her, eyes still glowing. "Umi...?"
Suddenly, Umi darts toward Eli. Eli creates icicles kicks them in Umi's direction. Umi doesn't bother trying to dodge. It grazes her and Eli can see blood falling down the side of her face. Eli creates an ice platform over Umi and runs across it. If Eli was going to win, she needed to stun her sister. She grabs the edge of the platform and swings down, kicking Umi. Umi lands on her back and Eli freezes her once more. Ice covers Umi's body and she manages to break one arm free. She starts punching the ice to break free, but it doesn't work. The ice spreads onto her free arm up to her wrist. Umi was done. But her eyes were still glowing.
"Give...up..." Eli stands over Umi. Frost covered most of Eli's body. She was trembling. Eli closes her eyes and all she can hear is herself breathing heavily. Umi's power was overwhelming and not to be taken lightly. She was glad she wasn't an enemy.
The ice begins to crack and Eli opens her eyes. Umi breaks herself free and uppercuts Eli. The force of Umi's punch stuns Eli. She could feel lightning flow through her body and it left her paralyzed. She landed hard on the ground again and it takes her a couple seconds to find the strength to sit up. Eli's jaw throbbed, but she had other problems. As Eli was slowly sitting up, Umi puts her foot on Eli's collarbone and pushes her down. Eli can feel Umi pressing down harder and it makes Eli panic. Normally Umi would've stopped but this was a new level. "Umi...!" Eli roughly swallows. She grabs Umi's foot and freezes it.
Umi hisses in pain and Eli finds her opening. Eli sweeps Umi's other leg and she falls to the ground. Quickly, Eli grabs Umi's collar and holds her in place. She throws her arm up to punch the other girl. Her eyes were still glowing. When she looked at her sisters eyes, she couldn't see her. It was like her conscious was gone and all that was left was a fighting machine. Eli would have to beat her back into her body. Eli's fist collides with Umi's cheek. Umi spits out blood and she throws a punch at Eli. Umi's fist met with Eli's nose. She hears a crack and feels her nose burning. Eli covers her nose and yells. Both girls throw punches at each other and roll around the cave floor.
With every punch, blood was spilled. Umi got a few good knocks at Eli. One of her eyes was puffy and blood was falling from her nose and the side of her mouth. Umi wasn't looking too good herself. Blood was oozing out the cut on her forehead, causing her to close her left eye. She spit out blood once every few punches. Eli was getting tired and started bracing herself for Umi's punches. In her last attempt at stopping Umi, Eli freezes her own fist once more and it comes in contact with the other girl's face. It knocks Umi over and she falls next to Eli. Eli didn't have the strength to keep fighting anymore. Her whole body was trembling from the cold and she looks down at her frozen hand. She could no longer feel it. She slowly tries to break it from the ice by lightly hitting it against the ground. With a few tries, the ice slowly breaks off and reveals Eli's purple fist.
She breathes heavily and looks over at her sister. Umi wasn't moving anymore. Eli uses whatever strength she has to crawl over to Umi and throws her head on her chest. "C'mon Umi..." She listens carefully for a heartbeat. She closes her eyes and then she hears it. It's faint but Umi's heart was still beating. Eli sighs in relief. Umi's powers were dangerous. And Eli was lucky they didn't bring any weapons with them. Her consciousness slowly fades as the cold takes over her body.
"Has she woken up yet?"
"Not yet, Alisa-chan."
"Oh please...Onee-chan please wake up."
"Elichi..." She feels warmth on her hand.
Eli tries to speak but it comes off as a croak. Both voices quiet down. "...What...What is going on..." Eli mutters. She hears both girls gasp and feels their warm hands in her own.
"Elichi!"
"Onee-chan!"
"...Huh...Why can't I...see anything...?"
Eli can hear Nozomi giggle. "Open your eyes, silly." Eli can only open one eye. She sees her beautiful purple haired Princess in front of her, holding onto her hand. She looks over to find Alisa tightly holding onto her other hand, with tears in her eyes.
"Onee-chan...I was so worried about you..." Alisa's tears leave her eyes. "Father was so scared, he said he never saw you so beat up before..." Alisa sniffles and Eli reaches her hand up to her face. She wipes what she could of her sister's tears.
"I'm fine now. Don't worry." Eli points at herself and gives her a smile. It hurt to smile. She feels her cheek and feels the bruise. Eli looks down at her bandaged hand. "...Where's Umi?"
"She's next door." Nozomi replies. "She hasn't woken up yet." Eli nods and looks at her little sister. She clears her throat.
"Would you stay with Umi until she wakes up? Nozomi will take care of me."
"O-Okay..." Alisa replies. She slowly walks over to the door and turns to Eli. Eli weakly smiles and Alisa takes her leave. Eli turns to Nozomi and meets her sour look.
"Elichi you idiot!" Nozomi yells at Eli. Eli blinks in confusion. It was the first time she's ever heard Nozomi yell. "The doctor said you broke your nose and fractured your hand...When Rin brought you in...You both were out cold. I thought..." Nozomi clenches her fist. "I thought you were gone! Again!" Nozomi frowns and looks down at her lap.
"I'm here now, Nozomi." Eli puts her hand over Nozomi's. She brings their hands to her lap. "I'm okay." Nozomi only brings Eli's hand up to her face and presses her lips against her knuckles. They sit together in silence.
Once the doctor heard that Eli had woken up, she had brought someone in who had the power of healing. Within minutes, Eli was good as new. The doctor made her take off all her bandages. Her face was fine, but she had a couple scars on her right hand. I guess this is what she got for overdoing it. But now it was time to check on Umi. Both Eli and Nozomi make their way next door. Eli lightly knocks on the door before opening it. Inside, she can see Kotori watching over Umi and Alisa sitting next to her.
Umi had band aids over her cheeks and one covering the cut on her forehead. Her arms were wrapped up in bandages as well. She was still sleeping. "Eli-chan..." Kotori stands up. Kotori was visibly worried over Umi, she could see it in her eyes. "What happened to you both?"
"We were training. And Umi...Umi lost herself." Eli looks down at the scars on her hand. "Umi's power is incredibly powerful." Suddenly the door bursts open and Rin rushes in.
"Eli-chan!" Rin pants, "You're okay!"
"Yes, I am." Eli says. She motions over at Umi. Rin walks past them and stands next to Umi.
"Rin had a bad feeling so Rin came back to the cave..." She mutters. Eli walks over to Rin and puts her hand on her shoulder.
"It was a good call, Rin. You saved our lives." Eli replies. They all look at Umi, just waiting for her to wake up. Eli slowly reaches out to Umi's hand and when she touches her, she gets shocked.
"Ow!" Eli hisses in pain. "It must be a defense mechanism." Eli leans against the wall and looks over to the Princesses. Kotori had bags under her eyes and Nozomi looked just as tired. "You must be tired. Go get some rest, I'll stay with her."
"But..." Kotori looks down at Umi. Eli looks at Nozomi and she nods.
"Kotori-chan...You have to take care of yourself as well. Let's just go get something to eat and come back?"
"Mmm." Kotori nods. They both start getting ready to leave. "Are you coming, Alisa-chan?"
Alisa looks at Umi and then at Eli. Eli nods her head and Alisa stands up, "Yes, Princess." All three leave the room, leaving just Eli and Rin with the sleeping Umi. Eli and Rin take a seat and just sit there in silence. After a while, Eli yawns.
"Eli-chan." Rin starts.
"Mmm, yeah?" Eli rubs her eyes and leans back.
"I know about you and Princess Nozomi." Rin looks over to the side. Eli nervously swallows. "You're the Knight in her dreams, aren't you?"
"She told you about her dreams?" Eli sits up.
"Yeah. The Princess loved dreaming, because she'd always meet a charming Knight in her dreams. It's just that...Rin has never seen the Princess like this before. Rin can always tell when she's hiding something, but this time it wasn't something bad."
"Something bad? Like what?"
"No she just...She's not happy at her Kingdom. But being here with everyone and you especially...Makes her happy and Rin can see it." Rin smiles. "Please continue to take care of Princess Nozomi." Rin bows her head to Eli.
"Rin..." Eli mutters. "Okay. It's a promise." Eli hears Umi groan and turns to her. She sees her sister's hand touch her face and wince. "Umi!" Eli yells. She stands and knocks her chair over. Rin does the same.
"It hurts..." She whispers.
"What hurts? Umi?" Eli reaches her hand out to Umi's arm and gets shocked again. "Ouch!" Eli hisses. "Rin could you-"
"On it!" Rin runs out of the room.
"Umi you're gonna be okay. You just need to relax remember?" Eli watches as Umi lays there, motionless.
"Mmm." Is all Umi can say.
"Open your eyes, don't fall back asleep." Umi opens her eyes a little. "There you go."
"...What happened?"
"You mean...you don't remember?"
"I just remember that you won. You froze me in ice." Umi tries to sit up.
"Woah, take it easy." Eli holds her hands out to try and stop Umi.
"I'm fine. I just feel sluggish." Umi waves her hand and leans against her pillow. Eli sighs and picks her chair back up. She takes a seat and they sit in silence. "Somethings been bothering me." Umi starts.
"What, like your injuries? You really did a number on me, I had to go all out."
"Wait what? That's not what I'm talking about. Plus you won, I barely touched you."
Eli scratches her head, "No...You suddenly got enveloped in like...this bright light and had lightning coursing around you. You were a monster."
"I did? I don't remember a single thing."
"Well you were. But we'll get that sorted out." Eli crosses her arms. "So? What were you saying?"
"It's about the Princess."
Eli remembered their conversation from before. Before entering the Castle, Umi mentioned something bothering her. And Eli had a feeling it was due to their Princess. "What about the Princess?"
"Well...She's been quiet ever since leaving the Nishikino Kingdom. And she has this sad look every time she's alone. Have you seen it?" It was true. Eli did notice in the carriage but she wasn't alone. She was with Nozomi but she probably makes that face when she thinks no one is watching.
"Yeah." Eli leans back. "Maybe she's just stressed. Or did you say something to her?"
"I haven't I swear. I never intend to make her sad." Umi clenches her fist. "I hope she's okay."
"Maybe you should talk to her? She's your friend."
"...I don't know. I might say something stupid. I'm no good with words." Umi sighs.
"Well your notebook says otherwise." Eli smirks.
"E-Eli!" Umi's cheeks grow red.
Once Umi was discharged from the doctors, she decided to seek out Kotori. Umi knew something wasn't right. It was her duty as not only a Knight, but as a friend of Kotori's, to find out what was wrong. She had an idea, she was almost sure it was the reason why Kotori was so sad. So with determination, Umi headed to Kotori's quarters. She made sure to remove any bandages, she had to be presentable in front of the Princess.
The closer she got to Kotori's room, the more nervous she was getting. "Don't say anything stupid. Don't say anything stupid." Those were the words Umi repeated to herself on the way there. Sometimes when Umi sensed that Kotori was off, she would try to cheer her up. But Umi was so "dense" that half the time she made it worse, according to Eli.
The blue haired Knight finds herself in front of Kotori's door. She swallows and nods to herself. "I've got to do this! For Kotori!" She knocks on Kotori's door, "Princess! It's Umi." She waits for a response. It takes a couple seconds for the door to slightly crack open, revealing Kotori shyly hiding behind the door.
"Umi-chan? What are you doing here? You should get some rest."
"May I come in?" Umi places her hand on the door. She could see the Princess hesitate for a moment before opening the door and letting Umi in. Kotori was already wearing her nightdress and seemed to be laying in bed already, looking at the sheets carelessly tossed on the bed. "I'm sorry if I disturbed your slumber. I wanted to speak to you." Umi placed her cap on Kotori's desk. Kotori walks out to her balcony and leans against it. She sighs.
"What about?" Kotori replies. Umi follows behind her and looks beyond the Castle walls. Lights from the town were still shining bright, and from the looks of her surroundings, ash stopped falling.
"Kotori..." Umi starts. Kotori looks back at the other girl, it wasn't often that Umi called her by her name. "Something's bothering you, is it not?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Kotori turns away from Umi.
"I can tell because you're being so stubborn right now." Umi moves to Kotori's side and peeks at her face. "And I can see that sad look on your face when you think no one is watching." Kotori turns away from Umi once more. "Kotori please. It pains me to see you like this, please talk to me."
There's a short pause until Kotori sighs. She nods her head slowly and turns to Umi. Umi stands still and waits for Kotori to respond. But the other girl simply throws her arm's around Umi's neck and buries her head on one of her shoulders. "Allow me to be selfish for once, Umi-chan." Is all Kotori whispers. Umi can feel heat creeping up her neck and to her face. She nervously swallows.
"Of course." Umi's arms awkwardly try and find somewhere to hold onto Kotori. Was it okay for her to touch Kotori? I mean, they're friends after all, she needed comfort. Umi lightly places a hand on Kotori's back. She clears her throat, "Um...Kotori. Are you perhaps upset because we didn't get to wear the costumes like you wanted?"
Kotori looks up at Umi. Their faces were close enough to feel each other's breath. Kotori gives Umi a small smile. She sighs and releases Umi from her hug. Umi instantly misses the other girl's touch and takes a step towards Kotori as she backs up. "Let me make it up to you. Please." Umi holds a hand out for Kotori to take. She hesitates once more and Umi notices. But Umi's proposal wasn't denied. Kotori places her hand on top of Umi's and she nods. "I know you love to dance."
"Although you don't like dancing very much." Kotori replies as she brings her left hand to Umi's shoulder and her right in Umi's hand. Umi's free hand was meant to be on Kotori's hip, but she was too afraid to move it there. Kotori sensed Umi's nervousness and guided her hand. "It's okay."
"O-Okay." Umi replies. She wasn't the best dancer but after the mess at Kotori's last birthday party, she was determined to get the basics down. So Umi takes a step to the side, and Kotori follows. She leads Kotori in a small circle, swaying together with measured steps.
Now this revelation surprised Kotori. She knew Umi disliked dancing, only because you would have to touch the other person in public and also participate in a crowd. But the Umi in front of her was different. She was avoiding eye contact by looking at her feet, making sure not to step on Kotori's feet, but she was dancing. And also touching Kotori. At the realization, Kotori feels her cheeks burn and she looks down to avoid meeting eyes with Umi.
"I..." Umi starts. "I may have worried you a lot. I apologize, Kotori."
"Mmm." Kotori's grip on Umi tightens.
"A-And...We never got to speak about it but...I don't know if you have any powers." Umi clears her throat. She pauses for a second waiting for the other girl's response. Kotori doesn't reply. "Perhaps...Is that causing you trouble as well?"
Kotori only shakes her head in response. Kotori's head hits Umi's shoulder once more. Umi decided to not pry anymore. "Okay Kotori. But I'm going to get stronger and use these powers to protect you."
"Mmm." Kotori nods her head and brings her arms around Umi once more. At this point, Umi never realized how fast her heart was beating. It embarrassed her knowing that Kotori could probably hear it. She made it a point to dread over it later, but now she had to make Kotori feel better.
"I...I'd like to properly dance with you. At Princess Maki's ball, if that's okay?" Umi pauses and laughs awkwardly, "I won't try and get out of it. I mean just- sometimes it overwhelms me but I'll wear the costume and everything! I would like to see a happy Kotori again."
"Mmm..." Kotori nods her head, keeping her face down on Umi's shoulder. Umi can hear a small sniffle and she spots Kotori shaking a little.
"K-Kotori?" Umi places her hands on her shoulders and tries to get a better look at the other girl's face. Kotori was too weak to hide and instead brought her hands to her face. Umi could see tears falling from Kotori's eyes. It made her heart sore to see her like that. "Did I say something to upset you? I'm sorry Kotori-"
"N-No!" Kotori interrupts. She quickly wipes her tears and looks up at Umi. "I...Thank you, Umi-chan. It means a lot to me." She sniffles and another tear falls down her face. Before Kotori can wipe it, Umi brings her thumb across Kotori's face to wipe it herself.
In that moment, both pairs of eyes met. Umi felt this intense feeling in her chest. Like electricity forming between them. It had nothing to do with her power, but she had this sudden urge to close the distance between them. Umi's eyes fell to Kotori's lips."Umi..." Umi could feel Kotori's hands grip at her collar, pulling her down. She sees Kotori's face coming closer, and instinctively closes her eyes.
In an instant, soft lips meet with her own and Umi feels herself melting. If Nico were to set her on fire, Umi imagines this is what it would feel like. Kotori's lips move against Umi's, and she feels herself holding onto the other girl tighter. But the moment ends as quickly as it started. Kotori pushes Umi away at an arm's length. Umi instantly misses the feeling and stares at Kotori, who had even more tears in her eyes. "Kotori I-"
"You should go..." Tears leave Kotori's eyes and Umi lets go. She takes a step back and her heart aches. "Umi please. Go." She sniffles once more and wipes the tears from her eyes.
Umi runs out of Kotori's quarters, disgusted by her own actions. How could she do something so foolish? She came to make the Princess feel better, not steal her first kiss. But if she remembered correctly, it was Kotori who initiated the kiss, by pulling at her collar! Whatever it was, Umi felt terrible. She made Kotori cry.
When Umi stops running and finds herself right outside the Castle, that's when she curses out loud. "Dammit!" She punches the hard brick wall next to her. The pain in her knuckles felt like nothing compared to the pain in her chest. She was going to be severely punished for her actions and Umi knew she deserved it for doing something so...foul.
But there's always two different sides to a story.
Behind Kotori's closed doors she found herself cowering in the corner of her room. What Umi didn't know was about Kotori's power. She had gained the ability to sense someone's feelings upon touching them. And during the conversation they had while dancing, Kotori felt an immense feeling in Umi. Something so strong that it scared her because it felt an awful lot like the feelings she's had for Umi for years. The feeling of love.
Normally, Kotori would've been happy discovering this. But in the moment, she was so conflicted. She felt sad, but somehow happy at the revelation and in the moment kissed the girl she loved. But immediately after, she regretted it. She regretted it because from that moment on, the kiss would be the very thing that weighed both of them down for what was to come in the future.
It had been a couple days since the training accident. After the evening Umi and Kotori spent together, they had not interacted once. Umi kept what happened to herself and was waiting for her punishment, but it never came. In the meantime, Eli spent a lot of time thinking about how they could learn to use and control their powers better. Maybe they just weren't ready to control it yet. Eli decided to train her body and mind once more, before giving her powers another try. Umi agreed with her plan, to distract herself from other matters. So for the few days they had before the Grand Summit meeting, both girls trained under their father.
He made them spar over and over again until they could take him on. As they fought him, his power was revealed. He had gained telekinesis. With just a flick of his wrist, he always sent both girls rolling on the ground in the courtyard. It was truly annoying but it was good training for all of them. But Eli noticed that the more he used his power, his nose would start bleeding. So it was indeed true that you had to train your body enough to be able to use your powers.
But the day of the Grand Summit meeting came fast and their father promised to continue their training once they returned. Eli hadn't seen Nozomi much ever since the day they returned. Eli also had to fulfill Nakamura's request.
Eli and Umi don their uniforms, grab their katanas, and left their room. Their father deemed the katanas useless to them, since the blades weren't strong enough to endure their powers, but it was better to have it than nothing. It felt wrong not to have a weapon. The meeting at the Grand Summit was important and they all needed to be on their guard. Most of the royalty across the land of Otonokizaka was going to meet. Their father instructed just the both of them to come from their squad. His squad and more of the older Captains were going to bring their Knights.
Once they reach the edge of the forest and the start of the mountains, they see snowfall. It was incredibly strange to see snow falling at this time of year, but then again having powers was incredibly strange as well. Eli fixes her cape to cover her whole body and Umi does the same. Eli tries to peek into the carriage to check on Nozomi, Kotori, and the Queen. Both girls looked fine in there, so she rides over to where her father was riding. He was leading the group. "How long, father?"
"Not too long. We'll be there soon." He replies. Eli nods and follows behind him. She turns to Umi who already put her hood on and was already shivering. The cold didn't affect Eli as much, probably due to her powers. Eventually she figured she would start freezing and die, so she puts on her hood as well.
Hopefully the Grand Summit isn't so far from here as her father said. According to him, the Grand Summit was a town in the mountains and the middle of the land of Otonikizaka. Eli and Umi had never been there before. Their father told them it was a town with ancient ruins and a Grand Coliseum. It is supposedly where the alliance formed many centuries ago. According to Intel from Honoka, ever since the meteor shower it has been snowing at the Grand Summit and doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon. Traveling to the Grand Summit was only going to take a couple of hours. Eli hopes it will go by fast.
In the distance Eli could see a town, stretching as far as the eye could see. She could see what she thought was the Grand Coliseum and also the Castle that resided across town. From the looks of it so far, the Grand Summit was no joke. The battlements that surrounded the town were tall and she could see plenty of Knights patrolling the outer walls. Eli's father motions the carriages to speed up a little so they could get there faster, many of them were freezing and ready to get to warmth. Unlike most Kingdoms, the Grand Summit's gates were always open. Eli's father leads and Eli and Umi wait until everyone enters the gates. They notice Rin lagging behind.
"Rin, are you okay?" Umi asks. Rin makes eye contact and shivers.
"It's cold, nya." She tries rubbing her arms to keep warm.
"We'll rest soon." Umi pats her shoulder. "Let's go." The townspeople went about their business and didn't bother to watch them as they walked through town.
Once they reached the Castle, an old man was waiting for them. Their father was the first to greet him. "Grand Keeper." He kneels.
"Ah. Commander Ayase? You're still alive?" The old man, or the Grand Keeper laughs.
"I could say the same to you." Their father replies and stands up. The Queen emerges from the carriage and both men look at her. "Your Majesty." Their father places a hand over his heart and bows his head.
"Welcome, Queen Minami." The Grand Keeper opens his arms to her. He points to the Castle. "I kept it nice and tidy for all of you."
"Thank you very much." The Queen bows her head. Kotori and Nozomi emerge from the carriage. Eli and Umi stand at their sides, with Rin standing behind. Eli holds a hand out as Nozomi steps down. Nozomi winks at Eli and she smirks to herself. For this mission, Eli was assigned to Nozomi along with Rin, and Umi was assigned to Kotori. There's no way Eli could complain about the assignment.
But Umi had no idea how to interact with Kotori, following the events of the night of their first kiss. They had not spoken since, but when Kotori made eye contact with Umi, she didn't give her any disgusted looks. In fact, Kotori simply kept to herself and only nodded in Umi's direction.
"Come come." He motions for them to follow. Inside the Castle, many candles were lit and it was significantly warmer. "The meeting will be starting shortly. I assume you remember where the Conference Chambers are, Commander?" Their father nods and the Grand Keeper separates from them.
They walk down several long hallways. The Castle was huge. Maybe bigger than the Nishikino's. So far, everything about the Grand Summit was...Grand. Everything was bigger and they even had a coliseum. Eli couldn't help but feel a little bad for the Grand Keeper, this place was so huge and for an old man it really must be hard work. Eli's father stops in front of a huge door. Nozomi quickly clears her throat, "Um, I'll catch up. I have to uh..." She looks at Eli with a panicked look.
"I'll stay with Princess Nozomi. You can go ahead." Eli finishes. Her father nods and holds open the door for Queen Minami and Kotori. Umi and Rin follow behind them, leaving Eli and Nozomi in the hallway. "What's wrong? Are you hungry?" Eli asks. Nozomi sighs and walks away. Eli follows behind until Nozomi stops near a window. She leans against it and takes off her tiara.
"My parents are going to be here." She quietly says. Eli hadn't thought about that. She was worried about her own father but Nozomi's parents were actually the King and Queen of a Kingdom. Eli nervously swallows. "They're...They're very protective over me. And if something doesn't go their way, they usually threaten to marry me off to a Prince somewhere. I can't mess up in front of them, Elichi. I can't..." Nozomi buries her face in her hands. Eli quickly rushes to her side. She couldn't tell if Nozomi was crying but either way she hated seeing Nozomi like this.
"Nozomi..."
"I like you so much, Elichi." She whispers. Eli's gaze softens.
"...You're so cute you know." Eli kneels down and puts her arm around Nozomi. "I like you a lot. More than anything. We'll get through it together, okay? Plus a lot of people tell me I'm charming so I'll make a good impression." Eli smiles as Nozomi shows her face.
"Okay, Elichi." Nozomi nods. She still had a sad expression on her face so Eli lightly squeezes Nozomi's hand.
"C'mon, Nozomi. Let's not keep everyone waiting." Eli leads them to the Conference Chambers. Inside, a giant round table with many chairs was set up. Many Royalty were standing around talking to each other. Eli could see the Nishikino family talking to the Minami. Eli caught the A-RISE Princesses Tsubasa and Anju with Captain Erena and Honoka. A lot of other people Eli didn't recognize were there.
"They're not here yet." Nozomi sighs in relief. Eli scans the room again. Indeed no one looking related to Nozomi was present but something else was missing. Eli couldn't put a pin on it. She crosses her arms and thinks to herself. She saw the Nishikino family, the Minami family, the A-RISE Princesses, Erena, Honoka, Umi, Rin, and Hanayo. Eli opens her eyes and snaps. "Nico..!" She looks around for the smaller girl. She wasn't near Maki, so where could she be? "Come, Elichi." Nozomi walks over to Kotori and Maki.
"Nozomi." Maki greets Nozomi and meets Eli's eyes. "And...Ayase was it?"
"You can call me Eli, Princess Maki." Eli bows her head to Maki. "I'm glad to see that you're doing well after last week."
"Same to you guys." Maki replies. She twirls a strand of her hair. "This is all so weird. I don't get it."
"Well hopefully this meeting is going to be productive." Eli crosses her arms and scans the room again. "Where's Nico?"
"She went to the bathroom. And probably got lost. She was too confident in her navigation skills to bother listening to the directions that Hanayo gave her." Maki laughs to herself until King Nishikino waves at her to talk to him. Eli turns to Nozomi and finds her conversing with Princess Anju from A-RISE. Eli walks over to greet the other Princess.
"Ah, Anju-chan this is Elichi." Nozomi waves at Eli.
"Captain Ayase Eli of Lily White." Eli places her hand on her chest and bows her head.
"Hello, Captain." Anju giggles and looks at Nozomi. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Yuki Anju from A-RISE but you already knew that."
"Of course." Eli's eyes wander over to Umi. Umi was just standing by herself. Eli raises her eyebrow. "Um, excuse me Princesses." Eli slowly walks over to her sister. "Umi?" Eli places a hand on Umi's shoulder but she doesn't move. Eli waves a hand in her face. She keeps looking in a certain direction and Eli turns. She spots Queen Minami and Kotori talking with another Royal family. But Eli notices a taller boy speaking with Kotori. He looked semi muscular and his father kept patting his back as he was speaking with their Queen. Kotori was shyly laughing at whatever he was saying. "Oh..."
"You don't think shes..." Umi starts. Eli can see the fear in Umi's eyes.
"She's...?" Eli tries to get Umi to finish her sentence. She had an idea but Eli didn't want to say it. They both didn't want to.
Umi's shoulders tense and she meets Eli's eyes. "Engaged."