He was feeling a stinging sensation across his cheek when he was observing her storming away and out of the castle's ground.
'I wonder what I did wrong?' Jordan pondered, completely unaware that Princess Mai witnessed the whole thing that happened between Natalie and the Avatar.
'What kind of Avatar is he?' She judged when she felt utter disgust that unsettled her stomach and caused it to churn.
0000
The morning naturally rolled over to the afternoon when Eva dictated that the castle was absolutely too quiet. It was especially strange since the twins were back from Master Canaan's lessons.
"Mommy, look what Minato gave me earlier!" Kiera eagerly runs toward her mother when she happens to roll right pass them.
"That's a pretty Daisy, you have there." She compliments while she gently grazes her fingers across the soft white petals of the Daisy.
"Kieran gave Natalie some flowers too! She put them in her hair just like I did." The little girl mentions Natalie's name.
'I knew it was too quiet…' The raven haired woman with crimson tips determines after she hears the woman's name from her little daughter's mouth.
"So what did you two do when you went to Master Canaan's training session?" The pregnant woman inquries on how their lessons went.
Kieran ceased with whatever it was that hid behind a bush to answer his mother's question, "We just worked on how to properly grip the bow and arrow."
"Oh yeah, you remember seeing Natalie hitting that bullseye? She was so awesome! You should've seen her mom!" Kiera gloats on the older woman's accomplishments.
"I never knew Natalie knew about Archery?" Their mother softly mutters more to herself when she unexpectedly catches a glimpse of Jordan in their vicinity.
"Eva and kids, how are you doing today?" He greets them or rather Eva politely after he approaches the group.
"Wonderful but have you seen Natalie?" The queen catechizes while she studies his face for any signs of a reaction but none ever came.
"Remember she ordered me not to come near her, that if I did then she would have my head." The Avatar reminded her of what occured between him and Natalie.
"It never left my mind but the kids said she dropped them off and left. I was just wondering where she could have gone." Eva explained why she asked him about her.
"...seems as if your motherhood nurturing skills are kicking in, that's all." He alleges when he watches the twins play with each other.
Her crimson eyes cut to her old friend before she concentrates on her kids, "Yeah, if you say so."
"You two, we're going to go find your father."
As if they were robots, the twins immediately ceased what they were doing and aided their mother. They wheeled her down the hallway and ultimately away from Jordan.
The young man rubs his hand on his cheek and feels it still stings a little bit, 'It was as if I got hit by a hammer.'
0000
Natalie was lazily ambling back to her Captain corridors, where she was half-heartedly acknowldeging her subordinates with salutes and positive greetings.
'I don't feel like going back to that castle as long as that Avatar is there.' She decided to herself.
The young woman just wanted to lock herself away in her office.
"Captain Natalie?! I'm rather surprised to see you here!"
"I thought they temporarily assigned you to security detail at the castle?" One of her subordinates addressed her before she reached the confinements of her office.
"Actually, I am here to collect a few things that will aid the security. Please forward the information to the Command Sergeant Major." The raven haired woman ordered with the latter part being standard procedure.
The captain truly did not feel like doing work.
"In addition to that, direct all contacts to them. I won't be in after this for a few weeks." Natalie added on to the lie she just told.
"Yes ma'am." He saluted her until she copied the move and dropped hers first before the man left.
'At least, nothing has change too much about her.' The woman determines as some type of relief races through her at the sight of her office.
It was the exact same way as she left it.
'I wonder how long will I be able to stay here before someone realize I'm gone? Will they even notice that I am gone?' thoughts like those ran through her mind before she shut and locked the door.
Her green eyes gazed over her desk that was littered with papers she left due to her temporary leave for the kingdom and concern for the king and queen's safety.
'At least I won't be bothered while I'm here.' The raven haired woman concluded after she plopped down in her seat behind her desk.
Natalie began to dutifully work on the small stack of papers that sat on her desk.
0000
"Aikka!" "Daddy!" were the sounds of Eva and their little kids after they barged in Aikka's study to see that Princess Mai was also there.
"I'll be out in a minute. We're almost finished up here." Aikka gravely stated.
They soon registered two things: they interrupted a very serious conversation between the two and Minato's presence.
Eva feels a sigh of relief escapes her mouth upon the realization that her husband was not alone in the room with Mai.
"It's fine. We can finish up for now."
"Actually, I'm kind of hungry." Mai suddenly spoke up seemingly unaware that his wife and their children came in.
"The chef is always on duty. All you have to do is tell them what you want to eat and they will cook it for you." He informs her before she departs from his private study.
"Thank you for the help," The princess politely thanked him as she walked passed the queen and her kids with a small smile on her face.
"Hey," The Noursaian was addressing to his wife first before placing a kiss on her forehead and messing around with the kids.
"It looks as if it was intense in there, your brows are furrowing." She quipped since she could spot the tell tell signs of being tired on his face.
"No, not at all! Actually since Minato aid by lighten the load on me, it went rather smoothly." Her husband affirms to his wife after he rubs the front of his forehead.
"Good because we were going to come and get you for a day out of the castle." The young woman responded to her husband's actions.
A smile was placed on his face, "I would like that. So did you two enjoy your lessom with Master Canaan?"
"Mhm, Natalie made a bullseye! Ig was incredible!" Kiera repeated the same thing she told her mother earlier when they were in the courtyard.
"I didn't know Natalie knew about Archery. Maybe I should ask her, do you know where she is?" The orange haired male asked to no one in particular.
"She did walk us home but I don't know if she came in the castle with us." Kieran replied to his father's question when he remembered seeing Natalie leave.
Minato had a feeling that something was not right when he heard the prince's answer to his dad.
"Has anyone seen Natalie? I would like to tell her something."
"Well then she can't ignore a king's personal summons, I will go and locate her." He quick spoke up after he overheard the king asked his wife and kids about Natalie.
"Thank you Minato, that would be a wonderful idea." The pregnant woman replies before she signals for her kids to aid for the wheelchair.
"When you find her, have her report to our room."
"I just want to relay the information that Princess Mai gave us. I need to certain that her background truly aligns with her problem." Aikka purposely spoke in a whispered tone so his wife and kids could not hear their conversation.
"Yes, sir," The solider slightly bowed his head to show his respect before he took leave from the study.
'I wonder why Princess Mai would surface around this time then ask for permission from her kingdom to visit me and obtain nothing but advice?' Aikka weighed before he decided to catch up with the rest of his family.
0000
'Well I wonder where this piece of cloth could've come from? Was it a male or a female? Is it from a shirt, skirt, or what could it be?'
Three rasps came at the door, which brought Rick out of his thoughts. He swiftly stashed away the piece in his pocket and orders, "Come in."
His eyes noted the rather serious expression on Minato's face upon his entrance in the room. The blonde rapidly checks his surroundings before he shuts the door.
"From the look on your face, you must've spotted something wrong. What is it?" The older man needles while he seats up from his laid back position.
"Did Natalie report in at all today?" His subordinate was wondering while making sure to note if he was holding anything from him.
"Matter of fact, no, she didn't. That isn't like her whatsoever.!"
"Why do you ask?" Natalie's father demands to know about the purpose of his sudden visit.
"King Aikka wanted me to relay the details of the meeting between him and Princess Mai on to her. He just needed to make sure everything checked out." The younger male did not hesitate to supply an answer.
His obsidian eyes watch his superior officer raise one of his eyebrow before he leans against his chair.
"So I guess that's what she wanted me to assume upon Princess Mai arrival. It also explains why she was so persistent in checking her belongings. Unfortunately, that is when it all blew up." Rick reminisced about what occured when Mai first arrived.
"When what all blew up?" Minato probes further into the situation after he hears his choice of words.
"I wouldn't say blow up but rather the tension between her and the Avatar started to spike. He invaded her private thoughts and learned the things that Natalie deliberately harbored to herself."
"So the Avatar started to hound her in order to seek out the answers. It nearly led him to have his head removed from his shoulders." He explained in further details about the fight between the two.
"You're telling me that Natalie was willingly and ready to harm a intergalactic official solely off of the pretense of him invading her privacy?" The blonde surmises before a thought runs through his head.
'Now, I can understand. After seeing her release her anger on that boulder, I'm sure the Avatar would no longer have a head.'
"Look, I think she may have left the castle grounds to keep her head cleared."
"She will mostly like pop up around after a night's rest and some quality thinking time." The raven haired male expressed in a tone that showed he had experience this with Natalie before.
"So you are just going to allow her to abandon her post?"
"It's not an issue to me if it will allow us to stay in the guidelines of treatment of intergalactic officials but I won't hesitate to point that out to the Avatar as well." The young man declared once he rose to his feet.
"You mean Jordan?"
"That boy will never grow up. He still tries to pull his childish pranks. Just kept a keen eye on him because he is a tricky one." His superior forewarns him.
The older male already knew that Minato wanted to solve the problem himself.
The young man nodded his head, rotated on his heels and exited the office of his superior officer.
'I just hope whatever Natalie is doing, she's alright. I know how she gets when she doesn't have her way.' He prayed when he turned around in his chair.
0000
'Who would've thought that I would be back here this soon?' Natalie was thinking after hearing the lock on her door turning unlock.
Her green eyes scanned around to see that hardly anything changed in her office other than dust, which naturally accumulated in her room.
'Well this will give me something to do for a while.' The raven haired woman assumes before she begins to search for the duster in her office.
'I wonder if they would notice that I'm missing?' The solider was wondering again before remembering the sudden arrival of Minato her thought.
'After all, he's one of the noble knights men…ugh…' Her frustration was evident once she brought her fist to her desk.
The duster haphazardly rolled its way out from underneath it due to the sheer force of the blow she landed on the poor table.
The captain decided to clear her thoughts of the blonde and of course the constant irritation she has whenever she would see it.
After releasing a breath, Natalie was bending over to pick up the aging duster while starting off first with her desk.
Meanwhile...
Minato acquired, during his former years at the castle, all of the ins and outs and even possible hideouts. Yet, it was appearing that finding Natalie was a different thing.
He was currently in the East Wing of the castle. Any of the Royal Family's guests would usually reside for their temporary stay of less than fifteen days.
'The first place I can think of her hiding is in her room.' The young man tried to align his mind to the thought process of Natalie.
The blonde made his way down the hallway until he reached her room that had a paper with black writing on it "DO NOT DISTURB".
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Author's Notes:
06.24.17 Major editing revision