Aikka and Eva was already waiting for them to enter their private bedroom. The pair was known to be quite the stickler for being punctual to any meetings.
"Good morning, Minato and Natalie!" The pair was offering their personal greeting towards the couple that were standing before their eyes.
"Good morning, King Aikka and Queen Eva." The two return their separate forms of greeting to the higher rank individuals in the room.
"It seems as if we caught you two at a good time." Eva joked when she observed that the raven haired woman was in her nightclothes while the blonde was already dressed for the day.
The solider eventually gawks at her present attire. She furiously blushes out of embarrassment at the selection that she wears in front of her king and queen.
"My sincerest apologies...I was still asleep when the servant relayed the message on to me." Natalie explains to Aikka and Eva the reason why she was currently in her pajamas with a rather red face.
The queen desperately suppresses her laughter, casually waves at the woman, and says, "It's quite alright. You don't have to be embarrassed. It is perfectly fine as you can see I'm currently still in mine."
"The reason why you were summoned is because we would like a favor that only the two of you can complete." The king promptly states as he directs their attention toward him.
"I am sure that Natalie and I will be able to handle whatever you throw at us." The knight speaks up for the pair, which causes Eva to giggle.
"Aren't they just so cute together, Aikka?" The queen purposely alleges, which creates a rather awkward moment to arise between the pair.
"Anyway, we would like for you two to escort Kieran and Kiera to Master Canaan for their lessons." The Noursaian directs the conversation back to its original purpose.
"Consider it done." The raven haired woman answers this time for the two. The pair quickly then exited from the private bedroom of the king and queen.
A crimson eyes stare up at her husband with an expression of disappointment on her face, "I was trying to make them realize that they like each other! You could have went along."
"I did too. I sent them on the mission together. I could've sent Natalie with Jordan to make Minato upset." He reasons with his wife about his portion of the plan.
"I believe you're plotting on your end. Why didn't I think of that?" His wife mutters the latter part more to herself rather than her husband.
Aikka just flashes his wife a toothy grin before she snuggles as close to him as her stomach would allow her to.
Meanwhile outside of the king and queen's personal quarters,
"Why are you walking so fast, Natalie?" Minato curiously wonders because the woman now travels at an incredible fast pace away from him.
"That's because I don't feel comfortable around you!" Natalie really wanted to say but instead it came out like this, "I don't want to be seen in my nightclothes you idiot!"
"Oh...so now I'm an idiot?" The young man repeats after he catches wind of the moniker she personally uses for him. He currently tries to match up with her hasten strides.
When the young woman veers the corner, she comes face to face with none other than the Avatar, himself.
There was a dreaded sense of quietness between the pair. No words, phrases, or sentences were immediately nor politely exchanged between the two.
The only thing that could be heard was the blonde's voice, who yelled out her name. He eventually registered the reason as to why she halted in her fast stride.
"Good morning." Minato dutifully greets him. The knight personally was not a fan of silence let alone being visibly mean toward an ally.
His obsidian eyes observed the Avatar, who was intensely honed in on the woman that stood at his side, returned the greeting.
"How about we head on back so we can get the kids and go." The knight suddenly mentions to her while he purposely rests his arm around her shoulder.
The action breaks her out of her deadlock staredown with Jordan.
"Yeah, you're right…can't keep them waiting now, can we?" The raven haired woman pops the question as she stares up at his face.
Minato then swiftly guided the woman in his arm around the golden figure, who exchanged hard stares with one another.
"Thanks Minato. I owe you one." Natalie's verbalizes once they were a good distance away from the Avatar.
He was sensing that she was truly thanking him before responding with "No problem at all. Besides, I'm the only one who you can't find annoying."
The captain simply giggles at his statement not aware that he was being completely serious with his statement.
For some odd reason, Natalie found herself not being bothered by the fact that Minato's arm was rooted around her shoulder even after they walked a distance away from Jordan.
She was closing her eyes before releasing a sigh while thinking, 'What am I doing?'
0000
Kieran and Kiera entered the dining hall since they assumed that it was around the time for the chef to serve breakfast to the family and the guests at the castle.
"I hope we get to go back to Master Canaan. It's been boring lately." Kiera dramatically complains as she strolls down the hallway with her twin at her side.
"It is way too many adults in here with problems…." Kieran explains and points out the source of them being bored.
"Hey, do you think that Minato and Natalie would be a great couple?" She curiously poses to Kieran.
"No, I don't think so," He answers in a rather blunt tone.
"That's right. If I was able to put my crush aside clearly you can see that it will never happen! You should at least hope for the best for her." His twin reasons once she turns to face him to address his defiant response.
A couple of seconds later, the boy's face cracks to eventually reveal his normal facial expression "Okay, fine then…"
"I knew it!" She happily proclaims while she points at her twin with her index finger.
"I'm tired of talking about them again." Her twin comments. Kieran personally wanted to change the subject from Minato and Natalie to something else.
Kiera was visibly huffing at how her brother was acting like the fun police now before complying with his wish. "Fine, but what about Princess Mai?"
"She hasn't done anything yet remember." He reminds his twin about Princess Mai's actions.
"I think we should still tell mommy and daddy." His sister suggests while the two glances at each other.
"Let's tell them before we leave for the day." Her bro proposes an appropriate time for them to tell their parents about their recent discovery.
The pair made it to the steps that would lead them to the kitchen when the aroma from the dining hall caught their attention. The young girl exclaims, "I smell food!"
"We so totally have excellent timing!" He stated before they slid down the banister of the steps and strolled in side of the dining room.
0000
A knock can be heard at the door, Rick once again shuffled through papers that were apparent on his desk. He politely informs them to "Come on in."
"Are you busy?" The voice inquistively inquired since he already knew who the voice belonged to.
"Come on in now," He politely repeated with his eyes glued onto the content of the papers, "...you don't have to ask to take a seat."
"I'm actually surprised that you seem rather…docile compared to how Natalie views you." The raven haired male mentions before his attention turns to his guest.
Jordan merely closes his eyes, relaxes in the seat across from his old friend and divulges, "I just took a journey to the Noursaia Priest Water Fountain. I am sure my personality will return to me within a couple of hours."
"I couldn't help but notice how I saw Natalie and Minato together at a close distance with each othrr." He annoyingly mentions to him since it was not far from the truth.
"Is that so?" He questions in a unfaze tone before he comments, "It seems as if he has attached himself to her again."
"...but if you really want to know some thing, your jealously is pretty evident my friend." The older man already figured out the real reason why the Avatar sat before him.
The golden entity lifts both of his hands, palms face toward Rick, and admits, "It seems as if I'm caught red handed on that one."
"My thing is, I don't want her to hate me anymore. But if all else fails, we could be just cordial to each other."
'So he doesn't deny being jealous? I don't think that that this will be the end of it between those two.' The raven haired male inwardly predicts to himself about his recent actions.
"I don't think she hates you. She is just...very annoyed by you and your presence."
"As far as being cordial, I raised her on that principle. Nevertheless, it will take you some time."
The golden figure was nodding his head to show understanding at what he was telling him, "...but before I depart, I should at least explain to you how your daughter caught my fascination."
"When I first arrived, there was this young lady that stood in front of the the king and queen. She glanced over her shoulder to look at me before she turned back to face them."
"At that moment, I felt as if I was just another human being not…this."
"If you live the life I have Rick then you would be appreciative, if someone give you a look as if you were human."
Rick slightly pauses for a moment in order to allow the comment that the intergalactic dignitary left him with completely sink in.
'If that's how he has to justify his feelings to her so it will keep him sane, fine by me but trying to persuade me in to not allowing her to see Minato…plain misjudgment on his part.' He assumed to himself.
'Now that I have Rick watching me and my movements around his daughter it makes getting rid of that blonde twit so much easier.' Jordan thought after he made his way out of Rick's office.
0000
Minato releases another sneeze yet nothing cones out. He gently rubs his index finger underneath his nose with hope that it would provide some type of relief.
"It seems as if you're coming down with a cold. You need to get that checked out." Natalie's voice could be heard from behind the door.
"Is that concern that I hear from the Iron Fist Natalie?" The blonde boldly quips.
"No…I just don't want you to catch a cold let alone pass it on to Prince Kieran and Princess Kiera." The raven haired woman says loud enough for him to hear.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, if you say so. I'm sure that I heard concern in your voice but I will let you have that one." The young man gracefully diffuses a possible arguement between the two.
The solider unlocks the door and opens it without so much as a word for him to move, which causes him to fall on his back. "How about that for concern?"
"Touché." The knight ultimately fake surrenders to the woman, who merely steps over him and obligatory offers him a hand up.
"You should really quit acting like a baby! That's not a good look for you." The captain sharply advises him before she releases her hand from within his grasp.
"I don't act like a little baby." The male dramatically pouts, which causes her to laugh at his current facial expression.
"Oh, I almost forgot one thing," Natalie promptly mutters as this breaks him out of his portrayal of a baby. "Do I need to wait for you to go get it?"
"No, it isn't a item. I was wanting to thank you for helping me out with Jordan or the Avatar, I probably would've lost my rank and my sanity if it wasn't for you." She genuinely thanks the male in front of her.
"Oh stop it...you're making me blush." Minato coyly remarks as both of his hands were at his cheeks with an apparent red tint.
The young woman flashes her companion an odd look.
Her green eyes noted that his expression morphed in to a somber look, "It's no problem at all Natalie. I just don't like when people pick on you."
"Trust me, it isn't pretty when you get annoyed woman."
The raven haired woman tried to imagine her facial expression whenever she would be annoyed, "Does steam come out of my ears?"
"If that was physically possible then I am quite sure you will be smoking like a chimney in the winter time." He alleges.
"Don't try and fret over it too much. I should say I'm pretty blessed to have not push those buttons and faced your wraith." The blonde adds in with a wide smile on his face after his comment.
His statement sparks her to ponder again about that, 'Minato does have a point. He does do some things that seriously irritates me but why was I able to deal with him. Why is that?'
"Hello? I think someone just zoned out on me." The knight retorts after he removes his hand from in front of her face.
The captain had nothing else to say to her companion, rotated away from him, and ventured down the hallway.
Minato simply shrugs his shoulders before he jogs down the hallway to catch up with the woman.
'I enjoy moments like these…'
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Author's Note:
12.10.16 Major editing revision
06.26.17 Major cleaning edits