Aikka patiently waited as his servants fetch Rick, Namikaze and Minato for a summons to his personal study.
'Of all times for the Trogs to attack, it would've been during the Dance of the Flowers.' He angrily considered while he shook his head in disbelief at what he allowed to happen under his watch.
"My king," His former master's voice breaks him out of his thoughts, "May I ask why was I summoned at such an hour?"
"I will explain everything once everyone else arrive in a few minutes." The king explains as his sights remain hone in on the door in front of him.
The pair then overhears a knock at the door, which prompts the young man to grant permission to the person on the other side.
"Come in,"
Canaan watches as some of the head honchos in the Knights of the Round enter inside of the King's personal study with solemn and stoic expressions on their faces.
'I wonder what happened?' He quietly wonders when he hears the young Noursaian clear his throat right before he speaks, "Natalie Andros has been kidnapped by the Trogs upon their invasion at the Dance of the Flowers."
"Unfortunately, we lost some important dignitaries and civilians during this ambush."
"Yet the Commander of the Trog's army, Kross, has issued for a challenge between Natalie and Minato."
"If we win, the Trogs will cease any and all future invasions on Noursaia. If we lose, there's a chance that Natalie will become Kross…concubine."
Minato was angrily clenching his fists at the debriefing, 'I still can't believe he would worry about others' safety rather than his own daughter.'
"We suggested that he should partake in some intensive training until the arrival of Princess Mai, who has the information for the duel." Namikaze promptly speaks up once he senses the rage that openly emits from his student's body.
Canaan briefly ponders over the idea before he asserts, "I have no problem with training him. That is, if it is okay with the Knights of the Round."
"We don't protest at all. Actually, we plan on being very hands-on for Minato's training as well." Namikaze mentions, which prompts a response from Rick, "Namikaze and I will rotate teaching position in order to maintain the orders for the military."
Aikka then directs his sights on to the blonde knight, who appears to be deep in his own thoughts.
He then notices some blood drips from the palm of the blonde's hands. "Do you object, Minato?"
The young man slowly raises his head only to realize that all eyes were on him when he repeats his questions, "Do you object Minato?"
"I have no objects, my king." Minato firmly asserts to the group.
Canaan breaks the silence, "We can start on your first lesson now."
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"Who the hell does that one eyed rabbit think he is?!" Jordan irritably grumbles after the door to his room immediately slides close behind him.
Natalie dutifully remained in the middle of the room while the Avatar threw a temper tantrum from being outranked by Kross.
"I don't know…maybe make her my concubine…or bear my heirs or even marry her." His mind constantly repeats Kross bold statement to Rick.
The irate man promptly rotates around and carefully stares at the young woman that was presently under his control.
His golden eyes then hone in on the diamond golden mask that currently conceals her entire face from those that would dare to look in her direction.
"Do a cartwheel." The Avatar unexpectedly orders as he anxiously waits until the raven haired woman promptly executes a cartwheel across the room.
"Punch." The young man issues out another order, which she obediently complies and promptly extends one of her arms out to execute a punch.
Her display of absolute obedience prompts a wicked smile to stretch across his face, '…and that little girl said Natalie's constituent isn't easily broken.'
"Punch, Punch, Jab, Jab, Upper cut, Roundhouse kick and floor sweep." The golden figure rattles off a series of orders.
The solider obediently executes each and every order without so much as a protest from the woman.
The intergalactic dignitary spontaneously bursts in to a fit of manically laughter at the result of his little experiment with his test subject, Natalie.
'Let's see Kross try and have his way with you.'
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Mai carefully folds a black trenchcoat, a couple of tops, bottoms, and undergarments so that it easily fits in her bag before Kross rudely barges inside of her room.
She merely ignores the Trog's sudden presence while she checks then double checks her hygiene and feminine products before she places them in her bag.
"Mai…" Kross breaks the silence first as he calls out to the young woman, who continues to pack her bag for her mission.
"I'm sorry about what happened on the bridge." He attempts to apologize after he advances closer to her while she zips her bag close.
The young woman deliberately waits until he is close enough to her in order to whack him in the face with her duffle bag before she slides the strap across her chest.
"I should make the Avatar my concubine since you obviously want Natalie to be yours." The princess calmly retorts with a stoic expression on her face.
The woman then casually strolls away from him.
The Trog swiftly covers the distance that separates her from the door and wedges himself in front of the Noursaian.
The male gently grabs her by the shoulders, which earns a "What do you think…" right before he presses his lips against hers.
"I see you still taste like charcoal." She irritably mutters once they separate from each other right before he warns her, "Be careful."
Mai merely maneuvers around him as she releases a "humph" along with a "Ain't I always" which earns a nod from the Trog.
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"I still can't believe what I saw…came true." Eva exasperates in shock while she stares at her hands, which starts to shake from anguish.
"I mean I didn't even know that those shadows were Trogs." She utters before she closes her eyes in order to prevent tears that threaten to fall from her face.
Crimson eyes peer upward once she hears someone enters her room only to come face to face with the former Queen of Noursaia, Noi.
"It's my fault that those people are dead! It's my fault that the Trogs kidnapped Natalie!"
"It's my fault that we're even in this predicament in the first place! Why didn't I just say something about my premonition?"
"Maybe…maybe I could have…." The queen nervously rambles as she dramatically emphasizes each of her statements.
The older woman, out of the two, slowly approaches, reaches out until she secures Eva's hands within her own, and consoles her, "You aren't to blame, Eva."
"You weren't sure if your premonition would happen or not. Don't allow that gift to corrupt your morals."
"I, too, was in a similar situation that you are in now. It took my husband's mother to pull me out of my self-turmoil."
"What has happened has happened. You can no longer hold on to the guilt. You must let it go." Noi calmly instructs her as she manages to unravel one of her hands from its fist positon.
"Let it go…" She gently urges, which prompts Eva to repeat "Just let it go," as she slowly releases the pressure from against the palm of her hands.
Meanwhile…
The twins were currently in the Infirmary where they noticed majority of the people who attended the party ended up severely or moderately injured.
The sheer impact of the Trogs ambush eventually settles in as they carefully step around those that were being tend to by the nurses.
"So it really did happen….the Trogs did invade us." Kiera finally admits while they observe and watch the doctor and nurses at work.
"I wonder where mom and dad are…" Kieran mutters as he memorizes the faces of those that were in the Infirmary.
One of the nurses quickly approach them, drops at their level, and politely exclaims, "Ah Prince Kieran and Princess Kieran, we're glad that you are safe!"
The twins nod their heads at the same time before they return their sights back on to the people.
"They are under our care so you don't have to worry about them." She mentions after she realizes where their eyes were as she speaks to them.
Once again the twins nodded their heads in agreement before they were being instructed to head to where their parents were located.
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Three days later...
'Feels like I haven't been here in ages.' Mai inwardly weighs while she currently stands in front of the Noursaia Castle that belongs to the Royal family.
She released a sigh before she proceeded forward until she noticed that she was instantly greeted at the gate by a row of soldiers.
'I guess this can be expected since I'm now considered an Enemy of the State.' The young woman mentally jokes after she cracks a smirk across her face.
As the princess advances further, three bodies stood directly at the end of the line of the soldiers.
The spy manages to recognize the individuals as none other than the King and Queen of Noursaia, Aikka and Eva, and the head of the military, Rick Andros.
'Hm, I wonder where's Minato?' She wonders since the blonde was absent.
Yet, another thought passes through her mind, 'Probably off somewhere training,'
Mai immediately senses the hate that radiates off of the trio by the time she was a few feet away.
'Talk about a strong presence…'
"We will cut the formalities and pleasantries short. Where is the envelope that you are tasked to give us?" Rick abruptly challenged once the young lady finally stood in front of them.
Her smirk remains present on her face when she discloses, "It's only polite of me to thank you for your hospitality while I was a guest here. Thank you very much."
Eva furiously glared at the young woman, who boldly entered their home under false pretenses and made friends with Natalie.
Not to mention, she would openly flirt with her husband whenever he was alone.
She balled up her hands to fists as they start to tremble from the sheer ire that she felt toward Princess Mai.
That is until she feels Aikka's fingers weave in between hers and tightly squeezes her hands.
"As much as your anger is very enticing, I came here to do a job." Mai honestly claims as she searches for the letter, feels it in her grasp, and hands it to them.
Rick was the one to secure the envelope from her as she patiently waits for them to open and read the contents.
"It says the location is outside of the gates of Noursaia. The time is when the sun's at its highest peak and only Minato is allowed to be present." He reads off of the card.
She then dramatically wags her index finger at the trio when she coyly quips, "You omitted something."
Rick reread the paper once again when he noticed the small print that was penciled in at the bottom. "Mai will serve as the guide and referee for the match."
"What!" Eva instantly snaps after she processes what he just read off of the sheet of paper before she snatches it from his grasp.
Her eyes quickly scan over the note and it indeed includes the little stipulation at the bottom of the sheet.
"We have no choice but to accept the terms that have been stated." Aikka firmly asserts, which earns a look of distrust from both Eva and Rick.
"As long as both Kross and the Avatar uphold their end of the deal then we have no choice but to accept the conditions presented to us." He conveyed with his eyes closed, which was instantly rebuffed by Eva, "You can't be serious! The cards are in their favor."
"Eva," Aikka firmly addresses his wife with a stern expression on his face as it quiets her rant for the time being.
'He's so assertive!' Mai happily gushes about the man in front of her before she remembers the purpose behind her visit.
"I'll be back at the top of the hill that dips in to the forest tomorrow morning to pick up the candidate."
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Author's Note:
12.14.16 Major editing revision
04.07.17 Minor editing revisions