Act II, Scene I
"So, do we even remotely know this knight guy?" Cordelia asked, nervously rebraiding her hair for the sixth time.
Emilia sighed through her nose. "I know about as much as you."
The lady knight turned to face the pale servant. "So, literally nothing."
"Yeah, pretty much." Emilia murmured in defeat.
A knock sounded at the door. "Is it safe?" Billy called.
"GET IN HERE, YOU IDIOT." Cordelia growled, throwing a hairbrush at the door as it opened.
"Okay." Billy said, ducking the hairbrush. "Everything is set. A messenger told me that the Knight King is stationed at the dunes west of here. Rosalinda-" the word sounded forced "-is staying at a tavern in town, but is back on her ship to prepare for the ball."
"Excellent, Billy." Emilia said. "You both ready?"
The lady knight and herald nodded.
"Good. Now- my lady! My most beautiful Queen!"
Even before Cordelia turned and saw the Queen, even before Emilia bowed and groveled, the hairs on the back of her neck had stood straight up.
"My Queen, what do you wish of us?" Cordelia asked, sinking into a curtsey.
"Well, I need attendants, of course! Why do you think I brought you along?" Anna trilled. "Brume is wonderful help, of course, but I need an extra pair of hands."
Oh, perfect.
How were they supposed to sneak out now?
"Oh, but you see, my lady, Billy and Cordelia have prior plans." Interjected Emilia.
Say what now?
"You see, some of the townspeople were rebelling against the thought of a war yesterday, and Billy and Cordelia are going to persuade them otherwise." Emilia said, phrasing her words so that 'persuade' could be exchanged for 'threaten.'
"Oh, how lovely!" Anna squealed, her eyes dancing with joy. "Cut an arm off for me, Cordelia?"
"Uh, sure?" Cordelia uttered, slightly grossed out.
"Brilliant! Emmy, you shall attend me then! Ta ta!"
Once the queen was gone, both escapees looked to their savior.
"Brilliant, brilliant, BRILLIANT Emmy!" Billy crowed.
"But how am I going to get an arm?" Cordelia wailed.
"Oh, you're a clever girl, you figure it out!" The pale servant girl shoved them both towards the cabin door of the ship. "Now go!"
Billy stood before the ramp to Queen Rosalinda's ship with sweat running down his back and nausea burning through his stomach.
Rosie. He could still remember her sweet smell as she collided with him, the soft pink hue of her lips and-
He was getting way off track here.
Willing himself to put one foot in front of the other, Billy slowly made his way up the ramp. Each step felt like there were mountains tied to his feet, and he had to resist the urge to run scampering back to Emmy, bawling like a baby, and request that she talk to Rosie.
After practically a millennia (Author's Note: I considered pushing him.) Billy made it to the floor of the ship.
Only to be violently knocked backwards by a man with salmon colored hair.
Cordelia swiftly sped across the desert, keeping her footsteps light, as she had been taught.
Man, this Knight King was hard to track!
Cordelia considered this as she slowed her gait.
He must have had far superior training to any knight she had ever seen. And he must have had the good sense to hide from his allies or potential enemies in case of an attack.
But there was nowhere to hide!
Cordelia felt like screaming into the desert air, stopping to catch her breath. This was practically a barren wasteland! There was literally nowhere to hide except-
Except-
Realization struck her too late.
The sand around her seemed to explode, and soldiers came out of nowhere, all holding bows and spears. Every weapon was primed and aimed at her.
This was nothing. Cordelia almost laughed out loud. She had taken on far more soldiers than this!
But just as she reached for the sword and dagger strapped at her waist, her arms were grabbed and secured behind her back.
"You are too loud." A silken voice whispered in her ear.
Emilia knocked softly at the Queen's door. "Majesty?"
"Yes?" Anna called, sounding annoyed.
"What do you need me to do?" Emilia asked. "You claimed earlier that you needed-"
"Brume is giving me a massage." Came the irritated response. "There is a dress of green in the window of a shop downtown. Grab some gems from the treasury on the bottom floor and fetch it for me."
Emilia left, puzzling over the response. How odd. The Queen hated massages, and she hated the color green. Why would she ask for this, unless to distract Emilia from something?
Still thinking, Emilia set off to complete the Queen's wishes.
Billy felt himself being hoisted to his feet. "Who are you?" Someone was shaking him. "What do you want?"
Opening his eyes, Billy saw a man not much bigger than himself, a man of a pale complexion and green eyes and salmon hair.
Was this the fellow who had rammed into him?
"My name is Billy." The herald choked. "I request an audience with Queen Rosalinda on behalf of Queen Anna-"
"There will be no audiences with my sister!" More shaking. Man, this guy was strong! "You must leave now!"
Sister? Too little too late, Billy recalled that Rosie had an older brother that she ruled alongside with. Apparently, he was just as territorial as the rumors claimed.
"I cannot!" Billy rasped. "My Queen was insistent that I speak with Queen-"
"I could care less!" Billy was thrown to the ground and pinned in a painful headlock. A knee pressed into his back, and Billy let out a whimper of pain.
"Now." The man growled. "You will leave now, or else-"
"Tron!" A furious voice called out.
"Let go of me!" Cordelia howled, jabbing her elbow back in a harsh blow to her captor's ribs. She yowled when her joint connected to hard armor with a clang, but she heard a grunt, proof that she had injured him too.
"Who are you?" The man holding her growled.
"I am Lady Cordelia, Knight of Queen Anna, and I-"
Laughter chorused up from the soldiers surrounding her. "A lady knight!" They screeched. "Hilarious! Women cannot be knights."
The lady knight was seething.
"Silence!" her captor snarled. Immediately, the men fell silent. "A woman can easily be a warrior just as much as a man. It is simply quite rare that we find one."
"Yes sir." The assembled warriors murmured, looking ashamed, if only for being told off.
"I come with an urgent message for the Knight King." Cordelia snapped, trying to regain her senses in her fury at being dismissed so foully.
A tremor seemed to go through the warriors. Cordelia was suddenly released and roughly shoved into the middle of their circle.
Barely regaining her footing, Cordelia turned around, a severe lashing ready on her lips, when she saw her captor for the first time.
He was tall, and slim, but still muscular in a charming way. Long blonde hair was combed up to a point, perfectly accented by a green fringe. Harsh grey eyes glared at her above a tight scowl.
Dressed in armor of emerald and sapphire, he had a pure black sword at his side and nothing else. Though he bore no crown, royalty seemed to pour off of him. There was no doubting who this was.
"You are the Knight King." Cordelia breathed.
He nodded. "You may have a message for me, but I know Anna. I do not know if I can trust you. Therefore-"
He drew the sword, and it gleamed like black fire against the afternoon desert sun.
"-I must defeat you." He said, almost somberly. "Pity. You are quite pretty."
He lunged.
Emilia knocked, once again, on the door to Anna's room. "My lady, I purchased the green dress you wanted."
"What?" Anna squawked angrily.
"The green dress in town." Emilia ground out, trying hard not to punch the door. "You asked for it and I acquired it for you."
A shriek was heard from the room. "I said no such thing, you dirty servant! I asked for the purple dress! You stupid girl!"
Emilia nearly screamed. This was ridiculous! Now she knew this was a distraction. Even on her bad days, Anna was never this unreasonable! And she detested purple almost as much as green.
"I. Am. Sorry." She said, carefully, forcing her words to be as polite as possible. "I. Will. Rectify. This. Mistake. Now. My. Queen."
"Good, or it is a week of flogging for you!" Anna yelled.
Emilia remained as cordial as possible as she exited the ship. Then she proceeded to find the nearest building and slam her head against it.
Billy, and the angry man he now knew was called Tron, looked up.
Rosalinda was standing in front of them, her perfect pink hair and green eyes practically glowing in the sunlight. She was in a long sleeved gown of emerald with dawn pink ties and slippers.
She looked like an angel.
A very angry angel.
"Tron! You let up poor Billy this very moment! How dare you harm him?!" Rosie snarled.
"Sorry sister." Tron murmured, easing off Billy's back. The herald gasped for breath.
"Are you alright Billy?" Rosie asked, kneeling down beside him and cupping his face with her hand.
Billy was grateful for his dark skin tone, which hid the blush on his face.
"Yes, your majesty." He murmured.
"Billy, I told you the last time, you can call me Rosie." The girl chided.
"Wha-?" Tron spluttered, his face burning a crimson red.
"Tron, hush!" Rosie snapped. "You go and bring us a tea tray! Oh, and you need to apologize to Billy too!"
Tron sighed and bowed to the fallen Billy. "Sorry." He said, with a voice that curdled milk.
"Excellent!" Rosie chirped as Tron went below deck. "Forgive him, he is quite overprotective, as you can already see."
Billy nodded.
"I am quite happy to see you again, Billy." Rosie whispered, blushing. "I have missed you."
"As have I, Rosie." Billy murmured, sitting up and clasping the girl's hand.
"Now then, why don't you tell me what happened?" Rosie asked as Tron came carrying the tea.
Faster than a striking snake, Cordelia had her sword and dagger free. She blocked the Knight King's blade with her dagger and swung for his face with her sword.
The soldiers were silent as she and the Knight King exchanged blows and blocked them. She had to admit, as she jumped back to avoid a slash to the head, he was quite skilled.
"You fight impressively." The Knight King murmured, sweeping at her legs. "Who trained you?"
"My father until he died." Cordelia feinted to the right. "Then the knights of his training."
"Interesting." Their weapons locked. "I was taught by a traveling monk. I never knew my father."
"Huh. I never knew my mother." Cordelia jabbed for his rib cage. "She died when I was a baby."
"I'm sorry." The hilt of his sword came up. "My mother abandoned me when I took over the kingdom."
"Harsh." Another feint. "You know, there is one flaw to your techniques." He said.
"What?" Cordelia gasped. "What is that?"
His leg swept around and knocked her to the ground. "You have too much honor."
She stared up at him. He stared down at her, a harsh shadow against the cruel desert sun.
The Knight King extended a hand. "You are indeed a skilled warrior. You fight with honor and respect, and I have deemed that you bear us no ill will. I will listen to your message."
"Thank you." Cordelia grunted, accepting his hand.
"My name is Ronan." He said. "Now come. Sit and dine with us, and tell us your story."
Emilia stormed to Anna's door, and carefully tapped on the door. "My lady-"
"OH WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Anna shrieked from inside.
"I purchased the purple dress, my lady." Emilia said in a strained voice.
"Nope! Nope, nope, nope!" The response had Emilia restraining herself. "I wanted the gold dress! Go and swap for that one, or it is a week of flogging for ALL your pathetic friends!"
It was a miracle Emilia made it back to the building before she started to scream.
"How awful!" Rosie gasped, her hands flying to her heart.
Billy had just finished explaining to her and Tron the circumstances of which he and his friends lived under, what they had discovered, and Emmy's elaborate plan.
"Unbelievable!" Tron snapped. "Rosie, do you know the probability that his story is true?"
"Hush, brother." Rosie whispered, deep in thought.
"Are you actually considering this?" Tron screamed.
"If I know Anna, and I am fairly certain I do, this is exactly the kind of thing she would do." Rosie murmured. "She was too young when she took the throne, poor dear; probably left her mentally unstable."
Billy sat and listened, hope etched on his face.
Rosie turned to Billy. "What will happen to her if we join with you? What happens to her afterward, if we win?"
"What?!" Tron bellowed. Billy considered.
"I suppose we would try to help her. There is no way she could be left to rule, of course, but perhaps a simple job would be retribution enough. Of course, if worst comes to worst, we would have to send her to the dungeons, you know that."
Rosie nodded. "That sounds reasonable enough. Billy, you were very brave to do this."
"My friend Emmy's the whole reason we have this plan." Billy said modestly. "I'm just the messenger."
Rosie crinkled her nose. "Yes. I would like to meet this Emmy you speak so highly of. Nevertheless, I support your cause."
Tron stared at his sister as if she was crazy. But he must have seen that she wouldn't back down, he gave a sigh of defeat. "I suppose I do too. I shall send word to our homeland to be ready."
Tears splashed down Billy's face. "Thank you." He whispered.
Rosie wrapped him up in a tender hug. "It is nothing, brave one." She kissed his nose.
Tron coughed. "I hate to interrupt, but we should probably get ready for the ball."
"Oh, right!" Rosie cried, jumping up. "You need a disguise!"
Billy nodded.
"Come on." She said, smiling as she grabbed Billy's hand. "I have the perfect outfit for you."
"These are grave tidings indeed." Ronan said as Cordelia finished her tale.
"Yes." The lady knight whispered. "And that is why we need your help."
"I do not know." Ronan said. "This could end quite horribly for all involved. How do you know this plan will pay off?"
"Emilia is very clever." Cordelia smiled. "She would not have chosen this path unless she knew it would benefit our people. She wants you all safe."
"Well, the part about Anna being an insufferable tyrant is no surprise. And I have seen remarkable evidence of the country at the end of the world."
Cordelia waited as he continued. "However, I do not know if it is a safe bet to cast my lot in with yours. How do I know that I can trust you?"
Cordelia stared at him. "Are you questioning me? Are you questioning Emmy?"
The soldiers that still surrounded the two backed away as Cordelia started to yell. "You think we would even talk to you about this if there was not a safe chance for us all? And regardless of a rebellion, the takeover is still coming. So you can just sit right here and hide like some stupid beast while the rest of the world tries to survive!"
Silence.
Uncomfortable silence.
"Cordelia." Her name was soft on his tongue. "I am sorry to have offended you. I am simply concerned for the health of my fellow warriors."
"I know." Cordelia whimpered, her head sinking down. "I am too. And that is why we must take this chance."
"Perhaps." A pause. "I shall consider it."
The lady knight looked up. Her eyes shone with gratitude.
"I will make my decision after the ball. You may attend disguised as a lady-in-waiting. Is this acceptable?"
Cordelia smiled. "Do you have an outfit for me?"
He smiled back. "My servants will attend you."
Emilia stumbled her way back to Queen Anna's cabin door.
It was just her luck that banging her head against a stone building for five minutes would give her a headache.
Thankfully, the building happened to be a healer's clinic.
Emilia was just about to knock on the door when she heard voices inside. Curiosity got the better of her and she put her ear to the door.
"Now Shingetsu, are you absolutely certain that this invasion route will work?" Anna's voice.
"Yes my sister, it is perfect!" A dark, mutated voice growled. "We shall camp out in your kingdom and make our way up for King Yu's domain. Once we have conquered that, your allies in the east shall shatter the Duke of Sandwich's territory! Then the world will be all ours!"
"Yes!" Anna shrieked, and the two cackled with laughter.
Emilia gasped. Anna's brother was here, on the ship! She had to go and warn everyone!
As softly as she could, Emilia ran for the stairs to the top deck. She would go and tell Billy, and hopefully, Queen Rosalinda had messengers to get word to-
Emilia gasped as someone grabbed her a mere inch fro the stairs and harshly pinned her to the ground. Emilia looked for her captor and gasped at what she saw
A tall yet plump man was leaning over her. He was dressed in pure black armor and had black hair that stuck straight up. His tiny black eyes looked down at her with contempt.
"Going somewhere?" He snarled cruelly.
"Oh, no! Emmy!" Akari gasped.
"My goodness, what a cliffhanger!" Chris marveled. "I never knew Michael could act like that!"
"I gotta admit, Kaito was really good." Yuma said, grinning.
"Yeah, but not as good as I was." Thomas grumbled.
"No, he was better." A voice sounded behind him.
"Oh, hey, Gauche! Droite! Haruto!" Alit said cheerfully. "What are you doing here?"
"I contacted them." Chris smirked. "I didn't think they would want to miss this."
Misael grinned a Vector-ish grin. "True. Take a seat guys! The show is just kicking up."
Disclaimer: YuGiOh! and YuGiOh! Zexal are owned by Kazuki Takahashi and Shin Yoshida respectively. This is a crazy fan's work.
Thank you to SnowyOwl765 and Guest for the reviews and Reyna di Angelo for the follow!
Vector: Meet III as Tron and Tetsuo as Shingetsu, the evil(er) twin. Ronan is played by Kaito. In order to get them as tough as they appeared, Tali ordered me to train them in the arts of the diabolical. Right Tali? Tali?
Drexal: Where did she go?
Zexal: No idea. Tali-chan?
Drexal: . . . what the heck? Um, sister! I found her!
Tali: (fast asleep in front of the computer) Must . . . pinch . . . Vector . . .
Vector: She just got back from a long, WiFi-free vacation, so she's kind of unconscious.
Zexal: Wait. Does this mean we can do whatever we want?
Drexal: I guess so.
. . .
Vector: PAAAAAAARRRRTY!
(Fifth Harmony's "Worth It" starts playing)
Tali: World . . . domination . . . is . . . mine . . .