Note To Readers: Haha I guess no one caught my sarcasm. I had to reschedule because the delay was so bad. Writing is a good outlet for stress! Thanks for the feedback. Keep in mind Bright and Xuri are VERY important characters. A lot of what happens is connected to them. Ok! Chapter 60!
Chapter 60: Under Siege
Meanwhile back in Covenant...
"Ugh man, all I sees is snow, snow and MORE SNOW!" Joey exclaimed as he and Flora continued to walk down the path. "Are we eva gonna reach...it...?" the blonde paused as they soon came upon a town painted with the colors of autumn. Red, brown and orange all mixed together in harmony being carried by the whisper of the upon a hill. "Woah..." "It's beautiful, isn't it? You can even see the pumpkins plump on the vines...a truly magnificent place..." "FIRST ONE DOWN IS A ROTTEN PUMPKIN!" Joey called and ran ahead only to tumble down the hill instead.
"JOEY!" Flora cried as she hurried after him as the blonde collided with a pile of freshly raked leaves. The leaves flew every which way as Joey slowly popped his head out. "Dat...wasn't supposed ta happen..." he laughed nervously. Flora giggled as she pulled out leaves from his hair. "Are you alright?" "Yeah I tink so," he told her before he froze. "GAH! DA LIST! I can't find it! AW MAN!" Joey panicked as he reached into his pockets and searched every nook a cranny. Flora paused before she noticed a small piece of notebook paper at her feet.
"Is this what you're looking for?" Flora asked before Joey's eyes lit up. "YEAH! Dat's IT! Flo, you're a life sava!" the blonde grinned and took it. "Now...let's see wat we're sposed ta get..." the blonde looked over the list.
List Of Ingredients Raeger needs
Mushrooms
Crab meat
Bacon
Eggs
Cream Cheese
Asparagus
Ricotta Cheese
Basil
Strawberries
White Cake Mix
Strawberry Gelatin
Powdered Sugar
Butter...
Joey read off the list of items. "Well, I suggest we start off with the fruits and vegetables and save the milk products for later." Flora suggested. "Good thinkin we wouldn't want anythin ta spoil!" Joey agreed with a grin. "But ah...dis place is a lot bigga dan I woulda figured..." the blonde admitted as he gazed at the bustling crowd of people with a large market place filled with fresh produce and lots of choices to choose from. There were even booths that were selling actual homemade goodies such as honey. Carts piled up with boxes of who knows what!
"Mmm, what's that wonderful smell?" Flora questioned before Joey sniffed the air. He couldn't help but drool slightly. "I dunno but I gotta find out!" Joey exclaimed. Slowly Flora and Joey both followed the aroma to a small booth. A young woman with elf ears wearing a frilled dress and her emerald dark hair tied in the back with a beautiful white ribbon to match. Her eyes were the same color as her eyes. With a smile that could brighten even the darkest of days. Though the first thing Joey saw was her huge melons and quickly tried to avert his eyes holding his nose trying to keep it from bleeding. Though the bigger spectacle was the rainbow cookies that were placed in front of her. The woman only smiled in greeting.
"Good... morning..." the woman murmured as she spoke softly yet pronouncing each word carefully but clearly. "Today I have some... of my very special... mood cookies...Would...you like to try...some? They're...free..." Auntie Hinako smiled informing them. "They're very unique I've never seen a cookie like this before even in Magix..." Flora murmured. "Mood cookies huh? How bout it, Flo?" Joey grinned. "Sure we'd love to try one of your cookies." the faerie offered a smile. "Then please..." the elf encourage and held out her hand towards them. Joey and Flora carefully picked up a cookie before they bit into it. Both their eyes widened as the cookies change from many colors to just one.
"WAH!? MINE JUST TURNED YELLA!" Joey cried out as Flora's, in turn, shifted to blue. "I taste lemon..." "And Blueberries..." Flora followed realizing they were both eating a different flavor. "What da heck is goin on here!?" Joey questioned as a red head with pink highlights male approached the booth with a crate and set it down next to the booth. He was wearing a burgundy shirt with white jeans and glasses revealing sharp ruby eyes. A silver watch on his left wrist.
"Ah, I see you've tried Auntie Hinako's Mood Cookies...Lemon represents happiness...and Blueberry sadness...each flavor and color reveal the true essence of emotion locked within a person's heart." the male explained as he adjusted his glasses. "B-But day were one color and day changed! How'd day do dat!?" Joey cried perplexed. He HAD to know! "But that's not allowed..." the male shook his finger. "It's the mystery behind the recipe that allures the customer into returning..." "Exactly...Blaire has a very keen sense about cooking...it's my special...essential oils...that make the cookies...special..." Auntie Hinako smiled. Joey only grumbled. Though looking at Flora he could clearly see now that she was STILL down the dumps.
"Thanks for the cookies. But we should probably get back to our shopping list..." Flora suggested. "Opps yeah, I nearly forgot about dat!" Joey sweatdropped. "I'm sure Raeger will want the ingredients as soon as possible. After all, he only has one day to prepare all of this..." Flora reminded. "Yikes...dats ALOTTA pressure..." the blonde shivered at the thought of it. "Ah, Raeger...it's been awhile since I've seen him..." Auntie Hinako smiled. "That's right. The Prince of Aura's Birthday is tomorrow. Well, it's no wonder Bright wants Raeger and Lady Emiko to cater his party. Blaire admitted. "It'll be a race against time..." "Well if it's Raeger...I have no...worries he'll...be just...fine..." the elf smiled sweetly before Blaire paused as his cell phone rang. "Excuse me..." Blaire muttered and answered it.
"Hello? Mmm...seriously? Ugh, what a pain..." Blaire sighed heavily. "...I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME DAMN IT! I'LL HANDLE IT! GIVE ME TWO FUCKING MINUTES TO ANSWER ASSHOLE!" Blaire yelled at the top of his lungs before he hung up. Joey only made a face as did Flora. "Man he's got a hella nasty tempa!" Joey exclaimed before he looked at the list. Slowly they snuck away and proceeded with their shopping though there was just one ingredient no matter how hard they looked the two just couldn't seem to find. "Flo Ya see strawberries anywhere?" Joey questioned. Flora only shook her head.
"No I don't...normally i'm pretty good at finding fruits and vegetables but I can see strawberries...and I've looked all over the market..." the faerie told him. "Aw man!" the blonde groaned as he scratched his head in frustration. "BLAIRE!" came a voice. Slowly they turned around and saw a young woman who was short with dark blue hair twisted into two braids with deep blue crystal eyes. In her hair were two pearl barrettes and she wore a blue, white and golden dress. Wearing ribbon sandals.
"Amourette?" Blaire questioned his eyes widened in surprise as she took a moment to catch her breath. "Well, this is certainly a surprise. What brings you here?" the male asked the bluenette. "I-It's Emerald..." Amourette huffed. "I'm afraid it's under siege!" "WHAT!? What the hell do you mean by that!?" "L-Lord Emerus...was attacked...along with many others..." Amourette sobbed as tears fell down her face. "The werewolves that normally stay in SilverFang Lake are now like rapid jackals that prey upon anything that crosses their path...I don't know what to do..." the bluenette wept.
"...Unfortunately, I only have more bad news Princess...the Blood fountain in Dawnshire has suffered a malfunction...I was just summoned to fix it..." "...The fountain...?" "I doubt this is a coincidence...whatever it is I don't like it..." Blaire snarled. "...The A.O.J was spotted awhile ago in Emerald...but there wasn't any evidence that proved that to be certain..." Amourette frowned. "Is it possible it's Blood Magic?" Blaire questioned more to himself than anyone else. The bluenette only shook her head. "I dunno...I went there to speak to Emerus about information concerning the A.O.J sightings...but even he couldn't tell if that was true or just a rumor," she told him.
"Either way this is something that everyone needs to be notified of at once," Blaire told Amourette. "B-But how!? I can't possibly travel to each and every planet! Even if I wanted too...I..." Blaire only sighed. "Have you forgotten about Covenant's messengers?" the male questioned as he led her to a room full of owls. He wrote down a letter and melded it with Covenant's crest before he sent it off to Aura. "Bright once he receives the message will send out a notice to all the other kingdoms...from there we'll figure out where to take the next step." "Mmm..." Amourette nodded softly. "That's really all we CAN do..." Blaire told the bluenette. But was that really true? Wasn't there anything more?
"HEY! YA BETTA NOT HAVE FORGOTTEN US OVA HERE!" Joey exclaimed. "Tch...I was starting too..." Blaire muttered. "And where are your manners?" "YA WANNA START SOMTHIN TOUGH GUY!?" Joey spat as Flora gently touched the blonde's shoulder in attempts to calm him down. "I'm not referring to me...but her...allow me to introduce Princess Amourette Nahito of Elementia. Her brother is Yuki Nahito. Although he's not here at the given moment...i'm her guardian...son of Emerus...Lord Of Emerald..." Blaire muttered. "LIKE I GIVE A DAMN!" Joey twitched his eye. "JUST TELL MEH WHAT DA HECK IS GOIN ON HERE!?" the blonde spat. "We just want to understand the situation..." Flora explained to the two of them. "...Well, the problem is we're not sure what's happening ourselves..." Amourette confessed sheepishly.
"I'm the faerie of nature. If the forest is tainted in some way I can heal it! Whatever it may be that is causing the werewolves strange behavior. Perhaps if I were to visit the forest I could locate the source of this whole mess." Flora suggested. "YEAH! EXACTLY! We'll figure out what causin da werewolves ta go berzerk!" Joey exclaimed. "Impossible..." Blaire muttered. "Anyone who has gone into those woods...has never come back out..." Amourette murmured. "Our only hope now is that we can warn others from going near the tainted area..." the bluenette told the two of them. Flora only frowned as she looked at Joey. He didn't have to read her mind to understand her feelings. Flora had a strong connection to the forest and all that lived within it. She probably was really disturbed by such news. As was he.
"I'm going to go and try and fix the fountain...though i'm not sure of just how long that will take," Blaire told Amourette. "I'll go too! I have to see Lord Crymson about the situation anyway." "Suit yourself." Blaire shrugged as Amourette followed him. "Should we follow them, Flo?" Joey questioned as the faerie found herself battling internally for the right answer.
Meanwhile in Aura
"Here you are. Two cups of rose tea and some madeleines. Please enjoy. I'm not the best cook in the world but I do enjoy making sweets from time to time." Bright offered a smile as Roxy and Raeger sat across from him having his own cup of tea. The aroma filling the room as the steam wafted through the air. Carefully Raeger picked up the cup and blew on the liquid resting within it. "Mmm is this a new blend?" the Guild Master questioned.
"You're quite sharp. Yes. That's a more popular blend of tea leaves by Zaloz's Juniper. That family certainly has quite a sophisticated taste." Bright smiled. Roxy made a face as she listened to the two of them. She felt SO out of place with these high classed men. She lived in Gardenia on Earth. Even if she WAS the princess of Tir Nan Og she sure didn't feel like it. Was this how Bloom felt when she revived her kingdom? Slowly she reached down and nibbled on the strange pastry before her that resembled a sea shell. "Mmm! This is great!" Roxy beamed as her frowned melted away. Bright and Raeger laughed softly.
"Aren't they? They're one of my favorite sweets. Though mine are a little dryer than most. They're not that easy to make well." Bright admitted before a hand reached out and picked up one of the cookies. A hand that was neither Roxy's or Raeger's. Looking upwards a young male wearing jeans a worn oversized t-shirt that was in between white and black. His hair was black with a messy kind of look to it. The male's eyes had dark circles under him, his appearance almost looking equal to a cuddly panda bear. He sat on the couch above Bright casually eating the Madeline.
"You're far too hard on yourself Bright...these taste plenty moist to me...even the butter seems measured finely..." the male murmured as he licked his fingers. Roxy only made a face. "Uh...Bright...who is that?" Roxy questioned. "That would be Yuki...well Prince Yuki technically of Elementia..." Raeger told her. "...Uh...huh...ok..." The male only grabbed another pastry. "He likes sweets...and the messier the better." Bright sweatdropped. "...I do have a reason for being here today..." Yuki murmured before an owl flew into the room and did its best to perch on the china cabinet. Yuki hopped off the couch and placed his hands in his pockets.
"Just look at the letter...you'll see what I mean..." he murmured as he licked his fingers. Slowly Bright rose from his seat and walked over and retrieved the parchment from the owl who chirped at him. Bright pried open the seal and carefully read over the letter. His eyes widened as he saw what it said. Roxy noticed how pale Bright's face went. Raeger left his seat before he too took a look at the letter Bright held within his hands. "Oh Phoenix..." the Guild Master uttered with his breath nearly taken from him. Holding his hand over his mouth.
"What's going on Raeger!?" Roxy questioned worriedly. She didn't like this at all! Bright threw the letter and ran past the small party and grabbed his horse. Without anything else being said he rode straight into the Portal Gateway. {XURI!}
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