#Tijarah Charlize

[mama-m1na]

Blood Right

When faced with the choice, will you claim your blood right?

It was just a fun night at prom for five girls from California until they decide to follow a series of texts from an unknown sender, sending them to another world mirroring their own, but something was wrong... Very wrong.

[mama-m1na]

Journey of the Chaos Trio: Chapter 4

                                                   ~~~IV~~~

Over the next three days, Rhamina’s wounds slowly began to close as she dwelled in the mirror with Aaravos.

“I should probably get to Xadia,” Rhamina said once she entered the dining area of where ever she was, wearing a white blouse with a long blue skirt and black, heeled combat boots provided to her by Aaravos, “They should be reaching the border soon.”

“I wouldn’t suggest leaving just yet,” Aaravos said as he looked up from his book at the table to she the ravenette braiding her hair over her left shoulder, “Your injuries aren’t completely healed yet.”

“And technically they never will,” Rhamina retorted as she sat across from the elf, “Plus I’m able to walk without any pain anymore, that’s enough for me.”

“Fine,” the male sighed as he closed his book, “You’re packing first.”

“That’ll literally take ten minutes,” the ravenette chuckled, “I didn’t have much with me to begin with.”

The male gave her his usual mischievous smirk before walking down the hall.

“What did you do?” she asked following to the room she had been using.

In her stay, she was not allowed to re-enter the study where the mirror led and Rhamina did not question it nor was she concerned with this fact.

Upon entering she saw three new outfits laid out on her bed along with a book, a her war fan, a bluish-purple cloak with a hood, and two new pairs of hair sticks.

“What is this?” she asked snapping feeling the fabric of one of the tops.

“I told you that you would need to pack,” reasoned the male as he handed her a bag.

“You didn’t need to do this, I would’ve been fine,” the ravenette sighed as she began to fold the clothes and place them in the bag.

“If you’re always as reckless as I’ve seen you then this is a necessity,” the male chuckled as the female shot him a glare.

“So how do you plan on getting to Xadia?” the male asked as Rhamina strapped the bag across her body before putting the cloak over herself.

“Through the water,” she said with a smile, “I’m going to the closest water source to the border on the Eastern side.”

“I’m sure you know that probably isn’t the safest option, especially if they aren’t there yet.”

“That’s what makes it fun!” the ravenette chirped as she went to the bathroom and proceeded to fill the tub with water.

Once it was filled almost to the brim she stuck both her hands into the water and closed her eyes.

She felt her aura fill the water and search for another exit point in Xadia.

“Stirips fo retaw, wolla em efas egassap otni eht txen drlow,” she chanted as her pendant began to glow and her hair began to float.

As she removed her hands from the water, it too glowed before displaying steam and what seemed to be a cave.

“A hot spring?” Aaravos questioned as he saw the surroundings.

“Yes, it’s on the border between Xadia and the human territories so it would make sense,” the ravenette chirped, “the border is littered with volcanic activity.”

“Thank you so much for what you’ve done for me, Aaravos,” she said turning back to the male and bringing him closer in an embrace, “I’ll be sure to find a way to get you out of here.”

“Oh, I’m sure you will,” he chuckled with a knowing glint in his eyes as he pulled away, “Now go.”

The ravenette smiled at him before stepping through the portal she had opened.

On the other side she had stepped onto some hard rock and was in a cave.

Looking back at the pool of steaming water the portal was indeed closed and she made her way towards the light of the tunnel only to find a large dragon.

“Hello, there,” she chirped with a smile as the large reptile looked down at her.

The next morning cheers came from the group of seven as they successfully made it across the border.

“Oh, no,” Rayla stated as the silhouette of a dragon loomed over the group, “It’s him. Sol Regem.”

The group immediately readied their weapons until a smaller silhouette appeared right in front of the dragon.

“There you guys are!” a familiar voice chirped as she threw back her hood, “Took you long enough!”

“Mina!” Chloe exclaimed as she immediately tried to dash up the rocks to reach the ravenette.

“Guess who’s not dead?!” the ravenette sung as she watched all the excited expressions of the group.

“Mina, what the fuck happened to you?” Sam asked looking at all the bandages that littered the teen’s form, visible due to her outfit.

It consisted of a halter crop top that was purple and faded into a royal blue with gold trip at the neckline, straps, and bottom. She also wore dark blue shorts that ended mid thigh and black, heeled, combat boots. To protect herself from the sun she wore the cloak she had over everything.

She chose the outfit to accommodate for the heat but it did expose all the injuries that she had gotten four days prior.

“Well, I got Runaan back to Xadia,” the female shrugged as she tried to walk back into the cave with Chloe wrapped around her, “But in the process I may or may not have caused absolute chaos in the castle.”

“When did this happen?” Kerstin asked as the group followed the ravenette, “Those look bad.”

“Four days ago?” she replied as the dragon followed in as well, “Trust me, it was much worse back then.”

“You got Runaan out?” Rayla asked walking towards the girl with relief in her eyes.

When Rhamina nodded the white-haired female flung her arms around the older girl.

“Thank you so much!” she exclaimed as the ravenette let out a hiss.

“Sorry,” Rhamina said with a slight chuckle as she pulled away, “I might be able to walk but I’m still in pain everywhere.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the fifteen-year-old said.

“It’s fine. You didn’t know.”

“Hey so it’s great that you’re okay, Rhamina, but what is happening?” Callum asked as he gestured up to the dragon.

“Oh, yeah, well since I got here yesterday Sol Regem was the first thing I encountered and I explained our situation to him,” Rhamina said glancing up at the older dragon, “It took awhile to convince him but he says we’re welcome as long as we leave as soon as we’re done.”

“Oh, thank you so much,” the male bowed to the dragon who nodded.

“On the topic of explaining things,” Rhamina said turning to her sisters, “I think it’s best if you undo the spell for now.”

“What are you-” “Mina, are you sure?” Sam asked as she looked between Callum and Rayla.

“The other creatures in Xadia will find out either way and we trust them don’t we?” Rhamina asked, “So it’s better to just do it.”

“Okay,” Tijarah shrugged as she stepped away from the group.

“Finally!” Kerstin exclaimed as she began to shed off her metal armor, “Fuck this human body! It looks great but it’s so fragile!”

“I guess,” Sam said doing the same thing and spacing herself out.

Chloe hooted as she followed the lead of the other females.

The others watched as a different colored light enveloped each of the girls and they could feel a large change in auras.

When Kerstin’s red light died down, she now had large red and gold dragon wings sprouting from her back as well as matching horns and a long, scaly tail.

When Sam’s light green glow died down, she now lad a pair of large white horns on her head as well as various green markings across her body, including her face. Another notable change was her loss of pinkies.

When Tijarah’s dark green light died down, she had a pair of black cat ears on her head and a black cat tail was now swishing behind her.

When Chloe’s maroon light died down, she had a pair of brown, feathered wings on her back and she was happily flapping them.

“What in the heck?” Callum asked with wide eyes as he looked to Rayla who bore the same expressions as him.

“Yes!” Kerstin roared as flames lightly streamed from her mouth, “I’m back bitches!”

“Kerstin, can you calm the fuck down?” Tijarah asked.

“That isn’t my name in this form, bitch!” Kerstin cackled earning a face palm from Rhamina, “I am the great dragon Sora Byvrirth!”

“Wait, if you’re Sora Byvirth” Rayla said looking at Sam whose appearance barely changed, “then you must be…”

“Yeah,” Sam nodded looking at her hands, “Well, at least no one can make fun of my tiny pinkies now.”

“Then you’re Rozen Byvrirth!” the Moonshadow elf, “A high elf!”

“Yeah, I am,” Sam replied, “Respect your elders, bitch.”

“Wait… so the both of those names sound familiar,” Callum said trying to remember where he had heard the names over his shock that the girls he had known for over four years were not what he thought they were.

“You have,” Rhamina smirked with a small chuckle, “They are both part of the Chaos Trio, two of the last three remaining ancients.”

“Wait, if they’re magical creatures then what are you?” the prince asked turning to the ravenette who only shrugged.

“Not as exciting as them,” she said as she pat Chloe’s head, “I’m actually just a human. Unfortunately.”

“Yeah,” laughed Sam and Kerstin which earned suspicious looks from the Callum and Rayla.

“No, really I’m just plain old human who somehow ended up befriending those idiots,” Rhamina said raising both of her hands up.

“Wait, Mina, where did you get your clothes then if you were caught by the guards?” Chloe asked with narrowed eyes, “You didn’t own them before.”

“I got them from a friend,” she explained, “That’s also how I was able to even escape the dungeons.”

“Who was this friend, Mina?” Tijarah asked earning a cough from the ravenette who kept her upper arms hidden under the cloak.

“Well- oof!” she was interrupted by a blue mass of scales flying straight into her back causing her to fall forward, “Fudge nuggets that hurt!”

She then looked up to meet the force that knocked her over only to squeal in happiness.

“Hi, Little One!” she chirped upon seeing the puppy-like expression of Zym who chirped back in happiness.

“I fucking told you,” Tijarah scoffed upon seeing the dragon and human play around.

“Everyone could have guessed,” Kerstin replied, “So what’s the plan now?”

“W-well we should continued to return the dragon prince to his mother,” Rayla uttered still in shock at the so called criminals in front of her.

“How are you guys on supplies, exactly?” Rhamina asked as she cradled the baby dragon in her right arm.

“What do you mean?” Tijarah asked.

“So, you don’t have food or water?” Rhamina asked with an irritated look on her face, “Or any of the basic necessities for survival?”

“Mina, I’m sorry!” hooted Chloe as she clung onto the ravenette’s left arm.

“We’ve been getting by just fine,” Tijarah shrugged as her ears flicked.

“Mhm?” Rhamina asked with a raised brow before turning to Callum and Rayla, “How have you all been getting by?”

“We’ve come across a few villages and we stayed at the Moon Nexus for a few days,” the male replied.

“Y’all were lucky,” the ravenette scoffed in a scolding manner, “We’re in Xadia now, it’s going to be hard for Callum and I to blend in.”

“How hard could it be if we were able to fool everyone in the castle for four years?” Tijarah asked.

“That’s different,” Rhamina retorted, “Humans are easy to imitate because they’re stupid.”

“Hey!” Callum exclaimed in offense only to be met with agreement from everyone but him.

“Yeah.” “Honestly, though.” “She’s not wrong.” “Hoot!”

“I agree with that statement,” Rayla added, “I do a great human impression!”

“My point exactly,” Rhamina sighed, “If we ever have the need to stop at a village then I’ll guard Callum just outside of it while you guys get shit done.”

“I don’t really need guarding anymore,” Callum explained as he drew a rune before calling, “Aspiro.”

As a column of wind blew past the ravenette her face lit up in joy and she hobbled as quickly as she could over to the young male with her injuries and an owl clinging to her.

“You understand the Sky Arcanum!” she exclaimed nuzzling his hair since both of her arms her occupied, “I’m so proud of you!”

“Well, I was hoping we could visit my village,” Rayla suggested quietly, “It’s on the safer way to the Dragon Queen’s Domain and we can stock up on supplies there.”

“That sounds good to me,” Sam said as the other girls agreed.

While the group began to exit the cave Rhamina held Rayla back and when it was just them and Sol Regem, asker, “You wanted to stop by your village to see Runaan, right?”

“Well, yes, and I’m a bit homesick,” the elf chuckled.

“I’m jealous,” Rhamina sighed with a smile, “You have such a good relationship with your family.”

“Well he isn’t-” “He might as well be,” Rhamina said, “The way you two are I can see it. He’s really proud of you, you know.”

“What about you?” Rayla asked as they exited the cave to see the group just messing around with Chloe and Kerstin seeing who can fly higher, “What about your family?”

“I don’t really like my family much and they don’t like me either,” she started just watching as Kerstin gracefully ascended and Chloe made desperate flaps, “I was born as a twin, my older sister was the one they wanted since birth. Ever since I remember she would get all the praise and I would get slandered even if I did things the same way she did or even better.”

“So I took interests in different things than her inwardly hoping that it would stop them from comparing me to her but it didn’t stop them,” Rhamina continued as Chloe eventually fell from her flying height of about ten feet in the air, “So eventually I decided to just run away with these retards and ended up on the streets for a while. Then King Harrow found me at the edge of the forests while the others were in town probably stealing food or getting chased by the guards for fun. He offered us a place to stay and offered us work. He treated us with respect and affection that I personally couldn’t get at home. He became my father and a good one at that. He was fair and only wanted the best for everyone even if he made the wrong decisions sometimes. He recognized and lamented his mistakes though. That’s why he stayed that night instead of running.”

Rayla bit her lip in guilt before asking, “What about your sister?”

“Oh, well she cared for me very much,” Rhamina chuckled, “She saw how unjust my parents were and tried to help but it didn’t work. She didn’t approve of me hanging out with the sisters I have now, before I ran away and when I did she fully loathed them. Thought they corrupted me or something but I haven’t heard from them in a while and I’d like to keep it that way. My parents can have the perfect child they wanted without the mistake and I get to live adventurously and free with my actual family.”

“That’s what you get for challenging me!” Kerstin cackled as her wings beat at the air.

“Yes, yes, we get it. You’re the Chaos Queen, now we better get going!” Rhamina chuckled as she brought the hood back up to protect herself from the sun.

After about an hour Rhamina looked towards the human male.

“We should get you a cloak as well,” she commented, “It would be easier to hide the fact you’re human that way.”

“Mina, I’m tired!” whined Kerstin as she dragged behind the group with Sam.

“What happened to the almighty Dragon of Rage?” Rhamina chuckled as she paused to let the two catch up.

“Shut the fuck up we were traveling all night!” Sam added as the two leaned onto each other, “We have a right to be tired!”

“Well, we could stop for a while,” the ravenette sighed looking to see that they were already out of the volcanic terrain and in a forest, “I don’t want you guys passing out.”

The group then began to set up spots in a small clearing and soon enough all of the group except for Rhamina was passed out.

About four hours later they were woken by Rhamina’s loud laughter and multiple foxes either yelling or running over them.

“You sang that fucking song again didn’t you?!” Tijarah exclaimed after seeing her sister happily swamped by tens of foxes.

She was still playing with the multiple canines as the group watched her, now wide awake.

“You can’t blame me!” Rhamina gushed as she picked one up, “Look how floof!”

“It’s been so long since I’ve played with foxes,” she continued as she nuzzled the fox who barked happily, “I couldn’t do this at the castle since they’d either be killed for being pests or chased off.”

“How do you get along so well with them?” Rayla asked as a few retreated back into the trees upon being approached by her.

“Don’t ask,” Callum replied as the ravenette crouched down and continued to play, “She’s always been good with canines.”

Even the tiny blue dragon took part in playing with with multiple canines before they began their travels once again.

About ten days into their journey they were nearing the Moonshadow Village and had gotten Callum a cloak in one of the towns along the way.

Everything was going fine until Sam accidentally bumped into Chloe, causing her to fall and toss a bag of supplies they had gotten.

Rhamina immediately lept to catch them but landed wrong and rolled ending up face down, supported by her right arm.

The supplies were safe however the same could not be said about the ravenette.

“Rhamina, are you okay?” Callum asked as the ravenette turned to sit as she applied pressure to her right ankle.

“My ankle says no,” she hissed as she handed the bag to the male before reaching into her own only to pull it back out.

The group began to gather and Rayla asked, “Can you walk?”

“Yeah,” Rhamina replied standing only to pick up her right foot as she stood mostly supported on her left side, “I’m fine.”

“Hoot!” Chloe exclaimed as she went over to the ravenette’s left side to hold her hand, “Mina, no you’re not!”

“Do you think you can make it to the river?” Rayla asked looking around, “We can’t stop here, it’s too open. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine,” the ravenette chirped as she began to limp forward, “I should be fine after resting for a bit. I’m sure it’s just from the impact, it doesn’t hurt that much.”

As everyone could see her blatant lie Rayla led the group to the river.

Surprisingly, Rhamina was still one of the fastest in the group and seemed to not be hindered by her limp. Instead she seemed to go faster in order to make up for her injury.

“Mina, you’re crippled slow the fuck down!” Kerstin called as she emerged from the trees to see her sitting by the river as well as Callum with Chloe standing next to her.

The ravenette removed her right boot carefully to see her ankle was swollen and she could move it with some difficulty but it was mostly painful.

“Fuck,” she hissed as she pulled a wrap from her bag and wrapped it tight before leaning her head back on the tree she was sitting against.

“That doesn’t look good,” Rayla whispered before thinking for a few minutes.

She then bit her lip as the girls were talking to Rhamina before saying, “There’s a healer in my village. She doesn’t really care much for this war and might be willing to help if we explain.”

“Hun, that’s a good idea to try but I don’t think Mina should be walking,” Kerstin said earning a middle finger from the ravenette.

“I’m fine!”

“You’re crippled so shut the fuck up,” Sam said as the ravenette pouted before pulling her hood back over her face.

“Then we can bring her to Rhamina,” Rayla said, “She just needs to stay here and some of us can go to my village.”

“Who’s going to stay then?”

“I will,” Callum said, “Don’t think it would be smart for me to walk into a village where everyone probably wants me, you know dead.”

Rayla glared but kept her mouth shut, knowing it was probably true.

“Owl, stay too, hoot!” Chloe said as she sat down and leaned onto the ravenette.

“Okay, we should be back in less than an hour,” Rayla said as the other girls began to walk back into the trees, “Chloe, Callum, be sure to keep her off her feet and keep Zym with you guys as well.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” both fourteen-year-olds answered as the ravenette huffed.

“I do not need a babysitter!” she exclaimed as she pulled out a book from her bag.

“What are you reading, Mina?” Chloe asked.

“Howl’s Moving Castle,” she replied, “It’s an old book but I love it. The main male character is an asshole though?”

“Where did you get it?”

“Friend?”

“Is this friend the same one who got you out of the dungeon?” Callum asked earning a suspicious hoot and a glare from the ravenette.

“You don’t need to interrogate me about my escape,” Rhamina said, “All you need to know is that I got out and I found you so yeah.”

“Mina, I’m bored?”

“Do you want to hear a story?” Rhamina asked as she closed her book.

“Yah!” the tiny female excitedly exclaimed.

“In the end, I’m destined to become sea foam. In the pain and agony forever doomed to roam, but the love inside of me always stays true, so I sing on of how I love you,” Rhamina started singing earning the attention of both younger teens, “On one fateful day, he had come my way, granting me a wish as long as I would pay. Oh, but don’t you see? Somebody like me doesn’t deserve to have this opportunity. That girl moved with beauty and grace. Still a fate like hers is something I can’t bear to face. Could it be, though, I could make things right?. If I can protect those I love then I guess I will fight.”

“Though I struggle I know my wish wasn’t wrong. I’ll fight on as long as I know you can play your song. ‘Cause that smiling face of yours I can’t forget. So I do really have no regrets,” the ravenette continued as the water in the river next to them began to float and create visuals of a female wielding two swords, “This isn’t the way things were supposed to be, oh no please why is this happening to me?! Why you’d think he’d love you? God, you’re such a fool! The life of a magical girl is really cruel. So I was deceived, guess I wear a chain, I’ve no soul but I won’t let my wish be in vain. Carry on and simply block out all of the pain.”

“I don’t feel anything anymore!”

“Play for me, play for me, the sun will never rise. Play for me, play for me, I’m meeting my demise,” the figure then began to slowly become more erratic as it fought more and more monster like figures, “Everyday I’m alive is too much to bear. How I can I go on fighting knowing he doesn’t care? At the mirror, I look straight into my eyes. That girl’s someone I don’t recognize. In the end, I’m destined to become sea foam. In the pain and agony forever doomed to roam. Somebody reach out to me when all is through. All I want is to see heaven’s blue.”

“Mina!” Chloe called with a frown.

“I didn’t say the story was happy, did I?” Rhamin asked as she opened her book again.

“That was really sad,” Callum commented.

“The story was about a girl wanting power to be noticed by the boy she fell in love with,” she explained not looking up from her book, “When she did get power, she had given up her humanity and lost her courage to pursue the boy, choosing to suffer heartbreak before giving up her feelings completely. It is sad.”

About forty minutes later Rhamina’s eyes snapped up from her book to the trees across from her and nudged Chloe.

“Hoot?”

“Someone’s there,” Rhamina whispered, “It isn’t someone we know either.”

“Hoot-” Zip! Thud!

In the trunk of the tree the two had just been an arrow struck.

Callum immediately stood up at the sight of the arrow and backed up to where the two females were.

“Hoot!” Chloe exclaimed in alarm from the ground where Rhamina pushed her.

The ravenette stood up to hop slightly on her left leg from the spot where she rolled onto.

“We mean no harm!” the ravenette exclaimed as she held out her hands in front of her palms up, struggling to stay standing.

“Rhamina, sit down,” Callum hissed quietly as she stood in front of the two females.

“Who are you?” a deep male voice asked as a male Moonshadow elf stepped out from the trees holding a bow.

“We’re just travellers,” Callum replied as Chloe tried to block the elf’s view of the baby storm dragon.

“Two humans and a shifter?” the male asked glaring at them before turning to the winged female, “What were you thinking, bringing them here without killing them immediately?”

“I-uh, um- Mina!”

“Listen we mean no harm! We are here to-!” Rhamina tried to repeat only to get the bow aimed at her.

“You do not belong here!” the male exclaimed, “And now for your justice.”

As the ravenette closed her eyes and prepared for the pain of the arrow it never came.

“Zaos, lower your weapon!” a familiar male voice called as multiple pairs of footsteps followed.

The ravenette opened her eyes to see Runaan followed by Rayla, Tijarah, Sam and Kerstin at the edge of the trees.

“Runaan, but-” “They are here to deliver the Dragon Prince home,” Runaan explained as Chloe stepped to the side to reveal the scared, puppy-like creature, “And one of them is already injured.”

The male reluctantly put away his bow causing the ravenette to lower her arms and hide them back in her cloak.

“It’s good to see you found your way back to your village, Runaan,” Rhamina chuckled as she limped forward to greet the male.

“Thanks to you but what happened after the portal closed?” the male asked his eyes shifting to worry.

“Don’t worry I was fine!” she chirped eyeing her companions, “I got out before the guards could catch me.”

Before Kerstin could call out her lie the was whacked on the head by a tree branch as Runaan sighed.

“That’s good, so what happened?” he asked gesturing at her legs.

“I did a thing and rolled my ankle,” she explained with a smile, “It’s not that bad though.”

“Mina, that’s a lie!” Chloe said with hoot.

“Stop fucking exposing me,” she whispered harshly earning a chuckle from the male.

“Can you walk?”

“I can limp,” the female stated, “I can limp faster than most of these nuts can walk.”

“That will not help your ankle heal any faster,” he sighed going to her right side, “Do not put any pressure on it.”

“But I’m fine though- Hello?!” the female asked in slight alarm as Runaan picked her up with arms around her shoulders and around her knees.

“I can tell that you aren’t going to cooperate,” he stated as the ravenette huffed and looked to her sisters with widened eyes.

Most only laughed while Chloe followed with slight anger at a stranger touching the ravenette.

“Hoot!” she called as she flew over and landed right in front of him to glare.

He raised a brow before asking, “Would you rather have your stubborn friend make her ankle worse?”

The brunette shrunk back slightly before muttering, “Fine! But owl be watching.”

And she did. She walked next to the pair as the group was led back to the Moonshadow Village.

“I can walk just fine!”

~~~Fin. Chapter 4~~~

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Songs used: “The Little Mermaid” - Oktavia

Picture: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/364510163589310352/

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[mama-m1na]

Journey of the Chaos Trio: Chapter 5

                                                    ~~~V~~~

When the group reached the village Rhamina immediately pulled up her hood but could still feel the stares on her when the baby dragon decided to lay down on her as she was being carried.

“Mina, this is for your benefit,” Tijarah laughed as the ravenette continued to mutter profanities under her breath as she was carried.

In response the female only pulled her hood down further as an attempt to hide herself from the world.

“Benefit my ass,” she muttered causing the male holding her to sigh, “I’m fucking fine.”

“Are you absolutely sure you’re human and not a fox?” Runaan asked ignoring the whispers of the elves around him, “Because you’re acting like an animal with the way you insist you’re fine even though you’re obviously not.”

“Well, she certainly doesn’t act like a normal human,” Rayla commented with a slight chuckle at the sulking teen.

“No shit she doesn’t act normal,” Sam said with a laugh as she ignored the gasps from around her, “She’s been living with us for all her life!”

“Eat my dick, Sam,” the ravenette snapped from her burrito as they approached the home of the healer.

“Now, there is no need for that,” Runaan scolded lightly as Rayla opened the door for him.

Upon entering the home the girls and Callum were told to wait outside as the healer gestured Runaan to set the ravenette down on one of the beds.

“Hoot Hoot, Mina!” Chloe called as she tried to fly over the assistants only to be pulled back by Tijarah.

“Calm down and let the woman do her thing in peace,” Tijarah said holding the female down by her shoulders.

“Why does the untrustworthy man get to go in?!”

“Chloe, shut the fuck up,” Sam interjected as she sat down in front of the building.

“But, Father Sam!”

Rhamina sat on the bed with the cloak covering everything but her leg which the healer was looking at.

“You’ve sprained it pretty badly,” she said once the wrap was gone and she could see the specific places which were swollen, “I have a salve that’ll help the healing process but you better stay off the foot.”

“Okay,” the ravenette muttered with her hood down.

“I mean it,” the woman said as she stood after removing the ankle from her lap, “I’ve heard from Runaan and Rayla of how stubborn you are.”

As the woman went deeper into her house Rhamina looked up to the one-horned elf and said, “It looks like your arm has gotten better, that’s good.”

“Yes, it has but I’m surprised you still have yours considering you’ve had the binding for over a week,” Runaan stated remorsefully, “May I see it?”

“Wait, shit you’re right!” Rhamina gasped moving the cloak over her left shoulder to reveal her perfectly fine arm, “This hasn’t gotten any tighter at all! I completely forgot it was even there!”

“What?” he asked rising from his seat before taking her arm gently and inspecting it, “How is this possible?”

“Was it the spell you used?” he asked while looking at the confused expression on the female’s face.

“No, that spell only transfers injuries or magical effects,” Rhamina explained poking her arm which felt no different at all, “It doesn’t alter or cancel the effects of a spell.”

“See?!” she exclaimed trying to rip off the piece of fabric, “I still can’t take it off but it doesn’t get tighter! What changed the conditions?”

“Alright- What in the world?!” the healer exclaimed upon seeing the band around the ravenette’s arm before looking to Runaan, “Runaan?!”

“I told you before that the human took the binding from me, didn’t I, Beldroth?” Runaan asked as the woman immediately took hold of the ravenette’s left forearm where the binding was wound.

“Yes but that was almost two weeks ago and- oh my goodness you’re the girl who brought Runaan back,” the woman said gazing into the confused eyes of the seventeen-year-old.

“Um, yeah?”

The woman let out an excited squeal as she looked back and forth between the two with a smile before she began to treat and re-wrap the ravenette’s ankle.

“And what do you think you’re doing?” the healer asked as she saw Rhamina put her boots back on.

“I’m gonna go back to my sisters and the kids I’m looking after?” she asked slowly standing under the glare of the woman.

“If you’re moving then you better be limping straight back to a chair or bed to rest!”

“...No?” the ravenette smiled as she began to limp towards the door only to be scooped up by the male, “No, not again! Please put me down! I’m fine!”

“I’ll make sure she won’t strain her injury any further,” Runaan said as the ravenette groaned dramatically.

“So where are you taking me?” Rhamina asked with her eyes crossed.

“I understand it would be boring to just stay indoors so for now you can watch us train,” Runaan said as he walked out the door for Rhamina to see her friends were gone.

She said nothing as she was carried to the obvious training area sighing in relief to see Kerstin, Sam, Tijarah, and Chloe sparring instead of probably setting things on fire.

Runaan set Rhamina down gently on the ground where she huffed in annoyance that she would most likely not be allowed to participate.

“Even Callum gets to train?!” Rhamina whined as she saw the human male holding a sword next to Rayla, “This isn’t fair!”

“Mina, you’re fucking injured suck it up,” Kerstin exclaimed as she tried to attack Tijarah who dodged with a shriek, “Stay in one spot you whore!”

“Kerstin, there are kids here!”  Rhamina scolded upon looking literally ten feet to her right where young elves were being trained by Runaan and a few others.

“Oh!” Kerstin exclaimed stopping for a moment, “I said ‘fudging’!”

“Also, I won’t get a break in a fight just because I’m injured you know,” the ravenette commented as she began to draw in the dirt.

“Mina,” Chloe said with sadness, “We don’t live like that anymore- oof!”

She was interrupted by Sam knocking her with the back of her katana.

“Don’t get distracted, Chloe,” Sam stated as she backed up into a defensive position.

“But, Father Sam!”

“Mina’s right. We’re doing something risky and if someone’s trying to kill you they won’t stop and give you a time out if you’re injured,” Sam said as the female got up before turning to her sister, “Even if she’s being an emo bitch right now!”

“There are children here!”

“Then you better hide them from Kerstin,” Tijarah snickered earning a string of curses from the dragon.

“Kerstin, I swear to god if you burn anything down!”

At around three in the afternoon the groups got a break and the girls gathered with Rhamina who was still sitting in her spot on the ground.

As they talked Rhamina turned her head upon hearing small footsteps and looked to see a small, elven child looking at her.

“Hi,” she smiled with a small wave to the nervous looking little boy.

“A-are you the one who saved Runaan?” he asked.

“Um, yes?” the ravenette said, “But I didn’t really-” “Thank you so much!”

The ravenette blinked as the boy launched himself at her, too stunned to react.

“I knew not all humans were evil!” he yelled as various other of the elves looked at the display warily.

“No,” she said slowly wrapping her arms around the child, “No one is really evil you know? They just make bad decisions.”

Rhamina could feel the boy’s arms waver as negative whispers began to buzz from the other elves around them.

Runaan made his way over to the group from the other trainers upon hearing a commotion and his eyes widened at what he saw.

“En dašebu nobe šundu tje̞ šutwu kewenu swa lei, en dašebu nobe šundu

tje̞ šutwu kewenu swa lei,” Rhamina began to sing in order to block out the harsh whispers and a light began to glow from her pendant.

In the moment the female appeared to be surrounded by a soft purple glow as she continued to sing.

Zym got closer and chirped along as the female continued her song.

“En dašebu nobe šundu tje̞ šutwu kewenu swa lei en dašebu nobe šundu, tje̞ šutwu kewenu swa lei,” as the pair pulled away Rhamina took the boy’s hands with a smile as small figures of ice began to freeze in front of them before animating and move around.

Kerstin and Sam’s eyes widened as they watched the ravenette even risk to do such a thing in front of people and then looked to the boy whose face was full of wonder.

“En dašebu nobe šundu tje̞ šutwu kewenu swa lei, en dašebu nobe šundu tje̞ šutwu kewenu swa lei,” once the ravenette finished her song the ice melted and the water fell to the ground around them.

“You should probably get back to training now,” she chuckled as she ruffled the boy’s hair, “You don’t want to disappoint your teachers right?”

“Yeah!” the boy cheered as he ran back to the group of kids.

“Mina!” Kerstin whispered as she and Sam got closer to the ravenette, “Why did you do that?!”

“That kid was being ridiculed for his belief and probably bullied,” Rhamina whispered back, “Like hell I’m letting him feel like he’s alone.”

“Rhamina, you have a lovely voice,” Runaan said as he walked over, “Better than any minstrel that I’ve heard.”

“Shut your face,” she scoffed, “I sound like crap.”

“No, you don’t you fucking bitch,” Sam said shoving the ravenette slightly.

“If you can use magic by singing then why don’t you use it to heal yourself like you did for me?” the male elf asked remembering his two nights in the dungeons of Katolis.

“Oh, well I can’t,” the teen shrugged, “It’s one of the conditions of the spell. I can heal everything but myself with it.”

“That’s stupid,” Tijarah scoffed, “It’s useless unless you’re fighting in a group.”

“Think about it though,” Rhamina replied, “If someone with bad intentions knew about it and could just keep healing themselves then they would basically be immortal.”

“It’s still an interesting concept that you use your singing to use magic though,” Rayla commented as she remembered their journey to the village and the nights where the ravenette would be lulling everyone to sleep.

“Yeah, I got the idea to cast spells with music from sirens actually,” Rhamina chuckled as she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, “The stories I heard of creatures enchanting sailors with their voices intrigued me so I experimented and came up with something similar.”

“You know that’s pretty scary how you can do that without even encountering one of them,” Callum commented, “Impressive but scary.”

“You have no fucking idea, Callum,” Sam said, “Imagine coming back home to see your fucking sister standing on wind that she summoned by singing. We just left her alone for the day and as soon as we get back she’s all like ‘I have ascended, Fuckers!’”

“Hey, I cackled but I did not say that!”

“Mina, can you fly too?” Chloe asked from her left side.

“If I wanted to yes,” the ravenette responded as she pet the owl’s head, “It wouldn’t be that efficient though and it uses up a lot of energy.”

“Hey, Rhamina, you and Runaan should spar when you heal!” Ralya suggested with eyes sparkling.

“I don’t- No!” the ravenette sputtered, “I’m all for beating someone up but I would get my ass handed to me! Plus we have to take Zym home as soon as possible!”

The girls and Callum suddenly burst out laughing earning strange looks from Rhamina, Rayla, and Runaan.

“With all due respect,” Calluma started still laughing in between words, “I’m pretty sure Rhamina could beat Runaan pretty quickly.”

“Oh?” Runaan asked with a slight smirk as the ravenette began to panic slightly.

“Callum, Hun, we’re friends please stop talking,” Rhamina sung with a nervous giggle, “We all know I suck at fighting.”

“Yeah, because you don’t fight you fucking murder,” Tijarah said, “If you fought him seriously he wouldn’t have his head.”

“No!”

“Rhamina, you literally vaulted Soren into a second story window because he took one of your cookies,” Callum stated.

“Who can’t throw him?!” the teen tried to reason.

“Mina, Soren was wearing full armor, hoot!” Chloe commented.

“So?”

“His chest plate alone is like twenty pounds,” Sam said.

It was silent for a few moments before Rhamina launched herself at the brunette with her hands around the younger female’s throat.

“Mina, you’re ankle!” Chloe hooted frantically flying about a foot above her.

“Oh, yes, Daddy!” Sam coughed earning a disgusted look from the ravenette.

Immediately, Rhamina stood and placed all of her weight on her left leg as she said, “I fucking hate you.”

“I love you too, Mina, now sit the fuck down,” Sam said.

“Rhamina, sit down,” Runaan sighed as he placed a hand on the female’s shoulder.

“No, I don’t want to,” Rhamina said with her arms crossed, “I’m fine.”

“Then walk normally,” the elf challenged only to be met with a defiant look from the human girl.

“Bet.”

“Mina, no!” Chloe called as she and the other girls forced her to sit down.

The rest of the day passed with the group from Katolis training with the elves while Rhamina sat with Zym, simply observing.

By request of the healer Rhamina and one other of the girls were to be basically taken care of by Runaan during their stay.

“Are you kidding me?!” Rhamina exclaimed as she limped behind Runaan while holding Chloe’s hand, “I don’t need a babysitter!... But thank you for letting me stay.”

“It’s the least I could do for you,” Runaan said as he opened the door and stood to the side to let the girls in, “You’ve done so much for me in those two nights.”

“Hoot?” Chloe asked as she looked up at the ravenette before glaring at the male.

“You don’t need to do anything for me,” Rhamina stated as she once again followed Runaan around the small home, “Trust me I really don’t deserve it.”

“You really are strange aren’t you?” he asked before stopping in front of a door, “You both can use this room and mine is right next to it.”

“Thank you so much,” the ravenette chirped before bowing slightly and limping into the room with Chloe, “Good night.”

“Good night.”

“How do you know him, Mina?” Chloe asked as soon as the door was closed.

“He’s the elf I freed from the dungeons,” she replied as she sat on the bed and began to take off her boots.

“So he’s the reason who were so injured?!”

“Chloe, hush!” Rhamina whispered praying the male did not hear that, “He doesn’t need to know about it.”

“Why is he acting so familiar with you anyway?” Chloe huffed, “He only knew you for two days.”

“Um…”

“Mina?”

“No…”

“What do you mean no?!”

“You don’t need to know how we know each other…”

“B-but, Mina!”

“Night, Chloe, love you.”

“Fine,” Chloe huffed from her side of the bed before whispering, “Owl, will find out, hoot!”

The next morning Runaan woke up to the familiar sight of his room, and despite the fact the sun was blocked took that as his cue to get ready.

Once he was dressed and his hair was tied back in a ponytail he quietly made his way down to the guest room.

He knocked softly on the door before opening it to see only Chloe still snuggled in the blankets.

With a raised brow he went around his home without seeing the ravenette anywhere before he went back to the guest room.

Walking over to the female who had changed positions, Runaan gently shook her taking care to avoid getting smacked with her wings.

“Chloe, where is Rhamina?” he asked softly.

“Mina? I don’t know,” she muttered while sitting up and feeling around the bed only to feel nothing.

“Hoot?! Where did she go?!” Chloe asked suddenly awake, “She probably went to walk around, that idiot!”

Immediately the pair walked out of the house to search for the ravenette which didn’t take long considering that the female was sitting on the roof with her eyes closed.

“Mina!” Chloe called causing Rhamina to slowly open her eyes.

“Morning, Chloe! Morning, Runaan!” she chirped with a bright smile, “It’s so nice this morning!”

The sky was covered in dark clouds as it threatened to rain and it was quite windy with the smell of rain riding on it.

“Rhamina, how did you even get up there?” Runaan asked mainly concerned about the female’s injury.

“Magic,” she replied, “I propelled myself up with wind. It was the perfect day to to it!”

She proved her claim by standing and letting herself fall off the building causing panic in the two on the ground only for it to shift to shock as wind gathered under her to carry her safely to them.

“Mina, oh my god!” Chloe exclaimed as she clung onto the ravenette’s arm, “No!”

“Rhamina,” sighed Runaan as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I told you I would be too much for you handle,” Rhamina sung as she lifted her right foot off of the ground.

“I suggest you sit back down before Beldroth sees you,” he spoke with a smirk.

“You see her don’t you?”

Runaan nodded as he could see the older elf’s expression chance into pure rage.

“Fuck! Chloe help me hobble back into the house!”

“Young Lady, what do you think you’re doing?!” the healer screamed as she rushed up to the teenager.

“I wanted some air,” Rhamia replied with a nervous smile as she avoided looking into her eyes.

“Young Lady, unless you want to have problems with your ankle for the rest of your life then sit down!”

Rhamina’s expression when she heard the healer’s words.

‘Rest of my life… That’s right, I’m seventeen now so this cycle will be ending soon,’ she thought while biting her lip, ‘How am I supposed to explain this to Tijarah and Chloe?’

“Rhamina, are you alright?” Runaan asked placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah I’m fine just got a bit distracted,” she chuckled as her stomach growled, “I hunger…”

At around noon the groups were continuing their training until the sharp sound of a flute entered the ravenette’s ears.

Her head snapped up at the noise and by the second note her expression changed to that of utter horror before she turned to the groups.

“Chloe, Tijarah, Kerstin, cover your ears!” she called but it was already too late.

She along with the other three immediately fell to the ground in pain.

“Fuck, Mina!” Kerstin growled steam coming from her nostrils and mouth, wings twitching and tail flailing.

“I know!” Rhamina called as her pendant began to glow black and hazy while red chains solidified around her form.

Tijarah began to struggle as well as her eyes began to glow bright yellow and her canines became sharper.

“Mina!” Chloe called as feathers began to sprout from her arms.

“What’s happening?!” Rayla asked as she and others tried to get closer.

“Don’t get near them!” Sam called with a slight growl as she looked in the direction of Katolis, “Someone found where we hid that bitch.”

After about two minutes Chloe had fully turned into a dwarf owl, Tijarah had transformed into a black panther, and Kerstin stood tall as a red and black dragon; however, Rhamina was left screaming in pain on the ground as the chains began to constrict tighter.

“Rhamina!” called Callum as he turned to the elf in green markings, “What do we do?”

“I don’t fucking know!” she replied as she brushed her hair back, “You touch those chains and you get burned so we can only wait until that fucking song stops and hope she survived it.”

The next two minutes were painful for everyone to watch.

Rayla, Runaan, Sam and Callum could only watch as the female writhed in pain and as tears streamed down her face. They could see the chains digging into her skin and Sam was sure she heard a snap from something breaking. At some point Rhamina started to cough up blood and struggle to breathe but they couldn’t do anything.

The three shifters couldn’t turn back until the song was over so they did what they would normally do in a situation like this.

Chloe was just flying in circles above the ravenette as she hooted frantically.

Tijarah’s tail was flicking back and forth as she sat next to Kerstin who could only look down at her sister.

Finally, the song was over and the chains disappeared but the female was still shaking and curled up.

“D-don’t touch me!” she shrieked as she felt the presence of Runaan behind her.

Doing his best to ignore the cries of the ravenette, Runaan gently picked her up and rushed her over to the healer again.

A few hours later Beldroth came out of the room the female was in and looked to the group, including the shifters who had changed back to their half forms.

“That girl is lucky to have survived,” she started, “I’m surprised she stayed conscious through all of it.”

“And how is she now?” Sam asked, “Can we see her?”

“Well-” “Come hither!” a quiet voice called from behind the curtain.

Ignoring the healer the four other girls pushed past the curtain to see their comrade sitting up; however, she didn’t look good at all.

There were already bruises forming from where the chains dug into her and her skin was a bit pale.

She looked up at them with sad eyes and said, “We need to talk about this now.”

“Mina, are you sure?” Kerstin asked looking to everyone but Sam and the ravenette.

“If this continues then it’ll be their problem as well,” Rhamina replied, “They might as well know right now and stay informed.”

“Mina, we can trust Chloe and Tijarah but we don’t really know the others as long as them,” Sam said earning suspicious looks from the others.

“What do you guys mean?” Tijarah asked, “What’s going on?”

“If that nutcase manages to wake her up then we’ll need more than just us to stop her you know,” the ravenette argued, mustering a glare despite her tired state, “And it’ll be harder to keep this a secret once she’s awake.”

“Who are you guys talking about?!” Callum asked.

Before Sam or Kerstin could say anything Rhamina replied, “Marianna Verum Salvator Ibadora, or you might know her better as Marianna the Monster Carver.”

“What?” the group gasped collectively as Kerstin’s and Sam’s eyes widened at the fact she revealed it.

“That’s impossible!” Callum exclaimed, “She was one of the princesses from before the human kingdom split up! She died almost 1,000 years ago!”

“She didn’t die,” Kerstin stated as she crossed her arms.

“She was sealed away in what now exists as Katolis,” Sam added only earning more astonished looks from the group.

“And how would you know that?” Rayla asked still in shock.

“Of course we would know about it, we were there after all,” Rhamina chuckled softly, “I was the one who sealed her away after all.”

“You couldn’t have been there,” Runaan stated, “You’re a human. They can’t live that long.”

“You’re right but let’s not forget about the third member of the Chaos Trio and how she threw away her humanity for the truth of this world,” the ravenette sighed looking up with the golden flecks in her brown irises seemingly glowing with mischief, “A greedy little fox who transcended death.”

“No way,” Callum whispered looking down at the maid who he’d known for five years, “You’re…”

“Yes, the second princess of the original human kingdom who abandoned it to be with her true sisters,” Rhamina stated, “My real name is Kitsami Verum Princeps Ibadora.”

“A thousand years ago I was basically immortal with the power I discovered but I gave that up and was forced to live in a human body in order to seal away my twin who had come too close to discovering a power which would have destroyed all of Xadia,” she continued, “My soul and beast is bound by unbreakable chains which you saw earlier.”

“The song that triggered Kerstin’s, Tijarah’s, and Chloe’s beast forms to come forward and tried to call out Mina’s beast as well,” Sam explained, “But those chains were holding it back and forcing it to stay in her human body.”

“I still can’t believe this,” Callum said turning to Rhamina, “If this really did happen then how are you still alive?”

“As I quickly relearned how fragile the human body was, I learned that once this heart stopped beating then it would basically be reverted to that of my ten-year-old self and I would just age from there until I died again,” the ravenette shrugged, “And that cycle would continue and has been continuing for the past millennium.”

“Don’t forget to mention that each time, your body can’t last a year after you turn seventeen again,” Kerstin scoffed earning worried looks from the others.

“Returning back to the topic of the song, it is called the Song of Beasts and like Sam explained it draws out the beasts that are hiding under a disguise of magic,” Rhamina said changing the topic to get focus off of her, “I hid it along with other spells where I sealed away Marianna and since it was played I can only guess someone is trying to wake her up in order to get help in winning the war for the humans.”

“So, we have to stop them!” Rayla exclaimed.

“That will not be necessary,” Sam said, “The only one who can release her is Mina.”

“Yes, but the human mages could find a way to break that seal,” Rhamina hissed, “I mean they found a way to twist the magic I brought back for them. Or if the need arises I need my full power again then I’ll be forced to undo the seal.”

It was silent after that before Runaan said, “Thank you for telling us this. Now we know what we could be possibly going up against but for now let’s all get some rest and let this sink in.”

Back in Katolis the people were panicking as many of the citizens had suddenly turned into strange creatures of dangerous animals.

“I wasn’t able to awaken the Queen but I was able to expose all of the shifters hiding among us,” Viren chuckled as she looked at the masses of creatures being brought to the dungeons.

In the absence of the ravenette he had become acquainted with the being in the mirror and had it brought back up to his study.

“I must thank you for revealing the location of the True Queen, Aaravos,” he chuckled with a purple caterpillar sitting on his ear.

“Marianna is not the True Queen, only her protector,” the Startouch elf corrected, “You must remember the awakening Marianna is only to draw Kitsami back to her rightful throne.”

“Ah, yes, where is Kitsami anyway?”

“Hiding,” the elf replied with a slight smirk on his face as back in Xadia Rhamina felt a slight warmth come from the binding around her left arm.

~~~Fin. Chapter 5~~~

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Songs Used: “Ballad of the Goddess” - Adriana Figueroa

Picture: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/436497388883255799/

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[mama-m1na]

Journey of the Chaos Trio: Chapter 8

                                                  ~~~VIII~~~

As the red dragon flew over Xadia Runaan made sure the shadows didn’t get too close.

It was a tense ride as the dragon flew as fast as she could and the ravenette’s condition was only getting worse as she had to keep using her magic to keep the attention of the shadows.

“Mina, you need to stop,” Tijarah gently scolded as the girl coughed again.

Her hair looked ratty as she had been stressing for the two hours of their flight, she had turned quite a few shades paler, and her eyes were so clouded that they could have been classified as grey.

Before she could protest the ravenette looked down to see the saddened eyes of the baby dragon then up to the many worried glances of her friends before letting out a weak huff.

Three hours later the dragon landed in the clearing of the tree with the shadows circling above them.

“You need to keep them close but don’t let those things into the clearing,” Rhamina commanded weakly as Choe and Tijarah helped her off of Kerstin, “Them same goes for all of you. No matter what happens you do not come back into the clearing.”

“Rhamina, you’re too weak to even stand on your own,” Runaan said with a glare as he jumped of Kerstin.

“If you’re worried about me dying, it’s going to happen either way,” she said with a weak glare of her own before a shriek came from above them, “There’s no time anyway now go.”

With shaky hands Rhamina passed the bat to Chloe and ushered Zym to follow Tijarah.

“Come on, Hun, it won’t be safe for you here.”

The dragon refused to move from it’s spot next to her ankles before Tijarah picked him up and the girls warily let her go to stand on her own.

Rhamina watched as the group dispersed into the trees or into the sky followed by one of the shadows.

Turning to the tree she limped her way over almost tripping over herself a few times.

Kneeling before it she removed her hood from her face and took a deep breath.

She could feel the magic of the tree calling to her as she let her aura expose itself as her eyes closed.

Upon feeling the magic one of the shadows turned to the tree only to be smacked away by Kerstin’s tail.

“Not on my watch, Bitch!” she exclaimed.

After feeling a connection with the tree the ravenette opened her eyes and began her spell.

“Shadow cold and dark. Make the final plea…”

The long locks of raven hair began to float around her as the air became thick and tense.

“Take the sands of time. And set the spirit free”

The tree began to develop cracks in it as she continued her incantation.

“Wither and decay. End this destiny…”

The cracks began to glow purple as it filled with energy.

“Break these earthly chains. And set the spirit free…”

As the ravenette looked down to her arms her veins began to glow the same shade of purple as the tree’s trunk began to split open at the cracks and reach for her.

“The spirit free…”

Everyone snapped their heads back towards the clearing once the moment they could no longer feel any trace of the ravenette.

“What the hell just happened?!” Kerstin asked as she pushed back one of the shadows.

“We need to go check, hoot!” Chloe exclaimed immediately running towards where they left the ravenette.

“Chloe!” Tijarah yelled as she remembered the directions she was given.

“Fuck!” she exclaimed, her worry overpowering her want to not mess anything up.

They weren’t the only ones because about five minutes later everyone of the group had appeared at the clearing looking for the female but all they saw was the tree.

It was balled up and only seemed to close tighter as a few got an idea of what happened.

“Did the tree just fucking eat Mina?” Sam asked as she watched a purple light pulse from the cracks that were still in the wood.

“Sam, Kerstin, how exactly did she meet the Fates?” Runaan asked still in shock.

“We don’t know,” Kerstin answered ignoring the distant shrieks of the shadows, “She never told us. Why?”

“She told me that this tree was a gateway to meet the Fates,” he explained looking at the tree.

“So do you think this was how?” Tijarah asked still slightly shocked, horrified, and disgusted.

“Most likely.”

“It worked!” Viren laughed as he looked into a crystal ball at his study, “She actually went to break the seal!”

“Indeed; however, there is no telling how long that could take,” the elf in the mirror commented.

“What do you mean?”

“With that spell she needs to reabsorb all of her previous powers while abandoning her human body and manifesting her other form,” Aaravos explained through the caterpillar on the human’s ear, “It was quite vast you know. Those kinds of  things take time.”

“You didn’t tell me of this,” Viren said with irritation.

“You never asked,” the elf smirked, “And if you want your plan to work then you will have to be patient.”

“Well, no matter the wait, our weapon will be revived.”

Rhamina felt as if she was floating until it felt as if she was falling.

Her eyes snapped open once she felt her ass hit the ground.

“Mother fucker!” she growled as she stood in the familiar desolate wasteland.

“You seem to be doing well,” a smooth female voice chuckled.

“Not the time Mer’as,” Rhamina huffed as she stood up and dusted off the white dress she was in before looking up at the female with olive skin, black hair styled into a bob and ram horns on her head.

“You seem grumpier than when we last saw each other,” a smooth, deep voice commented causing Rhamina to turn and flip off the male who had olive skin; long, straight, black hair; and curved goat horns on his head.

“Eat my fucking dick, Ruzamad!”

Both beings looked quite similar to each other due to the fact they were siblings.

The Fates who looked over this world.

They both wore black clothes with black leather straps and matching dark, metal collars.

The ravenette only rolled her eyes before setting off in a certain direction.

“Where are you going?” the female asked from her left as her brother fell in step from the right.

“What do you think?” she hissed, “I’m getting my body and powers back.”

The siblings gasped as their eyes widened.

“Are you sure you want to do that, Love?-” “Don’t call me that!” Rhamina snapped as the siblings were silenced by her glare, “You aren’t here to question me, you’re just here to test  those who try to find the truth and I’ve already passed.”

She continued walking in between the fates but quickly noticed the surroundings were different than when she was here last time.

“What is this?” she asked looking around only to see the siblings panicking, “Why is this part different?”

“What do you mean?” Mer’as asked.

“Nothing’s changed since you left,” Ruzamad finished only earning a glare from Rhamina.

‘Liars,’ she thought as her eyes soaked in the different sights and sounds as she kept walking in a straight line.

‘No way…’ she thought keeping a straight face as a realization came to mind, ‘Are these the truths of other worlds?’

“We’re here,” chirped Mer’as as the trio stopped in front of an oversized, black chest.

Rhamina did not hesitate to step forward as the chest as well as her pendant began to glow purple before the chest suddenly flung open and purple wisps began to surround the female.

She could feel herself changing as her feet left the ground. Her hair grew down to her knees and a pair of black fox ears materialized a top her head accompanied by nine, large, black fox tails tipped in purple.

Her attire changed to an elegant, black and purple kimono with slits running up both sides of them to allow for easier movement in combat.

“I’ll be asking you more questions later,” she snarled at the Fates before waving her hand.

In front of her a white door with golden flourishes appeared in front of her and she placed a hand on it before continuing, “But right now I have bigger problems to deal with.”

As the door closed behind the ravenette Ruzamad sighed and said, “Now their both awake and she has the full truth.”

“The others will most definitely not be happy with us,” Mer’as sighed as she looked up at the twinkling sky above her.

Viren could only watch with a large smile as a golden glow began to surround the female trapped in ice.

It grew even more as the ice began to crack causing the golden light to seep through.

“Yes...”

“Yes.”

“Yes!” he cheered as the ice completely shattered causing the female to fall to the ground.

She groaned as her eyes fluttered open and found themselves on the mage.

“What happened?”

The group was beginning to tire.

It had been about an hour since the female had been engulfed into the tree and they had been battling ever since.

“Fuck! How long is this going to take?!” Tijarah asked as she threw back a shadow for about the hundredth time.

“We shouldn’t have let her do this!” Sam exclaimed mostly in worry for her sibling’s wellbeing.

Suddenly a large surge of magic came from the tree they were protecting and it’s trunk straightened out before the branches uncurled revealing healthy plum colored leaves.

However, once it was fully opened a familiar form was there radiating with pure magic as her raven locks floated behind her.

“Mina!” cheered the girls tiredly.

“I’m sorry I took so long guys,” she said as she floated to meet the group on the ground as the shadows seemed to watch, “You can sit back now. It’s my turn.”

“Rhamina, we’ve literally tried everything!” Callum panted as the ravenette laid him down gently.

“I know that’s why I’m here now,” she spoke quietly before turning to the shadows and glaring.

“I don’t know what you’re planning but you got what you want!” she announced looking directly at each individual form, “I’m fully awake and so is Marianna. Just know that you will repent for provoking me!”

As soon as she was finished speaking she stepped forward and her tails whipped around striking each shadow once before it’s form dissipated leaving behind a magenta wisp.

She held out her hand before flicking her wrist towards herself and the wisps floated closer to her.

“Sknaht rof eht leam!” she chirped before consuming each one.

She then turned to the group who basically sat in shock while Sam and Kerstin were filled with excitement to have their sister back at full strength.

“You really are something aren’t you?” Runaan smiled, still trying to catch his breath.

“Yep, and that something ain’t good,” she chuckled before going to her bag and collecting a large flask as a soft glow covered her form leaving her in her previous clothes save for the cloak, “You all take a breather and I’ll be back with water.”

As soon as she got back Rhamina passed around the flask and sang the song of healing again to take care of the groups injuries as the bat flew back to hook onto the front of her shirt.

“So does this mean Marianna is awake again?” Sam asked causing the ravenette’s ear to twitch.

“Yes.”

“Oh, my god we are so fucked,” Kerstin laughed as she threw her head back, “Peace here didn’t work, Viren’s on our ass, and Marianna’s awake.”

“Arrrrrrrrrr,” Sam nervously chuckled, “The Chaos Trio strikes again.”

“So what do we do now?” Callum asked as the past few events came to sink into their heads.

“Since the Queen of Dragons won’t want peace then maybe we can convince the humans,” Rhamina suggested with her back to the group, “We can take it up with the other four kingdoms and work to get Viren out of control of Katolis; which, reminds me. Shouldn’t Ezran be ruling right now?”

“That’s right, it’s been weeks he should be king by now and he wouldn’t order an attack like that,” Rayla said in realization.

“Do you think Viren was just kicked out and working from somewhere else?” the prince asked.

“No, that couldn’t have been him on his own,” Rhamina replied without skipping a beat.

“Yeah, it was way too strong for him on his own,” Tijarah added.

“Too strong for a single human,” Rhamina said, “Even with ‘Dark Magic’.”

“Well there’s at least one good thing that comes out of Marianna being awake,” she sighed rubbing her temples.

“What possible good thing could there be about that bitch being awake?” Sam scoffed.

“She was on board with Dark Magic but hates it being used so if Viren uses it all the time she’ll get pissed off and hopefully kill him for us.”

Back in the room of ancient treasures Viren lowered himself to one knee and bowed his head as he said, “Welcome back, Princess Marianna.”

“Who are you?” the ravenette asked as she stood holding her head before her eyes widened, “Where is the Queen?!”

“Your Highness, please calm down and let me explain our situation,” Viren said as he looked up at the armor-clad female.

As he explained what happened in the past thousand years, Viren led the female knight down the halls of the castle earning strange looks from the staff.

“Isn’t that Rhamina?” one whispered.

“Didn’t she go missing?”

“Her hair is so short now!”

“Where did she get the armor?”

“When did she get that serious?”

Once the pair had entered the mage’s study the ruby-eyed teen asked, “You say there were two princes in this kingdom? Where are they?”

“I’m afraid to say that they are deceased.”

“I’m not fond of liars, Mage,” she growled narrowing her eyes at the male, “Just now some of the maids were talking of how Prince Ezran was being locked up in his room and considering the fact his father is dead, he is next in line for the empty throne.”

“W-well, as he is now he is not fit to rule,” Viren tried to explain, “He is too young and I am acting as his regent.”

“Take me to him.”

“W-what?”

“A kingdom without a ruler is just asking to be overthrown,” the ravenette said standing up, “Let me meet the boy and I shall decide if he is fit to rule or not.”

“B-but-” “I may not have been the one to take the throne but I am still the oldest member of the royal family,” Marianna said sternly, “If anyone should judge what it takes to rule it would be Kitsami but she isn’t here at the moment so I will have to do.”

“With all due respect, Your Highness, Kitsami abandoned the humans.”

“She did not abandon us!” snapped the teen,eyes glowing red as a surge of energy blasted through the room causing the ground to shake slightly, “Those elves and dragons took her from us! All she wanted was to be cared for and no one gave it to her. Even I didn’t realize it until it was too late… But I will be getting her back. She is the one who woke me up after all so I know she’s alive.”

“Now,” the knight said calming down as every object that was floating dropped to the ground, “Take me to the Prince.”

“I-I… Of course,” Viren said gaining his composure in front of the powerful being, “This way, Your Highness.”

Ezran looked up from his bed as three knocks came from the door.

“Prince Ezran, there is someone who is here to see you,” the voice of Viren said from behind the door before it creaked open.

“Rhamina?” he asked seeing the teen’s face only to be confused at her attire, hair length, and eye color.

“Why is everyone asking if I’m ‘Rhamina’?” the ravenette asked turning to the mage before sighing, “Nevermind, answer that later.”

“Hello, Prince Ezran, I am Princess Marianna Verum Salvator Ibadora, and I would like to speak with you for a bit.”

“If the human side is willing to have peace then maybe Xadia will as well,” Rhamina said, “After all morals and crap. If they’re willing to stay true to their honor then they won’t attack a side that shows no aggression.”

“That is true,” Runaan said, “But how are you going to get the humans to agree?”

“I don’t have to get everyone, just the rulers at least. If anyone gets in the way I can take care of them individually.”

With that statement everyone looked at the ravenette with sceptical looks.

“What? I’m not going to kill them!” she whined, “Shock them maybe but that’s as far as it will go. The only problem we’ll have is getting Katolis on board especially if Marianna is there. She has a way with words to get people to follow her.”

“Mina, you would say similar shit in order to convince people of things,” Kerstin said, “And most of the time it wasn’t true.”

“Yeah,” Rhamina shrugged, “We both had the impeccable gift of bullshitery; which, brings up another problem. We had almost the exact same strengths and thought processes so the moment she suspects I’m up to something she’ll probably be able to come up with a counter.”

“Yeah but, Mina, you have a lot of things over her,” Sam said as the trio of thousand-year-old females smirked.

“Exactly, you’ve been here constantly learning new things and strategies while she’s been stuck in ice for the past thousand years,” Kerstin added.

“Mainly the fact I’ve got physically got nothing to lose so I have no problem just rushing in and decking someone in the face,” Rhamina chirped causing the everyone to erupt into laughter, “No, I will but I’ll be careful. I swear.”

“So which kingdom would we try to convince first?” Chloe asked from her spot.

“I would say Duren,” Rhamina said, “Queen Amaya is much more reasonable than most of the adult rulers and the others won’t take much convincing unless Viren tries to bash her reputation and risk war amongst human kingdoms.”

“Wait, Rhamina- no, Kitsami, I guess,” Callum said a little confused as to what he should call his elder.

“Either one is fine,” she chirped as her tails wagged slightly, “But yes?”

“Did you ever step down from the throne?”

“I mean I flew off on a dragon while flinging the crown into a crowd.”

“Did you formally give it up though?” he asked with widened eyes.

“No, I didn’t, why?”

“If you took back the throne in Katolis then could you convince the other kings and queens?”

“What?!” exclaimed the ravenette in surprise, “Callum, what are you saying?!”

“Mina, he’s right you know?” Tijarah commented, “You still have power over the humans by technicality.”

“Ibadora doesn’t exist anymore,” she huffed as her ears twitched in irritation, “And, Callum, what about Ezran? Don’t you want him to be king?”

“I don’t want to take anything away from him but he’s too young,” Callum spoke sadly, “He deserves to live a bit.”

“You’re right about that,” Rhamina sighed as she looked up to the afternoon sky, “Being the ruler of a kingdom is taxing on the mind and body.”

“All the paperwork, making sure the kingdom is safe before yourself, assassination attempts, people constantly trying to manipulate or kiss up to you for power, holding comments to keep your reputation, never knowing if people are your real friends or using to to get power, keeping secrets, and a whole shit tone more,” the ravenette continued, “It sucks ass.”

“Well, at least you never got the brunt of it,” Kerstin shrugged only for the ravenette to shake her head.

“I actually think it’s worse as a child who is next in line,” Rhamina spoke, eyes narrowing as she remembered her own childhood, “When you’re young you’re naive and people try to take advantage of that. They try to teach you that their own way is right and influence you so that when you’re older you do anything they want. Those born into ruling families are pawns right from the start. We’re only tools for political power to anyone who gets to us first.”

“Is it really like that?” Rayla asked turning to Callum who was looking down the entire time as the ravenette was talking.

“Now that I think about it, yeah, it was,” he sighed, “I remember a lot of the time when Mom or Dad was away important people were always trying to talk to me and Ezran to convince us about their ideas.”

“Your father was a good father and king,” Rhamina smiled, “very rare to find now a days, he realized them trying to manipulate you both and did his best to keep them separate from you. You should have seen the frustration on their faces.”

“Based on the way you act, I’m guessing you helped with that?” Runaan asked with a smirk as the female’s ears perked up and she began to stutter.

“Nope! I did- nope- not really- well, only a little!”

“Mina! some of those politicians almost shit themselves. Hoot!” Chloe chirped with a bright smile.

“Why do you think Dad always kept you near the boys when people like that were over?” Tijarah chuckled, “You always glared them down anytime they got remotely close.”

“You were just like a mother fox protecting her kits!” Kerstin laughed as the ravenette’s face began to turn red and her tails stiffened in embarrassment.

“Well what else was I supposed to do?!” she exclaimed using her tails to cover her body like a shell, “Let them corrupt the precious children?!”

“Awe, Mina, you floof!” gushed Sam as she reached out to glomp the female.

“No, I’m not fuck off!”

Soon Chloe and Kerstin added onto the pile with the ravenette reaching out for help from the rest of the group only to be met with laughter.

“Why?! I trusted- Ahh!”

Everyone stopped to look down in surprise at the ravenette who let out the high pitched yelp.

Rhamina immediately stopped her movement and covered her mouth as she turned to glare at the females on top of her.

“Who the fuck grabbed one of my tails?!” she asked as her face became even more red.

“Mina!~” sang Kerstin and Sam with smirks on their faces as the ravenette struggled to get out from under them.

Poof!

As the smoke dissipated a little black fox with nine tails and a bat clinging to her back stood growling and baring her teeth at the females as the dragon and elf approached her.

Backing up the fox ran to Runaan before skillfully climbing up to his shoulders using her tails to keep her there as she hissed and batted at her partners.

“Awe, that’s cute!” Rayla cooed only earning a glare from the black fox.

“I’m not cute!” she barked, “I’m an all powerful fox! I will eat you!”

This only earned more laughter from the group and irritation from the fox.

“Now, let’s calm down shall we?” Runaan asked reaching up to scratch under the fox’s chin causing her to release her hold on him and flop down to his lap.

She then began nuzzling into him before looking up and asking, “More pets?”

“Mina!” Chloe exclaimed not happy at the female’s contact with a male despite him helping them quite a bit.

Runaan brought his hand to keep petting the fox who let out happy trills at the attention.

After about ten more minutes the group made their way to the nearest village to get some rest.

At this point Rhamina was now in her humanoid form as the group walked into a barn a couple let them stay in.

“Hey do you guys want to hear a story?” The ravenette asked with a large smile as her tails wagged.

“Yes!” Chloe chirped as the bat squeaked in agreement.

“Yay, this one is about me,” she smirked, “And something I did like a hundred years ago I think?”

“As we were out a-hunting, one morning in the spring. Both hounds and horses, running well, made the hills and the valleys ring,” Rhamina sung as she looked up at the moon from the open door, “But to our great misfortune, no fox there could be found. Our huntsmen cursed and swore but still no fox moved over the ground.”

“Mina, no. No more foxes.”

“And up spoke our master huntsman, the master of the chase. ‘If only the Devil himself come by, we'd run him such a race!’” the ravenette smirked as she continued her theme, “And up there sprung like lightning a fox from out of his hole. His fur was the colour of a starless night, and his eyes like burning coals.”

Her smirk only grew bigger as she could hear fox calls in the distance.

“And they chased him over the valley, and they chased him over the fields; They chased him down to the river bank, but never would he yield,” Rhamina sung over the desperate cries of Sam and Kerstin, “And he's jumped into the water, and he's swum to the other side. And he's laughed so loud that the green woods shook. Then he's turned to the huntsmen and he's cried:”

“‘Ride on, my gallant huntsmen! When must I come again? For you should never want for a fox to chase all over the glen. And when your need is greatest, just call upon my name And I will come, and you shall have the best of sport and game!’”

Soon the group could see the glowing eyes of tens of foxes as the ravenette continued her call.

“And the men looked up in wonder and the hounds run back to hide. For the fox, it changed to the Devil himself where he stood on the other side,” she sang with a large smile and all nine tails wagging at the sight of her brethren, “And the men, the hounds, the horses went flying back to town. And hard on their heels come a little black fox, laughing as he ran.”

“‘Ride on, my gallant huntsmen! When must I come again? For you should never want for a fox to chase all over the glen. And when your need is greatest, just call upon my name. And I will come, and you shall have the best of sport and game! Ride on, my gallant huntsmen! When must I come again? For you should never want for a fox to chase all over the glen.’”

As soon as the female stopped singing the foxes were running around and playing in the empty barn.  

“Mina!” cried all the girls as the foxes ran on and over them while Rhamina was on her knees reaching out to play with them.

Soon enough all the foxes began to trill and sing to which Rhamina did the same.

A large smile was on her face and all of her tails were wagging happily while the bat fluttered around the barn playing as well.

“Come on aren’t they all adorable?” the ravenette gushed holding one up who was visibly smiling.

Rayla laughed as she played around with the canines as well.

“They are quite cute,” she chuckled as one jumped up onto her shoulders.

After about half an hour the foxes left and went back out the barn while the group began to set up their beds.

“So how exactly are we going to make it past the border?” Kerstin asked as they grouped up, “Mom, is back at the border now and things are getting quite literally heated with her and the Sunfire elves.”

“Well if this is going to be fair then we might as well make a big entrance right?” Sam asked, “We are the Chaos Trio after all.”

“Chaos Trio plus five,” Kerstin corrected.

As the others were talking Rhamina curled her ninetails around her to act as a blanket for the night.

‘The Chaos Trio has been revived and so have you, so you will decide how our war will end… With peace? Or will you deny the truth again?’

~~~Fin. Chapter 8~~~

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Picture: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/558939003739231659/

Songs Used: “Hurt Incantation” - Tangled the Series (My Cover); “Black Fox” - Heather Dale

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[mama-m1na]

Journey of the Chaos Trio: Chapter 6

                                                    ~~~VI~~~

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Warnings: Slight gore, mentions of suicide

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I ran as fast as I could to the forest of dead trees, trying to race the rapidly rising sun over the horizon.

I heard church bells in the distance and as I saw a flock of white doves flying above me I shrieked, “No! You will not!”

I let out a small yelp as my foot got caught on something and I looked down to see a rotting vine reaching for me.

“Eat dick!” I exclaimed while running faster up the dead hill.

I could see the first rays of dawn coming from behind me as I was about halfway up.

“No! This will not happen!”

By the time I reached the top I was panting and out of breath.

All I could do was fall to my knees and smile as tears fell down my cheeks.

“I did all of this for nothing!”

“I was too late again!”

I slammed both of my fists against the ground as a let out a pained cry.

The sound of fluttering feathers surrounded me as the flock of pure white doves landed around me.

The sun shone down brightly on the dead tree in front of me illuminating the horrifying sight.

On each branch hung each of my friends with ropes around their necks. Their eyes were gone and streaks of blood trailed from their empty sockets.

All this as I felt the heat of the sun on my back.

Slam!

“Susej gnikcuf Tsirhc!” Rhamina exclaimed as she rubbed the shoulder she just hit the floor with.

It was the third morning since the reveal of her identity and the day she was officially healthy.

Well, physically anyway.

“Can these dreams like fuck off please?” she growled as she pulled herself from the ground and looked out the window to see it was around noon, “Who the fuck let me sleep in this late?!”

She quickly got dressed in a deep blue crop top and black shorts that ended mid thigh with her black combat boots on.

It was already mentioned that she had lied about what happened to her after she got Runaan out but nothing was said about the topic so she felt as if it was safe to expose some of the scars she had from it even though it would be hidden by her cloak unless she took it off.

When she exited the house the ravenette immediately went to the training grounds to find her friends there.

“Mina!” a familiar voice called as a dwarf owl loudly flew over to her shoulder to immediately cuddle into the ravenette’s neck.

“Mina, do you want to fight someone?” Kerstin called from where she was sitting.

“Hell yeah!” she replied instantly, “I’ve been sitting on my ass doing nothing for four days!”

“You can’t back out of this,” Sam said walking over.

“Why the fuck-” “You’re fighting Runaan,” Tijarah interjected as the ravenette immediately glared.

“Okay, fuck you.”

“I thought you wanted to fight someone, Mina?” Sam asked with a chuckled as the male began to walk over.

“Yeah, but-” “But what?” Runaan asked as we walked over with Rayla, “Whatever your worries are, I assure you it will be fine.”

“No, it’s just that I don’t have any reason to fight you,” the ravenette said, “You’ve literally been so nice. I don’t want to fight you.”

At this statement the three girls sitting down smirked and Kerstin said, “You’re going against him, Captain’s orders.”

“You did not just pull that shit on me,” Rhamina gasped with offense written all over her face, “You know what after I’m done all of you are next.”

“Owl, off,” Rhamina said only for the bird to cuddle closer to her neck, “Chloe, I swear.”

With the ravenette’s glare the owl fluttered off and sat on top of Kerstin’s head.

“So are we doing this with weapons or without?” Rhamina asked as she unclasped the front of of her cloak before tossing it to her friends.

Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight of the multiple marks littering the teen’s skin.

This was the first time since they stepped foot in Xadia where Rhamina had taken off her cloak.

No one had realized how badly she was hurt in Katolis until now.

“Rhamina,” the male whispered only for the teen to scoff.

“Can y’all stop gawking and let’s get this started?” Rhamina scoffed as she crossed her arms.

“Wait, Mina, you never said it was this bad,” Kerstin said looking at the large scar that was on her back and continued under her top.

“What do you think Viren does to so called traitors?” the ravenette replied with her eyes narrowed and a cold air around her, “The faster we get Zym to his home the faster we get back to the castle and get Viren away from controlling Katolis.”

“So,” she continued, “Weapons or no weapons?”

“How about we start off with just no weapons,” Runaan suggested as he set his bow to the side.

“Bare hands it is then,” Rhamina said as she put her hair up using a pair of black hair sticks.

As Runaan got into a fighting stance Rhamina stood in a relaxed manner about fifteen feet from him.

“That mother fucker,” Tijarah scoffed as both pairs waited for someone to call start, “She this isn’t going to be fun to watch at all.”

“What do you mean?” Rayla asked watching as one of the kids yelled start.

“She isn’t gonna try,” Sam commented as Runaan ran up to the girl and aimed a punch at her stomach.

The ravenette gasped and staggered back a bit but stayed standing.

The match went on for a few more minutes with Runaan attacking and Rhamina doing nothing until she ended up on the ground with Runaan straddling her.

He was going easy on the ravenette, not having previously seen her fight and not wanting to actually hurt her.

Even still this position caused the dwarf owl to hoot frantically in anger.

“Fuck you, Hoot!”

“Mina!” Kerstin exclaimed finally through with her sister’s bullshit, “What the fuck are you doing?!”

“What?” she smirked not noticing the position she was in, “You said I had to go against him. You said nothing about me trying.”

Sam and Kerstin shared a look before Sam asked, “Hey, Mina, remember that one time when we were at a tavern and you down like 5 barrels of bourbon?”

The teen’s heart began to race and her face immediately flushed before she replied, “Y-yeah, why?”

“If you don’t get your ass up then everyone is going to find out what you’re like when you get totally shit-faced,” Kerstin finished with a smirk.

The ravenette bucked her hips up to throw the male off balance and flipped them so she was sitting on top of him while pinning his wrists down.

“Okay!” she exclaimed with a bright red face, some strands of her raven hair falling out of place, “I’m trying now!”

She then swung up her right leg and used the momentum to turn to stand up before making her way to let the male stand up.

“Here we go,” Sam smirked, “She’s somewhat serious now.”

“How can you tell?” Rayla asked as Chloe the owl was perched on top of her head still slightly seething at Runaan.

“Look at her feet,” Sam pointed out, “It let’s her move easier.”

She stood with her left foot back and turned out to a forty-five degree angle as her right foot was about eleven inches in front of it also turned out to a forty-five degree angle. Her arms were to her sides with the elbows bent slightly and hands relaxed.

Runaan ran at the female again but right before he could swing a fist at her, Rhamina twirled to her left out of the way and as soon as she stopped she twirled back to the right holding out her right hand to hit Runaan in the back. Hard.

As the male fell to the ground Rhamina backed up and returned to her initial position, only this time she placed all her weight on the back foot and pointed her left toes.

“Yes, Mina!” Kerstin exclaimed, “Beat him down with your feminine elegance!”

Rhamina only shook her head as she repeated this process of dodging the male until he stood across from her panting.

“Are you alright, Runaan?” she asked as the male straightened out.

“I’m fine but are you actually going to come attack me?” he asked.

“I don’t plan on it,” she said, “When I ‘fight’ people I usually just aim to throw them into a blind rage to where they’ll attack blindly and tire themselves out but you’re too level headed for that.”

Runaan returned to his wide stance and ran at the female again only for her side step out of the way of his fist while grabbing his right arm in two places. While this happened she pivoted to have her back against the males chest and used his own forward momentum to throw him over her shoulder.

He hit the ground hard.

“I think that’s enough for now,” he coughed as the four girls were cheering on the side.

“Good match!” Rhamina chirped moving to help him up, “Is your back okay?”

“I’m fine,” Runaan said as he took the girl’s hand to pull himself up, “You’re quick on your feet.”

“Not as fast as Tijarah when she wants food,” the ravenette scoffed.

“But are you alright?” he asked, “You didn’t even move to defend yourself in the first part of that.”

“I’m used to it,” she shrugged, “Like I said my main goal in a fight is to conserve as much energy as possible while tiring out my opponent. So if I can take a few hits it’s fine.”

“That’s a reckless strategy,” the elf bluntly commented, “Just how many times have you used it?”

“Since I started fighting,” Rhamina stated, “I’ve used it when I was being trained in a castle and when I wreaked havoc when the Chaos Trio was at our peak. By the time most of my opponents finally realized what I was doing, I had already won.”

“If it’s life or death then it pays to play dirty,” she continued, “But that’s just how I function. If you play by a set of rules and win then good for you.”

“So staying here was fun and all but we need to get moving and bring Zym home,” Tijarah said, “Especially if that fuck nut, Viren, knows where Marianna is.”

“Now that I think of it, if the Song of Beasts reached here then it’s sound probably reached throughout all of the human kingdoms,” Rhamina stated before biting her lip.

“Shit! Then that means everyone was exposed!” Kerstin exclaimed while standing.

“Yeah, I just hope they weren’t fucking executed,” the ravenette muttered, “We need to move at the latest tomorrow morning.”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘everyone’?” Callum asked, “There are more shifters in Katolis?”

“No duh,” Sam said as she stood as well, “At least one fourth of Katolis’ population is shifters and now that they’ve been exposed….. Oof.”

“We better start packing then,” Rhamina said as she took her cloak and walked back to Runaan’s home with the owl now on her shoulder.

That night the entire village had a small gathering in the plaza where they all ate and played games.

“Mina, come on drink a bit!” Kerstin cheered already red in the face and giggling on her third mug of alcohol.

“Yeah, you’re going to be on foot for a long while,” one of the elves next to her insisted, “Loosen up a bit.”

“No, it’s fine I don’t really drink,” she chuckled with a small smile.

“Don’t drink my ass!” Sam called out her face just as red as the dragon next to her, “You would literally down barrels of straight bourbon!”

“Shut up!” the ravenette barked, “That was five hundred years ago when we didn’t have responsibilities!”

“If you’re not going to drink then at least sing us a song like you did in the taverns,” Kerstin urged.

“Yeah, Mina, sing! Hoot, hoot!” Chloe cheered.

“I don’t want to,” she said.

“Come on, Rhamina,” Callum said, “The last time you sang at a party was like six months ago.”

“Yeah!”

“Come on, Mina.”

“Sing!”

“Fine!” she exclaimed with her face red from all the attention as she shrugged off her cloak and stepped onto the raised platform amongst all the people before turning to her cheering friends, “I will kill you.”

“If I share this with you never speak a word. They would never understand if they ever heard. Gemini, Capricorn, rising in the east. Dancing through the witchwood we began to sing…”

Heads began to turn to the stage as the ravenette began her song, the fire from the torches glowing brighter.

“In between dark and light in the underworld. Wrapped around your finger like a string of pearls. Smiling face, empty hand, 7 golden rings. Dancing through the starlight we began to sing…”

The ravenette’s locks flowed majestically through the wind as they seemed to dance on their own accord.

“Ahh, ahh, still I hear the whisper… ‘Cartouche’...”

People began to clap along as music began to ring throughout the air, magic flowing with every lyric sung.

“Caramel colored leaves spiral in the air. Diving right into the ground 'round the winding stair. Stories carved out of wood, jester and the king. Dancing through the moonlight, we began to sing. Ahh, still I hear the whisper… ‘Cartouche’...”

Laughs and cheers began to echo along as a visible aura swirled around the teen.

Her eyes began to glow and her movements became even more enchanting.

“Memories, black and white, hide behind the glass. In the mirrors and the smoke, it’s all fading fast. Written word, turn the card winter into spring. Dancing through the witchwood we began to sing…”

Runaan looked up at the female on stage as she worked her magic. It was if her form was changed and she looked almost like a goddess as the elements danced with her on the stage.  

“Ahh, Ahh, still I hear the whisper… ‘Cartouche’...”

Applause erupted from everyone as she hopped down.

“Another one!” Chloe called as she flew over in her owl form and sat on the ravenette’s head.

“I only agreed to one song, Owl.”

“B-but Mina!”

“Yeah, Mina!” Kerstin cheered as Rhamina took her seat again.

“What kind of magic was that?” one of the elves asked, “That was amazing!”

“Not really,” she chuckled taking a sip of her juice.

“That was a stunning performance, Rhamina,” Runaan commented as he took a seat next to the ravenette, “You have a way with magic don’t you?”

“You know she made up those kinds of spells to win in fights right?” Tijarah asked, “Fucking, Land Siren.”

“Shut your face it works!” Rhamina barked back as Runaan chuckled.

When the party was over Rhamina and Runaan walked back to his home laughed as they conversed.

Chloe the owl was passed out and snuggled closely into the female’s neck as they walked back.

“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done,” Rhamina then spoke, “You honestly didn’t have to do anything for us.”

“Nor did you have to save my life twice,” the male retorted, “We’re even now.”

“I didn’t ask to be repaid.”

“And my morals told me that I had to,” he spoke as they both halted at his door.

She looked up into his teal irises finding no lies but also something else she could not recognize.

Ignoring what she couldn’t decipher, Rhamina reached up to wrap her arms around his neck and whispered, “Thank you for everything. Thank you.”

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist feeling content.

During their embrace Rhamina felt her face heat up and she could feel her heart start to pound. It was at this moment she knew, she fucked up.

“Goodnight, Runaan,” she whispered before they parted and she rushed into her borrowed room.

She gently set the owl in a nest made of one of the blankets before throwing her cloak to the side and cupping her heated cheeks.

“This is not okay,” she whispered to herself, “Love is something I can never have so stop wanting it!... I’m going to be restarting in a few months anyway… I need to stop…”

The next morning the group was about ready to head off but before they could leave Rayla caught a familiar sight.

“Runaan? What are you doing?” she asked the male who was dressed in his gear with his bow on his back.

“I’m coming with you seeing as how many of you are quite reckless,” he spoke as Zym popped his head out from Rhamina’s satchel and from under her cloak, “Just to make sure none of you do anything stupid.”

“Runaan, we’ll be fine,” Rayla tried to reason.

“I think it’s fine,” Rhamina stated while scratching the scaled chin, “Having more beings that know the terrain and such.”

“Mina, we come from Xadia,” Kerstin spoke gesturing at herself and Sam.

“How long has it been since you’ve actually been back here?”

“Touche.”

About a week into their walk Kerstin groaned, “Mina, I’m tired!”

“What do you want me to do carry you?” Rhamina asked as she gestured to the owl snuggled into her neck, the black cat resting on top of her head and the dragon in her cloak, “I am not the carrier of animals dammit!”

“Mina, what’s in your cloak?” Sam asked.

“Zym.”

“No, the other side,” Rayla said pointing at something moving against the right side of the fabric.

The ravenette looked to find a small brown bat clutched to the fabric and her jaw dropped.

“When the fuck?” she muttered in confusion.

“Why don’t we take a break for now?” Runaan suggested as Sam and Kerstin made fun of the ravenette.

They were in a darkened forest with mostly dark or dead trees surrounding them about halfway to their destination.

“Fuck, this place is a s creepy as it was before we left,” Sam commented earning agreements from Kerstin and Tijarah.

“I don’t understand how this happens,” Rhamina said as she sat against a tree, being aware of all the animals on her.

“Hoot, Mina, that’s another flying animal that isn’t me,” Chloe stated as she made her way onto the ravenette’s lap, “Imma nom it.”

“No, Chloe, you are not eating the bat,” Rhamina scolded as she scooped up the palm sized bird and placed it back onto her shoulder.

“You seem to attract a lot of creatures,” chuckled Rayla as the ravenette tucked her knees into the cloak as well.

“I wish I could attract a fucking guy,” she muttered as the blue dragon laid across her lap, “I’m one thousand and seventeen years old and I’ve never been in one relationship.”

“What’s wrong about that?” Rayla asked in confusion.

The ravenette sighed as she looked up to each of her friends, remembering how happy each had looked with significant others they’ve had in the past and could feel her chest grow tight.

“Nevermind, it’s hard to explain,” Rhamina said before taking out a bag of granola clusters and almonds.

“Hey, Mina, what the rest of my sandwich?” Kerstin asked holding up her half eaten food.

“It has nuts in it doesn’t it?” she asked causing the dragon to separate the two pieces of bread.

“Yeah,” Kerstin replied, “Do you still want it?”

“Hell, yes,” Rhamina replied reaching out as the owl lifted her head up in alarm, “I crave death.”

With her last statement the elves turned to her in concern as the owl flew over to peck at her outstretched hand.

“Chloe, stop it! I’m going to technically die with in the next few months so it doesn’t matter!”

“Mina, no!”

“But-” “Rhamina,” Runaan called sternly causing the female to gulp.

‘Shit, I forgot that people aren’t really used to my death jokes,’ she thought with a nervous smile.

“It’s true though,” she stated with a light chuckle, “I’m going to die before this body turns eighteen.”

“And you’re okay with that?” he asked with a slight edge to his voice, “With just playing around with your own life because you know you’ll come back?”

“After death number thirty, yes actually,” she replied, “I stopped caring about my own life. Doesn’t mean I don’t care about the lives of others though.”

“Life is precious, Rhamina,” Runaan stated with his eyes narrowing, “Not everyone gets to restart, so treat it as such.”

“Runaan, are you suggesting that I enjoy dying just because I can come back?” the teen asked as Rayla, Chloe, Kerstin, and Sam looked between the two, “That I enjoy having my head held underwater as my lungs burn until I eventually black out? That I enjoy having my head cut off? Or being lynched? Burned at the stake? Having my body filled with bolts from a crossbow? Being flung off a cliff?”

“Are you suggesting that I enjoy waking up after each time I fucking die knowing I’m just going to repeat that shit again?” she asked while setting the dragon and owl to the side with shaking hands, “Because I don’t Runaan! It’s painful as fuck! When you die everything feels like it’s set on fire!”

“Then may I ask why you rush towards it every chance you get?” he snapped not yet raising his voice but feeling irritation flood his system from a weeks worth of comments on death.

“Maybe it’s because I’m genuinely hoping one of these times I won’t wake up again,” she muttered as her shoulders relaxed and the edge left her tone, “One of the things I learned throughout my existence is that the fates never favored me. They love to cause me pain and each time I wake up is a reminder of that. They granted a soul who only wanted rest, eternal suffering.”

“Mina-” “It’s getting late,” the ravenette commented looking up at the sky to see the sunlight fading, “We’re staying here tonight.”

It was mostly silent as the group set up camp.

The girls plus Callum sent looks to each other until the ravenette went down to the river to wash up and the male went to keep watch first.

“He fucked up,” Sam whispered bringing her hands to her temples.

“Runaan, didn’t know,” Rayla whispered as they gathered into a tight circle, “We’re taught to respect life as much as possible.”

“I know but I don’t know how he’s going to fix this,” Tijarah commented, “They’re both pissed.”

“Dammit, Sam, our ship!” Kerstin cried quietly, “It’s sinking!”

About three hours later Rhamina simply laid on the ground next to the others not being able to sleep at all.

Her eyes were still closed though as she heard Runaan switch out with Chloe for keeping watch.

As soon as she was sure Runaan was asleep she opened her eyes and sat up to turn towards where the unsuspecting female was sitting.

The ravenette then sung a simple lullaby filled with her magic, watching as the brunette slowly drifted off once again.

She then quietly stood with the cloak still wrapped around her and made her way into the familiar maze of trees.

Once she was gone, Runaan rose from his spot and looked into the direction the female walked off in.

About five minutes of walking the ravenette felt movement in her cloak and lifted the right side to see the bat’s wide eyes.

“Hi there, Sweetie,” she greeted quietly, “You’re finally up, are you?”

It let out a squeak before flying forward and back to cling onto the front of the female’s shirt on her chest.

“I’m not your mother, Silly,” she chuckled while continuing forward before lifting her hand up over the small mammal to guard it, “Plus you’re probably not going to like where we’re going.”

The elf was careful to make almost no noise as he followed the hooded female deeper into the woods. He, himself had never spent much time in this particular forest and never had the need to nor the want to.

He followed the girl through the many twists and turns she took until they came upon a clearing with a particularly withered tree in the center.

The whole area radiated with an ominous aura that practically sang ‘death’ and ‘despair’.

“Here we are again,” the ravenette said walking closer to the tree as the young bat looked around curiously.

“The Hanging Tree,” she spoke while touching the trunk, “Where I discovered the truth of this world and where I gave up everything only for the rest of humanity to twist it.”

“Boy, was I naive,” she smiled bitterly before kneeling down and removing her hood.

“Human child, depraved and vile. In your smile the terror of a killer. When you stand before the mirror. Do you still hold your head high?” Rhamina sang, her form immediately shrouded in a purple aura, “Carved their sentence with a knife. Stole the gift that they called life. So now you'll stand and answer for yourself. Prepare for a living hell”

Runaan could feel all the grief and loss as the ravenette sang.

“You chose to have loved and lost. Knowing well that they'd never get to see each other again. Can you hear their memories calling from within?” her raven locks floated behind her as they seemed to dance on their own, “Was it really worth the cost? Was it you who deserved to be the one alive in the end? Can you feel the darkness crawling with your sins?”

A wolf howled in the distance as the clouds parted to reveal a crescent moon.

“The time has come. Nowhere to run,” Rhamina could only continue her song as all of the things she did wrong in her existence played in her mind, “Answer now for your sins.”

The forest seemed to sing with her as the wind picked up and as it became louder in general.

“Murderous child full of greed,” she sang as leaves and small debris began to fly around her, “Was this really what you dreamed?”

Snap! “Who’s there?” Rhamina asked as she turned to where she heard the noise.

Runaan sighed before exiting from his hiding spot to stand in the moonlight.

“What is this place?” he asked walking closer to the ravenette who still kneeled in front of the tree.

“This is where I gave up my humanity.”

~~~Fin. Chapter 6~~~

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Picture: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/532128512197872406/

Songs Used: “Cartouche” - Blackmore’s Night; “Megalovania” - Adriana Figueroa cover

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[mama-m1na]

Journey of the Chaos Trio: Chapter 2

                                                    ~~~II~~~

The following morning a funeral was held for the king despite it being against the traditions of the kingdom.

“Viren, this is ridiculous,” a member of the high council said as they led the procession, “We are to mourn for seven days before holding a funeral for a king.”

“I understand, Opeli; however, these are times of war, the kingdom needs to move on and plan for the future,” the male retorted.

“Viren, even so it’s too soon! He was just taken from us a few hours ago, look!” the female gestured towards the raven haired maid who walked behind them.

She wore a black dress that with full sleeves under a black cloak with the hood flipped up. Despite that it could be seen that her hair was let down by the few locks that escaped the hood.

Feeling eyes on her, the female’s head tilted up to reveal her eyes dull and face bearing no emotion despite the tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

“The people need more time!” the woman spat as they approached the graveyard.

Ignoring her, the mage had the body of the king placed on the pedestal and stepped forward to make a speech.

“Today we woke to a devastating truth, our king has been taken from us. Slain by the forces of Xadia, vile Moonshadow elves,” the male started earning gasps from the crowd and a weak glare from the ravenette from under her cloak, “To me he was more than a king. In his final hours he called me his brother.”

“Wait,” Opeli said with a glare, “Where are the princes? They need to be here.”

“The princes are dead.”

This statement caused pure rage to fill the ravenette.

“We must move forward with strength!”

With every word Viren spoke more of Rhamina’s aura leaked from her body not hiding her emotions at all, unlike her face which remained devoid of expression, not that anyone could see it.

The aura could be felt in the dungeons, in Viren’s study, and in the forests by five females. Four of which knew exactly where it came from.

“Light the pyre,” Viren ordered turning to the other members of the High Council.

“No,” Opeli replied, extinguishing her torch.

The rest followed suite and one by one the flames went out.

“Claudia,” the mage sighed as he turned to his daughter who chanted her spell, eyes glowing purple, as flames lit the large torches before lighting the body of King Harrow.

“When a ruler of Katolis dies, we mourn for seven days,” began Viren as he turned back to the crowd, “but today we are at war. Today, we must mourn sevenfold for tonight there will be a coronation.”

As soon as the funeral was over Rhamina retreated back to her room with the cloak still over her as she sat on her bed with her knees hugged to her chest just thinking.

Just thinking, until she thought, ‘My sisters, the Princes, they need to know.’

Without putting her shoes back on, the cloaked female made her way outside of the castle to a small pond where she kneeled in front of the water and removed the hood from her face.

She closed her eyes and hovered her hands above the water while letting her energy flow from her hands into the water, praying her sisters were near water.

“Srevir taht egdirb su rehtegot, egdirb em dna ym sretsis,” she chanted as a glow came from the water before dying down.

When the light had disappeared the ravenette looked down to not see her reflection but the faces of Sam, Kerstin, Tijarah, and Chloe.

“Mina, what happened?” Kerstin asked, “Where are you?”

“Why are you wearing all black, Mina, it looks like you were at a funer- oh,” Chloe said watching the saddened expression on the ravenette’s face.

“Dad, is dead,” she whispered, “the funeral was held this morning by Lord Viren but where are the boys tell me they’re with you!”

“Callum and Ezran are fine they’re just asleep,” Sam said as the seventeen-year-old sighed in relief, “Why?”

“Lord Viren, lied then. He said the boys were dead as well,” Rhamina explained, “Anyways just continue to keep them safe.”

“When are you going to catch up with us?” Kerstin asked, “We’re already on our way to Xadia.”

“At this point I don’t know if I’ll be going with you guys,” she sighed brushing her hair behind her ear.

“What do you mean, Mina? I know you actually respect, Dad’s orders and-” “His orders were to stay with the boys and keep them safe,” Rhamina explained cutting off Sam, “And I’m following the second half. Lord Viren is planning something that will make this war worse and I plan on somehow messing it up. Plus if I’m here I can keep you all updated on what’s happening.”

“Mina, the Callum told us what happened with you guys and Claudia,” Sam said, “She’s going to get suspicious.”

“I can protect you all better from here, trust me,” the ravenette tried.

“...You’re planning on saving someone aren’t you?” Kerstin deduced remembering how her sister works, “Fine but you better be alive when we get back.”

“Don’t worry I will be,” Rhamina chuckled before looking at the sun, “I better head back before they start to wonder where I am. I’ll be sure to check in with you guys everyday.”

“Mina, wait what do we tell them?”

“Who?”

“The princes.”

“Oh,” Rhamina said looking down at her hands, “I’ll leave that up to you but for now I have to go. I love you guys.”

“I love you too, Mina.” “I love you, Mina-chan.” “I hoot you!” “Love you, Mina.”

Somehow getting back into her room without being noticed, Rhamina just sat on her bed for a few minutes before getting out a pen and a journal before writing some things down.

About twenty minutes passed before she could hear a conversation from outside her room.

“What? I don’t want to get near that monster!”

“None of us do but someone has to give the elf its food. Orders from Lord Viren.”

Rhamina interupted the conversation by opening her door startling the two bickering maids.

“Miss Rhamina-” “I’ll do it.” “Huh?” “I’ll take the food down to the elf,” the ravenette explained the hood still covering her face.

“Are you sure, I mean he is the one who killed King Harrow,” the older woman said, “will you be alright?”

“I’ll be fine, I need closure and what’s a better way than facing his killer,” the teen said looking down at her hands, “Plus it’s not like we’ll talk much, I’m just delivering food.”

Without another word the female still donned in all black made her way to the kitchen to pick up the meal before making her way to the dungeons.

“Can you give us some privacy?” Rhamina asked the guards standing by the cell that held the king’s killer.

They gave her strange looks before nodding Rhamina patting one on the shoulder as he unlocked the cell door before walking down the hall.

Opening the cell door, the female saw the terrible condition of the elf.

‘Poor thing,’ she thought entering and closing the door behind her, setting the tray of food down momentarily so she could light the torch, ‘He was already beat up from the fight, did they have to make it worse?’

With light in the small room she looked back at the male to see his eyes still closed as he ignored her.

“I’m sorry all this happened to you,” the ravenette spoke quietly as she approached the male.

The male snapped his head up at the new voice and glared, stopping the girl in her tracks.

“Tell your master, I will say nothing,” he hissed glaring at her with turquoise orbs.

“I’m not here to interrogate you,” Rhamina spoke once again, “I’m just here to give you your food.”

She then kneeled in front of the elf as she took out a ring of keys from a pocket hidden in the skirt of her dress before unlocking the chains that held the male’s wrists up.

“What are you doing?” he asked with a glare as the female stood back up and moved towards the tray she left by the door.

“I’m sure it would be difficult to eat like that,” she said placing the tray in front of him before removing her hood, “and no I was not supposed to do that, so I suggest you eat quickly before the guards come back.”

“You!” he gasped as the girl sat against the wall with her face revealed, “You’re the girl from last night.”

“Yes?”

“Who are you?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

“I’m Rhamina Miyu, a maid of this castle,” she said not looking at him, “employed by King Harrow.”

“You know that’s not what I asked,” the male hissed still not moving towards the female.

“Then be more specific please and please just eat,” the ravenette said glancing at him as she brought her knees to her chest, “It’s bad enough with your injuries, I don’t want you malnourished as well.”

“That was the language of the ancients,” he explained, “How does a human like you even know of it?”

The ravenette sighed before turning her head to the male, “Eat first and I will answer your questions, otherwise I will stay silent.”

Slowly, the male reached towards the food on the tray and brought it to his mouth, his eyes not leaving the form of the female who had closed her eyes and leaned back on the wall.

“Mezame sa sou uta o, hito wa kokoro de kurikaesu,” the female began to sing softly as her pendant began to glow a soft purple, “Hikari kie ta sora ni, ai tomosu yo ni.”

“Inori sasage te mo, hito wa ayamachi kurikaseu,” she continued as the glow began to radiate and eventually reach the male who felt a comforting aura surround him, “Da kara yurushiaeru, nan do mo umare te yume o mi te.”

“Owari naki tabi no naka de, dare mo mina sagashi teru,” Slowly the wounds on the male’s body began to heal as the female continued her song and the glow of the pendant became more prominent, “kono inochi no imi o.”

The glow died down the elf was free from all his wounds except for his missing horn and only looked up at the female in shock.

“Why did you-” “I’m not answering until you finish your food.”

The male narrowed his eyes once again but did as told and after he finished asked, “Who are you?”

“I already answered that question-!”

Rhamina was cut off as she was tackled to the floor by the male with her wrists pinned to either side of her head.

“Stop playing dumb!” he hissed hovering just above the female who’s heart was starting to beat faster.

‘Shit!’ she thought, ‘Hot guy in my face! No, kill me now please!’

“And that necklace where the hell did you get it?” continued the male, “The one who gave it to me was a black fox.”

“Mhm, yeah very interesting,” the female yelped as her face began to heat up, “can you get off of me please?”

He looked down as his eyes met brown irises speckled with flecks of gold that sparkled as they caught the light of the single torch in the room and realization hit him.

“You’re that fox aren’t you?” he asked calming down and loosening his grip but at this point the female didn’t move.

She was too flustered for the closeness and the fact she had been caught.

Her head flicked up when she heard the distant sound of armor and she said, “They’re coming, please get off and get back. I’m sorry but I don’t know what I can do for you right now.”

The male agreed while keeping his now interested eyes on the female as she locked the chains around his wrists with a pained expression.

“Please forgive me,” she whispered into his ear as she placed the keys back into her pocket, “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Runaan,” he said earning a confused look from the female, “You asked for my name that day.”

As the female collected the tray the cell door was slammed open by Viren.

“Rhamina,” he greeted, “What are you doing here?”

“I just finished giving him his meal.”

“I’m surprised you volunteered to come down here,” the male said with a raised brow before looking to the glare of the elf.

“If I was going to get over it I needed to confront it,” the ravenette answered not turning to face the Lord.

“I see, you are free to go.”

Rhamina sent one more worried gaze towards the elf as she exited the cell and ascended the stairs.

Meanwhile, the four other human girls along with the princes and the female elf named Rayla were on their way to the Banther Lodge to get a cube Callum thought would be useful.

“Don’t worry it’s spring there won’t be any humans there,” the prince confidently stated, “It’s a winter lodge and it’s spring right now.”

“Callum, you’re going to jinx us,” Tijarah stated from her spot with the other four girls.

When the group arrived they looked around and Callum smirked.

“I told you,” he chirped as the others only sighed.

“Where is the cube so I can get it?” Rayla asked causing the boy to draw the room on a page from his art book before handing it to her.

“It’s in the game room.”

“Alright, I’ll be back in a bit,” the elf said pulling her hood over her head before moving towards the lodge.

After about ten minutes Chloe flicked her head to the treeline and Sam asked, “Are your Mina senses tingling?”

“No, but I sense danger for us,” Chloe said as a familiar figure came out from the trees followed by her troops.

“Oh, shit it’s Mom,” Kerstin said recognizing the armored female as she approached closer.

“What?” Callum asked turning to the treeline.

“Auntie Amaya!” both princes exclaimed once they saw the general of Katolis.

“I’m glad you all are safe,” Commander Gren translated as Amaya began signing things, “And you girls, isn’t Rhamina supposed to be with you?”

“Um, Mina got sick and wasn’t well enough to travel with us but she contacted us this morning and said she’ll be coming once she’s well enough,” Kerstin said thinking of a cover in literally two seconds.

“Has she been taking her vitamins?”

“Yeah, she just got caught in the rain,” Sam added as she leaned onto Kerstin, “You know how she is.”

“Poor girl and that immune system of hers, well we better get inside,” Gren translated as the female walked towards the door.

“Um, that door is locked,” Callum said, “So you can wait here for a few minutes, however long it takes to find a key-”

Before the male could finish his rambling the male Kicked down both doors with cheers from the four girls about her being a badass.

“I don’t believe in locks.”

After looking around Gren translated, “Someone’s here.”

At this point the group was pretty much panicking as Callum started acting really suspicious until Ezran stepped forward and said, “I skipped breakfast?”

The general gave a disappointed look as Gren translated, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

As the mother like figure walked to the kitchen three of the four girls glared at him as Tijarah whispered, “Next time let one of us do the talking.”

The next few hours went as bad as one could possibly think.

Rayla was discovered and captured; in order to escape Callum had unknowingly offended Rayla.

As the three were going down the river on a boat the four girls found another boat and followed them.

“What are you doing?!” Gren translated.

“It’s our job to stay with and protect the princes!” Sam yelled up.

“It was Dad’s last task for us and we’re going to keep with it!” Kerstin added as they followed down the river for them.

“You found it?” Callum asked as the elf tossed him a cube with runes for the six primal source of magic.

“It’s a toy,” Rayla sighed, “Probably from a children’s game. I hope it was worth it, risking everyone’s lives.”

“Guys, if Mom is going back to the castle won’t Mina be in a complicated situation?” Kerstin asked suddenly remembering their sister back home.

“Don’t worry about her,” Tijarah said as she laid at the bottom of their boat, “She can play it off being the devil she is.”

“And you’re one to talk,” Sam scoffed in reply flicking water at the female who screeched in response.

“At least I’m not thirsting for a creeps dick!”

“Lord Viren can call on me anytime,” Sam replied starting to act really inappropriate.

“Sam cut that out, Ezran is literally in the other boat!” Rhamina’s voice said as all the girls went to the edge of the boat to see the face of their sister in the water.

“Mina, what’s up?” Kerstin asked.

“Nothing, I just had a feeling Sam was being a reverse pedo, again,” Rhamina said, “I have to go though, so bye.”

Back in the castle Rhamina sighed as she looked back to the basin of water then back to her reflection in the mirror.

She was wearing one of her better looking dresses due to Viren’s unjust coordination.

“I really hope he burns,” she muttered as she put her hair into a low bun with two hair sticks, “But I have to keep up an act for now until I can get Runaan out and myself out safely.”

Rhamina stood in the crowd by the gates looking up at the balcony as the male stepped forward.

‘Oh how I wish to burn you to the ground,’ she thought as she felt a snarl build in her throat.

“People of Katolis, King Harrow’s death has wounded us deeply, but the loss of his sons is a greater injustice,” he spoke once again bringing rage to the female who fought to keep her aura restrained, “By taking the heirs to the throne, our enemies sought to leave us without a leader.”

“It would disgrace Harrow's memory to allow the kingdom he loved to be lost in darkness,” he continued as the female caught feeling of two familiar people, “Though it is a heavy burden, I will humbly take up the battle in Harrow's name. I will become Lord Protector of the realm.”

Rhamina could feel herself smirk as the sound of horses echoed throughout the filled courtyard and Gren exclaimed, “Stop! Stop the coronation! The princes are alive!”

“Mom!” the ravenette exclaimed as she looked up to the female general and her helper.

In a few minutes she, Viren, Rhamina, and Gren were all gathered in the throne room as Amaya began to chew out Viren for being shady.

“Then why don’t you take the throne?” Viren suggested, “I will support you one hundred percent!”

“The throne stays empty until the princes are found,” Gren translated causing Viren to leave with a huff.

Rhamina watched as the door closed before launching herself at the woman who was the only one to not be knocked over so far.

“I missed you, Mom!” she chirped as she looked up into the woman’s dark brown eyes.

“I missed you too but you knew about the princes being alive right? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Mom, my final orders from King Harrow were to keep Callum and Ezran safe,” Rhamina explained, “I can’t do that without a head now can I?”

The woman sighed before wrapping her arms around the seventeen-year-old tightly.

“Thank God you’re smart.”

At around midnight the ravenette made her way back down to the kitchen to grab a few slices of meat and bread before going back to the dungeons to be faced with the guards again.

“Miss Rhamina- what are you-” the male was cut off by his vision going black as his body slumped to the ground.

“I’d say sorry but it’s not like you’d remember this happened anyway,” the ravenette spoke as her pendant stopped glowing.

Quickly finding the ring of keys, Rhamina hastily unlocked the cell door and was met with open turquoise irises.

“Why are you still awake?” she asked as she walked over and unshackled his wrists.

“I should be asking you that question,” he replied as she stretched while the ravenette looked him over.

“No new injuries that’s good, did he ask what happened to your wounds?” Rhamina asked as she sat in front of the male.

“No, that man just seemed adamant on asking me repeated questions,” Runaan replied while watching the girl pull out a small parcel from her pockets.

“Here, it’s better than what you had earlier,” she said unwrapping it to reveal fresh bread and meat.

“Are you actually a human?” the male asked picking up the food.

“Of course I am, why do you ask?” Rhamina questioned as she played with the ends of her long hair.

“That aura from this morning and just a few hours ago,” he started in between bites, “That was yours. Humans cannot generate such strong auras. Along with the fact that when I first met you, you were a fox.”

“Who says it was mine?”

His raised a brow and the ravenette sighed, “Yeah, it was mine.”

“As for the fox thing though, magic does a lot,” the female shrugged who earned a small glare from the male.

“Must you keep lying?”

“If it avoids confrontation then yes,” Rhamina chuckled, “I suck at confrontation. Please forgive me.”

“I will if you answer me this,” Runaan said as he set down a piece of bread he was working on, “Why did you save me then and why do you continue to do so now?”

“There was no reason to, especially now,” he continued, “I am your enemy and I killed your king.”

“Okay, first off you aren’t my enemy,” Rhamina said, “You’re just another living being who is doing as their told. You haven’t done anything to me and I don’t think you will.”

“Second, I saved you because, well…” the ravenette sighed, “I don’t know. Back then I was just focused on surviving because I lived on the streets, well that’s what I kept trying to tell myself but I always found myself doing shit like that even if it could cost my life. It didn’t matter because back then I thought I was worth nothing so I had nothing to lose. Even now that the stakes are higher and I know I should just stay in my own business… I just don’t want this war anymore and the violence between the races. Personally though I think I got attached to you.”

She looked up at him as she continued, “It’s one of my many flaws, I get attached way too easily… I’m just… fuck me… I’m just fucking weak.”

“Even if I know I can’t do anything I still try and I’m disappointed by the results even if I knew it would happen,” she muttered, “Fuck, just kill me.”

“That’s not a flaw,” the male said watching the female start to spiral, “It’s a good trait to care for others the way you do. It’s a trait I wish the rest of your race had. Had it been that way then maybe this could have been different.”

“I like you,” she chuckled looking up to the male with a large smile, “I don’t care if you don’t see me the same way but you’re my friend now and there’s no escape.”

“I don’t think I would mind that,” he smiled back.

“Are you sure?” she asked with a raised brow, “I’m a handful and I’m really annoying.”

“I’m sure I’ve had worse,” the male chuckled as his mind went to a certain female elf in his team if assassins.

“... Bet,” the ravenette smirked, “I am able to drive off the forces of hell with how annoying I am.”

“So, who is this ‘worse’ you speak of?” Rhamina asked after a few moments of silence.

“Rayla, she’s the youngest elf on my team,” Runaan began with a small smile, “She’s like a daughter to me.”

“She was the elf that was with the boys, right?” the teen asked somehow remembering the female’s name amongst the chaos of the previous night.

“Yes, she’s very skilled. Perhaps more than any of us; however she hesitates,” explained Runaan as the ravenette nodded.

“I’m guessing that she’s still pretty innocent then,” she concluded, “Must be nice to actually value life like that. I’m jealous.”

“What do you mean?”

“As of now I could either kill with no meaning or have emotions override and I couldn’t bare the thought of taking a life,” the teen explained looking down at her hands, “I’m the ultimate hypocrite, I want this war and violence to end but at the same time if I was put under certain circumstances I would enjoy taking part in it.”

“Have you ever taken a life, Rhamina?”

The ravenette shook her head before speaking, “No, but I’ve come close and I don’t know how I feel about it.”

“Then you still have that innocence in you as well,” the male spoke earning a chuckle from the teen.

“I wish,” she replied looking longingly into nothing, “I’m only innocent in one aspect. My mind is broken and it will never be repaired. It broke quite a long time ago.”

“What is Xadia like?” she immediately asked again wanting the attention diverted from herself, “I’ve heard stories from the people here but I’m sure they are one hundred percent wrong.”

Still curious as to what the female meant, Runaan begrudgingly went on to describe the lands of Xadia that humans could no longer visit peacefully.

He described the beautiful forests, mountains, and lakes.

He described how magic was almost everywhere one could look and how his home village was.

“That must be so nice,” she sighed as she laid on the floor while looking up at the male, “I mean here isn’t that bad, there are some good people, some bad people that’s how it is. There’s a balance and people will try to disrupt it but it will always equal out.”

“Can I suggest something weird?” Rhamina asked as she sat up and turned to face the male.

“Go ahead.”

“The concept of Good and Evil doesn’t exist.”

“What?”

“I mean if you think about it those who are classified as villains do what they do for a cause they think is just in their moral system and actually see the hero as their villain,” she explained, “And vice versa. The concept of Good and Evil actually depends on all perspective. So if someone were to see both sides as they were there would be no Good and Evil only two people making changes based on their ideals.”

“However, there is no true way to completely understand this concept,” Rhamina sighed, “Because prejudice will always get in the way, even if one thinks they are completely unbiased they will always have an opinion that will sway them one way or another.”

As they continued to converse the sun began to rise and the ravenette sadly had to lock him back up before giving him a quick hug.

“I’ll see you in a few hours then.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

~~~Fin. Chapter 2~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warnings: None

Songs used: “Song of Healing” - Lost Song

Picture: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/153966880982052569/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[mama-m1na]

Journey of the Chaos Trio: Chapter 7

                                                    ~~~VII~~~

As the ravenette moved back to sit Runaan sat beside her trying his best to ignore the disturbing aura emitting directly from the tree.

“You don’t have to be here if it makes you uncomfortable,” Rhamina said looking up at the dead wood, “I understand. I used to be unnerved by it too.”

“Rhamina,” he started after swallowing, “I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier. I had no right to cross a line in which I knew nothing of.”

“I forgive you, but you didn’t need to apologize,” she said leaning her head on his shoulder, “You didn’t know my circumstances and honestly don’t know much about me. You didn’t know so you aren’t at fault.”

It was silent for a few moments until the ravenette opened her mouth once again.

“This place was a major place for me, you know?” she started as she brought her hand to touch the tree once again, “Whenever my parents would bag on me for being a disappointment compared to my sister I would end up here. It always had such a scary atmosphere but it made sure no one would bother me.”

“This is actually where I met Kerstin and Sam for the first time,” she chuckled with a small smile, “Kerstin almost burned me and this tree while she was drunk in her dragon form. Sam was riding on her back.”

Runaan stayed silent and only watched as the ravenette continued to reminisce.

“This place became our hideout and we would meet up often so I could escape the judgement of my parents. We would get into so much mischief in order to get my mind off things. Who knew it would end up being a gate to the truth?”

“Hm?”

“In some of the books I used to read in the castle, there was another world ruled by the fates that housed the truth to this world,” she explained, “When I was sixteen I found out the gate was in this tree and as seeing it as a chance to actually make my parents proud, I opened it and tried to find the truth.”

“I knew so many people before me had died trying to find it and my chances of obtaining it were so slim but I didn’t care. When I first entered I was met with the two fates guarding the truth. They said, ‘You may do your best to find the truth but know if you aren’t worthy you shall not return. But also know, should you find the truth you shall pay a price.’ I didn’t care honestly. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I was too stubborn to back out.”

She then let out a sad chuckle as she stretched her back before continuing, “The whole search was fucking twisted. I understood why no one before me came out. I was met with such horrifying images that would break a sane person’s mind but I wasn’t that. I was already broken when I went in so there was nothing that could really affect me in there.”

“Then I reached the truth,” she said petting the bat that still clung to her chest, “I can’t explain it to you. No one else would be able to understand, because I was the only one to find it. Then the fates appeared to me once again with sickeningly sweet smiles and said, ‘Congratulations Kitsami, Queen of Foxes, your greed has led you to the truth.’ They then guided me to a glowing door. When I stepped out the first thing I saw was a human body lying at the base of the tree. My body. Dead. I rushed to the nearest water source and saw that I hadn’t changed much physically save for the fox characteristics I adapted but I got what I wanted. I got power and knowledge.”

The wind howled slightly and Rhamina unclasped her cloak before draping part over the male as she got closer.

“I immediately learned how to alter my form to look as my human form and I tried to show the current royal mage what we could do but he twisted it. He turned what I gave up everything for into the abomination called ‘Dark Magic’. He presented it to my parents in my name and they were ecstatic. Finally something to prove to the elves and dragons that we humans were powerful. But I, along with the rest of the magical creatures were horrified. Them at all the death that occured in order for that ‘magic’ to work and I at my own stupidity for thinking they would be able to understand the balance and beauty of what I had discovered. They wanted to name me the next queen immediately after the banishment of humans was put into place. Once they realized their mistake of using ‘Dark magic’ as a threat. They wanted to use me as a scapegoat and place all the blame onto me. They wanted me to clean up a mess they ordered, knowing I wouldn’t be able to do shit. On my coronation day I revealed my full beast and ran away with who you know as Kerstin and Sam as the Chaos Trio.”

The ravenette then moved to play with a lock of the male’s white hair once she finished.

“It wasn’t all your fault, Rhamina,” the male started as while the female kept her eyes on the silk in her hands, “You didn’t know things would escalate.”

“I was given so many warnings, Runaan, I could have stopped.”

“Did you believe that what you were doing was the right thing?”

“Yes, at the time, but if-” “You didn’t know. You weren’t being ignorant, you genuinely didn’t know what would happen,” he said cutting her off, “Things were out of your hands.”

“I could’ve kept quiet,” she whispered, “At least then, dark magic wouldn’t have been created.”

“I think I can see what troubles you now,” Runaan stated looking down at her.

Interested, Rhamina looked up to meet his eyes and nodded for him to continue.

“You want the forgiveness of the world you believe you wronged but what you need is the forgiveness of yourself.”

“That’s something I’m never going to get,” she spat with a bitter smile, “But I’m so close to at least ending this war and that’s something.”

The pair stayed like this for the next hour until they switched positions to where they were lying down with Rhamina wrapped around Runaan’s left arm.

“You can go back, you know?” she yawned, “I’m just going to stay here for the night.”

“You and I both know it’s dangerous for you to be here alone,” he said before moving to stroke her raven locks, “Just try your best to get some sleep.”

“Mhm,” she hummed, “Goodnight, Runaan.”

“Goodnight, Rhamina.”

The sound of pages turning and muffled chirps gently caused the ravenette to open her eyes only to see she was no longer before the Hanging Tree.

She wore a black nightgown and was in a bed with silk sheets.

When she looked around she saw she was back in her room in the mirror dimension and the sound of paper came from Aaravos who sat by her bed reading a book.

“Aaravos?” she asked looking to see the galaxy spotted elf.

“Good morning, Your Highness,” he greeted with a small smirk at the female’s confusion.

“Wait- wha- how do you know that?” the female groggily asked as she took the sheets off of herself.

“I’ve been watching you since you left,” he answered and before she could ask how, “Haven’t you wondered why that bind hasn’t tightened any?”

“What did you do?” she asked once again looking at the silver ribbon bound around her left bicep.

“I simply altered its conditions when you transferred it.”

“But how?” she questioned brushing hair out of her face, “I didn’t even notice it.”

“I don’t know how you didn’t but I’m sure you were more focused on that man you were saving,” he spoke, eyes narrowing once Runaan was brought up.

“Could you honestly blame me though?” the ravenette replied as she brought her legs over to sit at the edge of the bed, “I was being chased by the royal guards and panicking.”

“So, how have your adventures been so far?”

“They’ve been quite a bit of trouble if I’m being honest,” Rhamina sighed with a smile, “I now have to babysit six children instead of four.”

“Oh, are they that troublesome?” the elf smirked.

“When combined, tired, and complaining, yes,” she chuckled, “They get bored so easily when we’re walking.”

“So, I’ve seen.”

“That owl-” “Chloe.” “Yes, her… Does she have any physical disabilities?”

“No, she’s completely healthy,” Rhamina replied.

“Then why does she-” “Suck at flying? I have no clue,” she chuckled already knowing what he would ask as she had the same question for a few weeks when they first met.

The conversation lasted for a while until the ravenette let out another yawn.

“Well, it looks like our time together is up for now,” Aaravos sighed before pushing the teen to lie down, “Until we meet again.”

“Bye, Aaravos,” she muttered as her eyes fluttered shut.

“Yes, the ship isn’t dead!” Kerstin whisper shouted to Sam as the rest of the group came upon the two sleeping forms.

“How the hell did they manage to sleep here?” Rayla asked looking warily at the dead trees and at the aura of demise.

“It wasn’t like this a thousand years ago,” Sam explained before pointing up to the tree in the center of the clearing, “This was a huge plum tree but it’s dead now.”

The girls snapped their heads to where Rhamina and Runaan were sleeping as Tijarah let out a yelp of pain.

“Can you not fuck with me when I’m trying to sleep?” the ravenette asked as she sat up to zip up the boot that Tijarah messed with causing the cloak to fall down.

Runaan groaned before sitting up and moving his hair out of his face.

“Morning, Runaan,” Rayla giggled as the male slowly realized everyone was surrounding them, “Did you have a fun night?”

“Nothing happened, Rayla,” the male sighed as Rhamina brushed out her hair before placing the bat back into the cloak she clasped back around her neck.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure even if you tried to start something Mina wouldn’t understand,” Kerstin added as the ravenette stood up.

“Fuck off!” Rhamina exclaimed as Chloe-owl flew up to her spot on the female’s shoulder.

“Ah, sweet, innocent, floof, Mina,” Sam sighed clinging to the girl’s left arm as Kerstin mirrored on the right.

“Both of you suck my dick!”

Rhamina then yelped and tried to squirm away as the females began to poke at her sides.

“Get away from me!”

Runaan shook his head at the antics of the females before standing and stretching to get the sleep out of his system.

The group then stayed in that spot for about an hour more before they started their walk once more.

“Viren, I must ask why you have summoned us here,” the King of Neolandia asked, “Where is King Ezran?”

“He is taking care of duties in the countryside at the moment; however, he requested that this discovery be shared immediately,” the Royal Mage explained as he led the four other rulers

“What is this discovery exactly, Lord Viren?” Queen Fareeda of Evenere asked with a small glare, “We already have troubles in our own kingdoms with the appearances of all those beasts.”

“Well, Queen Anya, we have discovered something that could potentially win the war for us humans,” Viren explained with a smirk as he opened a pair of large stone doors with magic.

The four rulers gasped at the sight of old relics from the ancient kingdom, Ibadora.

However, their attention was drawn to what lied in the center of the room.

It was a large crystalline structure of clear ice with a human suspended inside.

It was a female with tanned skin and short black hair with her eyes closed.

She wore silver armor trimmed with gold decorations and a white cape but it was the royal crest of Ibadora over her heart.

“I-is that-” “It is Marianna the Monster Carver,” Viren smirked, “The legendary princess who almost wiped out the elves and dragons completely.”

“But that was only a legend!” King Florian exclaimed.

“Obviously not,” Viren explained gesturing towards the ice, “Otherwise she would not be here. Already the Song of Beasts found here has exposed the impostors in our kingdoms, just imagine what we could do once this warrior was free.”

“You were the one that played the song that forced that transformation?” the young Queen Anya of Duren asked with a small frown.

“Yes-” “How cruel,” she continued cutting off the male’s proud smile, “All they tried to do was live in peace among us and now look where they are.”

“Queen Anya, you must understand that they meant to infiltrate our kingdoms and tear us apart from the inside out,” Viren stated with no expression on his face.

“As the one who has met with every single shifter in her kingdom before they were brought to the dungeons I beg to differ,” she replied with narrowed eyes, “Each one of them had families and were brought before me in tears for what would happen to them. Lord Viren, they have proven their loyalty. If they wished to destroy my kingdom then they would have done so long ago.”

“I will not approve or go along with this plan at all,” she spat, “Now excuse me, I have to see what I can do to help my people. All, of them.”

As the queen turned her back the magician’s face turned red in anger as he turned to the others.

“Lord Viren, I must agree with Anya on part that all of the shifters did nothing to harm us; however, this plan of yours seems interesting,” King Ahling stated as he turned his back, “Do keep me updated.”

With that the last two rulers turned and left as well leaving Viren seething in his spot.

A week later the group of eight were about a day from the dwelling place of the Queen of Dragons.

They were just walking until the ravenette lost her balance and fell, luckily she avoided squishing the bat which clung to her cloak and the owl had clung to her shoulder.

“Are you alright?” Runaan asked as he helped the girl up.

“Yeah, I’m fine just got a bit dizzy,” she answered while blinking rapidly, “I’m fine though.”

Kerstin shot a look at Sam before going up to the ravenette and grasping her upper arms before getting in her face.

“We’re stopping here for now,” the brunette stated.

“Kerstin, we have to keep going-” “No, we’re stopping right now,” Kerstin snapped seriously as the ravenette let out a huff before going to sit under a tree.

Before the others, including Chloe, could sit down Sam and Kerstin brought them out of earshot from Rhamina.

“What’s going on?” Tijarah asked the suspicious acting females.

“Her body’s dying,” Sam stated softly.

“What?” Callum asked, “What do you mean?”

“Whenever she turns seventeen we can’t predict when exactly her body will die because it can be anywhere from her birthday up until the day before she turns eighteen,” Kerstin explained, “But we have learned the signs of when she does start to die. She’ll be more sloppy in her movements, her eyes start to get foggy, and she’ll basically start to get weaker as time goes on.”

“And she just showed two of those just now,” Sam said peaking at the female who was just petting Zym.

“How long does she have left then?” Rayla asked.

“Two weeks?” Kerstin asked as Sam shrugged, “It honestly depends but for now we shouldn’t push her.”

When the group came back they did their best to pretend that nothing had happened but Rhamina could tell there was a shift in atmosphere.

After an hour of rest the group began their journey again but were now walking at a more casual pace.

“Guys, what the fuck?” Rhamina snapped, “We’re literally almost there. Come on.”

“Mina, for a thousand year old you have too much energy,” Tijarah said.

“Says you,” retorted the ravenette as she ushered everyone to up the pace.

The next day they came upon the entrance to the Dragon Queen’s lair with little to no problem.

“Strange,” Runaan said as they walked passed dragons who simply looked at them, “There should be more guards here.”

“You think?” Rhamina asked as she stayed in the center of the group, holding Zym, with Callum next to her.

“Who goes there?” a disembodied female voice asked as they approached the large white dragon in the lair.

“Your Highness, we come bearing amazing news,” Runaan stated as he kneeled causing the others to do the same.

“And what news would this be, Runaan?”

“Your son, the Dragon Prince is alive and now home.”

Runaan then moved out of the way and Rhamina set the dragon on the ground in the vision of his mother who let out an audible gasp.

The ravenette ushered the child forward as both he and the mother walked to meet each other.

The Queen lowered her head to examine the dragon before gasping, “It is.”

“And I see you have brought back another one of my kin as well,” she continued looking at the brunette with dragon wings and a tail, “For that I thank you.”

“However,” her eyes narrowed at the forms of Callum and Rhamina, “You have also brought these vermin into my lands, what was the purpose for that.”

“Your Highness, with all due respect, Rhamina and I came from Katolis to bring back the Dragon Prince in hopes we could end this war,” Callum stated as he stood up.

“And who exactly would you be to do so?” she asked.

“I am Prince Callum of Katolis,” he answered earning a laugh from the dragon.

“End this war you say? Your people are the ones who started this and we are trying to keep ourselves safe,” she growled causing the group to stand and get into defensive positions, “Any human is an enemy but as recognition for your bravery I will do you the honor of ending your life quickly.”

Before anyone else could say anything Rhamina stepped forward and asked, “You’re going to kill someone who had nothing to do with the cause of this war and has even gone out of his way to make amends?”

“Watch your mouth, Human!” the dragon glowered, “He said himself that he was a prince of the humans. The son of the one who killed my husband and kidnaped my son in the first place.”

“So you just want to kill him for something he didn’t do?” Rhamina asked with a glare, ignoring the worry from behind her.

“It doesn’t matter, all humans are the same.”

“If you want to place the blame on anyone then place it one me,” the ravenette stated, “But you cannot harm him who has done nothing but exist and even try to make peace.”

“What nonsense are you speaking, Human?” the Dragon Queen asked as Zym looked between the two worriedly.

“I have a name you know,” the ravenette snapped, “I know you’ve heard it. I am Kitsami Verum Princeps Ibadora!”

“You. You’re the one who created dark magic!” “That’s not what-” “Silence!”

“Okay,” Rhamina muttered with the ignorance of the queen before her.

“Why have you returned here?!”

“As I was saying, if you are to blame anyone for what happened then take it out on me but leave Callum out of this,” she stated as the group behind her stood to watch in shock at what was happening, “Remember I was the one who tempted Sora and Rozen as well.”

“Mina, what the fuck are you saying?!”

With a bitter smile the queen let out a laugh before saying, “Fine then; however, your punishment will be far worse than death.”

With the roar of the dragon queen, Rhamina was separated from her group and everyone was taken to what seemed to be an arena.

The ravenette stood in the center while the group was in the stands with hundreds of other dragons.

“You who has casted this dark veil upon the world, today you will pay for your crimes!” the queen roared as the other dragons roared in agreement.

“What the fuck is happening?” Tijarah asked as she looked around her.

“This wasn’t how this was supposed to go,” Callum whispered in horror as the ground began to shake.

“Now, Demon, face the souls who have been lost thanks to your greed!”

Across from the female the ground split open and a collection of bones rose before configuring themselves into a large dragon.

As it let out a roar Rayla turned to Runaan and said, “There has to be something we can do to stop this.”

“No,” Kerstin said, “Rhamina, can win this.”

However, as time went by the only thing that was happening in the arena was Rhamina getting thrown around by the bones.

With each drop of blood spilled on the ground the roars grew louder from the crowd as the Dragon Queen sat smirking from her spot, Zym whimpering at the sight.

With every hit the ravenette took she could remember the battlefields, the civilians, the fallen soldiers from Xadia, the fallen soldiers from the human kingdoms.

She could feel their hatred and grief with every time she was struck down after just getting up.

Crack!

The female coughed as she hit the ground, blood spilling from her lips as tears spilled from her eyes.

‘This really is my fault, isn’t it?’ she asked herself as her shaking form struggled to get to her knees before keeling over in the pain from her, everywhere, ‘I can only say one thing to them at this point.’

As she stood again the bone dragon prepared to attack once more.

The stands went silent as the female whipped her head back and opened her mouth.

“My children I am humble, for tonight I understand, Your royal blood was never meant to decorate this sand. You've suffered great injustice, so have thousands before you. I offer an apology, and one long overdue,” she sang as the dragon skidded to a stop in front of her, “I am sorry, My Friends, I am sorry. Hear my song, I know I sing the truth. Although we were bred to fight. I reach for kindness in your heart tonight, and if you can forgive.”

“And if you can forgive, love can truly live,” the queen narrowed her eyes as the female continued with the bone dragon watching her, “And if you can forgive, and if you can forgive, love can truly live.”

The dragons watched on in curiosity as the female continued her apology to the dead.

“My Friends, I am frightened, but I'll use my final breath, to tell you that I'm sorry, let us end this dance of death. A thousand years of agony, that tore your heart with sand. Here and now with my amends, this senseless killing ends,” the ravenette limped forward as she sang filling each word with what she felt, “I am sorry, My Friends, I am sorry. Hear my song, I know I sing the truth. Although we were bred to fight I reach for kindness in your heart tonight, and if you can forgive.”

“And if you can forgive, love can truly live. And if you can forgive, and if you can forgive, love can truly live,” she continued, reaching out to the dragon as it bowed its head and reached for her, “And if you can forgive, and if you can forgive. Love, love will truly live.”

The bones began to glow under her touch before dissipating into a golden glow.

Left in the ravenette’s hand was a purple hyacinth.

A cry left her mouth as she fell to her knees.

‘Why?’ she thought as her vision began to tunnel, ‘I don’t deserve this.’

‘I’ve been so cruel! So greedy!’

Runaan, Sam, Kerstin, Tijarah, Chloe, and Rayla were already making their way down into the arena as the female’s torso dropped to the ground.

‘I don’t deserve this!’

As the girls and Runaan reached her, Rhamina hacked up more blood and could begin to feel pain everywhere as the adrenaline wore off.

‘How could anyone forgive me?’

“Mina!” called Kerstin as her hands hovered over the female not knowing what to do without hurting her further, “Sam!”

“I don’t fucking know any healing spells!”

“Mina, Mina, hey, you need to stay awake okay?” Tijarah asked noticing the female’s eyes fluttering closed.

“What do we do?!” Chloe asked in her humanoid form for once.

“Stand aside, Children,” a light blue dragon voiced in a soft voice.

“Hivni, what do you think you’re doing?” the Dragon Queen growled as she approached the edge of the stands.

“Regius, she’s proven that she feels guilt for what she has done and the ones who have been wronged the most have forgiven her,” the blue dragon voiced as she looked up at the queen, “I believe it’s time you do as well.”

At that statement Zym rushed forward and jumped from the edge and flapped his wings before gliding down to the group.

“Son!” she called, “Come back here!”

The larger blue dragon lifted her wings and they began to glow white as the cuts on the ravenette’s body began to disappear.

The other dragons watched from their spots, only observing what was happening.

Zym chirped before copying the female, his wings glowing white as well while the odd angles some of her bones were at straightened out.

Those in the stands began to contemplate their own roots of aggression before looking up to their queen who still had hate written all over her face.

Slowly color returned to her form and she was able to breathe properly, releasing the tight grip she had on the flowers in her hand.

“That’s it young one,” Hivni spoke gently, “You’re safe now. You’re alright.”

As the teen’s hands twitched the glow disappeared from the dragons’ wings and the group rushed forward to her.

Sam and Kerstin kneeled on either side of her and rested her head on their laps before Kerstin gently tapped her face to wake her up.

“Come on, Mina,” she whispered.

“How is she?” Runaan asked as he kneeled down as well.

Slowly the female’s eyes fluttered open; however, they were now extremely dull and foggy.

Everyone’s faces contorted into that of worry before Sam asked, “Mina, can you move okay?”

She nodded bringing her arm up to shield her eyes from the sun.

“Can you talk?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, you fuckers,” she rasped.

With the worry of the ravenette’s extremely weakened state Kerstin looked up in horror.

“This is happening too fast. It’s never happened so close to each other.”

Before anyone could ask anything else an ear piercing shriek echoed throughout the arena and they looked up to see five shadows riding on shadowy horses.

“It’s dark magic!” Callum exclaimed from the stands, recognizing them as the same types of magic that Claudia had used the night of the assassination.

“How did it reach this far?” the Queen asked with a growl before they scattered into the stands and began to attack.

Some dragons began to fly away while others tried to fight off the smoke.

As one approached Callum he drew a familiar rune and called, “Aspiro!”

However, the wind did not blow the smoke away as he previously had before.

Before the smoke could strike him he moved only to accidentally fall over the edge and into the arena.

Before he hit the ground Sam rushed over to jump and catch him.

As the group discussed what the hell was happening the ravenette shakily found her feet and opened her mouth to let haunting notes fill the air as the shadows cast their eyes on her.

“Kerstin, fly us to the tree,” Rhamina commanded as the shadows momentarily froze.

“What?” the brunette asked.

“There’s no time, just do it!” she barked as the shadows began to descend towards them.

Following the ravenette’s order Kerstin shifted completely into her large dragon form and let everyone board onto her as the shadows pursued them.

“Mina why are we going back to the tree?” Sam asked.

“Why didn’t Aspiro work?” Callum asked looking back at them.

“They’re different,” Rayla commented, “They’re stronger than before.”

“Those are beings made of pure hatred,” Rhamina explained, “Spells laced with emotion are always strong and can almost never be broken.”

“So how are we going to get rid of them?” Callum asked.

“I’m going to get my full powers back.”

~~~Fin. Chapter 7~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Songs Used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttR5s-pwrcQ

Picture: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361343570082666536/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[mama-m1na]

Journey of the Chaos Trio

                                                    ~~~0~~~

Originally there were six primal sources of magic in the world; the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the Earth, the Sky, and the Ocean.

The humans, elves, and dragons lived in harmony with each other; however, this changed when a human mage discovered a seventh source of magic, Dark Magic.

Dark Magic did not draw from any of the primal sources; instead, it draws upon the power within the magical creatures themselves. The ease of this so called “magic” caused humans to hunt and poach magical creatures for power.

Horrified by their practice, the elves and dragons divided the continent and drove all the humans to the west.

During this time of war and devastation a trio of individuals, one from each race, came together to bring chaos, only caring for themselves.

A Dragon of fiery rage known as Sora Byvrirth, a High Elf known as Rozen Nylraevni, and a human who gave up her humanity named Kitsami Verum Princeps Ibadora.

These three would show up periodically during times of war and bring havoc of both sides.

Shouts echoed throughout the empty town square as a group of about ten armored figures followed two hooded females who were running along rooftops.

“Og no daeha!” the first exclaimed to her companion as they reached the gates, some raven locks freeing themselves from the hood.

“Era uoy erus?” the other female replied earning a chuckled from the other.

“I t’nevah dah yna nuf lla tghin,” she scoffed, “Og!”

The brunette nodded as she reached up to a winged female who grabbed her before flying off towards the breach.

“Kitsami!” called a female wearing full gold armor which obscured her face, “Why are you doing this?! We need you the kingdom needs you! The people need their queen! I need my sister!”

“Marianna,” chuckled the ravenette as she put her hood down to reveal a tanned female with long raven locks which reached down to her knees and brown irises with golden flecks sparkling in the flames of the torches nearby, “We are no longer sisters, I am no longer the queen of this stupid race, and I am no longer a human. My only family are the two sisters of mine which have flown off before you.”

“Kit-” “Aspiro!” the knight was cut off by wind pushing her and the rest of the guards back.

In the gust of wind the knight’s helmet was blown off to reveal and almost identical face to the ravenette who had casted the spell.

The only difference being her black hair was cut short, similar to a male’s hair cut, and her irises were bright red but still holding the golden flecks scattered about them.

The last thing she saw was her twin disappearing in a puff of smoke leaving a black fox who turned tail and out the gates of the Kingdom of Ibadora.

~~~Fin. Prologue~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warnings: none

Songs used: none

Picture: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/436497388883245646

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[mama-m1na]

My Dear Minstrel: Chapter 1

                                                      ~~~I~~~

“We’re going where, Kerstin?” a seventeen-year-old brunette asked as she tossed a saber.

“Isenbardus Castle!” a sixteen-year-old female exclaimed, “It’s haunted as shit and we’re already going to be there for a few weeks for the competition!”

“I checked online and they sometimes let people stay overnight for investigations,” a seventeen-year-old ravenette chirped from her stretch on the floor in front of the other females.

“Well, if we’re already in the area and we have free time I don’t see the problem with it,” a red headed teenager commented.

“Fine,” the brunette sighed, “But you don’t touch anything unless Mina says it’s okay. Do you remember what happened last time?”

“Sophie, for the hundredth time, it wasn’t my fault Chloe bumped into that vase!” Kerstin exclaimed remembering the situation which took place the last time their group went ghost hunting, “Geez, your friend gets possesed once.”

“That wasn’t the only time someone got possessed, Kerstin,” the ravenette said as she rose from her stretch position and began taking tosses on her rifle.

“Sleep paralysis doesn’t count!”

“Uh, if you’re levitating like three feet off the ground when it happens yes it does,” Sophie retorted as the other girls agreed.

“Fuck you guys.”

A week later the two high school groups known as Rowan’s Imperial Guard and Rowan’s Winter Drumline were flown from Emltucae, Mecaari to Warrington, Anerfec.

They had been preparing for months for their final competitions being held in the different country.

Upon reaching their hotel seven of the females raced to the bigger of the three suites which were rented out and immediately locked the door.

“Yes!” cheered the females as the others were left behind the door in surprise at the coordinated swiftness of the seven girls.

“I told you planning on the plane would pay off!” the ravenette chuckled as she walked over to the couch which could be folded out into a bed.

“Yeah, you right, Rhamina,” the red head spoke earning a disapproving look from each of the other six girls, “Ugh, that was gross.”

“I know right,” Kerstin nodded, “After calling her Mina for a while, her actual name is weird. Hannah, never do that again.”

“I remember when I hated Mina,” a brunette with shoulder length hair, straight cut bangs, and bright green eyes sighed.

“So do I, Sam,” Rhamina chuckled sprawling out over the couch to nonverbally claim it as hers forcing the others to share three to a room for the remaining two bedrooms in the suite, “So do I.”

“Chloe, remember when we go to the castle, if it’s shiny do not touch it!” Sophie said to the shorter female with glasses.

“But Sophie, it was intriguing!” the female replied.

“Exactly.”

“So, Mina, when are we going to do the ghost thing?” Hannah asked checking things on her phone.

“We’re touring the castle tomorrow at 10 in the morning and we’re doing our investigation that night,” Rhamina replied walking over to the kitchen bar which was literally five feet from the couch and began to charge her phone which was at seventy percent, “Oh yeah, charge your cameras by the way.”

“Why did you schedule it so early!” whined a dark skinned female named Tijarah.

“So you could take a nap in the afternoon and actually get rest for the investigation instead of complaining how tired you are because you woke up at noon and didn’t take any naps before pulling an all nighter,” the ravenette retorted with a hand on her hip and an accusing glare pointed at her sister.

“Touche.”

“So, we down for watching Studio Ghibli movies until midnight?” Kerstin added after taking out a set of dvd’s from Rhamina’s bag.

“Yes!”

By the time midnight rolled around the other girls had gone off into their separate rooms leaving Rhamina in the open of the living room area on her couch now turned bed.

Looking out the window and seeing it was a full moon she closed the window lay on her bed with eyes open.

As she Opened the Way she could feel the energy in the room easier and all in all felt much more at peace and natural.

Taking deep breaths she started to visualize the darkness as a living being it was moving around her and it was fine.

The darkness was her equal. The darkness was the truth of death and the small lights she could see peeking in from wherever were the lies of life.

Each time she breathed in the darkness entered and calmed her.

“I summon dark from death,” she began to chant as she felt her power grow.

After some time in her ritual, Rhamina Closed the Way before curling up in her blankets and letting her tired eyes rest.

“-sami! Kitsami, wake up!”

“Huh?” the ravenette asked as she opened her eyes and swatted away the hands that were shaking her.

She could feel her face heat up as she stared up into familiar boundless cerulean irises.

“Hello?” she asked as she blinked in confusion.

‘This isn’t the hotel,’ she thought looking around the garden she was in right under a plum tree whose flowers were in bloom, ‘This is not a couch.’

“Come on, Kitsami, you know your sister is going to have our heads if we’re late,” the male said as he stood up and held a hand to the seventeen-year-old.

‘And who the fuck are you?’ Rhamina asked herself noticing his strange clothes that consisted of red clothes underneath blue and gold pieces. He had white gloves that reached his elbows and white leather boots that went halfway up his thighs.

‘And why the fuck is he so hot?’ she asked noticing most of his blonde hair was tied into a low ponytail under his blue beret with golden accents.

As he began to drag her away the female couldn’t help but stop and look at the tree she was just under.

It’s dark branches were covered in small pink flowers which drifted off in the breeze and it was just…

“Beautiful.”

“Of course it is,” the male said squeezing her had slightly smiling down at her, “You did grow it yourself.”

Rhamina awoke at about seven in the morning to the sound of her ringtone from the kitchen bar and she begrudgingly went to check it only to see it was an unknown number.

After declining the call she checked her notifications to see a few emails that didn’t matter, texts on group chats she didn’t even want to be a part of, and a few from tumblr.

Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, Rhamina went to her bag and picked out her clothes for the day and went into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

After washing her face, Rhamina brushed out her long, black hair and let it fall to its full length of just above her thighs before prepping her face for makeup.

She applied a face powder that matched her tanned skin in order to make it look smoother before applying red eyeshadow to the outer corners of her top and bottom eyelids for a subtle geisha aesthetic. To finish off her eyes, she applied black, winged liner and sealed it using setting spray.

Once she was satisfied with her makeup, Rhamina changed into a black t-shirt with white lettering that read ‘Black is my Happy Color’, and maroon shorts before folding her sleeping attire to put away for later.

When she came out of the bathroom she saw that no one was awake yet and decided to order some food from a nearby restaurant that delivered since they had yet to go out to buy food or snacks.

In about ten minutes a knock came on the door and Rhamina checked the peephole to see it was indeed the food person.

She quickly paid before closing the door and setting the food on the table.

Its scent immediately wafted throughout the suite and Tijarah came out of her room to see Rhamina opening a foam box with chicken katsu, rice, and macaroni salad.

“Mina, can I-” Tijarah cut herself off as she saw the ravenette point at the six other boxes of food.

“All of you owe me one meal each. This shit wasn’t cheap.”

“Then why did you get it?” Tijarah asked as she sat next to her sister and began to eat.

“Because I don’t want y’all complaining how I didn’t get you shit.”

“Aw, Mina-chan, you care!”

“No, it was for my sake, not any of yours!”

Once the other girls were awake she immediately was showered in teases from Tijarah and Sam while the others genuinely thanked her.

“Mina, shut the fuck up, you’re such a floof,” Sam said as she took the box which was supposed to be hers.

“No, I’m not! I’m a big and scary fox!” the ravenette snapped back, “I will fucking eat you!”

“Then do it.”

“Come here!”

“No.”

“Eat my ass.”

“I will.”

With that statement the ravenette moved with her food to the couch as she left her phone to charge.

“So, we’re meeting up with one of the guides at the front of the castle and we get to interview some people from there,” Rhamina said as she scanned an email she just received on her phone.

“Looks like they’re taking this seriously,” Hannah said, “I wonder why, we’re just a bunch of teenagers.”

The others shrugged as they finished up and got dressed before loading into a rented van with permission from one of the chaperones of course.

“Fuck, this country is so pretty,” Rhamina sighed as they drove out near some old cottages, “There must be so many foxes here!”

“We better be careful otherwise Mina might join her kind,” Hannah chuckled from behind the wheel.

“Bet! I should!” the ravenette chirped with excitement as she pressed her face to the window to see lots of tall grass.

“Mina, no!” Chloe called as she tugged on the side of her shirt.

“Mina, yes! All the floof!” the teen squealed at the thought of the fluffy adorableness of foxes.

“Absolutely not!” Sophie exclaimed from the passenger seat, “We need you!”

However the female was just sitting in excitement thinking about the species of canine.

“Shit, Sophie,” Sam chuckled, “She’s fucking gone!”

When the group arrived Sophie parked the van and Rhamina took out her camera getting some shots of the castle that stood from medieval times. The girls had already done an intro in the van when they finally pried the ravenette from the window.

Since they were only taking a tour at the moment Rhamina was the only one with a camera; which, was good since she was the one managing the account the video would be posted on.

“Well, here we are, Isenbardus Castle, haunted as shit and known for housing a vicious pair of twins as it’s Mistresses,” Rhamina spoke as they walked up the steps with Chloe on her right arm only for her to stop and gape at the figure standing there waiting for them.

‘No…. no.. no. No! Fuck!’ she thought as she felt her face heat up immediately being reminded of the time she found her first crush.

At the top of the stairs was a blonde male wearing red clothes underneath blue and gold pieces. He had white gloves that reached his elbows and white leather boots that went halfway up his thighs.

“Damn, if that’s our guide, he be looking fine!” Sophie whisper shouted as Rhamina tried to fan herself to cool herself off.

“Mina, are you okay?” Kerstin asked noticing the reaction of her sibling.

“S-so apparently, they modeled the uniforms after the uniforms of the royal guards from medieval times,” Rhamina said after trying to gulp down any anxiety that was in her system.

“Awe, Mina-” “Shut the fuck up, Sam!” the ravenette snapped already knowing what would be said as they neared the male.

“You girls must be the investigation group for tonight,” he smiled putting his right hand over his heart and bowing slightly, “I am Fidel and I will be your guide for the day.”

Just before Rhamina could reply the male looked up and was caught in brown irises with specks of gold that shimmered when they caught the sunlight. He did not miss the way her mouth opened to reply only for nothing to come out as her face began to turn a shade of red.

Chloe hooted as the ravenette passed the still rolling camera to her only for Tijarah to sigh and take it.

“I’m Tijarah, these are Kerstin, Sam, Hannah, Sophie, Chloe,” Tijarah introduced pointing at everyone as she listed them off, keeping the camera on him until she put both the ravenette and the blonde in the frame, “and the floof who is freaking the fuck out over there is Rhamina.”

“S-sorry,” the ravenette awkwardly chuckled as she looked away from the male.

“Oh, Mina, you poor thing,” Hannah whispered to Sophie as they watched the nervous tendencies of the teen.

“It’s alright,” Fidel said with a smile as he straightened out, “I don’t bite you know.”

Once the male turned around and beckoned for the girls to follow him Chloe looked to the blonde then back at the extremely flustered ravenette before glaring.

Throughout the tour Fidel felt the the glare of the tiny Asian on him and whenever he turned to try and converse with the ravenette he was immediately blocked by angry hoots.

At around noon they walked out to the garden when Fidel said, “How about we take a break?” Hearing the chorus of agreements he continued, “I’ll go and get some tea and snacks, any suggestions?”

“Do you have Thai tea?” Rhamina asked seating herself on a bench underneath a large plum tree for shade, that being the only full sentence she could say without stuttering since they got there.

“Mina, do you really think they have Thai tea here?” Sam chuckled.

“We might,” the blonde chuckled, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Once the male was gone the six other girls turned to Rhamina who took a deep breath.

“You okay there, Mina?” Hannah asked the still flushed ravenette.

“Never.”

“Jesus, Mina, what the fuck happened?” Sam laughed as Tijarah pointed the camera at them.

“Fuck off, feelings begone!” Rhamina said until she noticed movement across the garden and noticed them to be a pair of red foxes, “Do you guys want to hear a story about a fox?”

“Yes!” Chloe cheered from her spot on the ground as she hugged one of Rhamina’s boot covered legs.

“As we were out a-hunting, one morning in the spring, both hounds and horses running well, made the hills and the valleys ring,” she began as a breeze caused the branches above them to sway, knocking petals from their spots and down onto the girls, “But to our great misfortune no fox there could be found. Our huntsman cursed and swore but still no fox moved over the ground.”

“And up spoke our master huntsman the master of the chase, ‘If only the Devil himself come by we’d run him such a race,” the foxes reappeared from the bushes and began to dash around the garden, “and up there sprung like lightning, a fox from out of his hole. His fur was the color of a starless night and his eyes like burning coals.”

“And they chased him over the valley and they chase him over the fields. They chased him down to the river bank but never would he yield,” gradually more and more foxes joined in the games and were all around the girls, “And he’s jumped into the water and he’s swum to the other side and he’s laughed so loud that the greenwoods shook. Then he’s turned to the huntsman and cried.”

“‘Ride on my gallant huntsmen, when must I come again? For you should never want for a fox to chase all over the glen and when your need is greatest just call upon my name and I will come and you shall have the best of sport and game!’” The foxes began to play closer and closer to the females, some even running over or around them, “And the men looked up in wonder and the hounds ran back to hide. For the fox it changed into the Devil himself where he stood on the other side.”

“And the men, the hounds, the horses went flying back to town and hard on their heels come a little black fox laughing as he ran,” from the open window an old woman listened and watched as the ravenette continued her story as the foxes chittered and ran about the garden with her friends playing as well, “‘Ride on my gallant huntsmen, when must I come again? For you should never want for a fox to chase all over the glen and when your need is greatest just call upon my name and I will come and you shall have the best of sport and game!’”

“Ride on my gallant huntsmen, when must I come again? For you should never want for a fox to chase all over the glen,” Rhamina finished only to be pushed forward slightly as the form of a black fox jumped onto her upper back.

It began to chitter and yell as it nuzzled against her neck trying to find her face underneath her raven locks.

“Looks like you’ve met the little guardians of this castle,” a male voice chuckled as the girls turned to see Fidel back with a tray in his hands.

Many of the foxes gathered around his feet hoping to get some food only for him to shoo them away.

Only one remained as the ravenette giggled due to its assault.

“Do you need help, Rhamina?” he asked only for the teen to reach up and remove the canine from her hair before setting it on her lap.

“No, I’m fine,” she chuckled running her hands through the fox’s fur as it laid down on her lap.

“Well, I heard that you were having a bit of fun,” Fidel smirked as he handed everyone their tea watching as the ravenette’s eyes widened.

“You have a very moving voice you know,” he continued as he gave her a cup, “Very similar to a minstrel that would’ve played here.”

“Minstrel?” Kerstin asked.

“Yes, minstrels were people who would perform music and sing during medieval times,” Fidel explained taking a seat, “the Mistresses of this castle would be very fond of them and in fact one of the twins was a minstrel.”

“Oh, that reminds me!” the male snapped before turning to the ravenette, “I need to show you something later.”

Once everyone was finished with tea and snacks Fidel led the girls to what used to be the office of the twins.

“No fucking way,” Sam gasped as the girls looked upon a portrait of the twins.

Their bodies were facing each other and their hands clasped together in between them as their faces were pointed out at the viewers.

However what was surprising was the striking similarities between them and the seventeen-year-old witch known as Rhamina.

The female on the left wore a white dress with white frills and golden accents. The female’s raven hair was cut into a boy-ish style with striking red irises glancing forward with small gold specks.

The female on the right wore a black dress with a purple corset. She  had long raven hair that was braided over her left shoulder. Her brown irises were looking forward with gold flecks reflecting small hints of mischief.

“Mina, stand under it!” Kerstin screeched as she shoved the ravenette forward.

Tijarah pointed the camera at the portrait then Rhamina then both of them in the same frame.

“You all look exactly the same!” Chloe cried out in confusion, “Mina!”

“Yeah, that’s why you looked familiar to me,” Fidel said, “the one on the left is Marianna and the one on the right is Kitsami. They are the twins who ruled this castle. Kitsami was the Minstrel.”

“They say her book of songs is still somewhere in this castle,” the male continued, “and according to the owner whoever finds it is allowed to keep it.”

“How did they die?” Rhamina immediately asked having a feeling the twins would show themselves that night.

“Well, after finding out Kitsami became interested in one of the guards, Marianna invited him into the garden and killed him under that plum tree; which, her sister planted,” Fidel began explaining.

“What a bitch,” Tijarah commented as she pointed the camera his way.

“After finding out what happened Kitsami ran away for a few months and made a living of her songs,” he continued, “but Marianna had everyone under her control search for her sister. When they finally did return Kitsami to the castle it’s said that with the last song she sung, she placed a curse on everyone in the castle before killing herself under the plum tree as well.”

“And how did Marianna die?” Sophie asked earning a shrug from the male.

��No one knows,” he replied, “Many think it’s because of the curse Kitsami placed on her but you can’t help but feel like she deserved it.”

“No shit,” Kerstin agreed.

“That must’ve sucked though. Having someone you love killed by your own twin?” Rhamina asked, “That’s heartbreaking putting that much trust in someone only to get shanked in return.”

“Have you had any supernatural encounters here, Fidel?” Tijarah asked.

“Yes, actually all throughout the castle I’ve heard a female voice singing.”

“Think it’s Kitsami?” Hannah asked.

“I’ve never really thought about it but I don’t think so,” the male denied.

“What makes you say that?” Rhamina asked with interest.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, “I just have a feeling it isn’t her.”

At around 1:30 the male led them back to the front.

“So you guys will have access to every room and every part of this castle tonight,” Fidel explained as he walked them back to their van.

“Thank you so much for showing us around today,” Rhamina chirped as the others were loading onto the van.

“It’s no problem,” he stated.

Just before the female could leave he grabbed her wrist and said, “If you don’t mind I’d like to meet up again.”

“I- uh- um-” “We have a color guard competition at Garden Grove High School on Saturday. We perform 2:00 in the afternoon, we’re the Rowan Imperial Guard,” Kerstin stated as she stuck the upper half of her body out the back door of the van, “Give me your phone.”

Obeying, the male handed the brunette his phone as Rhamina could only watch in confusion as her eyebrows together, “There’s her phone number, your welcome, be sure to text her because she doesn’t answer unknown calls.”

“Kerstin-!” “Thanks for the information,” the blonde laughed before jogging off, “I’ll see you then!”

The ravenette could only stand there in a daze for a few minutes before her face turned a deep scarlet as she launched herself into her seat and sent a glare towards Kerstin.

“Thank you, Kerstin, watching that awkward mess was giving me second hand embarrassment,” Sam said as the two high-fived.

“Aw, does Mina have a date?” Hannah asked.

“He’s coming to your comp,” Tijarah stated.

“Aw, that’s cute,” Sophie chuckled as the ravenette hid her face in her hands, “Mina, he’s actually interested in you!”

“I am not okay!” she squealed, “Chloe, feel my face!”

“The fuck?! Mina, you’re hot!”

“The only other time this happened was with…” the ravenette trailed off not even wanting to finish her thought.

“Your senpai,” Kerstin and Sam concluded, “Fucking asshole.”

“Ugh, emotions can go die in a pit!” whined the ravenette remembering but not voicing the dream she had the night before.

“Hoot,” Chloe said while hugging the ravenette’s arm.

A year prior, Rhamina had developed a crush on a male in her AP English Language class.

Being brave enough to confess Rhamina wasn’t even met with rejection. She was completely ignored by the male for two months before he spoke to her again and pretended like the event hadn’t even taken place.

“But, Mina, he isn’t like that bitch,” Sam replied, “He actually seems into you and is putting in effort to get to know you.”

“You never know, he could be leading me on,” Rhamina sighed, “It could just be a prank.”

“Mina, give him a chance before you build your walls even higher.”

“I can’t believe myself,” she muttered, “I said I didn’t need anyone else but you guys and my heart is like ‘Nah, let’s screw this bitch over.’.”

“Mina!”

~~~Fin. Chapter 1~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warnings: None

Song Used: “Black Fox” by Heather Dale

Pic: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AQzO3TMCNAuWvAiUzOXm1BXPO-HR0363pdX-vpGFlmj1Bvio5ngXyMU/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[mama-m1na]

Lost Kingdom: Ibadora

                                                    ~~~0~~~

As the people around me jeered at us all I heard was the rattle of the chains around our wrists and ankles. They stood out against my tan skin.

As the people sent hateful glares all I could see were the looks of reassurance from my sisters and the reflection of the gold flecks within my brown irises staring back at me in a puddle.

As the people threw stones at us all I felt were the presence of those I cared about and my long black hair swaying in the gentle breeze.

At this point in time nothing mattered except the fact that we were all together and we could accept what would happen to us.

Once we entered the courthouse we were met with the disapproving looks of our parents as well as the High Council; however, we battled them with our own sense of calm and confidence in what we had done.

“Tijarah Charlize age 16, Samantha Fatimah age 16, Hannah Kreans age 18, Sophie Maki age 17, Rhamina Miyu age 17, Chloe Rayer age 14, Kerstin Vera age 16,” the judge read as we seven girls stood before the podium with emotionless gazes, “You have all been witnessed in the woods conducting in an unauthorized ritual while not being licensed magicians.”

The old man looked down at them from his papers before continuing, “What have you to say for yourselves?”

The others began to look at each other for how to explain without getting themselves in deeper trouble; however, I knew they wouldn’t listen to reason, especially with those from a more traditional background like the high council. There’s no point in trying to get them to think like us because they aren’t.

“What we did wasn’t wrong,” I said earning the attention of everyone in the room, “Magic is a natural talent that shouldn’t be restricted to only those classified as magicians when everyone is capable of using it.”

“It is a skill everyone possesses it just depends on if someone is willing to learn,” I continued, “We do this because we want to learn more than what all of you just tell us. I want to see the truth with my own eyes and not be spoon fed some stories.”

“Shut up, Witch, how the hell did you get those powers anyway?” an adult from the crowd exclaimed, “You showed no powers at your birth! You must have made a deal with the devil!”

I could feel the worried glances from my friends as those in the room began to vocally agree.

“So? What if I did? If that’s how you see magic, then all magicians have committed that sin,” I hissed looking straight ahead at nothing.

“What did you say, Rat?” scoffed one of the licensed magicians angrily.

“Magic is working with our own soul and the assistance of other spirits,” Tijarah explained from her spot on my right, “If you nothing of magic then you will see every spirit as the devil.”

“Tijarah, please don’t call them stupid right now,” Sophie whispered on Tijarah’s right.

“Silence!” the judge called as the village people got louder before he turned back down to the seven teenagers, “So you do not deny that you have conducted in such treason?”

“If it is treason to act upon a natural activity then yes, we have broken your measly human law that most definitely trumps the laws of nature,” I scoffed in irritation at how blind the people were though I couldn’t blame them it was a new concept and humans always feared the unknown.

The screams of hate got louder as soon as I finished my statement and the judge smirked down at us.

“Then it is decided. The Seven Witches of Utemelac are found guilty of their crimes and will be burned at dusk!” the judge declared.

Just as he was about to bring his gavel down the doors to the courthouse burst open and a female with short black hair and tan skin rushed forward.

“Wait!” she cried as the people stared at her golden armor and white cape.

“You can’t kill them!” she pleaded looking up at the judge with the golden flecks in her eyes complimenting her red irises, “If you do I’ll resign my position immediately!”

“Ms. Miyu, you can’t do that right now, we’re in the midst of a war!” cried one of the villagers.

“Then I suggest His Honor changes what happens to my sister and her friends,” the ravenette hissed not looking away.

My eyes narrowed at her as the judge sighed and said, “Life in prison then… For all of them.”

“I’m glad I was able to make it on time,” sighed the scarlet-eyed female as she turned to me.

“You shouldn’t have come,” I hissed as one by one my sisters were let out of the building.

“What? And let my own twin die?” she asked in confusion, “Hell no.”

“My sister wouldn’t sell out our secrets to the rulers of this fucked up kingdom,” I said bluntly as a pair of guard roughly grabbed me by the upper arms.

“Rhamina-” “So long, Marina,” I said not turning back to her as my bare feet met the cobblestone streets.

[mama-m1na]

The Plundering Tale of the Chaos Pirates: 1

                                                      ~~~I~~~

The blonde teenager sighed as he sat by a window on a private airship meant to take him as well as many others to a lone island where they would be briefed on a job.

He looked around at the many unfamiliar faces as he thought back on his main priority, to avenge his clan and take back their eyes.

The one who offered this job was an owner of a pair of Kurta eyes and so he jumped at the opportunity for this job; however, he did not expect so many others to be joining him as well.

There were at least one hundred other people on the aircraft but it made sense since there would need to be many people to work on the ships they would be on.

The job itself needed the employees to find and collect treasure from the Witch’s Water Temple, a supposed temple somewhere in the Pazific Sea.

It was said that it was created by a witch but later abandoned, leaving all her magic items and other secrets.

“Chloe, you cannot eat that hawk!” a female voice scolded from a few meters behind the male, “It’s like twice your size!”

“But, Mina, chicken…”

“Chloe, you’re a fucking canibal,” sighed the ravenette as the blonde’s irises locked onto her form.

“Says you!” the smaller female with brown hair exclaimed.

“Owl, do you see me going around eating foxes?!” the ravenette replied throwing out her hands with large gestures causing the skirt of her black dress to ripple as she moved, “No, so you can’t eat that hawk!”

Before the younger girl could reply she went silent and locked eyes with the blonde causing the ravenette to turn around.

The older female had long raven hair that reached just past her hips, golden brown skin, and visible, dark brown irises which (quite literally) sparkled due to the golden flecks scattered about in them. She wore a black, sleeveless dress with a skirt that ended just below her knees and had a white collar. On her feet were black, heeled, combat boots with the laces tucked in. Around her waist was a light purple obi with designs of golden peacocks and around her neck was a leather, cord choker.

The younger female had a lighter skin tone than her companion, a brighter shade of brown for her eyes, and brown hair that just reached her shoulder blades. She wore a white anime t-shirt that was a little long for her under a plain black hoodie that was unzipped along with blue denim jeans and a pair of grey sneakers. She had black glasses resting on her nose and it was hard to see but she also had a leather cord choker around her neck.

“Oh sorry were we being too loud?” the ravenette asked with widened eyes as she saw the barely taller male staring at them.

“Oh no you’re fine,” the male replied politely, “It’s just that I didn’t expect that there would be children joining on this job.”

“Oh well as long as they can get the job done I don’t really think it matters,” she shrugged in reply while the younger female narrowed her eyes as she hooked onto the ravenette’s arm.

“I suppose,” the male sighed as he looked down to check his phone to find a few messages from his friends.

“Hoot, Mina!” the younger girl chirped excitedly, “I smell food!”

With a raised brow the older female turned her head up and sniffed the air.

“You’re right, how much you want to bet that’s where the other three are?” the ravenette chuckled as she shook her head.

“A lot,” replied the smaller girl as the ravenette turned to the blonde.

“Hey, would you like to walk down with us to the cafeteria?” she asked, “You want to get there before everyone else if you want a chance of eating.”

“Hm? Sure,” the male answered in a light tone, putting his phone back in the pocket of his suit.

“So, what’s your name?” the ravenette asked, “I’m Rhamina and this owl is Chloe.”

“My name is Kurapika,” the male replied causing the ravenette’s lip to twitch, “Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s just that your name sounds familiar,” Rhamina chirped in response as Chloe looked up at the blonde.

“Aren’t you the one who worked under the Nostrade family?” the brunette chirped causing the blonde’s eyes to widen.

“Chloe,” hissed Rhamina quietly as her eyes darted around the people who didn’t seem to hear her.

“How did you know that?” Kurapika asked with narrowed eyes at the relaxed girls.

“There’s a lot of information floating around on the Hunter website,” Rhamina spoke silently, “We were debating on whether or not we should go to the underground auctions and were researching people attending but it looks like we were lucky not to have went.”

“Yeah, we would have died,” Chloe added as they turned the corner towards the cafeteria doors, “The Phantom Troupe is way too crazy.”

“Yeah,” Rhamina chuckled not noticing how the male’s hands clenched into fists and the slight flash of red in the male’s eyes.

As soon as the group walked in the ravenette’s eyes locked onto the table with tens of plates stacked on top of each other.

“Please tell me those plates aren’t just from Kerstin,” Rhamina sighed as she blinked with a blank face.

“Nope, it looks like Tijarah’s eating a lot too,” Chloe sighed while shaking her head.

“Well, Kurapika, you’re welcome to sit with us if you find any space,” Rhamina said gesturing to the table with three females, two of which who were eating at the speed of light, “But I’m going to get some food before it’s sucked into one of two black holes.”

The male was then left standing at the entrance as Chloe followed Rhamina off to the lines for various foods before he got something light and sat at a table close to the disaster zone.

While he ate, he noticed one of the females looked pretty similar to Rhamina with an almost identical skin tone, eye color (minus the gold flecks), and nose shape. The only differences were that this female was shorter and had dark brown hair that reached her mid back. She wore baggy denim jeans and an oversized sweatshirt which covered all of her torso and arms.

The other female who was scarfing down food had dark skin and shorter dark hair with a lighter shade of brown irises. She wore a fitted pair of denim jeans, a plain black t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers.

The final female at the table had tanned skin with brown hair that ended at her shoulders, and bright green irises behind brown framed glasses. She wore a pair of black leggings, white sneakers, and a navy blue t-shirt with some white text on it.

It was a few minutes before Chloe and Rhamina came back, each with two plates in hand.

“Hey, Mina, they had a table with macarons,” Kerstin said with some sauce still on her face causing the ravenette’s face to brighten as she let out a small squeal before rushing back to the dessert table.

“They did?” Tijarah asked.

“You can’t eat them, Shit face,” Kerstin spoke, “You’re allergic to dairy.”

In response Tijarah just flipped off the darkette as Rhamina came back with two plates filled with desserts.

“Are you really going to eat all of that, Mina?” Sam asked earning an offended look from the ravenette.

“Bitch,” she said, gesturing at the mountains of plates next to Kerstin and Tijarah, “But no, you guys can have some, just get your own of the vanilla and raspberry macarons.” 

The other girls chuckled as the ravenette sank into her seat before returning to their meals while conversing every now and then.

“Dude, we better be careful, I just got a text from G-lo and he said that some of our rivals are going to be sneaking onto the ship,” Sam whispered after looking up from her phone.

“Which ones?” Rhamina asked after taking a bite from her fruit tart.

“The fucked ones.”

“Specify.”

“God dammit, I forgot almost everyone we’re associated with are fucked up,” hissed the brunette before leaning in to whisper, “The Phantom Troupe.”

“...”

“...Oh fuck them,” Tijarah scoffed, “They can kiss my ass.”

“Have you met them?” Chloe asked.

“No, but did you see what they did at the auction?” the seventeen-year-old scoffed before taking a bite of her chicken, “Fucking way too much work.”

“True, but they do have points for overall showmanship,” giggled the ravenette as she took a sip of her peach tea.

“They’re extra as hell,” Tijarah replied while rolling her eyes.

“And we aren’t?”

A chorus of laughter erupted from the females’ table bringing the attention of many including Kurapika who just noticed that around their necks were matching leather cords.

A few hours later the airship finally landed on the island with only a large mansion surrounded by tropical vegetation.

The many individuals who wanted to take part in the adventure were brought into the mansion’s large ballroom where many more people waited.

“Ah, Kurapika!” a young boy wearing green, who could not have been older than fourteen, exclaimed upon seeing the blonde.

“Gon, Killua,” the male replied with a smile as the two boys ran up to him, “It’s nice to see you two.”

“Oh my god!” Rhamina squealed silently upon seeing Gon, “This child is so cute, I’m going to cry!”

“Mina, you floof!” chuckled Sam as the group of five females walked up, this time holding their various bags.

“What exactly are you two kids doing here?” Tijarah asked looking down at the boys, “This is dangerous you know.”

“I’m pretty sure I can handle myself, Hag,” the white haired boy with cat-like eyes spat back.

“You piece of-” “Tijarah, you do realize we brought a child with us right?” Rhamina asked while holding back the slightly taller female, her furoshiki held in her other hand.

“You’re making yourself look like an asshole, Tijarah,” Kerstin commented causing the female to pout.

“Sorry about her,” the ravenette chuckled, “I’m Rhamina, the one who just tried to attack you was Tijarah, this tiny one is Chloe and the two one their phones are Sam and Kerstin.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Rhamina chirped as she held out her hand to shake which Gon took without hesitation but Killua just eyed the females suspiciously.

“You guys are weird,” was all he said earning a chuckle from the ravenette but glares from the rest of the girls.

“You’re not wrong,” she replied with a smile as a taller male in a suit walked up.

“Gon, Killua, Kurapika! What a surprise to see you all here!” he laughed loudly with a large smile.

“Leorio!” the three called in happiness as the girls backed off slightly letting the males enjoy their reunion.

A flash of unease ran through the ravenette as her eyes darted to meet the same looks in the eyes of her companions.

The lights suddenly went off leaving a spotlight on a male wearing a tuxedo and a white mask on the stage towards the front of the room.

“Thank you all for coming to the selection process for those who are going on this quest,” the man said into a microphone earning confusion.

“What do you mean?” a random voice in the crowd asked.

“We only need a total of one hundred of you,” the man replied, “Fifty for each ship, so in order to see if you are worthy of going you will be tested.”

Before anyone could complain the lights all came back on at once as the male said, “And your test is to make it to the top floor of this mansion, alive.”

In that moment black creatures came bursting in and attacked anyone remotely close to them.

Everyone immediately got into a fighting stance if they were not being engaged by one of the creatures while four of the girls separated and started climbing to get up higher.

Still in the center of the room, Rhamina crouched down low before launching herself straight up to land on the chandelier right above her.  

“What the hell are these things?” Killua asked as he sent volts of electricity through one of the beasts only for it to get up literally a split second later.

“I don’t know but we need to get out of this room,” Leorio replied while dodging the animals that swiped at him, keeping a tight grip on his knife.

From their high points each of the girls shrouded their eyes in aura as they scanned the room.

“Found him!” Rhamina called before she lept down onto a male wearing long, baggy clothes.

She placed her knees on his shoulders as she sat on his torso and before he could even move held several large needles made of ice at his neck.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” he exclaimed with wide eyes as the creatures seemed to slow their movement to circling the participants.

The ravenette’s face bore no expression save for the small smile on her face as she ordered, “Call them off.”

“W-what are you talking about?” the male stuttered very aware of the weapons pointed at his throat.

“Hey, how do you even know these things are under his control?” Leorio asked as he backed up from one of the things.

“Can’t you guys use Nen?” Kerstin asked as she and the other girls jumped down to stand next to the female, “Think back to one of the basics you were supposed to have been taught.”

“It’s honestly one of the first things you’re supposed to use,” Sam shrugged as she tapped her glasses causing Gon and Killua to gasp.

As Kurapika watched the two shroud their eyes in aura he did the same and his eyes widened to see strings of aura connecting from the creatures back to the male who was still pinned under the ravenette.

“I must say the number of creatures you can summon, sustain, and control is impressive but your personality is that of a coward; which, is disappointing,” Rhamina sighed as she brushed the hair out of her face using her left hand while still holding needles using her right, “Now, I’m getting a bit tired so just make this easy for all of us and send those things away… Knowing Kelxi things are about to get a hell of a lot more complicated.”

“F-fine,” the male sighed as the creatures turned into smoke, fading away, causing the female to drop her ice needles and stand up, moving so the male could stand up.

“Hey, what exactly are the rules of this test?” Sam asked the masked figure who was standing by the door.

“You must make your way through to the top floor of the mansion alive and must be one of the first hundred if you wish to claim the job,” the male explained, “From this point onwards there will be no backing out. If you wish to survive then you must make it to the top either way, even if you don’t make the job.”

“So I’m guessing scaling the side of the mansion is out of the question?” Tijarah asked.

“Anyone who steps foot outside of the building is disqualified,” the male confirmed earning a sad sigh.

“Knowing your lazy ass, you would get someone else to carry you up the building instead,” Kerstin scoffed as Rhamina dusted off her skirt, “But honestly same.”

“We should get going then if we want that job,” the ravenette chirped slowly making her way over to the door that led to the rest of the mansion.

“What the fuck are all of you staring at?” Tijarah barked at the rest of the room, “If you want this job you better get a move on.”

This statement knocked most of the room out of their shock and sent a stampede of people towards the door which would have sent Rhamina flying if she had not lept up to balance on one of the doors.

“That was mean, Tijarah,” Chloe stated as the girls were left alone in the room, “Most of those people are going to die you know.”

“Yeah, Kelxi is going to be lucky if she gets at least fifty people employed by the end of this,” Sam added.

“Oh! I hope Kurapika and his little group survives!” chirped Rhamina as she lept down, “They all have so much potential!”

“Mina, you better not adopt them,” Kerstin warned, “We’re running out of room on the ships for more of your adopted children.”

“I know, but we can always just make another ship,” Chloe suggested earning a glare from the ravenette.

“No,” she answered sternly, “That would ruin our perfect triad.”

“Well, we’ve wasted enough time,” Tijarah said, “Mina, do your thing so we can get food faster.”

“Is food all you think about?” the ravenette asked with a raised brow as she handed her bag to Chloe.

“Tijarah, if you had to choose between saving food or us which would you choose?” Sam asked.

“The food, duh,” Tijarah replied, “Y’all can take care of yourselves.”

“Okay, Tijarah,” Rhamina sighed before she brought her right foot up and stomped, hard.

The female’s eyes darted around as she felt the vibrations return back to her through the ground, giving her an accurate map of the mansion.

“So, do you guys want the easy path or the shorter path?” the ravenette asked after turning back to her friends.

“Shorter,” the other four answered in unison.

“Alright,” shrugged Rhamina as she took her bag back, “Don’t even want to know what kind of shit we’ll be doing but okay.”

“Mina, you sure know as hell this will be easy for us either way,” Kerstin said as the ravenette led them out the door.

“Jesus we’ve been at this for literally six hours how big is this mansion?!” Leorio complained as Gon, Killua, Kurapika and he came across another set of stairs leading up.

“If we’re lucky the top floor is right above us,” the blonde said panting slightly from all the work they had done to get there.

“This was arguably harder than the Hunter Exams,” Killua muttered as they ascended the stairs.

“You think?” Leorio snapped as they made it to the top to see a small parlor with the scent of lavender filling the room.

“Congratulations on being the second group to make it up here!” greeted Rhamina as she peaked out from the kitchen that was connected to the first room, looking the same save for the fact her hair was now in a low ponytail, “I was just making some lavender and mint tea so it’ll be a few minutes.”

“I hope you like it it’ll help with the stress you were just under!” chirped the ravenette as she went back to check on the pot of boiling herbs.

The group mostly too tired to say much just sat on the couches surrounding a coffee table to catch their breaths but when the ravenette exited with the tray of tea Gon sprang up.

“Hey, Miss, how long did it take you to get up here?” the boy asked as she handed the teacups to the others.

“Well, I think it took us about half an hour maybe forty-five minutes?” she answered as she knelt on the ground closer to the table with her teacup in hand, “And you can just call me Rhamina.”

“Wait, you made it here in that short of a time?!” Gon asked as the other males choked on their tea.

“Well, it wasn’t just me,” Rhamina said with a shrug before she took a sip of her tea, “Kerstin, Sam, Tijarah, and Chloe were with me, they’re just asleep right now since it is around ten in the evening.”

“Damn, what are you girls?” Leorio asked earning a chuckle from the ravenette.

“Well, we were called monsters where we come from but at least our lives are never boring,” the ravenette replied with a smile, “Oh, and there’s some food in the kitchen if you want some dinner before heading to sleep. Kerstin made salmon and I made some shortbread as well!”

“The butlers said we can use the parlor and kitchen however we like, also there are guest bedrooms down the hall,” she explained, pointing to a door to the right of the open doorway that led to the staircase.

“Rhamina, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are you and your friends Pro Hunters?” Kurapika asked as he looked down at the seventeen-year-old.

“You’re fine and to answer your question, no we aren’t hunters,” the female replied earning looks of surprise, “None of us have even tried to take the Hunter Exams.”

“Well, there’s no doubt all of you would be able to pass it easily,” Killua commented as the female turned to look at him.

“You know, Killua, your eyes are very beautiful,” Rhamina said genuinely causing the male’s face to flush.

“Shut up!” he barked turning away as he felt his face heat up.

“I’m being completely serious, you know!” the ravenette chuckled bring her hands to her lap, “Not only are they a beautiful shade of blue but they’re so expressive, it’s like I’m staring into the ocean.”

“Ms. Rhamina, have you met with the person who set this up yet?” Gon asked bringing her attention back to him.

“We haven’t seen Kelxi yet,” she replied, “Knowing her, she won’t show up until day three.”

“You’ve met Mrs. Gonaka?” Kurapika questioned earning a nod from the female.

“Yes, my mother used to work with her.”

Around an hour later the teen let out a yawn before she checked the time on her phone to see with was eleven.

“Well, I’m going to head to bed now,” she announced as she stood up stretching her legs and shake out her bare feet, “Good night.”

“Good night, Rhamina!” Leorio, Gon, and Killua answered.

“Have a nice night, Rhamina,” Kurapika replied as the ravenette walked past earning a small smile.

The next morning Rhamina woke up at dawn as her body usually urged her to and she begrudgingly made her way out of her cocoon of blankets to reveal that her camisole had moved as she slept and her shorts moved up a bit.

She fixed both articles of clothing as she walked over to her bag to fetch her black dress and obi before going into the bathroom.

After she washed her face and brushed her teeth, Rhamina brushed her hair, deciding to leave it down with a hair tie around her wrist just in case she decided it was too warm to have her hair down. She then changed into the dress before wrapping the obi around herself and tying it, making sure the bow was in the back.

Once she exited the bathroom she put on her silver hoops, one having a small charm with a ‘T’ hanging off of it, before deciding to wear a pair of black sandals and walked straight into the kitchen upon seeing that no one was up yet.

She first made crepe batter and set it in the fridge to rest for a bit before going over and cutting two oranges into quarters before throwing the fruit into a blender, making sure to save the peel. After it was blended evenly, the female then began cutting the peel into small pieces before putting two cups of the blended orange, most of the chopped orange peel, some water, and some sugar into a saucepan. She then set it on one of the burners to cook on a low heat, stirring it every now and then.

As the marmalade was cooking she oiled a round pan and set it on another burner at a low heat before pulling the crepe batter out of the fridge. She then poured some into the pan and spread it thinly, making sure to pour out the excess batter. After letting it cook she flipped it making sure to cook both sides evenly.

Throughout this process of flipping crepes and occasionally stirring the orange marmalade, a sweet smell began to drift out of the kitchen. 

As soon as the smell of food hit the other four girls’ noses they immediately snapped their eyes open and made a mad dash for the kitchen.

Rhamina sighed as she heard a series of crashes and yelling that gradually got closer to where she was still making crepes.

“God damn, I’d be surprised if the boys were still asleep after this,” she muttered to herself as four heads peeked into the kitchen.

“God damn, you made a lot of crepes,” Sam commented upon seeing the large stack and the only half empty bowl of batter next to her.

“Listen, we all eat like fucking elephants so I wanted to make sure the boys got some,” snapped the ravenette as she poured out the now cooled marmalade into a bowl with a spoon, “Now can you guys take these out to the table?”

“Wait, someone else made it?” Chloe asked as she took hold of the bowl of the marmalade.

“Yes, it was Kurapika,” smirked Rhamina, “I told you they’d make it!”

“Surprising,” Tijarah said as she took some extra plates while Sam and Kerstin were playing rock paper scissors to see who would take the large plate of crepes, “I was sure no one else would make it on the first day.”

“Yeah, well they made it,” chirped the female before her eyes snapped up in realization, “I think there’s some whipped cream in the fridge.”

“Mina, can you make me lavender tea?” Chloe asked earning a nod from the female.

“Oh! Mina, can you make some milk tea?!” Kerstin asked while taking hold of the large plate of crepes.

“Sure, Tijarah, what do you want to drink?” Rhamina asked with a sigh feeling that she should just make everyone drinks.

“Iced coffee,” the darkette replied before stopping in the doorway, “You better not just hand me a block of frozen coffee.”

“I wasn’t but thanks for the idea,” the ravenette giggled as she got ready the ingredients to make the various drinks as soon as she had made the last crepe.

When all of the drinks were done steeping or brewing, Rhamina poured out the lavender tea into a mug while the rest of the drinks went into tall ceramic cups before she held her hands over the drinks.

As the four girls began to eat their breakfast Kurapika, Gon, Killua, and Leorio walked into the parlor, fully dressed to see the food laid out on the table.

“Morning!” Gon chirped earning a wave from some of the females, “Where’s Ms. Rhamina?”

“She’s in the kitchen still making stuff,” Tijarah replied after swallowing the bite of food she still had in her mouth.

Just then the ravenette came out of the kitchen with five cups on a tray in her right hand while her left held another plate of crepes.

“Oh, morning guys,” she smiled as she set down the plate and gave the girls their respective drinks before taking her own plate and cup, “There’s just enough room at the table for all of you so I’ll just sit at the coffee table.”

“Would you like any drinks?” she asked as she set her things at the smaller table.

“Just water is fine,” Kurapika replied still standing as he watched the teen turn to face them.

“And the rest of you?” 

“Water.” “Water is okay!” “Can I have some orange juice?”

“No problem!” Rhamina chirped as she returned to the kitchen.

“She’s really nice,” Gon chuckled as he and the others sat at the tables.

“Shit, she’s right you guys really do have some potential, huh?” Kerstin asked as she took another bite.

“What does that mean?” Killua asked, turning to the darkette.

“The quality of your aura is very refined,” Sam explained, “It’s obvious that you guys have worked hard to get to the point you’re at right now so congratulations.”

“How can you tell?” Gon asked with owlish eyes.

“It’s hard to explain,” Tijarah sighed, “If you want to know more about that then ask Mina, she’s better at that kind of stuff than we are.”

Just then the ravenette appeared to set the boys’ drinks in front of them before she went back to her little place on the floor by the coffee table.

“Where are you guys from?” Leorio asked.

“We’re from Arfiailcno,” Kerstin replied.

After breakfast the group basically split up to do various activities but a few like Rhamina, Kurapika, Gon, and Killua stayed in the parlor.

Leorio was watching Gon and Killua play around, Kurapika was reading a book, and Rhamina remained on the floor as she was working on a red piece of fabric.

As time went on more and more people started to make it up the stairs but no one really moved from their activities.

“What are you making?” Kurapika asked after watching her hands work to make straight and even stitches.

She looked up in slight surprise before returning her eyes to her work and answering, “I’m making an obi for Chloe. It’ll be much simpler and more modern compared to mine but I think she’ll enjoy it either way.”

“Do you always wear yours?” Killua asked as he and Gon went to sit on the couch.

“Oh, well, yeah I guess,” she said after moving her hand to touch the fabric wrapped around her waist, “It’s one of the few genuine gifts my mother gave me so I wear it almost all the time.”

It was at this time that another male came in through the door with a large sigh.

“Man, that took longer than I thought it would,” he said cracking his back.

The male wore blue jeans with a maroon colored hoodie and had a black surgical mask on so it was hard to determine what he actually looked like save for his blonde hair and childlike green eyes.

“Congratulations on making it,” Rhamina chirped with a smile, trying to calm the feeling of unease that grew in her stomach, “Would you like some lavender mint tea? It’ll help with the stress.”

“Yes, please,” the male said making his way over to the larger table as the female stuck her needle into the pin cushion that was next to her.

“It’ll be a few minutes then,” she said before pausing at the doorway leading into the kitchen, “Would you like some honey in it?”

“If you don’t mind.”

Rhamina then nodded before entering the kitchen, leaving Killua and Kurapika to stare at the new male.

“Hey, doesn’t that guy look familiar?” he whispered Killua as Rhamina came back from the kitchen with a steaming cup.

“Here you go,” she said, placing it in front of him.

“Thanks,” he replied, reaching out for the cup with his left hand but wincing when he moved it.

“Are you alright?” Rhamina asked, tilting her head to the side.

“I’m fine, it just bent my wrist a bit weird in one of the puzzles,” the male explained, bracing his wrist with his other hand.

“Do you mind if I look at it?”

“Go ahead,” the male replied, allowing the female to gently pull down the sleeve of his hoodie to reveal his swollen wrist.

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath before letting go, “I have something to help with that, I’ll get it from my room.”

Once Rhamina had left the room Killua had turned to the male and asked, “Hey, where are you from?”

“York New, and you?” the male replied recognizing the two younger boys from the York New auction.

Upon returning to her room, Rhamina pulled her phone out from her obi and sent a text to her friends that read, ‘We need to be careful from this point on. There’s a really shady guy that just passed.’

As she grabbed a small glass jar from her bag and a roll of bandages her phone buzzed.

When she checked it, she saw a message from Sam that read, ‘Which one?’

‘The blonde with a black surgical mask over his face,’ she replied before tucking it back into her obi and taking the two items back out to the parlor.

“I’m back,” Rhamina chirped as she approached the male once again.

“This should help with the pain as that’s healing,” she explained as she unscrewed the jar before applying it to the swollen skin.

Once it was evenly spread, she began to wrap the male’s wrist securely so it would act as a brace but not so tight that it would cut off his blood circulation.

“Is that okay?” she asked, tying off the bandage, “It’s not too tight?”

“No, it’s fine,” the male replied moving around his fingers a bit, “You’re pretty good at this.”

“Yeah,” the female chuckled with an embarrassed smile, “You have to be when you’re as accident prone as I am.”

That night when everyone was in their rooms for the night the male removed the mask from his face and pulled out a purple phone with bat wings, making it look like a child’s toy.

He brought the phone to his face and it rang a few times before a male picked up the phone.

“Shalnark, what is it?”

“This job might be harder than we first thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“There were members of the Chaos Pirates here.”

~~~Fin. Chapter 1~~~

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Picture: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/458241330834563270/

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[mama-m1na]

Blood Moon Circus: Chapter 1

                                                      ~~~I~~~

The sound of bells echoed throughout the small magic shop as the door opened and closed.

“Thanks for coming!” a ravenette chirped from behind the counter, “I hope the charm works out for you!”

The female had her long, black hair tied into a low bun held by two hair sticks with crystals at the end, some stray hairs out as proof of her day of work, as her brown irises speckled with golden flecks focused on the berry juice that stained her golden-brown skin.

With a sigh she wiped her hands on the apron that was tied around her waist, over the plain black dress she wore. The pentagram pendant over her heart seemed to glisten in the sunlight that entered through the windows.

The bells rang once again as the door opened causing the female to look up to see a slim, pale boy with a pair of dark brown prosthetic eyes and long black hair that is tied up in a ponytail with bangs that pass his chin, covering most of his emotionless face. 

“Haruto,” the female smiled as she brushed the stray hairs out of her face, “did something happen?”

The male said nothing as he held out an envelope addressed to her.

“The letter from the Chief,” she whispered as she came around the counter to grab the envelope.

With ease she opened the envelope and began to read the contents of the letter.

“Okay, good news and bad news to tell the others when I get home,” the ravenette chuckled as she looked at the clock to see it was five o’clock in the afternoon, “help me close up?”

The male nodded and began to put some of the supplies that were out back in their spots while the female went into the back to change out of her uniform.

 It was around five thirty when the two were done and completely locked up.

They lived about ten minutes away from the shop so they just walked together back to their shared home with the female talking about her day in order to fill the silence. 

Throughout the walk, the male only gazed at where the female would be ‘seeing’ the familiar sight of her unique purple soul.

“Rhamina,” the male said softly as they stood in front of their door holding onto the female’s left hand.

The ravenette looked up to the younger male with a smile and took his face in her hands before resting her forehead on his.

“We’re opening a new chapter in our lives, Haruto,” she whispered with her closed eyes, “We’re going to get your eyes back soon, I can feel it.”

Suddenly the door slammed open to reveal a dark skinned teenager with an irritated look on her face.

The sound caused both teenagers to jump back from each other as they turned to their housemate

“Can you guys just get inside and stop being so ‘lovey dovey’?” she snapped with a candy bar in her hand, “If you’re going to do that shit just become a couple already!”

“Tijarah, we’re just close friends,” Rhamina sighed as she and Haruto walked into the house, closing the door behind them.

“Close friends my ass!” another female voice yelled from the kitchen before a head of brown hair peeked into the hallway, “Are always  together!”

“So what?!” the ravenette retorted while taking off her shoes and putting them on the shoe rack, “Who doesn’t like cuddles?!”

“You!” the two teenagers exclaimed going about finding more snacks in the kitchen.

“Sam,” Rhamina said addressing the brunette with tanned skin, “You always try to tickle me so of course I’m going to avoid when you do that.”

“And you always try to cuddle when I’m trying to do important shit like pay for the bills on the house and when I was sorting out our applications for the Ibadora Expedition,” the ravenette scolded, turning to the dark skinned female before turning to walk into the living room, “Oh and that reminds me, the letter from the Chief came in.”

“It did?” both females asked simultaneously as they scrambled to get to the living room where Rhamina and Haruto were on the couch watching an anime with the male laying his head across the females lap.

“What did it say?” Sam asked leaning over the back of the couch.

“Are we going or not?” Tijarah asked, almost tripping on where the floor transitioned from tile to carpet.

“I was going to wait till everyone was home to explain but just know there’s good and bad news,” the ravenette explained while keeping her eyes on the screen while her fingers were messing with the male’s hair.

It was silent for a few moments before the ravenette turned her head to the siblings behind her and asked, “By the way, where are Kerstin and Chloe? Kerstin’s shift should have ended at four and we already took Chloe out of school for the expedition.”

“They went to the park with Abby, G-Lo, and Jamie,” Tijarah explained before coming around to sit on the second couch.

“And you didn’t go, Sam?” Rhamina asked resuming her pets when she felt the male tap on her hand.

“I didn’t feel like walking anywhere,” the brunette shrugged sitting with Tijarah on the second couch while looking at the screen, “So we’re watching ‘Black Butler: Book of Circus’?”

It was about an hour till the two other Filipinos came home.

“Welcome back,” Rhamina said getting up from her spot to stretch a bit, “Go eat then we need to talk.”

“About what?” Chloe asked already going for the poke the others ordered for dinner along with Kerstin.

“The letter from the Chief came in today,” Tijarah answered with her eyes glued to the TV.

“Fuck!” Kerstin coughed as she choked on her food in surprise.

“Oh, shit,” Chloe said a bit nervous, “Is it a good letter?”

“Good and bad,” Rhamina answered with a shrug.

“How?” Kerstin asked.

The ravenette finally let the others look at the letter and said, “They basically said we can go but only if we take the Hunter Exam and pass because they only want hunters going.”

“That’s fucked up,” Tijarah said as she read over Kerstin’s shoulder, “They didn’t say shit about that in the applications, tests, or interviews.”

“Yeah, but think about it. The deadlines for the acceptance of applicants have already passed and they’re giving us an extension in order to actually qualify,” Rhamina reasoned, cracking her back over the couch, “That means they actually want us on the team.”

“So when are the Hunter Exams?” Chloe asked looking up at the ravenette while glaring at the male who was laying on her.

“They take place next week in Dan Siego,” Rhamina replied without hesitation.

“How do you know they’re in Dan Siego?” Sam asked while taking her dishes to the kitchen.

“The peasant from last month was actually planning on infiltrating the exam after he had gotten what he needed from us,” the ravenette replied, “I of course took some of his things before we burned down his house.”

“And how do you know it’s accurate?” Kerstin asked with a smirk.

“I called up someone who owed me a favor,” she chuckled.

“So we’re going?”

“If we want to go to Ibadora, yes.” 

Seven days later all six members of the household were all seated in a van that they had no clue where it came from.

“So, Kerstin, where exactly did you get this van?” Rhamina asked from behind the wheel despite her protests of doing so.

“You don’t need to know where I got the van,” Kerstin said pulling up a dating sim on her phone, “Just know that we have and we’re using it.”

“You better have swapped the license plate on this before I started driving if you got this illegally,” the ravenette said looking at the darkette through the rear view mirror.

“Mina!” Chloe said in a scolding tone.

“Shut the fuck up, Chloe, we’ve done worse and you know that,” Sam said, “you don’t have a place to talk.”

“Yeah!” Kerstin said looking up momentarily from her phone, “And no shit I swapped the plates. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this.”

The seventeen-year-old at the wheel nodded before hooking her phone to the blue tooth and played her playlist properly labeled ‘Stuff’ because that’s what it was. 

The playlist was a culmination of all the music the teen took a liking to since she was in middle school. That being said the genres ranged from rock to sea shanties and German rock to early 2000’s J-pop.

It was around three in the afternoon when they reached the site of the Hunter Exams which was supposedly located under a shady looking Asian restaurant in the poor part of Dan Siego.

“Hmm, looks like it’s closed today,” Rhamina said getting back into the van after stepping out to check the sign on the door, “Still probably prepping.”

“If this is even the right place,” Tijarah scoffed.

“It is the right place,” Rhamina said as she backed out and began to search for a hotel, “Just use En to check. There a lot of Nen users down there, probably the proctors.”

As soon as Rhamina got to the hotel she told her companions to just get their overnight things and immediately booked an open suite opposed to getting separate rooms.

“Mina, you’re so fucking extra,” Tijarah said as they went up to the tenth floor where their suite was.

“Hey, it fits all of us and it was only 25,571 jenny,” the ravenette shrugged as all she held was her drawstring purse in her left hand and closed, light purple parasol in her right hand, “And it’s only for tonight so I wanted to treat us.”

“Yeah, we’ll probably be stuck underground for a few days waiting for the rest of the rest of the applicants,” Kerstin reasoned, “So I’m going to enjoy this for now.”

“... So do y’all want to go get Korean barbecue for dinner later?” Rhamina asked as they settled in earning excited hoots from Chloe, “Like Kerstin said we’re not going to be getting a break for a while so we should treat ourselves.” 

“All I can eat Korean shit?” Tijarah asked with a smirk, “Hell yeah.”

At around six in the afternoon Rhamina drove them to the outer part of Dan Siego and Kerstin asked, “Aren’t we going to Convoy?”

“No, it gets too packed and shady when it gets later especially with the Hunter Exams rolling around so we’re going to a bigger place that has a boba shop right next to it,” Rhamina answered as she kept her focus on the road before her eyes narrowed.

“Fuck,” she hissed as she tightened her grip on the wheel.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked looking to peek at what was going on.

“We might have an unwanted guest joining us,” the ravenette said as she turned into the parking lot, “Hisoka is in the area.”

“Are you serious?” Kerstin asked with wide eyes as Chloe grabbed onto the closest person to her which was Haruto, “That fucker is so creepy!”

“I know but we’re in public so he won’t be picking a fight so he probably has some information,” Rhamina sighed as she put the brakes on and turned off the car but not exiting, “So we ready to eat?”

“Mama Mina, I don’t want to eat anymore,” Chloe said shaking at the thought of the psychotic magician.

“Well, we’re already here so we’re going to deal with it and he might not even come up to us so we should be fine,” the seventeen-year-old said as she got out of the van before opening the other doors, “Come on, let’s go.”

As soon as they entered the establishment, the smell of meat and various other foods entered their noses making them forget about the magician. 

The dinner was going well until the ravenette excused herself to go to the restroom.

As soon as Rhamina had disappeared out of sight an unsettling aura had filled the restaurant and the group turned to the entrance to see the familiar redhead.

“Shit!” Kerstin hissed as his head immediately snapped over to their table.

“Well it looks like everyone’s here except for older sister,” the male stated appearing right next to their table, “Where is she?”

“You don’t need to know that,” Haruto growled sending an empty glare in Hisoka’s direction.

“She really does bring that pet of hers everywhere, doesn’t she?” the magician pushed causing the male to abruptly stand.

“Hisoka, stop harassing my friends,” snapped Rhamina as she walked back to place a hand on her companion’s shoulder, “Haruto, calm down and enjoy your meal okay?”

The male said nothing but sat down, keeping the sneer on his face.

“What do you want, Hisoka?” she then asked standing right behind the noiret.

“I just heard that someone was taking the Hunter Exam and thought I should pay them a visit,” the magician said messing around with some playing cards as his eyes locked with the teens.

“I’ll be right back,” she said towards her table before following the male.

“Wait, Mina, will you be okay?” Sam asked, “Should one of us come with you?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” replied Rhamina with a shrug, “We’re just going to have a little chat.”

The group could only watch through the window as the oldest person in their group stood facing the older male. 

It honestly looked like they were having a normal conversation; however, the narrowed eyes aimed at the magician said otherwise.

After about five minutes the ravenette nodded and the two turned away from each other before Rhamina walked back inside towards the table.

“So what did he want?” Tijarah asked as the ravenette took her seat.

“Believe it or not he didn’t want anything,” she replied before taking a bite of the bulgogi in front of her, “He was just here to give us a warning.”

“About?”

“The Ibadora expedition and a certain group of spiders,” she said causing silence to cross the table.

“God dammit,” Kerstin said while stretching her back, “Those fuckers ruin everything.”

“No kidding,” Rhamina scoffed with a deep sigh as Haruto placed a hand on her back.

“Hey, Mina, remember when we first met them?” Sam asked attempting to hold back a chuckle.

“No!” she exclaimed slamming a fist down on the table, “We don’t need to remember that!”

“Yeah, you guys were at a job when you met them right?” Tijarah asked as Rhamina and Kerstin looked at each other, “What happened exactly?”

“Yeah, you never told us,” Chloe added as Kerstin and Rhamina turned to glare at a smirking Sam.

“Well-” “Kerstin, would you like to come with me to get some boba?” Rhamina asked with red covering her face as she interrupted the brunette.

“Uh yeah let’s go do that,” Kerstin said with her face equally as red.

However, before either female could even walk away from the table they were both knocked off their feet and back into their chairs as they suddenly scooted forward and were unable to scoot back out.

“You guys ain’t going anywhere until I hear what the fuck happened on that night,” Tijrah said as the two looked down to see Tijarah’s shadows connected to the shadows of their chairs.

“Tijarah, fuck your Shadow Lock,” Kerstin growled as she continued to struggle against the chair while Rhamina took out headphones from her purse and immediately began playing some anime music to block out whatever Sam was about to start saying.

“Mhm, Shadow Lock lets me control things through their shadows so you ain’t moving till I let you,” Tijarah explained before turning back to Sam, “Now continue.”

“So we were on a job to take out a guy and retrieve something he had stolen from the client, so we infiltrated this place he went to a lot with me being a waitress while Mina and Kerstin were performers since I can’t sing or dance for shit,” Sam said before bursting out into laughter.

“That is the one job I regret accepting,” Kerstin shuddered as Chloe and Tijarah looked confused.

“I’m lost, this sounds like something you’d normally do,” Tijarah said with a raised brow.

“Yeah,” Chloe added, “We do undercover jobs like that all the time.”

“No, the place we were undercover in was a club so the costumes and songs they were performing were pretty… showy,” the brunette explained while Rhamina just continued eating with the music blocking out the story.

“What?!” Chloe exclaimed, “Hoot! Hoot! Hoot! Hoot!”

“There is no way Mina-chan would agree to being a performer in a place like that,” Tijarah said before her eyes widened in realization, “Unless you didn’t tell her it was a club.”

“We didn’t,” Kerstin said after taking a deep breath, “I thought I could handle that considering all the clubs we’ve been to but it’s so different when all the eyes are on you and when it’s in an underground club.”

“Then came the night of when we were going to finish the job. Mina had just finished her final solo song of the night while Kerstin was doing hers when one of the other girls came into the dressing room saying one of the patrons wanted her in one of the rooms,” Sam said earning looks of concern from Chloe, Tijarah, and Haruto, “It’s not like what you guys are thinking though. That club was strict on having the performers only be entertainers and not prostitutes.”

“Yeah,” Rhamina sighed putting her earbuds away as they had run out of battery, “We were basically like geisha.”

“So, I’m guessing the patron was someone from the spiders?” Chloe asked as she adjusted her glasses.

“Not just someone, fucking all of thirteen of them, Hisoka included,” Rhamina hissed with a small sneer, “I was seated next to their boss and it was all fine. None of them made any unwanted advances and it was pretty fun until we heard an explosion from another room.”

“At that point I was with the target since he requested me and I had just finished him off,” Kerstin explained as Sam and Rhamina nodded.

“I knew what happened as soon as I heard the noise and stood to try and group up but I was stopped by the boss holding onto my wrist,” the ravenette continued before brushing hair out of her face, “And as soon as I locked eyes with him I knew I fucked up. He knew from the beginning who I was and I noticed some of the group try to move but I froze them to the ground and busted the door open using another ability.”

“I was running over to Kerstin but when I saw the door just explode I looked inside and saw a really pale guy just holding onto Mina and that’s when she turned around and told us that we needed to get out fast,” Sam explained, her tone lowered despite the loud noise around them, “So that’s what I did. I ran to Kerstin and saw her searching the body while there was a hole in the wall.”

“I managed to get myself free and started running to the room but unfortunately for me the boss could hold his liquor and he followed me. Kerstin and Sam were already at the hole in the wall but I knew we couldn’t escape normally and told them to transform,” Rhamina said clenching her right fist, “I turned around to punch him with ice encasing my fist to hopefully deal more damage but he caught that and got my other wrist as well. Being in a state of panic, I made the ice explode and got some shards in my arm while I got cut across the bridge of my nose but I managed to get out through the hole in the wall and transform.”

“But wait there’s more,” Kerstin said with a fake smile and jazz hands.

“Three of them managed to catch up with us and a fight started,” Sam sighed.

“Yep, and guess who the rest were chasing,” Rhamina said with a strained voice, “I didn’t even have the item they wanted and they knew that. They were fucking testing us and that pissed me off and I almost ran their boss through with my parasol but I stopped.”

She left out a huff before continuing, “For whatever reason I didn’t have it in me to kill him.”

“It’s probably because he was hot,” Sam said under her breath.

“What was that?” Rhamina scoffed, “Did I really just hear that?”

“What?!” Sam asked, “He is!”

“Yeah,” the ravenette sighed full of disappointment, “But that’s not why I hesitated! I’ve killed more people before so why couldn’t I kill someone in the way of our mission?”

“Anyways,” Rhamina said tracing the circumference of her glass, “I told him that his face pissed me off and turned to fly away but he asked me, ‘Does your heart weigh over your head?’ and I fucking sent my Blizzard Roses at him before going to the hotel we were staying in for the time being.”

“You know he’s kind of right, Mina,” Kerstin said taking a sip of her milk tea.

“Yeah, I know,” the ravenette replied squeezing her glass, “That’s what pissed me off so much.”

Haruto laid a hand over the one that was clenching the glass and Rhamina sighed before releasing the tension.

“So that’s what happened and ever since that night they’ve been trying to screw over some of our other jobs,” she explained, “I tell the younger ones to abort missions if they show up for a reason.”

“You know what I’ve noticed?” Chloe asked.

“What?”

“They seem to show up with jobs that involve any of you three,” she continued earning facepalms from the others. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Kerstin asked as the other two let out a chuckle.

“How did we not notice that?” Rhamina chuckled as she shook her head, “Anyways let’s finish eating and get some boba, we’ve been here for a while and I don’t like driving in Dan Siego when it’s dark.”

They did finish their meal and Kerstin somehow managed to take some of it with her before they walked next door to the boba shop; however, as the sun began to set they just enjoyed their drinks in the van as Rhamina drove back to the hotel.

As many of the individuals were halfway done by the time they got back to the suite, Rhamina only had two sips as she was focused on driving for the most part. 

“Mina, I just realized you could have made Sam stop talking about that night,” Kerstin said as they walked into the suite.

“Not without causing a scene and probably being kicked out,” Rhamina replied as she took her taro drink from Haruto’s hand, “my abilities are too noticeable.”

“Not my fault you chose really flashy Hatsu abilities,” the darkette shrugged earning a giggle from Rhamina.

“Says the one who’s ability literally turns them into a flaming bullet,” she chuckled as she took off her shoes.

In response Kerstin dramatically placed a hand over her heart and asked, “Are you saying that it isn’t useful?”

“I never said that. I’m only saying that your ability is really flashy as well.”

“Mina, one of your abilities is you emerging from a bloomed flower made of ice,” Sam said walking to the bathroom.

“Mina,” Chloe called from the couch, “another one of your abilities is an exploding ice flower.”

“Shut the fuck up I know they’re flashy!” the ravenette snapped, “I know I’m not the only one to destroy a bunch of shit while on a job so eat my dick!”

“I will,” Sam replied peeking her head out of the bathroom door before shutting it.

“God, she’s almost as bad as Hisoka,” Rhamina muttered earning chuckles from the others.

When Sam had finished in the bathroom Rhamina entered to take a shower and change into a tank top and shorts.

Around ten in the evening everyone was about ready to go to sleep with Sam and Kerstin sharing a room, Chloe and Tijarah sharing a room; while, Rhamina and Haruto just decided to sleep on the couches in the living room. 

The next morning Rhamina woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs.

Feeling extremely confused and hungry she sat up and opened her eyes to see Haruto in the kitchen making breakfast.

Unplugging her phone from the wall next to the couch she was sleeping in, Rhamina walked over to the male to see he was cooking bacon.

“Where did you get the bacon?” she asked taking a seat at the table, “I know we didn’t pack any.”

“I bought it,” he said quietly as the ravenette scrolled through various apps on her phone.

“Well, I’m going to tell them to wake up then,” she said scooting her chair back after five minutes of finding nothing new, “It’s already seven thirty and I want to be there by ten.”

Upon entering Sam and Kerstin’s room Rhamina was met with their eyes coming up from their phones and she said, “Help me wake up the other two.”

“I’ve got this,” Kerstin said as she threw the blanket off of herself and walked over to the other room followed by the other two females.

She quietly opened the door as Sam began to record a video on her phone and immediately ran in before jumping onto a blob of blankets which contained the two humans inside it.

“Ah fuck!” Tijarah screamed as her head popped out as a groan was heard from Chloe somewhere beneath the blankets.

“Wake up bitch!” Kerstin laughed as she was kicked off the bed.

“Kerstin!” whined Chloe, “Why you do that?”

“There’s food mother fuckers and we’re taking the Hunter Exam today!” Kerstin exclaimed obviously excited as she exited the room.

Throughout breakfast the group began planning for the exam as they ate.

“So the goal is for all of us to pass so we need to keep communication a constant thing,” Rhamina explained, “As far as I know it isn’t illegal for participants to team up unless specifically specified by an examiner.”

“We can’t expose ourselves either though,” Chloe said, “So we can’t use spells?”

“How about we just say the only spell we’re allowed to use throughout the spell is the Memorandum?” Sam suggested with a sigh.

“Okay!” Chloe chirped continuing to finish her breakfast.

Once everyone was finished the girls all rushed into the bathroom with Rhamina washing her face in one of the sinks, Chloe brushing her teeth in the other, Kerstin on the toilet, Sam in the shower, and Tijarah waiting for one of the sinks.

After Chloe finished she let Tijarah use the sink while Rhamina moved onto brushing her teeth before moisturizing.

The girls seemed to move fluidly while all five of them were in there.

While Chloe and Tijarah were now changing, Rhamina had started to put on her makeup which consisted of a light maroon eyeshadow followed by black, winged eyeliner and mascara before she used face powder and a setting spray.

As she let the spray on her face set, Kerstin had transitioned into the shower while Sam was now drying off her hair before she too began to apply eyeliner.

“Are you guys really going to be wearing makeup during the exam?” Tijarah asked as she began to apply a plum colored lip gloss.

“Yes,” Sam, Rhamina and Kerstin answered in unison.

“I want this to be a subtle warning to anyone that wants to pick fights with us,” Rhamina explained as she checked for any last touch ups.

“We’re telling the rookie crushers to eat shit,” Kerstin said over the sound of the running water before multiple thuds were heard from inside the shower, “Fuck!”

After her face was set Rhamina put on a matte liquid lipstick which matched her eyeshadow before putting on a pair of black shorts with a black t-shirt, a pair of black, heeled boots, and a light purple scrunchy around her right wrist as she let her hair down, it’s full length just reaching her thighs.

Once everyone was dressed and packed they all went down to the van while Rhamina checked them out.

As they began the drive back to the testing sight Rhamina said, “Make sure you have everything you need with you because I’m taking the van with me and once that happens I can’t just randomly take it out in the middle of the exam.”

“Don’t worry we have all of our shit,” Sam sung attempting to reach for the ravenette’s right arm only to meet a small sheet of ice.

“Don’t try that shit while I’m driving,” she sighed as the brunette brushed off the frost forming on her hand.

Seeing that the restaurant was actually open this time, the ravenette parked in the back where there was no peering eyes and she had everyone exit the vehicle with all of their things.

Taking a piece of black chalk out of her drawstring purse the ravenette jumped onto the roof of the van and began drawing a magic circle.

As soon as she finished she placed the chalk back in her purse before she stood and hovered her left hand over the circle.

The group watched as a light purple aura surrounded the female causing her hair to float while her eyes glowed gold and her pendant glowed a darker purple.

“Dollhouse,” she called as the magic circle glowed as well before the van shrunk down to the size of a toy car leaving the ravenette to drop onto her feet with bent knees.

Rhamina then stretched before picking up the vehicle and dropped it into her purse before her pendant glowed once more as a light purple parasol with a hooked handle appeared in her open hands.

“Alright let’s go my dudes!” the ravenette chirped as she led them inside immediately being noticed by one of the Filipino women working there.

“Rhamina, is that you?” she asked going over to embrace the seventeen-year-old.

“Hi, Ate Jewel, it’s been awhile, huh?” she chuckled opening her arms to hug the woman she had not seen in two years.

“So how can I help you all today?”

“Can I have a private room for six please?”

The woman’s eyes sharpened when she heard this and asked, “What will you be having?”

“The seafood special without peanuts.”

The woman smiled softly before beckoning them to follow her.

“What the fuck was that?” Tijarah asked.

“Mina! Aren’t you allergic to seafood?” Chloe asked as she took the female’s free hand in her own.

“That was a code, Chloe, we’re not here to eat,” Rhamina chuckled as they were led into a separate room.

“Well, good luck, Rhamina, you better be alive by the end of this,” Jewel said from the doorway once the whole party was inside.

“Don’t worry,” the ravenette smiled, “we’ll be fine.”

~~~Fin. Chapter 1~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Image used: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/436497388884230899/ 

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[mama-m1na]

Three Rings: Chapter 1

                                                    ~~~I~~~

It was a surprisingly nice morning in Temecula, California.

The sun was hidden by light grey clouds and there was a nice breeze going by compared to the usual bright and dry weather in June.

A teenage female let out a yawn as she made her way down the street towards the park just down the street from her home.

She wore a dark plum, knee-length dress with black wedges and had a brown, leather purse across her body. Around her neck was a pentagram necklace with purple gems and on a shorter chain was an amethyst pendulum with a small charm with a ‘T’ displayed on it. On her left pointer finger was a gold ring with three small diamonds on it; which, was a gift from a friend. Hanging from her ears were a pair of silver, hoop earrings.

Her black hair was left down for the day to just reach her thighs and the length of the dress allowed a decent amount of her golden-brown skin to be left visible as her brown irises speckled with golden flecks were turned down to the screen of her phone.

‘I’m going to meet with the council right now,’ she sent into her discord server before placing her phone back into her purse.

Quickly looking around to make sure no one saw her, the ravenette went behind a fence and headed under the bridge which went over a ditch in the middle of her park.

Going to the second column, past all of the random graffiti, she found a symbol etched into the concrete of three crescent moons tangled amongst each other surrounded by a larger circle.

Taking one last look at her surroundings she held her right hand over the symbol and said, “Lacus.”

It felt as if the floor disappeared from underneath her feet as the surroundings disappeared from around her before changing to the scenery of the entrance of a train station.

Putting her hand back to her side she was about to enter the building when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a window.

“Ugh,” she scoffed looking at how one of her eyes was open slightly wider than the other, “I look so dead inside.”

Taking a small booklet from her bag that read ‘Magical Registration: Identification Card’, she opened it and swiped it over the scanner at the turn gates before walking through and entering her train which had arrived on time for once.

Upon taking her seat the female sighed as the train began to move before taking out a tube of concealer from her purse and a compact.

Using the mirror to see, she put concealer on her eyelids before blending it out with and air puff.

She then put away the tube of concealer before opening the second part of the compact to reveal a small eyeshadow palette and got an eyeshadow brush from her purse before using a light plum shade all over her eye.

After making sure it was even she pulled out a liquid eyeliner and applied it extremely carefully due to the fact she was in a moving vehicle.

It took about forty minutes for the train to get to the ravenette’s stop and she just spent the time responding to people on her discord server.

Resurfacing from the subway, the ravenette found herself standing in front of a building with Roman styled columns and a large sign that read ‘Magic Registry’.

Once again taking the green-covered identification card the female entered before showing it to the secretary who sat at the front desk before being led to a conference room at the top floor of the building.

Upon opening the door the female earned the attention of six elderly looking creatures already sitting at the circular table in the center of the room.

“Hello Ms. Ibadora,” a woman covered in scales greeted, “It’s nice to see your actual face for once.”

“Yeah well I decided to actually try on my appearance today and thought it would be a waste to cover it with a mask,” the ravenette chuckled before taking a seat closer to the door, “So why am I being called in today?”

“We have another job for your circus,” a man with pointed ears said handing the girl a file from across the table, “This one is much more important than the previous jobs you’ve handled.”

The teen’s eyes widened as she read over the contents of the file before she looked up and asked, “Are you sure you want the Three Ring Circus to handle this one?”

“Do you believe you are incapable of completing it?” a human woman asked causing the ravenette to shake her head.

“That’s not it,” she explained, “We’re a group of reject, teenage witches and wizards… Are you sure a job this important should be given to us?”

“I’m sure you’ve handled it much worse,” a human man chuckled, “We let you stay together as an official guild for a reason.”

It was silent as the seventeen-year-old thought about her options.

“Alright,” she finally said slipping the folder into her purse which didn’t show any sign of holding anything in it, “We’ll get it done as efficiently as we can.”

Saying her goodbyes the female exited the conference room and was about to leave the building until the secretary called for her.

“You should probably take this as well,” the woman said handing the ravenette a long envelope.

“A wand permit application?” she read with a raised brow.

“Your old one is about to expire isn’t it?”

“Oh, you’re right well thank you.”

“No problem, see you next time, Ms. Ibadora,” the secretary said earning the attention of a young male walking down the hall.

‘Ibadora?’ he thought with wide eyes walking after the ravenette who had just walked out the doors of the building.

“Kitsami, wait!” he called just as the female was about to descend into the subway again.

“Hm?” she asked looking up to see a familiar looking elf in a Royal Guard’s uniform which consisted of a red, blue, and gold outfit paired with white gloves and boots with a blue cap.

“So it is actually you,” the blonde male stated looking down at the slightly shorter female.

“I’m sorry do I know you?” she asked as the wind picked up a it causing her raven locks to flutter slightly.

“I’m Fidel Einnor, I was in the same year as you in the Trinity Institute,” he explained as the light of recognition flashed through the female’s eyes.

“That’s why I thought you looked familiar, it’s so good to see you again!” she chirped embracing the male for a moment, “You’re part of the Royal Guard now? Congratulations! It must have been a hard thing to do after just graduating.”

“Thank you, and it really was,” he chuckled, “So how have you been, I haven’t seen you since you graduated early after 9th grade.”

“Well, since then I’ve been a Peacekeeper  for the past three years and I’m also the Ringmaster of the Three Ring Circus,” she said brushing her hair behind her ear.

“A Peacekeeper?” he asked with a small frown, “since you were only fourteen? Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Says the one who’s in the Royal Guard at seventeen? You’re seventeen now right?” the ravenette retorted, “plus it isn’t that bad once you know what you’re doing.”

“The Royal Guard doesn’t have to go out into the other world and try to keep both worlds safe,” the blonde sighed, “We only stay here.”

“That’s probably why they let me become a Peacekeeper then,” she shrugged, “Considering I didn’t even know this world existed for half of my life. I just knew plain old everyday human life and that I had to hide magic otherwise my parents would call me a freak. Hell, even now I’m being called a freak here because I’m the first witch in my clan within the past ten generations and now I’m the clan head so… Fuck…”

She took a deep breath before taking out a sticky note from her bag and writing something down before handing it back to the male.

“Text me so we can talk again later, I need to pick up a book and I want to get there before it gets flooded with teenagers,” she smiled before descending back down into the subway to wait for her train.

When she emerged from under the bridge the ravenette crossed the street to get to the bus stop and wait for her bus.

When the vehicle arrived she pulled out her student I.D. that read ‘Rhamina Miyu; Grade: 11’ and showed the bus driver before paying her reduced fee.

As she found her seat, the ravenette sent a text in her discord server.

'So we all got another job,' she typed while looking out the window of the air conditioned bus, 'And we're being transferred to Japan.'

Within moments of sending the message she was getting bombarded with questions about their new job and how they were even going to get there. 

The ravenette merely shook her head at all the questions and told them that she would give them details at their next practice which was in two days.

Once at her stop Rhamina got off and walked across the street to her local Barnes and Noble.

She spent quite a bit of time browsing through manga but also looked over some of the stationary they offered.

‘Forty-five dollars for a traveler’s journal?’ she thought looking through the nicely made, leather journal, ‘I could make this for cheaper and better suited to my needs.’

After purchasing the latest volume of ‘Children of the Whales’ and a brush pen, the teen walked over to the craft store behind the chain bookstore to get the supplies she was looking for which were leather fabric and elastic cord.

Once the female got home she immediately got set on making the journal by first making the journal inserts from paper and cardstock she already had then made the cover using the leather and elastic cord.

After the two pieces were finished she just slipped the inserts into the elastic bands in the spine of the leather cover and also slipped her Magical I.D. in it for safekeeping before taking out her wand permit application and filling it out with green ink.

The next day for the female was just spent looking up schools in the area of where they would be stationed as to not draw attention to themselves as a group of sixty teenagers randomly showing up in Japan.

As she did this she mentally thanked her parents for not living in the same house as her.

Her father lived with his new wife in Washington state after he divorced from her mother but also had a house he kept in Japan from his time being stationed there in the U.S. Navy.

Her mother was also in the Navy and was currently on a ship in Hawaii.

Both of her parents were quite appalled upon finding out that she was a true witch, even going as far as keeping her true name from her until she found out from her outside family, but eventually her father began to grow accustomed to the idea and slowly began to support it.

Rhamina’s mother on the other hand… Well, she hasn’t actually spoken to her mother in almost three years. They’ve only contacted each other over email and even then there was almost no emotion behind those words.

Calling her father, Rhamina asked to use the house in Japan for the time they would be working there and he agreed.

The rest of the day the female just read over the files and took notes in the new journal she had made the day prior.

At around four o’clock she received a call from one of the members of her troupe.

“Hello?” she asked as she finished up a sentence she was writing before cracking her back over the chair at her desk.

“Mina, G-lo wants to know if you want to come over to the park cause his phone is like dead,” the voice of her friend, Jamie, requested.

“Sure,” the ravenette replied as she began to put the papers away, “I’ll be there in a bit, I just need to change.”

After ending the brief phone call, the ravenette made her way to her closet to change out of her house clothes into a plum colored shirt and a pair of bleached, denim shorts.

She then put the journal into her purse as well as her phone before heading out of her house, making sure the doors were locked. 

It took less than ten minutes to reach and find the pair of fourteen and fifteen-year-olds sitting at a table under the sun.

“Mina!” called the taller blonde as she ran up to hug the upperclassmen.

“Hi, Jamie,” Rhamina greeted before turning to her fellow Filipino neighbor, “and hello to you G-Lo.”

“Hi, Mina,” the taller male greeted before the trio began to walk around the almost empty park.

“So, are we really being transferred to Japan?” Jamie asked once they reached a more secluded part of the park.

“Yep,” the ravenette replied popping the ‘P’ at the end, “According to the case report there are a lot more magical anomalies in Japan than there should be, even for an Asian country. Our job is to actually find out what’s causing it, report it back to the Council, and put a stop to it rather than just apprehending someone.”

“So we’re getting an actual job is what you’re saying?” G-Lo asked as the wind blew past them.

“Aw, and I was just getting used to Temecula!” Jamie pouted slightly before asking, “What about school?”

“Well, I’ve already contacted the Trinity Institute about that and they’re sending some professors to a local high school for you guys so you’ll be fine,” Rhamina explained, “Oh, that reminds me, make sure your wand permits and Magic IDs are up to date. As soon as we get there we won’t have much free time.”

“Mina, you’re so lucky graduated early and don’t have to deal with school anymore,” G-Lo said earning a chuckle from the said female.

“I don’t have to deal with school anymore but I have to deal with being a clan head while being completely disliked by almost everyone in the magical community for existing,” she retorted, “I would honestly take that over school though, it’s funny making adults get so frustrated over me but not being able to do anything about it because the council favors me.”

“Yeah, that is funny,” G-Lo chuckled remembering the stories of the times Rhamina had been in meetings with said adults.

When their walk was over Jamie was picked up from the park by her mother and the other two walked back to their kuldesac together since they lived in houses right across from each other.

As soon as the female had changed back into her house clothes she looked at the case reports and just knew she would need to make copies of them for the others in the troupe.

Instead of using her printer and wasting ink the ravenette decided to use a spell to have one of her pens copy down all of the files word for word, and image for image.

Normally she wouldn’t resort to using magic for something so mundane but she didn’t have time nor the heart to do it any other way.

The next day the teenager begrudgingly woke up early and changed into an anime t-shirt as well as a pair of normal denim shorts with her normal wedges.

Checking the time to see it was around eight in the morning she sighed before getting her chia pudding that she made the day before as well as her purse which had her traveller’s journal in it.

Immediately she left the house locked the door and called G-Lo; while, walking over to his house.

“Hello?” he asked groggily, making it obvious to the female that he had just woken up.

“Jello, it’s already eight o’clock, the meeting starts at nine and the bus will be here in fifteen minutes.”

“Wait, shit! That’s today!”

The ravenette chuckled when the line went dead and five minutes later the teen appeared at the front door of his home.

“You forgot didn’t you,” Rhamina accused as they began their walk to the bus stop which was on the opposite side of the park.

“I set alarms but they didn’t go off,” he replied brushing his unstraightened hair out of his face while they waited in the shaded area.

When the bus came around the two presented their student IDs before paying and taking a seat.

Rhamina uncapped her Chia Pudding before pulling out a spoon from her purse and beginning her meal.

She tried to offer some to the fifteen-year-old but he denied it saying he was just going to buy something from the stores across the street from the high school. 

At eight forty a multitude of students had gathered at the still locked gate of the performing arts wing of the school and were complaining about how the school never let’s them in on time.

“Fuck this,”  Rhamina hissed as she made her way to the gate with her pendant glowing a light purple.

Along with that her eyes were glowing a soft gold color and her hair began to float as her raised her left hand.

Snap!

With the snap of her fingers the ravenette then pulled the gate opened without the silent alarms going off as her hair fell back down and neither her pendant or irises glowed.

“Mina!” a female called with a surprised/scolding tone.

“What?” she replied as she pulled over a nearby garbage can to keep it open, “We have an important meeting today and need to get started as soon as possible.”

“But we’re Peacekeepers!” the same female voice said worriedly.

“We only get in trouble if we get caught now get in the fucking gate,” Rhamina said pointing at the other kids already walking in.

“Good, someone already opened up the way to the tent,” she said as she walked through the open door of a classroom only to end up in the inside of a circus tent.

After waiting about ten more minutes Rhamina stood up from her spot on the ground and called, “Hey, Band!”

“Hey, what?!” was the simultaneous reply she got before everyone stopped talking and the tent became silent.

“Can someone shut the tent?” she asked glancing at the open archway before a short male closed the door causing it to phase out leaving a closed tent flap in its place, “Thank you, Zack.”

“Now!” she said snapping her fingers once again causing rows of desks to appear in front of the seats where the audience would usually sit, “As you guys are taking your seats what are the status on the recent missions we were given?”

“Trumpets finished their mission with no problems!” a Mexican female called giving a thumbs up.

“Alright, thank you Vivian,” Rhamina said before turning to another section of seats, “Everyone else finish?”

She earned a series of positive responses and nods before opening her purse to take out her traveller’s journal; however, she kept it open near and on her as she cleared her throat.

“Okay, now that basic stuff is out of the way, onto why most of you were actually excited about a meeting for once,” Rhamina said as multiple folders began flying out of her purse and landing in front of each occupied seat, “If you checked the discord server then you’ll already know that we’re going to be transferred to Japan for awhile and those are copies of the case reports for this job of ours.”

“As you know when thinking of places where magic runs rampant, Asia is at the top with the amount of creatures they have,” she explained earning agreements from the Asian teens in the troupe, “But recently there are an alarmingly higher rate of magical anomalies in Japan and the Council believes there was an interference to the peace.”

“So we’re all going to Japan to apprehend someone?” a smaller girl with curly, purple hair and glasses asked.

“Not exactly. With the extent of what has been happening recently the Council believes it is a group of at least ten people who did it and not only are we tasked with apprehending each of them but we have to fix all the anomalies and make sure they don’t happen again,” the ravenette said looking down at her notes momentarily.

“That’s all?” a male sitting towards the back asked with a shrug.

“Don’t get cocky, Justin,” Rhamina said with her eyes narrowed slightly at the male, “It sounds easy but we have some obstacles.”

“Now, you probably don’t know who they are since I’m sure none of you are as much of a weeb as me-” “Bet!” a Filipino female called from the front row next to a Mexican female with short brown hair.

“But I’m talking about the Sailor Senshi and Phantom Thieves of Hearts,” Rhamina continued, mostly ignoring the interjection of her sibling, “The Sailor Senshi are basically guardians and personifications of various celestial beings in space. They are seen as local heroes and normally we would have to do something about them being so flashy about their powers but it’s too late for that since they have basically become quite normal in Japan so we’re leaving them alone. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts are seen by the public as criminals but they’re only doing vigilante work which is what we used to do before becoming Peacekeepers so we’re just going to leave them alone as well.”

“How exactly are they obstacles, hoot?” another Filipino with short-ish brown hair asked from the third row.

“With both groups acting as the guardians of Japan they might see our presence as a threat and normally we would want to avoid them but with what we’re trying to do it’s inevitable we’ll cross paths with both groups,” the ravenette sighed before cracking her neck, “So we’ll basically try to convince them that we mean no harm and not get in their way and hopefully they won’t get in ours.”

“What happens if they do?” another male, this time Filipino, named Justin asked.

“What happens to anyone that gets in the way of the Three Ring Circus?” Rhamina asked instantly causing laughter to erupt throughout the tent.

“Hey!” the female barked, causing the ground to shake.

It was silent as she continued, “I’m being serious. I don’t want any conflict with them but we have a job to do so if they get in our way we know what to do.”

“Are there any questions?”

A few hands were raised and Rhamina picked her sibling first.

“Yes, Kerstin?”

“So we’re being transferred to Tokyo, Japan right?” the darkette asked earning a nod from the seventeen-year-old, “Where exactly will we be living?”

“I found some decent apartments in Tokyo that will be paid for by the Council and I have a house that you, Sam, Chloe, and Tijarah will be staying in with me,” Rhamina replied before choosing another person for questions.

“Alright!” Rhamina said at around 2:50 in the afternoon, “So we’ll be leaving for Japan in about three weeks so make sure you keep training and make sure all of your documents are up to date with the registry! That’s all for today so you’re dismissed.”

As soon as she said that the kids began to exit the tent and ended up back in the school hallway next to the gate they entered from.

Once it was only G-Lo and Rhamina in the tent she swiped her right hand from left to right with her palm held out causing the desks to disappear.

“Well, since we’re here do you want to go to Round 1?” Rhamina asked as they approached the gate which she now had to lock.

“We have three hours till the bus to take us home so might as well,” the male replied.

With that the two teenagers went on the twenty minute walk from the high school to the mall in which the arcade was.

They spent the first two hours playing arcade games and eating some food before they both decided to go up for karaoke.

“Why did I agree to do this?” Rhamina asked on the stage nervously holding a mic.

“No one else was doing it,” G-Lo reasoned looking through the song book, “Plus no one will pay attention.”

“Oh! I think you know this song!” he stated entering the song number as a familiar drum beat began to play over the speakers.

“G-Lo, you edgy bastard,” Rhamina chuckled as the lights began to flash different colors.

“Ever on and on I continue circling with nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony,” the male started while reading the lyrics from the small screen in front of them as the ravenette had begun the dance in the background, “Till slowly I forget and my heart starts vanishing. And suddenly I see that I can’t break free. I’m-”

“Slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity with nothing but my pain and the paralyzing agony,” the ravenette continued not paying attention to the audience they were gaining, “To tell me who I am who I was uncertainty enveloping my mind till I can’t break free and-”

“Maybe it’s a dream maybe nothing else is real but it wouldn’t mean a thing if I told you how I feel,” G-lo sung again as Rhamina dropped to background vocals, “So I’m tired of all the pain all the misery inside and I wish that I could live feeling nothing but the night.”

“You can tell me what to say, you can tell me where to go but I doubt that I would care and my heart would never know,” the ravenette sang glancing down at the lyrics every so often, “If I make another move there’ll be no more turning back because everything would change and it all will fade to black.”

“Will tomorrow ever come? Will I make it through the night? Will there ever be a place for the broken in the light?” G-Lo sung now doing the dance with Rhamina, “Am I hurting? Am I sad? Should I stay or should I go? I’ve forgotten how to tell. Did I ever even know?”

“Can I take another step? I’ve done everything I can. All the people that I see I will never understand,” both teens began singing as they now noticed the large crowd at the base of the stage, “If I find a way to change if I step into the light then I’ll never be the same and it all will fade to white.”

As both teens danced during the guitar solo Rhamina glared at the boy mentally saying, ‘Liar!’

“Ever on and on I continue circling with nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony,” G-Lo sang with a shrug in response to the ravenette, “Till slowly I forget and my heart starts vanishing and suddenly I can’t break free, I’m-”

“Slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity with nothing but my pain and the paralyzing agony,” Rhamina took over once again now plotting ways to get back at the younger male, “To tell me who I am, who I was. Uncertainty enveloping my mind till I can’t break free and-”

“Maybe it’s a dream, maybe nothing else is real but it wouldn’t mean a thing if I told you how I feel,” G-Lo continued starting to get a bit tired from the performance, “So I’m tired of all the pain all the misery inside and I wish that I could live feeling nothing but the night.”

“You can tell me what to say, you can tell me where to go, but I doubt that I would care and my heart would never know,” Rhamina sung feeling the same fatigue, “If I make another move there’ll be no turning back because everything would change and it all would fade to black.”

“If I make another move, if I take another step then it all would fall apart there’d be nothing of me left,” Rhamina sang as the song changed key, “If I’m crying in the wind, if I’m crying in the night will there ever be a way will my heart return to white?”

“Can you tell me who you are? Can you tell me where I am? I’ve forgotten how to see, I’ve forgotten if I can,” both teens sung pushing because they knew the song was almost over, “If I opened up my eyes there’s be no more going back ‘cause I’d throw it all away and it all would fade to black.”

As the two stood in their final pose, panting, the audience cheered loudly and the ravenette sat down on the stage.

“Never will this happen again!” she hissed at the male while trying to catch her breath.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think they would pay attention,” G-Lo responded as both of them walked off the stage and sat down to get drinks and take a break.

While the two were sitting many people came up to say what a great job they did performing and one of the workers even came by to give them a free ice cream each.

“So, I saw that you finally did a face reveal on your Youtube channel,” G-Lo said as they were finishing up their dessert.

“Yeppers, it was on the ‘Senbonzakura’ video I did,” Rhamina replied throwing away the paper around the cone, “It was so much more editing than I would usually do though so I might just stick to the simple drawings in the background I use.”

That night the ravenette sat at her Wiccan styled altar and picked up her tarot cards after saging them.

She shuffled them with her eyes closed, focused on their job on Japan before drawing the three top cards.

The first was the Knight of Cups, upright. A creative, dreamy individual, the Knight heralds new relationships, and friends. As a situation, he brings that holiday feeling- a sociable, languorous time spent musing on the infinite possibilities of life in a sunshine glow. If one falls for the Knight romantically, he may offer affection but one may feel uncertain about his potential as a long-term partner.

The second was the Six of Cups, upright. Past and present mingle, bringing happiness and stimulation. One benefits from skills acquired and contacts from the past, and appreciate what one’s life experience has brought them. An old friend or other acquaintance resurfaces, and one may enjoy time spent reminiscing. The company and ideas offer a spark of inspiration for future schemes and adventures.

The third was the Ace of Wands, upright. As a symbol of creative masculine energy, this card expresses inspiration and good communication, and favors all new plans and projects. Whether one is setting up a business or hoping to start a family, embarking on a trip away or an artistic pursuit, the Ace predicts great success. It’s the perfect time to take an important step forward.

‘Well, this seems like our mission will go smoothly then,’ the ravenette thought as she put away the cards.

If only it ever went as smoothly as she wanted.

~~~Fin. Chapter 1~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Song Used:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPLxGctIQJE

Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgeQPTq2xqk

Image: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/436497388884225850/

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[mama-m1na]

Journey of the Chaos Trio: Chapter 1

                                                    ~~~I~~~

A lone scout trudged through the mud as he went on his patrol everything was normal until he heard a twig snap.

“Halt!” he called aiming his crossbow in the direction the noise came from, “Who goes there?! In the name of King Harrow, reveal yourselves!”

With a flash of lightning the human male could see several shadows and knew he was outnumbered.

Being smart he ran but not before one decided to follow him.

He was easily disarmed once the figure had caught up.

“Please!” he pleaded looking up at the hooded figure who stood over him.

Before his life could be taken they locked eyes for a moment and in that moment his attacker hesitated allowing him to escape with his life and news to be brought back with him.

It was an early morning in the Kingdom of Katolis as a seventeen-year-old female rose from her bed in the maid’s chambers.

She brushed out her long raven hair which reached just past her lower back and washed her face to reveal clear tan skin as well as bright brown irises with flecks of gold scattered about.

With a yawn she took out a necklace from under her pillow and put it around her neck. It was a purple pendant with white moons on it and hung from a leather cord.

After braiding her hair she slipped into a white dress and a black surcoat with a corset design on the torso part.

“Morning, Mina! Hoot!” a younger female chirped, donned in apprentice knight clothing as she ran up to the maid who was starting her chores.

“Morning, Chloe,” the ravenette greeted back as she pat the girl’s head with her left hand, her right holding some books which she was delivering to Lord Viren.

“Mina, can you help me today?” the fourteen-year-old asked.

“I can’t I’m assisting Lord Viren and Lady Claudia today,” the female replied gesturing to the numerous books she held, “Plus you’re training with Sir Soren and Prince Callum today, aren’t you?”

“That’s why we need your help,” the brunette said as the fourteen-year-old prince was tossed in their direction.

“Hi, Rhamina, Chloe,” he greeted with a groan as the shorter female helped him to his feet.

“Sir Soren!” the ravenette called earning the attention of the blonde teen, “You’re supposed to be teaching him the skills of combat, not show off by throwing him around.”

“I’m doing my best here, Rhamina!” the blonde replied, “Little step prince here just doesn’t have any skill.”

Rhamina shook her head in disappointment at the treatment of the royal and walked towards the dejected boy.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness, you’ll get the hang of it,” the ravenette sighed as she gave the boy a pat on the shoulder before going off to complete her chore.

Upon entering the room where Lord Viren spent most of his time, Rhamina was immediately hit with the scent of sage and sandalwood.

“Lord Viren, the books you requested,” the ravenette said as she set them on a table across from where he stared at a floor length mirror.

“Ah, thank you, Rhamina,” he said not looking back at the female.

“Is there something wrong, Lord Viren?”

“This mirror was found in the Lair of the Dragon King,” he explained moving aside to reveal the glass, “Right next to his bed. This has to be of some importance.”

The female frowned at seeing the bright colored aura around it which other humans couldn’t see.

“You never know, Lord Viren,” the maid commented, “It could just be a piece of decor, dragons do have an attraction to shiny treasures.”

Before the male could speak a knock came at the door before a female knight with short brown hair appeared and said, “Lord Viren, King Harrow wishes to have a word with you.”

“Yes, thank you Lady Samantha,” the male said before turning to the ravenette, “Rhamina, wait here for Claudia.”

“Of course, Lord Viren,” the ravenette answered bowing her head slightly.

As the male walked out of the room the brunette looked towards her sister and fisted pumped while mouthing, ‘Fuck yeah!’

In response the ravenette shook her head while flipping off the knight earning a wink before she too left the room, leaving Rhamina alone in Lord Viren’s study in the reflection of the mirror.

Curiosity conquering her anxiety, Rhamina stepped forward and place both of her palms on the glass before closing her eyes.

She felt her own aura flooding it and moving past the glass searching for something, anything to give reason for it’s strange being.

She stopped when she felt something wrap around her waist and snapped her eyes open before backing away from the mirror.

“I fucking hate mirrors,” she muttered as she tried to shake off the feeling before covering the mirror back up.

About twenty minutes later both Prince Callum and Prince Ezran were called into a meeting with the king, their father accompanied by their personal maid, Tijarah.

“Ah, boys,” the King greeted, “You’ll be going on a trip to the Banther Lodge!”

“But it’s spring,” Callum retorted, “The Banther Lodge is the winter lodge.”

“Yeah,” added the younger Prince Ezran, “all the fun things there have to do with snow.”

“Well, I’m sure you can do the same things with… dirt,” the King chirped, “Try building a dirt man!”

The dark skinned maid only scoffed and tried to hide her laughter at the King’s slightly cringey behavior as the meeting continued.

“Why is he sending us to the Banther Lodge?” Ezran asked with his glow toad companion in his arms, “Something’s wrong.”

“Don’t worry, nothing’s wrong,” Callum smiled, “We’ll be fine.”

“But-” “If you’re that worried about it I’ll ask my sisters,” Tijarah spoke, “I’m sure one of them knows about it. Now get packing squirts.”

Afterwards, Lord Viren gathered his children into his study where the ravenette sat reading one of the tomes.

“Rhamina, come forth, this matter concerns you as well,” the mage stated causing the teen to put her book down and walk closer.

“It appears we have some visitors from Xadia,” he started with a frown, “Unwanted visitors.”

“What are they, minstrels or something?” Soren joked.

“Assassins,” clarified his sister, Claudia.

“I know,” the male shot back, “Who do you think I am? An idiot?”

“Do you want that question answered?” the ravenette scoffed high fiving Claudia.

“They’ve set up a secret camp somewhere near the base of the cliffs,” Viren continued ignoring their comments, “Soren, you will lead an attack.”

“Right,” Soren replied, “Their ‘secret camp’ how am I supposed to find them?”

“These assassins are Moonshadow Elves. They draw power from the moon.” he explained while picking up a small, white chest with the crest of the moon on it, “Inside this box is and Archangel Lunaris… a giant moon moth. It will be drawn to their energy. Follow it, and you will find them.”

“And what if it doesn’t work?” the blonde asked taking the chest from his father.

“Rhamina will accompany you,” Viren said as the teen’s eyes widened, “She is known for sensing auras. If the moths fails you, she will not.”

“What happens if he can’t find them at all?” Claudia asked.

“Then we may be on the brink of changing times.”

“Are you saying they’ll kill the king-” “Shh!” Viren hushed as he looked out the open window to see the princes in the courtyard before closing it, “Discretion, Boy! Do you want to cause a panic?!”

“I’m sorry-” “Just get out there and find them. Before sundown!” Viren said cutting off the male once again.

“So, if these are really Moonshadow elves, then once the full moon rises tonight,” Claudia started.

“They’ll be unstoppable,” finished her father.

“Well, I’m going to find a way to stop them,” Claudia said with determination.

Once Soren had assembled a team they met right before the gates with their horses.

“Wow, Mina gets to come on a mission!” a female with dark brown hair and black armor squealed.

“Yes, Kerstin, but I’m going to have a lot to catch up on with chores when I get back,” sighed the ravenette as she sat on her horse side saddle to make her her dress wouldn’t need to be pulled up.

“Don’t worry about it,” her sibling smiled, “Just get Tijarah to handle it.”

“Bitch, both you and I know she doesn’t even do her own chores,” chuckled the ravenette just as Callum stumbled in with ceremonial armor.

“Callum, get your ass back here!” Sam exclaimed as she watched him struggle to get to the group.

“Wait!” Callum called to Soren, “I’m coming with you.”

Rhamina sighed as all Soren did was tease the prince.

“I don’t care,” Callum stated as he attempted to mount one of the horses, “I know what’s going on and I’m coming with you.”

“No, you’re not,” Sam said as she pulled him back by the collar, “You are packing your shit.”

“But even Rhamina gets to go!”

Snap!

The fourteen-year-old male blinked as a millimeter away from his face were blades connected to an open, black war fan held by the ravenette.

“I can handle myself, Your Highness, and if you want to keep your father safe I think it’s best to stay here where he is,” Rhamina stated folding her fan and setting it in her lap, “You can keep a better eye on him that way.”

The prince could only watch dejectedly as the two lines of horses made their way out the gates as the brunette kept a grip on him.

In Callum’s bedroom the young Prince Ezran took a bite of a jelly tart he had taken from the baker as he looked for his pet, Bait.

Seeing a glow from under a pile of clothes he saw a glow and lifted it while saying, “Oh, Bait, you’re terrible at hide and seek.”

Just then Callum stormed in, still frustrated from what happened outside.

In his rage he upset his younger brother who locked himself in his room. Callum only looked at the door with guilt filled eyes as he continued to pack for their trip.

Meanwhile in the forest Soren began to follow the moon moth with his team covering good amounts of ground in a day.

They followed it to a clearing with a tree in the center surrounded with bushes where the moth had perched.

“Egnarts t’nsi ti?” Kerstin whispered as they dismounted.

“Haey, ti t’nsi larutan ta lla,” Rhamina replied in the same hushed tone.

“Nothing!” Soren scoffed as the moth fluttered around him before he turned to the ravenette, “Rhamina, do you sense anything?”

The ravenette closed her eyes and let her aura radiate and sweep the area. She definitely felt other presences and even turned her head towards them knowingly but opened her eyes and shook her head.

“I don’t feel anything at all,” she spoke, “It’s just us, the trees, and the moth.”

“Then we’re going to have to wait for the elves to come to us,” Soren spoke as he gestured for his team to get back on the horses.

As the others began to move back towards the castle Rhamina turned her head back once more and gave a sad smile before following.

When the team returned Rhamina, Kerstin, Tijarah, Chloe, and Sam were all called up to have an audience with the king.

“King Harrow,” two of the girls greeted before bowing.

The other three greeted, “Hi, Dad,” as they bowed.

“Girls, girls, you don’t need to do that,” he chuckled before letting out a sigh.

“I’m sure you are all aware of the situation we are in.”

“Yes, Sir,” the girls answered together.

“Then here are my last orders for you five,” he said turning to face them, “You are to stay with my sons and keep them safe.”

“Yes, King Harrow,” the girls replied going down onto one knee.

“I’m glad you five haven’t really changed in all these years,” the male sighed with a smile, “Your personalities have really brightened up this castle.”

“King Harrow, with all due respect please stop,” Rhamina said not looking up at the one who found the five girls on the streets five years ago, “If you continue then I’m sure I’ll start sobbing.”

“I’m sorry,” he chuckled with a sad smile.

Before he could continue the girls immediately tackled the king in a large hug.

The Crown Guard merely sighed at the group’s antics.

“I love you, Dad,” the ravenette said with a sniffle trying to keep her tears from falling.

“Mina, cut that shit out,” Kerstin said obviously crying as well.

“Hoot!” Chloe looked up at the male with tears streaming down her face as well.

“Girls, come on it’s okay,” the male said patting their heads.

“I am never okay!”

“Rhamina, I’m sorry!”

“Hoot! Mama Mina!”

“I am the epitome of depression!”

“Mina, calm the fuck down.”

“I hope you are rained on by Kerstin’s diarrhea.”

“Why would you wish that upon anyone?!”

“Stop making jokes about my shit!”

At this point in time the only sounds that could be heard outside of the meeting room were the wails of despair from five females and the frantic sounds of their king trying to get them to stop crying.

Ah, yes just another day in the castle of Katolis.

As the girls exited the meeting room Rhamina’s head snapped up in alarm.

“Mina, what’s wrong?” Chloe asked seeing the female react this way when someone was in danger.

“Go get packed. Ezran found something,” the ravenette said before bolting down a hall.

“What about your stuff?” Tijarah asked.

“I’ll take care of it later!” she called back before disappearing around a corner.

About half an hour later Callum was wandering the castle halls searching for his brother when he felt a presence trying to sneak up on him.

“You know you can’t sneak up on me Ez-” he was cut off by the sight of a hooded figure who wielded two blades, “You- you’re one of those with the pointy-.”

“Oh, you don’t like my ears?” the figure asked revealing themselves to be female.

“Uh, n- no. I mean yeah. Yes, I do, I guess. I mean- I meant the pointy swords.”

Before the figure could say anything Callum pulled a nearby tapestry over them and ran.

Using their blades, the figure shredded the large fabric over them and began to chase down the prince.

Upon making it into Viren’s study Callum called, “Claudia! Soren! Rhamina! Anyone!”

He was about to run out of the room but the figure was already in the doorway blocking his exit.

“You don’t have to die,” the assassin spoke, “There are only two targets tonight.”

“Wait, two? What do you mean?” Callum asked as he slowly stood up.

“I’m here for the King,” she explained, “and I’m also here for his son, Prince Ezran.”

“You can’t,” Callum uttered in disbelief, “That’s not fair. Why would you hurt someone who’s done nothing wrong?”

“Humans cut down the King of Dragons and destroyed his only egg, the Dragon Prince,” the female continued, “Justice will not be denied.”

“I see,” Callum sighed, “Well, then you’ve found me. I am Prince Ezran.”

“I have to do this,” the female said getting closer with her blades, “I’m sorry, I don’t want to but I have to.”

“Why? You know this is wrong.”

“An assassin doesn’t decide right and wrong, only life and death.”

“That’s clever but come on, really? How does this solve anything?”

“This is justice. Humans attacked us unprovoked.”

“So it’s okay for you to do the same thing?”

“Well no. This is different because we’re attacking you provoked.”

“Then it’s a cycle. You hurt me, someone else will get revenge on the elves. It won’t end.”

“Psst, Callum!” a younger voice whispered.

“Shh, go away,” the brunet hushed still looking at the female.

“I found something,” the voice continued.

“Callum, listen to your brother,” a female voice hissed.

“Are you talking to that painting?” the assassin asked with suspicion lacing her voice.

“Uh, why would I do that? Cause it’s not a good time!” Callum replied emphasizing his last phrase.

“You mean because you’re with a girl?” Ezran asked as the painting swung open to reveal the young prince standing next to Rhamina, “Uh, jelly tart?”

“Guys get out of here!”

“Callum, what’s going on?” the raven haired maid asked standing in front of Ezran protectively.

“Callum? I thought you were Prince Ezran,” the female elf said glaring at the fourteen-year-old, “You lied to me.”

“Callum, get in the painting,” Rhamina whispered as she stood aside for Ezran who was holding his glow toad.

“Have you met Bait?” he asked holding up the yellow creature, “Say hello to my little friend.”

With the last phrase Bait let out a strong glow, blinding the female allowing the three humans to escape through a tunnel behind the painting.

When they reached the end of a corridor the young prince began pressing a series of rocks on the wall in a specific combination.

“Ezran, Hun, she’s getting closer,” Rhamina said as she spread out her aura to find the elf getting closer to them.

“Done,” chirped the boy as a spiral staircase was revealed.

The ravenette ushered the boys down before she followed them down.

“Are you sure she won’t be able to follow us?” Callum asked as the staircase retracted once all three were in the room.

“No way,” Ezran said with confidence, “It took me a month to figure out that combination.”

Right after he said that the staircase opened up again revealing the female elf.

“But how did you-” “I just pressed all the stones with jelly handprints.”

“What is this place?” the elf asked looking around at the various ingredients for dark magic stored in the room, “Runann is right.”

At the name Rhamina tensed as the elf continued, “There’s nothing in humans worth saving. Humans destroyed the egg of the Dragon Prince. There must be justice.”

“You’ll have to go through me,” the maid said standing in front of the two males defensively as she snapped open her fan.

“Wait, you need to see something,” Ezran said stepping out from behind the ravenette.

“I’m not falling for that flashing frog trick again.” “He’s a glow toad.”

“But there’s no trick this time,” Ezran continued, “Please look.”

Rhamina stepped to the side to reveal something under a curtain and nodded at the young prince before looking up at the elf.

“Fine,” the female said putting her swords to the side as the ravenette closed her fan, “You uncover it. Slowly.”

The prince did as told revealing a glowing, blue egg with flecks of gold scattered about.

“It feels like there’s something alive,” Ezran explained as Callum and the elf stood in shock.

“It can’t be,” Callum gasped as Ezran picked it up.

“The egg,” commented the elf, “It wasn’t destroyed.”

As the group began discussing the egg they were interrupted by another voice.

“The egg wasn’t destroyed,” the elf said again, “But how?”

“Because my father saved it,” a female said as she descended the stairs.

“Lady Claudia?” “Callum, Ezran, Rhamina, get behind me I can protect you from the elf,” the emerald eyed mage said, primal stone in hand.

“Your father didn’t save it,” the elf spoke, “He stole it.”

“That’s a lie!”

“Then, Claudia, why is it here?” Callum asked.

“My father took it to protect us Callum, so the elves and dragons couldn’t use it against us!”

“What are you talking about?” the elf asked, “How can we use it?”

“Don’t play dumb!” Claudia snapped, “You know it’s a powerful weapon.”

“Weapon? It’s an egg!”

“Ezran, don’t be afraid,” the female said, “walk towards me and if she moves an inch.”

The primal stone fizzled as small bolts of energy sparked.

“It’s not a thing! It has a mother and it needs to go back to her,” the elf growled.

“You’re right,” Ezran spoke looking up at the female elf, “It wants its mother.”

As Ezran led the female elf down a corridor Callum interrupted Claudia’s spell and chained her to a wall leaving the ravenette to make her choice.

“Rhamina, help me!” the mage spoke as the ravenette entered the corridor and turned around.

“Claudia, I’m sorry but if this ends this stupid war then I’ll support it!” the seventeen-year-old said as she brought up her fists bringing up a wall of earth to block most of the doorway as her pendant began to glow.

As the group followed Ezran two smoke wolves began to chase them.

‘That smart ass!’ Rhamina hissed in her head as the female elf stayed behind to fight them.

When the other three hit a dead end the elf returned saying, “I can’t hit them, they’re just smoke.”

Callum then looked down at the primal stone he took from Claudia and remembered something.

“Guys I think I have something but I don’t know if it’ll work,” Callum said.

“Just do it!”

As Callum began drawing a rune in the air, Rhamina smirked and said, “I’ll help out,” before drawing the same rune as her necklace began to glow purple.

“Aspiro!” the pair said together as two columns of wind blew away the smoke wolves.

“You did it!” cheered the elf before turning to the male, “You never said you were mages.”

“A mage?” Callum asked.

“Someone who does magic, Callum,” Rhamina explained with a chuckle before turning to the elf, “What’s your name by the way?”

“Rayla, and you,” the elf said turning to the female who’s necklace just stopped its glow, “How did you get that necklace?”

“Hmm?”

“It’s the exact same one as Runaan’s and he said it was given to him by-” “We should get the egg to the roof,” Rhamina said cutting off the female, “If we show it to the assassins then maybe they’ll stop the mission.”

“That’s a good idea,” the elf said glancing warily at the ravenette.

“Yeah, I’ll try to inform the king of the news and you two stay together alright?” Rhamina said glancing at the two boys, “You’ll be safe with her and find my sisters they’ll understand what’s happenin and protect you.”

“And how do you know that?” Callum asked, “She just tried to kill me ten minutes ago.”

The ravenette looked back to the elf with a smile and replied, “She has a kind soul. You’d be an idiot not to trust her.”

With that the female bolted down the stone hallways and allowed her aura to spread as far as it could to reach her sisters plus Chloe.

‘Guys,’ she thought, her connection allowing the other girls to hear her, ‘We have a problem.’

‘What is it?’ Tijarah’s voice replied, ‘Isn’t it dangerous to talk to us like this?’

‘The egg lives and the princes have it,’ the ravenette continued as she made her way out of the tunnels to end up at one of the far gates, ‘You need to find them and stay with them at all times. Use your powers if you need to. Getting figured out is the least of our problems right now.’

‘On it,’ Sam said as she let her aura spread as well, ‘What about you?’

‘I’m going to tell King Harrow.’

Before anyone else could speak Rhamina cut off her aura and turned to one of the darkened corners of the outside.

“Who’s there?” she asked glaring at where she felt someone before attempting to bolt off to the tower with one goal in her mind.

Under the moonlight the two princes and elf made it to the gates of the castle.

“Guys, wait the fuck up!” a familiar female voice called to them.

“Kerstin, Sam, Chloe, Tijarah!” Callum said, “We can explain.”

“We know already,” Sam said, “Mina told us.”

“And it is by orders of the king we are to follow you wherever you go and protect you both,” Chloe said.

“Then where is the other one?” Rayla asked.

“Mina, is informing the king of what happened,” Tijarah replied, “But she can catch up to us easily we just need to keep going.”

In the King’s tower Rhamina stood before King Harrow, explaining what had been found.

“Please, King Harrow, all this bloodshed can be avoided,” the ravenette pleaded, “we can do something!”

“Yes, you, your sisters and my sons,” the king sighed, “My time is up, Rhamina. You’re a smart and kind hearted girl. I appreciate you but this cannot be avoided.”

“King Harrow-” “Rhamina, once they come through that door you are not to interfere, do you understand?” the king said sternly as tears began to fall once again from the ravenette’s eyes while the sounds of battle started right outside the door.

“It’ll be alright, you know what you have to do,” the male said embracing the teenager as her sobs grew louder, “You’ll be alright, you have your sisters with you.”

‘This isn’t fair,’ she thought burying her face in the clothes of her father figure, ‘Life continues to do this to us.’

Suddenly the door was broken down and the two pulled away with tears still falling down the female’s face.

“Your target is me,” Harrow spoke to the barely visible silhouette, “The girl has nothing to do with this.”

“I am aware,” a male voice spoke as she rushed forward, blades drawn.

Throughout the fight Rhamina slammed the doors shut and charmed them to keep anyone else from getting in to keep the fight fair for both parties as well as distract herself from what would happen.

As the fight dragged on the ravenette kept her eyes wrenched shut and hands over her ears to keep herself away from the violence she hated.

When the sounds of fighting stopped she turned around to see the lifeless body of the king on the ground and the elf on the balcony firing a black and red arrow into the sky.

Shakily she made her way to the body of the king and grabbed one of his hands while praying, “Yam ruoy luos tser ni ecaep dna dluohs ouy esoohc ot yats, hctaw revo su.”

Upon hearing what the human said the elf turned from his spot, panting and injuries everywhere, with wide eyes.

“You, how do you-” he cut himself off as he saw the pendant that hung from a leather cord around the female’s neck, sparkle in the moonlight that reached into the room.

It was the same one that rested over his heart.

“You-”

He was cut off by the door finally opening to reveal other knights who immediately made their way to the elf.

As a knight raised his sword Claudia stepped forward and said, “Wait, we may have use for this one.”

Rhamina raised her eyes up to meet the turquoise eyes of the elf across the room and she whispered two words.

“M’i yrros.”

~~~Fin. Chapter 1~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warnings: None

Songs used: None

Pic: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/155303887174296270/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[mama-m1na]

My Dear Minstrel: Chapter 2

                                                    ~~~II~~~

When the girls returned to their hotel room they spent the rest of the time goofing off, napping, or eating food.

Around 4 in the afternoon Rhamina got a text from Fidel.

“Wow, he actually texted,” she shrugged in slight surprise.

“Mina, no shit he would, he was the one who wanted to spend more time with you in the first place,” Sam scoffed from the other side of the couch.

“I didn’t expect him to be serious about that,” Rhamina replied as she sent a text back.

“Aw,” she voiced upon getting a reply.

“What did he say?” Sam asked looking up at her sister.

“He’s glad that Kerstin didn’t give him a fake number.”

“Aw, Mina, that’s cute!”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“I didn’t say anything,” smirked the brunette with glasses.

“You didn’t need to.”

About an hour before they were to return to the castle Rhamina changed into a pair of leggings and wore her black, over-sized, zip-up hoodie which displayed the past fall season’s marching band theme on it.

On her feet she wore a pair of black, heeled, combat boots with the laces tucked in so she would have a less likely chance to trip in the dark.

“Does everyone have their camera?” Rhamina asked as she slid the strap of her purse over her shoulder.

“We’re all good, hoot,” Chloe chirped as she waited by the door with Tijarah, Sam, and Hannah.

“Kerstin’s taking a shit,” sighed Sophie as she walked out of the bathroom with the sound of said brunette’s screams in the background.

“God dammit,” Hannah sighed while shaking her head.

“Kerstin, hurry the fuck up there might be traffic!” Tijarah exclaimed.

“Shut the fuck up you n-!” “Language you shit face!” Rhamina cut her off knowing what very offensive word the fellow Asian was about to use.

When the brunette was finally finished all the girls loaded into the van once again and began their drive as the sun began to set.

“Kerstin I hope to God you didn’t break the toilet,” Sam said.

“No! But I did use all the Glade.”

“God dammit,” Tijarah scoffed.

“Fucking you and your diarrhea,” Rhamina snapped while on her phone, reading fanfiction.

“How did you convince the parents to let us do this?” Hannah asked as she watched the road.

“We didn’t,” Kerstin replied while reading on her phone.

“What?” Sophie asked looking back at the other girls from the passenger seat, “What do you mean you didn’t?”

“We only said that we asked the parents,” Rhamina replied with a smirk on her face, “you never asked for their answer.”

“So we’re out here and they have no clue?” Hannah asked.

“No, to them we’re spending the night with Tijarah’s cousins,” Sam said also looking down on her phone.

“Oh, my shit,” Sophie whispered.

“Don’t go acting like me, Sophie-phie,” Rhamina said, “They’ll only find out if we act suspicious about it when we get back.”

“You’re right,” the brunette sighed as she turned back to the front, “We’ll be fine.”

As they drove through the gate Rhamina looked out the window to see an old woman waiting at the front steps of the castle.

“Hello,” Rhamina greeted once they walked up the steps after parking and after she pulled out her camera.

Since the outside lights were on there was no need for night vision mode just yet.

“Hello, children, I’m sorry I couldn’t introduce myself earlier,” the woman replied with a smile, “I am Eloise Howard, the current owner of Isenbardus Castle.”

“It’s nice to meet you ma’am,” the ravenette said while shaking her hand, “I’m Rhamina and these are Tijarah, Sam, Kerstin, Chloe, Hannah, and Sophie.”

“It’s good to know you girls are so active,” the woman chuckled, “Before you start your lock in, do you have any questions?”

“Yes actually,” Rhamina said feeling a question pop in, “How did you get this castle?”

“Oh, well it was passed down in my family for generations. After both Mistresses of the castle died my family who worked under the girls took it over and we’ve had it ever since.”

“Girls?” Sam asked.

“Yes, Both Kitsami and Marianna were only 19 when they died on the property,” the woman explained.

“Shit, they were young when it happened,” Kerstin said earning an elbow to the rib for cussing.

“Well, in that time the life expectancy was to be about 20 so they weren’t far off from their ends anyway,” the woman chuckled sadly, “Well, I’m just here to remind you that if you manage to find Kitsami’s diary, feel free to keep it.”

“How did the girls become infamous?”

“Well, Marianna was known for her harsh treatment of almost everyone except for Kitsami and Kitsami was mostly a shut in until her lover was killed,” Eloise said thinking back to the history of the twins, “The origin of the girls is mostly unknown and many presumed that they got the castle after their parents died at a young age and refused to let any other family members help them due to trust issues.”

“So I’m guessing their parents were murdered then?” Sophie deducted.

“That’s what the historians believed but no on can be for sure unless Kitsami wrote it in her diary and someone finds it.”

“Why would you let a stranger keep that?” Tijarah questioned, “Isn’t that an artifact?”

“Well, if any professionals couldn’t find it for the past century then the one who does find it would surely deserve to keep it,” the woman yawned, “Well, are you girls ready?”

With hearty agreements from the girls they walked in and waved as the doors were closed and locked.

“Okay, so we’re going to do a sweep of the whole castle then at around ten we’ll go to our places in our pairs,” Rhamina explained to her camera as the other girls pulled out flashlights.

“Mina, aren’t you forgetting something?” Kerstin asked.

“Oh, yeah,” the ravenette sighed as she turned the camera to face herself, “I’m going to be the one doing the separate part by myself in Kitsami’s room since apparently we look so similar.”

“You guys do though,” Hannah chipped in, “It’s uncanny!”

“Whatever you say.”

As the girls walked and did their thing throughout the castle they found what they usually saw when they did their little investigations. Things like temperature changes, doors swinging open and closed, chandeliers swinging, things flying across the tables, and some technology issues.

Most of the girls, mainly Rhamina, weren’t concerned with this as it has become usual for them; however, some like Tijarah and Chloe were still on edge at points.

Rhamina, being herself usually played things that were off putting off as funny things about the spirits instead of scary in order to make things fun. She did this back at their school and just in general she would turn crappy things into a joke to help herself and sometimes helped the atmosphere in general.

“Hoot, Mina!” Chloe called as she gripped the ravenette’s sleeve, “There was something moving over there.”

As the group looked over to the dark hallway where the fourteen-year-old was pointing Rhamina saw on her camera there was a human like shadow down the hallway that they couldn’t see.

“You right,” she shrugged before pulling the brunette back in the room.

“Mina, I’m scared!”

“You’ll be fine, they don’t want to hurt us,” the ravenette spoke, “They probably just want to have fun. I mean it must be boring to have to wander the exact same thing everyday right?”

Right after the ravenette finished her question one of the windows burst open startling many of the females but Rhamina.

“See, they get it,” she chuckled as she walked over and calmly shut the window, “Plus I’m the one who has to be alone in the room where someone cast a curse.”

Her calm and/or joking demeanor in most of the paranormal videos gets a lot of comments from the viewers. Many use this as evidence to show how the videos were staged and others are in awe of how she can remain so calm especially if they come across the occasional demon.

When ten o’clock rolled around the girls were in the lobby and each pulled out their own cameras.

“Okay, at eleven we meet back here and do a group seance, yeah?” Rhamina asked with nods from everyone else, “Alright see you guys in a bit. Love you, don’t die!”

“Love you too, Mina.”

“Bye, see you in an hour.”

“Don’t get possesed.”

“It was only once!”

“I didn’t mean to, hoot.”

The pairs were Sam and Kerstin going to the office; Hannah and Sophie going to the ballroom; Tijarah and Chloe going into the garden, specifically under the plum tree where two deaths occured; and Rhamina going by herself into the bedroom of one of the twins.

When Rhamina reached the room she immediately mover one of the chairs over and set the camera down to face her as she sat on the bed.

“So while I’m here I’m going to use my pendulum to ask a few questions as I usually do,” Rhamina explained as she pulled out the amethyst pendulum she brought everywhere with her.

“First question, is Kitsami here and am I currently speaking to her?” Rhamina asked as she dangled the crystal above her palm.

It swung back and forth in a straight line to show yes.

“Next question, did you always get along with your sister?”

It swung in counter-clockwise circles, indicating no.

As her questions went on Rhamina suddenly stopped and dropped her hands as an overwhelming sense of grief overtook her.

“It wasn’t fair what happened was it?” she asked softly as tears began to form in her eyes and she forgot completely about the camera, “She didn’t need to kill him.”

“He didn’t deserve it,” she whispered, “He was too good for what happened to him. It was all my fault. I couldn’t save him.”

“Ash, I’m sorry.”

The camera focused on her burying her face in her hands as sobs racked her body before it suddenly fell to the ground only seeing the opposite wall of the room from under the bed.

Suddenly the ravenette’s boots were seen in frame as she stood on the opposite side of the bed and the wall opened to reveal a hallway in which she disappeared.

Meanwhile, in the garden Chloe snapped her head up to the tower where the room was, startling Tijarah.

“My Mina senses are tingling!” she exclaimed as she tugged on the older female’s wrist dragging her into the castle.

“Chloe, what’s going on?!” Tijarah asked as she was dragged around trying to keep the camera steady.

“Something happened with, Mina! Hoot!”

“Holy shit, Mina!” Tijarah called in alarm once they got in the room.

Through the new hallway both females saw their friend floating in a hidden room in front of a podium. Her body was covered in a soft purple light and once she was slowly turned towards them, it was clear she was unconscious.

Immediately Tijarah shoved the still recording camera into Chloe’s hands as she ran into the other room.

The moment she touched Rhamina the ravenette immediately dropped causing Tijarah to barely catch her.

“Mina, Mina!” she called earning a groan in reply, “okay, she’s still alive.”

“Tijarah, look!” Chloe called as she took the black book off the podium.

“Uh, keep that, just get her camera,” Tijarah said as she moved the ravenette to the bed.

“What happened?!” Kerstin and Sam burst into the room.

“We heard yelling and not the fucking around kind,” Kerstin said out of breath.

“Fucking, Mina was floating,” Tijarah spoke running her hands through her short hair, “It was fucking freaky. She was just floating there!”

“I would doubt you but with the shit we’ve seen I’m not surprised,” Sam said in between pants, “Fuck we’re so out of shape.”

“Plus, Mina’s camera is still recording,” Chloe said picking up the equipement, “She usually stops it.”

“Chloe-” “What happened?! We heard screaming and not the ‘Kerstin did something retarded’ kind!” Sophie exclaimed as she and Hannah burst into the room.

“Motherfuckers,” Kerstin muttered as Chloe and Sam burst into laughter.

“Chloe, check her recording to see what happened,” Tijarah sighed.

“The fuck?” she asked looking at the screen, “She was just doing her normal thing and that door- wait what?!”

Chloe shrieked as she looked up to where the opening was only for it to be gone.

“Can you guys shut the fuck up?” groaned the ravenette as she rose and rubbed her eyes, “What? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

After explaining what they saw and giving her the book, Rhamina only gave them a confused look, “No, I don’t remember that.”

“Mina, have you always had that necklace?” Chloe asked pointing at the purple pendant with four moons hanging around the ravenette’s neck on a leather cord.

“No, I have not but it’s mine now,” she said picking up the book and opening it to find it written in a dead language she somehow knew.

“Holy shit, this is Kitsami’s Diary,” she whispered showing them the strange written characters.

“Mina, what the fuck does that say?” Sophie asked.

“Siht yraid sgnoleb ot Kitsami eht Tsrif, ‘This diary belongs to Kitsami the First” Rhamina translated.

“Mina, how the fuck do you know how to read that?” Hannah asked earning looks from the others.

“It’s in Enochian. I just know how to read it for… reasons…”

“What answer would you expect, Hannah?” Sam asked, “it’s Mina.”

“So, now what?” Kerstin asked.

“Well, we can find out more about this tomorrow and just finish off with the seance before attempting to go to sleep,” Rhamina suggested as she looked through the pages of the book, “It’s already eleven right?”

“Are you sure, Mina?” Sophie asked as the girls looked to the ravenette with concern, “I mean…”

“I wasn’t really possessed, just knocked out and attracted to something shiny probably so I’ll be fine,” the ravenette said taking out candles from her purse as well as some matches.

“Mina?”

“Yes?”

“Did you-?” “Yes, I had this since before we got on the plane in this purse.”

“How did security not take those from you?”

“I don’t know.”

“God dammit,” Sophie sighed even more when Kerstin pulled out a Ouija board from her back pack.

“Kerstin, you know I’m not touching that,” Sam said causing Kerstin and Rhamina to give her a look.

“It’s literally the same as using a pendulum for talking to spirits,” Rhamina explained.

“Yeah,” Kerstin added as she began to lead the girls into the office, “Nothing will happen as long as we use it properly.”

As Kerstin set up the board, Rhamina started setting up candles and lit them while the other girls gathered around the set up on the floor.

“Mina, you better not say any weird shit before we start,” Tijarah warned still being freaked out easily by this kind of thing.

“I won’t she chuckled as everyone placed their hands on the planchette, “Stirips, fi uoy era ereh hcuot Tijarah.”

“Mina!” “Careful, don’t take your hands off if we haven’t said goodbye yet,” Rhamina cackled earning a glare from the female to her left.

They spent an hour trying to talk with and get some answers from the spirits, this being a quite successful session.

“Before we leave to go to sleep, I have one more question,” Rhamina said looking up, “At any point tonight did any of us have an encounter with a demon?”

“Mina!” the girls scolded.

“What? I just want to know and you know this is a question I always ask.”

Many of the girls groaned as the planchette began to move to yes.

“Mina, I’m going to piss myself.”

“Please don’t,” the ravenette said before everyone said goodbye and put the board away.

“So do y’all just want to sleep here?” Sophie asked earning nods from the girls.

“Hell, yeah plus the bathroom is literally next door,” Rhamina chuckled.

“Good cause I need to take a shit,” Kerstin said immediately standing up, forgetting that the camera was on and still recording.

“Fucking idiot,” Rhamina snickered as she zoomed in on the female who was leaving the room.

The rest of the night passed with nothing really strange going on other than some creaks from other rooms or the occasional giggle from one of the girls who wasn’t asleep yet.

The ravenette opened her eyes to see she was in the castle but the sun was up and she was in the bed in Kitsami’s room.

‘The fuck?’ she thought as she got up and looked in the mirror to see her hair which usually fell to her upper thighs, now reached her knees and she was wearing a lavender colored nightgown, ‘Even more the fuck?!’

“Ms. Kistami, you’re already up that’s good!” a female dressed in a maid’s uniform chirped from the door, “Sir Ash is waiting for you in the garden so get dressed quickly!”

Before the ravenette could ask any questions the woman left and she sighed before turning to a chair in the corner of her room that had the same dress Kitsami wore in the portrait.

“Holy shit, why can’t it be acceptable to wear this in public at home?” Rhamina asked as she admired herself in the mirror, “Just wish the person wearing it looked nicer.”

When she was finished the teen made her way through the halls past what she assumed were servants before she went out into the garden to see the blonde male sitting under a plum tree.

“Ash!” she unconsciously called as she walked over to sit next to him.

‘So that’s your name? Ash?’ she thought as the male wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“Morning, Kitsami,” he greeted laying a kiss on the top of her head, “I see you’re wearing that dress again.”

“Is there something wrong with it?” she asked looking down at the dark fabrics.

“No, it’s just that isn’t it a bit cold to be wearing a dress like that?”

“My legs and arms are covered,” she said pointing at her gloves and tights, “Plus it isn’t that cold.”

“Says the one who just got over a cold,” the male scoffed lightly.

“How was I supposed to know it was going to rain?” the female retorted with a small pout.

“Kitsami, I’m just worried about you.”

“You don’t need to be I’m a witch after all!” chirped the ravenette as she watched the foxes scitter about the garden.

“So you have heard what the townspeople are saying about you,” the blonde sighed sadly, “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry about it, Ash, I mean they are right,” she shrugged, “That’s what I am, a witch. I cast my spells through music and magical things happen.”

“It’s natural for humans to be afraid of things they don’t understand,” the ravenette continued as she reached up for the male’s blonde locks, “That’s what kept them alive and evolving for so long.”

The male only let out a heavy sigh before looking at the female who’s attention had turned to a black fox kit across the garden who was being chased and picked on by the other foxes.

“Hey, that’s enough!” she scolded walking over and picking up the small canine, “Be nice to Zaneri!”

Rhamina woke up with a start by falling from the couch and onto the floor.

When she checked her phone for time it was 5:30 in the morning, thirty minutes before Eloise would be back to let them out.

With a small groan, Rhamina stretched out before walking to the bathroom with her boots and socks off from before she went to sleep.

As she inspected herself in the mirror after washing her hands she noticed the necklace she had gotten from the night before.

“What exactly are you?” she asked before drying her hands off and walking back into the room where the girls were waking up.

While they waited Rhamina went through more of the book to see many pages filled with music and songs as well as actual diary entries and random thoughts Kitsami scribbled down.

When six o’clock came, Eloise led them to her office and asked, “So how was last night for you girls?”

“Well, it was pretty eventful but we found this,” Rhamina said handing over the black book with yellowed pages.

“Oh dear lord!” she gasped flipping through the book, “You actually found Kitsami’s diary!”

She then smiled at the ravenette before handing the book back, “I had a feeling you would be the one to find it. Now as promised it is yours to keep.”

“Are you sure?”

“Completely, now did anything else happen?”

“Well Mina somehow found a secret room and was floating ominously in front of a podium with that book on it,” Tijarah said earning glares from the other girls.

“She what?” Eloise asked in confusion.

With a sigh Rhamina took Tijarah’s camera and played the part where she and Chloe came across the ravenette.

“Oh, well,” the woman gasped, “I would tell you what I think but I think it’s best if you read the diary first then come back to me.”

“Thank you for letting us stay the night Ms. Eloise,” Rhamina said after they all went outside, “It was a fun experience.”

“I’m glad and I hope to see you again,” Eloise said as the teenager went to the van, “Welcome back, Mistress. How I hope your sister still sleeps.”

As they started their drive back Rhamina opened the book to a random page and began to look through the music.

“Song of Wind, huh?” she muttered while playing the notes through an app on her phone.

“So what is in that book?” Kerstin asked as she looked over to the ravenette who was in the row of seats in front of her, “Just songs?”

“And some random shit,” Rhamina said finishing what she could, “I think I know how it goes now.”

“Kaze no nawo, kaze no nawo, nare yume wa kotaeru hibuki. Kaze no nawa, kaze no nawa, shino kake uke de subete o sa baru,” she began as the blue crystal around her neck began to glow and as the van entered a valley, “La lala, nakosu no sakebi. La lala, naha nachino atte, no mare kie saruno, kaze no inomama ni.”

“La lala, naze no koshi naru. La lala, naha nachino atte. Nanimo moko sazuna kaze no koko arito,” she continued as the others began to notice the wind began to pick up outside the van, “Ukiade yo adeta sono atto de hikari ga sora watte dasura no wo. Wararagakiro aratanashi.”

“Holy shit!” Hannah exclaimed as the van began to lift off from the ground, “Mina, what the fuck is happening?!”

“Hoot! Hoot! Hoot!” Chloe screamed as she gripped onto the ravenette’s arm in absolute fear.

“Ukiade yo adeta sono atto de hikari ga sora watte dasura no wo,” most of the girls were now just yelling in either panic or excitement as the female continued, “Kaze wa utabisaru, kaze dashite!”

Once Rhamina was finished the van was lowered until the wind died down completely and Hannah pulled over to look at the ravenette with wide eyes.

“Mina!”

“Fuck yes!” she exclaimed, “You know what this means?!”

“Adventure, Bitch!” Kerstin exclaimed in excitement.

“Hell yeah, live like an anime!” Sam added as the appropriately named ‘Chaos Trio’ screamed in excitement.

“I wanna try!” Kerstin exclaimed and Rhamina handed over her phone with the melody.

However as Kerstin sang the song nothing happened.

“So it only works with Mina? Thank fuck,” Sophie sighed in relief.

“Hey!”

“No offense, Kerstin, but I don’t feel like getting sucked into a tornado each time you need to take a shit,” Sophie said as Hannah shakily continued the drive back.

“Fair point,” Kerstin shrugged handing the book back to Rhamina.

“Mina, don’t test out anymore songs right now please,” Hannah pleaded as she saw the ravenette looking through the book in the mirror.

“Fine,” groaned the seventeen-year-old who was shaking in pure excitement as she read through the journal.

“Hey, guys it says there are labyrinths scattered around the world with powers there waiting for who conquer them,” Rhamina spoke after about five minutes of silent reading.

“What are you suggesting?” Hannah asked.

“We claim them and become a power group,” Rhamina said, “All the fics I’ve been writing since freshman year will come true.”

“Hoot, Mina, I come with you!” Chloe exclaimed, “I will become true nekomancer!”

“Yes!”

“Mina, fuck yes!” Sam and Kerstin exclaimed.

“Where are they?” Tijarah asked.

“Well it says the Labyrinth of Sloth is only a two days walk from the castle,” Rhamina said.

“Are we seriously going to do this?” Sophie asked.

“Sophie, I know you want an adventure as much as we do,” Rhamina said her aura filling the car as well as the excitement from Sam, Kerstin, and Chloe, “And Hannah, we can bring Jaylin with us. Forget about our troubles and bring back treasure to your families.”

“I’m down,” Sophie agreed, deciding to go with the adventure she dreamed of since she began watching anime as a child like most of the others, “When are we starting.”

“We can do it after the Sunday after the comp,” Rhamina suggested, “But after that we’re going to have to go off the grid.”

“That’s fine,” Kerstin said, “This is what we planned to do after high school anyway. What’s wrong with starting two years early?”

“You guys realize we could die right?” Tijarah asked, “I mean I want to do this too but death.”

“We ride together, we die together right?” Rhamina asked with a large smile, “That’s what we promised after all.”

~~~Fin. Chapter 2~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Warnings: None

Song Used: “Song of Wind” - Lost Song

Picture: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/436497388882664518/

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[mama-m1na]

LKI: Chapter 1

                                                     ~~~I~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Warnings: None

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a warm, Spring night in Utemelac Prison; however, one cell always managed to stay ice cold.

“What the hell have we told you about using magic, Witch?!” an armored male exclaimed as he struggled to open the door frozen shut.

“Kiss my ass, Warden!” barked a ravenette as her unique eyes were locked onto the book in her lap.

“This is why you’re always in solitary, dammit!” the male exclaimed as the door finally gave way and opened.

“And the way you run your mouth is why you’re still single,” replied the teen who sat on her cot perfectly comfortable in the below freezing temperature.

“Your sister is here to visit you,” muttered the male earning an immediate glare from the female.

“My sisters are locked up here with me,” she growled as she snapped the book shut and placed it under her pillow, “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean,” the male sighed as he stepped aside to expose the open door, “Come on, Rhamina.”

The shackles around her wrists and ankles rattled as she followed the male down the hallways lit only by the torches on the walls to a room where a gold-clad female sat.

“Rhamina!” the female knight said in happiness as she stood and hugged her almost mirror image.

Both females had tan skin and jet black hair; however, the knight’s was cut extremely short, like a male’s and Rhamina’s hair was long and silky just reaching her upper thighs.

The most iconic parts of each female however, were their eyes. Rhamina’s were brown while the other’s were red but they both shared the gold flecks that seemed to float in their irises.

“Why are you here, Marina?” the prisoner asked in a low tone keeping her arms to her sides, “Better question, why do you keep coming here, Marina?”

“Oh, silly, I came to wish you a happy birthday because I won’t be able to come here tomorrow,” the knight said backing off of her hug, “And I keep coming because I want to make it up to you.”

“For the past near seventeen years I’ve been alive here’s the one thing I’ve learned the hard way,” Rhamina said with a sneer, “Never forgive, never forget. Otherwise you’ll be a tool for the rest of your existence. I will no longer be that way and there is no way you will be forgiven.”

“We really are too similar, Rhamina,” Marina chuckled pitifully as her eyes began to water, “I know that lesson, we learned the first half together you know? I’m fighting a war right now.”

“An unnecessary war,” the younger twin spat, “You’re killing innocent people just so this kingdom can gain more territory to control when the people who live here currently suffer enough.”

“This war has been going on for two years already. One year before we were caught and continuing on through this day,” she continued, “The more money spent on it, the higher the taxes will be. Already most of the people cannot pay them and the more the people on the streets will suffer, the number of those on the streets will increase. And from what I’ve noticed we’re lucky to end up here because we get better housing and more food than the citizens currently. Do you know how fucked up that is? Why exactly did this war start again? Was this kingdom defending or was this kingdom trying to consume more land?”

It went silent after that until the warden returned and said, “It’s lights out, the witch has to return to her cell.”

“Good night, Rhamina, I love you,” Marina said as she stood giving the ravenette another hug.

“Don’t waste those three precious words when you don’t mean them,” the sixteen-year-old hissed as she ripped away and followed the warden back to her cell.

“Why must your words be daggers towards Lady Miyu?” the warden asked without looking back at the ravenette, “she did save your life.”

“And she was the one who endangered it. Not only mine but also the lives of my sisters. Let my words be daggers and may the wounds I inflict never heal.”

The next morning Rhamina was awoken by the sound of her cell lock turning.

“Morning, Witch,” one of the younger guard greeted, “Time for breakfast.”

“Morning, Cuntface,” the ravenette yawned causing the male to sigh, both parties already used to her disrespect to the authorities.

“Heard it’s your birthday, today,” the male said trying to dissipate the silence as he walked her to the cafeteria.

“Awe, how sweet you remembered it’s been one year since I was put in this hell hole,” the ravenette replied while rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

“It’s pretty sad you know?” she asked upon reaching the door, “If we had met in the village we probably would’ve been good friends but can’t change the past.”

Before the guard could reply the teen disappeared in the large room and lined up to get her food.

“Mina!” called a shorter female dashing to stand right next to the ravenette.

“Hello, Chloe,” she greeted grabbing a tray and handing it to her.

“You got put in solitary again.”

“Yep,” Rhamina replied as food got put onto her tray.

“Mina, that’s not good,” the fourteen-year-old said.

“Bitch, deserved it,” the ravenette said nonchalantly with a shrug as she took her tray to the usual table her sisters sat at.

“Mina, you yeeted a guard over the wall during morning time. Hoot!” Chloe said dashing to keep up with the ravenette.

“He was talking shit on a kid who did nothing,” Rhamina scoffed taking her seat to be bombarded by affection from three of the females already there.

“Happy birthday, Bitch!” Kerstin exclaimed as she, Sam, and Tijarah began to smother the now seventeen-year-old.

“Awe, Mina-chan is old now!” Tijarah chirped at the struggling ravenette.

“Fuck off and let me eat dammit!”

“Awe, Mina, you’re such a floof,” Sam cooed completely ignoring the female who just wanted her food.

After a few minutes the other girls sat down as Rhamina glared at them before taking bites of her food.

“Happy Birthday, Mina,” Sophie greeted as she passed a large parcel underneath the table before whispering, “It’s from me, Hannah, and Jaylin.”

“Awe, you guys are too nice,” Rhamina replied managing to secure it in the waistband of her pants, “Also I’m pretty sure I just got more days on solitary.”

“What? How?” Hannah asked.

“You know how it got pretty hot last night?” Rhamina started, “Well, I made it not hot in my cell.”

“God dammit, Mina, we were planning on spending your birthday together!” Sam chuckled.

“Seven Witches of Utemelac, you are summoned by the royal family get your shit!” one of the guard exclaimed.

“The fuck?” each of the girls asked in unison but got their asses up anyway the only one in shackles being the ravenette.

They were led by a large group of royal guards to a carriage which they somehow crammed into to fit.

Chloe was on the floor clinging onto the ravenette’s leg by herself as Rhamina took out the parcel from her waistband.

She then proceeded to unwrap the brown paper and twine that held it closed and smiled at the familiar black book in her hands.

“How were you guys able to get this?” Rhamina asked as she opened it to reveal a deck of oracle cards in the hollowed out portion of the the book.

“Jaelin was able to go to your old house and get it,” Hannah explained as the ravenette could still feel the energy running through the cards.

“Thanks guys,”Rhamina smile while reaching over to give the pair hugs, “But I really wonder why we were called up by the royal family.”

“How much you want to bet it has something to do with Marina?” Tijarah spoke as she looked out the small window attached to the door on her side.

“Wouldn’t be surprised I mean that bitch has been trying to have a solid conversation with Mina for a while,” Sam added, “Even though she is the reason why we got caught anyway.”

“Fucking screw this kingdom, my dudes,” Rhamina sighed as she put the cards back into the book, “They’re so close-minded it hurts.”

It took about half an hour to reach the castle from the prison despite it still being in the capital city.

When the girls arrived they were led into the castle by the guards and on the way they earned stares from the staff and any nobles who were by chance there.

Quickly getting irritated at all the eyes on her Rhamina hissed at her audience who immediately turned away or left the room which earned loud laughs from all of the females.

“Hush up, Witches,” hissed one of the males.

“Eat a dick you know it was funny,” Rhamina replied with a smirk earning a glare.

“Aw, what are you going to do? Kill me? Go ahead but there’s no guarantee I won’t haunt you,” she pushed as they neared the throne room.

“Mina, calm down we don’t want to mess around here,” Hannah warned earning the sad fish face.

As the doors opened the male announced, “Your Highness, the Seven Witches.”

“Thank you, now leave us please,” the king requested as the two ravenettes locked eyes from across the room.

As soon as the door closed Marina stood up and greeted, “Happy birthday, Sister.”

“It was,” Rhamina stated as she and the others walked closer to the throne, “Until I saw you again.”

“Come now don’t be like that,” the King laughed, “I have a proposition for you girls.”

“Mhm, and what would that be?” Tijarah scoffed as Kerstin and Sam not so discreetly kicked her in the shins.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of Ibadora, yes?”

“Yeah,” Sam interjected in a judgemental manner while rolling her eyes, “It doesn’t fucking exist.”

“Funny you should say that am I right, Kitsami Verum Princeps Ibadora?”

Rhamina’s head snapped up at the mention of the name she had not heard since her childhood.

“What other secrets have you exposed now, you idiot?!” she barked at her golden-clad reflection.

“Rhamina, please just listen,” the older twin pleaded noticing the ravenette’s locks slowly start to float in the areas surrounding her body and the temperature drop.

“My proposition is that if you lead us to Ibadora then you will be pardoned of your crime,” the King spoke earning an immediate response.

“Absolutely not,” Rhamina snapped earning a gasp from Marina.

“Excuse me?” the King asked glaring down at the seven teenagers before him.

“Why should she let you have access to Ibadora when you’re such a shitty ruler to your own people?” Sam questioned earning glares from Hannah and Sophie despite the fact they agreed.

“Knowing you, you’d use its resources for another pointless war,” Tijarah added.

“That’s enough!” the King boomed as he rose violently from his throne, “I tried to be reasonable and let you choose correctly on your own; however, it seems that will not be happening.”

“Damn right.”

“Guards!” called the King as armored males entered, “Store them in the dungeons until their voyage tomorrow morning.”

As soon as a hand touched her shoulder Rhamina grabbed the male by the arm and threw him directly at the king.

“Yeet!”

“Y’all bett keep praying to that god of yours because you do not want to see me in hell,” she growled as the male hit a magic barrier set up by Marina.

The clang echoed throughout the dungeons as the cell door was slammed shut.

“You better not freeze the entire fucking cell, Mina,” Sam warned to the girl who had already gathered herself in a back corner under the barred window.

“No promises,” she snickered, “it is pretty hot down here.”

The rest of the girls groaned as the ravenette cackled like the witch she was.

“Can you shut the fuck up?!” one of the other criminals barked from across the hallway.

“You shut the fuck up, Faggot!” Kerstin replied as she through a rock blindly through the cell bars.

…

…

…

Thud! “Ow!”

“Holy shit, I actually hit him!”

That night an advisor to the King went down into the dungeons to speak with the witches.

“For the last time I couldn’t lead anyone to Ibadora even if I wanted to,” hissed the irritated Rhamina.

“And why is that?”

‘Mother fucker I should cut off your fucking dick-’ “Because I don’t have my notes or my relic,” she seethed, “I had to hide them before we were arrested.”

“Then we’ll just have to retrieve them,” the male stated as if nothing were wrong.

‘Bitch.’

“Sounds easy but I for-fucking-got where I hid them,” the ravenette voice with a smirk.

“Both of us know that’s a lie, you’d have to be stupid to forget something like that,” the male sighed, “Now where is it?”

“Fuck you that’s where.”

“…”

“...”

“They aren’t being touched by anyone but me,” Rhamina finally said after the male looked at her like an she was an idiot.

“Fair enough,” he shrugged, “Guard, unlock the door.”

Once the cell door opened Rhamina stepped over her sleeping companions and followed the advisor up the stairs.

“So where exactly did you hide them?” he asked as had a carriage prepared.

“The forest.”

“How cliche.”

“What did you expect?” Rhamina scoffed, “I had a limited amount of time and nowhere else to hide it.”

The trip was silent for the most part with the teen looking out the window at the moon.

Upon arriving to the forest the female led to the advisor and the guard deeper and deeper into the forest until he asked, “Are you sure you know where you’re going?”

“Yes, now shut the fuck up we’re almost there.”

After a few more minutes they came upon a clearing with a large lake in the middle.

“How is this here?” the advisor gasped as he and the guard gaped at the landmark not yet recorded on their maps.

“She only lets those she deems worthy in,” the ravenette said before turning to the large body of water, “Come now, friend, return what I desire.”

Suddenly a woman rose from the center of the water.

She had fair skin, long wavy blue hair, and a flowing white dress.

As they floated across the water towards the ravenette a metal box could be seen in her hands.

Once she left the container in Rhamina’s hands her eyes drifted towards the two males and she gave a sneer before her body turned into water before dropping back into the lake.

Slowly the lake and clearing began to fade back into an endless sea of trees.

“What was-” “I told you already, the Lady of the Lake only lets in those she sees worthy.”

The ride was back was very similar to the one they had taken there the only difference being Rhamina stared down at the box in her hands instead of the moon.

“Alright back in you go,” the guard said opening the cell door for the ravenette.

As she walked back into the cell the male felt the temperature drop a few degrees; however, he missed the smirk on her face while she gripped onto the metal box.

The next morning the girls were awoken by water being poured on them.

“Get up, Witches, you need to get prepped then you’re off,” one of the guards growled.

“Lick my ass,” Rhamina groggily hissed as she began to ring out her hair.

As she stood up she took the metal box into her hands earning the gazes from her sisters.

“You’re actually going to show them?” Sophie whispered recognizing the box from the year prior.

“We’re going to have to see if I can even find it myself,” the ravenette chuckled as the girls were led to a separate wing of the actual castle.

Their confusion only rose when they entered a luxurious bathroom and turned to the guards with raised brows and even more when he unlocked the shackles on Rhamina’s wrists and ankles.

“Clean yourselves up, you’re having breakfast with the Royal Family,” the male explained as he walked out the door, “clothes will be delivered by maids in fifteen minutes.”

It was silent for a few moments as Rhamina looked at the dark marks left on her wrists from trying to escape them so many times.

There would be definite scarring but she couldn’t help but feel at least a bit more free than she had been.

“I call the bath first losers!” Rhamina cheered as she raced towards the marble tub and began to run the water.

As she began to prep a hair mask for herself made from egg, honey, and olive oil the other girls began to start their own cleansing routines.

While the water was warming up Rhamina let her hair absorb the vitamins and proteins soak into her dirty and greasy locks. She had kept it as soft as she could in prison but felt so happy upon being able to return to her usual hair routine prior to getting arrested.

Of course as she ran her hands through the soaked locks she casted small glamours to keep her hair softer and luxurious as it always was.

After about ten minutes she rinsed her hair in the shower area and sank into the now filled tub to shampoo and condition her hair before she let herself completely relax into the warm water.

Her wrists and ankles stung but she could slowly feel the water caress her wounds as if welcoming back a lover, slowly relieving them of their pain.

Five minutes later a few maids came in to leave clothes for the girls which were all black tank tops, black pants, and black boots with golden chains to accent the boots and act as a belt.

“I bet, Mina, is loving the outfit choices right now,” Sam teased as the female was drying herself off.

“True, but I would love them more if those chains were only a fashion statement and didn’t mark us as prisoners,” she replied summoning small gusts of wind to dry her hair.

After everyone got dressed Rhamina took the box in her hands and the others gathered near her.

“Did you already open it?” Kerstin asked looking down at past memories.

“Only to put the cards in it, I haven’t looked at anything else.”

“Well, no time better to look since we’re going to need that shit,” Tijarah said placing a hand on Rhamina’s shoulder.

“You right,” she chuckled placing her right hand over it.

Her hair began to float again as a soft blue light came from under the girl’s hand and the others could feel magic slowly start to fill the room.

When the light died down Rhamina’s hair stopped floating and she moved her hand away and the lid of the box flipped open.

On the top was the book containing oracle cards which Rhamina moved to give view to a red, hardcover book and a necklace with a large, tear drop shaped, aqua colored crystal with a sigil engraved into it strung onto a golden chain.

“Still the same as we left them,” Rhamina smiled as she put on the necklace feeling a new surge of energy flow through her before looking through the pages of the book to see the language only she and her twin could read.

“Lucky the ink didn’t run,” she chuckled before snapping the book shut, “We should get going now.

As soon as the girls exited the bathroom the guard led them to the dining room where they were met with the King, Queen, the three princesses, and Marina already seated at the table.

Around Marina’s neck Rhamina noticed the glint of a red crystal with etchings in it.

“Good to know you didn’t lose it,” Marina smiled cheerily earning a glare from her sister.

“I should be saying that to you considering the fact you easily lost my trust,” Rhamina replied while crossing her arms.

Marina looked sadly at her younger sister eyes widening when she saw the dark marks around her wrists but before she could say anything the Queen said, “Sit please.”

The girls obeyed takings seats as far away from the individuals dressed in bolder colors.

“Might I ask why we are having breakfast with you if we were basically treated like pigs last night?” Rhamina asked as food was placed in front of everyone.

“Well, we wanted to apologize for what happened to you last night,” the Queen spoke, “It was not just for you to be treated that way when you’re helping us with an expedition this large.”

“Really?” Tijarah and Sam asked with cocked brows.

“That is complete and utter bullshit,” Kerstin stated with a growl as the princesses stood up with glares.

“How dare you speak that way to us!” the youngest exclaimed as she slammed her hands down on the table.

“Do you know who you are addressing?!” the middle added only to gasp in horror as she met glowing gold irises.

“I hate when people try to apologize without meaning it,” Rhamina stated with her arms crossed and hair floating as the temperature dropped, “It’s a blatant lie and if there’s one thing we learned in prison it’s how to pick out lies from the truth.”

“You just want to get on our good sides so we don’t sabotage this mission of yours right?” she continued as the royals and Marina looked to the group in front of them with fearful expressions.

Their combined auras melding together with rage, hate, sadness, and betrayal dying the room dark.

“As much as I would love to we wouldn’t dream of it because the whole reason I taught them how to find their magic was to go on a huge adventure together and what bigger adventure is there than finding a lost kingdom?” the ravenette chirped as the room returned to normal and her hair returned to its original position.

With the aura gone the seven females began to eat the luxurious meals in front of them as the others could only watch them in shock of what just happened.

“What’s wrong, Marina?” Rhamina asked eating slower than the other girls, “You’re coming on this expedition too, you should eat for who knows how long it will be before you can get a meal like this again.”

“Holy shit this is so good!” Cough! Cough! Choke! Cough!

“Fucking idiot,” Sam, Rhamina, and Tijarah muttered as Kerstin ate her food then proceeded to choke on it.

About and hour later the girls were led by Marina and the guards to a large ship where they would be for the next few months accompanied by its sister vessel.

“So we know the kingdom was somewhere in the Donnaholm Ocean but we don’t know exactly where,” Marina explained showing the other ravenette a world map.

“That’s true but you didn’t expect a straight shot right?” Rhamina asked looking up at her sister with a raised brow.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you still have your book?” Rhamina asked causing the knight to give her a black book written in the same language as the red book.

Turning to about the fifth page Rhamina read skimmed it before reading out loud, “Eht tsrif tsaeb seil nihtiw eht sretaw fo eci.”

“The first beast lies within the waters of ice,” Marina translated with a confused expression.

“Yes, in order to open the gates of Ibadora we have to fight seven beasts first or did you forget that?” Rhamina spoke clapping the book shut, “Are these ships capable of handling that?”

Rhamina sighed at her sibling’s silence and explained, “The first beast should be somewhere in the Cold Bay.”

“That area is riddled with pirates!”

“You want to find Ibadora don’t you?” Rhamina glowered, “Then suck it up.”

“Mina!” called Chloe from the door.

“What is it, Owl?”

“Are we allowed to use magic?”

“Yes, why?” Marina asked as the ravenette with hair down to her butt narrowed her eyes.

“What the fuck did you retards do?” Rhamina growled.

“It wasn’t me!” Chloe squeaked, “This time..”

“What even happened?” the knight asked hearing crashes and screams from just outside the room they were in.

The three walked out to see a very wet black cat attempting to jump onto either Kerstin or Sam to claw their eyes out.

“Tijarah, calm down!” Sophie called as she and Hannah were trying to pick her up.

“Hell no!” the cat exclaimed, “They fucking dumped water on me with magic!”

“Jesus christ,” Rhamina muttered with a face palm before she stomped her right foot causing four walls of ice to surround the cat and one right in front of Kerstin and Sam so they ran into it, “What the hell did you fucks already do? It’s literally been ten minutes since you could legally use your magic.”

“They fucking dumped water on me!” the cat hissed with its fur raising.

“Why the fuck are you a cat anyway, Tijarah?” Sam retorted rubbing her nose, “I thought you hated cats.”

“I do but the mother fuckers are agile as fuck!” Tijarah cat hissed just before Rhamina picked her up out of the ice box and scratched behind her ears earning a pur.

“Guys, act fucking responsible with your magic,” Rhamina scolded, “And if you were going to get her wet you should have used magic to throw her into the ocean.”

“Mina!” Sophie gasped.

“You know it would’ve been ten times as funny as just dumping water on her.”

“Mina, you traitor!” yowled the cat right before the ravenette used her magic to summon a warm breeze to dry off the feline.

“Okay turn back now,” Rhamina said.

“No. I like being carried.”

Thud “Ow!”

“Looks like not all cats land on their feet,” Rhamina commented as everyone else burst into laughter.

“Hannah!” a male voice called to the red head.

“Jaelin!” she cheered running over to the shorter blonde knight who she started dating in the year they were in prison.

“I didn’t know you were allowed to be on this ship for royal expeditions,” Sophie stated as they were kissing.

“I got permission from Marina,” the blonde answered as he plus the seven girls gave her a pointed look.

“I thought it would make you all feel more comfortable if you had someone familiar to you,” she smiled but Rhamina could tell it was fake.

They were too similar. They knew almost everything about each other and could almost always tell when the other was lying.

‘She is such a two-faced bitch,’ she thought as the glared harder at her twin, ‘So am I but she actually betrayed us. She will never be forgiven. Never.’

~~~Fin. Chapter 1~~~