"Oh, yeah, those people," said Caesar.
Everyone there shifted their attention to him.
Caesar seemed to like it since he puffed his chest proudly while he spoke. "Master Gheele had approved of the Freya rebel group coming here. So, since he's not here, let's meet them ourselves!"
Hope and I were silent.
"I don't know, Caesar. My heart beats so fast right now. It has been so long," I muttered.
In fact, I was pretty sure it had been three years or so since the last time I met them. I could vaguely remember their faces. Beatrice's face was stuck in my mind. I was not sure why, but that happened as I stared at the orange tiles underneath our feet.
"You were from Mansel Island right, Ava?" asked Maltyie that was standing to my right.
"Yup. Lived there my whole life until three years ago. Still, Alicia kidnapped me and brought me there, so I don't know where my real hometown is."
"I'm sure you will find out where you came from," assured Maltyie. "I want to meet those people though. Gets me all tingly and excited!"
"Hahaha. I'm sure you will love them. Well, maybe one or two of them."
Ulii and Erhi walked towards us from the palace's front entrance. Ulii raised an eyebrow at me, and then swept a gaze at the rest of us. "Why aren't you all going to the lounge room yet?"
I darted my eyes away. "Um . . ."
"I heard that the Freya rebel group is related to you, Ava, and that guy, Hope."
"Yeah, I have connections with them."
Ulii frowned. "Then, what are you waiting for?"
"It's just . . . After everything that happened, I don't know how to face them. I'm very sure that they all thought I was dead, along with Hope. Meeting them would be strange."
Ulii laughed loudly at my explanation. She proceeded to rub my hair and grinned while doing so. "Haha. Ava, dear. You're fourteen years old now. All of you should just brace for anything that could happen with an open mind and heart. Anyway, let's not waste any more time. I want to see those new faces myself."
Ulii walked in front of everyone as we followed behind her willingly. To be honest, I was glad to meet Ulii. I never knew how it felt to have a grandmother, and having someone like her around was reassuring. Erhi who was walking beside me giggled when she saw my expression.
When we arrived at the lounge room, Helena opened the door for us. One by one, we stepped inside.
My body felt like it had turned into stone when I saw all those faces. The faces of people I had not met for quite some time. Deep inside me, I didn't want to meet them. The events that happened before forced that notion somewhere in my heart.
There were six people that had sat down on the red couches. Beatrice and Jessica sat on the left side, while Jeremy and Inghild had taken their seats on the couch in the middle. What surprised me more was the fact that Luca and Alice were there too. They sat on the couch to my right.
Except for both of them, Jessica and the others wore some sort of a uniform. The uniform was jet-black, with gold-like bracelets wrapped around their wrists tightly. I assumed it was a communication device that they had their hands on.
"Freya rebel group has official uniforms . . ." I whispered.
Perhaps they had gained a bit of popularity. Of course, even after three years, Jeremy's rainbow Mohawk still caught me off guard. It was indeed a peculiar fashion.
Beatrice's green hair was cut short, as it was about shoulder-length. Her blue cap was still a thing that she wore as if it had never left her side. She had grown taller, that much I could see. From the looks of it, she had the same height as Hope, which was 172 cm. Jessica, Inghild, and Jeremy didn't change much in appearance.
Jessica still had her messy, blond hair, and the only difference I saw of her was that she wasn't wearing a lab coat right then. Inghild, of course, was dark-skinned and his toothy smile was as blinding as ever. It was too shiny.
Luca didn't really change. She wore casual clothing at that time, and so was her daughter, Alice. I laid my eyes on Alice for a while, and she looked very different to me. Aside from her obvious increase in height, her smile felt foreign. I could've sworn I'd never seen her smile before.
It was silent for a minute or so in the lounge room before Caesar himself broke it.
"Welcome to Neo Africa, the Freya rebel group. I was tasked by Master Gheele to take care of the things on this end as he's quite busy right now. Even so, I hope you won't mind me keeping you guys company. Feel free to ask any questions. Oh, before that, there are already a few rooms reserved for you guys to stay."
Jessica nodded in Caesar's direction. "Thank you for accepting my request. It's an honor to work with the famous Lutalo Aegis squad. The achievements that your group has garnered are no less than outstanding. Truly, thank you."
"Ah, you're welcome. But you should thank Master Gheele instead. He is the leader of Lutalo."
"Oh . . . Then, I will do so once he comes back."
I looked at Luca and Alice after that, and they were actually staring at me the whole time. My heart started to thump against my chest faster.
From the corner of my eye, Beatrice stood up from her seat. She took a few steps towards us, and I couldn't help but stand on guard.
Suddenly, she ran to Hope's side and pulled him into her embrace. She tightened her hug, which resulted in Hope's cheeks to flush at the sudden turn of events. Her eyes were in tears, and a moment later, she cried in front of him, and everyone else.
"Hope!" she muttered.
"SIS AVAAA!" called Alice.
I then looked at her and she hugged me too, with tears running down her cheeks. "Where have you been all this time?! Mommy and I missed you so much. You never came to visit us. How could you, SIs Ava?"
"Alice . . ." I patted her head. "I'm sorry. So much has been going on for the past three years . . . I'm sorry."
Hope tried to push Beatrice away, but his effort was futile. "Damn it, Beatrice. What's wrong with you? G-Get away. This is not like you at all!"
Beatrice didn't seem to budge. Her arms were wrapped around Hope and appeared to have locked him tight. She continued to cry on Hope's shoulder.
"H-Hope . . . Hope . . ." She kept muttering his name, which led to everyone looked at those two with narrow eyes.
"C-Come on. Everyone's looking at us," said Hope.
"How dare you left me just like that? I thought you were dead. All of us thought you died back then. You were apart of this group, remember? You left everyone . . . You left me . . ."
Hope looked away. "B-Beatrice . . . I . . ."
"WHO IS THAT WOMAN?!" cried Jennifer.
Everyone shifted their attention to Jennifer, who was standing at the lounge room's door. Her cheeks were red as she laid her eyes on Hope and Beatrice.
"Who is that woman, Hope dear?" she repeated. Without waiting for him to answer, she stepped inside and went over to his side.
"Um . . . She's just a childhood friend," Hope replied.
Beatrice was glaring at Jennifer when Jennifer halted next to Hope. " Who is that woman, Hope?" Beatrice pulled Hope tighter in her embrace. "Who is she?!"
Hope's cheeks flushed uncontrollably at the situation. "H-Hey, Beatrice. I can feel your . . ."
Beatrice then glared at him. "Answer me."
"Haha . . ." Sweat started to appear on his forehead. "Jennifer is just a former minister of the C.U . . . Wait a sec . . . Why am I in this situation in the first place?"
"Just a former minister huh," repeated Beatrice. She pushed Hope to the side and butted head with Jennifer.
Literally.
"Just a childhood friend huh," said Jennifer.
Those two gritted their teeth and then started to bicker about what does Hope meant to each of them.
I couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha." I wrapped my arms around my stomach, trying to hold it all in. Alice laughed with me too, and everyone else did as well after that.
"HOPE IS MINE! Get away from him!" yelled Jennifer.
"HUH?! What do you mean by he's yours?" said Beatrice. "You're the one who's supposed to get away from him. What is a former minister of the world's greatest enemy doing here anyway?"
"I don't need to tell you that, ugly. Hope wouldn't even take a second glance at your face."
Beatrice seemed taken aback by Jennifer's statement. "Oh, is that so? Hope wouldn't even consider taking an old lady like you to be his girlfriend . . . 'Grandma' . . . Hmph."
Jennifer gasped. "Why . . . You . . . Little . . ."
"Wait, wait a sec," said Hope as he tried to calm those girls down. "Where is my say in this? First of all, you two are not even--"
"SHUT UP!" said those two girls at the same time.
I laughed again and found myself rolling on the ground. "THIS IS TOO FUNNY. Hahahaha."
I wouldn't mind seeing those three in that situation again. In fact, that night, I kept wishing that they will argue about the same thing in the future.
"Hahahaha!"
I laughed by myself as I tried to sleep, and before I knew it, I slept while replaying that scene in my head over and over.