"Ortho's outfit changed?!"
"Heh... They maintained the fairies' flowery sensibilities without sacrificing any details. They've evoked the future by making the flowers bloom!" Sebek announced with a proud smile, "Don't you see?! THAT is Ortho's idea of evolution!"
"Oh, quit bragging about somethin' you didn't earn." Leona scoffed with irritation.
"Ortho swapped out some of the materials on his body with flexible displays." Epel explained with a wide smile upon gassing the success, "Normally, his body's white, but when he flips the switch it changes color... That's something only Ortho could do!"
"He's projecting a matching backdrop across the whole venue, too." Deuce explained proudly, "It's similar to the trick they'll use to make the queen disappear. Working out the positioning and timing was tough, though..."
"Ortho... You..." Idia muttered in disbelief and awe upon seeing this, "You made that gear yourself?"
"Not by a long shot! The rest of us pitched in too, ya know!" Grim slammed open the door as Yuu hurried in rather out of breath.
"I-I just lent a helping hand. Phew!" Yuu toon in a deep breath with a bag full of drinks, "Sorry I'm late, but I got the drinks, Deuce. I saw the gala live from my phone. It was a success!"
"Yeah... Makes sense. He managed this just fine with all of you, and didn't come to me at all..." Idia muttered in disbelief before he wore a dry smile on his face, "...He's a genius, all right! You couldn't find a more perfect little brother if you tried!"
"I know forced enthusiasm when I hear it. You're actually sulking, aren't you?" Vil responded with a huff.
"What? NO. Not at all!" Idia shouted in denial, "It's not that. Obviously, I'm happy Ortho pulled everything off. It's just..."
With Idia's hesitant silence, Crewel huffed with warm smile as he nodded with satisfaction, "Pups grow right before our very eyes. It seems like they'll be a handful forever, but then before you know it, they've grown into big, strong dogs. You can be sad about it. it's just proof of how much you love them. There's nothing strange or wrong about it."
Hearing this, Idia hesitated, but nodded in agreement slowly, "…Yeah."
"Wow, Professor Crewel. I never knew you saw us that way..." Deuce noted in surprise upon hearing this.
"I do. But I think you could stand to do a little more growing, Spade. Especially academically." Crewel responded firmly.
As Crewel's remark stunned Deuce, Leona ignored the banter and smirked, "Well, would you look at that. The herbivores used their two collective brain cells and scraped together a halfway decent show. I admit, I was surprised to see all those animals make such a timely entrance. How's they manage that?"
"Hmph. With Silver's deep affinity for woodland creatures, obtaining their assistance was a trivial task. He's lived among the fae from infancy. He is human, but..." Sebek pointed it out excitedly as though he was boasting about himself, "There, you see that?! It's the confident way he carries himself. He looks right at home amongst them. None of you could pull that off!"
"Again, would ya cut it with the unearned bragging?" Leona grumbled in dismay.
Riddle sighed in disdain before adding on, "Putting aside Sebek's rude behavior, though we will thoroughly address it at a better time... Leona's right. It's a delightful show, full of surprises. I can feel the audience's excitement from here. I wasn't expecting to be so moved, but I do."
"Agreed. They might actually pull this off!" Vil nodded confidently before noticing Malleus's silence as the saw continued to stare at the screen. Following his gaze, he found that the princess has remained yet unperturbed by the scenery but still reached out and to inches one of the petals and light floating down from the skies. Surprised, a new worry began to creep up as Vil pondered if the human princess was actually more difficult to please compared to the rest?
…..
A petal drifted from the sky and landed next to the one that had landed before it. Cries echoed in the air as she looked up to see the flowering trees starting to lose their petals. The maidens weeped as their partners and lovers tried to console them. However, a laugh accidentally escaped her lips as all eyes turned to her in bewilderment! The people around her were in a chaotic state of unrest and the thought of the birth of the world being the end as soon as it began fell upon them all, yet here was their Empress, laughing as though she had finally lost it! With the loss of their petals, how we're they to help sustain the population of life meaning to thrive upon this new world?! Will it really just be themselves for the rest of their life upon this mortal realm?!
However, their empress simply smiled as the warm breeze carrying the scent of flowers brushed against her cheeks as she opened her mouth, "The world is in disarray and chaos. Everywhere you look, not a single one is unconcerned of the state of our society. Yet, one thing remains the same. As long as the worlds goes on, Tao will always remain constantly the same. Well done, my children. You are doing very well. Soon, your branches will fill with fruits to help feed the new population and carry on new generations."
Hearing this, everyone was stunned! Does this mean…. They've succeeded? Out of all the populations? Their kind managed to find a method to feed life in this newly born world and repopulate without needing to sacrifice themselves as the beast kingdom did?
Slowly, realization dawned upon them all as soon a cheer broke out and tears of sadness became tears of joy! Finally… Finally, they don't have to sacrifice themselves completely for the sake of feeding this new world! As they cheered, Peony noticed a petal falling down and reached out her hand as a petal softly fell onto her palm. Looking down, she found that it was a peach flower petal. She looked up as the others began to dance and hug one another amongst the sea of flowering trees free from all worries and confusion. She thought for a bit before it finally dawned upon her as she softly spoke these words.
…..
"The peach spring out of the secular world…"
She muttered this softly to herself with a soft yet warm smile as a tear fell from her cheek, "A sight that cannot be touched by the world around them. One not even the most honored person can hold in their hands. A beauty no one can own or influence over..."
Hearing this, the queen stared upon the scenery of happily dancing fairies amongst the dance of flower petals in a garden of flowers and, with a wide smile, nodded her head in satisfaction, "I see… A wonderous sight that is not affected by any internal matters. No politic. No restrictions. A place without law yet can still bloom so beautifully…It really is a peach spring out of the secular world… A fitting idiom, my daughter."
As she whispered this, she softly touched her daughter's shoulder with a soft smile gracing her lips and hiding the stress of seeing her daughter in tears yet also smiling. Watching the three dance on the stage, she silently decided it would be better to hold off any contemplations of prospective son-in-law for now and just enjoy this rare scenery. She silently watched as memories on the past returned. The children she raised and taught, the ones who stood besides her and remained so faithful to her, and the ones whose blood tainted her hands in the end. Their faces, their voice, their names, their personalities, their ideologies, their tears, their apologies... Her regrets.
Quietly, she wore her smile and watched as they danced from a distance. As the dance continued, Ace approached their direction to which she frowned.
"I hope you're all enjoying the show. And I've got good news for you: we're not done yet!
It's time to kick things up a notch with another evolution illusion! For this one, we'll need a volunteer from the audience..." Ace announced with a wide smile as he popped onto the stage and turned to smiled in their direction, "What do you say, Your Majesty?"
"Hm? Me?" The queen looked to them in surprise.
Peony frowned as the nearby wood fairy advisor intervened with great hesitation, "Rgh. Your show's great and all, but we can't just hand over our dear queen to a group of strangers!"
"Ah, of course I understand how esteemed Her Majesty is! That's why I invited her to be our guest. Your Majesty, what would you say to being part of an illusion even more spectacular than the one we just did?" Ace pushed forward with a confident smile across his face.
"Well..."
With great hesitation, the queen thought to herself carefully with a mix of wariness and excitement. To add onto this persuasion, Ace opened his mouth, "Your participation would really electrify the audience! And I promise it'll be worth your while, like nothing you've ever experienced before. You wouldn't wanna miss out, would you? C'mon, join the fun! But of course...if you'd rather not..."
"..." The Queen hesitated silently before looking to have made her mind with an excited smile across her face, "I never said anything of the sort. I'd like to give it a go!"
"Your Majesty?!"
Peony's eyes widen in disbelief as she stared at her mother with wide eyes, "Mother?!"
"I apologize for imposing upon you with my selfishness. But this show has been such a thrill for me. It brought me back to my days as a little fairy. I would love nothing more than to take part in it." The queen stated excitedly.
Seeing her mother's excitement, Peony hesitated. She and her mother knew very well that this is all a ploy set up by the humans to entice her to steal the gem from her. However, she also did not want to keep her mother from wanting to do something that will make her truly happy. After much hesitation, Peony shook her head in defeat, "If that's what the queen wishes for, I can only comply..."
"Hmm... I'd rather you didn't, but it's completely understandable." Aqua nodded hesitantly.
"True, I've never seen such a delightful show before!" The guard next to Aqua nodded his head.
"That's the spirit! Now step on up here! Allow me to hold your staff during the illusion." Ace said as he welcomed the empress and offed his hands.
"Oh, but this staff is very precious. I could not simply hand it over..." The queen responded with a troubled look.
"How right you are, it is a lovely staff. Why, I was just admiring how much it suited Your Majesty. And that's why we need to take care of it, so that it doesn't get lost or broken during the illusion. There's a huge crowd watching. We could never lose track of it, right? Don't worry, you can trust me with it." Ace replied as he reasoned with a calm smile across his face.
The queen hesitated and glanced over to her daughter. Peony frowned but stood up from her seat as well and smiled devilishly at him, "Do not worry, your majesty. If anything were to happen, we are all here. Of course, if someone is so daring enough as to steal our mother's dear possession, not even I would let them go unpunished. Isn't that right, sir?"
"Ah-! Y-Yes!" Ace jumped back nervously upon hearing this as a bead of sweat rolled down the back of his neck.
Peony then looked to her mother with a worried look, "Queen mother, if you are worried, how about I hold onto the staff for you?"
With her answer, Ace looked to her in confusion while his heart beat wildly in disbelief at the thought of the staff leaving from his vicinity! So Close!!!