"We're finally here.", Melissa said as the four of them arrived in front of the giant gates of Orbsberg.
"Remember, we're here to recover Alex. But before that, we must blend in with the crowd to avoid attention.", Wade said while tilting his sunglasses.
"If you knew that-, then why are you dressed like that!!?", Rafaela shouted at him. "You look more suspicious than anyone here!"
"Really?", he innocently replied while people passing by are staring at him. He was wearing a large straw hat, a pair of black sunglasses, a Hawaiian style polo, above knee shorts and slippers.
"Are we really gonna be okay?", Melissa asked herself while looking at the two of them arguing.
"We're not here for vacation! Besides, Orbsberg is located in the middle of the continent. There is no beach here!", Rafaela yelled at him.
"Is that so?", Wade immediately turned around. "Well, let's go back."
Rafaela annoyingly pulled his ear and walked towards the gate. "Oh no, you don't. We're getting Alex back before leaving this country."
"Wait!! Please!! This is embarrassing! At least let me change!!", Wade cried out.
"You never change, you big oaf.", Puff laughed at him. "This place is heavily guarded though. Even with the country surrounded with a thirty feet wall, guards are swarming all over the place. You can really feel the atmosphere caused by the ongoing war."
The girls were wearing their casual clothing to blend easier with the people of Orbsberg.
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" I'm sorry but Orbsberg is not accepting any tourists or travelers for now, unless they have important matters regarding business or family matters.", the royal guard told them as they had to pass through immigration before entering the gate.
The four of them turned around quietly and walked away from the gate then they stared blankly into space realizing how unprepared they were.
"What do we do? We don't have any papers to show if we want to enter the gates.", Melissa worriedly asked.
"And we can't mention that we're Alex's friends either. Father said that she doesn't really get along with her family. And since her family desperately wants this marriage to go through, they surely won't allow any distractions. They might even lock us up.". Rafaela said.
"Fu-fu-fu-fu.", Puff arrogantly chuckled. "Leave it me! I'll find us a way inside."
"I wonder how the others are doing right now.", Alex leaned on the window in her room. "Ugh! I'll never get used to these tight dresses."
Alex looked at herself in the mirror and fixed her hair. She was wearing a sparkling orange formal dress, high heels, white gloves and a pair of Garnet earrings. A look very fitting for royalty. She took an old but antique looking hair pin from her drawer and secured her hair properly. She then patted the head of an old looking bunny doll sitting at the side of her mirror.
"Fffffwooo~", Alex exhaled loudly to release some of her nervousness and anxiety. "You got this, Alex. You are the princess of this country. This is your duty."
She looked at her hand and rubbed them. Feeling the callouses from both sides she got from tirelessly training day after day at the academy. "You are-, you are-, the boxing club's president, one of the strongest females of the academy-"
As tears suddenly fell down from her eyes, Alex slowly sat down while wiping her tears. "*sniff* What am I even talking about? I've basically thrown those things after coming back here. *sniff*"
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Princess?", knocked her butler. "It's almost time for dinner."
"One minute! I'm almost done!", Alex replied while wiping her tears with a tissue.
*CLICK*
She unlocked the door and opened it slowly. She then saw standing in front of her door her butler staring in awe at her beautiful appearance.
"What's wrong? Is something on my face?", she asked.
"Um-", the butler had to peel his eyes away from Alex. "Nothing, princess."
"Well, then. Let's go,"
"Yes, princess."
When the two of them arrived at the dining hall, the king and his two brothers had already sat down. All the servants turned their heads at Alex as she entered the room. Stunned by her beauty after being gone for almost three years.
The dining table was long enough to accommodate twelve to fourteen people. She walked towards his father and bowed, then she walked towards the chair next to prince Zac.
"You look so beautiful Alex. You've matured so much just by more than two years.", Prince Zac complimented her.
"Thanks bro.", She smilingly replied. "Though this dress is really tight. I want to rip it to pieces."
The two of them laughed while chatting.
"Hmpf-, is that what they teach you at that Academy? What a waste of time and money.", Prince Laz condescendingly said sitting across the table.
The two of them stopped talking and tried to avoid eye contact with him.
*Riiinnggggg*
The king rang the tiny bell beside him. Moments later, the servants entered bringing their food and placed it on the table. The servants left the room after, leaving the king, the princes, Alex and her butler inside the room.
Alex took a small plate and put a slice of ham, a slice of chicken, fruits and gave it to her butler who was standing behind her.
Her butler was shocked by her actions, but he politely declined her offer by gently waving his hand.
"Giving food to your servant while dining with the king. Where are your manners?", Prince Laz said with annoyed look on his face.
Alex didn't reply. She just glared at him for a second and continued eating.
"Huh? What's with that look- ",
"Pipe down, Laz.", said the king as he tapped the table with his right hand. "Tomorrow evening, we will have your engagement party, Alex. The lords and aristocrats of the country will definitely show up. The prince of Lauritius will also be there and plans to stay here until the wedding day. So make sure to be in your best behavior."
"Yes, father.", she plainly replied.
"It's about time that you'll be in any use to this family. You better make sure that the prince likes you or we'll have a losing war in our hands.", Prince Laz inserted his statement.
"Don't worry brother Laz, I'm confident that I can stay on the good side of Lauritius' prince since I'm not a scum like you.", Alex smirked at him.
"What did you say!?", Laz furiously stood up. "I've noticed since you've returned from that stupid school, you've attained quite the nerve talking back to your older brother like that!"
"Hey-, you two, please stop arguing-", prince Zac nervously said trying to calm them both down.
"I have the confidence to talk like this since I know I could knock you out cold whenever I like to.", Alex sternly told his brother Laz.
"Eh-?", Prince Zac and the king was surprised by Alex's statement.
"That's it!", Prince Laz angrily slammed his hands on the table and grabbed one of the knives in the middle of the table. "I'll teach you some manners!"
The king suddenly raised his hand and slammed it on the table. The loud noise was enough to calm Laz down.
"You need to pipe down, Laz.", he said.
"But father- "
"As members of the Orbsberg blood line, the only way we could settle this is through an honorable duel. But since Alex is a girl, we should- "
Alex slammed both her hands on the table that made a loud noise and shook the table which shocked everyone. "You need not worry father. I can handle myself."
"Ha! Are you seriously challenging me to a duel?", Prince Laz laughed out loud just by the thought.
"Calm down, Alex.", Prince Zac held her arm. "Brother Laz was trained by the strongest generals in our country. His sword fighting skills are top class. Not to mention, he has a lot of experience fighting and killing people by leading the current war."
"Are you sure about this Alex?", the king asked her.
"Don't worry father." Alex confidently smiled. "I'm an Orbsberg after all."
"Fine! I'll see you at the training hall thirty minutes from now.", Prince Laz turned around and slowly walked away. "I'll make sure you pay for disrespecting your older brother."
Alex also stood up and gently bowed at them. "If you'll excuse me."
She then calmly turned around and walked away while her butler walked behind her.
"Is she going to be okay?", Zac was looking very worried.
"I think she will be alright.", the king replied.
"Why would you approve that?", Zac was a little bit angry with him. "Alex is just a regular girl while brother Laz is a fully matured man with a lot of experience. What if she gets hurt during the fight?"
"Look at this table, Zac.", the king stroked the surface of their long dining table.
"Huh? What about it?", Zac was confused by his question.
"This table has been passed down since the first king of Orbsberg. It is made of the finest of minerals found in our country. This table is so heavy and compact that it would need fifty men just to move it."
"And so? Get to the point already."
"You've never realized that only I, the king of Orbsberg and the kings before me, who inherited the first king's strength are the only ones who could make such a loud noise when hitting this table. The same noise Alex made when she slammed her hands earlier."
Prince Zac's eyes widened as he realized something. "Are you saying that Alex is the one?"
"We'll see.", the replied as took a sip of wine from his cup.
"Here we are!", Puff shouted as the four of them arrived in front of a big tunnel outside the walls of Orbsberg.
"This is what we were searching for almost three hours?", Melissa asked her.
"It looks like a giant drainage.", Rafaela tied to look inside the tunnel. "And it stinks."
"Precisely.", Puff replied. "Large cities like this normally have large sewage systems underneath them in case of heavy rains and floods."
"So we enter the city through the sewage tunnels and sneak into the palace. Not a bad plan.", Wade patted Puff in the head.
"Hehehe.", she chuckled.
"Good thing I brought my flashlight with me.", Melissa took out a flashlight from her bag.
"Everyone ready? Let's go!", Puff entered the tunnel first and the three of them followed.
-
-
-
The tunnel was wide and dark. The only sounds they could hear are the water droplets from the ceiling and scurrying noises of rats.
"This tunnel is huge and scary. No one would dare to enter here alone.", Melissa said while holding into Wade's shirt.
"Don't be such a scaredy cat, Melissa.", Rafaela said while also holding into the other side of Wade's shirt. "But it's nice that they built sidewalks or else our feet would be wet and stink."
"They usually make these sidewalks for maintenance purposes if ever something went wrong and they would need to come down and fix whatever the problem is.", Puff looked around while walking in front.
"You know a lot about these things.", Melissa complimented her.
"Yup.", she replied with a large grin.
After a few minutes of walking, they came across a split tunnel.
"So the tunnels diverge from here.", Wade flashed the flashlight into the two tunnels.
"I'm guessing that the layout of the tunnels from here on out will be like a maze so everyone stay close.", Puff walked towards the entrance of the tunnel on the left. She held out her hands and clapped very loudly. The sound of clap echoed throughout the tunnel.
"What is she doing?", Rafaela curiously asked Wade and Melissa.
"Clapping her hands?", Melissa answered.
"I can see that!"
"Echolocation.", Wade calmly replied.
"Echo-, what?", Melissa asked him.
"Just like how bats and dolphins can navigate through the dark, right? They make a sharp noise and waits for the vibrations to bounce back. That way they could know if there are obstacles or food even in pitch darkness.", Rafaela replied.
"Seriously? Is she even human?", Melissa looked at Wade. Wade just avoided her question by looking at a different direction and pouted his lips.
Puff walked to the right tunnel and did the same.
"This way!", she told them. The gang followed her and they entered the tunnel on the right side. The tunnel was even darker here and the water level was higher.
After a few more minutes of walking, they came across a fork. Puff walked closer and clapped her hands in front of the three tunnels.
"Wade, can you come here for a minute.", Puff called out to him.
Wade left the girls and went towards Puff who was only a couple of meters in front of them. "What's up?"
"Right side; twenty-five. Middle; eighty meters to a manhole. Left side; leads to a different exit.", she said with a soft voice.
"Probably scouts.", Wade went quiet for a minute. "Send the girls to the surface. We'll deal with things here."
"Got ya.", Puff replied. She then turned around and went towards Melissa and Rafaela.
"What were you talking about?", Rafaela asked.
"Nothing-, he-he.", Puff smiled at them. "Listen both of you. We have to split up to cover more ground."
"What? Isn't it safer to stick together.", Melissa replied.
"Don't worry. If you follow my instructions, you'll exit the tunnel safely.", Puff ensured them.
"W-wait-, Melissa and me will go by ourselves?", Rafaela asked her.
"That's right. Or are you scared?", she smirked.
"No-, not at all! I'm just worried Wade might get scared without me around!". Rafaela tried to act tough while looking away.
"Don't worry, I'll protect him.", She held her thumb up while smiling. "Now-, listen carefully, okay? Enter the middle tunnel. Then after thirty meters, there should be another two-way tunnel. Enter the right tunnel and walk straight for about fifty meters there should be an intersection with a steel ladder in middle. That ladder should lead to a manhole in the streets of Orbsberg. It would be best if you wait 'til dark before you go out so that people won't notice. If we can't meet up with you 'til eight pm. Find yourselves somewhere to stay, like a motel or an inn. Then sneak inside the castle without us."
"What? You want us to sneak inside the palace by ourselves? What if we get caught?", Melissa worriedly replied.
"Don't worry. We'll surely rescue you. Besides, if you get caught in the palace, Alex would surely know and rescue you two. But it would be best if her family won't know that you entered the palace.", she replied.
"I don't know about this plan.", Rafaela was looking very worried, too.
"What's the matter, Raf? The strongest female of the Chalice academy is losing her nerves already?", Wade walked towards them.
"O-of course not!", she replied. "Let's go Melissa!"
"Huh-, w-wait! Raf!", Melissa was not able to argue after Rafaela pulled her arm and headed towards the middle tunnel.
"Be careful now!", Wade said to them. "Now then- "
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Puff cracked her knuckles. "Leave this to me."
"Don't kill them, okay? They might be rebels from this country. Leave some of them conscious for interrogation.", he told her.
"Copy that.", she replied while crouching, preparing to dash in. And in an instant, she dashed inside the left tunnel at lighting speed.
"GAHH!!!"
"WHAT WAS THAT!?"
"AHHHHHH!!"
"HELP!! GAHHH!!"
"WE'RE BEING TAKEN OUT!!"
"CALL FOR BACK UP!!"
"AHHHHHH!!"
Wade snapped his fingers and a small energy that emitted a bright light was released from his finger tip. He walked slowly with one of his hand in his pocket as he saw the bodies of the men that Puff had knocked-out.
"I left one conscious.", Puff smiled at him while holding one man in the neck with one hand.
"Good job. Put him down.", he walked closer to her.
"Gahhh!", the man grunted as suddenly Puff dropped him to the ground. "W-who are you!?"
"Shhh-, we're the one asking questions here.", Wade squatted on front of him. "Now-"
He opened his hand and the light turned into a purple fire. "Start by telling us who you people are."
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
Sounded a small bell which signaled the occupant of the room that it was time for dinner.
"Dinner time already?", said the young princess Alexandria as she stood from her chair holding an old looking bunny doll. She took an old antique hair clip from her drawer and clipped her front hair with it.
She went outside and slowly closed the door from her room. She walked the giant hallway humming while hugging her doll.
"Hello princess!", greeted one of the maids.
"Hi Emily!", she smiled and waved at her as she continued walking.
The servants of the palace loves talking and greeting the young princess as she was very jolly and bright.
"Hello princess!"
"Good afternoon, princess Alexandria."
"Good afternoon everyone!", she greeted back everyone with a smile.
"I see your bringing your favorite bunny doll again.", said one maid.
"Uh-huh! This and my hair clip are the only things that my mom left me to remember her with.", Alex gleefully replied.
Then continued walking while humming her favorite lullabies when suddenly, she was bumped in the back.
"Kyaahh!", she yelped as she fell down letting go of her doll.
"Hmpf! What are you doing walking carelessly in the hallway?", the young prince Lazarus looked down at her.
The staff looked at them but can't do anything about it, since it was the first prince.
She didn't answer. She just slowly stood up holding her right knee which was a little bit scraped when she fell down.
"Princess!", one of the maids rushed to her and tended to her wound.
"That's what you get for not paying attention.", said the second prince.
"Are you okay, Alex?", young prince Zacheus asked her and tried blowing some air on her wound.
"Let her be, Zach. That's just a scratch. Don't be such a cry baby.", Laz said.
"Ooh! What's this old thing??", said the second prince as he picked up the bunny doll.
"Wait-, let me see!", Laz ran to him and grabbed the doll by the arm.
"You'll get you turn!"
"I'm older, I get to play with it first!"
"Wait-, don't play with Mr. Bunny too hard!". Alex shouted as the two princes were tugging on the doll very roughly.
"Hey-, Laz, Theo, please-", Zac tried to stop the two but just after a few tugs the bunny doll had ripped in two.
"Oww!", said the two princes as they fell down holding different ends of the doll's body with cotton stuffing had scattered on the floor.
"Uwaaaaaaaa!!! Mr. Bunny!!", Alex cried her lungs out seeing her favorite toy ripped apart.
The two princes looked at each other looking very guilty.
"Why are you so noisy, child?", said a woman with a cold and clear voice.
The palace staff were surprised and everyone faced the woman and immediately bowed their heads.
"Your Highness!"
It was Orbsberg's queen. She had a very long and straight blonde hair, crystal blue eyes and a very refined posture.
"Mr. Bunny!", Alex cried as he pointed at the ripped doll.
The two princes immediately dropped the torn doll into the floor.
"Theo did it!", Laz pointed at him.
"Wha- ", Theo was shocked. "You were the one pulling at it first!"
"Lazarus, Theodore, settle down. I'm sure you two didn't mean it.", the queen sternly said. "As for you, Alex, stop crying already. We can buy a dozen more of those. Your loud voice is hurting my ears."
*Sniff* *Sniff* , Alex stopped crying and held it in.
"Let's go. It's almost time for dinner.", The queen walked passed her and even uncaringly stepped on the ripped doll.
Alex ran towards her doll and picked every last piece of cotton from the floor while still sobbing.
"Don't worry, princess.", Emily and the other servants comforted her and rubbed her head.
"But-, but-, Mr. Bunny- ", Alex was holding her tears.
"We'll fix him for you. So don't cry, okay?", said one of the maids. "For now, let's get that scraped knee of yours taken care of."
"Okay-", Alex replied while wiping her teary eyes.
Alex entered the training hall wearing her training attire and her hair tied to a ponytail while her butler follows her.
"Ah! You're really here! I thought for sure that you weren't gonna show.", Laz loudly said while wiping his sword with a white cloth.
Alex went to the benches and started stretching.
The people from the audience include the combat instructors of the palace, a number of soldiers, most of the palace's staff and more. It seems like the word was about the princess challenging the first prince spread throughout the palace very quickly.
"The princess is here!"
"Why is the king allowing this?"
"I hope she doesn't get hurt. Prince Laz is known to be heartless towards his enemies even on trainings."
The king sat quietly at the viewing deck of the hall while prince Laz was on the opposite bench waving his sword and practicing his stance.
"Are you sure about this, Alex?", prince Zach talked to Alex looking very worried. "Laz is a very experienced fighter. It's not too late to call this off."
"Hmph-",Alex stared at Zach looking very annoyed.
"I would have to suggest that you stop underestimating the princess, prince Zach.", her butler calmly said.
"But-"
"Don't worry! I'll be okay.", Alex smiled while holding her thumb up.
Prince Zach said nothing more as Alex walked calmly towards the floor.
"Just so you know, I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're a girl or the princess!", Laz said as he pointed his sword at her.
Alex cracked her knuckles and her neck then struck a fighting pose to tell everyone that she means business.
"Enough talk, let's fight."
-END OF CHAPTER 16-