Sage always loved the window seat, whether it's in a plane, or a bus, or in this case, his desk. Staring out the window was ideal for daydreaming, so when he switched seats to be even further from his old friend this was obviously the best place to be. Now, he could think about much better things than being made fun of, or his old friend, he could think of what he wanted to name his village, or how he was going to set up a doctor's appointment without his parent's knowledge. This morning Sage had taken a good look at his back while he was getting dressed and it was anything but pretty, the medicine fairy's treatment did help a tiny bit but it still looked horrible. Dry, leathery, although the swelling had gone down a bit. This was a serious injury though, he needed to see a doctor at some point. His phone buzzed in his pocket, which led him to discreetly put it on his desk, covered by his crossed arms.
Aqua_waterfairy: I have really really really good news!!
Good news? Sage could use a bit of good news after he's received nothing but bad news.
Sage<3: What is it?
Aqua_waterfairy: I asked around and it turns out there's a doctor who's a fairy that disguises himself as a human who works at a human doctor's office! I already asked and he said that helping a domain ruler would be nothing short of an honor!
Sage<3: That's great news!! I'll send him a letter once I get back to the village
Sage tucked his phone back into his pocket, he was glad to still have a friend, even if it was one he didn't go to school with. Sage looked a few desks down and saw Alexander sitting there...he wished he could just tell him the truth, but that would endanger him even more.
...
Lunchtime, finally. Sage sat at the end of the same staircase he always did, taking a bite out of his sandwich. He decided to text Aqua out of boredom, they were probably doing something important right now but surely that could wait.
Sage<3: You still working?
Aqua_waterfairy: Oh c'mon, I'm not ALWAYS working, I take lunch breaks...sometimes
Sage<3: I don't get you sometimes, why would anyone willingly do work?
Aqua_waterfairy: What do you do at school all day then?
Sage<3: Unwillingly do work, obviously.
Aqua_waterfairy: You're not avoiding your human friend just to talk to me, are you?
Sage<3: What? Noooo, you're so full of yourself. I'm actually not friends with him anymore, which is fine, because the great prince of the Mushroom Domain needs no one
Aqua_waterfairy: Are you sure about that? Sounds like you're upset. You know, I had two friends that I thought were my best friends, turns out, they were dark fairies who were manipulating me because they were bored. My point being, friends come and go.
Sage<3: You sound like my mom when you give advice haha
Sage put his phone down and sighed, he should probably finish his lunch before the bell snuck up on him.
...
When the final bell rang, Sage happily walked through his classroom door and headed to his locker. He leaned into his locker to grab his bag, but without thinking, he went to stand up and hit his head on the bottom of the shelf atop his locker. "Ow...hm?" A piece of paper fell out of his locker when he hit his head on the shelf...
Sage bent over and picked up the small piece of paper, it was made on lined note paper, it looked like a small piece torn from someone's notebook. All it said, written in red crayon, was "I SEE YOU". Sage looked around behind him, all the other students were heading for the stairs, about to find their way home, completely oblivious to what happened. Sage expected to see a group of people laughing, or at least sticking around after school to see if their prank freaked him out...but he saw nothing. Everyone was almost gone, the hallway got quieter, and so Sage pocketed the note, and left with the end of the crowd. While he was walking toward the bus, he found himself wishing he could talk to Aqua in person, maybe they'd know what the note meant. That's when he realized something, this bus went by the forest Orchid Village was in, when he realized how close he was he hit the button that signaled the driver to stop at the next stop. He slung his bag around his shoulders and stood up next to the door, when the bus stopped he exited and started walking towards the entrance to the forest. Aqua probably wouldn't be too happy to see him, but at least it was for a good reason. He walked across the long path that led to the park and through a bit of the forest, Sage ignored the path and went through the forest, same way he had gone when he fought Josephine. At the entrance to the village, several fairies waved to him, it was hard getting used to the fact he was a prince, the minute he walked into any village he was treated like royalty or something. Granted, he was royalty, but it was still a weird change of pace from how kids treated him at school. He smiled, waved back to the fairies that greeted him and headed up the hill to the new and improved throne room that had been constructed. But once he had reached the door, he heard voices inside, it sounded like Aqua was in a meeting. "Where was she when she was captured?" Aqua asked, "She was on her way to visit her family, they live in Golden Eagle village." an unfamiliar voice replied. "So, that would be past the forest on the west side?" Aqua asked, "Yes. She was somewhere in the middle of both villages, she had taken an invisibility potion to go into the busy street but it wore off sooner than expected. Ivy, the fairy that saw her, said that she was sedated and dragged into a van." Sage awkwardly walked back down the hill and sat on a rock, he didn't mean to eavesdrop. Although the news that another fairy had been captured or killed was not surprising at all. He was beginning to doubt what Aqua had told him, that hunters don't just hide in bushes waiting for fairies to come around, that they instead receive tips about suspicious people. If the fairy that had been captured had only been visible for a second...then there was someone waiting for her. Sage heard the door to the throne room swing open as the fairy who was discussing important matters with Aqua said his goodbyes and walked down the hill. He waved at Sage when he noticed him, "Oh, prince Sage! Hello, come to see village leader Aqua?" Sage nodded, and headed back up the hill. He knocked over a hundred times so Aqua would know it was him, and once Aqua opened the door he greeted them by saying "Oh, why hello village leader Aqua, pleasure to make your acquaintance." And reaching out his hand, signaling Aqua to shake it, as if this were a business exchange. "Wrong hand, you're supposed to shake with your right." Aqua corrected him, Sage looked down at his hands in disbelief, "With your right? But...I've shaken so many hands with my left by now..." Aqua giggled a little at the fact that Sage was a domain ruler and still didn't know how to shake hands correctly, but suddenly they remembered something. "I told you we couldn't be seen together." They said sternly, Sage pulled the strange note out of his pocket and handed it to Aqua, "They already have seen me, apparently." Aqua looked at the note... "I think they've found you, it didn't take long at all. The only thing to do now is make sure they can't capture you. To do that, we're going to need to find out who they are...discreetly." Aqua said, Sage squinted his eyes, "What do you mean 'find out who they are'?" He asked. "Someone is following you, and they've followed you to your school. I suspect a dark fairy since they're usually the ones to go on missions like this." Aqua said, "Ooh, so you want me to find out which student it is?" Sage asked, "Ah, they might not be a student, they could be following you while invisible or something...can't rule anything out but I'd say make sure you keep an eye on any humans that don't quite fit in." Aqua explained. "Okay, so among all these students...one is a killer..." Sage said ominously, "Or it could be something else." Aqua said, Sage ignored them, "Like a murder mystery..." He said. "Let's hope it doesn't become a murder mystery." Aqua said, Sage suddenly turned around to leave, satisfied with his answer. "Hey, you have to be careful though, they know your routine now!" Aqua called out to Sage as he left,
"I know, that's why I'm going to switch it up, and then I'm going to take them down...once I find out who they are." Aqua pulled Sage back when he turned around to leave, "At least take these." They said, handing him what felt like a couple of rocks. Sage opened his hand and saw they were three shiny crystals. "They're protection crystals, it's said they ward off hunters, maybe they'll be helpful." Aqua said. "Thank you." Sage said, giving Aqua a hug, "I'll see you once this is over, for real this time."