Ch. 24 "A Share of Words"

"Good girl," Masao said coldly. "Putting on this armor will save your prince."

But you're probably lying you monster, Eva thought, sulking.

"However, there is a compromise."

"What!?" Eva felt liven with rage. How dare he!

"You promised the girl you would save the prince, no matter how persistent he is," said Mura, appearing like a ghost beside Eva. "There were not to be anymore deals from then on."

Masao held up his hand to silence the indignant young woman. He had entered after the first rays of sunlight had announced morning. Eva had spend an entire night in the armor, sometimes trying to wrest it off, though Mura reminded her that it was that armor that would save her prince's life. How, she did not understand.

"You were so willing to give in to my wishes before," he said. "when you were young and outcast amongst those awful people. They wanted to kill you. I saved your life, Mura, never forget that you owe me that."

Mura casted her eyes down to her feet.

"As for you, Star Maiden," Masao said, turning to Eva. "You have an important task ahead of you, as suited your role."

"The prince comes, you catch him, like the old legend," she muttered. "You're truly sick."

"Not exactly."

Aikka had no time to spare. Nyree, Joshi, and Toku helped him into a suit of battle armor they had found in the oldest parts of the palace. It fit Aikka extremely well, much to everyone's surprise. Nyree found a composite bow and a quiver of arrows with Ancient Nourasian runes inscribed upon their heads. Kaya found an old katana amongst a collection in the armory.

"There isn't much time," Aikka said, tying up the sides of the leather armor by hand. "I need to get out before the sun rises. Is G'Dar ready?"

"I'll go ready him for flight," said Kaya.

"Are you sure you can do it alone?" asked Nyree. "I mean, you haven't fully healed yet…"

"I can do this. I have never felt so determined since the race. It must be done."

The four Nourasian Knights surrounded the Prince. The dark hallways were thankfully empty for this time. No one suspected the prince would be preparing for such an undertaking.

"There might be guards in the lookout," cautioned Joshi.

"If there are, how are you going to get out?" asked Toku.

"I can get past them." Aikka held onto his side. He could still feel the sting of the knife wound, though mostly healed.

"Not without help you are."

Four of the Knights looked to see Terru emerging from the shadows. Her face was grim as she walked right up to them.

"Terru," said Kaya, not looking up.

"I was not expecting you to go waltzing out like this," she said. "Especially not as well prepared for battle with a sorcerer."

"I have weaponry," Aikka said, holding the bow aloft.

"Magic arrows aren't enough." She waved away the bow. "And an old sword is useless against the kinds of sorcery you'll be putting yourself against."

"And I have magic."

"Believe me you have not the training to put up a fight against this kind of magic, my prince."

Aikka remembered how he lost to Canaletto so long ago. His magic was no match for the mad magician's dark sorcery. But in all sincerity, Masao should not have be as powerful as Canaletto… Cloud he?

"I have gone up against a powerful dark magician once… But surely Masao is nothing like what I had to go up against on Oban…"

"I'm afraid Masao is a powerful magician," Terru hung her head as she spoke. "He may not be as powerful as an Avatar, but the way he uses his powers and the source of it makes him far more dangerous than anything you have faced before."

"In what ways?" Aikka moved in closer to Terru.

"Masao is a practictioner of a magical art that delves powers from negativity and the ruins of the Celestial Palace that fell to earth so long ago. He seeks to recreate the old legend of the Star Maiden and create ruin upon Nourasia."

"That is all true, but why recreate the legend, why now?"

"That, I fear, I do not know for sure," Terru said. "But that concerns me that he would be recreating such a legend. It ended in the destruction of the heavens… He may desire the destruction of another kind."

Nyree and Joshi lifted their heads. Toku's eyes widen in shock as he took a step back.

"He wouldn't be that mad," said Kaya, the only voice among them. "He wouldn't try to do what I think he's about to do."

A grim look flashed across Terru's face.

"Masao intends on taking out the Holy City to recreate the Star Maiden's story," said Terru. "And he intends on using the players in the story to any degree possible."

"Then it wouldn't help Eva if I went over to save her," Aikka said. "I'd just be playing into his hands."

"Or maybe not."

"Lady Terru," started Joshi, "you just said…"

"I know," she said. "But I just realized something. Aikka, is G'Dar saddled and ready? Because I need you to ride out to with me."

Masao looked over a mirror with patterns of nightmarish creatures along its side. He gave off a satisfied sigh and smiled. Eva was still behind him, angry over his words from before.

"Your prince is not coming," Masao replied. "He won't come because he realizes what will come of his kingdom if he does."

"Oh really?" she said, "because I'm tried of being your little damsel in distress."

Masao turned his head to Eva only to meet a black-clad fist in his face. He was knocked back, stumbling away from her as he tried to regain his balance. Eva stared at him, with a smug look creeping upon her face.

"So much for being a damsel in distress," he muttered rubbing the bruise on his face.

"Looks like you fell while choking on a pretzel," Eva cracked.

"What? Eh, never mind."

Masao stood up straight again, looking back at the mirror, still miraculously in his hand instead of shattered all over the floor. Eva saw it and gasped.

"That mirror!" she shouted. "That – It looks like -!"

"Yes!" Masao seemed to regain his composure with that. "This is but one of many mirrors, most lost to this world, that in the ancient days were used by sorcerers. This is the only one I found, until that creature tried to contact you through one that you somehow got a hold of. Pity I had to destroy it."

"I figured it was you…" Eva glowered.

Masao turned away from her and looked over the mirror's surface, ignoring her anger. Nothing could be discerned on the surface but the darkness of the glass.

How annoying, he thought to himself. I haven't been able to sense that creature again.

He looked over to the human girl, who looked ready to toss another punch into his face (how did I let that happen, he wondered to himself) and then back to the mirror.

That girl has some kind of power I have yet to understand, Masao said to himself. How did she summon herself here in the first place. It wasn't me. Unless…

Masao's eyes widen.

But that's impossible!

Author's Note: Sorry for the long, long wait. I haven't updated in forever, and I apologize deeply for that. I am planning on finishing this up as soon as possible, so bear with me, as I have a lot of work to do for the next couple of months or so. I'm sorry for the short chapter, but hopefully this will be enough for people as long as they have read the rest of it as well. I've been getting so many reviews for this as well as people asking me to update that I cannot leave this unfinished!

As an added bonus, I am thinking of adding a book cover to this story, since that's a new feature on .