Fate's Emergence

•] XXV [•

"The Three Eggs"

     As the sisters pulled themselves from the water of the pool , Barqael stood at the ready just outside of the perimeter . "How'd you get that ?" He questioned , he knew of the ankh's importance but was unsure of why two sins held it .

     "Our mom gave it to us ," Ceres said furiously turning to Cypris . "Did you know ?" Cypris asked as she hovered her hands over Ceres to dry her clothes .

     "Know what , Cypris ?" Barqael asked , attempting to grab the ankh from them . "That we are the King and Queen's first heirs , that the three of us are siblings , that it was our father who sent us all away over a power grab !" Ceres' body began to grow hot , the act of looking at Barqael filled her with a deep rage .

     "I had no idea ," Barqael mumbled , he was starting to feel disheartened , and Cypris clasped a wet hand on his shoulder . "It's not your fault ." She attempted to console him as her sister stormed out of the mouth of the cave .

     "What's going on ?" Alizae said as Ceres sped towards The Settlement her eyes pricked with tears . Not knowing her mother was trauma in itself , but the betrayal of her father , and being forced to train in a lifestyle she did not find comforting .

     "You're not the only princess on the island ," Ceres spoke sarcastically . Alizae had no interest in her snarky remarks . "Well , if you put thought on it , the rest are also royalty in some way ; commoners wouldn't be getting bathed in Dragon's blood , now would they ," Alizae said , matching pace with Ceres .

     "Why are you following me , Alizae ?" Ceres grumbled , turning towards the cove , Alizae still hot on her trail . "I haven't figured it out quite yet ." She replied , Ceres turned to look at her with a sigh . "Enough talk about me , what's going on with you and Marisol ." Almost immediately , her emotions hardened .

     "I don't know what we're doing , honestly ." It was evident to Ceres that Alizae's pride was indeed bruised . They had yet to speak of their infatuation any further , leaving an unsettled tension between them .

"I don't know how I feel for her either , but I know we have a connection . In my village , I was arranged to marry . . " Alizae's voice trailed off in thought .

Menacingly her eyes wandered the forest floor for any excuse to halt the topic at hand . "Arranged marriage huh ? We have a lot of those back home too ." Ceres examined the forest with her , finally finding a common disinterest .

"I understand that my marriage would be a massive step forward to progression , but I don't know him . I'm unsure if I even like him ." A single frog leaped into their path .

Its neutral grey body glistened with mucus yet with a croak vanished as soon as it had come . "Is that why you've taken a liking to Marisol , the attraction to women must be very uncommon to you ?" Ceres pondered the thought of her attraction to women .

"That may be true . On the other hand , Marisol understands me , our conversation becomes so riveting and even our silence could speak a thousand words . Maybe I've made a mistake ." Alizae began to fiddle her thumbs , in an anxious attempt to recount just what Marisol had done to make her feel this way .

"She is the Sin of Lust , after all , her noxious fairy dust might have gotten trapped tween those neurons of yours ," Ceres spoke jokingly , in an attempt to lighten the ferocity of the brooding air .

"I asked her about that too , and she told me it wasn't her Lust attracting me , but then again the words 'I don't know' followed shortly after ." Ceres was slowly beginning to understand the relationship between the two .

"Well I technically grew up in a school , and there it's only women , I've seen them do things but never thought to do them myself . I quite frankly don't believe I can say that I'm not in the least interested ." Ceres found herself stumbling on her words but she knew for certain that she wasn't opposed to the idea .

In a brief moment , their eyes linked , and with a smile , they laughed . As they continued to wander through the neatly arranged trees they stumbled upon yet another cove .

"Doesn't mean you're my first choice , Alizae . Although , you two should converse and smooth it over ." Ceres advised . Nobi was quietly sneaking behind , waiting on her moment to pounce on her beloved human .

A twig snapped beneath the weight of her massive hooves . "We have a visitor , play along for her sake ." Alizae finally replied , peering over her shoulder to see just how long they had until Nobi would strike .

     Within mere seconds Nobi was jumping from the shadows of a massive tree into their path . "Oh my !" Alizae yelled as she tumbled to the ground . "Oh no ." Ceres sarcastically dragged out as she slowly tripped into a tree .

     This kind act did wonders for Nobi's self-esteem , but where there's Nobi , Plio was not far behind . With an elegant trot , he pranced into view . "How about we go for a ride ?" Alizae suggested , which was an easy yes from her companion .

     They quickly jumped onto their noble steeds leaving their troublesome issues amongst those on the ground . "Looks like those two are becoming thick as thieves ," Nau'Jour said with a chuckle , yet Iniko was a bit bored with the camaraderie . They'd been quietly tucked away in Iniko's hut all morning conversing on nothingness .

     After a while in the cramped space , they decided to linger on the bridge connecting their tier . "You up for a light duel ?" Iniko thought about the idea of besting Nau'Jour . Whether a battle of wits or brute strength , someone was bound to have the upper hand .

     "We've been training for weeks , wouldn't you rather enjoy the beautiful scenery ?" Iniko stood to his feet lifting a finger to his bare chin .

     "You've been on guard duty more than anyone else , isn't it time to show some progress ," Iniko teased , Nau'Jour quickly stood at the challenge , "Meet you down ." With a twist of his fingers , Iniko opened a portal to the bottom of the tree's trunk and stepped through emerging from the other side .

     He watched as Nau'Jour's body gracefully floated down , landing with a spring . "You've gotten crazy good at that !" Nau'Jour complimented .

     "Why don't you ever wear clothes . . ?" Iniko's voice lingered off , he'd noticed how comfortable his fellow sin was in his skin and admired the trait greatly ; amongst other things .

It was safe to say that their flighty friendship left much to be desired , but unrequited was all it ever seemed to be . "What are you two about to get up to ?" Marisol interjected .

Nau'Jour looked between the two , debating on answering either question first . "Tag along if you wish ," Iniko said with a smile , he lead them off towards the forest , where darkness layer in every crevice in the deeply packed area .

     "Nice choice of landscape ," Marisol considered the equal footing on either element , "too bad Cypris would slaughter you two ." With a snicker , she found a forked tree to lay in .

     Though Iniko felt her statement unnecessary he agreed , yet felt he'd give her good competition compared to the others . "You're included in that too you know ," Nau'Jour added .

     "Enough small talk , are you ready ?" Iniko said stepping one foot behind the other as he circled his opponent . His size was quite a factor to consider , he had more recovery room in the safety of the trees than on the ground .

     Although Nau'Jour felt at home in their surroundings he knew he wasn't as strong at manipulating his element as those around , but his confidence was unwavering . As he breathed , his diaphragm expanded to its full capacity . Iniko was now an insect in his web .

     "Ready you two ," Marisol asked , receiving a head nod and grunt of confirmation , "begin !"