Allies of the Sun

Chapter 20

      Jay was surprised Alina actually admitted to everything and they didn't understand how Alina didn't know she was a girl. They could tell from the moment she started talking that she was a girl. But Alina handled it better than Jay thought she would. Jay did wonder why Alina thought it was such a big deal that her crush wasn't a guy but flirted with them.
    Jay went back into the ballroom when they saw the girl get up. Jay was still deciding whether or not they should leave or try to talk to her when the girl came through the doors. "What are you doing over here?" the girl asked. "Sorry," they said, not answering the question.
    She gave them a confused look but didn't ask about it. "How did you get in anyway? This is a closed party and you aren't one of the boys that were invited." She said, crossing her arms. "Neither are you," they replied.
      "What are you talking about?" she asked. Jay didn't answer, and it seemed she was getting frustrated. "If it makes you feel any better I already knew everything that was said, except that Alina almost poisoned her parents." She stared at them, her mouth agape. "You wha-"
    Before the girl could finish, Alina came out and Jay teleported away. They weren't in the mood to deal with Alina just yet. Even if they were, it wouldn't be a good idea to talk to her at the moment. She seemed pretty upset when she and the girl were talking.
    They teleported to the other side of the room. They didn't want to be seen by anyone there, and they definitely didn't want to be seen by Alina and her girlfriend. That was an awkward conversation. Maybe I should check to see if their drinks aren't actually poisoned. Jay knew it was too late for that though.
    The toast had just started, the king called all the guests to the giant table to give the toast then eat. Jay crept closer and saw the fat man from before serving their drinks. The king stood up and said in a booming voice, "To my kind, beautiful, and loving daughter who is the center of this party. I am proud to pass my daughter to one of you fine young men. We still mourn the loss of our second born daughter but that is what makes this selection all the more crucial for the future of our kingdom. Now let us begin the feast!" And they all drank.
    Jay watched as everyone drank and noticed that the fat guy looked nervous. Alina's parents fell over instantly and Alina screamed. Maybe Alina didn't poison her parents but it looked like someone else did. And Jay suspected the fat blackmailer.
    Jay noticed that Devin had seen them. There was shock and terror in her gaze, she thought that they had done it. Jay couldn't blame her though, they were probably very suspicious to her... oh well; it's not their problem right now.
    Alina was calling for help and crying over her parents. The guards were in a panic and calling for the castle healer. The guests were still sitting down in a state of shock. Jay decided that it was probably time to leave so they teleported back to the Midnight Sun.
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    Aspen glanced at Lexie, she was fuming. The man was looking at Lexie in a way that made Aspen feel uncomfortable. He kicked Gabe in the stomach because he was in the way and said, "My dear Maddie, is that how you treat an old friend?" Aspen looked at her friend in confusion, "Maddie?" Lexie didn't say anything. "I think you have the wrong person, there is no one here named Maddie and I don't appreciate you kicking my friend."
    "Neither do I," Gabe said, crossing his arms in front of his stomach. "Right..." said the man. "Maddie, if you don't come with me now, I'll just take you by force," he continued in a serious tone. "She shouldn't have to go with you if she doesn't want to," Aspen said while glaring at the man. Gabe nodded in agreement. "And stop calling her Maddie!" she added.
          They all glared at the man. "I don't want to go with you," Lexie said angrily. "And who's gonna stop me, your little girlfriend? Might as well take her too," the man replied. Gabe talked back to him with an attitude, "Just leave us alone and go away. No one is going with you."
           "Shut up, femboy," the man said to Gabe, who was still wearing that outfit Sasha made him wear.  Gabe scowled at him but said nothing. "That's what I thought," he said, turning back to Lexie. Lexie glared a hole through him but didn't move.
    "Come on Lexie, let's go," Aspen said as she turned to leave. "If she's leaving it'll only be to come with me," the man said and reached for Lexie's arm. Lexie jerked back and screamed, "SASHA!!"
    There was a pause where nothing happened and the man laughed, "Whoever you called isn't coming little girl." Aspen silently glared at the man. "Well we are not letting her go with you," Gabe said, glaring at him. "Didn't I tell you to shut up?" The man replied angrily.
    Just then a different man came into the hall, it was Ace. "Do any of you annoying stupid roaches know where Sasha is? I heard one of you screaming for her very loudly, and she owes me something," he said, pushing the man out of the way like it was nothing. Despite the many insults, Aspen was glad Ace had come.
       "Hey! Do NOT ever push me again!" the man demanded. "And why should I listen to you?" Ace asked, kicking him down. "I'll kill you!" The man exclaimed, clearly angry. "Mmhmm good luck with that, so do you know where Sasha is or not? Also why the hell are you wearing that?" Ace asked Gabe, turning his attention back to them.
      "Umm... actually Sasha made me wear this, she might still be in her room" Gabe answered, crossing his arms and pouting again. "Okay bye," Ace said flatly. "Wait ca-" Gabe was interrupted by the man who was trying to take Lexie. "DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME!" He yelled. Ace ignored him just to make him mad. Aspen thought it was funny and tried not to giggle.
      The man leaped onto Ace, which was a bad idea considering what Ace had done last time. Ace didn't budge. "Umm.. can you not? Act like a little pathetic baby somewhere else," Ace said, making the man even angrier.
      Aspen kind of wanted to step between them but knew she would probably just get hurt. The man got off of him and yelled "DON'T EVER DISRESPECT ME EVER AGAIN! THAT'S YOUR LAST WARNING BEFORE I KILL YOU" Ace gave him a look that said, "I'd like to see you try." He then flicked the man in the head and waited for his reaction.
      The man drew a knife from his pocket and stared at Ace, who was not impressed in the slightest. "Umm... I think that's enough," Gabe said, nervous. "SHUT UP FEM-BOY!" the man yelled again. "Well you look angry," Ace said sarcastically to the man. "YOU THINK THIS IS SOME KIND OF JOKE DON'T YOU?!" the man yelled pointing the knife at him. "Yes," he replied. Aspen, Gabe, and Lexie all started laughing, that was the last straw for the man.
     He charged at Ace but was quickly stopped. The same thing Ace used to kill that poor creature had appeared again. Whatever that thing was, it snatched the man by stabbing him in the arms and stomach, his blood dripped down into the black pool below him, and his face slowly went blank. The man looked up at Ace, who looked at the man like he was worthless. He was then pulled out of the thing's grip by Sasha. She was much stronger than Aspen had thought.
      "Ace, what are you doing?" Sasha scolded. "I thought I told you not to kill enemies because they are valuable resources for information." Aspen and the others didn't say anything, they had almost witnessed somebody getting killed, and by the looks of it, this was not the first time Ace had done this either.
       Aspen realized that the man could have grabbed Lexie if he hadn't been too busy picking a fight with Ace. Ace must have had a plan all along. He had planned to get him riled up to kill him and save Lexie. "I'm not even in this stupid group so what does that have to do with me?" he said, making the thing go away.
      "Whatever, is he dead?" Sasha asked, annoyed. "He shouldn't be, but he was pretty pathetic so maybe." He answered like he didn't just try to kill him. Aspen was surprised at how calm they both were about this, it was almost unsettling.
       "Ummm... anyways, this is Ace," Sasha said to them as if they didn't already know him. Aspen nodded and said, "Yeah we met the day after my escape, he's friends with Jay." Sasha was shocked when she said 'Jay's friend' but Aspen couldn't figure out why. "I'm not that annoying brats friend but yeah." Gabe seemed offended when he said that but didn't say anything.
       Sasha picked up the bloody man lying on the floor and dragged him to the healer before he died and everyone else followed her. Aspen saw the man from when she first saw Sasha right behind them and he was glaring at Ace and the man Sasha was dragging to the healers. They walked past him and he followed behind.

Uploaded: August 25, 2023