The Cursed Iris

Sprout 68: Moving Forward and Our Determination

The news of Shangri-La spread like wildfire all over the Ashihara. Aimi and her group still in Insholu were worried about how Ayame and her group had felt after what happened, "Empress, what do you plan on doing?" Yukiko asked.

Aimi had been thinking about the next step forwards for a while. What happened to Shangri-La could jeopardize the entire Nastrean Federation dream she had. Action had to be taken, but what exactly could she do?

"Empress?"

That snapped her out of the deep thoughts, "Yes, I must return home and address the others. Yukiko send a message to the rest of the Dashavatara, Minori you go and retrieve Ayame's group from Shangri-La, Usagi, my dear, your time in this country has been cut short. They'll need you there for them."

*****

Mona stared out over the lake outside the city. The air was quiet, there was no wind, no animals to be heard, the waves were silent, it was as if the world had died along with her home, "My home is gone. I have nothing now, everything I had fought for," she choked. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

"How about showing that beautiful radiant smile you've always had?" a voice stated as he walked up. Mona turned around, tears flowed from her eyes. "We may have lost Shangri-La, but remember our country is the place of rebirth, hope, and life."

"Nikita."

He sat next to her. "That group is extremely powerful, but they're also extremely kind. I don't think this is the true end of our country. We just have to stay determined and find a way to bring everything back."

"But how?" she wondered.

Nikita turned towards the horizon, "Your father once told me something interesting. He said that home isn't just a place, a home is where your heart lies. The memories you make and the dreams you share with those around you help form a home. Princess Mona our home still lives on, with you, myself, Lady Asami, and Lord Michael. Princess I have something I've been meaning to tell you for a while."

"Nikita, I love you," she interjected. "I really, really do love you. It took me forever to realize that because I wanted to hide away my feelings."

He stood there dumbfounded while she continued. "I tried to bear this burden alone, but I was foolish when I had you there the entire time. I really appreciate you from the bottom of my heart, what happened here should never happen again, so please stay by my side. I need you more than anyone else in the world."

"Yes Princess."

The atmosphere between them seemed to glow, and it wasn't because of the sunlight. Their Raiya glowed even brighter than before, "By the way, I'm no longer a princess, you can just call me Mona," she smiled as they kissed.

*****

A month passed since the final battle of Shangri-La and them meeting that man. Everyone had returned back to Japan to a large castle in the village where Katsumi was protecting before Ayame arrived. They were in the future guild hall Minori had acquired from someone who she'd rather not name when they all inquired about. Minori sat in a room with Ayame, who just finished scolding her about trying to resonate with Kaiya, "Why would you even think that was a good idea?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, I just needed to beat Astraea. Minori, she also told me something interesting." Ayame stated. She remembered what Astraea was telling her. "She said something about me being able to make contact with other incarnations. You seem to know about the Iris a lot, so I was wondering would you know anything about that?"

Minori body language changed. "I guess she meant that each incarnation are connected to each other. I can help you find a way to learn how to connect with them."