The Tail of the Twin Dragons

19

They were traveling over the hills, still miles away from Magnolia but their travels were now filled with laughs and smiles. The rag-tag group of traitors felt safer in their large group then they all had alone.

"My lords, why are we heading to Magnolia?" Minerva asked.

"There's a library there, it's full of records, many focused around dragons," Rogue explained.

"So you can research possible allies," Yukino assumed.

"Well... yeah," Sting agreed nervously, "Although I have to admit, I'm not so sure how much use they'll be."

"What do you mean?" Doranbolt asked.

"Well, if our families allies are still alive, they're either hiding, or they've sworn their allegiance to Acnologia," Rogue answered coldly.

"Yep, that's a problem," Orga stated.

"We will require many powerful allies if we wish to overthrow the Dragon King... and I'm afraid, my lords, that you do not have those powerful allies," Minerva stated simply.

"You're right," Rogue agreed. Briefly, he thought of Erik in the woods and he almost mentioned him - but then he saw that same man smiling with Kinana and preparing for the birth of his first child. No, they couldn't rely on him, he had his own family to worry about and the last thing Rogue wanted was to make the man choose between his family and his allies.

"And stop calling us 'my lords,' it's creepy," Sting murmured - he had also decided to not mention Erik.

Minerva was clearly thinking about something.

"What about the rebellion Milad- Minerva," Doranbolt suggested.

"Rebellion?" Sting asked.

"As I recall, no one knows where they are," Rufus stated simply.

"Yeah, it would be easier to find a hiding dragon then it would be to find those guys," Orga chuckled.

"There's a rebellion?" Rogue asked.

"Of a sort," Minerva acknowledged, "But they aren't acknowledged by anyone - except the people."

"Wait - " Lector began confused.

"The Dragon King s trying to hide their existence, he dismisses their attacks and refuses to send anyone out to hunt them publicly," Yukino clarified.

"Perhaps so that he can make them seem insignificant," Rogue figured.

"To make it seem like he's unconcerned," Minerva concurred.

"But they're a pretty big deal. Kinda vigilante-esc.  No one knows how to join or where to find them," Orga explained.

"...Well, I guess we're going to have to find these people who are impossible to find," Sting smiled.

"Let's do it!" Lector cheered.

"That's a rather optimistic attitude for our rather grim situation. I have no memory of anyone like the two of you," Rufus smiled.

"Fro thinks they're special too!" Frosch smiled.

So they continued to Magnolia, but now they had a clearer goal - find the rebellion.

Before that, however - they needed food.

"No, that one will pay for it," Rogue said pointing to a coin in Sting's hand.

"No that won't buy it, that's way too much," Sting objected peering at the coins.

"My god Sting we've been working on this for months; change exists, they pay you back if you pay to much!" Rogue scolded.

"One, two, three, four... twenty-four, twenty-five - " Sting muttered counting the jewel.

"Here," Rogue sighed handing the man at the counter a large coin.

"Thank you," the man sighed, handing them their ticket and two smaller coins, "You'll be order number seventeen."

"Thanks," Sting muttered taking the change and stuffing it in his pockets.

The two walked back to the table where the rest of their group sat. They sat in the wooden chairs and leaned back happy to rest their legs.

"Next time, why don't we handle the money," Yukino giggled.

"We would be happy to do it," Doranbolt assured them.

"As I recall, we all agreed to assist you... that means with economical affairs as well," Rufus reminded them.

"A good leader must supply their followers with three things, safety, trust, and sustenance," Rogue recited.

"Well I can't speak for food... and I don't think we'll ever really be safe, but I trust you guys," Yukino smiled.

"Actually Yukino, I kinda wanted to talk to you about... well about this group," Sting said simply.

Yukino looked startled and slightly worried.

"Well, I remembered that you were heading to your home and family and... well I didn't want you to feel like you had to follow us. You don't owe us anything," Sting stated.

Yukino breathed a sigh of relief, "No, no that's not it at all. I want to help you out because what you guys are talking about doing is what I've been dreaming of doing for years. I'm here because I want to be and trust me, my family wasn't expecting me so it won't matter to them if I don't get back in time."

Rogue and Sting smiled, "Good," they both said together.

"They're such twins," Doranbolt chuckled.

"It's a little creepy how in sync they are," Orga agreed.

None of them noticed the red eyes that watched them through the restaurant window.