The Threat of the Zodiac

Chapter 3

The summer has finally come. Full of excited people who were waiting for the massacre that is gonna come.The palace was always open for visitors from the districts or even complete strangers from other realms.All wanted to see the champion of the crown, the one who will surely win. Regan loved the attention but soon it became to distracting for her. She needed space to train.
"Your Royal Highness, butted in her conversation a scribe, how do you feel about fighting in summer?"
Regan gave him the stinky eye, and answered:
"That won't be a problem. I'm trained and very powerful and even if my element is presumed the weakest in summer i will still beat my opponents' asses!"
"How can you be so sure?" questioned the scribe intrigued.
"I love to win,so i work hard."
"Goddess of Passion must be so proud of you! You sure are very passionate about your gift!"
"I sure am. Now shoo with you! Maeve come here!"
The scribe ran the other way around and Maeve appeared right in front of Regan without a sound.
"How did you do that?"
"I'm good at sneaking.I should teach you a trick or two." smiled Maeve sarcastically.
"What do you want to insinuate?"
"Nothing Your Highness.How can i be of service?"
"I need you to distract those peasants until i finish training."
  "I am not allowed to leave your side and if i'm right helping you distract your fanboys it's not in my job description."
   "And why not? Like someone is going to assassinate me..."
     Before finishing her phrase an arrow the size of a long sword sliced the window and went straight to the princess. Maeve immediately made a shield out of the floor, one strong enought that the arrow pierced just a bit of the rock,it's head to close to Regan's heart. She stared furious but quickly composed herself and tried to dissolve Maeve's shield. She barely could. Not just because it was summer and her powers were weakened, but Maeve's powers were also powerful enough to resist. Maeve couldn't keep a straight face and smirked winningly at Regan, making the earth shield dissapear,and ran to her.
      "Are you hurt?"
      "If i was hurt you wouldn't have a job anymore. I'm fine."
        Maeve looked her up and down analyzing her state.
      "Don't just stare at me idiot!"
      Maeve ignored her, and after checking on her she took the arrow and studied it's carves. Regan approached her from behind. She was a bit taller than Maeve. She was almost glued to her back watching intensely the arrow.
        "Excluding the intense black color what is so interesting about it?"
       "It's enchanted.I am not very good at controlling the wood, but i can feel it's power. With some more experi- ence the cravings will reveal itself to me"
        "So it could've killed me?"
        "With no doubt. This is serious Your Highness."
        "Surely then i cannot wait for you to master the wood! I need a master right now!"
         "We need your father. He needs to come with a solution!"
          "You were the solution idiot! And anyway my father can very well control the districts!"
           Maeve remembered the rebellion. The Nons. She was sure that they were at fault.
         ".... my father handled it. We will play this year a fair game. Just elements!No tricks! Those bastards won't know what hit them!
         Maeve let the princess in her fury state and throught about the rebellion.She wasn't going to tell them until it was absolutely necessary. Now she knows it's serious, the job will be hers and she could do a lot more with this information.Now she just needed to keep the arrow.
      "If you're done with your mental breakdown i insist that we should go. This place is now dangerous."
         "Fine."
      Maeve took the liberty to keep the arrow and Regan was to distracted to observe.After she left the place where she was attacked and Maeve started connecting to the arrow someone interrupts her:
      "What are you doing?"
      She turned around scared and saw Savya, Regan's little sister.
      "Your Highness you scared me!"
       "Sorry." said the princess bluntly.
         They both looked at each other and in the same time both looked at the arrow.
        "So who would you give this arrow to study it?"
         "Your Highness did you listen to your sister's conversation with her humble protector? This is unexpected!" said Maeve cheekly.
        Savya blushed heavenly.
       "I was just passing by and heard you.Please don't make such a fuss about it!"
       "You're a Cancer right. A Taurus if you didn't know by now. We will get along wonderfully."
         "You act like you are in charge."
        "If you knew me in different circumstances you would think i am shy. Or in other happy cases a snob."
        "Then why are you different here?"
        "I' m being cautious. In the palace are a lot of traitors who lurk in the shadows."
        "I know."said Savya with a serious tone." I feel them. The non gifted who work for us. They are full of hate."
       " So you didn't announce anyone? "
      "No, because i understand why they feel like that. I would feel like that if i were in their place."
      "Why did you tell me?"
       "Maybe we can say that you have a silver tongue. We will leave it at that."
       "As you wish Your Highness. Who knows? Maybe we will work together.We'll be a great team. "
        "Maybe. But just if we protect both."
        Before questioning her further she was already moving towards the exist. Maeve wanted to go after her, but she had a witch to protect.
          

        Maeve and Regan trained together even if "someone" wasn't having none of it.
        "Today we will meet the contestants. Scared? "
        "Just asking me shows your stupidity. Am not. I was raised for this moment. I'm going to beat them simple and quick!"said Regan chrashing a big wave at Maeve who didn't have enough time to react and fall in the golden sand. Now her hair was a lot messyer than before. Regan with her red hair braided and wearing a silk costume with her house god:The Leo,God of Self.Before having another chance to attack her, Maeve lets the sand to get in her pores and after she made the connection she is quickly raised by the sand back on her feet. Smiling sharply she made the sand near her levitating and then the sand lashed at Regan. She looked scared for the first time, but the sand didn't touch her because somehow Maeve lost her concentration and the sand fallen at Regan's feet.
       "You were doing fine.What happened?"
       "It's a move i'm working on. I can get distracted easily so sometimes i have this problem. But i'm almost finished."
        "Are you always creating new moves?
       " When i'm in the mood. Always do it when you are in the mood because then will be just a waste of time. "
      " How can you do it? "
      Maeve stared at her.She was asking herself why would Regan want her help with something she failed to accomplish.
      " Why? "
     " Why what? "
     " You just saw me fail. How can you still trust me to teach you?"
      "Because you made a mistake? That doesn't mean that what you know it's wrong. You just need training. Like me. To be perfect like me!"
        Almost impressed by her ansewer. Almost. But still she felt better.
      "Very well. To create some more advanced moves you need a lot creativity. It's the most important. Then you need to know what your powers can do. Yours is water, this element was all about healing until some man with no name used it for attacking.I've seen used almost every time just shooting blast of water and making waves.You trained a lot for the waves. That's why they are so big, right? "
       " Yes.A useless power if you ask my father. "
       " But it's not!"said Maeve moving behind Regan's back and streching her hand. "A move that will use a lot less concentration and will be very effective it's hmmm what about something that will take someone brath away? Heh? Did you get it?"
        Regan holded back her laugh because it was such a ridiculous joke.
       "Your jokes make me put you as my lab rat for my power experiment. "
       "Well we don't have nobody else here so...Let's!"
         Regan couldn't hold back her yelp of surprise but accepted it.
        "Let's giveyou a scenario:You are running from someone..."
        "I'm no loser but continue."
         "... And you have a little water so you need to slow them down. What can you do?"
         The princess studied her face, her lips especially and then her head. She needed the element of surprise. Something unexpected. Then she came up with something and projected into reality so quickly that Maeve didn't have time to prepare for it:Regan made a bubble of water around her head. She stopped immediately after seeing that Maeve was struggling for breath.
         "Are you okay?"
         "That was such a good move! Great minds think alike!"
         "So you already had the move planned in your mind!"
         "Naturally.But i'm happy that you came with the same idea."
         "Heh."
      They looked at each other awkwardly, but then they were interrupted by an elegant man with ceremonial robes:
        "The contestants arrived."