𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙁𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙈𝙖𝙮 [Rain]

Chapter Nine

I sighed, my eyes darting down a piece of paperwork. I'd found it next to the pile of grants and permits, so I figured that's what it was.
Until I read it.

What it really was, was the transfer of power paperwork Rain had to sign before the throne was given to him. Also before he and I got married. I tilted my head to the side, squinting as I read further down the paper. One thing that stood out to me was "should you and Leigh-Ann be considered not fit to rule, power will be given back to Kitana and the royal family of Outworld. Remerging the two realms is impossible, but they will be considered one singular realm, though apart,"

"What the..." I trailed off, continuing to read further down the paperwork. Rain had signed away Edenia to Outworld should he and I be considered unfit?

When he and I got into bed that night, he was reading a book, and I was staring into space. Eventually Rain noticed and said, "you're being awfully quiet tonight. Is something wrong?"

"Well, kind of," I nodded. I reached for the paperwork. "What's this?" I asked, handing it to him.

"The transfer of power paperwork," Rain shrugged. "Why?"

"I read through it,"

Rain sighed, closing his book, and setting it aside. "Did you?"

"Yes," I crossed my arms. "Why would you sign that, Rain? If Kitana sees us as unfit—"

"It won't happen," Rain shook his head, "if I thought that would happen, I would never have signed it,"

"How do you know that? What if this was Kitana's plan all along? To wait for us to mess up on something, declare us unfit, and then boom! Edenia is a part of Outworld again?"

"It won't happen," Rain said again. "Leigh-Ann, I promise,"

"I can't believe that. We need to pull out of this deal. We have to," I sighed. "And not only that, but Kitana has to sign off on any decisions we make? And if she doesn't like it she can just veto it? Rain, I'm sorry, but signing that paperwork was an awful idea,"

"I had to," Rain argued, "If I didn't sign that paper, Queen Sindel would have continued ruling. She was a weak Queen,"

"Rain..."

"I know, I know, call me out for blasphemy. But if I hadn't agreed to their terms, I wouldn't have gotten the throne. I did what I had to do to gain the throne,"

"I get that," I agreed, "but Rain, if our people find out that Outworld still has their hands in our business...they will never trust the monarchy again. And we can't have that. I've set up a meeting tomorrow with Kitana and Sindel,"

"You did...?" Rain asked. "I'm proud of you..."

"What?" I tilted my head. "Why?"

"You're taking initiative," he explained. "I told you that you were going to be a wonderful Queen. And here you are, doing just that,"

"Stop it," I said, feeling my face turn a tinge of red.

Rain chuckled. "Never," He picked his book back up, opening to the page he was on. "Are we okay?"

"We're fine," I nodded, scooting over to be closer to him. "I'm sorry for being angry about it,"

"Don't worry," Rain shook his head. "I would have been upset, too," He set his book down, leaned over and kissed my cheek, and then went back to reading.

The next morning, we were already up and on our way to Outworld. We arrived after a few hours, and went down to Outworld's palace. The guards let us in, and Kitana was already there waiting for us.

"Is there something the two of you need?" asked Kitana.

"Yes. Rain and I would like to get out of this," I said, handing her the paperwork.

"Oh..." Kitana trailed off. "Uh...let's go talk about this in private,"

Kitana took Rain and I to her office, and shut the door. "You can't get out of it,"

"Kitana, listen to me," I sighed. "Outworld can't rule over Edenia anymore. We are separate realms. Not one in the same. Outworld can't push us around,"

Rain sat down in a chair, not wanting in the least bit to be part of the conversation.

"You can blame Rain for this being the rule. He's the one who signed the agreement,"

"You made the agreement," I crossed my arms. "And forced him to sign it,"

"Forced him?" Kitana asked crossing her arms.

"Yes! By leaving him no choice. We are not bound by your laws, Kitana. We're pulling out of this contract,"

"You can pull out of it, but Outworld, and by association, Earthrealm will no longer be your allies,"

Rain stood up. "Okay, Kitana no, you can't do that. All we want is full control,"

"Yes I can. If you redact your signature, Outworld and Edenia are no longer allies,"

"Leigh-Ann, can we speak about this for a moment?" Rain asked.

Kitana walked out, allowing us to talk in private.

"Leigh-Ann, I love you, and I love that you're doing this, but Kitana is twisting our arms here. Is being totally free from Outworld worth losing them as our aly?"

"Yes, it is," I nodded. "you have to believe me, Rain. A free Edenia is the most important thing,"

Rain sighed. "Okay, I agree with you, but...so is having allies,"

"Rain...please..." I pleaded. "Come on," I pouted, crossing my arms.

"Fine," he rolled his eyes. "Only because I love you,"

I glared.

"And because I love Edenia,"

"Better answer,"

"Kitana!" Rain called, beckoning Kitana back in.

"What's your final decision?" Kitana questioned.

"We want out," Rain said, confidently.

"Fine. Then the contract is null and void. I must tell you what a horrible decision this is, however,"

"You don't have to," Rain rolled his eyes. "Let's go," He sighed, taking my hand in his.

Rain and I made our way back, to a truly, truly free Edenia.