Time to Get Wet

**Natalie POV**

Behind Princess Aileen was a shaking Izzy, Sir Ellice, Princess Lydia, and Jacob.

"Where're my two favorite boys in the whole world? Sorry, Jacob, it ain't you." Trevor winked at his old DSS comrade. Jacob rolled his eyes. Clearly, he was used to Trevor's antics.

A loud, high-pitched voice called out, "Shion won't get out of the tree! I can't get up!" Little Kalum shouted. An apple was flung at his head. "He's throwing things!"

"I am the almighty King of the Tree!" Shion laughed maniacally. "No one can vanquish me! .... Kalum?! You're supposed to say 'I will' and get up here."

Aileen muttered a hold on and headed for her kids.

"I can't! Stop throwing apples! Don't you love me, Shion?"

"I'm King of the tree, and those are bombs. You lost; you're dead."

Aileen sighed. I'd expected her to tell Shion to get down and punish him for acting unfairly towards Kalum. I'd heard her Mom Voice back when they were harassing the guards before the banquet. Strangely, she said nothing to her oldest. Aileen picked Kalum up like he was a piece of luggage and turned away, chanting 'sacrifice.' Beside me, Trevor's eyes were glued on the little family, a warm grin growing the more he watched.

With no hesitation, Kalum jumped out of the tree, with no concern for himself, and charged toward his brother. The little boy caught up to his Mother and started pulling at Kalum's feet, saying how he'll save him. Soon Kalum was dragged down until he rested in Shion's arms. Immediately after, the roles were reversed, and Kalum had to protect Shion.

Eventually, Trevor was able to concentrate on the reason we were here. He left with Sir Ellice to arrange the random doll, large smooth stones, and long sheet plastic. Everyone was now focused on what they were doing. All except for Izzy. She kept her distance from Princess Lydia as she made her way to my side. Her hair was in a messy bun, and she wore shorts and a tank top from our original dimension. Likewise, the Princess of Lutz and I had dressed up similarly. The only girl who wasn't was Lydia. She wore an elegant dress that flowed like three long petals at her hips.

I held onto my friend. "The royal advisor is dead." Just saying the words brought his warning back to my mind. Almost everyone I had ever thought of trusting was on the training field. "Princess Lydia won't hurt you." *She was disgusted by Recarad's actions.*

Izzy tried to square her shoulders and look more confident. "Princess Aileen…agreed to let her come…called her an oily eel…but said as long as Sir Ellice…could stay my guard…she could train with us."

The two rowdy minions bolted over to us, Shion eagerly leading the way. No pause, Shion jumped up and down like an invisible pogo stick was under him.

"You see? You see how brave and strong I was? I saved my little brother from Kumidone!"

There were too many people around for me to comfortably answer. Shion gave a little pout. Sometimes it was hard to believe the evil Demon Lord Shiuku was his biological Father.

"Good job." That was lame. Why did so many people have to be around?

Lydia's lips twitched in amusement. "So Aileen gave her kids that old fable about Kumidone too." Izzy, Jacob, and I just stared blankly. "Tch, you all really are uncultured."

Izzy gushed over the kids, returning to the girl I knew and loved. "That was amazing; you just barreled down to protect your brother from the Kumi...Kumish... You two were fantastic! Such incredible little men."

It was a relief to see her shining through her fear again. This was the girl able to smile through all her pain. Truly, not all strength is physical. Izzy is the strongest of all of us.

Shion blinked up at both of us as everyone joined us, creating a small circle.

Shion pointed at me, "sorry, but Trevor can have you. You're really pretty, and I like you… but she's going to be my girlfriend now." He gave me a toothy grin. I had to cover my mouth. The crown prince was going to be a handful when he hit puberty.

Sir Ellice, still keeping two steps from Izzy, approached Shion. "My Prince, you will find someone when you are of age. Please leave Madam Izzy alone."

Yup, I could not hold in my laughter at that. The ordinarily stoic table knight with his twitching closed eyes was what did me in. Apparently, I wasn't the only one. The rest of our group cracked up at the serious expressions on both Shion and Sir Ellice's faces. Trevor clapped a hand on Aileen's shoulder as they both hunched over. When the laughing fit ended, Aileen and Trevor parted with an odd enmity radiating from the princess. Something in their relationship shifted.

"As I said, before my kids interrupted, let us begin."

Trevor regained his composure, bringing back his boyish charm my heart fell for. A wide smile went from one ear to the other as he swung out his arms. "This special training will involve all of you at the same time! I have recreated a unique piece of technology from my faraway dimension. It is an amazing invention called a 'Slip 'N' Slide.' This part is quite simple. You all will slide on your bellies down the slick plastic. Now, that would be too easy. While riding down, you'll be avoiding stones I will kick onto your path. Dodge them. Your reflexes will improve along with controlling your speed and body in a fast environment."

Princess Lydia batted her eyelashes. "Prince Trevor, the invention is impressive, but how will that help deal with an assassin?"

Aileen interjected, "once a person successfully makes it to the end, they will have the chance to save the Princess doll from the dragon; me. Fight me, and if you can get a solid hit, your team has won. If I knock you on your butt, which will be my pleasure, oily eel, you are to run up the hill and wait in line to slide again."

"Teams?" Jacob questioned, putting himself in between Trevor and Lydia.

Trevor pointed as he spoke, "yes, my adorable nephew Kalum and Princess Lydia will be captains. You two can pick your teams, minus myself, Aileen, and Shion."

"ME?! But that looks fun!" Shion was outraged. He marched up to Trevor with his tiny fists raised. "Not my fault I'm most powerful!" He grumbled.

Sort of true. Being Shiuku's child, he could use any element, unlike the rest of us. He had the most potential here but definitely not the current strongest.

Trevor flicked Shion's head. "You will aid me in transferring the water from the buckets down the slide and then reusing the water. It will help you learn the element. Also, you will have to focus and control your emotions as I'm sure you'll get all chubby-faced and jealous."

Rather than the enraged child demon, why was Trevor watching Lydia during his explanation?

"So I was right; Shion is a demon." Lydia didn't sound as nasty or disgusted as she had at the banquet. More like astonished. "And you too, my handsome prince? Well, at least you're not monsters."

Trevor didn't correct her. Shion was a demon, but he was only an elemental.

Apparently, Princess Lydia wasn't the one he should have been concerned about learning the truth. Next to Izzy, Sir Ellice crossed himself. Showing courage and compassion, Izzy took a shaking hand to the side of Ellice's face. At her touch, he released the tension in his shoulders. She dropped her hand like acid was on the knight's skin once she was sure he was calm.

With things settled, for the time being, Lydia and Kalum picked teams.

Team 1- Lydia, Izzy, me

Team 2- Kalum, Sir Ellice, Jacob

Izzy instantly thanked Princess Lydia for her selection. Jacob and Ellice looked disappointed in the results, but I had no doubt they knew the reason. The Princess of Krennan has more of a heart than she likes to show.

Two thick trails of water were produced by Shion and Kalum. One kept a steady stream on the slide while the other floated back up the hill. The zeal Trevor felt for his training was evident in his aura's swirling baby blue waves. Shion's was darker and more strained as he attempted to focus on his task rather than lingering jealousy.

Happy in the slickness of the slide, Trevor called out for ladies first. "Time to get wet again, Sweetness."

Damn him! And he knew I wouldn't be able to respond in a group like this!

Lydia snarled, "go; I hope you dissolve."

Embarrassed, I took advantage of my team captain's order. I ran at the makeshift 'Slip 'N' Slide and hopped onto my belly. The steep hill had wind blowing up in my face and adrenaline pumping in my blood, just like when I was a kid. It was hard for me to remember this was training until I saw a single smooth stone tossed halfway into my turn. Swiftly, I rolled to my right side, missing the obstacle. Unfortunately, I misjudged my trajectory and began rolling down the rest of the way.

A bit dizzy, I got to my feet. Aileen was ahead of me, holding the doll in her teeth, growling. I barreled for her, aiming at her feet. The second she stepped back, I stomped my foot on the ground… and again… and one more time.

Aileen raised an eyebrow at me. She wasn't an elemental or demon, but she could tell something was off. While trying to figure out what was happening, Aileen grabbed my wrist, flipping me onto my back. Damn, she was fast!

"Guess you'll have to try again without relying on your elemental ability." Hearing her voice, I turned back to the Lutz Princess. Smirking, Aileen simply directed me to go up the hill.

Those words sounded like my Mother's. I really was out of practice. Mom would be disappointed. Well, until I wiped the smirk off Aileen's face, ya know!

Kalum went down next but didn't pass the first test. The stone hit him on the shoulder, but he still finished the slide, screaming, "weeeeeee!!!" Shion's aura flared, and the water thinned until Trevor elbowed him. The water started blasting again.

One by one, both teams went down. The only ones managing to dodge the stone were me, Jacob, and Sir Ellice. Princess Lydia hit the hardest, needing Jacob's help back up the hill.

On my next trip, two stones were randomly kicked onto the slide. I avoided them both, barely. After the second stone, I tumbled on my side down the hill. Facing Aileen again, I focused on my physical attacks. She dodged each one gracefully before kicking me behind my knees. I plopped onto my ass, so back up I went.

On her second attempt, Izzy missed the stone. As she fought Aileen, I noticed a difference. Whereas with Jacob, Ellice, and I, Aileen was much faster. With Izzy, she slowed down, allowing my friend to learn during their sparring. Izzy's confidence was growing with each exchange, and ever so slightly, so was Aileen's pace; until the inevitable happened. Izzy was knocked onto her butt. On her way up, Izzy held her head high and proud.

.

.

.

The cool water was no longer a comfort for the day's heat and our exhaustion. We were now an hour into training. Both teams agreed to take a break. While we all sat in sweaty messes, Shion was at his limit too. Rather than running, he fell onto his belly and slipped down the slide. He didn't try to get up from the bottom.

Izzy huffed out, "that was fun, but can one of us win now?"

"At least you can dodge the stone. Every time I start having fun from the slide, there's a big rock my belly rolls over."

"Could probably dodge it better if you didn't have the flowing dress tangling you up," Jacob interjected.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Give me your shirt." Lydia gave him no time to respond. Lurching to her feet, she stole it and limped over to a tree. When she returned, she wore only his shirt and probably panties. "Better pervert? Anyway, seeing me like this could entice Prince Trevor away from his Mistress."

Jacob was too busy staring to reply. I was too tired to waste the words.

Kalum whined, "I don't care what team wins! I like you all, and also, I'm hungry."

Wait… That's it! In this, our enemy was the one who put us into teams. We all had the same objective. How stupid, ya know, now that I think about it; Aileen never attacked first, so…

"Wait for each other," I said in a small voice.

"What?" Lydia grumbled.

Jacob hit his forehead. "Jesus, I should have known! Squad Leader Lena did something similar with our team and Squad Leader Tom's! The winning team doesn't matter. Getting along and working together to beat Aileen and save the 'princess' does. We have the same damn mission!"

Izzy nodded, "Then we all best Dragon Aileen!"

Finally reaching an agreement, we executed our plan. This time, Trevor did not toss any stones. He let us each enjoy our last trip. Even Shion found enough energy to take a turn and join us in attacking his Mom.

With both teams, Aileen was easily pinned, and the princess doll was saved.

"An outstanding job!" a new voice cheered atop the hill.

My eyes widened at the reveal of a muscular man with golden hair. He had piercing blue eyes, with a single line running over the skin above and below one of them. The scar was relatively new, but he was undoubtedly the other demon present the day Diana marked me.

Shiuku's ex-lapdog, Lord Devon of Vernen, stood tall, a drawn sword gleaming crimson in his right hand.