15 It's LADY GrACE

"I said higher!" Ace barked at me during our morning training. He's currently teaching me the basics of sword fighting. At first I was glad because it meant that my stamina is improving if they are willing to teach me something different.

Now, I was dreading it.

I wasn't sure if I was just a bad student or Ace was just venting out his frustration at me. You see, earlier this morning, his siblings had to go back, which means he has to part ways with Nora. This siscon wasn't happy to see his beloved sister go, and because he wasn't allowed to escort her since he has a duty to train me.

"Give her a break." Nate said gently as he stood beside Ace. Nate has no reason to stay here, but he actually stayed when he saw my worried look when I found out that Ace was teaching me about sword fighting. "Remember, she's just a beginner."

"She only swung 50 times!" Ace snapped. "When I was a kid I did 3000 swings!"

I don't know if he was boasting or not, but one thing is for sure. He's a monster for swinging 3000 times. I wonder how much can he swing now that he's an adult?

I was already panting. My white shirt was already soaked in sweat. I ran 10 laps today and took a few minutes of break before my sword training began. My arms are killing me! No wonder Nate insisted that we do some arm stretches and push ups as warm up before. This vampire was actually caring.

I slumped on the ground and dropped the wooden sword. It was heavy even though it was just made out of wood. If I can't carry this then I wonder what would happen if I carry a real sword.

Ace regarded my slumped form and sighed. "It would seem that wielding a sword is not the right weapon for her. Let's drop it and change weapons." He said with a shrug.

I gave him a look like I wanna strangle him. If only my hands can move, then I would. 'So all my swings were for nothing!?' I wanna cry at this point.

"Then what weapon do you suggest would suit her?" Nate asked with his brow raised.

Ace looked at me and pondered for a while. "Most probably a weapon that can block weapons and attack at the same time. With her weak arms-"

"Hey!"

"- I suggest blades that are light. Something that she can swing easily. Twin swords would be nice but with crescent guards." Ace observed.

Nate took Ace's words in. "How about hook swords? It has a guard, a blade, and with her terrible luck, she can simply use it to trip enemies."

"You guys make it sound like I get into a lot of trouble." I complained.

At that, both Ace and Nate gave me a look with their eyebrows raise. A look that say 'Are you really asking that question?' I pouted and shut my mouth since my opinion doesn't matter to them anyway!

"I think the hook swords would work, but we have to be careful about the end blade. She could stab herself accidentally and die." Ace thought out loud. His eyes suddenly widened at the idea. He seemed pleased. "Let's give her the hook swords." His words were final.

I narrowed my gaze at him knowing fully well why he suddenly agreed. "You're actually hoping that I would accidentally stab myself and die, aren't you?"

Ace looked away. "It's perfect." He said firmly.

Why this...!

Nate chuckled nervously. "I do think that it's perfect. I mean, she can defend herself from the enemy even if they sneak behind her with the end blades. I'll just have to find a wooden version of it for training."

I honestly have no idea what kind of weapon they were talking about. But as the village idiot among them, I trust that they know what's best for me. At least I trust Nate's judgement and not Ace's.

"So!" I clapped my hands together. "If we're done here, can I go back and sleep?"

"Actually." Nate crouched in front of me to hand me a bota bag full of water. I took it from him gratefully as I started to drink. "I came here because I want to tell you something regarding your powers. The one that royals blooded tamers like you posses."

"What about it?" I asked after a few gulps of water. Sadly, I was still thirsty so I kept drinking.

"Royal tamers can take away a supernatural's power and turn them into human."

I spit the water that I was drinking at the shocking revelation. In front of me was Nate dripping wet from the water that I just sprayed. I gave him a sheepish smile as I apologized. "That..." I paused as I recalled the image of the large Custard eating smoke when he attacked the rogue. "Are you telling me that our spirit animals, royal spirit animals, can take the essence of what makes you...unnatural?"

Nate, after whipping the water from his face, nodded grimly. "Rose, the human civilization that you know of was actually created by the royal tamers."

I starred at him. "Nate I-" I suddenly looked at the ground, not knowing what to answer. I took a deep breathe as I tried again. "You mean to tell me that the human civilization was created by the tamers. And that the humans were originally from this world, but having their powers taken, they were sent to that world?" I shook my head. "The why don't humans have any supernatural powers?"

"When a tamer takes their essence, then it is permanent. Their children cannot inherit anything that they no longer posses." Ace said and regarded me with a look that I couldn't read. "I guess that explains why you humans have stories about wolves, vampires, and other supernatural beings."

"Oh gosh." I clutched my head as I let this sink in. "This information is too much. In other words, the human world is just like a place for banishment in this realm!"

Nate and Ace exchanged a look as if they hadn't thought about it that way. "If you put it that way then I guess so." Nate scratched the back of his head.

"And that is why it is important for you to train your powers. You can actually take our essence with if you are not careful." Ace said. "While the wooden hook swords are being made, we can practice on how to control your powers."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you even know how to train me despite having limited knowledge of my powers?"

"I'll teach you the basics of controlling magic. I am pretty sure the basics are the same." Said Ace.

"You'll teach me!?" I gasped and glanced at Nate for help.

Nate raised his hands in defeat. "As much I want to help you, I can't. Vampire's have physical strength and agility. We don't have magic - except for our fast regenerating ability."

"You know who else has magic? Fred!" I gleamed with hope.

"I'm right here." Nate leered at me and smirked bitterly. "And too bad for you. He's busy and he doesn't have the time to visit you." Then he started to pout and cross his arms over his chest.

Ace sighed. "Listen, I do not wish to teach your untrainable butt either. But we do not have a choice. If we can no longer protect you then you have to protect yourself. For now, you can't do that without your familiar. And all those times that you used your powers are when you're in danger. We can't have that. You have to learn how to control it. You know what happens when King Ferius gets a hold of you. It will become a disaster. You can potentially stop him but if you're weak as you are now then it is the end for us."

I looked at the ground. Sadly, Ace was right. In order for all of us to survive and to ensure the safety of the whole kingdom, I must not get captured. We can't let King Ferius release his chimera and repeat what happened in the past. "Alright." I said.

Ace nodded, pleased with my answer. He looked. "Hey, mutt. Get over here and bring that wolf." He barked his ordered at Ren, who was peacefully sitting under the shade of a tree. Custard was sleeping on his lap as he stroked his fur gently. Poor Ren. After Dan left, he settled on petting Custard. He must have missed his twin dearly.

Ren looked at us and nodded. He got up and carried Custard, who was now awake, towards us. He settled Custard beside me. The little brown wolf yawn, but didn't go back to sleep. He must have sensed what was about to happen because he looked at me expectantly.

Ace crouched down in front of me. His hair slightly covering his eyes as he looks down to meet my gaze. "Close your eyes." He said. "And if you fall asleep then I will hit you."

"Well that's reassuring, teach." I muttered, but followed him anyway. I closed my eyes.

"Can you feel your bond with your familiar?"

"After locking me up after the ball? Of course I can." I said smugly.

I couldn't tell what Ace's face look like at that time since my eyes were closed, but from his grunt I could tell that he wants to deck me. "One of the most basic skill that every tamer 'had' is to feel their connection. Just by thinking about your familiar, you can tell where they are."

"Um, he's right beside me." I said.

"You're not even trying!" Ace snapped. "Focus!"

I grunted and started to feel where Custard is. There was a slight pull to my left. "I can feel him, but he somehow feels far away? Am I even doing this right?" I ask and patted the ground where I last saw Custard when my eyes where open. It was empty.

"Don't you dare open your eyes. You're doing fine so just concentrate!" Ace sighed. "Another one of your skill is to see through your familiar's eyes and hear through it's ears. It resembles my power, but yours is only limited to your familiar."

Tapping into Custard's hearing ability was easy since I already used it when I was eavesdropping on Dan and Liliana before. But seeing through Custard's eyes? It took me a while but I was finally able to do it. It felt weird seeing myself through Custard's eyes. He was bring carried by Nate as they stood under a shade.

"Now." Ace continued with his lesson once I told him that I was successful. "Try summoning him. Make him appear beside you."

"Appear? How is that possible? And how do you know of these information?"

"It's in the book that I asked my sibling to bring." He Ace. "Now focus!" He snapped.

Geez what a temper.

I tried to focus and urged Custard to to appear in my arms. Nothing.

"Can you give me a hint? It seems that it is not working." I said.

"Try again. Imagine him in your arms."

I tried. Nothing. Again.

I opened my eyes this time. "I don't think it's something that is possible? I mean no offense, but maybe the information in your book is a lie? Like some of the kings in the elven history, maybe the tamers altered some truths too." I suggested.

Ace wasn't happy, but he looked like he was considering that possibility as well. "You know, the queen should be the one to train you since you since she knows more about tamers bu-" Ace paused. His eyes suddenly widened in panic and fear as he looked into the forest. I followed his gaze and saw the forest dancing even in the absence of air.

"No." He muttered and started running to the forest. "Nora!" He yelled.

Nora?

"Hey!" I called to him. Despite my aching muscles, I got up and ran after him. He was running towards the stables where our horses were running around in a large and enclosed fence. Ace let out a whistle and I saw Midnight's head perked up and ran towards his master. Midnight jumped over to fence to meet with Ace. The PRINCE, jumped and rode his stallion and into the forest.

I glanced and Cloud and tried to imitate Ace and whistle. Cloud did nothing and kept eating. Nate chuckled beside me and whistled. A few moments later and Ryde was in front of us along with Garius.

"You haven't trained Cloud yet." Nate chuckled and carried me to ride his horse. He hoped on Ryde next and placed Custard on my lap. "And you better ride with me this time. We don't have a saddle and you might fall."

Beside us I saw Ren getting on Garius and was glaring at us. Nate caught his gaze and returned the look. "Let's go." He simply said and we followed Ace into the woods. We were riding unusually fast that I was thankful that Nate was with me.

I was thankful that I was wearing trousers and high boots so I don't have to ride sideways. It was scary to ride without a saddle alone, and now we were riding like mad mans while chasing a certain PRINCE. Ace far ahead of us and he was getting farther and father. Either midnight was just that fast or we were slowing down.

"We're gonna lost him." I said.

"That Midnight is too fast. As expecting of a wild stallion." Nate said. I suddenly felt Nate holding my wait to keep me in place. "Excuse me, but hang on tight." I felt Ryde suddenly increasing his speed and I had to close my eyes at the rush of win on my face.

It wasn't long until we were out of the forest that I felt like we were slowing down. I opened my eyes and saw that we were standing on a sandy beach. In front of us, I saw Ace hoping off of Midnight and running towards his brother, who were now unconscious.

"This is bad." Ren said as he got down from Garius. "I don't smell Nora anywhere."

Nate came down and and helped me off of Ryde. The three of us soon headed to where the Feradin brothers were. Ace was trying to shake his brothers awake. "Eltur! Darem! Wake up." For the very first time, I saw concern on Ace's face towards his brother. I looked at Ren and saw him getting Ace a look of pity. I guess the scene reminded him of Dan. Again.

I placed a hand on Ren's shoulder to comfort him. Ren looked at me and gave me a warm smile. He placed a hand over mine and mouthed a thanks. I offered Custard to him, since he seems like he finds comfort on holding the little guy. He smiled and took Custard from me. Custard seem to like Ren now as he snuggled on the wolf boy's chest.

"Brother?" Darem woke up and cough water out of his mouth. "Nora." He said weakly.

"Are you well enough to talk?" Ace asked in concern.

"Don't mind me. Help...Nora..." Ace place a hand on his brother's forehead, then he started to feel his pulse. His brow started to crease. "You've been poisoned, haven't you?"

"It's just a paralysis poison. They...hit me with a small dose. Brother Eltur, on the other hand, took a lot when he tried to take on the Atla Generals."

Ace's eyes narrowed. "Did they took Nora?"

Darem nodded.

"Why?" Ace demanded. His voice sounding dangerous.

Darem looked at the ground in shame. "It's our fault. Nora wanted to walk on the beach. She said that she feels a lot of dark aura coming from the ocean. Distressed auras that it made her uncomfortable enough to go and look." Said Darem. His wet golden brown hair covering his eyes in shame. "Before we knew it, 5 generals from the Alta kingdom came and took Nora. Eltur and I tried to stop them, but we were powerless when fighting in the sea. I tried pulling them using my Physic ability, but they poisoned me. Brother Eltur's fire elemental spirit was no use so he decided to take them on in combat. As you can see.." He gestured towards a bloodied and badly beaten Eltur on the sandy ground. "We couldn't do anything. I'm sorry." He whispered. He looked at Ace then. "I know that you'll do it without me asking you but, Ace, please. Save Nora." Begged the second Prince as he cried in frustration.

Ace looked at his distressed brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's not like you did nothing. You were able to inform me of the situation. That alone in something." Ace said and this time, through gritted teeth he said, "And those bastards who took my sister will pay. They will regret the day that they set foot on land."

Nate, Ren and I watched as PRINCE Ace, guided and helped his brothers to ride on Midnight. Seeing their struggle, Ren came and help carry Darem. They placed Eltur onto midnight and helped an injured Darem on him next. "Ride Midnight and find your carriage. Knock some sense onto the guards for not following you. After that, go back to Thalia and have the royal doctors threat your wounds. I will come back with Nora." Ace said. It seems like Darem wanted to argue, but figured that in his current state, he could no longer be of use. With a curt not, he rode Midnight towards to direction where I assume is where their carriage is.

"So, what's the plan?" Nate asked.

PRINCE Ace gave him a look. "The plan is for you guys to go home."

"Ace-"

"PRINCE."

I gritted my teeth. "PRINCE Ace, this is Nora that we're talking about. Your sister. Do you honestly expect us to leave you alone knowing that your little sister is in trouble?" At this, Ace gave me a look. "And please, you should know by now that whenever one of us is in trouble-"

"Mostly you." The three princes cut me off.

I pursed my lips at the sudden alliance of the three. "Yes, I admit that I am an accident prone person!" I snapped and shook my head. "The point his, we are here to help each other. To help you. So again we ask you, what's the plan?"

Ace studied all of us. It was as if he was thinking whether or not we were joking. When he was satisfied, he gave us a curt nod. "First of all," He said and change his gaze towards the large rock on the shore. "why won't you come out of your hiding spot, you little brat?"

In a flash, Nate was by the rocks and dragged a small child hiding behind it. The child was wearing a white seaman pants adorned with sea shells and seaweeds for his belt. His hair was an ocean blue color and when he glanced at Nate, his green eyes sparked with fear.

Nate, upon having a closer look at the boy, had his eyes widen in shock. "What is a sea folk like you doing here?"

"A sea folk?" I looked at Ren for answers.

"People of the sea." Ren answered curtly. "Sorry, they never show up in social gatherings and they aren't in any trades with the other kingdoms. Not much is known about them. Even seeing one is rare enough."

Ace suddenly marched towards the boy, who was now cowering in fear. "Do you know something about the whereabouts of my sister?" Ace demanded. The boy was still shivering under the PRINCE's gaze. "Answer me or else!"

"PRINCE Ace." Nate held Ace back, when he was about to grab the kid - he looks to be about 6 years old. "He's just a boy. Don't be too hard on him." Ace gritted his teeth but backed away.

I came to Nate's side and placed a gentle on on the boy's hair. Poor child. The big scary monster - PRINCE Ace - must have frightened him. "Hello!" I greeted him. "Me. Name. Rose." I gestured to myself. "They" I gestured to the princes. "Nate. Monster. Ren. Custard. We. Come. In. Peace. Your. Name?" After my introduction, I could hear multiple face slaps in the background.

I glared at them. What's their problem?

The child gave me a curious look. The fear in his green eyes were gone now and replaced with wonder. "My...My name is Zeraph Bastian." He mumbled.

My jaw dropped. Why didn't anyone told me that they can speak our language!?

I glared at Ren for an explanation. The wolf boy simply raised a hand in surrender. "Hey, I said it was rare for us to see them. I never said that they cannot speak our language." He pointed out.

Okay, that's a valid argument.

The child somehow looked worried as he kept glancing at the ocean. "I know where your sister is, but it is not safe here." The child said nervously to Ace. Th e elf prince looked back at the Ocean and frowned.

"Fine. There's a nearby town here. Let's go there." Ace said.

The rest of us followed as Ace and Zeraph went ahead to town. Nate, Ren and I were a few blocks back since they have Ryde and Garius. The town was different from the one in the boarders of Thalia. It was dull. The females were wearing mask to cover their face and were accompanied by a male or two. When they saw us, they immediately scampered and hid.

The princes must have noticed it too because they decided that we should head to an inn and lay low until we figure out the problem regarding Nora. We headed to the nearest Inn when a petite girl suddenly approached us. It was a small child who was about 10. She tapped my arm and gestured for me to come closer. Hesitantly, I complied.

"Miss, please wear a mask." She said and pointed to the cloth on her face.

"Why?" I asked.

"It's for your safety." Was all she said and before she ran away.

Nate suddenly tapped my shoulder and handed me his handkerchief. "Come here. I don't know what their deal is but there's a sign that says 'women with no mask cannot enter.' " I let Nate tie his handkerchief over my face before we entered. We let Ace rent a room for the four of us. It was small, but it easily accommodated us. Once we were safely inside, Ace turned to the kid and frowned. "Talk." He said.

Zeraph was fiddling with his hands. "I'm...I'm the second prince of the Atla kingdom." At his revelation, Ren almost fell from the chair that he was sitting while the rest of us were baffled. Custard barked at Ren for dropping him and came running towards me and jumped on my lap.

Ace narrowed his eyes at the child. "What is the second prince doing out here on land?"

"It's because of my father." He mumbled. "He keeps taking women into the kingdom of Atla to either be his concubine or to be the crown prince's bride."

At this, Ace suddenly gripped the back of a wooden chair and crushed it. "What...did you say?" Ace breathed dangerously that the rest of us had to back away. "Then why did my sister, who's only 4 years old, got CAPTURED!?" He demanded.

"It was probably for me. So I can choose my future bride..." Zeraph was shaking as he said it.

This time, Ace punched a nearby wall that it suddenly showed signs of cracking. Nate and Ren suddenly got up and held Ace in place when he attempted to lunge at the kid. "Right now, you better tell me how I can get my sister back, or so help me, I will make sure that you will never see the light of day again!"

"Women!" I was sitting beside Zeraph and he suddenly grabbed onto me to hide from Ace. "Beautiful women. If one of the generals see a beautiful women then they will take you to sea." The child said quickly under Ace's glare.

"That is absurd." Ren says. This time it was his turn to give the kid a suspicious look. "You, as the son of the king, why are you here telling us all of this?"

Zeraph was silent for a moment and looked at the ground. "My father, king Corona Bayrus Bastian is a mad man. He kidnaps women, abuse my brother and I, and he is making shady deal with another kingdom." His eyes were starting water. "One day, my father suddenly had one of his...moods and locked me up in a cage for weeks." He sniffed. "My brother, Prince Mereum, got me out and sent me here on land to escape. I'm currently a fugitive in our kingdom."

"Is that why the women here wear mask? To avoid King Corona Bayrus?" Nate asked. Zeraph nodded solemnly.

Ren shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe such a king exist."

"Do you know this shady kingdom that Atla is dealing with?" Ace asked.

"No..."

At this point, Ace managed to calm down enough for Ren and Nate to let him go. "Do you know another way to infiltrate Atla? Considering the shady deals that they are doing, I doubt they would welcome us even if we send a formal request."

"I can take you to the entrance using my magic, but I cannot lead you to where the captured females are since they are heavily guarded."

"I have a plan!" I declared smugly. I have seen this in a lot of movies that I just have to incorporate them in this world. "All we have to do is let them capture me. Then I lead the captured females to the exit, where you guys can meet us. Easy peasy!"

The princes stared at me with dull eyes. Their looks telling me that there is not a single amount of trust that they have for me. Prince Ace especially. He was giving me a dead look and grimaced. "Fist of all," He pointed out. "They only take beautiful women. And second, you're a big clutz who attracts all the negative energy in the world. Third, your sense of direction is awful, so how the f*ck can you lure the women to the exit. Fourth, don't get me started on how you're going to deal with the guards. You can't even defend yourself. Fifth, BEAUTIFUL WOMEN only. Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately?"

Well that was an awful lot of roasting.

"You son of a -" Nate quickly covered my mouth with his hands before I could finish cursing him.

"Well, Rose does have a good plan. How about we simply polish that plan?" Nate then glanced at Zeraph.

"We follow my plan! We have to help Nora!" Ace yelled and stomped his foot. Suddenly he went out of the room. The princes, Custard and I followed him along with Zeraph. Ace went out of the Inn and suddenly marched into a nearby store for clothes. He kicked it open with a loud bang.

"I NEED A DRESS!" He yelled at the store attendants, who all jumped at his sudden outburst. I stopped right beside him and panted. The store keeper took a good look at me in my white shirt, brown trousers and boots, my outfit every time I train.

"Is it for this lady right here?" The shop keeper asked.

"Are you blind!?" Ace scolded her. "It's for ME!"

Our jaws dropped. The shop keeper and her attendants dropped their things. Ace didn't look like he was joking either. If it makes matters worse he also added, "I need a long black wig as well!" He demanded.

Finally, one brave gentleman approached him. "R-right this way sir..." He said and pointed at a nearby dressing room.

"Your dress better satisfy me or else! I will throw you in the dungeon were you will rot." Ace said and followed the now shaken attendant to the dressing room.

***

It didn't take long until Ace 'came out of the closet' - If you know what I mean - looking like a different person. All of us let out a gasp as we took in the sight of this beautiful creature in front of us. Long back hair that ended at his waist. A soft blue dress with long sleeves and an army green cloak to cover his manly arm muscles. His piecing midnight blue eyes glinting under the bangs of the wig.

The attendant gave him some heels to pair with his dress. Ace didn't even say thank you to the man as he slipped the heels on.

"Oh-" I gasped.

"-my-" Nate continued.

"-gods." Ren breathed.

"If I didn't know that he is a man then I would have proposed." Nate whispered earning a slap at the back of his head from me.

Ace looks...beautiful! He looks like the most beautiful girl that I ever laid my eyes upon and I am not even kidding. His elven features, that gave him sharp jaw and sharp ears, highlighted his looks. Not to mention how clear and smooth his skin was. There was a light makeup on his face that gave him a pinkish glow both on his cheeks and lips.

Ace started walking when he wore the feels. "Damn this cursed shoes!" He grunted and started to walk forward. Once he did, he tripped and started to fall forward. Immediately, Ren got up and caught a falling Ace.

I feel like my eyes are playing tricks on me because what I'm seeing right now made my heart flutter.

Ren grabbed Ace's waist to steady him while Ace had his hands placed on Ren's muscular chest. His black wig swayed at the motion and in a very short moment, Ren and Ace's eyes met. Ren suddenly blushed. Nate and I held hands as he breathed in the scene in front of us.

"I do not know if I should feel jealous or amused." Nate said.

"I do not know if I should feel amazed or insulted that he looks better than me."

Ace suddenly glared at Ren. "Are you done?!" He snapped at Ren. "Help me up or I'll break your neck." Ren finally snapped from his daze and he complied to help him. Once Ace was finally up, he flipped his wig back in place. "Let's go." He demanded and gracefully walked out of the shop.

Once we got out, Ace briefed us on the plan as we made our way back to the beach. The plan was for Ace to pretend to be a lady, while the rest of us are her/his(?) servants - not that we have any problem with that at all. While Prince Zeraph and Custard will have to hide somewhere. Of course, Ace still don't fully trust Zeraph that he let Custard guard him.

Ace will have to get captured and find the kidnapped females. Meanwhile, the rest of us, using Prince Zeraph's magic, will wait by the port of Atla tomorrow at sunrise. Zeraph already told Ace about what to look out for to get to the port. Ace is smart so I bet he won't have any problem finding his way around an unfamiliar kingdom.

Ace suddenly gave me a hat and a coat to cover my gender.

"Since your chest is almost flat it wont be a problem." He said. If this guy didn't look the way that he was now, I would have strangled him.

Ren placed a hand on top of my head when I was growling in frustration. "Don't let his beauty intimidate you." He said.

I gave Ren a pointed look. "Says the guy who was blushing earlier at Ace-"

"It's LADY Grace!" Ace snapped at us.

And there he goes with his titles. At least he is taking his roles seriously.

"Shut your mouths and let us go!" Ace demanded and started trudging to the beach while in his heels. Ace was grumbling the whole time when his heels kept sinking in the sand. At this point he was walking like a monkey rather than a proper lady.

Nate and I exchanged glances. A mischievous smile spread on our lips and we pushed Ren towards Ace. "Wolf boy, go escort the LADY."

Ren stumbled. "Why me?" He demanded. In response, Nate and I simply shrugged and left no room for argument for Ren. With a grumble, Ren complied and offered his arm to LADY Grace. The LADY gave Ren a look, briefly flipped him off, before accepting his arm. Together, they walk to the shore of the beach. Nate and I followed a few steps back.

"I feel like we're on a double date." Nate whispered in my ears.

"Focus, Nate." I told him. "We are suppose to admire LADY Grace."

Nate drew back and grumbled. "I finally got my screen time and this is how you treat me?"

"Nate, THE wall."

"Right."

Ace finally have had enough of the shoes that he finally kicked them off. Ren, being the gentlemen, bent down and grabbed the shoes for him. I gripped my heart and it kept pounding in my chest so hard. Why do I enjoy seeing them like this? They look good together!

I looked at Nate to distract myself from the scene only to find him covering his mouth as he blushed while looking at the two. At least I am not the only one.

The ocean started to bubble, drawing our attention to it. Large men covered in sea green scale armor suddenly emerged. There were at least five of them in total. Nate subconsciously stood in front of me as guard, but the men weren't after me. They have their gaze fixed at Ace - I mean - LADY Grace.

"Look what we have here. Another beauty." The man said as he studied the LADY from head to toe.

This is it. The plan worked. All we have to do now is pretend to defend LADY Grace. Ren, like the good boy that he was, extended a protective had over her/him(?).

"Go back! You may not touch our LADY." He said.

"Go back to where you belong!" I said in my manly voice that I heard a chuckled from Nate.

The men didn't heed our warning and started to come after LADY Grace. As per planned, we pretended to attacked the men and lose. Everything was according to plan until this dumb idiot - not me! - started to beat up the generals when they attempted to grab her/him(?!). By the time the she was done, she shook and dusted her hands.

"How dare you peasants touch me with your dirty hands! I am LADY Grace! The most beautiful lady on the land." She snapped and flipped her wig back gracefully.

"What is with this female!? She's too strong." One of the men said and cuddle his bruised cheek.

"Maybe we should just give up on her."

Damn it, Ace! Get with the program.

I waved my hand enough for Ace to notice me. When our eyes met, I mouthed, "For Nora."

Ace thankfully got my message because he closed his eyes and sighed. Suddenly he gripped his hand and raised it dramatically. "Ow. My nails broke. Ouch." He said without ZERO emotion and fell on the beach. "I am injured and I can't seem to get up."

Nate, Ren and I face palmed at how horrible this guy's acting skills was. It's like he's not even serious!

"I thought she hurt her nails? Why can't she suddenly get up?"

Damn this LADY Grace.

I sneakily crawled until I was behind one of the generals and yelled in an imitation of their voice, "Who cares? She's pretty!"

One of the men thankfully agreed. "Yeah. King Corona will like her. She is even brave enough to go without a mask. How stupid." At this, I saw Ace glaring daggers at him, but did nothing. Two men were able to recover and escort LADY Grace up. I watched as they dragged LADY Grace to the ocean and waited.

Mission accomplish. I thought as I crawled back to where Nate and Ren were.

But as we all know, I attract a lot of bad juju in the world. A huge wave suddenly hit me when a large clam emerged from the ocean where they were suppose put Ace. The strong wave washed away my hat and my blonde hair unraveled in front of my face. I was soaking wet!

"Hey! We have another girl here." I looked up to see a general looking down on me.

An idea suddenly occurred to me when I remembered that they only take pretty girls. I started to cross my eyes and pulled my upper lips back to reveal my gums hoping to discourage them. The general suddenly gave me a weird look. "She doesn't fit our standard, but maybe she'll be prince Meruem's type. We should still bring her along."

"I agree." Said another one.

I looked at Nate and Ren and I saw them mouthing, "Run."

I nodded and grabbed a handful of sand and threw it at the general in hopes to blind them. Unfortunately, I miscalculated the wind as it blew the sand back to my face - blinding me in the process.

"I'm down! Princess is down!" I yelled.

"She's a princess!? Then she would be a perfect bride for Prince Mereum!" The sound of one of the men seemed joyful and proud.

Ah damn it! Me and my big mouth.

I suddenly felt Custard through our link. He was ready to pounce at he men. 'No, Custard. Stay put.' I commanded through our link. I felt them me hauling me up to my feet. I could feel the water seeping into my boots as they dragged me through the ocean. I was able to open my eyes a bit to see that we were headed to the large clam, where Ace was currently sitting and...glaring at me. I smiled sheepishly at him.

He's gonna kill me. I know it for sure.

The men threw me in the giant clam along with Ace, who was still trying to kill me with his gaze. I looked at the two princes on shore for help. They smiled and waved at me sadly, knowing fully well that they couldn't do anything about my situation. I gasped as soon as the men made a gesture around the giant clam. Suddenly water started to rise around us and formed into a protective bubble. Very slowly, we started to descent.

I sat on my butt and studied the magical wall surrounding us. Curiously, I touched the bubble. My finger went through the magical barrier and I was touching the water. I drew it back to find my hands wet with sea water.

Ace grumbled beside me. I looked at him and saw that he was massaging his temples. "I swear, can't you do something, right?" He snapped at me.

I frowned at him. "Hey, if you only followed your own plan, then we wouldn't be in this mess. Who says you can beat them up?"

"It was self defense, you moron. That is how you should react when someone tries to capture you. I hope you paid attention to that."

"Yeah. The fact that I should scream 'Ow. My nail broke.' and drop on the ground. Please I can do better than that."

"Yeah. You screamed that you're a princess. How smart."

"Look, pal. If it weren't for me then they wouldn't even bother to capture you after you beat them up." I rubbed my hands on my shoulder as the temperature kept getting colder. Luckily, LADY Grace didn't say anything anymore. I kept my gaze at the magical barrier. It was clear enough that I could see the outside. We were travelling under the sea and I wish that there were lights, because as we keep going further and further down, it was getting darker and I could barely see all the beautiful corals and fishes that we passed by. As it kept getting darker, the temperature also dropped. My clothes were soaking wet and it didn't help my current situation at all.

"Listen." Ace started to say, but I wasn't really paying attention to him. I feel like my nose is itching for some reason. "Since this wasn't part of the plan, you have to fend for yourself. My top priority is Nora. You are nothing to me." He kept blabbering but I wasn't even listening.

I wanted to sneeze, but the sneeze itself won't come. My eyes started to water when I tried to focus and force myself to sneeze.

"Are you listening to me?"

This time, I looked at Ace with tear filled eyes, since I wasn't able to sneeze. I covered my nose and mouth with my hands and glared at him. Can't this guy leave me alone? I want to sneeze and I can't concentrate enough.

As soon as Ace saw me, his eyes widened in surprise and a look of guilt briefly flashed in his eyes. I quickly looked away since he wasn't even talking. I might as well concentrate to get this over with.

At the corner of my eyes, I saw Ace trying to grab me, but I slapped his hand away because I was busy forcing myself to sneeze. Can he not bother me!?

Great. Now that sneezing feeling was gone.

I wiped my eyes clean and sniffed. I looked back at Ace and glared. It's his fault that I wasn't able to sneeze. I expected him to glare back for not paying attention to what he was saying earlier, but instead, he looked taken aback and surprised. His mouth moving like a fish out of water. It was like he wanted to say something , but couldn't.

The calm carriage stopped moving abruptly making Ace and I collide. Luckily, Ace was strong enough to steady the both of us. Our gazes met when I looked up. His long black hair and piercing blue eyes starred at me and I had to push him back because I was feeling insecure about his ridiculous feminine beauty.

I readied myself for the argument that was about to come for acting rudely to him, but it didn't come. It was weird. He was acting weird.

"We're here. Get up, ladies." The bubble was suddenly gone and one of the men escorted us. I got up and dusted my pants. I hoped off of the giant clam and looked back at LADY Grace, who seemed guilty about something.

"LADY Grace?" I called for him. He seemed to snap out of his predicament and met my gaze. I couldn't exactly read his expression but it looked like he was trouble and guilty at the same time. The look quickly vanished the moment he gave me a curt nod and got up himself.

He walked passed me without even saying a word.

Is he angry at me? What did I do now?!