Chapter Seven

Arabella sighed in relief as she felt the cool night air on her hot skin. She had been so angry when she stormed out of the estate that she hadn't been paying attention to where she was going. All she knew is that she needed to get out of the estate and as soon as there was open land in front of her she broke out into a sprint. Arabella sighed as she ran out all of her frustrations. Sweat beaded down her neck as she slowed her pace to a walk.

Arabella sighed as she looked around. The night sky was completely dark it felt comforting being surrounded by the darkness. Just as she was about to clear a grove of trees she heard voices talking softly in the distance. Arabella inched forward quietly so she was not heard.

"You know what needs to be done so do it already." Came a familiar voice.

"I know but-" A feminine voice protested. Arabella didn't recognize the second voice but the childish voice of the first person caught her off guard.

"I don't think you do know." Came the childish voice. "We were sent here on a mission. You and your husband have not seen your mission through yet."

"Please."

"No matter. I have them believing that you are the mastermind behind the attack." She said.

"Lisbell, please. I thought that we had an agreement." She said.

"I told you. If you want to see your children again then you needed to comply. Why is it so hard for you idiot villagers to understand this?" Lisbell asked. "I don't think it's that hard of a task." She said sounding bored.

"Please, I am begging you. Don't make me do this."

"So annoying." She muttered. "I guess I can do it myself. After all, I have already laid the seeds anyway. I can get close to them without them noticing a thing. Besides the whole village sees you as the threat anyway."

"Why?" She asked. "Why do this?"

"You poor foolish woman. Just like them you fell for my act without even stopping to think about who the true enemy is. You adults are all the same. All I have to do is look you with puppy dog eyes and you pretty much melt to my every whim." Lisbell said with a laugh. "Well, you can rest easy. Your children will be taken care of by the Council."

Arabella shuddered when she heard the little girl's words. Her body boiled with rage. Every thing had been set up for the wrong people to take the blame. Now Arabella would pay for her mistake. She never should have trusted her, Arabella thought to herself. The fact that the Council would use such underhanded tactics were beyond her. She knew that no one would believe that this little girl was the one who was giving the orders for the Council guard.

While her mind reeled over this new revelation Arabella realized what had been bothering her this whole time. It was her eyes. They never reflected the emotion that she was showing. Arabella had doubted herself the whole time while being unable to find a reason for herself doubt. The little girl was right though. No one would believe that she was behind this. No one would believe that she was working for the Council of her own free will. Arabella frowned. She knew that she needed to get word back to Genova but she didn't know how. Arabella squared her shoulders and began to head back to the village. When she was sure that she was far enough away and wouldn't be heard she sprinted the rest of the way back to the village.

"Hey," Tamaki said. "Have you seen Arabella?" He asked Genova.

"No. Why? What's wrong?" He asked.

"We kind of had a disagreement." He said.

"Over what?" He asked him.

"She said that she felt like there was something that we were missing." Tamaki said.

"What?" Genova asked. "I wonder what she meant."

"I don't know. I told her that maybe she was looking for smoke where there wasn't any and she got angry and stormed off." Tamaki said.

"You- She- I don't even know where to begin with this." Genova said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Tamaki asked.

"I mean that if she says something is off you believe her no matter how crazy it may sound. She can spot something wrong even if its just a tiny detail." Genova said. "We need to look for her." He said taking off towards the edge of the village.

"So you mean that she was right?" Tamaki asked.

"Yes! Arabella has never been wrong when it comes to stuff like this." He said. "Shit. What if something happened to her?" Genova said with a worried look.

"Should-"

"What's that?" Genova asked as a dark shadow darted at a fast pace towards them.

"I don't know." Tamaki said as his pace slowed.

Arabella came into sight wearing a worried look. When she saw them relief spread across her features. Tamaki and Genova looked at each other with confused looks.

"What's wrong?" Genova asked.

"Not out here." She said running past them. "Hurry!" She yelled racing towards the estate.

"What the hell got into her?" Tamaki asked.

"She knows something." Genova said following after her without hesitation.

When they were in the estate Arabella locked the doors. She proceeded to close the windows and draw them shut. Tamaki and Genova stared at her in confusion. When she saw them standing there staring at her she glared at them.

"Help me close these now!" She ordered.

The two men jumped at the harsh tone she used. What the hell had gotten into her, they wondered. When the windows were closed and drawn shut she looked around and then extinguished the fires in the fire place and lanterns.

"What's going on?" Genova asked.

"Not here. Upstairs." She said.

When the door knob rattled Arabella jumped. She looked at the door dubiously. Tamaki went to open the door but Arabella stopped him and shook her head. Tamaki stared at the shaking hand that rested on his arm. What had her terrified he had no idea but he worried that something was indeed horribly wrong.

"Hello?" A voice called.

Arabella sighed in relief and nodded her head. Tamaki opened the door to let Michael in. When he saw them standing there with the lights out he frowned.

"What's going on?" He asked entering the room. Arabella slammed the door behind him and locked it. Michael and the others jumped.

"Will you explain what is going on?" Genova demanded.

"Up stairs." Arabella hissed.

"What's going on?" Michael asked whispering.

"I will explain when I know that it's safe." She said tiptoeing up the stairs. The guys looked at each other and shrugged. Arabella led them to the room where Horace was treating the man.

"What's going on?" Horace asked when they snuck into the room.

Arabella raised a finger to her lips to indicate that he should keep his voice down. Horace looked at them in confusion but saw that he would get no answers from them. When Arabella was sure that it was safe to talk she sat down on the floor with a sigh.

"What is going on, Arabella?" Genova asked.

"I don't think that you will believe me when I tell you." She began. "Hell, I don't believe it myself and I heard the whole conversation." She stood up and began to pace.

"Just tell us from the beginning." Tamaki said. Arabella looked at him and the others. They nodded their heads in encouragement.

"Fine. So I have had this feeling that all of this was too easy. For some reason none of this has sat right with me since the beginning and boy was I right." She said. Arabella paced the floor as she explained the conversation that she over heard. Horace and the others listened carefully to what she had to say. By the time that she was done they stared at her with shocked expressions.

"Oh my god." Tamaki whispered. "And no one would believe us if we told them that a child was heading this operation."

"That little girl is behind all of this?" Genova asked.

"Yes!" Arabella nearly shouted. She clamped a hand over her mouth and looked around with wide eyes. "At least part of the story she told me is true though." Arabella said.

"What part?" Genova asked.

"That man isn't her father but they are holding his children captive. Him and his wife, the woman that left the village, were forced into this situation by the Council. From what I understand that little girl, Lisbell, is here to make sure that the refugees follow the Council's orders. I think that aside from her most of the people we caught were innocent." Arabella said.

"What are we going to do about this?" Genova asked.

"I don't know. We don't have anyone that is capable of pulling something like a rescue off." Arabella said.

"Yes we do." Tamaki said. Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"We do?" Arabella asked. Michael and Tamaki looked at her. "What?" She asked.

"You." Tamaki said hating himself for suggesting such a thing.

"You want me to go rescue them?" She asked. "That's ridiculous." She said.

"No. It's not." Genova said haltingly.

He knew that if she did nothing then she would blame herself for anything else that would happen. That was not something that he could let happen. He knew that they were asking a lot but he knew that she would be their best chance of getting the children back.

"How could I go and rescue them?" She asked.

"Arabella, we watched you infiltrate a building that was most likely filled with Council guards. They didn't even know that you were there until you left with that man." Genova said.

"Still, this is a little different." She said doubtfully. "I don't know how many people are there and on top of that I don't know where they are being held."

"No you don't but I know someone who can get that kind of information." Horace said.

"Who?" Arabella asked.

The men looked at each other. They knew of only one person that could help with this. They nodded their heads and looked at Arabella.

"Salvador." Horace said as the men nodded their heads.

They knew that if anyone could pull that information out someone it would be him. Arabella looked at them in confusion. Who? She wondered.

"I will call him immediately." Horace said. The men nodded their heads in agreement.

"What is going on?" Arabella asked.

"All of the Elite Guards have special skills." Tamaki said giving her a brief lesson while Horace contacted Salvador. "Salvador is especially skillful when it comes to interrogation and mind reading." Tamaki said.

"Mind reading?" Arabella said with a frown. "That sounds disturbing."

"It can be if you are on the receiving end." Genova said. "Still he is a pretty nice guy. I am sure that he will gladly be of assistance to you." He said. Arabella looked at him doubtfully.

"Salvador will be here as soon as possible." Horace said when he ended the transmission.

"Great." Genova said. "I need to let the Grand Elder know what we discovered." He said sending the transmission to her.

Arabella looked around at the people in the room. She was beginning to feel like she was losing her mind. How could a child willingly work for the Council? She wondered. As her brain tried to process this new development she paced the floor. Maybe there was something that she wasn't seeing. She thought to herself.

"Arabella, it looks like your mind is working over time." Tamaki said. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Okay? How can I be okay with this?" She asked him. "I need fresh air." She said opening the door.

"Arabella," Tamaki began.

Arabella walked down the stairs and opened the front door to see a tall man with jet black hair and blue eyes staring down at her with his hand raised. They stared at each other for a moment without saying a word. Arabella sighed.

"Can I help you?" She asked as she took a step back with a hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Horace called me." He said simply as his hand dropped down to his side. Arabella nodded her head.

"He's up stairs in the room on the left." She said.

"Thank you." He said softly.

"Yeah." Arabella said as she slipped past him. He turned and watched her leave without saying anything else.

"Strange little thing." He mumbled turning around to enter the house.

"Salvador." Tamaki said at the top of the stairs. "Did you pass Arabella on your way in?" He asked.

"Who? Is she here?" He asked looking around.

"Yeah. She just stormed out of the house." He said rubbing the back of his neck with one large hand.

"I passed someone but she didn't seem like the Princess." He said as he thought about it.

"That would be her." Tamaki said with a sigh.

"Really?" Salvador asked as he looked over his shoulder. "But she was so small." He said raising his hand to mid torso level.

"Yup. Carried two swords and a bow and arrows?" Tamaki asked.

"That's our future queen?" Salvador asked astonished.

"Yeah. Which way did she go?" He asked.

"That way." He said pointing to the right. Tamaki brushed past him. "To the right." He said.

"Thanks." Tamaki said. "I'm going to see if I can talk to her."

"Sure." Salvador mumbled. "So little." He said with a half smile.

Salvador walked up the stairs and met Horace, Genova, and Michael in a room with an unconscious man. "So what am I here for?" He asked sitting down.

"We have a very bad situation." Horace began.

"What happened?" Salvador asked.

They stared at him unsure of where to begin. Genova cleared his throat before taking a deep breath. Horace and Michael stared at him wondering how he was going to explain this bizarre situation.

"Okay so here is the short version." Genova began. "There are people working for the Council hiding among the refugees here. We have detained them until we can figure out who is who. However, when we went and plucked this man from their grasp we discovered more than we were prepared for."

"What happened?" Salvador asked.

"There is a child working for the Council among the refugees."

"I see and of course no one would believe that the Council would use a child to infiltrate the refugees. Now why am I here?" He asked.

"This man and his wife had their children taken captive by the Council in order to force them to do their dirty work." Genova said.

"I see and you want me to find out where they are being held." He said.

"Yes." Genova said.

"What will you do with this information?" He asked.

"We have someone who can go and spring the children. Once we have the children safely away from the Council that will let the refugees testify against the people working for them." Genova said.

"Why would that happen?" Salvador asked. "Just because we rescue their children doesn't mean that they will testify against them."

"We know this." Horace said.

"I don't know." He said. "I don't know if you can pull this off."

"We can't but we know someone who can." Michael said.

"Who?" Salvador asked.

"Arabella." Genova said.

"Her?" He asked with a chuckle. "Genova do you still let her run around doing dangerous things however she pleases?" He asked.

"I don't let her do anything. She just does it." Genova said as he began to play an image from earlier in the evening.

"What is this?" He asked.

"Tamaki filmed it. He left it with me just in case you didn't agree to help her." He said.

"Is that the girl that I passed earlier?" He asked as he watched her easily infiltrate the building. Admiration filled his eyes.

"Yes. She can do it. If anyone can it will be her." Genova said.

"I still can't believe that she can do something like this." Michael whispered.

"Thank you for your sacrifice, Genova." Horace said sympathetically.

"I guess I can help. After all, I can't leave my princess hanging like that. Still there are things that I need check before I agree to this." He said.

"We have other videos." Genova said "What would you like to check?"

"How is her sword skill?" Salvador asked.

"Terrifying." Michael whispered.

"Terrifying? That could have two meanings." He said. "Still the video may support your claims that she is capable but there is nothing quite like a good sparing match to prove just how capable she really is."

"What are you getting at?" Genova asked with narrowed eyes.

"I will challenge her to a match. Depending on how she does depends on whether or not I will support her going on this mission." He said simply.

"I accept." Came a dignified voice from the door way.

"What?" Everyone echoed in unison.

"What?" She asked.

"You accept? Just like that?" Tamaki asked.

"Of course. It's not just my ability that is being doubted but also my cleverness and resourcefulness." She said. "I will accept a sparing match with you Lord Salvador." She said nodding her head.

"Seriously?" Tamaki and Genova asked.

"Yes! It's not good to stand in one place. I want to always test myself and push past my limits." She said leaving the room. "I am going to bed. Tamaki, we need to keep the refugees here longer. Make it a public sparing match." She said as she entered her room.

Tamaki sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Everyone stared at him in shock. They were sure that he was about to explode at any moment. When Tamaki started laughing they looked at each other in concern.

"She's going to be the death of me." He said laughing.

"I think he has officially lost it." Genova said.

"If you hurt her like the last person I will kill you." He warned.

"What is he talking about?" Salvador asked looking around the room.

Genova sighed. Even he was worried that something would happen to Arabella. After the last match they didn't want her to spar with anyone anymore. They knew that it wasn't likely that she would be hurt again but they still worried.

"A few days ago the princess was attacked during a match. One of Tamaki's soldiers attacked her when her back was turned after he lost to her. On top of that one of the refugees poisoned the sand in the arena. She was surrounded by fire and slid through it. When she did she inhaled the burning poison." Horace said.

"What?" Salvador asked in surprise. "How did that happen?"

"The soldier was furious when he found out that Arabella was the Vosat that the Grand Elder was raising. It is no secret that the Grand Elder was raising a Vosat without any power." Tamaki said. "When he found out that it was her and that she was the one that had requested that the refugees be let into the village after a Council attack he began to yell and scream at her. I thought that I had made myself clear that night but I guess I didn't because he came back the next morning and challenged her to a match."

"What was the purpose of doing such a thing?" Salvador asked.

"To humiliate her. It didn't go as he planned and he launched an attack on her after the match was over." Genova said.

"I see. I wouldn't do anything like that though." Salvador reminded them.

"We know but because of the condition she ended up in letting her spar has become something of a terrible anxiety for us." Genova said. "We had to call Horace here because she wasn't waking up when the healers were working on her."

"Why not?"

"Turns out one of the healers was working with the soldier and poisoned her when no one was looking." Horace said. "She was poisoned, set on fire, and poisoned a second time."

"I see." Salvador said as he mulled the information over. "It would seem that she is a lot stronger than we originally thought." He mused.

"What do you mean?" Tamaki asked.

"I mean she came back from something that would have killed most people not once but twice." He said. "That kind of person is the kind of person that will not go down without a fight no matter what happens to them." His eyes sparkled the more he thought about it.

"What are you thinking?" Tamaki asked.

"I am going to spar with her. I want to see just how much she can push herself." He said.

"You know, we have videos." Genova suggested trying to change his mind. "Why don't you watch those instead?"

"Would she like you interfering like this?" Salvador questioned.

Genova and Tamaki blushed. They knew that she would be furious when she found out that they had tried to stop the match but they were worried about her as well. They looked at each other hoping the other could come up with a way to get her out of this fight.

"Look, I know that you're worried about her. Still it is her right to accept and refuse all sparing matches. It's not something that you can decide for her." Michael said.

"I agree." Horace said. "We're all worried about her because anything can happen during a match, especially against Salvador. Be that as it may we do not have any right to interfere in this match. We can only sit by and support her."

"Look I just want to make sure that she isn't getting into anything that could be too dangerous for her to handle while on this mission." Salvador said trying to reassure them.

"But she wouldn't. I would go with her." Tamaki said.

"You will be going with her?" He asked raising one eyebrow.

"Yes." Tamaki said.

"How?"

"I can open up spatial portals, remember?" Tamaki said.

"Yes I remember. Still, I cannot sanction that." Salvador said.

"Why not?" Tamaki demanded.

"Because we have no idea where they are being kept but it is likely that if you use magic too close to where they are then everyone would know that you are there. If that is the case then none of us can go with her except one." Salvador said looking at Michael. "In fact, he is probably the only one with enough people to launch an assault without getting detected." Salvador said. "So no making plans for this mission until I can find out the details of the facility."