A Song In The Wind

Months passed, and it's been about half a year since I was reincarnated. I made friends with the girls through the books we read.

I like to read slow romance books, but I like to read mysteries as well.

Unlike me, the girls have their own tastes.

"Have you read, "A Tail With You?" It's so stupid but so good! The lion shapeshifter gets with the human girl in the end but I was soooo rooting for the bunny boy! Stupid human girl." Helda said

"Girl! Please! They were love rivals!" Laughed Rose

"Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope! The girl can go back to the other region!" Helda exclaimed as she flipped through the pages of her book.

The girls were talking about a new erotica that just came out. It wasn't my kind of book but I've heard so much about it, I might as well say I read it.

"Pad?" Azule asked, "What book are you reading?"

When the girls asked for my name, I hadn't thought of a fake name for myself. When I was about to give a random name, I thought about the name "Lily" that Helda gave me and gave myself the name "Pad."

"A romance mystery," I said

They all rolled their eyes. "Of course," they said

"I think it's supposed to hint at the assistant being the end game, but there are more hints hinting at the detective falling in love with the murderer," I said

"Ooooh! Interesting!" Rose said, "Can I borrow it when you're done?"

I nodded.

We sat under the decorated tree, reading and talking about books—that is until the two soldiers walked up to us.

"Can we help you boys?" Helda asked, not looking up from her book.

"Yeah, um…Pad was it?" One of the soldiers, Lex, asked me.

I nodded.

He handed me a paper and apologized.

When I read through the paper, I was shocked.

"What is it?" Lavigne asked

"There's a tax increase. Everyone has a month to pay for it. If you don't, your business is shut down." Lex explained

Everyone's mouths were gaping. Even mine. This amount was way more than I made in two months, let alone one.

"But…but…can they even do that?" Azul asked

"I guess so." The other soldier, Wane, said.

Rose looked up at Lex and asked, "Tell me honestly. Not as a soldier but as a friend. Should we be worried? There are rumors of a war going around, and now with this tax increase…"

He rubbed his chin before he answered, "I don't know a lot myself, but I can tell you to start looking for a place to live outside this kingdom because this is only the beginning."

She nodded. "Okay. Thank you for warning us."

When the soldiers went their own ways, we stayed in our own bubbles for a while, probably thinking about what to do next.

During the last few weeks, the kingdom had been chaotic. The wedding between my sister and the prince had gone on as scheduled. It was an event that both kingdoms were encouraged to attend. Between the kingdoms, there's a waterfall now called Chain Mail. Chain mail, with its rings that link together to create armor, was thought to be the best way to represent the wedding and link the two kingdoms with its vows.

I hadn't planned to attend, but I remembered my father always joked about my sister's marriage and how she would stay single forever because of how picky she was.

So, I attended in honor of my father.

I stayed near the mid-back and made sure to keep a low profile. There were many people there from both sides. Important officials from both sides sat front and center, including the royal family. Unfortunately, only the king and queen from the prince's side occupied those seats. Everyone else stood a bit further away, but the stage set in front of the waterfall was tall enough for everyone to watch without issue.

We waited for the ceremony to start. And oh boy! It did.

Trumpets started going off in the distance, scaring the birds in the trees. People cheered and only got louder as Naeva got closer to the altar. When she finally got to the aisle where the wedding would take place, she stood there for a while. This would be when someone she trusted from her family would lead her down the aisle. Unfortunately, they were all dead. So, she walked herself down the aisle. Her veil covered her face, and her dress was dragged behind her along with the back of her tiara veil. Daphne's dress had a plunging v-neck line that dropped just between her breasts with an off-the-shoulder lace. It was puffy at the bottom and certainly went for an exaggerated look rather than an elegant one.

The groom waited for her to make the journey down the aisle. He wore a white suit with light blue details. His blonde hair was slicked back, and his dark blue eyes stared at Naeva as she stared at him. There was a connection between them—not a romantic type but one of understanding, an agreement between each party.

I watched as my big sister married the prince of our rival kingdom.

After finishing their vows and kiss, the crowd cheered, and the couple walked down the aisle hand in hand to show that the two kingdoms were now joined.

I noticed a couple of people with capes around their heads. As if they weren't suspicious enough, they started to walk right behind the new king and queen as they blended in with the crowd as best they could.

I followed the newlyweds who were escorted into a carriage surrounded by soldiers and taken away.

I secretly followed them in the trees. When they arrived at a secluded cabin further from the celebrating king's people, they got out and asked the guards to give them some peace.

Once they were left alone, they breathed a breath of relief and sat on the cabin's porch. They didn't do anything but sit in silence, with no idea of what just went on above them. That's when I jumped down from the tree I was hiding in. The king raised his arm across Naeva to protect her and held his sword at me.

"So, you really went and did it." I said, "Congratulations on your wedding. Enjoy it because the harder stuff will only come later in life."

The prince was confused but didn't let his sword down. Not until Naeva said, "That's what she said"

"Your jokes are still as bad as I remember them."

When the prince noticed Naeva and I knew each other, he asked. "Who are you, and how do you know about this place?"

"It wasn't very hard. I just followed you here. And you're welcome."

"You're welcome?"

"A set of assassins were perched right up there." I pointed to the top of a tree where they had been sitting. "I got rid of them. So don't worry."

Before the king could say anything, Naeva introduced me.

"Lou, this is my younger brother, Merkikh. Merkikh, this is the new king of Blazing Leaf and Soft Shore Kingdoms. Lou Shen, my husband."

I smiled at the man before me. His once-slicked-back hair was now messed up and curly as it hung down his face. His dark, calculating eyes looked between the two of us.

"Didn't-"

He didn't get another word in before I punched him across his cheekbone. He fell sideways and was knocked out. Goodnight.

"And why would you do that?" Daphne asked me. She didn't seem to be as worried as I thought she would be. I mean, I just sucker-punched the fool into tomorrow.

"Two reasons." I said, "One, he got on my nerves. Two, he doesn't need to know about the phoenix or that I'm still alive."

"Then when did you come here?"

"What? I can't check up on my sister?"

"No. The newspaper does that for you."

I shrugged. I looked down at the golden prince sprawled across the house porch.

"So I take it that we won't have to worry about the fire king anymore." I asked, "Is this your getaway house with lover boy here?"

She shook her head and led me in. I stepped over the king and walked in.

There were computers showing security footage on each screen across the house with pinpoints to where they were located. They were spread across all kingdoms, and some even showed the other regions. There was also a desk in the middle with papers spread all over.

This is new…

I walked over to the desk and held a paper up. "Bad habit of yours?"

I held in my hand a planning paper made by one of the leading commanders.

*It's best if I put this backdown.*

She let me wander around until I had my fill of the room.

"This room keeps information held from other kingdoms. I thought sharing this space with my husband would be best." Naeva explained

"Hmm. Going a bit overboard. I approve. I think."

"Merkikh, we are on the brink of war. There is no such thing as going overboard."

I scrunch my eyebrows together. "But you married the fire kingdom. We joined together…who would we be at war with?"

"The Falling Sky Kingdom."

"The wind kingdom? Why would they want war?" I asked

She sighed and dropped herself onto a chair. "I have no idea. We haven't had many meetings together or even a real conversation. When we do get in touch, I find out that the king has been killed for about twenty years. Twenty! How have I never known?! And to top it all off, Big Pebble Kingdom has not contacted me in over a year, no matter how many soldiers I've sent. But on the bright side, the wind king had a son before he was killed, and we're trying to find him now. But who knows where he is?!"

She dropped her head on the table and groaned.

I had no words of comfort. I couldn't say, "Don't worry." or "Things will work out in the end." I don't know if things will get better, and telling her not to worry will only worry her even more.

I simply placed my hand atop her head.

We stayed like that for a while before I walked out.