Chapter Five

“She's at Yuzuli Resort. Our little princess.”

Solumn Noll looked up from his glass of wine and raised an eyebrow. “Well, if it isn't my little informant. And I see you've brought me a very juicy piece of news.”

The old woman stepped forward and into the light. Her long grey hair hung braided down her back and her dark eyes shone mysteriously. Despite her age, she was quite lovely. The only flaw that marred her visage was a scar that stretched from her right eye to her jaw.

“Yes. What will you do with this information?” she asked him. Noll contemplated his drink for a moment and then grinned.

“I assume she took her unwilling guardian with her?” he mused.

The woman grinned wryly. “And a platoon of soldiers, that will likely accompany her everywhere. If you intend to make a move, you'll have to get her alone somehow. Perhaps with her handmaiden; I hear those two have gotten quite friendly.”

Noll raised an eyebrow. “I appreciate the suggestions, but why don't you leave the plans to me. You're loyalty is uncompromising, but I must now ask you to return to Meza and keep me posted on what that silly general is up to.”

“Of course, my lord,” the woman bowed and backed out of the room.

Taking up his wine glass again, Noll pondered his next move. As his informant suggested, he could find a way to separate the princess from her guard dogs, but his sights were set on storming Meza. If only that damned General Nase had gone with her, but Noll knew the man would be lying in wait for him back at the palace.

Then another idea struck him. What if he somehow set up a situation in which the princess and her celestial were alone? If they overpowered the heavenly being, they could easily take the princess down. And luckily for Noll, he knew one of the rare weaknesses shared by all celestial beings.

With a cruel chuckle, he called for Dincy. The man appeared almost instantly, kneeling before his lord.

“I have a message you must give to my informant at the palace,” he said. Dincy looked up with a grin. His lord was truly brilliant.

Yuzuli may have only been a few paces from the royal city, but to Olivia it felt as though she'd stepped into another world. Again.

The resort bordered an enormous glistening lake, with beaches surrounding the entire body of water and quite a few boats, some small and many large. The resort itself looked like a European castle, with turrets, towers, and a central courtyard.

Olivia and her entourage were shown to the east wing of the castle and her luggage was stowed away. The owner of the resort himself came to meet her and was awestruck by her beauty and humility. He offered her the use of any of his services and if needed, he would personally attend to her.

Olivia grinned nervously and thanked him, while May hid her smile behind her sleeve. It was endearing to watch her princess get so flustered.

Yuei, on the other hand, watched this scene with a bored expression. On the outside he appeared calm, but inwardly his thoughts were swimming. The owner himself could be a rat for Noll, any of his servants could be spies as well.

The celestial felt a headache coming on and nearly groaned aloud. This little trip would be relaxing for everyone but him.

The princess and her two followers returned to their quarters after a receiving a short tour of the facilities and Olivia sank down onto the bed. The resort reminded her of her trip to Ireland a few years ago and she had to rein in her feelings of homesickness. A sob almost bubbled it's way out, but she swallowed it quickly.

“I'm here to relax,” she told herself fiercely. She glanced over at her celestial guardian, who had taken up residence on the wrought iron balcony and perched there like a gargoyle. He wouldn't help much, she thought bitterly.

May was sitting across from the princess and looking at her expectantly. Olivia caught her eye and smiled.

“If there's anything you'd like to do on your own, now would be the time,” she informed her handmaiden. May grinned excitedly and stood up.

“There was something I wanted to see,” she confirmed. After a bow, she disappeared from Olivia's sight and the off-worlder was left with only Yuei.

The awkward tension between them was thick. Olivia had no idea what to say to the man, and Yuei knew she was staring at his back but could not bring himself to turn around and face her.

“Tell me about the celestials,” she blurted out suddenly. It was really the last thing he'd expected to hear come out of her mouth and he nearly toppled off the balcony. He fluttered his wings to right himself and then turned around.

“You want to know about my people?”

She nodded.

“Then ask your questions.”

Questions? Olivia didn't really have any specific questions, she was hoping he'd start with some sort of informative monologue, but in hindsight she really shouldn't have expected it. He wasn't the most talkative.

After a moment, she thought of something. “What exactly is a celestial being?”

After sighing deeply, Yuei decided to give her an answer she would understand. “Are you familiar with angels?”

Olivia nodded. “Are you like an angel then?”

He nodded. “Don't get me confused with the Christian angels in that book they call the Bible. The only similarities we share with them are a set of wings and the bidding of higher beings.”

The princess absorbed that information for a moment and formulated her next question. “Where do you come from?”

The celestial being moved to sit beside her and she squirmed at the nearness. Even though she thought Yuei was a jerk, he was still extremely beautiful and her body temperature shot up a few degrees. Feeling her cheeks heat up, she dropped her head and let her hair hide her shamefully red face.

If Yuei noticed, he tactfully ignored it and continued. “We are born in the forest of Celeste, hence our name. We have neither parents nor siblings, but we refer to each other as sisters and brothers.”

Olivia looked up at him confusedly. “If you don't have parents, how exactly are you born?”

He gave her a charming smirk. “Magic.”

“Ah,” she said. As if that explained everything. He didn't believe for one minute that she understood magic.

“Celestials have the ability to travel between realms and use incredible powers,” he told her. “That was how I found you and brought you here. Surely you were wondering how you arrived in the first place?”

The girl fell back onto the mattress with a soft groan. “Magic.”

“Yes,” he confirmed softly. His eyes traveled from her dark brown hair to the pale hollow of her throat and up to the slender hands she had thrown over her head. She was undeniably feminine, until she opened her mouth and spoke.

Oliva watched him eye her and that blush raged back into her cheeks. She sat up quickly and cleared her throat. “Well, since it's such a nice day maybe we should go outside.”

He did not tear his gaze from her. “As you wish.”

May stood at the edge of the lake, with her bare feet sinking into the sand and the hood of her robe thrown back to reveal her beautiful dark hair. The air was warm and the sound of the waves gently lapping against the shore brought a sense of peace to the young girl.

For just a moment, she could forget about her royal duties. For a moment, she could forget about her sick mother and the pressure on her to work hard to support her family. For a moment, she was the sun, the water, and the summer breeze.

Flinging her arms outward, she rushed into the cool lake and squealed as the water swirled around her knees and soaked the hem of her robe.

She stood in the water and looked out over the scenery. The lake sparkled and the towering resort to the right commanded her attention. Beyond that, wooded hills rose up like waves and disappeared into the brilliant blue sky.

There was no telling how long she'd stood like that, but when sense came back to her she gasped and ran towards the beach, pulling her heavy robe along with her. She wrung it out as quickly as she could and slipped her shoes back on.

Surely her princess was waiting for her return and it wouldn't do to make her wonder what happened to her handmaiden.

With the blue sky above her and the refreshing water at her back, May ran as fast as she could back to the resort.