Inseparable Desires. . . Ch. 2

Chapter 2: New Hope
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Yei breathed in the sweet clear air of the day as she emerged from a portal that released her and Zulu from the Underworld. “I always do miss being up here,” she commented to herself as she smiled up at the sky. She had appeared in her mothers’ secret garden and quickly made her way towards the palace, searching for her sisters. It didn’t take her long to find Rianna. The bossy brunette was in her room modeling a new red dress that had just arrived from one of the foreign empires. When she caught site of Yei in the reflection of her mirror, she spun, smiling.

“Yei, I’m glad you’re here! I need your help. . .” Rianna picked up a green dress hanging up next to the mirror. “Do you think red or the green dress would look better on me?” Yei laughed. “You’re asking the wrong person for fashion advice Ri, but I would choose the red one because you already have green eyes.” Rianna nodded. “I agree. See? You’re sense of fashion isn’t COMPLETELY hopeless.” The two sisters laughed together as Rianna plucked a green barrette from her jewelry drawer. “In that case I’ll wear THIS barrette. You always need to mix and match creatively.” Yei walked into the room, sitting on Rianna’s bed.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the occasion?” “You don’t remember?” Rianna asked as she carried the green dress to her closet. “Fathers throwing a party tomorrow night. It’s going to be a masquerade ball.” Yei blinked. “That’s TOMORROW night? I guess I should also get ready. . .” A knock sounded on the door a moment later. “Come in,” Rianna called as she stepped out from the walk in closet. The door opened to reveal the royal dresser. “Well, speak of the Devil.” Yei cringed as her sister said this. It seemed even when she was away from Huntaru she was haunted by his presence.

“Princess Yei,” The woman spoke calmly. “We need to take your measurements fro the dress you are to wear tomorrow evening.” Yei nodded, following the woman out of the room and towards the fitting room. Yei was surprised when she saw her other sister Ery also trying on a dress. “I would have thought you of all people would be prepared for an event,” Yei joked as the dresser began measuring her. Ery smiled. “I WAS ready, until I realized that my dress wasn’t hemmed properly. Being tall can be a pain sometimes.” Yei nodded. “Well, just be lucky you HAVE a dress. I’ve been avoiding this for WEEKS!” Ery rolled her eyes. “I just don’t understand you, Yei. Sometimes I think destiny did a cruel thing by making you a princess.”

When the two sisters were finished in the fitting room, they met up with Rianna and all took a walk in the courtyard together. “So,” Rianna turned to Yei, “where have you been lately? I’ve hardly ever seen you around.” Ery nodded. “Rianna’s right. It’s like you haven’t even BEEN here.” Yei felt hot, wondering if they were catching onto her daily adventures. “Oh, you know how big this place is. I’m just always on the move.” “Well, I hope you’ll at least grace us with your presence at the party tomorrow night,” Rianna requested. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Yei confirmed smiling.

“Yei,” Ery turned to her youngest sibling once more. “Forgive me if I seem too nosy, but what have you been up to lately?” Yei felt hot with unease once more. “I. . .um. . .I’ve been in the library a lot,” Yei lied. Ery raised an eyebrow in question. “What have you been so interested in reading?” “Oh, everything really. You’d be surprised with how many books go unnoticed in that place.” Rianna sighed, folding her arms. “So, you’d rather read those silly books than dress up? Where are your priorities?” “In completely different places than yours,” Yei countered with a laugh.

Ery nodded. “You know Rianna, there’s more to life than fashion and boys.” “Are you crazy?” Rianna frowned. “Of COURSE there’s nothing else to life than that.” Ery and Yei chuckled in unison. Rianna was always the most entertaining of the three because she was so opinionated. “Well, I’m going to the library now. I want to see if I can find any interesting books today.” Yei didn’t really want to leave her siblings, but she knew that if she didn’t stay true to her lie, they really WOULD get suspicious of where she was sneaking off to. And there was NO way she was about to tell them that she had signed away her soul to the Lord of the Underworld and was out doing his bidding.

As Yei and Zulu strolled through the many columns of the palaces library, Yei idly searched for something that could actually keep her interest. She paused when the spine of a crimson book caught her eye. Pulling it from the shelf, she blew dust from the cover and read: ‘The Complete Documentation of Demon Slayers and Devil Hunters’. Yei’s eyes widened in surprise. She had struck gold. Yei carried the book to a round table near the window and sat, opening and scanning the index. One name in particular caught her eye. “Grenal Lennex,” Yei whispered the name out loud. “It says this guy is still alive, Zu,” she said, looking down at her wolf briefly. She flipped to the chapter that contained information on the Slayer.

As Yei skimmed the paragraphs, she was filled with a sudden hope. “I think I just found a way to break my contract. . .” She discovered that Grenal could only be contacted by personal letters left for him in a secret location. “Well, this guy sure doesn’t like to make it easy to get a hold of him,” Yei sighed, reading the instructions carefully. Once she had memorized the information, she slammed the book shut and replaced it on the shelf, hurrying from the room to locate some paper. She quickly scribbled out a letter to the man, signing her name below and attaching an invite to the masquerade ball.

Using her borrowed powers from Huntaru, she teleported to the location where the letter was instructed to be left. A large oak tree with a knot that appeared to be filled in. However, when Yei touched it, she found that it could be moved. She left the letter in the hollow of the tree and prayed that Grenal would find it in time. With the task completed, she teleported back to the palace to help prepare for the festivities.

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Meanwhile, Huntaru’s attention was locked to a small red portal. He watched as Yei read a book on Devil Hunters and then sent for one. He frowned to himself. “So, you’re trying to break our contract?” He stood from his throne, causing the image to disappear. Huntaru hurried across the room, making flames flare out behind him as he went. “We’ll see about that, princess. . .” he muttered to himself. “No one can cheat ME. . .”