Chapter 54: Back in Nova
“This isn’t real! This just can’t be right! Where is Damien, he should be here by now. Is Shix giving him any trouble?”
Krista paced around the bedroom as she waited for Damien. It had already been ten minutes, since she effectively ran away when Shix came to talk to them.
“Why didn’t I stay and help?” she mumbled. “Vitnova, damn it! This whole anomalous wattiez business is messing with my head! Wait, does he even know where I am? He just said to go, but he didn’t say anything about where.
Krista just found the nearest empty room thinking it was possibly his. Realizing this, Krista decided that she needed to leave. It would be easier for them both if she just took him with her.
She ran toward the door and screamed, “I’m such an idiot!” As she swung it open.
After saying so, Dante’s body spilled onto the floor. Krista had caught him listening in, “Kr-Krista! What a coincidence.” Dante put on a weak smile.
“Were you spying on me?”
Up until now, whenever Damien had said to be wary of the Shining Twilight members, Krista mostly just blew him off. Due in large part to Jikan’s bumbling personality, Raven’s offputedness, Cleo’s charm, and Dante’s obliviousness, but now she was beginning to think that he may have a point.
“Well… not really but kind of. You see, this is my room, and I was going to come in, but then I heard you… Raven has already filled me in on whole story, and I’ve been there, trust me.”
Damien walked past her and laid back onto the bed, completely ignoring the skeptical look on Krista’s face, “Been there? What do you mean by that?”
Internally, Krista found herself both wanting to escape this conversation while wanting it to go further. On the one and, the whole point of tagging along with Shining Twilight is to gather information. On the other hand, she found him speaking in half-truths, purposely not finishing his thoughts. Reminds her a bit of when Damien was trying to hide things about himself.
“Come on, all this time and you don’t think that there’s something special about me?” Dante had sat back up and moved a bit over, leaving Krista a space. Krista was hesitant, but then she got a good look at his eyes, the whites had turned into to a deep shade of black. “Look familiar?”
“Y-You’re one too? Dante what is this about… why are you showing me. You know I lied about my affinity. How do you know you’re not in any danger?”
Dante held his hand up and patted the spot next to him, “Sit down for a moment Krista, and we’ll talk.”
“Fine, I’ll take my spot, but if you do anything… Krista?” Krista was sure she heard it, her own name being called even though she never told him about it. “Are you trying to give me a nickname? That’s fine and all, but I’m not sure I like that one.”
She tried to speak with a smile, but Dante’s words cut through her obvious lie, “We are aware of who you truly are, Princess Knightley. I just heard that you preferred Krista or is that name only reserved for close friends?”
Krista pulled out her black blade and immediately pointed it towards Dante, “I could send your head flying faster than Amelia clips a hangnail.”
“Wait, wait! You’re right, kind of a bombshell to drop on someone out of nowhere. Don’t worry, none of us, other than Raven, want to hurt you.”
“What was that last bit?”
“Listen, I know about Greyson too. Honestly, I couldn’t believe when I first heard. Never thought, I’d ever see him again. Figured that he died in the castle with his father, not that I hoped for it…Can I restart?”
He looked pleadingly at me, not really the type of face a person in his position would usually take. Even now, Krista could sense no amount of malice in Dante’s words. All she could do was nod.
“Great!” Dante exclaimed. “I, Dante Guile of Shining Twilight, have wanted to speak with you for some time Princess Knightley. Specifically, regarding your role in the Knightley family.”
Krista felt that she was owed some explanation before she revealed anything about herself, “Before that, since you already know so much about me, I think it’s only fair that I get to know more about you first. Like why do you think I’m the princess of New Dawn? I’m older than her, my guild card-”
Dante snatched it from her hands. His body, momentarily, exuded a thick black aura that started to surround the card.” He put it back in my hand and there was nothing on it. “Okay, so wha- Ow!” she felt a small but sharp pain arise in my shoulder.
Dante had a small needle in his hand with a bit of blood on it, “I’m very sorry.”
Saying that, he placed the drop of blood on the guild card, and it started to show new information. Krista’s real identity. “What did you do? How did you even do that?”
“I’m not ready to give everything up just yet, all you need to know is that I can reset the card. I’d imagine if I did the same for Damien, something similar would happen, actually, I don’t think he’d have paused.”
“What now, then? Are we your prisoners? Let me warn you, holding us isn’t going to be easy.”
He quickly shook his head though. “Actually, I’d prefer if you’d continue with your mission. I assume that it has something to do with infiltration or surveillance?”
“Why continue to pretend? I’m not going to leave my friends in the dark for no good reason.”
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“If it’s all the same to you, this is mostly because of Damien. You know we have history, and Damien the type to do something rash when he feels that he’s in a corner. Am I wrong?”
Krista hated to agree, but, “You have a point there.”
“Plus, If he did try, I don’t know if I could control it if Raven or Cleo doing something rash in return. Furthermore, I promise to not tell anyone who doesn’t already know. Which only includes myself, Cleo, Raven, and Animus.”
“Hiding secrets from your own crew?” Krista didn’t really know how she felt about the whole situation. At this point, she trusted Dante about as far as she could throw him. Which would have been a decent distance but not far enough to be considered comfortable.
“More importantly I’m interested in you Krista!”
“Interested? No, sorry, I already have someone in mind right now, so I can’t-”
“No, no, no. I’m interested in who you are, Kristhalla Knightley, heir to the throne of New Dawn. I consider myself a bit of a savant when it comes to the politics of Stellar, but you are an enigma considering that you pretty much disappeared from the public eye when you were four.”
Now Krista kept her mouth firmly shut. Not only did she not want to reveal more about herself than she should, Krista also didn’t want to spend the time digging up painful memories.
“Listen if you don’t want to answer if you don’t want to,” Dante continued. “That’s fine, but as punishment…” Dante’s body became enveloped in a dark black aura. “I won’t tell you more about what being an anomalous wattiez user means.”
“That’s hardly fair!” exclaimed Krista. She felt her mind tearing in two. In a literal one in a million chance, right in front of her was one of the extremely few other anomalous wattiez users. Someone who could help explain and mentor her on her own condition, yet this same person was her enemy… or was he? Krista had no history with Shining twilight, in fact she found them to be quite entertaining. Rowdy, to be sure, but insofar harmless.
Krista was pulling so hard on her hair as she deliberated that she thought she might tear some out, but Dante grabbed onto her hands, “No need for that, I take it all back. Truth be told, when Raven told me about your circumstances, he instructed me to threaten you like that to get information. To be even more honest, I was going to help you even if you didn’t answer.”
Krista was a bit hesitant but finally answered, “I… I’ll talk.”
Dante sounded legitimately surprised, “Seriously?!”
“Only if you tell me everything you know about anomalous wattiez and you guarantee Amelia and Damien’s safety!”
“Amelia safety, done guaranteed. Dmitri would probably have my ass if I had it any differently. Damien though, he’s a bit of a different story…”
Krista was adamant to negotiate her side, “His safety or I squeal, I’d prefer to take our chances that way anyhow.”
“No, believe me, I’m harmless to the guy, but my compatriots have been known to hold grudges, and let’s just say he isn’t the most approachable guy.”
Krista found it hard to choose her next words, “Okay, I see what you mean. Then just guarantee that you won’t actively try to harm him or tell anyone to harm him.”
Dante responded eagerly, “Deal!”
Krista took deep breath, “Fine, I was four when Affinity Day came and went, and I learned that, of course, I had no affinity. Your own experience was probably much the shame.”
“Shock, horror, and a bit of disappointment from your close loved ones?”
“Exactly, only multiply that disappointment by at least ten. My parents always doted on me, but never in ten million years, did they think a Knightley could be an untethered. They may have overcompensated.”
“So, your little disappearing act was merely the act of overprotective parents sheltering their daughter from a harsh world.”
“No! Yes… Maybe? I really don’t know. Ever since that day, I can’t say that I’ve ever understood why my parents did what they did. They became colder, I got to see them maybe once a week. They kept me contained in my room, letting me leave only for specific parties with the other royal families maybe twice a year. I only ever got to leave the castle because of my Grand Auntie.”
“The Grandmagi?”
“That’s the one. To my parents, I guess I was just a helpless little girl, unfit to be shown.”
“You brought Shix in here unconscious, if that’s helpless, I’m scared to know what your parents consider competent.”
“Well, that was due to hard work and years training with the Guardians.”
“That’s the untethered platoon from New Dawn, right? Didn’t they disband a while back? Sorry if I got that wrong, not a lot from New Dawn makes its way out to the east.”
“You got it right. They were like a second family to me, yet it was my fault they got disbanded…”
“Something you’d like to share?” Dante said tentatively. “From how you said that, it can’t be too healthy to hold that in.”
Krista thought about it for a moment, “No, not right now at least. Actually, I think I’ve shared just about enough. Should be your turn to share right about now.”
“Fair enough,” Dante slid off the bed and grabbed a large black box. “What do you know about the Grand Trees?”
“I want to know about anomalous wattiez, not the Grand Trees!”
“Humor me?”
Krista didn’t answer again, not willing to put up with whatever mess Dante intended to put her through.
“I really hope the coronation doesn’t end up like this,” he said as an aside. “The point I want to get across is that the Grand Trees aren’t all that they seem. In fact, you and are a lot closer to them than you might think.”
Krista crossed her arms, “What, you gonna tell me that I’m a piece of some old and ancient prophecy? That I’m destined for greatness?”
“More like we’re parasites.”
“Excuse me?”