The Return

The heavens were right.

The man truly was evil.

He couldn’t just act like a normal, decent being and bring Zero back to the land the way he did Ivy and Sakura: quickly and with the upmost care.

Of course not.

That would be asking too much.

There had been minimal fuss as the group returned to Charlotte’s one last time to gather their belongings. However, the man was back in top form after his earlier defeat, being obnoxiously concerned over a white dress and guaranteeing that it was in the woman’s bag and not left behind, all while trying to convince the girl not to sever the hold she had on the angels in The Kingdom, instead, keeping them asleep forever more. He got his way with the dress, but not with the angels.

What a shame.

The capture of the devil had been instantaneous, and there had been no time to even comprehend Zero’s current predicament as they stepped outside, and Ren snatched and discarded the bag from his shoulder and clasped tightly onto the boy. Within a single blink, there was nothing but the rushing of wind and the fading curses from the fox.

A part of Zero was somewhat grateful for the sneak attack, less time to dwell on what was ahead.

“Don’t worry.” Misleading whispers in the boy’s ear cooed. “I’ll be gentle.”

But he wasn’t.

The fall from the heavens had been a sadistic symphony of nosedives, swirls, and flips the entire way down. Then when the land was close enough to touch, the angel launched the devil back into the sky once more for an encore of the nauseating flight before finally showing mercy and leaving him alone and vomiting profusely in the middle of a field of golden wheat.

It would have been much kinder to just push the boy from the edge of The Kingdom and allow the ground to break his fall.

But Zero hadn’t been so lucky.

Whether it was an accurate judgment or just the illusion caused by the disembodiment from his senses, it hadn’t seemed like much time had passed before Zero heard the sound of feet landing close to him and Ivy’s frantic voice above the booming laughter from the angel.

“Zero! Are you okay?” She dropped down next to the boy’s dry heaving form and rubbed his back. “It’s not funny Ren! Zero’s sick! We need to help him!”

Ren begged to differ. “Oh, you are just the worse angel fae ever.” He leaned over, finally catching his breath, and patted the back of Zero’s head in mock sympathy as he tossed all four of their bags on the ground. “I gotta go get my woman, and I’ll be right back. Don’t you two go wandering off looking for Summerland without us.” Raven wings pounded down and he was gone once more.

A exasperated sigh escaped the girl as she watched the angel vanish into the infinite blue above. It had been much quicker to return back to the land than it had been to go to The Kingdom, but Zero seemed even worse for the wear now than he had then. For as much as the man adored the boy, he sure had no problem tormenting him at every opportunity.

With one final gulp of fresh air to will his stomach to settle, Zero raised himself to sitting on his haunches before toppling over onto his back, gazing up at the same sky that he had just recently plummeted through. It was so serene now. So innocent. “Where are we?” He hadn’t even thought to pay attention to his surroundings on his tumultuous way down.

Ivy sat beside the devil and brought his head to rest in her lap. “I’m not sure, but I saw a town that probably won’t take too long to walk to. I didn’t bring the map, so we’ll have to get a new one there.”

He nodded, allowing his eyes to slide closed to the lull of the girl’s seraphic song and feel of her fingertips across his skin. The journey back had been dreadful but so worth it. One he would willingly do again and again in order to escape the heavens. Though, he’d prefer not to take the trip there in the first place.

What a relief it was to be back on the land. The hardened earth beneath, the tickle of the wind around, and the warmth of the sun above.

Where they belonged.

Where they were meant to be.

The perfection of their creation.

Of their love.

Zero wasn’t sure how long he’d drifted off before Ivy was gently shaking him back to consciousness, and his lids opened just as the angel and demon landed along side the pair.

“What took you two so long?” Ivy asked, her voice tinged high with concern. “I was starting to get worried that something happened.”

A wide grin consumed Ren’s face. “Oh yeah, something definitely happened.” He laughed as he took a punch to the arm.

“You don’t always have to open that big mouth of yours,” Sakura grumbled while she grabbed her bag from the ground and tossed the man’s bracelet to him. “Come on. Let’s try to make it to that town before it gets too late and figure out where we are and what we’re gonna do.”

It took a couple of hours to arrive in the town, a wooden sign on the outskirts informing the travelers that they were now in Trigo. The homes and businesses were mostly square and made of neutral colored stucco and streets were of burgundy and gray brick. It was a more modestly sized town, but the roads were crowded with people shuffling about shoulder-to-shoulder among brightly colored canopies and stalls selling food, wares, and other various items. Everyone was abuzz, and there was an electric anticipation that coursed through the air and from each individual, building off of itself and steadily reaching towards an unforeseen climax.

“Is it a festival?” Ivy piped, the excitement from everyone around her antagonizing her own.

“It’s gotta be.” Sakura wasn’t sure what else it could be.

The girl clung tighter to Zero’s arm as she bounced along the way. “Can we go?!”

The tantalizing smells of sizzling grilled meat, corn, onions and peppers mingling together had not been lost on the woman, teasing her before they had even reached the outskirts of the town. “Of course we can. Let’s try to get a room first and drop off our things. Then we’ll get something to eat.”

Although most of the buildings were only a single story high, some being two, there were several that were as tall as three or four stories, each one being an inn. They entered the first one they came across and were greeted cheerfully by a stone demon behind the counter: her skin a rough, tan tone and her scalp pebble bumpy and free of hair.

“Welcome travelers!” Despite her rough exterior with multiple piercings through her lips, nose, and brows, she was nearly as bubbly as the fae. “Are you looking for a room? Lucky for you, we had someone check out early so there’s one left!”

“How much?” Sakura asked.

“Six silver. It’s pricier than normal, but you know how supply and demand goes. You can try the other inns, but I can’t guarantee that you’ll find a room or even get this one if you come back.”

The vixen shot a quick glance at Ren who was already searching through his bag before turning back to the innkeeper. “That’s fine, we’ll take it. So, what’s going on? Some sort of celebration?”

“It’s the Festival of Batalla. It happens every year.” She leaned over the counter, her dark, earthy eyes as bright as her smile. “It’s normally pretty quiet around here, but the festival brings in people from all over the land and it gets unbelievably busy for the whole week.”

The rustling of Ren’s bag went quiet and an uncomfortable chuckle replaced it. “Uhhh.” He stalled. “I don’t have any coin.” Four sets of blank faces stared at the man to which he responded with a bashful smile and shrug.

Emerald eyes darted between him and the clerk as her own embarrassed smile spread. “Just one moment please.” She dropped her bag on the ground and crouched down, frantically tearing everything from its depths but finding no coin. Looking up at Ivy and Zero, she found them doing and finding the same.

Nothing.

Oh, how foolish they were. Of course they had no coin. There was absolutely no reason for them to take it to The Kingdom, and so they didn’t. Why would they? What a waste of space that would have been. And how were they supposed to have foreseen that instead of heading back home they’d end up on a search for Summerland?

Back on the land.

Where they needed coin.

This was fine. They would manage. Sakura had been in this position more times than she’d ever care to admit to— not even having two measly bronze to rub together. There were options.

The first option being Ren. The man could simply fly home or even back to The Kingdom and get some. There was plenty at home, and it’s not like any angels would even notice some gold missing. However, that would require him to make the trek back out of town far enough that no one would notice a fallen angel flying off. It was why they had landed so far outside of the town and this plan would require him having to do it again, which would take at least a few hours for The Kingdom and who knows how many for Hollis.

Sakura didn’t have hours to spare. It was no big deal that they couldn’t get a room for the night. It was a luxury they didn’t need, and the tent was perfectly good enough and readily available around Ivy’s neck. But the woman had already decided that she was going to feast on all the delicious offerings that the festival had to offer, and nothing was going to stop her from getting what she wanted.

Tasty food.

Which led to her next option.

The fox popped back up to standing, giving a nonchalant wave of her hand as if this weren’t a regular occurrence that had been played out plenty of times in the past. “Actually, we don’t really need a room tonight. But, by chance, do you know of anywhere that I can make some quick coin?”

The woman thought about it for a few moments. “I’m really not sure if anyone would be willing to hire you right now. If you have something of value, you might be able to make some coin from one of the vendors who want to resell it. Perhaps one of your weapons? That’d be the quickest way.” Her eyes roamed over the two men. “But if you can wait until tomorrow, and one of them is a good fighter, they can enter the tournament. It’s twenty gold if they win. I’m sure they can still sign up, but you’ll have to go by sundown. They won’t accept applicants tomorrow.”

Sakura’s ears perked up. “A tournament?”

“Yeah! That’s what the festival’s for. Some of the best fighters from all across the land show up to compete. If either one of them want to give it a go, there’s signs that will point you in the direction of the amphitheater. It’s really not hard to find. It’s just on the outskirts of town.”

The woman’s words swirled through the demon’s mind, becoming more and more tempting with every pass.

Tournament.

Strong fighters.

Coin.

What more could the vixen ask for?

The grin spread across Sakura’s lips as she drummed her fingers rapidly on the counter. “Thank you. I think we will give it a go.”