Chapter 27 "Gules Wingtree"
Chapter 27
Gules Wingtree
For the next few days, every citizen of Planet Alfur has been grieving over the death of King Ranish. His funeral took two and half days, and the Dark Team also attended.
The grief period has ended, and one-third of the citizens, including the entire Dark Team, within the city limits have been helping to rebuild the palace that the battle with the fake Prime Minister damaged.
Beryl tells Knapp that they have helped enough but the Universe Warrior still insists to. After all, they are not in any rush at all. Kawaii has not found the next two foes, Nyx and Eclipse yet as it’s just like looking for a needle in the hay.
As the palace is nearly complete, the elves are starting to talk about how soon Gules will be the next King. The higher-ups within the palace are putting the pressure on both Gules and Beryl that they need to grow up and start thinking about what’s best for the future of Planet Alfur.
“King, huh?” Gules scoffs at the thought of becoming the next monarch. “They have to be kidding. We literally just had the funeral for Father a few days ago… Can’t they give us more time?”
“Brother, you know that our planet is already vulnerable without the King. Sooner or later, any unwanted visitor may come and invade.” Beryl places her hands on her hips. “Haven’t you even thought of our people’s safety… our home planet?”
Gules frowns at his twin sister, knowing how right she is. He mumbles, “I know that… But… It’s like…” He looks straight into her eyes. “They forgot about you. After everything you did for them.”
“I’m ok with that.”
“No… Don’t say that.” Gules snaps at her. “I mean--”
“My Prince,” comes the loud knocks before one of the tailors enters Gules’s large bedroom. “We have your outfit for the coronation. Are you ready?”
Beryl smiles sadly at her brother. “I’m sorry.” She gets up and leaves.
~*~
“Oh, Jade. You’re going too?” Logy asks in surprise. He just finished showering and getting dressed up nicely for Gules’s coronation so he headed for the crew quarters to find Jade in a nice suit relaxing on the couch.
Jade shrugs his shoulders. “Yeah, I thought I’d pay respect… Even though I hate the guy.”
The guy? Logy manages to hold back his laughter. Thanks Hikyou-sama for sign language. “You didn’t have to go, you know…I mean, seeing Gules in the princely outfit getting crowned would be…”
Hot? Jade finishes Logy’s sentence in his own thoughts before he realizes that the mind reader has done this on purpose when he notices a sly smirk. He yells in sign language, “Hey, stop reading my mind, dammit!”
“Thought you would be here!” Clear waves her hands. She is wearing a long light blue dress. Her blonde hair is locked up in a ballerina bun. “I’m so excited! I can’t wait to see what Gules and Beryl will wear!”
“I’m so impressed that you’re all dressed up and ready. The coronation isn’t for another hour.” Jade teases.
“Shut up!” Clear yells, making Logy snicker. She takes a look at her watch and asks, “Where is Johnny? He better not be hiding and sleeping somewhere!”
“I’ll check the men’s chamber,” Logy volunteers.
“Then, I’ll check the training room. You, Jade… go outside and look for Johnny,” Clear demands.
“Hey, who told you to boss us around?” Jade pouts when he realizes that she has already left along with Logy. “Well, I guess I need some fresh air.”
After leaving the spaceship and looking around in the forest right outside the palace without a single sight of Johnny, he gives a light sigh as he quietly debates with himself whether to return or not. They are supposed to leave for the coronation anytime soon.
He looks up to find a few birds flying in the sky. One of them is red. I wonder how Gules is doing… I… How did he react when he found out that he had to have a coronation ceremony and become the King?
He turns to walk back to the spaceship but the red bird suddenly drops and comes diving right in front of him.
“Hey, wait a minute…” Jade raises an eyebrow. “Is that you, Gules?”
The bird chirps loudly as he transforms into the soon-to-be-King of Planet Alfur in Jade’s purple eyes. He is wearing a dark green royal mantle along with a gold crown embedded with six rubies and a thick purple royal cape.
“What are you doing here? Isn’t the coronation supposed to start anytime soon?” The gravity controller asks in surprise.
“Yeah…” Gules awkwardly scratches the back of his head. “I mean, it’s too sudden and fast. I just needed a moment so I sneaked out.”
“So you came here? Won’t they look for you? What about Beryl? Won’t she be worried about you?”
Just the mention of Beryl makes Gules scowl deeply.
Jade tries again, “Is it… not what you want?”
“I got in all kinds of trouble when I was younger.” Gules takes off his crown and starts rubbing one of the rubies with his thumb. “I hated everything. Hell, even the world. Royal lessons and social expectations. Being told how to act like a prince I’m supposed to be. There was one time I hated my own father. I was… I’ve always been selfish.”
Jade has the sudden urge to reach out and touch Gules, wanting to comfort him somehow but stops himself. “Then what do you really want to do?”
Gules is absolutely taken back by Jade’s unexpected question. He was expecting to be told that he was selfish and that his people needed him. Honestly, for his whole life, he has always wanted to…
“Escape,” He says without hesitation. He adds, “With you.”
“W-what?” Jade’s face is getting warmer.
“Your eyes reminded me back then.” Gules tosses his crown away. He places his hands on Jade’s flushed cheeks. He leans a little closer so he can see into the pair of endless galaxies.
“I thought you were at the coronation? Didn’t it start just now?”
Gules and Jade swiftly move away from each other as soon as they hear Knapp’s amused voice.
“Mr. U-Universe Warrior!”
“I have a name, you know. Just call me Knapp.” The leader of the Dark Team chuckles lightheartedly. He briefly adjusts his tie with black and white patterns. “Don’t you have the duty to do? Instead of flirting with one of my team members?”
Gules unclips his cape, which falls onto the ground. “I’m interested in joining you. The Dark Team, isn’t it?”
“No,” Knapp says right away.
Gules is about to open his mouth to protest.
“You still have the half soul of this planet. As much as I really want you to join because of your healing ability, you can’t leave at all,” Knapp says bluntly.
“I can give it to Beryl somehow!” Gules exclaims. “We… We can postpone the coronation ceremony and figure it out.”
“That’s not how it works.” This time it is Kawaii who shows up out of nowhere. “It’s up to the planet to choose a host of its soul. Give it time.”
“How long…?” Gules asks softly.
Jade’s heart is starting to break when he hears both desperation and pleas in the prince’s voice.
“I don’t know. Weeks, maybe? Or years,” The child form of the Fifth Universe says emotionlessly. He frowns a little bit. “But there’s just one thing that, well, conflicts with something else…”
“Is it because he can see and hear you, Kawaii?” Knapp rubs his chin in wonder. “Why and how is it possible?”
“There you are, Gules!” comes a yell from Gules’s twin sister.
Gules quickly dives to hide behind Jade. “Oh no, she already found me! I don’t want to go back!”
“You gotta be kidding!” Beryl smacks her own face. She turns to Knapp and bows her head, “I’m so sorry. He’s late for the coronation so I’ll take him back…”
“No,” Gules says stubbornly. “I’ve already said my piece. You know that I don’t want to be the ruler. The thought of sitting around and telling people what to do isn’t just my tea.”
“Don’t be stupid! Father had been preparing you for your whole--”
“Isn’t becoming the Queen your dream?! Ever since we were kids, you joined my lessons even though you were not required to because I know you genuinely wanted to help our people! Provide equal education and opportunities! Feed the poor and help the sick! I can name many more!”
Beryl is completely speechless. She opens his mouth a few times as she thinks of another counterattack remarks but cannot find a single one.
“Please tell us what you really want. There is nobody around here other than me and the outsiders…” Gules softens his voice. “Do… Do you really want to be the Queen?”
“Yes… Yes, I really do,” Beryl says sadly as she gives a large sigh of relief, as if a large burden is finally being taken off her shoulder. “I’ve never stopped wanting it. I’ve always been jealous of you because no matter how terrible you did as a kid, you were merely scolded but never punished. You were supposed to be our future King.”
Gules smiles at her. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”
Suddenly, a tiny and lime green orb the size of a quarter coin comes popping right out of Gules’s chest. If anybody looks closer at it, they will realize that it is cut in half. It floats itself through the air until it enters Beryl’s chest.
Green aura is engulfing the princess’s entire body, to her surprise. She lifts her hand, which is gathering all of the green magic before releasing it towards the forest. As soon as it hits the ground, something sprouts out and then rapidly turns into a new taller and thicker tree.
“Isn’t that Father’s power…?” Gules asks in awe.
Beryl kneels down, not caring if her dress is getting dirty. She places one of her hands on the ground. More flowers with various colors emerge from the ground. She says tearfully, “Father… He… He really did pass on his power to me.”
“Well, you’re in for luck! When Beryl finally stopped fighting against her true nature, the planet chose her over you,” Kawaii says with a small smile on his face.
Knapp shrugs his shoulders with a light sigh. “Looks like you’re welcome to join us, Gules. But you better hurry up. It won’t be long before they find you here.”
Gules walks to Beryl and then reaches out his hand for her to help her get up. He asks cautiously, “Do you think you’re ready to become the Queen and take over the kingdom?”
“Absolutely yes!” Beryl exclaims as she bounces a little bit. She begins to hear distant shouting coming from the gate to the city. “You better go now!”
Jade quickly grabs Gules’s hand and pulls him, like he is almost dragging him towards the spaceship. “Looks like we’re kidnapping you!”
“I’ll miss you, sis!” Gules yells.
“Me too! Come back, will you?” Beryl is about to step away when she stops to yell, “I love you, brother!”
“Love you too--” Gules suddenly gets pushed into the spaceship with Jade’s gravity power. “Ouch!”
Jade shrugs his shoulders carelessly.
“Clear, let’s go!” Knapp yells right when he steps inside. “We’re leaving the planet!”
“Yes, sir! Good thing I’ve kept the engine going, eh?” Clear giggles. “I was a little disappointed because I finally dressed up but at the same time I was hoping that the prince would run and join us!”
“Can I go back to sleep?” Johnny asks sleepily. He was rudely awakened by Clear and Logy when he was taking a short nap in a bathtub. It was a short and sweet two-hour nap.
~*~
As Gules’s home planet is getting smaller and smaller, he cannot help but already miss his sister. She has been his best friend for his entire life. There is no one else who completely understands him.
After the Dark Team is gathered in the strategy room, everyone takes a seat on the chairs with wheels.
“Welcome to the Dark Team,” Logy says using both voice and sign language.
“Glad you joined us!” Clear says cheerfully.
“Why are your hands doing that?” Gules asks curiously.
“It’s been years since a new member joined us, isn’t it?” Knapp says. He jerks a thumb at Logy. “He’s deaf, so we’re using sign language for him. If we’re talking all at once, he’d be lost.”
“No way!” The former prince exclaims in surprise. He glances at the deaf member of the Dark Team. “But… He speaks so well!”
“Years of hard practice,” Logy shrugs his shoulders.
“How did you understand me?”
“Mind reading,” Logy pokes his forefinger on Gules’s forehead in amusement. He starts using sign language with his voice. “I’m more than happy to teach you sign language.”
“That’d be great! Thank you, Logy!” Gules says eagerly. He takes a quick look at the rest of the team. “So, where do I sleep?”
“Well…” Knapp chuckles lightly. “This spaceship is pretty small. And very old. Logy just moved in with me. Johnny and Jade used to be roommates but Johnny took Logy’s old room. Jade’s room is bigger, so--”
“Oh, hell no!” Jade yells, completely forgetting to use sign language. “Can’t you see that he’s a pervert!”
“There are still two beds in your room, isn’t it?”
“I have no objection--” Gules gets slammed to the floor by a sudden large increase in gravity.
“Jade! What did I tell you about using gravity in the spaceship?!” Clear yells angrily, making Jade cross his arms with a pouty face. “You know this is an old piece of crap. You could have made a hole!”
“Actually…” Gules kneels up with a big grin on his face. “I have a good friend who can give us a better and bigger spaceship than this.”
“Oh really?!” Clear exclaims.
“I’m listening,” Knapp says.
“It’s pretty far so I’m not sure if this spaceship can keep up that long. I believe the planet where my friend lives is probably about 2 or 3 years away. Five galaxies away. We always visited each other when we were kids but we stopped hearing back from them a decade ago. My father repeatedly tried to contact them but never heard back from her or her family at all,” Gules says. “I think it's a good time to check on her and see if she’s still alive, eh?”
“What planet is it?” Kawaii says out of the blue, startling everyone with his sudden appearance. He climbs up onto one of the chairs.
“Planet Rosa.”
“What a coincidence.” The child smirks. “That’s where I found Nyx.”
~*~
“Princess Beryl?”
Beryl has been watching the spaceship leaving the atmosphere until it is no longer in her sight. She turns to several elves with a smile on her face. “Sorry, once Gules made the decision, he would not go back on it.”
“Wha-what about the coronation…? Thousands of us are waiting to see him.”
Beryl makes a few steps toward them. She swings her hand, which is glowing in green aura, through the air gracefully. Hundreds of flowers emerge from the ground without any effort.
“Isn’t that the King’s power… He passed it on to you?”
“Yes,” Beryl says. “What are you going to do now that my brother is gone? Won’t our planet be in danger if there is no leader?”
“Very well… I suppose you, as the last remaining Wingtree, will be the Queen.”
The soon-to-be-Queen gives them a warm smile as she joins them on the way back to the city. “Let’s finish the coronation, shall we?”