Road to Ruisea

❆ ❆ XXVI. KUMARI ❆ ❆

Kumari's bad at running, from being locked up in a tower for so long. But she doesn't really feel like she has the choice to not run right now.

"I'm beginning to think," she pants, feet stomping against the roof of the train, her arm nearly being pulled out of its socket from just how hard Chiro's pulling her along. "That Jae and I should've slept earlier!"

"M-maybe so," Chiro gasps, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder only to see another arrow headed their way.

"What should we do?" Kumari squeaks. "Going inside is probably bad, other people would get hurt, and then they'd find out I'm a missing princess and try to send me home for the reward they promised Sho and then we'll really be screwed and we'll never find Ruisea and Jae will be so so upset—!"

"All we need to do," Chiro says, interrupting Kumari's tangent — for which she's very relieved, as the panic was beginning to set in even more than it already had — "Is get Sho to stop firing long enough for me to turn us invisible."

"That could work," Kumari scratches her chin with her free hand and jumps over an arrow that was directed at her leg. "Jae could do something, he's still over there."

"Jae's too busy with the scary blonde lady," Chiro replies. "We need to figure out a distraction on our own..."

"Oh hey," Kumari remembers an interesting thing. "There's a spell that lets you turn arrows around. I found it in the library back home."

Chiro looks at her with wide-eyes, in awe instead of panic, "Is there?"

"Yeah!" Kumari nods vehemently. "I remember the hand gestures and incantation for it."

"Can you show me?"

"I'm not a magician though..."

"Show me the moves and tell me the words," Chiro stops, letting go to bring his hands together in a pleading motion. "And that way I can protect you."

"Okay... But we better hurry."

Chiro steps behind Kumari and pushes her a bit ahead, then makes sure she's fully hidden from the line of fire and that if any arrows come their way, they hit his back. Kumari's not too keen on it, but as long as she can quickly tell him the spell, it doesn't matter.

"The words are really simple... It's just ho, ko, ai, wai."

"Ho, ko," Chiro repeats, and as he does, his skin begins to burn with those patterns that Kumari thinks are so pretty but she now knows hurt him so much... "Ai, wai."

"You got it!" She yelps as another arrows passes through their legs, and Chiro throws another glance back to see Sho's gaining. "Okay watch me, quick!"

She puts her hand out and then gives it a flick of her wrist, turning her palm upward, then thrusting her arm to the right.

It does nothing, but that's because she's not a magician.

When Chiro does it...

The arrow that had been just about to pass clean through the back of his head, turns.

Heading right back towards Sho.

He catches it, nocking it once more. But Kumari thinks it doesn't matter by now, because Chiro just got Sho distracted long enough to do the rest.

"Perfect," he smiles at her. "Thank you."

"Səndə sağ ol," Kumari chirps.

"Hold my hand again," Chiro asks.

"I would be deeelighted," and Kumari slips her fingers into his palm, and he cups it tight.

"Ik! Uo!" He chants. "Yu! Re!"