A Dark King's Daughter

Ch 9- Tension

(to the right is Nino's locket)

-Tension-

            She was still tense about Tiko spilling the beans. Had she already told someone? Will she tell someone? What would Nino face if her secret got out? Tiko probably still didn't believe her. Why wouldn't she trust her though? Nino was her best friend! She always had been! Her first friend. . .

            It was another rainy, drippy day. More people were out than yesterday, but it still wasn't enough to convince a newcomer that people actually lived here. It seemed as if the land bled, and faded. From a bright rustic red to a bleak gray. . . From life to death? It seemed that way.

            Nino was almost to the League. Marian's memory was quite useful, but Nino knew she'd need it for a long time to come. It was quite hard- very hard to memorize.

            She made her way down the stairs. Some people were there, but the majority had not yet arrived. Marian and Heath greeted her kindly. Nino returned the greeting and went straight to Jaffar.

            "About yesterday, I'm sorry, please forgive Tiko. You startled her. She won't tell, I made her promise." Nino said.

            "It's fine." was all he said.

            "Are you sure? I can. . . I can. . ."

            "No, Nino. She had seen me before. She gave me the letter, remember? But what I want to know is this, what did she say after I left?" he asked.

            "What happened, you two?" Geitz asked. Heath and Marian's faces lit up with curiosity.

            Nino quickly explained. Geitz smirked. Of course he would find it funny.

            "Well?" Jaffar asked.

            "Hm? Oh, she jumped to the wrong conclusion. She always does that. I'm sure she did when I told her to give you that letter." Nino explained.

            "I can only guess. . ."

            "I'm sure you're right. She almost started to get angry because 'I was keeping a relationship with you a secret from her'. She understands now, although she doesn't fully believe me."

            "She thought we were . . . together?"

            Nino blushed and looked away. "Yes." She said, sheepishly.

            Jaffar said nothing. Geitz burst into laughter.

            "This Tiko sounds like a real character!" He said. Nino rolled her eyes.

            The others started to fill in. Even the comrades came. Nino could tell the planning would start today.

            She didn't get a chance to ask how Helene was able to sneak away as easily as she could without getting caught. Helene only winked at her.

            Once everyone was settled into a seat of some sort, Geitz began talking.

            "Alright. So we are starting our anarchy today. We'll take it step by step. And I know you've all come up with ideas for the past couple of months, and I think we are going to use them, if all goes well.

            "But first, we need to take action against the law Sain is about to pass. We've decided that by adding another inside source to Nino's house will do us good. And for that matter, we need to figure out how."