The Runaway Wife

Chapter 14

For the next couple of days, Jylie trained Jackie in different forms of combat, trying to find out what fighting style fit her. Unfortunately, none of them did. So, she instead tried to teach her a couple basics like knives, hand-to-hand combat and how to talk your way out of something. Occasionally, she'd disappear and Miya, Roderick, or Edge would teach her instead by giving her updates on what was going on in the world or showing her around their headquarters.

"I have a question," Jacelyn said quietly as Edge demonstrated how to beat statues of Hikari employees to a pulp. "If Jylie is so powerful, why does she hang around me instead of helping the resistance on the battlefield?" Roderick had told her that the people in several nearby cities were rising up against her husband's military. They were, obviously, losing since they were so outnumbered and outgunned.

Edge smashed a statue onto the ground, shattering its head, and laughed loudly. "Where do you think she is now?"

"But, wouldn't it take her a while to reach--"

"She can do a lot more than just throw little, green circles around," he said, ending his statue beating and walking toward her. "She told me that bubble launching trick was something she just learned to do recently. When she was young she learned how to control animals, teleport, and even navigate through different worlds. Hasn't learned how to fly though." He looked up dreamily at the ceiling. "Wouldn't that be something?"

"Wow!" She was glad that woman was on their side for she'd make a very frightening opponent.

"Listen," Edge motioned for her to move closer so he could tell her a secret. "She told me that she can also see the future, though she refused to tell any of us what she's seen. Just remember, if she ever tells you to do something strange, obey her. It's probably for a reason. That's probably why she hasn't killed John even though she's had several opportunities to do so."

"Huh." Jackie looked down, interested. "Is she a god or something?" You'd never know she was so powerful at first sight.

"She said she was granted a great power when she turned seven. Wish I had that." He shook his head sadly, then tried to focus again and showed Jackie how he used his strength to bring down opponents.

~~~

The masquerade took place in John's home. Gold and green decorations filled the building and the table was moved out of the huge dining room to make room for dancers. Tables of delicious looking food lined all of the walls and were attended to by every one of his servants. Every room was available for the guests to socialize in except for John and his wife's bedroom.

The guests consisted of head Hikari employees, wealthy supporters, and family friends. Every man and woman was dressed in flashy, elegant outfits of bright colors. They each wore unique masks mimicking animals, monsters, and even things like trees or rivers. Every mask looked different since no one wanted to come to a party dressed like somebody else so, when the four leaders of the rebellion slipped into the lineup outside the door, nobody noticed.

Jylie led the way, dressed in a shiny, blue dress with blue streaks to make it look like she was the ocean. She wore a plain, blue mask that only served to cover up her eyes and nose. To match the outfit, she'd dyed her blonde hair and lips a pretty sky blue. Miya had wanted her to wear white to look like snow but she'd insisted that she'd worn enough white to last one hundred years so she declined.

Kirtsy had come in a wild looking clown suit that was white and had rainbow dots all over it. She even had on one of those silly hats with a pom-pom on the top. Jylie hated clowns so she constantly frowned at the creepy mask the girl had insisted on wearing. Wearing an outfit like this allowed her to carry around her bouncy balls (which were secretly explosives).

"I really wish you could have made a nicer looking outfit," Jylie muttered as she glanced at the creepy smile that donned Kirtsy's face. "And Skylar, you're supposed to wear a mask, not a helmet!"

He smiled at her before slipping the sleek, black helmet over his head. "But it looks so cool!" He was dressed in a black, stealth suit with hidden knives in the arms, feet, and back. If they were ever attacked, he could take out anyone within ten feet. Roderick had had a blast designing this thing for him.

Jylie's negativity was interrupted when she saw Jacelyn rubbing her hands together nervously. She had on some pretty black gloves that cut off at her fingers and would ruin them if she kept doing that. "Calm down," the super woman whispered. "Everything is going to be fine. We're all here to protect you and no one will recognize you if you're dressed like this. We'll just grab your daughter and sneak out the back door." She pulled Jackie's chin up and looked her in the eye. "Walk in there like you're a supermodel, not a servant. Pretend you're someone else for a day. Understand?"

". . . Okay." Jackie was dressed in a pretty red dress that was short in the front and long in the back so you could see her thin legs. She had on a pointy, red and black mask that covered the top of her face and intertwined into her curly hair. Miya had dyed her hair black an hour before so no one would recognize it. Jylie had also insisted she wear bright red lipstick to match the outfit since red was also her favorite color. On her feet were black heels that shone when the light hit them. She looked fabulous, nothing like the plain little girl John had married two years ago.

The doorman stopped all four from entering the building and instructed them to produce their invitations. Jylie pulled four red letters from her chest, smirking at the uncomfortable expression on the door boy's face, and handed them to him. Naomi had managed to get her hands on some from a wealthy man who had recently decided to join the rebellion. He didn't want to attend another flashy party and was more than willing to give them up.

"Go right ahead." The boy motioned for them to step inside the building. He was about to open the large doors for them but Jylie did it herself, dramatically shoving them open and strutting inside with Jackie by her side. Skylar and Kirtsy came in behind her, looking just as cool. Then, the pair headed straight for the food. They were supposed to look for an escape route in case their plan backfired but there was no harm in enjoying the party a little first.

Grinning, Jylie turned to Jacelyn. "You go look for your daughter."