Control

ⅬⅣ

Sting and Ajeel dashed into the streets of Alakitasia, finding the citizens of the Empire running for shelter in their homes. While it would've been the best option to evacuate the city, Ajeel knew he wouldn't have time before their opponents made their next move. Either way, he couldn't guarantee their safety and he ridiculed himself for allowing this to happen.

The blonde quickly skidded around a plaza corner with the tanned male hot on his heels but stopped when he spotted a woman standing in the middle of the street.

She had skin the shade of paper with an abundance of freckles across her nose, only bringing more attention to the wild, golden eyes which held the same ferocity as the first lady they had seen. Her hair was the shade of a fresh, red rose and it flowed in waved down her back.

Sting squinted at the girl, finding her eyes suspicious. There was something about how eerily they glowed that didn't sit right with him.

What are the odds that these two women have the same eyes?

He continued to ponder while Ajeel started business.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Akai Tsuta." Her voice was soft and angelic, but Sting's dragon slayer hearing ability caught something robotic. "We will not allow the Empire to fall under the rule of the East."

"Huh?" Sting scrunched his face up in confusion. "Rule of the East? Have you ever heard of a peace treaty? You know, for peace?" Sting knew he wasn't the most intelligent person, but he couldn't help but think the opponents they had been given were truly too dumb to understand politics.

"You petty Ishgarians are too selfish for peace," she spat. Sting just rolled his eyes. These were not his affairs for he was just fighting out of courtesy. He wanted to make amends with both Alakitasia and Ajeel if it meant making Rin happy.

"Sting," Ajeel called. "Can I leave this to you? I need to find that woman. There's no doubt that she's the one in charge." The corners of Tsuta's lips turned up slightly, making the blonde cringe. He shrugged off his nice blazer and set it on a bench near the side of the road.

"With all due respect, your honor, I'm gonna have to decline your request," he said teasingly. "Something about that smile of hers tells me that they want you to wander off into one of their traps. Being the humble guild master and esteemed guest that I am," he added in a snarky tone, "I cannot allow a King, such as yourself, to fall into their hands."

Ajeel narrowed his eyes at the male, watching as he casually rubbed at the scale on his neck and flashed his protruding fangs for everyone to see. "Is that alright with you, King Ajeel?" Although Sting sounded like his usual asshole-self, the Prince could see the seriousness in his sapphire irises.

"Fine," he grunted. "I better not find you beaten on the pavement when I'm done here." Sting then dramatically bowed and ran further down the street, taking a nice whiff of the redhead's scent as he passed her.

He could tell there was some kind of mask on it, similar to the way the arena had been masked during Laxus' fight during the Grand Magic Games. There was something bigger at play here and he knew it. Suddenly, I felt as if he was taking Rin's place in this fight as she was currently down for the count. She was always the one to detect when something was off, when the battle was bigger than it seemed, and she was always the one to end the fight. Secretly, he worried that she might not even wake for this one and that he'd have to carry all the weight himself.

His confidence wavered, but he'd do it if it meant she could rest easy for once.

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