Chapter 14: The Rainbow Alliance

Hunter’s meeting with Ash, albeit brief, had awakened something dormant within himself. The genuine empathy she showed him, despite having never met him before, sprung forth feelings he had been repressing all this time. Maybe this was another one of her maiden powers; whatever the case, he was thankful for the illumination their short interaction had brought him.

With those thoughts dribbling in his head, Hunter hurried along back to the room that had been granted to him. There, making herself small in the corner of the room, hiding behind a bed, was Taina. She was crouching, hiding her head behind her knees, her hair draping her forearms.

Hunter approached her and kneeled. “Taina…” He did not know what to say. “Sorry, I’m not very good at this. You’re usually the one to come comfort me.”

Taina might as well have been a statue, with how immobile she was.

“Listen, I…” Hunter was trying to find the proper words to express his feelings, but expectedly, it did not come as second nature to him. “I’ve been selfish. I’ve been so focused on my own problems that I failed to see how the situation might affect you. Not just you, but everyone around me. I’ve blocked you out and ignored you when I shouldn’t have. What happened to Luck, I know it affects you probably as much as it does me. Quite frankly, I’m pretty sure you’re in love with him. Listen, before I embarrass myself any further, the point is, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’ve been such an ass. You deserve better.”

She could not tell what had happened to him, but something had changed within Hunter. Taina sat quietly, her tears stopping momentarily to allow herself to absorb her friend’s heartfelt message. Her tears quickly resumed their flow, stronger than before. She moved her hand over to Hunter’s, grasping it.

Hunter held it, unsure of what to do. He was new to this emotional support role.

Unable to contain her sadness, Taina lunged herself into Hunter’s arms, hiding her reddened, wet face in his shoulder.

Although it made him uncomfortable to hold her so tightly, Hunter knew it was now his duty to console her. He let her cry in his arms, looking desperately around him to distract himself from the awkwardness.

It was then that he saw on the floor, in part hidden by Taina’s long skirt, her beloved book she always carried everywhere. It appeared a little wet but completely ruined. Evidently, it had mostly dried off, but the pages had taken a devastating blow from being submerged underwater when they ran away from the Royal Army.

Hunter gently broke free from Taina’s hold and reached for her book, to which she offered no resistance, her who was usually so protective of her treasure.

Hunter flipped it open to a random page. It crackled, the pages stuck together menacing to crumble into pieces. The ink was smeared across the yellowed paper, words now unreadable black smudges.

Hunter lowered the book. “I’m sorry. If we hadn’t run into the water, it wouldn’t be in such a sorry state,” he apologized.

Taina shook her head and spoke with a teary voice. “It isn’t your fault. We didn’t have a choice.”

“Yeah, but… You love that book.”

“It’s okay… It’s not everything. Besides, I’ve read it so many times, I probably know it by heart.” She tried to laugh at her own joke, barely able to lift her lips into a smile.

Hunter tried to flip through the pages to see if anything could be salvaged, but they followed the swaying of the book like a brick, most of them still fused from their soak in the sea. Before he closed the book, something on the inside of the back cover caught Hunter’s eyes.

There was a message written seemingly inside of the leather covering the wooden cover, as if the ink had been injected directly inside the material. The handwriting differed from the one seen in the rest of the book, and the placement of the sentence made little sense.

Hunter read the short passage, which, unlike the rest of the book, was somehow perfectly readable. His brow shot up as he tried to analyze it. “Hey, Taina. Has this always been there?”

She blinked to scatter remaining tears and grabbed her precious book from her friend’s hands. She scanned the back cover with intrigue, reading the message over and over. “Follow your heart to the heart of the Valley of Death. Knock on his door, and to an old friend he shall answer, but to a stranger he shall show the road to the bowels of the valley.”

“What is that…?” asked Taina, stumped by the meaning of the message.

“No idea. I thought maybe you’d know.”

“No… I’ve never seen this before. And I know for a fact it didn’t use to be there. So then, how did this get there?”

“I don’t know. It’s almost like something caused the message to appear.”

“Like a secret mechanism?” Taina examined the outside of her book, hoping to find something she had somehow never noticed before.

“Maybe? I’m more confused than you are.”

Taina got up, the skin of her cheeks irritated, but finally starting to dry. “Maybe Jim knows.”

She ran outside of the room with energy she showed no signs of having mere seconds ago. This new mysterious passage rebirthed life into her book she had already planned funerals for. Without first knocking, she barged into the siblings’ room and flailed the book in Jim’s direction.

The boy was startled by Taina’s erratic entrance, nearly choking on his own gasp.

“Jim, I need you to look at this,” asked Taina rather demandingly.

“W-what is it?”

She showed him the newly appeared passage on the back cover.

Jim was the next person to confusedly read what seemed like a riddle. He eventually defeatedly lowered the book and shook his head. “I hate to say it, but I don’t have the faintest idea what this could mean. I remember, when you leant me your book, that most certainly wasn’t there. So it must have appeared in some unexplainable manner. No, that’s not true, everything can be explained. We just need to understand the message first. Maybe that’ll give us context as to how it got there.”

“Okay, how do we do that?”

“Sorry, but right now I don’t know. I’ll be sure to think about it as much as I can. I can’t let a mystery like this go unanswered. It is my scholarly duty to see it solved!”

Elesia joined the conversation, her who was nowhere near as perceptive as her brother. “Why don’t we ask someone around here for help?”

“Sis, there’s gotta be thousands of people here, who would we even ask?”

Elesia tossed her shoulders. “Maybe someone could help decipher it.”

Taina took her book back from Jim and held it behind her back, as she often did. “I guess we’re out of luck unless we find someone really eager to rack their brains. Problem is I don’t really want to show this to anyone.”

“I guess that leaves us to figure it out,” said Hunter. He turned his attention to his rumbling stomach. “I’m gonna go eat.”

“Hold on!” nearly cried out Elesia. “We’re coming with!”

“Suit yourselves.”

Hunter sauntered into the hallway, the others following close behind to be guided to a proper meal, something they had not had since leaving Fort Kingsley. The mere thought of having a plate full of something other than stale, humid bread and salted meats made their mouths water.

As they rejoined the main room, still as bustling with activity as it had been earlier, they were met with an elderly man resembling an old wolf.

The man was well into his sixties, sporting a full head of scruffy gray hair, accompanied by an equally messy mustache extending past the sides of his wrinkled, lean face. Though his muscles peered through what little fat he had, and however sturdy his body looked, he carried himself like an old man who had forgotten his walking cane back home.

He glanced at the group with his sharp, grey eyes, and greeted them with a friendly smile. “Ah, you must be the young fellows Yuen and Violet talked about. I see you’re coming back from the living quarters. I take it this means you’ve been given a proper tour of the place?”

“Yes, it was your leader, Red, who showed us around,” answered Taina politely.

“Ah, a man of his duties as always, that Red. I hope your lodgings are to your liking.”

“Oh, yes, there’s really nothing to complain about. We should be thanking you, in fact.”

The old man waved off the thought. “There’s no need. It is what we of the Rainbow Alliance do.”

“Still, we’re grateful.”

The elderly man nodded. “What were your names again? I’m Albert Frieden, fifth division commander here in the alliance.”

Taina returned Albert’s politeness by introducing everyone briefly.

“I will make sure to remember your names,” said Albert. “Until we meet again.” He bowed and continued along his way.

Meanwhile, Hunter and the others went in the opposite direction, toward the cafeteria. As Red had previously instructed them, they followed the signs nailed on every wall and hanging under every threshold they crossed.

On the ground floor of the main room, behind two large glass sliding doors was their destination. A sea of people populated the dozens of long wooden tables placed symmetrically upon the tiled flooring. At the back of the cafeteria, a counter spanning almost the entire length of the cafeteria offered a wide array of foods, both cold and hot. An impressive drink station stood directly after the counter, with an equally large selection.

Elesia, drooling almost comedically, ran ahead of her companions, grabbing a tray at the start of the counter, and began piling every single food she came across. At the end of the line, she held in her hands a tray overflowing with so much food, the plate it rested on was completely buried.

The others caught up to her with far more modest portions.

Hunter stared at her massive plate indiscriminately, too tired to make fun of her voracious appetite.

A young man humming to himself while assembling his dinner reached the group. His sandals dragged sand all over the floor, and his cargo shorts and adventure hat tied around his neck suggested he had been outside taking part in some form of excursion until just now. His round head was covered in a bed of short dark hair, and his big, analytical eyes smiled at Hunter and his friends.

He pursed his lips and let out an impressed whistle upon seeing Elesia’s plate. “You sure you’re gonna be able to eat all that? That plate’s bigger than you,” he commented jokingly.

Jim answered in his sister’s stead. “She won’t hear you until her stomach is full, don’t even bother.”

The man chuckled. “Ah, we have a glutton, I see.” He turned to face everyone. “My name’s Nigel, by the way. I’m the fourth division commander of this organisation. Never seen you guys around, are you new?”

“I guess you could say that,” responded Taina. She explained to him as briefly as possible their current situation, to which Nigel nodded along, listening attentively.

“I see,” he said. “Well, let’s not stand around with our hands full. Let’s continue this conversation at a table.” Once seated, Nigel was the first to speak. “So you’ve got the Vasilosse Royal Army at your backs, huh? That is a pretty unfavourable situation you’ve found yourselves in. You’re lucky you wound up here. You’ll be safe.”

Hunter scoffed. “This is the last place I wanna be right now.”

“Last place? How many places do you know, out of curiosity?”

“My cousin and uncle are on Corin, being held in a dungeon under the king’s tower, and I’m here, thousands of miles away, waiting for them to get executed.”

Jim’s head turned ninety degrees as he perplexedly looked at Hunter. “Thousands of miles? What are you talking about?”

“So, only one of you knows,” said Nigel. “Allow me to be the one to explain, then. Fierna is located across the world from the Five Kingdoms. You were able to travel here in a short time thanks to the magical prowess of Ash, the maiden of fire who lives on this island. Among many things, she can distort space, allowing those who yearn for her protection to be transported toward her location. It’s not the most precise magic, but it’s very helpful. Case in point, you were saved thanks to Yuen wishing for her protection. Had he not done so, who knows if a Royal Army ship would have caught you.”

Hunter was growing visibly angry, his face turning red. “You’re telling me all that honour dick-riding idiot had to do to save Luck was to wish for Ash’s protection? And he chose to fight instead?”

“Uh, not quite. You won’t be teleported to Ash in an instant just because you think about her. The spell takes time to take effect. Firstly, for it to work, you need to be in motion. Secondly, you must be in a calm environment, so a battlefield or a storm won’t do. You also need to have your mind entirely focused on Ash, which you can’t do during a life-or-death fight. When I say it out loud, it sounds mightily inconvenient, but it's saved our butts many times before, so please don’t be angry at Yuen. He would never put a duel before the safety of people in need.”

Hunter breathed a long sigh. “Sorry.”

“No worries, pal.”

“The maiden of fire…” thought Taina aloud.

“Yup. The one and only.”

“Is there a reason the Rainbow Alliance is located on the same faraway island she is?”

“As a matter of fact, there is. You know how the alliance’s goal is to help all of those in need of helping? Our leader, Red, foresees that the rulers of the Five Kingdoms wish to obtain the powers of the five maidens in order to bring the world under their heel. Such an outcome would be devastating for world peace, and an antithesis to our very existence as an organisation. That’s why, in order to counter such a future, Red founded this organisation and sought out the five maidens, hoping to keep them safe from the grasp of the kings and queens of the Five Kingdoms. Now, after nearly twenty years of existence, the Rainbow Alliance only has the fire maiden. The other four remain in places yet unknown. They’re elusive, which is both a good thing and a bad thing, I suppose. We here, hope that Fierna will soon become the home of the maidens, and that the Five Kingdoms will never get their hands on such power.”

As his listeners were gobbling up every word of his story, an old man approached Nigel from behind. It was Albert, carrying a bowl of soup and a glass of juice.

“You give away much information, Nigel,” he said as he sat down next to his colleague.

“Albert, my man!” exclaimed Nigel gayly. “I was just explaining to our friends here the purpose of the Rainbow Alliance.”

“Yes, I was able to ascertain as much. Perhaps, in the future, you should omit certain details when discussing our organisation.”

“Well now, that wouldn’t be very honest.”

“The nature of this island and the magic encompassing it are known by few. For safety reasons, we should strive to keep it that way.”

Nigel pouted, mumbling unintelligibly through his munching.

As Albert was waiting for his soup to cool, he struck up idle chatter with the four sitting across the table from him. “I hadn’t expected to meet you all again so soon. Is the food to your liking?”

For Elesia, at least, an answer was unneeded, as she sat in a nearly comatose state, her plate somehow already devoid of even a single crumb. The other three nodded, their mouths too full to answer with words.

“Very good,” said Albert.

Jim shyly raised his voice. “So, this maiden of fire… This might sound stupid, but where does her magic come from?”

Albert closed his eyes and let out a perplexed grunt. “Well, I suppose hiding any more from you would only be insulting, now that you’ve been made aware of confidential information.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to be intrusive.”

“Not at all. But beware, the information I am about to grace you with is highly confidential. Truth be told, I should not be saying a word to you about it at all, but seeing as my colleague here decided to mouth off, I see no reason to hide the truth from you.”

Hunter interrupted the elderly commander before he could explain what had already been explained to him. “Yeah, yeah, Ash’s heart is the heart of the god of fire, or whatever. That’s where her powers come from.”

Albert’s eyes grew big. “How did you know, young man?”

“Your leader dragged me along to meet her and explained everything to me already.”

“Red? Why would he do such a thing?”

As if he had been summoned by Albert’s question, Red appeared behind him, his deep, calming voice breaking the angst in the atmosphere. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

“Ah, Commander Red, I hadn’t noticed you.”

“I will make a briefing on the situation once Catherine and Fernando return. Your questions will be answered then.”

“Of course.”

“Enjoy your meal.”

Like a ghost appearing at night for a scare, Red left as abruptly as he had arrived.

“Mysterious as always,” laughed Nigel. “Well, it seems our friends are not mere rescuees. This should be interesting to follow.”

“This is no laughing matter, Nigel,” sternly said Albert.

“You don’t know that. I mean, it probably isn’t, but there’s no need to be so serious.”

“You are far too childish.”

Jim interfered with the two commanders’ quarreling by thinking aloud, as was in his habit. “If the god of fire’s heart resides inside the maiden of fire, does that mean…”

Taina quickly caught on to where Jim’s train of thought was heading. She raised her book from her thighs to the table. “The necklace of the gods… The elemental gods forged it using a piece of their respective hearts. If the necklace no longer holds the hearts of gods where they should be, then maybe they’re back inside people… inside the maidens.”

“Assuming my mom’s necklace is somehow the one from legend, which is a pretty big assumption,” pointed out Hunter.

“Now that we’ve gotten a first-hand experience with magic, we can’t deny the probability, don’t you agree?”

Hunter rubbed his hands across his face exasperatedly. “I don’t know anything, anymore. There’s too much happening at once.”

“Yeah, you guys should rest for a little while,” said Nigel. “You’re gonna give yourselves headaches if you try to piece together a puzzle you’re missing most pieces to.”

Hesitatingly, Taina opened her book to the back cover and turned it toward Nigel and Albert.

“What’s this?” asked Nigel.

“I’ve had this book for all my life,” began to answer Taina. “It’s a collection of stories and myths about the first civilisation said to have populated the world, led by the Asakiwara Royal Family. There’s a story in there that mirrors almost too closely what we know about the maidens so far. I used to think it was just stories to fall asleep to, but now I’m starting to wonder if maybe there’s some truth to the words written on these pages. When we ran away from our pursuers into the sea, my book was ruined by the water. Strangely, though, this sentence appeared on its own after that. None of us know what it means, but surely, it must mean something, right? Why else would it just… spawn there?”

The two division commanders looked on perplexedly at Taina’s book. Immediately, they could tell she was telling the truth. The passage on the back cover to which she was referring not only looked different from the rest of the writing within the pages, but it also felt different, as if a presence not from this world resided inside the ink.

Albert quickly gave up, leaning away from the book. “You should leave this mystery in Nigel’s hands. Of everyone in the Rainbow Alliance, there is no one more apt to decipher cryptic messages than him.”

Nigel proudly smiled at his older colleague. “Albert! I didn’t know you thought so highly of me!”

“Stop playing the fool,” sighed the older man. “You have without a doubt the sharpest mind here. There’s a reason you were named commander of the fourth division despite your inability to lead soldiers into combat.”

Nigel stood up and bowed. “I will carry these compliments to my grave.”

Albert stood up and began walking away, shaking his head at his young contemporary’s juvenile response. “I will see you later, Nigel. Make sure to help these youngsters.”

Nigel brought his hand to his forehead in a salute. “Yes, sir!” He turned to face his newfound friends. “Well, you heard the man. Looks like I’ll be solving this riddle of yours.”

Taina clasped her hands, her eyes regaining their usual radiant shine. “Really? You’ll help us?”

Nigel sat back down and pulled the book toward himself. “I never back down from a challenge. Unless I can’t do it. But I have full confidence in my abilities to decipher this message, if you’ll let me have the book while I take time to study it.”

Taina closed her eyes and nodded. Just this once, she was willing to grant an exception to her protective rule for Nigel. “That’s fine. Just be extremely careful with it, please. This book was given to me by my late grandmother. It means a lot to me.”

“Don’t you worry about a thing, miss, I’ll be gentle as a blooming flower.”

In the midst of his friend and Nigel’s conversation, Hunter got up, his tray in hand, ready to leave the cafeteria.

“Where are you going?” asked Taina.

“I need to sleep. I’m tired.”

Hunter’s voice carried a subtle hint of impatience, perhaps even anger. Taina felt the disquietude coming from his heart; she could see it in his eyes.

“Thank you for everything,” blurted out Taina. She turned to address herself to Jim. “I’ll see you later.”

While she finished excusing herself rather suddenly, Hunter was already halfway out of the cafeteria. Taina jogged after him, calling out his name in hopes of getting him to slow down. “What’s going on?” she worriedly asked him.

“We’re losing track of our goal. Saving Luck and Silvers should be our only priority. We shouldn’t get caught in this side quest until they’re safe.”

“I fully agree with you, but right now, there’s not much we can do. We need to wait for the commanders to make a decision, remember?”

“Yeah, well, they’d better hurry up.”

Taina lowered her head slightly and looked at the ground apprehensively. “I hope so, too.”

On a far more somber and decisive tone, Hunter spoke again. “Something’s not right here, Taina.”

“W-what are you talking about?”

“Can’t say yet, but I have a gut feeling, you know the ones you really can’t ignore? There’s something else going on here. Normally, I’d wanna find out why, but I don’t care right now. Just, please be careful.”

Too stunned by her friend’s ardent message, Taina let him walk away. All of the information she had just learned about the Rainbow Alliance, about the maidens, magic, the mystery of her book; what had they gotten themselves involved in?”