Chapter 6: A Magical Night
When Emery's grandparents finally arrived, they were ecstatic to see her again, pulling her into a hug. "Emery! We heard about everything, why don't you and your sister come and sit with us and tell us about your spirit." Her grandmother said, leading the pair to their rooms. They sat down and got comfortable, Emery pulling Valiant into her lap. Their Grandmother, Lady Fiona, took a seat on the couch in front of them, a pleased look on her face, "I'm glad to see my grandbabies getting along. I was so afraid that if you found out about Valiant, you'd be upset." she explained and Emery tilted her head in confusion, "But, why? I love having a younger sister I can hang out with and watch over. If it's about the inheritance thing, I don't need it, but I also don't want Dad to get it either." Emery replied. The Grandfather, Lord Solomon, took a seat beside his wife, "Before we get to that, tell us about your spirit. All your father would tell us is that he's powerful." Emery gave them a small smile, "We've only known each other a few days now, so I don't know all that much about him." She began, "His name is Dante Morningstar, the fourth prince of the Shadow Kingdom, he has a mother and father, and a younger sister, and three older brothers. I know he's fiercely protective of me, and seriously regrets leaving me alone all these years, but there was a war in the spirit realm. He's only recently been able to come to the human realm to find me. he risked my wrath to make it up to me and explain things. I also know that when he finally manages to get me, the old man I have to call Dad is going to be in serious trouble. Which brings me to my question, I want you to name Valiant as your heir, Grandfather." He looked at her in shock, "Are you sure?" Emery nodded, before explaining the past 5 years to the pair.
Once she finished, her grandparents were stunned, and in awe, "Alright, I'll agree. I'll also send Ashfire to the spirit realm to deliver a message. Your father is holding a Masquerade ball tomorrow night, so the protections around the castle will be down. It will be the perfect time for him to stage the rescue attempt while blending in with those present." He informed her and Emery nodded, a look of determination on her face. "Meanwhile, I'll get a bag for Valiant and I ready. I'm taking her with me to the spirit world. I don't trust her around that man. Just this morning, he dubbed her useless." she added and her grandmother nodded, "Neither do I, he used to be such a sweet boy, oh where did we go wrong?" She bemoaned as Solomon wrapped an arm around her, "It's alright dear, it's not your fault." he commented. Fiona's spirit, a frost cat by the name of Blizzard came sliding out, "Emery, what is that cuff there on your arm?" he asked, draping his tail over his paws. Emery realized he was talking about the metal magic blocker her father had placed on her and told him as such. Ashfire, a fire cat came out as well, sitting beside her partner, "Those are illegal! The bond between a human and their spirit is a sacred thing and when you block a person's magic, you block their connection to their other half as well!" She hissed, angry. Blizzard leaned against her in an effort to calm her some. Solomon frowned, "The, Ashfire, you go quickly and find Prince Dante and inform him about the masquerade. We'll handle things here." He ordered and she nodded, before disappearing in a flare of fire. "It's getting late, so you girls need to go to bed. I'll handle your outfits for tomorrow night. Emery, you can get yours and Valiant's bags together tomorrow, just be careful, try not to get caught by your father." Fiona warned and Emery nodded. She stood, carefully picking Valient up into her arms, before bidding her grandparent's goodnight and making her way back to her rooms.
Meanwhile, Ashfire had just found Dante. The demon prince had been in a fitful sleep when a servant came into the room in a rush. "Prince Dante! You must wake up! Someone has arrived with information about Princess Emery!" They said in a rush. Dante was up and down the hallway in a flash, stalking his way towards where the spirit was waiting. When he arrived, he was met with the sight of a Firecat silently enduring the cooing of his sister. "I am Prince Dante, I was told you have information on Emery?" he demanded and the Firecat nodded, "My name is Ashfire, I am bound to Emery's grandfather, Lord Solomon. He told me to inform you of the masquerade ball tomorrow night, the protections will be lowered for visitors to enter and exit. It's the best time to sneak in and rescue Emery and Valiant. You must be warned, Her father has placed a magic restraint on Emery. He must be dealt with. To bind someone's magic is sacrilegious!" She hissed, her fur puffing up. Dante scowled and Osirin gave a horror-filled gasp. "In that case, we must inform the high council. You focus on saving Emery, I'll deal with telling the council of her father and the magic restriction cuff." Queen Willow said, sweeping into the room in her nightgown and robe, "For now, though, there isn't much we can do in the middle of the night. We must rest. Honorable Firecat, may I offer a place to sleep for the night before you return to the human world?" She asked and Ashfire nodded, "Thank you, your highness, Emery informed us of all that you have done for her and we thank you for taking care of her." She replied and the Queen merely tilted her head in acknowledgment, before leading the way. Dante made his way back to his rooms with a yawn, 'Geez, tomorrows sure to be exciting.' he thought to himself as he slid back into bed.
When Emery rose the next morning, she immediately set out to gather their things to leave. Gathering her things was simple since she was in the room, however, it was getting to her sister's room that was proving to be harder than originally thought. She had to avoid her father, which was simple since he never left his office, and the help, which was far more difficult because she knew for a fact if they caught her acting sketchy they would snitch to her father and he would and investigate. She dove into her sister's bedroom and quickly locked the door. Tossing the bag onto the bed, Emery made her way to her sister's closet. Valiant had told her that there wasn't much she wanted to bring, but she had a small box of treasures that she had brought here when they had switched from the manor in Kyoto to the castle in Scotland. Emery knelt and slid her fingers along the floorboards, before coming upon a loose one. "Aha!" She whispered excitedly, before shimmying it up, revealing a little alcove beneath the floor, with a small shoebox sitting there innocently. She gently removed it from the hole and set it off to the side before replacing the floorboard. Rising back to her feet, she took the shoebox over to the bag and slid it in, before zipping it up and sliding it back onto her back. "Now, to somehow get back to my room. This is going to be fun." She muttered sarcastically to herself, unlocking and slipping out of the door.
Dante woke up anxious, a fluttering feeling settling in his stomach as he went about the final preparations for that night. He would go in disguised as a noble with one of the Queen's knights posing as a bodyguard, the others would sneak in separately and secure the exit while he located and secured Emery and her sister. the challenge would be sneaking them out of the castle right out from under their father's nose. Once they were secured and safely out of the way, Kuro would sweep in with the rest of the forces and arrest him for tampering with a spirit-human bond, which is illegal in both worlds, not just the spirit realm. he had been filled with a dark glee when he found that out. The human had taken Emery from him, right from under his nose, demons were possessive and protective things, and having Emery snatched damaged his pride more than he was willing to admit. There was something about the blue-haired female that sparked an interest in him when no other female had. It had taken everything in him not to storm the castle and rip the human limb from limb. Kuro and Queen Willow had both told him that it was a bad idea and that it was illegal in the human world. He had pouted for a full 2 hours after that.
Kuro came up beside him, "Are you ready?" the angel asked him and Dante shrugged, "I feel like I'm going to be sick." Dante admitted quietly, watching the others gather their things, preparing to move out. Kuro chuckled, "I figured, don't worry, we'll get her back, safe and sound and then you can do your weird demon-nesting thing for a week until you've calmed down." Dante flushed, "Dude, lay off. And only females do that." he shot off. Kuro chuckled, "Dante. do you remember the week after the attack on your mother? Or the time someone tried to kidnap your sister? For about a week after both events, you did that weird nesting thing and wouldn't let them leave your sights. You'd even get really irritated if you couldn't find them." Kuro pointed out and Dante sighed, "Ok fine, I do the weird nesting thing, but only after dire circumstances, so lay off, yeah? I don't pick on you for the weird preening thing you do." He replied. Kuro shrugged, "Whatever."
As the time of the ball drew near, Emery found herself full of extra energy. A nervous ball of anxiousness. Her grandmother watched her, an amused look in her eyes as she finished Valiant's hair, which was a simple braid and bun. Valiant was dressed in a soft, sparkly blue knee-length dress with a matching mask. Normally children wouldn't be allowed into an event like this, however, an exception was made for tonight. The masquerade was supposed to be a celebratory ball, welcoming Emery back as heir. Emery scowled, she didn't like the thought of that. Emery was dressed in a pretty lacy red dress that fell to the floor but still allowed for excessive movement should she need to run or fight. She had a gun holstered up under her dress, hidden away, just in case. Emery's hair was done similarly to Valiant's, with a simple bun and braid. she took a deep breath and held it for a moment, before letting it out, "Alright. Valiant, remember to keep the bag on you and to stay out of Dad's sight at all times. If he sees you, he'll know somethings up and tighten the security." She stated and Valiant nodded, "I remember. And when Dante and the others show up, I need to find you quickly so that you can grab me and escape." Emery nodded and grabbed her mask, a thin black mask, and slid it on, "Alright, let's go." As they descended the stairs, She and Valiant separated, and she quickly entered the crowd, getting lost amongst the party-goers.
An hour later, she was finishing up a dance with an older gentleman and was currently making her way to the refreshment table for a drink. As she got her drink, she felt someone come up behind her, the tingle in her bond tattoo let her know who it was. She took a sip of her punch, "You're late." there was a chuckle, "Sorry, princess, we needed to have disguises that wouldn't tell who we were immediately. Your adoptive mother had to cast an illusion spell on my horns." Dante replied, reaching for a cup of punch as well. "Valiant is around here somewhere, I told her to stay out of Dad's line of sight. When do we pull out?" she asked quietly. Dante downed his punch in one gulp, "Dance with me, quickly." he replied instead, taking her elbow and gently leading her to the dancefloor. She let him and as she turned to face him for the first time that night, she was not expecting him to clean up so well. he wore a red silk dress shirt under a black suit and tie, his hair was combed back and he wore a mask similar to hers, and his horns were nowhere to be found. He looked utterly... human. And somehow that observation made her sad and caused a strange tightness in her chest. "There's going to be an explosion after this song, big enough to cause a distraction, small enough not to cause any lethal damage." He told her quietly while spinning her. "Alright. Just be careful, Dad tends to keep a pistol on him during events like these." She warned him. Dante hummed an affirmation, "And apparently so do you. I caught a glimpse of it while you were dancing with that duck man." She let out a short laugh, "Nosy." He smirked, "Of course, your my human, it's my job. Be prepared to deal with my overprotective self for at least a week after this." he warned and she raised an eyebrow, "Demon thing?" She asked quietly and he gave a subtle nod, "Yep. We need to get you and Valiant cleared out quickly because Kuro's going to come in and arrest your dad for tampering with a human-spirit bond. they are sacred in the spirit realm, and things and people that disrupt that bond is considered sacrilegious so to speak, anyway, it's illegal everywhere. So, at least a life sentence, at most, the death penalty depending on what the council decides." he warned her and she nodded, "Understood, we need to check with Valiant since our mom passed in childbirth, Dad's had no one here to be his conscious, which means he may have harmed her as well." Emery added. They took a step back from each other as the song came to an end. Emery curtsied and Dante bowed and then a loud boom shook the castle. They exchanged looks of mischief as the partygoers scrambled like ants. They took off, Dante leading the way and Emery following. Valiant appeared out of nowhere, the bag on her back and Emery leant over and grabbed her up, not slowing down a bit. however, just as they were about to duck out of the large ballroom and into one of the hallways, a loud bang filled the air, and Emery watched as Dante fell as the typical silver blood for spirits bloomed from him.
Someone had just shot Dante, and she knew who.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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stone