13. Where the Heck is Fate?

"I don't know how!"

Despair clung to the young face. Despair and disbelief while the golden eyes were fixed on the 10 fingers she held in front of her frightening pale face.

The shock reached deep, engulfing her to the bone, that alone was more than clear to Rehan. The leading female role had suddenly lost her dragon shape and now had to look down on a human body. A bigger stroke of fate wasn't even possible to shook her anymore after this one. At least from the perspective of a child.

Even Rehan himself had assumed that from now on fate would finally take its normal course, but it seemed far from it. He didn't know what he'd done wrong, whether it was because it was his first B rank world or because he fell asleep snuggled up against the main character, but things got out of hand far too quickly.

Brie clearly didn't seem to know how to switch back to her dragon form, nor how to use her power as a dragon in a human body. Even the bright golden eyes, which always shone in dazzling golden waves now looked duller, almost a little browner. As if a shimmer of bronze dust had covered them. It made her appear more human, which didn't mean it took away her beauty. Brie still exuded grace. Be it the long black hair that covered her back like a waterfall or the alabaster-like skin, which could be mistaken for the porcelain of an expensive doll. Everything about her screamed "Protagonist!" "Fate!" and "I would give my life for you!". Rehan could feel the influence of her being too, as his heart rate quickened and his cheeks burned bright red. If he remembered correctly, Blitz had fallen in love with Brie over time. Fate was probably already steering him in that direction. Still, he had to calm down now so that in turn he could calm his sister down. He was an exemplary brother, a brother to whom his sister – even if she wasn't human – meant everything.

Determination flashed in his bright eyes and he grabbed the outstretched fingers of the black-haired girl. Her gaze fixed on him. Tears threatened to form at the rims of her reddened eyes and the narrow eyebrows were raised. Brie seemed to keep herself from sniffling when she saw her little brother's soft expression, but a low sob left her pale lips despite her best efforts.

"No problem!" Rehan said in his high voice, completely convinced of his own words. Even if none of the whole "I can't use my dragon-self" was in the information given to him, he was sure that everything would work out. He just had to do his job and stay by Brie's side until she could take care of herself. Until she got together with Romeo and until Blitz sacrificed himself for both of them.

Till they would reach that point in time there were still a few years that had to pass by and of course he had to go through them first and without much information. That was the difficulty of a B world. The main points of the missions were clear, but how exactly one could fulfil them was only roughly described. To strain your own head in order to be prepared for the higher graded worlds, that was the intention behind it.

"R-Really?"

A single tear parted from Bries big eyes and flowed quickly down her cheek in a narrow line to her chin. Rehan nodded immediately and wiped away the drop on her chin with his index finger before it could fall on the bedding.

"Naturally. We'll stay together and find out how to do it. I also know someone who can help us. He is one of the people who saved us."

Blitz' eyes literally lit up as his fingers interlocked with his sister's. It was important that Blitz had a place in Brie's heart so that she wouldn't just leave him behind later. That was very much a possibility if she wanted to become stronger than Blitz. That in turn was a given, after all, together with Romeo, she later had to prevent the Yinnians from turning the capital of Yang to rubble and ashes. To do this, she needed strength, brains and skills that exceeded anything previously known. Rehan smiled blissfully at the thought of Brie's glorious future while he coaxed the young version of the female protagonist well.

He told her about the circumstances they were in and did not keep from her that the mercenaries did not treat the Yinnians well. Rehan made it clear to Brie that it was necessary to live among them as humans to become stronger and to find out who exactly the people were that took their mother from them as well as how she could turn back to her dragon form.

All Brie could do was agree and cry. Whenever she thought of her mother, the sadness and pain almost suffocated her. Brie coughed several times, gasped harshly and Rehan sat with her on the bed for a long time to calm her down. It was only after 4 to 5 hours – and a short sleep of exhaustion – that her thoughts were sorted and she too radiated determination.

When they stepped out of the tent together, not a single strand of hair from the main male character could be seen. It was literally like the time before, when Blitz collapsed on the grass, and everyone watched him closely. Just he wasn't the only one being eyed now. It only ended when they stood in Zosan's tent and were thus shielded from prying eyes.

Here, Brie confirmed Blitz' testimony and became a member of the Beavers. It happened very naturally, as if this was the desired course of action and Rehan could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He was glad that some things were still going according to plan. Only Romeo's absence worried him.

Those worries did not last long and turned into complete astonishment when they literally ran into the white-haired young boy after they had left the leader's tent.

Romeo's pupils directly narrowed as he saw Brie. In that same moment Rehan noticed how his shoulders tensed. Basically, he stood there like a stone, a stone that could break any moment. Rehan couldn't see Brie's gaze because she half stood in front of him, but her body was just as tense. A deep growl crawled up her throat, causing ripples on the surface of Romeo's blue eyes.

'Maybe I am interpreting too much?' Rehan tried to reason with himself. He wanted to take a step forward to see Brie's expression too, but she lifted her arm slightly to stop him. Was that the instinct to keep people from interacting with her only true partner? Did she see Blitz as unworthy of coming near her future husband? If that was the case, would she later even give Romeo the golden core from her brother?

Suddenly, dread built up in Rehan and he swallowed hard. His little hands dug into the fabric of the pants Brie was wearing and he opened his mouth to say something.

"I am sorry."

Rehans voice stayed stuck in his throat. This wasn't his own voice. His gaze wandered to the person standing directly opposite them. Romeo had bent his upper body forward at a 90-degree angle. His white hair hung loosely and was softly swayed by his sudden movement and the fresh gust, like a silky curtain that blocked the view of his facial features.

'What?'

"You should be."

Brie's voice sounded very different compared to her conversation with Zosan. It was as fierce as a sharpened blade and cut through the thick air, making way for what Rehan did not understand. Did he really miss something? Did Brie wake up in between and ran into Romeo? It wouldn't be surprising, since most of the time he would burst into the tent unannounced.

"Brie.", Blitz muttered and tugged at her pants. His older sister looked down at him, love and care clear in her gaze. Rehan was relieved because that was not the look she would have had if she did not see him as her beloved little brother.

The little boy began to speak cautiously.

"This is Romeo. He's a good big brother and the one I've told you about before, do you remember? Romeo will teach us a lot, he promised me. We absolutely have to get along well."

He had to make sure that these two spent a lot of time together. At the moment, Brie and Romeo still needed Blitz as a link. In the not too distant future however, they should want to do everything together on their own and Rehan would be able to calmly prepare for adulthood in this small body. Especially during the 6 years in which both main characters would be completely on their own. Rehan was most looking forward to this event. He just hadn't calculated in advance that the fated couple wouldn't get along at all.

Again, and again, Blitz had to play the mediator, communicating between the two so that it became a habit over the years. One of the two main characters was always by his side, which inevitably led him to fear the day Romeo was assigned the rescue mission. Not because he was worried about this exceptional heir to the throne, but because it was now impossible for Brie to volunteer for the mission.

They behaved like rivals who always wanted to reach new heights, like an old couple fighting over the smallest speck of dust, and like two parents who always claimed to know what was best for their child. Whereby Blitz was the child in the relationship.

"I'll accompany you."

That was his last available decision in the end. Only in this way would Brie also agree to take on the rescue. Rehan placed his next hope on the scenario between life and death, that would move those stubborn goats to finally get closer… Hopefully.

That was the only reason why he now had to crouch down in a bush, just far enough away from the crucial happenings, that he did not have to face danger. Just enough so that he wasn't standing on the dangerously thin, bloody forest ground on which the fight took place.