An Old Friend

A week later...

(At the Water kingdom)

"Bring the witness in," the queen ordered.

"Yes, your majesty," the servant obeyed.

When the soldier brought the woman in, the queen smiled. "Long time no see, Ruby."

Ruby, Mia's love rival, has finally showed up after many years. But she wasn't there to see Mia, she was there to see Sebastian. She has loved Sebastian ever since they were young, but Sebastian has never actually eyed her for she had an unbearable temper.

"Mia, it's been so long. I never expected that you'd be queen," Ruby responded.

"Let's get to the real case. Where's my family?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Didn't you just told my servant the other day that you witnessed them being incinerated? Stop wasting my time."

"What if I did? You expect me to tell you what happened after what you did to me?"

"He didn't love you. He loved me."

"No he didn't! Sebastian was just forced to love you! He loves me!" Ruby shouted.

"Stop it!" a voice yelled.

"Sebastian! Help me! Mia is being mean to me!" Ruby lied.

"Stop your jokes, Ruby. No matter how much you try, I will never love you. Mia is the only person who I love and who I will ever love in this lifetime," Sebastian stated.

Tears then started falling from Ruby's eyes as she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I mean it. If you tell us what you witnessed in the cave, we'll compensate you for that," Sebastian responded.

The queen added, "Ruby, I don't want to bring up the past. It's been so many years. Please forget Sebastian."

"Fine, but I would want to get something in return," Ruby responded.

Mia asked, "What would that be?"

Ruby smirked. "I want to hug Sebastian for a few seconds. After that, I'll let him go."

"You expect me to agree?" Sebastian asked.

Mia touched his shoulder. "Sebastian, it's okay. She said she'll forget you after that. At least we wouldn't have to worry about her being obsessed with you."

"Fine, but you should tell us what you witnessed first," the prince agreed.

Ruby then told them that a few months ago, she was on her way to Yali cave. Until she heard Eleanor's voice. When she went closer, she saw that Eleanor's heart was bleeding. She didn't know how her heart bled, but she what she knows is that it wasn't only them in the cave. There was another man's voice, but she didn't get to see his face. Until a few seconds later, she heard the sound of an explosion. Of course she had to evacuate, so she didn't get to see if they were still alive. She didn't actually witnessed them being incinerated. She just assumed that they were.

"Is that it?" the prince asked.

"Yes, your highness," Ruby replied.

Mia smiled. "Sebastian, I think it's time for you to give her a hug. She has done what she should do."

When Sebastian went closer to Ruby, she hugged him for a few seconds.

"Thank you for your time, Ruby," the queen said.

"Thank you too, Mia, I've learned that I should move on. You're right. We shouldn't bring up the past. I hope you'll be able to find your family soon. I'm sure they're still alive," Ruby responded.

A few minutes after Ruby left...

(At the queen's room)

"You were jealous weren't you?" the prince asked.

"No, It's just a hug." the queen replied.

"Oh really? Then why aren't you looking me in the eye?"

Mia started walking around I'm circles. "I'm just thinking about something,"

Sebastian kissed her cheek. "I love you."

Mia flushed and responded, "I know. You don't have to kiss me to prove it."

Sebastian then kissed her again.

"Why did you kiss me?"

"To make it up to you."

"Anyway, enough of the sweet talk. We should talk about what Ruby said a while ago. I'm really worried. What if Eleanor is already dead?"

"I'm sure she isn't. But there's no guarantee that she's alive,"

"We need to investigate more about this. I really feel skeptical about Ruby's statement."

"Don't worry, everything will be soon figured out."

(At an unknown village)

"Welcome back, Jay," a voice said.

"What can I do for you sir?" Jay asked.

The voice responded, "Have you finished the task?"

"Yes sir, but I wasn't able to find the red gem."

"It's fine. We still have a lot of time. Where's the mirror?"

"It's in my pocket sir."

"Destroy it."

"May I ask why, sir?"

"They can track us down. You see that red dot on the top of the mirror? They can hear us now."

Jay then quickly stepped on the mirror until it cracked.

The voice said, "Give it to me. I'll burn it."

"Sir, what now? They've heard us," Jay responded.

"It's good that they did. At least they know our intentions."