May's POV

"You..." I said at the exact time this boy did and pointed an accusing finger at him while he copied my movements unintentionally.

My eyes stared at his face, dumbstruck. His features looked awfully familiar and his eyes were staring with recognition into my own. Those blank, observing eyes. That oddly hairstyled black hair. But he was much taller than I had once anticipated. I had to bend my neck to look at him. But even though he was taller, I felt no doubt about who he was.

I could feel the group looking at us in confusion.

"No way...." The boy murmured and stared at me with wide eyes.

Recognition flickered in his eyes as he stared at me on complete shock.

"You're Max right?" I asked first as we moved closer to each other.

I could practically feel the confusion that hung in the air.

"And you're May right?" Max questioned as we inched even closer to each other.

His voice was also much deeper which surprised me a lot.

Soon we were so close that our pointing fingers could touch. I poked his glasses and Max poked my cheek. The rest of the group stared at us, completely lost with the whole situation. After a few silent moments, Max finally spoke up with a breath of relief.

"Oh my gosh May it's really you!" Max exclaimed in a cheerful voice which seemed to shock everyone.

"Max!" I cheered and wrapped my younger brother in a bear hug which he instantly returned. "I can't believe you're standing right here in front of me."

"Me too." He responded and tightened the hug until I was suffocating.

There was silence in the air. No one spoke for the longest of time as Max and I stayed glued together. I could barely breathe but I didn't really care because I finally got to see my brother again after so long. The silence hung in the air for another few long moments before someone gasped.

"Brother! Sister! OH!!" Amethyst yelled out in realisation and pointed between the two of us repeatedly as if not believing her own two eyes.

Everyone else just froze in shock.

"Woah. Brother...and sister?" They all spoke at once before pointing at us in the same way Amethyst was.

"They don't look that similar." Someone pointed out and even I agreed with them.

"Brendan should've known about this but clearly forgot." Max whispered in my ear and I nodded and glared at Brendan for not telling me at the ball that Max was with them.

Brendan looked back, clearly confused as to why I was shooting him a glare. He wiggled uncomfortably under my gaze before having to look away. Everyone else just stared at us with wide eyes. After a few more moments, I finally detached myself from Max and ruffled his hair causing him to grumble in annoyance and swat my hand away.

"Your hair still seems to be fluffy." I observed and smirked as I ruffled it again causing it to form into an odd fringe at the front of his face.

He grumbled again and murmured something under his breath which I didn't manage to catch but he raised a hand to fix his hair again back to the hairstyle it was in before. I chuckled slightly before I heard someone approaching us from the group.

"Sorry to break up the reunion but we came here for a task and we can't be caught up with this brother, sister situation." Iris spoke up and looked between the both of us. "But congratulations on finding each other again."

I nodded and stepped slightly away from my tall younger brother who did the same before joining my place beside Leaf and Dawn who stared at me oddly as I approached them. I sent Max a sloppy grin and he smiled back. The atmosphere felt suddenly comfortable.

"Wow, it's no wonder you guys were taking so long." Misty spoke up as she stood in front of the whole group with her hands on her hips.

A few of us jumped, startled at her sudden appearance.

"Misty!" Ash cried out of joy as he grinned at the girl who just gave a small wave to the group.

"How long have you been standing there for?" I questioned in confusion as everyone stared at her, clearly surprised.

"A few minutes." She stated.

Before anyone could speak again, Brendan interrupted our little conversation.

"Guys, I think you might want to take a look at this." He called out to the group and pointed to something on the floor.

An arrow was stuck to one of the building walls with a slip of paper attached to it. There was the clear writing of black ink marked in detail on the paper. A signature lily, painted in ink was engraved on the back of the paper.

"It's a warning." Iris announced as she lifted the arrow in her hand.

She read the piece of paper carefully.

"This is addressed to the Kings and Queen of the Kingdom of Stars. We declare war on your kingdom. If there is no such retaliation, we will take your kingdom by force as we will assume that you have surrendered. Do not take this lightly." Iris read out. "King of the Lily Flower."

"War?" Dawn exclaimed, worry lacing her tone.

"Just what exactly happened in the town before we arrived?" Iris questioned us as she glanced around cautiously.

"There was a group of about ten soldiers marching into town early this morning. We trailed behind them and ambushed them before they got the chance to reach the castle grounds. All the townspeople have evacuated and are moving to the river village past the forest." Leaf explained, saving the rest of us the talking.

"I see." Iris said and stood in deep thought with a finger on her chin. "Then it's decided. I'm going back to the castle to bring this back to the Kings and Queen. The rest of you need to split up and scout the town for anything."

"Wait hold on a second. Who said us girls were going with the rest of you?" Misty spoke up and inched away from the rest of the group, pulling us with her.

"We need all the help we can get. It will be greatly appreciated if you could help us out. We aren't forcing you to do anything though so choose what you want." Iris explained before rushing off to the castle.

Misty looked at the whole group as if contemplating whether or not she should help out.

"Misty, please? Do it for me?" Ash pleaded and Misty snorted.

"Why would I do anything for you?" Misty grumbled but looked a bit more hesitant with her decision.

"That's cold. Poor Ashy." Gary said and patted Ash's head in fake sympathy.

"Hands off Gary." Ash swatted his hand away.

"Misty, if you don't want to help out, that's fine with us. But we are going to help because we want to save this kingdom." Dawn said and put a hand on Misty's shoulder.

Misty looked reluctant but sighed. She finally gave in and stepped back towards us.

"So, teams?" Misty asked.

"I'm going with May." Max immediately spoke up and walked towards me.

"Max!" Amethyst pouted at her best friend who rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I'll go with Misty." Ash announced and walked up to Misty who shrugged in response.

Kenny and Paul instantly went over to Dawn who widened her eyes in surprise.

"Paul, get away from Dawn!" Kenny hissed at the purple headed boy who ignored him and stood beside Dawn.

Dawn looked lost as Kenny continued to spout colourful words to Paul in a fit of annoyance. Gary walked over to Leaf who didn't object while Brendan and Drew headed over to me. I refrained myself from turning away my other team members but bit my lip to stop myself. Amethyst stood in the centre of all the groups without a partner.

I looked over to Drew and gestured to Amethyst but he immediately shook his head. Amethyst clearly noticed and stuck her tongue out at him and turned to me. I sighed as I glanced at my team members. I guess I'll just have to put up with the two idiots.

"Max, I think you should go with Amethyst. We can't have her going alone you know." I told my brother who looked at me as if he was hurt.

Amethyst looked over to Max and visibly got extremely excited.

"But why can't Drew or Brendan go with her?" He asked as he clearly wanted to stay with me and I sighed.

"Drew refused to go with me." Amethyst pouted and glared at Drew before gesturing to Brendan. "He just gets on my nerves."

"Hey!" Brendan cried out in protest but Amethyst ignored him.

"Besides Max, you're my best friend." Amethyst said and grinned at him.

Max just sighed and shook his head at her. He looked at me and nodded as he realised that he didn't have a choice.

"Fine." He said and walked over to Amethyst.

"Ha! I got my best friend back." She exclaimed and swung an arm over his shoulder and he choked in surprise.

"Let's head off then!" Leaf announced and strode of with Gary at her heels.

I shrugged and walked off to the opposite direction of which Leaf was going. Misty walked the other way while Dawn and her group took another path. Amethyst and Max took to the rooftops to scout the area.

There was an awkward tension thick in the air as we walked together in complete silence. We were heading off in the direction of the West side which we eventually reached after a few long minutes. As we got there, we scouted around for a bit for any signs of enemy attack or ambush. As we walked together, the tension in the air continuously grew thicker and thicker with each moment spent with each other. I felt my eyebrows twitch in annoyance as I felt myself feel a tad bit odd around the two who walked beside me. I started to regret not having Max with me.

After a while we sat down for a break each of us slightly exhausted from walking around so much. Drew and Brendan sat down on one of the brick walls surrounding the village while I stood thinking deeply. As I stood in my place I felt the gaze of the two on me which caused me to shift in discomfort. My eyebrows began twitching as I lost my train of thought and the tension in the air grew thicker than before. They didn't stop staring. Irritation bubbled within me like lava in a volcano.

"You know what? I need some air." I huffed feeling some relief as they finally shifted their gazes as I walked away from Brendan and Drew.

As I moved a bit further away from them, I twitched my eyebrow again as I heard the two bickering from behind me. I decided to ignore it. Relief washed over me as I walked further away from them. I paused for a moment to stretch before taking a step back but snapped my head up when I heard something pierce the rocks beneath my feet. It sounded like a piece of metal dripping on the rocks. It immediately caught my eye. I frowned at it and immediately felt my heart pound faster than before as I realised what it was. An arrow had been shot directly beneath my feet with almost precise aim. If I hadn't moved back, I would've been shot.

Sweat trickled down my face as I figured out that I was now a target. I heard the slight creak as someone drew back their bow and the glint of an arrowhead caught my vision as it sped towards me. Another arrow struck the ground beside my right foot and I took that moment to run without hesitation. I felt panic boil within me as I sprinted back towards Brendan and Drew.

"Brendan, Drew!" I called out to the two who had now stopped arguing as they watched me approach at full speed.

Multiple arrows struck the ground behind me, each of them just a few inches from my feet as I bolted full speed towards Brendan and Drew.

"What's happening?" Drew asked in concern as he noticed my panic when I got closer to them.

"Just run!" I exclaimed and dragged him and Brendan by the arm as I ran between them not giving them a chance to protest.

I heard the arrows behind me and I knew that we were still in their line of fire. We were like prey out in the open for the predator to pounce on.

"Brendan!" Drew called to him as I released their arms from my tight grip.

"Got it." He responded and pulled out his staff.

Another arrow fired straight towards Brendan and probably would've struck his forehead if he hadn't evaded it. We paused behind him as he swung his staff around expertly to strike each arrow in defence.

"Woah." I gaped at my childhood friend who was whacking arrows away and spinning his staff.

"I hate to admit it, but he looks pretty cool." Drew said as he stared at Brendan in admiration.

I watched as Drew took out his bow and aimed towards the trees where our attackers were shooting. He released his arrow and there was a loud thud as a man dropped from the treetops with Drew's arrow stuck in his chest.

"Nice shot." I complimented but got interrupted by a battle cry from my right side. "Crap, their coming from the other direction as well."

"Max!" Drew called out to my brother who now watched us from the buildings with Amethyst by his side.

As if knowing exactly what Drew wanted, Max drew his bow and shot an arrow at the attacker to my right. I let out a breath of relief before pulling out my broadsword from its sheathe and preparing myself to fight. Gary approached with Leaf by his side, both holding their own twin swords.

"Everybody, group up!" Amethyst called from the rooftops so that her voice echoed across the town, alerting the other groups.

As we all grouped back together, each one of us severely out of breath, we glanced to Amethyst who looked at us in horror.

"The battle is now everyone! We better be ready."

—-

OH MY GOSH! WHO'S BEEN READING MY BOOK BECAUSE HOLY MOLY I'M AT 4K ALREADY? I'm legit freaking out right now!!!!! Ahhhh everyone who's read my book, thank you so much! I always say this like all the time but I really do appreciate it. 4K is a massive achievement for me.

Thanks again and again and again. I'll literally be eternally grateful. It feels so nice to know that so many people have chosen to read my book. I mean come on, it's my book. I never thought anyone would. One day I decided to write a fan fiction on my favourite ships and then I published it. Now a few months later, we have like 18 chapters and 4K reads!! I never knew that would happen. I'm so freaking happy.

Thanks so much for reading my book!

But I do have to update more frequently otherwise I'll never complete this book.

Anyways, again thanks for reading. Tell me if you liked this chapter or not because I think May and Max's reaction wasn't that good as I thought it might've been.

Sorry it took me so long to update! I'll update again soon. (If I actually keep my promise for once lmao)

Bye!!!!

- April