Chapter 48: Mission aborted, caught red handed
Aqua waited to see if he would come and visit her while she was grounded by her father, going through strict trainings from level zero. Little did she know that Huo was insulted and kicked out by her father to never come back again. Aqua was lying low to not alert the Emperor and welcome troubles again.
Aqua's hectic schedules got her tired and often asked the maids to not disturb her while she was sleeping. It also meant incase if he comes it visit her in secret she didn't want the maids around her. But it was just a wishful thinking and was always woken up in the middle to keep training under the strict orders of Kimg Aenon.
When months passed and she got no sign of Huo coming for, she in turn wanted to go in search for him, to know what he was upto and scold him for not coming for her at any cost.
She one day decided to hop out of the palace in disguise and apparated loosing half her energy just to a glimpse of him before she even got her power back. When days were and Huo'er persisted on not visiting her again, Aqua got suspicious. She wondered if her father would have done something about him, getting between them. Such thoughts clouded her mind.
She wanted to see everything happening between them herself. Aqua disguised herself into a demon maid in the palace. She put on the black and maroon clothes and changed her hairstyle that matched the royal maids. The clothes felt comfortable. 'Wow this feels light as a feather and not hot, ' she talked inside her head.
She walked into the maids room to see and observe how they behaved. She didn't want to get at all and get punished by anyone. Aqua walked into the castle's kitchen and wandered around to see what kind of food they prepare for the king. The menu was what they used to have at school and heaven, and some that are demon foods she is not used to. She wondered if he really changed. She then asked a maid to leave the kitchen to help her with carrying some firewoods and cooked the chicken soup herself. She garnished the dish and took the food prepared herself to serve hot in his room accompanied by the couple of other maids. Aqua was reminded of the last time she visited the castle. His coronation period where she took the privilege to do everything as she wished. She remembered how she had the dinner meal with Huo'er, after making out. She blushed and felt her cheeks burning red. She fanned her hands and controlled her smiles. She longed for him. She really wished she could spend some quality time with him, catch up with every thing that happened in the past 23 years.
They reached his bed chamber and knocked on his door. Aqua exchanged her tray of chicken soup with flower cakes to not be found out when he drinks the soup.
She heard murmurs coming from the room. And her heart skipped a beat. The maids got the permission and opened the door to walk in. As Aqua took a step inside the room, she saw how Huo'er was being helped by Volca to get dressed up. Aqua hands trembled as she saw the scene. Hatred filled her heart. Her throat went dry and eyes filled with tears. It was not what she was expecting to see at all. Huo being close with Volca was not what she was wanted to see even after knowing how Volca cheated them, how she was the reason for everything that happened. The tray slipped from Aqua's hands and shattered into pieces.
"Can you not be careful," Volca shouted at her. Huo was not looking at her direction. Aqua keeping her face down throughout, picked up the tray, the wasted cakes and walked out. She threw the plates outside the door and rushed out of the castle. She swore to never see him nir step inside the demon castle again. Aqua wished she listened to her father and ran away as quickly as she could. She wanted to trian and get better, she wanted to become the Queen and face him standing on his same level. She wiped her tears and appparated back to her place.
Huo settled down to eat his lunch and sipped his soup. He understood instantly and got up.
It then occurred how the return of the water princess is intended to keep as a secret and sat down again drinking the soup altogether and asked to serve the soup again. He felt warm inside all of a sudden that triggered his feeling back again. He gave a look at Volca who was standing next to his study and regretted instantly. 'Why do I keep making mistakes in front of the Water Country?' he questions himself and continued with lunch
"Don't come into my personal space again," he ordered Volca in the end. She looked baffled having no idea why. From that day on, for the next couple of weeks, She didn't show up at all. He knew that was the end for them, though he had kept his intentions secret. He decided to not care about his feelings of past friendship anymore and complete his mission making use of Volca. The days passed just like that. And Huo and Aqua ended up living different lives. Master Bo Hai often visited two of his disciples separately in secret, to teach them a new method of cultivation with their present body status the depended on each other. With great difficulties and pain, the training sessions went on.
Aqua concentrated only on getting back to her usual strength than remain weak and sickle. She took her position once again stayed inside the palace working and spending the rest of the time in library. She hardly slept, since recurring nightmares effected her. She disclosed it to nobody. She improved her powers, meditated more and enhanced her powers. She did not tell her father about the restricted methods she has been using to cultivate when shifu left her. Nobody knew what was going on in her blood either.