The Zodiac: Chapter 2

“Gem come on!”

Gemini’s eyes blinked, surprised at the calling of his name. As he took in his surroundings, he could remember this place. The single tree that had the purple flowers, the pretty smelling yellow and green flowers that would grow out of the bush, the tiny pond surrounded by tiny rocks with the fish that swam every day. The sun was high in the air but the tree did a good job of filtering the light and the heat onto them.

He remembered this place. He was in the garden of the castle, a small-enclosed area that was meant for the twelve of them. It was a decade ago, when he was only ten. Gemini was taking his usual place, on a bench under that tree. A few of the petals were already starting to fall and a few of them tickled his nose. Reaching up to brush them aside he sat up and felt his pendent bounce against his chest.

“Jeez Gem. How long does it take for you to wake up?” Gemini turned his head and a wide grin broke out on his young face. His monochrome eyes were bright as he looked at his best friend. He was his height, with smaller dark blue eyes. His skin was a lighter brown tone than Gemini’s. His hair was black and was an unkempt mess just like Gemini’s. He was the same age as the twin but features much sharper. “Come on, everyone else is waiting for you so we can eat.”

“No way I’m the last one Cancer.” He frowned hard. 

“Yep. Even Pisces is already there and you know he likes his naps.” Cancer laughed.

“You’re lying.”

Cancer smirked, “Nope. Better hurry.”

“Crap!”

“Aqua said she was making pie for dessert.”

“No way! Really?”

“Yes way. Race you there!” Cancer was already running as Gemini shouted after him.

“No fair!” Gemini laughed as he chased his best friend through the garden. They hit the steps as they started to climb them three at a time. Gemini jumped, throwing himself through the air and then he summoned his constellation. Suddenly two Gemini’s were chasing Cancer up the steps. Umbra, the black Gemini, hugged the crab and slowed him down while the Luce, the white Gemini, passed him up.

“Now that’s not fair!” Cancer shouted.

“Don’t be a sore loser Cancer!”

Gemini grunted before he shouted in pain as he sat up right. He groaned loudly as Leo pulled the strip of cloth tight over his chest. Gemini shouted again, his back arching as Leo worked on tying the next strip of cloth around his chest. He had no idea where he was this time. He could see the trees around him, a small fire on the ground and the scent of wet leaves.

“Stop screaming,” Leo said as she tightened the last strip. “Or I’ll knock you out again.”

“Ow,” Gemini touched the tight strips of cloth around his chest. They were keeping his ribs in the proper place. Just in case they really were cracked they would heal in the right way. “Thanks Leo.”

“You’re a fucking idiot,” she said and punched him in the jaw. He fell back rubbing his jaw and stared at her. “Why the hell were you this close to the castle?”

“I wanted to see if a rumor I heard was true.” Gemini was stubborn.

“And what rumor is that?” Leo growled.

“That Aqua was in the castle.”

Leo was silent for a moment and then walked away, toward the fire in the center of their makeshift camp. She sat down on the edge and leaned her chin against her hand.

“Aquarius. We haven’t seen her since we parted ways down south.” She growled.

Gemini nodded. He made his way over to the fire and groaned as he sat down opposite her. “She never had a stomach for fighting but she said she would try and rally supporters. I heard the rumors that Cancer’s men had gone south and captured rebels. I didn’t put two and two together until a few weeks ago.”

“What were you gonna do once you got there huh?” Leo raised her head and looked at him. “Break in and try to stage a break out? You couldn’t even hold your own against Aries and Taurus let alone Cancer and the rest.”

“What was I supposed to do then?” He glared at her and she glared back, hard enough to make him avert his gaze.

“Look at us Gem! How many of us are left?” She swept her arm out and shook her head furiously. “There’s twelve of us total Gemini. Twelve Zodiac. How many of us are free? Cancer, Taurus, Aries, Sagittarius, Scorpio and… And Pisces. They’re against us.” Gemini looked at her but didn’t say more. “Meanwhile there’s you, me and Capricorn. Libra and now Aquarius are in the dungeons of the castle.”

“Virgo’s still free” Gemini said.

Leo laughed dryly and then growled.

“Virgo’s as much of a coward as the rest of them! Instead of trying to help us he went to the north. He went to the north to keep his little church and live in peace while the rest of us fight for our country.”

“No. Virgo hasn’t turned his back on us. We have to show him how bad things have gotten.”

“He abhors fighting more than Aqua does.”

“But he knows that he’s one of the strongest out all of us.”

Leo was silent again but she was also still. She wasn’t dismissing the entirety of his words and that was good. That meant either she was desperate or they had a chance.

“Let’s say this works. Let’s say that we find him and he agrees to join our cause. What then? What will we do with him on our side?”

Gemini let himself have the luxury of a smile. “We rescue Aqua and Libra.”

Leo stared across the fire at him and the only sound was its crackling. “You’re insane,” she finally said. “You’ve finally lost your mind.”

“It’s not insanity, Leo. With Virgo we could do it. We wouldn’t be making a full assault on the castle. We would sneak in, search the dungeons, find them and then get out. Quick and easy. They wouldn’t even know we were there.”

“And what if they find us by chance?”

“We’re going to need a distraction.”

“A distraction? What kind?”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

“Course not.”

“Do you have a better plan Leo? Do you even have a plan?”

Leo growled again but she didn’t speak. Gemini watched her and nodded.

“Last time I was with the resistance, a lot of them wanted to quit. They’d rather deal with Cancer’s draft and his taxes and his fucking plan to take over the world. All under the guise of maintain the country until Raku is ready to take the throne. We need to give them something to believe in, Leo. But first we need Virgo.”

“There’s a few things we need to do before that,” Leo stood and kicked dirt into the fire. After a few good kicks the flames were put out and put them in the darkness.  “Go to sleep Gem. Starting tomorrow we’re getting you into shape again.” Laying down with her back to him Leo closed her eyes.

Gemini laughed lightly as he watched her but nodded. After getting his ass handed to him by Aries like that, he knew that he was out of practice. However, he was worried about their future. If Aries and Taurus had gotten that strong, how strong were the other Zodiac in the castle? He shut his eyes and forced himself to try and sleep and be ready for whatever it was that Leo had planned for him.

Gemini had his head down as his eyes followed the words of his book. It was one of many books that the library. Held for the Zodiac to read from history texts to famous works of fiction. The door slammed open and Gemini started to face his guest. She was average height with shoulder length blonde hair. Her eyes were pale almost luminous blue. Her skin was a warm tan and she was slim of figure. She was wearing a blue dress with long sleeves. Around her neck was a golden necklace and, on the disc, pendent was a jug.

“Gemini, we need to get out of here. Now.”

“Aqua? What’s going on?”

“Don’t question it right now. Just hurry. Please.”

Gemini looked at her closely and he could see the fear in her eyes. That got his attention. Sitting up from his desk he dropped the book. She grabbed his hand and pulled him stumbling forward. They made it to the staircase of the second floor of the castle when he stopped her.

“Hold on Aqua,” Gemini said and forced her to remain still. “Can you at least give me the short of what’s going on?”

Aqua’s frantic eyes caught his and Gemini squeezed her hands tightly. She took a slow breath as she looked at him. “We need to get out of here. All of us. Cancer he’s…”

“What has Cancer done?”

“Cancer… He killed King of Nerodala. He killed Riku.”

Their country, Nerodala, was ruled by a royal family. The Zodiac were adjacent to them, not of higher ranking. When the Goddess Alpha gave her children to this world they were raised in the castle and treated like children of the family. They had the same privileges and led similar lives but according to the laws of the country they couldn’t have the throne even if they wanted it. Yet Cancer had taken just that.

Gemini looked at her, really looked at her and he laughed hesitantly. “There’s no way. No way Cancer would do this.”

 “It’s true Gem. Leo and I saw it happen. Leo attacked him but the soldiers attacked her. They defended Cancer. Leo told me to run and I did. I ran to find you. Gem it’s not safe here anymore. We have to run.”

“You run,” Gemini looked at Aqua. “Find the others and get out of the castle.”

“No, I’m not letting that happen. We need to leave together. Please Gem!”

Gemini shook his head and moved quickly past her and up the stairs.  This was insane. Cancer was his best friend. There was no way that he would do something even close to this. It had to be some kind of trick or something. He would accept anything except for this as truth.

Water splashed against Gemini’s face and he started awake. The light was fierce against his eyes and the water was even colder. Groaning he sat up and wiped his face clean. Brushing aside his soaked hair he focused those black and white eyes onto his assailant, Leo.

“Wake up,” She said gruffly. “I felt you healing yourself last night which means you should be back to fighting strength now.”

Leo stopped pacing and stood over him. She cracked her knuckles before lunging. She shot her fist down toward his lying form and the twin split his body into two on reaction. Leo’s fist had dented the ground as Umbra and Luce stared up at her.

“Good. At least you can do this much.” Leo stood up and shook her hand free of dirt.

“What the hell was that?” Umbra shouted as he hopped to his feet. “You could have killed us!”

“If that could have killed you then you’re better off dead.” Leo said.

Umbra brought his firsts up as Leo attacked again. Umbra stepped to the side and shoved his palm into her wrist redirecting her fist toward the ground. Leo went with it for a step before correcting her path. Turning at her waist, her free arm arched and punched him square in the jaw.

Umbra was sent into the ground like a rock and Leo followed up by going for a kick to his stomach. Luce ran forward and then dropped to slide and kicked her foot away from his twin. Leo spun around, catching her footing and snarling.

Luce helped Umbra to his feet and leaned against him. “You okay?”

“She still hits like a bear.” Umbra rubbed his jaw.

“Don’t go in without me next time.” Luce said and held out his hand.

Umbra grabbed it tightly and nodded. “Just follow my lead.”

Leo glared at them as she raised her fist. Umbra dashed forward with Luce right on his heels their hands locked together tightly. Leo dashed toward them throwing another punch. Luce saw it coming and he yanked back on his arm. Umbra let himself be pulled as Leo’s fist hit the air. Umbra landed, then grabbed Luce’s arm and swung him around, his feet connecting with her chest.

Leo stumbled backwards as Luce stepped forward and threw a punch at her. She grabbed his fist and turned on her heel, yanking down on it roughly. Luce tilted his head back and shouted in pain. Umbra stepped off Luce’s back and jumped over him. Coming down he kicked Leo’s head and landed on top of her.

Leo’s legs almost buckled but she kept herself standing and then tossed him off her shoulders. Umbra rolled across the ground trying to stand. Leo grabbed Luce’s arm with both hands, spun around and threw him at his brother.

They landed in a heap together and they groaned as a collective. Leo wasn’t even out of breath while both of them were heaving.  Slowly Umbra sat up and helped his brother to at least get upright.

“Luce, you need to stop letting Umbra lead,” Now that she had kicked their asses, she was going to lecture them. “You’re twins. You share damn near everything except a few personality traits. Luce, if Umbra is going in too strong instead of backing him up you should reign him in. Umbra you’re reckless and it’s going to get you two killed.  Use your head before running your mouth or throwing your fist. You two need to stop acting like individuals. You aren’t two people, you’re one person in two places.”

The twins nodded quickly. Leo watched them and sighed as she walked over to them. Holding out both her hands, they each grabbed one and they got to their feet. They merged into one body and Gemini groaned. Separately they were aching but together he was very beat up.

“Come on. We need to go back into town Gem. We need horses and we need some supplies if we’re going to go north in any decent time frame.” Leo said as she finished dismantling the campsite. Gemini watched her go about her business and then he started to think.

Virgo was one of the biggest pacifists he knew. Convincing him that they needed him was one thing, but convincing him to fight for them was another.

“Hurry up runt!” Leo was already on the edge of the forest and she hadn’t turned back to speak to him. She had just shouted it over her shoulder to which Gemini lefts his thoughts and started running after her. As he walked, he pulled out his necklace and place it around his neck where it belonged.

The village in daylight wasn’t in that bad of shape. Despite the fight there hadn’t been much damage to anything except the bakery. The people there went about their business as usual, though there was a noticeable twitchiness to everyone. Instead of walking down the streets like everyone else the Zodiac walked behind multiple houses until Leo found what she wanted.

Someone doing laundry had left it out to dry in the morning sun. Though the morning wind was a bit brisk the sun’s light was enough to help dry things evenly. Leo snagged a cloak from the line and then threw it at Gemini. “Put this on.” She commanded.

“What? Why?” He asked looking the cloth over.

“Your eyes give you away. Hide them in case we see soldiers.”

Gemini rolled his eyes but put the cloak over his shoulders and then pulled the hood over his head. “What about you?”

She smirked. “No one is going to mess with me.”

The pair of them walked onto the main dirt path and no one batted an eye. Despite Leo’s tall stature she gave off an aura that was intimidating. People parted for her and averted their eyes when she crossed her path. Gemini was just a part of her pride.

She scanned the homes and the few shops set up around the district. Venders were selling their wares to anyone that passed them by from fruits, to breads, to trinkets. Nothing was too extravagant here.

Leo stopped at a few stalls and haggled for their wares. It was amusing to see that despite their fear of her, they weren’t going to back down for getting a fair price.  When a price was settled, she was able to get a few loaves of bread, a half dozen apples and a sack to carry them in.

Leo pulled out a map once they had finished shopping for the moment. Walking toward the side of the road she kneeled down and motioned Gemini over. She unrolled it against the ground and pointed to a small town that was close to the center of the map but favored the north.

“We’re here. Virgo’s village,” she dragged her finger up the map slowly and tapped an area that was surrounded by white. “Is here. Not that far from where we are now but it’s a good week on horseback and that’s with little breaks. We’re going to need heavier clothe at the bare minimum.”

“If that’s the case look for our clothes. Give me some of the money and I’ll find us some horses.” Gemini stood up and Leo nodded. Rolling up the map and pushing it into the bag she pulled it over her shoulder. She gave him a small pouch as well.

“Meet up at the front of the village in about an hour.” Leo told him and turned around to go back and shop.

Gemini adjusted his cloak a bit before he started walking. From his time hiding in the village he had remembered seeing a stable toward the edge of the village. He worked through the crowd doing his best to not draw attention. He wasn’t the only cloaked figure and that helped. Most of the people in the crowd were wearing tattered clothes. They weren’t rags but they were very old. It was surprising. Being this close to Celestial, the capital, he would think they would be a part of the trade routes there. Then again, he never tried to understood the economy of Nerodala.

As he reached the edge of the village he could smell the stables before he saw the horses. There was a man coming from the back. He was old, no hair on his head and a somewhat bushy white mustache. He was skinny and seemed to be the type that would waste away with age. He was wearing a pair of overalls and shirt underneath them.

“Why hello there. What can I do ya for?” He asked friendly enough and Gemini offered a smile.

“Horses. A pair of them. The faster the better.” He added on as an afterthought.

The man wiped his hands onto his pants as he considered the teen’s request. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully he nodded slowly. “I think, I think I might have just the one.”

Walking around to the stables again there was silence for a moment and then there was a loud whinny. The man finally came around leading a large bay horse. Black legs, mane and tail with solid brown body and head. It was saddled and everything already. It stamped the ground almost impatiently as it looked at Gemini.

“This here’s Speedy. She’s a stubborn gal but she’s the fastest horse I got.”

Gemini frowned. “That’s well and good but I asked for two horses. Not one.”

The man smacked his lips lightly and nodded. “I know but I can’t afford to sell ya two of mah horses. Ever since King Riku pass away of illness, times been rough. Shame that. Omega comes for all of us.”

Gemini fought the urge to scowl and look away. “That she does.”

“But Speedy’ll get you where you goin and I swear on mah honor that she can carry both of ya.”

Gemini let out a sound of exasperation. From the way the man was speaking they weren’t going to get two horses. He didn’t know how much Leo was willing for him to spend on getting horses. Not to mention Speedy was staring at him and it was like she was challenging him. He could sense stubbornness in her.

“Do you mind if I look at her up close?” Gemini asked.

“Go right ahead.” The old man said stepping away but held onto her reins.

Gemini looked at Speedy before walking toward her. He was slow and the horse watched him warily. Holding out his hand to her Speedy stamped the ground. She didn’t like him taking this slowly. He smiled lightly and touched her head gently. She didn’t seem pleased but she also didn’t seem to mind. She huffed and stamped the ground again.

Gemini looked at her and then arched his eyebrow before nodding his head. Grabbing the pommel of the saddle he lifted himself over and onto her back. Slipping both feet into the stirrups he held his hand to her neck and took a slow breath. She was comfortable with this because she was pacing slowly back and forth. She was ready to take off.

“How you likin her?” The old man asked with an almost knowing smile.

“I. I’ll take her.” Gemini said with a nod of his head. “I’ll take her.”

The old man grinned wide from ear to ear and rubbed his palms together “Great. Just great!”

“How much for her?” Gemini asked as he reached toward his pouch.

“Three silvers if you have em. If not we can make something work.”

Gemini looked into his pouch and he had to resist the urge to whistle. There were at least ten silvers in there. Pulling out the three silver coins he nodded slowly.

“No need, I have it exactly.” The money changed hands as did the reins.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” The man said and Gemini nodded.

As Gemini held the reins Speedy jostled slowly, taking a few steps back and then forward. Gemini smirked and then nodded. Holding the reins, he urged her forward and then set her into a slow canter. She didn’t seem like she was happy with him but she was moving.

Speedy moved her legs quickly and even the smallest of adjustments on Gemini’s part made her react smoothly. A few times she would start to accelerate and he had to pull on the reins to make her dial back.

They had sometime before Leo wanted to meet so Gemini guided her away from the village. He led her toward where Aries had taken him the night before. He wanted to make sure she was actually as fast as the rancher gave her credit for. So, he held the reins tight as they reached the edge of the village.

“Alright Speedy, show me what you’ve got.” He said softly and then hit the reins. She reared backwards much to his surprise before bolting forward. She was just off and he had to hold on for fear of getting thrown off. He leaned forward and laughed as the wind whipped past them both.

She neighed into the air as they bolted through the trees. He wasn’t guiding her, she was guiding him. They moved where she wanted with a mixture of his nudging. They found themselves going deeper and deeper into the forest. She kept going faster and faster and Gemini didn’t try to slow her down.

They came to the edge of the forest and he yanked back on the reins. Speedy forced herself to dig in her hooves as they came to the edge of a ravine. She stopped just enough that her hooves only went half way off the edge. Rocks tumbled off and he watched them sink into the water below. The river wasn’t going fast but it was wide and it seemed deep as well.

Speedy fidgeted against the edge of the river and Gemini touched her neck gently. She flinched away from the touch. She turned her head around to stare at him for a moment as Gemini pulled back on the reins. “Come on. Let’s go back.”

She turned and without too much urging the two of them were walking back to the village. They didn’t go full speed like before and instead had a nice canter. Gemini inhaled slowly and enjoyed the scent of the air as he closed his eyes. Riding her was relaxing. Sagittarius loved riding horses but he always assumed it was because that was who she was. Now he realized it was actually fun. He was going to owe her an apology if things were ever fixed between them. Between all of them.

“You’re late runt.” Was Leo’s first words as she saw them approaching. “And why do you only have one horse? I told you to get two.”

“The guy wouldn’t sell two horses. Besides, Speedy can do the job.”

“Is that seriously the horses name?” Leo asked with mounting skepticism.

Speedy heard it and she huffed angrily as she stamped the ground. Gemini tried to calm her down but she wasn’t going to calm down. Leo stared at the horse and her constellation exploded around her. While people had their senses dulled, animals were still attuned to it. Speedy saw or felt the lion inside of Leo but she didn’t back down.

Leo caught onto that and smirked. Her constellation died down like she was closing the damn to a lake. Despite standing her ground she was still cautious. When Leo started toward her she gave an almost threatening whinny.  Leo held out her hand.

“Calm down girl. I won’t hurt you.” Leo said gently. Speedy watched her but whinnied again, softer. When Leo touched her head, she seemed to like it. Liked it more than when Gemini had touched her.

“No fair. Since when do you like horses?” Gemini said with a frown.

“I don’t. But I like this one.” Leo smirked as she threw her sack into his arms. She then swung into the saddle behind him and kicked his feet out of the stirrups. She grabbed the reins and then nodded. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

She kicked her heels into Speedy’s side and they were off together. Leo was surprised at how much Speedy actually lived up to her name. She held the reins tight and Gemini leaned into her chest to stop from sliding off. Though Leo would never let him fall off.

“I miss the old days Leo.” Gemini said soft and she glanced down at him.

“What do you mean?” Her usual growl wasn’t there.

“When you, me, Cancer and Cap would get into all kinds of trouble.” He said and she smiled at the thought.

“You three were a handful.”

“Us and Aqua were the youngest, weren’t we?”

“Nope. Libra’s still a child. I don’t think she’s even ten yet.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Gemini bit his lip. “So young and caught in all of this. I hope Cancer’s taking care of her at least.”

“For his sake, he better.” And the growl was back in her voice.

Gemini nodded and stared at the sky. “Maybe things can go back to what they were.”

Leo was silent for a long moment before she sighed. “I doubt it but we can hope.”

“Hoping’s all we have right now,” Gemini frowned. “This plan is going to work. It has to.”