|
|
"Shhh!!! Be quiet Numa-chan!" Annika whispered to her green-skinned friend.
They were both clad in black outfits from head to toe and crawling along the floor in complete darkness. Numako had to bite her tongue to keep from giggling at the image of Annika from behind. Her head was covered with a black knit cap and it looked like the Princess was smuggling tiny blue Gungan balls on her head. So now every time Numa-chan closed her eyes she saw Annika with big blue odango. Not being able to hold it in any longer, she burst out laughing.
"Numa-chan!!!!!" Annika whisper-yelled, "try to be serious!!"
"Sorry, I am," Numako lied, still giggling. This was a stupid idea, so leave it to Annika to think of it. They crawled further, up some stairs and past several closed doors. There was no way they would be able to sneak into Lys’s room, find the Annika’s missing pink chair and return it to her room. The only reason Numa-chan agreed to accompany the white-haired girl was because everything Annika did usually ended up in hilarity. She had no idea how humorous she was to watch. Suddenly an image flashed in Numako’s head; Annika was sitting in a cage at a zoo with people watching her bump into things and stick her tongue out, plus she still had those blue odango. Numa-chan stopped herself from laughing this time; she wanted to see how this turned out.
Around the corner and two doors to the left was Lys’s room. Annika stopped short of the door. Numa-chan noticed a light was creeping out from under the closed door. Annika slammed a black-gloved hand onto the wood floor. She lowered her head in an attempt to see under the door. When that failed, she raised to her knees to peep through the keyhole.
Annika whispered, "I don’t see her, Numa-chan! Maybe she’s downstairs. Anyway, let’s go in and get it before she gets back!"
Annika put her hand to the doorknob, but stopped before opening the door because of the sounds coming from Numa-chan. She had her hand clamped over her mouth, and she was shaking. She rolled around on the floor. She was laughing! Annika crossed her arms.
"Numako! This is not the time for jokes! Let’s go in and get my chair!!" the tall girl pointed her finger.
Numa-chan stretched her finger in the opposite direction. Annika spun her head around to see bare feet. Following the figure’s shape upwards, she stopped when she saw the confused face of Lys. She cocked an eyebrow and leaned against the wall.
Annika stood up and brushed her clothes off, "Lys... I was... just looking for you! I wanted to tell you goodnight."
"In the dark? While wearing black clothes and crawling on the floor? Why didn’t you just knock on my door?" the blonde girl asked.
"Oh. Well, see, I did that... but... you didn’t answer, and I thought you might be asleep," Annika smiled. Numako laughed harder, and Annika lightly kicked her.
Lys sighed. "For the last time, Annika, I do not have your chair! I was joking about taking it, honestly! Now will you stop trying to sneak into my room? I’m going to bed. Goodnight."
Annika’s hands curled into fists. Her face turned a light shade of red. "You can’t talk to me that way! I’m a Princess! And your mother! That’s it Lys! You’re grounded!!"
Lys smiled. "You’re not my mother yet. Goodnight again." She closed the door. Annika could hear her giggling on the other side of the door. She stuck her hands on her hips then looked down to the smiling Numa-chan.
"Too funny, this was! Tell the other senshi I must!!" the girl said, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.
Numako looked up at the tall Bakuran. She looked at the funny round shapes under the hat and laughed some more. Annika sighed and walked back to her room. Numako got up, stretched, and shook her head. Annika’s favourite chair had been missing from her room for a few days, and Numako knew where it was and who had it; she just thought it was funnier to let Annika wonder what happened to it.
Numa-chan’s room was messy, although not messier than Annika’s. She walked over to a rather large pile of dirty clothes and threw them to the floor. She grabbed a book and sat down on... Annika’s big pink chair.
"Never find it, she will!" Numa-chan giggled.
"This is ridiculous. Why is she making us do this anyway?" Kirana said somewhat annoyed.
Shrugging her shoulders, Lys said, "I don’t know. It’s not as if she can’t go and buy another one."
"That’s true, but I think she’s trying to prove a point," Chikako said. The other senshi sitting in the room glared at her. She sunk down in her seat and twirled her necklace around her fingers.
A door opened on the right wall, and a shaken-looking Kairiku walked out. She was mumbling something under her breath and rubbing a spot on her arm. Priire looked at Coru, who was busy reading BanthaBeat teen magazine. The smiling faces of N*aboo were on the cover with headlines like, "How to capture the heart of a Dreamboat," and "I was a teenage Sailor Jedi by Anonymous." Priire shook her head at her sister. Sometimes they were total opposites.
Just then, a young woman with tightly braided hair that was wrapped into a bun at the base of her neck entered the room. She was wearing a blue and green uniform that Priire recognised as Security. Several medals were pinned to her jacket. This must have been the woman Annika told them about- the head of the Royal Bakuran Army, Halla Windsor. She was the youngest person ever to hold the position.
Halla Windsor stood and looked at the group of remaining girls. The door opened again and two pinkish-white odango came into view, followed shortly thereafter by the face of Annika Nesicha.
"Any news yet?" she asked. Captain Windsor shook her head. Annika disappeared to the other side of the door.
"How much longer will this take?" Kirana asked. Chikako shrugged her shoulders.
The door on the right wall opened again, and Kumo-chan stomped out. Without saying a word, she walked past Captain Windsor and through the door. A very tall, thin man was made his way to the centre of the floor.
He cleared his throat. "Seijoutai Pry-ree?"
"It’s pronounced 'Preeeee'," the girl in question said. She stood, straightened her gloves, then followed the man inside.
The room was small and empty. In the centre of the room was a small chair which sat next to a table. On the table was a bizarre-looking device. Small needles were positioned on long pieces of paper, and wires were shooting every way.
"If you’ll just sit down Miss Pire-ee..." the man motioned to the small chair.
"It’s 'Preeeee'." The blonde sat and fingered her blaster. She didn’t know why she agreed to do this in the first place. She guessed it was so Annika would stop looking at her suspiciously.
"Okay, this is a simple procedure, and if you cooperate, it should last only a few minutes," the man said. He took Priire’s arm and attached a small sticky pad covered in wires to a spot just above her elbow. Then he took out a piece of paper and cleared his throat.
"My name is Victor, and I’m just going to ask you some questions. First question- is your name Seijoutai Pree-ray?"
"No. My name is Seijoutai Preeeee!"
He looked at the now wildly moving needles and jotted down some notes.
"Are you acquainted with Her Royal Highness Princess Annika?"
"Yes."
"Have you ever seen her big pink chair?"
"Yes."
"Did you take said chair belonging to Her Highness?"
"No."
"Do you know who did take the chair?"
"No."
The man smiled and unhooked the device from Priire’s arm. She stood and folded her arms. "May I go now?"
"Yes. Thank you very much, Miss Prairie."
"For the last time... it’s 'Preeeee'!!!" the girl said, fingering her blaster again. Giving the man a devious look, she walked out of the room. She was almost out of the second door when she heard the same man calling in another senshi.
"X-ray Sarin?"
Priire giggled. She found Annika on the other side of the door talking with Numa-chan.
"Hey! Why didn’t you have to take the test?!" the braided blonde asked the green-skinned girl.
"Knows I’m innocent, Annika does!" Numa-chan smiled. She reached into a bag and pulled out a small white cookie and handed it to Annika.
"Another cookie you must have! Bake them myself, I did!"
"Thank you!" Annika managed to say between mouthfuls of sugary goodness.
"You’re bribing her!" Priire said.
"Bribing I am not! Left over cookies, I had. Wonder who would like them best, I did. Into my mind Annika came. Numa-chan smiled at the white-haired girl, who smiled back.
Priire shot Numako a suspicious look. The green-skinned girl was known to pull pranks. What if she stole the chair? Priire decided to keep an eye on the trickster; who knew, maybe she did do it. Quickly, before Annika could complain, Priire snagged a few cookies and walked back to the temple.
