The second female lead Dual Cultivates

"I'm not nervous. I'm not nervous and I know I can do this'' Maria watched Trisha pump herself up. The decisive day was already upon them and everything had been planned by the resistance.

The task sounded simple but it had many layers to them. Their enemy was not a one-time villain from a novel but a whole organization that had the nation behind them. Things could turn violent at any given time if they were not careful.

"You'll do just fine. You know the castle inside-out right? So lead us to the place where you think they kept Kagemori'' Maria assured the princess in a gentle voice. She did understand the hesitation and doubt the princess would be feeling right now. She had felt all that at one point as well.

In fact, Maria was still nervous since their plan had a good chance of going off the rails from the very start but she also had hope. There was still time for them to be able to do everything right.

"I know but I still feel afraid to step in here. It feels like I'm stepping back in time and I don't like it. This place looks like it has barely changed at all" Trisha commented as she finally entered the Royal Palace. Maria could understand the feeling of seeing ghosts at every corner.

Maria was sure she would feel similar if she ever stepped back into her home and saw it barely changed. It held too many memories, especially with Nao gone as well. They were all depressing thoughts Maria did not want to think about.

"By the way, was it alright to leave your hybrid companion behind? She looked tough and I'm sure she would have come in handy" Trisha commented as she cleared the way for them. Their chosen point of entry was from the garden but they had been neglected for too long.

All kinds of grass and climbers had outgrown around the path and it made navigation a bitch. Had it not been for Trisha and her accurate memory of this garden, Maria was sure she would have gotten lost.

Especially when her scanner just showed plants and more plants in the way. Her system also did not respond on time due to some effect these plants had.

"They're the protection plants. My father once told me that they were magical and could hinder magical usage, but they're an invasive species so we didn't grow any outside the royal palace" Trisha explained as she took in the interesting look Maria gave the plants.

"Invasive? Are they from another continent?" Maria asked, now curious. She had heard about inter-continent communication recently and she could not help but marvel at the possibility. Did it exist for every known continent or just specific ones?

Also, did that mean Maria could use that device to travel to another continent once she was done here? It would make things so much for her in the long run and she would be able to save so much time and effort.

"From another continent? Nonononono, nothing like that. Father said that these were a gift from a power source I'll learn about once I grow up but the tech used to grow them is from another continent. They're from Jamaica and I hope I get to visit it soon" Trisha's voice sounded dreamy, a mix between longing and assurance.

The 'power source' Trisha's father mentioned must be the node. This meant that the node had been disturbed after the last war. Maybe that was what made it so much more volatile.

"Duck" Maria slammed her hand on Trisha's head to force it down while she looked ahead to keep watch. There were only so many guards here right now but the potential of calling a backup was always there.

And if Trisha somehow got spotted, then it would all be over. Her presence as a surprise factor in this raid was what the resistance had been counting in to make their plan successful. That and the fact that Kagemori was far from helpless if she tried.

"God, they are everywhere. Your mutt would have come in handy" Trisha whined. Maria felt her temper rise at the words but she held it in somehow. She had to remind herself that Trish did not mean it as an insult to her or Suna.

But it was difficult to remember sometimes. It did not help that Suna had shown no sign of improvement in the last few hours (not that it should be expected) but it had left a sad taste in Maria's mouth.

So she was a little touchy about that subject and more likely to snap at others for bringing it up as well. The only reason she hadn't snapped at the princess yet was that she knew Trisha was saying all she thought in order to forget her grief.

"Should I go out and start my act now?" Trisha asked once the soldiers had passed their hiding place. Her nervous energy showed through her mask of confidence and Maria prayed for patience.

"Not now. We need to head deeper inside in order to cause confusion. No one would believe you capable of escaping this far unaided" Maria reminded the princess as she took out her map.

Finally, it was starting to work again. Whatever had affected it had to have been a part of those unique plants and Maria snagged a few for future usage. Who knows when they might come in handy.

"The only way in here is from the front door or a secret passage. The entrance to the passage is this way" Princess Trisha took hold of Maria's wrist and dragged her toward the backside of the castle. It was another place that looked to have been left relatively untouched.

But Maria felt like they were headed into a trap. Her senses had not led her astray so Maria decided to heed them and stop Trisha as well.

"Maybe we should look around for another place to enter. I have a bad feeling about our next move" Maria spoke. Her system had not pinged her about the danger but she was aware that it was there.

"Did you see anything? Can't your future vision tell you what you're seeing? It's a part of your power right?" Princess Trisha asked in a quiet voice and Maria paused.

"My powers don't work that way. I can't control what I see and when I see it" Maria replied and she could feel the 'why' on the tip of Trisha's tongue.

But Maria did not have an answer for her. Even she was not aware of how her powers worked, so how could she reply to the other about this matter?