Power Struggle (Princess Ball Sidebar #infinity)

[Riven]

Riven almost tripped over the bottom step when Tecna suddenly came to a halt. Watching her curiously as she started looking around the hall, he held his breath and listened. If she’d heard a noise, he definitely wasn’t hearing it.

Oh, but that wasn’t it at all. She had stopped for a wardrobe change. Women.

Although he had to admit to himself that he was sad to see the dress go, as it had been so wonderfully revealing, her Winx costume or whatever she called it was much more functional, despite the high boots. Even Tecna couldn’t demean herself by wearing flat shoes, it seemed.

And they were on their way again. Taking the stairs two at a time, Riven was glad he’d stepped up his training since returning to Red Fountain. Reaching the top of the stairs, he barely even felt the slightest bit out of breath.

[Tecna]

According to her map, the Steeple of the Sun would be to the left, around the corner and at the end of the hall. And since her PDA had yet to fail her, had yet to give her inaccurate distances, Tecna was certain that she and Riven would reach their destination in five minutes tops.

Flying slightly ahead of Riven, Tecna squinted her eyes, trying to focus in on the floor-to-ceiling doors at the end of the hall. Surely that had to be the entrance to the Steeple of the Sun - although, she had to wonder why the area seemed so...empty. One would think that a realm's power source would be very heavily guarded and yet, from what she could make out, there was no one present. Had they arrived at a shift change? Otherwise, there was no other explanation, unless-

No. She didn't want that thought - the thought that maybe they were too late. That maybe the wizard had already been there and left. But that wasn't possible either, was it? Doubtlessly, something strange would have happened by now if the wizard had taken control of Solaria's power source. No, there just had to be another explanation.

Unconsciously increasing her speed, Tecna flew the last few feet down the hall before lightly returning to the ground. Keeping her back pressed against the wall, she peered her head around the corner. It was so quiet - too quiet.

[Riven]

Everything was going perfectly. Too perfect. What kind of a place was this? Yes, most of the security should be placed in the ballroom where the party was being held, but surely there were guards that would be patrolling the hallways and guarding the most important rooms in the palace.

So far, he and Tecna seemed to be the only people out and about. It was lucky, but also suspicious.

Breaking into an full on run when Tecna suddenly sped up, Riven cursed under his breath as his boots seemed to pound loudly in his ears. Or maybe it was his heart. Whichever it was, it sounded so loud to him that it was bound to blow their cover.

Finally they were there, but he felt no relief. No guards. Where were they? He was certain the wizard hadn’t beaten them there. If there had been guards outside the door, he would probably have just turned them into minions and left them to cover his tracks should anyone show up. The halls were empty.

“With security this lax, they deserve to get attacked,” he grumbled, pressing himself back against the wall beside Tecna.

[Tecna]

"Shh!" Tecna said underneath her breath, giving Riven a firm jab in the side with her elbow. "I'm trying to listen."

What she was hoping to hear besides silence, however, was a whole different story. Truth be told, Tecna wasn't sure what she was expecting but she couldn't help but feel this strange icy dread - like that at any moment, someone would leap out of the shadows, catch them off guard, and consequently, have the upper hand in a fight. It was hardly a pleasant picture - and one she would like to avoid.

And so, straining her ears, Tecna tried to detect the slightest sound - unfortunately, all she managed to hear was Riven breathing beside her. Glancing up at him, she tipped her head in the direction of the steeple's doors. "What do you think? Should we step out into the open and go check it out?"

Perhaps they would find that there was no need for guards - after all, guards were people and people made mistakes. Technology, on the other hand, was often more reliable. Perhaps that was it all along - perhaps the king simply employed a high quality security system to keep the doors locked - a system that made it impossible for the steeple's entrance to be breached without the correct set of codes or passwords.

She could hope, right?

[Riven]

Covering his side after taking a hard elbow to the ribs from Tecna, Riven sent a dark glare in her direction but stopped himself from talking again just to spite her. There were more important things to worry about that being abused by his current partner, even if it was for nothing.

“We’re not going to solve anything standing around here, and we don’t know what direction he’ll come from. If we can get that door open, our best bet is to wait inside for him to appear,” Riven whispered. Looking back they way they’d came, Riven suddenly slipped past Tecna and toward the door, his movements practiced and cautious.

[Tecna]

Glad that Riven's focus was back on track, Tecna nodded at his words. He was right; waiting in the hall with their backs against the wall wasn't going to accomplish the slightest thing. On the contrary, it could actually give the wizard the upper hand. Like Riven had said, they had no clue which direction he would come from and that meant that the wizard would have the opportunity to move in for a sneak attack. Not good. If they were going to battle him, they needed as many advantages as they could get their hands on. Surprising the wizard by being in the steeple would be a good start.

Flying after Riven when he stepped into the open, Tecna too proceeded with caution.

[Riven]

Stopping before the large doors, Riven looked around them again before focusing his attention ahead of him. Hesitantly reaching out his hand, he stopped a few inches before grabbing the door handle.

“You picking up anything on the other side? Security measures of any sort?” he asked, dropping his hand back to his side. The last thing they needed was for him to grab the handle and set off an alarm. The last thing he wanted was to grab the handle and get electrocuted or something.

[Tecna]

Tecna's brow furrowed as she used her PDA to conduct a scan of the steeple entrance. Detecting nothing that would possibly set off an alarm, she mused out loud, her tone betraying a trace of confusion, "How very peculiar...one would think that such an important place as this would have alarms and guards everywhere, but nothing is showing up on my screen." As if to make this point, Tecna thrust the PDA closer to Riven's face, either not recognizing or not caring that he probably wouldn't be able to make sense of the various symbols displayed on the screen. "See? Nothing. Unless, of course," Tecna paused. "No, no, impossible. My PDA is the most advanced model available; it should be able to detect anything, especially at this close of a range. There must be some other explanation."

It was safe to say that at that moment, Tecna was entirely baffled by Solaria's security system.

[Riven]

It was unsettling news, but it didn’t stop Riven from throwing an annoyed glare in Tecna’s direction when she shoved that little gadget of hers in his face. He hadn’t even known how to erase a picture off her phone, and he was supposed to know what the junk on that little screen meant? She could have told him it was a list of ingredients for hair gel and he would have had no reason not to believe her.

If this wasn’t so important, though, he would have been very amused at how lost she was without having a logical explanation. Nothing ever happened without a reason in Tecna’s world.

Although she did have a point. He would have thought Solaria to have impeccable security, especially during such a well publicised social event.

“Maybe they’re just idiots,” he stated flatly. Well, it was another explanation, though not an extremely plausible one. “Whatever. I’m tired of standing around waiting for the wizard to pop up and stab us in the back. I’m going in.”

Grasping the handle in his hand, he turned it and pushed the large door.