Chapter 520

520 Coordination Is Key

***WARNING: LANGUAGE AND DESCRIPTIVE SEXUAL CONTENT***

“Oh come on, Peggy. Tis controlled danger.. And Tis much better than the danger we’ll have ta deal wit if we dinna have a plan goin’ in,” Skye replied as she tried to both comfort, and assert her choice with her loved one.

Peggy balled up her fists, and placed them on her hips as she started; “Controlled Danger?! Are ya kiddin’ me?! Danger is danger! Yer wantin’ ta have friggin’ Ninjas Tryin’ ta hit ya wit their magic!-”

“And weapons, of sorts. Not all of the people helping will be mages. Only about thirty or so are,” Genie commented, adding a log to Peggy’s inferno.

“Oh well, that’s just bloody perfect!” Peggy yelled with heavy sarcasm; “So projectiles have been added ta the mix?! What about Zazzy?! Do ya really think that she can guard against all that at once?!”

Skye smirked cockily; “Aye, she can. And whatever she can’t, I can.”

Peggy glared at her; “Dinna think for a moment that I think that makes any difference! Yer diplomats, fer cryin’ out loud! Be diplomatic about it! Why do ya have ta practice bein’ attacked in the first place?! Why can’t ya talk to the Senators?! Or better yet: why don’t we just go home?!”

Genie put a hand on Peggy’s shoulder; “Don’t think of it as Skye practicing being attacked. Think of it more like we’re coordinating our efforts to make a spectacle. One the people of Sai will Never forget..”

After looking from his hand to his eyes, Peggy narrowed hers as she said; “Firstly: remove yer hand before I do..”

.....

Quickly pulling his hand back with a smile, Genie commented; “And secondly?”

Peggy turned slightly so she would be facing him directly, then replied; “Secondly: what do ya mean ‘spectacle’? What will ya do?”

Genie grin softened; “We will practice a sequence of attacks that Skye and Zazzy will memorize. After they enter the city, my people will launch the coordinated attacks at her over the city, in front of the populace. They’ll be shocked enough to see a living dragon, but the people will be overwhelmed by the show..”

As he continued speaking, Genie’s smile twisted slightly; “The Senate will see Zazzy and Skye working together, without reins or a saddle. They will witness their bond first-hand, then Senator Tokuga and his minions won’t be able to interfere for the duration of your stay.”

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Peggy stared at Genie with simmering anger as she said; “Ya Promised me that me bairn wasna gonna be in any danger while we were here!”

Genie looked at the deck as he replied; “I am sorry, Peggy. But it’s out of my hands. All I can do now is come up with a strategy to counter our dilemma. If you’d like, you can beat me after we resolve this mess, and everyone is safely within my brother’s home.”

Peggy sighed heavily as she let her arms fall to her sides; “I may take ya up on that, dependin’ on how this turns out. I’ll be mightily pissed wit ya if Zazzy gets hurt, either. I’ve grown partial ta that overgrown lizard..”

Tidas and Skye exchanged a small smile as Genie openly chuckled, earning him a small smack from Peggy. The group chatted for a bit until Hana stepped forward. She introduced a man named Qin, who was the Tamer being assigned to Genie’s group.

The plan that Genie had designed required multiple Tamers, all coordinating amongst multiple teams. The ship would continue down the river like usual while Genie, Skye, and Zazzy flew ahead. The teams would already be in place when they arrived, and they would practice until the ship had caught up with them.

They would break in the afternoons for lunch while the teams traveled ahead, then Skye, Genie, and Zazzy would rejoin them. The eight teams would rotate attacking so as not to wear themselves out, and eat before traveling to the next scheduled training point. It was an ambitious plan, but would pay off if it could be pulled off.

Peggy felt a little better after Genie had explained the full plan, but she still didn’t like that Skye and Tidas had to prove themselves innocent the moment that they arrived. Genie agreed with her, and explained the gist of why they had to go about it this way. Once he’d finished, Peggy’s anger had a new direction.

“That bastard better not cross me path, or I’ll give him a piece of me mind! And me fist! And me foot fer good measure! Makin’ me family risk their lives over such nonsense! Anyone who spends one minute around them can see that they be a lovin’ family!”

“I completely agree,” Genie commented as everyone started to break away to have their own conversations; “I can imagine no one better suited to raising Zazzy that Skye and Tidas, but the Senate needs to see that before Tokuga can get his hands in Zazzy. If he does, I can see him going as far as using science and magic to make it Look as if she’s been abused.”

Peggy sighed with contempt; “Is there no way ta bring’em ta justice? Why is a man like him allowed in yer government in the first place?!”

Genie gripped the ship’s railing as he spoke; “Like in any government, there is corruption. The Tokuga are an old family: formally the ruling family. Their influence is far and deep, but only within the higher circles. People like my brother and his supporters were actually elected into office by the people, and act in accordance with the change that they want to see.”

Peggy smiled as she said; “I look forward ta meetin’ him, if Ima allowed to.”

Knowing that she was referring to her status as Skye’s servant, Genie patted her shoulder as he replied; “I believe my brother will be very interested in meeting the woman I so often wrote about, as well as the woman who raised Skye.”

Peggy flashed her toothy grin; “Well, I wasna the only one, Genie lad. You had a big hand in shapin’ the way our lass looks at the world around her.”

Genie chuckled; “Not really, I just showed her that there’s more to learn that what we can see with our eyes. My Mother told me that the most important things are learned with your heart, not your head.. I never really understood that until I met Skye.”

The soft expression that covered Genie’s face made Peggy’s heart twinge for him. She had always known that he loved Skye, even before he had realized it. He didn’t seem to have figured out what kind he felt for her, which made Peggy feel relieved..

‘Least I hope he hasn’t.. Jin’s a good man: he understands how Skye feels about Tidas.. It would’ve only cause him pain ta realize it back then.. I hope that those feelings have faded..’

“I still do, but I know my place, Peg. You don’t need to worry about any drama coming from me,” Genie said low so only she could hear him.

Peggy looked at him with a startled expression for a solid minute before she said; “I hated it when ya pulled that shite in the past, and I hate it now. Stay outta me head, ya bloody ninja.”

“Sure thing, you old crank,” Genie replied as he smiled at Peggy.

She grinned right back as she said; “Oh, how I missed our back and forths, Jinny! Ima startin’ ta look forward ta this now. Just promise me one thing? And actually keep it this time..”

As Genie nodded, Peggy stated; “If anything bad happens: protect me bairn? She’s me everything, me only real family. I’d die for her, but if Ima not there ta do it..”

After taking in a deep breath, Genie spoke with a completely serious tone; “I’ll take the hit for her. I swear to you: I won’t let Skye get hurt.”

“What’s wit the death vibe over here? Ya two okay now, or do I need ta use me Water magic, and hose ya two down?” Skye joked as she walked over, and slung her arms over their shoulders.

Genie’s cheeks flushed lightly as he replied; “That won’t be necessary.. Now, we should establish a regular time and schedule for your practices. Then tomorrow morning, we can start..”

************

The next week and a half flew by. Between her practices and regular training, Skye was beginning to feel exhausted. As she and Tidas laid down for bed, she complained about her muscles hurting all over, especially in her legs.

Thanks to the saddle, Skye had grown used to not needing to apply so much pressure with her legs to hold herself steady. Now that she had to ride without it, staying on top of Zazzy was turning out to be more difficult that she had predicted. Finding the balance between enough pressure to stay on, but not so much that it hurts Zazzy was proving to be nearly impossible to accomplish.

The only thing that Skye could think of was to use her Shaman trait in conjunction with her Tank to stay on top of Zazzy. It allowed her to monitor the amount of pressure that she was applying to Zazzy, but it was extremely draining, and limited her accessibility to her other magic.

They would reach Sai’s capital in three days, and Skye was still struggling to not fall off of Zazzy whenever she looped for longer than eight seconds. Some of the maneuvers that they had worked out required her to hang on for up to twenty-five seconds.

As Tidas listened to his wife complaining, he offered to rub her legs for her. Skye was more than happy to accept it, at least until his hands had moved higher than her thighs. He tried to tease her, but Skye wasn’t having it..

“Once we get our own room again, I’ll be more than happy ta bend over for ya, husband,” Skye had said cheekily.

Tidas smiled as he grabbed at the growing bulge in his pants. Skye huffed and shook her head at him, but she was grinning as she did it and said; “Dinna try ta tease me, love. Or you’ll be screamin’ about blue balls by the time we wake up in the mornin’.”

Coming up behind his wife as she stripped, Tidas grabbed one breast with one hand, and placed the other over her most sensitive place as he said; “I could give the the equivalent, too.”

As he started to fondle her breast and shift his finger up and down, a light knock came from their door. Tidas huffed with frustration, let Skye dress and climb into bed, then answered the door with an irritated expression all over his face. Ralph frowned as he walked past him, and went straight to Skye to ask; “I just wanted to know, so please be truthful when I ask this..”

“Are we gonna fight as soon as we reach the capital?”

Skye shrugged, not sure how to answer him. Tidas and Genie shared a looked, then turned to Ralph as Genie said; “Only if this doesn’t work. I pray to the universe that it does..”