The Fairy Queen of the Sandcastle

Stop and go, stop and go, for if Levi strutted then Ai undoubtedly meandered. Every so often a strange piece of architecture would catch her eye simply demanding to be marveled at, so she’d stop. She’d then come to her senses and catch up to Levi with more than a few frenzied steps only for the whole process to repeat itself, stop and go. Thus far her world had been made up of formless sand and rigid quartz; Las Noches served as a welcome change of pace with its unnatural spires and alien lighting.

“Yeah, yeah, I remember,” she replied, running to catch up with Levi and unable to keep an edge of irritation from creeping into her voice.

How could she forget? It had been, what, half an hour tops since she had reluctantly agreed to Levi’s terms and now he was repeating them, what did he take her for? Sure, the male arrancar seemed nice enough and wasn’t half bad at tag, but he could really be a stick in the mud with all his rules. A chill pill, Ai liked to think, would do Levi no small amount of good.

Unfortunately, the little arrancar was in no position to voice her gripes especially as the pair had apparently reached their destination, a pair of unassuming double doors. No, it simply wouldn’t do to be arguing in front of royalty. So, for the time being, Ai followed Levi’s lead through the open doors without another word and her eyes fixed on the ground in front of her.

The dull thud of the closing doors at her back caused the girl to flinch but did not prompt her to look up as the gravity of her situation set in. On one hand, her body buzzed with excitement at the prospect of meeting a real life queen. On the other, however, the absurdity of where she now stood hung in the back of her mind like a wet blanket. After all, why would a queen ever care about meeting her, a nobody? 

Thankfully, Levi’s hand on her back prompted her to take a tentative step forward and saved her from ever having to answer such questions.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Her eyes remained on the ground as she gave a shallow bow. How did one address a queen again? Ah, yes. “Your majesty.”

Straightening her back and rising from her bow, the little arrancar’s gaze rose as well catching her first glimpse of the queen. Invisible to the naked eye her reiatsu danced all around her fluctuating in time with her increasing heart rate and contrasting sharply with her expressionless face.

Don’t do anything stupid…
---------------
WC: 442
TWC: 442