"Well, are we not a scary little princess with our bow and magical parlor tricks, with your nonexistent combat experience and how much training?" Alain mocked, following behind as Paige lead Aethyra to her room. "And let us not forget what happened last time we were in the basement, Ms Drag Me Out of the Basement Kicking and Screaming. And then there is always the fact that you were just passed out on a table, bleeding from your mouth, and barely able to lift yourself up off of it. Do we really think going anywhere alone is a good idea, least of all the basement?"

Paige's eyes narrowed at Alains taughting as she was extremely displeased by his behavoir. "Not only that, but I did not hear a 'Thank you Alain for carrying me from the dining hall to the medical wing in about three minutes flat. I am ever so grateful that you interrupted your job offer to race me to the medical wing." Well, if he insisted on acting like a child, he would be treated like one. Whirling around, Paige landing a hard slap on the side of his face, putting herself between Aethyra and Alain.

"Will you please stop being such an insolent tormentor?" she demanded in a huff, "In all honesty Master Alain, Lady Aethyra has suffered enough in the past few hours and does not need to hear any more gripping from anyone else. If you true want a rewards and for her to get well you will step off and let me attend to her. At the moment she is in need of food, bed rest and someone to help get the corset of so that she can breath again!" Paige fumed, sounding like a mother scolding a child. "Now if you'd like this whole ordeal to end as painlessly as possible, you will straighten up and act like a dignified man instead of an spoiled child who has skipped his nap time."

Then, turning back around, Paige lead Aethyra to her room, fuming at how immature Alain had been acting. "Really, can't a man act gentlemenly in a situation like this?" she muttered as the two of them walked away, leaving Alain behind in the dust. Once the two of them reatched Aethyra's room in half the time it usually took due to Paige's burst of angry strength, she closed the door and locked it. "Now my Lady, I'm sorry you had to see that, but let's go ahead and get you cleaned up. I'll take that terrible corset off of you so you can really breath again."

Alain barely felt the slap. It was more insulting than painful, and he glared her down the entire time. He replied to her idiotic little miff about being childish with his own logical response. No sense sinking down to a child's level to argue with a child, they would simply beat you with experience, "I will keep in mind that your oh so developed...what, teenage mind is so much more intellectually sound than mine, and that using one's brain for logical analysis of a situation is considered childish in whatever dream world you live in. If you cannot accept the fact that your heir is making an idiotic decision, then you are more foolhardy than your peasant position and lack of any formal education grants you leniency for." And then the little servant rushed her mistress away, hurrying as though it really mattered. As though an experienced assassin and thief could not outrun a servant girl and a girl in a torn dress. Fine. He honestly didn't care. He turned on his heel and headed back towards dining area. Maybe he would get lucky, and Trifect would still be there, waiting to offer him a job he would be interested in.

Aethyra was stunned, her head reeling, fighting the urge to run after Alain as he stalked away and Paige pushed her into her room. Would he even care if she did? What would it matter to him? As he said, she was idiotic, a child, inexperienced. Once the door was closed, Aethyra nodded numbly, raising her chin so that her friend might rub the strange paints from her skin. Locking eyes with the other girl, she suddenly sniffled, feeling a droplet run down her cheek. Furrowing her brow, she reached her finger up and wiped at it, though another soon took its place. It was not blood, but water running down her face, leaking from her eyes. Confusion and shock blasted across the heir's face, and she stared at the servant girl.

"What...? I...what am I doing?" she stammered, and turned for the door. If she followed her blood snake's vision, she could still catch him. Alain did deserve a thanking, a good one, not a cold one from a girl such as her. But she wasn't sure what else she could do. She inhaled deeply, but it was cut short with a hiccuping whimper, and she exhaled shakily while more water drops poured down her face. A pain stabbed through her stomach, and she grabbed the wall to support herself, then looked once more at her friend. "What's wrong with me?"

Parthenia smiled gently and walked up to her friend, leading her to her bed and with a soft touch she pushed her bed so that she sat upon her plush comforter. "Aethyra, do not hold must distressing fear or worry. Rest assured that there's nothing wrong with you; nothing at all." She said with a small, withering smile as she calmly unlaced the back of Aethyra's dress and let her fingers begin working at the knots in the corset's back. Then she got up, leaving Aethyra to remove the remaining corset fabric from her ruined gown's torso portion. "You're crying. Everyone, man, woman and child alike does it. Crying expresses sorrow, or sometimes a boundless form of joy."

Paige walked over to a large, silver pan which was filled with warm, mildly soapy water and picked up before walking back to the bed. Dipping a rag into the warm water she sat carefully beside her friend on the bed. Cupping her friend's cheek in her hand and turning her so Aethyra was looking at her, she tenderly wiped off the make up along with the tears. "There is no shame accompanied in sheding tears." Soothingly she rubbed off the paint from her friend's face and pinned her hair loosely atop her head so to get it off her neck and allow Aethyra to cool down.

Once the false coloring was gone Paige undid the temptorary hair pinning and braided it, also quite loosely, behind Aethyra so that it rested on her back, the way Aethyra usually liked it to be. "There now my sister," she said with a comforting smile, "Isn't that better? Let me get you something more comfortable to wear as well." Paige walked over the Aethrya's incredable closet (a closet Paige adored and prayed the gods would give her someday) and selected a dress. It was a loose dress, yet still appropriate, and long enough to hide pants underneigh though not long enough to get in the way of one's walking. Perfect. Walking over, Pairthenia laid the fabric beside Aethyra for her to change as, unlike most the other maids, Paige had full confidence that Aethyra knew how to dress herself.

"Crying?" Aethyra slowly dressed herself, rolling the word around her mouth. It was strange to her, the action as well. When was the last time she had truly cried? She had no memory of being so...distraught once, and especially never so happy. Crying was not something a girl like her--an heir, no less--would do. "Crying? Like...a child?"

After taking a moment to think it over, she stared at her friend, brow furrowed and eyes curious, "Than...I am not unlike a babe? In the fact that I cry? For...no discernible reason, really?"

Alain, as he walked, heaved a sigh, thinking. Was a job here even worth it? He didn't know. He supposed he would head to the parapets of the castle, clear his head a little, maybe. In his preoccupied state, he didn't even notice the knight in full body armor until he tipped her arm, "Sorry." He muttered without looking back.

The knight just gave him an annoyed look, but currently, a vagrant wandering the halls (though she had heard of a man fitting that description from some of the servants, who seemed to love to gossip until they noticed her, at which point they hurriedly attempted to make themselves look busy) was not high on her priority list. Though a funny thought struck her. So, that was the heir's new pet. She ignored the man, though made note to eviscerate him should he do something like that again if for nothing more than not paying attention, but also to see if she could make that little girl pissy. No, for now she had bigger fish to fry, and an employer to meet with. Although truth be told, she wasn't entirely happy to call him such, since she was more used to just killing whatever the hell she wanted because she felt like it, not because some big asshole in a castle told her to, but hell, money was money, and it was always nice be able to do pretty much whatever you wanted in the name of 'the crown' which pretty much exempted you from getting in trouble. She pushed open the doors of the main throne chamber and stretched her arms, lazily strolling in to meet the man in charge, "You sent for little old me, my lord?" she asked with overwhelming false enthusiasm. No doubt he would have some trivial errand for her to run, or some little pest to kill. Maybe the man in the hallway? Maybe some of the servants? That would be fun, if not a little tedious, though she kind of hoped it was execution day. She made that up herself, but she hoped he would see eye to eye with her on that, at least. After all, who didn't enjoy a good scream of pain?

Paige smiled once again, genuinely, at her friend's misconcention. "You misunderstand me, my Lady," Paige said kindly, gathering the discarded clothes, "Crying it a way of dealing with confusion. Easing pain. Showing emotions. There is no shame or punishable means for tears as everyone does it. So do not hold it against yourself or shame youself for doing so." Tiding up the room until it was once again sadisfactory, Paige walked over and offered Aethyra a glass of water now that she had calmed down and gently dabbed away the tears, placing the lacy cloth in the Heir's lap. There was a breif moment of silence as Paige looked at her hands, wondering how she should phrase her question. She wanted to know if Aethyra was alright, what had happened and what she had wanted to tell Paige in private before she had been called away to check of Harding. After all, Paige was also very curious as to why this had all occured. It didn't make sense... but Paige could think of anything that would.

Trifect didn’t say another word as Alain left carrying the Heir on his back. He just shrugged, and picked his cane back up. Seems that Alain was in such a hurry, that he left it behind. What a shame. Trifect wasn’t really surprised when the doors shut and Alaizabel appeared. After all, he was used to her by now. “She’s made a blood pact with the servant girl. To be quite honest, I hoped they would have both died. Alas, my hope was in vain. However it is of no consequence, seeing as you are fully revived once again.” Trifect bowed before Alaizabel, out of respect for her now returned powers. “I was aware she had been touched by white magic, though to the extent I was not sure. As far as Alain is concerned, he is an above average theif. He is someone that could be useful for political measures, but my deal with him was one to protect my cover. I figured smiting the man where he stood, wouldn’t exactly leave me looking like the weak old man I’ve worked so hard to seem like all these years. To ruin a cover like that, over someone like him, it wouldn’t be wise. He wouldn’t necessarily be a bad ally to have, but he is human after all. It is your choice naturally. Now, if I may be so bold to ask, what is our next move?”

Leon had been in the throne room since he talked with Aethyra. Dealing with people that have questions and whatnot. It was a necessary part of the job, but one of the least glamorous portions. Aethyra was taking abnormally long to do the task she was given earlier. What was that girl up to this time? Sometimes he rather regretted allowing them to live among him. If he had his own heir, he likely wouldn’t have bothered. He was still under the thought that they could learn to rule the kingdom properly however. Could they really learn though? Only time would tell. As Selphie walked in Leon just looked at her, with an indifferent gaze. “I did send for you. I sent Aethyra on a little job this morning, to bring me a man from the dungeon that the old King saw fit to lock up. However, unsurprisingly she has yet to complete the task, and once more brings dishonor to her name. I wish for you, someone more competent, to complete the task. Bring the man to me, I care not to see my heir at this point. Do no permanent harm to them, and use force only as necessary. Understood? If so you may leave to it.”

Alaizabel raised an eyebrow at his words.
"I have to disagree Trifect, I have plans for both that involve them being alive... for now. But I must admit I am impressed; with the type of magic humans were using I would have guessed blood magic had been forgotton. I wonder if they even realise how powerful they have made their bond..." She looked at her hand, feeling her own blood pumping beneath the pale skin. "Strings of blood bind far longer than any emotion."
She stood up as he spoke about Alain, walking over to Trifect while she listened.
"Hmm, that was probably a smart move. I saw how the princess acted around you, clearly the trust placed in you by the royal family has weakened in her... you should be careful. But you won't need to be for much longer." Her eyes slid over to him. "My powers are now fully restored... it has reminded me of the taste of chaos. I want it back. So as to our next move... we're going to put on a show."
She gave a slight giggle, walking around Trifect slowly while she spoke.
"What I need you to do, my dear friend, is make sure nobody leaves. A spell, a shield, a creature... anything will do. But do not forget that there is magic within these walls, I want it so that only you or I can remove this barrier so that not so much as an insect could leave this place. Meanwhile, I think it's time I met this new ruler himself... if you spread trouble in every corner then there will be nowhere to run... and the princess will have nowhere to hide from me. I will be able to take the time and enjoy her suffering."
Alaizabel stopped behind Trifect, her eyes turning black for a moment.
"If you do this task well Trifect, you shall be rewarded. When this is over, my dear student, I will teach you the final secret to your magic. The one that will finally allow you to become one with the darkness, reaching the highest levels of power. However, should you fail me..." Without warning, Alaizabel suddenly thrust a hand into Trifect's back, her extended talons piercing the skin and digging into the spine. Not enough to kill or even wound, but enough to cause excrutiating agony. "I will be very disappointed in you. I have no use for those who disappoint me."
She held the hand there a moment longer before slowly withdrawing it, her magic healing any scars instantly. Then with a soft smile she raised that same hand to his cheek, turning him to face her.
"But I'm certain you will make me proud." She murmured gently, before turning and walking back towards the shadows. Her voice floated back to him, "And continue your work with Alain, human or not he is close to the princess... he could be useful in the future."
Then the demon dematerialised into the shadows, her senses turning to see out this lord who had taken the throne.

Competent, eh? Even more so than the 'heir'. Heh heh, she liked the sound of that. But even so, she had been right, and it was just another glorified errand. Still, she was not so foolish as to reject Leon's command. She may have been a bitch sometimes, (or, pretty much all the time) but she wasn't stupid. Far from it, in fact. She had seen the man in action when he took the throne from the old king. She knew she didn't stand a chance against him, "Yeah, alright. Kinda grungy looking guy, lotsa knives on him, got a bad vibe to him? Actually, I passed by him on the way here, I think. I'd heard Aethyra had him, but I didn't see her. I'd heard she took a liking to him. Had a feast for him and all. Why would she do that, I wonder." She almost laughed as she left the room. Yes, she intentionally liked getting the 'heir' in trouble. Yes, she liked being a bitch. As she took to the halls, she grabbed Alain by the arm, which caused him to wake up from his trance.

"Let go of me." He said resolutely, no fear in his eyes as he glared the knight down.

When Selphie spoke, she caught him off guard. He hadn't expected a woman to be behind the mask, "Don't get pissy. The Lord just wants to talk to you. The girl was supposed to come get you whenever ago, but she never did. Ergo, he sent me. This doesn't need to get violent." But it could very easily if he was going to be a pain in her neck.

Alain, who was pretty much done with the royals, this castle, and their weird as problems, stood for a moment before finally relenting. This was better than talking to Trifect, wasn't it? This was the older man's boss, after all. Despite wanting to leave, the weirdness was not enough to scare the gold-lust out of Alain, "Fine. But if this is a trap, I'll-"

"You'll what, stab me with your little knives? Scary. Now come on. The Lord has been waiting hours, so the quicker we get there, the better." She said, pulling him in the direction of the throne room. If Leon wasn't happy, she didn't want to be on the receiving end of his wrath.

It took mere minutes to get them back to the throne room, and Selphie pushed Alain into the room, "You want some privacy for this, my Lord, or what?"

Alain looked up at the all important Lord. So this was Leon, the taker of the castle, killer of the old king. New Lord of the castle. Hmm, "You have my congratulations on taking the castle. Not much of an interesting battle from where I was, but I probably missed most of it."

"Paige." Aethyra's tone, though still hard, was very familiar, and she called the girl by her nickname. Rarely, if ever, did she call Parthenia her shortened name, she wasn't one for such casualties as those. "I want you to be extremely careful. Something is not right. I want you to be around people at all times, no matter what. I won't have you hurt." Taking a deep breath, the pale heir turned towards her friend and smiled weakly.

"Now. I feel the need to present myself before the lord."

Alaizabel moved through the shadows, hearing their whispers more clearly than ever.
Her powers had made her sensitive to everything that happened in the castle, and right now two events were taking her curiosity.
She had intended to target the lord, deciding it was time to see just how much he wanted the princess alive, when the girl in question caught her attention. She listened as the princess spoke with Parthenia, quite amused by how the girl’s emotions were getting to her. But then she mentioned that she was going to present herself to the lord… and Alaizabel had an idea.
She had wanted to put on a show after all, perhaps it was time for a public appearance.
Her voice gently moved to Parthenia so that only she would hear her.
My dear Parthenia, the princess is right. If all these strange things are happening, then it’s time for the Lord to know about it. You two should go right away, before someone else gets hurt.
Her voice was soft and kind, with a gentle persuasion to it. She wanted everybody to be in that throne room together… so that she could spread some chaos.
With a contented smile, she moved away from those to and headed to the throne room itself.
She observed the meeting with curiosity.
This lord was not that impressive, although she could sense some power around him. With him was a woman, captain of the guards she assumed, and Alain.
Time to have some fun.
Once again she spread her voice between the people, each only hearing their own individual message.
First, to Alain. He would surely remember her voice from the first time, so she took on the same pretty and seductive tone as before.
First the princess fails to reward you, then this lord thinks he can just have you dragged in here whenever he likes… you don’t deserve to be treated this way. These people have some nerve.
The captain was more difficult, she had to play this from a different angle.
He’s making you do the grunt work? Typical man. Give him some power and those that got him there are forgotten, I’m sure you did most of the work for this invasion in the first place.
And finally there was the lord… she intended to make him feel the need to prove himself as ruler, making it easier to make him turn against the princess.
So, you have taken the castle and yet you can’t even control a young girl? Rather pathetic… no wonder you don’t call yourself King.
She giggled to herself even though nobody could hear, waiting to see everything coming together.

Selphie raised an eyebrow as some voice spoke to her...at least, she thought it was a voice. Was it? Probably just a projection of her own devious thoughts, because,honestly, she'd pretty much been thinking the same thing already, the only problem was what could she really do about it? Leon was, for all intents and purposes, stronger than she was, he had proven that on the day of the invasion. She didn't know why she entertained these thoughts. Even so, perhaps one day the Lord would have a mysterious accident. The decrepit little mage with his pitiful light magic would whisper in the princess' ear, but the heir didn't like him, and there was no bad blood between herself and Aethyra. Obviously the Captain of the guard was more trustworthy than some old man who'd probably never seen real combat in his life, 'Oh, Mistress, how good it is to see you. I think we should invade such and such place.' A devious little smile came to her lips behind her helmet as she thought of the bloodbaths she could incite under order of 'the crown'. It was almost enough to make her bloodlust boil. Sure, the here and now was a nice gig, but it was boring, plain and simple. She knew they'd only been at under Leon's 'command' for what, a week or so? Almost a month, maybe? She didn't really care to keep track, she wanted more blood. If the heir would listen to her, they could conquer pretty much everything, just for the hell of it. Leon had his own plans, she knew that much, though usually when he talked about them, all she heard was 'mwa wah wa waaah'. The thought of Leon actually doing that almost made her snicker, but she held it back. Best not to piss the old man off just yet.

---------------

Alain, on the other hand, stayed entirely calm. That voice again...what was this? It surely wasn't in his own head, but to ask such a thing aloud would render any business deal this man had off the table. Even if you had to be just a little crazy to do this job, you usually weren't supposed to let it show to possible employers. And the message...he didn't really want to think of Aethyra or her little servant girl, mostly because it irritated him at the moment. He wanted to give the girl the benefit of the doubt; after all, her faculties weren't really in order at the time, and the little servant girl had rushed her off before she could really respond to his words...still, she hadn't really seemed to try to resist, and Aethyra was capable of stopping the girl from rushing her off, of that he had little doubt. In the end, he gave a mental shrug and pushed her from his thoughts. With any luck, they wouldn't meet again, and then it would all be a moot point. That servant girl, though...he hoped he saw her again. He wanted to teach the little pup a lesson in speaking in ways not befitting a girl of her situation, or of raising their hands in ways of violence to their betters. She probably hadn't even killed a fly before, she almost stank of innocence. He wasn't afraid to kill, or hurt...aside from Aethyra, who would miss the brat? For now, he wouldn't hurt her, but he would do just enough to put some fear in those baby eyes of hers.

His thoughts turned to Leon. 'Dragged him in here'...yes, there always was that, but it was for a job, wasn't it? It wasn't like he couldn't just say no and get the hell out of dodge if he didn't want to have anything to do with this insanity. It wasn't like he'd never dealt with entitled noble assholes before, he was sure Leon wouldn't be any different. He did find he had a sort of respect for the man, though. After all, he'd worked to 'earn' a kingdom, not just be born into it like most Lords. If nothing else, that made him a good leader or an able fighter, perhaps a bit of both. Unfortunately, Leon never bothered coming down to the cells so Alain could see his work personally. Once more, he pushed the voice aside, waiting for Leon to speak and answer him...though he looked to the Lord's face with a little more attention that was necessary. Maybe he wasn't the only one who heard that voice...

"Paige," Athyra said, and Paige looked at her, surprised that her blood sister had used her nickname. Most of the time she reffered to her only by her formal name, Parthenia, so when she spoke Paige's surprised gaze when immediatly to the girl. "I want you to be extremely careful. Something is not right. I want you to be around people at all times, no matter what. I won't have you hurt." Slightly taken back, Paige merely nodded. Who was she to deny such a request? It was in Athyra's best interest to keep her blood sister safe and Paige appriciated her for that.

Then Athyra preened slightly and gave Paige a meak gotta-get-through-this smile, one which Paige returned with one of her own sweet smiles. "Now. I feel the need to present myself before the lord." Paige smiled. "Very wise my lady. The counsil of your father is a very wise thing to seek." she agreed, nodding her head slightly. Suddenly there was a gentle voice echoeing in her head which made Paige relax and tense up at the same time, holding her breath. It was soft and comforting but gave Parthenia the chills, though for what reason she did not know. 'My dear Parthenia, the princess is right. If all these strange things are happening, then it’s time for the Lord to know about it. You two should go right away, before someone else gets hurt.'

Mentally Paige agreed, nodding her head absentmindly on the outside. The voice, er, that thought was a very wise one. "We ought to hurry, my Lady." Paige advised kindly, though with a mild hint of urgency. "The sooner the Lord knows the better." Gathering the thin skirts of her white dress Paige stepped over the the door, holding it open for Athyra and waiting for her, still wondering about the voice. It hadn't sounded like her own, yet there was no other thing it could be. Strange, though Paige tried not to focus on it as Aythra and her went to see the Lord of the castle.

"It's close... I know it is..." A soldier in leather read a piece of paper with ancient writing while examining the powdery substance, deep within the forest. "I figured... this was the spot where the clerics fought the undead lycans which terrorized the area. The artifact used to keep those same clerics alive is somewhere south of this battle scene, sealed in a hidden temple. I can only hope nobody beat me to it." Hang in there, buddy! Your womb will be fixed by the time that Lord realizes my true reasons for enlisting. I'll be sure to burn this paper so he won't be able to read it then take you to the camp. You'll be safer with my family there until things cool down. We're all hunters, so I doubt they'd have an easy time of it if they decide to take it out on us.

A male falcon landed on his shoulder, nudging his cheek with his beak. "What is it, Jephthah?" Jephthah flew on over to one of the shrubs and landed next to a skeleton of a crystaline structure. "Looks like one of the clerics from the desert. Only residents from there have skeletons like that which last so long. I wonder what is written in the journal held in the hand?" When he looked through the ancient writing in the journal, Isaiah found that it mostly covered the battles fought with the undead lycans. Of particular interest, though, was the following entry:

I swear, someone or something is playing us for fools! It's like we've been baited! Everywhere I look, one of my brothers in faith is dead! I can only hope the humans managed to find the source of this undead lycan problem cropping up everwhere, otherwise my own people could be in grave peril back home! We have grown strong in the desert, but that strength will be for nothing if we do not know what is causing these cadavers to go beserk after rising! Where are the elves and their Stone of Life? They should have arrived by now!

After a series of rants involving the different species involved not being with the holder of the journal, the entry goes on to say this: I have my theories as to how all this could have happened. The Death Stone, the Life Stone's sister, has been missing for centuries, now, and it is rumored that a temple in this forest has a vast amount of information on both in its archives. If it is there, then the perpetrator responsible for this mess could be doing experiments with the Death Stone as we speak in that same temple. We must put an end to it and seal boths stones in that temple, then hide the entire building so neither stone can fall into the wrong hands again. Should anyoen disturb it thereafter, the Death Stone, though sealed, will activate the traps as the intruders come. It would take a man or woman with no ill intentions involving the use of either stone to appease it. We shall make certain of that, I have the High Preist's word. Only the Life Stone would be able to be unsealed, since men and women have often gone after the Death Stone more. I have a feeling the Life Stone could help our descendants with an even greater danger in the next few thousand years. I better get on with my task! I see my brethren coming towards me, and they seem frantic! They have an elf with them, too, it looks like! She may have the Life Stone with her!

"The battle must have started shortly after he completed his entry, then he died protecting the group of clerics that came to him, allowing them enough time to get to the reinforcements that they expected." Isaiah placed the journal in his quiver's hidden pocket, with the other items concerning the Life Stone. "Well, that is kind of a relief, but this should not be taken lightly. We better head back to the barracks in the castle, wouldn't you say, Jephthah?" The falcon nodded in agreement as they made their way back to the castle. Once at the entrance, the hunter-turned-soldier gave his report of the happenings in the forest, careful to leave out all details involving the finds that would lead to the temple. When inside his quarters, Isaiah put away his bow and quiver and sat on his bunk. "Jephthah, we are close to completing our goal!" The hard part is managing to find that temple without ending up killed. If anyone follows me...

Jepthah made sounds to say he was hungry. Isaiah groaned. "Man, how could I be stupid? I should have hunted while I was out there! Sorry, buddy!" He stood up from his bunk. Well, let's see if Paige has anything for you..."