Four Kingdoms

Leena wished she could have joined the royals for their discussion, but knew it was none of her business, for now. She would grill Takumi later. Walking a bit, she wondered if she should go to bed or not. The night had been a gauntlet of emotions and activities. Than there was this curse. What could the that group talk about when they didn't even know the nature of it? No, Leena couldn't leave yet. She doubt she would ever getting any sleep tonight. At the very least, she wanted out of this outfit she was in. No more time for pretend, she thought and with that she left the ballroom and headed upstairs. Her home was actually in a nearby town an hour away, but since she was staying in the palace for this event, she had her own chambers. Leena thought about the invitation to Nitel's castle and doubted she would ever go there. She never wanted to go back to her original homeland, for the memory of hers family's death still haunted her. Leena also doubted she would see Alexander again after this as well, which made her sad all of the sudden. Getting to her room, she changed into something more casual and comfortable. After that, she looked out her window and saw the bonsai tree where she saw the kings, Ryu, those strangers, and that Princess Jasmyne. Not wanting to ease drop. she moved from the window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Melchor groaned when he got the message. Looks like he'll have to look for Pappillion later. With that he headed outside for the bonsai tree and saw he was the last to arrive.

"All right, I am here, shall we get this underway?" he suggested.

Normally he was pretty patient, but tonight he was feeling a bit more unedge.

"Hello all!" Takumi smiled brightly at the small group. "I am assuming that everyone knows why we are here.... Right?" looking around and seeing no one question him, he continued. "Marvelous! Well apparently there is more to what happened tonight than with what happened to us four. First, I would like to hear Ryu give his story of tonight, then we will hear the four strangers give their tale. Is this acceptable to everyone?" He hated taking charge like this, however they were in his kingdom, and his palace. for him to pass control of the meeting would be an insult to the other kings.

King Alexander nodded silently. He was wondering what would be told. The moring was rather coming fast and as it came it felt strange. Still, he wasn't going to be scared of some curse that didn't seem to work. He was curious though what the curse was and if it would really work. Maybe he would turn in some fearce creature that wants to kill everything, or in a peacefull creature. But, maybe he wouldn't turn in something at all. But, he would see just about that later.

((Just for the record, I wasn't thinking of the disney princess when I was making Fahads sister. In fact I wasn't even thinking royalty at all, just an overproctective little sister. Any similaritys are coincidential.))


Fahad inwardly groaned as Takumi announced the strangers to tell about what had happened that night. More people, more business to deal with, more duty to attend. Truthfully, Fahad was exhausted after everything that had happened, and all he wanted to do was retire in his peaceful rooms where he could be alone for a while. With slumped shoulders he made his way to the bench next to his sister. He hoped this wouldn't take too long. He didn't feel like talking about a curse whose form wasn't obvious yet. They were cursed anyway, what was the point worrying about it.

Jasmyne placed a hand on her brothers tired shoulders. She could tell he was exhausted and didn't want to be here at the moment. She herself was still affected by the adrenaline of dancing and the shock of the sorceresses appearance, so she was wide awake. What could have happened to the strangers in the clearing? And who were they? "By all means, your highness." She said. "I am curious as to what else may have happened tonight." She looked up to the bonsai tree, and thought of the scene in the ballroom. She had felt helpless behind that invisible wall, her brother on the other side, trapped and then cursed.

Harumi just managed to catch Lavilev's expression as he seemed to be trying to keep his composure. This caused Harumi to smile. It was funny that Lejla already had someone think she was mad at them, but that was just her personality.

"This way please."

Harumi followed King Takumi through the large garden. She was vaguely surprised. It wasn't how she expected it to be, for obvious reasons, now that she thought about it. She observed everything with interest, storing it in her memory so that she could remember as much as possible later. After a while, they came to the hedge maze. It's so... quaint, Harumi thought with a smile. Since she was a bit short, she could only just see over it. She followed closely behind Takumi, raising on her toes every once in a while to see if anyone was already at the tree. Soon, the maze opened up, fully revealing the large bonsai tree. That at least was about what she expected.

King Takumi immediately sat down on one of the benches. Harumi could just hear him. "What should I do, father? please give my friends and I wisdom to overcome these trials, ancestors."

Her eyes immediately welled up with tears as she was filled with emotion at this statement. She put her hand over her mouth and calmly turned to hide the tears she just managed to keep from falling, looking out as well as she could over the hedge. She quickly composed herself as Lavilev said, "That is a bonsai tree? It's huge!" She laughed at his incredulous tone, turning to smile at him as Ryu answered his question. One of the newly arrived kings also commented.

King Takumi soon started the meeting.

Is this acceptable to everyone?" he asked.

Harumi quickly nodded in agreement, hearing some of the others also agreeing. She looked over toward the horizon, where the moon had almost already set. It would begin soon. They had to finish this meeting quickly, before the confusion started to break out.

Lejla was listening to the meeting, but Lavilev's stifled laughter and her memory of the beforehand exchange faded away. Now, before her, the great tree stood, its trunk twisting and turning around the core. It was the most interesting tree she had ever seen...or heard. The voice of the great tree was not one, but thousands of voices. They were the kings of Mornia past, some ruling as far back as one thousand years ago. Past that, the language had become different, so much to the point that she could no longer understand. Trees all spoke the same language, regardless of location, but this tree was different. She wanted to touch it, to hear it more clearly, but she dare not breach any royal customs or procedures regarding the tree. It was so...so....
She couldn't think of any words to describe it.

"Is this acceptable to everyone?" Takumi was asking. Lejla looked around, suddenly pulled from her reverie. She realized that she had drifted so close to the tree that she looking up into the lower branches and could see the detail of the bark. She stepped back and walked quietly over to stand next to Harumi as her awed expression hardened into something stoic. But inwardly, her wonder expanded.

King Alexanser watched the other king that acted with for a moment before he felt a sharp pain in the chest. He realized it was where the curse mark was. Seconds later, he fell to the ground with a scream of pain. He wasn't sure what was happening but it hurted a lot. As he saw the other king as an eagle, he gasped. How could that happen? But before he could even open his mouth to ask if the king was alright and what was happening a green aura surrounded Alexander. Before he knew it, he was a wolf. Covered in fur, a muzzle, pointy ears, four legs and a tail. He hadn't seen himself yet because he had his eyes closed. He felt instincts kick in but was still scared to open his eyes. Maybe he was formed to a monster and would look like a monster forever. Whatever was happend to him, he was curious too. So, his curious side took over and he opened his eyes slowly. He blinked a few times before sitting up, not realising what he was. He brought his paw up to his muzzle and his eyes grew wide.

(Ill be gone from Mobday the 23th up untill Thursday the 26th)

Takumi Felt a little dizzy at first, so he decided to take a seat on one of the stone benches. His Ki was all wrong, and he sensed it in the others as well. His body began to burn, as he felt his muscles expand. Pain coursed through his chest as if he was stabbed. He gritted his teeth and gasped as his bones seemed to melt and reshape themselves. his skin prickled as thick brown hair grew out. when at last it was over, he slumped over and layed on the bench. after a few moments, he rolled off onto the ground and tried to stand up, but it was as if his body had the wrong parts, he was off balanced, and his hands felt wrong. He looked down at his body, and saw a mass of brown fur. he rolled over onto his back to get a better look, and saw thick limbs and paws with razor sharp claws. "How odd." He commented to himself, unsure of whether he actually spoke aloud or thought it. he tried to stand up again very slowly, this time succeeding. "Hey! look at this! I'm a Bear! How amazing is this!" he looked over to the other Kings to see that they had all transformed into animals as well. "Ohhhh. That's what the curse does. Not the worst that could happen, I guess." he said smiling, wich looked lopsided and awkward on his new face.

Something was wrong, and Leena knew it. She suddenly dashed out of her quarters and found herself running outside where Takumi and the others were. She came outside just in time to see her cousin and the other kings transform. The king of Noondrim was obvious in distressed and Alex looked in shocked. Takumi was obviously trying to take the situation lightly. However, she felt her temper rise and she marched forward to the big brown bear.

"YOU CALL THIS AMAZING!? My gosh, what if you four become all animal and forget who you are? How will your subjects respond to this?! This is serious!! And for all we know more can happen. And how will you find a wife this way? What if you never turn back to a human? Amazing? I THINK NOT!!!" she hollered at him.

With that she stomped over to the bonsai tree and sat down before bringing her knees to her face and wept.

"I am sorry . . I just couldn't do anything . . . ." she murmured.

Melchor looked at the blond and guessed she knew Takumi. He didn't think the situation was great either. The girl did bring up a point though too. They couldn't get married now that they were animals. This was not good at all. He wondered where Papillon was.

"For your information, Takumi. I SO don't want to remain a bird!" he replied, ending in a chirp sound.

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Dolman had a good laugh at what he saw through a magical orb. He had been spying on the kings and it appeared that the curse his girls did worked. He looked at Amaris as she started making breakfast.

"Very well done girls, I am impressed." he commented.

"Thank you sir. However, the curse only works during the day. At night they'll be human again." Amaris replied.

"Still that curse will serve our purposes. Soon all the hard work I have done over the years will pay off." Dolman replied.

Amaris didn't say a word. She knew her father's plan and was against it. Somehow she would make sure that everything would work out in her best interest, not her father's.

((Those who play guides, if you have trouble on what to say, feel free to ask me.))

The suns rays appeared over the horizon. How did the night pass so quickly? Fahad wondered, most of it seemed to have pass in a blur, especially after the curse. As dawn approached, the pain over the curse mark began to pain him. A searing pain spread from his chest to his arms and legs. He felt his bones reshape and he fell of the bench with a thud. Suddenly, the pain was over and Fahad was laying on his side. He got onto all fours, and realized his body had changed. He had fur and a tail, He was a Leopard.

Jasmyne watched as the sun began to shine, but was startled when her brother began to shake next to her. He fell and she watched with a horrified fascination as he transformed before he eyes into a spotted cat. Around her, the other kings had went through similar transformation. There was an eagle, a wolf, and a bear. So that was the curse. "Fahad? Are you okay?" She asked.

He looked at her and nodded, his silvery white fur glistening in the morning sun. "I can still talk, It would seem, and all my thoughts seem to be intact." He smiled a catlike grin. "This is kind of cool."

Jasmyne smiled, too. This curse didn't seem so bad after all. That girl Jasmyne had met at the ball suddenly charged into the courtyard. "YOU CALL THIS AMAZING!? My gosh, what if you four become all animal and forget who you are? How will your subjects respond to this?! This is serious!! And for all we know more can happen. And how will you find a wife this way? What if you never turn back to a human? Amazing? I THINK NOT!!!" Leena said, yelling at King Takumi.

Jasmyne looked at the other girl incredulously. "Are you serious? You're thinking about marriage at a time like this? Way to look at the donwside to this." She said.

But Leena then burst into tears and sat at teh base of the bonsai. "I am sorry . . I just couldn't do anything . . . ."

Jasmyne went over to her and knelt next to her. "It isn't as bad as it looks. And I couldn't do anything for my brother either, you know."

Meanwhile, Fahad was exploring the capabilities of his new body and leapt into the giant tree, leaping from branch to branch in perfect balance. "This is so cool." He said and lept out of the tree and landed in the middle of the courtyard.


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Sidhe looked up from he boring book and watched her fathers magic orb as he observed the curse taking effect. He laughed at it but Sidhe kept watching. She kept getting a feeling of some things not going according to plan, but it was too vague to pinpoint what and when. She put down her book and stood up. She went over to help her sister with breakfast. At last something to do. She thought. She had been sitting bored out of her mind waiting for something to happen.

All too soon the sun began to peek over the horizon. Harumi watched this with a despairing look. They hadn't even gotten the meeting started. It would have been good if they could have given the kings at least some warning at least.

As the sun's rays reach one king after the other, their forms began to change as one of them even gasped, apparently in pain. Harumi glanced away for a moment and when she glanced back, they were all completely transformed. King Takumi had transformed into a bear and the other kings had transformed into and eagle, a leopard, and a wolf. A couple were confused and frightened, but King Takumi seemed to actually enjoy it.

Suddenly a girl, Leena, came running in and started yelling at Takumi. She obviously didn't like that he did not seem to be taking this seriously. Harumi watched, a concerned look in her eye, as Leena sat at the tree. One of the King's sister began scolding her about thinking about marriage at a time like this, and she began to cry. Harumi agreed, but she thought it should be put quite a bit kinder. She walked over to Leena as the girl did, and sat on her other side. She watched as the kings slowly became used to their animal bodies.

"She is right you know," Harumi said, smiling gently and encouragingly at her. "There is a way to remove the curse," she said, just loud enough that everyone could hear. She put hand gently on Leena's shoulder before removing it and getting to her feet.

"There is a way to remove the curse," she repeated, looking thoughtfully at the ground. "Would you like to explain it, Lejla, Lavilev, Jason? Or shall I?"

In the forest, Adara heard the cries of shock and wonder at the kings' transformation, and she felt the thud of their new limbs on Earth's damp surface. Forgetting her dress at the base of the tree, she quickly swung Red into her arms and began walking in the direction of the kings. In a few moments, she arrived - but stayed hidden - and saw four animals in place of each young man: a bear, an eagle, a leopard, and a wolf. The leopard's eyes were a clear evergreen, and she noticed the hint of amusement they held. The bear also looked rather pleased with the sudden occurrence and rolled playfully onto its back.

She had been curious of the events that had taken place - but still had respect for the privacy that the group clearly wanted - and so Adara started to walk back into the woods, setting the little fox onto the forest floor and sitting beside the great tree. Though it was an odd happening, she would simply have to wait until they were ready to tell everyone.

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Reyne listened to her father's satisfaction at the spell his daughter's had created, his low voice complimenting their work. She scoffed in contempt at his seflishness and continued to read her book - but she soon got distracted by the smell of food that continued to caress her sensitive nose. Sighing quietly, she set her book on the nightstand beside the bed and rose from the soft mattress. The girl had slid off her heels and now padded barefoot down the long hall, her nose constantly in the air. She silently slipped into the kitchen and began to pull a few things out of the large refrigerator that stood in a corner of the open space, putting them onto the counter next to her sisters.

"Mind if I help?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jason watched quietly at the kings' shift into animal form, and a haiku he thought of suddenly whispered on his lips.



With a sigh at the simplicity of his poetic thoughts, he brought his mind back to the present and gauged the kings' reactions - two seemed positively confused at the change, and yet two others were eagerly discovering their new bodies. He chuckled softly under his breath and turned toward Harumi as she began to speak.

"There is a way to remove the curse," she said, her gaze on the ground beneath her feet. "Would you like to explain it - Lejla, Lavilev, Jason? - or shall I?"

Jason looked at the others, then spoke for himself in a low, and soothing, voice. "I believe that you are fully capable of that yourself, Harumi. I have no objection of you speaking."

Now that he had voiced his opinion, he was silent again, and faded into the simple background of their calm setting, listening to the others speak amongst themselves.

Lavilev was enjoying the king's different reactions. The leopard and the bear seemed to have forgotten the gravity of the situation, and were enjoying themselves, while the wolf and eagle did not seem to be interested in their new bodies. He quickly agreed with Jason, "Yes, you know I don't like all of that magic babble. Go ahead." He sat down on one of the stone benches, unslinging the scroll on his back, and placing it between his feet.

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Takumi was taken aback at Leena's statement. And although, he did believe that she was overreacting, Jasmyne's reaction upset him a little. She did not need to be yelled at like that. He lumbered over behind Leena, and placed his head on her shoulder just as The smaller girl explained that there was a way to get rid of the curse. "See, Leena! Don't be upset. everything will be fine. Don't worry about it." He tired to nudge her softly with his head, but ended up almost pushing her over. "Sorry..... I'm going to go somewhere else now." He quickly got away from the wrath that would surly ensue from her, to go play.

He decided it looked like the leopard was having fun, so he ran to the spot beneath the tree where he was jumping from branch to branch. "Hey! Which one are you? I'm Takumi!"

Jumping back into the tree, Fahad was braced up against a branch when the bear spoke up to him. "Hey! Which one are you? I'm Takumi!" Fahad looked down with his clear green eyes and spoke a simple word, "Fahad" He had momentarily forgotten the others in the wonders of his new feline body. Heh, he thought, Fahad, means feline. Maybe it was fate to have this curse put upon him.

Jasmyne watched the bear and the young girl a part of the group of strangers, try to comfort Leena. She only felt a little remorse for raising her voice, but the thought that someone could be focused on marriagability after all that had happened tonight surprised her. What they should be focused on was the who the cursers were and how to unravel the spell. She watched her brother in the tree. Was the curse really all that bad? She went over to the benches again and sat down and waited for the strangers to explain what they wanted to explain. The birds in the gardens were beginning to sing.

((so sorry guys! I've been really busy!))

"There is a way to remove the curse," Harumi said. Would you like to explain it - Lejla, Lavilev, Jason? - or shall I?"

Lejla shrugged. "Go ahead, Harumi. I don't really want to." She enjoyed watching the eagle and the wolf have a mini-panic attack. It was as if they didn't know how to function anymore. Oh, what she would give to run free! To have the winter wind be her companion, and to cry into the wilderness...she would give anything to be in King Alexander's place now.

Looking over at the girl, Leena, Lejla rolled her eyes. I don't see why she can't marry a bear. Then she chuckled to herself. Just imagine what their children would look like. The more she thought, the funnier it was. She snorted in an effort to stifle her laughter. It probably wasn't appropriate to laugh at a time like this. She looked to Harumi to continue.

Alexander watched the other kings silently. His shock was gone and had made place for curiousity. He was curious about what would happen more and if they would stay this way, he was also curious about what he could do now. He stood up slowly and looked at his paws, flattening his ears a bit and sitting back down. He looked at Leena and walked to her. He sat down beside her and looked at her. He didn't think he could say a word. How would it be alright if they stayed animals? He softly licked her hand and hung his head a bit.

Harumi looked around at each of the other guides as they responded, all in the negative. She gave a sigh as she walked closer to the tree, changing her stance so she was standing straight, and starting to speak in a loud, monotone voice that one would expect from a boring, long-winded teacher. Her eyes did not look at anyone in particular and seemed to just be staring off into space as she tried to remember every word.

"To break the curse, there are several relatively simple steps. First, we must go to each of the four countries: Mornia, Noondrim, Duskin, and Nitel. In each of these countries, we are seeking four ingredients, for a total of sixteen. However, we alone will not be able to find these ingredients. There are four people, four women to be precise, who alone are able to find the four ingredients from the four respective countries. Each of these women has a birthmark in the shape of a flower somewhere on their body that represents their respective country," she finally paused, looking around to see reactions before she continued, now looking in the faces of those present.

"My kings, if you would allow us, myself and those in my party have prepared a certain spell to discern the identity of these women," she said formaly, giving a small bow to signal she was done.

Before any response could be made, she walked quickly back to her former postion beside Lejla, quietly whispering, "Did I miss anything?"

Lejla shook her head. "No, I don't think you did," she said to Harumi. All Lejla wanted was to get this freak show on the road. The kings and their mates could work out the biology later. As far as Lejla was concerned, this "starcrossed lovers" charade was getting really old really fast. And how they could behave this way after only one evening spent together....sheesh. You'd think the pheromones just kicked in. Lejla folded her arms and flexed her shoulders, feeling the glossy fabric strain to almost the breaking point. The sooner they could get on, the happier she would be. It's about time she got out of this monster gown.