In the intervening time, Lenore had done what little she was able to make the space a bit more comfortable. Most of the riotous showers of flowers had come down, confined into bundles and a few placed in strategic accent-type places here and there. The rest, she honestly didn't know what to do with, and she'd spent a moment in contemplation, chewing her lip as she surveyed the extras laid out over the foot of her too-large bed. She'd poked her head outside to see if there might be some form of person who could take them away, but nobody had been around and she didn't really want word to get to the king anyway in case he was offended or something. Her father had once told her that the nobility were far too sensitive to things that knights and commoners would regard as mere personal taste or practicality, so she'd have to be careful, perhaps.

As she considered her options, a small smile tugged at the corners of Lenore's mouth. It was certainly a little childish, but nobody would have to know, right? Of course not. Glancing surreptitiously about the chamber as though someone might appear to chastise her at any moment, the guard-captain's daughter grabbed an armful of extra pink blossoms and shoved them under her bed, repeating the process until all the rest had disappeared in the same manner. She could leave them there until the poor things completed their slow death, and then have them cleaned out with the rest. No harm done, right?

Without all the pink flowers, the rest of it was a bit more manageable, even if her bedclothes were a horrid shade of fushia. At least the canopy was ivory, and she could leave it drawn all day if she wanted. The bathroom was actually the best part, since the pink was by necessity minimal with the white marble and silver fixtures. Perhaps a little more satisfied than she should have been, Lenore threw open her window and stood with hands on hips, casting a critical eye over the furnishings. She'd never tell anyone, but she was an artist as well as a knight, something she'd inherited from her mother, who was ironically enough a florist of all things. It wasn't to her taste, exactly, but it least it now looked a bit more like the abode of someone who had taste, which had to count for something.

Her room seemed to look over some form of lake on the grounds, though whether it was natural or not was something the landscaper had too much skill for her to guess at. She sat upon the windowsill for a while, simply sketching the features with her eyes. It looked very much like something she'd like to paint, someday.

She sighed. Someday. Her life had always been about someday. Someday, she'd take her father's place. Someday, she'd be the person she truly wanted to be. Someday, she'd allow herself to do something other than to prepare for the future. Someday. Lenore was tired of thinking about someday, but she knew not other way to live. She knew that some people could seize the moment, live in the now, do what they were moved to do, but she was simply incapable. Too much logic, cold reason, strategy. Someday, she might just let herself feel... something.

A knock at the door brought her out of her reverie, and she started, so lost in thought that she hadn't even heard the person coming. That's what you get for losing your focus, she berated internally. She realized with some trepidation that she'd completely lost track of time. This couldn't be Adio again already, could it? And why did she hope it was? Surely it was only because she really wanted that tour. It was only logical; knowing the layout of the place would be instrumental in doing her job effectively. Yes, that must be it.

She tugged open the door to find that it was indeed the silver-hued prince, smiling that odd smile of his again, the one that didn't quite reach his eyes. A shame; she rather liked the soft, genuine one better. Where did that come from? Brushing the thought away, he eyes fell to the bouquet in his hands. Orchids, daffodils, irises, lavender, and a carnation. "You know," she said offhandedly, "a florist would call that a mess." Though her tone didn't modulate much from her usual, she did smile softly, only half-aware of it, and accepted the bundle from his hands. Her fingers brushed his knuckles, and she tried not to flinch. "Thank you. I-I'll be right back."

She retreated temporarily into her room, more than a little embarrassed. She'd never really had cause to care that her slender fingers were callused, but right now it was just one more reminder that she didn't really belong here. Shaking her head, she searched the room for a free vase. Not many, but there was one. The clear receptacle fir the flowers nicely, and she placed it on the center of the low table that anchored her sitting area. It might have been messy, but it was a most welcome gesture. How he'd known that purple was her favorite hue, she did not know. Perhaps he hadn't, but that didn't make it any less kind of him.

Taking up her sword, Lenore affixed it to her back and stepped outside again. "So," she said, trying to regain some semblance of nonplussed grace, "is this the part where the not-so-distressed certainly-not-a damsel gives the knight in rather dull armor a tour of his humble abode?" Okay, that could have been put better, but he was somehow throwing her off. She didn't really understand it, and it was mildly irritating, but somehow not enough for her to quite wish he'd go away.

Sora had always believed that the way a person treated an animal was a reflection of the way they really were. Domesticated animals, while not helpless in the sense of never being dangerous, were nevertheless without the same means to defend themselves that humans had. People had a degree of power over animals that they could never have over each other, and for this reason he was always interested to see how they handled it.

Most chose to put layers between themselves and the creatures, and many meant well by it, not wishing to accidentally cause harm. This he could understand, and appreciate in a way. Others still used those layers to freely exercise the power, sometimes to extremes. riding crops, spurs, the instruments of control. This he could not stand.

Still other people saw the animals for what they were, or rather as he saw them: being with feelings and preferences and loyalties just like any person, but more beautifully simple. There was no need for layers if one could see this, and the moment Zahra removed the saddle from Isis, he knew she understood as well. "I hope you don't mind?" there was a slight pink stain to her cheeks as she asked, and he looked up at where she sat upon the leggy mare and shook his head.

"I could never," he replied truthfully, and leaped atop Xerxes with the ease born of a lifetime of practice and a lanky, lighter frame. Shooting one more look over at his charge for the day- beautiful simplicity indeed, his brutally-honest inner monologue informed him without reservation- he urged his horse forward with no discernible gesture. Nothing more than a shift in the way he sat informed the creature that it was time to begin moving, and he set off at a steady trot, smooth enough that he could still speak without difficulty.

"This, as I'm sure you have guessed, is the stable complex, and the adjoining pastures are over that way. The falconry is that smaller building there, and if we keep following this circle, we will eventually reach the gardens and then the training grounds." It was a peculiar quality of Sora's voice that though always sounding rather soft, it projected well enough to be heard just about anywhere. It was certainly the kind of tone of one who worked with animals and believed in gentleness in those situations. "Is there some weapon that you use and would need equipment to practice with?" He knew not if Zahra was a combatant, but even if she was not, this was not such a concern. It was clear that whatever else might be true of this situation, each of the females now in the company of himself and his brothers was quite different from the others.

Shizuo glanced around deciding what to do first before settling on the machine for melee combat. Sh was never really good at bows and guns. Just made her feel like a coward trying to hit from afar. She paused to load her weapon with the necessary bullets then took a step forward activating the machine carefully.

The initial shock of seeing something coming out of the machine and darting around made her take a wary step back before she shook her head and cut the machine off. So much for that idea! That was too much to handle. What ever happened to the training in the forest until you fainted from exhaustion. She pursed her lips in a small smirk, slightly amused at that idea. She strode over to the straw dummy, content to practice her swipes at the fake person. Far easier and less to understand. Although perhaps after she warmed up she would try again!

Shizuo raised her blade and narrowed her eyes focusing on the way the blade felt in her hand. Something floated through her body in a collective sigh of giddy joy. She finally swept out the blade to strike but two seconds before she hit the dummy she flipped the blade and a loud bang went off which shot her blade in the other direction in almost a blur to where she did a full three sixty and struck the target from the other side. A faint to one side then a strike to the other. She pulled to blade back from the straw and began all over again, sometime adding in new moves. She practiced like this for a while completely absorbed in her own blade and the way it glistened in the sun every time it flashed by with the speed of a striking serpent. She finally stopped unaware to how many minutes had passed and wiped the sweat from the back of her neck with one hand, using the other to shield her eyes to look up to the sky.

She huffed and moved back to the machine from before and prepared her blade. This time she believed that it wouldn't get the best of her. She turned it on slowly then watched as the small target shot out darting around waiting for her to strike it. She let her eyes follow it for a moment and kept out of it's path dodging any time it came to close. She saw the opening and arced her sword bringing it down but she missed by a second and she felt something snap in her mind, like a twig being crushed. She propelled herself forward, keeping her eyes on the target, and cartwheeled back into it's path spinning around to swipe the sword out to slide through the target cleanly.

It fell to the ground in front of her and she took a shuddering breath feeling uneasy with how she lost control. It happened sometimes where suddenly her instincts that drove her to battle would take over but she had to exercise control. Hurting people shamed her and if she couldn't control herself then surely it would happen again. She lowered her blade and put it into it's brace not up to practicing anymore today. Shizuo glanced towards the other girl before leaving silently.

She arrived at her room and took off her brace throwing the sword and sheath on to the bed. Shizuo gave a great sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Perhaps going off to do another one of her hobbies would calm her down or relax her. Her eyes spotted something out of place and she turned to it fully examining the object of her attention. Flowers addressed to her in one of her nicer colors.

She reached for it but paused becoming cautious of what await her in the letter. She shook her head and reached forward opening the letter and reading the content. Her gaze skated back up to the flowers then down to the letter. "I see. I must thank him then. Yes." She murmured while one hand went to brush over the petal tenderly. She picked it up by the vase and hurriedly moved it to the window where sunlight could reach it. For some reason this pleased her but her own intentions were unclear. Shizuo sat down on one of the chairs near the window and relaxed wondering how to go about her next move.

((OOC: Having writers block! Darn >.< Sorry if this sucks. I tried.))

He could have said Lenore Mirren was easy to read, but Adio would have been lying. Yes, the Prince could read most everyone, even his father, especially women. He took a great pride in knowing a person without having to have much conversation with them, no matter how much he enjoyed it. Lenore, however, was quite a task for him. She was trying, and had been since setting foot on palace grounds, to appear strong, level-headed, and in control of every situation, while still accidentally letting go of it every now and then. Adio had yet to see the pattern but he did enjoy when he saw it as her fingers brushed his in the handing over of her flowers. Her insult was well meant and Adio just smiled at her. Taking a peak inside her chambers, he noticed that during his absence she’d taken liberties with the staffs decorating. He appreciated it and nodded thoughtfully to himself. It seemed this warrior, born and bred for the military, had something a little hidden away.

When she was standing before him again, he looked over her, his smile not as radiant, but his eyes searching. Nor for anything deep or secretive, he was just interested to know more of her. Adio laughed softly at her statement and nodded to her. Stepping aside, he let her join him at his side and held out his elbow for her to take. He was curious as to how she would respond to the gesture. Either way, Adio continued out the doors and straight ahead. He supposed she would like to see the practicing grounds first. On the way were a few more recreational rooms the young women could all use. Adio couldn’t forget the artistic way in which she’d fixed the sorry predicament of her chambers.

“We have many things to accommodate any interest here in the palace. We don’t like to have any person bored or left out.” Stopping at a set of doors, Adio swung them open to show the library. Books upon books, upon other stacks of books were against the walls. The Prince wasn’t very fond of the state of things at the moment and when Jin returned, he would be putting himself and his younger brother to work reorganizing everything.

“It seems my younger brother is still working in here, though he must still be out with the two young ladies.” His fingers twitched for a moment, an irritated look on his face. One may actually find the emotion particularly comical on the beautiful, sleek façade, for it wasn’t really at home there. It didn’t matter, however, for all the mess that had been made really irked Adio. Closing the doors quickly, he tried to laugh it off, rather falsely, and hurried Lenore past. “Anyway! On to the next room!” Ushering her forward, he decided something a bit more calming was needed, more for his sake than anyone else’s.

The next room had two smaller doors and was hidden back in the hallway. Upon opening it, Adio found most of the items covered with white sheets. He frowned at this and walked in.

“I suppose the servants found it more suitable to protect these things rather than let dust cover them up.” Pulling one from a tall structure, Adio revealed an old, but sturdy, easel set in front of the French doors to the balcony. “This was a small studio for one of the mistresses of my father. I’m not sure if she ever bore him children, but at the time, he was hopeful of it. She passed away some time ago. I dabbled in paints for a while, to put the room to use, but I am a horrible artist.” He chuckled and uncovered a table covered in muslin and paints. The brushes were crusted over with unused acrylics and the tablets were stained from the oils, but something about it incited another desire to give it a try.

“Even if you cannot appreciate the story, you can appreciate the person within it.” Adio smiled at Lenore. “Painters are beautiful people, just likes singers or poets. I delight in the arts, no matter how bad at them I am myself.” The Prince kept his silver eyes close on Lenore, hoping to get a bit of information. If not this room, than the music room next. He could feel the secret inside her, he just had to get it out. If he couldn’t, than he would just take her to the practicing grounds and duel it out of her. His smile physically manifested. The idea of sparring with his own guardian was a bit exciting.




Following close behind, but still off to the side, Zahra listened carefully. Her eyes, however, took in the majesty of the palace grounds. They had certainly put a lot of time and effort into building this place. And, much to her enjoyment, they kept a majority of the natural life untouched. The wealth of greens, trees, flowers, and animals was breathtaking. Zahra felt a giddy feeling well up inside her. Any moment the village that had raised her would come sneaking from the trees and low-lying brush, welcoming her with drums and flower crowns. The hallucination faded though, and she was left with the emptiness her parents had brought her, once again. Always wanting to fit in, but never actually accomplishing it. Looking to the back of Sora’s head, he was pointing out the path they were taking and talking of where it lead.

Practicing grounds? Were the trees and forests not enough? Zahra wondered if the practicing grounds were anything like the “arena” of her village. Her father had taken her to a fight there once. It had been barbaric and both men had cheated. Zahra almost entered the fight, in order to stop both bastards from killing each other, but her father had scolded her, smacked her and left her lying in the dirt.

Why was her mind filling up with all these dark memories? She had to leave that place and enter into the world where Sora’s voice calmed her, his presence eased her, and his eyes soothed her worrying spirit. Zahra was going to become a dark creature and lose her purpose; the one she’d promised to fulfill when she left the village. No man to be cut down as long as she was there to stop it.

Sora asked a question and she thought on it. Any certain weapon?

“Well, I use my hands most of the time.” She spoke innocently, her eyes looking ahead as Isis carried her gracefully at the Prince’s side. “I suppose I also use bow and arrows. I was trained with a pike once.” She chewed on her lips, remembering the rather embarrassing fall she’d accomplished during her training with the weapon. Running, pointing, lowering, flying through the air; that kind of trip and fall. The story was told until the day she left. She was good with them. One just couldn’t expect Zahra to run with one capably.

“But must you always train on the training grounds? I much prefer a partner in the woods. Stalking is easier that way, as well as being able to use your surroundings in hand to hand combat.” It was the most she’d spoken the entire day and her voice felt strange. Confidence exuded as she spoke of sparring. Zahra was a very inward young woman, but fighting was something she was certainly good at. She wondered how Sora fared in the category. “Shall you and I try it sometime?”

As it turned out, Jin entered the room shortly after Adio and Lenore had left it, though he was not aware that they had been by. After leaving the rose for Shizuo (a gesture he was still not certain wasn't entirely misplaced and far too forward of him), he had stopped by his own bedchambers which were in an entirely separate wing- as was suitably proper, of course- to retrieve a few volumes he'd left in there for light reading at some point. He was in need of them now though.

By the time he reached the library, it was already occupied by one other person- the aging palace Archivist. The man was spindly and hunched, wisps of white hair scattered in every direction and sticking out at odd angles from an egg-shaped head. A pair of circular spectacles were perched on a crooked, hawkish nose, but it was the eyes behind them that always tended to draw attention. The irises were of such a light gray that they appeared to almost blend with the whites, giving him an oddly-ethereal appearance. It was this man, and not the king, that Jin considered to be his father. It had been this way for all his brothers, to varying degrees. Adio had been tutored by the head steward, a man of impeccable manners and fastidiousness, now unfortunately deceased, and Sora by the stablemaster.

The armsmaster was all three youths' uncle by the same logic. But Jin's thoughts were digressing again, and he reined them in with a small shake of his head. "Walter," he greeted with a half-smile, and the old man (too old, so much so that Jin feared for his health even though he had never once known the man to fall ill) replied with a secretive smile of his own and a nod. Not a bow; the scholar had never felt compelled to exercise such conventions with the blond prince, nor had Jin ever asked them of him.

"The men you requested for the meeting about the engine regret to say that they were waylaid and will not be able to make it before the sun sets. We received the messenger pigeon just a few minutes ago." Jin's brow furrowed contemplatively, and he looked at the mess of schematics and plans he had laid out for his presentation. Granted, it wouldn't look that way to anyone else but perhaps Walter, because Jin operated on an esoteric system in which as long as he knew where everything was, he didn't care how it looked. He suspected it drove Adio up a wall.

"I see... well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to look a bit further into this business with the guardians then." Walter nodded as though he had been waiting for this, and hefted the large tome from under his arm onto the table in front of him.

"I found this in document storage. There are some things in it that you might wish to see."




Lenore poked her head into the library and looked around, noting that it most definitely seemed more like the private space of one person than a public affair, and she supposed that the brother Adio mentioned must be the blond one with glasses. She didn't much suppose that the outdoorsy one would spend too much time in here. She noted with curiosity the chessboard in one corner, and wondered if any of them played. Judging from the fact that there appeared to be a match in progress, she supposed that one of them must.

She glanced back over her shoulder and caught the look on Adio's face. Clearly, something about the room disturbed him very much. She raised a laconic eyebrow as if to ask exactly what had him so troubled, but he was already making to leave, and so she hastened out after him. Seriously, though; she'd found nothing particularly offensive about the room, though it was perhaps a tad disorganized-looking. Was that it? Lenore was suddenly grateful that she was a neat person generally, though that look was humorous enough that she might have to consider leaving a few things lying about sometime and seeing what happened.

The next room took her by surprise, and at first Lenore was confused. Everything was covered in sheets and tarps, but there was a lingering smell that was familiar to her. It smelled like... paint. Her confusion was soon replaced by genuine surprise, though, when her guide pulled aside a sheet to reveal an easel. The brushes came next, and try as she might, Lenore could not maintain her stonefaced facade. She had never noticed, though it had always been obvious to the people who knew her, but whenever she was brought into contact with her more artistically-inclined self, that carefully-crafted nonplussed expression would soften at the edges. The individual changes were almost indiscernible, but the overall effect was anything but.

She took up one of the brushes, trying much less successfully than she would have hoped to feign nothing more than an idle curiosity. She tapped the pad of an index finger upon the point of a paint-hardened brush, tilting her head a little bit to the side. The brushes were finer than anything she'd ever had occasion to work with, and they could probably be salvaged from the damage they had incurred also. Carefully, she set it back down in its place, eying the spectrographically- arranged row of paints, already picking out the shades that most closely resembled this or that.

“Painters are beautiful people, just likes singers or poets. I delight in the arts, no matter how bad at them I am myself.” She'd been listening to him the whole time, of course, it would be rude not to, but she couldn't help being taken aback by that one. Clearing her throat a tad awkwardly, she forcibly tore her eyes from the array before her.

"That's... certainly a bit of a generalization, is it not?" She could feel the flush slowly creeping up her face, and cursed that fact that even her skin had to be so... pink. Lenore was aware on some level that she was not ugly, and that really it was mostly her personality that tended to keep people at a distance, but there was a very important difference between being called fair or pretty than being referred to as a beautiful person. That implied something about, well, things that mattered to her, and she could not say she had ever been called such a thing before. Not, of course, that she believed he had said that with her in mind, hence her mild correction. He would probably agree, and then she could safely assume that he had no idea she was an artist of any kind and everything would go back to normal.

"You said there were practice grounds in the area?" She forced herself to revert to her usual cool affectations, and sternly directed herself not to look at the art supplies that she really wanted to touch, nor at that infuriatingly-beautiful smile. There were some things that were best left alone, and Lenore's limited understanding of these things indicated that attractive, well-born men with... reputations definitely qualified. One of those qualities would have been a major red flag. Two was highly-problematic, and all three meant that she really, really needed to think about something else. Anything else. And if there was one thing that Lenore could focus on to the exclusion of anything superfluous, it was training.

Something in Zahra's demeanor suggested she was unsettled, ans Sora wondered if he had said something he shouldn't have. Still, he was sure the last thing she would want was to be questioned on it by someone who scarcely knew a thing about her, and so he pretended he had not noticed and kept on going. It seemed to fade eventually, and he wondered if it had ever been there at all, or if perhaps he had simply imagined it somehow.

Her response to his question wrung a smile out of him, and he was genuinely surprised at it. "Bows and polearms, is it? Those are my preferences as well, though I prefer spears to pikes." So saying, he dropped the reins so he was guiding Xerxes with his feet alone and reached for what appeared to be an epieu- a spear of only about a foot and a half in length. "One of my brothers fancies himself an inventor. This was his gift to me for my eighteenth name day." With the depress of a trigger and a quick, strong downward stroke, the shaft of the spear extended to a much more standard length and locked into place. "Much more convenient than carrying around an ordinary spear. I have another, if you'd like it."

Triggering the mechanism again, Sora replaced the now-shortened spear at his belt. It was a credit to the training of the horses that neither even batted an eye at the sudden appearance of a weapon in their peripheral vision. “But must you always train on the training grounds? I much prefer a partner in the woods. Stalking is easier that way, as well as being able to use your surroundings in hand to hand combat.” The newfound confidence in Zahra's tone, something that had most certainly not been there before, caused Sora to glance sideways as if to confirm that he was indeed still speaking to the same person. The idea certainly had merit; he was known to train in the forest when he felt like a change of pace.

She offered to spar with him, still with that same air of self-assurance, and he shook his head. It wasn't in the negative, merely with good-natured amusement. Still, who was he to deny someone who had been forced to deal with so much they were not accustomed to the comfort of the familiar? "That sounds like a serviceable idea to me," he replied with a nod, for the moment turning Xerxes to head back to the stables. He stopped halfway there, though, and swung off, landing lightly on the ground and removing the bridle from his equine friend before opening the gate he had stopped in front of. The horse filed in obligingly, and he gestured for Zahra to dismount, taking off Isis's bridle and blanket also. Slinging all the items over his shoulders, he closed the gate and turned to face his companion.

"The falconry's on the way back, if you're interested. Otherwise, I imagine dinner isn't too far off. I've been told everyone has to be in attendance. Apparently, the high priest will be there." The flatness of Sora's done was enough to indicate quite plainly how he felt about both of these facts. "I'm warning you in advance: they're going to expect all of us to be clothed... nicely. Unfortunately for you, that means another gown, though I promise it will at least fit properly." It was equally unfortunate for him; Sora rather despised elegant fashion. His rule of thumb was that if any sort of physical activity would ruin it, he did not particularly want to wear it. The demands of his position necessitated otherwise, though, much as he disliked being forcibly reminded of it.

He paused outside the falconry, and with great reluctance, whistled, low in pitch, trilling at the end. The response was immediate: Ophelia descended from the sky, landing on his raised leather bracer, which explained the considerable scuffs on its surface. Most of the time, he brought her indoors with him as well, she was not a bothersome creature, and never destroyed anything, just sat placidly on his shoulder, but his father would have a minor aneurysm if she was brought to a formal dinner. He raised an eyebrow, inviting Zahra to follow if she wished, then pushed open the door and entered.

The building itself was kept very clean, the assorted birds of prey within no less calm in demeanor than the horses had been. Most of them didn't even have jesses keeping them atop their perches, which allowed them to fly in and out as they pleased. The only ones who did were those with injuries or illness, of which there were two. Placing Ophelia atop a free perch, Sora went to these first, checking on them. He knew he was really just stalling for time; he'd looked over each bird earlier today, before the guardians had arrived. Mostly, he just wanted to avoid all the unnecessary fuss about dinner for as long as he conceivably could, and had a sneaking suspicion Zahra was the same. He cast about for something to say, but found that at the moment words simply escaped him. He thought he should say something, maybe, to ease her worries or something, but he so seldom needed any but the most cursory words that he was now unable to find any.

Shizuo blinked in the growing twilight. She had far more than enough of idle time and worse was that she had a job to do but could not accomplish it. She swept her arm out in a gentle brush over the petals that glowed in a weirdly surreal manner. If she had a job then wouldn't the logical thing be to finish it? Surely, but not only did she not know what her true focus was but what exactly kept her prince away for so long. She hadn't seen him since the meeting in the room where all hell had broken loose in a metaphorical way. Only that none of the guardians knew what to protect these prince's from.

She made a sound close to a "Tsk." and leaned up out of her seat. She figured it was time to fall upon her last resort. She moved around her room checking out that everything was in place before moving outside into the hall, closing the door behind her with a soft click. She gave the halls a glance before heading off towards the previous path. She suspected that it would lead to the library as Jin had instructed her.

She arrived and touched the door listening for any hint of life inside. Hearing faint voices she gave the solid door a few raps off her knuckles. "I'm coming in. Sorry for the intrusion." She eased the door open and wandered inside only to stop upon sight of Jin and an elderly man that hit some unknown chord in her heart. She stared for a moment more her shock evident before she composed herself and smiled. "Sorry. I just wanted to read a book or two. The arena was rather troublesome on my nerves. I don't think I'm in the correct mood today." She kept the reason of her disturbance to herself. That pleasure that raced through her veins every single time blood splattered the air and the times when her opponent lay before her on his knees begging for mercy.

Shizuo mentally retracted from the memories that began pulling the threads of thoughts on her mind. She moved forward as her smile brightened to shake the older man's hand. "You remind me of someone I met when I was younger. I am honored to be in your presence. Anyway, I'll be out of your hair in a few minutes time if necessary." She chuckled and moved off to go about searching for a book letting them continue their conversation without intrusion.

She found a book on literature and pulled it out as she scanned over it's contents. She brushed her hand over the large book while looking at the way the pages seemed old and full of wisdom to share. She took a collective breath and shifted to cradle the book to her chest properly. She moved back to where Jin and the man stood. "Thank you. Is there anything I can do before I return to my room?" She paused before looking to Jin. "Ah, I also thank you for the flowers. They were very extravagant. A sweet addition to the space." She let him glimpse the tiniest hint of a joyful smile before stifling it.

Well, this was becoming ever more the interesting young woman. Adio really hadn’t thought that his typical manners of finding things out would work on her. But he’d just hit a hole in one with Lenore. It wasn’t at all that he felt cocky about it because the young rose enchanted guardian was more than a treasure box meant to be unlocked. Adio wanted to know more about her in order to please her. This was the first step in many it would take to open her up. Only a fool would think the person she portrayed was who she was in reality. Adio could tell in her introduction that she’d sacrificed very much to be called here against her will. He would not have her regretting the decision. If she could not be fulfilled as a warrior, he would at least try and fulfill her as a human being.

Thankfully, he could tell clearly how much this small room could mean for her in the future. Adio clasped his hands behind his back, walking about, peering out windows and pulling more sheets from objects. There was a small sitting space and table for tea and whatnots. A drawing desk for sketching. A shelf laden with heavy and large books of other famous paintings. The Prince hadn’t realized how much the King’s mistress had really enjoyed her past time. Every now and then, he’d cast a glance at Lenore to see, hidden behind the mask of indifference, the craving to take up a brush. Was it that she always wanted to? Or that she had already indulged the need and wanted more of it? He didn’t wanted to openly appear that he was prying so he turned and walked back to her.

“That’s… certainly a bit of a generalization, is it not?” Adio shrugged and took a brush in his long fingers as well. She was blushing. For a moment, he couldn’t speak for fear of cracking. It was one thing for him to find a woman beautiful for he appreciated woman and their delicate sensibilities. But when Lenore blushed, she did it with purpose, even though she tried desperately to hide it.

“A painter can be anyone, good, evil, poor, or rich. I cannot judge that painters are only eccentric flakes who spend all their time indoors wishing they could take part in life. Only to be consumed by something they believe is life.” Finally, he mustered up the courage to look Lenore in the eyes. She was fierce, independent, everything he’d never encountered in a woman. A woman he could actually respect rather than flirt with. That realization sent him reeling inside, though, outside he was calm and poise and still baring the same sweet smile. Slowly, so as not to appear like she was continually causing him to weaken, Adio set the brush down and determined that he would finish his statement.

“I would hope they partake in life with fervor so to better express what it is to truly live in their work.” Adio wasn’t sure if any of this would mean anything to her but saw in her something she was choosing to hide from him. He didn’t want her to hide from him, but he couldn’t ask anything of her. The Prince could be way out of his league on this one, hoping for a ray of sunshine she was not willing to divulge. He would certainly try, though.

“You said there were practice grounds in the area?” Her suddenly cold tone threw him out of his self induced reverie over her and he straightened up a bit, nodding studiously.

“Yes, just a few turns and a few hallways and we shall be there.” He walked to the doorway, letting his arm out to show her the way and then slowly closed the doors to the studio. Adio would not forget this little place. If ever he couldn’t find her… would he find her there?

The Prince directed her through the halls, the closer to the training grounds, the more open the walls became. Windows gave way to windowless archways and the smells of flowers and grass would invade the nostrils. Soon, they were standing on a balcony looking over the practice area. The many contraptions his brother had made looked like they’d been recently used and Adio made his way down to fix them up.

“These beasts!” Adio started, a wild grin on his face. Jin was a genius and no one could be more proud of the young man than Adio could be. “Are a fantastic invention by my brother, Jin.” The prince removed his over coat and unbuttoned the waistcoat at his midsection. With a roll of his sleeves and began to set things right again so he could properly show them off. First, though, he turned to Lenore and smiled wide.

“Would you like to try them first? Dinner will be soon, but I'm sure we have a few extra moments for you to become familiar with them?"



When the weapon snapped open and became longer than it was, Zahra was shocked and jumped a little bit. Isis didn’t even flinch at the sight of it and suddenly, the young woman felt rather idiotic. She was a warrior. Why was she taken aback by a weapon? It certainly was a strange weapon, like one she’d never seen. It intrigued her after she was over the initial shock of its magic. He offered one to her and she couldn’t help but nod at first. Realizing the absolute rudeness of her gesture she shook her head fervently, her teal hair falling over her shoulders and into her lap.

“Oh no,” she started, her neck and ears turning a wild red under her mane of hair. “I could not take something of your’s. I thank you, very much, but I can certainly use whatever is provided to me by my surroundings.” Zahra felt unable to look him in the face after rejecting him. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the idea of carrying something of his, just that she couldn’t take something so easily. Zahra wasn’t a person who lived off of others. She couldn’t respect herself that way. Just being in this palace was going to be strange for her.

When he agreed to spar with her, she felt a brand new wave of pride and she nodded, the blush fading a little. Her lower lip was held captive by her teeth, however, and so she was unable to smile at him. It wasn’t an expression that really came easily to her, though. They pulled up to a gate and she followed Sora’s example and slid gracefully off of Isis. Running her hands lovingly over the mare she kissed her neck and then watched as she walked on behind Xerxes.

As Sora spoke, Zahra grew more and more uncomfortable with the idea of dinner. Another dress to constrict her airways? The company of people she had no right to be in the company of? Sora’s older brothers were so refined and proper, not saying Sora wasn’t, but he was certainly different. Still, she would have been much more comfortable eating in her room or outside. Zahra laughed awkwardly at his last statement, hoping it didn’t come off that it had actually bothered her a little bit. That wasn’t the last bit of her former life she had left. Still, in the satchel tossed over her body, were a few more bits and pieces of things her mother had made her. One was too big, the other was too short.

Thank goodness Sora and she were so much alike, though. When she followed him into the falconry, she instantly forgot about the memories that weighed against her side like a satchel full of rocks. His hawk, the one that had been sitting calmly, loyally, on his shoulder earlier, came to him after a whistle she’d never heard before. She nodded her head slightly to welcome the beautiful bird of prey back into their presence.

Sora let her go and seemed to go about his own business with the birds that appeared to be healing from injuries. Zahra watched him for a few more moments, then decided to enter deeper into the environment. None of the birds seemed threatened by her and she took great pleasure in this. One of the birds called and she looked up through the canopy of perches to see its one giant brown eye gazing down at her curiously. Zahra called back to it, rather accurately. It called back, but refused to move down to her. It sat in the branches of a rather sturdy looking tree and Zahra felt she could get up there without much fuss.

Which was true. She made it up to the same branch without any hitch and sat beside the hawk. Her feet were swinging, rather childishly as her hands were clasped loosely in her lap. They just looked out through the many perches and birds before them. Zahra couldn’t really see Sora but she was sure he was very busy with the injured birds. She could tell he didn’t want to go to the dinner, probably just as much as she didn’t. Stalling would be rude, but if she could just have this small moment of peace beforehand, maybe she could make it through dinner alright.

Zahra began humming lightly and the hawk opened a wing to clean something out of its feathers. “…but I will tell the night and whisper, ‘lose your sight.’ But I can move the mountains for you…” Those were the only words she could remember, but the tune came rather easily so she just kept humming. The hawk shook its feathers out, then settled back down at her side.

"I'm coming in. Sorry for the intrusion." Jin had been too absorbed in what he was reading to notice the knock, but he heard the voice. he shook his head to indicate that this was not a problem before realizing that there was no way anyone would actually see this from behind a door, so he opened his mouth to speak when the voice made good on her promise and stepped inside.

The prince was presently stooped over the large table that dominated the central space of the library, following a line of text with his finger. Some combination of an eidetic memory and years of practice enabled him to read a single page in mere seconds, provided his concentration was not broken. Of course, now it had been, and so he left it be for the moment and straightened. He was a tad disheveled at the moment being in his element and without particular care for appearances, and for the most part it never struck him to be concerned if he looked a little ruffled in here.

Right now, though, he was wishing just a little bit that he did not have the habit of running his hand through his hair when thinking about something or shedding his jacket and rolling up his shirtsleeves when researching. He also tended to read without his glasses, but these he replaced immediately. As he had suspected from the sound, the person who had come in was Shizuo. She shook hands with Walter, and Jin smiled. The old man loved visitors to his archives, and he was grinning broadly as he returned the shake. "Not at all, Miss, the pleasure is all mine."

Jin himself was at a loss for what exactly to say, and besides that Shizuo was currently scanning the shelves, apparently looking for something to read. He turned back to the tome at hand then, but she spoke again before he started reading. "Oh, um... you're welcome," she replied sheepishly. He hadn't signed the note, but he supposed it must have been an obvious guess who had put them there. "Well, actually, I should tell you. Dinner's in about half an hour. I imagine the maids have brought something to your room for you to wear by now. But, uh..." Jin looked down at the book beside him. He really was horrible with people, and something about her smile, small as it was, was doing odd things to his composure. "Would you like to help? I'm trying to find more information on why all of you are supposed to be here. You know, because I thought it might help if you knew."

He gestured to a smaller book on top of a large stack of them. "Many hands make light work, or something. O-of course if you'd rather not, I understand." Did he just... stutter? Jin was many things, but inarticulate had never been one of them. He promptly looked back down at the text he was reading and went about the business of trying to regain his focus and read. Walter was looking at him strangely, and he knew it, but he chose not to acknowledge it. He wouldn't be able to explain anyway.

---

Lenore couldn't shake the feeling that every conversation with Adio was like some kind of esoteric game, a dance between a pair of predators treading unfamiliar ground. One stepped forward, the other back, circled, eyes locked, dropped, and the round began anew. Sometimes, one of them was arrested enough to stumble, and in that imperfection beneath the flawless facade, a glimpse of what really was could be seen. But master of arts or not, this was clearly a tango he was much more familiar with than she, and Lenore could not help the feeling that she was somehow losing.

She didn't like it, but she was far too enraptured in the game, the dance, the possibility of discovery, so absorbed in him and what he might be, to withdraw, too proud to surrender. The problem was that she scarcely grasped the steps, and felt as though she were being guided the entire time, orchestrated by his will. It was at once maddening and also a challenge. Anyone who had known Lenore for any length of time knew that she never turned down a challenge, no matter how impossible the odds. It was, in fact, under such circumstances that she flourished.

Women can't be knights. That girl will never be able to hold her father's blade properly. You should be more feminine, else you'll never find a suitable husband. What do you mean you can't cook? She had spent most of her life learning to do things people assured her she would never be able to accomplish. And now, it was as though she was being dared to step outside everything she had known and learn something new- this subtle art of conversation with a strangely-inscrutable man. Well fine then; she'd bite. It was time, she thought, to see about dissecting him just as he was her- to figure out what made this enigma tick.

This time, when he offered his arm, she obliged, slipping her own through to rest her palm lightly on his forearm as he conducted them out to the practice grounds. She saw a number of machines arranged there, apparently for assistance in training. She would readily admit to being fascinated by the concept, and even more interested in the obvious pride that colored his tone when he spoke of them being an invention of his brother's. Interesting; if she had to hazard a guess, she would suppose that he held his family dear to him. It was a quality that most people would find it hard to dislike, and Lenore was more the rule than the exception there.

She was certainly intrigued to see them in action, but there was something that she thought she might wish to see even more. Tilting her head to one side so that one of her twin blush-colored tails brushed the ground (though she did not notice) Lenore looked about the space for a second before a mysterious smile settled over her features. Crossing past him, intentionally close enough for him to feel the breeze of her passage (this dance might not be so hard after all) she bent over a pile of ordinary-looking practice swords. Taking one in each hand, she returned to Adio, holding one out towards him. "I think I'd prefer a human opponent today, if you don't mind? My father and I usually practice with the real thing, but I do not think anyone would appreciate their prince coming to dinner sliced to ribbons," she offered lightly, and the teasing note in her voice would not be missed. Turning smartly on her heel, she marched to the center of the arena and turned to face him again, the glint of challenge obvious in her steely-colored irises.

Now, are you bold enough to dance my way?

Sora had felt somewhat shamed by her reaction to his offer, not because she had refused, but because he had asked such a foolish question. It was second nature for him to share anything he felt worth sharing, but he realized in retrospect that it probably seemed an insult of some kind, as though he were insinuating that she needed something she did not have. For someone who seemed to radiate a sense of self-sufficiency (when not being troubled by unusual circumstances) it was probably the worst thing he could have done.

He was still silently berating himself as he tended to the wings of his feathered friends. Everything was so much easier with animals. All you had to do was figure out what they needed and provide it for them, and they would respond by gentling under his care or acquiescing to a request he might make of them. People were much harder. there was always the chance that even if they needed something, they did not want it, or the other way around. Something done in the wrong manner could bring offense or shame, even if it was done with the best of intentions.

He did not fault people for his inability to understand them, but himself. Adio had a refined understanding of them that Sora could not hope to achieve, and though Jin was more comfortable with his books and mechanics, he had an understanding of thought that served him well enough most times. All Sora had at his disposal was his animal empathy, and though it might enable him to see past illusion, it did not tell him how to use that knowledge. Most of the time, he weathered this shortcoming with the same nonchalant dignity he mustered for most other occasions. Here, he rather wished he didn't have to.

closing his eyes momentarily and shaking his head to himself, he realized that it was useless. Try as he might, he could be nothing but what he was, shortcomings, poor sensitivities, lack of wordcraft and all. Even the self-deprecation (purely internal and only occasional) was something he could not shake. He was certain to bumble his way along, less graceful socially than he was physically- so much so that the contrast was almost humorous. Or would have been were it not serving him so poorly right now.

The sound of a gentle humming reached his ears- a melody that he recognized. It was not a royal minstrel's tune, but the music of everyday people, something that suited him just fine. A few of the corresponding words drifted by, and he could not resist the desire to turn and look.

Zahra was perched beside one of the hawks, who seemed to be regarding her neutrally, but was content to share his branch. The words faded back into humming, and he waited for a moment, debating exactly what he should be doing right now. He had no desire to interrupt what appeared to be a moment of peace, not for entirely unselfish reasons. The sound soothed him also, after all, but they really probably should be going. Normally, he would care not if he was late for such a function- he had stopped trying to win his father's favor years ago, as he was not the heir, and not even the spare, just extraneous flesh and blood. But... he did not wish the king's wrath to be directed at Zahra. He feared what that sort of situation, already sure to be rather uncomfortable for her- would do.

So it was with reluctance that he approached the tree and looked up it's constructed boughs. "You are not alone in this," he supplied, for indeed, she had been coming around to the refrain. He offered his hand to assist her in jumping down. He feared that this would be taken the wrong way, also, but he did not do it because he thought she couldn't manage herself, merely because he wished to be friendly. "I hate to say it, but we really should be going now." His half-smile carried just a hint of the rueful, and he rolled his eyes heavenward. "The sooner we go, the sooner it's over, right?" It was something his mother had often said. She handled them with far more elegance than he, but she had not been fond of stuffy social events either.

((OOC:Disregard all together. Thank you.))

Shizuo paused watching Jin and his sheepish ways. She had yet another thing to thank him for and the list was only getting started. She pursed her lips before running her tongue over them in nervous anxiety. "Sure. It would be something good to find that out." She moved to set the book she held so it would remain undisturbed as she researched with Jin. Moving towards him she stepped up beside where he stood. Her hand brushed by his as she reached for the book but she paid it no attention.

Some part of her mind reeled back towards her room hoping whoever was putting a dress in there put something nice. Perhaps something made of metal. Armor! She couldn't stand having to wear a dress. It was like saying 'Just go ahead a stab me like a floppy wimp teddy bear.' and that was far too much for her mind to handle. How would she even carry her blade in a dress? Preposterous! Simply illogical. She murmured her thoughts under her breath as she opened the book scanning the first page.

At least she had one thing to look forward to with the coming of dinner. That was food. She could already feel the slight tinge of hunger embracing her body but a hunger for what she knew not. It could have been the residual blood lust from earlier or perhaps a craving for food like all lifeforms had. She sighed as softly as possibly trying not to disturb the peace inside the library in her distress.

She looked up from the book where she had gotten a few more pages forward but the texting had been blending in as her eyes needed rest from reading when emotionally unstable. "Jin. What will you wear to the dinner? Or perhaps it has already been chosen for you?" She lowered her gaze again to continue reading as she listened to his response. Small talk was a definite way to start a friendship was it not? Even then, so many more questions associated with that could be thought of.

Her fingers flipped the page much more gently than she would handle a flower. She slightly remembered having to explain why she knew it was Jin that gave them to her. She didn't want to scare him after all into thinking that she had been watching him. Certainly not! "Oh, also those flowers. I knew they were from you because I believe your the only one who knows my room. I could have chosen the other room with red but instead I chose the orange. So to anyone who had not been with us it would have been confusing."

"It was more likely a chance that you would have been the one to put it in there. You or Rin. I based it on the fact that Rin would have been satisfied with her own room so the deduction would have left you as the culprit." She smiled as her intellectual reasoning came through in this message. Shizuo had simply wanted to put his earlier expressible worry to rest. She had seen that momentary flicker of confusion so of course she would. She flipped another page and began reading it over silently. Content with what was said.

Adio was chuckling as he took the practice sword from her hands. Lenore was very much the fiery woman he had met that morning. She hadn’t done one thing to make him deny that. Twisting the worn down hilt of the wooden sword in his palm, Adio lowered his head, unable to keep the wide smile from his lips.

“I don’t think you were brought here to fight with the Prince you are protecting.” He called to her as she walked to the middle of the arena. Adio couldn’t help it. The way she moved, the strength in her shoulders, the way her eyes gleamed in the setting sunlight… All things that challenged him and he couldn’t say no to a lady.

“If you insist, however,” he spoke as he walked up to meet her, rolling his sleeves up a bit more. Before joining her, he’d relinquished his waist coat. No sense in getting all of his nice things dirtied. A few stains here and there on some breeches and a tunic wouldn’t hurt anyone. “I must oblige.” Her threats had only made his heart beat a little faster. Adio had always made it a point to practice often with the sword, but he had a nagging feeling that she fought a bit differently to him. There was something wild in her that was clawing to get out. Adio always felt calm just before the first strike. An interesting match to be sure.

With a deep breath, he took his stance and waited as she took her own. The Prince’s was open, hand behind his back, turned sideways, and blade held out as a taunt. It didn’t help matters that he couldn’t help but keep smiling at Lenore. She was a sight to behold. He imagined she moved with a grace only heard of in music. He hoped he could match her blow for blow. Adio had to admit, he did have a sense of pride, and being struck down by a female would prove a bit of a disappointment.

“Remember, dinner will be soon. This match must be quick.” And with that, Adio lunged forward at her, grinning from ear to ear.




You are not alone in this… She closed her eyes when he added the line. How could she have forgotten that line? Perhaps because Zahra had always been alone. Her foster mother, the one who had helped to raise her in the forests had always sang that song to her. Zahra had not been one to really listen to it because she felt like the woman was treating her like a child. It wasn’t until she’d been returned to her real mother and father that she’s realized what that song had meant to her.

Sora sang it softly and suddenly the words meant more to her than he may have realized. Looking to the sky, Zahra noticed it was getting rather late. If they had a dinner planned, than it was best that she not be late to it. She wondered if Sora enjoyed the company of his family?

“The sooner wer go, the sooner it’s over, right?” The idea made her inside bubble with mirth, but no laughter was produced. He was calming to her, but she was still so scared. It seemed whenever Zahra opened up to anyone, those emotions were taken for granted. She had to try and be careful. Her heart could only take so much more breaking.

Breathing in deeply, she smiled at the hawk by her side and then reached down to grip Sora’s hand. It wasn’t that she was accepting his help, but rather, she was gripping it the way a friend would. Just because she was choosing to watch herself, trying to keep from melting into a puddle of nothing, did not mean she could not make friends. It did not mean that the way Sora made her feel wasn’t at all good. She couldn’t have asked for someone better than he. Calming, friendly, and so much like her. When she came down, she refused to let go of it. It felt nice there in hers. Turning her forever blue eyes up to Sora’s, she sighed.

“Thank you.” It was all she could say because words weren’t something she was good at. The young woman prayed that he saw all the gratitude in her face and felt it in the way she held his hand. Slowly, she let go and turned toward the door. It looked as if she was going to leave, until she stopped and turned around, confusion on her face.

“I cannot remember the way back to my room.”

Jin chuckled at Shizuo's line of reasoning; that certainly explained things. "I think you discount the possible friendliness of Miss Kuzikio, but yes, 'twas I, and you are most welcome. If there is any particular color you might prefer, the room can be redone to your preference also." He said no more on the subject however, instead content in the silence and inclined to go back to his research. He scanned over the pages of the text rapidly, absorbing information at a near-frightening rate. His movements, usually elegant and poised, became terse, abbreviated, truncated, marvels if not of aesthetics at the very least of efficiency.

Though he did not realize it, it was most often his habit for Jin to keep a running commentary of his thoughts in barely-audible tones beneath his breath. It was something that highly amused Walter, though every once in a while, the old man would give the lad a nudge if he got too voluminous, after which Jin would smile sheepishly and go back to reading silently, only for the muttering to start up again in hushed tones later. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he hoped it did not annoy Shizuo; he was not accustomed to working with anyone aside from Walter, who was able to continue his own business without being bothered by it.

About ten minutes later, Jin's whispered commentary abruptly stopped on it's own, and when Walter glanced over, he found that his favored pupil's eyes had widened temporarily in an open-book expression of shock, and the prince appeared to be reading the same paragraph repeatedly. This alone was unusual enough; surely it must be something of importance. "Jin? What is it?"

The young man bit down on his lower lip for a second, shaking his head in disbelief before glancing up at both of the others, something inscrutable playing across his face, a light that had not been there before. Walter knew it well- it was the look Jin got every time he discovered the answer to a problem he'd been tackling for any length of time. Equal parts intellectual fervor and boyish enthusiasm, but this time tinged with worry at the results as well. "I found it. The reference is obscure, but I'm almost certain this must be it. It's a curse. An honest-to-goodness, magical curse. Here, listen:

'Pride comes ever before the fall, and you, sir, have more pride than even a king has a right to,' the woman spoke, and for all my rationality, I must confess that there was something frightening in her aspect that I had never seen before, a shadow that was not there even a few minutes prior. The spurned priestess spoke then, a malediction the likes of which I have never heard before, and it shook me to my bones. 'You, who have rejected the truth of love, shall be doomed to see your kingdom fall to ruin before your very eyes in its absence. But your mistake is not yours to fix. You are beyond redemption, Edolas. I give you instead an opportunity: make your sons into better men than you, for there will come a time when your life, and the very life of Kandra itself, will depend upon it.' The witch spoke her terms, and the king trembled.

"But it doesn't say what the terms were... still, I'm almost certain it must be connected somehow. Why else would my father bid you specifically come here? The like has never been done before..." Jin took one look at the clock and swallowed. "Oh dear! It seems we are fifteen minutes from supper. We'd best go prepare... I do not wish to be late. It is never the best of ideas to keep the king waiting," the last was tinged with a bitterness that did not sound right coming from him, and it was not something that he could hold for long. He smiled once more at Shizuo and gave her directions to the dining room from her quarters. There was probably something else he should have done; Adio would have known what, but Jin did not, so he saw her out and left himself, headed in the opposite direction, and back to his own rooms.



"And why should I not fight you?" Lenore replied curiously, testing the weight of her own wooden sword in one hand. It was shorter than the one she carried, but Adio was working with a wooden construction of considerably less breadth than a saber, so she supposed this would be slightly out-of-the-ordinary for both of them. "If either of us learns something from this that we did not know before, you are that much more likely to survive should anything happen. Besides, it cannot hurt to be familiar with each other's styles, can it?" Hers was the logic not of the court but of the battlefield, and it was starkly obvious in this moment. She well knew that an understanding of how Adio fought would help her anticipate his actions and discover how she might best apply her own skills to protect him. Contrariwise, it was important for him to know her strengths and weaknesses; nobody could be everywhere at one in a confrontation, after all.

“Remember, dinner will be soon. This match must be quick.” Lenore might have responded had she the time, but he moved quickly, with all the venomous grace of a striking snake, and she bent backwards to avoid the horizontal slash that followed. The whistle of rent air that passed over her informed Lenore that the slash had missed her nose by centimeters, and at this, she smiled, whipping back upward and thrusting for the side of his ribcage. Adio jumped to the side to avoid it, and the dance was on in full.

Time was a funny thing for Lenore, and it always passed differently in the heated rush of confrontation. Adrenaline flooded her system, and even as the two exchanged ducks, dodges and parries, she knew that the first blow to hit would be the one that ended the fight. There was deadliness inherent in each of their motions, and that thrill set her nerve endings on fire. The skilled, staccato beats of footwork, the whistle of air over the practice blades, the intake and exhale of air, the smart cracking of wood against wood, these were the only sounds that interrupted the silence, but they were as the crescendo of an orchestra in her ears.

And her very blood sang with it.

They were poetry in motion, blurs of movement and color, taut lines of muscle and the elegant sweep of limbs and the hard edges of confrontation, swirling together until one form was but scant inches from the other, only to break apart with a resounding clack as weapons impacted and rebounded, sending each flying away once more. He pushed, she pulled, and it would have seemed choreographed to an observer, so balanced and flowing was it. Lenore's face was lit with a small smile, little more than a deft twist of the lips, but it was there, and until this very moment it was an expression that only one other person had ever seen.

There was no tell before she struck in what she had intended to be the final volley, no minute change to give away the movements. But it was clear as soon as the flurry had begun that she was putting the full force of her former ambitions behind it. This was what would have made her Guard-Captain, this is what would have put the murmurs of doubt to rest, and now that it had nowhere else to go, this was hopefully what would allow him to understand something she could not put into words. I am driven, I am determined, I am devoted... and I have nowhere to place any of it. I am lost.

Right hip, left shoulder, stomach, ribcage, collarbone; she struck mercilessly and seemingly at random. Even if he blocked them all, the idea was that unless he saw through the deception in her erratic strikes, the last one would see the point of the wooden sword land, gently as a falling petal, on the hollow at the base of his throat.

“Thank you.” Zahra's face practically shone with gratitude, and frankly, he had no idea why. He had not, to his understanding, done anything in particular. Certainly, he'd given her a tour, but it was honestly a rather short one and only covered the grounds. He was fairly certain that his father would think it a horrendous exemplar of courtesy to conduct it in such a way, but then Sora had blatantly stopped caring what his father thought a while ago. He didn't understand why his older brothers still seemed to be on some level affected by the old man's moods and volatile temper; he had simply decided it wasn't worth putting up with and withdrawn from that side of his life as much as he possibly could.

“I cannot remember the way back to my room.” Sora cleared his throat with a measure of shame, coloring slightly, something that was most unlike him. Of course he would have forgotten! He'd been so eager to get back outside, away from the sensation of being constantly closed in by four walls, and worse, a ceiling. He rubbed the back of his neck with his newly-freed hand (and why did that feel so strange?) and sighed.

"Apologies. That's my fault... I never actually showed you where it was. If you don't mind following me a little longer, I'll get you there." He remembered his manners and held open the falconry door, covering the remaining distance between the two of them and his prison- er, home- in short order. He let the silence surround them, for like Zahra, he had never felt himself particularly apt with speech, though he could read into a quiet pause more than most. Silence for Sora was not a mystery, merely a discretion. Why speak when there was nothing to say? It was not for him an indication of disinterest or distance, but something much more close and genuine than speaking just to fill one. Only people content with each other could enjoy a silence without feeling the burning need to speak. He took the fact that he did not feel this compulsion as a positive sign.

He arrived outside her door and stepped aside. "This one's yours, I think. At least I hope it is; it has the largest window. I'll return in a few minutes to help you find the dining room... or maybe just get lost." He grimaced slightly; but it was actually something of a joke, as the subtle sheen of mirth in his eyes would show. He did not often say goodbye, and this was no exception. Instead, he simply bent slightly at the waist, not exactly a bow, but more an acknowledgement, and pivoted to head off in the opposite direction. He would need to be quick if he intended to get them both where they needed to be on time.

Shizuo fell into the silence after Jin responded happy that she could read without having to express herself anymore. It was a hard thing to do when you weren't used to it. She scanned over pages reading at a pace that was comfortable, flipping a page every two minutes or so. She would giving a huff every now and then only to herself having read over something of interest. It wasn't audible but nonetheless it was a huff.

Taking a small moment to look up she watched Walter. He kind of reminded her of her uncle in attitude but she could only chuckle at the thought of her uncle being so old. Knowing him, he would probably still be muscled and fit for battle with all that white hair. She thought, Never stopping, before looking back down to the page she had left off from.

Shizuo might have given the occasional huff but Jin was something else. She could just barely hear words muttered under his breath as he read. At first it was a bother because her mind would struggle between listening to him and reading her own page but after a while it became a steady rhythm that was slightly soothing to listen too. After all, it did keep her informed on what he was reading whilst she read her own and Walter seemed to stop him if he got too excited or loud.

She looked up from the book several minutes later as Jin seemed to have found something. She watched his expression noting the tones it gave out. Whatever he had found must have been a shock but yet there were tones of excited intellect that were just behind it. She felt her shoulder muscles tense in preparation to listen to the reason why they were here as her expression turned serious. She gently closed her book and peered towards Jin's book to try and catch a glimpse of what he had found as he began to speak it.

As he stopped speaking her raised a hand to her chest to touch the fabric that hid her necklace. A comforting motion. "Never done before, I see." She murmured as her mind searched for the answers to their problems. She almost jumped when Jin let out an exclamation that they would be late for supper but there was something in his voice that made her hackles raise. Strange. She nodded and shuffled out the door as Jin was telling her the directions to the dining room and watched as he sped off down the hall. She glanced back towards Walter and gave a solemn wave before heading off to her own room.

Upon returning she found a dress on the bed. It was a beautiful cream color that you could see some hints of yellow in it as the shoulders were open without straps. She liked it but could she really wear that? She would be driven with agony if she had too wear that in public. Open, defenseless, vulnerable, and all those words that came to mind frightened her. She sucked in a breath before shaking her head. It was polite to accept things when offered and if she wanted to look the part she would have to play it too.

She scooped up the dress and slipped it on, adding her own jewels to it as a comfort. However, she wore her usual necklace not wanting to part with it so soon. As to make herself appear formidable she let her hair down and brushed it out so that it would sprawl across her shoulders and also she did place a smaller blade that she kept for emergencies under her dress. She wouldn't go without a weapon if she couldn't have her armor instead. As a last touch she put on a touch of vanilla spray. Her aunt's favorite scent. Reminds me of home. She chuckled.

Now, all she could do was wait awhile before heading down to dining room.

The way she moves. Adio had thought. Like a raging river, capped and fierce, wholly unpredictable. Taking you under and bringing you back up just for a moment to breathe, only to pull you back down. He hadn’t had trouble blocking her blows, and even had enough time to try her at his own strikes, but she became more and more erratic. She began practically throwing the sword at him but never lost her technique. Lenore Mirren was a beast with a purpose, or so, that‘s what he‘d thought.

For a split second, when he’d blocked and could feel her breath mingle with his, he saw the fear there. The devastation that she’d been pulled away from all she’d known. That’s when she’d ended it. Adio couldn’t remember if she’d beat him fair and square with a sword, or if she’d laid him out with that look. Either way, she’d won and the tip of the wooden sword against his throat was enough to get him to surrender. The Prince had remained quiet when he’d walked her back to her room, simply because he was deep in thought. His smile was as genuine as he could make it when he bowed to her. Because they’d started a bit late, he would not be able to escort her to dinner and he explained this with his sincere apologies.

Now, with his boots carrying him closer and closer into his Father’s presence, Adio was more distraught. Jin had seemed to know much about what was going on and so he would have to conference with him after they’d eaten. There had to be some way that he could give Lenore back what had been taken from her. If someone had stripped Adio of his title as Heir Apparent, he wouldn’t know what he would do. He would be lost.

What a fool! He was such a fool! How could he have thought Lenore would warm to him so quickly? Adio had grown vain and egocentric with his wooing of women. Of course Lenore Mirren had appeared, at first, as another challenge. She was more than that, though. She was a warrior, torn from her family and her birthright. Her powers were great and he had to somehow show her that he would not take her for granted. How could he do that, though?

Adio’s thoughts were turned away when he entered the dining room and was escorted to a seat somewhere toward the middle of the table. The Heir Apparent never sat close to the King at dinner. It was a necessary precaution. Though Kandra seemed peaceful enough, assassination attempts were always lurking in the background. Adio was fine with this, not only because it would save his life, but because he did not want to sit beside his father. Not after the horrendous meeting they’d had just earlier that day. Adio was afraid another word from the man would mean he’d have to kill him.

Standing beside his chair, he waited contemplatively, staring at the china and silver without much thought on them.

---

Or maybe just get lost. Zahra found herself chuckling again at the statement. She’d felt her lips turn up a little when he’d said it before and the more she thought on it, the more it made her giggle. Sora was not at all what she had expected from a prince. The other two were a bit more predictable in their looks and their manners. Not to say Sora had no manners, but he was certainly not a priss the way they had appeared. The eldest, the heir to the throne, was definitely the very picture of royal propriety.

Zahra had finished closing the door to her room and turned around to get a better look at it. She actually loved it. The young woman felt like she was floating about in an ocean with clear waters and bright lights. All shades of blue and even a bit of green and yellow. The bed was enormous and Sora hadn’t lied about the window. Someone had already opened it and the sheer curtains were fluttering about with the breeze. Standing inside the curtains, she leaned out and took in a deep breathe of the dusk smells. She had to thank him for this. She would have to thank whoever gave her this room. Trees rose up toward her window and she could reach out and grip their leaves and watch as the blooms closed up for the night.

Her smile disappeared, however, when she spotted the box upon a low table. Opening it brought all her fears to fruition and she groaned rather unattractively. The dress was beautiful, there was no doubt about it. Long, flowing, and a light gray, almost white, color. It was jeweled along the low neckline and the sleeves were attached by a small strap across the top. Of course, their was a corset, which she tossed off to the side. It would fit well enough without on.

After pulling the rather soft fabric on, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. When was the last time she’d seen herself in a mirror? Had she ever? Her incredibly long, straight blue hair looked a little darker against the gray dress that dripped down her body. The sleeves hugged her arms and her bare shoulders sloped into the cut of the neckline. Her eyes, the amber shine of them, was dulled though. No matter that Sora had saved her from her own darkness, it still lurked there in the back of her heart. She had no where. Zahra didn’t even fit into this picture at all. Who was this young woman standing in the mirror? She had no family, no future, and her past was all training and very little education.

The village that had raised her and shown her love and compassion, but in the end, she was not one of them. That had always been made very clear. Zahra sat on the sill of the window, watching the sun set and the stars begin to poke out from the orange and pink of dusk.

Did she have a future here? What was her purpose? She twirled a clump of her hair in her hands, waiting for Sora to return. At least he could keep her calm. Zahra may have been a skilled warrior, protector of the Prince Jin, but she still was human. She still needed help sometimes too.

Jin's feet eventually carried him back to his quarters. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it looked a great deal like an extension of the library and archives, with three of the walls lined floor-to-ceiling in bookshelves, which were crammed nearly to bursting with works on mechanics, engineering, mathematics, physics, philosophy, battle strategy and even medicine and poetry. The last wall had a large bay window, which helped a lot in keeping the dust from gathering too much as it tended to do in the presence of old things and paper things a bit more readily than it did with things that were neither.

Resisting the urge to climb out that window and to go just about anywhere besides a meeting (for dinner was not all this was, he was certain) with his father, Jin instead tried to make himself somewhat presentable. The ease of this seemed to get progressively less as one moved down the line of succession: Jin had some conscious difficulty on occasion, but then he rarely had to worry about, say, picking leaves out of it. The thought made him smile- he really was fond of both his brothers, no matter how different they all were. It was true that they all lived very different lives, but there had been a time when they had scarcely more to rely on than each other, and even now they were perhaps the people that understood the trials of their position the best.

He did not change, but he did straighten out his sleeves and put his jacket back on over his vest and shirt. He observed idly that he had clearly endured a bit more frustration than usual today, if the state of his blond coif was anything to go by. Shaking his head, he put everything to rights as best as he was able given the time (while being less-than-impeccable in appearance was a slight to his father, tardiness was even more so) and departed, reaching the dining room just after Adio did. While in most situations this would have been sufficient to induce a greeting from him, one did not speak in the presence of the king unless allowed, and so Jin made his way up the left side of the table, taking the midway point between Adio and their sire, but on the opposite side.

After that, the affair would be a waiting game until everyone arrived and then were instructed to sit. He was not idle in the meantime, though, and noted the presence of the high priest with well-concealed apprehension. Jin was too gentle, perhaps, to hate, but that did not mean he liked the man, especially since he had a fair inkling of what would be said this evening. It did not help that His Holiness was cool at best in demeanor towards science. Regardless of what may or may not be metaphysically true, the second prince simply could not understand what moved person who was supposed to have the well-being of others at heart to reject out-of-hand a way of doing so much good.

Perhaps it was best not to think of such things right now.



Lenore, upon reflection, determined that she'd been in a rather strange humor today. Or maybe it was because she'd had so many different causes for her mood to change. Her life before had not been entirely one of routine, but there was a certain underpinning of stability to it that was missing now, and that left her reeling more than she cared to admit. It was... difficult; she could admit that much to herself, at least. Truthfully, she was unsure if she would be able to handle it effectively, but there was little room for such doubts. Like it or not (and while in some senses it was certainly not, but surprisingly the jury was still out on the rest), this was her life now, and with it came an entirely different set of duties and obligations.

At the very least, it would take some getting used to. Maybe this part especially, she could not help but think as she stared down at the dress. She'd never had cause to wear such a thing in nineteen years of life. Her present attire didn't count, as there were leggings underneath and it was just as easy to move in as trousers. She wondered if this was some kind of regular expectation. It struck her as silly, and impractical, but she'd take it in stride as she'd tried to do everything else. She hadn't succeeded well thus far, but she supposed now was as good a time as any to start.

Of course, why whomever was in charge of these things had chosen black was a bit beyond her. Sure, it wasn't exclusively a funeral color or anything, but... hm. Well, maybe it suited her mood. Not that she could decide what her mood actually was at the moment. From this morning to this moment, she'd gone from unspeakably happy to angry to accepting if bitter to pleasantly surprised to contemplative to scared to satisfied, and now she was just... unsure.

Well, if she was going to be punctual, she didn't have time to decide right now. Lenore slipped the gown on, mildly surprised to find that it fit fairly well. She was of a more athletic construction than anything, and musculature was not usually accounted for in these things, was it? She would have expected a tighter fit at the bust, hips, and especially around her arms, though the sleeves were loose and sheer, edged with lace, rather than fitted. Forgoing the ribbed corset was not an option here, as the back laced up with sturdy satin ribbon. She did not attempt to stop herself from breathing, however.

Deciding that the twin tails probably weren't going to cut it if she was to be meeting a king, she let them down and braided her hair around the crown of her head instead, though the end of the plait still nearly hit her knees. Well, it would do, only... she didn't have any knives to hide up her corset, having only brought her father's sword. Shrugging to herself, she adjusted the straps so that it would hang loosely about her waist instead. It was her job to be a bodyguard, not an ornament, and she wasn't going to take the chance that something would happen and she'd be stupidly powerless to do anything about it. Her hand-to-hand wasn't bad, but it had nothing on her bladework.

She had to move a little more quickly than was proper to get to the dining room on time, though you would never guess by the dignity with which she comported herself. The steward took one look at the weapon she bore and raised a perfectly-groomed eyebrow, but said nothing. She realized she had no idea where to sit, but apparently it was not something she had to worry about, as she was placed to the left of Adio, which made some degree of sense. She inclined her head in silent greeting to the bookish one- Jin, perhaps- and stood tall, hands clasped in a graceful twist behind her back.

The process of cleaning Sora up enough for court was an arduous one, even if it wasn't exactly long. As he had not managed to get himself covered in mud or forest debris today, it was more a matter of disguise than anything else. Disguising the wild dog as a domesticated one, the falcon as a songbird, if that made any sense. His hair was loosed from its tail and combed through before being retied, a little higher on his head. At least that way it could pass for traditional instead of wild, probably the only reason he'd been allowed to keep it. Sadly, the bits of scuffed leather that protected his forearms and shoulders from the piercing talons of his birds also had to go.

His formal attire was of a deep navy blue and white, mostly. Still, he kept it as simple as possible: loose-sleeved shirt, vest, trousers, polished, indoor-only boots. The feathered ornament at his ear was a memento of his mother's, and left his person only on the scarcest of occasions. It was a reminder that she too had been more in tune with the natural than the artificial. sometimes, he thought the disease that had taken her had been able to do so only because she had been so fettered, unable to spend time in the places she loved most. She had been a wild thing, of the seas and skies and forests and fields more than anything, and he often wondered what had moved her to marry a man like his father. Maybe he was only assuming that she had a choice in the first place.

The thought was unpleasant, and he chose not to dwell upon it. Instead, he glanced over his space to make sure he was not forgetting anything, then threw the window open as wide as it would go in case Ophelia decided to pay him a visit, as she almost surely would. The scent of the air informed him that rain was not far from coming, and he wondered how long it would last. This region tended to get all-day storms at this time of year. He was not one to ascribe meaning to random events, and so he did not bother connecting it with the despondency that six or so of the palace's occupants were dealing with, or the presence of an official of the church in the building, which he had noticed but not pointed out upon his reentry.

Instead, he made his way back down to where he had left Zahra and knocked on the door. He was slightly taken aback when she did answer; perhaps he had expected more thematic color choices? It was probably for the best that this was not the case. "You look lovely, even if it is not something you feel comfortable in," he told her honestly. He could not bring himself to smile considering what lay in store for them, but his expression was at the very least pleasant, and he led her through the labyrinthine corridors, unfortunately not making good on his implication (and, he would not lie, desire) to get lost. The steward gestured Zahra to Jin's side and him to a position close to the end of the table, which was just fine by him. The worst he'd have to deal with would be the hard stare of his father at the other end, which was something he could ignore with stoicism if necessary.

He cast his glance over the others in the room, and almost, almost smiled when he noted that Adio's guardian had the boldness to wear her sword. She pulled it off with such dignity that he would have thought it was perfectly commonplace to do so, and stood straight-backed by his eldest brother's side. Adio himself looked a tad listless (though his posture was no less elegant), which was most unusual. Jin comported himself with his usual mild mannerisms, but growing up with him had informed Sora of a number of things about his brother, and he could tell that the bespectacled prince was troubled by something.

Something was going on; he just wasn't sure what.

Shizuo moved down the hall, silent as a stalking panther, but doing her best to be graceful about it with skirts in hand. She still hadn't quite liked the idea of a dress and she was sure it could been seen in her expression, for it was sour. She followed Jin's directions taking her time down the hall and admiring the scenery as she passed. The castle truly wasn't a bad place to live if you were only interested in your surroundings. If you were interested in social pursuits, perhaps not. It would take far too long to return to one room to say just a few sentences. She paused near one hall that viewed the gardens.

Shizuo didn't understand how flowers could be so alluring but they certainly were the best part of the place of which she had to call her new housing. She leaned forward to get a better view being careful as not to trip over her dress. The vibrant colors that swirled in the nonexistent breeze but yet you could see that it was only a dance made to tune their own. Back and forth, swaying lightly and happily. She smiled almost affectionately. They were truly cared for.

She remembered the prince saying something about it's caretakers and she had to wonder what would have happened if it had still been in the care of another prince and his family. Surely, it would be blooming just as greatly. A real breeze stirred this time making the fragrance of orchids brush over her sense of smell. Shizuo noted this and made a thought to return later when time wasn't being so pressed.

Turning away from the scene that made you want to stay, she focused on the matter at hand. A meeting of great importance with all the guardians, princes, and last of all the king. Shizuo hurried along taking the rest of the way there her priority. Stopping at the entrance, she headed inside mustering up her courage and her grace. For she would need it to survive the evening.

Shizuo moved to one of the seats, nearest the end, and stood by. She faintly noticed that her own prince was not yet present and could only scoff at his tardiness. Not only had he not been at the first meeting but he hadn't been anywhere to be seen afterwards. She had to have been escorted by Jin around the castle to see the sights he should have at least managed to make time for doing with her and not only that, but he wasn't even properly early to dinner seeing as he was a prince. She almost let her expression slip back into it's sour phase but returned it to normal calm as she realized it. There were too many problems with the evening so far and she had a dreaded feeling that they would only increase.

She averted her eyes from the chair that she would have expected her prince to sit in a let her eyes roam to see who was already present. From the faces she recognized the oldest son and his guardian, then Jin with his guardian at hand nearby, and another one of the princes seating near herself. There were more princes to come hopefully and should there be more guardians with that. Shizuo moved her eyes to Jin once more and gave him a silent greeting before giving the others some sort of a greeting. With that done she returned her eyes to the table in front of her keeping herself docile and calm for now. Let the debate begin later.

As was polite, Adio inclined his head in greeting to ever person who entered the room. First, his younger brother, closest to him in age, entered and they both acknowledged the presence of the other. Jin wasn’t always the easiest to read, though easier to read than Sora, that was sure. Adio could see something was bothering him. If it was anything like what the Heir was thinking, he had reason to feel odd. The High Priest was practically glaring over the table, eyes like a buzzard staring at dead carcasses. Adio made a point to not look at him again unless he absolutely had to. His father’s face was darkened by something Adio wasn’t used to seeing. But upon looking at him as well, the prince felt a very familiar fire rise up inside him. Flashes of the spar between he and Lenore resurfaced. She was lost and the King gave no mind to it. What kind of a king was that?

As if his thoughts had summoned her into the room, Lenore entered the room, draped in black and her hair pulled up to fame her face with its fiery pink hue. Adio swallowed whatever bubbling emotion had suddenly filled him up upon setting eyes on her, just to keep his composure. She was instructed to sit beside him as was appropriate, seeing that she was his guardian. He took notice of her weapon and almost laughed aloud. Not at her, but more at his father. The irony Adio saw in the gesture, especially after the conversation today, was priceless. This is what happens if you anger a powerful woman with a sword. He wanted so badly to say something to her. Speaking was out of the question. Trying to improvise, he used his eyes to convey how absolutely beautiful he found her and how much he enjoyed her daring. Determined fire looked back at him as she stood, waiting to sit down.

After she had entered, the others followed suit. Sora walked in with the young blue-haired woman at his side, though not escorting her the way a prince should. Adio frowned to himself a bit. Surely he had taught them well enough that if you are planning to escort the lady, you would at least offer an elbow. He would speak to him about it later. Though he would most likely sound like a broken record. Sora was a very independent soul and Adio could really only admire it. The girl that had entered with him, Jin’s guardian, stood timidly at the chair beside him. She was nothing like the other two girls. Quiet, subdued, much Sora counterpart. When he nodded to her, gleaming eyes and soft smile, she blushed and looked down at the floor. He wondered how she faired in a fight?

Finally, the yellow haired one, he could remember her name, Shizuo, entered and stood closer to Sora. Adio was curious why no one else was entering, but he was sure there was a reason and they would be told. Until then, all questions were left unasked.

The King sat without warning and the chairs were all pulled out by servants all dressed immaculately and similarly. Adio waited for the ladies to sit, as was polite, then finally treated himself to the cushioned bottom of the luxury dining chair. Drinks and the first appetizer was served and everyone ate in silence. Adio went about his business as usual. No one spoke before the first course. And no one spoke until the king did.

“Shizuo Yukira,” the High Priest suddenly said aloud. Adio’s head jerked up and he looked at the end of the table where the High Priest sat on the right side of His Majesty. “You’re newest assignment is the Prince Sora. There will be no questions. What is done will be done, by His Majesty’s orders.” When had the King ever used someone else to speak for him? If anyone knew he could speak for himself, it was Adio. The King never used a messenger when he could do it himself. Something was very wrong. And what’s more, why was Shizuo suddenly, not hours after they had been assigned pairs, being switched to Sora’s guardian?

“Your Holiness,” Adio started.

“No questions, Your Highness. None whatsoever.” The High Priest continued eating, sipping at his wine. Adio’s fists squeezed in his lap, feeling the cold silver against his skin. His face, however, remained perfectly calm, perhaps too calm.





There was an obvious tension hovering around Sora when she opened the door at his knock. His compliment was well taken, but it didn’t help how self-conscious she was feeling about it. There was no way for her to move in it. All she could get away with was walking. Running was out of the question, let alone defending herself or her Prince. A thought struck her and she suddenly realized that she would be meeting him at this dinner. He was obviously the most educated of the three, not that any of them were unintelligent. That was far from the truth. All three men seemed very, very smart and she was intimidated by them all. But Prince Jin (she remembered his name quite easily) seemed to be the one who took reading and learning like more than just a hobby, but a calling. Would he look down on her? Zahra could barely write anything, let alone read a book. She was educated in people and fighting and killing. Not in books and history or the arts. What would he think of her if he was to learn all this?

All these ideas were tossed out the window when Zahra felt all the breath leave her body upon entering the dining room. What had she been thrust into? All the elegance and nicety of it all gave her a great fear like she would break something if touched. Zahra did not really know her own strength around delicate things because she’d never had them at her disposal before. Already she’d broken some porcelain statue in her room. It had been well hidden in the farthest reaches of a drawer. She decided to never look there again.

Just as she thought, Zahra was sat beside the blonde prince. Her breathing was slow, paced out. She was counting in her head, trying not to appear completely flustered by all the luxuries. Prince Adio, the eldest, looked to her and smiled. What she saw behind his eyes caused her to shiver and she looked away. Her amber eyes glanced over at the young man with glasses. He was quiet, like Sora, but the air around him was less calming. Zahra didn’t want him to be a bully, but she was very frightened that he was going to tease her. Perhaps it was her self esteem, which was very low when it had to do with schooling, but she instantly felt defensive around him.

When everyone began sitting, she plopped down in the chair and hesitated before eating. She didn’t have much etiquette, but she certainly tried to be proper. Before Zahra could really think about it, her eyes were looking down the table at Sora. He was quiet, calm, just getting through the night. He was used to this kind of atmosphere. She would have to learn from him what to do.

When the man seated beside the king spoke, there was a wave of tension through the air that was practically suffocating. Her amber eyes scanned everyone carefully, trying to decipher exactly what was happening, but she had no knowledge of how royals worked. She couldn’t tell at all why the air became stale and thick. Zahra decided remaining quiet was the best option. No questions were to be asked about the sudden change in pairing. Would Shizuo care? What about Sora? Why must the lives of everyone be altered so?

Dinner was, for the first portion, almost painfully silent. The tension was palpable, and for the peacemaker of the family, this sort of atmosphere was reprehensible at best. Of course, he could not deny that he was presently contributing to it. It could hardly be helped, considering what he knew that only Shizuo shared in the knowledge of. The truth was burning inside him somewhere, as though he simply could not hope to contain it for long before it would rush past his lips in a torrent. Admittedly, to allow it would be an unacceptable breach of self-control to allow it to be so, and so he was forced into silence.

This was troubling for more than just the one reason, though. Because of the enforced silence, he was unable to communicate with his guardian as he had intended to do prior to learning of the plans for this meal. He felt rather ashamed that he had retreated to his library almost as soon as possible, and he thought that perhaps this had seemed frightfully standoffish or cruel of him, which had not been his intention in the slightest. There was no mistaking that of all the people in the room, Zahra was the least comfortable, and it would have been better if he could say something to ease the feeling even a little.

He noticed she was having some difficulty with the etiquette of the situation, and subtly adjusted his hands so that the way in which he was handling his cutlery and implements was a bit more obvious. He gave a small smile, but he was not sure that she noticed, as she appeared to be looking across the table to what Sora was doing. Ah, well, that was not such a bad thing. Though he disliked all of it, Sora was just as drilled in the manners of such things as he and Adio were, though none was a better exemplar of the knowledge than the heir.

They were into the third course before either the King or the High Priest spoke again, and Jin had taken to leveling mildly-accusatory (but still within the bounds of politeness) looks at both of them. If they didn't bring it up, he was going to. If not now, then later, in front of at least his brothers and the three young women here. As it was, this was not necessary, as the King cleared his throat halfway through the roast, which immediately resulted in the cessation of all other activity as the attention in the room diverted solely to the figure at the head of the table.

"I'm sure you're all wondering what brought this situation about," he began, in a tone that suggested he didn't much care just how much they had been put out by it. "And for that reason, the High Priest has so courteously agreed to join us this evening." Jin, who never missed much, did not fail to note the just-concealed disdain with which his father referred to the head of the church. The two men were publicly allies and privately despised each other. His father's left eye tended to twitch when he was suppressing his anger, and it was now, just barely.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the second man intoned with all the smoothness of oil. The High Priest was a man in his fifties, with what seemed to be a permanent sneer etched onto his face. "I'm sure your day has been long, but I thought it... prudent to deliver this explanation as quickly as possible."

---

It was obvious to Lenore that none of the princes was particularly fond of his father, and the priest just reminded her of every crooked merchant who'd ever tried to swindle her out of something. Still, those who wielded their authority too heavily and those who sought to beguile and deceive were both within her realm of experience, unlike much of what she had encountered thus far, and so she endured what followed in solemn silence. She could feel the physical tension in Adio beside her, though the smoothness of his movements and the impassivity of his face hid it well.

It was the least she could do to match that. She was not certain exactly what the purpose of all this ceremony was, but if quiet compliance was what was necessary for the moment, she would endeavor to be the very picture of it. She did not need words to defy someone's intent; the weapon at her waist was enough a statement of her thoughts on the situation.

When the holy man claimed to be offering an explanation, she glanced quickly to the blond prince, who she had noted seemed to have some inkling of what was going on. His acknowledgement of it was almost imperceptible, but it was there, and she turned back to what was being said.

"...A number of years ago, His Majesty made the... unfortunate decision to say something somewhat... untoward to a priestess of the church." Lenore resisted the urge to roll her eyes. If you're going to say something, just say it outright and be done with it. The man's words were coated in so many layers of sugar she had no idea whether the king had thought ill of her wardrobe selection or threatened to kill her. Not that it made a difference, apparently.

"She responded by laying a magick on his house." She heard a quiet exhalation from Prince Jin's quarter, and supposed that he had known this much. "The provisions of this... spell... require that his eldest three descendants, accompanied by the three of you guardians, execute a number of tasks." Oh, this man was hiding something, and she well knew it. The only question was what. "It has been decided between his highness and myself that these labors will be given to the six of you one by one, so as not to overwhelm you."

"Why us?" Lenore countered, and the man had the grace to look slightly taken aback at the blunt question. He recovered quickly enough though, and returned fire with a nonanswer.

"That is not necessary to the completion of the tasks, Miss."

Lenore's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, and she gently set down her knife and fork, lest she find herself tempted to use them. Such a thing would be dishonorable, and she had no desire to make a disgrace of herself. The implications to her family would be deplorable. "On the contrary, Your Holiness, an understanding of why we were chosen for this task may give us a clue as to which qualities and actions would suit best those things which you ask us to do for you."

Her logic was sound, and the both of them knew it. The High Priest's snake-oil pleasantness receded into a scowl that fit his face better. To her surprise, though, it was the king who answered. "He won't tell you because we don't know," Edolas replied, apparently desirous of a chance to get one over on the man beside him. "Much of the text of the curse was vague, and the only thing it described in detail was how to find you."

"I see. My sincerest thanks, Your majesty." Though she addressed the king, her eyes never left the High Priest, at least not until she turned back to her food.

"Your first task is to retrieve a holy relic," the churchman continued, attempting to regain control of the situation. "It's to the east, somewhere in the mountains. We don't have anything more specific than that, but rumor has it that the villagers who live at the base of the mountain have some idea as to it's exact location."

Sora inclined his head respectfully in Shizuo's direction; she seemed a reserved sort, which was fine by him. Contrary to how he may seem, he tended to respect people until such time as they proved themselves unworthy of it, not the other way around. He had to respect the fact that not one of the guardians had attempted to shirk the summons or run from it- there was much to be admired in that. He ran from his duty more than they did, what with his refusal to spend his days in a way that befit his station. Still, though he ran, he did not hide, and he would never allow himself to slip that low.

Adio attempted to ask a question, but was promptly shut up by the High Priest, and Sora bristled inwardly. They may be very different people, but the three of them were still brothers, and the degradation was not something that the youngest here could allow to pass without offense. Still, he remained as stoic as ever, looking up from his food only occasionally. Once, he caught Zahra looking in confusion at her place setting and then at him, but he also noted that Jin was attempting to make his own movements easier to discern and imitate, so he gave the blue-haired girl an almost-imperceptible nod, flicking his eyes to his second brother as if to tell her that in this, she could trust him without worry.

Of course, Jin could always be trusted without worry, but that might just be the fraternal instinct speaking. At any rate it would be less conspicuous if she watched the person next to her than someone across the table, and the last thing he wanted was for her to draw unwelcome negative attention. It was not long after that his father started to speak and Sora watched him steadily, even when the High Priest took over the reins of the conversation. It all sounded a bit far-fetched, but then in truth he supposed it wasn't. Magic was common enough in Kandra, though truly powerful practitioners of it were difficult to find. He and his brothers all possessed some degree of control over it, but nothing of the curse-laying variety. His mother had been a witch as well, which was why her plants grew so much better than anything she did not touch.

Still, a spell laid by a priestess of the church? He would have wondered exactly what his father had done, but there really wasn't any question. King Edolas was a womanizer of extraordinary proportions. Either he'd refused to marry the woman when he should have, or he'd spurned her when he shouldn't have. It was enough to make one cringe, if one properly thought about it. Sora would rather not.

He was surprised that of all the people present, it was Lenore that had the audacity to speak first. Perhaps he shouldn't have been; he and his brothers had lived under this kind of authority their whole lives, and rarely was a direct challenge the way to go. Still, he was impressed by how she handled it, effectively backing the high priest into a corner he could not escape without shattering the (false) impression of being a person who actually cared about their well-being. Clever. And it forced his father to admit that there was something he did not know, even if he only did it to make the church leader look worse. At least the King's disdain for the state religion made sense now. And they were going to pay the price for his mistake.

Sora would have thought it impossible for the weight of his position to feel any more like a stone slowly crushing him to death. He would have been wrong, apparently. Now they had to find a relic of some kind with little more guidance than "go to the mountains." Delightful.

"When do we leave?" he asked flatly, knowing full well what the answer would be. He was not disappointed.

"Tomorrow." Looks like I have some work to do... He'd have to prepare horses and traveling provisions, not to mention plan a route. No, first thing would doubtless have to be a meeting between the six of them. Adio was organized like that. Jin could probably handle the navigation, too. Either way, he really wanted to be done with this meal right now. Even looking at the two men at the head of the table was making him extremely desirous to be somewhere- anywhere- else.

Shizuo raised her head squaring her shoulders as the new order was given. It was in her nature to respond to authority in such a way as that considering her uncle was a guardsmen and she had seen him do it often enough. However, this did make her mood turn towards the brighter side. It made her very sour. Not only did she not know where the last prince had run off too but she also had failed her job as a guardian. Then to make it worse she was given another prince to protect. What exactly was the kingdom trying to prove? She let her mind go to rest as she returned the prince's respect with a kind nod. There was nothing more she could lest she risk the hand of his majesty by defying orders.

She had noticed that the oldest prince was perhaps questioning the transition but had been promptly served a nasty order to hush. She also noticed that her new prince wasn't too pleased with that. Now that she had to protect another prince she would do her job dutifully, if not to perfection.

She kept her eyes trained on her plate refusing to acknowledge the tension in the air. She would have loved to cut it like it should have been minutes ago but now was not the time. The knowledge in the back of her mind reminded her that the time would come when she could speak her opinion. Shizuo let out a fluttery sigh that barely made any sound but was actually just the motion of it. In fact, the reason she would have enjoyed ending it would have been just because it was making her nervous. Like the sizzling crackle of electricity you can feel in the air before the actual storm hits. She refrained from laughing as her sacastic mind thought up, Oh how the storm will hit when this all goes down.

Just as she thought up her sarcastic comment the King spoke up. It was apparent that her dislike for the majesty's court was getting worse as the days went by. She would have struck down that pope as soon as the first word came out of his mouth. His expression and way of saying things only made her testy anger flare. Although she had control and wasn't prone to attacking defenseless men even if they deserved a good taste of what the real world was like behind doors. She listened to the rest of the explanation keeping her thoughts to herself before she heard one of the most beautiful voices speak Shizuo's mind.

She was glad that Lenore could handle herself because unlike the girl who efficiently backed the man into a corner, Shizuo would have done far worse. She would have backed him into a corner then squandered him. It wasn't because she hated him for no reason but his way of not giving them important details made the mission difficult. It also made them risk their own lives in the process and when adding in that they were having to fix a king's problem, well it never looked good for anyone. She carefully set her silverware down and turned her eyes towards Sora who asked the next question.

Tomorrow? Great, although finding whatever this item is will be a trifling task. She rejoiced internally. The less time she would have to spend here in this horrid yet luxurious place. None of this showed on her face though, she just went about finishing up her meal and cleaning up the nonexistent mess. The sooner she could get her weapon and pack set up then sooner she would feel up to the task. She paused in her movements as a thought occurred to her. We might have to involve citizens if we ask them about it? What if they aren't friendly? They would be our most likely chance to get the relic as fast as possible. Her expression darkened as her irritation eclipsed. She took careful measures to rein it in before it could do harm before she straightened out her expression, only to let the anger bubble inside. She wanted out of here. If only the king would leave so she would be able to excuse herself.

It was obvious that being sorely cut off hadn’t exactly gone unnoticed. Adio would make no note of it outwardly, however. He was the Heir Apparent and it was his duty to follow instructions, whether it be direct from his father, the King, or indirect from the twisting lips of a man he could really care less for right now. It gave him pause to think that this was the man who lead their people’s religion and faith. It was this crooked smile that tempted naïve and innocent people into a world filled with empty promises. Something had to be done about him. Small steps, it seemed would be the best strategy. Lenore seemed to agree without rightly knowing it.

Adio could have kissed her. In the most polite and respectable ways possible, but yes, he could have just kissed Lenore Mirren. The Prince shouldn’t have expected anything less from her fiery personality. Their fight barely an hour ago had proved that she was not a woman to be trifled with. She was here against her bidding and away from her family and everyone needed to know that, including his father and the High Priest.

A woman scorned…

And it was not just Lenore’s questioning that had his thoughts reeling. “A woman scorned” indeed. Why was he not informed of this sooner? How is it that his father thought him unfit to bare this kind of news? He had a right as Heir Apparent to be privy to this information and yet he’d been left out. It’s not that Adio was hurt by this, rather that he was a more than a little angry. He was left to his thoughts, staring at his food, finding his stomach unable to really take it in. Sora asked when they departed and he locked that information away for later. Preparations needed beginning; plans to be made; trails to be marked out. So many things needed done and organized and Adio had barely a night to get it all ready.

“Your Majesty,” Adio started, turning silver eyes to match the old man’s, “I would like to know why, now, of all times, you decide to inform us? Why pull these women from their homes, only to send them out the following day without so much as a good reason other than you decided to utter the wrong words to the wrong woman?” His voice was growing more and more heated and he could feel his anger from earlier getting the best of him.

“If no explanation can be given, than I believe our guardians deserve an apology.” His insides were shaking furiously. His face was stoic, blank, but his eyes were akin to white fire, blazing with an anger he was trying very hard to keep at bay. Leave it to Adio to worry about others well beings rather than his own. The gentleman in him was showing a different side of what it took to take care of a lady. When a young woman was treated poorly, a solution was to be sought out. Adio was doing just that, in the best way he knew how.

The High Priest was glaring at the young man, opening his mouth to speak only to have the King raise a thick hand to silence him. His eye was starting to twitch again as he met Adio’s gaze. Adio would prove himself to the old man, one way or another. If it meant standing up to him, so be it. The Prince could only take so much disrespect in one day and this was his final straw. The King stood and only the High Priest did what was courteous and stood along side him. Adio would not give him the satisfaction of being his dog. The King sighed, straightened his posture, and turned. He left without a word and Adio could only glare back at the food that smelled rotten now. Eating would just make him sick.

---

Perhaps she was wrong? Zahra had been wrong before; many, many times before. Sora seemed to think she was okay and gave her a small nod toward the young man sitting beside her. Blue eyes glanced at his hands and that’s when she realized her was helping her. A look at his face confirmed that she had been wrong. Jin wasn’t going to make her feel like a lesser person because her education was lacking. Watching him closely, Zahra began to use the utensils and sit up properly and look a bit more like she belonged. The other two women were so poise and seemed well taught and Zahra was thankful that Jin and Sora were helping so carefully.

The food tasted amazing! She couldn’t seem to remember ever eating anything so delicious in her life! So enthralled by the mixtures of textures and aromas was she, that she almost missed the reason they’d all been brought about. With a glance at the blonde haired prince at her side, she stopped eating and watched, listened, learned. Jin was obviously waiting for something. His aura was tense and cool. He sighed a bit when they mentioned the spell and soon Zahra’s attentions were on the Priest. He was a foreboding man, with a look down his nose that insinuated greatness. Zahra knew people like him. Her mother had been much like that. He used his power to push others around and it seemed he was doing that very thing right now.

When the pink haired woman spoke up, Zahra listened carefully, only to find the question did not really pertain to her. Certainly, no one knew that but the blue haired girl. She chose to keep her past to herself at least until someone asked. She wasn’t all that mysterious, really, she just wasn’t one to speak unless she absolutely had to. The pink haired girl had made it very clear during their introductions earlier that she wasn’t pleased with her destiny being altered thus. That woman had places to go and a person of great merit to become. This king and his priest had stopped that dream for her and she wasn’t happy. It was obvious the yellow haired girl, Shizuo she recalled, felt the same.

Zahra didn’t have anything or anyone. She hadn’t been pulled away from her family, she’d been pushed out. They didn’t want her. Her village had disappeared after her departure a year ago. Zahra was no one with no one. At least here, she had a chance to find companionship. No matter the circumstances, really.

“…rumor has it that the villagers who live at the base of the mountain have some idea to its exact location.” Zahra’s eyes sprung up to see the old man’s sneer as he spoke. She was only disturbed by his words because it sounded all too familiar to her.

“The Pagoda…” she whispered, practically only moving her lips to say the words. If it was what they were talking about, she knew just how to get there. As far as the relic was concerned, she was at a loss and speaking with the villagers was a good idea, but she could get them through the pass of mountains to where the Pagoda lie. It was the only thing that made sense. In the east. In the mountains. The Stone Pagoda.

Once again, Zahra found herself lost in her thoughts and didn’t come to until the last few words spoken by the eldest of Princes. An apology? Had they been insulted and she didn’t know? How long had she been lost in her own mind, picturing the Pagoda where she’d killed her first deer? Her own village had whispered of its holy tales, but no one took it seriously. They had no religion, only respect for nature and the way of things. Faith in Gods and Goddesses was not used in the deep forests of Kandra.

The King left. No one stood up and Zahra jut examined the faces of everyone at the table. She was so unsure of herself in this place.