Siya Ukomo's Story

Siya, Reynard, Damiano

Siya moved down the hall with a heavy sigh, "I can't believe I was stupid enough to just ignore that... You both probably noticed, didn't you?" he asked his two protectors as he walked quickly following after the first servant he had pulled aside to direct them to the Library. He shook his head in frustration, "So dense sometimes. It was obvious something was wrong wasn't it?" he continued to berate himself as they walked, a frown on his lips and frustration clawing at his chest. How was he going to apologize to the King properly? He heaved a heavy sigh.

The servant bowed as she motioned to a door that she had stopped at, "Here you are, m'lord," she said and then went back down the hall to resume her own duties. Siya nodded to her quickly and opened it. What he walked into had his breath stolen. He gazed at the shelves of books with wide eyes. It was just slightly larger than his own library and it seemed to hold more books than his. He took a deep breath and looked from one end to the other. After a moment, he nodded as if to get himself ready for such an endeavor.

"Alright... wow.... Okay, uh," he paused briefly. Glancing to both his Protectors he shrugged slightly, "I honestly don't know what to tell you to look for. Something old?" he scoffed at that and blushed a bit. Something old... wow, amazing description... he sighed, "Sorry... but yeah. That's all I've got."

"I wouldn't dwell on it, Lord Siya." Of course the realization that Lord Amon's orb had been stolen was disconcerting and, indeed, disturbing for multiple reasons, but none of them had any way of knowing that tidbit of news at a glance or even after a conversation. The King seemed upset and hurt on a level that dwelled somewhere between physical and emotional pain, but even given what they knew now, there wasn't a physical difference apart from how the King presented himself that could have told them anything. Siya had insisted on making their visit unannounced and had been far too excitable upon their arrival, tripping over his own words in his haste to throw as much information out at the other King as he could in the course of a minute. Still, it was no one's fault. Well, that wasn't right- regardless of motivation, he could firmly point an accusatory figure at the men who had been attempting to steal the orbs.

They were shown to the library soon enough and Reynard had to admit that it was impressive not only in its size but also in the extensive collection, packed wall to wall with books ranging from the fairly modern to ancient tomes, pages yellowed with age. It was something to be admired if they really had the time to peruse at their leisure, but that was for another day.

"At least it's a place to start, Si- Lord Siya," Reynard said, shaking his head at his King's bout of insecurity while simultaneously tripping over the title that he'd been so obsessed with using up until recent events. Somehow the additional "Lord" onto Siya's name seemed out of place coming from his own mouth now. With that, he turned and wandered off quite aimlessly into the room, eyes scanning the shelves for old covers or pages warped with age.

Damiano nodded his head as they walked down the hallways, thumbs hooked onto his belt as usual. To Reynard's response to Siya's concern. "Su novio es correcto, mi rey. There really was no way you could have possibly known something had happened." or rather you haven't been trained to notice, so no reason to fret about it was the part Damiano choose not to say as it would have helped in no way, shape, or form. Though honestly Damiano believed that Siya was more shaken up about the news of Air King's orb being taken. Which also meant that only two orbs were out there now, and the thief had already come knocking before they came here. In fact, such an impression had been made on the fella that Damiano was on his most wanted heads list.

Guess they'd have to be extra careful and extra ready now, but at least they had more help nearby in case they were attacked again. As they entered the library, Damiano whistled in an impressed manner as he looked around at the large room. "Now this place is impressive, that is for sure. And honestly my lord,' he started as he bgean looking at some of the books. "old really is the best way to describe what we are looking for. Also, Reynard we are in private, so no need to be so professional with su novio." Damiano said as he began his search.

"Yes, yes, no need to be so polite, how many times do I have to say you don't need to call me 'Lord' when we're in private Reynard?" Siya agreed promptly as he moved into the room. He was oblivious to Damiano's last couple of words. If it was one thing Siya didn't know, it was the other language, though he was starting to figure out that 'mi rey' was some sort of title for him in Damiano's own language. Other than that, the Fire Lord didn't pay any attention to it.

With a sigh he lifted up a book and blew on it, "Still. I feel terrible for not even noticing that he was upset about something," he muttered to himself, "I guess I really am just a 'child king'," he finished, whispering the last part to himself. Setting the book down he looked around as the other two had started looking already. Dusting his hands off, he grinned a bit. He always did like libraries.

"Alright, yell if you find something," he said, and started off into one of the isles, looking for the oldest books he could find.

Damiano nodded his head, acknowledging his king with a simple [color=007a08]"Mhm."[/color] as he began looking through all the various books. He would occastionally grab and pull out a book that looked old, scanning through it pages some to see if anything in particular stood out.

If Reynard understood what Damiano had said, he made no indication of it as he continued towards the far end of the library. Well, no, that wasn't entirely true- rather, he was doing a fantastic job of pretending that he didn't understand as a dark blush battled for dominance over his pale features. He wasn't quite sure when being in someone else's castle with the other Protector became "in private", but it would take a lot of getting used to for him to let down his guard like that. Then again, to be fair, letting his guard down had never been one of Reynard's strong points.

Reynard perused the shelves of books, eyes scanning rows upon rows in search of something that looked old enough to have information on the orbs. He plucked a few likely suspects from their shelves, flipping through the pages and looking for similar illustrations to the book Siya had found before ultimately coming up with nothing of importance and putting them back exactly where he'd found them.

Siya worked his way down the isles. He wasn't sure how long they were in that library. Probably for a while, but the young Fire Lord tended to lose track of time during such escapades into a wealth of knowledge. He could immerse himself in these books for days and not even realize how long he had been there. Hence the reasons for Reynard constantly checking on him and dragging him around to eat, sleep and do his own Kingly duties. As he searched, he was slowly covered in dust, a couple of dirt streaks across his cheek and one on the tip of his nose. He didn't care, nor did he notice.

It was during one such search that he spotted a rather old looking book that was thick and looked to be of about the same design as the one he had found. The only problem was that it was on a shelf that was just beyond his reach. Siya was rather short after all. Frowning as he stretched up on his tip-toes to try to grab it, he was leaning against the book shelf with one hand trying to gain some more reach.

"Ah..." he sighed heavily, "Why must I be short.... Reynard is so much taller. Why is he taller... that's so not fair," he muttered to himself as his fingers barely scratched the books bindings. He moved his fingers, huffing to himself as he got his fingers just on the edge of the binding and pulled outwards. It shifted. The reason why it was so heavy also came out with it. A wash of books tumbled and rained on him, along with the large one. Scrolls bounced off his head and he stumbled backwards with a sharp yell before falling down under the heavy weight of the book and allowing the other bound novels to tumble around him, wincing slightly.

When it finally all stopped, he glanced around for a moment, "Found it..." he said softly though he was sure the other two heard his mishap. Another book slipped and fell, bouncing off his shoulder as if to make a statement. "Ow..." He gave a slight cough from the dust that had welled up around him, and then sneezed.

Damiano had been absent mindly searching the book as well, no real thought or anything as he did. He wasn't finding anything of interest, except for what sounded like books crashing onto the ground and some poor unfortunate soul. Raising an eyebrow, he slowly poked his head around the bookshelf he had been looking at, only to see his king buried amongst a pile of books. He just stared at the young king, doing his best not to burst out laughing, maintaing a straight face to the best of his abilities. Instead though, he just slowly lifted up his hands as he watched Siya get whacked by one more book, clapping a few times as he just stood there, still maintaining his neutral expression.

The time that they'd spent in the library seemed achingly long to Reynard as he put the umpteenth old tome back in place. He could now with some certainty tell you how their ancestors treated stomach pain, some fable about rabbits and monkeys that he'd only looked at long enough to satisfy his intense curiosity over the bizarre illustrations, and had even found a diagram of how to build a mudhouse, but nothing about orbs unless you counted the bizarrely placed romance novel he'd found that had used only the vaguest euphemisms for anything below the neck. On a good day or, in this case, a good month he might delight in simply looking around the library, but now was not the time or place to enjoy himself.

The tedium was broken up by a sudden crashing sound paired with an all too familiar yell. Well, Reynard mentally sighed as he hurried over in the general direction that he'd heard the sudden noise, Siya getting attacked by books was something he preferred over people attacking him. After all, generally the worst injury books gave you was the occasional bruise of the ever dreaded paper cut.

He found Siya soon enough, partially buried by an avalanche of books, with Damiano standing before their charge, slowly clapping. Oh, Lord. Still, it wasn't the worst thing he could have found. He stepped over the fallen books and helped Siya to his feet.

"Found something, I take it?" He asked dryly, quirking an eyebrow in a small show of amusement.

Siya looked up at Damiano and narrowed his eyes, "I can tell you want to laugh," he said and then sneezed again. Reaching up he wiped at his nose, trying to get the itch to go away only to smear more dust along his face as well as inhale it. He sneezed yet again. Pinching his nose, he closed his eyes in an attempt to rid himself of the terrible attack of dust.

Then he heard his other Protector, Reynard come into the isle. Hands gripped him and he was up on his feet. Looking up at Reynard, he once again cursed his small size as in fact both men were taller than he was. He rolled his eyes as he looked at Reynard and nodded, "Yes." A sneeze. "Ugh... can we move please?" he said, pinching his nose and looking up at Reynard with a pleading look in his fiery gaze.

He handed the book over to Reynard as he sneezed several times in a row and quickly dispersed himself from the dust infested isle to breathe properly. Patting his clothes out, the black silk puffed dust all over the place and he immediately regretted that action. Turning away he went to a small desk away from his dusty attack and seated himself. He could just barely feel the tickle at the edge of his nose and quickly rubbed at it to stop another sneeze.

"Lord Amon needs to clean his books..." he muttered. His hands reached out to Reynard, fingers wiggling a bit, "The book, please. Lets see what this one has," he continued, his voice rising in excitement.

Damiano made no change in his expression when Siya mentioned him wanting to laugh, mostly because if the protector stopped concentrating he was going to burst out laughing. The king just looked so adorable and goofy buried in a pile of books, and his constant sneezing and dust covered form did not help any either. Damiano took a moment, when they were away from all the dust of course, to take a deep breath to calm himself and stop a fit of giggles from pouring forth. He followed his king over to a desk, the protector moving so he was sitting on the edge of the desk to the side, making sure there was enough room for the book to be set down.

"I don't think Lord Amon really touches this place all that much, mi rey. Might explain the rather dusty nature of it all. Course, i'm sure if he just let you visit often enough, you could help him get rid of all the dust and cobwebs covering these poor things." He said, watching the young king reach for the book Reynard was holding like a little child would for a sweet of some kind. It made the protector smile, watching the young king's antics. In a way, the garden snake had been right, Siya really was still young in behavior at times and sometimes Damiano figured there was still a child inside the heart of his king. Yet, despite that, Damiano could also see the intelligence and wisdom that Siya had. Even if the king was a little naive and innocent, he was anything but a weak and stupid king; honestly Damiano thought that given enough time, Siya could grow up to be one of the best kings that Dhaemar had seen in a long time.

He may regret having been born into the family he had been, but Damiano was beginning to appreciate the skills his parents had taught him as now it meant he could use those skills to help this king become something great.

It took all of Reynard's finely honed self control to not reach out and attempt to wipe off at least a small portion of the dust smeared across Siya's face. He looked, well, if Reynard was completely honest with himself, impossibly cute, covered by gray dust, nose wrinkled in an apparently semi-permanent state of almost sneezing. But, since Reynard was still learning how to be honest with himself when it came to his still rather undefined relationship with Siya, he stuck with the thought that his charge simply didn't look dignified unless one considered looking like you'd just been used as a human feather duster dignified.

Still, any thoughts of adorable Kings were put aside for another time- or never, never was a good time- as Reynard handed over the book, Siya's excitability clearly catching as the taller Protector leaned over his shoulder at the desk, peering down at the pages displayed.

Siya opened the book as it was handed to him. His fingers worked through the pages rapidly but gingerly. His excitement grew even more as his eyes alighted onto a page that listed out a tree of names. He paused, "Look!" though he didn't really have to say it as the other two were right there, obviously looking with him. Tracing his fingers down the line, he read the names to himself. Many of them he couldn't even pronounce. But next to each one was a symbol. A symbol of a red dragons maw. His fingers tapped that picture and then he quickly shifted through the pages. Mumbling to himself as he was now completely lost to it.

"Royalty... these... these people are royalty. A long line of them. They used to come here," he took a deep breath again, "This!" he nearly jumped out of the seat as he turned the page to a picture of the door that the other book had talked about, "The door...It... 'feeds power to Dhamear from Reimrand to keep both places stable through the use of four powerful orbs. The Kings often meet to discuss events between both places and to share knowledge of inventions, medicines, society, and other important things. The orbs are housed by the Royal family in Reimrand where the power is regulated so as not to cause chaos in either place and to keep things under balance.'" Siya stopped reading and fell back against the chair.

"Wait... if the orbs are here, then what happened to this other place?" he looked up to Damiano and Reynard. He stared at them for quite a while before his mind made the decision, "Lets go there."

There was a reason Damiano had chosen the word "naive" describing Siya, as the protector pinched the bridge of his nose when Siya mentioned going to Reimrand. [color=007a08]"Dios mío."[/color] Damiano muttered to himself before lowering his hand and looking at the Fire King. [color007a08]"Mi rey, those questions are things that would be nice to answer, yes. However, we are not exactly in a position to just go waltzing to this place, not to mention, we have no idea where this door is, or if it is even open. I know the prospect of going somewhere like that is exciting but focusing on the people trying to kill us may be for the better, even if they are related to that place."[/color]

Once the injuries were taken care of, Kanan took to leading them down the halls to the library where Lord Siya had said he would be. He was definitely conscious about his eye though, and continually checked to make sure it wasn't bleeding again and that the patch was still there. In honesty, his eye was just fine, there wasn't anything wrong with it seeing wise. There was no scar, the eye wasn't missing. The only reason he wore the patch was because he was afraid of what might happen if he took it off. The eye had been cursed by some strange magic that he did not wish to invoke... if it was invoked at all.

Kanan did his best to keep his hand from constantly reaching up to touch the patch, but it was a work in progress. It had been so long since he had last felt pain in the eye. The young protector reached the doors of the library after a bit of a walk through the halls. He was only partially surprised that the other King hadn't come rushing from the room when the fight broke out a moment ago. After all, the library was far enough away from the entrance to the castle, so they most likely didn't hear a thing. Kanan was also grateful for Minnow's assistance. Walking into the library bloodied was sure to send the younger King in a fit of worry and questions, most of which he didn't want to answer.

The double doors opened to him and he allowed his King entrance first before following in right behind Minnow. His gaze fell on the smaller blonde and he felt a frown tug on his face. They were going to have to talk later. As he was going to have to speak to his King later too... that was if Amon pressed the issue. Still, it made Kanan a bit guilty.

Upon entering, he set his gaze upon Siya who was leaning over a book with a large frown on his lips. He seemed to be in deep thought. Whatever the book was that was opened before him, had the King's utmost attention because the three of them came into the room without the young Fire Lord even looking up, though his protectors were a different story.

Amon kept the ice pack on his wrist as they walked, trying to ignore the throbbing, sharp pain from the injured limb. He just had to sprain it on the day that he'd find himself in a rather nasty brawl. There was no telling how long it'd take for the wrist to heal itself up, though for him it wasn't so much he wanted it fixed to use it. Rather he wanted it fixed so then he could use it without having to keep an eye out for Minnow threatening him with various medical items. When they reached the library, he nodded his head to Kanan as the protector opened and held the door open for him, looking inside to see Siya and his protectors gathered around one of the desks.

Amon cast a glance at Kanan as he walked by, having noticed at how the man was constantly inspecting his eye. Of course, Amon couldn't really blame him after the little episode in the lobby. He looked back ahead, noting that at some point or another he needed to ask Kanan why that whole fight needed to occur. He was hiding something, again, not that Amon could blame him; now that it was affecting all of them however, and the safety of the kingdom and the people here, it was no longer just Kanan's buisness.

Amon finally stopped not far behind the Fire King, quietly looking over his shoulder to see what he had his face buried in. He couldn't help but grin slightly, deciding to lean forward some and rest his arm on the young king's shoulder, particularly the one that had the ice pack on it and letting it lightly touch the man's neck. "Find something, Siya?"

The young Fire Lord, who hadn't heard a thing as he leaned his elbows on the desk, muttering to himself, didn't notice the other King come up behind him. If his protectors noticed, well, he had all but tuned them out also. He was trying to figure out his next step. Siya wanted desperately to go and see this place, but he also knew that Damiano was right in saying they had no way of finding it. He also knew that taking care of the ones that had been trying to kill them was also something that needed to be done. He heaved a sigh.

Then something icy cold touched the back of his neck lightly.

Following that was Lord Amon's words, of which were momentarily forgotten as Siya gave a sort of squeal in terror and arched his back as the cold ice dripped down the collar of his black shirt. Falling forward with both hands flailing and clawing at the desk to get away from the cold, he whirled around finally with wide eyes. It took him a moment, "L-lord Amon! W-what was that?!" he rubbed at his neck as his face heated to a terrible blush.

Minnow tilted his down slightly as Kanan opened the door for them to pass through. The young healer honestly did his best to keep from staring at the eye patch as well, though he was only worried that it had been damaged and was still causing Kanan pain. It was easier once he fell in step behind him, and soon Minnow’s focus was taken by the other three surrounding a rather large tome. Lord Siya definitely seemed engrossed in what he was doing, and in a slight bout of nervous energy, he folded his hands together in front of him as he followed after Amon.

He was startled when Siya suddenly let out a shriek, not entirely understanding why until the pieces clicked together in his mind. He had of course seen Lord Amon lean over him, but in all honesty, the blonde-haired protector had forgotten about the ice pack he had given to his King.

At the other king’s blush, Minnow brought his fingers up to his lips to hide the light chuckle that threatened to break through. He grinned in greeting to the others in the group, soon finding a place near the desk to look over what they had been reading.

It wasn't that Reynard didn't take pride in his position as one of Siya's Protector's. In fact, it was quite the opposite- he was intensely dedicated to the job, perhaps far more than he had any right to be. That is not to say, however, that he couldn't take a joke or, rather, see a joke go through at Siya's expense because, honestly, even he needed to have a laugh in the midst of the most stressful job in the world. Or, well, Reynard's version of a laugh, which was a slight upturn of the lips and a lessening in the severity of his far too intimidating gaze. So, really, when he saw Lord Amon and his two Protectors wander over, he did what was best for his own sanity and kept his mouth shut.

He wasn't disappointed, Siya's far too funny squeal of terror instantly making its way into his top ten favorite Siya-embarassing memories(not that he'd ever admit to embarassing Siya on purpose, but his blush and rather excitable reactions were too fun and interesting to really pass up). He bowed slightly to the other group in greeting.

Damiano had seen the Air King and his two protectors enter the room, simply nodding his head to them. He figured he wouldn't interrupt Siya, honestly he wasn't sure he could interrupt the king's book dive. Considering the amount of things the young man almost runs into on a daily basis, dragging his attention away from a book he's enjoying was pretty much not possible. However, it seemed the Air King had found a sure-fire way of getting the young man's attention, and even Damiano couldn't keep a straight face when Siya let out his little squeal as an ice pack was set on his neck. The foreigner just chuckled and stood up from his place on the desk and leaned back against the wall.

Amon on the other hand, was laughing a bit more loudly and joyfully; as he hadn't expected the Fire King to react in such a manner. It took a moment before he calmed himself down, smiling at him as Amon spoke. "I-I'm sorry Siya!! I-I...uh...!" Now Amon was lost in his words, still trying to get himself to calm down a little. He actually felt a little bad now, with the young man basically the center of attention here after doing the antics he did. Taking one more deep breath, Amon finally spoke again, "I'm terribly sorry, Siya! I was, just checking up on you and you were so lost in the book, I couldn't help but see how you'd react to this ice pack here."

At that statement, he held up the ice pack on his wrist to show Siya what he was talking about. "So, have you found something worthwhile amongst these dusty ol' tomes?" He noticed a bit of dust on Siya's shoulder, standing out on the black shirt the young king wore, and reached down to brush it off. "Maybe I should have the servants clean up this room more."

Siya sputtered, trying to control his blushing and calm down his racing heart. His gaze flicked between all of them and he suddenly seemed to realize that all were present for his girlish scream. This, of course, made him turn even further red, the blush stretching all across his nose and cheeks and up to his ears even. His gaze flicked up to Reyard very briefly before he found he couldn't even look the man in the eye. Nope... not... gonna happen. Going to pretend that didn't even happen and he didn't hear that. He did not hear that. Taking a deep breath he tried to settle in the chair.

Amon reached out and brushed at his robes, the black silk blaringly wielding the dust that had assaulted him earlier. He flinched slightly, not sure if the man was going to drop more ice on him or not. Then he glanced down at his appearance. Fingers dusted at his clothes rapidly and reached up to his face. Unfortunately for him, smearing more of the invading gray particals over his nose and cheek.

"Um..." he started, trying to gather his thoughts after the sudden attack of ice, "Yes.... yes they should, and stop stacking books on top of one another. That's dangerous. Knock someone out if they're not careful," he muttered in return, grasping on the first thing that came to mind after Amon's words. Clearing his throat, he tried to straighten and get his mind to work properly, "This book..." his fingers tapped the pages, "Talks more about that gate that I told you about in the other book. Well, more like a door I guess you could say. Says that royalty used to come and visit us from the other place. Also says that the orbs were protected over there in the royal family. Energy floods from that gate to our world and that's how both sides are sustained, so long as the door is opened I presume."

Siya sighed, shaking his head a bit as he gazed at the book, "Unfortunately, a lot of this is done in a language I don't understand. It must have been something we lost along the years seeing as there's been no mention of something like this for as long as I can remember, and especially since there's no word from any of the last few King's that I have tombs from. I... Um... sort of mentioned that we should go there..." he glanced up at Amon briefly, "But I suppose it would be a lost cause if I can't even figure out where this door is at. Not to mention those two people who are currently chasing after us."

Amon was now looking at the book, listening to Siya speak at the same time. He then looked back at Siya when he finished. "Wow, that's alot of new information. Other kings, other world, and a door in which the energy that controlled the elements could flow through...that's, honestly Siya, a lot to swallow." He then moved to the side of the desk so that he could look at the book and not hang over Siya's shoulder. "I mean, how could this kind of information just,' he paused, tapping the desk slightly before speaking again. "just vanish like that? Yes, your protector mentioned it could have been pushed aside or hidden, but something like that doesn't just up and vanish that easily. Not unless this whole relationship between Dhaemar and...that other place was kept a secret between the kings."

Amon scrunched up his face as he stepped away, pacing a bit while thinking. He then turned back to Siya, crossing his arms a bit akwardly so he could keep the ice on his wrist. [color=002355]'How does this vanish like that though? I just can't understand how this kinda info would disappear like that!"[/color]

Siya shook his head slowly, "I don't know either. I'm just as astonished as you are, Lord Amon. I can't imagine how this kind of information gets lost so easily. Tucked away at the back of history almost to never be seen again. The biggest question I have is how the orbs ended up in our possession when they're not supposed to be here. I also have to wonder what the other place is like right now. Look at our maps, too," he added and got up from the seat. Once he found what he was looking for, he spread it out showing the continent of Iveir, but it was really all he needed, he didn't need the whole world to prove this point.

His fingers tapped certain areas where water was, land was and other various things, "These... aren't on these maps," he said and pointed over to one of the dusty pages where the lines were faded out, yellowing and the map looked to be a thousand years old. They were both very different, "This clearly states that it's Iveir, but it looks nothing like what we know it to be."

Amon walked over to the desk once more when Siya grabbed a map and unrolled it. He stood next to him as they both looked at the two maps. Cocking his head to the side, confused, he could see what Siya was talking about. Both claimed to be maps of Iveir, and the one Siya had unrolled he definitely recognized as the Iveir that Amon knew. The one in the book though was not the same, with the differeing landmasses and bodies of water. "No kidding, nothing like Iveir nowadays. But if we carry the orbs, then they must have been brought here either by the previous Kings before us."

Again he scrunched his nose in thought before leaning back from the maps and scratching the back of his head. "Or, maybe someone from the other side sent them here...?" he asked while turning to look at Siya.

Siya, who had been staring at the pages with the scratched markings of the fading map, looked up sharply to Amon, "... you think? That could definitely be possible. Why else would they let the orbs go? The book clearly states that they were heavily guarded. Maybe it was nothing to do between the two places but something on their own end," Siya lifted a finger and put it between his teeth, biting down gently as he stared at the book for a long while. With a heavy sigh he put both hands on his hips, "I don't know. I need to figure out this language. Maybe that will be my first step. There has to be books here that has this old language. In the meantime... we should send word to Taki. He needs to be here. I think it's safer if we are all together instead of separated right now. Things are far too dangerous."

Amon nodded his head at the suggestion to bring Taki here. It was better that they were all together, even though it meant they would all be in the same place if attacked, it did mean they would also be together to combine their strength against their opponents. He looked up at Siya, "I'll have a message sent right away, you continue to search through here for anything that may help ok? I'll be back later to he-" he paused for a moment, then continued with a bit of shame in his tone, "-try to help. You probably know this library better than I do in the hour or two that you've been here." He then turned and left right for the door. "I'll be back soon, let's go, Kanan, Minnow." he said while heading through the doorway.

The letter had arrived early in the morning to the Earth Kingdom. The morning air was thick and carried the calls of the bids. Having been found on an early morning run on the far side of his favorite pond, Taki didn't even seem to read over the letter too deeply as a smile grew over his face. He was nothing but excited to return back to the Air Kingdom. Even though it hadn't been all that long since he had been there he wanted to go back and explore a little outside the palace.

It did not take Taki long to pack himself back at his room as he swept through his room like a hungry wolf. Within the timeframe of what seemed like twenty minutes, Taki nearly tripped down some stairs as he had yelled to Lutchka to hurry. Within his mind he did not quite understand he litterally four minutes to prepare herself.

To Taki's annoyance there was no sign of the snake. With a small sigh he would at least be able to talk to the new guy. He really didn't get much of a chance to talk to him though. After their last encounter Taki had a new scar on his cheek and the man had his own troubles to deal with. It wasn't avoidence either as Taki had just failed to give the guy time to chat. After the last meeting, Taki had begun increasing security around the borders.

"Besides." Taki said to himself. "Now is the perfect chance!"

As she heard Taki’s yells echo through the castle halls, Lutchka rolled her eyes with a soft grumble. He was so impatient. The female protector barked a couple of orders to some of the servants, informing them of what they should do while the King was absent. Others scurried around moving the little amount of luggage and to prepare their transportation.

Practically falling into a chair, Lutchka let out a loud sigh. It seemed that they were heading out too soon since their last visit, but these were times of importance. Nonetheless, it was always a bit of a headache to get the castle in order and figure everything out.

She fanned herself with her hand, looking around the room she was stationed in. Closing her eyes for just a few moments to give herself a little break, Lutchka soon arose once more and made her way down the halls to her room.

As per her guidelines, she kept a close watch on Chromi at all times, and when she wasn’t nearby, someone else was keeping an eye on him. He had been given the spare room across from her own, and she had heard no complaints about it- only because if he made any gripes about it she’d threaten him with occupying the same room. He was always so uncomfortable whenever she made such inferences. It was entertaining, to say the least.

Coming to a halt before the door, her knuckles rapped lightly on the wood. She then put one hand on her hip while the other ran through her hair as she once more went through her mental checklist.

"Yes, yes," Valrien called already dressed and just finishing putting his sword around his waist as he adjusted the leather across his frame. He had heard the call to leave and was probably the quickest one to get ready despite everything else. He opened the door and looked out at Lutchka, a bit of a frown on his lips, "Ready? The sooner we go the better."

Although his words were those, his thoughts were very different. He was nervous. On edge. Impatient. And probably worst of all, apprehensive. He didn't know what to expect when they reached the other palace of which he'd only... attacked... last time. From there he was unsure as to how to act around the other two Kings, especially the small one. He had been holding the Fire orb and though he'd failed in retrieving it, there was one protector with the young King that he was sure to not stand up against very well.

Valrien swallowed dryly, trying to keep his unease to himself as he moved out into the hall. His fingers fidgeted across his clothes before he finally rested them. One hand on the hilt of his blade, the other slightly twitching at his side.

Lutchka laughed gently as she watched him fidget about. But it was understandable, and she was glad he was smart enough to be nervous about this meeting. In all odds, it would not go down very well on many levels.

With a very soft smile, she came up behind him and placed her hand on top of his shoulder to steady him. She was also hoping he might jump a bit. With a soft exhale of laughter, she leaned in. [/b]“I’m guarding you too, remember?”[/b] Lutchka patted his arm as she moved in front of him, leading the two of them down the halls.

“Don’t run your mouth though, this job is going to be hard enough as it is.” Her heels clicked along the stone halls as they walked to meet Lord Taki at the large center staircase.

Valrien flinched, his body going stiff as her fingers suddenly gripped his shoulders. He wasn't one to be touched so freely... he hated it actually. However, it seemed that she was insistant on doing so. Probably because she knew it drove him nuts. Valrien let out a soft growl at her but didn't say anything. As her hands were removed, he reached up and rubbed at his shoulders as if to get rid of the lingering tingle that her touch created. It made him uncomfortable to say the least.

At her instance to not 'run his mouth' he rolled his eyes, "I'll say what needs to be said," he returned, though in all honesty, she was probably right. He had a tendancy to say things that would get him into trouble, if their first encounter wasn't proof enough of that. He heaved a heavy sigh and reluctantly followed after her to meet with the King, Taki. He couldn't wait for this trip to be done and over with.

"I can't wait for this trip to start and with every step I wish that it was further away! I love traveling!" Taki boasted to Lutchka. With an overexaggarted raise of his hand to the sky, Taki semed to perform quite the sillliest of dances as he jumped up and down several times.

"Hey Lutch! This time there's no Hebi to ruin the fun either!"

Siya, once again buried in a book, had taken to his usual traversing of the halls whilst reading. Granted it was much more difficult in Amon's halls as he didn't know where everything was placed. More than a few times did he stub his foot, or hit a wall suddenly or slam his knee into a display that for strange reason had decided to place itself there. At least, that was Siya's current excuse for running into just about everything as he paced the halls while reading. At the present moment, he was making his way from the library with both protectors in tow, to the front of the castle because it was the expected arrival date of the King of Earth. With Taki there, he could go over everything that he'd managed to learn a lot easier without having to repeat himself. Something that he was quite thankful for since he was going to have to repeat most of everything he had already told Amon several days prior.

Turning the corner, Siya finally closed the book and looked up.

He came to an abrupt halt. Staring at the tall shelving that held quite a few items inside of it, he released a breath, "I really have to stop doing that," he muttered to himself and walked around the casing to continue on down the hall with the book in hand. He tried not to look over his shoulder to the other two who probably were keeping a scoring board by now about how many times their young King had run into something. Thankfully, though, he was no longer reading the book, although he was pretty sure Reynard would snatch it from him the moment he lifted it back up to his face again. He quickened his pace as he caught sight of Amon's protectors Kanan and Minnow, the King himself not far behind. Siya was sure that Kanan had felt the presence of Taki arriving, thus the reason for them to be already heading for the doors.

Siya fell into step beside Amon, with a glance up at the man he gave a small smile, "Lord Amon," he greeted.

The past few days had been good for the Air King, for the most part that is. His wrist was still a little sore, as he had done quite a number on it after already spraining it. Strangely enough though, he did find himself actually heading Minnow's advice and wasn't using it like he might have before. The boy could never stop Amon from his daily exercises, but Amon was careful not to put any heavy strain on the wrist. It meant though that his left arm was more sore than usual as he had been using it more while practicing his strikes.

Despite doing his daily exercises, they were definitely less frequent than usual as a lot of his time was spent assisting Siya to try and find any information that they could about their recent findings. Of course the Air King was the most helpful, as he really had no idea what it was he was looking for. It basically came down to two criteria: It is written in a language he didn't know, and that it was old. Turned out there was a fair amount of books that fell under those criteria yet turned out to not have the information they wanted. Several times he got an exasperated look from Siya when Amon dumped several books in front of the younger man, but Amon just shrugged it off with a grin before hunting down anything else.

Most of his time not in the library though was actually spent out on the hillside where the graves had been made for those who had been killed in the attack. Often times, Amon would just find himself wandering out there and just quietly observing them, re-reading the names, most of which he recognized as well. Staring at them usually hurt the king inside, as it was again a reminder of what he hated to see the most. It brought back the old memories that had been plaguing his mind these past few days, as it reminded him of the gravesite not far from the village and all the people he knew of that were buried there; including his family. Standing at the graves here brought him back to the cemetary near the village, brought him back to his original home. Sometimes when he read the names on these graves, he'd see the names that were on the ones back in the village. Sometimes he'd see the names of his old friends, and even his own siblings.

This place, these graves, always stole the smile from his face because of the memories it brought back to him. Yet, he really figured he needed to come here every now and then, to be brought back to reality. The people here may have died because of his carelessness, his indifference to actually securing himself or providing proper security. After the original attack, he had done nothing but continue life as normal, confident that the next attack that came would be as simple as the first. The dead here were the result of that mistake, and now Amon was doing whatever he could to prevent that again.

It would probably become a part of his daily rituals, to come out to the graves and remind himself of these things. To remember the pledge he had made to himself, to stop as many deaths as he could. He knew he couldn't stop all of them, that he needed to steel his mind for that inevitability; but he would do all he could to make sure that as few as possible would die if he could help it.

He had been lost in his thoughts as he tavelled down the hallway, having been making their way to the main doorway to greet the Earth King. He had been informed of his arrival by Kanan, so now that was where they were going. It was quiet as they walked, save for the rythmic thunk of his staff hitting the ground as he went. The silence was broken though when he heard a familiar voice behind him speak.

It was a simple greeting from the young fire king as he stepped up next to Amon, smiling at him which Amon happily returned. "Cripes, just call me Amon already sheesh! We are of equal titles so it's not like you have to show proper respect all the time." Amon said while lightly poking the side of Siya's head.

Siya closed one eye in protest, "But... you're older than me," the young King fought back his fingers lightly touching the place that Amon had been poking. Each poke evoked a slight twitch of his eyes closing and his lips pulling into a frown. Of course at that moment, Siya was beginning to wonder which of the two of them was older... certainly Amon seemed to be youngest in actions. Well, at least when he was doing something like poking him, or putting ice down his shirt. He blushed at that thought.

Clearing his voice, he waved his hand at Amon's, "I refuse! You're Lord Amon, it is your proper title," the Fire Lord said stubbornly. He wasn't about to change that, at least not so easily.

Kanan waited for them at the doors, holding them open for them to exit and soon they were walking out across the landing and then down the steps to the gravel roadway that led up to the palace, "Lord Taki!" Siya called as he decended the steps with Amon. He gave a smile, "I hope your trip was pleasant... Are you alright though? Nothing happened since last we met?" he asked quickly, trying to be mindful of his words though, unlike how he had been with Amon.

"Hey there Siya!" Taki said loudly with an excited tone. "Hey, don't call me Lord when we're equals!" Taki grinned. Humming to himself lightly he glanced at the two of which were following him as he brought a hand to the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly.

"Well....I am alright, but I would be lying through my teeth if I were to say nothing happened. Oh! Check out my new scar!" Taki pointed to his left cheek where he had been slashed in his previous encounter. "Eh...pretty cool right? Makes me look a little more hardend right?"

Grinning to Siya, Taki added in. "Something must have happened for all of us to be called here again right?"

"Even Taki agrees on dropping the 'Lord' thing! Lighten up Siya." Amon said while poking Siya's head one more time before looking at Taki, nodding his head to him. "Welcome back, Taki. that is certaintly an...interesting scar, hopefully it was nothing too serious." He then leaned to the side, using his staff as support. "And yes, quite a bit has happened as of late. We can discuss it within the council room."

"Oh come on." Taki whined. "We should walk around the courtyard and talk it over. Nature always brings less stress. Besides, shouldn't we celebrate upon all of us reaching here safely?"

Dropping the childish tone, Taki looked between the two of them as he said kindly. "The troubles of this world will always have you by the foot, but to grab the joy....Shit I can't remember how it goes...Let's bring out the wine!"

Throwing out a shrug and a Taki grin, the man seemed to put on his best show. Flashing his grey-blue eyes to the others he tried to win them over.

"Besides, it's all business when we meet. Allies and friends drink together."

Siya sighed as Amon reached out and began poking him again, "Will you..." he muttered, putting on a pout as he waved his hand at Amon vigorously again. Worse than me... he thought to himself. Of course the other brilliant part was that neither of his protectors said a word about it, nor did Amon's. Perhaps they were enjoying it. Siya was pretty sure at least Damiano was enjoying it, even if the man had a poker face that none could really crack.

"Sire," Kanan's voice was sudden, and in all honesty, the young Fire Lord had forgotten about the near silent protector, the man could speak more... seriously, "Who is that?" the one eyed warrior directed his gaze to a young man who had dismounted and moved somewhat timidly towards the group of Kings.

Siya, his gaze now turned to the youth, lifted an eyebrow. Those eyes... he thought and his breath sucked in sharply as he narrowed his gaze briefly. Who was that? Siya trembled slightly. To make matters worse, Kanan had shifted putting himself before Amon and Siya both, his gloved fingers straying for his blade. The youth looked a bit irritated at the display, but didn't move though both of his mismatched eyes narrowed slightly. It seemed the young man wanted to say something but was seriously holding back.

Siya looked to Taki, "You... brought... is that?" he couldn't finish, not quite sure his own mind was working properly as he looked back to the other man.

"I'll be honest with ya!~" Taki said. "I kinda just whooped him in a fight and let Lutchka take it from there. I'm trusting her on her judgement with this guy."

Taki begun to hum a little as he looked to Siya. "To be completely honest with you...I really should have paid more attention..." He began to laugh lightly as he could almost feel the awkward energy flowing about.

As they neared the castle, the reactions were obvious to their unexpected guest. Subconsciously Lutchka drew closer to the boy, a neutral smile to her face as she regarded the group that stood on the stairs. Taki made no attempts to go about the issue delicately, and straight out expressed what had been going on. Yet he still left out the fact that he was indeed one of the would-be-assassins.

With a light sigh, Lutchka rolled her eyes weakly. “Nah, we finally booted Hebi, he’s the new bodyguard~” She grinned brightly at the others, keeping only two inches of space between she and Chromi.

She leaned an arm on Chromi's shoulder, regarding the others playfully. She then brought up a hand to her lips and whispered loudly to the others, “I think this guy might have knocked a few bolts loose in Taki, if you know what I mean~” She teased brightly, returning her arms to herself and brushing off her shirt a bit. “However, it’s been a long trip over, and some rest would be highly appreciated, unless of course matters require it to be otherwise.”