Selina.

Aliana looked warily at the carriage that was sent to return her to her rightful home in Galma. Three servents that were sent to retreave her were currently loading up her belongings while she stood inbetween both her parents. Or, at least who she had thought were her parents. Sighing a bit, Aliana shook her head. She really didn't want to think about everything that was going on. It was bound to give her a headache. "Princess, we're ready to depart now." One of the servents, Jayson she believed his name was called to her, while giving a slight bow. "Oh...Alright." She remarked softly, while stepping out of the comfort of her mothers arms. She turned to face them then, bitting into her lower lip to stop it from trembling. "Well..This is it I suppose.." Her mother, Nessa nodded slowly her emerald green eyes shining brightly with unshed tears. "Aliana...Do know that we both loved you very much..You'll always be apart of our family." Nessa spoke softly as she stepped forward, embracing Aliana tightly.

Aliana had to fight hard to keep tears from spilling down her cheeks as she returned the embrace just as tightly. "I know..mom. I love you both so much." She whispered quietly. Once her mother had stepped back from her, Aliana turned her blueish gray eyes to her her father, Devin. She studied his expression for just a moment. He looked rather sad, almost defeated. Which was rather unusual for her usually stoic father. For as far back as she could remember, Devin never showed much of an emotion or reaction for that matter. So it greatly shocked Aliana to see the subtle sadness that had creeped into his mossy green eyes. "I.." He began, though paused immediatly after, seeming to have to battle for the correct words. "You.." A second pause, followed by an almost agitated sounding sigh.

Finally, Aliana watched as Nessa nudged Devin's side. "I love you Aliana.." The words were spoken softly, while a single tear worked it's way down her fathers cheek. "You were a wonderful daughter, a joy in both mine and your mothers lives. And even though you are not related to us by blood..You will always be our baby girl." Aliana stared, wide eyed at her father, not bothering to try and stop the tears that were falling down her cheeks. Before really thinking anything through, Aliana threw herself into her fathers arms, her own arms circling around his torso tightly as she burried her face into his chest. "I love you too daddy." She whispered, feeling her fathers strong hold on her. He bent down kissing the top of Aliana's head softly before he released her, quickly wiping at his eyes. After composing herself, Aliana hugged both her parents one final time, before turning to the three men. "I'm ready..Let's go." She whispered, while easily slipping into the carriage. Turning to sit sideways, Aliana leaned out the small window as the carrige began to pull away.

Her gaze had immediatly turned to her parents, watching as Devin held Nessa close to his side, comforting her as the carriage pulled away. "We love you sweetheart!" Her mother called one last time, to which Aliana replied. "I love you both! I'll come back to vist soon!" She waved until her small home was out of sight, before she finally sat back in the seat, her gaze turning to the oceans visable outside of the small carraige window. A single tear worked it's way down the young princess's cheek, as she watched the last veiws of the beautiful ocean slip past the carriage window, just as the passed into the forests of the mainland. "Goodbye Seriphina.." She whispered to herself, sighing as she wiped away the tear. "And hello Galma.."

Ashi stood immobile. The heights of his mountain exile stretched Selina's broad tracts before him. Ripe for conquest Ashi could feel his victory. This was once his home, his land before the invaders arrived and took it from him. Now his desire for revenge had grown and brewed for centuries. There was no difference in his mind between the peaceful settlers who now inhabited that land and their ancestors. They would pay for what was taken. They would pay in blood. So many times he had tried before, every time they fought him over what was rightfully his. Yet he only grew in strength with every loss, his entire existence was to rule Selina once again. Now, over sixty years since his last incursion he was powerful enough to succeed and his foes had grown complacent in their peace. The land he could see burdened itself in shadow, great clouds of blackness blocked the sun's reach. The darkness pushed forward, unstoppable at his command. Protected, the beasts and creatures of shadow marched slowly into the heart of the kingdom.

Ashi feared nothing, not even the fabled prophecy that was quoted against him. It was fresh to the land compared to his considerable lifespan. He placed no power in words that young. He would snuff their prophecy out, show to the people of that land that they cannot stand before him. Reaching out his right hand, clad in a clawed gauntlet, he started intoning the monotone words of an ancient and powerful spell. Behind his full face helm the words were echoing and hollow yet still fraught with power. The ancient conjurer twisted his hand palm up curling his fingers into sharp talons, his voice continued to bring the spell forth. Blackness even darker then the shadow that encased the land began to swirl and gyrate above his hand. Growing and growing into a great sphere of rushing blackness. Ashi's voice halted and the sphere continued to drift. He snapped his fist closed and the final of the spell was released. Four shards of darkness ripped away from the whole and settled before him.

Ashi looked upon his creations with pride. Four beings of darkness at his command, each for one of the the princesses who supposedly would end him. They were some of the most powerful creatures he could create, able to take any solid form and duplicate it exactly. They were to take the forms of humans, and in so doing would take on the emotions, strengths and weakness of humans as to become the most able infiltrators. It seemed one of these four was more powerful then its brothers, its mass of shadow was larger. This meant little to the wizard, merely a curiosity. He began to command them "Hunt down the princesses, gain their trust and bring them to me. Alive and willing." With those simple words he sent the Shadow Minions on their mission. Still forms of shadow of darkness they swept away like clouds of smoke.

The cold wind blew through the northern city of Celidina. Evelina Kirland wasn't even phased by it though. After all, she grew up here. Her heart though felt as cold and empty as the wind though. The other day she had the shock of her life when she learned she wasn't her parents' daughter, but rather the daughter of the ruling couple. She felt so numb right now. Why didn't they tell her? They had to know who she was right? Eve also felt angry with her 'true' parents too. Why give her up, only to summon her back? She wanted answers and she was going to get them. Whatever emotion she was feeling right now, it didn't show on her face. Right now she looked like an ice queen without any trace of emotion. Her adopted family knew she was upset and thought it best not to talk about it. However, when the carriage arrived to take her to the capital, they started to show some emotion. Her mother tried talking to her, but Eve ignored her for she honestly didn't know what to say because she was feeling so much that she didn't trust her words. And as angry as she was feeling right now, she would never want to hurt her parents because what good what it do? Unfortunately, she would never trust them again. After all the hurt she went through, she never wanted to feel so much pain again.

"The carriage is ready to leave your highness." a man said, jarring Evelina out of her thoughts.

Hearing the title was still a shock to her system but she hid it.

"All right." she replied.

She said goodbye to her family before being helped into the massive carriage. She honestly didn't know what the future would bring, but she would wait and see.

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

There was nothing but shadows. Soon though the shadows gathered and created a form. One minute he was merely a thought, the next he was whole. He didn't even have a name, but then one word form in his mind. Dante. That was his name. Than words were whispered into his mind. It was a command, one he must obey. He didn't even think to question it. It simply had to be done. So without a single word, he meld into the shadows and traveled through the shadows that always existed alongside the light. He would do his duty at all costs.

"WHOOOOO HOOO!! Great job, you guys! We hit the jackpot!"

Leliana was up to her usual delinquent behavior. She and her gang, the 'Murks', had located a small, greyish stone home that was in the midst of decaying. The wooden door was covered with ivy and multiple types of fungi and when they had gone to push it open, it had fallen apart completely, tiny insects feeling from their now destroyed home. Ignoring the bugs, the five children entered the domain cautiously.
"Eiran, stats!" On cue, the short and scraggly brunette boy pulled out a dark mahogany oval-like object with a green slate on the front. Pulling out a silver antenna with a sphere at the top, he pushed a small circular button on the side of the device making the green slate light up. The sphere on the antenna opened up into a small satellite dish that began to move around. The oval device began to beep quietly as the boy made his way around the old house. He went left a few steps and forward, making his way down a hallway. Stopping, he turned to Leliana, "Hey, we got something. And BIG, too. I've never seen anything like it."

With that, Leliana reached into the brown sack on her back and pulled out a torch. Striking a match on the side of her boot, she lit it and made her way down the hallway.
"Move out of the way, Eiran! God..." Making her way past the boy whose brow was now furrowed in contempt, Leliana came to the crumbling wall and put her ear up to it. Lifting her other hand and making it into a fist, she gave a single, solid thump to the wall. Nothing. She frowned, closing her eyes. Slowly, she took a few steps to the left, reaching the corner, and once again, gave a thump to the wall. Again, she heard nothing. Goddamn, where is it?
Stepping away from the wall, she gave the end of the hallway a good hard look. There were a few rotted paintings hanging from crooked, rusted nails, a few holes in the wall, and-"There!"
Next to the broom closet was a banner with what seemed to be a gryffin in the foreground and crossing swords in the background. Walking up towards it she gave it another examination before tearing it off the wall, revealing two cracks in the wall that made their way from the floor to ceiling. Stepping back, she looked around for a switch, a lever, a button;something. But was to no avail. Sighing, she crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted. "Oh poohie."

The oldest of the group, Mariana, stepped forward. Mariana was 19, blonde, stood at 5'9", and was built like, well, a man.
"Leli, I can get that."
Leliana turned to look at her large comrade and nodded. Mariana stepped forward, took a deep breath, and gave a swift, hard kick to the wall. Everyone jumping back and coughing, slowly rose and looked up at the large gap in the wall.
"Well done, Mariana. You sure are strong." Leliana said with a laugh. Mariana looked down and smiled, "Anything for you little one. You lead us to many treasures. We are your support, always."
Leliana moved up to the gap and brought her torch to light it up. What she saw was a narrow staircase. Turning to her gang, she nodded and they followed.

Descending down the cold, clammy stairs, they finally made their way to another wooden door. Leliana gave it a slight push, letting it fall to the ground. Ducking beneath a few cobwebs, she entered to newly found room and gasped. All around her was golden cups, rubies, emeralds, swords, shields, statues, and much, much more. The kids shouted with glee as they ran up to the treasure, throwing it up in the air and screaming with glee. For once, she had finally found a treasure worth bringing home to her parents.
As they continued to rejoice, one of the boys stood up and stopped. "Wait you guys, listen." Slowly, the gang one by one dropped what they were holding and listened. Up above there were heavy footsteps. And a lot of them.
"Shit! It's the guards! Someone must have spotted us!" The boy who had stood up, Nerral, stuffed his bag with as much treasure as he could, tipped his hat to Leliana and simply stated, "If I'm caught again, I go to the royal court. I can't...I can't leave my family like that. I'm sorry." And with that the boy ran up the stairs and was gone.

The gang turned to Leliana and all at once began shooting questions, accusations and threats at her. With all the shouting and yelling and tension, Leliana screamed. "SHUT! UP! Jesus!" Huffing, she put her hands on her kness, letting her head fall and her short red hair cover her face. She closed her eyes and thought for a second. Taking a deep breath, she stood up tall looked at the rest of her gang in the eyes and threw her bag at them. "I'll go up. I'll let them take me, be the main distraction, and...when I whistle," She let her head fall again and shook it, "When I whistle, you guys get out of here. I'll contact you in three days to let you know I'm okay. But if that fourth day comes with no word, I want you guys to get a new recruit, and..." Her eyes began to water, her throat closing up and tears slowly making their way down her cheeks. "You guys need to elect a new leader. Show them the ropes. Give them my gadgets. And by the sun and moon, you better damn well do a better job of thieving or you'll be seeing me in the dark sea of the afterlife!" With that, Leliana ran up the stairs and began shouting, "Hey! Here I am! I give up! I surrender!" The sound of heavy footsteps began to make their way towards her.

The Knight that approached her chuckled, "Well aren't you a loud, little shrimp? Man, if only we weren't here for business, I'd shackle you up real nice. Give you that punishment you're so looking forward to." A cackle made it's way from his throat as he grabbed Leliana, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her out to a carriage.

As they reached her small home on the side of the cliff, another knight opened the door for her spitting out six words very quickly, "I apologize for my comrade's behavior."
Leliana jumped out of the carriage and looked up the four knights, two on one side and two on the other, and then looked at her home in front her. "Am I in trouble?"
"No." Replied one of the knights. Taking a step forward and turning to her, he kneeled down and spoke softly, "This is not your family. Not your home. We are to take you to your rightful parents, to the King and Queen. You are to say goodbye." Standing back up, he took his place once again and said no more. Leliana gawked at the knights and began laughing. This had to be some kind of sick joke. But as the knights still stood there silently, she had a feeling it wasn't. Rushing into her home, she cried out, "Momma! Papa! Hey! Is it true?!" Running into her parents's bedroom, she pushed open their door, tears flowing down her face and there she saw here mother and father sitting on their bed looking at her, eyes beet red from crying. Her mother, Martha, stood, shakily, letting a letter fall from her hands. Her father let his head fall into his lap as he began to cry silently. Her mother now stood in front of her, eyes, squeezed shut, fists shaking. A hand rose and suddenly came hard across Leliana's face.
"That....is for leaving home with no word. For stealing from others. For lying to your father and I." Her mother began choking on her sobs, her soft grey hair falling across her round, full and wrinkled face. "But I cannot be upset with you, my sweet. For you see, we were the ones lying to you all along."

The three of them sat on the bed as Martha and her husband, Norman, explained everything to Leliana. How they found her outside their door with a note, saying to treat her well signed with two initials, R&N, and a bag of coins. How those coins had paid for her father to open his own butcher shop. How they figured out whose initials were on that letter. How they hid it from her to protect her. "Sweetheart," her father began, "You are a princess. In fact, the fourth princess. You are part of something quite large. You do not belong amongst us commoners." His sniffles started to pick back up. Leliana looked to her mother, eyes wide and clouded over by tears, "Mama...Mar-martha. I...does this mean you're not my Mama anymore?" Martha looked down at her and kissed her forehead, "Little Ana, you will always be my baby. My golden jem. But...a gem's beauty is only valued and appreciated when shared with the world. You have a whole new life awaiting you. A whole other family waiting to meet you, to see how brightly you gleam. You were always my little chiquita, and always will be." She smiled at Leliana and then stood. "Here, I have made you something." Walking over to her dresser, her other opened the last drawer and pulled out something. Coming back over, Martha handed her a dark, leather bag. "Mrs. Istan sent over some hide. I thought you could use this."
Leliana gently took the bag from her mother and held it up to her face, breathing in the newly made leather. With that breath, her tears had dried and her heart had become accepting. Looking up into the old woman's eyes, she smiled, "I will come back with new stories and treasures for you, Mama. I promise to make you and Papa proud." She hugged her mother tightly and walked over to her father, kissing his forehead. Looking at them both, she gave a single nod. "I guess...I am to go."

As she entered the carriage, her new bag full of trinkets, gadgets and clothing, she let her emotions calm themselves. Yes, her parents lied to her her whole life. Yes, she was royalty. Yes, she had just gotten away with the biggest find in her life. And yes, she was leaving everything she knew.
Taking a deep breath, Leliana watched out the window as she made her way towards her new home.

Ichiro listened intently to Ashi speak. Although he didn't really look it. His eyes were following a fly that had snuck into the room. "Hey Boss, do I really have to do this? Can't you just send one of the others to do it for me? 'Cause I really don't wanna... It sounds boring." He yawned a little and flopped back onto his back. He already knew Ashi's response would be harsh. he would yell at him, probably threaten him. Something along those lines. But Ichiro didn't really care at the moment. He just wanted to go and do something. But the idea of hunting down some princess wasn't very thrilling. He pictured what she looked and acted like. Beautiful, obviously, since she was royalty. But obnoxious, selfish, overly dramatic. This was just his own guess on the matter.

But thinking about some random princess was getting him interested. He would have to sweep her off her feet and dazzle her with complements. He would get to play a nice guy for a change. "Actually, on second thought... This could be kinda fun. Boss, which girl do I get??" Ichiro suddenly acquired a thrilling feeling. He wanted to do this. His mind ignored the small part about having to capture the girl, and mostly on the thought of entertaining her. "Come on. Who is it? Don't keep me waiting. Or I might get mad."

Ashi frowned as one of the apparitions took human form while the others departed on their mission. With the form came all the baggage that come with it, namely emotion. It seemed that this particular Shadow Minion had acquired a more irritable personality. Ashi did not have time for disloyalty. He turned upon the creature and uttered a few words, his armor-clad gauntlet pointed at the young man. As the last simple syllable left his helmet the other simply dissolved. Flesh and cloth reverting back to wisps of shadow. "Bring the princesses to me. All of them, work with the others." The command was repeated to the formless darkness. The Shadow Minions were his servants, they could not actively disobey his commands. Yet as humans, with the whims of human personality they could twist those words as his son often demonstrated. As the last of the four beings left his vision he knew all he had to do was wait. Not knowing of the single weakness in his plan. Should the creatures cease to be Shadow Minions his commands would be void. He never considered this possibility simply because to become fully human the beings would need a soul, something they could only find through requited love.

---

Zephyr strode through the gates of Galma, the guards at the gate voiced a greeting. They received only an emotionless glance as the dark clothed young man continued his path into the midst of the great capital. The men-at-arms paid little heed to the new arrival, not knowing of his evil source. Zephyr mixed through the crowded streets. Stalls and shops were alight with commerce and no one gave him a second look. Instead they did not look away. The young man could not help but attract attention; His graceful movements, his inspiring stature and angular beauty captured the eyes of many. He still seemed to extrude a confidence and presence beyond his features.

So it was he made a stir as he worked his way through to the castle. Security within the city was generally lax, crime was minute and threats sourced from beyond rather then within. Yet the castle was sealed tight. The gates were closed and the men on duty before them were alert and eyed Zephyr suspiciously as he approached. He considered trying to appear jovial at the greeting then abandoned the thought. He walked towards them and halted a few steps away. The six of them frowned darkly, doing their duty keeping people out with just their looks. "What do you want?" The foremost of them growled, his sure posture and grey strands of beard indicated he was most likely in charge.
Zephyr spoke, his voice barely more then a whisper yet carrying easily across "I wish to join the castle guard sir." He forced himself to appear respectful, he had no doubt he could cut all of them down swiftly if he bore a weapon. He kept his feeling of superiority silent as a few of the men looked slightly startled. Their leader, doing himself credit, took the comment in his stride. He appraised Zephyr carefully.
"Whats your name son? Where you from? Why do you want to join the guard?" Suspicion still ran in his voice, yet he seemed almost welcoming. Zephyr continued his village volunteer facade.
"My name is Zephyr. I come from the village of Erinal sir. I wish to serve the king and queen." With Zephyr's reply comment the sergeant let out a throaty laugh.
"Village boy, eh. High ambitions but I can't say no. There should be room for you." He turned his head and beckoned one guard over. "Andy, take Zephyr here to the captain." The youth nodded, barely older then Zephyr he couldn't hold a candle to the imposer. The ranks parted to allow the pair through and the well weighted doors were pushed open to admit them.

After two days of travling, Aliana could finally see, at least in the distance, the city of Glama. In the past two days, Aliana slept off and on, offten from crying herself to sleep, and was slowly begining to come to terms with everything. From what the guard who sat across from her had explained, Aliana was the second oldest of 4 sisters, and each of the sisters had been sent off to different parts of the kingdom. Aliana couldn't help but be a little disbelieving about the story, but she really had no other choice then the believe them. After all, it would explain why she never looked like Devin or Nessa. Shaking her head quickly to rid herself of her thoughts, Aliana sat up just a bit straighter as the guard across from her smiled a bit.

There is no need to be nervous, Princess. Your parent's will just be happy to see you. He said, giving her another encouraging smile. Aliana wanted desperatly to believe him, but she was finidng it harder and harder to keep her nerves at bay. "I hope you're right.." She replied, while biting into her lower lip a bit, her gaze drifting out the window and towards the grand city of Galma, while her thoughts began to run a little wild. I hope they'll like me..

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

Queen Nienta.

The queen paced anxiously, infront of the large windows that over looked the city. She fiddled with her hands nervously while sighing just a bit. Of course, the queen had many reasons to be nervous. For one, her daughter, her 4 beautiful daughter, were being returned to their rightful place. In the palace. And for the second reasons, she had no idea who any of her children were. Nienta was also worried what her girls would think of her. Would they be angry that they were given up? Or be happy to be home? The questions bounced around the queen's head, while she anxiously awaited the arival of her daughters.

The journey was very long for Evelina. She really didn't talk that much during the trip but did look at the surroundings as they left the bitter cold of the north. Eve had never been to a warmer climate and hoped she could adapt to it. Of course as topsy turvy her world had been recently, she had to keep reminding herself she was still Eve and just because she was a princess, it didn't mean she had to change anything about herself. The times she did talk to the guard that was with her, she had tried to learn as much about her new home as possible. Evelina learned she was the eldest of several girls and was separated from her sisters right after the youngest had been born. That meant she was the heir to the throne. She honestly didn't know how she would respond to her sisters for she had nothing but brothers. And the idea of being the heir didn't scare her for some reason. She was already a stubborn, strong-willed person, being a royal might be a good thing for her. Still, she shouldn't presume anything. She already did that and paid for it.

After several days, they arrived in the capital and Eve had never seen anything like it. It was so different from her home that she couldn't help but gap. It suddenly dawned on her that she would be living here. A part of her wanted to panic because it was a bit of a culture shock. The warm weather didn't help much. Much of the clothes she had was made of thick clothing but the guard assured her that they would get her lighter clothing to wear. It took them awhile to arrive at the palace and once again Evenline was surprised. The palace was so grand! She honestly thought she was dreaming. It became very real though when the carriage stopped and the door opened up where the guard offered her a hand. Eve was still stuck in her own little world that the guard had to address her to snap her out of her reverie.

"Sorry." she replied before placing her hand in his and got out.

A man approached her and bowed.

"Greetings your highness. Welcome home and I hope you had a pleasant trip." he said.

"It was nice." Evelina replied.

"This way, I will take you to your parents." he said.

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

"Your majesties, your eldest daughter has arrived." a servant told the king and queen.

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

Dante had traveled to the capital city and before entering, transform into his human form. His scarlet red hair was eye catching to say the least. He did this on purpose for he wanted to catch his prey to notice him. At the same time though he wanted to keep a low enough profile to not be seen as a threat. Walking into the capital, he drew plenty of attention for no one had seen him before. He eventually made his way to the castle and made it just as the first princess arrived. Walking through the gates he asked where he find the place to sign up as a guard. He needed as much opportunity as possible to get close to the princess he was charged with retrieving. As soon as he got to the place he needed to get to, he had simply asked if he could join the castle guard. The person in charge questioned him and when he was satisfied, he asked another guard to help him get started. Dante remained silent for the most part, but when he did speak he was very polite. It would do him no good to be rude.

The trip for Leliana was short seeing as how she lived in the city Galma, although she was coming from the far side which gave her a little bit of a wait. But that made it no better. How was it that she was part of the royal family? The same family that many a time she had tried to steal from. She had gotten away often with stealing from the guards and once found a way to sneak into the royal library. She was no friend to them, but now was expected to suddenly be part of them? She was not fond of this at all.

“Guard. Take me home. I refuse to be a part of any of this. I mean, you guys are on the look-out for me! I can’t possibly be the youngest daughter, I’m a criminal! So please, if you’d just take me back-“
The knight sitting next to her grabbed her by the throat.
“You hush your mouth, litt’l girl. Yer lucky you’re being taken before the King and Queen as their daughter. Because you see, we had quite the search party going on for you and yer gang. We were supposed to take you in before the royal court and determine yer fates. But you lucked out. Humph.”
The knight released her and she put her hands up to her throat, rubbing it as she looked down.
Guess she was in quite the predicament.
One of the other knights spoke, his voice much more calm.

“Even though we were supposed to detain you doesn’t mean we don’t care for you or have respect for you. You are our princess and we are your guard. That relationship will never change, despite what Kal here says or threatens you with. He may be ‘big and bad’ but he is on your side, as am I.”
Leliana nodded at what he has said and looked out the window.
This was all really happening. She was daughter to Queen Nienta and King Raylond, their youngest in fact. She had sisters waiting to meet her, servants to care for her, and most of all-new responsibilities.

She sighed as she watched the streets pass by, people going to and from the markets, kids playing in the street. All of this would be lost to her. Her clothing traded in for gowns, her gadgets traded in for books, she would have to eat at the table with etiquette and poise and speak to others gently and never out of turn.
This is all madness…

But whether or not it was madness, her carriage had just arrived at the castle. There were three other carriages there, servants tending to the horses and preparing them for the stables.
Hers pulled up to the front and came to a sudden halt. As she bounced around a bit, the door flew open and the knights hopped out in a most professionally executed manner.

“Princess Leliana has arrived.” They all stated in unison. A few servants came up and grabbed her luggage from the carriage. One of the knights stepped forward and turned sharply to face her. Taking two steps towards her, he bowed.
“May I escort you, princess, to the King and Queen? They are in wait, as are your sisters.”
Leliana could barely take in a breath, but nodded wide-eyed at the knight. He stood, taking her arm in his and guided her up the steps into the grand hall of the palace. A servant was waiting inside and nodded at their arrival.
“Yes, yes, right this way. Follow me.” The thin man said as he hurriedly walked up another flight of stairs, leading them to a new room.

Zephyr watched as the first princess arrived. Eyes tracing the path of the horse drawn carriage. Being a guard for little more then a week was long enough for the Shadow Minion to eavesdrop on the largest scandal to stir in among the lower class. The princesses had been spirited away from each other as babes. All sorts of rumors circulated as to the why. The most common and seemingly most accurate was fear of the prophecy that was also common on the lips of the servants. So it was that now, as Zephyr's Master began his great conquest, that they were being brought back to confront the great shadow. The timing was critical, both Dante and himself were infiltrated into the castle guard. Already proving their worth as was required to raise their chances of contact with the princesses. Alongside that these girls, it seemed, were entering a world unknown to them and undoubtedly shocking. They would be weak, baseless, lost. The perfect opportunity to gain their trust and so lead them back to the Master.

He slumped in the shadows of the stable, flickering gaze to carriage after carriage as each arrived. Three carriages, three princess. Just as described in the famed prophecy. He watched with caution as knights stepped down from the grand entrance. If currently knights were escorting them then a mere guard was unlike to be placed in such a vital role as protector. That boded trouble. For Zehpyr, posing as a mere village boy, becoming a knight would be a near impossibility unless something were to happen to bring him up to the higher ranks. Even then he would most likely require years as a squire, or even as a knight before he is placed in such a position. All that could be done was hope that the situation would change and observe and plan.

Dark eyes turned to the princesses now disembarking, although they were staggered and were taken in one at a time with no interaction. They were no figures of power or stature, obviously not placed under too much rough treatment by their foster parents. The first, a blond swathed in heavy furs and winter clothing seemed rather out of place in the comfortable temperate environment. He knew not to make many judgments on character nor could he discern much in term of features at this distance. He took in enough information to recognise the three of them again at some other time as the next emerged and was escorted inside. The last carriage drew to a halt and the last of the princess emerged, this one seemed to be the tallest and roughest built of them all with notable red hair. As the stables began to fill with the journey tired horses Zephyr took his leave. Marcy would no doubt wish to hear of the report next time Zephyr journeyed into the city.

It had been a little over an hour since Aliana had arrived at the castle. From what she could tell, she was the first too arrive. At the castle doors, she was greeted by several more castle guards, though the one that had travled with her, Jayson, remained at her side. She felt just a bit more comfortable, having a familar person with her. Aliana paced the length of the sitting room they had been escorted too, while Jayson stood close to the door, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He never said a word, but Aliana was very much aware of his gaze watching her movements. Finally, she heard the soft sigh that left him, followed by his deep calm voice. Princess Aliana, please sit down. You're going to drive yourself into exhaustion. We are simply waiting for your sister's too arrive and then we will be going to see your mother and father.

Aliana let out a frustrated sigh, nodding just a bit though she didn't move to sit. Instead she continued her agitated paceing, before she stopped near one of the large windows. "Jayson.." She paused for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to ask. "Are...What are they like? The king and queen I mean.." Her question was simple, yet Aliana felt rather nervous. She didn't turn to face Jayson, but she could hear the quiet chuckle that escaped him. Though before he could answer, the large wooden doors were pushed open followed by a soft feminine voice. Queen Nienta and King Raylond are ready for you now, young princess. Aliana turned around, as Jayson straightned up just a bit before speaking to her softly. This way, princess. With that said, he walked out following the woman, while Aliana bit into her lip a bit. Taking a deep breath, she followed after the two.

It's now or never.. She thought to herself, while also contemplating running in the opposite direction, though before she could come to a firm descion, Aliana realised she was standing infront of the throne room. She glanced around quickly, looking for any sign of who sisters, though not seeing anyone she figured she was the first too arrive. This only made her all the more nervous, but she really didn't have much time to think on it. The doors were slowly pushed open, not giving Aliana enough time to make a hasty retreat, therfore she simply entered more then a bit nervous. You're majestys, allow me to introduce your second eldest daughter. Aliana Elendil Jayson's voice sounded in her ears, though Aliana couldn't seem to actually grasp what was being said. No, instead her gaze was on the man and woman no more then 20 feet from her. Oh my god..

~~~~~~~
Queen Nienta didn't have time to recover from her nerves as she felt her husbands hand come to rest on her shoulder. My love everything will be fine. He whispered to her, leaning forward to kiss her cheek softly. Nienta lifted her hand placing it over his as she sighed just a bit. "Alright...I'll do my best to not be so nervous. But Raylond, you have to admit..It's nerve wracking. We gave up our daughters...And haven't seen any of them for 16 years..." Nienta trailed off, heaving a heavy sigh as she turned to face the King. Just as she was about to futher add as to why they had reason to be nervous, the throne doors were pushed open, a young servant girl rushing in quickly. She bowed her head respectfully, before looking up at the king and queen.

Your majesties...They are here. She told them.

Nienta became to chocked up with emotions, a single tear leaked down her cheek, therefore King Raylond answered for her. Alright Anabeth, send them in. She nodded once before scurring off to complete her task. With only a few moments to calm herself, Nienta wipped at her eyes quickly, taking several deep breaths. Raylond chuckled softly, as he kissed his wifes cheek once more, his hand coming to rest on her back gently. Don't worry my dear. Everything will be just fine. His words were confident and in turn helped to give Nienta just a bit more confidence, something she desperatly needed at this moment. "Alright my love. If you say so."

Without saying anymore, Niena and Raylond turned to face the doors, waiting for them to enter. No more then five minutes passed, and the throne room doors were being pushed open, followed by a Knight, Jayson in fact. [bb]"Your majesties, allow me to introduce your second eldest daughter. Aliana Elendil."[/b] Jayson then stepped aside, revealing a young woman, looking no older then 19 perhaps, and being rather short. Nienta's eyes watered a bit more as she gazed at the girl. My daughter.. She thought to herself, before taking a deep breath. I hope my other two will be here soon..

Dante was 'off duty' at the moment and lurking in the shadows when all 3 princesses arrived. In his shadow form he could hide anywhere. He didn't feel anything as he observed them, one-by-one. He had no doubt that the other shadow minions were watching the same thing. While he had started having a good reputation for being a guard, he was far from being in a good position to get close to his charge. Still, he would use every advantage to get close to the one he was ordered to retrieve. As soon as the princesses were inside, Dante left to report to Marcy.

When he found him, he simply said, "They're here."

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

Evelina made sure that she was aware of where everything was. It would be easy to get lost in this massive palace. Something also struck a cord in her too, like she had been here before. Well, she had lived here at one point. Evelina had dreams before of walking in a palace, but they were blurry and she couldn't recall them even if she wanted to. The young lady had never believed in dreams to be real, just something that the mind created while someone was asleep. Now she was experiancing deja vu and it was making her uncomfortable.

All her thoughts fled her though when her guard replied, "We're here princess."

Eve took and deep breath and nodded. Two large doors were in front of her and opened. It seemed like a lifetime to take. The eldest straighten her spine and had no expression on her face. Nothing she could do though would stop the pounding of her heart. As she approached the throne, she had a quick glance of another young lady in the room. She assumed that this was one of her sisters. Her eyes riveted back to the king and queen. What she saw shocked her to her toes. She was the mirror image of the queen, only her hair color was different. Also, the instant she saw them, she had a flashback.

A little toddler with bouncy blonde curls ran from her nanny, too bored to be inside. She ran up to a door and pushed on it with all her might, but it wouldn't budge. So she did the next best thing, she banged on the door. It soon opened to reveal a very pregnant Queen Nienta.

"Why Evelina, honey, what's wrong?"

"Mommy come play with me, I want to go outside."

"Honey, it's raining outside though. And mommy is tired."

The young princess pouted and her eyes took on a pleading look. Suddenly a young nurse appeared.

"I am so sorry your majesty, she got away from me." she said, out of breath.

"It's fine Peggy. Evelina, I'll come play later okay? Why don't you go play with Aliana for a bit hmm?"

"All right." Evelina pouted again and allowed her nurse to escort her back to the nursery.

The flashback ended, and left Evelina reeling. Her eyes showed some emotion as well as some vulnerability. She remembered dreaming that scene once. Was it a real memory? She frowned a bit as she mulled it over, but snapped back into the present when her guard introduced her.

"Your majesties, may I present your eldest daughter, Evelina Kirkland." he replied.

Finding her balance again, Evelina curtseyed before standing back up with her stoic mask on.

"Geez, alright already. Don't need to shout." Ichiro yawned boredly, the black of his shadows slowly morphing back into that of a human. Without letting Ashi bark another thing at him, ichiro turned on his heel and walked out of the room. He would enjoy this little assignment. It was easy. After several silent seconds, boredom began to sweep over him yet again. "I think I'll just jump there." One little trick he had figured out how to do. A dark mass began to form beneath his feet, soon lifting him off the ground. He walked out a window, and the second he was free of any walls, Ichiro was launched into a black hole. In an instant, he was stepping onto a stone road, leading up to the gates of Galma. At the moment, he didn't really care if anyone had actually seen him, since Ichiro spent little time dwindling on hiding his abilities. He could pass as a mage of sorts. "At least, I hope I can.."

(Writer's block has stopped me from writing as much as I'd like T_T So sorry for being gone)

A grin split Marcy's shadow wreathed face as he listened to Dante's report. Canines bare and vicious in the dim, eyes glinting with malice. He lent forward into a stream of light, revealing blond locks and tanned features. Yet even these did little to banish the soullessness haunting his gaze. He spoke, voice cold and malignant "I know brother." He gestured to the side and Zephyr stepped forwards, hidden in the shadow even to the eyes of his kind. "You are not the only one reporting to me.
Perhaps next time you could enlighten me with more then the obvious." His words were condemning while his tone was unerringly even. "We have all heard the rumors and it was only a matter of time. Now they are here we must work to achieve our goal. He returned to his relaxed position hidden in the darkness. Adressing the three of them, eyes focused upon the last and least dedicated member. Ichiro showed no fear of Marcy and looked upon his tasking with a nature of disruption. These were problems that the greatest Shadow Minion would right in time. Ichiro would learn to fear him as he rightly should. "Return to your tasks. I shall work upon removing the security around the princess, be sure to position yourself to suit the roles open to you." Silence extended from the darkened section of the house, leaving no trace of Marcy's presence obvious to human eyes.

As the knight guided her to the large door, Leliana's heart stopped for a second. Here she was, getting ready to be introduced to a whole new family in a whole different 'world'. They were royalty; rich and beautiful, but stern and powerful, they ruled the land and the people in it. These were the people she 'belonged' to.
As the large double doors opened, Leliana first looked around the room in amazement. The decor color scheme was of warm reds and sweet honey golds, a most welcoming sight to walk into. It calmed her a bit, giving her the courage to look at the people in the room. There were a few servants lined up at the far walls and of course, a few guards, but that's not made her stop walking. She caught sight of her 'sisters', one who was tall and blonde and very cold and stern looking, the other was a bit shorter than herself with long brown hair. She seemed kind and open, but also gave off the saense that she could most certainly handle herself. But at the same time that Leliana made these observations, she realized that they, too, were just as scared as she, maybe not for the same reasons, but most definitely scared.

And then she saw the King and Queen. The rulers of this kingdom. Her parents. Leliana took a few steps forward but could not continue. She was in awe of the beauty of the man and woman sitting before her. And then she grew angry.
She wanted no part of this. She wanted to go back home to 'her' parents, to go back and hangout with her friends, to go play in the forests and run around screaming lik a banshee, to steal the greatest find of her life. Not to be here, accepting a new life and giving up her old one. And how was it that her biological parents could send her and sisters away to be raised in completely different parts of the kingdsom by completely different people and suddenly decide to take them back?

She didn't like it one bit and made her way behind her two sisters and stood there angrily, awaiting the king and queen's introductions.

King Raylond.

King Raylond watched as his second eldest daughter, Aliana walked in soon followed by the eldest, Evelina, and finally the baby of them stepped in. Leliana. The king couldn't speak for several moments, his emotions quickly catching up with him as he stared at his three baby girls. Each of the girls were nearly a mirror image of his wife, though Evelina and Leliana seemed to match her almost perfectly, where Aliana seemed to take more after him. He gave Nienta a gentle squeeze before he turned to adress the girls.

"My.." He paused for a moment, a frown coming to his face. He wasn't exactly sure how he should adress them to start off with. And it didn't help that they all looked either angery, or just a bit scared. "My dear girls.." He finally settled on. "I'd..I'd like to start off by saying..We are so sorry to have to uproot you from your lives as we have...And second, we are sorry that you were lied to for so long.." He paused then, turning his gaze down to his wife, who had remained completely motionless for several minutes, her gaze fixed on the three girls just infront of her. Giving her a gentle nudge he softly whispered into her ear. "Darling..Say something.."

~~~~~~
Queen Nienta.

Nineta was completely overcome with emotion as she watched her daughters walk in, one by one. A single tear worked it's way down her cheek, though she found she couldn't speak. She couldn't even more, though all she wanted to do was grab her daughter and hug them tightly to her. But instead she found herself frozen to her spot. She listened as her husband began talking, though she was hardly paying attention. Instead she was studying each of her daughters silently. They were all three so similar, yet there was a striking contrast in hair color, and eye color.

Evelina had beautiful long blonde locks, which she'd gotten from her father, though she was the mirror image of Nienta. As was Leliana. Aliana, Nienta realized, was a splitting image of her father. Nienta was quickly pulled from her thoughts though, by the gentle nudge of her husband followed by his whispered words. Darling...Say something.. She blinked for a moment, seeming to come out of the trance like state she'd entered. Slowly the queen stepped towards the girls, stopping just infront of them all. For just a moment, Nienta struggled with what to say, before she finally settled on it. "I...Evelina, Aliana and Leliana..I just want to say..I'm so sorry. On behalf of your father and myself..I'm so so sorry for what's happened to you three. You were seperated so young..And..It was so so hard for us to let you go..But we had too.." She paused then, biting into her lip a bit. "It was..It was for your safety.."

Neinta trailed off, staring at the three girls infront of her, waiting for some sort of reaction from any of them, before she glanced back at her husband, tears already gathering in her eyes once more before she looked back to the girls.

[OOC: I'll post for Aliana in my next post. But here's the king and queens.]

Ichiro walked around, nervously. He didn't know exactly what his role would be in this little operation. But, he figured he'd just wing it. His less frequent dark side soon crept it's way out of him as he shifted to his shadowed self. "Just be sure to take out those personal guards, at the very least. The soldiers aren't going to be a problem. I'll just scare them to death." He snickered, mostly to himself, as he fiddled with a small dagger. "Or maybe I'll just deal with the bodygaurd, since you seem to always take the fun out of things." He sneered, glaring at Marcy for a moment. "It doesn't matter. So long as none of you get in my way, I'll get the job done." The black of his shadows soon turned back to that of a human as he walked off, cracking his neck along the way. "Let the games begin.."