13.Dramatic Performances and Introductions
Sigardus opened his eyes again. This time there was light streaming down to him, warming his body. As he stood up, he began to stretch and noticed the Fae princess in a hammock.
Below her lay the man from Hallin-Gra. He had been covered by a glowing light last night, but now he had on some handmade leaf skirt. It looked ridiculous, and the sight made Sigardus turn to look for his pack. Once found, he began to rummage through his things. He then produced some drawstring pants and a loose-fitting white button-up shirt that had seen better days.
Finding something a little more appropriate for the man to where was the least he could do after they had saved him. Somehow also, Sigardus had a sneaking suspicion that Titania was behind the skirt. If she could make him a dress, the little tyrant could have made him a robe.
The noise from Sigardus digging through his pack had woken up the other two by this time, and Liam had got up while removing the large leaves he had collected last night for blankets. Standing now, he looks down and groans inwardly, letting out a sigh. Titania had made this skirt for him, and he shouldn't be ungrateful, but he felt like this was not proper attire for an enlightened.
Simultaneously, another thought came to him that the Three King never forced enlightened to be dressed the same or wear a particular style. Each had a distinct style and preferred clothing. Regardless of how individual the Three King let us be, Liam did not want to become renowned wearing a leaf skirt. Liam Noticed the man they had saved was awake, and he was now walking toward himself, holding a pile of grey and white cloth.
"I see the Princess has fashioned you some fancy clothes there, and I know you're probably in love with them, never to be parted from them. But! If you decide that the leaves are poking in all the wrong places, I brought you some of the spare clothes I had in my pack. Also, do you mind if I ask when you had to resort to the leaf skirt in the first place?" Sigardus asked, and as he did, he made an inspection of the skirt Titania had made.
"Hey! Verta worked very hard on that," Titania said from above. Her voice was soon accompanied by sounds of Titania sliding down the tree to where they were.
"I can see that, was it your or Verta's idea to make a skirt, instead of a robe for our friend?" Sigardus asked while leaning forward as if to try and bore the question down on her.
"I didn't think it was all that bad, I think he looks handsome in a skirt," Titania quipped at me, before turning and crossing her arms. Being a princess, she didn't even blush or falter at Sigardus's comment.
Liam raised his arms forward and started to wave them at Sigardus to say it was no big deal. Truth be told, though, Liam was quite happy with Sigardus's offer of different clothes. Once into the clothes, Liam turned to him and thanked him.
"What are we going to do now? I was sent here to find what fell, but now someone else took that. I wasn't given a limit on how far to pressure, but I'm not sure about breaking into a castle to get her out would be in the Three King's best interest," Liam pondered out loud.
"Who said anything about breaking in? I am one of the three Royal Princess in line for the crown. There is very little chance for them to deny me entrance, and I know the King, but this is also why I'm hesitant also to go," Titania said a bit haughtily, but moved to unsure tone by the time she finished talking.
"Why would you be hesitant?" Sigardus asked her.
"If we would have got here in time and helped you fed off the Prince, this would be a different story. A clash of powers over something like this would not be contested, but going to the kingdom and trying to take away their guest is a different story," Titania explained.
"Woah, Woah, Woah, hold on! Guest? How is she their guest? The way the Prince and his underlings acted did not make them seem to be inviting a guest," Sigardus said defensively.
"The Prince's job was the same as ours. I was instructed to retrieve and to use force if necessary. Valkirius taking her posses a great problem. I also opposed to stirring up trouble in the capital, like Titania, but I also have to consider what you told us about her. This Pandrea's ability to absorb other Shyfts, even ones already Shyfted," Liam said, weighing the options.
"There also is the chance she could be a lost princess. Not just any lost one either, no, this Pandrea could mean a massive shift in power. This is the part that has me wanting to at least investigate The City of Fire, Utravenna. If the King decides to give her to the wrong people, all but the noblest and highborn will be in trouble," Titania said as she became lost in thought.
"Don't tell me you don't know? Have you been living under a rock?" Liam asked skeptically.
"That's not really important. I can read and write perfectly well, but I was never taught or entitled to such information in my youth. Honestly, I haven't run across history books that caught my eye, but I haven't looked either. I study Shyfts and the bonds created between us," Sigardus said and became more confident by the end of his explanation. Liam put his head down and apologized. When he lifted his head again, his eyes were brighter and a look of understanding registered in them.
"So, the story so far that I know goes like this," Liam began in a conspiratory tone, and it almost felt like the light was getting darker. It was because Titania had asked Verta privately to help with the story. "The General of the Chaos Lord's army of Gra'Nixhas, Morenki, held a not-so-very secret crush on Princess Il'Rena, the so-to-be fiance then Queen. Her husband to be was Prince Greyson of the Winter Night Court, son to the King of Wolfven," Liam theatrically told the story.
As Liam spoke, blades of grass formed three miniature figures that acted as he told. The whole scene became a mini-stage performance. One grass man proposed to the grass lady, and she shook her head no and turned away. This caused the grass man to shake his fists and pretend to yell as it stalked away.
Then, another grass man more eloquent and graceful in step came to propose. The grass lady threw her hand to her cheeks and open her mouth to let out an inaudible gasp. The grass lady began to nod her head, yes, and the eloquent man took her hand and walked away.
"This further infuriated the General. Morenki began making plans to frame the Princess so he could convince the King to plan an attack. He could plant letters in a secret place in Il'Rens's room and convinced the King to search them. No one found out what was in the letters," Liam narrated, and the paused for dramatic effect...and so Verta could build the next scene.
All of them had to step back in different directions, as a small to scale castle of Winter Night rose up from the ground. Both Liam and Sigardus turn to stare at Titania, but she just shrugged and explained.
"The Wolfven Massacre is one of my interests and areas of study. I have studied all parts of in and have reconstructed the scene repeatedly to see what countermeasures could have been in place. Also what to watch for in the future. Fila Astrotha Elisha Society is an ever-growing Shyftechnological population. We apply Science and Shyfts and other areas in the development of new technologies. This also means we take the security of our borders and internal secrets very seriously."
As Titania finished, the last grass people were being formed. In front of them now stood a three-foot-tall by four by eight-foot castle. The leaves and branches closed all around, blocking out most of the light, except for one three-inch hole and some other tiny holes. The whole thing almost looked like a night sky during the day.
Soon, darker colored muddy looking grass men began creeping up to the castle in the cover of darkness. The mud men approached the court from behind and were let in by a grass man. He led them through a secret passage into the castle.
While this happened, a party was going on. In the castle's central courtyard, people laughed and danced for the wedding and the crowning of a new King. This brought joy to most people attending, but mixed into the crowd was an undetected current of hatred and bloodthirst. This was when Liam started to narrate again.
"Hidden in the crowds and posing as Nobles of Gra'Nixhas, Blade, and Spine demon Shyfters waited. Once the unknown traitor let the other army into the castle, a giant red flare went off outside the castle. Once this happened, the hiding guests transformed and ripped through their disguises. The Blade and Spine demons tore through the guest before most could react, and by the time anyone could, it was too late already. The King, his new Queen, and their baby girl they had just before getting married retreated what they thought was the safest part of the castle," Liam paused again as the scene unfolded. What happened next needed no words.
As the King and Queen ran, the vines that made the roof up parted. Once they reached their destination, they ran in but failed to notice the man in the shadows. The General leaped from the shadows, stabbing his grass blade into the Queen, and she fell with the baby.
The new King went wild and transformed into a grass wolf. As he did, the General also changed, becoming covered in blades and spikes of grass. The two clashed, and the General was wounded after a short battle. He retreated as the King shrank back down and went to his dying wife.
"No one knows what happened after this. The King and his daughter have been missing for 15 years. Some say the King is dead, and the Great Shyft of the Wolfven kingdom has hidden. Others speculate that both the King and The Princess are hiding somewhere, bidding their time," Liam finished off solemnly.
"That is quite the history lesson," Sigardus said while holding himself back from clapping for the spectacular performance.
"This is why we should at least investigate the city of fire. Then we can try to ask the King his plans. No guarantee, but it gets us going in the right direction," Titania said as Verta's props sank away, and they began to pack their things.
The man that entered the room was not what Pandrea expected when she thought of an ancient dragon King. This man appeared to be barely twenty. He had black hair with streaks of red and a sharp, but extremely attractive face. When The King got closer and smiled, all the youth, she had seen before disappeared.
The King's eyes were not human. The pupil was a vertical slit that stretched to the top and bottom of the iris. Red flecks danced in his yellow iris. His smile unnerved her the most. It pulled further then what should be ordinary and gave him a serpentine appearance. For a split second, Pandrea thought she saw a dragon's face overlap his. He had a black robe on, and it was trimmed with brilliant red and orange stitching.
"Welcome to Utravenna, The City of Fire," The King said that Ancient voice that did not belong to that face, or did it?