Tales of the Betrothed (closed)

[Rada Han]

"Evens, nice. Odds, mean." Someone cackled.

A harsh screech rang through the forest. It sounded like the call of a bird if it were being torn apart by starving rats. The sound was almost deafening and it certainly came from above, where the whispers were heard.

The noise was terrible. Inside of the house, it could still be clearly heard. The baby could not cope with it. Before long, her cries added to the noise, which was impossible to soothe.

When the faerie child began to cry again, she promised danger to the royals and their companions once again. As if the constant screeching and crying wasn't enough, the buzzing of bees permeated the remaining air.

When that was accomplished, the horrible screeching stopped, and all one could hear was the incredibly loud buzzing of the bees and the baby's constant cries.

Bang!

...

Bang!

It was as if the bees were ramming the house over and over again, shaking the walls.

Crack.

A mushroom house can only take so much stress before it caves. The ceiling began to crumble under the pressure. Chunks of it fell to the floor, until the angry bee behind it could be seen, struggling to enter their room.

Crack.

Then, the walls began to break open. On the right, then on the left. They were destroying the house.

[Rada Han]

ImPeRfEcTiOn is в є α υ т у,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxⓂⒶⒹⓃⒺⓈⓈ is gєníus,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxand it is better to be absolutely ɾïḋïсυløυṡ than absolutely ๒◊ЯⅰиG.
.........






The Prince's dreamy sigh was interrupted by Adele's familiarly sarcastic voice. He looked at her with a crooked smile. "Don't be daft, Del, women already love me. I'm rich, remember?" He let out a sort of weak laugh, one that gave away the fact that his next statement wasn't as much of a joke as he wanted it to sound.

"Does it matter? Next time, perhaps you'll be around to see." Jean didn't say much else to his friend, but a 'Pardon' when he left her to go back inside to retrieve his things. His nose had since stopped bleeding, due to the open air. He hadn't quite imagined how bad he looked until he caught sight of his reflection in a glass vase. With a sigh, he simply rolled his eyes and carried on. That's when things got strange.

When the noise started, Jean's eyes were trailed on the baby, hoping that there'd be some miracle she wouldn't start crying. When that hope was promptly dashed away, the Zuleidan tried to huddle together with the others. He was silent, but his eyes were wide with fright. The buzzing brought him nothing but dread. Even though Jean had a guitar in his hands that doubled effectively as a non-lethal bludgeon, nothing could have prepared him for this.

He flinched with every rattle of the household, but when the structure began to crack, he knew that they couldn't stay there for much longer.

"I know this sounds crazy," The water Prince stuttered, eyes darting about, wherever debris fell. "But we really need to get out of here!" Ugh. It was like choosing how they wanted to die.





xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx《The Trickster Prince》
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[SheIsCursedTea]

Elya || Meister
|| Royal Guard to the Princes of Dradecυѕ ||

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Elya remained in the corner as no one responded to her idea of retrieving the others. Still, she needed to now where Cin was. Not having him in sight made her uneasy. She waited for a little while, watching as everyone did what they had to. She was particularly proud of Reriic. She knew he took little pleasure in helping others, yet he knew it was the right thing to do. She had always respected him because of this. Despite his displeasure, he would do what was right and what was expected of him. She smiled softly, then heard Kiya's mutter. Looking around, she spotted the dancer not too far away and approached her, laying a soft hand on her back. "Dear not Kiya. Jean deserved more than what he was given, in my opinion. If I'd have been in Kunal's position ..." Her thoughts drifted to Kunal's cries of pain and shuddered. "Well, I would not be happy either. Worry not though. It's only a bloody nose. He shall recover from it. I have one many times in the line of duty." She grinned.

It was then that she noticed Kunal leaving the house that she remembered that Bashira was missing also, then it struck her that maybe the two were together. A frown creased across her forehead. If that were true, she would be very surprised. Though the two were betrothed, she was pretty sure both Cin and Bashira despised one another. Clearing her throat, she excused herself from Kiya. "Please excuse me Kiya. I have to find Cin." She gave the dancer a final smile, and followed Kunal outside, just before Jean did. Upon stepping out in the cool air, she heard their voices, talking to one another. She went and stood not too far from Kunal, who was watching with a blank expression. She could not conceal her shocked expression as she watched the two before her burying Rohan ... together. Working as a team. Elya realised this should be a happy moment to her, knowing that Cin and Bashira could at least talk to one another without violence ensuing, but she was too stunned to react according. So, Elya just stood there watching.

Then came the voices.

At first she didn't notice them. Then, as she slowly phased out of her stunned state, they became apparent. Her head flew around, straining her ears to see if she could understand them, straining for a word that was common. But she couldn't understand. A shiver flew up her spine so quickly she wouldn't have been surprised if the hair on the top of her head was standing up also. Then, one final voice echoed around and there was silence. For a moment.

Bang

Her body flew around to face the mushroom house she'd vacated not moments before. At first, nothing happened and she wondered if she had heard anything at all. Until ...

Bang

The mushroom house shuddered. Elya froze a moment, as the banging continued and the house slowly fell apart. Then her thoughts snapped awake. "Reriic and Sonya are still in there!" With one final glance back at Cin to make sure he was alright, she sprinted towards the house as fast as her legs would take her. "Prince Reriic! Sonya! Gods why did I leave the house?! I'm such an idiot!"

__________________________________

[Overlord Gizmo]

x x x x x x x x x ✗ K o r a x Z h a d d a g h

“Thank you,” the princess responded. Back in her homeland, she was subject to the harsh whisperings and cold stares of members of the court. Being an illegitimate child of the king and a dancer, there were many who did not like the idea of having to treat her as though she was royalty. As though she were on the same level as Zaara. In their eyes, as well as in the eyes of the queen, Kora was the daughter of a peasant, and had it not been for the pity of the king, should have been left in that caste. Of course, there were some people who were kind to her; guards or servants who were not as opinionated as the majority. She would remember their names and faces always. And now Dalena was benig kind to her. Kora had been raised knowing that she was in no way in line for the throne. But if she was, perhaps she could find a way to repay those people. As it was, she would be marrying into another land, far away from Shazgard. Perhaps she could find a way to repay them from Dradecus... but to be honest it didn’t seem too likely...

Kora let herself fall silent momentarily when Dalena offered to help her clean the wound. She was about to say that it was fine and that she didn’t need any help, but as she looked down at the bandage, she saw that the Rite was correct. The shasta hadn’t thought it was very bad, but just as Dalena had said, tiny dark spots of blood had begun to soak through the white gauze. She was surprised that she herself hadn’t noticed. She had not wanted to go to Reriic for help, but perhaps a little assistance from Dalena would be fine. “Alright," she conceded. But she knew that it would have to wait as soon as the infant began to struggle; upset over the commotion coming from the other room. She tried her best to soothe the child, not entirely sure as to how successful she would be. When Dalena joined her in trying to calm the child, the Rite’s warm presence seemed to work. The infant’s face relaxed, and her squirming came to a halt.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Kora believed that they had successfully adverted disaster. But that was when she heard the screech echoing from the world outside.

Every muscle in her body went tight, as she cradled the infant just a little closer. She gasped audibly as her crimson eyes screwed shut from the agony of the piercing cry, only to shoot open again as the small child in her arms began to wail in distress; thick trails of tears staining her tiny round cheeks. “Oh no...” she said, trying to calm the child, but to no avail. There would be no calming the faerie child. The deafening sound of buzzing came from outside, drowning out the rest of the world. Her gaze shot all around the room, to the walls and windows, as she wondered if they would hold. Perhaps if they barricaded themselves inside the mushroom house, they would be ok. The horrible screeching of some unknown creature finally came to a stop, but it did nothing to soften the atmosphere within the house. And then the crashing began. The whole building began to shake and rattle, as dust from the ceiling began to crumble down on top of them. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on.

She realized that Jean was right. If they stayed in the house they would either be crushed by the ceiling as it came crashing down, or they would be overwhelmed as the mass of bees finally managed to break in. “Jean’s right, we have to go,” she said. Looking down at the distressed child in her arms, she knew that she would need her hands free to use her powers. She thought about handing the baby to Dalena, but remembering how helpful the Salorites’ powers had been back in the garden, she guessed that she might need her hands free as well. Her eyes fell Sonya. The elf woman wasn’t a fighter as far as she knew, and she was uninjured. “Sonya! Take care of her!” the princess said, gently but forcefully pushing the babe into the elf woman’s arms.

Scanning the room, her eyes met with Zaara’s. The two of them shared a quick nod from across the room. They would have each other’s backs. Their guard had not made it very far on this journey, but they could take care of each other. They would both make it home. Facing toward the door, as debris started to crumble from the ceiling, she flexed and unflexed her fingers, feeling the joints crack and pop, before she balled both of her hands into fists, as a look of determination lit up in her eyes. “We all go on the count of five... and stick close to each other...” she said. The pain in her side was numbed by the adrenaline pumping through her body. As soon as they were through the door, she would do what she could to fight off any bees that drew too close, but for the most part she knew that they would all have to run. And fast.

“5 . . . 4 . . .”

She swallowed back her fear as a bead of sweat dripped down the side of her neck.

“. . . 3 . . . 2 . . .”

The one bee that had bee struggling to get through a hole in the ceiling finally squirmed through, and crashed into the room with them.

“1”




OOC:

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[Cherzooka]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx εstonxxxуates ▬▬▬
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The world returned, in a blur and a haze at first. As his consciousness slowly made it's return, it filled his mind with a thousand thoughts and questions. The first was the realization that he had blacked out. Followed by noticing that he wasn't just dead. Though he probably wouldn't have realized that if it had happened to be honest. Cause, you know, dead. Now where was he? This certainly didn't look like the outside he had lost consciousness in. It was... inside a building. He had to have been brought here by someone. He made a mental note to thank whoever did so should he find out. He could have easily been left for death, he certainly wouldn't have lasted long.

He attempted to sit up, everything aching as he did so. His mind still making it's way back to reality. His wounds seemed to be somewhat better than they were before. Had he been out for some time and not even realized it? Or had someone healed him? Whatever the case while everything still hurt, his back especially, it was no where near the pain he had felt right before passing out. (Oh lovely. He passed out like a little girl. Great.) A dull pain that he'd be able to, and have to, ignore. Perhaps sitting up so soon wasn't the best idea. He felt a tad lightheaded. He rested his head in his hands waiting for it to subside.

Finally, he felt considerably more 'there'. Less feeling disconnected from the world and covered in fog. And he could only wonder how he had not noticed it sooner. This building was clearly not going to stand much longer. Noise, a loud buzzing, seemed to assault the walls and the ceiling. As if it alone could break them down. Not to mention the actual banging on the building of something trying to break it's way inside. The wails of an infant strong even among so much other noise. Honestly, how had he not noticed earlier? Perhaps he was temporarily deaf or something.

Oh what was he doing just sitting here contemplating the fact that the building was going to collapse soon. He had to get out of here. Theia barked at him when he moved to stand, excited that her master was awake again. She pranced around the floor, impatient to get out of there. Barking again once he was actually up on his feet.



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[Rada Han]

ImPeRfEcTiOn is в є α υ т у,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxⓂⒶⒹⓃⒺⓈⓈ is gєníus,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxand it is better to be absolutely ɾïḋïсυløυṡ than absolutely ๒◊ЯⅰиG.
.........





Somehow, Jean caught sight of the Shasta girls as they dropped into position to distract the bees so the others could safely escape. They reminded him of the Mahapatra twins in Bhegin. When the building was in flames and crumbling all around them, Kunal and Bashirah were there dancing. It was because of them that many were able to escape. Jean, for the rest of his life, would never forget that image. Now, he supposed, it was up to Kora and Zaara. For a brief second, he wondered when it would be his turn to help and not be punched in the nose for it.

When Eston awoke and finally found his footing, he was met by Jean-Baptiste, who grabbed him by the shirt in a panic and screamed at him. He shook the Gradian and pointed to the injured Salorite. "Help me carry him out!" The Zuleidan shouted. "You, too!" He relayed to Dalena. Christopher was a ridiculously large person. It took three people to carry him out.

As if being inside of that house wasn't dangerous enough, being outside was even worse. After dropping the injured Rite, some ways up the path, away from the house, the flustered water prince took the sturdy guitar from his back and brandished it like a club, ready to smack any bees away if necessary.

He hoped that the rest of the group remembered the rule about not killing any of them. Jean couldn't see any way out of this. "Dammit, get that baby to stop crying!" He hissed, then repeated himself much louder the second time around. "Quiet that baby!"

The mushroom house buckled as if one of its sides had finally collapsed. The bees invaded it one by one.




xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx《The Trickster Prince》
.........

[XSenkoX]

"Elya?!"

The mushroom house was coming down around their ears and the giant bees were forcing their way through the soft walls in their attempts to get to the betrothed and company. Reriic spun away from Chris when several of the others dragged him outside, suddenly more occupied with figuring out where his guard's voice was coming from in all the chaos. His ears were ringing from the combined noise of the bees and the infernal baby's crying, but he eventually managed to spot Elya and get across the room to her side.

"Where's Cin?" The young elf's face spoke plainly of his worry; a look that only grew more settled when he saw Kora and her sister getting ready to blast their way through the swarm, noticeably lacking the faerie baby. It was still screaming like a devil, so she hadn't done the sensible thing and squashed it like the bug it would likely turn into. Damn these people and their sympathies. Not that he really had much time for this line of thought, though, as the bees finally brought down a wall and started pouring in. Luck alone brought his eyes to Sonya standing nearby, somehow having fallen across the bad luck to be holding that awful infant. "s**t."

Magical energy again leapt to the elf's command, tearing bees from their warpath and slamming them to the ground without remorse. The group was under attack and only the foolish and naive would think that holding back would result in anything more than their deaths. And Reriic wasn't about to die in some god-awful, sun-scorched land, of that he was certain. Finally he reached Sonya and pressed her into Elya's arms without ceremony, then shoved the two of them towards the destroyed wall and the fastest path out. "Elya, get her outside with the others, I'll be right behind you!"

Trusting Elya to do as she was told, Reriic lingered at the house, alternating between ripping the bees from the air and blasting them away while the others that weren't quite so capable clustered by Jean and his guitar some distance away. If the situation wasn't so dire, the image of the fish prince wielding the instrument like some kind of bludgeon would have been hilarious. Maybe, assuming they actually survived this, there would be time to laugh over it later. For a very brief moment, the young prince wished that they were back in Dradecus fighting that sand beast. At least they had been able to hurt that thing without fear of sparking a war once everything was said and done.

[Cherzooka]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx εstonxxxуates ▬▬▬
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Everything happened fast after that, occurring in a blur. A man with blonde hair grabbed him, then asked to help another man outside. And now was no time to be asking questions. So he, the blonde man, and a woman he also didn't know (Note to self, ask who these people are.) carried this other man that, again, he didn't know, outside.

Before he knew it, they were outside. Some part of him had hoped it would be at least slightly safer outside, despite how silly of a thought it seemed to him now. (Yes, it'll be safer outside where the attacker is. Mmhm. Real logical.) It was a moot point now. They were already outside, a short distance away from the building now. A wall of said building had already collapsed, insects swarming inside it.

Now that he had some time to actually think, and make sense of what exactly was going on. They were being attacked by insects, bees from the looks of it. And by they, he meant himself and the seemingly large(ish?) group of people that apparently rescued him. He still didn't know if the three people he encountered earlier, before he collapsed, were part of this group. A part of him doubted it, they didn't seem like they'd be the sort to rescue him in his opinion. But who knows? They had now dropped the man they were carrying, the blonde man brandishing a musical instrument, of all things, as a weapon against the bugs. Whatever works he guessed. Though that didn't make it any less weird.

Theia had followed them out, now directing her barking at the bees in some vain attempt to scare them off. "Theia," He said, to get her attention and cease her barking. She listened, and quickly took to snapping at the bees when they got close instead. With his dog quieted, he turned towards the blonde man. "What's going on?" He looked between the two, the man and the woman, hoping one could at least provide a better answer than the baseless assumptions he could make right now.



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[PhantasmicRose]

♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡ ♠ ♢ ♣ ♡

Chaos. These royal children and their armada of problems were cesspools of chaos. There was the scent of blood and fowl sweat heavily clothing the air beneath the lingering ash of the crumbled cottage. There was bickering and fighting to no end, the Gradians stewing in their own self-hatred to the surprise of utterly no one. Then came the wailing of that horrible child, screeching for all the world to hear like some tormented banshee of the swamps. The following assault of bees was barely a surprise at that point, but it was no less a headache for it.

“You can’t be serious?!” Sonya screamed over the sound of walls being torn down around her as the bundle of soft flesh and tears was pushed into her hands. “I’m not holding this! Wait! H-hey, you- HEY!”

But Kora was serious, and now an infant was cradled in the arms of a bitter woman whose body was a vessel for a blood-feeding demon. The creature stirred to life in Sonya’s bones as her skin graced the squirming child’s. She shivered, a phantom thirst touching her lips, a glimmer of an insatiable desire to give into whatever darkness was knocking at the back of her subconscious.

I could silence it.
Let me have it.
The bugs will leave
And none will be wise to what we have done.
Give it to me.

“Shut up,” Sonya hissed through clenched teeth, her voice drowned out beneath the roar of buzzing wings and crumbling house and shouted orders. She didn’t need this distracting voice in her head right now, not unless it was going to tell her the way out of this mess she’d been left in. Unfortunately the infant seemed to be the monster’s only desire, and while the thought was tempting, not even Sonya could stomach the thought of a baby’s blood on her hands.

“Reriic?!” She finally called, holding the child against her chest and covering its head with her arms as flakes of debris began to fall down around them. There was no finding her way now, not with all this confusion. The elf stumbled forward, her free hand thrown out in search of her prince or a door while her feet seemed to catch every obstacle in the way of her freedom.

"Elya, get her outside with the others, I'll be right behind you!" Sonya heard at her side just before she was flung into the arms of the princes’ guard. In any other situation she would’ve cursed and struggled and maybe pulled some hair, but given the circumstances Sonya could forgive a little manhandling for the time being. She let herself be rushed from the building, finally free of the death trap.

But not free of that horrible, screeching bug child.

“You hush! Stop screaming!” Sonya hissed to the child as she hurried further away from the scene behind her. When the child continued to disobey the order she switched to another tactic, taking to giving the baby a quick shake in the hope of either putting some sense into it or maybe snapping its neck after all. This only made the little girl scream even louder, the sound making Sonya’s sensitive ears ring and pop. This just wouldn’t do.

“Fine! Fine!” Sonya cried, and after a string of curses beneath her breath she started to march away from the group. Safety in numbers be damned, she wasn’t about to let anyone see this.

“She sleeps, the butterfly,” Sonya began to sing, her head bent low over the child, both to hide herself and get the girl’s attention. “She sleeps beneath the willow on a bed of flowers. Flowers, blue flowers, flowers like the sea.”

Sonya wrapped the little girl tighter in her arms as she sang, a protective and comforting embrace meant to soothe. Carefully she let her fingers slide up the bundle, gently locating the child’s face and stroking its cheek with her thumb. Even with all the singing and cuddling, Sonya had the most uncomfortable, bitter expression tainting the warm scene.

“Flowers like the sea where she left me. My butterfly, my baby, she sleeps beneath the willow on a bed of flowers. Flowers, dead flowers. Dead and gone from me.”

❝ I'll ¢υт your little нєαят out 'cause уσυ made мє ¢яу ❞

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xx

[Shuttershy]

❀ ѕуℓρнιяα тuulí chrístαllє

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx---- »» princess of lαєlíє

xx❃❂❁✾❃❂❁✾❃❂❁✾❃❂❁✾❃❂❁✾❃❂❁

Whispers in the wind sent sivers down the young woman's spine. They were so foreign, yet they felt so very familiar. Sylphira drifted into a sort of hazy trance. She was tiring from all of her pent-up anger, though she knew not what it was. Unaccustomed to feeling so outwardly violent and inwardly furious, the faerie princess allowed herself to go limp against her knees, dark eyes lazily staring off into the forest. The whispering in the wind only seemed to soothe her, despite its eerie nature. It was almost as if she belonged with it, wherever it was, and that everything would be okay. Everything...

The girl's eyes shot open and her face contorted into a look of shock and fear. That DAMNABLE, ACCURSED CHILD was wailing again. Without even sparing the time to realize she had even expressed such a thought, Sylphira clutched her head within her hands again, and she herself let out a wail. It was just too much. All of this was just too much.

Then came the bees.

Swarming from above, a throng of enormous, buzzing bees descended, stingers long and almost oozing venom. Her mind screamed at her to get away. Every fiber of reason within her told her she should run, find the others, escape. But she simply sat there. The world around her seemed so distant. Even Anna's presence behind her was lost to the princess. It was a strange moment, perhaps one that defied time, or just her senses. It was broken by the impact of the bees upon the mushroom house.

If Sylphira had been causing the house to be stressed and pounded earlier, then these bees were like a giant, smashing the poor structure with a club. It shook as only a mushroom house could, and the strange elasticity caused the princess to lose her balance as the insects did their work. She was partially amazed at how she had survived, in all honesty, but it was among the last things on her mind then. Several of the large buggers swarmed over the roof where she sat, mostly just assailing the house (one even broke inside), but others became very interested in her simply sitting there. A glossy, teary-eyed expression took Sylphira as she stared up into the horde of bees. A million thoughts tore through her mind. Some told her to flee, survival instincts trying desperately to regain control of her body. Others told her to simply remain, come what may. Others still told her it was better this way, after all she had done. It wasn't like there was anything to return home to...

Another huge shudder found the house practically falling over to one side as an entire 'wall' gave way. The force and underfoot instability caused her to be semi-thrown across the roof, landing on her face. Her fist clenched tightly.

So is this... it?.... Am I... going to die?... like this?

Her ears were ringing with the overwhelming sound of hundreds of bees, insects buzzing by your ear. Yelling and screaming from below could be heard as well, and even her own heartbeat, punding in her chest. Most of all, she could hear the cries of an infant, so innocent and yet so very guilty.

It was all she could take.

Sylphira's clenched fists opened and she dug her fingers into the roof of the mushroom house, now sadly leaning and still shuddering from the violent assault of the bees. The young woman remained silent for a moment, taking in everything. Her skin crawled. Her wings shimmered, then faded, then flashed with a bright, colorful light.

Slowly, all the noise, the sounds, the screaming, all of it filtered out until she heard only a slight ringing. Then, she too screamed, loudly, in anger, and as she did so, the air around her began to compress, tighten, and spin wildly. The wind blew ominously for a moment, and then joined in the frenzy which was surrounding its princess. Sylphira rose into the air, surrounded by what could be a sphere of air, if that made any sense to onlookers, whirling like a crazed swarm of her own insects. Rising, even the enormous bees that came too close were easily tossed aside, and the daring ones who moved in to attack her were practically torn apart by the force of the winds.

The trees swayed and the forest groaned. Soon, the entire area was one big wind hazard. Loose items were thrown through the air. The houses all shook and buckled under the wind. The bees found flying to be awkward, at best, and surely her earthbound companions would not be unaffected. All of this was lost to her though. She thought nothing, at least nothing she could comprehend. Her moment of silence was all but gone, replaced by the howling of the wind, the cries of the child, and her own screaming.

.
..
...


Location | Atop the Mushroom Abode | .
Company | Annabel... | .
OOC | >_> | .

[Angst Werewolf]

Chandar scowled after Adele as she left the room. Her snappy response had caught him off-guard and he stared in silence as she stalked away. "'Compassion'? My a**, that gets people killed," he muttered. No one else in the room was paying him any mind, so the guard slouched against the wall and glowered at his feet.

Bang

The bees came suddenly and Chandar shouted in surprise as the assault began. The baby was wailing again and the Gradian vaguely noticed the infant changing hands in the sudden chaos. People were running, trying to get out before the mushroom and Chandar ground his teeth in frustration. Yes, outside. Where the bees were. He eyed a sturdy wooden table in the far corner; it looked strong enough to hold up if (when) the building came crashing down.

Chandar began shoving his way through the crowd, intent on hiding out until the bees got bored/were killed/everyone else died. He had to admit, the thought of Jean being skewered to death by a giant bee was amusing. And while he didn't really have much of a problem with the other royals-

Royals. Kunal. Bashirah.

OUTSIDE.

Chandar almost tripped over his feet in his rush to get out of the house. The attacks had intensified and the house was groaning from the strain. Pieces were already coming down from the ceiling, much to Chandar's annoyance. One building falling down around his ears was enough for one day, thank you very much. He shouldered his way past Zaara, who looked ready to fight, and finally made his way out of the building. The smith drew his sword and glanced around for his charges. They were both outside, though were far enough away from each other to make it difficult for him to watch them both. For a moment, Chandar wished Rohan was still alive, but squashed the thought. Rohan was dead and he wasn't, and that obviously meant he was the better of the two.

Bashirah was standing with Cin, and as much as Chandar did not want to leave her protection up to the suddenly-sober elf, he could only pick one royal to stick to. While he was sure both the Mahapatras could handle themselves, Kunal had just recently been blinded and he wasn't sure just how "helpful" Jean had been. It was probably that Kunal was still having problems seeing, and Chandar didn't want things to get any worse in that area.

By this point, Sylphira had gotten involved. "About time!" Chandar shouted over the howling winds. He clutched his sword tighter and backed up half a step so he could see Kunal from the corner of his eye. The winds were fierce, and the guard had to squint from both the faerie's light and the raging wind. At least the bees were now otherwise distracted; from the looks of it, none of them could fly properly. But there was still one question to answer- How were they supposed to get out of this? Were they supposed to talk to the bees and politely explain to them what they were doing in Laelie and they please tell their friends to stop trying to maul them? Yes, that would go over so well.

[Ariiadne]

▐░ℬasℎiraℎ░▌
『 ℘rincess oƒ GRADIUS 』

Bashirah didn’t give Rohan’s grave a second glance as the two of them started on their way back to the group. The deed was done, and the only things she brought with her from it was the dirt on her body and the shovel in her hand, which she presently used as a sort of walking stick. Despite Cin’s help, the chore had left her somewhat weary, and she looked forward to bathing and resting.

But the princess thought too soon. Each step she took back towards the mushroom hut seemed to trigger the world’s volume. The silence was gradually filled with buzzing that quickly became deafening. Covering her ears did little; the buzzing vibrated the atmosphere, so that she could feel her eardrums shuddering violently with every rapid beat of their translucent wings. Emerging from the brush and trees, the Gradian princess realized how quickly things had gone sour; the bees were barraging their mushroom house with the intent to bring it down. Betrothed and guard alike hurried from the building, all the while Sylphira concocted her own personal hurricane, the winds from which hurdled bees that got too close away.

One such unlucky insect jettisoned in Bashirah and Cin’s direction. Her reflexes as acute as ever, Bashirah twirled the shovel in her hand as if it were a staff, and with one hearty swipe managed to knock the thing off course. Her mind flew to Kunal. Was he out of the building? Scanning left, right, up and down, Bashirah tried to locate him. Was he still blind? She held her breath to punish herself. She shouldn’t have left him.

Spotting Chander unsheathing his sword, Bashirah immediately darted over to him. “Where is Kunal?!” she shouted over the cacophony surrounding them. “Is anyone still in the house?!”

[Musical Stereo]

xxxxxxx ＲＩＴＥ ＯＦ ＦＡＩＴＨ

☼ Happily, Dalena quietly looking around once again the house for some sort of medical kit, to help her fellow member of their large, almost-family like team. She continued to look around and once again became very unsuccessful. This was becoming a very urgant matter and she could not find anything to wrap up Kora's wound. Sighing unhappily, Dalena quickly fled the room to the nearest restroom, hoping that there would be something she could use in there. The only two things she could find that would be of any certain help to Princess Kora was some rather thick looking gauze and some sticky-looking adhesive. Finally, she had what she was looking for and we could really help Princess Kora.

She grabbed the two necessities and headed back into the central area, where Kora stood, comforting the young babe. Her warm smile seemed to just appear back onto her face as she nodded to the other, showing her that she gotten the selected products she was looking for all this time. She re-rolled up her sleeves, to make sure that no blood would even dare to make it onto her delicately white fabric. Then, she realized she had forgotten to grab something to wash the fresh blood off of Kora's side. She offered the other an apologetic smile as she quickly explained, "I just need to grab a wet cloth to clean the blood- I'll be back in a few seconds."

Once she had left the room again, she heard the cries of the babe. Oh no... This definitely was not good- meaning that she needed to get out of there, just in case if something started attacking! Suddenly, something huge collided with the house, which evoked a scream from the Salorite, and Dalena couldn't keep her balance as she fell over in the bathroom taking a few things down with her. Groaning, she sat up, too disoriented to understand what was clearly going on. Slowly, she made her way to her feet as she stumbled out of the bathroom, the gauze and adhesive long gone in the small amount of rubble she caused. Her head was buzzing along with some added noises from the monsters, or bees, that were attacking the mushroom house. She saw Kora run as she handed to the baby to Sonya. Then, Jean-Baptiste yelled something she couldn't quite hear very well, but he had addressed her.

Unfortunately, she didn't exactly listen to his exact orders. Her ears starting ringing a tiny bit, but all she needed to know is that she needed to get outside of the house- not stay in it. She did not want to become pieces of the rubble, so she tried to make her way as best she could towards the blonde haired prince, to at least help someone out of the house who was injured. She stumbled over herself and by the time she had actually escaped with the prince and their newest member, she tripped and fell onto her left side. She groaned and sat herself up, not realizing that her coat was still inside of the house. She simply was just now trying to catch her breath, since the situation was so stressful for the young woman. Quietly, she looked up at Eston and asked him in a dry, almost frantic voice, "You're the young man... who was in jail for something- was it like that? I can't seem to recall you..." .Of course Dalena didn't want to outwardly say she had no idea who the heck this guy was, but she was going to be polite about it.


[ ooc: posting is up dalena why do you suck at being humnan ]

[Rada Han]

Sonya's attempts to be a gentle caretaker were not in vain. Her singing calmed the baby quickly. The tiny girl's wings fluttered in the woman's arms and her crying soon turned to peaceful cooing. Despite the noise, the baby was enamored by Sonya's singing.

Naturally, when the tiny faerie stopped crying, the insects halted their attack. Just in time, too. If one looked around, they could see scores of faeries-turned-bugs surrounding them. They stood and floated there, some perched on top of the buildings and the branches. They were quiet, but staring. Actually, they looked quite sad.

A few of the bees that had been caught up in Sylphira's whirlwind simply twitched on the ground. None had died, but they'd likely be crippled by it. The good part was that there were no dead faerie bodies littering the ground.

Their group was surrounded by these insects in a calm, but powerful scene. A strong, booming voice came from above.

"HALT."

They looked up. Standing before them were a group of faeries who, strangely enough, had not turned into bugs. They were dressed as warriors, but not in Laelie's colours. They were darker. Sharper. They didn't have the same whimsical playfulness as the other faeries.

All of their wings were orange. Bright, pale, dull, deep oranges. Black outlines with white specks, big and small, but all alike. They were the wings of the monarch's. They matched the wings that belonged to the baby.

At the center of their group was a faerie in red armor. His voice was that of a leader, commanding and dominant. The whole forest could've heard it. He would've been a familiar sight for both Sylphira and her guard. His name was Hanzo, and he was the Princess' betrothed before the Unity Pact, and before the monarchs were banished from Laelie.

The monarchs were never referred to by name, only by 'The Travelers.' They were temperature sensitive creatures, who could not stay in one place for the entire year. When winter fell over Yardis, the monarchs would travel across the ocean to the warmer climates of Volta. The migration happened every year. The Queen of Laelie, who valued her kingdom's privacy and safety over all else, would have none of it. As soon as it was in her power to do so, with the increasing number of people discovering their forest, she banished the Travelers from Laelie. That happened many years ago. It was unknown where the monarchs made their home since then, but it was only a matter of time before they came back for revenge.

Hanzo was their leader.

With the snap of his fingers, he and his companions disappeared in puffs of white smoke only to reappear in front of a few lucky few, who would disappear again. With them as hostages.

Hanzo, the Knight, silenced Sylphira's rage. With a hand clasped over her mouth, she disappeared with him. He took her to the Royal Palace's throne room, overlooking all of Laelie.

Kyung, the Berserker, was bold enough to give Cin a good whack on the head before putting him in a headlock and transporting them to the maze, Angaemeiro. His sword was left behind.

Liuyan, the Wizard, knocked the sword from Chandar's possession with his magic, and took him to the stables, leaving the weapon laying on the ground.

Miyu, the Monk, was attracted to Dalena's light. She grabbed the Salor by the arm, and they disappeared, taken back to the depths of the marketplace.

Jian, the Hunter, found Zaara closest to the mushroom house, and took her. He grabbed her around the waist and took her to the birthing grounds.

There was no explanation for any of it, but if they wanted to see their friends, charges, or siblings again, the Royals and their companions would have to find them and take them back. They were obviously there to take their city back, but not without the support of an outside benefactor. Where had they lived all these years and who was supporting them? Someone, somewhere, had the order out to bring Laelie and its Queen down.

And what of the baby? It was theirs. Why didn't they take her with them?

Perhaps with some 'persuasion', the Travelers could be coaxed into explaining themselves.

[Rada Han]

Geongbokgung, The Shining Palace

With Hanzo in charge, the Travelers were a lethal and dangerous group. Where they were once peaceful creatures, they had been trained into fierce warriors. Their magic skills had become even stronger than most of Laelie's own. When the smoke cleared, they were in the throne room of the royal palace. A golden, shining room, with colours adorning absolutely everything. Grand paintings of battle scenes, scenes of peace, and scenes of legends were carved into the walls. The faeries' throne was made out of silk wings of every size, shape and colour. For every new wing pattern that appeared in the faerie race, another pair grew on Laelie's throne. Usually, the throne was a living, moving thing of beauty, radiating the light of its kingdom and its people. Today, it was a dull gray. The wings were motionless and limp.

Hanzo's men took to putting the Princess into a cage. The very same type of cages prisoners like Eston were kept in. After she was secured, they took to ransacking the throne room. They battered its walls, knocked over its treasures, ripped its tapestries. They were looking for something important.

"I have a few questions for you." Hanzo used no formalities when it came to Laelians. "All I need is information. I'm not going to hurt you or your friends if you tell me what I need to know."

"First things first. Where is the Queen? I know that you know where she is. If you lie to me..." The knight inhaled deeply. For a moment, the air around Sylphira would thin. He was sucking the oxygen from around her. If he kept it up, she'd have trouble breathing. "...Your friends may not make it out alive."