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Annette couldn’t help but giggle at the question as the Queen linked arms with her. ”Well, if there was a mutiny, I’m sure Sorcha would deal with it before it even got off the ground. You know how loyal she is the crown –you and your son in particular- so I think that any sort of mutiny percentage will be a big ‘0’, your majesty. Besides… Orpheus just dis-armoured the Armoured Queen, that should be more than enough reason to let him in, what a feat!” Annette giggled then reach over and placed her hand over top of Ana’s as they walked on, she couldn’t help but note that the Queen seemed to be a lot more on edge today than she usually seemed to be. Annette waited until the Valkyries were out of ear shot before she asked the obvious question of: ”Is something bothering you, you Majesty? You seem much more… tense… then you usually are, did something happen? Is it Ryuu and his growing pains again?” The last part was a half tease, though Ana had come to her from time to time to vent about Ryuu and his rather stand offish personality. It was never easy being a parent and sometimes your kids just took on the personality quirks within the parent that would drive them nuts. Annette would listen as she always would and do her best to console the Queen and assure her that it was a part of life, then maybe offer some advice as she usually did.

”Perhaps it’s because her Majesty can see that she chooses to do this. I don’t care much for the idea of Orpheus being here myself, Lorelei, but I can’t deny his talents… and perhaps he is what the Valkyries need right now, though it may not necessarily be what we want. There is a reason this all happened, a reason why he is here. If those reasons are not pure then we will kick him out and without even so much as a warning. For right now though, we have no real reason to think he’s here for any other reason than to honour a last wish. Be as open minded as you can with this, we are all here for you and we are all going to protect you to make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself.” It frustrated her sometimes, the way these girls treated the men that were around them, whether it was justified or not. Sorcha could be headshy around men, sure, but she wasn’t hostile to them. Not anymore. Perhaps it was because she was saved by Mayfew, that she was able to see the two sides of men that made her realize that they were not all horrible, sexualize fiends who preyed on women. Mayfew saved her, he gave her a purpose again and got her back on her feet. It sometimes even made her upset that the Valkyries could be so calloused and cold hearted to the men just because of a few bad apples. Granted, the Queen explained this to her a few times when her frustrations would boil over, the Queen would say that not everyone was as strong as she was. She actually didn’t really understand that for the most part. But she took it as a compliment from her Majesty.
”Besides… I’m sure that the Queen would not appreciate such things being related to her Husband and her Son. Be careful not to follow too carefully in Lumia’s footsteps. Hatred breeds more hatred, Lorelei, sometimes we must have the courage to break the chain and end the cycle.” Though Sorcha was half teasing about the first part, the second part she was very serious about. She thought that Lorelei could be a good leader if she just got over herself a little bit with the whole male thing. She wasn’t going to demand that she just drop it overnight, but she was hoping that she would at least give it an honest chance and be open-minded about it. If need be, she would step in and try to gently force the girl out of her shell a little bit. But she was hoping that it wouldn’t come to that. She wanted to make it clear that Annette and herself were only there to be a safety net for her if she needed it, not an excuse to push this off on them just to avoid Orpheus.

Annette pulled her chair closer to Ana when she was showing signs of distress and placed her hand over top of hers, she brought her hand up to wipe tears away as they fell. Her heart went out to Ana, it must be had being a mother… especially in a circumstance like this. Annette pulled her cup closer to her after she had poured the hot water into the tea and gazed inside it before she added the sugar and the tea bag itself. She closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them again and gazed into the hot water that was held in her cup. Her eyes took on a multi-coloured shine as used her abilities to help Ana to put her mind at ease… or give her the truth that she had been dreading. The water slowly moved in a counter clockwise rotation in her cup while Annette rested still in place.
”…Ryuu is alive…” she said softly, in a trance-like state. ”I see two brothers who protect each other out of love and caring… they have ingredients… and protect them with their lives… A young woman awaits in an ivory tower to heal and guide them… I also see a darkness there that is not your sons… though his hands are covered in blood, the metal arm protects from afar…”
Annette blinked a few times and tried to refocus her strained eyes, the world was no longer as sharp as it once was. She looked over to Ana and smiled gently. Hopefully she was able to put her mind at ease, despite the possibly cryptic overtones of her scry reading. She found the blur of Ana’s hand and placed her own over top to give it a squeeze. It would take a while for her eyes to get their sharpness back to them, still, she didn’t like using that ability if she didn’t have to, seeing as she worried that it would eat away at her sight permanently. It was something that was always in the back of her mind whenever she used it, but… Ana was so lost and afraid for her child that she couldn’t help but help her out, even if it was just a minor glimpse into a current situation.
”Nicolette is safe here, she is surrounded and protected by people who love her, as is your son, I don’t think you have to worry too deeply about them. I’ll scry some more for you again another time and keep you updated as much as possible. So for now, try to rest and relax a little better. I don’t think the Crown Prince would appreciate coming home to a mother who is a basket case and Nicolette is going to need a lot of attention from you, I would think. There is a bond between siblings that will carry them through this, I can foresee it.”

”Oh Lorelei~!” A voice so sweet and yet so thick with venom it almost poisoned the air called out to the young girl who had just excited the tent. Lumia had called her sister’s attention towards her, where she was leaning against one of the tent poles and surrounded by her hand chosen groupies. There was something foul afoot and yet it would probably seem so sweet to the scared girl who was about to be something of a pawn to the schemes. ”Lorel, dear, won’t you join us for a moment? I have something that we really need to talk about and I think that I may even be able to help you with the burden the Queen unfairly loaded on upon you. Won’t you hear me out, Sister?”
The five other girls around Lumia chuckled, they were a stuck up and snobby bunch that settled right in with Lumia. They were just as much a group of kiss asses and backstabbers as you could find, but again, for some reason they were allowed to join the Valkyries. Lorelei would probably be getting herself into a world of trouble associating with this group, but it wasn’t like she was going to have to swear loyalty to them, right?

Annette giggled happily when she was hugged so tightly by the Queen, it was worth the eventual cost of her sight in order to make someone so happy. She returned the hug and continued to dry the eyes of the Queen who was probably tearing up with relief. ”It was my pleasure, your majesty. I guess I just can’t help but want to help people… it was probably ingrained into me when I was at the monastery. I’m just glad that I could put your mind at ease a bit and give you some comfort.”
Annette didn’t have the history that a lot of the other girls had, maybe that was what made her character so gentle and loving. Annette was raised as a Nun to the local church, but found the life too drab and boring for her tastes, he wanted to go out there and physically protect the flock instead of simply react to pain and suffering. Though, she had to admit, that she was also relieved to know that the Prince was alive, she was friends with him and though she didn’t have the bond that Sorcha and the Prince had, she was at least someone whom he liked. This meant a lot to her, considering that Prince was usually so broody. When Ana let her go, she went back to her tea and cakes, by now she had gotten her eyesight back and was more than happy to share the joy of the Queen over cakes and tea.
”If I may be so bold in asking, your Majesty, but who is Vidor that you seemed surprised to hear about in the vision? I… don’t recall having ever met him.”

Annette added her own tea ingredients and smiled gently at the question of whether she missed her old life or not. ”I won’t lie, sometimes I do think that I would be much better suited for Nun life than a warriors one. Seeing the other girls like Sorcha, Lorelei and Lumia make me realize just how incompetent I am with physical weapons, and that makes me sometimes think that I’m out of place a little. Sometimes, I get homesick and wish that I could go back some days. But… I do like it here. I’ve met so many new friends and had so many other experiences that I don’t have any regrets being herd or abandoning my old life. I am proud to be in your services as a Valkyrie and as a friend, and these are both things I would never have been able to say if I was still in the Monastery. I’ve always considered myself more of a spiritual person than a religious one anyway, so I felt out of place there as well. Maybe Lumia is right… maybe I am just an odd ball.” Annette paused for a moment before giggling a bit. ”But that just means I’m in good company, doesn’t it?”

Annette listened to Ana as she told her about this Vidor person. It seemed strange that Ryuu had the darkness element. It was such a rare and yet dominate trait that it would have to be a genetic fluke not to pass it one from parent to child. She didn’t put two and two together just yet, though she was happy that Ana had such a good relationship with this man, and that he was able to come and tutor Ryuu to help control his element. It wasn’t an easy one to master. From what Annette understood of it, it was the element that could and would consume its host if it wasn’t trained right. Luckily, Vidor was obviously one who knew what he was doing.
”It’s kind of strange that Ryuu has the Darkness element when Thomas as the Light and you have wind though… do you have the Darkness element on your side of the family, your Majesty? Why not just ask which ever parent that has the darkness element to come and train your son?” An innocent question that probably hit the nail on the head without the swinger even being aware of it. Annette could be a little airheaded at times, perhaps that was just part of her charm?

Lumia was more than pleased to have Lorelei come over to her, and after a short walk they came to somewhere more private to chat. Lumia crossed her arms and looked at Lorelei. ”I’m glad that you could see the truth in what Orpheus really is, Lorelei, it’s just a shame that her Majesty does not. Don’t worry though, we’re going to make sure that Orpheus never has the chance to stain our reputation as Valkyries… this place is a safe space and a superior force because we are free from men. I`m coming to you because I know that, that womyn traitor, Sorcha would never step out of line, even if it is for the greater good of our sisters. Lumia stepped forwards, her rich perfume was enough to almost make someone`s nose itch being this close. ”I want to help you make your training regime so incredibly difficult for him that he quits, I know men don’t have much in the way of spines, so he’ll give up defeated and go crying home like the worm that he is. We’ll do everything in our power to undermine his success and get him kicked out of the Valkyries, the Queen said that she’d only give him one chance… which is one chance too many… but once he blows this chance we’ll never see him again. That will work out wonderfully for our Sisterhood… don’t you agree?”
Win by cheating… it seemed to be Lumia’s motto for her own life as she desperately tried to claw her way to the top of the Valkyrie ranks. Though, she had some back up plans for Orpheus if this one failed. It really depended on the character of Lorelei to see she had the heart to cheat someone who had obviously worked hard to get into the Valkyries. Then again… the past always leaves scars…

Lumia sent a glare towards Lumia when she stood up for Sorcha, if there was one thing that she hated it was people who stood up to her when she was so obviously right. With the glare still planted on her face she pulled back a bit and crossed her arms. ”Well that’s simple, surely even someone like you could figure out how to make training that much harder, can’t you Lorel? You make him do ten times what the other girls are doing and you make him start all over again for the smallest of infractions. If he doesn’t do his morning exercises right, then he doesn’t get breakfast, and if he still can’t get them right by dinner he’ll miss lunch and dinner rations too. Make him do more so that every chance he gets to do something, he’ll be late for it. Sorcha hates it when people aren’t punctual to their tasks and routine, he’ll either quit in frustration, incompetence, or Sorcha will throw him out because he can’t keep up with the demands of the Valkyries. Now that’s easy enough for you to do, isn’t it?”
Lumia was confident that Lorelei was going to be able and willing to do this, she had some bad experiences with men so she was a shoe in for this scheme. The only problem was going to be Sorcha, she may very well undermine everything and if she caught wind of this, there would be some serious consequences… though not for Lumia, after all… she wasn’t the one who was assigned to train Orpheus and it would be Lorelei’s actions that would cause the most harm to him. Lumia would simply deny the accusations that would come her way that Lorelei got her ideas from her. There would be no proof, and if it did happen, Lorelei would woe the day that she crossed her. She could make her live just as miserable as she could make Orpheus’ if she wanted too.

Annette giggled along with the Queen. ”Oh I’m sure that you would have managed just fine without me here, having teenagers aren’t the end of the world and I’m sure that you would have fumbled through it like most parents. You are one tough cookie, your Majesty and I’m sure that you would have weathered any storm that blew your way. You pulled a bunch of girls out of bad situations and made them one of the most feared and respected regiments of the Kingdom, I think that you don’t give yourself enough of what you’re due. Annette looked up at the Queen sheepishly and smiled. ”Thank you for saying so your Majesty. I’m glad that you feel comfortable enough to confide in me and can also feel free to come to me for advice or help. That does mean a lot to me.”
Annette started to work on one of the tea cakes that was set out of the as she listened to her friend go on about Vidor. Her eyes downcast and she brought the tips of her fingers to her mouth. ”Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know about your family… how insensitive of me. Please forgive me.” Not wanting to stir up sad memories for the Queen about her departed family, Annette decided to drop the subject entirely. She quickly thought up a topic that would hopeful serve some more purpose. Annette straightened up and clapped her hands lightly together, as if she just remembered something. ”Oh, in all the original excitement of Orpheus joining, I forgot! Where are we going to have him sleep? He can’t really sleep in the Barracks, the girls certainly won’t want that… and what about bathing? Again, our sister Valkyries certainly won’t be welcoming him into the bathing area…” Annette pouted for a moment, she wasn’t really sure what to do about those things and she honestly should have thought about them sooner. Maybe Sorcha had some ideas?

Sorcha had awoken early as was her morning tradition, she was quiet the creature of habit and functioned a lot better when there was a pattern and rules to go by. It went back to her terrifying days as a slave to her former Master, he was the type of person who needed control, so she was punished harshly for not doing something at a certain time, or at least ahead of schedule slightly. This savage conditioning was something that left a very deep scar on the young woman, though she found a way to used it to her advantage. There was a time when she was more like a personal maid to Ryuu and Mayfew, but with gentle coxing and comforting atmosphere, she slowly started to learn to think on her own again. She still had her ticks, she admitted, though she would never speak of them, nor would she speak of the horror that she had faced at the hands of that man… that was her ‘taboo,’ the thing that was strictly off limits to talk about when someone mentioned the word. There were many rumors floating around, and perhaps only Ryuu and Mayfew knew of the true depth of horror that she had to endure for most of her life. The rumors and stories that floated around were mere scratches of the surface to what she had truly lived though. She only ever gave a glimpse of that world to the Queen and Annette, but she never told them the whole truth, it was… just too painful.
She still had night-terrors about it, though she desperately denies that they happen. Perhaps she thought that if the others knew it would be thought of as a weakness. Or perhaps it was just some level of pride that got in the way of finding another to seek comfort in… then again… maybe she just hadn’t found the right person to be comforted by yet.
Honestly, it was the reason she was here right now, she was trying to remove the reminisce of the pervious nights haunting. Perhaps Orpheus joining sparked something in her subconscious that triggered something, or maybe there was just something that she felt was wrong somewhere and her dreams were letting her know to keep guard against something. Sorcha wasn’t much of a spiritual person, let alone a religious one, but she believed that dreams could sometimes have hidden meanings, which was why she was pondering them over at this early hour. Soon the hour came in which to fetch the girls for the morning inspection, she first made her way towards the servants quarters to fetch her new padiwan from his sleep, however, upon getting there she noted his bed was empty… extremely messy but empty. Apparently he had left early for some sword exercises or something. Well, she had to give him props for being so motivated and eager despite his brand new life. She gave him points for that but took points away for leaving a mess of his sleeping arrangements, credit where credit was due, he told the servants not to pick up after him and that he would be back later to make his bed. Sorcha knew that once he got the routine down, that he would probably be a little more comfortable too, he seemed that he was someone who liked some level of order in his life, so she had some hopes for him doing well here.

It was time for morning inspection, everyone was lined up spare those who had extra things to do on behalf of the Queen, if Sorcha remember correctly today was Lorelei’s day to help fix the straw dummies. Sorcha made a mental note of her excused absence, and along with Annette and Lumia started to make the rounds to inspect those who were present. The Valkyries who were in charge of looking after the padiwans were to stand beside them for inspection, because the new girls were still learning the ropes, the Valkyries who were in charge of them were supposed to help with things like uniform tidiness and weapon and armour maintenance, because Sorcha was with the inspection group, she was unable to help Orpheus, and the fact that he had run off this morning for his own personal time, she didn’t have any time to give him even a little guidance. Hopefully, Orpheus at least looked presentable… though judging by his bed this morning that was going to be unlikely. The trio passed by the girls one by one. Suddenly, Lumia stopped with a look of complete rage building on her face. Sorcha look up from her clip board and blinked, while Annette tilted her head to the side with a bright, gentle smile.
”Orpheus… we would have excused you from wearing the Uniform, you know, you didn’t have to wear it.”
”I know but… I’m a Valkyrie, so I figured it was only right to-“
Orpheus was cut off by Lumia. ”Take that off right now!! You’re a disgrace to the uniform!!!”
Well, perhaps disgrace wasn’t quite the right word for it, but Orpheus did look rather foolish in a top wrap, and exaggerated loincloth and the winged circlet that was standard issue attire for the girls in the Valkyries. Still, he wore it with a level of pride that seemed to be missing in more than a few of the girls.
”Oh you’re just jealous because I have the legs to pull it off.” Orpheus retorted, making Lumia’s face go so red that it may very well have exploded off of her shoulders at any given notice. Annette and Sorcha both looked at each other for a moment before looking down at Orpheus’ proudly displayed legs. Sorcha smacked her clipboard to her forehead, creating a soft ‘thud’ as it impacted. Annette tilted her head slightly, raising one of her fingers to put on the right corner of her mouth, as if she was giving some thought to something.
”You know… for a slender man, you do have a nice pair of legs.”
”Would you stop encouraging him!” Lumia snapped at Annette, who chose to ignore the girl.
”W-well, regardless, how does your chosen uniform fit, Orpheus?” Sorcha almost dreaded the answer and yet she was rather amused with the situation, despite her face remaining stoic. Orpheus sure was a… different… sort of fellow. She wondered what his real motivation was with wearing the uniform.
”It’s a little loose in the chest and hips ma’am, but that just leaves room for my rippling ocean of muscles~!” Sorcha paused from her note taking, stopped by what was coming out of his mouth before she quirked an eyebrow and looked down at Orpheus abdomen. A slight smirk spread across her face and she bent down slightly to poke his mid-section.
”Rippling ocean, huh? Looks like its pretty calm to me.”
”It's introverted.”
Annette supressed a bit of a giggle at the interaction between Orpheus and Sorcha, normally Sorcha wasn’t this playful… then again, Sorcha was also hardly ever joked around with. She was usually seen as the disciplinarian of the girls, so people looked at her with such a degree of respect that their relationship seemed like it was always professional. Sorcha had told her a few times that it was the way she liked it. But Annette had always sensed a bit of loneliness about Sorcha. She hid it very well though. So Annette was happy to see that Orpheus was at least willing to tease himself a bit for the sake of being playful. Sorcha finished her notes and then placed the clip board under her arm.
”Alright, normally Lorelei would be here with you for this Orpheus, but today she has some other duties to tend to, she should be along shortly if she’s not already here and just hanging back. Under this situation, normally I would be in charge of you, but today the Queen has asked me to accompany her to the smiths to get some new arms and armour. So until Lorelei gets back, you’ll be in Annettes care, she’ll show you around and get you familiar with the training regime, locations of importance and schedules, okay?”
”No problem ma’am.” Orpheus replied with a large, toothy grin. His eagerness seemed to radiate from his body. Sorcha nodded her head and allowed the girls to go back to their regular schedules and training. Sorcha disappeared in the crowd to meet up with the Queen so that they could go and run her errand. Annette and Orpheus paired off and started to explore while they waited for Lorelei to meet up with them.

Sorcha waited patiently for the Queen, enjoying the earlier morning and what it had to offer, it wasn’t very often that Sorcha had time off like this, so she welcomed it whenever she could. Being the Commander of Valkyries she never really had time to herself, even when it was lights out or bath time. Not that Sorcha minded, she was just as happy keeping her mind from wandering aimlessly by keeping it busy. Her mind was wandering over the topic of Orpheus, he was… quite the interesting boy, and he was the talk of town apparently. Already she had been stopped by a few of the Dread Knights, asking if the rumours were true and that they finally let Orpheus into the girl’s only club. Sorcha sometimes missed her old comrades at the Dread Knights, there was such a tight bond there, and there always was, even though she transferred to the Valkyries, the Dread Knights still talked to her as though she was one of their own, it was refreshing to say the least. Most other military organizations would consider her a traitor and outright shun her afterwards… but she was frequently asked if she was going to come back to them, and whenever she said ‘no’ they would always reply with ‘well, if you change your mind, you’re always welcome’. Mayfew was the one who would say that the most and she was sure that he missed her as much as she missed him. But the girls needed her now, she was Valkyrie and she had them to look after, like the Dread Knights looked after her when she was first brought in. She didn’t understand the animosity that both sides seemed to have for each other, perhaps it was just the fact that their rivalry just went so deep it got blurred somewhere… then again, some of the girls could be pretty nasty to the boys, poor Orpheus was going find that out the hard way, but maybe that was where things started to blur the lines? Hatred through misunderstandings? Sorcha didn’t know, but she did know for a fact was that if either unit needed the other, they would come without hesitation. Perhaps having this animosity towards each other was just something that rival siblings did. Sorcha wouldn’t know, but perhaps that’s what made their bonds so strong…

It was about then that the Queen arrived, Sorcha turned to face her and gave a low, sweeping bow before straightening herself up again. ”Good morning your majesty, I trust that you slept well?” While she waited for the answer, Sorcha placed her wrist on the end of her hilt in a relaxed manner. A small smile graced her lips when she saw what Ana was wearing today. ”That looks very good on you, your majesty. Are you sure that you want to go and get a set of your old style armour?”
There was some jest in there as well, a little bit out of character for Sorcha, but it wasn’t as though she was always regal and stuffy around the Queen… though she only joked around very rarely. Orpheus must have put her in a good mood this morning with the show of those ‘sexy’ legs of his. As they walked towards the village Sorcha spoke up again. ”Annette told me about the dilemma with Orpheus’ sleeping and bathing arrangements. I ask the Dread Knights if Orpheus could use their bathing area and he was welcomed to it, I also may have found a solution for his sleeping arrangements, with your majesties approval of course, but how about we put him in the old weapon storage unit? We could bring it closer to the Valkyries barracks, it would take a bit of weather proofing and what not… as well as some patch work… but it would give him a small space where he could be Orpheus and not have to worry about it. It could be his little… ‘Orpheus cave’ granted, he would have more room than the rest of the girls, but it would be his responsibility to keep it clean, and the weatherproofing of it would reduce the overall space he would have. What do you think, your majesty?” Sorcha figured Ana would approve, they were just going to tear that old shack down anyway now that they got their new one, but… maybe they could still make some use for it. It wasn’t fair to Orpheus that he should be totally segregated from the others, but Sorcha understood that the girls would not want him sleeping under the same roof as them. Maybe that would chance, and maybe that wouldn’t. It was hard to say really.