Fantasy I Was Sent To Kill You |Closed|

[Average.]

On the other hand, the deeper they headed into the city the more Briar began to realise how much he missed the sun... even if his complexion might say otherwise. The city was sheltered under the protective branches of the giant trees that towered over everything. Some of the buildings were on the forest floor, some were in the trees, yet it all looked like it was part of the forest, like it has always been here ever since this forest first grew.

Briar could vaguely remember the last time he visited Leara with his parents and with Lhoris. He didn't remember much from that trip and he didn't remember why his parents decided to go there with them, however all he remembered was when he suddenly saw his brother running past him screaming about how a giant snake almost ate him - even though all it was doing was wanting to get a better look (or whiff) of Lhoris since it was curious about him.

He would have never known about the snakes here if he didn't remember seeing one for himself as a child, as the Learians weren't known to broadcast to the world that they have them here. To them, these giant snakes were sacred creatures and not something to be used as a trophy. They believe that only those who the snakes choose to show themselves to are worthy of seeing them.

Briar was looking forward till they could finally get away from everyone's prying eyes and get a chance to explore the city. While he hasn't forgotten about the real reason why they were here, he doubted that Selantheia would willingly just show her face to them. She would whenever she chose to do so, and while that was unsettling, it was pointless wasting time trying to find a needle in a haystack. When it came to hiding and finding, unfortunately Selantheia had the upper hand.

They would never be able to be fully alone out here, not in the same way as back at Eurus where they had their own quarters. Here of course they would have their own quarters too, however this was a different nation, a sea away from Eurus. How could he be certain that they weren't being watched even in their own room?
But because of how young he was when he first visited Leara and because of his vague memory of the city, he craved to at least explore a portion of it. At least after they gotten the greetings and pleasantries over with, they would no longer have to bow or curtsy towards everyone that passed by them.

It must have been so amusing watching them on their way to Queen Aelina's palace, just pausing to bow or curtsy almost every step they took. If they didn't have to do that, their way up to the palace would have taken less than two minutes. Instead, it took over fifteen minutes.

"I believe so too." Briar nodded with a slight smile on his face. "We will most certainly take some time to explore this gorgeous city. If my memory serves me correctly, I've visited here before when I was a child. Refreshing my memory of this place would be quite nostalgic."

And so on and so on.

Once they were finally out of there, Briar sighed. "I can't think of a single person out there that enjoys having to be so formal around other people." he muttered. "Except for Reina maybe. Whoever came up with the idea that royals have to be all pompous and fancy with their words all the time is clearly a sadist."

Of course it was to show off one's high status and intelligence, however still, if he was a king now and he still hated it, then he doubted that every other king that wasn't him was any different.

Now, they could at last leave the palace and get lost in the city. And it was definitely very easy to get lost in it.

They ventured further in, over a bridge that stretched across a river. It's water was crystal clear and he could see beautiful koi fish of white, black, orange and yellow colours swimming around calmly in the water. They were mesmerizing to watch, always swimming in these coordinated patterns and formations like disciplined dancers. He could not compare them to soldiers - soldiers were very rigid with how they moved and organised themselves.

He watched them, transfixed with wonder. He felt like a child again, finding interest in every little thing. Though he knew that these koi fish weren't the main attraction of the whole city. He wanted to see if they could spot one of those giant snakes. One may think that they were easy to find, but they would be wrong. For their large size they could hide pretty well amongst the thickness of the lush forest. If one was actively searching for them their luck often seemed to just plummet, as they rarely showed themselves to those who wanted to find them. They were shy creatures who generally preferred to stay hidden whenever they could, yet sometimes they would show themselves to one lucky soul.

"I bet that Daella would have loved it here. Maybe one day when we're not here for business we can take her with us and show her how beautiful the world can be outside of Eurus, hm?" he suggested with a warm smile.

As they went on deeper into the city's where it was more busy, it started smelling more like a city and less like a forest. He was instantly reminded of Eurus when all these different scents hit his nostrils; a tang of fresh pastries from a bakery, perfumes, smoke from a blacksmith's forge and so much more.

As usual, Briar felt the urge to go eveywhere, yet don't think that he's forgotten about the incident during their night at a tavern when they headed down to the black market area in Eurus. He doubted that Yaena would be comfortable going to a tavern after that, let alone drink any alcohol. They were in a strange city that neither of them were familiar with, and even if Yaena had her amulet with her now unlike before, he didn't want to go through that again, and he doubted that Yaena did either.

So, when they passed a tavern, neither of them even paid it a single glance.

"Oooooh, maybe we can get a toy or two for Daella?" he grinned excitedly. "I've heard that Learians make some amazing figurines and carvings out of wood, and that includes toys."

It was true; he still had a figurine that his parents bought him during their trip here, and they bought one for Lhoris too. His was of an eagle, and Lhoris' was of a stag. Briar had his own, and he remembered choosing to bury Lhoris' figurine with him.

Briar wasn't noticing how much he has changed since the first week he has met Yaena. Back then he would only focus on how he could have fun, and he remembered himself dragging Yaena around Eurus wherever he pleased and wherever he felt like wasting some money. Now, while he was also eager to explore the city and see everything, he was thinking more like a husband and a father would. He was thinking of what to get for Daella and he wasn't dragging Yaena around constantly, instead taking turns on going where they wanted to go.

Though that wasn't always the case.

It's been about two hours and they have reached another river, except there were no koi fish swimming around here. There were less buildings here, and it was far less busy. Here was where they could see beyond the city, and into the forested area that was not taken over by any buildings at all.

And that was when Briar saw it.

A faint glint in the tiny rays of sun that managed to slip through the thick branches of the trees, through their mighty crowns. Something moved in the trees above.

"Yaena, look!" he pointed towards the tree crowns, towards the upper branches. "I think I saw one of those giant snakes."

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

As they walked through the kingdom, Yaena couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to live in a nation mostly untouched by war. The year the peace treaty was still relevant was the only period in her life where she wasn't living in a nation at war. Zhicra was warring when Yaena was born and at this point, she was convinced that the nation would be warring when she died. No, that was pessimist talk, Yaena wanted Daella to live in a peaceful nation, in a nation where she wouldn't have to feel like her side war warring against each other.

Briar bringing her up brought a smile to her face, while there were some (small) reprieves that came with not having a baby with them, they both missed her dearly. Sometimes, Yaena felt guilty of finding any enjoyment in this beautiful kingdom because her daughter wasn't here to share it with her. "She always likes to stare at the butterflies, whenever we talk through the garden," Yaena grinned, "I want to show everything." There was a time when Yaena hoped she would one day be able to take her daughter to visit Zhicra, but now that wouldn't happen for a long time. Even if somehow there was another peace treaty, Zhicra would always be the enemy.

Leara was her favorite elvish nation to learn about, mainly because they were ruled by a queen and they worshipped 'the goddess', a strikingly beautiful woman who used her powers over snakes to punish those who were unworthy. What a woman! Despite the fact that her mother often utilized snake venom in her spells, Yaena still had a fondness for snakes, and all scaly creatures; reptiles, along with felines, were one of the few creatures who didn't hide away from her.

Her violet eyes widened in wonder at the snake, feeling like Daella whenever she saw the seagulls. The snake didn't care about the fact that it was currently getting the attention of a king and queen, in fact, once the creature realized it had been spotted, it slithered through the trees to get out of their sight. Yaena had always assumed the snakes were black, but when the light hit the scales, the gleamed bronze and green, looking more like the metal of a weapon than jewels. She was fascinated and she felt the urge to follow it, into the woods but instead, she could just talk to her husband.

"You have hippogriffs, Leara has giant snakes, I'm jealous that the only pet I had was a cat," Yaena whispered and then her face fell.

While she knew her mother used snake venom, her mother always told her it was from a special snake found only in the Norvosi Islands and had made sense to her, the Norvosi Islands were perhaps the most magical place populated "by humans" to the point that only chosen people could even see them. But, when she was reading her spellbook to prepare for her doubling spell, it had specifically mentioned that it needed venom peacefully coaxed out of a snake from Leara. If that was true, then it made sense why her mother would come here, if she was planning on something.

The thought took away any of the excitement she had and she grabbed both of Briar's hands, worry evident in her eyes. "I think my mother was looking for one of those," She would never know who was watching her, but this felt like a safer place than anywhere in the palace, so her voice went low, "What do you know of the death walkers?"

If Eurus would now be known for flames coming out of the sky, Zhicra was known for an army of the dead (and Zhicra would brag that they did fire from the sky first). Her mother had the ability to bring the dead back to life, though not their life, they were practically unrecognizable from heir past selves, only being good for extra bodies on the battlefields. However, no matter how simple their job was, they were excellent at it.. One death walker often required three men to be taken down and with her mother reanimating every fallen elven soldier she could get hands out, it was like she had a near limitless supply. "I think she comes here regularly..."

However, while Yaena and Briar were distracted by the giant reptile, they didn't notice that a smaller one had been following them since they left the central city. Small enough to be confused for an ordinary lizard, but with eyes like gems, not just in the sense that they were blue and purple but they looked genuinely like someone put gems into their head.

 

[Average.]

And shortly after that, the spell was broken.

Suddenly, there was mention of Selantheia looking for one of those snakes, death walkers and her coming here regularly. He was nervous to hear about that of course, yet at least that may have cleared up some of their questions.

He has heard of the death walkers and how they were like on the battlefield, it wasn't the first time that anyone has heard of them. He remembered when he was a little boy and he heard of surviving soldiers telling stories about them and how they barely made it out alive. He found it sickening that the dead were being used like that where they should be at peace and allowed to rest, yet they were only shells of their former selves and their only purpose was to rip and tear through anyone that got in their way. They were mindless and effective extra bodies for any army, and he could see why Selantheia chose to use them. Yet if his soldiers were ever to go up against them in a battle, they would all get destroyed.

Which was another reason why he thought that if Eurus was to make it out of this war, they would need him leading the charge. His flames were the reason why the Iron Forces failed in the first place, his flames were the reason why Selantheia failed. It would be a waste if he just sat back. And if Zhicra was willing to play dirty, then so was he.

He did not notice the smaller reptile, and neither did Yaena, and once the two were certain that the giant snake has disappeared into the trees, they left and headed onwards to wherever else they wanted to go.

"I know enough about the death walkers to know that they're no joke." he rose a brow. "Yet that still doesn't answer why Selantheia wants to lure one out."

Maybe he was missing the bigger picture, but he has never heard of Selantheia needing giant snakes to be able to do what she does. Her magic is already powerful, and now that it's war time again she will be able to put them into use. Was she aiming to control one of those snakes? Or perhaps learn how to turn those snakes into mindless clones? While they did seem like powerful opponents on the battlefield, they were slow creatures, and against enough hippogriffs they wouldn't be much of a challenge.

So why would she waste her energy trying to control them?

It was definitely more complicated than just that, and it didn't seem like either of them had any idea of that it could be. She definitely wanted to use them for something, but for what? That wasn't clear.

They continued on, ambling their way through town as if they were walking through the royal gardens back at Eurus. They haven't found any signs of Selantheia, yet he didn't expect them to. If she didn't want to be seen then it would most likely stay that way unless she felt ready to show herself, and that was incredibly frustrating. It didn't sit well with him that Selantheia had the advantage of just showing up whenever she felt like it, and most importantly whenever she felt ready. She would show up when they least expect it, when they are not ready.

They didn't have the luxury to remain out in the city for as long as they wanted, but they didn't have that luxury even in Eurus so it was nothing new to him. In fact, as king and queen they didn't even have the luxury to go out into the city at all, and he sometimes felt like his entire world just shrunk and it was only the palace and the gardens over and over again and nothing more. Occasionally he would head out with Talula for a flight around his nation, yet his feet could never actually touch the ground as that would be considered improper. And especially since now it was war time, it wouldn't look good if the king was found wandering around the city, being carefree and not focusing on the issues at hand.

Briar returned to the palace with Yaena, yet upon reaching the entrance of the royal palace, the guards stopped them. There was no longer such a crowd here anymore, in fact the place almost felt desolate. Not a single soul to be seen except the guards who were stationed to be here. Usually there would be nobles walking around here, so where were they now?

Briar did not bother hiding his annoyance at the guard stopping them from entering. "Excuse me, but we would like to enter."

"I am terribly sorry about this, Your Grace, but your presence is currently being requested elsewhere. Her Royal Highness Queen Aelina is already on her way there now. Everyone is expecting your presence at the sacred temple." the guard explained. This guard wasn't any stuttering fool like that guard who would always show up to his and Yaena's quarters whenever there were bad news for him to hear. This guard looked like the embodiment of confidence. He had nothing to fear, as not only did he have no bad news to tell, but Briar and Yaena were not his king and queen.

Briar rose a brow, having to tilt his head up slightly to even be able to look up at the guard's face. He was incredibly tall, even for an elvish male, and his chest was puffed out with what seemed like pride. He was proud to be serving a Queen like Aelina, and proud to be protecting a nation quite like Leara.

"Then may we have an escort to the temple?" Briar asked, his tone clearly sounding irritated by now.

"Yes, follow me." the guard nodded. Usually, guards wouldn't leave their posts like this, but it seemed like he was stationed out here because Briar and Yaena were expected to come here, so of course they needed an escort to the temple.

_________

The temple was as impressive as it's name suggested. The Temple of the Snake - a simple name for Laera's standards, yet it was stunning to look at. There were golden statues of giant snakes everywhere, however there was one statue in the middle that caught Briar's eye the most.

It was of a woman, staring proudly out into the crowd, staring down at them as if they were beneath her. He didn't recognise her, yet her attitude that the statue was portraying was definitely familiar to him.

It was difficult to see through this massive crowd of people that have gathered outside of the temple, yet thankfully Briar and Yaena wouldn't have to push through them. People stepped aside themselves to make way for them upon noticing their presence. They would have special seats at the front where they could perfectly see what was about to happen.

Briar didn't know why, but he did feel excited. There were drums playing, people whispering and murmuring with anticipation, even the queen of Leara herself was present for this. Could it be some sort of religious festival?

Once they had their seats at the front near the queen herself, Briar took Yaena's hand and squeezed it as the golden doors of the temple opened.

And his jaw almost dropped to the floor upon seeing who was behind them.

There she was, in all of her glory. Her smirk was like a viper's, and if she could drown them all in her venom she most definitely would.

Selantheia. She was here, and she just showed herself to everyone as if she was some star, some savior. Some beloved god.

Yet the people, they were cheering for her. They were clapping, cheering, laughing, as if they loved her even more than they loved their own queen. "They... love her." Briar whispered with disbelief, glancing at Yaena with wide eyes before turning to stare up at Selantheia again. Maybe he was hallucinating, there was no way that any nation could love that woman like this. It was just impossible, it could not be true.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Her first thought was mind control, maybe Selantheia had been able to use her powers to turn everyone in Leara into mindless worshippers because that was the only choice. However, there was a time when Yaena herself was protective over her mother, believing that her critics in Zhicra were either biased against women, people from the Norvosi Islands, people of lower birth, or all three, her mother's story was almost inspirational. And she had a way of drawing people in like a snake, Camden was not the only servant who had ever followed her down a path of no return. One of the reasons why her mother was such an effective spymaster was that she was able to make servants feel powerful.

This hurt more than when her mother pushed her into a lake, this was when Yaena fully accepted that her mother was a higher being. Yaena had always believed that her mother was powerful, and she believed her when she said that she was made up of "stronger stuff" than both humans or elves, but now, she was seeing her worshipped. There was a whole nation that was founded in dedication to her. Queen Aelina, who seemed like a competent, and reasonable woman from everything Yaena had heard about her worshipped her, and that made her sick.

She wanted to leave right now, she knew it would probably be viewed as offensive, a Zhicran princess and a queen of Eurus leaving what appeared to be a culturally significant event. But the longer she was here, the more likely it got that Yaena was going to do something she was going to regret. She was either going to throw up or attack her mother right then and there, both of which would have their own consequences but were better than having to stomach this. "I'm sorry, I don't care if it offends anyone," Yaena whispered to Briar, "We need to leave this room, now."

And that was when the snake came, thirty feet in length, three feet in height, slithering through the doors of the church, much to the delight of the attendees. However, when Yaena saw the bronze scales, she realized that was the snake that they saw in the woods. It wasn't just that the snake looked similar, after all, it wasn't like Yaena knew enough about snakes to be able to distinguish one from another but she just knew. It had probably been watching them the entire time, being able to keep an eye on them while Selantheia was busy (Yaena had so many questions, and unfortunately they would never get answered as she would rather die a slow death than rely on her mom for answers).

Selantheia got up from her seat, affectionately putting her hand on the shoulder of the queen, then Yaena, and then finally Briar as though to see if just her touch would have an adverse reaction on them.

As she walked, the serpent walked with her, they were in sync with one another until she finally walked up the stairs and gazed at them, a beatific grin on her face. If you looked at her, you would have thought she was a radiant queen, beloved by everyone. Her appearance hadn't changed much, although she did look a little older than the last time they saw her. She looked more like Yaena's cool aunt than a sister, while Selantheia would deny it if asked, the encounter at the wedding did age her a little bit.

"I should truly be the one honored to be here," Selantheia greeted everyone with a coy smile on her face, "For so long I have wanted to live among you," A wave of cheers washed over the room at that, "But before we get started, I would just like to greet our guests."

Selantheia looked right at the couple, her eyes gleaming as she waved her hand over them. "King Briar and Queen Yaena of Eurus, on their first foreign trip since the coronation," She continued, and Yaena could feel everyone's eyes on her. Did they know that their goddess was the same woman who killed her royal husband, and attacked her daughter at the wedding? While a lack of photography means it was easy to have different identities, didn't they notice that Yaena looked exactly like her? "I hope you find solace in our renewal, you two are so young and already life has shown it's unkindness to you. I know you two can not stay long but I hope we find a time to get to know each other."


Oh, it was clear how much fun she was having, at the current moment, she didn't have any intentions to harm them, at least in public. She was just relishing their expressions, she wished she could paint them and look at them forever. If they were smart they would just leave now.


Two women dressed in white robes then got up, both of them holding a goblet in each hand and moved to the snake, and proceeded to...milk the snake, Selantheia's pet opened it's jaws wide, and the priestesses drew just three drops of venom before filling the glass with what appeared to be water.

"When I was with my husband, I used to be petrified with fear, I prayed to every God and Goddess to do something to save me from him, because that's what I was taught to do, and in the end, but I wasn't saved by the gods or even kings, I was saved by myself, and I was saved by conquering mystery fears, and that's why I start every one of these renewals with everyone taking in Safia's essence." She smiled, as the priestesses began handing out glasses to each of the churchgoers, "It's okay if you're afraid of her, in fact, it's better if you are, because that means every time you come here, and spend time with me, you conquer one of your fears."

~~

The service went by and was it not for it being by Selantheia it would have been...boring, it was basically her telling Learans that she was here to serve them and that she would keep them safe if war ever reached Leara's shores. It was amazing how they were able to keep it together (though Yaena used her powers to stealthily get rid of the snake venom). However, none of their questions were answered, while yes she clearly appeared to be a goddess, it didn't explain why she was here. After all, unless she could double herself, Yaena could attest to the fact that Selantheia spent most of her life in Zhicra.

The second they left the temple and was in the cold air, Yaena wrapped her arms around Briar, needing something safe for now. What were they even going to say? It looks like no matter what we do, my mother is going to come out on top so why do we even try? If anything, it would be the best-case scenario of her mother just stayed here, away from Eurus, and away from Zhicra.

However, they wouldn't be allowed much solace, because one of the priestesses gave them an envelope, with a pretty clear message.

Come back to the temple at the witching hour, if you do not show up, I will simply find you myself.

 

[Average.]

It was difficult to watch. The whole event was difficult to watch. A muscle feathered in Briar's jaw as he witnessed the snake, the same exact one that they saw and admired. Now that beautiful creature was a slave and nothing more. He could only imagine what would happen if Selantheia gave that snake the order to murder them all. It's venom reminded Briar of acid, much like the enchanted lake, except thicker and much more potent. A tiny drop of it was enough to kill hundreds of men. And yet it was being handed out to people in glasses.

He almost recoiled when she touched his shoulder, and it took every fibre of his being not to summon his flames and burn her into nothing but ashes right in front of everyone. He wanted to, oh he truly wanted to. But no, the crowd's watchful eyes were like chains to him, restraining him from acting the way he would like to right now. All he could do was smile before the goddess like a fool.

He tried to drown out Selantheia's voice, tried to focus on the whispering of the wind, on the breathing of people around them. Anything else other than her voice. He wanted to leave too, but if they left during a sacred event like this they would be shunned forever. They could forget about showing their faces in public in Leara ever again unless they wanted to be spat at. In Eurus too, if word spread to there that their own king and queen disrespected a sacred event in Leara like that.

Yet finally, after what felt like years, they could leave that tempre, and Briar and Yaena were one of the first people out. He wrapped an arm around Yaena too in return. He has never felt more homesick than he did now, not even in Zhicra. No, in Zhicra he was convinced that he was going to die, so how could he feel homesick. He never wanted to just shut himself away from everyone else and just be with Yaena and Daella in more than he did now.

But just when Briar thought that they could at least have some time away from everyone in their room back at the royal palace, he was quickly proven wrong by one of the priestesses, who hurried over to them to pass them some sort of envelope. He held his breath as he read it, and honestly he worried that he would just set himself on fire with blue flames from how much his blood was boiling right now.

Of course Selantheia wanted their presence, and of course she thought she had them both cornered like as if she was the cat and they were the mice. Yet Briar would make sure that she was wrong. He has made her scream in agony once, and he will gladly do it again.

He squeezed Yaena's hand, and once they were alone again, Briar gripped the envelope tightly in his hand till it crumpled, and blue flames started to appear on his hand, causing the envelope to catch fire and slowly burn away into nothing. "Whatever happens, we are going to walk out of this alive and well, do you understand?" he frowned at Yaena. "Every time Selantheia tried something against us we came out on top, and I don't see why we can't do it again."

_________

Upon witching hour, the two headed their way in silence back up to the temple. The streets were quiet, and the air was filled with ambient forest sounds. Briar has almost forgotten that he even was in a city, and now he felt more like he was venturing through an actual forest during the night.

The air was cold, and all the couple could do was hold each other's hands and approach the temple closer and closer. Briar's mind was racing with all of the possibilities of what could happen, of what Selantheia had in store for them. There were millions of them, and it was frightening to think about.

He didn't want to see Yaena in pain again, and if he had to he was willing to take all the pain Selantheia was to throw at them. But one thing he knew for certain no matter what would happen; none of them were going to die, and both of them were going to come out of this. They knew not to trust Selantheia's words no matter what she said, they bested her twice, and they will best her a third time. They are better than her, and they don't need thousands of worshippers to prove that. She was a pathetic goddess if she let herself get bested by mortals.

The temple was eerily quiet at this hour. Briar could hear the sound of water trickling from a nearby fountain, which was made of gold much like the other statues. Learians seemed to enjoy their gold; at least that was one thing that Leara and Eurus had in common, besides the fact that both nations were elvish of course.

The beautiful, grand golden statues of the giant snakes looked so majestic while bathed in the light of the sun, yet during the night they looked like silhouettes of monsters, watching their every move and waiting for the chance to sink their fangs into them at Selantheia's command.

Speaking of Selatheia; where even was she?

And also... where was her pet?

Her pet had a talent when it came to hiding, much like it's brothers and sisters who they still haven't had the chance to even see yet. Perhaps the bronze scaled snake was the only giant snake left on the island, or perhaps the others were just that much better at hiding. And that much more timid. Briar hoped that at least they could remain free, and not become puppets like the snake that was now under Selantheia's total command.

They headed up many flights of stairs, and Briar felt the same sort of energy looming in the air. He couldn't explain it, but he was feeling the exact same way when he was in Zhicra, and he felt like something was calling to him when he made his way up to Selantheia's quarters. He was simply able to find his way to her, without any directions being written on the envelope she left him or anything of the sort. Selantheia was like a magnet, like a beacon except instead of radiating with light she was quite the opposite. She had this dark, morbid, macabre, grotesque aura emanating from her.

Yaena could have the same kind of power, and the same kind of aura. After all, if Selantheia was truly dead Yaena could have easily been branded as the total reincarnation of the dark goddess herself. Yet it was not the same. Yaena was different, and she would never be like Selantheia. Never.

Finally, they have reached what seemed like the main room, and here it was so dark too. Briar never felt as grateful for his enchanced night vision as much as he did now. An elf's eyes tended to softly glow in the dark, and while their night vision wasn't as sharp as some other night hunters, they could definitely see much better in the dark than humans could.

The room was almost the same size as the ballroom back at the Palace of the Sun in Eurus, yet it was just so empty. All that filled it were marble pillars that supported the arched ceiling, and a massive golden shrine in the middle of the room. It was a statue of Selantheia, except this one felt like it was a combination of all the statues that were outside of the temple. She was sitting on the smooth, slender body of her snake, lounging on it as it if was her couch and not her pet. And the snake, even in it's lifeless frozen expression Briar could tell that it was protective of Selantheia. Of it's mother.

She was truly worshipped here, and it was difficult for Briar to even comprehend on how that came to be.

Yet the silence in here was killing him. All he could here were the soft sounds of his and Yaena's breathing, and the sound of his heartbeat gradually getting louder and louder in his ears. He suspected that Selantheia was finding amusement in how fast his heart was beating. She was probably reaching into him right now with her powers and examining every single organ in his body and he didn't even know, stroking them gently as if they were some prized possession of hers.

"Well? We're here." Briar finally broke the dreadful silence, his voice echoing across the room. "And I am not in the mood for games. So if you've ordered us to come here, show yourself and start talking. Otherwise if you don't I won't hesitate to send this entire place ablaze just like I've done to you."

He realised that the temple was made of stone and marble, and he could not burn it even if he tried. Yet most of the buildings were made of stone and marble - Selantheia's people weren't made of stone, now were they.

He was acting confident, and even if the thought of Selantheia's capabilities made him feel nervous, he was capable too. And he had Yaena with him. The lake was no longer a liability to him and his life, yet it was now a strength. And he was willing to utilise it whenever it proved necessary.

He wasn't cursed with these powers, he was blessed with them. He has burned Calum's entire fleet without even breaking a sweat. He has made Selantheia scream before, he has made her desperate, and while many would consider that as karma to what she did to him back at Zhicra, to what she did to Yaena by pushing her into the lake, it was not enough for Briar.

And if he had to set a certain bitch on fire again, he most certainly would.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Yaena could barely see shit. She had to hold Briar's hand and rely on him to get up the stairs and she wanted to leave. This felt remarkably foolish, to willingly go to Selantheia again. After all, it was Selantheia who used a note to get Briar into her clutches, and they were in her kingdom. Yes, she was the Queen-Mother of Zhicra, but the highest power in Zhicra was Tristan, here, she was the higher power. Selantheia could probably kill them and Leara would go to war in her defense.

She vowed not to say anything unless Briar spoke to her, everytime she talked to her mother, a terrible part of her was awoken who believed that she could somehow change and that Selanthea would be one day be a mother who she felt safe around. Selantheia could manipulate anyone, but she was especially gifted at manipulating her children in a way only a mother could. It made sense, as their mother, she was the reason behind Yaena's insecurities, her mother molded her children to be easily manipulated and Yaena now knew that. If she spoke, her mother would turn it against er. She would somehow find a way to paint herself as a victim and there would always be a part of Yaena that believed her.

"I didn't order you, I invited you." Selantheia walked down the steps. Yaena's eyes were finally adjusting to the dark and she could see her mother was in a light silk gown, something suitable for Leara's humid climate. She couldn't ever remember a time where her mother wasn't in velvets or other heavy fabrics and she could hardly recognize her. The woman she saw today was warm, funny, with charming self-deprecating humor. Where was she Yaena's entire childhood?

She walked closer to them, but once she reached a certain distance both Yaena and Briar visibly tensed up so she paused, and made a show of it as though to demonstrate that she truly was a peaceful woman and couldn't harm a fly.

Her mother smiled, it was a weary smile but it met her eyes, "I'm going to assume that you two are not interested in small talk, it's okay, I understand." She looked at both of their faces, but Briar's got extra scrutiny because she was the direct cause of the eyepatch. Her left hand began to shake and Yaena could hear the woman take a deep breath and she prepared to use her powers, not wanting to risk anything. She would rather go down as a...queenslayer..goddesslayer...whatever...than let Selantheia land a finger on them. "I'm..." Selantheia began, as though the word was hard for her. Her mother's violet eyes pierced Yaena's own. "Sorry."

I'm sorry.

Those two words were said after Selantheia killed Yaena's father, emotionally tormented her and all her siblings tortured Briar to the point where he craved death and attempted to kill her and her then-unborn child. I'm sorry.

For a moment, Yaena broke her vow of silence because she burst out laughing. It was so ridiculous that it was funny. Did her mother think that Briar and Yaena would even acknowledge an apology from her? She would rather hear nothing than an apology, her mother was a good liar, but they were not stupid. "For what specifically? There are so many things this could apply to." She challenged. This always happened with them, her mother would play the sad victim card, Yaena would call her out and that would be when the real Selantheia showed.

However, the 'real' Selantheia never showed and she just looked hurt by what her daughter said, hurt but not surprise. Wait, was she trying not to cry? It was dark, and Briar would be able to see better than her but Yaena could swear that she saw a glimmer in her eyes.

Selantheia took two steps towards them before stopping, appearing to catch herself. "For everything, if you like I could name every sin I've committed but that would do nothing but torment you two." Selantheia looked at Briar, her eyes pleading, looking like Yaena when Briar left for battle. "Please let me explain, I know you two won't believe me, and i understand why you won't, but you deserve an explanation around the things that I did."

As though standing tired her, her mother went to her knees, the silk of her gown pooling around her. "I was human once, with a mother and father, and I even had a husband, and no it was not Aemon," Yaena closed her eyes as her mother mentioned her father, "I was born on the islands before even your great-great- grandparents were a twinkle in anyone's eyes, and I'm talking about my first husband.."

Yaena so badly wanted to interrupt, to not let her mother spew her bullshit again, but every time her mother revealed something, she found herself listening.

"He...forced himself on me nightly, oh I shouldn't get into it, especially when my daughter is here," Selantheia shook her head, her tone going from informational to self-scolding, "The people here will tell you I killed him with a snake, and I did, but he was able to figure out what I did and he stabbed me in the heart. I think I died before he did." Her hands were in front of her, she looked like a disgraced lady begging for mercy as she looked up from the floor at Briar, seeming to think she had a better chance at him believing her than Selantheia, "And then I woke up, I don't know why the gods chose to reanimate me, maybe out of pity."

Selantheia spread her hands, letting anyone who had questions to ask them though she would not answer until she was done.

"I couldn't stay on the Norvosi Islands so I sailed and I eventually reached Leara and it was there I realized how powerful I truly was, I never intended to be worshipped, and it still feels strange to me, but that's often how people respond when they see power out of their realm." She could tell Yeara still didn't believe her but that didn't stop her from talking, "However, the more I used my powers the more I believed I wasn't meant for peace, other nations were growing more powerful than Leara as militarization spread throughout this world and I wanted to be a part of it. There was actually someone...like me in Zhicra and he offered to take me with him

Yaena held Briar's hand tighter, wondering if they should leave now.

Once again Selantheia looked as though she was struggling, "I won't get into everything, but I spent the next centuries feeding off of war, you could probably find my hand in every war in both humans and elven continents, every act I did change me, it twisted my soul, and by the time I moved back to the Norvosi Islands, my soul as so black and twisted it wasn't recognizable." She looked at Yaena's amethyst, "That was where your curse came from, I was getting sick so...I did a spell where every time I committed a sin...your soul would pay the price and that was where the monster came from, and before you say it, you should know that I know that I was selfish and an unworthy mother."

She then turned to Briar, "You succeeded in killing me, or at least, that was the closest to death I've ever felt, I know that because I woke up in hell, and there I was finally forced to endure all the punishments I've long been escaping, you're not going to give me any sympathy int his regard, but I was tortured." She choked up on that word, "I was in that state for a year, I had no reprieve, and when the year was done I was dumped here, but something beautiful happened...for the first time my soul is clean, I'm closer to human than anything else, and I'm finally in the place I should be."

Yaena was absolutely speechless having no idea how to even respond to that, every time she thought she had her mother figured out, Selantheia found a way to prove her wrong.

"If you wish to see me dead, I don't blame you and I will gladly embrace the fire, although I wouldn't recommend it because although Leara is not as big of a military power as Eurus, it still wouldn't be wise to provoke them," Selanthia was now fully on her knees, begging for acceptance, "But I invited you here because I wanted to tell you, even if you didn't believe me that I'm a changed person. I look back and I hate myself for what I did to both of you and no amount of apologies will ever fix it, but I can not stop trying."

Without even asking Briar, Yaena turned around and walked down those dark steps again, whether or not Briar followed her.

---​

If Briar brought up Selantheia to her last night, Yaena wouldn't even acknowledge it with anything more than a silence firmly leaving processing it another morning. Because they were only two options: Selantheia was lying or she was telling the truth, and honestly she didn't know which was worse.

Their room was of course lavish, but that didn't change the fact that she didn't know how as listening in on them, so after they got ready, Yaena gave him a quick kiss before asking, "Do you have a meeting with Queen Leara today?" She asked, truly this was more of a vacation for Yaena than Briar as she didn't even have "alliance stuff", "I think we should go back to the city." It's safer she wanted to say, but even then she found her paranoia coming up.

 

[Average.]

I'm sorry.

Briar would have burst into laughter, he would have howled with it and probably woken up the entire city with it, however fortunately Yaena beat him to it. It was like if that assassin that snuck into Daella's nursery would have successfully killed his daughter and then turned to him and said I'm sorry for killing your daughter, but we're cool right?

Honestly, the longer he listened to Selantheia the more he realised how pathetic she was. Briar was an emotional and sympathetic man, however he was currently staring at a woman who not only tortured him to the point where he begged for death, but who also almost took his wife and daughter from him. And now, no matter what tragic story she decided to pull out of her ass, he would show her no sympathy.

Yet even then, despite feeling tempation to interject almost every single time she said anything, he remained silent and listened. He would let her speak, he would let her put on her show of falling to her knees and begging for forgiveness, claiming that she has changed and oh what a horrible woman she was, what ever shall she do?
He wasn't buying it, and the longer he listened, the worse his headache was beginning to get. It was worse than having to listen to a thousand Lord Ardreths complaining about his muddy shoes to him at the same time, and he was getting sick of it.

She would have most likely continued rambling if Yaena didn't just turn around and walk out. That was when he decided to use the opportunity to say what he wanted to say. And he had a lot to say.

The smartest decision would have probably been to do what Yaena has done and just walk out, to not give her any more of his time. Yet Briar right now felt powerful, and even if he still believed that Selantheia getting on her knees before them was all an act to gain pity from them, he still couldn't help but feel powerful. He felt pride, and he was going to relish in this moment, even if Selantheia deep down was thinking that he could shove his forgiveness down his throat and then throw it back up because it meant nothing to her.

Yet who said that she was going to get any forgiveness from him?

"You know, I truly feel pity for you. Truly." Briar smiled, yet if one wanted to describe his smile right now, it would have been of an adder's with his lips coated in venom. "If only I would have known, oh if only I would have known what hardships you've gone through. How stupid of me." he chuckled, shaking his head slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose slightly.

A forge needed time to heat up, however when it did, one careless mistake from the blacksmith working it could result in their skin burning away to the flesh. And that forge was like Briar right now. He was ready to bring the fire.

"Except that doesn't excuse that you almost killed my wife and my daughter. I could have forgiven you for torturing me, for finding as much pleasure in it as you did back then. Yet I will never forgive you for pushing Yaena into that lake. She was pregnant and you knew that she was." he growled, his fingers curling into tight fists.

"The one thing that I do regret is that my flames weren't hotter when I burned you. Maybe then your suffering would have been extended from only a year into an eternity." he spat, his words like venom that was more potent than the venom of those giant snakes that slithered around in Leara.

"I wonder who is responsible for the punishments. Surely it just doesn't exist, does it?" he rose a brow. His expression softened now, yet if one was observant they could still see the anger in him. He wanted his words to hurt her pride more than a whip ever could hurt someone, yet even if that may not work, he still wanted so say what he wanted to say. "Honestly I am a fool for not burning you now. Yet that doesn't matter, because no matter what you are planning now, you are going to fail, Selantheia. You have already failed twice." he smirked. "You are not in control of everything. You may be a goddess, but if punishment exists even for you, then there must be someone or something that is of higher power than you. I wonder how they will feel knowing that you have been bested by a mortal for a third time?" Pause. "Oh... I don't think even an eternity of torture would be enough to make up for that embarassment. Now would it?"

He had enough of her now, and he has wasted enough time on her. Whether he truly hurt her pride or not, he didn't know. Yet he meant what he said. She will fail, and he will make sure of it. His flames were stronger than her and they have proven that at the gardens. He will burn her hundreds of times over if it meant that she would stay away from his family forever.

So he followed Yaena out, leaving Selantheia alone in the dark shrine room, leaving the temple.

________

Despite how confident he sounded when he spoke to Selantheia last night, he still found it difficult to sleep. Yet at this point, lack of sleep was something that he was used to, and whenever he woke up feeling tired he at least wouldn't feel awfully grumpy on top of that.

Anyway, it was nothing that a quick cup of coffee couldn't fix.

He smiled into the kiss when she kissed him and when she pulled away he nodded reluctantly. "Unfortunately yes." he sighed. "Luckily it shouldn't be long. If there's one thing Queen Aelina and I have in common is that we both hate meetings. She will keep things to the point and I won't draw things out when it's not necessary." he shrugged. And it was simple as that.

I think we should go back to the city.

He nodded slightly at that, yet still, he didn't know if he was going to enjoy himself the same way as he did yesterday before finding out that Selantheia was a worshipped figure here. He just didn't know what to do. He felt conflicted more than anything.

While Selantheia was a dirty, two faced liar... she was correct about one thing; Eurus would be getting attacked from more than just one side if he was to hurt her. As much as he hated to admit it, Eurus was barely holding on, and if Leara was to turn against them too for harming their goddess, then Eurus would fall. Not to mention, other elvish nations would gladly turn against them as well and go to war with Leara upon finding out how the king of Eurus disgraced them. Religion was sacred in most elvish nations, and if somebody disrespected their ways, they would pay the price for it.

And Selantheia was clearly willing to use that as a shield to hide behind.

"We will go back to the city as soon as I come back from the meeting." he said. "I don't know what to expect, but I don't believe for a second that she isn't plotting something. I'm dying to know what it is, and we'll be sticking around for as long as it takes to find out." Pause. "I just hope that by the time we do find out it won't be too late." he sighed.

Soon, he finished getting dressed and making himself look all presentable. Giving Yaena one final kiss before he left, he headed out to the throne room where Queen Aelina agreed to meet with him.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Yaena was used to elves watching her. She was the human, in Eurus, thankfully, the mystique had faded. While she would always of course be human and that would always matter, she was smart enough to play her cards well and even Lord Aardeth knew to keep any comments to himself. But whenever elves from other nations visited Eurus, they always made a point to see her and she could tell it wasn't just because they wanted to become acquaintances with a queen.

But, in Leara it was different. When she walked down the palace halls, looking to fill her time as she waited for Briar to leave the way-too long, meeting she felt like everyone was looking at her. She realized now that it wasn't because she was human, after all, Learans...generally were not as prejudiced against humans as other elves, but because she looked so much like Selantheia. Her small stature, her raven hair, her wide violet eyes. Was it not for her freckles, they would look like twins? Part of her hoped that they would put two and two together, that the reason why she looked like their goddess was that she was her daughter and that meant that she was the enemy. However, even if they did find out, she didn't think it would change anything. every religion had myths of their gods doing things that were flat out cruel, like drowning an entire town because their leader disgraced them yet they were still loved. Why would it be different here?

Learning about Selantheia sucked all the joy out of this place. Although they were here for business, Yaena was excited to see another elven nation, a more peaceful nation, and now she saw knives in every corner. What if people knew of Briar and Yaena's intentions? According to everyone, their goddess was a being of peace and beauty and they lived their lives to honor her. But they could be just as devoted to those ideals as Selantheia was.

This was a stupid decision, and probably one she would have not made if Briar would know, but she found herself wandering deeper into the woods, needing a place without any eyes. She was usually not so impulsive of a person but she just wanted to feel alone for once and forests always calmed her. They made her feel centered, made her feel connected to her powers, and secure in her place as a woman in this world.

She eventually found a spot where she could still see the palace if she wanted to go back but where she was the only living thing...or so she thought, a massive shadow loomed over her in the woods, on with large outstretched wings, and while it didn't make a noise. Yaena could feel it's power, as though she was near the blood tree again. However, Yaena wasn't going to let herself be afraid, because while the power daunted hder, she felt the same connection she felt in Zhicra, and if the worst happened, she would able to at least tell Briar.

What she saw instead was an adorable lizard creature, staring up at her from the ground, little wings fluttering as he climbed up the tree. Yaena found herself immediately warming.

--

"Not going to take so long my ass," Was the first thing she said to Briar when she saw him, a teasing grin on her face. "Was she better than Lord Aardeth at least?"

However, when she saw his face, she realized the meeting went off course, and she waited until he told her what happened. But it would be unwise for him to tell her in the palace,w here the walls and eyes had ears, in the city they were at least shrouded by the crowd. Of course, wherever they went there would always be the risk of someone listening. But for all she knew the queen was listening to them right now.

When they got to the city, she verbalized her curiosity, "What happened?" What her first guess was that Selantheia told the queen how she was afraid of her and Briar and now the queen wanted them out of her country. But, the truth was a lot...stranger than she believed. She had heard of death cults before, they were painfully common during times of war as people would do anything if they believed it would bring them peace. But Leara was different, they were not in much danger from the war, unless Zhicra and Eurus decided to unite and attack them and they just seemed to be a more reasonable country.

"So....in a few days, countless of these people are going to," Her voice went low moreso out of shock than worry, "Kill themselves? Because they're going to be revived?" She asked before she seemed to realize something. "Okay don't be mad at me, but I went into the forest by myself while waiting for you, and so I could do some research, and I think I know now." She didn't want to say anything until hey were woods because that was the most secure place for her.

Her mother was a goddess, she had to accept that as fact, but in myths, gods withered all the time, but as a result of people not believing in them. However, she clearly had believers? But what if she didn't, her current thoughts were shamefully dark. She was so ashamed of thinking it that it was hilarious that she thought to lecture Briar when he wanted to use fire on enemies. Was she really willing to use the death of hundreds in order to get rid of one person. Yes, and she tried to justify it with the fact that her mother had killed thousands, maybe even millions if you considered the fact that she was behind every war. And if she was gone, everyone would be safer.

But to the surprise of everyone, her face then lit up like a forgetful child.

"Oh, and you'll be able to meet my familiar!" She whispered with a clear excitement.

 

[Average.]

All he could do was nod. It was clear that they had to stop Selantheia now, especially after the piece of news that Yaena exchanged with him. Back at the temple he felt torn on what he should do; he suspected that he was making a mistake when he left Selantheia alive and not a scorched corpse on the floor, yet could he truly afford losing Leara as an ally? And how would he prove that their goddess was up to no good?

He has never felt more conflicted in his entire life. It felt like no matter which path he wanted to take, they were all filled with deadly spikes. He felt cornered, suffocating, having no place to go. What was he meant to do now? They had to stop Selantheia, but how were they going to prevent Leara from turning against them?

Now he remembered why Selantheia was such an important figure in most wars; it wasn't just because of her powers but because of her knowledge. She had him cornered and she knew it, and no matter if she begged for him to burn her back there, she knew damn well that he wouldn't do it unless he wanted to throw Eurus' alliance with Leara into the dust.

Sometimes, powers weren't needed to make a valid move. Selantheia was trying to make herself seem untouchable, yet Briar knew that they couldn't let that happen. Alliance or no alliance, allowing her to complete that ritual was the greater evil, and sometimes the only choice was between two evils. And besides, who knew if Selantheia wouldn't convince her people to tear up the alliance between Eurus and Leara anyway even after completing the ritual? She had the power and the influence to, after all most people here were already wrapped around her finger.

But before he had the chance to even speak, he frowned with confusion upon noticing the way her face lit up.

"Your familiar?" he rose both brows. He looked around the room, now more puzzled than ever. "Yaena... I don't know if I'm going blind or something but I don't see anybody." he said. Did she happen to befriend a ghost or something? Or was she suddenly in a teasing mood despite them being in a serious situation?

However, it didn't take long for him to realise who that familiar was, and all he could do was stare blankly at the lizard thing.

Well great. They were in a crisis and all they had to show for it was an adorable little lizard. Surely the lizard will help them defeat Selantheia and maintain Eurus' alliance with Leara. Most certainly.

"Yaena... you know that I love you, right?" Briar let out a sigh. "But, sali, tell me... how is a lizard meant to help us with stopping Selantheia?" he didn't look impressed, yet if one was observant they would be able to notice the amusement in his eyes.

Seriously, Yaena was probably the only person in the world right now who had the power to make him forget about the crisis they were in and cheer him up. For a second he was able to forget about Selantheia and instead focus on the present.

The lizard stared at him with wide eyes. They were so large that they were like marbles, taking up probably almost three quarters of it's entire head. The longer Briar started into it's eyes the more he wanted to laugh. The lizard's pupils were mostly slits, yet they were curved in a way that made it look like it was staring at two things at once and not focused on just one thing. It licked it's cheek, standing completely still now as if it was frozen, yet it's little chest was moving at an almost rapid pace as it took in quick little breaths.

It looked like it was patiently waiting for Briar to do something, so Briar proceeded to gently pet it's scaley little head with the tip of his finger. "So, does it have a name?" he asked.

_________

Yaena's new companion has definitely become a go to conversation topic, and the cute lizard probably didn't even realise that they were talking about it.

Currently, the lizard remained hidden in Yaena's purse, and the two were back out in town again. Yaena was right; he did feel safer out here. Safer than he felt in the palace. He wasn't certain on what their next move should be, and he has been having trouble with thinking lately. His mind felt like it was all over the place. As a king he was required to be decisive, yet now even he felt like his mind was in shambles. He didn't know what to do.

So taking the time to be out here definitely felt nice to him, it gave him a chance to switch off. However, it didn't sit well with him that they were probably going to be here longer than he thought. Not only would Daella be out of their sight for longer than he would've liked, but there is a war going on, and he has a kingdom to rule over and protect. What if Zhicra somehow finds a way to rebuild their Iron Forces faster than he expected and they suddenly try to invade Eurus again? His city will fall and he won't even be there to help defend it.

Yaena practically had to drag him out into the city. While yes, he did feel safer out in the city and preferred to be out here, it felt wrong doing anything other than figuring out what to do with Selantheia. After plenty of bickering, Briar's stubborn ass was finally convinced to go out into the city and enjoy themselves - or at least try to. They have already stopped by a bakery and purchased some cream-filled donuts, which were one of Briar's favourite treats, and now they were planning on heading to the perfume shop.

They couldn't make any rash moves against Selantheia now, and they needed to remain careful about this. And besides, after so much stress, it was time to ease some weight off their shoulders, and while it felt wrong to allow themselves to any luxuries right now, rushing to make decisions was the worst thing they could possibly do right now, especially when the issue was so delicate. One wrong move and they could piss off an entire nation. Great.

Leara wasn't known for much commotion on the streets, yet today there seemed to be some. They were passing a forge, and a blacksmith seemed to be standing outside, arguing with some elvish woman. Briar decided to pay them no heed, as even for a peaceful city like Leara conflicts were likely to happen. Perhaps they were haggling prices, or perhaps the blacksmith didn't forge something in time. Whatever it was, he didn't care, and his mind was more focused on which scents he was going to try out at the perfume shop.

What he did not expect was for the man standing next to the angry elvish woman to look at him, and when he made eye contact, he couldn't help but do a double take. He only had one eye left, and if this one was deceiving him then he had every right to be concerned. He realised that he was staring and that may be considered as rude, yet politeness didn't matter to him this time.

When he realised that his eye wasn't deceiving him, he almost dropped the bag of donuts he was holding.

He suddenly started to nudge Yaena's arm urgently with his elbow. "Yaena, I thought that boat went to a human city and not an elvish one. What the fuck is that bastard doing here?"

Calum Narayan, former leader of the Iron Forces, former Zhicran prince, the Last Dragon... was in Leara. An elvish city.

Briar would have believed Calum to have ended up in Atlantis more than he would have believed that he ended up in Leara.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

It was hard for Yaena to do anything "fun" too, knowing that her mother was out there and that she was as always, ten steps ahead of them. But they needed time to develop a plan. Before, it was easy to imagine plans that involved them just killing her. While Selantheia most likely learned from her mistakes and would not be so easily surprised by Briar's powers again, they knew that she was not invulnerable. But now it was complicated, they needed to find a way to get rid of her, without anyone knowing that they were the ones who did the deed. One plan she was thinking of was maybe containing her until the ritual was done and the bodies could no longer be brought back, but what would they do with the body?

There wasn't much Yaena could think about without falling into a lake of stress. If she thought of home, she thought of Daella, and how much she missed her daughter. What if Daella was wondering where they were and thought her parents left her? There wasn't much that Yaena wouldn't do to have Daella in her arms again, the only thing that motivated her to keep her going was that she needed to get rid of Selantheia for her daughter. If she thought of what was happening here...well, let's just say it made her discouraged.

Yaena was also staring at the elvish woman, simply because the stranger caught her eye. She had rich brown skin but her hair was as pale and silvery as the moon and was kept short, clearly, she had a more active lifestyle than her as the stranger was wearing trousers and Yaena could spot a knife attached to them. However, it didn't take away from her girlish good looks.

And she was traveling with a man? A man who looked...

Yaena, I thought that boat went to a human city and not an elvish one. What the fuck is that bastard doing here?

Calum was here? As a matter of fact, he was. Calum Narayan, the man who distrusted elves so much that Yaena used to worry that her brother would no longer love her after the wedding, was in an elvish city, standing behind the elvish woman, they were clearly familiar with each other. The woman would yell in elvish at the blacksmith, the blacksmith would yell back and then the woman would translate what he said in the common-tongue for her partner. Was Calum...friends with this woman?

Honestly, her first feeling was relief. She was relieved to know that Calum wasn't dead, and at least seemed to have found someone. Her sisterly instincts made her want to ask about the pretty woman who he was sheepishly standing behind, were they...a coupled pair? Honestly, Yaena wouldn't be surprised if they were, Calum was very charming when he needed to be, and if he landed in an elvish city by accident, Yaena was sure that Calum would be smart enough to find an elvish person to translate for him. All she wanted to do was learn about his time away, was it what he thought? Did he regret taking their deal? What was his new life like?

"I don't know!" Yaena whispered defensively as though he thought she had something to do with this. Why would she want her brother in an elvish city? It was twenty times safer for him to be in a human ruled country, "I mean maybe he got lost? It's been a few weeks since he left and my brother is not a sailer."

When she looked up she saw that Calum was staring at them with an equally shocked face. Briar and Yaena were a lot more recognizable in a crowd than he was, even if they weren't royalty, one of them had an eyepatch (and was five shades paler than every other Learan) and the other was the only other human on the island and had bright purple eyes. Calum must have known they were here right?


The woman who he was standing with saw that her partner was not listening to her at all and turned to see what he was staring at and now it was her turn to look confused. At least, that meant it was less likely that Calum spilled the beans, because surely if the woman knew he was a Zhicran prince, she would know why Calum was staring.

The woman did a polite curtsey for the two of them, before turning to Calum, "Why are you looking at them like that?"

Calum cleared his throat and looked down, he was bold, but even though both he, Briar, and Yaena, had their reasons to keep the secret, Calum was the only one who would for sure die if it was leaked so he was pretending he didn't see them. Something that hurt both siblings more than it should, "Uh, you don't see a king and queen every day, Mara." He explained, "You know what? Fuck this forgery, let's just go back to the boats." He wrapped an arm around the woman before hurrying off.

---
​

After finding out from one of the Learan lords, that boat tours of the deep riverlands were a fairly common past time, and that the most experienced boat-master (or boat mistress) in this case was a 'loud bastard elf' Yaena insisted to Briar that they should at least check it out. It wasn't even for fun! Calum might be the only person on this entire island who's aligned with them and they could speak openly with. Wait did Calum even know that their mother was here? Briar and Yaena only knew because the queen insisted they go to a service with her.

Going back to the dock, a pretty green boat with a giant black snake painted on it was waiting for them. Mara was standing on the dock, seemingly arguing with Calum while she was waiting for her guests to show up. Yaena couldn't hear the full argument, but she did manage to hear Mara say this to him.

"I don't know what you have against those two, but I'm not about to fucking offend them by saying that I'm not going to take them on a goddamn swamp tour, if you're so upset take it up with them."

Well, now Yaena and Briar could both feel certain that his secret wasn't out. But they didn't have much time to talk about it as Mara's green eyes noticed the pair and she put on a smile for them, and after pleasantries, she got into the business. So, the trip is going to be about ninety minutes long, I will be doing all the sailing, so while I can answer any questions you may have my hus-partner, Jon, may be better suited for it."

Yaena looked like she was going to pass out. Was she going to say husband? Despite the fact that Briar and Yaena were human-elf married pair, she could understand why Mara might be careful about saying such a fact.

Calum, who looked the most bashful she had ever seen him, just shrugged his shoulders from the boat, only getting up when it was time to help Yaena in, "I'm just here to protect us from giant snakes if need be." He said with a self-deprecating smile.

On the boat ride, although it was beautiful, the three passengers, clearly had no clue what to say to each other, especially as Mara was spending the first few minutes making sure they were going to the Deep Riverlands, but eventually she decided she had to take matters into her own hands even if she wasn't sure how to talk to a king and queen.

"I hope you two are enjoying Leara, you came at a good time, everyone's been so excited for The Night of Rebirth." Mara said, her eyes focusing in front of her. However, Yaena could tell she didn't mean it, there was a note of distaste, not because of them but when she talked about the holiday. Yaena didn't want to assume she was a nonbeliever, but the fact that Calum clearly liked her meant that Yaena already had a high opinion of her.

 

[Average.]

It took some effort for him to hide his smirk when he saw them arguing. While it was reassuring to know that Calum has kept his secret, he felt so tempted to just reveal everything to the elven woman. The last place he expected to see Calum was here, and honestly, if telling Mara the truth would give him a chance to speak to Calum about the situation that is happening here in Leara, then he was willing to do it. Perhaps he already knew about Selantheia, yet Briar could never be certain of that unless he spoke to him.

He didn't know if Mara was trustworthy, yet it seemed like a worthy gamble. This may be the only chance they ever get to see him. Of course, Calum could simply have seduced her for his own sake. He has his own translator now, and having a friend who is a local while you're in a place that you're not familiar with is always advantageous.

Yet don't think that he hasn't caught Mara's slip up as well. Was she about to say husband? If Calum only wanted her for his own benefit would he really go as far as marrying her? Perhaps, but there was no need for him to.

Briar wanted to trust his instincts and his intuition for now, and his instincts were telling him that Mara was no ordinary elven woman. While if a human who wasn't Yaena was to find themselves in Leara somehow, they wouldn't be harmed unlike in Eurus... still that wouldn't change the fact that no elf would want to associate with any human. They would be discriminated and treated like outsiders, yet even despite this Mara has chosen to acquaint herself with a human. More than just acquaint actually, from what it looked like.

I'm just here to protect us from giant snakes if need be.

When he heard Calum speak, he was barely able to hold back his laugh. Oh yes, he most certainly needed protection from him. He has destroyed his entire fleet and yet he needed protection from the former leader of the Iron Forces, who were now no more. He realised that Calum was perfectly aware that Briar could protect himself, yet that was just Briar's inner pride talking and he couldn't help it. "Thank you, I already feel safer." he gave Calum a slight nod before quickly turning his head away to focus on the scenery around them instead, as he doubted that he could hide his amused smile for much longer.

After that, the boat fell into silence once again.

That was of course until the silence was broken by Mara this time, and while scenic boat rides like this weren't required to be rich with meaningful conversation, the elven woman still felt a need to strike up some sort of conversation. Immediately Briar could tell that she hasn't had much experience or interaction with royals or nobles, even though she was being polite. She has failed to address them as Your Grace, and while Briar didn't care, most royals would have probably called off the boat ride right here and ordered them to take them back to shore immediately.

"Leara is a beautiful nation, and so far it hasn't failed to impress." Briar answered, gaze fixated on the beautiful crystal clear water, yet as they neared the Deep Riverlands, it's colour started to change to a deeper, less clear blue.

While Eurus was a beautiful nation too, nothing could beat the nature side of Leara. Natural life outside of the city was just so rich, he felt like he has never seen anything like it. He felt like the closest Eurus had to something like this were the royal gardens, and those were artificial. While the plantlife was indeed thriving there, it has not been placed their by mother nature's hand. This was why he adored visiting Leara, and if he could visit it more often he definitely would have.

And Leara would have been even more beautiful if Selantheia's presence wasn't staining it.

Once they were far enough in the riverlands where Briar felt certain that there was no one else here except for their boat, he spoke. Of course Selantheia and her giant pet may always find a way to eavesdrop, but if they were to worry about that then they may as well sew their mouths shut because it was never safe to say anything without her listening. "Alright, let's cut the crap."

Mara almost choked on air, not sure if she heard the king correctly or not. "Wha- pardon?"

"We don't have a whole lot of time here, so I'll keep this short. Jon can later fill you in on the rest after the trip." Briar said, turning to look at them. He had a stern look on his face, a stark and sudden contrast to how he seemed to be just a couple seconds ago; mostly calmed and relaxed, like any regular passenger who was enjoying the trip. "And this is to only stay between us, and nobody else is to find out. I hope that's understood?"

Mara's throat bobbed slightly as she swallowed and she nodded slightly. Her eyes were wide, yet not out of concern. She just seemed awfully... puzzled. She couldn't help but glance at Calum, who to her surprise seemed more startled than confused.

That was when Briar turned specifically to Calum, his golden eye focusing on Calum. "I just need to say this while we have the chance, to make sure that we are on the same page." Pause. "Selantheia is here in Leara. This is why Yaena and I are here, otherwise we would have never left Eurus." he explained.

He had no intention of saying any more or revealing Calum's true identity to her. If Calum chose to, then he could let in one more person on his secret as long as he was certain that she wouldn't reveal it to anyone else. He will definitely have some explaining to do, and he could definitely tell from the way Mara was staring at Calum now, so he may not have a choice. But bringing this up now, even in Mara's presence, was necessary. They may not have had another opportunity like this to speak to each other, and even if they did, anyone with half a brain could notice that it would have seemed a little bit strange if the king and queen have taken up such an interest in Calum, who to most people's eyes wasn't even a noble.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Calum did in fact look startled, but he seemed more nervous about how Mara was reacting to the news than either Yaena or Briar. Mara wasn't an idiot, while she might not specifically guess that Yaena and Calum were siblings. She knew these things: that the king and queen of Eurus were very interested in Calum, that both he and the queen were from Zhicra, and that Calum mentioned that he grew up around the palace and all of them were starting to add up. Mara cleared her throat, before finally speaking.

"What about this situation, have you been hiding from me?"

Despite Yaena not being the Narayan that Mara used her powers, she could tell that Mara had some ability having to do with her voice, and considering how Calum tried to keep his mouth closed before looking like he was visibly in pain. She was able to coax the truth out from people, a very interesting ability that in a better time Yaena would be super curious about.

Calum tried to resist Mara's powerful voice, but eventually, he couldn't handle it, "Yaena's my sister," He blurted out and that seemingly was enough for Mara's hold to break, "I thought we agreed that you weren't going to use that on me?" He complained, wincing a bit.

Mara didn't look at all amused, "The next time a king and queen walk into a boat and talk cryptically about me then we can talk." Another look of realization dawned on her face as she looked between Yaena (who looked politely impatient) and Calum (who looked like he was debating on the dangers of jumping into the water and swimming away from this situation. However, when she spoke what she said was funny in a way, "....When I accused you of staring at the queen...it wasn't because of you.."


"No." Calum insisted and Yaena realized how Calum gawking at them might have looked to an unknowing person. However, he sighed and scooted closer so he could put a hand on his annoyed's wife shoulder. "I promise that I will tell you the truth, every word of it, you can use that ability on me all night. After the ride, please. You of all people should know why this conversation is so important." He said cryptically and Mara's green eyes softened.

Mara focused on the sea to not show the others the soft smile on her face, but when she turned to him her face was cool, "If you lie to me one more time, I'm going to push you into the lake."

"But if you do that, you would no longer have the pleasure of my company." He offered with a shy grin, and it was clear the woman's opinion was important to him and he was trying to show that he was still worthy of her affections.

Mara's eyes rolled, "Go talk to your family. I'll focus on steering this boat."

Yaena cleared her throat, despite how serious this situation was, she felt the way she did during her adolescence in Zhicra where her siblings would be arguing around each other. Only the devil would put Vriria, Calum, and Tristan in the same family. "I have never had more questions in my life..." Yaena said looking at Calum who couldn't resist giving her a brotherly hug. "But I can't ask them, right now, just tell me what you know about Selantheia?" It felt too strange to call her their mother.

"We talk every day."

What?!

Yaena looked shocked, even growing up, he and his mother were not particularly close. However, she would acknowledge that besides Yaena, Calum may be the sibling who was closest to his mother (but the gulf was big). Part of it was that Yaena had to remember that she was not Selantheia's only child, sometimes Yaena deluded herself into believing that she was the only person who their mother had ever tried to sink their claws into but every Narayan sibling has a horror story to share involving their mother. If you asked, Calum would tell you about the time where his mother put him through such a painful empowerment ritual that he thought he was going to die.

"I was cleaning up the boat one night when she showed up, she apologized to me for never treating me right, because she like everyone else thinks I'm the dumb sibling," Despite Yaena never having thought that she was relieved to know that nobody was following her act. "I thought it would be best to humor her, and she pays me to watch her snake for the week." He looked at Mara who was seemingly both ignoring them and listening in, "We were hoping to leave."

Yaena couldn't blame Calum for not wanting to fight Selantheia, she wanted to leave with her husband too and for now, Yaena wasn't going to argue with that so she just kept on track, "What did she tell you about the end of the week?" She knew Mara could tell that she was talking to her too. From what she could tell, Mara seemed to be Learan, especially because other Learan nobles seemed to know she was a bastard, and she could guess that her mother had hurt her in some way.

Calum stared at the back of Mara's head, a wistful look on his face as he finally answered. "Not much, she tried to convince me to take part in it but I refused, but when she was arguing, and we all know she's a liar, she told me that if this wasn't a success they would force her to back to the dark place." Even in such a serious event, he couldn't handle not joking at least once, "Yae...you look as good as ever," Before he turned to Briar with a guarded look, "You look the same"

 

[Average.]

Briar watched with intrigue in silence as Mara used her ability on Calum. Calum looked like he was struggling, his mouth quivering slightly as he tried his best to keep his mouth shut, yet eventually he blurted out what he needed to say to get Mara to release her grip from him. Gods, now he wished that he had Mara with him every time he had to go into a meeting, she could coax the truth out of people like it was nothing! Yet still, even he doubted that it would be fun for her to sit in meetings that could sometimes go over three hours. He wouldn't wish that on anyone.

When Calum stated that Selantheia has already spoken to him and she still does, his face shown little surprise. While he didn't know much about how close Calum was with his mother, he was still her son, and if Selantheia was truly planning on playing the role of the tragic old woman who has changed her ways then of course she was going to talk with her son as soon as she found out that he was here in Leara.

At least Calum didn't seen like he held any pity for his mother, and while in Briar's eyes he was an idiot, he wasn't so idiotic to the point where he would fall for his mother's deceptive ways. And if they weren't close, that made it even easier for him not to.

He couldn't blame him when Calum said that he wanted to leave either. In all honesty, if Briar could afford to just turn tail and run back to the safety of the Palace of the Sun with Yaena, he most certainly would. Yet if he did, he would never forgive himself, and he could forget about ever being able to get a wink of sleep at night ever again. Now, he had his family to think about. He had a wife who he loved dearly and a beautiful daughter - and Selantheia has already proven to him once that she didn't care about her own blood like she said she did. If it meant that she could reach her goal, she would gladly kill both Yaena and Daella on sight. And he would rather die a thousand times than to let that happen.

So he had a motivation now to stay and eradicate the threat that was Selantheia, and even if he hated the idea of Yaena being in danger once again, he still needed her help. He knew that he couldn't face Selantheia alone, as now not only could he not catch her by surprise anymore with his powers, but Selantheia now had a backing. She had an entire nation on her side and a powerful giant serpent that obeyed her every command. And she has achieved all of this in six months.

Yet even after all of this has been said, and despite how serious the situation truly was, Calum still couldn't resist cracking a joke.

You look the same.

Briar snorted a laugh, and for a second if someone who was unknowing was to look at them they would never believe that Briar ever wanted him dead. It was not that he started liking Calum all of a sudden, he never had a forgiving nature and he never will have one (and on top of that Briar was probably the most stubborn person sometimes anyone could ever meet). But he was just... tired of hating him. Maybe this is what Lhoris truly wanted of him, as after Briar has realised this he felt so much lighter as if a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

"Oh?" Briar hummed, raising a brow. "Yes, you're right. I do look the same because I always look flawless." he grinned broadly, folding his arms to his chest. Most who didn't know him well enough would probably assume that he was just joking, yet with Briar's level of pride you never know to be honest.

He paid a quick glance outside of the boat, at where they were. They didn't have much time left on the boat, and while the riverlands were beautiful, they weren't all that big. Leara in general was a small nation, yet at least it made up for that with it's beauty a thousand fold. Yet there was still so much left to say, and while they were all more or less on the same page now, Briar still had no guarantee that Mara and Calum were going to help him and Yaena with Selantheia. He wanted to know what to expect from them, and while he wouldn't try to force them or pressure them into helping, he still wanted to know for sure.

"Yaena and I are in a really difficult situation." he frowned, looking down at his boots. "Even if we are here because of Selantheia, I'm still king of a nation who is currently at war. Selantheia has the support and love of Leara, so you must understand why I can't afford to anger Leara right now. They have allies on their own, and Eurus can't afford to be attacked from both sides. We want to get rid of her but we can't make it seem like we were the ones responsible." he paused and looked up to meet Calum's stare. "So as much as I hate having to ask for help from you out of all people... we need all the help we can get." he said.

_________

As much as he hated this, Briar was currently all dressed up in what he would call commoner clothes. Briar never liked to dress up like this, and he of course made his discomfort very clear to Yaena while they were changing. Yet if they wanted any chance at not being recognised out here in the city, this is the sort of approach they had to take.

Briar was wearing a plain white tunic, with some baggy grey pants, brown leather boots and he swapped his golden eyepatch (which he oddly developed an attachment for) for an ordinary white bandage around his eye.

After the boat trip they have agreed to meet Calum and Mara at a local tavern to discuss further plans, and perhaps spend some time together while they were at it. While Briar wasn't a huge fan of the idea, Yaena before meeting Calum out here was convinced that she most likely would never see her brother again. So just this once, he decided to be easygoing about this and at least pretend like he was having a good time - even though Yaena most likely would be able to see right through him anyway and be able to tell that it was just a facade.

Though despite his dislike for ordinary clothing, this was perhaps the only time where he was actually happy about people not paying attention to him. Often he would just soak up any attention that people gave him. Many people would stare at him and wish that they could be him, yet this time it was best if that wasn't happening.

"Before you say anything, no I'm not going to be unpleasant." Briar muttered as they neared the tavern. They had this conversation before they got here, where Yaena reminded him at least ten times to be good as if he was a child. "In fact I'm radiating with joy, if you can't already tell."
He was not.

But he understood the necessity of this meet up. Not only would Yaena get to spend some time with the brother that she thought she would never see again, but they would also get a chance to get down to some business and make some progress on their plan of what to do about Selantheia.

As long of course as they wouldn't drink too much and get distracted. While they could have picked a location where the option of getting drunk to absolute oblivion wasn't an option, those places were generally quieter, and it was easier for anyone who wanted to eavesdrop to do so. Here in a tavern, while it was busy, it was a lot more noisy. It would provide them with a lot more cover.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

If this meeting had just been Yaena reuniting with her brother, she would have no problem with Briar staying in the palace. However, this meeting wasn't just going to be Calum and Yaena excitedly interacting with each other they were going to form a plan. She couldn't help but wonder if Mara even was going to be here, Calum seemed very fond of her and Yaena could understand why. But, she could either be upset that Calum lied to her, or want no part in trying to take down Selantheia. Neither of which, she would hold against her. However, if it was true that the two were married then Yaena would really want to get to know the woman who was her sister-in-law.

Yaena didn't even mind having to dress down, she and her brother used to do that all the time whenever they wanted to sneak out. In fact, whenever she was dressed in a manner that suited her position, she felt like she looked out of place, especially when she was next to her husband and it amused her to no end to see Briar dressed in such a fashion. Even now, it was obvious that this wasn't his natural state, everything about him practically screamed posh palace boy and it brought her some rare humor in an otherwise bleak time.

Before they even walked in Yaena had to remind Briar one more time, "Be polite to him okay? If you two fight I'm knocking you both out okay." She said before leading him into the tavern.

The second she walked in, Yaena visibly looked uncomfortable. She wasn't fond of taverns even before that night, and now they just revulsed her. She thought she would e able to handle it because she doubted that either Briar or Calum would pressure her to drink. But the smell of alcohol was just bringing back dark memories. There were times when she forgot that night because the life she built after it was so wonderful, she had Briar and she had Daella now. But there were also times when it plagued her nightmares to the point where even right now Yaena felt the desire to look down to ensure that they were normal and had not turned into claws.

It's been over a year since that night, and you need to be at your sharpest right now, Yaena reminded herself. She needed to think of ways to try to fight a goddess, not be sucked into terrifying memories of perhaps the darkest time of her entire life.

When Calum waved at them, with Mara beside her, she took the spot in front of him, squeezing Briar's hand as another silent plead.

"Of course you are, I'm fucking amazing to be around," Calum retorted before Yaena kicked him from under the table, "Hey Yae remember when we got arrested and Inka had to come down and explain that we actually were who we said we were?" He asked with a grin and despite not wanting to go down memory lane, Yaena smiled fondly as well. They had befriended a local prostitute and a noble, one of Calum's old friends called her a thief and Calum challenged him to a duel. Everyone was mad at them for the entire week, Tristan, Inka, and worst of all their mother were furious that Calum and Yaena did something so stupid. She realized now that although Briar would probably deny it...he reminded her a lot of her brother.

Yaena laughed warmly, "Yeah I do," She said simply before she tried to put the conversation on track before Briar would have to, "Has...our mother talked to either of you today?" She asked in a low voice, it felt strange to call her their mother. But on the off chance that people on this island knew her as Selantheia, she thought it would be best to refer to her in ways that did not include her name.

Calum frowned slightly and shook his head.

Yaena was silent before she looked at Briar before looking at the people in front of her. While her mother apologized to both of them, Yaena doubted that her mother believed that they would ever fully trust her. While she doubted either Calum or Mara had a positive relationship with Selantheia, her mother literally tortured Briar for a week and tried to kill Yaena while she was pregnant. But maybe she would believe it if Calum or Mara told her they apologized, "You should tell her that you talked to us when you can." Yaena looked up at Briar just so he could tell her if she had a stupid idea or not.

" 'Yae did Eurus finally drive you crazy?"

"Maybe, but I don't think so at this moment, you should tell her that we were trying to get you on 'our side' but you refused?" Yaena explained, she figured her mother would find out, somehow that they talked, but she had faith that her mother wouldn't be able to know exactly what was said unless she used a portion on one of them or she was shapeshifting. However, by now Yaena had gotten good at figuring out whether or not her mother was around.


Calum paused and let himself think, "But she knows how close we are," He retorted and it was true. There was a time when she and Calum were inseparable, they even slept in the same bed before it eventually became inappropriate. Her mother would never believe that Calum would do anything that would betray his sister, or that Yaena would ever do anything that would put her brother in harm's way. It would be like trying to convince someone that she and Briar somehow opposed each other.

"You're right, but she also knows you hate Eurus and," She said glancing at the two elves near her, "I would say you didn't like elves, but apparently I'm not the only sibing married to one now."

Calum went bright red, for a moment forgetting the whole serious reason you were here, "Wait how did you know?" Both Yaena and Briar looked at Mara, because they both had functioning ears and caught her little slip-up.

"Though I have to ask, how did you two meet?" Yaena asked curiously and her eyes focused more so on Mara because she was trying to get to know the stranger. Calum was simultaneously an easy and difficult person to get along with. On the one hand, Calum was naturally lighthearted and had a deep pool of affection available for all his loved ones, but he also lived his life by instincts, and could easily say hurtful things just because it was what popped in his head. Besides, even though Yaena had faith in her brother, she had to make sure that Mara was to be trusted.

"Well, funny thing, I actually don't have a good sense of direction. One of my friends, whom you killed, by the way, was the one who navigated our ships. I didn't realize I was in Leara until well, I was there." Calum explained, his eyes alight as he began to reveal how he met Mara, "I ran out of food so I had to go to the market to get some, but I don't speak elvish and the people here didn't even attempt to speak the common tongue so the shopowner attacked me, and then Mara came to my rescue," He put his hands out with a flourish, "And since then she hasn't been able to get me to leave." He grinned. "She even let me live with her the first night we met."

 

[Average.]

Before Briar and Yaena have arrived to the tavern, Mara was waiting at the table with Calum sitting by her side. She had to admit to herself - even though she hated it - that she was a little nervous. It wasn't the same kind of nervousness as meeting your lover's parents for the first time, but still she has never expected to ever have to meet anyone else that was close to Calum, or at least knew him as well. Calum arrived here alone, with nobody to turn to, so what were the chances of there ever being anyone that he was close with?

She didn't understand why she let him in to her life, yet she didn't regret it one bit. Since the beginning he was a man shrouded in mystery, and perhaps that was what allured her to him? Mara didn't exactly know if this is what caught her interest, but despite the mystery around him and despite the dangerous secrets that he held, he still stuck to her after she rescued him like a goddamn child clings to their mother. He was stucl to her like glue, very stubborn glue in fact, and she did try to pry him off at first. Yet still no matter how many vases she threw at him - yes she threw a vase at him that one time - he still persisted in staying.

Perhaps he was just desperate, perhaps he was only using her for his own advantage at first and that was the reason why he stuck to her so stubbornly. Yet she still had no regrets, as even if those were his intentions at the start, it didn't take long for this mysterious man to open up to her and show her his caring and loving heart. It was already too late by the time she realised that she was falling in love with him.

All her life she was told by everyone around her that all humans were bad, and that they would kill any elf - men, women and children, it did not matter - if they had the chance. Yet if that was true Calum must be no human at all, because he was exactly the opposite of what she was told.

Immediately when she noticed the blonde elvish man and Calum's sister approaching she snapped out of her thoughts and put on a smile for them. Even if they weren't Calum's parents, she still wanted to make a good impression for them. At least for Yaena, since she was her sister so impressing her was most important.

Briar to her looked a little more difficult to impress. In all honesty, he didn't look thrilled to be here at all, though she doubted that it was because of her. While Mara never had the privilege to suffer through hours and hours of court meetings like Briar did, she had her own street smarts. One didn't have to attend court meetings to be able to read people's faces, and even if Briar had more than enough experience to hide his true feelings, it was still not good enough for her. Mara caught glimpses of him doing these quick little glances towards Calum. It didn't seem natural, and while he did want to look at him, he didn't want to make eye contact.

There was a clear tension looming in the air between Briar and Calum. She could sense it immediately when she met them for the very first time at the boat, yet it was here that the tension was especially noticeable. In all honesty she didn't care much about it, as long as the two wouldn't cause a scene in front of everyone in the tavern. Conflicts often tended to escalate in taverns a lot easier than anywhere else. People here are notorious of encouraging conflicts to happen simply for their own entertainment instead of trying to diffuse them. After all, it wouldn't be a tavern without irrational drunkards in search for some trouble. It was like they were part of a puzzle - the puzzle could never be complete without their piece being added in.

She listened to their conversation, frowning at the mention of Selantheia. She could piece together that their mother must have been Selantheia. Whoever this woman truly was, she must have brought them all enough pain to last a lifetime. She could see it in their expressions, the distaste from even having to talk about her. She had little to contribute, since so much information was being thrown around so quickly.

She was already aware of who Selantheia was, as her husband told her everything exactly as he promised once they went back home for the night after being done with their swamp tours. She didn't even need to use her abilities on him, he told her everything from start to finish, willingly like a bird willing to sing.

Mara was a good listener too, and she often preferred to remain quiet and soak in information if she had nothing valuable to contribute to the conversation, exactly like Yaena. Except the only difference was that she didn't stare so intensely, and she often preferred to keep it less obvious that she was listening. She had her fair share of experience when it came to eavesdropping, and while eavesdropping you of course had to remain discrete. So she would mostly avoid eye contact, not because she was nervous but because it was as if she had a very short attention span. She would glance at her nails - as if she cared about how well manicured they looked - and then peer inside her tankard as if to check how much ale she had left to drink, occasionally furrowing her brows as if to show slight annoyance that she would have to soon get up and get a refill.

However, once Calum started to tell Yaena about how they met, a small smile tuggered at the corner of her lips, indicating that she was in fact listening. She felt herself warm a little, uncertain whether it was because of the alcohol she has drank so far or was it because she gushing inside. She was glad that he left that part out when she threw a vase at him.

Yet just as she was about to open her mouth and say something, she was cut off by a certain blonde elf. "Aw, well that's a shame."
Well, alright then. Guess she would have to remain silent for a little bit longer.

"It was so close. Think about it, if Mara didn't show up at that exact moment you would've probably been dead by now." Briar grinned smugly. "And after all you've been through... imagine Calum Narayan dying to a shopowner. So humiliating." he chuckled with amusement. Of course he was only joking, however Mara couldn't help but wonder if Briar was secretly hoping that it actually happened.

"Why do I have a feeling that if Yaena and I were to leave this table right now we would come back to one of you holding a blade to the other's throat?" Mara sighed, yet there was a glint of amusement in her eyes. Of course she secretly rooted for her husband to be the one holding the blade if it ever came to that, yet it was clear that instead of feeling discomfort in their tension, she found amusement within it. In terms of tension, she has witnessed much worse. Her parents weren't exactly a happy couple, and she has already shared that dark part of her childhood with Calum. In comparison, the tension between Calum and Briar was like a donut with too much sugar sprinkled onto it.

"Oh, trust me. I don't need blades." Briar said proudly. The more Mara got to know him, the more she couldn't help but be reminded of Calum. Of course, if she was to say this out loud, both her husband and Briar would jump up out of their seats in protest, so she would remain silent on that. Yet still, she couldn't help but wonder if Yaena thought the same thing. She didn't know if Yaena felt the same way, as the two barely spoken a word to each other yet, but she felt like she and Yaena had this sort of... connection? She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Perhaps it was simply because they were both wives with insane husbands, or perhaps it was because they both had a feeling like they shared some very similar traits. Or maybe both.

"Anyways, he stuck to me like a fly sticks to shit and there's that." Mara said with a flick of her wrist. Now her eyes were on Yaena, her eyes searching her face a little as if quickly trying to scan through every little detail about her. "So tell me. I know that you and your husband didn't exactly have the privilege of choosing each other and you were simply introduced but... you know... most arranged couples never get along as well as you do. I would've never guessed that you two were part of an arranged marriage." she said. "So despite all that, how did you form a bond so strong?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head.

She figured like that was a safe question to ask, as while she was very curious to know why exactly there was tension between Briar and Calum, she doubted that either of them would be too eager to talk about it. Mara was a curious person, and her magic made it so easy for her to acquire knowledge from anyone she ever wanted, yet there was a fine line between gaining knowledge and hurting her loved ones. And even though she was angry on the day where they have brought Briar and Yaena out on the boat ride - hence why she used her ability on Calum - she hated using it on him. She didn't like seeing him in pain, and instantly the morning after she cooled down her temper she remembered herself spending a whole hour apologising to him after they've woken up.

Briar glanced at Yaena, and he couldn't help but smile when the memory of their little fight in the garden popped into his head. Even though it was a negative memory back then, now it has turned into a positive one. A reminder of how simple times were back then.

Of course, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows between them since the start. Yaena often preferred to leave those parts out every time anyone asks about their bond, and for good reason. After all, there were many things that were best to be left as secrets between them and them alone. After all, if it was scandalous for them to even be in their quarters together before marriage, imagine how the public would react if they discovered what they have gone through on the night where he found out about Yaena's curse.

Yet Mara and Calum weren't like the ordinary public. So he couldn't help but wonder how much Yaena would choose to tell them.

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

"Arrogance is unbecoming," Calum said, and anyone who knew him for any amount of time would know how hilarious it was that he of all people had anything to say with humility. "I don't need power I need speed." He retorted, and this time he was able to expertly move his foot away before his sister kicked him and he grinned at that.

Were the four actually...becoming friends? Or friendly at the very least? Yaena and Briar had to sit through many dinners with new couples, and it was a mixed bag. Hell, Yaena had a bet with him that within a month the widowed Lord Aardeth was going to ask Briar if he had his royal blessing to marry Lady Reina and that would simultaneously be the worst and best conversation that they'll ever have. But, this was easy, maybe it was because they had no need for formalities now. Calum was her brother so they could talk to each other however they wanted and at this point Calum was perhaps the only other person with who Briar could be as vulgar as he wanted.

At Mara's question, Yaena couldn't help but blush, looking up at Briar before looking down. They've been married for months now, and they even had a baby together but there were times when she still felt like a blushing schoolgirl around the boy she was infatuated with. "Well, first he's easy to look at," Yaena grinned mainly because her husband was like a peacock whenever she complimented him.

Yaena genuinely wanted to give Mara and Calum a real answer, while she and Calum were so close that no one answer would change their relationship, she wanted to show Mara that Yaena viewed her as an "equal" and wished to be her friend. A few months ago, Yaena was finally getting familiar with her own mother-in-law (one would assume that having Selantheia as a mother meant that nothing could scare you, but the opposite was true) and she was so intimidated at first that everything she said was stammers. While Mara was clearly more comfortable around her, she was sure it was strange to meet yo ur queenly sister-in-law.

"Remember the first nickname you had for me? Before still felt a childlike glee when she remembered the first family dinner. Befre you called me Sali?" She asked Briar with a teasing but fond grin, what was funnier than their first meeting was their first dinner. It's been over a year since then but Astraia remembered feeling so smug when she pulled her little 'may I just say trick.' They were only a bit older now, but when she looked back she felt older and hopefully wiser. It just reminded her that they had really built a life together.

Looking back at Calum and Mara, she smiled, and put her hand on her amulet, while she would never reveal what happened, especially in a public place. Briar would definitely know what she was thinking right now, hell he probably knew what she was thinking when he saw how uncomfortable she initially was in this place. "He knows me better than literally anyone." And that included Calum, although her relationship with the similar men was so different that it couldn't be compared. There were things Calum knew about her, especially of their childhood that Briar didn't know. "I mean it every little thing, and for some reason, I didn't manage to scare him off and how can I not love someone like that?" She was not good at talking about her feelings, it was a journey for her to be comfortable fully expressing herself around her husband so she was blushing.

Yaena couldn't resist kissing him, if only so that he wouldn't tease her, only to hear Calum make a fake gagging noise.

----

Yaena insisted on showing Calumher new familiar, ignoring any comments Briar would make as they went into the woods.

While Calum wasn't drunk, he was tipsy, having drunk enough ale that even he could feel it. Whenever Briar had a drink, Calum would too as though they were entering into a competition to see which man could drink the most. A competition, that Yaena thought was absolutely ridiculous and almost exciting. She had seen Briar drunk oly once in her life, and he was a loud drunk. Calum was loud sober, and he was even worse once something triggered him.

What a group they must have looked like! How common was it to see a group where it was half-elf, and half-human and both humans were from Zhicra? If Mara had any prejudice towards Yaena, she did a good job hiding it because Yaena found herself feeling affectionate for the young elf. Despite the fact that Mara was most likely older than her Yaena viewed her a bit like a little sister (an exciting prospect as Yana had always wanted a younger sibling).

The ground was damp, it had rained in the evening, and although it has since past, it left a bursting of life. Although it wasn't her ancestral woods the way the forests Zhicra boasted were, she could still feel how alive everything was. In the end, blood was life, and not only could she hear the heartbeats of her three companions she could feel all the animals around her and sometimes, they sensed her.

Yaena closed her eyes, and reached out, trying to bring her familiar so it could reveal himself, Naraxes was waiting for her to come and eventually a huge shadow looemed closer. A shadow bigger than everyone else's combined, a shadow used to scare children.

"What the fuck did you bring us out here for?" Calum asked, putting a hand on the hilt and for the first time Yaena realized that he was in fact armed.

Little Naraxes hopped down on the tree, and probably everyone but Calum was laughing.

Yaena, being a good sister, at least kept it to just graceful giggles before scooping Naraxes up in her arms, "You're right, he's terrifying isn't he?" However, Calum wasn't laughing.

"No, I saw one of these before, watch this," Calum asked and put his hand down to tell Yaena to put Naraxes down on the floor, and she did.

Calum whipped out his sword and made a move as though he was about to cut the little creature, and Yaena's eyes widened in horror, "What the fuck are you doing?" She demanded, putting her hand out so she could use her powers to stop him.

However, Naraxes would move to stop him, first his little nubs of wings grew until they were perhaps the size of Yaena (who was by far the smallest person here) and then Naraxes body grew to be in proportion, going from a small adorable creature who would be smaller than even Daella, to an imposing dragon who was now staring right at Calum with luminous blue eyes. His scales were black and red, and even in the light, you could see their color. Perhaps it was fate, after all, dragons were on the sigil ofYaena and Calum's family house and they did wear a lot of red and black. Even without touching it, Yaena could feel the heat meant from him, and it reminded her of Briar whenever he had to hold down to his anger.

 

[Average.]

Of course at the compliment Briar's chest swelled with pride, and a smug smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he rose his chin slightly. He was proud, and he clearly had no intention of hiding it. Of course to him, Yaena didn't even need to tell him that as he already knew of his good looks, yet it was still nice hearing it from her. Compliments from no one else would mean as much to him as compliments coming from his wife.

Remember the first nickname you had for me?

Briar couldn't help but smile at that, with both fondness and amusement. Back when they knew so little about each other, back when they didn't want to be anywhere near each other. "Mhm. Brat." he grinned with a slight knowing nod.

Mara couldn't help but laugh. "When Calum refused to leave me alone I also had a little nickname for him too." she said. "Hmm.. what was it again?" she glanced at Calum, her ashen brows raised. "Prick? I think that was it."

Of course, after Yaena has told them a little more about their relationship, if Yaena hadn't kissed him at that moment he would have kissed her instead. If they weren't in public the kiss would have definitely been more intimate and would have lasted longer, and he would have absolutely loved to savour the moment just that little bit longer-

And then he heard Calum's gagging noise, and he turned to face him. An amused smile appeared on his face, yet it wasn't special because he was smiling. Briar has been very smiley all evening so far. No, what was significant about it was that he was smiling genuinely at Calum. This was probably the friendliest Briar was planning on being towards Calum for the rest of the evening,

__________

Briar was just as tipsy as Calum was at this point, he could tell from how persistent that warm feeling in his chest was. And how he would laugh at almost anything. While Briar was no alcoholic, he did enjoy to drink when there was an opportunity. He knew himself well enough to know that his mood would generally get happier - to the point of it almost being ridiculous.

Yet still despite his bright mood, was he happy about Yaena dragging them out into the woods? Absolutely not. He would have preferred to sleep in that tavern on the dirty floor rather than go out into the forest just to meet that tiny derpy-looking lizard again. Okay, maybe he was over-exaggerating, he would have much rathered if the floor was clean. However, when he noticed the shadow, his eyes widened with wonder.

Perhaps he would have been a little more worried if he was completely sober, yet it didn't take long for the tiny creature to reveal himself. He couldn't help but break into laughter at Calum's fear, yet before he could even keep up with what was happening next, he caught a glimpse of the glint of light reflecting on Calum's blade as he rose his sword as if he was aiming to cut the little creature.

Everything happened so fast after that, and he at first wasn't certain if what he was seeing was real or if he was just hallucinating. For some reason, he was no longer staring at an adorable little lizard, but a hulking scaled beast, with giant membranous wings that barely had any room to move around within the forest's lushness. He too could feel the heat emanating from it, and soon Briar was able to piece together that he was staring at a dragon.

A goddamn fucking dragon.

All Mara could do was freeze in fear. She was perfectly aware that all it took was one wrong move and the dragon could snatch her up into his massive jaws and rip her apart limb by limb. Out of instinct she grabbed Calum by the upper arm and yanked him closer to her so that he could at least be near her. Him being near her brought her comfort, at least about as much as one could have while in the presence of a real dragon. While she couldn't protect him with her abilities as they were not meant for such a thing, all she could do was silently pray that at least Calum had some sort of plan up his sleeve if the dragon did decide to attack.

But what if she did use her powers on the beast? What secrets could the mind of a creature such as this even hold? All she could do was wonder, as she wouldn't even dare cast her magic upon such a creature, not while they were all at it's mercy.

Yet Briar didn't seem to have reacted the same way, and instead his face brightened up with excitement. "Holy shit... it's a fucking dragon!" he exclaimed and he ran over to the dragon and threw his arms around it's leg. Even the dragon's leg was larger than him, and yet somehow this idiot thought it was a good idea to hug it.

Well, if there was anyone in this group who had the worst survival instincts, it was Briar. Mara stared at the blonde idiot- at the king of Eurus blankly, uncertain about whether to keep her mouth shut or not. "Ehem, excuse me, but are you perhaps short of a marble?" she snapped, clinging to Calum's arm tighter. She chose not to keep her mouth shut.

Since Briar was a total bookworm since the day he has picked up his very first book, of course a book about dragons has been on his reading list before. He couldn't help but wonder; how old even was this dragon to be able to achieve such a massive size like it was nothing? According to the book that he has read, dragons have been hunted to near extinction by humans. He didn't doubt that elves would have done the exact same thing if they had the chance however it wasn't heard of for dragons to be roaming in elvish lands. Dragons for some reason preferred to stick to human regions, which gave humans the perfect opportunity to hunt them.

That was centuries ago however, when humans could afford to pour the lives of their soldiers into fighting dragons rather than war. And Naraxes must have survived due to his unique ability to be able to shrink into such a small size.

Of course, one of the first things that have popped into his head was how useful a beast such as Naraxes could be in war, yet even if such an idea crossed his mind, he didn't want to mention it out loud to anybody, and especially not Yaena. She was never enthusiastic about war, and he doubted that she would ever want to send her familiar out onto a battlefield. He could understand that, as even he was hesitant when he took Talula out into battle when the Iron Forces tried to invade Eurus. He had a bond with Talula since the day she hatched out of her egg, and even if Naraxes didn't know Yaena his entire life, Briar could still sense that there was a bond between the hulking beast and Yaena already.

Thank the Gods for the dragon's ability to turn into a small lizard, as they could never get away with bringing a damn dragon back to Eurus. Of course Yaena would want to bring Naraxes with her to Eurus, whether Briar liked it or not, so the fact that the dragon could basically become pocket-sized was definitely handy.

"I wanna' fly it." Briar grinned.

"A terrible idea!" Mara hissed, turning to Yaena with hopeful eyes. "Yaena please don't listen to your husband, surely you got more sense than he does, right?"
Little did Mara know was that she was asking this of two people who decided to destroy a woman's room that one time just because they felt like blowing off some steam.

"Please, please, please sali!" Briar pleaded. "It would be like flying Talula, except even better!"

"Everyone's going to see you!" Mara growled. "The second that fat lizard is going to take off I bet you my entire life savings that alarm bells are going to ring out all over Leara the second someone spots it."

"... There's a shit ton of trees covering the city." Briar muttered.

"So what?" Mara hissed, narrowing her eyes. "They'll still see it. It's a giant dragon, for fuck's sake."

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Who would have thought that out of the two couples here, Calum and Mara would be the ones who responded reasonably to a fucking dragon? In any other time, Calum would have loved to tease Mara for clinging to him, but instead, despite being the one who 'triggered' the dragon, he just wrapped his left arm around Mara's waist, while keeping his right hand on his sword. It appeared to be that Calum would have to update his nickname as he was very clearly not the last dragon anymore. How many times have he and his siblings run around the house and pretend that they were fearless dragonriders? "Yae how did you even find this thing?"

Yaena bristled at her brother calling Naraxes a thing, "He has a name, I named him Naraxes." A name that might get her in trouble if anyone in Eurus found out, she didn't seriously think that she was going to bring the lizard to Eurus when they first met, and she thought it would have been funny to give the endearing creature a dragon name. Naraxes was a dragon ridden by Yara Narayan, a Zhicran warrior queen and who used to be Yaena's absolute favorite person to read about when she was a child.

Despite Briar going straight towards it, Yaena found herself being hesitant, like Briar she was also a very bookish child (and a very bookish adult), and she probably read even more books about dragons than he did given her family history. There were books written on the hunting of dragons, on the maintenance of dragons, and most importantly on the riding of dragons. It was written that the bond between dragon and rider, once formed could only be broken by death. Dragons were not pets to be ordered around, they were partners, companions, Yaena would be at her strongest when she was around Naraxes and Naraxes would be at his strongest when he was around/

"I was in the woods, wanting a quiet place to practice some spells for..." Usually, she would have no problem speaking of her mother, especially in the woods, but this situation was so magical that she was afraid that perhaps Selantheia had something to do with it. "I was frustrated with the lack of progress so on a whim I decided to do a familiar spell." Basically, you drew blood and then sent a call into nature in order to ask if any animal wanted to become your magical companion. Usually, the animal represented yourself and she found it so amusing that nature sent her back a little lizard but now...

Briar was begging her to ride it, and Mara reasonably was against it. On the one hand, Yaena of course wanted to ride it, who wouldn't? But Mara had a point, dragons have not been reported in over a century at least and that was if you included the reports from drunkards and crackpots. However, how bad would it be? It wasn't like people would assume that the four people here rode the dragon, hell it was more likely that people would assume it was just a giant snake and that being so close to the great renewal allowed them to hear things.

"I am more reasonable than my husband," Yaena reassured Mara before grinning despite herself, "But not by much," Which if that didn't describe their relationship, what did. "I should...ask him first." Never, in recorded history has there ever been an incidence of a dragon speaking. But she believed they could communicate.

Yaena tentatively took a step forward, her small hand out, she wanted to close her eyes but she needed to be brave. She couldn't even reach Naraxes head but he lowered his scaled head for her so that Yaena could place her hand on his forehead. She wondered if Naraxes had ever had a rider before, how old must he be? He might be one of the few beings on Earth who could rival Selantheia in experience. As she felt the scales, the warmth went through her body, "Can I?" She asked softly.

She could feel Naraxes searching inside of her, as though he could see all her memories and feel everything she felt. Yaena was supposed to be the master in this relationship, but she felt humbled.

Naraxes breathed through his snout, steam coming out due to the cold night air, and he further lowered himself. Yaena knew enough from reading to know that, she would have to be the one to get on his back first, and then everyone else would be able to. Dragons were willing to fly anyone...as long their main rider was on their back.

She felt uncomfortable riding a hippogriff and that at least had a saddle and stirrups, now she just had to pray that her family instincts would help her lead her way. She didn't notice them at first, but Naraxes had long black horns that she used to steady herself. If the dragon felt pain from the queen gripping onto his horns, he didn't show it, and eventually, to her disbelief...she was on the back of a dragon. The scales were rough and pressed against her legs, and even if she fell off from here she would be injured, but that didn't matter at all.

Yaena knew she wouldn't have to ask Briar to get on so she looked at Calum and Mara, "How embarrassing would it be if the last dragon was afraid of a real one" Yaena teased before taking a more logos filled approach with Mara, "They may see the dragon, but they won't see us, and besides, Naraxes can turn into a lizard so they won't find anything."

Calum turned to his wife, turning her around so that his arms were on her side, his sword was now holstered as he could tell the dragon at least was found of Yaena, "I'm only going if you go." He grinned, despite the situation. When would be the next chance they did this? Especially them? He didn't like to think about it, but eventually, Yaena and Briar would return to Eurus and Calum would have to go back to pretending that he was anyone but himself.

He would honor his word and whatever Mara decided to do, whether it goes home in disbelief or take a risk, she would do it with her husband by her side.

Up top, Yaena turned to Briar with a grin, "This is an interesting role reversal huh?" She teased before growing silent as she focused on Naraxes, she could feel his powerful heartbeat beneath her, sense the blood that went through him. Up she urged mentally, up.

Naraxes began to walk forward, as though making sure that everyone on his back (though mainly Yaena) was secure before he went from walking to running. His wings were like claps of thunder and Yaena wouldn't have been able to get him to stop even if she ordered it. Whereas hippogriffs were graceful and quick, dragons were imposing, it was a scientific mystery that they even could fly.

The first thing Yaena noticed was that flying in the woods was a bad idea, she would have to pick twigs out of her hair, but the second thing she realized was that this was a great idea because as Naraxes began to elevate. All her doubts, about the dragon, about Selantheia, about everything disappeared. Naraxes was smart enough to remain high enough above the trees that Leara might think a thunderstorm was coming. While Naraxes wasn't as fast as a hippogriff, he was surprisingly swift for a man his size, being able to cover the distance of the city easily. While Briar's first thought was of war, Yaena's first thought was how much easier it would be to travel if they could travel by dragon back rather than by horse or ship.

___​

All good things ended eventually, this had been the most enjoyable day she had since she landed in Leara. For a night, she got to just be around people she cared about, she didn't have to be a distant queen or make plans on how to kill a goddess, she just got to drink with her friends. Or more accurately, she got to watch her brother and husband drink, which was equally as amusing.

After the flight, Naraxes was around Yaena a lot more often, while he would have to leave, in order to hunt (if he was going to be big, he needed a fitting amount of food), he spent most of his day as a lizard and he liked to either be in Yaena's purse of on Briar himself. Like all reptiles, Naraxes was warm-blooded and that meant that Briar was basically like a very warm rock to him. He should be grateful that Naraxes had the sense to not lay on the king while he was in his 'dragon form.'

The hardest part of the last few days was that she couldn't talk to Calum, he followed her advice and told Selantheia that they spoke to him and now he was guarding her snake. Although Yaena wanted to at least get updates from her brother, it was better to not risk it. If Selantheia saw her or Briar talk to the young prince then their whole plan would be up and they would be back at square one and that was just not an option. Especially as the days went by.

Finally, today was the day and Leara was blooming more than it ever had before, the whole country seemed to be celebrating. Even the queen allowed her joy to show and even recommended to Briar and Yaena to visit the festival of the lights while they still had time. If they hadn't known about Selantheia, the couple probably would partake. Every nation had a holiday that was above all others and Yaena thought it was a beautiful thing to learn about a different culture, but now they would just have to focus on getting rid of Selantheia once and for all.

We can finally go home after this, Yaena wanted to verbalize it out loud, to tell Briar that they would finally return home to their daughter, but she didn't want to jinx them. She would not celebrate until Daella was in her arms.

While the city was loud in the day, all that noise dissipated at night, every believer, whether they were the queen or a stableboy had to be in their quarters, with Selantheia's special elixir. The test is to see if you have faith, even when I am not here her mother had said. Surprisingly, that made it relatively easy for Yaena and Briar to just go to the temple, all the guards were either participating, or tasked with protecting the queen while she was in such a vulnerable state.

However, while Yaena would only hear silence, Briar would hear what sounded like a teenage boy attempting to be brave.

"Get away from him!" Even if he couldn't see anything, you could imagine it said with a sword quivering in his hands.

Despite it being the middle of a battle, some elves voiced how the leader of the Iron Forces was now within swords distance of the prince. What must have it been like to see it? They've never seen Calum in armor as he had to dress formally for Yaena's wedding and he couldn't exactly wear Narayan armor when he was supposed to be just another Zhicran peasant. But, although why amnde fun of him, there was a reason he was called the last dragon.

"Fine single combat," Calum said probably with his same shit-eating grin as he played with the sword in his hand.

In stories, battles were long, drawn-out things, but this wasn't a story. The Battle of Two Princes, sounded fancy but in truth, Calum was an experienced soldier who had a little godly blood in him. He had made quick work of soldiers far greater than Lhoris which meant it wasn't surprising that what Briar heard next was a clashing of swords before a sickening gurgling sound that came from someone being impaled in the throat.

While Yaena didn't hear what preceded it, she did hear the gurgling sound, coming from underneath the main part of the temple. What would be seen was Prince Lhoris, dressed in royal armor, with a huge, bleeding wound from his throat. No, it wasn't an illusion, it was him brought back, the lifeless look in his eyes was enough to be proof of that.

 

[Average.]

In all honesty, for Briar it was difficult not talking to Calum or Mara either. Not for the exact same reasons as Yaena had of course, yet at least being around people he was familiar with brought him more comfort than being surrounded by people he didn't understand the intentions of.

Briar wished that they could have arrived at a time where there was less celebrating. One moment they had to attend a ceremonial gathering where they found out that Selantheia was here as Leara's dearly worshipped goddess, and the next they had to attend a whole entire festival. It was no surprise that Briar felt exhausted from this by now, and all he wanted to do was to return home. And Daella; he missed her so much. He knew that everything was alright, otherwise they would have most likely received a letter by now, yet still worry was pressing onto him.

However now, the city was deathly silent. Briar, despite hating the noise during the day would have actually preferred if it was day again. At least the noise felt normal to him, and while cities were generally quieter at night, they never felt this deserted. There wasn't a single soul outside, and the city felt dead. It felt eerie, and Briar wanted nothing more than to return indoors as well. He felt as if he was walking through a ghost town.

It was of course only expected of believers, however if an ordinary citizen saw Selantheia for the first time and witnessed a creature as sacred as a giant snake under her command, who would not become a believer.

The only good thing that came out of this was how easy it was to enter the temple without arising any sort of suspicion. Briar squeezed Yaena's hand just to comfort himself that she was still there by his side as they entered the temple.

Once again much like when they have entered the temple for the first time, it was shrouded in darkness. Once again, Briar's elven eyes (or eye) were proving to be very useful as he could see in the dark. He didn't understand why the temple was left like this. Temples were meant to feel warm and inviting to everyone no matter the time or day. Usually temples would be lit up inside with at least candles, but this temple was different. Perhaps this was Selantheia's idea or interpretation of what warm and inviting truly meant.

However unlike before, the darkness did not remain silent. He could hear it speak, first a mere whisper like a gentle breeze, and then gradually becoming louder and louder until he could recognise that the mysterious voice sounded like it belonged to some teenage boy. Yet it sounded so painfully familiar...

He glanced at Yaena, squeezing her hand a little harder, yet she did not seem to be showing any signs that she heard something. Was he finally going insane? Or was Selantheia trying to reach into his mind and mess with it. The latter seemed most likely, so he would not let it get to him. He tried to shut the voice out, he didn't want to listen to it, despite the familiarity of the voice practically forcing him to give his complete attention to it.

Briar suddenly stopped, as if he was frozen into place. Now there were more voices, like an orchestra slowly building up from one instrument into more instruments playing at the same time. He could imagine himself standing in the middle of a battlefield, blades clashing, men dying and screaming, hippogriffs shrieking and arrows whistling past him. He could not see it, yet the sounds were so clear that the image was so vivid in his mind that it felt real.

He just didn't understand. Selantheia was doing this, it was obvious, but what was she hoping to achieve by doing this? He would not faulter just because he could hear these things, and he would remain by Yaena's side no matter what.

Yet the second voice he could most definitely recognise. It was fresh in his mind as he spoke to him only a few days ago. Calum's voice, and from the tone of his voice he didn't need to see him to be able to tell that he was grinning.

Everything happened so fast after that. He heard blades clashing, and the sound of the battle around them seemed to have muffled, as if the memory or vision or whatever the hell this even was meant to be was trying to focus specifically on this moment. And then, mere seconds later, the clashing of blades stopped, and the battle around them went completely silent. All Briar could hear was this gurgling sound that made him feel like bile was rising up his throat, and he didn't notice that his hands were beginning to shake slightly.

He still felt confusion, yet it didn't take long for it to be cleared up like fog fading away.

"Lhoris?"

He sounded like he was in disbelief, and like he has been punched several times in the gut. No, no this was not Lhoris. Lhoris died, and he thought that he has made peace with that. He has made peace with it, when before he was convinced that he never would, he wanted to believe like he has. And now... how could he believe in anything anymore?

Even through his lifeless eyes that held no light at all, his messy hair, deathly pale skin, bloodied armour and that disgusting wound on his throat... Briar was still able to recognise that this was Lhoris. He wanted to believe that it was an illusion, that he was truly going insane and that this was all just some horrible nightmare. But now, Yaena was showing signs on her face that she could see him too, and that this was no illusion at all.

And Briar would have preferred to be tortured for another thousand years by Selantheia and Camden than see this.

He would have been enraged, yet instead of heat emitting from him like it usually would whenever he was angry, he felt like he has gone cold instead, like a corpse. If he was able to see past his grief, he would have felt anger, and would have wanted nothing more right now than to bring Selantheia the most pain ever imaginable for doing this to Lhoris. He should have been allowed to rest, and not be dragged into this even in death.

Yet right now, Briar wanted nothing more than to get to him. He didn't care if it was a trap, he didn't care if he would fall into Selantheia's clutches all over again. He didn't care if all he was right now was a mouse heading closer and closer towards a mouse trap. All he wanted was to get to him.

And he did. He didn't listen to any warning Yaena might have said to him, he was shutting her out completely at this point. He almost stumbled forward, legs feeling like brittle, fragile sticks that could snap at any second. Lhoris stood and waited, and it was impossible to read from his expression what he was feeling. Most likely, he could feel nothing.

Soon, Briar was close enough to him, and he wrapped his arms around his dear brother, pulling him into a tight hug. He felt so cold, yet how could Briar expect anything else? "I-I've missed you, you know that right?" his voice was shaking, he was shaking, and his heart was beating to hard that it was threatening to break it's way out through his chest. Yet only now was he able to shed tears, as before he felt so shocked that he barely could even muster up the ability to speak.

Yet Lhoris said nothing at all. He didn't return the hug either, and he stood there like an emotionless statue.

And that was alright. Briar didn't need to hear him speak. It was enough that he was here and that he could at least see him one more time. Even if he was no longer in his prime to say the least, it was enough that he was here, and that's all that-

One moment he was hugging his brother, and the next he was suddenly feeling a sharp burning in his lower abdomen It wasn't the same as when Selantheia used her powers on him, yet it still was enough to make him wince. He slowly looked down, only to see Lhoris tightly holding on to the hilt of a dagger which he has plunged right into him, into his flesh. Through the searing pain he felt the warm of his blood which seeped through his clothing and dripped from the stab wound.

Yet Briar didn't react, and through his shock all he could do was let out a breathy laugh. "I-I know I should h-have done something.." he managed to say despite the pain, through the tears, every word more difficult than the last. "A-And if you hate me, I w-won't blame you. I-I could have talked father out of it, couldn't I? To n-not send you into battle."

Yet even Briar didn't have the will to look into Lhoris' eyes, as even if they were lifeless, he was terrified to see if there would be any hate in them. He could accept that his brother hated him, yet actually seeing the hate in his eyes whenever he looked at him? That was something that Briar didn't know if he'd be able to bear.

If Briar did look up to face Lhoris' stare he would have seen that his words have not moved him at all, and instead the prince chose to twist the dagger he was holding. It was an effort for Briar not to cry out, and he bit his tongue so hard that it bled. "Y-You have no idea, Lhoris.." he continued on. He had so much he wanted to say to him, so much before he'd disappear again, and he'd most likely never get the chance to see him again after this. Was this the punishment that Selantheia has chosen for him? For sending her into a whole year of endless torture, for stealing away her puppet that she once called her daughter? Because if it was... it has already broken him. "If I could h-have died on that b-battlefield instead of you I would have, I swear Lhoris, I would have."

His brother deserved so much more than him. And instead, his life was wasted away all because of one father's irrational decision. How could Briar have ever been happy? He had a wife and a daughter that he loved more than anything in the world, and he was happy while Lhoris was a corpse, rotting away in the cold below the ground. Forgotten.

He forgot about him, he was able to push aside his grief for the sake of his wife and daughter no matter how much it still hurt. He was loved and cared for, while his brother would never know what it's like to be embraced by someone ever again.

Lhoris... he was right to hate him. How could he ever be content with anything after being forgotten like that?

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

When Briar squeezed her hand, she looked up with concern. Unfortunately, despite having two eyes, those two eyes were human and she could barely see past her own arms, she tried not to let it scare her. To be honest, Selantheia wasn't any more dangerous in the dark than she was in the light. Although she couldn't fully sense Briar's face, she could tell that something was hurting him and she squeezed his hand back. Her mother was behind this, it was foolish to think that Yaena knew all her tricks. Her mother had been alive for centuries, she had powers that were practically inconceivable.

But the gurgle happened and Yaena ran, it was, unfortunately, necessary that in order to take Selantheia down, that they would have to risk the lives of thousands of Learans who had done nothing more than have faith in their goddess. However, neither Yaena nor Briar were inherently cruel people and if Yaena could prevent anyone from dying tonight she would, so they bolted.

Originally, Yaena did not fully recognize the man in front of her outside of the fact that that he was in Eurus royal armor. Yaena had seen Lhoris when she and Briar went in front of the Blood Tree and she had seen royal portraits but that was it. It was Briar's reaction that told her everything, and Yaena felt twisted. Her mother would never be able to surprise her with the level of cruelty, but this was another level and because she was not as brought down at grief as her husband. All she wanted in the world right now was to put Selantheia through the exact same thing, she didn't just want Selantheia to suffer, she wanted to be a part of her suffering.

God, she had no clue what to say to Briar right now, watching her husband hold onto his dead brothers body, it wasn't like they never talked about him before, they had Calum's assholeish demeanor to thank for that. But this was different, all she could do was wrap her arms around him, this was what Selantheia wanted, she probably wanted to see them as broken as possible before she finally ended their lives.

"Please," She whispered noticing now that he stabbed her husband and if Selantheia wanted to think of a fucked up way to kill someone, she found it and by instincts, she began to heal any wound"None of this was your fault, if you loved him then he knows you love him now." She whispered, it was something that Inka whispered to her when her father died, and it had been one of the few things that managed to keep her sane "I know this is hard, but we have to go, she's probably expecting us to be here.." And then her voice grew silent.

She heard a baby cry from upstairs, where they were previously and her blood turned cold. When she saw Lhoris' corpse, Yaena tried to harden herself in preparation for anything Selantheia would send for her. Would she dig up her father or brother's corpse? Or perhaps she would try to torment her by saying that all her family hates her now. It didn't matter, she would be prepared for it, and she was not going to let her mother even think that she managed to break her.

Not taking the time to even confirm if it was an illusion or real, Yaeena burst into a sprint back upstairs. Of course, her mother would find a way to bring Daella in it, she was the one thing besides each other that Briar and Yaena loved more than anything in the world and was the one person who they would do absolutely anything for.

Only, when they went upstairs, they no longer saw the temple, they were deep in the woods, the Zhicran woods. However, Yaena forced herself to remember this was an illusion, Daella's crying must be an illusion too. She had enough of all this, why couldn't Selantheia just come and fight them? Was this really just because she wanted to play with her food, or was she perhaps scared of them?

"I know you're watching us so just get out now!" She yelled to nobody in particular.

For a second Selantheia appeared, just in the temple though in a corner, "Why couldn't you two have just taken the deal?" She hissed, her voice cold and darker than she's ever heard it, but right when Yaena looked to see her, her mother disappeared into the air. "You two could have gone back to Eurus, and lived your lives, I was willing to let that happen."

"Viria...Sarra, Rhaella, where are you?" Walking across the forest was a little girl, four years old at most, with long heavy dark hair kept in a long braid and bright purple eyes. She was trembling in the woods alone, walking with a lantern in her trembling hands. And Yaena felt a cold feeling that this was her, despite not remembering this memory. What kind of illusion was this?

The little girl kept walking, tears falling down her cheeks as she looked around, the girl wanted her daddy and even her mommy. She had just done this because her older sister told her and her friend it was a cool thing to do.

Suddenly a figure jumped out of the woods, with her hands in a 'scary' position, "BOO!" The fourteen-year-old shouted and Yaena shrieked in tears. It probably would have just been older girls hazing the younger ones, if it wasn't for the fact that there was suddenly a pop. One that she had heard once before with Camden.

One second, an adolescent noblewoman was playing a game and suddenly she was just blood, and Yaena went from an adorable scared little girl to being covered in blood and trembling.

Another older girl, one who Yaena recognized as Viria came out and was horrified, "Yaena what did you do?"

"I d-don't know," Yaena stammered before she started crying again, like back when Briar found out about her curse.

Vira slapped Yaena has hard as she could the child going back down, "You did this, you killed her," She slapped Yaena again who did not get off the ground yet and as just laying down. "You did this," There were tears in Viria's voice because what kind of person wouldn't grieve their friend.

When Viria kicked her, Yaena sobbed again, "I didn't mean to, stop you're hurting me!" She cried out trying to put her little hands in front of her face to keep her from doing it.

-

Yaena didn't remember any of this, and she had an unnaturally perfect memory, if you asked her what she had for breakfast seven days before Viria's wedding, she would tell you it in flawless detail. But she didn't remember killing anyone? Her sister had always not liked her, calling her a freak, and going out of her way to make her life miserable and Yaena had just thought it was because she wasn't a 'conventional' lady. But...was this why? She and Viria have finally started talking like adults, but was this why?

Why didn't she remember this? Her first instincts were to say this was a fake memory, to traumatize her, but now that she saw it, things were beginning to unlock in her mind. How many memories has Selantheia repressed? Memories that if Selantheia died would suddenly be let out?

If Briar saw everything, Yaena simply hoped it wouldn't change his opinion of her because they had to focus.

 

[Average.]

The last thing Briar wanted to do right now was to let go, even if the longer he held on, the longer he felt pain. He knew that the moment he would let go, it would stop. That's all he had to do, yet even that didn't tempt him. It was wrong for him to hold on like this. It's not like he will ever get his brother back, and right now his brother was only a tool for Selantheia which she was planning on using to break him. But it was then that he realised that it wasn't Selantheia who has broken him. She tried, but she didn't succeed. No, he was already broken from the day he heard the news of his brother's death, and right now all that kept him together were the people he loved.

He still had people that he loved and who love him back, and if he ever felt like he was cracking again, he could always fall back on them as he knew that they would always be there for him. Yaena, Daella... and his mother. Yes, even if it may not seem like his relationship with his mother was all that great, she was all he had after Lhoris' death. And during that dark time, Briar and his mother have been the closest they have ever been. It was often hard for him to show that he loved his mother, and it was hard for her to show that she loved her son too. It was just the way it always was. Yet at least he had someone back then, otherwise he didn't know if he'd still be standing here alive right now.

I know this is hard, but we have to go, she's probably expecting us to be here..

Lhoris was dead now, and the best thing he could do for him was sever Selantheia's control over his body so that he could rest like he deserves to. So no matter how hard it was, Briar accepted that Yaena was right. He couldn't treat this as something that can break him, but as a test. And this isn't a test from Selantheia, but this is a test from himself. He was testing himself, and this moment would prove whether he can truly put this in the past or not.

It was about time, and if he won't put this in the past now then he never will. He knew that he'll never do it for himself, if he didn't manage to for all these years then he most likely won't do it for himself now either. But he can put the past aside for his loved ones, so that's what he would focus on. He was willing to do everything for them, and while he would always grieve for his brother, he won't allow the grief to break him. Whenever he will think of Lhoris he will think of the good memories they've shared together, and not of how he was seeing him now. A bloodied corpse.

The familiar sound of a baby crying was enough to break apart his thoughts, and he sprinted after Yaena. He didn't look back at Lhoris before he disappeared upstairs. He didn't want to. Naturally, his mind first went to Daella, yet he didn't believe that Selantheia actually had his daughter here. For her own good she better not have Daella here. No, she was using her cries as a way of luring them to where she wanted them to go, and no matter how much he hated it they had to play along with Selantheia's games whether they liked it or not.

What he saw next... he didn't know what to think. One second they were inside a temple and the next it seemed like they were back in Zhicra again. And it wasn't that he was just seeing the forest, he could feel it. The air felt so crisp, and he truly felt like he was back inside that forest, heading to the Blood Tree with Yaena where they discovered each other's desires for having a child together.

He took Yaena's hand, this time not to comfort himself but to comfort her. He expected this memory or vision to be... hurtful to her, so all he wanted to do was to hold her hand and remind her that he was there by her side. But after witnessing it all, when he looked at Yaena's face all he could mostly see was... confusion. Did she not remember this? Was this perhaps a fake memory? But why would she want to use a fake memory against Yaena that had little to no impact on her?

No, there had to be something that he wasn't understanding. What Yaena said to Calum a few days ago was true; he did know Yaena better than anyone and he was proud of that. Yet there were still plenty of things that he didn't know about Yaena's childhood as why would he when he didn't even know her back then. Selantheia was no human or elf. She was a being of higher power and purpose, so it was logical for him to doubt that he has even seen a fraction of Selantheia's power.

Was it Selantheia's fault that she didn't remember this? Either way, he looked her in the eye, features softening. He wanted to silently reassure her that despite seeing this, his opinion of her didn't change a bit. She was still his wife, his sali. She was still herself and that is what he loved her for. He loved her for her.

But he too was getting tired of this. Selantheia wasn't going to break them, and all she was proving by doing this instead of tackling them head on was that she was afraid, and that she knew she was in trouble. She was always doomed to fail.

"Alright, I think that's enough Selantheia." Briar frowned, staring into the darkness. He still didn't know where she was, so he didn't even know where to look. That didn't sit well with him, but he knew how to reach into his inner fire, and he would gladly do so if- when it came to that. "We've enjoyed the show, but now I think it's time to stop hiding and get this over with."

There was silence for at least a couple minutes before he finally felt a presence. The forest around them started to melt away into this strange black goop that Briar didn't dare touch or even go near. It was like a painting being wiped away, slowly revealing the true picture behind it. They were back inside the temple now, inside that cold dark room where the statue of Selantheia and her giant snake stood.

She made them wait before revealing herself from the darkness, and she didn't even need to speak for Briar to know that she was there. He knew that presence, that aura all too well. Suppose one could call that a slight power move, because as much as he hated to admit it... this was Selantheia's domain. Here, she could shape, bend and twist reality into anything she wanted. And that included when she chose to show herself.

"A shame. And here I thought that the fun was just getting started." wherever Selantheia went, the darkness seemed to follow her, black smokey tendrils trailing after her.

"You should know what happens next." Briar snarled. "This is where it ends."

"I was hoping that it didn't have to end like this." Selantheia sighed with a graceful flick of her wrist. "This time you came for me. It could have turned out differently. You could have stayed back and let me conduct my affairs in peace and I wouldn't touch you. Imagine how Daella must feel-"

"Bring her into this again and we'll see how much you've missed being a steaming pile of nothing on the floor." Briar cut in with a glare. "Any woman who tried to kill her own daughter - not to mention while she was pregnant - can't say that she won't touch us. That's a lie, and you know it."

He knew exactly what was going to happen next, and all he could do was brace himself before he felt Selantheia's magic reach deep into him, her invisible claws plunging straight through his chest and stroking each and every organ as if they were her precious pet. If he didn't have Yaena here, the goddess would have most definitely popped him by now - not before toying with him a little of course like she would always toy with her victims. Yaena's magic was protecting him.

Even while being so far away from the lake, he could feel like it was watching over him, and not just because he had a vial of the lake's enchanted water with him. Ever since he has unlocked a part of his powers that he never even knew he had, he felt closer to the lake than he ever has before.

Yet now, Selantheia was expecting his flames to show up, and he could no longer catch her by surprise. She wasn't immune to them, the first time he burned her proved that. However now that she knew what to expect, it would be much more difficult to burn her.

And that has proven to be true. Selantheia wasn't stupid, and with Briar having his flames she would not try to face him head on. Despite his ability to see in the dark, that did not mean that he could see as clearly as he could during the day. And the dark was known for being able to deceive the eyes.

It soon became clear that Selantheia was no longer targetting Briar at all. She was targetting Yaena.

Quickly, he rushed to Yaena's side, sending his blue flames anywhere he sensed Selantheia may be hiding. The room would light up briefly in dim blue light each time his flames appeared, giving Yaena a second to catch a glimpse of where Selantheia may be hiding in the dark.
His flames were like tidal waves, one after the other, when one wave would break another would come back stronger. Yet they weren't hitting anything. Each time he sent his flames at Selantheia she would teleport somewhere else before they could hit her. It was becoming too difficult to keep up with her...

Briar's heart started to beat harder to the point where he could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Briar's magic was powerful, however it could not reach inside people like Selantheia's or Yaena's magic could. His magic was physical, and it either burned someone or it did not. It was not capable of reaching inside someone in the same way, as by the time it would the victim would most likely already be dead with their flesh burnt away into nothing.

"What's the matter?" he heard Selantheia's voice echo from the dark. It was followed by an amused laugh which sent shivers crawling up his spine. "You seemed so confident before. Why is your heart beating so quickly, Briar? Do you really think you can protect her?"

Of course she was able to notice that. He wouldn't let her get to him, he would continue to focus. He needed to protect Yaena, of course because he loved her and he wouldn't know what he'd do if something happened to her, but it was also because if Yaena dropped the magical shield that she was keeping on Briar.. he'd die in an instant. Without Yaena, he wouldn't even have the chance to summon his flames before he would've ended up a steaming pile of blood and guts on the floor.

He hated this feeling. He felt like a deer, cornered while a hungry wolf prowled it's way closer and closer to him ready to devour him piece by piece. He felt like prey, desperately trying to fight his way out, and every time he sent out his flames he felt more hopeless than before. He bet Selantheia could sense that in him too.

"Yaena," he heard Selantheia's voice echo from the dark again. "Sweetling... why don't you show your husband those beautiful fangs and claws of your again?" she sounded like she was having the time of her life right now. "You know you want to. That amulet is just a prison to you, and he already knows just how capable you are at killing." Pause. "It breaks my heart to know how much it pains you. So free it."

"Yaena, you don't have to." Briar cut in. "You don't have to listen to her, we can do this another way-"

"Oh? But I thought that your husband will accept you no matter for who you are." Selantheia chuckled. "You're a monster, Yaena. You cannot pretend otherwise. And you know that you can't keep this up much longer."

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

All she could do was look in horror, all her focus was kept on keeping Briar alive. It was less her doing a specific spell or technique and more just her powers acting to fulfill her wants. It wouldn’t look like it considering the distance between the mother and daughter. But they were dueling. Yaena could feel the pressure Selantheia was puttng on them, she wasn’t just trying to kill Briar, she was trying to actively incapacitate her.

She couldn’t look at Briar right now, because if she did she would crumble when she needed to stand strong. They were probably both reminded of their experience in Zhicra. Yaena had tried to forget about it, discarding it in the waste bin of history. They had changed since then, hell Briar practically single-handedly defeated one of the most elite fighting forces known to man but now here they were; Selantheia was holding him hostage and she was desperately trying to save him.

Calum better be winning that fight with the giant snake..

Yaena sweeting..

Hearing her voice was disgusting, to her, that was when her mother was at her most terrifying, not when she was fully demonstrating her “evilness” but when she spoke to her like a mother. Like she knew what was best. No matter how far Yaena walked, she always seemed to end up here, teary eyed, begging for mercy from her mother.

Her lower lip was trembling, of course she was fucking scared, who wouldn’t be in this situation. “Mother please.” The word mother felt disgusting on her tongue but she had tou use it.

“What do you think is going to happen Yaena?” Selantheia asked, the mocking and maternal both existing in her voice, as she continued, “Let’s say you and your husband break free and run off to Eurus, do you think that I’m not going to return?” She pushed, “Because that worked so well last time?”

She was absolutely right when it came to that, there was a part of her that thought theist solution was to throw herself in front of her mother’s feet and beg for mercy. Their best bet was to just accept that she would be a part of their lives and try to make a deal right? Perhaps they could let Selantheia rule over Leara…

Yaena put a hand on her amulet, slowly in order to not lose any strength on trying to heal Briar, in the past year, she had never forgotten about it. She was always curious about whether or not Selantheia’s cleansing ritual was real or whether or not Selantheia’s “death” meant she was free fromt he curse, but she had no way to ascertain that unless she wanted to cause a public crisis. She could feel something awaken in her, marriage, motherhood and just her generally being a happier person had made it go away but she could feel it’s teeth swirling in her.

Briar was protesting, and he was right, but just as he had to go out and run those people alive, this was her decision and she wanted to.

God she wanted to, she wanted to do everything in her power to kill her mother. Not weaken her, not move her to another realm, kill her make her into nothing. It would be so beautiful, and fitting to sink her teeth into the neck in front of her. The last time she felt this angry was when she saw the assassin inches away from killing her daughter while she slept in her crib. If she had to become a monster in order to save her family and prevent people from ever being harmed by this woman again, it would be a small price to pay.

She could feel Selantheia’s glee and that was when she stopped.

That’s the thing though, she wasn’t a monster, she used to think so but she was proven wrong. She had a husband who she loved and loved her right back, and she had a daughter who was the most precious thing in the world to her. If she was capable of having any part in the making of Daella, she couldn’t be all bad right? She was the strongest voice of peace in Eurus, and had she not been queen she would have become a doctor, she had dark traits, but she was nothing like Selantheia.

And most importantly, she would not let herself do anything that Selantheia wanted on the basis that she was the one who wanted it. Briar knew her better than anyone in this world, but Yaena knew Selantheia better than anyone. She couldn’t erase her older siblings experiences with their mother, but Yaena knew Selantheia for what she was the most. She could see it now, Yaena would allow herself to become a monster and then her mother would find a way to make it so that either Yaena kills Briar or he ends up killing her in self-defense. Both outcomes would completely shatter whichever one of them survived.

Selantheia was getting impatient now, “Are you going to do it or not? I have all the time in the world, it’s you two who have to make the decision.”

She did.

Yaena looked right at Briar, “I love you so much.” She hoped he’d remember that, and he’s make sure Daella knew that too.

Her dress was now seeping with blood, melted rubies dripping through the velvet and that she fell to the ground. Yaena had used her powers on herself before, there were times when she was the only source of blood and she preferred using herself as a subject as opposed to innocents, but this was the first time she had ever used it to hurt herself and she found that even now, it was hard.

Her mother needed her alive, she realized that now, the only reason why she was a monster is because she needed it, and while Yaena didn’t necessarily want to die she had to do something, and she didn’t know if she could hold onto longer.

At the same time, a shift happened, it was subtle, but ti could be be felt, as though a tether was released. She didn’t know why, but Yaena knew that it was because Calum, that he did it. She always knew her brother would be able to do it, outside of Briar, the one person who she had always had full faith in was Calum and he deserved it. Not only that, but Selantheia deserved to have not just one, but two of her children instrumental in her downfall.

For a second, a brief, but important second, the sight of her daughter ont he ground, and the feeling that her familiar, her own tether was dead had Selantheia release the grip on Briar, her magical claws unfurling as she moved to haemokinetically drag her bleeding out daughter to them moving her across the floor, as though she had a telekinetic ability.

For fuck’s sake it hurt, and if Yaena survived she’d have a nasty scar on her neck and chest, it’d be fitting, Briar had his eyepatch, she would have that. For the most part, Yaena had an extremely high threshold for pain, but everything was burning inside of her, it was less as though Selantheia wanted to pop her and more like she wanted to peel her from the inside out. She could see her vision fading and in one last grasp, she clenched her hand and yanked it.


In a fitting mirror, a hole was ripped through Selantheia’s neck, black blood dripping into the floor with a sizzle. It wasn’t profusely bleeding like Yaena, but the pained yell was satisfying, it wasn’t the same shriek that happened when she was burned but at least she got a nick in and distracted her and that was all Yaena needed.

 

[Average.]

He hasn't felt this helpless in a long time. All he could do was watch in horror at what was happening, what Selantheia was doing to Yaena. He tried to throw his flames at her, but every time she would just teleport away, regain her bearings and continuing inflicting all the pain she could ever bring on Yaena without killing her.

Briar wanted to cry out, wanted to beg her to stop. In the end, it was always what it came down to; begging. It was not like it ever worked, and all it did was bring that monster that called herself Yaena's mother pleasure... but even then it was instinct to beg. It was as if his inner self would always hope despite everything that Selantheia has felt sympathy before and was capable of feeling it. Perhaps if he wasn't a lowly mortal he would've understood better. It was natural for a mortal to feel these emotions, yet for a god... he wasn't so sure.

Yaena was giving everything she could to save him, while here he was; a fool. When he destroyed the Iron Forces he felt unstoppable, and now it was almost funny how suddenly the tables have turned. Now he felt like he was useless. What good were his powers if he can't protect the ones he loves? He has killed Selantheia once, but who cared when she just came back in the end? What was even the point of it all? Yes he defended his city, but if the Iron Forces weren't going to secure the city back then, they can still rebuild and try to secure it again, and this time with Selantheia's help.

It all depended how many lives Tristan was willing to sacrifice, and while still even if they were at war Briar did not believe that Tristan was a bad person. He has met him, and he trusts in his own instincts, and while as kings they cannot be friends, maybe it could have been possible. In another lifetime, perhaps.

Yet with Selantheia around, his nation would always be under threat.

I love you so much.

He didn't want to cry, not in front of Selantheia, not even in front of Yaena. While he was comfortable with showing his emotions to her, he still wanted to remain strong for her. Yet even now, he was failing. Tears welled in the corner of his eye, and all he could do was look back at her, speechless. Silently he prayed that this wasn't her way of saying goodbye. She was going to leave this place alive, no matter what it took for that to happen.

And if he ever lost Yaena... he knew that he would set the whole world afire.
He has already lost Lhoris, he wouldn't be able to handle another loss. And especially not the loss of a person that he loved most in this world. Her and Daella, they were the only people who he would go to hell and back for.

Now instead of begging Selantheia to stop, he wanted to beg Yaena to stop upon realising that she was hurting herself. He has seen Yaena use her magic before, and while it wasn't pretty, he still had nothing against it. It wasn't changing her, and it always seemed like Yaena was the one holding the reins instead of it being the opposite way around. In truth, Yaena was his inspiration to do the same with his magic when he first discovered it. He was still tempted to use it - and he has succumbed to that tempation more than once before - yet whenever he thought back to Yaena and her magic he was always reminded to never let it go to his head. He was the master of his magic, and it was no other way. At least that was what he liked to think.

However, when he saw what she was doing to herself with that magic... there had to be some other way. No, she couldn't do this, if there was anyone who was supposed to leave this temple alive it was Yaena. If he had to die then so be it, but never her. He came close to losing her before, and he'd never be able to forgive himself if he lost her now.

When he suddenly heard the gurgle and yell, for a second he felt like his worst fears came true, however when he noticed that it wasn't Yaena who had her throat ripped open but Selantheia, a wave of relief washed over him to the point where it made him feel weak.

Briar didn't care about anything else now, about the metallic stench of blood looming in the air, about Selantheia's corpse lying motionless on the floor with black blood pooling around her neck. It was as if the world has frozen around him, and all he did was rush to where Yaena was, gently pulling her closer so that she could rest on his lap. It was truly a complete turn of events, a complete turn of the table. He could vaguely remember what happened after Yaena saved him from Selantheia and Camden in Zhicra, his vision was too foggy then, yet he was at least able to hear and feel. And her voice definitely played a part in keeping him alive, except obviously her magic being the key thing.

Yet he didn't have magic that could heal, all his magic could do was destroy... at least that was what he thought.

Gods, he was panicking now, heart beating rapidly in his chest, pounding in his ears. She was bleeding out, and he doubted that she had the strength to heal herself now. He didn't understand her magic as well as Yaena herself did of course, yet he was able to understand that a lot of her magic was based on blood, whether it was the blood of others or her own.

He would let her use his blood, any amount she wanted if it meant healing her. So he would try begging her, this one time. "Use it." he hissed. "Use it." he repeated, more desperately now. Yet he could tell by her expression... that wasn't going to happen. Why was he stupid enough to think that she ever would? He knew her too well, and she would probably rather die the most agonising of deaths a thousand times over than to hurt her family.

"For fuck's sake, Yaena, just be selfish for once. Please." he begged again. He wasn't going to let her go, never was he going to let her go.

For a second, he had a thought. A ridiculous thought at that, but at this point he was grabbing at any straw he had, at anything that could give him an idea to help. He could bandage her up, but this wasn't just any wound that he could bandage up and call it a day. She was losing blood far too quickly, and time was ticking relentlessly.
The lake had the capability to heal, yet it was too selfish to heal anybody else except him. He has seen it, he has seen it's water burn her skin, and he has heard that if it wasn't for her being pregnant with Daella at the time... she truly would have died.

The last thing he wanted to think of was that damn lake, but for some reason he couldn't think of anything else now. It was as if even this far from home, that body of water still held influence over him. Before he has left Eurus for the first time to go to Zhicra, he only felt like the lake held influence in Eurus and nowhere else. But he was wrong, he was oh so wrong. He should have learned with Selantheia that underestimating gods was the worst thing someone could do, no matter if they were religious or not.

Go on. Do it or you will lose her. You know you want to. You want to be free of me, do you not?

Yes, he wanted to say. He didn't need to know what voice spoke to him, and it didn't seem like Yaena could hear it. But all that was important was that he knew what to do.

It was as if his mind went blank, like something has taken complete hold of his body and it was acting on it's own now without any need to think. He reached for the vial in his pocket, the soft cyan glow of the enchanted water inside it lighting up the area near them as if a little protective bubble was around them. His hands shook slightly, and he honestly feared that he was going to accidentally spill the water if he held the vial any longer so he opened up the vial and took a deep breath before pouring the water onto Yaena's wound.

At first it made a sizzling sound and Briar felt terrified that he only ended up hurting her even more, yet soon... a miracle happened.

The water began working away, like it was a needle sewing torn fabric back together. In a matter of minutes, her wound closed up, no longer bleeding. It was still there of course, yet only a large scar was left behind. Now they were both even it seemed - Selantheia has left a reminder of herself on both of their bodies before she perished. For the second time.

"Thank you..." he whispered, to nobody in particular, staring in both awe and shock at how beautifully the water has healed her. Just a couple months ago the lake has almost killed her, and now it did the exact opposite. It was then that he realised the unpleasant truth; he was never the master of his own powers. Since the very beginning, no matter how many hours he would practice wielding it, in the end he would never become a master. He was only a vessel, and nothing more. He could use it, but he couldn't do what he wanted with it. Not entirely.

After all, while he technically could heal... he couldn't heal who he wanted like Yaena could. It was only who the lake - or whatever entity lived inside it - decided was worthy that could experience it's healing properties. Everyone else would instead have their skin burnt off their very bones.

Normally he would have been feeling great anxiety by now without the lake's water somewhere nearby. It was what kept him alive of course, how could he not feel anxiety? Yet now he for some reason felt no such thing. He has calmed down, now that he was certain that Yaena wasn't going to die. Now that Selantheia was finally out of their lives again, at least for now.

And he? He felt fine. Shaken, but fine. More than fine.

Tears were still falling down his cheek, yet at least now they were tears of joy. "Never again, you hear?" he breathed out a laugh before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. He was trying not to sob, but it was difficult not to. He has almost lost her today, and while he couldn't promise that it was never going to happen again... he wanted to believe so for his own comfort. Nobody would ever hurt her again. And nobody would hurt Daella either.

It was as if just now he was starting to grasp his sense of reality again, and he remembered that Calum was still in the temple too. "We need to go check on Calum. Even though I bet he's fine. That idiot just refuses to die, and if he survived through my inferno, he surely was able to survive a fat oversized noodle."

 

[bambi-under-the-sky]

Yaena wrapped her own arms around him, feeling like the world was off her shoulders, was this it? Was it finally done? She was trying not to cry, but the tears were staining her cheeks as well, from pure relief, she wanted to believe that this was the end. That Selantheia was nothing more than a bad dream, and they could at least say that they made the world safer for their daughter tonight. Daella, oh they were going to see her soon, they could finally leave this place. Yaena wanted nothing more than to see her daughter again, to hold her in her arms, and she knew Briar well enough that it would take Zhicra invading Eurus to get him to part from his little girl. For everyone else's sake, they better hope not a hair was harmed on Daella's head.

Never again, you hear? Yaena found herself repeatedly nodding like a kid trying to reassure him, "Never again," She promised, looking up at him, it seemed their powers always surprised them. Yaena would love to say that she planned this whole thing but she didn't, "And you can heal too, what can't you do?" She asked jokingly, she wished she could just teleport them back to Eurus. She didn't want to be on this island nation a moment longer.

However, she remembered Calum, and she wanted to be like Briar and assume that her brother couldn't possibly be dead. He had survived worse odds and while it was strange to think, Calum also had a wife who he seemed very fond of. It wasn't just that losing Calum would hurt her (and it would, deeply), but she thought he had a life to live. He seemed happy with his new situation, he no longer had to suffer court fools and deal with the grisly side of the war, he was just a man with a sword leaving.

As they finally left the room, the implications of what they had done hit her face, it was funny. Briar and Yaena just took down a goddess, and the city didn't look different, however, the silence was now even more unsettling. Yaena had a curiosity, a morbid curiosity to see if people had really killed themselves out of faith for Selantheia. It was a thought that managed to bring down her euphoric celebration, she wanted to believe that not everyone participated, but even if that was not the case, this would be an event talked about for centuries. Thousands, if not tens of thousands of people sacrificed themselves for a petty goddess. It was something that would haunt her nightmares.

She wrapped her arm around Briar's waist, staying close to him.

The first thing she noticed was the stretch, Yaena was not a hunter, she had never even been hunting before and she couldn't say that she knew what the smell of a dead snake would be like, but it was stronger than she thought it would be. Strong enough that she noticed the smell before the giant snake.

When they walked in, Yaena could see it's lifeless eyes and noticed the bleeding gash just a few feet below. The same black goop that the illusion melted into was now around the snake, and she realized that was it's blood. Distantly, Yaena wondered if her powers would have worked on the snake, it had been a long time since she used her powers on animals. She had immense respect for Calum considering that the snake was so big that it's a body wrapped around the entire room and he only had his skills at his disposal, he couldn't release blue flames or turn people from the inside out.

Wait, where was he? It was too silent, and she immediately jumped to the worse and paled, nope. She refused to let it be a possibility that her brother was dead, not Calum. She was already preparing for how hard it was going to be for them to be apart again. But he couldn't go back to Zhicra and it would be like playing with fire to bring him back to Eurus, but she would be content with knowing that he was okay and that he seemed to find someone who didn't bore him for once.

Rather than crumbling in despair, Yaena closed her eyes and tried to follow Calum's blood, and already she could sense something wrong it felt...sticky, closer to muck than something that was supposed to give life.

And then she found him.

On the other side of the snake laid the last dragon's body, two marks on his chest from fangs most likely, his sword was by his right hand, clearly having been let go, and his usual warm eyes were closed. He was still, dangerously still and Yaena couldn't hold back the pained cry that crawled out of her throat as she practically threw herself on her knees by his body. Putting her hands on his chest, "No no no," She mumbled before she finally felt a heartbeat, albiet rather strained underneath her palms. "He's breathing," Se whispered to Briar with a relieved smile.

She waved her hands over the wounds left by the snake's teeth, the hardest part of her magic is that it wasn't astonishing, it was work, it was intricate work. She couldn't just heal Calum through her will, she had to literally separate the snake venom from his blood and guide the venom through his body and out the open wound, looking as though she was removing literal sludge out of his body. She was reminded when she had to do that spell to clone him, it was hard work but the only thing that powered her was the fact that he was her brother. On that night, she tried to ignore the fact because she didn't want to let it distract her, but now all she could think about how she was not going to let her brother die. Nope, if she could take down a goddess, she could do this.

The heartbeat got stronger but it was still weak, and his eyes sleepily opened, and Yaena sighed in relief, tears streaming down on her cheeks again, "Don't say anything, I don't know how strong you are," She whispered, "And also I don't want to have to kill you."

Despite the fact that he now was stronger, he was pale, and still clearly in pain, wincing as Yaena still used her powers, it wasn't inherently painful but it was uncomfortable to have this substance moved through your skin, "Are we in heaven" Calum's eyes then fell on Briar's and he sighed, " 'Fraid not." However he turned, and sighed, "...You know Yae...technically we're orphans now."

The realization almost made her laugh because he was right, Yaena was now officially an orphan, with her mother, and her father now being gone.

 

[Average.]

Despite their differences, Briar was still hoping that Calum was alive. Just like Yaena, he knew that he had a life to live, he had a wife who he was fond of and a future. And not only that, it would devastate Yaena, and that was something that he didn't want happening.

Upon seeing his body, even Briar began to doubt that he, Calum Narayan, The Last Dragon survived this. He has survived impossible odds, yet he feared that this snake ended up being too much for him after all, and even if he did take it down and save them, he wasn't able to save himself.

Thankfully he was proven wrong when he heard Yaena's relieved whisper.

He's breathing.

Briar loosened a sigh of relief before kneeling down next to Yaena, giving Calum a supportive pat on the shoulder when he opened his eyes. He let out an amused laugh upon hearing what Calum said next and he folded his arms to his chest in response. "Whether you would've ended up in heaven or hell I'd have dragged you out myself. You survived odds that many would've considered impossible, would've been embarassing even for you to die to a giant snake of all things."

Though he still had to admit, now that they were up close to it's body, the snake was huge, and it took up most of the space inside the room. And Calum took it down alone. With a snake this size in such a confined space it would have been overwhelming even for someone with such skill and experience and Calum had.
And the sheer fact that Calum managed to take it down made Briar respect him just that tiny bit more.

Briar stood up from the floor and cautiously approached the snake's head, as if worried that it still may be alive somehow. After all, Selantheia has returned twice, so it can't be that crazy to think that maybe the snake somehow had the ability to come back too. There was venom still dripping from it's giant fangs, creating a pool of sludgy liquid on the floor below them. Gods, Briar could hardly imagine getting bitten by this thing. He wondered how many more minutes or seconds would it have taken for Calum to actually die from it's venom. After all, he probably got a heavy dose of it, and the venom was incredibly strong.

"Alright, I feel like that's enough giant snakes for now." Briar muttered, still staring at the snake's head as if he was afraid to turn his back to it. "I don't know about you two, but I really wanna' see some hippogriffs right now."

And so they shall.

__________

For the majority of their voyage back, the two couples barely interacted with each other. Not because of any tension, but because it seemed like they really needed the privacy and the company of their own husbands and wives right now than anyone else.

Mara spent at least a whole hour yelling at Calum for putting himself in so much danger, but then right after she was done she started to hug him and she refused to let go. Never before did she come so close to losing him and she just felt so damn scared. Perhaps it was a good thing that she didn't see him before Yaena healed him as much as she could because Mara may have fallen apart upon seeing her husband like that.

Now, they were heading to Eurus.

It was crazy to think about. Mara was never much of a traveller, yet unlike Briar she pretty much always had the chance to travel without any restrictions once she became old enough. Yet despite this, this was her very first time leaving Leara. She never felt the need to leave, not even when life was at it's worst for her, so leaving now felt so... strange.

But there was nothing holding her back. She had no ties here, nobody she was close to. Her relationship with her parents was never a positive one, and she never had many close friends here. None of them stuck around long enough, and Mara seemed to be doing just fine on her own, despite her craving at least some sort of love and positive attention sometimes. After all, she was a living, breathing creature, it was natural for her to have such cravings.

The only thing that held her back a little was the fact that Leara is the only place she has ever known. At the end of the day, despite everything, this was her home. Throughout her life, she had positive and negative memories here. Yet she didn't want to cling on to sentiment, because even if this was her home, she still couldn't help but ask herself; would she and Calum truly be happy here? She didn't care about Calum's past or that he was a human, she loved him for who he is, yet that still didn't change the fact that others would not be so accepting. And even if Eurus may be no different, they have already accepted one human as their queen. It was a crazy and obsurd thought, but maybe... just maybe... they could make room for just one more human and accept him too.

When they have received a knock on their cabin door, a guard delivered them the news that they would soon be docking. She didn't know why, but her heartbeat started to increase. It was beating loudly, and she could hear it all the way up in her ears.

No, she knew exactly why she was nervous. The most obvious reason being that this city was completely new to her, even if she has heard a lot about it already and about the family that currently ruled over it. But she was also nervous for Calum. Yaena agreed to cast a spell on him before they left for the palace that would conceal his true appearance. For now, it was best if he was kept a secret.

Yet while she could also sense nervousness in Calum's eyes... there was also excitement. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth when she noticed. After all, now Calum would get to be around his sister more often, which she bet he was very happy about. And on top of that... he'd finally get to meet his little niece!

Mara was also excited about meeting Daella too. While she wouldn't consider herself as someone that was good with children, she already had a fondness for Daella even if she hasn't met the little girl before.

She bet that Yaena and Briar were also happy to return too, they must have missed their daughter so much over the weeks that they have been in Leara. If they didn't suspect Selantheia's presence in Leara, then she and Calum would have probably never even met them, and they would've remained in Leara, feeling isolated from the rest of society. While she doubted that things would be different in Eurus, at least she had a sliver of hope that one day Calum wouldn't have to hide. She wondered when that day would come. And if it would come.

"The last time you were here you were dragged to the dungeons in chains, were you not?" Mara frowned. She paused before moving closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Well this time it won't be like that, okay? We'll get to me Daella and everything will be okay. I don't want you thinking about that terrible day and just focus on the present." she smiled softly. "No matter what happens, I love you, you know that right?"

She couldn't control what he was thinking in his head right now, but she could try to comfort him.