Fantasy The Knights and the Dragon Brothers - CLOSED

[Osthavula]

CactusWren

She handled it poorly, she had. Ragnfridr's heart was heavy, but knew that nothing more that she added could make the situation better. After following Yago quietly, she was going to be seated as another prince came, curtsied normally as he questioned her identity. "I am Ragnfridr, healer of Terriah and the witch's apprentice. I meant no harm, and instead wish to offer help if possible. May I ask for your name?"

It was after that she noticed his wings. But now with her screw up, the joy of inquisitiveness did not return.

 

[CactusWren]

MJ ._. animegirl20 Osthavula
Jiro stared up at the tower, trembling. He was breathing heavily again, not realizing the two knights had followed him. He made one more sprint to the tower's doors and burst through them, startling Daiki and Yago, who immediately turned to him.

Daiki was indignant. "Jiro!! What are you doing?!"

"Zayn... where's Zayn?!"

"He's upstairs, Jiro!" Daiki said, exasperated. "What's going--?"

"Dragon... killed... in square..." Jiro said, struggling to catch his breath. He fell to his knees and leaned his body against the door frame, trying hard not to weep from the relief he felt knowing that his brother was okay. "I... I thought..."

Yago frowned and rubbed his neck, smiling apologetically down at the witch.

"...We should probably get you some water," Daiki said softly. He was about to coax the young man inside the tower when he noticed the two figures but a small distance away. "...Jiro... were you aware that someone was following you?"

 

[MJ ._.]

Pari halted as the figure of a tower appeared in the forest. "Don't tell me he already has..." She followed Jiro with more determination but didn't get too close to the tower and just stood back, watching the guy getting in. "If that's the cursed tower... then I don't want to step in there carelessly." She explained to Odette.

 

[Osthavula]

Remembering Yago's words, Ragnfridr knew that that was the prince Jiro who went out with the enchanted necklace. Though the situation seemed sudden, she pulled the chair over to Jiro so he may sit if he wants to, and looked at Yago and saw his expression. With a gentle smile back at him, her gaze was immediately directed by Daiki's word. And she too caught the sight of two people, possibly female, outside the tower. At least one of them seemed to be guarded, and halted her steps.

Seeing how Jiro was breathless, she looked to Yago again. He was the one she was the closest to here. "Should I approach them? Or should we wait?" She asked gently, almost whispering.

 

[animegirl20]

Odette picked up Jiro's glasses as they fell off his face and watched hi stumble off she then followed Pari. She was silent the whole way but she gasped as she saw the tower.

"If that's the cursed tower... then I don't want to step in there carelessly."

"You mean you think that's......" She looked at the tower again. "Intresting....so what do we do now? Wait for him to come out?" Honestly she wanted to just walk right up to the tower but she figured that probably wasn't the best idea considering she honestly had no idea what the heck is even happening.
MJ ._.

 

[CactusWren]

MJ ._. Osthavula animegirl20

Yago hesitated. He hadn't seen these girls before; he wasn't sure whether they were friends or foe. Jiro seemed horrified, but not because of the girls... unless they were the ones who supposedly killed the dragon. He wasn't really sure what to write other than I don't know.

Looking at them again, he honestly doubted it.

Daiki glanced at the girls from the inside, tilting his head curiously. "...Jiro. Do you know them?"

Jiro took one look at the girls and ruffled his hair in embarrassment. At least that was one way to show them where the tower was. "...Yes... they wanted to help us. I was going to take them here anyway, but, ah..."

Yago frowned at him.

"In that case..." Daiki waved at the two girls. "Would you two like to come in?" he called out.

 

[MJ ._.]

“Oh… seems that we have been invited in.” Pari told Odette as Daiki called them inside. “Normally I don’t trust a fairy boy with pink hair… but I’ve already trusted a drunken old man, a lousy lyric and a loony peasant… so I don’t mind keeping up with the foolishness. But you… ” She looked at the other girl with concern. “From now on I don’t know what will happen or what we should do. As a female fight I though you would like to prove yourself by some heroic act… that’s why I asked you to join this adventure. But I might be wrong… so it’s your own choice whether enter this gate and try your fate or go back to the citadel to follow your routine path toward becoming a knight.” She talked to her like an older sister then walked casually toward the entrance. “Good morning, sir. You must be Jiro’s brother… telling from your face…” She said and entered the tower confidently. “Hello… nice to meet you.” She nodded at Yago and Ragnfridr. From her pointed hat she could tell that young girl was a witch but ignored that for the moment. First, she went to Jiro, expecting him to introduce her to the others. “Are you better now? I hope you can explain what made you run like that…” She said.

CactusWren animegirl20 Osthavula

 

[CactusWren]

MJ ._. animegirl20 Osthavula
Jiro's face flushed as he turned away shamefacedly. He touched his cheek instinctively, as though concerned she was going to strike him twice. "...I sincerely apologize, but... but I thought... the dragon looked like my brother Zayn."

"Considering he's the one of the most reckless ones I have no doubt wondering why it crossed your mind," Daiki said, folding his arms. He eyed the two knights before gazing over at Jiro. "Have you told them our condition?"

"...I was getting to it, but..."

"We turn into dragons when we leave the vicinity of the tower," Daiki said, cutting him off. "The law of Teriah is to kill any dragon that is sighted, regardless of sentience. Not only is there a perceived threat, but there are rich rewards stemming from a dragon's body parts, as well as the handsome incentive of gold from the King for every dragon slaughtered. Our punishment for going outside without means of protection is certain death. In any case, in order to return to humanity we must find the witch who cursed us and plead with her to lift the spell, but it cannot be done without the ingredients for a summoning spell," he gestured toward the book that Ragnfridr was holding, "as well as her name. We promise... I promise, as the rightful heir to the throne, I will do everything in my power to bestow you rich rewards for your assistance."

He paused, and then clarified Ragnfridr's question. "My name is Daiki, and I am the eldest of the six brothers." He turned to Pari and Odette. "Have I answered your questions? Or do you have more?"

 

[MJ ._.]

“ ... the dragon looked like my brother Zayn."
“Your brother is a dragon? Let’s imagine that I believe that… what else have you gotten as a brother other than a fairy and a dragon?” She asked, tilting her head wondering if Jiro had really lost it or never had had it to begin with. She turned away from Jiro and gave her attention to the winged boy who said something about conditions.


"We turn into dragons when we leave the vicinity of the tower," Daiki said.

“So, that’s the curse?” Pari asked. As far as this she could accept their words due to Jiro’s miserable face which she never regretted slapping and the witch’s curse mentioned in the song. She patiently listened to Daiki but was shocked in the end.

“The rightful heir of the throne?! That can’t be kingdom of Teriah, can it? I mean… I know about the blessed queen and our king… none of them are or was a fairy. How can you be their child? Actually I expected Jiro to introduce us first but now… ” Her gaze shifted from Daiki at Yago and Jiro then back at the pink boy. “You might have almost similar faces… which aren’t much different from peasants of this region… but I can’t ignore that you three come from different races. Who are you? If you are truly princes of Teriah, then the only thing I can think of is that our king had had a habit of gathering mistresses of different races in his harem during his youth…” She spoke strictly and paused for a moment trying to hold back her anger then looked daggers at the first prince. “Do you understand that a prince of throne is the king of future? Let me just remind you that a fairy king isn’t suited for a nation of humans.” She said right t his face.

CactusWren animegirl20 Osthavula

 

[CactusWren]

animegirl20 Osthavula MJ ._.
Yago was impressed by Pari's thoroughness, but frowned when he glanced at Daiki.

Daiki held up a polite and respectful hand after Pari spoke, giving him time to deliberate his own response to her accusation. "These are appropriate questions. You are correct in that our appearances differ from one another," he said, icy blue eyes never breaking eye contact. His words were cool and smooth, like silk. "We are all adopted. The queen took us in as her own sons because she could not have a child of her own. Her wishes when she passed were that I was to take over as the rightful heir to the throne, and our fairy godmother gave us her blessing. Indeed I may be a fairy, but the queen refused to be deceived by appearances. Regardless, when we break the curse I will be taking my place as the King of Teriah, with my brothers ruling beside me."

Yago wrote something down in his book and handed it to Ragnfridr, so that only she could see. Daiki is a changeling. His fairy heritage is kind of sensitive to him so I'm assuming he's biting back anger in order to maintain a regal first impression.

 

[MJ ._.]

Pari’s eyes widened as she stepped a few steps backward away from Daiki as if he was breathing out poison instead of words. “The queen did…” She mumbled and sat on the nearest chair feeling dizzy all of a sudden. She was quiet for a few minutes the started talking to herself still deeply in thought.

“No royal blood, I see… and they never told us…”

She was stunned then laughed bitterly. “To think of how much I admired that queen… this whole journey was intended to become a ladder for me to climb up and in the end… all I wished for to reach in the end was… to revive to queen’s army once more. I thought she was symbol of honesty and purity but… look at them… great secrets of a kingdom… a queen’s hidden side that shadows over people without we realize it… I was so naïve…” She was grunting to herself for while before she looked up again. “It’s not hard to assume that the king wishes to get rid of you. Without you the past will be cleared from queen’s unorthodox self-righteous decision. But why are you alive yet? He could have killed you anytime. Even now, as a knight, if I was sure that he wants you dead I had to draw my sword and behead you even if your brothers were going to kill me after. Then what’s with this cursing witch’s game?” She asked seriously.

 

[CactusWren]

MJ ._. animegirl20 Osthavula
Daiki sighed, tilting his head slightly. "I figured you would be no different from the other knights." He waved his hand dismissively, cuing end of discussion between the two, and started back up the stairs. "I will check on the others."

Jiro was able to compose himself then, standing up after a moment. "I'll be honest, we figured it would be that simple, to just kill us after our mother the Queen died, but instead he had a witch put a curse on us." He cupped his chin thoughtfully and closed his eyes. "It is my belief that our fairy godmother cursed him before he could do anything to physically harm us. It... worked, I suppose-- we're... somewhat fine..." He sighed. "I feel as though our fairy godmother has all the answers to these questions, but we don't know where she is."

"In regards to the witch... it's hardly a game," Jiro added, walking over to Ragnfridr to glance at the list. "We must gather items scattered around the land in order to create a summoning spell. We hope that by bringing the witch here... we'll be able to bargain with her to lift the spell from us. If she was bought to cast the curse on us... she can be bartered to take it off. If not..." He glimpsed at Yago. "...Well. I think we'll be willing to risk our lives in behalf of our freedom. Self-righteous that you are, nobody should have to live like this, and damn it I'll be sure that every one of those knights actually carry the title of our protectors with honor. I refuse to let anybody else be treated the way we were."

 

[Osthavula]

CactusWren

Ragnfridr was glaring at Pari when she dare challenge Daiki's heritage and the right to rule. It was one thing to doubt a stranger's word, or even curses, but to attack an intelligent being with its birth as a human... All of a sudden casting curses at her back seems tempting, though Ragnfridr had never casted a curse at someone before. She was seeing now, the shadow of the Terriah's knights in that one female standing in front on her. She was glad that Yago was trying to talk to her when the anger was only building up.

But it wasn't much help. The more her voice talk, the more blood rushing to her head. The amount of self-control she had to hold was strong, and still when she wrote on the page and handed it back to Yago, the writings were a little more tilted.

One word of you, and I'll silence her throat. We can send her away and just let the memory spell take hold.

With that, she moved half step closer to the prince, just in case she got angry enough to bounce on Pari and someone could stop her. Never get physical when you are in argument, Brynhildr taught, never let people hold that you are the first fault. Argue with reason, with logic, and when you are at the position of being attacked, strike hard.

The words resonanced in her mind as she desperatly hold it, trying to refrain the urge. If the female did so much as pulling out her sword, Ragnfridr will make sure she hurt no one but herself.

 

[MJ ._.]

“You seem to be more reasonable than your winged brother.” Pari told Jiro, calmer than before then stood up and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for bothering you so far… specially about slapping you. That time I thought I was helping but… this is no place for me.” She said then looked at Odette and Ragnfridr. “Sorry ladies, I’m leaving this adventure for good.” Pari looked around the tower and faced Jiro again. “You might be right about the king being unfair to you but I’m not in place to judge a king about his behavior toward his family. Helping you is the same as starting a rebellion. Going against king’s will is a great crime… if I get involved my family may suffer or even be destroyed… and your throne prince is a prince yet. He has no right to move against his king. Actually even if you weren’t cursed and the king simply ordered you to avoid leaving this tower, you had to obey him… by the way, this has nothing to do with me anymore…” She said and walked to the exit. Before passing the door she looked back and gazed at Jiro’s eyes once more. “Please don’t ruin other people’s lives for your own freedom.” She asked him humbly then left the tower.

With each step that she took away from the tower, her memories about visiting that place fainted away. As soon as the building disappeared from her sight she had forgotten everything about it. Pari stopped in the middle of the forest wondering what she was doing there. “Oh yeah… the song. I left pride in the citadel to search for the tower mentioned in the lyric…” She told herself and looked ahead to see the walls of citadel in front of her. “Why am I returning so soon? I must have been lost… I just have to try the opposite direction.” She thought and returned from the path she had come. After a while she was back to the tower. “Oh my God! I can’t believe I’ve found it so easily…” She thought and hesitated before getting closer but just like before she decided to try her chance and entered easily as the door was still open. “Hello… I’m…” Her happy face turned dark as she recognized the company she had left some minutes ago. “Damn it… I was about to leave but I forgot that I had been here before… it… it feels like I’m curse…” She hit her forehead by palm of hand and bit her lower lip. “That damned song… when I forgot about this tower it brought me back here again… is it going to continue endlessly?” She exhaled looking outside desperately. “My father was right; I’m a fool, going after a mere lyric… for what? I deserve this punishment for aiming so high… but… no one could have guessed that the song itself could be enchanting… oh my God… am I under spell of that old man? Was he a wizard or a fairy in disguise? I am I simply a fool that makes everything worse?” She covered her face with her hands wondering if she could meet her family again.

CactusWren animegirl20 Osthavula

 

[CactusWren]

Osthavula animegirl20 MJ ._.
Jiro shrugged. The overwhelming disappointment was there, but it wasn't as though this had never happened before; Odette was still there, even if she hadn't offered her input, as well as the witch who seemed like she wanted to help them. "As you wish," he said smoothly. He sighed. "What you perceive as selfishness, we perceive as justice. We wish you happy trails, then. I hope you get to find what you're looking for."

He turned to Yago and Ragnfridr quizzically. "...And who are you?" he asked the young witch.

Yago wrote, Ragnfridr. She's interested in partaking in the quest with us.

Jiro relaxed. "...I see. Well, how about you, Odette?" the man asked the young woman. "It's understandable if you wish to leave along with Pari... it's indeed a dangerous quest, but we promise the rewards will be great. We--..." His voice faded when Pari came back. He perked a brow and then glanced at Yago. "I didn't think the Forget-Me spell worked this fast..."

It usually doesn't? It doesn't come into effect for at least twenty-four hours.

"Hm... perhaps you were hit with an insanity spell," Jiro quipped, examining Pari curiously.

Or she really is a fool, Yago wrote. He showed his book to Jiro but Jiro quickly snapped it shut and threw it across the room.

 

[MJ ._.]

Pari looked at Jiro questionably. “I’ve lost it? Thanks for support but sadly it’s probable. That’s why I hate magic…” She said. Then notice Ragnfridr’s disdainful face. “No offence, miss. You already have noticed who I am… my name is Pari if you are interested and I’d appreciate it if you introduced yourself as well. It’ll be useful at least while I’m stuck here thinking of a way out…” She spoke to the young witch trying to clear part of her hatred toward her.

CactusWren animegirl20 Osthavula

 

[Osthavula]

MJ ._. CactusWren animegirl20

Her arms crossed when Pari address her. "Ragnfridr. Nice meeting you." She said, her tone as cold as ice. "And nice knowing you were 'cursed' as well. "

She had little sympathy towards Pari, and before Pari talked more she turn to pull a chair and seated herself. From her bag, she swiftly pulled out her book of potion, opened it from the back where there was blank pages, and seated the other book with the original recipe on its side. The anger was still scorching when she took the pen, so she became quite hesitant to copy the recipe knowing her writing will be a bit messy.

"Just tell whenever you dicided to help. The tower is not going anywhere. Neither the memory spell."

She added, without looking at the girl directly. It appeared like Ragnfridr was reading while she was actively trying to calm herself.

 

[MJ ._.]

Pari leaned against the wall, watching Ragnfridr scribbling with rage. "Just tell whenever you decided to help. The tower is not going anywhere. Neither the memory spell." Said the witch. “Help, huh?” She replied indifferently then walked over to her and had a look at the list she was copying. “I may have been jinx by insanity but these ingredients won’t be gathered by witted volunteers!” She mentioned the hardship of gathering all magical substances sarcastically. She looked up at the busy girl finding her so determined. “What makes you so hot about this task? Looking at your small package I can tell you have arrived just today. How much do you know these guys and why would you need to free them?” She asked curiously as it wasn’t witchlike to go around helping troubled royal members.
CactusWren animegirl20 Osthavula

 

[CactusWren]

MJ ._. animegirl20 Osthavula
"Hey!!" Zayn cried out, sticking his head out from the corner of the stairs. "So like, we pushed the guy back through the mirror so everything's good now!" He paused and blinked at the three girls in the living room. "...Huh."

"Hello, Zayn," Jiro said, laughing dryly, "This is Pari, Odette, and Ra... Ra..." He hesitated.

RAGNFRIDR, Yago wrote in huge letters, holding the book up at Zayn.

"...I'm gonna call you Raggy, if that's okay?" Zayn said, coming down the final steps. He was huge in comparison to his other brothers; tall, well toned with muscles, dark-skinned, but he didn't look intimidating. In fact he looked the complete opposite-- warm, open, and friendly. "What happened to Daii? He seemed kind of upset."

Yago and Jiro exchanged glances.

"We'll tell you about it later," Jiro said.

"Alright," Zayn wandered over to the kitchen. "Are you ladies hungry? We can whip you something right up."

 

[Osthavula]

CactusWren MJ ._. animegirl20

Feeling her presence behind her back, it didn't quite help Ragnfridr with her inner pressure. "I can combat the memory spell, thank you. And though I don't know these princes, I do know knights who are full of themselves and the opposite of helpful when one needs help... "

That was when Zayn came, ignorant of what had happened before, and was confused about her name. The nickname he came up with made her cringed internally, but then her expression soften by a lot. "Call me Winter if you have to. " She said, back to her usual gentle voice. "And only if you don't mind. I can collect some food from the forest as well. "

 

[MJ ._.]

“So you are implying that the fairy prince is going to get rid of knights once he dethrones his foster father?” Pari asked the witch in monotone. He looked up in responses to a manly voice talking about throwing a man out of a mirror. She was so curious to know what that meant but her experience with the other guys had taught her to not question these princes too much and Zyan’s bulky built didn’t help at all. “Thanks, don’t bother yourself at all.” She replied the black young man’s answer casually. Ignorant toward Jiro and Yago, she decided to answer his other question too. “He is sulking because he has failed at defending his wings.” She said simply. “Other than that, I’m clueless about what’s going on here. Your brother told me about your quest for freedom but he forgot to give enough explanation about residents of this tower. So unfortunately I have no idea who you might be… our why would you like to toss people to mirrors… normally the mirror will break.” She said. For some unknown reason she felt it was easier to chat with that young man.
CactusWren animegirl20 Osthavula

 

[CactusWren]

MJ ._. Osthavula animegirl20
Zayn laughed. "Personally I think 'Raggy' sounds cuter, but I'll definitely call you Winter instead if you want." He ducked into the kitchen to start preparing a snack for the guests.

He poked his head out briefly to look at Pari in surprise, and then spoke loud enough so that he could still cook while speaking to the others, "Aww, really? Yeah, Daii gets a little sensitive about that. He was a changeling, you know? Fairies that switch out their kids with someone else's? That's how he ended up at the orphanage with us. As for the residents in the tower, what else is there to say? The other three are upstairs right now, trying to figure out how exactly that guy came out of the mirror. I think it might be enchanted." He chuckled, "And trust me. If we broke it Mitch would never let us hear the end of it."

He came out with some cheese and bread. "Jiro was supposed to get stuff from the market so this is all we've got for now."

Jiro blushed. "I-I got a little distracted..."

"It's fine, I'll set up some traps tonight if you let me use the necklace," Zayn said. He grinned at Pari. "So, you need any other questions answered?"

 

[MJ ._.]

“Yes… unfortunately am fully aware of what changeling is… I don’t know what the baby fairy thinks but people are afraid of their babies being snatched away. The worst happened to lord of the east green, the lordship I come from. His child was exchanged with an old fairy, you know the small type, and they believed that if they took good care of the fairy their child will be brought back to them but the old thing didn’t live long and poor mother started searching for her child everywhere. One day her corpse was found in the lake. Her child’s wrist ring was hanging from her neck by a lace. Lord said the ring had been with the baby while being kidnapped. The town’s judge claimed that she probably have found the wrist ring and believed that her child was dead thus has committed suicide. With this conclusion he closed the case but our old witch told me that the mother might have found her baby which meant she had found fairies’ hideout. As a result they have taken the baby from her again and killed her… Since then, I and my older sisters couldn’t rest as ease. Each night one of us stayed awake and guarded our baby sisters till they grew up. But it didn’t end there… as if we our family was fated to suffer… the lord asked for my eldest sister’s hand a year after his wife’s death and poor Annette didn’t dare to reject him…” Pari told her story while Zyan was in the kitchen. She didn’t care if anyone was interested or not, she just wanted it off her chest because she had never dared to talk about it in the free world outside of the tower. When Zyan came back with cheese and bread, she start wishing that she hadn’t exposed her heart to those strangers so soon, thus tried to change the subject. “Who is Mitch?” She asked but Jiro’s response reminded her of a very important matter. “Oh bless… I’ve left my horse at miners’ inn stable. If you happened to go out, would you please take her? Her name is pride and she loves sweets. You can handle her with a sweet carrot.” She asked.

CactusWren animegirl20 Osthavula

 

[CactusWren]

MJ ._. Osthavula animegirl20
"I'm sorry about your sister, but wouldn't she know better about having a baby?" Jiro asked, folding his arms. "Like, either not risk it by not having one at all or protecting them at all costs...? Fairies are magical, but they're far from sneaky... it's quite easy to keep them away if the child is christened, or by keeping a steady eye on them until they reach a certain age." He shrugged. "It really is an unfortunate case regardless. Humans and changelings shouldn't have to be put through that."

Zayn went to get a pitcher of water for the girls. "Mitch is the second oldest of all of us. He's the closest to Daii, so he was trying to cheer him up when I left them upstairs. He's..." he thought about this, "...overly confident."

Jiro perked a brow at Pari's request. "...I'm curious to hear your reasoning as to why we would go out of our way to help you when you regarded us so harshly."

Yago wrote something down on his book and handed it to Ragnfridr. I might be the one to go out and get the horse. Want to come with me? I'm going insane waiting inside this tower...

 

[Osthavula]

CactusWren MJ ._. animegirl20

Yago's suggestion was just what Ragnfridr needed, and since she felt the same she nodded without hesitation. She decided she should copy the list later, so she kept her potion book back in her bag, and got up following him. Before they head out, she took a cup of water and thanked Zayn, drinking it after a long walk since the morning.

"I'll be back soon, since I just need to collect some ingredients from the forest. And I know it may be strange for me to say, but perhaps you can suggest Mitch to cover the mirror when he is not using it? Just in case if something try to pass through."