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The sun slowly began to rise above the Macedonian landscape. The orb of daylight spread light and warmth equally across the land of winged beasts. The wild Pegasus that flew freely through the skies of Macedon would be stirring soon, the winged horses would begin to glide across the landscape. The Wyverns, strong powerful lizards they were, would not be seen hunting for meat until later in the day.
Many Macedonians would be waking at this hour. Their first moments of the day would be blessed with the familiar warmth of the sun as they began their daily routine. For Michalis, prince of Macedon, this was something to greet him after he had been awake for roughly an hour. He sat at a table at one of the balconies of the royal castle, the one closest to his room. His only company was his black Wyvern, curled up and resting on the stone ground not far from the table Michalis was sitting at.
This was a little early for Wyverns to be up. They were rarely active this early in the day. Most of them roused when the sun was further up in the air, and went to sleep well after midnight, but if properly antagonized they could be alert and ferocious at any hour. Michalis' steed, though it had lived in the castle for close to three years now, was still adjusting to a new timetable of waking up when the sun rose and going to sleep when the sun went down.
Michalis shook his head as he regarded the land he was the prince of. Macedon was a quiet, though prosperous nation. It was peaceful, though little real advancement had come out of the nation. It was… stagnant in many regards, and Michalis could find no pleasant way to look at it. Since his birth there had been no real meaningful change in the nation, for good or for ill. The technology did improve, but Macedon was content to simply copy whatever technological advance another nation made.
This was the Macedon his father and Minerva were content with. His father, and one of his sisters, Minerva, felt that there was nothing wrong with the nation as it was. Macedon's only unique boon was that it was the only nation where Pegasus and Wyverns flew. Some trading occasionally took place with other nations, the other lands were eager to pay large sums to acquire a few Pegasus and Wyverns for themselves. While Michalis appreciated the positive effect the commercialism had for Macedon, it didn't come close to satisfying him.
He felt it was wrong. Macedon could have been more, far, far more. Had its ruler only shown a more inventive spirit, even the holy nation of Archanea would be inferior to Macedon. If someone as innovative as Iote, the nation's founder, was looking down upon it, he had to be shaking his head in disbelief. When Iote founded the nation, Macedon was a nation of growth and progress. With the strength of the Wyverns and Pegasus, it could have been the birth of a dynasty, but such thoughts fizzled when Iote moved on to the next world. The rulers after Iote had less interest in the kind of advancement Iote had brought, and were content to ride the wake of Macedon's already established qualities rather then try to expand upon them.
Michalis kept such thoughts to himself for now, he was in no position to argue, and he saw no signs of anyone sharing his sentiments. Things would change when he became King, but he did not wish his father to die to speed up the process. Though…
There were times he contemplated it. The thought was unsettling, but he could not deny that it had come more then once. The death of his father could be… hastened, only for the sake of the nation. He dismissed it every time, but he would always consider it a few moments longer before he broke his thoughts off.
His Wyvern's eyes suddenly opened, revealing their almost demon-like pure blood red color. Michalis recognized the way the eyes snapped open and knew that his Wyvern had sensed something approaching. He turned his head slowly, not truly expecting any danger. His Wyvern swiftly relaxed, any sense of apprehension on its face vanished quickly.
"Morning, Michalis." Came the sleepy voice of a young little intruder. Michalis saw the younger of his two sisters, Maria, coming out onto the balcony. Her eyes were still drooping and she was dragging her pillow behind her. Her hair was a disaster zone, the red locks went off in every direction. Michalis imagined that the stone floor couldn't have been comfortable for Maria's currently bare feet. The look in her eyes made it seem as though she was in a sort of half-awake, half-asleep daze.
"Hello, Maria." Michalis responded, his voice sounding more pleasant then his usually unfriendly face would suggest. Had Minerva walked out like this, he would have been remarkably unsubtle in berating her for looking so unfocused, but he had no harsh words for Maria. His little sister smiled, Michalis sighed, then his lips curled almost against his will. When he was with Maria he would allow himself to indulge in some somewhat silly behavior, but ideally when no one else was looking.
Maria's eyes brightened, and she turned to the Wyvern. "Has he eaten today?"
"His feeding time isn't in the morning." Michalis said. "He eats lightly at noon, and takes a heavier meal in the evening. It really isn't time for him to be awake right now."
The Wyvern, clearly still very tired, tilted its head at the little princess. Maria mirrored the gesture. "Maybe he… wants a snack?"
Michalis sighed. "I know you steal chunks of meat off of your dinner plate, Maria. Give him some if you want. Just make sure it's meat you're giving him, I don't want a repeat of that old incident."
Maria winced slightly. She recalled one time she tried feeding Michalis' black Wyvern, and Minerva's red Wyvern, without the knowledge of her siblings. She had seen the Whitewings who serve under Minerva feeding carrots to their Pegasus, and Maria decided that the Wyverns might have wanted to eat something besides meat for a change.
One night, Maria gave carrots to both of the Wyverns, oblivious to the fact that Wyvern and Pegasus stomachs were very different. They both ate the offered vegetables… and almost died from eating food that their stomachs took as poison. Maria stopped giving them carrots when she realized what was happening, and wisely waited until both of them had recovered before she told anyone what she had done. She only told Michalis, who had always been more restrained and calm then Minerva. Beyond a private scolding about getting the go-ahead from one of her siblings first she wasn't punished in any way. What she did was a secret for Maria and Michalis only; Minerva still believed that her Wyvern had just had a close brush with death due to a 'sudden illness'.
Perking up at the given permission to feed the Wyvern, Maria rushed off.
"Put on your shoes, or at least some sandals when you get to your room." Michalis spoke in a louder then normal voice to ensure that she heard him. "And comb that hair. Lets not let the other nobles see that."
Michalis heard Maria's voice yell back at him, but it was too vague for him to know what she said. So he simply presumed that he had just been called a 'jerk'. He looked at his Wyvern, who was staring off in the direction Maria went when she left with a curious expression. When Maria had first seen the Wyvern, she had been frightened, and he had to give the Wyvern strict instructions to never harm Maria no matter the circumstances. Despite that, he presumed that Maria would always give the creature a wide berth. He hadn't expected the Wyvern and Maria to grow so fond of each other.
Now Maria tended to pet the Wyvern as though it was a domesticated cat. She did the same thing with Minerva's red-scaled Wyvern, which seemed just as fond of the petite princess. The two Wyverns were unfortunately not fond of each other, and sometimes the orders of their riders had to be supplemented with force to keep the Wyverns from trying to tear each other apart.
Michalis heard the sound that marked Maria's return. She appeared on the balcony with a small bag in her hand. She seemed to have taken the time to put on shoes and comb her hair as well, though she had not put her hair-band in. Michalis made a nod of approval, and Maria reached into the bag, taking out some… surprisingly large pieces of meat. Holding them by the large bone sticking out, she placed them on the floor near the Wyvern. It stretched its neck out and sniffed the cold meat, then opened its mouth and snatched the food up. It chewed for a moment, enjoying the taste of meat that had been rendered cold and stale by being left lying around during a chilly night. After a moment it turned its head and spit out bits and pieces of bones.
Maria looked at the crunched up bones, there wasn't the slightest bit of meat left on them. She wasn't surprised, she had seen the Wyvern eat many times before. Smiling, she reached into the bag again and-
"No more." Michalis said in a stern voice. Maria froze, turned to Michalis with a frown, but obeyed. There were a few pieces of meat left, but she closed the bag and went back to Michalis, taking a seat at the table. The Wyvern, seeing that no more food was coming, yawned and laid its head back down on the cool stone.
The girl was quiet for a few moments. She looked like she was either still tired, or was readying herself to ask something. Michalis waited, looking like he was expecting some foot to drop.
"Later can we… go for a ride?" Maria asked, wearing an… interesting expression on her face. The wistful look normally made Minerva bend to any wish Maria had, Michalis did not submit to it quite so often. Still, this time, he looked more willing to let her have her way… or he just wasn't in the mood to argue.
"…It might help me get my mind off of certain things." Michalis said, not alluding to any more then that. Maria didn't know anything about the dark contemplations of patricide that had been going through his mind before she came out.
She wasn't aware of any of the dark thoughts that went through her brother's mind. He was the obvious choice to be crowned King, and he had been preparing himself for the burden for a long time. He had begun making preparations on his eighth birthday, and he was approaching seventeen years of age now. There were things he was considering for when he became king, some less moral then others. Cold things he'd hope Maria would never have to put up with, or even learn about.
Yet… Maria looked at him with a unusual expression. For a brief moment Michalis wondered if Maria, like Michalis himself, could see more then what most presumed she could. He dismissed the thought, it was too early to tell with Maria. How Maria would change as she got older… Michalis shook his head of the thought. For now, Maria was an easy enough girl to entertain, and he turned his head to his Wyvern. The creature had returned to its slumber, and most likely wasn't in the mood to fly right now. Michalis would rather not force the issue unless it was necessary.
"Later." Michalis said slowly to answer to her question. "We'll fly in the afternoon. When he's more alert."
"Okay." Maria seemed satisfied, giving an enthusiastic smile. "What do we do until then?"
Michalis thought for a moment, then a subtle little smile crept across his face. "Have you been attentive during your lessons?"
"Uh…" Maria's smile dropped. Despite both Michalis and Minerva telling her how important it was to maintain her studies, she normally brushed her lessons off. She would ignore the books and hide from the tutors, and she had become quite good at hiding.
Michalis tapped his finger impatiently on the table as Maria choked to make some manner of response. Finally he leaned back. "Evidentially not."
Maria pouted. Michalis was tempted to laugh. "Alright, do you have any stories to tell?"
The princess looked over her shoulder. "I… don't have anything interesting to say."
Michalis shrugged, and for just a moment felt light-hearted. Discussions like these with Maria were the only time he ever really loosened up. "Then just make something up."
The hours passed, and by this time most in the nation had been awake for an hour or two. Minerva, the other princess of the nation, only just now traveled from the sleeping realm to the waking world, her punishment for having been up too late for the sake of training. She crawled out of bed and began to move toward the armor hanging on the wall, eager to get out of the nightgown and into her familiar red armor as fast as possible.
As she walked by the window, a shadow fell. She started, then immediately moved to the glass.
The shape of a black Wyvern moved through the air. She reflexively sighed as she saw Michalis, with Maria in the saddle with him, having an enjoyable ride through the Macedonian sky. The eyes of the girl that seemed to love the sky were undoubtedly twinkling in delight right now.
I've been interested in the relationship between Maria and Michalis, moreso since I don't believe they have directly interacted in any canon material, hence this quick little write-up. I've always imagined that Maria idolized Michalis more then she idolized Minerva, and continued to stubbornly insist that Michalis had nothing but good and admirable traits even after Michalis allied himself with Dolhr. My take on the situation with the three siblings, anyway.
Please review.