"Without Elyon at full strength, draining her is near enough, useless to me." Prince Phobos' calm voice cooed, and it must have been the first time in weeks, that he'd been nonchalantly uncaring to the world around him. It was harder, not to have connections, when feelings and the likes came into things. Elyon's feelings; of course. But the petulantly giddy child had apparently reached the years that Phobos had never seemed able to bypass fully, and brooding, Cedric had noted, had become her newest fetish. She held more stealth than Miranda, though she never dared sneak up on the prince. It was libidinous, and risqué, how Elyon would stared anyone down, and Cedric was only more influenced, by the ideal that as much as he hated her brother.. Cedric was sure that Elyon would follow the man's footsteps, and finally, she would ask for her empowering nature to be taken. And Lord Cedric had always been the gentleman to oblige her eccentrically zombified nature.. Not that she was zombified yet, but if her sullen stature continued, there would be no more an appropriate way to describe her. She could not function, without her prince, and her prince would be the one to take her functioning away. A sad story that no one deserved, but Cedric knew he could go one better. Cedric would go one better.
"She worries." Elyon worried a lot. The scent of it was foreboding, and the only true betrayer of her silence, because Lord Cedric had learned the scent like his own, and he could easily sense her coming. She was coming, and perhaps if Prince Phobos were to step down from his false coddling of a royal throne, he might be able to learn a few of Lord Cedric's tricks. Once, Cedric might've even given them willingly. "Worry keeps her weak."
Three knocks, and Phobos cracked his neck and sat straighter as Elyon opened the door. Lord Cedric smirked. He'd known she was coming, and Prince Phobos hadn't. But all Elyon would care was that her pretty prince was smiling when she came in. "I was thinking of doing some sketching.. Wanna come?"
"With the coronation approaching; we only have a few months, and I have a lot to attend to Elyon." Cedric's smirk returned, as Elyon passed to the prince; because he'd seen her see him sneer. But she'd ignored it, as the prince in startling light blue, slipped the sketchbook from her eagerly ignorant hands; eating up the lies Phobos spoke through clenched teeth. "Oh, you're very talented.. Elyon, I've told you."
"I want to see them.." The apologetic voice, and the prince's sigh as he bent to peck her cheek.. Lord Cedric bowed his head as a servant should, while Elyon again brought up her parents.. It had been months and Cedric knew that Prince Phobos had thought them safe of the subject. But Elyon was choosing to ignore things. It didn't mean she wasn't noticing them. "I know you were pretty upset.."
Elyon's eyes reached out for Cedric, and he obliged her by raising his head; she hadn't forgotten then, who'd saved her and who'd been waiting in his throne room. "Only because of how they treated you. If you forgive them, I have too."
"They're at some distance," Lord Cedric bowed his head again, as Prince Phobos stroked his thumb over Elyon's peachy cheek. She'd stopped blushing, when he touched her, and Lord Cedric knew that where he felt silk, Prince Phobos felt every goosebump as a pimple on her skin. "But for you, puer sus, I will have them escorted here."
Even Phobos grinned as she hugged him. He'd told Cedric puer sus, and there really was a humour in him calling her 'pig-child' and her thanking him.
...
"C'mon baby! Make me proud.. C'mon, c'mon, c'mon... STRIKE! WHOO! HAHA!" Cornelia jumped up, and grinned as she bowed theatrically, having hit the ten pin, and Will smiled feebly. Apparently Caleb's return had been more of a power-up, than Will's news on Elyon had been a drainer.. Either that, or Cornelia was in denial as she smiled, "It's all in the shoes!"
"Guys, why are we bowling? We know Phobos' plans for Elyon!"
Will watched Cornelia's smile droop a little, and turned to Cornelia with a masked frown, "Well, the attack date's set; what are we supposed to do in the meantime? Just stand around?"
"Hey," Will smiled as Hay Lin jumped up to grab her ball, and Taranee smirked at the new pins, pointing as she spoke, "Pretend the bowling pins are Phobos!"
"YEAH! YES!" Will's grin faltered, then grew wide with confusion, as Hay Lin began what appeared to be a celebratory dance as her ball rolled down the left gutter.
"Uh, Hay Lin.." Will cringed as everyone smirked knowingly, but continued to raise her hand meekly, "You, do realize that the object of the game is to, uh, hit them.. Right?"
"Anyone can hit the pins!" Will felt her mouth fall open and her eyebrows raise to her forehead, as Hay Lin waved her remark off, "There's like, ten of them. How many people can miss 'em?"
Irma grinned at Will's obviously comically exasperated expression, and shrugged. "She's a rebel."
But Will hadn't heard what Irma said, as Caleb strode between bodies toward her, and she could only meekly hear Taranee's 'speaking of which..' as Caleb knelt in front of her to her height. "It's Thomas and Eleanor Brown. Elyon's parents, I've found out where they're being held-"
"YES!" Will followed Caleb's gaze to Irma, who'd jumped up and was currently punching the air with enthusiasm, "Now we can go kick some evil' butt right?"
"Let's dump these ugly shoes and motor!" Taranee pulled at the laces of her bowling trainers, and grinned almost as happily. But Caleb only turned back to her, and she had a trouble with focusing on him; his face not three inches from hers.
"They're in Cavigor Prison. It's impenetrable; completely underground.." Will followed, as Caleb's eyes flashed to Cornelia, "We can dig up from the Infinite City. It's the only way, and it's risky.."
"Right," Will nodded, she remembered from the drills, "They figure out to dig down and the rebellion is lost. Got it."
