"And so the Princess Ashe did return to the throne, and reign as Queen of Dalmasca, and peace was restored to the Kingdoms of Rozarria and Archadia. The war was averted, and all was well.
Nobody could have foreseen the tales in the continent of Ordalia, home of the Rozarrian Empire, but for the short time of respite that milady brought for all of us, we kept hold of it.
Because, for most...that was all we had."
-Memoirs of Mqs. Ondore IV
The Final Chapter
"Oh my..." dropping all she was carrying, the woman focused her eyes on the sole source of the sudden rush of heat to her cheeks, and the clacking of her knees against one another. A few feet away from her, across the wave of the crowds of Rhodes, she could spy a tall, handsome figure. Clean cut jaw, perfectly messy black hair and even small cat like ears to boot. Could it be any more like her dream man?
But who was he?...What was he? The facial features were all of hume descent, but there was an unknown elegance, a graceful touch by the Gods. Most certainly, it was definitely a viera. No hume had such lush, dark brown fur, but who had ever heard of a male viera? Did such a thing exist? Or were the Fates playing a mummer's farce on her eyes again?
"No! Wait!" Her cry was lost on deaf ears, the viera had already turned away and started walking across the famous Dialhan Bridge. By the time she had ran across to the start of the long bridge, he had already disappeared from view in the rabble of travellers and residents of the city coming in to the capital. To be sure, there was no way she would ever meet him again. Unless...
"A Male...Viera? I think I have it...yes, you're certainly mine now!"
Final Fantasy XII-2
"A request? For us?" Kaj blinked in surprise, because he was unsure why somebody would specifically request aid from perhaps the worst clan that had ever graced the pages of Ivalician history. His ears twitched and he was overcome by the need to scratch them. Perhaps he had fleas again. Or maybe it was just his nervous tick playing up.
"Aye, that's right lad. We thought you could do with the experience too, so we're sending you out to do it." The rasping voice came from the table in the corner of the local pub, which Kaj and his clan mates frequented regularly. The so called leader, a Bangaa by the name of Kyras was the one who had spoken. Something then leapt atop Kaj's head, and ruffled his hair while making a lot of squeaking noises, which were well known for belonging to that of the Moogle race.
"That's right, Kupo! This quest follows after the recent rumours of a rather perverted Malboro living in the Silent Woods, kupo. During the day he preys upon unsuspecting lasses travelling across the Bulwark Highroad, then procures their 'wares' and drags them off into the woods." Vanilla patted down Kaj's hair and jumped onto the table, knocking a few of the bottles of famous Rozarrian Brew on their sides.
"Their...wares?" Kaj looked puzzled yet again, hoping all would become a little clearer. The reference to a certain special quality of females was lost on him.
"You still have a lot to learn about the world of humes, dear lad." Kyras finished. Together, the Bangaa and the Moogle left the table, handing Kaj a small piece of brown parchment, with a cartoon drawing of a large green monster with many eyes, and a hazy cloud of dark green gas flowing from it's mouth. Whoever posted the bill, they certainly didn't have artistic talents.
"You might be able to claim on the reward from the bill posted up for a Mark with the same description too, lad. Two cockatrice fowls with one sunstone, you know?" Kyras waved him off, exiting the pub's doors with Vanilla teetering behind him. Kaj stayed silent for a few moments, contemplating on his current situation.
His mind wandered, as did his eyes. For as long as this pub had enjoyed their patronage, he had never for the life of him looked at the décor. And for sound reason. The walls were draped with the most garish ornaments, and the dyes used for the dark burgundy wall coverings were painful to the eye. The fake fur carpet smelt of the contents of many a pub goers stomach, and one could even see a few stains were it still hadn't been cleaned for what seemed like years. But the beer was cheap and the company enjoyable, for the most part. That was to say, nobody really noticed him because they were all too busy looking into their cups for more to quench their imaginary thirst.
He sighed and made way for the door. It was certainly no time to get depressed over things he couldn't change, especially when some fair maiden needed his aid.
"How ironic." he mumbled to himself. In quick time, he had already made it to the Dialhan Bridge yet again. Since it was starting to reach the early hours of evening-tide, the traffic that usually spilled into the city had dried up. It never ceased to amaze Kaj just how beautiful this city was, for all its activity. But it was at times like this, when the sun overhead was changing to a deep orange red hue, that he remembered the reason he had chosen to stay here. The whitewashed buildings that reached into the sky absorbed the colours like a canvas soaked up fresh paint.
The capital was known for its ever-changing ways, and the way the buildings changed colour with the passing of time was part of that same reputation. Realising he had spent too long staring at the architecture once more, he tore his eyes away from the natural artwork and made his way across the bridge, passing out of the city and onto the Highroad, which split into two separate paths, one leading to the woods and the other to another city. It wouldn't take long for him to reach the Woods now.
Along the Highroad, Kaj met a fair few travellers passing by and heading onto the capital city. Ever since the war between Archadia and Rozarria had been averted, people were more willing to make journies around the continents, no longer in fear of being killed in some crossfire. By the time he reached the end of the road, and was facing the entrance to the Silent Woods, the sun had drifted off into the heavens, and its mirror image was climbing higher into the sky.
Through the foliage, Kaj could see a dark path illuminated by small patches of moonlight that pierced through the treetops. Just as its name suggested, there was nary a sound but the crunching of discarded leaves underfoot, and the creaking of ever growing trees. No birdsong filled the air, not even the horrible cries of monsters.
The path was suddenly cut off, and all that remained in front of Kaj was a small plateau overlooking a small gorge hewn out of the earth. There, he could see a large tree with a wide trunk thats canopy span far over the forest, blocking out the small source of light. Strapped upon it crudely, was presumably the young woman who had been kidnapped by the monster. But that left one question remaining...
Kaj's nose suddenly twitched as an awful stench coursed through the air. Before he could turn around, he was launched forcefully down into the gorge, hitting one of the walls and dislodging a bit of earth onto his clothes. The Malboro jumped down from it's perch and landed with a thud that seemed large enough to cause a miniscule earthquake. Shaking his head, Kaj got to his feet.
"Question answered, it seems." Kaj held onto the right side of his head in an effort to get the world to stop spinning. When his vision returned to it's natural state, he got a full look at the Malboro that was his mark on this quest. Far different from the almost child like drawing on the bill, this monstrosity had purple coloured skin and many tentacles that were shuffling about. It smiled with shark like teeth, and had mutliple beady eyes that glinted in the dim light. The most distinctive feature however, was the crown sitting on top of its head, indicating its status.
"I think...I've gotten in too deep." The monster let out a roar that shattered the silence completely, and the forest seemed to react violently back at it by echoing the sound all around. Kaj grabbed his greatsword which sat on his back, and thrust it in front of him defiantly. The red gem sitting on the front of it gleamed brightly, with magick power. In an instant, Kaj launched a roaring hot fireball from his right hand after sweeping it across the gem. It hit the King Malboro squarely in the forhead, but had little effect other than heating up the air a bit.
"My Red Magic can't be that weak...surely?" Retaliating, the King Malboro launched one of it's multiple tentacles straight out at Kaj, who dodged to the right and narrowly missed it. Wielding his sword with a large amount of force, he brought it down upon the tentacle. But the sword was repelled as if the Malboro's skin was made out rubber. Kaj was thrust back and almost knocked off his feet.
"What is this creature? It's almost strong enough to be an Elite Mark!" He had little time to complain as another tentacle launched itself at him, but with some luck, he held his sword exactly at the position where the tentacle struck. Of course, this meant his greatsword went flying out of his hand.
"Oh come on already! Don't tell me I have to save myself!" Kaj's ears twitched. The girl's voice had heavy Hispanic undertones, something uncommon to Rozzaria except for those wealthier houses of marquisises and lords. She was standing atop one of the uneven rocks at the base of the tree, a dagger in her hand which she presumably used to free herself from her bindings. Her clothes certainly gave off the air of royalty, vivid purple and gold colourings adorned her blouse, and she had scarlet red leggings, a colour few could afford to buy from a dyer, let alone wear with such stunning elegance.
She reached up behind her hair and pulled out the ornamental hairpin that kept her sleek brown hair tied up and out of her face. An unusual breeze suddenly swept through the forest, blowing her hair around violently. Sparkles of light began to surround her like an aura of power, as she began to read from the brown leather tome clutched in her left hand. Ancient words of magick filled the Silent Wood with welcome noise, as the rustling of trees grew ever louder, until the girl swiped her hand through the sparkling lights and closed it up into a fist. A red colour began to glow around her gloved hand, and she slammed it to the ground, upon which a large seal appeared.
"Apocalyptic fire, burn the world to ash! Eternal Flames, never die down! Open the Hellfire, Ifrift!" When the chant finished, the seal grew wider, glowing with ferocious intensity and turning into flames themselves. From the center emerged a large beast with sharp talons and crimson fur. With lightning speed, it had already met face to face with the King Malboro, and grabbed it by the face, holding it up in the air. One pulse of fire magick from Ifrift's palm was all that was needed to reduce the monster to ash.
The girl tied her hair back in place, as she was doing so, the form of the summoned beast began to scatter to the winds, breaking down back into the tiny little fragments of light that it was born from. Kaj, staring in shock, didn't notice the hand being offered to pull him up from off the ground. "Well then, guess that's that." the spanish damsel uttered, pulling the viera up by the collar of his shirt instead.
~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~
Back at the city of Rhodes, Kaj brought two pints of Rozzarian ale to the table on the balcony outside, which overlooked the rest of the city. It was well into the hours of night now, and the many lights of the city were scattered and spread throughout all the streets, lighting up the whole place in a warm glow. It was a place of beauty, a good place for a damaged soul like Kaj's...
"So I fear I owe you an explanation then." The girl said, her eyes shifting downwards to signal her sorrow for putting the viera in danger. "But you really should've been able to defeat that thing..." she mumbled under her breath, but the viera's highly sensitive ears still picked it up. He began scowling at her.
"Ah! Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, it's just...I'm feeling a bit...uncomfortable." Her face turned a violent shade of red and she began shifting in her seat, readjusting her hair and her clothes. Kaj shook his head and sighed, there was just too much to the world of humes that he didn't understand at all.
"Who are you anyway? Why did you seek out my guild's help in particular?" The girl looked a bit surprised by his question, there wasn't anybody in the whole city who didn't know who she was...except the one whom she wanted most of all to know her, for the rest of their lives. But funnily enough, that didn't dampen her spirits like it would most people seeking the love of their life. In fact, it meant that she could possibly show her true self...
"I am a resident of the House of Margrace, the only daughter to his Lord Excellency Alfred, my father." She mumbled, her face still spending most of it's time hung downwards, staring at the floor. Kaj sighed, pulling his chair back and putting his feet up over the balcony and stretching out. "I meant your name, miss, not your heritage."
Her face then snapped back up to meet his. Did he really have no clue who she was at all? The things she could have others do to him for disrespecting her so openly...but it was refreshing. "My full title is Princess Elle Franziska Fayth von Margrace, but you can adress me as Fayth." There was a static silence for a few seconds, where Fayth passed the moments just staring at the viera. Then he burped.
"Pardon me." He said, taking another sip of his drink. Fayth's mouth was gaping open, perhaps because she had never seen someone so rude in all her life...or perhaps because she had never actually seen anyone burp at a table before. Either way, she couldn't help the fit of giggles that surged through her body.
"Ahahahaha! Oh Gods...ahahahahaha! Have you always been such the character, Kaj?" Kaj then slammed his drink down on the table, startling her and causing some of the fruit that had been placed as decorations to roll off the table and onto the floor. His blue eyes that had appeared so kind and gentle were now full of a fierce anger...and something else she couldn't quite understand.
"How do you know my name, Princess? I haven't spoken anything about myself since we have met. I suppose it has to do with how you followed me around town, and had your personal maid buy information about me, hm?" Fayth screwed her face up into a frown, she felt so humiliated being treated like a child by him. His tone was so demeaning towards her, nobody had ever dared speaking to her like that before, not even her own father.
"How did you find out about that? I conducted my actions with the utmost discretion..." Kaj returned to his normal posture, placing his feet on the railings of the balcony once again, drink in hand and balancing on his chair perilously. He had a smug expression on his face as he took another sip of the beer.
"I think you forget the one which you were following was viera. It might have been years since my ears were touched by the Green Word, but the spirit of the Forest does not leave the soul so easily. I can see around corners, you know." Fayth gazed at him, her elbow on the table and her hand supporting her head as she listened to his beautiful voice serenade through the wind. "Is that true?" She asked, totally infatuated.
"No." He said, triumphantly placing the now empty tankard on the table and standing up. "But wouldn't the heavens sing if I could? Mayhap Malboros would fly before I could do such a thing. Scary thoughts indeed. One question Princess, did you find out anything else about me?" Fayth paused in thought, then gave her reply.
"Well all they could gather was that you belonged to that clan, and that was it." Kaj's ears twitched again and then drooped slightly. "I see...shame." He began walking away from the table, through the doors and back into the publican house. He waved a hand goodbye. "I trust you can take care of the means of payment yourself, mi'lady." There was a loud chuckle and then he disappeared from view.
Fayth was a bit stunned. Flailing about, she picked out 200 gils worth of coins from her pockets and laid them on the table, before hastily chasing after the fleeing viera.
~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~
Within the outskirts of Rhodes, on the Bulwark Highroad leading to the Silent Woods laid a church. It was a relic of ancient times when the founders of The Light of Kiltias began their journey to give faith to the people of ancient Ivalice and had stood the test of time. In modern times, the church had been abandonned since the war, and thanks to the brutal murder of the Grand Kiltias, Anastasis; many were beginning to lose their faith. As a result, the church had become derelict, rarely visisted. No priests resided there.
In the dead of night, the doors to the church opened, flooding the place with moonlight. Dust swirled in the midnight breeze, recasting itself across the many fabric, wood and steel objects within. Fine red and gold embroidered silk cloth was draped over the wooden pews, smooth to touch, delicate to the eye. From the remains of withered papers and candlesticks, and a broken picture of the Dreamsage himself, one could assume that the last people to step inside this place had done so to mourn the loss of their beloved Grand Kiltias. However, one man was now inside the church, after all these years. Tall, his features were covered by the cloak he wore to hide his identity.
He began to walk forward, his boots clacking against the stone floor of the church. Each sound echoed, dislodging the dust that coated the place. It was a welcome sound for the building that had laid empty for a long time. Reaching the very front of the church, he bowed down, then came down on his knees and kneeled on the step to the altar. Another man knelt next to him on the left, one who had arrived earlier. He too was cloaked in shadow, the moonlight afraid to touch his person.
"Forgive me father, for I have sinned. Faram." The man on the left made a holy gesture, and began to chant in an ancient tongue unrecognisible to the residents of Ivalice now. After a few seconds, he bowed his head slowly, and raised it again, remaining silent all the while. "We shall ask the Gods the price of their forgiveness. It is right and just." Outstretching his arms, he remained in this position, the church silent with him. Not even a creature in the night made a sound.
"They have answered. You are to find the Princess Margrace." Joining his hands together, he began chanting in the strange language again. The man that had arrived last bowed down, and stood up, walking away from the other man, leaving him to pray in peace. "That is not all they ask." The clacking of boots stopped, and the other man turned around to face the altar.
"They seek their wish to be fulfilled, their plan to begin to be known. It shall begin with the Princess Margrace. You shall show her who we are...what we can do. For it is the will of the Gods. Go in peace, my son. Faram."
And as the final words danced in the night, the church was once again left empty and desolate as it had been.
~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~
Walking through the streets at night was an all together different experience for Kaj. Not as many people stared at him, maybe because he blended into the background, or their eyes were too weary to notice a male viera. He was heading for the tavern now, ready to call a meeting with Vanilla and Kyras, who would most definitely be there, as all three of them lodged at it together for a small fee a night.
Passing another famous landmark of Rhodes; the Boco Fountain, which depictited a brave chocobo that aided an ancient warrior in times past, Kaj entered the tavern which was situated directly across from the main square, in which the fountain resided. Sure enough, as he entered the tavern, he was asailed by the squeaks of Kupo from Vanilla.
"Kupo! It's our brave young warrior, back from the hunt! Tell us dear squire, did you defeat the mark?" Vanilla began waddling back to the table they had procured, at which Kyras was already sitting, looking his moody self. He jumped up onto the chair, and scrambled to get himself upright. Kyras shoved another drink at Kaj as he sat down, but Kaj waved a hand.
"Not exactly my friends. I did confront the monstrous beast, and indeed I battled well! But alas, as the hour of the kill approached, my victim's life was taken from me by a fair maiden from yonder hill and her demon pet!" Kyras started chuckling.
"So when all is said and done, you lost out on the reward because of a girl? Ahahaha! What fine chance this is! The Gods smile not upon you, dear Kaj." Kaj's ears wiggled, and his head drooped so that he stared at the floor, noticing a fairly disgusting stain on the never washed carpet. Rather than stare at such a vile sight, he raised his head once more.
"But, you do not realise! This girl...she was very special!" Kyras laughed even more and patted him on the back. "Ahaha! I did not know you to be the type to undress a lady with your eyes!" Vanilla spat out the milk he was drinking out of a tiny cup, making a huge mess on the table. The whole scene only added further to the uncharateristicly jovial laughter of Kyras.
"I-I'll have you know I did no such thing! No, this girl, she was a princess!" He had caught their attention, as Kyras had stopped his laughing, and Vanilla was listening intently to every word. "Yes, she said she was from the Royal House of Margrace! Princess...Princess...Margrace von Melon Iska Franz?" Kaj received a quick slap to his head from Kyras, who looked at him with disappointment. Vanilla was squeaking furiously too.
"You fool! You speak of our dear Lady Elle Franziska Fayth von Margrace! Only daughter to King Alfred, descandent of..." Kyras began trailing off on a tangent of the royality of Rhodes, to which Kaj paid no attention. Both being ex-soldiers, he understood his friends' burning loyalty to the crown. Not that he agreed with it, but he didn't let that come up very often.
"But that means that the Princess must have gotten captured by that fiendish Malboro, Kupo!" Kaj rubbed his head on the spot where he had been hit. Kyras had such suprising strength compared to other Bangaas. "Yes, she did get captured. But I understand that she purposefully let herself be kidnapped." The others had very quizical looks on their faces. However Kaj didn't feel like explaining anything at all, especially since he didn't really understand it himself.
"The earth shatters, and yields to the heavens. For the sake of the Gods, I will give my life! Skies rumble at the call of your name! Lord of Vermillion, Bahamut!"
The loud voice boomed across the entire square, even managing to stop the busy pub and keeping everyone in silence. There was a strange sensation that Kaj had already felt once, not too long ago. And he smelt a parculiar smell. The smell...of magick. After a moment of agonisingly prolonged silence, there was a scream that cut through the air. There was no doubt about it. Someone had summoned one of the most powerful Espers.
Picking up his sword, Kaj rushed outside, nearly breaking down the fragile wooden doors of the pub's entrance. Kyras and Vanilla were forced to follow him, curious as to what exactly he was running to see. Truth be told, Kaj didn't know himself what scene he was going to see outside of the pub, in the middle of the square. But as soon as he recovered from the blinding light of the moon's reflections, it became evident what was happening.
Fayth had fallen to the ground, staring at the giant form of a demonic Dragon Lord flapping its wings in the skies and blowing up a gale. And standing solitarily in front of her was a shadowed figure, covered in jet black robes with a hood to cover his face, and the last traces of magick escaping from his finger tips.
~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~~Final Fantasy XII-2~
"Damn that Viera!" Fayth said, rushing along the busy streets. Although it was night time, many people seemed to litter the path Fayth had chosen to chase after the Viera. Her shoes clacked loudly against the cobbles, causing people to look around to see the noisy disturbance. And when they caught sight of who exactly was running, well it wasn't exactly a common sight to see this particular princess out and about without armed guards.
"Princess, would you be interested in some of my wares?" A street seller had stepped in front of her way, holding a leather bag that contained a pungent smell. He waved it around in front of her, a wide grin on his face. "A bag of smelling salts, my Lady! I'll give it to you free on the house, if you purchase something...hey!"
She didn't stick around to hear what ripped off concotions he had to hand. She had already lost valuable time getting stopped by gawckers at the bar, and now it seemed like her luck had run out once again. A group of nuns were trailing in front of her, humming silently and moving like a pack of tortoise. It would've been easy enough to squeeze past them and keep on going, but they had chosen to walk particularly slowly in front of two stalls that took up the remaining space of the alley.
"Come on, move it!" She shouted at them. Shocked faces turned around to greet her, and then disappointing looks from the nuns caused her to shrink back into her shell. "Now listen here, young lady! We've been doing our precession around this street for centuries, why the Great Lady Jania herself followed the same path before she established the order, and...Princess?" By the time the elderly nun had recognised just exactly who she had been telling off, Fayth had already climbed above one of the stalls, and was now running across the rooftops of the city.
Although her mind was focused on her goal of following the Viera, she couldn't help but feel that this was a thrilling experience. It wasn't often she got to escape the patrol of her bodyguards, and when she did it was mostly just to go shopping with her personal maid. Getting "kidnapped" had liberated her, given her a sense of adventure. It had given her a spirit.
Coming to a stop, Fayth panted heavily as she realised she had run out of roof to run across. She had reached the main square of the city, containing the Boco Fountain. From her strained and blurried vision, she identified those signature furry ears that she associated with Kaj. A sense of relief washed over her, as it seemed he had entered the tavern, which meant he wouldn't be moving for a while. She climbed down a ladder set against the roof, and plonked herself on solid ground once more.
Dusting her clothes off and adjusting her hair, she started walking across the square. About half way, she suddenly realised that she didn't know what to do. What exactly was she planning to say to him once she entered the tavern? Just why had she ran all this way, what possible reason could there be? She sat down on the edge of the fountain, pondering the answer to her questions. The rush of water didn't do anything to help her, in fact it was giving her a headache.
"Why am I so stupid...?" She whisphered to herself. In the rush of the moment, she hadn't once given thought to the fact that she hadn't explained herself at all to the Viera. To him, she was just some girl that got kidnapped but was now rescued, and that was that. Grab the reward, job done. That little scene they had in the bar, it was nice, but that was just it. She was infatuated with him, but he didn't even know who the hell she was. And that made her angry. But at the same time, it made her hope. Hope for a chance to regain her identity as "Fayth" rather than "The Princess".
As she thought more about it, she realised what she simply had to do. She would go into the tavern, walk up to Kaj, and say "Take me with you.". That was all that needed to be said, because truly, that's all that she wanted. A way to escape this city she had been stuck in, and a chance to get to know the one she loved better...that was her wish. Reaffirming her decision, Fayth stood up and started walking again. But one last object impeded her way.
"Ow! Watch where you're going!" She rubbed her hips, which were sore after being knocked to the ground by the oblivious man in front of her. When she looked up to catch a glimpse of his face, all she could see was black coloured robes that made it hard to distinguish where he was, especially in the dim light. But something that scared her were his eyes. Pure white, and filled with an intent.
Suddenly, she felt the change in pressure around her. To one skilled in the way of magick arts like her, she could easily sense that someone was tapping into an unreserved source of power. But if she hadn't noticed that, it was a clear as day when she looked at the man's hands, trembling with the green aura that surrounded them.
She had to run. She didn't know what it would achieve, but she just had to run. Picking herself up off the ground, she got a small head start before the man raised his fingers to the sky and fired a pulse of magick that seemed to shatter reality. Fayth once again fell to the ground, this time harder than before. She just about managed to swivel around to see the magickal seal expand in the sky.
"The earth shatters, and yields to the heavens. For the sake of the Gods, I will give my life! Skies rumble at the call of your name! Lord of Vermillion, Bahamut!"
A roar of a dragon broke the silence afer the man's commanding voice, and from the portal in the sky came a terrifying sight. A hideous dragon poked it's head out of the seal, a steel collar trapped around its neck, almost as if it was pulling it back. It grabbed onto the side of the seal, and around its wrists Fayth could see more shackles, and she could hear the sound of rattling chains. There was a cracking noise, and the dragon broke out of the portal, and started falling to the ground, but its giant wings shot open and it broke its fall, but summoned up a mighty gust of wind that almost blew Fayth away.
She screamed.
When the powerful winds stopped, she looked up once again to see Kaj and his friends across from her, at the entrance of the tavern. But she could barely see them, as the Dragon Lord began to eclipse her entire view. The man in the cloak lowered his hand, and looked at her. Fayth could see it once again, the whites of his eyes.
"Princess Elle Franziska Fayth von Margrace. I have come to give you a message."