Notes: Quite a bit of world building here. Lots of exposition, courtesy of inner monologue. No Shinichi POV this time. I used this chapter to give the reader at least a rudimentary understanding of the elven world + introducing OCs we'll see a lot.

Chapter 2. Of Titles and Family

Chapter summary: In which we find out that everything is not sunshine and rainbows in the elven society. We get some sibling bonding (read: teasing). Oh, and Shinichi is confused (which is becoming a frequent occurrence).

Paperwork was the bane of his existence. Why does holding a high post in the Royal Household result in having paperwork heaped onto him?

Kai'el Starsorrow glared at the paper in from of him, his hand screaming its displeasure at him. As he sorted through the legal requests, his thoughts could not help but turn to the human that mysteriously appeared in their garden.

Kai'el was the one who found him. He did not mention it to his sisters, but when he found the human he was still conscious if very disoriented. The reason he did not tell his sisters was a bit selfish.

The human called him 'Kaito'.

Not Kai. Not Kai'el. He has never been called that before, but for some reason being called Kaito jogged something in the back of his mind. Like a word at the tip of the tongue you just could not grasp. Every time he pursued the runaway feeling, it never failed to give him the slip. In all honesty it frustrated him.

Moreover, he was hardly ever called by his name outside of the comfort of his home. Nowadays it is always Lord Starsorrow this, My Lord that.

Kai'el scowled at the piece of paper in front of him. How many times did he need to say that he was not interested in marriage proposals? Or that his sisters weren't either? And how did they always manage to slip them into his paperwork?! If it didn't cause a scandal, Kai'el would have made sure the message got through other Lords' thick skulls. For now he had to make do with setting fire to the offending papers. It did little to dull his annoyance though.

Oh, how he loathed his inheritance sometimes. He looked at the proposal again. Scratch that. He hated it period.

Indeed, Kai'el Starsorrow had to walk the razor sharp edge of the elven social politics. It was far from easy to maintain the balance as elven politics were more than complicated. It was a hopeless tangle of interhouse relations and furious struggle for power.

At the top of the elven social and political hierarchy stood the King and the Royal Family. The King had three advisors: Head Tactician, Captain of the Royal Guard and Archmage.

The Head Tactician acted as the High Commander in wartime. In peacetime the role could be described more as the King's right hand. It was for influence on the ruler that made the position so coveted.

Kai'el's problem was that the Head Tactician was chosen from one of the Noble Houses 'as a way to ensure loyalty to the Crown'. This made interhouse politics a brutal and merciless battlefield, and being right in the thick of it made for the most unpleasant of experiences. Kai'el grimaced at the thought. He did not want the position. Unfortunately, what is needed to be done rarely coincides with what one wants to do.

Signing the last offending piece of dead tree in front of him, at least for the day, the young Lord of House Starsorrow chased those confusing thoughts away. Stretching, he sighed in relief as his stiff muscles relaxed.

"Knock-knock"

He turned his head in the direction of the voice. Lylenne smiled at him from the doorway with what looked like homemade food. Auntie Eve'era would always insist they needed to eat more.

"How is the battle with your most hated enemy?" the High Ranger asked in teasing tones that resurfaced only with those closest to her. Lylenne was not the type to let others close.

"It was a tough battle, but I prevailed," he joked back.

"Pity you would have to do it all over again," she said, not even trying to conceal her amusement at his look of despair.

"It never dies, Lyl. NEVER," Kai'el whispered as if he spoke any louder, paperwork would come for him with vengeance.

Shaking her head at her brother's utter loathing of paperwork, Lylenne addressed her original purpose of coming to Kai'el's office.

"My Lord, would you care to accompany me for lunch?" she said with all the pomp of the Lords' spoiled daughters that fawned and tittered over her brother from afar. She even batted her eyelashes at him.

Not that she could fault anyone, her brother was indeed a handsome man. With features noble and delicate like their mother, Kai'el inherited their father's height and unruly hair, which was a deep shade of ebony characteristic to their bloodline. His body was built for speed and agility like most of their kind. Her brother made for a striking image dressed in finest clothes, his blue eyes piercing and a tad intimidating in their intensity.

Kai'el's face blanked out in reaction to her impression of his many admirers. After a few more bats of eyelashes, he finally replied, "Only if you never do that again. I find that I prefer you in your most foul mood to… to this. And only because I will never say no to Auntie's cooking."

Still teasing him, she turned away with a mock haughty huff, her long braid swinging from the motion, "I am acting as it is befitting of my station." They started walking out of Kai'el's office.

"Right," he said dubiously, "Weren't you the one who told the Goldenbough heir to 'stuff it' at a ball?"

"That was my first ball!" Lylenne protested, "And he isa pretentious snob."

He just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Fine, I am not the textbook definition of a noblewoman," she huffed. By the time they reached the courtyard the sun shone high in the sky, signifying that it was time to break for lunch.

"That is where you are mistaken, dear sister of mine."

"And what is my mistake then?"

"You are exactly what a noblewoman should be like." At that Lylenne could not help a hitch in her breath. She didn't even notice that she stopped right in the middle of the beaten path, leading to quiet and isolated place in the forest surrounding the palace grounds.

Kai'el, whose stride did not falter, shot over his shoulder at her like nothing happened, "What is taking so long?"

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Lylenne smiled and hurried to catch up.

Meanwhile, the youngest of the Starsorrow triplets was returning home from the night shift at the Healers' Ward. She was met with a silent foyer, which was not a surprise. It was generally quiet at the estate unless at least three of them were at home and in the same room. A rare occasion because of their conflicting schedules. Evenings had the greatest chance of finding all of them together at once, and even then, tired from the day, they preferred to draw quiet comfort from each other.

Syravea Starsorrow was the youngest. However, she insisted that being triplets, it did not matter and why do you have to call me the baby, you were born only a couple of minutes earlier!

Anyway, being the youngest meant being both coddled and smothered. It did not help that she used to be a rather weak and frail child due to complications at birth that took away their mother.

Syravea, or as her siblings affectionately called her 'Vea, was more delicate than here sisters. Same eyes, same raven hair, though she preferred to keep hers in a long pixie cut, yet shorter and smaller stature. As a child she used to get frustrated at her non-existent stamina and inability to play outside. Her sisters staying with her made Syravea feel even guiltier. Of course, her health has improved a lot since then, and while she would never be as athletic as other elves, she could live with it.

She ventured upstairs, knowing all too well where to find her studious sister. Their Library with capital 'L' was the envy of many, vast and filled with books from floor to ceiling. They had been able to gain more than a couple favors just by lending out some of the more obscure tomes.

Cerea did not even lift her head from whatever she was reading when her younger sister entered her favorite haunt. Walking over, Syravea peeked over her shoulder expecting another book about history or a detailed analysis of one of many agreements between troll tribes. That was not what she found.

"'Rea, why are you reading about spatial magic?"

Cerea just hummed still engrossed in her reading.

Syravea sighed. Typical Cerea, give her a book and lose her for an undetermined amount of time. Seeing a lost cause for what it was, Syravea decided she might as well check up on the human they found. After all, it was obvious Cerea did not deem him a threat, if she thought reading was acceptable.

Syravea knocked on the guest room door, entering only after a hesitant 'come in'.Their guest was awake and standing near the window. His look was assessing and wary, justifiably so, as he was in an unknown territory with a total stranger. Better start of as friendly.

"Good afternoon," she walked further into the room, "Glad to see you awake this time, Mr.?" Syravea cocked her head to the side indicating she did not know how to address him.

"Kudou Shinichi," it was obvious the name came out of reflex to hearing a similar question as he looked flustered from hearing 'awake this time'.

"Nice to meet you properly, Mr. Shinichi. My name is Syravea Starsorrow," she furrowed her brows when he turned even redder, "Is something wrong?"

"There was a bit of a mix up. My first name is Shinichi and family name is Kudou," Mr. Shini- Kudou clarified, "And just Kudou, please."

Ah, so that was the problem. "Then, Kudou, as you are awake now, I would like to properly examine you."

Seeing his wary look she added, "I'm a healer, and I examined you after we found you."

He still looked suspicious but nodded in assent.

Syravea gestured for him to sit on the bed while she adjusted the sleeves of her healer robes. Kudou gasped and flinched backwards from her, when yellowish-white glow of healing magic engulfed her hands.

Slowly, as not to spook a frightened wild animal, the healer dispelled the magic and lowered her hands. Kudou's eyes were wide and disbelieving.

"Have you never seen healing magic before?" she asked.

"As I've already told the other lady before, I'm not from around here."

"I have not spoken to her yet," she narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, "How far do you mean by 'not from around here'?"

Kudou averted his eyes, "Another dimension far?"

Syravea showed no outward reaction to the new information. She worked as a healer and had seen much weirder things before. Like the incident with two grapes, a ridiculously sharp toothpick and a flute of champagne. Nothing will faze her after that.

At least Cerea's choice of reading material makes sense now, she thought with bemusement. Lighting up her hands with healing magic once again, she addressed her patient, "Further details can wait," for now she added in her mind, "I insist that I examine you first."

Kudou eyed he glowing hands with the same distrust one may an unfamiliar suspicious looking fruit, "Do I have to?"

"Yes," Syravea's tone allowed no further argument.

"Fine," Kudou conceded, looking both unhappy and resigned.

The check was a routine for the youngest Starsorrow, so she was done in blink. Fortunately, there were no changes in his condition. Her patient, on the other hand, seemed really surprised.

"That's all?"

"Yes, that's all. There is nothing wrong, if you disregard subtle signs of a slightly stunted growth. I guess you must have had health problems at some point of your body's development. Now? You are perfectly healthy," she turned to leave.

"Wait," he called after her, "Didn't you want to know the full story?"

"I can get it from my sister. Moreover, my two other siblings have not heard the story either," she explained. "Being too hasty never does anyone any good. But if you are volunteering?"

He was quick to shake his head, "No, no, I'm good."

Syravea felt his gaze on her back as he was left to his own devices once again.

Stepping into the corridor, she caught the smell of baking from downstairs. Cerea must have smelled it too as she exited the Library, nose still buried in the book. Syravea wondered if she found anything of interest. They headed to the kitchens. Syravea had to grab her sister's elbow to steer her away from the stairs' railing she nearly ran into. By the looks of it, they would get Cerea back only after their brother came home.

When they arrived at their destination, they were met with the sight of their older sister (by a few minutes!) wiping white patches of flour from the counter. Sweet smell of a cherry pie backing wafted from the oven. Leading her other older still unresponsive sister to the nearest chair, Syravea greeted Lylenne while moving over to the faucet to wash her hands.

She knew that everyone had already resigned themselves to whatever she would fail to cook. She had no idea why nothing she tried to cook turned out well. Even if she followed the recipe to the tiniest detail, the end result would turn out burned, overcooked or undercooked. How her brother managed to throw together something delicious with the most ludicrous ingredients would forever remain a mystery. At least Lylenne baked a pie.

"Has she been like this for long?" Lylenne asked motioning her head towards Cerea.

"Since before I returned," she answered, "Turns out our guest is from another dimension and now Cerea is researching spatial magic. I would not expect to see her come out of the zone any time soon."

Lylenne made an understanding sound at the explanation of Cerea's reading binge, but had to clarify, "Another dimension?"

"I have not hot all details yet but basically – yes. Cerea does not seem to think him to be dangerous though. I agree, how can he be a threat when he was shocked at seeing magic?"

Lylenne narrowed her eyes, "So no magic wherever he came from. If he is telling the truth." As a ranger and the oldest sister she learned to never trust too easily.

"Mhm…" Syravea finished peeling vegetables for the stew. Grabbing the nearest knife, she said, "I figured there was no point in him or Cerea explaining the situation to us separately, so I left him alone. For now."

Lylenne nodded, leaning on the counter, "So we wait for Kai. He said he'll come home as soon as he is finished talking with the King." She grabbed another knife from the knife stand, "Need some help?"

End Note: All of the Starsorrows (living ones) have been introduced into the story. I'm trying to make them seem real and not Mary Sues. Hope I managed it.

About the titles and such. They've been mentioned already, but a more thorough explanation and structure/hierarchy will be introduced at a later date. I didn't want to overload the chapter with it.

Don't worry, Shinichi will finally meet Kai'el in the next chapter.

P.S. Remember Auntie Eve'era, she'll be important in the future.