Chapter 9: Royals, Heirs and Junior Guardians
Cold winds blasting against them in almost every which direction possible they are flying, giant floating glaciers of Ice at them at every turn that there is either a way through or a way around, waves stirred up in an uneasy Everwinter Sea... Josh never fully explained the full extent of his 'shortcut' as he called it when they were earlier packing up from spending their first night in the southern most point of The North. Soren thought it would be proper of him to have Josh's help, but is now second guessing it when the Hoolian Prince got out a map and explained to what directions they were going and to their navigator, Gylfie, he explained to what stars they should follow. All of it seeming fine in theory then before embarking on the actual flight, and as they approach off the shore of the mainland, Soren does have his doubts now. –And this is coming from an owl that has before flown through the worst of a monsoon, flew in a raging fire and into a fleck field.
"Do you really know where we are going, Prince Josh?" Soren asks, near yelling as the winds are quite strong and everything around them quite noisy
"I am sure of it, Soren." Josh affirms as he flies at the head of the group, looking back to face the Barn Owl, "What, do you doubt me?"
"I swear we have passed the same glacier twice." The Barn Owl replies, looking around as they are flying through some of the glacier passages
"We haven't, Soren." Gylfie then interjects taking the side of the leader of this operation, being The Band's Navigator and the one who is keeping them on course as Josh told her by the constellations he told her to watch out for
"I dunno, Gylfie, they look pretty darn similar to me." Twilight then says, taking the side of de-facto leader Soren in this joint Royal Family-Guardian mission
"How are floating pieces of ice supposed to look the same anyway?" Digger enquires, himself tuning into the convocation and his side of it... possibly neutral.
"Look, I swear we have passed the same glacier twice, three times maybe even, I don't know." Soren states, as if making a debate of it to defend his side of the argument, "Guys, I think we are lost."
"We are not lost!" Josh growls as he turns his head back with a glare of annoyance, getting irritated with these allegations, "I know exactly where we are going."
As Josh then turns his head back, everything goes quiet in a bit of a forced silence as they then fly out of the icy tunnels they were flying through of glaciers and around another. Gylfie herself is looking toward the stars as best she can in this weather. Unbeknownst to this group, a trio of Pure Ones are on the lookout above them; upon spotting them, they launch off from their little perching place, and begin to pursue the group.
"Looks like we hit the jackpot... A bunch of Guardians and a snowy amongst them with fancy regalia." One of these Pure One Sentries say to the other two, "Probably their king's boy or something that snowy and I'd bet Lord Metalbeak would be very impressed if we got the bugger as a hostage."
Back in the group, that forced silence has come undone as Soren then speaks, "Look, we may have been here briefly only once when we were on a mission, but I'm sure we know our way around this place better than you do. We're going around in bloody circles and I know it!"
"No we're not and I can prove it." Gylfie then retorts as she looks toward the stars above them, which peek now and then through the clouds, "Nya's Snowflake is due north and heads toward the mountain ranges and we are heading due north-east as we are heading east from it as well as north."
"See, I was right." Josh determinedly says, wanting to be right on this
"Since when are we heading east, Gylf?" Soren then enquires
As Gylfie goes to explain the full implications of how she is working out where they are heading -explaining most of her Navigation Chaw lessons she has learnt over the last year and a half since becoming Guardians- Twilight all but turns his head to both ignore it and work out this crick in his neck... He then is facing the front again before taking a second look toward the impending company.
"Err, Guys..." Twilight says as he keeps his eye on the Pure Ones heading toward them
"I am the Prince of Ga'Hoole and I have been living here a whole two years and how dare you question my navigation skills no less that of your colleague because you are too pea-brained to realise that they all sorta look the same as they are floating chunks of ice!" Josh shouts, the infamous temper of the Nyctea family he inherited taking effect
"Prince Josh, Soren, there's-" The Great Grey says as he tries again
"Excuse me, how dare you call me pea-brained you... spare!" Soren retorts, himself getting angry and offending Josh by saying that word, "I have done so much more than you could ever imagine as a Guardian over this last year and a half it isn't funny when compared to you, you have done nothing aside from one little mission. I killed Metalbeak; I stopped the Pure Ones in both sieges..."
"Oi, will you both shut up for a sprinking minute!" Twilight then interjects with a sharp shout, silencing both parties as they all look to him, "If you could stop fighting for two bloody minutes, we have Pure Ones on our tail and you both better shut up and decide to do something about it or we'll be more than just 'lost' in a minute."
"Are you kidding me!" Josh complains with an annoyed grunt as he looks back at the inbound Pure Ones, "It's not worth our while to take down three of those idiots. Let us just try to lose them in the ice passages. They would not even have a clue as to where they are going because none of those mere soldier Pure Ones would be Northerners. It's only their queen who's the only Northerner basically in their ranks."
"Finally, something we can agree on." Soren agrees with a nod of his head
Without another word, the five owls then pick up their pace with the currents of winds blowing to propel them forward as they manoeuvre in and around a whole path of glaciers and icy tunnels. The three Pure Ones finding it hard to keep up with the group as, as Josh predicted, they are finding it had to keep up. The odds seem to be in the Guardians' favour as with every turn, they are becoming less persistent and even to the point where they are actually not being seen at all at some points as they are lagging that behind. They then come to a glacier with a hole through the middle of it and they all pass through it with ease and continue to fly forward. As Josh then looks back after a few lengths... They have lost them.
"Looks like they couldn't keep up." Josh says with a satisfied smirk as he then looks to Soren, "See, I told you we weren't lost."
Soren rolls his eyes, completely unamused, "Oh quiet you..."
It has been a night since The Band and Prince Josh had left. Despite these turbulent events over the course of the last few nights; their King taking unannounced leave, stating his wife as Queen Regent, the whole of the chaws and GTA having a major staffing crisis and now their absence, City Centre in the heart of the Great Tree of Ga'Hoole relatively remains as normal and busy as it usually is. On a stroll through this societal hub of the Ga'Hoole kingdom, Pellimore is taking this stroll with Autumn who is all but outside of her hollow for the first time since after her husband had left the Great Tree with the king. Since last night when it was Soren's turn to leave the tree, Pellimore had all but promised her boyfriend that she would act as a companion to the emotionally fragile, twenty-eight year old Princess of Ambala and now she had gotten the small woman out of that hollow by suggesting that she take one of her morning strolls.
"Come to think about it Pellimore, you were right." Autumn says, looking to the young woman she has as a companion, "Now that I have been advised in the last words my husband would say before suddenly leaving in the middle of the day to take my leave of absence for the moment, I should be getting out of the hollow a bit. Now I have lived here for more than ten years and yet every time I come to City Centre... I always seem to find something new whenever I take a stroll."
"I never did actually think of it that way, actually." Pellimore comments as they walk along, "But then again I don't really notice these things since I'm always just so busy with training stage."
"If I may ask, lass, what is the down low on you and Soren anyway?" The Princess of Ambala then asks catching Pellimore off guard who then looks all but embarrassed, "Do I hear wedding bells a ringing in the near future as I am getting the feeling that he may ask that one question."
"Oh... Well I don't know..." The barn owl female awkwardly answers with a light red coming to her cheeks, "I wouldn't know if he was going to ask the question and..."
"Oh don't fret about trying to answer that, lass." Autumn says with a bit of an aunty-like chuckle, "But I have a feeling that he would want to ask you that question at some point and trust me, you wouldn't want to say no to a sweet lad like him as they are very hard to find. Take it from me as I have been in two marriages now; never marry a man you just met, which I do not think you will have to worry about, as you are not a royal as I am. Neither, lass, marry one who doesn't love you as that is never a happy union, believe me, and if you find the right one, make sure to hang onto them."
"Is that how things are in your love life then?" Pellimore then enquires, with a bit of a giggle as she gets an unamused look back from the small woman, "Then again your relationship with his grace, your husband the prince, is a story that many in Ga'Hoole and the kingdoms around have all but swooned over. It was a second chance in the making for an abused princess forced into marriage with a turnfeather and a decorated war hero and aristocratic widower deserter who is one finest rybs in Ga'Hoole and for the both of them to meet and later fall in love and fight for each other no matter what came against them. But of course, we make our own stories, especially when it comes to love and I wonder as to where Soren and I are going then..."
"Now lass, keep the head out of the clouds when it comes to hearing those stories and focus on reality and in reality you're almost about to run into a railing." The small princess scolds, again sounding much like an aunty figure to the young woman as she then stops and side steps away. Autumn then looks ahead and sees Pellimore's boyfriend's mother, Marella and their family's nursemaid snake, Mrs. P, "Bonjour Madame Canner and Mrs P."
"Well, good evening to you also, your grace. Good evening to you also, Pellimore." Marella says, with a respectful nod of her head to the foreign royal, "I trust that the times are treating you well despite the circumstances."
"As best as I can manage, but good thing I have my staff and Pelli here keeping me company or I wouldn't know what to do." Autumn says, with a look to the barn owl next to her before looking back, "So whatever are you both up to this evening in the Centre?"
"Well aside from having dropped Eglantine at school and running a few errands, we're actually just spending time away from the household for the moment." Mrs P answers
The mother of the legendary king slayer, Soren, closes her eyes, breathing an annoyed sigh, "It seems Noctus didn't take the news of our son's departure that well when Pellimore had come to tell us last evening. Even when I explained his and his friends' duty to the kingdom as Guardians, he is still not that happy about it. Neither would I be, but I know that he is going on an important mission for the sake of both Ga'Hoole and the Northern Kingdoms."
"Not taking it well is a bit of an understatement if you ask me, Marella." The nest maid snake then scoffs, much without hesitation as it is truly saying what they are both thinking, "I've seen all three of your children as babies on their worst days and that includes Kludd and they didn't be an as much of a whiny grouch as Noctus is being at the moment."
"Well my husband's ongoing midlife crisis aside, I among most of the kingdom by now have heard the news and I must offer my sincerest hopes that your husband will make his return back to Ga'Hoole safely and unharmed, Autumn." Marella speaks, pushing aside the previous topic as it stood
"I hope myself that my darling Lyze of Kiel is going to be okay..." Autumn then says, with a downcast sigh of her own, "Just the thought of it all... I could not bear it and I have been praying every night that this madness will end and Lydea installed back to her throne. His leaving, although so sudden and in the middle of the day, without warning... I know it is for the sake of the north as we are both owls sworn to duty for the sake of the wellbeing of the Owl Kingdoms, but... Much tragedy had happened to me in my short life and I really don't want to be alone again and I hope my prayers will be answered."
"And it must be terrible after everything you've gone through to have such a thing happen now." Marella then says with much empathy in her voice, "Five months into the marriage and the new life which you spent much of your life fighting for and something like this comes up when it is almost that time. You are definitely managing better than I ever would if I were ever caught in such a situation, your grace."
"Well Mrs Canner, as I have learnt in my short life as an orphaned royal owl dwarf, a life which has been nothing like the romantic view on royal life that those stories fable out, is that I have to hold on with every shred of my being I have left." Autumn optimistically says, as she slowly blinks, "Ezylryb taught me that I have to carry on and if it means that I have to wait out this madness and prey until words escape me, then I will. He had told me not to worry several times over the last few nights, as it is not good for me and I guess I would have to remember that too, and try not to worry... as best I can. Now I can hope that you'd like to join me for tea sometime while I have all this time on my talons, Marella, Mrs P."
"Oh you've taken leave haven't you?" Marella asks
The Princess of Ambala nods, "My husband advised me to after I nearly fainted at the dinner party, and with everyone in the tree already worried about me because of the negative effects stress could have on me for more than just being a tiny little thing... I had to take it. And your future daughter in law here, Pellimore-"
"She's been raising that question all day, Mrs Canner, and I don't think that it would happen anytime soon... or if he would want to or..." Pellimore says, nervously and embarrassedly trying to explain herself to her boyfriend's mother
Marella chuckles, "Oh Princess Autumn, you are so cruel, you have made the poor dear blush. Don't worry lass, I was a young girl once your age and I know that Autumn is only being like most auntie figures and is just poking a little fun on the topic of marriage. If you and Soren would want to get married, then you have my support, alright, so don't be so nervous about it."
"That's really kind of you to say, Mrs Canner." Pellimore says with a slight smile, although still a little embarrassed about this whole topic coming up
"Anyway, as I was going to say, Pellimore here has reminded me of my duties as the Princesse de Ambala, and she said to me that I'd have to preoccupy myself with something." Autumn then says, cutting back in to continue what she was saying, "So if you both would like to join me for tea at some stage, I'd be happy to host one with the mother and nursemaid of the legendary Soren."
"Oh my...!" Mrs P then exclaims with much excitement, "First I fly in the sky and then have tea with royalty. My word things have surely changed over the last few years."
"I have to agree there, Mrs P." Autumn says with a cheerful laugh, her well-known joyful smile that is the light of her face returning, "I can all but agree there."
Flying along the shoreline of the mainlands of the Northern Kingdoms, they are all but still only halfway there to their destination, but unlike earlier when they were seemingly lost in the middle of nowhere amongst glaciers, at least now they can say that they're getting somewhere. As they are flying along, much a comparison can be spotted out and made about the scenery of how the Northern Winter has affected the environment around them. The North has only two seasons, Northern Summer and Northern Winter and the winter can go for many months at a time, for six, in some cases, to eight months of the year. In this winter whatever trees there are within the tundra that would be hearty plants to survive these conditions are often draped with icicles hanging from every bare branch or if one of the evergreen trees that are the least of a sign of life in this kingdom, frost on their leaves covering it as a beautiful melody of ice.
"My wife, Lydea, although she is a semi-pacifist, she is supposed to do this duty of visiting the main military base since we kinda had to rebuild the military since... well you'd know that the kingdom was basically destroyed in the coup." Josh suddenly says, flying along at the head of the group as they had gone quiet after their fight before, "And as you know 'Prince Consort', I had to go with and we did have a bit of a right time with it. Even as a pacifist, she had to oversee the setup of the main base of operations and they decided to name the base we are coming to after her father. I have to say now, the Northerners... They are quite tough bastards already and put a sword in their claw... Good Glaux in Glaumora I have never seen such furious fighters in all of the owl kingdoms."
"Another topic here, are we going the right way?" Digger then asks, as if he was not listening at all to what Josh had to say
"Oh don't start this again..." Soren grunts with annoyance, "It's bad enough I have to deal with every Sunday now whenever I have to do the stupid bloody family dinner with my dad having his whole midlife crisis thing, but if you guys start this again I swear to Glaux I am going to tear out my gizzard. I've already got a nice scar I can open up across me too so one more and-"
"Soren, keep your bloody innards in because we are not having any sort of death on this trip, no less on this mission at all, are we clear!" Gylfie then pipes up, everyone going silent as they look to the tiny female, before she looks back to her boyfriend, "Digger, there is nothing to worry about, we're on course."
"I was just asking." The burrowing owl then says, "Why is everyone so... grouchy?"
"It won't be much longer; we're basically half way there." Josh then assures the group as he flies ahead as the leader, "And I wouldn't be surprised if everyone isn't at their throats, this weather has been hagsmire and a half and being in the North... makes it all worse. I'm surprised that none of you are icicles."
"If I may ask, Prince Josh, why would your father make such a rash decision when he is the king who would think things through rationally instead of mindlessly storming off and leaving a kingdom in a political and social shamble?" Twilight then says, being the only member of this group thus far that hasn't spoken since having to be the one to break up the spat due to some ensuing Pure Ones
"Look... I don't really know how to answer that one, but..." Josh says taking a deep breath, for one of the few times unable to find words to say when he is all but often usually chattering with small talk, "My father grew up within the aristocracy of my grandfather in law and father in law, kings Ricardo and Arin Schana respectively. As it was, the Northern and Ambalan Aristocratic Culture had much an emphasis of honour and power and as it was, the House Nyctea was up there along with my mother's House Lynai and Ezylryb belonging to House Cress. From what I have learnt from living here in the North is that that aristocratic culture, it was all but a furious contest and it sparked many feuds, especially that which my parents were caught in the middle of growing up. In some cases, there were poisonings and murders to get this glorified honour."
"Sounds like an aristocratic version of the Pure Ones." Gylfie comments, while trying to keep their bearings, "Constantly obsessed over power and glory, those within willing to make a few murders to get it and getting into long-standing feuds with an opposing side."
"Yeah, that's totally them!" Digger agrees
"So in that fashion, your father must be up here because of this Aristocratic honour thing then." Twilight then says
"He inherited Alexander's titles barely even a couple weeks ago and... Well when putting it your way, my father is clearly ashamed of Alexander and I suppose that the motive behind this would be to..." Josh falls silent for a moment as he is trying to put two and two together in the same fashion he usually does before coming to a realisation, "Dad must be up here to redeem our family honour as the Royal House and to... To make sure I don't carry on such a burden of my grandfather being a traitorous, Pure One supporting, regicidal anarchist."
"Your father must care about you, Josh..." Soren says, although only just trying to wrap his head around this and the whole aristocracy thing when he has never had to learn that sort of thing until now
"Yeah, sure... How about we just focus on flying, there could be scores of Pure Ones out here since we're by the mainland and the bastards are probably everywhere." Josh says, his voice then becoming uneasy as they fly along and he blinks slowly, "And yet everything keeps lining into place for this to get worse... I've come to the deduction that my father wants to kill my grandfather and has little to nothing that will get in his way of doing it and not even Ezylryb, who is among one of the closest to my family isn't going to stop him when he's a bloody pacifist no less it being... Clearly wrong even if he is just doing it because the past has come back to blow everything of the future he built in his face.
And... It just adds to the fact that he has controlled much of my life as if I am just some sort of piece in some sprinked up chess game. Anything doesn't work he'll either chuck a bitch fit and find a way to fit it or in this case... he'll sprinking either want to tear it's head clean off its body, or tear out their innards with a single claw... or Glaumora forbid he'll end up crushing the bastard's skill until everything implodes on itself like some sort of... Glaux in Glaumora I cannot think of the right analogy for this unless I want to lose my breakfast.
It... It just affirms that I am nothing but his pawn. This bloody plaything of his own creation that is supposed to do his bidding and end up inheriting a crown, at this rate will be forced upon me sooner than I thought if he's the one getting his body torn apart in the proportions of them literally having to be cremated so we don't have to look at it. I just... I just want to do so much before I will have to take that bloody thing but everything seems to come between those goals and me. Some may say that having my whole life planned out for me is all but something of easy, but the truth is, it has all been dictated for me, almost every decision made up until I turned 18 and even after my parents are still in my life, especially dad. The only things I have ever done without my parents say was marrying Lydea and then having my daughter. Because of these obstacles before me, I have not travelled the kingdoms like most would want to do in this beautiful time of being an adult... or actually had a proper role in the Guardians or had a mission since helping Lydea assume her title in the North and I actually wasn't a Guardian then."
The Snowy Owl prince then looks to the gloomy skies above him, "A storm is surely coming... weather it being by a cold snap or the fact that things are quickly developing into another battlefront."
As the snow falls from the gloomy skies above, Queen Lydea stands outside in the snow and she has her eyes closed as the cold winds blow through. As the descendant to the Goddess of Snow, Nya Schana-Strata, the Schana that are rule the North have a link to the Goddess and their heightened cold resistance and snowsight as they do come from her, are a way they can seek guidance, especially warnings when they least expect them. As a young queen, never was prepared or ruled a day in her life prior to taking the crown once the Pure Ones were overthrown, she needs all the guidance she can get. Her father in law, when he was not in his very strange state of mind and even stranger mood, gave her all but a crash course in how to rule a kingdom. Despite the Northern Kingdoms is four times larger than Ga'Hoole is by a long shot, his advice is somewhat helpful for a queen who did not even know she was a princess no less born a royal.
"I don't know what to do..." Lydea contemplates, as she stands exposed to the cold with the snowflakes falling all around, "I've only ruled for two years and have been close to death too many times... I learnt more when I was just an adopted, orphan commoner who was a Guardian- in-Training than I would ever if I was born who I really as a Northern Princess supposed to be raised within a palace with tutors and nursemaids, expected to be queen one day. And Glaux help me I do not know what to do about Boron being a little... off... at the moment. Glaumora help me if I even know what I am doing when this is all but madness and more bloodshed."
She then looks to the gloomy storm clouds above with a bleak expression, "I don't like the looks of this... Especially since the Darkest Night is coming and if a blizzard rolls in-"
"Lydea."
Lydea turns around as her father in law approaches with the same grim expression on his face. Weather it is because of the current circumstances that have completely altered his personality into that of being impatient, irate and cold king who is worrying more than just the close family and their inner circle. She goes back to staring at the clouds as he comes to stand beside her at the edge of this lookout in the middle of the base, only casting a look as he respectfully nods. –At least for a moody monarch he does not forget the manners that the aristocracy had drummed into him as if it was important as the alphabet.
"I recall the last time you were taken from the throne, Lydea." Boron says, before looking to the snow that is falling all around them, "Of course, you were just a few hours old... None of us known what to do with the heir to the same throne he betrayed in a single night. An owlet that was barely old enough to know the difference between her winglet and food if her life depended on it."
The queen looks to her father in law with a worried glance, "I never knew you carried such a burden..."
"Why wouldn't you have done what you will and taken the head of that traitor who so brutally slaughtered your father?" He enquires
"There has been too much violence in my kingdom already by this present date... Making another violent death would be much to be something I couldn't bear to tolerate as a pacifist and I could be classed as a hypocrite all the same." She answers with a close of her eyes, before turning to him with a serious look, "I didn't want to disrespect you, or Josh through letting myself pass a judgement the council wanted me to make and kill family. I may make mistakes but my judgement remains the same."
"You made the right decision; rather let the bastard have one last hurrah before either you or I end his pitiful existence." Boron says with a wave of his wing
Lydea then looks again with concern, "Are you sure you want to… do such a deed as to kill your own father?"
"Lass, they can damn me to Hagsmire for all I care for all eternity, but I'd at least want to take the bastard with me." He replies with a very serious tone
"Are you sure that everything is right in the head since the Secondary Siege?" She enquires, a little disturbed to this unnatural dark behaviour from her father in law, "Since banging your head like you've done maybe-"
"You don't have to worry about me; you've got more important things to worry about at the moment than your father in law." Boron rudely interjects, even more to the disturbance of the Queen of the North, "Now my advisor, as much as he is wise and important member of both my inner circle and the Great Tree's community, he's being a right pain in my tail end and has told me that we have three weeks to resolve this. Maybe even less, I don't know how he'd time it nowadays since marrying into the Ambalan royal family and Autumn must be time consuming as he's almost always with her. But anyway, we have three weeks to resolve this and it has been what… A couple nights and yet you have not called a single meeting to discuss ways to get rid of those bloody Pure Ones. And as an owl of my word, I want this done before anything else happens."
"We have to wait to get the numbers together. I don't know how many bases fell, how many soldiers could have died or disappeared since the first night and we need these numbers in order to then plan a defensive." Lydea explains in a governing tone in response to the otherwise winging she is hearing, "We will not have a council meeting until I get the numbers and unless you want to be flying all around the North from Rainelle to Kiel Bay then you're welcome to do so."
Boron falls back a bit, "Alright, I will wait… However, no more than a couple nights because I want this done and over with so you get your crown and I get the bastard. Every night that Alexander keeps living, every night his treachery keeps tearing me apart inside."
Without another word, and Lydea for the most on her part being speechless, Boron then turns away and leaves, and not before suddenly turning back and bowing to the Northern Queen. She may not think of it much, but the first signs of a break down happening are just relevant. Overall, Lydea looks on with much concern for her father in law as he lands on the ground of the courtyard and is heading to the main base.
"Queen Lydea!"
She turns her head to the sound, which is coming from the front gates, "What is the disturbance?"
"Not a disturbance, your highness." One of the soldiers on the gate yells in response, "Not a disturbance, but rather an arrival."
"I knew we were heading the right way…"
Things seem familiar to the lead navigator once they had passed a lookout post barely few wing beats back. Josh may not have visited much or even often to the main base of his wife's military forces, but after two years of living in this one place and being a very intellectual owl like Josh, he will find a way of recalling anything from the scenery down to the people. If he can remember the exact date, time and preschool activities that happened the day that he had met his best friend in the world, Shard, he could remember practically anything.
"I hope your father is there Josh." Soren says to the snowy owl
"Yes, quite… If he had to come to any Northern army base still standing after what happened a few nights ago, he would rather come to the command centre of them all." Josh agrees as he falls back a bit, "Plus I hope he is there so I can smack some sense into my dotty ol' dad."
"There will not be any smacking of anyone as we are on a mission." Gylfie interjects, shooting down Josh's plans while they are just words, "Plus it seems a little arrogant and unprofessional for a prince no less a child to hit their own king father."
"Correction, lass, last I check I have permission to hit my idiot of a father as I so please." Josh snaps with a fierce glare toward the Elf owl before turning his gaze back to facing frontward, "Now this really tops the teacup all of this and I don't need some inexperienced Guardian telling me whether or not I should do what Ezylryb can't and give Boron Nyctea the brutally honest truth."
"And there doesn't need to be violence. You're married to a pacifist for Glaux sake and she wouldn't approve of any of that one bit." Gylfie continues
The Snowy Owl Prince breathes an agitated sigh, "Fine, hold me back if you have to… I think I may need it after what has happened over the last few nights."
As the base comes into sight, the members of the band are caught in awe as almost suddenly snow-covered base emerges from near nowhere from the snow and ice. They fly through the outside entrance to the base, guarded by archers on the two higher points who stand by the fires for warmth. They begin to land before another large gate at the main entrance as it comes open as soon as they land. As soon as they get wide enough, Lydea suddenly rushes out the gates and although not having too much time to react, Josh wraps his wife in his embrace. The snowy queen holds tight against Josh, her head pressed against his chest with tears of joy welling in her eyes.
"I am so relieved you're okay." Josh softly says to his wife, nuzzling her affectionately before planting a kiss on her cheek
Lydea then pulls away, "Josh… You are supposed to be in Ga'Hoole with your mother. Why are you here? It's not safe for any of us and you shouldn't be here most of all as it's not safe even for me to be here."
"I left our daughter with my mother and I had to come up here, Lydea." Josh replies, trying to find a way to explain the whole situation in less than a million syllables at a time before turning and beginning to head into the base, "I had to come up here to stop my father making any more stupid decisions."
"And us, your majesty are a bit of an escort." Soren speaks as soon as he can, not before he and the other three members of The Band throw in a haphazard bow –and curtsey from the female member of the group, Gylfie- as soon as her sapphire eyes look upon them, "We're a bit of a hybrid between support team and an escort at the moment. That and we have come up here for our personal reason of-"
"If I may say, your majesty, one thing…" Twilight suddenly interjects, intentionally stopping Soren from continuing on, "…Is that you should actually thank us for bringing your weather-affected mate to you in one piece. Although I would rather hear it from the prince's own beak as we are actually more than just 'expendable' as he had called us during that meeting. If anything we are highly trained elites."
Gylfie clears her throat, gesturing with her tiny body to direct attention towards the prince who seems to be drifting away from them, "Uh, guys I think you are missing the point here."
"Where is dad, love?" Josh calls back from a few metres away
"Speaking of which, is Ezylryb here too?" The Elf owl then interjects, looking toward the moderately large snowy female, "That is actually another reason why we are here too. We gave word to Princess Autumn that we would make sure that he comes back in one piece. Well technically speaking it's a little more like relatively in one piece as he is missing a talon after all. But anyway, not missing anything else or dead is practically the aim here."
"Oi, less yappy more help me try and find my father!" Josh shouts, getting irritable once again as he turns around, "Seriously, I need to stop him before he gets hurt and standing around talking isn't helping at…"
Josh trails off as he turns back to face the main base as, speak of the devil, the owl in question is there. Josh looks over with silence as his father casts a furious glare from the lookout post, a look that he knows all too well to be that he would want to give him a smacking like a naughty owlet. –That or one that looks to be as if he would rather have him on flint mops until he turns thirty or at worse given the worst of ranks within the command when here he thought Secretary General was a dud job to be stuck in.
Suddenly Boron takes to the ground and heads toward his son, his daughter in law and The Band reacting themselves by heading over to mediate the situation with much concern over what could happen. Most, if not all of the concern coming from the fact that the Great Tree knows of the temper that the king and his son share talon in talon to be as fiery as an untameable wildfire when they are pushed far enough. –Someone has to hold Josh back, as he himself suggested before, and it appears that the pacifist Queen of the North may have to be a mediator.
"I didn't want you involved." Boron growls as he trudges over in anger, "I thought you were smart enough to get the point that your place is by your mother's side in Ga'Hoole."
"I am involved whether you like it or not, father." Josh retorts, standing his ground as he comes forward himself in an irritated stomp, "In case you haven't noticed yourself in the lack of rationality you seem to be having, I am just as involved as you are. My wife is on the firing line by my grandfather and if you, Boron Nyctea, make one sprinking mistake as you are doing right now, I will have to become King of Ga'Hoole!"
"My… Someone has come off strong to start." Gylfie mumbles with a little bit of shock and alarm to the rest of the spectators who are feeling the same amount of distress caused by the flames already being lit within only the first few seconds
"None of it matters, Josh, you have your place and it is with your mother." The father responds, affirming his own stance in the argument, "Nothing of this has anything to do with you and Alexander is nothing of your concern. You are directly disobeying something that you should have known from the very night you hatched: my, you reading me, lad, it is my decision as the king is final. And my decision is that you go back to Ga'Hoole and stay with your mother and your daughter!"
"I don't have to listen to you when you're wrong!" The son shouts in a loud retort, leaning forward as the spectators are hesitant to react, "You're wrong and you're in so much sprinking denial over it. I am not going to bide my time sitting there like some owlet when my family, my wife, you, my father, even the kingdom of our ancestors is in danger."
"This is not your fight to fight!" Boron replies sharply
"You are so full of it!" Josh shouts, getting angrier at everything he is hearing and the spectating party finally making their move to try to restrain him, "How could you be so darn stupid for a king? You are going to get yourself killed if you keep up this-"
"Enough!"
It goes quiet as quickly as that shout came, Ezylryb lands nearby and then approaches them. If anything he is actually doing the poor spectators a favour in stopping it before they all will have to hold back as strong as he is smart, fully trained, Guardian Royal. Although despite this sudden silence, Josh gives his father a strong glare of anger as three of four members of The Band are holding him back.
"It is enough that we are in a warzone, so you would rather not make it any worse than it is at the moment with shedding any more blood, weather that be from tearing at theoretical wounds or drawing swords." Ezylryb interjects, stepping between the intense arguments as it nears the verge of breaking into a clash
Lydea looks to the screech owl, "Thank you."
"I am not returning to Ga'Hoole and I will definitely not return until the House of Schana is restored to the throne." Boron says before turning his back and walking away from it all, "I am not returning until the threat is dealt with to the way I see fit. Mainly as I see it as cutting the bastard's head off hand hanging it from the battlements as a symbol of telling the Pure Ones that by our standards, this stuff doesn't fly."
"You're making a mistake."
Boron stops in his tracks to look back at his son with a turn of his head, "I am not making a mistake. Maybe someday you will be more than just the spare, Josh. When you'll become king, maybe then you'll understand the decisions I make."
"I already understand…" Josh answers with a serious look on his face, "But it is you who doesn't understand."
Boron, in the same sort of fashion he had done with Lydea less than ten minutes ago, leaves without another sound except for his movements across the courtyard. Josh stands there watching after his father with much a look of worry in his amber eyes, concerned greatly with whatever is happening to his father as the conflict is bringing more than just a threat against the family. He then looks to Lydea who gives him a discouraging shake of her head as she places a wing on his shoulder, telling him that it is enough for now.
"Come on." The Queen of the North then says with a soft smile, "How about we go inside before we freeze."
