Jonathan rudely came to when he felt a sharp, tingling pain on his head.
"Ow!" he yelped, sitting up and glaring at the person who inflicted the pain, who happened to Rei.
"Don't be such a child, milord," Rei said haughtily, dragging him toward her and dabbing at the wound on his head with a piece of cloth. "It's not that big of a wound."
"Yes, Jonathan, do not whine so much," Nathaniel hooted. It was only then that Jonathan noticed him, Zachary, and Kaelan standing at the corner of his bedroom, all three attempting, and failing to conceal their grins. "The lady will not believe that you are truly one of Earth's generals if a simple scratch will hurt you so. It's bad enough that you got beaten by her, but to complain when she has gracefully volunteered to tend to you…"
"I think you owe the lady an apology, Jonathan," Kaelan said. Jonathan nearly groaned when he saw that his captain, the one with the usually impassive face, was also valiantly trying to keep his lips from twitching at the corners.
Jonathan looked guiltily at Rei. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"No harm done," Rei said briskly. She stood up. "Anyway, that is all I can do. You may want to have someone check your wound in case of problems. I can see that your friends have something to say to you, so I will take my leave now." She inclined her head to the three men. "It was a… Pleasure to meet you," she said briefly, and then walked out the door. Before she stepped out of the opening, she looked at Jonathan. "And remember, you owe me a favor." In so saying, she stepped out and closed the door behind her.
The moment that she left, all three crowded around Jonathan, their grins wide. "Spirited girl," Zachary commented dryly.
"So who is the chit, Jonathan?" Nathaniel asked conspiratorially, his eyebrows wiggling. "Is she the one you mean to make the Lady Herid? Should I start calling her 'milady' now?"
"She is not my lady," Jonathan said angrily, trying valiantly to stand up and then collapsing back on his bed with a thump. Wooden swords or not, it hurt. She couldn't have just tapped me gently on the forehead, he found himself complaining in his head.
"So she is not to be the new Lady Herid?" If possible, Nathaniel's grin grew wider. "Well, then, if that is the case, then I think I will go up to her and…" The brown-haired man made to stand up from the bed.
"You will do no such thing, if you mean to keep your ears," Jonathan growled, and then realized his mistake when his three friends laughed outright.
"Looks like someone's in love," Zachary sang out, poking Jonathan, who promptly whacked him with a pillow. Undeterred, he and Nathaniel proceeded to jibe the blond man, asking all sorts of questions about the mysterious raven-haired woman.
"All right," Jonathan finally cried out, throwing his hands in defeat. "I do admit that I am… Interested in her." This was followed by whoops coming from Zachary and Nathaniel. "However, I do not know if anything will come out of it."
"Do you know who she is, Jonathan?" The question, asked quietly, came from Kaelan.
At this, the other two quieted. Jonathan looked apprehensively at his leader. "No, not really," he admitted. "We just found her on the grounds, unconscious. She does not remember anything, not even what her real name is or where she came from."
"Are you sure about that?" Kaelan asked.
Kaelan's question's discomfited Jonathan. "Not really, no," he found himself admitting. "We only took her words. Still, I do not think that there is a way for us to prove that, right?"
It was a while before Kaelan responded. "Jonathan, you may not have noticed because you are besotted with the lady, but there is something strange about her." He paused. "You may have been holding back when you were playing with the wooden swords earlier, but she was too. I could see it in her form. That was not the first time she has held a weapon."
Jonathan looked at his leader then. "Where are all these questions coming from, Kaelan?" He looked at the three then. "Come to think of it, why are you three here? I know you guys miss me and all, but I do not think that I am worth the trip," he said, trying to keep his voice light.
None of the three smiled at his joke. In contrast to the gleeful atmosphere earlier, the air became serious. "You did not show up to the meeting this month," Zachary finally said.
Jonathan slapped his forehead. "I forgot about the meeting!" His eyes gazed wildly at the three. "What happened? Did I miss anything important?"
The three looked at each other. "Are you feeling alright, Jonathan?" Nathaniel asked, a tinge of worry in his voice. "You are not the type of person to miss out on meetings, especially those arranged by Endymion."
"I know… It's just…" Jonathan wracked his mind to try to remember what he was doing at the time of the meeting. "That was the time that the Lady Beryl arrived, and I became focused on entertaining her on behalf of Endymion that I forgot about the time."
"Lady Beryl? She is here?" Kaelan asked, his voice sharp.
"Yes, she arrived about a month ago." Jonathan looked at the silver-haired man, his tone perplexed. "Why? Is there something the matter?"
This time, it was Zachary who spoke up. "Remember the energy patterns I told you about? We traced it to the Daryne residence and…" He looked at the other two.
"The Lord Daryne is dead," Nathaniel said bluntly.
"What?" Jonathan gaped at him. "But he is Endymion's biggest supporter!"
"Exactly," Kaelan's voice was grim. The four of them were aware of the political implications involved upon the death of the senior Daryne.
"Did you get any hints about it from the Lady Beryl, Jonathan?" Zachary peered into the blond man's face. "This might be important."
"No," Jonathan said, his voice still shocked. "Whenever we saw each other, she would always play the part of the brainless chit, tittering about this ball or that dress. She never mentioned anything, and she never wore mourning colors. Could it be possible that she does not know about her father's death?"
"Impossible," Kaelan said grimly. "She was sighted in Elysion a few days after Lord Daryne's death."
"But what does that mean?" Jonathan asked, his tone baffled. "And the energy patterns? You mean the one with the dark magic? You think dark magic killed the Lord Daryne?"
The three shrugged helplessly. "We cannot say at this stage," Zachary said. "But I am certain that the two are connected." He took a deep breath before he continued. "And… Jonathan… The energy source… It seems to have entered your kingdom."
"What?" Jonathan yelped.
Nathaniel nodded, his lips set at a straight line. "That's why we went here. We didn't want to leave Endymion unprotected but…"
"But he was the one who commanded us to go to you," Kaelan finished Nathaniel's sentence. "Our kingdoms were already affected by that dark energy, and he did not want the same thing to happen to the East."
"Have you noticed anything strange going on here, Jonathan?" Zachary asked.
"Aside from the fact that a beautiful girl just happened to land in your property," Nathaniel started snickering, but was cut off when the other two glared at him.
"Not that much," Jonathan said thoughtfully. "There was a house at the nearest town, but they said that a candle caused it… Nothing seems peculiar so far."
"And your dreams?" Zachary inquired.
Jonathan hesitated. He was never really comfortable about mysticism, and that included the dream realm. But still…
"Jonathan?" Zachary prompted.
Jonathan took a deep breath before he spoke. "You know those fairy tales we were told when we were young? About the goddesses who controlled the elements and protected the earth from afar?" The three nodded. "Well, I have been dreaming about them." He looked at his brothers, expecting them to laugh, but their expressions were serious, so he continued. "I cannot see their faces, but they seem to be telling me something, but I cannot hear what they are saying. The one with the clearest voice, the Lady of War… I tried running up to her, but before I could reach her, I…" He faltered.
"Was surrounded by a thick, dark fog?" Zachary asked, his voice leaden.
"Yes, but how did…?" Jonathan looked at their faces. "You too?"
"All of us had the same dream," Kaelan said slowly. "Normally, I would not believe in all of these mysticism, but…"
"But it might be connected," Zachary said. "Which is why we all need to be careful."
"And that includes protecting yourself from the girl Rei," Kaelan said, looking at Jonathan. He raised his hand when the blond man opened his mouth. "No, I have nothing against her. If she brings one of my brothers happiness, then I will support that. However, until the danger passes, it might be best if you do not grow too attached to her, especially since you know virtually nothing about her. She might be a threat to you or to Endymion, we do not know for sure yet."
"Alright," Jonathan said woodenly.
"Oh, and Jonathan, would you mind if I set up some equipment here? I want to see if I get clearer readings so we can prevent anything from happening," Zachary asked.
Jonathan nodded, his mind only half-aware of what Zachary said.