Through all of the tea parties and other pleasantries the Regilian royalty had 'oh-so graciously' provided for them, Helios had to sit politely. If he moved so much as an inch, Aunt Hessie's eyes would snap from Princess Arya and her 'sophisticated' conversation and glare him down until he stopped fidgeting. Helios knew that if he tested her now, he would never hear the end of it.

So, he trudged painfully through that day, only having sympathy from Slate to help him through. Still, he grit his teeth and pushed through it.

Now, though, he had a little bit of freedom.

"You are to only go within the bounds of here, here, here, and here," Aunt Hessie drew a rectangle around a map of the castle Helios figured she must have gotten from one of the servants. "If I catch you going any further, your Uncle and I will have words with you!"

"Yes, Aunt Hessie," he dutifully replied. Only a little while longer…

Aunt Hessie looked skeptical, searching his neutral face for any signs of deceit. But Helios kept his face blank, and she eventually nodded. "Very well, then - you may leave. Slate must remain here, though - he must go through remedial training."

Helios nodded, wincing a little bit on the inside. When they had returned from the ankle-twisting incident, Helios hadn't thought to hide the tube of paste. Explaining it when Uncle Theus had come into the room hadn't been an option, and his attempts at a lie had been… well…

"Uncle Theus, this is a brand of… topical cream! Scented like Oran Berries! It's good for my scales!"

"…"

"… why are you looking at me like that?"

"... Helios, this is medicinal Oran Cream for heavy injury use. This is only for treating injuries. Why is it in your guest room? Why is it half-used already, and covering the desk"

"Look, it was hard to open- I mean, I don't… know?"

Luckily, Slate had come in with a much better lie. Showing off a small injury he had gotten during their spar, he had claimed that one of the servants - 'that Shinx that had called for him earlier' - wanted to fight against a Dragnian, to see what they were made of. Slate had 'accepted out of politeness', and had proceeded to wipe the floor with that Shinx, though not without suffering an injury of his own.

Then, Slate claimed, the Shinx had led him to a smaller infirmary in the castle so that they wouldn't bother Madam Dia. He had gotten the paste from there and had asked Helios to keep it since there wasn't much space in the barracks the guards were staying in

Uncle Theus looked much more satisfied with that, even forgetting Helios' pathetic attempts at a lie because of it. Of course, Slate had to be punished, which sucked. At least he escaped punishment. Kite was probably punished too, though - Helios only felt a small twinge of pity before stamping down on it, hard. Kite deserved punishment - not for the spar, but for what he did.

Honestly, Helios was still a little wary of going into the halls of Regilia, alone. What if Kite found him? What if Kite wanted to take his revenge? What if…

No, he would die like a prince! If he found Kite and Kite wanted to kill him, he'd fight until his last dying breath, on his burning honor!

Aunt Hessie gave one last nod of approval to the guards, who had remained vigilant. "Be safe," she mentioned to Helios at last.

"Of course, Aunt Hessie," Helios said with a solemn look on his face. Then, when she finally left his sight, he relaxed his face. "Okay, now to have some fun."

Taking care to make his strides as normal as possible - he had to make up for hiding it badly before! - Helios ambled out of the guest chambers. Putting too much weight on his ankle hurt, but he could walk normally if he concentrated - the Oran Paste helped. Now, away from all the prying eyes, Helios relaxed further, slumping against the wall and nursing his ankle. Okay, it could have helped more.

Relaxing against the wall, Helios slowly felt stamina return to him. The past few days had drained a lot out of him - the spar, all the sneaking around, the parties he had to muscle through, everything drained him of energy. Not even sleep was relaxing, not in these foreign beds.

Helios still brought himself to his feet, if only to stop crushing his tail. He had a castle to explore - and he could tell Slate all about it! And hey, maybe they had some Chesto or Leppa Berries in the kitchen! That would perk him up!

Helios slowly started making his way through the castle. They were getting ready for the Twin Moon Ball, so they were putting up statues of Darkrai and Cresselia everywhere, bringing out the most vibrant and stunning of the tapestries. All of the servants bowed to Helios as he passed, making him smile a little. Even outside of his country, he was still royalty - it was nice to see people acknowledging that.

So he was in a much better mood as he arrived at the kitchens, having remembered the location from the map Aunt Hessie had. It was well within the bounds too, so Aunt Hessie couldn't fault him for coming here, anyway.

Helios, after slowly opening the door to the kitchen, approached one of the servants carrying around dishes, the ones preparing for the special dinner that night. Uncle Theus had said that the Eonians were coming and that he'd have to be there to greet them - but that was at least a few hours away. Not to these servants, though.

Honestly, if they burned out all of their energy now, how would they prepare the feast?

"Excuse me," he asked with a modicum of politeness. "But can I request something from you?"

The servant, a Heliolisk, twisted around. "Oh, prince Helios!" He quickly put down the dish of food on one of the other counters and fell into a respectful bow. "How may I help you?"

Helios cleared his throat. "Can you get me some Leppa Berries, if there are any left?" There, that should be polite enough.

"Of course!" The servant bowed again and quickly ran to one of the berry bowls that would be served at the feast later that night. Quickly, he scooped a handful of the Leppa Berries - well-ripe ones, Helios noted - and put them in a bowl. "Will this be enough, your Majesty?"

"That'll be enough, yes," Helios said dryly. The servant quickly handed the bowl off to Helios, bowed another time, and then scampered away to continue his cooking duties.

All in all, it had been a very by-the-numbers, be-polite-or-else affair. Even if being rude to the servant wouldn't have amounted to much in the eyes of anyone who mattered, Aunt Hessie still made it clear he should be polite to his subjects. Irritated subjects meant bad work and all that stuff.

Helios popped a couple of Leppa Berries into his mouth and savored the rush of energy and stamina that came with it. With a new pep in his step, he strode forward, eager to explore the castle.

Though, other than the tapestries on the wall, there wasn't that much to do. There wasn't any place where he could have fun or play around - there were a lot of storage facilities and bedrooms, yeah, but they didn't have much to offer. And he could only admire the artwork for so long before that started feeling old as well.

Helios chomped down on the last of the Leppa Berries and threw away the bowl - some servant would find it eventually and clean it up for him, so it didn't matter anyway. He still had two hours left until he had to be back and properly dressed for the arrival of the Eonians, so he had to make it count.

Maybe Slate would have a good idea as to what to do- no, he was still in remedial training. Drats. Oh, well, Helios would have to find something to do eventually - oh! Maybe Helios could check in on Slate in the guards' barracks, see what his training was like.

Helios got directions to the barracks from one of the cleaning servants and arrived there in only ten minutes or so - technically, he wasn't supposed to leave the castle walls, but he figured that as long as he was sneaky enough, he wouldn't be caught.

Most of the guards weren't training or anything - instead, they were talking about some of the maids they had found cute or cracking some (admittedly) funny jokes. Both the Regilian and Dragnian guards were friendly enough with one another, though there were a few jibes thrown around about the Dragnians having sticks up their butts or the Regilians' castle only being dwarfed by their ego.

Helios ignored them all and slowly made his way across to the training center. A few of the Regilian guards saw him and gave him a double look, but after realizing who he was, let him through to the inside of the training center.

The training, as it turns out, was not very fun. Most of the guards who had to train were those who had misbehaved as Slate had. They were put through grueling exercises like walking through quicksand (which Slate did easily) or climbing a wall with only your arms (which Slate didn't do quite so easily). A drill sergeant walked in circles as this was happening, shouting phrases like 'You live to SERVE royalty, not be served BY royalty' and 'The princes' bedroom is NOT your warehouse'.

Helios felt his guilt rise like Mount Etna on one of her bad days and decided that maybe waiting around while someone else took the punishment for your misdeeds wasn't a good thing to do. But before he could leave, he felt a strange hand rest on his shoulder.

He quickly whipped around to see a Kirlia staring at him, a broad smile on his face. A Kirlia…

"Hello, Prince Yurime," Helios nodded his head, and Yurime nodded his head back. Good, good, he didn't mess that up. "Can I help you?"

"Ah, no, I simply wished to greet - this is the first time that we've met, hasn't yet?" It was - the only reason Helios even knew Yurime's name was because Aunt Hessie forced him to memorize the name of royals a few years ago. Even then, he had forgotten until Aunt Hessie drilled it into him again on the way here.

"Well… hello, then." Helios cursed mentally as Yurime only smiled harder - how was that even possible?! Why was Helios feeling so out of his depth, anyway? Yurime was only three years older than him!

Yurime then turned to the training grounds, where Slate continued to be disciplined. "That Gible, Slate - he is a Dragnian, correct?"

"Yes?"

"Could you please tell me why he's here?"

Why was Yurime so interested in Slate? "He's here to be disciplined because he snuck a tube of Oran Paste into my room after he was injured in a spar."

Yurime nodded. "I gathered as much - though, he seems rather fit and strong for his age. It must have been a tough battle for him to suffer a wound needing paste like that."

"Yep!" Helios beamed. Then, as Yurime turned back to him with an even larger smile, Helios realized what he'd just said. "I mean, um, that's obvious, isn't it?"

"Quite," Yurime nodded. "But, then I must ask - who dealt the damage?"

"Well, it was that Kite servant, wasn't it?"

"Right… though, that does raise a rather interesting question," Yurime responded.

"It… does?" Helios thought about it for a while. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, if it were to be any other servant, I would accept the explanation quite readily," Yurime explained smoothly. "But Kite is a… special case."

"Special… how?" A murderer, not that Helios was supposed to know.

"Well, Kite is under a 'special' kind of discipline, one that can't be handled using these ordinary measures. He is currently outfitted with a device of sorts that prevents him from being a danger to anyone."

"Huh?"

"If Kite musters up the will to fight, to inflict harm... let's just say he's in for a nasty surprise." Helios blinked. "As it stands now, he is unable to cause injury. That raises the question - just how did that young guard get that injury?"

Helios didn't say anything, realizing how close the lie was from collapsing.

"Aren't you curious too, Prince Helios. I'm sure if you ask him, he'd gladly lend the truth to our ears."

"... uh … um … you know what, I think I should be going now." Helios then cursed at how it made him sound. Yurime's simply continued smiling serenely.

"But of course - though, I must ask, where will you be going, Prince Helios."

"I'll be going to the… uh…" Helios's mouth failed to provide him with words.

"I suggest that you go to the library - we have the widest collection of the finest tomes you'll see in many a mile," Yurime mentioned.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Helios then made to leave, glad to have been given any sort of excuse

"Oh," Yurime stopped him before he exited the door. "While you're there, Prince Helios, could you please fulfill a small request for me?"

"... yes?"

"Please tell my fiancee that the bonding ritual will be conducted on Luneira. I'm sure she'll be quite eager to hear the news. You'll most likely find her perusing the shelves - if you see her, be sure to mention it to her."

Fiancee? Yurime was fourteen!

Still, Helios nodded. "I'll be happy to," he said if only to leave quicker. He had no idea who Yurime's fiancee was, but he didn't care either way. "Goodbye, Prince Yurime."

Yurime nodded. "Good day," he said, before turning back to Slate. Quickly, Helios escaped as fast as he could.

He hated politics. Honestly, it could all go to hell, for all he cared - and how had he agreed to tell Yurime's fiancee about whatever he agreed to say?

This was all Kite's fault, too! If he hadn't had that stupid restriction on not harming anyone, Helios would have to risk being in such trouble!

A small spurt of smoke escaped his nostrils as he stomped across the training grounds, ignoring the smiling guards. What did they know, anyway? All they had to worry about was whether the maids looked at them or not - they didn't have to worry about serious things like he did!

Helios made his way into the castle, and sat down, trying to calm down. Yurime… Kite… why did this all have to happen to him! Yurime made a fool of him - him! Prince Helios, crown prince of Dragnis - and some prince from Regilia, second in line to the throne, made a mockery of him! And Kite - Kite!

Helios stamped on the ground hard, leaving small scorch marks on the floor. It still did nothing to calm the eruption of anger welling up inside him. He had to get revenge somehow! Yurime was diplomatically untouchable, but Kite was fair game to punish, right? It's not like anyone cared what happened to a servant, much less a murderer!

Vengeance in his heart, Helios stepped forward, ready to find Kite and give him a piece of his mind. That is until a conversation getting steadily louder stopped him in his tracks. Two guards, Dragnian guards, were walking towards him in the middle of a conversation. Helios remembered that he was well out of the area Aunt Hessie had allowed him to be in - and while Yurime and the Regilian guards weren't concerned where he was, he knew his future subjects would be.

Without pause, Helios snuck into a cubby and slowed down his breathing, trying to calm himself down. If one of the guards saw his tail flare-up, it would all be over. He would have to wait until they left to enact his revenge - Aunt Hessie would summon him back to their chambers otherwise.

"... honestly, our punishments are lighter than the Regilians, Edwis." The first guard, a Toxtricity, said while lethargically strolling forward. "I heard they used thirty lashes on that Shinx, and that's excessive."

"Are you kidding me?" The other guard, a Gurdurr, said incredulously. "They're lying, Mechi - that Shinx injured a bodyguard in a spar. That doesn't need a big punishment - and thirty lashes are too much for something like that. At most, one or two lashes."

"Edwis, I heard them lashing him - nobody told me, I heard the lashes themselves. Plus, there's a rumor going around that one of the servants soaked the Shinx's uniform in Shellder venom. That stuff attacks your nerves, makes it hard for you to feel pain, and ruins your movements."

The Gurdurr, Edwis, scoffed. "You need to get your ears checked, Mechi. And isn't it counterintuitive for the poison to dull the pain - wouldn't that make the punishment easier to bear?"

The Toxtricity snorted. "For a while, yeah, but the pain lasts longer than the anesthetic does - trust me, I know my poisons. And that Kite will be fumbling around for a lot longer than that. The punishment was brutal. Here's hoping they at least discharge him from his duty to let him recover."

"Actually," Mechi said. "I saw him mopping up around the servants' quarters. They're still putting him to use. Now that I think about it, I saw him stumble around a few times. There probably was some neurotoxin involved." Mechi grimaced. "Ugh… maybe the Regilians are harsher than we thought."

"Makes you glad to be Dragnian, doesn't it?" As the two started to leave earshot, Helios overheard one last thing. "Do you think the prince will ask to punish that Shinx himself? You know, since Slate's his guard and all. He'd probably get permission, and…" Helios could hear nothing else, their voices finally fading beyond his hearing range.

Helios slowly stepped out from inside the cubby. Now he could find Kite and… and…

… and he no longer wanted to take his revenge. Kite was a murderer, but this wasn't punishment, not any fair kind - no, this was just plain old torture… thirty lashes...

… the whipping…


Helios trembled, as a defiant Pangoro stood bound at the whipping post. It was supposed to be a private affair, but his dad wanted him to see this.

"Helios," his father rumbled. "Do you enjoy punishments? Do you enjoy seeing people suffer?"

Helios couldn't answer, only clutching at his father's leg tighter as the soldier assigned to the punishment, shifted restlessly, ready to start the flogging. The big Pangoro simply looked at him, causing him to hide behind his father and tremble even harder.

"This Pangoro, Helios," his father continued. "Has disobeyed orders and almost caused the death of his squadron because of it. Under normal circumstances, he would be discharged dishonorably from the army because of it - and if the offense was grievous, the punishment would instead be capital."

Helios couldn't understand a word of what his father was saying, the Pangoro's beady eyes, staring into him. There was no hate or judgment, but Helios nonetheless couldn't stop shaking.

"However, he has come from a long line of loyal soldiers and has shown nothing but loyalty previously. There is also the matter of this disobedience being done with the best of intentions, and I can't discourage kindness within the ranks. Therefore, he will only be whipped fifteen times and reinstated in the infantry."

The soldier, wielding a bladed whip, turned to his father. "When am I to start, King Hyperion?"

His father sighed. "You may begin."

The soldier walked to the back of the Pangoro, readied the whip, and struck. Tears formed at the Pangoro's eyes as the blades struck true, digging into his flesh. Teeth gritted, the Pangoro stood firm, ready for the next lash.

Once more, the whip struck. A new wound torn open, the tears started falling. The Pangoro's breath barely came through grit teeth. The soldier's eyes remained blank as he continued to administer the punishment. Helios' father, Hyperion, said nothing.

Helios watched, wordless in shock, as the flogging continued. Three… the eyes grew unfocused. Four… the Pangoro's defiance vanished, and his aura of strength disappeared.

Five, Six… Helios couldn't feel fear as horror blossomed within him. The Pangoro had let go of all dignity and was sobbing uncontrollably - though, Helios could barely hear the cries through the sickening pounding of his own heartbeat.

Seven, Eight… the Pangoro's movements slowed. Nine, Ten, the Pangoro stopped moving.

The last five lashes went by in less than a minute, yet to Helios, it was forever. He could only watch, transfixed, as the soldier then mutely walked away to clean the whip, leaving the Pangoro alone on the ground.

His father's next words came out slowly. "Helios," he began. "What you are feeling right now is what I hope you will feel for the rest of your life when thinking about this kind of punishment."

Helios couldn't open his mouth to speak, and simply clutched his father's leg harder.

His father didn't smile, looking at the bleeding and unconscious Pangoro at their feet. "He will recover in time, but he will never forget this day. Neither should you. Never delight in the suffering of others, not even if they deserve every iota of it. Never forget this day, Helios."


It took weeks before Helios had returned to normal. Every night brought with it horrific dreams of that Pangoro falling, over and over again. Compounded with his father's death not too long after… that had been a year Helios had tried his hardest to forget.

And he had, eventually - but not without forgetting the lesson that came with it.

The mere thought of taking revenge sat cold with him now. The thought of getting Kite to do something degrading or painful only gave him a sickening sense of dread right now. The Leppa Berries, which had previously given him energy, now sat like mush in his stomach.

He no longer wanted to do anything with Kite. Kite could take those punishments, but Helios could no longer imagine himself adding to it - and thirty lashes. That Pangoro fell after ten - and thirty?

… and they knew he hadn't done it, either…

… Helios shook his head, trying to get the image out of his head. He… he had a job to do. Yurime's fiancee - she was in the library. He should deliver the message to her and get back to the guest chambers.

Helios slowly walked through the halls, remembering where the library was inside the castle. After a short while, he found it. Shaking himself to rid himself of lingering nerves and unwanted emotions - he was the prince, he was better that this! - he got ready. After a second or two of mental preparation, Helios slowly pushed the door of the library open.

A sharp, musty smell immediately assailed his nostrils. Helios coughed a few times, drawing an irritated eye from the librarian. Either she didn't recognize Helios or she didn't care. After shooting the stink eye at him for a few more seconds, she returned to reading a thick tome on her armchair behind her service desk.

Helios made his way to the north wall, intending to move down the library, but, after ten minutes or so, he was starting to feel a little impatient. Where was the fiancee? Did Yurime lie to him? There was no strange, exotic fiancee for him to relay a message to - just dusty shelves.

Then a familiar voice whispered it's way to his ears. "Prince Helios?" Helios turned around to see Selene sitting at a nearby table leafing through a small instructional booklet. Eve was sitting next to her, deep in a history book.

Helios' heart started beating a little faster. "Selene!"

"Shhh!" Selene put a finger to her lips, and Helios remembered exactly where they were. Then she gestured for him to sit at her other side. "Come sit," she said softly, patting it welcomingly.

Helios rushed to the chair and sat down. "What are you two doing here?"

"We come here to read often," Selene answered. Helio resolved himself to return here the following day as well. "It's a nice place for us to relax. Eve is tearing her way through the rise of the current dynasty of Dragnian royalty - I think she's gotten curious after your arrival - and I've been researching new moves for my solo performance at the night of the ball."

Eve then spoke up, eyes not looking up from her book. "If you have any historical insights you'd like to share, feel free to share. I'd like a Dragnian's perspective, and considering that they're talking about your ancestry, you'd make a useful - if not completely reliable - source."

"Uh… maybe later." All Helios really knew was that his great-great-great-grandfather (maybe add a few more greats in there for good measure) united some warring tribes against Erebian invaders or something. "You have a solo performance during the ball, Selene?"

Selene nodded enthusiastically. "I perform for the king all the time - I'm the best dancer the royal court has ever seen!" She sounded incredibly proud of that fact. "But the Twin Moon Ball is easily the most important dance of the year - and luckily, my skills are the best then."

"Really? Can I see?" Helios was nearly on the tip on the tip of his toes with excitement. "If you wouldn't mind showing me, of course!"

Selene beamed. "I'd love to show you!" She looked at Eve. "If you wouldn't mind moving, Eve?"

Eve sighed, before getting up from her spot. "If you insist," she griped for about half a second, before sitting down with her back leaning against the wall. "I'll stop you after a minute or two."

"Right," Selene said, before turning back to Helios. "Your ankle should still be healing - has it been healing well, by the way? Are you applying the paste, as I told you to?"

"Of course I have!" Slate still kept the Oran Paste, so he managed to apply it in the mornings. "And it's been healing fine, I've barely been feeling it." A half-truth, he'd been feeling it earlier but over the course of his little exploration of the castle, he'd slowly been forgetting about the injury.

"Well, since you're still healing, can you please move aside so I can clear the ground?" Helios quickly moved aside. "Thank you," she said before she pushed the tables and chair away from the little space she and Eve had made for themselves. "I'm going to start trying out some new moves, so pardon me if it looks unpracticed."

Then, before Helios could respond, Selene started tapping out a beat with one of her feet. Eve started mimicking it, and after half a minute of synchronization, Selene started dancing to the beat.

Helios's vision tunneled, as all he could focus on was Selene and her enchanting dancing. Every step she took, every little leap and pirouette, only sharpened his focus on her. Helios felt his mouth go slack-jawed after a short while, a small line of drool falling from his mouth. All he could see was Selene's beautiful, shifting form; all he could hear was his heartbeat synchronized to the rhythm Eve was tapping out.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, Eve stopped tapping out the beat. Slowly, Selene's dance came to a stop, and she gave one final curtsy. "I hope that was to your enjoyment, Prince Helios." Her voice came out in a rasp of excitement, as though she was revitalized with energy.

Helios blinked, as he felt his peripheral sense return to him. "I… what…" Slowly, he collected himself. "Wh… why did you stop?!"

"Because we're in a library and a library isn't one of the places you should dance," Eve responded, already getting up to move the chairs and table back into place. "That, and she needs someone to give her a beat while she dances, and I wanted to return to my reading."

Helios dumbly nodded. His heart was still beating wildly over the whole affair. Slowly, Selene moved his chair back into place, and he slumped down on it. "I… I'm exhausted," he eventually confessed. Simply watching the dance took all of his energy. "Your dancing - it was hypnotic."

"Yeah, it's pretty much impossible to look away the first time you watch it - that hypnotic effect is irreplicable. You won't be as enraptured from then on."

Selene then groaned as she opened her bag. "This is going to suck." She took out a bottle of pills from within the bag and opened the cap, before popping one into her mouth. She shivered a little, before she slumped down on one of the seats, her eyes growing a little unfocused.

"Selene?!"

Eve waved off his concerns. "Don't worry - she takes those pills after she dances. She has to, or she breaks out into a horrible rash and hives."

"Rash and hives?" Helios looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Selene spoke up this time. "Once," she muttered. "I decided not to take them after dance lessons with Miss Strect for the day. I spent the rest of the day in bed with a burning fever. I tried it again a few years later. Rashes, coughing, the works."

"... oh…"

Selene smiled bitterly "I'm one of a kind. They're thinking my species, if there are other existing members beside me, had to make some tradeoffs. The best dancing ability imaginable coupled with the weakest constitution." She then groaned. "I'm not even allowed to leave the castle walls - I've been stuck here my entire life. And the pills taste awful, and since the Twin Moon Ball is coming up I have to take more of them than usual."

Helios couldn't say anything. Selene was an invalid, plain and simple. Helios couldn't imagine asking her to dance again, as much as he wanted to - he balked at the thought of Selene having to take another of those pills because of it.

"So, Helios," Selene said after pulling her head up. "Why did you come to the library? What kind of books were you looking for?"

"Books?" Oh, right, the message. "I came here because Yurime wanted a message delivered to his fiancee - he told me that she would be hanging around the library. Do either of you know where she is?"

"Oh, yeah, she's around here," Eve immediately piped up. "But what's the message?"

Helios blinked. "Well…" Yurime hadn't told him to keep it a secret, so he figured there was no harm in the two of them knowing. "He wanted me to tell his fiancee that the bonding ritual would take place on…" Helios trailed off, as a look of horror appeared on Eve's face. Selene looked worried as well - but with regards to Eve's reaction instead of the news. "Eve?"

"When?!" Eve quickly snapped, staring at him with a petrifying intensity. "When will the bonding ritual take place?"

"O-on the Twin Moon Ball. Eve, what's the matter with you-" Helios could barely get that out before Eve zipped past him, ignoring him entirely. He blinked a couple of times, before looking at a shrugging Selene. "What just…?"

"I don't know. I've never heard of the 'bonding ritual' before - but if it spooked Eve, it mustn't be pleasant."

Helios winced. "How badly do you think Yurime's fiancee will take it, then, if Eve reacted that badly?"

"'Will take it'... Helios, Eve is Yurime's fiancee."

Helios blinked once or twice. "I must have misheard you. Can you say that again?"

Selene sighed. "Eve is Yurime's fiancee - it's an arranged marriage. She's been living in the castle for the past eight years to get accustomed to her role as a member of the Regilian royal family."

Helios fell silent. There wasn't much he could say to that. It hadn't really occurred to him that Eve, an Eevee, wouldn't be a part of the royal family by blood - they were of the Ralts line, and it was impossible for Eevee to be sired from that family. She didn't have any practical duties either, so…

"Is it some kind of political marriage?" He eventually said. Those were all the rage in other countries - he hadn't heard about Uncle Theus making one for him, but then he didn't pay too much attention to all the political stuff anyway.

"Uh, yeah…" An awkward silence extended between the two of them. "I should go check on her," Selene eventually said, before getting up from her seat. She flapped her wings a few times, winced in pain, and then flew in pursuit of Eve, leaving Helios alone in the library.


Culus had felt numb all day long. He didn't know why, only that it made things much, much more difficult.

It had been a relief when he first noticed it - the pain from the lashes yesterday had faded away. It made it much easier to think as well - lashes were incredibly painful. After the first two whippings, he had wanted to curl up into a ball. By the time they had finished at thirty lashes, he nearly fell unconscious.

What's more, along with the remaining pains he faced from the whippings a few days ago and the still-healing foreleg, he also had a strange clumsiness he didn't know the origin of. He had chalked that up to simply being tired from poor sleep the night before (the pain was a rather effective stimulant).

Luckily, when he had gotten to work that morning, the pains had vanished, for reasons he wasn't quite aware of. So, after sweeping up, Culus decided to recuperate and so took a small nap. Thirty minutes later, he woke up in pain, no longer tired, and still uncoordinated.

It took a turn for the worse after that. With the pain returning and his coordination still somewhere far, far away, he found it nearly impossible to do any work, constantly bumping into things and missing dirty spots everywhere.

Still, through sheer effort, he managed to push through the day with enough skill to pacify the taskmaster - well, the only reason the taskmaster neglected to give him any more work was so he wouldn't have to interact with the Eonians. He was then given explicit orders not to interact with any of the Eonian royals, and that he was to avoid them if at all possible

Culus didn't know why exactly he shouldn't interact with the Eonians when the Dragnians could order him around like no one's business (that business with that Prince Helios was the reason he had the whippings after all, though he was still incensed they were punishing him over such a blatant lie!). Still, it gave him no relief; the pain was constant at this point, with only the location and intensity shifting day-to-day.

So for now, he had reclined himself against a nearby cubby - the door to Selene's room was locked - and was doing his best to not think about the pain. But it wasn't something he was succeeding in, by any measure; every breath he took summoned more fire in his blood.

Among the sounds of the working servants and the bustle of the wind, Culus could hear his own rasping breath. He was finding it difficult to even breathe now?

Culus didn't want to throw a pity party, but he could no longer help it. He might have murdered the general's daughter; when he first 'woke up' outside the treasure chamber, blood was on his hands, so him murdering her was the simplest explanation. But everything else wasn't his fault - he didn't break the Life Harp, didn't spar with Slate, and didn't deserve to beat half to death every other day!

Culus shut his eyes so that the tears wouldn't escape.

"Why… why me?!"

And the worst part of it was that worse things were to come. Undeath - near-endless torture, one that he somehow intrinsically knew would make the last few days seem like paradise. It was waiting for him in at least, and probably at most, three days. Luneira was fast approaching, and once it was over, he would be two.

And all he had been able to do over the past three days was work like a dog. The slavery band controlled everything. He couldn't fight back, escape, or evade punishment. All he could do was just take it, take it all - and then bend over backward to cater to their every whim!

He was filled with a blazing yet impotent rage. All he could do was just sit there, hold back the one bit of dignity he had left, and hope that in some way, in any way, help would arrive.

But there was none. Selene was kind - he could see it in her eyes, her soul. But she was also a just and noble person - and that kind of person didn't help murderers. Eve, Helios, and Slate were the same way - flawed and weird, yet thankful. Slate had wanted to thank him for his help yesterday before he learned who Culus actually was.

They were all kind at heart - but none would help him, for the same reason he was in this mess. A fate he couldn't control, and no allies to help him.

"... why… ?"

And then something within him broke.

Culus opened his eyes. All of his sadness, all of his rage, all emotions were wiped away instantly. They weren't distant or forgotten - rather, they were gone. The pain still remained, but he could think clearly again. His mind fell into a way of thinking both foreign and utterly natural to him.

Step 1: Assess the Situation, Goals, and Obstacles.

The situation? He was in a cubby hole, doing nothing at all. His foreleg was broken, and he had several large gashes in his back. Both were healing. His body was no longer well-coordinated, leaving his skills overall hindered. He had no allies and only enemies - the only neutral parties were those not aware of his status.

The only positive aspect was that he could move autonomously for the rest of the night, and perhaps extending into the future days as well, due to the arrival of the Eonian royalty.

The goals? His primary goal was to escape the castle, as imminent danger awaited him if he remained for too long. His time limit was three days at the minimum - until Luneira had finished.

The obstacles? Other than the compounding health problems, there was the slavery band, which blocked most if not all of his conventional options, including hostage negotiations and simple escape.

Step 2: Assess Possible Solutions to the Obstacles

The health problems were an irritant, but would heal on their own eventually, and weren't debilitating. Removing the slavery band would allow him access to many other conventional options, such as traditional escape. Information as to the removal of the slavery band is inaccessible.

Step 3: Create Plans to Remove Obstacles and Achieve Goals.

The slavery band consisted of technology he was unfamiliar with. More information was required to generate an effective plan. Until then, the current goal is unachievable.

*Paused*

.

.

.

Step 1: Assess the Situation, Goals, and Obstacles

The situation? Already determined.

The goals? Retrieve information on the slavery band, and explore possible ways of removing it and/or diminishing its effect.

The obstacles? Any of the guardsmen finding and/or stopping him.

Step 2: Assess Possible Solutions to the Obstacles

The guardsmen were trained, but he was more skilled than they were and knew the various secret passageways around the castle.

Step 3: Create Plans to Remove Obstacles and Achieve Goals.

The information on the slavery band was most likely in the main security center of the palace, approximately 100 meters north, 10 meters west, and 14 meters up. Infiltration and investigation of the security center will provide the necessary information. Use the secret passageways to avoid the guards.

Planning Concluded

.

.

.

*Continued*

Collect information on the slavery band acting on the newly generated plan. Use the information to determine further actions.

Planning Concluded

Culus blinked, then set his eyes forward. The night was young, and he didn't have much time. Whatever just went on with his thought process didn't matter - he had a job to do, and a way to do it.

He quickly looked around - no one was here, no one was watching. He could sneak away now.

In his head, he held a strong mental map of the various secret passages that he was half-sure the guards knew nothing about - and really, there was no other explanation as to how he could get to the treasure chamber in the first place without the knowledge of the passageways.

So within seconds, he found one of the passageways - hidden by a stone slab that required a strange pattern of taps to open - and slipped inside. Covering the passageway behind him, he let out a short gasp.

Finally! Finally, finally, finally!

Culus's emotions were slowly returning to him - not fear and anger like he previously had, but joy and elation. This is what he was meant to do - how had he gone a full four days without realizing he could just sneak into the security center like this?!

But now wasn't the time to be congratulating himself and patting himself on the back - if he messed up now, there would be no more chances. With the castle busy with the arrival of the Eonians, he had one shot to gather the necessary information.

It only took him a short time to slip through the system of secret passageways. Soon, he arrived at the security office. He had to get as much information on the slavery band as possible and discover as many weaknesses and limitations as he could.

Now, however, Culus came to a new problem. Where would he find the information?

There were no conspicuous boxes labeled 'Slavery Bands' for him to experiment with, or any manuals for the things laying around.

The security office mainly held the castle's wardstone, which was the castle's alert system - it was complicated magic, the kind that Culus had no idea about. There was no point in touching it or even interacting with it, since as far as he could tell it had nothing to do with the slavery band. Other than that, there was the desk and giant metal chair for the castle's security chief and a small safe sitting in the corner of the room.

Culus figured that the safe could be his best bet for any kind of hidden information - but, strangely, there was no lock. All there was to the safe was a dial to input combinations into - there was no way to actually open the door. Culus eventually figured that he could look at it later.

Culus opened the drawer to the desk - maybe there was something in there that he could use? There was a large pile of papers and paperwork that he quickly saw had nothing to do with him or the slavery band. There was also a small ornate pocket mirror, one that would be pawned off for a lot of money…

Almost unconsciously, he slipped the mirror into the pocket of his uniform - or at least, he tried to. The second he started moving his hand, he started having a strange spasm. There was a sharp bite of pain before his hand stopped listening to him. The mirror fell to the floor, breaking with a sharp tinkle.

Pain flared to life, the slavery band reacting to him destroying property. Culus screamed, the sound echoing around inside the isolated room. Time once more fell to a blur as he lost perspective, the unnatural fire in his blood burning everything else out.

Eventually, Culus opened his eyes. Any joy, any elation that he had from the discovery of a tentative plan was wiped away by the pain of the slavery band. It was still tingling badly - Culus figured it was because he broke something small instead of something large. Or maybe it needed to be charged or something. Either way, a good ten minutes had passed with him writhing around on the floor.

Culus wearily brought himself to his feet. He took a small broom in the corner and swept up the shards of the mirror, before dumping them in the trash. Still recollecting his bearings, he thought about exactly what just happened.

He was currently in pain because he dropped the mirror. He dropped the mirror because he wanted to steal it and let go halfway through putting it in his pocket.

Why did he want to steal it - no, why now, of all times, when he needed to be secretive and leave no trace? Why on earth did he just automatically try to sneak it away?

And why did he let go?

Culus tried sheathing and unsheathing his claws - and they would obey him only half of the time. This had gone beyond a simple lack of coordination - what had happened to him? Was all the pain the slavery was forcing him to endure doing something to him?

Either way… this whole reconnaissance attempt had been a bust. As much as he wished there was information on the slavery band, he couldn't find any that he could use. The small pit of despair had opened up again. Just why was he-

The door opened, and loud voices came in. Culus reacted near-instantly, hiding underneath the desk. He didn't know how he snuck in there so quickly, but the people that came in didn't even get a glimpse of him.

Yeah, his coordination was weird right now.

A sharp, deep voice bit into the air."... so you're telling me there's no antivenom? Parasel, are you serious?!"

A gravelly metallic voice replied with nothing but calm in their voice. "Sir, with all due respect, Shellders aren't poison types, and there are none in employ in the castle. With the recent reorganization of the medicinal stocks, it was determined that there was little need for the antivenom, and-"

"Parasel, you were on that damn committee!"

"As were you, sir."

There was a tense silence before a loud creaking and the chief sat on the giant metal chair. Judging by the feet and legs, the chief was an Aggron. There were also four blue metallic legs tipped with sharp claws - a Metagross.

"Look, Parasel," the chief eventually stated. "You're the smartest, most intelligent scientist in all of Regilia. You can switch your brains to thinking several thousand times faster than it currently is, in parallel."

"Yes, but-"

"So use those giant goddamn brains and tell me why you had no antivenom!"

"I had just said why, sir." Parasel's voice was still calm. "We needed to make room for the extra cleaning supplies, and the antivenom had never been used in the years prior. Though it hadn't expired, we had determined that it might be best stored in a remote location. If you can remember, everyone agreed to the plan at the time, including you."

"I don't remember anything like that!" The chief snapped.

"You were invested in upgrading the security at the time - do you remember any other things we agreed on at that meeting? What else did you agree on?"

A small period of silence came after this.

"... when we're done here, fetch me my records of the previous meetings. I'm going to have to refresh my memory. Oh, and send a telepathic message to a teleporter. We'll need that antivenom sooner than later - after all, if the Eonians touch anything Kite cleaned, we'll have easily the largest scandal since… I don't know when."

"Of course, sir." A few seconds pause. "The message is sent, sir. They'll arrive at the cleaning headquarters with enough antivenom to cleanse the palace. I've also sent a request for the records of the meetings, as you wished."

"Excellent, Parasel." The chief sat down in his large metal chair, which made an awful creaking as he relaxed on it. Culus was an inch away from the chief's metallic toes. "It's going to take a while, but it'll all be worth it. Still, I can't understand why the King insists on keeping a murderer within our walls. Honestly…"

"A slavery band is only effective within a certain radius of a master ring - roughly ten meters. And with all the commands we've placed on Kite using the ring, the slavery band won't be able to operate effectively without the external power source and signal carrier the castle's wards provide, meaning that slavery band won't be able to operate outside the castle's boundaries effectively, if at all."

Did that mean what he thought it meant?

The chief sighed. "Say that again, Parasel, but in a way that I can actually understand."

"The slavery band will only ever have a fraction of its strength outside the castle's walls. If Kite were to successfully leave the castle's walls, the slavery band would be essentially powerless to stop him from doing anything else."

"So then, for his Undeath…"

"The Undeath chamber is costly but powerful and recycles power well enough to be nearly free to use. We've already secured transport; but to be sure, we'll knock Kite unconscious on the night of the Twin Moon Ball to prepare him for transport."

The chief nodded. "I see… though, why haven't I been getting reports of this?"

"The King selected a small group to come up with the procedure, and have me double-check it to make sure of its authenticity. I believe he didn't want to burden you any more than you already have been, considering the necessary preparations for the Twin Moon Ball."

The chief chuckled. "Well, of course he did. I don't know what I was thinking - doubting the king, really!" The Chief stretched in his chair, and the tip of his toe nearly tapped Culus' nose. Culus held his breath. "Parasel, you've done well. Take the rest of the day off."

Parasel bowed smoothly. "Of course, sir. Though, I have to prepare special medication for our Star of the Twin Moon Ball. I'll need special permission to access the storage facility for the ingredients"

"Right, that Selene girl gets those hives. Wait a minute, let me get a pen." The chief opened a drawer. "Here we-" There a sudden silence. "Where is it?!"

"Where is what?"

"My mirror - the one my grandmother made for me! It's missing!"

A small chill ran down Culus' spine. The mirror he had broken.

"Sir, perhaps you have misplaced it-"

"No! I always leave it here, and it hasn't left this room in years! It has to be here somewhere!"

If the chief and Parasel found the shards in the trash, he was gone - they would know what he had learned and would take measures to prevent any plans. And that was the best-case scenario.

As the chief continued rifling through the papers in the drawer of his desk, Culus cursed his absolute stupidity. What kind of a thief would be this stupid as to leave traces this obvious?! Why had he stolen and broken the mirror?!

"Perhaps you misplaced it, sir," Parasel suggested as the chief kept on looking.

"No, it's here!" The chief swore. "It'll only be a minute!"

If only he hadn't stolen it… he would have been able to wait out the chief and escape. If only he hadn't broken the mirror, then he still would be able to fix this!

If only the mirror was still here…

Then a small chime tinkled. Culus barely paid attention to it, but then felt a strange sensation go through him. Then a large weight of exhaustion and hunger swept through him, leaving him breathless and fatigued.

"Ah - here it is!" A few seconds passed by, as Culus heard the sound of a pen scratching on paper. "And here's your permission."

"Excellent, sir - and I must say, that is a rather excellent mirror. I'd like one for myself personally."

What…?

"Of course - though, it isn't for sale!" There was the sound of the drawer snapping shut. "There, now it's safely tucked away. Now, I'll have to go to the training center to make sure those miscreants get disciplined for bathing Kite's uniform in neurotoxin. Really, they could have endangered innocent people - you think they'd have more brains than that!"

"I find four quite adequate, personally," Parasel answered. He then grabbed the written permission. "Would you like me to accompany you?"

The chief stood up and stretched. Culus sighed in relief at last. "No need - you can be on your way." There was a loud thumping of footsteps as both left. At last, Culus was alone in the room.

Culus slowly crawled his way out from underneath the desk, wincing as his body decompressed from the tight space. Then he cast off his uniform - after all, it was bathed in neurotoxins, and he was off-duty, so he didn't need to wear it. It also explained the lack of pain he had felt earlier in the day, along with the lack of coordination.

Culus stretched slowly. He didn't know exactly how long the neurotoxin would last - but he would find a way to get his hands on some of the antivenom the chief had ordered. He'd need his coordination, after all.

And now… the first goal accomplished. Just by listening in on a single relevant conversation, Culus had nearly all the information he needed.

The master ring created, changed, and altered the commands the slavery band would follow. The slavery band was only effective inside the castle. Culus had to take the master ring, undo the command keeping him inside, and escape the castle's walls - then, he would be free to chase the Zoroark and clear his name (partially). Exactly how he was going to do that, he'd figure out later.

But there was something else that also piqued his interest. Culus opened the drawer, and there inside laid the mirror, pristine and looking as if he'd never broken it.

Culus stepped back and looked into the trash. There, laying on the top of the garbage pile, were the shards of the mirror. Culus was lucky the chief hadn't seen it… but…

Culus took one of the shards, buried the rest in the pile of garbage so that it wouldn't be seen, then took it to the intact mirror in the drawer. Lining them up side-by-side, he noticed a few small differences - the original had finer grains in the wooden handle and had more silvery iron than the intact one.

In other words… the intact one was a fake. But why was there one there… unless he had…

Culus looked at the mirror and thought hard.

I need another mirror.

Another small tinkle sounded - entirely in his head, he now realized - and another mirror, identical to the previous two, shimmered into existence next to his hand.

Culus' jaw dropped - and the rest of him followed, as another giant wave of exhaustion and hunger swept through him. But even through the pangs of hunger and the immobility, he managed to grin.

Now he had something - the truly incredible power of creation - to even out the game. And he would make excellent use of it.


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