Death, Burial, Rebirth.

Prince of Roses

-2-

Author's Note: Hello again. I'd like to thank my reviewers and reply to one of them, Schwarz. It's nice to see another Dynast fan. He's my favorite character. ^^. And as for the giving of power thing, it might not be real....but I just thought about it. As the most powerful mazoku, I assumed that Dynast might have access to Shabby's power. Dolphin only says "Dynast-sama" in that situation because she wants Dynast to listen to her and not give Zelas the power. She later calls him "brother" because she is annoyed that he did not follow her judgment. And no, they aren't on the same rank. When Phibrizzo was in charge, they would have been, but because he's dead, I assume Dynast gets the new rank. Well, thank you for you review and also let me thank my other reviewers, Dan Inverse and Sherra-sama.

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

Seyrunn was abuzz with activity. The Crown Prince Philionel had just ceded the crown to his daughter, Princess Amelia. This was a shocking twist of events, because Phil still seemed to have quiet a few years in him, and the rightful heir to the throne, Phil's cousin Matthew, was still alive.  This decision was regarded mostly as senility by the aging prince, but they celebrated the new leader in any case.

The crowning ceremony was occurring that night and Veriem had no intentions to miss it. He had always adored the princess with her regal looks and her fantastic hair. Besides, this was probably the event of a lifetime in Seyrunn, and he didn't want to miss it. Something exciting was bound to happen at the ceremony.

Veriem Torrent was a kind looking man. He has short black hair and a big smile on his face.  His eyes were an olive green that had a certain shimmer to them. He dressed in traditional white Seyrunn silk robes, customary for priests or white magicians to wear. He wore a magic ring on every finger, each one sparkled and gave off a nice aura. He was also in possession of a large black jewel that glowed. He had tied this stone on the front of his robes. All in all, he looked very trustworthy.

Veriem left his house and began walking down the nice streets of Seyrunn, occasionally looking at a shop that had been set up. Women on the street often bowed to him, mistaking him for a priest. Veriem then saw the woman he had been looking for. Amelia Wil Tesla Seyrunn, the soon to be Crown Princess was walking down the street, people bowing before her as she went.

Veriem smiled and bowed, "My lady, I must question you on something..."

"Go ahead, fair priest." Amelia said, nodding.

Veriem chuckled. "I'm afraid I am not a priest, princess. I am simply a traveling magician."

Amelia smiled. "It's good to see people wish to visit this fair city."

"Indeed. Now, I must ask you a question of grave importance."  Veriem said calmly.

Amelia nodded, pressing for him to continue.

"Would it be possible for mazoku to come to Seyrunn?" Veriem said with a sigh.

Amelia frowned. "I'm not going to lie to you, sir. Mazoku have lived here in the past..."

"But is this not the holy capital of the world?"  Veriem clucked his tongue and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yes, and in certain areas, mazoku are drastically less powerful."

Veriem shook his head. "I need to get to a place where there are no mazoku..."

"I think we all wish that, kind sir." Amelia sighed and walked away.

As he watched the regal princess walk down the road, Veriem heaved a great sigh.

"Damn it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lina Inverse finished packing up her valuables.  Excited as she was about leaving on a new journey, she couldn't help but feel a bit sad about leaving Elmekia, which she had grown so very fond of. She also felt guilty about leaving her shop attended only by her son, Cray, who seems to have inherited Gourry's attention span. She also worried about her own magical skill, and how it may have decreased over the years. She also worried about how the world may have changed in the fifteen years she stayed in Elmekia. She also worried about why she was worrying...

~~~~~~~~~~~

"A new servant, Beastmaster?"

Xelloss and Zelas stood in the chambers of Wolf Pack Island. Zelas sat in her throne, sipping a cocktail.

"Yes. Grausherra gave me the power to create a new one..." Zelas replied, taking another sip.

Xelloss smiled. "It's nice to see that he's still on our side.'

"Dolphin is suspicious, however..."

Xelloss shrugged. "Deep-Sea has always been a bit wary of you. I wouldn't think to much of it.."

"She's certainly eccentric, though. She was rumored to have supported Garv..." Zelas replied, lighting up a cigarette.

"That would explain why Seigram was working for Garv, though it was well known that he always had a loyalty problem."

Zelas took a puff. "Seigram was working against the dark lord ages before Dolphin supposedly turned..."

"I doubt that she even did, Beastmaster. Just because she is a bit eccentric doesn't mean that she is a traitor."

Zelas raised an eyebrow. "It is also rumored that she is insane, though that rumor came from Her Holy Twitiness, Sherra."

Xelloss chuckled. "Sherra will ruin anyone reputation if it's convenient to her."

Zelas frowned. "However, I fear that Dolphin might be plotting against me."

"You shouldn't be so paranoid, Beastmaster. Once you have a general, Dolphin will know not to harass you."

"I also think that her stupid servants are more powerful than they let on..."

Xelloss grinned. "Carup and Trot? They're as useless as they are stupid. Dolphin is the only one with brains in her entire force. The rest are just brawn."

"I do fear that Dolphin may be able to use her psychic abilities against me..."

"Beastmaster, Dolphin is powerful, but not THAT powerful."

Zelas sighed and stuck her cigarette in her drink. "I do hope that I'll be able to create this new general...."

"It shouldn't be a problem, but if you're worried, I could get some minions to whip up a human sacrifice."

"That would be nice."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Norst looked around Seyrunn. It was so pleasant and calm. So warm and happy. It made him feel sick to his stomach.

"I can see why most mazoku don't make this their home..." Norst said bitterly in a wheezy voice, fiddling with a strand of his long red hair.

Norst certainly looked intimidating. He was very tall and he had crimson red hair that fell over his shoulders. His eyes were narrow, beady and dark grey and he had a long nose that looked like it had been broken several times. His thin lips were pale and his skin was an unnatural tan color. He wore a long black coat and slick black gloves made from bat wings. His pants were very loose fitting and they flapped in the wind as his coat did. His boots were very old and worn grey boots that had spikes on the heels.

As Norst walked down the avenues of Seyrunn, people stared at him. In a place like Seyrunn, it was not common to see such a ghastly figure. Norst glared at the people of Seyrunn as he walked past.

When Norst finally arrived at his destination, Seyrunn Castle, he heaved a sigh of relief. He hated traveling through a city full of warmth and love.

Norst walked up to the castle gate and the guards stood at attention.

"You may go ahead, Mr. Norst..."

"Thank you, guard." Norst replied, his raspy voice chilling the men to their bones.

Norst entered the castle and walked up a spiral staircase to a large marble room where a jovial looking man with a beard was waiting for him.

"Mr. Norst! How nice it is to see you..." The man said.

"Greetings, Chancellor Marduke." Norst said smoothly.

"Who is this man, Chancellor?" Said a female voice.

"Oh! Princess Amelia!" Chancellor Marduke said, bowing before her.

Norst turned around to see a beautiful woman in her late twenties stand before him. She was very regal looking, with shoulder length black hair and her glittering white gown.

"Good morning, Princess." Norst said, bowing.

"Who is this man?" Amelia repeated.

"This is Norst, the new Court Librarian." Marduke said, smiling.

"I recognize him. He seems oddly familiar." Amelia said, looking at the frightening man.

"Perhaps you have seen a portrait of me in a herald..." Norst rasped, his narrow eyes glimmering darkly.

"Why would you been in a herald?" Amelia asked.

"I am a well-known scholar." Norst said simply.

"On what topic?"

Norst smiled a half-smile that made him look even more frightening. "The Mazoku and Ryuuzoku wars."

"How very intriguing."  Marduke smiled, then pointed to the door. "Shall I show you the library, Norst?"

"Yes, please do." Norst replied. "Goodbye, princess."

"Goodbye..." Amelia said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~