A/N: sorry guys, the story got kind of weird again, so I had to change a few facts... I changed some scenes in chapters: 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 16, mostly scenes with Leopold in it. Thanks! Don't forget to review!
Chapter Ten
Mario stepped back and gasped when food suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the table in front of him. Could this be poison? First the fire, then the food. There was magic in the very air of this castle.
But he couldn't resist. The table was laden with tarts and turkey and food fit for a king. He had not seen that much food on the table since they became poor. Mario immediately sat down and gobbled down the food, now hungrier than before he saw the exquisite array of food before him.
After he finished all he could eat–the panoply of food never decreased in size, no matter how much he ate, Mario stood up and wandered around the castle, now tired and sleepy. He walked along the chambers and opened a door, peeking inside. A blazing fire in the fireplace greeted him. He looked around the room and saw a massive bed in the middle and some nightclothes laid out on a chair.
Mario walked in, certain that this must be for him. He felt the nightclothes and his eyes widened. It was the finest kind of cloth he had ever felt. Not even when he was rich did he encounter anything like it. It was silky and light. He walked over to the bed and felt the covers. Velvet.
Tired and exhausted, Mario changed into the nightclothes and tucked himself into the bed, imagining he was the king of Tarimal. He dreamed of balls and feasts, unknowing that there was another in the same castle.
~~~
"Well? Any extraordinarily beautiful humans?" Thais barked out. There was a chorus of no's and shaking of heads from the fairies. "Get on it then! Find one whose beauty is deserving." With that, Thais breezed out in a flurry of wings.
Angry grunts were heard throughout the room after Thais' departure. "Who does he think he is?" A servant called out.
"Which one are you talking about?" Another replied.
"Both." The other answered.
"We're soldiers, not his nannies!" A particularly grumpy servant shouted.
"We were called to fight, not to find his fiancee." There was a couple of snickers to this comment. It was pretty funny imagining their king losing his fiancee, but no one dared say it aloud. Like Gennadius, they believed 'the walls had ears' and dared say no more.
There was complete silence after that, and some of them were seen to nod their heads almost imperceptibly and gesture with their eyes. To the average fairy, or person, it didn't seem like anything. But to them, they already had a plan.
~~~
Leo walked around, stretching his muscles and shaking off dust. He was trying to avoid the stranger, lest he saw him and became afraid. The stranger was preparing to leave today, as he spied him looking at a map and making routes.
Just a few more minutes until he could relax and go back to his castle. He had wandered around the gardens to avoid the man. He had a suspicion that the man would feel tempted to explore the castle.
Sighing, he walked towards his favorite garden that he had discovered lately, the one that reminded him of Aglaia. She loved the roses in his garden, and the roses in this one were much more beautiful than the ones he had in his castle. What was she doing right now? He wondered.
~~~
Mario walked to the stables where he left his horse. He led it outside and mounted it, map in hand, to claim his riches. Of course, he had thought of taking the castle and claiming it as his when he saw that there was no one there, but then why couldn't he have both? He would go to Kirmal and then go back to the house. Once he was back at home, he would summon people to go with him to the castle to take the riches, for surely his horse couldn't take everything the castle had to offer.
He urged his horse to a brisk trot and looked around the gardens for something interesting. He came upon a garden filled with roses and remembered Charites' request. He didn't really care about Charites, but he remembered Adela's look when he ignored her and shrugged his shoulders. He dismounted and walked towards a rose bush. Breaking off a branch, Mario was startled by a sudden noise and jerked his head towards the sound.
~~~
"Alright. We all know why we are here, yes?" A fairy by the name of Phaedrus looked at the group of fairies clustered before him. All of them showed affirmation–nodding their heads, grunting in acknowledgment.
There was a quick pause, filled with the almost imperceptible shuffling sound of gnomes roaming the forest and the faint snore of a far-off dragon sleeping in its lair. They were near the border of the fairy kingdom, where fairy tale creatures lay.
It was a very important meeting. They had come to discuss their plans.
"I say we kill the ignorant bastard!" The fervent whisper was answered with simultaneous nods of heads. "No," Phaedrus whispered. "Do you want to be just like them? Killers? We do not kill unless in war or in a battle. We will not kill for fun."
"Well do you have any other ideas?" There was a mocking glint in the fairy's eye, challenging him. Ignoring this, Phaedrus continued, "We will just ignore their orders. Pretend to look for humans, but do not. There is nothing they can do if everyone thinks we can't find a beautiful human. And if they ask, we can use their pride to our benefit. Tell them we cannot find a human beautiful enough for him." Phaedrus didn't want to call him their king, Akakios did nothing to deserve the title. But he didn't dare mock him out loud either.
After a few more whispering and mumbling, the fairies dispersed and left, hiding in the shadows so as not to attract attention.
Chapter Ten
Mario stepped back and gasped when food suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the table in front of him. Could this be poison? First the fire, then the food. There was magic in the very air of this castle.
But he couldn't resist. The table was laden with tarts and turkey and food fit for a king. He had not seen that much food on the table since they became poor. Mario immediately sat down and gobbled down the food, now hungrier than before he saw the exquisite array of food before him.
After he finished all he could eat–the panoply of food never decreased in size, no matter how much he ate, Mario stood up and wandered around the castle, now tired and sleepy. He walked along the chambers and opened a door, peeking inside. A blazing fire in the fireplace greeted him. He looked around the room and saw a massive bed in the middle and some nightclothes laid out on a chair.
Mario walked in, certain that this must be for him. He felt the nightclothes and his eyes widened. It was the finest kind of cloth he had ever felt. Not even when he was rich did he encounter anything like it. It was silky and light. He walked over to the bed and felt the covers. Velvet.
Tired and exhausted, Mario changed into the nightclothes and tucked himself into the bed, imagining he was the king of Tarimal. He dreamed of balls and feasts, unknowing that there was another in the same castle.
~~~
"Well? Any extraordinarily beautiful humans?" Thais barked out. There was a chorus of no's and shaking of heads from the fairies. "Get on it then! Find one whose beauty is deserving." With that, Thais breezed out in a flurry of wings.
Angry grunts were heard throughout the room after Thais' departure. "Who does he think he is?" A servant called out.
"Which one are you talking about?" Another replied.
"Both." The other answered.
"We're soldiers, not his nannies!" A particularly grumpy servant shouted.
"We were called to fight, not to find his fiancee." There was a couple of snickers to this comment. It was pretty funny imagining their king losing his fiancee, but no one dared say it aloud. Like Gennadius, they believed 'the walls had ears' and dared say no more.
There was complete silence after that, and some of them were seen to nod their heads almost imperceptibly and gesture with their eyes. To the average fairy, or person, it didn't seem like anything. But to them, they already had a plan.
~~~
Leo walked around, stretching his muscles and shaking off dust. He was trying to avoid the stranger, lest he saw him and became afraid. The stranger was preparing to leave today, as he spied him looking at a map and making routes.
Just a few more minutes until he could relax and go back to his castle. He had wandered around the gardens to avoid the man. He had a suspicion that the man would feel tempted to explore the castle.
Sighing, he walked towards his favorite garden that he had discovered lately, the one that reminded him of Aglaia. She loved the roses in his garden, and the roses in this one were much more beautiful than the ones he had in his castle. What was she doing right now? He wondered.
~~~
Mario walked to the stables where he left his horse. He led it outside and mounted it, map in hand, to claim his riches. Of course, he had thought of taking the castle and claiming it as his when he saw that there was no one there, but then why couldn't he have both? He would go to Kirmal and then go back to the house. Once he was back at home, he would summon people to go with him to the castle to take the riches, for surely his horse couldn't take everything the castle had to offer.
He urged his horse to a brisk trot and looked around the gardens for something interesting. He came upon a garden filled with roses and remembered Charites' request. He didn't really care about Charites, but he remembered Adela's look when he ignored her and shrugged his shoulders. He dismounted and walked towards a rose bush. Breaking off a branch, Mario was startled by a sudden noise and jerked his head towards the sound.
~~~
"Alright. We all know why we are here, yes?" A fairy by the name of Phaedrus looked at the group of fairies clustered before him. All of them showed affirmation–nodding their heads, grunting in acknowledgment.
There was a quick pause, filled with the almost imperceptible shuffling sound of gnomes roaming the forest and the faint snore of a far-off dragon sleeping in its lair. They were near the border of the fairy kingdom, where fairy tale creatures lay.
It was a very important meeting. They had come to discuss their plans.
"I say we kill the ignorant bastard!" The fervent whisper was answered with simultaneous nods of heads. "No," Phaedrus whispered. "Do you want to be just like them? Killers? We do not kill unless in war or in a battle. We will not kill for fun."
"Well do you have any other ideas?" There was a mocking glint in the fairy's eye, challenging him. Ignoring this, Phaedrus continued, "We will just ignore their orders. Pretend to look for humans, but do not. There is nothing they can do if everyone thinks we can't find a beautiful human. And if they ask, we can use their pride to our benefit. Tell them we cannot find a human beautiful enough for him." Phaedrus didn't want to call him their king, Akakios did nothing to deserve the title. But he didn't dare mock him out loud either.
After a few more whispering and mumbling, the fairies dispersed and left, hiding in the shadows so as not to attract attention.