I do not own Legend of Dragoon or any of the characters.
Royal Family
Cade remained silent as Princess Lisa spoke to them. Fester had gotten them into the castle, and King Zior had given them a pass to get into the Valley of Corrupted Gravity, then had welcomed them to stay the night in the castle. However, they all agreed to leave instead, deciding to get to the Gehrich Gang's hideout as soon as possible. Before they could, however, the handmaiden of Princess Lisa, Libria, caught up to them and informed them Lisa knew who Albert was and wished to speak with him. She'd led them back to the throne room and to a balcony off to the side where Lisa was waiting for them, and now Lisa was asking them to find out if there was a connection between her older sister and the Gehrich Gang. She said that through Astrology, she had seen a connection, as well as Astrology telling her not to hand over the moon, which she assumed meant the Moon Dagger, which would be passed to Emille on her twentieth birthday. Dart and the others all agreed to help, but Cade was distracted by the magic he could sense somewhere in the castle. He couldn't place it, though. Whatever it was, it was an old spell, and his senses couldn't pinpoint it.
"Dinner will be ready soon, milady," Libria said.
"Oh, is it already that late?" Lisa asked, then gasped. "Oh no! I forgot about Fester! I left him in my room!" She turned to leave, only to turn back. "I expect you all there."
Then, she turned, hurrying away.
Libria turned to them. "Let me know when you are all ready to eat and I'll lead you to the dining room. Try not to take too long, though."
"I was totally right about coming with you, Dart!" Meru said, stepping out in front of the group and twirling around to face them, smiling happily. "I was expecting things like this to happen!"
"Right!?" Haschel asked excitedly. "I am looking forward to it! I wonder what I can feast on there!"
"Which of you is the child?" Cade asked.
A couple of the others laughed and the others all headed off to find Libria, only for Cade to stop and catch Meru's arm.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" Cade asked.
"Sure," Meru nodded, waiting for the others to leave. "What's up?"
"How old were you when you left the Forest of Winglies?" Cade asked, Meru gasping instantly, eyes shooting wide open.
"How'd you know?" Meru asked.
"I'm also a Wingly," Cade said. "I could sense your magic. Or...well...I'm a half Wingly. My mother fell in love with a human and was banished, then eventually I happened."
"I see," Meru nodded. "It wasn't that long ago that I left. You've never been?"
"No," Cade said. "They'd never allow me to enter. I'm an abomination to them. They'd probably try to kill me on sight."
"I see," Meru nodded.
"Can you tell me about it?" Cade asked. "What it's like living among Winglies. And about the culture. Basically everything. My mother taught me some, but there was so much she couldn't, plus I was young, so I don't remember a lot of it."
Meru nodded, smiling. "Sure. But not now. Right now, we need to get to that feast!"
Cade chuckled, nodding. "Alright. And I won't tell anyone what you are. They know about me, but it's up to you if you want them to know about you."
Meru nodded, smiling appreciatively. "Thanks."
Cade nodded and they followed the others to dinner. Within moments, it was clear that something was wrong. Everyone was sitting quietly and politely, waiting for the king to eat. Everyone except Emille. She not only was shoveling food into her mouth just as fast as she could, but she also had more than five times the portions of everyone else, the table in front of her crowded with overlapping plates. cade watched her. If it wasn't for the fact that he had been told she was a princess, he'd never have guessed. She lacked the bearing, poise, manners, and etiquette of a princess. Basically everything but the dress. If he'd had to guess, he'd say she was a thief wearing a stolen dress. Even the look in her eyes was wrong. There was a dangerous, almost hungry light in her eyes. She lacked even the faintest trace of elegance.
"Please make yourselves at home," King Zior finally said, then chuckled as he saw Cade, Albert, and Dart all staring at Emille. "Isn't she a great eater? It seems when girls become twenty years old they develop quite an appetite!" He laughed again. "Oh, Fester. Would you introduce our guests to Emille?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Fester said.
"Oh, I didn't know you were here Fester," Emille said suddenly, taking a break from gorging herself to look over at him. "Are you still wasting time on useless thing? Those things with moons or stars?"
Cade's eyes narrowed. That was a bit much. For the princess of a country that worshiped the stars, saying something like that was like Cade saying that Winglies didn't exist. And he wasn't buying the story he'd heard about why she most likely changed. Supposedly, she'd fallen off her horse and bumped her head, then woke up different. But that wouldn't change her this much unless she came close to death and woke up with no memory.
"L-Let me introduce my friends, Your Highness!" Fester said hurriedly. "This-"
"You, you, and you," Emille interrupted, pointing her knife at Cade, Albert, and Dart, though her eyes were suddenly fixed on Cade. "What are your names?"
"I'm Dart," Dart said.
"I am Albert," Albert smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Cade," Cade said simply, tone dark, flat, and suspicious, which made Rose glance at him, one eyebrow raised.
Emille narrowed her eyes slightly for a moment before returning to eating. "The first two are cute guys. I like them. The one with the silver hair I don't like."
"Th-That's...good," Fester said, nervous and unsure. "And these-"
"I didn't ask you about the others," Emille interrupted.
"Oh, please don't be insulted," Zior said. "Emille is a bit shy."
Cade had to restrain his scoff. That wasn't shy. That was a bitch.
"I'm not shy," Emille said. "I don't like them, that's all." She paused eating what little remained of her food to glare over at a servant. "Hey! Bring more food, will ya!?"
"Please enjoy your meal," Lisa smiled. "I assume you'll be leaving early tomorrow morning?"
"Where are you going?" Emille asked, actually pausing her meal to look around at them.
"Well, they are saying that they want to go to the Valley of Corrupted Gravity," Zior said. "They understand the risks, so I granted them permission."
Emille's fork and knife clattered to the floor as she stared at Zior. After a moment, she leaned over and retrieved them, returning to shoveling food into her mouth. "Stupid guys!"
Zior turned back to everyone else. "Come on! Enjoy yourselves! Let yourselves go tonight!"
Everyone hesitated before beginning to eat. Once they were finished, they headed to the throne room's balcony where they could talk relatively privately.
"Can people change that much from only the shock of falling from a horse?" Albert asked.
"That is not Princess Emille," Cade said flatly. "She's an imposter. She's as much a princess as I am a Dragon."
"I'm inclined to agree," Rose said. "And the way she reacted when the king mentioned the Valley of Corrupted Gravity was very telling. Most likely, this imposter is a member of the Gehrich Gang."
"If that's true, they may be holding the real princess hostage," Albert said.
"We'll have to work quickly," Cade said.
Just then, Princess Lisa walked over to them, smiling. "It's getting late. Please stay at the castle tonight."
"Thank you for your concern," Albert said.
"It's fine," Lisa smiled. "I'm the one asking you all a favor, after all. Have a good night."
She curtsied and turned, walking away as her handmaid led them to the room they'd be sleeping in, which had one bed too few, not that Cade minded.
"You don't like such a formal feast, do you Dart?" Shana asked knowingly. "Aren't you tired?"
"I'd rather practice with my sword," Dart said.
"I didn't have enough to eat!" Meru complained. "Princess Emille stole my portion!"
"Me neither," Haschel agreed. "And I was looking forward to it."
"I understand Princess Lisa's hardship," Albert said. "But Princess Emille might lead us to Lloyd. The Moon Dagger is our guide."
"Everything leads to Gehrich," Dart said.
"It all started with the Dragoon Spirit," Shana said.
Dart nodded. "We have to get it back quick or we'll be in serious trouble."
Rose pushed off the bed she was leaning against. "You shouldn't have let it be taken to begin with, then."
Dart stared at the ground in shame.
"You are harsh as always," Haschel said. "There are other ways to say that. Why don't you show a little smile, at least."
Rose flashed him a death glare.
"Rose is right," Cade said. "Even with the bad wording. Dart let his guard down and as a price, he lost his Dragoon Spirit. Saying it more nicely won't change the facts."
"I'm going to bed," Rose said, turning away. "Good night."
"I'm getting sleepy too," Shana said, sitting on the bed beside the one Dart had apparently chosen.
"I'll get some sleep too," Albert decided.
Haschel chose a bed and sat on it, beginning to think, and Meru leaned against the wall. Cade walked over to the window on the far end of the room, at the foot of Rose's bed, and looked out through it. He had a bad feeling about the Valley of Corrupted Gravity. The shadow he was supposed to be finding the source of clung to it, just as it clung to Fletz. He had a sinking feeling that they weren't going to be able to protect the Moon Dagger. He was almost certain that Lloyd was going to get what he wanted in Tiberoa.
He sighed heavily, sitting below the window, his resting between his legs and leaning against him, still in its sheath. He glanced around at the others before resting the side of his head against his sheathed blade and closed his eyes, quickly drifting off to sleep.
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