Chapter Nineteen: In Which King Glower Makes a Decision

March and April passed by quietly and quickly. Spring had come, warm and bright, cheering everyone. May was a very nice month for Sleyne, flowers were blooming and butterflies were beginning to fill the air. Birds sang and the griffins sneezed. The Castle was hurrying. Lilah's wedding was in less than a month now, and it had more than the bride riled up. Some of Lulath's family had already begun to arrive, and there was beginning to be less places to hide.

After a day of starting with hugs and kisses from the Grathians, and ending with a rushed dinner after Celie had taken care of the dead bird Rufus had tried to eat, she was grouchy. So she decided to focus on other things. Like Kalys. Celie was surprised at how large Kalys was already. Not that she would say that; despite what Lilah believed, she did have a filter. But it was interesting how prominent her sister-in-law's stomach already was. She was sitting at the table now, attempting to fix the top of her dress which was falling as she slumped her shoulders. Celie smiled a bit as she simply just gave up and slouched. It must be terribly uncomfortable to suddenly have this protruding stomach all of a sudden.

Celie picked at her fish. She was cutting it up into little bites and unfortunately, Bran was just coming in now, and her mother had already noticed what she was doing. Usually Bran did it to, and they would pull it off together. But now he and Thalia scurried in, both of them flushed. Bran's hair was on end, and Thalia's robes were shifted in an awkward way. Thankfully, Lulath's parents had decided to take formal lunch, and then a private dinner in their chambers. Otherwise, though they would have been very kind about it, they might be horrified at the state of her eldest brother.

"We had to wrestle two hounds off of Micah," Bran quickly explained, sliding into his chair. He made a face at the fish and poked a fork to his beans.

Thalia had started joining them for dinner at Queen Celina's request, and she elegantly chewed her food. Celie was satisfied as she saw Bran refused to touch his fish. Rolf was smirking at them, and she saw Pogue give them an odd look. She decided not to think about it. Celie watched as Kalys took a bite of fish before her face turned mildly pale and she began to gulp down water. She made a face again, squeaked, and pushed back her chair. Queen Celina gave her a sympathetic look and Kalys was briskly walking out, a hand covering her mouth. Rolf stood up to follow her, but she gestured for him to sit back down. He made a face, but obeyed.

Oh the joys of pregnancy.

...

Celie and Kalys were not purposely trying to hide from the king and queen of Grath; it just sort of happened. A lot. From ducking into the library, or conveniently taking the griffins for a long social time with the village children, it just happened. It wasn't because the Grathians were rude, but Kalys was a bit shy around them, especially when they praised her pregnancy aura, and Celie was getting a little sick of the king's new parrot. Now they were in the spyglass tower with Pogue and Rolf, all hiding from Lulath's family. And Lilah.

"It's just," Rolf started. "I hate when Lilah gets like this, and though I am very fond of King Kurlath and Queen Ametopia, it's just become a little much for the day. Besides, they are perfectly satisfied with Mother and Father. I'm just a little sick of hearing the same questions over and over again. I am excited to see Orlath again."

Pogue nodded. "Besides Lulath, he is my favorite Grathian."

They could all agree with that. With his frivolous leather, and booming personality, Orlath was very special to them. Kalys nodded, though she seemed distant enough. The past few days Rolf had said she'd been physically very uncomfortable, and all of this was quite stressful. Especially Lilah.

There were many changes that had been made this month. Celie had helped her brother move their old cradle into his rooms; something Kalys had insisted upon, since she refused to use a nursemaid. The seamstresses had been working on baby things, and Celie would be a liar if she hadn't cooed over the tiny pieces of clothing. Though they didn't mention this to Rolf because the coming birth of their child was making him irritable and antsy, Lilah and Celie often talked about how excited they were for a baby. Though Celie had been hesitant, she did have a soft spot for babies; really of any race, though at first she had thought it was just griffins and unicorns.

Kalys now stood up looking out a window, sighing. She smiled down at Dagger who had immediately posted himself by her side. If Kalys was annoyed with Rolf's ever-hovering self since she had had a few more episodes since the first one, she couldn't really be annoyed with how the griffin seemed to take it upon himself to protect his rider's wife. It made Celie warm all over how sweet Dagger was; especially because how much of a handful he had been to train. Kalys had experienced three more of the dizziness and cramping she had felt, though she hadn't overheated the past few times. Thalia said it was a type of false labor and it was perfectly normal, though the castle's medic had been a bit more worried about it.

"I can't wait for this wedding to be over," Celie whined, laying her head on Rufus. "Lilah has been a horror to work with and Mummy seems to think I'll be able to fix it."

"That's because Mother doesn't want to deal with it herself," Rolf muttered, and Celie smirked. Their mother had been suddenly very interested in helping Bran since Lilah had gone rogue as Rolf put it. "I would just like to say I think it's very annoying that apparently I have to greet all the guests she invited."

Pogue cocked his head. "You are the crown prince, it's sort of in your job description. You just don't like it because people keep asking you questions about impending fatherhood."

Kalys snickered, and Celie knew it was true. Rolf was excellent at putting on a fake facade, and usually he enjoyed it; but that subject hit a bit to close to him, and he called anyone who asked about it nosy and annoying.

Her brother pursed his lips, patting Rufus on the head. "Maybe; but I'm sick of getting kissed."

"Good to know," Kalys said airily coming back to sit by Celie. "I'll keep that in mind."

Pogue snorted and Celie grinned. She really did like her sister-in-law. She gave Rolf what was coming to him.

Rolf rolled his eyes, standing and stretching. "Though hiding here from Delilah has been rather enjoyable, I have a council meeting soon about the war declaration, so I best be going."

He gave Dagger a good thump on the flank and left, leaving the other three to continue hiding. Queen Celina would probably be very upset that Celie and Kalys weren't taking their fair share of listening to Lilah, but Kalys used her pregnancy as an excuse, and Celie decided that she didn't want to hear about it and she would make her own choices. Pogue was laying flat on the ground staring up the the dome ceiling.

"How long do you think it will be before Bran gets betrothed?" He asked.

Celie hiccuped. "I don't even want to think about that."

If Bran got married within a year, Celie would go insane. Though she'd had awhile to get over the fact that Lilah was getting married; she still wasn't over that Rolf was married. If she was honest, sometimes she would lull herself into thinking that nothing had changed; that when she was with Rolf one on one he wasn't married, just back to same old dependable Rolf. But then he was different.

They had all changed a bit throughout their adventures, all had coped differently as their mother liked to say. That is, except Rolf. He was a mystery to Celie, how he had always seemed okay, okay with the change, okay with the adventures. Sure, he'd had his fair share of snark and complaints, but it was different. But this one was so personal to him specifically, he had just lost it. He was doing better, Celie could see the improvement and the determined heart to prosper in the last few months; but it didn't change the fact that this was the point in which he changed.

A door burst open revealing a tearful Lilah with her arms crossed. She didn't look angry, but she did look stressed, and Celie inhaled deeply. Pogue muttered something about Rolf having extra protection considering the times, which was the weakest excuse Celie had ever heard as he darted out of the room. Lilah flopped in the middle of the room, Juliet stalking in after her. She headbutted her rider in a comforting manner and Lilah burst into tears all over again.

"What happened?" Kalys asked gently as Lilah continued in her hysterics.

"Everything," Lilah sobbed. "This all just so overwhelming. Guests are showing up earlier than expected, I feel like an utter embarrassment to the Grathians, and-and Mother is being very rude, and Lulath snapped at me to be nicer."

Celie took a breath. "Maybe you just need to hide for a little while."

"That's what I'm doing," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "It's- it's just be an awful day. I've never had such a fight with Lulath, and it's just so terrible. IT's so humiliating and embarrassing and now I feel so guilty and I never want to see anyone again."

Kalys made a sympathetic noise as she stroked Dagger and Lilah sat up to look at her.

"Do you and Rolf fight?" She asked in a voice smaller than one Celie had heard in awhile.

Kalys smiled. "All the time, Lilah, all the time. I think you just need to rest for a little bit, calm down, and bring your mind to something else."

Celie thought it was great advice, and though she wanted to leave, she stayed, knowing Lilah needed her to stay. As much as she disliked her sister at times, she loved her sister, and knew it was her job to be there for her.

"Lilah, it's going to be alright. You and Lulath love each other, and there's only three more weeks until the wedding. And then you will be married and all will go back to normal," she soothed, running a hand over Lilah's slightly mussed hair.

She smiled gratefully. "I suppose you are right. But I'm nervous."

You're the one who wants to get married, Celie thought, but decided it was too insensitive to say. She tried to be comforting, but it wasn't her strong suit. Comforting Lilah was a battle, especially because they were both rather emotional.

"There's so much to be nervous about, before you send me some retort, Cecelia," Lilah said, running her hands over her head, seemingly feeling a little more put together.

Kalys nodded. "There's getting ready for it, the actual ceremony in front of a lot of people. The feast in which literally everyone talks to you, and then the dancing. Well, you're a good dancer, so I'm sure you won't have to worry about that."

Lilah shrugged. "And then there's the night. Were you nervous?"

Celie coughed looking away, and Lilah sent her a look. Kalys smirked.

"I didn't think we were going to go through with it. But we had been kissing all night for show, both of us had drank strong ceremonial spirits, and it was late at night. It was very spur of the moment." Kalys blushed, and Celie had never been more embarrassed in her life. Talking about Bran was one thing, but now Kalys was actually talking about the experience. Lilah of all people encouraging it.

Lilah was nodding. "It's just a very big deal; and I'm scared that I will ruin it."

Kalys made a face. "There's really not much you can do to ruin it. I mean, there is, but if you try you really can't. The first time is never the best time usually, and it's true for that sort of thing. I'll warn you, the actual act was very uncomfortable, but you'll get used to it. It only gets better from there."

Celie groaned. She did not care to hear about this. Especially because Kalys was married to her brother; not some stable boy or something. Though her parents had made it very clear that sexual acts in the right context were not gross, it was still not the most elegant subject to talk about. Sure, she'd alluded to it with Pogue that one time, but that was more out of worry for Bran, and the actual physicality part of it was easy to ignore. It was different.

"I think I better go," she announced. "Have fun talking about, er, you know. Just not to my taste to hear about such things at this time." She thought she'd sounded very polite but Lilah rolled her eyes. Kalys grinned.

"You don't want anymore details, Celie?"

Apparently, Rolf and Kalys shared in the same talent of making people uncomfortable by embarrassing them and watching them squirm. Celie pursed her lips as Lilah giggled.

"No," she said primly. "I don't think I want to hear anymore about your intimate life with Rolf."

She unlatched the door, smiling to herself as she heard Lilah groan.

"Oh, Celie, you ruin everything."

...

Bran was feeling rather well, despite his families stresses. Weddings were a very large deal in Sleyne, and most of them had been cranky with each other. Celie had been absent, probably because she was hiding, Queen Celina had been short tempered, and Lilah and Rolf were constantly bickering. Bran himself had been a bit on edge, but for different reasons. His own findings with Casper had led to dead ends for two straight months and it was driving him nuts. Him and Thalia had followed many promising leads on what could take him down, but they had all led to nowhere. It was frustrating work.

Now, he was much more refreshed. After extensive research on black magic, he had finally found some answers. Apparently, there was only one way that one could take control of such a powerful vessel as the Castle, and black magic was the answer. Of course, Bran had never practiced black magic, it was extremely illegal and punishable by death, considering human sacrifices were how it started, but he had also never done more than surface level research. The College of Wizardry warned against it, as it had often proved as temptations for power-hungry wizards. Bran had investigated carefully, he'd had Thalia with him when he did, because certain witch crafts could invite themselves just by someone reading them. Bran was far from power-hungry; he was much too private. He'd had a chance and king hood and wasn't really bothered that much when his younger brother had been declared crown prince over him. Not to mention, black magic had no hold on him; he knew it was very dangerous, and though his grandmother had fallen down that path, he was far from it because of her.

He had learned ways in which to defeat such wizardry, though there were many side affects and precautions. Usually when dark wizards took ahold of such vessels, the answer was to destroy the vessel itself. In this case, that wasn't the answer. So he would have to tear apart Casper from the magical roots he had taken inside the Castle. Arkwright had tried with breaking the eye, but it was so much more powerful than that. And a lot more complicated.

Thalia slammed her hand against the table, upsetting an ink pot. She let out a groan, leafing through the pile of scrolls she had been assigned. Bran looked up from his own pile glancing at her, amused.

"There's no way we can unhook Casper from the roots without harming the Castle. Even if we kill him some damage could be done to it." She rubbed her fingers against her temples. "And we have yet to find the best ways to kill a black magic user."

"I have sent the Council of Wizardry a direct letter on my suspicions," Bran said. "They will certainly give me directions on how to dispose of the magical threat."

Thalia sighed. "I suppose, but this is going to take a lot longer than we had hoped."

Bran nodded. "The baby will be born, but I still am of the opinion that stealing the baby was an empty threat."

Thalia cocked her head. "Maybe, but didn't you say Casper predicted the east declaring war? That happened already happened."

It was Bran's turn to sigh. "Perhaps. But the time line Casper gave us was one of twenty years. That's more than vague. For all we know, that could've been some lie he made up to scare us, that turned out to be true."

Thalia picked up the scroll again. "It says here that if the user is very strongly attached to the vessel, there is a chance that the magical object used would be completely destroyed if done incorrectly. There are so many ways to dispose of a black magic user, and if we pick the wrong one, the Castle could be destroyed."

Bran rubbed a hand down his face. "I know all of that. But it's the answers. No matter how long it takes us, we will destroy Casper without the Castle being desecrated. It's the right thing to do."

Thalia made a face. "Don't make me sound like the bad guy here. I know it's the right thing to do, but I merely pointed out flaws in the plan."

Bran dropped the pile, turning to look at her again. "We will work through the flaws. I'm not trying to make you sound lazy, but you're being a little pessimistic."

Thalia scowled. "No, I'm being realistic. Wizardry is not all smiles and rainbows as we guess through plans to suss out magical threats, Bran. We can't just wave wands, name a few spells, and tell ourselves everything is going to be alright because our intentions were good!"

Bran stood up, his good mood ruined. "I wasn't saying that, and frankly, I feel rather disrespected that you called my ideas guesses. I have gone through many intense experiments and research sessions working this out. It's the only thing to do. I don't want to call rank here, but you're crossing my authority."

Thalia raised her eyebrows, standing up. "I am not crossing your authority, just pointing out things that could go wrong, and you're being extremely arrogant about it. Funny how you can take my ideas when it suits you in bed, but not when it comes to finding weaknesses in your plans."

"Is that how you see things?" Bran asked heatedly. "Because I think what's going on is you've been letting me bed you because you want more power in this job!"

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he knew they were wrong. It had been a sore insecurity if that was the reason Thalia had chosen such a relationship with him, one that he couldn't let go of. But he saw the hurt expression on her face, and he knew he was wrong. A feeling of guilt pooled in his gut as he looked at her. Time was slowing down, his mind flooding with shame, insecurity, and embarrassment.

"No," Thalia said coldly, tears running down her cheeks. "I cared for you and thought you could care for me. I see now you're much too insecure to care for anyone else like that."

She slammed the door behind her when she left, leaving Bran alone with his guilt, He stood there in shock for minutes, before sitting at his desk. Quickly, he attempted to control his emotions, scribbling rapid words down in his journal. His head swam with panic, his hands shaking as he decided what to do. Time ticked by as he wrote and decided. Finally he stood, determined to apologize and make things right.

He walked briskly to her room, his eyes only set ahead of him. He pushed open the door, not even thinking of knocking. He stopped short, though, when he saw her. Her drawers were empty, a large trunk in the middle of her open as she flung clothes into it. His heart sank as he watched her, knowing what she was doing.

"You can't leave, Thalia," he said, reaching for her wrist.

She pulled away, glaring at him. Her eyes were red and tears stained her cheeks. "I have too. It's-it's not good if I stay here. There's too much to us."

Bran looked at her, his heart feeling like it was being torn in two. Tears welled up in his eyes as she ripped herself from their locked gaze.

"If you'll excuse me, I have some things left in the Heart." She pushed past him, though Bran saw fresh tears welling up. His hands hovered, frozen in shock, at how sudden the decision was. It was painful, more painful than any other rejection he'd felt.

...

Rolf searched through a crate in the Heart of the Castle, digging for what he knew was there. They were all searching the crates, looking for an old letter that King Glower needed. Bran couldn't be found though, so it was just his family and Pogue and Kalys. He yanked out a piece of yellowing paper, though it turned out to be void of any writing. He sat up sighing, when Thalia briskly walked into the room, grabbing some bottle with blue liquid in it. It wouldn't have been odd if Bran hadn't come running after her like a storm, his eyebrows set.

"Don't be ridiculous, Thalia," he said. "You can't leave. We can work this out."

Rolf turned to raise his eyebrows at Celie and she came to stand beside him, watching them. Bran glanced at him, but continued talking to his auburn-haired companion.

"Please, Thalia you have to stay," he begged, his voice breaking.

Thalia turned to him, the liquid in the bottle swirling. "Why? So you can continue yelling at me for overstepping lines? You keep saying I have to stay but you haven't given me any reason too."

Rolf gulped, his eyes looking to his brother's face. He looked very frustrated. In fact, he looked on the verge of tears. His hair was on end as if he's ran his hands through it multiple times. His eyes were weary, but still set on Thalia.

"I need you to finish this. You know more than anyone else I could hire for this. You can't just leave over one petty fight." Bran reached held out his hand.

Queen Celina looked like she was going to step in, but then thought better of it. This was Bran's fight, he needed to take care of those he'd hired.

"That's not a good reason," Thalia snapped. "And you can easily find someone new. Someone probably even more experienced."

Bran rubbed a hand down his face as everyone watched him. Rolf was starting to feel bad for him, and Celie made a sympathetic noise in her throat. No one dared butt in, the sight of two wizards fighting was quite frightening. The energy in the room was dark, and Rolf had no doubts it was because of their intense auras.

"I don't want a more experienced wizard, I want you!" Bran cried, though his voice wavered.

Thalia softened, a tear running down her cheek. Her voice was a whisper Rolf had to strain to hear. "Why?"

Bran stomped his foot, before looking at the wall. He took a deep breath, and Rolf knew what he was going to say before he said it. It was obvious all of the sudden and Rolf kicked himself that he hadn't seen it before.

"Because I love you!" He was glaring, threading his fingers in his hair. He was flushed and his eyes were wide, and Rolf smirked a bit. Frazzled Bran was his favorite Bran. "I do, and-and it would hurt me very much to see you leave."

Thalia made a noise sounding like a whimper, as Bran smoothly took a step towards, cupping her face, and kissed her. Rolf tried not to laugh, and Celie tugged on his arm, grinning up at him.

Bran rested his forehead against hers, and Rolf swore he saw a tear drip down his nose as he whispered something no one but Thalia could hear. She nodded, burying herself into him, and suddenly Rolf felt very awkward watching them.

"Oh dear," Celie whispered beside him.

Bran finally realized that people were watching him, apparently, and smiled sheepishly. He pulled on Thalia's hand, saying something about working things out, and they left, leaving the rest of them to look quizzically at each other.

Celie stared off at them. "Well, another one bites the dust."

...

Dinner the next night was very interesting. Kalys felt very awkward and stiff in formal attire, and she was already uncomfortable. It's not that she didn't like the Grathians; they were very kind; they had even come for her wedding. But Lilah had insisted they all wear very formal clothes for the very formal dinner, and Kalys was not amused. Though her gown fit, a rare occurrence of the late, it was very tight in the chest, and the sleeves were chafing at the shoulders. It also high-lighted her pregnant form, which she did not appreciate that much.

She smiled gracefully, attempting to eat elegantly, but she hadn't mastered the skill quite yet. She said her thanks when it was due, but left the rest of the talking to Rolf. She was scared of saying something that could be perceived as rude. It would've been a normal dinner with Pogue, Thalia, and Lulath, the only difference being that king and queen of Grath were there. And that changed everything. Kalys was trying very hard to not embarrass her sister-in-law. After their chat earlier this morning as Lilah sobbed, Kalys was determined to make things very easy for Lilah when it came to her future in-laws. She refrained from anything that could be even slightly considered humiliating, inappropriate, immodest, or improper. Which meant she was silent except for saying thank you when the queen of Grath very eloquently congratulated her on a healthy pregnancy.

The resolution, she realized, was starting to crumble when she felt that oh-so-familiar wave of nausea creep up her stomach. She continued to hold her head high, though her body very badly wanted her on the ground heaving up what she had for lunch. Normally, at this point she would just leave, but that would be rude. In a family setting, she had felt comfortable taking her leave. This? No, she would swallow her discomfort and continue on with the meal. She set down her fork, taking a sip of water to try and wash down the salty taste coming into her mouth. It stayed however, and Kalys felt her stomach flipping. She tried to swallow it down, tried to force the vomit back down her throat, but she couldn't. It was too late to stand up, and she was stuck in her chair.

And so, as the queen of Grath praised Lilah on Sleyne's dignity and grace, Kalys leaned over and threw up right in Rolf's lap. Then she ran away and hid.

...

Rolf found Kalys on the eastern balcony staring up at the stars, hugging her knees around her body. She looked peaceful sitting there, her face pointed up to the moonlit sky. She turned when she saw him, though ducked her head down.

"New pants?" She whispered in a small voice and Rolf laughed, sitting next to her.

She leaned her head on his shoulder, slowly unfolding her legs in front of her. She sighed, and Rolf kissed her hair.

"Is Lilah really mad?" She asked quietly.

"Why would she be mad? It's not like you could help it. Though perhaps you could've aimed for the floor," he teased and she sighed again.

"I'm sorry. I-I should've just excused myself, but I didn't want to seem rude in front of them. Lilah is already so worried. And then I completely embarrassed probably her, you, me, all of Sleyne." She flourished her hands at the last part, and Rolf could tell she was deflecting.

"It wasn't that bad," Rolf assured. "Besides, Queen Ametopia has had a lot of children; she had to get sick sometime inconveniently."

"I suppose," Kalys said. "Do I really have to face them all tomorrow?"

Rolf inhaled, grimacing that he had to be the one to tell her the news. "Actually, you'll have to face some of them tonight. I was supposed to get you. Father has an announcement."

Kalys rolled her head up, groaning. She buried her face in her hands. "I can't go," she mumbled through her fingers.

Rolf patted her back sympathetically, before standing up. "Cheer up, Kal, I'm sure everyone's forgotten."

He helped her to her feet, hooking his arm through his as they strolled down to the private room. He knew his father's decision and for Kalys's sake he wished he could just tell her and she could hide away in their chambers without facing the embarrassment of seeing his family after the incident.

"Why do I even have to come?" She asked, her eyes following the movement of their feet as they walked.

"Because you're the future queen of Sleyne and should be included in these sorts of things," he responded, stopping at the door.

Kalys inhaled deeply, pulled her head up, straightened her posture, and nodded to him. He chuckled a bit, squeezing her hand before pushing open the door. Rolf didn't appreciate the sympathetic looks his mother and sisters were giving Kalys, knowing it probably embarrassed her more. She took her seat, Rolf coming to stand behind her, hands resting on her shoulders.

King Glower cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, now that we're all here, I would like to tell you something. Since some of our family members like to disturb the sleep cycle if they are not kept in the loop, I have decided to share with you the decision that the council and I came to in sending out a letter to Jahan. With some military research done with help from many our our allies, I have decided to refuse their offer of sending the crown prince of Sleyne to fight theirs for the kingdom."

"Which means?" Lilah asked, looking expectant.

"We will find out whether they have declared full out war in about a month."

That took it out of me, not gonna lie. But here we are. Lol, there's only like five more chapters left! This has been a journey I guess. Stay safe out there and be smart my readers! Until next time,

-geeky34