Getting to bed was a blur to Kaetar. He was pretty sure that Peter offered them beds, stating that Kaetar looked tired, and then the rest was a blur. He didn't realize how tired he was from the entire ordeal until he woke up sore and not quite sure how he ended up in a bed in the first place. Perhaps Peter guided them to a room and he just passed out on the first one he saw. He rubbed his eyes and staggered to a window.
Though he could see that it was dark, it took a few seconds for him to understand what dark meant. It was getting dark when they met Peter and he was sure that he slept for more than a couple of hours. Heck, he apparently slept through the entire day and no one woke him up at all. The last time Kaetar slept in for that long was on the boat, so perhaps he needed the sleep more than he thought he did.
He found his quiver by his bed and took the necklace out, securing it around his neck again. It was a good idea to remove it before battle, that way the visions wouldn't bother him when he was trying to battle.
"Ah, you're awake. Did you want some soup?" Peter asked. Kaetar spun around quickly and found the priest at the doorway. The prince never noticed before but his robes had a black trim. Black was the last colour he would imagine on a priest in Begnion. In fact, everything about him seemed to be a shade of grey. His hair was grey despite not appearing to be any older than Nicholas, his robes where grey, and black was just a dark grey. His blue eyes were the only things that weren't a shade of grey.
"Soup?"
"Soup is easy to make and serve in a large amount. There's a lot of people here right now. Nicholas was just the first of many injuries from the bandits," Peter mumbled. Kaetar stretched and with a yawn, he followed the priest down the hall.
"How is Nicholas doing right now?"
"He's perfectly fine now. He asked about you and Arum and Elli filled him on everything since you fell asleep. He mentioned someone named Loiya?"
Kaetar froze. He nearly forgot about Loiya! He couldn't even imagine how Loiya would take the news. Kaetar went out to fight against bandits without him and then the fact that he never turned up. Surely the Begnion soldiers were looking for the both of them by now, thinking that they had to be on the look out for bodies that they missed. Then to top it all of, Loiya was probably on the fastest path towards another devastating migraine or even a fever. No no no, it was not good at all.
"What did he say?"
"Just that he would be very worried. Is he someone important?"
"I've got to go," Kaetar muttered. "Where's the exit? Wait, I should probably change my clothes. Do you have an extra set of clothes? Like, the priest clothes with the hood on? I have to get out of this uniform!"
"Is something the matter? Why do you need all that?" Peter asked, sounding rather alarmed. The prince didn't blame him – he would be too if someone else was making the same requests.
"I'll explain later! I just can't be seen right now!"
Peter looked at him. He was very concerned and wasn't shy about showing it. Eventually, he led him down another hallway and opened the door. It seemed to be a closet of sorts, with robes hanging everywhere. Peter looked through, then finally pulled out something that seemed to be Kaetar's size.
"Just be careful. It wouldn't do us any good if you were injured in some way. I've only just met you but it feels like we've been together for a while, doesn't it?" the priest said as he helped Kaetar in the new robes. The robes were a little heavier than he expected. He could feel it sagging from his shoulders, the weight was a little uncomfortable on his head when he put the hood on.
"And what about Arum and Elli?"
"They'll have to stay here until I get back. It won't take all night," the prince answered simply.
When Kaetar approached the Cathedral, he noticed Yugris immediately parked on the outside and barking orders to no one in particular. He seemed stress but of course he would he be! The prince from another country went missing on his watch. If anything, he was probably reliving stress. Kaetar gulped and approached the entrance.
"You there! Priest! State your business!" Yugris shouted, his voice loud and clearly unhappy.
"Going to meet the Empress, Yugris," the prince responded. He didn't doubt that the commander knew who it was but he didn't say anything. Instead, he sighed and they entered together.
"Why are you wearing that?"
"Didn't want to be dragged back to the barracks," he answered simply. "I'm calling it off. We're going to get the rest of my allies together and we're leaving."
"Good thing. Your bodyguard there, Loiya I think, had to be restrained. When it was found out that you had gone off with that mage, he went ballistic. He was shouting and attacked anyone who got to close but he eventually wore himself out and that's when we took our chance to tie him up."
Kaetar froze when he heard that. He knew that Loiya would be freaking out but to such an extent that no one felt safe around him anymore? As far Loiya knew, Kaetar was dead but was such a reaction even necessary? Loiya was taking his job too seriously. Maybe he should get another bodyguard to give him the time to relax and be with his family for a bit – give him the chance to take him mind off of things.
He needed to talk to his father after this was all done. He had of things to say to his father and he bet that his father had a lot of things he wanted to say to him. He had a long discussion ahead of him.
"I'm sorry for his behaviour," Kaetar murmured, jogging to catch up with Yugris again.
"That's what happens when you turn children into soldiers," the older one said, shaking his head.
Kaetar didn't know how to respond. He felt like it was partially his fault for making Loiya's so rough. Finally, Yugris knocked on the doors.
That was the sound of shuffling as Serena herself came to answer the door, looking rather... angry. Kaetar didn't recognize this as her office. In fact, when he peered into the room, he could see a vanity with several different bottles on it. This was her personal space, her personal time... and it was just disturbed. She was dressed in a simple wear. She was a short sleeved top and baggy cotton pants. Kaetar couldn't blame her for wanting to wear actual pants when she wore nothing but dresses in the day light.
"The heck, Yugris? Don't you know what time it is?" she growled, then glanced at Kaetar, looking him straight in the eyes. She laughed. "Isn't that a strange getup? Since when did you decide to take a staff?"
"I didn't. I just wore it get past all the soldiers," he mumbled.
"Yugris, you can wait out here. We can talk in my room... unless you're too scared to go into a woman's personal chambers?" she asked in a condescending tone.
"As long as I have permission, then it's just a room," Kaetar responded with a deep breath. He wasn't going to let Serena freak him out this early in the game.
"Ha! Good answer!" she mumbled, leaving the door for Kaetar to walk in. Her room was elegant. The curtains were an expensive make and so was rug. She had a canopy bed, her vanity, and a giant closet that was closed. If anything, it reminded him of his parent's bedroom. She plopped herself onto her bed and motioned for Kaetar to sit next to her.
"Just say it."
"I'm calling it off. I can only guess why you wanted to hide us in your army, but we're withdrawing. I want all of my allies out of here in the morning," Kaetar muttered.
"Figured. I didn't expect you to come in the middle of the night though."
"You already knew?"
"I heard from Yugris that you went missing during a bandit attack," Serena muttered with a smirk. "I figured you wanted nothing to do with my army after that."
"Figured right... did Yugris tell you about the causalities?"
"Hardly any. There were a lot people who have been poisoned and were suffering a great deal from it when they were found but most soldiers survived," she answered calmly. She shifted in her spot. "I'll have Yugris make sure that your allies are with you in the morning. However, there is something you want might want to know about." She smirked.
Kaetar raised an eyebrow.
"Your father came here three nights ago. Completely unannounced. He came on his wyvern of his and then just stormed in and since he was a king and had some of his own troops, no one stopped him."
"What? My father? What did he want?" Kaetar was genuinely surprised. His father always let people know ahead of time – that was one of the rules that Kaetar was told himself when he young. You always let someone know that you were coming, it was just the polite thing to do! Since when did Father go back on his word?
"Urgent news apparently. He's still looking for you but he wanted to tell me in person that his wife, or your mother, I guess," she chuckled slightly, "is with a child right now. In a less than a year, you're going to be big brother! Isn't that cute?"
She was laughed again, but it wasn't condescending like she tended to be. Or perhaps she thought the look on his face was funny. He was sure it was priceless.
"Why would he tell you in person? I bet he just sent everyone else a letter," Kaetar muttered.
"He did send a letter to everyone else. Everyone but Ramon. He doesn't know the situation in Crimea so he didn't want disclose anything that would harm your unborn sibling," she muttered. "But believe it or not, we have history together. When I was a child, he was always playing with me because his father dragged him to all of the meetings but he never let your father attend any of them."
Why was she telling him any of this? He expected a straight answer from her, not a story.
"But anyway, he kind of took care of me. No one else really took time to make sure I was a happy kid, especially when I had to do intensive studies. It was like I was supposed to be another Sanaki who led the empire when she was very young and helped save Tellius and blah, blah, blah. She's the ideal that other Empresses have to strive for and I'm sick of being compared to a woman I never met!
"Your father told me it was okay though. It was okay that I was Serena and not Sanaki. He said it didn't hurt to be educated or to be smart. Sometimes he helped me with my studies. I think I was nine and he was twice my age at the time.
"At the same time though, he was also very nervous and he told me so. Ramon right now actually reminds me of your father when he was that age because your father told me that he didn't know anything about being a king. I told him to be himself and he'll learn everything he needs to know. Since then, we always seem to go to each for political comfort," Serena sighed. "He was nervous about the well being of the baby since he feels so old but... I think that child will be alright. You mother isn't old enough for things to go seriously wrong."
"I never figured that. He always looked like a solid rock to me. He always knew what to do and never seemed to need anyone else for comfort." The prince shook his head. His father needed support for someone other than his mother? And Serena did too? Kaetar grew up to become spiteful of his father. He didn't like the way he was treated or the way the Loiya was treated and he always blamed his father if he didn't like anything. Being under stress didn't exactly justify his actions but he certainly seemed more... human than he did in the past four years or so.
"I think everyone puts their parents up on pedestal for a while. Then the children come to realize that they're humans after all. They're not invincible and they have faults. Even Sanaki did. I don't know what he did to make you act out, and neither does he for that matter, but when you go home... it might be worth your while you give him a break. He's just trying to make sure you don't end up messing up big time like Ramon did. Adrien is worried about you and he's worried about Loiya."
"Worried about Loiya? He criticizes him all the time! Since when was he worried?" Kaetar found himself shouting. He didn't mean to shout but he was both surprised and angered. At this rate, he was never going to understand his father.
"I didn't get any of the details about Loiya. He only mentioned him once by name."
"Why are you saying all of this?"
"Because I'm bored, mostly. Conversations spice things up a little. I think all Empresses were cursed with boredom, though. How unfortunate that I'm struck with the same curse," she answered with a sigh. It wasn't like his life didn't have boring moments either.
Boring was a curse for the nobility.
"Hey, Kaetar, I'm feeling rather generous tonight... even though you woke me up," Serena mumbled as she stood up for her bed and walked to a cabinet. She took out a box and removed something from before returning, not bothering to put her box back.
"These are... white gems?" Kaetar asked as she dropped three round gems into his hands.
Serena yawned. She must have been getting tired or she was really bored. "They'll sell for ten thousand easily. It will help."
"Thanks," he mumbled.
Kaetar stayed longer than he thought he would and he was sure that Peter was worried. He ended up staying the night in a spare room on Serena's insistence. She said it would be easier to group up before moving out, something that Kaetar couldn't argue with. A soldier retrieved his original clothing that he had on the boat and he changed out of the priest robes but kept them in tow. He wasn't going to steal from a church.
He first saw the girls, waiting from him outside of the cathedral. Misha embraced him immediately and Ema, surprisingly, joined in. Both of them were wearing the clothes they last saw each other in, meaning that Ema was still wearing that blue tunic that Nicholas got for her.
"Never thought I'd miss your annoying questioning," Ema mumbled, folding her arms in front of her chest.
"Is it really annoying?"
Ema thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I'd rather deal with your questioning then have to spend another day in there. All I got to do is run. I hardly got any training in at all – Misha was the only who bothered to practice with me," she hissed.
"It's true. The other girls refused to fight unless she had something to defend with herself with," the soldier shrugged.
"I kept telling them I heal quickly, assuming they could even hit me."
"Where are the other two?"
"KAETAR!"
The prince turned around and was suddenly ambushed by Loiya. He had both of their backpacks and was out of the Begnion armour. They bodyguard embraced Kaetar, lifting him off the ground and nearly suffocated before he decided he had enough. "I heard that-"
"Not right now, Loiya. I'll explain everything but we have to go. Where's Nasir?"
"Right here," the dragon answered. Kaetar didn't see him coming. Where did he even go? Kaetar was sure that he didn't see him at the base.
"I thought you said you were going to be back last night," Peter mumbled as he folded up the borrowed priest robes. Everyone, excluding Arum, was in a large room with plenty of tables and chairs to hear Kaetar's explanations. He wished Arum had stayed to meet the girls but it seemed that as soon as he laid his eyes on them, he left without a word. Just left. The prince was confused but it didn't say anything about it, simply letting himself wonder if the girls noticed.
"I got caught up in something else," Kaetar answered, then went on to explain everything – how he and Nicholas got caught up with the rush of bandits, how he met Elli and Arum, then Peter, and how he went to the Empress for his allies. He didn't mention the personal parts of the conversation but had to be sure to tell Loiya about it later.
Peter shook hands with everyone and Elli seemed comfortable enough to do the same. The priest seemed quite interested in Nasir, as it seemed quite clear that Goldoans were very old. For the most part, Kaetar was quiet. He just liked watching everyone else talk instead. Eventually, he left the room and found Arum waiting outside the door, leaning against the wall with his arms fold in front of his chest. His face was serious despite the cheerful atmosphere inside.
"What are you doing here?" Kaetar asked, getting out of the range of the door.
"Could ask the same of you," he muttered simply.
"You would be there with Elli if it wasn't for Misha or Ema, right?"
"What's it to you? Why does it matter?"
"I'm just a curious person is all," Kaetar answered. "And we're working together."
"I don't like being around females," Arum growled.
"But what about Elli?" Kaetar asked. Elli was the one person he seemed to keep close.
"Elli is different! We have history together – history that's irrelevant to you. Maybe one day you'll earn some respect from me, but right now I'm not horribly fond of you. Remember, I'm not in this for you or for Ike. I couldn't care less about Ike or what the rest of the world thinks of him. I'm just here because I can't possibly hate Crimea more than Begnion." Arum's grey eyes scanned the prince, as if deciding whether the prince was worth his time.
He as getting the cold shoulder again, wasn't he? Kaetar didn't know what to do or what to say. He had a feeling that it wasn't personal – it didn't matter if it was him or Nicholas, the prince thought. Arum's reactions would be the same. Something happened to Arum like something happened to Syrin, so Kaetar couldn't exactly fault him for it. He couldn't ask anyone to just get over something, especially when the prince considered his relatively peaceful life before his big adventure.
But that didn't mean that Kaetar was going to leave him alone. Whatever bothered Arum was something that Kaetar was dying to know and for some reason, he got the impression that Elli wasn't going to tell him everything.
"If you don't like me then why did you save me?"
"Bandits don't deserve to live," he sighed. "Simple as that."
That was dark but Kaetar couldn't exactly disagree with him. The bandits he encountered the day before intended to sell him off to who knows who and didn't care who they had to hurt in order to achieve their goal. They seemed to enjoy it too. People did desperate things sometimes but most of them didn't seem enjoy it. Kaetar's heart wanted to say that no one truly deserved to die but then again...
He was so scared back there. He was so scared that no one would have saved him, that he could have ended up being some sort of slave or even dead somewhere. It was not knowing which fate he would get that scared him the most. Kaetar was scared before but being on a bandit's back, finding himself utterly alone, made him feel truly afraid. He never had to question morals when he left Daein. It took a journey to Crimea and Begnion to realize that life could be rather cruel and sometimes the best choice seemed to be the selfish one.
"Where do you think you would be right now had I not saved you?" Arum asked suddenly.
"Not here," the prince replied quietly.
"Exactly. Don't feel bad because you wanted something out of your life and someone wanted to take that away from you. You'll go crazy if you think about it too much," the trueblade muttered.
"It fells wrong to have to justify someone's death."
"Isn't that what we've been doing the entire time? You live because I killed someone. Elli and I are alive and together because we killed those who wanted something different of us. Don't feel bad about it – you don't have the time." Arum looked away, then pushed himself away from the wall and made his way down the hall. He was out of sight before Kaetar could protest.
When the sun went down and the air cooled, Kaetar decided that it was as good of a time as any to get some fresh air let the recent events sink in. He left the chapel alone, despite Loiya's protests. It was Nicholas that convinced him to let Kaetar go, as Nicholas wanted to talk to Loiya alone. The prince wasn't going far though – he was going to keep circling the block until he got tired or felt better, whichever came first.
The bandit attack changed his perspective and though he didn't want Arum to be right, he really did need to accept facts and move on. He was the only one who had a problem with killing anyone. He didn't have to like it, just accept that if his life was threatened, then he would have to kill or be killed.
It was odd how it didn't bother him before that it was essentially Loiya's job to pick one life over another sometimes. When he, Syrin and Loiya was trapped in that corner, it didn't exactly bother Kaetar that Loiya took more than one life that day. Back then, it was just the blood that twisted his stomach and made him faint.
He really did think too much, he mused.
There was also the fact that because of him, the rebellion had three more people to help out. Though Peter, Arum and Elli had they own reasons for joining, it was his interaction with them that sealed the deal. Kaetar couldn't help but to feel at least a little proud that he recruited people. It was a little confidence boosted he needed when he found himself concerned about his reign – he did seem to have the ability to talk to people. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.
He only managed a couple of more steps before he hit with a dizzy spell. He leaned on a building for support.
"What's your point? Did you come all this way to complain to us?" Soren smirked. "Ha ha...Typical sub-humans."
Ike swirled around. The look on his face said a lot – he seemed to know where the conversation was headed and didn't seem to like it. A cat laguz with bright orange hair and striking violet eyes approached Soren, her ears pinned back. Ema had that sort of look when she was not happy.
"Scum!" she hissed. "Those who use that name are enemies of Gallia!"
Behind her, a larger laguz with light blue hair on his head and face growled. He was much larger than the female cat – a tiger perhaps? He did look a little like Rykuu did. "Enemy... he is enemy!"
Soren took a daring step forward. "You think you're human?" he challenged. "The only thing human about is your conceit, you filthy, hairy sub-human!"
The larger laguz stepped back and shifted into a large, blue tiger. The female laguz stepped back as well, pointing a finger at Soren. "Kill him, Mordecai!" she shouted as the blue tiger jumped. Kaetar felt Soren's heart beat pick up its pace and the mage raised an arm to brace himself for the attack but kept his eyes on the tiger. The prince was never on the wrong end of a laguz attacking, something that he was grateful for – it was simply terrifying.
The attack never came. Ike jumped in front of Soren and pushed him back, leaving the tiger to collide into Ike and send them both tumbling to the floor. The orange cat gasped and Ike grunted when he hit the ground. The tiger shifted back immediately and sat up, clearly shocked. Ike took a deep breath and raised himself to his feet. He was injured – there was a little bit of blood but it didn't seem serious.
"I.. Ike..." the blue tiger stuttered. "I'm sorry. I have hurt you... I did not intend to hurt you!"
Ike offered a smile. "Mordecai... this injury is nothing. I'm fine."
Soren didn't think so. His heart was still pounding – Kaetar could feel the veins throbbing under his skin and hear it in his ears. His hands were clenched tightly round a red book. He glared at the laguz. "You're nothing but a beast!" the mage shouted before throwing the book open. He began chanting.
"Soren! Stand down!" Ike shouted, spinning around to face Soren. His chanting was interrupted when Ike tore the book out of his hands and tossed it to the ground, the pages still open. The mage bit his lips and looked up at Ike.
"Why did you stop me?" he asked in a whisper. "He could have hurt you! He could have killed you! We can't let him get away-"
"If you hadn't provoked him, none of this would have happened," Ike whispered back, massaging his shoulder. "Right?"
Soren was still shaking. He looked away, perhaps realization dawning on him. His heart calmed but he was still tense. "But – I only..." Soren began, struggling to force the words to his mouth. "I'm sorry."
"Are you okay?" a voice asked. Kaetar shot his eyes open and found himself face-to-face with a hooded male. The cloak was large and seemed to be able to cover his entire body. In the dark, it was fiery red eyes that caught Kaetar's attention first. Everything else about hm just looked like different shades of blue in the lack of light. He looked mildly surprised when Kaetar looked at him.
"Who are you?"
The other male's face softened to a smile. "My name is Zeke! And would you be Kaetar? I come from the desert."
"So you know about Syrin! But how did you find me?"
"Syrin told me to look for golden eyes somewhere in Sienne. I didn't notice your eye colour until you came around. I guess I caught a little break with that. Want to keep walking?" Zeke asked, offering a hand to Kaetar which the prince prompted took.
"Is there anyone else here?" Kaetar mumbled. He liked how he didn't really have to look up to Zeke. He was older, probably much older if he was from the desert, but he wasn't all that much taller – not like Darius or Arum was. Kaetar still had room to grow up but he briefly wondered if he was going to grow at all. He was almost seventeen – surely he would have grown already if he was going to grow.
"Nope. I'm the only one. I was sent ahead to tell you that everyone else is going to be a little late. Syrin and Darius caught the tail end of an illness that affected everyone in the colony. They're going to be fine, they just need a little time to get over it."
"It's not too bad is it?"
"It's not fun," Zeke answered, shaking his head. "But no died from it so far, so they'll pull through."
That was assuring. Kaetar wasn't sure how big the colony was but no deaths was a pretty good sign. He could only imagine what it had to be like for Syrin to have to stay in bed all day, fevered and miserable. Darius would be a pitiful sight for sure. Kaetar kept to his thoughts, leaving the silence to hang in the air.
"What's the desert like?" Kaetar asked, letting his curiosity fill the need for conversation.
"It's harsh. We can't really grow food and the sandstorms are nothing to laugh at – that's why I have this cloak," Zeke answered, the smile staying on his face despite the context of his words. "But I'm not complaining, I like it there. I know it seems odd but life was good. Boring, but good."
"Then why did you agree to come here?"
"I figured that I could stand for a little bit of excitement in my life. And no matter what happens, I'm not afraid of dying."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because I don't have any regrets. My story might have started like anyone would have expected of a branded – abandoned by their parents to face the world," Zeke muttered, keeping his eyes on the road. He didn't seem to be smiling but at the same time, he didn't seem practically sad. "I suppose you could say I'm thankful for it, otherwise I wouldn't have the life that I did. I don't have any regrets or anything to be upset over when I'm staring death in the face. It's a good run, you know?"
"Not for me. My life's not bad – being a price has its privileges. It's just that I feel like anytime I die is too soon. There's still a lot that I need to do and a lot that I want to know," Kaetar sighed. His thirst for knowledge, even for something rather trivial, didn't ever seem to be satisfied for long. One answer brought up more questions. Would he ever know enough about the history of Tellius? It was almost a shame he was born a beorc – he could not spend all of his short life learning. He had a country to run and an heir to raise.
"You're still young. You haven't truly lived yet but I believe that the time will come when you're satisfied. It won't be now and probably not even in the near future. I think that decades from now, you'll look back on your life and see everything that you accomplished, and that's when you know that you can die happy."
"Are you sure about that?" Kaetar asked, looking at Zeke. Zeke smiled.
"I wish I could say definitively but I can't. I don't know what will happen. But it doesn't hurt to have faith that everything will be alright. You can't live when you worry about all the bad things that could happen."
Kaetar blinked. It only took him a moment to realize that worrying was something he was doing a lot of lately. It was hard not to worry though – he felt a tremendous pressure to do well. He felt the entire weight of Daein on his shoulders and he wasn't even king yet! Perhaps seeing how things had gone in Crimea with Ramon made him think about his own future a lot more than he did previously. Not to mention the fact that he didn't feel as confident without his father hanging over his shoulder. His father was strict but Kaetar, with some help from Serena, realized that his father was just trying to ease his son's worries in his own strange way.
He really needed to give his mind a break. The worrying really wasn't helping.
"Kaetar? Perhaps you're tired. Should we head back?"
"Hmm? Yeah, sure. Let's head back."
Typos? Yeah, probably. I just really wanted to get this chapter up and formatting this annoyed me more than usual. I didn't want to go two months without an update.
About the vision - I know Soren tries to cast Wind there, however, never had a wind tome last that long and I had more than one playthrough. I went with fire instead, since it's more in keeping with my experiences and if Soren really did want to hurt the kitties, he probably knows to use fire instead.
Anyway, for one, all the OC stuff is found on my profile now where you should be maybe to copy and paste. It should be easier for you to submit characters and it will be easier for me to update everything so always look for updates there. If you already sent in a character in, feel free to send more. I actually have space for two people to send in characters as Daein's Four Riders. These two would be antagonists but I don't care about everything else. As long as they can fight. I'll probably accept the first two I get. Anyone after that would be higher ranking Daein officers - just not Riders. It's also your last chance to have characters from Grann come along with Soren.
And finally, how do you guys feel about your OCs dying? As much as I would like everyone to survive, I feel like death would be very hard to avoid realistically. There's no reset button in this story.