~!~ Disclaimer: yeah, yeah, yeah, not mine

There was so much tension in the air one could have choked if they weren't careful. Dart, Miranda, Kongol and Shana lined the long table eagerly anxious with Emille at one end looking rather cheerful and expectant in contrast. Servants came by and poured drinks for the five as they waited for Albert and Lloyd. Dart eyed the guard at the door and all the other possible exits, looking across the table, he could see that Miranda was doing the same. Each sipped their drinks in silence as they sat.

With little ado, the main doors swung open revealing two royal guard. They stepped aside and Albert came into view. Seeming quite calm for the happenings about to commence, he took his seat at the opposite end of the table to Emille. Lloyd waltzed in on his heels and found himself a seat beside Miranda and Emille. He smiled and nodded a greeting to everyone present. Emille was the only one to return the gesture.

The first course was served and eaten in silence.

The second began with the opening of light conversation on Lloyd's part. "So, how is everyone this fine day?"

Miranda turned to him and gave a sour smile before continuing on with her meal. Albert attempted to ignore him despite the gaze he could feel resting upon him. He wasn't sure if it was Lloyd's or Emille's but he didn't look up all the same.

"I'm well. Thank you," Emille said in spite of the silence that was permeating the dining hall.

Lloyd looked to her, smiling politely and nodded. "As I am, Your Highness." He took a few bites of his meal, a sip of wine then pointedly looked around at all the Dragon Knights present. "Water and Thunder have made their move – there will be no more attacks for another twenty-eight days," he stated simply, taking another sip of wine.

A new sort of silence filled the room. Albert looked to Dart who was eyeing the wingly suspiciously. "And you're certain of this?" he inquired.

Lloyd nodded. "Fairly," he conceded. Albert and Dart both opened their mouths in an attempt to probe the subject further but Lloyd spoke first. "There is a matter of security, however," he began. "You'll find that the Dragon Block Staff is no longer in your possession despite having had it put in the royal vault. And," at this he looked to Dart. "I'd be wary of pretty winglies if I were you."

He grinned in such a way that Dart knew he knew Meru's Dragon Spirit was gone. Miranda gave Dart a look then glanced back at Lloyd. Dart only narrowed his eyes and nodded in the wingly's direction.

"Just a piece of advice," Lloyd went on. "Though, some things are inevitable."

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"So, now what? We have what we came for. We should go back home now."

"Not all of it," Ellis commented. "The other stones – we could just as easily get those ones too."

"Now, you're getting greedy, Ellis," Estell remarked. Her sister, beside her nodded in agreement.

Ellis shook his head. "Think about it, what if all of them survived? We could do it."

"Just as easily?" Estell inquired, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "You said it yourself, there's no point in finding out if we really do match up."

"I didn't think there was," Ellis admitted. "But Keila's ways don't make any sense to me anymore." He looked away from the two girls seated in front of him for a moment. Everything had degenerated so much from their original mission, what was one more thing? He thought of Lloyd: his death and apparent resurrection, surely all of that was some mistake in the cosmic weavings. They had to start making their own decisions instead of relying on prophecy and speculation. They had to. "If you guys don't want to, then we won't but I think it's the right thing to do."

Ceres, beside Estell, shrugged with a sigh. "Couldn't we just protect them? That way their spirits will still be safe . . . we're meant to fight alongside them eventually anyways, right?"

"And then they die," Estell added. Ellis cast her a knowing look which she returned a little reluctantly. "We're just playing it out the same way as before except maybe more of them live to see the end. Maybe Ellis is right, maybe we can change more if we do it this way." She grabbed her sister's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

Ceres smiled albeit somewhat belatedly. "You can't change the past, dear sister, but I'm in if you guys think it's right."

"Tonight then," Ellis stated. "We'll attack tonight."

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Thanks for reading. I'm not promising anything because it only ever backfires when I do. Till next time, cheers. Allusia.