CHAPTER FOUR

ASCENDANT JUSTICE

He opened his hazel eyes to the light that filtered through red curtains. He sat up, sleepily rubbing his eyes, "Mi…oh, Ciao!"

He waved at Marin, showing his strange cuteness. May-rin, completely entranced by the cute boy, began to shout, "oooooo what a cute boy!"

She tip-toed over to him and clutched her dress.

"you're Italian, eh?"

Ashuton replies nervously, "um…si, si."

"You don't sound like it. Y-y-you sound like a cross between Itarien, British and somethin' else."

Ashuton started smiling, "that is because my mother is African."

The red-head maid drew back in surprise, "whhhhaaaaaaattt?" she fell to her knees in a ditsy daze, "how delightful!"

Ashuton nodded, "yes, it is. I am a crown prince, but sadly I cannot return home—"

May-Rin interrupted, "you're so pale! There's no indication that you're a…a…mixed child!"

Ashuton unintentionally blushed. He had never had so much straightforward praise. Most of his fan girls would mindlessly go "goo-goo eyed" over him, but this woman was different. She was more "fascinated" than lovestruck. She kept babbling on and he stopped caring to listen. He moved his attention to the soft silk shirt he was wearing. He rubbed the cloth and started to wonder if it was imported from Scotland, the home of the Targaryen Family. They were known for their soft silk…and their treacherous pet dragons.

"What's your name?" he asked the maid.

She bubbly replied, "Mayrin, but master calls me May-Rin. And yours?"

"Ashuton Karrucci, Crown Prince of the Draconizica Empire and Surveyor of the Sacred Code," saying his name to her gave him a slight feeling of power. He was presenting himself the way he usually does to the dragon council.

Mayrin saw a faded bite mark on his hand, and immediately she asked, "who bit you?"

Ashuton tried to hide the mark but it made her investigate even further. She pulled back the sleeve of his shirt and discovered more bite marks.

"Oh my…" With a troubling look on her face, she gazed into the little boy's eyes. She could see sadness that seemed to have originated far back into the fourth century. Questions without answers overflowed her thoughts.

How long has he been living?

What sadness has this boy endured?

"Who did this to you?" May-Rin asked more sternly. She never thought she would find herself speaking in this type of tone. It was highly unusual for her, but this boy was bringing out another side of her persona.

With a trembling voice and on the verge of tears, he replied in whisper, "the…they cornered me…called me nasty things…they think I killed a man, and they all wanted me dead…"

"Who?" asked May-Rin, "who are they?"

"Gran…Gran Stollervich…"

May-Rin felt her heartbeats thump in her chest. She was playing into the dragon's mouth, and would certainly be eaten if she said anything further.

"Don't think about it," she said nervously, slowly returning to her original state, "g-g-g-Gran is not here, you are s-s-safe."

"I am never safe."

His moody tone caught her by surprise.

"I will never be safe if Robert Baratheon falsely calls himself a King."

May-Rin completely forgot why she came into the room. It dawned on her that she was supposed to prepare this boy for the day's tasks.

"Master sent these clothes for you to wear. I had to m-measure you while you were sleep so I hope it fits!"

Her beaming smile was almost creepy to him.

Ciel tapped the paper with the feathered quill. He was at a loss of words to place onto his paper. Out of frustration, he bawled up the expensive sheet of paper and threw it across the room. It joined the countless other sheets of discarded ideas. Sebastian stood silently, he never grew tired of standing for such long periods of time.

"I have no words for my story," Ciel looked up at Sebastian, "how can I write a story if I don't have the right words?"

Sebastian suggested, "You should try a different approach to your story. Writing in poetic verse will give your words more meaning and depth."

Ciel discarded the suggestion with a scoff, "I am no poet."

"You might not be a poet, but that dragonboy certainly is."

"I'm not sure I want his help."

"You will need it. You are coming into Waning, Young Master, and that boy is your vessel to the throne."

Ciel questionably gazed up at Sebastian, "I thought you were my vessel out of this place."

"I am, but the throne does not belong to me. It belongs to you and—"

"Sebastian!" May-Rin was merrily banging on the door, "Sebastian! The boy is ready!"

Ciel pressed the red button beside him and the oakwood doors slid open. Standing beside May-Rin was Ashuton, whom was looking quite unhappy. He had been dressed from head-to-toe in gothic clothing that was too frilly and red for his tastes. The peacoat was a shockingly bright red color, the shorts were adorned with golden chains, the cuffs of the shirt was so frilly it would make a little girl cry and the top hat was overcome with roses. Ashuton did not smile not one bit. He had an intimidating grimace on his face.

"This is too ghetto fabulous for my taste," he muttered.

"Do you not like it?" asked Ciel.

"I do…but why is it so frilly and red?" he asked.

"Why?" Ciel leaned in and smiled, "red is the color dragons seem to favor."

Ashuton chuckled, which sounded strange for a child, "I am different from the other dragons."

May-Rin tiptoed out the room, but she stood against the wall to listen to the boys' conversation.

"Why did you come here of all places?" asked Ciel.

"I came here because we seek the same goal: our claim to the Iron Throne, also known to my kind as the Dragon Throne. It was built from my father and mother's blood, sweat and tears and was also built from your parent's power. With the help of Aegon Targaryen and the rogue Crotonians, they united this land under the Dragon Council with my father as its leader."

Ciel darkly replied, "Yes, I know. I am hesitant to reclaim what is rightfully mine."

"As am I," Ashuton's eye color seemed to fade from hazel to red, "we cannot reclaim what is ours without a hivemind."

"Huh?" this came as a surprise to Ciel, "a hivemind?

Ashuton took the feathered quill from the boy's hand and drew on a blank sheet of paper, "you are a Crotonian and I am a dragon, right?"

Suspiciously glancing at the drawing on the paper, Ciel sheepishly replied, "yes."

"And together we can create a singular mind of dragons and Crotonians. Our conquest to reclamation will be fast and swift."

Ciel crossed his arms and fell back in the antique chair. He could feel there was a catch, "mmhmmm, and is there a price?"

Ashuton scribbled on the paper, completely killing the drawing of the dragon and the Crotonian, "We don't have an army."

"How will we get one?" asked Ciel with a bored stare, already feeling the boy had an answer.

"We make one."

"…and how do we do that?"

Sebastian interrupted, "Young Master, you look like you need a snack. I shall pre—"

Ciel cut him off, "I am not hungry," he uncrossed his arms and asked the dragonboy, "how do we make our own army?"

"…um…" Ashuton twiddled his fingers, "…uh…"

Ashuton was feeling pressure and nervousness build inside him. Ciel's bored stare, devoid of any emotion, was aching his mind. He began to pantomime something. Ciel didn't have time for games. He asked more sternly, "how do we make our own army?"

"We're…um…suppose to mate with e-e-e-e-e-e-each-o-o-o-ther, or—"

"What?" Ciel bolten from his seat and grabbed Ashuton by the arm with the intention of throwing him out of the window, "that's absurd! There must be another way, there is no way in hell I will mate with—"

Ashuton blurted out, "Or we find Narcissus Cartwright! She can help us."

"Narcissus Cartwright?" the name rang in Ciel's ear like a bell. He remembers the girl's shining smile and chocolate covered skin. She was so unusual to him that he nearly fell in love with her.

Sebastian's pupils narrowed, "Narcissus, daughter of Selene Cartwright the First Vampire," he remembered her name like it was yesterday.

"She was taken by the cult of Yansake a few years ago," said Ashuton, "I think she's across the sea…"

"Where exactly?" Ciel wondered.

"She's in…she's in the small town south of the Sahara called Vaes Dothrak." Ashuton grabbed Ciel's leg and desperately pleaded, "We have to find her before Robert does! We can't let him steal her from us!" He vigorously shook Ciel, "please Ciel, please! We have to find her…"

Ciel wanted to pity this boy—a dragon god—whom had been reduced to begging for help. He knew this concerned him, too, so maybe he should help this boy.

"very well," Ciel had to pry the five-year-old off him, "Sebastian, tell the Empress we are going on a little vacation. We will need Grell's ship if we are to safely travel to Vaes Dothrak. Can you contact him?"

The dashing butler nodded, "yes, young master, and I will see to it immediately."

"Perfect."

"ALL RIGHT! VACATION!"

Ciel growled under his breath when Finnial, Barrons and May-Rin burst into the room with the semi-mentally crazed butler Tanaka following behind.

"I'll prepare the bags for you, master!" said Finnial as he rushed in.

Barrons, excited and boisterous, piped out, "And I'll whip up some of the greatest snacks you've ever tasted!"

May-Rin nervously stood at the door, "I…I'll clean the carriage!"

The clamoring incompetents were all talking over eachother in a burst of excitement. It took Ciel a lot of effort to shout, "ALL OF YOU, SHUT IT!"

Not a single word leaked from their lips after that.

"Nobody must know we are heading to Vaes Dothrak," said Ciel, "if any of you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will fire you."

They left the room in a scurry as quickly as they came. The highly unusual behavior from Ciel was off-putting.

Ashuton muttered to Sebastian, "is he always like this?"

Okay, so now we have 2 side stories going: who killed the Earl of Sheffield, Ciel and Ashuton's Conquest to reclaim the Dragon Throne and Narcissus Cartwright's Daenerys-esque story. Awesome! Also, I've only read bits and pieces of the manga and watched 3 episodes, so I'll have to do a little research on Grell if I am to properly apply him to the story. This chapter is named after the blog Ascendant Justice, which is my favorite Halo site. You should check it out. This story will also play on the "War of the Five Kings," in A Clash of Kings. So expect certain characters to appear in this story. Everybody wants what the dragon gets!