Dripping Wings

Yuugi finished off his neheseneh fruit, which was in fact a candied concoction of dragon fruit, sugar, and honey. He'd have never thought the combination could work together, but it was one of the most delicious things he'd ever eaten. He walked alongside Atemu as they reentered the palace, the sun now almost fully below the horizon. The day had been so crazed, and to Yuugi's shock, it wasn't even over yet. Parties would be held all over the city, in both public and private establishments alike. It was now his and the Prince's job to get ready for the ball that would be held at the palace that very night.

He could hardly believe all of the things he had done that day. To begin with, he and Atemu judged the ice skating contest, which had three different challenges; the creative skate routine, long distance race, and short distance race. Afterwards, the two of them walked around touring and tasting the breakfast meals from different vendors and bakeries in the city, and then handed out first, second, and third prize ribbons. Those establishments/cooks would receive hoards of business during the next year. After that, they had gone ice skating themselves, then watched a horse race that consisted of the average horse. Yuugi was beginning to understand the differences in horses in Sekesha, something he had not been at first introduced to. Apparently, there were two different breeds; first was the Sacred Herd, the group of horses that were intelligent, and either belonged to royalty or Guardians. Guardian, apparently, was an occupation that one did not simply apply for. One of the Sacred had to choose a person, seemingly at random, to become their rider. The Guardians acted as the law enforcers for the entire country: thus, there was a large amount of them. They had a particular uniform that they wore, and it was always the exact same color as their horse. Once they were actually chosen by their horse, and as they were almost invariably all Gifted, they would train at the Sekesha Hall Compound for three years before they actually went on their runs, or were stationed at different outposts throughout the kingdom. However, there was apparently another breed of creature that was also a Sacred, and was also bred at the palace; dragons. Different than the type of dragon that Daemon was, these dragons had the exact same mentality as that of the Sacred horses, and acted in the exact same manner with Guardians.

Thus, there were two different races for the horses: one for the Sacred and one for the regular horse, which was used by the average peasant that had no magickal abilities.

After the horse race, it was time to taste test lunch menus. Afterwards, wine tasting, then...a dancing contest. After the winners had been announced, Yuugi had been delighted when the Prince whisked him out onto the floor and, once again, swept him off his feat. After that was a craft fair, and they had to judge the best artwork by the many guilds in the area, and also work by independent artists.

Yuugi was quite exhausted at the moment, but Atemu promised him a nap before the ball that night. It wouldn't begin for another couple of hours, and even then they'd get to sit for the large remainder of the evening, then enjoy an extravagant dinner in the comfort of the palace.

Yuugi let out a wearied sigh that expressed his tired state as they walked up to their bedroom door, leaning his head on Atemu's shoulder. The Prince chuckled. "It's been a long day, hasn't it?"

"Hmm... are you sure I can't just go to sleep for the rest of the night?"

"Positive. There is something that I really want you to see. There is a reason that our guest list is booked every First Soltice Night, and it's not just the prestige of being at the palace. Even royalty from other countries will be here tonight to witness the event that will be happening. The wait list to get invited is over ten feet long. For some nobles, it's actually their life long goal to get invited to this dinner tonight, if you can believe that."

Yuugi laughed. "Actually, no, I have a very hard time believing that. But I suppose I'll find out why they want to come so much this evening."

"You will indeed."

Yuugi collapsed on the bed as Atemu closed their bedroom door. He felt arms wrap around him as the Prince curled up behind him and held him close. It was so nice to lay back down in their bed after so much activity. "Sleep hard, love, we'll be up for probably the rest of the night."

"Please tell me we get to sleep in come morning."

Rich laughter reverberated behind him. "We get to sleep in every morning of the Solstice from now on."

xxx

Yuugi sat next to Atemu at the Royal Table, the seats they were in actually two thrones. Yuugi felt more than awkward sitting in a chair that had so much recognition, but he supposed that he had no choice but to get used to it. Who knew something like this would ever happen to me. I go from poor orphaned punk to royalty for a country that has more power and food than they know what to do with.

Atemu sat next to him with a quiet ease. He seemed to be enjoying himself and the buzz of all of the activity around them. Cooks and maids and servants and pages were running around serving food and wine and beverages, whilst nobles and guests and visiting royalty were walking around and mingling or sitting around and chatting with one another. Yuugi and Atemu's table was set up on a platform that was maybe a foot above the ground floor. Isis and Lilian were at the table with them; Lilian next to Atemu and Isis next to Yuugi.

"So, what happens next," he leaned over and whispered in Atemu's ear.

"You'll see soon. The trumpets will sound shortly to call everyone to attention."

As if on cue, brass instruments did call out from the outskirts of the ball room, and as one it seemed the body of people moved to their tables and sat down. All eyes were immediately drawn to the back of the room. Yuugi turned his head as well, eager to see what was going to happen. Whatever it was, it was important enough that people hoped to make it to this all their life.

From a back doorway emerged a woman that in all respects looked extremely exotic in Sekeshan standards. Most people in the Divine City had naturally pale hair, light skin, and wore pastel colors. The usual hair color of a person's hair was pale pink, purple, yellow, or white. Their skin was never darker than an off beige. Her skin, however, was bronze with a golden hue, and had lithe arms and strong legs that held her frame with poise and dignity.

Her look was exotic unto itself, however, for the fact that her hair was silver.

White linen was wrapped around her in a tight skirt, bound with a gold chain. Trinkets clanked from her wrists and ankles, a slim covering of metal on her upper body.

In the middle of the crowd now she stood, so still she could have been Pandora before animation, carved from a piece of gold marble, hair strung from precious metals. Her hands were held behind her back, her head down and eyes closed, leg poised femininely, waiting.

The drums started, and her legs began to move. She kept her arms unmoving, her head still down, but her feet pranced about as if she were a sprite from some child's fairytale.

But Yuugi was enraptured when the haunting strings joined in. Her arms started to move, and her body swayed as if she were invoking the magick of some god or goddess long ago forgotten.

The dancer began to move her hands as if she were holding something fragile that might break if it were breathed upon. Her fingers tickled the empty air, shards of light responding to her beckon. Her downcast eyes concentrated on the air before her. Erotic and sensuous, yet lethal and planned. A spell was weaving about the room. None could leave, and none could remove their eyes.

Her dancing continued, the light growing larger and brighter in her hands. The music was speeding up, and the crowd was being drug right along with it. Yuugi felt his heart rate increase with anticipation.
The air reeked with the surprise yet to come.

Faster and faster she danced, the light growing stronger and stronger.

And then she stopped, arms held high above her, toes pointed, a statue yet again.

Her hands flew down, and the ball of light she'd been working on exploded on the floor. The room was bathed in a silver illumination, filling every dark corner with a preternatural life.

When Yuugi could see again, the dancer's skin tone was now the normal pale color that belonged to most Sekeshan natives, her clothes now a white gown of some material he had never seen. Opaque and yet unrevealing, purposefully disheveled and the ends.

She looked like a colorless ice fairy who had just found her way back to her homeland.

The floor was still bathed in that silver light, rippling along its way as if it were water. And the silver woman of light began to glide across it as if it was, and she could stand on it like it was ice. It was at this point that her song began.

Low and soft at first, gradually gaining more volume. Haunting it was, but different from the drums and the strings that had just been plucked. Some language that he had never heard, filling his soul with thoughts of moonlit nights in on iced over lakes.

An invisible breeze moved her silver hair about her head, light pulled up around her as she moved.

The light on the floor splashed around her if she jumped, or twirled, or turned. Beautiful.

The instruments stopped playing. Her voice hung on one final note, ringing clear and true in the palace air. She had stopped moving, her arms up again and her back rigid. She was calling the light back to her, making it close in upon her and consume her. Just when she was almost beyond sight, she flung her arms down one last time, and the light left, showers of silver raining down upon the viewers. Her voice faded away.

The crowd exploded with applause. Yuugi was left speechless, bedazzled yet again at the talent and beauty of this world. He found himself clapping with the rest of the room. He looked over to Atemu, who in turn looked at him and winked. "Who was that," he asked bewildered.

"The High Priestess of the High Temple of Tranquility. She does this dance every year. This is why people flock this way to see this, and that's why the guest list is booked every year."

"Amazing," Yuugi breathed.

Atemu chuckled. "Indeed. And now dinner is on its way."

xxx

Yuugi enjoyed watching the construction of the ice palace. Magi and common citizen alike were working on it at the moment, water and ice Gifted having more fun than should be expected as they allowed their talents to flow like ribbons around the exterior. They would be the ones that added more water for those who were molding blocks, or decorative elements once it was completely finished. The palace was promising this year, as this was the largest plan to date. This ice palace would have seven levels, rather than the usual three, and would take up over three quarters of the resident fair grounds that were but a hop and a skip away from the compound.

Atemu was enjoying himself, too. The two of them were not sitting in a chair like they did for the judged tournaments, but were in fact on their horses, and could easily move around to see different angles of the palace as it was being built.

Yuugi laughed quietly to himself, hardly able to believe that this was the seventh day of the Solstice. The days had been so busy, and so much fun, he was beside himself with what to think next. Astarte pranced around a few feet, getting a better look at a twirl an ice mage was using to make a column to hold up a doorway.

"What do you think of the ice palace," Atemu asked him.

"I can't wait to see what it looks like on the inside," Yuugi stated back, pulling a small chunk from the fresh baked bread he had in his hand and taking a bite.

"Sire, look out! Run!"

Yuugi turned around in the saddle when a voice behind him cried out in panic. The only thing he could see, however, was a huge set of massive jaws and extremely sharp teeth and fangs. His eyes grew wide, panic rising in his throat, but those jaws were too close to move out of the way completely. Astarte cried out in surprise, attempting to move out of the way, but Yuugi knew it was too late; there was even spit being sprayed on their forms, and the hot breath of the dragon was about to consume them. Time slowed, and Yuugi could see everything coming to an end. Goddess, no...

In one violent motion the head of the dragon was pushed cruelly off to the side, and once Yuugi could get his frightened mind to think coherently, he saw the dragon was dead on it's side, a shaft of buzzing shadows sticking out of it's temple. Atemu was floating just above it, energies still dancing around his hand. His face looked enraged, his muscles flexed larger than Yuugi had ever seen them. He lowered himself to the ground, running up to Yuugi. The teen got down from Astarte quickly, welcoming the embrace.

"Goddess, Yuugi, are you all right? Good heavens..." Atemu sounded just as frightened as Yuugi felt.

"I'm all right. Really. What in the seven hells happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know," the Prince growled angrily. The two of them walked over to the now dead dragon on the ground. Astarte and Senke were both standing around it, Astarte pushing a tentative hoof into it's side. The dragon was dead and gone. Blood pooled out and stained the once white snow a bright red.

Yuugi and Atemu heard the sound of someone crying hysterically and sobbing miserably. They ran over to the other side of the sapphire colored dragon, and saw a young girl was lying on the ground, her hands over her head as she cried away. Yuugi attempted to walk up to her, but suddenly a Sacred horse landed in front of her, barring its teeth at the two of them. The color of the creature at first looked white, but upon closer inspection Yuugi saw that it had a light purple sheen on it. Sweet Goddesses above, she's a newly chosen Guardian! He walked up to the horse with his hands up. "We're not going to hurt her," he said calmly. "We want to find out what's wrong, and what happened. We won't hurt her." The horse's ears were pressed flat against its head, but it slowly moved aside, allowing the girl to come back into view. Yuugi noticed a crowd had now gathered around them, but he ignored them as he knelt down on the snow covered ground and attempted to talk to her.

The girl's face was covered by her powder blue hair. "Miss," he said loudly. She didn't answer him. "Miss, look at me! Snap out of it!" He shook her shoulder softly, and immediately her head snapped up. Her eyes looked haunted, her expression one of pure terror and grief.

"N-no," she cried. "I...it's th-the P-Prince...I..I... oh please..." she sobbed. Tears streamed down her face.

"What happened," Yuugi pressed again.

The girl kept crying. "Ah!" She lowered her head again. Her horse moved around frantically, extremely on edge.

Something was wrong with the girl. Yuugi put his hand up to her forehead, and used his light abilities to figure out what. Healers could tell what kind of talents one had, since they could practically 'scan' the mind and body to see what was wrong.

"She's in pain," he realized. "She has...powerful empathy that has had no training, and mind speech. She's hearing the thoughts of every person in a two mile radius, and it's giving her a headache larger than Tranquility Lake. She doesn't know how to block out the noise."

Atemu knelt down next to him. "Do you think you can get her to explain what happened? She was obviously riding this dragon went it attacked you."

Yuugi nodded. He believed he could. He also knew the reason the dragon had attacked him, too. When the girl was on it, she became extremely afraid, and in her confusion actually projected her fear onto the dragon. That was why the creature went mad. Yuugi set up shields so she couldn't hear the thoughts of other around her, and used his healing to ease her fear. Her shaking calmed down a bit, and she finally looked up at him, her eyes forlorn. "What is your name," Yuugi asked her.

"K-Keylian," she gasped.

"What happened?"

"I...I don't know who did it exactly. I...I was next to the compound because there was a candy making competition and...a group of people came up behind me. I don't know who they were, but...they picked me up and threw me over a fence, and I landed on the back of the dragon. I became afraid when it took off, and...then there was this huge pain in my head..."

"How many in the group," Yuugi asked her.

She shook her head, wiping tears from her face. "I don't know for sure. Five, six maybe. I think all of them were men."

Atemu shook his head. That group sounded highly questionable. And just by chance an untrained Gifted? "This was an accident waiting to happen," he said. Yuugi nodded, agreeing with him.

"Vesa?"

Everyone looked over when a young man wearing a blue uniform came their way, his face stricken. "Vesa!" He knelt down to the dragon, holding the head in his hands. "Oh...no..." It was a Sacred dragon, and that was the Guardian that rode her. The man in blue started to cry. "I raised her since she was hatched..."

Yuugi felt horrible for the Guardian. Atemu had little choice, however. It was either Yuugi, or the dragon. The dragon was the first to go.

"My Lord!"

What next, Yuugi wondered.

"My Lord! Please, we need your council!" Three men and two women rode up to them on horses that looked to be carved of ice. One of them got down and ran up to Atemu, handing him a piece of parchment that looked crinkled and bent. "We've been riding for two days, my Lord. The way points in Northern Reach are spread sparsely."

"What is the problem, Guardian?"

"Bandit raids, Sire, Northern Reach borders. We've lost three holds and six dozen fighters, eight Guardians included. We need help."

"Jono!" Atemu cried. How he knew the Calvary Sargent was in the area, Yuugi wasn't sure, but almost immediately, the blonde haired man showed up, his hand on his sword that was in its holster.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Assemble a team of two hundred soldiers and Guardians. Send them back out immediately with three of the Ice Guardians. The other two, I want you to come with me to the palace. I want to see what's been attacked exactly, who needs aid, food, and medical assistance, and assemble strategies. Now."

"Aye, Sire!" Two of the men and one of the women ran off with Jono towards the stables and soldier and Guardian housing areas. The remaining man and woman Ice Guardians waited. "Come, Yuugi," Atemu said. "We must go to the palace."

"Isis," Yuugi called. He didn't know for sure how he knew she was there, either, but she sure was. "Take Keylian to Ayana for me. She'll be the best healer at the moment." Ayana would also be able to deal with the girl's horse that looked ready to chomp someone's hand off if they so much as sneezed in Keylian's direction.

The magistrate nodded at him quickly, kneeling down to the girl to help her up.

"I don't like coincidences," Atemu stated.

"I agree," Yuugi said, " and when it rains, it pours."

xxx