"Not really a royal welcome, is it?"

The silence of the mid-autumn Royal Garden at Jarasevo Castle was a comforting sight to land amidst. The many, multi-colored leaves that spread out with Aajja's wide, controlled wing flaps as he came in for a landing laid bare the unmaintained stone paths below.

Dirt, moss, ferns, and a general feeling of disrepair crunched underneath Cter's boots as she hopped off the Griffon Commander to then loosen up the straps that held together the harness which he finally was to be completely rid of. It were his ears that perked first at the crunching going on underneath Cter's boots, but it did not take many more steps for her to notice the sound as well.

"What the..." trickled out of her mouth as she kicked with her toe against the mossy surface of one of the stones of the pathway. A thick patch of moss tumbled away with her final kick, tumbling into the blown-away leaves and disappearing. With the leaves settling down around her she could see that the rest of the Royal Garden looked just the same. It was untended to, growing almost as wild as the many forests Cter and Aajja had flown over. It wasn't the Royal Garden Aajja had taken off from, that was for sure.

The outside of the castle looked the same as when the two had set off on their mission as Royal Messengers though. It had glistened just as white as it had been on the day they left, years prior. That was why Cter and Aajja felt so relieved when they first saw it. It was why they felt that their journey was at an end. Jarasevo Castle was the same as it had been when they set off.

"But only from the outside, it seems."

Cter's contemplative whisper was followed by her looking up at the guard towers. The black armor which was worn by the guardsmen up on the heightened posts was that of the Royal Guard, however there wasn't any aura to them.

The keen interest they took to the Griffon Commander and the Fourth Monster Mage that had just landed on their watch was not that of welcoming them back to the home they had set off from so many years ago. The bows they wielded were half-taut, awaiting something from either Cter or Aajja. Lastly, and most damning, was the sound of the voice of one of the guardsmen shouting their arrival.

"A human," said Aajja after turning where his ears tugged him towards. He peered up to the north-west tower, squinting like he had done towards Jarasevo Castle when he first spotted it, but keeping his neck reeled in. "That's a human up in the guard tower."

"Same as in the others," added Cter with her eyes at another stepping stone she was scraping some fern off with the toe of her boot. "Might not be for the best if we stare at them." She could hear the rising of Aajja's plumage though even with her suggestion being aimed at, as well as the whip of his ears folding back. There wasn't an angry purr from him though, so perhaps she had at least some effect on him. There was anger in his aura though.

Aajja holding up his neck like he did looked more natural once Cter began to unbuckle the straps of his harness, reaching deep into the raised plumage that stood thick and wild the same as the untended-to Royal Garden around them.

Leaves found themselves stuck in the huffed plumage and thick undercoat below like they were the spokes of a rake from the curious breeze rolling down the tall walls. It brought some spotty color among the feathers and furs, but it did nothing to change the fact that the situation was black compared to the white the two Royal Messengers had left behind at the beginning of their journey.

Things had changed.

"The first Royal Messengers have arrived! Inform the Mediator!"

But not for anyone outside the castle to see.

"Why aren't my soldiers up there?" growled Aajja under his breath. "Where are they if not up there? We did not see them anywhere during our flight in here, so where have they been sent to?" He impatiently fiddled with the ring on his lip, turning it around and around as if he was grinding his non-existent teeth. "Have the humans grounded them? Have they–agh."

Cter did not enjoy what she did, but tightening the strap around the base of Aajja's throat was the only way she could signal to him to be quiet without making it too obvious that she did. "I'll find out about them," she let the Griffon Commander know. A lot was beginning to bubble within his aura, and just as he had helped her stay in control when she was losing hers, she did the same for him. "I promise."

"I could tell that something was amiss," Aajja grumbled with talons scraping streaks of white in the dilapidated stone steps he was stood on. The soft moss proved nothing to his angered clenching, nor did the underlying lichen either. "I was just happy to be back here, but this..." Despite not moving an inch, Cter could feel that he was looking around himself. At the overgrown bushes. At the intrusive vines climbing up the trees and windows. At the stone path which Cter only found because she knew where they were beforehand. At the benches either rottened or rusted.

And at the tea tables empty and abandoned.

"Is this what the humans will do with the castle once we're gone? Is this what they will do with all of Jarasevo too? With all of Monster Country as well?" Aajja was forced to wrap his long tail around him lest he whipped it around and made more of a mess of the layers of leaves, rotten from seasons past and fresh from the branches above. "They've let the Royal Garden die like a human. They've let it all become fallen down."

With a huffed rustle, the many leaves stuck in the Griffon Commander's plumage were shaken loose, becoming fallen down as well around his curled talons. "This beauty and pride of the Monster King they've let wither as humanly as possible." He would have spit had Cter not stood under him, so instead his magic crumbled together the leaves around his talons into a ball which he then crushed into leafy sand. "Are the strings they're dancing the Monster Royals around with not long enough for King Asgore to visit his Royal Garden?"

"I don't know," answered Cter in a vague attempt to calm the Griffon Commander. She had seen and felt him be sorrowful, but never really upset. It was...something else. Jarasevo Castle was...something else.

"Maybe we are the only ones still the same then?" The Griffon Commander's voice was low and with a hint of fear within it. "Maybe the Monster Royals sent you Monster Mages away so that you would be the same when you were the most needed?" A deep-seethed seething was flush in his aura. "For if this is what has happened to the Royal Garden I dread to imagine what else have changed beyond the sight of any of the common monsters. Is King Asgore and Queen Toriel even on their thrones anymore? Have the humans gone that far?"

Cter rested some of her weight onto the straps around Aajja's left wing she was stood next to so that he would not either raise it threateningly nor take off to do something only he would know what it would be. She would not be enough to stop him, not even close, but she would have been at least a bit of hindrance for him. She was a powerful mage indeed, but she could not catch the Griffon Commander leaping into the air with all his anger-fueled might.

"We can't upset ourselves like this," she told to the Griffon Commander's sharply angled expression. "The best we can do is wait until we hear from King Asgore and Queen Toriel. It is clear that things have happened here at the castle that aren't what we expected to find. The humans have had plenty of time to betray our agreement while we have been away, but that would have reached us one way or another during our mission."

Aajja did not hear much of what Cter said, and what he decided to hear he looked back at Cter with a narrowed glance. "So it's better for them to betray us now that we've jailed ourselves within the walls of Jarasevo Castle?" His eyes then swept over to the movements of the guards in the towers, studying carefully at the humans. "I tell you, Cter, keep your magic at the ready."

She stole back the Griffon Commander's gaze with her own focused one.

"I always have it at the ready."

That seemed to be enough for the Griffon Commander, who patiently stood still as Cter continued undressing him his harness, taking care not to spill the numerous scrolls onto the moist ground. There would be needed a pair of strong tongs to pull each one of them out from how stuffed together they all were in their pouches, but why be careless at the last leg of the journey?

A journey that had brought them seemingly to the same place that they started.

But not from the inside.

"Greetings, Fourth Monster Mage!"

From behind amid the thick shrubbery came a voice Cter had not heard in forever. A voice which emerged with necks that bent almost as much as Aajja's.

Necks, plural.

"And welcome back to Jarasevo Castle!"

"Same to you, of course, Aajja, Commander of the Griffon Battalion of the Royal Guard of Jarasevo."

Deep bows had a few leaves stuck on Huvett and Huvtvao's dark, combed hair falling off and landing on the ground as if they were offerings to the Monster Mage and Griffon Commander. The ornate armor worn by the two-headed monster looked not as full of colorful luster as it had been when Cter saw him last at Fenkeep Castle.

There it had been pride in it display of the Hjearta colors and the coat of arms which hang like a shield off the side of the monster, over the ceremonial sword that he carried with him still. The hand he rested on its hilt though had more weight to it than it had at Fenkeep Castle. There was a tiredness to it, but not so much in his aura. In fact, he seemed to be keeping his aura quite well hidden, despite everything. It had Cter slightly curious.

"You will also be forced into the Underground too, Huvett and Huvtvao. Make no mistake about that."

But it had Aajja slightly upset.

Both Cter and Huvett and Huvtao stood still and stunned for a few seconds taking in the low growl of the Griffon Commander. He was very much looking as if he was about to be genuinely angry, something Cter had never seen from him before. She had felt hints of it in his aura, but never had she seen his ears folded so sharply back as they were.

His bendy neck was tensed, almost as stiff as a flagpole. Huvett and Huvtvao did not notice as much, or perhaps he was quicker to let it wash off him, but regardless he was the first to thaw from the freezing shock.

"I understand your concerns, commander," said Huvett after a small, innocent cough into his balled fist. A few small expressions furrowed at his brow, so Huvtvao took over in his stead.

"And trust me that I am fully aware of my position and that my lot is the same as what will be for you as well." Huvtvao turned his neck around, facing his eyes through the bent path he had carved through the shrubbery he had entered through. As he did, Huvett continued along.

"And it is with that in mind that I have taken up the role that the humans have given me. The list of the monsters that they trust was small already when you Monster Mages and griffons set off to gather the rest of the monsters, and it has only gotten smaller ever since then." Huvett motioned with his eyes up to the guard towers stationed with observing humans.

He did not mention anything about the state of the Royal Garden, tellingly. "As you can most likely guess from what you have already seen, Jarasevo Castle is no longer under the jurisdiction of The Castle, and thus the monsters have no real say in the matter. As a necessity for the human royals to feel comfortable returning back to their own castles in Xoff and Hjearta, King Asgore and Queen Toriel agreed to recede themselves from the rightful ownership of Jarasevo, both the land and its castle. This is now a human castle standing upon a human hill overlooking a human city."

Aajja's neck curled like a length of angry rope, tying up the many words he wanted to speak out loud, but knew would only result in nothing good should be do so. The soft, gray light from the light overcast gave a glaze to his dark eyes which he could not blink away. He was keeping fair with Huvett and Huvtvao since he was telling the Royal Messengers what they would otherwise have asked him, but it did not mean that he liked what the monster was saying.

"In exchange for the ease of burden of the human crowns in terms of ease of mind for the ease of burden of the monster crowns in terms of being stripped of their own castle, King Asgore and Queen Toriel did impose more strict promises from the humans when it came to the well-being of their people. If the humans were to own the land around Jarasevo they were going to work it and provide for the monsters that they are keeping prisoners within the city walls. In a strange twist of fate, the comfort of living has increased in Jarasevo since it was given over to the humans, at least compared to when the war began."

"They will tend for it for the monsters only for the time being when monsters still inhabit Jarasevo though," Huvett was quick to add with a spring-forth of his neck. He retreated it slowly after having made his point. "That comfort is a small one, however. It was impossible to dress the trade up as something else than what it really was. King Asgore and Queen Toriel kept their people calm during their speech informing everyone about the exchange they made, but as you again might be able to guess from around you..."

For that one he did not have to tell anything about the state of the Royal Garden around him. The implication was thicker than the bush which had snagged a hard branch on his coat of arms.

"A lot of it is for show. A vast majority of it is for show. On the outside it is all the same as before, but inside it is not. The Monster Royals have not sparred in the Royal Garden for years now, so their nourishing love have been starved away. The time for the monsters to embark on their exodus to their new home is close, and really we are only awaiting the last to arrive at Jarasevo for the next phase to begin. That the Royal Messengers are returning is a telltale sign that the monsters' final day in Jarasevo is approaching fast. The final days of this lingering war that will finally give peace at last."

Huvett could see that Huvtvao's relaxed sigh did not sit with the Royal Messengers the way he intended to.

"We need to be fully committed to the will of the Monster Royals," he explained with a soft motion of his hand behind him into the castle building.

"And that means believing fully in that the Underground and its Barrier will bring back peace to all of us, even the humans. My duties serving as the inverse of you Monster Mages is why I was chosen to be the Mediator between the two races. I am a monster, but I have done all in my power to be that of a human. Even through the war I was a human, and served to help their side of the war. I did so as that was what King Asgore and Queen Toriel had ordered me to. They put their complete faith in me to reinforce that the concept of the Monster Mages was, and still is, true and functional. I have been here in your stead, in a way. I have taken care of the castle during these past years which you've been gone for."

Taking care of the castle, said Huvett. Taking care of the castle, but not the Royal Garden?

"A consequence of the signing-over of the jurisdictional power from the Monster Royals to the humans," filled Huvtvao in to Cter and Aajja's glances around them to the overgrown Royal Garden. His eyes found rest on an aspen tree which struggled to rustle in the curious wind due to being cramped by neighboring birches from which vines grew to smother the aspen's leaves.

"More than that it is a damn shame," added Huvett with a grumble. "The Royal Garden is an heirloom of the Dreemurr family, King Asgore's lineage, and as thus was not included when he and Queen Toriel signed over their powers vested in them by The Castle. King Asgore is still in possession of the Royal Garden, however the ground on which the Royal Garden stands upon and which its plants dig their roots into are that of human land as per the signing over. The castle around it is also that of human ownership."

Hearing that, Aajja's ears and neck tilted slightly to the side. A claw tapped at the stepping stones underneath his large paws and talons. "So does that mean that what we are standing upon now is that of the last piece of land owned by the monsters in the entirety of Jarasevo?" There was a slight hint of mischievous in his voice and aura.

It was dwarfed by the larger hint of forlorn and hurt though, and would not come to fruition, be it ripe or over-ripe, as was the case with many of the unpicked fruits littering at the base of the untended-to trees. "And the humans feel the need to watch over with this many guards over the plot of land lest its soul and magic tries to attack them?" He shook his head.

"Appearances," said Huvtvao directly even though he knew that Aajja was playing things up for effect. "Appearances that the castle still is monster owned for the monster population in Jarasevo." He nodded with a flick of his neck. "It has kept the peace, but not kept tensions slacked. I am not sure what would slack the tensions though. If there is anything to slack the tensions, even."

"Appearances is also why I was chosen to be the Mediator," added Huvett while Huvtvao's head shook silently. "I can walk out here in the Royal Garden and greet you and welcome you back from your extensive travels since I am a monster, but I also am allowed to take your papyri from you and begin going through them to make sure you have done good on the monsters' words."

He reached out for the loosened harness Cter had laid down on the ground. "Speaking of which." Aajja picked the bundle up with a loose talon and handed it over, scrolls and all, for Huvett and Huvtvao to sling casually over his horse-like body. "It's quite itchy."

Aajja managed to hold his tongue at the comment.

"You must be quite tired from your journey, and while I suspect that the humans will want to speak with you as soon as possible, and the Monster Royals even sooner, it would do you both good to have a nice meal as well as perhaps a bath and some rest."

Huvett heard Huvtvao's word, and decided to correct them, "Not insinuating anything about that," and bowed apologetically. "Just want to make sure that you feel that you are home for your well-being's sake. There is much more to be done, but I am confident that no one would be upset with you taking a day or so to fully rest up before another weight of the world is put upon your shoulders. We are still awaiting the rest of the Royal Messenger, after all."

The Griffon Commander looked up into the light overcast. "Not for long, I would say." He closed his eyes and let the curious wind play through his feathers and fur. "I can not say how long, but seeing how the distances were divided up so that all of the Royal Messengers would return at the same time, the four that traveled to Xoff won't be far away."

He blinked a pair of furrowed eyes back down to Huvett and Huvtvao. "And while I am standing here upon the grounds of the Royal Garden I would want to invoke in both King Asgore's name and my rank in the Royal Guard to ask of you what has happened with the rest of my subordinates. Any and all secrecies that you have been informed of as a human I now outrank you as a monster as you stand upon this land."

The plumage on Aajja's chest puffed out from his ornate vest as he inhaled enough air to keep Cter alive for a year as he spoke his demand. His strong, majestic legs locked straight and tall, and his wings widened to imply their full width. His look was as sharp as his beak at the Mediator, and his neck as sturdy as the walls that held up Jarasevo Castle.

A few, quiet seconds passed between the Griffon Commander and the mediator, with loose leaves jumping up between them to taste at the tension, only to fall straight back to the ground as it was so thick and heavy.

Cter did not back away from the two though.

For it was just what Huvett and Huvtvao wanted, she came to realize.

And as both his heads broke their facade into a joint chuckle, so did Aajja as well. Huvett and Huvtvao breathed in to quell his chuckle, and blinked to the overgrown landscape around him.

"I guess you got me there," he said with faux defeat in his voice. "It seems that I have to tell you anything you ask. Same with you, should you do, Monster Mage."

He shrugged loosely.

"So, what is it you want to know?"