Speech = ``...´´
Thoughts = [... }
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``Where is my daughter...?´´
The soft, baritone voice of a man at the centre of his life echoed coldly through the ample room of his own personal room. The king of Midgard could not help but shift on his seat as he gazed back at what had been calm, yet warm golden eyes...now staring with almost hostility behind them.
All semblance of the gentle blond man blown away, replaced by a seriousness that was rather surprising to witness first hand.
The man who had refused to sit on the offered seat, leaving the damn thing unoccupied while he stood over him made Klaus had the wayward thought that he was been looked by a hawk instead of his trusted friend. A moment of quiet, before he brushed those thoughts aside and leaned forward, grasping a quill that he had left unattended when his guest had stormed into his room.
Something that he had expected…, but perhaps not with as much speed or force as he had witnessed.
Something that he would have expected from each of his daughters, but not from the King of Orianna. Yet again...they were living in rather hectic times, and he Knew why and what sort of emotions were coursing through his fellow king before he even opened up his mouth.
He took a moment to breath in, finding much to his surprise it the more harder to come up with a fashionable response than he would have expected. At least one that would warrant an ounce of belief and trust in his words.
He tried…
He failed...
``We are working on it..´´
He said, grimacing at the empty sound that his words carried forth. Raphael Oriannas eyes narrowed even further, his fair features becoming creased with lines that marred his pristine countenance.
He clearly had not liked that..
Luckily, the man was too well behaved and polite to allow that to cloud his judgment into doing something more...harsh. Goddess knew that he would never welcome back into his studio one of those Theriatrope chieftains. Too much muscle and not enough patience..
That had not been a good day for his favourite tea pot...
``That is what you said on your letter, that was three days ago, I want to know what is the state of the situation and what do you know Now...´´
He sighed, rubbing the back of his head rather briefly before he replied. The sentence already thought out and rehearsed to the point of nausea in his mind, yet not of its grimace appeared in his collected exterior.
Not just a testament of the rigorous training for a man of his station had to go through to just mask his emotions, but also for both of their sakes. For if he were to lose his wits here and now, then there would be no one to bring his friend back to his.
``And I will tell you my old friend, have no doubt about that. I know that you are anxious about the state of your first born...´´
``That would be an understatement...´´
He sighed again, this time more loudly and yet inside his mind. He understood what thorn was stuck in Raphaels heart, what was vexing him enough to push him this way. But there was no need for him to make it sound like that.
``Still, I must ask of you to remain calm, if not for me, for your own sake.´´
``Its not my sake I am worried about..´´
``I know, nor I have forgotten..., and yet calm I would like to have you in my premisses...´´
The blond king shook his head half hearty with a small grimace.
``Calm…, you know you are asking too much already..´´
``And I afraid I will have to ask more of you with each passing day…, believe me when I said that I take not pleasure on it. Much to the contrary in fact..and yet my hands are tied´´
Raphael stared at him. Had it been anyone else, a foreign dignitary, a chieftain of an elven or Theriantrope tribe he would have expected them to either lash out with foul words or just get out of the door.
Not Raphael…, the man was luckily above such petty and childish things that most rulers shared with one another. Something that he was grateful for.
After a few eerie seconds of silence Raphael shook his head, loosing some of the heaviness that had taken hold over the King of Orianna soon after as he slowly sit down over the only empty chair of the room. Leaning back against it as he started to pinch the bridge of his nose.
His face creased, his angered and disbelieved expression warping into one of uncertainty and fear.
``Then I suppose that my question is answered already…, you don't know. Nobody does..´´
``The situation is developing..´´
The man shot him a glance, still...it lacked the steel it had shown before. Replaced with a mild and worn down softness that was slowly leaking in each of his features, draining the fire from his chest as he slowly sunk more and more into his seat.
His friend...was just too tired to care any-more.
It pained him to see him age by the moment. Raphael had always been a man who though kind, did not do well under pressure...
``In which direction? From bad to worse..?´´
``I cant say…´´
``And yet you ask me to stay my hand..?´´
``Yes..´´
A few seconds passed by unnoticed and unmourned between them. They were becoming all the more common...
``Figures.., that is so much like you…, to take things slowly, to try avoid panic. Sometimes I feel like you have ice instead of blood running through your veins, Klaus...´´
He heard his friend mumble softly, his tone not reaching out from a solemn register.
They had always made fun for his wait and see policy. What it should have been a sore spot that everyone in the court, his family and friends knew they had made it a matter of joy and playful jabs.
He had always been calm in most if any situation… a natural predisposition that had helped him. Something he had been glad for.
But it did not felt it this time…
Time was an awful thing, wasn't it? To see it past by and turn things into..into this!
``Can you blame me? To warrant a full out investigation and chase would ruffle too many feathers let alone warning the kidnappers of our intentions so that they would move her out of our control before we reach her. Sadly, the amount of men I can spare is not as much as I would like either so things have grown a little stale…´´
He did not explain why…
He did not wish to share his own demons to the already troubled mind of his friend.
The attack, the destruction, the families that had been left without homes to live and the scores of corpses that had been retrieved and were still working to pick out from the rubble..or what was left of them were just same of examples that hunted him.
And then was the eyes…
He had known of them, he had thought himself ready for it…
And yet he could only feel a pressure never ending now burnt at the back of his skull wherever he went. As if that shadowy claw that had lingered always out of reach had now decided to target him specifically.
He drew on his breath, biting his lip..., jaws clenching. He knew that feeling.
They were watching…
He did not know where, when, how or who…..he just knew that they were watching. Silently, but never ending. Like a pack of wolves staring down from the bushes at a pair of deer's fighting over dominance of the forest they lived in.
And so, he chose the lesser of the two evils.
The less his friend knew, the smaller the window of opportunity he would give those that were plotting behind his back to find out that he knew that they were there.
Now.., if only he could find and clean hose from the vermin that had surely infiltrated his kingdom, his very home he would.
But progress was slow when you didn't know if you could trust your own shadow.
Too many questions and no one to answer them..
``If manpower is what worries you I can have my guards and men look out for her.., they can search and interrogate the suspects sot that you don't have to put your hand in the matter´´
Came out Raphael, the man drawing his attention back to him, pushing those thoughts back at the corner of his mind where he would return to them at a latter date.
``That is generous of you, but do you think that my people will take kindly to be pursued and questioned by foreign authorities? If you bring soldiers into my country...people will start to whisper´´
``Then I believe it will be your task to calm your subjects and show them we mean no harm..´´
``Of course, and yet..the voices of the people will not be silent for long and people will start pointing fingers before the blame game starts…´´
``You seem awfully certain of that...´´
`` Sadly, those who are the loudest are not usually the most sane of mind, now more than ever with half of the capital in disarray…´´
``I have noticed, quite hard not to I may add..´´
``Then you do understand where my counsel comes from´´
``I hate to admit it...but I do´´
``I appreciate your words.-´´
He started to say before the blond man rose his hand weakly yet in a dismissing way.
``Don't waste your breath Klaus.., because no matter how you try to spin it, every-time to open your mouth is just a pain in my ass…´´
He could not help but raise an eyebrow at that, not at the harsh tone, but rather at the words chosen..
``I think I haven't see you utter those words before.., colour me surprise´´
A look of puzzlement dawned in Raphaels eyes before realization took hold, making the foreign king shake his head weakly. The ghost of a smile threatening to wrap around the edges of his lips even though he tried not to.
``That is because normally my little Rose is not missing in a foreign kingdom, Goddess knows where and in what state..´´
He slowly leaned backwards, feeling the cool, sturdy touch of the chair against his back. The more and more they spoke about this the more tired he felt. A speck of sweat sliding down his skin before disappearing down his neck.
He had not intended for that to happen, not in the slightest.
His friend had come with his daughter more than two weeks ago, wanting for her to meet him and his children. They had been making plans about the future...and more importantly about in which direction they would go from there.
Then Raphael had to return quickly to Orianna, that snake having calling him for a reason his friend had not disclosure with him in detail. He paid it little detail, his friends queen was...a peculiar kind of person, such call-out messages were not that strange. Then in the following week Rose had been conveniently kidnapped under the nose of the men he had placed to watch over her..
Klaus wanted to clench his jaw at the memory, he wanted to groan in frustration at the seemly endless list of failures he was starting to discover the more he dug under the carpet.
But above all things, he wanted to sleep…
Alas that was not meant to be, heavy was the head that wielded the crown.
Raphael had all the right to be frustrated and fearful for his offspring. He would be too..or at least, that was what he wanted to belief, but right now he could only feel the tempting desire to curse from heaven to hell those fools who couldn't even watch over a small child.
This was their fault…
Which it made it His fault given the fact that he had been the one to assign them such task.
``Fair enough..
A moment of silence stretched between them. He turned his head, allowing his crimson orbs to stare at the manuscript he had been writing. A puff of annoyance brewing inside when he realized that a few spots of ink had fell over some of the words.., smearing and staining the in other cases clear message.
He would have to start again…
Luckily there were props to be king. There was always an endless supply of paper and ink.
``Klaus, I want you to be honest with me..´´
His attention was drawn away from his own musings, back into the waiting gold eyes of his friend. The king of Orianna still tired, still weary of the roller-coaster of emotions that he had gone through...but finally pushing himself back from the hole he had been sinking into.
Leaning forward as he armed himself with all the pride he could.
That was good, even though Raphael was a bit more emotionally driven than him...he knew he could count him to bounce back from whatever turmoil tried to sink its claws into him.
``What do you need?´´
``I already told you.., didn't I..?´´
He fought back the urge to chuckle.
``I wasn't talking about that…´´
``…´´
``So?..´´
``I want you to answer me, not as a friend or as a king..but rather as a fellow Father..´´
``What is it..?´´
``If it was one of yours...´´
Raphael started.., only to halt mid way, having to draw out his breath before even daring to continue. His shoulder slugging down as if carrying a tremendous weight over them, yet refusing to fully cave in under the invisible pressure..
``If it was one of yours, would sit there like nothing is happening, would you be able to remain calm as you are now if Iris or Alexia were taken..?´´
``That would never happen..´´
He answered without missing a beat, the words leaving through his lips even before he could register he had rose from his seat. His voice cool...almost placid as he did, never breaking from its politeness and its regal tone, yet his hands clenching slowly into fists...
He did so, not because he was disillusioned enough to belief that such possibility could never take place, the world was big and there were enough people to actually do something very stupid, but his assurance that would never happen came from the fact that his children were too...brash for any kidnappers to actually risk taking them in.
Especially Iris..
Now more than ever that his first born was acting so….erratic.
So..unpredictable.
He sighed at the memory, the sight of the mirror cracked and stained with blood and the shards left on the ground. Quickly cleaned away and replaced by the servants in their haste to leave the room just as it had been before.
He had done his best to quell the rumours, but the people were already talking..
``Which..? Them for to be taken or you remaining uncaring..? ´´
``Take your pick..´´
The two stared at each other, the silence of the room forgotten as the steady beating of their hearts slowly picked up the pace inside their chests. Gold met scarlet as none of them dared look away from the other.
But it would not last as the two shook of their staring contest. Doing this would led them nowhere.
And the both of them knew that.
Feeling their strength wane once again the two leaned back into their seats.
``My apologies, I did not want to imply that, Klaus...´´
``Its okay, I understand my friend...even if I don't show it I understand what you are going through...´´
``I know…, I just cant imagine the terror and fear my daughter must be feeling all alone out there..´´
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A/N
Here is another chapter, hope you enjoy it. Review if you like.
We literally know little if nothing from the two kings so I decided to give a light on what I thought of them.
The chapter was a little too big for comfort (more than 10K and growing) so I decided to cut it into a few, shorter chapters. This is the first of the five that are coming, so I hope you don't mind. I am still trying to work in the last two. I want to get to Beta right away but I want to close this in if not in a high note, then at least good enough.
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Kerberosthe : I am glad to hear from you and the words you have shared, to be honest its been a while since I last saw you around and I thought you had died or something. Glad to be wrong. And for your questions, yes..there are people who are really, really annoying who seem to have no other purpose than to poke at you for fun, but one must carry on. There will be power-ups in the story, true, Alpha is going to have more of them given the energy inside her, but yes, they will be able to use more than just the slime thing.
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GrimsonReaper : When I first read the message with a half glimpse I thought you meant that I as a machine should make use of my human overlords to write the speech, I laughed a little at that. Then I realized what you meant and the only thing that came to mind was.. "Normal human?" Making a lot of assumptions here. Now, jokes aside I did once, no one seemed to comment on that whether it helped them or not to read better so I decided to go back to my style. Happy?