Yami woke up to the sound of scrolls landing on his floor, so he pushed the blanket off his body.
He snatched it off the floor, deciding to read the one with the broken seal first. The scroll was the same color as Mai's previous one, so it had to be from her.
"Hey babe,
Miss you lots. I HAVE GOOD NEWS and more good news! You can rest easy! Anja is home! Get this: a prick-looking elf named SETO (yes you read that right DON'T REDACT THE NAME OR I WILL FIND YOU, YOU STUPID -redacted-)
Just in case if they want to censor that, its CROWN PRINCE SETO, High Elven Priest of the Cane Forest or something. He'll be in records so you can look him up. I sure did. He exists. He is really who he says he is, unfortunately. Guess the name is just a coincidence (or popular in those parts of the forest?) Anyway.
Two travelers (1 human and 1 elf who can't do magic-wild, right?) arrived in the safe town to seek refuge, and they came right to me for a room, saying stuff about [seto] and [anja] traveling together in a forest after escaping from smugglers.
Of course I don't believe them, but I let them stay because im not heartless.
BUT THEN this guy shows up, wearing dragon-hide riding boots (yeah ugh) and spider silk robes that probably cost more than our entire tavern, towing Anja in dwarf-made reins, with her acting happy! She's unharmed and can TALK TO ME NOW IN FULL SENTENCES! She tells me she traveled in the forest WITH SETO (our baby seto, not the elf prick). The Elf prick showed me a mirage of Seto doing well. He's doing good. Don't worry.
The smugglers even showed up a few days later to seek refuge (THE NERVE AM I RIGHT?!) because they lost their entire cargo train to seto fighting them for anja hahahah and now their boss is after them for the damages and they can't pay! Serves them right.
The gnome inn down the street is overcharging them out the butt.
Everything is as good as peaches over here. You worry about yourself!
Love you!
Mai"
Yami let out the breath he'd been holding and let out a nervous laugh.
Oh thank gods. It was Anja the High Elf was talking about at the ceremony.
He'd been stupid to think otherwise. And yes, the more he looked into his own memories, the elf only shared the same name with Seto, and nothing else.
It was merely a coincidence of trend-naming in the forest.
He'd even returned her to Mai.
How…noble of him.
This letter also confirmed that Seto was indeed hiding back in the forest after having escaped the facility. Maybe the elf had helped.
Either way, he felt extreme relief about this magnificent change of events.
Pressing the scroll to his chest, he let out another sigh and then picked up the dark green one, dreading what it was. Summons?
He cracked it open and winced at the fancy script.
"Mage Atem,
Your presence is requested in the High Court to be judged by the following elves:
Brynjolf the III, Justice High Elf of the Fair Court
Jounouchi Katsuya, Elf Leader of the Hunt, Noble archer of the Cane Forest
…."
Yami skipped over the rest of the names and was about to close the scroll when the last name caught his eye.
Seto.
"Seto, High Elven Priest of the Cane Forest, Crown Prince of the Chizao Sky Region"
His title is longer than his name, so definitely a prick, Yami glowered, reading the rest of the text underneath.
"You will be represented by [Seto, High Elven Priest] before the Fair Court, for he has submitted a petition for your freedom, listing 1,200 names. Please make yourself presentable for court on this date: …."
Blinking twice, Yami shut the scroll and his heart leapt. That was in three days, right after the birthday party.
This was Seto's doing, he was sure.
Not Elf Prick Seto, his own, lovely Seto.
Seto had met the priest in the forest, they had rescued Anja together along with the magicless elf and the human he was traveling with and sent them all to the safetown while Seto remained in hiding.
This elf knows where Seto is! He'll tell me, and I can visit him, give him the biggest hug, Yami thought happily, climbing back up on his bench to nap. Things were looking up all of a sudden.
All he had to do was work security at a birthday party and exit prison with the help of many elves who had unknowingly signed for his release, thinking they were helping the dragon.
This Priest elf was sneaky, and Yami secretly appreciated that.
Seto locked the door with at least eight spells, weaving them all tightly together with one colored thread, knowing Mai could pick apart his cast work, but would need hours to do it. He just needed to sleep without anyone barging in on him and seeing him…in his child's body.
His identity was fragile enough and was about to be tested. Again. Thanks to Dartz.
An invitation scroll had dropped in via portal atop the bar counter while he'd been wiping it down with magic and had almost damaged it.
Dartz was sending him the birthday party invite which he'd forgotten to take. The party was tomorrow, so he was instructed to get a good day's rest to gear up for it.
The second scroll was more elf paperwork, matching the black petition scroll he'd taken to the ceremony, and that one was for Yami.
His days were stacked.
There was the party to further solidify himself as Crown Prince, then the court exoneration date. It was fine.
He could do it.
He slid his boots off and slowly disrobed, making sure to cast a muffling and privacy spell over the window too, in case Anja was curious enough to peek in.
She was very happy to be back in the yard, in her large shed, relaxing, and Seto barely saw Mai when she returned from the Town Hall. She stuck to the dragon like glue and didn't even comment on his cleaning. Typical.
Bakura and Marik made themselves scarce, spending time out in the town in the sunshine, giving him the entire inn to himself, which was a rare luxury, so he'd picked the largest room, just to see what it was like.
There was a king-sized bed, a clean window with good light, even some view over the rooftops of shorter buildings beside them, and a real closet. The disparity between his closet-room and this room was real.
Sighing to himself, Seto threw himself onto the bed and closed his eyes, dimly wondering when he'd be rid of the horrible child's body. Dartz had assured him that when enough people saw him as an adult, the image would stick, and his real growth would follow. Hopefully.
Yami woke up with a start to the sounds of booing and hissing from the creatures around him, and he pulled the blanket over his head with a groan. What was it now…? He was going back to bed. Whoever it was, wasn't here for him. His court date was a few days away…
"Booooo! BOOOOOOO! Shame on you!"
"AN ELF! GET OUT! BOOOOOOO! BRING A HUMAN WITH A KEY TO THIS CELL!"
"Elf…! Elf sccummm—"
"Shut up! ...Hey babe, it's me…"
Yami pried his eyes open furiously and tossed the blanket aside when he recognized Mai's voice, and he threw himself off the bench to rush at the bars, immensely relieved to see her standing on the other side, looking healthy and unharmed.
"BOOOOOOOOOO! BOOO MAIDEN leave our mage alone!"
"Stop! She's a friend!" Yami cried sharply, giving the sea demon in the cell beside a tired smile. "Please give us some silence…" And he raised a hand shakily to cast a muffling spell around him while the creatures quieted down obediently, and Mai's shocked expression broke his heart, but he did his best to keep his own face neutral.
She pressed her hand against the bars and gave him a sorrowful smile, "how are you? Gosh you look horrible—Heal!"
Her spell traveled through the barrier and hit him square in the chest, taking his breath away for a second before he coughed lightly and felt as if his body had lightened considerably.
"Thank you…" Yami whispered, poking his hands through the bars to touch the magical barrier, seeing it glow annoyingly back at him. "I got your letter. Thank you for seeing me…"
"Yeah I'm here to tell you in person, because I'm not going to risk writing it and having someone read it," she said, her face darkening as she gazed into his cell with a stricken look. "Are you eating enough? They didn't give you a bed?!"
Yami shrugged and replied, "I'm not here for long anyway. I managed to…" he raised his hands to show her his separated cuffs, but her eyes stayed narrowed to the level dampening collar around his neck.
"And they're treating you like an animal in here," she muttered, her face continuing to darken. "Anyway love, I'm here to tell you not to trust that dragon-hide wearing elf named Seto. He's staying in a room at my place until your papers clear because he tells me he's your representation…? Is that right?" Her nose wrinkled in disdain, and Yami nodded.
"Yes. His petition is signed by a thousand High Elves from the crowning ceremony…which I attended and saw his crowning with my own eyes. I was there to maintain the security barrier," Yami said quietly, and Mai's eyes widened even further. "I know he can't be trusted, but he's my only option out of here."
They stared wordlessly at each other, and Mai looked like she was on the brink of tears, and Yami gave her another soft smile. It was fine…really. The collar only looked bad…
"Anja…is…completely healed," Mai said softly, brushing a strand of hair away from her cheek. "She talks in full sentences! She knows everything that's happening! She knows Seto is at school and that you're…imprisoned. Apparently our Seto couldn't stop talking about your jail sentence. All his friends at school know too, and…it's bad, Yami. You gotta get out of here, okay?"
"I deserve this a little, don't I?" Yami asked with a dry smile, hoping to see her laugh since she was always joking about how he'd be imprisoned one day for his crimes, and the day was here, but she glared at him so viciously, her aura darkened.
"You do not deserve this!" Mai snapped, giving the barrier a soft punch and making it glow with resistance before withdrawing her hand shakily. "Anja is a darling. And Seto, no matter how bratty, is definitely someone to have on our side. He's been misbehaving so you need to get out here and set him straight."
"Misbehaving? What'd he do?" Yami wondered nervously, and Mai grimaced, shaking her head.
"You'll see when you get out of here in a few days," she said darkly, leaning away from the bars. "Unfortunately, I have full faith in that annoying priest. 'I'm already saved', you should hear him speak. Makes me wanna punch him."
"I heard him speak at his crowning," Yami supplemented with a warm smile, appreciating her rough language. "He sounds like a high class Fae that has never left the branches of the tree, right?"
Mai nodded, grimacing and running a hand through her hair, leaning into the barrier to touch it again before glancing at the door and seeing the teleportation circle had appeared for her.
"Okay. That's my time. Just came by to tell you I'm doing okay," she said quietly, tapping the barrier again, looking like she wanted to touch his hand. "The inn's shut down for now because of that soup fiasco, but it might become headquarters for—" She stopped herself and waved a hand over her nose. "See you on the outside, Yami. Love you."
Yami nodded and took the barrier down, giving her a smile in return.
She hurried away to step into the circle, and a few monsters waved at her. She waved back kindly and vanished to the hooting and howling of the inmates.
His neighbor leaned into the side bars and huffed, "you have many powerful friends in high places, Mage Atem? Elves and ….humans even?"
"I don't know a human, but yes, many elves," Yami said quietly, taking this chance to make a good impression on the elf named Seto. "A High Elven Priest is coming to exonerate me before the court, so when he arrives, please refrain from spitting or booing at him. Spread the word. I need this man to like me enough to help us all. Because he can."
"Understoooood!" The sea baron crowed as he lumbered over to the other side of his cell to yell at his neighbor, "Mage Atem is being freed by an Elf Priest! Spread the word! Do not spit or hiss at any elf priests coming by! Pass it on!"
"Mage Atem is being freed by an Elven Priest! No hissing or spitting at him! Pass it on!"
"Hey, pass this on! Mage Atem will have an elf priest visitor. Don't spit at him like you did with the Maiden…"
Yami let out a sigh and sank back into his bench, pulling up the blanket to hear the other creatures talking excitedly about his court date. It was nice that they cared for him…
Seto woke up slowly and stared at the sloping wooden rafters above his head, blanking for a moment about why his ceiling kept changing and then realized he was at Mai's inn.
Sitting up with a groan, he palmed his face and pulled his hand away to stare at his long, dark claws. They were inky black and curved threateningly. It was a strange sight to see.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed to get dressed, shocked to see his own, long, pale legs reaching the floor. W-What?!
Standing quickly, he dashed to the mirror hanging on the wall to see his own reflection. He was once again in adult form, his horns still large and imposing as ever, and his cheeks sharp and sloping. Thoroughly confused and wondering if half of his magic was still at work, Seto shrugged and moved to get dressed, sensing someone entering the inn and then walking up the steps, so he hastily masked himself up, feeling his hair grow with a soft whoosh! The tips swept over the tops of his toes as he wrangled it into a half-braid and let the rest fall down his face.
Fuck this hair.
He felt knocking on the barrier, and Mai calling through it, "hey! Your royal highness! I got something to tell you! Open up!"
"I'm not decent!" Seto called, raising his pitch in an attempt to sound gentle, but he was cursing under his breath the moment he turned back to throw the sash on around his body while levitating the golden beads into the ends of his hair, roughly shoving the crown on his head and then pausing to adjust it when it pressed against the backs of his pointed ears too much.
Mai rolled her eyes and leaned against the doorframe, listening to the dead silence inside, frowning. Weird…
She raised her hand to knock again and froze when she saw a thick wall of magical threads, woven invisibly with one color, so much that she missed it at first glance.
HOLY— Mai broke out into a cold sweat and gently touched one with the tip of her finger, shuddering when the entire barrier lit up in one solid color. Incredible. This priest was probably a bookworm who was obsessed with casting techniques.
"Are you finished primping? I'm getting annoyed—" Mai called, just as the door swung open and the priest appeared before her, and she tried not to be affected by how he looked so refined, with his robes neatly layered and his sheets of long hair falling down around his face while in his pale hands, he clutched a grimoire with a complicated seal on the cover.
Typical… Probably lost in his praying or studying.
"What have I missed? I cleaned everything," Seto said defensively, already ready for her to dig into him for missing a window corner or something.
"Oh. You did fine hon, but this is about Yami, I mean, Mage Atem, as you know him," Mai huffed, crossing her arms in distress and relaying what she'd experienced at the prison. "They have him in a collar! I went to visit him to tell him everything's going to be okay, and-and he had a dampening collar on!" Mai shrieked, losing her composure once again and reaching forward boldly to grab the tall elf by the arm to shake him. "Make them take it off! Go there now and petition for him early! They're treating him like an animal in there! He has no bed! He has one bench in a tiny, barren cell—even the sea creature next door had a bed—and-and he looked horrible! I healed him but the collar has him at level 100! It must be hurting him!"
Seto blinked and swallowed his rage, his body burning with a familiar fire that followed his eye-whites darkening, so he forced himself to close his eyes and take a deep breath. Fuck….
That was fucking inhumane of them!
Was Yami an animal?! Why did they have him in a collar…?
Unless their prison walls were so weak, someone as high-level as Yami would be able to break out…easily….
Which means I can break him out easily, Seto glowered before he stopped himself. The whole point of being High Elven Priest was so that he could get Yami out legitimately.
"Well? Stop lazing around. I'm kicking you out for two hours. Here," Mai slapped a location card for the prison into his hand and marched down the steps in a huff. "Visit him now before they close for the night! I want him out of that collar! ...Anjaaaaa darling! Are you hungry?"
Bossy as ever, Seto thought as he gripped the card and vanished the prop book into his pockets, feeling it join the hand mirror and the crumpled recruitment flyer.
Dartz had said not to approach the prison until his persona was solidified, but he couldn't leave Yami in there with the collar on. Not for one more fucking second. If Yami's original level was higher than 80 thousand and the collar suppressed him that much, he must really be struggling.
I'm disobeying. Prison here I come, Seto growled as he stepped back into his room to teleport, appreciating that in this safe town, they could come and go as they pleased, instead of having to wait in line at teleportation platforms.
His stomach dipped with the speed of his own spell, and his hair billowed up around his cheeks. It nearly obscured his vision when he appeared on the outskirts of District 2, his heart skipping a terrified beat when he saw two, giant orcs guarding the gates while holding magically enhanced clubs. Great. The guards at the front usually set the tone for the district they were guarding.
The line up to the front doors was short, with only a few quiet mages wearing their hoods up and a family of goblins all showing their ID by levitating it up, so he did the same, casting an illusion over the same location card, and the tall brutes nodded with a grunt, so he walked past their large feet, sweating under his robes as he was let inside without incident….because he was an elf wearing a crown.
Letting his breath out in a tense sigh, Seto was unprepared for how quiet everything was in the streets.
Pubs and tiny businesses were open, but no one was out and about. The shops looked empty. Even the vendors sitting behind the food stands were solemn and uninterested, many of them smoking or reading something, not even looking up when someone walked by.
Yiiiikes this place….
Deciding to follow the small group of mages through the dusty crumbling stone streets, a towering fortress appeared before him with spiked towers, imposing, flat stone walls, and a thick, metal gate that was shimmering with magic.
The mages in front of them all lowered their hoods and showed ID to the two humans that were on guard by the gate.
"State your business…" The human drawled, the female mage replied curtly, "visitation. My brother. And these are his friends."
The human passed the ID card underneath a flat scanner which Seto was accustomed to seeing at the gates of the safetown, and he whispered a quick appraisal, eyeing the numbers hovering above the wand scanner.
It was at level 70,000. That was pretty high, higher than most creatures would be able to achieve in a lifetime unless they were a dedicated caster.
Seto stepped up to the guard with ease and heard the staff's scanner blip when the appraisal wand passed over his body, and the human frowned, passing it across his chest again and seeing the appraisal message come up as "PRIEST SETO".
Shit. Seto thought mildly as he realized this was why Dartz didn't want him near the prison until his Crown Prince title cleared. Because he was useless as a priest.
"Sir, you're not cleared to enter unless you have an appointment," the human said respectfully.
"I was recently crowned a Prince, and I'm here to see the warden," Seto said with a smile, pointing at his crown, wondering if that would be enough to let him pass. "Try this instead…" And he lifted the golden circlet off his head. The horrified looks of the humans and the elves behind in line gasped sharply, their thoughts cutting through the air and making him wince.
A crown prince?! Which millennia?! Let me see if I recognize him!Was this the one who saved an Ancient Fairy Dragon? Can't see his face…!
Seto held the crown daintily between his palms while the human guard passed the appraisal scanner shakily over the circlet, and the glowing panel displayed the word, "AUTHENTIC ELVEN PROP CROWN" above it, along with an item appraisal, "Crown Prince of Chizao—Era 1299—High Elven Prince Seto of the Cane Forest."
Shit, not bad, Seto thought as he set the crown back into his hair and felt the humans backing away and stammering, "w-welcome. Please come in. Please… We're so honored…"
Yeah shut up, Seto smirked triumphantly, feeling the elf behind him rush up to bow and greet him, his black hair nearly grazing the floor as he did so.
"High Elf Seto," the man said after straightening up to look him full in the face, his green eyes shining in the low torchlights. "Pleasure to meet you…again. I am Ryuji Otogi from District 4. I believe we crossed paths at the ceremony."
Oh… This guy, Seto thought sourly as he vaguely remembered this black-haired elf giving him jealous or dirty looks from the buffet table, thinking the man looked almost Japanese with his straight black hair, but it only made his green eyes stick out even more.
"What is your business here?" The man asked, sweeping a lock of hair behind his pointed ear and stepping closer to the wall to stay out of the way for the stray passerby. "I didn't hear the guards ask you to declare it because they were too busy…bowing."
He hates me, Seto bit the inside of his cheek and nodded, keeping his tone pleasant as glanced over the elf's silk-sleeved arms, covered with a thin, golden gauntlet that went up to his elbows. This guy stank of upper echelon life in fucking Elf City, and he was clearly here to kiss ass.
But I look like this too now, don't I? Seto thought dryly as he bobbed his head at the elf and tried to excuse himself, "yes, they didn't ask, but I am here to see Mage Atem about his cell conditions. Excuse me. Pleasure to have met you again."
And he turned to walk down the hallway, aiming for the wide table set up at the end where a row of mages wearing uniformed robes stood silently at attention, one stepping out from behind the table to teleport someone away, and they disappeared too, silently, leaving one space empty behind the table.
Annoyingly, Seto felt the annoying Otogi catch up to him breathlessly to ask, "but you're exonerating him. Why would you care about his cell conditions so close to his release? Are you free later tonight, Seto? I know a good place to drink in my District. Come by and play a few games with my friends and I—"
"I'm preparing my argument. I'm busy," Seto answered shortly, his cheeks burning with rage at how this man so casually addressed him without his title, and then asking why he cared about Yami's conditions? Heartless prick.
A mage from behind the table stepped up and Seto nodded at the hooded person, "I'm here to see Mage Atem."
"Reason?" The hooded mage asked flatly, and Seto replied with ease, "investigating if he is someone I would like to represent in the Fair Court a few days from now. We've never spoken and yet I am advocating for him. I'd like to meet him to ensure my decision is a correct one."
The man gestured for him to step on a set of markers drawn on the ground, and Seto moved towards it, still conversationally asking, "where might I find the warden to ask about cell conditions?"
He received silence for a moment before the mage asked quietly, "for mage Atem? ….One moment. I will ask."
And the mage turned around to whisper into the wall, opening a portal and sticking their head through it before withdrawing and bowing low.
"Warden High Elf Maximillion Pegasus will see you now. He says he's heard a lot about you and I'm to send you directly into his office," the mage announced, and the other mages tensed.
Seto held his breath and moved to stand in the marked circle, hearing Duke cry out in disbelief, "just like that?! This guy is a…f-fraud! He was just crowned prince, and you guys are already bending to his will to free a criminal?!"
Clenching his fists at his sides, Seto saw the dark hallway disappear as the mage teleported him into a finely decorated office with floor-to-ceiling frosted windows, and he let his breath out slowly. Fuck that guy…
He held his hand up shakily to brush hair out of his eyes, shocked to see dark claws sprouting from his fingers, and he nervously hid it behind his back. Shit. This was his mirage breaking down… As Dartz had warned him.
Fuck. He might not last and was trapped in this place because he couldn't teleport out… FUCK fuck….
He glanced around the office for somewhere to hide, and hearing footsteps coming from another entrance. Might as well stick to the act. That was the surefire way to keep the image up. Pretend until it was real.
Sitting down quickly on a large, ornate lounge with a high, golden backing, he aimed his gaze out the frosted windows, curling his fingertips over his knees, willing them to look manicured again.
"Prince Seto!" A voice called from behind him, so Seto rose to his feet to bow, feeling the circlet shift on his head while he tucked his hands behind his back, running his thumb over his nails and feeling them shrink back into neat, rounded ovals. THANK. FUCK.
He straightened up and looked the elf in the eye, taking in his long, white hair and his pale skin, his deep red robes and the silky eye patch over one eye. This guy looked like a boss…
"I've heard many great things about you. Should we drink?" The white-haired elf asked coolly, drifting over to a wine cart and plucking a tall bottle out of it, giving it a twirl before popping the cork with magic and pouring out two glasses.
I can't drink! It will affect my…consciousness which then affects my mirage! Seto hissed to himself as he accepted the glass with a bowed head and wondered if he could slowly…vanish the drink without being noticed.
"I was at your ceremony, so I knew it was a matter of time before you showed up here for the mage," Pegasus said with a thoughtful nod, toasting him and lifting the glass elegantly to his lips. "To you, Crown Prince and High Priest Seto. Thank you for bettering our world." And he tossed the drink back with his head tilted, so Seto took this chance to do the same, raising his elbow to block the line of sight to his cup and evaporating it, feeling the wine mist into his face and disappearing.
There. FUCK.
He lowered the drink and set the glass down, receiving an encouraging nod from the other elf, "keep it! Who stops after one glass? Now, make your case, even though I may already know, but indulge an old man—sit! Sit!"
Pegasus floated over to the lounge and sat gracefully down with the wine glass hanging from his fingertips.
Fuck this guy too, Seto thought irritably as he kept his glass and sank into the soft cushioned seat across from Pegasus, hating how the low table in the middle had curved legs that ended in a sharp point, looking disgustingly similar to horns—demon horns, so he directed his attention to it, his heart skipping a beat.
No mistake about it.
They were demon horns!
"Ah, my antique!" Pegasus said with a wide smile, throwing his hand out to swish his sleeve out over it. "A well-made…fake. I daresay you recognize those iconic legs that look like horns from a species that live deep in the forest? Elusive and powerful, yes? Some say their levels rival those of Ancient Dragons!"
Correct, my level is higher than Anja's, Seto thought coldly, gripping the wine glass so hard, he almost felt it shatter.
Dare he appraise it? He would.
"I'd like one too. Let me know the maker," Seto said calmly, resting his glass atop the table and tapping it with two fingers. "May I?"
"You have good taste! Go ahead!" Pegasus chuffed as he busied himself with levitating the bottle of wine over to them while Seto whispered his appraisal, his blood boiling as he braced himself to see the name of which demon these horns had come from…
His spell drenched the floor and the information floated up above the table for him to read:
Item: low table –wood, metal, plaster, resin, paint, gold-purity 45%
Crafted by: Goblin Chief Tarruk
Can withstand damage up to level 500
"Interesting," Seto said, withdrawing his hand with a relieved nod. "I have a flask made by the same Goblin Chief…"
"Intriguing. We know the same people!" Pegasus crowed, raising another full glass of wine to toast the elf sitting across the way. "Now enough time-wasting and flattery, Priest Seto, I know you want Mage Atem out of his cell early, and possibly for good. That doesn't look good on me, as a warden, letting someone like him walk free." Pegasus winked, and Seto felt his stomach curl. Could this guy…not?
"What can I do to convince you?" Seto said, crossing his legs tensely and realizing he'd lost the moment he said this, because that was exactly what Pegasus wanted to hear.
"Hm, I'm thinking," the elf said mockingly, swishing the wine in his glass before nodding and pretending like the idea had struck him. "Oh yes. I heard you proudly announce on a stage that you have been to the healing spring! I would like a large supply of that water. You have been there, so you must be able to teleport to and from that spring, yes?"
Seto set his jaw and curled his fingers over his knee. Shit.
"I didn't set a location marker," he replied smoothly. Because he'd been too excited to take Anja back home. Too excited about his own horns growing back. Best case scenario, he guesstimated it and teleported to somewhere on the cliff-edges below…and plummet to his death.
"Mm," Pegasus nodded and nodded again, his frown darkening. "Then this is troubling. I'm in need of that mystical water. Well, not I, but someone I love."
"There are no alternatives? What's the ailment?" Seto asked nervously, already dreading the answer. "I heard there was a high-level all-status curing potion floating around in the safetowns…"
"Ah yes!" Pegasus eyed him headily, his clear eyes flashing. "Rumor has it that Mage Atem is the one who brewed it, yes? So you can see why I can't let him leave. I need something, Seto. So give me something."
Seto let his breath out slowly and said confidently, "how about a meeting with the Demon Lord? I hear he's making a grand return. Surely if he's more powerful than an Elder Dragon, he should essentially…as the humans say, make the dream work."
Pegasus's mouth twitched upwards and he threw his head back to laugh gleefully.
Seto shifted uncomfortably in his seat. What? Was that a bad…suggestion?
"You mean the child demon Mage Atem was harboring?" Pegasus jeered, his face eerie because his features were so pretty, when he sneered, it looked uncanny. "That is an infant. And he…is maimed. Useless. Culled. Whoever cut his horns made sure no one could use him for their own good. Now he's rotting in a kid's training center under the watchful eye of Master Dartz. So who, pray tell, Priest, is this Demon Lord you speak of?"
"It may or may not be the same demon, depending on where you stand on mass slaughter of monsters in the forest," Seto said cautiously, feeling like he was in a very political boardroom with one of his directors.
"Of course, it's disgusting!" Pegasus turned his nose in the air, the tips of ears turning red to match his robes. "I need him! I need anything that will help my darling Cecilia. And I'll pay! I'll pay anything! If the child can somehow replicate any potion, I'll keep Mage Atem here until he grows up in that facility and learns to control his magic!" Pegasus's voice rose shrilly, and Seto sat back into the cushions, feeling a bubble of triumph. Got him.
"Okay," Seto said simply, keeping his long fingers laced over his knees while he smiled handsomely. "There was one bit I didn't mention. The person who helped me fly the damaged dragon to the spring had shattered horns, but after drinking the water, this infant shed his horns and grew a pair of new ones, right after hitting a magnificent growth spurt. So."
Seto leaned forward with a cold smirk, holding Pegasus's wide-eyed gaze in the tense silence before he spoke up again. "You tell me who the Demon Lord is, and why there's suddenly a quiet. You feel it, don't you? Everyone who isn't elf or humankind is scared. There is a king walking around…and I helped him right into that water and out of it. I am his direct…messenger."
Satisfied with that, he nodded and waited for Pegasus to speak, noting the elf was shaking so much, the leftover wine in his glass was vibrating.
He looked like he was struggling to find his words, so Seto was quick to lay out his demands.
"Release Mage Atem early," Seto said evenly, eyeing the golden broach the man was wearing on his lapel. "Remove the dampening collar and make him comfortable until his court date. Give him leniency, and maybe even a walk in the gardens in District 5. I'm sure he misses home…and I'm sure…the Demon Lord would appreciate that. Leave him unsupervised and he might just return with some of that potion."
Pegasus shakily drank the rest of his wine and nodded absently, tugging at a lock of his silver hair as he visibly fought with himself.
"The Demon Lord is…whole, and…well? You aren't…lying to me, Priest Seto?" Pegasus's eyes narrowed, and Seto smiled even wider.
"God holds me to the truth," Seto smirked, holding his hand up in the air to materialize his grimoire and mockingly placing his hand on it, closing his eyes and then opening them again with another confident smile. "Show Mage Atem extreme leniency and the Demon Lord will pay you a visit to help your Cecelia. Leaving a location card with me would help. I'll pass it on. I might run into him later. I never know what he really looks like, as his shapeshifting is…terrifying."
"Aren't you a messenger of God? Why are you serving the Demon Lord?" Pegasus snapped, suddenly sharpening and sitting up higher. "How does this benefit you?! A man such as yourself, you surely don't do things without reason."
And there it is again… Seto bit back a sigh and repeated what he'd prepared for moments like this, "I've already been saved. My actions here now don't dictate how my soul is viewed by God. I can act with good reason and know that he'll forgive me because I am his loyal soldier. The Demon Lord is another master I choose to serve in this life, and I'm perfectly happy with that. Now you need a man like me in your life, don't you…Pegasus?"
He'd never sold himself this hard before in a boardroom, but that was when he was Seto Kaiba.
He had to make his worth known all over again, here.
"Y-You truly are something, Prince Seto," Pegasus said with a weak smile, and Seto smiled back fully, pleased to have shaken him. "I will….send the order down to remove the collar and…give him a walk."
"Allow me to accompany him," Seto added, his eyes flashing as he set the glass down and stood up to his full height. "I was here to speak with him to see if he was a good candidate to advocate for. I've never had a full conversation with him, but his actions in saving the powerful endangered species really touched me."
"Because you and Princess Kisara are of the same cloth. You two are a match made already, I can see it in the next millenia," Pegasus said with a huff, also standing up and thrusting his hand out for a shake. "You were a great choice for crown prince this century. I'm pleased to have met the real you."
Seto let out a nervous laugh and brushed a strand of hair away from his cheek, titling his head to ask, "what about me wasn't real before?"
"Can't place it," Pegasus replied with a mischievous gleam in his eye as he walked over to his desk to open a portal in the wall with a graceful swipe of his hand. "But now knowing you're willing to be a soldier for a cause you think is good, regardless of negative public opinion has made me like you even more, Seto. Now, one moment while I give the order…"
And he called loudly into the portal, "Mage 37Alpha and Mage 36 Alpha, attention please!"
Seto swayed on the spot in disbelief as he listened to Pegasus bark orders, and he tried not to feel just a tad bit smug.
Dartz would be happy to know that he succeeded. But a small voice kept nagging in the back of his mind, keeping him on edge as he wondered what the headmaster would ultimately want from him. It wasn't…world domination, was it?
Because that would be ridiculous.
"I'm having him sent up here," Pegasus said warmly, sitting down at his desk with the empty wine glass at his elbow. "You may both use my personal portal to stretch your legs in the Leith Gardens in District 5. Be back in 15 hours please."
"Of course. Thank you for your leniency," Seto said, almost forgetting his manners, and he bowed stiffly, his heart thumping wildly in his chest with joy.
Finally, he would get to see Yami's face at last and introduce himself as Super-Hot High Elf Seto, and Yami's expression would be…priceless.
Author's note:
whoa kaiba and pegasus making Moves here :O