The Darkest Price (OT/Open/Accepting)

((XD Yay, canon ships. xD Also, I mentioned Bazith a few posts ago... ^^'))

Elisia smiled weakly down at her sister, amazed at her maturity and courage, especially at such a young age. She slowly pulled away from her. It was sad though, terribly sad, that she would have to go through this so young as well... she was hardly handling it that well herself.
----
Liona heard conversations down the hall, and sighed. These kids were absolutely conniving... not that she was always much better, but regardless; they were the king's kin, whether they wanted to be or not. They shared his personality, each of them had a part of him within them. The youngest boy retreated so much, probably conciously trying not to be tainted. But maybe there was a part of him inside that wanted to prove himself to his darker siblings... part of him who wanted what they had, at the top. Maybe that could drive him to become a better fighter...
----
Zane entered the courtyard, walking along until he entered the gardens. He wandered around, observing all the things around him. This place was one of the rare places of peace in his chaotic kingdom. He didn't feel like he belonged here... he'd prove himself to his siblings, but what was that worth? A part of him actually didn't mind being outside of them. But another part of him wanted to be part of them. They thought different than he did, they acted different, presented themselves differently. They were more gifted, more powerful. He was lookiing forward to new company... maybe he'd find someone who he could really connect to...

(Yesh. Now I can't wait until they reach the castle. A Toan/Hanyer/Maija love triangle, although I don't think Toan would fight too much for Maija. But who knows? Ok is everyone ready for a time skip to the castle? The Terra peeps could be just arriving.)

(Ummmmmmmmmmm, I thought we were going to actually go on the two day trek too Ty'scia, also there are a lot of loose ends before we go. Like, nobody is prepared to go, beastiewolf's character hasn't show up yet, Rayd Koori and Kirei were still having a discussion... I think we should at least wait until all of the characters in Ty'scia are off doing their buisness, and the Terra kids are ready to go. This is just an opinion though.)

Rayd saw his youngest sibling, Zane, walking into the courtyard. Rayd himself was exiting the way he had entered. Zane was the saddest of his siblings. He seemed unable to grasp the concept of power, and he himself was weak. He was, and always was the runt of the family. Toan was the heir, hence he had much training, and study to support his efforts. Rayd had the royal gift, and his drive to overshadow his brother, Kirei had her magic, and shared the thirst for strength that Rayd had. And though he hated to admit it, Koori had proven himself to be a little bright, being the illegitimate son he had to prove himself. But what did Zane have? He didn't understand the Ty'scian ways, there was nothing expected of him, because he was the youngest. He could sit there all day without worry, and without purpose. When he saw Zane something in the pit of his stomach turned. He couldn't decide if it was pity, disgust, or god forbid jealousy. Ignorance is bliss after all. He hadn't payed much attention to Koori, or what he said, it had become a skill of his. Not pay attention to the outcast. He hadn't gotten over this habit. He turned his head back to the pair after staring at his little brother in undecided thought. "Now Koori, you must respect father's choice of wife. Either that, or murder her and pick a new bride, I think he would respect that choice as well." he said, only joking a little. "And the choice of bride doesn't matter. The royal blood is passed through the males in the family. For example, if Toan were to die after the marriage, myself, as the next male heir would take his place on the thrown. We could throw out that sad excuse of a princess back to her land, where Kirei would have a new playmate." Rayd explained. He was only half surprised Koori had mad the mistake he had on the how a monarchy works. He was bright, but Rayd still didn't have high expectations for his little brother.
___

Albus felt bad for making the little girl he had been ordered to protect cry... also he had made a 10 year old girl cry. Though he didn't agree with what the king was doing, it was still his duty to protect these children. "I'm sorry Princess Elisa. But she should come to terms with what's going on before she is suddenly pushed into things." he said, defending himself, and what he had done. He wasn't going to sugar coat things for the girl though. Her life had suddenly become very serious, and he was impressed with her self control as well. He had a feeling she was going to have the ability to make very tough decisions later in life. Albus turned his head to see Hayner blush upon the arrival of princess Maija. How painful it would be for him to watch her wed. He felt bad for him once again. He looked a little sympathetic. Then realizing that he did look sympathetic he wiped the sad look from his face. He didn't want to let the royals see him like that. "Princess Maija. It's time we left, if we want to reach the Ty'scian royal city by nightfall." he told her, seriously.

((Yeah, I guess I sort of agree with Nightmare13, though it would be cool to move ahead a little. ^^' We should at least wait until beastiewolf gets a chance to post. Or maybe you could PM her. ^^'))

Zane noticed as his second eldest brother passed him by, Rayd. This brother of his made him feel the worst discomfort, made him feel the most paled in comparison, for various reasons. This Prince, this man, as he seemed to assert himself, was so different from him, so similar to his father. That sinister tone, a piercing and determined gaze... he didn't understand why he acted this way. And the way he seemed so cold, speaking with his siblings sometimes, as though he was always in a game... a game he had to win, no matter what the costs.

He didn't understand, and he didn't like it. He almost didn't want to understand. He looked down, pretending to be distracted by something in courtyard, as he brother stared at him, with a strange look on his face, not of scorn or pure disgust, but something he didn't quite see on him very often. He felt a slight sigh of relief, as he walked onto his other siblings.
-----
Elisia nodded, wiping her annoyance of him from her face. She supposed she understood; perhaps sugarcoating their situation wasn't going to help her little sister at all. She was very strong for someone her age, and she knew she would be mature, though it was sad to know she'd have to grow up very fast.

Soon, they would be leaving this kingdom. For a very long time, in the very least... to think that they would be leaving their beautiful, bright home, for such a dark place, and their reasons why, was miserable. But it couldn't be helped, not now at least. Things would be alright...

[[ Whoops. Sorry! ^^" And I do agree at least wait for beastiewolf. Oh and Nightmare you didn't answer Hoshi's question. ^//^]]

Bazith looked up at Liona. "Anything interesting happen that I should know about?" There shouldn't have been anything because the Terra kids weren't here yet. But maybe something had happened with Zane's training.

~*~

Koori looked up at his older brother. Like I'd have the stomach to kill anyone. Especially a girl. "Alright then. You're smart, I'm dumb. Are you happy now?"

~*~

Maija looked over at Albus. She nodded and headed over to her siblings. "What will the arrangements be?" She hoped she wasn't suppose to ride. Horse were very pretty to look at, but they hated her for some reason. She couldn't count the times she'd gotten bruises from the wretched animals.

"Nothing, really."

Liona meant it about the kids in general, and then Zane's training in particular, since that was was what was currently on her mind. "I really hope there's a way that the youngest prince can get into his training. He doesn't really seem even the slightest bit interested. Or at least he's got other things on his mind."

Why would a boy like him, in his position, not want to learn how to fight correctly and well? There had to be a reason... regardless, the boy's mind seemed to always be in a distant place. Far from his siblings, even the kingdom.
---
Elisia mentally began saying goodbye to all the things she'd seen right before entering this place which would take them to their exit. Riding horseback wouldn't be a problem for her... she wouldn't mind anything. Yet the thought wasn't what was on her mind.

Goodbye, frequent sunny days, and the gardens and kind citizens of Terra...

She hoped things wouldn't be as bad in Ty'Scia as she'd heard they were. It would be easier for all of them. But easy probably wasn't something that was going to come to them for a while.

Albus looked at all of the children for a second. They didn't look like fighters, so the road might be difficult. They were also distracted by what was to come. They wouldn't be as whiney, most likely. He then turned back to Maija. "One of you will ride with me, Hoshi, unless he would rather remain in the caravan. The rest of you will remain with your belongings in the first Caravan. A second caravan will carry provisions and two knights. Hayner will be driving you in the first caravan, Angelique will be driving the second. If you need something ask Hayner. The only thing I need to know from you is who will be riding with me?" he asked them. He played his part as the Lieutenant as best he could. He was part of the military, it was his job to be serious about his duties.
___

Rayd gave a sarcastic smile. "Ecstatic." he said, and then walked off, through the courtyard, and stopped at his brother. "Morning young Zane. How goes your training?" he asked, with only a little spite in his tone. He stood straight, looking down on his brother. Glaring slightly.

Elisia paid attention to Albus's instruction. She lifted her bags back up, prepared to load them into the caravan of which they belonged in. She was sort of ready now, after her little "goodbye" session... she wanted to go now, to get it over with. She wanted things to go fast now...
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Zane instinctively straightened slightly as his brother approached. He disliked the effect he sometimes had on him. He noticed the glare in his eyes, even as slight as it was, immediately, the also slight spiteful tone in his voice.

"Training goes very well," he replied, crisply, trying to make it look it had. It had gone well, just not "well" in the sense that others may want it to be. Liona wasn't forcing anything onto him now. She seemed to have deflated a little now. In confusion, perhaps. He picked up on such things easily. He worked hard at his intensive fighting sequences, yet, he wasn't very good. He'd improved a little, but not by much. The best part was that he wasn't being pushed anymore; he was disciplined enough, he just didn't want to be in that way. Fighting the way they wanted him to learn would only teach him how to hurt people... there might be some positives, self-defense and whatnot. But he never wanted to hurt anyone...

He knew what would happen if he expressed what he felt to someone. Everything would just get worse for him; they already thought him irreversibly weak. Maybe he should work harder... if only to prove them wrong. And maybe to make his instructor feel like that she was more of a success...

(Ok I'll go pm her.)

Hanyer wondered how he ended up being Maija's guard. After all wouldn't it be better to separate the too, but Hanyer didn't let such thoughts cloud his mind. As a Knight it was his duty to protect the royal family no matter what. He couldn't allow any type of doubt to distract him from that.

"We should be setting out soon, but not everyone is here yet. Are all of you packed?"

Enma nodded. Now that they were about to set out, she felt a little better. She liked to travel and she didn't know anything about the dark rumors of Ty'Scia.
---------------
Toan looked at the book he was suppose to be studying from. It was pretty boring and Toan wished he was doing anything else. Of course if he voiced this, his teacher would replied that "you are always bored." Toan didn't think that was completely true. His life was pretty boring most of the time. He knew that once he became King it would be busier, but all the work that came with it wasn't so appealing.

(I'm sorry. x.x My email wasn't sending me notifications. I guess I'll have to bookmark this from now on.)

Where were they? Angelique's heels clicked as she suavely paced through the castle corridors. Her eyes glanced to every movement, ears perked to every sound, and her frown lowered more and more at every passing second that she did not see the royals.
She wasn't sure she could hold in her emotions when she found them.
After a while of constant looking, she finally entered the common area, glancing around.
She snapped, "Is anyone here?" She didn't mean to, but she was annoyed beyond her limits. Her voice sounded more like a threat than anything.

(I hope that's okay. x.x)

(It's fine.)

Hanyer wondered where Angelique was. It wasn't really like her to be late. And they needed to get going soon. Taking this chance to get away from his crush for a while, he decided to go search for their missing member.

He found her in the common area and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey Angelique looking for someone?"

The elven warrior jumped with shock, and whipped around to grab his collar, eyes narrowed. "DON'T sneak up on me," she snarled. When she realized who it was, she let go, dusting off his front like a mother would, looking almost guilty.
"My apologies, I didn't see who you were for a second..."

Albus heard his childhood friend's voice as she called out to them. "Angelique, we were going to leave without you!" he called, in a slightly teasing tone. He remembered leaving her back at home with the elves when she was ten, and going off to the capitol when he was twelve. He still felt a little bad about that. She was the only one he truly trusted on this mission. "Hurry up!" he continued. He felt a little safer with her coming along. Of course he was the one who had asked for her to come as well.

Angelique turned to him with her serious eyes, but they considerably softened as she laid eyes on Albus. With a small laugh that didn't seem to match her strong, serious demeanor, she moved to lay a soft hand on his shoulder. She held no grudge against the other, and had nothing but the utmost respect for him.
"You wouldn't leave without me..." she frowned, however, but it had a hint of joking in it, "it was all of YOU that weren't there when we were ready to leave. I don't appreciate you making a lady wait..."

(So are you guys ready to travel?)

Hanyer was a bit surprise when she grabbed him, but when she let go, he relax. Hanyer was pretty sure that Angelique wouldn't attack him. Unless of course he did something wrong that require her too.

"Sorry Angelique. Anyways we should be going on. No use in keeping the Ty'Scians waiting," he stated grimly.

Albus gave her a small smile. "No I wouldn't, that's why we were waiting." he said to her returning her joke, even though it was true that he would have held up the operation for her. He really had the ability to soften around Angelique, much like when he wasn't in the castle. Albus touched the hand she had laid on his shoulder. "Now now Angelique, we can't blame the Royal Children for needing to pack, they have a lot of internal issues to deal with right now." he said seriously, hoping that she was joking with the Princesses and the Prince. They needed to make a good impression on them. He also turned his head to Hayner with this. He had internal issues with this too, and he could tell that he wanted the bandage ripped off quickly. "Yes, we should." he agreed.

The elven warrior looked apologetic at those words, and nodded. She couldn't help her temper at times, it was simply what kind of person she was. She wasn't here to "get along," she was here to protect.
"I can round up the other children, if you like," she gave him a joking smile as she turned away, "and I promise to be nice."
As hard as that will be, she cannot deny Albus' wishes to get along. After all, respect was a powerful thing.
She headed out through the castle, glancing back to see if the other stayed behind or was following. She decided to put that aside and head onward to her destination.

"It's alright Angelique." Albus told her, trying to be soft. "We're all here, so let's get to the caravans, and head off." he said. Even if he was softer with Angelique around, he still needed to be a knight of Terra. He noted that she was going along with him out of respect, but he suspected that it was a little more than that. He followed Angelique, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on." he said softly.

The elf looked startled as she looked to him, eyes narrowed, almost ready to yell at him for surprising her (after all, she did that a lot, it seems), but couldn't get the words out. Her expression fell from anger as she gazed at him, and nodded, getting a private smile as they headed through the hallways together. "Right, let's look."

(Uh, Albus said that everybody was already there, also, I think that was a slight god mod there. Sorry for being so nit picky about the post. ^^')

(*tilts head* I said in her profile she angered easily, how is that god modding? o.o I always thought god modding was when a character is invincible or has unlimited power?
And I apologize for that, my brain escaped me...)

(No, God modding is controlling other characters at all. It was only slightly, and all I meant was that you controlled my character to come with yours. Everybody makes that mistake when they start, like me for example. ^^' (went on for twenty pages without a clue.) Also he was just explaining that they didn't need to look for the other royal family members, because they were all already in the same place. Also Toko, I agree. We should probably time skip to Ty'scia now.)

(Oh, lawd, I didn't even notice. XD
Of course, I'm sorry...)

[[ I'm ready for travelling. ^^ ]]

Maija walked up to Albus. "I'll be riding. I'm sure Hoshi would love to, but I don't think he wants anyone leading him the whole way."

Hoshi nodded. "Maija could ride for the travelling, but may I ride up to the castle on the horse? " He thought that riding up to the castle was a sort of telling the Ty'Scians that he wasn't scared of them. It was a pride issue because they'd probably deem him weak when they discovered he was blind.

~*~

"Why don't you let me train him? I'd make him work a lot harder." Bazith suggested. "He can tell when you get soft. You have to keep being persistent."

(I'm sorry for making such a big deal about it. I just didn't want you to be embarrassed later when somebody told you after you have been rping for a while. But don't worry, everybody on this forum is nice. Nobody will get angry if you're doing something wrong, they all just want to help. Also, sorry if I'm armchair modding Toko, I don't mean to take your place.)

Albus nodded at Maija. "As you wish princess Maija, you shall be under my care then." he said, dutifully. He turned his head to Hoshi. "Inform Hayner that he will now be guarding you, and Hoshi, don't feel insecure about your blindness. You are still heir to the Terran Throne, from a line of great men, and you yourself are destined to be a great man, being blind, deaf, or mute cannot stop this." he said encouragingly. It was the only thing he could think of to say. He knew the reason why he wanted to ride into Ty'scia on horseback, so he needed some encouragement. Albus then turned his attention back to Angelique. "I need to go prepare the horses, I'll see you in the courtyard when we leave." he told her, and gave a slight smile. "I'm glad I'll have you on this journey." he told her.