Succession: Heir to the Empire

C.C.

"Yes, because you're weak and you asked for my help." C.C. said, opening the door for him. She began to cast a silent healing spell on him.

Nebi lay on his bed, frowning a little at her comments, though still enjoying the warm feeling of the healing spell.
"I'm not weak. I won this thing, didn't I?"

C.C.

"You're weak right now. You drained a lot of energy and magic dealing with Epiphany." C.C. explained, finishing up her spell.

"I suppose you're right," Nebi said with a frown before smiling a little. That healing spell did some good, Have any idea what the next task will be?"

Kegan

Kegan abruptly stopped as he heard a voice call out his name behind him. "Yes? How may I help...Rein?" The Half-Elf said in slight surprise as he recognized who the Maid was. "I'm..managing. How are you doing?" He asked politely, realizing that talking to an old friend would be the perfect way to get hid mind off of the unpleasant conversation he had had with his Aunt.

Susanna

"I-it's fine, you didn't know for sure and...we'll get there in time anyways, she'll be fine." Susanna said as she tried to reassure herself, oblivious to the possibility that Caesar was lying to her.

Rhys


"....I don't care who's she with, get her now! She'll know where I'll be waiting." Rhys ordered one of the Guards quickly and with a hint of anger after being questioned by the boy. "I can't go in there on my own, but then....She'll just have to be quick about it I suppose." He decided before turning around as he ran to his office, deciding that it was time to grab his sword.

C.C.

"No, I..." C.C. cut herself off as a soldier burst into the room. He conversed quietly with C.C. for a moment before leaving.

"I'm sorry Nebi, but I must go for now. Take some healing potions if you feel any more pain." C.C. said, quickly dashing out of the room.

Rein

"Oh, I'm doing great! Syrien has been taking great care of me. He's finally come out of that self-imposed exile of his. He should be coming back any day now." Rein informed Kegan cheerfully. She had just gotten word of her adopted father's return an hour ago, and was very excited of his returning.

Caesar

"I'm sure she will. We must hurry, his private chambers are on the other side of the palace. I'd use magic to transport us there quickly, but I don't want to alert the guards. Quickly, we must go." Caesar said, sounding worried. He started to hurriedly run down the hall.

He smirked mentally. It was all going according to plan....

Kaleb

"Wake up, Katie." Kaleb said, roughly shaking the girl. If Caesar's calculations were correct (and they usually were), Katie would be waking up from the sleeping potion now.

Kegan

"Really? Well isn't that wonderful news." Kegan replied politely as he leaned against the wall beside him, his wounds from the match he had had with Caesar earlier being a bit sore. The Heir paused for a second as he studied Rein for a second, realizing that it had been a few months since the last time he had seen her.

"So where did Syrien go off to this time then?" Kegan asked as he allowed the conversation to continue.

Katie

"Ughhh, w-what's going on?" The young girl groaned in pain as she heard a man's voice call out her name. As she opened her eyes, Katie looked up to see a strange man looking down at her. "W-where's Anna?" She asked nervously as she felt the man grip onto her.

Kaleb

"Anna's not here right now, girl. In fact, she won't be coming here for some time. In the mean time, you and I are going to have some fun..."

Kaleb gave a dark chuckle and held up a mace.

Rein

"I'm not sure. When the last Emperor died, he went into a self-imposed exile. He felt responsible, I guess. But now he's coming back, thankfully." Rein said.

"What's going on?!" Nebi asked as C.C. left, but sighed when he saw she was too far away to answer him. He reached for one of the potions on his bedside table and winced, "I hate grape flavor."

Caesar

Caesar led Susanna through the halls. running as quickly as magic would allow him. They were half-way there when Caesar came to a halt. Ahead of them were five guards, blocking their path.

"They must be Rhys' men. Susanna, be careful. His soldiers are the best of the best. Let me take care of them."

Katie

"What kind of....." Katie slowly got quieter as the implications of what was going on hit her. "P-please don't Sir." She protested weakly as she tried to budge herself back, though her legs weren't cooperating with her unfortunately. "I'll scream if you try anything." She added with a hint of desperation in her tone.

Kegan

"Sounds like he just needed a bit of time to calm down I guess." Kegan replied before giving Rein a reassuring smile. The Heir all of a sudden heard a loud clattering noise come from the end of the hall. "Well I'll be...." Kegan muttered as he saw the Captain of the Guard run down the hallway, his sheath strapped loosely to his waste and without armor at the same time, looking rather odd on the man.

"Well anyways we should do something to celebrate his return soon, could be nice." Kegan stated as he tried to ignore what had just happened.


Susanna

"You're right, but there's not enough time for that." Susanna stated as she walked past Caesar. "Excuse me everyone." She stated politely as she gained all of the guards attention. "I command you all to leave this castle at once, do not return." She ordered after making eye contact with all of the soldiers.

For a few tense seconds it seemed like nothing had happened, but then, one of the guards dropped his sword, followed by another, then another. Eventually all of the guards had turned around and were walking away as quickly as they could. "Right then." Susanna said quietly before she ran past the guards, not wasting a second.

Rein

Rein was distracted for a moment by Rhys, but turned her attention back to
Kegan.

"Yeah, that'd be great! I'd love to throw a Welcome Home party for him."

Caesar

Caesar gave Susanna a curious look before following. Well, he hadn't expected that. How had she done that? Hm, it didn't matter right now. So long as the plan worked out...

More soldiers started to run toward them from behind.

Kaleb

"Scream all you want, girly. These walls are sound-proof. No one can hear you scream. Now, do me a favor and don't struggle. This will all be over quickly."

Kaleb walked closer to the young girl. He raised his mace...

((Unless you want Katie to resist more, shall we end that part there and leave what happens to the imagination?))

Kegan

"Wonderful then. I have some sway around here now so it shouldn't be too hard to get everything ready." Kegan replied cheerfully as he clasped his hands together.

Rhys


"I can't believe this is actually happening." Rhys thought bitterly as he continued to run down the hallway, shortly after arriving into a small round room. "Only five minutes away then...but where is she!" The Captain hissed as he stood straight and carefully paced around the circle, waiting for C.C. to arrive.


(Yes I think it would be much better to cut away and leave everything to everyone's imagination.)

C.C.

"I am here." C.C. said, walking up from behind Rhys.

Rein

"Great! Say, think you can help me plan it? I don't know all the elf customs I might have to follow, and considering you have some elf blood yourself..." Rein trailed off and gave a hopeful look to Kegan.

Caesar

The soldiers pursuing them did not last. A quick burst of magic from Caesar turned them all into doves. Not the most effective spell, but they were in a hurry. Caesar matched his speed with Susanna. Good, they were almost there.

Rhys

"Excellent, lets go then." Rhys replied to C.C. as he turned around and stopped for a few seconds, trying to remember which way they were supposed to run. "It's this way." He informed C.C. before running down the corridor to their right.

Kegan

"Well I'm really busy due to the challenges and everything and I don't think I'll...Sure why not? I mean I'll still have some free time available, I can't spend all of it preparing for challenges and whatnot." Kegan replied after making up his mind.

((So, should Caesar and Susanna arrive now?))

C.C.

"We need to hurry." C.C. added, running along with him.

Rein

"That's great! You know, it's great to see you again Kegan. Glad to see you haven't changed. And here I was thinking you'd become all high and mighty now that you're an Heir." Rein said.

((I think we should have C.C. and Rhys arrive a bit earlier.))

Kegan

"Um yeah, well it's goo to know that I haven't become too arrogant yet though." Kegan replied after chuckling for a few seconds. "Luckily there's no need to worry about any of that now. With the current group of Heirs I don't think I'll ever have the chance to develop a superiority complex. Pity too, I was looking forward to it." He joked.

Rhys

"Here we are!" Rhys shouted back to C.C. as they arrived at the end of the hall, not caring that it was obvious that they had made it to the the end. Without even waiting for a reply, the Cpatain quickly opened the door and burst into the room.

Carlisle

"Huhuhuh..There..we go." The Doctor informed Epiphany between gasps for air after he was done healing her completely. Before he said anything else, Carlisle sat down and leaned his back against the wall as he tried to rest, still breathing heavily. "So how do you you feel now?" He asked politely after he settled down a bit.

((Ok.))

C.C. and Kaleb

"Outta the way!"

Kaleb used his massive frame to burst through C.C. and Rhys as they opened the door. The force of the impact sent the surprised immortal to the ground. Kaleb started to run behind them.

"Heh, who thought this would come in handy?" Kaleb raised a small stone slab with two symbols on it as he ran. It glowed brightly.

"Pulvis Nimbus!"

A cloud of dust poured from the stone as the escaped criminal ran. By the time it cleared up, he was gone.

C.C. ignored Caesar's lakey and went inside of the room. What she saw...was a horror beyond words.

Rein

Rein smiled and gave Kegan a light punch. "Yeah, and if you did I'd make sure to beat it out of you. So, what do you think your chances are?"

Kegan

After laughing nervously for a few seconds Kegan replied, "Out of the seven Heirs I would rank myself fourth currently." He stated before sighing as he calmed himself for a second.

"I'll explain it to you. Ranking people from most likely to claim the throne to least likely... Maul's proven himself as an amazing strategist and an excellent fighter.. Also his ideals are firm and strict, concentrating on taking care of the whole rather then the individual, Baruti's probably going to support that type of thinking so I'm guessing he's going to win." The Half-Elf explained as he leaned against the wall. "Maul's greatest threat, Nebi, has won two challenges so far, but his ideals differ greatly from Baruti's... Tsuba hasn't won anything yet, but she has to be the most balanced in her skills and training. Also her ideals are very traditional and probably the most similar to the past rulers out of all of the Heirs." He explained calmly and carefully as he tried to not seem bitter about his assessment.

"So yes, those three are in the lead at the moment in my opinion. But there's still time for things to change around I suppose..." Kegan said, trying to reassure himself more then Rein at the moment.

Rhys

Running nervously into the room after C.C., the Captain saw a horrible sight just a few feet from the door. On the floor before him, in a small pool of her own blood, was Katie's motionless body. "She isn't dead is she? I mean...not past the point where you can't save her, correct?" He asked quickly as he quickly studied the room, trying to figure out which door Kaleb had escaped through.

Brighe

"Well this is certainly impersonal..." Brighe commented as she walked the lower halls of the Castle, studying each of the paintings she walked by as she tried to efficiently distract herself. After the rather tense conversation she had had with her Nephew, Brighe wasn't exactly feeling well. Unfortunately the art of the Gaborians certainly was not making her feel any better. "Humans really know how to concentrate on their own past achievments with everything they do. I suppose I should applaud them for their determination on being oblivious to the world that surrounds them." She stated her opinion bitterly to the empty halls around her before sighing as she walked on.

C.C.

C.C. approached Katie's still form and layed a hand on her forehead, concentrating. "She's still alive, but barely. However we don't have much time until Caesar and Susanna arrive, and it would be bad for her to see me over Katie's body. We must act fast."

Rein

"Ah, I see. Well don't you worry, I'm sure you'll become the next Emperor! Just make sure you don't get all power-hungry, otherwise I'll have to put you back in line." Rein joked, giving Kegan a teasing smile.

"I have no doubt she would put you back in line, Heir Kegan. Once Rein sets her mind on something, it is hard to make her change it. I find it most frustrating at times," Syrien commented, walking toward the two.

Rein gave a surprised gasp, but quickly rushed over and hugged the older elf tightly. "Syrien, it's great to see you're back!"

Rhys

"Ok then, what do we do with her then?" Rhys asked calmly as he leaned down near Katie, arms extended in case he had to carry her.

Kegan

"Ah, yea, she would certainly do a good job of that. No doubt about it." Kegan replied, speaking the last part quietly as he allowed Rein and Syrien to have their moment.

C.C.

"For right now we just need to transport her--and us--to a safer location, away from the palace. However I need to leave a golem made to look like Katie behind, so Caesar does not find out she still lives. I hate doing this to Susanna, but it's the only way. We must hurry though, we have only a matter of minutes, if not seconds. Do you know where we can take her?" C.C. asked hurriedly.

Rein and Syrien

"Rein, I'm afraid I must ask you to let go. If you continue to hug me with this strength, then you will snap my spine." Syrien said, gently pushing the young Humage away. Rein gave a sheepish grin and walked back over to Kegan.

"It is good to see you both again, Rein and Heir Kegan. I apologise for my absense, but I needed to leave the castle for a time. I am back now, though, and am aware of the current situation. I must say, you have some stiff competition, Heir Kegan. I wish you luck. I will leave for now, I must report to my superiors. Have fun. Oh, and please Rein, do not do anything inappropriate with Kegan, or turn him into your test subject.

Yes, I can still read your mind, and yes, I know about the experimental love potion you've made which you've been wanting to use for a long time now. As well as several other potions you've wanted to test out. I advise that you should try experimenting on some of the soldiers, or some of the live-stock instead of Heir Kegan. I also suggest strengthening your mental shields so I cannot access your mind so easily next time. Goodday."

Syrien walked down the hall, ignoring the sputtering and now embarrassed Rein. Rein turned nervously to Kegan.

"Ah, he was just kidding! That was it, ah, kidding. Oh that Syrien, always having such a bad sense of humor..." Rein said with nervous laughter. Discretly she poured a vial of a pink substance behind her back...which dissolved the section of the floor it came into contact with.

Kegan

Kegan looked at Rein with his eyebrow raised, an amused smirk on his face. "So how were you going to get me to ingest the stuff?" He asked with a hint of curiosity in his tone. Admittedly Kegan was slightly offended at the idea of being treated as a guinea pig, but worse things had happened to him today for sure, and it was really nice talking to Rein after not seeing any real friends for the past few months.
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Rhys

"No no I have no idea...." The Captain stated, his voice strained as he tried to figure out a suitable location for Katie to be taken. As Rhys looked back down at C.C. and Katie he calmed down quickly, going completely still for a few seconds as he closed his eyes to think. As he narrowed down the list of places to go, Rhys quietly whistled a steady tune as images flashed before his eyes within seconds.

"...Alwyn Estate. She'll be safe there, and taken care of as well." Rhys informed C.C. quickly.
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Susanna

"Which way?" Susanna asked Caesar after running into a small circular room with multiple pathways leading in and out of it. It was obvious that she was unstable and nervous at this point. Luckily, or rather unfortunately, she was managing to bottle everything up for now.

Rein

"Um....well, I had planned on slipping it inside I drink I was going to conjure up. Oh, I've been practicing my magic by the way. I can now make drinks....kinda. My first few experiments didn't work all that well." Rein admitted.

C.C.

"Very well. Take my hand, and I'll take Katie's. I'll take us there before Caesar can arrive." C.C. urgently said, grabbing the near dead girl's arm.

Caesar

"This way," Caesar said, pointing to the far right pathway. They were almost there, and if Kaleb had done everything right, then everything would be going according to plan...

Kegan

"I see...you realize this means I can't accept food or drink from you now, don't you?" Kegan replied with a smirk on his face, his tone being playful and his words being serious at the same time. "Oh well, it is good to hear that you're learning more about magic though. It only makes sense that you should develop some skill in it." He stated cheerfully.
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Rhys

Without even speaking Rhys quickly gripped onto C.C.'s hand as he waited for her to perform whatever spell she had in mind.