The Lost Princess - Airi & Mystic Rouge

[Aorigami]

The moon was round and full like a glowing pearl, hanging on the black velvety sky. It would be like any other fullmoon gracing the capital city of Althena, except for the red tint that crept up and engulfed the celestial orb entirely. Meanwhile, out on the streets, screaming and crying for help echoed from all over the capital. Monsters were seen on the streets, the report said. Nobody had seen them coming in from the city gate; they all seemed to appear out of thin air and start attacking senselessly. Some witnesses even reported that many of those monsters, the quadruped creatures with dark pelt and glazing red eyes and claws strong enough to tear through the bones, appeared straight out from the shadows.

It was the kind of national emergency that required attention from all line of defenses of the kingdom. The Royal Guards notwitstanding. Ever since the first horn signal was resounded, Daena Alhazred had assembled her platoon in the royal palace's courtyard and proceeded to send them off in waves. Her staying behind the palace's walls were more for the strategic benefit, but over time, the news of the monsters that kept appearing randomly on the city's streets began to concern her.

Growing up, Daena's father the late General Alhazred had always reminded her to pay attention, find things that didn't seem to fit the puzzle. Since following the advice proved to bring her as far as becoming the first female captain of Althena's Royal Guard, Daena wasn't going to ignore it anytime soon. Flicking her dark braid out of the way and onto her armoured back, her steel grey eyes began to scan about the walls and the palace's sprawling gardens. Not a single monster had been spotted so far on the palace grounds. Why is that?

Daena wrestled with different theories behind the oddity until it suddenly dawned on her. What if those monsters had been decoys? What if what they wanted actually lied somewhere in the palace and they just needed enough distraction to weaken our defenses? "Liana..." Without much ado, the captain turned on her heel and started making a run into the castle. Her heart was pounding hard in her ribcage, the rhythm increased with every steps she took on the stone floor and steps, as she hurried on through the corridors she knew led to the sleeping chamber of the crown princess of Althena. "Please be safe."

[Mystic Rouge]

Looking out her window through the dark cloak of night, the princess of Althena sighed deeply, a mixture of emotions clouding her usually clear mind. She stood silently by the large glass covered opening, watching the madness spread through the city she'd been raised to love. Many of her emotions mirrored those of the citizens in the streets below, though her reasoning was disparate. She was nervous and scared to leave her home, though the excitement present also sent chills through her body. She'd been in love with the King of the neighboring city for quite some time now, despite being engaged to marry another, this was her one chance to follow her heart, and it was both terrifying and exhilarating.

The bedlam in the capital was working miracles to keep the guards busy, "Just as planned..." She kept her voice low, speaking to herself and no one else. "Hopefully no one gets hurt..." Even though she was leaving, she still cared for the people of her country. Sighing to herself she pried her eyes from the spectacle and resumed the hasty packing of her most prized belongings, tossing them swiftly into a sack. She packed only the things that could not be replaced, items with a strong sentimental value to her, anything else could be bought anew when she arrived in her future home.

When Liana was certain she couldn't fit anything else in her bag, she reluctantly sealed it and strapped it to her back. She walked towards her floor length mirror and, leaning towards the vanity, she donned a cap meant for a stable boy. One last look over herself made her cringe, she looked the part alright, with her long brown locks stuffed into the cap and the top and trousers complete with loose fitting boots. She shook off the urge to change out of the stolen outfit, as she tore herself from the mirror and stalked across the room to the large chamber door.

Upon opening the door, she heard the echo of hurried footsteps approaching fast, she cursed herself for taking too long as she quietly pulled the door to, not bothering to latch it completely. She bit her lip nervously, she couldn't afford to get caught right now. Remembering how easily the help moved through the castle, she took off down the hall, making for one of the staff passageways. Liana opened the door, discovering the cramped stairway that spiraled down to the first floor, with a couple of branch offs along the way. Keeping to the main stairwell, she made it to the first floor in no time, emerging into the kitchen. Thankfully, the commotion had most of the castle on lock down, so there wasn't many people walking around, only a couple of cooks working away on dinner. She smiled to herself proudly as she weaved through the near deserted kitchen without catching the attention of its inhabitants.

With the hardest part over, the blue eyed woman walked briskly down the dark path towards the garden around the rear of the castle. She'd played out there a lot growing up, and remembered finding a hidden latch of some kind that led outside of the castle. She'd been scolded and told that it was for emergencies only, laughing slightly she picked up the pace, reaching the garden a few minutes later. Now she just had to find the latch again, it had been years since she'd seen it. Ten minutes passed as she felt up and down the wall along the garden, trying to find the small indention in the dark was proving more difficult than expected. "Jeez where is it...?" Just as the words left her mouth, a familiar clicking sounded and the wall gave way to a tiny crawlspace.

It took only a moment to toss her bag to the other side and crawl through, turning around to seal the door again behind her. "Home free-" She grinned and took off towards the edge of the trees, to the meeting point she'd planned with the man she loved. All the physical exertion was taking a toll on her though, and the burning in her side became evident as she pushed on, not used to any physical labor.

=================================================

Tybalt drew his sword from yet another defeated enemy as another horde seemingly appeared from the shadows themselves. "Do you ever end?!" he waited for an opening before lashing out, catching the monster's chest and tearing easily through the flesh. The dark haired man sighed as the beast fell and two of his comrades dropped another handful of them, he lunged at the next and grazed it's shoulder as it ducked around his blade. Before he was able to recover, he was sent sprawling into the wall behind him as a clawed hand bashed against his chest plate. His breath was completely knocked from him on impact, taking longer than he'd hoped to collect himself just in time to raise his sword, impaling the charging creature. With the visible beasts vanquished, Tybalt took a shallow breath in an attempt to ease the pain in his ribs, which he figured were most likely cracked. He cast his gaze around him, not seeing any more of the demons in the surrounding area, he lifted his sword and trotted painfully down the road in search for anyone else who may need assistance.

Ever since the attack had begun, there had been non stop wave after wave of enemies in the capital, it was taking the entire guard just to keep them at bay, Althena was lucky they hadn't reached the castle yet, although if that was their goal it would make more sense for them to assail the walls surrounding the grounds, rather than the city itself. He sighed, wondering what it was the demons were after, and what would happen when they found it.

[Aorigami]

"Liana!" Daena called out her friend's name as she burst in through the door of her chamber, but the princess herself was nowhere to be seen. Panic began to creep up her spine, but the female soldier shoved it aside and forced herself to assess the room. There didn't seem to be signs of resistant and everything seemed to be in the right order. But that was only what from one sweeping look.

With the aim of inspecting more, Daena stepped into the room, and her attention was almost immediately distracted by a wooden box placed on the dressing drawer. It was a simple box with small engraving of rose at the top, which the captain recognized immediately as the box she used to present her gift for Liana's seventeeth birthday: a lapis lazuli hairpin that she thought matched the princess' eye color nicely. The box was empty.

Upon that revelation, Daena proceeded to inspect the contents of all the closet and the drawers -- anything that can be used as storage by the princess. She quickly notice that most of her dresses were intact, but there were other little things that went missing. A necklace passed down from Liana's deceased mother. Her favorite books. Things that she knew, after all the years she spent befriending the princess, that Liana would refuse to live without.

A kidnapping scenario naturally became the default of Daena's assumption, but with more things that she found or couldn't find, she was forced to question whether Liana had taken the advantage of the lax security around the palace to run away. She shook her head. Liana that she knew wouldn't do something like that. When she found the princess' engagement ring intact in its velvet box, Daena stopped dead at where she was standing.

A feeling of betrayal surged from somewhere deep within her like burning poison, but like a good soldier that she was, the captain of the Royal Guard quickly shut the closet tight and turned on her heel to exit the room. She was sworn to protect the royal family, and that was simply what she was going to do. If Liana was running away, there was still possibility that she would be attacked by the roaming monsters upon exiting the palace. That would certainly be unacceptable. So she had to find her first before the monsters could.

Not wanting to waste another minute, Daena decided it better that she postponed calling reinforcement and instead looked for Liana by herself. She tried to imagine how Liana would think in such situation, mainly using it as a guide to track her down. Shortly after, Daena found herself at the back of the castle. A memory flitted by from back when she and Liana were small and regularly playing around the garden there, and was told about a hidden latch that led to outside the castle. Cursing quietly, Daena increased the speed of her pace, but before she could even reach the wall, something pounced at her from inside the darkness with a vicious growl, sending her lying flat on her back. It was the creature whose brethren were terrorizing the capital.

Meanwhile, only a couple of yards away from the wall, King Irwin stood in the middle of a clearing with eyes closed as he basked in the crimson moonlight. It was the only way for him to stay in his human form while maintaining his powers. Like with other Witch Kings and Queens before him, the fullmoon brought him immense source of power, but with a side effect of changing his appearance to resemble his demonic root. Having decided to whisk away the fair Princess Liana on that very night, it would be terrible sin to show his worst form in front of her.

A rustling sound in the bushes triggered Irwin's silver eyes to flutter open. His shoulder-length black hair swayed softly as he looked down, alerted. His expression softened, however, upon recognizing the presence. The seam of his cape swayed with each of his step as he approached the woman dressed as a stable boy. "You made it." His face beamed as he kneeled before Princess Liana and kissed the back of of her hand. "Princess Liana, you have no idea how happy it makes me feel to see you tonight."

[Mystic Rouge]

Liana was panting by the time she reached the clearing, she'd been running and looking over her shoulder, being on edge from the commotion all around her. An exuberant sigh escaped from her as she saw the handsome figure standing in the red light of the moon. As her love knelt in front of her, she grinned, a warm sensation spreading through her with the grazing of his lips on her hand. "And you have no idea how relived I am to have gotten away." She grinned and tugged on his hand slightly, to remove the king from his knee. "I can finally be with you my love." Her haggard breathing was slowly starting to return to normal, and she looked over her shoulder again as a loud growl sounded some distance away. Cringing away from it, she looked up into the king's silver eyes, "We should leave quickly though, in case someone managed to follow me."

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Tybalt wandered through the streets, helping a few wounded to safety, and helping a few soldiers fend off the numerous beasts that still flooded the streets. As he continued though, the enemy numbers appeared to be slightly under control and fewer and fewer people needed his help. He sighed and began his painful return to the castle, deciding the king and captain should hear of the progress, unless the captain had not returned to the capital to join the fight.

As he approached the castle, he was relieved to see it unscathed from the battle raging in the capital, it raised his hope of victory over the monsters on this night. The large stone walls loomed high over the rest of the city, nearly blocking the castle itself from view completely. Passing the few remaining guards on duty by the castle gates, he nodded to their questions of his well being, continuing onto the castle grounds.

The prince-to-be wound his way down the carriage road towards the entrance to the grand hall, as he grew close he heard a low growl tear through the air. He drew his sword, taking a moment to distinguish the location the noise had come from, knowing immediately that it had been inside the castle walls. He took off around the side of the castle, towards the garden he guessed, as he ran. His ribs ached almost unbearably from the increased stress, screaming at him to stop his foolish running around and see a healer.

"Whoa-" Upon rounding the corner towards the garden, a towering monster akin to the ones terrorizing the town below, had appeared and taken down the captain, pinning her to the cool earth. It had been quite some time since he'd seen such a large beast, though he wasted no time in screaming out to it, in an attempt to lure it away long enough for Daena to regain her footing. His decoy worked better than he'd hoped, gaining the monster's attention with ease as it turned and lunged for him.

He dropped to the ground as the monster passed over him, landing a few feet away on his opposite side. He sprung back to his feet, leaping towards the beast in hopes to catch it off guard, to no avail as it dodged his swing effortlessly. "Are you alright Captain?!" His voice was strained as he called over his shoulder, sidestepping around the beast again looking for an opening. "I thought they hadn't breached the inner castle yet!" His annoyance shone bright through his words as he patiently circled the monster in front of him.

[Aorigami]

In a contrast to Liana's urging words, the Witch King smiled down contently at the princess. "Worry not, my dearest," he assured her before pulling Liana into an embrace, half obscuring her with his cape. "Moriel is always close by as long as I'm at your side."

Shortly after, both Irwin -- and Liana, considering their proximity -- appeared to be shrouded in a trail of smoke-like shadows. The shadow trails grew thicker with each round it travelled around the Witch King until pitch black darkness completely enveloped him and his future bride. From outside, if anyone ever witnessed it, the accumulation of the shadows would resemble a gargantuan raven with bright silver eyes; its sharp peak pointing up to the heavens.

The great raven proceeded to spread its large wings before ascending up to the night sky. With each yard that it travelled away, the moon slowly lost its crimson tint over Althena, as the Witch King of Moriel returned to his abode at the heart of the Black Forest on the northern part of the continent. Suffice to say, with the fair Princess Liana in his arms at last, he felt happier that night than he ever did in the one hundred and twenty three years of his life.

Back in the gardens of Althena's royal palace, however, things didn't fare very well with Daena. When she thought the monster was finally distracted from gnawing at her face, she quickly figured out that it was no less than Liana's own bethrothed who had come to her aid. "Sir Raincourt...," she called out exasperately. Her only hope was that he hadn't figured out about his fiancée's whereabout.

When the lord's son expressed his sole concern at the beast's presence, Daena realized that it might still not too late to cover up Liana's betrayal after all. Drawing her own sword out, the captain of the royal guard rose to her feet and joined in the circle he formed around the snarling monster. "Somebody opened the shepherd's latch at the rear wall. This one could have slipped in from there," she explained, referring to an unused entrance that was created years before the gardens of the royal palace were created, and the then-grassy meadow was used for grazing the villagers' cattles.

Shortly after Daena's finished her last sentence, the monster's snarling increased in intensity and the beast made a leap at Tybalt. Her hesitation was non-existent when she sank the side of her blade down at the monster's ample nape before it could achieve its goal. Warm blood began to gush out of the wound, and the surprised beast reflexively backed down to the spot where it was originally standing. It wailed a bit and its hind legs staggering, before bits of ash-like particles began to trickle out and up from its black fur. When more and more of those black particles appeared, Daena finally realized that the creature was, for a lack of better words, actually dissipating.

"What in heaven's name...?" Daena looked up to the sky and quickly noticed the pure white fullmoon on the sky. Was the invasion on Althena's capital finally over?

[Mystic Rouge]

Liana returned the embrace willingly, sinking into his arms and against his warmth. She cringed slightly as the wispy strands wrapped around the couple, before lifting them up into the velvety darkness. She smiled up at the King, excited to finally be leaving the watchful eyes of her kingdom to be with who she truly loved. She'd been so worried that she wouldn't be able to get away, that she would actually have to marry that Knight. Not saying he wasn't a good person, or that whoever got to be with him was unlucky, she just felt nothing for him, especially when compared to her intense feelings for King Irwin.

"I can't wait to see my new home." She was ecstatic to see it for her own eyes, she had been taught growing up that Moriel was a terrifying and vile country. She found it hard to believe that such a wonderful man would live in a place comparable to hell, even if he was the Witch King.

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Tybalt nodded his understanding at Daena's response, glad to have gotten one at all. "Well who would have knows about that door anyways, Isn't it kept a secret for only the royal family and a few others in case of emergency?" He flinched slightly, preparing to take the full force of a blow from the large beast as it lunged for him again, this time to be stopped in its tracks by a strong blow from the female captain. "Thanks-" He watched curiously as the creature rather disintegrated before them. It was the first time he'd seen something like that, and his attention was engrossed in the process taking place.

He tore his eyes away from the spectacle as he heard Daena's exclamation, looking towards the Captain and following her gaze to the sky. "Well that's curious, I wonder if it's over..." He pondered it for a moment, it was a likely statement, the beasts and the blood moon had arrived practically simultaneously. He sighed and watched on as the beast continued to disappear under the purifying light of the moon.

When nothing remained of the beast, he turned his focus back to the captain, a curiosity building. "What are you doing out here anyways, I thought you'd either be in the capital, fighting, or in the castle as a last defense for Princess Liana and the King and Queen..." He sighed as ran over possibilities in his head, What if the Captain had opened the latch herself and was trying to hide it. He hoped he was dead wrong in his speculations, but was not about to overlook the possibility, it wouldn't be the first time a person highly trusted by the royalty had turned on the people they'd sworn to protect.

[Aorigami]

Daena swallowed conspicuously at hearing the question, though with an entirely different reason than what Tybalt would be thinking. She distracted herself by spattering the blood on her sword to the ground, cleaning the blade before placing it back to its sheath on her left hip. The drops, too, turned black and soon swilled up to nothing. "I was just checking the perimeter. It's notoriously easy to get to the royal chambers from this side of the castle." She bent her head courteously at the knight, then. "If you'll excuse me, Sir Raincourt, I shall head back to attend to my platoon," she said before turning on her heel and making her way back towards the court, hoping that she had escaped the danger by doing so.

Thoughts swiveled around in Daena's mind as she walked. Taking a detour trip around the castle gave her enough time to arrange them better, though in the end, some questions still remained. She started off with the monsters. They were definitely the product of black magic. Not many people can use magic anymore nowadays, so the number of possible suspects could be reduced greatly. Considering the range and impact of the attack, the captain's suspicion naturally went to Moriel. Being the only kingdom that was still ruled by a Witch King or Queen, and not to mention its close proximity to Althena, the dark kingdom definitely had all the right resources and capabilities to launch the attack.

But why would they do that?

Ever since the fifty-years war ended a hundred years ago, no contact could ever be made to Moriel, which had famously moved its capital north and hid it in the depth of the Black Forest. Not even its closest neighbor, Althena, could send a messenger or diplomatic mission without being devastatingly lost in the labyrinthine and monsters-roaming woods. So why attack now? They surely could have done it a long time ago, instead of investing all the time and power to contain themselves from the outside world.

For a split second, the thought of Liana joined into the foray that was Daena's head as well, and the captain couldn't help but being startled as a revelation appeared to her: could Moriel have been the one behind Liana's disappearance? Had they been waiting for such chance all this time?

Having Moriel to blame for kidnapping Liana was a far more comforting thought for Daena, but it still didn't answer many other questions. Vaguely, the captain of the Royal Guards could already feel her head aching already from all the conspiracy theories that were swimming in her head. Thankfully, she was saved by the loud yelling of her drill sergeant announcing her arrival to her waiting squad. Knowing her men, Daena was expecting that Liana's disappearance had been discovered already and she braced herself to react properly at the 'news' that would soon be thrown at her.

Meanwhile, the Witch King of Moriel caught the twinkle in Princess Liana's eyes and smiled bemusedly, saying, "From what I perceive, the halls of Althena's royal palace seems much more grandiose than my humble abode. Nevertheless, I hope you would still find it acceptable enough."

With a flick of his arm, Irwin unveiled his cloak, and instead of the meadow outside of Althena's royal palace, the pair was standing in a hall unlike anything that was ever built by mortals; the floor was made of onyx, and along the sides, obsidian pillars jutted out to the support the ceiling hanging from high above, which was conjured to resemble a starry sky.

Clean, black water rolled down from the fountain in the middle of the hall, where a granite statue of a beautiful woman holding a jug poured it down into the pool below; each drop rippling at the glittering reflection of the stars. The hall itself was lit from all direction by shimmering green lights that neither possessed the flicker nor the warmth of normal fire. There were only the two of them there, no guards nor servants in sight.

"Welcome to Moriel, my fair Princess Liana." Irwin took one of Liana's hand and gently pressed his lips on her warm knuckles.

[Mystic Rouge]

Tybalt watched curiously as the captain turned sharply and headed in the opposite direction. He stayed where he was, contemplating the mass of thoughts rushing about in his head. For a moment he thought of reporting his speculations to the King himself, but if he was wrong he'd feel horrible later. He let out a sigh, instantly reminding him of the cracked ribs, Right, healer first... he could think about his course of actions later.

He took the path back to the front of the castle, turning into the infirmary and stopping a healer making her rounds. The woman quickly sat the knight down and began tending to his wounds, a tingling warmth spreading over his chest as her healing light corrected the displaced bones. A moment later she pulled back, "Now take it easy Sir Raincourt, the bones are where they belong, but it still takes a while for them to properly mend together." She advised him of the limits of activity that were acceptable for him partake in, before shooing him out of the infirmary and returning to her rounds of the more seriously injured individuals.

Tybalt sighed slightly as the woman rushed his treatment and sent him on his way, she always had so much to do, being one of the few healers in the kingdom. He could already feel the relief in his ribcage, stretching gently to work out some remaining kinks. He passed through the halls, wandering rather aimlessly, not quite sure what he should be doing. His thoughts wandered just as much, though they followed a more defined path, thinking back to what the Captain was doing around the back of the castle, and why she seemed rather reluctant to explain herself.

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The chocolate haired princess looked out over the hall before her, taking in the dark colors and astounding architecture. As her gaze followed one of the obsidian pillars towards the ceiling virtually blown away by the sight. "It's beautiful..." The only words she could manage were uttered at a mere whisper. She'd never seen anything like it, the dark pillars and floor gave a sort of eerie feel to the room, but the fountain and the starry sky added a glimmer of majesty, contrasting wonderfully, as the green lights flitted about the various surfaces.

The excited princess turned to face the Witch King, "You're home is wonderful," She wrapped her lithe arms around him, curling into the nook of his neck. "I can't wait to get settled." She smiled, remembering her attire, I can't wait to get out of these clothes... she kept the last to herself.