Meanwhile in Astal, Elora was enjoying her stay. The peace conference was over and the Ironbanes had grown allies with the Orcs of the North and East as well as made and arrangement with Deamiel and a demon High Prince to keep out of demon territory. Ironbane troops were increased at each of the gates as word of a siege spread through the city. Elora helped women and children escape the city but kept a small group of them in one of the abandoned church buildings. When the soldiers marched upon the city, she would release them amongst the fight and distract Goldenblade soldiers.

"I tire of waiting for action. Deamiel, must we wait here for those pathetic Goldenblades to come here? They say there's an extra force going to join them. I hope if that elven dog." she asked as she lay on the bed in her room.

Deamiel was practicing magic in the other side of the room. Causing dark orbs of raw energy to float by her. "Patience, they will come soon enough. Now practice. You need to work on focusing while casting." he walked over and leaned over her. "You must be ready to take him on again. And win this time." A smile grew on his face as she sat up and bit the air in his direction.

"Bite me." she hissed back as she stood up. "I didn't lose. I just left to strategize better. There were at least four of them and the wolf could only bite the girl before getting hurt. If you want to criticize someone, criticize the wolf." Elora said as she began to practice her spell casting again.

Crim had stashed the dagger Leo had given her on the leg, just above her boot where it was hidden by her dress. She smiled as she walked with him out of their room and into the halls.

When the reached the courtyard, Crim took in the beauty of the gardens and fresh air. It was gorgeous. "Leo, since you're now King are we still going to Etrya after the war? Or do we have to come back here? I know Ritland is now your responsibility, but must we give up all of our freedom?" she asked curiously. She didn't want obligations to tie her down to a single room all day. She loved the freedom of a hunt, or the freedom she had when she went for a walk in the woods outside Onxyia.

Crim wished for that freedom again, but wouldn't leave Leo's side if he couldn't accompany her. Especially after what happened with the vampire and dire wolf. She couldn't let that happen again.

Leo followed Crim down the halls of beige stone. Their room was in its own solitary tower, with a library below and an observatory at the top. The hall was a bridge that connected the tower to the rest of the castle. At the opposite end of the hall was a spiral staircase that led down to another hall with many other branches and doors. Leo walked with Crim to another staircase which led to the throne room, then down another set of stairs to the main hall where the 15 foot oaken doors lay open, leading to the courtyard and gardens, ringed by covered walkways. A 20 foot wall surrounded the entire castle which was then surrounded by a moat. There was an iron gate, portcullis and draw bridge out front, straight ahead from the courtyard, and another, smaller gate out back. He cast Crim a look as she spoke. "We will definitely visit Etrya. After the war, Ritland needs to forge political ties. We'll be travelling quite a bit i imagine. And Ritland is safe my love. Once we can actually set up real lives here, we have the freedom of the entire Interior forest and the mountains. We have caves for the dragons, we have ruined cities to explore and reclaim. I aim not to be an idle king, sat behind walls and making decrees. I aim to know this land. I aim to make it home." He smiled and put his arm around her.

Crim smiled at the thought. "I'm sure Onyxia would be a happy ally of Ritland as well." she smiled more as she thought of everything. Her mind was about to explode with possibilities, but right now she had to focus. "After the war, it seems we may be a bit busy." Crim gave a small chuckle and flashed Leo another smile. "Thank you." she added then walked at his side admiring the gardens and beauty of the courtyard.

"So, where do we find these lords and their archers, my King?" Crim asked slightly playing with Leo. The title suited him, but it seemed as if he almost liked freedom more as well. She was now Queen Crim Raveshadow, Leo's wife. But she felt as if the title was too big for her, or she wouldn't fit it well enough. Crim didn't know a thing about being a queen. She was a priestess that ran away from harm. She never thought she would be royalty.

Leo pulled a servant aside and asked him to find the lords and tell them to summon their best archers and also to find the three he had recommended. He returned to Crim and held out his hand, gesturing to a bench under the walkway.

Crim took his hand and nodded. "It would almost be nicer to sleep out here than tucked away in a tower." she muttered to herself, partly hoping Leo heard her. She didn't like the castle as much as she did the outside. Outside was so much brighter and free.

As she sat on the bench she looked over at Leo. "Do you think a week is enough time to train men, some how have never seen a dragon before, how to ride one? And at that, shoot off one's back?" she was concerned about the timing. But the weeks worth of ride out she could teach them as well. Or try to at least.

"It took a week for us to learn how to strap on our armor back at Basic. But i trust you and our trainers." Leo said, resting a hand on her knee.

She nodded to him and let out a sigh. "Do you think they will listen to me? I am a woman after all. Men, especially warriors, don't like taking orders from women." her tone fell quiet and almost hopeless. She wasn't sure if they would listen to her, even if she was their queen. Maybe that was even more reason not to listen to her.

Leo chuckled and squeezed her knee. "They better fucking listen or i'll unleash the wolf." he said, growling playfully.

Crim smiled and laughed a little. He always had a way of making her smile. "No, don't. They may not trust you after that. I can take care of them myself. I can scare men as well as you can. I can do magic you know." she gave him a slight smirk. She could, and he knew it.

Leo laughed at her and then stood. He heard the sounds of construction outside the castle walls. People were building homes closer to the capital. Mostly farmers and craftsmen. He had brought 7000 elves to the capital, out of his entire population of 10000, 3000 of which were soldiers. He hoped that most of them would stay. He also hoped refugees from the war would find solace in his borders. His population would need to be bolstered if Ritland were to make any kind of economic or political stand in this new world. He smiled as a small child of about 3, ran up to him and handed him an apple. "Thank you little one." Leo said, cutting a piece off and handing it to the little girl. She giggled, ate it and raised her arms. "Up! Up!" she shouted. Chuckling, Leo obliged. He sat back down next to Crim, bouncing the child on his knee.

Seeing him with the small child made Crim smile even more. Crim, took the apple from Leo and cut another piece off and handed it to the little girl then ate her own. "Mmm, thank you." Crim smiled as the little girl gnawed down on the apple and giggled. "Would you like some more?" she asked the child. As the child nodded Crim cut off another piece and handed it to her. "You know, I know someone that can help you pick more. He's tall and can reach the ones at the top." she giggled offering the child Leo's help. "I'm sure our kind would love to help you and your family pick some more." Crim looked at Leo smiling.

Leo raised an eyebrow at Crim. "Now wait just a minute. I am King, i have all sorts of ... kingly and ... king-like duties to attend to!" He said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Is that so? Well then, I'll just have to help them myself." Crim smiled and stood up. "You want to go get more?" she asked the little girl. As the girl nodded, Crim picked her up off Leo's knee and curtsied to her king then walked toward the apple trees. "My King," she said just before she went on her way. She had a feeling he would follow her. But she needed to speak with the lords before she did. To make sure they would listen to her. "Let's go find your mommy and some apples." Crim said in a kind, gentle voice to the child.

Leo leaned against the pillar of the walkway and stretched his legs out. He smiled as he looked about his new kingdom and thought about what the future held.

Shortly after finding the girl's family and helping them pick a few apples Crim departed from them and came back to where she had left Leo. She was eating one of the apples she had picked and smiling at its crisp, sweet flavor. "Here, catch." she called to Leo before tossing him the rest of the apple. "They're sweeter than most I've tasted." she gave him another smile and stood beside him as the archers were standing about, waiting for orders from their king. "Are they ready?" Crim asked a bit nervous.

Leo took a bite of the apple and nodded. "Aye. As ready as they'll ever be."

Crim stood and began to explain the situation to the soldiers and the way they would be fighting. The importance of training as much as they could before they set out. Through the week before they were to set out she had each soldier ride with her on Seralth and practice standing. Eventually she had each of them do target practice in one of the fields in the kingdom. They weren't quick learners and it took most of Crim's patience, but they slowly got the hang of it. A few still couldn't aim properly so she would take her own bow and hit each target dead on while standing on Seralth's neck, the part of the dragon that moved the most. By the day it was time to set out, her archers knew how to ride a dragon standing up and how to shoot without hitting the dragon in the process. Aiming was still a problem though.

At the gates of Ritahloras, Crim rode next to Leo dressed in her armor. "They're as ready as they can be within a week. Along this trip I will teach them what I can, but Seralth's eggs just hatched. I owe her my time as well." Crim looked down. She was starting to worry about the battle. "Oh, incoming." she warned watching four small shadows flopping around on the ground as they all crashed into Leo, one into Crim. "She's teaching them to fly." Crim laughed a bit and cradled the baby dragon in her arms. They were still very small but their wings were getting bigger. She watched as the dragons playfully tugged on Leo's clothes and rolled around on him. "Seralth is too big to fit in our tent now, but we may have four new guests. Unless she keeps them with her." Crim joked a bit as she smiled at Leo and watched him with the dragons.

Once nightfall came and the army had set up it's camp, Crim helped Leo pitch their tent then found Seralth a safe place to sleep with her babies. A rock overhang made the perfect shallow cave like spot for them. She watched as Seralth rounded up the little scaly beasts and covered them with her wing. Crim soothed Seralth to sleep then went back to her own sleeping place. In their tent she undressed and put on a silk dress to sleep in and laid down waiting for Leo to finish talking with his small council, including Alexander and Rosline.
"You're highness," Rosline greeted Leo as she stood by Alexander's side. "No Crim tonight? Tired?" she asked him curious. Her shoulder was pressed against Alexander's arm. She was almost inseparable with him now and she would rarely, like only if told, leave his side.

"Aye. Thats what i would assume. I'd best be off to bed as well. I'll see you lot in the morning. G'night." Leo trudged off into his tent and saw Crim laying in bed. "Well hello milady." he said, as he unbelted his sword, took off his robes and pulled on a pair of silk pants. He looked over the map he had on his desk, running through the plans and strategies once more before sitting on the bed and cradling his head in his hands. "Being a king is damn stressful." he muttered.

"Goodnight." Roz nodded to Leo and followed Alexander to his tent holding his arm as they walked.

Crim looked over at Leo and smiled as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him softly. "War is stressful. Once this is all over we won't have to worry about this much stress." She kissed his cheek and started to massage his shoulders. "Just rest. Get some sleep." she kissed his cheek again and laid back down.