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"They only want to use you for your blood.." Luna quickly turned around the moment she had heard a woman's voice, she didn't Luna didn't see anyone at all. She felt very alone and very creeped out, and she was also very terrified at what was going to happen to her. "Who's there?!" Luna yelled out pointing the knife out at just the air around her, she was disoriented and confused was she actually going crazy now? Luna slowly walked over towards the nearby bed and sat down, she was trapped alone in a room and no one had even opened it up for her. "They will kill you the moment you are not useful to them.." the woman's voice said once more.

Luna quickly backed away and hid herself in the corner of the room, bringing her knees up to her chest the thought of her dying alone in a place like this she was scared, and felt truly alone now at this point. Her thoughts would quickly go back to Myrus, she and him were very close and Luna felt helpless. "They will kill Valda, so that you can take your rightful place on the throne.." Luna started to tear up, she didn't want anything to happen to her sister either. Even though they had just met not to long ago and the throne by right would have been hers if Valda hadn't been found.

"Shut up!" Luna suddenly yelled as she threw the knife across the room, aimed at the door as the blade of the knife embeded itself into the wall next to the door, her aim a bit off. She wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible, she wasn't sure who the voice was. Luna just wanted to forge everything that had happened today and just wished that it was just a very horrible dream.

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That bit about not having much to add? Scratch that. Suddenly, Atkin had much to say. Part of him (most in fact) really wanted to just immediately tell off half the people standing in the area, but seeing as he'd just made a right ass of himself and recalling the conversation he'd had shortly before with Valda, he knew the direct approach, while personally gratifying wouldn't get him anywhere. So he took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and did his best to act as courteously as he could manage.

"Um, if you don't mind me buttin' in. You're not seriously just going to decide to kill him, are you? He's a man you pulled off the streets on a hunch, and then intruded in on all his thoughts when you didn't like his first answer. If he really did do all that nasty stuff, he should be locked up. Killin' some bloke because he happens to be on 'the wrong team' so you can scare em into submission is what a gang leader does. Do you want that to be the first thing you do as Queen?"

Nothing about this situation sat particularly right with Atkin. On one hand, what he was engaged in at the moment was fighting on behalf of a serial murder (at best), but he didn't like the precedent any of this set. That you could just get pulled away, deemed unacceptable and just killed for what appeared to be purely political reasons. Any guffaw the leader of the Kidnapped Child Army made about him being an atrocious human being was probably just a facade made to make the actual act acceptable in the eyes of others. Valda might be a witch, but surely she'd be able to see how the actions proposed by Puck could lead down a bad path.

"'Sides, even if he ain't the one who up and whisked away Luna, like you said he probably knows who actually did it. Perhaps he should be moved to the Stranger Chamber for the time being so he can't hurt anyone." But Atkin also knew that moral arguments were a hard sell when the man in question was supposedly an abject filth pile, so he also provided more practical reasons not to go ahead and just off the guy they plucked out simply because she overheard a name. On the Palace lawn with no real idea what your idea what you're doing was not the place or context in which to conduct any kind of shakedown interrogation.

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With Rowland’s response Cuyler was only left with more questions rather than answers. They had to find out who this was, what this was. There was more than Magyk in this world and although Cuyler trusted everything else but Magyk, perhaps something else was interfering. His hand instinctively lifted and grasped the armband hanging below his neck. The gods rarely interfered with human life so there must be something happening to directly affect them. Perhaps he needed to speak with Lyra, she knew nearly as much as he did when it came to their gods and homeland.
Meanwhile on the stage, Ayra, the Queen and delegates were dealing with a shady looking man. That purple shimmer that coated the Wizard Tower worked around Ayra and another woman as they worked together. It was beautiful really and under different circumstances, Cuyler would sit and watch the moment with rapt attention. Ayra’s face seemed to shift as they looked into the mans mind and discovered a whole manner of ugly things. Cuyler could hear everything clearly as the people on stage spoke. Traveling the seas and working in markets had sharpened Cuyler’s hearing. You had to hear certain things under the sounds of people, waves and wind, for one sound could mean the difference between life and death. Cuyler shifted uncomfortably. If he wasn’t guilty he should be set free but if he was a menace to society then he should be dealt with. Even if he wasn’t a problem to them currently, one day he would be.
”We should speak to Arya and Lyra,” Cuyler said to Rowland. It was already determined by Ayra and Rowland that this was not Magikal due to the taking of Luna, despite their wardings. Cuyler had suddenly become worried. If this was the work of the gods, he feared they would be no match for them. This man they were holding on stage was no longer a priority.

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Amarantha’s eyes surveyed the small crowd in front of her. Everyone seemed to be on edge but she had never felt more at ease. This was her element, coming in during chaos, stirring it up more and retrieving the answers she needed. Her attention was split though, there was something going on along the sidelines. Malekith wouldn’t have come to such a place alone, especially if their intention was to take the Crown Princess. Her head turned behind her and she gave a nod to the others who split off and worked their way around the outer rim of the Palace Lawn. True, while they had to wait, ever so patiently on the sidelines, the man’s accomplices could have gotten away but she hardly thought so. With the crowd still trying to leave, they wouldn’t have gotten far on their feet. If they decided to use Magyk, well that would have made their presence a little obvious.
”Perhaps the young wizard apprentice is right,” Amarantha spoke up. As part of her advanced training, she knew every person on this stage, including the Ex-ExtraOrdinary Wizard in the emptying clearing behind her.
”He didn’t arrive alone and if I know my men, he gave a false name at the front gates. There are many eyes on us here, I say we take him away to discover what information he holds. Perhaps he can tell us how this little slip-up managed to happen.” Letting her words hang there, her eyes looked over the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, the delegates from the Eastern Snow Plains and the various guards on stage. Magyk it seemed, was failing them.
She needed to speak with the palace guards. Sometimes a false name was all the information one needed and although imbeciles most of the time, guards remembered faces. Their adrenaline may being running and clouding their mind from remembering clear images but either these creatures with Magyk could discover who the guards saw or Amarantha would be able to extract the information with a few, well placed words.

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The corner of Lyra's lips pulled up into a smirk at her mistress's words, and she gave a slight nod of her head in agreement. This Malekith guy was hiding something; she was sure of it. He was too quick to defend himself, and if that wasn't an admission of guilt, she didn't know what was. Well, perhaps she actually did. There was something else that seemed off about the man, and it took a moment of quiet observance and reflection to pinpoint it. His demeanor. His demeanor was off. For one, he seemed awfully calm for someone who had just been accused of kidnapping someone, let alone royalty. He was too calm. Where was the fear? More than that, where was the remorse? He hadn't even offered one word of sympathy to the family who had literally just had their sister ripped away from them. There was most certainly something very off with this man, and it didn't settle well with Lyra.

Malekith, on the other hand, more or less ignored Valda's remark, his attention instead garnered by the brazen comments made by the leader of the Young Army. Well, that went downhill fast, he thought to himself as his gaze swung over towards Puck. The look in his eyes gave nothing away, quite literally speaking. Just as Lyra had pinpointed, there was no fear and no remorse in the dark blue depths of his eyes. And no amount of acting could ever replicate that mirrored glint of emotion that showed in one's eyes. His eyes showed nothing, just like he felt nothing. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Well, in Malekith's case, he had no soul, only Darkenesse. In the end, he didn't fear death. No, death and him were old friends. One thing was certain though. If this was to be his time, then he had nothing left to lose, and as such, he would take as many people as he could down with him.

He let out a small disgruntled noise as he suddenly felt someone's Magyk poking and prodding around in his mind. His gaze went back over to the source, Asha the Magykal, just before she was soon joined by the ExtraOrdinary Wizard Arya. Great, MindReading, he thought with displeasure. Good luck in there, ladies. You're going to need it. He stared them down, intently watching them and awaiting their reactions. Despite his mind essentially being violated right then, in some sick, twisted way it actually gave him pleasure. It would be its own form of slow torture, and he would relish in their pain. Even when he has since passed on, the images they witnessed would haunt them forevermore. They could kill him, but they would never be able to forget him and those images. And that was absolutely priceless to him. It was perhaps the ultimate form of torture.

Malekith most certainly wasn't let down as pained and horrified expressions came to the wizards' faces. A devilish smirk came to his features unchecked. A part of him actually felt that having his cover blown was perhaps worth it just for this little moment of unspeakable pleasure. The act was up it would seem, which meant so were the niceties.

"I suggest you wipe that smirk off of your face before I wipe it off for you," Lyra suddenly growled in warning. She stepped in his direction, her sword bared as she circled around him with slow, carefully placed steps. Her eyes were trained on him all the while until finally dropping when she came to a halt beside Asha and Arya. Normally she wouldn't avert her gaze from the enemy, but her concern was just too great to ignore. The fierceness in her eyes softened as she looked over at the two wizards. "Are you alright?" she asked earnestly, addressing the both of them, though her gaze seemed to linger on Asha.

Malekith held back an actual chuckle at Lyra's threat. Cute. His gaze went back over to the midget commander and Wendron Witch Mother. He scoffed at Jadis's words. "You know, I seem to recall your coven doing the same exact thing to your dear, sweet Valda. Would the death of one soldier truly have swayed you from your warpath? I mean look at the spoils you gained, a Wendron Witch crowned queen." he stated condescendingly, gesturing over to Valda.

Lyra's head snapped back over to Malekith when she heard the no doubt toxic words that just spewed out of his mouth. He was surely trying to place blame elsewhere in order to divert their attention from him. In other words, he was trying to save his own skin at the expense of everyone else. "Shut your mouth!" she hissed.

Malekith fought the urge to roll his eyes again. As the others began arguing over what to do with him, he took the moment's reprieve to look over his shoulder and out into the crowd. His dark eyed gaze searched for his fellow coven members, wondering if they were still out there or if they had already made their getaway. He fairly quickly pinpointed them, the twins' silver hair being a bit of a giveaway. He then quickly turned his gaze forward again, where it was to be met by Lyra's piercing blue green gaze.

Lyra's head cocked to the side slightly, having caught Malekith's suspicious attempt to look over his shoulder. Was he looking for someone, perhaps maybe his coven members? She looked past him to survey the crowd, seeing if anything, or anyone, stood out. Her perceptive gaze did a few passes over the large group before two individuals with striking silver hair caught her attention at the back of the crowd. As her gaze lingered on them, she also noticed a blonde, ginger, and brunette with them. They seemed to be huddled together conversing, which was a bit off-putting considering most people were panicking. Hmmm, curious. Maybe they're his coven members? she thought to herself. She looked back over to Malekith with a blatant smirk on her face. "Rookie move, Malekith," she taunted, before she turned back to Asha and Arya and told them of what she saw.

Or was it? Malekith thought with a barely concealed smirk.

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Time was not on their side so Fleur had to think quickly. In times like this, she had to decide what would be the best option. So for this, she could think of nothing more than to cause some mayhem. A distraction. Something for the folks in the lawn to take their attention off of their escape (and perhaps off of interrogating Malekith). The latter was mainly as a means of ensuring the man did not succumb and give them away. As little trust she held for him, she would never expect him to sell them out, especially to the Royals. But beggars could not be choosers.

Fleur decided then and there. The secret door would be best, but it would require time. She looked at Rhys, a man she had not expected to see, but would not put his help aside, at least for now. She would have to make it up to him. "Yes, gather the prince and use Concilium. I will buy us some time."

Fleur summoned the Darke energy as she sent forth a missive. A summon. What better thing to liven a party up than a fantastical creature. Fleur's eyes glowed purple as she spoke "I call forth Ja'kai, the blood red !" It was partly for show, but it did the trick. Using the Darke Magyk powers she held, in the courtyard a Giant Red Dragon would appear. It looked lifelike, sounded lifelike, and would cause panic and mayhem. It was an illusion, for sure, but it would do the trick.

She let the dragon loose to do it's bidding. "All right, that should give us ample amounts of time. Shall we?"

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Rhys smirked at the four 'ladies', his grin a charming one. "Lead on Mistresses of Beauty." A wink in Nera's direction as the woman was given her orders by Fleur. It suited Rhys that the witches owed him. He would need their aid after all. Plus dinner would be a good way to introduce the only woman to leave his upper rooms alive- Fleur- the little cretin he had shoved into his 'closet' before coming to the coronation. Moving towards the secret route, the man let out a low soft whistle. The dragon was impressive and it never hurt to show a woman that they were impressive.

A woman who felt good about herself was easy to manipulate after all. Raising a dark brow at the Witch Mother who had hunted him for some transgressions a while back, Rhys chuckled slightly. "Oh, and why you do come to dinner... I have someone you will simply love to meet. Perhaps you might be able to put his little mind at ease." The rogue smirked with mock concern. He wasn't over worried about the lad, but Fleur was a clever little Witch and thus could and would be useful in trying. "But that's only to catch your interest. I'm not going to accept it as payment." The man dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand. Long legs eating the ground up as he moved for that exit.

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Valda's eyes flared and she looked at Atkin. She didn't really know what she was doing, but she definitely did not appreciate having someone scream at her for suggestions everyone else was making. Just because she agreed with Puck that the Young Army could benefit the Castle didn't mean that she wanted to kill someone! "Let me think!" Valda snapped at Atkin. "Everyone keeps telling me what to do and assuming that I'm just going to go along with whatever the last person said, but I have a brain and I intend to use it..."

Puck fell silent and Jadis raised an eyebrow, with the siblings exchanging a glance. "But sweet Valda, he's a Port Witch...No one would miss him and he deserves to die for his sins," Jadis said softly. Her lips then curled with displeasure as she heard what Malekith said. She knew the only reason she and her Coven could safely walk the Castle and the Palace was because Valda allowed them to do so. "And we provided her with family - while you and your Darke ways would surely turn poor sweet Luna's life to ruin...."

"Not the Stranger Chamber - something is happening at Wizard Tower..." Arya said quietly. "The dungeons here would be more appropriate and can suitably contain a Darke witch." She wasn't sure how much Valda knew about the options she had for Malekith, but there was no question in Arya's mind that they couldn't just let him go free. The dungeons at least would keep him from leaving, as they were enchanted with an ancient Magyk that slowly drained the abilities of all of those imprisoned in them.

"Fine, throw him in the dungeons," Valda decided. She looked at 526. "Deputy Hunter, right? You can interrogate him. Find out everything he knows about my sister...Hurt him if you have to," Valda then added, feeling a streak of sibling protectiveness. She didn't know Myrus and Luna very well, but they were her siblings.

Asha gave Lyra a small smile. "Thank you for your concern," she whispered, before she caught something impossible out of the corner of her eye. There was a gigantic red dragon in the air, breathing down fire at the now rapidly scattering spectators. Anyone the guards had been trying to keep from leaving was able to quickly sleep away, as the entire Castle seemed to pick up and run for their lives. "A dragon...I haven't seen one ever in my life," Asha whispered, her eyes wide. "It's sad it's merely an illusion..."

Arya could see the soft eddies of Darke Magyk around the illusion and her mind snapped back to Malekith. It must have been the Port Witch Coven attempting to do something to keep him from escaping. She completely missed Myrus stand up stiffly and then walk over to the small group of witches, his gaze unseeing. "Take us inside," Nera commanded him, before gesturing towards the Palace wall that Fleur had indicated. Myrus just nodded, walking with the small group.

"Take my hand," he said softly, and once everyone was holding onto him, he walked through the wall and they were all able to go with him. On the inside, they found themselves in the Palace kitchens. "Go back to your sister," Nera instructed. "If Malekith attempts to betray us, kill him." Myrus just nodded before he seemingly walked through the wall, going back up to the stage where Valda was silently.

Rowland had led Cuyler up with him to the stage, exchanging a worried look with Arya. However, something about Myrus unsettled him. He was Sensing that some sort of Magyk had surrounded the boy. "Are you quite alright?" Rowland inquired. "No...Someone kidnapped my sister...again..." Myrus mumbled, looking like he was about to cry.

And inside the Palace, in Lyra's room, the dragon egg began to hatch...

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Atkin was rather miffed that she chose him specifically to snap at despite not even being the last person to throw in any input on what she should do with the stinking warlock. And on any other day he would have told her as much, queen or no queen. But given the context of everything else that had happened so far, he simply bit his tongue and let it slide. It was just another annoying thing that happened today to add onto the pile of awfulness that had occurred so far. However the worst part about this whole situation were all the witches acting like they weren't all as bad as each other.

"We're clearly the superior coven because we have total psychopaths who don't even try to have any semblance of human decency. You Wendron Witches are just cowards trying to butt in on our territory."

"Nuh-uh, our coven is better, because we brainwash the children we kidnap to like us and become part of our little cult out in the woods. Sure we stole Valda purely for political reasons and are going to try manipulating her so that we can do God knows what, but at least we acted nice to our pawn!"

Infuriating. Their bickering was enough to slightly change his outlook on the Young Army for the ever so slightly more positive. They didn't really try to hide what they were, and they were somewhat less insufferable than the Witches that he found himself surrounded by. Also that one huntress broad that dropped in agreed with what he said. Showed that there were at least some members of that awful organization that wouldn't necessarily just listen to only what Puck had to say.

But when Asha suddenly turned to look up, Atkin's gaze followed hers to find what appeared to be a massive dragon. For the split second where his brain was registering what it was seeing, he thought to try grabbing Valda and get her to safety before the danger could get to them. People like Arya and Asha could protect themselves, and Puck, Jadis and the like could burn for all he cared. Well, he didn't want any of them to die, but if they had to, he wouldn't be too torn up about it. However, every awful thing that had happened today would be made even immeasurably worse if she died here. That could easily spell the end of the entire Castle if all the candidates for the crown just up and vanished or died in one day.

But after that split second his brain detected something. He couldn't exactly say what it was, but he couldn't help but pick up the aura of inauthenticity about it. Asha's last comment only brought it into clarity. It was an illusion. Probably done by one of Malekith's friends to try giving him or them a way out. His next thought was to tackle the warlock into the ground before he could try anything, but he decided against it.If he really tried to make a break for it, Asha could simply Call him back to the stage, and with the Magyk she gave off, he probably wouldn't be able to resist if he tried.

"So uh, Arya," Atkin asked his teacher awkwardly, both due to the fact that there was a fake flying dragon torching them all with illusory fire and that he'd probably be drawing her attention away from far more important tasks at hand. "What are we going to do?" Atkin wasn't asking the question as a request for a big picture, long term plan of action, but more as in "what the fuck are we going to do for the rest of the day with everything going to shit?" Whatever she had planned this morning almost certainly was going to get chucked out the window.

Whether Arya took the question the way her apprentice intended was yet to be seen. And who knows, perhaps she would go through with everything she had prepared beforehand. Maybe the thing that they both really needed right then was a bit of normalcy and things actually going right for once today, rather than just spiraling into an ever larger clusterfuck.

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Luna slowly brought her knees down from where she was sitting she eyed the rest of the things in the room, she knew that there was some kind of warding on the door. She didn't even know how to use magyk at all, she wanted to get out of the room and hopefully try and get out of this room she was in. "You could use that knife and kill the first person who comes in and escape that way." The woman's voice said again, Luna closed her eyes and looked away, she could never kill someone she didn't want to either. Her eyes stared at the knife that was now in the wall close to the door, she simply shook her head. There had to be another way to get out of here, she was pretty sure that the various torture tools wouldn't have any effect on the door that much she knew.

"I am not killing anyone.." Luna said calmly as she stood up, whipping away some tears and made her way towards the spell tome that was on one of the tables. As much as she disliked magyk she wanted to go back home to the palace where she belonged, she started to open it up and started to look through it. She wanted to be back with her brother and sister, she continued to look through the book and went to take off her circlet that she wore off her head and started to let her hair go. If magyk was what was keeping her trapped in the room then magyk would be what would get her out.

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Cuyler followed along behind Rowland, thankful that the man took him onto the stage with him so that he could get to Ayra and talk to her. He stepped over to her but stopped when a great red dragon appeared from the skies. His eyes widened with shock and instinctively he stepped in front of Ayra to protect her. It was foolish for Arya was their best advantage at defeating a dragon. Cuyler stared hard at the beast, daring it to try whatever it intended but something made Cuyler look away. No one seemed to be in a mad rush, at least the people on stage. The crowd was screaming and running too and fro, creating mayhem so that no one understood what was going on. The people on stage however, seemed to not fear the creature. It was then that Cuyler understood that this creature was most likely conjured. Another trick by Magyk. Sheepishly, Cuyler stepped back from blocking Arya. He rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat, not looking at Ayra as he spoke.
”You said yourself that there is something non-Magykal at work here. I may have a theory,” he offered to her. If at the very least, they could begin to rule things out and narrow it down to what or who could have taken Princess Luna.

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Amarantha was busy watching her people move out and try to work through the crowd to get to the guards and question them. It would be better now if they found out who the man’s accomplices were. He was part of the Port Witch Coven and being a child from the Port, Amarantha knew their location. She could always go to them if they didn’t find them here.
She heard her title and snapped her head to attention. A slow, victorious smile crossed Amarantha’s features as the Queen gave the go ahead.
”With pleasure your Majesty.” She stepped around her commanding office and walked over to the gentleman. She bent down so she came to be eye level with him. She scanned his eyes and then the features of his face.
”You and I will have some fun I should think,” Amarantha spoke. He looked strong enough, able to put up a fight physically and mentally it seemed. It would be a challenge she was sure but it brought her a great deal of pleasure knowing that she would have a fight on her hands.
A great roar erupted and she turned her head to the source. A great dragon swooped down and began to terrorize the people. Amarantha shifted to get a better look at the creature but she knew it for what it truly was. Admiring the great creature she turned her head back, cocking it to the side as she scanned her prey.
’Friends of yours I presume?” she suggested sweetly.

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Fleur followed Rhys inside, allowing Nera to handle the Prince. Impressive skills aside, they had to depart quickly now. The dragon would not hold attention long and she was sure competent Magyk users would be able to detect her illusion. Hopefully, Mal would use it to his advantage somewhat. Otherwise, as per Nera's instructions, he would be no use to them anymore.

Fleur listened as Rhys commented on dinner plans and someone she would love to meet. Fleur responded with a grin of her own. "Darling Rhys. If I didn't know any better, it almost sounds like it might be a trap, which we both know would be silly for you to even try to do." Whether his intentions were pure or not, it mattered little. They had, after all, someone else to take care of first.

"And as it stands, we have plans of our own at the moment, so dinner shall be put on hold. Let us first get out of this dreadful castle and back amongst familiar territory. Nera, secure the exit behind us in case someone does follow." She directed the young witch, but she knew Nera to be capable, regardless. Even a small trap would suffice. They had to leave quickly though. Any longer and who knows what Princess Luna would get into.

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This Nera... She interested Rhys just as much as she worried him. Rhys valued knowledge and that he lacked knowledge on this competent spell caster was slim to none. She obliviously, or it seemed to him, was one of Fleur's. Thus he would not be able to pry too deeply. Though he would pry since she had been able to lay quite the lovely spell over the Prince. The witch mother's words distracted the Rogue Wizard's thoughts. His dark eyes glittering down at the lovely woman as his face broke out into a charming smile. A trap against her? That was not absurd but it was pointless. Fleur was of more use where she was.

When she wasn't? Oh, then he would play a game that would leave her as his puppet. A pawn to do his bidding in his ultimate plan to destroy the Extra Ordinary Wizards. "Madam, you insult my intelligence!" He pressed a open hand over his heart in mock shock and pain. "What would I gain from trying to trap such a formidable witch and ally? No, rather I was offering a bit of... sport to go with a lovely meal. You, my lovely Fleur, would never do well in a cage." Rhys prided himself on speaking the truth in every inch of those words. He have never denied that he would ensnare her but rather had turned it to the fact he wouldn't ensnare her yet. Though he thought perhaps to turn that offer to Nera. The formidable witch could possible take Fleur's place in the woman's coven. If she owed Rhys a few favors for getting there... The roguish man smile with a secretive wink. "If you need anything, do stop by... I am always eager to help such lovely women like yourselves."

With that, Rhys looked about the scene. Perhaps he ought to go run some tests upon the youngster he had locked away? The idea was a good one. But he continued to trail after the witches for the time being. It wouldn't do for this little excursion to be discovered, and what if someone accosted the lovely ladies? No, that wouldn't help his plans at all. The castle would be in a uproar. The Queen dead, a Princess spirited away? Oh, it would be glorious and he would have the chance to wrap his hands about the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's throat. But to kill her? Or to break her down by watching everything around her smolder to ashes? The latter was far more appealing. Especially with Blaize in the area. "Oh, and Fleur... Should you get your hands on a Wizard- any wizard from Wizard's Tower- I will be very interesting in a bargain." Let the witch make of that what she would. He was going to get his revenge.

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Lyra pulled her stormy gaze away from the warlock Malekith to look back at Asha as the powerfully entrancing wizard's whispered words hit her ears. Her blue-green eyes softened, though not to the point of completely erasing the startling intensity to them, as she met the woman's gaze. She returned Asha's smile with a soft smile of her own. That was until the woman's expression changed to something akin to shock, and perhaps awe? Her head whipped around to see what the object of her attention. To say she was shocked, and perhaps horrified, to see what she thought was a living, breathing dragon was an understatement to say the least. She sucked in a breath, but nevertheless, she got into a defensive stance, readying herself to take on the next intrusion upon this momentous occasion. How she expected to actually fight a dragon was beyond her. The wizards and witches would surely be more equipped for such a task, but regardless, she wasn't one to tuck tail and flee when there were people to protect. Her eyes were trained on the fearsome beast, and she was about to take a few bold steps forward when Asha's next words garnered her attention. Her head snapped back to the wizard. "Come again?" she uttered, blinking a few times in bewilderment. It was just an illusion? she thought as she looked back at the "dragon." Well, that's stupid. She rolled her eyes at the absurdity of the situation but otherwise lowered her sword.

Meanwhile, Malekith found the bickering amongst peers and adversaries quite amusing. Valda going against her more or less puppet master Jadis was the icing on the cake. If he was going to be executed, at least he would get a good show beforehand. His dark blue gaze looked amongst the mismatched group of people, choosing to ignore Jadis's retort. It's not like he cared what the Wendron Witch Mother had to say anyways. His gaze finally landed on Valda when the "queen" made her final verdict. The thought of being sent to the dungeons didn't scare him. After all, his room was pretty much a dungeon, so hey, it would practically be home like to him. His gaze next went to the Deputy Hunter of the Young Army when she was ordered to interrogate, and potentially torture, him. How ironic that the torturer would become the tortured. The corner of his lips quirked up slightly at Amarantha's words. A woman after my own heart no doubt. Such a shame we couldn't have met under different circumstances.

His head whipped around when he heard a deep roar from somewhere behind him. His smirk grew to a fullblown devilish smile when his gaze landed on the mirage of a dragon. Perfect. He turned to face forward again, his facial expression turning into one of concentration. While the "dragon" served as a sufficient distraction, he called upon his Darke Magyk to do his bidding. A dark orb formed into his hands as his gaze locked onto his target of choice: Asha the Magykal. Logically, if he wanted to escape he would have to take down the wizard in order to break the Call he was under. With a feral glint to his eyes, he threw the orb of Darke energy at the woman.

No longer worried about the dragon, Lyra focused her attention on something more important. And she certainly had impeccable timing. Out the corner her eye, she caught the dark orb forming in Malekith's hand to be then promptly thrown in the direction of Asha of all people. From there it seemed as if time had slowed down or perhaps stopped altogether. She didn't think. She just acted. "NOOO!" she screamed, jumping in front of the line of fire. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared down what felt like the face of death. The dark orb quickly encroached upon her, and it dawned on her just then, that this was it for her. She was going to die. But at least it meant Asha would live.

Unexpectedly, the dark orb suddenly changed directions. The force of Asha's powerful Magyk pushed the dark orb back the way it came, sending it hurling towards, well, Malekith. Malekith let out a grunt as his own Darke Magyk hit him square in the chest and sent him flying backwards to land roughly on his rearend.

Lyra blinked a few times as she tried process what had just happened. Her arms shook at her sides, making it difficult for her to even hold up her own sword. She was so sure she was about to die, so to say she was in shock was an understatement. She let out a ragged breath.

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Valda wasn't too sure what she should be doing right then, after all, she had just given the instructions or whatever to do with Malekith, and now there was some dragon flying towards them. She'd never seen a dragon, so she kind of freaked out a little when she saw the creature coming towards them. Asha's comment calmed her down slightly, since it apparently wasn't a real dragon at all, some illusion. It probably was created by one of the Port Witches, since she doubted that anyone else would want to cause so much chaos right then.

She looked over at Malekith, glaring slightly at him. The man annoyed her, and she was starting to regret slightly not just killing him right off the bat. He was clearly crazy or something, but she wasn't sure what else she could have done. Since odds were he knew where her sister was. When he tried to attack Asha, she fought back the urge to punch him or something, since it wasn't very easy to deflect a punch away or something as it was magic, which Asha clearly showed. She looked at Lyra and Asha, glad to see that they were both alright. "If you still want to be alive in an hour, I suggest you stop."

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Asha let out a bit of a gasp, fully coming to her senses. Sometimes, she acted purely out of instinct. And yet, she had not assumed that another would do the same - a stranger nonetheless. She looked at Lyra again, as if she was seeing her for the first time. "Thank you...I owe you a great debt, noble warrior," Asha said with a smile, ignoring the fact that her Magyk had ultimately deflected the orb. She placed a delicate kiss on Lyra's cheek, before she turned her attention to Malekith. As the orb of Darke energy struck him, it seemed to eat away at his life force.

"We will do what we must, Atkin, to protect our Queen and our home," Arya answered, stepping in between his line of sight to Malekith. She did not want him to witness such a gruesome fate. He was beyond the reach of any Physik Arya feared. A young Physik woman, Julia Moriss, managed to break through the crowds, crouching down next to Malekith and she administered several potions, but it was without success. Malekith was dead, despite her best efforts.

Peter Wylie looked at the body with grim satisfaction, stepping over to it and covering Malekith's face with his cloak. He didn't want any of the young children present to bear witness. Queen Valda was just a child as well, despite her new position as leader of the Castle. Arya paused, not certain what to say as to Malekith's ultimately self inflicted death, before she cast an Expel and a rush of air hit the draconic illusion, blowing the red dragon away as it crumbled into dust and dissipated. "And as for your lessons...I believe we may begin your Darke week earlier in your apprenticeship than is normal."

Rowland frowned, gripping Myrus' shoulder once he saw his former apprentice had taken care of the illusion. "No, my boy, that is not the case," Rowland warned. He did a quick MindRead and saw the presence of a young girl he had not seen in years - Esren Carlan. She had been a candidate for the ExtraOrdinary Apprentice, after Peter Wylie had left for the Eastern SnowPlains. "Nerse, I command you to leave his mind! Out!" Rowland exclaimed, his hands shimmering with a purple glow. Myrus stumbled backwards as his head cleared and within the Palace's walls, Nera's nose bleed subtly, having been so forcibly evicted from the young prince's mind.

"My queen, I do not wish to trouble you with more grave news, but it appears a witch has attempted Concilium on your brother's mind," Rowland said. Myrus sat down on the ground, looking dazed and a bit pale. Concilium was generally seen as a Darke art, one that witches excelled at above all else. Those with the best results at it tended to claim heritage from the Eastern SnowPlains or the Land of Long Nights.

"Please, allow me your highness," Arya said, holding her hand in front of her as she traced what seemed to be a compass rose in the air, making unwavering eye contact with Myrus. It was not as strong as a physical SafeCharm, but it would give him resistance to further mental incursions. All of those of Magykal learning would know how dangerous it was to tamper with someone's mind. In cases where the individual had a family history of mental illness, it almost guaranteed that it would develop at one point or another, sometimes even months after the event.

She then turned to Cuyler, a slight blush on her cheeks. She had noticed how he had moved to protect her from the dragon. And as much as she wished she had time to ponder its implications, she had a duty to the Castle that had to come before any affairs of the heart. "Please, do tell," Arya said to Cuyler, wondering if perhaps he had seen something not of Magyk before that could give such perilous results. She knew the Land of Long Nights had many secrets - perhaps this was something from that land?

Jadis, meanwhile, couldn't help but cackle. She had been relatively silent as she and her brother stared at the body. Puck seemed almost disappointed that his prized deputy hunter wouldn't get a chance to impress the new Queen with her skills. "He should have heeded your advice far sooner, my sweet," Jadis said with a grin to her surrogate daughter.

Within the Palace itself, Nera wiped away the bit of blood that had pooled out from her nose. "We must not tarry. I believe some wizard has learned of my intrusion into the young prince's mind," she explained. If only Myrus' sibling had been so fortunate when Nera used her similarly. "No one to follow, no one to know - our path will vanish as if covered in snow," Nera recited, casting a simple anti-tracking spell. Medea and Marya were beginning to fidget, annoyed at being in one place so long.

"Хајде да идемо већ, сви ће само причати и разговарати и разговарати док сви не умремо!" Marya insisted with a huff. Her sister nodded in agreement and in the blink of an eye, they had transported Nera, Fleur, and Rhys to the doorsteps of the Port Witch Coven. The twins were bouncing lightly on the balls of their feet, not even out of breath from a lengthy run that they had undergone in less than a second.

"Зашто си га зграбио?" Medea asked her sister, only for Marya to shrug.

"Осећала се као да би изазвала неку драму овде, досадно ми је."

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As Luna continued to search through the book, to her it looked like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to her it was to confusing as she sighed to herself and rubbed her eyes slightly. She just hoped that Myrus would still go to that meeting, and hopefully get the answers that they needed for what happened to their mother. She wasn't sure if her CradleSnatching was related, it was awfully coinvent to her being snatched up during her sister's coronation. Luna sighed as she stared at her circlet she had taken off, and quickly picked it up and slid it under the bed. She would try and sneak it out and drop it somewhere if they ever did let her out of the room, and hope that someone would find it for now, she kept it hidden.

Luna turned her attention towards the window as she saw a group of people appear in front of the building, she stared at them two younger looking girls with silver hair two older women and an older man. "They all have come to kill you." The voice came out in her head once more. "Just leave me alone!" Luna yelled loudly and quickly closed her eyes and shook her head, she was still feeling very disoriented and the voice as worrying her as well. Luna eyed the knife once more, as she contemplated on if she should grab it to defend herself she wasn't sure what they were all capable of doing to her.

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Valda looked stunned at what had happened. The man had managed to kill himself before they were able to get any information from him, and it pissed her off. Now how were they supposed to find Luna, he was the only lead that they had on her, and he had managed to kill himself without really trying to, he had been trying to kill Asha or something. Now they were back at the beginning, with no information aside from it was probably the Port Witch Coven. They had nothing that could help them find her sister, and she had no idea what to do.

Hearing Rowland's words, Valda turned to face her other sibling, her brother. Someone had controlled him? This did not help her mood, at all. Someone had messed with her brother, her sister had been kidnapped, and someone had tried to kill her, all in one day. She was freaking out a little at all of this, there wasn't much she could do to fix things. She felt hopeless, and she was the one who was supposed to be the Queen of the Castle? She was doing a horrible job at it so far, and she didn't know what to do.

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Thalia was not generally one to show up randomly, especially since most people forgot that dragons existed. She sometimes wondered what her life would have been like had she not been turned into a dragon, but had rather stayed a normal human. None of this mattered now, it was time to go retrieve her child, and that meant dragging Richard along with her. "Come along Richard, we've got to go, the egg hatched," she said simply, looking at him.

The said man was currently sipping a scotch, not his usual fare but he was in the mood to change things up. One snake like eye looked at the dragon-woman. A stern frown cresting his features as he stood with the slow elegance of a born predator. "Well, it's about time!" His British accent had thickened lately, a small quirk for when he was anxious, or feeling an extreme emotion. "I still say you should have kept it with us, but it is as it is. Shall we?" A hand waved away the answer as he offered Thalia a arm.

"Actually, I was thinking of going in my full dragon form, makes it a bit easier to travel. Not to mention not many people would choose to argue with a dragon. They would be idiotic to do that if you ask me... And I told you, the egg was safer away from us..." she said, shaking her head at the offer of his arm. Thalia planned to scare as many people as possible, it'd be fun, and it had been a while since she had done something like that. Scaring people had become a nice sort of hobby for her.

There was a deep and dark chuckle from the Adder at his lover's reasoning. "Allow me to quote my sister- 'Humans are generally stupid. They are the only beings that run towards danger when it makes more sense to run away.'" His eyes glinted with amusement as he gave a bow to the woman. "Be careful my lover. I'd hate to raise our child all alone." His other hand making a ushering gesture that she ought to get a move on. Eager as ever to meet this child of theirs. For all he knew Thalia was right, it irked and riled his scales that he could not protect the youngster as he should.

She nodded her head, before she backed away slightly from him. Her body started to morph, her skin becoming scales. Thalia's clothes merged with her body as she grew in size, and a few moments later, she was a colossal sized silver colored dragon. She lowered her body to the ground, lowering her wing to use as a ramp for him, in case he should want a ride as that would make their travel much easier. Not to mention they had a slight time jump to go through in order to reach their destination.

Richard smirked and whistled softly at Thalia's form. For all she was- It was beautiful. Taking the ramp of her wing up to the back with easy and well practiced steps. He pressed a kiss to the silver scales under her eye. "You're beauty puts the stars to shame." The man slipped into a comfortable spot on her back and looked amused at the situation. "Now shall we, O'Lady of the Stars?"

"To a place called the Castle, far into the future," she said, before she let out a loud roar a portal opening up in front of them. "At least our destination is a little more friendly to seeing dragons than the one we are from, so there shouldn't be much of a problem," she added as she stood up fully, flapping her wings before she took off through the portal. Everything swirled around them, before the were out in the clear open air, flying above the Castle.

Richard gripped Thalia tightly as he fought the urge to shift and surge himself into the air. For while he did have some capabilities at flight the portals through time always felt like a drop and sudden stop. A shifting of his innards that chased a chill up his spine. "My, I don't know if I should be impressed or horrified. Though I will admit you picked a rather interesting spot to secret away our little one." His voice was dry as he peered down at the Castle. Already plotting out what he could use and what areas might be best to avoid.

"Yes, we are several thousand years into the future. You know Marygold? Her descendants rule the Castle, I left the egg in their care for the most part, I trusted them to keep an eye on it. I have heard that today was actually the coronation of the new Queen of the Castle. Wonder how they will react to seeing a dragon today," she said, before she started heading downwards towards it.

The man's thought train skidded to a shrieking stop. "You put our child in the hands of that little sapling's descendants?!" Richard felt insulted! Peeved! He and Marygold were not ones to see eye to eye, but they did hold respect to each others. Though that was one thing. Leaving his child in the hands of her children's children... He pressed a hand over his eyes. "Don't answer that. You trust them and that is enough for me." For despite their differences, Marygold was a trusted ally.

"With how much I travel, it made sense at the time," Thalia countered as she flew down and saw the crowd on the Palace Lawn, and flew downwards. There wasn't really a good place for her to land though right by everyone. However, she did notice there was a place not too far from where the crowd was that was the perfect size for her to land. She soared downwards, eventually landing with a slight thud when she hit the ground.

Richard slid from the silver dragoness's back as he studied the scene. A panicking crowd, a ceremony, and what perhaps was a dead body. "Ah, lovely. Panic. Thalia, darling, you may want to shift back before they start shouting and hoisting weapons." The ground was thankfully firm under Richard's feet as he pulled a small pack of cigars from his suit's inner pocket. "Now which way?" Flicking a lighter several times the end finally lit as the Adder blew a puff of smoke. Standing loose and at ease, though it was a lie. Richard was very ready and prepared to leap into defense of his dragoness or their child. Especially if this crowd got the pitchforks and torches.

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It's said that no plan is foolproof. Even the greatest of minds is incapable of sheer depths of stupidity possessed by human beings. Atkin has seen plenty instances of this when he would wander off, following his fancy. Often times the perpetrators of great stupidity were high or drunk. Sometimes they were highly emotional or unstable. But a great deal of the time, they were just idiots. Hell, you could even ask eighty percent of them and they would admit that knew beforehand that what they had done was a bad idea that would only end badly, but they did it anyways.

Still, this might have been the dumbest thing he'd ever seen anyone try to do, and he couldn't help but wonder if the warlock Malekith had actually been concealing a death wish, and this was just his way of ending it all. But say he wasn't suicidal. What exactly did he expect to do? He was heavily outnumbered and could see the illusion hadn't really affected the people primarily responsible for the situation he was in. The people around had expressed a vested interest in killing him, and he just goes to undercut any security he might have possessed.

On top of that, the choice of subject was even more bizarre. Malekith had been around to see how much Magyk Asha gave off when she did the Calling, or when she and Arya probed his mind. And of all the people on the courtyard to attack, he chose her. It was like being stuck in a cave, naked and armed only with a pointed stick trapped with a leopard, a lion, a couple of rhinos and a dragon. And choosing to attack the dragon. The fact that he got away with only being killed by his own attack was lucky for the now deceased warlock as far as Atkin was concerned.

Speaking of which, Atkin nearly facepalmed when Arya stepped in his line of sight and Wylie covered the body up. He had probably personally seen more death and cadavers than any of the Wizards hanging around the scene. The streets were pretty dangerous, but open bloodshed was still a rarity. It was his penchant for poking around places people aren't supposed to be that caused him to accidentally run into the hiding places of stashed murder victims.

And he was almost certain Valda had seen more than the average amount of destruction of human life. As much as the Wendron Witches liked to protest how they were the "good" witches, they were still witches. Not to mention that just a scant few hours ago, she had killed Princess Snaera as well. Neither of them were full grown adults, but they weren't toddlers to be coddled, dammit.

It was funny how much this day wanted him to punch somebody. He'd only just managed to calm down a few minutes ago, and here was yet another thing going horrifically wrong driving the apprentice up the wall. It was likely that whoever was behind all this bullshit had decided "you know what? Let's fuck up the Prince's mind as well. Why not?" Luckily, he still seemed fine, but it was very likely that wasn't the case. That, combined with the increasingly apparent freakish nature half that people here were exhibiting, he was just about ready to blow again.

"Darke week?" Atkin inquired, cocking a brow. He had heard a mention or two of Darke Magyk from Arya, but he'd never been able to gather what exactly it was. Presumably this week was the place where his questions on that subject would be answered. However, given the context, he couldn't imagine it would be anything pleasant. Probably it was a collection of all the nasty spells and charms that were forbidden to wizards for various reasons, but again, he couldn't be sure.

The briefly raised mystery of what the hell Darke Week was was quickly dispelled by the lap dog claiming he had a guess as to what could have kidnapped Luna in front of the entire Castle. He seriously doubted the guy would really have anything substantial, but he might. The curiousness of it all was just enough to stop the apprentice from shooting daggers out of his eyes at the older boy.

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He blew out a breath, looking over at Lyra. He remembered sitting around fires with her, well far from her after she tried cutting his finger off. Their fathers would take turns telling tales of the Land of Lost Nights, where they came from, how the gods came to be and how they created their lives. How people, descended from the gods themselves were more powerful than even the greatest Wizard, were born and came to walk among them all.
”Baldur was a great god, loved most by all the gods so when he had children, they were no exception to that same love they held for him. But his daughter fell in love, with a human who possessed extraordinary abilities; a Wizard. Their union blessed them with four children, children who gained abilities that even the gods feared. The oldest, a daughter who commands chaos, a son who manipulates the heavens to his desire, the third a girl who adores animals and can travel to any of the nine realms in an instant.” At the mention of the third Cuyler’s eyes went to look at Lyra for a moment. His eyes drifted back to Ayra’s not very long after and he continued his tale.
”And the youngest, with the gift to extend all of their lifespans, allowing them to have everlasting life, despite being half-human. If chaos is just beginning in the Castle, Halley won’t be far behind.”
Cuyler believed in these myths, believed them deeply. They carried truth in every telling. True, over the years the tellings became more wild but the story remained the same. The Four would return to Earth and protect the people of the Castle, protect them all. It was surviving until that moment that was the problem. If they were truly involved, more death would undoubtedly follow.
A great howl came through Cuyler’s thoughts and he frowned, turning his head to watch Thia jump up onto the stage. She barked once before turning and growled up at the sky. Cuyler knelt down, laying a hand on her back. Thia typically remained at bay in her day form, something must be amiss. There was a thundering sound and a great gust of unnatural wind. Cuyler looked up to see the sky black out for a moment before a dragon landed in their mists.
”Is it another illusion?” Cuyler asked. His voice sounded small and soft compared to the great beast who now sat before them. A man slid off the back of the dragon, seeming to light a cigar of sorts before he looked around at the newly screaming crowd.

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It all happened rather quickly. So quickly that Amarantha had to admit she was fairly impressed with the Magykal being from the Snowplains. She had slid back on her heels, pulling out the dagger from her boot, ready to slice Malekith’s wrists for a quick way to drain his strength. The dark orb he released though, zoomed back and flung Malekith back where he quickly dropped and died in front of them. She cocked her head to the side. What a shame.
Her commander and master walked over then, shielding the body with his cloak. She turned her head, rolling her eyes to herself before sliding the knife back into her boot and stood. Everyone here had seen their fair share of death; including, that young apprentice. He spoke and walked like a kid from the streets and if Amarantha remembered anything from her time at the Port, it was that you may be able to take a child from the streets but you couldn’t take the streets from the child; even if you dressed him in wizard robes.
She stood up and looked to Puck. ”We should move on the Port Witch Coven. They have most likely traveled back to their coven by now. If we hurry we may just catch them off guard.” Her prize was taken from her early and she was still itching to unleash her skill on someone or something.
Her plans were shifted again when there was a great shift to the ground. A dragon rose up before them, much more real than the illusion casted previously. Amarantha shifted back, taking the dragon at her full size and admired her. What exsquisent colouring. Although she was not trained in dragon killing, her scales would make lovely boots. The Deputy Hunter turned her attention back to her commander, crossing her arms.
”Now what?” There was a annoyance to her tone, so slight that only Puck would be able to detect it due to having raised her for the past seventeen years.

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Lyra stared wide-eyed at the gruesome scene that unfolded before her. She wanted to look away, and yet she felt unable to do so, her gaze seemingly transfixed on Malekith as the man's own Darke Magyk slowly and painfully ate away at him. She realized that if Asha's Magyk had not deflected the blow that that would have been her fate, and that fact made it all the more surreal and all the more horrific. She bit her bottom lip to keep it from quivering. She considered herself a warrior, yes, but she couldn't proclaim to be overly familiar with death, particularly a death this violent and close to home. You could say that she had the skills and training in battle but not the experience. In many ways, she was still naïve.

Asha's gasp suddenly pulled her out of her stupor. She slowly looked back over at the wizard, taking the woman in just as the woman did the same with her. Seeing her alive and well made risking her life, and perhaps her sanity, worth while, but in the end, it still didn't make it any easier to process. She blinked a few times as if to wake herself up as Asha expressed her gratitude, and then the woman did something Lyra hadn't expected at all. Asha kissed her on the cheek. Lyra inhaled sharply as the woman's lips brushed her skin, and then it was over just as soon as it was done. She closed her eyes for a moment as she attempted to steady herself both physically and emotionally.

When her gaze finally opened, it landed back on Asha, before hesitantly drifting back to Malekith. Quite frankly, she would much rather stare at Asha for the rest of the day than deal with "warrior business" anymore today. But, of course, that was just an unrealistic fantasy. She let out a small sigh, feeling a little lighter than she had earlier. Was she still in shock? Hell yeah, but a kiss from a pretty woman certainly made things a little better. She eventually pulled her gaze away from the warlock's corpse to take in the others on the stage. She finally noted Cuyler's presence, having not noticed him before, seeing as she had been distracted by the illusionary dragon and Malekith's attempt to take Asha's life. Why exactly he was up here, she did not know. Surely, he didn't bear any better news than they had. She looked over at Rowland with a frown as the former ExtraOrdinary Wizard explained that someone had also tampered with Prince Myrus's mind. Great, what else could possibly go wrong? she thought. She probably ended up jinxing herself there.

Lyra looked back over at Cuyler as he began retelling the ExtraOrdinary Wizard Arya about the Myth of the Four. She caught his gaze as he glanced over at her, and she nodded her head with a small encouraging smile on her features. She stiffened as the environment suddenly changed around them and a howl pierced through the air. As Thia jumped onto stage, she was promptly followed by Lyra's "dog" Aurora. Lyra instinctively sidestepped to avoid getting plowed over by her clutz of a Night Transformer. Aurora ran past her, slid to a stop, and then doubled back to her side where she started barking furiously at the sky. "Hush," Lyra shushed her dog before looking at the source of the problem. Her eyes widened and her breath escaped her as they landed on the massive grey dragon with a relatively more diminutive individual on its back. Please be an illusion. Please be an illusion, she thought. However, she had a bad feeling that this one was very real. This is just great.