[center][b]Collab between Crescendo and Fox[/b][/center]

[b][u]Meanwhile in Sol...[/u][/b]

"The Bakery is on fire and king Thaddeus is still at a peace meeting in Aven!"

"Prince Tobias, what if they come back? What will we do? Our walls have been torn down and our soldiers are weary."

Merchants and villagers gathered in the throne room, even the baker with his burnt hat and torn apron was there. Loud muttering and stifled sobs echoed throughout the castle and prince Tobias stood at the center of it all looking terrified. "U-Um, can we barricade the walls?"

"The dragons can fly, prince." One of the soldiers muttered with a salute.

"Can we barricade ourselves in the castle and wait for dad--er, the king?" He winced as the crowd inched closer.

"We need to defend the city and the castle isn't big enough to hold everyone." Another guard stated with a huff. "In the king's absence, you are in charge, prince Tobias. What do you suggest we do?"

He stiffened in place, eyes flitting from person to person. They trusted him! To be honest though, it terrified him. If he messed up...no, no. "I think we may need backup. Our soldiers are tired because of the war with Aven. The king is there trying to talk things out, but a ceasefire hasn't been declared yet and we're low on both soldiers and supplies." The crowd pushed closer and he let out a squeak.

From within a crowd, a voice piped up above all the mumblings of the anxious crowd.

"Back up, you all! You're going to trample our darling prince and then what are we going to do?" 

Somehow the owner of the voice managed to squeeze through the crowd, shoving people out of her way before finally popping out besides the prince.

"What a crowd, eh?" The girl laughed, adjusting her feathered cap plopped on top of blond curls. She was clad in the uniform of the royal messengers, and after giving a hearty greeting to the prince she turned to frown at the soldiers. She drew herself up to her full height (which really wasn't much), hands crossed across her chest as she huffed. "How about giving princey a little room to breathe here?" Although she was hardly an imposing figure, the soldiers quicly took notice of the royal messenger. "How pleased do you think the king would be to come back to see footprints all over his son because you guys weren't doing your job?"

With rather sheepish faces the soldiers quickly formed a sort of barrier around the prince, pushing back the crowd enough so the poor boy could finally get some breathing space. 

With a satisfied nod, she turned back to her friend with a grin. "Really, Tobias, you're the prince! Can't have people pushing you around, you've gotta take charge sometimes alright?" She gave him a little nudge. "Anyways, did you send for me?"

Before he could be squished a familiar voice echoed throughout the throne room and the prince brightened up.

He could always trust Zephy to get him out of a sticky situation! From between a couple of villagers he waved and in a flash she squeezed through the crowd and wound up beside him. Tobias huffed before straightening up and giving her a very grateful look. 

With a comment from the royal messenger, the guards backed up and so did the people. The prince chuckled nervously, "haha, I'll try harder, promise." He gave her a thankful pat on the shoulder before clearing his throat. Now that the guards had formed a sort of barricade around them, he felt less intimidated. "Oh, yes! Thank you for coming and at the right moment too." He looked at the crowd. "Beloved citizens of Sol, we promise to solve this dragon problem soon. Dad will be away for some time, but we can't take much more of the dragons. As you know, we're short on pretty much everything." The citizens gasped and he ducked behind the messenger, who sighed and nudged him back out in front with a reassuring whisper.

"Prince...there's a thing called witholding information." One of the guards commented with a chuckle.

"I was being honest!" He muttered before nodding at Zephy and resuming his little speech. "Well, that's the truth and so we'll be asking for reinforcements from Nowhere's queen. Trust me, we'll solve this dragon problem. Your safety is of utmost importance." 

The crowd didn't look very convinced but when all was said and done the guards escorted them out, leaving the prince and messenger in the throne room.

"Oh, before I forget. I called you here to ask a favor. I need you to deliver a message to the queen." Tobias frowned. "You see, she hasn't exactly agreed to sending us reinforcements. In fact, she doesn't know about the dragon problem yet, so I wrote a request letter and you're the best person for the job, Zephy." He gave her a grin. "I can't ask anyone else." 

"Gosh, you're making me blush." Zephy laughed, accepting the letter and tucking it securely in her messenger bag before giving a small salute. "I've never failed a delivery and I certainly won't fail this one, even if the dragons came after me themselves! So don't you worry now," She reached up on tiptoes and gave the prince a pat on the head. "I'm not said to be the fastest messenger in Sol for nothing. I'll be back with reinforcement before you know it; you just make sure to keep this place standing until I get back, you hear?" 

The royal messenger hopped back a few steps cheerfully, waving the the blue haired prince before turning on her heels and bolting out of the throne room, her smile replaced with a determined grin. Despite her nonchalant demeanor she fully understood the severity of the situation. There was no doubt that if the dragons weren't stopped they would turn to the castle soon, and with their current state there was no way Sol could hold them back. 

"Let's see if you can beat your record, Zephy," she mumbled to herself, quickly veering onto the forest path that led out of her kingdom. Be it flying boar hordes or slime troupes, nothing was going to stop her from delivering this message to the Queen.