An Inn on the Road to Selevea [DragonSong]

[MadEmperor]

Grav felt more than a little awe at being in the presence of faerie royalty. A commoner like himself rarely even found himself so close to mortal royalty. And to think, if this prince was Kiara's father then he had been with royalty the whole time.

He looked over at her and mouthed, "Your Da?"

[DragonSong]

She grimaced, then nodded.

The Crown Prince of the Autumn Court waved a hand toward the lingering figures in the trees surrounding them. "Leave us."

They did, fading back into the shadows and the leaves as silently as a fog. Kit lowered his head slightly, a low rumble that wasn't quite a growl echoing in his chest.

Aneas was looking from the Prince to Kiara, all but gaping. Even if she hadn't confirmed their relation, she looked too much like him to not be his daughter. She didn't have the same unearthly beauty or sharp features, but the shape and color of her eyes, the blade of her nose, even the way their mouths tightened in identical discomfort as they stared at one another.

"Kiara." He tilted his head at her. Like he wasn't quite sure what he was looking at. "You did not tell us you were coming."

She winced. "It...wasn't exactly planned."

[MadEmperor]

Grav leaned in close to Aneas, whispering, "Did you have any idea she was a princess? 'Cause I sure didn't."

Assuming he even acknowledged his presence, Kiara's father might pick up an unnatural air from the adventure. There was the stink of graceless mortal magic about him, something foreign, as if some other life force had been crudely shoved into him.

[DragonSong]

Aneas shook his head. "No idea," he whispered back. "I mean she hardly looks like—"

He snapped his mouth closed, blushing, as Kit shot him an irritated look.

Kiara either didn't hear or chose to ignore their exchange. "We need to get to Arca," she told her father bluntly. "We're in a bit of a hurry."

"You brought humans here," the prince said, not looking at the humans in question.

She frowned. "I'm human, Da."

He waved a hand as though that was trivial. "The Serenian mage is one thing, but this other? He smells of iron and unclean magic."

Her hackles started to go up. "He's my friend. And he's standing right there."

The faerie finally looked to the two young men, not frowning but not looking exactly pleased either. "Yes. I suppose they are."

[MadEmperor]

So much for the slim hope that those leeches just had something natural in them.

Grav gave an uncertain bow. "Grav Caviin, Your... Highness? Lordship? Grace? Sorry, I--don't know the protocol."

"Faeness? No, that's dumb. You're dumb." he muttered to himself.

[DragonSong]

"Highness," the prince said, still observing him as though puzzling through a mildly difficult equation. "It seems my daughter did not explain the...protocol."

Kiara glowered. "Well I wasn't planning on having a court audience, Da. I sorta hoped we might just talk to you. Y'know, like a normal fucking person."

Her father turned his attention back to her, properly frowning now. He didn't look irritated so much as confused though. "Is this not...talking?"

"No, it isn't!" She threw her hands up in exasperation. "You practically have us on trial!"

The Prince frowned further. "I...see." He glanced around the small group. "Perhaps...you would be more comfortable discussing this matter in my home?"

[MadEmperor]

"Yes, that would be better," he said with a sigh of relief, adding at the last moment, "Your highness."

He was sure he was making a fool of himself. Formality always made him squirm and fidget, as if he were a child anxious to go play. He was doing it now, fussily brushing the dust and wrinkles from his clothes.

[DragonSong]

The prince nodded, then turned and walked away into the trees.

Kiara sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "He expects us to follow," she told the others, before hurrying after him. Kit huffed and trailed along behind, jerking his head at Aneas and Grav.

The path that the Autumn Prince took through the trees wasn't really a path at all, but he seemed to know exactly where he was going. It also didn't seem like they were heading toward anything that could be called a "home": just trees, trees, trees.

Until suddenly the trees were replaced by the soaring arch of an entry hall that seemed to be simply grown from the forest itself. Kiara's father led them into a drawing room that was as much a living thing as the forest around them, then settled himself on a chaise covered in a bed of flowers.

"So." He looked around at them. Somehow, Kit had managed to fit himself into the entry hall, and was able to lay his head in the doorway of the room. Kiara hovered by him, looking about as uncomfortable as it was humanly possible to be. "Why are you here?"

[MadEmperor]

Grav was equally uncomfortable, still fidgeting, though less so. He was immensely grateful when Aneas spoke it.

The young noble gave a proper bow. "Aneas Halli, at your service, Your Highness." He straightened up, but he didn't go so far as to look the Prince in the eye. "I had hired your daughter to handle a group of monsters encroaching upon my family estate. She and her companion here dispatched them swiftly, but she overexerted her magic and collapsed. I ran to fetch the local healer, unknowingly inviting the very fiend responsible for the attacks into my home.

"Needless to say, she wised up to him quickly, and we fled. But not before he... infected this young man with something, we know not what. As such, we decided to retreat to Arca with all possible haste to report the fiend and seek treatment for Mr. Caviin here."

[DragonSong]

"I see." Kiara's father looked between Grav and Aneas. "And you wished to pass through our realm in order to reach Arca more swiftly."

Kiara nodded, finally stepping forward. "Yeah, basically. I was hoping we'd find you with a little less...fanfare."

He waved a hand. "Lauz spotted Kit the second hour you had crossed the Veil. It would have been implausible for you to visit the court and simply speak with me, with no other interference." He looked at them again, then gestured to the moss and flower covered furniture. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

Aneas seemed to hesitate, looking to Kiara, who waited a moment longer before taking a seat for herself with a huff. The young lord hurriedly followed suit.

"...I can help you back to the mortal realm," the Autumn Prince said after a long moment. "And sooner than you would have reached it had you come to the court more...traditionally."

Aneas perked up, but Kiara looked suspicious. "In exchange for...?"

Her father nodded at her. "In exchange for an audience with your grandfather."

Kiara went white as a sheet, speechless. Seemingly ignoring this, her father rose to his feet again and inclined his head to the two humans.

"Please, enjoy the hospitality of my house. You will find the guest wing to the far side of the entry hall, choose any bed you like. Seeing as the lot of you arrived here a day before you would have planned, you should feel free to take a proper rest. Kiara will have her audience in the morning." He said it so simply, the matter already settled. Turning to leave the room, and forcing Kit to jerk his head back from the doorway, he paused, then added with a touch more warmth to his voice, "You are friends of my daughter. You may call me Aeolthaine."

And he swept from the room.

[MadEmperor]

Grav sat quietly, watching Kiara with a slight smile. When the faerie prince swept out of the room, he drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. His smile then bloomed into an amused smirk. She was going to be embarrassed now, alright.

"Sooo... royalty, eh? Faerie royalty, even. Now I know why you were so eager to not draw attention."

[DragonSong]

Kiara groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I'm not," she mumbled. "I'm related to royalty."

Lifting her head, she sighed and ran her fingers back through her hair. "I mean...really. I'm not, technically. Mum was human. I'm just the Crown Prince's bastard."

Her mouth curled sourly around the word, though she said it flippantly. Kit shifted closer to lay his head back in the doorway and whuffed a breath at her.

[MadEmperor]

Grav's teasing expression faded, the moment having lost its humor. It would be cruel to continue. "Try looking at it like this: because you are illegitimate, you don't have to deal with this stuff all the time, and your noble father cares enough to complain that you don't visit. I wager most bastards are more afraid of a knife in the back than of being embarrassed."

"If I was one, and, hells, for all I know my birth father is king of Connloath, I'd feel lucky to not be always looking over my shoulder."

[DragonSong]

She gave him a lopsided smile and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Just...I dunno why my grandfather wants to see me now. He never seemed to care much that I even exist..."

She trailed off, frowning, then shook her head and got to her feet. "Well! We've been offered beds--may as well use them, right?"

[MadEmperor]

Grav yawned as he followed her to his feet. "Oh, definitely. The little sleep I got is already wearing off.

They soon parted ways and entered their respective rooms. The exhausted adventurer hung up his coat and collapsed onto his gloriously soft fae bed. He hadn't even covered himself up before falling asleep.
The next morning, he had yet to emerge when Kiara was called for her audience with her grandfather.

[DragonSong]

Kiara was called in for her audience with the Autumn King before dawn, and by the time the first streaks of proper daylight--or as proper as it ever got in this place--were streaking the sky, neither she nor Aeolthaine had yet returned. Even Kit had been left behind, and the dragon was clearly uncomfortable with the situation, curled up sulkily around the perimeter of a veranda was Aneas had been escorted for breakfast.

The young nobleman was looking a little awkward, trying to refuse any food the flitting, dragon-fly winged servants offered without being rude. "Really, thank you, but I'm not hungry, it, ah..."

[MadEmperor]

"Is it breakfast already?" Grav yawned as he was escorted onto the veranda, eyes still bleary from sleep. His hair was a little wild and the fae sunlight made his eyes look almost red. Though that didn't quite make sense.

"Shame we can't eat anything here. The food smells so good." How he smelled the food from that distance was also odd; it didn't have a very strong fragrance.

[DragonSong]

"It really does, doesn't it?" Aneas agreed wistfully. Then he blinked and looked back to Grav, brow furrowed curiously. "Wait, how did you--?"

Oh. Right. Volke.

He cleared his throat and looked away awkwardly. "So! Seems we must wait on our hosts before we can be gone to Arca, eh?"

[MadEmperor]

Grav raised a brow. Was it really that odd? The smell was hard to miss!

He walked up and stretched his arms before scratching his elbows. "Looks like it. I hope she's not suffering too much in there."

"Do you think she'll actually tell us what the Faerie King wanted?" he mused as he stretched his legs.

[DragonSong]

Aneas sighed and shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Who knows? She didn't tell us she was a princess--or nearly--so I doubt it. Well." He tilted his head from side to side and looked at Grav consideringly. "I'm not all that surprised she didn't tell me, we don't really know each other all that well. But...I was under the impression you three had been traveling together for a while."

Kit huffed and shifted his weight slightly, not quite looking at either of them. "She doesn't like to talk about it," he muttered, sounding oddly petulant for a creature of his size.