Pink Poogle Toy Forum

"Very well, then, there is a Diamond," said Molan, oblivious to the insult. "We do not know the cause of the blight, but in any event, it is over now, and trade in doves is safe. Now, did you mention a council? And will there be time to forge this trade alliance before it occurs?"

It was past mid-day, and the Festival had already ended. If there was time, he could rest much easier.

((kuroro, I'll try to keep Haki busy and involved ))

Serenity

Serenity liked the boy straight away. He had dark hair and bright eyes, something that was rarely seen in Diamond. He also seemed very independent, which was also different from anyone she had met before.
She figured that if he was to travel with her, she was better off to tell him who she really was.
The boy backed away, eyes narrowed, “You’re lying. The people of Diamond have wings,”
“I had wings,” Serenity insisted, “They were removed so that I wouldn’t cause such a fuss down here,”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“You don’t. But I’m not dangerous as you have just witnessed,”
The boy straightened up. He knew she was right.
“So you want me to get you to Returana safely?” he inquired.
“Yes, that is all I ask,” she said.
“Why do you need me?”
“I do not know the way,” Serenity confessed, “And I will not be able to fend for myself.”
The boy looked up at the sky, contemplating his options. Then he pricked up and turned his attention to something behind Serenity.
“Something is watching us,” he said, pushing past Serenity and walking over to a rock that stuck out of the rock stairs.

Althea looked back steadily into Emra's eyes. There was no treachery or anger in them, only faith and a certain anxiety in revealing precious secrets. Taking a deep breath, the girl said in quiet sincerity, 'No other kingdom shall ever know what you tell me now.'

---

Dev was wandering the beach when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow cross a sparkling bit of the ocean. Whirling around, he narrowed his eyes at the spot but there was nothing there. Sunlight reflected off the waters, seemingly calm.

Supposing it was a trick of the light, he shuffled away again. He was interested in all the Sapphire kingdom, so different and vibrant from his own. The people were also wonderfully warm and friendly, quite unlike Zircon. Although it was not his people's fault they were often sad and tired, he added loyally in his mind. They were so hard put up.

But it was good to see bright colours and loud laughs and cheerful waving of hands. He had also seen an old nobleman glide down the stairs and disappear in the ocean, only to reappear as a turtle, then disappear again. He decided to walk further and see what new discoveries could be made.

When he had gone a good way from the shoreline, a black pool of darkness appeared where he had been peering at before. It stained the ocean waters before dissolving into nothing, leaving only clear water again. The faintest gurgle followed the blackness down to the ocean bottom.

Emra prepared to raise her hands and put them upon Althea's head, first a blessing of knowledge of the breath so that she could teach, but before she could a slight breeze from the window lifted the pages and flipped them fast. It opened to especially worn page, and Emra dropped her hands- reading worriedly.

It has seemed that throughout the ages the bornth of the gift of the breath of the sea has developed as not being able to bless another with. All tryings have ended up futile, for only those of the bluest race can possess the gift. Though through mutations some creatures, or demons---

Emra dropped the book to the floor, upset and did not continue. "It seems... I can not..." She spoke sadly, and quietly, though with harsh tones for her sweet voice- anger it seemed and frustration had creeped up upon her. "It seems to be a non-blessable sort of magic, though I have no idea why..." she paused, lifting her sad eyes to Althea's, "I'm sorry." She spoke softer. "Anything I can do, I will try to help you- I am so sorry that the greatest help of all I can not suffice."

((OOC: So..my Sapphire Old English is awful, but whatever- but I think this seems real enough and heartbreaking to work

Haki

Haki heard the two leggers shirp and discuss. The little snake put his head on his body. Tiredness overcoming him now.

Snack would be nice.

The noises wore down. Haki started wondering. It wasn't something he did a lot. But lately, his mind had changed. Maybe through events that transpired. Somehow, the winged one had the idea he had something to do with them. Or, he used to have something to do with them...

But he couldn't quite remember.

It was a fairytale, or a story to comfort those that lost...

Haki perked his head up, the silence was very deafening.

His wings twitched, both two leggers were looking in the direction of the bush he had laid himself in. On top of a rock.

Instinct told him to fly away, but what about the mission?

Flapping he circled back up, opening his mouth, he said loudly that he was here to deliver a message.

Alas, in reality, only some hisses accompagnied by squeaks came out.

Why?

As if a webbing was removed from his mind, he rememberd;

He wasn't human anymore! His past life?

She didn't understand. She looked at the other girl in frightened confusion, knowing that something had gone wrong but not understanding what.

Althea hadn't really understood how she would have learned the secrets. She had assumed that there would be some form of training, in a similar manner to the way Zirconian divers were trained. That was the kind of learning she was used to, but Emra had had a different plan in mind.

There was a dull silence as the Lady's mind began to work again. 'A non-blessable sort of magic,' that was what Emra had said, wasn't it? So that meant something besides training - something more mystical than the Lady was aware of. Evidently Emra had planned to pass on her power by blessing Althea.

It finally hit her and she felt her heart begin to sink. Being able to breathe underwater was not a skill that could be learned, but a magic one had to be born with. It was like her own power to heal. She was well aware that most people in Zircon did not have that power to heal. It was simply something that was and was not acquired.

For some reason Althea had thought and thought that sne could learn to breathe underwater, or at least hold her breath for a longer period of time after a few lessons with Emra. Now it seemed impossibly silly that she could have learned how to hold her breath from Emra. Emra never needed to hold her breath as she simply breathed in water. She was as at home in the ocean as on land.

In the end, Althea could not have what she wanted and needed so desperately. She felt bile rising up in her throat as the world around her began to whirl. Panic filled her. What in the name of Ouhta was she going to do now? Her people might as well be doomed - and she might never even get back to Zircon now. She knew that the island was sinking rapidly.

Emra's sad, compassionate eyes were on her and Althea suddenly felt she could not bear to see them anymore. She had to get away; she didn't want Emra to see her like this. Turning sharply away so that the tears might not be seen, she suddenly tripped and span downwards. The world around her spun with her, faster and faster as she descended down into blackness.

[Okay, I didn't expect her to faint, but never mind. She's in Emra's hands now. ]

Queen Emra gasped she seized herself up to see if she could lift the slumped body on the chair without help, for she really didn't want anyone to know about this- the fainting, or the training, it would only lead to trouble. She bent down and firmly put her arms under the body, when she realized she could just summon help. Emra shook her head her temporary stupidity and removed her arms from underneath Althea. Carefully she went over to behind the throne, where Emra kept emergency food and water- if she was upon that dais, in a meeting or the sort and had to have water, she was so thirsty- it'd be there. She took the smooth, pretty pitcher and brought it over. Carefully she dribbled some water onto Althea's cheeks and forehead. Even more carefully, she gently touched the cheeks, and murmered something around the lines of "aquania juvnate" very quietly as she then called out in a louder voice, still calm "Althea! Wake up!"

((The little latin-ish spell thing she said is just an old spell (very little mind you) using water to rouse the patient quicker, if at all.))

Echo

Echo glared at the winged snake. He raised his sword. This creature may be a spy of Induisha or someone from Garnet who wanted him dead. In truth, the snake fascinated him. He had never seen anything like it, in all of his travels. It was a pity to end it's life like this.
Suddenly, she was there. Serenity stood infront of the creature, arms stretched outward, a passive look on her face.
"Please, leave it alone. What has it done to you?" she inquired.
"Are you crazy. It could be a spy," he hissed.
"Do we know that?"
"Do you want to take that chance?"
"Yes,"
Echo sighed and dropped his arm to his side, " How can I protect you if you go out of your way to put yourself in danger?"
"So you accept the job?"
"If I'm payed in advance, yes,"
Serenity nodded and handed him his gems.
"I just realised," she piped, " I don't know your name!"
"Is it that important?" Echo sighed.
"Yes!!! What if I want to marry you?"
Echo nearly tripped over his swords, "WHAT?!"
He turned to see the girl innocently smiling at him, her hands folded across her belt.
" This is going to be an interesting couple of weeks," he sighed to himself.

<center>Anka</center>

Yesterday had passed with nothing of great importance happening in the kingdom. There was a report of a young Minor going missing, but he had turned up two hours after the report was made saying he needed time to himself.

Anka had other things on his mind. The shipment of ore to Peridot was running worryingly late. He had sent the minors to Bal’moreth two hours ago and was now awaiting word from them.
Also, on top of this, he was preparing to leave for the Ouhta Council tomorrow. He felt that if he got there earlier then He’d be able to prepare better. Plus he wanted to be the fist the see this ‘princess’.

“Sire,” came a voice from the doorway, it sounded flustered and out of breath. He whipped himself around to find the messenger. His heart started to beat faster. “I bring word - from the Minors.”
“What is it?” He asked quickly “What did they find?”
“The Mountain - is rich in - ore Sire.” He panted “They’ve - already - found more - than half of - the ore needed.”
“This is great news boy.” He said, smiling for the first time in weeks. “We must celebrate!” And with that he removed his finest wine, imported from Emerald, and poured two glasses.

<center>Zach</center>

The boy, so happy and energetic the day before, his first day, was now mute. His eyes looked glazed and his lips were dry. His powers were no longer working either. This can some times happen in times of shock of great sadness and grief.

The workers were talking behind his back. Many were worried about him.
“What do you think is wrong?”
“He must be in shock.”
“He’ll get over it. It’s not the first cave in, and probably won’t be the last.”
“Oh, but look at him he’s so young…”

But as much as people tried to engage him, he would not reply. He would just sit, and stare.

Stare directly in front of him… stare into nothing.

Approaching Estel

The merchant ship rapidly approached the shores of Estel. Isabella leaned over the railing, one hand held over her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun's glare. She turned back to the Captain clearly puzzled, "Hang on a sec Captain. I don't see any docks here. Are you sure this is Estel?"

The Captain chuckled and nodded, "Yes lassie. Estel only has one dock, its very small, and unfortunately its on the other side of the island. We're heading off to Amethyst next, so I'm afraid we're going to have to drop you here. You'll have to walk over to the city, its quite a walk, but I'm sure you'll manage."

* * * *

"I'm sure you'll manage, he says," Isabella threw up her hands in frustration, the Niveus Lupus had been walking through dense forest for the past three hours and they still couldn't see any sign of Estel's main city. Or any cities at all for that matter.

Vann turned back and glared at Isabella, "Stop complaining. At least you're used to this climate." She turned back around and Isabella gaped at her back. That was the most anyone, apart from the Captain and his crew, had said to her in the past week. She was just about to mention this when the group suddenly stopped walking. Bumping into Vann's back, Isabella squealed, "Oy! What's the hold up?" The group members in front parted to reveal a small hut in a clearing.

"Alright!" Isabella jumped up and pumped her fist into the air. "Finally some sign of civilisation!" The group continued on at a much faster pace now. They walked along a dusty dirt track which soon changed into a paved stone road. They had entered Estel.

((Rachel will be taking it from here for a bit. And I'll get around to posting what's happening in Emerald soon. I hope that the Council can gather by the end of the month (our time XP) ))

Haki

Haki fluttered up, looking at the shiny metal the two leggers was swaying with. In his land, no Topazian would get it in his or her mind to raise a sword against a winged snake. But, Haki had experienced earlier in his trip that things were different in other countries.

The snake flew up, his thoughts whirling through his head.

No spy!

He tried to focus them, but Haki doubted any of them would hear them now. Their emotions were to confused and thoughts to troubled.

Topaz!

Dagger

Step left, right. Block. Left. Right. High. Upper. Lower. Block.
As Dagger revised the liquid-like moves that he used to fight he remembered the conversation he had had with his mother, a couple of days ago:
Kaylinne was bent over the stove, cooking for the family’s dinner. Dagger was lazing in a pile of blankets near the fire.
“I can’t believe my big boy is now sixteen!” Kaylinne murmured.
Dagger opened one eye and smiled.
Kaylinne looked out the window, at the street where girls and their mothers were at the market.
“I got married to your father when I was fifteen,” Kaylinne said absently, stirring some brown soup in a big pot.
“So you’ve said, many times, mother,” replied Dagger.
“Your brother Ecalinne was married last year. His wife is with child,”
“Yes mother,”
“Your younger sister Yuldilya. She is betrothed,”
“I know mother, I there a point to this conversation?”
“I don’t know. Is there?”
Dagger sighed. Ever since he had turned sixteen a few weeks ago, his mother been badgering him to settle down and marry.
He stood up, “Mother, no, I am not planning on marrying any girl. At least not any girl here. I find them all so boring and troublesome. And please restrain any further…er… attempts to marry me off,”
Kaylinne smiled, “ I was not talking about that, I was reminding you that your dear old parents are having their 15th wedding anniversary in a week, your brother’s sister’s baby is going to have her child in a month and your sister’s betrothed party is tomorrow night.”
Dagger blushed, “Oh…”
“But,”
“But?”
“If you do see any girls at the party tomorrow…”
“Mother!”
Dagger laughed, remembering, and he lost his balance. He stumbled, lost his footing and fell to the dusty ground. He coughed and grimaced as he heard light giggles around him.
They were here.
The little group of girls that always followed him around, watching his every move, constantly asking him to dance at parties and always hanging off his arms. If he was not careful his mother would be organising a betrothal for him and one of the annoying girls any day now.
He stood up and dusted himself off, shooting a glare at the bushes behind him, where he knew the girls were hiding.
The giggles instantly stopped.
A young boy, well known in the village for his shy and caring nature, by the name of Glord rushed towards Dagger. Dagger waved to him and he smiled back.
“You mother has asked me to fetch you. She requires help. She said it was urgent,” Glord reported.
Dagger nodded his thanks and ran to his home.
“Urgent? What could be urgent in Estel?” he wondered.
He discovered the urgency upon entering his house. There, in a soft chair a girl lay unconscious.
Kaylinne walked into the room, a wet rag in her hand.
“Who is this?” Dagger asked his mother.
“I don’t know. Your father found her, near Opal. She had collapsed. Judging by the colour of her skin, and the fact that she can’t stand the light, I think she has come from Opal,” Kaylinne replied.
Dagger remembered when his family had built Estel. They had survived by sleeping under shady trees during the day and working on the city by night. Slowly they and their children got used to the light, though many people perished.
The girl had a pinched appearance, her hair dulled, her skin paled. She looked like she would’ve been a lively person…once. She was wearing expensive clothes, which meant the girl was probably nobility.
Kaylinne covered all of the windows to block out the light and tightened the wet rag she was holding letting the cool water drip over the girl’s face.
The girl immediately sat up and shouted for help.
She rubbed her head, her green eyes examining the room.
“Where am I? Have I made it?” she asked.
“I don’t know where you were heading but you are in Estel,” Kaylinne informed her.
“I did make it,” the girl smiled, her eyes shining, “Who are you?”
“ Kaylinne and Dagger Lenmai. Who are you?”
The girl straightened her back proudly, “I am princess Ashalind Quire,”
Kaylinne put a hand to her mouth and gasped, “You can’t be,”
Ashalind, pulled to objects out of her pocket, a letter and a circlet and handed them to Kaylinne, “Here, I have an official letter from the Queen of Opal, explaining who I am,” she pointed to the seal on the letter, “It’s Opal’s official seal. This circlet is one I wear all the time,”
Dagger gaped at the girl, “It certainly does explain the way she’s dressed. No person in their right mind would travel in that gown,” he thought to himself.
“Why are you here?” Kaylinne wanted to know.
“I cannot bear my uncle on the throne. I want to travel to Returana to ask the other cities for help, to take him off the throne. I wanted to go to Estel to ask one of your people to escort me there, as I’ve never been outside Opal before,” Ashalind answered.
“So Princess, you want to hire one of us to help you get to Returana…” Dagger summarised, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Yes, I’ll pay, of course,”
Dagger shook his head, “ I don’t think anyone here will accept payment from you. After all, you are the princess that we’ve been fighting or years to put on the throne.”
Ashalind blushed.
“If you are going to throw that horrible man, Ishatiri, off the throne then I think you will find you will get a lot of support from the people here,” Kaylinne smiled, “I remember when I left Opal, when Dagger was a little boy and I was pregnant with his little sister,”
“What about your brother? How is he?” Dagger asked.
Ashalind gasped, “My brother? You knew him? Do you know where he is? Is he alright?”
Dagger frowned, “What do you mean?”
“You don’t know?”
“Don’t know what?”
“When my uncle took the throne, my mother sent my brother into hiding. I haven’t seen him since,” the girl explained.
Kaylinne shook his head, “ He was only a baby,”
Dagger stretched, cat-like, “I’ll take you to Yaki,”
“Yaki?” Ashalind asked, her face full of wonder, “Who is Yaki?”
“Yaki rules these lands. He is a lovely man and he will know what to do,” Kaylinne explained.
Ashalind nodded vigorously and stood up. She then looked down at her dirty and ripped clothes and blushed.
“Don’t worry,” said Kaylinne, putting a hand on Ashalind’s shoulder, “ We’ll find something for you to wear,”

Dagger and Ashalind stood in Estel’s palace.
Dagger had escorted Ash to the palace, where she had shyly examined the small village with interest. They had waited until night, so she could leave the house.
They waited patiently for Yaki to speak with them.
“Don’t worry, Princess Ashalind, Yaki will be with us soon,” Dagger assured her.
“Please, call me Ash,” she replied, her hands buried in the folds of her gown.
Dagger was impressed and bemused. This girl was not like the others in the village. She did not stare at him and blush all the time. She did not mind working, or getting dirty. She did not seem like royalty, or any person he had ever met before.
Yaki walked into the room.
“Is this true?” he asked mystified, “That the Princess of Opal has come to Estel?”
Ash bowed her head and nodded.
Yaki bowed before Ash. Every guard in the room did as well. Dagger bowed hesitantly. He had never met anyone this important before. Ash waved them up.
“I’m not here to surprise you, or make you serve me. I need help. I want to take back my throne,” Ash said, her voice ringing through the room.
The guards cheered.
Yaki smiled, “And what do you require to do that?”
Ash lowered her eyes; “I need someone to take me to Returana where I will ask for help from the other Kingdoms,”
“Is that all you need?” Yaki asked.
“Yes, that is all I ask,”
Yaki nodded, “We can arrange that. Is anyone willing to escort our Princess to the council?”
Dagger’s mouth opened before he could stop it, “ I will. I will take the Princess!”
Ash turned and looked at Dagger questioningly. Dagger blushed and turned away.
Yaki smiled at him, “Thank you, Dagger. Dagger shall escort Princess Ashalind.”

Walking home, they discovered that word had got out of Ash’s arrival. She hid her behind Dagger as they walked past.
Whispers of; “ Has the Princess come?” and “She looks so pale,” floated to them.
As they got closer to Dagger's home he saw that people were crowded near the city gates, which could only mean one thing.
People were coming.

((I always forget to post my ooc, because I type up my rp-lines and then forget. About the gathering of the council, we'll get there, slowly but surely, I guess. I also think it would be odd should one from one country be able to learn the ability of those of other countries. So I can come into Althea not being able to learn breathing under water. Poor Althea.))

Merle

The sun was piercing hot now. Horses were snorting, hooves scraping over the dusty rock grounds. Finally they had reached the quiet fishing village of Dari. But all in all, the horses as well as the men and women riders were too tired to make much noise.

The villagers had all retreated in their houses, fields or nearby caves. One elderly women emerged from the shadows.

The thin layer of sand on top of the rocky plains flew up when a rider emerged from the group. He and his horse were dirty, scratched with several blood stains. All the others had the same outer image. It was difficult to see to which group they belonged.

Cursed, the rider thought. I hope there are no raiders in those houses.

"Milord," the woman said, peeking up through a thin slit of eyes.

"I am here to seek shelter," Merle removed his sleeved hand from the reigns, showing his (royal) ring that was now strapped over the sleeves.

After this, the woman offered the hospitality of Dari. Most of the villagers re-emerged from their hiding places, seeing the group of riders meant no danger.

The last days had been particulary tough to Merle. After being emerged in a life-threatening fever, his doctors had taken of two of the sick fingers of his remaining hand. Not surprisely, when they were gone, he grew better again.

Alas, the situation with the rogue knights had worsened. Close to running out of control. Merle had been forced to head out with his army when his spies found out a possible location of the rogue knights whereabouts. It was this or risk an outright revolution of his people. He wasn't very well healed yet, but had no choice.

Arrived at the possible location, they had been surprised by a rather large force. The attackers had come in larger numbers then expected, their shield clothed in black, revealing no heraldic signatures. Yet Merle had recognized younger and even elder nobles.

He didn't have much time to think about it, because a sandstorm toke up. It seperated his tiny group from the main force.

After the storm had laid down, they had realized they had ventured from their original location. And got nearly overtaken by another group of rogues.

In the end, Merle and some of his group got away, partly due to their special abilities and quick horses.

And now they were here.

The villagers offered food, water and housing for the weary riders and their horses. Yet, Merle noticed there wasn't many. The ships were laying on the beach, sails swooping gently. All in all, the village looked in decay.

Sitting on the ground, holding a cup of strong coffee, he looked at the village elder, "why are your ships not on the sea? Isn't this the season when most of the fish travel past?"

The village elder, the same woman that had welcomed him, looked weary. Her face even wrinkled more, she took a sip of her cup, before answering.

"There is something in the sea... something that tears down ours ships. We do venture out, because it never is here during the day. But the night is beginning to fall.. that's why our fishers are on the land."

"A whale?" Merle looked confused, he remembered that before he got sick and the attack of the rogue knights started, he had been supposed to go to Cerit, the main fishing village. Some locals had reported the disappearance of many ships.

The woman shook her head heavily, "no.. something horrible.. a black mass, bigger then twelve ships."

"Mass.. black.." Merle remember the letter from Diamond, but was still sceptic. His problems had always been down to earth. Difficult, but nothing that couldn't be fought with a sword or herbs (in case of sickness).

The elder nodded, "some.. some say it.." the woman hesitated, apparently not believing her words herself, "it swallowed Zircon!"



((Please tell if I am crossing the line here. I placed Topaz' Isle not far from Zircon and Sapphire. Since Topaz is a lot of desert, I guessed they would get some food out of the seas too. I remember the Skeleton coast has some rich sea life (in real-earth terms). Sorry also about 'lending' your demon Lillie.:p))

[It's all right, Kuroro. The first post says that demons are NPCs. And if Discordant isn't out there by the time the other kingdoms have come to some sort of resolution, we shall assume that Molan and Thisa have gone to Returana and that Molan is still being incredibly dense about the Induisha thing.]

[It's perfectly alright, Kuroro. You've given my demons more purpose than I would have. So far I've only come up with them squirting oil at people, which isn't really very interesting as far as I'm concerned. ]

Everything was dark. She opened her eyes and saw nothing. Whether closed or open, all was black until she was no longer sure if she was awake or asleep. Straining her eyes, she tried to see something - anything - but there was only emptiness.

It was a dull realisation that she could not feel her body. She tried to move her fingers but she did not know if they were moving. Cold suddenly filled her yet she was not sure how far this cold extended to. All she knew was that everything, everything in this world was frozen in time and space and a life closer to death than life.

The faintest echo of a voiceless whisper was calling out to her before it faded. Someone had said something to her, Althea was sure of it. Who it was or where she had been just before she entered this darkness she could not remember. In fact, she could not remember who she was at all. The loss of identity filled her with fear.

Someone save me! she cried out in sudden panic. Someone! Anyone!

She began to flounder as though in water, although she was suspended in a vacuum. The lack of life began to oppress her, coming in from all sides and she felt the same way she had felt when she had been drowning - only this time there was no one to support her and there was nothing to see except the endless darkness.

---

The girl's body was perfectly still, but her pale skin suddenly whitened extraordinarily. Her chest was moving up and down with alarmingly slow irregularity and it was clear not much air was entering her lungs.

Something gleamed slightly inside her sleeve.

---

Upstairs in her room, something flashed from inside her waterproof knapsack.

---

Someone save me! Someone! Anyone!

Dev glanced up sharply and looked all around from where he had been throwing pebbles into the ocean. He had been trying to make them skim across the surface.

'Princess?' he queried aloud, glancing up and down the shore uneasily. He had been so certain that he had heard the Lady's voice, only it had sounded more as though it had been in his head than anywhere else. For a moment he wondered if he had imagined it but the distress and the despair seemed so real he suddenly broke into a run and headed towards the palace.

Maybe she had been screaming and he had heard a faint echo of it. Someone might be killing her right this moment and he would be too late because he had doubted his hearing.

Where was she? he thought, bile rising rapidly in his throat as he flew up the beach and then up the palace stairs, pushing roughly past the guards. The guards, bewildered by his rude treatment, decided he must be a terrible example of the normally well-mannered Zirconians. Althea had said something about him being a genius, but that wasn't relevant. Where would she be, where would she be? Oh yes! She had been finding Emra, hadn't she?

He shook a servant by the shoulders, bellowing to know where exactly Emra and Althea were, and then making the poor, abused servant lead him towards the room.

Guards outside told him the two queens were having a private discussion but he ignored this and burst through the doors anyway to behold one girl kneeling by the side of a too-pale one.

[Can you tell that I rushed the last few paragraphs? Sorry it's turned rather odd, but anyway, Dev is here and I'm not sure if the guards have seen the two of them or not. Either way it will all work out. ]