Medea thought she'd feel more anxious right now, Castor had finally taken The Plunge, but it mattered little to her and her plans for her Little Castor, whatever simple or even advanced Class Castor gained from his Plunge and she knew there was no spellcaster alive, maybe even dead who could break it! She'd dare say even if he gained the Saintess class, she believed fully in her own spell work, in her "Mother's" gift to her, in her own ability as a decently seasoned spell and in the fragility of a Reincarnate. A lovely little detail she discovered in her studies that was taught to her along with her classmates and sensei, Summoned Heroes and Reincarnates are very different types of people here apparently, Summoned Heroes have a ceiling placed on their power, anything short of grabbing a second class, then leveling that class, then fusing the two classes into a new class and leveling it up too, becoming an Aspect Avatar, attempting The Plunge or finding a Class Miracle Scroll. Their ceilings wouldn't be broken, short of a long time, divine intervention or luck, she felt her pride swell as she remembered the lesson on Reincarnates, a Reincarnate's ceiling is just as low, but anything short of the best spellcasters alive or dead, the gods themselves and even if a Reincarnate becomes an aspect Avatar, their ceiling only now has the potential to be broken with Class Miracle Scroll and a high Patronage or Divine school of magic and she was sure that none of the priests or local warlocks had enough strength.
So there she stood, now at the other side of the lake, her schoolmates stood nervously behind her and Polydeuces, Yuma spoke to the others in a hushed tone, almost as if she spoke aloud and something would go wrong. A simple Eavesdropper spell allowed her to listen to the group as they conversed.
"So, do you guys think Castor's alright?"
"Why wouldn't he be? Polydeuces said this happens to all Aspect Avatars."
"Well, she also said that it doesn't take them longer than a few seconds to get their Class and maybe a minute or two to get their class."
"I don't think she meant that literally Yuma."
"You guys are worrying for nothing, I'm sure Castor's fine."
"But he's a Reincarnate though and Polydeuces said that Reincarnates can have really weird side effects when they get their Class."
"Shouldn't him being an Aspect Avatar pretty much get rid of any weird side effects though?"
"That's what most likely what will happen, although any strange occurrence might be due to his unique circumstances, I've done some reading myself, the few Reincarnates that became Aspect Avatars either were unfit to hold their Aspect or ended up dying as their body could not hold their own power and they became Fractured."
"What are Fractured?"
"Wait, aren't those the guys who just end up dying?!"
"They are, but they all had a similar problem, their magic hadn't been unlocked or they could not find someone to unlock it in time, Castor has his unlocked."
"Wait, how do y-wait? You mean your-"
"Yes, my skill is one that allows me to see the magic of others and if they don't have it unlocked. It's akin to having a void around their body, I had decided to give it the name [Mage Eyes]. A few interesting properties of [Mage Eyes] is it allows me to follow a trail of magical effects if a spellcaster is in the area and they cast a spell on something or someone, I can also identify spellcasters regardless if they're more powerful than me or not and if they've unlocked someone's magic....Medea."
Her eyes widened as she heard Goro say her name as the others turned her gaze to her as well as Polydeuces. Quickly stopping her Eavesdropper, she turned around to face her classmates, her prideful smile still plainly on her face.
"So what if I did? I did it for all of you as well, I thought it'd only be courteous of me to do so." He didn't do anything just by pointing it out and at her, Goro had nothing...wait, didn't he say his skill could also-
"Glad you remembered that too Medea, I can also identify spells on things and people, so don't think I also didn't notice that spell on Castor as well." Okay, minor setback him saying that and her forgetting his skills, but that didn't matter right-why did she feel like-
"ACK!" Right, Polydeuces was right next to her and probably figured her out too now. She looked very angry.
"I knew that little chant you did when he was sleeping was strange, I don't remember magic unlocking spells having chants like that. So you're gonna tell me what. You. Casted. On. Him, or we're going to have MORE THAN WORDS LATER." Medea couldn't breath, whether because of Polydeuces' aura or the fact she was chokeslamming her against the tree, currently being lifted up by both of Polydeuces' hands as they were wringing her neck and the fact her grip seemed to be ironclad. She could hear her classmates trying to calm her down, get her hands off her neck, trying to get her attention by pointing at something-wait what? Hoping that it was Castor, her eyes looked over as well, thank the gods it was!
She felt Polydeuces let go of her as she took in big gulps of air as she heard Polydeuces ask a question that made her eyes widen.
"You're a Saintess?!" No, nononononono, he was supposed to be a Sorcerer, no-no matter she still had-where was it? WHERE WAS HER SPELL ON HIM? Frantically focusing, please, please still be there, ah there, there! It was faint and barely there, but her spell was still on him, even gaining the Saintess class didn't get rid of it completely, all she had to do was make it chantless and be with him for a moment and reapply it. She'd have to play crybaby for a bit and make up for getting caught, he'd probably forgive her on the spot, he was just that kind, she knew it. It wasn't that hard to start the waterworks and really mean it, Polydeuces was really strong. Castor quickly ran over to her and kneeled in front of her, yes her Little Castor, be her hero and save her!
"Medea! What happened, why are you crying?" Weird, his voice sounded a little different than before, no matter! She quickly, but pathetically blubbering out from her sobs.
"I-I c-cast a spell o-on you and I w-wanted to suprise you with w-w-what it does after you got your Class, but Goro r-ruined it and P-Polydeuces attacked meeee! I'm s-sorry I didn't tell you s-sooner!" She was crying for real as she felt her emotions spiral a little and through her tear stained eyes, she saw the suspicious looks fade away from most of her classmates, Goro looked a bit ashamed and Polydeuces' hard glare had softened to a frustrated resignation. Yes! She'd get her way, she might not even have to make the spell chantless, she could just tell Castor she wants to reapply it since it seems his Class is messing with it!
Feeling Castor hold her through her cries was wonderful, when she mentioned that she didn't tell him sooner she noticed a shift in his holding of her, he still held her, but it felt a little more guarded now, yes! Protect her from your vile sister and those who sought to ruin their perfect life together! She felt herself sat up from her crying position and against the tree as she felt her tears gently wiped away as Castor soothed her, after a few moments, her cries slowed and Castor cleared his throat.
"Medea, could you tell me what your spell did? Then I'll ask you to cast it on me again with my, permission I guess, but please don't do that again. I can't say I'm happy to know I had a spell on me for the past...Medea, when did you cast it?" Shit, uhhhhh, she can't really say it without that fucking up her plan, okay, she'll just have to answer that question. Just need to come up with a convincing lie for the first one, he shouldn't have any good grasp on his Aspect abilities yet though. Clearing her throat she began her lie.
"W-Well, the spell was meant to unlock your magic and also give me a hint to see if you have an affinity for magic as well as a hint of your type of magic so I could point you to a good teacher so you could catch up with the rest of us!" Perfect! It was basically the truth, minus a few omitted details and downplaying the info she got from it....which was kinda useless now, so even better! She could call it a faulty guess and save the plan! She decided to get through the other one fairly quickly and deal with the consequences, it'd all be worth it. "It makes sense you don't remember, I cast it on you while you were sleeping." She saw his face moving through a small range of expressions, mostly looking...concerned to understanding? She guessed, she was never great at reading faces, but seeing his face after she answered the second question, he looked very uncomfortable and moved away from her slightly, shit! He looked side to side and then back at her.
Before she could say anything to defend herself, to maybe try and salvage her crumbling plan he held up a hand and sighed, Castor, please don't ruin your future over something as simple as this. This is just a bump in the road! It's nothing, it'll just be water under the bridge soon enough, right?!
"I uh, think I might need some time away, from you to....process, all that. I'm not saying I don't wanna be friends anymore, but I definitely think I want some time to not feel like I have to worry about getting spells cast on me when I sleep yeah?" It took her more effort than she thought it would to not start crying again, clenching her teeth and swallowing the lump in her throat she stood up and cleared her throat and nodded. Her plan in shambles, she walked a bit into the forest, snapping her fingers, teleporting herself to her private study, collapsing onto her bed she couldn't help but feel....strange, she was so sure she wanted to kick, scream and cry at the utter failure of her plan, but she didn't feel her body wanting to do the motions, she simply stared up at the ceiling, feeling thrilled. Her plan had utterly failed, but she knew there was that needle in a haystack of a chance to fix this and win his heart! She was sure of it!
Feeling her smile becoming mile wide, she began to laugh, the absurdity of her obsession, the absolute speed of her plan's failure and maybe she was just a little bit crazy in the end. She had a new goal now, she was going to win Castor's heart, even if she had to play the long game. She knew he'd never find someone else here who could understand him like her. She was Medea, one of the few Greek Mythology figures to not have a tragic end, the woman with an escape plan every time and hopefully, the lover of Castor. She'd stopped laughing, her smile still on her face, she sat up up, hugging herself, almost mumbling out her declaration, but by no means did it sound any quieter to her.
"You will love and forgive me one day my Lit-no, my Dear Castor, I think that fits you more, but don't worry, your Dear Medea will happily wait for you to realize your feelings and come back to me." She, was sure of it.
----------------------------------------
Castor knew she lied about her spell, but he couldn't help but hope that she didn't do something that, creepy. Sighing he turned back to the group of his sister and his friends, giving a simple, if tired looking smile. Feeling himself get put into a headlock as a fist gently gave him a noogie, he couldn't help but laugh as he felt Takuya's joy through his noogie, whether because Medea was gone or because he was just happy that Castor was out of the lake now. Takuya's joy seemingly infectious, seeing as he let go and Castor felt himself hugged by the twins on both of his sides, seeming just as relieved, them speaking in sync perfectly about Medea and how they felt this weird feeling they got from her. He made a mental note of that as Polydeuces walked forward, gently ruffling his hair as she sighed.
"I think you went a little too easy on her, I know I wasn't, she cast that spell right in front of me and I should've confronted her about it sooner. I was just so, so, angry earlier that day and when you woke up I was making sure you were okay, I didn't even think to ask to have you checked for what the spell might've been doing." Castor smiled, using his right arm to pull her into a hug, slightly moving the twins a little. She returned his hug and chuckled, shaking her head and breaking the hug after a minute. A new voice interrupted, Rika looking both a relieved and a little awkward.
"I uh, hate to ruin the moment, but we should probably be heading back to the station, my ticket just gave the 10 minute glow." Right, the trains here were kinda like home, far as he knew or thought he knew, but were also very different, especially your ticket. He'd been told that, your ticket is pretty much glued to your person, it glows when you're in your designated car, claimed your seat, in your room if it's a longer trip, when you show the ticket master and the 20, 15, 10 and 5 minute reminders for how soon your train will be leaving. It also made a nice wind chime sound when it did, another weird thing is, the train wouldn't leave until every passenger with a ticket was on board, all the trains were powered by magic, being a spellcaster meant you could have a lot of jobs here apparently, things similar to back home like heating companies(er, guilds here), cooling guilds during the summer apparently, luggage portal guilds, tailoring guilds, special effects guilds and a whole hell of a lot of guilds.
While he'd been thinking about all the guilds here and how somewhat similar they were to companies back home, he hadn't paid attention when he bumped into someone and fell back onto his ass.
"Ah, damn it! Oh! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been spacing out so much." Quickly going into, try not to give the impression you're an actual asshole mode began as he heard a giggle slowly turn into full blown laughter, was he destined to keep accidentally making an ass out of himself here? The laughter of the young woman he'd bumped into stopped for a moment as she took a breath as her laughter died down finally.
She looked about as old as him, if only slightly older than him, she had fair white skin, if a little pale honestly, her eyes were a frosty blue, but they looked, bright to him, her hair a light pink fading into light blue tips, looked a bit longer than his, mostly in the back, here is really weird, she had a bandage in the middle of her forehead and one on her left cheek, she wore a white shirt that looked a size too big for her, over that, she wore what looked like some kind of military uniform, but her left arm was in its sleeve, the button below the collar was done, a silver chain seemingly held the collar in place as the other half of her jacket seemed to almost perfectly sit on her shoulder, the almost being as she extended her right hand out to him.
He stared at it, for a moment only catching a glimpse of her almost knee length skirt, it being a simple white. He took her hand and she pulled him up and forward with a cute grunt of effort and he saw her, he could only call them cute knee length brown and gold leather boots. A few quick blinks as she lightly poked his nose with her pointer finger and he shook his and blinked a few more times as she gave a light chuckle, her left hand outstretched.
"What's your name stranger?" His brain, seemed to reload finally as he shook her hand and simply answered, a hint of a nervous smile on his face.
"Castor, what about you stranger?" He didn't know exactly why, but he felt, happy with just Castor. He felt his smile grow less nervous. Her smile and eyes seemed to be just as bright as they were the second he'd looked at her. He did notice the small hints of hesitation as she seemingly decided something.
"My name's Penelope Hearthseeker [Lie] happy to meet ya Castor." That happened with Medea too, he wouldn't pry, if she wanted to lie, he assumed she had her reasons, also he just bumped into her, soooooo...
"Happy to meet you too Penelope." He'd almost expected [Lie Detector], that's what he called it, to go off, guess he was pretty happy to meet her. Sounds of two wind chimes went off as they both saw, 5 minutes left, the two suddenly losing the friendliness and becoming stumbling awkward messes that entered the train to go find their seats, the chimes ended up sounding like church bells straight outta hell as their seats, were at the same seat, well, not the exact same seat, but they were sitting directly across. They apparently both liked window seats, after silently placing her suitcase that she'd been dragging with her above them, sfter sitting down she took out, a flask, people are fuckin' wild here apparently. Her eyes seemed to widen a little as she saw his, mild suprise.
"Oh, is it a problem if I..." She drifted off as his eyes widened a little as he let out a tired chuckle, closed his eyes and rested his head on the window and answered.
"Would it suprise you to say I'm not sure if I do or don't?" She seemingly grew interested, putting her flask to the side, resting her cheek on her fist and with that same wonderful smile.
"I'd say, that's a story right there Castor and stories, are my passion, so since we've got more than enough time, wanna tell it?" He could tell he was smiling, opening his eyes and making himself more comfortable as 'Penelope' sat there, interested and ready.
"I'll give ya a warning, not a particularly happy one." Eyes closing for a second, she seemed, closer now. Right, trains like these had seats that could move forward and backwards, her eyes seemed, determined and...sympathetic? He grew a little curious at that as she leaned in a little and gave a smile he knew all too well, a smile that was exhausted, not physically, but mentally and emotionally. Her voice seemed to drop its hints of enthusiasm, becoming a hint deeper, her eyelids seemed to lose strength, sliding down halfway and her posture seemed to sag. That same interest and sympathy still in her eyes as she spoke with her new personality.
"I think I can relate to that a little, although, I'm curious, I don't see many Beastfolk this far out West, Lionkin especially. You get kicked out of your home or somethin'?" He shook his head, moving his seat forward a little and he leaned forward and began to explain the last 6 days of his new life.
30 Minutes Later...
Her look of shock as he finished describing the events of earlier today, minus his meeting of Garella, he felt that warranted a hint of secrecy. She'd seemingly gone through her flask after he described his game of questions with the students, she seemed almost amazed at him or maybe she flabbergasted? Either way, this was only his 3rd time explaining it and he already was tired of explaining how he got here, he'd already closed his eyes again when he felt another body embrace him in a hug, opening his left eye halfway, he was about to ask why, but she stopped him, the look of shock still on her face.
"I can't think of anything I could say in response to, all that and I can't think of a better way to comfort someone other than just hugging you or making a stupid joke." Any desire of wanting to tell her, that what she said felt like a joke, went away as he gently laid his left arm on her back, the night sky, the moon and stars were the only thing he watched for a moment as he and 'Penelope' sat in silence for a moment, before she muttered her name. "Penelope Evergreen." [Half Truth] Fan-fuckin-tastic, learn to read the room, please?
Internally sighing, he just nodded and slowly fell asleep, feeling his head lean onto the window again, as he fell asleep once more, hoping that since tomorrow is another day, it hopefully won't feel as long as today has felt.
----------------------------------------
Our strange pair, whether consciously or not, held the other tighter as the train continued its journey down the tracks of the countryside of Kaidria, headed for the capital, a new day soon approaching the two as they slept, their dreams, a hope for simpler days ahead and the hope of a new friendship, despite its strange start and odd present moment. One with knowledge of their Past, happily living in the Present, but uncertain of the Future and the other with little to no knowledge of Past, uncertain of Present, but happily looking to the Future...
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
----------------------------------------
Penelope couldn't help but think and think and think about how, how easy she's had it for the past 2 years or so, at least compared to her last life, living here was basically paradise, it still had its downs, of course, but those downs felt so miniscule she couldn't help but just laugh them off like they never existed. Her last life had been a shitshow, just what felt like the worst things that could be called a "life" by any stretch of the means, and she hated remembering it, but every now and then, the memories wormed their way. Then she died, she hadn't even tried to, just the wrong place, wrong time, same shit luck she'd had all her life.
Then she was given another chance, a chance to live in a new place, a new world in fact! Of course she took that chance, why wouldn't she? Living as an adoptive sibling to royalty ruled! No pun intended, she got at least one supportive parent, the other being, unfortunately dead for quite some time, money to spend, people she'd immediately found out were sucking up to her, she'd just have them thrown out and never have to see them again, comfort, support and love no longer felt like, like a luxury, but just something that was natural to her now, she'd legitimately felt herself feel lighter, everything seemed brighter and while there were the moments of bad.
They never seemed to matter so much anymore, like they barely meant anything to her, her father and her older brother. When she asked to go explore the world she now lived in, she was given a year, a year of exploration, a year of fun, a year of discovery and a year for herself. She cried and hugged her father and brother, grateful for it. She realized the "but" that hadn't been said yet, taking a step back and letting her brother and father, they explained that in the stead of his mother, her brother had taken her throne and all it had meant, so unless he'd take a wife soon or his father would be happy ruling with his son for a while until then, when her year ended, if her brother did not find a wife, she wanted to make the joke of or a husband, but stopped herself.
She'd be asked to take up her father's throne and place in the agreement, at first she wanted to deny it, she'd grown so used to her comforts and vices, but seeing her father's face made her pause, he looked, so, so old now. His black hair seemingly graying now, bags under his eyes and his posture no longer the strong, stalwart, brick wall of a man she had called father happily, but the posture of an aging man, tired and wishing to rest finally and his eyes had become duller now, the light that seemed to glow when she and her brother celebrated with him on his birthday or Father's day, seemed dimmer now. She'd said that the terms were acceptable, saying that maybe during that year she might enjoy that idea of becoming a ruler early in life, might give dear old dad a run in his coffers for his coffers.
The laughter she got from her father and brother, made the situation presented to her feel, not so bad anymore, she'd done her best to keep up with any new information about her soon to-be kingdom and especially about her father, the summoning of heroes didn't suprise her, she'd definitely seen some of the problems going on her father and brother mentioned, even did her best to help as subtly as she could, make others lives just that little bit better, better than her last life, better than the day before. Then, today, her last day of freedom, she'd met Castor and told her his story, how he could only remember certain memories and they were placed in categories, she sneered at the memory as she saw him tell it and including that he'd began to freak out and the only reason he hadn't completely gone nuts was because of his sister. She couldn't help but recall a memory of her own freak out, her brother and father helping to calm her down as she finally explained who she actually was and how she'd gotten here. She felt Castor was a kindred spirit of sorts, she couldn't help but laugh at the thought, she knew she never really believed in that kinda things before, but now? Maybe there was a hint of something to believe in with that phrase after all.
----------------------------------------
Morning and the arrival to their destination seemed to appear almost perfectly, the two waking, hearing the whistle of the train. Realizing they were still cuddling, the let the other go quickly and mumbled thanks to one another and Penelope, quickly getting her bearings back, straightened up her clothes and went to grab her luggage, Castor absent-mindedly fiddling with his hands as he waited, hearing Penelope say she's ready, he got up and followed her out. Our pair walking out onto the platform and began making their way into the city.
----------------------------------------
Castor felt awkward, he could tell Penelope wanted to say something, but deciding to just get the awkwardness over with he just blurt out
"T-Thanks, again, I've already slowly started to get over it kind of, but the hug helped, so thanks again." He heard an awkward giggle escape from her as she scratched the back of her head, her smile awkward and an anxious bead of sweat made its way down the side of her face.
"Er, yeah you're welcome. Don't worry about it, I only meant for it to be comforting, sorry-" He waved his hand and just shook his head.
"Don't apologize, let's just call the awkwardness you getting back at me for bumping into you and for me staring at you like a dead fish." Hand outstretched and a less awkward smile now he asked. "Still friends?" The awkwardness, if only slightly seemed to go away as well as her smile brightened and took his hand with gusto.
"Happily. But don't cut me off again, I was gonna apologize for not letting you get out first, cause you didn't have any luggage with you and you kinda just sat there. Also apologizing and hoping you don't take the hug the wrong way too. But I do have a question." He titled his head as they began to walk forward again and nodded for her to continue, she leaned in a little, a teasing grin on her face. "How'd it feel having a girl as pretty as me all huddled up with ya last night? Don't think I also didn't see you trying to not look at me earlier either, I know I'm pretty and all, but I guess I was pretty much a home-run for ya hmmmm~?" With a wink and her cozying her shoulder up to him, he felt himself blushing, before he realized something, last he checked, baseball wasn't a thing here and the way she talked...was she another person summoned here by the spell too?
Questions for later, blush is still here and she's getting more smug!
"I-It felt nice, though I d-do still really a-appreciate it, d-don't just h-hug me outta the blue again, though I do like h-hugs, wa-warn a guy first, or at least ask." He didn't want to make her feel bad about it, but realizing Medea cast her spell on him while he slept, didn't really make him trust strangers right now, add onto the fact Penelope had lied and told half-truths yesterday, much as he liked considering her friend, she still hadn't been fully trusted him, which he understood, but he also considered Medea a friend, he only mentioned Medea had left due to some disagreements he had with her and that it was a disagreement he needed to really process.
He could tell his body hated telling it like that, but his heart didn't want to paint Medea in a bad light, he still couldn't tell what were his feelings and what might be a part of Medea's spell, if it's doing anything to mentally. It made his head spin internally and he shook his head a little, could still feel a little blush as he looked away. "Ye-Yeah, but I definitely won't deny y-you're a h-home r-run." Blush was back in full swing....damn it brain! He turned away from her slightly, as he heard a few people giggle and chuckle, apparently a few people were eavesdropping, one of those people, was Penelope. A giggling fit well on its way as she walked beside him, her giggles, the sound of wheels rolling on stone as she dragged her luggage, people walking by, talking, a few shouts and people being generally kinda busier than usual.
"Man, the capital seems to be pretty busy right now, wonder if there's some kinda festival happening soon?" He hadn't heard of anything, as he'd turned away from her earlier, he really got a better look at the capital he'd been living in. It looked and felt like old drawings of an industrial revolution, except more magic and less coal, of course he'd heard that someplaces used some coal for factories, but most places had on-site workers/spellcasters who could mitigate or get rid of toxins in other workers. Guess magic can't power everything huh? Looking around the street, the buildings, homes and even the stores felt, what he could only describe as industrial on the outside, artistic on the inside, in some places he couldn't help but think they looked like slums, but from the little he'd seen, most people live comfortably here.
Keyword being here he knew there were people struggling in the outer reaches of Kaidria and....now he had a duty to help them. As many as he could, as he made his silent declaration, oh look, a wild Penelope. She popped into view and he almost stumbled. "Finally! I've trying to get your attention ya goof, apparently the princess is gonna be showing back up today and the people here are pretty excited! Apparently they're gonna be throwing a ball, didn't know Kaidria had a princess though." [Lie] Wait, she knew? There's a princess here? He'd only talked to the king and prince briefly, Hadrict was a pretty stern guy, but he, like Castor had a weird preference for legs of meat, it led to an odd friendship between him and the king, he knew the king wouldn't let him get away with anything, but stealing or hiding an extra leg for a friend? No one seemed to really care or say anything. Hendrick, the crown prince, seemingly shared a demeanor with his father, but seemed to like books and poetry more than food. Hendrick also had a love for weapon fusion, whether using his magiclal prowess to combine weapons to make things like glaives, halberds or weird things a sniper spear, it didn't have bullets, it shot small spears and they packed a....terrifyingly amount of punch to them. One day, he'd been telling Hendrick about the dream and the weird hammer that showed up, he told him to summon it, at first Castor thought he was screwing with him, he then walked him through it, lo and behold he had a cool hammer now. Back on topic!
"I never knew there was princess here either, where do ya think she's been? I hope it's nothing serious, like she's been sick or kidnapped." Looking around, the people were pretty happy, guess he might be worrying a little too much. Penelope hummed, seemingly thinking.
"Hmmm, I don't think it's anything serious, might be she's just coming back from a trip or something." [Truth]....Huh? Oh shit! Was he talking to like some kinda royal assassin or something? Who the hell was she? Brushing those thoughts off for now, he smiled and nodded as he tried to calm himself internally. He could probably just ask Polydeuces later and she'll clear everything up, he probably won't even go to the ball, Polydeuces was there for everything yesterday, he'll be fine, it'll be fine.
[6 HOURS LATER]
He lightly tugged at the collar of his suit, he felt like he looked exactly like a butler, but in sunset red with small hints of pale yellow, a masquerade mask that seemed to shine with a ruby red, with hints of a pale yellow, the mask was designed to cover most of his face, fangs sat above his mouth, not long enough to be in danger of poking his lip, a rounded nose like an actual lion, the ends of the mask were pointed upwards, looking similar to a mane, kind of complementing the top which also looked like a lions mane forming into a sort of crown that sat atop his head a little, the rest held on via magic.
Polydeuces chuckled, her dress being a simple long wine colored dress, her mask looking similar to the side profile of a Wyvern, it's jaw opening and roaring, showing her left cheek, it had a dark violet glow, with hints of a light red in the Wyvern's eyes and teeth. She walked over fixing up his bow tie, fixing up his collar and any other things she saw that he didn't.
"Before you start complaining, Medea will not be there, it will only last about two hours, I want you to try and have fun, maybe go find your friends if they decide to show up, dance a little, I think you've done more than enough cooping yourself up in MY room by the by and...I just want to make some good memories here, alright?" Sighing, then nodding, he'd try for Polydeuces. She clapped her hands together with a smile and led him toward the ballroom, don't say it, don't say the line. He walked in with Polydeuces, her arm linked with his as an announcer proclaiming their arrival.
"Arriving now, are Lady Polydeuces Larcray, part of the Anra Wyvern Knights, Lady Vengeance With Wyvern Wings, Mage Of The Fronline, Bearer Of Larcray's Will, Older Sister To Castor and Aspect Avatar of Vengeance! Alongside her is Sir Castor Larcray, The First S-Saintess In Centuries, The First Red Saint, Bearer of Larcray's Will, Younger Brother To Polydeuces and Aspect Avatar of Honesty!" There was a strange silence, the music stopped for a second as more than a few sets of eyes turned as their titles were read out, he actually really liked First Red Saint a lot, had a bit of a kick to it. The music restarted, when hearing it, it made him think of a struggle, the choir giving that "Song Of The People, For The People!" Feel, as he saw, a lot of people from the street actually, a few obviously looked like Nobles, some with their noses turned up, some enjoying seeing the slow dance of the people resume after gawking at him and Polydeuces. Blaring but melodius trumpets, reminded him of Hispanic music, giving him feelings of family? Nostalgia? Yearning?
Walking with Polydeuces as they found some seats, he shook his head, the feelings still there, gripping his heart gently. After a moment, he felt a nostalgic smile grow as he stopped attempting to focus on anything but the music and his feelings. Looking around as the piano began once again, her saw a familiar head of hair and approached, not paying attention to the surroundings, giving a small bow and asked.
"Glad to see you here, would you like to dance?" Offering his hand as he noticed her stiffen, her dress a royal blue with purple accents and had a simple metallic blue mask with a faint purple glow that formed into a crown with a very similar look...to....the...king's. Ooooohh, he's a moron. [Truth]......shut up, please. Hearing her giggle again as she took his hand, leading him forward almost in step with the music as she began to lead, Castor just going along with her, before shaking his head and soon began to keep in step with her and slightly leaning forward saying as they both heard the music speed up a little.
"Come on Princess, let's dance!" Castor leading now as the tempo quickened, drums banged, the choir sang faster, but quieter and the song now having a hint of an ominous tone to it. He didn't mind though as he and Penelope practically skipped and leaped across the ballroom, Castor letting his heart guide his dance, elongating his steps as he spun with Penelope in time with the choir, slowing when the song seemingly looped to the beginning once more. Speeding up and spinning with her once again, their dance slowly becoming a back and forth, the two dipping the other occasionly and their laughter the only other thing their ears heard other than the music, their eyes focused on each other. Their smiles and dance were infectious, others pairs passed by in glimpses, young, old, nobility, peasants, soldiers, a few Summoned Heroes, even Hendrick passed by them at one point with, Polydeuces?
Focusing more on his current partner, Castor kept the momentum their odd back and forth going as their spun and turned, Castor's smile brightened as with every step, every spin, every turn and every dip, it felt like their conversation was a simple call and response, his heart singing with joy as their dance began to slow as the used their dance to get lost in the crowd as they both noticed their respective siblings approach and soon found themselves out in the garden, their call and response dance continuing as the music muffled as the door closed behind them, only a moment later realizing they were now on the balcony.
Their dance slowed to a stop, letting the other go as they finally heard the other speak.
"That was-"
"Really fun."
They were speechless, the only things that broke the silence was the muffled music going on, the sounds of mature and their own quiet breathing. Noticing a bench the two walked over and sat on it, their silence broken now by Castor breathlessly laughing a little, taking his mask off and setting it next to him.
"Uh, so you're the princess huh?" Might as well get it out of the way. A small breathless laugh was his response.
"Well, that's a bit of a long story, but I'm guessing since I heard your's, you'll be okay with hearing out mine?" Humming in thought for a second, he nodded and let her tell her tale as they sat under the setting sun.
[5 Minutes Later]
"Then I got into the castle and met up with Father and Hendrick, got outfitted and then had a most wonderful dance with a most pleasant gentlemanly Lionkin." Catching the hint of teasing and taking it on the chin, he let out a quick bark of a laugh. Shaking his slightly as he saw her face, a satisfied smile, her bandages were gone and her eyes seemed to glow in the sunset.
"I'll take that as a compliment and you're welcome by the way Princ-" A hand interrupted him.
"Just Penelope from you mister, after last night and now the dance? Nuh uh, no way are you calling me Princess." Letting out another short barking laugh, he looked at her, a smug, but satisfied grin meeting his gaze. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"If that's what you want, Just Penelope-whoa!" That joke was met with a slight shove and a joking glare, Castor now bursting into laughter, Penelope soon following him as they doubled over at their absurd situations and how nice it felt that they're tragic ends led to new beginnings for the both of them. Castor wiped a tear from his eye, as he slowly stopped laughing and leaned back onto the railing of the balcony, the stars slowly began to appear.
"Atroya." Penelope's hand pointed at a star that seemed to shine bright even this early in the night. "The Star Of Wanderers, over there Urush, Star Of Orcs. Oh! That's Hothalias, Star Of The Mountain!"
"What's the story behind that name?" He asked as he watched her eyes seemed to twinkle after pointing to each star, after asking, her excited gasp turned squeal made him realize he asked a good question.
"Okay, well a good amount of Astrologers agree that it was named The Mountain due to a mountain near the edge of Kaidria and sitting on the border of Southern Arborus, Land of The Dwarves. On the top of that mountain, at just about this time, that star right there, turns silver and supposedly, underneath that very mountain, lies the Last Great Treasure Of The Silver King, Holthalias was supposedly the name of The Silver King."
"Why hasn't anyone checked there, like a spellcaster in case of any dangers?"
"Ah, there's the common question for those not in the know. One of the main reasons is because silver is considered a very sacred metal to Dwarves, any and all things relating to The Silver King are to be handled with extreme caution as its also a common sentiment, with many reports and experiments on it, that any metal acquired by, used by, touched or even might of been in the presence of The Silver King, has gained anti magic properties, many, if not all of the mines and old ruins in Arborus at one point belonged to The Silver King, so any mine or old ruin in Arborus is looked at with heavy suspicion of completely nullifying magic at worst and crippling spellcasters spells at best." Castor happily watched her explain the tale of the star and the myth of the mountain itself, listening to her excited explanation, made him notice her more and more. Her smile, her eyes, the way she used her hands in her explanation, just, so many little things, he felt his heart skip a bit as she turned to him, a beaming smile on her face and asked
"Wanna hear about Atroya?" Castor's smile seemingly gave her the answer she wanted. "Alright, so Atroya is the name of, allegedly, one of the first explorers of Kaidria...."
----------------------------------------
Penelope's astrology explanation continued on for an hour until the two noticed the moon had finally appeared, an awkward pair of chuckles and an awkward hug later. The two parted ways and went back into the ballroom, their hearts aglow feeling an honest love, catching a last glimpse of one another before leaving for their respective rooms and explaining to their respective sibling why they were gone for an hour, both going to sleep eventually, exhausted, but satisfied, their dreams connected by Syrile, God of Dreams. Their dreams of a simple field, the sun in the sky and in the company of the other, laying on the grass, continued talks of stars, places in the world and myths. The bond unknowingly, breaking the last fragments of a spell....