Suta POV

Strolling beside the jovial-looking lion was a black-feathered crow, a foot shorter than the tall lion. The crow was dressed in a flourishing long dark gown with a bright purple satin interior. The gown, which looked very much like an oversized robe, was held together by a peculiar round disk ornament, cyan in color with a polished surface.

"Oh-ho-ho, what a great honor! What a great honor indeed, to welcome the children- to welcome the children indeed, the children of the golden sun! To our most beloved land... Candy!" the crow's sonorous voice echoed like an opera musician.

Suta frowned. "Why is it repeating itself?"

"Bravo, bravo, Mr. Birdy!" Demoria swooned with pattering applause.

The crow seemed visibly shocked at being addressed in such a manner. After studying the girl for a few moments, the black-feathered bird leaned towards the lion in a failed attempt to conceal its voice. "Say... what's a birdy?"

The lion, none the wiser, shrugged in response. "I haven't the slightest bit of clue. But we mustn't object; they are part of the lineage of Dawn, after all."

Suta watched the two with a curious glint in his eyes. The phrase 'lineage of Dawn' lingered in his mind once again.

"Ahem! Forgive my rudeness, but allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Lord Peltos, the watcher of the manor. Ever since our gracious mother's slumber, I have been overseeing all matters concerning Our Queen's sovereign rule.

Ahem! It's an honor... it's an honor... forgive my rudeness, but let—"

"Alright, we get it!" Suta interrupted. "Hey, Mr... Pe-l-tois?" he mouthed awkwardly. "This Queen or Mother person, what happened to her? And where is she now?" Suta asked the crow sternly.

"Hm? You don't know? He doesn't know?" the crow questioned.

"No, he mustn't know," the lion spoke.

"Should probably know, though, no?"

The lion shrugged again, unsure what to say next.

"Perhaps they were never told?" Said the Lion

"Should've been told; we were told, no?"

"But we are our mother's most loyal. Even Panda wasn't told?"

"Ah, of course, but aren't they... lineage of Dawn?"

"Hmm, should be. They smell like them, but... only those born during the dawn should know, no?"

"Yes, yes, yes, that's right. So, who are they if they were not born in dawn? W-wait! We weren't born in dawn. So why do we know?"

The crow kept silent, rubbing its feathers against the underside of its beak in deep thought.

"That's a good point. Wait, wasn't it because we're mother's favorites?" it finally said

"I don't know? Am I supposed to know?"

"Sigh ... who... knows..." The Crow sighed in defeat.

Suta stood there, struggling to contain his frustration. He wanted to unleash a torrent of curses at the duo, but he held his tongue.

'Could this day get any worse? Now there are two of them!'

He sighed internally, massaging his temple.

He could feel Demoria's sharp gaze boring into the side of his head.

Remembering their earlier conversation, Suta tried extra hard not to voice his true thoughts in that moment.

"Listen... I must have forgotten," He said in a lighthearted voice, feigning innocence.

"We've been away for so long, our memories are all muddled up, you see."

The duo raised their eyebrows as if suddenly everything made perfect sense.

"Ah, of course! How did I not realize it before?" the crow exclaimed.

"The mystics must have gotten to them."

"Ara! Yes, yes, the mystics... Remind me, who are the mystics again?" the lion asked, finding the nearest seat and crossing one leg over the other. He peered inquisitively into the raven's beady eyes.

"You buffoon! The mystics are our enemies!" the raven squawked.

"Oh, they are? Hmm, like the Deceptors?"

"Indeed! Considering our mother hated them both, I should think so!"

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"Ah yes, whoever mother hates, we too must hate. Mystics hm... Mother killed all of them no? B-b-but Well done, Lord Peltos!"

"No, well done to you, Ser Mynx A lot! You are the greatest ward, bringing the lineage of dawn all the way out here."

"Ara! I was merely lucky. You, Lord Peltos, are the greatest watcher and foreseer of all things righteous!"

Suta could feel a headache coming on as he witnessed these two babbling in circles. A simple question had turned into an entire routine. And now he was beginning to realize that any conversation with this pair would likely follow the same pattern.

After heaving out a mouthful of air to release his tension, Suta straightened his posture. This time, he focused his attention solely on the raven.

Suta stared intently at the crow, determined to get a straight answer.

"Hey, that woman in the picture over there. Your mother, is she dead or not?"

"H-hey Suta, don't be so rude!" Demoria chided.

"Tsk! We're getting nowhere with these two. Just trust me on this," Suta insisted, turning back to the crow.

"Hey! Crow, I just need a yes or a no. Is that lady in the picture dead or not?"

The crow studied Suta in silence for a moment. Suta made sure his gesture towards the painting was clear.

"D-dead, you say? I... Well... I shouldn't think so... you know," the crow stammered.

'Damn it, not this again,' Suta tried desperately to hide his frustrations, but the more he heard these idiots talking. The worse he was feeling.

"We just need to know what happened to her. It's important for us to understand," Suta pressed on, putting on his best sympathetic smile. A rare thought suddenly stirred through his mind.

"You see, w-we miss our mother so dearly. So why don't you tell us then, oh great wanderer, the most loyal and radiant one? Why shouldn't you think the great mother has died?"

The crow's beady eyes glazed over with sympathy.

"Of course, of course. Where are my manners? Ahem, children of dawn! It brings me no great pleasure to inform you that our benevolent mother... is lost to this world."

The lion dramatically pretended to faint, falling against the backrest of his chair. Ignoring their theatrics, Suta focused on the bits of information filtering through the madness.

"If she's gone, but not quite dead... where could she be?" He asked the crow uneasily

"Sniff-sniff, well... it was over 10 eclipses ago... sniff -when our first Lord suddenly left her at the altar..."

"What a terrible morning that was, her beloved suddenly leaving her like that."

"Our great first Lord. Such a terrible ordeal. In the midst of his sudden departure, our mother lost the will to live... and so she... and so she..."

"Yes, go on. What did she do?" Suta insisted, growing impatient.

"Sniff - sniff ... She... She killed... she killed herself! Waaaah!" The lion's cries filled the entire hall.

"Oh no, dear-dear kitty, it's alright," Demoria comforted the lion before turning to Suta with a glare cold enough to freeze time.

"Why are you making them retell sad stories? Look, it's making them sad."

Suta could hardly believe what he was seeing. 'Is she really putting on an act or actually siding with these two idiots?' He exhaled heavily, trying to push away the lingering thoughts.

"Well, it's somewhat neither here nor there," the crow continued.

"Whilst it is undeniably true that we all bore witness to the tragedy, that was our benevolent mother's last act of defiance against the tyrannical embrace of love. Well..."

"Yes-yes, go on..."

"Ahem, well, I don't ever venture beyond these walls enough to confirm. But there is a profound truth regarding matters of life and death on this lovely land called Candy. Ahem- you see, our beloved mother loved us so very much that she managed to accomplish something she herself called 'world-defying."

"Ara! Lord Peltos, you remember- you remembered!"

The raven nodded joyously

"Ahem! And that is... well, let's see if I remember it right. Ser Mynx a lot, did you remember what our mother's world-defying declaration was?"

"Hm, who me? I thought you knew, Lord Peltos?"

"I did, well... I seem to have forgotten."

"How can that be? You brought it up, no?"

"Did I? Hmm, can't seem to recall."

Suta had grown tired beyond measure and was quite frankly cursing himself for even bothering. He pinched the bridge of his nose, heaving a few short, quick breaths to relax.

"Idiots... I'm surrounded by idiots," he muttered under his breath.

Just as he was about to walk away, the crow suddenly raised a single wing.

"Ah, I've got it! I remember friend. Isn't that delightful? Well, ahem... where was I? Oh yes, the greatest miracle our dear mother had performed was death! Aha, that's what it was. It was death!"

Suta heard the bird clearly but wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that. 'Death?' he questioned in his mind.

"What about death?"

"Well, ahem, you see... our great mother made it so that none of the inhabitants of Candy... can actually die."