"Stand tall, the last rule to remember is that you must never show weakness in front of this creature. It will tell any lie, use any opportunity. While near it, all actions will be a contest of will. Do not allow it to win."

"I must voice my objection to this plan, father," Soret said. He stood tall, perhaps hoping that his physical stature might intimidate his father into reconsidering. "Ignore the Karanans, or let me go in their stead. Surely anything is better than risking your daughter with this monster."

"Once again, your objections are noted and rejected. Unless you've come up with a new argument, I order you to drop it." Sorda let his impatience slip into his voice. "Now, Princess Adageyudi will take the Noctrel and use every advantage it offers in negotiations with Karana. Do you both understand."

Ada spared a glance over to her elder brother. The worry made him look more like his father than he ever had before. While they shared the same height and blond hair, her brother always had an approachable, happy demeanor. Sensing no help would come from him, she answered for them.

"Yes, Father," Ada nodded, taking a slow breath and preparing herself for the confrontation that was to demonstrate whether she was worthy of her claim to royal blood.

"I don't like the hesitation." He gave both of his children a look, making certain they understood he wouldn't tolerate dissent.

"My apologies." Ada turned her eyes down. "I feel uncomfortable about having a slave."

"Is that so? Come with me." Sorda turned and walked toward one of the castle's side halls.

Contrary to popular fiction, the amount of floor space available in a castle was rather limited, especially a defensive fortress like Castle Tyras. Even in wealthy of nations castles were often more stone than room, and Tyras was a young nation that had not yet amassed the wealth necessary to craft an opulent palace.

This showed in how little time it required for them to reach the room which he had the newest addition to their forces waiting. He opened the door himself, and noted that the creature was leaning back in a chair with his bare feet on the table. It didn't bother to stand.

For his part, Arakash knew this minor act of rebellion would annoy the otherwise untouchable king; nothing in the loyalty clause of his somehow forced 'contract' required he act with respect or decorum. He was, however, starting to regret this defiance, for now he was in a vulnerable stance. While Sorda was a known factor, and the slender purple-haired girl was easy to dismiss as little more than a weak mage, the boy following behind was anything but a simple problem.

The tall fair-haired man shined with magical power. Power which he had trained alongside his body until both were as well-crafted as the magical blade which he wielded. In any fair fight, he knew he'd lose. Fortunately, Noctrel thought of fighting fair as anything other than a weakness to exploit in their enemies. Unfortunately, the man was wound so tight that he might go for the kill with the slightest provocation.

"He doesn't look anything like I expected." Ada thought she muttered it quiet enough to not be overheard, but Noctrel senses were far sharper than human.

What was a surprise to him was how little he could take from that impression; most of the time, Noctrel could sense intent, emotion, and all the numerous flavors of desire that they evoked. Where he was accustomed to reading through most women with impunity, there was emptiness in the girl's aura. Others might have taken it as a lesson in humility, but Arakash found yet another reason to rail against this treatment.

"It," Sorda corrected. "Is a Noctrel, not a 'he'. If you must, its name is Arakash, and it is yours to command. I suggest you start by ordering it to show its true self."

Arakash clenched his teeth, his eyes darting between the three. For now, he would need to bide his time. Once the girl was away from her controlled father and overprotective elder brother, then he could work on acquiring his freedom.

"Understood, father." Ada looked straight at the man she had been told was a demon. "Arakash, I command you to reveal your true form."

He resisted as best he could, for it seemed they expected him to. If nothing else, the two heartbeats between when the words were spoken and the compulsion blossomed in force taught him how long he could fight the magic's compulsion. He didn't see any way it could help him now, but the future was rife with possibility.

Try as he might, however, his body moved without him. Flesh warped, swelled, shifted in shape, color, and even mystical signature as he was forced into his true state.

Ada gasped and steps back a couple feet quickly, before regaining her composure. "I hadn't realized."

"Now, perhaps, you should ask it how many innocent young men and women it's fed upon in its long life. I'm certain the answer will enlighten you to the true nature of this creature."

She drew a breath, staring down the beast which was enslaved to her. "Well, you heard my father. Tell me, how many lives are you responsible for destroying?"

The expression on his inhuman face was unreadable. Yet again, a means to test the nature of the compulsion using an honest, if vague, answer. "I don't know." The pressure eased for a moment, before coming back harder still. The spell demanded more, teaching him that it was basing its definition of a proper answer on her mind. "Do you track every side of lamb or beef you've ever eaten?" The pressure continued building. "I've lived a long time; it must be in the high hundreds by now." He hissed as agony lanced through his skull. "Thousands, no doubt."

So now, he knew that the spell went beyond simple compulsion, and rewarded evasiveness with pain. Better to learn it now than during something important. That technicalities were included in the spell's nature convinced him even further that what guided the spell was tied directly into how he and the princess perceived the situation, rather than some objective Truth magic.

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"You see," Sorda said. "It is unworthy of sympathy."

Ada looked down, unwilling to face either her father, or the creature she now commanded. "Yes, father. I apologize for questioning your wisdom".

Soret, still eyeing the beast whose chest was above his head, could no longer hold his tongue. "I don't. This thing convinced me it's even more dangerous than I imagined, before. It won't let itself be controlled forever. I'm an accomplished knight and it is my duty to protect my sister, not this abomination's!"

"You're heir to the throne of Tiras." Sorda sighed at his son's outburst. "You can't be replaced."

"And my sister can!?" Now, Soret turned away from Arakash, stepped up to his father's face, and gripped his robe. "How can you say that after-"

With speed that surprised everyone, Sorda backhanded his son with enough force to send him sprawling across the room. Arakash in particular was taken aback by this display of power; he had known the king to be a skilled summoner, but he hadn't sensed this level of accomplished warmage in the man. Then he remembered the man was a Blood Mage, no doubt using his blood bond to his daughter to hide from his senses the way she was hidden.

"I tolerate your objections because a good king must be able to hear disagreement, as you will have to learn some day." Sorda straightened out his clothes as he spoke. "But do not dare to presume that makes us equals. And never raise your hand to me again."

Soret rubbed his jaw as he used his magic to heal it until it was sore, rather than broken. "Yes, your majesty."

"Be glad nobody other than family witnessed your childish behavior," Sorda finished. "Now go prepare your sister's guard. The circumstances have somewhat swayed me to your concerns, so you may choose five more you feel suited to join the ones I've already assigned. Make it quick; I will tolerate nothing delaying the departure."

"Thank you, Sire." Still shaking with anger, Soret climbed to his feet and marched for the exit.

"Speaking of delays, I have my own matters to attend to," Sorda said. "I advise you have it take on human form again, before the servants see. It would be best if it waited at the main gates while you ready yourself for the journey." He walked out, not far behind his son.

Ada waited for a moment, still trying to digest how she felt about what had transpired, in addition to now having control over a monster. "You heard my father. What are you waiting for?"

Arakash found the exchange fascinating, especially how he gave commands to his son, but made 'suggestions' to his daughter. He suspected that, too, was related to the nature of his binding magic. As he considered the possibilities, he returned to a human appearance.

"The main gates are through the large doors. You'll find yourself in the inner keep, take the main path through the garden until you come to the gate itself. Tell the guards you're to wait there for me." She hesitated for a moment. "And while on the subject, you're not to speak to anyone of what you saw in this room. Or, for that matter, do anything else that might embarrass me or the family."

"As you command, Princess."

He gathered himself as Ada left, considering all that he had learned. There wouldn't be much chance to play the father against the son, as he'd be gone too soon, but perhaps he could turn the daughter. Without being able to read her emotions, she'd be a challenge, but even humans could manipulate one another, so he felt confident he'd find a way.

He stepped out, and went wandering; the princess hadn't demanded he go without delay, so he could take some time, and the emotions pulsing off that little princeling right now were fascinating.

In a side chamber, a green haired woman looked up into the concerned and gentle eyes of her all-too-handsome prince. "Are you still certain? I mean, after I-"

"Please, Fiora." He put his hands on her shoulders, aware of the effect he had on her, and the fact that this was the closest they could ever be, for her sake. As much as both of them would enjoy the affair, he wasn't willing to use her knowing there could be no future in it. "You are the only one I can trust, and right now Ada needs a friend as well as a guardian."

She fought down her emotions; the ones that wanted to run crying from the room, and the ones that wanted to jump on him and confess all her feelings. Instead, she indulged more self-loathing. "But, I-"

"Hush." His word held no force, but to her it was an absolute command. "I keep telling you that was not your fault. Nobody is perfect, and you weren't the only one she tricked."

"I can't allow myself to believe that." She looked away. "I'm a loyal soldier, I'll do my duty no matter what it requires. But don't demand the impossible of me."

Soret let her go. "I suppose that will be enough for now, but this isn't over."

"I know," Fiora said. Then she stepped away and fled from the room followed not long after by Soret.

Neither noticed Arakash in his temporary illusion as an older servant observing them. Personally, he thought the young lord could do better than some low-class warrior, but he was less interested in the man's tastes than the fact that he was sending the woman with them. While her aura spoke of a well trained and strong warmage, she wasn't a threat to him, and she wasn't shielded from his power.

One more stone to chip away at. Sooner or later, something would give, and he'd use that weakness to free himself and exact his revenge.