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Meeting in Broken Dreams

Narration: After the talk with lady la Silverstar...

After days in the wilderness of Whiteshield, dodging patrols, fighting the pursuers...

Another night, and dreams come...

Strangely, this time. As their dreams begin to feel... more and more fake. More and more... until they suddenly see something, beyond their dreams... a place. A palace of crystal in the snow, floating high above the world, silver bridges to each of their dreamscapes. The more they look at it, the more they feel it is a lucid dreaming... and the silver glitters... beckoning...

Then they're inside the palace, at the pinnacle, in a room open to the winds of the dreamscape. No snowflakes drift through the openings where glass would be, the wind is lessened.

Inside, and not inside. A voice beckons them from the table at the center of the room, summons them to council. Declares urgency. It sounds through all their dreams, gives them the choice to accept, or refuse.

Cael: Cael leaves behind pleasant dreams, two women of white, both beautiful, both deadly ... one from a time before the fall, one much more recent occurance.

The the palace starts to appear, the imagines of white skin fading away...

Well, what have we here? Cael wonders to himself as he makes his way along the silver bridges, looking curiously at the magic surrounding him, before he checks his appearance, spotless as usual, and steps into the meeting hall.

Alexander: Drip.

Drip.
Drip.
Dripdripdripdripdrip

Blood. So much blood, as always. Splattered on his face, up to his knees.

But that is not even the worst. The screams are. If they would just stop screaming... pleading... calling for him... reminding him how much he failed... how much they hurt... how much they expected more... always screaming... like lost souls...

This was not fair. He had sent their souls to heaven! They had gone to heaven... they shouldn't.... they shouldn't... they just shouldn't do this! They should be at peace... not screaming... not dripping.

And of course, there's the laugh.

At least, the Disciple did not laugh.

The Vestal, her laugh when she had Fiona pinned beneath her, heel on the poor girl's face.... she laughed. And Alexander just couldn't stop hearing it. Every night. The laugh. The screams.

He wanted to kill the woman. But that... cold shadow, was always on his way. So pale a shadow. Telling him to shut up. To hold it down. To go along. Chakling him with red ice and guiding him, while freezing him... freezing his outside, and making it go on the inside..

On a normal day, the Pale Shadow would take him to Red Ice, and he would not recognize the cold husk she had made him into then. But this was not a normal day. As something called for the prince.

And so he stepped out of his dreams, the screams and the laugh behind him, the Pale Shadow's gaze freezing him, chest covered in cold, clothes splattered with blood, the prince walked through the silver bridge, and towards the summonings....

Vorpal: The sword is back again.

She still does not remember what it is called, but there it is nonetheless, stuck into the ice in front of her, a spiderweb of hair-thin cracks spreading out from where the frozen blade penetrates the surface of frozen water.

She does not feel the cold of the snowstorm raging around her as she stares at the sword, nor does she care about the vastness of the white plains spreading out all around her. It feels... only fitting in such a place, and it is not before the storm suddenly subsides that she looks up from the ancient weapon.

"Hmh", she finally says as the white veil of falling snow slides aside to reveal the crystal palace. Hearing the call, she hurls the hem of her pure white fur cloak over her shoulder and begins to trudge up the hillside.

Samea: She is waiting there. A woman of young to middling age, face weathered by exposure to the north, long black windswept hair flowing behind her. Clad in the simple garb of her tribe, she beckons them with nothing but a look. Some might know her, who listen to the right rumors: Samea, Chosen of the Sun, one who was instrumental in the decimation of the Tepet legions. By her sits a man, perhaps more famous than she. Yurgen Kaneko, if appearance is to be believed.

If this is not a some contrivance of their enemies, that is. The woman speaks, as two others appear in the chamber on the sides, addressing them all in Skytongue. "A blight stalks all of our lands -- you have been invited here that we may discuss its removal."

Yurgen:Yurgen watches for their reaction, managing to radiate a quiet, ineffable strength despite his lack of height, or thick armor, or the other accoutrements of power.

Selina de Windia: She moves into the chamber, clad in the accoutrements of power, like the Bull of the North is not. A rich silken gown, the silvery crown of her House on her head, padded by her pale blonde hair. Her sword at her side, but seemingly in a more proud fashion -- 'I was meant to wear this'. And looking somewhat distracted, embarassed, as if she'd hastily stepped out of another dream.

Then she catches sight of the one opposite to her, and the gown and other trappings of duchess-hood disappear with a gasp, replaced by her more famous attire.

Alexander: "Yes... yes, it does. And who are you who have called us here?"

The prince asks, regal even in blood-stained, ice-wet clothes. And then, he sees the Dark Angel. "Aine! It is you! Is... is it really you?"

Valencia Silverstar: She comes in as well, dressed for battle, and with a single, bloody black-feathered wing in her mouth, torn by the base from an unseen person. Her steel-grey eyes look across the table, at Selina, colder than ice, then to the rest of them. Her attire changes back to the slender gown she'd worn when Alexander, Cael, and Vorpal first beheld her. "Oh?"

Vorpal: Vorpal's bare feet pat softly against the cold crystal floor as she enters the chamber through her own archway. The voluminous cloak is the only garment she wears, white hair spreading along the folds of white fur. There is something... different in the way she moves, an entirely higher degree of regality that even the Pale Angel of the real world does not possess. If the sudden arrival of other people in the chamber startles her, she does not show it.

"You are disturbing me", she responds in Skytongue evenly, and there is a distinct, old-fashioned accent in her voice. "Talk, and then be gone."

Cael: Cael looks about him carefuly as he sees the room and it's occupants take shape. A group of people that was both surprising and not. His attire, unlike most of the rest of the room it seems, is his usual day to day attire, and feels no need to change it for the meeting.

What dreams have you been having Alex?

He saw no point in adding question of his own, wating for them to answer the questions posed by Alex and others.

Yurgen: "I am the Bull of the North. If you did not know my name, you would not be here to discuss alliance."

Samea: "Against the Bishop." Samea adds, indicating them to sit if they wish, with a nod. "He threatens us all."

Alexander: "...Oh." Alexander's fists tighten for a moment, looking at the man his parents were so afraid of. The one Whiteshield was so afraid would break their civilization, making it into dust in the wind...

And when he speaks, it is unlike anything Selina has heard from him - with a dry confidence he has never shown before in front of the Dark Angel. "I always thought you were taller."

Yurgen: Yurgen smiles, having heard this before. "I do not need to be so tall when I am standing on the neck of my enemy."

Valencia Silverstar: "Indeed he does." The Lunar replies, showing no irritation at being called away from her dream. She takes a seat easily, eyes still on Selina, then they flicker to Samea and the Bull. "And you have a very tempting offer to make us."

Selina de Windia: She seats herself, uneasy, never taking her eyes off of the Lunar. Wary, not sure whether the woman can kill her in this place or not. She saw the wing the Lunar spit out of her mouth, saw it vanishing. Finally, she looks to the Bull.

"I have no army...why call me?"

Alexander: Alexander smiles... "Yes. Yes, I suppose."

His smile is still not one of trust... after all, Yurgen was against so much in what he believes in...

And isn't the Dark Angel? And the Pale Angel?

The realization eases him, and makes him shake his head, taking some of the blood off. "I think I am just too sleepy, though. I forgot my manners wholly, and for that, I am sorry." He says as he sits down, "I am honored to meet such renowed and powerful figures of the North. Yurgen Kaneko, and you are... Samea, right? The Icewalker sorceress. I am Alexander Holysword... though I am certain you know this already. I pray you will excuse my manners."

Yurgen: "I was under the impression you were an army, if a small one. That said, the day will not be won on force of arms alone." He waves a dismissive hand at the mention of manners, far more intent upon closing the deal than any worries over flowered phrases and honeyed words.

Cael: Cael studies the man and the woman before him with renewed interest now that he can place them in his map of the world as he takes a seat at the table, easily settling into the chair.

So this is the Bull of the North? Interesting...

His face is neutral as he considers the offer, as it stood right now ...

Selina de Windia: What exactly does he know about me? She wonders, looking at the Solar and his circle-mate now.

"Let's hear the deal, then."

Yurgen: "I believe that the Bishop is not prepared to fight a war on two fronts. My offer is to work together for the short duration of his stay, and trap him between my forces and Windia. The matter of Whiteshield is debatable."

Samea: "His front with us isn't guarded much more than is strictly necessary. You are what he wants, not us." The Zenith's demeanor doesn't change as she says this. "We come after."

Vorpal: Vorpal does not speak. Regal and aloof, she chooses to stand clearly apart from the others. The furs are wrapped around her form loosely enough to leave her shoulders bare, but she does not seem to shiver even in the chill of the crystal palace. Staring absently out of the doorway through which she entered, she seems to be lost in a world of her own...

At one point, however, her gaze does stray away from the entrance. Once, it halts on the divinely beautiful face of Alex Holysword, and her lips twitch slightly. Next, her eyes move over to Selina de Windia and again she lingers, trailing idly along the arches and curves that draw the night-black leotard taut.

And finally, her gaze glides to Cael, and here she pauses the longest. The shadow of a smile vanishes from her lips and she exhales deeply, slowly, her eyes drinking in that elegant appearance...

"The winter of the North is cold and long", she finally says, her words smooth and even. After one last moment with Cael, she slowly turns her head - and her attention - over to the table and the two barbarian Chosen. "The warrior unfit to provide for his people is left out to the frozen fields to die. Your tribes are proud and strong, barbarians. But there is much death up in the North, and it is against this foe you are about to march. So I will ask you this: are you prepared to fight your own ancestors before this season is done?"

Yurgen: "Yes. You ask the question as if this was a new and terrible thing. We have always fought, against every foe that raises itself against us. We have fought, and we are still here. This winter will be no different."

Alexander: "Debatable? You do not say my country is debatable, you...!" Alex says, taking a step foward, eyes blazing... and then, restraining himself. That was the Bull of the North. A Solar much mightier than himself. Much more experienced. One who was offering help... a help he could just not deny. He had to dance with the monster if need be...

His newfound confidence did not stretch that far!

And yet...

"Let us not mince words, though. You know you do not want the Undead on your back, if you are looking at the Realm. The Lover was bad enough for all of us."

"Do not try to mantain any hold on it after we win."

Samea: "They overstep their place in the rightful order." Samea replies grimly. "Their blasphemy against the living cannot stand. If they cannot even keep to their enclaves, they must be wiped out, to the last corpse and ghost."

Valencia Silverstar: "Yes," The elder Lunar chooses this moment to cut in. "I would prefer Whiteshield maintains her sovereignty. Little good will come from an unsightly scramble for the spoils, if we triumph over this enemy."

Yurgen: "Then we shall leave it to you to hold it as bastion against the Bishop. There are other fights for us." He watches Alexander, the immovable object waiting to be tested. "To be brutally honest, Whiteshield is of secondary importance here. It will one day rest under my guiding hand, whether now or when the World is mine. The Bishop is what matters."

Cael: Cael lets no emotion cross his face as Vorpal's gaze falls on him ... unused to the expression with which she is looking at him, though he's not going to let that show. He does let a slight amount of interest fill his eyes just before she looks away however...

He listens to the exchange over Windia and Whiteshield.

"Well, let us talk about the Bishop then." Cael says in a way that suggests the issue of Whiteshield is solved for the moment, as it appears further discussion on the subject ... just would not help matters. He shoots Alex a cautioning glance.

"What can you contribute to draw the Bishop's forces off then? And how soon can they get there ... this whole war seems to be moving very fast...."

Vorpal: "Like a snowy hail", Vorpal adds, "and it kills just as surely."

Alexander: Alexander seems ready to reply to Yurgen's words on the World being His'... but then stops at Cael's glance, turning his blood-stained angelical face away grudgingly.

Yurgen: "Within days, easily. We are not known to be lacking in sorcery. We have the great hordes of the north to offer, bolstered by chosen of sun, moon, and dragons, carrying items of power taken from my other conquests, and soon enough from this one."

Valencia Silverstar: If she thinks anything about the Bull's eventual claim over the world, she says nothing, and shows nothing of those thoughts. Other Chosen had said the same to her in the past.

"Excellent." Her tone is as neutral as ever. "How far into Whiteshield do you plan to carry this attack, or is it simply a spoiling maneuver to distract them from us?"

Yurgen: "As far as it will go. I expect you to hold up your end of the fight just as well."

Alexander: "I will ask you the same I did Valencia, though."

He looks at Samea, he asks of Samea. Yurgen, he knew now... thought himself won already. And would not put any weight to it...

"Please, try to spare the populace and the landscape when you can... they will try to use it to slow and simply as fodder to destroy you more easily... but..."

He did not know if what he said next was true or not, especially in lower scales. But he said the first thing that came to mind, "... if you help them in the wholesale destruction and carnage, you will be helping them along their goal. Bringing darkness and the underworld closer to Creation..."

Selina de Windia: She blanches for a moment, at the Pale Angel's look. Why now? What kind of fool did she take her for? And exchanging looks with the Deceiver? He'd cut into her dance, had he? Then her angry words to the Lover come back to her:

"And the Pale Angel is a tease. I have decided that I have no time for her games any longer."

Selina seethes inwardly, then speaks in a less agitated tone. "You will help them immeasurably if people die en masse."

But flaunt that to me...

At a distance, no less.

Vorpal: It is difficult to say whether Vorpal is actually listening to the conversation. After an approving nod at the response to her question, the albino has returned to stare out of the doorway, again lost into her own thought. Her lips move soundlessly, mouthing two words: Still... unattuned.

And suddenly she turns, the hem of the fur cloak whisking over crystal floor. She struts across the chamber, heading directly towards the Dark Angel, not sparing the others - not even Cael - so much as a single glance. There is an odd glow in her eyes as she seeks out the aquamarine stare.

She leans in close, her lips almost brushing the taller woman's cheek. "I want you to kill someone", she whispers, and her words are like ice that has been heated up from the inside.

Cael: Cael watches the emotions build within the Dark Angel ... all that jealousy ...

Watches the pale angel stalk across to her ...

Waits for the reaction to whatever it was she said ...

Wonders whatever possessed Vorpal to chose this moment to say it.

Valencia Silverstar: "That should not be a problem." Valencia replies firmly, looking at the deathknights, then back to Alex, then the Bull. "They doubtless do not have the strength to oppose us both at once."

Steel grey eyes flicker back to the two deathknights. Disturbing how the girl had grown, really. She had to be kept out of Windia.

Alexander: Alexander blinks. First, the Dark Angel's words in his aid, and then... that.

Alex looked at the Pale Angel go... and tries to understand just what was going on.

Selina de Windia: "Is this the time for such things?" The Dark Angel replies as calmly as she is able, suppressing the rest. But her words are still not entirely free of cold, not for a longshot. Not even looking at the other deathknight -- looking at the rest of them. They were regarding her, weren't they? All of them. It was embarassing. "I was highly paid to partake of this mess. You don't have that. Fob off your chores to someone else. I am not your dog."

Vorpal: Vorpal... chuckles at the assassin's reply, not in the least rebuked by the cold shoulder she receives. "And you, silly child, forget the terms of your highly paid deal." She slips past the Windian, ducking under the black wing, her fingers trailing along the leotard's smooth surface. "I speak with the voice of your employer. This is one of her commands. You are not my dog, but you are hers."

Now standing between the Windian's wings, she cranes her neck slightly, to nibble at the tuft of the pale-blonde hair. "I wouldn't mind having you as one of mine, though..."

Selina de Windia: "Till the day I throw her jade talents back at her." Selina hisses malevolently, pupils beginning to slit. "And rip her voice from her throat on the way out."

Yurgen: Yurgen watches, slightly amused by this. If they are this divided, they won't last long at all, if they manage to hold off the bishop.

Samea: She looked to those two. This was not what she'd gone through all that trouble to collect them for. "We are here to discuss alliance."

Of course, if the deathknights fought, it would be easier to deal with them later, should they have to be dealt with.

Vorpal: "Fine by me", she purrs silkenly, and it is as if the very sound of her voice pushes all the other Chosen arrayed around the table into a great distance.

Languidly do her milky fingers snake forth, pushing through the luxurious coils of the Dark Angel's hair, briefly massaging the muscles of her shoulders. "I think you'll enjoy this request of mine, though."

She reaches out, stretching her white arms, slowly encircling them around Selina's neck. "The General of Blood and Fire", she breathes into the Dark Angel's ear, and despite her low tones, her voice is sultry enough to melt iron. "Once Raegar Mailan, a war commander almost on par with her... me. The Dusk Caste of the Circle of Chalcedony Legion."

Alexander: "Yes..."

The scene made the prince remember... exactly how old he was, seeing the two women together like that. His two dark jailors, the ones who pushed him on those crushingly despairing days...

"... Yes, we should." He turns to Samea as Vorpal finishes, "We will be making a raid on Windia in five or so days from now - as soon as Replendent Air starts, pretty much. If you can be there any time from then on, then their fight on your front shall give us a breather."

Selina de Windia: "I would probably have killed him anyway." Selina replies, flushing with shame. How dare she make light of her! In front of all of these people!

"Are you quite done?"

Cael: Cael stops his idle regard of the two abyssal's antics, now paying more attention to the rest of the table ... though he still catches the Dark Angel's flush.

"Yes, alliance is what we are here to discuss. Perhpas Valencia or the Pale Angel could tell a little more of our plans, so that your own actions will be cause the greates detriment to the Bishop's forces."

Vorpal: "Nope", she replies, quite sweetly. She hugs the Windian, pressing her strong body against the assassin's. "There are others."

She pauses at the sound of Cael's voice. She looks up, and briefly the mien of the seducter succubus is replaced by irritation. She pouts ike a spoiled child who has been interrupted from playing with her favorite toy. "Oh, let the little silver bird talk", she states and whisks her fingers in a shooing gesture. "I care not for politics, and the little raven has no army to call her own. Do talk about your alliance - we can hear you just fine here. We, however", and although she does not bother to lift her nose in the bratty-princess fashion as she says it, something in her tone manages to get the impression across, "have something else to discuss."

Valencia Silverstar: Her sharp eyes caught it all, even though she is not looking at the two deathknights. It fell to her to handle the matters of this alliance, then? Not a problem.

"For now, all I can say is that the more of their forces you can tie up, the better. We intend to catch and destroy as many of their elites as possible on the drive southward, the mere walking dead are chaff."

Yurgen: "Noted." It is good to have the very embodiment of why you will win standing before you. "We will be there at the appointed time."

Selina de Windia: "This was not my idea, be assured of that." Selina growls to the rest of the table, pulling away from the other woman. "She never liked me till now. Excuse this indiscretion."

Vorpal: Vorpal, unfortunately, is not quite as easily pushed away. She lets go of the Dark Angel for now, but follows after the Windian as she moves away. "Oh, let it all out", she says with a wicked smile, loudly enough for everyone in the room hear. "Who cares about the Malfeans? We are Angels of the night, after all... and we shall live forever."

She pauses, letting it sink in, letting her words awaken the memory she knows to be buried into Selina's mind. "That's what you told me back in the Hourglass inn, isn't it? Don't tell me you've been lying all along."

Cael: Cael passes no comment on Selina and Vorpals behavior ... not sure who was worse of the two. Not sure at all ...

His eyes once more catch Alex's, offering him reassurance, drawing him away from the bickering Angels.

"So, we are agreed then. You and your ice walkers will come up from the south to engage the Bishops forces, withdrawing later, once this current threat from the Bishop is dealt with. We will act from the north against the Bishop, with our own forces, and together we will end this attempt to bring the darkness."

"Can all of us here agree on this?" he states simply, his intent clear.

Valencia Silverstar: "Mhmm. Or from the southeast, as it may happen." Valencia replies, sighing inwardly at the two deathknights. "But that is a fair summnation of the plan."

Alexander: He begun to feel as he did before...

Selina. Vorpal. Valencia. Yurgen.

The angels. They were there to destroy for their mistress. He was just a prize. A prize to be handed to her when they give Whiteshield to her on a silver platter... he had come to trust them. He had worried for Selina's safety, he had been opened himself to Vorpal so... desired her so... and Valencia... she was... she was to be... he felt almost as attracted to her as he even did the angels. He could feel his eyes running through her form if he only let his mind wander... and yet, this was not quite him. Not quite... and she, she was just there for the thrill. To protect Windia. And Yurgen...

He was a beggar there. He had nothing but the clothing covering his body and the blade that was not on his hand for him to touch for assurance now. It made him feel hollow, not to have the only thing that gave him a reminder of his station, of his parents, of his country...

He had nothing. Nothing but the screams, the laugh and the blood waiting for him as soon as the conference was over.

Holding his somewhat neutral face in place by sheer force of will, the lines in it showing for those who can see how strained it is, he tried to keep his mind where it should be, as he tries to clean the blood stain on his face...

... and something within his mind witheld the same comment as Yurgen... as another part yelled to him how unfair he was being at the Angels. All the good comments and moments hit him in defiance of his current mindset...

'You are the king of Whiteshield now, boy! Act like one!'
'.. no, I suppose I should call you a man now.'
'Welcome to the rank of warlords!'

It hammered him with all that, to remind him to be objective... but, amidst the breaking Circle, after his nightmare, in front of Yurgen's smiling face, he just could… not.

He looked at Cael then, and nodded, mostly absently, "Yes, that is pretty much it..."

Yurgen: "Then it is settled. You may all return to your homes, or temples, or massage parlors, wherever it is you belong, and wait for us to handle things."

Selina de Windia: "Say that when we meet in the flesh, you coward." Selina demures, turning to face her, expression stone-faced. "Go tease them in the meantime." Her nod indicates the rest of their party.

And she dared to tell me not to step quick with Moon?

"You had your chance with me, and spit in my face."

Then she looks past Vorpal, to Yurgen. "Do not forget, Bull of the North, that we are showing ourselves overmuch in this war. Our necks are bare for the butcher if we don't watch out. All of us."

Yurgen: He smiles. "My head will remain on my shoulders. Look to your own. I think someone else has already claimed that pretty neck of yours. No doubt they will be disappointed if the butcher gets it after all."

Alexander: And they were arguing again. It was a wonder Valencia had not stepped in already...

"... and butchered we will be if we make a false step. And you too, Yurgen Kaneko. I have seen chosen of the Sun fall to the Vestal of the Livid Lamasery. I have seen the prowess of the Disciple of Ivory Blossoms. I have heard of Raegar. And I have seen the Dead Hand. If you underestimate them, you fall, like Whiteshield did. We all do!"

Vorpal: "Who's the coward here?" Vorpal chuckles. With a tiny, disappointed sigh, she turns away from the Dark Angel. She adjusts the fur cloak a little around her form and struts around the table, towards the gateway through which she had first entered the palace.

As she passes Valencia's seat, the Pale Angel states without looking at the silver bird: "She is a petty liar and a trembling coward at the heart, as you can see. A chicken dipped in a can of tar, pretending to be strong. Your precious Windia is quite safe from her, I think."

Alexander: Alexander grits his teeth at the display.

They were shaming themselves...

Shaming him, as well. Such dischord... no doubt they looked ripe for Yurgen. No doubt...

Infuriated, he walks up to Samea, very close indeed... "Do we need to leave this place for you to go and the spell to end? Or can it remain after you leave?"

Valencia Silverstar: "That is why," The Lunar says in a measured tone, replying to Selina and Yurgen both. "We will remain vigilant. It is not hard to do."

She could have said something about the deathknights, but exchanges like this gave her a better chance to gauge the Dark Angel. What she was, who she was. Yurgen could smile about it if he liked, so long as he held his part of the bargain.

Samea: "It will stay for another night, then I will have to cast it again." Replies Samea, looking to Alex with some measure of irritation. This kind of behavior did not belong here -- it obscured the purpose for which they met. "I'll probably do so when required."

Alexander: "Good. Now, I believe you have told us what you had to... I imagine you should be the ones to leave." He darts a gaze at the Bull, "We have not been together with the Dark Angel in quite some time. I believe we have some things to talk about... if you will be so kind to allow us."

Yurgen: "I am most generous to my future subjects."

Yurgen stands, and simply leaves without a backwards glance.

Samea: Samea shakes her head at the unfortunate incident, then gets to her feet. "You have my pardon if that's what you wish, Dark Angel. Try and see that it doesn't happen again."

Then she vanishes as well.

Vorpal: Vorpal leaves without a backwards glance as well. The seductive aura has vanished from around her, wiped away from the way of the same, alien regality that had suffused her in the beginning of this meeting. She strides right through the gateway and down the frozen hillside where wind and ice blow, towards the blade she left there...

Alexander: Alexander jumps in one flutter of his wings, his feathers falling around the room, holding the Pale Angel's hand with an unshaken will.

"You stay."

Selina de Windia: "Bloody teasing bitch." Selina spits, murder in her eyes. She walks to one side of the room, tempted to leave through one of the openings despite what the boy said. Not even looking at Valencia. If the older woman's dislike was replaced with amusement, it would be much worse. She didn't want to know.

Cael: Cael watches the pair of Barbarians depart, wondering how much of the bargain they'll keep, wondering how much help they'll be.

He watches the antics of the angels and gives his head a little shake.

"If the pair of you have quite finished airing your dirty Laundry in front of our powerful , and I am sure only temporary, allies..."

Selina de Windia: "Oh really, Windwraith?" Selina looks at him, disgusted as well as humiliated and angry now. "I prompted this? Tell me what I did to prompt this."

Cael: "I am not saying you prompted it, Dark Angel." He regards her unphased by her anger. "I am saying that between you, and it did take both you, you managed to show up yourselves, and by connection us to the Bull of the North and his companion." His voice is very level, very calm.

"It would be better for all of us, I think, if this did not happen again."

Vorpal: "Teasing bitch?" Vorpal echoes just as she is about to step through the gateway. Turning back, she looks over Alex's determined mien and at Selina. "I meant every word, darling. You just were too scared. Too scared of the silver bird, too scared of the barbarians, too damn scared of yourself! If you are so almighty as you pretend to be, o chicken of tar, then why in the name of Unconquered Sun are you so terrified of what others might think about you?"

Bending a little, she then gives Alex a kind smile and pats his hand where he is holding hers. "I'm all right now."

Valencia Silverstar: "Do they always fight thus? I have to sympathise with you, Alexander." Valencia ventures flatly, still leaning back in her chair. "This can get tiring."

She looks to the other Windian. "You know, girl, this is even less flattering to you than that legend you've managed to build around yourself. Do you really think I want someone of your ilk ruling Windia, whispering into the royal family's ear?" She puts up a hand, as if to mean 'please'. "You can't even rule yourself. Did the lessons your parents taught you about governance leak out of your skull the day you made the blood leak out of their bodies?"

Alexander: "Yes." The Prince sighs. "And they did so for the whole week in which we traveled to Windia. It is her doing, right? Now, I just have to ask, is this her orders?!?"

"Did she ask you to shame us so today?"

"Or did she just put you together knowing you would bring this out? The Bull is probably sure we will pose no threat to him, divided like this - and we will not!"

He turns fiery eyes to them, to all of them... "We were together once! We were together once! And if we are not... then he will pick us up. Easy as that."

Selina de Windia: "You recoiled from me before, Pale Angel. And said in no uncertain terms that you didn't want anything to do with me in that regard. Fine then." Selina replies acidly, ignoring Valencia for once. "But I don't appreciate being toyed with. The Lover gets her money back, and no Prince of Whiteshield. She can fuck the talents if that is her desire."

Alexander: "If you leave, we might very well be dead here, if we invade without our trump behind the enemy lines."

She had seen her fight. Was with her that they saved the Pale Angel.... he saw her go through a monster that had resited the strongest blows from her Pale counterpart.

He looked at Valencia with anger for a moment, "Regardless of what the Silver Bird said, do not leave Windia to die!"

Vorpal: "Then let him think we're not together", the Ghost-Blooded shrugs, her gaze shifting for a moment over to Cael before returning back to Alex. "That makes him unwary, and you can pick him up while he bungles blindly forth."

Sobering up, she fixes the prince with a more intent gaze. "Don't ever underestimate what one can do alone, though. I was alone when I was sent out to the frozen fortress. I was alone when I crossed the snowy wasted, and yes, I was alone when I fought the Dragon of Air. I alone brought in a trophy from that battle. I alone used it ever since as a weapon."

Alexander: "He does not have to think it."

"We are not!"

The Prince says, walking to the room, going over to the Dark Angel, holding her hands, whispering,

"Stay with us. Do not leave."

And then, he walks towards the exit, towards the blood and the screams.

"If we are not together, we might as well kill ourselves now. Because they will kill us one by one then."

"Again."

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