The Return[Open/no combat]

Adrastos Thanatos, a blue magician wearing a dark grey sleeveless robe, walked the streets of Reim. In his hand he carried a rather simplistic staff created with twisted black wood and his long, silver hair was combed back into a ponytail to keep his hair from getting in the way of his piercing silver eyes. The sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds and coated with the enchanting and calming hues of twilight. It was during this time that the man noticed a figure draped in a cloak standing in the middle of the street as she gazed upon the capitol building.

The woman was by no means gentle in appearance with her eerie yellow eyes and wild red hair. To many, the red hair was enough to signify the race was that of a Fanalis, but the glances she gave to the Fanalis passing by suggested something else. Adrastos smirked a bit, intrigued by the woman's mysteriousness, and walked up to her.

"Hello, miss. It's a fine day for a stroll or even a little sightseeing of the capitol. You seem to have something on your mind, or is that just my imagination?"

Adrastos chuckled under his breath. "I see. I apologize, milady, for what I'm about to say may offend you. If I judged by your appearance alone, I would have assumed that you were a Fanalis, much like others have, I'm sure. Now that I can better determine your attitude towards them, I see you have a rather deep hatred for their kind. I'm curious as to why that is." This woman was indeed intriguing. To have such a hatred as hers was a first for the young man. Never before had he met anyone who desired the extinction of one race so fervently.

His eyes lowered to look upon the child she carried in her arms. Ahh, such a tiny little creature. So ignorant, so dependent, so innocent, and yet so easy to manipulate, to turn, to break. Adrastos  remembered his own youth, when he had turn against Fate and was no longer pure. It was such a wonderful time since he experienced what he thought was a true sense of freedom. A smile formed upon his lips more apparent than before. "Well, it seems you have a rather charming son. Adorable really. I have always admired children, but never had the desire to have any. What is his name?"

Adrastos cleared his throat and turned his gaze back on the woman's face. "Important matters with a man in the castle? Sounds interesting. I don't mind walking and talking, so I'll accompany you. My name is Neo Mortem by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Of course Neo Mortem was not his real name, but it was a name he gave anyone he did not trust. It was doubtful he would ever find anyone trustworthy enough to give his real name. The last people he told it to died on the Shrouded Isle, so it would not be a hindrance in the future. His true name was still a secret even if it held no meaning in the current time. The life he was building was being constructed by lies and partial truths, and nobody suspected him. More good news if he were to show his true colors later on.

After a few steps of silence, the young man spoke up. "Pardon me for asking, but why do you hate the Fanalis with such a passion?"

Adrastos raised a brow at the woman's story then smirked. No wonder she harbored such hate. She probably kept the scar on her back as a reminder, much like he kept his own scars on his back and shoulders to remind him of what he needed to do in this world. "Well," he began, "that is a very interesting goal. I have never met anyone so determined. Am I to assume you cursed the guiding hand of Fate? Or do you still tread that path of glittering light?"

Adrastos placed one hand in his pocket as he walked, keeping his eyes ahead of him as they neared the castle. "In Heliohapt, I'm sure Fanalis are enslaved, but I have never been there before."

Adrastos smirked to himself. They were almost alike it was rather ominous. Maybe Adrastos would be able to use her in the future; she could be a rather reliable ally that would help him in his cause, even if it wouldn't be a direct link. "I quite enjoyed our talk. For some reason, I have this feeling we are alike in many ways. It feels unfortunate to leave now, so with your permission, Sara, I would like to accompany you further. I've always wanted to go inside the castle anyway. Then, once your business is done, we can get to know each other more later on. Perhaps over some tea or lunch."

Adrastos followed Sara as she walked up to a pair of guards. She spoke to one of them, and Adrastos barely made out any of it. All he heard was that she was here for King Lagi and it was urgent. That was apparently the gist of the introduction since the two guards then conversed among themselves before one left, leaving just him, Sara, and the other guard. "Well, I'm a patient man. I'm in no rush to do or go anywhere."

As they waited, Adrastos felt the orb in his pocket, remembering when Vladmir had given it to him with instructions to go to Kou. It wasn't that long ago, but who knew how long it would be before Adrastos would be able to travel to Kou. The young magician sighed inaudibly and only looked up when he noticed Sara motioning for him to follow, a sign he didn't ignore as he stood and walked beside her.

"I have done nothing wrong to upset anyone in power so there should be no reason that I would be attacked or arrested. I'm just a man accompanying a woman and enjoying a little sightseeing."

The King's Shadow stood in the middle of the throne room speaking with his captains about recent discoveries. The assassin stood there with his arms crossed as he listened to the captains speak. They were debating over who had the best idea for dealing with the rise in slave traders recently. Before Bahir was able to speak, the door of the throne room slowly opened. Bahir and the five captains turned their heads to look at the intruder. It was one of the guards from the front gate. The man approached the huddled Unity Corps officers and bowed. "Colonel Bahir. There are two people asking about the King. Bahir raised one of his eyebrows and the captains chuckled a bit.

"I see. Does she not know that Lagi is in a different country?" The guard stood up and shook his head. [b]"No sir..." Bahir leaned his head down a bit, looking at the guard. The look in his eyes had a message behind them. The message was clear to even the guard: "So what did we do wrong? What did we learn?" Bahir nodded to the man and smiled. "We'll take care of it. Shade, Hunstman. Corners." The two men nodded and made their ways into the darkest corners of the throne room where they would be out of sight of anyone who entered the room. "Gatherer, go with this lovely guard. Let them know that they may enter, but make sure they are put through the procedures." The third captain nodded and walked with the guard out of the throne room. Bahir looked to the remaining two Unity Corps Captains and smiled. "You two will stay at my side as guards. This'll be fun."

---

Gatherer led the guard out to the lobby of the castle. The castle was filled with Reim military guards and also privates of the Unity Corps. Another guard walked with Gatherer and the first guard to meet with the two guests of the castle. "Hello! I'm assuming that you two are the ones wanting an audience with our king. You may enter the throne room, only after you go through our procedure. You must fill out a short form and our guards here will search you for any weapons or threats to our monarch. They will be returned to you, once you have been escorted from the castle. If you do not comply, then I'm sorry, but you may not enter."

If the two agreed with the terms that Lagi set forth for all people requesting an audience with him, then Gatherer would see them through the process and make sure that they entered the room where Bahir would be standing half way from the door to the throne. He would have a welcoming smile on his face and greet them as respectfully as he could. "Hello. You don't look very familiar. Welcome to Reim." He would say until his eyes would land upon: Neo Mortem. A face that he didn't think he would ever see again. Even though Bahir's appearance has changed since the Reim-Kou conflict, Neo seems to look the same. Even though the man was familiar, he made sure that his statement seemed to be directed towards both of them.

If the two declined, the guards would see them out of the castle.

"Fill out a form and go through a search? Sounds easy enough, especially since the only weapon I have is my staff." Adrastos willingly allowed them to search him and confiscate his staff temporarily. Thankfully they didn't take his orb that he received from Vladmir and Vincent since it posed no threat to anyone. Once the dreadful task of searching was over, Adrastos filled out the form, making sure to keep his true identity out of the document. He had to be careful nobody could track him down in the future if he ever were to get on someone's radar and need to use another alias.

With the trivial tasks behind them, Sara and Adrastos were led to the throne room. Just before the entrance, however, stood a Fanalis male, one that Adrastos didn't recognize but felt as if he knew somehow. In the back of his mind, the young magician wondered how Sara would act since she despised Fanalis with a burning passion. She would probably be wise enough to keep her hate concealed, and if she managed that, Adrastos would be more intrigued with her and wonder how she could keep a lid on such hatred.

Sara, much to Adrastos' amazement, kept her cool pretty well, and even allowed him to learn something else about the woman. She was King Lagi's personal body guard. Whatever her reason for returning and begging an audience with either King Lagi or the King's father must have been rather important. She would have no quarrel with the man before them. What was the significance? Adrastos' eyes shifted to the child that was covered. A personal guard who left and came back only to disclose a sensitive topic to only one of two people: King Lagi or King Lagi's father. Adrastos would have laughed aloud if not for who was around him. Luckily he had enough control and restrained himself from such a rude behavior. True, he had never seen the child fully, but if what he was thinking was correct, then this had gotten a whole lot interesting.

Bahir stood there for a moment as the woman spoke. His smile fading as he was almost instantly dismissed in her mind. The fanalis's face was blank for a moment and he closed his eyes. They were opened once more as the woman finished speaking. She demanded an audience with the King, but would not let any of the palace officials know as to what matter? She didn't seem very good at this whole process. He could feel his temper rising, but his Captains were constant reminders for him to keep his cool. That he was there are the temporary head of the Unity Corps and Lagi's representative.

His crimson eyes bore into the woman as she finished speaking. He looked her over, memorizing her features. The fanalis inhaled deeply for a moment and exhales slowly. "I see. Emperor Lagi is currently unable to see any visitors at the moment and as such has set me in charge in dealing with all matters pertaining to him and reporting them back to him. Councilmember Roark is neither availabe for private meetings during this time. I, being Lagi's eyes and ears, will gladly deliver a message to either of the two men for you." The fanalis's attention slowly went from the woman and the wrapped up bundle she was clutching onto and made its way to the magician next to her."Do you have any business for Emperor Lagi as well?"

Adrastos pondered over the question that the Fanalis had asked. In reality, he had no real business with the King himself and therefor had no reason to be in the castle. The fact that Sara had a desire to annihilate all the Fanalis was simply that and would not become a threat until later in the future. It could play into his cards if she ever were to follow him or become an obstacle he would need eliminated. Adrastos placed his hands in his pockets. "I was merely escorting the lady to her destination and will escort her back to where she needs to go afterwards. There are certain people out there that would jump at the chance to do harm upon someone who seems helpless. I was just being a concerned citizen that put another's safety as their top priority."

His silver eyes watched as Sara stepped closer to the Fanalis and whisper to him. Clearly the words she spoke were for him and only him since nobody else could understand her hushed tone. It didn't matter much to Adrastos though since he already had an idea about what she was saying to him. The magician held his tongue, awaiting to be addressed, as it was the proper etiquette where he currently stood.

Bahir watched the two as they began to answer his questions, mostly Adrastos. The man had apparently only been there to escort the woman to and from the palace. This struck the assassin as odd. The woman had claimed to be Lagi's body guard at one time. Bahir could tell that the woman was a fanalis from the look of her hair and eyes. Taking those two things into consideration, Bahir couldn't fathom any reason for her to need any kind of escort. What's your REAL reason for being here... The fanalis pondered on this for a moment, not hearing what the woman said until she began to move closer to him. In response to her approach, Bahir casually set his hand on the handle of his blade, prepared to draw it should she make an attempt on his life. The two captains that were hidden from sight drew their throwing knives, prepared to protect their captain, but as the woman began to whisper to the fanalis, they put their arms away. They remained hidden, not wanting to upset Bahir by acting without his orders.

If the woman had hoped to surprise the fanalis, then she would be sorely disappointed. Bahir's face did not change at the news. As she stepped back and demanded again for Bahir to retrieve either Roark or Lagi, the assassin's eyes focused on hers as he opened his mouth to speak once more. "Ma'am. Emperor Lagi is unable to meet with any visitors at the moment, and Council member Roark is handling urgent matters that he can't be pulled away from at this time for a private meeting." The welcoming nature of his voice had faded a bit, though and was replaced with the stern, assertiveness that the Unity Corps had become accustomed to. He seemed a bit insulted, if not for himself then for Lagi. Who did this woman think that she was?! Barging into the palace and claiming to have given birth to the Emperor of Reim? Where had she been? Why wasn't Lagi informed when the woman's pregnancy began to show? Bahir had a hard time believing her claim.

Despite his disbelief, Bahir knew what Lagi would do in this situation. The Emperor had a rather soft heart, despite the facade he tried to show. He would believe the woman and take her into his arms without a doubt. Unfortunately for her, Bahir was the exact opposite. His life as an assassin led him to come to know that convenient situations such as this were often the ones that should be trusted the least. However, Bahir was to act as Lagi would. He was Lagi's representative, while the Emperor was in Kou, in all matters. Whether they be political or personal. "However. With what you just told me, I can't allow you to go back to the streets of Remano. If you so desire, you may live here in the palace. You will be given the room next to that of the Emperor and will be given guards from the elite of the Reimian military." Bahir looked to one of the military guards that remained in the throne room and the man moved to stand next to Sara. "Show her to her quarters. Ms. Mcdonald, I will personally inform you whenever Emperor Lagi or Council Member El Nagi will be able to meet with you. Welcome back to Remano."

The fanalis's gaze then shifted to Adrastos's. Thank you for seeing this lady to our Palace. You actions today will not go unnoticed." Bahir, having said what he felt they needed to hear and his decision, rolled his shoulders back a bit before speaking once more. "Is there anything else that I can do for the two of you?"

Adrastos bowed his head slightly to the Fanalis out of respect. "With all due respect, I only did what any other considerate and selfless citizen would do." Adrastos raised his gaze to look at the Fanalis, offering him a rather small smile at his question. "Well," he said almost hesitantly, "it has always been my dream to have a tour of the castle. You see, when I was a boy, I dreamed of visiting the place where all of my heroes were, and now that I'm here, it would mean so much if I could finally see the dream I once held so dear become a reality. Even if I am only allowed to see a small portion of the palace, it will be enough to quell my childhood desire. Of course, if it's too much to ask, I understand completely."

Adrastos bowed his head once more, awaiting to hear the response from the Fanalis. However, when Sara made a request for Adrastos to be her personal guard whenever she decided to leave the castle, the blue magician was quite literally tongue-tied. She may not have trusted the palace guards, especially those who were Fanalis, but he never expected her to request him, a man whom she had recently met and had no knowledge of his skill level. Was she planning something, or did she just trust him more than the palace guards? Adrastos glanced at Sara in an attempt to figure out what she was thinking, but couldn't understand. He cleared his throat. "If it is truly alright with you and acceptable with the palace guards, I would most graciously accept your request," he responded with a nod.

That was a rather simple request. A tour of the castle. That could have been easily managed without all of this. Was this the ACTUAL reason why Neo accompanied the woman? A small smile spread to Bahir's face at Neo's request. "I see. Our feelings of this palace were very similar growing up. I will give you a short tour, personally. I hope its just as marveling to you as it was to me." The smile that graced his face didn't last for very long, however. The next request stirred a bit of worry into him.

Bahir's eyes did not falter as the woman requested Neo to be her personal guard should she have need to leave the palace. This idea didn't sit well with the assassin at all. If that woman were to leave with that child and utter any word of it being Lagi's Bahir would want to know. He wouldn't have the guarantee of finding out if Adrastos was to be the one to accompany her. Besides, in order for him to be able to accompany her whenever she left... Neo would have to be inside of the castle. Bahir couldn't allow that. Why would he? Neo hasn't done anything to be granted an extended stay there.

Before Bahir opened his mouth to relay his decision to the woman, Adrastos spoke again. He was willing to accept her offer. This was enough to cause Bahir to chuckle, but the fanalis resisted. This wasn't the kind of situation where he could show his lighthearted nature. Instead, Bahir closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as he crossed his arms. The impending exhale was followed by a slow opening of his eyes as he eyed the two in front of him. "He may not stay in the palace for any extended period of time. After his tour is done, he will be escorted back to the gates and his staff returned. If you would like him to accompany you for any ventures outside of the palace, I would recommend you send a letter to him in advance so that he may meet you at the gate. You will, however, still be accompanied by a guard of the palace." Especially if you take the child with you. Bahir thought to himself as he watched whatever reaction they may have had. It would be a short lived pause as he spoke up again, "Whenever you are ready for your tour, please inform me."

"Understood," he replied to the Fanalis. Sara being accompanied by a palace guard at all times was to be expected. Her out-lash was also understandable, but she had to have been a fool to say such words aloud for all to hear. This Fanalis was not to be toyed with and yet she had the gall to speak against him, to carry such a tone when addressing him. He could very well take her child and cast her out. She was expendable after all, and if the child truly was what Adrastos thought, then it's life meant more than the woman's.

"I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be for the tour, sir."

The fanalis couldn't help but to stare at the woman before him. She was a brave one. No wonder why Lagi would have wanted to bed this one. He thought to himself as he listened to her accusations. Imprisonment? The woman must have thought quite highly of how those incarcerated must have lived. To be bound in chains night in and night out and to be given the most base of sustenance. Is this what she thought she was going to be subjected to? Having the most lavish accommodations in Remano and having a personal soldier of Reim to guard you no matter what you did and who you began arguments with throughout the capitol was such torture, apparently. The people in the less flourishing parts of the city dreamed of having such a life, yet she spat on it. Did she truly think so highly of herself?

Bahir's serious face turned into a grin. His temper getting to the point of showing itself. "You have neither." Bahir set his hand on the pommel of his serpent's kiss as his other arm dropped. "You have been given the status of a guest of the palace. A status that many others would lay their lives on the line for. One that I have pledged my service for. Yet you spit on it as though its a mere trifle. Look upon your stay however you wish, but do not expect sympathy from me or any other citizen of Reim. The fact that you are able to lodge within the palace walls is a gift befitting royalty." The fanalis's grin faded by now. "If you wish to be imprisoned, then so be it. Just speak out as you did before. Next time, think about your child as well. It would be a shame for it to grow without you. Don't worry of its safety, though. Your child is not in danger as long as I have anything to say about it. It will be protected, whether you seek the dungeon or not."

Before the fanalis could continue, Neo's voice peeked through, almost unnoticebly. Bahir's eyes went to the silver haired man and he nodded. Another request from the woman. She was truly beginning to irk his nerves. "If you wish to join us on the tour of the palace then so be it. I will not stop you. I will show you the floral courtyard, the library, and Hall of Emperors. No more. If you have any questions I will gladly answer them." It was then that the fanalis began to move. He made his way to the door of the throne room and audience hall as the palace guards opened the two large doors for the men and woman to exit and begin the tour.

Adrastos remained silent as he witnessed the Fanalis deliver a harsh statement toward Sara's ungrateful tone. To further cross the line and test this man's temper would be beyond suicidal. Imprisonment was not on the magician's list of things to do. He could only mentally scoff at the woman's senseless babbling. So much for it not being her fault if he got arrested. If she spouted off one more time, they would both have chains clasped around their wrists and ankles. Such a stupid, stupid, woman. If it weren't for everyone around him, he'd strangle the girl himself just to silence her ignorance.

The silver haired man placed his hands in his pockets. "Since you're departing early, then you should probably remember this: I am currently residing in an inn a few blocks away. It's called the White Sands Inn." His attention returned back to the Fanalis man. "Well, I'm interested in learning about the place of my childhood heroes."