Kilroos (Rise of the Guardians)

"Uhmm... not actual-" Roy started to answer for her. Her sky was always filled with trees, she was told there were other planets but since she didn't see them pretty often she sort of forgets they exist. When Roy finished talking Sasha looked on the ground and added "Only Roy taught me some things... for what I know it'd be better for the king if I died..." in a more quiet tone she said "probably better for my parents as well". After that she sighed and started to move with the princess, following her and Edon.

Zayne smiled down at his guardian and blushed slightly. It must have been the light because he's never really noticed just how pretty Cassie is. Turning to look at Esti's lifeless body gave Zayne some rather mature thoughts about his future and the footprint he would leave on this world.

Sasha mentioned something about the planets which caught Zayne's attention considering he's always loved looking up at the planets among other stars. Truthfully, he didn't remember a whole lot about them, but he did have a friend who told him some things. Apparently Annabeth has been to both planets, but she never really told Zayne how she does it. Is that where she was when Zayne lost control of himself?

Walking up to the princess with Cassie, Zayne proceeded to follow her. She seemed quirky and fun. Zayne would have to make friends and play games with her.

Edon’s tired eyes wandered around the room aimlessly as the princess introduced him, they finally landed on her once more as she mentioned him ‘not being himself anymore’. The old man scoffed quietly and mumbled to himself, “Last time I checked I was still Edon-fucking-Emery.”

The crotchety man produced another crunch as he bit into the apple once more. He further examined ‘the talent’, underwhelmed by the presence of the wielders. Edon was convinced that with each generation the wielders devolved. What else could explain it? The looks of disgust and disregard he received upon entering only escalated his sour attitude. These weren’t heroes, just the playthings of Kilroos. That’s all they’d ever be.

Edon snapped out of his trance-like period of contemplation and judgement as the princess started mentioning his past. As she spoke he gave her a sharp glare until she wiped that stupid expression off her face and stopped speaking-- and she did. He let out a deep shrug and took a final bite of his apple. The princess suggested he bathe, “Yeah, I’ll get one of them to give me a sponge-bath.” He spoke with utmost sarcasm, nodding to the pack of wielders. Edon walked with the princess as she made her way to the door.

Mahlo wasn't paying much attention to Marcus and Erik leaving, because he didn't necessarily care for the disappearance of more of Zayne's family members. In fact, he felt better with them gone. He glanced around the room, taking note of the fact that Lynn was talking with Sasha and Roy. However, other than that, the usual cliques of the group stayed about the same. It was because of this that he mentally knew Q was beside him, and it made him feel much better from it.

The princess seemed rather flustered at the thought of her becoming queen, and also at the presence of Edon himself. It was clear that she didn't like Edon much, but respected him as a mentor. As she lead the way to the door, she finally began to take a whiff of Edon's odor. Mahlo had smelled it, however he was used to it due in part to the homeless men spread across the Dark Swamps. He had grown up to that garbage odor, so he had grown used to it.

When Edon spoke, it was like hearing an older version of himself speak. He turned to Edon with a scoff at the mention of one of the wielders giving the old man a sponge bath. "I'm certainly not it," He replied arrogantly, turning away from the man and back to the princess who had already presented herself at the door. He let out an exhale, turned to his mentor, and gave her a faint smile. He then turned right back around, walking toward the door and expecting her to follow close behind. He even put his right hand out further than usual, as if goading her to hold it.

Sasha walked with the others and noticed that Edon was still eating her apple, the one she thought he didn't like!!!. "FINALLY" she thought with relief as someone actually liked her gifts. She moved closer to the man, slowly, and once she was close enough she said "H-hey again!!. I'm Sasha... I'm glad you liked my fruit" she said as she smiled to him.

Lynn snickered at Sasha saying the king would prefer her dead. “Oh sweetie. The king hates everyone. Don’t be so damn bipolar. Let me know if there’s some trigger warning I should be aware of!” Lynn slapped her hand on Sasha’s shoulder, the girl was quite rough, even in her humor. "At least with Miss Sophia she cares about us and treats us like her own kids. She like uh… mother hen, well... Wolf in this sense. She's brutal as all get out!” Lynn looked at her as they began to walk she noticed she went to talk to Edon. Stretching her arms up, she smiled over at Julius. “You’re quite quiet King Julius. Any reason?” Xerxes’ face became sour once hearing Edon speak about a sponge bath. No. No. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not this grown ass man. Cassie grinned a bit and looked up at Zayne before looking down. “For that dream thing. I wouldn’t mind moving here. Jycer is really beautiful all year round.” Q looked up at Mahlo as he now held his hand out to her as if asking if she wanted to hold his hand again. Q smiled wide as she reached out grabbing his hand catching up to walk beside him. "I uh..." Q kept her other hand on her switchblade for an odd reason. "I like this." She almost seemed to whisper.

The princess narrowed her eyes and held a forced smile looking at Edon hearing him curse softly as she spoke through clenched teeth. “Hold your tongue Edon-‘Fucking’-Emery.” She then let out a hearty giggle and raised her arms into the air looking at Poru as the group moved out and onto the main road. “This is our royal grounds. Quite the bustling area. Lots of boats come and go here. Not a lot of our enemies know our palace is so close to the dock, but it’s for a sweet run away if we have to! All of our boat looks the same so it won’t be a dead giveaway. ‘THAT’S THE ROYAL SHIP!’” She exaggerated. Gem giggled and danced down the road pointing to where the group came from. “The further you get from the royal grounds it is the tree grounds. Much more sparse in the population and more farming. The city is not like the others. Our royal family keeps only 40% of the intake while the other 60% goes back to the city to make sure they are kept happy.” As the group moved through the large walkway they seemed to fallow a small stone path afterwards. “Up here is our guest homes. We have two of them just for you! If you’d like you can figure out the accommodations now or when we get back. Your choice.”

EDIT: JYCER GUEST HOUSE: http://sta.sh/0nf59qr9jq7
Edit 2: Forgot to add in that Q grab's Mahlo's hand.
Edit 3: Jesus fucking Christ I am sick. I had to fix grammar.

Julius felt as giddy as Gem, everything was so beautiful and majestic and he was simply absorbing it all in. He was left speechless with how amazing Jycer was. "Oh!" He looked at the guard. "My apologizes Lynn, I was simply entranced by the wonders of the land. The beauty and the falling petals reminds me of falling snow and makes me miss Mist Mountains a bit." He smiled softly. "How about you? What do you think of Jycer?"

He cocked his head slightly towards the princess to listen to the choices and waited for Lynn's response before turning to answer Gem. "I would like to go to the guest house first." He sniffed at his clothing. "Sophia says there's people I should meet here in Jycer and I would like to look..." he cringed, "and smell my best when I do."

Sasha looked around the place, amazed by all of the structure and different colors and new things constantly shaking Roy's arm motioning with her hand the things she liked... which were... all of them, specially when the princess showed off the huge ship, anyone could see it in her eyes Sasha was happy. She loved it and a smile was plastered on her face. "I don't mind!, I'll follow whatever most of us decide". Still smiling she looked around and looked at Edon. Sasha then turned to Roy still with the same bored face, she said to him "Don't you think it's pretty??!" she said motioning the whole place with her arms.

Mahlo began to follow the princess out of the throne room, and was soon accompanied by Q, who obliged him by clasping his hand within her own. His face remained stoic, although on the inside he was smiling. He had seen Cassie and Zayne do this kind of thing, so why shouldn't he be able to? It was nice.

As they walked down the path, he could see how excited Sasha was becoming with the various sights from Jycer, more specifically the gargantuan ship. Julius was looking around as well. He took notice of how Gem bounced around the place with a giddy love for her city, as if she had been released from her prison after leaving the throne room. It was as if a grown Esti had been brought out of her.

The thing that pleased Mahlo the most was the sheer brightness of the city. He had never seen a city so sunny and...bustling. Even when it wasn't bustling, the tree grounds were even more beautiful. It was as if everybody was somewhat happy, the complete opposite of what it was portrayed to be in the Dark Swamps. The warmth of the sun was a different feeling for Mahlo.

As he listened to Q, he couldn't help but break out into a faint smile. He didn't turn to her, however he spoke in a whisper just as low as hers was, "I do too," He replied softly, continuing to walk down the beaten path until they came across the guest homes. Considering how much Edon's smell was affecting the group, and how Mahlo really wanted to get his things together, he thought that going to the guest homes was a much better idea.

"I say we get everything situated here," Mahlo said, "Get everything together, and then move to Skyline." He turned to the others, raising an eyebrow "Does everybody agree with that?"

Zayne was overwhelmed with all of the trees and leaves and flowers and buildings and the one big boat and the water EVERYWHERE!! His eyes were wandering around taking in all of the nature. Hell, he felt more connected to this place than Sasha probably did. Must have something to do with being a gigantic jungle cat.

Cassie mentioned moving here in the future or something, which caught Zayne off guard. "But I'm not allowed to leave Clear Seas, how would I get to see you? What about Esti!? She'd probably set the house on fire without you around!" Zayne thought about the whole room situation and had an amazing idea. "If we can get to Skyline and back before it gets too late into the night, I'd rather do that. I sorta have uhm.... plans... that I want to uhh.... do..."

Julius looked at Zayne, who obviously ignored the young king. Mahlo seemed to also want them to get situated before they head out, but he put Julius into the minority as he also wanted to head straight to Skyline City. The boy thought of suggesting that he go to his meeting in Jycer while they went to Skyline but he always wanted to know what Skyline City looked like and with the Champions seemingly capable of being anywhere they want at any time, so splitting up was not a good idea. So he resolved for the half victory. "Like I said, we have been traveling and fighting, we should get ourselves situated and cleaned up in the guest rooms first." He looked at Zayne, "Unless you want to head into Jycer smelling of sweat and battle. We smell a quarter as bad as that man." He jerked his thumb at Edon.

The princess held her hands up. "Whoa, whoa. We'll get back before dusk. It's only the mid afternoon. We'll go to the library after we get freshened up!" Smiling up at Edon the black haired woman's grin turned into a smirk. "That includes you Edon." She waved her hands towards the two neighboring homes. "I'll show you a few more places before we head out and then you all are on your own!" Q waited for Cassie to pull Zayne towards one of the homes first. "Oh hush Zayne, Esti will have your father and mother there to control her." Cassie smiled happily as Esti dropped from Zayne's arms. Looking at the princess she frowned. "What about Poru?" Gemini seemed unsure about letting Poru into the home. "I'm sorry I can't say the homes are exactly Centaur friendly. We've rarely encountered your kind. There is quite a pretty patio though!" Poru seemed highly unamused, but said nothing to rebuttal.

Q seemed to use Mahlo's hand absent-mindedly itching her thigh before rapidly pulling it away and whispering "S-sorry." Roy looked over at Q as she blushed and seemed to smile. He never saw her blush before but then his smile faded. Before Roy could even speak Lynn spoke up. "I say the king, Xerxes, and I will stay with the swamps. Knowing that cat man's sister is a champ, I highly dislike the idea of staying in their house." Esti scowled at Lynn. "Just because you're a lonely snob doesn't mean you can put down siblings. Considering you don't seem to have any." Lynn's face dropped to a surprised expression. "Excuse me?" Esti smirked a wicked 8 sharp toothed grin. "Ya heard me. Ya just a red headed step child." Cassie grabbed Esti and shoved her towards the house. "Get in there and take a shower! No dinner for you until we get back!" Lynn's face just set into stone as she stared at where the little girl was standing. Xerxes placed his hand on Lynn's shoulder as she rolled it hard. Loud popping was heard as she walked up the stone path and into the home. Esti seemed off. The small girl stumbled into the house and looked around. It was beautiful. Cassie nudged Zayne to follow his sister. Q held onto Mahlo's hand and pulled him towards Lynn's direction, making sure not to go into Zayne's home. Gannon moved towards the small girls home as he sighed softly and looked at Lynn's home. "I'll talk to the girl."

So the arrangements were: Zayne, Cassie, Esti, Roy and Sasha in the West home. Mahlo, Q, Julius, Xerxes, Lynn, and Gannon in the East home. Edon could choose which home he got to stay in. Poru slept on the West Patio. She wasn't going to be coming on this part of the trip. "I'm actually going to stay here. Oh..." Poru laid down on something poking her. Esti came out of the home taking the rose from Poru before fumbling back inside mumbling: "MinemineminemineMINE" Poru blinked before grabbing a seat cousin from the patio chair, using it as a pillow. "This is actually much better than sleeping on a tree stump."

Meanwhile in the Eastern home Lynn threw all of her things in a room. Each person had their own rooms and there were two bathrooms. Gannon knocked on the door behind Lynn. "Are you alright child?" Lynn pulled Gannon in and slammed the door behind her before crossing her arms tightly. Lynn had her head down the whole time as silent tears hit the floor. "How is that little girl so right?" Gannon placed his hand on her shoulder. "But you said yourself the girls back at the fortress..." Lynn sniffled and cut him off. "No. They are not my siblings. They are room-mates. Sophia was the only one that treated me like a decent human being. Being one of the youngest ones there they always do their dirty shit. Some kind of Cinderella story over there." Gannon chuckled softly. "Being with the wise-men all of my life, I didn't really get to speak with my family. My real one at least. I thought those men were my peers. Always. Once I became them I'd show them how smart I really was." Lynn frowned. "What does this have to do with me?" Gannon poked her shoulder. "Show them you're better. No one ever likes being stood up by someone younger." Lynn smiled only faintly.

Q pulled Mahlo only softly, making sure not to let go of his hand. coming into the main room she noticed they got their own room. "Hm." Looking over at him. "Did you want to share a room? I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone, especially since the Champions can get in and out of one of the most secure fortresses... and even the Sands."Q moved his hand towards herself before  Gannon moved out of Lynn's room. "The fact that they even got to the Sands baffles me. They even claimed the heir to the Hammer. And the hammer too..." Gannon sighed. He felt extremely guilty for losing his wielder. "Well, Lynn is taking the first shower, and I can actually cleanse myself with my magic. Also, so King Julius can shower first." Gannon moved to the front door. "I can also see if I can use my magic on Edon there." Nothing sounded more amazing than a lemon party. Ick.

Julius looked at Lynn storm one way and Esti giggle her way to the other. What a rude kid... definitely Zayne's sibling. His eyes than swapped over to watch Lynn enter the house, he wondered if she was okay and wanted to go check on her but Gannon said he would. The man came out of her room and told them that he and Lynn would be showering first as he didn't need it personally. The young king wanted to ask him how Lynn was doing but he decided rather to let her wash herself first and perhaps cool her head in the shower. The boy went to his own room and only peered in before walking over to a bathroom. He opened the door, closing it and locking it securely behind him before taking off his clothes, laying his spear and sword near the stall for easy reach.

He turned the faucet and shivered as he felt the cold water run down his body. The water mat his hair down over his eyes and he swiped it the side as he wiped his face. He took the bar of soap and rubbed it in his hands as he cleaned his body. He turned off the water and grabbed a towel to dry himself.

Mahlo looked around at the guest homes, as if listening for a threat. He held onto Q's hand, and he didn't even truly remember he was holding it to this point. He turned his head to see Esti roasting Lynn, a sharp grin on her face. Something he had never seen before from her, it was...eerie. He shuddered.

As the group began to make their living arrangements, he noticed that Q allowed Zayne and Cassie to go first, and avoided Zayne's side as much as she possibly could, completely alienating herself from him. This was something Mahlo would usually do, not Zayne. It confused him, however he continued on to the east side. It wasn't long before he realized that there were separate rooms, and each of them got their own. It didn't sit well with the wielder; the aspect of Q being by herself was something he didn't want to deal with. Zayne could always come in here and do something...

His mind flickered back to the dream, so vivid, so horrifying from his stand point. He remembered Zayne and Q in ecstasy, and that hooded man that had the dastardly smile planted on his face. He cringed, scowling. 

His concentration was broken as Q let go of his hand, suggesting they shared a room as Gannon stepped out and informed them that Lynn would be showering first. Mahlo nodded slowly, then looked to the main room. "Let's share it," He replied, "I don't like leaving you by himself."

He walked into the room, his mind now clouded with terrible thoughts. He kept his scythe at his side as he sat down on the bed, running his fingers through his bleach blonde hair. They'd be back by dusk, she had told them. He looked through his pack to be sure he had everything he needed. His poles were situated, along with his scythe and a couple of random knives he had picked up for the trip. He let out a jagged exhale, looking over at Q (Assuming she had walked in with him)

Mahlo really, really wanted to sleep for some reason...But he knew he had a job to do.

Julius steamed up the bathroom a bit as he began drying himself off there was a slight touch of a hand sliding across his shoulder blades. “Seems like the small girl is easy to control. Manipulate. Skye is very eager to see you King Julius. Nothing was there no matter which direction Julius turned. A dark chuckle was heard as a shadow seemed to move out from the darkness. “You saw me from that griffon. I saw you. Skye says I can’t interfere, but they always say a king’s blood is always the most rewarding. Just wait until daddy isn’t there to protect you anymore.” The shadow spoke. It wasn’t sugar high, but a deep voiced man. Venom dripped in his voice before it disappeared. Lynn had already gone into the other bathroom and was in the shower.

Q moved into the bedroom with Mahlo and set her things down. She was finally alone with him and closed the door even behind her. Sitting on the bed next to him she brought her legs up and began to cry. “Mahlo.” Forcing her voice through clenched teeth she turned and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. His jagged breathing seemed to make her more upset as she held onto him tightly. The dark elf never cried. Never. “I don’t want to be left alone anymore. Last night I... uh… I couldn’t… Th…” She let go of Mahlo and placed her face into her hands. “P-Please don’t do anything rash.” Q was now shaking. “I w-wanted to make sure to tell you when we were alone together.” The dark elf was extremely distraught as she whined taking in a long inhale speaking clearly. “Zayne raped me.”

Mahlo looked at Q as she closed the door behind her, he looked into her eyes and instantaneously knew something was wrong. He had seen the signs that something was off, but he was never able to put the pieces together, until salty tears started to roll down the dark elf's face. As she sat down on the bed and brought her legs to her chest, Mahlo placed arm around her. A concerned frown formed on his face, "Q, what's..." 

She began to speak about how she didn't want to be left alone anymore, and that she didn't want him to do anything rash. He had realized then, that his distance from her had affected her in ways he had not realized. She felt alone after he gave her the cold shoulder. He knew this already, which was why he tried to get closer to her today...yet, he didn't know just how effected she was. 

Mahlo opened his mouth say something else, intending to apologize for the mistakes he had made. However, before he was able to, she said three words that caused his world to crash down. The eternal weight he was bearing on his shoulders finally grew too heavy, collapsing on top of him. Zayne Raped Me. 

The words didn't process for a second, the Dark Swamps wielder blinking his sea green eyes as he struggled to understand what she meant. The three words didn't seem to mesh together well. His arm fell off of her, his body visibly trembling. "W--...What?" He asked, his throat closing up, his mouth suddenly getting dry, "What did you say...?"

He put his hands out, placing his head within them as he stared at the ground. His heart was beating fast, adrenaline pumping through his veins even as he sat there nearly comatose. He couldn't believe it...out of all the things that Zayne did to him, did against him, now he had been subjected to the worst insult of all--he had raped the woman he cared about, just hours after embarrassing him in front of her. He fought the tears that he knew were coming, that threatened to make their way from his eyes, closing them defensively, "I...I don't--," He lifted his head up, turning to her, "How?"

His mind began to flash with moments. She was sleeping much later than usual, her earring had been lost, she intentionally stayed away from Zayne, going as far as to staying in separate guest homes. That terrible dream he had experienced the night before...Had that been them? Did she enjoy the things he did to her? 

Mahlo scoffed, turning his head away from her, "Yeah, I had a nightmare last night," He said, his voice beginning to rise in volume. His best defense to the sadness and shock was anger, "That...hooded fuck, showed me some of what you guys were doing. I didn't want to believe it was real. I saw you smiling...I saw you enjoying it, begging him for more. That's what that guy showed me in my dreams...He must have been watching you, or something, I don't fucking know!" 

He put his hand on the wall beside the bed, as if using it for support. He couldn't gather his thoughts in a rightful matter, for only anger and depression soared through his brain. He gripped the wall, making scratches in the plaster as his head went down, his bangs hanging below him and covering his eyes that were welling with tears, shielding the world from his emotions once again as he attempted to compose himself, "Is it true? Is what that FUCKER showed me when he invaded my dreams true?"

Julius tightened the towel around him as he spun to find the voice and his weapon. But he saw nothing but shadows around him, From the Griffon? Oh! It was what he had accused Mahlo of. The boy grit his teeth at the threat but something puzzled him, who was the small girl? Lynn? No the girl was older than him. He must've been talking about Esti. Julius quickly put on his clothes and sheathed his weapons before exiting the bathroom. He had to confront Zayne and Cassandra about this. As he began walking over to the front door, he heard the sound of a shower coming from the door of the other bathroom. Lynn must be in there and the boy paused as he walked past. The shadow approached him, what would the chances be that it would mess with her as well? He didn't doubt she could protect herself, but this man was associated with the Champions and so was probably as dangerous and she wouldn't be able to handle him herself.

He decided he would simply wait for Lynn to exit the bathroom before setting off to the other guest house. Thinking about it, the man warned him not to be alone so he should probably ask Xerxes to go to the other house with him. He didn't see which room Xerxes went into so he went up to a closed door to knock on it. Then from the room came the shouting of Mahlo and the boy stopped and quickly went to the the other closed door. He knocked as he called out, "Hey Xerxes, I require your assistance."

Q was already crying and looked over at him, feeling his hand fall off her. It stung her mentally. “He wasn’t himself Mahlo! The voice I heard from him wasn’t his it wasn’t him in control! Someone or something else is controlling him!” She looked at him defeated as she didn’t want to move and just make a wrong move. Her heart was hitting her chest as she felt nothing but sorrow looking at her wielder fight back tears.  “H-how? Th-the other night Sasha and I were awake and I know you don’t like being woken up. I also noticed Zayne hadn’t come back and no matter how much we hate the man we still need him. We need to have him here to help us, s-so I got up and went to find him. He found me first. His voice had a woman’s crossed into it, his eyes… His power.”

She then listened to Mahlo say how Q smiled and loved it. The woman’s face became disgusted. “I didn’t like it at all Mahlo. I hated every second of it. Towards the end he became more himself.” Q’s mouth was clearly dry as well as she tried to swallow and explain everything in one breath. “H-“ She leaned down almost crunched into a fetal position. Her face towards the floor as she sat on the bed. “He c—I can’t say it… I feel so dirty, so disgusted with myself.” As Mahlo became enraged Q wasn’t mentally prepared for it. “Not all of it was true, but he did rape me Mahlo. He finished as I was practically in a different world than there. I wish I was strong not fast… it wouldn’t matter. Zayne would have been faster.” Her ears seemed to droop a bit as she simply began to cry holding herself together with her arms unable to even look at Mahlo. “I’m s-s-s…” She couldn’t get the words out anymore she just began to sob. Her skin was almost entirely white as the young woman felt something she hadn’t felt in years, vulnerable.

The shadow had left Julius. There was no longer a figure or even a presence around the king anymore, but the moment Julius knocked on the door he heard a whisper. “Kings seem to be dropping like flies. Don’t you think?” Xerxes instantly dropped the door and felt a chill down his back. “Brr, uhm. Assistance? Is something wrong?” The tall gentleman looked down at Julius as he gently brushed Julius’ hair into a much neater position. The knight’s smile seemed to fade. “We’re going to be leaving soon, or is this urgent?” Xerxes seemed to be holding his towel waiting for his turn.

Zayne followed his little sister into their guest house angrily. "Ya know, Estrella, you really need to watch the way you talk to people. What you said was very rude and I expect you to apologize to Lynn. Now go get yourself cleaned up!" It was out of the ordinary for Zayne to become angry with his little sister, but if she was going to be traveling with the wielders she will be on her best behavior. He let Esti go take care of her business while he picked out a room and began removing his armor, shirt, and boots. Zayne sat at the foot of his bed and removed his artifact sword from it's sheath so he could stare at his reflection in the blade. After a few minutes, his hair had become bleach blonde and his eyes were an alluring ocean blue. Zayne's sword seemed brighter when he held it like this, but it was no where close to being as clear as it was in his father's hands.

Mahlo tried to listen to her talk about Zayne, he really did. He heard her talk about how he wasn't himself, and how he had a woman's voice crossing with him. How his power was extreme...but that didn't excuse anything he did for him, not by a long shot. Zayne was intending on doing it, it was just that other side of him that made him go through with it. Thinking about doing something was almost as bad as actually doing it, when it came to situations like these. He knew he would never forgive the Clear Seas wielder, no matter the circumstances.

He listened to her speak, his hands crunching into the fists. He had finished inside of her, riddled his dirty essence within her womb, like nothing but a whore on the street corner. He was himself then. Why didn't he just pull out of her and end it there? The little bastard. Another jagged exhale escaped from the Dark Swamps wielder. 

He raped her, there was no way to go about that. Hearing that the fact she loved it wasn't true did nothing to alleviate the pain on his beating heart, the stress he felt. He didn't even notice her sitting in the fetal position, sobbing to herself as she tried to explain herself. He was lost in his own world, a sudden mixture of rage and sadness, like a drug trip with the opposite effects. He craned his head suddenly, glaring as if ready to scream at her, however he saw something different.

He saw her in that position, crying, unable to form coherent words as her skin was a pale white. His expression softened at the sight of it, his glare turning into a sorrowful stare. What he had done to her in the last few days was almost as bad as what Zayne did to her within a few minutes. He hadn't meant to snap at her, his rage was moreso aimed at Zayne than anybody else. He wasn't able to except that the brat wasn't in control. He wanted to wring his throat, eliminate him from existence, and he channeled that rage, accidentally taking it out on his defenseless mentor, the victim. 

"Q...Quinn, it isn't--It isn't your fault," He said suddenly, his voice breaking slightly, "You didn't do anything wrong." 

He lifted his hand up, lifting her face to meet his own and wiping a tear from her eye as she grabbed her cheek gently. He had stopped himself from crying, the tears welled in his eyes however stopped from flowing down his face, "Honey, please...Stop crying," He said softly, shaking his head, "You don't have to say it to me. I already forgave you the moment the words came out of your mouth."

"Awww" she said to herself when they were told to go to get some rest. She wanted to see more new things, apparently Edon was simply ignoring her so... might as well leave him alone.

Sasha went to her room and lied on her bed, looking at the ceiling. Thinking on how Roy got hurt the last time, she frowned hoping that that moment never repeats again.

Julius shivered, shocked by the feeling of something lifting off his shoulder. He snapped his head behind him to simply look at an empty room. Then turned to look at the towel in Xerxes' hand. "No nothing," He smiled weakly, shaken by the leaving message, "I'm going to be sitting outside. Sorry for bothering you." He turned around and walked out, sitting down on a chair on the porch to stare at the scenery around him. He peeked around the roof to look at the sky. The clouds looked on fire from the setting sun. "Kings seem to be dropping like flies..." he mumbled, and sat back down to stare at the trees, their petals floating through the air. He didn't want to die... he shut his eyes tightly and shook his head furiously, trying to banish the foreboding horror. The young king opened his eyes to see a lock of hair blocking his sight and he brushed it off, then set off fixing his hair back to how Xerxes had set it. He looked at the door, waiting for someone to come out.

The moment Esti stepped into the house she blinked a few times before hearing her brother yell at her. Turning she winced and whimpered softly. “What do you mean? I didn’t say anything!” She whined and seemed to cower in front of her older brother. “I got to talk to my other half. She’s sitting in my head.” Esti poked her temple and made a raspberry noise. “She didn’t say anything either. She just sat there and looked at me with pretty gold eyes. The ones papa has.” She flopped on the floor. “What’s going on? What is this place? Did we die? I’m hungry. Can I stay here?” The small girl smiled with a wide open mouth all sprawled out onto the floor.

Quinn held her face and the moment Mahlo touched her hand she began shaking. She feared him. She couldn’t help but continue to let the tears fall as he held her cheek, but she seemed to look up at him when he called her honey. “You were so cold… and then s-so warm.” The woman’s voice was shaken as she turned away from him, as if she didn’t know whether to like the caressing or not. He was about to hit a wall and she didn’t want to anger him any more than she already did. “I don’t know how to keep you happy, M-s-sir.” The elf felt sick to her stomach as she now put her arms around her own waist as if hugging herself. Looking away from him she was only taking sharp inhales now as the tears she had welled in her eyes dropped from her face. She knew she was forgiven, but she still felt terrible. Unable to shake the feeling. “I don’t know what I did to deserve it… y-your cold shoulder and... h-him. Then you hold my hand… I-I’m… I’m confused. You’re confusing me M-Mahlo. All I did was smile.” She finally looked back over to him, but his hand especially. “I like it most when your hand isn’t a fist and in my hand…”

Roy moved into Sasha’s room and snickered. “Oh, I don’t know who told you we were sleeping before we went to Skyline. We’re still gonna be looking around before heading out my little tree monkey. Right now we’re just getting washed up and heading out. I’ll be in the room next to yours. Be sure to get your shower. Don’t want the Librarian to think we’re dirty. They already don’t want us there without the princess as an escort.” Roy placed a large pink fruit on her end table. I’m going to go get a towel and get ready.” The high elf walked out of her room and into his own before staring at Esti explaining how she didn’t know what she said earlier to Lynn. “Odd.” He whispered. She even talked about another woman in her head. Did she suffer from multiple personality disorder? He’d have to bring it up to Zayne.

Xerxes looked dumbfounded as Julius seemed uneasy and even walked away. Xerxes would ask him later. A few moments pass and Lynn and Xerxes walk out of the guest home looking at Julius sitting on a chair on the patio. Xerxes’ hair was wet while Lynn was braiding her hair back up. “King Julius you asked for me?” Xerxes seemed a bit concerned as Lynn looked down at the young boy with her chilling eyes. “The water here tastes amazing.” The girl smiled until she noticed the king’s expression. “Is there someone I need to kill for you my liege?”

"Hmmm?" Julius looked blankly as he absentmindedly teased with his hair. Then he seemed to comprehend he was staring straight at Lynn. "Oh sorry," he blushed and looked back at the tree. He mulled over her question and Xerxes' before answering slowly. "Someone came... he did not hurt me." He said quickly, "And he's gone now. However he did leave a message."

The young king kept staring at the tree, his eyes tracking each petal touch then ground then go back up to trace another. "I'm going to die he tells me, like the kings before me. Seems like this man and a Champion named Skye had their hands in those issues and are now very eager to meet me." He sighed heavily and stood up, turning to face Xerxes and Lynn, now with fire in his eyes. "So to answer your question Lynn, yes. I need you to help me kill. I will of course need you as well Xerxes, I am not going to take this lying down and crying. I will kill them first. I will not let them shape my future, created by their own sadistic wills." He finished.

He turned to look at the other house. "Shall we be off?" The young king began walking down the stairs and looked down at his hand and clenched it tightly. "I am not like my father... I am my own king." Julius whispered.

Mahlo was silently hoping that what he said would cause her to feel better, that lovely smile crossing her lips again. He wrongfully assumed that he would make everything better with a few charming words like he had on so many different occasions. However, he had been oblivious to the fact that Q had grown tired of his constant change of emotion, it was spontaneous in a harmful way. The wielder had realized that a long time ago, yet he couldn't stop himself from his constantly changing emotions that rang true in his perplexed mind.

As Q wrapped her arms tightly around herself and began stuttering in her speech, another jagged exhale escaped from Mahlo, his hand falling slowly from her cheek as she turned away from his attempt at a gentle grasp. His throat became dry again, his heart beating out of his chest, his stomach dropping to the floor. "You don't deserve any of it..." He said slowly, shaking his head to emphasis his words, "From him...or from me."

He followed her glance to his other hand, which had still been balled into a fist. He had subconsciously kept it clenched, his nails digging into his palm, his adrenaline resulting in him becoming oblivious to the pain. He quickly brought it back to an open palm, staring at it for a few moments, glaring at the indents his nails had made. He heard the jagged inhales and sobs of her wielder. 

He then turned his gaze to her, staring into her eyes he had grown to love rather quickly in the time they were together. A stray blonde bang hung over his face that he didn't bother to swat away, and for a while he just stared at her, unable to take his glance away, "I...".  He darted his head back down timidly, clearing his throat. He put his hands together below him, fiddling with them anxiously, "It's not your fault, I--I'm confused too, y'know? I...thought I knew how things worked. You went on a mission, eliminated the threat and went home...but--It isn't so simple here. It's so much more complicated." 

He chuckled a bit, a tear dropping from his eye and smacking against his thumb, "You know, when I was a teenager...Rubio always told me I was destined to be a wielder, and that's all. I should only focus on being the wielder, helping the Dark Swamps out of its slump. I shouldn't focus on emotions, he said," His face remained expressionless as he slowly shook his head, "I think that's why this is so hard for me...I always held everything in. When I looked at you--If I felt a smidgen of emotion, I tucked it away. But, when you smile at Zayne--Or when I hear about what he did to you--" 

He ran a calloused hand through his bleach blonde hair, his voice breaking, "It's like someone is throwing a brick at my heart." 

Mahlo sniffed, another tear rolling down his dirt grimed face, "Q...I've been concealing how I've felt about you for years, now, and I didn't even comprehend that I was. I thought emotions were useless, but with the events of the last few days or weeks...It's made me so confused about my feelings, and I think--I think at this moment, I'm finally starting to realize what I'm feeling."

"I guess what I'm trying to say is," An elongated sigh escaped from his parted lips, a frown creasing his expression as he was suddenly met with a childish fear he normally didn't experience. He looked up at her, trembling, "Q--Quinn..."

He took a gulp of air, briefly thinking against it. He was afraid he would ruin everything, or that she wouldn't believe him, or that...she didn't feel nearly the same way. Maybe he would simply make her feel worse, and she would just walk away from him. It probably wasn't the best thing to say right now...

Even if logic was speaking to him, his mouth neglected it, blurting out the three words that he had subconsciously wished to say for a very long time, staring into her eyes once again as tears rolled down his face in pure fear and anxiety.

"I--I love you..."