The Prince & the Raven [shyone & StarMech]

[StarMech]

Fire

It seemed what most of people could see right now, as the manor of the Royal Family was. Soldiers in black armor were overtaking every street, every pathway of the capital city, capturing or taking down anyone in their way. Now; the were wailing assault upon the mansion, with the hopes of destroying the people inside.

Maids and butlers tried to flee, some unfortunately caught by the relentless fire. A group of 4 brothers however, appeared to be fairing better. The group being lead outside by a series of knights and assistants as they were being chased by more of those black armored soldiers.

The oldest, Leron, appeared to split from the others, followed by the second youngest, Arthur, and a squad knights.

The youngest sibling, Mia, was being held by the hand by the captain of the royal guard, ordering some of his troops to protect her at any cost, like the ones previously, also split up to avoid being caught.

Finally there was the middle child; Prince Charles, but not the least important. For some reason or another, he was being targeted the most. A group of knights protected him alongside his sorceress and tutor Sylphi; A woman of unknown origin, but who had been friend with the royal family and had been the one who has risen the young lad for years now.

They tried to run as much as they could, but the constant stomping of their enemies became louder and louder. Suddenly, arrows came from the shadows. The projectiles being fast and deadly; The knights falling prey and slaughtered by their attackers one by one.

As the black soldiers made their presence shown amongst the now fiery woods, Charles stood with Sylphi, the only survivors as the evil army started to surround them. there was no escape; The villanous knights smirking and laughing at their upcoming fate.

However, a sudden stare from the sorceress made them stop. A powerful magical aura, like whirlwinds of winds surrounded her. "You shall not take him" She proclaimed; black feathers appeared from thin air.

A huge pair of wings emerged from her back, like the ones of a raven. Lifting herself into the air, she started to chant on an unknown language for the Prince before summoning a powerful burst of light.

...that was all her remembered.

-----------------------------

Charles woke up days later, inside a cave. His tutor stood on her knees to his side; His head resting upon her lap. The serene sounds of the birds and the soft breeze that blowed past him made it seem they were safe.

"I'm so glad you finally woke up, your majesty." Said Sylphi

 

[shyone]

Everything had gone black, leaving him with only the barest memories of the events from a few days before. As he slowly woke up, light streaming down into his eyes, Charles realized that the nightmarish attack on his people was not just a dream. The hard rock of the cave below his back confirmed this more than anything, but if there was one silver lining to all this… it was the presence of Sylphi’s soft voice caressing his ears. Looking up from his comfortable spot in her lap the prince smiled slightly and reached up to run his fingers against her cheek just to make sure she was real. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he realized she was, and his arm weakly dropped to his side. Finding himself fighting back tears at the realization of all he had lost, the young man turned in his tutors lap to wrap his arms about her waist. Burying his face in Sylphi’s stomach he cried both tears of joy for her safety, and at the same time mourned the fall of his family’s kingdom. “Sylphi I am so glad you are alive, I was worried there at that last moment what you were going to do to protect me. I know I have never said it, but I am not sure what I would do without you.”

The prince meant this in the most platonic manner of course, simply because he had always been the black sheep of the royal family despite how important he was as a general. The only person he had ever had as a close companion and confidante had been his tutor Sylphi. Some in the royal court even said this was part of the reason the Queen had hired the woman in the first place to look after her child. None of his other siblings had tutors whose positions where so permeant. Nor did it place them in a position as both protector and potential companion for a member of the royal family. Even the fact that Sylphi’s quarters where next to the prince, and quite luxurious for a tutor of the royal family, showed that she was special, but then again… her skills as a sorceress had a lot to do with it as well. Given how rare such a talent was. Looking around the cave as best he could Charles realized that they were alone,

“None of the other knights protecting me made it Sylphi? Not even my personal mage-knights…” His voice faded off at the prospect of such a loss. The mage knights were four sisters who purpose had meant to be both that of guardians and to potentially one day carry on Charles bloodline if it came to that. However though it seemed that fate had intervened in both the invasion and the prince’s personality of simply enjoying spending time with them. Trying to sit up he found himself getting dizzy as his head feel back into Sylphi’s lap, wiping the tears from his eyes he figured the best thing right now was try and figure out where they were, “By the way do you have any idea where we are or did you randomly send us somewhere in order to get away from those knights?”

 

[StarMech]

As Charles let his sorrows pour down as tears down his face, Sylphi stood firm and consoled him; Letting him cry on her lap as she gently caressed his hair, reassuring him that they were alive, they were safe and they were going to make it through this.

"Many did not make it...I do not know if the ones protecting your brothers and sister are still alive, however. Some of the mage-knights had to go with them too so there may still be a chance. Or so I hope..." Sylphi explained before ehe asked about their location.

"I..was not really thinking where to you..." She admitted, a bit tense. She didn't know he remembered what she did; Part of her transformation. Her well-kept secret...either way, the important thing was that she managed to get him somewhere safe.

"Our first priority right now should be looking for a town, maybe then find a way to contact the others...." Said the sorceress before looking down, saddened. "I am sorry for what had happen to the king and queen, your majesty. IF only I could have saved them..."

 

[shyone]

Ask she spoke to him Charles would slowly adjust himself in her lap, using her strong body to pull himself up until instead of laying his head in her lap the male was instead straddling it. With his arms loosely hanging onto Sylphi’s neck the young man knew that she would hold him close this way. Really in this moment the prince just wanted to feel protected and safe, but at the same time his current choice of position wasn’t new. The male had always enjoyed cuddling up to his tutor as close as he could, they have even had entire lessons simply resting together like this, so it was nothing new. Leaning back some so he could look her in the eye the young man was at least glad that she could tell him somewhat where his personal mage-knights had gone, “I am sure that they made it Sylphi. After all you were the one who taught them everything they know, and then some. Those four gals were tougher than any knight I knew, well except yourself of course, but my point still stands that they are probably alive. Even if my siblings didn’t make it, then I know those guys would be looking for us right now. So it will be up to us to try and find them, as well as any of my other loyal retainers. They should be able to help us once we have brought them back together… even if they are scattered for the moment.”

Looking at the other curiously as she drifted off in her explanation about what had happened, and how they had gotten here. To be honest Charles didn’t mind if his tutor had used some spell that left the details foggy to her as well, and so with a soft shrug the young man playfully nuzzled his head under her chin and said, “Don’t worry about it too much, as long as you were able to get use safely out of there I trust you did the right thing. At least now we have a chance to figure out where we are and then plan our revenge on our enemies.” He was hoping that Sylphi would use one of her healing spells on him while he talked, or at least something to help him gain his strength again. That would allow him to sit up and eat a proper meal before trying to see if they could both set out of this place. It was about that moment that a small female voice was heard yelling from the mouth of the cave, “Master… Master… are you in this one?” Charles barely had time to answer the call of a voice he recognized even more than he would Sylphi’s… suddenly a young woman whose looks did not fit her old age came running into the cave.

“Oh Charles there you and Mistress Sylphi are!!! I am so glad I found you two, stupid, stupid, me for not being able to keep up with the pair of you after that flash of light. I am so sorry I failed…” Over and over the young woman kept bowing in a comical manner, as her bushy tail wagged behind her and her ears cowered down on her head. The young fox spirit Nok-Nok was one of Charles prizes of conquest from the far Eastern nations, which showed by the creatures garbs. The only reason she could even appear to the prince though had to do with one of the magical abilities he excelled in. That being the summoning and control of spirits or familiars, and it had been Nok-Nok’s appearance when he was young that had prompted Sylphi to be hired by the queen to tutor her son… well that and an accident with some fire and lighting bolt. The creature looked distressed as it stared at Sylphi with tears in its eyes, overreacting as usual, “Did I do something wrong Mistress Sylphi?”

 

[StarMech]

Sylphi welcomed him in embrace having done this countless of times. She found it adorable. Even her admitting that feeling his warm body against hers was surprisingly soothing. In a platonic way, of course. The two cuddled against eachother, she had a better way to softly cast upon her healing magic. the prince was not injured, but these magic helped beyond just scars or harsh damage, but also bruises and overall gave ease to the body.

She was surprised he did not remember. She still could; Having no other way to both fend off their pursuers and taking the Prince to safety, he had to reveal more of herself. Huge wings, black as night, patch of feather growing on he sides of her cheeks, bright eyes and sharp fangs. A pure figure of a monster for the ignorant. She remembered how Prince Charles froze in place that moment. Perhaps the trauma had erased that image from his mind, but either way part of her was happy. She did not want him to know of her more beast-like form, despite still being who she was...

It was then when a familiar sight caught up with them. Little Nok-Nok finally reached them, knowing her magical bond with both her and the Prince would allow her to track them back without the enemy even able to seeing her.

"There you are Nok-Nok." Said Sylphi in a calm and kind manner, "I was hoping you would catch up eventually. We're fine, no need to worry."

Still she saw the tears in her eyes. Nok-Nok was always such a worrywart person as well as a bit of a klutz. But her chipper and go-lucky attitude mixed in made her quite endearing. "We're fine, Nok-Nok, really. No need for tears. What happened was not in your control either. The important thing is that we are safe, and we know others are safe as well.