The air around them grew tense as Sin fell silent and stared blankly at Avarice. Dez and Avarice exchanged looks as they waited for Sin to respond. Without saying a word, Sin stood up, his expression unreadable as he made his way to the docks, followed by a very on edge Dez and Avarice.
Upon arriving at the docks, the trio could make out Kashino's distinct orange hair amongst the crowd. Nikiro was no doubt beside him and Sin found himself burn with a plethora of emotions as he sped down the path towards them. Dez and Avarice followed closely behind him. They ran to keep up with him but in their haste, they didn't notice when he froze dead in his tracks. Dez and Avarice ran straight into his stiff back. They stumbled back, peering around him to see what had caused his sudden halt. They were shocked to see a young boy in the arms of Nikiro as he and Kashino walked off the ship. He bore a striking resemblance to the two, with minor differences but regardless, it was clear who the child was.
Nikiro was the first to spot Sin from across the dock. His smile faltered slightly as he looked over at the Prince. Avarice tugged at his brother's sleeve, struggling to read the look in Sin's eyes
"Sin? Are you okay?"
It looked almost as though Sin was a statue, unmoving and for a moment they couldn't tell if he was even breathing. One look at him and they could tell that his mind was reeling violently as he searched for the right words to say, the right course of action. He felt like he was falling. Like he had crested over a very steep drop and now here he was, looking the fall dead in the eyes, stomach flipping as he stood frozen in its wake. He came to his senses when Dez took hold of his arm.
"Zur-Sin! Snap out of it." She spoke quietly but couldn't mask the demanding tone of an ex-captain that slipped through the cracks of her calm demeanour.
Sin whipped around to face the woman. His lips curled into a bitter smile as he pulled her closer. He linked his arm through hers and began to walk towards them. His smile was strained and very obviously unnatural, but he maintained it nonetheless. He stopped when he was in front of them, very clearly forcing himself to speak cheerfully.
"Welcome back!"
Nikiro's brows knit as he looked at him. His eyes fluttered between Dez and Sin as he set the boy down in front of Kashino. "Good to be back. I see you've grown your hair out."
"Yeah...I see you've added someone to the travel team?" Sin said, cold eyes flicking down to the child.
The child was hand in hand with Kashino who despite his hotheadedness, had a genuine look of pity in his eyes when he looked at Sin.
"Our child..." Stated Nikiro.
Sin couldn't even begin to describe the javelin of hurt that thrusted itself between his ribs. "I can tell...he looks like you guys...it's cute!"
Kashino ushered the boy closer to Sin. "His name is Kairo. We found a surrogate in Misago Village while we were in Aruma An."
"How old is he?" Sin asked, a chill evident in his voice.
"Four."
Dez squeezed Sin's arm, drawing his steely gaze towards her. "Four huh..." He closed his eyes and turned back to the child. Opening them slowly, a low chuckle left his lips. "He looks healthy. Congratulations."
Nikiro reached out for Sin. "Sin I-"
Sin turned away, cutting Nikiro off and begun dragging Dez and Avarice along. "I have work to finish up. Have one of the servants show you back to your room."
His words were cold and detached, very unlike the lackadaisical prince they knew, although it was safe to say that when it came to Nikiro, he often did things that were unlike himself. Avarice and Dez exchange another round of knowing glances and sighed, following Sin back to the palace.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
"Wait! Pull it out!"
"What? I thought this was where it goes?"
"Not yet! I have to put this in first!"
Tobi and Ri-is puttered around Tobi's workshop. While Tobi's primary job was reconnaissance, Illya did give him a workshop so he could indulge in his more inventive hobbies. Ri-is had been coming by quite often to simply hang out and relax.
Tobi was the first male friend he had apart from his brothers and now that Astrid has her own family and his brothers were often off doing their own thing or working, he welcomed Tobi's company. Safe to say Tobi quite enjoyed Ri-is' company as well. Neither of them would ever admit it but they did get quite lonely at times and seeing as how Tobi was in a similar position to Ri-is, with few family and friends to hang out with, they were a match made in heaven. On this particular day, Ri-is had come by to help Tobi with whatever he was constructing.
"So how's Yukimi been these days?" Asked Tobi as he tinkered away.
Ri-is shrugged. "She's been working really hard. She's finally been accepted by the court physician as an official apprentice so she's been going on a lot of travels with him outside of Solaria. I kinda miss having someone to go out with..." He sighed, settling himself into a corner of the room to relax.
Tobi shot him a glance from the corner of his eye. "Well...if you wanna have some fun why don't I take you out tomorrow? We can go for a ride to wherever you want."
Ri-is sat up excitedly. "Really?"
"Of course!"
"Then it's a date!" Chirped the Prince, earning himself a chuckle from Tobi.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Ea had successfully returned Isabelle to Astrid and Albus. However, word of her abduction had reached the Empress' ears in a matter of minutes. So after the safe return of her granddaughter, she rounded up the guards in charge of the Deroutér's for a stern scolding on their incompetence. The guards cowered before the irate dragon. Sin, who was present during their scolding watched on with Ea as she went off on the guards. Ea leaned over towards Sin and whispered cautiously.
"Was mother always this terrifying?" He asked.
Sin stroked his chin, grinning as he tapped a finger to it. "Actually I think you caught her on a good day. She's usually more....bowel shakingly efficient!"
Ea shook his head. "I would have gone with randomly violent but okay," he whispered back.
"She's gotten word that her Shadow Vein army's won the battle out in Raeha Grasslands So she must be in a good mood. Usually, someone's head is flying by now," laughed Sin.
Illya dismissed the guards and called the princes forth. Though many years had passed, the Empress never lost her radiance. The woman retained her beautiful visage, though her features were littered with scars here and there, it still displayed the fierceness of her spirit. The corners of her lips lay between a frown and a smile, she was a natural at sneering and her iconic smirk was well known for she took perverse pleasure in crushing her enemies beneath her feet and she enjoyed mocking them as she did so.
It just so happened that Illya was on one such high as she had been gaining consecutive victories in various battles for land across the continent of Raeha, most of which took place on the Raeha Grasslands. The grasslands accounted for almost 90% of the continent. They were lush and vast and due to the sheer boundlessness of the grasslands, it was said that a hidden city of riches lay concealed within it, yet the maze-like terrain often claimed many lives. People would get lost or trapped in pitfalls. It didn't take long for rumours of the city of riches to reach adventurers across the world. As its popularity grew, so did the number of rumours. Rumours of the city being decorated in plentiful golden buildings, with streets lined with golden shavings that sparkled under the lights led to people dubbing it the Nightless City.
The Dragon Queen always had a taste for adventure and so seeing as how things were fairly quiet and would stay that way for quite some time, Illya decided to take on a little side project, that being, finding the Nightless City. She wasn't the only one with that idea though, but being the game master that she is, she, of course, was on a high from all of her recent victories. Of all the princes and princesses, Avarice, Zur-Sin and Ea were the ones gathered per her request. Of course, Ea was only there because he was escorting the guards in charge of Isabelle's case but he decided to stay to say hello to mum.
Illya grinned. "Alright. Homestretch. We've got a solid lead on the location of the Nightless City. Avarice, I'm putting you and your squadron in charge of the expedition to recover it."
Sin flinched. "WAIT! I can do it! I can go!"
Illya frowned, her imposing figure looming over them as she crossed her legs on her throne. "No. You've run yourself ragged. You will burn out. You know that. And if that happens you'd be useless in taking the city."
Sin looked away in defeat. Illya sighed, opening her mouth to speak again but was cut off by an abrupt coughing fit. Her chest heaved as she held a hand over it in surprise.
"Umm...are you okay mom?" Asked Sin.
Illya looked down to see her son's concerned gazes but did not respond. She shifted her attention to Avarice instead. "Go prepare. You leave tomorrow, " commanded Illya.
Avarice complied, not wanting to stress her further. It wasn't long before the familiar Solarian sunset washed over the land, ushering in the night.
ns 15.158.61.51da2
