Trial Two~Bonds
The evening sun had just set. As the moon had taken to the sky, the hustle and bustle of the Solarian nightlife emerged with it. Solarians were always considered people who knew how to have fun, always finding something to celebrate or a reason to break out the instruments and have a good dance. Tonight was no exception.
Illya and Isidore had gone to visit one of the more popular entertainment districts to catch up and have some fun. They had spent most of the day together and had just finished enjoying a play in the local theatre. They walked along the illuminated path idly chatting and reminiscing until a small splash drew their attention to the pond next to the bridge they stopped on.
Illya and Isidore glanced at each other. The splash was too distinct to be an animal but too gentle to be an approaching threat. Nevertheless, Isidore had instinctively gotten in front of Illya, brandishing her claws as a warning. A silhouette began to rise to the surface and Isidore got ready to strike but before she could, Illya had grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.
"Wait! It's not dangerous."
A little boy, no older than three years old, emerged from the water with a gasp on his lips and a lily pad on his head. He stared at the women curiously.
"A...boy?" Isidore raised an eyebrow, curious as to how he managed to go around swimming in this area without anyone noticing.
Illya got a little closer and bent down, smiling warmly at the child. "Hi there little one. It's a little late to be going for a swim don't you think? Where's your mama and papa?" She asked sweetly, careful not to scare the boy.
Just then a loud voice resounded across the water. It was strong and clear and belonged to a man. "EGAN! WHERE ARE YOU! This damn brat. GET OVER HERE NOW!"
The boy flinched upon hearing the voice. He quickly floundered onto the path and shook the lily pad off of his head. As he did, the man to whom the voice belonged, came bounding over towards them. He grabbed the little boy by his arm forcefully and yanked him towards his side.
"There you are!" He exclaimed furiously. Once the man noticed Illya and Isidore he laughed irritatedly and grabbed a handful of the boy's messy and matted hair.
"Much apologies. Was my boy giving you trouble? He has no manners, this one." The man began to shake the boy by his hair.
Illya narrowed her eyes as she stood. "I presume you are the father?"
The man laughed again. "Yes, that's right. This child here...haha...worst mistake I ever made. Oh, but you two look like a couple of smart young ladies I'm sure you've heard of me at least once or twice. The name's Andras. My wife, Carman and I have been travelling for a while now."
"So you aren't from Solaria then." Isidore concluded.
The man was slightly taken aback by her cold attitude. "Y-Yes that's right...never mind...if you haven't heard of us then..." He mumbled.
Isidore leaned in so Illya could hear her.307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ820sz6UTjE
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"A refugee? He clearly doesn't know who you are."
"No. A runaway glory hog. I know those names. Andras and Carman Dionysus were two very renowned actors in Thebas. Their theatre began to lose more money than they were making and according to reports, they were so caught up in their fame and glory that they couldn't let go and resorted to selling drugs to try and keep the dream alive. Of course, that plan fell through and the theatre went bankrupt anyway. They turned to the drugs and alcohol to drown out their sorrows," said Illya.
"Oh yeah, I remember you mentioning wanting to see their one of their plays when we were younger."
"Yeah. I only heard about the collapse of the theatre because before I got around to visiting it, Dionysus broke the news that it went bankrupt. He only kept an eye on them because they share the same name and were known as two of the best actors in their country. I have no idea how they got to Solaria. I didn't even know they had a child."
Isidore frowned. "If that's the case we should do something about them fast. Just look at how he's treating the kid! Drug distribution, smuggling a child and possible illegal narcotics across borders, potential abuse just to name a few. There's enough criminal activity to boot him out and make sure he can't cause trouble here."
Illya nodded in agreement. She looked at the boy again and noticed that in his hand he held a very small fish. It was then that she realized that he may have been in the water to try and look for food. She looked across the bridge and noticed a woman, passed out with bottle in hand.
"Ahh...that must be Carman," she whispered to Isidore.
The family was absolutely filthy and they wreaked of alcohol. It was clear the kid had bruises on him too. Illya didn't understand why he was going to such lengths. Most of the places around them would have happily given them food and shelter, free of charge. Illya made sure to foster that kind of environment and seeing as they even went so far as to come to the more "richer" areas of Solaria, she was not about to let them take advantage of her citizens and ruin an innocent child's life.
Egan tugged on his father's arm, almost begging for him to release his hold. It was then that Andras yanked even harder and began pulling him away.
"I think it's time we got going haha...ha."
Isidore and Illya watched them stumble away.
"Seibel," Illya whispered.
He appeared from her shadow and bowed beside her. "Yes, my lady."
"Do expel them from the country. Don't harm the child though, make sure he is put into safe care."
"As you wish my lady." Seibel vanished into the shadows to complete his task.
•~•~•~•~•~•
Sin in his aimless wandering had stumbled across quite a scene. He stood around the corner near the garden gazebos. Across from him was a giddy Astrid. He craned his neck towards them, careful not to reveal himself. He could see that Astrid had her hands on a young man's shoulder. The man sat on the ground under one of the trees. Sin was confused and a little put off at how close she was leaning over the man's shoulder. He leaned in to try and hear what they were talking about, but she was purposely whispering and he could barely make it out.
"See! I told you you'd find something good to paint here!" She chimed.
Albus continued to sketch, taking note of how close she got to him.
"The palace grounds really are beautiful, but are you sure you're allowed to bring a stranger here?"
Astrid shrugged. "Why not? You don't seem like a bad person."
Albus sighed and put his sketchbook down.307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5iSJw5NUS
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"Princess, you're far too unguarded."
She raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Albus turned to glance at her, his eyes narrowed and she instinctively took her hands off of his shoulder and stepped back. Without missing a beat, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down. She lost her balance at the abrupt outburst and ended up across his legs. He had caught her securely in his arms before she hit the ground too hard but she suddenly felt an air of danger as he tightened his grip on her.
"Do you normally bring people you've just met to secluded places like this? What if I was an assassin? What would you have done then?"
"I appreciate your concern but if your assumption was correct and I do actually bring folks back here, how do you know I didn't bring you here to kill you?"
"So her highness is a secret killer now?"
Astrid grinned. "Maybe I am. You'll have to stick around and get to know me to find out."
Albus laughed and pushed himself up a little. "Well then hopefully you won't turn me into fertilizer." He reached out towards the bush behind Astrid's head and plucked a flower off of it. "It'd be a shame if you didn't get to see one of my finished paintings," he said, tucking the flower behind her ear.307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xzKpa4rXm
Astrid giggled, dusting her fingers over the petals . "Well you should probably get to painting then." 307Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6ICoFZDcM
Before he could get off of her, angry footsteps drifted through the air behind him and before he knew it a hand reached out and grabbed him, dragging him off of her. He was flung to the ground and Astrid bolted up.
"Princess! He didn't hurt you did he?"
Astrid's eyes darted up at the sudden company. "Cheng?"
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