The Forgotten Zodiac

Alexander nodded and glanced over at his half-brother, measuring him briefly with a glance. "There wouldn't even be size cues. Syl, Mewt, and I are close enough. Roderick and Marche are also close enough, so the only really obvious ones are Montblanc and Ritz." They reached the bedrooms quickly; and Alexander, with Syl and Mewt's help, began sorting the cases to the proper bedrooms. It wasn't particularly hard. As he'd said, he'd packed many of them himself. Those he hadn't packed, he knew enough of. "I don't think we'll need any help, but thank you for the offer."

Ritz nodded and smiled back, holding up her hand to show the engagement ring on her finger. Despite what one would assume from her personality, both her hands were entirely bare except for that ring, a slim silver band with a single ruby, like the ones in her earrings, set in. "The wedding's in six months. It would've been faster, but you know..." She shrugged and held out her hands in a universal "You know how it is" gesture. "With all the politics and politicians and family we have to find." She grinned, bouncing visibly as she walked. "Plus, it gives me time to plan everything out with Shara."

Ike nodded at Elincia, giving his assent to her joking statement. "First you dressed me like a doll, then you made me dance." He wrinkled his nose in disgust and looked over at Marche. "Your arrival may have been the best thing that happened at that party. She still made me dance, of course; but it bought me some time."

Lucia shrugged, laughing quietly. "A pity I won't meet the woman you call so unfortunate. She'll have to be a saint to love you. It's really a shame she'll put effort into you instead of into a more noble cause, like breeding dogs for maximum attractiveness or painting pictures of various rock formations." She sighed dramatically and stifled a laugh. "Of course, it's bound to happen eventually. Live long enough and, theoretically, there's a soul mate for anyone. You just have to hope you live at the same time and in the same place they do."

Bastian nodded to Alexander and, seeing that the siblings had the sorting under control, turned to Kieran and Mewt.

"Were the others headed to partake of the afternoon meal?" he asked. When Kieran confirmed the Count's supposition, Bastian turned to Mewt. "Would you like me to escort you to the dining hall? Or rather to some other room, if you do not desire to join us?

Elincia smiled at the girl, then turned to Ike, whacking his arm lightly with the back of her hand. "Oh, quiet you," she scolded lightly. "I think you did a wonderful job dancing. Those lessons certainly helped," she said. Shortly after Ike and Elincia's engagement had been announced, the young queen had conscripted her brother into helping Ike get on top of the... skills required of a king. The knight - now Ike's brother-in-law - had done a remarkable job with the king. Probably because that his duty as a knight and especially as Kieran's superior had helped give him limitless patience.

Soren's expression faltered slightly, finding himself unable to read Lucia's tone enough to figure if she was being serious or not. "Yes, well..." he struggled for a moment to come up with a reply, and to do so he instead focused on the second part of her words. "...I'm sure I'll be around, whenever she is," he muttered.

"No, I was going to lunch," Mewt assented. He started after Bastian, then paused and turned back to Alexander. "Did you bring my things through?" When Alexander assented and directed him to the right case, the prince opened it and dug through it until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a plain, leather bound book and sealed the trunk again before he followed the Count again. "Syl, I'm going to show them the memory logs at lunch, okay?" He kept walking and started idly flipping through the book, though Bastian couldn't see the pages. Closing it with a snap, he lowered his hand and held the book by his side as he hurried along next to the Count.
Ike shook his head and looked down at Elincia. "I don't want to talk about that. It was a horrible thing, and I am going to pretend it never happened. I never danced with Geoffrey; it didn't happen. Since I'm already married, I won't have to dance ever again." At that point in time, he really had no intention of doing it; but Elincia knew she'd be able to make Ike dance again if she needed to.
Marche laughed at that mental picture before commenting. "I can dance, technically. Of course, I don't know if Ritz will love dances I learned in pubs; but I do have an edge there."
Ritz shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "The Viera don't believe in sheltering their children, Marche, even if their human parents are minor nobility. I know exactly which dances you know, I taught you some of them." She wrinkled her nose in thought and laid down a surprising compromise. "None of those until everyone I don't care about is either thoroughly drunk or gone home, okay?" She patted Marche's cheek, then gasped in delight as they entered the dining hall. "Look at it! Look at the tables! They're so cute!"

Lucia shook her head, just strong enough to make her long, blue hair wave all the way down. "Not necessarily. She could have lived before you; she could be living now and have never met you; or, really, she could be someone you know right now but won't realize you love until she dies. It's sort of a despressing view."

Bastian watched Mewt with some curiousity, but did not pry into the boy's private affaris. The count didn't do such things - that didn't mean he didn't have connections who didn't. Of course, he had no need to turn them on Mewt quite yet; the Ivalicians hadn't proven themselves dangerous in any way.

Elincia laughed lightly at Ritz's reaction to the room, smiling over at the other girl. "I am glad you like it," she said. She paused for a moment, then voiced a question, "Did you just mention the Viera as your parents?" she asked with a tilt of her head. "It was my understanding that the Viera did not look so like us. I mean no offense, of course," she said.

Soren quirked his brow, then shook his head. "It's realistic, nothing more," he said. "And I much prefer reality to fantasy. Of course, you already know that about me," he said.

((I'll drop Mewt and Bastian for now; they can arrive in a few posts.))

Ritz halted visible and took a deep breath, though she shook her head and smiled to indicate that no offense had been taken. "Oh... That, yes. Well, you see, when a Viera's child is being formed the magic of the Viera begins to bind with it and effect the child's development. If the child is male, the magic nearly always rejects it and leaves them entirely human, though they may show higher aptitude for magic, live longer, and have greater strength and speed than the average Hume. If the child is a girl, the magic binds with the forming child and changes them, physically and magically, because human magic is different from Viera magic. On very rare occasions, a male child will discover an ability for Viera magic and a lack for Hume-style techniques. Likewise, sometimes a girl is born without any physical signs of her race. In all of history, however, there has never been a fully Hume female child, or a fully Viera male child; but I don't know why. I'm one of the females that didn't gain any physical attributes. Does that answer your question?" Surprisingly, there was a slight blush to Ritz's cheeks as she spoke about this. Her raising had made it clear that noble women did not disucuss topics of birth or pregnancy outside the family, at least not to this detail. This applied much more so to men; and so, while she could face down a drunken Bangaa or a raving slob, this conversation made her somewhat uncomfortable, on Elincia's behalf.
Lucia tilted her head in a sideways nod to acknowledge Soren's point. "Some people would say that it is easier to never consider the possibilty that there is love or could be love, rather than to face the idea that you had a chance that you missed. Of course, these arguments are entirely based on a premise that can't be proven; so I don't suppose it matters all that much."

Elincia nodded in understanding. "I see. We have people under a similar condition living within Crimea's borders, many of which I do not know. Those I do... have asked that I keep that information of their lineage to myself. They are still few in number, but the Branded, as they are called by beorc, are... well, I believe, contain great power, and are destined to do much for the world that they are slowly being accepted in," she explained. She glanced up to Ike, hoping she'd not said anything too much. But she did feel that, after that outpouring of information on Ritz's behalf, the Queen was expected to offer something in return.

A moment or so later, they arrived back at the dining hall. Elincia glanced over her shoulder to the guests. "We're here," she said. "Please, make yourselves comfortable." Then, turning to Ike, "I've finished my meal. I believe I will go dress for training. Or perhaps... today would be a good day for a public appearance?" she questioned. The Queen did not go into town often, as it usually involved a large entorage and seemed mroe trouble than it was worth, but for a girl who'd spent the first half of her life living only in the royal villa, Elincia enjoyed going to the market. Not to mention it would help public realations. "You haven't been yet, Ike. As King, I mean," she said.

"That's true," Soren nodded. He allowed a sigh to slip through his lips. "For now, though... I enjoy the present company."

((Do you want to do the Syl/Soren thing today or at a later town visit? My plan was that Elincia and Mewt would be in one place and the assassin would make his move, climaxing in Mewt killing him. Meanwhile, Syl, Soren, Ike, and Marche would be following one of Lucia's leads in town when the Syl/Soren thing happens. They could both happen today, or later.
Also, to be clear, Ritz is full-Viera, just appearing human. The Viera are an all-female race; so, when they have kids, the girls turn full-Viera and the boys turn full-father's race. Ritz just happened to have a weird mutation [or lack thereof] that left her human-looking.
Also, Janaff is a flirt, right? Because it would be hilarious if he came and flirted with Ritz.))

Ike looked at Elincia and thought for a moment, weighing the pros and cons carefully. After a few seconds of thoughts, he posed one important question. "Would you make me go get dressed in some stupid outfit, or could I go like this?" Since the King had yet to do any sparring that day, his clothes were fairly clean; however, they had been selected for comfort and not for public appearance functionality.
Ritz followed Marche over to the table and leaned on a chair next to him, but she made no move to sit down. "I ate before coming through; you go ahead." She leaned her head back and drank in the room eagerly. Out of all the newcomers, Ritz was by far the most visibly enamored with her new surroundings. This wasn't that none of the others had been interested, but this eagerness was an obvious facet of her personality. While doing so, she thought carefully about what Elincia had said about the Branded, though it made very little sense to her. In Ivalice, while there were some less than pleasant individuals who didn't care for other races in general, mixed blood wasn't <i>that</i> big a deal. Mixed heritage was unusual, but no worthwhile people really cared.
"Who knows? Maybe your true love is in Melior right now." Before Soren had to reply to that comment, or decipher whether or not it was meant to be taken seriously, Lucia rejoined Elincia and Ike. "I wouldn't mind joining you in town today," she commented, having been keeping half an ear out to their conversation. "That is, if Ike consents to go." She glanced at him, then back to her sister to see what her answer to her husband's question would be.

((We should do it now because I'm tired of waiting. -la- And also I knew that.))

"Wear whatever you want, Ike," Elincia conceeded with a warm smile. "Just don't embarass yourself. Or me, if you care to put the effort into that," she teased, blowing a kiss to his cheek as she turned to the hallway. "I'll take that as a yes, then?" she asked, then smiled. "And Lucia, of course you can come along. You'll pick an escort, correct?" The Queen cut her eyes knowingly over to Soren, who caught her gaze.

"Ah..." he hesitated for a moment as he transitioned into this new conversation. "If she'll have me," he consented, nodding.

The young queen smiled, looking excited. "I'll go get ready. I'll be back soon."

Soren hovered at the doorway for a moment before entering the room and taking a seat. He glanced over to Lucia once, before looking across to Ike. "You don't... need help getting ready do you?" he asked. "You look presentable enough to me, provided you didn't spill anything on yourself while you ate," he said.

Ike looked down at his shirt before he shook his head quickly. "I know how to feed myself without spilling, Soren." Despite this statement, he resisted the urge to continue eating, something he was always capable of, to avoid the possibility. "How soon do you think we'll be leaving?" he inquired of his friend, knowing Soren to be a much better judge of women's dress than he was.
Lucia moved to join Ike and Soren, but the noblewoman also positioned herself so that Marche and Ritz would have a place to join if they so chose. "Of course, I'll have you, Soren. Can you think of anyone else we should invite? Leanne would probably love to come, unless there's a particular reason to leave them behind..." Crimea's policy was to bring Laguz and Beorc interactions closer whenever possible, so they would probably come. However, that depended on public mood, and it might be better to leave them. It was mostly a matter of what Elincia wanted to do in town this time and how long they intended to stay.
Mewt and Bastian entered the dining hall then, reimmersed in a discussion of the relative magical theory they both found so interesting. Mewt ended the conversation as they entered the room and joined the group. The young prince's smile brightened when he saw Ritz, who was a considerably more welcome presence than Alexander. "Ritz! Did you arrive with Alexander?"

Soren gave a small smile and a nod to Lucia's words, turning quickly to answer Ike's question before returning his attention to the plans that needed to be made.

"I'd say it'll take no more than a quarter of a mark for the Queen to be ready. Depending on who we invite, it may take longer." He turned to Lucia, then. "I'm sure the Herons would be... welcome," he said hesitantly, as though he didn't fully believe the words he was saying. That, however, was a result of his own qualms with the laguz, and for no other reason. "We'll need to provide a big larger of an entorage to ensure that they are sufficiently protected, however... maybe Bastian and Mewt would do," he suggested.

He glanced up as the Count and young prince entered the room. "...speak of the devil," he muttered, shaking his head slightly. "You invite them, Ike. It'll make them happier," he said.

Ike, after waiting for Marche to give Mewt a brief explanation on Ritz' arrival, did as Soren suggested. "Bastian, Mewt," he greeted. "Elincia's planning a trip into the city shortly. Do you want to come?" His invitation was admittedly lacking in social grace, but Ike still didn't see the point of all the fancy words that came before any of the genuine information. "We're going to invite the Herons, too; so there's no reason why anyone should stay behind." He added this open invitation to include Ritz, Marche, and anyone Marche felt would be necessary for Mewt's security. While the man had relaxed significantly as his trust in the Crimeans increased, he still seemed slightly paranoid to Ike; but Ike tried to respect that. From what he'd heard, the paranoia made sense back in Ivalice. Supposedly, it had saved Mewt's life several times.
Mewt hesitated before answering, glancing to Marche to infer whether or not his bodyguard was up to such a trip today. Once Marche had nodded, surprisingly subtly, the teen smiled and accepted immediately. "I'd love to come. When do you think we would be leaving?" He hadn't eaten lunch yet; and, while it didn't take him very long, the prince knew it was important that he did feed himself.
"Shall I go invite the Herons, then?" Lucia inquired. "I can also get anyone else you think worth inviting on this trip while I'm at it." She shifted her stance slightly so she appeared to be addressing not only Ike but also everyone else in the conversation, since this was going to be a large trip anyway.
After Marche requested that she obtain Syl's presence and Ike shrugged to indicate a complete lack of ideas, Lucia turned to go. Before she had reached the door, Ritz bounded up beside her. "Would you mind taking me to wherever you have me staying? I'll probably be of more use unpacking there. Besides, I'm not sure I feel quite up to a city trip, as tragic as that is." With Lucia's acquiescence, Ritz skipped out of the room, waving over her shoulder to Marche and Mewt.

 "Take all the time you need, dear Prince," Bastian said, a grin on his face as he turned to Mewt. "The day is still young - we have much time to spare. Though, the sooner we leave, the longer we may spend in town," he reminded.

Soren sighed and stood up. "...right then. I'll be waiting at the main gate," he said. The room had gotten too crowded for his liking, and he figured the best way to solve this problem was to leave. "Tell Lucia where I've gone, and that I'm waiting," he added, almost an afterthought. The comment had a sense of urgency to it, however, as though the mage couldn't believe he'd almost forgotten.

As Soren moved out of the room, Bastian turned to Ike, frowning slightly as the other mage made his last comment. "He is Lucia's escort?" he asked, apparently a bit caught off guard. He, of course, had heard of what had gone on around the start of spring - but having not been there had left him wondering about a few things. Mainly, just how close Soren and Lucia had been after...

"Nevermind, my King. I do not mean to trouble you with such questions. Now!" he said abruptly, clapping his hands once. "I must go prepare myself for an even on the town!"

Within half an hour, the group was organized and at the front gate. The final tally came to Ike, Elincia, Soren, Lucia, Mewt, Bastian, Syl, Kieran, Marche, Reyson, and Leanne. After a brief discussion, the general consensus had been in support of walking into the city; it wasn't far; and they were all capable of walking much longer distances.
Ike, the further into town they got, became increasingly more nervous, as this was his first public appearance as king. Despite this, his natural self-confidence and an occasional word of encouragement from Elncia kept him sauntering at his fairly brisk pace, and they arrived in the market quite soon. There, the group separated into smaller groups. While they all stayed near each other, they separated enough to make themselves approachable and non-threatening to any commoners. Public relations was the main functional purpose of their visit, after all.

The young Queen guided Ike over to various market stalls, speaking to a few merchants that she was familiar with from previous visits and introducing them formally to the new King. The merchants were all very gracious and excited to see the couple, and offered them a few trinkets free of charge, but Elincia insisted on paying.

The merchant they spoke to now was one that was a bit more shrewd than the others. Quite obviously a businessman first, gentleman second. He had waved the royal couple over a few minutes ago, and was now proceeding to sell his... fine wares.

Elincia, despite being sheltered for most of her life, knew a con man when she saw one. But never one to be rude, she thought up a different solution. She leaned back, looking around the marketplace for a few moments before spying the person she'd been looking for.

"Bastian! Would you come talk to this man?" she called. The count turned with a small smirk on his face, wondering why on earth the Queen would simply invite him to... oh.

The Count approached the stall as Ike and Elincia made a swift exit, already setting into what was, Elincia was sure, his most fantastic monologue yet. She laughed under her breath and turned to Ike.

"Well?" she asked, wondering how he liked the trip so far. One arm was currently laden with a few bolts of cloth and a small basket of assorted fruits, but the other was still free enough to escort the Queen. She glanced over her shoulder at the "shop" they'd just left, and laughed softly. "You didn't need a... what was it... 'one-of-a-kind time-keeping candle,' did you?" she asked, laughing a bit louder as she finished.

Meanwhile, the Herons had ended up with Kieran, Lucia and Soren, much to the latter's disconcertation. He said nothing of it, but was sure the Herons sensed his feelings about being with the laguz. They knew not to say anything of it, however, and Leanne just seemed grateful that <i>somebody</i> was willing to show the two laguz their way around a beorc market. Kieran made himself busy as the Heron princess' escort, looking like the happiest man in the world with the young heron's arm around his.

Soren shuddered slightly, then glanced up to Lucia, wondering if she had felt that. He assumed she had, so he warded off the question he knew was coming with one of his own. Discreetly, the mage indicated Kieran. "Did he run around like that when it was you on his arm?" Soren asked.

Ike laughed with her and nodded vigorously. "Oh, just desperately! I was thinking, we could put it on Boyd's forehead when he sleeps. That way, he would wake up when it started to light his hair on fire." He turned around, pretending to try to lead Elincia back to the stall. "Do you think we should ask Bastian to pick some up, c'mon. This is an opportunity we can't pass up."
Lucia started to reply and comment on Reyson's actions as the Heron was following Kieran and his sister around so closely it almost made him appear a jealous rival to Leanne. Before she could, however, something in a nearby stall caught her eye; and she immediately led Soren into it. The stall was owned by a wealthy cloth merchant and, while Lucia wasn't usually one for new silks, she was quite intent on the cloth roll that caught her eye. After nearly five minutes of examination, including unfolding as much from the cloth as the nervous shop attendant could stand, Lucia nodded and bought a decent length of it. Departing, with the cloth over her arm, Lucia pressed against Soren so she could speak without being overheard. "Someone's seen that assassin." Quickly and quietly, she detailed where he had been seen, exactly, and how often. "The last sighting was recent, just this morning. Apparently he'd been paying for a room with that strange currency. He'll probably be back to his rooms soon."
Ahead of them, the three present Ivalicians had split up into different groups. Syl was just ahead of them, with Kieran and the Herons. Mewt had moved over to Bastian and was inquiring about the tomes of magic he'd heard so much about. Marche, true to his nature, was sitting in an alley between two stalls. He was quite in plain sight, and this situation kept all his companions in his view. It also gave him the opportunity to decidedly ignore the children, who, having heard about the strange appearance of new people and recognizing the unusual patterns in his armor and weapons, had all gathered around to investigate him.

"No, no no!" Elincia said, laughing as she tugged gently in the opposite direction. "We should wander to the other side of the market. There are more people to introduce you to!" she insisted, then leaned up and pecked his cheek lightly. "Or are you getting tired of being paraded around?" she asked.

Soren's eyebrows rose and pressed together as he thought, eyeing the bolt of cloth. "Right, I understand," he said, nodding quickly. "Shall I be off then? Let me find Ike, and it would probably be best to inform Marche and Syl... seeing as it is their assassin," he said. He stood on his toes and looked around for any of the aforementioned people, before spotting Marche. "I'll go get him, and Ike. Send Syl our way?" he asked, looking up at Lucia as he released her arm.

Ike grinned as Elincia kissed him and shook his head. "To the other side it is! I'm sure I'll never be tired of parading, as long as you're the one parading me. If it were, say, Bastian, I would complain much more. You should consider yourself privileged." He allowed her to redirected their path, which conveniently led them past Marche and along Soren's path.
Lucia nodded immediately, making a mental note to explain more of the message system to Soren. "Try not to get stabbed this time, Soren. I'd hate to have to visit you in the infirmary." She moved ahead quickly until she reached Syl. After a quick explanation, he, too, was on his way toward the others.

Soren paused in his steps for a moment, glancing back over his shoulder at Lucia. He shook his head slightly, then sighed a smile. "I'll be careful," he said. With that said, he hurried over to Marche, explaining the situation a bit distractedly as he looked for Ike.

Elincia smiled at Ike, glancing up as she passed Soren and Marche. She offered the two a wave and smile, but the expression froze on her face as Soren waved her over, a serious... more serious look than usual on his face.

"We have a problem," he said, speaking in a low tone so as to not alert the citizenry.

Ike listening carefully, his brow furrowing further and further as Soren spoke. It was quite a good thing he was positioned facing the alley; one look at his face would have informed any passerby that something was amiss. "So we know where he is, huh? What's the plan, Soren? Are we going to get him now or what?" Soren having been his tactician for years, Ike assumed Soren would have made a plan of some sort immediately. With that knowledge in hand, it really just left it up to see what the mage's plan was.
Marche and Syl both said nothing; they both simply waited for Soren to answer. Marche felt at his swords absent-mindedly to ensure their readiness for combat. Syl also reached down and handled the hilt of his sword, though his magic was a much more potent weapon.

Soren opened his mouth to further inform Ike, but then hesitated. "You're sure you want to come?" he asked instead. His reasoning for the question was this; in an effort to be a visual symbol of Crimea's peaceful intentions, both the King and Queen had come to market today unarmed. It was at Elincia's insistance, but that was niether here nor there - Ike didn't have a weapon. And with his arms laden with goods from the market, he looked much more... tame than Soren knew of the threat he could be. The retainers and the knights had come armed, in case some dire situation - like the one they were in now - arose, and Soren assumed that Marche and Syl would be armed, like they were at all times anyways.

"I mean..." Soren realized now that his question may have lacked tact, so he excused it with a play at Ike's emotions, "do you want to leave Elincia behind?"