The Forgotten Zodiac

"Fairly well," Nate nodded. "The doctor insists that I'll land in a wheelchair if I don't resign from my job within the next three years, though...which I have no intentions of doing until I'm actually in that wheelchair. Regardless, you said something about Cern? Cern means Luen, does it not?"

"Yes," Forin nodded at once. "We've been on the search for him for the past few years, myself and Diana..."

"I convinced his majesty to send out two search parties to scour all of Storaph. They were sent out over a year ago, they never returned..." Nate sighed. "We can't afford to lose anymore men though, especially with the construction going on. I would have gone myself, but I have a duty to my king."

"Well. At least you did something." Forin snorted. It would be awhile before he let Werr and the others off the hook for that one, apparently.

Seria sighed, then moved forward and gave Nate a hug. "Regardless of how it happened, I'm glad to see you again, Nate. Tasia." She pulled back and touched Tasia's shoulder, smiling at her. When she moved to pull back, Tasia suddenly moved a hand forward and caught Seria's left hand. She studied the silver ring on the girl's finger for a moment, then asked "Is this what I think it is?"

Seria blushed nearly as red as her hair and said "Y-yes. Cynyr proposed to me a few months ago."

Tasia smiled widely and hugged the girl, chattering about how happy she was for her.

Welk waltzed back into the room then, carrying a bottle of ale he had gotten from the kitchen.

"Congratulations!" Nate smiled widely, taking the bottle from Welk. He popped the cork out with a claw, raising it in a toast. "To a happy marriage and whatever comes next," He grinned, taking a long drink from the bottle. He wasn't quite ready to stand again, and it didn't seem like he would be for awhile. "Where is Cynyr, anyways? Rather foolish of him to let his dearest fiance wander these lands alone. Oh, wait, let me guess...back in Alastor with Werr?"

"Yes. Werr was overcome with a bout of cowardice and decided to stay home." Forin shrugged.

"You convinced him not to go, you mean," Diana spoke up with a small frown. She hadn't talked before, as she had been trying to remember who Tasia and Nate were. She remembered now though, clearly, as she moved towards Tasia, wanting a hug from the Dragonian.

It wasn't like Forin ever really gave hugs.

Tasia smiled and moved away from Nate to hug the little girl, giving her a light dragon kiss on her brow. "It's good to see you, little-bright-smile," she said, rocking them both back and forth slightly. She pulled back and brushed a lock of Diana's hair behind her ear, then stood up and returned to Nate's side. She sat down on the edge of the bed, putting her hand into one of Nate's. She smiled at him, leaning against his shoulder.

Seria smiled at their closeness, then said "Well, if it's alright by the head guard..." She winked one eye gently at Nate. "...I'd like to settle in. It's been a long day and I'm feeling saddle-sore." She flicked her tail, taking cat form and shaking her long fur out.

"Perfectly fine with me," Nate shrugged. "The guest rooms are right next door, actually. Feel free to go lie down for the evening. I can have supper brought to you, once I get up and moving again. I have to resecure my position and check on his majesty soon, so I shouldn't be stuck here for too much longer." He said, though he leaned his head against Tasia's.

"Oh, that man you mentioned...Luso? You might have to stop him from attacking us. I might have frightened him a bit when we made our way past him." Forin stood and moved towards the door, realizing he was still limping. The knife hilt stuck out from his leg. "Oh, uh...Seria, if you don't mind..." He frowned, limping towards her.

Seria blinked, then nodded and moved forward, shifting to human form again and gently sliding her delicate fingers around his leg. One hand moved around the back and the other grasped the knife, already working to dull the pain in the wound as she guided the blade out of Forin's flesh. She healed the wound quickly, pulling back to smile at Forin. "There you go," she said, moved gracefully past him and out the door.

Welk walked forward, finally able to come forward and greet him properly. He moved over with his head tilted up and his ears pressed back against his head, a rather serious look on his face. "Greetings, Nate Furhblast and Tasia Yilumina," he said, keeping his voice flat and professional. "It is good to see you both. I will retire now." He turned on his heel and walked out without so much as a backwards glance.

A few seconds later, he stuck his head back in and asked "Did you think I had changed? Did I fool you?" He was grinning from ear to ear, his crimson eyes bright.

Nate had just stared at Welk before, but now he laughed. "Yes, Welk. You fooled me, at least. Although, now that I think about it, I don't think you would be able to hold that face and tone for long. Keep working on it though; a little seriousness might help make a good impression now and then. Who knows, maybe Werr will send you undercover somewhere." Nate chortled.

"Not very likely. I do wonder how Werr is doing without Welk," Forin snorted. "And if I'm wondering that from merely a day of absence, Werr would never dream of making Welk leave for any extended period of time."

Welk threw Forin a look, then said "I'm not going to be here for long. We're going to stop Cern, rescue Luen, then go home, right? Right." He turned away from the Tartaran and grinned at Nate, saying "I'll probably never get it any better than that. Even then, I came close to giggling at least twice." He flicked his stumped tail, chuckling as he thought about his little prank. He then yawned and said "Well, I'm tired. I think I'll go get something to eat, then go to bed. Nice to see you both again, and goodnight." He turned and walked out of the room, yawning once more before making his exit.

Forin just rolled his eyes and stayed in the room to chat a bit more, before he noticed Diana yawning. After that, he took her to bed. Nate eventually got up and did his usual routine, letting his subordinates know that he was alright, and that they had guests. He also informed them that he wanted a guard posted outside king Asmodius' room at all times.

Nate went to bed after that, but eventually, he got up again. He had decided to take a shift at Asmodius' door, despite Tasia's protests and the creaking of his own body. The doctors were right, after all. He didn't really have much longer to be standing if he kept his usual habits up. He was only 23, but he felt as old as Zephyr would, if the dragon was a human.

Nate sighed and allowed his thoughts to wander towards the distant dragon. He wondered how he was doing with Vaira; and little Boko, for that matter. Nate chuckled inwardly as he remembered the curious Drakeling child. He was aware of how fatal and dangerous keeping such a thing was, especially for dragons, but perhaps the little thing would grow to love his new parents and home. The end of his shift neared as Nate let his mind wander.

Nate silenced his thoughts as he heard the sound of glass breaking. It came from Princess Holly's room, at that. Nate crept forward, hearing muffled voices; one laughing quietly, the other sounding scared. Nate drew his sword, inching forward step by silent step. When he saw the doorknob turning, he didn't hesitate to lunge forward, prepared to take on whoever stepped out.

Cern showed his wildly grinning face when he opened the door. A look of surprise crossed his face for a moment. Nate stabbed forward. He had expected Cern to dodge, and he did, with a simple step to the side.

And in that side step, he dragged Holly herself into the path of the blade. It went straight through her neck, Nate hadn't had any time to stop his blade. She slid off the blade, collapsing in a heap. Cern chortled, but he didn't attempt to go past Nate. He ran for the window instead, jumping out without a second thought. Nate sank to his knees, fumbling with the wound on Holly's neck in a futile attempt to make it stop bleeding.

To make matters worse, the fresh guard shift arrived mere seconds later. He didn't say anything; rather, he turned and ran back the way he came, hoping Nate hadn't seen him. He returned with several other guards only moments later, and Nate was silently detained and dragged off to the dungeons. Nate said nothing, he didn't move as he was dragged off by his arms, and he hardly reacted to being strapped to a wooden table on his back (for the sole purpose of making him uncomfortable). He didn't do much but lift his head and stare at the blood on his tied-down hands, not quite believing what he had just done.

It was his worst nightmare, in essence.

Kind, sweet and beautiful Princess Holly was dead at his hands.

When morning dawned, Tasia was the first to wake. She yawned and slowly reached for the place where Nate would normally lay beside her in his bed. Soon after they had come here together, Tasia had started sleeping in Nate's bed with him. They hadn't done anything, of course, but he had been her greatest source of reassurance and comfort. She liked to curl up next to her boyfriend and simply feeling him breathing against her. Now, when she reached over and found him missing, she sat up and glanced around for him. "Nate?" she called, wondering if he was just somewhere else in the room. She slid out of the bed and got dressed quickly, then trotted out of the room, only to get grabbed by a guard. "Where do you think you're going?" he snapped, pinning her arms behind her back.

She screeched and tried to make him let go, but he held on tightly. "You're that blasted dragonian's girlfriend," the guard said. "So you're under arrest too. You were probably in on it."

"What?!" she shouted, trying to get away from him. "Where's Nate?! What are you talking about?!"

"You'll find out, you murderer," the guard growled, then dragged the girl off.

As Tasia was led down to the dungeons, a soft voice echoed off the walls and up the stairs. It was Nate, obviously, singing in a horrible, off-key voice. He seemed to be alright, albeit in pain thanks to his current position on the wooden table. "Shut up already!" The guard hissed as he shoved Tasia into the cell across from Nate's, locking the door tightly before kicking the bars on Nate's cell door. "Shut it or I'll come in there and skin you head to toe!"

Nate's voice quickly stopped short. The guard moved back towards the stairs; there was no other way out from down below, so he could easily guard the stairwell and effectively guard them both. When the door at the top of the stairs slammed shut, Nate started singing again, though he was a little more careful about the notes this time. It was actually a quite beautiful Dragonian song; it translated directly to something along the lines of, "Here one moment, gone the next! Oh, the melancholy of passing life. Woe to those who pass before us, joy to the ones still alive, misery to those who burden others!" Then it repeated, again and again. Nate dropped off key again around the third repeat, and then he just stopped altogether.

The dried blood of Holly was obvious. The guards hadn't bothered to clean him up, apparently wanting evidence to show king Asmodius when he awoke.

Tasia just cried against the wall for a moment, having been fearful of the guard's intentions with her, then slowly pushed herself up and raked her gaze around the room, searching. She saw Nate and staggered up, quickly moving to her door and grabbing the bars. "Nate!" she cried, her blue-green eyes half-closed with unshed tears. "Why are we down here?" She spotted the blood on his hands and gulped softly, her eyes darting to and fro as she searched his face. "...What happened?" she asked quietly, her voice quivering with emotion.

Nate just stared blankly up at the ceiling for a long moment before turning to look at Tasia. He looked...well, he looked a little like Werr had, for the few moments he had been awake after Obelisk's final attempt to kill him. Nate looked almost exactly the same; like someone had ripped out his soul, torn it apart, and shoved it back inside. Vacant and heartbroken at the same time. "I killed her," He said quietly, his voice heavy with sadness. "She's dead. Holly. I stabbed her."

Tasia stilled at his words, staring at him. "W...why?" she asked softly, curling her tail down between her legs. She reached out a hand towards him, even though she couldn't reach him. "Nate..." she called, her voice soft and begging. "I...I'm sorry... Please, don't... I don't care..." She found that she couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him. Touch was always her greatest joy, both in receiving and giving. She had never been good with words. She had only recently learned how to speak normal human language, in fact, and even now, she rarely spoke to anyone else in the castle, so skittish was she. Just Nate.

Finally, the most she got out was a tiny little sentence. It wasn't a lot, but for her and her history...it was everything.

"I love you..."

Nate didn't respond at first. He settled for just looking back up at the ceiling, closing his eyes. "I'll never understand how anyone could love someone like me," He murmured. "I can't deny it anymore. I'm a monster. I'm glad there are bars between us. Everything I've ever cared about, I somehow manage to tear it down. I promised you I would never harm you...these bars help."

Then he fell silent and still once more, a defeated beast awaiting judgement.

Tasia just stared at him for a long moment, her eyes widening. Slowly, she pulled her arm back, feeling heartbroken. A sob broke free of her lips, followed by words. "But...but I thought..." she whispered, backing up. "I didn't...when you told me..." She stared at him for a moment longer, then wailed and fled back into her cell, taking cover in the shadows. "But you are!" she cried. "You are hurting me!" She curled up in the shadows, sobbing her heart and soul out. "I t-thought...you were...d-different..." she sobbed, covering her eyes with her hands.

Nate remained silent, though a single tear ran down the side of his face.

After a long while, the guards came back. They forced Nate to his feet again, tying his hands in front of him and shoving a gag in his mouth so he wouldn't blow fire. Luso took Nate by the upper arm and led him up the stairs, looking upset. The other guards grabbed Tasia, securing her in the same way, with the addition of tying her wings together so she wouldn't have the option of flying off.

They arrived in the throne room. They were pushed to their places, and ordered to get on their knees. When Nate didn't respond, a swift kick to the crook of his knee forced him down.

"Presenting the criminals...Nate Furhblast, and his accomplice, Tasia Yilumina. Charged with the murder of Royalty." Luso said, struggling to keep his voice even. Nate and Tasia were now kneeling before the king, obviously. Convicted of a crime punishable by immediate death or lifelong banishment.

King Asmodius sat in his throne, tears pouring down his face, one hand held to his head. The king was an older man, with fine gray hairs in his dark black hair. He had a short beard and mustache, both of which were neatly trimmed. His long rich robes were askew on his body, looking like he had just thrown them on at the last moment. He looked up through bleary eyes at the two, watching them distantly. There was silence for a long moment, with the great and respected king mourning the loss of his only child, then he finally spoke. "Why, Nate?" he asked, his voice weak and painfully thin. "You were one of my most trusted guards. You were respectable in every craft and situation. How did this happen? Why should I not give the order and have the both of you killed on the spot?!" He shouted the last line, his voice rising to a powerfully loud level. Then he slumped back in his chair, staring at Nate with shock and the spirit of a very, very weary being in his eyes.

Nate kept his head down, closing his eyes tightly. He was unable to hide the tremble the king's words drew out of him. He didn't dare lift his face to Asmodus. "I will tell nothing but truth, my leige. But I beg of you, if punishment is to follow, do not dole any of it upon Tasia. She had nothing to do with it. She was asleep while I was dragged down to the dungeons." He shook his head, trying desperately to contain his own sorrow and misery, but failing. "I had been informed that your life is at risk, my lord. It still is. The attacker in question is a being named Cern; he comes from Tartarus, causing a great deal of trouble. One of the guests is also from Tartarus, he can attest to that much.
"Last night, I had posted a guard shift between your door and the princess'. I took the third shift, and I heard the window break from inside your daughter's room. I...I waited, and the door was opened...but when I moved in for the attack, he pulled Holly in the way. I couldn't have pulled back. I...don't have any formal proof, aside from the broken window. I can apologize, but I know it will not bring Holly back." He ducked his head lower as though that would change things.

"I beg not for forgiveness, only that you spare Tasia. She wasn't even aware of my crimes until perhaps ten minutes ago..." Nate said shakily, unable to keep talking.

Asmodius said nothing for a long moment, one hand over his eyes as he cried silently. Tears were obvious as they fell from behind his upraised hand. Finally, he moved his hand and stared at Nate, then spoke. "...When my wife died, I thought my life was over. The only thing that kept me going was my beloved Holly and the knowledge that I had to life on in order to help and raise her. She was everything to me, Nate. I want nothing more than to have you killed, you and her both!" He pointed a quivering finger at Tasia, who shrunk back from him. "I want to rage and weep and let this entire kingdom rot away!" the king shouted. "I don't want to believe a single word coming out of your mouth! I want to brand it all as a lie and accuse you of murder!" He stopped for a moment, panting hard. When he spoke again, his voice was low and dull. "But...you've never lied to me. Not once," he said quietly. "You were one of my best guards. There was rarely fighting or arguing from the guards under you. I have always valued your opinion and your loyalty was never in doubt." He slowly shook his head, once again hiding himself behind a hand. "Why do I, after the death of my daughter, still believe you? That there really is a being meaning to do me harm. If you were anyone else, you would've been dead the moment the guards brought you in here." He was silent again for a moment, then said "I relieve you of your position as my head guard. I will never again have need of your services, but...I cannot kill you. Either of you. Go. Get out of my sight, every single one of you. I don't care if you stay in the kingdom or leave, just...please...leave me alone with my sorrow. I no longer care about anything this world has to offer me."

As soon as Tasia was free, she bolted from the room as fast as she could, tears still dripping down her face. She didn't stop at the room. She fled from the castle as well, snapping her wings open and lunging up into the sky. She looked back only once, though she didn't want to.

She hated everything about that castle except for one thing, and that single thing no longer loved her.