The Forgotten Zodiac

Nate sat down on the bed, crossing his legs and pulling them up onto the bed so he could turn around and face the healer with his back. The old man sighed heavily, feeling the break. "That's terrible. I'm surprised; any man would be weeping at a break like this," The bone had been snapped clean in two, and the thinner part of the bone had shoved itself underneath the larger bit.

"I've felt worse." Nate said quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping man.

"Right, well, I've gotta pull it back into place...d'you want a pain numbing spell?"

"No, there's no need for that, just--" Nate cut himself off with a slight choking noise as his bone was popped roughly back into place.

"Good, 'cuz I wasn't gonna give you one." The healer snorted, fixing the bone quickly. It only took a few minutes. "There we go, good as new. Off with you, and don't bother trying to fly away, even though your wing is better. Lennon has ways of catching escapees, and punishment for trying to run is terrible."

"Um...thanks." Nate blinked, getting back on his feet.

Dmitry stood straight as well, giving a nod to the healer. "Thank you," he said. "If you wish, I'll provide a bit of payment for your trouble." He pulled three solid gold coins out of his pocket and set them down on an empty bed, then calmly took Nate's chain and led him out.

As they neared Mirage's room, Nate noticed Dmitry's steps becoming forced. When they reached the door, he hesitated for a moment before knocking.

"Come in!" his sister called, and he opened the door to see her sitting on her bed, filing her clawed nails. Her outfit was as royally tribal as usual, but today she had went for her more seductive one. It showed her slender stomach, though it had a long dress skirt and a thin veil was draped over her bare shoulders.

She looked up eagerly as they entered, smiling away. "There you are," she crooned, tilting her head slightly to the side as she studied Nate. "Oooh...you're quite the handsome one."

Nate stood still as Mirage looked at her. Subconsciously, his thumb moved and touched the ring around his finger. He'd be fine with sweeping the hallways endlessly, cooking a meal, washing clothes, any sort of chore or boring task anyone could ever think up. He'd clean out the stables, if he had to. He knew it was only a matter of time before the others returned. He honestly didn't care. The room had an awfully uncomfortable air about it, though. Nate cleared his throat to break the silence, looking from Mirage to Dmitry curiously.

Mirage stalked in circles around him, purring, then said "Dmitry, I want to buy this one from you. He'll be a perfect mate for me."

Dmitry promptly choked on his own spit at that, coughing hard to clear his lungs. "Wh-what?" he stammered, panting and leaning against the wall.

"Exactly what I said," she answered, sitting back down on her bed and picking up her filer. "I want him for my mate. It's high time I chose one, and he's the closest to my...species. So I'm offering to buy him from you. I mean, when Lennon commented on the dragonian you had, I simply HAD to see him!"

"Not for sale," Dmitry spat immediately, narrowing his eyes at the mention of Lennon. "This one isn't for sale, Mirage."

Her expression soured down into a ferocious glare.

Nate immediately tensed up. He clenched his fists, not looking at Mirage. Really...she would buy a mate for herself? He had to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from curling his lip in disgust. Or laughing. Skies above, he should have listened when Dmitry said she was crazy. This girl was more than that, she was absolutely batty! She was half his true age, to boot. But Nate held his tongue and focused on making no expression whatsoever.

He was very, very tempted to punch Mirage in the face, though.

"Your slaves are never for sale!" Mirage cried, flinging her filer across the room like a spoiled child. "I wanted to buy that naga from you too, but you wouldn't sell her either! What's wrong with you, Dmitry?! These people are made to be sold; that's their sole purpose. But you have never sole me any of the ones I wanted! Why?!"

"Because people are not meant to be SOLD and BOUGHT like ANIMALS!!" he screamed at her, one hand over his chest as he heaved for breath. If Marion had been there, she would've sensed one of the prince's spells coming on. If he got too stressed out, which happened very rarely, his body would be overcome with pain. It was all part of him being too weak and frail. If he could only get out more and spend time in the fresh air everyday, then he would surely recover and grow stronger. But no. He was hardly allowed out at all.

Mirage had flinched for only a moment at his outburst, cowering back, but she didn't stay away for long at all. She didn't seem to care for her older brother's physical state, either. She merely walked around him as he started coughing. He covered his mouth, resulting in a few speckles of blood on his pale hand.

She flicked her long hair and moved close to Nate, purring. "You would probably much rather be owned by me over my brother, right?" she said, moving to trail her hand over his chest.

Nate turned cold eyes down at her. "You'd do well to listen to your brother." He said quietly, taking the girl's hand and moving it away from himself. He moved towards Dmitry, patting him on the back gently. "Are you quite alright? Do I need to get you anything?" He said quietly, tilting his head to the side and mostly ignoring Mirage, but he looked back at her after a moment. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, miss...but I'm married. And I have a daughter. So you'd do best to leave me alone."

Mirage stood there and stared at Nate, as if shocked that he would dare deny her. And she was also shocked that he dared to touch Dmitry when her brother hadn't given him permission. But Dmitry didn't do anything about it. He coughed and spluttered, getting a bit more blood out of his throat before being able to breathe properly. His glasses had fallen off, resting on the ground below him. He closed his eyes, putting his bloodied hand over them before saying "No, I-I'll be fine," to Nate.

Mirage fumed quietly for a moment, then turned and ran out of the room, screaming words that made their blood run cold.

"Help! Help! A slave tried to attack me! Guards!"

((More like guard. There's only one, remember? xD))

"You...your sister..." Nate stared at the door. He ripped his marriage ring off and popped it back in his mouth, then stepped out into the hallway to turn himself in. He looked this way and that, seeing no guards. And then it hit him. Literally. Lennon barreled into his side, the thinner man somehow managing to pin Nate in a matter of seconds. Nate felt the cold steel of a blade against his throat, and the Dragonian fell still at once.

"What do you want to do with him, madame Mirage?" Lennon questioned quietly, not a hint of a frown on his face. Nor a smile. His expression was masked with 'it's just business'. "Shall I kill him here, or do you want to do the honors...slowly?" He said simply.

"What, I don't get to choose?" Nate snarled, twisting around and trying to break free, but Lennon was a monster. Nate couldn't seem to get away. Lennon moved the blade and pushed Nate's head forward, smashing the dragonian's face against the hard metal floor. Nate fell limp at once.

(( ;3; Look at the amazing. - http://ventarix.deviantart.com/favourites/#/d5kmjko

Oh yeah. One.))

Dmitry struggled to stand up, his limbs shaking, and tried to call out one of the rules of the castle; every slave owner was solely responsible for their slaves. But before he could say anything, Mirage ran over and clapped her hands over his mouth, saying "Look at what he's done to my brother! Oh, Dmitry...you tried to protect me, but that...THING brought you harm!" She grinned when Lennon wasn't looking, then turned and put on a positively pitiful expression. "Put him in the dungeon, where I'll decide his fate," she sniffled, clinging to Dmitry in a way that started to hurt him. She was practically strangling him, and he still couldn't find his glasses. With her clawed hands over his mouth, he could barely breathe, let alone say anything.

"Understood." Lennon stood, grabbing Nate by the hair and dragging him off. He was quick to strap the Dragonian down to a torture table, then turned away. He glanced back before leaving the room, looking hard at the unconscious Dragonian. "Sorry..." He uttered before leaving, retaining his mask of calm uncaring.

((I wroteded chapter 2. .3.

Also, it is Saturday, you dun has to write, 'member?))

((o3o !

Yep~))

*

Luen hacked a tree in half with his ice powers, glaring angrily at the ground.

They had searched for Nate for hours and had come up empty handed. It just seemed like he had vanished and they would never see him again. What would Luen tell Tasia? She had pulled him aside before they had left and asked him to protect her husband. He had promised to do so, saying that he would make sure Nate returned to his precious family.

He had failed.

The kirin gritted his teeth and kicked the tree as hard as he could, which wasn't as hard as he might've liked, then threw his arm back and punched the bark, resulting in a sharp pop and bleeding knuckles.

"Enough, Luen," Forin said, his eyes low. They had gone from the top of the waterfall all the way to the ocean. They were stopped now, at a lake somwhere in between. "Damaging trees and yourself won't bring him back..." Diana was absolutely miserable. It was her fault, it was all her fault...now Nate was dead, Luen was mad, Forin was upset, Werr was without a head guard, Tasia had lost her husband...it was all Diana could do not to break down where she stood and weep. She leaned against Naybrin's leg, fighting back tears. She briefly considered running away, but she knew in the back of her mind that doing so would only cause more damage if she was hurt or killed. So she stayed put, thankfully. That didn't mean she wasn't horribly upset with herself, though.

"Don't tell me to stop!" Luen shouted at the Tartaran, whirling on him. "What do we do now?! What do I do now?! Do you want go back to Tasia and tell her that her husband is gone? Do you want to watch Ariana grow up only wondering who her father was? I failed! I-I...I..." He clenched his hands, his arms shaking badly, then turned and punched the tree again with his same hand, resulting in a horrible crunch and a sharp screech. The kirin slumped, clutching his hand close. A few of his fingers looked dislocated now, but he didn't seem to care. He put his head against the tree and went quiet, looking broken. "I'm...sorry..." he whimpered, shaking his head slightly.

"I know, Luen...I know..." Forin said quietly, not looking up at his friend.

Werr, in the meantime, was lying on Naybrin's muzzle, pondering what to do now. It was fairly obvious; go back to the castle and talk to Izan about the evacuations. He could probably secure a small city for these people; most everyone in Bulliete lived in the capital city, at this point. The Herrace tribe had wiped out too many of the smaller towns. The only safe place was the capital and the cities south of it.

They weren't too damaged without Nate, Werr concluded in his mind. Though he was far from shaking off the woes of a lost friend. "Come on, you guys..." He said quietly after a while longer. "Let's get back to the castle..."

Luen slowly staggered up, letting Forin come close and gently guide him back towards Naybrin. The kirin swallowed hard, trying to dispel his tears, but they dripped down his face in a flood. He put his face on Forin's shoulder, sobbing quietly. Even Vorpal managed to say nothing at this point, though that didn't stop him from thinking the words.

Naybrin sighed, then looked up as Welk pushed his head against Werr's hand, looking sad.

Werr sighed heavily and scratched Welk behind the ears, closing his eyes. "At this point...I kind of just want to go home," He said quietly. "But...I know that we can't. We have work to do here."

"There's nothing we can do but get it done and over with," Ophile said, though he was just as upset. "Might as well..."

"I'm sorry..." Diana whimpered, pressing against Luen as Forin helped her up next. Werr chose to stay on Naybrin's muzzle, curling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. Naybrin could feel how upset he was, though it didn't compare to how Luen was doing.

Welk scrambled up next to Werr, curling himself around his friend and resting his head on Werr's shoulder.

Luna sat quietly on the dragon's back, glancing sadly over her shoulder at Luen. He put his arms around Diana, holding her close in his lap and remaining silent as everyone else climbed on, allowing Naybrin to rise up into the sky.

Welk gave Werr a push that was just hard enough to shove him off of Naybrin, then swept down under him and spread his wings, carrying him off after the others.

Werr settled himself on Welk's back comfortably, burying his face in his dear friend's mane.

They arrived at the castle without much fanfare. They were greeted in the throne room by Izan, who was saddened by their missing friend, but glad that they had returned. "Maybe he'll turn up sometime soon. Who knows? Perhaps our deities will smile upon you in your time of need."

"Yes, thank you..." Werr muttered.

"Maybe you can get a blessing, as well! I heard tale of the Priestess being spotted in town. Perhaps she can bless your friends." Izan smiled.

Luen stiffened, then quietly shifted in front of Diana, stroking her hair gently to comfort her. He glanced up as Mirage entered the room, her head held back proudly. She walked with a prissy, rude air about her, and despite all this, she looked smugly happy. She walked over to a smaller throne to the left of Izan's, exactly like the similar one on his right, sitting down on the plush cushion with a smile. She didn't say anything, just studied the lerloch in their group with a strange gleam in her eyes. Especially Luen, because he was a more rare species.

He began to look uncomfortable and Forin sensed his anxiety.