The Forgotten Zodiac

"I am aware of the risk," L'arc said, turning to Verolen. "I'm just thinking that it might be outweighed by the possible gain. At any rate... I'd at least be a martyr to the cause," he said, crossing his arms with a frown.

Bermuda, meanwhile, had turned a bit pale, and looked uneasy. He did not speak up or say anything about it, but just listened to the conversation to see what would come of it.

"Not a chance," Sylas snapped. "You'll be a king, not a martyr. I'll oversee security myself, if I have to."

"I'll set up the traps." Rush nodded. "I know King Verolen. He's...almost predictable. Not quite entirely predictable, but..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I can slow him down, at least."

L'arc smiled at Sylas and Rush, then sighed. "That takes some stress off my mind," he said. He rubbed his forehead, "It doesn't have to be soon but... I just wanted to put the thought out there."

"Well...no matter what you decide, we've got your back. Even if I don't agree with it." Verolen nodded. "We'll keep on fighting for you, no matter what."

"Yeah," Sylas agreed. "You know I'd do anything for you."

"I'll be here, too," Bermuda chimed in.

L'arc looked around the small group and smiled. "Thanks, you guys. It means more to me than you could know," he said.

"Heh. You'd do the same for us. It's how we work, right? We're a lot more than just friends. I think...we're like a family." Sylas grinned.

"A very mismatched family, but I see your point, Sylas." Verolen smiled.

"I call being the crazy uncle," Rush chuckled.

L'arc snickered and Rush's words, but then said, "I'll take it, I'll take it." He sighed, then smiled again. "I suppose we'll have to try, at least," he said.

"If at first you don't succeed, well...we may or may not all be dead. But hey! It all works out in the end, doesn't it? We've gotta do our best, and our best is what we'll do." Sylas nodded, trying his hardest to stay serious, but Rush was still laughing at his mistaken saying.

L'arc smiled a bit wider, then sat down on his bed. "We can't do any better than that, Sy," he said, before flopping down on his back.

Bermuda very quietly made for the exit.

"And so that's what we'll do!" Sylas nodded happily.

Verolen ducked out behind Bermuda, grabbing the Oceanid prince's arm. "I know that look, Bermuda. You know something. You've had a vision," He murmured, shutting the door behind him. "Tell me what you saw."

Bermuda made a small noise of protest, looking up and down the hall as if expecting someone else to be there. He turned, hesitantly, to face Verolen. "It's... not something that you'll want to hear," he said, his voice low. "This vision came to me... nearly a year ago. I was beginning to think something had happened to shift the course of time away from this but... with all the talk L'arc just had..."

"Want and need are two different things. No, I may not want to hear this, but...I need to, Bermuda. You have to tell me what's going on." Verolen insisted. "What did you see?"

Bermuda sighed, still hesitant to divulge what he had seen. "It's... listen, I've never been able to prevent what happens in one of my visions. But I still feel like... if I say it aloud, I'll only confirm that it will happen. It's... hard."

Verolen frowned. "Well then...can you at least tell me what happens, Bermuda? Does someone die? We can cope with injuries, but...we don't need another loss. Rachel...Rachel was enough, don't you think?"

((He doesn't know Assegai and the others. xD))

((Poor Assegai and Nornan. And Lucas, of course!))

Bermuda closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before letting it out shakily. "Verolen..." he paused, and seemed to have some great internal struggle, before speaking the next words.

"It's me."

((Aye. xD))

Verolen stared at him for a long while. "That's not going to happen, Bermuda. I won't allow it. This...will not happen. We'll...we'll keep you here for the ceremony, we'll move you to Rasalhogue, we'll...not...have it. If you tell L'arc about this, I'm certain he won't allow it. Bermuda, you can't die. Oceanica will fall to the senator's reign permanantly, you can't let that happen!"

"No, I..." Bermuda bit his lip. "If I'm not there, it'll only..." he trailed off, a distressed look on his face. "I'm supposed to be there. I don't know what will happen if... if I'm not. I'd rather... go in knowing what might happen than be left behind and not," he said, but looked shaky in his resolve. 

"No, Bermuda! I won't let this happen. I won't!" Verolen snapped. "I'll take your wounds upon myself. I'll do everything in my power to keep you alive, Bermuda. And I have a lot of power, you know that..." He took Bermuda by the shoulders and shook him gently. "I won't let you die."

Bermuda's gaze rose to meet Verolen's again, but hesitantly. Finally, a faint smile drew up the corners of his mouth. "I know. I know what you can... will do," he murmured, shaking his head. "I suppose... we'll just have to see what happens."

"I suppose so," Verolen nodded furiously, pulling Bermuda into a hug suddenly. The half-selkie prince could feel something quite odd. Something Verolen rarely did. He was shaking, trembling out of fear. Fear of losing a dear friend.