The Forgotten Zodiac

"You're going to have to ask him yourself," Verolen said quietly. "He hardly told me anything. He said he was going to end the war, that's it. I told him that I trusted him enough not to ask too many questions, and he went upstairs to sleep. That's it."

L'arc looked torn, then shook his head. "If he's sleeping, I guess I won't bother him," he said quietly, collecting the Ether shards into his hands. "We should take these to the council..."

"Hmm." Verolen nodded thoughtfully, then frowned. "What did the Phantom say, L'arc? I saw him whisper something, but I couldn't hear."

"He said something scary," Ella, who was standing nearby, sniffed. "Something about a collision..."

"I... I'll repeat it some other time," L'arc said, shaking his head. "Right now, we need to go see the council," he said. He straightened up and offered an apologetic smile to Ella, saying, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. I'll take care of everything," he said.

Ella blinked at him, then moved forward and gave L'arc a hug. Then she walked back to her waiting mother.

"Alright. Let's go see the council." Verolen nodded, picking up the Ether shards and starting off towards the 'town hall' tree.

L'arc entered quite abruptly, moving forward and sitting the Ether shards on the table. "I'm sorry to interrupty," he said, bowing slightly, "But a... pressing matter has arisen."

"We're aware of the Phantom's presence here only a few minutes ago," The elder said quietly. "But he left without doing harm. We're very thankful for that."

"He'll be back," Verolen sighed. "You know he'll be back."

"Yes. But for now, he's left in peace..."

"I don't intend to have many members of the town present during the coronation for the reason of his return," Versha said quietly. "Mostly elders and those who need to be there. But young children and women need to be kept safe above all else."

"Like Ella..." Verolen said thoughtfully, knowing how terrible it would be if she were to be killed in the Phantom's return. How miserable L'arc would be.

L'arc could only nod gravely at the conversation, lost in his own thought. "I don't want... I don't want anyone to die," he said, somewhat weakly. He shook his head a grit his teeth. "Maybe you all were right to start with... maybe we should call this off."

The elders were mostly silent.

Verolen, after a few long moments of stiff silence, suddenly and intentionally punched L'arc in the face. Not at his hardest, but certainly not in a gentle way. The demon grabbed the forest prince by the collar. "If you want to abandon this town now, fine with me. But everyone here will see you as a coward and a fool if you pull out of this now. This place, these people, they're all prepared to crown you and deal with whatever comes as a result of that. They didn't turn you away, even though they knew the risks. I don't want anyone dead from this either, but this is what you've led us into. Now are you going to lead us out of it, or run away like a mutt with your tail between your legs?"

He let go and brushed L'arc's robe straight again. "We're with you, L'arc. Me, Sylas, Rush, Eve, Manny, Aries, Gabe, all of us. We were with you when we left the Manakete Palace, and we'll be with you when we go back there. Whether today or after you're crowned. That being said...I think it would be very idiotic to leave now, after we've gotten so far. From convincing the elders to making the people warm up to you...you already proved your heroics by standing up to the Phantom, even. You proved that you're worthy of ruling them, and they know it. Didn't you see the way Ella looked at you? That's the look a child gets when they want to grow up to be just like you. It's...how I looked at my father for a long time until I realized the full extent of his reign."

He sighed and shook his head. "What you do from here is your own choice. No doubt about it. Just...don't forget about these people. They...need this more than you do, y'know."

L'arc snapped to attention as he was hit, listening intently to the demon prince's words. "I..." he shook his head slowly, rubbing his cheek. "I hear you." He offered both Verolen and the councilmembers an apologetic smile, saying, "I'm sorry. I'm terribly sorry. I don't know what came over me, there. You're right, of course, Verolen. I started this whole blasted thing, and by the gods, I'm going to see it through."

Verolen smiled. "Glad to see me hitting you worked. You didn't lose any teeth, did you? I don't know my own strength sometimes..."

"Everything will be okay," Versha swept her rough, bark-like fingers against L'arc's face, very gently. The soreness and slight swelling from the punch vanished in an instant. "As Verolen said...you are not alone, prince L'arc. Far from it."

"I'm fine," L'arc said, but it was really unclear as to who he was speaking to. He looked over at Verolen and smiled. "I know I'm not alone, Versha. I know."

((...guh, bad muse.))

The Elder sighed. "There is the matter of this..." He picked up the crown that Verolen had brought in. "The Phantom brought it, or so I'm told. Have you checked it for curses or anything of the sort?"

"It all checks out. It's clean." Verolen nodded.

"I see...it's genuine, alright. The craftsmanship is unmistakeable. Crafted by the Tree of Gifts herself." The eldest sighed, shaking his head.

"Was it?" Verolen blinked. "I didn't know that."

"Most people don't, nowadays. But Jemina definitely made this. See, it has this mark," He pointed to a little symbol on the inside, what appeared to be a white leaf.

"Sylas has that same mark on the sole of his foot," Verolen grinned. "He normally wears boots, but it's definitely there."

"I'm not surprised. She always liked signing her things."

L'arc smiled slightly, then sighed. "As I said before, sorry for causing that turmoil, however breif it was. If... you'll excuse me, I need to go... check on something," he said, turning and exiting the room, with the full intent to find Bermuda. If he was asleep, then L'arc would make sure he was comfortable enough... if he was awake, then L'arc was bound and determined to get some answers.

By the time L'arc entered the room, Sylas was awake enough to roll out of bed and follow him, albeit a little groggily. He was barefoot, and as Verolen had mentioned, the white leaf on his foot was visible when he lifted his right to take a step after L'arc.

"What's goinon?" Sylas mumbled, taking L'arc's hand to better keep up with the prince. "You don't look happy."

L'arc glanced down at his hand, startled to be interrupted from his thoughts, and his gaze moved up Sylas's arm to his face. He slowed his pace to a stop, pushing a smile onto his face. "It's... just..." he didn't want to deliver another scare to Sylas, but the forest prince couldn't figure out a way to put this gently. "The Phantom was here." The semblance of a smile that had been on L'arc's face vanished at the mention of the name, and he sighed. "And I need to talk to Bermuda, because I think he's had a vision, but he's not talking to me."

Sylas bit his lip at once. "The Phantom...that's not good. Well, I mean, what did he want? Did he...did he hurt you?" He stopped and went around in a circle about L'arc, checking for wounds or cuts. "No...what did he do, then? Why on earth would he come here if he wasn't going to hurt you?"

"He... dropped off some ether shards and the missing crown," L'arc said, confused and looking the part well. "I think... I think he's going to make an appearance at the coronation, but we're not calling it off. Bermuda said... he can end it. The war. But I don't know how he means to do such a thing. That's why I need to talk to him. Is he asleep?"

"I dunno," Sylas blinked. "At least we know he's coming. We can set precautions, get people to safety before we do this...maybe even move willing women and children to that human camp in the plains. They'll be much safer there."

"You're exactly right," L'arc said with a nod. "I think the council's getting on that as we speak. But for now..." L'arc turned and climbed up the ladder that led to the upstairs room, glancing around for a moment before he spotted Bermuda. L'arc pulled himself up onto the floor, then went over to the nereid's bed.

He was sound asleep.

L'arc sighed and shook his head, wondering if he should wake his 'brother' or not.