The World of Roses

"...There's nothing to stop you coming back, is there? I want to go home, i miss my family." She scowled, her mood darkening. "Why does this have to last any longer?"

"I'm with Pala on this one," Angelique said, trying to ignore the sudden wave of tiredness that had washed over her. It wasn't that she missed home really, but she still had plans to set into motion once she got back. Plans that she really didn't feel like delaying any further.

"Knowing our luck, we should probably get out of here before something gets destroyed."

The guards in the room tensed when Coden wrenched their leader’s hand away, one of them jerked forward at Coden’s actions, only to be stopped by the older man, who simply raised up his hand to stop the soldiers. He glanced at his wrist for a moment, as if that was the first time anyone had ever touched him out of turn, much less with such ill intent. He truly didn’t want this to turn to violence, he just wanted to prevent Astera from disappearing from their world again. It had been over ninety years since she had been on this planet that he was aware of, he didn’t want to lose her again.

He looked down at the princess, who looked close to dozing off in the red haired boy’s arms. He sighed, he didn’t feel right about this. He didn’t want to resort to keeping them captive under false pretenses, it was already obvious that they weren’t trusted. He didn’t want to kidnap them… Just… This was becoming more difficult to accomplish while still keeping his moral standards. He caught Bahandur’s gaze, and with an unspoken exchange, the psychic backed down, releasing the group, standing at attention against the wall, looking slightly strained.

Alexis glanced over at Pala and Angelique, she knew that they wanted to go home, it was obvious. Regardless to how she felt at the moment, she was going to try. Pala at least, had some special tie with her family that Alexis never had. She had wanted to go home ever since she got on Fragment, and it wasn’t fair of her to keep her longer… She bit her cheek in an attempt to wake herself up, which surprisingly it actually did a bit to help. Feeling the fog of fatigue lifting slightly, she tried once again to tear a hole into the Void. She could take them home… Then after a while, she could peek back on this world, to see if the man’s statements had been true.

“I’m fine… We’ll just, I’ll take you home… Sorry….” She mumbled, unsure to which party she was apologizing to.

She barely was able to warp the space around her fingers before her magic just… Stopped. She stared at her hand in confusion, shaking it slightly as if that’d help somewhat.

“….You’re difficulty in using your magic would be my fault.” The man said, crossing his arms as he looked down on the group, showing a slight twinge of remorse, which unnerved the soldiers, unused to seeing him or anyone of the court apologize. “…I… I just didn’t want to lose my niece again…” He muttered, noting how the boy clung to her protectively. “At least I know and can inform her family that she is alive… Astera, your powers should come back in a few hours, and from there, we will not stop you from leaving if that is what you truly wish.”

"It is what she wishes," Coden stated firmly. Obviously, he had no care if they were related. Not right now. "It is what we all wish." He looked about the room from the corners of his eyes, and carefully straightened his back. It was unfortunate that they were stuck here. And glaring at the the tall blue haired one, he could only hope the man wasn't lying. Or they may be stuck here longer under the pretenses of murder.

In the mean time, though, he would just have to lay back and continue to reserve himself. "Being as we will be here for a while, until Alexis is well, it would be appreciated if you or your men could direct our party to a place where we may rest or lay in way of departure."

“…Of course.” The man finally said, looking slightly uneasy at the whole situation, motioning for the guards to leave. Bahandur opened the large set of doors, leading back out into the palace courtyard, standing to the side as the guards left, bowing to the older man silently as he vanished behind them outside. Once they had left, Bahandur stood back up strait, grinning slightly apologetically at them, “Sorry about that whole mess…. Following orders you know. In any case, I’ll lead you to where you can stay for the time being. The old man asked me to take you to the guest lodging on the other side of the grounds for now.” He said, motioning them to follow him outside.

Once outside, his cheerful demeanor began to return, as he began to babble on and off about random things, Alexis wasn’t really paying all that much attention to him, leaning against Coden slightly as they went. As they walked past a ornately decorated ziggurat that towered into the sky, the girl’s mind was lost in thought. That man had tried to keep them here….. Why? Because they wanted her here? But… then why was she given to the Moipai when she was so little? Why did they give her up? Why would they want her back so badly now, were they even sure that she was the person they were looking for? Even so… would she want to stay? Could she even consider it? Ever since that day she found out about her future…. That all happened on this world… If she wasn’t here, she’d be safe…. But truly, if one tries to avoid fate…. Wouldn’t it just work out another way? She was so confused…

The group was ushered away from the main hustle and bustle of the palace, the groups of people passing by grew fewer with each step. The buildings were smaller but still elaborate, gold plating on shining red roofs, intricate etchings on the pillars that braced the dwellings. In a quiet, secluded part of the palace grounds, Bahandur stopped, gesturing towards a building surrounded by flowering trees. The flowers impossibly out of season bloomed in brighter hues than what normal tending would provide. This building also had a red roof, its trimmings were gold plated as well. The walls shined bright white, supported by red pillars at a regular interval. There were smaller wings on each side of the main structure, which rose two stories in the air. Inside the main building was an airy living room of sorts, a few couches and tables lined the walls in a simplistic manner. A tapestry with a delicate painting of a mountain range in winter hung on a wall near a low lying table, set with intricate plate wear featuring foods they probably hadn’t seen before, freshly cut flowers spaced throughout the room.

Bahandur motioned out the bedrooms that branched off from this main room, along with an entrance to the gardens in the back. “Feel free to make yourselves at home, explore this place as you like and rest up however you wish. There is food here and more can be brought if needed,” He said politely, leaning against the main door leading back out, making no intention to leave.