King Cass snapped at him, and Ronnie gave him a sympathetic look. The man was clearly under so much stress, an outburst in his direction was to be expected.
He bowed his head, respectfully, and kept his voice low. "As you wish, my liege." He could pretend to have lower limits if that's how the King wished things to be. He wasn't here to intimidate, if the King was willing to be treated without the respect due his position. And that fact didn't surprise him either.
There was a reason the man was called Good King Cass. His heart was huge, and Ronnie had always admired that about him. It was part of why Ronnie was determined to stay loyal, despite the constant murmering in the back of his head that he didn't need to bow, to anyone. He regularly squashed those voices by reminding himself that Cassius had a golden heart that needed protecting. The man was a beacon of light in this world, and Ronnie willingly bowed to that.
Despite being a powerful being in his own right, King Cassius didn't make it known. He was a large part of the reason Ronnie hadn't argued his power in the first place. The King had shown him it wasn't worth it, over the years.
As long as he had the power to do what needed doing when it needed to be done, it didn't matter what others thought, and Cass had made it clear that if it kept the peace to pretend weakness, then he was to do so. It was a hard thing to remember, at times, but. The King's simple reminder had done its job.
Ronnie watched the Good King approach Ariella, who looked thoroughly out of it.
Ariella was not brave or strong like Hero, nor blessed with a kind soul and the ability to speak to others. She was just Ariella and she did not want to be here. Perhaps a few centuries ago, Mage had been this powerful being when dealing with Calamity. But Ariella was not that person. She was not all that powerful. Half the time she tried a spell she got it all wrong and it was a disaster. How was it that it was she that was Mage when Calamity came back? Surly fates wanted her to lose if she had been named Mage during this time. There was no way she could stand up to the woman.
She had been too lost in her head as the other three had begun to argue. She wasn't very good with conflict. She pulled her book against her chest and drew her knees up to her chest and against the book, and she hugged herself while the others fought it out with words.
She hadn't been expecting for the king to approach her. She hadn't been expecting anyone really to approach her. She jumped at his words, blinking rapidly as she looked up at him, being drawn from her thoughts in her head. She shook her head. "I'm okay." She certainly was not okay but she needed to be. "Will you help me up, I think my butt is frozen to the ground."
Cass smiled kindly and offered his hand to Ariella, “I don’t mean to rush you, but maybe, with the little time we have, you can work on some of your spells without having the pressure’s of court pressing down on your shoulders and taking your time.”
He holds onto her lightly and gently, making sure she was steady before looking away and looking at Erin, “Please, do take us to your town.” He smiles at her warmly, trying to gentle the slight. . . brashness. . . That Ronnie had just displayed.
Erin sighs and nods. She lopes off, motioning for the group to follow close behind her.
She feels her eye burn slightly again and ignores it.
Little did she know the Mark was slowly spreading inky tendrils, starting to move outside of the eye. It would be noticeable.
Too noticeable.
Luckily the burning stops. The Mark doesn't disappear this time, staying perfectly visible.
She turns around and waits for a moment for the Hero, the King and the Mage to catch up.
Ronnie waited till Ariella and King Cassius had followed the girl, before bringing up the rear. He didn't want anyone left behind.
He managed to cover their tracks and make sure they didn't leave sign either, though he wasn't sure it much mattered.
Ariella was definitely taking this the hardest, and Ronnie made sure to keep an eye on her. King Cass had a lot on his plate, but his strength of character had carried him through bad situations before.
The girl stopped, and Ronnie stopped once the other two were right up with her.
Ariella accepted the king's outstretched hand and used his help to stand up. She was clutching her book to her chest in one hand and holding onto the king with the other. She noticed, though, as she stood, that Cassius hadn't let go of her yet. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. She didn't think she had ever had prolonged contact with him.
She merely smiled at him and nodded her head, looking down. Their hands. Right. She was the one to pull away from him, releasing his hand and hugging her book. It was only as a cold wind breezed by that she began to shake. She was not dressed for this weather. Not in the slightest. Her gown had an open back to expose her mark and the fabrics were made of a lighter material to combat the heat the torches in the palace gave off. She wasn't sure she would make it to the town like this.
She freed her right hand and held it palm open. She whispered a quiet word, "ingis," and a flame appeared in her hand. Though it gave off heat, it did not burn her. Not when she was the caster. It offered some heat against the cold, while it wasn't much, it might just help her get through this. She looked up at the king, motioning for him to step closer if he wanted to share her small fire and warm up.
She looked back at the girl they were following, only to stop in her tracks as she was looking back. A mark. There was a mark on her eye. One that Ariella did not recognize. There were only supposed to be four of them. King, Hero, Mage, and Calamity. There was no record of a fifth. "What the fu-"
Erin jumps and pulls out her bow, knocking an arrow and looking around tensely.
She then looks at where Ariella was looking, and it wasn't at the surrounding trees.
Her eyes flash as she grumbles, putting the bow and arrow away again.
"What?" she asks. "Something wrong with my face?"
Ariella blinked at the woman, regarding her. This was strange and she didn't like it. She took a couple steps back, her back hitting Ronnie's chest, making her jump. She stared wide eye. There had been nothing to tell of this. No book, no scroll. There were four of then. There was supposed to be only four. And yet a fifth has emerged.
"Y-your eye," she barely managed to get out. She swallowed visibly. What did she even say to this? She didn't know what thos mark was or what it represented.
In her lack of concentration, her fire went out and she began shivering again. But she was too focused on the other woman to realize just how cold she truly was.
"My- my eye?" Erin asks. She reaches up and touches the area around the eye, then the eyelid, confused.
"Like, my actual eye or the area that's around it?" she inquires further, genuinely not knowing what was going on. She gets an idea.
"Wait, there's a stream nearby. It can act as a mirror. It's pretty clear and smooth flowing. I'll head over there and check what's wrong." she sighs, loping off like a wild animal, of to the left. She disappears quickly, then returns a few minutes later, looking pale.
"Is it- is it still visible?" she asks shakily. She knew what the answer would be: yes. Because the Marks couldn't be hidden when they were fully inscribed. They couldn't be gotten rid of, either.
Cass blinks and drops his hand, moving towards the small flame slightly. He stops along with Ariella and stares at Erin, his mind trying to pick up on anything hed read. Not a thing was coming up.
He clears his throat and motions to the mark on his neck, "You have one, around your eye, madam." He murmrs, " I'm going to guess it's new? "
Erin was freaking out.
"No, I've had it for years." she snarks. "Of course it's new! I don't know anything more about this than you do! I'm not some- superpowered wizard destined to fight a literal fucking goddess! I'm struggling to fight my hunger most days so everyone else can be fed because nobody's bothering to check what's coming into the town!"
She looks like she's in denial for all of the next few seconds before she sighs and her shoulders slump. She stands up straight and stretches before looking everyone square in the eyes.
"Whatever. It's not something to worry about right this second. It can wait until we know what exactly has happened to cause her return." she says, turning and starting to walk again.
Ronnie had his eyes on their surroundings, and hadn't really looked at the girl directly.
Ariella's exclamation drew his attention, and there, on the girl's face, was yet another mark.
Ronnie tensed, his power rippling, before realizing that if she'd really intended to do them harm, she probably would have tried already. Or maybe just left. Ariella and King Cass were cold out here.
So he relaxed. Especially as the girl herself freaked out a bit. That was… a good sign for their safety, but a bad sign for her. He didn't wish her ill, despite her accusations and disrespect, so he hoped they could all help figure out exactly what was going on. Ariella and King Cass were the brains of the operation; he'd let them work on it.
Ronnie had always, understandably, been the brawn, and had quickly learned keeping up with the other two mentally wasn't his strong point. As long as he could still do all the things he could do, though, he had use within the trio.
The girl continued walking, squaring her shoulders and handling the situation with… remarkable, and probably fake, composure. Certainly, given what the mark might mean, Ronnie didn't fault her for being nervous, but her ability to set it aside for now was admirable.
They kept walking, Ronnie still securing the rear.
Cass cleared his throat, “Please, refrain from yelling, Erin.”
He leans back on his heels, watching mutely for a moment and then looks to Ariella, “Do you know of anything about a fourth mark?” He murmurs quietly to her.
(Brain go burr)
Ariella looked back at Ronnie. She was not comfortable with this. Even mess so now that another mark had emerged. What did it even mean this mark? What else did they need? They had Mage, Hero, and King. There was no need for another mark. Not that Airella wouldn't have gladly given her mark to someone else.
She shook her head at Cass. "No, there's no mention anywhere. If there was, we'd know about it." She kept her voice low so only her king would hear.
This changed everything. After they figured out who this woman truly was, well it changed the game. She only hoped the woman was a friend. They were already contending with Calamity. They couldn't afford to face another foe. They wouldn't survive it. Ariella didn't think they would survive against just Calamity.
Erin, being a hunter attuned to hearing things most others wouldn't, catches the whisper and rolls her eyes.
"Even I know this is unusual. Stop whispering about it please. There's no secrets to be had about this." she mutters, loud enough for everyone to hear her. "Especially since the one you're trying to whisper about is only a few feet away from you."
She hadn't turned around, and had simply kept walking.
"Oh, and once we get to the town, make sure to keep your heads low. Lots of us aren't exactly fans of you three due to some. . . unfortunate rumors." she sighs.
Ronnie took a deep breath, doing his dead-level best to obey the orders he'd been given. King Cass had said play nice, and he was trying, but the girl's rudeness was getting on his nerves. People were allowed to have their secrets, and Ariella was clearly nervous. Some privacy wouldn't be awful, but the Mage clearly wasn't going to be allowed that.
He also really hoped the townspeople kept their wrong opinions to themselves. He really didn't want to have to waste time defending King Cass's honor, or Ariella's. Though he appreciated that the girl had at least framed the reason as 'unfortunate rumors.' That meant she was at least willing to give the benefit of the doubt, which was better than a little bit ago. Small steps.
He hoped there was something they could do to help her. A mark was no light burden, and people had been known to crack under such a thing. It looked fairly permanent, so… hopefully she would hold up just fine. She certainly seemed strong enough.
Ariella looked down at the frozen ground, appearing bashful. The woman had a pint, they shouldn't have been whispering about her. But…she didn't know what to do in this situation. She had no knowledge of another mark and she didn't like not knowing. She had an urge to rummage through the palace library until she found what she was looking for. Only she couldn't go through the palace because it was being occupied by Calamity. And none of them were strong enough yet to take her on.
She looked back at Ronnie, worry etched on her face. He had spoken at all since the mark was revealed. She was curious what his thoughts were. But she wouldn't ask here. Not until they were alone, the three of them. She turned her gaze forward, the cold finally settling in again.
She was shivering again. She wasn't sure ifnshe would be able to concentrate enough to summon the flames again. And if she did, she didn't think she would be able to keep them. Still, she held out her palms and tried. But the flames only flickered before going out each time. She was much too cold to be able to concentrate on anything other than how cold she was.
Erin feels the displeasure rolling off of Ronnie and rolls her eyes.
"Stop brooding like a prententious ass and speak your mind. It's getting on my nerves." she sighs. "But if it has to do with 'privacy' and 'secrets,' save it for the next person to end up with my Mark. I'm not going to allow you to mutter and whisper and plan about how to 'deal' with me. And I don't care if you're a near immortal being. And I don't care that I'm speaking to demigods. Now that I have my Mark, there's no killing me permanently either."
Ronnie immediately retracted his hopeful small steps in his head, as the girl resorted to eye-rolling and name-calling. He otherwise flatly ignored her. Nothing she'd said required a response from him, and she'd been very clear that she 'didn't care'. Though he did take some small satisfaction that he was clearly on her nerves as much as she was on his.
He kept his attention on their surroundings, and on King Cass, who seemed to be handling the situation the best. Ariella was going to need some support, and if all the townsfolk were as hostile as their companion, Ronnie would have his hands full. So it was good that King Cassius had a solid head on his shoulders, and was dealing with the stress well.
He was King, after all. Highly capable and used to intense situations. Part of what made him so admirable, as far as Ronnie was concerned.
(😭 I’m trying to et a post up- lol)
