Kynan growled. "I'm kinda familiar with humans, thanks," he said, before his tone shifted back to anxious, "but I was hoping they wouldn't be like that everywhere. And I'm not really comfortable with this charm thing. Are we sure this king guy is any better, even if you work for him? What if he's never seen a hound before?
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
"He hasn't seen one before," he carefully said, trying his best to chose words that wouldn't alienate Kynan or, even worse, make him want to leave. "But Telorum's one of the safest places in all of Partex for nonhumans, and King Kartiel won't judge you."
He hesitated.
"Or, at least, he won't be wary of you for that." He didn't want to reveal anything too personal, but it was hard not to when he needed to explain what Kartiel was like. "He just is a little iffy about outsiders, but you're entering with me. We should be alright. If anything, I'll be the one he doesn't treat as warmly for a bit, but there's nothing I can do about that."
"That's weird," Kynan said, trying to hide his shaking hands behind his back. "You'd think he's seen lots of people and animals before, since he's a king. But I guess if everything's safe, I'll go with you. Is it worth him getting mad at you?"
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
He took a deep breath. "It's not like I can take back the past," he said rather sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "He's going to be a little upset about me leaving the castle in the first place, and for talking with you instead of leaving you, but I'm sure he'll come to see my point eventually."
Or he wouldn't. Which was a possibility Orpheus didn't really want to think about, so he instead started to look for his charm instead. He pulled it out from inside his bag and held it out in his hand. All he had to do was speak the incantation, and they'd all be standing in front of Kartiel's bedroom door.
While Kynan wanted to point out that Kartiel didn't seem so friendly and welcoming, if he wanted Orpheus to leave the three of them alone and not leave the castle in the first place, a fortified castle sounded like a better option than being stuck out here in this strange wood. So the hound kept his mouth shut and watched as Orpheus brought out an odd object from his bag.
"What does this do?" Kynan asked, poking the object.
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
"It transports the user from one location to another when the right incantation is spoken," he explained, turning it over in his hand. "It's not special on its own, but it is once a spell is bound to it."
"Okay," Kynan said. He shook ever so slightly as he tried to figure out what a 'spell' was supposed to be. But Orpheus seemed like he knew what he was talking about, so Kynan nodded and said, "Take us there, then."
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
"Okay," he said. He took a deep breath, then began to recite the words to the spell. The air grew hotter around him - not unbearably hot, but noticeably warmer than it had been before. The little charm in his hands began to give off a gentle glow. The glow quickly enveloped all of those present; it was part of the specifcs of the spell. It would encompass any living, sentient being in the nearby vicinity.
And then, rather suddenly, they were standing in front of a rather fancy door. This was the door to Kartiel's bedroom. He had been in front of it many times before, but known of them had been with three strangers in tow. He took another deep breath, raised a hand and gave it a gentle knock.
No response.
He sighed, then knocked on the door with more force. This finally triggered a response. He heard Kartiel's bed creak as he undoubtedly started to get up, and groggy voice called out through the door, "Orpheus, what do you want?"
He hesitated. "...How did you know it was me?"
Kartiel threw himself back down on the bed. "You're the only one who knocks. Everyone else just lets themselves in." There was a pause. "So, what do you want? You know I just got back from a trip and I could really use some sleep-"
"I went outside the castle," Orpheus interrupted.
"You what?" Now he could hear Kartiel hurrying out of his bed and over to the door. Orpheus tried to give some sort of warning, but the door swung open before he got a chance to.
Kartiel, complete with bedhead, bags underneath his purple eyes and a full set of pajamas, stared at the little group assembled. He blinked. Then he began to slowly close the door, with a look on his face that clearly said he thought he was still asleep.
So Orpheus pushed up against the door to prevent him from doing so.
"My king," he said through gritted teeth; he never used the phrase unless strangers were present, "you're not dreaming. You're very much awake right now, and we need to discuss something very, very important."
Kartiel stopped trying to close the door, looking back around at the group assembled. Orpheus gave him a look underneath his hood, though he doubted Kartiel could see it.
Kartiel sighed. "Let me get dressed."
He started to close the door again, but paused in the middle of it. He peered around the door and looked in Orpheus' direction. "And we're having a talk after this."
Calfuray wondered at the warm feeling that came over her as Orpheus chanted. Then, almost instantly, they were inside the castle- or, at least, that's where she assumed they were. She glanced around silently, all of her excitement from earlier dulled.
The door they were standing in front of opened, and a young man walked out. She assumed he was the king, but wasn't entirely sure. She definitely would have laughed at his appearance if she hadn't been trained properly- or if the situation hadn't seemed so serious.
The hound blinked. Now they were inside the castle. They had just met the king. The king had thought this was a dream. As far as he knew, they were just a minute or two from being thrown into a prison cell.
Kynan pressed himself against a wall, sat down, wrapped his arms around his knees, and buried his head in his chest.
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
This is what Kartiel looks like once he finishes getting dressed.
Orpheus noticed Kynan's reaction out of the corner of his eyes, and, after a moment of awkward hesitation, went to go sit by the hound's side. Doing so wasn't an easy task - his hood kept trying to fall back, and his cloak kept revealing too much. But he finally managed to get into a good position, and turned to look at Kynan from within the shadows of his hood.
"It's okay," he reassured him. "Kar-My king is upset with me right now. He's definitely a little shocked, but he's not going to harm you. I just went against..." His orders? His rules? It wasn't like he was truly Kartiel's subordinate. His student, yes. His family, yes. But he didn't really work for him, so how was he supposed to describe what Kartiel had said to him?
"I went against what he wanted me to do," he finally settled on.
Just as he finished speaking, the door to the bedroom opened.
Kartiel stepped out from within the recesses of his room, his attire now far more professional than it had been during his prior appearance. His clothing was the sort he wore during official meetings, and he had even put on his crown. Orpheus couldn't remember the last time he had seen him wear that. The bags were still underneath his eyes, but his hair was now under control. All in all, he looked like how these three probably expected a king to look.
Kartiel fiddled with his golden locket.
"We should go to the meeting hall," he said. "We can discuss things there."
"I just want to go home," Kynan said, wrapping his arms around his legs even tighter. "I want to see Kendrik and Tristan again. I don't want a king angry at you. If I hadn't shown up here, you'd be okay. And I'm worried you won't be."
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
After a moment, he sat down across from Kynan and Orpheus. He tried to make his posture still appear regal, but was failing miserably - it was hard for someone to look regal when they were sitting up against a wall with their legs crossed. "I suppose we could talk here instead," Kartiel said. He gave Kynan a warm smile, his eyes flickering over to Orpheus as he spoke.
"I found them out in the flower field," Orpheus quietly explained. "They don't know how they got here, and I think they might even be from other worlds."
Calfuray silently copied the king's posture, gently resting on her knees in the hallway. She tried her best not to reveal how uncomfortable she was, keeping her expression pleasant, but neutral. She was internally bursting with questions, but it was etiquette from her kingdom for a princess to refrain from speaking until spoken to.
She wasn't sure about the etiquette in this kingdom, but didn't want to risk offending anyone, especially the king.
"I don't know?" whispered Kynan, pulling out the blue flower and gently rotating it between his claws. He took great care not to scratch it or snip any part of it off. "I doubt it, but today's been a weird day."
S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse a persona che mai tornasse al mondo, questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse. Ma per ciò che giammai di questo fondo non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero, senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
