Titania was well aware of the way people thought of halflings. It was unacceptable by society. But she herself didn't have much of a bias. She remembered him trying out for the Aces once before. She had rejected his request back then, but that was only because they didn't need another Ace. There was no point in having excess in the Aces, for they weren't design to dominant through numbers, unlike other military sectors. Suddenly, a guard had reappeared in front of her.

"Well?" She demanded, hands on her hips.

"You have the king's consent. " He replied timidly, startled by the authority Titania gave off.

She sighed. A little bit annoyed, she said "That's now what I'm asking about. Where's the boy?"

The guard looked at her in confusion, which soon cleared as he suggested "The halfling......"

Titania wasn't suprised, but she was a little taken back. Was it really that odd that she'd requested to see a halfling? She honestly hadn't paid much attention to it.

The position of the Valkyrie commanded equal respect as the position of a king did. So naturally, people would look up to her in awe. But she was not feared, but she was known to be the kingdom's savior in times of peril. She made no unnecessary judgement and was concise in decisions. Making her a fitting ruler for the military.

Just as she finished asking the question, another guard appeared before her. With him was the halfling she'd requested.

"There is only so much information to be garnered from a name. But no matter," Tilting her head to the side a fraction, she took serious consideration of her question. "Know? Why, nothing at all! I have a few suspicions, but nothing absolutely concrete." If she didn't want to admit to actually being the witchlet Ares, it was her business; no matter how much her curiosity pricked at the back of her mind. Besides, if she really, truly wanted to know, she could ask Satiran. He might even tell her the truth, the silly creature. "As I'm sure you are aware, we elven folk do not normally pry into the affairs of others. Especially humans and their petty grievances."

Ares pouted. She wasn't satisfied by Ceres's response. The last line that Ceres had said pulled on a nerve. Her facial expression immediately transformed from playful into a smile-less stare. Petty grievances? How could she know that a human's grievance is petty when she doesn't even know what's bothering them? Does she imply that I've suffered a "petty" hardship?

Again her expression changed, back into a gentle but almost twisted smile. Does she think I am human? She joked at herself. Of course, this would be true. Ares was originally human, and no matter how much she'd try, there's still a part of her that will remain human. She was fully aware of that. Noticing that she was probably overreacting, she brushed the small incident off her shoulders. But she couldn't help but to keep thinking that Ceres knew her secret.

"Are you not in the least curious? I know you won't pry. But be honest."

She could tell she'd said something wrong, for a cold expression had crossed her companion's face, she had gone from comfortable to on-guard instantly; though she couldn't figure out what it could be that she had said. She wondered if she should think more about the manner in which she answered before actually speaking, since she didn't want to cause Ares, if it was indeed her, to leave her tent while still injured. It would be a black cloud of shame hanging over her head for the rest of her lifetime if she let someone injured leave her presence without helping them to heal; it was against their nature. "Of course I'm curious, but it is extremely rude to ask someone for details they may be unwilling to share with others."

Kyle would've been interested in the scenery if the situation had been different. There were large tapestries from floor to ceiling. There were various paintings and armors of war heroes. There was a bust of the king's father, Lord Iven the Bold, next to statue of the king. Kyle only stopped once. It was when he saw a painting of a half fae army member. He knew he was far because of his eyes. They were black like his own, not the Shadow Eye like Kyle's, just the black eyes that are common among male halflings. The eyes showed the reflection of the battle perfectly. Kyle knew the artist didn't Actually paint that in it. it was The Death Magick that surrounds shadow magick users like himself. It causes their eyes to forever reflect their death, even in pictures of them long after death. It was a while after that when Kyle actual saw Valkyrie. She was standind in the middle of the hall talking to another guard.

Ares's nerves had calmed.

"Of course I'm curious, but it is extremely rude to ask someone for details they may be unwilling to share with others."

She acknowledged her response in silence. Ares peered over at the food that was still sitting on the table. She was still hungry, and decided she didn't need to be polite about it any longer.

"You're allowed be rude if I am." She said, reaching over to the food. She picked up a slice of bread and started to bite into it. She made eye contact with the elf, silently permitting her to ask questions. The bread tasted amazing, even though it went down uncomfortably through her dry throat. Ares hadn't eaten for months, she never had a need to. It was only after she'd transform into a human that she needed to eat. But eating now had made her remember how wonderful it felt. She reached for the mead to quench her thirst. She ate in silence in the hopes that Ceres would talk.

----------


The boy had arrived before long. Titania gave a small smile and and greeted him.

"Kyle Alan Sajiin." Titania reached out her hand to be shaken. "Nice to meet you."

The guard that she was talking to was taken aback. He never would've guessed the Valkyrie herself to shake the hand of someone like Kyle.

"We've never met before, so let me properly introduce myself. My name is Titania Eleanor Shift, better known as the Valkyrie. I am here today on business of the military, as you may have suspected." She then turned to the guards.

"This is a private matter. I'm sure you'd understand. I've already cleared things up with the royal highness. I need you to come to my office immediately."

Titania talked short and kept to the point. She could see from the expressions on the guards faces how shocked they were. Of course, there were shocked before when she had made her appearance. But after knowing that she came all the way here to personally escort a boy, not just a boy.....a halfling, they were even more taken aback.

Titania walked towards the gates and signaled the boy to follow.

Smiling serenely, Ceres acknowledged the human's statement of rudeness. She watched the girl eat for a few minutes while arranging her thoughts in her head. "The facts as I know them are these: The city-state at the northernmost point of this Kingdom was attacked by the orc servants of the witchiling Ares, and there were reports of no human being left alive. And yet, here you arrive almost on the tailwind of the news themselves, looking like a slave from the area. Yet I traveled through that city-state a few years ago," to her, that had been about twenty years prior. "None of the young slaves I encountered then had quite the coloring you would, or else I would have seen you. Since the practice of slavery of humans by other girls has died down quite a bit, I don't quite believe that you're a new slave." With a slight frown, she turned again to her work table and pulled a piece of parchment, quill and inkwell close so she could begin a sketch of her next instrument. Working helped her focus.

"What I know of Ares is that she was once a slave, when she was still very young, and she looked remarkably like you, from what my brother Reul told me; at least, she looked like you before she was turned into a witch and attained her abilities. So my suspicion is that you, yourself are Ares." She deftly sketched a simple flute and began to design a pattern of leaves and vines to trail all through the body. "Of course, I could be entirely mistaken as I'm only speaking my speculation for the sake of sating my curiosity."

Ares stopped in the middle of eating. So my suspicions were correct.

"You seem to know quite a bit about Ares." Ares stopped speaking, wondering if the humans knew just as much as Ceres did. It was true, Ares had chosen to return to the humans in her original form. For some odd reason, she didn't want to go in as someone else. She seemed to not be able to let go of what she used to look like. But it had been such a long time ago......trust an elf to remember that. Ares smiled to herself.

Ares raised to right hand to Ceres, showing her the marking of a northern slave that was tattooed on it. It was light blue. The intricate designs covered almost all of Ares's hand. "Do you know what age this is from?" she asked. Chances are the elf would be old enough to remember. Or perhaps her brother has seen it. The markings of a slave went by periods of 20 years. The symbols on the emblem symbolized an event that was vital at the time. Slaves got their markings as soon as they were born, so Ares's marking would be of an event 80 years ago. These emblems were oftentimes hard to decipher, hers was a picture of a heart.

I wonder where her brother has seen me before......my true form too....

After examining the tattoo for a few moment, the elf shook her head with a rueful smile on her face. "Sadly enough, I'm not old enough to have seen that tattoo myself. But it seems my brother has, he's nearing his three-hundredth birthday so he has seen much more of the world than I have," then she lightly smirked. "Of course, he hasn't been out of the forest for almost my entire lifetime, which is slightly more than fifty years now," if Ceres' calculations were correct, that would put the witchling at about 20 years or so when she met the elf girl's brother. "So he doesn't know how much things have changed." Then she shook her head slightly. "I am wandering off the subject. No, I do not know what era your tattoo is from, I only knew what your human appearance was," she wondered if the witch remembered that Reul was the elf who had given her some of their medicine to ease her wounds and help them heal. Though she doubted it, her brother had not mentioned telling the human girl his name. Finishing her sketch, Ceres began to look through her chests for the required tools she would need for the new instrument.

"So what age is your tattoo from then?"

the princess jumped from her bed and walked over to Kailani and tugged on her sleeve.
with a sinister smile that only meant she was thinking of getting into somethingwhat do you think that was about? want to go seeshe bounced around Kailani waiting for her to answer , Alexandria was itching for more adventure since the guards rushed in her room this morning .
she noticed kailani didn't seem to be paying to much attention to her so she looked at her face. Kailani's eyes had glazed over with ice.
Alexandria watched making sure everything was ok and when Kailani's eyes went back to normal, she began to ask her many questions.







Kailani started to drift away, this could only mean a vision was coming.she felt her eyes glaze over and images started flying past her , she tried to take in each and every one of them.
After the vision was finally over the princess stood in front of her and started throwing questions at her one after the other "what did you see?
was it about ares?
is it bad?
can it be fixed?..."
Kailani blinked her eyes trying to stay focused she held a hand up to signal the princess to stop talking.
'something isn't right...why would the Valkyrie want kyle she thought to herself 'what sort of power does he possess'
"sorry princess i must now take my leave "she hurriedly left and went to her room shutting the door behind her she went over to a dresser and pulled out a piece of parchment and looked at it intently then she took a quill and began to draw .
when she finished she looked at it , it was a picture of a battle ares is some where in the city and if they didn't find her she would soon summon her minions into battle and there on the front lines for the humans was kyle. "i must speak with the majesty, there has to be something we can do to stop this"she speedily walked to the kings chambers the wasn't there.

"So what age is your tattoo from then?"

Ares resumed eating, ignoring her question. She didn't talk again until she had finished the food Ceres offered her. She didn't want to answer until she knew where exactly her brother has seen her before. She was going through her memories, attempting to remember every single elf she's met before in hopes of figuring out who her brother may have been. Of course, this would be difficult. She was only human until 54 years ago. Added on that, her transformation had also destroyed some of her memories. The most she could rouse up were memories she hoped to hide. She winced when memories of her slavery threatened to come up. Quickly, in order to change her mind, she tried getting to.

Her body was feeling better, but she noticed there were still some open wounds on her. She turned to Ceres. "Do you happen to have any bandages or strips of cloth?"

This question was more for permission to use them, for it was obvious she had some. Elves wouldn't go anywhere without healing equipment.

Ares stood fully up, checking her body for wounds. She took notice of Ceres's sketch. It was of a foreign elven instrument, one that seemed familiar to Ares, but she couldn't quite place where it came from.

It seemed her companion was weary of her now, and ready to fix herself up to leave. Shaking her head, she stood and walked to the back of the tent, taking out her bandages from a large chest marked with elven writing and pictographs and placing them on the same little table where the food had been. Then she reached farther back and retrieved a smaller chest filled with vials that ranged in color from pure white to dark amethyst. "These are medicinal, the yellow one is to kill bacteria to prevent infection, the pink one is to numb, and the white one is to seal. You may use as much as you need." She sent a tiny mental query to Satiran to ask about Ares' horse, for Ceres had no doubt that's who her current guest was, and was told the horse was fed and well-rested for the moment. "Your horse is rested enough, if you wish to retrieve him," she wondered if Ares planned to wage open war from within the Kingdom itself, and what it could mean for all the innocents that resided there. The elf would help to at least get people out of harm's way, being extremely reluctant to get herself involved in violence unless the circumstances were dire enough.

Ares smiled and accepted the medicine. She was in the midst of applying them all over her wounds when she spoke again. "You don't need to ask your horse about who I am, my horse won't tell." Ares had fully recovered from her original transformation and is now able to use her stolen magic powers. But she had no intention of using much of it on the girl, for it'd be an unnecessary move.

Ares had spoken to her own horse before to warn him that others may try to get the truth from him. So she made him promise to not speak. He obliged, showing how loyal he was to her. But on top of that, she used a spell to bind his mind, making him physically unable to bring up any part of Ares's truth. The horse was aware of the spell, so things shouldn't be a problem.

Ares remembered the last time she'd used her ability to read minds. It was on the messenger of the northern city-state. She had immediately killed him back then. She had considered killing Ceres, but decided it was best not to. She needed her for now, and she poses no threat to her. Besides, she hasn't talked to someone in a very long time.

"You don't need to ask your horse." She repeated, looking back at Ceres. "You can just ask me. Besides, I have a favor to ask of you."

Ares looked around for a black bag she'd been carrying when she entered the city-state.

Kyle faltered for a moment before he rushed after Titania. She was a strong woman and had an air to her that showed throught the guards awe struck stare. He was still wondering why he was called and decided to ask why he had been called. The army explianed to him befire that his lineage prevented him joining their forces. this is what intrested him. he had tried out for the Aces and when they denied him he went to try out for the Army. They also didn't accept him. He went to the Navy, the lowest rung of the armed forces. He was obviously better than the other people. They didn't accept him either. that's when t hey told him that his bloodline prevented his joinig the forces. So why is the leader of the Aces coming to see him, a year and a half after his original test. "Why was I summoned?"

Titania was now walking ahead through the streets, heading back towards her military sector. The boy was following close behind her. Everywhere they went, people turned and stared. It wasn't uncommon to see the Valkyrie occasionally roam the streets, but it was odd to see that she wasn't alone this time. On top of that, it appeared to be a servant with her.

"Why was I summoned?" The boy asked.

Originally, Titania had made no intention of speaking until reaching her office, but it seems that the boy had opened his mouth first. WIthout turning to look at him, she tested him.

"Are you to speak to me in such a tone, Kyle Alan Sajiin?" The boy had forgotten to use the proper words to address her. But she wasn't offended, something like that wouldn't offend her. She was merely testing him.

She continued to walk as she led him into a less populated route as she was waiting for his response. Just in case they wanted to continue talking, less people would overhear them here.

Kyle knew what Titania was getting at, he was supposed to say "Ma'am" or something along those lines. "Sorry, Ma'am," he corected himself, although he hated saying that, it was part of being a hlafling for him, humans didn't generally trust them and in return got less respect from the halflings then they suspected. They beleived that they were bettter than the halflings becuase of their "untainted blood." Anyone who bothered to check would realize that somewhere down their line there was most likely someone from another race or a halfling in it. Even the king had a bit of elf in him, from 45 generations ago though so it doesn't show up in most things. The only way he knew that was by sneaking into the king's library once and reading the official geneology of the king. this was intresting to say the least. Kyle didn't care about blood though, except when people disrespected him becuase of his own. That agiatated him to the upmost and he often retaliated to it. "Why was I summoned, ma'am?"

Titania smiled and internally laughed. It was obvious that the boy didn't like the idea of honorifics. She decided to stop teasing him and get to business. They had just reached the sector of her Manor which conducted military affairs. Upon their arrival, two guards opened the gate for them. She led him inside.

"Not ma'am, that's too formal. Call me Shift." She said back at the boy. Luckily, it didn't take much more walking untill they reached her office. When they were in complete privacy, she decided to answer his question. She stood behind her desk, with a window behind her. She sat down and invited the boy to sit in the chair in front of her. As expected in a manor, everything was extravagantly crafted. But her possessions seemed to be less flowery than ones that usually belonged to people of her status.


"Sajiin, I'm sure you remember what happened a year and a half ago when you applied for the military." She said, looking at the boy for a nod.

"But I don't think things were quite clear." She began. "Tell me, why is it that you think your application was rejected."

Alexandria sat in her room wondering to herself"what did Kailani see" she got dressed and snuck through the hidden passageway , she wanted to go finally go to see that traveling merchant. as she creeped out the castle she saw the Valkyrie and kyle walking she hurried away as not to be seen and made her way carefully to the merchants shop . upon arriving she looked both ways to make sure no one noticed her going inside when she entered she noticed a strange girl who she looked at before she was spoken to be some one "yes child"
alexandria turned and noticed an elf sitting in a chair."ooh im just coming to browse" she said 'wow a real elf'
she thought...

Kyle thought the idea of calling her Shift was odd but he liked it better than ma'am. He nodded when she asked her first question. Of course he remembered the day that all of his dreams of being a soldier were destroyed. he remembered the day perfectly, going to the training grounds fighting the Hound that every Ace entry was exposed to. the Hound wasn't deadly, more tough to kill. It also regenerated after every fight. THat's why it's called the Hound, there was only one. It was easy for Kyle to fight it but most of his fellow enries were maimed.
"I was not accepted into the military becuase of my Fae lineage of my father's doing," Kyle said, opting to stand. HE was still unsure where this conversation was going. His father was fae so people believed he was just as insuborinative and sneaky as the Fae. It was true that he was sneaky and had a knack for "Misunderstanding" commands, but he never outright disobeyed orders. They also beleived that the inhuman side would take over, as did the other half Fae soldier whose painting Kyle had seen earlier, but this only happened when the halfling had spilt personalities, one fae and one human.

Titania remained steady and serious as she listened to Kyle speak his mind. He replied with one sentence.

"I was not accepted into the military because of my Fae lineage of my father's doing."

Titania looked at him. She knew how unfair he thought all of this was, but she also knew that he didn't know the truth of it.

She sighed. "That is correct, you weren't accepted into the military because of your linage. That is straight policy. As unfair and biased as it seems, I must honor it."

She knew that the boy hated hearing that, so she gave him something else to think about. "But more specifically, you applied for the Aces, did you not?"

She allowed silence to wash through the rhetorical question.

"Tell me, have you ever noticed that no one, not just you, has ever been accepted into the Aces at the tryouts?" Titania shifted in her chair into a more comfortable position. This was going to be a long talk. "Do you even know who the current Aces are?"

This was yet again another rhetorical question. There were only 21 of them, and unlike the other soldiers, they aren't a public celebrity. The aces were purposefully hidden from the public, only the idea of them were released. That's why tryouts for their position still existed, but they were just a publicity stunt. To the public and general people, there were a highly respected and elite force that kept general justice. They were also the heads in battle plans, right underneath the Valkyrie. But the average person would most likely have never seen an Ace. It made sense, the true intention of having an Ace force will probably disturb the people.

"Think about it. Tell me what you think. Who do you think the Aces truly are."

The sun was starting to set, sending a dull orange glow into the room that Titania and Kyle were currently talking in.

"Why do you think I called for you of all people?"

She took Kyle as if he was another peasant who never wandered. The truth was that he didn't know any of the Aces by name but he knew a few of them by face. They normally kept to themselves but the tunnels in the castel led as far out as the west wall. He often saw the Aces walking home from late night drills. He didn't quite understand what she meant by who he thoguht the Aces truly were."I do not personally know any Ace, adn i don't know who they are either." They always ketp to themselves, "I do know however that there are 21 Aces. They are the Elite of the Elite. As for WHy you called for me I think you're answering my question with the same question."

Titania was surprised at how much he knew about the Aces. She wasn't expecting that much from him.

"As for Why you called for me I think you're answering my question with the same question."

She smiled. He was a smart kid who knew how to talk back. She decided to cut to the chase. "The Aces aren't something you can try out for. Even though there are still tryouts, those are just to fool the public." She could tell she was losing him.

"You see, the Aces are made up of people who wouldn't usually be accepted by society. Of course, they aren't all like that, but some are. Aces aren't chosen through the fake tryouts that are hosted every year, they are all chosen personally by me." She paused, seeing if there was anything else needed to be said.

"Like how you are."

She didn't say much, but hopefully it was enough for the boy to understand. She let out a breath as the tenseness in the air increased.

"HAHAHAHA," Kyle couldn't help it. he had to laugh at what Swift was saying, "YOU want ME to be one of your Aces! HAHA! Come on, stopmpulling my leg. You've got to be kidding me! No way you'd get away with accepting a half fae into the Aces! You'd be court martiled!" This was an interesting turn in conversation. Swift had to joking. She couldn't actaully allow him into the Aces. People hated them, although Swift didn't seem to have the prejudice. She still seem like the kind a person who disobeyed orders adn the law, then again she preaty much was the law. People would not like to know that a half fae was in their army, possibly being able to hold a status as high as Valkyrie's. They thought that the half fae would cause major castatrophes bedcuase of one other's mistakes. Kyle finally realized what Swift said before her "choosing him."
"You see, the Aces are made up of people who wouldn't usually be accepted by society."
"What do you mean they Wouldn't be acceted by society?" The ACes were revered by everyone who spoke of them. The people who told stories of tehm spoke of noble knights, though no one knew their names.

Shift was thrown off by the sudden burst of laughter from the boy.

"YOU want ME to be one of your Aces! HAHA! Come on, stopmpulling my leg. You've got to be kidding me! No way you'd get away with accepting a half fae into the Aces! You'd be court martiled!"

She smiled, at least the room was less tense now. She'd use this chance to let down her guard a bit a talk in a more natural tone. "Come on kid, do you really think I'd succumb to the court like that? People can't just take me from my position of Valkyrie."

"What do you mean they Wouldn't be acceted by society?"

"Listen, why do you think that no one knows their names? Why do you think that so few even know their faces?" Titania poured herself a small shot of vodka. She placed another one in front of the boy, offering him to drink.

"When I pick a soldier, I pick from their strength, intelligence, ability to conduct and mental will. I don't pay attention to anything other than that." Titania drank the alcohol, letting it slide down her throat.

"Do you know what that means?"

@Royal Randomness: Please don't bunny my character. It's rude

As she waited for her human guest to use the medicines she had set out, Ceres kept on working on her new instrument, getting a small round piece of sandstone to shave down the wood to the shape she needed. Then there was suddenly another human girl in her tent. She was quite obviously a royal and doing an extremely poor job at hiding it, but the elf let her look around at the few instruments she actually had on display and waited to see what both her guests would do. There was no reason for the young royal to know what Ares looked like, so there was no risk of her witchling guest being outed by the other little girl.