The further into the forest they went the more and more creatures began to appear, most were Ljosalfar. Every one that Sindelle passed stopped and bowed, and muttered blessings. And finally they reached the inner city. A coloful place with many elven wandering about and speaking with each other, laughter and chatter was echoing around. Everything seemed absolutely pleasent. However, many elven quieted when Sindelle got near, giving her awkward sideways glances, Sindelle was used to this treatment. Instead, she kept her head held high and led Aeruu through the crowd. They finally made it to the castle and as they entered, two guards followed behind them. Sindelle sighed but continued on, not making it to the reception hall before her mother spotted her. A tall woman, with long white hair and piercing silver eyes. She had been pacing until she spotted Sindelle, in that moment she stopped and glared Sindelle down until Sindelle came to stand in front of her. "Mother I--" She began but was unable to finish as her mother slapped her across the face, Sindelle did not react, this wasn't the first time she had been smacked for running off. "Hvat ykkarr geta?! Sja ykkarr varnan!" Sindelle's mother yelled at her before turning her eyes to Aeruu. "Hverr sasi? Ykkarr nafn?" She asked, her eyes set intently on Aeruu. "He doesn't understand you.. he was a changeling." Sindelle muttered, her eyes on the ground. "You run off for the entire day, no one has any idea where you are, and you bring back a changeling?!" Her mother screeched and paced once again when she stopped she eyed Aeruu. "What is your name, changeling?" She asked, before turning back to Sindelle. "Since you have brought him to Vaennmerki, you will deal with him. What laws he breaks you deal with it." She said before walking away.

Sindelle sighed once she was gone and took Aeruu's hand, pulling him forward, toward her wing of the large castle. She knew if someone saw her holding Aeruu's hand then trouble was sure to arise but she didn't care for the time being. "That was my mother, Kona. Shes not normally that harsh. Shes just mad because I was gone all day again." She led Aeruu into her room then and shut the door behind her. "You can have the room across the hall from me. But tonight we're staying up. I need to teach you some of our language.. not everyone speaks English here." She walked over to her vanity mirror to tie her hair back then. "And one more thing, stay away from my sisters. They'll try to seduce you." She giggled. "You make a very handsome Ljosalfr."


Azara nodded. "I'm sure thats fine. Simply be back before too long and you must have a guard accompany you." Azara smiled at Kaida before returning is gaze to is son and as if reading his mind, spoke. "I'm going to request tomorrow that Kaida be allowed to visit the islands before the wedding. She should know of our culture afterall." He turned and headed out of the room, planning to retire to his own for the rest of the evening.

Feeling his ego inflate a bit at the mention of him being hansom, a grin spread across Aeruu's face. The world that Sindelle came from seemed somewhat similar to his home, and he was eager to learn more about their culture. "Well, it's not surprising that even as a...Ljosalfr...I still have my devilishly good looks." he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, "Though I'd rather you try to seduce me." He laughed, hoping that wasn't too rude of him to say. He was feeling a bit cocky with himself now, seeing how easy it was for him to walk right into a different civilization in disguise.

Noir's tail flicked back and forth as she kept her deep red eyes trained on one of the guards. her arms had been restrained behind her back, and her feet were bound as well. But that didn't mean she was completely useless. It had been 563 days. 563 days locked in this disgusting dungeon, and Noir could barely stand to sit there for another moment. She just had to wait for the guards to change shifts. The moment the door opened, the guard would be distracted for a split second. That's when she'd escape. She'd planned it all, how she would escape, and the first target on her list. The one responsible for putting her in this hell hole and ripping away her abilities by tearing off her wings, Ferro Noble. It had taken a while, but she'd built up enough strength to grow them back, almost instantly. The next few moments all depended on her ability to do so.
Just as she heard the key insert into the dungeon door, her tail whipped fast, slashing against the lock on her restraints. The loud cracking noise got the guard's attentions but it was too late. The chains fell to the floor and Noir cackled wildly, stretching her arms. Her wings shot from her back, long and bat-like. In an instant, she was gone.

Alister walked down the dirt pathway, heading back to his house. Still feeling defeated and heartbroken over the horrible turn of events, he wasn't sure if he even WANTED to go back home. What would he do there? Sit around and mope all day? He would never be able to be by Kaida's side. It was as if fate was against them being together, no matter how hard they tried. He sighed as the aching feeling in his chest seemed to grow with every beat of his heart. He glarred up at the sky, wondering if there was someone up there looking down on him with an evil grin. "Cruel isn't the right word is it?" He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking. Maybe he wouldn't go home. Maybe he'd just wander around aimlessly forever. The thought of falling in love again seemed impossible, when Kaida was the only thing on his mind. He wondered where she was, and how she felt about the arrangement.

Sindelle smiled and giggled at Aeruu's arrogant comment. "Lesson number one. A Ljosalfr gentleman would never make such a comment to a lady, especially a royal princess." She said as she stood with her hands on her hips, feeling as if she towered over Aeruu, even though in his disguised he loomed over her. "Secondly, don't slouch." She said as she nudged Aeruu's side to stand up straight. "Men always have the best posture and hold themselves with importance." She poked Aeruu in the side then. "Also, which should be impossible for you, no arrogance in the presense of women." She winked at him then, knowing he probably couldn't pull it off.

Once they had gotten permission from Azara and departed, Kaida retracted her Sirit wings. She had only brought out her wings instead of going into her demi form because she felt inadequate standing next to Kota, the pure blooded Victi. Kaida wondered if he saw her as a mongrel. Flith. A nobody with mixed blood that he was now going to be forced into a joke of a marriage. She had always been very interested in others opinions of her and she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking as she hid her Sirit wings. Normally she would have brought out her Celetos form, since it came much easier too her, however, since she was in Serenia she knew she'd have to get used to bringing out her Sirit form. "Sooo.. um.." She was at a loss for words. She wanted to speak to him but she didn't know what to speak about. The sun would be setting in a few minutes and Serenia was much colder than Asteria so she knew she wouldn't be able to stay out long. "Did you have a lover back on the islands?" She blurted out awkwardly, unable to think of anything else to ask, that and unable to stop thinking about Alister. She wanted to be with him right now.

Aeruu stood up straight and smirked, "That sounds like a challenge. I accept." He crossed his arms, knowing it wouldn't be easy. Aeruu was determined however, and never gave up. He'd been issued challenges all his life, and didn't take defeat well. "Anything else I should know? I wouldn't want to offend anyone."

Kota cleared his throat, not keen on the subject. "No. No I did not." He'd been much too busy to even think about having a lover. His whole life had been spent preparing him to rule his entire race, and his father hadn't gotten around to finding him a spouse. "It's normal for someone in the royal family to have an arranged marriage, such as ours will be." He wondered why she had retracted her form, as if she were ashamed of it. "You had a lover, yes?" He remembered seeing the boy with the silver hair. He'd seemed heartbroken once the arrangement had been announced. It was obvious he and Kaida shared a bond.

It didn't take long for Noir to find Ferro, remembering his scent all those years was easy. She appeared in a cloud of purple smoke, sitting on a tree branch as she watched him walking down a pathway, probably on his way home. "Well well, you're looking as good as ever Ferro, how have you been?" She grinned as she hopped down onto the pathway in front of him, her tail whipping back and forth violently. Every fiber of her being wanted to tear him into a million pieces. However she knew she wasn't at all capable of this. She'd have to find some other way to get revenge on the man responsible for wasting so much of her time. She was certain he had a son, she remembered seeing him before Ferro had her sent to that hell hole. It took her a moment to remember his name. "Alister! That was your boy's name wasn't it? Oh I wonder how HE'S doing. He was quite the catch last time I saw him. Maybe I'll pay him a visit."

Sindelle giggled and shook her head. "You will offend many." She turned then and flicked her hair. "Especially, since you accompany me. I may be an outcast but I still have many who court me. They will be jealous a lowly changling is spending so much time with me." After that Sindelle walked across her room and sat on the end of her large, white and gold bed. She pondered her next move and how she was going to keep others from discovering the truth of Aeruu. "Hmm." She said, staring at the floor for a moment. "Do not fall in love with any Ljosalfar women, they like to break hearts." She stood then and stretched. "Let's go out. I want to show you the town, and keep you away from my blood sucking sisters as long as possible." She headed toward the door and held it open for Aeruu, trying to think of any other vital information he'd need to appear normal in Vaennmerki. She snickered as she thought, "I know you won't be able to keep your arrogance away. Especially, when men provoke you. And they will." She said as they left the castle and headed into the large and busy town.

Kaida kept her eyes from Kota, feeling so very awkward standing next to this man. "I.. uh.. yeah. Alister is-- was my.." Her voice trailed off, she regretted bringing the topic to this. Alister's name being spoken from her lips sent a shot of pain and hurt through her. She sighed, wanting to brighten the mood and eaze the tention. "Whats the one thing you like about Serenia so far?" She asked wondering if there even was one thing he liked.

Ferro froze in his spot, the voice sent chills down his spine. He knew that voice all too well and he was confused as to why he heard it now. He had locked away Noir long ago. Why was she here?! His heart thumped hard before he narrowed his eyes at her as she stood in front of him. He didn't try to lunge at her, he knew she'd evade too easily. Taking her down had taken months of effective and cunning planning. However, as he heard her words he unintentionally unleashed his full Serit form, he never lost his temper this way. But the thought of Noir going after Alister, his only child was too much. "You will not touch my son!" He spat the words that were filled with venom and he moved closer, hoping that he could get close enough to tackle her if he was lucky.

Aeruu snorted, "I've been known to break a few hearts in my days." That wasn't entirely true. Sure Aeruu was good looking, but that didn't matter much in his society. He was an outcast all the same, and most women wanted nothing to do with him. He followed Sindelle calmly, wondering just how much 'provoking' he could handle. He wasn't known to be patient. He also tried not to gawk at how different the town looked from ones back on the islands.

Kota quickly realized he should have kept his mouth shut instead of asking her about her lover. He tried to look as enthusiastic as he could, "Well, I will say that your castle and what not looks more impressive than I first thought it would. As horrible as it sounds, I expected to see nothing but savages, the way the elders spoke of Serenia. But it's a very beautiful land, with interesting inhabitants." He still didn't think much of the people native to Serenia, but what he said was partially true. He expected much worse on the way here.

Noir laughed, excitement brewing in her stomach. "My my, getting awful worked up Ferro. No need to get all excited, I just want to properly introduce myself to the boy." She set one hand on her hip, "If he's anything like his father I'm sure he'll be tons of fun to play with. You know how I love shiny new toys. They're so much fun...I wonder how long he'd last until he broke." She hissed the words, hoping to antagonize him further.

Sindelle felt like he was lying but she didn't call him on it. Instead she offered a simple "Hmm." And carried on. Already people we beginning to stare, and they weren't even to the town center yet. She knew gossip would be flying and rumors would spread like wildfire, but she didn't care. Let them talk. Let them fill their joyless lives with lies of excitement for a few moments. Sindelle smiled, inwardly mostly as just a faint smile appeared on the outside. It was common that Ljosalfar never showed much emotion in public. She wanted to give the entire country of Vaennmerki something to talk about so she glanced back at Aeruu and laced her fingers with his, almost pulling him behind her as she walked. She didn't care if he felt uncomfortable she liked the reaction it got. Everyone stared and nearly everyone made rude and slanderous comments under their breath. She liked the commotion she was causing, until one of her most frequent courters blocked her path and bowed in front of her. "You look lovely today, Sin." He said, using her nickname that she only let the ones closest to her use. She gropped Aeruu's hand as if it were dung. The man was very tall and the perfect idea of a Ljosalfr, with very perfect trait. Many wondered why the man chased Sindelle instead of one of her sisters. The man cleared his throat then. "Oh.. Thank you very much, Aderen." She replied simply, the faintest smile on her face. "Many people have been talking. Saying you've picked this... changling.. as your mate. I couldn't believe such rumors of course." He said and paused and he glanced at Aeruu. Ljosalfar men weren't arrogant but they knew how you tear someone down easily. Sindelle couldn't help but giggle, here it came, she knew it, and half hoped Aeruu would react badly giving the town one more thing to talk about. "I mean someone of your stature would never consort with such lowly company I'm sure. You deserve the finest mate." He said as he bowed and kissed the back of her hand, causing of eruption of gasps in the crowd. Such an intimate act in public was the equilvant of catching a couple making love in public, this caused Sindelle to pull her hand back and blush wildly, praying Aeruu would stick up for himself now and give her an excuse to leave.


Kaida smirked. "Aren't we savages?" She inquired with a quirked eyebrow. "Nothing but odd savage beasts that dare to act as lude as to go about touching each others wings and retracting our forms. And to top it all off we have no magic." She giggled. "How shameless of you to go out in public with the likes of a lowly half-breed." The sun shown low on the horizon now and she stopped walking, picking a large and dry bank of sand to sit on, she didn't want to go too far away because she didn't like bringing out her forms into front of such a beautiful being. A Victi. She sighed after a moment, "What are the sunsets like on the islands?" She asked.

Ferro couldn't take it he lunged forward but missed before clawing wildly at her, half blinded by anger. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM HIM YOU HEAR ME?! YOU FOUL BEAST! STAY AWAY!" He wanted to rip her to shreds like he should have from the beginning. Forget trapping her, once he got ahold of her again he was going to kill her in the worst of ways.

Aeruu couldn't help but snort loudly. He was used to games like this. However, he wasn't going to lower his head and ignore the comments he received here like he did back on the island. "Oh! Sin, this is Aderen? Yes, I remember you telling me all about him...How sad." He choked back a laugh, knowing that was a lie, and eyed the man up and down. Hoping that Sindelle would go with his little fib. He crossed his arms, still holding onto his grin, "I would say it's nice to meet you, but unfortunately Sin and I were going on a romantic walk together." He sighed dramatically, "Though I find it amusing that you would interrupt us, it's also quite bothersome. So please.." Aeruu made a shooing motion with his hand, "Go away." He was used to people downgrading him, so Aderen's words hadn't affected him at all, but he could tell that Sindelle wasn't entirely comfortable around this man.

Kota laughed lightly, "There's no reason for me to be ashamed to be seen in public with a half-breed as beautiful as yourself." He sat down next to her with a sigh and thought for a moment, "They're not much different from the sunsets here. We have after all lived under the same sun all our lives. The only difference is the lights in the sky, the ones I told you about. They begin to appear as the sun sets, it's quite beautiful."

In another cloud of purple smoke, Noir appeared a few yards behind Ferro, cackling wildly, "Oh Ferro dear, you're making this too easy. I wonder when I should speak with Alister. You'll just have to wait. Just like I did." She stretched out her wings, "With all the time I spent in that cell, I learned I could grow back my precious wings. I wonder what you'll learn when I'm through with your son. Let the games begin Ferro." With that, she disappeared.