Light Up The Sky [Caius/Edge/Rydia]

[Rosa Joanna Harvey]

Simply another day. Where was Cecil anyway? Rosa had kissed him good morning, smiled and talked as they got dressed and ready for the day. Had breakfast and he had told her that he would be going for business and perhaps would be gone for a night at the maximum. That was two days previous now. Standing in front of her mirror, Rosa twisted her long blonde hair back and braided it quickly, allowing it to fall to her waist. Where was he? She didn’t want to panic, but she was worried. Still, events happened, and as queen, she was busy from morning till night, even with the other men Cecil had stationed to help while he would be gone. They were worried as well, but trusted their queen and her experience. To avoid them getting stirred up more, Rosa had assured them that her husband had told her he might become delayed in his departure. They had bought that, as well as the calm and cheerful smile their queen, so liked by them, had charmed them with. Despite assuring them however, Rosa was worried. He had said a day maximum…

She was becoming paranoid in her old age. ’Old age! Ha! 37 is far from old,’ she chided herself, quickly dressing the rest of the way. She had business with the army to deal with, but first, she had errands in town she needed to see to personally. Walking from her bedroom, she met up with her son coming up the grand staircase. “Morning mom, have you heard any word from dad?” Shaking her head, Rosa embraced her son and glanced away. She could fake it with the older men, the men Cecil had placed in higher positions, but she couldn’t with her son. “Not yet, but I’m sure he’s fine. Your father is a strong man.” Talking with him a few more minutes, Rosa finally left, on her way to accomplish the needed duties for the day. She would be thankful when her husband came back.

Exiting the castle, she started toward the town of Baron, right beyond the gates to the castle. Swiftly walking there, Rosa went first to the stores she needed in order to make sure that the orders and things that they needed were in place. When Cecil did come back, Rosa wanted to make a grand feast for her. Perhaps they could turn it into a ball, or a festive occasion in the least. Her thoughts turned to a dress she could wear, something that wasn’t what she was wearing now. Despite being a queen, Rosa tended to dress down much of the time, especially when out in public. No need to gain attention she didn’t need, and the people were used to her not dressing as a queen might. She had grown up far from royalty, so when she had become queen, Rosa has been slightly lost, and had wanted to people generally to treat her as she had always been treated. More as one of them.

Attending to those things, Rosa found herself walking back toward the castle walls. Her thoughts had once again sobered until she was worrying about her husband. True, he had been gone long periods of time before. Sometimes as king he would be away for weeks at a time. Still, she had known that he would be away for that long period of time, so the worry wasn’t there. But was one extra day something to worry about? Something didn’t seem right, but she also couldn’t place a finger on it. Sighing, she shook her head, gaining entrance to the castle walls. Walking inside, Rosa finally succumbed to the worry and started walking to the quarters of the army that they had. She needed to speak to the captain about her husband privately. If he wasn’t back by morning…she would send out parties to try and find him. Quietly though. No need to worry everyone.

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Words:; 854
Muse:; Great!
Tagged:; Caius, Edge, Rydia
Location:; Baron Castle walls, heading toward the army quarters
Outfit:; Something battley xD
Notes:; >D
Listening To:;[/color] Save me - Shinedown

[Caius Ballad]

Portals. Messed up timelines. Everything was falling apart, and all of this mess was just causing Caius even more grief, more stress, and the desire to end time, to end just…everything. All of this suffering he had to endure as a servant of Etro, it had taken a toll against his mind, and there was no turning back. Fleeing from Valhalla, Pulse and any other world that had anything to do with Lightning, Etro, or even Yeul…Caius felt rather guilty. Somewhere deep down though, he knew Yeul would be in safe hands, though he had no idea about her status with Etro right now, whatever, it didn’t matter now. Farron had gotten some other being to take the throne, that made things much more difficult, especially when said being was Goddess as well. What more was a man to do? Well, there was the obvious. He could leave and find a new place to wander, and that was really what he was doing, but the plan in mind wasn’t just to find a new home, it was to correct the other worlds, rid them of their time and existence, and fall back on Pulse later…freeing himself from a fate he tried so desperately to escape.

This world though…this…Baron as they called it – that was the town at least – it had been only slightly amusing thus far. Caius had appeared out of a portal, spotting a man with white hair and a heroic aspect, he looked very much like a royal king, and the obvious threat that Caius posed had risen something out of him. The last thing Caius needed was more pests in his way, he’d simply egged the man on and as he charged, stepped to the side and used his control of the chaos to seal off the portal, sending the man to wherever it was the portal decided to take him, leaving Caius free to roam this world so far with no real questions asked. His eyes though…they caught sight of a palace, a castle that looked so well constructed, it made him even pause in awe of its construction. That was where he needed to go for starters. Power was an ugly thing really, if you didn’t have some sort of power or terror running about different areas, then you were simply nothing. Power was what he was craving, to be able to show these innocent people what new danger laid before them, Caius and his control of the Chaos could easily rid this world of their very existence, right?

Striding up towards the castle doors, his sword on his back, Caius was stopped by two guards at the main entrance. He was ready to reach back and get his sword, but he figured a more vocal approach would be best. Not wise to attract attention just yet. “Step aside.” He spoke firmly before the guards’ eyes widened and they straightened up, saluting him as if he were someone important, someone who belonged here. Interesting. “Sorry Mr. Highwind! We…didn’t recognize you without your armor, we’ve never been stationed here today, King Cecil is out, but I’m sure Rosa would enjoy your visit.” Caius raised an eyebrow as the two men stepped aside and made room for him to get through. It was very confusing, but he was going to take advantage of the moment and head on in to find this…Rosa. As he walked through the palace, not knowing which way to go, he simply followed his sense of direction and started turning corners, his pace rather quick, no one dared approach him when he had such a determined stride going on.

Who was this…Mr. Highwind they were confusing him with anyways? All he’d done was spoke two words and it was like…his voice had been recognized or something. It was certainly different and less hostile than he imagined the encounter would’ve been, but the more he thought about it, the more his brain twisted these ideas into a more…wicked piece of work. Perhaps this Highwind character would come of some use. If only in little ways, surely his appearance was far different than who they were mistaking him for, after all, the guards had mentioned something about a lack of armor, perhaps a helmet? This was turning out to be easier than he imagined, as if the world was just being handed to him on a silver platter- that’s when he spotted her, the back of a woman’s head. Blond and beautiful from what he could see, and her attire spoke of royalty. This must’ve been Rosa, the queen to that fool he’d led into a portal. Keeping his footsteps oh so silent, Caius strode up behind the woman, a somewhat amused look on his face as he then spoke up, simply saying one word to gain attention, perhaps his oh so common voice could throw more than two dumb guards off, the more the merrier.

“Rosa?"

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Words:[/color] 926
Muse:[/color] Fantastic!
Tagged:[/color] Rosa, Rydia, Edge
Wearing:[/color] His usual!
Listening To:[/color] Caius' Theme
Notes:[/color] lolol He's Kain today!

[Rosa Joanna Harvey]

Rosa tried hard to keep the worry away from her thoughts as she started walking toward the quarters of their soldiers. In previous years, the men had done more then they did now. Actually, they didn't really have much of a purpose anymore, at least not for some time now. She could be thankful for that, honestly. Rosa was glad that her son was growing up in a time that was free from war, or generally free. She herself could remember growing up in times of turmoil, as well as herself being so included in it as a young woman. It had left scars on everyone, herself included. She had grown up primarily without a father, many children without either one of their parents. For having a mother, she could be thankful. Very thankful. And she was. She had not only lived through the bad times, but she had a loving husband and a wonderful son. Hard to believe that she had gone from just a lowly commoner to a Queen. Sometimes still she didn't think she was cut out for being royalty. But the people didn't seem to hate her, so she couldn't be doing so terribly.

So lost in thought was Rosa that she forgot to be worried about her husband. And that's when the voice spoke out. What was Kain doing here? Not that she wouldn't welcome his visit. She would love to ask how his Connie was doing, and his own son. "Kain! What a lovely sur-" Starting to speak as she turned around to look at the blonde dragoon, she stopped in mid sentence when she finally saw the figure that was standing there in front of her. Furrowing her brow, Rosa looked him over from the ground up. This definitely wasn't Kain, she didn't care how long it had been since she had seen him. Crossing her arms, she stood with the regal poise that she felt and noticed every feature she could about the tall man in front of her. For some reason she felt like she should be weary of this stranger, but for right now, she simply stood there and watched him, her aqua eyes flickering here and there. No matter who he was, or how impatient she was to talk to the army captain, she couldn't shirk her queenly duties and be unkind. So instead she raised an eyebrow, finally speaking. "Please excuse me. Your voice is that of a dear friend, may I help you in some way?"

Shifting her weight between her legs, Rosa glanced over her shoulder, hoping that whatever this man needed, she could take care of it quickly and get going. Now that she was once again thinking about it, she was scared for her husband and wanted to go speak to the captain about sending out search parties if he wasn't back within a certain time limit. She didn't have the time or the desire to talk to some stranger about a petty matter that didn't really matter. Didn't have time at all! Yet she stood and waited, wondering what it could possibly be. Some serious matter? Or was it something that she couldn't honestly help him with? Whatever it was, Rosa wished he would spit it out and be on his way.

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Words:; 748
Muse:; Great!
Tagged:; Caius, Edge, Rydia
Location:; Baron Castle walls, heading toward the army quarters
Outfit:; Something battle-y xD
Notes:; --
Listening To:;[/color] Mom playing the piano

[Caius Ballad]

Having used this Kain Highwind’s identity to his advantage to gain access to the castle without shedding any blood, Caius was pretty determined, and almost eager to meet this queen of Cecil’s, the man who he had lured through a portal quite easily, it was almost like taking candy from a baby it was so easy. You threaten one world with bringing the entire timeline and the very existence of that world and you suddenly have a King charging at you. People and their will to fight, it was impressive, but not good enough obviously. With a small smirk, spotting the back of the blonde’s head, Caius strode forward towards her, her back facing him before he spoke her name, only having known it thanks to the guards. His tone was steady, almost knowing, as if he knew that this was the girl, there was no doubt about it due to her attire, he knew she was the Queen, he was no fool to overlook someone’s attire and think them of a commoner in these parts, especially not in a castle.

Speaking her name, Caius had gotten the initial response he’d wanted, catching her off guard of course until she turned around, realizing this was not her friend, this…Highwind fellow. With his sword on his back, no threat had been placed before the Queen, but that didn’t mean this was going to be a friendly visit towards a woman he didn’t even know. This was a good opportunity to break some of the spirits around here, starting with those who ran this place someone had called Baron. “So you are the one they call Rosa. Queen Rosa, to be more accurate.” He said with a small nod of his head, almost as if he were thinking aloud to himself, but really, he was just making this more…questionable. “I presume you know of a white haired man, fancy attire and the will to take down any threat that appears towards your lovely kingdom? What was his name…Cecil?” Caius tilted his head some, thinking back on the names he’d heard thus far in his journey here, which hadn’t been long yet, but boy was it about to be a rocky journey pretty soon.

“There is something you can help me with Miss Rosa. You can tell me when the last time you saw your husband was, because I know of where he was heading, and I can personally tell you, he won’t be back for awhile, if at all.” Caius smirked, holding back the majority of his amusement, he looked around, putting a bored look on his face as he brought his arms over his chest, crossing them and standing tall, looking down at the blond woman, his stance no long quite as friendly, more intimidating actually. “You want to find your husband, don’t you? I can show you where I last saw him, though you may not like what you see.” He warned, his voice unfriendly, his expression cold and emotionless before he turned around, wanting the woman to follow him, at least to the outside areas of the palace, from there he could strike her down, make his threats and be good to go with his new developing plan. This world would be the first of many to fall and bend to his will, until he freed himself from this servitude to Etro, he would not rest, he would not stop at bringing everything in his path down, whether it lead to his own death or not.

“…No? It seems as if you do not care at all.”

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Words:[/color] 701
Muse:[/color] meh
Tagged:[/color] Rosa, Rydia, Edge
Wearing:[/color] Usual
Listening To:[/color] Something!
Notes:[/color] Not a good post at all, but hey…whatever.

[Rosa Joanna Harvey]

Rosa was instantly on guard around this man. Something...something about him just spoke a warning. Perhaps it was his attire, or perhaps it was the look in his eyes, which wasn't exactly welcoming, or friendly. No, he had a look she couldn't explain, but she did know that she was weary of him. Perhaps that wasn't fair. Perhaps he was some poor soul that had just stopped because he was in need of help from the king and queen of Baron. Perhaps...but some inner sense warned her that she should be weary around this man, whoever he was. The first thing she should probably do, was figure that out. Who was he, and what did he want. So when he knew her name and position, she froze, then forced herself to relax. "Yes, my name is Rosa, and I am queen of Baron." She was the queen, of course he would know about her. Right? But something didn't seem right about him. She needed to keep in mind that she should be on guard. Maybe it wasn't fair to the man, but that was what she thought.

The next moment her mouth dropped open. Quickly striding toward him, Rosa's hand covered his arm, gripping him with a grasp that showed how strong she was underneath the smaller, feminine body. "You have seen Cecil?! What do you know of him! Is he in trouble? Tell me, where did you see him!", she demanded out, her aqua eyes having gone darker with passion. If this man knew where her husband was, or had heard about him, perhaps Cecil was in trouble, then this man could lead her back to where he was, and she could assist him. Instantly fear clutched at her heart. Was Cecil lying out there somewhere, unable to heal himself? The thought tortured her, it had always tortured her. That...really, was the motivating force behind becoming a white mage, so she could protect those that she loved.

And then her heart dropped. His words...she had been right! This man had something to do with Cecil not returning on time. Standing close, Rosa did the first thing she thought of. Winding back her arm, she slapped the man as hard as she could across the face, before stepping back swiftly. "What did you do to him!", she exclaimed, her eyes blazing. She knew that now wasn't the time to lose her cool, but with the thought of Cecil out there, injured, or worse, she couldn't help the emotions that were flowing through her. She might not like what she-..."You...", Rosa choked on the words that she wanted to scream at him, tried to hold them back. Now was not the time to overreact or panic. Now was the time to go find her husband and make sure that he was alright. She would do so, just as he had come for her all those years before.

When he said that she didn't care, Rosa once again reacted from emotions. In an instant the bow she had lived by for years came up, an arrow notched in the string. Eyes, still blazing with anger, had narrowed now, her arrow pointed directly at his heart. "Tell me!", she shouted. Her voice, having carried for a good distance, brought soldiers running out of the barracks. "Queen Rosa!", came their worried shouts. Backing up, while still keeping her gaze on the man, Rosa was then surrounded by the soldiers, standing beside her, weapons out as they stared at the man she was pointing her arrow at, confused, but ready to assist their queen. Something...something bad was about to happen. Rosa wasn't sure what it was, but she was going to get her husband back. The two people that came to mind to help were- Without turning, Rosa addressed a soldier that she knew. "Ferinal, take the airship, bring King Edge and Queen Rydia here! Go!" The soldier ran off, and the queen was left once more to watch the man through blazing eyes. "You've established that you know my husband, and have done something to him. Who are you?", she demanded to know, hand steady on her weapon.

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Words:;920
Muse:; Great!
Tagged:; Caius, Edge, Rydia
Location:; Inside the Baron Castle walls
Outfit:; Something battle-y xD
Notes:; Mwuahaha, You guys can post your intros? Or after another Caius post?
Listening To:;[/color] --

[Caius Ballad]

This was going to be ultimately amusing, at least to Caius it would be, and hopefully to the blonde woman involved now, it would not be quite as amusing, that was what he was going for of course. “Then it is a pleasure to meet you, Queen Rosa.” He said with a small tilt of his head, a half bow in his stance before standing up to his full height, pulling off the most polite act he could possibly muster, though it wasn’t really in his forte to bow down to royalty, or anyone at all…not even the Goddess, Etro. Caius could easily sense the distrust…the uncertainty that Rosa was feeling, why wouldn’t she be a little weary? After all, now he was speaking of her husband, seeming like some ordinary worried citizen for the sake of the King of this world. The grip on his arm was telling him how strong she could be, but certainly not strong enough. “He didn’t seem to be in a good position, your majesty.” he spoke honestly there, because…when he had come across Cecil, it had been anything but a nice confrontation, but Caius wasn’t going to say anything regarding that. Not yet at least.

Had his words really stirred her up? Yes, that was what he had been going for, though not to be pointing fingers at himself just yet. Still, he could sense her utter rage, not to mention felt it too. The slap to his face caused his head to jerk to the side, but he pushed back the urge to crack a smirk. Moving his hand to rub at his jaw, Caius looked back to the blonde, he was trying to decide whether to take on his polite façade or just jump right into the threat that he really was. The latter would have to do, he was done playing games. “You have made the wrong choice, Queen Rosa of Baron. Such disrespect to the one person who knows the location of your husband.” He started, unamused, his face dropping from that polite look to amore deadpan, slightly darkened expressions, his arms folded across his chest as he’d taken one step closer towards Rosa, his eyebrows furrowed, his usual expression of frustration crossing his face at the demands of said woman. She really was either in love with Cecil, or simply didn’t know how easy it would be for him to crush her like a twig.

And now the weapon was involved. A smirk replaced the frustrated look as he noticed where the arrow was pointing. Inside his chest…there lay the heart of chaos, he’d like to see her try and kill him, the threat was meaningless to him, simply unnecessary and unworthy of his time. Stepping forward at her last shout as the arrow was pointed at his chest, Caius was about ready to rip her weapon away from her hands, but the other soldiers rolled into the hallway where they were having this…mild confrontation. Taking a step back and watching them gather near their queen, Caius narrowed his eyes, listening to Rosa order for some other people to be brought here, another set of royalty by the sounds of it. Fine, the more the merrier, and the easier it would be to take down another kingdom with their lack of royalty to rule.

When attention was turned back to Caius, he brought the smirk even farther along his features. Walking those few steps towards Rosa without a care in the world, watching the tense movements of the soldiers surrounding her as he grabbed the end of her arrow that was aimed at his heart, looking her square in the face as the heart beneath his chest as well as his eyes gave off a red glow, just as he had shown one Lightning Farron before when she was ready to strike at his heart. “Who am I?” he repeated her question, flexing his hand and arm muscles to snap the arrow she had docked before stepping back and retrieving his sword from his back, holding it out in front of him with the tip nearly grazing the ground, his eyes and heart still giving off that dangerous red hue. As his grip on the hilt of his sword tightened, the eye of Bahamut on his sword started to glow, preparing a gravity attack as he struck the blade into the ground and smirked. “You will soon find out.”

Gravity Wave.

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Words:[/color] 844
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Rosa, Edge, Rydia
Wearing:[/color] His usual
Listening To:[/color] Nothing
Notes:[/color] And...that's that

[Edge]

"You're really retiring?"

A timid nod served as a response to the question. Edge's shoulders drooped, his face almost covered in disbelief. "I can't do anything to talk you out of it?" The old family maid standing before Edge lowered her eyes to the floor. "I've been with your family for years, Master Geraldine." She'd called Edge "Master Geraldine" or "Master Edward" for years upon years, and strangely enough, she was the only person aside from Rydia who could get away with calling Edge by his real name. It said a lot about how much he thought of her. "I had been here for several years before even having the chance to change your diapers," she continued, with a small smile. Edge curled his lip. "Remember, we agreed to spread the rumor that I was changing my own diaper on the day I was born," Edge told her, in good humor. She shooed off the comment. "I have thoroughly enjoyed working for both you and your parents, but it's high time I settled down with my family. Your children are old enough that they no longer require my assistance, and heavens forbid I live long enough to take care of their children. It would make me very happy to move on now...at the top of my game, so to say."

Edge smiled with some reluctance, nodding slowly. As strange as it would be to actually have to hire a new maid, he could very much understand the need to put family above work on the totem pole. Staring down at his hands, Edge thought a moment about what he could do to make the woman's send off a grand one...but she wouldn't want that, would she? No, no she would not. So he leaned forward and hugged her around the neck. "If you ever need anything at all, we're only a castle wall...and a garrison...and a brid-" She interrupted him. "I will be sure to bother you as often as possible to keep your ego appeased, Master Geraldine. I have no doubt a multitude of women will be flocking in to sign up for my job. See? Ego appeased already." Edge broke into a short roll of laughter, and the older woman started walking away, saying her goodbyes. Edge returned them. "Be sure to break the news slowly to Rydia," he told her, before turning down the hallway himself. Funny how things changed.

After he crossed into an adjacent hallway, he heard it. The shuffling of light feet. Edge could pick up on it in a heartbeat these days. And said shuffling only ever meant one thing.

Yet another attack on the king.

Edge continued on through the hallway as if he hadn't heard anything at all, trying to keep his face straight though he could see small shadows cast against the walls. For effect, Edge even stopped at table in the hallway to pick up a book and inspect the inside, appearing completely oblivious to anything other than his own business. Apparently this was enough to draw out his attackers, because they lost their patience after he sat the book down and turned to continue on down the empty hallway.

The dam broke loose, and the stealthy nature of his assailants gave way to a rush of air and heavier, more rapid footsteps slapping against the wood flooring. They were getting more and more clever with these sneak attacks. Edge felt one or the other of his assailants - he couldn't tell which - crash into the back of his knees in an attempt to unbalance him. The other, believing Edge was distracted by the first strike, rushed at him from the front. Edge took a glance at both to make sure where both of them were, then gathered his balance and held open his arms. The latter assailant, who was little more than a streak of green, leaped directly into his arms, leading Edge to catch her in a bearhug and gather himself to leap backwards, hopping over the smaller of the two crouched on all fours behind where Edge's legs had been before. As soon as he landed, the chorus of complaints flew his way. Edge only grinned at them.

"We had you that time! I saw you stumble a little!" "You knew we were coming! I told her you knew and she still tried to-" "I did not, it was his idea!"

They rattled on for a few more seconds, though one hadn't even bothered getting off the floor and Edge held the other up above the floor. He finally put her down, which she took as an apparent excuse to rush over and poke her finger in her brother's face for more effect. Shaking his head in amusement, Edge walked over and put a hand on both of their heads, only causing them to slow down their argument. "How can both of you go from completely silent to the point of causing an earthquake in the span of thirty seconds?", he asked them, and they both finally turned to look at him, looking wide-eyed until they started rattling something off again. Edge cut them off. "That back of the knee maneuver was pretty creative. Who taught you that? Your mother?" The younger brother responded briskly. "Tsukinowa!"

Edge grinned and rubbed at his forehead. "Of course." Of all people who could influence his children's constant searches for castle entertainment, Tsukinowa would be the one telling them a thousand different ways to get the jump on their father. Both of them had come a long way from clinging to Edge's knees or playfully punching him on the ankles as their way of "attacking" daddy. How things changed indeed. "We know when a person gets older, their legs go out frst!" ...Yeah. "Old? Who's old? I don't see anyone old around here," Edge informed the two of them, crouching down to poke the younger boy on the stomach. "You're over the hill!" Okay...so Edge really couldn't argue with that. Forty was supposed to be the infamous "hill", wasn't it? Not that Edge had payed too much attention to the passage of the age....outside of the whole city throwing a gigantic celebration to remind their king he'd been around for a long time now.

"Did you see what I did, though? Wasn't that a nice escape I made? Definitely not the moves of an old man!" He could tell by the mischievous look on his daughter's face that she had a comeback popping into her brain. What a mystery as to where she got the talent. Big hint - the same place she'd gotten her green hair. "It's because you were just resting! We'll get you next time, when you're worn out and your bones are creaking!" Edge cut his eyes at her dramatically, earning giggles from both. They both rushed at him, leading him to poke them both on the forehead as his "valiant attempt" to keep them at bay.

"Rydia! Come get your children!" Because when they were being mischievous, they were her children, without a doubt.

[/size]

[Rydia]

Hide and seek. One of the most glorious games a child could play during their young age, especially when no one else had signed up to play, leaving a parent to wander all over looking for said child…or two in this case.

Peeking under a table, Rydia frowned. She’d been talking to her kids for one moment, gotten sidetracked with something else – regarding a maid’s leave after retiring – and when she turned back around, they were gone. That right there went to show that they really had picked something up from Edge. Being as quiet and swift as a ninja should be, and sometimes it made for many problems when you wanted to find them, and they didn’t want to be found so easily. Sneaky kids they were, but the thought simply brought a small smile to the lips of the summoner. It was funny, being here after everything that had gone on many years ago. There was that…l’cie thing that had torn Rydia to pieces and made her think that there would be no future, but somehow everything worked out. And what was even more surprising, was when the occasional maid or servant around the palace would nod at her, accompanied by a sincere and sweet sounding ‘Hello, Mrs. Geraldine.’ Or what was even better and more astonishing was being called a queen. It had taken a long time to get used to it, and sometimes, Rydia still had to look over her shoulder to make sure that it was she who was being spoken to.

Funny how things worked out, hm?

If she didn’t know any better though, the sooner she found Edge, the sooner she found those mischievous little children. That mischievous side though, Rydia had absolutely no idea where that would’ve come from. It wasn’t like she was ever that way, had comments on just about anything and could deflate someone and their ego in a matter of seconds. Nope, didn’t sound familiar whatsoever. Oh well, it was easy to tell that the kids had gained something from each parent, their talent of being sneaky and what not, and Rydia’s sharp comments and of course, the green hair. It at least made them easy to pick out of a crowd if they had been trying to hide that way, but here at the palace, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, two needles, so you’d think the odds would be a little better. Not yet. No sign of green haired little ninjas running around trying to raise a bit of chaos as usual.

Trailing down one of the hallways and hearing a small bit of talking in an adjacent hallway, Rydia made it to the end but never turned the corner, she leaned back against the wall and listened in quietly. A smile growing on her lips even more as she straightened her dress up a bit and tucked some of that very unique green hair behind her ear. Her assumption had been correct, find Edge, find the kids, and they obviously had tried another one of their infamous ‘get daddy’ attacks. It was amusing, watching and listening in, one day they’d be able to get them, she didn’t doubt that, hopefully she was around to witness such a scene. Smirking at the talk of being an old man, Rydia folded her arms and continued to remain quiet from where she was around the corner, hearing each voice clear as day, and holding back a few snickers as much as she could. Such a loving family, really, playful and what not. It was nice to see everyone getting along these days, not just within the Eblan palace walls, but everyone she knew. Rosa, Cecil and Ceodore seemed to be doing well last time she checked, and Kain…well, he had it pretty good too. A wife and kid of his own, what wasn’t there to be happy about? Which reminded her, someday she was going to have to invite Rosa and Connie over or something, a bit of girl time would be nice, and a good chance to get away from the role of mother for awhile.

“Rydia! Come get your children!”

Of course, it was as if right on cue. Rydia pushed herself off the wall and rounded the corner, dropping her hands to her hips as she walked up towards the three, two trying to attack the older. Shaking her head a bit, she placed a hand under her chin. “You know, last time I checked, they were your children as well.” She shrugged a bit before dropping her hand from her chin and placing it on one of the kid’s heads. “Come on now, haven’t I told you two to respect your elders?” she said with a bit of humor in her tone before she gazed from the two sets of eyes that had been staring up at her towards Edge, smile still lingering on her lips. “Can’t keep up like you used to?” the kids added a bit of background sound with a long ‘Ooooooh!’ as mommy decided to help them out a bit with proving someone was getting older. ‘See, we told you!’ the oldest one spoke, splitting image of Rydia herself. Patting a hand one each kid’s back, Rydia spoke up once more. “I wouldn’t say, over the hill just yet. For now, why don’t you two go play. Just remember not to break anything, or try to take someone else out.” With the kids trailing off, trying to surpass one another at they rounded the corner from which Rydia had come, she shook her head, folding her arms once more.

“Where’ve the years gone?” Rydia spoke quietly, almost saddened before turning her attention back to her husband. “Say…have you heard anything from Cecil? Or Kain? I was thinking about all of them earlier and it seems that we’re long overdue to see them. I’m sure the kids would love to see Ceodore again, and Kain and Connie’s little boy as well.” She shrugged slightly, feeling it was probably time for another, what seemed to be like a family reunion, but it really wasn’t. Close enough though. What could they all possibly be up to these days?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 1181
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Edge! Rosa! Caius!
Wearing:[/color] >>Click<<
Listening To:[/color] Nothing
Notes:[/color] Nada~

[Rosa Joanna Harvey]

The bow that he gave her...why did she feel as if he was mocking her with it? Watching him with weary eyes, the queen tried to understand just why she felt the way she did. He had done nothing out of the ordinary…yet, so why did she feel so strange? Like something terrible was going to happen, and she could do nothing to stop it. Yes, the bow that he gave really did seem to be for no purpose other than to mock her, and she disliked that thought. Not many dared to mock the queen of Baron. A moment later, however, she realized why she was weary of him. When he mentioned her husband, she was immediately on edge, wondering why he knew Cecil and just what he had to do with him. Did this man have something to do with his mysterious disappearance? She had to remind herself that there was no proof that her husband had in fact, disappeared. Still, it seemed odd for him to be gone for a longer period of time then he expected, especially without sending word, as he was so good with doing.

Her answer came in a cryptic way. The man standing there before her didn’t outright say what it was that had happened to Cecil, but he gave her enough of a hint to know that something was dreadfully wrong. Instantly her heart cried out for her to find her husband. He had come for her when she had been in trouble. He would always come for her. How could she do any less for him? She became furious then. This man knew something about her husband and where he had gone, and yet he was intentionally playing with her, trying to mess with her mind. She didn’t like that idea at all.

A moment later he tormented her by mentioning her husband and what it was that he had done to him. Rage came swiftly then, and she reacted without thinking of the consequence. Lashing out, she caught his face with the palm of her hand, slapping him with every bit of strength she could muster, her eyes narrowed down to practically slits as she did so, demanding to know what it was that he had done to her husband. Was Cecil alive? Had he been kil-…no! She couldn’t think those thoughts, or they might become a reality. Instead, what she had to do was hope that Cecil was alive, and fight to get him back beside her here in Baron where he belonged. Perhaps it had been a mistake to lash out and strike him, but Rosa couldn’t bring herself to care. Yet his words struck a chord within her. Had she really ruined the chances of finding her husband by striking this man? Or was it just all talk? She had no idea yet, but she wasn’t going to fool around with it. Her lips twisted into somewhat of a sneer.

And in her hands rested her weapon, arrow directed to the mentally painted target that she had placed directly over his chest. She didn’t know just who this man was, but she knew her own self, and she could handle herself. The years had assured her of that. She stood her ground as he advanced, sure that he was going to try and relieve her of her weapon. She did nothing but deepen her stance, pulling her arm back even more as she prepared to release the arrow deep into his chest. The arrival of her soldiers stopped that from happening though. Instead it seemed like they faced some sort of a stand off. At that moment, however, Rosa addressed a soldier to tell him to go get two people that could help in this situation. She didn’t know even what she was dealing with here, but if he had managed to overthrow Cecil, he must be powerful. The soldier ran, while the rest stood their ground along side her, hands on their weapons, as hers was on the bow. Her arrow was still pointed toward his chest.

She hoped that right there she might receive and answer on who he was, but he seemed to want to play some sort of a guessing game. Her soldiers milled around, yet she stood rigidly, even as he advanced, eyes following every movement. She didn’t move even as he grabbed the arrow from her, but released the string slowly. Poised to react and grab another of her many arrows. She wasn’t quite prepared for the attack that followed, and neither were her soldiers. With a gasp, Rosa fell to her knees, conscious of the men falling beside her. Mind, through the fog, kicked into survival mode. White magic swirled around her hand a moment later, before she felt the blessed cure spell run through her veins. As soon as she gained her feet, she had done the same for her soldiers. “Fall back,” she hissed out, watching one over eager soldier try to rush headlong in the direction of the man. Catching his arm as he tried to do so, she whirled him backwards. “Go!”, she shouted out, notching another arrow in her weapon as they all started to flee, staying behind a moment to ensure they got a head start. Whirling back toward the men, she released it toward his chest, grabbing another arrow quickly as she started to run away, twisted around as she continued to rain arrows down on him.

The soldiers were pouring out of the barracks now. Rosa began to shout instructions immediately, before the commanders caught on and started barking commands to back up what she was saying. They didn’t know where their King was, but right at that moment, they remained loyal to their queen and followed her instructions. Rosa had never been more glad to have their loyalty then she was now. As the soldiers prepared themselves and started to get to their stations, Among the bodies she saw the blonde hair that belonged to her son. She felt a tightening in her chest. This situation didn’t look good. Already the damage he had done with one attack had brought her and a small squad of soldiers to their knees. She knew not if they would survive this, but if they did not, she didn’t want her son to see this, or to have a chance of possibly being killed as well. And so she made her decision as he came running toward her. Turning, Rosa caught the arm of an older, seasoned warrior that was running by. “Ceodore, take him away.”, she spoke firmly. “But queen Rosa, he’s as powerful as-“ “I don’t care! I can’t be worried about my son as well. Take him, if by force, so be it.” He hesitated no longer, before turning to stride purposefully toward the advancing figure of the young man. Rosa lifted a hand, almost in farewell, and turned before she had to see the protests of her young son.

Instantly she turned back to the situation at hand, her eyes taking in the chaos that was surrounding her. Yet, through that, she could see that her hastily barked instructions had been followed, the mages and archers concentrating all their firepower on the man. A handful of more prominent men kept the close ranged attackers reigned back, saving them from being slaughtered. Good. They might have a chance. …Might.

’Cecil, please.’, she begged. ’I need you!’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:; 1453
Muse:; Great!
Tagged:; Caius, Edge, Rydia
Location:; Baron Castle Walls
Outfit:; Something!
Notes:; This...I hated this xD
Listening To:;[/color] --

[Caius Ballad]

This was going to be worth a good laugh here in about five seconds. The way this blonde was standing up to him was thoroughly amusing. She’d smacked him across the face, and now what? Pointing a simple arrow at his chest, ready to release her bow string and pierce his heart? How foolish, she didn’t know who she was dealing with obviously, not that he expected her to. He felt a small chuckle actually escape his lips as he had advanced towards her, soldiers all around himself and her as he grabbed the arrow she was pointing, felt her release it slowly and he snapped it in his hand, as if it were nothing more than a toothpick. The smirk on his lips lingered even still as he looked into the eyes of the Queen of Baron. He wasn’t playing the nice guy anymore, his steps towards his goal were very misleading, but his mind and heart had been tormented enough to make his this way…all he wanted to do was save a friend…someone who he thought to be somewhat of a daughter to him.

‘Yeul…’

Moving quickly as his eyes, heart and sword all started to glow with that reddish hue, Caius took a step back and struck his sword into the castle floors, letting a gravity wave take its path through the line of soldiers, and through the Queen. Bringing them – especially her – to their knees was satisfying, and as he gave a pitiful ‘hmph’ at them, he continued to gaze upon them, watching them get back to their feet and just as he was about to unleash another attack on them, Rosa had called out for them to fall back. A wise choice by her majesty, hm? Smirking, he held one hand away from his sword and gave her another mock-bow. “Running from the fight, how very brave of you. Even your husband didn’t do that.” He sneered, wickedly, definitely knowing something she didn’t, and of course he’d play off her emotions right now, especially since she had no idea what had become of her beloved Cecil, for all she knew, he could be dead, and by the hands of Caius. How wonderful playing with one’s emotions was.

With the soldiers retreating and Rosa firing arrows at him, Caius simply took quick backwards steps before falling back himself. He was putting the wheels into motion, that was what this visit had done. As he took his leave with a very powerful stride back through the castle, Caius let his sword lose, slamming it on any furniture he’d passed, into windows he’d passed and listened to the antique glass shatter. It was like music to his ears at this point, he was all about destruction these days, and this…this was like pure entertainment to him, a game of sorts. He was ready to play, ready to destroy and take this world by force and plunge it into the darkness of the chaos he carried with him.

Upon reaching the door he’d entered in, the two guards who were supposed to be on the lookout had turned, but their lives hadn’t made it much farther than that as Caius passed them, having struck them on his way out. Seeing the kingdom as a whole now, he smirked to himself, ready to inflict some damage on the city and the civilians. He took several steps from the castle walls, watching as a few soldiers from the outside that had been guarding the town came charging towards him, weapons at the ready, but just as they were ready…so was Caius. He struck his sword out ahead of him and his eyes began to glow again before he flung his sword up, a dark chaos covered cloud formed around him and in his place rested Chaos Bahamut, a horrendous roar escaped from the summon’s mouth as he took flight and headed towards the city…ready to send some mega-flares their way. Good luck to Rosa and whatever reinforcements she was calling for, she was going to need them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 784
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Rosa, Edge, Rydia
Wearing:[/color] His usual
Listening To:[/color] Get Out Alive: Three Days Grace
Notes:[/color] I figure Caius can be out for a couple of rounds? That okay?

[Edge]

A completely fake, disapproving frown cast over the two children as Edge continued to "fight" them off, but soon his eyes were on the beauty who had made her presence known from around the corner. Now there stood someone who aged well. Edge grinned at her, hugging both children around the head to a multitude of giggled complaints and motioning down at them. "Do these look like my children? With that hair and this attitude?", Edge asked humorously, before letting them go. He had hoped his wife would take his side in this encounter, but no, of course not! She still completely had her youth, as Edge never failed to notice daily, so naturally she would start ragging him about his age now, too. Edge cut his eyes between her and the children as they mocked him. "Am I going to have to remind you all that the four greatest ninja in all of Eblan - two of whom aren't even half my age - still can't match me?" He could tell his arguments were falling on two small individuals as stubborn as their mother and father combined, so Edge simply shook his head and watched them leave as Rydia instructed them to "go play". That never seemed to end well....okay, so maybe they were his children.

His eyes flickered back to Rydia as she seemingly fell into reminiscing. Edge shrugged slyly and rubbed at the bottom of his chin a little, as if he were genuinely attempting to remember where the years had gone...but he had a feeling Rydia could surmise what he was about to get at after all these years of putting up with him. "Oh, I don't know. As I recall..." He reached forward and took her around the waist, pulling her closer. "...there was quite a bit of this and..." Before he continued, he planted a kiss on her nose. "...and quite a bit of that and..." "Your highness." Damn. Well, there wouldn't be any of the best part this time around. Edge cringed slightly to Rydia. "...a little too much of this for my liking," he finished, his eyes glazing over slightly with apathy as he released Rydia and turned to regard the approaching seneschal. Breaking in these new stewards would never be a task Edge had any kind of fondness for. He actually missed the old ones. They were some conservative bastards, but at least they didn't chase Edge or Rydia around like lost puppies. Why did everyone have to retire?

After the seneschal apologized for not having seen Rydia and took to bowing excessively, Edge took the piece of paper out of the man's hand. Such a maneuver was taken (smartly) as a cue for the seneschal to run off and bug someone else. The king regarded the paper, which happened to be a financial report from a city precinct, with little interest as Rydia asked him about two of the "old" friends that they unfortunately of whom they saw too little. A much younger Edge almost would have wished another world crisis would strike up so they could all see more of each other, but the "old man" Edge with children hoped conflict would stay as far away from Eblan and Baron as conceivably possible. "Cecil sent one of his age-long missives a few days ago and tacked on a message at the end. Everyone in Baron is doing well," Edge told her, as he set the report aside.

Edge nodded thoughtfully at her recommendation that they make a visit again. "It's not as if we're busy these days...anyone with a working hand and ears can sign off on a document or hear a citizen's complaints," Edge responded, glancing aimlessly at the financial report again. "And Gekkou's been handling all the policing lately as it is. The palace wouldn't miss us for a couple of weeks. Especially since I'm apparently an old man to be cast aside nowadays," Edge added, some mischief in his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling, as if considering something. "I can't be positive that's the case, though...most still claim I'm the most handsome man in the kingdom....would the charming queen of Eblan have any opinion on the matter?"

[/size]

Notes - I removed the mention of Kain and Connie.

[Rydia]

Somehow, someway, Rydia always found a way to thoroughly amuse herself, and those kids…yeah, you really could tell they were hers, not just by the looks and what not. Shaking her head a bit, she tapped a finger against her chin and gazed down at the green haired kiddos. “Looks can be deceiving, you know. I assure you, they’re definitely yours.” Humor, amusement, it was great. It was all in good fun though, it wasn’t as if Rydia had went out of her way to make the comments she made out of rudeness, in fact, there was those occasional moments when she would help with Edge’s ego, rather than deflating it. Then again, when you were dealing with someone like him, a King, a ninja, and yeah…a definite ladies man, well someone had to tame that ego didn’t they? Rydia was the perfect woman for that job, and now she had help! Sort of. “Yes, you’re the greatest Ninja in all of Eblan, if not the entire world, Edge. And I do mean that.” All in good fun, and once all was said and done, Rydia had shoo’d the little ones away to go play or scheme, whatever it is they did.

Reminiscing about the good old days, well they may not have necessarily been good, but at least everyone was in contact with one another a bit better than they were these days. It was something Rydia had thought about quite a bit lately, she longed to see her friends again, but of course she had responsibilities here, sometimes you just couldn’t step away from the more important things. There was a lot to remember, but personally, Rydia did like Edge’s explanation of where the years had gone, it was a lot better than some well thought out wise comment, and it sure did put a smile on the – still young – summoner’s face. Clasping her hands together, though after having put her arms around Edge’s neck, that smile still on her face, she nodded ever so slightly. Quite a bit of this, quite a bit of that, it was a good enough answer for her. “I do remember quite a bit of this, and definitely some of that.” She had commented before the most common of interruptions these days had appeared, which brought a sour frown to the jade haired woman’s face. In a lower and rather unamused tone, Rydia shrugged her shoulders a bit. “This always has the worst timing.” She said shooting a small glance towards the seneschal before having been released, and releasing Edge in return.

Royal duties came first, didn’t they? With a small nod towards the seneschal during his apology, Rydia just kept her silence, arms folded behind her back as she waited for all to be said and done, but there wasn’t much to say. After a few moments, they were alone once more, asking about hearing from Cecil or Kain lately, it had really been on Rydia’s mind a lot lately. She had sort of lived most of her life knowing them, considering the entire bunch to be just one big happy family, though separated by far too many miles, it was saddening only to see them every so often, not nearly as much as she would’ve liked, but at least word still got around. Rydia would send Rosa some messages every now and then, updating her on everything going on and what not. So it wasn’t like no one ever kept in contact, just not as much as they should. “Good, good. Glad everything’s going okay, then.” She nodded, not really thinking about her words, still wondering about how everyone was doing, but she knew if something were to come up, they would’ve been informed immediately, or so she hoped.

It really would be nice to visit again, Rydia looked quite hopeful, and figured everything would run just smoothly while they were gone for a little while. Even Kings and Queens needed a vacation every now and then anyways, right? “Then we should go, whenever time permits, I mean…we can’t just up and leave….can we?” the last part sounded a bit brighter in tone than the initial statement itself. Just leaving without much of a notice wouldn’t be fair on anyone, word probably needed to be sent to Baron, to Cecil and Rosa, saying that they would be stopping in for awhile. Shifting her expression from a serious and hopeful look to a more smirky smile, her arms folding across her chest as she took a few paced steps, mulling over what Edge had said, asking if she had any opinion. Asking if Rydia had an opinion on anything…was like asking if fire was hot, the answer would always be YES! There was one choice Rydia had to make before she could answer though, to inflate, or deflate the ego. Might as well go with the former rather than the latter. “I would have to agree, if we ever have to go to town I need to remember to bring a staff, so I can beat off all those Edge-fangirls that roam the town.” After pausing a few moments, she smiled once more, a bit wider. “I’ll also need to remember one when we go to Baron, fighting off Edge Fangirls of Baron won’t be easy either. You may be the most handsome man of the entire kingdom, but you’re claimed. Not that I’ve ever heard you complain about that before.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 1044
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Edge, Rosa, Caius
Wearing:[/color] Already Linked.
Listening To:[/color] Rydia's Theme
Notes:[/color] Removed notes about people who no longer exist as well!

[Rosa Joanna Harvey]

Rosa took a deep breath while she watched the seasoned warrior drag her son off. Her husband was probably dead, from what the man said, and her son was so young…she couldn’t bear the thought of allowing him to stay and being killed. She had this sinking feeling in her heart that it would be the last time she saw him though. What if she herself didn’t live through this? It was a large possibility. With a wave of farewell, she grit her teeth and turned away from her son and the fuss he was putting up against her seasoned general, unable to bear watching him. Instead she focused on the task at hand, before another soldier came running up. He had been included in the first batch of men that had come to protect her. “M’Lady, the knights are being held back! Why? We wish to defend our home as well,” he begged. Instantly she snapped from her state of despair to a leader, lying a hand on his arm. “You’ll get your chance, but even with our numbers, he would slaughter any that went toe to toe with him. Even your King couldn’t win,” she mentioned sadly.

That seemed to get to him. “And you, Queen Rosa, aren’t you going to go away with Ceodore? Your safety is most important. I’m sure the king would agree.” Instantly she shook her head. “My place is here.”, she said firmly, before sending him off. A roar shook the air then, while the skies darkened. With a gasp, Rosa’s bow came up in her hands, eyes turning to the darkening sky, ready for whatever came. The monstrosity that came out caused her to lower her weapon slightly, before shaking her head. This wasn’t going to go well. This man had turned himself into this beast? ’Cecil…’ But he wasn’t coming back! Chiding herself for continuing to try relying on her husband even when he wasn’t here, Rosa lifted her bow again.

Dipping her knee slightly, Rosa drew back her bow string, took in a breath to steady herself, and let the arrow fly while she slowly released, shooting at the beast that the man had summoned in his place. Instantly another arrow was notched in its place. The appearance of beasts caught her attention. Rosa was dismayed to see a ton of cat like creatures and others had appeared out of nowhere. Immediately they seemed to be trying to attack her forces. Catching the attention of a general, Rosa waved him over, quickly explaining the situation and what she wanted him to do, waving at the beast that had gone back to the city. “Take a number of the men and go after the beast he summoned in his place, and stay with him. I can’t have the entire city being laid to waste. I want you to try to draw his forces away from the innocents.”

And he was off. Catching herself, Rosa pulled back her arrow and released just as quickly, her arrow slamming into one of the cat like creatures and pinning it to the ground, dead before it could protest. Hand slunk back to snatch another arrow. A snarl alerted her right in time. Whirling around and down to one knee, Rosa let loose her arrow into the beast that was jumping through the air toward her. The arrow pierced its throat as she had aimed, while she dove to avoid the beast falling on her, rolling back to one knee again. Gaining her feet, Rosa jerked the arrow from its neck as she sprinted past, notching the bloodied arrow back into her string. The sight before her caused the queen to pull back in distress. Hundreds of creatures, both cat like, flying, and more were battling with her men. Damn! They couldn’t waste time on these creatures when the summoned devil was about. But they had no real choice either.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:; 861
Muse:; Good!
Tagged:; Caius, Edge, Rydia
Location:; Baron Castle walls
Outfit:; Something battley
Notes:; --
Listening To:;[/color] This One's For the Girls - Martina McBride

[Edge]

"I know," Edge responded, with a wide grin, to Rydia's mentioning he was the greatest ninja out there. If everyone was going to keep swiping at him with the "old" comments, he was going to have to take hold of the few comments he could draw out of his wife. He poked the two children on their foreheads. "Unfortunately, these two haven't been educated properly just yet. All those times I told them stories about how we fought Golbez and Zemus and how I shielded their mother from physical harm while she was setting the battlefield ablaze with magic and her summoning...yet they never listened once, did they?" All Edge could hear as they left was how they had heard all those stories and how they were going to go out and do that kind of thing someday and other random things children their ages tended to dream about. Battle was a fearsome thing until one put it in the minds of children...but that was the case with whatever one put in the minds of children, he supposed. He couldn't have been prouder of the two as they disappeared.

Once he'd gotten over his disrupted attempt at romance, Edge really got down to thinking what they needed to do if they planned to leave the castle for an extended period. Of course, both of them had been away from the castle at intervals - both individually and together - but more than often those absences were only for a few short days and Edge's castle staff had easily managed business in their absence. But Edge believed they truly needed to make more than a few days' visit to Baron. They'd seen Cecil and Rosa regularly, yes, and even got semi-regular visits from the dragoon's quiet roost, but all the families spending some genuine time together hadn't quite fit into the equation. Besides, Edge knew if he was getting tired of seeing his own palace every single day of his life, Rydia and the children would be getting restless, too. He rocked back on his perch, arms folded, as Rydia asked him about leaving. "Technically, we can leave whenever we want," he reported, pointing a finger at himself, then at Rydia. "King. Queen. If any seneschals-" Edge motioned over his shoulder to the doorway that the human interruption had disappeared into. "-try to tell us no, I'll have them cleaning the baths for a week when we get back." Standing from his seat, he started walking down the hallway towards the main court, motioning his hands along with his words as he did so. "We need only organize administration, with both of us assigning a regent who hold full say to palace rule. Once we announce the regents...job done. My father had to do this countless times when he left on campaign...and with no war or bandits or ageless elementals to concern ourselves with, there's no need to worry about leaving for a few weeks."

And now that all the business explanation was out of the way, Edge could simply walk along and listen to his wife complementing him and mentioning the horrible things she would be doing to all of those women of the world who still couldn't seem to cope with the fact that Edge was a taken man now. Of course, it wasn't as pronounced of a "problem" as either one of them made it out to be, but there were certainly a great number of women who whould have thrown themselves into Edge's bed at a moment's notice. In the past, that would have thrilled the king. Now, he couldn't have cared less. One perfect woman was greater than any number of attractive women. Edge pulled said perfect woman closer to him as they walked. "I had to work hard enough to have her claim me in the first place. Besides, the most handsome of the men needs the most beautiful amongst the women," Edge said, getting a dreamy look in his eye. "And the chance to watch her beat enamored teenage girls away with a stick was well worth the trouble."

"-have no delays! I must see the king and queen immediately!"

The voice broke out all of a sudden as if a door had been opened to free it, and Edge's expression slowly fell into one of confusion as he looked to Rydia and quirked an eyebrow. Taking a few steps up beside Rydia as the frantic voice continued to rattle off, Edge was met with the sight of a soldier, in the Baron colors, rushing around a corner with a door guard trying to pull him back. The man was clearly determined, though, and probably had enough of a height advantage that he was basically carrying the guard along with him. Edge shared a glance with Rydia as the man finally pulled loose and knelt to the floor on his knees, burying his face there at their feet. The guard grumbled in complaint, but stood straight to report. "My lord, this fool refused to listen to me or to the maids when we told him to remain at the gate until summoned! He claims he's from Baron!" Okay...so this was certainly out of the ordinary. "I bring urgent word from the Queen of Baron that the king and queen must here!" Edge looked to the guard again, motioning his head that he could leave. "Then start telling."

Edge was taken completely off-guard by what he was told, and the man spoke frantically. A...man attacking Baron, and it had been bad enough that Rosa had called for them? And Cecil...was missing. His face became stone-set as more and more became revealed to him. Edge would have riddled the young soldier with questions if he thought the man had any answers. What was there to say about it anyway? They were going to go if Rosa needed them. Swallowing heavily, Edge exchanged a glance with Rydia. "Looks like our vacation comes early," Edge said to her, taking in a heavy breath. He could come up with no good reasons for a clearly hostile man to appear in Baron after Cecil had disappeared (though he initially wanted to believe it was a portal that was responsible), so Edge immediately put himself into a militant state of mind. "We should get ready to move. Rydia...", he nodded out towards the courtyard, to where the children had just disappeared. He didn't have to say anything, only gave her a look.

Calling for a seneschal, Edge stepped up to the soldier, implored for him to get up to his feet, and pulled him along with him further towards the interior of the palace, the seneschal falling in line behind them a few seconds later. Edge stared down at the floor as he spoke. "Inform Gekkou that he's being installed as campaign regent immediately." His eyes turned to the foreign man as the seneschal broke off from them. "Tell me everything you know." Edge led the way into his personal armory, shutting the heavy doors behind them once the messenger had followed him in. "What sort of force should we be expecting?", Edge asked the soldier, busily removing his shirt and starting to fit on his armor. Well, after so many years...Edge supposed they were almost due a potential crisis. He only wished it could be in a world where all of their children were in no harm whatsoever.

[/size]

[Rydia]

The smile just couldn’t leave Rydia’s face. Even if she tried to frown, it just wouldn’t be possible as she gazed at the three trouble makers. Yes, three, she considered Edge to be a part of that category. The stories though, they were real, it had been kind of fun being a hero, it was a shame those days were gone, but Rydia was happy where she was, and who she was with. “They don’t listen? Now…didn’t you just get done telling me they were my kids? I guess we know where they picked that up from.” She shrugged a bit, still smiling before shooing both little dreamers away to go play or scheme, or whatever it was they did these days. They were good kids, though very troublesome at times, that was something they couldn’t have gotten from either of their parents. Nope, not at all!

Onto a more serious note. Rydia figured it was time to give Cecil and Rosa a visit, it’d been far too long, all that needed to be done was make arrangements for their time away. It was fairly easy, but that didn’t mean Rydia couldn’t be concerned about short notices and bothering people with that, she’d sort of always been that way, but hey, Edge did have a point. They could leave whenever they wanted with no complaints, which she was perfectly fine with. Hell, Rydia was sure she’d pack up and go right now if that were possible, she missed her friends dearly. She thought of Rosa as her sister, and Cecil was a very good older brother figure for her, they were the best. Perhaps…a friendly gathering would be possible? That sounded nice, she was sure Rosa would agree with her as well, it’d been awhile since they took a vacation, at least one that didn’t involve some sort of royal business or last about a day or so…this was going to be for entertainment, relaxation, and a time to catch up with some old pals. “Alright, easy enough. That can be settled fairly quickly.” Of that Rydia was sure, as she gave a small nod, figuring that conversation was done and could be dealt with later.

Alright, let’s try this again. Being nice and complimenting and just enjoying a nice moment, hopefully no one else came up to bother them with this or that. Rydia just beamed happily as she mentioned beating away anyone who tried to go after Edge. And she wasn’t exaggerating either, if she had her staff…well, some people better learn how to duck. “What can I say? I take awhile to warm up to people.” Rydia shrugged a bit as she walked closely with Edge, to where? Nowhere in particular, just a nice little stroll where lovely comments were made about beating away teenage girls and pretty wives were made. With a laugh, Rydia moved a hand to pull some hair out of her face, moving her gaze to Edge. “Maybe if you’re lucky, I might actually have to hit someone.” That was a funny image though, Rydia hitting someone with a staff…some person whom she didn’t know, but one wouldn’t put it past her. If there was one good thing about her, she was nearly unpredictable when to came to the things she did. “I’ll be sure to keep an eye out when we travel to Baron, you never know what will come along-“ and that’s when the sound of a frantic voice caught Rydia's attention.

Rydia kept her expression pretty blank before she spotted the frantic fellow seeking them. When the man spoke about the chaos happening in Baron, Rydia’s blank and serious look seemed to fall, and fast as her eyes moved towards Edge. Her friends were in danger...she could only imagine what horrors Rosa must be thinking about. She was worried, like any concerning friend should be. Sure she missed those days of going out and saving people and feeling pretty good about herself, but these days…she didn’t have time to go save the world, it didn’t need to be dangerous…not when she had kids to look after. Cecil and Rosa had Ceodore, if there was trouble in Baron it needed to be dealt with before any threat came to said children or their homes. “We can leave as soon as possible, once…things are taken care of.” She said gazing over her shoulder, feeling a bit dazed by the sudden information. They needed to tell the children something, Rydia didn’t want her kids anywhere near Baron or this fiend that was creating such a mess, no way did she want to put them in that close of danger, it wasn’t worth the risks. Already she was thinking of things to say, losing herself in thought as Edge and the frantic fellow had sort of trailed off, Rydia moved quickly to catch up and listen in to whatever was said. If they made it there before complete destruction was laid waste to Baron, then…Rydia had high hopes about the turnout, though it may have been awhile since anything like this happened…that didn’t mean they were out of commission. Just because you were past your twenties didn’t render you unable to put up a fight, and win.

For once, Rydia kept herself silent.

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Words:[/color] 1033
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Edge, Rosa, Caius
Wearing:[/color] already linked!
Listening To:[/color] Something!
Notes:[/color] I don’t know what this is! and I edited it blahblah.