[R] Clash of Shadows - Drakonnas and GirlyWoman

[Drakonnas]

Rated R for violence, and suggestive themes.


Midna (http://th03.deviantart.net/fs32/300W/i/2008/206/4/6/__Midna____by_Dailix.jpg) floated around the room, grinning almost childishly. She was waiting for one of her favorite humans, as well as one of her best friends, Marie, to join her after her class. Midna didn't teach a class per se, but often assisted others. She was still relatively new to the Academy, and didn't have a class of her own yet. The "young" female demon understood why the Dean didn't want her to have a class just yet, but that didn't mean she didn't like it.

Reducing the amount of magic she used to float around, Midna sank to the ground, and sat down in one of the many chairs that lined the teachers lounge. She had finished helping out another teacher, who had let their class out a little bit early, so Midna had come here to wait. Looking in the mirror, Midna admired herself. "Don't I look simply stunning?" She asked herself softly, enjoying the moment.

Her thoughts turned to how she had joined the academy. Marie and her friend Gabriel, the one who had often travelled with her to the Shadow Realm, had seen her capabilities and potential after working together on a particularly difficult research project, and had brought her here. She had done very well in school, and had been offered a place as a student/teacher. She'd assist other teachers, and if it was deemed she had what it took, become a teacher herself.

Midna laughed silently to herself, she was in a good mood today. There was no particular reason, Midna just happened to be quite optimistic. The odd things that had been going on were not important to her at the moment, for she was thinking about what she needed to talk with Marie about. There was a rather important issue at hand. She had overheard the Dean talking approvingly about her. This was just the news she wanted to hear, it was likely that she would finally become a complete professor soon. Maybe as soon as next semester. The thought cheered her up greatly. Perhaps Marie already knew? She seemed to have that sort of information readily available.

Wondering when Marie would show up, Midna entertained herself by practicing small amounts of magic, making things levitate, just relatively simple things that even the most ignorant mage should be able to do. She didn't know why, but she found it an amusing passtime. She made sure no one else was in the vicinity though, she knew it was childish. At heart, Midna was childish. But she knew how and when it was appropriate to be so.

Looking out the window, Midna observed the numerous evergreens that surrounded the Academy on two sides, and the lake on the other. It really was lush, and full of life. Midna loved the color that was out here. Greens, blues, and all sorts of colorful flowers. Only the front of the building was open to the small plains before the rolling hills took over. It was a very well kept campus, she had never seen more beautiful landscape. There was nothing like it in the Shadow Realm.



---------



Kel'Naeer (http://www.youwall.com/papel/dark_angel_wallpaper_26401.jpg) looked out the window moodily. He was in a foul attitude, having not slept well again the night before. The scenery of the Shadow Realm did nothing to improve his mood. It was eerie, almost unnaturally creepy. The sky was pitch black, yet the landscape was lit as if it were day. Reds and blacks dominated the scene. The ground
was dry and cracked. No winds blew, it was still. No vegetation grew here, or at least in this area of the Shadow Realm. He had never been within a mile of the castle he lived in. Kel'Naeer thought it was more of a prison than a home.

His only consolation to his 'imprisonment' had been his sister, the only light of his life. Then the thrice damned humans had murdered her. Or so the Demon King had said. Kel had held onto the hatred within his heart, it was the only thing keeping him from committing suicide. He wanted to see the humans suffer, to feel the agony that he had felt.

Kel had spent his entire life under the King. He had been kind enough to take him in, shelter him, and teach him. He believed that the Demon King had the right idea, that exterminating the humans was the only way to spare another tragedy like the one he had already suffered. He didn't want others to go through the same thing.

As Kel stood up, he looked around his small room, it was mostly bare, except for the things he cared most about, his weapons. Kel fought with a long poleax, as well as two long daggers he always kept strapped by his side. He wondered how his friend, Mathieu had fared his night. He hoped it would have been better than his.

[Girly Woman]

Marie and Gabriel were buried in old books and scrolls. Marie had found, quite by accident, an obscure passage in old and tattered scroll referring to the Shadow Realm as a colorful and lush place, even more beautiful than the Light Realm. Thus had begun their steady tearing apart of every library they could find in order to find out what had happened to the Shadow Realm to make it so bleak. No demon alive now apparently knew of the Shadow Realm as anything other than it was, so this scroll referred to time that was ancient in the ancient times. They wondered if there was a way to bring this lushness back to the Demon world and thus work against the propaganda of the latest king.

Marie leaned back in her chair. She said, "I am but a mere human. I require some food and restorative drink." Gabriel chuckled and stood up, offering his hand to Marie. He said, "Let us embark upon a quest to seek this treasure." Marie shook her head and giggled, taking his hand and standing up. They headed towards the large and comfortable teacher's lounge, where they could relax away from the books and the dust and have food brought to them. Marie leaned on Gabriel's arm. He flung his arm out as they walked down the halls, saying "Part, oh people. My lady is famished!" Marie giggled at Gabriel and at the various reactions of professors, students, and staff. Those who were familiar with and comfortable with Gabriel laughed and played along. Others seemed to think it was a real command and jumped out of the way. Others froze in fear. Gabriel laughed, his stronger ears picking up the whispers which followed them. He said, "The rumors grow more rampant, my lady." Since Marie and Gabriel worked so closely together and were so comfortable around each other, the inevitable rumors of a relationship had spread. Neither had any interest in starting any kind of romantic or physical relationship with the other, so they just laughed it off and sometimes did things to make the rumors worse. Such as walking arm-in-arm down the hall.

They entered the teachers lounge and Gabriel, sweeping his arm dramatically, said, "Behold, my lady! Your relief is at hand!" Marie laughed and sat down. She said, "Hello, Midna. You're looking well today, as usual!" Gabriel smiled at Midna and walked up to her, patting her on the head like a child, saying, "Hello, little lady." He then waved his hands and a little bird appeared. It would tell those in the kitchens what to send up for him and Marie. They both gave their orders and the bird disappeared.
***
Mathieu stirred awake. He partially sat up in the bed that wasn't his and glanced over at the human next to him. She was truly exquisite. Humans were more simple than demons. Demons all knew who he was and many had tried to influence his father through Mathieu's bed. Mathieu had therefore taken to venturing into the Light Realm for his amorous adventures. Smiling down at her, he kissed her gently. He may actually come back to this one some day. Waving his hand casually, his clothes flew into his hands. He then opened a portal. He stepped into his boxers and pants as he stepped through the portal.

He stepped out, unannounced, into Kel'Naeer's room. Mathieu had this bad habit of just sort of showing up in Kal-Naeer's room...often in various states of undress. Buttoning his pants, he said, "Good morning. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" He laughed. The contrast between Kel'Naeer and the exquisite creature whom he'd just left was actually quite jarring. Their friendship was unusual, given the extreme differences in their personalities. Perhaps that was how it worked. Not that Mathieu gave this any kind of thought. He pulled on his shirt and said, "How are you on yet another lovely morning in the land of the Shadows?"

[Drakonnas]

Midna didn't have to wait much longer for the duo to enter. Midna released the magic that was holding the apple aloft. "Why thank you Marie. You look lovely yourself." Midna said, bowing slightly and gracefully. She turned to Gabriel, her voice a little colder, but a jesting smile on her face. She was simply joking, the two of them did this often, teasing each other like this. It was simply for fun, they both enjoyed it. "Be careful who you call little lady, Gabriel. This 'little lady'" she said, stressing the nickname he had for her, "packs a powerful punch. You wouldn't want to get in my way." She said, not able to keep up her cold voice anymore, cracking into laughter. "Dang it! I couldn't keep a straight tone there. I'll work on that." Midna said happily. She was good at making others feel good, even herself.

"So Marie... I heard the headmaster was talking about letting me teach full time!" Midna said with an excited tone. Taking a deep breath to appear more calm and composed, Midna closed her eyes for a moment to collect herself. "I believe that I can be a valuable asset around here." She said in a much more adult-like tone and manner. "So tell me, what have you two been up to? I can see that you're thinking about something, Marie. What is it?" Midna asked curiously. "Don't think I've forgotten you, Gabriel. I heard about your nomination for one of the best instructor awards. Congratulations."

------

Kel jumped slightly as he heard someone step into his room. Both of his daggers were instantly in his hand, Kel entering a fighting stance before he registered the fact that it was simply Mathieu. He sheathed his daggers, and turned back to the window. "Good Morning, I suppose." Kel said softly. He didn't dare be discourteous to Mathieu for several reasons. One, he was Kel's only good friend, the only one he'd trust with his life. Kel didn't want to alienate Mathieu, he had no one else. Two, Mathieu was the "prince" of the Demon world. He had to maintain some semblance of respect, even if Mathieu was his friend.

"I've been better. I hope I'm not coming across as bitter... I didn't sleep well again last night. I couldn't stop thinking." Kel said, a little more softly now. "And I see you've had an entertaining night, hm?" Kel said, referencing Mathieu's dress. "What did you have in mind for today?"

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel stood in front of Midna and said, "I'm really frightened of...of...where did you go, Midna?" He looked around, not looking down, as if he couldn't see her. He chuckled, ruffled her hair again, and sat down next to Marie, spreading his arms across the back of the couch.

Gabriel and Marie looked at each other and giggled. Midna had jumped from several topics without allowing them to get a word in edgewise. She was still a child in so many ways. Marie and Gabriel tag-teamed responding to her:

"So Marie... I heard the headmaster was talking about letting me teach full time!"
Marie said, "Congratulations!" She tapped Gabriel's thigh.

"I believe that I can be a valuable asset around here."
Gabriel said, "Perhaps, although many students are nervous around me, and I don't look like a demon." He tapped Marie's shoulder.

"So tell me, what have you two been up to? I can see that you're thinking about something, Marie. What is it?"
Marie responded, "We've been doing some research on the ancient demon world." Marie tapped Gabriel's hand.

"Don't think I've forgotten you, Gabriel. I heard about your nomination for one of the best instructor awards. Congratulations."
Gabriel responded, "Thank you. There are a few students who like me." To celebrate a successful tag-team, Gabriel and Marie high-fived. They then dissolved into laughter.
****
Mathieu put on his boots and smoothed out his hair. He said, "The same thing I do everyday: avoiding my father's many 'You need to start acting like a prince of the demon realm' speeches." His father didn't want to say out loud that Mathieu was consorting with humans because, first, he didn't want to admit that his own son was flagrantly disobeying the king's laws and second, he would have to punish Mathieu under his own laws. The king therefore hid those criticisms in increasingly frequent father/son speeches. It was boring. Mathieu had brothers who had been working towards being king their whole lives. Mathieu didn't want that kind of responsibility, so he didn't see why he had to bother working as hard as his brothers. His father knew that Mathieu would never be king, but he still at least wanted Mathieu to act like a responsible prince. Having a lazy and uncontrollable son reflected poorly on the king.

Mathieu lounged on Kel's bed, saying, "I rather think you didn't sleep because this bed is a rock!" He chuckled. He said, "What thoughts have kept the great winged Kel'Naeer awake all night?"

[Drakonnas]

Midna groaned, and levitated once more. "I'm right here, Gabriel. Don't tell me you forgot your safety rules while in an experiment, and are going situationally blind." She said sarcastically, grinning. "Oh wait, you already are." She laughed, this was a typical conversation between the two.

The tag-team wasn't something that Midna was expecting, and it caught her off guard, just a little. She took a second to compose herself, and looked each of them in the eye as she responded. "What are you looking into this time? Does it still have to do with those experimental breeders you had to deal with last week? I thought that case was put to rest..."

She turned back to Gabriel, responding to another comment. It was interesting, carrying on a conversation like this. But it still might be a good idea to stick to one topic, as to not get confused. "As for my teaching, while I may be a demon, my good looks and charms should be enough to get over that little road bump." She said, twirling around in midair. That and my impressive skill with magic."

-----

Kel nodded as Mathieu complained about his father. "Trust me, I know what it's like. Not fun. He does the same to me. I wonder why he bothers with me. I'm not that special. I just want to see the humans suffer. After that, I've got nothing to live for. Why does he take such interest in me?" In all honesty, Kel had an idea of why, but he didn't want to talk about it, for fear of jinxing himself. Kel thought that the Demon King might want to use him as a general or something in his army. After all, the only think Kel lived for was revenge. He was smart, cunning, and innovative. Who better to be in a position of command?

"My thoughts are on various things, and are my own. But... I shall share a few, in hopes that you might have an idea on them. First of all, why does your father have such an interest in me? I'm no one special. Secondly. Why won't your father let me out of the castle? He says its too dangerous. I can handle myself perfectly well, as you know. Thirdly. I've heard rumors that your father is planning to invade the Light Realm, and destroy humanity. Do you know anything of this? It's the opportunity I've been waiting for... I've got nothing else to live for. Kill the humans. Maybe I'll finally be relieved of the agony and misery of living..."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel and Marie did that annoying thing they did where they communicated with their eyes. Neither wanted to carry on two conversations at once. It was decided that Gabriel should proceed, in order to take some of the stars out of Midna's eyes and save her from some disappointment. Gabriel said, "Ever since this new demon king made all interactions with humans illegal, what progress was made in unifying demons and humans has been ruined, as you well know. In the past, most humans would have valued you not only for your intellect and skill, but also for your cute appearance. Now they'll just see you as a demon. I don't look like a demon. By human standards, I'm quite attractive! However, even I have problems drawing students." Marie nodded her agreement, looking at Midna with some sympathy and concern. Even Marie had to deal with the stigma, since it was well-known that she worked closely with demons.
***
Mathieu chuckled and said, "He gives you lectures about being a proper demon prince?" Mathieu sat up and opened his arms for a hug, saying, "Are you my brother and no one told me?" He laughed. He then stretched and made stretching noises. He said, "My father likes you because you're all 'kill the humans' all day every day. He doesn't like complex beings like me. We're less easy to control. Second, I have no idea." Actually, he did. Mathieu was fairly certain it was because his father didn't want Kel to see anything of the outside world that would invade his perfect 'kill all the humans' suicidal brain. Kel was the perfect, easily controlled soldier: he hated the enemy blindly and didn't value his life at all. He kind of wanted to bring Kel to the human world at some point just to mess with him, bringing him somewhere were humans were being kind and wonderful. Mathieu finished, "As for the third, why the f--- would my father pay so much attention to a pure human-hating machine if he didn't have something like that up his sleeve?" Mathieu kind of wanted to invade the Light Realm himself. Declare himself Demon King of the Light Realm! Then battle his father. Then give the Light Realm back to the humans. It would be such fun!

[Drakonnas]

Midna's eyes narrowed slightly as the Demon King was mentioned. "He's no King of mine..." She said hotly. "I don't give a d*** about his laws. As you said, it's hurt the relationship between our two races. You know how I feel, Gabriel, I'm sure you feel the same way. I don't have to listen to the crackpot old fool." She said, as if that settled the matter. "Besides. It's well known that this school approves of Demon-Human relations. If the students don't want to deal with us, they can take a hike, and let more open minded people come. It's them we need anyways." Midna said firmly.

Midna looked outside, her mood was a bit off now. "I can't help what I am. All I can do is be the best I can be. That should be good enough for people." She said softly. The green forest, as well as the sound of the water washing ashore helped to raise her spirits again. "I'm sorry, Gabriel. I wish the situation was different. But I don't know what we can do to change it..."

-----------------

"No. He doesn't lecture me on how to be a prince. He lectures me on other things, namely why supporting him and his ideas is important. As if I gave a d*** about him. All I care about is revenge. And if it turned out that something else happened, so would my actions. I'm not controlled by him. My actions are my own. I just happen to support what he's doing at the moment. It may change in the future. It may not." Kel said, still a little moodily.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel and Marie laughed at Madna's youthful quality of seeing things so black and white. Marie said gently, "This is one of the top academies in the country. That is why it is still able to maintain a semblance of cooperation amongst the few demons who make it to this realm despite the demon king's laws. Humans apply to study here despite the presence of the demons. If anyone gets run out of this academy, it will be the demons, not the humans who dislike the demons." Gabriel said, "Your appointment shows that there are enough in power that this academy will remain cooperative, but I wonder for how long?" Marie shook her head sadly. There had been much hope in the past when the alliances were first established and mutual study began. Many fruitful projects and collaborations had been cut short by the new king. Gabriel said, "What can be done is give the demons reason to stop listening to their king and to become open towards humans again. It was the demons who broke the alliance in the first place. It is therefore up to us to build those bridges again. But too many are under the sway of that horrible king. He effectively poisons their minds."
***
Mathieu chuckled. Kel was most definitely controlled by his father. Kel bought into his father's propaganda hook, line and sinker. Kel added to this blind hatred of humans a lack of care for his own life. Someone who cares not for their own life is far more easy to control. So long as Kel remains here, Kel will not change in the future. Mathieu's father would see to that. Mathieu said, "If you didn't care about my father, then you wouldn't lay awake all night thinking about him. You would lay awake all night plotting your escape and your own schemes for revenge." Mathieu rather liked that idea. Kel's appearance was pretty much the stereotypical scary demon appearance for humans. It would be fun to bring him to the Light Realm and wreak some havoc.

[Drakonnas]

Midna closed her mouth, realizing that she must have looked a little foolish, based on their replies. She had other questions she wanted to ask, but tried to look content based on the answers she had received. "The Academy is the worlds last hope for good relations between our two races..." Midna said, her voice had a slight edge to it now. "Something has to be done! We cannot let the Demon King continue to rule if it will destroy both of our races!" She said concernedly.

---------------

Kel looked around at Mathieu. "Are you suggesting that I am not acting of my own free will?" He demanded shortly. "Come now... If I saw that things weren't actually like I thought, my actions would change. Now to answer your question of my not escaping... It's rather simple. I have about as much chance of escaping as I have of being struck by...." Kel was about to say lightning, as a rumble of thunder rolled across the deserted drylands on the Shadow Realm. After a brief pause, he spoke again. ".....by a flying ice cream truck." He said confidently. Something hit him on the back of the head though, and floated around him. It was a miniature ice cream truck. And it was flying. "Verrry funny, Mathieu..." But at that moment, the door burst open, and a female demon entered. She was rather pretty, and Kel recognized her as one of the oddballs who neither worked for the Demon King, nor the humans.

"Honey, your life is your own. Don't let anyone tell you what to do, its your choice." She said, somewhat enticingly. "Mathieu darling, I have a message for you. It's from Hestia. Here." She said, handing a sealed letter to Mathieu. She turned back towards Kel. "Let that toy serve as a reminder, cutie, you can do anything you put your mind to."

[Girly Woman]

Food suddenly appeared on a table in the lounge. Marie stood up and said, "Thank the stars; I'm famished!" Gabriel also stood up and they walked over to the table, where they began eating their meal. Gabriel said to Midna, "That's all well and good to say sitting here comfortably in our posh lounge. What are you actually going to do about it?" Marie glared at Gabriel.

They did that silent communication thing again. Gabriel: "I want to bring her in. She has a fire in her heart." Marie: "She's shown time and again that she is too childish!" Gabriel: "She has a strong spirit and a good heart." Marie: "We need more than good hearts. She is too immature." Gabriel, crossing his arms: "I know what I'm doing. I'm your senior and quite a bit more experienced than you." Marie, crossing her arms: Fine! Do what you want! It's on your head!
***
Mathieu burned the letter without taking it out of the woman's hand. The fire stopped just short of burning the woman's hand. He said, "That's my reply." He laughed a bit maniacally and said, "Actually...I'll send it myself." He snapped his fingers and, somewhere in a mansion nearby, Hestia's hair, her prized beautiful hair, burst into flames. Hestia was one of the many demons trying to use him to get to his father. He grabbed the woman's arm and said fiercely, his eyes almost literally burning into her eyes, "Deliver one more of those to me and I'll burn your hand along with the letter." He released her and said, "Go away."

Mathieu turned back to Kel, all evidence of the fierceness he just showed completely gone. He said, back in his light tone, "Like the lady said, you can do anything you put your mind to. Okay, not really. That's the kind of lame BS lies that adults tell to kids to get them to behave. But you haven't even tried putting your mind to plotting an escape, which means you don't want to escape."

[Drakonnas]

Midna had been hiding a smile for the past few minutes. They had finally reached the most important topic. "I know I can be childish at times, but I've already begun work on this very topic. What other demon has? Tell me that, hunh?" Midna said with a small wink. Midna stood up, and walked around a little bit, thinking. "You know that I still have ties to my family in the Shadow Realm, right? I'm sure you remember them, they were the ones to welcome you when you first came. Well, I've been having them gather information about what the Demon King is doing... Records of orders, supplies made, that sort of thing. I have the book right here. It's magically enchanted, whatever they write will show up here as well. Take a look if you like." Midna tossed the book of records over to Gabriel. "I know you will appreciate all the information held in here. I'm sure it will be helpful in discovering what he's gonna do next, I'm sure of it!" Midna said seriously.

----------

Kel didn't hear much of the conversation between Mathieu and the other demon girl, he was too busy thinking about what she had said. Was he really acting under his own desires? Or had the King really been controlling him? He let the small ice cream truck float around him, as a reminder about what she had said.

A steely determination came over him, and he stood up again. "Mathieu, how would you like to go on a little adventure with me? I need to get out, and think. Getting away from here would be best, if what you say is true, and the King has been manipulating me..." He said with a small grin. He hadn't smiled in what seemed like forever. "Perhaps I'll find a reason to live once more..."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "Don't be so cocky. You're not the only demon working against the king. Others are doing so, some within the demon world. Don't brag about having others do dangerous work for you while you sit here comfortable and safe, complaining about the plight of demons." Marie decided to stay out of this one. She took a sip of her dark and black coffee. Ah, liquid life. At least the demon girl had been trying to do something on her own. However, Gabriel had a point. She shouldn't brag so much about information which she did not gather herself. Marie wasn't all that much interested in the book anyway. Her mind was on her own project. Gabriel could focus heavily on two things at once, but Marie could not.
[So...I can't really have him look at the book since I have no idea what you intend for it to contain! :) ]
***
[Lame...I was hoping Kel would react in some way, Mathieu was pretty bad-a--!]
Mathieu chuckled. What kind of boring "adventure" could Kel possibly have in mind? Mathieu said, "What did you have in mind?"

[Drakonnas]

Minda grunted in frustration. "Gah! I try to do something helpful, and this is the reaction I get? Hmph!" She complained. "I'm not being cocky! I'm being helpful! Do you think I don't know there are other demons out there working against him? Of course I know that! I dunno what else to do! So I try to help, and look what happens! I'm not bragging either. I told you they were the ones gathering the information." She grumbled, muttering. "Hmph."

Midna was grumbling a little more as she sat back down. She had been so excited to share this with them. And what kind of reaction had she received? One that clearly stated that the two other teachers thought she was inadequate. And Midna didn't like that.

(I hadn't had any specific plans for it. Just figures, clues that would indicate that he's raising an army. That kind of thing.)



----

(aw, sorry...)

Kel looked up, and shrugged. "I dunno. Just get away from here. I want to re-evaluate things. See if I still believe what I do now, after looking at the facts." Kel said slowly, thinking. "I find the idea of being controlled disturbing... I won't be controlled. I can tell you won't be, based on your reaction back there... A bit extreme, don't you think?"

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "Ah, so when you said, 'what other demon has', you were implying that other demons have been working?" Marie took a sip of coffee in order to choke back a giggle. It was terribly kind of Midna to prove her "Midna is too immature point." It was a small victory, given that her already participating in something earned Gabriel the full victory. Gabriel continued, "What did you expect? A gold medal for sitting here comfortably waiting on information to come to you?" Gabriel smiled slightly, "This will be useful and I thank you for gathering it." He picked up the book and said, "But you were being cocky." He had to make sure Midna did indeed have the right attitude to work with them. Her childish sulking was a point against her. This useful information was a point in favor. It was so hard to tell. He had been about to open the book when he suddenly swore loudly, jumped up, and made the book disappear.
***
Mathieu said, "No." He yawned and said, "Stop your endless self-evaluations; you're putting me to sleep. Take action for once." He opened a portal, grabbed Kel, and stepped in. They stepped out into the teacher's lounge. Mathieu was about to accost Marie, when he was stopped by Gabriel, who was ready for him. Mathieu said, "Gabriel! My favorite teacher!" Mathieu hugged Gabriel and kissed him. Marie smiled and said, "Hello, Mathieu. I see you've brought a friend." She found it was usually best to simply remain calm around Mathieu.

[Drakonnas]

Midna realized that she had been caught. She gritted her teeth for a few moments, trying to apologize. Finally, she spoke. "I... I guess... I guess I was a little overexcited." She finally admitted, not looking at the other two. "I... just wanted to have your support, Gabriel and Marie... I know I'm a junior here, and I wanted to prove that I could do something right... I didn't expect a medal, no. But... I did want your approval. I was trying to do something to help while continuing my work here. I guess I should have consulted you before, but I wanted to try and show initiative." She said a little sadly and frustratedly. Then she said the words that were so hard for her to say. "I'm sorry." Midna took a few deep breaths, and looked up. "But what can I do to be useful, Gabriel?"

As Gabriel jumped up, a portal opened, and two people stepped out. Midna hadn't seen these two before. She looked a little wary, until one of the two embraced Gabriel. Midna relaxed a little bit then, things seemed to be under control.

---

Kel shrugged, and was about to say something when he felt himself being dragged through a portal. "Where are we going, Mathieu?" He asked slowly. Knowing Mathieu, it could be someplace dangerous, exciting, or boring. He didn't know. When they popped out, Kel looked around, they were in a rather large room. Kel saw three other people in the room. Where had Mathieu taken them? Then all became clear as his friend embraced the male in the room. The Academy....

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu separated from Gabriel, enabling Midna to clearly perceive that one of these new arrivals was one of the demon princes. The most obnoxious and useless one! He shoved Gabriel into a chair and snapped his fingers, causing magical ropes to grow from the chair and bind Gabriel, thus giving Mathieu more freedom. Gabriel cursed at Mathieu, struggling to break free. Just because Gabriel was Mathieu's tutor didn't mean that Gabriel could immediately break any spell that Mathieu had cast! Mathieu looked at Midna. He smiled at her and clapped his hands together. He said, "She's so cute!" He spoke to her like a child, "Hello, little one! Have a candy!" He held out his hand, where a piece of a candy popular in the demon world appeared. Marie shook her head, giggling.

It was the usual craziness which Mathieu brought with him. It was generally harmless. The worst that usually happened was that Gabriel ended up with a few burns. She knew that Mathieu could be very dangerous and uncontrollable, but Gabriel seemed to hold a tiny amount of sway over Mathieu, thus keeping Mathieu from getting too crazy...when he visited the Academy anyway. She glanced at the winged demon, who looked a bit confused. Mathieu had probably failed to tell his friend where he was going. She stood up and said hospitably, "Welcome to the Academy. My name is Professor Marie Delacroix." She curtsied politely.

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked in surprise as Gabriel was bound to the chair. As the demon who had cast a spell on Gabriel turned to face her, Midna gasped in surprise. "Mathieu..." She whispered fearfully, and backed up a few feet.

Midna looked surprised, confused, and a little happy at his compliments, but she was still wary. "Why thank you..." She said slowly, as he complimented her. She knew that this demon wasn't the safest of demons to be around, so she played it safe. But then he started treating her as a child. This, more than anything, annoyed her. How could she deal with this? She couldn't simply bite her tongue and not say anything, but nor could she contradict him completely.

"My name is Midna. It's nice to meet you." She said, curtsying gracefully. She took the sweet slowly, and cautiously, not sure what it would do to her. "Thank... you... I'm honored you think so..."

Midna thought about using a powerful spell, to show him that she wasn't as she seemed, small and weak. But she decided against it. There was no reason for doing so, and it might have been taken the wrong way, it might have been seen as a boast of sorts.

---

Kel watched as Mathieu bound the man here. He didn't speak, his eyes rather cold. He generally didn't like those he hadn't met before. And these two demons worked with humans, which made them almost as bad in his book. Still, he was probably expected to comply with them. "Salutations, Marie. I am Kel'Naeer." He thought about trying to intimidate them, but he didn't want to cause any problems at the particular moment. Maybe later would be a good time to stir up some trouble, but not now.

[Girly Woman]

Marie decided it was best to simply ignore Mathieu's antics, since Kel seemed to be doing the same. She smiled and said, "Please, make yourself comfortable. Would you like anything to eat or drink?" She was trying to make Kel comfortable. He seemed a bit uncomfortable and unsure as to what to do. This seemed to be his first time at the Academy.

Mathieu smiled down at Midna and said, "You should be." Gabriel watched the exchange between Midna and Mathieu. Good, it was best that Mathieu think she was child-like and therefore not a threat. Gabriel said, "Mathieu, stop playing with our little Midna and let me out of these!" Gabriel called her "our little Midna" to continue emphasizing her alleged harmlessness. Mathieu turned towards Gabriel. He put a finger to his cheek and looked up, as if contemplating his options. He said, "Nah."

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked over at Gabriel, had she seen him give her a warning glance? Deciding it was better to play it safe, Midna nodded. It was a nod for both Gabriel and Mathieu. Midna looked up at Mathieu quickly, and looked away, trying to show some shyness. Still "our little Midna" bothered her a little bit, she didn't let it show though.

Kel looked coldly at the little demon, who looked shy. Why Mathieu had taken any interest in her, he wasn't sure. "Thank you. You are most generous." Kel sat down as instructed, not sure why Mathieu brought him here. He did enjoy seeing this confrontation. Sort of.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel had to try really hard to hold back a smile. Midna had seemed to pick up on his strategy and she was performing perfectly! He glanced over at Marie, his eyes communicating his satisfaction with Midna. Marie only risked acknowledging him with her own eyes. Okay, she had to admit, even though Midna had her moments, she came through when it counted. Marie waved her hand a bird appeared. She instructed Kel, "Tell the bird what you would like and she will tell the kitchen. They can conjure up anything you would like." She knew that demons had varied tastes. Marie sat down as well and prepared to engage Kel in more conversation when suddenly Mathieu was in her lap. She said, "Oof, Mathieu! You're heavy!" He simply put his arms around her and gave her a kiss in reply. He turned to Kel and said, "So, Kel, what do you think? I didn't want to bring you anywhere too different on your first jaunt outside of the demon world in who knows when!"

Gabriel finally managed to break free of Mathieu's bonds. It had taken a while and much effort. He also ordered some food from the bird. Mathieu ordered some wine. Gabriel walked over to Midna and put a hand on her shoulder, smiling down at her. It was the closest he would risk to a compliment right now.

[Drakonnas]

Midna felt Gabriel's hand on her shoulder, and didn't react. She had to keep up her charade. But she took his action as a confirmation that she was doing the right thing. So, she continued. Looking down at the floor, Midna didn't really look at either of the two demons. She had to keep reminding herself that this was the right thing to do, even though it was against her nature. She was normally inquisitive and friendly.

-------

Kel spoke softly. "I'll have a salad with some chicken on the side." He turned back towards Mathieu, who was now sitting on Marie's lap. It wasn't dignified, but he didn't need to be at the moment. "I've not seen enough to make judgment, my friend. Still, it stinks of humans." He turned to Marie. "I'm sorry if I offend. I have a vendetta against humans after they murdered my sister. Just so you understand my point of view."

[Girly Woman]

The bird disappeared to the kitchens. Gabriel sat down as well. Kel's story was clearly the usual propaganda spread by the king. First, humans were weaker than demons as a rule. Second, such a story would have spread like wildfire in the human world. He glanced at Marie.

Marie cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. A demon was tortured and killed by humans? That didn't add up. Even though humans had use of magic, demons were always stronger. She caught Gabriel's eyes. He also suspected the story was false. Since this demon was friends with Mathieu, it was likely that the falsehood had been invented by the king for some nefarious purpose. However, one could not simply come out and declare such a story to be a falsehood! She said very kindly, "I am sorry for your tragic loss. It is highly unusual for such a thing to happen, since demons are stronger than humans. However, don't you think it a little extreme to judge an entire species by the actions of a few?"

[Drakonnas]

Kel's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps. But I cannot forgive what happened to her." He said with conviction. "While I do understand that it may be a little extreme, I cannot trust a human, unless something happens to change my mind. After all, my sister was killed by those who she thought were friends."

Kel shook his head, and waved his hand as if waving away his problem. "But enough of that talk." Kel said firmly, not trusting himself to say anymore. Here he was, chatting with the enemy, as if things were okay. So far, this human didn't seem too bad. But still, he didn't trust them. These other two demons... Kel didn't like them either. They worked with humans. It was their fault when they were backstabbed by the barbaric humans.

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu smiled and kissed Marie again. He said, "So wise and good. That is why you will be my Queen! However, your wisdom is wasted on this one!" He added silently to himself, "My father has had FAR more years with him." Mathieu thought that, at the very least, Marie would show Kel that not all humans were bad and create some form of inner conflict. Not that Mathieu cared about making Kel a more complete demon or anything. He wanted to f--- around with Kel just as much as his father had. It just so happened that, in this case, Mathieu's mischief corresponded with the morally good action. That was bound to happen every now and again, no matter how bad Mathieu was!

Marie giggled. Mathieu had started this "Queen" thing back when Marie was still Gabriel's student. No one actually took him seriously. First, Mathieu would never be a king. Even if he did, by some crazy circumstance, become King, he would likely never take a queen. He would have many mistresses, but would not make anyone Queen. Marie said, "What if I judged all demons by Mathieu?" Mathieu responded, "Then you would think all demons are handsome, charming, powerful, and generally awesome."

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked up at Gabriel, who didn't seem overly concerned. "Excuse me, Gabriel, I've gotta use the restroom." She said, and stood up, and walked to the door. "I'm also gonna check in with Professor Yamamoto, she said she wanted to talk with me about subbing for her next week. I'll be back shortly, I think..."

Kel smiled slightly as Marie and Mathieu joked about his extremism. "I know I'm a bit extreme... It's easier that way. It hurts less as well. See, if you build a wall around yourself, you're less likely to be hurt." But Kel hadn't just built a wall, he had built an impenetrable steel fortress, complete with boiling oil, spike pits, a poltergeist, a pirana filled moat, and a force field. All metaphorically, of course.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel waved Midna out. Midna would have to learn to tolerate being around high-level demons if she was to accomplish what she wanted to accomplish, but he couldn't exactly lecture her about that now. Drinks appeared on the table. Gabriel poured wine for everyone. Gabriel and Marie glanced at each other, both thinking the same thing. For a demon who claimed to hate humans, he sure had opened up to Marie quickly. Not even many humans who didn't hate all humans would have opened up that quickly about deep and dark personal matters. Gabriel took a sip of the perfectly-chilled sweet wine and said, "Both human and demon psychologists would agree that that is neither healthy nor rational. Besides, if you don't want to risk getting hurt, shouldn't you shut out both demons and humans? Demons also do horrific things." Gabriel looked at Mathieu. Mathieu innocently sipped his wine and said, "I haven't done anything horrific...lately."

[Drakonnas]

Kel gave a humorless laugh. He guessed what they were thinking. Did they think he really cared about what they thought? He didn't give a care in the world. He had spoken to create conversation. It was expected of him, or at least, he thought Mathieu expected it.

He didn't really care that they were talking to him. He answered them in a bored tone of voice, maybe they'd pick up the hint that he really didn't care what they thought. "So what if it's neither healthy or rational? It's served me well." He said shrugging. "I've thought about about it, that and killing myself. But what is there to be gained by suicide? A release from the world I live in, yes. But apart from that? Nothing. Demons do commit crimes. But humans are far worse. We demons don't murder each other every day like you humans do." Kel shrugged. "I don't really care."

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu said, "Yes we do. This one time I..." He was silenced by a glare from Marie. He kissed her and said, "Yes, my Queen!" Gabriel narrowed his eyes and looked at Kel in shock. He said, "Who the h--- told you that? Have you been living under a rock your entire life?!" Mathieu chuckled and said, "Kind of." Marie and Gabriel looked at Mathieu questioningly. Mathieu shrugged and said, "Have a candy!" Lollipops kind of shoved themselves into Gabriel and Marie's mouths.

[Drakonnas]

Midna entered the room again quietly. She was looking significantly happier than she had when left. She saw that the other two demons were still in the room as well. She gritted her teeth a little bit, she wished they would leave. "Oh, you're still here?" She asked, trying to sound shy. "I'm glad I caught you. I had a question, if you don't mind me asking, that is.... if you do, that's okay as well..." She said, looking up at them cutely, but shyly.

Kel rolled his eyes, and looked out the window, and was totally unprepared for what he saw. He saw the beauty out there, and lost all interest in the conversation. He stared out the window, taking everything in. Everything was so colorful, bright, and cheerful. What the heck was going on? Why was it so pretty here?

[Girly Woman]

The food which was ordered appeared on the table. When Kel didn't respond, Marie and Gabriel looked at each other, again communicating non-verbally about the impossibility of breaking through the king's propaganda. Mathieu laughed and said, reading their thoughts in their eyes, "Kel is totally NOT controlled by the king. He's completely open to new ideas!" He laughed. Marie took her lollipop out of her mouth to sip her wine. She looked at Damion, wondering what game he was playing.

When Midna entered the room, she turned to look at her and smiled. Damion suddenly grabbed Marie's lollipop out of her hand with his mouth. Mathieu answered, his speech somewhat altered by the lollipop, "What is it, little cutey?" Marie held her reaction in. She had to admit, she was a little jealous. Marie had never been cute. She had always been smart, reserved, mature, and regal. No one had ever adored her or cherished her. Her parents had loved her. Her students liked her. Gabriel loved her as a sister. The closest she had become to being adored was Mathieu, which was bothersome. Mathieu suddenly nuzzled her. He had this uncanny ability to read thoughts in eyes when he wanted to. Her legs were falling asleep...

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked up, and tried to smile. "Well mister Mathieu, why did you choose to come here? I heard that Gabriel was your teacher... But last I knew, the Demon King didn't like Demons working with Humans... and since the Academy stands for Human-Demon relations, did your father know you were studying here? Or were you just choosing not to follow the rules? Or had he not enforced that rule yet?" Midna smiled back at him for a moment, then looked back down at the floor. She noticed that Kel was looking outside. "It's really something, isn't it?" She thought to herself.

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu laughed. He said, "You insult me; a son of demon royalty would not attend a school with commoners. Gabriel was my private tutor." He chuckled again and said, "Unlike Kel, I am not controlled by my father. I come and go as I please. Obviously my father is not really enforcing his rule, since demons still exist at this place. If he were truly enforcing the rule, he would have sent soldiers here and arrested or killed all of the demons in this academy." He glanced at Gabriel and said, "Maybe I should enforce my father's rule?"

[Drakonnas]

Midna paled a little bit as Mathieu responded. "I...I'm... I'm sorry... It was not my intent... to... to insult you..." She said, backing up a little bit, afraid of him." She paled a little bit more as this Demon suggested that it might be a good idea to enforce the rule. She prepared herself for a possible fight, readying her magic, it was much more powerful than anyone expected. She wasn't sure if Gabriel or Marie even knew the full extent of her magic. Heck, Midna herself didn't know the full extent of what she could do. But on the outside, she didn't show anything but nervousness.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel wasn't particularly worried. Mathieu rarely did anything his father would like. He also knew that Mathieu wouldn't do anything dangerous with Marie around. While he clearly wasn't in love with Marie, he liked her in some weird way and therefore never did anything that could get out of control and accidentally catch Marie in the cross-fire. If Marie hadn't been in there, then the situation would have been a bit more dangerous. They would have had to rely on Mathieu's considering it beneath him to attack a small, cute, and seemingly weak creature like Midna. Mathieu was infamously unreliable. Gabriel answered, "I'm sure your father would appreciate it."

Mathieu laughed and said, "He would!" Mathieu looked at Midna. He chuckled and stood up. Marie breathed an audible sigh of relief as the blood began rushing back to her legs. Mathieu waved his hand and Midna suddenly found herself amidst Midna-sized cute stuffed animals. He clapped and said, "So cute!" Marie glanced over and kind of blushed. It was actually really cute. Marie had a secret love of cute things, but she'd always felt, with her appearance, she could never really have cute things because people would make fun of her. Fortunately, her recovering legs prevented her from jumping up and grabbing a cute bunny or kitty or doggie. Gabriel smiled softly at Marie. She had no secrets from him, although she didn't know this. Damion figured out Marie's little secret from her facial expression. He grabbed a bunny and put it in Marie's lap. The urge to giggle and hug rising, Marie held it gently, presumably to keep it from falling. She said in an attempted neutral tone, "Thank you, Damion." It was so soft, and fluffy, and cute, with its cute little face and big bunny feet and floppy bunny ears and cute bunny bow.

[Drakonnas]

Midna smiled uncertainly as Mathieu complimented her again. Her normal love of compliments was overshadowed by her uncertainty of Mathieu. He most certainly had lived up to his ... reputation. She gasped in surprise as she was surrounded by large stuffed animals. Laughing nervously, she replied with a small curtsy.

Kel looked up, out of his quote on quote trance. He was growing impatient with the goings on. "Mathieu, shall we be going? I do believe that you had other things you wanted to show me." He said firmly. Kel was.... well, he was very outspoken, he made darn sure that people knew what he thought. And he grew tired of this, and was ready to go. "If you want to stay, fine. But I'm leaving."

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu said, "Then off with you. I never promised to show you anything. You barely looked at what I've shown you, anyway." Mathieu was a bit annoyed. He'd gone to the trouble of bringing Kel here, only to have Kel immediately dump his problems all over Gabriel, Marie, and Midna, and not bother to actually look at them or the human world. Instead he remained just as trapped within his own mind as he was in the demon world. Kel had claimed openness to being changed, but then made no active effort to do so. He'd barely said a word to Marie and Gabriel, despite Marie's attempts at hospitality. It proved just how strong a hold his father had over Kel.

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked up, this winged demon was definitely the impatient type. She smiled a little, and tried to say farewell, but he was gone before she could say something. "What's his problem?" She asked, remembering his odd situation. "Surely he's bright enough to see what's going on?" She shook her head. Was this demon really so blinded by the Demon King as to not be able to see what was going on? Midna hoped that the rest of the demons weren't similarly brainwashed. Kel sure showed all the signs of brainwashing... Midna thought his mind and memory might actually have been tampered with. He was focused on only one aspect of life. And he was contradicting that slightly. She'd have to ask Gabriel.

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu rolled his eyes and leaned against the table. He said, "Oh no, he clearly sees that he is not controlled by my father. If you ever imply he is controlled by my father, he gets angry and immediately denies the claim. Which shows how perfectly he is controlled by my father. I brought him here to shut him up. I can remind of this little adventure every time he starts whining about not being allowed to leave the castle, which is another untruth. He's allowed to leave the castle. He's trapped himself." Gabriel said, "Kel is unfortunately representative of most of the demons these days. It's a typical underhanded tactic employed by unscrupulous rulers: invent an enemy in order to better unite your subjects underneath you." Mathieu chuckled, "Pretty much."

[Drakonnas]

Midna heard this, and that got her thinking. After a few moments of deliberation, she piped up. "So... do you think it's possible that the Demon King was the one who killed Kel's sister, and is using that to control Kel?" She asked curiously. "I mean, it would make sense, given what I understand about him..." Midna had no idea that this was actually what happened, she was just making an educated guess. She didn't think that Mathieu would know, but it was always possible.

[Girly Woman]

[*giggles* That was metagameishly quick. :p ]

Mathieu shrugged and sipped his wine. He said, "It's possible. It's also possible that she was killed by other demons for non-political reasons. Demons are just as good as humans at killing each other." Mathieu looked at Kel's food, which he hadn't touched. Mathieu waved his hand. The food disappeared and would land on Kel's head.

[Drakonnas]

[Well, nothing's gonna happen with it just yet. It'll take time. Even if Kel hears, he won't believe it.]

Midna shook her head. "I agree, that's probably more likely." She said with a shrug. "Although, I admit, I do have to wonder." She said with a smile, and looked over at the food. She wasn't that hungry right now, so she didn't order anything. She picked up one of the stuffed animals, and looked at it slightly critically. She then looked in the mirror at herself. Satisfied, she tossed the stuffed animal around, levitating several of them, until the ones she had charmed were floating around in a circle around her. So much fun.

Kel arrived back in his room, and paced around moodily. He had a headache, and wasn't exactly sure why. He lay down on his bed, closing the curtains so his room was dark. He was just about asleep again when something squelched on his head. Jumping up and swearing, he looked around, food was all over the place. "Dammit, Mathieu..." He said, and began cleaning up.

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu looked at Midna with a critical eye. She wasn't as cute and harmless as he'd previously thought. He would have to keep an eye on her after all. Gabriel caught Mathieu's look. Oh well. It would have been useful to have Mathieu think Midna was as clueless as she was cute, but he supposed he was expecting too much out of Midna to expect her to suppress her instinct to prove herself.

Mathieu waved his hand at the stuffed animals, animating them. He said, "We should overthrow my father with this cute and fluffy army!" Marie jumped as the bunny suddenly hugged her. She said, "No, that would hurt them!" She blushed deeply, realizing that she'd just said that out loud... She said, "I mean...they're highly flammable..." Mathieu chuckled at Marie and walked over to her, leaning over her chair and putting his arms around her, saying, "So are humans, darling."

[Drakonnas]

Midna laughed as Mathieu animated the stuffed animals. Levitating them was really simple, even the most basic mage could levitate things. It wasn't showing off in the slightest. Midna was careful not to do anything too impressive, however. She saw Mathieu looking at her interestedly. "Oh crap... did I just blow it?" She thought, thinking. She had thought that something so simple wouldn't catch his attention. Had she made a careless mistake?

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu hugged and kissed the blushing Marie, saying, "You're so darling! I love this cute side!" He stood up and said to the stuffed animals, "She's your Queen." He opened up a portal. He leaned back down to Marie and rubbed her cheek with his cheek and said, "We'll make the cutest demon/human hybrid baby ever!" He jumped into the portal and disappeared. Marie sat in the chair, blushing deeply and stunned. Gabriel stared at the spot where Mathieu had been standing, his mouth hanging slightly open. The stuffed animals, still under Midna's levitation spell, flew to Marie, doing their best to bow and curtsy while in mid-air. Marie looked at the stuffed animals slowly, her face still shocked. Mathieu had left under strange circumstances before, but this was beyond weird. It was his first time mentioning a child. Leaving behind a horde of worshipful stuffed animals was also a bit much.

Gabriel said slowly, in an attempt to lighten the mood, but still in some shock himself, "That was...new... I do believe he's finally topped that time he magically attached a tiara to your head." Marie said, "Yeah..." Explaining to her colleagues and students that the infamously worthless and dangerous demon prince had attached a tiara to her head was not fun. Gabriel smiled at Midna, reminiscing, "It was Midna who saved the day that time. She figured out how we could all three perform separate spells at the same time to get the tiara off safely." Gabriel had performed the advanced magic of breaking the bonds from the tiara, Marie had broken the bonds from her head, and Midna had increased the physical strength of Marie's head and hair to keep anything from being ripped off. Marie giggled and said, "Because we were both too busy running around panicking about ancient demon marriage laws."

[Drakonnas]

Midna wasn't sure if she should laugh. The way he had left... it was odd any way she looked at it. Deciding it was probably just his odd personality, she laughed softly to herself, a hint that she was a little bit unsure about the situation was hidden in it. "Well... I hope I didn't blow it..." She said softly to Gabriel. She was worried about another scolding from him, truth be told. It seemed as if she couldn't do anything right. She sighed, and thought about how she could get out of the situation without apologizing. She had already said the two words once today, that was enough. But still, if she had to...

[Girly Woman]

Taking pity on the poor stuffed animals trying to curtsy and bow in mid-air, Gabriel broke the levitation spell. Midna had barely used a fraction of her strength on it, so it was easy to break. Mathieu's spell, however, would be much more difficult. Marie would have to live with being the Queen of the Fluffy Tribe for now. He somehow didn't think she'd mind all that much. The stuffed animals expressed relief at being on solid ground. They surrounded Marie, properly bowing and curtsying, and then simply sat around her, awaiting her orders.

Gabriel said, "We could use this..." Marie said, "What? The stuffed animals?" Gabriel chuckled, a naughty glint in his eye as he winked at Midna, indicating that he was about to make a joke at Marie's expense. He said, "Not the stuffed animals themselves, but what they represent. Damion has given you a royal court-in-training! He also just spoke about a baby. He must be getting serious. So, you two get married, produce a child, and throw the demon world into turmoil over one of the princes taking a human wife and producing a hybrid child." Gabriel leaned back, saying, "It's brilliant, don't you think, Midna?" He looked at her, his eyes shining with humor.

[Drakonnas]

Midna watched the stuffed animals with a good deal of interest. "He can do pretty cool things with magic..." She said with a slight smile. However, she didn't say the last line, knowing that it would only bring trouble. "But I can do so much more..." Midna thought with a grin. Deep down, she knew that he probably was more proficient than she was, but she didn't want to think that. After all, he was a demon prince. He was probably older and more experienced as well. Still, she could give him a run for his money, this she was sure of.

Midna looked over at Marie with a smile on her face. "Ooh, Marie... I'll have to plan you a wedding! It'll be the most fantastic and beautiful wedding ever! And I'm sure we can get the Demon King to marry the two of you. I'm sure he'd be delighted that his son is marrying someone so awesome!" She said, teasing Marie as well. But she didn't want to take the joke too far, and stopped there.

[Girly Woman]

Marie looked horrified. She said, "You guys cannot be serious!" Gabriel said, "This is serious business! Weddings and babies and overthrowing the demon king!" He laughed heartily at Marie's increasingly horrified expression. He said, "I'm sorry, Marie, I couldn't resist. No, that is not what I meant." Marie said, "Thank goodness. Babies don't come from the stork, you know. I'd rather not do that with Damion!" Gabriel laughed and said, "He's considered quite attractive!" Marie gave Gabriel a look of death. Gabriel said, "Okay, in all seriousness. What we can use is Damion himself. You know how he just likes to have fun. Suppose we convince him that overthrowing his father is fun? At the same time, we get the former, legitimate king of the demon world on our side." He looked at Midna. He said, "What sort of knowledge have you gathered on the demon king? Oh!" He waved his hand and the book reappeared.

[Drakonnas]

Midna laughed as they stopped the joke about Marie and Matheiu. She thought the idea of Marie and Mathieu was rather comical, truth be told. But all jokes aside, they were talking about serious business now. "Well... I don't know much personally about the Demon King besides the obvious... I may know some minor details that won't help much... But I do know quite a lot about the rightful Demon King..." She said with a mysterious smile. "Yes, I know him quite well..." Midna said teasingly. "Let's just say, we've met."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "Drop the cute. How well do you know the former king?" Things were serious now. There was little room for joking around! If the current king continued with his propaganda, who knew what tragedies would occur? It seemed like it would only be a matter of time before the demons were inflamed enough to start committing horrific acts in the Light Realm. He had made light about Marie marrying Mathieu, but, honestly, if that is what it would take, he would support it. He knew that Marie would do it, if that is what it took. Marie was a bit distracted by the adorableness of the stuffed animals sitting around her and shifting around in small ways. It was like a dream come true! Surrounded by all of this cuteness...and they could move. If only they could talk.

[Drakonnas]

Midna's smile dropped, and she was all business now. "I know him very well." Midna said slowly. "He is my father's brother." There. She had said it. Midna trusted them enough to tell them this piece of information. Should she tell them the rest? Not just yet. The time wasn't serious enough for that. And besides, the more people who knew, the more danger she would be in. Midna was the closest thing to an heir to the Realm of Shadows, seeing as her father's brother had no offspring. This made her somewhat of a princess. But, she wasn't a true princess. After all, her uncle could have offspring sometime. But for now, she was the closest thing there was.

[Girly Woman]

Marie and Gabriel both looked at Midna in shock. She was the niece of the former king?! Gabriel gathered his thoughts for a few moments, sitting back and looking at Midna thoughtfully. Gabriel said, "If I recall correctly, the former king had not had any children when he was overthrown. Has he had a child since?" Marie looked from Gabriel to Midna with a shocked expression. If the former king had not had any children, Midna could be in a lot of danger. How she had managed to conceal her identity all of this time was beyond comprehension. The part in her that was still in shock from Mathieu's exit laughed bitterly as she glanced at the worshipful stuffed animals. So this was indeed her only chance to be a Queen! Well, she didn't want to be a queen; certainly not by marrying Mathieu! However, being a princess, in the sense of being spoiled and adored and getting to wear pretty dresses and jewelery all of the time would have been nice, if only for a little bit. However, she would always just be the regal, aloof, smart woman. Who was aging. The animals, seeming to sense her slight moroseness, moved in closer. The bunny, who had never left her lap, sort of nuzzled her.

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked back at them, their responses to her information were just as she had predicted. The shocked expression, some worry. It was exactly what she had thought it would be like. She had a faint smile as she replied back to Gabriel. "I do not know if he has had any children since I last saw him about two years ago, he didn't. It's unlikely that he has, given... current circumstances..." She said with a slight nod. Midna glanced at Marie, and saw something in her eyes. Was it a little bit of bitterness? Midna wasn't sure, but she thought she saw something there. "Hey Marie... are you okay?" She asked, cocking her head to the side just a little bit in curiosity. "Do I sense that you're a little bit upset with this information? What about it do you not like? You don't need to worry about my safety, no one but a select few know me for who I am... you, me, Gabriel, my father, my uncle, and my aunt. That's the complete list of people who know about who I really am. Well, as far as I know, anyway."

[Girly Woman]

Marie said, "I find it terribly odd that the entire demon world should simply forget the niece of the former king. It is also strange that your family is able to move around freely enough in the demon world to gather that information for you. Surely the current king is keeping a close watch on your family. Are you sure that no one else is aware of your identity? It could just be another subterfuge by the current king." Gabriel nodded his agreement. He said, "Something just doesn't add up. The demon king is very covetous of his power. He wouldn't be foolish enough to allow to former royal family to roam freely around and he would certainly know of any and all members of the family. Especially one who would be the legitimate heir should the former king pass away."

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked a little worried now. "Like I said, the only people that I know who know are the people I told you about. I have no idea if others know or not... but I do understand your point..." She said softly. "But... they don't collect information for me. They already do it anyway, but with this book, I have access to the information, and can comment on it. There's a place in the back where we can write thoughts and comments..." She added, thinking. "And yeah, now that you mention it, it is likely that the Demon King tracks us. But we've not encountered resistance yet, and we've uncovered a few nasty things as well. I dunno what his motives are..." Midna was a little nervous now that this was brought up. Had the Demon King allowed her to come here? He could probably get rid of her at a command if he wanted to... She had not yet appreciated her situation fully.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "It's odd in the first place that they can gather that information. It may be information that the demon king just doesn't care about being out there. Anyway, he's left you alone for now, so I guess we'll just work with that for now." Marie smiled and said, "It makes getting to the former king much easier than anticipated!" Gabriel nodded. He said, "At the very least, I don't think the demon king would expect us in the crystal tower of the Academy to care about the affairs of the demon world, so we hopefully have the element of surprise somewhat on our side." He gestured towards the book and he said, "What have you gleaned from the book?"

[Drakonnas]

Midna flipped through it, looking at the various information. "Well... he's gathering supplies, and stocking up on metal, steel, and things like that. I should also mention that he's buying lots of food. There are also reports of blacksmiths going missing." She said, noting some of the more major things listed here. "I looks like he's trying to mobilize an army..." Midna said, worriedly.

Setting the book down, Midna got up, and looked out the window. "If he's planning to go to war with the human... all the beauty here is in danger. We can't let that happen. Something's gotta be done. Of course, I could just be jumping to conclusions again." She said, shrugging her shoulders, the level of tension in the room dropping considerably as she said that.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel stood up and walked over to Marie, only to be stopped by the stuffed animals. He said, "Really, Mathieu?" He made a noise of annoyance, saying, "We don't have time for this nonsense right now!" Marie said, "I guess they're protecting their Queen." She couldn't help a giggle. It was quickly stopped by a very scary look from Gabriel. Gabriel said, "No, it's not at all surprising that he would do something like this. He is greedy for still more power. However, it does complicate things a bit." Marie nodded. Gabriel said, "If war weren't imminent, we could simply go with our plan to use Mathieu to overthrow his father and bring back the old king, who could work to break the spell of propaganda which the current king has put over the demons. However, if they are already being worked up into a war frenzy, even bringing back the old king may not be enough to stop it. The military may overthrow the king and take over themselves." Marie said, "So we'll have to carry on with our research. Such a shock should change many minds and hopefully prevent a war."

Gabriel said, "Yes, easy as pie. Enlist Mathieu's cooperation. Prepare the former king. Overthrow the current king. I sneak back into the demon world to finish our research. Figure out how to use the research to restore the demon world and expose the king's lies" He sighed and put his head in his hands. It all seemed overwhelming, even to the strong Gabriel. However, it was necessary, especially with the possibility of war. Midna was right, the demon king would destroy this world. Marie said, "I will go with you." Gabriel said, "No." Marie said, "I found it in the first place. You need me." Gabriel said, "You'll be caught as soon you exit the portal." Marie said, "Not if Mathieu helps." Gabriel said, "Mathieu's 'help' might involve bringing you to his bedroom rather than to the Archives." Marie fell silent, blushing. That could be a problem.

[Drakonnas]

Midna laughed as she saw the stuffed animals blocking Gabriel from getting to Marie. It was rather comical. "What kind of research are you two doing that would help overthrow the king?" She asked Marie interestedly. "I know you do lots of various things, but what is this specific thing? Maybe I can help!" She piped up hopefully. It had to be something big if it would help them this much. It sounded as if things weren't looking bright for them.

Midna looked around as Marie and Gabriel were chatting about a mission. It sounded almost as if she wasn't there. But still, why was she expecting to help them? She hadn't so far. But still... Midna shook her head, she wished that she could help. After all, wasn't that one of the purposes of getting trained? So that she could do good in the real world?

[Girly Woman]

Marie sighed. It was quite overwhelming! One of the stuffed animals jumped up onto the chair behind her and began attempting to massage her shoulders. It actually felt kind of good. Marie held back her urge to giggle. She simply smiled back at the sweet kitty. Gabriel crossed his arms, leaning on the table, ignoring the antics of the stuffed animals. He said, "Part of the current king's power are the lies which he is spreading about the human race, much of which involves how the humans forced the demons to live in the barren Shadow Realms. However, Marie stumbled upon a scroll so old that I'm surprised it survived this many years. It must have been protected by a powerful magic. However, the magic had worn off and the scroll was finally succumbing to age. So, we could not read everything contained in the scroll."

Marie picked up, "The scroll indicated that the demon world had not been barren at one time. If you think about it, given that demons live longer and are more powerful than humans, it never really made sense as to why demons would have chosen to live in the Shadow Realm in the first place if it was so barren. Clearly it is not the fault of the humans due to our lack of power. Our theory is that the Shadow Realm was once lush place, although still "shadowed". Gabriel and I have been digging around here for any more information that we can find. However, we now believe that the historical documents which we need are in the Grand Archives in the Shadow Realm. If we can find out that the Shadow Realm used to be just as nice, if not nicer, than the Light Realm, and we can find out what happened to make the Shadow Realm so barren, then we can expose many of the king's lies."

Gabriel finished, "So we break the king's propaganda power of the demons in that way. We use Mathieu to overthrow him physically. We have your Uncle prepared to step back in as king."

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked shocked at this news, it was indeed news that could change things in the Shadow Realm. "That... that's incredible..." She said, wide-eyed. "I agree, the Demon King's ability to unite through words, to twist the truth, to gain control of people through words. I suspect that some magic is probably involved as well... Which brings me to a thought... do you think that Kel could have been mind controlled or brainwashed? I wouldn't put it by the Demon King to stoop to low levels like that..." She said, eyes bright.

After Gabriel finished up their 'plan', Midna thought it over. There was one part bothering her slightly though. "You mentioned needing to get into the Grand Archives, right? How do you plan to get in there? How were you planning to enter the restricted section? I'd hazard a guess that the new regime has gone through the Archives to get rid of damaging literature... they'd never destroy records like that though, they value the knowledge too highly. Or at least, I hope they do..."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "It's possible magic is involved. Unfortunately, it is also possible to control a being purely through convincing words. If there is magic involved, there isn't much that we can do about it. Remember how hard it was to get that tiara off of Marie's head? That wasn't Mathieu's strongest magic. Mathieu's father is more powerful than him. Although, knowing Mathieu's love of what he considers fun, if a spell had been involved, he would have already tried breaking it rather than bring Kel here."

Marie said, "We had already planned on bringing Mathieu into that plan. He would love the chaos that such a revelation would cause. I rather believe he would also like to bring the lushness back to the Shadow Realm. He'd never admit it, but I think that is one of the reasons he comes to the Light Realm so often. He can easily get us into anywhere we want. He's a prince, after all! As far as we know, the king still trusts Gabriel and simply views Gabriel as an eccentric academic. So, even if that were reported back to the king, the king would likely assume that Gabriel is just studying something worthless and boring."

Gabriel chuckled. He said, "I only ever said boring things around the king so that he would stop trying to talk to me. That seems to have paid off in more ways than one!" He said in a more serious tone, "I doubt they would have destroyed those records. They probably didn't even look at them. No one has even a memory of the demon world as anything other than barren. Also, as you said, they value knowledge highly. Possessing such ancient records is also a way to boast of the power and glory of the demons. These written records far predate human written records." Gabriel sighed and said, "The main issue is getting Marie in there. It would go far faster with her there and time of is the essence. Midna and I can enter easily, claiming to be studying something for the Academy and under Damion's protection. However, Marie is a human. I'm not sure if even Mathieu can pull that off."

[Drakonnas]

Midna nodded. Removing spells was far more difficult than casting them. It took more strength, as well as an exact way to counter how the spell had been cast and to remove the magic used. What Gabriel said made sense. "So we have Mathieu help us... That would definitely have its perks... But I have a question, or rather, a misgiving. What happens if Mathieu realizes we're trying to have him help us? Would he think about making things harder for us? If he'd do it to the Demon King, he'd do it to us... I get the feeling that he's more interested in sewing chaos than he is about actually helping... I don't think we can trust him to stay with us all the way... But then again, you know him better than I do, Gabriel.... that's just the feeling I get..."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel laughed and said, "Of course we can't trust him completely. But he's all we have at the moment. I'm actually relying a bit on his preference for chaos. Someone less interested in just having fun would be more of a threat. It is highly unlikely that Damion would overthrow his father and then try to take his place. Damion would just have fun overthrowing his father and then happily leave the throne open for whoever wants it. That is why we need to have the former queen and king ready to step in right away."
***
Mathieu was walking in the barren forest near the palace. It was depressing, especially after just being in the Light Realm. He chuckled, wondering what the stuffed animals were doing for Marie. It was actually quite charming that the regal and highly intelligent Marie actually really liked cute things. He chuckled again, thinking about how hard it probably was for her to keep up her cool facade around the animated stuffed animals.

"There you are, my son." His father's voice suddenly boomed out in front of him. Mathieu sighed. Damn, he was in for another lecture. The king appeared next to Mathieu. He said, "You've been busy today." Mathieu shrugged and said, "I guess." The king said, "I believe you took two trips to the human world. You brought Kel on one of them. You cavorted with a human during the first. You set Hestia's hair on fire." Damion chuckled. He said, "I was doing you a favor. Demon women only 'cavort' with me to get to you. Hestia has ambitions to be the next queen. I was protecting you from ambitious women." The king shook his head. That much at least was true. He said, "Hestia is a fool. You will never make any woman a queen." Mathieu held back a grin, simply saying, "No, I won't." His father continued on to lecture him about his behavior, his visits to the Academy, and his lack of ambition.

He ignored his father, lost in his own thoughts. By the old traditions, the true traditions, Mathieu was the only one with the power to make a woman the demon queen. His mother, on her deathbed, had passed the Tiara on to him. Her prolonged illness made her see clearly the evils her husband was perpetrating. She was set over the edge by her husband's continued efforts to subvert female demons. The saying "Hell hath no fury..." referred to demon women, who had larger capacities for power. The current king felt that the more powerful demon females were a challenge to his power. His mother also knew that Mathieu was the only one of her children not under her husband's thumb. She therefore used up the rest of her strength to combine her spells with Mathieu's to protect the Tiara. His love of his mother kept him from using the Tiara frivolously. He also rather enjoyed watching his covetous father search far and wide for it in vain. It was a symbol that would cement his power over the demon world. It's powers could only be used by a woman, so Mathieu couldn't use it himself even if he wanted to. He was merely the Keeper of the Tiara. He could actually pass it on to whomever he chose.

[Drakonnas]

Midna nodded. "Very well. I think I was just being a little bit cautious. You said you needed to contact the rightful King? I think that can be arranged." Midna said happily. "I think that we could probably go visit him... I don't know if Marie could come... but you for sure, Gabriel. We could get by on the pretense that we're doing research, and need to interview my family or something like that." Midna suggested, trying to be helpful. "Or... we could somehow create a portal in which they could come here... I don't know..."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "Now you're not being cautious enough! We certainly can't announce that we're visiting your family! First of all, no one is supposed to know that they're your family." He gestured towards the book. He said, "Aren't you supposed to be able to pass messages through that book? We would have to arrange a clandestine meeting. Find out from them how closely they are monitored. Bringing them here might be too dangerous."

One of the stuffed animals somehow managed to pour Marie more wine. Marie thanked it and took a sip. Midna had certainly made one aspect of their plan much easier. They thought they would have to search high and low for the banished former royal family and then somehow sneak past various members of the current king's military to get to them. Well, Gabriel would have done all of that. Marie wasn't foolish enough to think that her presence would be worth the risk in that situation.
***
Another demon came and called Mathieu's father away to other business. Mathieu was finally left to himself. It had been yet another long and boring speech. Mathieu kept hoping that his father would just give up on him and let Mathieu go off on his own, but it was a point of pride with his father that all of his sons be perfect demon princes. This was all new territory for any demon, though. In the past, there were no real demon princes. It was the queen who chose the next king. The sons of the current king therefore didn't really have any particular status. They certainly couldn't marry the sister or cousin whom the queen usually chose to be the next queen! He wondered which of his brothers would end up being the next king. It was already creating some tension between them and they were increasingly competing for their father's approval. One would likely end up killing the other. When the queen and the Tiara had chosen the next heir, there was nothing like that, because the Tiara would help the current queen to see the essence of demons and help her to chose the next queen. There was no point in competing and showing off for the queen. Mathieu grinned. His father was making the demon world far darker and more brutal than it had ever been. He liked it, for the most part, except he didn't like what his father was doing to the demon women. Like most demon men, he liked his women fierce and intelligent.

[Drakonnas]

Midna sighed. She was trying, but in her efforts to come up with a good idea that was actually usable, she had forgotten, temporarily, some important things to keep in mind. "Actually, a meeting in the book might be a good idea. We can use magic to erase what is said, so we don't have to use up too much space, or leave evidence behind in case its found." Midna said happily. "What happens to one book, happens to the other. For example, if I tore out the fourth page in this book, the fourth page in the other book would be torn out." She said with a smile. "That is indeed one way we can communicate."

Midna quieted down, as the door to the lounge opened up, and two other teachers entered the room. They both said good day to the three in the room, walked quickly to their desks in search of some paper or another. Once they found what they were looking for, they left quickly, leaving the three alone once more. "Who should we have help us?" Midna asked curiously, not sure who all should know, and who shouldn't.

[Girly Woman]

[*giggles* Professors have offices! ;)]

Gabriel smiled at Midna and said, "Godd!" He continued, in answer to her question, "Due to the restrictions made by the king, we can't bring any other humans into this. It will be hard enough getting Marie into the Shadow Realm. Mathieu is the equivalent of about a dozen demons..." He chuckled. The stuffed animals suddenly stood up straight and tall and put their hands to their hearts...well, where their hearts would be. Marie giggled and said, "I thank you for your noble offer, but I am afraid that sneaking you into the demon world would be impossible!" The stuffed animals sagged in disappointment. Gabriel shook his head and smiled at the stuffed animals. Mathieu had done a good job with them, especially considering that he had sort casually cast the spell on his way out. Gabriel said, "I think all we can hope for is the three of us, members of your family, and whatever demons Mathieu can manage to get to work for him. He knows a lot of demons."

[Drakonnas]

Midna thought for a minute. "Sneaking her in... yes, that would be practically impossible. But... what if we didn't sneak her in? Could there be an excuse that would allow her to come in without stealth?" Midna asked curiously. "I think that there could possibly be a way to do it... but we'd have to think." She said slowly, trying to come up with a possible excuse that would allow Marie to come along. She stood up, as she felt the need to stretch, to move around. "Well... I'm gonna try to contact my uncle, and see if we can set up a time to discuss plans. It would be more effective than hoping they'll look sometime."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "Not with the king's laws against interaction with humans. We're lucky he hasn't forced all demons in the Light Realm to return to the Shadow Realm. We'll have to sneak her in." Marie nodded. Gabriel said, "I think we should stick with contacting them through the book. It's safer that way. There is no reason to take any risks this early in the game. They gave that you book for communication reasons, so, if they are smart, they will check it frequently. If they're not checking it frequently, then we probably do not want to rely on them quite as much." Marie added, "If they are truly dedicated to winning back the throne, they will be diligent. If they are not truly dedicated, then we must form an alternative plan."

[Drakonnas]

Midna nodded. "They are usually good about checking it, usually four or five times per day." She said with a nod. "But... I see your point... I wish that we didn't have to go in all stealthy. It's more stressful..." Midna said disapprovingly. Well, disapprovingly wasn't the right word. It was more like nervously. "Here, I'll write the first note." She said, taking out the book. "Anything in particular I should say here? Or just the simple basics about what's going on, and what we need to talk to them about?"

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "Just the basics. We don't want to go into too many details, just in case." Marie nodded her agreement. She looked out of the window nervously. They were actually going to do this. It had somehow all come together during a chance meeting in the lounge. The animals, as if sensing her nervousness, crowded a bit closer. The kitty began massaging her again. A bat/cat creature that was surprisingly adorable somehow communicated with the bird. More of Mathieu's favorite sweet wine appeared on the table. Marie actually enjoyed the wine. She preferred a red wine, but she knew that she couldn't risk drinking a red and growing tired! The bat/cat poured the glass. It had figured out how to use its wings to fly. Although, it wasn't really built in a good way for flying, so it flew in this really adorable clumsy way.

Gabriel could read Marie's expression. He felt nervous as well, although he knew that it was far scarier for Marie. She would face worse consequences if caught in the demon world and she would be less able to defend herself. He chuckled at the vampire bat/cat. He reached for the wine, but was repelled by the creature, until Marie gestured that it was okay. They both sipped their wine, sitting quietly in order to allow Midna to focus on writing her message.

[Drakonnas]

Midna thought for a moment, and spoke. "One minute, I need to cast an enchantment on the book before I write." The book was enchanted, only those with the correct spell could read it, write in it, or edit it. To those who didn't know the secret, it appeared as simply a blank book. They had taken this precaution to attempt to ensure that the information within couldn't get into the wrong hands.

"Thes-thu Teta pu un-thu aaa peh-tha hems-ka.... xent neteru ari-ka ennu ari en Ausar em Het-aa amt Annu....sesep-nek sah-ka an t'er ret-ka em pet an xesef-ka em ta... ha Unas an sem-nek as met-th sem-nek anxet hems her xent Ausar!" Midna chanted almost inaudibly. It was a long, complex spell, in an ancient language long forgotten, with an exception of enchantments like this one. She felt a small drain on her energy reserves as the magic worked. Midna thought for a moment, then started writing. Or, enchanting the book to write in itself. After a little while, she sealed the spell, her work complete.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel sat down on a comfortable chair and said, "Now we wait. Who wants dessert?" Marie giggled. That abrupt transition was so Gabriel. However, he had a point. They should relax while they could. She said, "I would!" Gabriel conjured up a bird. He ordered a creme brulee for himself and Marie. It would pair perfectly with the wine. Marie said, "Have you found out what classes you will be teaching? Are they allowing you to put together a class of your own?" New professors were generally assigned to teach a couple of low-level courses, generally in one of their specialty area. They were sometimes given the option of building their own class in their area of expertise. However, despite the fact that demons were still allowed at the Academy, things were becoming more and more difficult for them. She and Gabriel weren't teaching that year. They had been given a research grant. It was when doing research for that project that they had found the scroll about the ancient Shadow Realm.

[Drakonnas]

Midna nodded. "I specialize in practical magic. I'm going to be teaching two classes, defensive magic, and offensive magic." She said excitedly, yet calmly. "Since I specialize in magic usage, I'm starting with two branches of practical magic, offensive and defensive. If that goes well, I'll be able to teach a third class, enchanting, charming, whatever you want to call it. Magic that's not used in combat." Midna turned to the bird, and ordered something small for herself. "I'll have some strawberries and creme, please." Turning back to Marie and Gabriel, Midna confessed a fear that she had. "I'm just worried that I won't be able to teach, or be taken seriously, because of my race. I don't want to be too strict, nor should I be too kind. Either of those would hurt my rep. I'm already gonna be challenged. I've already got things stacked against me. I just hope I don't blow my chance..."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "Fortunately, you won't be the only one teaching those classes. Anyone who would be bothered about taking a class with a demon will take it with the other teacher. That means you'll have a smaller class, which is honestly better." Marie nodded. She said, "You get to know the students better and can give them more attention. You end up with better students overall." Marie chuckled and said, "In some ways, it's better not to be popular!" Gabriel nodded, also chuckling. Gabriel grew serious and said, "Of course, you'll still have to work harder to impress the deans and the head of your department." That was the only way in which Gabriel and Marie had things a bit easier. They spent half of their time working in the Demon Studies department and the other half in the Ancient Magic department. The Demon Studies department was mostly demons and was steadily dwindling. The Ancient Magic department had a fair number of demons and the humans who worked in that department were too buried in the past to bother about the prejudices of the modern age!

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked up. "You think so? It makes sense..." Midna said thoughtfully. "Luckily for me, I've got two awesome friends and mentors that can give me advice if I need it." She said, winking in their direction. "I just don't want to blow my shot at teaching, that's all." Midna said with a yawn. She was feeling oddly tired for some reason. "Do you think...." She was cut off by the book on the table, which vibrated slightly. "Ooh! They just replied!" Midna said happily. She opened the book, and read the response silently. "Okay... My father replied. My uncle has had no children yet, but that's not news. They're currently all safe and sound in the little village they have, no resistance from the Demon Lord yet, although they have been asked if they'd like to have a chance to invade the light realm. They politely declined, and things have been fine since. It's almost as if the Demon King doesn't mind their separateness. Or maybe that's what he wants them to think. Anyway, they're for your plan. And it seems that they have one more piece of news... Apparently the Demon Lord is pissed off about something. He failed to accomplish some goal he had, and killed his advisor out of spite. Seems he made a mistake there, the demons have been clamoring about that, it has seemed to shake his hold on them slightly."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "They are likely being watched. Going to them might actually be more dangerous. Find out if there is some secure place where they could open a portal and come here without being detected. It would be useful to know what goal the king just failed to accomplish." Marie looked at Midna and said, "Is there anything in that book pertaining to this failed goal?" The desserts appeared on the table. Marie took a bit of her creme brulee. It was amazingly delicious, as expected! She smiled blissfully.

[Drakonnas]

Midna nodded. "Yeah, I see your point. Once again. I'll ask them." Midna said. But before she could begin her chant again, Marie asked her another question. "Umm... I'll look." She said, flipping through it. "No... I don't see anything like that... Sorry." She turned back to the back of the book, and began her chant again. Soon, her message was delivered, and she closed the book, feeling good about herself. The strawberries and creme only helped to increase her satisfaction. "I can't believe I'm actually helping!" She said excitedly.

----

Kel got up. It was time for him to do something. His head still hurt. He wasn't sure why. He had been thinking about his encounter with Marie, Gabriel, and that small demon girl. "Idiots..." He thought, and rolled his eyes. "They're just as bad as the humans. So what does it matter if we demons are just as destructive as the humans? I can't forgive them." But a little voice inside his head spoke to him, something he hadn't heard in awhile. "But why do you hate them so? There's no proof of the fact that they killed your sister." He growled, and argued with himself some more. To attempt to escape his predicament, Kel walked around the castle, and eventually, out into the courtyard.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel smiled and said, "Of course you're a help! We both knew you'd be able to help. The worry was that you wouldn't be able to hold it together when we needed you to hold it together." Marie nodded her agreement. She said, "You were smart with the book, but I'll admit that I still have my worries." Midna's constant seeking of praise and approval betrayed her still childish nature. Demons, due to their longer lifespans, matured much more slowly than humans.
***
Mathieu entered the courtyard and spotted Kel. He said, "I failed in my goal of the day. My father caught me in the woods like a deer." He pretended to be shooting a bow and arrow. He laid down on a bench and chuckled again, saying, "At least I succeeded in illustrating how completely my father controls you." He chuckled harder and said, "I also discovered new ways to get Marie to act cute." Mathieu liked teasing Marie because she could stand up to him, unlike many human women. His goal was to silence her and got her to make one of her expressive faces. He made a somewhat lewd motion with his hips, laughing and saying, "Ba-by!"

[Drakonnas]

Midna smiled. "Thank you. I do my best, eeheehee! But I know I have room to improve. After all, I'm barely considered to be an adult in the Demon World." She said, laughing at that little fact. "In fact, some would still consider me a child." She said, attempting not to roll her eyes. "I know I'm sometimes childish, but I, most of the time, know when it's appropriate to be so." Midna said with another chuckle.

------

Kel closed his eyes, and shook his head. "Well then, I guess you doe yourself success tomorrow." He said, making a pun on the deer metaphor, doe instead of owe. He barely smiled, and looked around. "Hmph. Control. Is it really what you think?" Kel grew moody again after this teasing. "Again, I'm not being controlled. I admit, perhaps he has some influence, but what demon DOESN'T he influence in one way or another? Don't say yourself, you are influenced by his very existence. You can't say Gabriel either. He's breaking the law your father set down. You can't say the demons who live in peace, away from the normal demons. They are influenced by his laws as well."

[Girly Woman]

Marie smiled and nodded at Midna, finishing up her creme brulee. Gabriel said, "Okay, okay, enough tooting your own horn, as the humans say. Due to your connection with the royal family, we'd have to involve you no matter how immature you were, anyway." He looked at Marie and shrugged. It was true. Midna was currently their own connection to the royal family. They would have to put up with her praise-seeking and teenage foibles just as they would have to put up with Mathieu's generally annoying personality and risk of violence, Marie's occasional lack of confidence and her whole "being human" thing, and Gabriel's short temper and lack of patience and tact.
***
Mathieu laughed at the pun. He said, "Good one!" He also laughed at Kel's following tirade. He said, "So if all of the demons jumped into the Fire Pit of Doom (Mathieu-speak for the dangerous pits of hell fire where demons were executed), then it's okay? Just because everyone is controlled by my father doesn't make it okay for you to be controlled by my father. There is a difference between being influenced and controlled. The peaceful demons, demons like Gabriel, and me, are merely influenced by my father. The rest of you lot are controlled by him, including my boring brothers. But you'll never know it. That is why it's fun to poke at you like this, because you get so angry about it!" He laughed again.

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked up, fire in her eyes. She was determined to prove that she could do things maturely and correctly. She was determined to show that she would be more valuable to this plan than Marie and Gabriel had said. She was determined to grow up a little bit, to become just a little better. The ever constant strive for perfection was something that Midna was quite familiar with. Gabriel's comment shut her up quickly, and she thought more carefully about what she'd say next, to make sure it would be better received.

------

Kel growled, and turned. "Hmph." And hmph summed up his feelings at the moment. It summed it up pretty well. He knew that Mathieu had a point here, and that only made him more frustrated. But this time, he was able to catch himself, and not go down the path he had gone down before, which was to ignore the problem. "Fine. Let's say you're right. What do I do about it? Changing your opinion isn't easy to do."

[Girly Woman]

They sat in silence, awaiting the response of Midna's royal family. The empty plates magically disappeared. The stuffed animals, apparently deciding that Marie was in need of cheering up, began doing a really adorable dance. Marie giggled and said, "It is unbelievable that Mathieu did this. Just knowing how Mathieu is." Gabriel said, "No it's not. He's found a weakness of yours and is exploiting it." Marie blushed, but didn't deny it. She supposed the cute cat was out of the pink bag already.
***
Mathieu chuckled and said, "The point isn't to change my opinion. I'll think whatever the hell I want to think about you. I don't really care whether or not you're controlled by my father. I'm sure you'll find a way to be boring and over-emotional even if you were no longer under my father's control." He was silent a few moments, looking up at the dark and bleak sky, wishing it were the lovely blue sky of the Light Realm. He said, "Listening to those who aren't under his control would be a start." He was referring to Marie and Gabriel.

[Drakonnas]

Midna smiled, laughing at the animals again. It was really something, all the elaborate detail. She had to admit that he had done a good job with them. Still, it was a relatively simply charm, one that Midna thought she could duplicate, based on observation. "I could double his work, if you'd like." Midna said, jokingly. This wasn't a boast on her part though, it was teasing Marie about her little cute addiction.

----

Kel shook his head. "You misunderstand. I was talking about me and my opinions. It's not easy to change them. Especially when you've previously thought and in my case, obsessed over this issue. And who might you be talking about? Are you saying that I should listen to you? Because I already do that, Mathieu."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "Sure, you could animate the stuffed animals, but you couldn't get them to act independently like this. Mathieu isn't controlling them at all. It's actually somewhat advanced magic." Marie nodded her agreement. Animating something was simple, but giving something its own volition was quite another thing!
***
Mathieu stood up and said, "All this psychology bullshit is boring. I really don't care one way or the other what you do." Mathieu was suddenly engulfed in flames. When the flames cleared, Mathieu was gone. He actually hadn't gone very far. He just went to his room. He could only listen to Kel whine bitch and moan about the same thing over and over so many times.

[Drakonnas]

"I bet I could." Midna said with the slightest hint of challenge in her voice. She doubted that they could hear it, but there was always the possibility that they could. She took a breath to talk again, when the book in her lap vibrated. She opened it up, and read the message a few times, a look of curiosity and concern on her face. "It appears here that the Demon King is attempting to create an army with the purpose of invading the Light Realm. However, there's more to it than that. There's something that the Demon King is seeking, and that's what he failed at. He failed to find this artifact in the place he thought most likely."

------

"Whatever." Kel shrugged, and walked back to the courtyard, where he observed some demon kids playing with toy weapons, attacking each other. There was something about seeing this, that cleared his thinking a little bit, there was something about the innocence of the children that seemed to break some sort of spell on him. As he stood there, he was hit, realizing what had been going on. The spell wasn't broken yet, but Kel was beginning to throw off the spell that was cast upon him by the Demon King. His thinking was a bit more clear, as was his reasoning.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel simply rolled his eyes. He would have to somehow encourage Mathieu to put Midna in her place before they departed for the demon world. Midna needed to know exactly where she would stand if they were ever confronted by the king or one of the other princes. Midna was barely an adult. Mathieu was the youngest of the princes and he was much older than Midna. Mathieu was actually younger than Gabriel, but more powerful than Gabriel! Gabriel sometimes wondered if Mathieu was, in fact, more powerful than his brothers, despite being the youngest. He sometimes showed great power, such as casually giving stuffed animals volition and the ability to learn.

Gabriel leaned back. He said, "We've already figured the war part out. Hence our urgency to break the king's control. The artifact is interesting. We demons don't have many of those. I wonder which one was lost?" The stuffed animals stopped their dancing, sensing that the situation required their Queen to concentrate. Marie said, "Which one hasn't the king been publicly flaunting?" Gabriel said, "The only one I can think of is the Tiara, but that can only be used by a woman, so the king has no reason to really flaunt it around. He surely took it from his wife the moment she died. If it's the Tiara, then it is a big problem! The Tiara is very important to the demons, despite the king's best efforts to decrease the power of women in the demon world." Marie said, "Did your relatives say anything about coming here to discuss our plan?"

[Drakonnas]

Midna quickly wrote a reply, and shut the book. "The Tiara?" Midna asked, eyes wide. "But surely he can't have found a way to break its power, or to use it for himself? Or did he lost it? I'd hate to see either situation happen..." She said, knowing the importance of the Queen's Tiara. "Speaking of the Tiara, I don't remember seeing it, even when the Queen was alive... Maybe that's just my faulty memory though." Midna said with a shrug of the shoulders. "And no, Marie, they did not commit either way. They're looking at options at the moment."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "Of course you saw it. It was on her head. It wasn't present at her funeral, which is unusual, but the king probably already had it hidden away. Unless it is the lost artifact." Marie said, "A man can't use its powers. So, it will only be a problem when the king picks a new que..." Marie trailed off. She and Gabriel looked sharply at one another. Gabriel said, shock and despair in his voice, "The Tiara is the lost artifact." Marie said, "If the king had it, he would have immediately chosen an easily-controlled Queen so that he could exploit its powers." Gabriel said, "Where could it be?" Marie said, "A safe place, for now. No one has tried to use it. Perhaps the Queen managed to pass it on to a safekeeper."

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked away. "hmm... I guess my memory is faulty." She laughed it off, and listened to the conversation. If the Tiara really was the lost artifact, they had to find it! No wonder the King was so angry about losing it! If the demon population found out that he had lost it..... That's when the idea came to her. Waiting until Gabriel and Marie finished talking, she piped in. "Well... is it possible that we could use this almost as a weapon? If I'm correct, the demon's won't be happy if they hear he's lost it, and that might make our case a little easier..."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel answered, "Possibly, although we would need definitive proof that the king lost it." Marie said, "I don't think 'lost' is the right term. The king wouldn't be so careless. Perhaps the late Queen finally realized her husband had no business being King and hid the Tiara." Gabriel said, "Shall we perform a seance and find out?" Marie chuckled. Suddenly, the vampire bat cat disappeared. Marie's eyes became wide. She looked at the now empty spot in horror. She said, "That can't be good..."
****
Mathieu was dozing in his room. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, after all! He was awakened by the affectionate nuzzlings of the vampire bat cat. He hugged the vampire bat cat, saying, "Welcome home, Sam!" Sam was Mathieu's childhood stuffed animal. Mathieu had sneaked him into the crowd of stuffed animals in order to act as a spy of sorts. Sam was a spy "of sorts" because Mathieu hadn't really intended on learning anything useful. He mostly just wanted to watch Marie's reactions. Mathieu checked that no one was anywhere nearby. He then magically sealed his room, just in case. Sam magically projected his observations of the afternoon. Mathieu giggled, watching Marie attempting to hold herself back. Then came the magic book...and things got interesting.

[Drakonnas]

"I'm sure Mathieu would know the status on that." Midna said with a grin. "Besides, if we're including him in this effort, shouldn't we tell him what's going on? I get the feeling that you trust him, in his desire to sew chaos, and make things interesting... But what happens if we successfully overthrow the Demon King? Would he oppose us then, in hopes of anarchy?" Midna didn't trust Mathieu, even though he was supposedly a 'good' demon. He was similar to a mercenary, not caring about morals, just about what would be interesting, and what would make the most chaos.

[Girly Woman]

Desperately hoping that none of the other stuffed animals were spies, Gabriel said, "That is a worry. Which is why we need to have the former demon queen and king ready to take the throne right away. Mathieu will likely oppose it, but we'll have a better chance of opposing him if they are on the throne." He chuckled, "We'll throw Mathieu in jail if we have to." The only reason Mathieu's many antics had not already earned him jail time was because the king felt it would decrease his standing with the demons if his son were in jail. The king instead uses his various powers to ensure that Mathieu is never blamed for whatever he caused.

Marie closely watched the other stuffed animals suspiciously. They were looking at the spot and each other, showing confusion. They then all turned to Marie and put their hands on their hearts, demonstrating their loyalty. Marie giggled.
***
Mathieu continued to watch the unfolding events. The quick response from the former queen and king. The continued antics of the stuffed animals. A slow smile spread across his face. When the Tiara was mentioned, he threw back his head in laughter...and promptly fell off of his bed. He remained on the floor, watching the continued conversation with one eye, while concocting a plan. He had the Tiara. He could use it to get Marie into the demon world. It could be used against his father. This was going to be too much fun!

[Drakonnas]

(I apologize for my writer's block...)

Midna nodded. "That makes sense... as usual." There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice, it would only be heard if someone was listening for it. Well, maybe sarcasm wasn't the right word. It was more along the lines of "you're-always-right"itude. Midna smiled at the thought that the animal had been a spy. It was so unlikely that she chuckled a bit. She knew it was a possibility, but thought the very idea of it was amusing. The book vibrated again, and she picked it up and read it. "They're on their way here, Marie. They'll be here in.... five minutes or so." Midna was excited to see her uncle and aunt again, it had been a good while since she had seen them.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. He sighed. He kept telling himself that Midna was young, but it, this was all too big and important for her to act like a child. As long as she kept her eyes on the prize. Hopefully her teenage tantrums and lack of foresight would not lead to their arrest and possible execution. Marie didn't pick up on it because she was focused on reassuring the stuffed animals that she trusted them.

When Midna announced the imminent arrival of the former queen and king, both Marie and Gabriel at Midna and nodded. They then looked at each other. And so it would begin! Gabriel said, "I wonder if we should also bring Mathieu here." He could easily pop over to the demon world and entice Mathieu back to the Academy. Marie said, "He will likely be here shortly, now that he knows what is going on." Gabriel shook his head and said, "You're right. He'll be here. Honestly, I think it's best if we speak with the former royals alone first, but I suppose that is not really up to us." Marie shook her head. She agreed. Speaking to them alone first, without Mathieu's disruptions, would be better.
***
Mathieu was as up to date as Sam. He put up a stronger magical protection around his room. He pulled a necklace out from behind his shirt. To the untrained, and indeed to some trained, eye, it would seem like a simple necklace. It's only significance, seemingly, was that Mathieu's mother had given it to him when he was a child. It was a mere trinket from the human world to which Mathieu, as a child, had taken a fancy. However, when they sealed the Tiara, the necklace was made into the key. This was to prevent someone other than Mathieu accidentally unlocking the Tiara.

He began the complicated spell to unlock the Tiara, which was hidden in his room...kind of. It was hidden in the space of his room that no one with ordinary eyes could see. Uncovering it was only the first step, and that step required exhausting magical work. Then one had the box in which the Tiara was held. Then came breaking the barrier around the box. After that came unlocking the many physical and non-physical locks on the box. Then came breaking the barrier around the Tiara itself. Then, and only then, one would have the Tiara.

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked up at Gabriel, sensing his frustration. She didn't know what it was about, though. "Gabriel? What's wrong? Why are you frustrated?" She asked, tilting her head to one side, thinking. "Do you not want to meet my uncle and aunt? Are you not ready? Or is this something else?" She awaited his response, if he would give one, for a few minutes, before turning to the window. "Aha.... They're coming..." She said. Two figures were making their way towards the Academy. The man looked like a stereotypical king, having thick eyesbrows and mustache, and gray-black hair streaking straight back. He had a stern and hard face, and was quite muscular. The woman was rather diminutive, but commanded an aura of respect and kindness. She was quite pretty and elegant. Her body was smooth and soft, and a little curvy. They would be here shortly.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel simply shook his head. If she didn't realize that her sarcasm was a problem, then, if he said something, she would simply claim that she hadn't been sarcastic. His long life had taught him that it was useless to tell teenagers to, well, not act like teenagers! He replied, "Obviously I want to meet the former queen and king; they were part of the plan all along." Marie said, "Why are they walking here? Why didn't they just appear in this room like Mathieu always does?" Gabriel said, "I agree. They are more exposed this way. It would have been better to simply appear here." Marie said, "Perhaps they could only set up a secure portal to a certain spot?" Marie sighed, "Well, let us hope that no demons happen to look out of any windows or go into the hallways where..."

Her statement was disrupted by a magical portal opening. Mathieu stepped out gracefully, although he looked a bit haggard. The simple box containing the Tiara was hidden under his jacket. Mathieu had brought the box out from hiding and broken the seal around it. However, he had not yet unlocked it or broken the seal around the Tiara, just in case. The stuffed animals showed him the proper respect. He said, "Hello, darling!" He was about to kiss the blushing Marie on the cheek and Gabriel was about to push him away from the blushing Marie, when Mathieu straightened up. He had seen the former queen and king outside. He said, "Of all the foolish..." He closed his eyes, brought his hands together, raising the magic. He then opened his eyes and separated his hands gesturing as if putting something down. The former queen and king disappeared from outside and reappeared in the room, dumped unceremoniously onto the floor.

[Drakonnas]

"Mathieu..." Midna said, looking up, still not sure how she felt about him. "Are you okay? You look a little ruffled..."

As the two demons were dumped on the floor, Midna stood up suddenly. "Uncle Nolan! Aunt Ría! It's great to see you again!" Midna said, helping them to their feet. "Why didn't you just portal in here?" Midna was curious as well, and asked the question that Marie and Gabriel were wondering about.

Her uncle stood up, and looked around. "Hello, Midna. It's good to see my little princess well." As gruff as he looked, the former king was surprisingly gentle. Midna chuckled a little at the nickname he had for her. She had mixed feelings about the word little, however. She was indeed small, and much younger than her aunt and uncle. But still, she was not young, even though she may act like it from time to time. Indeed, the fact that she felt this way proved that she still was just a teenager.

"You ask why we did not portal directly here. We are being watched, and we knew that if we teleported directly here, we'd get in trouble. So we teleported to a point about ten miles from here. Indeed, there was another demon following us. We lost him though, and warped here. We thought that another was following us, so we decided to enter normally. If we warped directly in, it would signify that we know someone here, and we are friendly with them. We don't want to give the Demon King any reason whatsoever to arrest us..."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "It is suspicious in itself that you are being watched and were allowed to teleport here." Mathieu chuckled and said, "You gave my father reason to arrest you just by teleporting here. Besides, it's not like a demon on that end can see where you teleport to on this end. By teleporting so far away, you opened yourself up to be exposed to any demon here who wants to get into my father's good graces." He sat down in a chair that the stuffed animals had placed next to Maria's, draping an arm casually around the back of Marie's chair. He sneered, "You should have at least disguised yourselves if you were going to take a pleasure stroll through the school grounds. Even some humans here would recognize you two." He looked at Marie, as if sizing her up, and said in a slightly distant voice, "No wonder my mother and father's armies were able to overthrow you so easily." Marie looked back at him, her eyes narrowed in some confusion. This was a new look that Mathieu was giving her and she didn't like it. Mathieu smiled at her and kissed her cheek. The stuffed animals turned away, as if they shouldn't be watching a romantic moment!

Gabriel shook his head. Even tired, Mathieu was his usual obnoxious self. He glanced around at the assembled people in the room. This group was volatile at best. Obnoxious and unpredictable Mathieu who looked down on the defeated queen and king, the queen and king who would hate Mathieu for good reason, the still young Midna, the insecure and human Marie, and himself. Hopefully they could push past this and focus on each other's strengths: Mathieu's sheer power and intelligence, Marie's intelligence and dedication, Midna's talent and enthusiasm, the power of the former queen and king, and his own intelligence and power.

Gabriel said, "I apologize for your forced entrance. However, you are perfectly safe." He left off that Mathieu wouldn't do anything to endanger Gabriel or Marie. He knew that Mathieu may perceive that as some kind of challenge. He assumed that the queen and king would be able to figure out Mathieu's strange affinity for Marie on their own.

[Drakonnas]

The fallen king looked at Mathieu, his face was impassive, there was no emotion there as he spoke, but there was a warm and friendly tone to his voice. "There is no ban in teleporting to an area where no humans reside, Mathieu. Like I said, we teleported about ten miles away, it's a lakeshore where there are no humans. We lost our follower, and ended up here." The friendly tone in his voice was beginning to fade now, as Mathieu became more rude.

"Watch your tone." Ría said in a sharp voice. "In case you weren't aware, we are much more cautious than that. Only people who know we're coming can see us. If anyone looked out, they wouldn't see us." She took a deep breath, and spoke again, her voice more friendly. "Now... We're both willing to put aside our... feelings... in an attempt to work this out." She was talking mostly to Mathieu, hinting that they were off to a bad start, and was trying to correct it before things got too out of hand.

Midna looked around, as Gabriel attempted to break the silence, the atmosphere. Ría turned to him. "Do not worry. We are unharmed, and unseen. All is well."


---


Kel was actually outside for once, wandering the empty courtyard. It really was creepy down here. The sky was black as if night, yet the land and area around him was lit as if day. He had been wandering, and thinking about his sister, about things that had led him to this point in life, trying to examine them from different angles to see if he had perhaps been influenced too much. He still couldn't see much of anything wrong though.

As he wandered, thinking, something caught his eye. He bent down, there was a little necklace of some sort half buried in the caked ground. He dug into the ground a little to try and dig it up, but it was in there quite tight. Eventually, he had to use some magic to get it out. It was a beautiful, and probably valuable necklace, with a slightly large locket dangling from the end.

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu said, "I didn't know you were coming and I saw you well enough to transfer your defeated ex-royal bottoms into this room." Marie said, "Yes you did, the cat..." She trailed off. When had the cat left? Mathieu said, "You were still debating about how to meet them when Sam came back to me." Sam suddenly reappeared. Flapping his wings, he gently landed in Mathieu's lap, looking innocent. Mathieu began scratching Sam's head as if Sam were a real cat.

Gabriel said, "Mathieu does not care about you either which way; he is like this with everyone. I am afraid it is something you will simply have to tolerate." Gabriel stopped short of speaking of the latest incident, when Mathieu almost made Marie faint by alluding to a baby! Mathieu nodded casually. One of the stuffed animals poured a glass of wine for Mathieu and brought it to him. Gabriel continued, "My name is Gabriel. I am a professor here at the Academy. I was once Mathieu's tutor." Marie stood up and said, "My name is Marie Delacroix. I am also a professor here. Would you like anything to eat or drink?"

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked up at her aunt and uncle, and shook her head, as if suggesting they didn't argue. It would only start something. Gabriel seemed to have the same idea, and gave them the same message. They seemed to get the message, although they still looked somewhat disgruntled and annoyed.

Ría spoke up first. "My name is Ría Duskmoon, and this is my husband, Nolan. It's a pleasure." She said, an attempt at a smile on her face. "So... Midna here told us you're studying, and in your studies, you found something rather important. She didn't say exactly what it was, but hinted that it would be important. And, thank you. I would have a glass of cold water if you have it."

Nolan greeted them each in turn genially. "Well well well! It's good to be back here." He said with a wry smile. I did enjoy learning here when I was but a young one. It's good to be back."

[Girly Woman]

Marie summoned one of the birds and asked it for a cold glass of water. Mathieu wiggled his wine glass in the air and said, "More wine!" He then violently threw the glass to the ground. Gabriel stopped it from breaking at the last moment. Mathieu laughed and said, "Good catch!" Gabriel shook his head and levitated the glass back onto the table. Gabriel glanced at Marie. It had been her discovery, so it was her story to tell. Marie glanced at Mathieu. Well, he was here now, so she supposed that it made no difference whether or not he knew this much. He may already know. She honestly couldn't remember now.

Marie said, "I discovered an ancient scroll. It's magical protections had worn off probably a couple of centuries ago, so it was hard to read. However, in that scroll..." A glass of water appeared next to Ria. A new bottle of wine appeared on the table. A bunny promptly refilled Marie and Mathieu's glasses, and then politely offered wine to the king and queen. Marie smiled at the bunny and then continued, "...in that scroll, it spoke of the Shadow Realm, but seemed to indicate that the Shadow Realm had once been lush and perhaps more beautiful than the Light Realm. However, we could find nothing else in the records here. We therefore want to go to the Archives in the Shadow Realm to see if there is any information there. If this is true, then it would go against the claims that the current king is making: that the humans forced demons into the dark and bleak Shadow Realm." Gabriel took over, "We hope in this way to shake the hold the current king holds, leaving him more vulnerable to attack." He gestured towards Mathieu. "We need you to be ready to take over right away, to avoid any confusion." Gabriel then looked at Mathieu hard, trying to gauge Mathieu's reaction to the former king and queen taking control. Mathieu, however, was focused on Marie. He said, in the kind of voice one uses with a child, "You're so clever!" He patted her head and then took a sip of the wine.

[Drakonnas]

Ría listened to Marie's story with an interested expression. She held out a glass, and nodded thankfully as she was poured a small glass of wine. She sipped it slowly, savoring the flavor. "I have not heard tales like this before... I talk to the land, notice the stories that it tells... I notice things that not many others notice, and yet I have not heard anything that might suggest this to be true... I do not doubt your story however. We shall unravel the mysteries surrounding the Demon Realm soon enough, I hope..."

King Nolan spoke up afterwords, he didn't have quite the silver tongue that Ría had. "Getting into the Archives. It should be doable." He said, nodding firmly. "However, it will not be risk free. I think we all understand this. With the current... situation, we do have things to work out. For example, how will we get into the Archives without suspicion? They are guarded most carefully... Also, how will we get our human friend in there safely?"

-----

Kel looked up. He wasn't sure what to believe anymore. Having talked to several other demons, he had heard differing stories, and wasn't sure what to believe. Still, the death of his sister was foremost on his mind, and he wanted revenge. It never crossed his mind that she could still be alive.

[Girly Woman]

Marie said, "I am not sure if my interpretation of the scroll fragments is correct. However, the scroll is old enough that perhaps even the land has forgotten. Let us hope so." Gabriel said, "Well, if we find no proof of this claim in the Archives, then we'll just have to rely on good old-fashioned fighting. I'm sure Mathieu can help us out there." Mathieu smiled and said, "I know some demons." Gabriel said, "Good. That leaves the Archives. Mathieu and I can get in there easily, although I somehow doubt Mathieu will actually want to accompany us." He looked at Mathieu questioningly. Mathieu said, "My father tolerates you, but I don't think you can get in your own. I will go." Mathieu suddenly stood up and said, "Excuse me." He disappeared. Gabriel shook his head in confusion and continued, "Midna and Marie will be problematic. Midna has been living in the human realm and therefore blatantly breaking the law. I don't even know if we can get Marie into the Shadow Realm at all." He sighed. He said, "Any suggestions?"

Mathieu reappeared in an empty classroom. After erecting a magical barrier, he began unlocking the last of the spells surrounding the Tiara in order to show it to the others in the room. Marie, as a human, would not last very long in the Shadow realm on her own. She would quickly be detected and she would not be able to defend herself very long against demons. His father tolerated Gabriel's coming and going with Mathieu. However, Mathieu knew that his father would never tolerate him bringing a human to the Shadow Realm.

[Drakonnas]

Midna sighed. This was getting boring. But she had to pay attention, she had to participate. "Well... I don't know if you know this or not... but there is a servant's entrance into the castle, and from there, to the archives. I used them a lot when I was much younger, and playing hide and seek with one of my friends." Midna said, trying to think. "They were never in use, all the demons used the normal pathways. I do not know if that would work or not, it's just an option." She piped in, trying to be helpful.

"I don't know, Midna..." Nolan said, thinking. "It's possible. But we need to think of other things as well. Going into the castle is just about the most dangerous thing we could do, apart from directly confronting the current King emptyhanded."

Ría was quiet, thinking. How would they get the two girls into the shadow realm? She had no real ideas. It would be difficult, that was certain.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "I'd forgotten about the servants' entrance. That is certainly a good option. We unfortunately don't have many of those." Marie said, "Could you perhaps claim that Midna is a research assistant?" She chuckled, "Midna could make a cute face and say that she wants to learn more about her demon heritage." She looked at Midna and said, "Don't underestimate the power of that cute face!" Marie sighed and said, "My face and being human, however, presents bigger obstacles. The servants' entrance may be my best bet."

Breathing heavily, Mathieu smiled despite his now extreme fatigue. He would need something to eat and a bit of a rest after this. However, he had it. He couldn't help but feel a kind of elation as he looked at it. The last time he had seen the Tiara had been when he and his mother had locked it away. He touched the Tiara lovingly, a tear falling down his cheek. He shook his head. It was no use getting all emotional about his mother now! He closed the box and stood up. He would now finally be able to carry out his mother's final wish. He would now finally be able to avenge her. He tucked the box under his jacket. Feeling tired, he took the old-fashioned way back to the lounge: he walked. Students jumped out of his way. Seeing him in the halls was common enough that no one took particular notice beyond staying out of his way. He entered the room and flopped down a couch, exhausted. He ordered food.

Marie stood up and sat next to Mathieu, saying, "What happened? What's wrong?" Mathieu pulled out the box and placed it on Marie's lap. He said, "With this, you can do the impossible." Marie looked at the box questioningly. It looked like a plain box. She hesitated to open it. The last time Mathieu had given them a mysterious box, when they'd opened it, a swarm of imps had come flying out. Gabriel glanced at Midna, Nolan, and Ria. He felt great power from this box. Could they feel it, too? Gabriel walked over to the couch, perching on the arm rest. Gabriel said, "Open it, Marie." Marie opened it slowly and cautiously. She gasped. Gabriel's mouth dropped open in shock. Marie said, "Mathieu! This isn't...this couldn't be..." Mathieu chuckled and said, "It is and it could be!"

[Drakonnas]

Midna smiled, happy to contribute. "I could certainly do that as well." She said, putting on her cutest face. It was really adorable, and Midna knew it too. "Like this, Marie?" She smiled irresistibly. She levitated slightly, and spun around, before dropping her cute charade. She looked up concernedly as Mathieu returned, looking quite the worse for wear. "Are you okay, Mathieu?" She asked, completely forgetting her former wariness of him. She could feel something very powerful resonating somewhere around him, and knew that something was up.

Nolan stood up curiously as Mathieu gave Marie the box. Ría looked inquisitive as well. As the box opened, Ría understood what it was, and looked intensely surprised, as well as a little relieved, and tired at the same time. "You... its safe after all..." She said, sinking back down into the chair. "Would you mind explaining how you obtained this?"

[Girly Woman]

A table and food appeared in front of Mathieu. It was the kind of meal which would restore his strength the quickest: raw vegetables, simple meat, and a sweet potato. Mathieu answered, "How else could I have obtained it? My mother gave it to me." Mathieu's usual mocking and amused face suddenly grew dark and serious. Marie had never seen this expression before. She had also never heard him talk about his mother. Gabriel had last seen this expression when Mathieu's mother was sick. Mathieu said, "My father treated her horribly when they took over the thrown. He began his plans for male domination with my mother. He took over many of the powers and responsibilities of the queen. He lied to her. She grew ill when she realized his true intentions. He never visited her when she was ill. He only came after she died, to fetch the Tiara." Mathieu laughed bitterly and triumphantly. "But we'd already hidden it. My mother died to hide the Tiara from my father. I promised her I'd avenge her. I promised her that I'd make things right again. I waited years for an opportunity. This is it."

Marie looked at Mathieu, shocked. So, even Mathieu had something he was serious about. Gabriel was looking at the Tiara. He'd always suspected that the late queen had hidden the Tiara. He also knew that Mathieu had been close with his mother. This actually made perfect sense. Of course she would entrust the Tiara to Mathieu: he was powerful enough to keep it hidden, but did not have the ambition to be king.

Mathieu said, "If Marie wears this, hidden underneath a hat, of course, she will be able to pass as a demon. She can use the powers to prove herself as a demon if necessary and to protect herself. She can claim to be a student of a remote demon university. My father has yet to implement strict rules on academics, so she should pass." Mathieu chuckled, "The little cute act I saw Midna performing as I walked in should get her in with Gabriel."

[Drakonnas]

Midna listened a little sorrowfully at these words. "I'm sorry to hear that, Mathieu. We'll succeed in overthrowing your father. I just know we will." She tried to comfort him, but she thought there was little she could do, apart from successfully helping to overthrow the usurper, to help. She turned to Gabriel, about to ask him a question when Mathieu spoke up again. He told Marie that she could wear it, and pass as a demon. This, Midna had to see. She knew better than to inquire more, she would just have to wait and see for herself. If they were to go together, that is. Another idea popped up into Midna's head, she wasn't sure if this was already planed or not. "I'm not sure if I understand this... Are we going to separate, and then meet up? Or are we planning to go on with one group? It might be easier to get in in groups of two instead of four... Although it could possibly work if Marie and I pass as classmates... What do you think?"

[Girly Woman]

Marie stood up, holding the box, saying, "Woah, woah, back up! How can no one react to this? No one asked me if I wanted to wear this! Shouldn't Ria have it?" She looked at Ria and said, "You'll just passively accept this?!" Gabriel had also stood up to speak, but Marie had been quicker. When Marie stopped speaking, Gabriel said, taking the box gently from Marie, "Marie is right. You are all oddly passive about allowing one of our most important items to be worn by a human rather than going to the former queen." Gabriel looked at Mathieu and said, "Mathieu, to whom did you mother tell you to give the Tiara?" Mathieu said, "She didn't specify anyone. She simply said to use it as I saw fit to fix things. We need Marie in the Archives. This is the best way." He finished his food, which promptly disappeared. He looked at Midna and said, "In answer to your question, we must all go together. Any demon who is in the Light Realm is marked; it will be known that you live in the Light Realm. You will not be able to get into the Archives without me. Marie could get in on her own, but I think it's best if she is not left on her own." He smiled up at Marie, his playful face returned. He said, taking Marie's hand, "I have an idea. All Marie has to do is wear the Tiara and act like her usual intelligent, curious, and disdainful self." He lightly kissed her hand. Gabriel looked at Marie and said, "You don't have to do it this way. We can come up with something else."

Marie glanced at everyone in the room one by one. It did seem like the best way. Also, the Tiara was so very pretty. The stuffed animals gathered, looking up at her expectantly. She glanced down at Mathieu, still holding her hand. She thought of his mother and how serious she was. She realized she didn't hate him quite as much as she thought she did. She said, "Fine. I will do it." Gabriel made an unidentifiable noise. He wasn't sure how he felt about this. He felt better that Marie had made the choice on her own. The Tiara had been worn by humans in the past, so he knew that it wouldn't hurt her. It was still a huge risk, though. If it were discovered that she were wearing it, the current king would be relentless in his attempts to get it back. Quite frankly, their little group was outnumbered! Mathieu stood up and said, "Marvelous! Now we just have to get you two ladies ready for your performance!" He looked at Midna and said, "Dress yourself in something cute, but don't look like you're trying too had to be cute. I have an idea for Marie."

[Drakonnas]

Ría listened silently. She looked at the Tiara with a little bit of sadness in her eyes. "It is for the best. If I speak, I fear I would be most rude. Seeing as I have no desire to offend anyone, I am silent." She said, trying to smile. "Besides, you need it more than I for this mission. I do wish to have it back afterwords... but if this would help our mission, you have my permission to wear it..." She said, with an air of someone who is trying to be flexible, but doesn't really want to be.

King Nolan was oddly silent as well. "I think...." he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "I think... that having Marie wear the Tiara.... would be beneficial.... for now. It shows that our races are closer than we had previously thought, thereby giving us a morale boost, as well as getting us set in the right direction. After this, I plan to attempt to make amends with the humans, and this might be the first step required to do so. It shows we trust, at least one, human. It shows that we are willing to work together. This, I think, will be important later on." He said wisely. "Of course, we will have to have it back. The Demons would be furious if we didn't get it back, we'd be more hated than the current regime..." He said truthfully. If they had learned that their precious Tiara had been found, then given to humans, they would be furious.

Midna was trying not to think about the Tiara too much. In her full honesty, she had somewhat expected, and granted, a little selfishly, that she would be the one to inherit the Tiara, seeing as she was the closest living relative of the Queen. While it was true that she might not have been chosen, seeing as the current queen chooses the next queen, Ría had often worked with her to try to teach her how to be a proper Queen. When her aunt and uncle had been overthrown, she was forced to accept the fact that she would probably not be chosen. It was also true that Midna wasn't too confident in her ability to rule, she did love her land, and wanted it to prosper. She fancied herself as the one who would bring beauty back to their land. That was her biggest dream, her desire above all else, bring beauty back to the Shadow Realm. Now that the Tiara had been found, Midna was trying not to get her hopes up once more. "Of course." She said in somewhat of a subdued voice. "I'm sorry for causing trouble." In reality, she wasn't causing trouble, but her mind was elsewhere at the moment, and responding more to her feelings than actuality.

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu stood up and took the box from Gabriel. He sneered at Ria and said, "It is not your permission to give. The Tiara is not yours." Marie addressed Nolan. She said, "You speak wisdom, but you also insult me when you imply that I will not return the Tiara. It does not belong with us humans. It belongs to the demons. I will not keep it any longer than necessary." Mathieu said, "You will know when it is time to give the Tiara to its next bearer and you will know who that will be." Marie said, "Ria, of course!" Mathieu shook his head and said, "That is most likely, but the Tiara may not chose her. After all, it was forcibly taken from her once."

He drew Marie towards the side of the room. He said, "There is usually a huge ceremony when the Tiara is given to a new female, but we don't really have time for such formalities." He stood in front of Marie and held the box open in front of her. He said, "I, Mathieu Chevalier, the Keeper of the Tiara, given to me by the late Queen, Diana Chevalier, offer you, Marie Delacroix, ownership of the Tiara. Do you accept the Tiara and the responsibilities that come with it?" Marie said, "I do." Mathieu smiled. He put the box down and pulled out the Tiara, putting it carefully on Marie's head. Marie felt a surge of power. It was giddy and uncomfortable. She felt as if she were being in some way fundamentally changed. Mathieu took her arm and lead her to a mirror. He said, "That was almost like a wedding ceremony, wasn't it?" Marie made a noise and face of irritation at Mathieu, but was quickly cut off when she looked in the mirror. She looked...younger. She touched her face. She looked like she was in her twenties. Her mouth dropped open in amazement. Mathieu said, "You're not as young-looking as a demon your age." A thought about not giving up the Tiara surged through Marie's mind. She'd given up a lot to pursue her studies. The face looking back at her seemed to offer her a second chance at life and love and family. Mathieu whispered to her, "You could keep it. I could be king. You could be my queen." Marie looked at Mathieu, her face frozen in shock and surprise. She shook her head and said out loud, "We need to hide it. And Midna needs to prepare herself as well."

Gabriel was shocked when Marie turned around. He knew what would happen, but seeing it was still amazing. She looked younger and very regal and powerful. She even held herself better. He could feel her increased power. She was also entrancing. He wondered what Mathieu had whispered to her. Probably his usual nonsense. Gabriel felt the slightest pang of jealousy. The stuffed animals gathered around her and dropped deep bows and curtsies. Marie smiled at them. Marie turned back to the mirror. She said, "How about, instead of a hat..." She trailed off as she waved her hand over her head. Her long hair unwound out of its usual simple braid and settled into a complex and beautiful updo on her head, completely hiding the Tiara. Mathieu said, "One final touch." He snapped his fingers. A complex netting of diamonds and semi-precious stones wound around Marie's hair, adding extra strength the the updo. It would also help to shield the Tiara. Marie said, "Perfect."

[Drakonnas]

"I was not insinuating that you wouldn't give it back. I was merely suggesting the possibility that something might happen to it, and that it could fall into the wrong hands. Besides, there is magic in that that you do not know about. You may have every intention of giving it back right now. But when you see what it can do, you may be less willing to return it. That is no fault of your own, it is the crown's bidding, part of the magic of the Tiara. It was placed there so that the wearer would be less likely to forfeit it unless it was truly necessary." King Nolan said calmly. "Do not be offended."

Midna looked at Marie in astonishment. "Wow, Marie, you look really pretty!" She said happily, her usual bubbly and cheerful self taking over, replacing the slight jealousy that was inside her. "You look like one of us now! So cool!" She said, giving her mentor a glowing look. "We're gonna do it, I know it!"

[Drakonnas]

whoops, double post...

[Girly Woman]

Marie looked at Nolan, her eyes wide with surprise and nervousness. She said, "Why didn't anyone tell me this before I put this on?" She raised her hand and said, "Perhaps I shouldn't then..." She glanced quickly at Mathieu. It would be hard enough to give up this youth without the Tiara adding its own magic to her temptation. Mathieu looked sheepish, saying, "Oops, sorry." Not really. Either outcome was fine with him. It would be fun to watch Marie's struggle and to see her ultimate decision. Gabriel put his hand on Marie's hand and said, smiling at her, "I am sure that you will do the right thing when the time comes. Yes, the magic works to keep the bearer from giving away the Tiara carelessly, but it also works to let the bearer know when to pass on the Tiara and to whom to pass the Tiara." Marie nodded. Well, she had the Tiara now, there was no sense in going back.

She smiled at Midna and said, "I look how I looked many years ago." Gabriel smiled softly, saying, "You look like how you look when I first met you." Mathieu said, "No she doesn't. Well, kind of. But she looks more...something." Marie blushed and said, "Okay, okay, enough about me." She looked at Midna and said, "You must get ready so we can get started." She looked at everyone and said, "Does anyone want anything to eat or drink before we go?" She was still full from the meal she and Gabriel had had earlier. Mathieu and Gabriel both shook their heads.

[Drakonnas]

"Do not worry about that. If you were worried and or nervous, there might be less chance of the Tiara accepting you." Ría said softly, kindly. "But then again, I do not know exactly how it works, so I could be wrong. But... please, do not worry. The Tiara will help you, guide you, so long as your intentions remain pure." Ría saw the determination in Marie's eyes and smiled.

Nolan and Ría stood up. "Please excuse us, we need to make a few preparations, grab a few items we may need for our little trip..." Nolan said with a smile. "Now that we know it's okay, we can teleport back here, right?" After the response, they stepped through a created portal, and vanished.

Midna had been thinking for a little bit, and was somewhat worried. She went over to Marie, wanting to see what she thought. After all, Midna trusted Marie the most out of anyone in the room. "Marie...?" She asked quietly, tugging gently on her sleeve to get Marie's attention. "...Why do I feel a sense of unease about all of this? It's not like me to worry like this... Why do I feel like we're jumping off a cliff without checking to see how deep the water below is?" She did look troubled, which was quite out of character. Normally she was cheerful and bubbly, even when concerned about something. "What must I do to get ready for this...?"

[Girly Woman]

Marie said, "Because that is exactly what we're doing!" Gabriel said, "We're all uneasy and nervous. We'd be stupid if we weren't." Mathieu said, "I'm not nervous." Gabriel and Marie chuckled. Gabriel said, "Case in point." Mathieu made a mock annoyed face at Gabriel. Marie said, "Prepare as we've already discussed: look charming for the guards in the Archives so they let you in with Gabriel." Marie was surely even more nervous than Midna. After all, she was taking the greatest risk. She was sneaking into the demon world wearing one of their most precious items. If she were caught, she was fairly certain that not even Mathieu could save her from torture and execution. Mathieu himself likely wouldn't escape punishment for the grave crime of hiding the Tiara.

[Drakonnas]

Midna nodded, only somewhat reassured. "Okay... thanks, Marie, Gabriel." She walked off slowly to her room, thinking the whole way. What happened if they were caught? She would be subject to extreme punishment. She almost felt as if she was giving up her life by doing this. They had no idea how long this mission could take. They had no idea what they'd be getting into. But it had to be done.

Entering her room, Midna looked around for her cutest outfit, and slipped it on. She didn't need to use magic to look younger, she was just the perfect age and looked perfect for the role she was playing. There was even some truth in the tale. She was living at the academy to study. She had been a student of Gabriel's. This gave her knowledge and details that might be important. Looking in the mirror, Midna admired her appearance. She hadn't really had a good excuse to dress up like this for awhile, and she was happy to be able to finally try and look her best.

After about ten minutes, she headed back to the staff room, where she thought that Marie, Gabriel, and Mathieu would be.

[Girly Woman]

When Midna left, Marie said, "Mathieu, what is your plan to get me into the Archives with the rest of the group?" Mathieu smiled wickedly and said, "It's simple because it's half-true: You will pretend to be a demon from the all-female Diana Academy interested in the Archives. I will imply that I'm trying to get you into my bed by getting you into the Archives." Marie said, her voice a bit surprised, "That's actually a good idea. But what part of that is true?" Gabriel snorted. Marie was as clueless about men as she was brilliant about everything else. Mathieu said, putting his arm around her, "The part about trying to get you into my bed, of course." Marie shook her head and said, blushing, "Stop making such jokes." Mathieu said, "I'm not joking, my Queen." Marie said, "I'm not your Queen." Mathieu said, "Yes you are. You're wearing the Tiara, that makes you Queen." Marie said, "It does?" Both Mathieu and Gabriel nodded. Marie pulled away from Mathieu and said, "If I'm Queen, then you must respect me." She held out her hands and raised them up, raising Mathieu to the ceiling and pinning him there. The Tiara made her power equal to Mathieu's. This could actually be a very good thing! Midna would walk in to find Mathieu struggling to get down and Marie and Gabriel laughing at his struggles.

[Drakonnas]

Midna entered the room, and was startled to see Matheiu on the ceiling, struggling to get down. She was about to say something when she noticed the goings on, and her eyes opened wide, wondering what was going on. "Umm.... Gabriel? What's going on here?" She asked, her surprised look making her appear more innocent and cute.
(sorry, not sure what else to write here...)

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel chuckled and said, "Marie finally has the power to punish Mathieu for his harassment." Marie giggled and snapped her fingers, releasing Mathieu. He managed to catch himself and land gracefully on the ground, chuckling himself. Marie turned to Midna and said, "Perfect! You look adorable!" Gabriel nodded his agreement. He said, "If that doesn't get you in, then it will only because the guards are blind." He resisted the urge to ruffle Midna's hair affectionately, not wanting to mess it up. Mathieu resisted no urges. He ran up to Midna and embraced her, lifting her up and twirling her around, saying, "She's so cute!"

[Drakonnas]

Midna laughed, but realized that Mathieu might not like it, so she stopped, and gave a slightly apologetic look to him, which made her look even cuter. "Aww Mathieu... you're messing my hair up." She said smiling charmingly, showing him what she was capable of. "But luckily it's easy to fix, so go ahead." Midna did enjoy this attention, but she also knew they needed to finish their preparations. All they had to do now, as far as she knew, was wait for the King and Queen to return.

[Girly Woman]

Marie sighed and sat down. She said, "Now we just have to wait on Ria and Nolan." Mathieu sat down next to her, casually draping an arm over the back of the couch. He said, "Why are they coming back? It's not like they can come to the Archives." Gabriel sat down on the other side of Marie, on the arm of the couch. He shrugged. He said, "I'm sure they have their reasons." Marie, feeling a little claustrophobic between the two men sitting closer to her than normal, stood up. She figured this had something to do with Tiara. It made a woman a Queen. Part of being Queen was being worshiped by others. Mathieu was behaving more obnoxious than usual, although she wondered if that was part of his own plan. Gabriel likely didn't realize what he was doing.

Mathieu smiled as Marie stood up. He glanced at Gabriel, who glanced at him. Mathieu could tell the Tiara was having its affect on Gabriel, turning his respect and care for Marie as a former student and younger colleague into something deeper. Mathieu knew it would take a while for Gabriel to figure it out, though. In the meantime, it would be fun to mess with Gabriel! Besides, Mathieu rather liked the idea of an alternative ending to this adventure: Marie keeping the Tiara and marrying him, and them ruling the Shadow Realm together. The demons would look upon Marie as one who worked to liberate them, so they would forgive her for being human.

Gabriel looked at Mathieu, seeing, as usual, musings in Mathieu's eyes. What was Mathieu up to now? It was inevitable that Mathieu had some other possibility in mind, even if he worked towards their common goal. Likely Mathieu was considering seizing the throne. But who would be his queen? Ria? Midna? Marie? Probably not Marie; Mathieu wouldn't make a mere human his Queen, no matter how much he lusted after her or respected her.

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked up at Marie respectfully. She still couldn't believe how young and beautiful she looked. What would I look like if I wore the Tiara...? She thought to herself, before realizing the direction she was heading, and chastising herself for it. Mathieu was being a little bit more pesky than usual it seemed, since Marie was looking a little bit uncomfortable. Gabriel as well seemed taken aback by the transformation that had occurred.

"Why do we have to wait for them?" Midna asked, a little confused. "They aren't coming with us to the Archives, are they?" She spoke mostly out of nerves, something to try to break the tension she felt building inside her. Perhaps if they discussed something...

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel stood up and frowned, saying, "They asked if it was safe for them to come back here. I assumed that meant they were coming back." Marie sighed, looking again in the mirror. She fixed an imaginary stray hair and then smiled at herself. She really was very lovely. She turned around and crossed her arms, striking a Queenly pose. She said, "What a pain. If only they had been more specific." Really, it was stupid. And this was the woman to whom she was just supposed to hand the Tiara back to after all the work and suffering they would go through to overthrow the current king? She sighed again and sat back down on the couch. She said to Mathieu, "Whatever shall we do, Prince?" Gabriel's eyebrows flew up. Marie had never, ever, EVER called Mathieu "Prince" in any serious way. She had only used the term sarcastically in the past.

[Drakonnas]

Wow, I didn't see you had posted!

Midna shook her head. "I suppose that they still have a good bit to learn if they want to stay rulers of the Shadow Realm much longer." She had noticed this folly as well, and had caught on to some of the frustration it had caused. Midna twirled about, somewhat bored, but at the same time, trying to be cute. But as she was about to say something more, a note appeared with a small flash. "Go ahead and go. We realized we weren't very clear. We'll prepare some other things as well."

"Marie, Gabriel, Mathieu? My aunt and uncle said to go on. Are... are we ready to go?" She looked around, somewhat excited, yet somewhat nervous. Of course, it was normal to be nervous when doing something as large as this. But it was imperative that she do her part. And she would, to the best of her abilities. "Time to be serious! Time to prove I can be an adult!"

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu chuckled at the note. He said sarcastically, "Bloody thorough, they are!" When Midna spoke her last words, all three burst out laughing. Mathieu put his hand on Midna's shoulder and said, "If you have to say you have to prove you're an adult, then you're nowhere near being an adult!" He shook his head, laughing. He then said, "We'll go to my room, first. I've been secretly transporting in and out there for years." He chuckled. He put his arm around Marie and said, "I'll finally have you in my bedroom." Marie sneered and rolled her eyes.

Gabriel said, "Enough nonsense, let's get on with it." Gabriel was taking deep, calming breaths. He, too, was very nervous. He knew that, if they were caught, he and Midna would be severely tortured and Marie would likely be executed. He was also nervous about the changes in Marie's personality and the power the Tiara seemed to have over her and him. He would have to fight the draw the Tiara had. He'd recognized now, after seeing Marie call Mathieu "Prince". He was worried that, at the end of this, Marie would refuse to give up the Tiara. Would Mathieu go along with her? He shook these thoughts away as Mathieu opened the portal.

The portal behaved differently, sensing the Tiara. Mathieu put his fingers to his lips and said, "Shh." The portal calmed down. Mathieu gestured chivalrously, saying, "Ladies first!" Marie crossed her arms and glanced at Midna, her look saying, "As if you and I are that stupid!" She said, "H--- no, we're not stopping into that place first!" Mathieu said, "It's just my room..." Gabriel and Marie said at the same time, "Exactly!" They both looked at each other and chuckled nervously. Mathieu shook his head and stepped into the portal first.

His room was quirky, but not dangerous. It was colorful, especially for a demon's room. He had covered the windows with opaque curtains that somehow seemed to fill the room with a soft glow. The curtains blocked the depressing view of the Shadow Realm from the window. His walls had beautiful landscape paintings by demon and human artists. The only family portrait he had was one of his mother. Gabriel stepped in second. He chuckled at the portrait of him and Mathieu when he emerged. Mathieu had been so persistent that Gabriel finally gave in. Marie emerged third. She glanced around. The room was...not what she'd expected. She'd expected naked slaves or something. It was actually kind of pleasant in here. She then made a noise of surprise and annoyance. She said, "You stole my portrait!" There were portraits of all of the professors in the Academy hanging in the Grand Library. Hers had gone missing one day. It was assumed to have something to do with her pro-demon sentiments. Really, she should have suspected Mathieu right away... Marie had had to sit for another portrait. Mathieu said, like it was no problem, "You wouldn't give me one, so I took this one." Marie looked up, making a "Lord give me strength" face and sound.

[Drakonnas]

Midna growled a little bit when all three others burst out laughing. "Hey! It's not funny!" She said, a little frustratedly. Inside, she saw that they were right, which made her even more defensive and worried than she normally would have been otherwise. Her smile deflated, and she looked away. "Do you guys still want me to come...?" She asked softly, wondering if it might be better for her to stay. If she really was a immature as this, would it not be better for her to stay, and not risk endangering their mission?

Looking up as Gabriel spoke, she saw he was nervous. Perhaps more so than she had ever seen him. The implications of this knowledge weren't at all comforting, another reason why she was hesitating now. Her last minute nerves were getting in the way, telling her she shouldn't go through with this. After all, if they were caught, she'd be tortured within inches of her life at the very least. The part of her acting in self preservation screamed for her not to go on. But she spoke softly. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Let's go."

As the portal opened, Midna looked into it, this one was different than normal portals she had sen. It was acting a bit peculiar, but calmed down at once when Mathieu told it to. Midna was actually impressed this time, controlling portals wasn't easy at all. It was difficult magic, and he seemed to not have any trouble whatsoever with it. Midna did have slight problems controlling portals, she could open them, and keep them open, but it was slightly more difficult to keep them still and not wander.

She looked up nervously at Marie as Matheiu told them to go first. She had picked up on his... reputation, and wasn't at all eager to be the first one in there. "Um..." She whispered just before Marie spoke up, as her mentor gave her a significant look. Marie did seem to have some of the same reservations that she did, and Midna was secretly glad. Both Marie and Gabriel started in on Mathieu, and Midna relaxed just a little bit. She watched as first Mathieu, then Gabriel, and finally Marie stepped into the portal.

Midna took a deep breath, and stepped into the portal just as Marie was making a comment about a picture on the wall, to which Mathieu was as nonchalant as ever. Midna was surprised by the decor in his room, it was cheerful and quite colorful for a demon, definitely not what she expected.

[Girly Woman]

When Midna stepped out, Marie pointed at her portrait and said, "The mystery of my missing portrait has finally been solved." She crossed her arms and shook her head, rolling her eyes. She glanced around, saying to Midna, "This was not what I expected." She giggled, her nerves showing through her somewhat oddly-timed giggle. Mathieu looked at Marie, saying, "What were you expecting?" Marie thought, "Naked slaves..." and then blushed. Gabriel snorted a chuckle. He had an idea of what Marie had been expecting. Mathieu narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. He flopped down on his bed, saying, "Okay, enough about my room..." Gabriel nodded, sitting down on a chair.

Gabriel said, "Let us regroup." Marie nodded, sitting down on a couch. Mathieu rolled over onto his stomach, facing everyone. He said, "We can walk to the Archives from here. I think it's best to walk and appear nonchalant, like we're not doing anything wrong." Marie took a deep and calming breath. The Tiara gave her some extra confidence, but, now that they were actually in the Shadow Realm, her nerve were so great that they somewhat overcame the confidence boost given by the Tiara. She looked at Midna, saying, "So, we will have to each play a part." She again giggled nervously. Marie's was, fortunately, pretty easy. She would just act like how she did when she was the age she looked: intellectually curious, but lacking in intellectual confidence, enthusiastic for all knowledge, but not quite sure as to the best way to go about acquiring it. Except she would have to be a demon.

[Drakonnas]

Midna's eyes widened in understanding as she looked at the portrait on the wall when Marie pointed it out to her. "Aah..." she said with a dawning comprehension. She looked at Mathieu curiously, wondering what his reasoning and explanation was. Gabriel seemed amused by this conversation, as well as Mathieu, although the latter was more annoyed than amused. The conversation ended on a bitter note, and they fell into silence. Midna turned around, trying to get a better glimpse into the world in which Mathieu lived. If she could understand him better, she could more easily.

Gabiel's voice brought her back to attention. Mathieu spoke the obvious, he told them they should probably act normal, as if nothing was up. Midna thought this was rather obvious, but refrained from making any sarcastic remarks that could possibly unnerve the group, and make their tolerance of each other run high. She nodded, looking at one particular painting, which happened to be a top down view of some land, which she was unsure about.

Making eye contact with Marie, Midna nodded. Her nod felt stiff, but she wasn't sure how it appeared to the others. Hopefully it was normal. But still, her heart was pounding away in her chest, telling her she must not fail. She knew what she had to do, act more immaturely than normal, but appropriately so. She had to play the role of the young demon student that she was not too far off from being.

----

Kel had spent the last few days trying to be busy. He helped out with the logistics of assembling the demon army. Most of the demons were working on something to get their army ready for combat, be it making weapons, training up untrained demons, and the like. He missed his sister a lot. It had been many, many years since she had been killed, and for some reason he still couldn't get over the fact that she had been. For one, he had been the one in charge of protecting her. Secondly, he was getting over the grumpiness that had held him for so long, beginning to accept the fact that she was dead. Mathieu had helped him realize he couldn't simply mope around, that he had to actually take control of his life, and not let others lead him. He was actively trying to contain his temper, as well as look back, and see who he really was. He had never known his parents. Or he hadn't remembered his parents. But he did remember his sister. Always trying to be cute, always trying to please, even as a very young demon. "Midna.... if only you had survived..."

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu stood up and said, "So, everyone ready to act nonchalant?" He smiled and said it lightly, as if he were asking them if they were ready to eat dinner. Marie giggled nervously again and stood up. Mathieu's lightness made her feel a bit better. If Mathieu had also seemed unnerved, then they really would have been in trouble! Mathieu was indeed a bit nervous. He had been waiting for many years to avenge his mother, so this was a huge moment for him. He also knew that, if they were caught, he would be punished severely for hiding the Tiara. He would definitely be as severely punished as Midna and Gabriel, if not more. He also didn't want Marie to die. She would surely be executed in a cruel way if they were caught. He offered his arm to Marie, his thoughts showing ever-so-slightly in the smile he gave her. Marie sighed and took his arm. This was the only part of the plan that would be difficult: pretending to not be bothered by Mathieu's interest in her. Well...a small part of her was beginning to realize that his interest didn't bother her all that much. However, she was continuously trying to destroy that small part. She noticed his strange smile. That wasn't good...it seemed Mathieu was nervous after all. Her heart began beating a little faster.

Gabriel stood up and smiled down at Midna, his eyes betraying his own nervousness. He said, "So, my enthusiastic and adorable student, are you ready to see the Archives and learn all about your kind?" He wasn't too worried about Midna's abilities to play her part. Even if she seemed nervous, anyone who saw her would interpret it as her being in awe of the castle and the Archives. Marie worried him a bit more. Marie could only tolerate Mathieu for so long. If the guards suspected anything, they would be in trouble. Gabriel also worried about the inevitable ulterior motives Mathieu possessed. Mathieu claimed he would support the former queen and king, but he didn't behave as if he respected them at all. Gabriel took a deep breath. One step at a time. If Mathieu attempted to turn against them, they had the Tiara and the former queen and king on their side, which gave them a fighting chance against Mathieu.

[Drakonnas]

Midna nodded, eyes wide. She took a deep breath, and posed, trying to get in the mood. Finally after a minute, she felt as ready as she'd ever be. "Yes, Mr. Gabriel!" She said, trying to be as eager as she could. "I wanna learn more! Can you show me, Mr. Gabriel? Or should I call you Professor Gabriel?" She said, giggling. The laughter was a little bit for nerves, to try and settle herself down some. She looked around, they were all clearly nervous. So many things could go wrong. They could be recognized, which would draw unwanted attention to themselves. Their ploys could be seen through. They might not find the information they were looking for. They might even be trapped here. Midna had heard of portals sometimes not working. "No... You have to stay calm, Midna. You have to stay calm. Think of this as simply another field trip, you're getting more experience, this will help you become a better teacher." "Shall we be off then...?"

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, "Mr.?! Don't you mean Dr.?!" Marie giggled. Midna was just too adorable! It helped to ease some of Marie's nerves. She said, "Call him professor. It's cuter." Mathieu smiled. Whatever happened, this was going to be interesting at the very least. He opened his door and stepped out into the hallway. He lead the way to the Archives. As soon as they left his room, Mathieu began behaving like his usual self. He pressed Marie close to him and said, "There is much to see. You should stay the night in order to see everything. My bed is quite comfortable." Marie kind of wanted to smash him against the ceiling again, but she kept her cool. Instead, she giggled like the college girl she was supposed to be. She playfully pushed him away and said, "There are many places in this palace where I could sleep." Mathieu laughed and said, "Nope, all rooms are taken!" Gabriel glanced down meaningfully at Midna and said, "Mathieu...", as if warning Mathieu to not take advantage of Marie and warning him to watch what he said in front of the adorable young Midna.

The various servants, guards, and occasional aristocrat they encountered paid little heed to the group. Any curiosity they would have had about Marie was instantly killed off by the Tiara's blocking her "human vibe" and by her walking with Mathieu. She was dismissed as another one of Mathieu's many women. They were also accustomed to seeing Gabriel around with Mathieu. Midna elicited the most attention, but for her adorableness, which shut down most suspicious thoughts. Besides, she was with Mathieu and Gabriel, so there probably wasn't anything suspicious going on. Gabriel still had a good reputation, despite the fact that he lived and studied in the Light Realm. Besides, everyone was busy with their own business. The real challenge would come when they reached the Archives. The guards' business there was to inspect anyone wishing to enter the Archives.

[Drakonnas]

Midna giggled apologetically. "Sorry Mister Doctor Professor..." She couldn't help it, she had to tease him a little bit. Midna followed close to Gabriel, acting her part rather well. She looked about her with interest, inspecting the castle. There was something familiar about it, but she couldn't remember exactly why she felt this way. She had never lived inside the castle, nor could she remember visiting. But... why did it seem familiar? She knew she was attracting attention more than the rest of them, and tried to hold her act together, which she did very well. She heard Matheiu's comments to Marie, but seeing as Midna was somewhat naive about topics like this, she didn't fully understand what he was going on about. She looked back up at Gabriel, wondering what was going on about.

--

Kel walked quickly to the Archives, he needed to grab some information about the human world for the King. He was in a relatively good mood for once, the destruction of the human world was neigh. Only a matter of weeks left until they lowered the hammer, and took back what was rightfully theirs. But as he walked, he saw a small group of four demons. He didn't give them much thought, though. Mathieu and another one of his toys, as well as a professor who taught in the Light Realm, and apparently one of his students. He thought the young girl looked familiar, but he didn't give them another thought at the moment, hurrying past them to get his work done.

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu spotted Kel approaching out of the corner of his eye. His eyes widened. Marie glanced in the direction Mathieu looked. Oh f---. Kel had met her at the Academy. Kel knew she was human. Marie was almost overwhelmed with panic. Kel would surely give her away. She could feel the Tiara reacting to her fear. She had to conceal herself some way. The Tiara could surely alter her appearance. Feeling the rise in magic and sensing Marie's panic, Gabriel also glanced in the direction Marie had looked. His eyes also went wide. Sh--. They had to conceal Marie somehow. Perhaps she could use the Tiara to alter her appearance? Mathieu suddenly pushed Marie towards the wall, away from Kel, and kissed her, thus effectively concealing her face. Gabriel's mouth dropped open. His first instinct was to magically toss Mathieu out of a window. Marie made a sound of surprise and at first attempted to push him away. Wait, she had the Tiara! She could set him on fire! Mathieu made a pleading noise and sort of shook his head. Understanding washed over Marie. He was doing this to conceal her from Kel. She was still angry, however, because there were other ways that she could have concealed herself. Gabriel also understood, but was also still angry. He put his hand over Midna's eyes in a weak attempt to continue playing the role of protective teacher.

When the danger passed, Mathieu stepped back. Marie took a deep and calming breath to steady herself and to keep herself from screaming, hitting Mathieu, and setting him on fire. She was supposed to be interested in him. So, she playfully pushed him away, wagging her finger at him, saying, "Prince or not, you should treat me like the lady I am!" Her tone was playful, but her eyes were shooting metaphorical fireballs at Mathieu. She coquettishly tossed her head as if her hair were down and then turned to walk in the direction of the Archives. Gabriel said, laughing weakly, "Mathieu, they are both students. Let's at least pretend to be professional." His tone was also light, but his eyes said, "If we survive this, I will kill you."

[Drakonnas]

Midna panicked a little as well, but kept her cool more than she thought. She was a little annoyed at Gabriel for covering her, but she knew that it was for the best, for multiple reasons. But what was the big deal about Mathieu kissing Marie? It was painfully obvious that he liked her. However, she knew that Marie didn't like him. Was that the reason? She fidgeted a little bit, thinking that it would be most like the girl she was supposed to play as. Still, this had been an extremely close call. It was a good thing that Kel had been really moody when he had visited them. He hadn't remembered the encounter just then. He hadn't really paid attention to any of them whilst there, and hadn't recognized Midna, or the others. Midna knew that it had been a close call, and that they shouldn't expect to be as lucky in the future.

She saw both Gabriel and Marie shooting Mathieu death glances, and wondered why they had both taken such dislike towards him. Should she try to defend him, and keep them friendly, and risk getting the two of them mad at her as well? Or should she stay out of it, hoping for peace between them?

[Girly Woman]

[Feel free to jump in with descriptions of the palace and the people whom they are encountering. :)]

Mathieu smiled, his eyes triumphant, saying, "So sorry. It is hard for me to resist anything so beautiful." Marie shook her head and giggled flirtatiously. She then took Mathieu's arm again and they continued on their way to the Archives. Marie was looking around just as much as Midna, but with genuine interest. Marie had spent most of her adult life studying demons. She was therefore very excited to be in the palace, which housed so many important demon artifacts. Mathieu said to Marie, "There is so much I can show you." He gave her a significant look. Marie mentally finished his sentence, "If you remain with me." She smiled and nodded politely, saying in an excited tone, "There is so much I want to see!" Gabriel narrowed his eyes. What just happened there? Oh well, no use dwelling on it. It was inevitable that Mathieu would have other ideas. Marie would never go along with them, though.

Their walk continued uneventfully. It was a long walk to the Archives with much to see. When they reached the Archives, the guards bowed to Mathieu and nodded at Gabriel. They then looked with their usual suspicion at Midna and Marie. Mathieu smiled, giving the guards a significant look, saying, "She is a student at Dominico University. She's interested in the Archives." He looked Marie up and down and, putting his hand dangerously close to somewhere it shouldn't be, finished, "I'm interested in her interest." He smiled at the guards. Marie smiled as innocently as she could. A blushed crept over her face when Mathieu's hand moved. Fortunately, the blush worked in her favor. The guards nodded. The woman seemed to be a powerful demon who had the bad luck to be born into a lower class family. She'd obviously been clever enough to use all of her powers to capture Mathieu's attention and gain access to the palace. However, she probably had no idea what she'd gotten herself into. The guards would have laughed if they weren't on duty. Marie had to try hard not to sigh in relief. The guards seemed to buy their story. The guards then turned their attention to Midna. Gabriel said, "She is a student of mine. She is studying demon history for her thesis. Mathieu told me he was bringing this...woman...to the Archives and invited me along. Her studies would really be benefited by seeing original documents." He smiled down at Midna, like a proud teacher at an enthusiastic student.

[Drakonnas]

(Awesome! Will do.)

Midna looked around, genuinely curious as to some of the oddities she saw. One thing in particular caught her eye. She headed over to the item in question, trying to see for herself exactly what the item was. The halls were huge, and very cavernous. Their voices echoed in the halls, creating a very peculiar effect. There was almost no one around now, they seemed to be going away from the bulk of the demons. "Professor, what is this armor?" She asked Gabriel, eyeing the obviously expensive suit of armor, locked behind some mysterious force field. The armor (http://preorderskyrim.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/oblivion-glass-armor.jpg) was primarily made of jade-like material, with matching sword, shield, and helmet. It was very intricate, well designed, and clearly very expensive and effective. It even looked like it could repel magic. "It has to very important, or it wouldn't be in display like this, much less protected by powerful magic. Something in her history lessons jogged her memory, and she gasped. "Could... could this be the armor of Marcus the Mighty?" She asked, her voice quiet and respectful. He had been the one to unite the demons, and end the Great Demon Civil Wars.

After Midna had listened to whatever Gabriel and possibly the other two had to say, they continued on their way. The hallway they were in was on the outside of the castle, and there were many large windows in which they could look out of. The scene was something Midna couldn't forget, one that had never left her mind. The sky was blacker than coal, and yet the scenery around them was lit just as much as the world above. She often looked outside, wondering what it had been like when it was more beautiful out there than it had been in the light realm. Finally, they reached the Archives. Midna waited nervously, but showing none of her emotions made it easier to keep in her role. She kept silent as she had been told, unless she was asked a direct question. The guards didn't seem to like this, but they stood aside to let them pass. But quickly, one of the guards looked closely at Midna, and asked, "What's your name girlie? I'll need to keep a record..."

Midna looked up at Gabriel, as if asking it it was okay. But she had to answer. "My name is Midna."

---

Kel was just at the other side of the doors to the Archives when he heard the guards speak. He heard the sweet voice of the young girl. "My name is Midna." Kel froze, not sure if he had heard right. He stepped back, determined to investigate this girl who carried the same name as his sister. She was about the same age as his sister would have been. He would wait for them to enter, and he would investigate further.

[Girly Woman]

Marie breathed a soft sigh of relief when the guards let them pass. Honestly, the guards had barely looked at her. Mathieu must bring a LOT of women to the castle for the guards to be so indifferent to any woman walking on his arm. All thoughts of Mathieu's past and the guards flew from her mind the moment they stepped into the Archives. She had always wanted to visit this place, but had never been able to, thanks to the laws of the current king. It was, as expected, huge. Despite the fact that it had thousands upon thousands of books and scrolls, it didn't feel crowded. The shelves reached all the way up to the high ceiling. Patrons generally used magic to fetch things from the shelves. There were many dark and solid wood tables and matching chairs. There were also many lush and soft-looking chairs and sofas. The room was hushed. The few who spoke spoke in hushed tones and only about what they were studying. There was no casual conversation here. Marie could feel the hushed silence and history of the Archives embracing her more powerfully than any of the relatively newer and definitely smaller libraries at the Academy. She was almost totally immersed when she was suddenly jerked to the side and behind a shelf, pinned to the shelf by Mathieu, his hand over her mouth. Well, this was at least an improvement from last time...

Mathieu rarely entered the Archives. It was far too quiet and boring for his taste. The last time he was here was with Gabriel many years ago. He looked over at Marie, who was clearly enraptured. He began to smile softly at her when, taking another step in, he noticed Kel behind the door. He jerked Marie away and behind a shelf before Kel would have a chance to really spot her. It didn't matter if Kel recognized him; disappearing with a woman was one of Mathieu's usual practices! Putting his hand over her mouth, Mathieu said silently, "Kel is here."

Gabriel was also smiling at Marie's reaction. He took a deep breath of the hushed air which seemed to smell of long hours of study and contemplation. He jumped when Mathieu suddenly jerked Marie away. What was he up to now?! Gabriel glanced over and spotted Kel. Sh*t. That single-minded psychotic demon. What business could he possibly have in this repository of historical knowledge?! He clearly preferred to believe the history told to him by the current king. Gabriel was unsure as to what to do. He clearly couldn't pretend that he didn't see the gigantic winged demon. Gabriel glanced down at Midna, his eyes slightly panicked. He then continued into the Archives and simply smiled and nodded politely at Kel. Kel had made it pretty clear that he didn't really like Gabriel, Marie, and Midna when he'd met them at the Academy, so a smile and a nod should be sufficient.

[Drakonnas]

Midna entered the Archives, and was immediately stunned by the atmosphere and decor of the place. Wordlessly, she looked around, admiring all of the scrolls, furniture, and even people that were here. The red carpet suited the huge Archives perfectly, there were even little strands of gold embroidery amongst the red. It all looked so elegant, so powerful, so... interesting that she didn't notice the other demon who was staring at her intensely. She could have spent all of her time immersed in the scrolls, learning. There wasn't much that the young demon girl enjoyed more than learning and teaching. She could spend all day here. Was there a trace of magic she detected as well? It was probable that there was, given how old and powerful the Archives were.

Kel looked at Gabriel somewhat coldly, nodding. He didn't approve of these demons, but then again, they were against what he believed in. Granted, what he believed in was in question right now, so he sort of made an apologetic smile, and turned away from Gabriel to observe the young demon next to him. He wasn't socially adept, that much was clear. Having been controlled by the King for most of his life, it was not unusual for him to be so.

The young girl definitely bore similarities to his sister he had believed dead for all this time. But he couldn't be sure. Yes, they had the same name. Yes, they looked similar. But how could he be sure? He examined her facial features, her body figure, and even her personality from what he could glimpse. It seemed like the girl standing before him was his Midna, his sister. But... she was dead! Or was she?

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel didn't like how closely Kel was observing Midna. Gabriel put his hand on Midna's shoulder and began gently guiding her away. They would head towards the very back of the Archives, to a room which had additional magical protections in order to preserve ancient scrolls. These scrolls were of little interest to most except for a small number of academics. The demon king had done a good job of getting the demon race to focus on recent history, but fortunately had not had the stupidity to destroy the ancient scrolls. Even if no one cared to study them, everyone cared that they existed!

Mathieu released Marie. Wordlessly, he took her hand and the two began making their way to the ancient scrolls. They took a different route, winding behind shelves, in order to avoid Kel. The few people whom they met gave them slightly disapproving looks. With each disapproving look, Marie's urge to giggle grew stronger and stronger. These demons clearly thought that Mathieu had brought Marie here to do naughty things. It never occurred to them that Marie may be legitimately interested in the Archives. Which made sense, since most demon women pursuing Mathieu were after his power and connections. Mathieu helped these false ideas along by looking at Marie lasciviously whenever they encountered one of these demons. It was better to mislead the demons as much as possible.

[Drakonnas]

Midna noticed the way Kel was looking at her, and it made her extremely uncomfortable. She tried not to let it show, but she thought she knew how Marie felt when Matheiu hit on her. She didn't like the feeling, and was glad when Gabriel steered her away, pointing out various things to see. Midna was quiet, unnerved by the attention Kel was giving her. He was still boring into her visually as they walked away. What was his problem? She managed to wrench her mind from him to the ancient scrolls in front of her. The sheer amount of information here was stunning. Midna wanted nothing more that to sit and read. Hopefully she'd get to read some before they had to go. It would be invaluable information.

Kel watched Midna go, but he didn't follow. He needed to observe her more, and he figured that he'd do so from a distance, as to try to keep out of their way. Perhaps he could get her alone somehow to ask her a few questions... But in order to do that, he'd need to get rid of Gabriel somehow, or lure Midna away from her overprotective tutor...

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel led them straight to the far end of the Archives. Now was not the time to play tour guide. Especially with Kel acting suspicious. They arrived in the magically-protected room which contained the ancient scrolls before Mathieu and Marie. Gabriel could feel the increased magic in this room. He took in a deep breath, breathing in the scent of the ancient scrolls. The scrolls were filed by subject. Gabriel had been in this room before, but not many times. The scroll Marie had found had been a record kept by a royal historian. He had a vague idea as to where these records were kept. He said to Midna, "Make sure that demon didn't follow us."

Marie and Mathieu were next to the room when yet another person gave them a disapproving look. Mathieu smiled naughtily and then grabbed Marie's butt. The person raised her eyebrows and moved on. The moment she was gone, Marie said, "Shrivel up and die!" She pushed Mathieu into the room. A shriveled up Mathieu who fell to the floor. Marie gasped and rushed to his side. Gabriel, hearing the commotion, emerged from the stacks. His eyes widened when he looked at Mathieu. He then started laughing. He said, "You got what you deserved!" Mathieu attempted to laugh. He had been able to protect himself from the "die" part of Marie's command. Marie took a deep breath, focused, and unshriveled Mathieu.

[Drakonnas]

Midna nodded, and left to look around quickly, to make sure he hadn't followed them. She had a feeling that it wouldn't be a good idea to use magic here, she wasn't sure exactly why. The atmosphere was so full with ancient magics long forgotten that she didn't want to accidentally set off a powerful spell. So, she looked around cautiously, determined to not let him sneak up on her if that was what he was trying to do. She didn't see him around in any of the obvious hiding places, she didn't think she was too inclined to magically hide himself. It wasn't until she was walking back did she see the demon. She knew she had been seen, he was looking for her after all.

She hurried back to Gabriel, and told him what she had seen. "Professor Gabriel... The demon followed us here... should I drive him off, distract him while you look for the scroll?" She wanted to help look too, but this was potentially more important.

-----

Kel followed slowly, making sure that he wasn't too close to them, so that he could say he was going about his business. But then he saw Midna walking about, looking for something. He reached out a hand, and tried to speak, but found he couldn't. So he sped up a little to try and catch up to her. She sped up as well, always keeping at least an arm's length away from him. He knew he probably seemed perverted and stalkerish to her, but he'd explain properly when he caught her.

[Girly Woman]

A glass of water appeared in Mathieu's hand. He drank it down quickly. Being shriveled up had made him really thirsty! He looked a Midna's hair and shook his finger at it, saying, "Come on, now, be nice to me!" His glass exploded. Marie and Gabriel giggled. They looked up as Midna suddenly approached. Gabriel swore under his breath. Mathieu said, "And here I thought Kel was some kind of eunuch!" He lightly nudged Midna in Kel's direction, saying, "Go distract him with your womanly wiles! Satisfy his demon appetite. I think getting lai..." Gabriel held up his hand, hissing, "Mathieu!" He shook his head at Mathieu. He looked down at Midna and said, "We have no idea what his intentions are. Mathieu should go to him." Mathieu nodded, saying, "I know, but I still think Kel seriously needs to get..." Marie and Gabriel both hissed, "Mathieu!" Mathieu smiled and made kissy sounds at Midna and Marie and then walked towards Kel.

He smiled and said, "Kel! What brings you here? I thought you preferred my father's word over actual historical documents?" Mathieu ran through a list of possible commands he could give Kel to keep Kel out of the Archives for an extended period of time. His favorite involved forcing Kel to explore a lake for the Tiara.

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked curiously at Mathieu, she was very naive about this subject matter. "What's that?" She asked Mathieu as he was cut off, not understanding. "Do you want me to talk to him?" And that's when Gabriel broke in, discouraging her from going to talk to the demon that was following them. Mathieu put in one more comment, leaving Midna even more confused. She turned to Gabriel and Marie, a quizzical look on her face. "What did he mean?" She wanted to know, they acted like it was something bad, or something that shouldn't be spoken about in here, which only made her more curious. If they didn't answer her, she might ask Mathieu later. But that would only happen if she remembered, she was here to look for clues.

---

Kel looked up as Mathieu greeted him. Kel half-smiled at the greeting, and looked around. "Well you see, the king wanted some information, and I was here to retrieve it when I saw you enter with your... student..." He said, eyes narrowing now. "Tell me. Speak her full name, please. She has the same name as my sister who was murdered those years ago... She's the right age, and looks similar to her. I need to know, Mathieu. I need to know. If she's my sister, then someone has some serious explaining to do." He felt like crossing his arms, but he didn't, he was talking to a prince after all.

[Girly Woman]

Marie rolled her eyes and said somewhat sharply, "How can she be so naive at this age? A professor who knows nothing of the ways of the world." She made a noise of contempt and said softly, "And this one thinks she could be the next ruler." Marie abruptly turned and walked off to search for the needed scroll. Gabriel's eyebrows shot up at Marie's tirade. When she walked off, he shook his head and said, "She's under some pressure..." He sighed and looked down at Midna, saying, "She has a point, though. You can be neither a professor or a ruler if you continue to be so wholly ignorant about the world."

Mathieu cocked his head to the side, his eyes confused. He said, "Do I look like a teacher to you? I don't have any students. The sexy woman I walked in with is named Alice...something." Mathieu laughed and said, "I never actually caught her last name." It simply made no sense. How could Midna be Kel's sister? First of all, if his father wasn't stupid enough to not kill someone he said he's killed, because he wouldn't want to risk the person suddenly showing back up. If his father simply wanted Midna to disappear, he would have forced her to change her name and banished her to some remote area of the human world. Given how obsessed Kel was about his sister, how did he not recognize her at the Academy? How did Midna not recognize her own brother when he was at the Academy? Perhaps his father put some kind of memory spell on Midna. Although, Midna remembered her aunt and uncle, so that couldn't be the case. Even if it were, then why would his father risk Midna coming back to the demon world and being recognized by Kel? And why would Kel support the king who overthrew his aunt and uncle? If Kel were under some kind of selective memory spell, then how did he suddenly recognize his sister now?

[Drakonnas]

Kel's eyes narrowed. "You're not making any sense, Mathieu. I'd suggest you stop muttering incoherent nonsense, and actually think about what you're saying for once." Something in Kel's bearing had changed, he seemed not to remember what he was previously talking about. He had a slightly glazed look in his eye that he got sometimes. "The voices inside my head say I should go and continue my research..." He said, glancing off into the distance like he normally did sometimes. The spell upon him modified his memory every so often, which explained most of his blank stares. He walked right past Mathieu, even knocking into him on his way past.

---

Midna looked around, a little sheepishly. "Well... I... I... I guess... I just focus on my schoolwork to the exclusion of everything else." She said, thinking. "You remember the perfect term paper I wrote that one time, about the discrimination of demons and humans? I spend well over the required time on that paper! Yeah, that's it. I focus on my work too much I guess, hehe..." Midna grinned a little bit, but her smile faded as Gabriel chastised her. "Yeah... I do need to pay attention more, I guess... Can you help me with that, Gabriel? I don't want to disappoint you... or myself..."

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu grabbed Kel's arm and said, "How dare you speak to me like that and bump me without apology?!" He had adopted a royal bearing, which was a rare occurrence for Mathieu. He was standing up straight and tall, his voice was authoritative, and his eyes were fierce and regal.

Gabriel brushed Midna off, saying, "I'm weary of hearing about you're need to impress everyone. It's not my place to teach you everything. It's time for you to grow up." They were under too much pressure and on far too important a mission to deal with Midna's teenage insecurities and self-evaluations. Gabriel glanced in Mathieu's direction, hearing Mathieu's sudden serious tone. He muttered, "This can't be good..."

Marie was in the very back of the room, gently using magic to probe the different scrolls. There were many to go through and she really could use some help. Where was everyone?! She walked towards Gabriel and Midna, her hands on her hips, her walk an angry walk. She was about to say something when she, too, heard Mathieu. She glanced out at Mathieu, looking regal and angry with Kel. She hissed, her eyes burning, "Good. I hope he locks that pest in the dungeons." It was an unusually cruel thing for Marie to say. She then looked at Gabriel and Midna, taking an almost royal tone herself, her eyes still burning, "We have work to do. Stop standing around like buffoons."

[Drakonnas]

Midna deflated, and quieted down. Gabriel had a point, it was time for her to grow up. She needed to get past her fears, she needed to mature. The comment stung quite a bit, and she adopted a colder, more indifferent tone. "Yes, professor." She said icily, stressing the last word with as much sarcasm as she could place in it. She stalked off a little ways to a shelf, and was about to start looking at various scrolls when Marie came over, looking thoroughly peeved. As angry and hurt as Midna was, she didn't note the unusual tone in Marie's voice. "Yes, your highness. She said, again stressing the last word. Without another comment, she began looking through the scrolls. It seemed as if the stress and the magical atmosphere were dividing them, almost as if it wanted them to fail. Perhaps the secret of the post was too dangerous to be revealed? Perhaps there was some power too great to be remembered?

Midna read scroll after scroll, sorting through the most likely candidates with magic to find the scrolls that would have the highest probability to help. But no matter what she looked at, nothing seemed to be right, nothing seemed to give them any information. She had cooled off by now, and felt bad about how she had responded two her friends and mentors. She would have to apologize later, hopefully with a more mature tone.

---

"Excuse me, your majesty. It's not everyday that the runt of the liter gets in my way. You're a pathetic excuse for a prince, you should do everyone a favor and go shrivel up and die." There was a certain darkness, malice, and cruelty in his voice that had never been there before. So why was he talking to his former friend like this? It just didn't add up. Even in his eyes, there was something off... "If you'll stop wasting my time, I have work to do, unlike you. The only work you do is in bed." He smirked, and walked off, totally out of character for him.

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu raised a hand and Kel was suddenly unable to move. All conversation in the Archives now ceased. Mathieu was not known for his tolerance and understanding. Mathieu said, "Your work is so important? Spreading my father's lies? You're the pathetic excuse, not me." Mathieu raised his voice, saying, "Guards!" The guards approached quickly, saying, "Yes, your highness?" although both knew what Mathieu was going to order. Mathieu said, "Escort this demon to the dungeon." They bowed and said, "Yes, your majesty." They took over the magic hold on Kel. Mathieu wasn't one to care about why people did things; their actions only had meaning for him.

Marie smiled, a twinkle of cruelty in her eye and said, "The fool got what he deserved." Gabriel looked at Marie, concerned about her sudden change in behavior. Marie looked at Gabriel and said, "Don't just stare at me like a dolt, even the bratty teenager has started working." Marie turned and walked abruptly towards the back. Gabriel followed. He wondered if the magic in the Archives was somehow combining with the Tiara to bring this about. They needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

[Drakonnas]

Kel closed his eyes, and a creepy grin spread across his face. As the guards took him, an overwhelming surge of power rushed through the area, releasing Kel of the magic binding him. It was not Kel's doing, this much was certain. A dark laugh, a powerful laugh echoed noiselessly throughout the archives. It was soundless, yet very much there, all the same. "Your father." Kel spoke, opening his eyes once more, which were now brilliantly red, completely red. "Your lack of understanding, Mathieu, is what is pathetic... You shall hear more from me later. But now... I have work to do... and what better place to plot my return than in your dungeon?" He laughed, and things were instantaneously back to where they had been before the power surge, Kel trapped by magic, helpless. It had all happened within the span of a fraction of a second, no one but Mathieu would have noticed what had just happened, but others might have felt the surge of power.

----

Midna shivered as she felt something wash over her, she wasn't sure what it was, but didn't like it. She turned to Marie, who was looking... different than usual now. She wasn't sure what she saw, it was hardly noticeable. "Marie... what's gotten into you?" She thought to herself, shooting her a quick concerned look. She continued looking through the scrolls, nothing exciting. She found a few that made her heart jump a few times, but after reading on, found it was nothing useful. A few contained horrid content, a few were extremely graphic. But nothing she found had anything to support their theory. But it had to be in here somewhere. If not... She wasn't sure what they'd do next.

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu shrugged it off. Clearly Kel was taking a nice stroll in crazyland. Or maybe something else. Mathieu had bigger things to focus on than Kel right now. He said, "Guards! Dungeon!" The guards, who had been looking around curiously, wondering about the surge of power, snapped back to reality. They lead Kel towards the dungeons, which were just as bad as anyone would expect a demon dungeon to be! Inmates had their powers severely restricted, which made them feel vulnerable. There were also layers of magic to keep the inmates from escaping. The dungeons were dank and foul. No window let in even a sliver of the dark Shadow Realm light.

Gabriel and Marie looked at each other, also feeling the surge of power. The Tiara's power had also allowed Marie to hear Kel's words. That demon was such a nuisance. It was good that Mathieu had sent him to the dungeons. Talking about making his return, like he was someone important. Marie sneered to herself.

Mathieu strolled casually back to the group. He said, "Have you found anything yet?" Marie looked at him somewhat fiercely, saying, "No, and we never will with all of these disruptions." Mathieu rolled his eyes and said, "I know. That demon...why my father bothers with him is beyond me. Anyway, he's locked away now and no longer our problem." Marie said, "Good." She giggled and leaned in to whisper to Mathieu, "I was amused that he spoke those words to you, like you actually cared." Mathieu also laughed and said, "You heard them, too? I guess that's not surprising." He waved his hand in dismissal, saying for the others to hear, "There is some spell making him weird. It's not our concern at the moment." Mathieu went to a different part of the shelves and began searching through the scrolls magically. Gabriel worked between Midna and Marie, deciding it would be best to keep some distance between Marie and Midna at the moment. Although he wondered if perhaps separating Marie and Mathieu would be better...

[Drakonnas]

Midna worked feverishly, wanting to be the first one to find a scroll, to prove Marie wrong. She wasn't some bratty teenager. But what had come over her mentor and friend? Was it some power of the Tiara? Was it something else? She went through scroll after scroll, hoping to find one that would have some interest. After what seemed like hours, she was taking less time per scroll, and almost tossed one aside when a few words caught her eye. Midna dove for the scroll as it rolled away from her, causing a few of the other scrolls to fall. Aware of the small commotion she was making, she opened the scroll and read it over twice, not believing what she was reading.

"Hey, Professor Gabriel... listen to this!" She said, trying to sound dignified and mature as she walked, not ran, over to him. She showed him the text, which read;

Of alle the daemons moste feared, Shadrach the Vindicatoar was the daemon souly responsable fore the destruction of our worlde. He was nown as a lessar god, so powerfulle was he. Of alle his ideas, he wanted to unite the races togethar under one rulle, his. Shadrach gatharede an army, daemons whom wanted a change in the leadershippe, and decklared war upon the current regimme. Bothe sides fout fore years, neithor side winning or losing. But withe the change in tyme, the rightfulle King was growing olde. Shadrach slowly gained advantaje, ande advanced upone the castle. It was during this tyme that one of Shadrach's generils founde out about his mental stability, and realized it was too dangerus for the land should he concker. News spreade, and his army turned againste him. At the final battle, Shadrach was slaine, and lay this curse upon the worlde as we now see it... I will go into further detaile later. The significence of this....

"What do you think? Is this what we were looking for?"

[Girly Woman]

[I'm sorry, it has been a rough start to the semester! >.<]
Gabriel read the scroll. He said, "Shadrach? My mom always told me he'd come to get me if I misbehaved. I should have known there was some history behind the boogeyman used to scare children." He stretched, his muscles sore from hours of standing and searching through scrolls. He said, "So we know some great evil demon put some kind of curse on the land and we suspect that the land was once different than it is now, but we need proof..."

Marie and Mathieu were looking at another scroll. Marie's face showed the amazement and pride of discovering what she'd sought. Mathieu's face showed wonder and shock. As the paintings in his room illustrated, Mathieu had a great love for beauty, which was why he had originally started going to the Light Realm. The scroll depicted a beautiful land, much more beautiful than the Light Realm. It also had a poem describing the Demon Realm, as it seemed to have been called then. It had been given to the queen of the Demon Realm at the time. Mathieu marveled, "This is hand-drawn and colored." Demons tended to use magic to produce art, but some demons had a great appreciation for art done by hand. It seemed the queen at that time had such an appreciation. In the poem, the poet described the shining azure skies, magical flowers, birds, and insects in all colors which sang to greet each new day, emerald grass, and shining iridescent sun. The queen's beauty was said to rival that of the land. A tear fell down Mathieu's cheek. He said softly, "What happened?"

Gabriel said, "This happened." He beckoned Mathieu and Marie over. Marie tore herself away from the scroll with some effort. Mathieu remained, entranced by the scroll. Marie read over the scroll. She smiled and said, "I never actually thought we would find what we were looking for. We'll need to protect these and take them with us."

[Drakonnas]

Midna didn’t let her smugness show, she knew it wasn’t the time. “We have what we came for, right?” Midna asked the others, looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping on them. No one else was around, they were quite isolated. “Do we look for more information? Or should we go?” Midna was feeling the urge to leave, to get out of the demon realm as soon as possible, something was making her feel quite uncomfortable. Was it Marie's sudden change in behavior? Kel's unnatural interest in them? Or something else entirely? But she knew she wasn't the only one who was ready to leave.

Under normal conditions, Midna would have boasted that she had found the scroll first, but now, again, wasn't the time. But that didn't stop her from feeling proud of herself. After all, she had been able to contribute, despite certain doubts that certain people or demons had about her in the first place. It was difficult being precisely in her role, she was trying to be cute, but not too cute. She was trying to be helpful, but not appear too knowledgable. After all, she was a student, coming here to learn right? Not a potential professor to be.

------

Locked away in one of the cells of the palace, Kel sat, staring at the wall blankly. While in reality, something was raging inside him. A battle of wills, almost as if two different people were inside him, two sets of memories, two sets of ideas, two sets of thoughts. And due to the conflicting nature of these wills, false memories were sometimes created, or true memories forgotten. Some might call Kel insane, but that wasn't the case. He'd show them all what betrayal felt like. He'd show them all how badly he wanted... wait, was that him? Or was that his other side thinking?

The darker, more powerful side that had possessed him back in the library was now in full control, plotting and scheming. The girl was not actually his sister, there were too many complications for that to really be the case. No, he had simply implanted a false memory in Kel's mind. But she had a power hidden away within her that she didn't know she had. That much was clear. And he could use power like that... That was what he needed to become powerful again. He doubted if she could even use the power if she tried. What a waste it was. He would see that it did not go to waste. If he could get his hands on the young demon, he would make sure it was put to its full potential.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel nodded. He also felt a bit uneasy. They could remain and attempt to find more information, but he would rather work with what they have and get out early, rather than stay longer and thus increase their risk of getting caught. He glanced at Marie, who also nodded. She said, "This should be enough to convince some, anyway." Mathieu was still fixated on the scroll with the poem. He could not believe that this beauty once existed in reality. He looked up, his eyes burning in anger and determination. He began carefully rolling up the scroll, saying, "We have to bring this back. We have to break this curse." Taking down his father seemed minor in comparison. However, he knew it was a necessary step. His father controlled based in part upon the propaganda he had spread about how the humans had cast the demons into this ugly and dark world. His father would therefore do everything he could to maintain this curse. If they lifted the curse in secret, then his father would take credit and remain in power. It would make him even more powerful!

Mathieu magically cloaked the scroll he was holding. Gabriel did the same with Midna's scroll and then handed it to Matheiu. They would have to go to Mathieu's room in order to go back to the human world. It would be highly suspicious if they did so here! Mathieu, the fire fading from his eyes and replaced with his usual mischievous look, offered Marie his arm. Marie rolled her eyes, but took his arm. She then put on an expression of youthful and innocent wonder. After all, she was a young student who was seeing the great Archives for the first time! Gabriel stood up straight and tried to look like he wasn't helping to smuggle two scrolls out of the Archives. Fortunately, due to Mathieu's status, any kind of magic anti-theft device on the scrolls was lifted. Mathieu was a prince, after all, and so could take whatever he pleased from the Archives. They just had to get past the guards, which should be easy. Getting out of places is generally easier than getting in. Well, with the exception of prisons, anyway! The biggest challenge would be traversing the halls back to Mathieu's room.

[Drakonnas]

Midna walked alongside Gabriel as they neared the exit of the library. She put on her role, and did her best to maintain it. The guards looked at them for a moment, and lifted their weapons to let them pass. Midna would have sighed in relief, but she didn't know how well the guards could here. She thought about thanking the guards for letting them in, but upon reflection, it seemed like a foolish thing to do, so she stayed quiet, looking around in apparent wonder. The halls were not as deserted as they had been on their trip to the archives, more demons walked the halls. They encountered several who looked curiously at the four, some interested in Gabriel and Midna, others grinning to themselves at the sight of Mathieu and Marie.

Midna did as she had been instructed, greeting everyone kindly, but not with too much enthusiasm, just as in passing. But despite the number of demons they passed, none seemed to recognize that the precious Tiara was so close, none of them seemed to notice that they were smuggling scrolls. Midna noticed that they took a different route to get back to Mathieu's room than they did going, and she wondered why that was. The hallways were very large and spacious, they made her feel somewhat insignificant. It had the opposite effect as a claustrophobic hallway, it was uncomfortably large for her. She was used to smaller. But everything here was large and grand. Everything here was over the top, and architecturally phenomenal. They entered Mathieu's room, and Midna felt like sinking to the floor in relief. They were probably safe.

[Girly Woman]

Marie also felt very relieved when they arrived safely back at Mathieu's room. She felt lighter since leaving the Archives. There was some kind of power there which felt like it was clouding her mind. This power was beginning to fade. It was a testament to Mathieu's power that no one had even the hint of a suspicion that the Tiara was hidden in Marie's intricately-styled hair. Kel had mocked Mathieu as being a runt, but Mathieu clearly had much real power and skills which he simply just didn't utilize very often. Marie looked at Mathieu critically. He may even rival his father in power. For that matter, he may rival the former king in power. However, there was no time for this. She banished the thoughts from her head. She said, "Let us get back to the Academy quickly."

Gabriel nodded his agreement. Mathieu, who had been looking at Marie, as if reading the nature of her thoughts in her eyes, tore his eyes away from Marie and nodded. Just as he was about to open the portal, an alert went off. Mathieu dropped his arms and wrapped a possessive arm around Marie just in time for his father, the current king, to come bursting into the room. The king looked at the assembled crowd in the room. He said, "Mathieu, what is this I hear about you in the Archives? Who are these women?" His father was growing increasingly paranoid and was beginning to question everything.

Mathieu replied calmly, "This is Marie. She studies at Dominico University. She's very interested in the Archives. I'm very interested in having her at the palace." Midna's eyes widened and she blushed. She looked at Damion, as if mortified beyond all belief. She then curtsied respectfully to the king, saying, "It is an honor to meet you, your Highness." Mathieu's father rolled his eyes. He then sighed. Well, at least Mathieu was carrying on with a demon this time. Although...something didn't seem right. Mathieu didn't ordinarily go to such great lengths to get a woman into bed. The king turned his gaze on Midna. He narrowed his eyes. The girl looked very familiar... Gabriel said quickly, "She is my student."

[Drakonnas]

Midna relaxed a little as everyone else seemed to relax, it was a good sign that they hadn't been found yet. But she thought too soon, for an alarm blared, causing Midna to clasp her hands to her head. The noise hurt, it was painful for her. But judging by the expressions of the others, it wasn't painful for them. What was up with that? Someone burst into the room, and Midna could immediately tell who this was. She tried to hide the look of fear that shot across her face as quickly as she had expressed it. Hopefully he hadn't noticed.

Midna watched as they explained themselves, had the King known something was up? Were they bound by some magic hitherto unknown, that revealed their presence to the King? And as his eyes fell upon her, Gabriel quickly spoke up for her. She didn't know if he didn't trust her, or if he was simply playing his role. She didn't speak, hoping that it would have been a satisfactory remark. Still, the King's gaze lingered on her, making Midna feel quite uncomfortable.

Another demon entered the room, the King's advisor. She was a cunning demon, or succubus, and eyed the room. "Your majesty called for me?" She asked, speaking in a light hissing voice, and she looked upon the members in the room, trying to read their thoughts. She was good at that, reading and understanding the thoughts of others. As the demon woman looked at each of the people, she could sense guilt, worry, anxiety. "Your majesty... they're hiding something..." She said, looking at Midna carefully, then Gabriel, and finally Marie. "I suggest you detain these demons, and interrogate them... You don't want thieves or rebels here, do you, my liege?"

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu said, "Daaad!" in an embarrassed, teenage tone. He gestured towards Marie, hinting that he was so close to getting her into bed. Gabriel crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, saying, "Yes, someone in here is hiding something. Mathieu has been pretending to actually care about this woman's mind and her studies in order to get her into bed." Marie, after some embarrassed hesitation, then spoke up, "I'm not actually a student at Dominico." Gabriel spoke a half-truth. Marie spoke a truth. Mathieu raised his eyebrows and said, "Why did you lie about that?" Marie said, pretending to be embarrassed and ashamed, "Well...you're a prince...and I wanted to...well..." She trailed off. This was a total lie, but perhaps would be big enough to justify the female demon's sense that something was being hidden. Mathieu said, shocked, "You are another seeking a royal marriage?!" Marie nodded, ashamed. Mathieu said, "Fine. I accept!" He walked up to his father and, putting his hand on his father's shoulder, said, "We have a wedding to plan! Let us go!" He tried to lead his father out of the room. His father wavered slightly. He'd been after Mathieu to get married for years, after all. This demon, even though she'd lied about her school, seemed quite powerful and had been clever enough to trick Mathieu, which indicated a decent level of intelligence. He also noticed that the woman's portrait was hanging in Mathieu's room, which indicated that one, Mathieu was committed to her, two, she'd been tricking him for quite a while, and, three, she'd held onto him all this time without getting into his bed. Quite remarkable, really! He liked the idea of a woman "defeating" his obnoxious youngest son. He glanced at the female demon, saying, "Does this explain your misgivings?"

[Drakonnas]

Zephilia laughed, she could see how nervous these four were. They spoke of various things, but those weren't quite what she had picked up on before. Yet, there was some truth, and some lies in what they were saying. She shook her head as the King spoke to her. "No, your majesty. There is something unrelated. I'm not sure, but I'm investigating." She said, locking eyes with Midna, who seemed unable to look away. "Yessssss...." She hissed, a faint aura of magic radiated from her, holding Midna in place. "Delve into your mind..." She launched a tendril of thought at the young demon girl, but was repelled by a very strong force, just as strong as the force the King shielded his mind with. Had the girl cast that defense? Had one of the others? Or was it simply there? She wasn't able to gleam any information from the girl, and turned her eyes and magic to Gabriel. "Let us reveal what is in your thoughts..." She whispered again, sending the tendril of thought at him, willing herself to enter his mind.

Midna was frozen in place, as if a statue while the licentiously dressed demon gazed at her. It made her feel terribly uncomfortable, and she wasn't quite sure what to do. She wasn't even sure what the demon was trying to do, but she had an idea. It seemed like this demon could read minds. And if that was the case, she had to block her mind, to not let any thoughts give her away. But it was as if the more she tried to hide, the more thoughts ran through her. Unconsciously though, she blocked the demons' gaze. She was scared that they would be caught now, she wouldn't get them caught.

[Girly Woman]

Marie pretended to be surprised, giddy, and happy at Mathieu's announcement. She blushed, smiled, and brought her hands to her cheeks. She looked at the king nervously, as if worried that he wouldn't accept her. Then the female demon began probing Midna's mind. The female demon wasn't buying it! Marie then tried to look like her heart was about to break if the king didn't accept her!

Mathieu laughed mockingly. He said, "Even if we were up to something, do you think Zephilia would catch us at it?" Gabriel also smiled. He, like Mathieu and the king, could protect himself from such thought-probing. He smiled in a snarky manner and said, "Come, come, Mathieu, we all know it isn't her mind-probing abilities that the king keeps her around for!" None were worried about Midna. As a member of the former royal family, she should be powerful enough to repel Zephilia.

Marie decided to go a step farther. After all, she was on the cusp of having her "dreams" of a royal marriage realized! That would make anyone a little messy with their magic! She began projecting thoughts of extreme happiness at achieving a calculated goal. She projected thoughts of herself in a beautiful and valuable wedding dress, wearing royal jewels, and a royal crown (but not the Tiara). Thoughts of Mathieu in a the traditional wedding clothing of the royals. Thoughts of her own power and the luxurious life which she would live. The Tiara would help her to protect all other thoughts.

The king said, "Foolish woman! Gabriel taught Mathieu everything. You'll get nothing from him. Focus on the women." Marie put on a face of mock horror that her mind was about to be probed!

[Drakonnas]

Zephilia shook herself, and threw her mind against Marie's. It should be perfectly easy to get into her mind, she was practically begging to have her mind read. She saw images of a hopeful wedding, but they weren't quite complete, as if there was something that had tampered with them. That was odd in itself.. "So, a little whore like yourself has managed to seduce the Prince?" She glared at Marie, dislike etched in her face. "How you managed to keep his attention, I'll never know..." Was there a hint of jealousy in her voice? It seemed like there was. Zephilia grinned, she was gonna rip into her like no tomorrow.

Midna was quite relieved when the scantily clad demon looked away from her, at Gabriel. She had no chance of penetrating his mind, she was quite sure of that. And she was right, she knew it. The king chastised the woman, who turned her attentions on Marie. Would the Tiara give them away? Would it help Marie? Midna had no way of knowing.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel's eyes opened wide in surprise and amusement at Zephilia's response. Marie, despite her insistence on being well-educated, was quite old-fashioned in other respects. She was quite the opposite of a whore; she was waiting for marriage! Zephilia, on the other hand... Marie cocked her head and looked Zephilia up and down in a catty manner. She took a few steps closer to Zephilia. She said, "You are calling me a whore?" Gabriel could read in Marie's eyes that she wanted to send a very powerful spell Zephilia's way. Marie was trying very hard to contain her anger. How dare this scantily-clad woman call her such a name?! Marie continued, with a sneer, standing close to Zephilia, "If just any whore could have had Mathieu, I dare say you would have had him long ago." She chuckled mockingly, walking to Mathieu and putting her hand possessively on his shoulder, "However, it took a real woman to keep his interest."

The three males watched the women dual with interest. Gabriel had never seen Marie act catty before. He almost wanted to applaud her performance, since he knew that acting in this way was very out of character for her. Mathieu found females fascinating. He loved when women fought non-violently. They reached levels of complexity that many men could never reach. He knew that Marie would be very angry at being called a "whore", even if the reason she'd been accused of being a whore was a false reason. He especially enjoyed that these two women were fighting over him. When Marie put a possessive hand on his shoulder, Mathieu felt a rush of...ahem...excitement...that would be strong enough for even Zephilia to feel. He moved to kiss Marie, and was immediately repelled.

[I'm going to stop here, because I think you wanted to have Zephilia dig into her mind a bit more?]

[Drakonnas]

(Correct! I had intended this little... catfight... :D)

"Oho..." Zephilia said, sassiness jumping into her voice. "Someone wants to play? I suggest you go play with yourself. When you learn how many women Mathieu sleeps with, you'll need it." She said, stepping in to meet Marie. "Besides, it's not like you could please him anyway. What a pathetic body... And that personality, it's next to nothing compared to someone as radiant as myself." She bobbed her head a little bit, in a jeering tone. "And if I had wanted Matheiu, I would have had him by now. I prefer more respectable men, who don't sleep with every bitch they see. But feel free to him, you'll probably catch some STD, and die."

Midna stared in shock as she understood what the "enemy" demon was saying. She thought she knew, but wasn't totally sure, she had never been exposed to this kind of thing before. She looked up at Gabriel uncertainly, not sure what to think. Of course, she was cheering for Marie, this sort of one on one battle was certain to have a winner, and a loser. And not just anyone could intervene. Midna hoped that it wouldn't come to blows.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel glanced down at Midna's confused face. He had a sinking feeling that he would have to explain all of this to her later... He then looked at Marie. He was worried; she really was outside of her element. She may not be able to hold up her end of this argument. He then glanced at Mathieu...who looked about ready to explode. It was never good when Mathieu looked ready to explode...

Marie wanted to laugh. This was all so ridiculous. She knew Mathieu's past perfectly well; everyone did. Also, any "goldigger" worth her salt would know everything about the man she was attempting to ensnare. However, she didn't really know how to respond. Zephilia's first retort didn't make all that much sense. Also, she seemed to be insulting Mathieu more than she was insulting Marie, anyway. She couldn't say anything about Zephilia's personality because she didn't really know Zephilia. Retorting back that Zephilia knew nothing about her seemed weak. Marie could feel her intellectual mind taking over, which was not good in this situation. Marie really was no good at this kind of cat-fighting. She'd always avoided such drama and such dramatic people. She only really verbally-sparred with people like Mathieu and Gabriel, who were more straightforward and whom she knew well. Thus, Marie kind of stood there, silent for a few moments, like the sweet girl getting caught up in a fight with a mean girl.

Mathieu, on the other hand, was very accustomed to fighting with all kinds of people. Unlike Marie, he also had an actual stake in this situation, because his feelings for Marie were as genuine as he was capable of having. Also, really, Zephilia had really insulted him more than she'd insulted Marie. She called Marie ugly and boring. She'd called him a disease-ridden slut with no standards in women and said that he'd never had a chance with her, when in reality she had flounced around him, attempting to gain his attention. [I hope this is accurate, since you hinted at her being jealous of Marie!] Marie's silence served to allow him to give full attention to his own anger at Zephilia's words. His anger reached a high enough point that he was impelled to action before Marie could think of a retort. He stepped forward, between Marie and Zephilia. His hand flew at Zephilia, back-handing her hard. He said, "I do have standards, which is why I've never had you."

[Drakonnas]

[You are perfectly correct!]

Zephilia looked like she knew she had won the fight. That is, until Mathieu stepped in and smacked her. She reeled, and stood up, looking somewhat shocked. But a small smile crept up her face, turning into a smirk. "See? I told you, Matheiu... Be careful whom you choose to date, make sure they can defend themselves. You're gonna need it if you ever want to be a real queen, hon. I don't think you have what it takes. I'm only being realistic, if you somehow manage to weasel your way into becoming a queen, people will talk bad about you, and you need to learn how to defend yourself. It's part of my job to make sure you're prepared for what's coming to you." Zephilia said, sweetening up like honey now, for whatever reason. She was still venomous, but sweetly so, it was more disgusting in a way.


Midna communicated with Gabriel through her eyes. "She's such a... she's such a bitch..." Midna rolled her eyes, and turned back to watch the goings on. She didn't need explaining, she could understand that the two women were fighting without physical blows. She didn't understand some of what was being said, but wasn't sure she wanted to. She smiled a little bit as Matheiu smacked the demon she disliked so much. But that didn't seem to phase her much. She recovered, and was more sweet, but Midna could hear the subtle threat hidden within her words. She was becoming a little wiser to the world now. But in some areas, she was woefully ignorant. She tried her best though.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel showed his agreement. This Zephalia demon was awful. Most succubi were. Few queens allowed them anywhere near the palace and certainly would never allow one to be so close to the king, nor would any kind of active pursuit of a prince had been tolerated.

Mathieu, thinking of his mother, said, his voice rising in anger with each sentence, "How dare you speak to my fiance in this manner? If my mother were still alive, a disgusting creature like you would never have gotten anywhere near the palace." Mathieu waved his hand, and Zephilia was flung across the room and into a wall. Her small amount of clothing was removed in the process. Mathieu said, "Why do you bother wearing clothes? Clearly all you want to be is undressed around powerful men!"

Gabriel's mouth fell open in shock. Okay, so, Mathieu was an extreme guy, but still... Gabriel slowly put his hand over Midna's eyes. Marie, on the other hand, seemed to be spurred back into action by Zephilia's words. She stood up tall and confident. She was wearing the Tiara. She technically was a queen. She put wrapped her arms around Mathieu's arm. She said, "A real queen doesn't have to defend herself against such a lowly creature as you, hon."

[Drakonnas]

(hahaha, this is so funny! She's certainly getting what's coming to her!)

"What the..." Zephilia said with a confused look as she flew back and hit the wall. She realized her cloths had been removed. That, in itself, didn't bother her, but it was how Mathieu had done it that irked her. "Your fiance? What a laugh. Open your eyes, Prince! How the hell did she disillusion you so? She's clearly nothing but a gold-digger who wants a seat on the throne! With a flick of her wrist, Zephilia released herself from Mathieu's spell. "Watch your back, wench, or you might find that it has a knife in it sometime." Zephilia said with a meaningful look. "Note that I never said who would do it... It's likely to be Mathieu, he's known to do that from time to time... And Mathieu, you're wrong. My desire is to help influence those in power, not necessarily... as you put it... be undressed around them. My lord... What say you? They are hiding something from us, and that could easily be your downfall... Those quiet two in the corner have the strongest mind blocks... They are probably most dangerous to you."

Midna sighed a little as Zephilia flew back and hit the wall, her clothes flew off. Midna was still inexperienced when it came to these types of situations, but took it as an adult would have, calmly, without making any exclamations. She was being very mature about the whole matter, especially for the amount of danger they were in. She didn't speak, not wanting to call attention to herself.

[Girly Woman]

[*giggles* Totally! It was fun! :)]

Marie raised an eyebrow at Zephilia. Since she wasn't actually marrying Mathieu, she actually wasn't all that worried about Zephilia's threat. However, she knew that she needed to respond. However, Mathieu beat her to it. In one of his infamous sudden mood switches, Mathieu wrapped his arm around Marie and pulled her close, saying, "I'll stab her with something, but it won't be a knife, and it won't be in her back." Marie narrowed her eyes, confused at first by what Mathieu had said. Her eyes became wide as she figured out what Mathieu had meant. She blushed and then pushed Mathieu, with some magical help, into another wall. Mathieu laughed and said, "My blushing bride! So delicate and lovely!" Unfortunately, his attempt to disarm the situation only worked about halfway, as Zephilia then counseled the king to take Gabriel and Midna into custody. Mathieu, stood up and said, "Oh, come on, father. Gabriel, suspicious? He practically raised me; why would he attempt to do anything to hurt me?"

The king, angered by Mathieu's comment about his mother, crossed his arms and considered the situation. Marie was clearly who she said she was, or else Zephilia would not have gotten so jealous. Golddigger or not, she clearly had Mathieu well in hand and would therefore be quite useful. The king turned his thoughts to Gabriel and the young demon with him, Midna. He wouldn't put it past Gabriel to shield his mind on principle, but it was suspicious that such a young demon would be willing and able to shield her thoughts so well. He'd heard from the guards that this young demon was Gabriel's student. Mathieu, while he would never admit it, idolized Gabriel, and could therefore be manipulated by Gabriel. Gabriel had a great love for humans and refused to return to the Shadow Realm despite the new laws. The king called out to the guards in the hall, "Guards! Take Gabriel and his student to the dungeons."

[Drakonnas]

Midna's eyes widened as the king spoke out against her, and against Gabriel. "But... what..." She stammered, unsure if she should fight or not, unsure if they would go quietly. She looked around the room, at Gabriel, at Marie, and at Mathieu. Should she fight or not? She decided not to, it would give them more of a case if their innocence was brought up, if it their story was questioned. She walked alongside the guards who had handcuffed her in magic restraining links, and led her towards the dungeons, non too gently. But it was then that she noticed that the guards who were attending to Gabriel hadn't left the room yet. Had he stayed to fight? Or had they just not taken him yet? It was then that she fought, not wanting to be separated from the man she trusted. "Professor Gabriel!" She cried out, attracting the attention of onlookers. Some looked uneasy, some ignored her, and others made rude comments and gestures. "Don't leave me..." She said softly, and got a rough shake for her comment. "Shut up, we don't care about your little drama life." At least the guards were respectful of her privacy, she had heard of guards that weren't.

After a few more minutes, Midna found herself thrown into a cell. Her head smashed into the wall, and she lay there, eyes tearing up, and vision fading in and out for a few minutes. How was she going to get out of this situation? Did the king recognize her? Would Mathieu care enough to risk his safety to rescue them? That seemed the only way that she could escape... But for now, she lay there, trying to gather the strength to get up, and look around. To the right, she saw nothing. But in the cell to her left, she saw a young boy, much younger than she was. He looked to be human, but there were a few demonish qualities about him. Curious, she watched him for a few minutes, not sure what to think.

------

Leon VonSchroeder sat huddled up in the cold cell. The young boy had been sitting here for hours, if not days at a time. Time seemed non-existent here, he simply was. Sometimes there were guards, sometimes there wasn't. Sometimes he had food and water, sometimes he didn't. The young lad was blind, the guards had beaten him up one day for a laugh, simply because he wasn't a demon. Nor was he human. No, Leon was a mix of the two races. His mother had been demon, his father a human. Naturally, his mother had taken care of him until others had discovered his traitorous heritage, and he had been locked up here, at only the young age of three. He had been in the cell for six years now, and was starting to question his sanity. Six years alone in the darkness of a cell with no one to talk to, with no one to care for him, with no one for him to care for was enough to make anyone go insane. He had probably missed crucial developmental stages as well. But he was kept sane for some reason. He had powers that he didn't understand. He knew he had them, but had no idea how to control them.

Nearly all magic was in some indirect form or another, be it telekinesis, or simply manipulating things without touching them. But Leon's powers were different. No one seemed to know why. No one seemed to understand. Nor did he. He couldn't control it, things simply happened. But perhaps with some help...

Leon heard someone else enter, he could sense her presence. He felt the anxiety she felt, latched onto her aura of fear. "Do not worry... You'll be safe here, for the most part... they do not hurt you unless you provoke them..."

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu was the cause of the delay. He cared little for Midna, but he cared a lot for Gabriel. He pleaded, "Father, no! Be reasonable! Gabriel's family has been loyal to our family!" He stood in front of Gabriel, preventing the guards from getting at Gabriel. Gabriel was shocked. Sure, he was actually in the process of committing treason and he'd known that there was a possibility of getting caught, but, now that it was actually happening, Gabriel was having a hard time processing it. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. He glanced at Marie, who looked shocked and dismayed. They made eye contact. He could see the panic in her eyes and she could see the panic in his. He silently pleaded with her not to do anything. Should she try to prevent his arrest, she would also be arrested. Mathieu was unreliable at best. He was dedicated to this cause, but Gabriel still couldn't muster enough trust in Mathieu to risk having Marie arrested. Marie felt Gabriel's message. As much as she hated standing there, helpless, she understood his reasoning. So she simply stood there, shocked and dismayed, trying very hard to hide her more intense emotions. Gabriel spoke up, "This is madness, your Highness. I taught Mathieu everything! As you recall, I was the only tutor who wasn't frightened off or driven insane by him! This is how you repay me?!" The king yelled, "Enough!" Using magic, the king restrained Mathieu, allowing the guards to get to Gabriel. There was a mighty struggle. A few of the guards were taken out, but they eventually managed to restrain Gabriel.

Once Gabriel and the guards had left the room, the king released Mathieu. Mathieu looked ready to attack his father. Marie put a restraining hand on his shoulder. While his father wouldn't throw him in the dungeon, he likely wouldn't hesitate to confine Mathieu to his room. Mathieu took a deep breath and didn't attack. The king sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Mathieu. I know that he is like a second father to you..." Mathieu interrupted, "Better than my actual father..." The king continued, "But sometimes a king has to make tough decisions for the best of his kingdom. Maybe one day you will understand." The king then smiled at Marie and said, in a softened tone, "I'm sorry that you had to see that. I promise things aren't always this...exciting...around here. I must go see to all of this. We will have a nice family dinner and get to know each other." Marie smiled and said, "Thank you." The king smiled back and, commanding the naked Zephilia to follow, left the room.

Gabriel was dragged and dumped into the same cell as Midna none too kindly. The guards were pretty angry about their buddies being injured. Also, the guards always took pleasure in knocking the "swells" down a few notches. Also, Gabriel had fought hard the entire way down to the dungeons. He was a physically large man, and so had actually been a bit of challenge, inflicting minor pains and some embarrassment to the guards. Gabriel charged at the door just in time to slam into hard as it shut and locked. He hit the door hard, the impact reverberating through a few of the cells. His monumental temper had been lost. Temporarily forgetting the magical seal on the cells, Gabriel released a destructive explosive force. Fortunately, he noticed the seal acting to keep the spell contained in the cell. He jumped onto Midna, raising a force to protect them from the reverberating spell. He then rolled off of her and stood up, hitting the wall in the back of the cell in anger, cursing like sailor.

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked around at the sound of the voice, and located it, the young boy had apparently spoken. She wasn't sure what to say in reply. But she didn't have to reply, there was someone at the entrance to the dungeon. The double doors flew open, and Midna saw the guards bring someone in. It was Gabriel, fighting as best he could, but to no avail. The doors opened, and Gabriel was thrown in, still fighting. The doors smashed shut, and Gabriel hit the doors.

Midna sat in the corner of the cell, knees hugged to her chest, arms around herself. She watched Gabriel with sorrowful eyes, but somewhere inside her resided a quiet strength, a certain calm. She watched Gabriel try casting a spell, and opened her mouth to try and warn him, but she was too late. The force of the explosion knocked her down, and she saw Gabriel leap over to her, casting a protective spell. Midna was shaking a little bit from the power of the spell as Gabriel got up, never saying a word to her, but attacking the wall futilely, swearing like she had never heard him speak before. Of course, Midna knew what the words meant, how could she not? But as Midna looked around, she wondered if she should try to comfort Gabriel. But what would she say? Anything she thought of seemed insignificant, unimportant. And she couldn't try to comfort him in other ways, could she? It was inappropriate as teacher and student. But surely their situation was more important than that?

Midna sighed, and remained seated where she was, not sure what to do. The boy in the cell wasn't looking over at them, but he spoke, all the same, as if he knew what they were doing. "Is there someone else in here? Finally... I'm not alone..." His very voice and tone sounded lonely, Midna noticed. The boy stopped speaking, and Midna wasn't sure what to say in response. It was all so sudden, things had been going perfectly, until the last minute. Why had they been caught? Had this been some elaborate scheme of Mathieu's? Somehow, she didn't think so. While he was unpredictable, he wasn't an outright traitor. Or so she hoped. And would they ever be able to escape this place? Surely Mathieu would be after Gabriel, but he probably couldn't care less about her. In fact, there was always the possibility that he preferred her here, much less of a threat to his position.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel snapped back at the boy, "Of course there is someone else in here. The yelling and explosion didn't clue you in?!" He had no time for foolish questions from foolish...children... Wait... Gabriel stepped away from the wall and looked in the direction of the voice. He saw what was clearly a male half demon child. The child must have been thrown in here purely because of his parentage. This was one of the many sad outcomes of the king's propaganda about humans and laws against interactions with humans: any mixed breed children were now considered abominations. Most of those with mixed blood had managed to escape when the laws went into effect. However, it seemed some foolish demon had slept with a human and brought the child back to the demon world. Gabriel personally didn't care either which way about pure or mixed. It was a bit ironic that the king's own son was technically engaged to a human woman at this moment. It was almost laughable...if Gabriel and Midna weren't sitting in a cell in the dungeon of the demon palace because they were plotting to overthrow the king. And if the king's youngest son weren't Mathieu. Anyway... Gabriel approached the side of the cell which adjoined the child's. He knelt down and said, in a soft tone, "I'm sorry that I snapped at you. It wasn't right."
****
When the door closed, Mathieu yelled in rage and pushed some books onto the floor. Marie jumped. She held up her hands and said, "Calm yourself!" She hissed in a lower tone, "We have things we need to do. There is no time for this." She was shaking; she wanted to lose it, too! However, neither of them could afford to do so right now. Marie continued, "We have to get the scrolls to a safe place." Mathieu took a few deep breaths and nodded. He cloaked his room so that it wouldn't be sensed when they formed a portal to the Light Realm. He then opened the portal. Holding the scrolls, he stepped through. Marie followed him. They emerged in Marie's office. They couldn't risk being in the public teacher's lounge! Mathieu began working to magically conceal the scrolls in the same way he concealed the Tiara. It would be a long and arduous process! Marie pulled Midna's book out of a drawer in her desk, where she'd sent it for safekeeping before they left. She opened it, checking for any messages from the former queen and king.

[Drakonnas]

Leon backed away a little bit as one of the new inmates bit his head off for inquiring. "It's okay. I hear things that aren't..." He tilted his head to one side as he sat back against the wall. "I didn't know if you were, or weren't. So I ask. Please don't be mad." His language skills wasn't the best, but he seemed to be adequately educated enough to get his point across. "I'm Leon..." Leon spoke with an air of interest, but not really looking at them. From the light from the torch on the wall, the bandages over his eyes were thrown softly into the light, as well as his many cuts, bruises, and extremely dirty and tattered clothing.

---

Midna looked over as Gabriel shouted at the other kid. She was going to say something when Gabriel got control of himself again. She stood, analyzing the room for any sign of magical weakness. None existed that she could see, the defenses were perfect, impenetrable. So if they couldn't use magic to escape, what about the mundane methods? But that was impossible as well, for the walls and bars were all protected by an invisible barrier. There was nothing they could do to escape that she could see. But... there was one other option. Midna focused her magic on something outside of the cell. "I wonder... Can we manipulate things outside of our cell?" She closed her eyes, and focused. "Gabriel... tell me if this works..." She focused her magic on a dustball on the floor, hoping to move it.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel turned to face Midna, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. Did she not just see what happened when he attempted to use magic?! Sure enough, the magic bounced back on Midna, causing her to move however much she'd been intending to move the dust ball. He sat back. He said, "Leon, tell us about this place." Gabriel knew nothing about the dungeons. The boy's magic and experiences would be inadequate for him to figure out a way to escape on his own, but he may tell them something useful that Gabriel and Midna, with their greater magic and education, could use to help escape. He knew that Marie would come back for them, but he didn't want to simply sit here, idle, waiting on them.
***
There was no message from the former queen and king in the book. There was no reason for Marie to worry them about Midna and Gabriel being imprisoned, so Marie again concealed the book in her desk. She then joined Mathieu in protecting and concealing the scrolls.
***
The king had the guards report the activities of the group in the palace. When he found out they'd been in the Archives, in the room with the ancient scrolls, he went himself to investigate. Nothing was out of place. No record had been kept of the scrolls in this section, so he would have no way of knowing if any scrolls were missing. However, he still ordered a couple of librarians to search the room for any clues as to why the group had been there. The librarians did not take this too seriously, however. The king had been growing increasingly paranoid of late. They were convinced that it was little more than Mathieu attempting to impress his lady friend. It had apparently worked; the whole palace was abuzz with talk of Mathieu's sudden engagement. They also did not distrust Gabriel, who was a greatly respected scholar. There was much ill-concealed indignation in the palace over Gabriel and his cute student's arrest.

[Drakonnas]

Midna growled as her magic backfired. "Yeah, I saw you. But your magic was cast at a target inside the cell, whereas the target for mine was outside of the cell." She explained. "You know that some things protect things from getting in or out, but don't directly influence things on either side? Well, I was testing to see if that was the case here. I knew it probably wouldn't work, but better try than assume right?" She asked, wondering if she had just seemed particularly foolish to Gabriel. As her mentor turned to Leon, Midna turned to the boy as well, curious as to what he would say.

Leon spoke, but didn't turn to face them. What was the point? He knew they were there. "This place is for demons and people who don't leave. There's powerful magics keep people inside, and mean guards who like to hurt me. They do it for fun, but it's not fun. They're bullies. Anyway. There are many traps, many of them! The guards have to disen... dis...disen... disengage them before they come in. There's things that will blow up if you get near, freezing gasses that will make you frozen, things that look like they're there but really aren't, and things that you don't think are there, but are. And if anyone enters, it's to torture, or to bring in someone else. They forget to feed or water sometimes, for as long as several days. Umm... what else...? Magic doesn't work in here... sometimes I lose control of my magic, it explodes out of me, bounces around for a little bit, and the energy is somehow absorbed to power something. They taunt me about it a lot, saying that I'm powering something just by being here."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel responded to Midna, "Yes, but all magic flows from you to your target. The walls repel this magic. This would be a poor prison indeed if one could so easily manipulate things outside of the cell!" He listened to Leon's words. There was no time to pity the child at the moment; he needed all of his mental energy to focus on escape. Leon was just one of many victims of these dungeons. The crazier the king became, the more victims would enter these dungeons. It was only a matter of time before he and Midna became targets themselves. Midna would likely be targeted first. It would take a bit longer for the guards to grow bold enough to hurt Gabriel, due to his close relationship with Mathieu. They wouldn't risk it until they felt that Mathieu had forgotten about Gabriel or considered Gabriel guilty. He said, "We would have a very brief window of opportunity when the guards take down the magical barriers and traps in order to enter our cell." He said to Leon, fairly certain that the answer would be no, "Is there any regular feeding time?"

[Drakonnas]

Midna nodded. "I know... But I had to try something... There's gotta be a way to get out of here!" Her voice sounded a little edgy, she was starting to panic, but trying to keep herself in control. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself. "Okay Midna, keep cool. Now's not the time to panic... Calm down." Her mental pep talk seemed to work for now, she took a few more deep breaths, and gained control of herself enough to hear what the boy was saying. What he said made sense, and was what Midna was expecting to hear. Danger, high security, and abuse. That was typical.

Leon shook his head. "No. Sometimes they feed us, sometimes they don't. I never know when food and water will come. I haven't seen anyone for five days since before you came." Midna didn't know what was worse, what he was saying, or how matter-of-factly he was saying it. "The guards always come in threes. One stands by the exit, and two come and do whatever it is they do."

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at Leon. The kid, understandably, couldn't keep track of the days. As a half-breed, he was stronger than a human, but weaker than a demon. If he had truly gone five days without food or water, he would be on the brink of death right now. He was far too active and verbal to be on the brink of death. He didn't bother to share this information with Leon, however. Gabriel said, "Okay, so, we just have to figure out a way to overpower them and escape." Only three; that wasn't so bad. The dungeon guards were generally not the elite of the military. Gabriel and Midna were both from powerful families. While it may not be easy, they should be able to overpower the guards with a planned and coordinated effort. He said, "We'll need something focused..." An explosive spell like the one he'd used earlier would be bad; it would simply ricochet off of the sides which still had the barrier. They would need to hit their targets without hitting any barriers.

[Drakonnas]

Midna nodded. "Yeah... Perhaps a mind crush? That'd give us plenty of time to get out of here, seeing as the guards wouldn't be capable of thought for a good while... But that could prove dangerous if they bumbled into a trap... I dunno.... Um... We could try a teleportation switch, switching places with one of the guards... Then they'd be locked in here, and we'd only need to take out one guard between the two of us."

Leon was about to say something, when there was a soft grinding noise above him. "Here it comes some food." Leon said with a smile. A chute in the ceiling opened up, and some scraps of food fell down, landing with a thud on the floor. There was an apple core, some bones with a little bit of meat left on them, a piece of stale and moldy bread, a small hunk of cheese, and a soggy and flimsy carrot. "Wow, they're generous today!" He said, picking up one of the bones, and trying to nibble off some of the meat left. A small carton of water fell down a moment after, but Leon missed it, and it hit the ground with a splash, water spraying everywhere. Leon bent over, and tried to drink as much of the water as he could before it seeped into cracks in the ground.

Midna watched, mouth open, at the barbaric scene in front of her. "Gabriel... when we get out of here, can I hurt those guards? Like... badly?" She asked, her fists balling up. "I don't wanna eat that..." A similar pile of trahsy leftovers had fallen in their cell. She knew she'd have to eat something sometime, but right now? That was a disgusting meal, only something desperate people would eat.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel made a noise of frustration as he jumped away from the incoming table scraps. The kid had implied that the guards brought the food. He supposed it was his own fault for trusting the testimony of a child. He said, "The mind-crush is a good idea. We'll confuse them and then push them in here and walk out. Of course, we'll have to watch out for the traps, but, between the two of us, there is a chance that we can get past them." Gabriel knew the kid had said that the traps were deactivated when the guards came, but he was no longer trusting anything Leon had said. After all, he was blind and had spent his life here. He hadn't exactly had an opportunities to develop his cognitive capabilities.

He ignored the food and walked to the door of the cell, looking up and down the hall. He could vaguely sense some of the traps. Others would be better concealed. He said, in answer to Midna's latter request, "We can worry about prison reform later." That would come with the reinstatement of the former queen and king, who had been more humane. He then very carefully directed a spell at the table scraps. So long as the magic didn't tough any of the protected walls, they may be okay. However, it didn't quite have the intended effect. The food became less disgusting and deadly, but the magic still ricocheted throughout the cell. Fortunately, it had been a small spell, and so would only require a small bit of a shield to protect himself and Midna from it.
****
With their combined efforts, the cloaking and protection of the scrolls went by quickly. Which was good, because every moment they were in the Light Realm brought a greater risk of being caught. Mathieu had cloaked his room, but that in itself would be seen as vaguely suspicious. If someone were to enter and find it empty, that would look really bad. Fortunately, Mathieu's father was busy investigating their activities around the castle. He assumed that the newly-engaged couple would be...ahem...celebrating their engagement, and so he left them alone. His crazed paranoia was slightly overshadowed by Mathieu's engagement to what seemed like an intelligent, powerful, and stable woman. Mathieu's reputation had been steadily slipping in the kingdom. It would also mean less hair-on-fire incidents, because the various demons desperate for a royal title would now give up. Such incidents were always such a mess to smooth over.

The spells complete, Mathieu and Marie stepped through a portal back into the Shadow Realm. Mathieu's room had been undisturbed while they were away. Mathieu flopped onto his bed and Marie sank into a chair. The magic had been hard. That, combined with the rest of the events of the day, had taken its toll on Mathieu and Marie. Both wanted to curl up and go to sleep, but both knew that they had to keep awake and alert and come up with a way to free Gabriel and Midna. Thus, Mathieu lowered the cloak on his room and ordered food to be brought.

[Drakonnas]

Midna nodded. "Alright." She watched as Gabriel tried to cast a spell on the food. It was partially successful, although it was not very edible even afterwords. Gabriel's spell shielded them from the repercussions of the cell's magic, and they picked at the food a little bit. Midna found it disgusting, and mostly inedible, so she slunk back down moodily, waiting for something to happen. She was still mad at herself for letting them get caught. She could probably have done something to prevent this from happening. Now their only chance at escaping was attacking the guards when they came in for something. And this was a slim chance at best of getting out alive. Their other option was to wait for Mathieu and Marie's help.

"Gabriel... Do you think that Marie had something wrong with her?" She asked slowly, remembering how her mentor had acted back in the library. "She was really rude to not only me, but others... And she's never rude... Do you know what's going on? Was it the magic of that? Or was it the magic of the demon realm? Or the magic of the library? I... I don't know what to think, but part of me thinks it was a bad idea bringing her along... I could be wrong, and probably am."

Leon listened interestedly as Midna spoke. "You were arrested for being in the library? So, are you after it too?" He asked curiously, wondering what they were talking about. "Awhile ago, there was another demon in here... I think his name was Kel or something... and he was looking for something in the library too! Do you know him?

[Drakonnas]

Posted.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel answered Midna, "I imagine it was a combination of all of the above. It would be difficult for someone like Marie to withstand all of those forces." By "someone like Marie", he met that Marie was human. He didn't want to announce in front of Leon that Marie was human, just in case the young one was tortured for information about them after they escaped. The idea of busting Leon out as well had not yet occurred to Gabriel. Gabriel chuckled at Leon's question. He, of course, did not know what had entered Kel nor what Kel was doing in the library. He simply assumed Kel was doing research for some mission given to him by the royals. Gabriel simply assumed that Kel had already been in a bad mood and thus more easily pushed over the edge by the obnoxious Mathieu. Thus, Gabriel answered lightly, "Kel pissed off Prince Mathieu. He was disrespectful towards the prince beyond what even Mathieu will tolerate. They are friends, but Mathieu has a way of...pushing people over the edge." Gabriel chuckled again and then asked, in a serious tone, "Did Kel mention what he was looking for?" It might be helpful information.

[Drakonnas]

"Yes." The lad said with a thoughtful expression. "He wanted a scroll of some sort. Information. About his fall. He wanted to know why he lost last time, so he won't trip and fall again." Leon said seriously. "Want me to show you?" Leon asked, head tilted to one side. The lad closed his eyes, and a projection appeared near him, it was basically like a large hologram. But it appeared as Leon had seen it, as a shadowy blob radiating a dark aura in a sitting position. sound emanated from the magic hologram-like thing. But the sound was somewhat blurry, as if a ways off.

"I must find the scroll that dictates the events immediately following my fall. I must make sure that the same mistake cannot happen again. If that happens, all might be lost... I shall pssht phssssssssst pssst phsssst (can't make out the words) powerful than ever before..."

Midna looked up in surprise at the hologram and the message, not sure what to make of it. She turned to Gabriel, wondering what it meant. The kid had said something about falling down, but she understood the fall to mean something else entirely. Was this really what she thought it meant? "Gabriel... what do you make of this?"

[Girly Woman]

That didn't seem helpful at all. From Gabriel's perspective, Kel was just Kel. To make the leap to the scroll which Midna found on such little evidence would have taken a much greater genius than Gabriel! Gabriel said, "Kel did seem a bit...off...perhaps he finally went off the deep end. The king has been messing with him for many years, after all." He smiled at Leon, saying, "It takes some skill to be able to hold such a projection away from all protected surfaces." He then said to Midna, "What do you think?"
***
Eating helped both Mathieu and Marie feel a bit better. However, sleeping would make both of them feel TONS better! Marie sat back, saying, "Okay. We need to get them out. It would be best to do it without implicating ourselves. This way at least you and I can roam around the demon realm freely, gathering what we need." Mathieu nodded, saying, "Bust our friends out of the royal dungeons without ourselves getting caught." He grinned, saying, "Sounds fun!" He paused a few moments, thinking. He said, "I know some demons who would do it for a price. Father already suspects a rising rebel faction, so the blame can be laid on this alleged faction. After all, it's the truth!" He stood up and held out his hand, saying, "Let's go." Marie said, "Where?" Mathieu said, "To hire some dungeon crashers!" Marie had her misgivings, but she took Mathieu's hand nonetheless and followed him through a portal.

The portal, as Marie expected, brought them to a seedy part of the realm. It was well-known that Mathieu had connections with the dregs of demon society. They entered a very unsavory bar. Mathieu approached the two most unsavory-looking demons in this bar, a male and a female. Since she was with Mathieu, while people stared, no one bothered her, despite her rich attire. Mathieu could blow this entire place up with a snap of his fingers; no one was stupid enough to mess with him. Besides, he tended to bring them resources and adventure. The deal was quickly made. The two demons had been in the dungeons themselves and knew of the traps. They were given some money now and would receive the rest when they brought Gabriel and Midna to Mathieu's room.

[Drakonnas]

Midna didn't get anything out of the message either. "He's crazy." Midna said, shaking her head. "Perhaps he was talking about not insulting Prince Mathieu so much?" Midna used the formality, just in case anyone was listening in on their little conversation. "After all, he did kinda fall from favor... but unless there's a scroll that has a record of every demon thrown into jail, which there probably is, I have no idea what he's talking about." Midna shrugged a little bit.

It was quite peculiar, the wording he had used was odd. Midna couldn't quite decode it, and sat there thinking for a little while. What had he meant? What could it possibly mean? But try as she might, there was no explanation for what had been said. Midna's stomach growled softly, as if asking for more food. But she refused to touch any of the trash that had been sent down.

Leon grinned back at the aura who had told him that he was fairly skilled. "Thanks!" he said enthusiastically. "It's not all I can do, either! I can make the hologram appear wherever I want! See?" He conjured a silver sphere, and moved it around, without any interference. But when it reached the barrier of his cell, it fizzled out, and died.

[Girly Woman]

Mathieu, Marie, and the two demons appeared in Mathieu's room. Since he was traveling within the demon realm, there had been no need to cloak his room. Mathieu whispered, "I have changed my mind. Meet us at the Academy in the light realm. Take a portal to the bar where we met first when you leave the dungeons. Then go from there to the Academy." The two demons nodded and quickly sneaked out of the bedroom and headed towards the dungeons. Marie and Mathieu also left the room. It would be best if they were seen out and about while the deed was done, thus freeing themselves from possible blame. They would wait a while and then go to the Academy themselves. Mathieu and Marie walked to a beautiful indoor area which was popular with lovers. Due to the late hour, there were few people there, but there were people there nonetheless. Mathieu ordered wine and dessert to be brought to them.
****
Three guards were heading to the prisoners' cells with bad intentions. The two stealthy demons had managed, through some magic, some skill, and much luck, to make it to the dungeons undetected. They got just close enough to the guards and then cast a mind-control spell on the three guards. The guards were still heading towards the cells, but now they had no intentions! The guards released the traps. They approached the cells. The two demons did not know what Midna looked like, but they did know what Gabriel looked like. Thus, they guided the guards towards Gabriel and Midna's cell. The guards opened the door and stepped aside. The two demons appeared and whispered, "We must hurry." Gabriel stood up, nodding. It didn't surprise him that Mathieu had sent these two. Gabriel knew who they were and he knew that they were bad news! However, he also knew that they would not betray Mathieu, so he wasn't all that worried about his and Midna's safety. It was actually quite clever. Gabriel and Midna would be freed, but Mathieu and Midna would not be implicated and could therefore still move freely about the palace.

[Drakonnas]

Midna looked up at the five demons who entered the dungeons. She didn't know what they wanted, and was somewhat wary, until she noticed the somewhat blank expressions on three of the demon's faces. But all became clear when the two others told the three of them to hurry. Midna nodded silently, and got up, ready for whatever was to come. They were getting out. She knew she could trust Marie, and probably Mathieu. But because they had come through, Midna trusted Mathieu a little more now.

As they were about to go, she looked back at Leon, wondering if they should free him too. Part of her wanted to, but she didn't want to be responsible for taking care of him if they did get him out safely. "Gabriel... what should we do about Leon?" She asked, feeling somewhat bad if they were to leave him here. He had done nothing to deserve imprisonment, and could turn out to be an important ally...

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel stepped out of the cell. He narrowed his eyes at Midna. They didn't have time for such foolishness! The two demons looked at Gabriel, having been instructed by Mathieu to do whatever Gabriel said. Gabriel then paused, looking up and down the hallway. He said, "Order the guards to open all of the cells on this passage." The two demons smiled. Time was short, but they liked this command. Some of the prisoners were friends of their's. Besides, the truly dangerous prisoners were kept in more secure cells elsewhere. The guards walked up and down the passage, deactivating all traps and freeing the prisoners. Gabriel said to the prisoners, "Go wherever you will." Freeing all of the prisoners would make it less obvious who the target had been in this jail break. He began walked away from the cells in order to get to a spot where he could safely open a portal. Alas! All had gone too smoothly! Other guards showed up! These other guards were immediately rushed by the freed prisoners. Gabriel swore. The fight was blocking their passage to a place where they could form a safe portal. It was also only a matter of time before more guards arrived.

[Drakonnas]

Midna recoiled slightly, knowing that as usual, he was right. "Sorry..." She said softly, flinching under his stern gaze. "I know we have to hurry and all, but... it seems wrong to leave him." She said, starting to follow him once more, until he paused, and ordered the release of all the prisoners. As the fleeing prisoners rushed around, creating a din trying to escape, Midna looked around for Leon, who was trying to feel his way out. "Gabriel, we can't leave him here. He'll be killed by the guards. Maybe we take him outside, and let him go or something." She said, trying to make her way over to him. But just then, more guards showed up. Midna was immediately casting spells at them, trying to hit one with a mind crush, to turn one of them into a puppet who would attack the others. Her magic, if it succeeded, would work like a plague. She'd infect one of them, who would in turn brainwash another, and it would spread. But that was only if it managed to take effect, and stay that way. If her magic connection was severed, they would slowly return back to their normal selves.

[Girly Woman]

Gabriel said, annoyance strongly lacing his voice, "Then grab him, then! But he is entirely your responsibility!" Gabriel was trying to figure out how to create a portal in the narrow space which allowed for magic. The fate of the light realm was resting, in part, on his shoulders. He thus cared more about getting out the dungeons than he did about a half-demon. If they failed, the half-demon would end up right back where he'd started. Gabriel made a noise of frustration at their inability to leave the dungeons. It was going to be extremely difficult to create a portal that would stay open long enough for the four of them to get through safely. He would have to be quick about it, while the other prisoners were distracting the guards. The two demons sent by Damion had sent a few spells of their own towards the guards, but they stayed near to Gabriel. One demon said, "We are to go to the Black Beast Tavern. Gabriel nodded. He stepped farther down the hall, away from the fighting prisoners and guards. He closed his eyes, focusing heavily. He would create the portal and then see to it that everyone got through, then he would go. He cast the spell. Unfortunately, since the portal was so close to him, his plan of going last was thwarted. Rather, he was somewhat painfully sucked into the portal. He came crashing out into the tavern, scattering some demons and breaking a table.