Banquet? Who cares?

[Lourette]

A loud yawn, the twitching of one tall ear, the crossing of slender legs, and the closing of the viera's eyes.

"Okay, I missed the banquet, but I really don't care... All I know is that my eighty-first birthday's coming up, and I don't look out of twenty!" Lieutenant Lourette sighed, running one slender hand through snow white locks, making one tall rabbit ear point backward involuntarily. The viera female sat down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Usually Laties comes in and bothers me at this time, or little Isra comes in and begins complaining about who knows what..." Shrugging, she ran one nail over her nose, scratching at an annoying itch. It had been only about a week, maybe? Something like that... Only a week since she and Laties were training the leverets... A small smile formed on the viera's lips. She probably should've been at the banquet for His Majesty's birthday, but, then again, a woman with rabbit ears may fit in as well as a centaur or an ogre with that many humans around...

"Now...what excuse to make up if someone asks me why I wasn't there?" Lourette asked herself, crossing her arms and leaning her head back. "I had business to tend to? Nah, I've already used that one... Hm... I could always say I wasn't feeling well..." she muttered, nodding her head. "Yeah, that'll work..."

[Prince Eros]

Tonight had been a night of chaos and revelations. Tonight had been a night of betrayal and bravery. Tonight had been a night of pain and torturing; and Lourette had missed it all. And even though she had been given a royal invitation, Lourette had missed the night that would change history. The Great Hall was still in much disarray at this hour of twilight. Nobles were still piling out of the castle, still some in fright and tears over having seen their King get attacked. Two Knights had been pinioned in a clash of selflessness and betrayal against the dark King. One would escape and one would suffer for the other. While they had been bet best on a rocky relationship, they still shared their good times with each other and...Lourette. Tonight was a night where the trio of trust and friendship had been broken. While Laties was now running from the grasp of the King, Israfel was down below the castle facing his worst trial yet.

And in the mean time, a young mouse was scurrying about the castle. It wasn't your ordinary field mouse; gray in color and with long whiskers. In fact, the mouse didn't look like a mouse at all. And yet, it was still a mouse in the sense that it scurried behind walls and shuffled about hidden passageways that only a little mouse could know about. The mouse's name? Erosceles Valhalla. The young forbidden Prince himself was making himself busy at this hour scurrying about behind the stone walls of the Knight's Hollow. He had been here numerous times. The Knights always had interesting things for him to look forward to. Of course, commonly, he would be sneaking about to find Laties training or joking around with Lourette while Israfel would be checking his chains for resilience and strength. But tonight, Israfel's room was empty and Laties' room had been abandoned. The young mouse was headed for the abandoned room.

"You'll be needing this. I left my favorite sword in my room underneath my bed, when you get the chance, get it before your father does." Eros had waited until his dear sister had finally fallen asleep before squirming out of her grasp. Originally, Eros had planned to make this mission in the morning when the King and Queen had a high chance of leaving the castle. But the very thought that Laties would give something to him merely excited the boy beyond sleep. He had lain in bed long enough to help his sister rest. But now, he was on a mission.

However...he had a problem...

"These passages don't look the same at night!" Eros whispered to himself as a cloud of dust billowed up in his face. Sneezing lightly, he felt around the small passage way with his gloved hands.

"It feels like I'm close by...but, if this is Laties' room, why can't I move the box?" Eros asked himself. He was in a small wooden hall, curled up with his back against his obstecle and his feet pressed against the opposite wall. The passage was completely shrouded in darkness and he couldn't quite remember just which opening he was supposed to stop at. He knew quite well which one not to stop at. That was Israfel's room and the heavy smell of iron from his armor. Laties' room often smelled like dirty feet, but tonight, the wind was blowing a different direction and all of the castle smells had vanquished.

Frowning, the Prince gave himself only one option. Bracing himself, he pushed against the opposite wall with all his might. No movement. Gasping, he tried it again. And again. And again. And again. Finally, on the last push, Lourette's wooden chest screeched loudly as it was shoved away from the wall and a white figure emerged from the wall. Standing up, brushing himself off, was the Prince. Looking up, his icy blue eyes spotted Lourette on the bed. Smiling brightly, he waved.

"Hi, Lourette!"

[Lourette]

Sighing, Lourette stood up and walked over to one corner of her room, retrieving her lute from the cold floor, walking back to her bed. She ran her long-nailed fingers across the strings, forming a soft, melodious note. The note was matched by a soft hum coming from the viera's throat. Slowly, she worked her way up the scale, finally ending at a very high note that she barely reached, but reached nonetheless. She was about to start singing when there was a loud screeching noise as her trunk against the wall shifted, causing the lieutenant to gasp and fall backwards off her bed, landing with a thud on the floor. Blinking, she stood up to see the young prince standing in her room.

"Your majesty!" Lourette said, quickly getting up, brushing herself off, and performing a quick bow. "I...I'm sorry! You startled me!" She glanced around nervously, then focused her gaze on Eros. "What are you doing around here this late at night? Shouldn't you be asleep?" Now she was starting to sound more like a mother than the lieutenant of the King's army. "And, I may sound random, but have you seen Lat anywhere? Normally he comes in to bother me around this time, but, for all I know, he could still be at the banquet..." She glanced down, retrieving her lute and plucking a few strings on it just to see that it was okay. "Although, he could be fawning over your sister... Rumor has it that the two like each other!"

Shrugging, she sat back on her bed, plucking a couple more strings experimentally, just to see if her lute was REALLY alright. Once she figured out that it was fine, and didn't suffer any damage when it and its carrier fell on the ground, she lay it beside her, crossing her slender arms over her chest and looking as if she wanted an explanation.

[Prince Eros]

The Prince smiled brightly and in amusement as Lourette was scared right off her bed. He chortled loudly as he walked over to see if she was alright. But she was on her feet before he could even utter a single word. That's just how the Viera were. Eros had always admired their speed and their stealth, along with their daunting beauty. He watched as she retrieved the lute to make sure it was alright before going back to her bed with what sounded like a sour note over Laties. Clearly, Lourette didn't know just how Laties and Naahra acted around each other. Of course, what Eros knew about love was learned from fantasy stories and his own made up imagination. Did Laties truly like Naahra? Who knew?

"Oh, Lourette! You know you don't have to call me 'majesty'! Its silly! And I don't like it!" Eros said as he came up to her bed. He glanced at her lute in wonderment, but as she lay it by her side, he looked up at her. So she didn't know about Laties! She had no idea he wasn't even in the castle anymore! Smirking (and without permission of course) he jumped onto her bed by her feet so that he was facing her. He crossed his legs and placed his hands on his ankles before smiling childishly.

"Oh! Laties isn't here anymore! He left the castle! He left just a few hours ago, actually..." Eros said as he began to play with the braid that hung down the side of his face.
"And not on a mission either! He left by himself!" Ah, Eros, the ever frustrating child. Not only did he neglect to tell her details, but the entire time he was smiling as though something were amusing him.

[Lourette]

Hearing the young prince say that she didn't have to refer to him as such, Lourette simply shrugged. "Ah, whatever you say, Eros!" she replied, a good-natured grin on her lips and her rabbit ears tall and attentive-looking. This young prince...he was supposed to be a secret, but she, Lat, and Isra knew him probably as well as his sister, Princess Naahra. Slowly shaking her head, she watched as Eros climbed up onto her bed and sat down.

"Oh! Laties isn't here anymore! He left the castle! He left just a few hours ago, actually..."

Lourette was about to say, "What?! Without me?! That little snot! Why, when I get my hands on him, I'll wring his pathetic human neck, then skin him alive and eat him!" But...what the prince said next startled her the most...

"And not on a mission either! He left by himself!"

"WHAT?!"

The annoyed, and obviously irritated look on the viera's face from the first part of Eros's speech immediately changed to a look of shock and even horror. Slowly, she got herself under control and turned to face the young prince again, her fingers running through her snow white locks.

"Now, Eros, dear, tell me everything. Why did he leave?" she asked quietly, her eyes wide. /If I have to, I'll go after him.../ she silently thought, swearing that she would.

[Prince Eros]

Eros uncrossed his legs and instead, brought his knees to his chest, his nightgown revealing the white shorts underneath. He sat like this for a moment, his fingers fiddling with the tattered silk hem. He didn't want to send the Viera into hysterics or anything (like that would happen). But he had to figure out a way in which to present it to her without sounding too childish. After a moment, his fingers paused and his eyes fell. With his chin now resting on his arms which were crossed over his knees, he took in a deep breath. Once again, his eyes took on a far off look. They seemed oddly darker, as if not his own. He stared directly in front of him, down at Lourette's bed.

"Laties has left the castle after betraying the King Osirus. Israfel had gone to retrieve the Cruor sword. However, he came back empty handed. The King saw this as treason and when he attempted to call upon Israfel, Laties took it upon himself to take the blame. Then, he challenged the King and it resulted in him being sentenced to the Blood Chamber. However, he refused and left the banquet. Israfel was dragged off to the Blood Chamber where he is now currently imprisoned. In the meantime, he went to Naahra's chambers where he attempted to steal her away. However, his plans were changed when Eltana Remarque came. Instead of running off with Naahra, he challenged Eltana. After taking Naahra's necklace, he left to find the Odium sword...alone."

After a pause, Eros' eyes returned to normal and he glanced at Lourette and smiled gently.
"Um...yeah..." He looked slightly confused, as if he didn't quite know what he said. Then it was replaced with worry as he hugged his knees tightly to his chest.

"I'm worried about Laties..."

[Lourette]

<sub>Lourette took a couple of minutes to let everything the young prince said sink in. Her eyes slowly closed. "I see..." she muttered, opening her eyes again to look at the boy in front of her. "I'm going to go and fetch him back..." she said finally. "I won't let him get killed out there trying to get the Odium sword..."

Then she heard that Eros was worried about Laties. Slowly, she reached forward, placing one hand on the prince's shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about, Eros..." she said, smiling good-naturedly. "I'll get him back, and we'll all live happily ever after..."

The viera removed her hand from the prince's shouler and cracked her knuckles. "Well, I'm going to bring him back, and, if I have to, I'll even tie him up and drag him back by his feet!" She laughed silently at the joke. "Now, Eros, whatever you do, don't tell anyone about me leaving. Not even your sister. Do you hear me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, you know what? Scratch that. If Isra comes out of the Blood Chamber alive, tell him that I left, and I will be returning. And..." Her voice became a lot quieter, "Tell him that I'll miss him..."

In a lithe, almost catlike motion, she rolled off the bed, walking off toward one end of the room, where she opened up the trunk that Eros had shoved to get into her room, and grabbed up a few things: a cloak, her sword, her bow and quiver, and a small stuffed rabbit that looked very old. "Now, Eros, remember what I told you..." she whispered, walking up to the prince to give him a small hug. "Be strong for your sister... She'll probably need you, considering Laties took her necklace, and the fact that he's now a traitor... Your parents will probably be breathing down her neck every moment she's awake..."

With all of her things now in a small bag, the lieutenant walked to the door, opening it up. "Oh, and if you're looking for Laties's room, it's this one..." she said, pointing to her right. "Well, I'll be seeing you, Eros..."

With that, Lieutenant Lourette of the North Wind walked through the door to her room, closing it behind her...

((And Loubun's gone!))</sub>

[Prince Eros]

Eros watched as Lourette quickly made her exit. He stood there for a moment, then lept from the bed, standing there as he stared at the door in which Lourette had just left.
So now the Lieutenant is gone...as well with the General...Father will not like this one bit... Eros thought. He brought one hand up in which to grab hisarm, turning his head towards the ground with a far off look.

"Lourette and Laties...you two have taken a very painful and dark path. Not only will Osirus be after you...but the single friend you have left will not be the same friend you have known...He will come out of the Blood Chamber a changed man..." Eros said to himself. He felt a growing sadness in his chest as he tried to brush away the fuzzy images that haunted him in the back of his mind.

"Israfel...his soul, though afraid and kind will be transformed into that of a demon...He will come after those he knew first as part of my father's cruel plan...Be safe...You have Lumen's blessing..." Eros said as he opened his eyes. He then nodded and smiled, clenching his hands.

"Now! Time to get Laties' sword!" Eros chimed. Leaving the darkened room, he said a silent prayer for the crule movement that was about to fall Laties and Lourette.

::Eros Fin::