Call to Assemble

"Talking bear?" Mairwen tilted her head, very confused.

Alaron's comment made everyone uneasy except for Ithel and Lanassa. Of course the king and his mother had been informed of the nature of their guests. It was even possible that Brinn or Alvar had given the news before going to change, though by their curious gazes, Aurora doubted it.

"Gela was the first of the creatures created by Dania's experiments. Gela was her assistant. Taran manipulated him into trying something he knew would be dangerous. And he seems to have been manipulating everyone ever since." Aurora shook her head.

"So when Alaron said talking bear, he meant one of those mindless abominations that looks like a bear which we saw outside Oblivion?" Mairwen had gotten a glimpse of the chained creatures as they were exiting. They were fearsome and terrifying.

"Gela is not mindless. But the creatures you saw were likely those which Taran tried to make using the assistant's blood." Aurora was unsure what else to say before the others arrived. She turned to Ithel, who got the message.

Summoning a herald, the elven king asked that the rest of those who came back with Aurora be brought to the room as soon as they were able. It was not long before the group came trickling in.

Reyan flitted in almost immediately. He had portaled fast enough to clean himself and change before the eagles even landed.

Which meant the fairy was biding his time somewhere in the palace while the rest of the people were busy settling in. Aurora wondered if he had been eavesdropping somewhere for him to appear so quickly. He could shrink to barely a speck of light, so it would have been quite easy for him to have been perching on any hidden spot in the room with no one being the wiser.

"Princess Mairwen!" Reyan hurried over to inspect the dark-haired lady. "You look just as lovely as the day you got married."

The comment forced a small smile from the woman. "It wasn't that long ago, you know."

Reyan looked at Renat and his face soured. "And already he has turned into a dog on you. You should have chosen more wisely..."

"Reyan!" Aurora covered her mouth. The fairy was known to say some outlandish things, but this was far even for him.

"I am joking, Your Majesty. I was trying to lighten the mood. All of you are always so full of gloom and doom. Someone has to be the delightful one around here." Reyan shrugged.

"And you think that you fill that role?" Alaron tried to keep a straight face, but his grin threatened to crack through.

"Naturally..." Ignoring the suppressed chuckles, the fairy found just the right couch to sooth his aching back and stretched wide. He had no intention of sharing his space.

Brinn and Alvar were next in the door. Their quarters were considerably closer to their meeting place than anyone else's, and Brinn had been able to leave the herald behind to find her own way. The two elves politely waited for themselves to be announced and then entered in the most courtly manner Aurora had ever seen.

Brinn even curtsied to her mother before embracing her. 'How out of character!' Aurora's eyes opened wide.

"Thank you, brother and mother, for allowing us to be here instead of parading us out like a pony show." The elven princess gave her mother a weary smile.

'So that is it! They broke protocol and Brinn is willing to play nice as a result.' Aurora knew their family dynamics were different from her own, and it was interesting to see how they worked in practice. When Lanassa was willing to allow rules to be bent, Brinn was more likely to follow the other rules more strictly. It was an interesting middle ground.

Brinn took one look at Renat and pursed her lips. "Well, Your Highness, you must have quite a story to tell us."

Alvar reached out and took the wolf's paw. "It is good to see you Prince Renat."

Brinn hugged the other princess and the two ladies found a quiet spot to chat while they waited for the full meeting to commence.

The general, doctor, Zan filed in next. They all bowed to or greeted the monarchs and received warm welcomes in return. The doctor looked perturbed by the brown wolf in their midst, but his fear turned to concern as soon as he realized the wolf was actually his friend and former pupil.

"I hardly recognized you!" the doctor bowed.

"I should hope I do not look like my usual self just now." Renat smiled, his sharp canines glistening in the lamplight of the chamber.

"What happened?!" Phileas inquired, hoping to gain some insight. There was no way the prince would willing have undergone such a change.

"Everyone will hear at once," Renat assured him. The two continued to converse quietly. They had many things to discuss beyond just the situation at hand.

Next to them, Zan's attention was drawn away to the blue-eyed Mairwen, who had stepped away from Brinn for a moment to complete her task.

"I have something for you, Chief Zan." In the woman's hands, a neatly folded black cloth was outstretched toward the silver-eyed councilman.

He did not need to guess what it was. The fabric was practically singing his name. A small spark passed through his fingers as Zan took hold of the Guardian's cloak.

"I have missed you too, old friend," he said as he draped the cloth across his shoulders.

It immediately altered to fit his height and build as if it had never been any other size. Zan sighed with contentment. He had almost forgotten the completeness that he felt when it sat upon his shoulders.

"Thank you, Your Highness. Though I am a little confused. I gave this to Junayd. How is it that you have come to have it?"

Mairwen looked slightly embarrassed. "Junayd gave it to me to help avoid some trouble back in Oblivion. It has saved me a couple of times now."

"I am glad it served you well. Thank you for taking good care of it." Zan bowed.

"I do apologize if you find any of my things within it. I did try to clear out everything I could." The princess truly hoped she had left nothing behind.

"It wouldn't be the first time a lovely lady left an item or two behind. I shall return anything that is not mine." Retreating with his most prized possession, Zan found a spot opposite the royals where he could keep an eye on everything in the room.

He nodded to Nurlan, who took a position next to the Empress. While there was no imminent danger just now, the general felt much better standing at the ready than he did sitting on feathery cushions.

"Only three more to go," Aurora cooed to the baby boy on her lap.

Nanny was clearly willing to take the child from the room and care for him, but the Empress was not about to part with the child who was nearly asleep in her arms.

Content with the fact that his mother seemed at ease, Colvyr closed his eyes. Although he liked to cause mischief, it seemed that, at least for now, he would let the adults do their work in peace. Just when the Empress was sure the child was out like a snuffed candle, the boy's eyes popped open.

"Cat!" Colvyr pointed at the door. A large white creature dressed in awkwardly fitting clothes--it looked like a curtain had been pinned together to make a tunic--stood in the doorway. Two humans were behind him timidly peeking out from behind his back.

"That is not a cat," Aurora corrected the tiny prince. "That is Gela, and he is coming to help us. So be nice." She touched the prince's nose and he giggled, waving at the bear-man without a care in the world.

Then, at last and truly, Colvyr settled off to dreamland.

Aurora nodded to the trio. "This is King Ithel and Queen Mother Lanassa of the elves. They are our gracious hosts while we are here."

Ithel gave his most congenial smile. "Please make yourselves at home. Any friend of the Empress is welcome here."

The three dutifully bowed, a strange tearing sound coming from Gela's garment as he did so. He backed up to the nearest couch, trying to hide his embarrassment. The doctor and Renat quickly fled their spot in order to give the former assistant all the room he needed. Reluctantly, Reyan sat up to make room for the two displaced gentlemen.

The room was finally assembled. Within were four elves, two abominations, two Guardians, three additional royals, a fairy, a general, a personal guard, a nanny, a doctor, a tutor, and his pupil.

'Quite a gathering,' Aurora looked around at her companions. It was strange to see such a diverse group together, but strange situations were her specialty.

Ithel raised his hand to convene the meeting, but Lanassa cleared her throat. "Ah, I almost forgot. There is one part of protocol I cannot neglect at this juncture. Food!"