Chapter 13

Jack runs into Rania, and asks "Have you found any sign of her?"

Rania shakes her head, then says "Apologies, but I have not. Let's find Aeson, and see if he's got any ideas as to Fiore's whereabouts."

Jack nods, but doesn't get to say anything as a guard rounds a corner right then. Doubling over for a moment to catch his breath, he eventually says "D'aimsigh an Prionsa Fenlar an cailín, agus chuir sé chugam an bheirt agaibh a aimsiú!" Rania nods at once, waving a glowing blue hand around the guard in some kind of spell - one to heal the guard, if the way he straightens up is anything to go by.

Jack frowns when he recognizes one bit of what was just said - 'Fenlar' was mentioned in there. As in, Gaelin and Tanelia Fenlar - the King and Queen of this place. So, either one of them is with Fiore…or whoever is with her is also royalty.

'Fuck, are Aeson and Rania seriously a Prince and Princess?! That probably means I borderline-threatened royalty an hour or so ago. Um…oops.'

Jack can't bring himself to feel too bad about it, though, considering the detail that they managed to lose Fiore. But, still...getting the ruling family of the kingdom they're in upset may not be the best idea.

When the guard leads them to the right corridor, the first thing Jack sees is Fiore curled up at a wall, looking like she's about to collapse from exhaustion. Fiore glances up and sees him, and tries to scramble to her feet only to nearly hit the floor once more - it's only because Jack catches her at the last moment that she doesn't.

Jack asks "Fiore?! What happened?" She was fine when they got to the forest, and he didn't think she was getting sick when he was carrying her all the way to the city, but now she looks like she's got either the flu or pneumonia!

Fiore shakes her head, saying "That's my question…when did that happen?" At his look, she gestures to the two blood-stained wings that most definitely weren't there last time she saw him.

Jack rubs the back of his head sheepishly, starting to feel the pain in his back now that he's not completely focused on finding Fiore, and says "They just…happened. Decided now was the time to pop out." At her disbelieving look, he adds "They lost you, so my wings decided to come look for you, I guess."

Fiore shakes her head, saying "That makes absolutely no sense. You know that? None."

Jack shrugs, getting to his feet, and says "Either way, here they are… C'mon, hold onto my arm. Can you stand?"

As it turns out…only when Jack's arm is wrapped around her waist for support. One good thing about his wings, though, is that there is absolutely no possible way for anyone to touch her even by accident with them out - at his side, his wing acts as a massive shield she fits in perfectly. She's never felt so safe since waking up on that stone table, even though they're in the middle of a possibly-hostile Elven Palace, outnumbered 100-to-1 easily if not more, and she's about as strong as a newborn kitten.

Now's not the time for marveling at the feeling, however, considering the detail that it doesn't make her feel any less like throwing up all over the place.

Jack frowns as Fiore can barely keep standing, her grip on his shoulder weak and shaking in direct contrast to how strong he knows she is, and asks "What's wrong with her? She was fine this morning!"

Rania says "It's the magic of the Witch you mentioned - you called her Sagami? It's reacting with the magic of our kingdom. And a clash between the magic of this world and that of demons is never mild."

Jack nods, righting Fiore as she stumbles before pulling her into his side altogether, and says "She tried to seal Fiore's powers and memories. Fiore said it had happened before?"

Rania frowns at once, saying "That's very powerful magic. Ancient, to. No human born in this age would know of it, and few demons have to power to do as much successfully to a powerful Fae. Whatever the case, the fact remains that she's had some very powerful Black Magic in her for over a decade, even if the Sealing Spell is starting to break down, and was just recently exposed to more of the same. When did the fight happen? A week or two ago?"

Jack says "Yesterday, we fought her yesterday. Fiore was out for a few hours, woke up with a massive migraine, then we were back on the road the next morning."

Aeson runs a hand through his hair as he opens the door to the Healing Room once more - the same room Fiore was in before, she made it barely two corridors down in the entire time she was missing - and mutters "Diabhal. Sin ifreann amháin d'am téarnaimh."

Rania rolls her eyes, and says "Set her down on the bed. Fiore's current state is because she's adjusted to the magic she's been exposed to for so long. Not unlike adapting to a toxic environment. And now, the magic she's grown so used to has come out of its semi-dormant state."

Jack asks "So…we need to get the poison out of her system then?"

Rania nods, saying "There's a ritual to cleanse someone of a demon's tainted magic, and a Potion that will help with her symptoms. Given how long she's had the Sealing spell on her, though, I'd suggest you two rest for the remainder of the day. It's getting late anyway, you wouldn't make it very far at this time of day."

Jack frowns, then says "We've only got…I think it's four days now, and a few hours or so, to find my father before Fiore's birthday." And, call him crazy, but he really doesn't want Fiore in a castle full of people that are affected by her Allure when she comes into her full Succubus Inheritance - especially after seeing what just a single touch did to that Elf earlier.

It's a recipe for absolute disaster.

Aeson says "I'll continue speaking with m- our King and Queen while my sister performs the Cleansing Ritual."

Fiore and Jack trade amused glances, despite the situation, and Jack says "I may not have understood most of what the guard said when he found your sister and I…but I heard the word 'Fenlar' in it all…and then he took us to you and Fiore, so…"

Fiore chuckles weakly, and murmurs "Busted. Big time." She may not know why Aeson and Rania Fenlar didn't want them to know they're a Prince and Princess...but it makes it hilarious that they got outed by a guard when they can't even understand Elvish.

Aeson and Rania both groan dramatically, and Aeson mutters "Foirmiúlachtaí diabhalta Tá na gardaí go léir tar éis druileáil i…"

Jack asks "What's a Prince and Princess doing all the way out at the edge of their kingdom's borders with a group of guards going to investigate a suspected attack?"

Rania says "It is our duty to protect our people. It's taken us years to get the Forest Wardens to see us as Aeson and Rania first, and the Prince and Princess Fenlars second, to see us as one of them and not spoiled nobles or people who get special treatment. We're serving with the Wardens because, one day, one of us must lead our people - and if they know that we've trained for battle, they'll be that much more secure in the event of trouble coming to our lands." Besides, there's the detail that the two of them have no particular burning desire for the throne - they want to grow as people, be able to make the right calls...they want to see the world, go on an adventure perhaps, and learn from it to better serve their people whenever one of them takes the throne and the other serves as their advisor.

Unfortunately, the borders of their Kingdom is as far as they'll ever get unless something big happens...something like a dragon showing up out of the blue searching for his father.

Fiore leans into Jack's side just to stay upright, asking "How's that going for you?"

Aeson grumbles, saying "Rania got all the luck when her magic showed itself. She can just stay in the library all day and night learning it. Me? I can barely find a sparring partner willing to really fight instead of throwing it on a good day."

Rania smirks at him, and says "Poor you. I'll have you know, though, that magic is a lot more complicated than waving a sword around. You don't have to worry about anything literally blowing up in your face if you say one word wrong in a battle cry."

Aeson leaves after another minute of sibling bickering, and Rania says "I can perform the Cleansing Ritual, if you're comfortable with that."

Fiore nods, saying "Please, else I'll be sick all over your floor soon."

Rania nods, saying "As you wish. Jack, I need you to move over here," she points to a chair a few feet away from the bed Fiore's on, "as your body will block the magic of the ritual. Especially your wings." When the scales that are supposed to cover them come in, anyway. Right now...they look a bit more like discolored bat wings than dragon wings. Blood-stained discolored bat wings, at that.

Jack shifts, glancing at his wings - they don't look like they could block much of anything in the way of magic right now - mostly scale-less, and looking as raw as a chicken breast at the moment. There's a little claw on the bone or joint - like a thumb on a hand, maybe? - and he can see bones running through the leathery skin attached to them to more claws - talons, is that what they're called? - at the bottom of the wings.

Still, he's pretty sure dragon wings are supposed to be…well, more solid than his - as in, you can't see light coming through them, like with good blackout curtains.

'At least I've got both of them out? So I'm not walking lopsided everywhere?'

Silver linings, he supposes, to his wings ripping their way out of his back before they were really ready to do so - he doesn't have to try to figure out how to get the other one to come out, at least.

Fiore pulls him out of his thoughts, saying "I'll be alright, Jack…"

Jack's first reaction is to say 'Like hell you will, you can't even stand!' He bites that reply back, then eventually asks "You sure?"

Fiore nods, saying "Yeah, I'm sure."

Jack nods, then heads over to the chair Rania indicated - sitting down, on the other hand, is a much more difficult ordeal than before. His wings knock over the chair as he turns around to sit down, and then he nearly impales Rania on a talon when she moves to pick it up for him as he crouches down to get it.

Jack groans, then says "You know what? Better idea." He doesn't usually sit backwards in a chair…but he doesn't usually have uncooperative dragon wings with semi-lethal weapons on the ends sprouting from his back either!

Rania nods, saying "Just stay back until the Ritual is finished. In my experience, it tends to look...dramatic. I'm unsure if I can remove the spells binding your abilities, as it's been in you for so long and I do not wish to harm you, but the magic from yesterday is another matter."

Fiore nods, saying "We're working on the Seal, as Sagami called it. But if you can get any of her magic out of me, then please just get it out already."

Rania nods, then says "Lay back on the bed. I warn you now, this isn't going to be a pleasant experience."

Fiore gives a sardonic laugh, even as she all but collapses on the bed, and says "It wasn't pleasant going in, I never expected it to feel great coming out…"

Rania nods, saying "Smart." She gets a large piece of crystal from the bag at her side, and says "Just try to relax, it'll make it easier for me to draw as much of this Sagami's magic out of you as possible." The crystal starts floating about a foot above Fiore, and Rania puts both hands out in front of her and starts chanting.

Light blue magic starts spreading from Rania's hands to Fiore's body, making her glow the same color…and with two other lights showing up in her body. Dark green and black, obviously Sagami's magic, with a small spot of gold like the light she can generate in the very center of it. There's also more of Sagami's magic spread out through Fiore's body, all down her limps and apparently trying to concentrate in her head.

Rania grimaces in sympathy, Jack barely holding back several things to say, and directs the magic towards Fiore's head first. And then, it starts…leeching the black-green from Fiore - and, from the looks on both ladies' faces, it's hard on everyone involved.

Fiore grits her teeth and tries to hold back a whimper as she can feel the magic seeping into her, immediately resulting in a sensation like a cross between 'burning' and 'nauseating' - if it were focused in her stomach, she'd be throwing up right now.

As it is, she's got the worst migraine she can ever remember, out-doing the one Sagami gave her in less than two seconds.

Jack's voice says "You're doing great, Fiore, just hold on, alright?" Fiore would nod her head in response, but doing so might make her skull explode altogether.

The burning sensation moves down her throat and into her shoulders, but at least it leaves her head feeling…lighter would be one way to describe it. The migraine is still there, but more manageable now that whatever Rania is doing has moved on. And, it's a bit easier to think now.

"Alright, she's gonna start on your arms."

That burning starts up in the fingers of her left arm, slowly working its way up to her shoulder and…collecting something, likely Sagami's magic, as it goes. It makes its way to her chest, and then suddenly switches to her other arm to repeat the process. When her arms have been cleared, she feels like she can hardly breathe as there's an oppressive weight on her lungs…until that burning focuses on it, that is.

Now Fiore can't hold back a scream, even as it feels like Rania's magic is burning through the pressure in her chest. It's like molten lava in the center of her chest, lodged directly between her lungs and just over her heart

After what feels like a small eternity to her, that burning feeling finally stops as Rania says "That's all I can do for now, this Witch was powerful indeed…"

Fiore nods her head weakly, feeling absolutely drained now that the Ritual is over.

Jack's at her side in an instant, easing her up and saying "You did great, she got a lot of Sagami's magic out of you. 'Bout half of what was in you, I think." Watching Fiore go through that was painful enough, he can't imagine what it was like to actually experience it all. She only screamed once, though, when a burst of Sagami's green-black fire exploded out of her chest and got drawn into the crystal.

Rania slumps over in the chair Jack left, and says "I couldn't even touch at the spell cast upon you long ago, I'm afraid. However, much of the incomplete Sealing Spells Sagami was attempting on you has been removed. Any memories that were restored to you when she broke the original spell Sealing your memories should be much clearer after some rest."

Fiore groans as she tries to move, it feels like every single muscle in her body has been worked to its very limit in the past…how long was it, anyway? Twenty minutes? An hour? Still, she forces a raspy 'thank you' out of her throat - anything she can remember of her parents, no matter what those memories might be, is something she'll hold close to her heart now that she has them back.

Rania nods, saying "The pain is to be expected. Especially given how powerful this Sagami was. Do you have any ideas about which demon she had sworn herself to?"

Fiore weakly shakes her head, which then rolls to rest in the crook of Jack's neck. Jack says "She wasn't big on the details. The only reason she told Fiore she'd sealed her abilities is because she thought I was dead. Far as we can tell, he wanted her to get to some other dimension or Realm or something…"

Fiore curls up into Jack's side at that point, her body having apparently decided she's had enough for one day, and Jack's wing moves to cover her as he sets her back down onto the bed.

'Oh, yes,' Rania thinks to herself, 'definitely Mates, even if Jack's Dragon Heritage hasn't realized it yet.'

When Aeson and their father get back into the room, Jack's moved a second bed over to the one Fiore's on, and his right wing is hanging over the side of the bed while the left completely obscures himself and Fiore down to their knees.

Aeson blinks, sees Rania put a finger to her lips, then mouths "Mated?"

Rania shakes her head, then mouths back "Drained."

Gaelin rubs at his temples, and mutters "Tá an t-ádh libh beirt… Take them up the mountain, up to him. After that, it is his choice."