CHAPTER 5: WHEN IN ROME

Stepping outside the airport, Mavi took a deep breath, "dear Goddess I love the smell of Rome," he exclaimed. Allerick, rolling his eyes, pushed him into the awaiting car before he got in after.

"What does it even smell like?" he asked Mavi who grinned at him, not at all aggrieved at being pushed here and there by the King.

"Love," Mavi said, winking at Allerick, which earned him another eye roll and an exasperated groan.

Indeed, to Mavi, Rome was the city of love. It was in Rome, during the middle of the 17th century, when he and Allerick declared their love for each other. Even then, Mavi thought the city was beautiful.

"You're hopeless," Allerick said, but even he couldn't help the corner of his lips to raise into a fond smile.

Staring at Mavi's brilliant smile and his dark eyes, the King couldn't help but to feel his heart swell with love and gratitude. Even after centuries being together, not only did his love not diminish, but it grew with each passing day.

"Pardon the intrusion, My Lords," the driver, an officer of the World Beyond, interrupted them with a little cough. The white hair and pale, almost translucent skin, indicated he was one of the high fairies of the other realm.

"Speak," Allerick said, leaning back against the soft leather seat.

"The Priestess asked for an audience as soon as you arrived, will you be granting her your time, My Lord?" he asked politely, but Allerick and Mavi still sensed a bit of urgency in his voice. They looked at each other, wondering.

"We have time," Mavi said, nodding at Allerick for approval.

"Of course," Allerick smiled at Mavi.

They did have time. It was just that Allerick was thinking of doing their job as fast as they could so he and Mavi could enjoy their time more in Rome before they reconvened with the rest. If the priestess brought trouble to their door, there was nothing else they could do but to try and solve it.

"Thank you, My Lords," the driver said and he audibly sighed in relief. Allerick and Mavi raised their eyebrows to each other but said nothing else until they arrived at the place where they will be staying.

It was a castle not far from Rome. It was probably used to be one of the abandoned castles that were scattered all over Europe. Most of the structures had been reclaimed by nature, and the rest were only reconstructed so as to not endanger anyone residing.

"My style," Mavi said in satisfaction after he took a good ten minutes to explore the entire castle. It wasn't as big as their old one, but it was decent. The most important thing was the connection to nature it had. Also, electricity.

Mavi immediately tossed his coat to the attendant and rummaged through his handbag for his Nintendo Switch and charged it. He had exhausted its battery during the flight. He then took a look around the room and then sighed in satisfaction.

"Let's refresh ourselves and then meet the priestess, shall we?" Mavi turned to Allerick who had been staring at him the whole time with a gentle smile on his face. Allerick nodded and gestured to the attendant to leave the room. Mavi and Allerick then went to the bathroom, which was unnecessarily big, to wash their hands and faces and to change their clothes.

Mavi changed into a sky blue shirt and a pair of cream colored pants. Meanwhile, Allerick opted for a white shirt and black pants as usual. Both sets were of course made by the people of the World Beyond. The shoes were Italian, though.

"Your hair's getting longer," Allerick brushed Mavi's hair with his fingers as he tried to fix the raven hair but to no avail. Unless using gel, the hair wouldn't stop sticking out here and there.

"Leave it," Mavi chuckled, smiling at Allerick through the bathroom mirror. He then turned around and faced Allerick. They were both about the same height, which made the picture even more beautiful whenever they were together. One was tall and strong, the other one was tall and lean. "Let's go," he said after biting Allerick's chin, earning him a groan and a hopeless sigh when he left the bathroom.

Mavi took their coats from the coat hanger and handed Allerick his before putting on his own. They opened the bedroom door and found the previous attendant was now gone, replaced by the driver who waited for them rather anxiously.

"My Lords," the driver greeted them with a deep bow, hands fidgeting in front of him.

"Thank you for waiting," Mavi said gently, "please lead the way," he said. The driver nodded and briskly turned around and led them away from the bedroom.

It seemed that he actually wanted to fly to wherever he was taking them. But considering propriety, he held himself back and just sped-walk. Mavi and Allerick looked at each other. Mavi raised his eyebrow, knowing whatever it was the priestess wanted to say to them, seemed to be something rather urgent.

Mavi looked up at the sky. The hue of dusk decorated the compound. The ground was entirely silent. Only their brisk footsteps could be heard. Rome's temperature in July was perfectly suitable for Mavi. Not too cold and not too hot.

The driver brought them to a small temple behind the castle's main building. It was dilapidated and was small. Very small. Much smaller than even the temple they had and their summer home. But it was very recently cleaned, so at least it didn't smell too horrible.

Mavi and Allerick followed behind the driver and into the temple. The many benches were strewn haphazardly around the spacious room. The altar, though not too high nor big, was the only place lit up b y candles. And a woman was standing there. A priestess.

She was wearing the priestess' traveling cloak. Black in color, it shrouded her entire being in mystery. As Mavi and Allerick came in, she turned around and faced them. Her face was calm, whereas her eyes betrayed her effort to be.

Looking at her, Mavi couldn't help but sigh. He then turned to Allerick, who had the same sentiment as him.

It was going to be a long night.