XII. It's All Crazy, It's All False...

It wasn't a dream.

Mai stared at her hands, extending and retracting her claws again and again. It was all real now. Sitting in the kitchen eating peach cobbler, Artemus had spun a shallow back-story for the girls with ease and Actaeon had filled in the gaps of the lie; they seemed to be used to making up tales. The history of the fox and cat had been fabricated and while Mai didn't entirely comprehend the workings of Ellian culture, she had grasped a majority of the idea.

Villages and towns were typically run by minor rulers, whether given the position by a process of election or bloodline inheritance. Earls, chiefs, mayors; a leader by any other name was put in place to uphold the law and maintain links to the rest of the country as a representative of the people under their charge. The reach of the crown was wide in influence, but information from the far boundaries could take days to get to the capital, solutions to problems taking even longer to get back to the far off villages, towns, settlements, cities. For this reason, the royals relied on these minor rulers to settle small local problems. Many leaders were what the boys had called "Beasts," the half-animal humanoid creatures such as they themselves were. Beasts were not necessarily rare, but did hold a sort of natural influence over normal, animal-less Ellians.

The nation was divided into several regions, these divisions made based on differences in cultures, climates, and customs, among other various factors. As an example, Actaeon had brought up the street vender who had sold Sukka a bucket: "Her accent and style of dress were both quite particular to Plains people. Some other regions have less distinct identities, but if you learn to note the little things, you can avoid many an embarrassment or cultural offense."

After the complicated talk of social studies, the story-weaving had begun and ended up something like this:

Sukka had been raised in the northeastern hills, an area sparsely populated by farmers and nomadic shepherding groups. Her father was the leader of a small network of towns in the region. (Artemus assured the girls that he could pull strings in order to make the story check out, if he had to, and he insisted that any legal paperwork would be easy enough to fabricate.)

The prior spring, while the royal family was on their annual tour around the country, they had stopped in one of the hills' villages and become acquainted with the girl's father. "And the man's daughter? Well, once I met her, I just had to have her." A wink followed and Sukka stuck out her tongue, looking away from Artemus and stabbing at her cobbler. This reaction only caused the prince to grin once more.


The girl had been called to the capital as a guest of the prince himself and taken the journey along with her childhood friend and bodyguard, Mai. In the hills, mountain lions were a threat and to travel alone was a dangerous feat. Even beyond the hills, the journey was dangerous, particularly in the forests. The pair had only just arrived in the city.


They'd all argued details a bit more, but come up with a solid enough lie. Actaeon shrugged. "That's enough of a story, I believe. The cat, you don't matter as much. Considering brother has taken an apparent interest in Sukka, she'll be much more interesting to the curious and the gossips and they'll overlook you. Just stay quiet like a good girl, alright?"


"You don't matter much either, you stupid mutt. Not like you're gonna become king or something. So shut your--" He had flung a forkful of peaches her way and hit her square in the face.


"Oh, oops." He growled and she hissed and Artemus watched, amused.


"You're a jerk." Mai tried to wipe the fruit filling away, but it was sticky.



"You're a moron." Threatening her with another forkful, Actaeon saw her flinch and that satisfied him well enough.

After more petty quarreling between cat and dog, Mai had headed off to settle into her room and Sukka had wandered away. The boys were busy doing other things. Mai was happy to have some time to think and being alone didn't bother her. She sprawled out on the cushy bed and closed her eyes, drifting into wonderfully bland and unexciting dreams of her old reality.

 ______________________

Even in summer the gardens were full of blooms. Sukka had wandered out into the courtyard and stumbled upon the place. She'd found her way into the twisted limbs of a tree and was looking down on the cobblestone paths, fountains, and flowerbeds below. The only sounds she could make out were the sounds of running water and windchimes. It was a good place to clear her head.

She had gone to bed a human with nothing to worry about and woken up a freak with the weight of a civilization on her shoulders. The fox thing wasn't particularly bad, but the impending possibility of destruction was a bit of a bummer.

The girl sighed and started to look for a way to get higher in the branches when her ears twitched. Quickly, she looked back down at the ground, but saw nothing. "Hello...? Someone there?"

"Hello." A voice at her ear nearly made her lose her footing. She reached to swat at whoever was there, but the figure had gently grabbed her wrists with one of his hands, his other hand lifting and holding a finger to her lips. The man was strangely beautiful, sooty eyes piercing but not threatening, smile friendly but not warm. His pitch black hair was pulled back, hanging in a messy ponytail that draped to his knees. His clothing was loose and simple but the ornaments in his hair were set with scrolling silver and inlaid with precious stone. Sukka stared back at him, but made no sound. 

He dropped her hands and she shied away. "Sorry to have frightened you, miss, but might you be lost? These are royal grounds and I can assume you understand why strangers might cause worry." 

The fox regained her voice. "I'm a guest of the crown prince, ask him yourself. I was invited here and I'm not trespassing, if that's what you're worried about."

"Oh? Interesting." He had somehow climbed down to the ground in a moment that Sukka had blinked-- she stared at him again, baffled. "My younger brother failed to inform me that he was inviting a guest. If I had known, I might have greeted you upon your arrival. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss. Welcome to our home." He bowed at the waist and glanced up at her, making eye contact that she could not turn away from, speaking with a firm voice that overcame the sound of fountains. "The sun has nearly set, it might be best if you go back inside. The guards are not likely to be as polite as I am, you see."

"Uhm... O-okay...?" Sukka half-scrambled out of the tree. "Thankyou, I suppose...?" 

"Ah, no need to thank me. It would not be suitable for a lady like to you fall prey to wolves, would it?" The stranger took her hand and kissed her fingers before tilting his head up and offering a cheerful grin full of sharp and perfect teeth. "Please find me if you need anything."

"Oh..." She glanced over her shoulder at the castle. "Well, if I see you around, then..." When she turned back, he was gone.