Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Hey, I ain't an expert on Fallen reproduction," Gar replied back to Shade Drake with a shrug. "But wouldn't the gods techniclly be the parents?" Gar Gar threw open his arms are gazed up at the sky. "For what do we men truly know of--ah gods sun in my eyes sun-in-my-eyes." Gar winced back down and tried blinking away the pain.

[Toogee]

Lumi

"Oh. I guess we can do that too. I suppose that Star will live with a night in the stables. As for drinking... I guess we could do that. I dunno, seeing you drunk could be interesting." She grinned at the other woman. "What do you think Eli?"

Erion

Looking up at Jam, Erion grinned. "Hey there. Glad to see you're back and looking quite spiffy, I must say. Ready for our journey into the town? Al's somewhere around here. Was talking to one of the main dudes or somethin. Might still be doin that. He should maybe be back soon. If not, we can just head out on our own. His loss~"

"Ah well, a night on the town would be good too," Eli replied, perhaps less enthusiastically than flying. "It would be nice to get something to occupy time. It might be a while before we get to another city as big as this one." The more he thought of it, the more Eli realized that a shopping trip would be fairly beneficial. He was running low on snacks, and he probably couldn't run around in Weyland uniform forever. With Aneda on board with whatever, it was just a matter of heading out the door.

"It's settled then. Tonight, the town is ours!"

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"Oh, we can't just leave without him," Jam said, reluctant to leave without at least telling Alphonse something. "Let's wait for a little bit; I'm sure he'll turn up. Int the mean time, have you given any thought about what you're doing after all of this? You know, when we get back on the road?"

[Rothene]

<"I am Ranyin Chasuka,"> the Kigenese mage introduced himself. He noted his Kigenese companion seemed preoccupied with something and sure enough as soon as they entered the dining hall, she had to make her way to someone else.

Nodding at her departure, Ranyin said, <"Right, I'll see you around then.">

Surveying the room, Ranyin spotted a few familiar faces. Wow, it sure has been a while, thought the Kigenese mage as he took a seat opposite of Amon and waved. "Hey! Amon how has it been? You remember who I am right?"

***

Why am I only thinking about Raquel's group? Don't I know other people to bring along to the ball? I've spoken to some of Weyland's other employees too. Surely I can ask them to accompany me, thought Mireille. It was at that moment the Ursian knight noticed a glint from the corner of her eye. Looking in that direction, she saw one of Weyland's many gardeners. She remembered this one best for two reasons, one his blonde hair tend to stand out in the garden, and two he sometimes did his work topless on very hot summers for all to admire his well toned frame.

M...maybe I could ask him out? Mireille thought as she stood up. She felt a knot tying in her stomach that got tighter as she wandered closer to the man. Realising she was gripping her lance tightly, Mireille quickly slung it behind her. After clearing her throat, the Ursian knight wandered to the gardener's side and waved, trying to catch the young man's attention before greeting, "Oh, erm, hi...You frequent this part of the garden a lot right?"

[scorri]

Looking up from his work, Eric gave the woman standing in front of him a quick one over, and grinned. "One might say that. Seems like every time I try to leave, some flower or bush starts to try and die on me. You'd think they'd give me a break but... nope." Leaning against a tree, he grinned again and then asked, "So, is there something that a beautiful woman such as yourself would want from a humble gardener like me?"

[Rothene]

Mireille blushed lightly at the compliment from the gardener. Putting her arms to her sides, the Ursian knight stated, "Well, this was my favourite part of the garden back when I worked under Weyland. Well, it still is."

"I just thought I should get to know the man responsible for making this place..." Mireille struggled with the appropriate choice of words, looking away from the man shyly, "...rather enchanting. I...well, this place helps me with my writing. Very inspirational you know." She finished her sentence with a grin.

"Oh, dear," the smile vanished as she remembered her manners, " Forgive my manners. I am Mireille Authine."

[Snike]

[spoiler=Stress Test(after the Crusher Chronicles)]A few hours later, once most things settled down, Blake went over to Raquel's room. Hopefully she'd be there, and free to speak to, but if not, oh well. He had been meaning to check in with the merchant and see how she was doing, as well as figure out if or when he'd be fired, since that afternoon, but things had been hectic up until then. So, the man arrived, and knocked on the door, hoping for a response.

Raquel was busy trying to get her supplies and materials organized so she would have less work to do in the morning. She'd finished up some things already but still had quite a bit of work ahead of her, including a new project. To that end, she'd purchased some things in town other than mere provisions. The room wasn't going to be looking tidy anytime soon, however, and she realized this herself when she heard a knock at the door. "Oh ... uh, one second!" It's so much harder to keep a clean room than mom kept telling me. Well ... time to go embarrass myself, I guess.

Raquel opened the door, with an uncomfortable expression. "Hi, Blake."

Luckily, Raquel was in her room, which meant that he at least had a shot of having a conversation. Unfortunately, she seemed to be uncomfortable, when she opened the door Maybe she was in the middle of something.

"Hi. If this is a bad time, I can come back later or maybe bring it up on the road," Blake said, evenly enough. "I just wanted to see how you were holding up, after these past few days, apologize for earlier, and discuss another matter. It can wait."

"Umm ... now's fine, I guess." She wasn't sure whether to let him in and get a good look at the mess she'd created or step out into the hall and so stood still at first. After another second, she decided to just let him in. Talking out in the hallway wouldn't guarantee the conversation was actually private throughout. "Come in," she said, stepping away from the door and opening it wide enough to let the swordsman through. It also felt like presenting him a grand mess, but that was inevitable at this point.


Raquel was a bit flustered, but could talk for the time being, so she invited Blake in to her room. The merchant had apparently been in the middle of some work, judging by the messy state of the room. Really, she should've been resting, though it wasn't the swordsman's place to suggest that.

"Right... Well, first off, I want to apologize for what happened between myself and Bert," Blake said, looking at the floor. "I got a bit frustrated and went overboard with the argument. I should've let it be and let him rest."

"I'll admit, you could have handled that a bit better, but it's fine. Nothing happened and you even got him away from those officers and kept us from getting caught up in something big. That's the last thing we need right now since the wrathites are all over the place."

"I suppose... Right, about the Wrathites," Blake said, looking a bit uneasy. "They probably won't be bothering us actively, at least for a little while. The Ursian army lost Urcenter, just like Schwartz said, so they're probably focusing on trying to stop the advance and then push back. We aren't a priority in comparison to their war."

"That's good ... well ... in a sense," Raquel said, barely managing to force a smile. That quickly faded how,ever. "... but I still don't want to draw too much attention to the group right now. We're easy to spot, too big to get moving right away in an emergency, and there's no reason for them not to accost us again if we just happen to cross paths and there isn't a bigger threat around. So, let's just be really careful either way. At least until we get to Weyland's."

"I don't think we were planning to let our guard down, given who we were dealing with," Blake said, frowning. "It does ease the tension a little bit, however... Anyways, I also wanted to see how you were holding up. Between the fort and what just happened with the dragon, you've had a week that's been, to be blunt, terrible."

At first, Raquel was a little surprised that Blake was worried about her, but when she took a second or two to think back on all of the horrors she had gone through, she became a little worried, herself. She was holding up well enough, she realized, but only because she was always distracting herself as best she could, subconsciously if not deliberately. Even now, she was preparing to try and work on some projects rather than plan for future encounters with her enemies. Just thinking about things like that made her feel nervous and a little afraid. Her emblem abilities had also been put to the test twice since they arrived in Ursium and accomplished very little overall. "I'm fine. I mean, sure, sometimes it all feels so hopeless, and I'm just one bad decision away from becoming a wanted criminal ... and our enemies are a lot stronger than I imagined ... and we've been losing people in battle lately ... and I still haven't rescued my father ... but I'm fine. I'll be fine, at least." ... wow ... even I didn't buy that just now. "I just need to not focus on it so much. I can manage that way," she quickly amended herself.

Raquel started off by saying that she was fine, but by the end of her thought it was clear even to herself that she wasn't, and the merchant girl amended her statement by stating that she'd be able to manage if she didn't focus on her situation much. That was alright for the time being, but if it continued past Europa, she'd just be running away.

"Alright, I guess," Blake said, looking away again. "Though we will need to talk about the situation at some point. And some of what I think you feel bad about is unnecessary, like what happened earlier, with Marella. You aren't to blame for how the dragon encounter unfolded, Raquel. You saved Veronika's life, and that was more than anyone else could do."

"I keep telling myself that but the simple fact is, if I'd focused more on learning how to use the emblem instead of doing nothing once we left the fortress, I might have been able to save them both. I'm trying not to let that eat away at me, but now I've got a new problem. As much as I'm motivated to train now, I don't have an unlimited supply of energy anymore. If I use up all of this power, Hypnos could die."

'You can't know that, especially since you had just recently gained the powers. There wasn't enough time for you to delve into your abilities, before that happened," Blake said. Then the news about not having unlimited energy came, and caused the swordsman to frown. "... That was my fault. Had I been swifter, you wouldn't have had to have lost the Emblem. So, if you don't fire me, which I am expecting that you would, I am going to get you a piece back, some way, somehow. That's an oath I'll swear to you."

"F-fire you? No way! I can't do that," Raquel quickly and somewhat loudly replied. She hadn't meant to raise her voice, but she was caught off guard. Once she was sure she wouldn't speak up too loudly again, she said, "Look, I know things haven't been going all according to plan, but they never do. If there's one thing I learned back in training, it's that no plan survives contact with the enemy. Things change, and adjustments have to be made, but we're ... we're doing alright. I feel terrible about the people who have died, but it could be so much worse than this. We've gotten through all of this because you and everyone else are putting everything on the line to help me. I'll never repay that kind of sacrifice with a 'get lost' and a cold shoulder, never."

"...Alright, then I won't bring that up again," Blake said, after Raquel vehemently insisted that she wouldn't be firing him or anyone else. He had another shot at doing his job properly, it seemed. The man paused, to collect his thoughts, and remembered the various items that was scattered around the room. "... Out of curiosity, what are you working on?

"Oh, well ..." She'd had some time to calm down, but the subject change was farther from what she was expecting. "Well I'm planning on fixing Tia's books up while we're in town and then there's Gar's sleeve that needs mending. I also went to get some supplies so I could start on a project of my own. It's nothing major, just an outfit I had help designing a long time ago that I might actually have time to make now." Then, putting her hand on her chin, she muttered, "I hope it's not too extravagant looking when it's done ..."

"Unless it's laced with gold, or something like that, I doubt it will be extravagant," Blake said, looking at the materials. "I mean, I wouldn't take you for the type of person to go over-the top with outfit designs, either, so I am not concerned."

"... rrright," Raquel nervously replied. She was silent for a moment afterward.

I suppose the golden trimming isn't actually gold. That would be expensive and extravagant.

Not now. "Umm, anyway, that's what I'm working on right now."

Apparently he had misjudged his employer, given Raquel's reaction when he commented on the golden trim. Oh well. Gold trim wasn't the worst thing that could happen to an outfit.

"Silver looks generally nicer, though I suppose gold does work with purple," Blake said, avoiding eye contact as he began to head for the door. "Makes it look regal, as opposed to flashy. Anyways, sorry about interrupting your work. I was just checking in. I'll be on my way."

"It's no problem. I kind of appreciate the company, actually," Raquel admitted, minding her wording. "I should be alone for this though, so I can focus, but thank you for stopping by." And by 'alone' I mean excluding everyone but my seemingly permanent guest, here.

That was an incentive for getting me a new body that I hadn't already come up with. Interesting.

"No problem," Blake said, as he stepped outside. "Goodbye."

And with that, the swordsman closed the door and made his way to his room, a floor away.

***
Evelyn's frown changed to a slight smile as Morgana's 'interests' were brought up. "Well, glad to see the war has not brought you down too too much, Princess," to the other guard, she added, "Miss Wyght is better than her usual target, I guess."
***
"Well, have fun, kids," Pete said, stretching his arms, as Lumi and her friend's plans were finalized. "I'll go find the archery range. I've no interest in visiting the town, not tonight at least."

[scorri]

Eric grinned. "Well, I'm glad the work I do has helped you in the past. If even one person appreciates the beauty I make, then it is all worth it. Though it can hardly compare to the beauty I have standing before me." He held out his hand as she introduced herself. "I'm Eric. You said you used to work here. How is it that I never met you before?"

[Mercakete]

After having gotten some directions from one of the maids that were scattered around the manse, Norbert found himself a door. I guess this is that storage room that maid told me about. He grabbed the doorknob, turned it and pushed the door open, stepping inside. It was only then that a thought occurred to him. What if our pay's still just in one, big box? How am I going to know what my share is?

[scorri]

Erion

"Pshh, fine. I suppose we should wait for him. As for after this... I suppose I go where the money's offered. I know that might sound a bit... harsh, but I need to live." He shrugged. "If they'll still pay me, I'll stay, but otherwise, I'll need to find someone who will. How about you?"

Lumi

"Oh, alright Pete. We'll miss you!" Turning back to the rest of the group, she grinned. "Alright then, to the town it is. How about we go shopping for a bit first, and then when we get hungry get food and drinks?"

[Toogee]

"Greta's thinking about going with Raquel," Jam replied. "It sounds like they're gonna need more help, especially with all this emblem oogy-boogy business they keep talking about. Considering where we're staying, it doesn't look like money will be a problem. Yeah, they sound like they're always in peril, but we're the same way."

Before she started to ramble further, Jam stopped and came to the point.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is...You're good people, Erion. I don't want to lose you over something like gold."

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"I would like to browse the flight jackets at Largo's Cargo," Eli replied, perhaps unintentionally setting up their first stop. "Good thing I got paid today."

[-Cynthia-]

Connor

"It's risky, but also a great opportunity. I'll be able to examine Neviskotian technology from the inside as well as whatever the Organization has. Besides, Raquel really needs as much help as she can get. I'm sure we can think of something," he assured Uncle Seth.

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

The guard hung his head, looking a little depressed at Annelise's answer. "Right, just 'born that way'. Well, at least it's honest. Doesn't do me much good, though, I'm afraid."

Meanwhile, Ranyin arrived and took a seat at the table before greeting Amon. "Yeah, I remember you," he replied with a small smile. "I'm alive so that will have to be enough for now. How are things for you?"

Patio

Shadrak shrugged at Gar's question. He supposed that if they were being technical about it, the vasili were children of the gods, but did the gods or the vasili themselves see it that way? He'd be sure to ask one if he ever got the chance and actually remembered. In the meantime there was Siv, the egg, and Gar's burned eyes to deal with. "Siv?"

"Mm?"

"Maybe we should head back inside, now. I mean the egg's asleep, right? So it's not going to hatch right now."

"I wish there was some way to get it home ..."

She still thinks it's a fallen egg, even after that light show?

He'd unwittingly gotten her attention with that. "They're kestrelii, just like me! Even if they're ... vasili ... they're kestrelii too."

"I ... I guess."

Workshop

"The risk still outweighs the opportunity until we come up with a system that can stand up to what you faced at that abandoned fortress ... and you'll likely face worse if you do find and attack their stronghold," Weyland explained.

"Hopefully, they'll be in a position to attack it on foot and the transport can just wait behind, but we should probably design it with both scenarios in mind," Anna added.

Garden

"Of course not," Athena confidently replied to Evelyn. "Father's going to put an end to this insanity one way or the other. We just need to be patient and wait a bit longer for everything to fall into place."

Morgana then smirked, saying, "Ohhh, but I'm certain that marrying that Terrel character is all a part of his master plan. Don't make things difficult for him now, Athena."

"Oh that is just low," she retorted, trying to think of a quick way to get back on her preferred topic.

The royal guard sighed and said, "I hope Lord Terrel doesn't catch wind of any of this banter."

[Ether]

"You aren't fundamentally unattractive, perhaps it is simply your approach that errs." Annelise replied to the guardsman.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"There's a saying that home is where the heart is," Gar said between rubbing his eyes. "That's mostly irrelevant, but if it's born here and this is all it ever knows, then this is its home. Sorta." Gar blinked a few times as his vision returned to normal. Stupid sun. You'll get yours one of these days. Gar swore vengeance.

Edited September 6, 2013 by Script

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

Veronika resisted the urge to snicker at Gar's temporary blindness and focused on Siv instead. So, Phoenix is a Fallen? I don't know why that would be true since the Fallen don't like fire and legends say it's made of fire or something. Still, not like I'm the expert on these things.

Nadya

So they either don't know what Aisha's plannin' or they're not tellin' me- just seems strange she'd let our piece get away if she wants one so bad. Maybe she was afraid of Lilith beatin' her up or somethin'. Nadya pondered, turning her head towards Ranyin. She couldn't remember why the Kigenese mage left so she was interested to hear his explanation.

Connor

"The fortress was a special circumstance to be fair- the Dauntless was far away from the battle site but we had to close in to blow the gate open. The other times the group was attacked the Dauntless was ignored completely," Connor pointed out.

[Mercakete]

Suddenly, Ranyin of all people came and sat down next to her and began talking with Amon. She didn't want to interrupt, but she did want to greet the little guy. "Ahoy," was her simple, cheery greeting. That was all she planned on saying unless asked something directly, though.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As he made his way through the large storage room, Norbert was stopped by one of the workers there. "Hey, wait a minute, there."

"What is it?" was Norbert's reply. Though he hadn't been expecting it it made sense that someone would be keeping an eye on their things.

"What are you doing here?" the worker asked, then added almost as an afterthought, "And who are you, anyway?"

"I'm with Raquel. Er... Well, I was until just a little while ago," he replied. I've really gotten used to saying that, I guess. "I'm here to pick up my pay. Raquel kept it in the Dauntless so one of the maids told me to come here."

"Oh, I see. Alright, then. Take your time," he replied before going off again to see to his work.

The pegasus rider himself just nodded and continued on his way. Once he'd made it to the pile of what was once the Dauntless' contents, he began looking around for the crate that held the group's gold. It didn't take him very long since there was a list right on top of it with the names of everyone in Raquel's payroll and how much they were owed. When he found his name on the list, Norbert was a bit flabbergasted. Five...thousand...? It was actually a little over 5000 gold he now had to his name.

For a couple moments he just stared in shock. Then, he asked a nearby worker, "Uh... Do you have anything I can carry this in?"

Edited September 6, 2013 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

"My approach?" the guard echoed. "Sadly, I doubt there's an approach that'll work reliably. First rule of humans: we don't make a lot of sense."

"Heheheheh. Oh I think I understand your kind quite well by now," Steinn chimed in. "Well then, shall we continue?"

Sighing, the guard said, "Yeah, sure, I guess ..."

Patio

"But if they hatch here and are raised around wild humans, they won't ... they won't ... understand." Siv was struggling to explain something, but Gabbie wasn't sure what it was. Since Siv couldn't find the right words, Gabbie simply shrugged disinterestedly at her.

Shadrak thought he knew, though. "You think they'll come up like humans, don't you? You think they won't embrace the fallen culture when they finally see it, is that it?" Shadrak had to admit to himself that if that was Siv's reasoning, it was pretty flawed, but he also understood where she was coming from. Wherever this thing grew up, it would carry some of that place with it, the good and the bad, most likely, and as far as Siv was concerned, fallen culture's goods and bads were preferable to Ursium's. When Siv nodded, he sighed. So he was right about that. Gabbie still didn't care from the looks of things.

Workshop

"We'll take that into account, but don't forget, you've spent most of your travels in relatively friendly territory. Neviskotia could have far more agents than they're used to dealing with. They might even have to face dragons regularly if they're going to make their way into the eastern territories. Even the Dauntless wouldn't suffice for that ..."

"Anyway, I'll go and get that model list so we can get started. Who knows when Raquel will want to get a move on. By the way, Connor, when you get a chance, I think you should be the one to let her know that we're swapping out the Dauntless for a new prototype. I'll be too busy from the looks of things, and Weyland's obviously got some serious brainstorming to do," Anna chimed in. That was when she suddenly remembered one other matter, though it was a minor one in her opinion. "One other thing, I didn't think we'd have to 'build' a replacement, so I'm going to be pretty busy. Frankly, I don't think I'll have time for that tour today like I thought. I might be able to tomorrow, but otherwise maybe someone else could do it? Heavens, I'm sure even Gabbie could manage hahah." Was she serious? Possibly.

Edited September 6, 2013 by Phoenix

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Isn't it the hatching's choice what to believe?" Gar stated.

[ReformBlade]

"Aww, I'd love a jacket, but I don't think I'd get to wear it proper all the time. Armor and whatnot... Still, something for those cold lonely nights would be most welcome!" Imagining a jacket with just about a million pockets, Aneda smiled at the two. All the things it could hold.. In that convenient package! "After that, I'll keep my eyes peeled for a good place to chill out."

[Eail]

After he'd finished up his business and was seemingly going to be allowed to tag along for the ball, Alphonse wasn't feeling so hot again. Excusing himself for all the hooplah that was about to start the swordsman quickly found another bathroom and had to empty his stomach again.... noticing the hints of blood mixed in with his vomit and was a tad worried about it. Once he was fairly sure that nothing else was going to come up, and his face had regained a bit of color the redhead washed out his mouth and went back to the dining hall, finding Jamill and the thief.

"Hey.... we ready to go?"

[Ether]

"Very well, let us move on." Annelise replied. Seemed that she didn't have any notable advice for the human.

***

Returning to the dining hall, it seemed that the Fallen royal had returned, along with another fallen woman. Still, there wasn't much she could do about them, considering the whole mind-ready thing. May as well see if anything else was going to happen.

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

Once Steinn, Annelise, and the escort left, Fizza muttered, "I wonder what happened to that Siv girl and the egg. Maybe it's hatching as we speak and something interesting's about to come out of that thing. I'm starting to get really curious."

Hallway

"So Steinn, where were you planning to show her to next? Are we still looking for Weyland?"

"I figure we'll run into him if we keep wandering about, and if we come across anything noteworthy, I'll be sure to point it out. Feel free to do so yourself as well," Steinn replied.

"Okay, sure. Hmm ..." What the hell counts as noteworthy around here that's not locked behind iron doors?

Library

Once they had made it back to the library, Tamara opened the doors for Zachary and Tia to let them in. No one appeared to be inside from the the view the entrance offered, and it was rather quiet inside. They'd definitely be able to hear themselves breathing before long. "Here you are. Is there anything else?"

Patio

Siv shook her head at Gar's statement, though she was more focused on its implications in this specific context. "That's a ... human ... thing," she tried to explain, though the limits of her common vocabulary were beginning to show.

Seeing this as a good opportunity to learn more about the culture of the Fallen, Shadrak asked, "So I take it there isn't a wide range of acceptable political ideals in Corvus?"

"N-no. I just ... don't want them to be rejected. I want them to be adopted by a strong clan and taken care of, but if they're raised by wild humans and act like them or s-sssympathize ... sympathize with them, that won't happen," she explained.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Interesting," Gar replied and slipped into some thoughts between song. "Nothing like adversary to build character after all." The crack of a rifle firing filled Gar's mind as he chuckled. "And on the other hand, staying here means learning all of our precious weaknesses and flaws and knowing how best to exploit them. Imagine, returning home flush with the knowledge of how to cleanse humans effortlessly." Gar turned his chuckle into a full on evil laugh.

[Snike]

"I suppose it might be better to hope that he doesn't care," Evelyn responded to her fellow guard, as she shrugged. "I would not doubt that he is aware of the situation, anyways."

[Phoenix]

Patio

"What?" Siv heard Gar loud and clear but was a little caught off guard by his rambled reasoning and his strange laughter.

"I guess that's one way to look at it," Shadrak said, figuring there had to be at least some fallen out there who'd find that sort of information valuable, though it didn't necessarily guarantee an adoption. He imagined they might also simply probe the child for information and then dump them somewhere.

Garden

"Perhaps. The princess doesn't seem as likely to hold back her true feelings in all of this, and given the circumstances, Lord Terrel was likely advised to expect such an attitude. Hopefully that's the case. I'd hate this engagement to be nothing more than a prelude to needless drama," the royal guardsman said.

"Perhaps I should be frank with him. He does most of the talking when he's around and I'm fine with that ... if they want to prattle on, let them, but ... if I just nod my head and go along with this without even a word of protest, he and his people won't take me seriously, will they?" Athena mused aloud. "I'm still sure this is all one big scheme to placate the western houses, so maybe ... just maybe, if I show enough dissatisfaction with Lord Terrel, they'll try to replace him with someone more to my liking. Morgana, what do you think?"

"Not if this engagement party goes off without a hitch. You'll just embarrass everyone involved."

"Uuuugh, I didn't plan this ball, so I'm hard pressed to care about how embarrassed they are. All of this is so ... rushed. I'd wish for something to ruin this party, but if that happened, someone might get hurt or even killed."

"Very likely, Princess," Eugene nodded in agreement.