Careless Whisper

@ NauticalNonsense;;

It was another boring day. Cedric's sole responsibility in the world was supposed to be protecting the prince and generally simply making sure he was safe. Pay close attention to the words "supposed to be" though. There were so many soldiers crawling around everywhere, the kingdom's military, that if the slightest thread appeared, they had it handled before Cedric could even unsheath his sword. So where did that leave the knight on the foodchain? Well, it left him with a bad taste in his mouth, mainly.

This was because Cedric was supposed to be a white knight, the protector of the crowned prince, but instead he had somehow been demoted to babysitter... The soldiers protected everyone from danger, meaning virtually nothing got through. But Cedric had to have something to do so he didn't get bored, so he made sure Konner didn't get into trouble, watched him, whatever he was doing, and if the prince so much as sneezed, Cedric was the one to wipe his nose. Frankly, it was demeaning considering he had spent years to hone his skills enough to become an accomplished knight, to do his kingdom a service, but what was he to do about it?

Nothing. He could do absolutely nothing.

---

"I hear you. I know the children are missing, but send someone out to find them. Our queen doesn't need to worry about this!" Tannis snapped at the stuttering faerie in front of her. She knew the situation was serious, but it was the full moon, and the children had wandered out of Faerie, their realm, and into the mortal realm, Earth. The full moon could be tricky, too. If a cloud covered the moon, the pathway would be lost. Yet they still wanted to include their queen, knowing she would insist on going to find the children, herself?

Tannis was a warrior, and more importantly, one of the few and the best belonging to the Seelie Court, meaning she had been offered the honor of defending Queen Camille. She wasn't sure anyone had expected it at the time, but Tannis actually took her job very seriously. And with that last order to the faerie she'd been dealing with, she turned around and walked back to her queen.

"I'm sorry, my queen. There's a small problem, but it's being taken care of." Tannis gave a small bow.

Konner sat upon his throne, in a very unprincelike manner. He sat sideways, with his head propped up on one arm and his legs dangling off of the other. An aggravated glance was directed towards the main hall and he scowled. Prince Konner hated the life he was forced to live; he could imagine so many other wonderful things he could be out doing.

His eyes traveled over to his loyal knight, Cedric, and made a face. Cedric prevented him from doing many of the things he really wanted to do. Konner could tell that Cedric was antsy tonight; itching to do something. "Cedric," he waited until the knight looked at him and beckoned him closer. "Why don't you and I go hunting tonight." Eyes gleaming, he flashed a wicked grin at the other boy. "It could be fun," he said, drawing out the last word.

---

Camille watched over her kingdom, love strong in her heart. Currently her throne was one made of a bed of lilies, it was meant to match the lovely crown adorned atop her head.

Her head tilted as she heard Tannis in a heated conversation, just around the corner. She waited patiently for her trusted warrioress to return to her. "Stand up, my Tannis. You know I don't like it when you bow to me. There's no one here for you to keep your appearances up for." Camille smiled at the faerie warrior standing in front of her with love and adoration. Camille and Tannis had grown together and had spent many years together. If the queen were to question who her best friend may be, she would have to say Tannis was by far the best choice.

"It didn't sound very handled," the queen raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to tell me what's going on? You know I don't like secrets." Tapping her foot, she waited for the girl's response.

@ catching dreams

@ NauticalNonsense;;

"Hunting..." Cedric echoed with the words trailing off. While before he had been standing off to the side, now he was standing before his prince now, a frown etched between his eyebrows. Mainly this was because the sun had set, not too long ago really, and though the full moon was out, it was still rather dark outside, especially in the woods. Yet Konner wanted to go hunting?

"My prince... I'm not so sure that's really a very good idea," he started, but soon he breathed out a sigh. "Then again, I don't really have a choice, do I?" As long as it wasn't excessively dangerous, Cedric technically couldn't stop Konner from doing it. It wasn't prudent to go hunting at night, but... dangerous didn't qualify as what hunting in the middle of the night during a full moon was.

---

Tannis stood when she was asked, but ducked her head again in embarrassment soon after, with her wispy red hair falling into her face. "I'm sorry..." she murmured softly, head still ducked. "A couple of children wandered off.. out of Faerie, actually..." She looked back up, a stubborn look on her features. "You can't go though, my queen. If we don't find them in time... if a cloud covers the moon, then you'll be stuck in the mortal world for a month while we wait for another full moon. And the Seelie Court needs their queen. Won't you please listen to me this time and stay here? Trust your faeries to handle it."

Tannis cared deeply for Camille, her queen, the faerie she grew up with, and though she knew her queen thought she worried excessively, Tannis knew in reality she worried just enough, considering she was the only guard Camille would accept, even though she really did need more than one... so it was up to Tannis to take care of everything.

A smirk flittered across Konner's face. "No you don't, my knight." He jumped down from his throne with a cat like grace and headed for his room. "I'm going to get prepared with the proper attire. Do meet me at the weapons room, knight."

As soon as he entered his room, he headed for his closet not even bothering with the door. The Prince was far beyond being embarrassed by what he had to offer, in fact, he flaunted it with pride. It amused him when the newer maids would become embarrassed at the sight of his naked body. Once he was ready, he headed for the weapons room where he knew Cedric would be waiting.

---

Camille looked at the girl standing in front of her, a frown forming on her face. "If they haven't found them yet, then my faeries are doing their job well enough. You know how important the children are to me. I understand that the rest of the court may need me but they are safe here. Darren may lead in my stead." Darren was her second most trusted warrior, so he typically was left in charge upon her leaving. Normally, a queen would appoint her first but Camille knew Tannis wouldn't let her go into the mortal realm without her.

"Call my dressing maid with armor and make sure someone prepares my horse. I'm going wether you enjoy it or not, Tannis." The queen hated being so forward with her but in times like this, she knew she must. Her hands adorned her hips as she looked at the other girl, her eyebrow raised with an inquiring look.

@ catching dreams

@ NauticalNonsense;;

Cedric gave a small, formal bow as was expected of him, then as the prince left, he turned and left the room as well. His armor, chain mail and all, clinked as he walked down the various hallways he had to traverse before he came upon the weapons room. The halls were mostly empty, with the occasional servant left hurrying through every now and again. With it being nighttime, most were tucked away in their beds, or at least allowed to return to their homes and families. Cedric's day never ended until his prince's did, though.

Cedric actually stood about, rather bored, until Konner showed up in different attire. "May I recommend a bow?" the knight inquired. Since it was hunting that was being planned, the bow and arrow was the most obvious as well as the smartest choice. However, Prince Konner was known for his whimsical behavior and Cedric wouldn't bat an eye if the prince chose to pick up a mace rather than the recommended bow.

---

Tannis huffed a sigh of frustration, but gave a nod anyway since she really had no choice. "Yes, my queen." That said, Tannis excused herself from the throne room to track down the dressing maid and pass on the order for armor. Then she gave orders for the queen's horse to be prepared. Since Tannis knew she would be able to keep up, and defend better, without a horse, she didn't bother having one prepared for herself.

Once these chores were done, she returned to her queen, in time to see Camille dressed in her armor. Fae armor was special.. It was made from natural substances combined with magic, though never iron, as mortal armor consisted of. "Your horse is being prepared now. We should be able to leave in short order," the crimson-haired faerie reported to her queen. "Are you certain I cannot persuade you to stay here in Faerie? Darren could stay here with you... I would go tot he mortal realm and find the children and bring them home."

"A bow?" Konner mused to himself. He walked about the weapons room, skulking much like a panther, glancing at the weapons as he trailed his hand across the shelves as he went. "I'm thinking of something a bit more… intriguing. He picked up a seraph blade and trailed his finger along the sharp edge, licking up the blood the welled up onto his thumb.

"Cedric," he started, using the knight's name, implying that he was somewhat of importance, "You know what I like the most about you?" Konner questioned while the headed towards the stables. Without giving the other boy a chance to respond, he continued, "You never question me—aloud, anyways—and I find that to be a very important quality in a knight."

---

"No, Tannis. Just as you won't allow me to enter it without you, I won't allow you to enter without me. You know I don't trust easily. No one can protect me as well as you can, and I know you will protect me as we embark on this adventure." The queen smiled, one that showed teeth that were as ivory. "Lead me, now." Camille waved her hands forward and followed Tannis to where her horse would be waiting.

The horse was one of great beauty—and not quite like the ones you would find in the mortal realm. In fact, it wasn't a horse at all; the beauty standing on all fours in front of her was indeed a unicorn. A rare, dying breed and the Queen took great pride in owning her own. She ran her hand across the silvery white mane of the beast, before climbing atop it. "Oh, Annabell," she whispered to it and trailed her fingers, lightly, against the horn adorning the unicorn's head. It shimmered like a rainbow and one couldn't help but feel awe about it; even someone so used to it as Camille was.

@ catching dreams

@ NauticalNonsense;;

What his prince was planning on hunting with a seraph blade, Cedric was quite sure he didn't want to know. He didn't say anything though, because it really wasn't his place, so he stayed silent even though he was becoming more and more disapproving of this nighttime hunting expedition. Honestly... what sort of person does this sort of thing?

"It isn't my place to question you, my prince," Cedric replied as they walked. "If you don't my asking though, what is it exactly that you plan on hunting tonight?" They reached their destination then though, the stables, and as Konner prepared his horse, Cedric prepared his own and then mounted.

---

Tannis let out a sigh. She really didn't see why she couldn't go on her own... she would be careful around the mortals, she could fight well, and she was sure she'd be able to find the children. Unless there was some randomized attack by the Unseelie, which was extremely unlikely considering it was the full moon, Camille would be perfectly safe. But Tannis was only a subject to her queen, as every other faerie, and orders were orders.

"Yes, my queen," she murmured and then led the way to the small stables of the Seelie Court. Tannis helped her queen atop Annabell, a beautiful unicorn. To be polite, Tannis rubbed Annabell's mane briefly, and then started to lead the way. "It just got dark, so we should have plenty of time to find the children, but we should still hurry."

(So... what if initially Tannis is the only one who gets stuck? I think a unicorn could be problematic if you know what I mean and it would be so sad if one died, so...)

The Prince chuckled at Cedric's question. "Honestly, nothing in particular. I'm bored and I want out of the dreadful castle, is that so bad?" He flashed a devilish grin and mounted his steed. "Besides, I know you find babysitting me terribly boring so why not make it fun for you?"

They moved forward, out of the stables, and in the direction of the forest. Konner had heard many tales of what lay beyond the forest border, especially on a full moon. Glancing up at the silvery orb hanging in the sky, a shiver went down his spine. He knew he was leading Cedric, blindly so, into something that could be far more dangerous that what had been intended, and that caused a sick feeling of satisfaction inside of him.

---

"Tannis, if it makes you feel better, I will rush back to the portal if need be; if there is any danger. Do know if you get stuck behind without me, I'm going to be very displeased and don't think I won't find a way to initially drag you back." She smiled down at her faerie knight as the headed towards the intrance of the mortal realm. Quickly she done a bit of magic to make sure Annabell's unicorn state was hidden and appeared as any normal horse.

Camille held tightly to the reins as they made their way through the portal. Winds were tearing at her clothes and whipping her hair about, but she kept a face of determination upon her features and headed forwards. They came out of the portal and appeared in a dully lit cavern; it smelled earthy and like home, in fact, the Queen could still hear the music. She eyed the entrance of the cave wearily. Why must children be so troublesome?

@ catching dreams
(A bit of magic and no more unicorn-likeness. c: but if you only want Tannis to be left behind, that's fine, I suppose.)

@ NauticalNonsense;;
(XD no, I forgot about glamours momentarily. I'm just worried about the poor unicorn lol)

At this point, Cedric wasn't exactly sure there was anything anyone could do to make babysitting fun. He was simply tired of it... and the sad part was that he was still young. It would be decades yet before he would be released from his duties, if he didn't die first. "That's very considerate of you... please just remember that it's dark outside and there's a chance that other people may be out as well... so please be mindful of what you attack."

Of course Cedric had heard stories of fae creatures in the forest, but they were just stories. Fae didn't exist, and there were no portals that appeared during the full moon, because those were stories parents told their children to scare them into staying out of the forest, especially at night. But then they had ridden into the forest, and they had to slow down both because of limited sight do to the moon being blocked by the trees, and because of the trees themselves.

---

Tannis smiled lightly as she created a glamour as well, so that she looked human and looked as if she wore human armor. "Well, I shouldn't get stuck here without you. If it does happen though, you needn't worry. I'll find another portal back as soon as possible. The worst case scenario would be that I am here for a month before I can get back, and Darren would need to fill my place during that time."

She went ahead towards the entrance of the cave, peering out into the darkness for signs of mortals, even though it was unlikely, and then motioned her queen forward. "I'll stay close, but I may need to venture astray every now and again to make sure our surroundings are safe," she informed Camille. "Hopefully the children won't have ventured far from the portal..."

@ NauticalNonsense;;
:D

Konner waved his hands dissmisavily at his knight. "Who would be brave enough to come into the woods at night? I don't expect anything to happen from this night at all; I doubt we'll find anything." He held a face that looked serious while in his mind he thought differently. He had every intention of finding something intriguing tonight. He just wasn't sure what yet.

---

Camille laughed and shook her head at the other girl. She was always so worrisome, very much different than the Queen who liked to jump into doing things. "Tannis, I think your fretting is going to cause your lovely hair to turn dreadfully grey." A grin spread across her lips. "Besides, this would be a much easier task if weren't looking for children, they always stray."

A memory floated up of a time when Camille and Tannis had strayed away from the castle. She was supposed to of been practing doing all things royal while Tannis stood guard. Camille had decided it was a much better idea to go exploring, to play. Even then Tannis had worried.

@ catching dreams
(Sorry, Mibba ate my notifications for a day. I've been trying to get caught up.)

@ NauticalNonsense;;
(Hahaha no problem!)

Cedric wanted to retort with a question on why they were even here if Konner didn't think anything was going to happen or that they were going to find anything, but knew that wouldn't be smart. Besides... who questioned royalty? A dead man, to be honest... "Okay then... well, let's push on I suppose."

After a little while of wandering around a dark forest with only the sounds of bats, owls, crickets, and frogs, and them sighting none of the above creatures, Cedric was already tired of the little expedition. That was, until he swore he could hear some strange noise... it was almost like singing, and it sounded a little like... like children singing. But it couldn't be children singing, because children didn't come out into the forest in the middle of the night.

---

"I know they do," Tannis sighed. "That's what makes it so horrible to find them. And for the record, my hair won't turn grey because I've been worrying about you since we were kids. It would be grey by now." She walked alongside Annabell as they continued through the forest.

"I think I hear them..." Tannis stopped all of a sudden, listening out. It was so faint that she could hardly hear it, but... she could swear she could hear them singing a ways up ahead. "This way," she started to lead Annabell forward, and therefore Camille forward as well.

Konner's ears perked up at the sound of something new. His heart began to beat a little faster and headed towards the sound. It was compelling in its own way, like it was drawing him near it. "Cedric, do you hear that?" The prince whispered, glancing at the other boy. He could tell by the look on Cedric's face that he did, indeed, hear whatever Konner was. He looked away from Cedric then, a devilish grin creeping its way onto his face.

Konner brought his horse to a stop a little ways away from where he could hear the singing. Hopping off, he then creeped up between two trees and saw children. But what were children doing out here? There was something about they way the children looked, like there was an air of something magical around them. The Prince's eyes went wide as he thought, the fae.

---

Camille let Tannis lead the way, listening to the sounds of singing. It was indeed the musical voices belonging to the fae children. They made their way between two bushes, coming out next to a clear, bright blue lake. The Queen could see why the children had been drawn here; it was beautiful.

"My children," Camille started, she could tell she had startled the children as their singing ceased, "What are you doing out of the faerie realm?" A hard look spread across her features. Normally, she would be gentle with them but leaving the kingdom unsupervised was forbidden. Only faerie warriors were allowed to leave and, ocassionally, herself.

@ catching dreams

@ NauticalNonsense;;
(Sorry, we had company for my dad's birthday)

They had gotten close when all of a sudden, Konner hopped off his horse and started creeping into the darkness out of eyesight. Cedric scrambled off his horse as well to hurriedly catch up since he really couldn't afford to lose his charge, and wasn't sure he wanted to deal with such a thing in any event...

By the time he got to the bushes, the singing had stopped, but he could hear voices now. He peered out of the bushes. There was a woman riding a white horse, with what appeared like another woman in armor standing beside her -which was ridiculous because women didn't fight... besides that, what in the world were they doing way out here at this time of night? "What in the world is anyone else doing out this time of night?"

---

While the children approached, looking as if they knew very well they were in trouble, Tannis stood, eyes scanning the clearing though she saw no signs of mortals around... then she was almost certain she heard the clink of armor, though it was too brief to be certain. She kept her eyes on the forest for a little while longer than needed ecause of it, but in the end looked back to her queen and the two children who had run off.

Fafnir was usually pretty level-headed and didn't tend to get in trouble, but Phoenix on the other hand... she was quite a trouble maker, and Fafnir's sister. She ended up getting her brother into messes since he tried to make sure she was safe, and it just caused a mess.

That was when Tannis thought she heard something. She strained her ears, and was almost certain that was someone talking... she looked up at Camille. "I think I hear something," she whispered. "Take the kids and make sure they go through the mortal. If it makes you feel better, sit right outside and wait for me, but stay in that cave. And if the moon starts to go down, just go through the portal without me. But hurry." She helped Fafnir and Phoenix onto Annabell, and turned towards where she was almost certain the noise had been coming from. The safety of her queen was worth more than a mortal or... however many of them there were. For them to still be concealed though, she guessed three at most.

"How should I know?" Konner whisper-yelled at his knight. He watched as the woman in armor helped load the children up onto the horse, where a very regal looking woman rode. He eyed them carefully, both of them having an odd beauty about them - not quite human.

The prince quickly looked over at Cedric, "I want them." He then looked away from him, he didn't have to see Cedric's face to know how he would be looking at him right now. "C'mon." With that, they surged forward.

---

Camille nodded and took off with the children. She arrived at the cave rather quickly, since it hadn't been far from where they had been. "C'mon, Fafnir, Phoenix. Hurry up now. Into the portal. Oh, and I will be in a meeting with you and your parents later." She said with a stern look as she corraled them, leading them towards the portal. Without thinking better of it she decided something. "Here, go on Annabell. Tell them that Tannis and I will be there soon." Then she sent the children on their way.

The Queen stood there for a moment, tapping her feet on the rocky ground. She couldn't bare the thought of Tannis being out there without her. She bit her lip and, without really thinking about it, surged forward to where they had found the children.

@ catching dreams
(That's fine. I've been sucked into Netflix. /.\)

@ NauticalNonsense;;
(haha no problems. I'm probably going to start reading like crazy again soon anyway lol it always happens around this time)

Cedric thought Konner was crazy right then... sure, the women looked mildly surreal, like something from a dream almost, but... "I want them." As in capturing and owning another human being? Even for the prince, that seemed a little... off-kilter.

Unfortunately, Cedric was only a knight, and honestly, while sometimes he acted like a babysitter, in truth.. when it came down to it, he still had to take orders from Konner. So, Cedric was sure that later he wasn't going to be able to sleep, but for the moment he had to do this, meaning as Konner surged forward, Cedric did as well, momentarily coming up short as the armored woman, the only one left in the clearing now, unsheathed a sword and pointed it at them.

---

"I don't know what you two want, but you don't have to get hurt if you turn around and leave now," Tannis warned. She was in no mood to play games with mortals, though she was relieved that her queen had listened to her, and was now safe at the portal with the children. At least one of the mortals, if not both, knew how to fight, and they were both armed. It was going to be much easier to resolve the problem without having to worry over Camille's safety.

Then there was rustling from behind, and Tannis whirled around to see her queen emerging into the clearing once more. Well, this night just kept getting better and better then... "Either go back to the portal to stay behind me, but I'd prefer the portal," she hissed as she turned back quickly towards the two mortals. For a moment, she'd been afraid a third one had been attempting to sneak up on her from behind, but her queen being here was just worse, honestly...

A smirk made its way onto Konner's face. It was just two measly women, they had nothing to worry about. He doubted the one standing in front of him had a lot of skill when it came to fighting, and that the other one really knew how to fight at all. Still, he'd prefer not to hurt either one of them if he didn't have to.

The Prince threw his hands up in a fake surrender and said, "We're not here to fight miladies. Just simply curious as to why two beautiful women as yourselves are out here, wondering about so late at night." He smiled his most charming smile, hoping they would see no danger from the situation.

---

Camille slightly glared at the back of Tannis's head. She knew the other girl cared deeply for her but she could not stand being told what to do. Still, she tried to simmer her anger for the other girl and stay placed behind her. She watched the boy in front them. He was beautiful with his impish grin. In fact, he could most likely pass for a faerie if he were taught all the right things.

Her gaze traveled past him and onto the other boy, who was clearly a knight. He looked as if he definitely didn't want to be there. He was lovely, in a much different sense than his companion. He was mortally beautiful and that was the Queen's favorite kind of beauty. She almost wished that she could go to touch him, the one who was very displeased with his life. Instead she held her hand tight to her side and planted her feet frim on the ground, so Tannis wouldn't have a stroke.

@ catching dreams

@ NauticalNonsense;;

Cedric hadn't drawn his weapon yet, even though there was a sword being pointed at them. And even though Konner didn't seem worried, Cedric couldn't help but think by the way she carried herself, that the armored woman definitely knew how to use her sword. Even though the thought seemed preposterous...

Then his eyes traveled to the one that had come back, who was standing behind the woman with the sword. She was extremely beautiful, had this kind look about her, and she didn't seem worried in the least, as if she knew exactly how this whole confrontation was going to turn out.

---

Tannis could feel her queen's glare but ignored it as her eyes stayed fixed on the two mortals in front of her. In her opinion, anyone who could smile while having a sword pointed at them had something wrong in their brain, but at the moment... she didn't want to fight these two if she didn't have to, so she slowly lowered her sword and sheathed it, keeping one hand on the hilt though, just in case.

"We were just leaving actually," she replied smoothly, which was true since they were about to leave before the mortals in front of her had showed up. "And if you wouldn't mind, we will be leaving now." Tannis honestly didn't trust very easily, and mortals happened to be exactly who she trusted the least. The humans and the fae just weren't comptatible on any level.

"But it's so late. Surely you lovely ladies would like to come back to my castle. It's really not far from here. I could have a feast put together for you and warms beds." Konner couldn't begin to fathom where they might be going. Unless they really were the fae and if they are - which is what he suspected - then all he had to do was keep them from going anywhere until the full moon had passed.

The Prince was unsure how to do exactly that without hurting either of them. He was positive the one standing before him knew how to fight at this point. Though, he certainly enjoyed her snippy attitude. He liked a powerful woman but now was not that time for such thoughts.

---

Camille eyed the two boys curiously. She'd like to know what it was like in a mortal's castle but she knew Tannis would have a fit. "Sorry, boys. But the boss lady would say that that's a no go." She smiled and laughed lightly, even though she knew Tannis wouldn't find her statement amusing in the least.

@ catching dreams