"I understand, don't worry." The king said, keeping his eyes on Fio as he motioned for Demaias and Miriam to step down, so they went and stood on either side of him. "My son and the heir of Westrun's throne, Prince Demaias. Though, I hear you've already met. And this is my dear daughter, Princess Miriam." The young nobles bowed and curtsied respectively. "And, as you know, I am King Ryemor Mallum."
Fio nodded a little bit, eyes flashing from the king to Demaias to Miriam, and back to the king. He didn't know if he was supposed to say anything or not, so he just remained silent, eyes watching the king carefully as he tried to ignore the trophies on the walls.
"I'm going to ask you a question, Fio, and I want you to answer truthfully. Do you understand?" Ryemor said. "This will have no effect on your residency."
Fio blinked, looking at the king and nodding. "I understand." He replied, shifting and wondering what this question was going to be. What the king would ask him. He hoped it wasn't about magic.
Ryemor and his children took a step back, and the man turned slightly to motion to the dragon head. "That is the last creature I hunted. His name was Axis, and he was the largest, strongest Dragon Alpha in the regions. I fought him for years before finally bringing him down, allowing us to take out the last dragon flock. I am aware that the "Eradication" may never be truly over, as there is still a handful of magical creatures hidden away in a place I have yet to access, but the war ended with him." He lifted his head a little higher as he remembered that day. "Do you know much about dragons, Fio?"
Fio took a deep breath, eyes flashing to the dragon, then to the king again. "I…do not." He replied slowly, hiding his hands in his pockets to hide the fists he had made at this tale of death, of hunting down a creature who had never done the king any harm.
Demaias glanced at Fio to see his reaction and winced when he hid his hands; at least his father didn't notice - that wasn't the most formal gesture, even if he was uncomfortable. "The beasts brought trouble wherever they went." The king continued. "They were docile for the most part, yes, but there were many who attacked the villages and cities they lived near. I remember one Alpha who burned a village down simply because they'd built too close to his territory. Their arrogance was almost as powerful as their fire, and they made humans fear that. And Dragonkin were nearly as bad - half-breeds of dragons and humans. Honestly, what two monsters thought it a good idea to create such a species?" He turned back to Fio with a scowl on his face.
Fio took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I wouldn't know, your highness." he replied in a slow, measured tone. He knew that Dragons had Avatars– human forms, but even then there were signs of being dragons, usually in their eyes or in tiny scales hidden somewhere on their bodies, or in their movements or looks. He knew that that was likely where the Dragonkin came from, even though most dragons did stick with their own kind.
"Well, dragons, wyverns, and all those in-between were not the only problem. Fae, griffins, harpies, even merfolk. People will tell you magical creatures were harmless, but I and many others know the truth." Ryemor glanced at Caius, his eyes narrowed ever slightly. "Creatures like dragons, who used their abilities to scare the defenseless into submission, felt we were lesser beings, as did some of those who considered themselves human but were fluent in the ways of magic. So, instead of giving them the chance to attempt to wipe us out," he stepped further back and spread his arms to gesture to the walls of trophies. "we wiped them out. Simple as that, right children?"
Demaias and his sister gave sure nods, which they'd both practiced for times like this. Though Demaias, as usual, doubted it was that simple, there was no arguing with the king.
Caius merely bowed his head a little, knowing that he had only retained his position as court healer through mercy, after swearing that he would never use magic again. He had been a magician, at one point, but had sworn that off to save his life.
Fio swallowed, taking a deep breath and trying not to feel ill. But he did, and he didn't know why. He felt so ill at the thought of such creatures being completely wiped out, just because one man saw them as a threat.
The king looked down at Fio, taking a deep breath and narrowing his eyes when he let it out. Demaias didn't like it when he did that, for it meant he still didn't trust Caius. Over the years of hunting magic creatures, Ryemor had developed a sense of smell strong enough to pick out the scent of magic, and even after the end of the war, he'd kept using it to make sure Caius wasn't practicing behind his back. Though, the look on his father's face now. It wasn't the look of approval he usually had after checking the former mage…but he was still staring at Fio. Maybe it was the somewhat obvious discomfort the king was picking up.
Demaias sighed inwardly in sympathy for Fio as well - he didn't know why but the boy certainly looked uncomfortable hearing all of this. There was something about his body language that made him think Fio might have had the same thoughts as Miriam about the fate of magical creatures. Demaias quietly cleared his throat and spoke up. "Father, if I may, I never got to finish showing Fio around the palace."
Caius glanced warily at Fio, hoping the king would not detect the magic that the young man used without knowing how to stop it. The healer shifted a little.
Fio glanced away, avoiding the king's eyes. He didn't know why the king was so focused in on him but he knew it couldn't be anything good. Not at all. Not with everything the king had done.
Ryemor opened his mouth to respond but closed it to think for a moment longer. "Very well." He finally said with a small nod. "Miriam, dear, a moment?" He motioned for the girl to follow him a few meters from the others, then leaned down to whisper something to her. When they finished speaking, the king nudged a suddenly nervous-looking Miriam toward her brother. "She will be joining you."
Fio's eyes flashed from Miriam to the prince to the king, then back to Demaias. He didn't quite know what to do, so he just remained quiet and waited to be told what was going to happen, what he was supposed to do or say, other than follow Demaias.
Caius leaned over to Fio, and said in a faint whisper, "Be careful."
Demaias nodded to his father before turning to Fio and gesturing to the doors. "Shall we?" Miriam locked arms with him as they headed out of the large room, and once the three were gone, Ryemor sighed, staring the closed doors. "Caius, dear friend." He said lowly.
Fio walked with the two, hoping Caius would be alright. He glanced back at the older man for a moment before following the prince and princess from the room.
Caius raised his eyebrows a little bit. "Yes, your majesty?" he questioned.
Demaias exhaled in relief, feeling much better once they were out of the throne room. He glanced at Miriam, who was leaning slightly to see past him and stare at Fio, then he looked at the young man. "So, are you alright?" He asked him.
"You had better have a good explanation for the scent coming from that boy. Because he's either wearing some sort of magical item or…" He clasped his hands behind his back and glared at the doors for a moment longer before turning his eyes to Caius.
Fio nodded a little bit. "I'm…yeah. Just a little…rattled." he said slowly, swallowing and pushing away the memory of the trophies in the throne room, the dragon head that had seemed so awfully familiar.
Caius let out a breath. "Or what, your majesty?" He asked. "I do not believe him to be anything but human; I shall speak to him about magic, though, and see if there is an item. He comes from a very small village; it's highly possible someone there cast a spell on him when he was a baby, and that is what you sense. In which case, there is nothing that can be done, as it would not be his fault that such a spell was cast."
"I apologize if my father scared you; I know his words sound harsh, but he has always looked out for the best interests of humankind," Demaias said, his sister nodding in agreement. The prince led them towards the library - he couldn't speak for Fio, but being in a quiet place and surrounded by books always made him feel better.
"A spell. Of course," Ryemor said in a doubtful tone. "The thing is, the scent was too similar to that of a dragon. It had better be a spell or an item, otherwise, we will have a problem. Good day, Caius." He turned away to go back towards the thrones and leave through the door he entered.
Fio nodded a little, remaining silent. Humankind. But what about everyone else? He wondered, though he knew. He knew that the king had slaughtered the other species, everyone anything different from a normal human.
Caius took a deep breath, nodding as he left the room and hoping the king was mistaken.
Demaias pushed open one of the large doors to the library. "Welcome to Miriam's favorite place in the palace." He said, his voice lowered in courtesy. There didn't seem to be too many people inside at the time. "The kingdom's archives are in a sub-level that only nobles are allowed to access, but feel free to wander the library as you please, for a little bit."
Fio nodded again. "Am I allowed to borrow books, or not?" he asked, unsure if that was allowed since he wasn't nobility. He knew quite well that he wasn't, so he just hoped that as a resident of the palace, he would be allowed to borrow books from the library.
"Oh, of course!" Demaias waved his hand. "And, unlike the city's libraries, you don't need to return it on or before a set date. As long as they're kept in good condition, you can take as many as you'd like for as long as you'd like." He wondered what kind of literature Fio enjoyed; as the prince, it was his duty to ensure the comfort of all residents of the palace, and he'd made a habit of getting to know each of them personally, and now he couldn't help but think of how he'd get to know Fio.
Fio nodded a little. "Alright. Thank you." He replied with the faintest little smile. "That's…that sounds amazing." He took a deep breath, letting it out again. "I…" He didn't know what else to say. "Enjoy reading." He finally finished lamely, shrugging his shoulders and looking down at his hands.
"I enjoy reading, as well." Demaias smiled, clasping his hands behind his back. "We can leave whenever you're ready; take your time." He turned to a round table that had a few closed books stacked on it, so he picked them up to return them to their shelves, while Miriam stood by the door with her hands held in front of her.
Fio nodded and began to explore the shelves a little, trailing his fingers over the book spines. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any trophies in here, or at least not many, so he didn't have to worry about seeing those. He still didn't know why they affected him the way they did, he just knew that they did.
Demaias chatted quietly with one of the librarians while he waited. Meanwhile, Miriam kept her eyes on Fio; the king had told her something that worried her when he'd pulled her aside earlier, so she was only making sure he wasn't acting suspiciously outside of the prince's presence. She didn't think Fio was a bad guy, but her father only said things like, "keep an eye on him" when he thought someone might be.
Fio continued to explore the library, occasionally pulling books out to look at them, then setting them aside again to continue looking through the shelves. He seemed more relaxed when he wasn't talking to anyone else.
After a few more minutes, Demaias walked around until he found Fio in one of the isles and walked up to him, glancing at the bookshelves. "Well? What do you think of the library?" He asked.
Fio shrugged. "It's…much bigger than any I've ever been in before." he replied slowly, biting his lip for a moment as he looked over at the prince.