Aedus knew it seemed cruel, but he had cruelly suffered when he was imprisoned, locked away in a torture dungeon for a month until his pending execution, before being saved at the last minute by his closest friend and companion. During that entire time, he heard nothing- not a message, not any word of help, not even reassurance that she shared his feelings, nothing. He was alone and afraid, and the one person who vowed to always be his side was not there, why was she not there?! Aedus had long come to the conclusion that she had never cared, that she had simply used him and cast him aside, but he saw.....legitimate pain and hurt in her eyes and the elven woman, Emily, spoke in her defense.<br/><br/>Could he be.....<br/><br/>No.<br/><br/>No, he couldn't let his heart cloud his judgement. He swore that he would bring retribution to the Fellan Family for the atrocities inflicted on him and his people, the people who accepted him as one of their own, despite only being a half-blood. He would look towards the King as the raised his hood. He felt the eyes of knights burning in the back of his skull, as he heard the Kings words. So he was stalling for time? Perfect, it saved Aedus the trouble. "<b>Very well, King Steven of the Kingdom of Azurnine. I shall abide to your request and remain here. Be aware, I will treat any hostility towards my guards as an act of aggression. I hope we are clear on that." </b>Aedus said, internally begging Steven to give him a reason to kill him now.<br/><br/>Aedus would then proceed to the<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fnevsepic.com.ua%2Fuploads%2Fposts%2F2012-06%2F1339602584-292869-1451.jpg&amp;hash=006f7c0bb8d807db05da13b4f512b4db" href="http://nevsepic.com.ua/uploads/posts/2012-06/1339602584-292869-1451.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Royal Gardens</a>, His two body guards standing a far distance away, only Hammond at his side. He would place his hand on the soil, feeling the connection with the roots of the world with this place. Here, inside the Garden, was one of his two favorite spots in the entire Kingdom. One was near and dear to his heart, only two people in the world knew it of it, and the second was right here, beneath the gaze of the Angel of Protection. The Elves had their own version of the Afterlife, but Aedus was raised to believe in the All-Maker. Noted, he had abandoned the belief long ago, but that still didn't change what he knew. He would begin walking around the garden, Enjoying the Serenic Beauty of the place, before stumbling on something.<br/><br/>The White Lily Flower....or what was left of it.<br/><br/>White Lily's were the favorite flower of Dia and her Mother, the Former Queen. Aedus was unsure what happened to the Queen, King Steven never spoke of her and Dia refused to say. The flower bed, however, looked like someone had stomped and crushed it, which left Aedus confused- Dia loved this flower bed more than anything, she even lashed out on him when he plucked a flower from there, so why would it be this tarnished? He didn't know why, but Aedus felt compelled to do something about it. He would press his hands together, as a green light would begin shining in his palm, as he poured it into the earth around the flower. The Lily's would begin cricking and cracking back into place, the leaves slowly rising to re-attach to the bushels, as Aedus saw the plants become whole and healthy again.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4dffff">Hammond watched as the young Lord would seat himself near the flowers and pull out a spell tome. Even if he was a practiced mage in his own right, Aedus still had a long to grasp about the Magical Art- Terramancy was only one of the many schools of magic to study from, and he had to keep learning, for fear that he would miss out on something important. Hammond knew, deep in Aedus's heart, he still held feeling for the Young Princess, but he was so clouded by his anger that it was hard to see past it. One day, Aedus would do something he'd regret, and Hammond wanted to help his friend heal from the pain of the past. As he gave this thought, he saw the Young Woman from before, Emily, walk around the Herbal Garden bed, likely for dinner herbs.<br/>
<br/>
He had no doubt Aedus would be furious about this, but this was for his own good, more than anything.<br/>
<br/>
Hammond would signal for the two elves to stay close to the Young Lord, before approaching Emily, as he drew the Silver dagger. "<b>Here." </b>He said, before he began cutting some herbs and place them in the basket. He would look towards her, before sighing. "<b>I hope you'll forgive my Lord's.....outburst earlier, Your Lady caught him by surprise." </b>He said, placing it back in his sheath, as he looked towards her. "<b>Listen....I don't know who you are, but.....you seem to trust the Princess implicitly." </b>He said. He would pick up the basket, under the guise of aiding her, before walking with her. He needed to speak with someone who knew the Princess, and from all accounts, this Elven Woman seemed to be one to talk too.<br/>
<br/>
"<b>I remember my Lord telling me, years ago, about Princess Dia. "</b>He said, keeping his voice low, as he kept an eye around. "<b>He told me she had a heart as pure as gold, and a will as free as the wind, and it is for that reason that I am trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. Something about the situation seems....off to me." </b>He said, before looking towards her. "<b>If there's one place I know that he'll visit before the night is done, it's the <a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fdf%2Feb%2F96%2Fdfeb9649ce761e3509f49ce80ebd4997--wombat-environment-concept.jpg&amp;hash=104a76b30eb054f8d274e60d5daac6c1" href="https://i.pinimg.com/736x/df/eb/96/dfeb9649ce761e3509f49ce80ebd4997--wombat-environment-concept.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Emerald Grove</a>, down by the Stone-Head." </b>He said. It was the place Aedus had told him he and Dia used to....meet, when they both tried to escape the world.<br/>
<br/>
"<b>I don't know what the means, I've never been there, but it was pretty damn important to Aedus.....If your Princess knows, keep it in mind, okay?" </b>He said, before stepping out, to return to his King.<br/>
</span><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="83" data-username="@MintyMinx" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/83/">@MintyMinx</a>