M:   When he could no longer feel her presence, Odrus let go, panting from the ordeal with a saddened look on his face.

"She makes a good point," he sighed, "why should my friends get their vengeance and you can not?  Well, as she said, no one is going to kill you on my watch either."

"Odrus!" A voice shouted, "Odrus what the hell are you doing!"

"The right thing," he shouted as his friends came running, "I'm sick and fucking tired of all this revenge bullshit, it won't solve anything! As long as I am around, you won't lay a single finger of Chrysalis, you hear me."

"Have you gone mad," Askad asked angrily, "he killed everyone, he ensured the complete extinction of our race."

"And he's in cahoots with the enemy because the British killed his sister," Odrus argued, "why should you all get your revenge when he can not."

Odrus knew that his friends would probably just kill Chrysalis when his back was turned, he knew he had to do something drastic. He turned to the insurgent and placed two fingers on his forehead, he closed his eyes and pictured an invisible line connecting them.

When he removed his fingers and opened his eyes, his right eye's sclera had turned an inky black, and so did Chrysalis's left sclera.

"There, I have made the connection," Odrus declared to his horrified friends, "if you kill him, I will die too, if you torture him, I will feel the same pain."

N:   Chrysalis was confused about what happened until he saw Odrus' eye and wondered out loud, "What happened to your eye?" He looked around, and when he saw his reflection in the glass bottle, his eyes widened, "what happened to my eye?"

However, the insurgent quickly regained his posture, and with this new gained protection against his death, he smirked, "Well, well, Odrus. I wouldn't have expected you to go that far," and when he looked over to the shocked faces he waved, "well it's nice of you to join the party."

"Odrus," Heinrich spoke up, "have you gotten the information for Ora, because if not, who knows if he would open his mouth."

M:   "What do you think I've been trying to do," Odrus growled, "but the fact that you all kept threatening him with death wasn't going to get us anywhere. Besides, there has been too much blood spilled this century, revenge won't change that, I know that better than anyone."

The other eternals were in too much shock to respond, they couldn't believe that their friend would betray them like that, Askad especially was furious but he was too shocked to show it.

"Get out," Odrus growled, his friends doing so without question. When they were gone, the eternal collapsed from exhaustion from both sharing his powers and creating the line with Chrysalis.

N:   Chrysalis just watched as Odrus fell, although he did feel a slight sensation on his head the moment the Eternal's hit the floor. Staring at him, he reached for the glass bottle and gripped the neck of it, a thought passing through his mind before he sighed and placed it back down. "You put me in a right pickle, Odrus," he muttered, pretty sure he can't hear him, "for the friend of my enemy is my enemy. I had an interesting time when I spent with you in the cave, and I loved the control that I had over you, but it seems it's the other way around."

The insurgent got up from his bed and knocked on the bars, getting the guards' attention. "The last time I checked he's not a prisoner," the insurgent stated, pointing at the sleeping Odrus, "get him out of my sight."

"You're not one to boss us around, insurgent," the guard spat but did as he was told, one guard had his musket trained on the Scotsman while two more carried Odrus away.

"Chan urrainn dhut m' inntinn atharrachadh, Odrus (you can't change my mind, Odrus)," he muttered before lying down on his bed while the Eternal was carried away.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Eternals, along with Heinrich, were back in the main corridor. "I get where Odrus is coming from," the Saxon wondered out loud, "the looming threat of death removes the chance that Chrysalis could get any sort of reward, so he can remain silent the entire time."

M:   "So what, Odrus's foolishness put us all into a bind," Askad hissed, "now we can't even interrogate him properly lest we hurt our friend!"

"There must be some deeper reason that Odrus betrayed us like that," Uskaine reasoned, "he must see something in that monster that we don't, but what?"

"What does it matter, when he gets up here I'm going to punch him in the face," Neflen growled, "maybe then it will knock some sense into both of them."

As he said that, the guards brought Odrus up, he was awake now but very weak and unstable on his feet, Neflen still socked him in the cheek, "You are a fool Odrus, you just ruined any chance of us helping Ora!"

Odrus growled, "Go to Jastrem, Neflen, maybe if you all quit thinking about yourselves you wouldn't be blind to the bigger picture."

The eternal turned away from the others and had the guards take him to his room without another word.

N:   "It's only been a day since he's gone, and already all of this had happened," Heinrich grumbled as he walked away, "you guys can deal with your problem while I'll go and deal with mine," and with that, he walked away back to the infirmary.

When he arrived, not much has changed although now both Royal and Wolfgang were awake. After quickly briefing Johann about what happened in the dungeons, he made his way to his friend.

After a moment of observing him, he blurted out, "You look like schiesse."

The other just rolled his eyes but said nothing, he didn't want to speak as he felt it would use up a long of energy, although he was sitting up so he could get his wound redressed.

When Heinz was about to speak, Anglo walked into the room, looking like he hasn't had a second to sleep, and he asked, "Where the hell is my son? What happened last night?"

"Did you not find out?"

"Saxon was in full-time panic mode," the country grumbled, "he was in the middle of a nightmare and then the whole building shook. Let's just say I didn't sleep the entire night."

He scanned everyone in the room and asked again, "Where is England?"

"The last person who saw him was Father," Johann stated and immediately Anglo rushed to find the Mandorian

M:   Mandoria and Rowen were in the dining room with the Scots, they hadn't seen BE and his brothers yet so they guessed they were comforting each other.

"I just don't understand why England would do that," Rowen sighed, "that's not the man I remember from back home, heck, he stayed with the kids and helped take care of them while you were injured."

"I want to know what led up to the outburst," Mandoria pondered, "what were Esha and he talking about that spiraled so out of control, not to mention causing Esha's roar that broke every window in the compound."

N:   "You haven't met England," Scotland grumbled, commenting on what Rowen said, "you have seen England as a father, but you haven't seen him before that."

Celtica sighed at her son before saying, "Whatever it was it must have been serious. Wales hasn't been able to talk much and BE and Ireland have been with him since, so we don't know what drove them both away."

"He goddamn deserved it," the Scot muttered, getting a disappointed head shake from the Celt.

M:   "I noticed that Sleipnir and Edel disappeared too this morning," Rowen stated, "I understand that Sleipnir would stick with Esha but I can't believe Edel would go too, after everything we've been through he chooses that damn horse over us."

"Easy Rowen, let's leave Edel out of this," Mandoria patted his shoulder, "Edel may be tame but he's still a wild animal, he will go where his instincts lead him."

The country perked up when he felt a panicked vibration in his wings, "Oh goodness, Anglo is having a fit, he probably realized England's gone."

He vibrated his own wings so the Englishman could find them.

N:   The moment Anglo registered Mandoria's wing vibrations, he immediately followed it until he opened the dining hall door wide, finding them.

"My god, Anglo," Celtica spoke, "how long have you slept?"

"One minute," he answered before asking, "Where is England?"

"Gone," Scotland stated.

"I bloody know that," the Englishman spat, clearly irritated, and he turned to Mandoria, "Johann said you saw him? Where and did you see where he went?"

M:   Mandoria shook his head, "all he told me was he was going somewhere he feels safe. He said that he will return, but he feels that leaving is the best option to let everything calm down while he thinks about what happened. He said that Esha left because of him and said that he didn't want to drive her off, though I have a feeling she is choosing to stay in the wilderness, and frankly, we should support her decision, she's lived in the wild her whole life and is most comfortable there, being in the civilized world for too long is probably uncomfortable for her."

N:   Anglo nodded, understanding what was said, but then he asked, "What caused it to happen?"

"That's what we're wondering, although Wales did say something," Scotland answered and began to recount what his son said last night, about the conversation he overheard between England and Esha. "And he mentioned that he was going home," the Scot grumbled.

"What do you mean home," th Englishman asked, "this is home- oh I see," he hummed, looking more relaxed as he went to sit at the table.

When he was asked about where England was, he answered, "he is going to his first home, when he was a young boy. I guess he likes to be there."

M:   "It makes sense, any person would feel safe in the place they know best," Mandoria said, "at least we know where he went and know he will be safe."

Askad suddenly slithered in, he looked irritated, and grumbled, "Where's Saxon, he needs to stay away from Chrysalis for the foreseeable future."

"Why, what happened with Chrysalis," Rowen asked.

"Odrus made the link with him," the naga grunted, "he and Chrysalis share a lifeline now, any injury caused to Chrysalis will be reflected onto Odrus, and if one dies the other will also be killed."

N:   "I beg your pardon," Scotland yelped in shock, "how ... what? What was going through his head?"

"No matter what he was thinking," Anglo spoke, "he probably had a reason. Besides, don't be worried; Saxon is asleep and I'll keep an eye on his while he's awake."

M:   "You are more than welcome to ask Odrus when he wakes up," Askad shrugged to Scotland, "Wolfgang said that before that he shared his powers with Chrysalis like he did with Celtica, so whatever his reason was, it clearly wasn't of this world."

He turned around to go find his daughter, then stopped and said, "Don't worry about Esha, she'll still be around and will visit, she's just a dragon, she likes being on her own."

N: They nodded until Celtica spoke, "Wait, so Odrus wanted to show Chrysalis someone, but who?"

"The last time he did it with you was for you to see Pa," Scotland added, "but that doesn't help either."

"It's only the morning and all of this happened," Anglo muttered, "what has happened to this place?"

___________________________________

Months had gone by, and a lonesome Wilfred rode his way towards the heart of Athens, while his greyhound Chester wore his winter coat as he walked beside him. Seeing the main building, home of the countryhuman in charge of the country, glistening in the midday sun in the distance, he pulled his coat tighter around him as he continued.

Once he was near his destination, he dismounted Bullseye and walked towards the first line of security while his dog bounded next to him. "This better be the one," he grumbled, "the Russian Empire was way too cold, isn't it boy," to which the greyhound barked in agreement.

Once he reached the guards, understandably they asked him to stop and to state his business. "I am here on behalf of British Empire," he stated, having repeated it so many times in the last months, also showing him a broach that bore the flag of BE, "I've sent a letter beforehand to Sir Ottoman Empire about my arrival, that we may discuss of a sensitive matter. Please," he pointed towards the gates, "go and ask him yourself."

M:   Funny enough, Ottoman Empire was in Greece, he and Ottoman Greece were discussing some issues he was having with Egypt.

When one of the guards interrupted them about Wilfred, Greece sighed in exasperation.

"What on earth does BE want now," he groaned, "I swear to god that man doesn't understand the meaning of no. Bring him in, I very much want to hear what the bastard wants this time."

N:   When he was given the go-ahead, Wilfred made his way inside, giving his horse to the stablehands before stepping inside. He was greeted by some of the servants, he was led to the room where both of the countryhumans were.

When he opened the doors, he was welcomed by the warmth of the place, and he sighed in relief while Chester began to roam around. "Good day gentlemen," he spoke, glancing between them, "sorry for the late notice but I was sent on BE's behalf in search of someone, or more specifically of two individuals. I think you may know who I'm referring two."

He watched as his greyhound wandered off and disappeared, "don't worry about him, he's trained to not hurt and he is very friendly."

M:   OE scowled as the dog was let loose in the building, "I'm more worried about him making a mess."

OG elbowed his friend to be nice, "I'm sure the mutt is house-trained, but we should get this over with quickly before my allergies act up. As for two individuals, I actually don't know what you mean, there are millions of humans in my kingdom, you're going to have to be more specific."

In truth, he had a faint idea of who Wil was talking about, but OG swore on his wings to protect them, not to mention he never trusted anyone in association with the British after the Mediterranean Sea incident.

N:   "I will make my visit short and sweet," Wilfred reassured them as he walked up to them and welcomed himself at their table, "but I have been searching for these two individuals for the last couple of months, venturing through Eastern Europe, through the Russian Empire's cold and the remnants of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, I am not exactly inclined to give up too easily, so," he reached for one of the biscuits and took a bite out of it, "I will stay here until I am satisfied that they are not here."

The Brit leaned back as he finished his biscuit, "I haven't come here with any bad intentions, I would just like to know to speak to them."

M:  Greece bit his lip, he seriously didn't know if he could trust Wilfred, he looked to OE for help but he shrugged his shoulders.

Thankfully, for Wil at least, the decision was made for them as screaming could be heard down the hall where Chester went down. Suddenly, a wingless country with black, white, and red stripes on his face came running in and jumped on the table. Chester was following behind, but he had a large piece of cloth in his mouth that, upon closer inspection, had come from the country's pants.

"Who the hell let this dog in here," he shouted at the two Ottomans, "damn thing tried to eat my ass off!"

"Oh Deutsche, he was just playing with you," a voice called from the hallway, a winged country walked out soon after, "I swear you are worse about dogs than Derogan is."

He whistled and Chester ran back to him, being rewarded with belly rubs, "Sorry Greece, we didn't mean to interrupt your meeting.

N:   Wilfred was momentarily in shock when he saw the two of them, not to mention Deutsche scared as hell on the table, but he quickly smiled when he saw Chester playing around.

"I let the dog in here," Wilfred smirked, "and I am surprised that someone of your caliber would be scared of one, Deutsche, not to mention that you're alive," he turned to the winged country, "As for you, Mandara, along with your brother."

Once Chester heard his voice, he ran over to the Brit and hopped on to him, licking his face. "My God, Chester," he laughed, "you don't have to be so hyper." The dog barked and wagged his tail as if to say that he had found them. Once he had calmed him down, he continued, "Well, it seemed that they are here, Greece. I respect that you wanted to protect them, but now," he faced the Mandorian and the German, "may I talk to you, along with your brother, privately?"

M:   Mandara tilted his head in confusion, "Um, Derogan is bedridden at the moment, his squadron had a bit of a rough fight with some criminals last week."

"Why do you want to talk to us," Deutsche asked as he got off the table, "better question, who even are you, I don't think I've seen you around here before."

N:   "Where are my manners," Wilfred chuckled lightly, "My name is Wilfred, and I am here on behalf of British Empire to relay you a message," his face turned more serious, "one that you must know."

He then faced Greece, "That is, of course, if Ottoman Greece allows me to. If things go to plan, I may have to contact someone," he glanced to Ottoman Empire, "if you allow me to."

M:   The Ottomans frowned at the way Wilfred spoke to them, "Wil, you know we despise BE as it is, you talking in such a suspicious way is not helping your cause."

"No it's ok, if he's here on behalf of BE then it's perfectly safe," Mandara reassured them, "Derogan and I were great friends with the British family, I remember how funny Saxon was when we first met him. I'll take you to my brother, Sir. Wilfred, he should be awake by now."

He and Deutsche left with Wil without another word, leading him to Derogan's room. The young-ish county was reading a book as a nurse tended to his injured left wing. He wasn't terribly injured, most of his wounds were superficial, but he still couldn't leave bed thanks to a leg injury.

He looked up when the three came in, "Hey there, looks like you two found a new friend, I hope that Mandara hasn't tried to prank you yet."

"Says the one who's always the first to prank new people," Mandara chuckled, "nah, actually his dog was the one to get us, isn't that right, Sir. Underpants?"

Deutsche grumbled in response and awkwardly tried to pull his shirt down to cover his pink polka-dot boxers.

N:   Wilfred only shook his head in amusement before he turned his attention to Derogan. "I've heard of the pranks you have pulled on Saxon and honesty I'm impressed. I regret not being there to see it."

Chester came and sat at his heels, and after patting his head he continued, "However, I didn't come here to reminisce over past memories but to inform you of some information you ought to know." He paused for a bit to pull out the letter BE sent to him a while ago and handed it over to Mandara, "a couple of months ago I was notified that Rowen and Johann had escaped from King Prussia's stronghold, and with them was also your father, Mandoria, alive although most of the world thought he wasn't."

The Brit sighed, "I know this must be a lot, knowing that you have been wondering for a long time, but I ask if you can join me back to Great Britain," he pointed at Deutsche, "you as well, although it wasn't the plan. If you're willing to go, give me a time and date and I'll get it arranged."

M:   The room was deathly silent, you could have heard the heartbeat of a mouse in the wall from how quiet it got.

Derogan broke the silence with a warning growl, "You lie, our family is dead, we watched our Father take his last breath right before our eyes, and knowing Prussia, he wouldn't have let Rowen and Johann live. How dare you come here and cut open a scar."

Mandara was reading over the letter, tears falling down his face as he read each word.

"But I watched him die," he mumbled, "I felt his heart stop, how can he be alive, it's impossible."

He pressed his face into the paper as he cried, no one could tell if they were happy or sad tears. Deutsche tried to place a hand on Mandara's shoulder but the other flinched away.

The Mandorian looked up from the paper, his eyes full of anger, " how could you do this to us, telling us impossible things and bringing back horrible trauma? What, is this funny to you, do you find humor in making others relive past horrors!"

N:   Wilfred kept his composure as he answered, fiddling with his sleeves, "No, I do not believe it is funny, and don't take me as a person who would make a joke about the death of a family member. I lost my mother and I wouldn't want to joke about it either."

Chester sensed Mandara's hostile reaction towards his owner, so he growled at him until the Brit told him to stop. "I would ask for proof of life for your father's, as well as Rowen and Johann's, but it could expose them to King Prussia if they were alive. However, I trust BE, and I trust he wouldn't lie about Mandoria, someone he considers a close friend, so I believe that what he wrote was correct."

Before anyone could interrupt him, he held his hand up, "Although I myself was skeptical, my journey through the Commonwealth had given me new insight. While I was in the Prussia-controlled areas, I heard rumors of a hunt, specifically a search for three Mandorians, and that Prussia wanted them back, dead or alive. All I can say is that whoever those Mandorians were, they are important to him, so I made my assumptions."

M:   Deutsche was taking a moment to calm Mandara down, who was crying into his chest at the moment, Derogan was still skeptical about all of this but was willing to hear Wil out.

"Even IF our family is alive, how could they have reached the British Isles from our home, or the very least from Prussia," he countered, "not to mention how would we get there without being captured by Prussia and possibly used as bait? It sounds like risky business for an impossible hope."

N:   "The first question I cannot answer," Wilfred admitted, "the only thing he told me was that he would ask a favor from Dutch Republic about transporting them, but that's it. As for the second one," he smirked, "I can call in a favor. You can leave that up to me, but that depends if you're willing to trust BE's word that your family is alive."

M:   Derogan and Deutsche exchanged glances, Mandara being too out of it still.

"Could you give us some time to discuss this," the German requested, "it's a lot to take in as you said, we've pretty much settled down here and it would be difficult to leave, not to mention we have a deal with Greece for his protection, which includes not being allowed to leave his country."

Derogan nodded, "Yeah, give us a day or so to talk about it with him, I hope you understand our caution."

N:    The Brit nodded, "I understand; take as much time as you need and come to me once you have decided. In the meantime, I might as well try to strengthen ties between the British and the Ottomans, maybe even take up OE's chess challenge." With that, he quietly left the room in search of the Ottomans with Chester close by, although the greyhound did quickly look back to Deutsche before following his owner.

___________________________________

M:    Back in the British Isles, the compound was bustling with activity as the Yule ball drew near. Everyone was very excited, they have been looking forward to this for a very long time.

Esha had long ago returned, as the seasons changed and the snow began to fall, it became harder to live in the outdoors so she opted to spend the winter in the comfort of the castle.

Edel and Sleipnir joined her of course, the former had put on quite a bit of weight and everyone was hoping that there may be little Edels running around soon.

Esha was with Edel, Wales, and Askad in the library, the four reptile-like countries often cuddled up with each other by the fireplace when it was particularly cold outside.

N:   The Saxons have settled into different homes in the nearby town, and the younger generation would often go and visit The Unicorn and became close friends with the owners there, who also gave Odrus a job there. Meanwhile, Alaric was able to get his former occupation back and owned a large plot of land, Maria would often visit the compound to take care of Sofia, and Eva would help out with activities for the Yule ball while her husband was around, wanting to keep an eye on his daughter and her boyfriend, making sure there was no fishy business.

Johann had grown close to Gwyn, the pair usually seen together more often as time went by, with the Mandorian taking her training more seriously, teaching her skills that he learned but were always happy in each other's presence.

Royal was just wondering if her brother would even make it to the ball when she walked in on the four countries huddling together in the library. "Well, look at you," she smiled, "it looked really cozy and warm there."

"So why don't you join us," Wales grinned.

"No, I can't. You need to be warm and all I would do is steal your body heat. I'm fine," although her shiver betrayed her, "I can just use my wings like an oversized coat."

M:   "Oh no you don't, you can't come in here and refuses heat if your shivering," Askad chuckled, reaching out with his tail to nudge her forward, "there's plenty of heat to go around."

He pulled her into the middle of their little cuddle pile, the other two dragons shifting so she had room. Edel blew on the firewood to make the flames grow bigger and warmer.

"Millions of years and I will never get used to this third realm of Jastrem," Esha joked, "I'm a water dragon, I should be more tolerant to the cold than Wales is, but I feel like if I move too fast I'm going to shatter into pieces."

N:   Royal winced when she heard that and shook her head, "I honestly still don't understand you reptiles."

As soon as she said that, Anglo walked in and asked, "Royal, has the message from England arrived," to which the hybrid shook her head. England had been away the entire time, although recently he sent a message via bird that he would come back if Esha was alright with it, and after some convincing, they were able to make a compromise: they can be in the compound but don't have to see each other. Anglo sent an eagle a couple of days ago, telling his son that he could come back, but since then they haven't got a message back.

"Relax, Anglo," Royal reassured him, "he's probably thinking over the offer, and relaxing in general."

"But the house is just a day and a half's horse ride away from here," the Englishman reasoned, "the bird would have had plenty of time to reach him." The man began to quietly panic, pacing back and forth as he thought about what happened to his son.

Wales watched him and whispered to Askad, "Do you think there is space for one more?"

M:   The naga chuckled, "Maybe, Anglo, calm down, everything's going to be fine, come sit with us, you've been stressed with the ball and need to relax for a moment."

Everyone shuffled so Anglo could sit with them, Esha even started grooming his wings to help him calm down. "Everything's going to be fine, he's probably just waiting for the recent snowstorms to blow over so he doesn't get stuck or lost," she reassured him.

N: "Ok, ok, Anglo muttered, fortunately, what Esha was doing helped him to calm down, and eventually he closed his eyes and emitted a quiet hum from his throat.

"I guess he needed that," Royal lightly chuckled, "with everything going on, he really needed the break."

"Especially with Chrysalis now wandering around," Wales nodded, "ever since their small encounter with Grandfather last month, it only got Grandpa on edge, thinking that he would do it again.

"I'm pretty sure he won't," the hybrid shook her head, "he learned the repercussions of the entity line the hard way, as well as Odrus."

M:   "I still think it was a bad idea letting Chrysalis wander around," Askad sighed, "and this isn't the past talking either, I feel like with the stress everyone is under with the ball, and the fact Chrysalis still doesn't know when to keep his big mouth shut, it's only a matter of time before someone snaps."

"Let's not think about that," Esha suggested, "we're so close to the ball, we should be excited, especially since we're nearing the winter solstice and soon we will be able to water the Phoenix Flower."

N:   "I am interested in what would happen," Royal pointed out, "it would be the first time any of us have seen a Phoenix Flower bloom."

"If it would bloom," Wales asked, "what do we do with the egg if it does appear?"

M:   "I had a friend who would grow Phoenix flowers and sell the eggs," Askad declared, "basically you bring in a potential buyer and have them wander around the shop, an egg that deems the person worthy to hatch it, it will vibrate and make a clicking noise like it's about to hatch, then the chosen one with care for the egg for about a week until it's ready to hatch."

"So to put it simply, we have everyone come close one by one until the egg vibrates," Esha asked.

"That's the long and short of it," Askad confirmed.

N:   Royal nodded in interest, "So, we just find who the chosen one is, but what happens if we can't find someone in time? Everyone can literally be anyone."

M:   "There is no time limit, if we can't find anyone the egg will just not hatch," Askad said, "it can remain in stasis for thousands of years and still be alive."

Suddenly, Edel stood from the huddle and stretched, which looked quite awkward with his massive belly, then slowly wobbled out of the room.

"He's probably hungry," Esha figured, "with that big a belly it makes you wonder how many whelps he's carrying."

N:   "Who knows," Royal shrugged, "but I don't know if Edel would go and hunt. There's not going to be much food outside and there's no way he could hunt with a belly like that."

"He has a couple of times," Wales commented, "we can't exactly give him ours because he would probably finish it in one go."

"We'll see," the hybrid said as she also got up and stretched, "Thank you for three warmth but I've got some work to do, but make sure that Anglo stays here as long as possible," she smiled, "he needs the break."

M:   "Don't worry, he won't set a toe outside the warmth pile," Esha chuckled, "besides, we're stealing his body heat anyway so we don't want to lose him."

Meanwhile, Edel was actually heading to the dining hall where his nest was, the Mandorians and many of the servants have been taking care of the dragon and making sure he is as comfortable as possible.

Mandoria himself was in the dining hall with BE, discussing what they were going to do with Chrysalis and Odrus when the Yule ball officially starts, but stopped when Edel waddled in.

"Aww, did you get hungry," the country asked, gently petting Edel's face, "Sleipnir just came back with a big catch, you go on now."

As the dragon walked away, Mandoria asked, "Did FE ever waddle like that when she was pregnant?"

N:   Some of the servants began to snicker at the question while the empire just grumbled. "Of all the questions you could have asked, you asked that." He had his hand on his face and shook his head, "Yes she did waddle like that, but don't tell her or she would have my head."

BE decided that it was better to talk about when his wife was pregnant and continued with their previous discussion. "There is no way Chrysalis is going to the ball, it would pose a security risk, and he could easily slip away, and we don't want him to get into a fight and hurt Odrus. It's been a couple of months and the man still refuses to break the line, but I doubt he would get too much attention surrounding his black sclera, being a masquerade and the people are used to it.

M:   "I actually don't think him escaping is going to be a problem," Mandoria claimed, "Odrus has him on a tight leash, they both know that the only thing between Chrysalis and death is that line, and Odrus has made it very clear of what Chrysalis can not do lest he severs it, not to mention Esha's addition with the shock collar certainly keeps him in line."

Mandoria sighed and rubbed his eyes, "I know, I don't know Chrysalis as you do, but if I'm being honest, I think whatever Odrus is doing is working, he's become softer and has been less inclined to provoke anyone, I've even noticed Sofia is less frightened of him."

N:   "Even if it is true, he's still not going," BE replied firmly, "to the rest of the world, he is an insurgent, and one who operated in this kingdom. The people would be uncomfortable to have the insurgent who was against them walking around and invited to a celebration we treasure. He's not going and that's final."

The empire sat down and his shoulders slumped, tired from the preparations and everything else. "I just want this to go smoothly," he muttered, "no interruptions, everyone enjoying themselves, just a normal Yule. It would be the second year I will see my son since he declared war on me, so I just want this time to just be a moment of peace before he gets back at it."

M:   Mandoria nodded, "I understand, this is a very important event and it would be in poor taste to invite someone who could damper it, I stand by your decision and will inform Odrus about it."

Mandoria stood up, "I think we all could use a break from the preparations, we're all stressed and it would be good to take a moment to breathe, what do you say?"