"Yes, hopefully," Aeryn smiled, handing Angelique the flower. "Can I interest you in anything? Perhaps a dance with one of our kingdom's knights? Seat on the throne and oversee the ball? Stroll through the gardens?"
Angelique twirled the flower in her hands and quickly looked around the ballroom before answering. "Dancing with knights is… not my strong suit," she said carefully. "A stroll could be nice," she smiled, looking back at Aeryn.
Aeryn gave a little laugh. "I'm not much of a dancer myself," She smiled. "I can lead the way to the gardens if you would like. It's not a very long walk to get there."
Angelique nodded gratefully. "That would be most appreciated," she laughed lightly. "I tend to get myself lost."
Aeryn smiled, then began to walk towards the garden. "It's just this way." To be honest, she wanted to get into the garden as well. She spent much of her childhood in it, spending time with her mother and brother.
Angelique followed slightly behind, glancing around anxiously. "Your castle is really lovely," she commented brightly.
(Typing the word "castle" makes me feel more fake than anything else)
(I know it feels wierd. I keep typing out countries instead of kingdoms and having to change it. Also Merry Christmas (since it's currently Christmas Day for me))
"Thank you. It's been around for a few centuries, I believe before the war broke out. I'm sure yours is quite beautiful as well. I have a question though. What have you been told about the reason the war started? I never really believed my pare ts as to why, having a feeling that the story was twisted."
"Ah, I don't remember much. My parents didn't really tell me much before they, ah, became unable to tell me anything. I remember everyone blaming it on Selaria, but my family liked to blame Selaria for everything, so I've never really believed it," she explained thoughtfully.
"Yeah, my parents blamed Traedia. My brother Gaius was sort of on the fence, but he believed our parents too much. I think that was his downfall. He always thought that Seralia was in the right, no matter how wrong we were. As much as I hate to admit, I don't think he would have been a good King. Maybe it was for the best that he perished against Kedenia."
(I didn't even see the merry Christmas ackk, MERRY CHRISTMAS!)
Angelique nodded in understanding. "I'm so sorry for your loss," she said genuinely, "I understand the feeling. My brother was never interested in the war; he would've made an awful king," she laughed lightly. Not than at Angelique felt any more qualified than he was.
"We have something in common then," Aeryn said with a tight lipped smile. "I never thought I would be able to make a great queen. The idea of being of queen never crossed my mind, not with Gaius being the immediate heir. Then he died, and Mother died of a broken heart. Gaius was her favourite. She never truly cared for me, I don't think. But I'm the only one left, so I had to take the throne."
Angelique nodded. She'd been in a similar situation. "That must have been difficult for you," she said sympathetically. All the talk of families was starting to make her panic about her sisters again, but she brushed it off, staring at the ground until she could collect herself.
"Oh!" Aeryn exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. "Can I show you something? It's here, in the garden." She had an excited look on her face, but didn't want to give anything truly away.
Angelique smiled brightly. "Of course," she answered. The excitement from Aeryn's face bleed through onto Angelique's, though she tried not to show it.
Aeryn smiled. She took Angelique's hand and began to lead her towards a section of the garden. On the way, she grabbed a large square pillow from one of the benches littering the garden. When the pair reached their destination, she placed it down for Angelique to sit on. She then frosted herself her own one, sitting down.
Angelique laughed lightly and sat down. "What are we doing?" She asked, very curious. She looked around as if to get a clue.
Aeryn smiled, then leaned forward. They were in front of a hedge, one with a small hole at the bottom. If one was small enough to look at it straight on, they would see that the hole was lined with mud.
Aeryn placed her finger at the entrance of the hole, a snowflake resting on it. A small animal began to inch forward, licking at the snowflake.
"It's a salamander. He was my brother's. Actually, the three of them were." The salamander crawled into her palm, burning slightly. "Dart! What did we say about friendly fire?"
(The other two will come out soon, probably in my next reply)
(also the clarify it's a hole in the hedge, not the ground. It's very small, and it doesn't go very deep into the hedge)
Angelique placed a hand over her mouth in shock. "That is the single cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire life," she gasped.
Aeryn created a small pile of snow, and two more salamanders came out to play in it. One was the same size as Dart, and the other was about half the size.
Dart jumped off her hand into the pile, and the other one of his size climbed into her hand. "This is Onix. She's always been my favourite. And that smaller one is their son, Fuego. When he was young, Gaius somehow managed to bless Dart and Onix with his fire, and then that transferred to Fuego when he was born."
Angelique smiled, absolutely delighted. "That's fantastic," she said brightly. "Could I - could I hold one?" She asked uncertainly, staring at the salamanders.
"Yeah!" Aeryn said, handing Onix over. The little salamander nuzzled into Angelique's palms. Aeryn spotted Dart making small noises at his home, and she reached towards the hole with a small pile of snow in her palm. A small salamander, smaller than Fuego, crawled out and buried itself into the snow.
"Oh, Dart! You had a baby!" Aeryn could already tell it was a girl. "And it's a girl! Why didn't you tell me?"
Angelique held back a squeal of excitement. "Oh, my gods, this is the best day of my life," she gushed. This is inappropriate for a lady your age, she could practically hear her father's voice, but this time, she ignored it. Baby salamanders were far more important than etiquette.
"You need a name, don't you?" Aeryn asked the baby. "How about….Agni?" No. "Pele?" No. "Adara?" No. "Aithe?" No. "Oh, I think I know. What about Bruni?" That was a definite yes. "So there's Dart, Onix, Fuego and Bruni. Adorable."
Angelique nodded. "Fantastic name. Where did they come from? I just mean - I've never seen a salamander before, where did your brother get them?"
"I'm not sure, actually. He just…brought them home one day. One day they were normal, the next they could-" Aeryn was interrupted by Dart exploding into flames, melting the snow pile he was in. "That."
"That's so strange," Angelique mused. "I've never heard of anything like it."
"Yes, well…Gaius isn't around anymore, so I wouldn't be able to ask him. But they are the only ones I've found, so perhaps they were made by my brother. I doubt it, since he didn't have the power of life, but perhaps."
Angelique nodded, lost in thought. "That would be an interesting power to have. Not that - gods, that was probably disrespectful, I'm so sorry, it's just- your brother was a fire manipulator, right? I've never heard of anyone who could… transfer powers. It's sort of fascinating." She let the salamander crawl off of her and into the ground and fixed her dress, feeling nervous again.
"Yeah, he was. Truthfully, I didn't know it was possible either. I don't think I would be able to do it as an ice manipulator." She let out a little laugh. "Everyone used to make fun of us. We were complete opposites, just like our powers. Fire and ice. Angry and calm. Guess I should have known that he was going to die in a battle and that I would be Queen."
