"This.....is so....boring..."
Princess Hope Ellendiel of the small island kingdom of Fulmen sighed as she sat upon her throne in the magnificent hall.
It wasn't as if Hope had anything against the palace itself. It was a beatutiful place, with walls adorned with gold, tapestries that depicted a beatiful golden dragon in every room, and amazing architecture, even to one who was born and raised in this place, it still held some sort of awe in it.
The problem Hope actually had at the moment was more about this boring imprisoning lifetstyle.....never being allowed outside the palace, always behind closed walls, never even having some face time with the people she governed. It was infuriating.
Sometimes she felt that the whole 'protection' deal was some sort of scheme to keep her in the dark. After all, she was the one with the dragon blood of Thundaarix running through her veins...she could take care of herself just fine. But did the steward Constantine listen to this reasoning? Nooooo. Instead he kept her sitting in this throne room like some sort of puppet on a shelf.
Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a small green cat wearing a monocle and a clean red and gold gaurd's uniform who stood by the throne. "I know it's quite an unbearable circumstance M'lady, but please do try to endure it.....I will speak to Constantine later...I believe this quarantine of your life has gone far enough."
"It's alright Arthur....." said Hope with a sigh. "We both know that he's probably going to just come up with some silly excuse anyways.....and since the throne isn't officially mine until I'm 18.....Constantine is the one with all the authority......"
"Still, that does not make Constantine the King himself!" said Arthur indignantly. "For years I have served this family, and I have never seen such a stuck-up steward to the throne as him. It's only been a year since your father's death and he's already abusing his power like a snob."
"But what can we do about it...?" said Hope gravely. "And besides....this whole assasination thing is just giving him more of an excuse to keep me locked up and throw away the key....."
"Yes...about that M'lady....The threat to your life is quite real.....but of course we cannot afford to let the royal gaurd handle the protection detail, not with Constantine flaunting them about like his own personal army. So I think I have found a way to counter that....."
"How?" said Hope. "I hope you know, trusting any sort of mercenaries is out of the question."
Arthur adjusted his monocle slightly with his paw. "Actually...I was thinking of hiring some.....foreign professional help. But rest assured it isn't anything as low as some half baked mercenaries. See for yourself.."
Arthur pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Hope who began to read it. "Wizard guilds?"
"Indeed.." said Arthur. "And the best in the bussiness. I hired specifically from Fiore due their reputation for having some extremely strong mages. In fact......one of them just so happens to be related to you...."
"Huh!?" said Hope. "But my father had no other children.....and neither did my grandparents.....our family has only been that of a singular child for generations..."
"Not a relative on the human side.." said Arthur. "Have you ever considered that Thundaarix might have blessed other children since she left for that Science world eons ago?"
"Well......not really...I don't know much about dragons....."
"Well she had one other child.......a girl who is known by the name Railgun thanks to a unique technique she developed herself. I requested her personally for two reasons....1 because she is supposedly one of the strongest in her guild......"
"And the second reason?" said Hope.
"The 2nd reason....." said Arthur. "Is because she would distract the assasins from you....because as long Thundaarix's blood runs through her veins.....she is also an heir to this throne.....and she will be targetted as well....."
Hope stood up indignantly. "I do not wish to use such a crude method!! I will not have sombody being unknowingly sacrificed for my sake!"
"This isn't for your sake..." said Arthur. "As much as I care for you....there is the entire Kingdom to think about.......if you are killed, then Constantine takes the throne permeanantly.....and I'm not sure if Railgun will wish to take the throne herself!"
Hope sat back down. She took from her side a hand mirror that had been the last gift from her father. Looking back at her in the reflection was a beautiful 15 yr old girl with tea colored shoulder length hair and a delicate silver crown...and the eyes...had anybody from Fairy Tail had seen those brown eyes, they would have said that those eyes looked eirily familiar.....
"Fine...." said Hope. "But I do not like this one bit........when these guilds from Fiore arrive, please keep as much an eye on this Railgun as you would me...I will not have another suffer on my account."
Arthur bowed. "As you wish M'lady."
Off the coast of Fulmen, in an unpopulated beach area.
On a calm beach that stared out into an even calmer sea, was a figure who did not fit the scene at all. While this beach looked beautiful and serene.....the character who stood on the shore of this wonderous sea-side beauty looked like he came from the darkest depths of Hell.
The black armor that completely adorned his body looked morbid with death, while the molten burned dragon skulls that adorned his shoulders seemed completely out of place next to the smooth sandy landscape. The large ram horned demon helmet was like an eyesore in what should have been a couple's honeymoon spot. His blackest of black cape slowly billowed in a wind that simply wasn't there.
This was Diablo Etwatia, the strongest mage in all of Hydra Head...and he wasn't alone....curled up at his feet was a black dragon with molten purple eyes. While the dragon had only been the size of a small dog when they had arrived on this beach a long time ago....the dragon, also known as Dravis, Lord of Destruction, had now grown to the size of a large tiger....regaining his power slowly thanks to chaos and turmoil of the physical world that constantly fueled him.
Ever since Dravis and Diablo first arrived, they had not moved from that spot. The two of them had been staying in those same positions for days....Diablo not moving a single muscle, and Dravis curled up in the same position as he gradually regained his power.
These two beings who transcended that of even the strongest mortals were currently waiting.....waiting like a person who decides to sit through the entire opening credits of a movie rather then arriving a little later.
Then.....for the first time in days, Diablo twitched his head as if he sensed something coming.....Something familiar...
The water in the calm sea broke apart and a man walked out. The man had long yellow wild hair to rival that of Grimoire Heart's Zancrow. The man had golden greeves on and a black sleeveless form fitting shirt. He had golden armored legs and shoes and a the three headed oriboris emblem of Hydra Head under his left eye...colored gold. His iris's were also a glowing gold.
"Aurumnus Rager...." said Diablo. "You're slightly early.....I can see you must have swam all the way here.."
"You know us Dragon Slayers Diablo." said Aurumnus with a grin. "We're not good with boats. Besides, I haven't had a good workout in ages....thought a swim would do me some good. Argentumias isn't much of a swimmer though....so my bro won't be getting here unfortunately."
"So it appears that we won't have the full force of the Silver and Golden Dragons..." said Diablo. "No matter....Arachnis Widower is already inside......her telepathic webs are granting us a full look at what is happening within the city and the palace...."
"I still don't get why you need to call me here..." said Aurumnus. "Sure I'm one of the three strongest in this guild ever since Aqualas snuffed it....but I'm a fighter not a watcher....."
"You are here in case we are discovered...." said Dravis. "Or until I deem it necessary that we fight....but for now....we are to stay out of the way. It seems for now....we are not the antagonists for this particular plot..........not yet at least. The assasins that will soon become involved are weaving a web thicker then even dear Arachnis........And we have a front row seat......"
"One question about the front row seat though." said Aurumnus. "Is there a chance that someone might fall into our laps from the stage? Because I really can't stand to hold in all my battle lust for long."
"Don't you worry...." said Dravis. "Something tells me.....that the right opponent shall fall to you soon enough......."
Northern coast of Fulmen
Grimmix sat crosselegged on the rocky outcropping that overlooked the violently churning currents below. He was meditating silently. His armored black clothed hands camly resting on his legs. His face, which was currently mostly covered by a large purple mask-like scarf and a ninja headband with an X mark in the middle of the metal front, seemed to exude a calmness that would tell any assasin, whether they were rookies or masters in the business, that this man knew exactly what he was doing at all times......he was a cold, calculating killer.
There was a blur in the trees behind Grimmix and a figue completely comprised of shadows walked over and then went flat and sank into the ground behind Grimmix, instantly turning into his shadow. Grimmix opened his eyes to reveal unfocused pale iris's...he was completely blind.
"So....Hydra Head watches over my guild as I resume my assignment.......curious....what interest do they have in such a small country's political stance...?"
Grimmix paused for a moment thinking on this hard and then called out. "Aeros....Oblitesco..."
two blurs of speed shot out of the trees and landed before Grimmix. One was a red haired woman whose hair was tied back in a long ponytail. The other was a large man with a strong build and a scar across his left eye. Both of them wore ninja clothing similar to Grimmix, except their mask-like scarves were both a dark green.
"I'm sure you two have noticed unholy abominations that have been watching us for a while now..." said Grimmix.
Oblitesco and Aeros both nodded. "Yes sir.....we know."
"They won't bother us for now...." said Grimmix. "But keep a sharp eye on them....they may not be masters in the art of concealment....but a fight with them could be suicidel...especially if it is a fight with black armored one......"
"Yes sir!"
"Have you prepared the next phase as planned....?" said Grimmix.
"Aeros, the girl, spoke. "We have done as you have requested...the plan shall proceed the day after tomorrow......"
"Good..." said Grimmix. "My client is growing impatient......now remember my students.....the Art of Assasination is....."
"Also the art of concealment and treachery." finished Aeros and Oblitesco. "We will not let you down sir..."
"Good...." said Grimmix. "Not yet has a day passed when the Dusktreader Wolves have lost their prey........and soon, we shall have another caught in our jaws....."