Two people emerged from a teleportation circle in the luxuriant courtyard of castle Phenex.
A boy with flaming wings hued in burning blue, blonde hair and deep navy blue, double-breasted coat over cream pants.
And clutching his arm like a baby koala, stood a girl with flowing blonde hair like the richest silk dipped in gold, sapphire blue eyes the colour of the deepest ocean, and the face of an angel, as if carved by a divine hand, in a plain, flower print frock and striped pyjamas that did not do justice to her beauty.
"Welcome, Lavinia, to our home. La casa de Phenex!" Riser swept out his arm in a grand gesture of greeting and Lavinia stared out with eyes wide with awe.
It was the most beautiful building she had ever seen. Richly decorating in shades of red, orange and gold, with towers resplendent with tapestry that fluttered majestically in the wind. Gardens with bright purple and red flowers, blooming large against the dotted pattern of burning trees, with ink black trunks and crimson flame tipped branches.
The courtyard lined with a checkerboard pattern of black and red tiles, embossed with gold. In the channels around the courtyard, in gutters of ancient bricks flowed golden streams of lava and yet somehow, it didn't feel hot. Dry perhaps, but never anything more than a cool, crisp atmosphere.
"Are you a prince?" She asked Riser, with a childlike excitement, as if seeing something right out of a dream.
"Kinda?" He replied and his tone didn't matter to her.
He had already saved her, appearing straight out of a fairytale, a prince rescuing a princess from her tower. His wings reminded her of a bedtime story her mother used to tell her. The Bird Prince.
A princess trapped in a tower. A prince who turns into a blue bird to rescue her, no matter the cost, bearing through his pain as he clears through traps and challenges to reach his beloved. The princess is saved, and they live happily ever after.
A bird prince. Freedom from her cage. Who tore through her pain and brought back warmth to her life. Gave her a place where she belonged, by his side.
This was her fairytale. And she had found her prince. All that was left now was the happily ever after, and for the first time in over a year, she hoped against hope, that it would come to be.
She smiled, her heart fluttering with warmth and joy at the thought.
Happily ever after.
She looked up at him, with eyes full of reverence and the slightest tinge of mania, a desire unfettered to be by his side, forevermore. A love, not romantic yet- she was too young to feel such things, being but ten and change- but love all the same, though she did not know it.
She gripped his arm just a little tighter and buried her face in his embrace. She decided.
This was the best day of her life.
----------x----------
"… and that's my great grandfather Razen, The Undying Flame. He- You're not looking at the castle, Lavinia." I complained, poking her head, "Hey! I'm talking to you."
She had taken one look at the castle, then at me, asked me if I was a prince and then just buried herself in my armpit for some reason.
Weird, but okay. Maybe she's just feeling shy.
It was her first time at her new, forever home, after all.
First day jitters are a thing.
I patted her head gently, and smiled.
"It'll be okay." I assured her, "No need to be nervous. My mom will love you. My dad too. And you already met Ruval. So don't worry so much. Ravel will love having an older sister too."
She gets lonely around here, now that all of us are so busy with everything. Having another girl around will benefit her a ton.
"Ara Ara~" My mother cooed as she spotted us, my dad wasn't far behind either, perusing the gallery as we waited on Ruval to settle the legions back in the barracks first, "Another golden haired child, just like us? Riser, I'm beginning to think you have a type~"
"Mooom~"
"Ufufufu~ I'm just glad it's a girl this time." She laughed, "I was beginning to wonder, with how both of them were boys~"
"So pretty!" Lavinia muttered as she looked up at the newcomer, and my mother smiled.
"Such a good child~" She cooed, petting her head, "I think I will like this one."
I chuckled.
"You just like her because she complimented you."
"Why? Don't you think your mother is pretty, Riser?" She pouted and my dad gave me 'the stare'. I knew.
"The prettiest in the whole wide world!"
I hugged her with one hand, because a certain, little blonde koala bear wouldn't let go of my other.
"Good answer." My mother kissed my forehead and smiled.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce you." I pointed at Lavinia, "Mom, dad, this is Lavinia Reni. Lavinia, my mother and father."
"And if you will accept us as your own, then we will be yours too, dearie." My mother knelt down to Lavinia's eye level and spoke.
"I-…" She hesitated. It was understandable. Her family had just died, less than a year ago.
Frankly it was absurd how quick Dulio adapted to adoption. A new family. Or maybe it was because of my promise to let him meet his old parents again someday. So maybe he rationalized it as staying with his aunts and uncles or something. He was more mature and a year older than both me and Lavinia, so maybe that had something to do with it.
Lavinia on the other hand would probably need some amount of therapy. In-home most likely, my mother could handle it.
"You don't have to say it now. Or ever if you don't want to, Lavinia. We will love you just the same." My mother reassured her, cupping her face, "You can call me Rubela, until then."
"Don't force yourself." My father offered, "You're welcome here, Lavinia. This is your home too, as much as it is ours. So don't hesitate to treat it as your own, okay?
"Okay." Lavinia nodded shyly, but her eyes were a little happier than before, and that's what mattered.
"Already doing the introductions without me?" Ruval returned just then.
"Not at all. Mom just found us first." I said, before asking, "Did you call Rigal?"
"Yes, but he couldn't come." He turned to Lavinia, ruffling her hair gently, "Rigal is our second brother. He's busy today, but I'll make sure you meet him someday soon, okay?"
Lavinia nodded and pulled closer to me again, away from his hand.
"Aww~ She's so adorable." My mother giggled.
"Just like a puppy." Ruval teased and Lavinia blushed, burying her face in the nook of my neck, only eliciting further laughter from them.
"Now, now, don't tease her too much or she'll burst like a ripe tomato." My father laughed, before turning to my mother.
"Why don't you take her to meet Ravel? Let Ravel get to know her new big sister."
My mother understood his meaning and nodded.
"Lavinia, come. Let's go meet your new little sister." My mother extended a hand towards her but Lavinia just looked up at me nervously.
"It's okay, I'll be right here." I assured her, caressing her head gently.
"Can't you come too?" She asked with those puppy dog eyes and I steeled myself in response.
"I just have to go to the toilet first. I'll be there with you soon, okay?"
"I will come too-"
"Lavinia." I fixed her with a stern gaze.
"No." She replied, adamant.
"You can't always remain stuck to me. You'll have to let go of me to shower and eat and go to the toilet, won't you?" My expression softened, and I booped her nose, "I don't like stinky girls."
She frowned, conflicted and looked back at the doll, still sealed, but less so, in order to let it move around with us.
"Don't worry. My mother is just as warm as me and the doll won't hurt you anymore." I picked her up and spun her around, landing her in my mother's arms, "I promised, didn't I?"
She looked at the doll one last time and finally nodded.
I planted a kiss on her forehead and cupped her face, looking her in the eyes.
"Good girl."
Lavinia smiled a silly little smile, blushing as her eyes glazed over a little at the praise.
"I'm a… good girl." She muttered softly, almost purring with happiness.
"Oh my~" My mother giggled and I smiled.
Adorable, isn't she?
----------x----------
We got seated in the office- me, Ruval and my father- and he grabbed my hand not a moment later, casting spell after spell, every scrying and analysis magic he knew, scouring over my whole body.
It was only when he didn't find anything suspicious did he broach the subject, still checking on me with a scanner spell.
"Are you okay, Riser? Any odd feelings, sensations? Memories unaccounted for? Do the reverse track before me."
I complied, casting encode thoughts and reverse tracking through all of my recent memories as he analysed them for irregularities. He wasn't looking through the memories themselves, but for any distortions in their presence.
He afforded me that much privacy at the very least.
And I understood why he was doing this, from the concern in his eyes to the frantic nature of his search.
"Everything seems to be in order." He finally spoke, letting out a sigh of relief. Ruval visibly relaxed his tense shoulders too, the stress leaving him almost immediately.
"This is because I visited Cleria Belial, isn't it?"
"What do you think, Riser?" My father frowned, "We feared for the worst."
"You seemed fine enough in the afternoon and Lavinia's issue was time sensitive, so we let it go for a few hours, but you must understand our concern, right?"
I nodded.
"Sorry. I was going to tell you today but-"
"Nurarihyon hasn't done anything to you? Everything fine up there?" My father asked again.
"Yes. Yes, I'm- Its all good." I assured him.
It was a failsafe we decided on when I went to train with the East Youkai Faction. A last resort, the equivalent of having a safe word.
After all, Nurarihyon was known primarily for two youjutsu- stealth and hypnosis- both of which complemented each other to an absurd degree in more than just his degenerate exploits.
It was a broken combination, and one that he could certainly use to force himself into mind of a young devil child from the wealthiest family in the underworld, to gain himself an edge. A loyal puppet to use or hold hostage secretly, looting our coffers and if he were left up to his perversions, violating our women. I wouldn't put it beyond him.
Naturally, being aware of that, and knowing that if he did try something, he certainly wouldn't let me talk to my parents about it, putting mental blocks and hypnotizing the intent itself out of me before he even tried anything else, we decided on a failsafe he wouldn't realize or guard against.
If I was ever in any danger with the youkai, and bound by hypnosis to not inform my parents, I was to go and visit Cleria Belial in Kuoh, a devil held territory where I would be safe until they came to fetch me.
It was a glorified rape whistle in the form of an innocuous action plan. A good precautionary measure, though I am glad I haven't had to use it.
The world was not a nice place and everyone had their own agenda, so having backup plans for emergencies was a standard protocol in most noble clans- safehouses, pre-cast teleportation spells, secret signalling methods and code words taught to all members. Our family just went the extra mile with theirs.
I knew this was coming when I went to visit her, and I had planned accordingly.
"Everything is all right." I repeated and my father relaxed.
"Then why did you visit Cleria Belial?" He asked.
"Oh, that. Well, I wanted some pizza and I figured I'd get some for the others too. But seeing as how we were in the mountains and the nearest town was rather small, I figured I'd head to the closest town I knew that was big enough to have at least one pizza shop.
The only problem was that I know no coordinates in the human world other than Urakyoto, Nyan-kan, Kyoto and Kuoh. I figured, Kuoh would be the safest bet. Avoid drawing too much attention, or risk getting got by the other factions and whatnot."
"And the only place you knew to teleport to in Kuoh was Cleria Belial's office." Ruval completed the line of logic for me.
"Is that why you spent nearly an hour chatting it up with Lady Cleria?" My father caught me however, "I thought we agreed. No more solo scheming."
"Yes, and I wasn't. Well, okay a little, but it wasn't anything serious. I was going to tell you today." I threw up my hands in defeat.
"Go on." My father gestured, before crossing his arms sternly.
"So, I was working on a new spell. It's called Flame Divination."
................................
Yes, flame divination is being revealed again, only this time it will be more tame, weak and logically grounded. A red herring planted for a later explanation.
No more logical leaps and sherlock holmes-ing. Grounded everything.
Thanks for reading. Sorry I disappeared for two days.
I was doing some stuff, and by that I mean bingeing Pluribus, Family Man Season 3, and Mighty Nein.
Am back now.
Thanks to King Gluttony and andres salcedo for the idea.
Thanks for reading the chapter.
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