Nighttime Wanderings (June 3rd, 12:30 am)

[Zoisite]

Prince Endymion

Despite being from the warmongering North, Zoisite had never cared much for violence. Indeed, he was kinda-sorta, well, maybe just a little bit terrified of going to war against the moon people. Why couldn't everyone just get along instead, the same way he found himself on friendly terms with the royals of the other kingdoms that he had met so far? Were the moon people really so different from humans that they couldn't find a way to get along?

It was well past midnight, yet Zoi found himself wide awake with his thoughts. He had tried reading himself to sleep by candlelight, but it hadn't helped at all. Nor had counting imaginary sheep. By now he was starting to think he might as well just get up for a while, so with a sigh, he threw off the covers and started to wrap a fur robe around himself, but it wasn't nearly cold enough for that. So he just pulled a pair of pants on with the nightshirt he wore so as not to be indecent and padded out- barefoot so as not to make too much noise- into the hallway with only a small candle to light his way.

He probably should have thought it through before he left the room, especially in the dark, because he still hadn't totally learned the layout of the place even in the daylight. Now which way was it to the kitchens? Maybe he could find a snack there, or some warm milk that might help him get to sleep.

MADE BY ★MEULK

[Prince Endymion]

Above the skies were a clear blue. Endymion found himself in what looked to be one of the palace gardens? No… this place was very different than anything he recalled. The area was surrounded by pale pink and white roses. There were stone columns, and above the image of blue green orb. He felt someone touch his hand gently… finger tips intertwined with his. It was her.

“There you are --” With that, he moved to steal a gentle kiss from the moon princess before everything faded.

“Will I see you again?” he muttered as he slowly woke. His eyes opened, letting them slowly adjust to the very dimly lit room.

In truth, the dream made him feel a bit guilty. He had someone else! Added, what would his father say if he knew he was dreaming of their enemies daughter? Surely there were more important things that should be on his mind. The threat of war loomed overhead with an enemy that already had the power to visit other planets. Endymion could only imagine what other weapons and equipment they could possess.

Endymion yawned a bit as he left his room, taking the candle from his bedside with. The idea of getting a quick snack entered his thoughts. Perhaps there were a few fruit tarts left over from the night’s dinner? If not, the prince was certain he could find something to nibble on. At the very least the snack would help ease his mind a bit. In the morning he vowed to be more productive. Maybe there was a way he could try to meet with the queen himself? Even though the thought of battle against this force interested him… he wasn’t sure if his kingdom held the upper hand in this possible match, even with the aid from other kingdoms of Earth.

[Zoisite]

Prince Endymion

There was no milk to be had, a fact which perturbed him just a bit. They would have had some if he were at home, but he supposed it was too warm here to keep it fresh, where back home you could just bury things in the snow or submerge them in a cold mountain stream and they would keep. Times like this, he could understand a bit of why Krutz felt so much distaste for the place; it really was very different than what they were used to back home. But Zoi could certainly see the charm of the place, he thought as he found some exotic local fruit in the kitchen and decided to sample some. Hopefully it wasn't there for pie making or some other purpose; he tried to take only a little so that hopefully any such purpose could still be fulfilled. Hopefully that and a glass of water would be enough of a snack to help ease him off to sleep.

A sound from the room's doorway startled him, and left him looking like the child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"I-I'm sorry, I just couldn't sleep," he said. "There's just been so much going on and it's all been weighing so hard on my mind. I thought maybe a midnight snack would help me get to sleep. I can replace what I've taken if that's not all right."

MADE BY ★MEULK

[Prince Endymion]

Sadly, there was no way for Endymion to actually contact the lunar. Even still, he wondered if she would even agree to such a meeting? There were other pressing things on his mind… Beryl. It seemed odd to worry about her while his country faced a possible war with an enemy they really knew nothing about. Oh well... he couldn't help it! What would Beryl do if she found out he was having dreams of another woman? Even though he had never been one to keep secrets, he felt a need to keep this to himself. Well, at least until he could find the time to meet with her. With the war looming overhead this was not the best time to sneak off from the castle.

He slowly entered the room, a bit surprised to see another person there.

“Don’t worry about it…” Endymion replied with a small chuckle. He set the candle on the counter.


“Eat as much as you want, the market is filled with them” he gave a small chuckle. “There will be more brought up in the morning”

“I could not sleep either so I decided to do the same thing you are doing now.” he admitted. The dark haired prince took a small pot down from the shelf. “Left over fruit tarts from this evening’s desert. They are also made with those fruits… well some. Want to try one? There’s plenty here”


“Just keep this hiding spot a secret. If my younger sister knew… lets just say I would have to find another spot”

[Zoisite]

Prince Endymion

"You couldn't sleep, either?" he presumed. "Or was I being louder than I thought?"

The prince conformed a moment later that he couldn't sleep, but didn't share the reason why... which was fair enough, since Zoi had no real intention of sharing what he had been discussing with Krutz. Who was to say that the pair of them conspiring to find a way to go talk to the lunar queen might be considered high treason, maybe even punishable by death! That gave him more than enough reason to keep his mouth shut. But he had to say something.

"Your hair is sticking up."

No! Not that!

"I-I-I mean, um, thank you for your h-hospitality," he stammered. But he managed to accept a little of the leftover dessert he'd been offered with a small thanks and none of the stuttering. "I'm finding the local food quite tasty, or at least what I've had since I've been here. What do you call this fruit?"

"Oh, and of course I won't tell your sister about the hiding spot," he promised.

That should be easy enough, considering he had yet to spend any one-on-one time alone with Endymion's sister.

"I have a younger sister as well. Her name is Opal, and she looks almost exactly like a young version of my late mother."

That fact made it harder to live with the girl, in his eyes- almost as if she were taunting him, looking at him with eyes the exact same pale blue of his mother's, smiling almost exactly like her... But he felt obligated to speak well of the girl nonetheless; she was the only family he had left.

"She's a beautiful girl, very kind and loving. She's sure to make someone a wonderful bride someday, if that's what she so wishes."

MADE BY ★MEULK

[Prince Endymion]

“Not exactly, I have a lot on my mind” Endymion admitted. “There are so many things on my mind right now. He shook his head, “Don’t worry, you did not wake me… I doubt you are making that noise”


“Hmmm? Oh… it tends to do that” he gave a small laugh as he ran his fingers through his floof of hair.


“You’re welcome,“I’m glad you like the local produce. Much of the fruits and such served in the meals come from the surrounding fields.” he replied, “Goji berries, figs, and those small sees are pomegranate … The fruits on the shelf there are types of apples and pears…”


“Thank you, I wouldn’t want Kyra to discover one of the better hiding spots in the kitchen,” he said with a smirk. He took a bite of one the tarts soon after.

“I am sorry that your mother is no longer with you. Nonetheless, I suppose it makes you appreciate your sister even more?” he asked.


“Kyra is well… I wouldn’t say that marriage is one of personal her goals. In truth, I am sure she would be happier if she could choose to travel over getting married.”

“Going back on before, there is something weighing heavily on my mind.” Endymion paused a moment and began to speak in a slightly quieter tone. “Honestly, I want to try to set up an envoy with the queen… if only to try to clear a few things up from the previous meeting she had with my father” As always, the prince ended up saying exactly what was on his mind. “I know that sound treasonous, but the idea of going to war with someone who has the power to fly to different worlds unsettles me”

[Deleted]

The night was cool, though not as cool as the northern nights. The stars outlined the sky in such an odd way. It was all so familiar yet strangely foreign as they sparkled and highlighted the heavens all the while outlining the moon as it brightly shined over the land. There Krutz sat on a patio that jutted just off from the kitchen. His efforts were entirely fruitless and this land simply didn’t give him any pleasure. However he had discovered behind a locked door with a very flimsy lock a trove of wine. Krutz took a few bottles as custom dictates, to the victor goes the spoils. Krutz had already downed a bottle and laid on a bench as he stared at the crown etched on the empty bottle. It was good wine! But even this didn’t give him any relief.

Krutz leapt to his feet and cried out, “WEAK!!!!” as he hurled the bottle with all his strength towards the moon. He stood there staring for a moment when the bottle finally hit the ground with a resounding shatter. Krutz sighed as he returned to the bench and picked up another bottle. “We are weak…” He grabbed the cork with his teeth, pulled it, and spat it away. He guzzled the bottle as he stared at the moon. “What are we supposed to do? How can we fight someone that can sail between worlds like the gods themselves?” He took another slug of the bottle. “Why did you put me in charge of your boy? Did you know that I would protect him or that I would take an interest in this boy? He has come so far… but he’s not a man yet. “Krutz stared off into space and took another swig. “He’s going to be though. You should see him. The North has never seen a king like this before. He could truly be the one that could lead us to conquer the entire world. He just doesn’t see it in himself yet.”

[Zoisite]

Prince Endymion , @jakemalone

"The fruits I've sampled so far here have been lovely," Zoi enthused. "I especially like these 'pomegranate' bits. They're so beautiful, like little jewels."

He was holding one of the seeds up to the candlelight, admiring it, when Endymion mentioned how having lost his mother would make Zoi appreciate his sister more. The boy suddenly felt guilty over the fact he really didn't appreciate his sister as much as he should. He knew it was wrong- that Opal had been a baby at the time with no control over the situation- but part of him still couldn't help blaming her for their mother's death. But that was something else he wasn't about to say in front of the prince.

"Opal never knew our mother; she died in childbirth having my sister. Our father died just a few years ago, so Opal and I are the only members of my immediate family left. It's a lot of pressure," he said. "Oh, and Opal's not in any big rush to get married yet, either, of course. She's five years my junior."

That was when Endymion lowered the volume of his voice and admitted he had thought about wanting to set up a meeting with the Moon Queen, himself. Zoi bit his lip as he debated whether it was safe to tell the prince what he and Krutz had discussed. He wanted to trust Endymion. They hadn't known each other long, but Zoi wanted to think they were already becoming friends. A nagging voice in the back of his mind warned him, however, that this could very well be a way to entrap him into saying something incriminating. He should probably admit to nothing, right?

Before he could decide one way or another, he was startled to the point of almost falling off his seat by the sound of yelling from outside. If others hadn't awakened by the sound of Zoi getting up for his snack, they were sure to be awake now.

MADE BY ★MEULK

[Prince Endymion]

“I have never noticed that, but they do look like small jewels” replied Endymion before he took a bite of one of the tarts.

“Sometimes the chief will service them with breakfast as well. We also make wines with it, and enjoy them during the winter months”


“How terrible, I am sorry to hear.” he said with a small sigh. “How did your father die? Do don’t have to answer, if you don’t wish... It’s just that, the thought of war has me concerned about my own family. If we were facing an enemy from an Earthly kingdom, I would not be this worried, even if the kingdom did have a stronger army.

“I could not imagine how much pressure that must be. You have an entire kingdom to watch over… along with your younger sister.” The dark haired young man wondered what it would be like if something were to suddenly happen to his parents. He would have two younger siblings to look after, along with a kingdom to concern himself with. And worse still…it would mean an end to his secret meetings with Beryl.

“Perhaps it is a good thing that I have no means to contact the lunar queen. After all, I am the first in line to my father’s throne. He could take it as a treasonous move on my part….” He shook his head slightly. “Far from it, I want to make sure my father is protected.--” Endymion was about to add something else, but paused when he heard the sudden and loud noise.

“Sounds like we are not the only ones who have decided to get a midnight snack?” he said with a laugh, shaking his head. “I am going to find the source…”

[Krutz Adalbern]

A numbness flowed over Krutz as the wine did its job. He was truly at a loss and all he could do was consult the gods and those in Valhalla for some sort of guidance. “So what are we supposed to do, hmm? What is our next step? I know what you would have done. You would have started raiding the other kingdoms while they were all congregated in this gilded kingdom and then swung in while they were busy fighting the moon people…. And we would have all died. It would have been a good death. But we must win. You wouldn’t have been afraid of these invaders…. And it would have gotten all of us killed. So how good of a king were you really?” Krutz took another drag from the bottle and continued to stare towards the heavens. He breathed in deeply and let loose a pained sigh. By the gods how he longed for the cold and to Bivrost. That was closest way to speak to the all-father. Sadly he had to make do.

“Odin! ODIN!!! Have I not paid tribute to you? Have I not been a proud warrior and performed many great deeds to be received into the halls of Valhalla? We need your guidance to conquer. We need a way to win. I cannot beat them with these people. They are not true warriors. You have blessed Zoisite with powers beyond measure. Now all I ask is to give us a way to get to the moon kingdom. I shall make sacrifices to you in the old way. Give our king Thor’s strength to lead us. Give us a path.”

[Zoisite]

Prince Endymion Krutz Adalbern

"What's winter like in your kingdom? Does it get very cold here? Does it snow?"

It was hard to imagine, with the current warmth (even at night!) that it could ever get cold enough to snow in the Golden Kingdom, but he'd never been there before, so how was he to know if he didn't ask? There was no way to know how long they would be in that kingdom, so it wasn't just for his own curiosity that he asked, but also to help alleviate his companion's suffering.

Endymion asked about Zoi's father, and again the boy bit his lip trying to decide how much to tell. It wouldn't do to speak ill of the dead, no matter what his father had done, but he didn't want to lie, either, as much as it could be helped.

"My father was a great king with many conquests," he said, and almost left it at that, but that really didn't say anything about his father's death, did it? "He got sick... bad blood. It affected his mind, in the end; he barely even knew who my sister and I were. It's... not the way a warrior king should have gone out."

He couldn't help feeling just a little offended that Endymion said he wouldn't be afraid of facing another Earth kingdom. It felt like a slight. Not that Zoi was likely to go raid any of the other lands any time soon, but he at least wanted to be thought of as a threat. But Zoisite was too kind, too delicate thus far in his life to live up to his title as the Northern King.

As Endymion got up to investigate the sound of shouting, Zoi hurriedly put away the things they had been eating and sealed the secret hiding place back up in hopes they wouldn't be caught out raiding the kitchens late at night.

MADE BY ★MEULK

[Prince Endymion]

“It can become fairly cold during the winter months. We do get a bit of snowfall fall, nothing too heavy, aside from the rare snow storm. I am sure your kingdom sees much harsher winters?” he asked.

“I am terribly sorry to hear that. That is true, it was a terrible way for a warrior to die. It sounds like the blood illness became a battleground of its own. I can only imagine what it’s like to fight that type of battle with your own body” he shivered a bit and tried to move his thoughts elsewhere.


“Do you think it strange to fear the unknown? If this queen is capable of traveling such far distance, I just wonder about the warriors she has under her command. What type of weapons…” The worst part was there was no way to gather information on her. There was no way to send any representatives to the moon… was there?

“Besides, two kingdoms fighting will only affect those two kingdoms -- maybe an alley or two. This woman threatens the entire world. That is one of the main reasons my father summoned you” Endymion just shook his head before giving a nervous laugh. That was just the half of his worries. There was the not so little matter of that love triangle…

“But it seems we have another more pressing mystery at hand” he exclaimed with a laugh. “This way…”

(*insert funny finding music/parody here to move things along*)

It was not that hard to follow the sounds of loud yelling, which soon led them to a veranda. Endymion just hopped the loud yelling didn’t wake the rest of the castle.

“Well, looks like we aren’t the only ones who had troubles sleeping”

[Krutz Adalbern]

"What is our answer?" As Krutz stared into the vastness of the heavens he suddenly heard the young prince of the gilded kingdom, “Well, looks like we aren’t the only ones who had troubles sleeping”
Krutz motioned for Zoisite to join him, "Come boy. I speak to your father. The boy from the gilded kingdom can join us." Normally Krutz would never be so informal however at this point he had guzzled down two bottles of royal wine and considering the sudden realizations of the moon kingdom he truly wasn't concerned with the formalities of the Earth kingdom. More specifically they really didn't pose any threat. Only the moon and the very little they had learned had only confounded matters worse. Krutz continued to drink from the bottle and stare at the moon with utter contempt. With little care to the consequences or the etiquette of addressing princes Krutz asked Edymion, "You can't sleep either? What? You thinking about the moon to? What makes your father think we would want to fight with you?"

[Zoisite]

"Winters are pretty harsh where I come from," Zoisite agreed. "I grew up with it, so it's really all I've known, but that doesn't mean I'm immune to it. You never really get immune to it."

All he could do was nod as Endymion talked about his father's blood condition. Of course Zoi wasn't going to say it was his dad's own fault for having slept with so many women; it would be wrong to speak ill of the dead, even if it were the truth. And anyway, that would make it seem like Zoi didn't love his father, which was far from the truth. Even if he was still bitter over what his father had done, it didn't mean he didn't love the man, just that he was disappointed and ashamed of some of the things his father had done.

"Fear of the unknown is natural, but I've found our imaginations tend to run away with us in these situations. Often the reality isn't nearly as bad as we think it will be."

But was he being naïve to think things could be solved with just a little diplomacy? Zoi hadn't witnessed the Lunar Queen's ultimatum, so he had no way of knowing how reasonable she was. If they could just find a way to get up there to meet with her, or bring her down for a meeting...

Knowing Krutz as well as he did, Zoi shouldn't have been surprised to find him sitting out on a balcony, drunk off his ass, as the source of the yelling they had been following. But his reaction wasn't one of anger or even exasperation at finding his advisor like this; instead his green eyes softened with concern. He took the offered seat beside the larger man and looked up towards the beautiful but mostly unfamiliar sky above. A waxing gibbous moon hung fairly low in the sky, but the sun had not yet started to paint the sky its morning yellows and oranges. It would still be another hour or two until dawn.

Zoi looked back at Krutz when he said he had spoken to his father. "What does he say?" he asked, more humoring the man than really believing any such conversation had really taken place. Alcohol could, in great enough quantities, make people believe all sorts of improbable things were happening. "I wonder what he would think about the situation we now find ourselves in."

[Prince Endymion]

Endymion nodded as he stepped out onto the balcony. It was not worried about the lack of formalities. “Still, it’s hard to keep ones imagine from running to interesting places. If the Queen is able to travel such a distance, I have to wonder about the technology her army possesses.”

“To be honest, I am not sure what my father is thinking.”


He began to go over the details from the faithful meeting with Queen Serenity. It seemed silly to hold back information at this point. Besides, he knew his father would plan a large formal briefing once all four kings arrived.


“This lunar queen is after some sort of babble or jewel? I believe she mentioned something about wanting the Golden Crystal. I assume whatever this gem is, it must have immense power. Normal kings would not risk their entire kingdoms on normal jewels... Surely this kingdom would have fallen if that was the case" the dark-haired princes shook his head and sighed.

"I want to believe he wanted to join this, this empire of hers… until he heard her terms."

Endymion gave a curious glance toward Krutz as he waited to hear the answer to Zoisite’s question. “The situation seems dire enough. Perhaps… good enough to summon my father for a formal meeting tomorrow?