Succession: Heir to the Empire

Brighe

"Saving my Nephew. Now I don't have the time, or the trust..." Brighe said as she glanced towards Baruti and Clara. "...to explain it all here. But basically I'm going to seal the Basilisk, that's all you need to know for now." Brighe answered as she traced another Elvish sign on Kegan's chest, this time using her blood. After she was satisfied with her work, Brighe stared at the seals as she went over the spell in her mind.

The seals began to glow, as did the Basilisk image as well. Brighe licked her lips as she prepared herself for what she'd have to do next. The Elf placed her hand over the seals on her Nephew's chest as she began to meditate. The Tattoos on Brighe's own body began to twist and turn as they came to life. The Standard river tattoo began to move, quickly rushing around Brighe's body. Then, a Driad, Naiad, Centaur, and Hawk all popped up, rushing down Brighe's arm and into Kegan's chest, causing her Nephew to convulse.

For the next few minutes nothing of note happened. Kegan continued to shake, Brighe continued to chant, and the odd glows simply staid as though there were just a flickering light. And then, Kegan gasped for air as he woke up. His breath stabilized as the Driad, Naiad, Centaur, and Hawk traveled back up Brighe's arm.

"He's going to be ok." Brighe reassured Rein as she stood up.

"You sure? I feel like I've been run over by a dragon." Kegan groaned as he sat up.

Rein, Syrien

Rein immediately rushed over to Kegan, got down beside him, and enveloped him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Don't you ever scare me again like that." Rein half-threatened through great relief.

"I suppose we'll have to wait on doing our joke." Syrien commented to Brighe.

Brighe/Kegan/Clara

Brighe looked up at Syrien, a smirk on her face as she stood up. "Oh come on, I think now is the perfect time to do it." Brighe whispered in reply before she grabbed Syrien, kissing him on the lips.

"I won't....." Kegan replied to Rein as he looked over her shoulder, his mouth dropping open as he looked at Syrien and his Aunt.

Rein, Syrien

Syrien blinked in surprise once before he kissed Brighe back, to make it look authentic.

"You better not...what are you looking at?" Rein asked, craning her head to look behind her. Her mouth opened in plain shock at the surpring display before them.

"S-Syrien! What do you think you're doing?!" Rein shrieked.

Caesar

"Well, here we are, my dear." Caesar said, the sight of the Observatory visible in the distance.

Susanna

"Wonderful." Susanna replied as she looked up at the grand structure.
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Kegan/Brighe

Brighe pulled herself away from Syrien before looking at Kegan and Rein, feigning shock at their outrage. "Oh, well, while you two were out in the wilderness, Syrien and I talked. We have a lot in common, we found." Brighe answered as she smiled up at Syrien.

"D-don't you guys think you're moving a bit fast though?" Kegan asked, his face a pale white.

"On the contrary, Kegan, I think this relationship has been in the making for quite a while."

Syrien, Rein

"Indeed. I have come to enjoy Lady Brighe's company. Among...other things." Syrien said, resisting the urge to crack a smile. My, this was more entertaining then he thought it'd be.

"B-B-B-But y-y-you....and Brighe...y-y-y-your age....w-what if you t-two g-g-got mar...mar..." Rein stuttered, unable to speak coherently. What the hell were those two doing!? They were suppose to be their guardians! The responsible ones! And most importantly of all...if they ever got married, wouldn't that make her...related to Kegan?!

Rein's head began to hurt from all of this.

Caesar

"Indeed." Caesar agreed, walking closer to the building.

Brighe/Kegan/Clara

"Well, marriage is of course a possibility in our future. Kegan, maybe we could have a double wedding!?" Brighe exclaimed, pretending to be delighted by the idea.

"Can we continue this conversation elsewhere please?" Kegan asked. Angry, surprised, and terrified all at once.

"Looks like that's the last one Baruti. Are you prepared to choose a winner?" Clara asked as she watched Susanna and Caesar walk up to the door of the Grand Observatory.

Rein, Syrien

"I think I'm going to be sick." Rein said, feeling both disgust and fright at the same time. How could they do this to them?!

"Come now, Rein. I'm sure the both of you will warm up to the idea eventually." Syrien said, the hints of a smirk coming across his face.

"B-B-But if you two get married, w-w-w-we'll be....we'll be..." Rein protested, looking back at Kegan. With all they had done, if there was a chance they'd now be related in some way....Rein felt even more sick to her stomach.

Brighe/Kegan

"You'll be cousins, yes." Brighe said. "Syrien, I think we should go now. ...There's something I want to do with you before the next challenge starts." Brighe said as she suggestively placed her hand on his shoulder.

"No, you can not be serious." Kegan muttered as he slowly stood up, struggling a bit but eventually managing.

Rein, Syrien

Rein slowly stood up, a look of disgust still on her face. However, it vanished when she studied Syrien's face closely. After living with him all these years, Rein had learned the signs of when Syrien was kidding, or amused, since it was really hard to tell without close observation. And upon seeing the beginnings of a smirk on his lips, Rein gave a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank the gods! They're joking." Rein said.

Brighe/Kegan

Brighe let her hand slip off of Syrien's shoulder as she looked back at Kegan, a smirk on her face. "Did you really believe that we're so emotionally unstable that we could actually fall in love just because you two were gone for three days? I have to admit, I'm disappointed in you Nephew." Brighe said as she shook her head in disappointment.

"But... That was just cruel, what the hell did we do that would deserve something like that?" Kegan asked, his surprise and fear now just replaced by obstinate frustration.

"Last night, in the tree, three times, Kegan?" Brighe commented, earning herself a terrified gasp from Kegan. "Look in the pool, Kegan. We've been watching every single thing you've been doing for the past few days." Brighe informed her Nephew before quickly turning around and walking out of the room.

Rein, Syrien

"Y-You saw everything?" Rein asked, her relief soon turning into embarrassment and mortification.

"Me, personally? No. But I did hear the sounds all the way to my room." Syrien answered, receiving a mortified shriek from Rein. His attention turned to Kegan.

"Heir Kegan, we need to talk."

Kegan

Kegan's face grew even paler as Syrien addressed him. "Of course, Sir."

Syrien, Rein

"I do not entirely approve of how close you've grown to my daughter, especially in such a short time period." Syrien started, walking over to Kegan. He began to pace around the young boy, making sure to deliberately slow his pace, to make Kegan more nervous.

"In the span of a little over three days, you have deflowered my daughter, and before that, exposed yourself to her. And, if that was not enough, you have already proposed to my daughter as well. Your relationship is moving much faster than I ever antcipated. It has even gone quicker than the relationships of most Kaleesh. And that is saying something." Syrien continued. He paused behind Kegan.

"By right and ancient law, I can do with you as I see fit. Your aunt has even approved of the idea. If I wanted to, I could sentence you to being an eunuch for the rest of your life. Or something far worse."

This time Syrien leaned toward Kegan, whispering that last part into his ear. But he stepped back and continued his pacing.

"However...whether it is for better or for worse, my daughter is in love with you. She cares for you deeply, and I am willing to accept her judgement. For now, you are safe. However, if you harm my Rein in any way whatsoever..."

Syrien came to a stop in front of Kegan. He leaned toward Kegan, their noses nearly touching.

"I will torture and kill you in such a way, you will wish the Order had taken you prisoner instead. And your body will never be found. I will make sure of that, Emperor or not. Goodbye." Syrien turned away and strode away, leaving Rein and Kegan alone.

Kegan/Susanna

Kegan exhaled as Syrien walked away, having been holding his breath for the entire "Conversation".

"Well that was...terrifying." Kegan said.

Meanwhile, Susanna walked past Syrien into the main room of the Observatory, coming to see if everyone had arrived yet.

Rein

"I'm just glad he didn't kill you." Rein replied, gratefully hugging Kegan. She made a note to herself to visit and thank her guardian later.

Noticing Susanna come in, and remembering the event she had walked in on a few days earlier, Rein's face reddened again.

"Come on, let's go." Rein said, tugging on Kegan's arm.

Kegan

"Way ahead of you." Kegan said as he put his arm around Rein's shoulder, using her for support as they walked out together.

Rein

Rein lead Kegan through a hallway before coming to a stop, making sure they were long gone from Susanna and Caesar.

"So, um, do we think we could...that is, if you aren't hurt to bad..." Rein said, looking away from Kegan. Even with all that they had done the other night, she still found it a little difficult to broach the subject.

Caesar, Kaleb

"Caesar! Susanna!" Kaleb shouted excitedly, rushing over to the pair once they walked inside the observatory.

Caesar groaned. "Great, he's still alive."

Clara/Susanna

"Congratulations! You two are the last ones to arrive." Clara informed Caesar and Susanna with a false sweetness.

"Oh Clara, it's so great to see you." Susanna exclaimed as she walked over to the fellow Nobleman's Daughter. "It's such a shame that you were so unimportant to everyone that you weren't placed into the challenge. I mean, watching you die out there surely would have been a lovely sight."
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Kegan

"...I'd be more then willing." Kegan answered after scanning the hallway to make sure no one else was near.

Rein

"Um, good." Rein muttered. She leaned over to Kegan and kissed him.

"It'll be good to sleep in a real bed tonight."

Caesar, Kaleb

"No doubt. It is always a fun sight to see the light fade out of someone's eyes." Caesar agreed.

Susanna/Clara

"Oh well, maybe next time. Lovely seeing you Clara." Susanna replied before she walked back towards Caesar and Kaleb.
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Kegan/Carlisle

Kegan kissed Rein back before replying, "Well then lets go find one..." He growled before kissing Rein again as he picked her up, moving them towards one of the doors. After fumbling the latch on the door for a few seconds, Kegan got it loose and burst into the room. The Heir grabbed Rein's shirt and pulled it up while moving her onto the bed.

"Umm...this room is taken." Carlisle said as he looked at Kegan and Rein from the other side of the bed.

"Oh....you got here before we did?" Kegan asked in surprise.

Rein

"Oh, Kegan..." Rein murmured, blushing furiously as her fiance carried her off. Once they were in a room, Rein allowed him to start to take off her shirt before Carlisle interrupted them. Rein gave a gasp before quickly putting her arms across her chest to prevent Carlisle from seeing her.

"Will our back luck ever end?" Rein wondered, both embarrassed and angry by what had happened this time.

Kegan/Carlisle

Carlisle rolled over to look away from Rein and Kegan, hoping that they would just leave. "Umm, I arrived about four hours ago. Umm...so you two are celebrating then?" Carlisle asked awkwardly, unfortunately falling into his habit of having to make polite conversation.

"Yep, you could say that. We're umm...engaged now." Kegan replied as he handed Rein her shirt, knowing that whatever moment they might have had was now out of reach.

"Oh...congratulations."

Rein

Rein gladly took her shirt from Kegan, putting it on immediately.

"So, uh, how are you, Carlisle?" Rein inquired, politely smiling. Hopefully Kegan could excuse them from the room so they could continue what they were doing before in another room.

Carlisle/Kegan

"I'm gr-I'm bad." Carlisle answered, deciding that lying was a waste of time now.

"Oh umm, that's a shame. Maybe we can talk about it later...like at breakfast or something tomorrow." Kegan replied as he got off the bed, motioning to Rein that they should go.