"Your logic makes no sense to me. If they are angry with you, why should their discontent fall on your mother? She was not the one to deny them access here, nor was she the one who sent them away. If they are to be angry with anyone, I think it would be with you, perhaps simply because you sent them away and left one behind to work with?" she suggested to him, her long thin black eyebrows furrowing. "I know of you, Master Rose-Draconis. One of the first things Master Adraejen insisted was that I learn of your family's history because it tied very much into our own. I know that Cyprus did many things to hurt Angela, and you were by far possibly her biggest success next to the accidental attachement of her soul to my master, who later by complete chance became Lady Angela's consort and consequently husband," she stated. 

"I also know, by the impressions I get from my master, that while Lady Angela does want you to make reparations and gain redemption, she does want you to be able to LIVE," she pointed out. "She is the Mother, after all. What more could possibly make her happy than seeing her eldest finally find love and settle down? Me thinks perhaps, it is something else that keeps you from giving away your affections. I believe the term is a 'soul-mate' if I am not mistaken," she shrugged. 

She realized she had not answered his question. "Iris. Master Adraejen called me Iris. A name with many facets. All I think suit my purpose to him. A flower, homage to his wife, part of the eye that enables him to see, and a reflection, a refraction of light mirroring his own cognizance, and a messenger for him. I am his Avatar, not simply his assistant or protege. An extension of his arm and will." 

Nathaniel chuckled at this strange little woman. “In a perfect world, they would be. However, they see it that I am completely in my mother’s debt and they would think it was against her will if I were to completely turn them away. This happens because of the court system back home. Most of the mothers in Sularia marry their sons off to gain something, so when a son turns people away the first person to be blamed is the mother. Our mother isn’t that strict about the rules, none of the queens really are. As long as we bring honor to them, which… I have not.”

He rubbed the back of her neck. “You have a lot to learn by watching people.” It was blunt just like she had been to him. “Sometimes it isn’t because of the punishment given by the party but the prisoner who chooses to have a harsher sentence. I should have been killed for my crimes, I should have been killed a second time. Instead, she gives me a light sentence of earning her honor back. I didn’t think that was tough enough. Like my father before me, I have chosen a harsher sentence to prove myself so that my mother does not have to live with the black spot that I have put on her life. It is not a simple thing what I have chosen to done.”

He chuckled a bit once more. “Soul-Mates are a bit of a different situation. If the love is meant to be, it will be there when I am done. After all if it weren’t for the fact that my mother and father were incapability you might not be here. Neither would my other siblings for that matter. It is a tricky thing that life has. Soul-Mates are once in a life time partners you get that will never go away, you never know when you get them or how. They just are. They are part of life’s finicky path. The person walking next to you could be them but you would never know. If the time isn’t right they won’t shine as brightly to you.”

He gave her a smile before looking away. “I’m not the oldest anymore but I don’t think I deserve the happiness that my baby sister Aary has strived for. Not yet.” He mouthed her name for a moment before giving her another smile. “You may just call me Nathaniel. Like my mother, I’m afraid I don’t really like titles much. I think that you will learn there are many answers to life you can’t get out of a book or by watching just one group of people. Even now you might think you know my mother and her warmth but when she is angry or when someone has crossed her.” He frowned a bit thinking about it. “The bloodbath she could bring with her… is terrifying. This was even before her god powers here. I remember its wrath.”

"Why would anyone do that to themselves?" Iris asked him flat out. "Why would you choose a harsher punishment, potentially one that would force yourself into willful subjugation for an unforeseeable future that is much harsher than what judgement might have picked out for you? Surely your guilt should not be your master.  It implies that the sinner is incapable of finding forgiveness with his or herself, when others would have your forgiven out of attachment to you," she stated. "You think you bring your Mother honor by allowing a swarm of hormone filled and entitled females to follow you around? If what you say about your culture is in fact true, the two of you should have no obligation to these women at all. You, after all, were not promised to any of these women, am I correct? If a woman is to marry her son off for monetary or political gain, what purpose would this serve Lady Angela at this point in time? She is the Red Court Queen, if I am not mistaken, and a Goddess. That makes her one of the most, if not THE most powerful woman in Sularia. She would have no need of this."

Iris sighed. She didn't understand a lot of this, but she was still learning. 

"It is confusing, but it is a concept I am starting to learn regardless. Books make everything black and white, as plain as the pages they are written on. It is logical and succinct. But when you throw in emotions, that when it gets complicated. The hominid mind is the most complicated mechanism I am learning. Just as you say, I must learn from watching many, so I do. I watch and study the people I come across. Each is different in appearance, some lacking aesthetic while others have it in abundance, but one thing remains the same. Their emotions."

“A crime should be weighed on what the outcome was wanted. I was on a war path to kill my little sister and to kill my mother. To claim not only the crowns of the Red Court but also the crown of the Draconis. Disease had set in my blood and made me unable to fight against the urges that drove me, it was like sitting back and watching a show, a terrible one that I hated. I had no control over anything.” He closed his eyes and took a deep sigh.

He played with a swirl of his red hair as he thought about it. “It’s because I don’t think the punishment is harsh enough. For the crime that I committed I should have been punished more.” He gave Iris a gentle smile. “For my family, I would gladly die again to restore their honor if that is what they would ask of me. I do think that asking so little of me is an insult to my character. Like my father, before me, I tend to be extremely honor bound.”

Nathaniel tilted his head. “You are young yet, you will learn. You were only created a little bit ago if you are his Avatar. It will take years to learn about the life around you. You’ll see. It will get better.” He gently poked her forehead and chuckled. “You should engage in conversation with them Iris. That is a good way to learn more about them.”

"I suppose that is incredibly noble of you," she said. She didn't know why, but the idea of nobility tasted bad on her tongue. She had no personal issue with it, so perhaps it was Master Adraejen's dislike of the concept that she was showing. "But if you were not in control of yourself, surely you realize that you are not wholly to blame for what happened. Disease, possession… if you are not in control of your faculties, can they really blame you all that much?" she asked him. "Do you really believe that dying for them again would make all of this better for you?"

When he poke her forehead she recoiled back from him slightly, giving him a look that suggested she did not understand the motion. "Why did you do that? I don't understand that motion. Was there something on my forehead that needed to be pushed?" she asked him. She rubbed her forehead out of instinct now, wondering if there was in fact some sort of blemish there she had not noticed. 

"And am I not engaging in conversation with you?" she asked as she rubbed the spot and then forced herself to put her hand down. "Am I not learning by sitting here talking with you? You seem a most excellent subject, for I know you have lived long in this world by anyone's standards. Even if not in THIS specific world, you have still lived longer than most."

“Because that’s not the way the world works Iris. You are accountable for your actions even if you weren’t the ones pulling the strings. People have been put to death for less to clear the air.” He was lost for a bit before answering. “They would have killed my sister if she hadn’t killed me… If that person is here in Revaliir and they realize I’m alive what do you think they will do to her?”

He laughed a bit at her reaction. “It’s something I used to do with Aaryona when she was over thinking something. For us, it meant to stop over analyzing everything. You’ll get it eventually but you are going to give yourself an ache if you don’t stop.”

Again he smiled at her. “Start looking at people like people and not test subjects. It might help you out in the long run.” He again chuckled a bit at her and thought about. “Maybe fifty… sixty years? Gods I am old. Still very young for my mother’s race though.” He offered a simple answer. “I do know many things but not as many as my sister Aaryona. We were split down the middle. I learned all the arts while she learned all the combat.”

He did miss his little sister. "Aary is supposed to be stopping by soon… Do you want to meet her?"

"I guess there would be no way to prove such things. Even if one were to look into your mind it could not be fully trusted what the person doing the looking says," she said as she mulled it over. "What sin had your sister committed that would have earned her execution if she had not redeemed herself by taking your life?" she asked, shaking her head. "Your people seem a very violent one… you do not have to answer that question. I realize that crosses a boundary line and I have no right to ask that."

She quirked her head to the side. "Is that a universal sign to not think too hard or is it specific to your and your sibling?" she inquired. "You are contradicting yourself again. How am I to study them if I do not look at them with a research oriented mind. I am not poking or prodding them the way a scientist might poke and prod a dangerous animal, if that is what you are getting at. I find such methods crude."

A rather rhetorical thought crossed her mind at that point as Nathaniel mentioned years and ages. "I wonder how long I will live…" she said softly. Time was still a concept she was learning, as it had only been a few short months in her lifespan. She looked up at him as he offered to introduce her to Aaryona. She looked a bit hesitant at first then nodded. 

"If Master Adraejen does not require me for other tasks… then yes, I would like to meet more of his family," she replied. 

“Because my sister was deemed responsible by a vampire clan. You’ll learn about our family, it is not the Rosenites who are overly violent.” He offered her a smile. “There is a hierarchy in life. My sister despite being just a decade younger than I am is still considered a child to the vampires… Though there are some violent Rosenites like my aunt Toya.”

He chuckled a bit more at her and nodded. “It’s just between Aaryona and myself.” Nathaniel thought how best to answer before he decided to. “Because it will be natural for you to learn from everyone and suck in the knowledge without even thinking about it Iris. That’s how most people become wise.”

He had heard her question and smiled. “If you are the avatar of Drae… I think you will live as long as he does.” He tried to ease her mind just a bit. When he was ready he beckoned her to follow him once he was off the ground. He wandered the temple for a few good moments until a lithe woman was in sight. She had long red hair much like his and their mother’s.

“Aary!” He yelled excitedly towards his sister as he ran and picked her up in a hug. The girl screamed because she was caught off guard. She was dressed in black and gold.

“Thaniel!” She squealed towards her brother once she was done flailing in his arms. “I missed you!” They hugged and he set her down. She was smaller than Nathaniel and had amber eyes. “Who is your friend?”

“This is Drae’s Avatar, Iris. She was making sure the seams were alright just like I was. I think anyways… Iris this is my sister Aaryona.”

"That must mean that the Draconis name comes from a Vampire line, otherwise they would not have been involved," Iris surmised. "Though how your affliction could have been her responsibility still fails me," she admitted. She stared at him, trying to make sense of what he was trying to explain to her. She was sure she would figure it out in time, perhaps with more observation of him.

She sighed a content sigh. "As long as Master Drae lives, so will I… that is reassuring," she mused. She watched Nathaniel stand and did the same before brushing grass particles from her clothing and followed after him. He seemed to be wandering around really, but then of course it made sense if he didn't know exactly when or where the aforementioned sister would be arriving. She occupied her mind by mimicking his posture and how he walked, even going so far at a moment, to color her own hair from black to the same vibrant shade of red that he had, and made her hair just as long as his. This experiment however, ceased when he spotted another red-headed woman, again, clearly someone of Angela's descent. The way he shouted out the pet name and rushed to her reaffirmed that this was indeed his little sister Aaryona, and Iris watched carefully their interaction. Aaryona had screamed, but it was not one of fear or pain, and the subsequent laughter suggested she was just as joyful to see Nathaniel as he was to see her. 

"Of course I was," Iris answered. "I was not wasting my master's time," she said flatly. "It is nice to make your acquaintance, Lady Aaryona." 

Upon closer inspection, Aaryona was maybe a touch shorter than Iris was, and she did not share the typical eye color that others of the House of Rose did. Her eyes were the color of fossilized tree sap, and were very pretty in their own way. 

"Your eyes are pretty. They are different from the rest of your family…" she said looking at Aaryona, inspecting her. 

“Draconis are a very ancient line of vampires. Not here in Revaliir but their amount of history in DaeLuin was amazing. I remember learning about them from my father and as leader of the Draconis it is Aaryona’s responsibility to learn about them as well.” He frowned a bit and thought about it. “Because… we are blood. To be blood means to take responsibility for what our family does. When my aunt Cyprus went crazy it became the family’s responsibility to kill her or we would suffer the consequences. That’s just the way the world is. Especially with vampire families.”

He looked behind him every once in a while to see what she was up to. “You know Iris, I think you are beautiful the way you are. You shouldn’t change your looks to learn people.” He offered her a smile. “Though you do look pretty cute with long hair.” It was just the way he felt about the matter and didn’t really think it meant much. Maybe she had never heard it before and he wanted her to.

Aaryona blinked at Iris for a moment and Nathaniel laughed. “You’ll have to pardon her Aary, she is still a baby to this world. She is learning.”

Aaryona nodded and smiled at Iris. “You can just call me Aaryona here. Were we at home I would ask to be called Lady Draconis, but that’s because the courts dictate I be showed respect because of my rank.” The Rosenite softly blushed a bit and gave her smile once she recovered. “Thank you, Iris. I’m told thousand or so years ago before my father’s eyes went the color of the night that his eyes were this color when he was human. I think they are pretty as well.”

Nathaniel tilted his head and nodded. “It is very uncommon to get different eye colors but it’s been happening a lot more now. It might be the influence of my mother’s power.” He was cheerful about it. “Normally only those who are turned into Rosenites have the eyes. Normally.”