Keira thought about it and nodded to his words. “I think that would be the best way to handle it. I know my father is rather upset with Torn. He’s never liked him much and put up with him because of me. My mother, on the other hand, thought he was alright. Though as you can imagine both of my parents have two different views on what alright is.” She brought a hand up and put it on his if only to show thanks. His hands were rougher than hers were but she did have a few paper cuts on her fair skin. “Thank you Dalyor.”

Keira understood that much. “Keeping the twins out of the crossfire was the reason why we weren’t going to go on adventures, at least me. Not until they were old enough that it would be safe. Torn though he would have never stopped adventuring. I think he wanted to die doing it.” Those were only her thoughts, though. 

Once they got to where his daughter was she slightly chuckled at how cute she looked. “Hello Keya.” Keira greeted her and went with her when she pulled. There was no way she would tell a child no especially when she had seen what her children did when someone didn’t want to play with them. “Well aren’t they just gorgeous.” She said to all the dolls. “You’ve done very well taking care of them.”

Looking back up at Dalyor she gave him a smile and looked down to Keya. “My children are Kite and Tempest. They are almost the same age as you are.” She rubbed the girl’s hair and looked back up at her father as she stood up off the bed. “We can take a gate to the outer edges of Arri. No sense in dragging the little one through the desert. I imagine once we get there… We’ll find out why my mother requested someone to bring me home.” An assassin or not it didn’t matter not when she could just gate around Revaliir.

Keira helped Dalyor pack up and before long they were setting off. Forming a portal she took a large breath and smiled at everyone. “Please everyone go through.” Once through the portal the desert air hit them hard. It was suddenly somewhat harder to breath. “We’ll find comfort in the manor.” Getting the gates was a tad easier. The guards even looked on edge and it showed on Keira’s face that it was weird.

“There’s are friends of yours, princess?” The guard was quick to ask. They had made the mistake before with the last man they brought into the queens that had been suspicious. 

“Yes, this Dalyor and Keya. Dalyor is my protector right now.” The guards nodded and let them into the gold, silver, and gem covered streets. The streets were still packed and it was loud with voices, songs, and musical instruments. Instinctively Keira took Keya’s hand and she smiled down to the young girl. “Welcome to my home.” There were mostly women around and she was sure that it looked rather weird to both of them. “Arri has one man for every ten females.” She decided to educate.

Once they found the road with flaming statues she directed them up to the white rock manor not far up the road. “That’s it… Mother’s house is that of dragon fire and dragonfire whiskey.” She joked with Dalyor. “Do not drink it if she offers unless you want to be on the floor coughing.”

Once they got up to the manor she opened the doors and announced she was there. “Mom.. dad I’m home.” Several crashes, vases falling, and whatever else the two hellions were doing later… The twins were coming down and jumping on her.

“Mama! We missed you the whole hour you were gone!” Kite was quick to yell at his mother as he hugged her tightly. 

“We were real good. Honest, we only broke stuff upstairs.” Tempest was quick to acknowledge they did indeed cause all the noise and Keira only shook her head.

“You guys are something else. Make sure to clean up after yourselves and tell your grandma and papa you are sorry.” She noticed that the twins were no longer listening to her and it was futile as they were now staring at Keya. “This is Keya, this is the little girl that Dalyor was telling you about. Can you go play with her and make sure she doesn’t get hurt?” 

The twins were bright eyed as they grabbed her and they all ran off with each other. “That… was easier than I thought.” She laughed nervously. “Welcome to my home… I guess we should find a room for you and Keya first.”

It wasn’t hard to see how well Keya quickly took to Keira- the girl herself wasn’t very shy but she was careful when it came to attachments. He taught her to be weary for her own protection but at the same time he couldn’t completely deny her interactions with other people. She knew that if he was approving of whoever he brought to see her, they could be trusted. As she smiled brightly at while introducing her dolls to her, Dalyor had to remember to sneak some coin beneath her pillow at night so that she knew that the fairy of teeth would have paid her a visit by the next morning. She was rather excited to see children like her and kept asking questions like what were they like, and what sort of games they liked to play all the while he started to pack up their things with Keira’s assistance. Fortunately they didn’t have too much to carry and her offer on how to get to Arri suited him just fine. “Thank you for that. I couldn’t even imagine putting her through that.” The desert was no place for a kid, and he had never even been that far north so he was ill prepared to deal with its harsh settings. In no time at all, they were ready and she casted the portal, which drove curiosity into the mind of the young one. Peeking up over her father, he gave a nod of approval before taking hold of her tiny hand.

“Don’t worry, there’s nothing to fear sweetheart.” She went with him through the portal and met with the air from the other side. Both of them cough a bit as their lungs adjusted to it and he looked to Keira. “Well, that was fun. Not sure how you all do it.” He made sure to tend to his daughter before he followed her lead. The guards seemed weary of their presence, but everything was smoothed out and he held Keya close to him instinctively. But that became even more difficult when they reached the city and her eyes lite up at the sight of it all. Fortunately Keira took over and she obliged as she looked around giddily and amazed. Dalyor himself couldn’t help but to be at awe with its surroundings, noting oddly at the ratio of women to men here. His jaw dropped slightly at their host’s confirmation. “I guess that this place is one where your women come from and are the dominate of the sexes?” Keya found the word to be funny and he playfully rolled his eyes at her giggles.

The house she lead them towards seemed fitting for a royal heirness like herself, though he was reminded of her mother and what she was like. “Hm, not much of a drinker really. Some wine here or there, but aside from that, I don’t think I have a death wish.” As they came inside, he was wondering scatter mindedly where Toya likely kept those dragons of hers and to make sure that Keya didn’t happen to run into one of them without an escort. Those thought shattered with the sounds from upstairs and no sooner than that the two little troublemakers came to greet them. Keya went behind his leg and looked over at the twins with wide eyes which he sought to comfort her with a pat on top of her head. It wasn’t long before she went with them and scattered off and he sighed. “As long as your folks don’t mind her being here, I’m good with that.” He adjusted the bags slung over his shoulder and back, “It is rather a beautiful home. I can see why you’d miss it sometimes, though I hope the reason for you coming here isn’t completely dire.”

“We get used to it believe it or not. This is where most of us are born. My siblings and I were born in a forest though so I can understand getting used to it.” She nodded as they walked in the streets. “Yes to both of those. Most of the men can do what they want and aren’t as restrictive as outside where men are over women. We’re empowered here and that’s why women come here.”

Keira nodded a bit and laughed at him. “That’s good. I think she would test your mettle just by a sip of that crap. I’ve watched her make entire units fall from letting them drink it.” Her green eyes watched as the children took off and she smiled. It was good to see them happy.

“My folks won’t care. Mother has a soft spot for kids no matter how much of a loon she becomes.” It was more of a joke as they walked together. “I have no idea. It would have to be for Mother to take the kids away from me like that. Normally she is stern but not so stern to order me around like that.” She was musing as they walked up the stairs. She could hear the twins playing with Keya. They knew to be gentle with children who weren’t blessed with strength and magic like they were. To be honest, she wasn’t entirely sure what Dalyor or Keya were and she would have to ask before trouble started.

She adjusted her own bags as they went through the hallway and she stopped at her door. “We can stop here for a moment before I find you a room.” She opened the door and her room was surprisingly well kept together. There was a ton of drawing supplies, a drafting table, bookshelves full of research, and many other things. The room was delicately decorated with soft colors not like Arri’s bright ones. She set her bag down on her bed and looked back at Daylor and smiled. “I should ask you about Keya and your own race. I do worry about the twins hurting her if they aren’t careful.”

An interrupting noise came from the door frame as Toya cleared her throat. “So, you both came good. I see there is another munchkin downstairs.” Keira took a gentle breathe as she nodded. “Blaine is down there playing with them. He’ll keep them out of trouble. He’s not as fresh as he used to be so they might tire him out before dinner.” She chuckled a bit. “Twins have started to scale the rafters of the house to get the drop on him.”

Keira looked uncomfortable for a moment and Toya shook her head. “No, I know that they can’t get hurt easily enough. I just worry.” 

“Yeah, I stopped worrying after Jayden fell off the house when he was a kid. It was his feat of strength or so he was yelling as he did it. You kids are a lot more hardy than we adults give you credit for. They’ll be fine and if they happen to break something… then I guess they won’t do it again will they?” Keira made another face and Toya chuckled. “I owe you money for bringing her here but in a bit I’m going to call you both down and have a sit in with Blaine. We’re going to discuss why I brought you home. The last time I ran out of the house with a sword your father had a cow when I didn’t tell him why.”

Keira nodded. “Alright… When?”

“Enough time for you both to get washed up, changed into something comfortable, and get your asses downstairs to the dining room. I’ll make sure that the three little ones are being watched by one of the house keepers. So go on then… get washed up and changed.” Toya made her way from their presence and Keira took another breath.

“I dislike it when she isn’t forthcoming with information. It means that something is going on.” She  began to unpack her bag and shrugged a bit. “I can show you where the room and washroom is.” She put what things she had to away before showing him to a room not far from hers. “If you want Keya can sleep in here with you though if she gets tired out she can stay with the twins wherever they fall.” She put her arms behind her back and looked out the door. “The washroom is two doors down on the left. Knock and make sure no one is in there. Sometimes they fail at locking the doors around here.”

Keira moved to leave and go back to her own room when she turned. "When you're done you can meet me back in my room. I'll take you down there so we can get this figured out." With that she closed the door and went back to her room. She used her own wash bowl to get herself cleaned up and changed into a more comfortable light dress from her traveling clothes. Her blonde hair was taken down and brushed before letting it sit out over her shoulders. It wasn't in the way so she didn't need to put it back up. Her mind wandered to what this meeting would be about.

The idea seemed strange, but he suppose that being an outsider and had been accustomed to how the rest of the world worked, it would feel as such in Arri. The concept wasn’t a terrible thing though in his opinion. It would do well to show Keya at a young age that she didn’t have to submit to a man like society depicted. Perhaps some of it would stick to her over time when she blossomed.
 
Keira’s mother sounded like the sort he wouldn’t want to cross, but she seemed like a generally good person. Perhaps slightly unhinged, but good nonetheless. Daylor watched his daughter go along with her children, happy that she wouldn’t have to be all by herself. This sort of life wasn’t enjoyable but he would do anything to support her. He followed her into her chambers and look about. He had expected a messy room, but surprising it hadn’t been like her room in the tavern. Then again, with her profession, he assumed that her stay in-between jobs were rather brief. “Half elf”, he stated while still looking around. “At least I am. Keya’s mother was full blooded elf though.” He didn’t know to the extent of how rough her twins could play, but hopefully it wouldn’t be too much for Keya.
 
He turned around once Toya’s voice boomed from the door. “Yes, my daughter Keya. Keira said that it would be alright to bring her here.” She didn’t seem too bothered by it fortunately, and it sounded like Blaine didn’t either. He sighed in relief, but there was some worry on his face as soon as she said something about them climbing on rafters. The last thing he wanted was to see his child up high above and then falling.
 
Daylor was curious as to why he was here aside from bringing Keira home and it sounded like it would be a bit longer before they hear this. He nodded at the proposal and waited for Toya to leave before he turned to Keira. “I guess if she’s that worried, then it must be big.” From what he studied of her, Toya didn’t seem to be the sort that sweated the little stuff. No, this seemed far more serious than just missing her child. He carried his bags into the room given to him and placed them onto the bed. He started to get out some more casual wear while he listened. “Alright. I should be ready in a bit. Thank you.”
 
Daylor quickly changed into a loose shirt and trousers and laced his boots. With that, he made his way to the washroom, knocked twice on the door before going in and tended to his face. Afterwards he headed to Keira’s room and knocked twice like before. “Are you ready, Keira?”

Keira rubbed the back of her neck almost nervously at the thought of her being a half-elf. “Well… The twins will be gentle with her. They know that not everyone is as hardy as they are… I’ve taught them that. Even Rosenite children don’t seem to have the same hardiness my own do. It sort of terrifies me how durable they are.” There was a light nervous laughter from her lips as she thought about it.

Toya pretty much told them it was fine that his daughter was there. There was a long drawn out silence from what could have possibly been wrong. “That’s what scares me,” Keira said it in a hushed whisper as they debated what her mother had been so scared about. She escorted him to his and Keya’s room before returning to her own to get ready.

Keira looked much more put together when she opened the door for him. “Sorry about all of this… I know that it must be a pain for both of you.” She had effectively ruined his job without knowing it back in Mamlak. She tried to straighten out the wrinkles of her sundress before taking a huge sigh and bringing him down the stairs to where her mother had said they would meet.

It was a rather large table for a large family, which hers was. She pulled out a chair and sat down. Toya was drinking some of her whiskey and she could smell the hard alcohol from where she was as her nose wrinkled up. Her father looked serious but her mother was lounging into him. Her back was into his side as she appeared to be sitting on multiple chairs so her feet didn’t touch the ground. “Why are we here?” Keira finally broke the silence.

Once the doors were sealed and the room was made sound proof by the runes located around the manor Toya pulled herself up and put her glass down. It had to be the first time she saw her mother voluntarily put down alcohol without downing the damn thing first. “Things have gotten bad, I will admit it.” Toya sounded stressed as she reached back and rubbed at her dark hair. “Cyprus has sent assassins out and managed to get into Sularia, Lily was gravely injured. While Lily does have an heir I would prefer to keep my sane sisters alive, even Angela.” She rolled her eyes lightly.

“It gets worse from there, she has begun to ambush Rosenites that have left the oasis. It is not safe here nor outside this place.” Toya waved her hand. “The shadows of war are here… and we don’t know when it will be safe again. She has stashed creatures that Keira knows well.” Pushing herself up Toya reached over and pulled Keira’s dress down. The half wolf would have reacted but she realized it was to show Dalyor what had happened.

“Last time those fucking things got in our way… They nearly killed my daughter, not even Angela could heal it right. Keira was almost lost because I was a fool and I don’t intend for that to happen again.” Toya let go and fell back down into her seat as Keira fixed her dress and frowned a bit.

“It wasn’t your fault… we had no idea they were like that Mom.”

“Bullshit, if I had listened to Angela… If I had just paid attention, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. So this time, you are to stay in Sularia until this is taken care of. You are the biggest asset we have in the White Court. Your memory could win a hundred wars if someone were to realize that like your crazy aunt has… You would never be safe outside this place again. That’s why… We think that Dalyor should stay here and protect you until this threat is over.”

Toya crossed her arms and tilted her head. “I’ll pay a weekly salary… Keya will have full access to the school that the twins attend, and I’ll make sure that she is properly caught up to her age group. Room and Board will be attended to since you will stay here, which means you will eat dinner with us. Anything you need we’ll pay for. Gold and silver are no problems here not when it comes to this. That’s the gist. I’m not happy to admit when I’m wrong or when I can’t do something myself but things are going to get worse before they get better.”

Daylor followed Keria into the meeting room, where her mother and another man were apparently waiting for them. From how Toya was in contrast to the gentleman she was close to, he deduced that it was her husband and Keira’s father. A closer look on the table, he could see that he had quite a few blades ready, swords and knifes alike. He didn’t know what they would be used for and on, but she broke the silence that had long seeped into the room. Toya answered and from the way she was speaking, it seemed like they truly were in some sort of danger.
 
He stood by, piecing it all together for his sake in keeping up with this Cyprus person and what she had done. Of apparently her sisters that had been in danger also and of the other Rosenites that were in trouble since they wouldn’t be underneath the city’s protection. All Blaine did was growl softly among himself each time she went into detail of what had occurred. And then she went over to Keira and pulled the front of her dress down slightly to show more of her chest. Daylor’s eyes widened and then he went to look away only for Blaine to point at her and he could see that it served a point. He saw the saw across her and her father only growled more audible, but only towards what Cyprus had indirectly done to his daughter.  
 
“You better hope your sister or someone else gets ahold of her”, Blaine said sternly as he picked up one of his knifes. “If I am able, then…” He thrusted it down into the table and left it there. “I’m just as fault as you are, Toya. But I will be damned if I let her harm my children or grandchildren again.” Daylor swallowed hard, but he understood the need of a parent to protect their children. When it became obvious to his role in all of this, he considering everything silently. “Not that I’m grateful for all of this, but are you sure that I’d be able to protect her? I’m not really a bodyguard or of the like.” The payment wasn’t a problem nor was the offer for Keya to be able to educated and would be around others. If this Cyprus was as powerful as they were making her out to be, then what good was one assassin? Still, he was already inserted into the situation and if the enemy knew that, then they would surely go after him and his daughter too. At least here, he would have some form of security. “Alright, I just need to exactly what we are up against.”

Toya nodded to her husband as they shouldered the burden together. It was a hard thing to think about but they would be fine together as long as they could work in a pair. Toya’s green eyes moved to Dalyor and she sighed a bit annoyed. “Yes, I’m sure. The annoying part of all this will be my sister. She won’t come onto this continent. My sister is the Goddess Angela, The Mother. I’m sure you have heard of her, terrible hag.” Keira groaned a bit as Toya shook her head. “If Cyprus stepped foot on Canelux, she would surely she dead. This will just be assassins and occasionally Luzil, hardly a problem.”

Keira tilted her head, “Not that I’m all for this but… Why would Dalyor be able to protect me better than the Knights of Arri.” It was a good question. She crossed her arms. “Not that I don’t think Dalyor could be impressive but–”

Her mother cut off her off with a sigh. “The Knights of Arri let my sister get attacked. It’s because they don’t scrutinize everything. I need an outsider. I need someone who will look at everything twice and be able to protect my daughter. In exchange, this house will become the safest place for the children. However, I am not dumb enough to think I can keep my daughter locked up in this house… So that is where Dalyor will come in. Until this problem is fixed he will live here with us and take care of you.”

Toya pushed herself up out of the chair and beckoned them to follow her into the basement of the manor. “I caught one so I could show you. This will most likely be something you will deal with occasionally. They are dreadful creatures but easy enough to kill.”

Keira shivered as the creature came into sight. She hid behind Dalyor and shivered once more. “I hate them so much.” She could feel her heart beat start to escalate as she grabbed his arm. She had so much power but it looked like she was immobile thanks to these creatures.

“That’s how I thought you would react… I’m sorry to have dragged you down here.” Toya frowned a bit as she held out her hand and the creature caught fire. “Fire is the best way to deal with the creatures and I would be more than pleased to help you arm yourself with weapons that can deal with them.”

Keira calmed down and put her forehead into his shoulder as she took large breaths. “I almost died because of them last time. I don’t want that to happen again. I hate them. I can remember their smell even when I’m dreaming… I hate her so much.”

Toya nodded and shook her head. “Everyone hates her… even her own children. Knowing this is what you are up again Dalyor… Would you still be willing?”

A deal's a deal and Dalyor wasn’t the sort of man to go breaking one, unless in dire situations. He would look after Keira and in return he’d get paid and best of all, he would know that his daughter was safe.

However, he hadn’t read between the lines as far as what it meant to live underneath the White Rose Court Manor until it was far too late. The twins were a bit older than Keya and she seemed to follow in their little habits and it grew only worse as they aged, though at a much faster rate than her. While he could deal with that, it was the matriarch that was about to drive him up a wall, especially with her habits of fighting with others, yelling matches with her husband that almost seemed to end in him hearing them “make up” in various places and the nosy youngest daughter who was as mouthy as her mother.

Aside from that, he was well content with getting familiar with Keira since well, they had to around each other constantly. She seemed to be one of the few sane people underneath this roof and was amazed she hadn’t yet lost her mind. The danger that Cyprus was threatening to bring to Sularia never did come and word that the Black Rose Court handled the problem came sometime later, though he remained employed for whatever reason. Not that he was complaining about it.

As always he kept a close eye out for the young mother, even as he laid beneath one of the exotic trees in the courtyard, which a shiny apple he had been cutting up with his knife and flicking the pieces into his mouth to savor. The sweet juices occupied his mouth and tongue as he made sure that she was in constant view and was safe. That was one thing that had been beaten into him by not only Toya, but her husband as well- to make sure that nothing happened to her. Taking in another piece of the fruit, he could hear from the distance Blaine apologizing for something he must have done and Krystopher laughing at him and then he heard what sounded like a fight between those two. The typical stuff.

“How you live here without going mad is beyond me…”, he told Keira with a shake of his head. “They are good people, but I wouldn’t want to live with them.” Which they both did, unfortunately.

Keira laid on the grass not far from Dalyor. She was tuning out the bickering of her parent when he began to speak to her. “You do live with them,” she smirked and looked up at him. She was working on some sort of drawing. Her brush strokes were precise and she was taking brushes out of her hair. Her hair was longer now after all this time and was up in a delicate bun but she used it to store her brushes no matter how messy it got.

It had been an interesting time for everyone. Keira was protected by Dalyor. She was the most prized possession the White Court had because of her memory and her skills. It required her to be under his eyes at all times when she went out and she didn’t fight it. On the contrary, she liked his friendship and companionship. “I finished it.”

She took a breath and held up the most glorious beautiful painting. It was of a gold stained peacock. The decorations on it had gold dust that made it sparkle. The colors were vibrant. “Her birthday is coming up and I wanted to give her something special this year… Took me three days to get the gold dust right…” Keira rubbed the back of her head. It wasn’t often that Keira needed to practice something once, twice, or thrice.

The twins ran by her and took one look at the painting. They had always been used to their mother being so talented. “Mom you should just kiss Daylor.”

Keira went red. “GET OUT OF HERE THE BOTH OF YOU! What do you know about kissing anyway?” She took a pillow she had with her and threw it at them.

“Papa and Grandma do it all the time.” They giggled and ran off.

“I’m… so sorry they get to influence Keya…” Keira gave him a frown. “They’ve gotten so… out of control the past few years.”

“Well, I feel like I will eventually”, he retorted. When her parents weren’t arguing, they were either drinking or “enjoying each other’s company” from prying eyes. Not that they were quiet about if they could get away with it. Dalyor knew very well when to turn and walk away from the direction he could hear them from. “Still don’t know how you and your siblings are able to get through it.” He peeked a few times over what Keira was up to but mostly left her to her work.

When she was done, he took another slice of the fruit before looking at the art she had been working on for some time now. He gave her a soft smile as he admired the peacock. It had become a favorite of Keya’s as of late when she had seen one of them about the city during their first couple of weeks in Sularia. “It’s magnificent. She will absolutely love it.” While he wasn’t the type to judge artwork, he knew that it took her a bit to work everything out until it was perfect.

The twins popped out of nowhere like they usually did and opened their mouth, which was hardly ever a good thing. He nearly choked on his apple slice when they had the gall to say what they did. What the hell did they say? And where did that come from? Their mother was more vocal about it than he could muster, he could look at them with narrowing eyes as they scurried off. “Don’t be. Fortunately, she isn’t influenced too, too much. Unfortunately, I suspect your mother had a good deal in their behavior.” It probably wouldn’t be a surprise, Toya was a firecracker with a very short fuse. No wonder she and dragons got along excellently. “They are reaching that fun little time in their lives was things are changing.” He slipped down from the tree and came over to look at the peacock art closer. “That and pretty soon they will be doing that with others I’d imagine. You’re gonna have your hands full. I think I might a little be more time before that happens with Keya though”, he teased.