Day 73: Early Afternoon: Shrine of the Four Stones.

[wolf_kkm]

A quiet procession arrived at the gates of the village and news of their arrival had quickly traveled to the castle. The Princess of the River Demon Tribe! The stones had been found. Confusion and relief were spreading quickly about the village and they had already gathered by the temple waiting for the procession to stop that way first

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[wolf_kkm]

The princess looked somewhat surprised when a Wolfram left and another one arrived shortly after looking entirely fresher and he wasn’t limping.

“Twins?” She inquired of Gunter with a lift of her brows.
Isamau looked down at the reproachful temple priest who was staring at her and Gunter. She offered no words of explanation to her presence which only left him more filled with righteous indignation.

Before any conversation on the matter could be had the Priest stood tall and outraged as his words rang out, “You are the one!”

He pointed his finger directly at the Princess and let out a loud cry of anguish. “Praise Shinou that Great Heika in his infinite wisdom has seen fit to return you to pay for your sin!” Tears streamed down his face, “To deface beauty so strong for so many years it is only fitting that the Maoh bring you back to ....”

She cut him off and looked down her nose at the Priest. “I am here as his Majesty’s Honored Guest. Mark well what words you speak next, Priest, for my people will not tolerate it!”

There was increasing murmuring from the crowd of villagers who had begun to gather. The people were as displeased as they were in awe of the fearsome beauty.

[sardonic_beauty]

Wolfram's arrival just put the entire operation in a state of near jeopardy. She was an intelligent woman and anything he said might make the situation worse. He simply shrugged and luckily the priest had interrupted and caught their attention.

Gunter looked up at the priest with an anxious expression hoping he'd stop on his own, but when the princess retorted, he let out a sigh. "Princess, it's just his way of showing his frustration about the statue and the stones. Once the maou addresses the situation and the stones are returned, I'm sure he'll have a change of heart."

[harajukumaou]

Yuuri was about to reply when he heard the priest. It wasn't hard to miss his outburst but his anxiety grew when the princess retorted back. The tension between the two was growing and Yuuri knew that hoping it would lead to hugs of forgiveness was too much to ask for.

"Now now," He began with a nervous laugh, giving Wolframs hand a squeeze before moving out of his grip to ease the princesses presence. "She is here as my guest so please treat her well."

"But she also came here to return the stones of her own will." Yuuri eyed the princess, he knew he hadn't talked to her about apologizing to the villagers just yet but now seemed like the best time. "There was a reason she did what she did...I think a nice girl as herself already feels guilty about it. Your village had nothing to do with what happened to her people it was just to get my attention. But the village was involved in the process of fixing the situation. So for that I take some responsibility and I'm sorry." Yuuri gave his own sorries first. He could only hope she'd follow.

[wolf_kkm]

Princess Isamau did not bow her head. She looked from Gunter to Yuuri, to the Priest and then swept her gaze over the people of the village with an expression that was neither defiant nor penitent. “Your Maoh is correct. We are Princess Isamau, first Princess of the River Demon Tribe. We speak for our father who is unwell and cannot journey in our defense. There is a situation in our home which cannot be ignored. Because you cannot see the damage you do not know it is there. Our people are sick and dying and the Rivers were becoming angry. It was never our intention to keep the stones for long. We have already one in our number who will replace them as they were. We trust that the Maoh will fix this situation and our people will not continue to suffer.”

She delivered the small speech with clear air and grace of one used to rallying people to her cause. Even the Salamander was listening to her.
“Yuuri Heika, Great Moah of the Demon Kingdom. We return these stones to you with our apologies for the anguish it has caused your people here.”
She smiled at Yuuri, the kind of smile reserved for someone who has obviously impressed her.

The Priest stared incredulously at the Princess, mesmerized. She was so different from the day she came to the temple and made off with the stones. Such strength of will, such power! Why she could be quite the match for the Maoh, couldn’t she?!

That must have been why he brought her back!

The Priest finally managed to gather his wits about him. “Of course, your Highness. Of course.” He wrung his hands, which he will do until the shrine had been corrected. “Please, I am just happy to see that you have returned what you took.”

The Princess turned very slightly to Gunter and gave him a smart little smile which she swiftly directed to Yuuri who received the full force of her smile. "We will undo what has been done, Heika, with your permission."

[harajukumaou]

He had to admit, he'd been alittle nervous at first. But once the princess speech was over and he had seen her smile he knew that she really wasn't a bad person. He understood what it was like to want to protect the people who looked up to you as their leader. It could be a littler stressful, make you feel alittle nervous. But in the end it was something you took pride in. Something she very clearly cared deeply about.

It made him respect her alittle more.

"Of course," Yuuri returned the smile, she really did look alot better smiling. "Thank you."

He was glad that the priest accepted her speech as well. "Now, all that's left is to put the stones back, then we can go back to the castle to help fix the problem concerning your people." Yuuri was now more then ready to help her.

[sardonic_beauty]

Gunter paid careful attention to all words spoken. Yuuri did have that charm and the Princess was quite elegant. His calm expression didn't change until she smiled at him, and the corner of his mouth started upwards. But he had the stones and the arms, so it was up to him to return them.

Dismounting from his horse, he cancelled the spell he had on them and carried them to the priest. "I leave these back in your care." He didn't waste his time with the priest and went back to the procession, smiling with a bow to both Yuuri and the Princess. Now, problem solved. It's about time they got back for some well deserved rest. And after having to be his old self so much, he was definitely up for some debauchery - after he slept. "Heika, should we return to the castle and greet any dignitaries that have arrived? Surely they'd be much impressed by the princess as well." It would be insulting to have her come all this way and not be invited and the salamander was still at her whims. It would also give the humans a face to put with their plight - and he knew first hand that humans liked pretty things.

[wolf_kkm]

The Salamander remained where he was, his power locked away for the moment. His gaze rested simply on the Princess and the Maoh. He was satisfied that the point had been made and yet there was still resolution. Too many humans around, it was making his skin itch. He glared at one small child who was gawking up at him and smacked his lips. Such a tasty morsel should run back to his mother’s skirts! The muzzle was still in place as the Princess had not yet requested its removal. Perhaps she knew that in spite of his pledge to let her handle it theirs was a volatile race.

Gunter produced the arms and the stones and a tall man with elongated features stepped forward as the indicated demon who could help restore the statue. “This is Miaji. He will assist the reparation to your statue with our blessing, and this...” Another of the River Demon tribe stepped forward, one of the Princess’s handmaidens perhaps. She carried a silver bowl in the shape of a shell. This gift was presented to Yuuri. The girl opened the shell and within was a treasure trove of black pearls. “This is our retribution for the damage caused, we hope that you will accept and are eager to see Blood Pledge Castle from the inside.”

The Priest was overwhelmed and of course allowed the demon to accompany him to the shrine to have the statue fixed. Half-demons, humans and demons from the village were all already in awe of the Princess and seemed to be mollified by the gestures shown by her Yuuri's obvious influence and control over the situation.

[harajukumaou]

Yuuri was curious when the shell was presented to him. Even more in awe when it was opened. Were pearls black in this world? "Wow," He said. Black really was a special color here. Even if in his own opinion a black pearl was more amazing then a kid with black hair. "You didn't have to give extra gifts, your forgiven for simply returning the statue. Besides, we still have alot to make up to you."

However, not accepting it would be rude. He smiled softly,taking the shell so he wouldn't have to disturb the beautiful pearl from its home into his hands. He thanked the handmaiden before turning his attention back to the princess. "I'll gladly accept. I hope we can match your gift with hospitality."

"So now that this is settled let's go back to the castle. I'm sure news of you being here has already made it there." Yuuri made to get back on his horse, giving the shell to a guard who offered to take it while he rode. He was glad for that because he didn't want to mistakenly drop it. Who knew what that would do.

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