The Queen Must Remember

Part 9: scouting the castle...

Slicing above the clouds, Orpheus held back a wince at the biting cold thrusting into his face as he flew alongside the fully winged Fae. He hadn't done this in centuries, the only thing keeping him in the sky was muscle memory and the deprived thrill of soaring through the skies.
He struggled to keep up, Arryn had been flying when Orpheus had been caged, humiliated, grounded.

A part of him just hated him because he had wings... That part of him wanted to rip off Arryn's wings just so he could see how it feels-

No.

Orpheus flew up to Arryn's side as he had stopped going forward, his magic already weakening at his wing stubs. He mentally swore at his weary strength, he needed more practice,

"Why have you stopped?" He asked the forest Fae. Forest and Dark Fae were usually the most common Faerie to have wings. Despite wings being random occurrences in bloodlines.

Arryn pointed in front of them below the clouds, "The castle is below us, it's time to prove you're not useless and mask us in your dark magic!" He mocked cheerfully, though Orpheus could sense a flicker of detest on his tongue.
Alas, he flicked his wrists upwards, concentrating of beating his false wings whilst surrounding themselves in black mist, camouflaging them into the clouds as they lowered beneath them, creating a flat, misty surface they could lay on to view below them. Propping him up with his elbows, Orpheus took in the sight of the castle-

He almost lost control of his magic for a moment at the mere sight of it...
It was secured like a vault, sentries lining the walls like strung lanterns, crossbows aimed at anything that moved. The towers lit with torches and shadows passing the windows every few seconds.
It was fortified so strongly, so quickly...

"Shit..." Arryn whispered, noting each detail carefully. Orpheus did the same.

They waited in the shadowy silence, watching each guard rotation, calculating any weaknesses in the ranks and patrols.

"This is gonna be hard, Ionos, let's pray the Queen can remember how to access her powers before the ball." Arryn breathed, still watching the guards shuffle about.
Orpheus didn't divert his eyes as he answered, "What ball?"

"Before the real Queen awakened, they would hold a massive ball to celebrate the new Queen- it's not a choice, it's just to satisfy her ego... Queen Morona..."

So that was her name, then.
Orpheus shuffled into a better position, "So is that when you plan to put Rhae on the thrown? Will it not be cancelled?"

Arryn shook his head, "If she cancels it people will question her, she has to go through with it. Morona can't let people know Queen Rhae is awake."

Orpheus tilted his head in understanding, suddenly feeling his strength lessen as his underused magic tug at a weary, new leash. All of a sudden, he saw the gates open, "Hey, what's going on over there?" He pointed out. Arryn's eyes narrowed, trying to see for himself. After a moment, they could see it was a female with dark blonde hair, midnight brown skin and an elaborate crown and dress. She was beautiful, though he posture even from afar radiated control.

"That's Morona." Arryn concluded, then his eyes widened at the sheet of mist they were laying on,
"You're magic is fading- we should go, you need to train your powers after having it unused for so long... They're too weak."

Orpheus rolled his eyes, "Yes, mother."

Arryn chuckled quietly, not the reaction Orpheus wanted and the winged Fae knew that. They rose to thier feet to take off, but Orpheus's misted wings wouldn't materialize- he was completely drained. As much as he didn't want Arryn to be correct, his power had weakened over the centuries, he did need training.