The People We Are

Chapter V; Ryaxleb

Ryaxleb sat in his study reading his current book, glad Calxyan was finally gone. He missed him, but he had been extremely disrespectful of Queen Luna's quest. Suddenly, a figure busted through the door of the study. "Who are you?" He asked in the most threatening voice he could muster as he looked up from his book. "I'm Queen Arlie of Zellarid. But you can call me your downfall." She made quick work of him, stabbing him severely and leaving him to die. She took his crown and ran off, leaving Ryaxleb's last few moments to think over his life. He was losing too much blood, and darkness seemed to consume him. "Calxyan... Why did I ever divorce Calxyan..." He asked with his dying breath.

That seemed like so long ago for many.
But for Ryaxleb? It felt like yesterday.
He couldn't remember those thirty years he was dead.
But now everything was becoming just a bit clearer.

The others ran to Ideus, who was still breathing. They ran around the labyrinth of halls to find the seven bedrooms, and laid Ideus down in one of them. Anastasia and Xayah stayed back to tend to him, and the others left. Soleil brushed past Luna, desperately trying to get back to the pedestals. She and Luna both blushed a bit when they touched, and Ryaxleb noticed as Luna got a bit flustered.
"So, Soleil seems nice, doesn't she?" he asked her. She blushed more. "I suppose you could say that." she responded. "You've been acting differently around her." Luna snapped her neck at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, trying to hide her cheeks with her hair. "You're into her, aren't you?" he bickered. "Me? Into her? Ha! I thought you knew me better. You know I don't concern myself with such things. Too distracting from what really matters in life, and our mission right now." she walked off, escaping further questioning from Ryaxleb. He didn't mind, he knew he couldn't push her too much.
He exited the shrine in search of food, taking his dagger with him. The shrine was in the middle of a clearing, so animals would be further out. Ryaxleb continued walking in his solitude, until he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw Arlie coming up with her dagger. He stopped walking and let her catch up to him, and he heard her speak as she got within ear shot. "Luna told us you were going hunting, I figured I'd join you. I don't like being down there, so far under the ground." She said as she got to his side. "What's normally around here?" she asked.
They made their way further from the shrine and into the forest where Ryaxleb hoped to find some kind of meat. They came across yet another clearing where they saw a group of deer grazing. To the side there was one, plump and in the perfect position to strike. Ryaxleb and Arlie silently made their plan, approached the deer, and successfully killed it. They drug it back to the shrine quickly, for night would soon fall and they would be lost.
Returning to the shrine with their kill, Luna, Soleil and Xayah had already come out of the shrine to try and find them. They helped to build a fire, and Xayah went to get Anastasia and attempt to get Ideus. Soleil began to cook the deer over the fire as Ryaxleb and Arlie attempted to cut it. They had gone through all of their packed food on the journey, and thus had to resort to this. Xayah and Anastasia returned to them, and Xayah ran a plate back to Ideus. She later returned claiming he wanted to be left alone, and so she joined them around their fire. Despite not quite knowing what they were doing, the cuts were nice and the cooking was good. Happy with their work, they went back down into the shrine after putting out their fire.
Ryaxleb was glad to finally lay down. The room was small, but it was nice. The bed was well made and, though he knew not who had made it, was the perfect size for him. He thought over the events of the day. Princess Arlie's a skilled hunter, that'll prove useful. Oh, who am I now, Luna? Why won't she just admit she's into Princess Soleil, she's obviously into her too! Maybe I'm the only one who sees it since I have someone waiting for me back there. Oh, Calxyan how I miss you so. Oh who am I kidding, it's not like he can hear me! Nobody ever hears me but him. Luna disregards everything I say unless it's about the shrine and the mission. The Zellaridians keep to their own, Ideus is bedridden, and Xayah only ever speaks with Luna or Arlie. Arlie barely speaks to me, and she only did today to explain why she joined me on the hunt. Oh well, we'll be home soon enough. Thanks to Ideus we now know what not to do with the pedestals, but how do we use them? They have to be the thing that unlocks our true potential, right? And what even is that? If only Anastasia had that book too. Her's might not even be right. That Beau guy doesn't seem too trustworthy, and likely got a scam book. I haven't even heard of this Miri author who writes about the fantastical, and I live there! Perhaps they live in Faormen or Imperial City, but still. He may have helped me find Calxyan, but so did Princess Anastasia. Princess Arlie doesn't seem to like him all that well either, I guess we have that in common. I hate that we separate ourselves when I know that we all want to come together. Well, maybe not Luna, but the six of us do.
At long last Ryaxleb's wandering mind wandered into sleep. He woke up that next morning feeling fully refreshed, a feeling he had missed for many days. The room had been perfect for him; not too big, not too small, the perfect temperature and the perfectly sized bed. He left his room to try and find something for breakfast. He ran into Arlie on the way, and they decided to go together once more. Luna and Soleil overheard them, and Luna awkwardly asked to tag along. Soleil joined as well, and after grabbing their weapons they headed out.