Crown

Ruarza Kȳvana-Hidden Agendas

The evening sun had just set. As the moon had taken to the sky, the hustle and bustle of the Solarian nightlife emerged with it. Solarians were always considered people who knew how to have fun, always finding something to celebrate or a reason to break out the instruments and have a good dance. Tonight was no exception.

Illya and Isidore had gone to visit one of the more popular entertainment districts to catch up and have some fun. They had spent most of the day together and had just finished enjoying a play in the local theatre. They walked along the illuminated path  idly chatting and reminiscing until a small splash drew their attention to the pond next to the bridge they stopped on.

Illya and Isidore glanced at each other. The splash was too distinct to be an animal but too gentle to be an approaching threat. Nevertheless, Isidore had instinctively gotten in front of Illya, brandishing her claws as a warning. A silhouette began to rise to the surface and Isidore got ready to strike but before she could, Illya had grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.

"Wait! It's not dangerous."

A little boy, no older than three years old, emerged from the water with a gasp on his lips and a lily pad on his head. He stared at the women curiously.

"A...boy?" Isidore raised an eyebrow, curious as to how he managed to go around swimming in this area without anyone noticing.

Illya got a little closer and bent down, smiling warmly at the child. "Hi there little one. It's a little late to be going for a swim don't you think? Where's your mama and papa?" She asked sweetly, careful not to scare the boy.

Just then a loud voice resounded across the water. It was strong and clear and belonged to a man. "EGAN! WHERE ARE YOU! This damn brat. GET OVER HERE NOW!"

The boy flinched upon hearing the voice. He quickly floundered onto the path and shook the lily pad off of his head. As he did, the man to whom the voice belonged, came bounding over towards them. He grabbed the little boy by his arm forcefully and yanked him towards his side.

"There you are!" He exclaimed furiously. Once the man noticed Illya and Isidore he laughed irritatedly and grabbed a handful of the boy's messy and matted hair.

"Much apologies. Was my boy giving you trouble? He has no manners, this one." The man began to shake the boy by his hair.

Illya narrowed her eyes as she stood. "I presume you are the father?"

The man laughed again. "Yes, that's right. This child here...haha...worst mistake I ever made. Oh, but you two look like a couple of smart young ladies I'm sure you've heard of me at least once or twice. The name's Andras. My wife, Carman and I have been travelling for a while now."

"So you aren't from Solaria then." Isidore concluded.

The man was slightly taken aback by her cold attitude. "Y-Yes that's right...never mind...if you haven't heard of us then..." He mumbled.

Isidore leaned in so Illya could hear her.
"A refugee? He clearly doesn't know who you are."

"No. A runaway glory hog. I know those names. Andras and Carman Dionysus were two very renowned actors in Thebas. Their theatre began to lose more money than they were making and according to reports, they were so caught up in their fame and glory that they couldn't let go and resorted to selling drugs to try and keep the dream alive. Of course, that plan fell through and the theatre went bankrupt anyway. They turned to the drugs and alcohol to drown out their sorrows," said Illya.

"Oh yeah, I remember you mentioning wanting to see their one of their plays when we were younger."

"Yeah. I only heard about the collapse of the theatre because before I got around to visiting it, Dionysus broke the news that it went bankrupt. He only kept an eye on them because they share the same name and were known as two of the best actors in their country. I have no idea how they got to Solaria. I didn't even know they had a child."