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Tidas had purposely stayed away. If Skye told him that Marco had touched her in any way, he would’ve lost his temper. He hadn’t drank much, but it was enough to affect his judgement. After two hours of chatting with the guests and victors, the prince had went to find his oldest brother; to confront him.

In hindsight, it was a good thing Tidas hadn’t found him. He wasn’t sure what Marco would’ve said, but the urge to punch his brother was too great. Any off-handed comment from him would’ve set Tidas off. Causing a technically treasonous act on his part.

The princess stretched lazily before sitting up to swat and kiss her husband. She’d been both relieved and angry with him for not coming to bed. She didn’t like avoiding the truth, but refused to volunteer it, or outright lie. If he would ask her a direct question, Skye would tell the truth. It was what she would want him to do, if the situations were reversed: don’t tell unless asked.

They chatted about his conversations during the party for a short time. The victors had mainly asked for training tips and the like. The guests asked about everything from Skye, to the threat of the Nomadic Highlanders. Skye was an easy topic, but the Nomads were an issue.

Tidas’ ultimate plan was to use the connections he had to Petrie and Lucas, to build relationships with the Nomadic Tribes. Murdoc was their leader, but if Tidas could get the people on his side, then Murdoc would be forced to some form of an agreement. He didn’t know how strong of a connection Lucas already had to the Nomads. It wasn’t something he talked about often.

To the prince’s knowledge, Skye’s father only occasionally traded with them. Tidas wasn’t sure if his father knew or not, but it didn’t really matter. It was a brick to pave the road to peace with. The highlands were supposed to be part of Alcon, but some of the other kingdoms recognized the Highlands as an independent country.

It was a delicate situation. If Magnus decided to invade the Highlands without cause; the Sai Republic, Sync, and Ital kingdoms would back the Nomads. The Ital Kingdom wasn’t known for physically involving themselves in wars, but their financial backing had been an issue in the past for Magnus.

Altogether: there are seven kingdoms on the Star Continent. Alcon, Meccano, and Ruscovic were allies due to marriage. The Highlands were currently seen as an independent nation by Sync, Sai, and Ital; dividing the continent nearly down the middle. As far as Alcon knew, the Nomadic Tribes weren’t advanced in almost any way.

.....

They had no centralized government system, and the closest person to a king they had was Murdoc. Based off of recon; there were still several tribes that refused to join him. Two in particular, Tidas and Lucas had befriended separately. The ones Lucas befriended were near his property line. He gave them supplies, and they mediated between him and Murdoc.

The tribe Tidas had befriended had several women and children returned to them, by him, after slavers had raided their village. The village elder had his daughter, and two granddaughters taken. Tidas had returned them unharmed, earning him numerous life-debts. It was exactly like how Petrie declared he owed Skye three life debts, after she spared him in Warrick Forest.

Tidas had saved various people from other tribes, and the act did earn Murdoc’s respect. However, it hadn’t changed his mind. He still saw the kingdom as a death sentence for his people’s freedoms. He knew their mystics(magic users) would be taken, and their few good lands stripped from them. The thing that infuriated Murdoc the most was the indoctrination.

In his mind; No One had any right to split up a happy family. Coveting magic users was a massive warning sign to him. It meant that, even if the power didn’t belong to the king, he was greedy enough to take it.. A bad sign in a ruler.

During a scuffle, Murdoc once told Tidas: “There’s a difference between what he has, and what belongs to him!”

Tidas was young at the time, and didn’t fully understand his meaning. The older he got, the more discrepancy he saw between classes. Murdoc’s words stuck with him..

In truth: the prince thought the Nomadic leader was a good man. It was why he was going to such lengths to make peace. But his father was stuck on the idea that the Nomads were hiding his brother; specifically Murdoc. Tidas didn’t understand why, and he felt it was a large part to the puzzle...

As Skye and Tidas talked and cuddled; Peggy bustled into the room with a smile. She held clothes for the couple, which shocked Tidas. Peggy had told him before not to expect her to do such things, but it was becoming a habit for her; whether she liked it or not. When the prince asked why she was in such a good mood, she’d explained that she, Skye, and Maevis were going shopping after they broke their fast.

Tidas whipped his head around to stare at his wife with a disgruntled expression; “Oh really? Were you going to tell me?”

Skye shrugged her shoulders while smiling innocently; “Of course! I would’ve last night, but Some One never came to bed..”

Tidas opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it. He recognized a trap when he saw one. He didn’t want to fight first thing in the morning. There was specifically something else he wanted from his wife, but with Peggy’s entrance, the chance was lost.

“Where will you be going?” Tidas inquired, changing the subject.

Skye thought a split second; “Peggy needs sewing string, and I want to visit a book shop, and a blacksmith.”

Tidas quirked an eyebrow at his wife; “Why a blacksmith?”

“To finish yer armor. I had two more pieces to make, and I wanted to see if I could strengthen the leather without hardening it. I could make you pants and an undershirt for it too,” Skye had gotten out of bed to begin her routine as she’d spoken.

Tidas came up behind his wife, still only in his towel. He wrapped his arms around her and asked; “Do you know where the shops are?”

Skye leaned back against her husband; “No, but I was going to have the guards guide us.”

“Take Ralph with you. He needs to buy some supplies for himself, anyway. This kills two birds with one stone,” Tidas kissed the top of her head, then released his wife.

The couple dressed quickly; Tidas changed in the restroom so Peggy would stop freaking out on him. She didn’t want to see him naked, and had no qualms expressing her thoughts on the matter. She nearly threw Skye’s brush at him as he threatened to drop his towel(jokingly of course).

Skye laughed hard as the two bickered. She loved how well they got along together. Tidas and Peggy were the most important people to Skye. If she ever lost either of them, she didn’t know what she’d do.

Just as the couple finished getting ready, Maevis came flying in through the door. She seemed to be in a good mood as well; beaming as she greeted the three. After a few minutes chatting, the four left the royal couple’s quarters. Ralph had been conveniently standing at the end of the hall, waiting patiently for his prince. As the four saw him, smiles that made his stomach twist covered their faces.

With a huffy expression, Ralph flustered; “I need to do something, right? Something I’m not gonna like? You got that, ‘This is an order’, face.”

Tidas chuckled before replying; “Aye, Ralph. Tis an order, but a convenient one.”

******

Several hours of going to shop after shop, Ralph had finally snapped a bit; “Are we done yet?! We’ve been in every clothing, book, and blacksmith shop this side of the capital! I’m hungry, my feet hurt, and did I mention that I’m hungry and tired?”

Skye twirled around to face Ralph; “Last stop, I promise! None of the blacksmiths so far could help me. I have to find someone, or I’ll never finish Tidas’ armor..”

“Don’t be such a wuss, young man. Ima Much older than ye, and Ima fine,” Peggy chided him.

Ralph and the two other guards exchanged looks. They’d heard a few of the other servants complaining about Peggy’s stringent work ethic, and now understood their meaning. She ran from one end of the palace to the other in record time. She had the same amount of work as everyone else, but always finished first, and helped out those behind in theirs. Granted, she’d criticize them a majority of the time.. But she also taught them many shortcuts, shaving quite a bit of time. Still, Peggy had earned their ire for saying that, ‘she gave better results than them all, but at least they were learnin properly now’.

Maevis had attracted way too much attention fluttering about. Nearly their entire first hour was spent navigating the crowds. They cheered and asked random questions about other ‘fabled creatures’. When she explained that All were actually Fae, one man had been dumb enough to argue. Claiming that beasts and Fae were separate. She’d reiterated her point, then moved on. The heckler hadn’t been happy about being brushed off and publicly mocked, so he left; or so Skye and her party thought.

The entire group was exhausted before they’d even begun, so Skye decided to have Maevis hide in her hood. Like she’d done at the Mage Trials. They would attract less attention that way, and Skye wouldn’t mind the extra warmth. Everyone around them was beginning to bundle themselves to the maximum. It was finally starting to snow, and the air had a sharp nip to it.

As they came upon the final blacksmith on the street, Ralph mentioned he needed to go get something from a nearby shop for his son. Skye grinned at the memory of seeing him knocked over by his loving family before granting permission for him to go. Right as they opened the door to the shop; the man from earlier, and about five of his friends came sauntering out of a nearby side street.

“Oh for crying out loud.. Children,” Maevis muttered as she fluttered out from Skye’s hood.

“There’s the wee bitch! Let’s get her! We can sell her to a noble for a hefty price,” the man from before pulled out a knife.

Skye was about to send them flying when the door to the blacksmith shop flew open. Klaus came running out with a sword in one hand, and an axe in the other. He glared at the men as Ronnie followed after him with a mace that was way too big for him to actually use.

With a deep, threatening tone, Klaus spoke; “If you threaten the Princess or her friends, I’ll kill you all...”