Fantasy Howl's Flying Castle (Finished! ---Whoo! (*＾▽＾)／)

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- Royale Coliseum -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 18px]J[/SIZE]ohnny dropped his bucket of sour cream popcorn. That . . . had been a cruel and merciless duel. Not even that, the man was just playing with Renee. Johnny was angry and wasn't surprised when no visitors were allowed in the medical ward, not even in the Fighter's Hall.


Inside, James was frantic with worry but knew better than to get in the way of the healers who were brisk in doing all that they could for Renee. This wasn't what he wanted, he just wanted her to lose, not get hurt like this. What had he done?


He was still on his own bed, burn wound still healing under the orange paste and starting to look like it was a few days old. He was shaking with fright, guilt, and outrage that the man he hired crossed their agreement and hurt his sister out of pure malice. He waited until they were done, then moved closer to see his sister.


@Katsuya

OOC || Characters || Interest Check
​

 

[Katsuya]

-Medical ward-
​

Echo was pacing back and forth, extremely angry at the ward not letting them in and at the terrible fighter. She couldn't believe it. He was so ruthless-! He didn't even let Renee go after she went limp. What's worse was that she couldn't hear Renee's screams. The guy placed a silencing spell on her just so the ref wouldn't stop the match and make it last as much as he could.


The nurses inside quickly wrapped bandages around the winged teen's torso and wings, wincing at the subtle flinches from the poor girl. What animal would whip a girl's back to the point of drawing blood? They were so disturbed when one of the nurses released the silence spell and the teen started whimpering them to stop already. Then there's her broken wings, feathers falling or missing from someone's ruthless grab. The nurses didn't think they would see someone in the intermediate category to have so many bruises like this too or be this injured.


It's not a pretty sight, especially when they know of her from one of the professors in Sorcerer's academy. She was really bright and cheery, according to Pamela Grandiflorus, so to see her like this...it's just cruel.


When the mediwizards and witches finished their treatment, they walked away to the other patients, though some would look over just in case she needed something.


Sighing in relief, Renee could only close her eyes and hope that no one moves her anymore...and flinched when a shadow loomed over her. Opening her dull eyes, she looked up to see her brother, still covered in an orange paste for burns. "J-James?" She croaked out.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]"Royale Coliseum"[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 18px]J[/SIZE]ames didn't speak immediately, it pained him to see her this way. 'I'm sorry.' was the first thing he wanted to say. Did he have any right to care? . . . But she could not know that he had done this, he was terrified of how Renee was going to react. They would never be friends again. So he acted like normal, though he had no idea what that looked like since he's never seen his sister get hurt this much before.


"I'm here." he said hoarsely. "Do you need anything? Do you want to go to the hospital?"


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Renee Pendragon-
​

"I don't wanna move..." Renee answered, her voice cracked. It hurts a lot and the numbing agent isn't activating yet. She's going to wait until it does and then go to the hospital while the pain is dulled.


It was weird seeing James' calm demeanor turn into distraught, even more so when she heard his tone. Normally he would just be awkward and stay quiet or say a single word-sentence. Not try to comfort her like this...then again, it isn't everyday that she gets this hurt.


"Can..can you stay here with me? Until your next match?" She asked, feeling vulnerable and did not want to stay with a bunch of strangers.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]"Royale Coliseum"[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]I [/SIZE]will." said James immediately. He pulled the curtains close around Renee's bed to give her some privacy and pulled up a stool to sit beside her. His next match was against Seifer and it wasn't on until later in the afternoon so he had around five hours to spare. At around lunch time he went out to buy drinks and a couple of healthy meals Renee liked and hand-fed her if she was hungry.


It was then that he met Echo and Johnny. After bribing someone with some promised ale from the twins, whom he had not talked to yet, James was able to convince them to allow the two to visit for twenty minutes.


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Renee Pendragon-
​

Renee sighed in quiet relief when James agreed, closing the curtain around her bed, and not leaving. Though she didn't expect to see Echo or Johnny to come in the ward, considering it was only for the wounded. The winged teen figured that James might have done something to somehow allow them to visit.


"Oh Ren! Look at you! You're a mess! Do you need something? Are you okay? Can you talk? Don't speak if your throat hurts-!"


"Echo...relax. I'm fine as I can be." Trust her friend to be blunt as she worries. Renee slowly sat up, letting Echo mother-hen her until she's satisfied...or until they leave. That works too.


"See? I can talk without a problem." That was a bad lie. Her voice is cracking a lot and it made Echo flinch. Then she frowned.


"Don't lie, Ren. You're not fine. You're far from fine." Renee sighed, shrugging her shoulders a bit. "Alright, alright...I'm not fine...Wait, why are you together with Johnny? Are...you guys on a date-"


"Ren! Don't change the subject!" The winged teen giggled lightly, watching her friend's face turn red like a cherry.


Time was up and the couple had to leave. As she waved goodbye, the winged teen looked up at her brother and smiled a bit, not used to the gauze on her cheek. "Thanks for bringing lunch, James...how did you convince the nurses to let them in?" Renee was curious on how he did that.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]"Royale Coliseum"[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]P[/SIZE]romised them a barrel of ale from the twins." said James. "Rest now and stop talking." he added sternly, but gently. He absentmindedly smoothed the folds on Renee's bed. He was calm, but inside he was still worried about his sister, though her return to her talkative cheerful self relieved him a bit.


He had this look as though he believed this was all his fault and his caring was tinged with apologetic actions. Maybe because it was him who suggested they have their bet in the tournament in the first place.


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Renee Pendragon-
​

Renee nodded, watching her brother smoothing the folds with a guilty expression on his face and frowned. Then she remembered something, searched in her pocket and took out the cursed trinket. This little thing was the cause for her herbal bombs to rot and it was close to breaking her trust in her brother. For a moment, she thought her brother didn't care if she got hurt as long she loses this bet, but..


When she saw his apologetic actions, Renee knew that he never wanted her to be hurt...Maybe if she let's him know that it's okay between them, he won't frown anymore.


So the winged teen tapped James' hand, flipping it to have his palm face up so she can place the cursed trinket in his hand. She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow like she was saying 'I know this belongs this to you' before writing out something on his palm slowly, tapping after each word for space. She repeated the sentence 'I forgive you' over and over again until he gets the message.


Renee is not giving up on trying to find a way to see the Aged Author, but she's willing to stay until she can convince James otherwise. Until he gets that she's old enough to take care of herself and she'll ask for help when she needs it, the younger Pendragon will stay.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]"Royale Coliseum"[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 18px]J[/SIZE]ames jumped, startled when the trinket was placed into his palm and dropped it as though it burned him. "T-This- this isn't mine." he stuttered immediately, quite unlike himself and going white. "What is this? I-I didn't ---" but when he got the message Renee was writing on his palm he looked away lips trembling for a moment, then slumped back down on the chair defeated. Tears streamed down his face.


"I am sorry." he whispered, very full of remorse. "I am so. sorry." he said, trying to look very stoic, but his hands were trembling and his eyes looked pained. He looked like he wanted to be fed to the hyenas.


His nose was getting stuffy and his sniffing must have been heard by some of the warriors inside because the talking seemed to have died down a bit and a nurse peeked from the curtains to see if everything was alright and if their patient had not suddenly died. James looked away from the nurse and buried his head on the bed.


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Renee Pendragon-
​

Renee smiled at the nurse, asking for some tissues with her raspy voice before going back to her crying brother. She never seen James like this, not even when the twins would do pranks on him.


It's...refreshing to see her stoic brother expressing himself for once, in an honest and blunt way. Doesn't mean that she liked seeing him cry. James is her pillar of strength, someone who she looks up to. So it made her sad that he feels this guilty over a cursed trinket.


Sighing quietly, the younger Pendragon thanked the nurse and patted James' head, trying to grab his attention. When she did, she smiled warmly at him and wiped his tears away with the tissues, offering some for his stuffy nose. Then Renee reached over to hug him as if she's telling him it's okay to cry and she loves him no matter what happens. "There there..." She comforted him, not minding the tear stains on her shirt or his stuffy nose while patting his back lightly. Her arms are trembling and her back is screaming in pain, but she doesn't care about that right now. All she cares is to let him know it's okay between them.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]"Royale Coliseum"[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]I[/SIZE]t's not just the --- hic --- trinket." hiccupped James into her shoulder. He looked up at her preparing for the worst. "I did this to you. I hired the man who did this to you. I told him how you fought. And I hoarded all the books in the libraries about dragons and manna trees, and I didn't tell you there's one survivor from the dragon attack who knows what happened to mom and dad --- Master Drake Bertrand, but he hasn't told me --- hic --- anything yet."


James felt as though a heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders as he confessed and he hung his head humbly.


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Renee Pendragon-
​

Renee froze when James confessed, processing on what he just said. Okay...so he caused her physical pain, hid all the books about the Manna tree and dragons, and didn't mention to her about a survivor...


Bloody trolls...her brother is so desperate to keep her here that he did all of this. Was he really that scared that she might die or something? Holy Merlin.....he was apologizing about everything-! So many emotions ran through her mind: hurt, betrayed, happy, sad, angry, curious, anxious...too many to even know. Too many to stick...It's giving her a headache and heartburn.


What in the world....


She leaned back a bit, staring at James before sighing again. Okay, let's think for a moment before lashing out... Renee couldn't help but feel like it's her fault for driving her brother to this, with wanting to go and all. She thought he was doing fine with how calm and collected he was...but now she sees that he wasn't okay at all. Shaking her head, the younger Pendragon lightly tapped his head with her fist, raising an eyebrow at him. Then she smiled again. "You...were really scared, huh?"


Rash decisions and horrible mistakes happen, it's something she understood quite well with her track record of exploding experiments and almost dropping the nurse that one time. She understood that being scared can cause irrationality in a person, besides...James didn't mean hurt her...not intentionally anyways. So...while it's hard to swallow at the moment, Renee isn't going to hold this over James' head. He's feeling guilty without her help and that's enough for her to not be angry.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]"Royale Coliseum"[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]Y[/SIZE]es." said James shame-faced. It was hard to look at Renee in the eye. He wiped his eyes and rubbed the snot running down his nose with some of the tissues. He was still slumped with guilt, but looking a little better. "So . . . since I cheated. That makes you the winner of our bet."


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Renee Pendragon-
​

Renee blinked, not really expecting that to happen. "...O-Okay...Um...Then can we visit Master Bernard?" She might as well know more of what happened during the dragon's attack. That and...if she does leave, she wants to spend as much time as she can with her family, just in case she leaves sooner than later.


That is...if there was a ship and crew crazy enough to go to the Stone Wall.
 


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]"Royale Coliseum"[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]Y[/SIZE]es, we can." said James. "He lives in the city of Dalaran, that's a three day flight to the continent of Numenor. We'll have to board an air ship and take a week off from school. I was planning to visit him the day after tomorrow, but if you're coming might as well take the trip next Friday after classes?"


He looked at Renee's injuries. "So that . . . you have time to heal . . . too." he added, guilty but looking more composed, though he still had a bit of the hiccups. "I'll take care of you and bring you back to good health."


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Renee Pendragon-
​

Renee nodded, though hesitantly. She didn't like the idea of waiting when they could go sooner, but...he had a point that she couldn't argue with. She has to get better first...She just hopes that James won't outright baby her while healing. "Okay...Um...James?"


The winged teen grabbed one of the water bottles James brought with their lunch and offered it to him. "Here...it'll help with the hiccups...feeling any better?" She asked, worried of how he's feeling at the moment.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]"Royale Coliseum"[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]Y[/SIZE]ou're still worrying about me even after what I did?" asked James, surprised and amused. His sister had such a big heart. He drank some water and the hiccups subsided. The nurse came and examined his burn wounds and after she declared him fit for battle, James stood up to get a pail of water.


He put his orange-pasted leg in and tapped it with his wand, murmuring something, and the water rose twirling into the shape of two small slug-like water elementals that began washing the paste off. The burn wounds now looked like they were three days old and were like an ugly welt on his skin, but it didn't seem to bother James.


"Clettidy." he tapped at his robes and the black scorch marks vanished from the burned cloth leaving it at least clean looking.


When it was time for his last match, James told Renee he was going to be right back and summoned Frey to stay with her. The silver white stag wanted to follow James, limping forward and snorting as if it found the idea of not being part of the battle ridiculous. But James stared at him pointedly and the stag sat back on its haunches looking put out. And the older Pendragon was gone.

***
​

[SIZE= 18px]O[/SIZE]utside, someone bumped into James shoulder hard and he saw that it was Seifer who strode forward and stood a few steps in front of him, smoothing his hair back.


"You know," he began without looking at James. "I thought of all your family the twins were the worst, but you," and he chuckled sardonically, "you are something else entirely, wow . . . I could never do anything like that."


James tried to ignore him, but his stomach squirmed guiltily.


They entered the arena to a roar of applause and when they stood in front of each other, neither of them bowed at the other.


"It's insufficient slobs of piss-worth like you that I hate the most." said Seifer conversationally even after the announcer had already yelled the start of the fight. Seifer drew his bow and knocked an arrow. "You're a monster."

[SIZE= 18px]- Johnny Caprice -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]"Royale Coliseum"[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]E[/SIZE]r, why is James just standing there?" Johnny said out loud. He was in the stands again to watch his buddy's last fight for today. His fellow watchers were also wondering the same thing.


"Must be something personal . . ." muttered a man; "Rivals, maybe." said another; "Hey, we didn't pay to watch two guys talking, fight already!"


Johnny saw James speak, but Seifer just threw back his head, laughing at him. The archer put away his bow and placed his arrow back in his quiver . Striding forward, he suddenly socked James across the face with a left hook, then a right, and then felled him with a knee to the gut. James didn't fight back, nor did he get up again.


Seifer spat down at him, said something and just walked away.


"Um, begin the count down!" yelled the bewildered announcer. "ONE! TWO! THREE! . . ." at the count of ten the match was over and the crowd was booing, very disappointed with how the fight went.


"Echo, I have to go." said Johnny, looking at James who stood up and walked back to the gates, bent over from pain. James straightened up before going into the medical ward and just asking for some ice.


(OOC: @Katsuya , time skip after your next post?) 

 

[Katsuya]

-Echo Muses-
​

Echo nodded, confused as to why James didn't do anything even when Seifer hit him. How odd..."Yea, go...I think he needs it." She watched her date go, ignoring all the boos and chatter behind her as she wondered what happened to the older Pendragon for him to just stand there and take the hits.

-Renee Pendragon-
​

Watching James clean himself up, Renee nodded, smiling at his question with amusement. "Why wouldn't I be?" She did as she was told, though she's worried. Why would he summon Frey when he's injured? Is James going to do something new during the duel? "Okay...I'll see you soon, James..." Wait, Frey isn't going with him? What?


"It'll be okay, Frey...James has a plan...I think." Renee petted the buck, trying to cheer him up since obviously he wanted to go with her brother.


When James came back, asking for some ice, Renee flinched from all the bruises. "James?! Wha-?" The nurses passed the older Pendragon some ice for his bruises, the winged teen squirming with worry. That was a quick fight-! What in the world?!


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

​

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 18px]J[/SIZE]ames gave Renee a questioning look and chuckled. "What? Does it look that bad? It doesn't hurt as much as my second duel. He grimaced at the memory. "Let's go to the hospital, Renee. Thanks for watching her." he added, petting Frey. "Time for you to rest, you did well today." and the ethereal stag vanished in a puff of smoke.


That night, in the cozy living room of the flying castle, Frey was curled by the fireplace with Sasha sleeping, perched on his antlers. All his summons had bandages and scars. Sparks was still too dangerous to be summoned inside the living room, but at least he ate the food James gave him, even if the lightning salamander refused to let him put some orange paste on its burn wounds, and was sleeping in his room.

----- Flashback -----
​

"[SIZE= 18px]H[/SIZE]ere." said James, placing a sack of fish on the floor of his room and backing away from the lighting salamander, then turned his back and lay down on the floor. It was a gesture showing that he wasn't a threat, something he had learned the past weeks he's been trying to tame this difficult creature. He heard the sound of slimy swallowing and knew that Spark was eating.


That encouraged him a bit. "Thanks for today, and . . . sorry for using you the way I did. This is the last time I'm calling you, I won't be summoning you again."


More noisy swallowing and floppy crunching of bones.


"Why did you keep answering my summons when you don't even like me?"


Spark chewed on a milk fish.


"You're the weirdest war beast I've ever met." His lighting shield cackled as the lightning salamander spat a lightning bolt at him, annoyed. "Are you going to let me put these on your burns? It'll heal them." he showed a bottle of orange salve. Sparks hissed at him, a clear sign of no.


"You know I'm trying to be nice to you?" said James finally looking at Sparks. The lighting salamander ignored him and just kept on eating. " . . . " There was a burp. Spark licked his chops clean and began doing the same for his claws. There was silence for a long time until James got bored and stood up to do some apprentice work.


Spark hissed at him whenever he got close.


"You don't have to stay here, you know. There's the window." and he pointed outside. "Or you can go back to your realm, here's the door." and he cast an unsummoning hex on the floor whereupon a magical circle appeared that seemed to slightly suck the lightning salamander in. Spark huffed haughtily and slithered away from it to curl up under his desk.


" . . . You are annoying." said James. Sparks flicked a bolt at him before going to sleep.

----- End of Flashback -----
​

[SIZE= 18px]I[/SIZE]t was now seven in the evening. The twins and James had gone out because the older Pendragon had something to tell them, and so it was Johnny who took care of Renee for a few hours and made dinner: a hot broth of pork, potatoes, and greens --- the meat cooked so tender that it fell off the bones --- a salad with nuts, oranges, and some purple cabbage, and a stack of pita bread. His cooking was clearly of a different culture, salty and tangy being the dominant taste.


When asked about one small bowl of some very thick dark brown soup with chunky diced meat inside, he promptly said with much gusto, "This is 'dinuguwan' or pig's blood with chopped intestines." he waited for Renee's expression with a look as though he was used to expecting people to say, 'Gross!' after they find out. He didn't make one for her though, and only had this one bowl for himself.


When the three brothers came back, the twins avoided James the entire night and kept away from him, and him they. It seemed that he had told them about what he had done and about the survivor who knew about what happened to the rest of their family, and Sen and Seth were treating him as if he did not exist.


In the end James announced that he was going to be staying out of the house for a bit, and left Renee in Johnny's care since the twins weren't good at taking care of a person. Johnny didn't know the whole story yet, but he did know that James was behind the cursed trinket and hired the man who put Renee in the state she was in. He was angry at James for doing something so unspeakable, but he agreed to take care of his sister nonetheless.


On the second day of the tournament, James won the novice category and challenged the man who hurt Renee to a duel. He had been planning to forfeit as there was no purpose in him joining anymore. But when he learned that that man was still fighting, he decided to stay in the hopes that he'd be able to fight him. And fight him he did. Perhaps it was hypocritical, wanting to hurt this man as it was James fault in the first place, but he despised him so much that he could not help it.


There was no need for words as James glared down his foe with steely eyes. The man knew why his employer challenged him and scoffed saying he was going to do to him what he did to his sister.


"Enough talk. Let's fight." said James.


It was a long bloody match for both men, but in the end, after being stunned by Spark, James' foe was trampled mercilessly under Frey's hooves and the match was over. James had gotten his revenge.


"Heh . . ." coughed the man, speech gurgled as the mediwitches attended to the hematoma in the man's lungs. "Ya think yer righteous . . . yer just like me. I look just like yer sister don't I?"


Livid, James launched himself at him, but was pulled back and dragged away by tournament guards. Johnny, who, despite being angry at what his friend had done, came down to watch his match anyway in case James was going to do something he was going to regret, was allowed to enter the medical ward in the Fighter's Hall to calm James down.


During the awarding ceremony there were three winners for the tournament, James Pendragon for both novice and intermediate category, an acrobatic elven lady named, Tamara Menathradiel, for the advanced category, and Belial the dark knight for the master category. The king congratulated them all and the princess crowned them with a wreath of olive leaves. She presented them with trophies all gold, the largest and fanciest going to Belial.


The first runner ups were given trophies of silver (Seifer looked annoyed that he had lost first place), while the second runner ups were awarded trophies of bronze. They were all invited to a feast in the castle on Tuesday night, the day after tomorrow, and were allowed to bring four guests.


@Katsuya

Spoiler

James rolls:


1st match = 5


2nd match = 4


3rd match = 4





Fight against man who had whipped Renee (1-5 James wins, 6-10 man wins) = 5

 

[Katsuya]

-Renee Pendragon-
​

Renee nodded, happy the numbing affect the drugs given to her is finally working, and she could move without flinching much. "Okay." She went to the hospital with James and got better treatment for her injuries.


That night, she sat at the table, drawing in sketchbook without much issue. She's in her light orange PJs since it was the only thing that's comfortable at the moment. Bandages peeking through her rolled up sleeves whenever she reached for another color pencil or erasing like a mad hatter. Her wings looked better now, folded against her head like they usually would, just with a few missing feathers. Those need time to grow back, it seems. The hospital helped a lot with her back injuries, leaving a bit of scarring but the doctor said it'll heal within no time. So she's happy about that.


She kept looking at the door from time to time, worried about her brothers who left in James' request. Renee didn't want to say anything about how she got injured in the first place because she didn't want anymore conflict in the family. She had enough with the fighting between them and she didn't want the twins to start something.


She sighed quietly and quickly smiled when Johnny made her dinner as he wouldn't notice how she really felt at the moment. The food he made was delicious in her opinion, enjoying the new flavors and wanted to ask him for the recipe so she can try cooking it. The food Johnny made for himself however...well...


"Um...Well...that's new. I didn't know you can eat pig's blood..." Renee didn't really like blood in general, but she's not going to judge a plate because of it's content...even if it is a bit strange and sort of gross because it's blood and why intestines?? She couldn't help but shudder at the thought of someone stuffing blood in a random intestines like water balloons. After finishing her plate, her brothers came back, and she was a bit sad that the twins were avoiding James and he to them, but she couldn't say anything about it. It's their choice and she can't change that. If they don't want to see each other, then she's going to try her best to stay in a neutral area here.


"Thank you for taking care of me, Johnny..." Renee nodded before going to bed that night. She paused in front of James' room, wondering if she should say goodnight to Sparks too, but...somehow she really doubts that it'll like her at all...


The winged teen couldn't go with Johnny to see James' fight. Something about how she's still injured and needed as much rest as she needs...Which made her sigh and stayed at home, pouting about not going to see his duels. After the tournament ended, Renee heard about her brother winning both Novice and Intermediate categories from the radio news, smiling happily for James. When he came back home with Johnny, she jumped out of the chair and practically tackled him into a hug. Her wings flapping awkwardly in glee. "Congratulations, James!" She nuzzled him without a care, forgetting he might be injured too.


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]O[/SIZE]w, ow, ow." winced James from the bottom of the stairs. The tackle had knocked him off his feet and he fell under Johnny who was struggling beneath the two Pendragons.


"Blimey, you two are heavy!" said Johnny. There was a crowd of fans and admirers who had followed James home and were at the fences trying to get an interview, but Butters and Meatballs wouldn't let them in the front yard and the boar hound already had a piece of the pants of a reporter who tried to clamber over the fence.


They were clicking away at the scene, their cameras flashing and emitting some kind of smelly purple smoke. "Miss Renee Pendragon, any comments on your brother's win?!" asked an ink-splattered reporter who was holding a piece of parchment that had a quill hovering above it, writing by itself.


"James, how does it feel to be a winner, triumphantly beating the man who hurt your sister, would you call it poetic justice?!" asked another whose pants had a ripped hole revealing heart-patterned boxers. James ignored them, patting Renee and hugging her briefly before pulling Johnny up. At the same moment someone took a picture of them.


"Johnny boy, about your boyfriend's wi ---"


"For the last time, he's not my bloody boyfriend, I'm in love with ECHO MUSES!"  yelled Johnny angrily. It seemed that these reporters must have been hassling them non-stop if Johnny was being this short tempered.


"I see. So it's a love triangle! I can see it now, James Pendragon, Kingsbury champion, wins the tournament but alas lost the greatest battle of them all, the one for Johnny's heart!"


Before Johnny could say even more, James dragged his friend inside and shut the door when his sister was in.


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Renee Pendragon-
​

Renee blinked in surprise, not expecting the photographers or the fans and admirers by their fences, though she did giggle a bit when she noticed Meatballs' catch of the day in his mouth. The winged teen stood up, letting James and Johnny get up and ignored the questions as well. "Sorry James. Sorry Johnny....I didn't think I would be able to push you two down like that." Her wings fluttered when James greeted her back.


Then the questions got a bit silly at the end when she went inside the house, covering her smiling mouth when she heard Johnny's confession about Echo.


She is so telling her friend about this...Heheh!


When James closed the door, Renee peeked out of the front window after closing the curtains, in case they tried to take secret photos indoors. "Um...were they following you two this whole time?" She asked, a bit amused and a bit scared of people crowding around their home. How were they going to school now??


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

[SIZE= 18px]- James Pendragon -[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE= 14px]"Flying Castle"[/SIZE]
​

"[SIZE= 18px]Y[/SIZE]es. " said the two together, Johnny looking very put out.


James removed the crown of olive leaves from his head and chucked it into the nearest trash bin. He had new bandages some covering wounds healing under ointments and salves that smelled strongly of medicine. He dropped his bag on the table, which thudded heavily, and took a seat in front of Calcifer stretching out his legs in front of the warm fire.


"You okay? You smell terrible." said the fire demon.


"You should see the other guy." said James tiredly. He didn't sound happy that he won. "I told the princess I cheated, Renee, but she insisted on giving me the trophy and prize money as a reward for being honest, saying she had heard about how I broke down in the medical ward. She sends her regards to you and wishes you a hasty recovery."


He summoned Frey and Sasha who went over to the water barrel for a drink. They had new wounds too and when Johnny turned the dial, opening the doors to the hills of the state of Verona where the flying castle was sitting, they immediately went out clearly yearning for some fresh air and the peaceful familiarity of the nearby woods.


"Going out to cool off," said Johnny taking a basket with him and a cloak. "I'll be back in time to make dinner."


@Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Renee Pendragon-
​

"Oh...I'm so sorry to hear that..." Renee felt bad for the pair, especially for Johnny since it seems he's more put out than James...at the same time, she wanted to laugh about it too because it took crazy photographers to get him to admit his feelings about Echo.


"The princess is very sweet. I'm not surprised that she felt that way, James." Renee replied, sitting on the fireplace, close enough to place another log for Calcifer. "Besides...I agree with her: It's very brave of you to admit it. Most people wouldn't do that." She really did like princess Mia. Her reasoning are sound and true, a trait that she admires a lot.


"See you later, Johnny..."


She watched Johnny, Frey, and Sasha leave to the hills of Verona, not blaming them to calm down after the duels. Having a quiet moment, feeling the heat emitting from the all powerful fire demon behind her, Renee pondered aimlessly. "...Hey, James...want some tea? I can make your favorite?"


@Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- James Pendragon -


"Flying Castle"


James gave her a look as though bewildered and amused that she was so nice to him, though he accepted the gesture nonetheless. "Yes, thank you."


His favorite had always been green tea mixed with honey topped with cream and salted cheese. Hot on cold days, with ice on hot days.


When Renee had begun preparing, James ventured to say after sitting in thought for a while. "Renee, do you really want to go to the Storm Wall and find that Aged Author . . . person . . . whatever?"


@Katsuya