Silver Spirals and Moonlight Green Glows (Invite)

[Razielle Alastor]

She'd found this spot a long time ago. In fact. she'd all but forgotten most of the details of her first trip to Iziz.

She'd only been a child then. She'd been evading her 'keepers'. She'd been running, then suddenly laughing as she rode the banister down spirals of stairs. Through one room, out the next. Hiding and giggling, causing everyone, including Adraudia who's bedroom she'd snuck out of, a world of trouble. When she'd finally lost them, she'd arrived at this exact spot.

There was a statue, with no marker, artfully displayed before a trio of enormous windows. The moonlight shining in through the windows cast it's visage in a green glow. She'd been enchanted. At the base of the statue there was a silver spiral in the tiles of the floor. It trailed off, vine-like down the hall, leading somewhere!

She had still been following it when they had finally caught up with her...

She had been escorted back to bed, dutifullly waiting until all was once more silent, before springing to action. She rolled over, poked Adraudia in the shoulder, waking her. She told her about the statue, but couldn't remember exactly how she'd gotten there, or where it had been. Princess Razielle was not one to make up stories, not to Adraudia at least, and she was incredibly animated about this one. So at the risk of getting into further trouble, they went out again to find the statue..

And here it was..

Razielle leaned against the wall, opposite the figure from her memory. Her ankles were crossed, her arms folded over her chest, as she stared. Had it just been a trick of the light, something more childhood fancy than memory? Or something more? The problem was.. she couldn't remember what happened next? Has they ever found it? Did they follow the path down the hall? Why couldn't she see it now?

[Adraudia Basillie]

It was half past 10 o'clock and the Queen was ready to turn in for the night. The day was rather pleasant considering the Hapans and her people had remained civil to one another. In other words, everyone was staying sober and not fighting in a drunken stupor. Not that her people were allowing themselves to walk on Cannok egg shells, but given that the Queen was opening further trade with them, they were being more cautious.

As per protocol, Adraudia took a different route back to her chambers and found someone much to her delight. She saw the Princess laying against a wall by either studying the statue very intently or in deep thought. She wasn't sure which.

She waved her guards off and joined her sister. "What is on your mind tonight, Razielle?"

Adraudia felt no need to announce her presence. Both shared a common bond in the Force and Razielle would sense her aura immediately.

[Razielle Alastor]

She waited until Adraudia had stopped just next to her before answering quietly, and with a hint of ill humor. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. And that, Majesty, is something."

Princess Razielle straightened, her expression immediately softening into the tranquil lines of her public personality. She faced the Queen and smiled, glad for the company, but not quite certain she wanted to bring up a silly childhood memory that Adraudia may not even recall. It was all a bit too ridiculous.

The Queen had much on her mind lately. Aside from the normal affairs of state, there was the Hapan presence to remain aware of. The still tender treaty with the Mandalorians. Small rumors of disquiet with the government itself, that were always crushed silent, shortly after starting.

Oh, and that devlish space captain who seemed to have willingly marooned himself for the present time.

Razielle grinned, reminding herself when the opportunity arose to pounce on that very topic with the Queen, but not now..

"Did you know, madame.. that this statue has no placard? I may be just the foreign relation, but I do not recall this fellow..."

[Adraudia Basillie]

"Ah ..." Adraudia smiled as she walked up to the statue. "This is King Oron Kira. He was known as the 'Beast Prince', becoming Onderon's king after the Beast Wars were over. He is my direct descendant and lived over 4000 years ago."

The Queen ran her hand along the empty space where the placard used to be. "The statue has been here for as long as this palace has stood. It was damaged during one of our uprisings and it was restored ..."

She pointed out the cracks where Oron had 'lost' his head and arm, "... but the reason as to why the placard was never replaced was never known. So we keep it as such."

[Razielle Alastor]

"Hmmm..", Was all Razielle could manage while they took a closer look at the likeness. The area where the placard, that had born the ancient King's identity had once been, was now a slightly different color than the rest of the piece. It did not look as though it had been damage, or forceably removed. It was just.. gone. Also, that very spot was where the trail of illuminated spirals had left the statue, begining their travels up the hall.

Intersesting.

She would just have to do a bit more research on this particular sovreign and see what she could learn.

Not wanting to have Adraudia thinking that she'd lost her mind, Razielle made light of the situation. She switched easily from irritated interest, to jovial vixen.

"I do see the resemblance..", she said with a straight face, indicating the forbidding looking man. Then promptly let out a little laugh and hooked her arm through the Queen's.

"Forget it. I was merely interested. So where were you headed?"

[Adraudia Basillie]

She smirked at the resemblance comment and walked down the hallway with her friend, the guard tailing close behind. "Heading to my chambers for rest. And what about you?"

Adraudia glanced at the Princess with her smirk growing. "And you? Or were you just simply catching up on my planet's history?"

[Razielle Alastor]

"Let's just say I was chasing some ghosts of our childhood and they brought me here.."

Razielle had not expected company, but it seemed fated that the Queen had taken this route back to her own quarters tonight. Maybe, she could open the subject without sounding like a raving fool, after all.

"I don't recall much of my first visit here, all those years ago. I remember when we met that you and I were hesitant to run off and play together, like our Fathers wanted us to, for all of about five minutes. After that we were rarely seen apart." She smiled, recalling how afraid she had been that the slightly older Royal Miss might think she was dumb and not like her.

"The details are a trifle hazy.. Did we come here?" She gestured back toward the statue.

[Adraudia Basillie]

Adraudia smiled fondly. "Yes. I recall those times well, but as far as I can remember, not a single meter of this Palace was left untouched by us."

She gazed the hallway they walked arm and arm in and laughed. "I think it was this hall that we hid amongst the armor and made them creak to scare the poor servants!"

Quite a few of them had fled down the stairs, practically toppling into her Father, claiming to have heard ghosts! It was all too much fun.

[Razielle Alastor]

"Ahh.. yes. Now that, I do recall." She grinned. They had been quite the duo, even then.

Razielle had the distinct impression, as they headed further down the hall, that they were going in the opposite direction that they should be, to discover whatever secrets the ancient King held in his marble gaze. Her instincts had yet to fail her, and she resolved to return again, and begin her search anew.

Bidding Adraudia a good night, she sought her own bed and feel asleep with thoughts of the past..

*****

The following day found Princess Shadana on a quest. Her search began not in hallowed halls of past royalty, but ensconced within the Iziz Royal library. The knowledge kept there ranged from the more recent, and more modern addition of datatapes and computerized cards to sub-levels that contained the original artifacts, tomes, scrolls and slates from heathen times.

She had begun her search first thing in the morning, sitting before a holovid history of the Basillie line, tracing back to the Queen's ancestors. It did not reveal as much as she would have hoped, but she did take note of names, dates and other leads to reference later.

When she did not arrive for lunch, Lira came looking for her bearing a small tray with fruit and cheese. Purely to give the stubborn Princess some sort of fuel to keep her going. She found the lady in question, slumped over a book depicting the sucession of Oron Kira's bloodline. Small glasses were perched, just-so on the end of her nose. Lira had never seen the Princess wear glasses before and strongly suspected that they were purely for the quaint effect. She didn't wish to wake Razielle in the middle of her great effort to hold down the dusty old book, so she set the tray down and quietly left her mistress to her..

...work.

[Adraudia Basillie]

Adraudia had a few hours before the delegation from Hapes were to meet with her again. Then she had another meeting with Mandalore to discuss punishment arrangements for two men that had started a fist fight at the Thirsty Boma. It was one of her citizens and a Mandalorian. Who started it didn't matter, they were both drunk and throwing insults at one another.

But what caught her attention was Lira, Razielle's aide, walking down the hallway.

"Lira?" She called out.

The girl stopped and curtsied. "Yes your Majesty?"

"Where has the Princess been all morning? She usually meets me for breakfast and her presence was missed."

"Her Highness is in the library."

"The library?" She queried, wondering what on Onderon she could be doing in there. Lira merely nodded. "Thank you, Lira. Carry on. I'll pop in and see what our Princess is up to."

[Victer Dejan]

Victer was spending an hour a day in Onderon's Royal Library, learning about the history of the world and it's laws. It was a rather expansive room, occupying two floors and nearly 8000 tightly packed square meters. Victer went to return a history of Onderon's early laws.

Razielle was face down in front of a book. One hand slipped to a blaster as he approached, but when she groaned quietly, he knew there was no foul play. The Princess had fallen asleep.

"Princess Razielle." Victer said, quietly. She did not respond. The woman was exhausted. Victer discretely tapped the table near her head. It was subtle, but effective.

"Nummhhuuh?" Her eyes were winced shut and then opened. Her pale face was framed with black hair, her eyes blue, nearly indigo. Not his preference, but stunning, nonetheless. She looked shocked, for an instant, but calmed.

Victer smiled. The Princess collected herself quickly.

"Might I suggest her Highness try and get more sleep?" He said quietly, politely.

[Razielle Alastor]

"You may suggest it, but it's doubtful I'll listen..", she covered up a yawn, with the back of her hand, then grinned up at Captain Dejan.

She had liked Victer from the first day he'd arrived, and had decided that propriety be damned, he was going to be her friend. Nevermind the fact that subtle changes had come over Adraudia the longer Victer remained. She knew the signs well, seeing them in herself everytime she looked in the mirror.

Smitten.

That was the term commonly used, she grinned to herself. They could keep it on the sly all they wanted, but Razielle was not fooled.

"I've been doing a little research..", she nodded to the pile of books and tapes beside her on the table, only just then noticing the little plate of food.

"Bless you, Lira..", she muttered, picking up a slice of fruit and sitting up, effecting a more dignified posture.

[Victer Dejan]

Victer and Razielle hadn't really talked beyond passing hellos in hallways. Victer knew, however, that she always had eyes for Salem. He answered her grin with a raised eyebrow.

He watched Razielle satiate some of her appetite, and she motioned for him to sit. Victer theoretically had many other things he should be doing. However, it was not often that Razielle made any time for strangers, and that was what they essentially were. He sat.

"May I ask the Princess what she is looking for?" He inquired. He did not see her down in the library often. It was likely important.

[Razielle Alastor]

"Well.. it started out as a little research on this fellow."

Razielle raised up in the seat a bit and slid the book around so that it faced Victer. There was a likeness on the page, an artists rendering of the statue that was giving her so much trouble, not a portrait of the man himself. The statue in the picture still had the name plate, but the book was hundreds of years old so it was hardly usefull in securing the missing piece today.

"King Oron Kira.. He was a most interesting distant relative of our Queen's.."

[Victer Dejan]

"I read about him briefly in one of the histories. Settled the Beast Wars. Rather remarkable, considering how long the two sides were at each other's throats. A lynchpin in this world's history." Victer said as he studied the picture.

"So what about the statue interests you?"

[Razielle Alastor]

'I once saw it light up like a neon sign, bright green and there was a ghostly trail of silver leaves twining off from it's base down the hall to some unknown treasure!'

The thought rang in her brain with a sarcastic tone.. Seriously.. What could she possibly say that would not make her sound crazy. If she couldn't get the words out to the Queen, who'd been there, how would she explain the event to Victer?

"It's missing the name plate. No one seems to know where it went, or why.. Or when, or how it was removed. I know that doesn't seem like that major of a disturbance, considering the age of the statue.. but!", she fumbled around with some other books, until she found the one she was seeking and plopped it on top of the first.

"He was supposed to have had some singular items in his possesion. They were believed to have been part of the inheritance of his heiress, Queen Talia."

[Victer Dejan]

Singular items? Victer rubbed his chin in thought. She was not only interested in those special items. There was more to this than Razielle was letting on. The Princess did not visit the Royal Library very often. It's stocks were mostly historical, and the Princess' focus tended to be much more modern. Something must have caught Razielle's fancy to an extreme.

"Well, have you ever seen the statue with the name plate intact? That would narrow the date down quite a bit."

[Razielle Alastor]

"Honestly.. I can't remember.", she looked around as if making sure they had relative privacy.

"I've asked Adraudia about it, but she doesn't seem to know when it went missing either. When I was done here I was going to ask around with some of the staff, the ones who have been on hand for many years, if they could recall anything specific about it's dissapearance."

She was leaving some details out, details about what exactly she speculated might be missing. That information was the Queen's birthright, if indeed it still exhisted at all, by right of succession. No trinkets, no hidden chest of jewels..

No, what Razielle was so excited about was something far more valuable..

[Victer Dejan]

Victer thought about it for a second.

"Are the library's contents indexed? We could go through anything with illustrations and mentions of Oron Kira, say, within the last hundred years." It felt rather last ditch. He suspected the thread they would be following would be thinner than that.

[Razielle Alastor]

"Indexed... hmmm...", she hopped up from the chair, walking around the table, to inspect a long carved wooden box that seemed to match some of the more aged of the books sprawled around.

"Well, this is supposed to be a record of these books..", she opened it and ran the pads of her fingers over the hundreds of little hand-written cards sealed within.

"I didn't find much in the holo-archives, to be quite honest. The last I saw that these were used was by the Queen's father, years ago.."

Razielle stopped suddenly, in thought. Years ago? Right around the time that she'd seen the statue's mysterious glow... She got a patch of goosebumps on her skin. Where was the Queen?! Surely Adraudia must recall something..