The castle

Feliciano grabbed Ludwig's arm as if his own life was at stake, which was more or less reality, anyway.
Confused as he was by the fact that the spell had worked in such a strange way over him, he hadn't paid much attention about what the others were saying.
Searching for Matthew's brother... that sounded like an appealing mission, probably way less dangerous than what they were going to do now, and he would have definitely been glad to help. If they survived what was happening in the castle first, that is.

Holding onto Ludwig's arm as tight as he could, he was ready - although not happy - to follow him.

Well, that was certainly a relief. With how most of the group had reacted to him being there, he thought he'd be told to leave. This seemed like a close group after all. Wait, was there someone near him? He swatted the air closest to him.

"I would be glad to be of assistance, and be glad for it to find Alfred as well. The sooner these people are dealt with, the sooner everything can go back to normal and everyone can stop living in fear of war!" The prince then gave the go ahead to move on as well as asking him to make himself undetected. Right, well that would be a good idea.

"Of course I can sorry. No problem at all!" Closing his eyes and muttering a few words under his breath, the spell made his own magic undetectable and himself to be unseen. He guessed it was the same as what Alfred's brother had done with this group, Arthur was glad he had only himself to cast it on, casting spells on groups could be tricky as he was sure the other had learnt just now. "Right, ready when you are. Just out curiosity though, who exactly is here? Just so I know!"

Gilbert remained silent, unwilling to reveal that he was there incase they needed to surprise this man later. He was uneasy about trusting someone who stumbled in at this time of all times. And beyond the seals.

He backed up from the man as he too became invisible, though Gilbert found he was still able to see him.

"Well, then, let's try to stay as quiet as possible." He headed down the tunnel toward the door at the end. He knew he would end up leading the way on this, as he should. Gilbert wasn't in good health, it seemed, and neither Feliciano nor Matthew was a fighter.

As for Arthur, he might be capable, but this was Ludwig's family. He needed to be the one taking the lead. He kept his grip tight on Feliciano's hand.

He slowly opened the door, hearing the sound of fighting almost immediately. It was a sound that gave him some hope. The castle was not yet taken if there was still fighting.

He turned to the King - although it was pointless, since the king couldn't see him, so who cared if he turned or not, and Feliciano himself couldn't see the king, so he wasn't even sure he was turning to where the King was. But oh well, he couldn't help doing that out of habit.

"I'm prince Feliciano~ Although I'm not sure anymore I'm here, actually. But we already met in the tavern..." before he could go on with his answer, Ludwig moved and Feliciano followed him quietly.
As the other opened the door, Feliciano hid instinctively behind his back. If they had been lucky to not meet anyone so far, it seemed like they weren't going to be alone for long.


((I suppose we're not seeing Arthie, right? Since he can't see us. *totally not confused about how these spells work*))

((Hm, well Gil can see him, so…uh… *totally BS-es some rules right now, hope you guys don’t mind*))

“And I’m here, too,” Matthew said to answer Arthur’s question, though he already knew that by now. The only one who was left unannounced to Arthur was Gilbert, yet Matthew took the other’s silence to mean that he didn’t want to reveal himself, and he’d respect that.

He was able to see Arthur and he wondered who else from their original group could. This spell in particular could lead to confusion, depending on the number of people casting it. If someone was already invisible, it was really a matter of luck whether or not they’d be able so see others turn invisible by the hands of a different magic user.

It didn’t work the other way around, however, so Matthew also wondered if his king would have any difficulty following them since they were unable to be seen and if he needed someone to guide him.

(yeah, I don't even know...sorry about the confuddledness)

Gilbert reached out his hand and placed it on Matthew's shoulder, where the cloth shouldn't bulge and give him away. He was the only one the albino couldn't see, and he wanted to know where everyone was.

He wished he could tell his brother now, but with the new man in their party...there was no way he'd be able to really speak with him about it. He might have been willing to talk with Feli and Matthew as well, but not this new man he didn't even know slightly.

( Lol for plot holes man XDD))

Arthur nodded. So there was the Prince of this castle, Feliciano who he remembered from the tavern and Alfred's brother. Four people about to burst into a battle that was already taking place, hoping he could trust these strangers. Though to be honest, this whole spell thing was really awkward, he had just walked to the end of the corridor hoping that was what the others were doing. A little guidance wouldn't hurt right about now.

Just before arriving at the end of the corridor, he heard the door open slightly. Glad to be with the others, Arthur could hear the fighting through the door. The fight already starting, his eyes narrowed slightly, he knew this would all start soon. He just really hoped he could trust the people he was going into it with.

Ludwig headed forward. His hold on Feliciano was firm. He would protect the prince with his life, but he needed him to come along in order to protect him, though he knew that made little sense in his own head. To protect Feliciano, he had to take him into battle. No, it made no sense, but there was no other choice.

The sounds of blades clashing, men and women's voices raising in battle cries and in those of death, even the smell of blood were not enough to deter him. This was his family at risk, his people, and duty was overriding everything else going through his mind. He climbed the set of stairs, narrowly avoiding the body of a fallen griffin haphazardly spread across the steps. The uniform was that of his uncle's closest guards, and for any of them to be more than a few steps from his uncle's side meant only one thing.

He could see the victor of the fight standing just at the top, counting money from a bloody coin purse and muttering something about "finders keepers."

No one else was around, though a turn at the hall ahead would likely lead them into the heard of the battle. Ludwig raised his mace and brought it down quickly; he smiled darkly as it made a solid contact with the mercenary's head. He knew he should stop to question the man. After all, information was probably more valuable, but for once, the carefully-controlled prince didn't give a damn about strategy. His animal side wanted blood and his rational side wanted revenge.

Both sides forced the smile to stay on his face as the mercenary fell to the floor.

Ludwig's grip on his arm was tight, and Feliciano had no other choice than to follow him closely.
When they came across the corpse, he looked away - he would have closed his eyes, but he couldn't risk to stumble in the steps or in Ludwig's legs.

He spotted the enemy right in front of them, and for a moment thought that they were just going to pass beside him without being noticed, but then he understood that it wasn't the case. He felt Ludwig's muscles tense as he held his mace out, and then lowered it violently on the man's head.

Although he managed tot turn his gaze away before seeing the impact, he didn't miss the smile that appeared on Ludwig's lips in that moment. It wasn't a reassuring smile at all, and hadn't Feliciano trusted Ludwig completely, he would have probably been deeply scared by that view - or more deeply than he already was, anyway.

Feliciano buried his face in the other prince's back. He had no sympathy for the enemy soldiers, sure, but he would have rather avoided the sight of more blood, especially because he was well aware of his own not friendly disposition towards it. Anyway, he didn't want to fall unconscious in the middle of the battle either, so he took a deep breath and tried to stop his legs from shaking, convincing them that following the warrior was the better choice they had to gain their safety.

Ivan clung to his dragons back as Sretya wormed herself into the tower. The hallway was barley wide enough to accommodate the overgrown lizard as she wove silently down the turrets steps. He could feel her shiver with anticipation of more confrontations and perhaps a challenge. But so far it was easy going the enemy providing nothing more than a slight pause in the journey.

The sound of battle and the smell of blood, were the first things that assaulted his senses. Arthur headed for the staircase, he hoped that's where where the others were heading. The body of a fallen griffin suddenly made this war seem very real, he carried on walking feeling only pity and determination to rid the world of the people causing this.

Next in his attention was a mercenary, muttering 'finders keepers' to himself with a nauseating, sick grin on his face. He was obviously pleased with himself. The mans triumph however was short lived, as a loud thunk was heard and the mercenary fell to the floor. With a eyebrow raised, Arthur walked the rest of the stairs, once he was at the top he looked at the man with indifference. Maybe it would have made more sense to question him first, but Arthur was not about to question the griffin prince, besides he knew he would have reacted in the same way if it were his own kingdom.

Walking a little further down the hall, he stopped and faced back, speaking in a hushed tone. "I'm assuming that was you, so what exactly is next in your plan to take back your castle?"

Gilbert saw the body of the fallen griffin, and he recognized her. Oh she wasn't anyone he had spent much time with or knew very well, but she would sometimes go out drinking with him after--

That didn't matter. What mattered was that the albino felt the vein in the center of his forehead throb, and it made him feel extremely tired. Adrenaline pumped through his muscles, but all he could feel was the anger and a sickness at the pit of his stomach. His anger was getting away from him, but he had no ability to really physically take it out with such weakness in his bones.

Any other day, the older brother would have rushed ahead of the other and taken out anyone in his past with lithe, swift and quite movements. But not today. Of all days. Gilbert could tell that if he were to really try such a stunt, he would end up stumbled onto the floor.

So, the albino stayed behind his larger brother--feeling like a coward.

Sretya stopped at the bottom of the stairs and hissed in agitation. magic was flowing recklessly from down the hall. It was unfamiliar and a utter nuisance, causing her scaly skin to prickle uncomfortably. Ivan slid off her back and looked around warily. He could hear the distant sounds of mercenaries pillaging and plundering through the castle but that hardly explained where the magic was coming from. Ivan made to start down the hallway before the dragon cut him off, pushing him behind her with a flick of her tail. Ivan scoffed and she hissed. He was not getting his way. She could be so stupidly protective...

A loud thunk echoed down the hall and both heads snapped forward. Someone was down here. Sretya trundled off down the hallway, scales hissing as they brushed against the narrow stone walls. Ivan followed as closely behind, backing up when she turned to growl at him. Stupid lizard.... Sretya purposely made as much noise as he should as they traversed down the hallway. If those mercenaries knew what was good for them they would clear out quickly.

Ludwig glanced at Arthur. "Other than hurting them as much as possible, I don't know," he whispered. "I'm hoping that I can spot my uncle's mate along the way. He will know what to do and be able to assess the situation. If not, we may have to ... interrogate the mercenaries."

He walked ahead, holding Feliciano close behind him. He could tell the man was scared, probably terrified, even, but all he could do was keep him safe and keep him close. He just had to hope that the man would trust him. He walked forward, keeping his eye out for any sign of the mercenaries, or perhaps some of the castle's guards.

Matthew knew that the most he could do was to try to follow Ludwig and the others through the castle, knowing better than to attempt anything more than to avoid danger. The sight of battle was a new one to him and it really was as terrible as he had imagined it to be.

He was thankful now that he had no qualms about the sight or smell of blood, but he hated to think of how Feliciano was feeling through all of this, judging from how he reacted to seeing blood before. At first, he was worried that Arthur would get separated, but apparently he didn’t give the king enough credit; he was able to keep up with them without being able to see them well enough.

Matthew was taken by surprise when Ludwig used his mace against a mercenary, but although the action seemed more impulsive than he would have expected of the prince, he really couldn’t blame him.

The tight grip around his arm helped Feliciano to calm down. Even though the Ludwig who was leading them inside the castle looked different from the warrior he had known in the last couple of days, Feliciano understood he hadn't forgotten about him and his will to protect him anyway.

As they moved forward, leaving the bodies behind them, the prince looked up again. The battle was getting closer, and he hoped that the spell would be enough to protect their small group from the soldiers - although he had no doubt about the strenght of his companions, the enemies - judging from the noise - were too many.

From somewhere beside them came suddenly the voice of the king. Feliciano saw Ludwig turn, and understood that he, at least, could see Arthur.
Ludwig's uncle's mate.. Feliciano had a vague memory of him, and he tried to concentrate hardly on the appareance of the man, in order to recognize him immediately if they saw him. And also, focusing on it helped him to be distracted from thinking about what they were going to find just behind the corner.

And exactly from behind the corner, still distant but getting closer, came the screams. Just a couple, in the beginning, but after a few moments he could hear several voices shouting the same thing, in various intonations - from fear, to surprise, to anger.
The concept under the yelling was that a dragon had just made its appearance in the castle.

Feliciano lifted his head, revived. So Ivan and his dragon had managed to find their way inside!

Arthur nodded. It sounded simple enough, cause as much damage as possible to the intruders and look out for any recognizable people, oh sarcasm. Of course he, himself, would have a little difficulty with that. Judging by the sound of all the fighting taking place down the hall, the shouting, the screaming getting louder and louder, the group were reaching the main hall, probably hundreds of mercenaries or soldiers of this castle. There would be too many people to separate from each other.

As of now, Arthur was unsure where the rest of the group was, it seemed he had carried on walking the rest of the hall, although he was always alert for mercenaries or someone needing their help. How exactly was this supposed to work when they weren’t even aware of the where the other was? Best to ask the one he was following on this mission.

“One last question if you don’t mind! At any point are we going to drop the magic? It could be awkward if we don’t know where the entire group is!”

It was fair to say he was a little concerned about the plan

The grand hall was filled with battle screams and the sound of weapons crashing against weapons, and weapons digging into flesh. It was a mess. And it wasn't as planned.

Alfred wasn't amused by the turn of events, and he expressed his anger through shoving a random man against a wall, he didn't care which side said man belonged to. Fucking mercenary soldiers, they had no sense of organisation, they didn't do as he had ordered, instead they had become unnecessarily violent without thinking, lead by their raw bloodlust. And how should he work with idiots, who were not able to follow his command.

"STOP THIS INSTANT!" His voice resounded dangerously and many had dropped their weapons, but most of them were still fighting, maybe because they hadn't been able to hear his order among all that noise. Alfred moodily kicked several bodies out of his way. He had to improvise.

A splatter of blood hit his cheek; he glanced to his side and saw another man collapsing into death. He watched everything with a mixture of indifference and annoyance. He wiped his face with his dark gloves, fixed his glasses along the way. He used a puddle of blood as a convenient mirror. He looked at his own reflection with disinterest. A stoic man, the same face and yet so very different than a few days before. The whole dark outfit was his boss' idea, though.

Alfred looked up. He sensed people coming, among them was the royal owner of this castle. And he was also coming. Alfred smiled and licked his lips. "Come to me," he whispered.

In Gilbert's life he had often been told that he could always find trouble, and the griffin had to admit that was often very true. He'd done some heroic things in his time because of it, and he had done some stupid things because of it. He could be downright careless, or knowingly make a bad choice. Many people felt that what he had done for her fell into this category, and that he could not really deny. Gilbert knew what trouble was and he could practically smell it.

So he knew it when he heard it faintly cry out above the white noise of slaughter. It was a man, and he was what Gilbert and Ludwig were looking for. He could not make out what the words were, but he could feel that electric vibe which told him this was what he found his whole life with little problem.

The albino reached out his hand and tugged at his younger brother's shoulder. No longer concerned as much about the new member of their party, Gilbert spoke up quietly. "Found him, Ludwig. Did you hear?"

Sretya stopped short of entering the grand hall, surveying the fray unnoticed. Ivan squeezed beside her and zeroed in on the blond from the tavern. Something was different about him...His whole demeanour had changed, for the worse (if that was possible), he didn't have that annoying cheer from before.

Ivan ducked as a stray spear whizzed past and bounced off Sretya's scales with a metallic clang. The dragon growled and stepped out into the hall, changing rapidly from gold too deep red. Ivan climbed onto her back as she drew herself up to her full height and let out a spectacular roar. The hall was quite silent after that little display of dominance and Ivan moved quickly, slitting his finger and drawing a bloody circle of ruins in the air. With a quick puff of breath the ruins began to spin getting brighter and brighter every second.

Ludwig nodded at his brother. He'd heard it. He glanced in the direction he assumed the king was standing. "I don't know if there is much of a point now, what with a dragon and Ivan, thank the gods, here." Having Ivan and his pet there was definitely a plus on their side in the battle. It would make defeating the enemies that much easier. "Though we can at least see one another, mostly."

He looked around for the source of the voice, but he yelled back to Matthew. "Continue the spell or discontinue it, it doesn't matter to me. I'm going to have to head in." It was his duty. He had to find his uncle's body -- he had little doubt it would be anything but his body -- and hopefully the man who was like an uncle to him very much alive. "Feliciano, you can come with me or you can stay with someone from the party, but I have to go in and fight."

It was amazing how quickly the situation changed. Apparently there was a dragon in the castle to help them also, the one at the inn maybe? It had to be, the owner was a man who complained about his magic, so that must mean they had another ally quickly making his way through the mercenaries, Arthur grimaced at the thought of what the dragon was doing to them. As well as the revelation of a dragon storming the castle at the moment, another voice, one he had not heard so far suddenly spoke. Speaking of finding someone.

Although right now his emotions were split between extreme confusion and extreme relief. Confusion because the strangers comment came after the loud (and recognizable) voice had resounded through the main hall and right to the group and he didn't understand why he had commented about finding who they were looking for when he spoke, and extreme relief because he recognized that voice, it belonged to the person he had been looking for.

It worried him that that voice sounded different.

"A dragon certainly will help our cause. I understand that you must do what you have to, I'll do my best to assist!" I mentioned quietly with assurance as he continued to walk on, but the Prince was already talking to Feliciano. He stopped once more and turned, "You recognized his voice right, Matthew?"

He walked through the door do the main hall, where more stairs led down, this hall should have been in utter chaos but it seemed the fighting had mostly come to a stop, some still fighting and others paying attention to the figure whose energy radiated as dark as the clothes he wore. But there was no doubting him. All Arthur could do was stare down, the magic that was keeping him hidden disappearing.

Gilbert looked down into the main hall from where he stood. Flickering into view beside him, the new companion seemed stunned. He'd said he recognized this man, standing in the middle of the destruction of his family. The white griffin's first instinct was to break Arthur's neck for having any association with this man. He heard the tone of his voice though, and knew that he was just as surprised. And Matthew apparently knew him too.

He saw the figure standing in the main hall, giving out orders to his lackeys. Gilbert felt his temper flare and held back from doing something completely impulsive and stupid. Instead, he slipped into the main hall with his dagger ready. If he could pick most of them off while he was invisible, that would be good. He didn't want to give himself away too soon though...he was sure Ludwig would want their enemy alive for a period to question him.

That's when one of the larger men wiped his blade on his pant leg, then walked casually into a small nook off the main hall. Gilbert grinned. It was like the idiot wanted to have his throat slit. Silently, the albino slipped into the same shadowed nook and stabbed the other man in the lung so that he could not make a sound. He then caught the body and guided it down to the floor.

Who's next? he wondered.

Matthew had heard it, too, but was too stunned at recognizing the voice to give a verbal answer. He had thought that it might have been his mind playing tricks on him, but if it stood out to Arthur, too, that most likely wasn’t the case. He tried to make sense of it all only to come back just as confused as he had started.

Surely it couldn’t be Alfred…or could it?

After all, Arthur had mentioned something about a “bit of a falling out” and now Matthew regretted not asking him then what he had meant. Maybe if he did, this would have come as less of a shock. He turned to Arthur to ask a question only to find that the king was headed down the main hall.

Assuming that Arthur was going where he thought he was, Matthew followed him. Unlike the king, Matthew decided to remain invisible, as being seen wouldn’t really do much to help him. All he really wanted right now was to know exactly what was going on, even though he dreaded the answer.