These past nine months had been the strangest of Edward’s life, and the bar for strangeness was high indeed when you are the Captain of the Guard of the Capital of Amria, and cousin to the Empress herself. It was usually his younger cousin who would be caught up in otherworldly adventures, often to his dismay, given the state of Kire’s body afterwards, Ring or no Ring. Nine months prior, their empire was torn apart by civil war, prompted by the Gemini infiltration of the Capital, betrayed by Kire’s Gemini contact and Serya, their healer. They had to fight on different fronts and, ultimately, for the safety of the family, flee the home Kire had known all her life. 

It had been difficult to remember, the days that led him to this point: the mad pursuit of Gemini forces to buy time for the retreat, cutting off the enemy reinforcements before they could join the fight in the Capital. Earnest had been given his own command so they could try and flank the enemy. What they had run into, however, was something else entirely that they hadn’t prepared for. A bright flash, winds tearing through them as if they were being unmade to their core, and the next thing he knew, he was laying down on his back here, in a place so still and quiet he thought he had woken up in the underworld after dying in battle. Pain, too. He had at some point been thrown from his horse, only barely managing to avoid being crippled, but immediately after that he had been caught in the explosion of light. 

[i]Another world.[/i] It had taken a long time for this to sink into him. And for a time, he seethed in anger, refusing to believe what had happened. He was still, after all, a Wyvern. But when acceptance came, when he knew this wasn’t some strange limbo or nightmare he had yet to wake up from, he did his best to make the most of his time here. He needed to stay alive, to earn their good graces, because at the back of his mind he still had that stubborn Wyvern hope that he would see his family again, that he would see Amria once more. 

“[i]Beleger.[/i]” He heard the Princess Aera’s voice call to him, and he looked over with curiosity at the man by her side before making his way towards them. He had been sparring with the others, something that had also taken time for them to allow him to do. There were several advantages to being underestimated, and in his case, it had allowed him to gradually understand his hosts—his captors—speech, and to show them that his injuries didn’t mean he was no longer capable. Even if they hadn’t taught him anything directly, that wouldn’t have stopped him. 
“Princess.” He swept his hair back, the strands having stuck to his forehead and neck from sweat. He looked at the man called Zekiel, the first ever human Zekiel had seen since his arrival. [i]A relative?[/i]
“Kay…”Edward breathed; he almost looked around then, to see if she was nearby. “Narda.” 
That hope he had kept alive threatened to burst in his chest, but even then, not until he could see it with his own eyes, would he believe it to be true. He cleared his throat, fighting back the emotion that welled up there. “I may know them. But I can’t be sure until I’ve spoken with them.” He turned to Aera. “Will I be allowed to see them?” He was aware that he had clenched his hands tight into fists, and so relaxed his fingers, controlled his breathing. [i]Not until they are right in front of me will it be real.[/i]

--
“Hmm. Just weighing our options,” Narda said. “Heard that, Kire?”
“Mm. Yeah.” Kire’s brows were furrowed as she thought something through. “If I leave the Ring here with Narda to go see him, will they be amenable to that?” 
Narda raised a brow. “Are you willing to be parted with the Ring for that long?”
Kire frowned. “If it gets me to him.”