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[h1][color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b][u]The Struggle[/u][/b][/color][/h1]
[url=https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=eiWUqFLVFc0&feature=share](Mood Music)[/url]
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Auriel hurried toward the palace in an attempt to reach the celebrations and the heroes. But nearly everything that could stop her did. When she reached the palace gate, Auriel was stopped by the two gate guards. One was young and appeared happy and almost in awe of being in the presence of a figure of such renown. The other guard was old, grizzled, and all too serious. He held his halberd out across the gate, [color=white][i]"Halt. State your intention, Lady Auriel."[/i][/color]

Auriel blinked. This was the first time she was ever stopped from entering the palace. Auriel raised a brow. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"I am rejoining my party in the throne room. The heroes of legend, the sword and the shield."[/b][/color] she said, suddenly feeling self conscious that such an answer wasn't good enough.

The guard gave her a look of appraisal, his eyes wandering her figure which made her uncomfortable. Finally the guard spoke, [color=white][i]"Dressed like that?"[/i][/color]

Auriel looked down at herself. She wasn't wearing anything special. A cloth shirt and slightly frayed pants from an afternoon of training with her mother at the monastery. She looked tattered, because she was. Auriel was about to speak when the guard spoke again, [color=white][i]"Need I remind you that you'll be in the company of the king, and that it would be offensive to show up looking the part of the common rabble."[/i][/color]

Auriel tried speaking again, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"But I-"[/b][/color]

[color=white][b]"Present yourself in a manner appropriate to standing before the throne, Lady Auriel, and then I will let you pass."[/b][/color] he said plainly, a hint of boredom in his tone.

Auriel looked incredulously at the guard for a moment before turning her gaze on the younger guard. He stared in disbelief at the veteran as he had just stood his ground and told off one of the most venerated people in the kingdom. He glanced at Auriel and mouthed 'Sorry!' at Auriel, which she sighed and shrugged back in response before turning and heading back to the monastery.

Auriel had lost a little over an hour of time by the time she had returned in an slender white dress, her back exposed to allow her wings freedom of movement. The dress' material was thin and lightweight, and there was white-gold filigree embroidered into the trim of the cloth. She maintained her warrior stature by wearing small shining pauldrons, armor made purely for ceremony with no protective value in a fight. Her arms were guarded by similar ceremonial vambraces. Glimmering chains of gold and silver kept the ceremonial armor plates fastened to the dress. She also wore a circlet of white gold, inlaid with a vibrant yellow topaz on the forehead. Her hair was braided back. In one hand, Auriel held her signature weapon, the golden spear of Archiel. She wasn't about to leave that sitting around for some silly gala.

Auriel returned, her back straight and patience thin with the guards. The younger guard fawned at the warrior-angel and gasped. Auriel kept a stone face and didn't regard the younger warrior. She stared at the veteran who had denied her access. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"I have met your condition. Will you allow me to rejoin my party now?"[/b][/color]

The veteran cleared his throat and stammered for a moment before nodding and making for the gate latch, [color=white][b]"Ahem! O- of course, Lady Auriel! Apologies for the inconveniences, my lady. We have orders!"[/b][/color]

Auriel sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked past him, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"You were just doing your job... Goodbye, captain."[/b][/color]

Auriel stepped into the palace and out of the guard's area of responsibility. Auriel began making her way up the large rounded staircase that led to the second floor of the palace. Once she got to the top of the steps, Auriel heard a man call her name. [color=firebrick][b]"Lady Auriel."[/b][/color]

Auriel stopped, sighed, and looked over to the voice. It was Bander, a member of the king's guard. He stepped towards her, his gleaming armor shining and reflecting in the light, cape brushing the immaculate marble floor. Bander removed his feathered helmet and tucked it under his arms. Auriel and Bander were the same age, but they never got along. Bander had grown up in the monastery as an orphan. He was a man of exceptional combat talent, and they would often quarrel throughout their childhood. As children and teenagers, Bander had always coveted Auriel's destiny to become the Holy Warrior. He had asserted that he was more than capable of inheriting the role, but the priests would never even give him the time of day. It always satisfied Auriel's juvenile competitiveness whenever Bander was brushed aside. But it seemed that Bander had found his own place among the king's guard, a feat that at their current age, spoke volumes of his skill. The young man could very well be one of the nation's best warriors. But where Auriel received all the praise and fanfare, Bander existed in solitude and null reputation. It would work in his favor. People would underestimate him.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Bander."[/b][/color] Auriel acknowledged him, but her tone was sweet at least.

[color=firebrick][b]"You're awfully late to the event, aren't you?"[/b][/color] he said flatly.

Auriel glanced at the door leading into the throne room. She nodded, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"I am, hence why I am in such a hurry to rejoin the heroes in the ballroom."[/b][/color]

Bander, [color=firebrick][b]"Yes well, perhaps you should have dressed more appropriately for the event off the get-go. Hm?"[/b][/color]

Auriel raised a brow at that and remained silent for a moment. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"You knew I was coming. You ordered that captain to delay me."[/b][/color]

Bander's lip twitched, but he contained the smirk that was trying to form. He shook his head, [color=firebrick][b]"Now why would I do such a childish thing?"[/b][/color]

Auriel pinched the bridge of her nose, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"You're a terrible liar, Bander... Aren't we a little too old to be playing pranks?"[/b][/color]

Bander shrugged, [color=firebrick][b]"Well with the world about to end I figured I'd have a bit of fun and relive the younger years, a bit."[/b][/color]

Auriel straightened up a bit and bristled her wings at that statement, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"The world is not ending! That's exactly why the heroes are here! Why I am travelling with them!"[/b][/color]

He was still obsessed over holding the title of Holy Warrior it seemed... What a shame... If only he knew about the sheer amount of stress and uncertainty that came with the title. Not to mention the amount of eyes that were constantly watching her every move. Bander shook his head, [color=firebrick][b]"You know, Auriel..."[/b][/color] Bander started, his voice almost serpentine, [color=firebrick][b]"I would have never fallen on that battlefield."[/b][/color]

Memories of that awful moment flashed in her eyes. The rain... The chains... The blood... Auriel's breath hitched her throat, her body seemed to have froze. Her wings twitched, and inadvertantly sent jolts of fresh pain through the injured joints. Bander continued, [color=firebrick][b]"You thought you were so great because you could fly. It only made you a singular target to focus on."[/b][/color] Bander said, walking a circle around her and tracing a hand along her bare shoulderblade, right to where one of her wings started.

Auriel clenched her jaw, reliving the moment when her wings were twisted in chains and broken under the weight... The pain when she crashed into the ground and was beaten in the mud... The fear gripped her heart when she could practically feel the heat of the branding iron bearing the mark of slavery mere inches from her chest. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Stop..."[/b][/color] Auriel said, her voice wavering a bit.

Bander didn't, [color=firebrick][b]"You've lost your greatest strength. You can't fly anymore. Have you told your heroes that yet? Or have you simply danced around the subject? You know... I speak to the troops every day, and I lost count how many times I've heard how the soldiers have lost faith in you. How you're just a shadow of your former self, hiding behind the your glorious title."[/b][/color] He gripped at the base of her wing hard, causing a fresh lance of pain to shoot through her.

Auriel said louder this time, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Stop, Bander!"[/b][/color] Just before turning on her heel and slamming a fist right into his face.

Bander recoiled with a grunt, blood jutting from his nose. He held his hand over her face. The commotion causing a few others partygoers on the mezzanine to stop what they were doing. Eyes were on them know, and whispered began to echo through the high ceiling's chamber. [color=white][i]"Is that Lady Auriel and that new king's guard?"[/i][/color]

[color=white][i]"Are they fighting?"[/i][/color]

[color=white][i]"She looked so pale. I wonder what happened."[/i][/color]

Auriel breathed deep and pointed the Spear of Archiel at Bander as he clutched his clearly broken and bleeding nose. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"I am the Holy Warrior, not because I was ever better than you. I am the Holy Warrior because, unlike you, I moved beyond my childish grudges and rivalries. Because I grew up where you clearly did not. I am still the Holy Warrior, because even when I fall in battle and fail the people, I get back on my feet and keep going rather than wallow in self pity like you do, Bander Van Kronen. It is amazing that you've gotten this far in your career. The King's Guard."[/b][/color] she scoffed, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"What did you have to do to slither your way into that position? You are despicable, Bander."[/b][/color]

Bander snarled and stepped closer to Auriel, [color=firebrick][b]"You bitch! The king will hear about this-"[/b][/color]

Auriel pressed the spear closer, the tip just barely prodding at his chest now. Auriel's wings splayed wider now, an aura of light seemingly emanating from her and making the shadowed corners of the palace hall retreat. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Aye the king will hear about this. He will hear that one of his own personal bodyguards is quarreling with his childhood. That he assaulted one of the king's guests. He will hear it, and he will cast shame upon you."[/b][/color]

Bander stared daggers at her, which she returned in kind. He said nothing. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Touch me again, Bander, and I will not hesitate to end you."[/b][/color]

Auriel lowered her spear and made for the throneroom door. She reached for the handle to open it, then she hesitated. Her hand was shaking and goosebumps and formed. Not to mention her eyes were watering. She couldn't go in there like this... She couldn't stand before the heroes and the king in such a discheveled state. Auriel took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before turning to head further down the hallway instead of entering the throne room.

Auriel stepped out onto a balcony, the same one she had stood on the day the heroes were originally summoned. She set her spear against a wall, using a torch sconce to hold it in place laterally so it wouldn't fall and clatter on the marble floor. Auriel leaned over the rail of the balcony with her elbows and stared off to the city below, then up the opposite hill to the monastery. She frowned as the fresh thoughts of her darkest hour swirled around in her head.

Auriel heard a flock of birds chirping and squawing above. She looked up at the birds in flight as they swooped down and caught a current of air. 'You can't fly...' Bander's words sat at the front of her mind. 'Do they know?'

Auriel opened his wings a bit, feeling the wind catch in the feathers. She could feel the pressure of sting of ruined joints and damaged tendons. She tried to flap them, but a crack of bones and flash of pain halted her from completing even one full push. She hesitated and drew her wings back in. Auriel closed her eyes, a tear escaping finally and slipping down her face. She brushed it away and took a deep breath. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Master yourself, Auriel... What's done is done..."[/b][/color]

Another tear fell, and once again she brushed it away. After a few deep breaths, Auriel managed to compose herself. She took her hands off of the rail and straightened out her dress. A bit of Bander's blood had spattered on the skirt of the dress. It wasn't much, but the crimson definitely stood out on the white. She let out a long, frustrated sigh. That was stain she would have to deal with before going into the throneroom... [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Haaah... I'll get there eventually..."[/b][/color] she said to herself as she turned and made for the powder room.
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