[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/240213/6a1af8e5082bd8470db334cb0cc5c1d1.png[/img][/center][hr]Prophecies. Renault was glad he’d had a light breakfast, otherwise he might have been ill. 

Surely Incepta hadn’t freed him from his imprisonment for the sole purpose of protecting a child. A royal child at that, who had at her disposal every ounce of strength Estora could muster, and then some. His eyes wandered to the girl, preoccupied with Lucas’ phone while the lot of them discussed the future of, he supposed, the world at large. The edge of his smile curled slightly, and briefly. It wasn’t like he could be disappointed with [i]her[/i]; she would probably find the burden of heroism as unappealing as the rest of them. That didn’t make her any less hopeless. 

Well, it was this or the cell, wasn’t it? 

He took a quick stock of the rest of the room. Princess aside, the assembled royalty left much to be desired. Lucas was an outcast, and a loser by every metric his surname didn’t pass for him. Princess Isabella had, to his knowledge, been a vapid if harmless figurehead, until the attack at Giles’ manor had evidently turned her into a vapid, [i]bloodthirsty[/i] figurehead. The warhawk lived up to every Rodion stereotype Renault had ever heard in any bar, which, while he respected the predictability, surely hindered them here and now. The Scions of Gravity and Wind, if the reported drastic reduction in their public appearances was anything to go by, had been reduced to cowardice; the latter at least had the good sense not to demand war as retribution for the attack. The Scion of Earth was an impetuous idiot, and the Scion of Metal wilted like a wallflower, but at least their interests aligned. Honestly, there’d been more reason shown by the church’s armored dogs than the Mother’s favorites, pained as he was to admit it. 

Where [i]did[/i] that leave them?

“[color=9e005d]A united front is most wise, my prince,[/color]” he said, obsequious. “[color=9e005d]But much easier said than done. I’m sure you of all people are aware of how fickle the court of public opinion can be. It will take quite some work to convince even our supporters—to say nothing of our detractors and even less our enemies—that the Scions of Incepta stand resolute against the coming storm.[/color]

“[color=9e005d]To hear it said, following the attack, everyone fled to weather all matter of PR disasters. Though, the less generous were more biting with their criticism. Some, through misunderstanding surely, might have mistaken these actions for [i]fear[/i]. All of this hearsay, of course, but all the same, sometimes hearsay is all it takes.[/color]”

He rounded up by the head of the table, glancing between Lucas and the rest of the Scions. “[color=9e005d]In my humble opinion, scattering again so soon would only set the rumor mill churning. And besides, with some manner of threat still present [i]within[/i] Estora, it seems like a quick way to put targets on our backs.[/color]”