Promotion (Finished)

[Augustus]

On the back of Adrian, Augustus was carried all the way to the Queens castle, too tired and sore to do move on his own. From the desert, he suffered from sunburn so severe that his skin on his back and arms were a bright red. From the highest mountain, the cold caused his nose to turn black from frost bite. He was sure that his mom would be concerned for him, terrified even that he suffered through his adventure from Mortal Realm.

Adrian approached the Queens throne, setting down his master. He made a slight bow to the Queen showing her respect as a ruling elemental spirit but said nothing and his face was emotionless as he stared back at her.

[Na'ame]

Na'ame watched as the two enter her throne room with a face depicting sorrow. The mood in the room had turned somber as well as the colors that faded in and out. She stood up when Adrian set Augustus down on the cool floor that appeared to look as if it was moving from the way it changed in color. Floating towards them, with her garments flowing like rolling hills behind her, she asked, "What happen to him? What happen to my poor child?"

She knelt down onto the ground and gently picked his head up to place in her lap to stoke his hair. She could see that his nose was a nasty black color from the tissue that died in the cold and softly touched his nose to heal it with her magic. She hugged his head after his nose regained its normal color, wondering what could have happened to him and why he left home in the first place. She had spent her days worrying about her nephew with her sister and his mother, Clio.

[Augustus]

He had his eyes closed but Augustus could feel how nice the floor felt and wanted to just sleep there, not caring if it was in the middle of the throne room or not. It made him think about the times when he was a kid, laying in on the floor doodling on parchment, his marks going all over the place including the floor. His mother would chastise him for, although Na'ame would smile and simply tell him that he should be more careful when drawing. She seemed to not mind a lot of things he did except for when he would go so far as hitting his cousins, that was when her face frowned up and her voice sounded more stern than usual.

He could hear her soft voice full of sadness and concern, then her touch was felt not too long after that. He briefly opened his eyes but immediately closed them when she started to brush his hair with her fingers. She would do that all the time when he was a kid and he missed it when she had stopped after he got to a certain age. If there was any other woman out there in the universe that could softly stroke his hair like she did, he would be with her forever.

She stopped when she saw his nose and healed it using her magic. The feeling he got from the magic coursed through his body from his nose and it felt like she was going through him. She hugged him and that was when he finally started to speak, "I'm ok, really I am. I'm just a little exhausted from the trip thats all. You didn't have to do anything with my nose, I would have been fine."

He moved her arms so he could sit up, touching his nose to feel that it felt normal now and that feeling returned to it. He looked at her and even though she had a sad look on her face, she was still the most beautiful thing he ever did see. He often wondered if he was indeed related to her, he couldn't believe that she was his aunt even when he was just a small boy. He touched her face, "My Queen, there is no need to have that look on your face, I told you I was alright."

[Na'ame]

"There would be no need for me to worry if you had not left without saying anything. You did not even leave a message saying that you had left or where you went to. Then you come back looking like you do know, as if you were beaten by someone or something. You know your mother was worried too as well as everyone else here. Though your mother was a peeved that you had disappeared at first but she had started crying and telling herself all kinds of bad things that could have happen to you."

She pulled him close to her to embrace him, finally glad to see that he was ok, though it seemed that he looked a bit worn out.

[Augustus]

Augustus wanted so badly to feel her warm embrace, however the pain from his sunburn prevented him even enjoying it and he yelled out it pain. "My back, my arms!" He gently pushed her away and held his face to compose himself.

"Sorry for worrying you guys, I wanted to push myself even further by training out in severe elements of the desert and winter climates of the Mortal Realm. Besides I couldn't concentrate on my training here, especially since my mother seems to bug me constantly about some arrange marriage that I don't really care for. I don't have time to be worrying about getting married, war approaches." He had a determined look on his face despite the pain he still felt from his sunburns.

[Na'ame]

The entire castle for a moment, had shocking colors all bright going through it like a bolt of lightning, which reflected Na'ame's feeling of surprise. She thought that maybe she hit something or touch a spot that needed healing that she was not aware of. She reached out for him but she pushed away by him.

As she listened to him, she figured that he got burnt by the sun and wanted to help him. "Your mother might seem bothersome to you, but she only does it because she cares. Now let me care for your wounds. Come closer." She reached out to lightly grab his arm.

[Augustus]

He pushed her arm away, "I'm fine. I rather let it heal on its own. Its sort of a badge showing what I went through. After the skin peels away, it'll be fine. The scratches from that fight with a fox will go away too."

He slowly picked himself off the ground with Adrian helping him up. His body was starting to feel sore and he knew a good rest would help a little. "I'm going to lay down and rest a bit. I'll be fine when I wake up. I promise." He smile at her, trying his best to get her to stop worrying about him. He turned to leave to go to his room, hoping that he didn't run into his mother. He really didn't need to hear her talk about getting married.

[Na'ame]

"So you went through all this trouble just to get away and focus on your training." She said mostly to herself. She floated off the ground and started thinking that maybe he was ready to be promoted. But she felt that promoting him to a Captain would not be enough after what he went through. A Major, yes, but it appears that he had potential to become a Colonel.

He started to leave and she held out her hand, "Wait. I think perhaps you have proved yourself. When you are well enough, you should take the test. But I think after you past the test, you would be promoted to a Colonel"

She started to sway a little in the air while she waited for his response.

[Augustus]

Augustus couldn't believe what she just said and stood frozen in his tracks. A Colonel? Already? He swiftly turned around, he could see that by the look on her face confirmed it was true. "But...how? I don't think I'm ready for that, for a Colonel. I still don't think I proved myself to be of that rank just yet. It feels like I haven't done anything. I don't want special treatment just because I'm your nephew."

He stopped and thought for a moment about becoming a Major. He didn't think he was ready for that too but he figured that he was a Major, he could be stationed at the check point outside of Exile. "Let me take the test now, I'll become a Major but not a Colonel. I'll work towards that rank later."

Adrian grabbed his arm. "Master, I don't think that you should be taking any kind of test in your condition. You need to rest."

"No, I'm fine, I want to take the test now." Augustus said as he shrugged off his sprite.

[Na'ame]

A smile settled on her face when she heard his disbelief and not wanting special treatment. There was some that would have jumped at the opportunity without much thought. But not Augustus, he wanted to earn his ranks, even though she thought that he had indeed earned this promotion for him. She wasn't going to force it on him though, she felt that if he was ready for it, he would accept it.

However it seems that he wanted to take the test now to become a Major, something that she thought could wait until he felt better. "Perhaps you should go lie down until you have your strength back. This test requires full concentration and it would not help if you're concentrating getting past any pain you are experiencing."

She floated closer to him, her hair and clothes defying gravity as if she was underwater. Her body seemed to fade in and out with the fabric that casually draped on her, making it hard to distinguish what was skin and what was fabric. Her hand seemed to have come out of her clothes as if it was detached from her body and became part of the cloth that danced around her arm. She placed her hand on his head, "Go get some rest or you'll regret it."

[Augustus]

Now the Queen was saying that he should get some rest, but he didn't want to. She even went so far to tell him that he would regret the decision. He didn't know if it was a threat or some sort of forsight, it was unlike her to make threats so the latter had to been it. Still he pressed on with his decision.

"No, want to take this test. If I take this test now and pass it, I can wake up and just go into my duties as a Major." He grabbed her hand from his head and held her delicate hands with both of his. Her hand soft and seemed fragile in his hands, as if a loose handshake could crush them, so he made sure he was gentle. "Please, I'll be fine. I just really want to get out there and do the best I can for you. Please mother."

[Na'ame]

He was persistent, he was willing to against her advice even though he was clearly tired. But she could see in his eyes that he would do anything just to take this test. She slightly smiled at him, "You will need a lot of concentration and you might get mentally exhausted before the test ends. However, you seem pretty determined so lets go into the private quarters." She floated away and out of the throne room. The room now had a cold and empty feeling without her presence there even though it still seemed to be illuminated by some unnatural source of warm light that hardly allow anything to cast a shadow.

[Augustus]

Augustus was grateful to finally to get her to understand and he made it known to her. "Thank you my Queen. I'll do my best." He followed her out of the room with Adrian behind him. He started to think that if everything went well, then he could just leave before his mother gets a chance to see him and bug him about prospective wife he should marry.