The flickering candle that Ophelia was danced in the distance, and with a relieved breath Archibald moved forward with her to close the distance between them. He felt comfortable in her presence despite the looming sentinels. Archibald paid them no more mind--any beast who could not obey their master was not to be trusted, and Archibald knew Ophelia well enough that he was confident she would be a master over them. Sticking out his pale nose, he touched her shoulder and breathed warmly into her alabaster coat. ”Ophelia, thank you for coming.” Her string of questions was quick, and Archibald looked on her with hard, golden eyes. He nodded when she dismissed her own questions, and moved his massive body to follow after her comparatively dainty frame. The tent surprised him. This was a glorious contraption, he concluded, as Ophelia led him inside. This tent--quite similar to the herd tents on the Caela Insula--would seclude them from the rest and hush their words to any enemy present. Once comfortably inside--if one could even say that, given Archibald’s mass taking up a vast majority of the room--Archibald nodded again.

The King looked the Lady in her eyes, his stare confident but seeking, and honest. He had nothing to hide from Ophelia. He had pledged himself to her once as a brother of arms--he had protected her, walked with her (though distantly) while she was missing her memories, and had fought alongside her to reclaim the home they deserved. She had free range of his thoughts and his heart. Their friendship and bond was strong--stronger than anything Archibald could have imagined in his life, being born to the mother he was born to. But, in the wake of her death and the absence of his brothers, Ophelia was his sister and she would forever remain as such. There was nothing the white queen could do to breach his trust--save for things Archibald knew she would rather die than perform (such as harming his children). ”With the Moon Goddess walking freely in the World’s Edge I have not been able to sleep. Constantly I move throughout the herd lands, watching for her, protecting my kingdom from her tyranny. Above all things, my herd deserved to feel safe in their own home. They do not.” Archibald lowered his voice some, his tone hardening with the anger that boiled inside of his chest. The Moon Goddess had taken too much from him, from those he loved, and if she could not be eradicated, she needed to be abandoned. ”The recent tension between the Hidden Falls and our herds--personally and politically--has given me the thought of invasion. I am not confident that my herd, my children, or myself can have total faith in any god of Helovia once more, but the safety the Earth God would provide against the Moon Goddess is something I cannot deny. My children reside in the Dragon’s Throat for that very reason--the Moon does not hold weight where the Sun reigns. Ophelia, help me.”