Tobi stood in front of King and explained that he wanted to break from his affiliation with Sindaria and travel the world in an attempt to broaden his horizon. At least that's the excuse he went with. As for his report he told them that when he arrived he noticed that something was off and soon it was though the world itself were ending. He said that he had managed to steal what was in her room before escaping and handed the king the fake book Illya had given him. He wanted to sound inconspicuous enough so that he knew Tobi meant no harm and was totally not about to hightail it over to his sworn enemy. In all honesty, Sana probably already knew. Or at least suspected what was going on.
He wasn't a stupid man. If he was he would not have been able to amass such a prosperous Empire. The King remained silent through Tobi's explanation, maintaining his dignified smile. Behind it however, was an incredibly calculating and ambitious man. Some may say a little too ambitious. While people like Illya saw through his sweet words and gentle gestures, many revered him as a great king. His intelligence and hunger for victory rivaled that of Illya's. So much so, that he believed he had a right to her hand in marriage. Of course that just piled onto the reasons why she couldn't stand him.
He wasn't always that arrogant though. Like most great heroes of the world he began as the son of a rather poor family, but also like most great heroes of the world, he was loved by the shi, the very fabric of the world itself adored him, granting him magical abilities that were nearly on par with Illya. If he closed his eyes and thought for a moment, he could almost feel the warmth of the sun and hear the song of the birds the day he first realized his power in one of Sheila's shrines. Yet the look in his eyes as he sat listening to the young man in front of him held a darkness that was just as easily hidden behind a tender smile.
The King agreed that Tobi should go and learn about the world just as he had done in his youth. "You're young. You have much to learn about life. Go and embrace the world. There will always be a place for you here should you chose to return."
Sana was incredibly calculating. If one of his people saw fit to leave and side with his enemies, it did not bother him one bit. After all, he was so very confident in his ability to triumph over them regardless. He also believed that if nothing else, a person was free to grasp their destiny and mould it with their own hands, with only themselves to blame for whatever consequences should come of it. So he let Tobi go. Tobi thanked him for his hospitality during the time he spent in their kingdom and left.
Tobi could tell that Sana already guessed where he was going, but there wasn't much he could do about it. Illya had already planted the seeds in his head, trying to make him see what his future would hold if he remained at Sana's side and as he looked up at the great King and felt himself drown in his imperious gaze, he felt a very vague sense of understanding. It was no secret to Sana's aids that his calculating nature was matched with a controlling, manipulative one and the last thing he wanted was to end up as a mere lap dog for a cold and manipulative King. While it was true Sana cared deeply for his people, even a blind man could see that his greed for more would lead him down a path of destruction, a path Illya was far too familiar with to be bothered paying heed to and so Tobi made his choice.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
{Present day}
Tekina and Kaito walked with Illya and Sora back to the palace.
"I was surprised when you said you wanted to award Nikiro status here." said Kaito
Sora chuckled. "It's only natural to be rewarded for such deeds."
Illya nodded in agreement. "You've raised him well. He's got a good head on his shoulders."
Tekina and Kaito laughed proudly at the praise their son received. Their idle stroll was cut short by Seibel, who rounded the corner in a hurry. "Majesty! You have a guest."
Illya quirked an eyebrow. "A guest?"
"What do you mean? I thought we weren't receiving guests this week."
Seibel brushed away the dark strands of hair that fell into his face. "Well you see—"
Before he could get the words out, a blinding flash if lighting pierced the sky and crashed just above the throne room. The loud roar of thunder that followed shook the very ground beneath their feet. The vibrations that resounded in the aftermath tremoured through their bodies. Immediately both Illya and Sora perked up, realizing who their "guest" was. Illya broke into a dead sprint towards the throne room, leaving the others behind in her wake. Within minutes, she was bursting through the doors of the throne room, coming to a swift stop in front of her throne. On it was a man with skin as pale as his hair and eyes as blue as the sky before a storm.
"Illya Omarosa. How long has it been since your name last left my lips? A year? Maybe two?" His smooth voice echoed off the walls of the room.
Illya's lips curled into a wide grin. "...Raehar...it's good to see you old friend."
He stood and braced for impact as she barreled into his arms.
"Ray Ray! How have you been!" She sang.
He laughed. "I've been good! It's good to see you again Lya."
The others arrived to the throne room out of breath and exhausted.
"I...don't know why we tried to catch up...to her," said kaito, struggling to catch his breath. He looked up towards Illya, just barely managing a breathy "who?"
Illya turned to face them. "Hmm? Oh!" Illya let go of him, clearing her throat and gesturing towards him as she spoke. "This is Raehar Anastasius. He's been my best friend since childhood! We met back when I had been picked up by Poseidon. Some people heard that he brought a little war goddess to the pantheon and everyone got curious. Ray actually ended up coming to save me when I was kidnapped. I think we were ten at the time, we..."
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
{30 years ago}
The group arrived at the outskirts of Tartarus, unsure of what they would see. It didn't take them long to find the girl as huge tremors ran through the ground beneath their feet and in the distance was the unmistakable sounds of a battle. They weaved their way through the forest of thorns and fire. The closer they got, the louder the sound of pained wails became. Broken and scorched branches littered their path. They followed the cries to a clearing where they spotted the titan clutching his legs as horrendous wails of anguish ripped from his throat. Apollo walked over to him to examine the titan.
"So what's the verdict?" Asked Dionysus.
The titan looked as though a wild animal had ravaged him and left him to bleed out. Bite marks, missing flesh, blood, all to mark the the wake of a wild beasts. "Well, his knee caps have been bashed in...aaaand his eyes have been gouged out...there are also strange...chunks of his hands missing."
Artemis looked over the titan's body in awe. "Huh...okay...where is the girl?"
Raehar glanced between the titan and the trees of thorns. Amid the darkness, he spotted movement.
"Over there!" He pointed in the distance, drawing everyone's attention to the figure that flinched away from their gaze.
Dionysus summoned a maenad who slowly approached the figure.
"Don't be afraid. We're just here to take you back to Olympus. My name is Dionysus, these are my friends and this is one of my maenads. She's just going to make sure you're okay alright?"
The maenad extended her hand for the figure to take and it did. It cautiously emerged from behind a thorn tree. The maenad knelt down reaching out to examine the young girl's face. This was the first time that Raehar had laid eyes on the girl himself. She was a stunning beauty, even at such a young age. Short violet hair swayed in the wind, obscuring her blood red eyes of wildfire. Her mouth was covered in blood that was gingerly wiped away by the maenad. Upon seeing the blood, they looked back at the titan's hands, realizing that she had bitten into him and ripped pieces off, presumably to get him to let go of her. When the maenad was finished, she brought the girl to Dionysus, who took her hands.
"What's your name?"
The girl's eyes held no remorse for the damage she caused, nor shame for what she was.
"Illya."