A New Kingdom to Rule

A Small Council

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Shaken and taken back Shoto wasn't sure on how to react. With the riddle now complete he no longer had to fret about the hidden meaning, however new worries now filled the spot of the old and although he was their friend he feared that showing his emotions to them could deplete any last flickers of hope that they were trying to convey with their hot tea drinks and comforting smiles the way any group of friends would.

"Are we certain this is it complete, no other possibilities?"

He asked the question sounding uncertain himself. Knowing that it was complete and yet a slither of hope tried to cling to his tongue as he spoke.
Taking a sip of her peppermint tea Momo looked at Iida uneasy, neither of them wanted it to be true in any means.

"I see... so then who can it refer to. Let's break it down."

Iida pulled a pen out from his suits pocket and clicked the top to get started. He nodded sternly towards Shoto and started to circle certain words.

"The first lines we've worked out, we've established they could mean within the near future as in within a couple of weeks right? So then, army of blue will be ready to strike. The only thing I can think of that's blue was flames... To..."

"Don't. I know. But it's not that."

"Sir, with all do respect. I didn't mean to imply your brothers involvement but he hasn't been sighted in a while it's important to have the possibility in our minds at least."

Shoto rested his face in his palms. He crumbled, he'd cracked under the pressure. Since Toya had left the crown he hadn't even made an attempt to speak or see Shoto. Their families had tried to keep them isolated from Toya, describing him as a bad influence and even saying that he wasn't their son at occasions. Nonetheless Shoto had really missed his brother; be him a bad influence or not he had always looked up to him regardless. Now knowing that he could be behind all of this, his own brother, possibly plotting to kill Shoto, it was no surprise that he felt defeated.
Using his hands to hide his face, he kept hidden from his friends. Too ashamed to face them, he was supposed to have been a King and yet here he was letting feeble family drama get to him. How pathetic.
It was Momo who startled Shoto next. She had shuffled her chair a little closer to her Kings and wrapped both her arms around him. Keeping him close but not moving his arms from his face. She understood that he must have felt embarrassed but there was a part of her that was simply proud that he had let his guard down for once. Keeping him close she signalled to Iida with shifting eyes to move on or suggest a new idea.

"Right. If we move on then. Flying north and east shall start the hike. I can only assume that's to be the dragons. I hear it's their annual ceremonial time soon."

"Annual cere ... what?"

Shoto's voice came out as a muffle between his fingertips. His head hadn't risen but he spoke with a softness that threatened to break Momo's heart. She held tighter.

"Annual ceremony. It's their uh... ritual... that's essential for their ... uh... survival. You see Shoto it's uh... where they uh..."

Watching Iida push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and shift uncomfortably in his seat had caused Momo to blush and hide her girlish giggle. The awkwardness was not a usual sight on Iida and it made her loosen her grip on her King to use her own palm to hide her giggles.

"Sire it's their mating ritual. They are to pick a mate and court them for the next two weeks. It happens around this time every year, in my experience it's quite a lovely ceremony. They hold a festival to celebrate it on the first night that lasts the entire week!"

Gazing off towards the window Momo's eyes glazed over as she daydreamed. By now Shoto had picked his head up and had regained his composure. His cheeks had a gentle blush threatening to show as he listened and realised what the ceremony had meant.
It was a time where the dragons had to pick a lifetime mate, it was no surprise that both Bakugou and Kirishima were on edge more than usual. They were both finally of age and would be expected to gain a mate by the time the two weeks were up. It was seen as a huge dishonour if they failed.
Shoto felt his body start to heat a little at the thought and not from his power.

"But to start the hike?"

"Well if we look at this logically, it could also mean to start a change or adventure, or maybe a new path. At least that's what the librarian helped us with."

Iida pitched his sentence again, scribbling a circle around the word 'hike' and writing other word ideas around it.

"So it's the dragons then? Let's assume it is. So the dragons will fly north and east to start the new adventure? Do they go somewhere North to mate or hatch their eggs maybe? Do dragons even have eggs?"

Shoto quizzed, the other two shrugged and shook their heads unsure.

"Boiling mountains now overflown...Volcanos. The Crimson lands are mostly volcanoes right? Okay so then.."

They circled the words again, heads down refocusing working quickly through the passage. The rich aroma of the tea's had filled the room and their nostrils relaxing their stiff postures. To any stranger they could have even looked like students studying together in a cosy room. Not a royal court in session.

Shouting, and with it came doors that banged. Hard.
A slam on the rooms door stated the arrival of the shouting culprit. There was a pain behind the shouting, a strain behind the voice.

"Sho!"

Shock didn't have enough time to register on the three faces. A battered frail figure stood clutching the door frame almost for life. A caramel coloured satchel bag hanging by threads swinging, threatened to break from the intruder, their once white shirt now covered in muck and blood. What little skin could be seen was almost completely covered in yellow and purple blotched bruises. Blood dribbled from the intruders lips as he spoke, crashing to the ground. His head barely being held up.

"Deku!"