The Guardians of the Crystals- Officially Over

(gotta go eat)

(Okay, See ya!)

(okie talk to you soon.)

Arthur followed Celeste around everywhere she went, starting from when she shifted earlier that day and was clearly exhausted from her shifting and the energy she was spending searching in general.

He was right by her side when they met the new Guardian, right by her side when she found the darkly glowing ring, and right by her side... well, as of this moment.

He stood tall and was easily able to see over most of the people's heads, but he was more focused on staying right beside the Queen. Sometimes he would brush his arm against her shoulder just to assure her that he was there, and to assure himself that she was there.

He especially kept shooting dagger-like glares at the man that had the dark ring, and to anyone in general other than the Queen. Around others, he was the General of the Guard, usually cold and crisp in composure and personality. He would not let his guard down until he was alone or with Celeste only, since she was the only person he truly trusted.

Brushing some strands of red hair out of his face, he looked down at the Queen. "How are you feeling?" He asked quietly.

Celeste turned, using magic to hide her dark circles. "I'm great!" She said overly enthusiastically. "Just...trying to get rid of the fakers, you know..." She looked around, searching for Cora, or Moonlight, or Luna. She could see none of them. She frowned. "Where are they...?"

Cora closed her eyes and shifted into a small Arctic Fox. She crept into the shadows, stalking the woman. The woman was dangling a black pulsing necklace from her finger. Cora leapt, snatching the necklace out of her hand. The woman gasped, and sent a dark wisp of smoke after her. Cora morphed into a human and smashed the necklace before it reached her. The woman, now furious, pulled a dagger from the folds of her dress and sliced at Cora. She dodged easily and kicked the woman to the ground, knocking the knife away.

Arthur squinted at her face, feeling like something was missing there from the last time he looked at her. It's whatever. She said she was great, right? The plan is working so far, so she has a right to be great, and proud. He took a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh.

Hearing her question, he stood up a little straighter and looked for the people he knew she was searching for. A few moments later, he shook his head. "I don't see them. They must be doing their job a little too well." He chuckled dryly, clenching his jaw.

Celeste's brow creased with worry. "I hope they're safe." She looped her arm through his and led him through the crowd. She pointed at a tall woman, who had a dark bracelet on her arm. She waved her hand in front of Arthur's face, granting him aura-vision. "Go take care of her. I'm going to go search for Luna and Cora. Moonlight's probably hiding somewhere." She slipped away from him, wandering the ballroom.

Arthur smiled lightly when she wrapped her arm around his, and it faltered only slightly when she took it away to venture off and away from him.

"Does this have a time limit, or can you take it away manually?" He asked her out of curiosity before she got lost in the crowd.

After hearing her answer, he nodded and turned his pale brown eyes to the tall woman. They were emotionless and anyone who tried to decipher how he was feeling at that moment would only get... well, the emotional equivalent to a wall.

He walked towards the woman, cringing at the idea that sprouted into his head. "Good afternoon, ma'am." He bowed slightly, but it was a stiff one, and his voice sounded forced. He didn't like the idea he chose to go with, but he couldn't think of a better one.

He preferred to keep flirting and touching women in general to a minimum (except for with the Queen - as shown earlier, he needed to brush his arm against hers to reassure himself. She was always the exception, it seemed).

Still bent in a bow, he peeked up from his red locks to study the expression on the woman, wondering if she would fall for his questionable plan. His eyes flitted down to her dark bracelet, but he quickly looked at the floor, clearing his throat.

Cora walked back into the ballroom, telling Luna to follow. She ran up to Celeste. "Some woman was trying to walk out of the ballroom. This isn't safe. I tied her up and teleported her to the tundra, my dungeons. Come on. We have to keep going."

Celeste nodded to Cora, listening to her story. She spied a man with a dark-aura pin and grabbed it quickly. Though she succeeded to break it in her hands, the sharp part of the pin raked across her palm, leaving a bloody scratch. Celeste stared at it, then bound it with her scarf. "Come on," She said to Cora, leading her to another dark-aura man.