"Preach! Reverend! Preach!" War Scribe cried out in between bites of her food.

The Prince began to wonder just exactly what in the hell he had just walked into.

Lazheros sighed heavily as he knew where this heated argument was going.

"What is a High Maintenance Hottie?" Serna asked Irzen.

"A woman who is so petty and so cheap and has so much emotional baggage that she simply can't let any of it go long enough to enjoy a meaningful relationship with anyone," The Swordsman surmised quickly, "That is all you are, Alyson, and if you're not careful, that is all you are ever going to be!"

"Oh-kay!" Serna took a step back at that one.

"Are you done?" Alyson drank all of her juice in one gulp. "Shall I repeat what I told you back in Asylum at the lighthouse, for everyone to hear because its clearly obvious to me that you have a lot of pent up rage issues since you're the one taking a back seat in a body that's not your own, human!"

In the blink of an eye, Irzen's demeanor became calm almost to the point of being scary, "Tell everyone what you will, Elementalist, but in answer to your question: I am not done yet. I have one more thing to say. And what I have to say is a warning but it is a warning not mean't for you."

"YYYYYEEESSSS!!!" The Drowling crowed, "And the truth shall set you free!"

The bronze man face palmed and really wished Madeous was here. The platinum knight could defuse any argument on a whim, he was that good and he often put Celestra in her place when she got pushy.

The Swordsman turned towards The Cleric, "Lazheros, as a Cleric of Bahamut, your serve a god who loves justice, shows compassion and embraces mercy. Before I knew Willow as a Wood Elven Prince, I knew him as a Wood Elven Ranger who was in the same position as you are now--a lover of Alyson."

Now the bronze man stood up with a serious look of concern not for Alyson but for the swordsman as the temperature began to drop instead of rising. He turned to the elementalist, her skin began to pale and the shadows started to grow. ~Alysiane...don't give in to the darkness.~

"Irzen, please don't," The Prince knew where this was headed.

The Swordsman pointed towards Alyson without looking away from Lazheros, "Willow loved Alyson as much as you do now. He fought by her side, killed her enemies for her when she needed it, clothed her when she was naked, fed her when she was hungry, comforted her when she wept, sheltered her when she was lonely, healed her when she was wounded and suffered her when no one else could or would put up with her crap."

"Okay! That's just mean!" Caliaphy got up from her seat pointing at the Irzen, "Blah! Blah! Blah! Well excuse us for NOT being YOU!"

"HAH GLORY!!!" War Scribe screeched as she raised her hand skyward.

The Swordsman lowered his hand, "And in spite of showing a near infinite amount of compassion, mercy, forgiveness, kindness, respect and love over and over and over again; when it was his turn to feel these things from the woman who allegedly loved him--after he screwed up in a crisis of conscience--what did she do? Did she show him compassion? Did she show him any love? Did she forgive him? Did she even listen to him as he tried to apologize? What did she do?"

"She dumped him," Irzen deadpanned, "Without a second thought, without a single ounce of regret and without a single shred of remorse. Beware this woman, Cleric of Bahamut, like all men you will err. You will make a mistake. Sooner or later, you know you will. And when you do, she will do no less to you than she did to the prince. Heed my warning. In time, you too will suffer the same fate as Willow and become just another ex-lover in a long line of ex-lovers of Alyson, the High Maintenance Hottie."

"A human flaw, Lord Irzen," Lazheros said quietly hoping to defuse the tense situation.

The Swordsman promptly returned to his seat and resumed eating without another word.

"CAN I GET AN AMEN?" The Drowling crowed once more.

"I really hope Gruumasht beats you within an inch of your life and you have to beg me to save it!" Alyson replied devoid of emotion as she looked directly at him with solid black eyes.

"ENOUGH!" Liliandra was clearly annoyed at War Scribe's banter, "You have out stayed your welcome here, Chronicler. Guards escort her out of the palace!"

Liliandra glanced back to the elementalist but did not look her directly in the eye, "Please calm yourself, Alyson. I understand a lot for I have had a similar experience long before I married Prince Yew, however, Lord Irzen is right, you need to let it go."

She then addressed the swordsman firmly, "There are two sides of the story and I have heard both of them. You've made your point quite clear, and just so we're all on the same page, you need to drop it on whatever grudge you're harboring for the orc at the moment. We will discuss a strategy after we've all had something to eat."

"I will do as you request, your Highness," Irzen responded with a formal nod before he continued eating.

The elementalist took her food and drink and walked to the far end of the table away from Irzen. Being near him wasn't a good idea at the moment.

"Wait! Wait! I was just getting warmed up!" The Chronicler complained as the Guards lifted War Scribe out of her seat and half-dragged, half-carried the Drowling out of the dining hall.

The kurori walked back to her seat and grabbed her food, "I'm gonna sit by Alyson, Serna. You can come with me if you want or stay here."

"I'll come with you," Serna offered as she followed Caliaphy, "There are times like these when we just need a friend."

Prince Willow sadly shook his head as he took his seat across from Princess Lilliandra.

The Ranger promptly began to eat and did so without saying a word.

Liliandra sighed waiting for Willow to start eating as it was custom among the wood elves and started with her own meal. "It was a simple question concerning you, Willow by merely asking how you met them. Sadly it did not go the way it was intended."

"Things with my friends seldom go as intended, Lili," The Prince admitted reluctantly, "They seldom do."

The Bronze Man moved down a seat from Irzen giving him space from the heated conversation only moments before. He sat there quietly eating his fish until it was gone.

Irzen also sat in silence eating his meal. The food was good and helped him to calm down quite a bit. By the time he was finished eating, the Swordsman was in a more civil frame of mind.

Lazheros glanced down the table to where Alyson had moved to and smiled softly sipping his tea. He watched as Caliaphy and Serna kept her company rather than the others. He also knew, she preferred the company of children rather than adults. He would stay to aid Prince Willow and his people battle Gruumasht. The matter of Alyson having to deal with another piece of the Crimson Dragon armor was another matter entirely.

Finally finishing his meal, Irzen turned towards Princess Liliandra, "You said that you wish to talk of war this morning, your Highness. What would you like to discuss?"

****

Meanwhile, War Scribe was still being dragged towards the palace gates as she protested, "Unhand me! I have Bardic Immunity!"

Her pleas fell on deaf ears as the guards promptly pushed the chronicler out through the gates to the palace. A magical barrier came down preventing her from entering, "By order of Princess Liliandra you are no longer welcome. You may traverse through the city but the palace is off limits to you."

War Scribe laughed as she dusted herself off, "Have no fear, good sirs, the Princess will be begging me to return soon enough. She needs every available asset she can find to win this war and I just so happen to be one of them. You'll see!"