Chapter 6: An Arbitrary Advent
So there we were, triumphantly making our way back to the Krystal Kingdom. Taking turns dragging back the proof of our kill in the form of two sawn off horns and an assortment of crimson stained claws; etching jagged lines in the ivory snow. We stopped about halfway back in order to rest and consume some of our tasty jerky and rehydrate ourselves before resuming our way homeward; I use that term loosely since I still felt a little out of place here. The other three spent most of the time facetiously bantering over who caused the most harm to the Dragon while I was preoccupied doing some introspection.
“I landed more blows than you my brawny friend” Silver said, as if stating a fact.
“Aye” Ardent agreed, “But those were mere flesh wounds! My axe tasted much more blood in comparison” He proudly quipped.
Pierce interjected with his own contributions during the fight.
“That dead beast felt the sting of my arrows where it hurt” He chuckled; probably at the memory of scoring a shot in its crotch, “Kept its attention diverted away from you two as well” He added, to which the other two scoffed.
“It wasn’t distracting enough to keep it from plastering myself against the wall. I’m going to be feeling that for a week!” Silver said in a joking tone and rolled his shoulders, eliciting a crack and pop from them respectively.
“Ha! Real men can take a hit and get back up for more!” Ardent stated loudly and clapped a hand on Silver’s shoulder, causing him to wince in discomfort at his injured back. “That’s more than can be said of you Piercy, always keeping a comfortable distance from the action”
Pierce scowled in annoyance at the obscure insult to his masculinity.
“Even our unassuming scout here is more hands on than you! Who knew Zenith had a warrior’s spirit in him?” Ardent bellowed with laughter before slapping me on the back, shaking me from my thoughts.
Silver took notice of my silence and voiced concern, “Is something troubling you Zenith? We’ve achieved success in our hunt and by your hand no less! Why do you not join us in our merriment?”
I shook my head lethargically and sighed, “It’s nothing guys, just got a lot occupying my mind at the moment”
The main subject I ruminated on was how I felt after killing the Dragon, or more accurately what I didn’t feel. I just ended the life of a living creature without as much as a second thought, sinking my knife into its skull as casually as I would a watermelon. Wasn’t I supposed to feel something? Happy for ending its raids on the Krystal Kingdom? Sad for having to put it out of its misery? Yet I felt nothing at all, and that bothered me on a deeper level. Not wanting to draw any more undue attention to myself, I changed the subject back to the fight.
“You two ought to give Pierce a little more credit, some of his arrows made for great handholds while I was scaling the mighty beast!” I punctuated my histrionic statement by pretending to climb up something, getting some chuckles from Silver and Ardent and an almost imperceptibly small grateful smile from Pierce.
The conviviality continued until we reached the climate boundary of the Krystal Kingdom, the light blue dome contrasting with the dull skies above. As we progressed inside, the guys sighed in relief in response to the warm air coming to greet them as we stepped in. Due to my now inherent resilience to the natural elements I hardly noticed the difference; it was like standing in front of your refrigerator for a few minutes and then shutting it, you could disregard the dissimilarity in temperatures.
“So where do we haul our hard won proof of the kill?” I asked.
“To the domestic affairs office, that’s where we can collect our reward” Silver informed me.
So we ambled our way there, drawing some confused and more than a few repulsed stares at our gory prizes in tow from the locals. Granted we weren’t exactly spick and span ourselves, being covered with dried blood and sweat from both the fight and the ensuing saw work afterwards. While the other three seemed to revel in the attention they were receiving, it only served to remind me how horrified Crystal was going to be at the sight of me. I internally cringed at the thought of making my impromptu caretaker any more frightened for my well-being.‘I just had to remind her of her lost son didn’t I?’I sighed in exasperation. I did promise her that I would be careful and I meant it; I owe her at least that much for taking me in.
We eventually reached the domestic affairs office, a large crystalline building with a layout that reminded me of the post office near my home, ‘Don’t think about home you fool!’ Inside there were several stalls leading to either a clerk or other manner of government worker, each with an orderly line of people behind them waiting to voice whatever their concern was. We took our place in line for one of the clerks, the people in front of us shifting nervously back and forth or even just abandoning their spot in line at the sight of our bloodied and matted visage.
“Squeamish aren’t they?” I remarked to myself, obtaining muted chortles of agreement from the guys as we advanced in place.
I personally have no issues with being in contact with blood and guts. I once spent summer vacation my junior year of high school doing a mini-med camp program in Philadelphia; five weeks of being exposed to procedures like colonoscopies, surgeries, and autopsies all before lunch time confirmed to me that I had a strong stomach for these kinds of things. If you can eat something with the thick smell of Formaldehyde clinging to your nostrils then you can tolerate just about anything. Perhaps that should have been the first sign that I would be jaded to my slaying of the Snow Dragon.
To his credit, the clerk at the window only raised an eyebrow at our sanguine delivery once we reached him. He wore a maroon regency era coat and waistcoat that gave him a retroactive sense of class. His once light green hair that was turning a less vibrant shade of gray along with slight age wrinkles were probably clues that this old timer had seen his fair share of unorthodox sights.
“I assume you gentlemen are here to claim the bounty on the Blizzard Beast?” He said as he pointed the feathery end of his quill at us.
‘Pfft, quills, I’m going to have to do something about that someday’ I offhandedly thought, remembering my backpack filled with one of a kind utilities.
“That’s right, it wasn’t an easy task but thanks to our friend here” Pierce wrapped an arm around me, “We managed to strike it down once and for all!”
The clerk nodded his understanding, “I see, well then I must congratulate you! You’ve done our kingdom a great service ridding us of that foul threat to our people”
He waved us closer to him, “Tell me your names that I may record who has achieved this great deed, you must be recognized for giving the Krystal people one less problem to fret over”
Pierce unsurprisingly, spoke first. “Piercing Arrow, second detachment of the Krystal Militia”
Ardent went next, “Ardent Bastion of the same unit, it was my pleasure smiting that scaly freak” He added with a sadistic smirk.
Silver spoke his piece, “Silver Sword, Sergeant at arms of the second detachment”
‘So he is their leader’ One of my suspicions confirmed, I announced myself to the aged clerk.
“Zenith, I’m…not part of their militia, but they recruited me to be their scout and air support”
The clerk stared at me with a perplexed look, “Air support?” I remembered that I had dispelled my wings on the journey back, feeling content to merely walk back.
“Oh right” I resummoned them, the now familiar sensation sitting on my shoulder blades once more.
The clerk then adopted an expression of remembrance upon seeing them, “Ah! We were told to be on the lookout for a Valkyrian with your name. The Princess of the Krystal Kingdom has requested an audience with you” He informed me in an official tone. The guys started murmuring to each other over the news of this.
My face did not show it, but I was not expecting this. ‘I just got back from one situation only to find myself in another! Well… I kind of knew this was going to happen sooner rather than later’ I decided to shake the tree a little to see if I could opt out.
“Is this the kind of request that I can politely turn down or the formal way one that basically tells me that I’ve been summoned?” Please be the first, please be the first.
The clerk must have thought my inquiry hilariously preposterous because he smirked in amusement before replying, “The latter, though if you want to deny our Royal Majesty’s wishes then who am I to stop you?” He sat back and shrugged before making a conjecture, “Although I doubt her guards would take kindly to her Excellency being refused” He smugly stated, knowing I was going before the Princess no matter what.
‘Damn, this old man still has a bit of troll in him’ I begrudgingly acknowledged.
“Very well” I sighed in mock defeat, “I suppose I shall have to pay the Princess a visit then won’t I?”
“A wise choice, though I recommend a bath and a change of clothes before making your appearance before the Krystal Vicereine of Arcania” The cantankerous clerk craned his neck to the side in aversion to my unkempt complexion.
“Thanks for the advice Jeeves, I’ll keep that in mind before showing up in front of Royalty looking like I rolled around in a butcher’s shop” I sarcastically retorted.
Surprise showed on the clerk’s face, “How did you know my name was Jeeves?” He asked in confusion.
My response was to groan and slap a hand to my face, “Never mind that. Can we just collect the reward and go?”
He swiftly got over his astonishment at the mention of ‘reward’, “Of course, I presume you want it divided evenly? We all responded in the affirmative.
“Then I shall retrieve it for you” He got up from his counter and made his way into a backroom.
While we waited for his return, the guys decided to heckle me over my upcoming meeting with the Princess.
“Seems like the Princess has an eye for our monster slaying scout!” Pierce pestered me before crudely mimicking the Princess, swaying in a feminine fashion and overlapping his hands over his chest.
“Oh Zenith! How can I ever thank you for aiding my precious subjects?” His antics drew laughter from the guys. Needless to say, I was not amused by his ridiculous act.
“You know? You do a disturbingly close imitation of an actual woman. It doesn’t help that you have a rather petite figure for a man either” I deadpanned, the other two ‘oohed’ at my zinger and Pierce once again scowled at having his manhood insulted.
The sound of someone clearing his throat interrupted our inane quibble,“If this little cadre is done making a scene, I have your reward right here” Jeeves said with an impatient tone, tapping the counter overlaid with four very thick bags.
“Excellent, so do you want us to leave these here?” Ardent gestured with a thumb behind himself to the sawn off horns and claws bundled together with twine.
“That…won’t be necessary. You may keep them for yourselves, as trophies perhaps?” Jeeves said with slight disgust adorning his face.
Ardent looked as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning upon hearing those words; a very humorous and slightly off settling sight given how bloody he looked.
“I can’t wait to hang these horns on my family’s mantelpiece! I could also probably turn the claws into bone meal and sell that to offset the loss of my uncle’s sheep” Ardent happily exclaimed his conciliation.
“What you do with them is your own business sir” Jeeves stated apathetically, “Now take your bits and go, you’re holding up the line” He pointed behind us to a line of agitated and restless people glowering at us.
“It seems we’ve outstayed our welcome my fellows, let’s take our money and leave” Silver said as he grabbed his share of the bounty. I followed suit and took the very large and hefty bag (sack was more accurate) of bits and followed my companions outside.
“It’s a shame you have an appointment with Royalty, otherwise we’d enjoy having you among our company as we drink and be merry this night” Silver said apologetically.
“Aye, we’ll buy an extra drink in your name!” Ardent added with enthusiasm.
“I’m drinking it in your stead though” Pierce finished in amusement.
“Thanks guys, I’m honored. Sorry that I’ll have to take a rain check on that celebration” I waved to them as we parted ways.
My first order of business was returning to Crystal’s to reassure her that I was still alive and in good health before showering off the dried blood caked onto my skin. Which was still quite apparent as evidenced by the stupefied looks people were insistent on giving me. More than a few people believed me injured and tried dragging me to a hospital, which I respectfully resisted. I reached Crystal’s home rather quickly thanks to its recognizable rounded shape relative to the surrounding homes; glad to be free from the undesired attention. I didn’t even get to knock on the door before it flew open and I was nearly knocked down by a ferocious hug from my caretaker.
“Oh Zenith you had me so worried!” She pulled back to look at me and gasped at my unsightly semblance.
“By the Princesses you’re hurt! Come, we must take you to the infirmary at once!” She tried pulling me along but I would not budge a single inch.
“Crystal relax! It’s not my blood, just the Blizzard Beast’s. I’m fine really, just in serious need of a shower and some fresh clothes” She looked unconvinced but yielded when I walked inside anyway.
“I’ll get to washing your soiled garments immediately!” She said expeditiously and started looking for her laundering materials.
‘This woman is going to run herself ragged over me’ I thought with a mild sense of presentiment.
“Crystal” I said with a strict tone, catching her attention, “Please don’t burn the candle at both ends just for my sake; I’ll wash my own clothes. You’ve done enough for me lately and undue stress won’t do anybody any good. Just relax and take deep breaths, can you do that for me?” I beseeched her, to which she complied.
“Very well, I’ll just make us some tea and leave you to it then” She sighed heavily before wrapping me in yet another hug.
“I’m so glad you’re back, I feared the worst and I’m sorry for being overbearing” She apologized as she leaned her head against my chest.
“It’s alright Crystal, I understand your fears. And I intend to keep the promise I made to you” She looked at me with watery eyes, searching for something. Finding it, she calmed considerably.
“I know you will” And with that she left to make the tea.
I made my way upstairs to take care of my sullied personage, dropping off my newly acquired bits next to my other belongings before stripping off my sweaty and blood spattered clothes and tossing them in a hamper before retrieving a fresh set of briefs and black jeans and a grey t-shirt with a lucky brand spade in front. As I entered the bathroom carrying my clothes in hand, I briefly wondered why Crystal did not ask about the large sack I was carrying before realizing that she was too concerned over me to either notice or care.
‘She worries about me as much as my own mother’ I satirically thought, though it was comforting to know someone cared about me as though I was one of their own.
I was rather pleased to find that Crystal supplemented her toiletries with less feminine products for my own use, the soap and shampoo bore a scent reminiscent of Old Spice Komodo. I sighed in relief as I felt the results of earlier exertion simply wash away, the steam of the hot shower soothing my airways and bringing peace to my perpetual line of turbulent thoughts. Sadly it wasn’t to last and I had to conclude my cleansing, but at least I smelled like the freshest of distant cultures. After drying myself off with a towel and dressing myself, I made my way downstairs to Crystal who was waiting for me at the table with a cup of tea in her hands and another across the table for me. I took my seat and drank of the tea, relishing in its strong cinnamon aftertaste.
“So how was your journey?” Crystal asked me with legitimate interest.
“Eh… the usual, trudging through a vast terrain of snow, tracking a dangerous creature using a conveniently enchanted compass, camping for the night, discovering that creature’s domain the next morning, ambushing said creature, striking it down, taking its horns and claws as evidence of its defeat, and cashing in its bounty” I summarized the details of my little adventure in a nonchalant fashion.
“You make it sound so simple” She said confoundedly.
“All in a day’s work” I took a swig of my drink, secretly thrilled for using a cheesy one liner while drinking tea like a boss. (Or is it sir?)
“How much did you make risking your life like that?” She said with a hint of irate vexation in her voice.
“About a thousand bits” I plainly stated.
She choked on her tea and sputtered, “A thousand!?”
“Yeah” I answered, “Why? Is that a lot?” I received a flabbergasted look as an answer.
“It’s more than most people here make in six months!” She exclaimed.
“Oh” Was all I said before taking another sip and emptying my cup, “Well I intend to give half of it to you” I said while setting it down on the table.
She stuttered for a response, “I..don’t know what to say.. I mean”
‘Goodness, she’s starting to remind me of a certain kind hearted animal caretaker’ I thought to myself, ‘and speaking of kindness’
“Think of it as my way of formally thanking you for your boundless affability, and don’t even think about not accepting because I won’t take no for an answer on this” I spoke with complete sincerity.
She fidgeted in place a little longer before bowing her head and uttering a muted “Thank you” in response.
‘Yeah, I’m definitely getting that impression off of her’ I amusedly affirmed my audacious assumption.
“No problem, I feel as if it would serve a better purpose in your hands than mine. I’m told I tend to be somewhat tight fisted at times” I chuckled to myself at the memories.
“So I’ve been summoned to speak with the Princess” I said, changing the conversation to imminent matters and less impassioned ones.
“I was too. Shortly after you left, I was informed by one of her messengers and informed that Princ.. I mean Cadence” She corrected herself; probably by her majesty’s wishes, “wanted to speak to me”
“And what was the topic of the conversation?” I asked, having a pretty solid idea.
“It was about…well” She glanced at me, “...you, she wanted to know more about you”
“And what did you say to her?” I asked with utmost curiosity… and a tad bit of apprehension.
“I told her that you were a wonderful person with a good heart, always acting considerately to others and myself” She smiled at me, which I did my best to return.
“Did you tell her anything else?” I had to know what I was going to have to explain and what I didn’t.
“I told her that you were from a foreign land named America with the three branches of government you told me about, and all the incredible magic it possessed like laptops and airplanes” She said with a lingering modicum of awe in her voice.
“I’ve told you before Crystal, it isn’t magic in the slightest, its technology” I reminded her.
“To someone like me, such marvelous things could be nothing short of magic” She reasoned, I let the issue drop since I knew I wouldn’t convince her otherwise.
“You’re half right I guess… what with Clarke’s third law and all. Moving on, did anything else happen?”
“She wished to speak with you in person, but I told her you went off with your companions to find the Blizzard Beast earlier that day” She paused before asking me a question, “You said you wouldn’t be involved in the fighting, yet you were covered in blood. Did you hold true to you word?”
Crap, time for half-truths. “I indirectly helped out by incapacitating it (Permanently) and sawing off its claws; it’s a rather messy job as you could tell from earlier. I would be in a lot worst shape had I broken my word to you Crystal, that scaly thing was ferocious as hell.”
It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the complete truth either. ‘Glad it ain’t Applejack interrogating me’ I thought with relief, imagining her glaring at me in suspicion. Thankfully it looked like she was convinced, hesitantly that is.
“I believe you Zenith, though I know there’s something you’re not telling me and I won’t press you. Because I know you’ll keep your promise” She said as she steepled her fingers on the table, visually reminding me of her insightful Mana Mark.
“Thank you for your understanding. How did her highness react to this news?” I turned the topic back to the Princess.
“She was worried for your safety of course! She said that if you made it back alive, she’d also have to congratulate you. Do you think she wants something of you?” She asked.
“Don’t know. She probably just wants to see me in person and talk. What about eludes me though” I shrugged and picked myself off of the chair.
“I should probably get going then, don’t want to keep her majesty waiting after all”
“Yes, it wouldn’t be proper to delay any longer. Prin… Cadence must have other matters to attend to besides speaking with you” She agreed.
She got up and hugged me once again, “Be on your best behavior okay Zenith?”
“I’ll be a perfect little angel. Scout’s honor” I held a hand up as if making a pledge. She giggled at my dramatics before leaving for her living room.
And with that, I returned upstairs to retrieve some things; namely my Tantō and a sack of bits in case I needed it, as well as my iPod in case I ever got bored. Plus some other ‘essentials’ as a contingency. Just because I was about to visit Royalty doesn’t mean I was going in completely exposed. I tied my sack of bits from my cloud clearing job to my side belt loop and slid my knife through another on my backside, ‘I need to get a legitimate holster for this sometime’ I walked out of Crystal’s house and down the avenue, making a beeline for the Crystal Citadel.
It was about midday when I reached the front of the Castle, its spires shimmering in the sunlight. ‘Walt Disney would be proud of this place. I still don’t know how the Sun can shine down on the Kingdom when the outside is completely overcast, but I’ll just chalk it up to some form of magic and leave it at that’ I took a moment to take in the vista, the ‘front’ of the Crystal Citadel had a balcony providing a near 180 degree overlook of the city below. The four ‘legs’ supporting the Citadel each had a stair cased entrance at their foundation, with a duo of guards posted at each. At the very base lay a spinning Crystal Heart floating between a long and thick crystal stalactite and a short and thin crystal stalagmite. This was setup on top of the snowflake emblem that represented the whole Kingdom.
A shimmering pulse every now and again sent a surge of colorful magical energy up through the citadel’s peak and into the climate barrier which encircled the entire kingdom. In a way it kind of reminded me of a heartbeat sending life giving blood where it needed to go, but maybe I’m just waxing poetic.
After mentally flipping a coin for which entrance to choose, I picked one at random and approached the guards stationed there. Unsurprisingly they were clad in a light blue crystal themed armor with snowflakes adorning their shoulder plates and rather Romanesque style helmets that covered most of their facial features, not that they were terribly expressive to begin with. They stood stock-still holding spears at their sides and were looking ahead with a thousand yard stare; despite this I knew it was only a superficial presentation and that these guys were ready to spring at a moment’s notice at the first sign of trouble. When I got closer, they crossed their spears together in a display that barred entry. I could certainly respect their dedication to the job, so long as they didn’t go out of their way to superfluously impede me from meeting with their Princess. I stopped a respectable distance away and politely addressed them.
“Excuse me good sirs, but I do believe that I was summoned by her Royal Highness to speak with her” They didn’t move, but their eyes shifted towards me in a simultaneous mechanical motion that many would find unnerving.
“State your name so that we may confirm that claim” The one of the left said in a gruff voice that I could tell wasn’t his real voice and was meant solely for intimidation purposes, needless to say I wasn’t at all impressed.
“It’s Zenith” I said in a tone that indicated as much, “I’m guessing you were told to be on the lookout for a Valkyrian with that name matching my description?”
They merely stared at me in response; it was starting to chip away at my patience.
“Look” I crossed my arms, “As much as I love staring contests, I don’t exactly have all day. So if you’re going to let me in, now is the time. Otherwise I’ll simply leave, it’s not like I wanted to go to this to begin with” I said impatiently and turned to leave, when I heard the scraping sound of metal signaling to me that the guards uncrossed their spears.
“You may enter, however I suggest leaving that testy attitude at the door” The one on the right said this time.
‘At least they didn’t try to frisk me or anything; they must have supreme confidence in their protective abilities, a magical metal detector, or they have really poor eyesight with those helmets on’ I inquisitively pondered at their lack of reaction to the knife strapped to my jeans. As for my rebuttal...
“Duly noted” I flippantly responded and walked past the narrowing eyes of the guards and up the steps and past the threshold of the doors. A spiral staircase leading up many flights was instantly there to greet me, "Great" I grumbled to myself and began to drag my lazy ass up them, a grueling two minutes later and I reached the first plateau.
It led out into a lovely looking hallway that stretched five doors down and into what I was guessing was the throne room. Before I could take my first step forward however, a young woman came up to greet me. She looked a few years older than me and had dark magenta hair with lighter shades as stripes and a blue Fleur-de-lis as a Mana Mark on her hands, which were currently holding a clipboard. She was also wearing one of those business vests and a patterned skirt that matched the colors of her eyes, a rich shade of blue.
“Hello there, I’m Indigo Jade and I’m one of her majesty’s Royal liaisons. Is there something I can assist you with?” She asked in a polite and formal tone.
“Yes, I was told that she requested an audience with me? I’m Zenith by the way” I introduced myself, giving a polite nod.
She flipped her clipboard back a few pages, probably searching for a reference regarding myself as being summoned. A quick nod told me that she found what she was looking for and she smiled back up at me.
“Indeed you are! However, her highness is currently in the middle of a discussion with her head of security. Would you mind relaxing in one of the waiting chambers until she can see you?” She courteously asked with that same pretty smile.
“I’ve got patience to spare for a lovely lady like yourself” I shamelessly teased, getting a giggle and a slight blush in response from Jade.
“Excellent! Right this way sir” She motioned me into one of the side rooms in the hallway.
It was a very large and swanky looking waiting room; its ceiling was about thirty feet high and gave it a very spacious feeling, windows carved into the walls also allowed great views of everything going on below. Plush looking couches with crystal framework were lined along the edges of the room with wooden coffee tables van-ward of them. I sat my keister down on one of them and resisted the urge to put my feet up on the table like it was an ottoman footrest. ‘The things I do for propriety’s sake’ I sighed in comfort as I sank into the seat.
“Before I inform her majesty of your arrival, is there anything I can get you? Perhaps a glass of wine or other refreshments?” Jade asked of me.
I shook my head, “I don’t imbibe, but thanks for the charitable offer” I offered a grateful grin in return. ‘I don’t even know what the drinking age is here’
“A prudent man I see, I can respect that. I’ll let her Majesty know you’re here”
And with that she did a heel face and promptly left me alone with my thoughts. Jade mentioned that the Princess was talking to her head of security; I wonder what the reasons for that were? I shrugged to myself and leaned back into the couch further, humming in sedentary contentment as the leather cushion enveloped me in its comfort. I briefly considered pulling out my iPod and listening to some tunes but decided against it, I needed to keep my ears open and anyone spotting me with it would start asking irksome questions.
After about twenty or so minutes of waiting I was starting to get close to nodding off when I heard the door to the room open and someone step inside, the clacking sound of heels against the smooth floor echoing in the large room. I decided to feign being asleep just to see if it was someone else other than the Princess, that and I like to screw with people whenever I get the chance. Based on the sound of the approaching footsteps, I surmised that it was indeed a woman wearing low heeled shoes.
“Goodness, I must have kept him waiting longer than I thought” A youthful yet melodic voice spoke, without a doubt I recognized it as the Princess.
“Just shy of dreamland your highness” I opened my eyes to see the admittedly funny sight of Cadence yelping and jumping back in surprise.
Once she collected herself, she gave me a fake disapproving glare before breaking into soft giggles. I took that time to reluctantly remove myself from the incredibly soft couch and stand up before her. The Princess was an eye catching woman of prominent stature wearing a simple pink dress with light purple arm sleeves and golden royal regalia around her neck and atop her head; she also had an amethyst bindi on her forehead. She had lavender eyes and tri-colored hair consisting of blond, pink and purple which strangely reminded me of a mixed flavored gelato. On her hands was the Mana Mark of a crystal heart not unlike the one at the entrance. She must have had her wings dispelled because I didn’t see any on her back.
“It’s been a while since someone has managed to get a jump out of me, I’m Princess Cadence” She gave a brief curtsy to which I crooked my head forward in a slight inclination while keeping my eyes connected with her own. She seemed to notice this and voiced her thoughts.
“You know, it’s very rare to meet one of my subjects who does not fully prostrate themselves in my presence” She looked somewhat pleased with this despite the impertinent implications.
“That’s probably because I’m not actually one of your subjects your eminence. Where I come from, we show Royalty their proper respect but never complete obeisance” I explained, being the freedom loving American I am.
“Ah yes, I find it quite refreshing actually. No matter how often I tell my subjects to simply refer to me as Cadence, they always seem to revert back to full reverence the very next day. They venerate the Royal family in the absolute highest it seems, it makes friendship with them…difficult” She looked slightly disconsolate, as though the issue had been afflicting her for some time.
“I’ve noticed, in fact my caretaker Crystal Clear had to correct her designations mid-sentence when speaking of you. You won’t have that kind of problem with me your Highness, or do you prefer Cadence?” I grinned at her, which she happily returned.
“The latter please, though I wouldn’t call it a problem so much as I would an obstacle” She motioned with her hand for me to follow her, “Walk with me, this isn’t a discussion I wish to have in a waiting chamber” I obliged and followed her out into the scintillating crystal hallway once again, we were most likely heading to the throne room based on the closing distance between us and said room.
I wasn’t wrong; though the throne room wasn’t all that impressive if you ask me. The throne itself consisted almost entirely of crystals with only the royal seat itself and the rug leading to it being composed of something otherwise. Crystal columns rose dozens of feet high and lined the walls of the circular chamber. While I was becoming surfeited with the constant crystal construction constituting clearly everything here, I did believe that the snowflake banners hanging from the ceiling just above the dark blue polyhedrons and smooth silk curtains draping the balustrades below those polyhedrons were a nice touch though.
While I was occupied with taking in the details of the royal chamber, Cadence walked up to her throne and sat down, resting her hands in her lap and giving me a blank unreadable expression.
Finally she spoke, “Before we begin our discourse, do you mind if I make certain of a few things?”
“Of course, that’s why you summoned me here to begin with right?” I said in a compliant tone.
“Partially. Your cooperation is also appreciated, just give me a moment” She shut her eyes and the amethyst bindi on her forehead started to emit a faint glow. I didn’t feel anything and nothing else seemed to change, at least from what I observed. When the gem on her forehead stopped glowing and she opened her eyes again, she retained her unreadable expression but something in her eyes betrayed barely hidden bemusement. She recovered fairly quickly though and looked at me once again and spoke. This time her tone peculiar, as if she came across a strange conundrum.
“You’re a curious one indeed, certainly no changeling” The last aspect in that sentence caused me to scoff amusedly at the ludicrous idea.
“Changeling? It takes more than magic to replicate this sheer amount of sexy” I struck a pose with my hands on my hips, I totally meant it too.
Her poker face lasted all of three seconds before crumbling into mirthful laughter, a delightful sound coming from an equally delightful woman. The fact that I was still standing there in all seriousness only served to further her glee. ‘I hope she’s not laughing at me, I don’t think my poor hubris could take it’ When she finally composed herself she gave me a winning smile.
“I can tell that you’re going to make some woman very happy someday” She said knowingly.
“I’ll take that as a compliment, so anything else you wish to clear up?” I asked, her last sentence putting me at unease for some reason.
“I wish to know more about yourself and your arrival to my kingdom, Crystal only told me what you told her. And I haven’t been able to discern anything else other than that you tried to taste the flavor of clouds”
“Oh” I chuckled nervously and shuffled in place, “You saw that huh?” ‘I knew I was being watched!’
She giggled well naturedly, “I actually came upon that by chance when passing the throne room balcony” She pointed to it, before leaning in holding her hand up in a conspiratorial manner and speaking in hushed tones “And between you and me, I did the same the first time I interacted with clouds”
“And here I was thinking I was the only person who wondered what clouds tasted like” I chuckled to myself, a notion Cadence shared.
“Is what I tell you confidential?” I asked, to which she slowly nodded.
“Unless it concerns the personal safety of my subjects, then this strictly between us” I tilted my head in a way that indicated my understanding.
“Very well, as you know. I come from a land known as America, you’ve not heard of it yes?” She shook her head, “That’s because it's worlds away” I clarified, getting an uncomprehending look from Cadence.
“What do you mean? I don’t understand, are you not from the neighboring sovereignties?” She asked with a stupefied expression.
“I’m from a land that’s as physically removed from this place as you are from your own reflection in a mirror” I explained. It dawned on me that I was an inter-dimensional foreigner explaining the theory of parallel worlds to a magical Princess of Love, the oddity of the situation was not lost on me.
I don’t think she fully understood the significance of what I was telling her but she nodded and spoke.
“I take it you don’t have your travel papers then?” She rhetorically asked.
“Sorry, I left my passport back in my home dimension” I shrugged apologetically.
She sighed and rubbed her temples, the immensity of this clearly beyond her sphere of influence.
“Well that simply won’t do, if you’re to be living in Arcania you’ll need official ipseity. That means one of two things, you go through a long and arduous process riddled with paperwork to become a citizen, or you do me a personal favor and assist in the recovery of something which has been recently stolen and I’ll waive the paperwork process with a Royal mandate”
‘I guess one of the benefits of being Royalty is elastic power over the bureaucracy’ I didn’t even give the choice any thought.
“I’d rather face down the legions of hell… than put up with toilsome paperwork” I portentously stated. She chuckled at my histrionics.
“Hopefully you won’t have to do anything so harrowing, but the stolen item in question is of severe importance”
“What makes it so important?” I inquired.
“It’s the legendary Crystal Chalice of King Sombra” She said as if that would explain everything.
“Given that ninety-five percent of everything in this Kingdom is crystalline in nature, I’m going to need to know more than that” I articulated with a roll of my hands.
“The Crystal Chalice was carved out of a very rare and incredibly mysterious enchanted gemstone that could concentrate magical energies to unfathomable levels, when filled with the fabled waters of life it could make anyone who drank of it both immortal and very powerful. We believe that’s how Sombra originally ascended to rule as King over the Krystal People”
“Knowing what they say about the corruptive allure of power, I’m guessing he ventured well beyond the point of no return afterwards” I postulated.
“You assume correctly, Sombra already had dark intentions in his heart when he sought the throne. But drinking of the chalice and absorbing all that power turned him into a complete monster, the days of King Sombra’s rule truly were a blight upon this Kingdom’s marvelous history. It took the combined might of both my dear aunties; the solar and lunar diarchs to banish him into the frozen ice of the arctic north. As you can imagine, if the chalice were to fall into the wrong hands it could prove detrimental” She ended on a grim note.
“Can you tell me about the circumstances regarding the pilfering of this ‘Crystal Chalice’?” I channeled my inner Cole Phelps, minus the notepad and expert sketching skills.
“I just finished speaking to my head of security about that; whoever committed this crime is both prepared and ruthless in their pursuit of this artifact’s magical properties, and not afraid to use violence to get what they want. The guards I had stationed at the vault repository beneath this Citadel; which stores valuable antiquities such as the Chalice were found earlier this morning badly beaten and bleeding heavily, their wounds could have been fatal if they weren’t wearing their armor” She concluded morosely, the well-being of her personal entourage must have weighed heavily on her mind. I decided to continue my inquiry in order to draw her attention away from that sorrowing subject.
“Did they take anything else besides the Chalice?” I also needed to know more if I was to be fully aware of the situation inevitably drawing me into it.
“Yes, they also took Sombra’s encrypted manuscripts referencing anything else about the Chalice. It would require an esoteric old codex that Sombra did not keep in this Kingdom to decipher those texts” The Princess explained.
“And you have the faintest idea who might have done this?” I rhetorically asked.
“No… we do not know; they hid any trace of their involvement. Sans my badly battered guards” She gloomily spoke.
“I have a hunch who it might be” A soft yet unmistakably familiar tomboyish new voice interjected.
I turned to behold this newcomer and spotted a tanned woman leaning against the doorway to the throne room. She had raspberry red eyes and was wearing a dark olivine pocketed vest strung with venturing gear and brown khaki pants with knee high laced boots. She had gray scaled hair and was wearing a distinguishable pith helmet, along with a self-confident smirk on her face and a bullwhip on her waist. The Mana Mark of a compass rose adorned her hands. A thousand thoughts ran through my mind but the most dominant of these was, ‘Holy Shit! It’s Daring Do!’
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Ahuizotl...
May the shipping... Begin.
No no no no no nope
PrEsS [X] tO dOuBt
The problem's plain to see,
Too much technology.
Machines to save our lives.
Machines, dehumanize.
The poster got deleted, must mean no sexy