Seven years and a half before the Canterlot Wedding, Castle Mi-Amore, ...
Crystal glasses clinked together along with the many cheers of the guests of Prince Fortissimo. Like his wife, he had been first skeptical about what Chrysalis could accomplish to save the economy of Istalloña and its nobility, but now he could only say that she was a blessing sent by the Horse Gods. Even Princess Cavatina now had to admit that Chrysalis wasn’t just all-talk.
It had taken her a bit more than two years, but Chrysalis had managed to rally all the great houses to the Mi-Amore’s. One by one, the heads of the Great Families were convinced to accept the Equestria-Istalloña railway project, whose’ signing they were celebrating today. The rebellious actions against the crown of the Mi-Amore had been also drastically reduced during the last two years. It seemed that wherever the green-haired lady would go, success would follow her. Though, at this very moment, she was a bit regretful of that.
If you’d ask her, Chrysalis would say that those fancy gala-parties were boring: only standing there, looking pretty and feigning interest to whoever came to speak to her. The later proved to be even more difficult and annoying as she had seen other side of many of all those high and mighty nobles over the last two years.
She had felt a cold chill running up her spine when the young Duke of Marecelona had kissed Princess Cadenza’s hand when he saw her. Forcing him and by extension his family back in line had been extremely unpleasant for Chrysalis. Duke Di-Corazon’s weird “appetites”, which she had discovered thanks to one of her faithful drones, had profoundly disgusted the green-haired woman and it took all her self-control from not blasting him into oblivion for merely approaching Cadenza. The memory of the state in which her female drone had returned from her mission was still fresh in her mind, even if it dated from a year now.
After the disgusting Duke went back to chat the other guests, other members of the hundred families composing the Istalloñan nobility went to greet the Princess and her father’s newest right hand. A baron her changelings had found having an affair with his son’s wife, an old knight who had been indebted to a shady organisation prior to Chrysalis’s coming into Istalloña’s political scene, another Duke whose father had suddenly disappeared after Chrysalis found out he had in mind to make his house the ruling family of Istalloña -his son was much more accommodating-, and many more whose dirty secrets she knew off. There were also those whom her changelings hadn’t found anything to put pressure on them, but sadly they were the exceptions, not the majority.
“I’m never going to get used to that,” Chrysalis whispered to Cadenza after an overly-enthusiastic businessman had thanked her again and again for putting the railways project back on track. “And why do the most excited ones are always the ones with the greasiest hands and the bad puns?” she asked in disgust as she vaporized the human grease of her evening glove with a flick of magic, prompting a badly held-back snort of laughter from the almost-eighteen-year-old Princess. “A princess does not snort, Cadenza,” she reminded with a good-natured smile.
“Yes and she also farts butterflies which smell like roses,” Cadenza retorted playfully with a fancy flourish of her hand. “OUCH!” she let out after Chrysalis flicked her ear in response. “You know, sometimes you’re worse than my mother,” she retorted with narrowed eyes, even though the effect was lost due to her playful smile.
“Because I remind you to not speak of your fantasist body-gas jokes?” Chrysalis asked with a cocked eyebrow. “It’s a rather crass topic of conversation.” Cadenza opened her mouth to reply. “And don’t try to counter me by saying that boys do it all the time. It’s still a crass topic even when it’s a conversation between boys.”
“You were more fun before,” Cadenza commented with a pout.
“I hadn’t saved a country from itself before,” Chrysalis remarked casually, earning a roll of eyes from the young Princess.
“It wasn’t all about what you’ve accomplished too,” Cadenza retorted playfully.
“If you want we could discuss about what you’ve accomplished recently,” Chrysalis slyly grinned at the pink-clad royal. “So, how much of a stud is that brave Equestrian Knight named Shining Armor?” she asked with a low purr, whispering in Cadenza’s ear.
“H-How...What are you... How do you even know?” Cadenza stuttered with flaming red cheeks.
“You had that glow around you when he said goodbye to you,” Chrysalis reminded the events of a few days ago when she had travelled to Canterlot to pick up Cadenza. “I’m a bit disappointed you didn’t share any of it with me on the way back though.”
“I just didn’t want Mother or Bolero to find out,” Cadenza explained in ushered whispers, her eyes scaredly looking everywhere for her mother and older sibling. “They would make a big deal out of it.”
“Well, it is a big deal, Cadenza,” Chrysalis let out softly. “Though, you didn’t have to worry about me spilling the beans. Your mother would say that is somehow my fault if you tainted yourself out of wedlock.”
“It kinda is, Chryssie,” Cadenza reminded with discreet chuckle.
“You asked me questions, I just answered them,” Chrysalis defended herself with vigor. “I didn’t tell you to jump the gun!”
“What about that special box you slid in my luggage with the little note: “In case of!” with a little winking drawing on the side?” Cadenza retorted with a cocked eyebrow.
“Why do you assume it was from me?”
“The dagger taped to the box with the note : “it’s an even better protection!” was a bit of a give-away,” Cadenza let out with a smug grin.
The pair kept staring at each other for a few seconds before Chrysalis raised her hand in front of Cadenza’s face. The princess blinked in puzzlement at her friend who cocked an eyebrow at her. She was about to ask what Chrysalis was doing when the green-haired flicked the tip of her nose. Cadenza’s surprised yelp caused a few heads to turn their way. Among those, Cadenza and Chrysalis noticed the former’s mother glaring at the latter.
“Your mother really doesn’t like me, Cadenza,” Chrysalis whispered as all gazes returned to their previous occupations.
“No wonders! You’re everything she never was,” Cadenza coldly replied. “Independant, strong, beautiful, a good company, and actually liked by her children.”
“..... A bit harsh, don’t you think?” Chrysalis asked in reproaching tone.
“Maybe but it’s still true,” Cadenza whispered with a frown as she pulled Chrysalis away from the crowd. “I mean, Crescendo really likes you since you gave him Horatio last year.”
“So, you give a boy a falcon and now he forsakes his own mother?” Chrysalis asked back with a frown at the sight of the younger prince showing off his falconeer skills to the many young ladies who hung around the balcony.
“....Okay, bad example with Crescendo but Bolero has a huge crush on you, …”
“As flattering as your brother’s crush is, I really hope it hasn’t replaced the affection he has for your mother,” Chrysalis countered with a wince. “The implications would be really creepy.”
“Aaaaand now I have the image of Bolero trying to win over Mother in my head,” Cadenza stated with a horrified shuddering as the pair left the reception hall. “Anyway, I still prefer hanging with you than with Mother. At least, YOU listen to me before telling me if I’m wrong or right...”
“Surely, she’s trying to look out for you,” Chrysalis suggested casually. “She probably still sees you as her little baby princess,”
“Well, I’m a grown-up now! I know what’s best for me!” Cadenza retorted slowly.
“In the eyes of a mother, one never truly becomes a grown-up,” Chrysalis let out with a warm chuckle. “Where are you taking me?” she asked as they kept walking along the classy corridors of Castle Mi-Amore.
“Somewhere far from the crowd you seem so uncomfortable with,” Cadenza replied with a playful wink.
If only it was just uncomfortable. Chrysalis thought with a roll of her eyes.
“Mother can be so demanding with me. Even more demanding than with Bolero who’s the crown-prince.” Cadenza went back to their earlier topic of conversation. “Sometimes I just wish she wasn’t there to order me aroun…”
“No, you don’t!” Chrysalis firmly stated before Cadenza could even finish voicing her thoughts. “Never say or even think that, Cadenza!”
“W-what?” the young princess replied in confusion.
“Never wish for your mother to not be there, Cadenza,” Chrysalis strongly explained.
“....I’m sorry,” Cadenza let out after evading her eyes from Chrysalis’s strong but hurt irises. “I didn’t think it would upset you all that much…” she added in a sincere apologetic tone as she lead them through a golden and mahogany-colored double-door.
“Then, start thinking before speaking!” Chrysalis chastised sternly, almost yelling. “And know that not everyone has your luck of still having a mother to complain about, Princess Cadenza!”
Chrysalis simply humphed when the pink-clad damsel didn’t reply before she let Cadenza lead her to the stairs in silence. The atmosphere between the two women had reached a thickness in par with the one of the castle’s walls as they arrived in Cadenza’s quarters. The young princess’ fingers drummed nervously against her palms, as she cast worried glances at her friend who let out a brief sigh.
“Look, Cadence,” Chrysalis whispered gently, using the name the princess much preferred to be called by. “I shouldn’t have snapped like that,” she said in apologetic tone.
“No, you were right,” Cadenza admitted with teary eyes as Chrysalis laid a warm hand on her cheek. “It was an awful thing to say,” she added before she felt Chrysalis’s thumb brushing the tears out of her left eye.
“A little bit,” Chrysalis let out softly. “I’ll let you blame it on your adolescent rebellious phase this one time but it better not come up again,” she added with a brief chuckle.
“I promise,” Cadenza assured with a smile.
“Now, why did you bring me all the way your quarters?” Chrysalis asked in a lighter tone.
“It seemed like you didn’t enjoy it downstairs so I thought you could use some time away from the political party,” Cadenza explained as she took a seat close to her small desk. “Also, we didn’t get the time to ‘freely’ chat on our way back from Canterlot, with the other members of the escort and all that,” she added with rosy cheeks.
Chrysalis blinked a couple of times as she leaned against the desk. “You want to talk about you and Shining Armor, don’t you?”
“......yes,”
Chyrsalis couldn’t held back her laughter before staring at the young princess with a gaze full of curiosity while Cadenza’s cheeks took the color of her dress. It was only when Chrysalis signalled her to go on with a wave of her hand that Cadenza began to speak of her passionate experience with her knight in shining armor. She turned mute for a few seconds when Chrysalis playfully reminded her that her knight had been mostly out of it.
The Swarmlady knew that the topic in question was nothing new to her, but she listened attentively to the young woman rambling about her first time, occasionally commenting on some of the dirtier details to annoy the concerned party. Chrysalis couldn’t help to feel a pinch of envy towards Cadenza. Her own virtue had been taken from her before she even understood what it really was whereas Cadenza’s had been freely given to someone she trusted and loved. Though she was more happy for Cadenza than she was envious of her. Ever since they met on the road to Maredrid, Chrysalis always wanted the best for the young princess who looked up to her somehow, and that was even true for her love life.
“Wait! Wait!” Chrysalis interrupted the young princess, her voice breathless from the chuckles she tried to hold back. “Y-You mean that you were the reason Shining Armor looked so tense and uncomfortable when I came to take you home?” she asked, her voice full mockery. “Oh Gods, that’s so funny!”
Though, Chrysalis wasn’t above teasing the young princess whenever she felt like it.
“Stop laughing, Chryssie!” Cadenza demanded in an embarrassed shout as the green-haired woman’s laugh filled the room. “He was really hurting back then!”
“Come on, Cadence!” Chrysalis called after taking back her breath. “You and him fell off the bed, right on one of his pointy shoulder pads! How do you want me to not laugh!?”
“Chrysalis!” Cadenza called sternly.
“O-okay,” the mirthful woman said, wiping her laughter tears away with one of her fingers. “So, did he get back up and went on like a true stallion of a man?” she asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
“Hu… not really,” Cadenza confessed in embarrassment. “He badly hurt himself during the fall.” When she spotted the extremely curious expression on the dark skinned woman, she sighed softly. “Officially, he fell in the stairs because of one of his adoptive brother’s toys...Stop it!” she demanded when she noticed Chrysalis biting her lower lip to hold back her re-emerging bout of laughter.
Chrysalis held one hand up as a calming gesture to silence the young princess while a few snorts escaped past her pinched lips. She held her other hand on her chest and took a deep breath before exhaling slowly as she waved her hand away from her chest. Her mirth drastically calmed down, Chrysalis wiped the starting tears away from her eyes before waving the pink off her cheeks.
“Are you done?” Cadenza asked with a blushing frown.
“I think I’m all out of, thanks,” Chrysalis replied softly. “Just don’t mention it again… To be safe.”
Now that the embarrassing part of her trip had been told, Cadenza began to explain what else had happened to her during her three months in Canterlot. Soon enough, the conversation went on about the Grand Gala in Canterlot Castle. According to Cadenza, it was nothing like the big receptions done in Istalloña, much like the one happening a few floors down.
Everything in Canterlot was more sumptuous, more refined, more elegant. In short, it was much better there than here, though Chrysalis suspected that the fact that Cadenza could actually simply enjoy the Canterlot Gala how it pleased her, whereas she had to go through the Istalloñan receptions according to the rules of protocol and her mother’s. Chrysalis, for her part, thought that every nobility’s reception or gala was mostly the same everywhere -and she had been to plenty of those during her time as a slave-.
“Oh, you should have seen the decorations for the Crystal Heart Fair!” Cadenza stated, her eyes filled with stars and other shining wonders. “Deep red velvet-made curtains, red roses actually made of rubies, the fountains of chocolate!” Cadenza explained. “Hearts wherever you laid your eyes on, the fountains of chocolate!” the excited princess sighed blissfully. “The music, the dances…. and those fountains of chocolate!”
“The Crystal Heart Fair?,” Chrysalis asked with a cocked eyebrow, almost spotting a bead of drool on her friend’s lips. “What is it about?”
“It’s a special celebration they have in Equestria,” Cadenza explained, though her eyes showed clearly that her mind was slowly drifting back to the amazing fountains of Equestrian chocolate. “It’s like a holiday for every couple in love!” she added with another deep sigh. “It’s Gleaming Topaz who brought this celebration into Equestria’s main culture, centuries ago, and....”
“Hang on!” Chrysalis interrupted in confusion. “Gleaming Topaz?! As in, Queen of Love, Gleaming Topaz?!” she asked with wide, surprised eyes. “Isn’t she just a fairy tale character?”
“Not really,” Cadenza replied with a raised eyebrow. “Well, she’s a fairy tale character now, but she actually existed. She was the last Queen of the Crystal Empire,” the young princess explained softly.
“It existed too?!!!” Chrysalis asked loudly, her eyes wide as saucers. “Did it also have a giant palace made of the most shining gemstones?” she asked enthusiastically, not unlike a very young child meeting his/her hero for the first time.
“According to our History books, yes,” Cadenza replied, holding back a laugh at how childish the usually very-adult Chrysalis was acting.
“...What about the Sculptor King? He was real as well, right?” Chrysalis demanded to know, her fists shaking in excitement.
“Yes,” Cadenza replied as Chrysalis’ jaw dropped wide open in response. “I take it you liked that story when you were young,”
“It was the first book my mother read to me,” Chrysalis replied with a sad smile. “She was really good at that… Reading stories,” she added softly. “She always managed to bring out all the wonders of a tale, even when I woke her up in the middle of the night for another one…”
“How often did that happen?” Cadenza asked with a delicate smile, prompting a rather long silence from the greenette, who seemed happily lost in her thoughts.
“Very often,” Chrysalis confessed after the memories of her late mother had assaulted her mind. “Too often, now that I think about it,” she commented in a playful, yet sad chuckle. “It’s nothing short of amazing that our copy of “the Sculptor-King and the Flower-maid” managed to remain intact for so long.”
“Do you still have it?” Cadenza asked curiously, instantly regretting her question when it made her friend’s smile vanish into a pained wince.
Cadenza remained silent when Chrysalis’ hand reached for her eyes, rubbing them roughly with a deep sigh, her face showing nothing other than an even deeper disappointment. It was all Cadenza needed for an answer and it left her uneasily confused on what to do to cheer her older friend out of her funk. Usually, she was the one in need of a good cheer from the greenette.
“I know!” Cadenza whispered after a few seconds, before abruptly standing up.
The sight of the pink-clad princess rushing for her bookshelves at the other side of her yard of a room brought Chrysalis’ attention. The green-haired lady was more than puzzled to see Cadenza grazing the covers of nearly all of her books, uttering an increasingly frustrated no whenever her finger past from one book to another.
“What are you lo…”
“HAHA! Found it!” Cadenza nearly yelled in triumph, startling Chrysalis a little bit.
She pulled a small book from the tight space between two bigger and heavier tomes, and walked back to Chrysalis with a soft smile on her face. She extended the volume to Chrysalis who cocked an eyebrow at Cadenza before glancing at the cover.
“It’s the one I got for my sixth birthday,” Cadenza explained as Chrysalis read the old writing of “The Sculptor-King and the Flower-maid” title with wide eyes. “I want you to have it!”
“Why?” Chrysalis asked in confusion after staring blankly at the young princess.
“I...I thought it would be nice for you to have it,” Cadenza explained uneasily. “I know it’s not the same as yours, but at least you’ll have something to remember those good times with your mother.”
Chrysalis looked back at the book in silence before finally taking it out of Cadenza’s hands. Her fingers grazing over the greenish leather and the silvery writings of the cover as Cadenza’s smile grew wider at her friend’s acceptance of her improvised gift. The greenette let out a peaceful sigh in remembrance of the many evenings and nights she had bothered her mother into reading her this particular fairy tale.
“I’m sorry it’s not exactly in perfect condition,” Cadenza stated with a wince as Chrysalis started to leaf through the pages of the children’s book. “I read it quite a lot when I was little and I think it wasn’t exactly new when my uncle Legato gave it to me, if I remember correctly,” she added in a slightly ashamed tone as Chrysalis glanced over the many torn and scratched corners of page the book had.
“It’s okay,” Chrysalis assured softly. “I didn’t know you had an Uncle though,” Chrysalis commented casually, her eyes not leaving the pages as she sometimes paused her leafing to read some of favorite passages. “How come I haven’t seen him yet?”
“He used to be around here all the time, being Father’s best friend and personal advisor and all. He retired himself from the court’s business when he hurt his back in a horse-riding accident four years ago,” Cadenza explained slowly. “From what I know, he can barely remain standing for more than a few minutes, so he doesn’t leave his domain anymore. He even gave his golden signet ring to Bolero a few months after the accident,” she added with a brief sigh.
“Sorry to hear that,” Chrysalis commented empathetically as she almost reached the end of the old book. “If you don’t mind me asking, was your Uncle’s family rather poor?” she asked with a cocked eyebrow.
“No, the Tessitura family was, and probably still is, one of the richest houses in Istalloña,” Cadenza replied casually. “Why do you ask?”
“It just that I find it hard to believe that a rich noble would buy a second-hand book for the birthday of his princess niece,” Chrysalis commented playfully before closing the book and glancing at the back cover of it.
“It’s a first edition copy, Chryssie,” Cadenza defended her uncle with an embarrassed blush. “Those are hard to come by!”
“Oh… A first edition copy. …. How odd for her to have something so valuable, don’t you think?”
“I don’t really know, since I hardly read anything except docking manifests, sir.”
"It's a shame really. You're missing on a lot of stuff…… Tssss, children are always so messy."
“I’m sure they are,” Chrysalis commented quietly as her eyes wouldn’t leave the dried line of red polish-like paint stain on the back of the green leather cover.
A stain very much like the one Chrysalis had accidently made on the first edition version of “The Sculptor-King and the Flower-maid” that had been stolen from her when she was shipped off to Nadira by the man in the mask.
*******************************************************************************************
A few weeks later, Count Legato Tessitura’s Estate.
“Do you have anything you need, Count?” Maria, the count’s young personal maid, asked gently after helping the crippled man out of his wheelchair into his large bathtub.
“Well, you joining me in here would be nice,” The Count playfully demanded, trying to take a seductive pose in the water, only to wince and groan in pain as the strain on his broken spine proved to be too much.
“Do we have to do this every single time I put you in something, Count?” the unfazed maid asked with her arms crossed over her chest.
“If you’d just comply, we wouldn’t have to,” Legato sassily replied, before leaning his head on the bath-pillow at the edge of the tub, letting his body float back up.
“This isn’t for fun, Count,” Maria reminded, pulling her sleeves up past her elbows. “Now, try to relax,” she ordered softly before dipping both her hands in the water.
The maid exhaled slowly before a pair dark blue wings appeared on her back. A fume of steam started to appear above the surface of the water. The count winced at the sudden warmth of the water, only to wince harder when Maria exhaled again, this time making the water’s temperature drop drastically. And thus the daily cycle of hot and cold baths began for Count Legato, and quickly enough the discomfort due the changes of temperature left place to the welcome relaxation of his muscles.
“AAAAaaah,” Legato sighed in deep relief. “You really are the best, Maria,” he whispered contently as the maid kept half of her focus on her task at hand.
“Just let me know if you feel uncomfortable at any time,” Maria replied in an even tone before remembering something she had to say to her master. “You’ve received another letter from your sister by the way,”
“What does Cavatina want this time?” Legato asked in a lazy voice as the therapy did its work.
“She’s asking if you are feeling healthy enough to attend to your niece’s birthday celebration this year,” Maria explained before turning her head toward the bathroom’s windows as the guard dogs in the gardens started barking. “Scutem won’t be happy if it’s another stray cat,” she commented softly.
WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!
“He keeps telling me that the guards are bored and are missing some good action,” Count Legato retorted playfully. “A wild chase around the domain should rejoice him,” he added with a mocking chuckle.
WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!
“It would help his mood if you’d just go out of this castle once in awhile, Count,” Maria commented calmly, her brain trying the tune out the barking pack who was probably running around after whatever small animal they had scented. “You’ve been cooped up in here long enough,”
“Perhaps I have,” Legato admitted slowly. “Though, going back to Maredrid isn’t my idea of a nice, relaxing outing,” he added spitefully, a bit louder than before due the constant barking coming from the outside.
WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!
“It won’t be so bad,” Maria assured softly. “Your nephews will probably be happy to see you,” she added with a brief smile.
“Oh, Maria, if only that was true,” Legato commented with a dry chuckle. “They all have better things to do than to care for their old, broken uncle,” he added bitterly, glaring at the nearby window as Maria pulled one of her hands out of the water.
WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!
“You’re the one who doesn’t answer their letters, Count,” Maria reminded sharply as she reached for the chain of the tub’s tap. “Now, let’s get you out of the tub,” she added more gently as the water was slowly sucked into the drain.
With practiced ease, Maria brought the wheelchair closer to the tub with the help of her foot and placed her right arm and wing into the draining water, just between the Count’s back and the ceramic of the tub. Grunting a bit, the maid quickly pulled her master out of the water and gently placed him back in his wheelchair, on top of which laid his open bathrobe.
Count Legato let out a relieved sigh as his freshly relaxed upper-muscles found the familiar comfort of his padded chair while Maria took a dry towel from a nearby cabinet. As he passed his arms into his robe’s sleeves, the maid kneeled down to dry his bony, inert legs. Calm and professional, Maria kept rubbing the moisture away up to her master’s chest, who remained silent except to sigh briefly and sadly at the known fact he felt the towel only a few centimeters above his hips.
Once most of his body had been taken care of, Maria stood back up and gave the towel to Legato, who had knotted his bathrobe’s belt closed, so that he could start drying his hair. The maid then went to the sink cabinet. A few seconds of search later, she turned around with a hairbrush in hand and cast a glance at the nearby window when she realized the dogs had finally stopped barking. She immediately dropped the brush and let out a shocked and panicked gasp.
“What is it?” Legato asked, confused by his maid’s sudden gasp, slowly turning the wheelchair to face her. “....Maria?” He asked softly at the sight of her shaking like a leaf.
Maria frightfully took a step away from the window. Away from the macabre display of the gutted six dogs that usually watched the domain, all being held in the air by the collar by black insect-like monsters. Away from the sight of the other dozens of those scary intruders who were casually making their way toward the Estate.
“What is going on?!” Legato asked worriedly, forcing Maria to look back at him for a few seconds. “What did you see?”
“...... SCUTEM!” Maria screamed as a reply before dashing for bathroom door. “WE’RE UNDER ATT...ack,” Maria’s cry for the captain of the Count’s guards died in her throat when she stepped into the main corridor of the second floor.
From where she stood, she could see that the front doors of the estate had been rammed through. The domain was filled with the terrified screams of the household’s servants drowned under the feral hisses of their attackers and the clashes of steel against chitin. She witnessed many of the guards being overrun by the monsters: their bodies pierced by the black claw-like spines of their attackers. A familiar scream rang to her ears and when she turned around, she saw one of her fellow maids’ head flying off its owner’s neck.
The responsible stood tall above Maria’s friend’s headless body, its blue pupil-less eyes focused on the shocked maid a few feet from him. When it braced its sharp claws and bared its fangs at her in a violent hiss, Maria reacted quicker than she would have thought. Spreading her dark blue wings open, she threw a bright lightning bolt at the monster. It didn’t move a single inch to dodge the Jupitarian shape, and it took it right in the head. Or it would have, if the lightning hadn’t flew right through its skull.
“....W-what?!” Maria let out in confusion as the black insectoid reared its head, as if taking a deep breath. “...You’re not r-eal,” she whispered as she noticed its right foot fazing through the back of the dead maid. “This is… not real…”
“Maria, dodge!” Count Legato warned in a scared scream, having moved to the open door to see what was happening.
“It’s okay, Count,” Maria replied shakily. “There’s no need to worry…. Nothing is real a....”
Maria’s response was cut short when the monster seemingly spat a long dark spine at her. The projectile hit her right in the middle of the chest, slamming into the nearby wall, on which her body didn’t slide off. Maria coughed some of her blood, looking down as the spine in her chest vanished to be replaced by the feathery end of a crossbow bolt that held her nailed to the wall.
She painfully looked back at the creature that had shot her, only to see a young woman, barely a couple of years older than her, with long, deep green hair, clad a black, chitinous armor, pointing an empty crossbow at her. Maria’s vision got blurry as she witnessed the greenette casually put the crossbow on a nearby furniture before walking for the bathroom.
“Just so you know,” she told the fatally wounded maid in a comforting tone. “Had I been a bit taller, you’d have successfully rescued your cripple of a Count,” she added with a patronizing tap on the cheek before walking inside the bathroom.
“W-who are you?” Count Legato asked in terror as the armored woman locked the door behind her, silencing the difficult last breaths of Maria and the sounds of the fights happening in the atrium. “What do you want?!”
The green-haired woman sized him up with with a raised eyebrow before taking a thick, folded piece of fabric from a large pouch at her belt. Seemingly ignoring him as she unfolded the fabric, Legato’s hand slowly reached down his chair’s right side in order to grab the hidden dagger his captain of the guard had insisted upon. His fingers grazed the pommel before the whole chair glowed brightly green and was flipped over like a pancake.
“That wasn’t a very bright idea, Count,” Chrysalis commented over Legato’s screams of pain from hitting the floor violently.
With a flick of her finger, Chrysalis discarded the wheelchair towards the bathtub, breaking the chair and the tub alike with the strength of her magic. She then examined the portrait she had brought with her, and the moaning man lying on the floor a few feet away. Time and his horse-riding accident, hadn’t been kind on Count Legato : his athletic build had melted into a frail body, his golden blond hair were coursed by large strands of white or grey. He looked about fifteen or twenty years older than on his portrait, which Chrysalis had borrowed from his sister’s office in Maredrid. Which was quite a lot, considering the portrait had been made a few weeks prior to his accident.
“That being said, I have a few questions that only you can answers,” Chrysalis said evenly, crouching next to the writhing noble. “If you don’t mind me asking, of course,” she added playfully as Legato pushed himself up a little bit. “First of all, is that you on this portrait?” She asked, showing him the portrait.
“....W-here did you get that?” Legato asked difficulty, groaning as he tried to keep himself off the ground. “AAAARGH!” He let out in pain after the green-haired woman slapped his right arm away, making him fall heavily back on the floor.
“I want answers, not questions,” Chrysalis retorted calmly. “Is that you on this portrait?” She asked again, almost shoving the painting in his face.
“Yes,” Legato whimpered softly, not trying to lift himself up anymore.
“I found this portrait in Princess Cavatina’s office,” Chrysalis explained sternly. “What is the nature of your relationship with her?”
“She’s my sister,” Legato replied submissively.
“So that makes you the motherly uncle of the Princess Cadenza and the Princes Bolero and Crescendo, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hurt your back on a horse-riding accident four years ago?”
“Yes!”
“Did you work as Prince Fortissimo’s advisor before the accident?”
“Yes!”
“Did you ever scheme against Fortissmo’s reign?”
“No!”
“Did you visit a woman named Farfallina who lived in the slums of Maredrid?”
“.....W-wh-whaAAARGHHH!’ He screamed as Chrysalis vigorously slammed her fist into his lower back.
“Did you visit a woman named Farfallina who lived in the slums of Maredrid?” Chrysalis asked again, keeping the pressure on Legato’s spine.
“....Y...YES!”
“Why?!” Chrysalis demanded loudly, as a green aura started surrounding her hand, magically enhancing the pressure she was applying onto the Count. “Why did you visit that woman?! Who was she to you?!” She roared over Legato’s pained screams. “ANSWER ME!!”
“...She..” Legato began, tears of dolor pouring out of his eyes as he felt his fragile bones cracking under the pressure. “...She was… She was my other sister!”
As soon as Chrysalis processed what he had said, her magic ceased to work. The shock of the news completely broke her focus, and all the illusions she had cast on the domain’s inhabitants broke as well. Outside the bathroom, the young maid Maria sat up against the wall, holding her aching head in both her hands, just like her formerly decapitated colleague. In the Atrium, the still fighting guards realized they were swinging their weapons at nothing, while their dead comrades shook their heads like dogs to recover their confusion. As Chrysalis was still stunned by the reveal, Legato rolled away from her before bellowing for help.
“SCUTEM! THE COUNT IS IN DANGER! HURRY UP!” Maria’s voice shouted back from beyond the bathroom door, after remembering her short interaction with the woman in the black armor.
This and Maria’s attempts to open the bathroom’s door brought Chrysalis out of her daze, her eyes finding their way back to the Count who was crawling backwards away from her. She heard many people running closer as the maid tried to shove the door open, and decided to stand back up. With a flick of her hand, green light-made chains appeared around Legato, restricting his movement even more than his crippled state could. She then turned her head to the bathroom’s door.
“We’ll continue this conversation in a few minutes…… Uncle,” Chrysalis declared softly as she unlocked the door with her magic, ignoring the widening shocked eyes of the Count Legato.
The door was slammed open by the young maid Maria, whose momentum had carried her into the bathroom as Chrysalis’ gloves morphed into thick, spiky gauntlets. The Swarmlady reared her fist back before punching the running servant right in the middle of her face in a sinister crack. Before Maria’s body had even touched the ground that Chrysalis had already reached for the door, and the shocked guard that stood in it. And so began what would later be discovered by the Equestrian Army as the butchery of the Tessitura Estate.