Love's Lost Decade

by Priceless911

Bk7/Ch4 The Experimental City

Book 7/Chapter 4
The Experimental City
(Year 4, month 5, day 22)

Edelweiss placed the old book on a table in the middle of the reading area as Zeil looked at the cover of the book and spoke, “I’ve seen this book before, and it’s the history of the titans isn’t it?”
As Zeil opened the book to look through the pages Edelweiss nodded, “Yes, only this happens to be a first edition. I never knew the author but I do know that he supported Lilith’s purpose. This book along with many others were donated so that this city would have a fully functional library… it’s a shame… it went to waste.”
Zeil nodded, “The one I saw was in a nation known as the highlands, but no doubt it is the same book bu…” he flipped through the pages in confusion, “What is this language? I… I can’t understand any of these symbols.”
Edelweiss smiled, “That’s right, this language isn’t relevant in the world anymore. Sometime after Lilith fell, this language seemed to have died. If you need me to, I can translate. Anyways flip three more pages.”

Doing as he was told, Zeil flipped three pages till he found himself looking at a page with five picture on it, the first were two regale alicorns, a king with an orange coat and a brown mane and beard, and a queen with a cream colored coat and a long crimson mane. A few lines down was another picture this time of a light grey wolf with what looked to be puppies around him. However when Zeil looked closer, he realized that those weren’t puppies around him, but full grown wolves that barely reached knee high to the mighty beast. A few more lines down was another picture, this time of a strange looking sea serpent, though this didn’t seem like a normal run of the mill sea serpent. This one had a long beak on the end of its face and two sets of massive wings that protruded from his back which gave the creature flight. Looking closer, Zeil could barely make out a ship floating on the water beside it, only the small brigantine looked like a toy boat when compared to the massive creature that towered many stories above its tallest mast.

The next picture in the book was of a beautiful red dragoness who when compared to the other dragons around her didn’t seem as grand. Though the fire that seemed to radiate from the edge of her eyes and a blue flame cloak covering her body made her seem much more formidable then any of the dragons surrounding her. And finally on the last picture on the page, Zeil could see a tall minotaur like creature, only rather than straight pointed horns, his horns were curled in like a ram and his hands had long claws that made him seem much more sinister then the rest. That paired with the comparison with a second minotaur that stood at nearly half his height made it obvious that this creature had to be a ruler of some sort. Not to mention, this creature seemed too familiar to Zeil for him to miss as he spoke with only one word, “Lucifer…”
Edelweiss nodded, “Yes… that creature on the bottom is none other than the titan of darkness himself.”
Zeil nodded, “So… he established Lilith?”

Edelweiss nodded as he trotted to the other side of the table and sat down, “Yes… Well… he played the largest part of its establishment, though… I think it’s unions such as mine with my wife which helped inspired the purpose of Lilith.”
“Your union?”
Edelweiss smiled, “Yes… you see, my wife and I were always looked down upon. Seems being out casted was common for those who married outside their race.”
Zeil was confused, “Marry outside your race? But your both alicorn… aren’t you?”
The Scholar shook his head, “No, I may have been born an alicorn noble from Eden, but my wife, is from the pegasi tribes, as was her race at the time.”
Zeil was surprised, “What? But… how? She’s an alicorn now… or… is her horn just for show?”
Edelweiss shook his head, “She can use magic if that’s what you’re asking, though her skills with it are… minimal at best. If I didn’t say it so, anypony who would meet her would assume she was truly an alicorn born and raised.”
“So… how did she become one then?”

Edelweiss smiled in a sinister way, “Would you believe… a relic?”
Zeil was even more surprised, “What? You mean the same thing that is trapping you all here?”
Edelweiss shook his head as he laughed, “Yes but… not the exact same one, the titan leviathan has in his possession a relic that has the ability to change the species of any creature enveloped in its magic, but it’s not forever, so I used a spell of my own to work with it to… alter its effects.”
Zeil replied, “So… you used a spell in combination with a relic?”
Edelweiss nodded, “I did, yes.”
“So… how is it that I’ve never heard of such a thing?”
Edelweiss replied, “Because I left my notes in the care of one of my students in the unicorn kingdom. He says he could study them enough to use it without the need of a titan relic, but I heard he was unable to complete such a spell and passed it down to his pupils. For all I know, it was lost to time.”
Zeil looked back at the book as he replied, “Okay that said, why would the titan of darkness care to establish a unified city of pony races?”

Edelweiss smiled as he replied, “I guess, you will need to know of my story first. As I said, I was born an alicorn noble in Eden. So noble in fact, that when my conception was announced, so too was my betrothed and wedding. Before I was even born, my life was set to marry a noble daughter of another prestigious family regardless of my or her opinion on the matter. Oddly as I grew, that remained the lowest of my interests. I grew up ignoring all around me accept for my knowledge of magic, and how to create new spells. One night just a year before my wedding, I was up late studying new spells and trying to think of ways to alter them. The night was dark, stormy, and the smell of rain and sounds of thunder were all that seemed to fill the air. Until the thunder was overshadowed by a loud crash of shattering glass. It seemed that a weather pegasus had lost control and crashed through the window of my bedroom completely breaking my concentration, along with the window and a table in the room. Seeing the figure come through the glass and pull the drapes down with her, I rushed to her side to see if she was alright. But when I saw her face, I was stunned. Even without a horn, she was the most beautiful mare I had ever met so I set the unconscious mare into my bed and treated her wounds which luckily were simple scratches and bruises. Hours later when she awoke, I had to ask her about… well… everything. Where she came from, what her name was, her interests. As the night progressed, we talked about everything. Her home, mine, our lineage… we were both completely opened books bearing subjects that interested us both. At first I assumed that love at first sight was only for those who hope to settle down immediately… but she… Anna, was my love. At first sight and true as could be.”

Zeil could only smile at Edelweiss’s expressions, “Love can hit you at any time… Trust me… one minute you think it’s impossible to fall in love… and the next, it’s impossible to ignore the love you feel… even if… it hurts…”
Though Edelweiss was concerned with Zeil’s statement, he could only nod, “I couldn’t agree more. The next day when she left to go home, I asked if she could return to see me. So, she did. For a number of days she would stop by the manor on her breaks from weather control and we would spend time together. But… it was obvious to my father that this wasn’t just a gathering of best friends. One day he refuse to allow me to see her, he said that not only was I a betrothed stallion, but it wasn’t proper for an alicorn to be with a pegasus at all, let alone a relationship. So… he gave me an option. Either I renounce my title and leave Eden a disgrace, or I turn Anna away and forget about her.” Edelweiss chuckled, “I was gone within the hour.”
Zeil smiled, “So you left Eden and your life behind for her?”
Edelweiss nodded, “She was my life, the only part of it that I got to choose for myself. But… her family didn’t agree with our love any more than my own. When I arrived at the Pegasi Tribes I explained the situation but they too turned me away. Alicorn are the highest form of species created by our queen. For one to sully himself by living amongst commoners is blasphemy in her eyes. So Anna was given a choice, either forget about me, or leave the pegasi tribes. So… she too left her home.”

Zeil was slightly concerned as he asked, “You were banished from both your homes? What did you do?”
Edelweiss smiled, “We found a clearing, far on the very edge Pony territory and the border between ours and Lucifer’s boundaries. Out there, we built a small cottage and got married in secret. I wrote spells and taught magic to traveling enchanters. She controlled the weather in our region as instructed by the pegasi tribes. One day though, we were visited by an unusual guest. A changeling queen and her drone were passing through our forest and happened upon our home. They knocked on our door and asked for food and water for their journey. Since they seemed sincere in their request, we did the proper thing and greeted them with hospitality, and a few extra vegetable that were near their expiration. Grateful, they thanked us for our kindness and told us that they were on their way to Eden with a request from Lucifer.”
Zeil was confused, “A request? Why would a changeling queen concern herself with delivering a message?”
Edelweiss was surprised, “Oh, that’s right Lucifer’s name and his methods were lost to time weren’t they? Well back then, Changelings were Lucifer’s… diplomates of sorts. They were tasked with delivering messages between the titans and keeping peace in the titan borderlines. They enjoyed their tasks and learning about other cultures from what I hear.”
Zeil gave him a dumb look as he smiled hopelessly, “Somehow I doubt that… until recently changeling were nothing but selfish parasites. And it was their queen, my queen that kept us that way.”

Edelweiss gave Zeil a confused look, “Us?... You’re saying you’re a changeling?”
Zeil nodded, “I am.”
Edelweiss smiled with intrigue, “I hear your kind developed a new appearance since my time, could I bother you to show me?”
Zeil nodded again as he changed into his reformed state as Edelweiss gave him a funny look, “You… look no different. Exactly what has changed? Is it your lack of wings? I heard your kind had turned black and had holes in your hooves.”
Zeil was confused as he looked at his hoof, “What do you mean? This is different then what we were before.”
Edelweiss shook his head, “Well aside from your missing wings and color, you look no different than that last changelings I saw.”
Zeil have him a confused look, “Wait… you mean we were reformed… before?”

Feeling they were getting off track Edelweiss shook his head and waved his hoof dismissively, “Never mind, it’s not important. Where was I? Ah yes, the changeling queen delivering her message to Eden. When she saw my wife and I she was confused, she said something about knowing that we both were of two races, and were deeply in love and questioned it. I guess it’s a changeling thing… anyways when we explained our situation, she could only nod understandingly. She said that true love can transcend races even if we ourselves don’t understand it. Either way she graciously thanked us for our kindness and continued on their journey to Eden. Strangely though a few days later, we were met at our door by a squad of alicorn soldiers… straight from Eden.”

Zeil changed back into his zebra form as he asked, “What? Is it a crime to marry outside your race?”
Edelweiss shook his head, “Not a crime per-say, just looked down upon in my time. But since the soldier carried an official order from the king of Eden himself, we had no choice but to go with them. Especially since it is a crime to disobey our king and queen. So, Anna and I, under escort of royal soldiers were brought before the king and queen of Eden. And when we arrived, there were two other faces waiting for us. One was the changeling queen that we assisted, and the other, was Lucifer the titan of darkness himself. He, came to Eden with an offer to our queen, he wanted to see if it were possible to establish a kingdom in his territory composed of multiple races in hopes of spreading equality amongst the mortals. He said that this continued separation would only bring more pain and death then it would to simply keep them separate. He explained that by separating them, it would only prolong their ignorance and bring them closer to their own attempts to destroy what they don’t understand.”

Zeil nodded in agreement as he replied, “It makes since, the same thing happened to my hive. We didn’t accept the values of other races and it brought my kind to attack other kingdoms. And, it inevitably led us to destroy one, before being destroyed ourselves while facing another.”
Though he questioning it, Edelweiss continued, “Lucifer knew that fear of his own rule would allow the mortals to work together. And since none feared him more than the pony races, he felt it should start with them. A kingdom of mixed ponies, ruled by the alicorn in a territory of a terrifying titan. But when the changeling queen told him of the two ponies living on the outskirts of pony territory, an alicorn and a pegasus living with only the love between them. Well… he felt he had found the perfect king and queen to rule this new kingdom. Although, there was one stipulation. The first laws of the kingdoms were as follows. The kingdom can and will accept residents of any and all mortal races, and that the only race to rule this founding kingdom, was the alicorn race. Meaning that its king and queen needed to be alicorn.”
Zeil nodded, “So, you had to find out how to turn your bride into alicorn.”

Edelweiss nodded, “Yes… permanently. All the titans knew of a pearl in the Leviathan seas where the hippogriff kingdom watched over a relic with such a power, but… that power was only temporary. Once used, you could only hold onto your appearance for a matter of months, but what we needed was a permanent solution so I went to work developing a spell to make the changes permanent. And after a number of tries, I made such a spell. I made something that nullified magic at a halfway point in its actions making so that a spell that had a duration of time could be halted in place. But it did come with a condition… once a spell was halted, it couldn’t be finished or reversed. So… it was in every explanation… a permanent spell. So with my wife changed into an alicorn, we established Eden in Lucifer’s territory and set out to gather volunteers from all pony races to assist in the establishment. It took a while since many were afraid to establish a kingdom in Lucifer’s territory. Evan after the queen assured them it would be safe, we were only able to get outcasts, and banished to join in our cause. In all we had about ten thousand subjects.”
Zeil asked, “Was that enough?”
Edelweiss smiled, “For a simple kingdom, it was enough. Many chose to stay in the city and within the first year build it to what it is now, while the rest established farmland. Though it took a lot of convincing to let them know that they were safe so long as they stayed within Lilith’s territorial borders. They all were worried Lucifer would attack them if they were too fare from the city.”
Zeil replied in confusion, “That’s what I don’t get, you said Lucifer wanted to use fear to establish the kingdom, but, I don’t even know what kind of titan he was. You seem to say he was good, but most of what I hear is that he was evil.”

Edelweiss nodded, “He was the titan of darkness, but only because he knew his roll. It was he who discovered the rule of balance, day and night, light and dark, he knew that without the darkness he brought to the world, everything would be in chaos. So despite how he felt about it, he played his roll well and made himself out to be the most evil and vile creature in the world… for the greater good as he said so himself. His subjects knew better though, they knew him to be the merciful and fair ruler that he truly was. That’s why he created creatures such as demons and apes. It was their bad actions that kept the balance that he sought to keep. So in order to contain that darkness within his borders he created other races with roles of their own. The changeling to judge and grade the creatures so that their darkness doesn’t overrule the light. The zebra to manage and watch over darkness that couldn’t be seen such as spirits and magic. And the minotaur to police the creatures should one try to use darkness in violence against others. But… somewhere down the line, his order unraveled. The minotaurs renounced their deity and resented him out of spite. The changelings became feared amongst even their fellow races, and the zebra well, they started to assume the rest of the world was right, and started distrusting their titan. It’s unknown how this happened, but Lucifer assumed it was because he too tried to make his creations live apart. And as he said, ignorance breeds fear and distrust.”

Though Zeil didn’t know for sure, something in his head said there was more to it as he spoke, “That’s not all… is there? There… is something else… something more… personal to Lucifer.”
Edelweiss was surprised as he nodded, “Yes… there was… it was when Lucifer broke a rule that he and his fellow titans laid.”
Zeil still didn’t understand it, but something popped into his mind out of nowhere as he spoke with only one word, “L-love?”
Edelweiss was surprised, “W-well he did fall in love with a mortal but… how did you know that?”
Zeil tried to think, “I… I don’t know… for some reason, it just… appeared in my mind.”
Edelweiss nodded, “Strange… well no matter the reason we can’t speak further into it.”
Zeil was confused, “What? Why?”
The alicorn scholar closed the book as he replied, “Because there is more to it than that… his true crime is one we aren’t supposed to speak of.”
Zeil was curious so he started to reply, “Really? What did he d-”

At that moment, a loud knock echoed through the library as the doors to the room opened as Captain Rose and a few guards entered with the captain yelling in a fit of anger, “EDELWEISS!!! You have some nerve!”
As Captain Rose stomped into the room, Edelweiss sighed in irritation as he replied, “Captain please… this is a library, have some decency for the readers here. Or has that too escaped your manners.”
Captain Rose looked over the empty library before giving him an angry look, “Don’t give me that crap! Where were you? The queen said after her meeting that she wanted to speak with you directly, but you made her speak with the citizens first then left the area before she could approach you… Does her word mean nothing to you? Or are you truly determined on undermining her rule?”
Edelweiss sighed, “Unlike you, the screams of battle and torture are not something I intend to stand by and listen to. Therefor I felt it in my best interest, to see to other matters then to objectify myself to something that could interfere with my duties. Or do you think that a simple scholar like myself can keep a level head when his mind is exposed to scenes of the traumatic.”
Captain Rose sneered at the scholar as he replied, “Oh, that’s right… you’re a wuss… well despite your cowardess , the Queen still wishes to speak with you directly, so you better get your plot to the throne room before I drag you there by your frilly little turban.”

With a careless and disrespectful tone, Edelweiss trotted passed Captain Rose as he replied, “Would it kill you to say please?”
As Edelweiss trotted by, Captain Rose replied, “I’m not willing to take that risk.” He looked over at Zeil who was sitting at the reading table as he continued, “And what are you doing here Stripes?”
Before Zeil could reply, Edelweiss spoke, “I temporarily hired Mr. Zeil to be my scribe.”
Captain Rose gave him a distrusting look, “Scribe? Him?”
Edelweiss nodded, “Of course, as the royal record keeper, I have many duties to attend to throughout the day, so with a scribe taking down all that I say, my work is basically cut in half. Now in this time of crisis I can both keep a clear head and record all that happens should it be required for future generations to study.”
Captain Rose looked back at Zeil, but his expression showed less anger as he replied, “Future generations… that’s thinking rather optimistically, but at least somepony can still do that.”

He turned away as he replied, “Forgive me Stripes but due to the crisis, I will be placing guard at the door. If you are working with the royal scholar I won’t kick you out, but I will not allow you to roam freely through the castle grounds unescorted, so wait here till Edelweiss returns.”
Zeil nodded, “I understand, I’ll stay and do more research.”
Knowing it was a ploy, Edelweiss nodded as he replied, “Good, I’ll expect a report when I return. Well Rose, shall we see the queen?”
Captain Rose gave Zeil an untrusting look he replied to the scholar’s question, “Sure… her majesty awaits your presence in the throne room.”
With nothing more to say, Captain Rose, Edelweiss and the royal guards left the library as the guards posed themselves outside the room and stood guard.

As Captain Rose and Edelweiss trotted towards the throne room the sceptic captain spoke, “You and Stripes… you two seem to be chummy aren’t you?”
Edelweiss smiled, “What can I say, just because he is a creation of Lucifer, doesn’t place him as any higher or lower on status. Like all of us, he is just trying to live his life as best he can.”
Captain Rose replied, “And how is he doing that exactly? Has he talked about what he did before coming to Lilith?”
Edelweiss shook his head, “No, but I assume whatever it is, it’s better than being stuck here against his will. Besides, I need a scribe to help me with my work and he seems moderately educated enough to help. Even if he has only been at it for less than a day.”
Still untrusting Captain Rose replied, “Really? If you need help that badly you could just ask one of my soldiers for help. You don’t need the assistance of a foreigner from outside the kingdom?”

Edelweiss smiled, “One of your soldiers huh?” he looked at one of the guards, “You? Tell me, what does it mean if I say somepony is being a valetudinarian?”
The guard hesitated before replying, “Um… isn’t that a doctor that works on animals?”
Edelweiss looked back at Captain Rose as he replied, “Is my point made?”
Captain Rose sighed, “You can’t judge my army’s intelligence by the fault of a single sol-“
“Alright then… say the word antiestablishmentarianism.”
Captain Rose hesitated before trying to pronounce the word, “Antiesta… um and antieste…” he clear his throat, “Fine… point taken. But don’t think this means I agree with this decision of yours.”
Edelweiss smiled, “Good, it’s not like your opinion matters on the situation anyways.”
Captain Rose replied with a serious tone, “Weather it does or not… just watch him Edelweiss, something about him doesn’t sit right with me.”

Edelweiss chuckled as he replied, “Come now captain, you say that about every new pony you meet.”
Captain Rose stopped in his tracks as his sudden stop caused Edelweiss to pause as the serious captain replied, “And every time, I’m usually wrong… but for some reason… I think I’m right this time.” He started trotting again, “Now come on… her majesty is waiting.”
Edelweiss was surprised by Captain Rose’s serious expression. The disguised alicorn has gotten used to his, tough and commanding seriousness that is expected from a leader, but this was different than that. This seriousness was more caution and hidden worry then the usual suck-it-up attitude that he has always held. Either way, Edelweiss decided to wait till he spoke with the Queen before asking about it.

When they arrived in the throne room, the two ponies approached the throne as they both bowed as Edelweiss spoke, “Your grace, I have come as summoned. First I must apologies from my sudden leave of absence earlier today. But one such as I have no place on the battlefield, and hearing screams of those poor souls outside the city was something that I couldn’t bear to stay present for.”
Queen Anna was sitting in deep thought before the two approached so she stood and spoke, “I understand Edelweiss, I would prove myself a poor queen, should I have forced you to stay. Or… have I surrendered to that status already…”
Although that last comment was more for herself then her two advisors, Edelweiss still rose from his bow as he spoke, “I wouldn’t judge yourself so harshly your majesty. Today you’ve proven yourself more worthy of royalty then any to reign before in any kingdom. To be so loyal to your subjects as to offer your own freedom in exchange for their lives, proves you to be on par with the Queen of Eden herself… if I should so blasphamicly say so that is.”

Captain Rose stood up from his bow and gave Edelweiss an annoyed look as this reaction caused Queen Anna to smile as she replied, “You flatter me with your words Edelweiss, but the sentiment is appreciated.”
Captain Rose could only roll his eyes, “I don’t even think that was a word… Blaphemicly?”
Queen Anna didn’t hear Captain Rose as she continued, “I assume you wonder why I needed to speak with you following today’s meeting?”
Edelweiss nodded, “Yes, I assume you were told something rather troubling… besides it was obvious that we have till Friday before Lilith is destroyed.”
Queen Anna was stunned by his words as Edelweiss continued, “I could hear it in your voice. When you said that General Fist was going to consider your request and that he would give an answer on Friday… I could tell that it was actually denied and he was giving us till Friday before he would attack.”
Captain Rose replied, “And the fact that he said so himself when he executed those citizens had nothing to do with you knowing… did it?”

Edelweiss replied with a careless tone, “Let’s not dwell on what we know, better we focus on what you needed to speak with me about. I doubt you would come to me for advice on readying a counter attack, would you?”
Queen Anna nodded, “Yes well, first answer me this. From what I’ve seen, you have spent an ample amount of time escorting Mr Zeil through the city have you not?”
Edelweiss nodded, “I have.”
Queen Anna continued, “Tell me… what is your impression of him?”
Edelweiss smiled but before he could reply, Captain Rose spoke first, “Edelweiss took it upon himself to hire Mr. Zeil as a royal scribe.”
Queen Anna was surprised, “A scribe?”
Edelweiss replied with a sigh, “Actually I hired him as an assistant scribe, a royal scribe can, and will be hired only by her majesty. There is a difference captain… whether you know it or not.” He looked back to the queen, “I felt us responsible for Mr. Zeil’s inability to leave the kingdom. So after speaking with him and finding out that he is will educated, I felt he would be a good assistant to help me keep records during these difficult times, especially since he already refused to fight for our kingdom.”

Captain Rose was surprised, “He what?” he looked at the queen, “Your majesty? Did you know about this?”
Queen Anna nodded, “I did, it was part of our discussion yesterday evening. I offered him a mercinaries contract to help defend our city and he refused.”
Captain Rose continued, “And why was I not informed?”
Edelweiss replied, “Because it didn’t involve you in any way… unless he were to accept which he did not.”
Captain Rose replied, “If he refuses then why not draft him by force.”
Edelweiss replied, “Because it is a crime to forcibly draft a subject of another kingdom. You of all ponies should know this. Now before we dwell onto other obvious questions you may have… perhaps we should get back to the subject at hand.”
Queen Anna nodded as she replied, “Agreed, so you say Mr. Zeil is educated. Do you know anything more about him?”

Edelweiss was confused as he replied, “Anything more? Like… what your majesty?”
The queen continued, “Perhaps, he spoke of his destination. Or his reasoning for making his journey? Maybe he happened to mention where he was born, since he has said before that he has no kingdom to call his own.”
Edelweiss thought to himself, he originally wanted to tell his queen that Zeil was a changeling but he felt it would be better to keep that secret since it could make him seem more suspicious of being an enemy spy. So with carful choices in his words, Edelweiss replied, “He mentioned that he was from a faraway kingdom called… um Zebrica or something of the sort. I looked up the location myself but it appears that the nation is fairly new, so new in fact that it was established after every book in my library had been published. However he mentioned where it was and found it to be a ways beyond the coast. Passed Atlantis and near Raiden’s territory.”

Captain Rose chuckled as he replied, “Yea… he was spouting something about an imaginary kingdom that was a few hours away from here yesterday… if that leaves me to believe anything, it’s that he is a raving lunatic with no clue about the world around him. Not the educated type that you would assume him to be Edelweiss.”
Edelweiss gave Rose an annoyed look as Queen Anna thought to herself, “I recall him mentioning something about a vow he had made to a mare he loves. Perhaps she is in this Zebrica awaiting his return. But did he mention what reason he found himself so far from home?”
Edelweiss shook his head, “No he didn’t. However I did find that he is a noble stallion with a moral code. He sees the injustice around him and strives to help in any way he can… aside from breaking his vow of course. That is the reason that when he approached me looking for a job to assist our war without fighting, I decided to make him a scribe.”
Queen Anna nodded, “I see… in that case, let me ask this… Do you trust him?”
Edelweiss nodded as he agreed, “I do… yes.”
Queen Anna spoke again, this time with a more serious tone, “With your very life?”

Edelweiss was confused with her dark tone, “Um… yes, if it should come to that, I trust he would risk himself to save those in need… myself included.”
Queen Anna took a moment to look upon her scholar for a brief moment before smiling as she replied, “Then… that’s all I needed to hear.”
As she said that, Queen Anna sat in her throne as Captain Rose spoke in shock, “Wh-what? That’s it? Your majesty, there should be more to it than th-”
“Edelweiss, my most trusted scholar says he is safe… so… I too trust Mr. Zeil. Not with my life, but with reasonable acceptance.”
Edelweiss and Captain Rose were both surprised by the Queen’s words as Edelweiss replied with a little confusion, “Um… did I miss something your majesty?”
Queen Anna nodded as she replied, “You did… however you have reassured me that I have nothing to fear from Mr. Zeil. That said… I have an order for you.”
Edelweiss bowed slightly as he replied, “Yes you majesty, what do you ask of me.”

Queen Anna replied, “Captain Fist apparently has interest in Mr Zeil for reasons that I am… unsure. From this moment on, you will observe Mr. Zeil and learn more about him. If you find that he has any particular skills, knowledge, or abilities that may peak the interest of the minotaur kingdom. I want you to report them to me at once. But… if whatever skill he possess turns out to be a viable threat to the kingdom or worse… the rest of the world… I want him detained at once. Even if, in order to detain him… you must use deadly force.”
Edelweiss was speechless, he had no idea that General Fist even knew about Zeil in the first place nor did he see even the slightest reason for the Minotaur Kingdom to want a simple traveler. As Edelweiss tried to peace together his response Captain Rose spoke, “Deadly force? But your majesty, if Mr. Zeil is killed, then we will have no bargaining chip for the kingdom and its safety!”
Queen Anna replied, “Lilith, is in a sorry state, and I will accept that it is partially, if not fully the fault of myself and my king. But if Lilith should fall, I will not hand over a weapon to be used against others. For whatever reason, the minotaur want Mr. Zeil alive. If he is a danger to the rest of us, then I’d rather he be killed now then to be used to harm others.”

Edelweiss asked, “Wait a second your majesty! Are you telling me that General Fist decided to make an offer for the kingdom, and the bargaining chip we hold is Mr. Zeil?”
Queen Anna replied, “Please do not speak of him as if he were some mere possession. True the general asked for Mr. Zeil in exchange for the kingdom but I’m not willing to hand him over without explanation. Even if it is for my subjects. It’s not right to sacrifice one for many. Especially if he isn’t even one of my own subjects. To do so would only prove Lilith’s purpose to be false. That no race can be treated equally.”
Although Edelweiss was surprised that such an offer was made, he still knew the general enough to be sceptic as he asked, “What were his words exactly? Did he say, and I quote, if you hand over the zebra I will spare your kingdom?”
Captain Rose replied, “What are you deaf now? The queen just said that, that was the of-”
Edelweiss replied, “Don’t see me as rude Rose… but I was asking her majesty… not you.” He looked back to his queen, “Your grace?”

Captain Rose gave Edelweiss an angry look as Queen Anna replied, “Now that I think about it… at no point did he use those exact words.”
Captain Rose replied, “What? But he said…”
“He said that he would consider sparing my subjects in exchange for Mr Zeil. And he said later that if I delivered him, that my subjects would be taken care of. In other words…”
Edelweiss nodded as he replied to the Queen’s explanation, “In other words, as soon as we hand over Mr. Zeil… chances of him betraying us is high.”
Queen Anna nodded, “Yes… he would no doubt launch his attack anyways. Despite our cooperation. Best we discover why he wants Mr. Zeil before even considering the offer.”
Edelweiss nodded as he bowed in response, “Then I know what to do your majesty, I will observe Mr Zeil closely while he is under my employment. As such I will casually asked more about him in hopes of discovering more of his past. If he is hiding something then he will no doubt have hesitations or signs of dishonesty in his responses.”

Queen Anna nodded as she smiled, “Very well, then I will leave you to your instructions. But… be cautious. I doubt Mr Zeil is against us in any way, but take care to defend yourself should he become hostile. So saith the Queen.”
Edelweiss and Captain Rose bowed in respect as they both replied, “Long live the queen.”
With that said, Edelweiss rose form his bow and left the throne room on his way back to the library. Though Edelweiss now felt suspicious of Zeil’s travels, he still held trust in the unknown changeling. He couldn’t understand why it was, but he did know that whoever the strange guest was, wasn’t a danger to him or his kingdom.

Back in the library, Zeil was standing at one of the book cases flipping through pages of one of the books as he shook his head and closed it, “No… nothing.”
Zeil replaced the book on the shelf then looked down the titles again as he found another book as he pulled it from the shelf and opened it. However this too held a language he didn’t understand as he sighed, “It’s no use, even if I did find a book on Zebrica, I can’t ask Matthias to translate. The mage said I need to keep the subject secret. I don’t know if I can’t trust Matthias with information on the image of Zebrica… nor can I expect him to accept that that’s what I’m supposed to become. And every book in this library is written in the ancient language.”
As he replaced the book, Edelweiss entered the library as he saw Zeil standing at the shelf, “Oh, decided to do some research while you wait?”

Having an alibi ready, Zeil replied, “Yea, I was wanting to find a book about Zebrica, but I can’t read any of these books. They are all in that language you told me about.”
Edelweiss nodded as he replied, “Yes, well… even if you could read it… I doubt you will find anything about any kingdom of your era in this library, I don’t know much about the world today, but I do know that every kingdom that exist in my time is no more.”
Zeil thought to himself, “it’s too bad, I wanted to see if there was anything about the zebra race here.”
Edelweiss was curious, “Zebra? I thought you were a changeling?”
Zeil nodded, “I am… but… the mare I’m trying to return to… she is a zebra. And… I try to learn about her culture on occasion so I can feel closer to her.”
Edelweiss was surprised, “A zebra? So… you are in love with one of a different race as well?”
Zeil nodded as Edelweiss smiled and pulled up a chair as he spoke, “Alright… time to fess up… I want to hear about your journey. Tell me of the world in your time. I’m anxious to know how the world views your forbidden love.”
Zeil didn’t like the idea of his feelings for Zecora being referred to as forbidden, but since Edelweiss was so enthusiastic about hearing his story, Zeil felt it was safe to tell it, so long as he left out the part about the Mage and his spell book.

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[tsaukpaetra]

Which of course is the key in this iteration.
How entertaining it is that he keeps encountering kindred creatures. Darned destiny....