MY QUEEN

Chapter 1: Empress

By MargaritaDaemonelix

She did her best everyday, but when the whole world came crashing down on her shoulders, he was right there, ready to help her.

"Milady! Milady, there's an ambassador here from Hamel today."

"Hamel? Send word to the chefs to prepare a banquet fit for the occasion. We will welcome the ambassador with open arms."

The Nasod bowed. "Of course, milady."

Empress Eve of Altera sighed. She'd only been empress for a week, but her day was only getting more and more hectic. Oberon, her butler, had been called away to be measured for new garments, and Ophelia, her handmaiden, was working overtime to cover the open spot. Her bodyguard Ferdinand was trying his best to help, but…

"Ferdinand! I instructed you specifically to stay away from the tea!" Snapped Eve when he shattered another teacup. "I'm sorry, milady," he said, bowing awkwardly. "I will do my best to not destroy anymore… Teacups."

"MILADY!" Screamed Ophelia, rushing into the room and knocking over another teacup. Luckily, Eve's royal drones, Kuro and Shiro, managed to catch this one in time. "It's not an ambassador that's coming, it's the crown prince of Hamel!" Panicked the young Nasod. Eve's mind stumbled, but she managed to keep the pokerface she was so well known for.

"Tell those on cleaning duty that the palace must be spotless," she said, standing up from her throne. "I do not want the prince of Hamel to come to Altera and see our palace in tatters."

With those words out, she flicked her hand, motioning for her drones to follow. They opened the small set of doors behind the throne for her, leading to her private dressing room. Ophelia followed behind her queen, ready to assist.

Calmly, Eve removed the pure white, silky overcoat she was known to wear in her kingdom. Her predecessor, Empress Adalia, would have condemned the coat, but she was fond of wearing it. It had been with her since she had been named Adalia's successor. Upon Adalia's sudden death, she had been required to wear a certain white dress on all occasions, but as empress of Altera, she refused.

It simply wasn't in Eve's nature.

"Your majesty," said Ophelia, holding out the beautiful white dress that Eve loathed so much. It was beautiful, she'd admit that much, but she hated it nonetheless. The last time she had seen anyone but herself wear it, it was at Adalia's final banquet before her death. She hated the dress, because it wasn't hers to begin with. It would always be Adalia's, in her mind.

She sighed and removed the long stockings that she always wore with her overcoat. "Thank you, Ophelia," she murmured, pulling on the ivory dress and long silvery boots that went with it. Ophelia gently pulled down the lazy buns that Eve had done around her sound receivers and began to braid her hair. "Ophelia, after you braid it, could you please wrap my hair around my sound receivers again? Thank you," she said, trying to set aside Adalia's signature hairstyle. She needed to be independant.

Adalia, what shall I do? She prayed silently in her head as Ophelia carefully pulled her silver hair around the sound receivers and pinned it in place. "Your majesty, shall I retrieve the coronation tiara?" Asked Ophelia, pulling up a hologram of the Nasod tiara that had been passed down since the first Nasods had walked Elrios. It was too fancy for Eve, covered in El gems of all the colours of the spectrum. She shook her head. "No. My everyday tiara will suffice."

Ophelia looked alarmed. "Milady?" She spluttered, the hologram flickering and fading as Eve set the tiara she wore everyday in her hair. Far in the distance, trumpets played. "Presenting his royal majesty, Prince Seiker of Hamel!"

Eve turned to the door. "Ophelia, please do not worry. I will be fine," she said before opening the door once again, ready to face her guest, no matter what.

Adalia, guide me.

To say that Chung Seiker was scared would be an understatement.

He was terrified, almost to point where he'd pull up his Destroyer and just bust his way out of the stupid carriage. The the only thing that was keeping him together was the promise Father had made him before he left.

"If you go on this trip, I'll let you marry that girl from Sander you've been drooling over."

Well, that had certainly gotten Chung's gears a-running. He'd practically hopped into the carriage. That had been nearly two days ago. Now, he was about to explode from nervousness.

As he stepped into the Altera royal palace, he couldn't help but stare at each and every Nasod, how each one was different, yet looked so human. He also noticed a lot of blinds had been shut, and curtains drawn. The Altera flag was at half-post. Someone important had died recently.

BRUUUU BRUUU BRUUUU! "Presenting his royal majesty, Prince Seiker of Hamel!" Announced a herald. Chung began to shudder. What if the empress got mad at him and decided to execute him? Would Father declare war on Altera? A thousand unanswered questions flooded into his mind as he pulled up the mental image of Empress Adalia, with her jet-black hair and her blazing blue eyes, and prepared himself for tragedy.

As he rounded the corner to the throne room, his heart nearly stopped. That was not Empress Adalia on the throne.

Instead, a young Nasod girl, with silver hair wrapped in two braided buns, sat stiffly on the throne, wearing Adalia's white dress and silver boots, and(for some reason) a simple, tiny silver tiara. "Greetings, Prince Seiker," said the girl simply as she stood up, and Chung realized that sadly, she was taller than him. "I am Empress Eve of Altera. It is a pleasure to have you here."

For some reason, Chung felt the need to kneel down and kiss her hand, so he did, dropping his Destroyer cannon to one side. "Milady," he said, a blush covering his cheeks, "I am Prince Seiker of Hamel, the Iron Paladin of Senace." Had he not been staring at his feet, he would have noticed a light blush spread across Eve's cheeks too.

"I understand that you are not familiar with me as the empress," continued Eve, having regained her composure. "The late Empress Adalia named me her successor six years ago, but I believe I wished for no grand ceremony at the time."

"Empress Adalia's… Dead?" Blinked Chung in disbelief. Out of all the people-Nasods-he could have imagined to have died, Adalia was not one of them.

"Yes. The late Empress suffered from what she insisted was mild overheating. However, in reality, one her vital circuits was malfunctioning, and it eventually led to her entire system short-circuiting," said Eve, a hint of sadness in her voice. "I'm… I'm so sorry," said Chung, quite shocked. "Empress Adalia was a great ruler, and she was really nice too. Is there any way I could… Visit her?"

Eve looked up from her feet. "In fact, yes," she said before turning to one of her subordinates. "Prepare refreshments for our guests from Hamel. I will be taking the Prince to the archives."

A few gasps followed this, but no one really reacted. Probably because that's the Empress you're talking to. Eve nodded at Chung. "Follow me."

And because he really had nothing better to do, he did.

"These are the Royal Archives," said Eve, her voice echoing into the glassy chamber as Chung followed behind her, mesmerized by what he was seeing. The entire room seemed to be filled with beautiful green light, always moving and dancing from different angles.

"Whenever an Alteran Emperor or Empress dies, his or her code is registered into his or her own unique archive space," said Eve, gesturing to a floating console with a holographic image of an ancient Nasod emperor hovering above it. "Each archive is saved so that future generations of Nasods may learn necessary virtues." Chung looked up into the room to see thousands of consoles, all floating in the air with holographic Nasods above them. "In this sense, Nasods can also come to pay tribute to the deceased royalty. The Altera Royal Palace allows all Nasods to enter the Royal Archives for this reason."

She suddenly stopped, Chung bumping into her from her abrupt movement. "Sorry," he said nervously, moving away. Eve blinked. That human's armor is worthy of investigation. "This… This is Empress Adalia's archive," she managed, stepping into the faint light of the hologram. She knelt in front of it, clasping her hands in a light prayer. Chung knelt beside her, not knowing what to say. Finally, he managed to pray for Adalia's soul to be happy.

"And here is the archive space they will have for me when I… Pass on," said Eve, finishing with some difficulty. It was a blank console, not emitting any code, but it already had an image of Eve on her coronation day floating above it. "That crown you're wearing-that's not the coronation crown," noticed Chung. "Yes. I prefer this one," replied Eve.

Chung smiled. "Keep it on. You look better in it," he said.

Eve felt her interior temperature shoot up three degrees. What was it about this prince that had triggered such a reaction? "Prince Seiker-" She began, but Chung cut her off. "Just Chung is fine," he assured her. "... Chung," she said, feeling somewhat relieved. "If I am to call you Chung, then I insist you call me Eve."

Again, Chung smiled. "Of course, milady."

"Eve, when Empress Adalia… When Nasods pass on, what do you do with them? Do you just bury them in a special plot, or do you wrap them in cloth, or… What do you do with them?"
Eve and Chung were sitting in Eve's study(workshop might be a closer term), sipping tea and eating petit fours. Eve shook her head. "Nasod are not human, nor do we have organic compounds in our bodies. We have no use for decomposition."

She stood up and retrieved an ornate glassy box with a glowing silver orb hovering inside. "This is the heart of Empress Adalia," she explained. Chung watched in wonder as Eve set it back on the shelf where she'd picked it up. "All Nasod have hearts. At the very core of the heart is an El gem. When common Nasod come to the end of their lives, they travel with companions to the Return Plains. Beneath the Return Plains lies Altera's core, where all Nasod are created. There, they can rest.

"Because the heart of the Nasod are stronger and more dense than the bodies of the Nasod, the heart will sink into the earth to return to the Core. The metal from the bodies of the Nasod will be absorbed by the Core to make new Nasod. In this way, Nasod can be reborn with healthy bodies."

"Then what about your personalities?" Asked Chung. "If you're going to be reborn, aren't you supposed to have the same personality?"

Eve tilted her head. "Personality values are recorded within Nasod code," she stated blankly. Chung mentally slapped a palm to his forehead as he remembered that he was talking to an emotionless android, for Lady El's sake. "I meant, how are you supposed to be reborn, if your personality is going to be different?" Asked Chung.

"... There is a legend among the Nasod," began Eve, "that the last Nasod to have the heart one possesses aside from oneself will transfer all his or her morals and values to the current bearer. If that is the case, I… Most likely, I will not pass on any morals or values."

Her pained expression twisted Chung's heart, and suddenly, he could have sworn she looked sad. "Hey, Eve," he tried, wracking his brain for some way to cheer the Nasod empress up, "in Hamel, they say that each soul is connected to a star in the sky, and when a soul decides to be reborn, there is a shooting star." He smiled, hoping that it would elevate her mood.

Eve sipped her tea and picked up a cherry-topped dessert. "I suppose these are just common folklore, designed to make children happy," she said, enjoying a bite of the petit four. "We should most likely be heading back to the throne room. I assume we have a negotiated peace agreement?"

Chung smiled as he stood up, giving Eve his hand. "Yeah. Peace."

She took it, and delicately rose. "Please do return to Altera in the near future, Chung," she said. "I would like to study your armor sometime."

"Only if we get to have tea again," countered Chung. Eve smiled, a rose blooming in the barren, snowy land. "Yes, we will have tea."

"Milady Eve! We're being attacked!" Exclaimed Oberon as he rushed into the throne room, nearly tripping over his own feet. "By whom?!" Demanded Eve, flying off her throne and onto her feet. "Demons from the south. Ferdinand has gone to intercept them," reported Ophelia, flying in with a string of grenades around her waist and shoulder. "Kuro, Shiro, let's go. We have an army to stop," said the empress, walking out of her throne room.

A young Nasod girl, Eve's appointed successor, came running up. "Milady Eve, let me help!" Begged the Nasod. Eve shook her head. "No, Rania. You must stay behind. If I should not survive this battle, you are to become the next empress of Altera," she instructed. "Go to the emergency shelters. Bring who you see fit. Protect yourself. I will do the battling for all Nasods today.

With that said, Eve looked out the open window into the fray below. "Ophelia. Send a message to Hamel. Request for Ch-Prince Seiker," she commanded. "Tell him that this is an urgent situation, and that his abilities as the Iron Paladin of Senace are required, immediately!"

She swung an arm out, commanding Kuro and Shiro to smash the window open, and jumped out, ready sacrifice her being for her people.

A cackle rose through the air as a demon stabbed another Nasod through the chest. "Altera will fall today," said Zenith, leader of the demon army, "and I will-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. Ferdinand had just smacked him in the face with his blade, sending him sprawling across the ground. He tried to stand up, but an electric pulse jittered through his body as Ophelia shot lighting from her fingertips. For good measure, Oberon ran in and slashed at the demon with his sword. Zenith stood up, slashed and battered.

"Hehe… You think you can fight me… DEVIL'S CORKSCREW!" He yelled, sending the three loyal servants of Eve into a hellish tornado. Ferdinand came crashing out first, his body broken and beaten. Ophelia managed to land on her feet, but the impact broke her legs, and she crumpled.

The last to be thrown out was Oberon, landing on his back beside Ophelia. "I'm sorry… Ophelia, I've always loved… You…" He managed before lying still. The still-living Ophelia, after checking her vitals, hovered up painfully, all her remaining grenades in hand. "I'm sorry, too, Oberon, I never hated you," she whispered, sending her grenades at Zenith. "I love you too."

She released all the electricity from her body in one static jolt at the demon before falling beside her two companions. Zenith surveyed the area. The only thing that stood between him and the Altera palace was… Nothing. He shuddered as an aftershock of Ophelia's shock ran through his spine, tingling at the bruise Ferdinand had left on his cheek and the open cuts on his arms from Oberon's attack. He shrugged it off, turning back to the castle.

A lone figure, clothed in white, had appeared. Empress Eve stood beside the broken bodies of her three closest companions, a horrible terror spreading across her face.

"I do not know what you intend to accomplish here, but I assure you, it will not work," she said, her voice steely as she typed on her hologram, faster than ever. Zenith didn't even have time to look as a giant fist came dropping out of the sky and smashing him into the ground.

Eve turned, thinking her job was done, until Zenith managed to throw the giant fist off. "Hehe… Shall we play a little game, little queen?" He cackled. Eve's eyes flared with a dangerous light. "Your call."

The giant fist flew up again, continuously pounding Zenith and smacking him off his feet as he blasted Eve with dark energies. Finally, at his wits' end, he grabbed her as he avoided the fist, and prepared another dark attack-the final blow.

"I will not tolerate your impudence any longer!" Yelled Eve, struggling to type. The fist went higher up, and up…

...Before crashing down with an almighty boom.

For the moment, the battlefield was silent.

The fist rolled aside as Zenith crawled out from underneath the wreckage. He could see Eve's battered form, barely just still breathing. He summoned his remaining energy, ready to end it for once and for all.

And yet again, something smacked him in the face so hard that he went flying. "You monster," growled Chung as he stood, his Destroyer in hand. "You killed Oberon, Ophelia and Ferdinand, and you almost killed Eve. What kind of a sick monster are you?"

"A demon," sneered Zenith, charging his power for another Devil's Corkscrew. Chung pressed a button on his armor, which flipped up his helmet and faceguard, and jumped into the air, praying to the El lady. "DOOM STRIKE!"

And of a second time, the battlefield was silent.

Chung stood by the demon's body for only a moment before running to the wreck of the fist again. "Oh my Lady El, Eve!" He shouted, removing his faceguard to see her better. "Tell me where it hurts. Do you need help? What am I saying? Of course you need help!"

"Chung," she whispered, reaching for his face. In his moment of panic, Chung had forgotten that she was alive. "Eve," he dared to breathe. "It's over, Chung, it's finally over."

"Yeah, the attack's over. We won," replied Chung. Eve shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant, Chung. When I brought the Heaven's Fist down on Zenith and myself… It ruptured a large portion of my vital circuits. I'm dying, Chung."

Just those three words-I'm dying, Chung- brought the world crashing down on Hamel's crown prince. "What?" He stammered, holding her tightly to him. "No, Eve, you're not dying! You can be fixed! I'll fix you myself if I have to!"

Again, Eve shook her head, this time weakly. "Chung… My time is up," she said, her breath coming in shallow gasps. "... Please, Chung, make sure my code makes it to the Archives."

Chung's eyes swam. "Eve, you can't just give up now! Not after everything you've done!" He cried, shaking her a little. As he did, a piece of her arm fell out, bent and ragged. A stream of oil spilled out, staining her ivory dress.

"Chung… Be happy… Remember what I told you about the hearts of the Nasod?" She whispered. Chung nodded, tears pouring out of his eyes at this point. "Perhaps we'll meet again in another life. Maybe we can be happy there, and maybe you could tell me about your armor…"

Closing her eyes, Eve let herself go limp in Chung's arms. "I'll always love you, Chung," she managed before her last breath drifted out of her. As Chung watched in horror, the lights from her eyes went dark, and even the El gem in her forehead lost its glow. "No… Eve!" He cried, cradling her still form. "Why? Why now?"

And indeed it was as if his entire world had just crashed all around him. As he wept, Chung swore he could hear a voice-Eve's delicate voice, full of life.

"Chung, I will be by your side. Always."

And somehow, amidst all the war and blood around him, Chung for a reason to smile.