A new chapter for you all!
Strife667: Yep, they're still in the awkward getting-to-know-you stage right now!
Luminous/ShinyLuminous: If you're not the same person I apologize, but your usernames are so similar and since the questions in your reviews were the same, I'm answering like this. I promise you will find out soon!
SolarFlare579: Nope, Zarya has zero interest in what being royalty has to offer… and of course the queen cares! In fact, my first draft of that scene involved her asking Zarya to look over a proposal that would improve the lives of street kids… but I couldn't get it to mesh with the rest of the chapter, so I ended up scrapping it. :(
ZaryaM-pinkskullsandmoonbeams: Out of all the characters, her voice is clearest in my head… which is why so many of my Mysticon stories feature her so prominently!
I don't own Mysticons.
Reunion part 1
Zarya had started to get used to her new life as second Crown Princess. Classes in the morning, and various practical things in the afternoon. That wasn't to say she was enjoying it. Her messy handwriting had been the subject of endless criticism from their tutors, and her knowledge of certain topics was rudimentary at best. She knew next to nothing about the history or politics of the realm, and the only reason she knew anything about laws was because she'd broken most of them at some point or another. Not to mention the etiquette instructor had nearly had a nervous breakdown trying to cure her of her more… abrasive tendencies (it didn't help that the woman was also the dance master, which wasn't going well, either). But this family meal was something she'd actually been looking forward to.
She made a face as she entered the room. Yes, family meals meant that she got to spend time with Mom and Arkayna—but it also meant Gawayne, unfortunately. She decided to try to ignore him as she took her seat. But if he says anything…
The servants had all been dismissed for the hour. Zarya starting shoving food in her mouth as fast as she could—a holdover from her years living on the streets.
Mom was caught up in conversation with Arkayna, but she turned for a moment, just in time to see Zarya shoveling the last of her food into her mouth. "Zarya! What in the stars are you thinking, eating that quickly?"
Zarya couldn't answer with her mouth full, not because she gave a griffin toenail about table manners of all the ridiculous things, but because to a street rat, there was no greater sin than wasting food. She swallowed it as quickly as possible, then replied, "I'm just… eating. What's the problem?"
Mom frowned at her. "Where would you ever learn to eat your food like that?"
There was a quiet snort from across the table, but when Zarya looked over at Arkayna, her sister had a book open on the table in front of her and was appearing to ignore them. Zarya finally answered Mom with, "Where do you think? Out on the streets, the quicker you eat, the less chance you have that someone'll steal your food from you. Also you don't know where your next meal is gonna come from."
Mom looked like she was about to respond, but before she could, there was a snicker from Gawayne. "Wow, Mom, Dad, I can't believe you removed me from the line of succession in favor of this uncultured peasant."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a dagger thunked into the table, right next to his plate. Gawayne leaped back with a yelp, and the entire chair toppled over. Using the overturned chair to pull himself up, he found Zarya glaring at him from across the table, another blade in her hand.
"Care to say that to my face, you insufferable, self-absorbed little troll?"
Gawayne looked around for a moment, his mouth moving but no sound coming out. Finally, he managed to whine, "Dad, new stepsister's throwing knives at me!"
Zarya snorted. "If I'd thrown it at you, it would've hit you. I don't miss what I aim for. Ever."
Mom looked like she was about to intervene, but Arkayna spoke up before she could. "Zarya, we've been over this. If you're going to carry knives on you, don't let us see them. Gawayne, generally speaking, antagonizing somebody who's known to be armed at all times is a bad idea." She went back to her book as soon as she was done.
As Zarya tucked the blade back into her sleeve, one of the servants walked into the room. Gawayne was the first to notice. "Oh, good. Butler, make me a sandwich that I can take to my room. I'm so over this family meal thing!"
The older man regarded him with a neutral expression before ignoring him completely and turning to the table. "Princess Zarya, per your request, I am here to inform you that the pirate ship you asked us to keep an eye out for has been sighted approaching the palace."
Zarya froze for a moment, then disappeared from the room so fast Arkayna swore she saw a blue dust cloud in her sister's wake. Her voice could be heard floating behind her. "Thank youuu!"
Mom turned to the servant. "I'm sorry, did you say pirate ship?"
He nodded.
She stood. "Well, they have some nerve, coming up to the palace in broad daylight like this! I suppose I'll have to arrest them all myself." She began walking toward the balcony.
Uh-oh. Arkayna should have seen that coming; Mom didn't know about the Pink Skulls yet. She didn't know they were the Mysticons' fiercest allies…
Well, at least I've got something to deal with this…
Arkayna quickly ran through the palace hallways, not caring who saw her. She made a detour to her own rooms to grab something before making her way out to the balcony.
When she got there, it was to find Zarya and Kitty chattering excitedly at each other. Mom was standing nearby, trying to get a word in edgewise and failing miserably. Arkayna decided to let this play out for a minute.
Finally, Mom stepped forward and made an emphatic "time-out" motion. "Enough! I don't care who you are or why you're here, but you are under arrest for pirating."
Kitty frowned. Zarya turned around and replied, "You're not arresting anybody. Don't touch her."
Mom took another step forward. "I most certainly am arresting her. Along with every other pirate on this ship."
Kitty took a step back, all evidence of amusement now gone. Zarya stepped in front of her. "I said, don't touch her. What part of that was unclear?" All traces of her previous lighthearted mood had vanished; she stood with her arms crossed, glaring at Mom.
"Why won't you let me arrest a dangerous criminal that had the audacity to fly directly up to the royal palace?"
Zarya stood her ground. "I'm a dangerous criminal too. Do you think I'm not worth arresting? It doesn't matter anyway, because I won't let you lay a hand on her without a fight!"
"She's right, Mom; you can't arrest them."
All heads turned to face Arkayna, who had gone unnoticed until then. Mom was the first to speak. "You, too? Then tell me: why am I not allowed to arrest criminals after they've delivered themselves on a silver platter?"
"You can't arrest them," Arkayna replied, "because they're no longer criminals." Ignoring the incredulous looks that Zarya and Kitty were shooting her, Arkayna unrolled the large scroll in her hand and began reading from it in a clear voice.
"By orders of Princess Arkayna Goodfey, let it be known that as of this, the nineteenth day of the month of the kraken, in the year of the phoenix, the former pirates known as the Pink Skulls are hereby pardoned of any and all crimes committed against the realm of Gemina, in recognition of their heroic acts in the war against the Spectral Hand. Witnessed by Malvaron Grimm, and signed by her royal hand, Arkayna Goodfey, First Crown Princess of Gemina, Mysticon Dragon Mage." Arkayna rolled up the scroll and glanced over at Kitty. "It's yours, if you want it."
Kitty stared at her a moment in disbelief, then grinned at her. "Hex, yeah, I want it!"
Arkayna used some magic to float the scroll over the Kitty. The captain unrolled it and quickly skimmed its contents, then turned back toward the ship. "Romie!"
A blonde head popped up over the side of the ship. The girl it was attached to had pointy ears and such a mischievous grin on her face that Arkayna was instantly reminded of Piper. "Yeah, Captain?"
Kitty handed over the scroll. "File that away for me, will ya, kiddo?"
Romie gave a little salute and vanished back onto the ship. Kitty turned to Zarya. "So… where were we?"
Arkayna had a feeling she knew where this was going.
"I think…" Zarya began, speaking slowly and dramatically, "we were right about… here." At the last word, she placed her hands on Kitty's shoulders and kissed her full on the lips. Arkayna had to turn away to hide her smirk.
Yep, totally called it.
Before the Pink Skulls had left the realm with Raylanna to hunt down the marauders, Em and Kasey had agreed to take a break for a while. Zarya and Kitty had not, and considering their current… enthusiastic greeting, they'd obviously missed each other.
A strangled sound from off to the side caught Arkayna's attention. Mom was staring at the two girls in what could only be described as shock, making a bunch of incoherent noises. Luckily, neither of them noticed, and Mom managed to school her face into a more neutral expression before they separated.
Kitty raised her eyebrows at Zarya, grinning. "Missed you, too. Wanna go for some Sky Pies?"
Zarya stared at her in disbelief for a moment, then declared, "Do I ever!" She headed toward the ship.
"One moment."
Zarya turned to see Mom eyeing her. "Yeah, what?"
Mom raised an eyebrow at Zarya's casual tone, but replied, "You are not yet finished with your assignments for the day."
Zarya glanced from Mom, to Kitty, to Arkayna, and back to Mom. Finally, she spoke a single word: "No."
"Excuse me?" Mom looked startled. Arkayna couldn't blame her; not many people would have dared to refuse the queen.
Zarya didn't look the slightest bit apologetic. "I said no."
Arkayna spoke up again. "Let her go, Mom. Zarya's been working hard; she deserves a break."
Zarya shot her a grateful glance. Mom didn't notice. She sighed. "Fine—but we will be having a talk once you get back."
The blue-haired girl didn't wait for an engraved invitation—she swung herself onto the ship alongside Kitty.
Arkayna watched as Mom threw her hands in the air in frustration and turned to walk back inside, muttering about what else she'd missed in the last several months, which the princess chose to take as a rhetorical question. Instead, she pulled out her phone and composed a glyph.
u ttly o me
She hit Send. Zarya's response came in a moment later.
sry not sry
Arkayna snorted.
I personally feel like there's no way that Gawayne would have been allowed to keep a servant with the way he treats them, so after the king and queen were restored, the butler was reassigned to Zarya. Gawayne's not too happy about this, for obvious reasons. However, Zarya's not too thrilled with it either, since she's used to being pretty self-sufficient.
I know there's some people out there who don't like the Zarya/Kitty ship. I think it's pretty obvious at this point that I'm not one of them. I love these two, seriously, and they've been confirmed as canon so I'm just gonna roll with it (no hating, please). That said, I'm attempting to portray their relationship as cute but not overly mushy. Neither of them is into dramatic displays or super romantic gestures, and they've known each other so long that they're really comfortable around each other, so there's not much awkwardness.
Please read, review, and enjoy!