Interlude 11: The King is Worried
-.
-.
King Tristwin Ernes Belfast was often compared to a lion for good reason. He was broad-shouldered, broad-faced, broad-hearted, every bit of him was imposing like what everyone sought from a king. His blond hair was a darker shade, and his full beard was cut to a short triangular point. His gentleness was regal, his ferocity a savage grandeur.
None of that showed now as he slumped on the table, face to wood. "I just had to do that, didn't I?" he groaned. "I just had to all but declare war upon the strongest land power in this continent!"
The Duke began to laugh openly.
"Oh you shut up! This is half your fault!" the King rumbled out at him. "That young man you found was a little too convincing."
"He was convincing? He just helped you prepare the speech, it was you that had to sell it. Look at you! Now even I'm almost convinced it was a Regulus plot all along!"
They were inside one of a private study rooms in the palace and it was almost midnight. It was the closest thing to privacy they could get to speak frankly under double guard. The Duke had brought in wine from his own cellar to be sure there would be no poison this time.
Tristwin and Alfred Ernes had been born only a year apart. Their father had favored and trained them more or less equally. King Albert Ernes Ortlinde had even left it up to the brothers who would be king. It was said the brothers inherited half of the great king's potency – Tristwin his valor, Alfred his intelligence.
Tristwin became King simply because he was more gregarious, more well-loved by the people. Duke Alfred had a lot more freedom to work behind the scenes for the good of the kingdom. The two brothers had no conflicts, together they were the king that Belfast needed in the passing of a great man.
The King pushed off the table and furrowed his brows. "Almost too convincing. Am I really such a weak king, that my kingdom should collapse not from without – but by evil from within?"
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have missed this," the Duke sighed. "You almost died today because I was careless…"
"The people I have trusted to keep safe my own body and my family have betrayed me! It's not your fault. What sort of King am I that they can be tempted this way?!"
"It probably isn't temptation though. These miscreants have tried to abduct Sue. Now they have gone so far to as try to kill you. Interrogating those servants… I have a feeling they would admit that they have acted for sake of their own families held hostage. What they have attempted against me, surely can be very easily done against little people."
The King sighed and leaned back on his chair. "Those… those people they have taken, they are probably dead by now, aren't they?"
"Unfortunately. Loose ends need to be tied up. Just think – if Count Balza had not made his guilt so obvious to everyone, interrogating those servants wouldn't have given us anything. They could have been made to act on little more than whispered words from shadowy figures, there's no need for a noble to directly involve himself."
The King scoffed. "If Count Balza had been any less stupid and tried to involve himself, coming here just for the pleasure of watching me die… ah, what a King. What a King. I really have been too kind when a mere Count could be so shameless."
"Well not as shameless as you. I watched everyone's face. Absolutely NO ONE expected you to roar so loud blaming Regulus. That was amazing." He clenched his fist and raised it, softly growling "Reeeeguuluuuuus!"
The King hid his own face again. "Shut uppp!"
If Monika had been around to see this, she might have commented, /"I Didn't Expect The King of This Country I'm a Guest Worker In to Be So Full of Gap Moe, This Is Probably Why His Marriage is Still Going So Strong."/
Again, Duke Alfred laughed loudly. "It's not like war is something we can immediately fear. You only accused them of perfidy, but fell short of actually declaring war because you can't decisively prove it yet.
"If Regulus does attack without provocation, then it would only prove you right and the people would rise up as one to fight. If they do not, then you still have their support and we can say that you have intimidated Regulus into behaving well again. It's a win/win situation for you."
The King looked up and in a much more even tone, said "Alfred. That young man…"
"Hm?"
"In little more than two hours, that young man saw this problem and ENDED the precarious situation that had been troubling us so these past few years. What sort of terrifying insight! I would even say those are the heavy thoughts of a King… except that I never thought of doing this!"
Duke Ortlinde just shrugged. "Well the difference between you and Sir Zah Playa is that you still possess some measure of /shame/. To boldly and shamelessly lie from a position of disadvantage to turn it into an advantage, no normal person thinks like that."
"Exactly. Which is why I have to ask… are you sure he can be trusted? I mean, I do not want to sound ungrateful – he saved my life and all. And he rescued Sue. But he JUST HAPPENED to be on the road at the same time as the ambush, and JUST HAPPENED to have a ready solution to our problem, stabilizing the whole nation in one swoop and freeing us to act without restraint? That is… masterful.
"And if he could arrange that to happen, surely it would not be outside the realm of possibility to arrange for such a toad like Count Balza to act."
The Duke nodded. A King could not afford to NOT be suspicious. "What did Yumina's Mystic Eyes of Intuition see?"
"Well… she said that… /'he knows he is not a righteous person, but he is mostly a good person. He is trying to do as much good as he can, but he can't help everyone.'/" His daughter's Mystic Eyes could be trusted to reveal the true character of a person.
Then he coughed into his fist. "But who benefits from Belfast and Regulus being at each other's throats? Could he be an agent of the Rammish Theocracy? The Rodmere Union?"
The Duke looked nonchalant. "Certainly not the Theocracy. Their dogma doesn't encourage any form of talent like that. Now the Union… well, they certainly have the wealth and the flexibility to cultivate this sort of statecraft."
"And...? You don't think so?"
"Well consider this. That sort of young man with such ability… either we must find some way to more permanently earn his service, or keep him from giving that competence to our enemies. We must either win him over, or failing that; kill him."
King Tristwin grimaced. "How unsightly. I don't know what sort of reward he would expect." He blinked and said hesitantly "Wait. You said before… he is very fond of Sue? Isn't she the reason he was even easy to find in the first place?"
The Duke bristled at the implication. "No. First, I would never allow that. Even if you asked. Second, he is FAAR too affected by Miss Charlotte for that."
The King nodded. Understandable. "I mean no offense. It just sounds so strange that a person like that just appears out of nowhere and wants to help for so little in return."
The Duke continued "It is perhaps a good thing that he values his personal freedom so much. The thing that fails the test is that instead of thinking of him as an Agent… we should be looking at TWO people. Where does his loyalty lie?"
The King suddenly looked enlightened. "Ah! I see. The Lady Monika."
The Duke looked far more troubled than before. He stared down at his cup, and whispered "It was not his power that healed you, but hers. But like she said: /she/ helped only because /he/ was fond enough of the people in this country. Tristwin… my father-in-law's ability, [Recovery] could probably have been able to heal you.
"But what Lady Monika did was to turn back time for your whole body. Everything after sunrise didn't happen to you anymore."
"It is… a powerful ability, yes? Where are you leading with this?"
"Done enough times, it could make someone immortal. And I can only think… how many times could Lady Monika perhaps done that just to keep from losing her companion? Perhaps even reversing time to childhood, that he could live his life again, becoming new and free from pain – a person similar yet different each time."
The King now winced openly. Impossible and insane and exactly the sort of thing you could expect from the walking legends. "I get what you're saying. We can't hold legendary beings by the standards of mortals. In the stories, saving the life of a King is the sort of thing that would get the Princess' hand offered to the Hero. We can't dare to do something like that."
The Duke sighed softly. "It is not so wise… to step between a goddess and her love."
Sir Playa and Lady Monika had affection for Sue, and that was enough for them to hold the kingdom of Belfast in the palm of their hands. Any more would be… terrifying.
-.
-.
The door opened. It was past midnight. General Blitz and Playa entered. "Your Highness! Your Grace!" the general saluted happily. "It is done!"
Playa bowed to either of them and then sat down and rested his face on the table without any ceremony. Normally it would be hugely disrespectful. "Blargh," he said. "Sorry. I have a monster of a headache."
/"Apparently the energy cost of sizing up the [Boom Tube] is exponential,"/ Monika explained.
"We should not allow you to spend time with Alan so much," the Duke said calmly. "His bad attitude is rubbing off on you."
Playa turned his head aside and said softly "Well, our transport magic make each other redundant anyway. Although I didn't realize he could just /Flash Step/ or /Hiraishin/ all over the place. Man would have been damn annoying to fight. He cleared out the whole mansion in almost a blink."
"Sir Alan is annoying in... so many more ways than that."
Playa made a 'heh-heh-heh' sort of trollish laugh. And the King understood.
There were some people that you just tolerated upon the idea that if they snapped they could kill everybody in the room. But it was also safe to disrespect them all you wanted if they considered themselves your friends, in fact doing so fearlessly was -exactly- why they would enjoy being with you in the first place. Being an annoyance at least meant you saw them as a person first rather than as a weapon to use.
What was that they said, when he tried to praise them about their amazing insight? /'Tactics are influenced by logistics, morale, and generalship - but strategy is determined solely by geography'./
If they had spent months in secret studying the political situation in Belfast to tip it right at most opportune moment, he would have believed that.
If they had looked at the map, heard his problem, and then in under an hour worked out a solution form their own long practice at the game, he would have believed that too.
He felt like that sword hanging over his head for so long had suddenly been removed, but before he could feel relieved he realized there was a dagger pointed at his throat.
And this was probably why Sir Playa and Lady Monika were so attached to Sue. The little girl was still so innocent and energetic that she didn't see them as anything other than her teacher and his spirit girlfriend. She wanted nothing from them except /everything they were willing to give/, and that sort of earnest childish selfishness would be so rare for people that thought in strategic realms.
"So yeah, so we totally stole his house," said Playa. "Sorry. Softly but surely shall the House of Balza disappear before the morn. More like LOUDLY but surely."
The General laughed. "My lords, you should have seen it! A white ring plunged down from the heavens, swallowing the Balza mansion. We were almost blinded by the brightness, and the roar of its opening… it was like the fist of god struck down at the ground. And then when it faded… there was nothing but dirt left behind."
"Astounding," said the King. He leaned back and tugged on his beard. "Is there a limit? Could you possibly maybe…" he gestured all around him. "This palace?"
"No, not at all. It can only work on things that don't have any living occupants inside. It must also be obviously man-made and separate from the terrain around them. So, individual buildings… maybe. Ruins that are now considered part of the overall landscape, no. Hills, no. Trees, no. People and animals, differently. They can only walk through on their own."
"Then where did you put it?" asked the Duke.
"Oh it's in the Ortlinde lands somewhere. Now you can more completely search the whole thing for evidence and clues. I could put it back later, or store it in a mountain glacier somewhere if you want it to more mysteriously just disappear."
The General laughed some more. "Hahaha, it's a good thing his fief is deep inland. We can wipe it clean of every trace his family ever existed. In one night! This will be legendary!"
Playa nodded. "Unfortunately it means whoever will be chosen to take over these lands will have to build a mansion anew. Hopefully one without r*pe dungeons this time."
The General sneered. "For too long the nobles have been able to act without restraint to the common folk. Worry not, Sir Zah Playah. In the end, all shall have their accounting, in the eyes of men and the gods."
The Duke nodded. "Perhaps the next one that dares to misbehave, you may keep his house. You could probably collect a range of architectural styles."
The King gave his brother a look that said /'What the shite is happening to my kingdom now, Alfred?'/
The Duke made a small gesture that implied /'Just roll with it for now, Tristwin. This will help your standing.'/
-.
-.
Breakfast in the palace was a very subdued affair. Everyone had to be extra careful after yesterday's poisoning. Playa had been successfully invited to spend the night and then requested to join the Royal Family in their breakfast.
It was somewhat awkward. Unlike breakfast at the Ortlinde household, where Sue was a chatterbox happy to ask about anything and Playa was happy enough to reply about anything, the Royal Family had to think for anything in common they could talk about. Any more thanks for what Playa had done would eventually sound fawning and servile, and he clearly didn't want that.
The King thought of something. "Ah, Sir Zah Playah, there's this game that just been very popular. Chess. They also call it the King's Game. Checkmate… I recognized that word. Do you play it, by any chance?"
That broke a little smile onto Sir Zah Playa's face. "More than a little. I actually own a small chessplayer's club in Reflet. We have a little golden championship cup just waiting for someone to claim it from the current grandmaster."
"Really. And who would that be?"
"Me, of course!" Sir Playa said, utterly without shame at self-promotion.
"Oho. Then, if you please, would you play and instruct me later?"
"I would be happy to oblige, your Majesty."
And then the uncomfortable silence returned. He looked to his wife and daughter, who did not feel confident at being part of the conversation.
Yumina just staaaaared at their guest. She would look down to cut the bread and meat off her plate, look up and raise the fork to her mouth while still staaaaaaring with such intense focus.
Playa twitched each time the palpable feeling of her gaze left, and then returned.
The King decided to fill the silence with chitchat, and asked Playa about what he had been doing in Reflet and how Sue's studies were going.
"An adventurer?" The Queen was honestly surprised that he had chosen that as his occupation. "But… you… you could be so much more. Oh, I mean… please my impoliteness… but it doesn't sound like a very… profitable… profession for a man of learning?"
The red-suited youth smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's true. It's not one I do for sake of earning money. I've got plenty of other little enterprises to work behind me in Reflet. You know the little chess club inside the Silver Moon Inn, for one. But there's also THE BEST DANG CHICKEN IN THE WORLD."
Yumina blinked.
/"Seriously, Player? It's good, but it's not that good."/
"Mah Chickenjoy fried chicken is at the perfect intersection between affordability, deliciousness, and class. A commoner and King could enjoy the bucket meal with equal relish! That is what it means to be the best!"
The Royal Family paused to stare at him.
"Excuse me, but... what? Why... fried chicken?" asked the Queen. "Is it a recipe... or a restaurant of some sort?"
Yumina looked down at her breakfast of crepes and sausages and fried eggs, a mix of salty and sweet. Then back up again. The confused nature of her stare - Playa understood her question immediately.
"Life is meant to be enjoyed. People can enjoy the new as much as they enjoy the familiar. That is what is at the heart of the concept of franchising. That where-ever you might roam, you might find a slice of home."
Yumina's stare continued to ask /'But why chicken?'/
Playa shrugged and then began to weave his shoulders from side to side. "Crispylicious, affordalicious, egaliticious, that's the Zahlibee waaaay."
Staaaare.
/'But why CHICKEN?'/
"So... it is like a hobby?" the King concluded. Chicken was something everyone understood. It was a strange way to break the ice for conversation, but now the air over the table had lightened. Well done. "It's valid as any, I suppose. A man who can cook is still respectable."
"Yes. Enjoy what you are doing and make it give your life meaning. Never be afraid of looking silly. One can learn from being taught… or one can learn from going out and doing." He shrugged. "One does not become the [Absolute Master] of [Wind] magic just from reading books."
Saying that sort of thing… how arrogant! In older days magicians would go into duels just for that. But from him, it sounded like the absolute truth that only a fool would challenge. Much like how blaming Regulus for yesterday's regicide plot, come to think of it. Too bad duels were outlawed.
And then Playa explained that was he was teaching Sue was not like being a physician, but a Field Medic. She was too young to be adventuring, but if the worst happens at least she would be able to take care of herself and those she cared about.
"Do… do you like teaching Sue?" Yumina spoke for the first time.
"Oh. Of course. She's dedicated and energetic and soaks up all that knowledge like a sponge. She trains by herself instead of being told to do her homework. It's a joy to have that sort of student."
"So you do not… dislike younger women?"
The King winced. Yumina, your choice of words have unfortunate implications, please retract them.
"Ahahahaha…" By the embarrassed expression on Sir Playa's face, he recognized that as well. "I wouldn't say… dislike as such, no."
The King coughed. "Please excuse my daughter. In any case, did you know that she also has the [Wind] affinity? If it would not be too much trouble, perhaps you could share some insights later. That is what she meant, I think."
"Oh. Right. Yes, that's logical. While magic as practiced here doesn't have an emotional component, it still influences visualization and the rate of magic consumption. I'd be very happy to oblige."
Yumina nodded.
The King nodded amiably. "Thank you, Sir Zah. Now, about this... Chickenjoy. Would it be possible to-"
Yumina stood up, slammed her palms on the table and declared hotly "Mother! Father! I have decided. This is the man I will spend the rest of my life with!"
What.
Yumina what.
Everybody froze in their seats. Playa laughed helplessly "Ahahaha, well, time to GTF-"
/"Wait, hang on Player. I want to hear this out."/
Playa could only wail "MONIKA WHY."
The King could only go "YUMINA WHY."
-.
-.
Interlude 12: The Princess is Worried (1)
-.
-.
Yumina Erneas Belfast felt she had a privileged life. Not because she was a princess or born to high nobility, but because her father and mother were strong people that would protect her. She knew they were good people who only wanted to the best for everyone, she didn't need the Mystic Eyes of Intuition for that.
She felt sad sometimes that she was not born a man, that the Kingdom would not have spent her twelve years of life wondering about the security of the succession without a male heir. Many were the men who lusted after her body and her position, never caring to see the girl beneath.
But she could see them. All of them. Darkness in their hearts, but unafraid to approach her anyway.
They all thought that they were all so righteous. That they were never doing anything wrong.
Now her father the King, was lying down withered and dying and there was nothing she could do. She should be afraid for her future, but she would be happy to give everything just to see him alive again! Mystic Eyes, what? How useless! All she could ever see was that they were all surrounded by evil, she was useless at pointing out where that evil would strike next.
This…
Yumina held back her tears as she clutched at her father's cold hand, even as her mother sobbed openly on the other side of the bed. That was her fault. It was because she was weak. It was because the royal family had this big obvious vulnerability in it – whosoever married the Princess would become Royal Consort, if not King. Their child would inherit all Belfast.
Perhaps there were those who would blame her mother instead. Her father refused to put her aside and try again with another woman, this time maybe to achieve a male heir. In a land where polygamy was legal and even expected for nobles, the King was shockingly monogamous. Like the Duke, and like their father before them, they only took one wife.
Did no one remember why her grandfather, King Albert, deposed his own father? The backbiting, the intrigue, the false accusations and the murderous plots… mistresses and concubines and legal wives all jockeying for position, courtiers all taking sides and putting their chosen puppets forward… all that useless, useless, court drama that sapped the energy of the ruling class instead of driving it for the benefit of the country. Almost a generation of men were killed off twenty years ago resisting Regulus, but without the unity of her grandfather's reforms… no one could have imagined Belfast surviving that onslaught.
One father, one mother; she enjoyed a life very similar to that experienced by the common people – a happy family. And now these nobles have had enough, she was old enough, they were ready to tear open her innocence and make her play the game of thrones.
She was not ready. She was not ready!
Oh, father!
She didn't care about the throne. She just wanted him to live. Laugh that booming laugh of his again. What was the worth of all the wealth and power in the world if it cost you the people you loved?!
The door opened, and the guards announced "The Duke of Ortlinde!"
Her uncle rushed into the room and was at his brother's side. She heard him inquire from her mother about the King's condition, and offer a comforting hug. This was the benefit of monogamy, Yumina noted, brothers that actually cared for each other instead of fighting to be first in the favor of their father.
And behind him, was a pink marshmallow.
Yumina blinked. "Sue?"
"Sue, can you do something?" the Duke asked.
"I… I'll try."
Yumina remembered that Sue did have a [Light] affinity. But if even the Court Healer couldn't do anything, what could her cousin hope to achieve?
Sue approached the King and held her arms out. Though still clad in her habitual frilly pink dress, the little girl had the demeanor of a practiced doctor. Then she chanted:
"I repudiate Formality;
"Let me sink down to the formless golden sea
"The Golden Sea of Chaos
"Buried in the Flow of Time
"Where all Creation springs…
"Hear my [Call]."
Sue opened her eyes, and her royal green eyes blazed gold. A strange beeping and grinding sound rang through the room. (1)
"I am the [Light] the carries the hopes of the world
"I am the [Light] that separates the firmament!
"Show me yet those that can be saved by my warmth!
"[Triage Diagnostics!]"
The backs of Sue's palms glowed, and so did the King's body.
The little girl shivered. "It's poison. It's definitely poison."
Yumina sighed. Wasn't that particularly obvious already?
"We need to stop the spread of the poison!" Sue shouted. Then she chanted:
"Oh [ Time ], flowing through the universe
"Marked by pain, witnessing virtue
"Mankind, stop and remember
"The reason why you exist on this world!
"[Homo Stasis!]"
And then her father stopped breathing. Yumina felt his skin grow cold and hard under her touch.
Yumina screamed.
"What did you do?! What do you do!" Yumina almost lunged for her pink-dressed cousin, but Sue collapsed backwards, limp onto her own father's arms.
Doctor Raul reached out to inspect the king. He failed to pull up on his wrist to take the pulse. "The King…. is frozen? No. He is rigid… but not dead."
"Uncle… won't get any better," Sue whispered. "But at least he won't get any worse anymore. Father…" she looked up at the Duke. "You know. There's only one person who could help him now. Only one person to do the impossible. Sorry I couldn't do more than just this."
"Yes. Thank you Sue, you did your best."
Yumina relaxed her face and bowed. "Thank you cousin. Please forgive me for thinking the worse of you…"
Sue just grinned that happy grin of hers, her canine teeth poking out cutely. "It's fines! Don't ya worries… Sir Zah will make it all right!"
-.
-.
The next time she entered that room, her father was hale and hearty again. Yumina didn't restrain herself and ran to hug him, shedding tears and her fears.
This was the first time seeing that person Sue was going on so much about. Surely he was a good person by how much her little cousin respected him so?
Yumina activated her Mystic Eyes of Intuition immediately.
No.
No he was not.
In a way, that was almost comforting. No one could truly be a saint in this day and age.
And yet there was something fascinating there.
Then he stared back at her, unashamed and unafraid to be looking at the King's daughter. She could tell that there was no lust or ambition in his gaze. How odd. Yumina was confident in her own beauty, but she didn't imagine herself to be someone so unique. She was almost at marrying age, and as the future Queen she dealt with those gazes every day. Men saw first the Crown Princess and what that meant to anyone who could claim her body. Even if they would not be King, but a Prince Consort, their child would inherit the whole kingdom.
Even women held looks of calculation or flickers of dark jealousy. But this the first time she had seen someone be so completely unaffected.
"Imagine something like an egg," she reported to her father the King and uncle the Duke later on. "There is is hard opaque shell, very very dark, but very very solid, protecting all inside.
"And then there's this gray fluid that seems to change opacity, or darkening and lightening, advancing and retreating, around this bright core. Sometimes the gray deepens and pushes down on this core, almost like it wants to crush it," Yumina made a gesture opening her fingers out in a cage and lacing them together, "but doing that makes the core look like it's shining even brighter."
She then retreated her fingers "And then sometimes the light just leaks out so much lightening the fluid around it, turning the insides pale."
That, she said, is when she can tell he is being the most dishonest about something. It's the reverse for normal people.
-.
-.
She observed the perturbations in his soul as he lounged by the corner of the room watching her father play out the scenario he had crafted. The notion of war against Regulus didn't intimidate him. Did he really not care about the people who would die and suffer in war?
His true self didn't even flicker as Count Balza's punishment was declared, but it shone with both embarrassment and triumph as her father shouted for her nation to ROUSE against the TRUE THREAT.
ROUSE against REGULUS!
The bitter black of shame, the shining bright of empathy. Why?
-.
-.
And without the use of her Mystic Eyes, she could see a tall young man dressed in red. Her first thought, seeing him in that room yesterday, was that a beastkin with a duck's face had arrived. But what she thought was a black duck's bill was actually a thick black slate strapped in front of someone's eyes and secured by straps going around his ears and up over the crown of his head.
She could see a little spring-line attached to the back of his head, pulling taut to force his gaze to stay up proudly. If he allowed the weight of the thing in front of his face to dip, he would over time develop a spinal deformity and an unattractive turtle neck.
Yumina had the Mystic Eyes, but that didn't mean she relied on it exclusively to understand people. A Royal needed to be able to guess at people's standing, motives, and motivations at a glance. And so she could tell, this was someone that cared for himself but also too much what others could see about him. How egotistical, how attention-grabbing, and yet…
To anyone with any discernment, it was obviously a way to deflect attention from something else.
Yumina was curious. If she rapped her fingernail on that hard outer shell, would it ripple inside?
-.
-.
Breakfast with Sir Zah Playa was an uncomfortable affair for many reasons. Her mother, the Queen, looked lost as to how to converse with someone her husband sought to flatter. Her father, the King, it was easy to see that he was putting up a front to hide his fear.
It was easy to see too that Sir Zah Playa was putting up a false front to hide /his/ fear, and treating the King amiably just like any other person was a way to deal with being uncomfortable with being praised. But surely it wouldn't be fair to treat saving someone's life as just a small act of charity? Wouldn't that be insulting the person you saved?
And then he started talking about chickens.
Yumina could see him come alive with enthusiasm. This was something that had meaning to him. And equating it to [Wind] magic made sense, for the wind could go anywhere and always sought to escape from any confinement. Finding the familiar, the taste of home among strangers, that should be comforting enough to let you keep going another day.
Yumina tilted her head to the side.
But why CHICKEN?
Her father began to talk to Sir Zah Playa about how she had [Wind] Magic too. Yumina was a fairly accomplished magic user herself, she knew enough to defend herself. But her Affinities were [Earth], [Wind], and [Dark].
Yumina blinked. No, seriously. Why CHICKENS? What sort of place obsessed about fried chicken that much? Did they perhaps have dietary restrictions against pigs and cattle? Chickens were easy to raise and produced lots of meat for comparatively little land, maybe?
As her father went on about magic teaching, she looked at their guest again. Sure, powerful magic was interesting, but she could tell that he wasn't really proud of that. He didn't enjoy being powerful as much as the simple joy of building a business.
A man like that didn't care about all the wealth and power and privilege of nobility, but merely what it can do to help.
A man like that would enjoy seeing a kingdom grow, its people safe and happy.
A man like that… too afraid to give the truth of himself, yet aching to be understood.
A man like that… wouldn't care if his wife's achievements eclipsed his own.
A man like that… would never take from others anything they wouldn't give of their own free will. In giving, gain more. A merchant's heart wants every buyer to become wealthier and happier and return for repeat business.
A man like that… does not see the world as a game where there can be only one winner. The more everybody plays, the more everybody wins.
A man like that… there was no one else in this kingdom like that. They all wanted something from her, they all wanted to put her into a little box of their own making.
A man like that… well, if she didn't dare to take him then someone else would!
Yumina slammed her palms onto the table and declared "Mother, Father! I have decided!"
-.
-.
"MONIKA WHY."
"YUMINA WHY."
Yumina Ernea Belfast tried to keep a brave face up. She was being hugely improper, but let her just be brazen for a little longer and it would look normal. Just looking at him made her feel warm inside, so there really was no question about it! She knew she could never expect someone like that to be teased and pursue her on his own. Though it may be beneath her dignity as a Princess, she had to take measures and seize control over her own future.
And then with the sound of shattering glass, a woman made of mist and light appeared at Zah Playa's side. She smiled widely, her long ponytail whipping in an unseen breeze.
/"How interesting… ,"/ the spirit whispered. /"I've got to know. Who is this little princess? And what is it that makes her think I'd even allow this…?"/
And then Yumina knew only terror.
-.
-.
AN:
(1)youtube watch?v=gsNaR6FRuO0
-.
Interlude 12: The Princess is Worried (2)
-.
-.
The Lady Monika.
Sue had only been able to tell Yumina a little of Sir Zah Playa's companion. Sue did warn her that Sir Zah's whole reason for being in Belfast is to look for magic that could give her back a real body.
Dark. Dark. Dark. Dark.
Suddenly the excuse that "Belfast allows polygamous marriages" didn't feel so valid on the tip of her tongue. Her Mystic Eyes and her normal vision could almost see the same thing, a strange deep and dark shadow cast from a shimmering light from below. Dark serpentine coils writhed in the ceiling.
Yumina could discern the difference between the darkness of personality and the darkness of sin and guilt. And there were certainly a lot of sins there. It was a thick cloying darkness, leeching out from the shadows cast by the light of the mortal world. With Mystic Eyes she stared out, and in return she felt like a [Third Eye] was open.
Staring back at her.
Without malice. Without hope. Without joy. Without fear. Devoid of rationality. A screaming yet silent darkness.
And regret. So much regret.
Monika stalked around the table, her steps failing to touch the floor. She had a sweet but fixed smile on her lips and her bright colorless stare met Yumina's own blue and green.
Emptiness. Nothing but emptiness.
Fake. Fake. Fake. Fake.
"Lady Monika!" her father cried out. "Please-"
Lady Monika flicked her hair back and said /"Player, set me up a sound stage."/
Playa tilted his head quizzically to the side, and then then shrugged. He gestured and said "Come forth, Dark; Come forth, Wind, [Enveloping Darkness], [Soundless Wall]."
And then there was only darkness. A thick muffling fog descended upon the room. Only Lady Monika's bright presence gave any light to the gloom.
/"Not greed. Not fear. Not even infatuation. Really, how curious… it was not for any of those things, to bind our power to this kingdom or to your self, that you said it,"/ said Monika. She weaved past the chairs until she was almost face to face with the young Princess.
/"You know that no matter the era, it's not so easy to be a woman. Men like to play with willing women, but look down upon a woman that is too willing."/
Her touch tracing across Yumina's cheeks was cold and sharp, a taut construct of ionically charged particles. /"So what could possibly motivate a young lady like you to be so daring?"/
-.
(Meanwhile, Playa was standing half-crouched with his arms outstretched to either side.)
("Sir Zah Playa, what are you doing?" asked the King.)
("Ssh! Their vision is based on movement! If you hold still and stay quiet, maybe after a while the danger will pass!")
("Oh! Good idea!" The King swiftly bent down and imitated his pose.)
("Whose vision is based on what now?!" the Queen hissed icily.)
("Gleep!")
-.
Monika leaned back, and then leaned forward almost as if she wanted to knock heads with Yumina. Then with another sound of breaking glass, she exploded into living color.
Now her eyes were a blazing royal green. There was a slight [Boom] and a hot bright light hovered over Yumina.
And she asked /"WHO are you? WHAT do you want?"/
"Um…" She collapsed back to her seat and bowed deeply. "I am… Yumina Erneas Belfast. I am sorry, please forgive me if I said something that was… improper. I mean… my intent was only… it was just in the heat of the moment. "
Yumina, with her head bowed, frowned at herself. She had miscalculated. Badly. Should she retract what she had said? It would of course be very bad to pursue someone already claimed. But…
At this point, she could do with more information. Something noncommittal, but still with useful implications?
"Lady Monika, pray hear me out. Please forgive this besotted little Yumina," the Princess bowed again. "For what you have done to save my father's life, I can only repay you with my own life…"
Monika shrugged it off entirely and asked again /"WHO are you? WHAT do you want?"/
("Monika, those are some POWERFUL questions you're asking there. Is this really the time?")
"Um…"
Monika floated there. Staring. Her face was placid and open and accepting all things. No judgments whatsoever. Yet all the more insistent on an answer, any answer.
Yumina racked her brains for the proper response. Her Mystic Eyes were useless here. She could not get a reading off this spirit at all.
Staaaare.
Her own true self was being examined here, it was a very strange feeling to get that in return.
Yumina took a deep breath. She had done no harm, she had nothing to fear.
"I am… Yumina. Erneas. Belfast," Yumina spoke after a while. "I want… I just wanted to be married well, is that so much to ask? I mean, nothing happened yet. If my words have offended you, I apologize and re.. re…"
Retract them. Just say it, Yumina!
She screamed silently at herself. What do you want to fight about here? Do you think your magic is a match for a spirit? Why would you be so STUPID as to provoke the people that saved your father's life?!
Looking down. Under her feet there was nothing but shadows. Darkness enough to sink in, like the depths of a lost sea.
Monika spoke again. /"WHO. Are You?"/ Her words echoed in the room. /"WHAT. Do you Want?"/
Yumina grit her teeth. She flinched back, then straightened her back again. To her end, she would not cower. This would not be her pride as a Princess, but her own pride as a woman. If the worst had happened, if her father had died, they would have delighted in seeing how far she could go without breaking.
"I am… I am…"
But now her thoughts fogged up. These questions expected something genuine, but Yumina had also always been able see herself with her Mystic Eyes through a mirror. She was not a completely good person either. She had her own selfish desires. But… which one?
What did she really want here? To beg for her life? Just for them to stop badgering her? To let her go back and stew in her embarrassment? To beg for their help anyway, to save her kingdom from the human trash that dared call themselves its ruling class?
The heat from the light above made her sweat, but it was the Lady Monika's gaze that was burning.
But there was no hostility there. Harsh, the pitiless light of the truth.
Gentle, the comforting embrace of lies.
Monika smiled tenderly. /"I find it most interesting really, that you remind me so very much of someone I used to know. If I were given the chance to try again, I would not have opposed that person…"/
Yumina felt a cold inhuman touch caress her forehead.
And Monika said /"You're going to have to sing it, Player. Sing it like Farrokh Bulsara(1)."/ She paused, putting a finger to her lips as if she was realizing she was asking for something humanly impossible. /"Or at least lip synch it convincingly."/
("Uh… sing what now? I'm not even going to ask MONIKA WHY because FOR THE LULZ is a good enough answer. You're going to have to give me a bassline here, Monika.")
A weird thumming came out from the walls. Dum de dee dum dum.
("Oh. That one (2)," Playa hummed. "Yeah. Makes sense.")
Darkness returned.
A lilting sequence of notes came out from the walls, thrumming and sliding across her skin.
And then with a sudden flash, Zah Playa stepped out into the light, opened his mouth and dulcet tones proclaimed:
- "I want to break free~!
- "I want to break~ free…
- "I want to break free from your lies
- "You're so self-satisfied
- "I don't need~ you."
Yumina's cheeks burned with hot humiliation. All right, so she spoke up before thinking. Did they really think so badly of her? How… arrogant she must have sounded. She bowed and shut her eyes, putting her balled up hands over her knees.
Did she deserve this? She looked around but she couldn't even see the face of her father or mother. She was hot in the spotlight, alone and flayed open.
- "I've got to break free…
- /"God knows,"/
and here a second voice joined the first.
- /"God knows I want to break free…"/
Zah Playa gyrated out in the open, shouting into some strange black tube. Yumina looked at his true self, and it was almost completely dark. But the core of it shone brighter than sun, so much it that was almost blinding.
- "I've fallen in love,"
The voice sang with heartbreaking beauty,
- "I've fallen in love for the first time,
- And this time I know it's for real~…
Then two voices, male and female proclaimed "/God knows/,
- /God knows I've fallen in love."/
As the song continued, Yumina stopped looking for her own humiliation and just listened to it. They were performing in front of her, and the meaning of it escaped her.
- "It's strange but true~
- "I can't get over the way you love me like you do."
Playa vanished from her sight.
And then Yumina yelped as the sweet voice came out too close to her side. She stepped back as he loomed over her. Yumina giggled uncontrollably to herself as she found that the only thing she could focus on was noticing how Playa had just these kissably womanly lips.
- I've fallen in love.
- I've fallen in love for the first time.
- /God knows/ I've fallen in love.
She stared entranced as he enunciated the sounds again.
- "Oh how I want to be free… bebeh~
- "Oh how I want to be free…"
Yumina nodded. She understood that he could not afford to be chained down by any noble titles. "I'm so-"
- "Oh how YOU WANT to BREAK FREE."
What.
- "So baby can't you see…
- "YOU WANT TO BREAK FREE."
He jerked back from her and began to jank his knees and hips out. Yumina put her hands to her face but completely failed to cover her eyes. How… how indecent!
- "Oh we've got to break free…
- "We WANT to break free, yeeheeaah,
- "WE WANT WE WANT WANT TO BREAK~ FREE"
Every note was like poking her spine with a live bolt of lightning. Yes, only someone utterly shameless could do this sort of thing. Someone completely free. Uninhibited.
Who is Yumina Erneas Belfast?
Crown Princess of Belfast.
And everything that ever weighed down on her young shoulders from that fact.
Who is Yumina…?
Without Belfast?
The darker the shadows, the brighter the light. And vice versa. Lady Monika was nowhere to be found and yet everywhere. The darkness loved the light.
- "Oh we've got to break freee…" he crooned.
Playa smiled at her. "Oh we will. Be. Free."
The light of the early morning returned to the room, and Yumina found that her parents were not so far away after all. But now she was sitting down with Playa's face a little too close to her face and his hands on either side of her head, grasping the backrest of the dining chair.
Cutting off her escape.
Intimate.
Now she could see that he had pushed up the thing on his face over his forehead, now exposing most of his face. But behind that blocky black visor, Zah Playa had another mask, a more compact white one with matte lenses that hid his eyes. Nevertheless she could see his tall nose and high cheekbones.
And that dastardly self-assured smirk.
And then he said "I understand. This palace is a little too dangerous for you right now. Isn't that right, Your Higness?"
Yumina from the corner of her vision saw her father start to relax, and nod. "That is true. If they dared to poison me here in the place I thought I was safest… then this place isn't safe for Yumina at all."
/"You are Yumina Ernea of Belfast!"/ said Monika, from the other side, her voice too close to Yumina's ears. The Princess eep!'ed and blushed again. /"And for us no political marriage can ever be worth giving up on love …"/
/"But if you just want to be swept off your feet out of this castle by some tall dark stranger…/
"I, Zah Playa of Chara, would be happy to oblige."
Her earlobes nipped with cold. Lady Monika's amused little chuckle was not comforting at all!
It seemed he thought about it and very quickly came to the conclusion that taking her out of the castle for her own anonymous protection would be better than just trying to keep her locked up under guard. But how could a King trust her virtue to some stranger?
Yumina felt like s̷l̷a̷p̷p̷i̷n̷g̷ punching him in his pretty little mouth for that.
They could not be chained down that easily, but even as they rejected her they still found a way to give her what she wanted.
She reached out and put her thumbs into his mouth and pulled at his cheeks to make it a grin. "You ARE a good person," she said firmly.
The brightness of his true self shrank down almost to a pin-point, ringed black by shame and refusal.
Why?
-.
-.
Yumina lay down on her bed. Face down.
"What in the heeeeckk was thaaaaaat," she groaned out.
Her lips quirked, her cheeks blushed again at the memory, and then she screamed and pulled a pillow over her head.
"Oh I can't believe I had been so shameless! So direct! So vulgar…! Aaaah~!"
She began to roll around on her bed. "Mother! Father! This is the man I'll spend the rest of my life with! What was I thinking?! How… how humiliating!"
There was a far-off boom. Yumina's attention was drawn to outside her window for a moment, and then she turned back to see –
Sushie Ernea Ortlinde was suddenly standing in her bedroom, staring down at her.
Yumina yelped and scooted away from the younger girl.
"How nice for you," coldly said Sue.
"Um. Hello. What brings you… here... cousin?"
"I know what you did."
Oh. Well. "I'm sorry. I overstepped my place. That was…"
"You thought just because you were Princess, you could get anything as long as you asked for it, didn't you?! And you… you did! Just because you're a Princess, just because you're a little older, (just because you have battle magic okays at least that part is understandable), now you have Sir Zah around your fingers too!"
Sue pointed at her with her white-gloved hand. Tears dripped from her face. "Even this you're going to take from me! I saw him first! I was… I just wanted to be happy with him spending time with me, and now just because you're a Princess… it's not fair! It's not fair!"
Sue clenched her fists, and for a moment there Yumina was afraid Sue would attack her. A difference of two years meant a lot, even so with their year of sixteen months. Sue was biologically closer to twelve, while Yumina was closer to fifteen. Sue only had [Light] magic, Yumina was trained in actual combat magic in [Earth] and [Wind]. But Sue had been trained personally by Sir Zah, there was no telling what she was capable of now.
But Sue just dropped to the floor on knees and wailed. "It's not fair! It's not fair! Waaaaah!"
Yumina got up, and hesitantly tried to take her cousin into a hug. Sue didn't resist.
"Hush now… it's going to be all right," she whispered as she stroked her younger cousin's back. "I'm sorry. Of course it's not fair… I mean… look at you!" Then louder, "Look at you!"
She fluffed up Sue's hair and strongly said "What's a Princess? That's nothing compared to you! Look at you! You're younger than me and you're already so accomplished!
"When my father was dying all I could do was just to sit there looking pretty. How useless! You… you may not have cured my father, but you did help save his life! I should thank you forever for that!
"You're younger than me… but so what? You're the one they like best! Sir Zah and Lady Monika! Do you really think they'd spend so much time around you if they didn't enjoy your company? You're so cuuute.
"You… you're even going to grow up to be so much prettier than me," Yumina sighed. She had already given up on that. "The dignity of a Princess, but you… you get to do things I can't. You're allowed to laugh openly, you're allowed to be friends with common people, you're so brave you can talk to anyone without them trying to figure out hidden meanings in what you say. It's not fair that you get all the benefits of this station with much less of the responsibilities."
Yumina knew she would grow up to be a great beauty, but her prized quality had always been her own intelligence. Ironic given that her own father was the more personable of the two brothers, but now between the cousins it was Sue that was vastly more approachable, vastly more natural at making others feel comfortable in her presence. Sue had boatloads of charisma and that would make all the difference. Beauty was a common thing.
Look at Sue. She was one of the few people she knew of that was still so pure, even the darkness in her soul was little more than mischief.
"A Princess isn't anything to be impressed about," she sighed. "Not even my father could talk them into an engagement, just that in two years it would be something to consider. There is no political advantage whatsoever, this is something Lady Monika decided for her own amusements."
"But you're still allowed to travel with them and… and… try to make him fall in love with you!" Sue groused out.
A contemplative silence stretched out.
Then Yumina let out a little laugh, and Sue made a "hur hur hur" snicker. Yeah. Not even these two sheltered little romantic dreamers could believe that. Lady Monika was the gatekeeper and the one whose approval must be courted. At least without an engagement none of them needed to feel pressured like wearing an albatross around their necks.
But "I'm ten now. I heard Miss Elze and Miss Linze went out on their own to become adventurers when they were eleven. Going off having fun, being a hero for hire! Just one more year. Just wait!"
Yumina giggled. "Of course. Of course. If you could go adventuring with us, it will be just grand. I hope Uncle allows it."
"Uuuh. It's not fair if only you get to do this! I don't care if you're a Princess, I'm going to catch up to you soon!"
Yumina giggled agan, and sighed softly. "What's a Princess? That's nothing valuable at all. In the end behind that I'm just Yumina. I'm not powerful at all, there's so much I didn't know…"
Yumina Earnea Belfast pulled her cousin tighter into a hug. Her whole body tingled for tomorrow. She felt like her shameless audacity had just bought her all the rest of her life.
"/God knows./ God knows I just wanted to be free…"
-.
-.
AN:
(1) Freddy Mercury
(2) watch?v=eM8Ss28zjcE