Author's note:
The following hints at self harm, please proceed only if you're comfortable with it being vaguely mentioned.
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Chapter 3:
The Pain of the Past
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Theena returned to her chambers to prepare for the meeting. It would be Kameo's first one that she would lead, with herself and the ancestors only being standby support. She felt nervous, but at the same time, confident that the young Queen would excel after her rushed training.
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Yet…something didn't quite sit right with her.
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Trying to brush the feeling off, the current Queen rose and collected the scrolls needed. She expected to see Kameo there, but was surprised that the young elf was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she was here earlier and is already waiting in the board room for the council. She told herself that while free-spirited, Kameo would do the right thing as Queen.
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Theena turned and made her way to the board room. Normally, there would be a distant sound of Goblin wings fluttering softly as her servants hurried to clean the halls in preparation for the Council. Today, it was unusually silent.
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Where was everyone?
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She eventually made her way to the room, seeing a long figure sitting at the table. Theena let out a deep sigh, walking in but faltered.
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In the board room, Kameo sat across from where the council would be, hands folded, eyes clouded and lost in thought. What threw Theena off, way Kameo's appearance. Her hair, normally in a braid, was down and out. Her usual green attire had been replaced with something different, more reserved. For some reason…it reminded her of Kalus.
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As Kameo turned her head, noticing Theena, she tensed. Despite the differences in eye and hair colour, the style reminded her too much of her.
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"Your hair will get in the way of your eyes, Kameo. Tie it-" Kameo was about to say something, until the door opened and the council entered, Theena pulling her hands back, which were reaching towards Kameo's hair.
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"Your majesties, the council has arrived." Seraph introduced them, as each member walked in and took a seat at the large table. As they entered, Halis, Lenya and Yeros casually walked in, though they faltered when noticing Kameo's new appearance.
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"Ah, your majesty…that is certainly a different, new look." Dave, the Florian leader spoke, feeling unsure. Kameo nodded.
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"I felt that my previous attire was not suitable for such an occasion, and as such, had something new made. A queen cannot run around in a short skirt, such as the one I wore before."
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Lenya did a double-take. She…normally did not speak like that. Even in the previous meetings, Kameo was still brash when she wanted to be, but how she spoke…
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"Now, there was an issue with the trolls that you wanted to discuss?" Dave, the Florian leader nodded.
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Theena grew more pale, turning her gaze to the council. She needed to compose herself, Kameo was trying to act more proper, that's all. She wasn't trying to do anything wrong or bad. Theena continued to tell herself this and focused on the meeting.
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"Yes, as you're aware, there are some survivors of Thorn's army that have taken up camp in the Badlands and outside of some of our villages. We took your advice and tainted their water and crops, and from our scout's reports, they've become sicker and weak." Kameo nodded, though this was new to her.
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"The ones near our village were weak enough to be subdued and taken prisoner." Sam spoke, though Aegis looked somewhat anxious.
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"I suppose Mountain Falls is the only village that didn't capture any trolls." Dave and Sam looked surprised.
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"Are you having difficulty? We can help if you-"
"No, I'm just not comfortable with giving the trolls a reason to retaliate. I won't stop you two, but my people will not be getting involved in any of this." She spoke firmly, ignoring Dave's jab at her being soft.
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"Even if they do retaliate Aegis, the Queen can put them right back in their place." Sam said with a nod, looking to Kameo for confirmation, who only nodded but didn't say a word. The trolls took a lot of lives and destroyed a lot of property, by following Thorn's orders, so she had no problem with knocking some of their heads together, if they ever caused anymore trouble to her people or the tribal folk.
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"Up until now, you said they had been attacking your village Dave?" Dave nodded quickly, getting riled up.
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"Yes, even with their new uniform, they're still the same barbarians! They set the guardian trees on fire and the entire village had to hurry to put them out. One of the trees even lost an eye, because of those brutes!" He spat angrily, shaking his head at the memory.
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"I WANT JUSTICE!" He slammed his fist down to further emphasize his point.
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"But…didn't you just say that you captured them after weakening them?" Yeros asked in thought.
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"Well, no, not them. There's two groups, these horrid thugs and the other ones. The other ones are who we got."
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"You're telling me you didn't even get the ones that caused the damage?" Theena asked, thinking it over in her head.
"We could send in reinforcements to take out those Trolls and assure they're not a problem anymore."
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"What about the ones captured though?" Lenya pondered. "They could be a risk if let go."
"They make excellent labor. A good way for them to repay us for what they did." Dave spat. He loved the Guardian Trees dearly and to know that one of them was permanently blinded, he sounded like he wanted the same done to any troll from the sounds of it.
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"Then we'll get it sorted and I can even come out to investigate as well." Kameo added, part of her happy to have a chance to get out of the kingdom. She missed going on an adventure, or even just going outside. She understood why Kalus was so pale now, as even she lost a bit of colour. Kameo cleared her throat, drawing attention to herself.
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"With that plan sorted, I would like to discuss some of the new changes I had in mind. The Badlands should be turned into something practical, to be of use to the citizens of the Enchanted Kingdom and the tribal lands."
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"So, what did you have in mind, my Queen?" The Hexapod leader asked. She seemed to be the only one unbothered by Kameo's change in appearance and behaviour, as everyone else was still put off a bit.
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"I propose that we turn the Badlands into a neutral grounds market and open it to foreign lands as well for exchange in stock and goods." Kameo said, producing a sketch and some notes.
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"What about the trolls? If it's neutral ground, it would apply to them too, wouldn't it?" Aegis asked. "…it may be a good way to start rebuilding a relationship with any peaceful trolls."
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Dave snorted. "HA! The day a peaceful troll exists, is the day that-" He cut himself off, not daring to finish his sentence. "*ahem* pardon that, I got carried away." Sam scratched the side of their head.
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"...I do see what Dave is saying, the trolls are unlikely to want to be friendly with any of us. Even on neutral grounds. Thorn had no problem exploiting this regularly."
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"While true, by the time it's set up, we'll be able to have an Elven guard patrolling the markets regularly… that would help bring the tribes together and give a good economical boost…" Halis said, trailing off as he recognized the hand writing on the sketches, giving a brief glance to Kameo, who ignored him.
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"It would be a long journey for each of the tribes, so if this were to be done, there would have to be homes or shelters, where merchants can rest during their off hours. They would also need food, water, and anything else to care for their supplies as well." Sam spoke, stroking their chin in thought.
Kameo produced another scroll.
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"That is where these structures come into play. We can set up homes for both temporary and long term residence, as I recall that you were running out of housing for your people Dave."
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Dave nodded, producing his own scrolls with notes scribbled down.
"That's correct, my Queen. It would solve that problem as well, and we're quite durable in most climates…but what about your people Sam? Would it be too hot for them in the Badlands?" He quizzed his old friend who was staring in thought.
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"So, what did you have in mind, my Queen?" The Hexapod leader, Aegis asked. She seemed to be the only one unbothered by Kameo's change in appearance and behaviour.
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"I propose that we turn the Badlands into a neutral grounds market and open it to foreign lands as well for exchange in stock and goods." Kameo said, producing a sketch and some notes.
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"Well, that would help bring the tribes together and give a good economical boost…" Halis said, trailing off as he recognised the hand writing on the sketches, giving a brief glance to Kameo, who ignored him.
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"It would be a long journey for each of the tribes, so if this were to be done, there would have to be homes or shelters, where merchants can rest during their off hours. They would also need food, water, and anything else to care for their supplies as well." Sam spoke, stroking their chin in thought.
Kameo produced another scroll.
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"That is where these structures come into play. We can set up homes for both temporary and long term residence, as I recall that you were running out of housing for your people Dave."
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Dave nodded, producing his own scrolls with notes scribbled down.
"That's correct, my Queen. It would solve that problem as well, and we're quite durable in most climates…but what about your people Sam? Would it be too hot for them in the Badlands?" He quizzed his old friend who was staring in thought.
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"It would definitely be a problem…but a lot of families visiting the Enchanted Kingdom seem to get across okay, and if there is ample cover, I believe it should be okay. We could also set up some housing near the colder regions of the Badlands, my Queen."
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Kameo nodded with a small smile.
"That's actually in the plan."
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As the meeting continued, those jarred by Kameo's new appearance, soon became comfortable and happily agreed, finding solid ground. Each time an issue was brought up, someone would bring up an idea to resolve it and the plans for the Badland markets was set.
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"I suppose Badland Markets doesn't sound too appealing." Lenya pondered out loud, drawing the council's attention.
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"Are you suggesting we rename the land?" Aegis asked as Lenya looked up.
"Well, the land has recovered since the great war, plus it will symbolize a new start with our new Queen." She said proudly, looking at Kameo who briefly looked off to the side with a little grin. She nodded and after some discussion, came to it's new name.
"The United Forest."
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About a year after the Troll War
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Kameo wanted to try healing the land using Pummel Weed and Snare's powers combined. Ortho tried to explain that this may not work, but Kameo had already taken off to the Forgotten Forest Glade.
Having to explain why a forest had suddenly appeared over the Badlands was an interesting conversation between Kameo and the Ancestors.
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"I get where you're coming from kiddo, but any straggler trolls could use it for cover. It's just too lush down there." Halis warned, eyeing the forest from the garden warily. He'd seen enough battles to know a good cover when he saw one.
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"So, what, you want to destroy an entire forest and make it bare again?" The false heir huffed. Halis just scoffed.
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"Not all of it, just some."
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Several Elves cleared the forest near the entrance to the Enchanted Kingdom warp, leaving a large distance, so it couldn't be used as cover, but still left enough of the newly sprouted forest to cover the lands.
This caused some travelers to get lost, requiring search parties, before several sign posts were placed to prevent it from happening again.
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Present time
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Once the meeting concluded, Kameo stared at the notes, double checking everything again.
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"Kiddo, what're you doing?" She looked up and her heart sunk. She had seen this happen to Kalus, but never expected to receive it herself. They gave her such sad, disappointed looks. She was confused, weren't they happy that she solved so many problems?
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"I-I'm sorry?"
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"I recognise Kalus' hand writing kiddo." Theena went white.
"Why does it matter? It solves a lot of problems that the tribal citizens have, I don't understand why you always stopped Kalus from sharing this idea with them."
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"Sugar...how do you know that?" Lenya asked, suddenly concerned.
"You were never there for those meetings."
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"I…*ahem*…Kalus told me about them…some of them…" She said, thinking quick as Yeros briefly glanced at Theena.
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"My dear girl, there's a reason why we don't use Kalus' ideas."
"Which are?" Kameo said, her tone hard.
"Has it occurred to any of you, that you have been exceptionally harsh to her, on just about everything?"
"Excuse-"
"No, this is a good idea that Kalus had, but none of you wanted to admit it, because for whatever reason you all see fit to treat her terribly…and so did I…" Saying the last part to herself, Kameo glanced off to the side in thought.
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"She's…Kalus, she's been through a lot…way more than I realised…than any of us."
Kameo clenched her hand tightly.
"Did…did any of you even think about how this affect her? After all these years of not even been given a single chance? All of you treated her like she was nothing but bad news, just because she looks like Solon!"
"Kameo, where is this coming from?" Halis asked as Lenya and Yeros glanced back at Theena who had gone silent. Lenya reached a hand to her, but Theena just turned and walked out quickly.
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"You don't sound like yourself." Yeros said, walking forward as Kameo frowned.
"Before I was naive… I should have been paying attention to what was happening around me." She looked disappointed in herself for not realising earlier. So many things lined up and she kicked herself for not picking up on it.
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"This market idea is just one of many more Kalus had, and each of them helped out our people in some way… I just don't understand how you're okay with how you've treated her, when all she wanted to do was help…" She remembered an incident just before Kalus' ceremony, and guilt made her stomach drop through the floor.
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She felt sick.
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She actually felt sick.
"Kameo!" Halis called in concern as she flew past him.
Running out of the room, Kameo threw up into a potted plant.
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Halis walked over and cautiously patted her back.
"We've…we've done things we're not too proud of. Things that we should have been better about. If Kalus told you this long ago…why are you bringing it up now?"
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Kameo puked again.
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"Aaaand poor choice of words." Halis cleared his throat, offering a handkerchief to Kameo.
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Lenya and Yeros left to talk to Theena while Halis stayed with Kameo.
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"I…we never actually talked…" She said, wiping her mouth as Halis raised an eyebrow.
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"Last night, I couldn't sleep. I went to see Mother, who was having a nightmare. We talked briefly and she looked frazzled, but afterwards I returned to my room…"
He didn't rush her and let Kameo take her time talking.
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"Kalus' door just caught my attention… I don't know why but I went inside…no, that's not it…I just…I just really miss her. It just hurts so much that no one will even acknowledge her at all. I just, I just wanted to look and remember better times…" She sobbed slightly.
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"Kiddo…it's okay to feel that way, we all miss her."
"Even after everything?"
"It's…complicated, but looking back, I can't say I blame her entirely for what she did…though it was still an irresponsible thing for a Queen to do."
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"What would have you done then?" Halis went quiet.
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"I… I honestly don't know Kameo, it's not an easy question to answer."
"I just wished that we could at least hold a memorial for her."
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"Me too kiddo, but I don't think your mother would be able to handle it right now." Kameo frowned, looking off to the side, but Halis pulled her in for a half hug.
"I know it seems really cruel, what she's doing, but after Solon was killed…your mother never recovered from it. She loved him dearly, with every fibre of her being, the two of them were the definition of a perfect couple. You may not believe this, but Theena used to be quite cheeky and playful, very much like you."
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"I doubt that." She chuckled as Halis grinned.
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"Swear on my heart, she was a giggly child at heart. Afterwards though, everything just stabbed her like a knife. It brought up memories, then remind her that Solon is gone and that pain she felt when we first discovered this, it all returned at once…" Halis let out a deep sigh, remembering the painful memories. He hesitated, looking at Kameo, then took a deep breath.
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"...there was a point where Theena could not be left alone…for her own safety." Kameo turned and looked at him, questioning what he was implying. He only gave a nod to confirm it.
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"It's why she always wears long sleeves. The pain was too much for her at one point… you were too young to remember, but she stopped because you had seen her…try…"
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"...I…I had no idea…" She glanced over, at nothing in particular.
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She… she didn't know how to handle this, or what to say. Thinking back, Theena had always been happy around her, doing her best to always smile…but at the same time, she had never seen her mother wear anything that didn't have long sleeves or gloves.
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She assumed it was something Queens did, since Kalus had the single glove as well-
Oh God.
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"I just…I need a minute…"
Halis looked like he had already reached the same conclusion a bit sooner, looking guilty and ashamed.
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"Listen, what has happened in the past…it cannot be changed, but the present and the future can. You can strive to be the Queen that prevents more heartache and tragedy. It's…it's a difficult journey but one well worth taking, and you'll always have my support Kameo. I believe in you, exactly as I believed in Solon." He said, resting a hand on her shoulder, before standing and holding a hand out.
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"I think it's worth talking to your mother, so let's go check that she's okay." Kameo stood, looking sad.
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"I just…I just wish there was something we could do so it's not painful for her anymore." Halis could only sigh and give her should another reassuring pat as they wondered down the hall, lost in their thoughts.
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Chapter 3
End