Sorry for the delay; unfortunately I've been very busy with work and writing is not my full-time job.

I've received numerous messages in my inbox about this so I'm going to say it now; I am NOT soliciting artwork for this story. I use AI software Dream to make my own artwork. Please do not bother sending me messages asking to do artwork for this story because I do not need it and I will not answer.

Chapter Seven: Part Five

"Where's her body."

It was phrased as a demand and not a question. King Franz had little patience for the rage and contempt Kion was directing at him; his second-eldest son and final heir stood before him in King Franz's private office, his arms folded over his chest and his face full of anger. Behind him Gwenette stood with her hands clasped and her face pensive. King Franz had never seen a weaker or more pathetic assist in all his life.

But she's survived being Kion's assist for the last four years, so she has that going for her.

But King Franz kept his eyes on his son. "Excuse me?" he responded.

"Her body," Kion enunciated harshly. "Philomena's body. Where is it?"

A momentary flicker of panic nipped at the core of King Franz's being, but he kept the outward appearance of calm. "Why would you ask such a thing?" he said after a pregnant pause.

"You paraded the corpses of those kids before you buried them!" Kion snapped. "I want to see my sister, but yet NO ONE has been able to tell me where she is! Aravine—"

"Has been buried," King Franz interjected.

"Yeah, but I know for a fact that you haven't buried Philomena, because you haven't held her state funeral!" Kion shot back. "You love her more than you love any of us so I know that you will make a huge spectacle out of it! The fact that you haven't means she's not in the ground, so that means I can see her! So where is she?!" he shouted.

King Franz slowly rose from his chair, stretching to his full imposing height. "You will drop the attitude now," he said coldly. "And you will refrain from using that tone—"

"Don't talk to me like I'm a damn child!" Kion hollered. He moved closer until his thighs touched the front of the King's desk. "My sister is dead and I DEMAND to see her! I DEMAND to know what the hell happened!"

"We don't have her, Your Highness."

King Franz flinched at Albert's voice at the door. Kion quickly whipped around to face him as he approached. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Kion demanded.

"It means we do not have Princess Philomena's body," Albert answered calmly. He moved to stand in front of Kion. "Astraea Reiser took the Princess's body—after she killed her."

Gwenette gasped in shock and pressed a hand to her throat. King Franz however watched Kion for his reaction to this revelation. Albeit…a false one.

But I have lost all my children but Kion. I cannot have him turn against me, too.

After a painful moment of silence, Kion barked out a laugh. But it wasn't a humorous laugh. "Are—You are saying that Astraea killed Philomena and Aravine?" he demanded incredulously. "And she stole Philomena's body and only her body? Am I understanding that correctly?!"

"Yes, Prince Kion," Albert said.

Kion glanced at King Franz, his gaze narrowed. "This is the a statement you're going to be issuing regarding Philomena's death?!"

King Franz's brow rose and an uneasy feeling started to simmer inside of him. This was not the reaction he had been expecting from Kion. He knew that Kion didn't love Astraea—that he hated Astraea. Because of this, King Franz thought that Kion would readily accept any explanation that would paint Astraea as a villain.

But Kion didn't immediately accept this explanation. In fact…the Prince looked like he didn't believe them.

"That is the statement we are issuing because it is the truth, Your Highness," Albert said. He looked completely calm and collected.

Kion quickly glanced at him. "So Astraea spared Vahan and Brendan, but she didn't spare Philomena? Why?"

Albert was silent. "And don't tell me it's because she saw Philomena as a threat," Kion quickly added. "All of us know that Philomena was a poor excuse of a soldier!"

"Kion!" King Franz shouted in outrage.

"The only reason Philomena had ANY form of military authority was because of you!" Kion shouted, jabbing his finger towards his father. "Or should I remind you that Gwenette stayed in the Crypt longer than she did?!"

King Franz clenched his jaw. "You dare speak so ill of your own sister after she—"

"She was no threat to Astraea," Kion interrupted him. "If anything, Brendan is the bigger threat to Astraea's claim to the throne! But yet she conscripted him and not Philomena?! That makes zero sense!"

"You know why, Prince," Albert suddenly spoke up.

Kion's head snapped around to look at him. "Do you think us so ignorant that we don't hear the whispers from all of you?" Albert said. "We know that all of you have believed for years that Princess Philomena was most beloved by His Majesty the King. And you are correct—she was most beloved. The love that His Majesty had for her far surpasses any love he had for you, Prince. Or for any of your siblings."

"That is a horrible thing to say, Sir Albert!" Gwenette exclaimed, stepping forward. "I will not stand by while—"

"Gwenette," Kion said, motioning to her. Gwenette immediately silenced.

"Princess Philomena was his favorite," Albert said. "Just as you, Prince Kion, was the favorite of Queen Genevieve."

Kion flinched, but Albert did not stop. "And just as Astraea Reiser killed our beloved Queen, she also killed Princess Philomena."

The fight and the disbelief visibly bled from Kion. King Franz quietly exhaled; a noise of relief but one he hoped sounded like a release of grief. "Kion," he said, lowering his tone. "I am grieving. My previous daughter is lost to me, and I have no body for her state funeral. Astraea has done what she has done best; take what is important to us. And she will continue to take from us until we are all gone, and this country is under her rule."

Kion dipped his head forward and turned his back on King Franz. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. "You are my last heir left," King Franz said. "The only one I can rely on in this most trying time. We need to work together, Kion. I need you to stand with me and battle back against these forces that seek to destroy this country. Can I rely on you?"

Kion didn't answer for a long time. Gwenette watched him with sad eyes. Albert however continued to remain calm.

Finally Kion spoke. "…I will kill Astraea," he said quietly. "I will do what I should have done years ago."

The unease dissipated inside of King Franz. "You are tired," Albert said. "You traveled far in a short period of time. You should rest, Prince."

"I will see to it that the Prince rests," Gwenette promised.

"Gwenette," King Franz said sharply. The young woman flinched and Kion turned around. "You are the assist to the future King of Zelant," he said. "If anything happens to my son, you had better not come back alive."

Gwenette's expression became stricken. "Father," Kion snarled at him. "Do not threaten my assist."

"You do not order me around, Kion," King Franz retorted. "But go and rest as Albert said."

Kion didn't look pleased but he left with Gwenette without another word. King Franz dipped his head forward and let out a loud sigh. "Fool," he said. "I am on the verge of having another issue as I did with Brendan!"

"Do not worry about it, King Franz," Albert said, moving to stand in front of his desk. "Prince Kion will never join Astraea Reiser. And once we secure the True Rune for you, you will not have to worry about having an heir. An heir would be useless."

King Franz nodded, but his hands clenched into fists against the surface of the desk. "Your…friend," he said, his tone turning dangerous. "He failed to kill Astraea."

"I know, Your Majesty," Albert said. "It was an anomaly, as Yuber has committed political assassinations in the past without issue. But Astraea Reiser must have powerful allies by her side to repel him. But her efforts in the end will be futile; Yuber always fulfills his contracts. And he will kill her."

"He had better." King Franz closed his eyes. "Or Philomena will have died for nothing."

The ride in the sea carriage proved to be surreal. Astraea had swam underwater before, but never so deep or so…effortless. There was something soothing about being surrounded by the ocean on all sides. Not many fish or sea creatures swam past them as she expected. Truth be told, the inhabitants of the ocean seemed to avoid their vessel.

"AH!" Denzel shouted at one point, recoiling from the glass. "What is that?!"

Astraea rushed to his side and saw where he was pointing. She saw a rather peculiar fish swimming away from them. In the blue of the water it looked like the fish had a pink tail, but…it also looked like the fish had blonde hair at its head!

"Oh, that's a mermaid," Xi An said over her shoulder.

"MERMAID?!" Denzel and Astraea exclaimed.

James and Xi A guided them around for a short period in the sea carriage before returning them to the Old Capital. When Astraea went to exit the sea carriage however, she spotted two chests in the back of the carriage. She asked James about it and he responded with a shrug. "Help yourself."

The first chest contained an Old Book Volume V , but the second contained a play. Astraea admittedly felt excited, though she knew that many of the performances recently had negative receptions and did not generate much revenue. "'A Battle of True Runes'," she read aloud.

"That's apparently a recreation of the final battle of the Nagarean Civil War," James explained. "Show it to Lord Daunte and see if he thinks it's accurate."

Daunte however only read the first page and handed it back to her. "Close enough."

The group was starting to feel better, but as expected this did not last.

The morning following the sea carriage ride, the Reformation Army got a surprise visitor. As they ate breakfast an alert came of a stranger approaching the main gates. Astraea gathered her family and went out to greet the visitor. She saw a young man with short dark pink hair, black-framed glasses, a long white coat, and carrying an armful of books casually walking towards them. She knew who he was and she ran out to greet him. "Philibert!"

Philibert Tomas, her bookworm half-brother, dropped his books when she embraced him. "Hello, Princess Astraea," he said with the bluntness that she had heard so much about. "Or rather—Queen Astraea, since I seek to join your cause."

"Philibert." Brendan looked shocked as the rest of the group approached. "You want to join us?"

"Of course," Philibert said. "If the King could kill his favorite child, I'm not safe am I?"

Astraea winced from the pain of his words. "H-How did you know?!" Sigrun exclaimed.

Philibert shrugged. "She was sent to live with me—officially for punishment but unofficially for protection—but then she got called back to the capital. Within a few days of her being called back she was dead. That's hardly a coincidence, is it?"

Astraea swallowed hard. "So…you trust me?"

"Well you don't kill your siblings, Queen Astraea," Philibert said. "No matter what everyone else is saying."

Astraea was moved by his words. "Thank—"

"What do you mean "No matter what everyone else is saying"?" Dawa interjected.

"Oh, right." Philibert rifled through his satchel and pulled out a flyer. "Sir Albert issued this noticed to all the cities. The King is pinning Princess Philomena and Aravine's deaths on you, Your Majesty."

Astraea tore the flyer out of his hands and scanned the page. Her breathing came out loud and harsh and her eyes went wide. "They—The King is claiming I k-killed Philomena and stole her body!"

"May I, Your Majesty?" David asked, holding his hand out to her. Astraea gave him the flyer without protest. His expression remained unreadable as he read it. "It appears King Franz's official statement is that Her Majesty killed Princess Philomana and Aravine, seized the Princess's body, and is "holding the body hostage" to force King Franz to step down from the throne." He shook his head. "Since the Princess's body was sacrificed to summon Yuber, this was probably the only explanation the Crown could give as to why they didn't have a body."

"I'll kill him," Denzel snarled.

"Not if I don't get to him first," Sigrun promised.

"This puts us in a very bad position," Vahan said, his expression strained. "They've told the Kingdom that we have Philomena's body. We don't have her body. And because we don't have her body, we can't produce it. We can't prove that we don't have it. And this is being distributed across the country?"

"I caught it while I was passing through Alfsberg," Philibert said. "Lord Reilly himself was distributing flyers in the street."

"Oh God," Brendan groaned, covering his face.

"We have to circumvent such slanderous accusations," David said. "Especially since we all know that Princess Philomena was killed by the King and not Her Majesty. We should reconvene at the war room for an emergency meeting."

"Can I still join you?" Philibert asked. "I already told my household that I was joining you, so if I can't join then I'll be homeless."

"Of course you can join us, Philibert," Astraea reassured him.

"Are you still terrible with a sword?" Brendan asked warily.

"And a club and a bow and a hammer and a knife and—" Philibert droned.

"We get it," Vahan said. "Just—do what you do best."

"Okay. I'll open a library. Your city has a library, doesn't it?"

"It should," Astraea said.

Back at the war room the Reiser siblings gathered with David, Elly, Viktor, Sasarai and his advisors, Regulus and his bodyguards, Lambert, Richard, Primrose, Taiwo, and Brownie. Regulus scoffed and shook his head. "Every time I think that man can't sink any lower he surprises me."

"I'll get a story printed straight away to refute it," Taiwo said.

"We'll need to do more than that," David said. "Her Majesty has been blamed for many terrible things that have happened in this country, but something of this magnitude we need to be more…direct about. Sending out flyers isn't enough; we need to settle things in person."

"'In person'?!" Dawa demanded. "You're not suggesting that Her Majesty go to all the cities to plead her case do you?!"

"Not all of the cities. And I suggest that we avoid Alfsberg for now since Lord Reilly has returned."

"And we can't go to Blutkrieger," Sigrun said. "So where do we start?"

"I would suggest that we go to Honigmilch first," Richard said, raising his hand. "Rally the mercenaries behind us. If we can get some—if not all—of the group currently in the city then that will raise our numbers significantly. If we can get Honigmilch on our side, then our victory is assured."

"That's a great idea!" Astraea exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Are there any groups we should go to specifically?"

"We should reach out of Ignaz Hingabe," Lambert said. "He's an old drinking buddy of mine. He's got good character."

"Arguably," Ferdinand muttered.

"Oh, Ignaz is a great guy," Richard said with a smile. "He joined the Lindwurm Mercenary Brigade around the time I was close to retirement. Excellent warrior."

"Okay, we'll seek out the Lindwurm Mercenary Brigade," Astraea said. "Who else should we go for?"

"I would suggest that we reach out to the Magic Guild," Primrose said.

"Oh, I almost forgot about them," Richard laughed.

"Wait, Brendan," Vahan said, pointing to the eldest siblings. "You did training in Honigmilch with one of the Brigades a few years ago, didn't you? Which one was it?"

"…The Couatl Mercenary Brigade," Brendan said after a pregnant pause.

"Oh, right!" Sigrun said, slapping her fist into her palm. "If Eartha Riddick is in the city, we should definitely see her!"

"Eartha Riddick?" Regulus said, giving a cheeky grin. "I've heard of her. Fiery redhead to match a fiery personality?"

"…Yes," Brendan responded.

Astraea glanced at Nakoa and Dinah, and noted their hair color. Lord Regulus…seems fond of redheads, doesn't he?

"Okay, we have our mission," David said. "We'll go to Honigmilch and meet with the Magic Guild, Ignaz Hingabe, and Eartha Riddick. Because of the urgency of the situation, I would suggest that we leave straight away. Your Majesty, when you are ready speak to me and I will assemble your party."

"I'm ready now," Astraea said. "I want to take Brendan, Vahan, Sigrun, Denzel, and Lord Richard in my main party. For my support party I would like to include Lord Lambert, Primrose, and Dawa."

The four assists immediately protested being left behind from their charges. Astraea raised a hand. "I think to be on the safe side we should prepare for battle if the worst case scenario occurs."

"Such as?" Elly asked.

"That we aren't able to recruit anyone," Astraea said. "And get ambushed."

"I agree," David said. "We'll set a time limit of 24 hours. Your Majesty, return to HQ within 24 hours regardless of whether or not you're able to gain new allies. If you don't come back within 24 hours, we'll mobilize the Reformation Army to forcibly seize the city."

"Why don't you just do that and save time?" Sasarai asked.

"Because we're looking for allies to voluntarily join us and not conscript them, Lord Sasarai," David said.

Sasarai glanced at him. "Is that so?" his expression was unchanging from his usual calm, but David still flinched.

"Let's get going now," Astraea said.

Viki confirmed that she would not teleport them to Alfsberg, but she was able to teleport the group to Honigmilch. To Astraea's shock the guards manning the gate didn't give any of them a second glance, but she got a glimpse of conversation that made her heart sink.

"Lady Norma was called to the Capital?"

"Not surprised—"

So much for the Magic Guild, Astraea thought grimly, but they pressed on into the city.

"Where should we go first?" Richard asked. "The Lindwurm Mercenary Brigade or the Couatl Mercenary Brigade?"

"Do we know where their headquarters are?" Sigrun asked.

"I know where the Lindwurm Brigade is," Richard said.

"As do I," Lambert said.

"I…do know where the Couatl Brigade is," Brendan said.

"What's up with you?" Denzel asked him. "Do you not have good memories of working with Eartha Riddick?"

Brendan looked like he was about to say something, but then abruptly stormed away. "What?" Denzel said after a moment.

"Wait, didn't he—" Vahan began, but Sigrun elbowed him in the side.

"Let's see the Lindwurm Brigade," Astraea said finally.

They quickly caught up to Brendan and Richard and Lambert led the way towards the Lindwurm Mercenary Brigade's main building. A few people did give them sideways glances but no one approached them. Astraea saw a couple people crying and wiping away tears and her heart clenched. She knew they were crying for Philomena.

I'll get you for this, Father! I swear I will!

They found the main building for the Lindwurm Brigade, but Astraea paused when she saw a familiar figure in exotic blue clothing standing in front of it. "I'll be right back," she said quickly, breaking away from the group and hurrying towards them. It was Fajr, and she was looking towards the building with her usual peculiar expression. "I had heard the Old Capital of the Kingdom of Zelant—"

"Come," Astraea said, taking her arm. She used the Blinking Rune and teleported them back to HQ. Viki yelped when she saw Astraea. "Your Majesty—!"

"This is the castle of the Old Capital," Astraea said to Fajr, gesturing to their surroundings. "You are in the Old Capital now. If you would like to open your scroll shop here, you are free to do so."

Fajr looked at their surroundings, and her face filled with delight. "Yes…Yes, this is perfect! This is exactly what I thought when I thought of the castle at Old Capital of the Kingdom of Zelant!"

"Welcome to the Reformation Army," Astraea told her. "Viki, would you mind taking Fajr to where the shops are? I need to get back to Honigmilch."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Viki said. She teleported Astraea away and looked at Fajr. "Ah…what was your name?" Viki asked. "Sarina?"

"Fajr," Fajr told her with a raised brow. "Where are your shops?"

"Ah, I think that way," Viki said, pointing towards the main doors leading outside.

"Right," Fajr said, and she immediately ascended the stairs to the second floor.

"Huh," Viki said, rubbing the side of her head. "I guess I was wrong."

Astraea was gone for less than two minutes, and in that time it seemed like Honigmilch had descended into…chaos. She hurried into the city to see a couple of buildings on fire and people throwing punches at each other. "W-What the hell happened?!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, some treasonous Royals were found near the HQ of the Lindwurm Mercenary Brigade," the guard on post told her. "Be especially careful of Astraea Reiser, Miss. I heard her True Wind Rune can tear people to ribbons. She used it on our poor Princess."

Astraea was about to snap at him when the guard burst into tears. She decided to leave it alone and go looking for her siblings. She retraced her steps and found her group facing down another group of nondescript mercenaries. "W-What happened?!" she demanded. "People are setting buildings on fire!"

"It's Honigmilch," Brendan said dryly. "These mercs will find any reason to riot."

"Death to the traitors!" one merc shouted.

"The Shredding!" Astraea shouted, raising her hand. The mercenaries quickly fell. "I'm sorry I left," Astraea said.

"Don't be," Sigrun said. "I remember that girl; she had no sense of direction. She would have been caught in the crossfire when we got recognized."

"But please refrain from running off alone like that again, Your Majesty," Dawa said.

"She seemed fine on her own," Primrose muttered.

"So what now?" Lamber said, looking towards the building. "Those mercenaries shouted that Ignaz is at Mercer Hall."

"Then we'll go to Mercer Hall," Astraea said. "I'll make myself visible and speak to the people of Honigmilch."

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Vahan said, looking uneasy. "We got immediately attacked by a small group of idiots who recognized us. If competent mercenaries saw you—"

"They need to see me anyway," Astraea said. "Let's go and find a spot to make myself visible."

They raced to Mercer Hall, running into a handful of mercenaries along the way. The courtyard in front of Mercer Hall was as messy as the rest of the city; easily over 100 people were fighting, and the roof of Mercer Hall was on fire. "For God's sake!" Denzel shouted, slapping his hand over his eyes. "Why the hell are they fighting each other when we weren't anywhere near here?!"

"…I'm suddenly remembering why I avoid Honigmilch," Lambert said.

"Really?" Richard said blithely. "It feels like a Tuesday."

Astraea shook her head and looked at Brendan. "Brandan, can you lift me onto your shoulder?"

"Sure," Brendan said, and hoisted her onto his left shoulder. Astraea raised her right hand and looked at the True Wind Rune symbol on the back of her head. "I'm not looking for destruction," she said to the Rune. "But I need to put out the fires. Could you generate winds strong enough to do that?"

The symbol of the True Wind Rune rose into the air, and a gust of wind burst from her hand. The blast of wind hit the flames on the roof of Mercer Hall, and while it ripped off a few shingles it also put out the flames. The gusts dispersed throughout Honigmilch, going from building to building and extinguishing the flames. After a few moments Astraea allowed herself to exhale.

But her act of putting out the flames didn't go unnoticed. Fighting close to them ceased and someone pointed to her. "THERE SHE IS!" someone shouted, pointing to Astraea. "ASTRAEA REISER!"

All fighting abruptly ceased as dozens of eyes turned towards them. Shock and rage filled their faces, and murmurs broke out across the crowd, but no one made a move towards them. Astraea's group raised their weapons but Astraea raised her hands. "People of Honigmilch!" she shouted. "Please listen to me! Yes—I am Astraea Reiser! But no, I HAVE NOT and WILL NOT kill my siblings! Look around me! I have my brothers and sister with me! I recruited them to my side! If I were the monster that King Franz says I am, then why did I recruit them?! Why did I recruit them but not Philomena?! Had I the chance, then I would have recruited Philomena! I was planning on recruiting her before I found out what happened to her! And I'm here to tell you the truth of what happened to her—the King killed her!"

A chilly silence swept over the courtyard. But it didn't reassure Astraea. "The King killed her," she said. "Just like he tried to kill me and killed the children who died in the Massacre of Innocents. And it's because of this!" She pointed to the True Wind Rune on the back of her hand. "The King wants this power, and he will sacrifice his children to achieve this goal! I'm fighting to prevent that! I implore you all to—"

"That's enough."

The cool and smug voice cut through Astraea's shout. Astraea stopped and the crowd parted to reveal a woman with a long orange ponytail, a black tank top, and black low-riding pants. Her expression was smug and she was smiling…but her eyes were cold.

"Well, well," Eartha Riddick said, folding her arms over her chest. "The whole lot of you together at last."

Recruits: Philibert Tomas (71), Fajr (66)