A/N: Back to the Capital, though not in the way Marcus expected...
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"… Is that the Royal Carriage?"
"It is! Who's in it?"
"Is that… that's the Destined Hero!"
"The Destined Hero has returned! The Queen called for the Destined Hero!"
"Ah! I was worried for Queen Elsenthia, with her mother returning to the Higher Plane… but if the Destined Hero is here for her, then I'm no longer afraid!"
He'd had dreams about how his return to the Capital might go. Nightmares, more often than not. In most, he was in Roka-Ra's cage, a procession of Paladins leading HIM through the streets as the city's populace watched and threw jeering comments his way. In other nightmares, he was at the head of a conquering Army of Darkness… but helpless to stop the brutal excesses of his forces. No matter how much he shouted for them to stop, they ravaged and rampaged their way through the innocent peoples of the Capital until all were put to death.
Marcus hadn't really ever thought it would be like this. In fact, his actual return to the Capital felt more than a little surreal. There was no official parade like last time, but Elsenthia HAD sent the Royal Carriage along with her… assistant in order to show just how serious she was. As such, it was no surprise that they'd started gaining attention the moment they rolled in through the Front Gate.
After all, with Queen Lisanna's return to the Higher Plane becoming public news, the only one who would normally be using the Royal Carriage would be Elsenthia herself. But she, as everyone already knew, was still in the Palace, preparing for her coronation.
The point was, Marcus and his party drew attention, even if an official parade had not been planned. No one impeded their way thankfully, but glancing out the window behind them showed that they were swiftly gathering a crowd of interested citizens, all of whom were talking amongst themselves. Thankfully, from what Marcus could hear with his enhanced ears, it was all positive so far.
Pulling back into the carriage, the half-orc finds himself looking at the two women sitting across from him. Heh… at least he wasn't the only one reeling this time. A small silver lining he supposed, but he'd take the wins where he could find them. Indeed, both Angelina and Erised still look rather… shellshocked from what had happened back in the Barony of Thornswood.
Marcus himself was still struggling to wrap his head around it, so he could only imagine how hard it was for Erised to come to terms with what she'd learned. Her mom… her mom was alive. Not just alive, she was sane.
He hadn't really thought about Volupa much in their journeys. Erised had explained who the woman was when they'd first met, mostly to explain how she was connected to him. Erised's mother had been Marcus' nanny for a very short time before she'd had to go and give birth to Erised. This had in turn ended up providing an opportunity in which the Church's assassins had slain his parents and stolen him out from under Volupa's nose before the demoness could properly react.
After that, as Erised had told it, Volupa had steadily gone insane from her failure to protect him, declaring that she was not worthy to be his caregiver and ultimately leaving him in the Church's hands as a result. Erised had talked about her mother very little, but what she had said was that Volupa had been… decent enough in her early years. Eventually however, it got worse and worse until Erised had to leave… for her own safety.
Needless to say, running into Volupa after all these years, and having her turn out to be the Holy Pope's right-hand woman no less… was a bit of a shock. To her credit though, the older demoness had not made any effort to downplay or deny her actions or the things Erised had said. She'd confirmed everything. Yes, losing his mother and father and him on top of it had fractured her mind. Yes, she hadn't been the best mother she could be to Erised.
It was only after Erised had run away from home that Volupa had the wake-up call she needed. It was only once her daughter had left for her own safety that the demoness had pulled herself back together. From there, she had decided to pave the way, so to speak. Her efforts could be felt in every step of their journey, it seemed. She'd been rather… light on the details, but she'd shared a few interesting tidbits with them all the same.
Like for instance, it had been Volupa who had steadily weakened the Church's detection systems over the years, both to keep her own true nature from being discovered, and just to sabotage the Church. This, as Volupa explained it, was why Erised had been able to hide as a Beastkin and be collared without anyone in the Church realizing she was in fact a demon in disguise.
On top of that, it had been Volupa who made sure Erised's letter to Roka-Ra actually reached her. Unfortunately, she hadn't read it beforehand. Deeming it better for it to stay sealed, she had delivered the letter to Roka-Ra in the guise of an orc after taking it from the courier who had been prepared to run off with Erised's money. This, of course, had been a source of mortification for Erised.
Even more than that, it had been Volupa who made sure Marcus and Elsenthia overheard what was actually going to be done to Roka-Ra that night at the banquet. Without her efforts, the Dark General's 'Divine Justice' would likely have gone through without either of them being aware until long after the fact.
And of course… it was Volupa who had cleared the board for him and Elsenthia. Serafina gave the order, but Volupa coaxed her into it. Erised's mother had singlehandedly cleared away the corruption in both the Church AND the Nobility after Queen Lisanna had requested Serafina's assistance in cleaning house so to speak.
Oh, and why had she done all of this? Simple. Her loyalty was always to him. Just like her daughter, she served the Dark Lord. Of course, Marcus had explained what had happened with his Jobs, but Volupa hadn't cared. Dark Lord or Destined Lord, to her it didn't matter. They were one in the same. They represented the culmination of her previous Mistress' plans… and she would follow him to the ends of the world to make sure he succeeded in his goals.
Fuck, Volupa had convinced the most powerful people in the Holy Empire to let her remove all of the other most powerful people from the board… and then she and Elsenthia had performed a quiet coup. It was rather hard to doubt her, given all that.
Judging by the way the citizenry were talking about him and Elsenthia, it had gone off without a hitch too. Not a single whisper of anger or suspicion reached Marcus' ears as the Royal Carriage continued on its way through the Capital. Everyone was just happy to have him back.
Yet, it was still a lot to take in. It was a whole lot to swallow, that was for sure. Marcus… Marcus still wasn't sure he fully believed it. Erised just seemed happy to have her mother back, and didn't much care that the woman had only regained her sanity after Erised left. It helped that Volupa was acutely apologetic where her daughter was concerned. The demon woman had no problem admitting her faults and telling Erised that she knew she didn't deserve forgiveness. Nor did she have any qualms about telling Erised that she was proud of her.
Even still, precautions had been taken. When Marcus had been planning to potentially start a war, he'd intended to keep Roka-Ra by his side, needing her martial prowess and leadership expertise backing him up. But now… well, things had changed. Suddenly, he was being invited to marry the Queen of the Holy Empire before her coronation, so they could be equals. King and Queen, together.
Given the potential of it being a trap whether Marcus truly thought it was one or not… Roka-Ra had been left behind with Camilla. The two Dark Generals would be something of an insurance policy. If Marcus and Elsenthia weren't married and coronated by the end of the month, then they would know that they'd been betrayed and act accordingly.
Though… if anything could put Marcus down now in his current state, he wasn't entirely sure what Roka-Ra could do. Even still, at least the cycle was already broken. There would never be another Dark Lord to act as a sacrificial lamb to the slaughter, nor another Destined Hero to find and slay them. Instead, there just might be a Destined Lord from now on… or the Job might die with him.
Marcus couldn't say, but he knew one thing for sure… he wanted to give Elsenthia a chance. He wanted to stand side by side with her, if at all possible.
It still all felt a little strange though. He'd gone on this great quest to find out the true nature of his existence… and he'd succeeded! Sure, he'd killed some bastards along the way, and nearly been killed in turn, but he'd finally uncovered the truth. However, he had thought there would be something that came after all of that. He had believed that there would be some great evil for him to fight.
Not only were the bastards who would have visited their so-called 'Divine Justice' upon Roka-Ra all dead and buried, but even Lisanna and Serafina had been… dealt with. Lisanna had been sent back to the Higher Plane, and the Holy Pope had been placed in a cell and secretly replaced with Volupa.
All of this power at his fingertips and there was no one left to fight? It almost felt too easy. Or maybe even… a little disappointing. He-
"We're here, Sir Hero."
Torn from his thoughts as the Royal Carriage comes to a stop, Marcus blinks… and then sets his jaw. Pushing open the carriage door, he lets Angelina and Erised out first, before climbing out himself. If this were a trap, then they'd managed it quite poorly. They have an audience now, after all. The crowd of civilians who have followed the Royal Carriage all the way to the foot of the palace stand in the background, watching with wide eyes.
Meanwhile, standing where her mother stood all those months again… Elsenthia looks resplendent. She looks downright radiant as she smiles warmly at him from up on the first landing. There is a collection of Royal Knights standing to one side, an honor guard of sorts… and to the other side, there are a group of Paladins led by the Holy Pope herself… or so it would seem.
Volupa had left them a few hours before they reached the Capital, telling them all that she would see them again very soon. As 'Serafina' meets Marcus' eyes and gives him a wink, he sees just the hint of demonic yellow for a moment before it's gone. This is not the true Holy Pope… but she stands tall among her Paladins all the same, her Shadow having usurped Serafina's role damn near effortlessly.
Also among those Paladins, Marcus sees Eric. He gives the man a smile and a nod that are returned without hesitation. It would seem that news of Marcus' defection never made it to the broader population of even the Church. He's sure there were rumors, but he could imagine Serafina wanting to keep things on the down low until she could locate him and get him back.
Seeing as no ambush or trap was materializing, Marcus lets out a slow breath as he steps forward. He's a little surprised… but also pleased when Elsenthia responds by moving as well. Rather than staying up above him on the First Landing, the new Queen of the Holy Empire descends the stairs of her own accord. She comes down to his level, that radiant smile still on her face as she approaches him.
He really didn't know how to feel about all of this… until Elsenthia reaches him and takes him by the hands. It feels right, how their fingers close around each other. She, a half-elf… he a half-orc. In a way, they complete each other. Many would have said that neither of them were EVER meant to be. Many of those people were dead now, most not even by their hands.
However, Marcus would argue it was the opposite. They were always meant to be. The doctrine that Elsenthia's ancestors had chosen to put in place all those centuries ago… could not go on forever. That it had lasted a thousand years was as impressive as it was horrifying. In the end though, it could only ever end one way. Right here, right now… with two individuals who their precious system did not and could not account for.
When Elsenthia leans forward, Marcus finds himself doing the same. As their lips meet and the two of them kiss in front of the Royal Knights, Paladins of the Church, and assembled citizenry of the Capital, there are cheers from all sides, raucous joy and clapping filling the air.
But Marcus only has eyes for Elsenthia, and she only has eyes for him. His very own Elven Queen. Her very own Orcish King. They were made for each other, and in that moment as they share tender affection in front of a crowd of hundreds, Marcus comes to a simple realization.
He doesn't need to be the salve for all the world's problems. He's done his part… and now? Now, maybe he doesn't need to do the rest all by himself. They can do it together. And Marcus fully believes that there isn't a single soul that can stop them.
When they finally pull apart for air after what is probably too much time spent kissing, Marcus can't bear the thought of pulling away. So instead, he leans his forehead against Elsenthia's and is grateful when she in turn leans her forehead back against his. Looking into her eyes, Marcus can't help but grin.
"… Hi. Long time no see."
Elsenthia blushes and smiles right back.
"I almost had you at the Convent, but I was a day late. Thank you for protecting them by the way."
Yes, Volupa had mentioned this bit. Marcus just nods, his arms encircling his soon-to-be wife's waist.
"It was my pleasure."
Elsenthia shivers in his grasp, before letting out a soft sigh.
"Ready to face the music?"
He thinks about it for a moment, before deciding to speak from the heart.
"With you? Always."
That gets a broad smile from the half-elf, and they finally pull apart. But not entirely, as Elsenthia takes his hand in her own, intertwining their fingers while facing the large crowd of civilians who have been watching the little romance play out from afar. Lifting his hand high into the air alongside her own, Elsenthia speaks clearly and concisely, her voice reaching all ears.
"The Destined Hero has come home! Your King… has come home!"
Absolute pandemonium. But the good kind. And that, Marcus figures… is just about the story of his life.
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A/N: Next time, Elsenthia POV. And then Chapter 65 will be Serafina POV, since I know some are highly invested in what happens to her~
As always, hope people enjoyed and be sure to let me know what you think!
Chapter 65 will come out on Wednesday like usual, or you can read the LAST five chapters + the Afterword of the story right now over on the P atreon!