Chapter 25
Fingertips slowly caress naked skin. Muscular arms hooked tightly around the smaller figure. Starry eyes watching waiting for the figure next to them to stir. It always gives the man pride that she never wakes initially when he sneaks into her bedroom at night, and she doesn't notice. The woman blessed by the war God Vexmir. It comforts him just a little knowing she still felt safe around him after all these years. After all their fights. His Vee. His Empress.
She slowly wakes. He sees the pause in the rise of breath before the long one escapes. Eyes flutter open and grey meets pink. He grins at her while her face is set to stone. The smile masked the quick upbeat of his heartbeat. Though she can probably hear it. He wonders for a moment if he will be met with her anger. He does not want to fight but from what he found out she certainly did not approve of what he did with one of his knights for their daughter.
But anger doesn't come. Instead, she moves her leg over his hip and places her head into the crook of his chest. Her hands find their ways to his side and chest.
"It's late Bhaltair," her voice gods always sound sultry when she enunciates his name.
"It's been months since I've seen you Vee," it's a complaint and a whine all in the same. It's embarrassing that he let it loose in the first place, but Vesper was never one to mock him for his more childish phrasing.
"I know."
Silence ensues as the two simply hold each other now aware of each other's presence. Both knew that they needed to talk. Yet, they don't. At least not for a while. Under her touch Bhaltair's eyes begin to droop.
"Don't sleep," she whispers.
"Mmm. I'm still awake," Bhaltair's eyes brighten a bit. "How did securing the borders go?"
"Really that's what you want to talk about?" Vesper arches an eyebrow at him but sighs while Bhaltair grins sheepishly. She tells him anyway. "Auturia is pretending to not be encroaching our borders again. As I wrote you I did a small Ambassadorial trip over there for just a little while. To remind them of the cost. Their Chancellor was so happy to see me they threw a party for me filled with poison,"
"War soon then with them?" Bhaltair questions.
"No, the Mahjsin Empire still is our ally for now and though Auturia is allied with a few smaller countries as long as we keep the Mahjsin Empire as allies we won't have to worry."
"I'm so relieved. I made the moves to bolster our own ranks as well."
"Yes sending some of our hstrongest knights on a suicide mission to gain more Dragon Slayers. But, you kept the heart?"
"Well, Dragon Slayers steal a portion of the Dragon's power when they kill them. The heart is just a boost of Videle which has nothing to do with the power gained from killing a Dragon."
"Who did you give the hearts to?" Vesper questions eyes narrowing. Bhaltair tenses a bit wondering if she would be angry when she finds that he did not give one to Isabella.
"I gave one to Celeste, Hallow, Ducane, Myself and Sharia."
He feels her rage before he sees the anger seep into her face. Bhaltair knew his Empress did not approve of not giving Isabella one and instead giving it to his other wife. He knew that it would appear that he was showing favoritism towards his other children to any nobles on the outside looking in.
"You know Isabella is more powerful than a regular Dragon Slayer let alone her siblings."
"And Sharia?"
"Her strength was waning."
"Which is the vile woman's own fault?"
Bhaltair flinches at the curse.
"Is that jealousy?"
Her eyes narrow on him and grins cheekily. He knew better than to tick her off but this talk was important. The two of them so rarely saw each other. And at most she'd give him written reports instead of showing up in person. The gambit of giving Isabella that wild card Zarracen to get her to appear paid off.
His love loves all his children but keeps a special place in her heart for her own. That special place grew bigger after the loss of Isabella's twin Seraphina years ago. Vesper was never the same after that. She drove Isabella harder after bringing her to the light. His own failure at keeping Seraphina safe caused him to stay silent regarding the harsh training Isabella underwent.
Bhaltair understands, he failed his eldest daughter in some ways. However, Vesper was not always harsh with Isabella and treated her with a fragility that she didn't show to either child before at times as well. So, he knew that if he disrupted the careful plans that she had for Isabella that Vesper would make a swift return.
An angry return was certainly better than no return. In fact, he knows that she wouldn't return. After Isabella came of age Vesper grew more and more distant. And for a short while he suspected a lover. Ducane had to stop him from raising one town she visited fairly often due to his jealousy. Her own jealousy would be just as fierce as his. He certainly remembers when he told her that he was going to marry Sharia of the Vax Ducal house to quell an uprising.
She wanted to destroy the Vax family and there wouldn't have been much of a competition against her. He convinced her it was a good idea. To keep more bloodshed from happening.
Bhaltair's ascension to the throne was the bloodiest to happen in recent history after all. Him, Ducane and Vesper forged their path with blood. But peace was the hardest to keep in a rule of blood and he certainly was tired of his killing his people to solidify his position as Emperor. They were so young back then.
"Jealousy. You think it's mere jealousy after what happened-"
"There's no proof of that and you know-"
"That you don't want to look for proof!" Her eyes narrow and she pushes against him.
He flounders back from the push losing her warmth in the process. Bhaltair flinches from the anger on her face. He holds his hands up as if to placate.
"So quick to be weak! To forgive! The you before would've raised the slums to the ground. Would've slaughtered Vax just for the implication of it!"
"I'm Emperor I can't just kill my subjects!" He shouts arguing back.
"And that's where we differ." Bhaltair notes the coldness there. His shoulders slump in defeat knowing full well that she raised walls of ice that would take a Fennex's fire to melt.
Vesper exhales rather loudly and places a hand to her forehead. A sign that she was annoyed at his presence. Perhaps he should've waited for a letter detailing her travels instead of conversing it now. It's too late to go back and change this now.
"So, you made that Zarracen her knight to give her visible support instead of the dragon's heart?"
"Yes, that's exactly it." Bhaltair nods happy for the change in conversation.
"Yet, it seems you made no moves on Celeste's intervention with your own decision." Bhaltair pauses. "Leave."
The Emperor stands for a second there. He looks at his wife who is staring at him with such anger and pain that he feels his chest warm with a pounding heart. He moves forward as if to reach for her but stops putting his hand to his side. Bhaltair stands from the bed and leaves.
Vesper watches him get grey eyes, a cold steel masking her own sadness that churns beneath the surface. She lays back down in her own bed staring up at the ceiling. A pink aurora of lights painted upon with stars glinting in the background. Bhaltair's design choice of course so she could think of his eyes at all times.
Arrogant ass! She thinks to herself. She places her hand above her eyes.
"Zalaph," she calls.
"Your majesty," A deep voice resounds next to her. She turns to the man cloaked in shadows his face hidden by a black mask with no eyeholes to see through.
"Figure out what's going on?"
"If I get caught by the Angels?"
"Die for me."
"With honor,"
"Good, Betzalel is attentive perhaps another time though."
"Of course, Empress."
She dismisses him with a wave, and he fades into the night. She reaches beside bed to the nightstand where a pitcher of water and a glass was. Vesper pours herself a cup but not to drink. She summons her manner and murmurs,
"Mire Rig Roam."
She sees her lying in bed sleeping from the conjured image. It was always a good idea to imbue the reflective surfaces within Sharia's quarters with her Videle just for moments like this. Moments like this assure her that what she's planning for her dead husband wasn't wrong. She watches as he walks into Sharia's room after being cast aside by her.
Vesper listens to the mocking he does of her for not sleeping with him. Something, that makes the foolish woman in bed with him smile not realizing the lies that spilled from his lips just so he can seek comfort for an argument spawned from his decisions and indecisions. Once again.
The man she loves is a fool. A sigh leaves her lips pain from seeing such interactions she's long gotten rid of. She casts the spell again to seek out her daughter. Isabella was sitting on her couch imbibing alcohol all the while chatting with Zarracen.
A fond smile pulls on Vesper's lips at the sight of her daughter. Though, she certainly wishes Zarracen would show forth more capabilities wise. Her husband says he gave the knight to her daughter to show power. That's a lie. Far too blatant when he could've just given her the damn heart and avoided this entire situation.
No, it's for another reason and she prays it isn't a sinister one. For his sake at least.
Vesper ends the image as she sees her daughter's eyes alight with happiness. A rare expression for her daughter but one she's happy to see. And for Vesper that's good enough for now. For now, she sleeps her planning can wait for the light.
Morning dawns at the Crystal Mist Mansion. Light floods into Zarracen's room causing her to grimace as it wakes her. She stayed up far too late drinking with Isabella. She wonders why she even chose to follow the woman into her room for a drink. Something, that hasn't happened since her second or was it third night in this castle.
The knight sits up stretching in bed. She settles in a sitting position and meditates moving her Videle around her body. She notes her aura was low in some places and stacks it back before focusing on her mana. The eye was thrumming with energy. Far more than she could remember using to open it.
There was a lot of Dragon's energy around it as well. It makes her uneasy. Perhaps, this was part of being a Dragon Slayer. Keeping its energy but she had thought you would gain the energy by eating the heart not this.
Zarracen leaves her meditation at this thought. It will have to be studied but until then she'll keep learning magic under Isabella's tutelage. For now, she should go see how her guards are faring. Right now, Xan Blakely will be at the gate with En Ymenia. His second squad leader prioritized keeping magic with aura a good combination leaving Xan Seazuna with others who could compliment him and make up for areas where he lacked.
She really must thank Jack well technically he's already given Jack and the other members of the Sulkan Mercenary group his thanks by giving them an out. She jumps out of bed, lands on the floor with a thud and moves to the washroom to get her day started.
Once she's dressed, she makes her way to the kitchen area to see if there is any food to scrounge up for a quick meal. Inside the kitchen, she finds a little bread and cheese. It wasn't a meal, but it was good enough to wake her up before an actual one.
She chows down as she walks towards the front gate her gait a relaxed stroll. It felt like a good day for some reason despite the high tension one from yesterday. As she gets closer to the gate, she hears jostling and noise. A grimace sets on her face, and she quickly shoves the rest of her makeshift cheese sandwich down her throat.
"How dare you block my way!" A very haughty yet feminine form shouts. It carries over the distance and Zarracen's slow gait speeds up just a smidge.
One very bright aura flanked by about six weaker ones enters the knight's range of perception.
"Access cannot be given by us only by Princess Isabella," Xan Blakely states. His tone bland and unchallenging.
Though, Zarracen detects a bit of exasperation underneath it all. It makes her smirk. Nobility then. That'll be fun to mess with. Zarracen comes around the corner and leaps over the gate with ease. She lands on top crouching as she looks down at her soldiers and the wannabe intruders.
"Geh," a sound of annoyance leaves her lips at the sight.
Standing at the front gate flanked by a few knights as well as a few members of RIM that Zarracen recognized as the ones outside of Romantic Garden is Princess Celeste Sebastiana Isabella Iximdor. No one notices Zarracen just yet likely due to their preoccupation with trying to get through the gate without causing a worse scene and the others trying to keep them outside.
"I order you to step aside!"
"We're the guardians of Crystal Mist Mansion sworn to protect Princess Isabella unless she grants entry, we can oblige even with you being her sister Princess Celeste," it's En Ymenia who speaks this time.
Whelp guess it's time for me to put in my hospitality lessons from the book into action! Zarracen thinks to herself with a grin. She just about jumps down when Celeste rolls out a piece of paper.
"By order of my father you will let me pass." Zarracen steps down at that. She snatches up the paper from the princess.
"Hello, princess," She greets absentmindedly while reading through letter. It did have the Emperor's seal but this early in the morning requesting a meeting with Princess Isabella. It was suspicious to say the least.
"Give that back!" Zarracen weaves away from the Princess and jumps back on top of the wall.
"I'll take this to Isabella to see what she says!"
Zarracen is off again this time in a hurry to Isabella's study. She doesn't bother going through the mansion and instead leaps up onto the balcony and knocks on the glass panes. Fiella opens the balcony door for her to enter. Isabella was sitting at her desk scouring over paperwork and what looks like a map.
"Did you sleep last night?" Zarracen starts off curious because the woman was in a right frenzy scoring over what looks like several pieces of paper. Information, she could not have gathered by herself in one night.
"That's not why you're here is it?" Zarracen winces. She walks forward and places the paper down on her desk. Isabella pauses and reads it over. She looks at it in confusion and shock.
"Why would he-" Isabella trail off but grimaces.
"I take it from your expression it's real?"
"Yes."
"Damn and I wanted to shut the gates in front of her face with how uppity she was." Isabella tilts her head to the side and gives her a stare. Zarracen scratches her cheek with a grin on splayed on her face.
"What are we doing?" Zarracen asks, deciding to move on from that.
"Let her in. We'll see what she wants. Make sure only her and one RIM member enter. I'll be waiting in the lounge room."
Zarracen with that order returns to the front gate. She increases the range of her perception utilizing her aura. She could hear the grass rustling in the wind. Feel the ants burrowing beneath the ground and even the person walking in the shadows of Princess Celeste's feet.
Without caring how it appears she draws her sword and impales the ground with a burst of Videle going straight for her shadow. Shock appears on the face of all who stood there before the few knights displaying the Grand Order insignia drew their blades but are stopped by the shout of pain from the ground. Blood leaks up from a crack in the ground and the presence of the figure recedes away from the gate.
"Now, you can enter." Zarracen informs them as she places the sword back in the sheathe. Princess Celeste glowers at her. "Ah, Ah, Ah only one of you with RIM may pass."
"The Emperor-"
"Only gave You access one member of RIM accompanying you is a privilege given by My Princess." Zarracen draws the line there cold and abrupt. She certainly didn't plan on appearing weaker than she was especially to the princess who decided to make her last week even harder by not just keeping to her business. The woman looks as if she wants to respond but Zarracen simply stares back not caring about her royal privilege.
Their eyes meet and Zarracen feels nothing but annoyance looking at them.
"Mark!"
The princess barks when she realizes she couldn't get Zarracen to faulter. The RIM member named Mark follows. Zarracen turns to the Grand Order Knights and waves bye to them. Blakely sighs next to her as she walks through the gate, and it closes behind her.