"YOU want ME to return to the Continent and be your AMBASSADOR?" Edward asked in horror.
Captain Edward and his crew had stayed out of the way during the Mundi occupation of the government. They were familiar with the plan; Edward himself had devised a good part of it... His motivation? Known only to him. Nevertheless, the Prince trusted him. Probably.
"Yes. You're the only European worthy of this honor," the Prince nodded.
Edward tilted his head. He was used to the Prince always being accompanied by two figures. One was missing.
"Where's your dark friend?" Edward asked.
"Which one exactly?" the Prince joked cynically.
"You know which."
"He went back to the homeland to inform Father of my betrayal."
Edward pondered that. No, he didn't leave just for that… He wouldn't send his Doctor to play messenger. The Prince and Ater's plan was much deeper; the Captain could smell it.
"Should I meet him in Mundia?"
"Yes," said the Prince, handing Edward a note. It had the name of a place written on it. "There you'll probably find Ater... Or someone who will know where Ater is. You depart after my wedding, the day after tomorrow."
Edward nodded. He had heard the news… The Queen, forever alone, had found herself a husband. 'Found? Hahaha,' Edward laughed to himself. He didn't believe the Queen would settle down with anyone. She was likely being forced into this. He didn't particularly care. Captain scratched his nose.
"I suppose I can't say no to you…," Edward spoke cautiously, "but I want to take two more members of my crew with me."
The Prince nodded: "I'm glad we clarified everything. Frejo will relay additional information to you," said the Prince, pointing to his advisor.
Frejo bowed: "Yes, Prince."
Edward's crew was staying at a tavern not far from the castle itself. They sent all the bills to the Prince, who paid without question. Night had long fallen when Edward burst into his crew's drinking session. The Captain dressed quite differently after spending so much time with the Mundi.
He had removed the two gold stripes on the slashed cuff, his captain's insignia, from his dark blue officer's uniform and attached them to his long, dark brown leather coat that reached his knees. Under the coat, he wore a tight black shirt that clung to his perfectly sculpted, muscular body. The tight shirt was tucked into gray trousers with many pockets. On his feet, he wore black, well-worn officer's boots. He never took off his old, tattered Captain's hat. Originally dark blue like the uniform he no longer wore, it was now almost gray. The color peeled off in several places. The crew couldn't imagine him without it; he even wore that hat when bathing. All this, combined with a black scarf around his neck, gave Edward a very shabby appearance. Without the gold stripes and boots, one might think he was a beggar rather than a soldier, let alone an officer. Also, Edward was very afraid of barbers, not trusting anyone to wield a blade around his neck, so he always shaved himself, often without a mirror and very often without a proper razor. This behavior showed in the numerous small scars on his cheeks and chin.
When Edward stepped into the tavern, his crew stopped singing and drinking. They put their mugs down and quickly turned to their Captain. They stood in a row, shoulder to shoulder, and saluted.
"LIIIIISTEN UP YOU RAT BORN RATS," Edward yelled at the top of his lungs, "IN A FEW DAYS YOUR INCREDIBLY HANDSOME CAPTAIN," Edward ran his fingers across his cheek, "IS GOING BACK TO MUNDIA FOR AN IMPORTAAAAANT DIPLOMATIC MISSION FOR OUR PRINCE."
The crew stood frozen like statues. The Captain was nervous. No one liked it when the Captain was nervous.
"I NEED TWO VOLUNTEERS TO ACCOMPANY ME ON THIS VERY IMPORTAAAAANT DIPLOMATIC MISSION," Edward screamed. Spit flew from his mouth, landing on his crew members. One swallowed hard. No one made a sound. They didn't want to return to the Continent, no matter the good times they had. The Mundi didn't know how to make beer. Plus, living surrounded by wizards without being able to use magic was a bore.
"THIS VERY IMPORTAAAAANT DIPLOMATIC MISSION WILL LAST A LITTLE LONGER, A FEW WEEKS AT LEAST. WE WILL TRAVEL USING THE BIG ASS STONE IN THE CASTLE GARDEN."
Two crew members glanced at each other. It was over; the Captain had finally gone mad.
"YOU TWO STARING AT EACH OTHER, DO YOU WANT TO COME WITH ME?" Edward asked. He had his back turned to them; it was a mystery how he noticed that brief exchange.
"IF I DON'T HAVE A VOLUNTEER IN FIVE SECONDS, YOU'LL ALL COME WITH ME COLLECTIVELY. AND YOU'LL TRAVEL NAKED! YES, YES, TO LIFT YOUR COLLECTIVE SPIRITS!"
"ONE."
One of the crew members buckled. He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to return to the Continent under any circumstances.
"TWO."
A sailor stepped forward. Edward nodded, pleased.
"LOOK AT THAT! LET HIM BE YOUR EXAMPLE! JUST ONE MORE IDIOT NEEDS TO STEP FORWARD!"
Silence.
"THREE."
The sailors shifted from foot to foot in nervousness.
"FOUR."
The crew started making comments to each other. They all had their reasons why someone else should go.
"FIVE! YOU BUNCH OF DUNG, I HOPE THE MUNDI ENJOY WATCHING YOU RUN AROUND AS BARE AS THE DAY YOU WERE BORN…"
Another sailor stepped forward. "Ivolunteercaptainsir," the brave crew member mumbled quickly.
"Excellent, excellent," Edward stopped shouting. However, he gave the rest of the team a twisted smile: "Don't think the rest of you got off easy. I still counted to five, my sea ladies."
The next morning, Edward and his two 'volunteers' set off early for the castle. The rest of the crew was also awake. They poured buckets of cold water over themselves, naked, to the amusement and laughter of the inn's maids, as punishment from their Captain.
The wedding took place in a chapel within the castle. The priest was Antonus, who had simply thrown a Catholic priest's robe over his bare body. He looked very comical, given that the robe was obviously made for someone taller and thinner.
The ceremony was attended by the Mundi, Edward with his two companions and a few noblemen. This surprised the Captain. So, the Prince was slowly coming out in public with this? Edward chuckled to himself. 'The boy has ambitions.'
The Queen was visibly upset before the ceremony. She trembled, flinched at every touch and call, and was so distraught that she couldn't hold a normal conversation with any noble. However, she ran to Edward when she saw him.
"EDWARD!" The Queen threw herself into Edward's arms. He politely and gently pushed her away. He bowed slightly: "Your Majesty, at your service."
" 'At your service' my ass! Where have you been? When are you taking me away from here? Do you know what I've been through???"
Edward waved his hand: "Eh, it can't be that bad. I heard Ater was in charge of you. You won't lose a hair on your head while he's around," Edward remembered the Prince's story from yesterday. 'Oh right, Ater isn't here… How did I forget?' He opened his mouth to apologize to the Queen. He closed it. She was in tears.
"Why did you have to mention him?" she said, her lip trembling.
"Who?"
"Ater!"
Edward laughed to himself. The Queen actually cared about someone? He couldn't believe it.
"Did he also confirm my theory that you're prettier without the dress than with it?" Captain tried to cheer up Theresa in his own way.
It worked. The Queen giggled, wiped her tears, and punched Edward in the shoulder with her fist: "You idiot! Is that how you talk to a bride, and on her wedding day no less?"
He shrugged. "You don't want to be here as much as I don't."
Theresa nodded somewhat sadly. Edward felt a bit sorry for her. Just a bit. Not nearly enough to do anything about it, though.
The ceremony went relatively well. The vows were shallow and obviously insincere, Antonus skipped half of the things because he didn't remember them, and when the Prince was supposed to kiss the bride, the Queen flinched at his touch. By that time, Edward was already drunk and asleep on a chair in the sixth row. His two companions were wiping away tears.
"How touching…" said one.
"She flinches at his touch. What an outburst of emotion! Ah... what youthful love," the other said through sobs.
The celebration after the wedding was very long. The Prince approached every noble who came, without exception, and had a conversation with each one. He laughed and toasted with each of them.
Edward frowned. 'This maniac is on his 19th glass of wine. How is he even standing?' the Captain thought.
After the ceremony, as per custom, the guests escorted the newlyweds to the Queen's chambers. It was time for the First Wedding Night. The Queen was terribly afraid of this. The guests dispersed, leaving the young couple to do their duty. Edward lay down outside in the garden among the flowers and fell asleep with a mug of beer in his hand.
The Queen nervously jumped into her bed and covered herself with the blanket up to her chin. Only her eyes were peeking out, eyes that panickedly followed every move the Prince made.
The Prince giggled. The giggle turned into loud laughter, which abruptly stopped as if someone had pulled a switch. The King became serious.
He sat at Ater's table. "Don't worry, Your Highness, your husband has no interest in you," said the King in the third person.
Theresa felt a weight lift off her heart. She didn't want anything to do with this psychopath. Even with a serious face, she still felt like the Prince... the King... whatever... was laughing. The smile was omnipresent, hovering in front of him like a transparent mask.
"What are you going to do with me?" Theresa asked worriedly.
"Nothing. You are useless for now. You will stay alive only because Ater cares at least a little about you."
Theresa grimaced. "Is it important to you to be on good terms with him now that he's going to lift the curse off you?"
The King shook his head. "Ater plans to betray me. More or less. You will serve as a hostage."
Theresa was stunned. Ater? Betray the Prince? There must be something more to it.
"You think he won't lift the curse off you?"
"Oh, he will, of course..."
The next morning, Theresa was standing in front of the Catalyst. She was seeing Edward off. 'Why do all the men I place even a shred of hope in have to leave like this?' the Queen lamented to herself. She was still thinking about what the Prince had told her last night.
"Ater plans to break all the curses cast on my blood," the Prince's voice echoed in her head.
Edward climbed onto the platform. His two companions squeezed in beside him. There wasn't much space.
"The curse my father cast on me, which prevents me from using magic. And the curse that follows the Great Chief's bloodline. The binding of our blood to Eldrick magic."
Frejo was tapping something on the control panel. "Are you ready, boys?" he shouted to the sailors.
"Ater plans to kill a god. But he won't be able to do it alone," the Prince had told her.
"We're ready, Your Advisory," said Edward. He took off his blue-black sailor cap and bowed, stepping back with one foot and slightly bending, resting the cap on his chest.
"Until we meet again, Your Hi-" Edward didn't get to finish his sentence. Frejo pulled the lever.