A cold sweat drip slides down my neck as I looked around the council members, I barely had time to memorize everyone from Lucious’s cheat sheet, I’ll have to thank him later for that. The air was thick with tension. The room had a large table in the center of the room and chairs positioned around it, and a small wooden table on either side of the room with a pitcher of water and some cheese and crackers on both. Or, at least, they looked like cheese and crackers. The main table was long, rectangular, and made of a deep gray stone with various white small stones inside of it. Each chair resembles the table in the way it looks, the size custom made for each of the council members.
On the right chair closest to me, sat Wikora. A tall, muscular dragonoid woman with fair skin. She has red scales on the side of her arms and torso that connected to her back, reveling more of her smooth skin and human side. She wore a sleeveless maroon shirt that showed the sides of her torso and breasts, while covering the front of herself. The shirt was attached to a small black collar that was wrapped around her neck with a gold gem in the center of it. Her red eyes burned flames of fury. Her hair ran down to the middle of her back; all black with flaming curved red ends. She had small fangs popping out of the top of her frown, and small pointed horns popping out of her forehead. She had long wings, folded onto her back, full of red and black scaled with a pointed bone on the tip of each of them. And a long red scaled tail popping out of the back of her chair.
On the middle chair next to her sat Ezekiel. An average middle-aged looking human with tanned skin. His face was hidden from his large, black, cowboy hat but you can see him chewing on a brown toothpick. He wore an all-black suit, with his hands, wearing black gloves, crossed as he clinked the spurs on his black boots on the legs of the chairs.
On the far chair next to him sat Blitz. A small male from a race of elementals. His elemental gift is lightning. Always full of energy as he bounces his foot up and down rapidly, creating slight sparks of electricity on the floor. His blue-tinted fair skin matches his golden eyes and spiky golden hair. Wearing an all-white toga, with a gold belt lined with blue lighting bolts, and white tennis shoes with angel wings on them. His body exuded electricity every few seconds.
On the left chair closest to me sat Takeda Nobunga. The oldest member of the council who’s been serving the family for three generations. He wore red and black Yoroi armor, and a similar styled helmet to match, with a katana on either side of his hips. His hands, wearing fingerless black gloves, sat firmly on his thighs as he stared at me, through his mask, with his intimidating hazel eyes.
On the middle chair next to him sat an empty seat. Bon-Bon is supposed to be there but is frequently missing, he didn’t seem to care for the old Octavia, he’s more interested in battle and war.
On the far chair next to him sat Allora Artisan. A size-shifting fairy with silky long hair that changes color based on her emotions. With her pointy ears popping out of her hair, and her sparkly pink eyes that sucked in your attention with her seductive smile that was almost as bright as her pale skin. She had long rainbow-colored nails and wore a rainbow-colored long sleeve shirt that covered most of her hand and wore a short pink skirt. She seemed to be fiddling with some origami as she had several origamis of different cats sitting on the table in her section, with several scarp pieces of paper scattered about.
At the very end of the table, sitting opposite of me was, what only be described as a human-sized corn on a cob, named Tim. The tip of the corn’s head had small strands of yellow slick backed hair. It didn’t have a face – not a real one anyways. It had no nose, just big round brown eyes, and a slight black slant where his mouth should be. It wore its cob like a V-Neck, pointing out past its shoulders connecting to its pants, like a onesie, but it was black instead of green. It also connected to its average human-like arms, which were completely covered in black cloth. To say I was confused would be an understatement. It terrified me. Looking away from it immediately, I start off the meeting, while clearing my throat,
“Ahem!... I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve brought you all here to- “
Wikora scowls at me while she interrupts me,
“Yeah! We’re wondering why you brought us here! Your ass is usually too drunk to even attend one of these.”
More nervous sweat drips slide down my neck.
“Yeah, well, that was the old me, so to speak. I apologize for interrupting your busy schedules, but I have some important developments to inform you all.”
Tapping his left index finger on the table in a very fast pace, seemingly bored, Blitz buts in,
“Yes, yes, we all know about the promises you made to that Centurion Commander. I’m sure that was another one of your lies to eliminate them with their guards down, anything else?”
In a very cheery tone, Allora throws up some origami birds into the air and asks,
“YAY! Do we get to put these bad men to rest forever? Give them the little night-night potion?”
Well, those two are going to be difficult to deal with.
“Yeah, uhhhh, nobody is going to put to sleep with the night-night potion. And, no, I didn’t lie to them. I’m going to honor my word.”
A wave of confusion fell upon the faces of everyone except for Tim, Ezekiel, and Takeda. Ezekiel was still looking down; I think he actually might be napping. And Takeda continued his intimidating stare. However, Tim still looked at me with that emotionless expression and big round brown eyes, bringing a chill down my spine.
“We’re going to need to make some changes around here, in order to fulfill the promises I made to Sir Judas. I know it’s not going to be easy, but- “
Wikora interrupts again, angrier than before,
“Not going to be easy?! You’re asking to fix several class systems, and solve the poverty issue, in 6 months?! That’s nearly impossible!”
I correct her,
“3 months, not 6.”
Just as furious, she continues,
“3?! THAT’S EVEN WORSE! IDIOT! How are we going to do that?!”
Ezekial speaks up to Wikora,
“If you’d let da boss finish a darn thing, maybe he’d tell yer dumbass how da situation is gonna get solved. Stop interrupting and let da man speak!”
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Kicking her chair back, Wikora jolts up in anger, boasting her large wings open and threatening Ezekial,
“HUHHH?! WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME YOU BACKWATER, HILLBILLY NOBODY?! HOW ABOUT YOU SAY THAT AGAIN TO MY FACE?!”
Slowly rising out of his seat, you can see his black belt holstering dual pistols on either side of his waist. The buckle has a bronze dragon on it, with various types of cylinders across the front of the belt. Possibly grenades or hand bombs. He clicks the holster from both pistols, hovering his hands over them, ready to draw, as he spits his toothpick onto the floor. Height wise, he was up to her breasts. Wikora probably stood around 7 or 8 feet tall while Ezekial was possibly 6 feet, maybe shorter. His black eyes meet her ferocious face, as he looks up to her and responds,
“No need, I can handle ya right here and now. Like putting down a rabbid dog. Ya need to know yer place, Princess. Ba fore I put ya in it!”
“Why you- “
“ENOUGH!”
Takeda Nobunga stands up, slamming his hands on the table.
“Sit down, the both of you! This is no way to handle yourself in front of the emperor. We are his loyal vassals; his word is law. Are we all not sworn, by oath, to do as he commands? Or do you children need another lesson on discipline?”
Takeda clicks one of his katanas out of its sheath in a ready stance. Wikora scoffs as she flicks her hair behind her. Frustrated, she sits down and replies,
“BAH! Whatever!”
Glancing away from Wikora, Takeda looks over to Ezekiel. Ezekiel lets out a heavy sigh as he clicks the holster back onto his pistols. He sits back down in his seat as he sticks another toothpick in his mouth. Takeda stands up, letting out a disappointing sigh. He sheaths his katana and bows to me, saying,
“Forgive them, Your Grace. They can get too excited about their dedication to you. I will discipline them personally afterwards.”
Both Wikora and Ezekiel jump at the sound of their inevitable discipline as they both sink into their chairs, covering their faces in despair. I nervously laugh off the awkward situation as I rub the back of my head. Trying to move on, I reply,
“Ah… yes, see that you do. Anyways, as I was saying, there’s going to be some changes around here. This empire has been in disarray for too long. There’s an impending threat upon us that could wipe us all out and we need to stand united. There’s another thing too: someone tried to poison me last night.”
Everyone lets out a gasp as shock strikes their faces. Except for Tim. His expressionless face seemed to show more interest now with his eyes slightly slanted. It could be my imagination. Before I continue on, time slows down again as everything darkens. As I await another magnificent entrance from the mischievous deity that intrudes my thoughts, I notice that golden particles appear before me but not him. A recognizable voice speaks through the particles.
“Hey kiddo, long time no see.”
“What do you want now? Also, why are there just particles here and not you?”
“Well, it takes a lot of energy and time to materialize in the mortal planes, so I could only summon my essence instead of my actual body. I don’t have a lot of time anyways, Aphrodite has invited me into her chambers and I’m going to need all my energy for that.”
“Okay, I didn’t need to know that. What do you want?”
“Look, I know you were thinking about revealing the whole ‘I was reincarnated’ thing here, but I’d advise against that. Remember when I said there was another deity interfering with this world that’s threatening the multiverse?”
“Yeah?”
“Okay, well, I can sense their presence. Sort of.”
“What do you mean sort of?”
“Well, I can’t identify who this deity is because a part of their presence was imbued into whoever is here. Meaning, this person has made a pact with this deity, so their essence is intertwined in a way. However, it seems that this person isn’t the only one associated with that deity. It looks like about 3 or 4 of the people here are associated with the deity and the person who made the pact with them.”
“Wait, did we make a pact? Is your essence intertwined with me?”
“Yes, that’s how I’m able to interact with the mortal world like I do. It’s the only way for me to be able to watch this entertainment. But this story will come to a close sooner than anticipated if they find out the truth about you… Oh no…”
“What?? What is it?!”
“Aphrodite is without garments, and she isn’t alone… I gotta go kiddo, but just keep this secret to yourself for now and trust no one.”
Osiris is as horny as I am, no wonder he knew how to win me over. As time speeds back up, and the lighting goes back to normal, everyone is still looking at me in shock. I sit down in my chair and continue where I left off,
“We need to tighten security and figure out who this culprit is. There are people, here in this empire, who wish to see us crumble and we won’t let that happen. Also, we’ll need to make another seat for Sir Judas, as I have granted him a spot on this council.”
Blitz rapidly interjects,
“I’m sorry, Your Grace, but why would we have a traitor like Sir Judas on the council when your own mother isn’t allowed?”
“Someone wise once said – Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”
Blitz rolls his eyes and scoffs,
“Whoever said that mustn’t have had many enemies.”
“The point is that we’re going to keep an eye on him closely as we repair the damage this empire has done to itself. Now, is there anything you would like to discuss before I leave?”
Silence washed over the council chambers as everyone looked at me with nothing more to say. I stand up, getting ready to leave, and say,
“Great. Well, meeting adjourned for now. If you have any questions, let Lucious know and inform Bon-Bon about everything.”
Everyone stands up out of their seats and bows to me as I leave the room. As soon as the council chambers doors close behind me, I let out a very heavy sigh as I begin to sweat nervously. That was the most intimidating meeting I’ve ever had in my life, everyone there looked super scary! Except for Allora, she looked super cute! As I walk to my room, I think back onto what Osiris said about how there were 3 or 4 people in that room that are working with our mysterious big bad. I don’t really know what I’m doing or where to start but what I really need is to learn as much as I can as soon as possible. Maybe I’ll have Lucious teach me everything I should already know, we can chalk it up to my infamous bad memory. As I got to the doors to my room, I let out another heavy sigh as I grip the handle. Man, what a day. I can’t wait to just take a relaxing bath and not think about anything for a bit. Upon entering my room, I noticed that it was super dark. I guess without electricity, you can’t just flip a switch and “LET THERE BE LIGHT!” I light a candle that was on my desk, seems to have lit up the room well enough. That’s when I hear ruffling coming from behind me. I turn around, scared but ready to fight if need be. From the shadows of my bed, I could see a figure laying against the headboard. I walk to get a closer look and am surprised at who’s in my bed. It’s my mother. Naked with her arms spread across the headboard, her breasts barely covered by the silk sheets as smirks and looks into my eyes. I jolt up with butterflies running wild in my stomach and chill goes up my spine. I have no idea what the customs of this world is but nothing could’ve prepared me for this. She speaks up, in a much softer tone than before, asking,
“Well, aren’t you going to come join me?”
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The council sat back down as Octavia leaves the council chambers. Tim stares at Octavia’s seat with his expressionless face. Wikora speaks up,
“BAH! What’s gotten into him? He’s totally not himself! He would never be so nice, let alone be this smart. I liked the old emperor better. We got to do whatever we wanted.”
Takeda responds to Wikora,
“Now, now. His Grace hasn’t had any brushes with death before. Maybe this tragic event opened his eyes and he’s finally going to become the emperor he was destined to be. Regardless, we are his loyal servants and must do as he commands, no matter the cost. Don’t think you and Ezekiel are getting off easy, either.”
Wikora and Ezekiel both jolt as a chill runs up their spines. Blitz says,
“Finding the one who attempted to poison the emperor is going to be difficult, it’s not like he hasn’t he has many friends. Half the kingdom is probably against him.”
Everyone nods in affirmation. Tim gets up out of his seat. Without a word or a change in expression, he walks out of the room. Everyone looks on, for a moment, as he leaves. Then, with a cheerful smile on her face, Allora lifts a raven origami above her head and adds,
“I think Bon-Bon is going to take this revelation quite well. After all, it seems his wish is finally getting granted!”