Lord Puffington brought up his sword as the dragon’s fiery breath rush towards him, the flames passing around the weapon, pointing the blade at the dragon once the flames died, “You’ll never stop me, Artagan!”
“Foolish Puffington! I have the princess and the scepter! You shall never defeat me!” The dragon swooped down towards the rabbit, but Puffington hopped over him, stabbing the dragon in the hindquarters. The dragon roared and swung its tail around and knocked Puffington to the ground. Artagan turned and leaped towards the Lord, Puffington jumping to meet him midair, the two giving off war cries-
----------------------------------------
Knock-Knock-Knock
The knocks at the door made Hazard lose focus, the two toys he was controlling falling to the carpet as a voice came through the door, “Princess, your tutor will be along shortly.”
“Thank you.” Dallia called through the door, quickly standing from her pillow seat. Hazard reached out with his magic, the two toys floating into a chest before Hazard grabbed his cane and stood next to the door. Dallia herself moved to a little desk at one side of her room, and shortly after there was another knock at the door. “Enter.”
The door opened and Jeddard walked in, several books under his arm, “Good morning, Princess!”
“Good morning, Lord Jeveraux.” Dallia bowed her head but the old man quickly waved her off.
“No, really, that isn’t needed! I’m not quite a “lord” anymore.”
“Aren’t you reinstated though?” Hazard spoke up, and Jeddard looked at him.
“Hazard, you too! You don’t need to stand like that!”
“If I get lax about etiquette, I might mess up at a more important.” Hazard shrugged, “Point was, you got reinstated as Headmaster, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but I’m hands-off with the Academy at this point! I just handle the important business now and a few ceremonies. But!” Jeddard set the books down on Dallia’s desk, “Speaking of schooling, it’s time for you two to learn about Queen Seresa’s rule and the return of her husband from the grave!”
Hazard shut the door and joined the two at the desk as Jeddard began the lesson. He was glad the Queen had ignored his hug, the action having haunted his days since then, but she seemed to have at least ignored it for now. Instead, he was finally put to proper “work” as Dallia’s servant and friend, though it mostly consisted of shadowing her and keeping her entertained throughout the day, with plenty of leeway. Vitala even granted him a cane to help him walk around, a tiny crystal embedded in the handle to help him use magic. A learning process, to be sure, but Jeddard and Dallia had been a great help in teaching him the basics. Unfortunately, they also dragged him into countless other lessons when he talked about how much he learned in his old life. Honestly, he wanted to go back to-
“Did anyone rise from the grave in your old life, Haz?” Jeddard asked, jolting Hazard out of his thoughts with the two looking at him closely. He wracked his brain, trying to recall old knowledge.
“...I mean not actually came back, but there were myths sort of like that, sure.” They still looked at him expectantly, “I know there was one in... either Japan or China, a warlord who was so angry or fearsome after they chopped his head off and burned it, it flew off... or maybe it flew into a fire, cursing everyone? I’m really not sure.”
“Dark! What was the other one?”
“There was this guy called “Rasputin” who was a... complicated figure. There were dozens of rumors and myths about the guy because he was close to the royal family of a country, that he was an evil sorcerer, or just a well-learned man, a dozen different arguments about him. Point was a bunch of people didn’t like how close he was to the royal family, so they plotted to... well, “take him out.”” He was careful with the word “assassination” outright around Dallia, though she seemed enraptured in the story to where he’d question if she’d care. “They did so, but supposedly he survived the first few attempts and laughed them off before they finally managed to put him down. Still, they say his head came flying out of a river, cursing all of them before going... somewhere.”
“I’ll never understand how you can say your old world didn’t have magic then drop these stories on us.”
“Because it didn’t, Jed. They’re just stories, myths.”
“Riiiiiiight.” Jeddard winked at Dallia who giggled, and Hazard facepalmed as they continued the lesson. He couldn’t really argue about magic existing or not, after all he was pretty sure he was supposed to be dead, yet here he was. Hell, this place had dragons at some point, even if they were now extinct. Maybe one of the little rocks or gems he had at home was responsible for sending his soul here, or- he quickly started to push down the thoughts of his death, focusing back on the lesson. “-crystal sarcophagus, but three days later they discovered he was alive! Everyone practically wet themselves since they thought the king was truly gone, but they quickly rescued him from the crypt. Some say the Light chose King Mureille to be its chosen leader, others say the sarcophagus focused the energies of the star to bring him back from death. The two then ruled for the next ten or twenty years, and actually popularized the tradition of burying the dead for commoners!”
Dallia nodded eagerly, a brief look of sadness on her face before she shook it off, “Can we learn about dragons for our next lesson?”
“That’s for the day after tomorrow! Tomorrow is for math.” Dallia made a face and Hazard chuckled.
“I feel your pain.”
“At least you’ll be able to enjoy the party at the Rite of Forebears next week!” Jeddard beamed, and Hazard nodded... before the words sunk in and Hazard’s head snapped to the senior.
“What?”
“What?”
“What do you mean the Rite of Forebears is next week?”
“I overheard High Queen Vitala speaking about it with a Steward. She’s going to have you and Ro learn more etiquette and the steps of the Rite.” Hazard felt a dozen thoughts running through his head. Was this going to be a huge ceremony, or just them? Did she pick a name, did he get to? Would... Would his uncle be there? As the thoughts started to spiral Jeddard reached out, patting his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, it’s going to be a super small ceremony.” Hazard breathed out in relief, “Yes, I think fifty or so noble houses?”
“...I’m going to assume you mean small for nobles.” Hazard took a deep breath, letting it out heavily. “...Alright, I can work with this, this is fine, this is fine...”
“Of course it’s fine! You’re finally getting the recognition you deserve!” Jeddard patted his back a few times.
“Sometimes being well known is a bad thing, Jed. Still, at least it’ll be done with.”
“Of course! What could possibly go wrong?” Cold fear shot through Hazard’s spine, and he put his head in his hands. “What? Was it something I said?”
“Asking that is like inviting a curse in, Jed.”
“Now see, that sounds awfully magical.”
“Did you hear or learn anything else?” Hazard did his best to push on.
“Apparently they’re having a special guest? The Queen said to watch him closely. I think it was... Volbaine?”
“...oh.”
Hazard took a deep, deep breath, and made a long noise without opening his mouth. Okay, so the Queen was allowing his potentially murderous uncle to attend. Okay, cool, cool, this was fine, he could manage this, this was not fine, this was not fine, he couldn’t manage this. Hazard was starting to get dizzy when Jeddard quickly squeezed his shoulder and there was a sudden calming surge that washed over him, “Haz? Hazard, are you alright, lad?”
Hazard blinked a few times and could actually see Jeddard’s energy flowing into him where his hand touched, and he took a deep breath, calming himself, “Alright, yeah, I’m... I’m okay Jed.”
Jeddard pulled his hand away and Hazard started to sort his thoughts. Volbaine was coming, and the Queen didn’t tell him. Had she just not told him yet? After all, this was overheard by Jed. Also, if he was coming, surely the Queen wouldn’t let him try anything shady or stupid. Yes, this would be fine...
...hopefully Ro would feel the same way.
----------------------------------------
The chair exploded like a grenade as it impacted the wall, Hazard shrinking back behind his bed as Ro breathed heavily, whole body shaking with rage.
“She’s inviting him here!?”
“Ro-”
“She’s inviting the bastard who killed our parents here!? Why!?” Hazard wanted to answer but Ro kept raging and pacing across their room. Her reaction was valid; he had been told the news early by Jeddard, but a Steward essentially ambushed the two of them right before they were heading to bed to tell the news. Hazard had hours to process this, Ro didn’t. It didn’t help that neither of the siblings expected the queen to invite Volbaine after both made their feelings on him clear. Hazard was willing to trust the queen’s decisions but Ro...
“Fuck!” Ro punched a wall and Hazard saw a spurt of blood, so he quickly rushed up to her. He saw her knuckles had split open, so he grabbed her hand and started pouring magic in it to try and heal it. He tried to remember the lessons he was taught: visualize, focus, then do. His magic flowed into her hand, the small cut stitching itself up until her injury was gone, and he tried to take a page out of Jeddard’s book by trying to push a comforting energy onto her. Her resistance was... strong, to say the least: he visibly saw her Resonance flaring and pushing away his, but Ro took a breath and slowly he watched his energy mingle with hers. Gently he stroked her hand as her breath became less and less harsh, until finally she huffed.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“...You okay?”
“...Yeah.” She said quietly, pulling him into a hug. She squeezed him tightly, and when she said nothing else, he patted her back.
“We’ll get through it, like we always do, I’m sure.”
“Should’ve just shoved him into the mines, that’s what we should’ve done.” Ro growled, and Hazard patted her back again. He thought it’d soothe her but there was a twinge of an emotion he couldn’t place. “Haz?”
“Yeah?” She hesitated before she spoke.
“...You didn’t tell the Queen to invite him, right?” Haz pulled back in shock as he looked up at her, guilt immediately spreading throughout her face, “Forget it, I didn’t mean- nevermind.”
“Why... Why would you think-?”
“No, Haz, I’m sorry, I didn’t think you were like... I didn’t think you’d do it, I was just worried. Not that you’d forgive him, or something like that, I just-” Ro bit her lip to cut herself off, and Hazard was hurt but he tried to brush it aside. She was angry and emotional right now, he couldn’t blame her for her thoughts going to dark places.
“It’s... It’s alright, Ro-”
“It’s not, I can feel it.” Ah, right, she could feel his energy now. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have even thought about that.”
“It’s fine. Look: I’m sure the Queen has some sort of plan in place. We just have to trust in her.” Ro was skeptical, he didn’t need to read her energy to know that, but the point was to get off the topic as fast as possible. It seemed to work as she nodded, and the two settled into talking about their respective day.
It was a calm night before an absolutely shitstorm.
The days until the Rite became hours-long slogs of etiquette lessons being ground into their skulls, outfit fittings, and lessons on cues and responses for the Rite that had strict punishments if they screwed up. Ro’s already sour mood plummeted, Hazard unable to do much to soothe her, until finally the day of the Rite came. Both were dressed in simple white robes with purple scarves draping over their shoulders, being guided through the halls of the Spire by two Royal Guards. The walk was silent until Hazard tried to cut the tension. “You... look pretty?”
“Thanks.” Ro said curtly, and Hazard deduced it was probably safer to leave her be for now. They arrived at a doorway that led into a temple of pure crystals, and even Ro snapped out of her funk in surprise at the room. Most other rooms were made of marble or other stone formed around the crystal of the Spire, while the temple was almost like a carved-out cavern into it. Long pews and columns of hewn crystal led up towards a wide dais, unadorned saved for the facade of a short-haired woman in robes carved into the back wall. The room seemed to be naturally lit despite the lack of candles, a natural glow Hazard understood when he stepped into the room, and he felt the energy of the Fallen Star flow into him immediately. It was the same feeling as when they first arrived, Hazard basking in the feeling as his senses got sharper, Ro looking over herself and clenching her fists over and over.
The guards shifted and the two quickly moved for the dais, standing off to one of the side walls as they waited for others to arrive. The first was a lithe person in incredibly ornate clothes: pure white silken pants and shirt with an equally silken hood and sharp-edged cape, highlighted with silver threads and metal at points with purple crystals adorning. The outfit seemed familiar and after a moment Hazard realized the outfit resembled a bird with its wings curled up. That would be the... Écclise de Astre, if he remembered right, one of the priestesses of the Light. The next people to enter were of course the Queen and Dallia, and Hazard’s eyes almost boggled out of his head as he saw the Queen’s outfit. It was completely pitch black, a massive, ostentatious thing decorated with black metal with a “crown” of spikes rising from around her collar and behind her head.
It was as if the armor of a villainous king from a fairy tale and a noblewoman's dress had a bizarre lovechild. Dallia was thankfully dressed much more simply, albeit still as a princess required: it was a purple dress with thick white ribbons decorating it, tiny purple gems decorating the entire thing along each seam, likely an entire year’s worth of a high-ranking noble’s wealth went into that dress. Dallia was trying to look prim, proper, and serious as Vitala spoke quietly with the priestess, but she kept glancing at the siblings before giving a tiny wave. Hazard waved back, nudging Ro to do the same. It came with a roll of the eyes, but Ro did return the wave. When Vitala and the priestess were done talking the priestess nodded, Vitala and Dallia stepping over to the other far wall as the priestess stepped to the edge of the dais, reaching out with both hands, and energy visibly flowed from her hands into the surrounding crystal. There was a sound like twinkling or falling glass as the priestess made smooth, practiced motions and the pews began to shift and sink, being replaced with square tables of warped crystal shards
It was a very impressive display of magic, though not as impressive as when other Écclise de Astre entered and began floating up in the air to hang tapestries depicting the stained-glass windows they saw when they first arrived, laying out the story of the Saintess Alessa. A horde of servants were next as they laid out finery and food, platters of breads and cakes-like sweets, another table with fine sausages and meats, a table of exotic fruits, and a final table of various drinks. It took another hour or so for the guests to start arriving, high ranking nobles in bright, ostentatious outfits of course decorated with countless gems. Unlike the Queen or the siblings’ outfits the nobles were in bright colors with countless equally colorful gems, showing off to one another once the nobles were done sucking up to Vitala. A few minutes after it seemed no other visitor was coming the original priestess raised her hand, a faint chime sounding throughout the room that caused everyone to quiet down before they started to speak.
“Souls old, young, and those still Bright, we humbly thank you for appearing this day before the Light, honoring-”
“Which is he...?” Ro spoke under her breath, and Hazard saw her eyes darting around the room. He gently nudged her with his hand, and she whispered to him. “Trying to find Volbaine.”
“Ro-”
“Obviously it’s a man, right? He’s our uncle so he must look like us too.”
“Ro.” Hazard nudged her again, trying to keep up with the priestess’ speech so they didn’t miss a cue. “Let it go for now.”
“Damn it, he has to be-”
“-consecrate a new family in the warm embrace of the Light.” The priestess finished, looking towards the two, and Hazard quickly grabbed Ro’s hand to force her to follow. They stood by her side as she continued, “These two young siblings faced many a great trial in their lives, but by the grace of the Light and the High Queen’s kindness, they return into our embrace. The Noirus family, lost to a tragic accident, has survived in its two youngest members.”
Hazard quickly turned and kneeled towards the facade of Saintess Alessa, Ro hesitating but following his movement. The Écclise de Astre stepped between the facade and children, raising her hands and letting energy flow from the walls into balls of purple light in her hands, “Roanna Noirus, do you hereby accept the Rite of Forebears, to live in view of the Light and Saintess Alessa, to represent all that is good in the Light and accept the Noirus name?”
“I do.”
Hazard swallowed as the woman now addressed him, “You now receive the name “Chevalluna,” as wished by your family before they passed. Do you, Chevalluna Noirus, hereby accept the Rite of Forebears, to live in view of the Light and Saintess Alessa, to represent all that is good in the Light and accept the Noirus name?”
“I do.”
The priestess lowered her hands presenting the two balls of light to the children. “Rise, and declare your vows before both the Saintess and the Light.”
The two stood and Ro reached out first, hand hovering over the orb, “I, Roanna Noirus, vow to...” Roanna trailed off before suddenly her face was filled with determination. “To defend my family and those I care about, no matter what, or who, threatens us, and I vow to serve in the Light.”
The woman nodded and looked to Hazard, who took a breath to calm his nerves and reached out, “I vow to serve my family, friends, the Saint, and the Light as best I can, to aid my family and those who need me.”
“Then under the eyes of Saintess Alessa, take the warmth of the Light into your breast and be forevermore the Noirus family.”
With a deep breath the two shoved the lights into their chests, and Hazard’s whole world went white for a moment. He swore he saw flashes of faces, buildings, all familiar but gone in rapid flashes in that white void before he was back in the chapel, the sound of clapping filling the room as every sense he had sharpened to like his first time in the kingdom. He steadied himself on his cane and with Ro he turned to face the crowd of nobles, bowing to them all. As he came up, he saw people whispering to one another, but one man the furthest back in the crowd seemed to be much more hesitant in his claps. Their eyes met and the man quickly looked away, but before Hazard could question it the Queen stepped forward, raising a hand and the clapping quieted down.
“The Crown thanks you all for coming for such an important occasion. I wish to thank Lord and Lady Volbaine for coming.” She gestured her hand to the man in the back, a woman with a long, thick blond braid hanging over her shoulder at his side. “Lord Volbaine graciously took over the Noirus family’s lands after an unfortunate incident and has agreed to not only steward it in their stead, but keep his door open for if they wish to return as heads of Blackspire.”
Murmurs and clapping resumed, and Hazard heard more than one mention of how generous Volbaine was being. Given how pale Lord Volbaine suddenly got and the frantic looks his wife was giving him, it seemed like he was much less enthusiastic about the news. The Lord visibly swallowed, “I... I am, so glad to be of u-use, Your Majesty...”
Vitala nodded, gesturing to the crowd, “Enjoy the Four Feasts.”
All either curtseyed or bowed before the return to speaking with one another or moving in a route around the four food-laden tables. The Queen gestured for the children to follow her and they fell in line with Vitala. They moved to a room decorated comfortably, but it clearly did nothing to soothe Ro as she shouted as soon as the Queen turned around, “What were you thinking!?”
“Do not-”
“No! I am not backing down from this! Why in the Light would you invite that monster here!?” Hazard was waiting for a harsh reaction, clutching his cane to try and be ready to cast some sort of shield of Ro, but shockingly the Queen didn’t floor her. Still, Vitala had an extremely stern look on her face.
“What I have done is secure your future, to which I expect you to be grateful for.” Ro bristled. “Do you know who would refuse me? None, assuming they are not idiots. In a public setting, like I chose, this is doubly so, lest he suffer a blow to his reputation or worse.”
“Here’s a thought: maybe just put him in prison! He’s a fucking murderer-” A wave of magic slammed onto Ro’s shoulders, forcing her to the ground.
“Watch. Your. Language.” Vitala growled, and Hazard frantically formed a purple dome over Ro, blocking the Queen’s magic... until she started pressing down on the shield and it began to crack.
“Your Highness, please!” Hazard sweated from the strain, then from nerves as the Queen glared at him now. She stared at him before the pressure eased, and Hazard let the dome fade as Ro shakily stood, “Your Highness, please, you must understand how this is for us-”
“Don’t you dare try to make this seem okay!” Ro pointed at Hazard. “You... I...”
Ro let out a noise of frustration and stomped off. Hazard reached out towards her but failed to come up with any words before she was out the door. Hazard looked to the Queen but she spoke quickly, “Return to your room.”
Hazard shrunk back, staying silent as the Queen started to leave. Dallia was revealed as her grandmother moved, shaking and tearing up slightly. She worked her mouth like she wanted to say something but she just ran after Vitala. Hazard quickly ran into the hallway but all he saw was the backs of the royals as they vanished in a portal. Hazard frantically looked around, panic welling up in his heart and head. What should he do? What could he do? What was the Queen-
“Haz?” Jeddard came around the corner, looking concerned, “What’s wrong, lad? I was late because I had to file some forms, is the Rite already over?”
“Jed! Did you see Ro pass by?”
“I’m... afraid not, but that’s not what I’m asking. Are you okay, Haz?” Jeddard kneeled to look him in the eye.
“No, Jed, things are bad, real bad. Ro angered the Queen then everyone just took off, I don’t... Jed, it doesn’t feel like something they’re all gonna sleep off-”
“Okay, ooookay.” Jeddard reached out and Hazard felt that calming energy brush against him again. It didn’t take until Hazard began to slowly take deep breaths in, trying to force his body to take the energy in little by little. “Alright, let’s just take this little by little. No one tried to attack each other, right?”
“No... kind of. The Queen pushed Ro to the ground.”
“But no hitting each other?” Hazard shook his head, “Everyone got hotheaded and left to cool off. It sounds like it ended the best way it could. All we can do now is wait for tomorrow and go from there.”
“It’s not that simple, Jed, our... our uncle was there.”
“...Ah. That does explain quite a bit. Unfortunately, the point still stands that we must wait until tomorrow to see the aftermath.”
“I don’t want to wait until tomorrow, we need to fix it now-” Hazard was cut off by Jeddard ruffling his hair.
“I think this is the most of I’ve seen you act your age in a long while. Come on, we can celebrate on our own in my room.” Jeddard started to walk off and Hazard wanted to argue, to shout about how they needed to do something... but that wouldn’t solve anything, would it? He clutched tightly at his chain before huffing and rushing up to Jeddard’s side to follow.
If he had one hope, it was that Volbaine was in a worse situation than he was...