Queen’s Council in Hiding.

‘’Daughter, you told me Robert’s father was an acolyte prostitute from the Brothel, not that.’’ The women’s eyes go to the man now sitting unmoving under the falls as the water crashes directly on his bare shoulders with power.

‘’He is a prostitute from the Brothel, that’s him without a doubt.’’

‘’How does a prostitute find this place, we’re hidden away even from the White Church here?’’ Erena’s brother Prince Sigmund asks pointedly.

‘’Better question is how does a prostitute take down an armed and armoured royal guard with his bare hands,’’ Commander Rexlin enquires looking at the knight in question and the mage slated as his partner.

‘’Give me another go at him Commander and I’ll have him singing to answer any question you pose.’’

‘’Your armour needs charging and you had help from Peter over here,’’ Rexlin says with a thoughtful scowl. His gaze turns to the man who fought off a promising knight fully armoured while he himself wore nothing but rags.

‘’I don’t think singing is what we want from him right now. Damond, you remember this Sachihiro?’’ the queen asks Erena’s personal guard.

‘’Yes, Highness I remember him.’’

‘’And this is him as my daughter claims without a doubt?’’

‘’It looks like him Highness but that young man was not at my level at the time, I have a hard time believing someone could evolve twice in barely 10 years.’’

‘’Yes well things aren’t what they use to be in that department, even Robert is mana evolved at 10 years of age now.’’ The royal consort chirps under his breath creating an illusionary scent of almond grapes and lavender eyra peddle displaying his new trick.

‘’What are you thinking mother?’’ Sigmund asks recognising the calculation in his mother’s eyes.

‘’This Sachihiro could be of use to us, he is clearly resourceful.’’

‘’Even with a hundred more fighters just like him, we wouldn’t be able to expel the church highness, by now they have the entire Atopian army at their disposal. If we could convincethe nobels to side with us we may have a chance.’’ Rexlin shakes his head.

‘’I can’t believe there aren’t still some loyalists ready to welcome a call to arms by the true rulers of this kingdom. The nobels are spineless, they fear their territories confiscated so they'll bend the knee even if it leaves them as nothing but figureheads under the Churches rule. Duke Sisa may support us though, his father was a warrior and he has always resented being ruled.’’

‘’That may be as you say highness but finding the right ears to whisper into without jeopardising the safety of this place would be nay impossible.’’

‘’We’ve been invaded before and we took our territories back time and time again, we can do so again now,’’ Queen Eriana of Atopia says unhappily.

‘’The White Church isn’t some outside force invading Atopia, they’ve been here over a hundred years establishing themselves buying the loyalty of the people. Highness, even if some of the nobles sided with royal sovereignty it is the people that are against us now and they are legion. The messengers we sent out haven’t returned and I fear Argenta is next on their list if it hasn’t already been taken over or made a deal that will eventually lead it to fall to Astraea.’’

‘’Commander Rexlin has a point Highness, as much as it pains me to admit it but Atopia is lost to you as long as we don’thave the people,’’ Sir Lloyd says. "Especially now that so many are mana awakening and consider it a miracle by Astraea."

‘’You speak treason,’’ Sigmund hisses outraged.

‘’They speak truth son,’’ with a tired continuance the royal consort catches the queen’s eye.

‘’You’ve been very quiet Lore-Master. What do you think of our unexpected guest?’’ The queen asks ignoring the starting bickering.

‘’His aura is very stable Highness, he doesn’t consider us a threat even with the Commander, Sir Damond and the 6 other royal guards to have joined us he doesn’t feel like he is threatened at all. I find that curious highness, I would like to go talk to him. Discover where he comes from and how he found us here.’’

‘’You think he was looking for Erena?’’

‘’I cannot say highness but if our location is compromised it's best we know now and plan accordingly.’’

‘’Go speak to him Lore-Master, Dex here will go with you,’’ one of the guards detaches gesturing the Lore-Master in greeting.

‘’I think it would be better if I went alone, lest he clumps up and-‘’

‘’Nonsense, you said he didn’t feel threatened. Dex will accompany you.’’

‘’Yes Highness,’’ Lore-Master Swiss bows gesturing his obedience walking along the bank towards the falls.

‘’Do you also think the queendom lost to us daughter?’’

‘’I think... I think the longer we hide in these cabins the more irrelevant we become. I honestly don’t know what we should do mother but doing nothing seems worse to me, the waiting. We’re running low on everything.’’

‘’We’re out of wine, low on any decent food and no one thought to bring any maids besides Arnella and she has enough on her hands seeing to the queen’s needs,’’ Lady Nilsa emphasises the point, her servant facade long abandoned.

‘’My men can take care of themselves,’’ Rexlin affirms.

‘’They are adopting well but the royal guards have never been trained as retainers or even soldiers, all they know is fighting and their effectiveness there is starting to be suspect.’’

‘’Nilsa please, now is not the time.’’ Princess Erena gets between her former handmaiden and the commander of the royal guard.

‘’Love, you know I’ll be by your side to the end but we have to think about the kids now. The church will hunt us to extinction if we threaten their hold over Atopia, they’ve spread to the surrounding lands like Argenta but this is their seat of power.’’

‘’The Royal Consort speaks truth highness, they wouldn’t settle even to share rule of the kingdom at this point and they have the numbers, power and funds to hunt us the rest of our lives,’’ the royal sorcerer affirms.

‘’What would you suggest Sir Lloyd, that I just let everything go? What of all these men that have supported and stayed loyal to the crown? Do I ‘disband’ them like a bunch of brigades and move on to life on a farm? What of all the people that have died defending my hold over this land, what of my foremothers that have kept and defended this queendom for 5 generations? No, I have lived as queen and I will die a queen whatever else anyone says. Now, help me plan taking back my queendom or leave my sight at once.’’

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Sir Thonar steps forward falling to one knee at the feet of the queen with head bowed to the ground.

‘’Speak Thonar.’’

‘’Highness you will always be a queen, you will always be my queen and if you command it I will ride with you to face the church within the hour. But that is a ride I would take with a heavy heart for I would go knowing neither of us are to ever return. Command me, I am yours.’’

The silence is heavy as the queen scowls displeased at her advisors, what’s left of them. This is her home, for 500 years her foremothers ruled this place and now they expect her just to give it up?

‘’Mother, we can make a new home,’’ Princess Erena says sadly. The words like Springs’ warmth melting away at something frozen within the queen’s gaze.

She snorts, ‘’oh daughter if only you knew the privileges you are so readily giving up. Your birthright would be gone, you’d be left with nothing.’’

‘’I’ll have you mother, I’ll have my family and we will survive.’’

‘’Convenient we spontaneously have this conversation now with your lover having shown up.’’

‘’His presence speaks to the vulnerability of our position highness, not anything untoward done by her royal princess. If such a random person can find us I worry for this place’s continued concealment but I have the guard scowering the area for any more surprises.’’

‘’What do you think we should do about this Sachihiro,’’ the queens asks her daughter's personal guard.

‘’I say we kill him before he does any damage.’’

‘’Damond!’’ Princess Erena exclaims aghast.

‘’He shouldn’t be here, Tiba is months away. He shouldn’t even have been able to find us unless the Lore-Master betrayed us to his Order. The lore-master is the only one here with direct ties to Tiba and the Brothel that provided the service.’’

‘’I always liked you your straight talk. Could you kill him by yourself warrior?’’

‘’It would be my honour, my queen.’’

‘’Mother please, there is no need for death here and the lore-master has been nothing but helpful to us since I was a child. I’d think he being here with us in this situation would have proven his loyalties without question!’’

‘’No one’s loyalties are without question when you lot try to convince me to part with my heritage. Leave me, I will decide what to do on the morrow. Have your men watch our guest Rexlin, make sure he stays away from my grandson.’’

‘’Mother!’’

‘’I swear if you take Robert anywhere near that man I’ll have Damond here prove his claim of superiority. Now leave.’’

*

Sachihiro

Sitting in this peace of an experience resonating with myself is some of the only peace I’ve been getting since I got out of that cloud of spirits. I don’t even know what to call that but fuck. While in shikai I did something there I had never done and ever since I’ve felt full in a way I’ve never before been. Did I eat them?

I ate them and they were despicable creatures to witness and experience yet I didn’t hate the experience. Did I purge them? I’m ambivalent about the experience but whatever I did I certainly have a beautiful time in myself with myself now because of it. It’s an upliftment of state, genuinity, resonance.

Jinzen.

*

I come back to my body to check the situation out in the world, they are still discussing me. I feel robbed, this was supposed to be a happy reunion with my family but I’m surrounded by strangers in an unfamiliar place. No one here trusts me, I trust no one here and for sure they are now discussing what to do about me. I’d rather let some of my frustrations out on them than capitulate to whatever they demand.

I take stock. My mana is replenished, chakra veins cooled and my 7 pools again full and balanced. Physically the cut from the sword force is healing fine but the scorch marks peppered on my skin still hurt and don’t seem to be improving. I look at the caster watching me from across the water, his swollen purple eye giving me some solace from the damage I have to deal with. Two people break off from the little conference coming towards me, fuck.

I’m already annoyed and want to be away from these people, I want to see the boy though. Spirits beyond, I can’t believe I fathered a child I know nothing about. That wasn’t even supposed to be possible while I was an acolyte with all the ritual we did, could I have more bastards running around? Shit, will I ever find my family if I keep finding kids amongst all the people I slept with?

‘’Greetings warrior, do you mind coming down so we can talk?’’

His crown chakra is open yet he is shouting at me, ‘’we can speak from this distance just fine.’’ I send directly to his mind.

‘’Unfortunately, my friend here would consider it rude to be cut out from the conversation,’’ he sends back keeping a cool expression on his face.

The friend in question is armed and armoured like all 12 of the knights I’ve counted so far but his weapons are sheathed and his hands-on display. It’s the senior man himself that seems to be the bigger threat as I assess them. His mana I can’t gauge, he could be 2nd tier, 3rd or even 4th for all I can tell. His spirit is closed to me and his chakra clearly more potent than my own, plus he’s old. His vibrations tell me so, at least 200 years old and there is just no telling what tricks a person may accumulate in that much time alive.

I dive into the water coming up, pulling myself on the rocks to stand before the knight in shiny armour. He faces me down with a hand on his sword, ‘’draw it and I’ll break both your arms before throwing you in the water.’’

''There is no need for such behaviour, relax Sir Dex Sachihiro is our guest here. May I call you Sachihiro?’’

‘’You may call me Zanjutsu but Sachihiro is my name.’’

‘’Zan-jutsu, may I enquire what it means?’’

‘’The martial art of the sword,’’ I say looking at Dex who has now taken a step back so I can speak with the senior man easily. So he can have time to draw before I'm on him most likely.

‘’Yes, I remeber hearing that domewhere, the art of the soul-sword if I remember correctly,’’ he startles me with his knowledge.

‘’You know of zanjutsu?’’

‘’I grew up in Tiba, I am of the Order.’’

‘’Which Order are you an initiate of?’’

‘’History, Sorcery, Politics.’’

I nod my acknowledgement, ‘’so you are aware of the happenings in the world?’’

‘’I was hoping you could update me on what's going on, this valley is concealed through the bond the queen has with the land. Not much finds us here and sadly that means we miss much of the happenings in the world.’’

‘’You are fortunate to have a place of safety, not many people do. This land, this is Atopia then?’’

‘’Yes, you are in Atopia, in the Gulf of Discord where the Inga Sea clashes against the river Anadi. The Inga coast is only a day’s travel from this hidden valley, you came from an unexpected direction. Tell me, where are you coming from and where are you heading?’’

‘’I go to lands near the cape coast of Pangaea, a place called the Alderman Foothills where my family makes its home, not far from the Nexus cities of the half elves. I am just passing through here and didn’t expect to come upon you.’’

‘’I hear no deceit in your words but you understand how hard to believe that is, as I said this valley is concealed and you have come from a direction no person has come here through before.’’

‘’I cannot speak to other people’s travelling routes nor do I care much whether I am hard to believe or not, I hear no deceit in you so I speak to you with the same courtesy.’’

‘’Not clear truth though, otherwise it would be much easier for me to swallow.’’ His throat chakra pulses conveying his point, cute trick.

‘’Blood calls to blood and spirit calls to spirit. Like you, I am a sorcerer, I found this place by following the call of my spirit resonating with another’s.’’

‘’Ahh, the boy Robert. You feel him to be your son.’’

‘’Do you not know that to be the case?’’

‘’I have never known the boy’s father so I cannot dispute the claim but your words ring true,’’ he gazes at the knight who hasn’t moved or said a word since we started talking. Another neat trick.

‘’Now that you are here what are your intentions?’’

‘’I have heeded the call and seen where it leads, I will move on tomorrow morning and doubt anyone here will ever hear of me again.’’

‘’You would leave the boy without exerting your claim?’’

‘’The boy is a prince, pampered and well protected. He does not need me nor do I have the time for him to spare.’’

‘’The queen will be happy to hear your words.’’

I have no words to say to that, the queen can go roll in the hay for all I care. I take a breath releasing my clenched fists, why I am so angry? I stand, kicking my feet and loosening my shoulders.

‘’I see your friends are going about their tasks, maybe you should join them,’’ I say watching the little meeting in the distance disperse.

"I have nowhere I’d rather be than here.’’

‘’What is your name, old man?’’

‘’Forgive me the discourtesy I am Lore-Master Swiss of the Atopian Queen’s Court, you may refer to me as Lore-Master Swiss.’’

‘’No first name?’’

‘’A name I will gladly give you if you explain to me your choice of moniker, Zanjutsu is an unusual choice of name.’’

‘’I am Zanjutsu.’’

‘’Yes, but how did you come about the name?’’

The fragments of my soul-sword embedded in my body resonate with me in glee as I connect with my zanpakuto. The desire to cut, the eagerness to clash against another weapon in challenge, the thirst for blood coming to the fore in my aura as Honour in Death is brought from my inner world to here. My soul, Shi no Meiyo displaying her presence to the two men before me as my soul's presence threatens them viscerally.

‘’I am Zanjutsu,’’ I am a soul-weapon, I don’t say it but they feel it.

‘’Fredrick, my name is Fredrick Swiss.’’