The Mother Has a Chosen.

What complete and utter bull!

When I get ahold of Rue, I will make her regret those foolish words. And I will find her, of that, I have no doubt. So the question becomes should I feed her to my newest friend? I wonder if I should name the thing.

Probably.

In the short time I somehow “tamed” the Twanlad all of five minutes ago, and standing in the entrance to the palace as I do now, I have learned an invaluable lesson.

No matter what he might say, the prince cannot order anyone to do anything. Not really. Sure, they’ll give you a token effort until they think the King or queen. I suppose I’ve no issue with the matriarchy. But in this case, it’s a king, so right up until they wonder what the King wants.

If the prince or I, in this case, has want’s outside that of what the King wants, then they’re as likely to be ignored as accepted.

It’s a lesson I knew of in theory, but this is the first time I’ve seen it and experienced it.

In other words, I told them to leave me alone, and they dragged me here anyways.

From its place on my shoulder, the left dog head chuffed. In doing so, it loosed the drool contained in its mouth.

Gross. In no time at all, it succeeded in soaking my vest. And damn, does it reek.

Save for Aster, who still stood a respectable two-meter distance away, and the people who opened the portcullis, everyone else has given my newest friend a wide berth.

“You know he’s not going to rip you in half if you come a bit closer, right?”

Unless, I asked, went unspoken.

“I…uh… are you even sure it’s a he?”

Looking over at the dog, I place a hand on its snout and give a gentle scratch before taking a peek between the beast’s legs.

Yeah, it’s male.

I told her as much a question of my pops into my head. “Does it matter? Or are you just stalling?”

The relief on her face vanishes. Huh. She doesn’t want to admit she’s scared. I guess she has her pride, after all.

I only let her stew for a minute, “I’ll head for the training grounds. Make sure you grab some blankets on your way through.”

“Highness! You have to wait here!”

I roll my eyes, “and I will when he can leave the tower around sunset.”

She doesn’t look convinced.

Aaaand, I don’t care. Moving on.

“Why do you feel the need to hate me.” She grumbled. She brought a hand to her mouth and blasted three sharp whistles that brought four reds running up. Great, an entourage of guards.

Sighing, I trudged off and became even more depressed. The guards’ footsteps are too loud for me to pretend they’re not there.

“Still think it’s a waste. I’m just going across the compound.”

She shook her head. “You are the chosen!”

“Our lives before yours!” One of the reds called, drawing a cheer from the rest of them. Well, almost one of them.

“I’d be okay surviving.” A more petite girl said.

There’s no containing my burst of laughter, I don’t know her name, but I do like her already. She’s got a decent head on her shoulders for sure.

“Amari,” one of the other reds warned.

“Sire,” a green called as she approached a strong spray of sand following in her wake. “I have news. The caravan’s going to arrive early!”

Sire? Oh, come on! I’ve barely had the dog following me about since this morning! Wait. Caravan? The one from the Gerosin? It’s way too early for that to happen!

“The Trinniel ambassador cannot be kept waiting!”

Oooh! Oh. Oh no.

“Do they fly a scarlet flag or one of indigo?” I ask.

“Indigo, sire.”

Pressing my hand to my temple, I sighed. They’d be coming at sundown, the entire horde. Damn. “This wasn’t supposed to happen!”

“Sire? Is there something bothering you?” Amari asked, “we’ll take care of it, whatever it is.”

Of course, you will! You think I’m the chosen one, and if I actually do something, it’ll acknowledge it. Damn it! Wait, the spare!

“Where is Evander?”

“Here, Highness.”

The second son said as he bowed to me.

“However, it would hardly be fit for one such as I to entertain him when the Goddess chose you to lead us!”

And of course, none of the alternate profiles is the bin made it into you. I grit my teeth but nod in acceptance.

Of course, that’s what he see’s.

“Fine. Can someone escort Evander to his rooms?”

The truth is something much different. I’ve not the time for his childishness.

Not when I finally have proof that I’m not in the original story. The vampiric hares are coming.

Fluffy beige bunny rabbits standing just above ankle height, not including the large brown ears. Despite their small size, the things are incredibly fast and keep rushing in for the legs until they manage to rip open an artery. And if that weren’t enough, and I assure you it was, there was the other ability they had.

The things chittered at a high frequency, one that humans can’t handle when there’s a horde of the little bastards around. It won’t kill anyone, at least I don’t think it will, but extreme pain or paralysis is likely to occur.

Yeah, I was at a shallow point when I wrote the “bad end” ending, but it’s not like I chose to use the thing!

Sadly it’s not even the worst part! The horde was just the first wave! The hunt factories circuits are frying and creating the enhanced clones en masse. The rabbits are only the first that’ll come.

Of course, what comes next is like trying to guess what letter will be pulled out of the bingo bowl. It’s doable but with a lot of room for error. So birds with massive wingspans, a herd of kirusk, frogs the size of lions with cartilage spikes growing from their tongues could be fired off. All of them are a possibility and quite a few more.

If that weren’t bad enough on its own, eventually, the power from the solar cells will run dry, and it’ll try and switch to the nuclear backup. Said backup is just as damaged as the rest of the place. It suffers a meltdown thirty hours or so after it begins operating.

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“You can’t do this, Vandel!” Evander snarled, but he found his path to me blocked by no less than nine guards as he strode forward. Two of which I’m sure are the ones from at the door.

Reverent indeed.

“Just be quiet,” I grumble as a stab of pain lanced through my temple.

Ugh. And now I have a stress headache. “Send a skimmer toward the mountains. Report back any findings.”

“Vandel?” Aster asks.

I repeat my words. Was it the kindest way to speak to her? No. But with the enemy that was coming, we had to be ready. Plus, it’s not like she won’t forgive me.

What else could be done? Sequestering, the children would have to wait. Food? Assuming they were in the orphanage, food wouldn’t be a problem.

“I also need someone to get the news out. All warriors are to meet outside the eastern walls at sundown.”

“What’s going on here

“Sire?”

I stop. Tilting my head, I turn back to her and meet her eyes. She jumps and takes a half step back, right into Summer, Pride, Friday, because everyone needs a Friday. Damn all no’s, none of them fit.

She jumps and loses her footing though she managed to keep herself from falling by grabbing onto Fido? Nope, no chance in hell. I am not that desperate.

Slowly she looks upward to remind me of a scene from a movie, and the dogs drool dribbles from Maple’s mouth. Ugh, still not right.

Why am I trying to come up with a name for it? There’s a manifestation in there. It already has a name. I can wait till it comes out! I’m brilliant!

And as soon as that thought pops into my head, I feel like crying.

“Vandel,” Aster called, pulling my attention from my self-loathing and the girl.

“We need to get the nets,” I grumble and start on my way again. “Come on, Aster, we’ve things to do.”

“That green is still waiting for you.”

Sigh.

“What do you want?”

She didn’t move but managed a quiet squeak of what could only be fear.

“Right, okay. I just don’t have time for this.” I snapped and walked up to the two-headed dog pointed toward the corner of the room. “Just stay there and stop scaring people until its a bit less hectic.”

The dog’s ears folded back. Finally, it hung its heads and wandered over to the corner. I’ll have to make it up to him later. A large chunk of meat should do it.

“Now, would you tell me what you want already?”

“We, the kitchen greens that is, wanted to inquire what you would have us serve during your meeting with the Ambassador?”

She begged it that I barely heard it, but I’m not one of those people who will ask for confirmation.

The problem was I had no idea! What do you even serve as an ambassador? What I wouldn’t give to have internet access right now!

“Tea, Sweet Bread, pickled plums, have Tandi select the best parts of the Kirusk to be made available.”

A clear, crisp female voice sounded like my mother’s, rang out. There’s only ever been one character worthy of presenting the same annoying voice as her before looking. Natalia Warrior of the white robes trained in secretarial work with some of the greens and more capable than any red. She also happens to be the King’s primary aide.

She also happens to be Vandel’s mother, or at least she is in the majority of the drafts. So she seems to think she can dictate what he does and how hard he should be working.

It took me years to break free from my mother’s Type-A personality. There’s no way I’m going back now and definitely not to a woman based on my mother!

My scowl is firmly in place as I turn to face her.

“Natalia.”

For her part, she looks downright hostile.

“Fourth Prince Vandel.”

The way she said it raised my hackles. Of course, there just so happens to be one thing she despises more than anything else.

“See to the ambassador, would you?”

She jerked back, unused to anyone but the King giving her orders. Then her eyes narrowed.

“And what will you be doing while I see to your duties?”

Shrugging, I walk off. The last thing I need is for her to tell the King that I’m assembling the forces. He might break his vigil for that. Though I doubt he’ll do that, not if he thinks I’m being frivolous. Maybe if Vandel were the reckless sort.

A fact that I’m going to abuse for as long as I can and often as I can.

My next stop was the armory, which sounds much more impressive than it is, much to my disappointment. I guess that’s partly because I didn’t fill it with fantasy word weapons like swords that are perpetually on fire yet don’t burn down the building.

Instead, it looks like a room filled with barrels and racks, sealed and stacked with ivory weapons. Except for the wall just off to the side, hanging from rods in a way that reminds me of those toys retailers kept on the bent rods, were leather pouches filled with concussect abdomens. It’s also number nine on the list of places I want to see. It looks exactly like I’d hoped.

“Highness?” The green at the door asked. SHe’s bewilderedly looking between me, Samira, the others, and likely the Twanlad.

I can’t say as I blame her. The most action these greens got was when they knocked over a barrel of spears.

Smiling, I try to put her at ease. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to work.

“I need as many pouches as you can give me.”

She jumped into action as soon as I finished speaking. Looking like a woman on a mission, she strode over to the nearest rod, pulled off the first two, turned around, and came back.

I pointed at the pouches. “There’s only two there.”

She nodded. “As per His Royal Highnesses orders, the blast pouches are to be rationed until the next hive draws near in a few moons time.”

“And I understand that, but you see, I think I want more than two.”

She twitched. “I’m afraid you’ll have to bring in a requisition from someone cloaked in white or higher if you’d like more than the two.”

My first instinct is to snap at the girl. But, even wearing purple, I’m still a prince, even if she’s the first one to act like Vandel truly wanted them to without prompting.

There was a different tact that would work better.

Looking at Samira, I waved her toward the window. “Samira requisition the abdomen’s.”

She sighed and made her way up to the window. “I’ll require as many as the three of us can safely carry.”

“Uh, umm, hmm.” The green frowned glanced at me then back at Samira. “I’m sorry, that’s just not possible.”

“Explain yourself,” Samira said, “who bade you do this?”

The girl looked as if she were going to be sick.

“That would be me,” Natalia said as she stepped forward. “The young prince is not of the proper skill requirements to be allotted such weaponry save for training purposes. Besides, you must greet the Ambassador.”

A very fancy way to say because Vandel chose to wear the purple, she’s angry and doesn’t approve.

Turning back to the green, I extend a hand. “I understand that you don’t want to get in trouble. I do. But I’m pretty certain I outrank her.”

I point directly at Natalia, who looked stunned by what had just come out of my mouth. Actually, Samira and Aster did too.

Craaap. Too much me, to little Vandel. Then again, they have to get used to me eventually.

With them silent, I motioned at the green, and she began stacking the pouches on the table amid the silence. She placed them on the counter two by two until twelve blast pouches were waiting for me.

“What do you plan on doing with those?” Aster asked.

“Whatever I want, I have twelve of them.”

“What in the hells!” Aster asked as she smacked me upside the head. “With an attitude like that, you’re not touching even one of those.”

Grabbing the back of my head, I glare at her. Retrospectively, I can admit the words I chose may not have been the best choice for it, but damn, did that hurt! Considering their reaction to my comment about rank, I wonder if I could induce a heart attack if I called for her head.

“I doubt it would get the reaction your hoping for,” Aster said as she turned around. “And are you going to tell us all this is for?”

As I began threading my arms through the straps, I sighed. “Can’t you just let it go and trust what I’m doing?”

Silently I begged them to please listen. To believe in me even if they didn’t know me as well as I hoped. If not, I’d be forced to give them some semi-believable bit of bull, so there wasn’t a slaughter.

So much for them just being characters, right? Ha.

“Afraid I cannot,” Natalia said.

I slammed closed my eyes, and a feeling loomed in me. Desperation. In fact, it pulled on me almost. The realization came with no small amount of relief and joy.

Holding tight to that feeling, I began feeding it my anxiety and turned to face her.

“Then I guess that’s your mistake. You’re going to want to move.”

“Afraid not.”

I smirk at Natalia.

“Okay.”

Scare her. I send to Desperation. The two heads immediately bare their teeth and begin to bark and growl. It’s like that one psychotic dog movie on steroids! He jumped after Natalia, dancing this way and that, but no one thought he was trying to play, not even for a moment.

The three of them leaped apart, giving me clear access to the door. “Well, good to know you two would stand with me,” I said, looking at Aster.

“You’re acting like someone else.”

I shrug. “I see things a bit differently now. I have other factors. For example, did you know I can get a sense of what he is smelling? Of what he smelled earlier on the wind?”

Was I laying it on a bit thick? Yeah, not even going to try denying that, but it is better than anyone thinking I have some connection to the goddess. People would never stop expecting me to save them! That’s just how people are.

“Your mind is connected to this child of the desert?” Natalia asked before bowing her head. Samira and the green within the armory follow suit, leaving Aster and me with our heads up.

Right. She’s one of the few who aren’t totally devout.

“So, what does your friend here smell?” Aster asked as she stepped closer to Desperation and leaned forward oddly unafraid.

“Is it vampiric hares?” She asked her second question as I was about to answer.

My jaw drops. “How?”

“Ryver said your new friend and his ladies came in last week.” She smirked and pulled a chunk of fur and flesh, and was that a hare’s horn tip? Yeah, that’d be pretty telling.

And now she thinks I’m lying. Wonderful.

“You know you could have just told us you saw the fur,” Aster said.

“But I didn’t.” Honestly, I wish I had!

She didn’t look to believe me. “Right.”

Meow! Cola’s call drew my attention to my feet.

“My lord! May I present Lady Ama, Ambassador of trade for the Trinniel!” Green said as she burst into the room and gestured behind her to a young blond man with electric blue eyes and wearing a blue cloak over a blue jumpsuit with many metal pieces infused into it.

Being more or less living batteries, those metal pieces are more than just random decorations. Their Ambassador looked more like a fearful soldier.

“Well, which of you is this so-called sage! The one that controls one of your goddess’s rampant children?”

Oh yeah.

“I can already tell we’re not going to get along.”

At least I’m not the only one glaring at him eerrr her? Either way, even Desperation was getting in on the mean mugging action.