"Gentlemen and ladies, I have been reading extensively these past few days, trying to figure out how to navigate our new and difficult world. And I think I have found the answer, I think I have found how our society should be. And all it took was a study of bees... Bees build great and beautiful things, produce more honey than they could ever need, can deter and kill threats and predators, and surely these are the things we wish for our society! Bees want for nothing because they have a structure. Because they serve the... The King. I believe these industrious and loyal creatures are what our great society should emulate, what we should aspire to! Loyalty, security, prosperity! ... Thank you all for listening."

Her Majesty simply shakes her head at the King's little address, there is little more that she could do. "That'll certainly be a headline, 'Tyrannical Despot doesn't understand bees'... We keep courtiers around just to make sure that idiot doesn't talk publicly, where are they?"

I struggle to try to rise to my feet from the floor, still recovering from my apparent drugging, and resolving to never drink again. Xena and Pasche stare at each other in sheer disbelief at the speech, still recovering from just how overwhelmingly stupid it was.

Xena is the first to finally speak, her voice full of shocked disbelief. "... He... He does know that bees are almost exclusively female, right?"

Pasche nods along, also in shock. "And that they tend to die when they 'deter threats'..."

"And that they have a Queen!"

"And that they're creatures! They don't have the same kind of thinking going on that we do!"

"And that-"

I manage to crawl to my hands and knees and reach up to raise a hand between the two of them. "I think that's enough about bees... What are you two even doing here anyway? I mean, thank gods for it but-"

"We were invited by Theophania after breakfast." Pasche looks rather embarrassed, whether that’s about her geeking out about bees or having to admit how she got here I can't tell.

"She was going to invite you too after you got back from meeting your brother. But then you didn't come back and she got sad, so she went right to her room to sulk after we got here."

"... I'll have to apologize to her later..."

Her Majesty looks at me with a puzzled expression, even as she clearly asks a question of Pasche. "Just a moment... My daughter had breakfast with you all? That’s why she didn’t come home last night?"

Pasche fails to come up with a response, her eyes finding Xena again and her voice a little shaky. "S... So! Why isn't Katarina with us anyway? She was invited too after all."

Xena rolls her eyes, clearly knowing she’s being used to dodge a question. "She's seen enough balls and ballrooms in her time. She finds the shoes uncomfortable, the dresses awkward, and the dancing not suited to someone seven feet tall. She's currently snoozing in front of the Rosierte family fireplace, doing her best bearskin rug impression."

"She really does seem to be able to sleep whenever she wants. Weird for a girl with so much energy."

"Yeah... It's very convenient..."

Her Majesty does not seem particularly pleased by any of that diversion. Learning about Katarina admittedly can be a little jarring and I imagine she's no fan of the Rosiertes... Is staying with them a blasphemy against Her Majesty? ... She’s the one who originally sent me away, surely then it serves Her Majesty for me to sleep elsewhere, right? ... Surely!

Finally, Her Majesty addresses me, trying her best to maintain a smile. "You sure have some... Interesting friends, Serena."

"I do count your daughter among them, Your Majesty..." I notice Xena prepping to flick Her Actual Freakin' Majesty in the face, and I grab her hand and squeeze it. "Don't worry though! I promise I will protect your daughter, and yourself, with my life! I swore an oath! Like a brave and noble knight!"

There is a momentary flash of some kind of recognition in Her Majesty's eyes, a flash which says that very bad decisions have been made somewhere along the way. Even so, Her Majesty does smile in earnest for me, at least a little bit, and this gives my limbs some strength again. I had protected her today, and that can't be taken away from me- Wait…

"... Xena, they didn't poison Her Majesty, they drugged her. Non-lethally, right?"

Xena raises an eyebrow, regarding me suspiciously. "They did. The drug would have flushed out of her system in approximately two hours. Given your... Significantly reduced body mass it might have taken more like six or seven for you and it may potentially have stopped your heart. It was a dose designed for The Queen and her particular mass-"

"Right, you can stop talking about Her Majesty’s mass now..." I know I'm blushing, I have to hope no one can see me blushing, this is serious. "Either way, the point wasn't to kill her, it was to make her unable to act... Or resist. Right?"

"That is the typical use of these drugs, yes."

"... So if that was their intention, I have to assume that they expected her to have to resist something, right?"

Xena, Pasche, and Her Majesty seem to finally be catching onto my implication... And the panic settles in. Pasche looks ready to punch something to death, possibly twenty somethings. Xena seems to be looking around for potential threats, or possibly potential opportunities. Her Majesty... Has gone and grabbed a carving knife from the buffet table and is holding it tightly in her hand.

"I think we need to get out of here-"

My thoughts are interrupted by the harsh sound of gunfire. It sounds like it’s coming from the courtyard, where most of the guards are patrolling. It isn't long before the glass doors to the Glass Garden are being opened by dead and dying guards being thrown into them, their bodies becoming riddled with broken shards... These aren't Greenjackets. Our assailants look like common bandits this time.

A prominent one among them, wearing a scrappy and clearly stolen officer's cap with an ostentatious feather atop it, gives a very loud introduction. "Dear corrupt relics of the past regime, playthings of Steel and whores of Wool! The Alesian Liberation Army has come to realize just how much these little parties of yours cost the fair people of Avernia in taxes and labor, and their soldiers have decided to come to collect the bill! If you don't resist you might just live long enough to be ransomed! Try to be expensive now!"

The ballroom becomes utter bedlam. People throw themselves in all kinds of directions, some trying to flee as fast as possible, some trying to rush to their attackers to surrender before they get hurt.

The guards in the hall are among the fleeing category, heavily outnumbered and taken by surprise... Only, they aren't heavily outnumbered. The 'Alesian Liberation Army' appears to only have about two dozen 'soldiers' in the Garden, they only really have the elements of surprise and chaos... This is a stupid plan, when the Gendarmerie arrives these louts will be swept away easily. If the guards could get their act together they could probably overcome these invaders with ease… But they don't have their act together, so we are alone, surrounded by idiots. Maybe I can wrap them in bravery and have them overcome their attackers…

I hear gunshots, bullets flying perilously close to us. Four of these 'soldiers' are approaching us and are apparently terrible shots…

And terrible at keeping secrets. "The Queen? She was supposed to be out like a candle! ... Get her!"

... This is all to grab Her Majesty? As the first soldier approaches I grab the closest thing to a weapon I can find on the buffet table. A silver serving platter... It’s hard to wield with one hand, and it hardly makes for my proudest moment, but it is enough to parry away the bayonet coming for me and bludgeon the man who charged. Seems they aren't planning to take the Queen's associates hostage 'for ransom'... Either way, I have something approaching a weapon, and there are still three more 'soldiers' trying their luck.

The second has their bayonet grabbed by Pasche before being pulled into a vicious haymaker. The sickening crunch that follows is enough to know the man will not rise again. The third tries to go for Xena and is also taken down by Pasche, sent to the floor in a heap, bleeding from a wound on his head... The fourth makes it to Her Majesty, trying to pull her away while we are distracted... A carving knife in his gut puts an end to that plan. Her Majesty pulls the knife out of him, staring at her hands, breathing terribly fast. This is very clearly the first time she's ever stabbed someone, and going by the look in her eyes she hopes it will be the last.

I hit the attacker with the silver platter, sending him to the floor and out of Her Majesty's sight... I wish I was dashing and gallant right now. "R... Run!"

We quickly make our way down a side hall, heading deeper into the castle proper... But not before Xena finds a rope tied to a wall and unties it.

There is a crash behind us, accompanied by a medley of screams. Whatever just happened is probably going to give us more of a head start before the 'soldiers' and their 'officer' realize that their prize has escaped and several of their troops have been taken out of action... But even so…

I look back. Only one of the glass features from the ‘Garden’ had fallen, but it was big enough for the resulting shards to shred a few folk, both gossiping hostage nobles and apparent revolutionary bandits alike... This is all to protect Her Majesty. It will all be okay, so long as we can protect Her Majesty…

Two 'soldiers' approach us from the other end of the hall. Our adversary clearly has grander plans than just taking the Glass Garden, they have troops throughout the palace! Upon seeing us, they make ready with their muskets... And I throw the silver platter at them, hitting them both and messing with their aim. Their shots go wide, and Pasche rushes in for the kill, charging them both and dispatching them with a pair of sharp blows…

She then kicks off her heeled shoes, wincing a little. "Stupid freakin' heels. I should have trusted my gut and worn my armor."

I take the moment of respite as an opportunity to check on Her Majesty... She’s still clutching the carving knife with white-knuckled tightness, holding it close to her chest and ruining her beautiful white dress with the blood left on it.

I reach over and gently take it from her. "You needn't sully your hands with such things, Your Majesty... Let your Serena take the lead on this."

She relinquishes the knife and looks grateful for the opportunity. "I... I appreciate it, Serena... Gods only know what I'd have done if I didn't have you."

Pasche takes the opportunity to ask a question which utterly spoils the mood. "Yeah, uhhh, not to put too fine a point on it, but why is this bullshit happening? I mean really, Queenie, you don't have a great deal of actual sway, so the fact they want to kidnap you is a bit far-fetched on the face of it. And I doubt your husband would be particularly keen to ransom you, sorry to say. So... What is this about?"

"I... I don't know! How am I supposed to know what crazy people want?!"

... There is absolutely no way Her Majesty is lying about that; it’s simply impossible. Which means it falls to me to answer that question somehow, or else Pasche will just keep asking and making Her Majesty upset... Why would these assailants want the Queen, drugged and at their mercy? I guess that depends who they are. Who are they? Some bandits... And a familiar-looking blonde woman, who served Her Majesty the spiked drink.

... A blonde woman I think I’ve seen before, stealing a painting from Triumph Square. "... Your Majesty, do you happen to keep any paintings in the palace?"

Her Majesty's eyes drift to one of the many, many paintings that line the hallways of the Royal Palace, and I suddenly feel incredibly stupid... At least until her eyes flash with recognition, as if something has finally occurred to her. "... Oh... Oh no. No no no no no, that's what they want! Yes, I have a painting, one I think they might be looking for!"

"Well then, if we give them the painting they should just leave us alone-"

"We cannot allow them to have that painting." I have never seen Her Majesty so resolute, so Steel. "I will die before I let that painting fall into the wrong hands. I will spend every man, woman, and child in Alesia before that painting falls into the wrong hands. We cannot allow them to have that painting, is that understood?"

... It's a strange kind of fear, the kind that makes one stalwart beyond reason and measure. And Her Majesty's entire body courses with that very fear... It's sickening, I cannot stand to see the world do this to Her Majesty, to have it rock her body with such determined terror. I will protect this painting. I will take her fears away.

"Very well then. With my life, I will protect that painting."

Pasche is very displeased, stomping over to me on bare feet. "Are you fucking kidding me, Serena?! It's a painting!"

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"It's important to Her Majesty-"

"And you aren't important?!"

"..."

"You promised me you wouldn't die, start acting like it!" Pasche looks about ready to cry, it's been a stressful few days for her...

"... We'll protect 'Her Majesty's' little canvas if you like, but the moment things go bad we are leaving. I wasn't going to lose you to an entire army, I sure as hell will not lose you to paint... Nor to a powerless Queen."

Okay, now I think Pasche is pushing it… And Her Majesty clearly agrees, losing her patience with my second best friend. "Look, the painting is hidden in a secret room in the palace. The only one who knows where it is and how to get in is me. When we get there, we'll be safe, so you can stop complaining!"

It’s odd to see Her Majesty get angry; it’d almost be a little adorable except if she wasn’t bickering with my friends... Why can't my friends and my goddess get along?

"... Well let's get moving then. If they've been wandering the Palace that means they might run into us at any moment, you know." It falls to Xena to be the voice of reason... She picks up one of the muskets of our recently 'Pasche'd assailants, leaves me wondering if she has any idea how to actually use a real weapon, rather than a 'chemical solution'.

"Well, she knows her way around a cannon..." I take comfort in that... A small comfort.

A permanent gang of about six assailants has taken up position around Her Majesty's chambers, and their pompous-looking officer has joined them, looking quite displeased. In fact, he looks rather incensed even.

Or perhaps utterly apoplectic is a better term. "What do you mean the Queen isn't in there?! Rivauld planned everything to the letter!"

One of the soldiers, a young man in a tattered overcoat who looks no older than seventeen, gives a shaky response. "I... I don't know what to tell you! She just isn't in there, we thought she'd be taken here after the drugs took hold but it's an empty room!"

"Damn it! ... Someone else. Someone else must've kidnapped her for their own purposes. They're looking for that damned Heart too! ... We don't have much time, tear the entire palace to the ground brick by brick if you must! Just find that painting!"

"Y... Yes sir!"

The Heart? What does the Heart have to do with any of this?! … The troops, not quite certain how to interpret their officer’s instructions, started trying to bayonet down the very walls of the palace, looking for secret passages or compartments in the walls. They don't seem very confident, but their officer seems satisfied enough with their progress to stop yelling for the moment.

"Let's... Move on..." Pasche, who has taken to massaging her poor, long-suffering knuckles, looks eager to avoid any unnecessary fighting.

"We can't." Her Majesty watches the soldiers literally stabbing around in the dark, her voice carrying just a little bit of spite. "The entrance to the secret room is in my chambers. If we leave these men to it, they might just find the thing."

"... You kept the entrance to your secret room, in which you want to keep your secret things... In your own chambers? The very first place someone would look for an entrance to a secret room that hides your secret things?"

"... Look, I didn't exactly have a lot of options-"

"So you picked the absolute worst one?!"

"Shhhh." I raise a finger to my lips, if this gets any more heated we might be overheard. "... We have to remove six soldiers and a pompous officer. That's what we have to do."

"We aren't going to be able to fight seven people with one musket, a pair of fists, and a carving knife, Serena!"

"... Then we'll simply remove them by other means... If we can draw them away then the secret entrance will be safe. This is the area we have to protect after all."

Pasche looks like she's about to argue, but Xena is already lining up a shot on the officer, and Pasche simply shrugs. "Fine then... Seems Xena is willing to draw their attention, we just have to run like hell after she fires and hope they take the bait, right?"

"Worst case scenario, they stand still and we shoot them one at a time."

"Serena, the worst case scenario is that we all get killed."

"... As always it seems... Are you ready, Your Majesty? We might need to start running soon."

Her Majesty kicks off her shoes, they really are something of an impediment to running quickly. I take that as a yes and gesture for Xena to fire.

Which she did, shooting off the officer's feather, leaving his otherwise intact hat upon his otherwise intact head. It turns out she does not in fact know how to shoot. Rubbing her apparently sore shoulder after the effort does not inspire confidence.

The shot does apparently inspire a lot of very loud words from the officer though, who looks upon his blasted feather on the floor with vengeful eyes. "Someone... Someone shot at me!"

The soldiers look remarkably confused, looking around for anything that might've tried to take a potshot at their officer. "Who? Where?!"

The officer draws his sword, pointing it in our direction. "That way! Kill them!"

That’s our cue to start running. With two hallways to run down Her Majesty and I go one way, Pasche and Xena another. Splitting the enemy up will give us all a better chance... I hope Pasche and Xena get out of this alright.

I hope Her Majesty and I get out of this alright, even without the shoes Her Majesty is clearly not accustomed to being chased by bandits through the halls of her palace home... The soldiers round the corner and find us, and being less than aware or concerned who we might be, one fires a shot in our direction. I swear I feel a musket ball graze the flesh of my neck... It takes me back to the Academy, to that lecturer who left me so certain I was bleeding under her power. I wonder if I came up with the wrong answer to this question…

"Your Majesty, this way!" I grab her hand and pull her around another corner, where we'll be safe from gunfire for the moment...

She's already out of breath, holding her stomach, exhausted... We aren't going to be running any further than this... I don't hear any more gunfire, so presumably Pasche and Xena are safe for the moment, thank the Gods.

"S... Sorry... I-" Between deep breaths and racking coughs, Her Majesty tries to force out some words…

And as boots approach us, soldiers ready to chase us down... I remember what my function is. What I'm supposed to be. I'm supposed to be a godless monster, aren't I? That's what Her Majesty always wanted me to be, what she mustered me to be. And I still have a weapon, of sorts... I can still do as I am meant to.

"Don't be sorry, Your Majesty. I told you before... You don't have to be sorry."

The first soldier rounds the corner... And I go for the throat, stabbing through the trachea before violently pushing him backward with my bad shoulder, freeing my knife for the next victim. The second aims a shot and me and fires, I feel the ball smack against my ribcage... And slide off of it, slipping around and outside my flesh. It flares up in pain, but that just lets me know I'm still alive. And he soon is not, I slash his throat and kick him into the third soldier, messing up that man’s aim and getting his bayonet stuck inside his comrade. The third man is now defenseless... He tries to run, far too late. I stab him in the back and he falls... I lean down, retrieving the knife from his body, wiping it clean on a relatively unbloodied part of my dress…

And I feel my left shoulder begin to bleed again. I seem to have re-opened my wound. I stumble a little on my way to Her Majesty, giving her the best smile I possibly can as I am racked in pain.

"I am here for you. You never have to feel sorry."

I almost fall, but Her Majesty rushes over to catch me... Her poor dress, it's now saturated in the same blood that's covered me... I don't know if we can ever wear these garments again. Her Majesty takes the knife from my hands and starts dragging me through the halls... Back towards her chambers, panting with the exertion all the while.

"We... We need to get you bandaged up. You're bleeding and-"

"I'm your monster..." I mumble the words, when I look down I can see my steel-tipped paws, can see the smoke rising from my breath... I'm losing a lot of blood, aren't I?

"... You're not. You're not-"

"I did as you wished, I was what you wanted, I..." My voice trails off, I barely even notice that we've slipped into Her Majesty's Chambers.

"Right now I want you to live! ... Do that for me, Serena."

"... Yes, Your Majesty." And I am Serena again.

Her Majesty lights three candles in her chambers, seemingly at random... And suddenly a section of wall beside her bed opens, revealing a little room. A very little room, there's maybe space for two people amongst the junk... And a window, one which looks out upon Alesia, and gives a very good view of the Moon... Her Majesty put a window in her secret room?

... This has to be for some incredibly important purpose, surely. Her Majesty cannot possibly be anything but wise and learned! ... Either way, she drags me inside, and sets me among jewelry boxes and a small cavalry carbine... I am seated facing a painting, a little piece depicting a woman holding a stone and weeping. It doesn't look like anything special, certainly nothing worth killing over.

Her Majesty soon joins me, pulling a little lever by the hidden door, closing it behind us. She pushes the gun aside and takes a spot beside me, fishing through boxes and retrieving some medical supplies. It seems she’s been preparing for... Something, in this room. She attempts to bandage me the best she can... Her Majesty is clearly not a goddess of health or healing. Right now, she's never seemed more human. My blasphemous, shameless self wants to kiss her more than worship her.

"Oh gods... Serena, what have I done to you?"

"... You didn't do anything. You're bandaging my wounds; you're staying with me. You're calling me by my name... You didn't hurt me-"

"You threw yourself at a bunch of soldiers just for me. Any reasonable person would have left my useless self behind-"

"You aren't useless-"

"Am I not?! I... I only slowed you down. I couldn't protect you. I couldn't help you. I only forced you into more fighting."

"And I'm okay with that."

"I'm not! ... Serena, it's not fair what I've done to you."

Her Majesty starts to cry... I've gone and made Her Majesty cry again. I wasn't good enough, I let myself get hurt and now she's crying again. I want to join her; I want to weep and weep for my stupid failures.

I wrap my arms around her, both of them... Before the agony of my left becomes too intense and I let it fall limp at my side again. "You do so much more for me than simply give me something to fight and bleed for. Your little smiles, your visits, your visage in the dorm room... These are the things that got me through the military academy in the first place, saw me through the sacrifices. Your muster of the witches? It saved me from the fate of young women in La'anian politics. You rescued me, Your Majesty. I will always be there to rescue you."

This only makes her cry even more. I don't get it, I thought that would help, that it would soothe her somewhat. But it only seems to have twisted a knife. I look down and make absolutely sure she’s not being stabbed by the carving knife, and it seems she is completely free of injury... So why... Why does being protected by me seem to hurt her so much? For a moment I consider using my power, maybe some courage might help her overcome whatever is hurting her... But I refrain. It wouldn't be fair.

Eventually, she manages to find a pause in her crying, and her eyes catch the painting before us, the remarkably pedestrian piece this whole conflict was started over. "Say, Serena... Do you want to know something about this painting?"

I nod. I honestly don't care a whit about paintings, but I do care about Her Majesty, and she seems quite interested in the topic.

"Hehe... The artist's name is Gina Silk, a woman who painted three paintings before disappearing from the art world, and all recorded history, forever."

"Sounds like a mystery. Is that why it's so valuable? Because there are only three, and the artist was so eccentric?"

"Not quite... See, there's something of a rumor regarding that artist, Gina Silk. Namely, that she never existed at all."

"... How does a painting happen without an artist, Your Majesty?"

"See, that's where things get complicated. You see, according to rumor, these pieces were not painted by human hands at all! Some say that it was painted by the goddess Velvet herself, depicting her grief over losing a mortal she had loved."

A goddess, and a mortal? Now that is a concept that interests me, for admittedly selfish reasons. But it isn't as if my shameful nature was not a known quantity at this stage, right? ... Blasphemously, I want to know more about that story…

But Her Majesty has nothing more to tell. "That's about all I know. Either way, it seems like there are people out there who wish to collect the paintings of Velvet, and they are apparently willing to kill for them."

"... And you're willing to die to protect yours."

"... I am... I must confess, I too would like to have the whole set one day. But in twenty-one years of being in Alesia, I only ever found this one."

She's been at this for longer than I have been alive? ... Why?

Before I can ask, Her Majesty's gaze finds itself out the window, looking out upon the city of Alesia, and even in my wounded state I can still see the beauty in the endless lights. "... Isn't it beautiful from here, Serena? The city? The world?"

"... It's very pretty, Your Majesty."

"It's a gorgeous, stunning place... That is full of people. Selfish people, gossiping people, dangerous and angry people. From here, from atop a hill and behind a window it can truly be appreciated. But when you're in there, amongst the people? ... Well, it can be a little hard to see the beauty in it."

My wounds sting just a little more, I can't quite tell why... "... I'm a person... Am I ruining the view, Your Majesty?"

"Oh! Oh no no no, you're not- Oh dear..." She’s clearly flustered... Do goddesses even get flustered? "You're not ruining anything Serena, you're not selfish or cruel like they are! Don't... Don't worry."

"I'm glad..."

... Except I am a selfish girl. I want to kiss Her Majesty, I want to feel her closer, I want to touch her. Even though she's a goddess, I want her to be very, very human in my hands, against my lips. I've even dreamed of it, I've even... Done things, thinking about it. I shouldn't be ruining Her Majesty's view. I shouldn't be ruining her Alesia.

"Serena... It is okay, you know."

I hear a knock upon the wall, a heavy knock, and soon hear the voice of Pasche following it. "There's something behind the wall here! I think this is our secret entrance!"

"Okay, hold on, I think I've almost figured out these candles." Xena, muffled and more distant... They got out okay!

Soon the door opens, and Pasche finds Her Majesty and I sitting together on the floor, my arm wrapped around her... And my blood utterly saturating her dress. Pasche looks down upon the two of us, as I weakly raise my head to look at her. She simply glares back...

Xena meanwhile finds the two of us and immediately rushes over to look at my wounds, sees how inexpertly they were bandaged, and flicks the actual Queen of Avernia on the forehead for good measure. I should have stopped her from doing that. I should have explained things to Pasche…

I should have been able to keep my eyes open.