“You’re not being rational.” I sighed as I watched Lucina get ready that morning. “I told you that it was a publicity stunt, and a calculated risk. How can I possibly explain it in a way that you’ll understand?”
“I hear what you’re saying, and it makes perfect sense.” Lucina replied, slipping herself into a one piece dress that covered her chest just fine, but barely stopped below her pelvis.
“If it makes perfect sense, why do you insist on doing things this way?” I took a sip of coffee as I continued to watch her. She moved on to her shoes next; knee-highs that had the bottoms of combat boots.
I watched her lace them up, asking: “So why is it that you insist on having a press release about our relationship? That would have the opposite effect that I’d want to achieve, which is to actually enjoy a relationship with you.”
Lucina fanned out her long, dark hair. After grabbing a white bow from her dresser, she tied her hair into a high ponytail. “You need to think of the bigger picture. This kills two birds with one stone. First, it will make other royals stop asking for my hand in marriage. Second, It will combat the news that one of the royals betrayed the rest of the Metronian Kingdom. A bit of good to balance out the bad.”
I rolled my eyes, and they landed back on her form. “I think you mixed up the priority you actually intended those things to come out of your mouth.”
She turned to face me, a faint smile on her lips. “Oh? I never pegged you for the jealous type, although there were perhaps more real feelings put into your performance last night than you care to admit?”
I walked up and stood in front of her, looking her eye-to-eye as we were the same base six-feet tall. “I am a possessive person. I don’t like when people play with my belongings without my permission. I’m sure you can understand that, can’t you?”
Lucina’s smile only grew as she turned around and put on a leather jacket over her ensemble. “Yes, I can. However, you’re not always going to have the final say in that. Not until you collar me, at least.”
I grabbed her by the neck, not tight, but firmly, and whispered into her ear, “We’re going to have a serious discussion of boundaries and this relationship when we get back to the castle.”
She ran her hand down my chest and only when I realized she was going for my pants did I back away. “Aw, you’re no fun.” She mock-pouted.
“I did give you plenty of fun last night though. It’s not my fault I got into a relationship with an insatiable succubus.”
Her pout immediately faded, and she adorned a sultry expression. “I mean, we technically have-”
“No.” I said, cutting her off and eliciting a real pout from the Metronian Princess. “I just want to get this briefing over with. I need to figure out what the hell happened with your sister, and then finally install the fifth Judgment Program into X’s harddrive.”
“Fine.” Lucina relented. She picked up a black collar off the dresser, and fastened it around her neck. “Ready to move when you are.” She batted her colored eyelids at me.
“Well, the car from yesterday is still outside. Let’s head off to the hotel then.” I made my way outside, followed closely behind by the princess.
“Oh!” She exclaimed. “I forgot something. I’ll meet you in the car.” She dashed back inside the mansion, leaving me on the front steps of the building.
“She really has no awareness of other people’s schedules, does she?” X coalesced in front of me, followed by Un, Three, and Cin.
The blue orb that was Cin’s current form rubbed itself happily against me, while X, Un, and Three just looked on in amusement.
‘God damn it, why is it behaving like a puppy!?’ I internally yelled at X, who replied back swiftly.
“It’s because you’ve been neglecting it like one. You haven’t spoken directly to it at all either. This is absolutely your fault.”
I looked down at the apparition, and felt a twinge of guilt. I was basically treating it like its former owner had, because things had just been happening so quickly one after the other.
“Sorry.” I spoke to the blue orb. “I’ll be sure to test out your powers and build up a rapport with you when we return to the capital, but we have a few important meetings coming up. Can you be patient with me?”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The orb flashed bright several times before returning to the side of the other Judgments. “Thanks.” I grinned. By the way X, what num-”
“Sorry to make you wait!” Lucina busted her way through the front door as the Judgments all disappeared. “C’mon. Get in the car already, we’re gonna be late.”
I made no visible reaction as I opened the car doors for her, and then went in myself. Sitting next to the princess, I asked, “So what did you forget?”
She raised her hands, holding a towel in one hand and a gag in the other. “I figure that we have some time to play while waiting to arrive. We can even ask the car to go the slow route that we went yesterday.”
The only response I could muster was to place my head in my hands. How I would survive the phenomenon that was Princess Lucina Metron, I had no idea.
---
Reya was waiting on the street as we pulled up to the hotel. As much as I tried to say no to Lucina, my own kinks got in the way of having a normal ride.
We must have made quite the sight, when a very satisfied Lucina got out of the automatic car, followed by a very tired looking Paladin.
It probably didn’t dissuade any thoughts of what we had been up to the night before. “Hi, Joshua.” Reya greeted me, and I waved at her in return.
“Aren’t you supposed to address your family first?” Lucina commented, a playful tone in her voice.
“I was merely following protocol to address the person of the highest rank in the room first and foremost. I’m sure you know what it’s like to follow hierarchy, right Lucy?”
Lucina grinned, and gave Reya a pat on the head, with the latter desperately trying to get the older woman’s hands to stop touching her.
“I’m beginning to love the person you’re growing into.” Lucina commented to her younger sister. “It took you a hell of a lot longer than I thought, but you with a backbone to retort let’s so much more of your personality shine through than before.”
“Ok! Just get off of me!” The younger Metron pleaded. Lucina enjoyed teasing her sister for a bit longer before stopping and adorning a serious face. “Alright. Let’s go get debriefed on Venus’ betrayal of our country. Oh, before that…”
Lucina trailed off, leaving me to wonder what had happened. A question which was immediately answered by Reya’s cries of outrage.
“You want me to announce what!? That can’t be-” Lucina placed a hand on her sister’s mouth. “It’s true. Even the person in question can confirm it. Right, Joshua?”
I nodded, already knowing that she was talking about the plan to announce our relationship to the public.
“But when did it happen!? I didn’t even-” Before she could finish her sentence, Reya balled up her fists, and eventually let them go limp.
“Sorry about the outburst. You just caught me by surprise is all. Let’s go meet the others. Raiden has been waiting for about ten minutes now.”
“He could stand to wait a few more.” Lucina scoffed and went inside the building. I followed a few seconds later, with Reya at my side.
“It’s true then?” She asked. Her eyes staring holes into the ground. I stopped walking, and turned around.
“Reya, you and I know this isn’t the time or place to have this conversation. Let’s wait until after the briefing, and then we can sort this all out, ok?”
Reya was a smart girl, and knew that I was right. “Ok.” She accepted, walking in front of me to enter the large ballroom, where the twins, Raiden, Lucina, Winter, Akahime, and Viina were all sitting. Lilian stood against the wall, playing his part of servant well.
As soon as I took a seat at the table, along with Reya, we began. “I’ll get straight to the point.” Raiden said, double tapping his Judgment panel and sending us all documents.
“I was contacted by the King and Queen directly last night. Venus betraying our nation is a cover for what actually happened to her.” That made my hairs stand on their ends. What could have possibly happened to her that the ‘damage control,’ was to tell the public that she betrayed her country?”
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had that question, because moments later Lucina spat out in an annoyed tone, “Well, what is it then, little brother?”
Raiden’s face twitched at that, but he pressed on in a civil manner. “On an expedition to Nifle under the King and Queen’s orders, to try and find more resources to mine, Venus accidentally uncovered a time bomb from the Judgment’s War.”
X, being the kind program she was, supplemented me with the knowledge that Nifle was Antarctica.
“So she’s there now, alongside it?” Reya asked, and Raiden shook his head. “No, she went missing in action about twenty hours ago. However, she did send us a final video log of her expedition before that happened.”
The file began to play on my AR feed, as I’m sure it did for everyone else. It was shot in a dark room, with many wires connected to a single monitor. In the middle of the room, strapped to a chair, was Venus Metron, the same one I had witnessed in the throne room way back when. “If you’re watching this, be aware that it could be my last moments. We found a final ‘fuck you,’ from the Resistance from the time period of the last war. It was inside a military outpost on a previously unexplored piece of land here in Nifle. There is a transmission with the cyber-stein type known as Brain Jackers set to go out in less than thirty hours. I fear that without sacrificing myself, the population will turn on itself with half of the people losing their individuality to the virus. My plan is to take the programming into me, making me the only sacrifice necessary for the world.. I will disconnect from the network before carrying out the operation. I have sent my team home, and I pray that they make it back in one piece. I had them delete the coordinates to this place, as I wish it to remain the tomb of these viruses for an eternity. My one regret was that I was not the kind of person who would shove a life-threatening consequence onto a subordinate of mine. Farewell, whoever sees this. Let those of power know that Venus Light Metron died a hero. I hope you never find this Starlords forsaken base, and I hope none outside of a select few ever learn of my true fate.”