Tess fidgeted nervously in front of the door to Gramps’s office, then took a deep breath and knocked on it. After a moment it swung open, revealing Gramps on the other side.
“Ah, you three, congratulations on your rank up!” He said jovially. “How was your trip?”
“It was good, Gramps.” Tess said. “But, um, there’s something we need to talk to you about.”
Gramps nodded solemnly. “We won’t be interrupted here. What’s up?”
“Well…” Ellie began, “when we were out, some stuff happened, and one thing led to another and now all three of us are going to be married to each other, not just me and Tess.”
The briefest hint of surprise flashed across Gramps’s face, but it turned into his usual smile so fast that Tess wasn’t even sure she actually saw it. “That’s wonderful news.” He said. “I suppose this had something to do with whatever was bugging Maven when you set out?”
“You knew about that?” Maven asked.
“Dungeons and Life came and asked me for advice on it.” Gramps replied. “I didn’t know any details, just that something was bothering Maven and they didn’t know how to approach the topic.”
“I see. Yes, that was what was bothering me; Alice brought up the possibility of me being in love with them, and I thought that could not be the case because I was not sexually attracted to women. Life helped set up a meeting with my aunt Kali, and she helped me realize that I was romantically attracted to women, even though I was not sexually attracted. She helped me fix that problem, and…well, we wanted to take it slow at first, but we quickly abandoned that thought.”
Gramps gave Maven a warm smile. “You really do look happier than you did before.” He said. “I assume this is somewhat secret for the time being?”
“Yes.” Maven confirmed. “We are going to Grandmother right after this, and we are going to see if she can help us figure out a way to make our relationship more public without adversely affecting Paumen. Aside from that, we are currently in the process of informing the rest of those close to us about the change in our relationship status.”
“I can send you to her now, if you would like.” Gramps offered. “She should just be at her estate in Paumen right now.”
“If you could send us out front, Gui – Gramps, that would be ideal.” Maven said. “We were assuming we would need to travel there ourselves or get the assistance of the gods, so this is convenient.”
“I suppose I’m actually going to be your grandfather now.” Gramps chuckled. “Welcome to the family, Maven.”
Maven blushed and turned away. “Thank you, Gramps. I appreciate it.”
“Just to check, you two are fine with me sending you over now, right?” Gramps asked.
“Yeah, that was the hope.” Tess confirmed. “Thanks, Gramps.”
“Don’t mention it.” He replied, waving his hand dismissively. “Just shoot me a text when you need to get back and I’ll teleport you back over.”
“Will do, Grandpa.” Ellie said.
Gramps waved his hand again, and suddenly the three girls were standing in front of a gated manor, a shocked-looking guard staring at them. “P-Princess?” The guard asked, placing a hand over her chest. “You scared the living daylights out of me. How’d you get here?”
“We have business with Grandmother, so the Guildmaster teleported us here.” Maven explained. “Could you fetch her for us?”
“No need, I’ve been given instructions to let you and your party members in whenever you wish.” The gatekeeper replied. “Mistress Amara should be in her room right now, you know the way, yes?”
“Yes, Erin.” Maven replied. “Thank you.”
The gate swung open, and Maven led the group down the path and into the manor. They were only two halls into the manor when Amara emerged from the other side, a happy but curious expression on her face. “Tess, Ellie, Maven, to what do I owe the pleasure?” She asked, giving them a smile.
“We have news, Grandmother.” Maven replied. “Do you have a private place in which we can talk?”
Amara’s expression grew serious, and she walked a few feet down the hall to open a seemingly random door. “All of these rooms are secure.” She explained. “Come in, we’ll talk inside.” The three younger girls followed her into what appeared to be some sort of sitting room, and Amara shut and locked the door behind them.
“So, what’s going on?” Amara asked curiously, taking a seat on one of the chairs. “Appointed business?”
“No, Grandmother.” Maven replied, sitting on a chair across from her. “We have come here to seek your advice on a sensitive matter that concerns Paumen.”
“Oh? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Lay it on me.”
As Tess and Ellie sat down next to her, Maven continued. “After some discussion, we have decided that we wish for the three of us to all be wed to each other.” Maven explained. “And the upcoming wedding will be modified to include me as well. However, we wish to know if there is a way to let our relationship be known to the public without destabilizing Paumen once it is announced that I am no longer the heir to the throne.”
Amara stared at Maven in shock. “Already?” She asked. “Last I heard, you had just started to date them.”
Maven blushed slightly. “As it turns out, we were more compatible than expected. We moved much quicker than planned, and after only a couple of weeks we knew we wanted to keep this arrangement forever.”
Amara stared at her for a few moments more before chuckling. “Well, you three are cute together.” She said. “How are you feeling?”
“This last month has been…incredibly happy, more than I could have dared dream of.” Maven said. “But I feel bad for forcing our relationship to be more private because of my circumstances, as much as they say that they don’t mind.”
“The whole privacy thing shouldn’t be much of a problem, actually.” Amara said. “It’s convenient for me, even.”
“It is?” Maven asked, clearly surprised.
“Yes. I’ve been on Abarrane’s case about getting her affairs in order for the announcement, and she has done a fine job preparing. It’s a bit earlier than planned, but I think we’re just about ready, so using this as a final push to get them to make the announcement will be good. Otherwise, they’re going to stall out the entire five years just because they can.
“So, after you let them know about your upcoming wedding, I’ll start pressuring them to officially announce Taru as heir. They may be set in their ways, but Abarrane isn’t heartless enough to put a damper on your wedding for that, and Saburo…well, he’ll fall in line eventually. He’s been significantly more cooperative once I gave Abarrane permission to tell him I’m an Appointed. Anyway, what’s the timeline like for the wedding? I understand it’s been delayed somewhat but I’m unsure the specifics.”
“We’re thinking a month from now.” Ellie said. “That gives us enough time to redo any preparations that need to be redone for three, and invite anyone we need to for Maven. Though, now that it’s not just people ‘in the know’, I know that all of the Appointed in our circle are planning on attending, and a few of the gods as well. Will this cause issues with Maven’s guests?”
“Some recognition-inhibition magic will do just fine.” Amara said, waving a hand dismissively. “Subterfuge and I do this sort of thing all the time; for people who don’t know personally know the gods or the less-public Appointed, they’ll barely even process their presence. You don’t need to worry about that sort of thing, I’ll take care of it, okay?”
“Thanks, Amara.” Tess said.
“No. None of that. I’m Grandma now.” Amara said sternly. “Or Grandmother, Nana, Gram-Gram, Granny…any term for grandmother will do.”
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“Yes, Grandma.” Tess said obediently. “Um…thanks for being so accepting.”
Amara gave them a huge smile. “Of course!” She said happily. “You two are the sweetest little things, and knowing I get to dote on you as my granddaughters makes me very happy! Plus, once Maven’s no longer crown princess, I can actually behave like a grandmother instead of having to pay attention to propriety. That’s something I never really got to do with my granddaughters, only my grandsons, so I’m looking forward to it!”
“Why not?” Ellie asked. “Surely there were princesses that weren’t in line for the throne.”
“You’d really think so.” Amara sighed. “But, no. The royal line of Paumen is…stuffy when it comes to heirs. There are all sorts of rules about it; all queens are given an enchantment that makes their children take heavily after them, so the appearance stays ‘recognizable’, once they have a daughter they must use magic to ensure future kids are male, the heirs can’t be ‘coddled’, the list goes on and on.
“I’ve been pushing for change when I can, but it’s never actually materialized. I can only push so much without jeopardizing my position as advisor to the family, and it just wasn’t high on the priority list for most queens. I’ve been talking with Taru, though, and he said he’ll change that along with some of the other reforms he’s planning, so I’m rather excited for his reign.”
“And I am glad I am not the one having to make all these reforms.” Maven said. “Of the many things about ruling I was not looking forward to, that might have been the thing I was most dreading. Hearing Father’s complaints about all of them was not going to be pleasant.”
“I, for one, am rather looking forward to his complaining.” Amara said, smirking. “Now that he knows who I am, he’ll start protesting and then suddenly clam up, it’s great. Anyway, when are you planning to tell them? If you want, I can send you over right now and you can take care of it. I know they don’t have anything going on at the moment, so it’s a good time.”
“I don’t mind, but we were going to have Gramps teleport us back when we were done here, will it cause issues if we’re too far away from your place?” Tess asked.
“For most people, yeah, for Evan, no. I’ll shoot him a text and let him know you’re at Paumen’s palace and he’ll be able to get you no problem when you’re done.”
“In that case, I see no reason for us to put this off further.” Maven said. “Provided Ellie is okay with it, of course.”
“Perfectly fine with it.” Ellie said. “Really should just get it out of the way.”
“I’ll teleport you to the front of the palace, then, let me know how it went when you’re done!” Amara said. She began to chant a spell, and a few moments later Tess and her girlfriends were standing in front of an unfamiliar opulent palace. It took a moment to occur to her that she hadn’t actually seen the palace from the outside, only from the inside, but she didn’t have any further time to reflect as the sound of a blade being drawn took her attention.
“Halt! Who – Princess?!” A guard said, brandishing a sword. “Forgive me, Your Highness, you startled me.”
“You are just doing your job, Michael.” Maven said. “My party members and I have urgent news for my parents, so Grandmother sent us here. We will be coming through now, understood?”
“Y-yes, Your Highness.” The guard replied, then pulled a device out from his pocket. “Open the gates, the princess wishes to pass!” He instructed.
The gates opened, and Maven led Tess and Ellie through them and into the palace. She stopped only briefly to confirm her parents’ locations with one of the butlers, then guided Tess and Ellie through the palace and into the private wing, stopping in front of her parents’ door and knocking on it.
A few seconds later, Abarrane opened the door. “Maven?” She asked quizzically. “You have urgent news?”
“Yes.” Maven confirmed. “It is sensitive information, may we come in?”
“I suppose.” Abarrane said reluctantly. “Do you need Saburo here for this as well?”
“Yes, having Father here would be ideal.” Maven confirmed.
“Saburo!” Abarrane called out. “We need you here!”
There was some grumbling from one of the other rooms, and Maven’s father emerged a short time later. “Yes?” He asked grumpily.
“Maven has some important news for us, apparently.” Abarrane said, motioning for Saburo to sit next to her.
“I don’t suppose you’ve decided to go back on this silly ‘abdicating the throne’ nonsense, have you?” Saburo asked, taking a seat.
“No, Father, and I never will.” Maven said firmly. “I came here to inform you that in one month’s time I will be wed to Tess and Ellie, and, as my parents, I would like to formally invite you to our wedding. It will, unfortunately, be a private affair, as I do not wish to give the people the false impression that their next queen will be married to the Guildmaster’s grandchildren. As you can imagine, I fear that it will destabilize things if this is public information when it is announced that I am no longer crown princess, and will make the announcement significantly harder.”
There was a prolonged silence as Maven’s parents digested that information. “That is wonderful, Maven.” Abarrane eventually said, a slightly-too-perfect smile on her face. “We will be happy to attend your wedding. Who else is on the guest list?”
“It is mostly our acquaintances.” Maven replied. “People who know about the three of us and who will not have any political opinions on the matter. Mostly, it is people who the Guil – Gramps introduced us to, as well as people like Grandmother who are in the know anyway.”
“Young lady, you do not call the Guildmaster Gramps.” Saburo said sternly. “That is highly disrespect –”
“Father, Gramps specifically requested that I stop calling him Guildmaster and to instead call him Gramps.” Maven said politely, cutting her father off before he could launch into a lecture. “And I would remind you that he is soon to be my grandfather-in-law, so the term is accurate. Likewise, Grandmother has requested that my fiancées refer to her as Grandma, so I will not accept you telling them off for a perceived slight against her.”
“Do not cut me off.” Saburo said sharply. “Appointed or not, I am your father, and I expect to be respected as such.”
Maven’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I’ll do what I want, Dad.” She said, suddenly dropping into casual speech and emphasizing the “disrespectful” way of address. “I’m not part of the line of succession anymore, and I’ll treat you with the respect you have earned, not the respect you think should be required of me by my royal lineage. I won’t let you lecture me on topics that you have no understanding of.
“Even Dungeons expects me to stop her if she makes wrong assumptions, and you certainly haven’t earned more respect than a literal god. I came here today to invite the two of you to my wedding as my parents, not as royalty, and I’m fully willing to rescind that invitation if I think you’ll cause any sort of trouble.
“I’ll level with you, Dad; throughout the years you’ve given me the impression that you see me as little more than a political tool, and don’t care for me outside of that role. Now that I’m more familiar with non-noble families, I’ve come to realize that this is, simply speaking, not how a good father acts. In fact, I cannot think of a single instance where you said you love me, or did more than the minimum required of you by propriety.
“And though you’re better, Mother, you’re still more distant than the stupid rules binding the family dictate you have to be. I’m tired of it, I just want actual parents, not people who want me to be some perfect princess for the sake of the dynasty. If that’s not something you’re willing to put the effort into being, then I have no problems cutting contact with you.
“I hope that isn’t the case. As unearned as it might be, I do love you two to an extent, and I would rather not cut contact. But, if it’s only going to cause stress for me and my fiancées, then it’s not enough to stop me. So…yeah, I’m done with it. I’m going to go tell Taru now, and I’ll leave you two to reflect on your mistakes.”
Maven stood indignantly, shaking slightly as she turned to leave. “Come on you two, let’s go.”
“Maven, wait!” Abarrane cried out desperately. “I…I’m sorry. As distant though I was, I truly do love you, and I would hate to lose you. I promise I’ll try my best to be better so…please don’t go.”
Maven stopped, then collapsed back into her chair, the reality of what she had just said seeming to hit her. “No…I’m sorry too.” She said. “I lost my temper and let out my frustrations when it really wasn’t that big of a slight. I should have discussed this more rationally.”
There was a silence, and Tess frowned inwardly. If this had been her family, it would be where her father would have apologized as well, but Saburo clearly had no intention of doing so.
“Perhaps we should discuss this later, perhaps with Grandmother to mediate?” Abarrane suggested. “We can sit down and air out all our grievances in a controlled manner instead of letting our emotions get the better of us.”
“Yes…I’d like that.” Maven said. “I don’t want to ruin things more than I have.”
“You didn’t ruin things.” Abarrane said gently.
If Tess was reading Saburo right, he didn’t agree, but he also wasn’t going to speak up. Tess made a mental note to comfort Maven about this later, her father’s behavior was extraordinarily telling, and Tess knew she’d feel bad about it if she was in Maven’s shoes.
“Why don’t you go tell Taru?” Abarrane continued. “I’ll go contact Grandmother and we’ll set something up, okay?”
“I’ll do that, Mother.” Maven replied. She stood and began to leave, and Tess and Ellie followed. Once they were out of Maven’s parents’ quarters, Maven turned to Tess and Ellie. “I’m sorry for making you sit through that.” She said. “I didn’t think I’d get so heated. Everything just sort of…came out all at once.”
“Hey, it’s fine.” Ellie said, slinging an arm around Maven’s shoulder. “I’ve wanted to say something similar to your dad and I’ve only met him a couple of times. Also, it’s really brave to stand up for yourself, and no matter what ends up happening, know that we support you fully.”
“Thank you.” Maven replied, grabbing Ellie’s free hand and giving it a squeeze. “Let’s go tell Taru, it shouldn’t be nearly as…emotionally charged as that.”
And it wasn’t. Taru just smiled and gave them his congratulations and a promise to attend the wedding, They texted Gramps after that, and within a couple of minutes they were back in his office.
“So, how’d it go?” Gramps asked.
“There was a bit of a fight with my parents when I let my anger get the best of me, but we’re settling it with the help of Grandmother soon. Other than that, it was smooth sailing, though.”
“Did Saburo say something out of line?” Gramps guessed.
“Nothing more than usual, it was me who was out of line. He was upset that I called you Gramps, and I stopped him as he was winding up to lecture me. He got mad that I interrupted him, and then…well, all my repressed feelings sort of bubbled up. I’ve…gotten worse at keeping those inside since I stopped paying so much attention to how I talk.” Maven said, blushing slightly.
“It’s fine to show your emotions more.” Tess said comfortingly. “You were just repressed more than most people. Honestly, as far as arguments go, I’ve had much worse with my parents and Gramps. I’m imagining you haven’t had many before?”
“Not since I was a small child.” Maven admitted. “I learned quickly not to talk back.”
“Well, this is normal.” Ellie said. “Now, why don’t we head back to our place on Mael, and we can help you relax? I’m sure you need it after today.”
Maven nodded eagerly. “Yes, please. I would like nothing more.”