CHAPTER 4 - GIFTS FOR A JERK, AN ICE PRINCESS, TWO MOTHERS, AND A KING

Matthew shows shock on his face as Nick walks up to him. He asks in an unsure and frightened voice, "...You're...You're still going to give me something?"

"Yeah, Matt, I am. You are my brother and I love you." Nick says simply as if it is not even a question. Matthew softens much more at this. 'Giving gifts might be a shameless form of winning back favor, but it still does its job fantastically.' Nick thinks to himself sardonically.

"For you, young Crowned Prince, I have two items as well. Though not as flashy, these are still incredibly powerful." Nick puts a folded sheet of a dull grey metal that shines with power and an ornately decorated longsword with its sheath on the table. "The metal is an armor piece of full-plate that is, frankly, unmatched. I need you to put a drop of blood in the center of the metal sheet for it to bind to you." Taking out a wicked-looking blue-glass dagger with a mithril guard and pommel, Nick holds his hand out for his brother's. Hesitantly, Matthew gives him his hand and Nick pricks his thumb then places it quickly on the piece of metal at nearly the same time. Two flashes of light happen almost simultaneously.

'I really hope I don't have to use this in the future,' Nick thinks putting away the Dagger of Command, 'But it is better safe than killing your own kid brother to stop him from stupidly starting a war that could destroy the kingdom.'

The flash of light fades and Matthew is wearing a full-plate set of dull grey, gold, and platinum armor. He looks around at himself, realizing his vision isn't blocked by the helmet just like Michael's. "The armor is called The Maximilian and is made of alternating sheets of adamantine and mithril." Insert shocked reactions and shouts of disbelief, "It has 2 main functions, the first being that not even a dragon could bend or pierce the metal, even if it was using you as a chew toy, and the second is that it gives you an inspiring presence. People who you command are more likely to follow your commands, not betray you, and do better work. A secondary function is its 'Equip' and 'Unequip' options, similar to the Dragon Knight's gauntlet." Without needing to tell him any more, Matthew activated the "Unequip" feature and the armor faded into a dull grey bracelet on his arm. He stared down in wonder and smiled up to Nick.

"Thanks," he said simply, but he conveyed much more with his eyes. Appreciation, apology, and, FINALLY, love were gleaming through his blue eyes.

"No problem, bro! Can't have you dying on the battlefield. To that end, we move on to the sword. This," Nick gestured to the greatsword on the table, "is called the Save The Queen." This time Commander Forand was the one to gasp. "Oh, heard of it commander?" he asks with a great deal of mirth at the flabbergasted military man.

"Yes...In legends, it is said to be the greatest protector of a country...but I am confused, wasn't it a shield?" He asks in confusion.

"Yes, it is most known for being used in the shield form, being able to give every ally you see in your field of view temporary invulnerability is just broken, but it is much more than that! Even I don't know its full capabilities, but I can give you the basics. This item is anything and everything you need it to be when you need it to be. Need a shield to protect your allies? You got it. Need a sword to bisect a giant? Easy peasy. Need a command tent that cannot be torn down or burned? I got you fam. It is honestly one of the most powerful items I have ever come across, but it has two major restrictions. It can only be used when defending your nation's interests and it can only be used by someone completely loyal to that same nation. While in that nation, you can practice and train with it so you can learn to use all the abilities, but outside of that nation it repels any attempts to use it."

"Wow. That is incredible, even with the restrictions!" Commander Forand exclaims in wonder, already making plans on how to use it in combat, and Nick cannot help but agree.

Matthew has a difficult expression on his face, so Nick attempts to help, "Use it to protect our family, our home, our lives, and our future. I am entrusting you with this grossly overpowered item, I can trust you right?" Matthew meets Nick's gaze and his resolve firms.

"Of course brother! I will fight for this kingdom and its people until my death!" He solemnly vows. The Save The Queen shines brightly and reappears as an intricate necklace of the kingdom's crest around Matthew's neck. 'So that's how it binds! Glad we figured it out....let's pretend I already knew that...' Nick thinks, a single bead of sweat rolling down his neck.

"Great to hear! That was all you needed to say for it to bind to you. You are its owner from now on." Nick pats him on the back and smiles.

"Thank you, Nick," he says and gives me a small bow. "I will use these both well...Also, can I ask a favor?" He stands up and scratches his neck awkwardly.

"Sure, what's up?" he asks, raising my eyebrows.

He mumbles something unintelligible. "What's that?" Nick asks to clarify. He speaks many languages, but whatever mumbled gobblygook that was is not one of them.

The Crowned Prince Matthew takes a deep breath and then yells, "Please don't steal my girlfriend!"

Once again, Everyone in the room: "..."

"...Sure," Nick affirms, honestly at a loss. "I promise I will never steal your girlfriend." He thinks for a moment and then clarifies as to stop any further situations that might bring up this super awkward moment, "And if one of your girlfriends ever try to flirt or hit on me, I will leave that situation as soon as I can and inform you right away, sound good?"

Sighing with relief, Matthew says, "Yes, thank you, Nick...and I am sorry for being such an ass to you...my girlfriend talks about you all the time. You apparently saved her Barony a couple of years ago, and she mentioned something about you being destined soulmates, as a joke I am sure...but I was taking it seriously and was acting on that. I...I'm sorry for being so childish." Matthew gives me a full bow this time then flops down on his chair and puts his head down on the table in his hands, his ears burning with embarrassment. Several loud sighs and exclamations of, "Really, Matt?" and "That girl again?" come from Nick's family. 'Seems I have hit a sore spot...Now I am honestly more worried about his love life than I am about him being a warmongering king...' Nick thinks to himself, pitting the young prince.

"Yeah...Okay... No worries, Matt," awkwardly continuing, he centers himself and spins with a huge smile, but definitely not a shit-eating grin, on his face. Of all his gifts, he was most interested to see what reaction this one would bring. "Mary, my lovely, terrifying sister. Oldest of our generation and the most beautiful flower of our family, excluding our mother's of course."

Her eyebrows twitching and her smiling mask showing cracks, Mary says, "I am not sure if that was intended as a compliment or not."

"Semantics," Nick says, waving the total nonissue aside and continuing on, "for you, I have a truly mythical item." All attention goes to Nick...Well Okay, all attention was already on him, but they are waiting with bated breath as he closes the distance to his sister. With a flourish and a bow, Nick pulls out an old battered and worn looking holy symbol for Almar the God of Light & Justice and places it reverently in front of Mary. He stays in a bow, hiding his smirk from her eyes.

A vein popping out of one side of her forehead and her mask hanging on by mere fragments, Mary asks, "Is this a joke, Brother Nicholas?"

"My dear sister, you wound me! At least pick it up before asking me that..." Nick says standing from his bow and putting up a hurt expression. It is totally ruined by the smirk tugging at the sides of his lips.

Mask shattering completely, Mary sighs deeply, glares openly at Nick as she picks up the holy symbol. "You know, this is why I always teased...you...?" Her voice breaks off as she is engulfed in a pillar of holy light. It is so bright that several in the room cry out in pain. 'Oh come on Almar, tone it down a bit.' Nick grumbles to himself.

The flash of light dies down and a stunned Mary sits there, wide-eyed and mouth hanging open, in utter and complete shock. Her simple cleric's robes have been replaced by resplendent robes of white and gold that covers a set of chain mail armor made of Godly-steel. She seems to glow with holy radiance, but Nick knows that has more to do with the metal of the armor than herself. She holds in her hands a simple hooked shepherds staff made of what a layman might consider birch but is actually holy wood carved from the world tree. And, there, hanging around her neck is the same battered and used holy symbol that she scoffed at before. The amount of magical power she emits dwarfs any gifts Nick has given so far by several magnitudes.

"I...I...Nick..." Tears stream down her face both of happiness and wonder. "I heard him. He named me his prophet. He said you made a deal with him to get him the perfect prophet as long as he gave me some artifacts to protect me....I...I am the first prophet of Almar in over 1,000 years!!!" She stares at Nick's dumb, grinning, happy face for several seconds before jumping over the table and tackling him to the ground in a hug. This is more affection than she has ever shown to anyone but her mothers and she is a quivering mess of tears, thank you's, and light punches for him being stupid and making a deal with a God. Well, to her they were light punches, to him they felt like sledgehammer blows with how much power she now wielded, but he took the beating in stride and would wear the bruises proudly as he comforted his older sister who was finally acting honestly.

The family made their way over and, once she could stand, hugs were shared as were congratulations. A break was called and some light finger foods were brought in as they needed to send a whole slew of messengers with the news across the kingdom and beyond. Nick was just happy for his sister and that it had worked out. He had found this holy symbol and the Save The Queen in the same ancient dark dungeon of a mad and evil mage and was happy that they would be used for good again. He was not lying when he called himself a Guardian. He and his erstwhile companions were so named by all of the Gods themselves after their defeat of Lord Gargerond and his army. It was at that time, while he was planning for his return home, that he had struck the deal with Almar. The God was hurting as he was one of only five gods not to have a prophet walking the earth. If Gods were compared to kings, then a prophet would be his main general. Almar needed this and, in all reality, having his sister as his prophet only benefited him. Spending some of his divinity on armor and weapons for the chance to earn a whole heck of a lot more was a win-win in his book.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

An hour passed and Mary was still basking in the afterglow of her...well...Godly glow, when Nick stood up to finish with the last three people's gifts.

*Ahem* Nick got everyone's attention by clearing his throat, "We are in the home stretch here! The next four gifts go to my two favorite ladies. They are duplicate items, but there are only two sets of them in existence." Nick pulled out four small boxes and two amulets.

"Nick," Mother Regina started raising a brow, "These are three items each, do you need to take a rest?" She looked at him with concern, but Nick waved her off.

"Yes, I need to rest, but we can finish up first. Those two items are set items and actually only work when they are together," Nick said pointing to the two boxes in front of her, "So I only consider it one gift." He laughed at her frown and raised his hands placatingly. "Alright, go ahead and open them." Both his mothers did so and they and every other woman in the room gasped in unison at the beautiful set of earrings and a matching ring. They were literally the most beautiful set that any had ever seen because as soon as their eyes fell upon them, they transformed into that look. Basically, they were magical and transformed to look like the ideal earrings and rings for whoever laid eyes upon them. All of the women in the room 'Ooed' and 'Awed' as they each saw something different that perfectly fit their style and preference.

"Four items," Mother Heather said dryly, a smirk on her face.

"Semantics!" Nick said, starting to feel like a broken record. "Now don't bother explaining what you see, you all will see something different. Something perfect for just you. Whenever you go to balls or parties, there will not be a woman in the room that can say she isn't jealous of your jewelry as they see exactly what they want to see. The name of the set is The Empress' Shield. They have a multitude of abilities, so sorry if this is a bit long-winded. I will make a notecard with them all for you later." Nick stated, taking a deep breath to start, "They have the ability I just mentioned, but they also can detect how people around you think of you. The color shows you the differing feelings. Gold means they worship you, Orange means they are loyal to you, Purple means they genuinely love you, Geen means they are friendly to you, Blue means they are envious or jealous of you, Pink means they lust after you or are willing to commit adultery with you, Yellow means they are conspiring against you, Red means that they are willing to or about to harm you, and Black means they are going to kill you or are hiring someone or have hired someone to kill you. You will most likely see a mixture of colors when you use this ability. The most prominent color is their most prominent feeling towards you. This can be very useful for you, but use it with caution as it can be a lot to take in and it can be hard to master your reactions while using them."

"This...Wow...Just...Wow...that alone is powerful enough for nations to fight for these," Mother Heather says pondering on the ability.

"That is just the tip of the iceberg." Nick says with a laugh, "They can also give off auras of feelings, such as calming, irritation, charming, or any others you can think of. They can detect poisons or other harmful substances in drinks and food, they can tag up to 20 people each and tell you their location at any given time assuming you know whereabouts that is, they allow you to freely message people you can see telepathically, they empower your defenses and speed when you are in danger, they can make a nearly impenetrable magical shield around you for an hour, they boost all of your magical abilities, they can tell you the state of being of any family member or loved one as well as their location, and..." Nick trails off as he sees the doe in the headlights look from his mothers. Chuckling to himself, he says, "I will make you that card with the rest of them."

"Where the hell did you get these, Nick?" Mother Regina demands.

"Ha...funny story. I may or may not have been in the imperial catacombs and taken them from the rotting bodies of an empress and her daughter. They have been dead for close to 10,000 years, so I doubt anyone will miss them..."

Mouths gape like fish all around and Mother Heather barks a laugh while Father and Mother Regina look at me with disapproving frowns.

"Anyway, the last one is a necklace I made!" Nick says trying to move away from this topic of conversation, "It has my magical signature and can summon me from wherever I am to you. It is a one-way trip, but if you are ever in need of someone who can go toe to toe with gods, you have me at your disposal." He does a dramatic bow and looks up smiling.

Mary, who has broken away from her inner musings, scoffs and says, "Surely, you jest."

"I don't Jest, and don't call me Sherly," Nick says in a monotone. No one laughs. 'What the hell! I was sure that was a zinger...maybe it was the wrong crowd?' Nick muses. Shaking his head, he, at last, turns his gaze to his father.

"What can you give the king who has it all?" Nick says with another smirk, "How about another item set from the long-dead empire, that's what!" Nick exclaims and everyone else groans. 'Tough crowd indeed.' "For you, Father, I have three items, or six items if Mother Heather wants to be particular," Nick says and sticks his tongue out childishly at her which she reciprocates, and they both have a laugh. Pulling the first item out, he puts it on the table in front of the king. "This is the All-Seeing Eye. It works exactly as it sounds, once per day, you can peer into whatever space you want for up to an hour. Anywhere in the world at any time, and here is the kicker, it will never trigger any detection spells. At least none that I have ever found when I used it...which has been a lot...including ancient and magical locations long lost to the mots of time..." Nick trails off sagely nodding to himself.

"I bet you peeked in on many bathhouses with it, Brother," Rose says with a smirk. Nick spins to her in indignation and hardly recognizes his sister after all her changes. She sits a good six inches taller, has sapphire blue eyes like Mathew, is still overly busty, and her red flowing hair cascades down her shoulder in waves. If she was not his sister, he would consider her a perfect 10...which is probably the point. She smirks at his raised eyebrows and reaction to seeing her and takes it as a win.

Sighing to himself, he turns back and says, "I will not even justify that comment with a response."

"Because you totally did it. Probably a lot too." Mary adds fuel to this fire.

Glaring at her, Nick thinks angrily, 'Really, Mary? I just make you one of the most important figures in the world and this is how you repay me?' He feels like crying from the injustice of it all!

Mary must have seen noticed something on his face because she quickly responds, "Ah...we are just kidding, Brother. We know you would never do that."

'Humph! Good that she knows! I mean...I totally did, but they don't need to know that.' Ignoring the perceptive humorous look from Mother Heather and the narrowed eye suspicion from Rose, he trudges ahead. "The next item..."

"Wait," Father stops him, "Where did you get this one? It seems...dangerous."

"Honestly? It is kind of a lame story. I got this from a low power witch who was eating children in a village. Nasty woman, but this was just sitting on her table when I beheaded her. At first, I thought it was just a normal scrying crystal, but man am I glad I cast identify on it!"

"Eating...children!?" Lily asks, horrified. Spinning to her quickly before the angel gifted to us unworthy mortals from the heavens could cry again, Nick says, "Worry not my dear maiden! I have slain her and should her ilk rise again, I will be there to vanquish them!" Nick says this dramatically with wild gestures and facial expressions that turn her nearly crying face into one of joy and laughter. He follows up with a heartfelt line for everyone in the room. "I am back now, you are all safe and will be as long as I am here." Meeting each of their eyes he nods and turns back to Father. "Ready for the next one?"

"Yes, go ahead, son," the king says, touched by my words.

"This," Nick says pulling out a huge golden set of full-plate on an armor wrack from his storage, "Is the Armor of Kings. Before you ask," he cuts off the exclamations of everyone in the room, "Yes, that Armor of Kings. It was gifted to me by Lindor, the hero-king who became a God, after my defeat of the evil alien. Each god gifted me and my companions with treasures. Some were much more generous than others." Nick shoots a meaningful glance at Mary. Continuing Nick states, " It has a multitude of powers, I will create you a card, but the majority stem around your safety and invulnerability while wearing it. You just need to put some blood on it like Matthew did and it will bind to you."

Taking out the glass dagger again, and feeling awful for it, Nick pricks the king's finger and binds the armor to him. One blue flash and two bright golden flashes later and the king has a new shiny golden bracelet that makes him nearly untouchable. "Ok...this next one is a...a doozy...Please, please don't freak out too much when I take it out, okay?" Nick pleads with his family.

"No promises," Mother Regina says with a smirk.

Nick pulls out the item set of the One True Emperor and all hell breaks loose. The king stands up shouting about how irresponsible it is to give him this and how he refuses to take it, Mother Regina faints outright and Mother Heather is white-faced murmuring softly about becoming empress, Brother Matthew is ecstatic claiming how great our family would be forming a new empire, Sister Mary is wide-eyed and slack-jawed for the second time today, Sister Rose has somehow lit the table on fire in her excitement and is trying frantically to put it out, both Angel Lily and Brother Michael are confused at what has happened, Matilda is shouting 'No fucking way!' over and over again, and Commander Forand is on his knee shouting how he will gladly serve the new Emporer for his lifetime. All in all, worth it!

The item set of the One True Emperor, as an educated observer may have guessed, grants the right to reform the Empire of the Dawn and its bonded becomes the new Emperor. It consists of a golden scepter, a purple cloak, and an orichalcum lorel crown. It was hidden away for many, many millennia to prevent a new emperor, as many royal and powerful families have blood bonds to the Emporer and would be called in to submit if there was a new one.

Was Nick completely insane giving this to his father? Nah, he was bound to the item set and would just be lending them to his father for the myriad of other magical effects they offer. Because one of these effects let the user decide on the look, it was easy to make it look just like his father's current official ceremony attire. The best abilities of the item were that his father would be able to make his official throne room into a zone of truth area where only he would be able to see the lies, it could amplify his presence and inside the throne room so no one could disobey his orders or try to harm him physically while inside, and, lastly, it could summon his family members to the throne room from anywhere in the world at any time with no restrictions and regardless of any magics securing them. Meaning, no one in the family could ever be kidnapped ever again. This last ability alone made it worth giving to his father. Nick took the time to explain this to everyone once they calmed down and he got his father to accept the item set with the promise he would not become emperor.

"But wait..." Mary asks, "doesn't that mean that you could declare yourself emperor at any time Nick?"

"Yes. but that would be such a hassle I have no interest in ever doing that. I lived my years of adventuring, now I want to settle down peacefully and start a family." Nick says with a sigh. The rest nod in agreement at his words and totally not because they doubt if Nick would have made a good emperor. No way!

The meeting winds down from this point and the reunited family talks about the items they received and welcome Nick back again. It is a fun and happy time for everyone. Just before everyone leaves the audience hall for dinner, Mother Heather stops and turns to Nick drawing the attention of everyone else.

"Nick..." Mother Heather hedges, "If these are the items you are willing to give away, then how good is your equipment?"

Everyone freezes and turns to look at Nick with different emotions ranging from curiosity to worry.

"What? These old things?" Nick waves it off nonchalantly and laughs, "I made these myself. They are nothing special." Everyone in the room looks from Nick to the floor where, for the first time since he arrived, the Zone of Truth spell flashes red, indicating he told a lie. Nick shrugs, dispels the Zone of Truth, and walks out the door of the room, never losing his signature winning smile.