Radipuff [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMGywBxDR_Ydnqx88icS4Nj54QJQZXSEsjA5eURqsprWwWZa6MjNMmC9y9MCyTi0lK_joMcU_EPOmMUK7hwMTRp3aoAqEV1L76BNOGiZ1H1OgLkGsDHnBTSTa5oItgCJcr_7mA4zKuq2lyAp6hHrwBd=w661-h992-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
Everin Starlark grumbled as he and Veldrix Thevaris arrived at the gates leading into Blomstra. The Royal Knight skipped the line completely, leading him through with a flash of their badge to the guards. While he realized the knight was taking advantage of their privileged position once more, his grumbling was more about the fact that Veldrix had insisted that while they were in the city, the knight wouldn’t touch him.
It was shortly after the replacement Ruby Caster had arrived in Tulimeir that Veldrix had taken him aside and firmly stated how things would need to proceed. While in Tulim or the outer provinces of Blomsterang, the two of them didn’t have to worry at all and could continue progressing with their budding relationship. However, once in the capital city of Blomstra, they should avoid acting any more than acquaintances.
Everin hated it, but he understood the fear that Veldrix had voiced. “If the monarchs learn that I care about you, they will likely destroy you using your status as Rebel’s Avatar as a thin veil of justification.”
Vel had brushed his cheek with a thumb, and the sorrow in their gaze was heavy as they practically begged him, “Please, do not give them any reason to order me to take your life. I have nothing more to trade to them in return for it.”
He had agreed to the request, but that didn’t make him happy in the slightest, especially when he felt the invisible wall that had quickly arisen between the two of them as soon as the city was in sight.
Now, he was respectfully following the Royal Knight through the city toward an even more unwelcome destination: the castle at its center.
Unlike Tulimeir, Blomstra was a sprawling metropolis that featured cream stucco walls and pastel-colored fabrics adorning every door and window, as well as the awnings to protect from sun and rain alike. The city was best known for the fabric it produced, with vast hillocks beyond its walls filled with domesticated sheep and an aval called a Radipuff, whose wool color would shift based on the type of Elemental or Magical Shard it was fed.
The other thing it was well known for but rarely exported unprocessed was its flowers. Flower gardens were plentiful throughout the city and wreaths of every color were hung everywhere, including in many of the residents’ hair and sown directly into their clothing. The petals often were used for dyes, which were exported, and many types were used as potion ingredients as well.
The city had rings of walls that they needed to pass through to get to the castle, and Veldrix explained that when the city grew, new walls kept being built to protect it during a blood moon. The zone here was mid Emerald Caste, but the monarchs and many of its residents were Ruby and could quickly respond to a threat despite the city’s sprawling nature. They also had the advantage of flying transports.
Everin had wondered if they would be taking an airship from here to Renko, but Veldrix had said they hoped to charter a portal instead to get there even quicker. He hadn’t quite liked the idea that Vel wanted to speed up their journey together, but he had come to realize that the knight was rather goal-oriented and not just trying to get rid of him faster.
He also knew that much could go wrong on an airship for two months as they traveled a winding route across the country. However, monster attacks were the least of his worries with Veldrix aboard. There were still weather, supplies, and airship changes as they stopped in other cities along the way… it would take a lot of time that they really didn’t want to waste when Everin needed to return to Phoenix’s side eventually. He just didn’t want Veldrix to return to the queen’s side at that point.
Everin didn’t realize that Veldrix was actually nervous until the knight paused before the castle gates. After a moment of hesitation, they glanced back at him and softly said, “Don’t forget your promise.”
He nodded and followed the Royal Executioner to his own potential doom.
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If Veldrix hadn’t been Ruby Caste and spent the last few centuries honing their body to ignore their baser instincts, they were fairly certain they would be sweating. Their years in the royal court had forced them to be rigorous in not showing any emotion through their body, expression, or aura, and luckily they had their Natural Talent to fall back on. Everin, however, was not so well versed. At least, that was what Vel had thought, but the way he seemed to relax while keeping his aura in a polite sphere made Veldrix second-guess that assessment.
Perhaps the devotee of Rebel had infiltrated more courts or noble houses than he had admitted to them during their dinner chats.
Vel would just need to hope that the rebellious voxen following them would be smart enough not to get himself killed by a jealous queen.
That was something the other members of the court had come to learn fairly quickly: Queen Mairea was extremely possessive. It didn’t matter what the object of her desire was; if she thought it belonged to her, she wouldn’t abide anyone else even looking at it.
Veldrix had seen her furious retribution first-hand when a young noble had approached them while Vel had been dutifully following the royals during a social event. Even with King Tarmo on her arm as her faithful husband, they had both enjoyed having Veldrix trail after them at those parties.
They never did anything so outlandish as to announce that Veldrix belonged to them outright, but their body language and lack of personal boundaries had made their claim obvious to most. That idiotic young noble, however, had thought that meant Veldrix was a toy for any noble to play with.
That House had oddly ended up becoming in charge of the southern island off their nation’s coast, which had difficulty surviving the frequent storms that plagued it. Veldrix hadn’t seen that particular noble in almost a century now.
That didn’t completely halt the unwarranted advances made toward them outside the oversight of the queen, but it did give Veldrix a very good excuse to turn them down with. Some new noble brats would often see them as a challenge now, but the threat of talking to the queen usually put them in their place without Vel needing to resort to their own power.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
While it would have been laughably easy for Vel to throw the young scions off a roof, like they had jokingly suggested to Dazien, that would have resulted in more of a headache since Veldrix wasn’t a noble. They were a Royal Knight meant to serve the crown and protect the nation’s people, not give them broken bones.
As they walked through the colorful silken halls of the palace, Veldrix wondered if there actually was something they might be able to trade to keep Everin safe from the Queen’s ire. They had told Everin that there wasn’t, but perhaps there was some concession they could make that they hadn’t thought of yet. It would already be difficult for them to convince her not to lash out over their quest, divine sigil or no, and if Everin wasn’t careful enough, the queen might be unhinged enough to risk the wrath of the Scholar.
When the throne room doors opened to allow Veldrix and Everin entry, there was no more time to ponder about what-ifs. All they could do was pray to avoid any punishment.
Kneeling before the queen and king sitting on their thrones, Veldrix was incredibly relieved that Everin showed them the customary respect and knelt as well. They weren’t sure if the only reason he complied was due to Veldrix’s earlier warnings on their journey here or if the fact that the room was empty save for the royals made him more at ease to not prove he was the Avatar of the Rebel.
“Knight Thevaris,” Queen Mairea said in that crystal clear voice of authority, “I had hoped you desired to return to our side out of love and loyalty, but who is this companion you bring before us?”
“I’m Everin—”
“I asked my Knight,” the queen coldly interjected, not bothering to look away from Veldrix.
They didn’t dare to look back to see the look Everin’s face might have taken at the obvious slight, but instead calmly answered, “Your Majesty, this is Everin Starlark, Avatar of the Scholar and the Rebel.”
“The Rebel,” Queen Mairea repeated flatly.
“And the Scholar,” Veldrix emphasized in response. “It was the Scholar that prompted our visit here, as my earlier missive should have informed.” They promptly lifted the Divine Sigil from the pouch at their waist to display before the royals. “I have been requested by the goddess to fulfill a very specific task that I must leave the nation for. I bring this sigil as proof of divine ordinance and request you allow me to seek its resolution. Avatar Starlark will be accompanying me simply to convey the Scholar’s will once we’ve reached our target. I merely thought it prudent to inform Your Majesty about his presence within the capital during his hopefully brief stay.”
Silence fell for a moment as the queen seemed to contemplate Veldrix’s words, her Ruby aura making no effort to hide its prodding of both their intentions.
Her eyes widened in surprise a moment later as she asked, “You’ve had an Obsidian Evolution?”
Veldrix merely nodded in response, unsure if they had made an error in not informing her of that piece of news.
“If I recall correctly, you mentioned in your missive that you will be traveling to the Renko duchy, but it didn’t express why exactly. Tell me now,” she commanded.
Veldrix was grateful for the Talent that let them keep the grimace off their face. They had hoped she wouldn’t have asked, but now that she had, they replied, “We are seeking the Saint of the Arcanist who was last seen to be there to deliver the Scholar’s message. An anomaly has occurred there that is keeping the Scholar’s clergy from gaining access to the Saint, and the Scholar believes my connection will be enough to circumvent whatever is preventing the others.”
As they expected, the queen’s face turned into a mixture of anger and disgust, “The Saint of the Arcanist? You mean your temptress sister who stole my daughter?”
Rather than argue the point, they simply answered, “Yes. I don’t believe she will be returning here, but the Scholar believes she won’t refuse an audience with me.”
There was another moment of silence before the queen asked with a lightness that made Veldrix tense as if there was an obviously wrong answer, “Do you hope to return my gullibly naive daughter here to get out of our deal?”
They hadn’t thought about attempting that, but now that the idea was out there, Veldrix was sorely tempted by it. However, the last they knew, Princess Aino and Helen were still very much in love, and Vel could never bring theirself to be the one to destroy that. No, it was better for them to remain silent and protect that love.
“Of course not, Your Majesty. Not unless you wish it of me,” they dutifully replied instead. “I am merely attempting to assist the Scholar as I am particularly suited for the request. If Your Majesty demands it of me, I will faithfully remain by your side instead and regretfully inform the Scholar’s clergy that I must decline and return this divine sigil. However, I thought it would be in Your Majesty’s best interest to have one of the most powerful clergies in the world owe you a favor.”
Queen Mairea leaned back slightly on her throne, tapping a finger against the ornate arm of it in thought. Vel thought that was actually a promising sign.
Then she looked towards Everin and asked, “What would your goddess say, Avatar, if I refused to relinquish my most treasured knight to play messenger for her?”
“I believe she would say that you can let her borrow your shiny toy for a few months instead of gaining her ire for a few centuries,” Everin replied, and Veldrix internally winced at that.
King Tarmo snorted a laugh as the queen scoffed and asked, “And what do you know of my toy, Avatar?”
Veldrix stayed impossibly still, praying with all their might that Everin wouldn’t be baited, and was relieved when he replied with a smirk, “I know of the rumors that are whispered among the people as we passed through your fair city, Your Majesty.”
It wasn’t a lie, at least, Veldrix noticed, but it wasn’t an entire admission either. They just hoped it would be enough to prevent her prodding further.
After another long moment, the queen gave a small huff and said, “Fine, give me that sigil, and you may go on the Scholar’s quest. I will even let you use our personal portalist next Gesol. Until then, you will resume fulfilling your duties here in the castle.”
“But that’s an entire week from today,” Everin exclaimed.
However, Veldrix interjected and humbly replied, “You are most generous, Your Majesty. Even a week will be far quicker than going months by air. I will be honored to serve by your side until then.”
“To which you will be justly rewarded for tonight, my most loyal of knights,” Queen Mairea replied. She then off-handedly added, “I was simply being practical since Noble Stratford will also be leaving for her home at that time. She arrived shortly before you to pay her respects once again for welcoming her into my nation. I offered the service in thanks for her own services during the war and blood moon to protect our nation and to further strengthen the ties between our two lands.”
After a beat of silence and the queen giving Everin a pointed look of smug victory, Everin finally replied, “Thank you, Your Majesty. I am certain that your generosity and benevolence here today will be remembered by the Scholar and her clergy.”
“Good,” she curtly responded, looking back at Veldrix. “If that is all, then go ahead and resume your post.”
“May I show the Avatar where he might find suitable accommodations within the city if we are not leaving immediately, Your Majesty?” they asked in as neutral a tone as possible, their Talent helping to keep their face a blank mask of indifference.
Queen Mairea gave another small huff of annoyance before saying, “Yes, fine. However, I will expect you to be on time for your night shift.”
Veldrix tried not to sigh in return as they recited their most familiar phrase. “Yes, Your Majesty. As you command.”