We arrive in the capital in 2 days. During our trip, we obviously washed the blood off and changed my tattered clothes. Can't be looking like we went on a murder spree when arriving in the capital while riding a griffin with a demon. That would be really bad optics and easily misunderstood and very bad for our future plans to be married. Lysara also cut the tracker out of my scalp and destroyed it during this time and I also put Lysara's ribbon back on as well. Dysis dropped us off near the temple in the cover of the forest. Since we are over here by the temple, I figured we could check in on Father and check on his and Shiki's recovery from the poison.
I pet Dysis when we get off and borrow a little of her blood then heal her. I tell her, "If Father Xavier is feeling up to it, I would like to introduce you to him and his familiar Shiki. Is that ok with you?" Dysis coos, "I would love to meet those important to you. If I am not here, just whistle for me." I then pet her one last time, "Thanks for everything, Dysis." I then lean in to give her a kiss like I do often with Sky, Kenji, CoCo and Leo. Dysis then says, "I feel like I should thank you for bringing more entertainment in my life. It has been a lot of fun since I have known you. Aldruruth is a great friend, but he isn't that fun to be around since he can't fly and has a bad attitude. I am pretty sure I annoyed him with my presence most days since he prefers to be alone. I am still going to visit him in short bursts though. He will probably prefer it that way." I laugh recalling the intimidating exhale at our greeting, "He did seem a little cranky at first. I can totally see that." I pet Dysis a little bit more because I am always greedy and want to give them all the affection always for all my family. I then say, "Stay safe, Dysis. I will call you if I need you. Come to me if you need me. I don't care one bit if you make a scene, especially if it is an emergency." Dysis replies, "You stay safe as well." Dysis then takes flight emitting a huge gust of wind around Lysara and I and he flies away.
Lysara, Sky and I get to the temple and knock and Father opens the door, "Ari! Lysara! Sky! Welcome back! Wait- where is the rest of the gang?" I shake my head, "Long story short, we got separated and Lysara got kidnapped. Leo and the others are safe. I feel their presence is very strong." Father replies with a shocked face at the news, "That is terrible that these things keep happening to you, but I am glad that everyone is ok. Let's stop standing in this doorway and get you both inside." Shiki emerges from inside Father's robes and is looking at me. I feel the vibes coming off of him and I approach him and stick my arm out in greeting. He leaps to my arm and wraps around to say hello. I say while stroking his smooth skin, "I missed you so much, Shiki. Sorry I couldn't say hello last time. We were in a rush back then after we healed you." Father translates, "He says he really missed you, too." I giggle at the tickling of his slithering up my arm. I continue to pet Shiki as I ask worried about their health, "How is your recovery? Both of you?" Father replied with a warmly, "Thanks to you, we are alive. Right now, we are as good as new. Right Shiki?" He says with a smile and flexing his not very muscular arms.
Shiki licks me with affection as he snuggles me for warmth. I whisper to Lysara to get her to erect the anti-eavesdropping barrier, then I ask, "Father, what would you say if I offered you immortality?" Father shakes his head, "No, I don't desire to be a vampire." I shake my head, understanding why he misunderstood me, "Sorry, there was a misunderstanding there. You see father, I found the fruit of vitality. I was offering it to you." Father sits down in astonishment, "Wow, that is a lot to take in and wasn't expecting that. Though I am afraid the goddess has other plans for me. Though possibly maybe Shiki," He pauses and looks at Shiki. Father then says, "Shiki here will take it. He will watch over you as your familiar when my soul leaves this world." I nod in understanding and discreetly pull out a fruit of vitality, away from prying eyes, and quickly offer it to Shiki. He stretches his mouth and swallows it whole and it almost looks like it is stuck in his body. I have seen him eat before and know that this is normal for him. I freaked out as a kid when I first saw him eat because I thought he was in trouble.
I then ask them both, "Before we leave would you two like to meet my new familiar? She is a mighty griffin that can wield lightning magic." Lysara gasps in astonishment and says, "Woah! You didn't tell me that she could use lightning magic. That day you rescued me was a blur and I don't remember everything. I thought there might have been a storm in my haze." I replied, "Sorry, guess a lot happened. When she became my familiar it awakened the magic within her. Just like it did with you and Kenji." Father chimes in smiling his usual fatherly smile, "I would love to meet your new friend. What is her name?" "Her name is Dysis. Dysis Romo." I say continuing to pet Shiki. I then say, "We will have to go to the forest to meet her." While walking to the door. Father and Lysara follow me.
Introductions with Dysis were really smooth and Shiki had fun crawling all over her. I could hear Dysis as she would tell me what Shiki was saying as he was frolicking in her fur while avoiding her wings and feathers like I requested. It was really cute to watch. After the introductions were complete, we said our goodbyes and headed to the palace. We get to the palace and we request an audience with the king announced as Priestess Ari and Princess Lysara. We were not seen quite immediately, but they told us to wait a few moments while his current meeting was finishing up.
As we are waiting, Tristan walks down the hall and is steadily approaching us. I still feel knots in my stomach around him even though I can kill him with a punch to the face. That fear from that one encounter still lives strong in my heart. I push it down and hold Lysara's hand tightly. Tristan stops in front of me and before he could utter one word Lysara says, "If the first words out of your mouth aren't a heartfelt and sincere apology to my precious Ari, then you might as well keep walking." Tristan then sighs and says obviously insincerely, "I am sorry." I then ask after a shaky breath, "For what?" Tristan stutters, "You know for th- th- forget it." He then just walks off without finishing while obviously mad. Lysara smacks her teeth, "Tssk. He couldn't even man up for a proper apology. They expect that loser to be king?" I laugh at her remark.
The door opens to the throne room and Bella Ruiz comes out with her father. She looks at me with her 'I HATE YOU' face. Probably because I am not gone like the initial plan was. I hold Lysara to non-verbally say 'I am here for her, not you' and she turns her head to ignore me and continues walking. Lysara asks noticing the strange non-verbal exchange, "What the fuck was that about?" I replied, gently squeezing her hand, "I will tell you later in detail, but she is the one that used to bully me with her dark magic in the past." Lysara gets a look of realization on her face like she remembered something and says, "Ahhh. I think I remember your mother mentioning something about that during the haze. If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to." I shake my head, "I want you to know everything about me." Lysara purrs and kisses me, "Likewise."
Ricky is now at the door, "Right this way." He guides us into the throne room and we bow before the king. King Victor asks in that kingly tone of his, "What brings you here today, Ari?" I replied, getting on my knees bowing to him, "We are here for two things, your majesty. First, we have collected the immortal lily and have one in our possession. Second, and more importantly, it has come to my attention that it is truly my mother who was the mastermind behind the crazy plan to make me queen. We figured this out when she kidnapped Lysara. Lysara almost starved to death being held captive by my mother. Mother said that Lysara was the only thing preventing me from becoming queen and then tried to kill her before my eyes."
I start crying looking at my hands while still on my knees remembering the moment, "I almost killed my own mother trying to protect Lysara." King Victor asks, deeply concerned with my words, "We will come back to the flower, what happened to your mother?" I replied, still crying, "She is currently chained up with mana-sealing cuffs in the same building she was holding Lysara. I can point it out on a map for you." King Victor summons Ricky and whispers in his ear. Ricky goes off in a hurry and his majesty puts his elbow on his throne, propping his head up with his hand. He sighs and closes his eyes and responds, "Patala won't like this at all. Let me orb them at once so we can discuss trial proceedings. Why don't you two accompany me?" He says as he stands up and waves us to follow him.
We arrive in the comms room and it takes a few minutes to connect to the royal family. The comms agent monitoring the orb for contact had to run and announce that we were calling so we are waiting right now. King Victor says with an expression of intrigue, "I am really curious about how you were able to get the immortal lily so fast. Though I will wait for them to arrive before squeezing for those details since they will be curious too." He pauses to take a look at the sword on my hip, "I see you have been taking care of her. She is a dependable blade." I nod while looking down and placing a hand on the hilt, "She sure is, your majesty. I actually can return her since I got my equipment back. Thank you so much for lending her to me. I was able to rescue a child very dear to me because of her." I say now reaching to undo my holster to release the sheath.
King Victor shakes his head while putting up his hands , "No need for that. Consider the sword as a gift." I stop fumbling with the holster, "Are you sure? This sword seems very valuable, your majesty." Even though it is a simple blade, it is very elegant and extremely well crafted. A true swordsman knows its value, even without the special ornaments. King Victor responds, "So are you. I have learned in my years of being alive in this world that you must treasure things you value. I take care of all my people." As he says this Ricky comes in with a map and places it on the table in front of me. King Victor asks, "Can you point here on the map to where your mother is?" I nod and I look to see where we are and do the calculations and point to the place where the isolated building was located. King Victor nods to Ricky and Ricky says, "I'll take it from here." Ricky says while bowing to the king then he promptly leaves.
By this time the Nocturae royal family has arrived on the orb call. King Victor starts off by saying, "We have had an international incident involving Lysara here in our kingdom and I want to first apologize that she was the victim of an attack while here in our kingdom. I just want you to know that we are making plans to arrest the perpetrator as we speak. I did not get all of the details of the incident yet and I figured we could all be on the same call as she regaled her story." King Salenar with a look of concern says, "Lysara, tell us what happened."
Lysara then goes on to tell the whole story. Almost the whole story. She left the bit out about the tree of vitality. I am glad because I want to limit mortals who know about it. A lot of people would die trying to acquire it. Storm mountain would become a mass grave. The only mortal in the room right now is King Victor, but still. He may seem like a good man, but power does things to people. With the knowledge my mother has and what the king has he would be able to deduce that it is obviously at Storm Mountain. The idea of being alive for several millennia might possibly be really enticing to him. You never know what a person might do to get a piece of immortality.
At the end of Lysara's testimony, King Salenar demands, furiously, "I must have this Duchess Romo extradited to our nation immediately to answer for her crimes against this nation's princess." King Victor says, nodding his head in agreement, "I understand. As soon as we officially have her in custody, we will contact you and arrange for prisoner transport." King Salenar then says, "Make it so. Is there anything else?" I chime in, pulling out an immortal lily from my bag, "I have gathered what you desired. Please allow me to marry your daughter as promised." I say putting the flower closer to the orb so they could see it.
King Salenar laughs and says, "They gave you a seemingly impossible task and you completed it in record breaking time. Not one demon since I have been alive has been able to fly through that storm. How did you do it, Ari?" I responded, truthfully, "I made friends with a griffin and I healed her constantly as we were flying through the rocky debris. I even got struck by lightning, so it was definitely not without its challenges." King Salenar replies, "We will need to appraise its mana in person to confirm that it is in fact an immortal lily. Also, we would like to meet my daughter's future wife face to face." I replied, bowing in my seat towards King Salenar, "We understand, your majesty." King Salenar looks to King Victor, "We can negotiate the finer points of the treaty in the coming calls. We won't officially announce the engagement between Ari and Lysara until the final confirmation that the lily is in fact a genuine article. Until next time." He nods and the orb turns off.
Once the call is over, King Victor looks to us, "I know you have places to be but I have a bit of time right now. Would you like to have a quick cup of tea with my wife and I before you go?" I look to Lysara to make sure she is cool with it and she gives me a shrug like it is whatever I desire to do. I responded, "We can spare a little time for some tea, your majesty. Lead the way." King Victor escorts Lysara and I to their royal garden that is exquisite and has a beautifully elegant fountain of a siren with exposed breasts singing her song and water shooting over the siren. The sun sometimes makes it look like a rainbow of color surrounding the singing siren and it is truly a magnificent piece of art. When I was forced to come to this castle for 'play dates' with Tristan, I would often run out here and hide in this garden. Even as a kid, I was in awe of this fountain.
We get to the gazebo where they have the tea prepared and we all sit down and Queen Elinesha says with a bright smile, "Welcome Ari and Lysara. Please sit and join us." She says as she points to the empty chairs with an open and elegant hand. Lysara and I sit and I delicately grab some macarons and place them on my snack plate while the maid is pouring our tea. I take a bite out of a macaron and wipe my lips after my bite with a napkin. King Victor says, "Now Ari, please tell us the story in detail how you acquired the immortal lily." I then go into a lot more detail about the story (again leaving out the detail of the fruit) and then ask the King Victor and Queen Elinesha if they would like to see my scar and I show them. Both of them are surprised. Queen Elinesha says, admiring the beauty of it while wearing a slightly worried expression, "That is a very beautiful scar. It must have been painful to retrieve though." I replied, "That is correct. It was painful for a brief moment before I was passed out. My griffin companion, Dysis, carried me the rest of the way to the peak to safety. Once I came around, I healed her and then myself and picked up the flower. It was so peaceful at the peak and it was beautiful. The most beautiful meadow I have seen in my life and it was lovely to bask in the serenity in that moment. When we returned to the ground, Dysis requested to become my familiar since she liked my competitive spirit. We are now really good friends. She has the ability now to wield lightning magic, too."
King Victor replies with a look of astonishment, "You just keep getting stronger and stronger familiars. I am terrified to ever become your enemy." I replied with a smile, "We have both helped each other a few times now, and I see a long beautiful and peaceful relationship where we can continue to help each other and hopefully for many generations." Queen Elinesha, "Hear, hear. I like the sound of that. Many generations to come." She says raising her tea cup in a toast-like fashion. We all raise our tea cups and we all say, "To many generations to come." and we all took a drink of tea that finally was done steeping.
The king and queen start coughing up blood. I jumped up, "Your majesty! Your highness! Somebody get help!" I run over to them and heal them repeatedly kind of like I did Father and Shiki, but without sobbing. Still all the panic though. "Please get up! Your majesty! Your highness!" Some retainers approach with hostility, "What have you done to our royal family?!" I replied, still frantic, "It appears they have been poisoned! I have healed them multiple times already! Please take them inside and have a physician tend to both of them!" They say with hostility, "LIES! You must have poisoned his majesty and her majesty! Arrest them AT ONCE!"
I whistle for Dysis and Lysara springs into action using her whips to grab and hold their swords and their limbs to immobilize them. I plead with them, "We are innocent! We have absolutely NO MOTIVE in this crime! We need them alive for this peace treaty to come to pass! There is nothing Lysara and I want more in this life than to get married, and we need both of them alive for that! Why can't you understand that?!" By this time Dysis has arrived and is landing and everyone looks terrified. Lysara and I hop up without thinking, and I think I just accidentally snitched on my own abilities here in the panic of the situation. Before we fly away I reiterate, "Please take care of King Victor and Queen Elinesha." With that we fly away.
We are probably wanted now.Even though we made a valid case before leaving it didn't feel like they wanted to hear any of it. Like they were just closed off to accepting any other outcome. We need to get out of Perdita as quickly as possible. We fly to Leo at full speed ahead. It is probably going to get even more dangerous now that an attempt on the king and queen has been made. We need to get him back home right away. That is safest for him now.