A preview for the next chapter of Crystal Rebirth Chronicles!
Typically, when one would visit a noble, they sent a letter at least two weeks in advance. This would allow the noble time to prepare for the visit, gathering good food, preparing quarters, and acquiring any other necessities that were needed. When visiting royalty, the request to visit was sent months in advance and said royalty could serve you bread and salt on a plate, and you would have to be grateful.
Hence Vitala was debating whether she should blow the audacious little shit coming to visit off the Spire.
Vitala watched the royal airship inch ever closer to the landing platform. King Andreas’ third son, Lesko or some nonsense, had sent a letter demanding an audience and to prepare for his arrival in order to discuss her assistance to the newly independent, growing kingdom of... whatever those commoners decided to call themselves in the future. She had sent what she thought was a scathing letter telling him where he could go (in polite speak, of course), but evidently the idiot did not receive lessons on how to read. When her scouts had first reported the ship she was tempted to take it as an act of war, but after stewing on it she decided to see if she could bleed anything useful out of the boy with a dried fruit for a brain. When finally the ship docked, royal guards began pouring out, lining a path before a man in a foppish, garishly red doublet quickly walked out and unfurled a scroll.
“Hear ye and be blessed, for the third prince of the Kingdom of Skyhope, Master of the Flying Dagger, Warden of Light’s Touch, Hero of the Far Reach, Winner of the Firehold Grand Prix, Grand Bard of the Kingdom of Skyhope, Lesko Hawken, has graced your presence.” The fop finally stepped aside and a young man left the ship, blonde of hair and wearing a long yellow coat and breeches. Were she some young nobleman’s daughter who didn’t know any better, the bright blue eyes and smile would have sent her heart a flutter. Vitala, however, knew better: cockiness lurked behind those eyes like a strutting glorybird.
“Your Highness! Truly it is an honor that we meet.” The boy at least had the good sense to bow. Perhaps not sending him careening off the Spire would be prudent after all-
“Indeed, it is rare one gets to view my grand visage, I’m sure with your years of experience, not one has ever surpassed my-“
Or she could save the world the trouble, it seemed…
Hazard winced as he, Ro, Dallia, and Jeddard crowded around the crystal wall, watching the High Queen negotiate with the prince. Originally, they were all going to just sit in their rooms but Jeddard had snuck them out, wanting to hold an “eavesdrop party.” At first they refused but curiosity won out in the end, and Jeddard somehow conjured an image of the throne room through the wall. Calling it a negotiation, however, was a misnomer: the prince had the political acumen of a toad with irritable bowels. Every other sentence out of his mouth was about how much better his homeland was, how great he was, or how undeserving the Stormlands were of the territory they were supporting.
“…Is he a drunk?’ If Hazard had been drinking anything, he would’ve spat it out at Dallia’s words. Ro was much less reserved, busting out into laughter. “That’s how he’s acting.”
“No, Dallia, I think he’s just… like that.” Hazard barely kept his own snickers, spurred on by Ro’s infectious joy, from leaking out.
“I think,” Vitala’s voice snapped them out of their reverie, bringing the focus back on the image, “I shall allow you to rest within the Spire for the day, Prince Hawken, but come the morrow you shall return home.”
The prince seemed absolutely aghast he was being dismissed. “What? Have you not retained what I’ve said? I-“
“My guards shall escort you and your coterie to the appropriate quarters.” Dallia waved a hand and royal guards began escorting away a protesting prince. “And guard? Have Lord Jeveraux brought to me.”
The High Queen pointedly turned to stare directly at the four, and Jeddard let out what could only be called a panicked hoot before closing the image. “Gotta go!”
Jeddard sprinted out of the room and the trio chuckled before Hazard sighed, pushing himself to stand. “We’re likely to get in trouble too. Better head for our rooms.”
The girls stood and the three began to leave for their rooms, guards finding them in the halls to scold them and lead them on. Ro and Hazard spent the next few hours idling away, Ro seemingly interested in Hazard’s attempts to scrawl out designs for a crystal camera and television, until finally it was time for dinner. They were sans guard this time as they moved throughout the halls, and Hazard broke up his mental lament over how many stairs were in the damned Spire by posing a question, “So, do you think we’ll meet Prince Ponce at dinner?”
Ro snorted and rolled her shoulders, “With any luck, he’ll be too grossed out by not eating on pure gold plates and demand to eat in his room.”
“We can dream.” Hazard managed to take the corner before Ro and smacked right into an armored form, sending him tumbling to the floor. Ro was quick to help him up and he saw the foreign knights and the Prince himself sneering down at him, while the man in the red doublet had his eyes narrowed.
“Ugh, the help.” The prince waved a hand. “Away, I must be off.”
The fop’s eyes seemed to narrow, and he hesitantly spoke up, “Ah, M-My Grace?”
“…Apologies, Your Grace.” Hazard stood and bowed, and Prince Lesko snorted before barging straight past Hazard with his knights and herald in tow. Hazard fell to the floor again, smacking his knees into the ground and he hissed as pain shot up his legs and into his spine.
“Haz!” Ro quickly scooped him up to stand again, grabbing his cane that he hadn’t realized he’d lost.
“I-I’m fine, Ro.” Hazard took a breath as he took the cane. “We couldn’t risk ang-“
A purple form and a black form blurred past Hazard, and his head shot up to see Dallia with a Royal Guard behind her. Dallia was marching like she was on a mission, approaching the other royal.
“Excuse me.” It was loud enough that it startled the guards at the back of the procession, and the group quickly turned to see Dallia standing resolutely. The fop’s eyes boggled as Dallia continued, “I believe Chevalluna is due an apology in kind.”
“…The servants of the Stormlands are certainly an audacious lot, aren’t they Romaine?”
“Your Grace…” The fop tries to warn urgently, but Prince Lesko crossed his arms.
“I know the education of those in the Stormlands may be lacking, child, but I am a prince.” The condescension in the prince’s voice was so thick it could stop a sword, and Romaine frantically tried to find a way to interrupt. “Go back to whatever scullery or tea party you came from. I am someone important. I-”
Whatever else the prince was about to say was lost as a splitting headache hit Hazard’s head and he watched a roiling darkness suddenly fill the hall behind the prince. It felt like the air itself was gripping everyone’s throats, and the Hazard saw the darkness all but slam the prince and his entourage to a kneeling position. Two blazing motes of light approached from the darkness, and the cloud parted to reveal Vitala. Hazard expected many things but not the pure ice in her tone.
“Who. Do you think. You are speaking to?” Hazard could feel the resonance in her voice as the Prince whipped his head to look at her, the man trying and failing to form words. “I asked you: who. Do you think. You were speaking to, in that tone?”
The Prince let out a strangled noise before falling to the floor. Romaine seemed to have the sense to fall into a position of full obeisance, and like demons out of hell Hazard saw the more Royal Guards skulk out of the storm and began to haul away the foreigners into the smoke. Slowly the magic dissipated until it was just Vitala standing in the hall, and she took one long, deep breath before kneeling down to Dallia, “Are you hurt?”
Dallia rapidly shook her head, silent as Vitala fussed over her a moment. When she saw Dallia was whole she stood, then approached the siblings. She held out a hand towards them, and Hazard tried to reach for her but realized at some point Ro had tightly wrapped her arms around him. His sister slowly stood, taking a step back while her eyes were locked onto the High Queen. Something crossed Vitala’s face that Hazard couldn’t place but he took a breath. “I… we, are unharmed. Just sore.”
His voice was much quieter than intended, followed with a heavy silence.
“…So, anyone hungry?” He ventured, hoping to relieve the tension. “I’m hungry, who’s hungry? You? You feeling like a roast?”
Hazard pointed to Dallia’s guard as best as he could in Ro’s group, and blessedly they all began to hesitantly return to normal before moving down the hall.
