Tales of Alavern Pt. 05

She arrived in the surprisingly empty guard room after a long five minute walk. Normally, there would be a guard or two in here taking a quick nap or enjoying a small break in their action but the room was bare of even left-behind armor. She only allowed herself to wonder on the unusualness of it for a moment before the exhausted part of her mind yelled at her to stop thinking and drop off her armor already.

The armor hit her bed with a soft plop and she grabbed a small, personal scroll from the alcove in the wall that was designated as hers. It was a collection of new poems by some newer storyteller that had been getting a lot of good word of mouth, being one of the only new pieces of literature released after the arrival of Cyrus to the Alavern Isles. Apparently, the poems held theories on how he made it there in the first place as well as a retelling of his battle with Naomi. She was excited to see if this particular storyteller could match up to the unusual battle she herself had witnessed that fateful day.

"Alexis?" a familiar voice called out to her, "What are you doing here?" Alexis turned her head to see the figure of Rhonda, who had been her understudy when she was still in training. The rookie guard had a rare shade of dark skin and a messy head of curls that she dyed a different color every time the moon disappeared from the night sky. Apparently, this moon cycle's color was green. How she managed to get her hair to achieve that color, Alexis couldn't even fathom.

"I am dropping off my armor. The King gave me the rest of the day to rest after taking care of his child." Alexis answered, her exhaustion showing more in her tone than she'd meant it to.

"Oh, well aren't you the lucky one? Most of the rest of us have been reassigned to the Mother's Pool to prevent the large rush of our people who swarmed to it once the news of the child just born from it made rounds." Rhonda said. "The Queen is going to have a hell of a time restoring order in regards to the pool after she regains the crown tomorrow."

"Indeed she is." Alexis agreed with a smile. "Though I am looking forward to how people will regard Cyrus's short reign once he no longer wields the crown."

"It is sure to be interesting." Rhonda said with a cute laugh. "Well try and enjoy yourself today, Alexis. I just came in to grab my club in case I need to incapacitate someone without cutting them."

"Thank you, Rhonda. Be well and be safe today." Alexis said to her former understudy. Rhonda nodded with another bright smile, grabbing the short, thin club from her own alcove before heading out in a hurry. She had always been the active type, even back during training. Both Alexis and Brianna had expected that disposition to break when training got intense but somehow that smile never left her face.

"Nope. None of that." Alexis scolded herself aloud, "You made a promise to yourself. You're going to keep it." A small pang of hurt hit her chest as she remembered said promise to not pay attention to the beauty of other women after her ex, Samantha, had so painfully broken up with her. Now she had nothing left of that romance in her heart, save the cloth they both enjoyed flavoring and using as a gag. It was continually stuffed in her hip purse, since Alexis couldn't quite bear to throw away the last shred of that love so cruelly tossed aside.

She sucked in a deep breath and held it until the pain went away, letting it all out loudly as the lack of oxygen made her light-headed. The fuzziness helped blur her thoughts until they were naught but an incoherent buzz that could no longer distract her. Alexis stuck her hand in her alcove again, grabbing a handful of shells to pay for anything she needed to enjoy today and tossing them in her hip purse before leaving the shared barracks.

Alexis walked leisurely through the halls, trying to get herself into a relaxed frame of mind but the odd-feeling quietness of the palace just wouldn't let her be. She knew now that the guards were all busy keeping the Mother's Pool from being swarmed, but where were the servants? There should still be people keeping walls and floors clean, taking supplies here and there, and even the other physics who lived in the palace moving between the library and their studies.

She found her answer as she approached the Royal Chambers on her way out. A massive crowd of what had to be just about every single royal servant were swarming the King's door, asking questions or making demands in an unintelligible sea of noise. The area in front of the Royal Chambers had been turned into a madhouse. She readied herself to go butt in, off-duty or not, but was spared from having to push her way in when a familiar, loud, shrill whistle made everyone in the hallway flinch. The sea of Verni heads turned almost all at once towards the source, the Captain.

Brianna glared down the entire hallway, dressed in full armor and conspicuously lacking Naomi anywhere nearby. Her commanding presence froze everyone in place and she strutted with purpose towards them all. Even after all these years, Alexis still marveled at the power she managed to hold over everyone just by being in the same room as them.

"Is it treason then?" Brianna asked them all in an icy tone. "Two months of having the King wear the crown and you've all decided to attack now? Is that it?" There was a wave of denial that emanated from nearly every mouth for a brief moment before Brianna silenced them all with another painful whistle. "I'll hear no excuses. You all work for the palace. You know the procedures if you need to speak with the crown. Disperse now, before I decide to apply force."

The crowd did as she asked without even a second's hesitation and Alexis slipped into their numbers before the Captain spotted her and took away her day off. There was a tiny bit of shame she felt, fleeing the scene like that but it was overpowered by the thought of having to deal with everyone else's baby issues after looking after the King's child all morning. She was going to snap if she was forced to deal with a mob that demanded to be mothers.

Getting out of the palace after that was a surprisingly simple task, with everyone quickly going back to their own duties while she simply headed towards the front gate. The largest entrance was barred shut, likely to prevent a much larger mob than the one in front of the royal chambers from rushing into the palace when they eventually realized that the Mother's Pool wasn't going to become accessible again until the crown said so. Thankfully, there was a smaller door that allowed for an individual or two to leave on their own business that was mostly used by the guards coming to and from the palace. Only a single guard stood posted in front of it, someone who was clearly a rookie being kept from the more intense action for now.

The guard didn't even recognize Alexis as the Captain's second, simply waving her through before locking the door behind her. Alexis breathed a sigh of relief as she walked away from the palace, glad to be far enough away now to not get dragged easily back into her armor. She knew that there was going to be a bit of unrest for some time over this and that she likely wasn't going to get another day off anytime soon, so she had to make the most of this unscheduled day off. She had a small internal debate with herself on whether to begin her day by going to the beach or heading to the market, but remembered her earlier thoughts about the new literature and decided that the market should come first.

She headed through the town that stretched out from the palace, once again taken by how eerily quiet everything was. She at least saw a few people here and there, mostly people who couldn't abandon their businesses to join the mob at the Mother's Pool, but even some of the businesses had closed their doors. She hurried along towards the main marketplace, able to get through much faster than usual due to the lack of the usual crowd and arrived right in front of the small stand that sold literature. The kindly old woman who owned it smiled gently as Alexis approached.

"Hello again, Miss Alexis. It's been some time since you've come to visit me. I'm surprised that you aren't with the bunch swarming the Mother's Pool right now." the stand's owner said to her.

"Yes well, I figure I have plenty of time. Plus, I've been taking care of the King's child for most of the morning. He is...needy." Alexis muttered, sighing out the last word. The owner laughed softly, her smile wrinkling her face even further than it already was.

"All children are needy, especially when they are still in diapers. Motherhood is not something to be entered into lightly. Though I suppose I can't speak poorly of all the souls trying to rush into it now, not when the option has been denied them for so very long." the owner said softly, "But enough of that dour talk for now. I'm sure you came here for something to read, not to begin dealing with something you'll no doubt be dealing with for some time to come."

"I came because I'd heard about a new scroll, one which tells about some stuff I had my own ideas about." Alexis replied, scanning the rows of scrolls until she saw the one with the seal of a red horse. "There it is!" The owner turned around, looking at where Alexis pointed and reached up to grab it out of its tiny alcove.

"Ah, I see the one now. Not very popular, but I've read through it. Pretty fun." the old stand owner said as she grabbed the scroll. "You were there that day, right? Did he really not use a weapon to fight?"

"That's correct." Alexis replied, fishing a few shells out of her purse and placing them on the counter. "Will this be enough?"

"Honestly, probably a little too much but I'm happy to take it all the same." the owner said with humor in her voice as she placed the scroll on the counter. She swept the shells into a purse of her own and quickly wrote up a bill of sale on a tiny scrap of paper. "Thank you for your business, as always...and welcome to you, miss."

Alexis turned towards where the owner had turned her gaze, wondering who else would be here given today's events. Her heart stopped in her chest as she saw Samantha, standing just a short distance away and directing a smile Alexis knew all too well directly at her. It was the same gaze Samantha had always given her when she was trying to be seductive, with carefully half-lidded eyes and her lips jutting out ever so slightly as if begging to be nibbled on. Memories and feelings stormed in Alexis's head and heart, swirling madly as her chest tightened and her breath left her body. She didn't want to be here. Not now. Not with her.

"Alexis...it's been a while. I've missed you." Samantha said in a sweet voice, slowly walking closer. Her long black hair swayed from side to side with each step and her gray eyes stayed locked onto Alexis's brown ones.

"You..missed me?" Alexis repeated in a stunned tone. She let the words sink in and the shock began to turn to anger. She felt her body heat up and the beginnings of tremors in her hands as they slowly curled to fists. "You missed me?!" she repeated again, screaming this time.

"Yes...I did." Samantha said, acting as though she couldn't hear the anger in Alexis's voice. "I know I was so upset when you stopped trying for a child and I know I hurt you when I left..."

"In the middle of my shift, with nothing but a note telling me we were done!!" Alexis screamed, her hands now completely balled into fists as her courage grew alongside her anger. "Why bother coming back now?!"

"Because I realized you were right, my sunbeam." Samantha replied, using her old pet name for Alexis in a sugary voice. "What has happened has proven that you were right. That I should have listened to you when you explained why you didn't want to try the Mother's Pool again. I'm so sorry. Please, can we try again?"

Alexis froze again as she heard those words. The same words she had dreamed of hearing for so long from Samantha. The chance to go back to when she had more to her life than her job and distracting herself with books. The chance to fall back in love with the woman who had conquered her heart those many years ago. It was so tempting...

"Please?" Samantha said again as she came closer and gently cupped Alexis's cheek with her hand. Her voice was all softness and sugar and her eyes shone slightly as though she could cry at any moment. "We couldn't move forward back then because of that one road block, but now that roadblock is gone. We can have a child together now, just like I'd wanted so badly for us. You could get us in and everything can finally be as it always should have been with us."

"I..." Alexis stuttered. Her mind was at war with her heart. She of course had heard the obvious allusion to using her position to sneak into the pool, but the woman she had loved so fiercely was right there now. She wanted to be together again. She wasn't sure if her loneliness or her desire not to be hurt so badly again was stronger.

"Samantha?!" a stranger's voice called out in outrage. Alexis watched as Samantha's eyes grew wide and fearful before she turned to the source of the voice, a fellow Verni with short, blonde hair a shade or two darker than Alexis's own and dull blue eyes. "Who is this...and why are you cozying up to her? Why did you leave me at the Mother's Pool?! We were supposed to have a child together, just like you always wanted for us!"

Everything clicked into place in an instant for Alexis and she threw Samantha's hand away. Her anger returned instantly to a volcanic eruption as she glared down her former lover and the new woman she had attempted to cheat on with apparently not even a second thought. She knew this was the moment that proved once and for all that it was over, and that it was time to move on. Alexis reached into her hip purse and pulled out the flavored gag, shoving it onto Samantha's chest as she pushed her away hard.

"I'm two people!" she shouted to Samantha's lover. "I'm the last one she had, and the other woman who's too good for her! Take my advice and find someone who actually deserves you!" Alexis turned and snatched her newly-purchased scroll off of the counter and pushed her way past her ex and her ex's new lover. Alexis knew that she was right, that she deserved better. For the time being, better meant her favorite bar and a tall mug of something very strong. Hopefully, she could still enjoy her new scroll while she got drunk. After all, tomorrow was going to be a very big day.

Chapter 5

Rays of warm sunlight shone into the room from the balcony just outside where Cyrus waited for Naomi and the others to arrive. He took a deep breath that he hoped would help him fight his urge to pace back and forth, glancing for just a moment at the enormous crowd of Verni who had gathered in front of the palace to witness Cyrus finally returning the crown to Naomi. Brianna had escorted him up there but promptly left again to get Naomi, who was currently elsewhere in the palace speaking with her mothers.

That just left him alone with Alexis, who had slight bags under her eyes and hadn't said a word to him all day. Not even the usual brief hello he had grown used to. The thought that maybe she had as much trouble falling asleep last night as he did crossed his mind, but that didn't really seem right to him. Not that he knew Alexis especially well, but he felt pretty confident that she was just dealing with a nasty hangover based on how she kept trying to keep her eyes away from the bright light of the late morning.

"Are you holding up okay, Alexis?" Cyrus asked, half out of genuine concern and half just to keep himself calm.

"No, but I'll power through it." she replied, a bit grumpy. "I'm not going to regret how much I hate how I feel though. Yesterday needed a lot of strong drinks. Today just needs to be survived."

"That's certainly true enough." Cyrus agreed. "What do you think my odds of surviving after today are?"

"Probably depends on how well the child crisis gets handled. I'd give you half and half odds." Alexis joked. Cyrus cringed a bit at her words and she frowned. "Sorry. I was trying to joke to lighten the mood. Probably ought to leave that sort of thing for when I'm sober from now on."

"I appreciate the attempt. Just...not sure what I can really do. All I've been doing so far is just...rolling with it and hoping it all works out." Cyrus replied. The door opened right at the tail end of his sentence and in walked Naomi, Brianna, Jura, Megara holding Brian in her arms, and Naomi's other mother Artemia. Cyrus hadn't really met Artemia before today, but had heard a bit about her from Naomi here and there after he had met Jura.

Artemia was extremely blonde, her hair practically white with the faintest whispers of gold spun into the color, with much skinnier arms than he'd expect one of Naomi's parents to have and an infinitely softer aura about her than Jura. She seemed to study Cyrus from afar, her body language conveying a mix of nervousness and curiosity that he was used to seeing from most of the Verni who didn't live in the palace.

"Cyrus, this is my wife Artemia." Jura said as she stepped forward with all the regal confidence Cyrus remembered her possessing from their first meeting. "Artemia, the first and hopefully last King of the Verni... Cyrus of Las Vegas."

"Pleasure to meet you." Cyrus said as cheerfully as he could. "Naomi's told me a little about you here and there, whenever I get nosy enough to pry into her life beyond the palace."

"I see..." Artemia replied as she kept her distance. Cyrus had tried to come off as friendly as he could, hoping he exuded a bit more goofball than usual but it was hard for him to really feel in control of himself with how nervous he was. He hoped she wasn't offended.

"Two whole words! Mother, you've grown so outgoing!" Naomi teased. She grinned at her other mother like a fox and earned a small glare from Artemia for her trouble.

"He is a man, Naomi. You will forgive me for being uncomfortable, even if he is as good a person as you've suggested." Artemia scolded her daughter. Naomi gave her mother a soft, disappointed look before speaking again.

"He's one of my closest friends, not merely just a good person. In the short time I've known him, he's grown closer to me than anyone else I know save for Brianna and the both of you. To him, I'm just...me. Not the queen's daughter, or the queen herself. It's been...nice. A part of me will be sad to give it up to take back the crown." Naomi explained softly.

"Please take the crown back. I promise I'll still be your friend. I really don't want to be king anymore." Cyrus begged, only half joking. Everyone else in the room burst into laughter at the pitiful tone he used, even a reluctant Artemia, and he grinned playfully at all of them.

"Are all men like this?" Artemia asked her wife. Jura smirked between their daughter and Cyrus as she debated on how best to answer Artemia. Naomi beat her to the punch after fighting down her laughter.

"By his own admission, Cyrus is a very unusual man. Now come on, we can't keep everybody waiting all day." Naomi said, grabbing the crown from the pillow Cyrus had placed it on and gently placing it on his head. It barely managed to stay on, his head a little rounder than Naomi's and his hair bunched up awkwardly under the silver circlet.

Cyrus led them outside at Naomi's silent insistence onto the balcony that overlooked the front area of the palace. The enormous crowd fell mostly silent as he stepped right up to the railing, followed by Brianna in her full ornamental armor and Naomi in a flowing, light yellow outfit with slits cut for her legs to more easily move. Megara stood a short distance behind them all, barely visible with Brian squirming energetically in her arms and attempting to reach out for whatever he could. Jura and Artemia stood hand in hand behind their daughter, whispering between themselves at the difference in demeanor between Naomi and Cyrus. Naomi stood as regally as the day Cyrus had first met her, while he struggled just to keep himself from shaking as he took a deep breath and began speaking.