AO 7 Ch 2

I hadn't even left the sightline of the guards on the wall before the three goddesses descended into my carriage.

Missy was looking fine with a purple silk dress cascading off of her while her dark hair fell in ringlets around her beautiful face. She smiled and her beauty mark and dimples were on full display.

"Here I was worried you were going to end up staying for a couple of nights and leave us cooped up in there," Ditzy was pretending to be in pain as she fluffed her blonde hair. In reality, she and the other two goddesses enjoyed Soulgard just fine.

They had made themselves quite at home, especially now that Missy and I had formally solidified our relationship. We'd made no effort to hide that she was now settling into Soulgard. I still didn't fully understand what our bonding would do. However, with the Ardenium ring on her finger, at least within my soul, she seemed able to shape the palace and had made a small wing for herself.

I would have been upset that she was using my special magical metal to redecorate. However, the truth was, the one time I even pretended to get upset with her over the concept, my face began to warm at the thought.

Suffice to say, she successfully convinced me that it wasn't all that bad for her to have so much latitude over what the palace looked like, especially if she was going to stay there so long-term.

Of course, that treatment had led to Ditzy and Bad Kitty coming to complain that I was playing favorites, to which I told them that they were definitely right. I mean, I was sleeping with Missy, obviously. There were certain changes in how I'd act with her. 

My response only made the other two goddesses act up in their own ways. Ditzy could really be a pain when she wanted to be, and Bad Kitty would not stop teasing me, especially with her mysterious disappearing tail.

Bad Kitty stretched out nearby, the thin blue fabric she was wearing straining against her chest.

"You know," Bad Kitty paused mid-stretch and tapped her lips, "we could have tolerated staying in there a little longer if perhaps we too had access to manipulate that wonderful metal." She smiled and batted her lashes at me before leaning over and exposing her sand-colored cleavage.

She stared at me eye to eye. Her tail appeared for the briefest moment, flickering at the edge of my vision before disappearing once again.

I couldn't help it. It was simply a human reaction for my eyes to follow that tail, and then she shifted, making my eyes land clearly on her posterior.

"There he goes again, staring at your ass," Ditzy said, crossing her arms with a pout.

"She's clearly baiting him," Emlyn said, my first anchor having grown accustomed to the three goddesses. "So it doesn't have as much meaning behind it as you'd like to attribute, Ditzy." Emlyn emphasized my name for her.

"It's Aphrodite to you." Ditzy narrowed her eyes. "Or perhaps something more respectful, like goddess of beauty or war," she said, scowling at Emlyn while flipping her hair.

"Sure, sure, whatever you'd like, Ditzy." Emlyn clearly wasn't going to budge. She refused to lose to anyone in stubbornness, including a goddess. But she wouldn't be my Emlyn any other way.

"At least be happy that they've modified the carriage. I thought for a minute Ard was going to actually make us travel around in a normal carriage. Do you realize how crowded that would have gotten?" Zuri said, walking out from the kitchen.

Inside the carriage was larger than a house. We were all sitting in a living room with plush couches. Though the whole structure did bump softly along like we were still in a carriage.

"It was just a small effort," Missy said with a smile on her face. I could feel the attention to detail and the complexity behind the magic she had used to shape the space. She was borrowing on the power within the Ardenium Palace now for everything that she did. But that was only fair given that the palace now contained all of the magical mojo that once made her a goddess.

"Well, if this is so simple," Eva said, "can you make a few of these for me?"

"I could, but your ability to power them continuously would be a problem." Missy sat back as a glass of wine appeared in her hands as her eyes twinkled.

"Uh-huh." Eva squinted at the goddess suspiciously. "I'm sure that's exactly why I can't have nice things."

"Well, if you already knew, then why ask? Besides, Arden was the one who decided we were going to take a horse-drawn carriage all the way to the capital. That'll be a week?" Missy asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

I swore their tongues grew sharper after being with me.

"Oh, I've never been good with the travel times," I admitted with a silly smile. "But we're in no hurry. A week sounds about right. And really, what does it even matter?" I held my arms apart and shrugged. "There's no time crunch. The war's over. The longer it takes for me to get to the capital, the more all the political nonsense should have settled down." I said, leaning back comfortably into Aurelia.

Even if she was more muscular than the other women, she provided plenty of comfort. Not to mention, amongst my anchors, she was the one who loved cuddles the most.

I tried to indulge each of them from time to time.

Aurelia stayed seated upright so that she could see out the windows. But secretly, I felt her hand pull me a smidge closer and her core relax.

"Can't forget that Ard jinxed this, though," Emlyn said. "We really do have to stay vigilant."

Everyone in the carriage nodded.

"I did not jinx it.” I narrowed my eyes on my first love.

“No, of course not." Missy reached over and patted my knee. "Just something out of your control is going to happen, and throw this whole trip into disaster."

"Exactly.” I nodded. “Wait, are you being sarcastic?" I squinted at her while the rest of the carriage broke into laughter.

"Regardless of what happens next, this is rather nice," I admitted. "I think at the Capital, we'll have to at least stop in and say ‘hi’ to the necessary family. And then, of course, we'll figure out what to do from there."

Everyone in the carriage, despite their jokes about my jinx, was sufficiently relaxed enough for me to smile at the whole situation.

And I had a whole thirty seconds of relaxing until Uncle Valken, who was driving the carriage, knocked on the window that I had been avoiding looking at, because all it was showing me was his rear end.

"Princess, I do apologize, but it seems we are going to be forced to stop." He reported.

A smile died on my lips. "What? What's happening now? We're not even-- we're just barely out of sight of the fortress." I did a double take behind me only to see the very tips of the fortress above the treeline.

"Young Lord Ard, I do believe they may have been waiting for just that. And though I am capable, it does seem I will require at least some assistance if I am to keep the princess safe." Uncle Valken told us, and I frowned at his assessment.

I nodded to Aurelia who already had her bluesteel battleaxe in her hands. She swept the door open, and jumped out, only to cast her gaze around, clearly marking multiple opponents, yet none close enough for her to start swinging.

I decided the area was safe enough to go investigate.

I emerged a second behind her, comforted by the knowledge that I would be safe with at least one anchor out in front of me. Not to mention, Emlyn and Maribelle were only a step behind me. 

The three goddesses had now disappeared from the interior of the carriage, leaving Zuri to guard Eva as necessary. 

"Oh, this is a warm welcome," I said, smiling at the black-robed figures that nearly lined the highway and filled the surrounding trees. They were really into committing suicide. "I had no idea that someone was preparing a reception for me." I did a small bow, not dipping my head enough to lose sight of the would-be assassins. 

"Arden Aldis, please step aside to spare your life. We are not here for you," a robed man spoke with an accent that I'd only heard from a few individuals in my life. 

"Hey, Eva, he kind of talks like you.” I called over.

“I'm afraid, Lord Aldis, that they may have been sent from Zenovia." Uncle Valken said.

"Oh, I guess if the war is going to cool down, they might try and solidify their power," I mused, rubbing my chin. "But why do you want Eva?"

"Lord Aldis, this does not concern you or the Avente kingdom. We simply require the princess. In fact, we've been asked to offer you generous terms, since it was expected we would run into you when searching for her." He stated, and I could tell that he was going to continue on, but I had heard all that was needed.

"Generous terms for letting you kill one of my women. Huh.” I tapped my chin. “You must be an idiot if that’s how you think I treat them," I smiled as spikes of hardened earth erupted underneath every assassin present.

To my shock and surprise, they all moved fast enough to dodge the spikes, several of them even stepping off the spikes and launching themselves towards the carriage. These assassins were all anchors. Which meant that someone was putting considerable effort into killing Eva.

They all completely ignored my anchors and Uncle Valken, going straight for Eva's life. 

"It's one thing if you don't laugh at my jokes. It's another to entirely ignore me," my tone grew dark as I snapped my fingers and a wall of lightning encased the carriage. 

Several of the assassins slammed into the wall hard enough to be fried and dropped on the spot. Others managed to get away with barely a tickle of lightning, and some even endured it spectacularly. I clenched my fist and a second stream of lightning surrounded the entire area, caging them all in. 

"Maribelle, do me a favor and keep the most important one alive." I commanded.

My maid shot forward. Despite appearances that she might be the kind a perverted young master would keep around, she was a trained and deadly assassin.

She slipped quickly into the ranks of our attackers and proved her abilities with merciless efficiency, not caring an ounce for her own protection. Instead, a pair of bluesteel daggers chased after each of the assassins, bearing death magic rippling off their tips. A single stroke from one of those should be enough to kill them slowly. 

"Arden Aldis, we are not your enemy," one of them tried to convince me as he backpedaled, barely staying alive under Maribelle's onslaught. All the others went down in a blink.

One was even stupid enough to throw himself at Aurelia, only to find that her strength vastly outmatched his. Her bluesteel axe came down far faster and stronger than he was prepared to handle. His parry was blown through, and the bracer he'd been hiding on his arm only stopped her blade for half a second before the metal of his bracer turned molten, and she cut through it like butter a blink later. In just moments, the assassins who'd still been standing were all on the ground, writhing in pain as death magic ate away the final vestiges of their life or clutching at cauterized limbs.

Emlyn hadn’t stepped away from me and by her expression, she was annoyed that the other two had taken all of her fun.

The scene at least wasn't particularly bloody, though it did quiet down as one of Maribelle's opponents ceased his screaming and his body began to decay rapidly. 

"Maribelle," I said, "I thought I told you to keep one alive?" 

She pointed at one of Aurelia's victims. "I think he's the one you'd like to talk to, sir." 

With a grasping motion, the earth bent to my will and a stone fist clenched the assassin she indicated, preventing him from going anywhere. 

Through all of this, Uncle Valken stood by the carriage inside the first screen of lightning, ready to protect Eva from any that made it close. However, he sadly shook his head. "I think I'm getting old," he said suddenly, clutching his back. 

"You're not old, Uncle," I laughed. "Some of us younger folks just have enough energy to do the hard work. I guess that's a good life. More importantly, Uncle, do you know these people?" I asked. 

That question seemed to make him look a decade older, which was impressive. Most people a decade older than him would already have one foot in the grave, which was impressive since he was at least 500 years old. 

"They are from Zenovia," he said with certainty. He gestured, and I nodded to Emlyn who, with careful sword strokes, cut off the cloth that they'd used to cover their face. What was behind the cloth meant nothing to me, but it was enough to get Eva to gasp. 

"Uncle, they are..." She started.

He nodded grimly. "They're palace trained men," he filled in, "which only brings me to the worst possible fear. I'm afraid, Ard, that Eva is no longer safe." He gestured at the man we had just revealed.

"Well, probably safer than she was before, if all of your palace’s people are assassins. I really have to question your cross-training methodology. I mean, I was really the only person who should have assassin maids, otherwise I’d be accused of being unoriginal.” I frowned.

"Ard, this isn't the time for jokes," Uncle Valken scowled at me. 

"Oh, it's exactly the time for jokes, Uncle. Because, it looks to me like Eva could use a few laughs." My eyes shifted to the woman who appeared completely heartbroken.

“If these are from the palace, am I correct in assuming that means someone from the Zenovian royal family just tried to kill Eva? As in, her own family just sent them for her?” I asked for confirmation.

Eva was silent and sullen within the carriage, looking out at the bodies as if hoping they would simply disappear. "It's fine. This was bound to happen eventually," Eva sniffed. A moment later, the expression of concern that had been on her face was gone, replaced by one that was far harder. "The moment I got comfortable with Ard, I was always going to become a threat to the throne." 

She had discussed her family on several occasions, never lingering on the topic for very long. But I knew enough to understand that she considered herself distant from the lines of succession. 

“Because I'm a four sphere mage, you are now suddenly a threat on the off chance that you could bring me back to Zenovia with you? Well… I have wanted to visit," I offered, rubbing my chin thoughtfully. 

"If you go back to Zenovia, you will undoubtedly stir up the succession process, Ard," Uncle Valken said. However, I noticed that it didn't sound like he was trying to dissuade me from the concept, simply informing me. 

"Yeah, well, I messed up the whole succession thing for Avente and Garish. So, why not go for a trifecta and mess up Zenovia's royal family too?" I shrugged. "It's only fair when you really think about it. Not to mention, someone was stupid enough to send assassins after someone I cared about. A wakeup call is in order." 

I stepped up to Eva and put a hand on top of her head, tilting it back enough to stare into her blue eyes and give her a quick kiss on the lips. "Really, if nothing else, I should remind Zenovia… no, I should remind the entire world… that it is a miserable idea to go after one of mine." I shrugged helplessly as if they had now forced my hand and that I was helpless to respond. 

"Of course, Ard," Uncle Valken had a small smile on his lips. "Someone going after Eva is the same as disrespecting you. It's a slap in the face." 

I nodded along in agreement. In truth, I didn't give a rat's ass about all the spouting of noble honor. However, at times it was a really good excuse to go mess people up. And really, it was also a wonderful excuse for me to get out of whatever political turmoil was about to erupt in the now kingless Avente. Even my mother might understand me avenging her own daughter-in-law.

Not to mention, with Carmilla the first prince and the third prince dead, the second prince had been hamstrung for years. And that was likely by Carmilla to prevent him from forming his own solid faction in the capital, but the end result now was that the royal family was essentially headless without anyone to give them direction. They were sitting ducks for any and every noble to cleanly usurp them and take over control of Avente.

"If you would like, Ard, I can even make a formal request for you to protect Eva, a member of the Zenovian royal family," Uncle Valken suggested. "That way, even your grandfather can't be upset if you prioritize that over what's happening in the capital."

I began nodding along. "Yes, yes. Of course. Eva's my woman, and a formal request from a neighboring country, especially with the current instability at large, should take priority over whatever arranged marriages or other things my mother might be dealing with in the background." I continued to nod along as all my anchors looked at me strangely. 

"You do realize your mother was in a hard spot where it came to that, don't you, Ard?" Emlyn frowned at me. "If your mother had any other option, she would have taken it."

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. "She still tried to marry me off without even talking to me about it first."

"Or maybe she knew you well enough that she could make the promise, knowing you could find your way out of it," Zuri offered. "After all, your mother was having your entire noble family essentially sent to the chopping block by the king. It wouldn't shock me if she made a deal that she knew you would renege on."

I frowned, trying to think about it from several angles before ultimately shrugging. "Whatever. What's happened has happened. I won't hold it against my mother too much." I winked at my anchors only to get a few groans from them.

“Ard.” Emlyn warned.

"What? She should get some punishment for that if she really wanted me to object to it and fight it on my own." I hesitated and suddenly frowned. 

"Figured it out, did you?" Emlyn asked with a smirk. "The best way she could have ever gotten you to fight it was to demand that you do it."

I frowned and then my frown turned into a scowl as I realized the truth of Emlyn's words and cursed. "All right, all of you back in the carriage. Also, if my mother is conning me, you should probably be a good little anchor and tell me." I sighed at Emlyn

Only for my anchor to shrug. "But we were all in agreement. It was good for you to not get married, and you fought her marriage. As far as I'm concerned, on this one, I am on the same team as your mother."

I grumbled under my breath, "All of you are so subservient to my mother. Heck, one of you was even her maid." I scowled at Missy as she reappeared in the carriage as the threat of discovery passed, and Maribelle dragged in the one living, unconscious member of the palace guard. 

"If you would take over the reins, Miss Aldis," Uncle Valken said, coming into the carriage and bowing to her, "I will take our prisoner and get an update on the situation back home, if you don't mind."

Maribelle scowled at him before turning to me with adoring eyes, essentially asking me what she should do. 

"They're his people, Maribelle. He probably feels responsible in dealing with them," I made up some random excuse that appeared to be satisfactory enough for everyone involved.

Maribelle handed off her prisoner and marched up to the driver's seat of the carriage. "Do make sure to thank him properly," Maribelle said to Eva while she glared into the other woman's eyes. "If your people cause too many problems for sir, I think I would rather cut off his relationship to the problems to solve it, if absolutely necessary." Maribelle then passed by Eva, causing the princess to shudder.

"Well, now that that's done and we are talking about future plans," Missy said, sliding in next to me before my mantikitten, Aurelia, could regain her snuggle partner. "We'll have to look for Freya, and traveling widely will only help us."

I nodded, thinking about how we would get down to Zenovia before I realized we would pass by the village Emlyn and I grew up in if we were to head down that way. 

"We'll just have to do a little traveling, like you said. It's been a while since I've had the time to enjoy the southern countryside.” I smiled to myself.

“Ard, do you realize that if we go back, it's just going to look like a shithole to you?" Emlyn asked.

"Hey now," I scowled at Emlyn. "That's my shithole. Thank you very much."

Emlyn snorted. "Our shithole. Don't try and take credit from me, Ard."

"Oh, I would never," I said, holding my hands up in defense.

"Do I need to remind you about that one time..." Emlyn sighed as she prepared to launch into some of our stories from the past.