Cataclysm Conquest | Chapter 10: A Day in the Life (First Draft)

Sunday, November 27, 4 S.E.

Leonidas awoke at the crack of dawn, peering over to where Aylar was snuggled up against him and smiling at his sleeping wife. He shifted a moment later, kissing her forehead and gently unwrapping his arms from her as her blue eyes opened.

“{Good morning, my love,}” she murmured tiredly, smiling at him wearily.

“{Good morning, my love,}” he replied in kind, bending to kiss her gently on the lips for a moment, and then kissed her nose. “{I have a full schedule today. Will you be alright in the room?}”

The Queen snorted quietly in amusement and rolled over, stretching on the bed languidly and then pulling the covers to obscure her nudity again, much to his momentary disappointment

“{Go be the King,}” Aylar replied warmly and reached up to gently massage her scalp. “{The little ones have been lively lately. I think I will enjoy the rest day.}”

Leonidas smiled at her wryly and noted the time on his HUD: 0640 Hours.

“{Well, I still have twenty minutes before I am actually meant to awaken,}” Leonidas murmured, and pulled back the blankets. “{If you are feeling energetic, I mean.}”

Aylar blinked at him, glanced down at his own lack of clothes, and then grinned at him.

“{Oh, husband,}” she demurred, “{I am always energetic.}”

Leonidas laughed, and the Queen reached out for him, pulling him toward her hungrily.

*

Just under twenty minutes later, Leonidas left his bed and his contented wife to make his way to the bathroom, undertaking his morning ablutions while considering what he had in store. There was a Council meeting with the Ministers, a visit to the latest batch of Legion trainees, a review of the Royal Academy’s submitted curricula, and a scheduled block of training with Ceruviel at her Estate.

He’d meet with John and Sonya, spar with the former, and then bring them both back to the Palace so that both of them could have her lessons with Aylar on statecraft. Ceruviel had agreed John needed them, and Sonya wanted them, so it was something Aylar was more than happy to provide—it gave her something to do.

After that, he needed to receive the report from Kairi relating to the latest Ordo Umbrae operation he’d been told about before bed, travel out to inspect the new Legion Fortresses, and the progress on the barrier walls they were constructing around the Avalonian heartlands to protect their agriculture—a massive endeavor, and too immense to justify [Aetherium] expenditure—before making his way into the City again to find a good location for the Britannian Embassy.

After that, he’d need to inspect the Arena for the upcoming games, and then meet with Uriel to review the progress of the Aegis and hear the Dawn-Lord’s suggestions for expanding the force without compromising its efficacy or discipline—a task Ceruviel had been more than happy to leave in her counterpart’s hands.

After that, he’d have a late lunch with his parents, wife, and intended, followed by a visit with Synthra to the Adventurers’ Guild, a check in on the new Aureates approved by Ceruviel and Mernyn, and then—finally—he’d have some free time before his scheduled dinner with Xarina.

Aylar had been the one to arrange the last as a weekly thing, and while he loved his wife and her sense of duty, he couldn’t deny that the dinners were strained more often than not. Xarina was beautiful; there was no doubt there, but she was also stubborn and taciturn. He enjoyed her company, in the rare times she opened up, but getting her to do so was like trying to wedge a piston press with his bare hands.

Leonidas finished his shower after ten minutes, dried himself off, and then made his way to the closet to pick out his clothes for the day: a black long-sleeve shirt embroidered with gold dragons along the wrists, collar, and the central line for the buttons; a matching pair of form-fitting black breeches with the same draconic embellishment, and a pair of calf-high boots in the same style.

He wore a lot of black, he reflected.

Not that he cared. He liked the vibe.

The King finished dressing himself by 0715, walked over to kiss his wife goodbye with a murmur of gratitude from Aylar, and then made his way toward the door.

Being King was supposed to make my life awesome, he lamented wryly as he opened it, and nodded to Mernyn, standing with several report documents in his hands, which Leonidas accepted with a sigh. Instead, I feel like it just got more onerous. The Queen is one hell of a bonus, though.

The Primarch and the two Echelons assigned to Leonidas for the morning fell into step with the Archon-King as he made his way down the corridor and started to read the first report.

It was going to be a very long day.

*

Kairi rolled out of bed with a spring in her step, shivering at the bliss of post-intimate energy and glancing back at where Parnym lay exhausted in her bed, his arm over his eyes as he tried to recover. The Princess grinned to herself in satisfaction and made her way toward the shower, uncaring for her nudity as she waltzed into the bathroom languidly.

Her day was going to be relatively fruitful, all things considered.

The Aegis had liberated over two dozen potential slaves from the scumbags she, Bardulf, and Xarina had taken down, and there were at least ten children of various races that would be reunited with terrified parents that morning. She doubted the citizens would know the part she and her Specters had played, but Kairi didn’t care. She did what she did for the result, not for fame.

That, and she had to admit, part of it was for love of the game, so to speak.

Her attention drifted to the clock in her HUD, and she hummed to herself, satisfied that she had time. Her schedule for the day was relatively straightforward: visit the Ordo Umbrae headquarters and read the new reports from her foreign agents, have a mid-morning brunch with her parents—at Aylar’s insistence, though she found it harder and harder to refuse her incorrigibly sweet sister-in-law—and then organize another operation against the trafficking ring’s remnants.

Ceruviel’s interrogation of the two ring-leaders had revealed a larger cabal of scumbags in Dawnhaven than any of them had been expecting, and she’d gone on two more assaults with Xarina and Bardulf the same night, joined by the Dusk-Lord for the third, which had been just plain fun. Seeing Ceruviel detonating people’s skulls or mind-fucking them so hard they ceased to be people had been a mix between terrifying and awesome.

The thought that her brother would be incomparably stronger at Venerate made her fiercely proud.

After she dispatched her Specters to clean up the remnants, she’d skip on down to the Adventurers’ Guild, meet with Synthra and Sinalthria, and discuss her next steps toward Ascendant. The Guild Mistress had been very helpful in giving her advice for the Tempering, and the fact that she could end up Tribulating had been heavily emphasized, given her bloodline and prodigious growth. Kairi had taken it seriously and spoken to Ceruviel and Uriel, both of whom had agreed to help her.

Between the Venerates, Sinalthria, and surprising offers of aid from Yvrain and Mernyn, she had three Ascendants and two Venerates at least to help keep her safe. The fact that they’d managed to convince her overprotective brother not to interfere was just the icing on the cake. She expected Leonidas to do something eventually, but her dumbass sibling wasn’t even a Contender, and he’d still try to protect her somehow despite the massive risks to himself.

The thought made the remnants of the girl she’d been smile happily, and Kairi finished her shower a few minutes later.

She stepped out into her room thereafter and reveled in how good the showers felt, idly summoning her contraception potion from her ring and taking two sips as needed. She had to do it roughly every twenty-four hours to avoid any accidents, and while part of her lamented the act, the greater part of her understood the necessity. She loved Parnym, but they weren’t married yet, and she wasn’t looking to get knocked up out of wedlock.

Sex was well and good, but Kairi still had some ironclad values from her upbringing, and she wasn’t going to be anyone’s unmarried baby machine.

Her footsteps carried her to her wardrobe, and she picked out her clothing for the day: a dark blue blouse, resplendent with silver dragons on the wrists and collar, and a pair of flattering blue jeans that she wiggled into.

My ass has gotten bigger. Must be the food. These chefs are crazy.

A satisfied glance back at herself in the mirror followed, and Kairi made finger-guns at her own reflection before selecting a pair of socks and her favorite boots, flouncing back toward the bed to sit down and pull them on. Parnym stirred when she did, and Kairi grinned back at him.

“Recovered, yet?”

The Mender sighed heavily and peered at her blearily.

“Your stamina is absurd,” he complained musically, his soft voice sending delightful shivers down her spine. “I feel emaciated.”

“You’ll live,” Kairi said bracingly, and leaned back to kiss him thoroughly on the mouth. “But stop fucking around and find me a ring. If you want kids, Parnym, I want to be a wife first.”

The Mender blushed at her words and murmured his acceptance, falling back onto the bed with an exhausted sigh. Kairi smiled in self-satisfaction and laced up her boots, pushing herself up smoothly and twirling on the spot.

“What do you think?” she asked, taking special care to wiggle her backside at him in a tease.

“I think you look more beautiful every day,” Parnym replied with quiet sincerity, while shaking his head. “I had no idea Terrans had such soft skin until I met you.”

“I moisturize,” Kairi said primly, and then shrugged. “Plus, those depilation creams from the Store work wonders. I haven’t had to shave in months, my skin breathes so well now, and these clothes are great at preventing chafing. You Alterans know your stuff.”

Parnym nodded idly at her words and let out a breath, at which point Kairi smiled fondly.

“Get some sleep, babe,” she said bracingly, and wiggled her fingers at him. “I’m off to go give more Nobles nightmares.”

Parnym laughed quietly at her words and peered over at her.

“Try not to start a civil war, my love,” he said wryly.

“No promises!” Kairi shot back, blew him a kiss, and skipped toward the door.

A second was taken to orient herself, and then she pulled them open, fixing her Eidolon mask onto her face and meeting the Royal Guard Echelon waiting for her outside.

“Your Royal Highness,” Penuviel Saran, her Exemplar, greeted her dutifully. The Haelfar woman appeared to be in her mid-thirties, with bright green hair, deep blue eyes, and a permanent expression of faint mirth. Kairi had been skeptical when Leonidas had assigned her to Kairi at first, but she’d quickly warmed to Penuviel. She was like a fun older sister at times, and she never complained about Kairi’s frequent disappearances. She just took them in stride.

That was a level of pragmatic chill that Kairi could vibe with.

“Morning, Exemplar, Aureates,” she greeted them all, drawing a thump of halberds from her detail. “I’m off to the Ordo headquarters. You know the drill.”

Penuviel nodded, and the Echelon outside her doors bowed their heads.

“We will keep the Chapter in reserve at the headquarters during any missions unless called for,” the Exemplar said dutifully. It was an agreement she’d forced Leonidas to concede to, and in turn, forced Mernyn and the Aureates to accept. She’d deal with being protected when she wasn’t acting in her capacities, but a bunch of shiny golden bodyguards were counter-productive to her activities as Eidolon, and her brother had—at her blessed sister-in-law’s urging—conceded to let her leave them behind when she was acting in that capacity.

“Excellent,” Kairi said approvingly, and stuffed her hands into her jeans pockets as she set off. “So, you know the usual, Penny,” she said to her Chapter leader, grinning up at the Haelfar. “What’s the gossip? Who’s fucking who?”

The Exemplar smiled sardonically at her question, but spoke anyway.

Kairi felt herself grin as the various observed entanglements were laid bare.

Man, she thought to herself, being a Princess is so damn easy.