February 27th, 626

Umara took a sip from her cup of tea, rather impressed with the flavor. 

The butler set down the kettle and stood to the side, ready to serve them should they indicate. 

She and Vatsy remained silent for a few moments, Umara scrutinizing his Aura, even though she had already done so before. 

Perhaps it was the talent of those who came from Earth, but Vatsy was still impressive despite John’s general disgust for his lack of urgency. An Authority 9 Warlock after only 8 years of casual work and advancement, having started late in his life since he came from Earth as an adult. He really was a genius by every metric. Even his Aura was developed. 

But not as much as it could be. If John and Aki were any indication, people from Earth had endless potential. John hadn’t been able to sense the depths of Aki’s Aura and his was greater than Umara’s. 

The fact that Umara could clearly see the bounds of Vatsy’s Aura meant that, as John said, he really was too lazy. 

The man spoke and interrupted her thoughts. 

“So, Madam Talerria. Can I assume you’ve come in John’s stead?”

“I have. I’d like to start with an apology. John is still on edge. I hope you can understand and forgive, considering what we’ve recently come back from.”

She saw Vatsy frown, reluctance filling him. Being called lesser than a steaming pile of dog shit certainly wasn’t conducive to healthy relations, but if Vatsy was worth his salt then he certainly knew what had happened two months ago on the frontlines. 

It was an attempt not to earn his sympathy, but force him to bend despite the poor treatment. Besides, it wasn’t like Umara disagreed with what John said. 

She was pissed too. She just found it difficult to show it when John was overflowing with hatred and rage. He had enough for both of them. 

And she only needed to repair relations enough to get something out of Vatsy, perhaps spare him from John’s wrath. She didn’t want to see him walk down that road unnecessarily. 

Vatsy acknowledged Umara’s apology with a few moments of silence before moving on. 

“I can assume you will be at the King’s Assembly?”

“Yes, as will John.”

“It was described as a meeting to discuss the future of the military’s battle against the Scourge, but it is more an opportunity for political change. Nobles from all corners will be swept into this storm and they all want to ensure the continuity of their lines. This means favors and new laws, especially regarding weapons that can affect the life and death of their growing children in the military.”

Umara nodded, finally realizing what was going to be happening. 

Sure, Vatsy wanted a piece of the gargantuan pie known as Sawn Industries, but it wasn’t as if he had come without something in exchange. The recent fall of the Treehouse and Stronghold Charlie meant that Nobles would have to step up to ensure the Scourge couldn’t simply march across the River of Desolation. But of course, they didn’t see the Scourge itself as an issue to fix, but an inevitable problem that they had to protect themselves against at the expense of others. 

When fighting resulted in nothing but losses, they chose to avoid it rather than solve it. 

The King’s Assembly, in a way, had nothing to do with the fight against the Scourge. It was a political battleground and Vatsy had come to John looking to help protect him and his new industry from the turmoil.

It would naturally demand favors from John but that’s what it meant to be political allies. There were no prices in this game, only promises. 

And you couldn’t make promises without the reputation to back them, which John had just shattered in Vatsy’s mind. Umara felt her head ache thinking about how she would go about this, but at the same time, she wasn’t too worried. 

She changed the subject once more. 

“You and John are from the same place, yes?”

“Something like that. You could think of us as people from two different distant cities.”

“On the planet Earth, right?”

Vatsy eyed her, Umara resting back into her chair while combing her hair. 

She was glad that her hair had grown quickly in the last two months. It was back to resting between her shoulder blades, just as she liked it. 

But it was no longer gray. It was sheer white and subtly glowing silver, like the light from the King Blood of Unholy Light. Even her eyebrows and eyelashes were white. She had been jarred when the little strands of hair had come back in and revealed their color, but she had also found that it afforded her the mystique to captivate others when she talked. She was regularly stared at everywhere John brought her. 

He had described to her the ethereal nature of her voice and presence due to the Crown. She decided that it was perfectly suited toward things like this. 

She smiled. 

“I heard about everything from John. You two are otherworlders, from Earth. He says he’s from Texas.”

“Of course he is.”

“But I suppose like in every place, there are divisions between peoples. What is it that he called you?”

“I am from England, of the United Kingdom on the island of Great Britain. That is all you need to know.”

Umara chuckled. John had shown her a map of his world, educated her on the difference between his United States and other countries. It seemed to be a great source of his pride, to be from America, because unlike her world, Earth was full of different nations. It was like the feud between the Church and Kingdom, except between nearly 200 different countries. 

She was no longer surprised that he hadn’t cared about making Vatsy angry. He didn’t care that they were from the same world. Vatsy was from Europe, which John seemed to regard with some disdain according to his descriptions of the various continents of Earth, though not as much disdain as others.

She decided to play dumb. 

“Well, I don’t know much about the differences between your allegiances, but I do agree with your previous words. You and John are a scarce breed. There are not many from Earth and it is good to take care of each other in an unfamiliar world.”

“He doesn’t seem to think so.”

“No, he just doesn’t care. John Cooper has built himself an empire that, in recent months, has become bigger than anybody realizes. He coins the phrase, “Too big to fail.” Whatever the context, John doesn’t need your help. He’ll get by just fine because in the end, he’s the one in control of the industry. The Crown can’t take that away from him with any amount of legislation. And perhaps the main reason why he disregarded you in not so nice terms is because you have failed to realize that.”

Umara’s smile never left her face, Vatsy’s becoming uglier. 

“I have come here today, Vatsy, because I believe John wasn’t entirely correct in his judgement. We do want your help, but the price must be in accord with what you give. You will soon learn of what John Cooper has done to Sawn Industries, the things he has made, the scale he has expanded to. He plans to treat the upcoming Assembly as a showcasing event. This is to say, if you want to help us, you should do so before Sawn Industries skyrockets in value once more. Take it as a gesture of my goodwill, to warn you of the recent changes.”

“…What do you believe my services to be worth?”

“I think you should answer that for yourself. I will not demand anything of you now, and I will give you nothing now. But I believe your help will be valuable. I want to expect it during the Assembly.”

“You expect me to help you with nothing to show for it? Do you believe I work for free?”

“Do you want the favor of John Cooper?”

Umara asked in retort, the smile fading. 

“You said it yourself, Vatsy. You want to be safe. You want protection. You want to know that if the Kingdom falls into the gutter, that you’ll still have a way out. You don’t want to be chained to those you deem lesser. John Cooper is, for all intents and purposes, the sole controller of the behemoth known as Sawn Industries, perhaps the only entity besides the Kingdom and the Church as a whole that can guarantee such safety. There’s nobody better for protection than they who produce weapons of war. So if you want in, then you’ll need to earn our trust, not the other way around.”

“Prove myself to you? Do you not know what I own? Not even John Cooper can know the depth of connections and influence I have through the Polaris Market and the Royal Family.”

“No, he doesn’t know. But he also doesn’t care, not unless it affects him one way or another. If you stay neutral then he’ll continue on as he has. But if you help him, show him that you really can assist him in a meaningful way, he won’t just befriend you, but he’ll make sure you can continue to operate as you have. I’ve seen his generosity.”

“An American being generous?”

“Believe it or not, Vatsy. I speak it to you as it is. It’s up to you to decide what side you want to be on before the Assembly.”

Umara stood, barely holding back a roll of the eye. 

“We can discuss more on the day of the Assembly, if you wish. You can contact me through my Aerial.”

Umara put out her wrist, Vatsy watching before finally standing and tapping his Aerial to hers. 

Their info was exchanged, Vatsy muttering. 

“What are you to him? You are the daughter of a Duchess. Does he intend to marry you?”

“That is the hope. Is there a problem with that? Am I too lowly?”

“I have said those words not because your people are less than human, but because of the knowledge that we possess. If you’ve been told anything about Earth then you know that the technology we wield isn’t fathomable to you. Our superiority comes from our knowledge of the universe.”

“My knowledge of the most powerful teleportation spells does not make me a Sovereign. I would be fatally arrogant to think it does.”

Vatsy was silent, Umara turning to walk out. 

“Good day, Vatsy.”

……

…

March 1st, 626

“I appreciate you, Hans. I know you must be busy.”

“Of course, sir. We would never allow you to present yourself at the King’s Assembly without suitable wear. Please, enjoy yourself knowing you’ll look among the most majestic.”

“Thank you. I will.”

I grabbed three rings from Hans, walking out of the dark store. 

The few pairs of suits that I had bought from this place long ago were still nice, but now that I had all the money I could ever want, I decided that I needed to spend a bit more. Even Umara had come here to get herself some dresses, though I haven’t seen them yet. 

I headed back to the Hotel and once I was in my room, I went to the bedroom. 

Umara was in the bathroom when I announced myself. It seemed she was hiding until she was presentable. 

I quickly got changed as well. 

I put one of the rings on my left index finger, and my clothes vanished into it. Then they were replaced by my newest suit, the most pristine and luxurious set of clothing I had ever owned. 

Umara and I decided to go with a black theme, both because neither of us wanted to wear flashy colors and to symbolize our mourning for the people we lost during the retreat from the Treehouse. 

The suit was a set of black pants and shoes, both of them a matte that drank the light. My top was composed of four layers. The shirt was pure black. The vest was black with slightly discernable dark purple trim. The coat was black with individual fine purple threads that traveled in an artistically weaved design across the entire body, only seen with a subtle flash if the light hit it just right. It wrapped my torso tight enough to fit and display my form but not tight enough to look like a wrap. Then there was an additional overcoat that went down to my shins, also with the same purple accent threads, but additionally interweaved with thin silver metal thread to match Umara. 

Thankfully my hair had grown back quickly enough to style it well for this occasion, as did Umara’s. 

I was able to simply comb it back, so there was no need for a hat. I also left a bit of stubble. Umara said she liked it so I decided not to shave it clean. 

I looked at myself in the full body mirror of the room, extremely pleased with how everything came out. I didn’t think I could ever look this good, but seeing it now, I supposed it was a matter of course. I was handsome as it was. I could pull off anything. 

I heard the door click, about to turn around before hearing Uamra. 

“Face the window! I’m not adjusted yet…”

I turned away with a smile, taking a step to the side while Umara hurriedly took the mirror. 

After a handful of seconds though I turned back around, seeing her gown. 

She was wearing a full length dress with a leg slit at her thigh. All black, it had the same thin silver metal thread woven through it just above the slit, blooming into the design of roses. 

Around her chest it rose into lace, exposing some cleavage and the bulk of it ending at the height below her shoulder, more lace extending around her arms and resting at the bicep before dropping down to cover her arms in thin sleeves. Then across her upper chest and shoulders were thin strands of thread that weaved into a filigree lace choker adorned with intricate silver and subtle White Crystal jewels. 

I saw her ear cuff for the witch hat, tying it all together well with her styled hair, freely flowing but still nobly kept. 

She put the finishing touches on a few strands of hair before staring at herself. I walked behind her, searing her image into my mind. 

“How do I look, do I look alright?”

She tilted her head back, looking up at me. 

“You look beautiful.”

I put a hand on her arm, putting us together as we judged our profiles in the mirror. 

I sighed slightly. I couldn’t even blink. I was captivated. 

“You are the most beautiful woman I could ever conceive of.”

She silently looked back down at the mirror, barely holding back a smile as we simply stood there, her body leaning against mine. 

It was only after a full minute that she muttered. 

“We’re going to catch a lot of eyes.”

“That was inevitable. Let them look. Let them be jealous.”

I bent down and kissed her neck, her hand reflexively moving to my own and clenching it slightly. 

Her body writhed a bit, a hot breath coming out and surprising me. 

“You alright?”

“Y-Yeah. I’ve just been a bit more… sensitive, lately.”

“This is about the time for the Crown to finish settling in. Is it painful?”

“No, not painful. Quite the opposite…”

My brows raised a bit as her face and neck flushed. I lowered my hand, deciding to test something. 

I brushed my palm over her thigh, sliding it into the slit in her dress and moving in. 

Her breath shuddered. Sensitive indeed. She had been completely cold over the last two months, absolutely nothing able to get her in the mood. I hadn’t cared since I was either busy or tired 24/7 anyway, but she had been a bit depressed because she thought it was the side effect of being sterile. 

Now though, it seemed like those instincts of hers were coming back in full force. Terrace had told us it would take around two months for the Crown to settle in completely, especially since the King Blood wasn’t the only ingredient. The timeline was matching, so maybe her reproductive system was finally active again. 

A good sign. 

“Y-You shouldn’t… We’d be late.”

“Hmm, I suppose that would be wiser.”

My hand moved in anyway, finding a thin undergarment that came with her dress, and feeling it already sopping wet. 

She clutched my neck harder as my fingers glided over the soft wet fabric, pushing, pressing, and kneading my way around. 

Her neck flushed red along with her face as I looked ahead at the mirror, taking in the sweet, agonizing picture of her face. 

“So, I’m thinking we wear the gold accent suit and dress tomorrow. We can save purple for the last day. What do you think?”

“Sou… Go… Fuck…”

“You know, since the third meeting will be followed by a gala, and we can’t wear the same thing all three days. That would be so ignoble.”

“Shu…”

“Hm?”

I glanced back down at her as she pulled on my neck. 

“Shut up… and kiss me.”

“Well, if you insist.”

I smiled and went in for some tongue, simultaneously slipping my hand under her undergarment. 

Her body arched, her breath hitching as her fingernails threatened to split my skin in climax. 

We stayed that way with locked lips until around a minute later, when she finally came back down from her high enough to speak. 

Her breathing picked back up as well, as if she was tired, her skin from her upper chest to the tops of her ears completely flushed. 

“Holy… shit…”

“I know. And we’re only two minutes late. Should we run?”

“N-No, I need to change…”

She got embarrassed since her undergarment was basically soiled now, fluid dripping down her legs. 

I picked her up and carried her to the room. 

“Here, I’ll help clean up.”

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