Alma 69 Mistakes Were Made

"…Is there anything else you'd like to ask me, prince?"

It was worse than he previously imagined — Gramps was once King of the East. He was someone who'd earned the trust of the Lion King, the East's Sovereign. An ancient, national hero who had fought during the Unification War as the Lion King's head general.

A living legend who had once carved out a future for his race during the bloodiest period of history known to the continent. Someone that even the old freaks in Holy Church were wary of for good reason.

That was who that kindly, old geezer really was — The Silver Reaper of the East.

"...Prince? Is something wrong?"

Reed quickly shook his head and stuttered out, "N-No, no, no, I-I'm quite fine. Perfectly fine. I was just thinking about how… incredible Sir Goldentree is and how tough it must have been for him during the Unification War…"

None of it made sense to him. Why did he adopt him, of all people into his clan?! When Rivia explained to him about the relationship between the North and the East, Reed almost fainted out of despair.

During the Unification War, the people of the North — Humanity — and the people of the East — the Avunians — engaged in a particularly horrific territory war over the ownership of the lush and vibrant lands of the East. Many, many lives were lost during the fight over the East and at the height of the war, Anti-Avunian sentiment peaked among humanity.

Humanity, at one point, even decided it was best that they enslave the entire Avunian race for the betterment of continent. That they, if left unchecked, would one day seek to conqueror the continent. That this freakish race, who never forgot, would one day come to seek the blood debt that was owed to them for what the North had done to them during the war.

When the Avunians learned of Humanity's designs for them, the conflicts between the two races escalated to such a disturbing degree that even the Moon King and Lion King had to personally intervene to stop them…

In the end, the Avunians took the East and the Humanity, the North in an agreement that left both races with a bitter taste in their mouths. Thousands of years later, the grudge formed between the two races still existed, albeit not as strongly as before.

Younger Avunians, although aware of the atrocities committed during the war had chosen not carry the tainted grudges of their ancestors, something that elder Avunians saw as an act of defiance by their children. They, who have lived through the war as children see it an inexcusable duty that all Avunians must bear…

I'm going to die here. The old man's going to kill me with fucking kindness! Oh, god. I'm their capital as a HUMAN prince!!

Lacrima slowly chuckled and said, "You're a special kind of stupid, you know that? That, or unlucky as hell. Probably both. Maybe more than that. Even I don't know what to make of this. All I do know is that you're breaking into new levels of idiocy I've never seen before…"

A pair of tender, innocent eyes gazed up and met his own. Sweet blue eyes filled with purity of a clear, sunny sky. The only thing he saw within her gaze was simple curiosity.

It was then and there that something came to Reed. That this was what Velvund sought — a seed of kindness. Untouched by the sins of his — or rather his generation's past.

But why adopt him? Why bring him into the fold?

To make sure that she would grow up with a good impression of humanity?

To foster a future relationship between the two races?

Or was it simply because he was a good man who wanted to help someone?

A million theories sprung up in his mind — ulterior motives that the might have influenced Velvund into adopting him, but he was unsure if any of them were the truth.

He didn't know, and that scared him. Who was he really — the Silver Reaper or an old, reformed man with an abundance of hard-earned wisdom?

"Are you okay, big bro?" said the young girl as she stared at Reed's wavering expression. "You look sad…"

Reed scratched his head and said, "I'll be okay, don't worry… I was just thinking about something silly." He patted her head and said, "What's your name, little one? Velvund told me Rivia's name, but he never told me yours."

The young girl said, "Vestel Goldentree! You're Leon, right? I came as fast I could when I heard the roots speak about you!"

"Roots spoke to you? As in the trees? What is she talking about?" asked Reed in confusion. He wondered if he heard what she said correctly, but couldn't be too sure…

"The princess is referring to the Nexus, the living root system underneath the city that connects the entire empire together, prince. It is an enormous network that we use to send messages, or information to one another across the land," said Rivia.

"You don't use the Intranet, like in the North?" asked Reed, wondering if his tome would be of any use in East aside from its basic functions.

"Not as much as we use the Nexus, prince. The only people who use the Intranet are foreign diplomats and officials who require a connection to the North."

Reed quietly mumbled, "Hmm, is that right?" It made sense on paper — an isolated information network — he just found it annoying. "Word traveled fast about me then, right? Does everyone know about Sir Velvund's... decision, then?

Rivia nodded. "Important information in the Nexus is transmitted to everyone across the Empire, prince, and it goes without saying that your adoption was an important matter of great concern. The number of times the Goldentree Clan has adopted an outsider can be counted on one hand over the span of the Empire's history…"

Vestel chimed in and said, "You must be super-strong like Our older brother, Erthal, right? Or maybe super-smart like Our older sister, Kaltheen, right?!" She looked like she was anticipating Reed to transform into dragon or something, given the expectations she had of him…

"I don't know about all that…" said Reed as he awkwardly laughed in response. "I'm just... myself — there's nothing special about me at all, haha…"

The princess shook her head when she heard that and said, "You're lying aren't you, big bro? Grandpa said that people who keep secrets are bad people, you know…" She was unconvinced as she gazed at Reed with a cold, condemning expression, very similar to one that Rivia had not too long ago…

Reed genuinely laughed this time and said, "I guess your grandpa picked up a bad guy, then..."

Night had come for the capital and soft lanterns filled the sky with a warm, golden glow. As Reed gazed out onto the city, he wondered what she was doing at the moment.

Was she out there in the North, searching for him? Or had she moved onto the East in pursuit? Given the commotion, he'd made today, he had no doubt that he'd more or less given himself away. He was sure that Astor, Horatio, and Ophelia would never make the connection, but she would. He knew it, deep inside of his bones.

Who else would had the sort of messed up, curse-like luck that he possessed? When he added his own brand of foolishness into mix, there was only one person who'd be capable of a feat like the one he accomplished today…

A human prince in the Empire of the Avunians. There was no way she didn't know where he was now. But he was uncertain if she'd make a move even if she now knew that he was here.

The old man was a terrifying figure but Reed didn't know if he'd be capable of stopping Lu'um if she got serious. He wagered that if she really wanted to, she could probably deal with gramps, but that lead to even bigger problems for everyone involved.

Reed gazed down at the lively streets wondered if she down there, looking at him right now. Stalking him, waiting for the right opportunity to snatch him away…

He laughed out aloud at the thought of that, despite the consequences that'd likely follow after that.

She's definitely down there, I'm sure of it. I guess we're going to have play cat and mouse for a while, eh? At least until I save Astrid and Sebastian…

Reed pulled out a small chocolate bar from his coat pocket and then tossed it as far as he could muster with his strength and sent it flying out into the city, hurtling down below...

"Enjoy it, sweetcheeks. That one's just for you…..."

Unbeknownst to Reed, who had turned for the night, his chocolate bar had been intercepted in mid-air. It fell into a miniature spatial tear that had gone undetected even to the conquerors who had stood guard outside of the royal tree-spire's gates.

The chocolate bar tumbled though the void until it came out on the other side. A slender hand deftly caught the chocolate bar and lovingly held it in her hands as she gazed up at the tree-spire with an amused expression on her face.

Their game had begun…

Chapter end