Redux: Lineage

Before the function had started, just as the food was being set and the lights being lit, Celestia had taken me aside and given me a brief warning, and explained what she was going to do to help me. She'd explained that a lot of the people attending this function weren't there for me, as shocking as that sounded, and that they were mostly nobles and snobs trying to gain either her or Luna's approval in the hopes of gaining stature amongst others and to try and schmooze their way up to royalty. She then described her plan that she, Luna, and Cadance had developed; which was for me to avoid being around the three of them as much as possibly during the function, and instead hanging around Zane, Annerose, and especially Grael, the wolf in question already having been briefed and instructed to look as angry and as threatening as possible to scare off any of the old bastards that were here for politician points.

With that in mind, she gave me a warm hug, a gentle, loving kiss on the cheek, and made her way into the crowd to mingle. I watched her walk away, trying to keep my eyes off the swaying of her hips and the large rear attached to them, trying to focus on how grateful I was at the fact she'd bothered to brief me on this beforehand, and hadn't just thrown me to the wolves... but I found it nearly impossible not to focus on how inhumanly perfect her body was, the way her dress mapped every curve and slope of her divine body in a way that would make a cartographer jealous, how gorgeous her eyes and plump lips looked, even more so with the expertly-applied makeup she wore that highlighted her bright, gorgeous features.

I stared at her for so long, fantasising about that forbidden fruit, that I began to feel slightly queasy, disgusted at myself for ogling her like that, and rather upset at the roaring flame of arousal I felt in my stomach and groin at this point. She was my aunt, my blood relative... and here I was, drooling over her like a rabid dog at a foot-long rack of ribs. I turned away from her, trying to think of more pure thoughts that would stave my depravity off for a while, running through basic combat stances, footwork when dealing with different weapons, and crucial puncture points on armour that could be exploited with specific weapons...

I bet her lips taste delicious.

I gritted my teeth in fury, slapping myself on the head as discretely as I could without looking like a mental patient, hoping some sense of pain would kill off the arousal before it became all I could think about, I sucked in a breath, knowing that distracting myself wasn't going to work, as I'd most likely end up teasing myself with thoughts of her body, just to spite myself. A good idea came in the form of alcohol and conversation, heading over to the drinks table and feeling my will to live die off as I stared at the 'alcohol' selection we had here. There was a mix of fancy, foreign names that probably translated out to things like 'Toilet Water', 'Dog Drool', and 'I Can Believe It's Not Alcohol'.

I'd be lucky if a bath full of all of these mixed together could even produce a slight buzz, this being one of my least favourite things about fancy functions: the food was shit and the alcohol might as well be backwash for how nice it tasted and how weak it was. I growled irritably, pouring myself a drink of water into a wineglass and picking up a slice of beef and dipping it in sauce. I was at least thankful Mom had gotten word to the chefs and told them to prepare food I'd actually eat tonight, as she knew how much I hated all of the fancy, millions-of-ingredients-that-somehow-don't-even-fill-the-plate wastes of space that filled these fancy functions.

I was a simple man with a simple taste in food, or a 'fussy git' as my mother always called me, and felt that a piece of beef was ruined my throwing a billion other things on it when the base food was good enough on its own. So I took a sip of my cool water to wash down the little slice of beef I'd picked, turning around and spotting Annerose standing awkwardly in the corner, clearly trying to talk her way out of a conversation with an older gentlemen she didn't seem fond of. Deciding to be her knight in shining armour, I made my way over to her and patted the middle-aged man on the shoulder.

"She's clearly not interested, friend," I said in a stern voice. "Best move along."

"And who the fuck do you think you are to-" he began, clearly not recognising my voice before whirling around with a face full of fury before his eyes widened in horror.

"I'm the one who the party was made for, and because of that, I want to play a game of 'What am I thinking of'," I said with a smirk, losing it as I continued speaking in a rather dark tone. "What starts with a rope around his neck and ends in a coffin? Because the answer's going to be 'You' if you don't get the hell out of here."

With that, the man took off in a terrified state, letting out a whimper as he disappeared into the crowd. I turned back to Annerose with a smile on my face, my usual friendly demeanour, only for it to drop away and be replaced with a look of amazement as I finally got a good look at her. She'd actually sprung for a dress, something that was about as rare as an honest politician, and it fit her form nicely. The dress was a tight fit with barely any openings that clung to her body, long sleeves running down to the back of her palms while hanging loose and, surprisingly for Annerose, a rather tight fit around the legs, hugging her hips and squatter's rear rather nicely.

I looked back up at her face, her eyes brightened by her eye shadow, with dark blue lipstick giving her lips a plump and rich look to them, blusher and foundation giving her a beautiful pale-and-light-blue complexion that only heightened her near-flawless face. She seemed to notice how much I was admiring her, a faint blush on her lips as she turned her head away from me.

"H-Hey..." she stammered. "Stop staring at me."

"No way," I said, angling myself to get a better look at her again. "I don't want to take my eyes off you. I don't think I've ever seen you look this perfect before."

"S-Shut up," she snapped, her cheeks now burning a bright red as she locked her eyes onto the floor and refused to look up. "This wasn't my idea, anyway."

"Then please start listening to whoever's it was more," I smiled. "The results are fantastic."

"C-Can we move onto another topic?" she asked, getting more and more flustered by the minute. "Where are Zane and Grael, anyway?"

I chuckled quietly to myself, deciding to let the poor girl get her proper blood flow back. I dropped the subject and looked around for the two of them.

"If they're here, they won't be hard to spot," I said, sipping from my glass of water. "Did they say they'd meet you anywhere specific?"

"No, did they tell you anything?" she asked, looking back at me with a shrug.

"Nope," I said, looking at the other tables for anymore edibles that I might be interested in. "I'll give Grael a shout and see where he is right now."

"Right, I'm gonna get a drink," Annerose nodded. "I'll yell for help if I need you to threaten someone with death again."

"Surely you can just the beat the fuck out of them yourself?" I asked.

"Not in these heels I can't," Annerose growled. "One wrong step in these bastards and my feet'll snap off."

With that, we parted for a brief moment. I kicked up the telepathic connection with Grael and asked him where he'd ended up.

"Getting groomed," he answered in a dry tone. "Shouldn't be too much longer.

"And Zane?" I asked, looking around to see if I could spot him.

"He set off ahead of me. He should definitely be there by now. Said he'd be near the stage."

I followed Grael's instructions, looking over to the stage and spotting the top of Zane's head, his long, slicked-back black locks giving him away amongst the crowd of shorter, older men.

"Right, found him. Hurry yourself up. You're supposed to be on guard duty tonight." I said with a chuckle.

"I'll be as quick as I can," he answered. "I'll see you soon."

With that, he cut the connection and left it quiet, just seconds before Annerose walked back over with a glass of red liquid.

"Gotta give points to the brewers for the use of the berry in this drink," she said as she walked over. "I don't think I've ever seen an entire glass of wine be filled with fucking one of them."

"Is it that bad?" I asked her.

"Richter, this shite tastes like puddle water that someone squished a mouldy strawberry into," she said, offering me the glass to sip from. "Try it."

I did as offered, sipping down a little of the mixture and shivering in revulsion. It was warm, but not like mulled wine. It was warm in the manner a drink that's been left in a warm room was, and it tasted like dirty water with the faintest hint of the berry flavour Annerose mentioned. I clicked my tongue loudly, giving her the drink back as I drank and swished my mouth with the water from my glass.

"It's fucking dire, isn't it?" she asked with a dark chuckle. "And the worst part is that it's got such little alcohol in it I can't even get too shit-faced to notice it. It's like drinking the liquified version of the mood in the air after a miscarriage and the dead dreams of orphaned children."

"And people ask me why I hang around with you," I said, chuckling into my glass as I finished off the rest of my water.

"People ask me why you let me hang around with you," she said with a shrug, downing the rest of the shitty drink and grimacing in disgust.

"Right, are we going to go get Zane now?" I asked. "He's over by the stage."

"Yeah, sure," she nodded. "And what about Grael?"

"Getting his nails and fur done, probably," I shrugged. "He said he was getting groomed."

"Right," she nodded, taking a deep, readying breath before exhaling slowly. "Shall we go mingle with the common folk?"

"Indeed," I said, setting my glass down on a spare table and rolling my shoulders, trying to unknot my muscle and relax a little. "This is gonna be fun."

And in a shocking twist that nobody saw coming, it was horrible. Celestia had proven to be more than right, as the nobles only approached me when they were in relative distance to myself and one of the other important royals and would often offer me promises of friendship and respect from others if I'd 'mention' or 'bring up' matters to Celestia, or Luna, or someone that they actually wanted to deal with after they used me as a stepping stone. Thankfully, I'd inherited my mother's patience when it came to dealing with two-faced assholes and not my father's method, which would've mostly likely ended up with about eight men unconscious in a pile on the floor.

Thankfully, the blood-suckers got a lot less brave with the 'friend' and the 'young man' as soon as the six foot, three-hundred pound Direwolf entered the scene, looking so angry and irritated that he was able to part an entire crowd just by looking in a single direction, as nobody dared to be in his line of sight in case they did something he didn't like. The function soon ended up with myself and my 'crew' sitting alone by a buffet table, about five hours into the party, where all the senior politicians and other assholes had retired from their political game and gone home, leaving younger men and women, the guards, and a few dignitaries from visiting nations to mingle and talk with.

I was thankful that at no point was I ever approached to give a speech, or one to be given in general, and the night remained as semi-informal as this kind of event got, with the crowd dwindling further and further until about midnight, where Luna approached the four of us sitting on our haunches, looking exhausted and bored.

"How are you four managing?" she asked.

"The drinks are shite, the company's wank, and I think my heels have actually scalped the underside of my feet," Annerose growled irritably. "So, basically, ninety times better than I thought this was going to go seeing as how I was only sexually harassed once tonight."

"You been keeping a friend close and a hand over your drink?" Luna asked.

"I can do one better," Annerose nodded, giving Grael an appreciative pat on his haunches. "This big fucker seems to be roofie-repellent."

"Good to know," Luna said, trying to hide her smile as she continued to speak. "Are you four too exhausted to continue tonight, or would you mind giving a few more hours to talk the trip over with myself and Celestia?"

"Now that you mention that," I said, holding up a hand. "Are you okay with this being their Retainer Trial, as well? I know it's supposed to be my official Rite and all, but I feel like they're not going to get a better chance to-"

I fell silent when Luna held up her hand, looking at me with a neutral expression in her eyes before speaking clearly.

"I was hoping to suggest that to you myself," she said. "It's not a common occurrence for two different trials like this to be bundled together, but whatever gets you on the road to ruler status faster is something I'm willing to do. Now, do any of you know much about Winter's Maw?"

"I know that it's colder than a witch's tit up there," Annerose shrugged. "But besides that, I don't know anything."

"I know that the capital city, Icelock, houses the Barb-Tails," Zane answered, nursing a sherry as he spoke.

"Barb-Tails?" I asked him.

"Mercenary group," Luna answered for him. "But they're practically a private army with how big they've gotten, and they've been contracted to support Winter's Maw's own official Crownsguard before. They're a big deal and a big danger, but a great trump card to have if you can afford them."

"And I'm aware that Icelock is home to Celana Grandona," Grael said. "Winter's Maw's court mage, and one of the strongest human mages on the planet."

"I know all of that," I smirked. "Mostly because you all just told me."

"So I think it's better to go over the terrain with you, Richter," Luna said, pulling a chair from another table and sitting down across from us. "I don't need you to know trivia about the place, but I need you know everything about where you're going to be fighting."

"So what kind of ground does it contain?" I asked her.

"Mostly a mix of snowfield and pine forests, with a few mountain ranges skirting the borders of the polar regions," Luna explained.

"So we've got uneven, exposed terrain, but great cover from any aerial threats?" I asked her. "Until she starts spewing fire, that is. Then it'll become a death trap... snow drifts a big problem?"

"Not in the plains, but they're all over the damn place in the mountains," Luna answered. "But blizzards are a big problem all over the place there. They usually happen at least once a week and go for well over twelve hours a piece."

"It's gonna be as hard fighting hypothermia and low visibility as it is fighting the dragon..." I said, leaning back in my chair and thinking for a moment. "Dragons are intelligent creatures, and they're big fans of comfort and warmth. They're gonna have a cave to hide in, right?"

"Possibly," Luna nodded. "We're not one hundred percent sure."

"Hard to track?" I asked.

"Insanely," Luna said with a sarcastic chuckle. "From what we've managed to find out about her, she is an ice-white dragon and she's ancient, possibly nearly as old as Celestia and I."

"Which means she's gonna be smart and experienced," I sighed. "Fuck."

"And fighting her in her cave is gonna be a bad idea if she's got one," Zane added in. "They tend to dig them out to be huge and have a lot of different sections for food, rest, and treasure. It could be a maze, if she's lived there long enough."

"And taking the fight outside isn't gonna be any easier either," Annerose growled. "If the snow's deep enough, footwork and speed are gonna be non-existent, which isn't something you want to deal with while dealing with a fire-breathing lizard."

"And it'll only be worse if we fight her during a blizzard," Grael said. "She might be as blind as we are, but an animal as big as a Narrowscale dragon is gonna have the advantage over us through size alone, not to mention how dangerous she might be if she starts firing off in random directions."

"Well... it seems you've really given us a challenge here, doesn't it, Luna?" I asked my aunt with a smirk.

"I gave it to you not only because it's a king-worthy feat," Luna said, crossing her arms. "But because I know you, all of you, can handle it if you use your heads and work together."

"Are we being supplied for this?" Zane asked. "Beyond food and water?"

"Yes," Luna nodded. "You'll have full access to the royal armoury to pick out what you think should suit you best."

"Then we're gonna need dedicated roles," I said, patting myself on the leg. "Everybody's gonna need a job, and everybody's gonna need the equipment for it."

"It's a shame none of us know magic," Annerose said in a glum tone. "A healer or warder would be really handy when fighting a dragon."

"Numbers would be great as well," Zane added in. "It would allow us to set up lines and formations, which is never a bad thing."

"It seems we'll be at a great disadvantage," Grael nodded. "But we're no strangers to that, are we?"

"No, you're not," Luna agreed. "You'll just need to adapt to the situation and use whatever you've got at your disposal to overcome this challenge."

"We're not getting a royal escort, are we?" I asked her.

"I'm afraid not," Luna said. "You're getting horses, rations, and whatever weapons you can carry on your person."

"Then we're gonna have to plan really hard for this," Grael sighed. "A dragon's a challenge for even the best-equipped groups. It'll be even more difficult with limited supplies."

"No Treasury funds either?" Annerose asked.

"Nope," Luna said. "The trial has been set up and organised to where money should never come into the equation due to the equipment you're being provided with, though you are free to earn it yourself, if you wish. There's nothing in the rules of the Rite about using the location and its resources to benefit yourself."

"So, let's recap," I said, leaning forward in my chair. "We're to be given the bare-bones supplies to deal with the situation, but also free-reign to handle it in whatever manner we see fit, with no punishment or instant disqualification if we're to get new equipment or find an alternative method?"

"So long as you complete the kingly feat, you will have completed your Rite," Luna nodded. "Are you getting any ideas for how to turn the tides in your favour?"

"A mercenary army might help," Annerose suggested. "Maybe we ask them to help us out?"

"And having the strongest human mage in the world in our camp might turn the tides a little bit, too," Grael said, throwing that into the equation.

"The army isn't gonna come cheap," Zane pointed out.

"Surely the dragon's a horder?" Annerose asked Luna. "Practically all of them are."

"And the Court Mage?" I asked.

"She'll leap at the chance to see a dragon up close and personal, especially one this old and powerful," Grael said.

"And is she going to be so eager to help us kill such a rare beast?" Annerose asked.

"I can bet she will if we let her keep the body for study and experiments," I added. "I know Twilight would do something like that."

"It sounds like a plan... though it doesn't seem very kingly to scamper around asking strangers for help, does it?" Zane asked.

"No, but it seems incredibly kingly to amass forces and forge alliances with strangers and command them to fight for you," I said, sitting up and speaking in a proud manner, before my eyes trailed over to Luna. "And I'm getting the feeling I'm not the only one who thought of that."

"I have no idea what you're talking about..." Luna smirked, turning her head away from us all.

"Now that you mention it... there are monsters of equal worth all over Equestria," Zane said, catching onto the scheme. "Why send us to the capital area of a city that's a week's travel just to fight a dragon?"

"Maybe because that dragon is in a location where a king's true worth can be put to the test?" I asked, leaning closer to my Aunt. "Right, Luna?"

"Goodnight, everyone," she said, standing up, giving me a kiss on the cheek and waving goodbye to the others. "I'll see you in two days’ time to wave you off at the gate. You'd best be ready for your trip by then."

We all chimed in with the goodnight, watching the ancient Alicorn walk away and out of the near-empty Grand Hall as we all turned back to one another, grinning with excitement.

"She's a clever old bitch, isn't she?" Annerose asked in a giddy manner.

"Without a doubt," Grael nodded. "You don't sit a throne for four thousand years without learning a thing or two."

"So, we've got a plan, then?" I asked. "We each pick a role tomorrow, gear up for it, and head out the day after to start amassing forces with our new 'friends' in Winter's Maw?"

"Sounds like a plan," Zane nodded, getting up and fetching the only decent bottle of wine we'd found all night, filling up our drinks with the last of it. "Here's to adventure and victory."

"To adventure and victory," we all chimed, toasting together and downing the drinks, each bubbling with excitement and nervousness for the journey to come.