Redux: Lineage

We'd all decided to wait for Luna to show up instead of returning home on our own since we felt it was only right to volunteer with the clean-up efforts in the city. It wasn't too big of a job spending a few hours a day with Zane and Annerose picking up, shifting, and sorting through rubble to help put the city back together. Celana, being the court mage and all, was also a large part of the clean-up effort. Once she'd cut up and stored Heimili's body in a wing of the castle she proceeded to freeze over, she was out with the common folk and assisting with her magic.

Karra had returned shortly after the battle and was none too happy with the state of her compound. Word quickly passed through what was left of the Barb Tails that they were practically finished, as it would take emptying out all of their coin reserves to rebuild and restock the compound. The gold they'd gained from Heimili's cave was nowhere near the horde Karra was expecting, only reaching a value of thirty thousand bits, which wasn't even enough to commission ten sets of armour, never mind the hundreds she'd need to. Hiring people was impossible, as she hadn't the funds to pay the mercenaries anymore.

The story was the same with Angela, too. Her guild had been destroyed completely and while she didn't need to rehire hunters (they came of their own volition), she didn't have the finances to rebuild from the ground up. It didn't take long for that word to reach my ears and make me feel extremely bad about what had happened. While I didn’t have a direct finger pointed at me for the destruction of their respective bases, I still couldn't help feeling that I owed them in return for their help. After another tiring day of clean-up and helping Zane shift the rubble out of the market district of the city, I set about trying to make sure that the two girls were taken care of.

After using some of our funds to purchase high-quality paper and writing equipment, I set about writing down two royal decrees for the both of them. I wondered if these two would work, given that they wouldn't be sealed by the Royal Insignia as well as me not having an official crown to stake my claim on, but I figured that it would still be enough if I was there to validate my decrees with them whenever the two of them were willing to use their effects. I scrawled them down, my lack of expertise with a quill being more than obvious if one noticed the ink blotches and gone-over-again words where the manner I held the quill had caused a lack of contact with the inked side of the quill, before reading them over:

By the Royal Blood in my veins and the Royal Power I possess, I, Crown Prince Richter, declare the holder of this signed and sealed decree to be entitled to the following rewards for their service to the Crown:

The current holder shall be given direct access to the Royal Treasury's funds in order to rebuild their business following its destruction in Winter's Maw. They shall be allowed to purchase any land, unhindered, and construct any building they wish, unhindered. If the current holder chooses to accept these terms, they must willingly sign an agreement to adhere to the country of Equestria's tax laws for both business income and personal income. If the current holder finds these terms acceptable, then they shall report to Chancellor Elana and present this decree to begin requesting finances.

Signed, His Royal Majesty, Crown Prince Richter."

I read it over several times, cringing slightly at the lack of flair and awkward phrasing in some parts of it. I decided it would be good enough, mostly because I couldn't be fucked to rewrite the two of them and knowing that it'd probably just sound worse the more I tried to write in a way I never spoke. I folded both of the letters into envelopes and sealed them with insignia-less wax before tucking them into a spacious pocket on my belt and deciding to head out to where Angela and Karra were staying.

With Angela being the least likely to bite my head off when speaking to her, I figured she'd be the best one to approach first. I knew that she was sleeping in an inn in the west district of the city, so I made my way through the ruined capital and observed those working the night shift to clear out more rubble. There had also been an effort to recover bodies, as there always was, and it hadn't been a pretty sight. People either crushed too badly to be recognised or sliced to pieces by the Remnants. I'd pulled a few limbs and skulls out of the rubble in my time helping and it wasn't a sight that was easy to forget.

I shook the dark thoughts away, focusing on remembering the directions to Angela's inn before picking up the pace. I entered the warm, well-lit inn to find it lacking the usual hub-bub and bustle that an inn usually had. People sat quietly, sipping drinks and barely speaking, as the entire city was in mourning for the huge loss of lives at the claws of Heimili. The Queen had declared a national Week of Mourning the day after the attack and a lot of people had taken to blaming and cursing dragons as a whole for this.

I smiled at the young inn keep, the woman faking a smile back at me, as I headed up the stairs. I knocked three times on Angela's door before calling out her name, hoping that she hadn't gone to bed early tonight.

"Come in!" she called back out to me.

I opened the door and walked inside, seeing the steam and scent of a hot bath and enjoying the warmth thoroughly. Angela had dragged a wooden tub into the middle of the room and was lounging rather contentedly in it. She'd tied her hair behind her with a towel as she lay in the large wooden object, hands and feet hanging over the sides as she looked at me with a smile.

"Evening, stranger," she said with a smirk, standing up out of the bath and making no attempt to cover up her wet, naked body.

I stared at her wet breasts and soaking abdomen as I spoke, the ancient guild master pulling the towel off her long, blonde locks, and drying her face with it.

"I've got something to give you," I said, watching her breasts jiggle as she roughly dried her perfect face.

"Really?" she asked. "What would that be?"

"It would be a royal decree from yours truly giving you access to the Equestrian treasury to rebuild your Hunter's Guild," I said, walking over to her bedside table and placing the sealed envelope on it. "So long as you don't mind the strings of needing to be in Equestria and paying taxes attached to it."

Angela lowered her towel as she stared at me, a look of complete shock in her eyes as she opened her mouth.

"Are... are you serious?" she asked.

"Of course I'm serious," I nodded. "I think it's the least I can do for you after how you helped take Heimili down with us. None of us would be breathing right now if it wasn't for you."

"I... that's..." she stumbled, unsure of what to say. "Wow, Richter. Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Provided you don't go ridiculous with what you wanna build, I don't have a problem with it," I said in an honest fashion.

"Thanks, kid," she said with a wide smile, hugging me tightly and squeezing me against her wet tits.

"Mind if I grab a handful while I'm here?" I asked.

"Go right ahead," she chuckled. "You deserve it."

I did as allowed, clapping her on the ass with both hands and squeezing it gently, then kissing her gently on the cheek before stepping back.

"Can I offer you a drink?" she asked, hanging her towel around her neck as she gestured over to a bottle of wine on the table near the window.

"I'm gonna have to say no, but thanks for the offer," I said with a polite nod. "I've still got other things to do before I settle down for the day."

"Alright then, kid," she said with a thankful smile and a nod. "If there's anything else you need me for, you know where to find me."

"Sure do," I said, nodding my head and moving back towards the door. "I look forward to seeing you for work in a few months."

"I'll keep a contract and a bottle of wine spare, just for you," she said with a wink. "See you round, kid."

With that, I headed out of the inn and over to the large tent Karra had set herself up in. It wasn't the fanciest tent in existence, definitely nothing like the parade tents I'd slept in during my lifetime, but it was a decent little abode. I walked over to the entrance only to have a grown man blitz out of it, fingers clasped tightly at his side and tears in his eyes.

"And if you ever think of setting foot in my camp again, I'll ram my foot so far up your ass, you'll be shitting shoes for a year!" Karra hollered as she came out of the tent.

Her blazing blue eyes settled on me, rage burning just as bright as ever as she began to 'speak' to me.

"What the fuck do you want?!" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips and cocking an eyebrow.

"I'm going to give you a piece of paper that allows you to rebuild your guild anywhere you want so long as it's in Equestria and you pay taxes," I said, handing her the envelope after blurting out the explanation as I could clearly tell she wasn't in the mood for guessing games.

"That..." she said, her ears flattening as the anger drained out of her body, replaced with confusion and suspicion as she stared at me. "Is this a trick? I swear, if it's a fucking trick..."

"It's not a trick, Karra," I said with a smile. "You're to be adequately rewarded for your excellent service to the crown. This is a gift from me to you."

"Last time I checked, I didn't really do much to help you," Karra said, tucking the envelope into a pouch on her belt.

"Then I'll take it back, if you feel you don't want it," I said, holding my hand out with a cocked eyebrow.

"You'll take that hand away from my money if you know what's good for you," she said, crossing her arms and sighing loudly. "Alright then, boy. I suppose I owe you thanks... which I'm guessing you were expecting. So, where'd you wanna fuck me?"

"Nowhere for now," I said with a shake of my head. "Like I said: this is a reward for your help, not me offering you a deal and asking for something in return."

Karra was quiet for a moment, looking at me with bright eyes and pursed lips before she sighed. She looked into my eyes and smiled warmly at me, a reaction I hadn't seen from her since I was a foot deep in her cooch.

"You're a good kid, you know that?" she asked.

"Just like my momma says I am," I nodded.

"Ugh," Karra spat in a repulsed manner, shivering from head to toe. "Don't say shit like that. Makes me think I fucked a mentally disabled child whenever a guy brings up his mother like that."

"You do that often?"

"Once, and never again," Karra said, still looking queasy. "Fuck, why'd you make me think of that? I need to go wash my everything and recite a prayer now, or else I'll never feel clean again."

"Sun Priestess Hymns, right?" I asked.

"They're the nicest sounding ones," Karra nodded, heading back into her tent. "Say hi to Celestia for me when you see her. Tell her I masturbate to thoughts of her enormous rack when I'm alone on hot nights."

"I'll make sure she'll put that confession on the same pile as the ones she's gotten from me over the years," I nodded with a smirk.

"Hot," Karra said as she closed the flap to her tent. "Thanks for the money, cunt."

"Thanks for the pussy, pussy," I said, turning around and walking away.

"Meh heh..." Karra giggled in a childish tone.