Redux: Lineage

The next several days were a frantic mess of freeing prisoners, collecting documents, discussing Vampiric population, looking for suitable areas for them to inhabit within Equestrian control, a brief discussion between my father and I about the Alicorn 'family intimacy issue', and all the other bureaucratic shite that came bundled in with a war and a surrender. But finally, once everything had been organised, stamped, and approved, the trial came.

Due to not being a sworn in royal yet, I wasn't allowed to pass judgement, but after Celestia, Luna, and Cadance had read through each and every piece of documentation regarding Selana's plans and ideas, allowing her and Sanguine to give testimony about their choices and actions, and discussing it amongst themselves... when the day came, it seemed that the three of them were on the same page of beliefs I was.

"Even in a war with a body count, Selana," Celestia said, resting on her throne with a leg draped over the over. "I'm having more than a hard time feeling any kind of anger of disgust for your actions."

"I daresay that I would've done the same in your position," Luna nodded.

"And even if blood was spilled, I think I'd have to search high and low for a more noble cause to do so than the one you picked," Cadance agreed, looking over the court room we had all gathered in.

My eyes drifted to the other two Vampires gathered; Cassandra and Verella. While Verella seemed more than content with her mother not receiving the death penalty, there was a glare of hatred from Cassandra's head so vicious that it threatened to carve a hole through Selana's head. I was positive that the former Vampire Queen could feel the heat of her sister's gaze, even without looking.

"And I can't even say that your beliefs were 'misguided' or that you 'rushed to war too quickly'," she said, shuffling through papers laid out on a desk in front of her. "We've seen dated and stamped letters between yourself and several other kingdoms, all asking for political partnership and an effort to improve relations, all returned with vitriol and malice from all those you sent them to."

"You took every option you had available before marching to war moreso than anyone I've seen in my time," Luna said. "And not only did you fight for your kind, it was not done for revenge, nor was it done with any kind of evil or torturous punishment."

"The documents we've seen, all of which have been validated, have shown us that Sanguine was never meant to be a bringer of the apocalypse, and moreso a show of force that would allow your voice to be heard," Cadance finished. "The only killing that seemed to be done was with your own people when a civil war broke out."

I noticed Verella shrink away slightly, even as her aunt's arm wrapped around her shoulder.

I turned my attention back to the trial, Selana and Sanguine looking at one another with a confident, yet not arrogant, expression.

"From the time I've spent conversing with the both of you, you have proven yourselves to be emotionally stable and well-adjusted," Celestia began again.

"And our experiences on the battlefield, where a person's true nature is always revealed, you remained calm, dignified, well-meaning, and honourable," Luna listed.

"So, we have been tasked with judging criminals, and yet, and I do speak for both the Crowns and our own personal opinions when I say this..." Cadance wound up, gesturing with her hand as she spoke the sentence. "We see no criminals before us. Only a ruler of her race desperate to do what is best for them who dealt with a situation that got out of hand in an honourable and justified manner."

"So you're telling us-" Selana began in a stunned manner.

"You're dropping the charges?" Sanguine finished with just as shocked an expression.

"Indeed we are," Celestia said with a wide smile. "While we cannot decide whether your people will accept you as their ruler, or even as a citizen of your kind, after the events that have transpired, we accept your claims and find you not guilty of the charges of unjust war, parricide, and unlawful imprisonment. You are free to go."

Selana and Sanguine seemed shocked, unsure of how to respond, Selana turning around to her daughter with a wide smile on her face, Verella returning the gesture, only to have Cassandra lock eyes with Celana, both looking at once another with hard expressions before Cassandra turned her head and left the court room, the mother and daughter Vampires still left feeling a rush of guilt and uneasiness about them both.

"Gotta say," Annerose said, munching on an apple loudly. "Did not see that coming."

"I had a hunch," Zane shrugged.

"Seemed only fair, after all," Grael nodded.

"Has anybody seen Ressa lately?" I asked, wondering where the other catgirl we'd met in Winter's Maw had gone. "Or Svea for that matter?"

"She, uh, ended up getting recruited by another mercenary guild," Zane shrugged.

"Did she dump you?" Annerose asked with a smirk.

"It was a mutual break-up," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Both wanted different things."

"And where's Svea gone to?" I asked, not having seen her since before the siege on the castle in Beaumont.

"I think she went to visit her mother, said something about needing to catch her up on current events," Annerose said with a wave of her hand.

"How do you know that?"

"We were held captive in the same place," Annerose shrugged. "She likes to talk. Fun to be around."

"I was hoping I'd get to chat with her," I sighed, wanting to make sure she and Krieger got my thanks for the shield, which had been successfully recovered from the castle Selana had kept me in.

"Richter!" Selana called down from the stand. "May I speak with you a moment?"

I bid my friends goodbye for a second, heading over to the Vampire and the Goddess standing next to her.

"I want to thank you," she said with a smile.

"Don't mention it," I said with just as wide a grin.

"I will mention it, in fact. If I'm able, I'll make sure there's a sonnet written about it," she said, leaning against the stand. "From now on, you're an eternal ally of the Vampires, so says I-"

"-And so says I," Sanguine cut in for a moment, slapping me on the back. "As the eternal deity of our kind, I'll make sure that your name is forever remembered and worshipped as a hero of our race, never to be forgotten and never to be spoken ill off until the day this world perishes."

"Shouldn't you be thanking the Princesses for that?" I asked in a confused, embarrassed, and happy manner. "They're the ones that found you innocent."

"And yet you were the one that inspired them to believe we were," Selana chuckled, crossing her arms across her chest and smiling softly at me. "You were a willing ear and an open mind when not many other people would've been. So, if there's anything you need from me, from now until the end of time, don't hesitate to ask, and I shall do everything in my power to see your wish come true."

"Me too," Sanguine winked. "But I'll be better at it. More powerful, and all."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," I smiled, thankful that the two of them were being so grateful.

Though... I guess I did kind of save their lives, in a way. Huh... maybe I was better at this diplomacy thing than I gave myself credit for.

"So what are you two going to do now?" I asked them.

"The first plan is to heal the wounds inflicted on our kind by the war," Selana said in a dour tone. "I'll be making every effort I can to repair relationships between the houses and helping lead them to this new land Celestia has promised for us."

"Yeah, I've heard about that," I nodded. "You got somewhere picked out?"

"Quaint little county inside the southern realms of Equestria. Not a lot of people, not a lot of traffic," Sanguine jumped in. "Great place to build a community, and since there's only a few hundred thousand of us, it shouldn't take too long to move everyone in."

"If they're willing," Selana pointed out.

"I should hope they will be," Sanguine shrugged. "But if not, it's their choice and their life. We can't force them."

"Mhm," Selana nodded, turning her eyes back to Celestia before calling over to her.

I was then tapped on the shoulder by my mother, a wide smile on her beautiful face and a twinkle in her eye that told me she was in the mood for some mischief. Several months ago, I'd have assumed she wanted to sneak away for a meal or just to catch up. After what had happened in Winter's Maw however...

I could tell she wanted to fuck my brains out.