Redux: Lineage

I'd ended up carting myself off to bed soon after my tryst with Luna and Cadance. Initially, I only wanted to get a change of clothes into more suitable longueur, but the second I sat down on my bed to remove my boots, I was overwhelmed with tiredness the likes of which I'd never experienced. I collapsed onto my bed, still in my clothing, and fell asleep in a matter of seconds, dreaming of more sex with my aunt and mother, before the morning soon came.

I'd since been told by a scribe delivering a message that I was to wait for Celestia to come and speak to me about transporting Voleur De Vie to the Elven Capital myself outside of the barracks, near the training arena. I did as asked, dressing in that comfortable clothing I'd gone for the previous day; a pair of soft cotton pants, a cotton shirt, and extremely comfy soft-leather boots, loosely tied and ready. I decided to forsake carrying any kind of weapon or armour, brushed my teeth quickly, straightened my hair with my fingers, and headed off.

I arrived at the sparring arena, seeing the usual early-morning drills going on, privates training with straw dummies while the most experienced soldiers sparred with one another, their protective clothing and practice swords making them resemble the straw dummies the privates were beating into submission quite substantially. My eyes were attracted by a flashier colour than the dull browns and greys of the training uniforms, to the dancing red of a certain Vampire.

Verella seemed to have taken an entire training ring to herself, whether she'd demanded it on her own merits or the other soldiers were simply too scared to ask her to move, I knew not. I did know however that I was a filthy fucking pervert and deserved to be burned at the stake of oogling her in the manner I was doing now. She'd abandoned her long, black coat for the training, something I'd barely seen her without, and was currently cutting the training dummy she was sparring against to ribbons. I watched her footwork as I moved towards her, noting some rather elegant-yet-forceful positioning of her boots as she worked over the dummy.

I'd seen that footwork before, was pretty sure I'd trained with it myself and failed miserably at the stances you were supposed to adopt while doing them. Then again, I just assumed Verella was a better swordsman than I. I need to work on that sometime soon.

"Hey, Verella!" I called out to her as I hopped over the fence, walking into the training arena.

"Richter," she greeted in a friendly tone as she beheaded the training dummy. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I've bestowed the honour of letting you entertain me until I have to go do other things," I said, hopping on the fence of the training arena and sitting down comfortably. "Aren't you so happy?"

"Overjoyed," she said with a roll of her eyes, sheathing her sword at her side and wiping the sweat from her brow.

She'd tied her enormous pile of hair up into a hair ponytail, the sheer volume of the blood red locks making the ponytail itself nearly as wide as her back, with a fringe hanging over her forehead. Her enormous breasts were as perky as ever, guarded protectively by a sweat-soaked sleeveless shirt, black as coal, and the usual lower half coverings of black pants and leather boots.

"No, I'm actually supposed to meet Celestia here," I said, looking over at the large doorway that lead into the barracks itself. "But knowing her, I'll probably be wasting away as the hours tick by."

"We can spar if you want?" she offered. "Help pass the time?"

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to decline," I said with a shake of my head. "Thanks anyway."

"How come?" she queried, a curious look in her emerald green eyes.

"Planning on having a few lazy days. After what I went through against you and yours, I'm not in the mood to even think of the word pain right now," I shrugged.

"Eh, I get you," she said, hopping up next to me and looking over the camp. "It feels so weird being here."

"Not used to being out of your castle?"

"Not used to being around so many humans that aren't trying to stake me," she responded.

"I'm trying to stake you," I pointed out.

"What?"

"I'll tell you when you're older," I said, waving it away with a hand gesture. "So, anybody picking on you?"

"Besides you, everyone's been lovely," she answered. "The maids are friendly, the soldiers aren't constantly harassing me, and there've even been a few noble boys in the city that have asked to court me."

"So you're truly Mrs Popular then?" I asked.

"Yeah... but in truth, I've only found out about all of these wonderful things because I try to stay out of the castle," Verella sighed, her shoulders drooping.

"Too much politics?"

"No, it's just that my mom and my auntie constantly have to be in the same room together," Verella said. "It's... it's a painful experience, believe me."

"I can imagine... has Cassandra tried to attack her or anything?"

"No, no. I was actually surprised at how civil she's being towards my mother... but, then again, maybe civil isn't the right word," Verella said, going quiet for a moment.

"What's she like then?"

"It's more like she... she tolerates being around her. She never says anything kind, never jokes, and never smiles around Selana, but she never refuses to work near or with her on something, sign off on something, or agree to a good suggestion she makes," Verella explained.

"She's a politician through and through?"

"Very much so," Verella nodded, eyes looking up to the clear blue sky of the morning. "I heard her say something to Selana once, actually."

"Oh yeah? What was it?"

"She said that after everything Selana did, killing her daughter and going to war with us, she won't forgive her. Not for any of it... but she also said she won't hate her for it either," Verella said.

"That's... that's quite an accomplishment for a woman who lost her daughter," I said in an amazed tone.

"I said the same. But... Cassandra's sticking to her word. She's not being spiteful, not being petty, and isn't seeking revenge," she went on. "But I... I think once everything's settled down and your family doesn't need input from the eldest Vampires in the House of Kaine... I don't see the two of them ever talking again."

"How do you feel?" I asked her.

She looked at me with a sombre expression, eyes drifting around, as if looking for an answer, before she sighed loudly, pursing her lips and confessing.

"Probably more okay with her than I should be. She killed my cousin, she kidnapped us both, and she killed so many of our own kind..." Verella sighed. "But at the same time... I feel like she suffered too. If she was just some random who had nothing to do with the Vampires, I'd want her burned at the stake for what she did to us. But the fact that she's our leader, that she's one of us, makes it feel like every cut she inflicted on another Vampire cut her twice as deep."

"It sounded like that when she talked to me about it," I nodded, understanding completely what Verella was saying. "She really is a ruler strong enough to do whatever it takes... do you think you'll ever run for the High Throne?"

"Not a fucking chance," Verella scoffed. "Even before the civil war broke out, the concept of having to deal with every problem that plagued my species twenty-four-seven was something that terrified me. I'd lie in bed at night and think about even a few of the things my mother had to deal with and nearly had panic attacks."

"Yeah, I get that..." I nodded, thinking about my own royal blood and eventual responsibilities that would come from it.

"Oh, shit. You don't have a choice, do you?" she asked.

"I do. It's not a common practice, but monarchs do have the ability to just outright give up their royal status in some countries," I shrugged. "Only thing is they give up their royal privileges as well."

"You gonna do that?" Verella questioned, looking at me with an interested gaze.

I leaned forward slightly, resting my elbows on my knees as I stared at the boot-print-marked mud of the arena beneath us. I was silent for a long moment, having put a lot of thought into this myself, and still unsure of my answer.

"I'm not sure. As a kid, it depended on the day I'd had whether I wanted to be a prince or not," I smirked, thinking back to my younger tantrums. "I'll never be king. The family line's too long, to strong, and... well, too immortal for me to ever be the sole ruler. But I'll be a Crowned Prince before long, and that does come with more responsibilities."

"I'm guessing you're not a fan of work?" Verella joked.

"I'm not a fan of work when I have a chance to let others down," I confessed, getting a lot realer than I'd expected to this early in the morning. "I... I can fuck myself over all the live long day. I have a test and I fail it, oh well, I'm not progressing to the next level of whatever it is I'm doing until I pass it, better luck next time. But when I fuck something up that hurts other people? The idea of me failing in a duty that leads to disappointing someone else, hurting them or, the thing that really scares me, they die because I failed at whatever I was doing..."

"That's the worst thing, huh?" she asked.

"The literal worst," I nodded. "You remember my friends, right?"

"Yeah, the wolf, the foreign girl, and the big guy," Verella said with a quick, confirming nod.

"My actual greatest fear is being responsible for them dying," I said. "You know I'm a broken Alicorn, right?"

"I believe so," she answered.

"That's caused problems in a hell of a lot more ways than just combat. I've got no teleportation powers, no ability to access a large arsenal of weapons at the flick of a wrist, and no other super powers that my other family members have. That's why I have those guys."

"They're your retainers, right?"

"Yeah, and they're some of the toughest, strongest motherfuckers I've ever met," I nodded. "I love them like family and would give anything to see them safe. But the three of them are on a whole other level of strength compared to me, so I always feel like I'm the one holding them back. The weakest link on the chain, now and forever."

"You shouldn't feel so bad about that, you can't help it," Verella said in an attempt to soothe me.

"But I am and I do, no matter how many self-assuring speeches I'm given," I sighed. "And I lay awake some nights in sheer terror about the thought of being the only one that can save them... and failing miserably at it. The fact that there might come a day when it's do or die by my hand, and I die... and then they die too."

"I... I guess the idea of being a prince makes that fear even worse, right?" Verella asked in a quiet voice.

"Yeah... if I lay awake and night and panic about losing four people... how am I supposed to manage being responsible for hundreds of thousands every day of my life?" I asked myself more than Verella, looking up to the sky once again and feeling a cold chill run down my spine despite the warm temperature of the summer day that was just getting started.

The conversation died down at that point, the two of us sitting rather quietly together while the sounds of training, transporting of goods, and the clashing of swords filled the air. It was a peaceful noise, always reminding me of the hours I spent as a child on my father's lap while he worked through papers and signed off on anything that needed it. It brought a wave of warmth and nostalgia over me, a trance that was soon snapped as I heard Celestia call out to me.

"Richter!" her voice came from the doorway to the barracks, beckoning me over with a wave of her hand.

"Right, gotta go," I said to Verella. "It was nice catching up with you. Good luck with your family."

"And good luck with yours," Verella chuckled, getting down off the fence and heading back to the training dummy, drawing her sword and taking up a battle stance.

I leaped off the other side, heading into the barracks and smiling at the saluting soldiers I passed by. I went into a quiet room after being directed to it by more of the guards, closing the door behind me and seeing Celestia sitting at a desk with a large, cloth-wrapped object on it.

"Good morning, sweetie," she beamed, bright and cheery as the sun, like always. "I'm actually really glad you remembered Voleur De Vie."

"Yeah, I'd kind of forgotten about it until Luna reminded me," I said, walking over to the desk and crossing my arms.

"Well, you being so willing to get it repaired yourself takes quite a load off of my plate," she smiled, unwrapping the sword and allowing me to look at it once again.

"Really? How so?" I asked, looking over the rotten emerald sword, seeing the marks of time, use, and bad preservation had eaten away at a blade I imagined once looked so beautiful.

"Working an extra meal or a visit to the city makes me have to reschedule my timetable so much that it pushes simple five minute conversations ahead several days," Celestia explained. "Getting the sword repaired could've taken several days. Not needing to do it myself has removed at least an entire twenty four hours worth of rescheduling. You have my thanks for that."

"You're welcome," I smiled, looking at the sword.

It's mere presence brought on a sense of familiarity that I shouldn't have had with it, no doubt caused by the memories of Arragaithel locked away inside my... soul, I think. It clicked into a place of normalcy that a pair of shoes you owned or a pet dog you had did; it felt right for it to be around and not natural whenever it was absent. It made me go over the memory of the first meeting of the two again, Arragaithel and Valiana. I reached out and picked the sword up, Celestia urging me to be careful with it as I did so.

I held it as I would my own, the damage to the blade having hacked off a large amount of the sword's weight. But even if it wasn't all there, if I filled in the gaps with my mind and then compared what I imagined it would weigh to other longswords of the same size, this fucker was light as a feather.

"Is it made out of any special material?" I asked, looking at the crossguard, pommel, and hilt.

"Not that I'm aware of," Celestia said. "You might want to inquire with the Elven Queen once you arrive in the capital."

"They sang it lighter," I said, answering my own question. "When they were constructing the sword, they altered its properties to be lighter than it should be."

"Another memory unlocked?" Celestia asked me, looking up from the paperwork she was going through.

"Yeah, but... this one isn't like the memory of the party," I said with a confused expression. "It doesn't have anything attached to it more than the knowledge and a few... sensations?"

"What kind of sensations? Pain? Hunger?"

"No... taste and... different textures," I answered, screwing my eyes shut and trying to figure out what I was remembering, but only gaining the same feeling one gets when trying to remember a lost train of thought.

"Tell me what you're sure you can remember," Celestia urged. "We'll see if we can't coax it out."

"The strongest thing is the taste of wine," I answered, setting the sword down on the table. "No idea what kind, but its a flavour I've never tasted before."

"Well, you aren't much of a drinker, so that doesn't exactly meant much," Celestia shrugged. "Anything else? What textures?"

"Bare skin, I know that one well enough to recognise it even from a memory this hazy," I said, gritting my teeth as I tried to pull it all together. "On my left side, feels warm and snuggled in. Feels female as well, too soft to be anything else."

"So we've got wine and a nude woman lying next to you?" Celestia inquired. "Are you sure this isn't one of your own memories?"

"Positive, I'd remember it better if it were," I said, nodding slowly. "I can smell something burning, too... nothing bad, not like a house fire, but... a fireplace, I think?"

"Wine, cuddling, and a fireplace?" Celestia asked. "Sounds like you're remembering a moment between him and Valiana."

"And if I know what the sword's made of after just that... I'm imagining its either small talk-" I began.

"Or pillow talk," Celestia finished. "Trust one of the first proper memories you unlock from the High King of the Alicorn to be about sex."

"Indeed," I said, rewrapping the sword and gently picking it up once again. "Right, I suppose I best be getting ready to be off, shouldn't I?"

"Wait, you're wanting to go so soon?" Celestia asked in a surprised expression. "It's barely been a day since you and the others averted an apocalypse."

"Time waits for no man, Celestia," I shrugged, heading towards the door. "And besides, if I just sit on my arse all day, I'll just end up getting complacent and doing nothing besides eating, sleeping, and moping."

"If... if you're sure," Celestia said. "Do you want to gather the others and have me teleport you there?"

"You know what, I'm fine thanks," I chuckled. "I think I'm done with portals after the experiences I've had recently. I'll take a horse, a trail, and some nice scenery from now on."

"The Elven Capital is on the far eastern side of the continent, Richter," Celestia said in a warning tone. "That's a two month ride from where we are in the centre, at least."

"Then it'll be plenty of time to sight-see, won't it?" I asked with a smile.

"I'm not really comfortable with the idea of you taking four month round trip without a proper escort, even if you have your friends with you," Celestia said in a nervous tone.

"I'll be fine. The only thing we'll have to worry about is food, and Grael and I can hunt for months on end if we need to," I said, leaning against the closed door. "The Elven Capital is in the Emerald Forests, right? Lush greens, big trees, and a lot of wildlife?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then it'll be a perfect vacation, grandma, so don't worry yourself about it," I said with a shrug, opening the door and heading out. "I'll see you in sixth months, tops. Bye!"

And with that I closed the door, heading out with a spring in my step and eager to take my first big boy journey to a place I'd never been before.