Chapter Twenty-two
Discovery
Buttercup could honestly say that she couldn’t remember ever being as scared as she was meeting the Lumentian king. Which was hilarious, because she had spent many restless nights thinking about exactly what she was going to say to him if she were to ever meet him, as sort of payback for the heartache his caused for allowing his soldiers to remain within the Alterian border villages. He acted like they were occupying the area, that he had right to have foreign troops in their land. She was going to tell him off, to point of their blight and try to convince him to leave them alone. In her mind, the meeting was going to be truly epic, and there was going to be stories about her in the future about how she singlehandedly brought about Alterian independence from Lumentis.
However, dreaming about a confrontation and actually enacting it were two very different things. And she actually knew this. She wasn’t really the confrontational sort, unless it was with someone she actually knew. She had no problem ripping Lily a new one when she was acting like a moron, but that was because she felt comfortable around her. Even Robert was getting easier to be herself around, although she found herself arguing with him more often than she ever thought. He just made her so mad sometimes, acting like Lumentians were superior to Alterians just because they were Lumentians. Not because they did anything to prove it. It was such typical Lumentian thinking that it annoyed the living hell out of her. And she just couldn’t help herself, especially since Robert didn’t seem to mind that a simple Alterian farm girl like herself was yelling at him.
His father, on the other hand, was completely terrifying. She had heard stories, of course, about how intimidating the Lumentian king was, and it wasn’t just King Thomas, but his father before him, and so on down the line. It was just a trait all the kings shared. Robert was the exception, it seemed, and Buttercup was sort of glad for it. It gave her hope for the future that it won’t always be that bad – they just needed to bide their time until Robert took the throne, and then changes were going to be made. But Buttercup was utterly taken back how much Robert didn’t take after his father.
Robert looked something like a gentle giant, tall but clearly uncoordinated, with a friendly, youthful face that Buttercup couldn’t help but enjoy looking at. She felt sick that she did, since he was Lumentian and all, but there was just something about his face, the way his eyes slanted, that she couldn’t help but stare at from time to time. The beard he had been growing since they set out from Alter didn’t suit him at all, but she knew he knew that, and it was just a hazard of being male and rushed each morning.
His father, on the other hand, was considerably shorter than his son, but what he lacked in height he made up in girth. His chest and his shoulders were both set wide, his arms were rather thick, and he looked like he could take an army by himself and come out unscathed. He sported a full beard that gave him a vicious look, and his eyes lacked the compassion and concern than his son’s held. Buttercup could tell almost immediately once she figured out who she was that Robert and his sister got their looks from their mother, who was gorgeous and kind. Just the look of pure hated the king directed at her caused her throat to close up, and it made it difficult to even talk.
She had seen people give her hateful looks before as she walked around Lumentian villages, but none of them compared to the look the king gave her. And what made it worse was that she was determined to try to impress the man! After all, he was Robert’s father, and she had hoped that he would approve of her someday. Clearly, that was never going to be the case, not as long as she was Alterian. And considering there was no way to change how she looked, any hope she had of being with him sort of evaporated. There was nothing she could do to prove her worth to his father.
Granted, she had somehow already gained the love of his mother and his sister. The queen didn’t say much once they walked into the castle itself, even though she had to have felt that Buttercup was trembling. She wasn’t so sure this was a good idea, having her in the castle itself. But she kept patting her arm as though reassuring her, her chin set in determination at proving her husband wrong about this girl beside her. His sister, on the other hand, prattled away which Buttercup supposed was just to be expected out of a princess. She could tell she was just trying to make her feel better, complimenting her between explaining the castle. She seemed really impressed with her hair, since she mentioned it at least five times before they even entered the private parts of the castle. “I can’t help it, Mama!” she declared when the queen called her out on it. “It’s just so pretty. I’ve never seen hair like that before! It’s so orange! And wavy! And I always loved the Alterian fashion of the braids. It looks so elegant. Although with that hair, I’m sure it’s so much of a hassle.”
Buttercup shrugged, not sure what to say to this excitable girl. She fingered the braids framing her face. “I mostly keep them like this to avoid the hassle,” she said meekly, sort of hating herself for it. “It makes things easier, and I’m used to it besides.”
“I think it’s lovely, dear,” the queen commented. “It reminds me of how the Angelus Dei is depicted, and yet, not quite the same.”
Buttercup blushed, since that’s what she was going for when she adopted the style. “Thank you,” she said, a little embarrassed.
“Not at all. You are a very lovely girl, you know. Although, I don’t believe we’ve actually properly introduced ourselves.”
“Oh! I’m terribly sorry! I’m Caroline Defoe, Robert’s little sister.”
“And I am Annika,” the queen said, bowing slightly.
“Buttercup,” she said, a little unsure of herself. “Buttercup Angelia.”
“Buttercup? That’s an unusual name,” Caroline remarked. “Sort of like Clover, actually.”
“It’s Alterian custom to name daughters after flowers and plant,” the queen told her daughter. “Buttercup is not an unusual name for an Alterian. I think it’s lovely. A lovely name for a lovely girl.”
“You’re not a witch like Father suggested, though, are you? I read that the orange hair of an Alterian was a sign that they had magical powers or something.”
Buttercup glanced at her hand. “No,” she lied. “It’s just viewed as a sign that they’ve been chosen to become a priestess of the Diabolus Dei. Most girls born with orange hair become one, because their destiny was set as soon as their hair settles.”
Both the princess and the queen eyed her. “But my brother said that your family protects the name of the Angelus Dei, and that you don’t worship the Diabolus Dei,” Caroline said nervously.
Buttercup shook her head. “I don’t,” she insisted. “No one in my village does. I did say most girls. I’m not one of them, actually. I’m just a farm girl.”
Caroline relaxed. “Oh, that’s a relief. I trust my brother and all, but he could have been making it up to please Father.”
Buttercup wanted to point out that there was nothing wrong with anyone who did worship the Diabolus Dei, as Robert had discovered, but she didn’t feel right arguing with his sister the same way she did him. She felt like she needed to make a good impression first, before they declared her a witch for thinking such things.
The queen and the princess lead her to a room that they declared was hers, which she though impossible. The entire thing looked about as big as her entire house, and there was no way it was meant just for her. But indeed, there was only one oversized bed in the room, elegantly draped, and Buttercup wasn’t exactly sure what to do with herself once she was left on her own. She half expected Caroline to remain with her to get to know her, but apparently, she needed to annoy her brother a little more. That was fine with Buttercup – he had been missing for three months, and she only hoped her own siblings would be excited to have her back.
She started to explore the room a little, but there just seemed to be so much. Her room back home just consisted of a bed and two dressers, one for each daughter, as well as a closet divided between the two of them. Here, they managed to put a oversized bed, big enough for four people, plus a large dresser, wardrobe, a vanity, and a couch and some arm chairs, and there was still a lot of empty space. She didn’t feel very comfortable in all that space, to be honest. And on top of all that, attached was it’s own washroom, with a tub large enough that she could submerge her entire body, and a sink she could fill with water and wash up.
She felt a little dizzy with the thought that this was how the other half lived. She was lucky to get privacy, whereas Robert had no problem with it whatsoever. All he had to really do was hid in his room all day, and he’d never run out of things to do. It was…frustrating, really.
To make matters worse, someone sent up a team to help clean her up, startling her by barging in unexpectedly and basically attacking her. She knew instantly that they didn’t mean harm when they started to declare that her hair was perfect, utterly perfect, but that it was going to be hell to style. They scrubbed her off first, taking a layer of skin off with all the dirt she had accumulated over the years. She had never been that clean before. And then they attacked her hair.
Her mother used to work on her hair for ritual days, taking the time to comb it out and put it up in an elegant style. Once Lily was born, she didn’t have the time to spend half a day with it, so she allowed Buttercup to do whatever she could with it, mostly because Lily’s straight hair was easier to work with. The team managed to get it to actually behave, turning it silky and shiny somehow. She stopped them, however, before they could really start anything with her hair. “I can do it,” she insisted.
They shrugged, and started on her dress. She was assuming that the queen supplied it, since it was a dress far more elegant than she had ever worn before. She had enjoyed Lumentian fashion once before, wishing she would wear it, but now, it seemed like a bit much. All that useless fabric, it was crazy. And the dress she was given seemed to accent the fact that she was a foreigner even more, since it wasn’t quite in the same style as everyone else.
She managed to kick out the team once they got her dressed, and she stared at herself in the mirror. She looked completely different now. Carefully, she started work on her hair, opting to keep her usual style, adding an extra row of braids around her head and then braiding the entire thing together. It was how she wore her hair on ritual days, simple yet elegant. She sighed again at her reflection.
They had taken out all her piercings when they had scrubbed her down. She paused as she moved to replace them now, wondering something. Maybe this would help. She would never look Lumentian, but maybe if she looked less Alterian, they would accept her a little better. She wanted them to accept her, as odd as that was. She set down the metal, and decided to explore a little, if that was something that was allowed.
She was startled once more when she found Robert about to knock on the door as she opened it, startling him as well. She wasn’t the only one who had been attacked, it seemed, since Robert had changed considerably. His clothes were about the same, although fresh and unwrinkled. His circlet now rested on his forehead, making him look more of a prince. He had shaved, and seemed to have been attacked with a pair of scissors, since his hair was no longer long enough to be pulled back. Instead, it was short, sticking up very slightly, and already seemed like a mess.
Buttercup didn’t want to admit it, but her heart did a small leap upon seeing him like this. Somehow, impossibly, he looked even better now. “Sorry about all that,” he said, looking embarrassed. “I didn’t know what Mama and Caroline had planned for you. I had to take care of something between myself and my father first.”
“Your engagement?” she guessed.
“Yes,” he admitted, still looking embarrassed. “I’m not, by the way. I pointed out that Selene was just manipulating him while he was under a lot of stress, and he agreed, actually. He called it off, and she’s back to being my back up. I’m surprised after that little stunt that he didn’t cancel the whole thing, but I guess he has too much of a deal with her father, or something.”
“That’s good,” she said absently, reaching up to caress one of the locks of hair hanging in his eyes. It looked so soft now that she just felt compelled to touch it. He didn’t seem to mind all that much.
“Are you going out?” he asked her suddenly.
“I was going to explore your home a bit, if it was allowed.”
“Looking like that?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowing.
She glanced at her dress, twirling as best she could considering the damn thing was dragging on the floor. “I know, but it can’t be helped. Those Lumentians that attacked me earlier took my dress and told me I could have it back once it was properly cleaned, although they couldn’t imagine why I wanted it, since it was rags compared to anything they could put me in. I don’t have anything else.”
He frowned. “You look fine,” he said. “Better than fine, actually. But…” He entered the room without her permission, which she was fine with. It was his castle, after all. He found what he was looking for, and held up one of her earrings. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
She shook her head. “Those would just frighten people. You Lumentians seem to stick with just one hole in your ear, and I have many, on top of my eyebrow ring. I figured it would just be easier to ease into it, and keep them off for a while.”
He shook his head, gathering up all the metal and holding it out for her. “No,” he stated. “You should wear them. You look better. You look more like you.”
She took the metal in surprise, as well as the charcoal he had bought for her when they first met. “You don’t think I look fine like this? You think I need to have my rings in in order to look good?”
He shook his head. “No, I think you look pretty either way,” he stated. “But I don’t want you changing yourself just because we’re here. I know how you Alterians feel about your jewelry, as well as your eyeliner. Its part of your cultural heritage, and thus, a part of you, and I like you exactly how you were.”
She glanced at the metal in her hand. “And what if I didn’t want to?” she asked quietly.
He surprised her by leaning down and gently kissing her forehead. “Then that would be fine as well,” he reassured her. She felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest. “Either way is perfectly fine with me. But I want it to be something you want to do, not something you feel you have to do, okay? I’ve come to terms with everything that you are, Alterian, Fire Mage, the granddaughter of a Diabolus Dei priestess. Excuse me, Younger God of Fire priestess. I wouldn’t change a single thing about you, Buttercup.”
She stared at his chest for a second. “I would say the same about you,” she started, causing him to pull back in confusion for a second. “But I don’t know; I sort of like this new hairstyle a little better.”
He glanced at his hair as best he could before grinning at her. “Of course you do,” he told her. “This is how I normally where it, after all. This is how I normally look.”
“I like it; it suits you better,” she told him, grinning.
Things continued to be awkward for a while, although they weren’t as bad once Odessa found her. She had been given the same treatment Buttercup had, although she allowed herself to be all Lumentian out, hair and all. “Damn it, girl, if I had known that it was okay to stay myself, I would have.” She then proceeded to rip all the pins holding her hair up, shaking the style out, and shoving her goggles back on top of her head. “There me go, much better.”
“And the dress?” Buttercup asked. “I was under the impression that you hated dresses. You’re always wearing pants.”
“Nah, I like dresses well enough, just not for all the time. It’s fun to dress up from time to time, don’t you think? They even managed to get Metallica. Doesn’t he look handsome in his little bow? Oh, you know you love it. At least she didn’t give you that pink one she owned. The princess insisted on giving him one of her bows to dress him up a little.”
“I can see it,” she admitted.
They didn’t exactly get to Tiana, though, even though she was actually discovered long before they had arrived. It was just that they didn’t know what she was at first. “Oh, I didn’t tell you,” Caroline said as they were sitting down for dinner. “I discovered the most beautiful palomino hanging outside the castle the other day! Sort of palomino, since she’s got those white spots on her flank. She won’t let me get too close, but I’m so going to get her as my stead.”
“I wouldn’t,” Robert commented. “That sounds like Tiana. People would question you bridling a unicorn.”
“Don’t be silly,” she said. “That’s a horse. Unicorns are pure white, moron. They’re not palominos.”
“Tiana is,” and the only way to prove to her that’s what Tiana was was to show her. Considering the fact that she wasn’t traveling about and having to hide herself anymore, Tiana was more than happy to finally reveal her true self, and remain that way.
“The queen of the unicorns is a palomino?” Caroline asked, stroking the unicorn on the nuzzle. “I’m surprised, though, since unicorns only allow people who were virgins to get near them.”
The four of them all glanced at each other, not at all surprised. It certainly explained why she was fine with being around each of them, even going so far as to let them ride her if they wanted, but hated Dante. All of them were virgins, Buttercup realized. “That may be the case, but I’d make an exception for this group. Robert and Clover saved me from that awful man, and Buttercup freed me from my curse. And Odessa…well, she is my friend as wlel, even if she’s a Dragon Tamer.”
“What about me?” Caroline asked.
The unicorn gave a whinnying laugh. “I would allow you to get near me as well, dear child, as you are the sister of Robert. You would be pure of heart even if you were not pure of body.”
“I hope you’re pure of body,” Robert growled at her.
“Of course. I wouldn’t let my big brother to be last, after all. Besides, it’s not proper for a princess to not be a virgin until she’s married, anyway,” Caroline said haughtily.
Unfortunately, arriving in Acerbus didn’t mean that they had an immediate opportunity to go to the Temple to call for Ignatius. Instead, they started Robert back on his routine almost immediately, which seemed to annoy him. Buttercup was allowed to sit and watch him get his ass handed to him on several occasions through combat training, which she found dreadfully boring, to tell the truth. They allowed her to impress them with her archer skills, shooting at targets none of their masters could handle. But all that really did was serve to humiliate Robert, since his instructors started hazing him on the fact that a woman was better than he was.
Buttercup had seen what the problem was from that ritual they preformed to summon Ignatius. Robert was entirely too tall and too uncoordinated to fight properly, and the reason she was so bored was because all she was watching was a bunch of men not instructing him properly. They seemed to think that he would just get it eventually, and what they needed to do was work around his uncoordiation a little more. It would be a slow process, but she was sure something could be done about it.
But there were also long periods of time when Robert was forced into actual lessons, where they started to keep a close eye on him. “I’m going to check in on my tribe,” Clover said one day. “Odessa’s being fawned over by the priests over Metallica. Would you like to come with me?”
Buttercup blinked at her. “Can I?” she asked.
Clover shrugged. “Probably not, but quite frankly, I could care less. It’ll just be nice to have someone there with me, though.”
Buttercup considered it. Going into a tribe of Warrior Elves would be highly dangerous, but it wasn’t like she couldn’t handle herself in a fight. She’d probably still die, though. But then she’d also have Clover to protect her, and it sounded like she wanted some sort of support. “Okay,” she said, acting like she just asked her to go with her into the market.
The Warrior Elves lived a fair distance from Acerbus proper, and their village was about the size of a normal human village. They had smallish huts, and they milled around outside of their houses, honing their weapons and their skills, and constantly attacking one another. Clover looked nothing like any of the other warriors, although them themselves were mismatched to begin with. But it seemed as though most of them were either pitch black or simply tanned, not the pretty brown color that Clover was. She could see how Clover could be a Nature Elf wondering amongst these people. They all eyed Buttercup like a meal, and she kept a firm grasp on her bow, which Clover insisted that she bring with her. “They’ll appreciate another warrior, and probably leave you alone.”
They did, for the most part, staring at her but not actually doing anything. And they were sneering at Clover just as much. Clover kept her head high like she was used to this, and Buttercup felt bad for the girl. No one in her village treated her this badly.
She slipped into one of the huts, Buttercup following suit, to discover a group of five Warrior Elf men lounging about a fire. One of the men, the brawniest and most likely the leader, was holding onto a busty naked female elf, neither whom seemed concerned what Clover and Buttercup had walked in on, or the fact that they had an audience to begin with. They looked annoyed more than anything as he released her. “Clover, impeccable timing as always,” the man said, his voice deep. “We thought we lost you forever. What a shame that you came back.”
Clover settled on her knees and bowed low to the group. “Elders, I have come to brief you on my quest,” she told them stiffly. “I would imagine you are just as concerned with the disappearance of the Angelus Dei as the humans are.”
The leader shrugged. “Not particularly, no, but we must confess that we grow wary of the inaction taken. The end of the world is nigh, and the humans sit on the laurels and feast. We are preparing for the war that is sure to follow.”
“What news do you bring, child?” another asked with a slightly, slightly gentler tone of voice.
“I fear the end is still nigh, Elders. All we gathered are rumors. They believe the Alterians are behind this, or perhaps the Diabolus Dei.”
They all glanced at Buttercup, who had taken a seat beside her, and quickly fell into the same prostrating position. “The Alterians lack the still to imprison a goddess,” the leader stated. “No human, witch or otherwise, would. The Diabolus Dei, on the other hand, is quite capable. We shall take this information into consideration.”
Buttercup felt a wave of annoyance that elves would think the fire god would have anything to do with it, but then remembered that Alterians were the only people out of the humans and elves that didn’t consider Ignatius evil. And that counted the Dark Evils, since they worshiped Ignatius because they believed him to be evil. And she doubted it would do her any good to argue with the Elders of the Warrior Elves. That was a sure way to get herself killed.
“Is that all, child?” a third asked. “You traveled for three months, and that’s all you learned?”
Clover glanced at Buttercup, and she realized that she didn’t want to reveal anything about Ignatius. “Yes, I apologize for taking up your time for what seems like nothing. But I came with a question. We ran across a Dark Elf in our journeys.”
“Oh, he was sent by you?” the leader asked. “We were wondering where he came from. Naturally, we captured him and he is in our torment chamber as we speak. I imagine that is the fate you wished upon him? How did you transport him so quickly? I heard rumors of you landing with a dragon, and a dragon can’t transport people.”
Clover glanced at Buttercup again. “Um, we befriended a unicorn on our quest, and she did it for us rather than allow us to travel even a week more in his presence.”
The man nodded. “A wise unicorn indeed. Is that all you wished to know?”
Clover nodded. “Yes, Elders. Once again, I apologize. We shall see ourselves out.”
Clover pulled Buttercup away just as the girl crawled back out for where she was hiding, and placed herself squarely in the man’s lap. It was a disturbing sight, really, and she shuttered. “I was required to check in after such a long time away, even if I had nothing to report,” she explained. “An odd practice, and I probably could have gotten away with not doing it, but then they’d make a huge deal about it, and I might as well do it, you know? I really just wanted to have a chat with my parents.”
“Oh. Understandable,” Buttercup stated, following her through the paths between the huts until she came tone that looked like all the others. Except she could tell it was different, because it was the one Clover grew up in.
Inside were two elves sitting beside a fire, except they were sharpening their weapons rather than engaged in any inappropriate behaviors. These two were both tanned elves, the woman having long dark hair and the man surprising her by having shaggy red hair, another sign of a Nature Elf. Except his skin wasn’t dark enough to be a true Nature Elf. Still, she could see how people would think Clover got her traits from her father.
They both looked a little surprised at the interruption, but sneered at Clover like everyone else. “Oh, it’s our daughter,” her mother said.
Her father shook his head. “Welcome home, Clover,” he said stiffly, making just a little more effort. “Where have you been these last three months?”
“I’ve been questing with the prince,” she said, taking a seat around the fire as well. “He had an idiotic idea to find information about the Angelus Dei, and I traveled with him as it’s my duty as his bodyguard.”
“Bodyguard to a human indeed. And you take pride in this fact?”
“Valki, she was doing the job right,” her father said. “We can’t fault her for that.”
“I suppose we can’t. We can fault her for taking pride in the job, though,” Valki said, sneering further. “And bringing a human with her.”
“This is Buttercup; she’s a friend I made on my journey. She is the best archer in all of Alter, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she could surpass our archers as well.”
Buttercup blushed. “I wouldn’t go that far. I mean, against an elf…?”
“So you’re a warrior, girl?”
“Of sorts,” she admitted. “My father taught me archery and swordplay, and my mother taught me combat.”
Clover’s parents milled that over. “She is…acceptable as a human,” her mother declared. “She is welcome.”
Clover was about to ask the important question when another figure burst though the hut. He, like Robert, was tall and thin, although he didn’t have the same sort of height. He looked like his father, tanned skinned and bright red hair that he kept short and spiked somehow. He looked around the hut and his eyes settled on Clover, who looked surprised. “Clover! I heard you were back! Come on, you need to tell me everything!”
His manners were quite the opposite of a Warrior Elf’s as he grabbed Clover by the arm, hauling her up and dragging her out the hut. She had just enough mind to grab onto Buttercup as well, and together, the strange elf pulled them outside the village all together. “Fergus, are you insane?”
“What? I don’t need Mom and Dad messing things up or anything. Whose this?”
She sighed. “This is Buttercup, my friend. Buttercup, this is Fergus, my older brother. Or at least, I thought he was.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he demanded.
She looked him dead in the eye. “Fergus, I met the Diabolus Dei on my quest, and he told me that I wasn’t a Warrior elf, but he wouldn’t tell me anything more, except that I was a Nature Elf.”
“Oh,” he said slowly and drawn out. He didn’t question the fact that she met a god. “I was hoping you’d never find out.”
“So it’s true? I’ve never heard of Warrior Elves adopting a child from another tribe before.”
He winced. “They normally don’t. But I was on my first raid when we attacked your village, and, well, I couldn’t bring myself to kill a week old baby. Your parents had already fled, and I couldn’t just leave you there, so I took you and managed to convince Mom and Dad to let me keep you as a little sister. That’s why everyone hates you as your surpassing us, because you’re not a Warrior. You’re supposed to be a pacifist, because you are, in fact, a Nature Elf.”
She dropped her head. “My entire life’s been a lie? You lied to me, Fergus?”
“No, no! Well, yes, in a sense. But you’re still my little sister, you know. And I will always look out for you because of it.”
She shoved him. “I don’t need protection!” she declared. “I can take care of myself, you moron! I’m still a warrior!”
“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that! Of course you can take care of yourself, Clover! I just mean…I’ll always be there for you, as a brother. Just because we’re not blood related doesn’t mean that we’re not family. It just means that, well, now you can pretty much disown Mom and Dad and the rest of the tribe. If you want. Please don’t disown me.”
Fergus was such a strange elf, Buttercup thought. Clover seethed for a good moment before sighing. “Whatever. I doubt I could if I tried. But…I just can’t believe my entire life has been a lie. I need…I just need to come to terms with it.”
“I’m assuming, in the end, it doesn’t matter. You’re still Clover Gunvald, your still Prince Robert’s bodyguard. All it means is that you get to have some extra powers, so what? It doesn’t change you.”
“Exactly! The little human girl is right! Nothing’s changed, Clover, but take all the time you need to sort this out, I’ll be here if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Fergus, and thanks for telling me. I’m glad to know that, despite this, I do still have a something of a family.”
“Family is what you make it, after all,” he said, grinning at her.
Truer words have never been spoken, Buttercup realized.
Angelus Dei Chapter Twenty-two |