Shattered Moonstone

Soooooo… are we going to talk about it? Hecatolite asked as they rode in the family carriage.

There is nothing to talk about, Amethyst sighed as she answered the question again.

I would disagree. I mean I don’t mind if you wanted to watch, you could have just asked…

I did not want to watch! Amethyst yelled in her mind as she blushed, it… it just happened that way. I was worried and I… I fell asleep.

You know, I’m in your head right now, right? If you had just asked you wouldn’t have gotten the trait for being a peeping tom.

“I am not a peeping tom!” She yelled out loud causing Alexa to jump.

“What about being a peeping tom?” She asked as Amethyst cleared her throat.

They're going to find out eventually about that trait you know.

Shut up. “Nothing, Hecatolite is just cranky because we have been in the carriage all day.” Amethyst smiled as Alexa narrowed her eyes before looking back at the terminal she had been reading. The trait could mean anything, it’s not…

It is called voyeur, not a lot of room for interpretation, sister. I mean I wont judge, did you see Saffron! That alluring red skin, her tight ass… Hecatolite hummed as Amethyst was bombarded with images of Saffron from the night. The instant heat coming from between her legs caused Hecatolite to laugh as both Amethyst and Alexa coughed.

“Hecatolite,” Alexa hissed as she glared at Amethyst, “would you knock it off!” She yelled, swatting at the twins. 

“Hey, it’s not my fault!” Amethyst cried as Alexa smacked them on the head only for a terminal to appear between them.

“Don’t be jealous, how about this if you don’t get married by the time you're thirty, you can be my second wife.” The terminal flashed as it mimicked Hecatolite’s voice.

Alexa shook as she turned red, “Second… Jealous! Me, jealous of the fact you married a sex demon!” She yelled, batting the terminal away.

“I mean… you can be Saffron’s second wife, if that’s what you both want.”

“That's it! Come here you little…” Alexa attempted to grab Amethyst who quickly tried to back away only to stop when the carriage door opened to reveal their mother.

“Ok, play time is over you three.” She sighed climbing into the carriage and sitting beside Alexa, who begrudgingly stopped her assault. “We will be arriving in the capital by sundown. It goes without saying I expect you all to be on your best behavior.” She paused while looking at Amethyst who nodded in confirmation, “have you two prepared your speeches?”

Speech? Who are we giving a speech to?

“The princess, you know, the speech we have to give to show our support… the one the queen requested?” Amethyst slumped her shoulders, “the one we both rehearsed last night… remember?”

Last night? Didn’t we message Siofra last night? Or was that the night before…. No last night we ate that boar dad caught… then you watched Fiori as she checked the perimeter. Amethyst blushed again as an image of Fiori danced in her mind.

“The speech! The one you had Joshua write for you!” She yelled trying to hide her own embarrassment.

Taaffeite rubbed her nose as she took a deep breath. “Amethyst don’t let her rile you up.” She said tapping on the terminal that was floating in the carriage before turning it to them. “I took the liberty of having it transcribed onto Babylon, so all you need to do is read it. I am positive no one will question it once Hecatolite is introduced.” She looked out the window of the carriage before nodding. “Hecatolite, this will be your first real introduction…” She paused, looking back at the three in the carriage before smiling. 

Taaffeite pulled Amethyst into a tight hug. “you two will do great.” She whispered before grabbing Alexa and pulling her in as well. “All three of you, I am so proud of you all.” 

Dad’s going to be mad he missed the group hug. Hecatolite commented as Amethyst smiled.

Yea, but I am sure we will have more. She replied as she moved back to her seat. 

They arrived in the capital shortly after, the family being greeted as if they were heroes before they were all quickly whisked away for “noble” duties. In truth, the “ceremony” wasn’t for another week, but they had arrived early per Irithyl’s request to assist in the preparation. Taaffeite was quickly adopted as the queen’s right-hand woman, assisting in greeting and moving the other noble families around as they arrived. Alastair was swept into the guard, given his rank and imposing stature, he was sent out when young nobles got a little too festive as well as sent out to prowl the city. Alexa was sent to assist with minor complaints as well as arranging meetings with the queen or princess. 

Amethyst was quickly set to work doing… well nothing really, she was a saint and a guest of honor. She had meetings to attend with the other guilds as well as arranged public appearances, but unlike the other “saints” she lacked any skill that would make her in high demand. Normally a saint would be proficient in healing magic or another publicly useful skill but she… she was a combatant, a spacemancer. Sure, she could teleport people around town but who would ask a saint to do that. Not to mention her main job, alongside their adventuring party, of keeping her sister out of trouble.

Hecatolite was not given any tasks for several reasons, the main one being this was going to be her “introduction” into society. That and she was, for all intents and purposes, a Deity. Nothing anyone could think of required a divine being to be present, and anything that could use a divine judgment, Amethyst was normally more than enough given Hecatolite’s predisposition to causing explosions…

This party is kind of boring. We have been here for a week… Why couldn’t Saffron come?

Because, Amethyst smiled and waved at a passing group of people, someone had to stay back in our territory to run things, she has been following mom around while we go out hunting, and since she’s your wife now, that makes her a Lapidary, making her the best person for the job.

What about Hans, he’s always hanging around dad, can’t he run the town?

Hans is a knight. Amethyst shook her head; he can keep the town together but having an actual noble in the city makes things smoother. He’s helping her by keeping the city safe.

Yea, but I wanted to say bye again. Hecatolite sniffled in her mind causing Amethyst to roll her eyes.

The last time you said bye to her, you nearly racked up another fine. She scoffed as she absentmindedly shook another noble’s hand. It's not like you won’t see her again; we are going back after we find the alchemist.

Yea but… hey this lady has been saying stuff for a while now… 

They both stopped as Amethyst looked at the woman before her, she was only as tall as them making her a bit short. Though it was hard to tell as she leaned heavily to one side, supporting herself with an intricate golden cane. Her long black hair was pulled back into a tight bun revealing her deep emerald eyes that seemed to shift as she looked around nervously. Most surprisingly though was the fact she was wearing what looked to be loose fitting Valor robes, an intricate golden circlet on her head drew Amethyst eyes as the woman spoke again.

“Sorry again for the sudden…” She stopped as Amethyst tilted her head.

“I’m sorry I missed what you said.” Amethyst swallowed hard as she looked around the packed street.

The woman seemed surprised, blinking a few times before smiling. “I was introducing myself. I am Himari Sasaki, currently I am the saint of Valor.”

Hero, quick, kick her cane! Hecatolite screamed in her mind causing Amethyst to flinch.

“I am not going to kick her cane.” She whispered before realizing she had spoken out loud.

Himari let out a nervous laugh, “and I thank you for that.” She said with a nod, “I merely wished to introduce myself to both of you before tonight. That and…” she looked around nervously before whispering, “Hecatolite… I am not your enemy. Please save…”

“Saintess, there you are!” A tall elven woman appeared from the crowd only to be blocked by Ethan stepping in her path. 

All three of the women, Himari and the twins, felt a strange twinge in their minds as the woman came into view, none of them knowing Overseer had attempted to manifest as Eryl approached only to be stopped by Babylon. The system protocall Eryl herself had created stopping the system from sharing her identity, Overseer understandably annoyed began looking for a loophole that would allow it to share the elven woman's identity only to stop when it found one. Deep in its databanks, before it had gained its sentience... Now all it needed to do was wait.

“Hey, only one person at a time.” He grumbled as the tall woman stopped.

“Please, forgive her.” Himari quickly hobbled over to them, glancing back at the stunned Amethyst as the elven woman quickly moved past Ethan to her side. 

Amethyst couldn’t help but look at the strange sight of an elf in Valor robes, even if they looked to be ragged hand-me-downs. Simply seeing a non-human wearing them at all was… shocking. 

She’s… she’s gorgeous. Hecatolite muttered as they looked at the tall elven woman. 

She had short light blond hair that seemed to sway slightly as she moved, showing off her long ears that drooped slightly. Her large round eyes were a captivating sky blue, that seemed to draw them in as she looked back at the twins. Her long rounded nose wiggled as she scrunched her face at the sight of the twins, bringing her full lips into a slight pout as she looked back to Himari. Amethyst couldn’t help but let her eyes wander down the women’s full figure, her large chest pulling the ragged robes tight seeming as if they were purposefully too small for the woman as they hugged her every curve; accentuating her wide hips, outlining her thighs as the robe stopped just barely above her knees. 

“You know you shouldn’t wander around by yourself Saintess, it could be dangerous.” The woman chastised as she and Himari vanished into the crowd. Amethyst eyes glued to the woman’s backside as it vanished.

“That… that was weird.” Ethan scratched his head as he looked back at Amethyst. “Who the hells was that?” 

“She… she said she was a Saint of Valor.” Amethyst muttered.

“That explains the slave.” Fiori snarled, causing Amethyst to snap back to reality.

“What?”

“That fancy gold thing around her neck wasn’t just for decoration, it was a collar.” Fiori shook her head, “damand church dragging that poor girl around like she’s some kind of pet.”

A slave… the words hung in their mind as Amethyst felt a pit forming in their stomach. We should keep an eye on that Himari. Hecatolite spoke calmly in Amethyst's mind. Though Amethyst could tell something about the situation had bothered her sister, a deep anger building in Hecatolite as it seeped through their bond.

“She said she wasn’t your enemy. She seemed scared…” Amethyst said, tuning to leave the crowded street, her party quickly forming up around her. “It sounded like she was going to ask for your help.” 

Hecatolite ground her teeth as she fought back her own anger. I won't help someone who strips people of their free will Amethyst. That is not a question.

The queen has put slave collars on criminals…

That’s different, those people are imprisoned, there is an end to their punishment…

You don’t know anything about that elf aside from the fact she was abnormally attractive. She could just as easily be a criminal.

Whose side are you on here? Hecatolite growled causing Amethyst to pause.

Yours, without a doubt. I am just saying, we should hear them out.

And if they are capturing and enslaving innocent people?

The trio stepped back as the air around Amethyst grew cold, the ground beneath her seeming to bend as she replied. “Then we will deal with them.”