Henry walked first, his footsteps echoing in the grand halls as the Butler led them towards the Audience Chamber. Beside him though a few steps behind were Knight-Captain James and Court-Magus Helena. And between them, Lyra, in her new dress, hurrying along. She had never worn heels before, but surprisingly she did not struggle walking. Once again, she chalked this up to her elven body which she had impeccable control over. No matter the situation, she moved fluidly and elegantly with a grace that looked natural.
They stopped outside a large wooden door. Two Royal Guardsmen on either side, gripping the handles. Before them stood a man carrying a large book, and a monocle covering his left eye. Reclining hairline, grey hair, a nice suit. The Butler nodded to him, bowed towards the rest, and then vanished without much of a word.
The man with the monocle gestured for the guards, and in unison they pulled the doors open. With a loud creaking sound they swung open, and trumpets blasted from a balcony in the room nextdoor. The man with the monocle shouted loudly:
"Now entering! His Majesty Prince Henry Gustavo Alberto Revean, Second Prince of the Revean Empire! Knight-Captain James Stonard of the 7th Knight Order of the Revean Empire! Court-Magus, Lady Helena Dubroise of the Revean Empire. Finally, Lady Lyra, origin unknown, guest of the Second Prince!"
Henry entered the grand hall, Lyra and the rest followed tightly behind. The hall was big, with a curved ceiling to increase the acoustics and make the voice and sounds carry further. There were three balconies on either side. The two closest to the door had two trumpeteers each. On the other balconies stood members of the nobility, likely those who attended the royal court, there to spectate and listen in, seeing this was not a private audience after all. A large blue carpet was rolled out across the hall, which led the company down the hall towards an elevated area, upon which were 5 thrones. 2 big ones, and three smaller ones. On the biggest, center-most throne sat a man with dull blonde hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and hollow and sunken-in eyes. He wore a fine garb of gold and blue, with a golden crown upon his head. Despite his majestic looking posture, he looked sick and unwell, barely able to sit upright.
Beside him on the other large throne sat a woman with long brown hair and bright green eyes, clad in an elaborate and exquisite blue dress, wearing a crown similar to the Emperor, albeit a bit smaller, clearly made for a woman. The Empress, without a doubt. Behind pair of royalty stood a man wearing glasses, pen and book in hand, likely an archivist or secretary of some kind.
The other three smaller thrones were empty, likely meant for the children of the Emperor, the Princes and Princess of the Empire, though none were present, except for Henry of course. He however was here to report on his mission, so he would not be sitting on one of the thrones either. He walked on up to the end of the carpets, standing tall beneath the elevated platform the thrones were on. Then, he took a knee, as did James and Helena.
Helena tugged at Lyra's dress, urging her to follow their lead and to take a knee. However, something about this situation did not sit right with Lyra. Why should she kneel? She was no citizen of the Empire. She owed nothing to them, and they held no sway over her. Certainly, not bending the knee could make things unpleasant, but just the very act of doing so was not something Lyra could agree too.
After a few seconds, it became clear Lyra was not slow on the uptake, but rather openly defiant to the customs of bending a knee. The Empress's face grew flushed as she raised her voice: "What manner of harlot have you brought before our presence, when she does not even know to kneel before her Emperor and Empress!"
Henry tugged at his collar with two fingers, also flustered, as he had not expected Lyra to not adhere to their instructions. "Forgive me, Empress, she does not know our ways and customs." he said, urgently gesturing for Lyra to kneel. She, however, only offered Henry a faint smile, and shook her head. She spoke up, without having been given permission to speak, which immediately caused a loud collective gasp from the many spectators on the balcony to sound through the hall.
-"I am no Harlot, your majesty. Nor am I one of your subjects. I mean neither you nor the Emperor any disrespect, but I cannot in good conscience bend the knee to people whom I do not know." she said. She had dared to first contradict the Empress, then also call her "you", which meant she was essentially on the thinnest ice possible currently. Despite all of this, the Emperor had barely stirred. His mental presence was so weak one could even forget he was there.
"Second Prince, if you do not get your "Guest" under control, she will earn herself a trip down into dungeons right this instance..." The Empress demanded, and Henry, James and Helena looked up at Lyra pleadingly. However, it was at this point that the man with the glasses, book and pen, the supposed archivist, suddenly froze up. The book slid from his hand and fell to the floor with a loud "PAF", which made the Empress jump slightly in her seat. The Archivist was staring at Lyra, but his expression was pale, his face riddled with what looked like absolute terror.
The Empress glanced over her shoulder. "Leonel, what is the matter with you?" she asked, yet he did not respond, his body shivering as he looked at Lyra still. "LEONEL!" the Empress then said loud and sharp, which snapped him out of his trance. He picked up his book and hurried closer, whispering something to the Empress. First she waved her hand and shook her head, but the man seemed to insist, nodding rapidly. The Empress's expression now also grew pale. For once, Lyra had been unable to hear people's whispers, but she got the gist of what had happened all the same. Leonel had the "Inspection" skill. That was his job here in the Royal Court. And he had just seen this:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name: Lyra Lunarsong
HP: 12550 MP: 20430
Level: 65 (113,000 / 850,000)
Race: High Elf
Age: 26
Stamina: 1255
Strength: 1185
Agility: 1130
Spirit: 1068
Intellect: 1674
Job: Spirit-Mage (Apprentice, Novice and Intermediate level spells costs 50% less mana to cast. May communicate and form contracts with Spirits to use their powers as your own.)
Skill: Magic Creation (SSS) (The User may create spells with their own unique effects, the manacost is proportionate to the effect of the spell)
Available attribute points to spend: 165
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
No surprise he was so terrified to the point he had lost the ability to speak. The Empress seemed unsure of what to do or say, glancing between Lyra who still stood up, and Prince Henry who remain on his knees. Henry too seemed surprised by this reaction, looking at the Empress with a questioning look. Finally, the Empress spoke, her voice trembling ever so slightly:
"Henry... what manner of monster have you invited to the very beating heart of our fair Empire?"
Henry lifted an eyebrow, glancing between the two. He then responded: "I am afraid I do not fully comprehend your question, Empress, but perhaps you may allow me to explain the nature of my guest and the reasoning behind bringing her here?"
She tapped her fingernail against the throne, anxiously so, before waving her hand. "Yes yes, just hurry up, I want her gone from here as soon as possible!" she said, rushed.
Henry now stood up, and gestured for Lyra with his hand, while also looking up at the many noble spectators who were equally in the dark about what was going on. He then spoke, loud and clear:
"This is Lady Lyra, en elf who we encountered inside the Oberon Wilds. She claims to have been living there, and is strong enough to the point that our Knight-Captain could not even damage her, and she in turn defeated him with a single punch."
There was a loud murmur now spreading through the hall, and Knight-Captain James cleared his throat slightly, clearly somewhat embarrassed his defeat was laid out in the open like this. Henry however continued:
"We believe Lyra here is the reason for the recent monster attacks. She is the Apex Predator of the Oberon Wilds, who has been pushing the monsters out of their habitats."
This however only sparked scoffs and scornful comments from up on the balconies.
"That's absurd.."
"The Prince must have lost his mind, she may be an elf but she is still just that, one elf-"
"Did he think he could evade his duties by conjuring up such an unbelievable story?"
However, the Empress did not share their disbelief. She trusted Leonel. She raised a hand, silencing the nobility on the balcony with a single gesture.
"And you, in your infinite wisdom, deemed it wise to bring such a dangerous being into the Royal Palace?" she said, voice dripping with venom.
"Of course. Lady Lyra has become a very close friend of mine, and saved us all from certain death in the Oberon Wilds." Henry said, with an almost sinister smirk.
Ah, so this was his strategy, Lyra thought. It was pretty smart, she had to admit. She was the muscle, the powerhouse, his friend. The Empress would not dare do anything if she knew he had such a powerful ally. However, she did not like feeling as if she was just a game-piece on someone else's chessboard. It was tiresome, and bothersome. She did not intend to be part of anyone's game other than her own. Her brows furrowed, as she looked towards the Emperor. Then, she raised her voice, again breaking royal protocol.
-"I cannot help but notice that the Emperor has said nothing this entire time. Is he perhaps unwell?" she said.
There was silence. Five seconds..... ten..... fifteen. It was the Empress who broke the silence.
"His Majesty the Emperor is not well, the burden of leadership takes a heavy toll. Next time, do not speak unless... spoken.. to." she said, though trailed off towards the end. She was frightened, and did not want to anger the elf who could level the entire palace if she felt like it. However, Lyra saw more than just terror in the Empress's eyes. A moment of concern, and devotion. Not towards her, but the Emperor. She became certain then, that the illness of the Emperor was not her doing. Henry had suspected that the Empress had been poisoning him for a long time, but Lyra no longer agreed with his theory.
It was time to flip this chessboard over, and take control of the situation herself.
-"I see. I am saddened to see a man in such a state. Allow me..." Lyra said, and approached the elevated platform the thrones were placed upon.
"Lyra, no, you cannot!" Henry called out, trying to grab her, but she nimbly avoid his extended hand, twisting out of the way.
"Guards-" The Empress began, but when she caught the dangerous look in Lyra's eyes, she shied back, pushing herself back into the throne. Leonel, he just ran off with his book, leaving the Royal couple behind.
With a quick jump, which wasn't easy in a dress mind, she made it up onto the platform, landing just in front of the Emperor. He looked at her with unseeing eyes as she stepped in closer, barely even registering her presence.
"W-what do you t-think you are doing?!" The Empress said, mustering the courage to speak up, defying this powerful elf.
-"I shall cure him." Lyra said simply, looking at the Empress.
"It's impossible. We've called Priests and Healers from every religion and walk of life. No one has been able to do anything." the Empress answered, her concern for her Emperor, no, her husband, seemed to outweigh her fear for Lyra.
"We won't know until we try." Lyra said, flashing a gentle and disarming smile. She raised her hand, and gently placed it upon the Emperor's cheek, his skin cold and dry, almost like that of a corpse. She looked him in the eyes, trying to see a glimpse of the man she had heard he once was. There was something there, an ounce of recognition, of awareness. She knew not all hope was lost.
She had never healed anyone before, but her unique skill would allow her to make spells of any effect, regardless of her class, so long as she had the mana to match. So, she envisioned the effect she wanted. A perfect heal, capable of mending any wound, healing any injury, curing any ailment and illness, removing any curse and purifying any poison or toxin. She heard a small ding from her system, as the spell had been created successfully.
So, she leaned close, kissed the Emperor's forehead, and whispered softly:
"Perfect Heal"...