Chapter 73: 69 – Prelude

After more than a couple hours in the parlor, Alienor and Dolores finally came out and had a maid call for me. I was packing with Ailine for our trip to the Empire.

I made my way back to the parlor and walked inside. They were both chatting about inconsequential matters. From her appearance, Dolores looked to have cried for a while at some point, but any tears had dried by now. 

"Hello again, you two," I said and walked over to a chair.

"Queen Midnight!" Alienor said as they both stood up.

Fucking formalities. I waved my hand and we all sat down. 

I took a look at the pair. "I take it your discussion is done for the day?"

"It is," Dolores said. "Your Majesty, thank you so much for allowing me to meet with Priestess Alienor. I will be meeting with her for a couple hours every two days."

I smiled at her. "That's great, Dolores. I'm happy that you were able to meet with her."

She nodded. "If possible, I would like to accept your generous offer and work for you. I know I'm not very goo—"

"Dolores," Alienor interrupted in a firm yet gentle voice.

"Right. Sorry." Dolores turned back to me. "I know that I may be inexperienced right now, but I will try my best."

It sounds like Alienor is working on her self esteem. A therapist on Earth tried something like that once, but it didn't really do shit for me and I just felt ridiculous. Especially since they tried to get me to not see myself in a bad light whenever I was a long-term cancer patient. I knew I looked and felt like shit, so why the fuck would I try to believe I didn't? Still, I knew some people that tried to change their phrasing to essentially trick their mind into someday believing it, and it seemed to help them. I guess to each their own. 

"That's great, Dolores. Would you like to start tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yes, if possible," she said. "What would you like me to do starting out?"

"First off, how much schooling did you have? Did you have anything like tutors or something?"

Dolores looked down, seemingly embarrassed. "After I learned basic reading, writing, and arithmetic, I dismissed my tutors when I was young, besides someone for etiquette..."

"That's perfectly fine," I said. "Then as my assistant, the first thing you'll do is go to school. We have a course for adults at the school in the city. A lot of it will likely be a refresher for you, but some things might be new. They also go into magic training, since everyone in town learns the basics of magic. 

"Once you're done with those classes, I want you to take lessons with Anastasia. Her current studies are going at a slow pace, so with her textbook and notes, you can likely catch up. 

"As an assistant, I'll want you to have a basic understanding of many things. All I ask is that you put in effort. You can take as long as necessary, and always ask any questions you have."

It's true that if she will be an assistant or manage something, I want her to be decently knowledgeable. From the meeting at the gate, she doesn't seem to have much social anxiety, or else I would've come up with something else. 

It's going to be a balance, though. Her depression could make it difficult to focus, learn new things, or complete daily tasks. She could easily become overwhelmed or frustrated. Lessons will have to go slow enough for her to be comfortable, but fast enough to keep her engaged without becoming bored. Fucking balance.

I'm hoping that by going to school and starting with refresher courses, it might give her some confidence. When she gets to working with Anastasia, I'll probably have the lessons start from the beginning and have Anastasia help Dolores.

There's a chance that it could hit her self esteem by being helped by a child, but I think there is a bigger chance that she could start to see Anastasia, Perrin, or the couple other people we've let into those classes, as friends. 

Having her take classes will also help to keep her busy and have goals. It gives her something to work towards while she has her sessions with Alienor. Because she was mostly isolated or ostracized for so long, this might be a good way to reintroduce her to building relationships with people. 

"In regards to magic, did you ever learn what talents you might have?" I asked.

She blinked a few times, seemingly surprised with her first task being to attend school. "Y-yes. As a former noble, testing for talent was standard when young to see if we could use light magic and to make sure we don't have a talent for dark magic. I have a little talent with fire and water. However, magic never interested me, so I never had a tutor or attended the Magic Academy in the capital."

I nodded. "I see. Well, in school they'll teach you the basics. After that, you can learn more only if you want to.

"Ailine and I will leave tomorrow for a few days, so I'll have Steph work with you on the details. Does that all sound doable?"

"I-it does," she said. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome." I stood up. "For today, try to look around the castle and start to become familiar with the layout. I'll have a maid guide you around."

Dolores stood as well and curtseyed. "Safe travels, Your Majesty."

I waved over my shoulder as I walked out of the room. I flagged down a maid I saw, seemingly waiting for me. "Would you be able to give Dolores a tour of the castle and its surroundings?"

She bowed. "Certainly, Your Majesty."

I began walking back to Ailine. I asked Steph earlier about how oddly competent all of the maids in the castle were. Apparently, working for us is a highly sought after position. We pay well, give time off, have great living and working conditions, and are always kind to them. 

She said that the applicants are competitive, and landing the gig comes with bragging rights in town. Fucking weird. Maybe it's just my own prejudice, but I always thought people would dislike being a maid or a servant. I guess if they're treated fairly and taken care of, it could be a good job. On Earth, wasn't being a lady-in-waiting a praiseworthy position or something? 

Whatever the reason, they all seem to enjoy their work and do a good job, so it's fine. 

I arrived back at our bedroom and saw Ailine sitting on the bed looking at a long, thin knife in her hands with a… complex expression.

"All packed?" I tentatively asked.

She looked up at me and her face immediately went back to that of a kind and caring woman. "Yes. Is the information on the Head Priest still the same?"

"It is." I made my way and sat on the bed next to her. "The MSF soldiers in that town confirmed that he has been on bed rest for almost a year. They got info from the local healers. Apparently, light magic helps for a while, but healing magic ultimately doesn't do much.

"They're calling it a curse, but from the details I got, it sounds like cancer." I scoffed. "Fucking ridiculous that even in a magical world, cancer is still a thing. Maybe if the healers had the knowledge of what tumors were and of abnormal cell growth, they might be able to heal it by frying those cells with light magic.

"Fuck. Potentially you could use light magic to irradiate the cancer cells, and even use healing magic to repair the destroyed tissue to its original state. Shit. Could something like a lung or a breast be destroyed with light magic, then immediately healed to a healthy state with healing magic…"

I looked back at Ailine who seemed to zone out a bit at my rambling. "Dammit. Sorry about that. We'll test that later."

"So… He hasn't been back to the church in all that time?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No. I even had the soldiers investigate the cellar… It looks like they just abandoned it and stopped using it when his issues started…" I spoke softer with my head down. "I had them gather the remains of those that were left there. I didn't like the idea of leaving their remains there."

Glancing at Ailine, she had her previous expression as she white-knuckled the knife.

"Ailine," I gently said. "If seeing the bastard again will hurt you, you could always stay and I—"

"No!" she shouted and looked at me with a frightened expression. She closed her eyes and took a deep and steadying breath before continuing. "No, Lia. You are far too kind for things like this. It already pains me how many people you've been forced to kill…"

After a few seconds, she looks at me. "Lia, I have a selfish request…" 

I reached out and took her hand. "Anything, Ailine."

"Could… Could I ask you to stay here and I go with Navi?"

I was taken aback by her request. I mean, it isn't hard, and with Talon, this will only take a few days total. However, I had always imagined being there to comfort her after she killed the fucker. But, if this is what she wants...

"If that's what you want, then that's what will happen," I said. "But can I ask why?"

She lovingly gazed at me. "You've already had to do so much that I couldn't take on for you. I know you'll be forced to do more as well... I can't do anything for you in those situations, but this is something I can do.

"Please, Lia. Allow me to take a small burden from you. These people aren't worth dirtying your hands for." She looked at me with puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

Augh! My heart! As much as I want to be there for Ailine and to kill the fucker that put her through hell, I can't say no when she looks at me like that. Am I so easy to manipulate? Nah, it's only Ailine and Anastasia that can use me like this, and I'm fine with that. I'd always do anything for both of them.

"If that's what you want, but know that it wouldn't be a burden for me. I want that bastard dead as well. I'll check with Navi to make sure she can go."

Ailine hugged me. "Thank you, Lia. I already talked to Navi. We'll leave in the morning and I will be back once it's done. I love you so very much."

Hugging her back, I said, "I love you too." 

Leaning down, I gave her a deep kiss and we spent the next hour making love. Later that night, we did once more before going to sleep. 

I'm not looking forward to Ailine doing this, but ultimately it's her choice. Navi being there to help and protect her does put my mind at ease a little. Not that she needs much protection, but fuck, anything can happen.

=====

POV - Ailine

I woke up before sunrise but kept my hold on my precious Lia. Oh, how I love this woman. Even after over twelve and a half years together, my love hasn't lessened. Lia and Anastasia are my two reasons for living and I will do anything for them.

I'm so glad that Lia agreed to my selfish request. She doesn't need to see more death. Even though she puts on a strong front, she is such a kind woman that I know deep down killing isn't something she wants to do. 

That's why I want to do this without her. She doesn't need to be here for this. With Navi with me and her magic control, I can enact the revenge I have dreamt of for so long. 

Ma, please wait a little longer. I will make him pay for everything that he did. I pray to Chaos that wherever you are after being reincarnated, that you're happy and living well. Same with you Da and Brother. 

I'm doing fine. I have a loving wife and a wonderful daughter. You all would've loved both of them. Because Da never liked being around so many people in towns, you would've lived in the village. 

We would've come to visit, and Lia would've added all the advancements that we have in Midnight for the whole village. You would never have to work more than you wanted. 

When visiting, Lia and Da would've gone on hunts together. They would've laughed as Da had a mug of ale and shared stories. Brother would've followed behind and tried to get praised by Lia. She would've easily praised him or given him tips, and he would've called her Big Sister Lia. 

Ma and I would've made such cute dresses for Anastasia. Anastasia would've learned how to sew from Ma, just like I did. She would shower my little girl with so much love and affection, and they would both have such bright smiles on their faces. 

The three of them would've been so happy for us. Whenever we would visit, all the village kids would've come to play with Anastasia and Mitena. When playing chase, all of the boys would try to catch her, but none ever would be able to unless she wanted them to. There would've been so much joy and happiness.

But none of this will ever happen. All because of the greed of the head priest. He will pay. I will make him regret everything he ever did. For Ma, Da, Brother, and everyone else he has hurt. I will make him pay. 

As I laid in bed cuddling, I gazed at Lia's adorable sleeping face. As much as I want to stay here forever, there are things that must be done. Leaning over, I gave my Lia a kiss to wake her.

"...Mmm. Good morning, Ailine," she said while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

I smiled at my lovely wife. "Good morning, Lia. Did you sleep well?"

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She smiled at me as she gave me a hug. Oh, how gentle she is with me. "I did… Are you leaving soon?"

"I am," I said. "Please enjoy some time with Anastasia. You've been working so hard lately."

"I'll do that. You just be safe out there. Don't do anything too dangerous."

"I'll be alright." I gave her one more kiss before getting out of bed and equipping my armor. "Get some more sleep, Lia. I'll see you in a few days."

"I'll be thinking of you," Lia said as I walked out of the door.

I went to my dear Anastasia's room. Quietly walking inside, I saw her peacefully sleeping on the large bed. Her big stuffed rabbit on one side and Mitena on the other. Around her room are various other stuffed animals along with paintings and drawings covering the walls. 

Mitena opened one of her eyes to look at whoever the intruder was. 

(Oh, it's you, Ailine,) she said mentally. (Leaving for your trip?)

(I am, Mitena. While I'm gone, be sure to continue watching over Anastasia. Tear apart anyone that tries to hurt her,) I said.

(Don't gotta tell me twice. Nobody will even touch her with ill intent when I'm around,) she said.

(Keep an eye on Degare and Perrin, too. They're her friends, and if something happened to them, it would hurt her.)

(Yeah, they're fun to play with. Freaking out Perrin's maid and bodyguard is pretty fun as well. I'll watch out for them when they're around.)

I went up to the bed and bent down, giving Anastasia a kiss on the forehead. She stirred slightly before opening her eyes.

"Mommy Ailine?" she sleepily asked.

"Shh. You go back to sleep, sweetheart. I just wanted to say that I love you and I'll see you in a few days."

Anastasia yawned adorably. "I love you too. Have a good trip."

As she reached out and pulled Mitena close, I quietly slipped out of the room. 

I made my way to Talon's room and walked in to find Navi sitting on the hippogryph's head.

Navi waved with a big smile. "Sup, Ailine! Me and the flying horse were just chatting about the trip!"

(Talon excited!) she said mentally while making her 'pii' noise.

I walked up and patted her soft feathered head. "Thank you for your help, Talon. I'll be sure to give you plenty of rubs and scratches."

(Yay!) she happily said. 

"Thanks for letting me tag along as well, my girl. It's been so long since I've had some fun with churchies!" Navi said.

I grabbed Talon's tack and began getting her ready to ride. "I appreciate you coming. I'll need your magic for this."

"You mentioned that." Navi flew over to my shoulder so I could get everything on Talon. "What's your plan, exactly?"

I told Navi what I had in mind while finishing getting Talon ready. 

Navi was quiet for a moment. "...Pfft… Pwahahaha!" Then she began laughing hysterically. "Oh, man! Holy moly guacamole! That's insane! I mean, I'm all for a good killing, no judgement here, but you're crankin' it to eleven! 

She wiped a mirthful tear from her eye. "Oh, wow. This sack of poop has no idea what's up! Hahaha! That's what happens when you mess with a yandere! Dude is already dying, then you show up? You almost make me feel sorry for him. You're one scary chick, you know that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said as I mounted Talon. "I'm just returning what he did to me and the others. I already missed my chance to enact a more thorough vengeance once. 

"When we attacked the bandit hideout that was led by the priest who destroyed my hands and found Anastasia, I was so frustrated. I trembled with rage at having to kill him so quickly. Yet, with Anastasia how she was at the time, I knew I needed to end it quickly to tend to everything else."

Talon flapped her wings with a powerful push of her legs and began to gain altitude as I directed her towards our destination.

"This time, Navi, I don't have to hold back. I can take my time, and I'll kill more of Lia's enemies so that she won't have to."

"Ooo, girl, you give me goosebumps." Navi rubbed her arms from her perch on my shoulder. "Well, I brought my bag with the bodies of those churchies I killed years ago. I have the armor sets you asked for, too. Glad I kept all of that for times like this! If you need it, I also brought my sack of penises. They're mostly from goblins, but I have some from orks."

I smiled at my adorable friend. "Thank you, Navi."

The two days of travel were uneventful. We flew high so as to not be seen, and I rested by leaning back on Talon. Such a sweet hippogryph. I remember when she was tiny enough to fit in my arms. She's still just as soft, fluffy, and sweet as she was back then.

We landed a couple miles from the town and I took out the boulder home. "Here you go, Talon. I put plenty of water inside, it has your bed of furs, and you have plenty of food in your pouch. I'll see you when I'm done. There shouldn't be people coming out this way, but if so, feel free to get rid of them."

(Talon stay. Sleep,) she said.

I patted her head once more. "I'll see you soon."

"Later, Talon!" Navi said from my shoulder.

The sun was just starting to set as we made our way to the town. I equipped the holy armor shell on top of my normal armor. Right now, I looked just like a holy knight with a standard issue sword on my hip and standard issue bow on my back along with a quiver of arrows. 

Navi had instructed me on how to act while dressed in my disguise for our plan. Over the trip, I gave her my main ideas and we went back and forth on the details. 

Navi was hidden with dark magic a couple dozen feet above me as I confidently strode up to the gate. There were two guards at the gate as I approached.

"Greetings, knight," One of the guards began as he stepped forward. "How can—" *smack!*

He was interrupted by me slapping him in the face as I continued to walk. "How dare you impede me! I'm here by behest of the glorious Head Priest. Stay out of my way."

Nothing else was said as the two stunned guards allowed me to walk into the town. 

(Hahaha!) Navi laughed mentally from above. (I think you knocked out a tooth with that one!)

I turned down a dark alley. (Should we begin the second part? No doubt the rumors will start to spread soon, and the sun just set.)

(Let's do it!)

I equipped a shadow cloak and made my way through the alleys, utilizing the cloak, dark magic, and stealth skills to move unseen through the streets. 

We made our way to the nicer part of town, although besides the ornate buildings, I think Midnight makes this look like a slum. The MSF soldiers gave me directions to get to the mansion we were heading to. I had them accept an escort quest to another town yesterday, that way they could have a valid reason for not being in town and to avoid the potential of any accidents when I stir the pot.

The stone wall surrounding the mansion was only ten feet high. With my current strength and agility, I was easily able to jump up to grab the lip before pulling myself up and over. 

This is why Navi always has a fairy or Talon guarding their flowers. Against a low level person, walls like this are effective. Against someone of a higher level, unless it's enormous like the walls surrounding Midnight, walls like this are useless. 

When asked to do something, the MSF are thorough and reliable. Their directions were accurate, and the other information I had them gather was which window belonged to the bedroom of the Head Priest. After a few mugs of ale, they got the information from a knight that worked in the mansion. 

Having a good reputation as hunters and being regulars at the taverns in town has really created a strong information network. All exactly how my Lia wanted.

We quietly snuck up to the wall of the mansion. His room was on the first floor so that he wouldn't have to use the stairs due to his health.

(Can you do it, Navi?) I asked her mentally.

(Sure thing! These will be easy to remove and put back,) she said.

We had three options for entering that we came up with. The first was sneaking through the front. The second was Navi carving a chunk out of the stone wall, similar to what Lia did when we first made Talon's room.

The third option is what we decided to go with. The window to the bedroom was made of four panes of glass. There was an iron frame around the outside, and iron forming a cross going between the panes. 

Navi flew up and used earth magic to deform the iron on the outside of the window, making it freestanding. With nothing holding it up, we could remove it at any time.

(You ready, Ailine?) Navi asked.

(Yes,) I replied and took a helmet she enchanted out of storage. (Is your magic ready as well?)

(Sure is! Three… Two… One… Go! FBI open up!)

Multiple things happened at the same time. Navi stored the freestanding window, and used her magic to soundproof the room from us over to around the High Priest sleeping peacefully. 

At the same time, I jumped up and rushed through the window over to the bed, quickly shoving a gag in his mouth and slapping the helmet over his head. 

The helmet was something Navi enchanted on our travels while sitting on Talon. With her experience already with waterproofing helmets, she made this one so that no sound escaped it. Even with a gag, he could still make muffled yells. This eliminates that. 

Navi flew into the room and stored the priestly robes and hat that were on a mannequin in the room. At the same time, I reached out and crushed his hands, breaking most of the bones in them. I wanted him to be in enough pain to not be able to form a concrete image to activate his magic. Not that it would matter much, but it's better to make sure.

Navi took out a steel box backpack from her storage we made on the way here. The construction was simple and the metal wasn't very thick. It was enchanted to keep any noise from escaping, and would be sealed with her earth magic to make sure that even if the head priest were to be able to make a light, it wouldn't be seen through the iron. To be able to be used as a backpack, it wasn't the height of a person. It was a little longer than an adult's head and torso.

It had only been a few seconds since we entered, but by shoving in the gag and putting on the helmet while crushing his hands, he was certainly awake. I could tell he was painfully trying to scream for help. His attempts to fight my strength were laughable. It reminded me of how I was years ago when I was still only a teen. He would relish in overpowering me and no matter how much I struggled, it was useless. Just like his attempts are useless now.

With the box opened on the ground, I tossed him inside. I roughly crammed him inside, and think he may have dislocated something. He transported all of us inside of cramped and dark enclosed carriages. Now, I will transport him in his own uncomfortable box. 

Once his body was packed enough to close the lid, I shut it as Navi used magic to seal it. He should have enough air to get to where we're heading. The box with it's package was heavy, but not heavier than my heart watching Ma get taken into the dark.

After less than twenty seconds, I had the backpack on with a cloak covering me and a second cloak covering the box. I exited the window with Navi following behind me. She quickly took the window panes from storage, and formed the iron just enough to get it to hold in place. 

We ran to the mansion wall and Navi created platforms of compressed air as a staircase for me to clear the wall. Doing the same on the other side, I came down safely outside of the wall onto the darkened street. 

Navi cackled in my mind as we rushed along silently. (Kekekeke! Oh, man! That was awesome! They're gonna need someone with a very particular set of skills acquired over a very long career to find this guy! Kekekeke! You look like you're carrying a mini fridge on your back!)

A smile found its way to my face as we made our way through the night towards the church not far from here.

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