A shock crackled through the room and a laugh rang out. "Finally!" A voice cried, "My plan is near complete. Now to enact it." The Emperor turned to his daughter. She learned long ago not to be frightened.
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"You," he said, "Do it. As I taught you."
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The Imperial Princess did as she was told. She knew not to disobey. Buzzt. A zap and it was done. The metallic servitor stood as commanded.
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"Yes!" The Emperor shouted, "Yes! It is all ready!"
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The Imperial Princess stared at her work. She did not believe it possible, with her power. A robot…
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"No one would ever conceive such a thing to be true. Them, more than just allies?" He laughed at his genius. "Come now, Chora, we have work to do."
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「◐」
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"Hey!"
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A voice. A very familiar voice…
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"Hey, wake up!"
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Hm?
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"Wake up, Ressi!"
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"HUH?!" Ressi was startled awake by a kick to the side, "Oww what was that for?" She groaned, rubbing the place where she was hit.
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"You're not supposed to be asleep on patrol, you know," Kiran informed.
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Ressi frowned, "It's so peaceful in Storn Falls, though, you know that! And besides, everyone here knows my name so if there's any trouble, they know to come talk to me."
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"Yeah, yeah whatever," Kiran dismissed, "Anyway, the King needs us for something."
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Ressi stood up and brushed herself off, "Needs us for what?"
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Kiran shrugged, "I don't know. He said it was important."
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A laugh escaped Ressi as she pushed past her twin, "Okay, then race ya!"
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Kiran groaned as his sister darted off. "We're getting too old for this!" Despite his griping, he ran after her. He was not going to lose!
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Ressi loved running through the land between Storn Falls and Stornval. It was forested and had a river with a fancy bridge that you had to cross. She loved it with all her heart as it was all she knew. Outside the Storn area was a mystery to her. Intriguing as that was, home was amazing.
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As she raced, Ressi's mind wandered. It wasn't like the King to summon her like this. Heck, summon the two of them together like this. She hoped everything was alright, she would not be able to stand it if something bad happened during her nap.
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Ressi shook her head. Of course nothing was wrong, the kingdom has been at peace as long as she could remember. Ever since the King and Queen got married eighteen years ago and ruled as a unit, they were able to stop the Dynis menace. If it were not for them and the twins' own parents Storn Falls would have ceased to exist. Monsters would have completely taken over. Ressi missed them.
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She turned around and ran backwards. "Hey, slowpoke! Why are you being so, uh, slow?!" Ressi called out antagonistically to her brother.
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"Probably because I'm wearing more armour than you!" Kiran complained.
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Technically, that statement was true. Kiran was wearing shoulder plates and an entire breast piece while Ressi herself had shoulder plates and bracers. "Sounds like an excuse to me!" She said, sticking out her tongue.
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Kiran sped up so Ressi turned back around to run forward toward the kingdom walls.
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「◐」
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The twins made their way into the castle, out of breath. "I… win…" Ressi huffed out.
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Kiran wheezed, "You… cheated…"
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"Come on, you two. You're late." The twins stood up straight at the voice of their superior.
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"But we ran all the way here!" Ressi pointed out.
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Reldin shook his head, "You should learn to run faster. Come on, this is an urgent matter."
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The twins shared a look before obeying. This was certainly strange behavior from Reldin. Yes, he was definitely no nonsense but he seemed a bit on edge.
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The mage lead them up to the planning chamber where the King, Queen, and Archibald were all already situated around a table with a map of the continent drawn on it. Reldin took his place next to Archibald, opposite of the King and Queen. The twins stood at the head of the table. "So, uhm," Ressi shifted awkwardly, "What's going on?"
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The Queen looked to her husband and he spoke, "It has been reported to me that there has been some suspicious activity in the Dynisoktion Empire."
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"WHAT?!" The twins exclaimed simultaneously.
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"It could be nothing," The Queen mentioned in a soothing tone, "But due to Dynisoktion's, ah, past actions, we must venture on the safe side for this issue."
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Archibald looked uncharacteristically serious, "The 'suspicious activity' in question is that there has been a lot of contact with the Dynis royals and officials in Korzion. Although it is a territory in Dynis lands, their people are very friendly and peaceful. Recently, they have been hostile to those around their area, making it difficult to trade with Dynisoktion."
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"Because Korzion is near the main road to Dynisoktion, right?" Kiran said.
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"Correct," Archibald affirmed, "Due to this activity, we want to establish a better relationship with the Kingdom of Donatagun."
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"Oh! Because they're the other superpower of this continent?" Ressi exclaimed.
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The Queen smiled as Archibald answered, "Exactly. That is why we have decided that you, Ressi, and Kiran and Reldin must travel to Donatagun."
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"Why can't we just send an ambassador? Isn't that what we normally do?" Kiran asked.
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The Queen nodded, "Yes, but Queen Daria of Donatagun is not… the best. She sees ambassadors as an insult to her intellect and we'll need to be on the safe side with this one. It would be best if we could send Martina but, well, she's way too young for that. So we're sending both of you in her stead."
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"Isn't that like ambassadors?" Ressi questioned.
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The Queen sighed, "Yes, but you are more royal adjacent and Queen Daria is looking for a suitable bride for her supposedly perfect son so Respelda will be almost perfect for her standards."
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Ressi cringed at both the use of her proper name and the implications, "I won't have to marry the prince, will I?"
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The Queen shook her head, "No, that is only as a last resort or if you want to."
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Ressi let out a sigh, "So why is Reldin coming with us?"
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"I am friends with their court wizard and I am also experienced in negotiation," Reldin answered.
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"Well, that seems pretty well explained," Archibald stretched, looking more relaxed as he draped his arm around the shoulder of a disgruntled Reldin.
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The King nodded in agreement, "Indeed. Please pack up anything you will need for the trip, you three will leave tomorrow, first thing in the morning." The three assigned the task nodded in unison. "Meeting adjourned."
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