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Maevis sighed loudly; “I already told you what Tiberius and I were to each other. What more is there to say?”

Skye scoffed at Maevis’ attempt at dodging the subject; “How about what Actually happened?! Ye told me how ye met, and that ye two were lovers, but ye haven’t said any real details! Ye mentioned him givin’ ye a title, right? Why? And why could ye not be his mistress, or something akin to it?”

Maevis narrowed her eyes at Skye; “Could you do that with Tidas?! Could you stand to watch him hold another? Laugh and smile with another openly at his side?! Someone ye once called friend?!”

Skye had instantly regretted what she’d said the moment it’d left her mouth. Maevis’ rebuke was like throwing salt on an open wound. Not that she could complain; what Skye had just suggested to Maevis was cruel, put into context. She could never watch Tidas be with another, even if he was a king. She would leave the continent before that happened.

With a contrite expression, Skye said; “Ima sorry, Mae.. Twas ignorant of me to say that. Will ye forgive me?”

“I know you meant no offense, dear.. It’s just hard to think about sometimes. Tiberius was my other half.. He was sensible, while I was rash. He always tried to think up every possible scenario before he would put one life at risk.. While I was alway the fool who would rush in swingin’.. He saved my life countless times, and I saved him, but.. I couldn’t save him in the end.”

Skye took a deep breath; “What happened?”

Maevis slammed the rest of her whiskey, set the thimble down, and inhaled a shaky breath. Her title was an easy story, and one she’d already partially told Skye. It was during a battle with the Sync Kingdom, and the second battle Maevis had ever fought along side humans instead of against them. It was an odd experience, and one that would help shape the fate of the kingdoms.

.....

Alcon had one against the Sync, but it had been the breaking point for the other opposing kingdoms. Meccano, Sync, and the former Toku(now Sai) kingdoms banned together to try and take down Alcon. Alcon had an alliance with Ruscovic, and they had a peace treaty with Ital, but they abandoned the treaty. If they hadn’t; the limited supplies, munitions, and soldiers available to the other kingdoms would’ve stopped the Continental War that claimed Tiberius’ life..

As Maevis explained everything, Skye paused her to ask; “So if Ital wouldn’t have bolstered the other kingdoms, the war wouldn’t have happened?”

“That’s right. They saw the built-up resentment that the other kingdoms held towards Alcon. This kingdom had the most available farmland, and it’s ridiculously fertile to boot. Sync’s biggest problem has always been keeping their people fed. Alcon also has the most tomes and artifacts in the world, aside from Sai; but no one knew of it back then. The Tokuga clan wanted the information Alcon contained since the MacArthurs ‘didn’t share’, as it were.”

“Why did Ital break the treaty?” Skye inquired as Maevis paused to finish the potato chip she’d been picking at nearly the entire time.

“Because they’re opportunist of the worst kind.. The treaty was solidified by Tiberius marrying their king-at-the-time’s sister. Bella Greco was traded and married off to Tiberius shortly after he became King of Alcon. He didn’t really have a choice if he wanted to protect his people.”

“We had just come out of the war with the Sync kingdom, and half the continent held animosity towards Alcon. If he had refused Ital’s proposal, that would have put four of the six kingdoms against us.. Ruscovic would’ve abandoned us, and the other four would rained down on us with vengeance.”

“Why did they break the treaty even though the king’s sister was queen?” Skye asked with a hint of shock to her tone.

Maevis scoffed bitterly; “Oh, sweet child.. Greed; tis always greed. The Greco king thought that Bella would be his inside agent, but her sense of loyalty and love for her husband was too strong. She’d told Tiberius of her brother’s plot, and we managed to come up with a counter measure to the invading armies without ‘needless sacrifice’. Or so Tiberius had put it, the idiot.. The sacrifice was him.. Selfish asshat!”

Skye jerked her head, shocked at Maevis’ loud and sudden insult. ‘The whiskey must be hittin’ her hard again. I don’t like questioning her like this, but I feel like this is something I need to know. I hope she’s ok..’

As Skye worried for her friend, Maevis internally lamented her actions back then. Both she and Bella had befriended one another over their shared love of Tiberius, but it was also what tore their friendship apart. Bella had always told Maevis that she loved her husband, but her duty as a Queen took precedent. Maevis’ love for Tiberius blinded her at the time.

While she knew in her head that Bella was right, Maevis’ heart had ripped apart her common sense. She knew that Tiberius wanted Bella to live and raise their son, and that if either of them had switched places with him, the mission would’ve failed. Tiberius was the only one who could get to Ital’s king, and the only one who could’ve killed him..

Magic items were common, everyday things even non-magic users applied in their everyday lives. From pots that didn’t require fire to cook, to power weapons. The Ethereal Spear was an ancient magical item that had no known origin; the same goes for ‘Heaven’s Star’. But there were magical items created throughout the centuries by Manics.

Creating magical items was the most common way for Manic mages to earn a living after being in the RMC. Many stayed on after their service as members of the Research and Development Department, but that was a more recently created department. Up until Magnus’ great grandfather had created the R&D department. Edmund had always been interested in inventing things, and knew that the development of technology from the past was the future.

Ancient artifacts, tomes, and anyone with an idea was welcome to collaborate; opening the doors to relations with the Toku Kingdom. It got complicated for a while when they went through their people’s revolution, and changed to the Sai Republic, but for the past twenty years, information flowed easily between Alcon and Sai. Leading to the relationship they had today.. But the Toku kingdom had been allies with the Sync kingdom back in Tiberius’ day.

They had an ancient artifact called the Dragon’s Soul Stone, and gave it to the Greco king of Ital to use. He’d wiped out nearly half of Alcon’s forces with it’s power, which rallied the other kingdoms to Ital’s side. Everyone clamored for the power that they had, but most didn’t know that the artifact was all the power that Toku Kingdom had.

The king knew that if he didn’t win, his days as a monarch were numbered, which they were already. Shortly after the war, the Toku Kingdom became the Sai Republic, but at a high cost..

After the war, the artifact was never recovered; lost to the world and time. Maevis had kept her ears open throughout the years for it, but nothing ever came of it. It was simply lost to time...

The Dragon’s Soul Stone gave it’s owner aspects of a dragon. Their skin became like armor, and their magic was intensified by a hundred fold. Depending on their level of magical power, the Stone even changed their appearance. The Ital king had lost his mind due to the stone’s overwhelming power, and transformed him into a dragon-like monster. He killed all he saw; including his own wife.

As Maevis told Skye everything, her expression sombered as she neared the end of her tale; “Tiberius had nearly died in the fight.. Afterwards, the spear finished him. Bella was a Light mage, and wouldn’t have suffered the after effects of the spear. Tiberius knew that the Greco King would’ve killed her during the fight; she wasn’t a hand-to-hand combatant.. So to him, Tiberius’ choices were to either let his wife die, or he would.”

“Bella may have been a questionable friend and wife, but she was a damn-near perfect mother. Edmund loved her more than anyone, and Tiberius knew that losing his mother would’ve destroyed him. Being the king, and constantly at war; Tiberius was hardly ever around, so Edmund wasn’t very attached to him. Don’t get me wrong; they each loved the other very much, but Edmund was always a wee Momma’s boy.”

Skye felt a lump in her throat as she thought about everything both Maevis and Tidas’ great grandfather must’ve gone through. He’d lost his father at a very young and tender age, and the kingdom’s hero as well; his hero. Bella would’ve rule the kingdom until her son came of age, but he still would’ve benefited greatly from his father’s guidance. ‘And Tiberius.. I can’t even imagine how different everything would be if he had lived..’

Skye filled Maevis’ thimble again before she filled her own cup.

Maevis had only recently admitted to herself that Tiberius had made the right call, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t sting all the same. Her life had felt quite hollow until Nicolas had brought her to watch Skye and Tidas as children. She’d instantly known that Tidas was a MacArthur, and had initially tried to leave. After some convincing arguments from her dear friend, she’d stayed and watched them.

After that day, she accompanied Nicolas as often as she could. It was still a little painful to watch Tidas play, but she couldn’t shake the peace she’d felt while being in their presence. Even then, both of the Pixie Fae knew that they would be significant. Considering everything happening now, Maevis was grateful to Nicolas for his baggering ways.

“Do you know where Nicolas is? I haven’t seen him all day,” Maevis inquired.

“I think he was taking a trip back to Warrick Forest for an update, but Ima not sure. Magnus had mentioned something about it, but Ima not sure. Why?” Skye countered.

Maevis shrugged; “Just surprised he hasn’t come to find me yet. He some-what considers himself my keeper, poor man..”

Skye laughed at the validity of Maevis’ joke before she replied; Aye, but ye seem to trade off with that responsibility.”

As the two laughed, Peggy waddled into the room with a massive basket filled with clothes. Zazzy heard the door, and had opened her eyes to see who it was. Seeing Peggy did nothing, but the basket was a whole other thing. As soon as Peggy set the basket down, she glared at the baby dragon and said; “Don’t Even THINK About It!”

It was too late.

Zazzy was already up and heading for the basket. Peggy grabbed the handles and tried to move it away, but Zazzy stuck her massive paw on the edge of it. She chirped and trilled at Peggy as she yelled insults. Every time she brought a basket of clothes into the room, Zazzy did exactly what she was trying to do now; make a nest.

Losing her grip as she tugged, Peggy nearly fell over as Zazzy kept her weight on the basket. When the force Peggy was applying suddenly stopped, the basket tipped over. Zazzy trilled victoriously as she dug into the clothes, turned around in the basket, and snuggle down to continue her nap.

Skye and Maevis started laughing as soon as Zazzy put her paw on the basket. It seemed like a common problem for Peggy, and their banter was adorable. Peggy shot the two an icy stare until they stopped laughing. She admitted it was cute at first, but now it was simply annoying.

“I swear by the gods, if I see One Scale stickin’ to any of those clothes, I’ll turn ye into a matching outfit! Purse and all!”

Skye laughed so hard she had tears rolling down her cheeks when Zazzy snorted at her. It almost sounded like she’d said, “Yeah yeah,” like a rebellious teenager. She literally had to wipe her eyes due to the amount of tears spilling out.

Maevis watched her friend laughing at the baby dragon as she tried to find the right words for the final part of her story. They were at the part about Tiberius’ battle, and death.. This included his final words to her, and the memory made her heart feel heavy. He’d said the sweetest and cruelest things to her; things she still thought about often. It would be like taking a knife to a scar to her, but Skye needed to know, just like Tidas did. After Mae had told him everything Tiberius had said to her, she’d told Tidas that it was a lesson he needed to learn as well; before it was too late..