Alchimia Rex

Kiara stepped out of the bath, allowing the dampness to cling to her skin as she floated her way into her room. All around the house, the pets were hurrying about with a citric anxiousness about them, a mix of concern and enthusiasm as they prepared for the Lord’s visit. They dressed conservatively under their Lady’s instruction, foregoing the typical nakedness. Kiara made a mental note to recruit someone who might help elevate her pets' sense of style.

Eli was waiting for her in her room; a quiet command got the Hound to begin helping Kiara fit into her dress. No words were shared; the young maiden moved with purpose, suppressing fruity curiosity.

“I don’t believe Rick will come here tonight,” Kiara answered the unspoken question. “But do keep an ear out all the same.”

“Of course, my Lady.” Eli bowed, hiding a twinge of disappointment as she bowed.

Kiara would’ve addressed those concerns, but her thoughts were focused on the 'date.'

The prospect of it would’ve been alluring under different circumstances. Getting the human wrapped around her finger would’ve been ideal… but the bond granted him a measure of empathic sensitivity, and that made things tricky. Since waking up from the attack, she hadn’t been in a particularly chilly mood, so avoiding the man with empath capabilities had been the best way to prevent souring the relationship.

Eventually she’d need to teach him the deeper ins and outs of what being an empath meant. But that was not to be today, he’d called for her, and there were other things to be concerned about.

As Eli tightened the lace of her dress, Kiara turned her powers inwards. The energy coursing through her body whined in complaint like a poked bruise. Carefully, so as not to deteriorate her recovery, she pushed herself to feel flushed and warm. She let out a soft sigh, leaning closer into her pet’s touch.

“My Lady?”

“Pay it no mind,” she said right after, slipping into the uncomfortable slippers and turning to leave. She could sense the human had come, and the preparations were the best she could hope for given the current circumstances.

Rick was waiting for her at the abode’s entrance. He was surrounded by the hungry looks of the pets. There was an unspoken invitation lingering in the air, but the human appeared too nervous to appreciate the flavor.

He wore simple black clothes. They were carefully tailored to his form, fitting him in a stylish, if simple, way. The lack of decorations or flourish, save a single golden symbol on his left breast, reminded Kiara of the styles worn in the Azure seas.

“You look presentable,” she greeted, approaching without touching the ground. There would be plenty of walking outside. “Is it a special occasion?”

“I’d say you look better.” He politely avoided the question, stepping closer and offering a hand.

She took a moment too long to take it, the gesture a conscious display rather than an immediate response. She kept the smile and turned to the door, feet back on the ground, leading the way out.

The cool breeze greeted them.

“I’ve sent out a scouting team to verify some of the information from the prisoner. They should be back by tomorrow at the latest,” Kiara took the lead. “According to her, the Pinielf can either be with the little band of misfits or in the grove. Hopefully, she’s not in the latter.”

His response was an affirmative sound, moving fast to keep up with her pace.

“The misfits are mostly Dark Elves; there's some sob story about the kingdom deeming them undesirables because of their participation in the rebellion. It’s no wonder they haven’t gotten too far; the breed specializes in disruption,” she continued. “The real threat is in the grove, though. There are feral Golden Elves guarding the place; we’d be at a severe disadvantage if we were to attack head-on.”

The Pinielf was in the grove; the large arrows indicated as much, as they were imbued with a mix of ephemeral and plant energies. It was hard to believe Dark Elves could have been the source of that. But they could hope it wasn’t the case.

“We’re preparing to head out once we’ve confirmed where to hit them,” she pushed forward. “I’ll be bringing along some humans to—”

“If we’re going to kill that bitch, it’s best we head out with overwhelming force and hit hard,” he cut her off, digging his heels in enough to slow them down. “I’m guessing the prisoner would be coming along, yeah?”

“She wants to seek out her human and extract him from harm, little else. She’s lost her cause.” A rebel without a rebellion was also prime material. But Rick being there would cut down her possible avenues of approach, doubly so if he brought along the other meddlesome brats. “You’d make for an easy target. There’s no point in your presence that far away from the safety Sinco presents.”

She squared her shoulders, thoughts focused on her bond’s desire for her human’s safety, projecting that emotion out without trying to be obvious about it.

“Seeing how the more powerful maidens in the city might be going, I don’t see the safety of staying here.”

Was he just being intentionally obtuse or hard-headed? Kiara’s scowl deepened. “You would send Monica?”

“You’d go, right?”

His rhetorical question caught her off guard. Kiara answered it all the same. “I can keep myself safe just fine.” They were still in the city, so she quickly added “I trust my guards.”

“You’re weakened, accompanied by a maiden that’s not on our team; she's a champion in her own right, going into enemy territory,” he shrugged. “Either we all go, or we send someone else. I’m not blatantly putting you at risk.”

That wouldn’t do. Having him around would be a wedge in her plan. He’d be at risk, that was true, and his presence would undoubtedly put everyone on edge. “Sinco would not look kindly on you leaving alongside most of its military assets. Someone needs to stay behind.”

“That could be you, you know,” Rick raised a skeptical eyebrow, gripping her arm and tugging her in a different direction than the one she’d been taking. “As my beloved wife, staying in the city would be beneficial, and it could be seen as a surefire sign that I’m not leaving for good.”

She stumbled a step, her glare deepening. “You’re changing goals. You said you’d leave if I did.”

With a chuckle, he shrugged nonchalantly. The pulling became more insistent. "Let's drop the subject for now; we won't know for sure until the scouts get back, right? If we prepare for a large expedition but it turns out we only need a small one, then we just don't send everyone."

"A trip's preparations aren't so simple to undo!" Her complaint went unheard as Rick kept guiding both of them somewhere.

Kiara didn't fight him on that; shelving the topic for the time being suited her just fine. The discussion would more easily go her way if she recruited the healer's voice into this; there was no way she wouldn't loudly push for Rick to stay in Sinco. The cat would probably interfere; Kiara was mostly certain she was busy with something and didn't want interruptions. Similarly, the leech lacked enough control over her powers to be able to handle herself against a serious threat.

It just didn't make sense that he'd push for this now.

While she churned through these thoughts, Rick had successfully led them to the beach. To be precise, right next to the large, ugly wooden building he called a laboratory. The usual pungent scent that lingered over the place like some shroud wasn't there, leaving behind only the scent of the sea.

"Why are we here?"

"Just a sec, and I'll show you." He hurried to unlock the main doors; there was a small wooden box waiting for him lying on the floor. Carrying it under his arm, he locked the door back and proceeded further to the beach. "I asked the area to be cleared out."

"Hm?"

Following along, Kiara turned her senses outward. There was nothing nearby she could pick out, though that didn't mean much. The cat was good enough at hiding her presence; she could be right in Rick's shadow and Kiara wouldn't be able to tell. And although the leech hadn't mastered her abilities yet, vampires were equally capable of seamlessly hiding themselves.

"You even made the mice leave?"

"One day off for every three of work," he answered with… was that frustration?

"That's a considerable amount of time off." Kiara had met more hard-working nobles. It was hard to think Rick would push for this.

"They need to spend at least half a day for every rest day taking Rollo's 'free classes'." Rick was bemused. "Whether that time is spent as work hours or free time is up to them. So far, most of them do it during their free time. I think they're just not used to it."

She pondered this for a moment. "Is this amount of free time usual in your world?"

"More or less," he nodded.

She watched him come to a halt at the edge of the pier and put down the box. "And what of everyday necessities? Do they not consume much of your time?"

"In what way?"

“If your shirt tears, who mends it?” she asked. “If you need a new shirt, who weaves it?”

“Shirts are dirt cheap. We can get one for less than it costs to have a decent lunch. And if things break, then there are people who work on fixing them.”

Kiara’s frown deepened. “I keep forgetting how many people live in your world.” She considered this for a moment, trying to imagine the scale. “Indeed, if there are enough of you in one place, then someone could make a living solely out of mending the clothes of others.”

“Not just clothes, but also tools, even parts of your home.”

Kiara couldn’t quite fathom why anyone wouldn’t learn how to mend their own clothes or their own home. “It’s a very strong degree of reliance on one another.” More so than she’d expected, seeing how fierce Rick tended to be towards authority.

“It’s the effectiveness of scale,” he said. “I remember one of my fellow teachers bringing up how humans from a couple thousand years ago were no less smart than we are now. It’s just that society as a whole had not built up as much of a foundation.”

“It is hard to fathom the life of another from before maidens existed.” Her gaze turned to the sea. The waves tinkled under the flickers of moonlight that filtered through the clouds. “I never bothered to look into it much, but there’s no shortage of mythology. Many a human-led kingdom makes promises of cities of gold with towers that could touch the sky, of machines that could do the work of a thousand maidens in half the time, and of magics powerful enough to control the weather.”

“Any of it true?”

Kiara chuckled, shaking her head. “Very little remains of that past. What is known for certain is that there were plenty more humans than there are now, and that their cities had a large amount of metals.”

“Doesn’t sound too different from the place I come from,” he muttered.

“It’s a vague enough description that just about all otherworlders think that,” she corrected. “If you were to search for answers and details, you’d eventually find the discrepancies. Otherworlders are rare, but not so rare that there aren’t records. Many of them have sought the secrets of the past, hoping to find a way back.”

“And?”

“And if they’ve found such a thing, it was never revealed,” she shook her head, looking over his shoulder as he appeared to be fiddling around with the contents of the box. “Those that failed did leave notes behind, woes and cries of failure, long and winded texts despairing at the injustice that their assumptions were not reality.” Kiara grinned with some amusement. “One went so far as to put a curse on the bloodline of their assistant, thinking them responsible for their delusions. It is said that they and all their descendants were born deaf and blind.”

Rick visibly shuddered. “That seems harsh.”

“It’s also just a story, meant to scare the gullible.” She gazed at the foamy waves.

The particular story she'd talked about had a rather harsh lesson to it: never assist otherworlders in their madness. The longer she stuck around Rick, the more she could sense some grain of truth to that. Kiara sat down at the edge of the pier, looking over at his work. There were some vials and sticks. The wind was blowing the wrong way for her to catch the scent, fully expecting some other foul thing that would make her nose wrinkle. Rick, apparently having expected that, had positioned himself slightly downwind from her.

“Why did you ask me on this little outing?” she wondered. “I’ve been looking into your emotions; I fail to find anything that would explain this effort you’re putting up.” Or at least she hoped she wasn't misreading things.

Rick stopped for a moment, meeting her gaze with a half-cocked grin. “I know you see this as some sort of business arrangement.” There was a sting hidden in his words somewhere, though it wasn't entirely possible to pinpoint the cause.

“With benefits,” Kiara added with a hint of amusement. “Not that you’ve taken to it the way I anticipated.” At his look of confusion, she huffed. “I am a Succubus. Never have I found someone who’d agree to bond with me and not take liberties.” She made a gesture at her body. “My form should be just about the most enticing thing you could ever desire; a succubus’s body changes to meet the tastes of those they bond with. Yet I barely sense anything from you.” The damnable leech seemed to have an easier time rousing his attention, and that was not something Kiara would openly admit. She didn't particularly mind the arrangement, but her pride was no less stung for it.

“You didn’t seem that eager about it,” he spoke carefully.

“I am a Succubus,” was her response. Seeing his blank expression, she pushed on. “I feed on sex, lust, and energy. If I were in my natural state, letting out everything I reign in, I would be irresistible by all accounts. Strangers have run to me just so they could force themselves on to my body, and even at my lowest point, I would’ve found it enjoyable to some degree.”

Rick’s emotions drew inward, a flash of caution hiding itself behind steely black eyes. He kept looking at her carefully. “Are you trying to say—”

Kiara’s jaw set. “You cannot rape a succubus, Rick; we are never unwilling. Ever. Sex is when we are at our most powerful. It is when we are the most in control.”

He averted his gaze, looking down at the box even though his hands weren’t moving. “I guess it’s another one of those maiden things.”

There was a bitterness lingering in his words, followed by anger, pity, and shame. The swell of emotions brought with it a barely concealed sense of guilt over something past. It was a powerful enough thing she wondered what might be going through his mind. The combination of flavors were not unlike those of a survivor looking over the events that had allowed them to make it to the present. Whatever it was, the emotion was gone as quickly as it came, Rick's gaze sharpening as he broke the silence.

“To me, it feels like most of the time you are just barely tolerating us. That you are putting up with everything just to see it through.”

She didn’t curse, but the words nearly escaped her lips. Of course the bond had allowed him to have some degree of awareness over what she’d felt, apparently from the very start and not just these past few weeks. This time she averted her gaze to look back at the sea, trying to focus her emotions on something true, but that might distract from the full scope of things. This was a careful path she had to tread. “I am old, Rick. Have you not felt like the younger bratty children are something you need to tolerate sometimes? Even when you cannot feel the connection you might form with a fellow of your own age?”

“So I’m a brat.”

Kiara nodded along, amused at how he'd tried to sound humorous yet had a petulant edge in his voice. “A very interesting brat, but yes.” She lifted her eyes to the cloudy sky. “To you, the stars above might feel like something novel and new. But I have seen them enough to know them like the back of my hand.” She let out a long-winded sigh. “From the jade-laden palace and its succulent gardens to the boats of ever-ice, I have been to many places and seen many things. There are very few wonders in this world that I’ve yet to experience.”

Turning to give him a rueful grin, she leaned back a little, tucking her shoulders back to expose a hint of cleavage.

“It is a miracle that I found someone as novel as you in such a remote place.”

An honest compliment, one that got the desired effect, partially. Though his eyes flickered at her chest they did not linger, yet he flustered all the same. Not at the physicality of the temptation, but at the emotion that had come with it. The young man chuckled, scratching his chin awkwardly as some of the mossy dull flavors in his emotions were swept under anticipation and excitement. He patted the box. “I was hoping I’d have something new for you here.”

“Hm… that is yet to be seen.” She made a point to caress the purple neckerchief she wore whenever going out in public. “This dye, as marvelous as it is, already existed in this world.”

That popped his ego a little. “Har har, rub it in, why don’t you. I bet you never dressed entirely in purple before.” There was no heat to his words, yet they were true.

Of course, Kiara didn't bother to agree, to do so would diminish his frustration and right now it would be best if Rick were feeling things rather than sensing things. Besides, it was amusing to scratch at his pride before it grew in the wrong direction. She needed her human to become a ruler in heart and mind, and as interesting and useful his inventions were, the role was one he needed to be coaxed into.

Rather than retort, he handed her the box. In it were a few vials and a piece of paper that had instructions. “I bet you’ve never seen this before either.” Rick straightened out as he spoke, like a child that had just found a shiny stone and wanted to show it off.

Kiara pretended disinterest, taking a single glance before shrugging him off. “It is certainly the first time I’ve seen this box. Though not the first box I’ve ever seen,” she teased back, resisting the urge to check the content of the paper. “What is it, little human, that has you this eager?”

“It’s as close an approximation to epoxy resin as I can currently manage.” The simplicity of his response and the lack of further explanation were his attempt to jab back at her.

Kiara didn’t mind, pretending to be offended and putting up a glare that had no teeth.

It proved enough for him to continue the explanation. “If you follow the instructions and mix the contents of the vials in the right order, it will create a clear, thick liquid that will harden over the following day.”

"An odd gift, I would imagine it to be more useful in the hands of your little rodents."

Rick hesitated, scratching his cheek with that awkwardness. “One of its utilities is to preserve things. The resin once it hardens would work akin to amber. It's not forever-proof, but it should help."

The earnestness of his words and the sweet wine flavor of hope that came with them did little to mitigate the intent that they carried. Kiara's breath caught in her throat and any attempt to play coy or a tease vanished. Her gaze fixated on the piece of paper as she read through it, sparing not a bit of attention to anything else. It was a list of instructions, a step by step process of how to extract and gather the necessary resources to make more of this resin, and how to use it. It did not go unnoticed how everything had been worded so that anyone could comprehend each step of the process. A quick mental check confirmed that it was no simple feat, nor cheap, but for someone like her, it would be possible to carry out near anywhere.

It was exactly worded so that she could make use of it long after her human was gone.

A gift for eternity.

Kiara's first impulse was to jump him. There and then, pin him to the pier, strip him, have her way with him. Intentions and propriety be damned, she would blow his brains out through his loins and wrap him so tightly around her finger he'd be begging for more by the time the sun rose. Immunity be damned, by the time she was through with him she would've saturated him with energy and drained it through his every pore, repeating the process for hours on end until he'd beg for release. Her aura flared out with such intensity she shuddered. But a pang of guilt rose within her, squashing it before she could loosen the tight grip she held over her powers. It was a splash of cold water that cleared her thoughts, this was not the time or place, especially not after having confessed that sex with her was no different than holding a blade to his throat.

Besides, she could not make him a ruler in truth if he was coerced into submission.

Kiara took a deep breath and carefully folded the paper, looking into his eyes. She tried to find something, though not entirely sure what she wanted to see within the black orbs. “Why would you give this to me?” Her voice felt smaller than a moment ago.

He smirked, perhaps intentionally ignorant to how close he'd been to having his fate sealed. “I thought a granny like you might appreciate it.”

Kiara couldn’t find the words to properly answer that.

Rather than allow the moment to linger and the awkward silence to stretch out, she closed her eyes and softly closed the box. Her fingers brushed over the rough surface. “There are enchantments that help preserve things. But even the best enchanter cannot create something that will last more than a handful of years without proper maintenance.” But they were enchantments that cost fortunes, maintenance efforts that became a vortex sucking up immeasurable amounts of gold and required the hand of equally hard to find experts. She opened her eyes to give him a plastered, amused grin that hid everything she wished she could let out. “I’m afraid this is not as new as you thought it might be.”

He wasn’t offended, shrugging off her little jab, the smirk still in place. “Well, if this wasn’t special enough, I guess we can still just walk around, and pretend to be saying interesting empty things. Some laughing, some teasing, and I somehow end up getting ambushed by your ‘pets’ again.”

How much had he caught on? It was impossible he couldn't know the fire he'd step into if he kept pushing this.

Biting her lip and letting out a soft chuckle, she shook her head. “That might have been my original intention, but I think I’m not in the mood for it.”

Her human deserved better than this. The thought was an odd one, but one Kiara couldn't find herself to disagree with. Averting her gaze once more, she wished she could summon an image of the future. It was an act that made her inwardly flinch, the guilt flaring up again, creating a vision of screams and fire. How long until he wizened up and stopped trusting her? How long before his maidens ran out of patience and chose to hunt her down? How long before her presence was revealed and Hounds were sent to track her down?

The future was not a kind place, not within the lifespan of her current human.

She couldn't even look him in the eye and pretend the gift hadn't shaken her in ways she hadn't anticipated. The best she could do was focus on pretending her mind was lost at sea.

Something had changed, and the thought of what it might be put a knot in her stomach.

“Woe is me, forsaken by my wife.” He laughed, his voice carrying a lilt in the air.

She knew he knew, it was impossible he hadn't picked up on anything through the bond. Yet he'd chosen to lighten the mood rather than ask about the storm trapped within her chest. For the longest moment she remained quiet, enough so that Rick’s amusement turned into concern. The knot in her stomach tightened until she knew she could not keep herself quiet anymore. “The message on the arrows was meant for me.” She spoke, eyes fixed into the infinite, anywhere but him. “If it proves to be true… then it’s an offer I can’t refuse.” It was the stupidest move, out of everyone in the city, he was the last one she should've told this to. No matter how much he might suspect the truth, confirming it was no different than putting herself at the door and proclaim she'd burn the whole house.

His silence became a mountain on her shoulders. The crashing waves might as well have not existed at all, Kiara’s ears pricked at how suddenly aware and focused she was on Rick’s every breath. Her hands tightened into fists, waiting for him to explode, to realize she’d intended to carry through even if it potentially meant selling him off. Some part of her wished he screamed at her, rage, anger and betrayal. Another snidely declared he'd forgive her and welcome her with open arms like some saint waiting to get stabbed.

Kiara wasn't even sure which one she would've preferred, though the guilt happily pointed at which one she deserved.

“I see.” It was a neutral answer, infuriatingly devoid of inflection, or had she picked a hint of concern from him? Rick's eyes had hardened, and for a flash she could taste that cinnamon threat and determination floating about him. When next he spoke, it was with a voice full of steel. “I used the bond to push Eva into ascension.”

Kiara’s head snapped to him, eyes wide.

“You’re…” Her voice wavered. “You’re trying to coerce me into turning the Pinielf down.”

“I am.” His gaze held an edge of coldness to it. “I want our goals to align. She has to die."

But there was a second goal she could see written all over his face yet one that he did not put into words.

'I want you to stay.'

Biting the inside of her cheek, her thoughts blitzed through. She needn’t concern herself with whether he was telling the truth or not. Rick’s resolution had enough steel to it, she’d ask again when she set up a truth detection spell, and it was clear he’d answer. Her concerns were the Pinielf. Some distant part of her felt the urge to delve into that information, to pick the ageless maiden’s brain for weeks on end until there was nothing left. If she was aware of how a Succubus might be able to ascend, then what other secrets did she hold?

In the end, however, there was only one thing that mattered. “I don’t care if she lives, only what she knows.” She finally conceded.

“Just don’t promise her anything meant to keep her alive.” His tone held no room for rebuttals.

Kiara nodded. “I can work with that.”

With a sigh, Rick relaxed again, combing his hair through his fingers. “Great, then you’ll make sure to push for me to go on this expedition.”

Another quick nod, one with trepidation. “That would let you keep an eye on me. It’s reasonable.” This was the time for concessions, pushing would only get her further from the knowledge she needed.

“No. Putting a leash on you would just blow up in my face.” He shook his head. “I’m doing it for myself.”

Whatever he was thinking about, he didn’t elaborate.

Seeing the resolve in his gaze, Kiara dared not ask. This arrangement was better anyway. To make the conditions clear, the lines on the sand apparent. No need for messy emotions and assumptions. Yet there was a second question, one that lingered on her lips, but she could not be sure whether speaking it would be the right thing to do. Kiara’s gaze roamed over him as she tried to make sense out of his bittersweet relief and smoky comfort.

That lone word trapped in her throat that kept emerging every time they spoke but that she would not let out.

‘Why?’