Amelia and Ophelia: The Former Grand Duchess and Saintess.

After their meeting with the Imperial Council, the duo monarchs were once again in a carriage on their way to a naval construction yard outside of Olertin City. Amelia was dressed in a white turtleneck which could be insulated and cooled by magic made by her beloved and she snuggled up close to her, although it was still morning, she was still tired since they had some pleasurable time the night before. 

"You ok Amelia?" Ophelia asked her as she stroked her hair and kissed her on the forehead 

"I am Ophie, just tired from your....acts, last night" She replied as she looked up at her and softly kissed her lips 

"I hope you are ready for the things I am about to show you. It will be quite a sight, I promise you" Ophelia stated with a loving smile 

"I will hold you to that Ophie" Amelia replied as the two of them rested their heads on one another and they went to sleep 

"Driver, wake us when we arrive at our destination, and take the long way around" Ophelia added before she dozed off 

"Understood Your Majesty" The driver acknowledged 

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About an hour later, the duo monarchs arrived at a massive naval construction yard just east of Olertin City, it was called the Brightpoint Dockyards and Ophelia had built them up to be the largest military vessel construction yard available to the empire. The carriage stopped when they had reached the center of the dockyard, with each slot on the dock having a ship docked and at the ready. When the duo stepped out, Amelia was amazed by the sights of the massive vessels before her, and as they walked from the carriage to the administrative building, she could see the rest of the ships that were up and down the massive place. With passing sailors and dockyard workers and even guards saluting them as they walked by. 

"This is quite a sight indeed Ophie" She commented as she shifted her gaze towards the ships and then to her beloved 

"I am glad you enjoyed them, let's go see if the person I put in charge here is ready for us" Ophelia replied as she kissed her on the forehead and then the duo entered the administrative building

When they entered the massive two-story building, they were immediately greeted by the numerous sailors who stood at attention and saluted them. They saw before them an assortment of humans, kitsune, lamias, elves, wolf beastkin, sirens, dragonkin and other races of the empire all dressed in their navy blue attire with gold trim. After Amelia and Ophelia waved their hands did the sailors let their salutes down and returned to their duties, one of the sailors however, a harpy with the name tag of "Austin" approached them with a small smile. 

"I am Captain Austin Miller Your Majesties. The aide of Admiral Ushana, she is currently making final checks on the ships and will be here shortly, she apologizes for not meeting you immediately" Austin stated with a bow 

"Hmm, alright then. Where shall we wait for her then?" Amelia asked with a smile 

"You may wait in her office on the second floor Your Majesties. I will show you the way" The harpy answered as she began to walk up the stairs to the left with the duo monarchs following behind. 

They quickly arrived at a large office on the second floor, it had large and clear windows that gave them a good view of the ships in the dockyard and there was also a set of couches and a coffee table in the center of them off to the side which was the relaxation area. Then there was the main desk and chair that belonged to the Admiral which was in front of one of the windows and since it was a sunny day, there was sunlight flooding into the room. 

"Admiral Ushana will be here shortly Your Majesties. Again apologies for leaving you both waiting, do you wish for any refreshments while waiting?" Austin asked as she looked at both of them 

"Hmm, I think the two of us will like some hot chocolate, and if you have any, some bread would be nice" Amelia replied with a smile, 

"Of course Your Majesty, it will be here right away" Austin replied with another bow before promptly leaving the office 

After the harpy captain left the duo, Amelia once again leaned on her beloved, looking up at her and seeing Ophie staring back down at her, a small smile on both of their lips as they softly kissed one another. 

"Are you ok Ophie?" Amelia asked as she cupped her beloved's face 

"I am as always Amelia. With you by my side, I see not reason not to be ok" Ophelia answered her with a smile and a loving look in her eyes 

"Did you expect this Admiral Ushana to be ready when we arrived?" The blonde empress asked her 

"Yes, but I did not expect her to be inspecting the vessels when we arrived" The raven-haired lover replied with a wry smile 

"It's fine Ophie. Maybe there was a problem that just came up, we can't blame her if it is something that requires her utmost attention" Amelia said 

"I get that...sigh...Let's just wait then" Ophelia replied with a smile 

"Alright then Ophie" Amelia replied as she kissed her again 

A few minutes later, some sailors entered the room and brought their refreshments, placing a teat set before them with a bow and a salute before leaving the room. The tea set was fairly normal, it was a large teapot filled with hot chocolate with a pair of fine teacups and a plate of sliced bread nearby for them to dunk into the hot chocolate and eat while they enjoyed the sweet drink. The teapot and cups were also very ornately decorated as their designs were much more grand than the usual sets given out to the populace. 

The duo monarchs were enjoying the treat before them with delight as the hot chocolate was a standard drink around the empire and it was made with the same process for uniformity in its high quality. The usual cocoa beans that made the drink in Ophelia's old world were substituted with an abundant parallel in this world, but this bean was much more potent and richer than that of her old world which made her love it even more, it also had even less of a chance of giving someone diabetes or high blood sugar which was an amazing bonus. 

After about twenty more minutes and halfway through their refreshments, the sudden sounds of shouting from downstairs and someone running upstairs caught the attention of the duo monarchs, making them place their cups on the table and finish the pieces of dipped bread in their hands before washing it down with some ice cold water Amelia made in the air. 

{!} 

Bursting through the door was a woman wearing a white admiral's uniform, her flowing purple hair and green eyes made her stand out even amongst her crew and it looked as if she had just come from a marathon with how loud her breathing was when she entered her office and looked at the duo monarchs, her face going pale as her eyes went wide. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! I am so sorry Your Majesties!" The woman said as she walked closer to them and then fell know her knees and bowed her head 

"Ah, so you finally meet with us Ushana. I thought better of you given that Udaria and Chief Persophose personally vouched for your naval abilities" Ophelia stated with her usual cold gaze as she looked down at the admiral 

"Eeei! I am so so sorry  Your Majesty! I swear it was an issue that required my utmost attention!" Udaria apologized as she looked up to see Ophelia's gaze, prompting her to bow back down 

"I think we both get it now Ushana, you may raise your head" Amelia stated as she slightly nudged her lover to get her to stop that cold gaze, which Ophie did 

Rising from her kneeling state, Ushana bowed her head multiple times with tears in her eyes at the words of Amelia as the sweet sincereness and gentleness in her voice trumped the fear from earlier. 

"Ahem, I believe this is the first time we are properly meeting Your Majesty Amelia, I am Ushana Primrose, commander of the 1st Halkare Squadron and the Fleet Admiral in charge of the Imperial Halkare Navy!" Ushana stated as she stood at attention, gave a salute, and then bowed her head with her cap. 

"It is a pleasure to meet you Admiral, so I take it you will be giving us a tour of our ships?" Amelia asked with a smile 

"Affirmative Your Majesty. If you would please follow me" Ushana replied as she gestured for the duo monarchs to follow her 

With a nod, the duo monarchs indeed followed her with both of them walking arm in arm and proceeding out of the administrative building and following the admiral down the long line of ships until they reached a row of the smallest ships in the dockyard. It had a mainmast and a mizzenmast and had a single gundeck with nine guns on either side. The crew of these ships were standing at attention as they were all looking at the duo monarchs and the admiral.

"This is the smallest ship in the fleet, a Sloop-Of-War, this is the Emerald Class of sloops we have about a dozen of these ships which are our fastest ships and they are outfitted with magic crystals installed in the masts to allow a continuous flow of powerful air that helps them propel faster than most ships on the sea and they are armed with the standard 8-pounder magi-cannon which is our lightest cannon but is more than enough to blow a hole through wooden buildings and other ships" Ushana stated with a smile as she guided the duo monarchs onto the first sloop in line, the HNS Boaty McBoatface

(A/N: Here is a reference picture for the ship as the AI does not know how to make a ship for some damn reason, also HNS = Halkare Naval Ship)  

"Hmm, the name of this ship is...unique to say the least" Amelia remarked as she looked at the name of the ship as they were boarding it 

"Ah, I thought it would be funny" Ophelia replied to her with a smirk 

"It did get a giggle from me when I saw it, so I believe it is funny" Amelia replied with a smirk of her own 

After they boarded the ship, Ushana led the duo to one of the magi-cannons already prepared for demonstration beforehand, with a crew standing by to show them how the naval artillery worked. 

"I believe that Her Majesty Ophelia knows already how this weapon works, but for you Your Majesty Amelia, please observe" The admiral stated as she looked at her monarch 

Amelia looked at her beloved who nodded at her, prompting Amelia to turn her gaze towards the magi-cannon and the crew operating it

"Your Majesty, the magi-cannon works like this, we load a projectile that is made of iron and inscribed with explosion magic that also comes with a softer monster crystal cone at the top that is equipped with another inscription we call it a "shell". When the shell strikes a target, the monster crystal cone is the first to make an impact with it, and in the zero-point-five seconds after it impacts, the inscription on the crystal activates the explosion magic iron body. Now for the loading, this is what is called a "breech-loading system" according to the researchers at the Halkare Research Department, we insert the shell at the rear of the gun and then close it with this latch pin we turn downwards, then we charge up the gun by pouring our magic into the magic crystal primer here on the right side and once we fill it with enough magic it will start to have a soft glow to indicate it is ready, then we pull on the string attached to the trigger on the right side which activates the firing inscription that uses up the magic stored inside the crystal to propel the shell at our target, as such here is a demonstration" Ushana explained as she pointed out the numerous parts of the magi-cannon before stepping back and gesturing for the crew to perform it

The crew standing by immediately went to work after the admiral had stepped back, the dwarven crewmate inserted the shell into the gun before closing and then turning the latch pin down to seal it. The siren crewmate then poured her magic into the magic crystal primer and when the crystal had a soft glow about it, then the lizardman crewmate aimed the gun upward and at the target on the hill near the dockyard and then pulled the string. The magi-cannon let out a deafening BOOM as it fired and the wooden target it was shooting at exploded into a shower of splinters, causing Amelia to gasp with surprise as she saw the destructive power of the weapon. 

"Woah, that is very impressive. To think we have this kind of firepower...won't this make our magic and weapons we are already using pointless?" Amelia remarked as she turned to her lover 

"Not really no. The magi-cannon is reliant on magic, and despite our abilities in manufacturing it, making something smaller to fit in the hands of our soldiers is currently unfeasible, plus, individual soldiers who know powerful magics and a population who utilize powerful magic is already much cheaper than creating something like the magi-cannon, in a world where everyone is able to use magic and the monsters are tough as nails, firearms like the magi-cannon have a lot of competition" Ophelia answered her 

"Oh? Then why bother with the magi-cannon?" Amelia asked with a confused expression 

"Well, the world will need to modernize, and as far as I know, we are the only ones who have thought of this type of weapon, a weapon that will no doubt shock our foes, as they will have yet to encounter a weapon such as this. And it will also force us to develop counters to this new weapon, counters that have to account for the strength of a person, the strength of their magic and the like, if anything, introducing something challenging will help make magic more relevant than ever and yes, there will be a day where swords and shields will no longer be needed but that is lifetimes ahead of us, but magic will always be around, plus I personally love it when the cannons go boom" Ophelia answered her again with another smile. 

"Hmm, I see your point...well, considering that you have already thought this through, I will trust you as always Ophie" Amelia added as she locked her arm with hers again 

"Let's continue the tour Ushana" Ophelia commanded as she looked at her admiral 

"Understood Your Majesties, please follow me" Ushana acknowledged with a nod before she led them past the sloops and onto the much larger ships beside them. 

(A/N: Here is the next reference for the next ship, also since the AI does not know how to make it for some reason) 

They stopped at the first of these larger ships, they were considerably bigger than the sloops before but still had two masts and a single gun deck that extended farther into the aft of the ship, unlike the sloop. 

"These ships are our Enterprise Class Brigs of which we have eight in use, they are much larger than the sloops-of-war as you can see and they are armed with thirty-two  16-pounder guns, which are much more potent than the lightweight 8-pounder by a good amount and are spread out with sixteen on either side. The ship's masts are also equipped with the same air magic crystals that allow it to have a continuous stream of strong wind to help propel it through the water just like the sloops. You may have noticed that the gunports of the ship are a bit wider and larger than they should be for a single gun, one thing I forgot to mention earlier is that the magi-cannons of the ships from the sloops to our biggest one here in the dockyard, is that they are mounted on a turning table of sorts, it means that we can turn the gun from left to right and up and down instead of keeping it aimed in one direction, allowing the magi-cannons the ability to shoot at passing ships without even fully realigning the whole ship" Ushana stated as they boarded the brig they were standing next to, the HNS Enterprise herself, the namesake of the class 

The duo were impressed when they stepped onto the ship, immediately noticing the much larger feel the brig had than the sloop. They walked around the top deck while greeting the crew and then ventured into the depths of the ship, seeing the main gundeck and the crew quarters and noting the living conditions the sailors were in, although it was mostly just hammocks and restrooms on the corners of the ship that had magic water crystals for washing and a magic crystal with the purify rune to ensure if they relieved themselves on the toilet on the ship, the waste was immediately purified and turned into water that was then dumped into the sea. 

"This is a very interesting vessel, larger than the one from before but by the looks of it, they could go just as fast, it is even more heavily armed which is a bonus" Amelia remarked as they made it back up to the top deck of the brig 

"Indeed, but these are merely the screening vessels, the ones over there are much much more interesting I bet" Ophelia said with a smile as he looked past the rest of the brigs and at the six massive vessels on the opposite side of the dockyard

"Ahh, I see you are both ready to see our larger ships, right this way Your Majesties" Ushana said with her own large grin 

Soon, the duo monarchs followed the admiral further down the dockyards and stopped at the sight of four massive ships, even larger than the sloops and the brigs, heck larger than both classes of ships combined. They wore a lovely shade of black with some white lines that was painted over the numerous gunports of the ships, there were about two gundecks and the guns on the top deck that the duo monarchs could see and their massive size most likely meant they had a larger caliber of magi-cannons onboard. 

(A/N: Same thing, reference for the ship but obviously with the details from the text, hehehe) 

 

"These ships are our Gaius Class ships of the line, and just like the rest of the ship here in the dockyard, built to the specifications of Her Majesty Ophelia. I believe the first two of these ships are the HNS Gaius and the HNS Olertin, I do know not the namesake of the first ship but I know the second was named after our beloved but now deceased former king, but the other two ships of the class have no names" Ushana stated as she looked at the two of them 

"Oh? Why is that Ophie?" Amelia asked as she turned to her beloved 

"It's because I wanted you to name them, I named mine after the man who helped raise me after my parents died and the man who entrusted his kingdom to us, the last two I was reserving for you Amelia" Ophelia replied 

"Ophie..." Amelia was touched as she smiled and kissed her beloved on the lips and embraced her, before turning her gaze back to the waiting admiral 

"Well, if we are going to dedicate them to our loved ones, I want the last two ships to be the Felice and the Mary, after my parents" Amelia stated with a smile 

"It shall be done later Your Majesties" Ushana acknowledged with a bow 

"Alright, now let's tour the thing" Ophelia chimed in as she smiled at her beloved 

Stepping onto the ship after walking up a longer ramp than before and greeting the crew just like the rest, the duo monarchs were smiling as they stepped onto the top deck of the ship. It was much much larger than the brig's and there were a lot more magi-cannons visible, venturing down into the ship's interior, the two gundecks were massive and they housed an even larger magi-cannon, what's more, they also had about six of them at the bow of the ship that were called "Chase guns" After touring the lavish captain's cabin and also seeing the commodities for the crew, which were the same usual hammocks for sleeping and the same restroom commodities, the duo made their way back up to the top deck and then turned to the admiral who had been following them. 

"So what's the run-down for this class Ushana?" Amelia asked with a smile 

"Well Your Majesty, the Gaius Class is equipped with eighty-six 32-pounder guns, a much more powerful gun and the second-most powerful one in our arsenal, these ships are also equipped with the same wind magic crystals in the masts, allowing them to keep up with the smaller ships without much problem, albeit needing more magic energy from the operators to keep up the pace, but other than that, these ships are fast and hit hard, making them a deadly problem for anyone wanting to mess with us" Ushana answered her 

"Hmmm, what about the defensive capabilities of the ship, all this firepower would be useless if the ships can't take any punishment" The blonde empress added 

"Ahh, that is a good question Amelia, I will explain" Ophelia chimed in, with Ushana nodding 

"All of these ships are made of the strongest wood we have at our disposal, Ironwood. The wood from these trees is as sturdy as steel while being easily malleable, meaning they are easy to use in constructing very rigid and study things like houses or even ships, plus, each ship is equipped with a magic monster crystal that has a barrier rune that is only active when the ships is under enemy attack, it is usually dormant but can be activated by the crew before they go into combat, remember those large crystals in the bowels of the ships we saw earlier, yeah, those are the barrier crystals" She added, with Amelia's expression turning to that of impressed and satisfied with the answer 

As Amelia nodded, she kept looking at the various parts of the ship visible to her on the top deck, but as she turned her gaze away from the riggings for the masts, she saw a pair of ships that they had yet to explore as well, they looked larger than the ships they were on and they were both of different color. One was the same black-and-white scheme that the Gaius Class had but the second one was a deep maroon with black and some gold trim. 

(A/N: Same thing, reference for the ship but obviously with the details from the text, these are the last ones) 

"Hey Ophie, those two ships there, aren't we going to them?" Amelia asked as she turned to her beloved 

"Ahh, yes. The final stop of our tour I believe. Ushana, if you will" Ophelia answered as she looked at the admiral who nodded to her two monarchs 

"Follow me please" 

They soon arrived at the portion of the dockyard that housed the two ships, the crews of both standing at the ready and looking at them from the riggings and the top deck. These ships were definitely larger than the Gaius ships of the line now that they were standing before them and as Amelia admired them, her gaze turned to the admiral once more who gave her a nod before speaking. 

"And here we have the last two ships of the fleet, the pride of our navy and the crown jewel in our naval crown, the HNS Amelia and the HNS Ophelia, both ships housing more than one hundred and forty magi-cannons of the 42-pounder kind, the largest magi-cannons in our arsenal that will definitely reduce anything it fires upon into the past tense, these ships were built to the specifications just like the rest of the vessels here and are equipped with the same wind magic crystals and barrier crystal" The admiral stated with a larger smile than before 

"You named a ship after me?" Amelia asked with wide eyes as she turned to her beloved who was locked in her arms 

"Of course, if there was ever going to be a fleet at our disposal, it should have the names of the rulers who commissioned it no?" Ophelia replied with a smirk 

"Ophie...." Amelia's lips trembled as she held her close and kissed her multiple times on the lips 

"Hehehe, I am glad you like it. But it get's better" Ophelia added with an even larger smile than before 

"What do you mean?" 

"Hehehe, Ushana?" Ophelia asked as she turned to the admiral 

Ushana nodded as she took a deep breath and took out a magic crystal from her pocket, it was glowing pink and there were voices terminating from it, 

"All ships of the fleet! Get ready to set sail!" 

A/N: And here we go, a naval chapter! I will be honest, I always wanted to make one like this and now that I did, I am immensely happy with myself hehehe. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I writing it, if you got comments or reactions leave em below for me to read and I hope you will like the rest of the ship arc when they come. And as always, Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day!