Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) (10 page)

"Your Majesty is too kind-hearted for her own good.
It’s an admirable trait but also why the Noble and Common Councils do so much
harm to her country; she’s too soft and naive to control them. Fortunately, you
have me to set you straight.”

Kasile didn’t move or object. The arm dangling at her side
was as immobilized as the one in Lunas’ grasp. All she did was mumble, “You’re
right. Please help me.”

Lunas cinched the proverbial noose. “What was that, Your
Majesty?”

In a louder and clearer voice, Kasile said, “You’re right.
Please help me.”

“If Your Majesty insists...Medical Mana Mutation is
dangerous. Harry Butchin proved it was flawed beyond reason. Now he is the
ordercrafter Nulso Xialin and pursues a better way of dealing with the problem."

"Maybe with help from the elves..." She gasped
again.

Lunas glowered and Kasile shuddered before it. "Elves
despise humans. They will not share their technology willingly. There have been
numerous wars to this end."

"That's all true, but..."

Lunas released his grip on Kasile to stand and loom over
her. She shrank back in response. It was like watching a snake bully a kitten.

"You want what's best for your people, correct?"

"Of course!"

"Then do not seek this Medical Mana Mutation or any
such 'gift' from The Trickster. Do you understand, Your Majesty?"

"Y-yes."

"Good. I believe that is enough for tonight."

He rounded the table and once again grabbed Kasile’s hand.
He raised it hand to his lips and kissed the back of her palm. He walked to the
door, only a couple feet from Eric, but didn’t spot him. Then he was gone. As
the soon as the door closed, Eric shouted, as quietly as possible,

"What
the Abyss was that?!"

Kasile jumped to her feet and put a hand over her heart.
"Eric! How did you... why is your voice echoing?"

"That
is not...
That is not important. What concerns me right now is...Actually,
there's a LOT that concerns me right now, but first, since when am I
persona
non grata
around here?”

"It's night."

"That never stopped you before. In fact,
nothing
ever stopped you before. The Kasile I know didn't let other people's lack of faith
stop her from pursuing what she believed in."

Kasile looked away from him and towards the courtyard. "I'm
queen now. It's different."

"How so?"

She spun back around, royal skirt twirling. "It just
is! You'd know if you were a royal."

"Like Lunas?"

"Yes! He’s kind and wise and sympathetic.” She
stroked the ruby on her choker with a dreamy look on her face. “He can
understand me like no one else can…”

"Does that mean foreign royalty decides domestic
policy?"

"Of course not!" Kasile stood straight with her
shoulders back and chin high. "I may ask Lunas for advice, but I am still
the queen while he is a mere guest. I make the final decision."

"If that were true, then why are you wearing a collar
instead of a crown?"

Shock exploded on her face. She reached for the choker’s
clasp and its jewel gleamed. Her eyes glowed the same color and she lowered her
hand.

“It’s a harmless little gift,” she said dismissively.
“Lunas gave it to me as a sign of his support, so I would always know of his
guidance.” Her eyes unfocused and clouded over. “He’s so thoughtful and
charming and…”

“…Conniving and manipulative. He’s using that thing to
control your mind!”

Again, the gem flashed and its light reflected in her
eyes. “That’s absurd. My divine blood protects me from such magic.”

“Then take it off.”

“No. As queen, I can’t allow commoners to accuse a fellow
royal of such things.”

This Lunas was clearly a threat to his little sister and
his country. Eric wanted to seek out this threat and kill him, but he told
himself that was the monster talking. He needed to approach this from a
different angle. As a human, he could solve this problem.

“Speaking of fellow royals, he’d make a good match for
you.”

“You think so too?”

Instantly, Kasile’s mood lifted and her face brightened. She
looked so happy it made Eric even angrier. Such a perverse power exploiting his
vulnerable little sister made him sick. Despite this, he forced himself to
match her mood.

“Of course I do. Like you said, he’s wise and reasonable
and charismatic and all the things that make a good king.”

Kasile nodded enthusiastically.

“I’m sure he thinks you’re just his type: a beautiful and
single queen with bloodline magic and who needs someone like him to help her
rule a kingdom.”

“Exactly! We’re perfect for each other!”

“When you go on your honeymoon, he’ll select the perfect
steward to rule in your place; temporarily, of course.”

“Of course, I can’t rule and honeymoon at the same time.”

“The steward will stay in place afterward because Lunas
will want to tour Latrot with you. After all, it will be your realm too.”

“It will only make sense that I meet my new subjects.”

“By then, you’ll likely be pregnant; gotta pass the divine
fire to the next generation, you know?” Kasile continued nodding. “Like the
wonderful husband he is, Lunas will drop everything to take care of you in his
palace.”

“He
is
wonderful, isn’t he?”

Eric’s stomach twisted. He couldn’t take it anymore. This
line of dialogue had gone on long enough. Now was the time to change direction.

“To avoid any religious and cultural missteps, you won’t
teach this child about his heritage because Latrot is Order’s domain, not
Fiol’s, and Latrot’s constitution forbids worship of anyone other than Order.”

Kasile frowned. “I’m sure Lunas would make an exception.”

Eric waggled his finger. “There are no exceptions in
Order. The law is the law and no one is above it, not even the princess
consort.”

Kasile frowned deeper. “I am
queen
. Lunas respects
that.”

“Latrot law states that there can only be one ruler; only
a king and princess or queen and prince. Certainly Lunas will be king in his
own country.”

The frown disappeared to be replaced by an uncertain
contemplation. “…True, but Lunas respects my opinions and ideals.”

“Then he tells you to do things his way because he knows
better.”

“That is how things normally go…but… He’d want me to be
involved! He wouldn’t push me aside like some trophy wife! He understands me
better than anyone in this court!”

It was like watching someone drown. The world as she
currently understood it was crumbling beneath her feet and she clutched desperately
to driftwood.

“That’s why he’ll give you things to do to keep you busy.
You can go around the country assuring people that Lunas cares about them,
raising lots of semi-divine child soldiers, hosting balls for the upper crust,
and looking pretty on his arm when he makes a public appearance.”

“That’s….That would be in addition to decision-making and
law enforcement. Lunas knows how hard I work and knows that I can handle both.
He’ll be counting on me to administrate
and
to maintain a public image.”

“He also knows how stressful administration is for you and
how pressured you feel to excel. This way, you can reap all the adoration
without the heavy weight of a crown.”

“I…he…no.” The gem flashed a third time and lit up
Kasile’s eyes. Immediately, she shook her head. “Lunas is the perfect prince,
my
perfect prince. He’s just what I need to rule justly and make my ancestors
proud. I can’t do it without him!”

“So if Lunas gives you advice, you’ll always follow it?”

“Yes!”

“How is that any different from him giving orders?”

“….Uh…it’s um…Royalty don’t—”

“How is it any different from him dragging you on a
leash?”

“Now see here, commoner—”

“Latrot unofficially rules Ataidar.
You have failed
your Royal Trial!
”

The glow in her eyes disappeared and Kasile’s uncertainty
exploded into fear.

“Eric! Get this thing off me!” Her arms strained against
something confining them to her sides. “I’ve been a prisoner in my own body
since he put it on!”

“
With
pleasure.”

Eric stepped behind her to undo the clasp but an orderfied
barrier protected the entire article. He stabbed it with his
soiléir
and
the recoil shot up his arm like needles. It arrested his motion like
unbreakable law. While he resisted it, Kasile raised her right hand and shot
Sacred Fire in his face. It raced down his body and engulfed him. It reached
deep into him, a soul-deep roast. Kasile stood up, turned around, and shed
tears. Then she fired again.

He was a proper blaze now and Kasile squeezed her eyes
shut against the horror. She resisted the choker’s intrusion with all her might,
but she could feel it eating away at her resistance. Previous failures blared
in her mind while it shouted over and over again how only Lunas could save her
from another one. All she had to do was kill the Trickster’s Choice. Then
Ataidar would have a grand future under her rule.

“NOOOOOO!”

Kasile erupted in a pillar of white flames. It was all
around her and illuminated her with a divine radiance.

“He’s failed me right now! I don’t need him!”

With hands curled like tiger paws, she grabbed the red gem
in its casing and tore it off, along with the choker itself. She dashed the
thing on the floor and then swung her other arm to the side, quelling the
blazes engulfing both her and Eric. He collapsed like a scorched scarecrow.

“Eric!”

She rushed to his side and sent new flames, healing
flames, through his body and soul.

"How could I let this happen!? I knew it was
coming!"

She slouched, looking less a queen and more a mere girl.
“He got me eating out of his hand all the same…Almost made me kill my best
friend…..Please, Eric, wake up!”

Eric groaned and opened his eyes.

“Do I get Confidant Compensation?”

Kasile chuckled and lightly tapped his head. “Idiot.”

Eric leaned up and sat cross-legged. “Seriously, was that
celestial fire or nether fire? I feel like it was burning my soul instead of my
skin.”

“The Sage of Mt. Fiol tells me it’s all the same, just as
creation and destruction are the same thing. Then he told me that left and
right are the same thing, that smug old relic….Do you know what he calls me?
‘The queen who is not queen’!”

Eric gave her a hug.

"I warned you,” he said next to her ear. “The best
ordercrafter is one who doesn’t need ordercraft. What happened to that
anti-ordercraft circlet anyway?"

Kasile spoke to the floor, but Eric knew how she felt all
the same. A profound sense of defeat radiated from every part of her.

“He recognized it. He recognized it and asked if I saw
anti-divine flame protection on him. He talked about trust in successful
relationships and...before I knew it...it was off and that choker was on. I
don't know what happened but...it didn't seem so bad... and I felt so
secure..."

Charismatic Eye...
Grey Dengel said.
Do you
remember when the real Dengel spoke to you about “crowbars on willpower”?
Eric
nodded.
He was not deceiving you. Such an ability does indeed exist.

"Eric, are you spacing out?" Kasile asked. Eric
smiled because she sounded more like her regal self than the submissive facade
of the choker.

"I'm talking with 'Grey Dengel.' He’s like a search
function for my sub-conscious. He says he knows what happened."

“Oh. Carry on."

Charismatic Eye is similar in principle to Evil Eye; a
spiritual technique powered by the user's emotions and requires eye contact to
activate. However, instead of inflicting a mental paralysis with negative
emotions, Charismatic Eye induces a feeling of trust in the target and this
trust can be amplified into submission in sufficient quantity and sufficient
skill. Also like Evil Eye, Charismatic Eye will not work on everyone. You
recall how your Evil Eye failed to affect Professor Haburt, yes?

Eric nodded.

That is because your negative emotion, that were you
attempting to inflict upon him, paled in comparison to that which he possessed
towards himself. To use a metaphor, you were throwing a bucket of cold water
into the Arctic. Charismatic Eye, by contrast, exploits a weakness in the
target. It is similar to a virus infiltrating a system and taking over its
central processing unit. I recommend asking Her Majesty about her experience.
If you can find the vulnerability, then she can patch it.

Eric leaned away from Kasile and explained all this to her,
as gently as he could, and waited for her to respond. It was what he expected:
the hardship of ruling young, the loss of her parents, and the pressure to live
up to the people's standards and her own. Red in the face, she confessed to a
guilty pleasure where she imagined the arrival of the perfect Prince Charming who
would know exactly what to do at all times, could empathize with her troubles,
and whose trustworthiness was absolute.

"However, I didn't put on that choker until after I
heard about your mana mutation."

She shivered and Eric hugged her again. She smiled in
gratitude.

 "You weren't born here, so you don't know what it
was like to hear that. My contact may as well have said you
died
. When
you came back after all those months, I was so happy to have my best friend
back."

She glared and pushed him down.

 "Then you had to go and mutate! I was devastated! I
couldn't stop crying for hours! I had to cancel the day court!" She knelt
next to him and pounded on his chest. "I was just getting over the nine
days of silence too!
And I don't see any candy or flowers!
"