"How does it feel?" Asked Tobi.
Ri-is wiggled the fingers of his new prosthetic, still unsure of how to feel. He jolted in surprise when a sudden tingling sensation surged through his shoulder as he tried to conduct shi through it. The winding pattern on the exposed part of the arm glowed a faint blue light, signaling that he had been successful.
"Careful," warned Bellany. "You don't want to overload it with too much magic. It'll take some time to get used to and learn how to balance the shi out but if you rush it and channel too much shi through it, the arm might stop functioning altogether."
Ri-is ran his fingers over the hand once again. "I...I don't know what to say..."
Tobi and Yukimi exchanged a relieved look upon seeing how happy Ri-is was. They were caught off guard when he got up and threw his arms around them, pulling them in for a hug.
"Thank you so much..."
Right as Bellany began to tidy up, the door burst open to reveal a panting Diana.
"D-Diana? What are you doing here? I thought you were away with your dad?"
She caught her breath and stepped inside. "Yeah well, sorry to have this be the first thing we talk about after seeing each other in years but where the fuck is mom right now?"
The room fell silent and all eyes settled on Diana.
Ri-is' face contorted in confusion. "She's...right now she's-"
"Sick? Yeah, I heard. I was coming to visit everyone, I even brought some treats from my dad." She dumped a basket of food on the table which was raided by Hecate in the meantime as she shuffled over upon smelling it. "But on my way here, I heard that she was going to war? Town gossip has more or less caught me up on everything-nice arm by the way-but I got worried when I overheard some noble's shit talking her."
Ri-is sighed. "The nobles never liked her it's not surprising."
"They're banking on her kicking the bucket if she leaves. Everyone else seems to be opposing her going to war because of how sick she is but the only reason the aristocracy isn't kicking up a fuss is because they're seeing this as a chance to steal power."
Ri-is frowned. He knew where she was going with this. If Illya went to war and lost, they would take the opportunity to stage a coup and steal power for themselves. The nobles were always dissatisfied with Illya because she supported the lower classes. When she took power in Solaria, she purged most of the power-hungry nobles from Solaria and brought back Solarian nobles that had been run out during the demon general's rule. Unfortunately, the nobles that escaped her purge and managed to stay still resented her, and this was the perfect opportunity to rally their forces and get revenge.
"We have to go see her."
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Unfortunately for them, nobody had seen Illya since she received Sin's report on the Scarlet Night investigation At least that was until they went round into the southern courtyard overlooking the geyser plains. Solarian knights were already gathered and ready to head out. Ri-is rushed to find Illya but was met with Wild instead.
"Wild! Where's my mom?"
He made a face that Ri-is couldn't quite decipher. "She's left already. She went ahead of us, we're taking the path through the geyser plains so that nobody sees us leaving. Emperor Callisto left not long after to help her...he had a message for you."
Ri-is looked up at Wild hopefully. Wild pulled himself onto his horse and looked back down at Ri-is. "He wanted me to tell you that he'll bring your mother back safely."
Diana tugged on Ri-is. "If there isn't anyone else, we have to hold down the fort here ourselves. "
Ri-is frowned. Without much a choice he turned and began making his way to Illya's office. "Call Astrid to mother's office we have to talk."
•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Illya had made it quite a ways away by the time night had fallen. She had dawned her armour and left before anyone could stop her after leaving instructions for her army. The deterioration of her root shi was getting worse and she knew that if she didn't do something soon she would never get the chance to. So there she was, arguing with her horse in the dead of the night well past the Solarian borders.
"Rimanis come on! We have to go!"
Rimanis neighed, stomping her hoof in protest.
"Rima! Don't you dare give me attitude young lady! We have to—" Illya was interrupted by a fit of coughing that she had been holding back. It stole the breath from her lungs and left her an ugly, gasping mess as she wiped the black blood from her lips.
She could vaguely hear the sound of hooves approaching her as she caught her breath. Believing it to be Rimanis, she didn't think much of it. So when a handkerchief made its way into view it caught her off guard.
"Here, use this."
Illya's gaze travelled to the source of the voice. "...what are you doing here?" She asked, taking the handkerchief from Callisto.
"Following you to war. What does it look like?"
"Yes but why? Weren't you against it?"
"Oh, I still am...but I'm still coming with you. If I recall, that was in our marriage vows was it not? Something about always standing by your side...even when you're acting like a fool?"
Illya smiled, getting back on her horse. "Well, then I suppose I should make good on my vows too. To slay anyone who would threaten our family that is.
Callisto laughed. "Let's take a bath together afterward. I'll wash the blood out of your hair."
"Yes, that sounds lovely!" Illya stroked her horse's mane. "You hear that Rima? Even Callisto over here says he's willing to come along. Be a good girl and help me out now won't you?"
Rimanis huffed again but conceded and Illya rode off with Callisto to Sindaria.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIoOQL7OWB3
