When Kingdom Goes

Act I - Chapter 14

SEXUAL THEMES ARE PRESENT IN THIS CHAPTER.

As he lay awake in his bed, Hiro contemplated the meeting that had just taken place. If he had to break the kings into groups based on their stances in the meeting, it would go as follows: Faust, Zero, and himself in agreement on preparing for Xander's potential return, while Therius is starkly opposed to the idea, and Arthur and Relve are the two who could lean either way.

Despite how it seems, it still wasn't a favorable situation for them since if their hypothesis was correct, they'd lose the fight against him if they didn't have everyone on board. If he could at least convince Arthur and Relve, they might be able to pull something close to a win out against Xander.

"But this is all assuming our hypothesis is correct in the first place. Maybe Therius is right." He says out loud in his empty bedroom.
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"Maybe the big guy was right. Based on what was being thrown around, the ones supporting it don't even think it will happen that way." Rose thinks to herself after hearing Hiro through their shared wall.

Through the quiet night she hears light footsteps moving towards her door. As they approach, Rose sits up in her bed expecting a knock at her door, but it doesn't happen. Instead the footsteps pass her door and go towards Hiro's door, before stopping.

"Hiro, are you awake? It's Sera."
She says while giving a light knock on his door.

"Unfortunately, I am. Did you need something?"

"I just... wanted to talk. May I come in?"

"You may enter."

Rose hears the door open and shut, and she starts to think the worst. What if Sera really was a spy and she had come to kill him? What if she was right to be wary of her?

"If this was what you wanted to do, then you should have just said that." Hiro says.

"Well, I could tell there was something a little off with you after the meeting, so I just thought I'd check on you."

"Check on me in the middle of the night dressed the way you are? You and I both know why you're here."

"Oh really? Well then, you take the lead, Your Majesty." She says while giving a slight chuckle.

Rose had quickly found out what they were doing, and it had nothing to do with backstabbing him in any way. Bed creaking, moans, rythmic thumping against their shared wall, and some colorful language from both parties was more than enough to let her know it was just a session of passionate lovemaking. Rather than sit in her bed and listen, she goes for a walk around the palace.

While she's out she sees Vanessa is also awake and out training in the courtyard. Her ether scythe glistened white in the moonlight as she swung with an elegance that was absent from their sparring match, similar to a shared dance without a partner. Rose quietly approaches before speaking.

"Is something on your mind? You don't seem like the kind of person who lets their thoughts get to them." Rose says.

"You're not wrong, but tonight is a little different. It isn't a simple thought, but rather a memory. Aside from me, you're awake, but you don't seem as troubled as some others in the palace." Vanessa says as she stops swinging, plants her scythe in the ground blade first, and turns to face Rose.

"Yeah, Hiro and Sera are getting steamy in his room and I don't really want to listen in on that. Since I have you here, can I ask you a couple of questions? Who is Xander Reeba?"

"That's exactly the reason why I'm up this late. I talked to Faust about the meeting and he told me Xander might be returning. He was a good friend of mine and the previous king of Rahu. At least, he was like that at first." She says with a slightly saddened expression. As she continues to speak, her scythe starts to fade away from the handle down.