Your Highness~ [Lumity Fanfiction AU]

[83]

December 35th, fourteen twenty.

After much convincing, Steve, the prince, and both princesses, were sent back home. Collector confirmed their suspicions of a weasel in the castle, but that had been the basilisk pretending to be Odalia, and she was back with the Emperor.

To convince them further, he tagged along, and would be gone for the better part of the rest of the week. Collector hadn't switched sides, oh no no no, he just- Made new friends, is all. He- Of course he didn't like Steve, he was annoying, and not good enough of a listener.

..Collector liked Steve, he was a better listener than Hunter, but Steve gave softer responses too. Perhaps, he'd let him live, if Collector ever came out of his prison that is. Perhaps.

The squad Luz sent out for recon confirmed that tunnels were being dug out, and they returned wounded with 3 prisoners. "We pushed them further back, they thought we had more for recon but we used illusions to our advantage." A witch places 3 red rectangles in a line of where a blue flag stands. "And as far as we saw, there were no rations, and a rat problem."

Luz shudders at the words, "Oh, great..Now we've got rats in this war.."

"How bad, exactly, is the rat problem?" Hunter pries.

"There's uh..Rat kings, sir..Several of them ranging into.." He clears his throat. "Hundreds.."

Luz turns to gag, Hunter swallowing dryly, eyes flickering around the tent, his body suddenly feeling dirty, stomach churning at the thought. "Ah..Is.." Hunter licks his lips, shuddering. "It too late to call for a truce.."

"Titan forbid it's not, I may defend and kill for a living but I never signed up for rat kings." Luz feels a chill run down her spine, and her stomach tightens. "Ugh..I..Will bring a flag.."

Glancing to eachother for any hint of a little teasing, they only find the other is serious. "Oh, dear." Luz stands upright. "I'll begin preparations, then."

And she rushes off, not waiting for another word to be shared.

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Bringing what could only feel as though walking through a field naked, Luz and Hunter rode their steeds towards the new land they claimed. With only a white flag, rations, shields, and a dagger, they approached the well.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited..

Til the sun began to set. And they were approached, by a white flag. "You must be the one in charge, then.." A general approaches, cautious, but otherwise intent on nearing the two. "I'm Severine.." The demon lowers their helmet, horns now the eye-sore of the demon.

"Severine, I'm Hunter, this is my lieutenant, Luz. We've uh..We've heard, of the rat kings.." He swallows.

Severine shudders at the words, baring her fangs at Hunter's final words. "Yes, we are..We are well aware, of our situation..Why do you don a white flag, may I ask?"

"We despise rat kings. We signed up for a massacre, not a rat infestation. We-"

"Come to ask for a compromise. We've all gone through the same training," Luz cuts in. "We've been to the brink of death and back. But we were never trained to deal with rat kings."

"..Talk faster." Severine huffs.

"While the reason for the war has never been specified, I'm sure we could work through with our teams to come to a truce? For a few days, a few weeks- Just until the rat kings have been taken care of.." Luz says, words quieting as her sentence ends.

Severeine sighs, then lowers her head, eyes glistening as tears well up. "Yes, please- Oh Titan I have never wanted to just-" She drags her finger against her throat, then chuckles dryly. "Do you understand? Hahahaha- Yes. I'll- For tonight we cease fire, tomorrow we meet up-"

"I'll ready our speakers, then!" Hunter stands proudly. "We'll send rat poison in the meantime too-"

"Oh Titan yes please-!" Severine steps forward, offering her claw. "This was great- Thank you, I really can't thank you enough-"

Hunter shakes her paw, "Yes, yes it's alright-! Thank you for coming- We will meet in neutral ground, is the well alright?"

"Yes, you'll catch a glimpse of my men at it, I'll be there as well. We await the poison in the meantime!"

^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^°•^

As the sun hid behind the terrain, guests had arrived from the opposing side of the war. "We..Agreed to meet tommorow. Is everything alright?" Hunter asks as he nears, waving the knights to lower their weapons.

"Yes! We-" The demons gulp. "Come for dinner..If that's alright.."

"For dinner?"

Severine approaches, bowl in hand, and several knights behind her holding crates. "We bring vegetables to add to a pot of stew for dinner."

Luz hops forward, "Some scouts brought back two bulls! Is this something everyone is comfortable having in the stew?"

"Oh yes please!"

"If you'd follow me along this way, I can show you to our fires-" Luz signals back. "If you're ready to follow?"

Severine waves her knights forward, "Go on, I must speak with the one in charge."

They scurry after Luz, lugging crates of vegetables along. Severine lowers her head to Hunter, the general standing tall, confused. "The rat poison has begun it's work, thanks to you. We've requested hounds to collect the..Pests, and we'll have it cleared in no more than eight days. You have my thanks.."

"Oh, please-- Raise your head-" Hunter swallows. "Forgive us for not noticing sooner that such a thing was happening in your trenches..Let us go enjoy dinner, bring your troops to dine with us."

"We only bring a quarter of our side, we won't impose-"

"No please! You'll be a big help ridding of the two bulls, the meat will go bad in a few days, it's best to knock it out right away!" Hunter waves his hands.

Severine stands upright, ears flicking, "I..I will go return for more of my troops, we will bring fresh water for the pot." She steps back. "Thank you.."

Hunter nods, "You two, guide them back to the fires alright?" He points to both knights. "I'll have someone bring you a bowl of feed while you guard, do not let any rats pass you."

"Yes sir!"

Tis, the adventure continues.

A/N: Dears, how do we feel about Boscha? Or rather, who would you prefer she end up with? Unfortunately the only options she currently has are Vee, Willow, Skara, or Bo. Though, the later of the 3 don't have any relevance quite yet.