FGO Specter of Glass

Princess of Illusions Ch2

"Mother! How are you?" Shakuni said, holding his arms out.

"Shakuni, do not greet me in such a way." The queen announced. She sat on the throne with her legs crossed and a deadpan look on her face. She had long purple hair and wore a short black shirt that left her stomach open, dark purple shorts, black shoes, and a purple cloak that lay behind her. All lined with gold. "You are in the presence of the council."

"Mother... don't be so stingy. Everyone here is a friend."

"Shakuni... do you have information for me?" She stared at him, her purple eyes piercing through him.

"Your grandson is returning soon. And he's bringing Subhadra with him."

"Why is Arjuna's fourth queen coming?"

"She has some information on the Xiatian envoys."

"They called themselves Chaldea, and they've become quite close with Arjuna's sons." The queen looked out at the window. "What is Arjuna planning?"

Shakuni heard the suspicion in her tone and had to cheer her up. "I will investigate them! It's only right as I'm the one who greeted them."

"Do what you need to."

Ambika had the throne room closed for the evening and returned to her room. She picked up the picture of her and Duryodhana, and wondered if sending him to the other kingdoms was a good idea. There was also the problem of Shakuni. He was adamant that they leave Arjuna's kingdom alone. It was like he knew something about the future and what would happen if the kingdoms began interacting. Chaldea's presence seemed to jeopardize his plans, and knowing him, he wanted to dispose of them. She opened a vault and gripped her lance. It was time she put Shakuni in his place.

Carmen stuffed her face into a pillow and thought about the story Shrutakarma told her. He met Chaldea in Russia, and they defeated Alexandra. After she was defeated, he returned home to report back and learned about Chaldea's adventures. It was a version of events where no one died. Yet Abhimanyu wasn't happy to see his brother alive. Shrutakarma meant the world to him, and he wanted to remember his brother's last wishes. He wrote in his journal about his time in the new India and compared it with what he knew. It was wrong. Everything was wrong.

Mitra was also troubled. Karna's presence reminded him of how he failed as a father. He had also started to answer when he was called "Surya". He was changing because of Karna, and the others didn't know if that was fine. Meanwhile, Helena and Nero were disagreeing on how to proceed. Helena wanted to study the distortion for longer, while Nero wanted to get it over with. It didn't matter what they did to disrupt the distortion. The people in real India weren't affected by the false India. Helena argued that there were consequences. What about Mitra and Abhimanyu?

A bang shook the land. Duryodhana arrived home. He waved to his people as Shakuni welcomed him, and Chaldea noticed someone was with him. Subhadra was a tall woman with long black hair, wearing a long blue dress. She was sent by Arjuna to watch Shakuni and to check on Abhimanyu.

The archer avoided eye contact with Subhadra. If there was one person he didn't want to see, it was a fake version of his mother. Karna went out instead, meeting with Subhadra as Shakuni got between them. Queen Ambika was busy and couldn't meet. So, she had her grandson handle the newcomers. Subhadra didn't seem to like that, questioning why the queen was avoiding interactions with Arjuna's kingdom. Each time a diplomat was sent, they were told to return home or that she was too busy. And Arjuna was getting tired of it. He was close to shutting down trades with them.

Shakuni assured Subhadra that the queen meant no harm by it. She was simply busy with the management of the kingdom after Duryodhana gave her the throne. However, that was another point of contempt. She suddenly appeared, and Duryodhana didn't question giving her control of the kingdom. Shakuni was also part of that decision. Accepting her as the new queen and encouraging Duryodhana to remain the crowned prince for longer.