PMD: Stargazer Chronicles

Guildmaster- Planning Ahead

Without the banquet table, Chingyang's throne room was empty. If Markus didn't know better, he'd think it was some sort of training space. It served little purpose without banquets or formal meetings, so it'd probably be a better use if he had his way.

Empress Chingyang just stood around in the middle of the room on the red carpet. It was early in the morning, but the Shaymin had already turned to Sky-Forme. Even though he had seen her for months now, her size kept surprising him. When she turned around, she looked down at the top of his forehead.

"Markus," she said.

Markus lowered his head, then brought it back up.

"Sup?" Markus asked.

"You are to join the Wayfarers as they leave for Mount Ài," she said.

"You're coming too, right?"

"Yes. But I don't think Ariel wants to be near me, so I'd like to ask you to keep an eye on them."

"Are you worried about Ariel?"

Chingyang's steady face broke. Markus accidentally struck a nerve he wasn't sure he should've hit.

"It's okay," Markus said. "It's Candor, right? That's what you're scared of?"

"Didn't you feel it, too?" she asked.

Markus nodded. Whenever Light spoke, his voice echoed in his head. He overheard the other guards talking about it last night, but he could only talk to Chingyang about it. Everyone else stayed in the dark.

"You think it's affecting Ariel?" Markus asked. "But, it's really hard to say for sure. I imagine anyone would feel torn up about it."

"What if she only likes him because of Candor?" Chingyang asked. "I mean, we don't know what it does. I know he's just an innocent boy, but what if he's manipulating her without realizing it?"

"Let's find out."

Chingyang's face cleared. Her eyes clicked onto Markus' eyes as she listened.

"Just split them up for a day," Markus said. "You can investigate Ariel, see what's going on. I'll talk to Light when you do. Let's put the pieces together."

"But I don't think Ariel wants to talk to me," she said.

"Just ease into it. You can do this."

Chingyang turned away and gazed at the tapestries on the wall. Her eyes scanned across it.

"She seems so happy," Chingyang whispered. "I don't want that to be fake."

"It probably isn't," he replied. "I mean, she saved his life. They trusted each other from the start. And if they're compatible, then yah. Trust me, it doesn't take very long."

"I just hope you're right."

"Well, I'm mostly right all the time."

Chingyang pushed her lips together. "Why does your fiancé love you?"

"Well, it's because I have this thing called 'Candor'..."

Chingyang's face soured. Markus grinned and shrugged.

"What?" he asked. "I mean, do you seriously think that's why? You just said Ariel seemed happy with him, right? And frankly, I don't even know how you see that given what happened last night."

"Videos," she answered. "It's just all over her face. Every time I look, she's just all over him."

"I really think you're overreacting, so let's just get it done."