aRPitE: Receding Heir lines.

(I couldn't think of a good title so I picked two puns temporarily. Will change it, eventually.
edit: picked one of the puns.)


Index
Chapter 1-The King is Dead

1. A Failed Quest
   
2. Return to the Citadel
   
3. Yaaass Queen
   
4. ??
   

Chapter 2- TBA
Chapter 3- TBA
Chapter 4- TBA
Chapter 5- TBA


This story takes place a day after the ChaoZ party ended up in Ostea. It follows the viewpoint of Ziome as she observes the Royal High elven court descend into chaos. But first we start somewhere more familiar.
After they left Ostea, Ziome and Az dropped by Melope's farm and rested for the night. So that's where we'll begin this story.

Ziome was awoken by a familiar voice. "Wakey, wakey sleepyface."
She opened her eyes slowly and saw the short elf standing over her bed. Her hair green hair seemed to have been cut a bit shorter since last time. "Huh? Is something wrong?"  Ziome asked, barely awake.

"Nope! But the scary lady told me to wake you up." The chipper elf said. The sun wasn't even up yet but Leaf was already bouncing around happily. Where does she get all this energy? Ziome wondered.

"I see. Tell her I'll be there shortly. I need to get dressed first." She yawned.

"Okies!" Leaf happily skipped out of the room.


Ziome rubbed her eyes and got out of bed. She knew that it wasn't a good idea to make "the scary lady" wait. Ziome knew she had nothing to fear from Az but that didn't make her any less intimidating.
She gathered her clothes and got ready as fast as she could.



Az, Melope and Leaf were already in the kitchen eating their breakfast when Ziome walked in. "Morning." She said with a smile.

"Good morning!" Leaf and Melope responded at the same time. The two of them were sitting close together.

"Eat. We're leaving for the citadel as soon as you're finished." Az said before sipping her coffee.

"Aww. You're leaving already?" Leaf pouted, clearly disappointed.

"There's some stuff we need to take care of in the Citadel." Ziome answered as she grabed a chair and sat down to eat. "But I promise we'll visit again when it's safer."

Leaf looked confused. "Why isn't it safe now?"

"Someone dangerous might be looking for us. She kicked our asses when there were 4 of us. Me and Ziome don't stand a chance against her on our own. And we certainly wouldn't be able to protect you two. So the sooner we leave the less dangerous it is for you." Az said.

"Are Jex and Rol okay?" Melope asked.

"And Fluffy?!" Leaf added with a panicked voice.

"They're fine, hiding in another city. She won't attack them with that many people around. If she can find them among the crowd at all." Az said, finishing her coffee.

Ziome hoped Az was right. Her mind drifted to Jex and the others. What if Avena had found them while they were sleeping? It would be easy for her to open a portal and sneak up on them.
The thought of losing someone she cared for again was too painful to consider. Ziome tried to shake the thought out of her head.
 

Az was already waiting outside when Ziome finished her meal. She thanked Melope and Leaf again and headed out. Leaf took Melope's hand and they followed Ziome outside.

"Good luck with your quest." Melope said.

Ziome thanked her for her hospitality and Az nodded. The witches got onto their weapons and flew up into the sky. Melope and Leaf waved at them while holding hands. Ziome waved back until they were just two tiny dots in the distance.

The silent flight towards the Citadel caused Ziome's mind to wander back to Jex and the others.

"So on a scale from 1 to adorable, how cute of a couple are those two?" Az broke the silence.

"Huh?" Ziome looked up at Az.

"You didn't see how those two looked at each other? It's the same look you give Jex every time he isn't looking."

"Oh.."

"Look, I know you're worried. But they'll survive, they always do. They might blow up half the city in the process though."

Ziome giggled, knowing that Az was probably right, about both of those things.

"We have our own task to worry about. The faster we're finished the less damage they'll do to the city."

Ziome nodded and the two witches flew towards the rising sun.

After a few hours of flying Ziome saw the Citadel's light golden walls in the distance. They were made not of stone but of angelic metal. A light but incredibly strong metal. The high elves have always had the largest supply of it. Outside of the Elven kingdom this metal is extremely rare. And even here the supply is limited.

These walls had been built thousands of years ago. The high elves had lost their previous capital in the first Undead invasion. So the high elven king at the time had ordered every family to give up half of their angelic metal objects to build a new one. Most of the metal went into the walls and the rest went into the palace that stood high above the rest of the city.

Az and Ziome safely landed inside the city. They hadn't seen any sign of Avena. Ziome wasn't sure if that was good or bad news. While they were now safe they had no idea where Avena was or what she was planning. She hoped Avena was just as clueless about them.

When Az tried to enter the palace she was stopped by the two guards. "No entry for plebeians." One of them said.
"Especially not for non-elves. Scram." The other added, glaring at both women.

Both of them were wearing angelic armor made from the same material as the city walls. An angel with four wings was carved into their breastplates. Their helmets hid their faces. They blocked the way with their long spears, also made of angelic metal.

Az frowned. "We have important news for the queen."

"Sure you do." The one on the right said with a sarcastic tone.

"Step back or we'll be forced to use violence." The other said in a threatening tone.

Ziome took a step back. Partly because she was ordered to do so and partly because Az might explode out of frustration.

"As much as I like violence now is not the time for this shit. We're on a mission from the queen and we need to update her on our progress. Now you're gonna stop being idiots and let us through." Az said, loudly.

Ziome could see that Az was trying her best not to lose her temper despite her failure to do so.
"This is bad. How do I cool this situation down." She thought to herself while trying not to panic.

"This is your last warning. Leave this area or you will be arrested." One of the guards said as he pointed his spear at Az. The other Guard followed his lead.


"What's going on here?" Another voice demanded. Ziome looked to the side and saw another high elven guard approach. This one had an angel with six wings on his breastplate. Ziome assumed this meant he was a higher officer. He also was not wearing a helmet unlike the other two. Making his face and blonde moustache completely visible.

"Sir! These two refuse to listen and are threatening with violence." One of them answered his boss.

Ziome was shocked. "What the hel are they talking about?! They were the ones threatening with violence!" Is what she wanted to say but she could only stare in disbelief. She could feel herself starting to shake.

"You fucking liar." Az was now at her boiling point. But she took a deep breath and calmed herself just enough not to explode. "We're not the ones pointing our weapons at you. All we want is to go inside."

"You'll never-" One of the guard started to answer angrily but he was cut off by his boss.

"What is your bussiness inside the castle Ma'am?" He asked, stroking his moustache.

"We're here to see the queen. We need to update her on our mission progress." Az answered. The two spears were still aimed at her.

"You claim you're on a mission from our queen?"

"Yes."

"I find it hard to believe that out queen would hire outsiders. We'll need to bring you in for questioning." He said before stepping forward and producing two sets of cuffs.

Ziome's eyes widened. She needed to do something.

Az frowned. "Are you fucking serious? There's no time for that we need to talk to her now." Az was glaring at the guards and their boss. She was about to lose her patience.

"STOP!"

The three men and Az stopped and looked at Ziome. A bunch of birds behind them flew away, scared by her sudden outburst.
Ziome herself was surprised by herself.

"I.. uh.. Sorry.. But.. You don't need to do that. Just ask for Kiro Cloudwatcher. He should be staying in the palace. He's our guild leader so he'll vouch for us." She says nervously.

"Hmm. Okay but you two will have to wait here until we find this Kiro you speak of." The officer said and sent one of the guards to fetch Kiro.

This was a huge relief to Ziome. There hadn't been violence, they hadn't been arrested and Az didn't explode.

Everyone waited silently for twenty minutes which gave Ziome time to calm her nerves. When the guard came back with Kiro, he talked to the officer and Ziome and Az were let into the palace at last.