Why did you leave me brother?

Edward walked down to the dungeons of the royal palace accompanied by two knights of the black sun. Most of the cells were empty, but there was one prisoner who was very important to Edward.

Down in the dungeons were two grey skin guards guarding one cell. Edward commanded that the cell doors be opened and the guards dismissed.

Edward went in and looked at her sister who had been tied with a chain into the wall. She looked up and glared at her brother.

"What do you want?" Joan asked while clenching her teeth.

"Why do you still do this?"

"Do what?"

"Try to be like our father."

Joan didn't answer.

"I know my own sister. I knew how you viewed our father. There was not much love lost between you two."

Joan laughed.

"You think there was more love than between us? My beloved brother."

Edward knew he hadn't been very close to his sister. For a short time when they were young had they been a normal brother and sister playing together. Both of their childhoods ended when Rikard ordered them to start training to be in his words "tools for the family and kingdom".

"Than what do you want?" Edward asked.

"I want you to explain to me why did you abandon me?"

Edward didn't understand what she meant.

"Why did both you and mother abandon me. Forcing me to be that man's tool. To be his instrument in all those genocidal acts."

"We never abandoned you. Our father killed our mother. You know this right."

"Oh, I know. I know that she died and I hated my father for doing it, but do you remember what happened when you started to fail in your father's teachings. Who then became the tool of the family"?

Edward remembered that after his father first deemed him as weak and unfit to be taught by him, Rikard then put all his effort into passing on the Plangent legacy to Joan.

"He put all his time on me. Making me endure horrendous treatment. He even sent me once into the forests of Teutonia to hunt down galeks by myself. After three days and almost being killed by one our father didn't praise, didn't thank me. Do you know what he did? He hit me saying that I only killed one. Later that day I went outside and saw you training with mother. I saw you were struggling, but the way she looked at you. Why didn't she ever look with those eyes at me? WHY DID SHE DECIDE TO SAVE YOU AND SACRIFICE HERSELF TO YOU WHEN I ALSO NEEDED SAVING!?"

Edward never had realized that her mother had completely forgotten about Joan. She had always been a loving mother to him but never considered Joan.

"I have nothing else to say to you, so just leave me be. Go back to your king who you serve. We are done here."

~ ~

Pema and Haley returned to the capital. They went straight to the royal palace and to the throne room. Inside many humans and grey skins were trying to converse and communicate. all of them were the bureaucrats that were hired to help run the kingdom.

"Is Rufus here?" Haley asked.

The bureaucrats looked confused.

"King Rufus hasn't been seen here in a few days…" one of the humans said.

Haley and Pema thought something had happened to Rufus.

"Where is he is he okay!?"

"Oh, he is fine. He is…uuhhmmm"

~ ~

"Do you mind helping me lift that?" a construction worker said.

"Of course," Rufus said and lifted a large pile of wooden boards.

Rufus was helping in building new houses in the human district. He had been helping for two days now and had also slept in the construction site. He felt much more relaxed in menial labor work than sitting in the throne room helping the bureaucrats in running the kingdom. He also had no idea how to rule a country so he thought why not do the thing he is actually good at.

"RUUUFFFUUUUUUS!"

"Is that Harley?" Rufus thought to himself when he heard a woman calling her with an angry voice.

He looked behind him and saw Haley with a deadly divine aura coming off her.

"Oh, hi Haley."

"Don't "oh, hi" me. What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Uhmmm….building a house," Rufus said who was completely oblivious.

"Ohhh reaaaally. Get back to the palace right now!" Haley yelled and ordered Rufus around like a scolding mother.

~ ~

Rufus and Haley came back to the royal palace. Rufus was sitting down on a stone throne like he was uncomfortable and had a nail up his ass.

"So I guess taking care of the Sonam tribe was successful," Rufus asked Haley.

"Yes. The leader got away, but he won't be much of a problem without his tribe's help," Haley explained.

"We could make him a wanted man in the kingdom?" one of the bureaucrats suggested.

"What do you mean?" Rufus asked.

"He can be made into a wanted criminal. We promise a reward for anyone who catches him and brings us the head of this criminal as proof," the bureaucrat explained.

"Will really someone go after him? Most of the people capable of going after that monster already work for us. There probably isn't any person with divinity just wandering in the kingdom," Haley questioned the bureaucrat.

"That is true, but many times mercenaries from other kingdoms will go after the bounty if the gold is good enough. It can be that a mercenary from another world might take care of this problem for us."

"Then it is settled. Do that for me and I will go back to the city. I think they need me."

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!"