Chapter 53. The Lunar Queen.

"My little sister is adorable, isn't she?" Everly said later that night in the memory palace after everyone was seated in the meeting chamber. She'd entered the palace in person, eager to catch up on everything she'd been ignoring during her two-month...rest.

Eris and Titania were especially glad to see her interacting with everyone again. Even Carter the goblin cracked a grin of relief on his usually expressionless face when he saw that his mistress seemed to be back to her old self. Only Grail continued to maintain a certain level of cautious reserve, but everyone ignored it because Grail could be a stick in the mud at times.

"She's so precocious," Everly continued. "An absolute delight! Was ever a girl as blessed as me to have such a sweet sibling?"

"Truly, Princess Claudine seems wonderfully suited toward being your sister," fawned Eris. "I couldn't imagine anyone else in the role."

"So, we're just going to ignore that she plays with the lives of others like it's nothing and tried to kill your father in front of you?" Grail asked her bluntly.

"Yep!" Everly said with a bright, happy smile. "She's a rambunctious l'il puppy!"

"Ah. Of course," Grail glowered. Eris elbowed him stiffly in the side before saying, "I'm happy to see you embracing your new family ties so enthusiastically, Everly."

"Does that make her our sister too?" Titania wondered. "I mean, you once said Lyona, Eris and I are all you'll ever need, right? But if you're including her as well, doesn't that make us all family?"

"Uh, sure, why not?" Everly said indifferently as she spun in her seat. "There's plenty of room for everyone in our happy little circle!"

"Does that include Nalec?" asked Grail.

"Who?" Everly asked. It was a familiar sounding name, but she couldn't quite put a face to it.

"Nalec. Your inside man at the Eastern temple?" Grail reminded her slowly. "We haven't checked in with him in months. Two months as a matter of fact. We're due for a progress report, aren't we?"

"Oh, right, Nalec," Everly said. "Heh, I forgot all about him. Eris, see to that later, will you? Progression is important to us. This organization is all about progression!"

"Your will shall be done, Everly," Eris said, but not before shooting Grail a dirty look which he pointedly ignored.

"Speaking of Claudia," Everly said, returning the subject of conversation to her new favorite person, "Her twinkling eyes and exuberant personality have brightened my spirit beyond measure! What a gift this day was!"

"Everly, there's no need to go overboard with your enthusiasm," Grail cautioned her. "Remember, these people are strangers to you. Strangers driven by their own motivations. It would be foolish to blindly trust them."

"Oh, listen to Papa Grail go on," Everly said, a frown now appearing on her face. "What's the matter old man? Are you afraid of losing your position just because I've reconnected with my real father? You needn't be so obviously jealous, you're still my favorite work horse."

"Hey!" Titania said in a wounded voice.

"Sister, please think about what she just said," Eris said to her wearily.

Titania did as she was instructed. "Oh," she said. "Oh, never mind. Sorry. Heh, she called you a horse, Grail!"

"Tch," Grail replied as he drummed his fingers on the conference table. "I'm just watching out for your best interests, girl. I knew your father well, back in the days before the war. He was as trustworthy as a hungry serpent, and I can tell he's only grown worse since then. Making yourself vulnerable to him could be a potentially fatal mistake."

"Oh, for the night's sake," Eris groaned. "Grail, she's happy, can't you see that? Must you continue to be so inflexible? Nothing can threaten Everly. Let her enjoy herself!"

"You knew my father?" Everly asked Grail in surprise. "Why didn't you ever tell me that?"

"I assumed you already knew," Grail answered. "You have access to my every memory, after all. I simply thought you didn't care about that particular connection."

"You assumed incorrectly, Grail," Everly said. "Tell me, what was your relationship with him like?"

Grail sat silently for a few moments, composing his thoughts before answering.

"Our relationship was fraught from the beginning," Grail said darkly. "The former ruler of Winstead, good King Pentas, asked me to teach him the ways of the sword alongside the royal heirs. Marcis was Prince Septus' best friend at the time, and his father wished to bestow upon him the rare honor of being one of my students. Of that batch, Marcis was easily the finest of them all."

"Impossible," Everly said. "Daddy is a spirit wielder. How could he possibly learn the Imperial style without being able to use harada?"

"He didn't," Grail replied. "But he could mimic the forms perfectly and developed a surprisingly complex understanding of the underpinning of the style. He was probably the most naturally gifted swordsman I'd ever trained. By infusing what he learned from me with his own strange magic, he became as dangerous with a blade as any Sword King could ever hope to be. He was almost good enough to defeat me in personal combat."

"You two fought?" Everly asked, surprised once more. "Why?"

"It happened during the war," Grail said with an expression like that of someone who had swallowed bitter medicine. "I was Prince Connor's champion, and many on the opposing side sought the glory of claiming my head. Your father was the one who came the closest. It was a near thing, but I barely managed to win. I finally had that preening narcissist at the mercy of my blade! I'd have happily split his skull then and there, but he was rescued from my death blow at the last moment by that thrice-damned wife of his."

"Lady Anne? Lady Anne participated in the civil war?" Everly asked. "I thought there was a taboo against civilian women fighting in war." Then she paused before asking with a knowing, maliciously sweet grin, "Grail, did you get beat up by a girl?"

"Yes, there is a taboo against female participation in battle," Grail frowned, while ignoring Everly's provocation. "But Anne Godwell is a god blighted monster. She does whatever she pleases, and always has. I suppose we should praise our good fortune for her not being anywhere near you during your childhood. Under her tutelage, who knows what sort of fiend you'd have become?"

"Ha!" Everly said as she leaned back in her chair. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that left to your own devices, you've at least developed a rudimentary code of honor," Grail replied. "Anne would have left you incapable of having even that. I've known her since I was a child. She…takes. She takes, but she gives nothing in return. She...feeds."

Grail shuddered to himself, clearly disturbed by an old memory.

Everly found herself intrigued by the conversation and continued to press him, despite his discomfort. "Grail, how could you have known her since you were a child? She's my dad's wife. She was my brother's mother. Hell, she was…that girl's grandmother. Just how old is she?"

"It's not something that's openly discussed," Grail said reluctantly. "Even my grandfather was acquainted with her in his youth. The Royal Family, the Denrias, and the Godwells. These are the three great pillars of the kingdom. And each of them has secrets they do not share with outsiders. Mysteries, if you will."

"Ohhh," Everly said cheekily. "What kind of mysteries?"

"The sort that deliberately remain unsolved," Grail replied. "Duke Primus Godwell and his daughters Anne and Priora, are the very embodiment of those mysteries. Exactly when Anne and Priora first appeared is difficult to ascertain, but it's an established fact that Duke Primus has been around since the founding of the kingdom. And maybe even before then. It's all very unsettling to think of."

"Be serious," Everly said with a snicker. "Are you trying to tell me that my wicked stepmother, Aiden's sweet mommy dearest, is immortal? Yeah, right! Titania would have alerted me right away if there were any residual demonic energy in the house. Wouldn't you, T?"

"Well, actually, Everly," Titania began to say reluctantly. "There are other sorts of creatures aside from demons and elementals that could technically be counted as being immortal. The world is bigger than you realize."

"Huh," Everly said. "Like what?"

"Creatures like whatever that Mister Whisper thing was, for instance," Eris said.

"Who?" Everly really felt she was going to have to start taking notes. She met a lot of people in her day-to-day life and keeping track of their names was clearly going to be a hassle. "Hey, Carter. Start keeping track of these things for me, will you? I feel like it's unreasonable for me to have to remember every single non-priority existence's background story."

"This, I shall do at once!" Carter said promptly. He then procured a notepad and began writing.

"Thank you!" Everly said, pleased by her own skills with delegation. "So, who was Mister Whisper, again?"

"You know," Titania said. "That creepy child-eater?"

"Aww, gross," Everly shuddered as she recalled her encounter with that thing. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me of that jerk."

"Sorry, but you did ask," Titania said.

"Didn't I send him screaming into the center of the planet to roast in magma?"

"Yeah," Titania smiled. "He screamed like a little bitch."

"Yeah, he did," Everly giggled. "Which was weird, because I tore his head off first. Ugh, I did not enjoy that day."

"Thea is doing well, in case you were wondering," Grail interjected.

"Who?" Everly asked again.

Grail sighed and stopped speaking.

"Other immortal creatures include elves," Eris said. "There are also certain breeds of spirit kin such as the Nul'panatheons—"

"That has to be a made-up word!" Everly said.

"It's not, but you'll never need to worry about them," Titania assured her. "They live on the moon now. Said there were too many mortal races, and it was really cluttering up the place."

"What are they?" Everly wondered. "And how do you know of them?"

"Inherited memories," Titania answered. "A necessary survival mechanism. We elementals and the Nul'Panatheons don't care very much for one another. Uh, how to best describe them? Well...try imagining a dragon combined with a horseshoe crab, with a superiority complex as big as a star and that's their common breed."

"Absolute snobs," Eris said with a haughty sniff. "The very embodiment of arrogance."

No one dared to comment on that one. Even Grail kept his silence.

"Their monarch is more human in appearance. She's actually quite pretty, but she's an even bigger jerk," Titania said. "She sure can back it up, though."

"Is she powerful?" Everly wondered.

Eris sighed. "Disconcertingly so."

"Like, actually powerful, or just by the common standards of this world?" Everly asked. "Because I have to be honest, we've seen a lot of idiots tooting their own horns lately and we've stepped on all of them like they were bugs."

"Everly, I believe fervently in your strength, and have no doubt you shall continue to grow," Eris said in a wary tone. "But even with the power that Titania and I provide you, the Nul'panetheon Queen would be…challenging. It would be for the best to avoid provoking her anger."

"Which won't be hard, because she's on the moon and we're over here!" Titania said brightly. "So, nothing to worry about!"

"Worry? Why would I be worried? I bet I could kick her ass," Everly mused aloud.

"Everly," Eris said cautiously. "She's one of the oldest creatures in existence. Even the greater elementals, who the people of this world rightly venerate as gods, fear her wrath."

"Tch, they sound like quitters. Losers who fear taking on an exciting challenge," said Everly with alarming self-confidence. "You know what? That bugs me. That really freaking bugs me! How can you claim to be the world's strongest being if you're not even going to live in this world and defend your title? Just the idea of some frosty old diva floating above us on the moon…looking down her nose at us. At me. God, that really makes me want to walk up to her and give her a slap. You know, just to see what happens."

Carter the goblin continued to sit quietly at the meeting, saying nothing while writing extensive notes on the discussion being had, just as instructed. The current page he was writing on had only one sentence on it.

It said: KEEP EVERLY OFF THE MOON!!!!

Next to it was written the word: APOCALYPSE!!!

This was written in all capitals, circled three times, and had many underlines and exclamation points.

It was also done in red ink.

"Ahem! Aside from the lunar queen, the three Godwells might also be vampires," Eris said.

Everly's ears perked up at that word and quickly took her mind off her sudden but murderously intense grudge against the moon and its cocky inhabitant.

"I'm sorry, did you just say vampires?" she asked.

"Yes, I did," Eris said, as sweet relief swept over her at successfully distracting her mistress.

"Go on," Everly said enthusiastically as a massive smile bloomed on her face.