182 The Final Curtain II : Ballroom Interactions

Parties weren't really my scenes, at least not unless I was the one hosting them anyway. But this sorry was already starting off on a sour note for me, and at the moment there was only one person who could give me the answers I wanted, before I went crazy and started shooting at people. I ignored they eyes that were unsubtly staring at me, even though they acted like they weren't. The ballroom where the banquet was being held was large, and even after roaming through it for 10 whole minutes, I still wasn't able to find the so called Queen, what I did find however was an old friend.

"Consort Aaron, I don't believe we've had the pleasure of being introduced to each other. I'm the prime minister of the elven court, Lerrianderlei HeartWind." My eyebrows twitched, she was someone I would very much prefer to avoid, not to mention we're not exactly on speaking terms anymore.

"I know who you are Lady, your reputation precedes you, not to mention Seven had quite a few things to say about you." I answered her, refusing to take the hand she stretched out to me. She smiled as she awkwardly pulled it back before trying another approach.

"I'm sure Seven had a lot of colorful things today about me and the end of our mutual partnership, however there's always two sides to a story, and there were some things that were completely out of my hands. He made an enemy that no one could afford to offend, bit even the Elven court, and he and his crew were not worth the war that would have occurred should the dragon god guild find out about our partnership." As bitter as it was for me to swallow, everything she just said was the truth. Some partnerships aren't sorry the risk and the fallout that would ensue if you remained in it. But that doesn't change the fact that she kicked me and my crew to the curb at the first sign of trouble.

"I'm in no mood for small talk Prime minister, what do you want?"

sometimes politics wasn't all about being subtle and meticulous in your approach. You sometimes have to ignore the scalpel and use a massive hammer to get your point across, at least they'll know you aren't fucking around.

"The Coven of Angeles would like to make reparations to your guild for any inconvenience our partnership might have caused, what we ask for is a chance to have a sit down, a small debriefing meeting with Captain Seven, if only for a few moments so that we can understand the nature of the threat we're facing over at the Atlantic Rim." She said to me as her silver hair seemed to take on brighter his than normal. Her eyes seemed more enticing and the way her cleavage was exposed threw my mind unhesitatingly into the gutter, I felt weird.

"Listen to me Elf bitch! You better keep your (Alluring) Magic to yourself, or I won't hesitate to rip you a new hole to shit out of!" Tiamat growled from behind me.

I raised an eyebrow at that, then I turned to look at Tiamat before turning back to face Lerrianderlei. I should have expected something like this from her, she was not the kind of woman to leave anything up to chance, she would do everything in her power to make sure she got what she wanted, without any room for failure. Unfortunately for her, I had a dragon for a bodyguard, her magic was busy.

"To come to me with honest expressions yet hiding a dagger behind a pretty smile.....I guess I expected too much from elves, or rather too much from you. I will have Seven type up an official report, which will in turn be handed over to the new Queen of Patmos, when that would happen, would probably depend on how fast he can get off this planet, but until then, you will all be stuck waiting until I feel like asking him to say anything. Have a good night Prime minister, and please enjoy the party." I said to her as I moved to go past her, only for her to grab my wrist, and for Tiamat to react Swiftly, a dagger appearing out of nowhere and placed right on Lerrianderlei abdomen.

To the anyone spectating, it looked a if the three of us were whispering to each other, but I could feel the tension from her body. She really didn't expect such swift and decisive actions from Tiamat, and quite honestly, neither did I. The dragon lady was really taking the dragon guard thing seriously, she's able to slot any sort of danger to my person from a mile away and react accordingly, plus she was fiercely protective of me. She was an asset through and through.

Lerrianderlei on the other hand looked like she had swallowed a bug, I heard a soft Pat and looked down to see a single drop of blood had escaped from the point where Tiamat was jabbing her dagger into her stomach. Her hands felt clang, and obvio5she wanted to say something, but Tiamat was releasing a pressure she couldn't handle. I was worried though, this could be cause some sort of political Outlast, so I had to keep my dragon on a shorter leash.

"Its okay Tiamat, take a step back, she means no harm." After my words were spoken, there was no hesitation, Tiamat moved back and the dagger in her hand disappeared like it was never there in the first place.

"I apologize for her actions Prime minister, your sudden movements spooked her a bit. But with all due respect, get your fucking hands off me!" I growled out to her in a low voice. She didn't let go off me immediately but decided to speak.

"I get you're angry at me and the coven for leaving you high and dry when you needed our help, and for that I'm sorry. But we would still make such a decision in a heartbeat, we represent powerful forces, a kingdoms, a religion and an organization that has existed fro hundreds of years. There were too many risks involved in defending one soldier we knew we could easily replace, turns out we were wrong and there's really no one else like you in existence Captain Seven.

I know it's you, and as an apology and means to make reparations I won't expose your identity. No matter what you wear or how you hide your face, it only takes a touch for me to recognize someone I've fucked in the past. We desperately need whatever information you can offer about the opening of the gates of hell, the blockade would be lifted and you and your crew would be allowed passage, we just need to know what happened and who our enemies are these time. Then we'll leave you alone, heck we will even pay you! At this point we're really desperate, we would be going into a fight blind and unprepared, people will die, innocent people!" I pulled my hand out of her grasp and then turned to her and said.

"I really don't give a fuck, but being paid sounds like a really good idea. 3 days from now my crew and I would make our way to the blockade, you're welcome aboard our ship during the few seconds we would spend crossing it. You'll get all the information we know of then, how does that sound to you elf?!" I said to her as I straightened my suit.

"That works fine, we'll be waiting for you call." She said to me with a smile on her face, I moved past her, however it seems as if she still had more to say.

"One more thing! The moon elf Priestess, were you guys ever able to reduce her? She's a very important asset to both the elven court and the church of Adonai. We'll pay you handsomely if you hand her over." I looked at her for 5 seconds and then gave her a two word answer.

"She's dead!" and then Tiamat and I disappeared into the crowd, leaving the elven prime minister with her thoughts and plots. Telling her I wasn't who she thought I was wouldn't have helped, there's a possibility that dye was only bluffing, but still nothing short of Aaron and Seven standing side by side would prove that we were two different people.

After moving around for a while, we still couldn't find Martha, so the consensus was that the Queen was late to her own banquet, but that was understandable; she's the queen after all. Tiamat and I found a table to ourselves and watched the festivities, just as the festivities watched us, it was getting rather boring when finally that pesky page came forward to announce her arrival.

The entire ballroom was abuzz with her appearance, and so was I. It was not the beauty of her dress, or the softly glowing tattoos on her skin, it was the fact that she seemed to have aged ten years in one night. Her hair was now white, her skin was still green though, however she was no longer the demure soft teenager who wanted my help in changing the way her kingdom was ran, now there was a rather mature young woman, and everyone was shocked.

Patmosians had rather long lifespans, they could leave for at most three hundred years and at least two hundred and twenty. Their teens start from 20 and ends at 40, and it looked like Martha had skipped s good ten if not twenty years of growing up to look like she did now. I couldn't help the feeling that something was really off, not with her per say, but with the power she now has, both literally and figuratively.

She kept on moving until she was standing right in the middle of the ballroom, she looked even more radiant standing under the lights of a very extravagant crystal chandelier, all eyes were on her, I guess it was time she gave the opening remarks or some shit like that.

"I thank all of you for being here and celebrating this joyous day with me, it has not been an easy road getting here. Many of the chosen failed and were disqualified, others tragically passed away, leaving the rest to push forward and strive to achieve greater heights.

It's no secret that no one expected me to win this, In The eyes of my people and my family, I'm just a slow sitter girl who understood nothing of how the world works. But they're wrong, because I was underestimated and overlooked it helped me see the things really wrong with society, the mistakes those privileged to rule were making, and I wanted to make a change.

They wouldn't let me, you see when you're a royal or you have power of any sort, taking corrections becomes really hard. You feel above everyone else, and would trample wherever you feel comfortable and happy too, not giving on care of tear of the lives that would be trampled along the way. And then the trials began and it gave me a chance, no matter how small or miniscule to fight for my change, and by the favor of great tree, I was able to make it."

At this point everyone gave her an applause, it was a nice speech, she was hitting this Queen business really well, though if I should be honest she sounded more like a celebrity taking an award than a queen giving a speech, which when you think about it, is not that much of a difference. She seemed to have quite a few people on her side now, and she's playing the victim well, very capable of tugging at the heartstrings of the public and the people in here who had a more clean slate than most. But for me, what's going through my mind right now, is the fact that little princess Martha has grown the fuck up!

"The final trial was a hurdle that I couldn't face alone, just as the second required us to find a ship to carry us, I also need to find someone willing to fight for me. And for a woman as isolated and undercooked as I was, there should have been no one in sight.

However the great tree works in mysterious ways. A strong and independent woman I might be, but I still needed someone to lean on, and he was there to offer his strength and his support to me when others weren't to happy about giving it. Everyone please join me in welcoming my Love, Guild Master Aaron Wade!"

Fuck! Fuck! FUUUUCCCCCCKKKKKK! There were not just eyes on me now, there were spotlights too. Tiamat took a step back, she was smart she knew exactly w hat was happening here, and she would happily watch from the sidelines. As much as I can really play this game, sometimes politics is a massive fuck up.

I walked towards her with slow steady steps, if she knew me well enough she would know that this was my angry walk. My strides were usually long and fast, and I only ever walked slow when I was angry or was about to kill a man. For the first time in a long time, the eyes on me were very, very uncomfortable.

I've been in crowds before, the day I was discharged from the hospital, there were hundreds of reporters, law enforcement officers and normal people who had called in front of the hospital to wish me well. Honestly I didn't even know I was that popular until it happened, but even then wouldn't have prepared me for the amount of scrutiny I was currently undergoing.

I walked up to her and she welcomed me with a hug, she was almost as tall as I was, and the heels she was wearing bright right to my height. She smelled green, like life and flowers and grass and spring. It was nice, and she gave off a relaxing and calming vibe, such that I felt right at home and peaceful in her arms. But with my recent experience with Lerrianderlei, I rather not fall for the weird charms of any woman.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing Martha?!" I quietly hissed into her ear as we sort of devolved into a slow dance.

"My apologies Captain Seven, but this was the only way I could think of keeping you safe and still connected to me. I may be queen, but my father's and brother's influence are still wildly spread within the kingdom, I needed a shield just as you need help to get off this world. It just means our cooperation is not yet at an end."

"Are you out of your mind or something? You could have asked for help! Made a more lucrative deal with me, for chrissakes I out everything on the line to get you that crown and you repay me by...by...by marrying me when I wasn't looking!" in a way it didn't sound like a bad deal, marrying a queen that is. But I'm not in the mood for politics or relationships, with how real this world has become, there's no telling how much of a consequence this union will have on both my lives.

"I will give you a proper explanation later, this wouldn't be bad for you, at least for the moment please play along. This farce will come to an end one-day, but until then let me use your power to secure my throne, and then I'll give you a compensation that would make you set for life, I promise, so please like you promised to help me the first time we met...don't forsake me when I really need you." It was a compelling speech, but the moment she finished talking, the lights went off, and I had to bring her to the ground as we dodged a bullet that would have gone through both our heads. Something was up.