Chapter Thirty
One More Goodbye

She didn’t have a lot of time left for things like this, Vera knew. In a week, she’d be a queen. The Queen. How did she even get here?

“Falling in love with Clarus probably had something to do with it,” Aesling offered. And she wasn’t wrong, but it was still strange to think about. It was now over three months since they’d found his motionless body up on that tower in the mountains, but it somehow felt both like yesterday and a lifetime ago simultaneously. 

She had been nobody at all. And soon, most people in the Kingdom would know her name, and she’d have to read so many books, and she’d have to learn to write without moving her lips, and—

“You may want to pay attention, Vera,” Aesling said playfully, just as the sword clattered against the bricks next to her head. She dodged down and to the right, into a roll. Getting to her feet quickly, she tried to clear her head. 

“Almost had you there,” Rubicus said with an amused glare, and he spun the short sword in a small circle. “C’mon, at least give me a challenge.”

“I’ve got things on my mind, Ruben!” Vera shot back as she lowered her stance. Against Rubicus, she had to use her speed more than anything. He was larger, stronger, and his reach was almost double hers. “I’m going to be Queen next week! And,” she added while she circled him slowly, “I’m wearing a dress.” 

“I’m sure anyone you fight will be happy to wait until you’re all done processing and getting changed,” Rubicus said, and then lunged, raising his weapon, then pausing for a second, before slamming the weapon down swiftly where Vera had been a second ago. “Better,” he said. “But not good enough. You can’t afford to muck about.” 

Vera took a deep breath and weighed the wooden sword, trying to read his movements and intentions. Usually the eyes were a dead giveaway, but lately she’d been fighting… things without eyes. So she’d gotten into the habit of reading her opponent’s motions. And Rubicus was very hard to read when he wanted to be. “I mean, you’re not giving me a reason to do my best, are you?” she tried. With a bit of luck, he’d try to do something to prove her wrong. Baiting an opponent was always an option.

“No need to show off, girl,” Rubicus chuckled, “your audience is already captivated.” It was true. The courtyard they were in wasn’t especially large, but the colonnades were slowly filling up. Vera had hoped that early morning palace life would have given them some privacy, but apparently it wasn’t to be. News of the Queen-to-be — was she technically a princess? She’d have to ask Clarus — swordfighting in the Eastern Memorial Courtyard had made its way through the Palace faster than any invading army ever could. 

Vera looked at the gathered faces and thought she saw Clarus for a moment. That was her mistake, of course, and Rubicus made his move. She saw him step forward and turn his shoulder to her, using his sizable bulk to obscure his weapon for just a second before swinging. She saw it coming, though, and moved her sword just right to deflect the blow and hopefully get a parry in. The strike never came. Rubicus’ feint had worked like a charm, and she felt like an idiot as his shoulder hit her in the sternum. 

Vera had fought Demons and walked away. She had fought an undead thing, a Lich, general of the armies of a foul emperor, not just to a standstill, but won. But Rubicus putting his entire weight behind a shoulder check really knocked the wind out of her. 

She was thrown back, and a gasp of shock went through the audience as Vera was thrown backwards. For a brief moment, she wanted to just take the hit and catch her breath on the ground. But then again, it would probably reflect badly on Rubicus if he just knocked Clarus’ consort to the ground like she was a teenager playing pretend and he was… well, a weathered veteran. She’d decided for herself not to rely too much on Aesling during the fight, but now, maybe an intervention was in order. 

“On it,” Aesling said, and Vera felt her body spin in mid air, tipping her foot against the ground just once to land gracefully on the edge of the courtyard. Aesling grinned. “Not even a challenge,” she said internally, and then slipped back, letting Vera step back into the driver’s seat. “Is that the best you’ve got, old timer?” Vera said smugly. 

There was a small applause from the audience. She imagined she probably looked like the hero who saved their city right now, but she knew she couldn’t afford to let up now. If there’s one thing Rubicus punished quickly, it was hubris. Right on cue, he rushed forward and immediately led the charge with a series of quick blows, but not particularly hard ones. The sound of wood on wood filled the small space. 

“Cheating, you two? Really?” Rubicus said in between his attacks, just loud enough for her to hear it. Vera felt a little bad. With Aesling’s helps she could probably overpower him, but he’d been adamant that she should still be able to fight without the Nymph’s help. 

“Just putting on a good show for the audience,” Vera replied. Rubicus stopped for a second, stepped back, and then started laughing, throwing his head back. When he looked back down at her, his grin bisected his graying beard. 

“That’s my girl,” he said, before launching into a roaring charge that sent several of the ladies-in-waiting scampering. But Vera noticed the wink he’d given just before. And he was coming in low, his stance wider than usual. It reminded her of the way the Demons attacked. Taking the hint, she dodged under his wide swing, and tapped the back of his leg with her sword, and he immediately dropped to one knee. 

She raised her sword for a theatrical coup de grace, but he spun around just as she landed her blow. Both their swords stopped a hair’s length from each other’s necks. Both panting, they stood there for a moment, before both laughing. 

Vera offered her hand. Rubicus’ coal shovel happily took it and let her help him up. “Well fought, your highness,” the big man said, and immediately the crowd  whooped and hollered in a very ignoble way. “Next time,” he said more quietly, “you’re not walking away until one of us has a black eye, you understand.”

“Perfectly,” Vera grinned. “But I’m not going to go easy on you.”

“Better not,” Rubicus said as he slapped her on the back, hard enough to make stars appear in the corners of her vision for a second. “Come on, your highness, let us go wave Caerella off.” Vera nodded. She wasn’t looking forward to that, really, but it wasn’t goodbye. Not really, anyway. Caerella and Rubicus would be back. 

“I wish you’d stay a while longer,” Vera said. “It’s going to be awful quiet here.” They walked next to each other through the beautiful halls of the Palace. Someone was probably going to complain later because of her and Rubicus dragging dirt inside.

“Eh, we’ll be back in a few months,” her old friend shrugged. “Six at most. But I can’t sit here and be pretty all day. That’s your job now.” He nudged her, almost knocking her into an alcove. “And we’ve got to do something with all the gold that King of yours showered us with.”

“You could do that here,” Vera argued, knowing it was a lost cause.

“There’s rumor of a great warrior out there, and I’m going to either recruit the little bastard or beat him into the ground to teach him a lesson about hubris,” Rubicus said matter-of-factly. “And Caerella needs to scout some places.”

“Still…” Vera said, not really having anything more to add than that. “I’ll miss you.”

“Good,” Rubicus said. “I’d be furious if you didn’t.” They stopped in front of the guest door. “You’ll do fine, Vera. Besides, you’ll be so busy, it’ll be over before you know it. You’ll have to be queen, I’m sure Clarus will keep you plenty busy running things because he’ll be too busy getting himself into trouble.”

“You’re one to talk,” Vera said, smacking his shoulder. “You’re, what? Pushing ninety?”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Rubicus said as he knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Caerella opened the door. She was wearing her traveling clothes. “Housekeeping,” Rubicus said with a big grin. Caerella rolled her eyes, but smiled when she held the door open anyway. Vera stopped in front of her. The other woman nodded, and then they had their arms wrapped around each other. 

“You better come back soon,” Vera mumbled into Caerella’s shoulder. She got a gentle squeeze as a response before they stepped away. “I mean it.”

“Well, technically you can order us to stay,” Caerella said, and then looked over at Rubicus, who sat down on the bed. It creaked under his weight. “You know how well that would go.” She smiled, genuinely. “I’m just scouting new locations, Vera. Jokes aside, Ruben is getting wise enough to decide he’d rather die lying down, but neither of us are ready to stop just yet. And we do need a few more people in our merry band.”

“Yeah,” Vera said. “I mean, I could go with you…”

Caerella put her hands on Vera’s shoulders. “No,” she said. “You couldn’t.”

“I’m just…” Vera said, walking through the room listlessly. “I’m not ready for the two of you to leave, Caera.” That got her a raised eyebrow. Vera dramatically waved her arms. “It feels like only yesterday when the two of you were mere babes, and already you’re taking your first steps into a wider world—”

She stopped when she was hit in the face with a pillow. “That’s enough out of you,” Rubicus laughed. “We’ll be fine, Vera. And so will you. You’re a grown woman, you’re clever, and you’re never alone.” She looked her deep in the eyes. “Take care of her.”

“I will,” Aesling said. “While I am here, I would like to wish both of you the best of luck. Thank you, for being there for Vera when she needed you.” 

“You as well, Aesling,” Caerella said. “From both of us, even if Rubicus is too much of a giant baby to admit that he’s afraid of you.”

“Am not,” Rubicus grumbled. “Thank you, Aesling,” he added. “See? I’m fine.”

“Clearly,” Caerella said. “Anyway, the two of you… take care of each other, and of that fool King of yours.”

“Oi,” Vera said, “he’s… okay he is a fool, I can’t really deny that. But he’s a clever one!”

“Most clever ones are fools,” Caerella said. “Consider that my last lesson before I head off.” She walked over to the bed, kicked Rubicus’ legs to make him lift them, and then pulled her bag out from under them. “We’ll be back before long, Vera. You’re Queen now, which means…” She stopped. 

“Means what?” Vera asked. Rubicus propped himself up on his elbows. 

“I honestly don’t know,” Caerella said, and then laughed. “I don’t have any advice for you, Vera. I think, out of the two of us, you’ll have the more difficult job.” She threw the bag over her shoulder, and then put a hand on Vera’s. “You’ll do great, Vera. Make us proud.”

“Promise,” Vera said. “Now go, before I order you arrested for a few days.”

“Yes, your highness,” Caerella said with a perfect curtsy, and left.

Elamimax

Second to last chapter. I'm not crying, you're crying <3