Vacant Throne

Alyssa woke to blinding sunlight, an unfamiliar ceiling, and the drums of war thumping inside her head.

Without even moving a muscle, she closed her eyes and tried to will away the pounding. It didn’t work. If anything, consciousness only made it worse. Her tongue stuck to the dry roof of her mouth in an unpleasant manner. Sweat coated her body despite her feeling a little chilled. Even with that chill, there was a warmth to the side of her body, with her left arm being weighed down.

By someone.

Alyssa didn’t reopen her eyes. The longer they stayed closed, the longer she could put off dealing with whatever situation she had landed herself in. Besides that, she still felt exhausted. It was clearly a good way into the day and yet she felt like she hadn’t slept at all. Just… five more minutes.

A warm breath on her neck was enough to wash away all sensation of drowsiness, at least for the moment.

Squinting in an attempt to keep as much of the sun out of her thumping head as possible, she slowly turned her head to the side. As soon as she saw who her bedmate was, she let out a long sigh of relief. It was not the Pharaoh. She didn’t know why her first thought had been the Pharaoh, but it probably had something to do with him having a harem. That and she had danced with him the night before. She clearly remembered that.

After that dance…

Right… It was coming back to her now. She had danced with Brakkt. Then she had danced with Companion, for some reason. Irulon had rejected her offer—is it too much to hope that Irulon will have forgotten completely that I asked her?—but Kasita took her up on it a few moments after. Afterwards, she had danced again with Brakkt just before the festivities ended. Which didn’t quite explain why she was in bed with him, but gave her enough pieces to the puzzle that she could probably remember the rest as soon as her head stopped that pounding.

Hangover cures existed. She had made several while working for Tzheitza. Green fairy livers were rare, but Brakkt probably had one, being royalty. Most customers picking them up had either been from the great houses or were wealthy merchants. The question was, where would Brakkt keep them?

This was the first time she had ever been to his room. And it was so bright that she didn’t even want to look around. Alyssa could have woken him, but he looked so peaceful while resting that she didn’t want to disturb him. And… lying next to him wasn’t uncomfortable. If she just closed her eyes and let herself drift… back… to sleep…

Movement at her side jolted Alyssa awake, though she didn’t lurch up or anything. She just opened her eyes. Which she immediately regretted. The sun wasn’t quite as bright as it had been. Whether that was because Brakkt’s room faced the morning sun and it was now later in the day or because her hangover was going away on its own, she couldn’t guess. Maybe a combination of the two. Either way, Brakkt was now upright, rubbing a hand down his face. She must have made some kind of movement, because he stopped moving all of a sudden.

“Sorry,” he said, kind and courteous enough to keep his voice to a whisper. “Did I wake you?”

“No,” Alyssa lied. “I woke earlier and was just resting my eyes. That mulled wine is…”

“Not to your tastes?”

“I liked it. Too much. I don’t suppose you have any hangover cures?”

“Let me pull one out for you.”

“Thanks.” With the impending promise of her head going back to normal, Alyssa clambered her way to a sitting position. And promptly spotted her dress lying in a crumpled heap on the floor to the side of the bed. It was… a shame. She should have been more careful. Hopefully it wasn’t ruined. While she could surely pay for it just by creating unlimited gold, it was a nice dress. All that hard work that had gone into making it should have been respected.

It also meant that she was not wearing anything. She started to cover herself with a blanket from the bed before deciding that it didn’t actually matter. Brakkt was in a similar state of undress anyway. She did not stop herself from watching him as he pulled open a drawer next to the bed. He was… muscled. Oz might have him beat, but she hadn’t actually seen Oz without a shirt on so he didn’t count. He also had a number of scars, mostly on his back and arms, but some on his chest as well. Nothing massive, Tzheitza’s were far more disfiguring. They just made him look rugged, like he had seen his fair share of combat.

Which he definitely had, she supposed.

After rifling through a number of potions, most of which Alyssa recognized by sight alone as being healing or other restoratives, he pulled out a small pale green vial and handed it over to Alyssa. She couldn’t help but notice that there were a good five identical vials all lined up next to each other.

“You need these often?” Alyssa asked as she uncorked the potion. It tasted like strawberries… but not real strawberries, more like the flavoring used in candy.

“Younger me had to take one every day, just about. I try not to need them so often these days, but still keep it well stocked out of habit.” Despite saying that, he pulled one out for himself and quickly downed it. A small shudder racked his body before he carefully set the vial down on top of the end table.

The effects of the potion were not quite instant. First, it felt like Alyssa had taken a dive in a tub of ice water, but she warmed back up quickly enough. And as she warmed, the thumping in her head started to recede. Headache starting to fade, she took her first real look around Brakkt’s room.

It was… minimalistic. Where Irulon had shelves and shelves of books, desks covered in papers and research notes, and a bed far bigger than any one person should be allowed, Brakkt had calm simplicity in every corner of the room. There was a single bookshelf only half filled with books and a desk next to it with no papers on top. One wall had a few swords hanging on it, but, while probably usable, they looked like they were more for decoration than defending himself. There were a few smaller curios, some kind of obsidian dagger with a ruby red jewel in its hilt mounted on one of the vacant sections of the bookshelf, a globe of glass that was just faintly glowing on the corner of his desk, and a few other such things.

The bed, while not quite as big as Irulon’s, was quite comfortable. Alyssa felt she could easily flop back over, fall asleep instantly, and stay that way for the rest of the day.

“So…” From a wardrobe not far from the end table, Brakkt pulled out a set of bathrobes. One in red and black for himself, which he quickly slipped into, then a pure black one which he held out for Alyssa to take. “Clothes?”

“Thanks, though I think I would rather have a quick bath first.”

“Of course. The door on that side of the room. I’ll call for a servant to run the water—”

“That’s alright,” Alyssa said, holding out a hand. She let just a tiny bit of water pool in her palm before deleting it. “I can take care of it myself.”

“Right. I’ll just…”

“Hey. I had fun,” Alyssa said. And it wasn’t even a lie. “I don’t think we should make this into a regular thing, but I enjoyed… letting my guard drop, so to speak. Most of all, I don’t want either of us being weird about this. I don’t know how things are here, but back on Earth… Well, we’ll talk later when we’re not both half naked. Or all naked. I’m going to take a quick bath first.”

Before Brakkt could say anything, Alyssa quickly slipped off into the indicated room. The second she closed the door behind her, she felt her cheeks burn. That was twenty steps too far, Companion! She didn’t know why she was mentally yelling at the dumb dragon, but it did make her feel better.

Not that she was feeling bad. Now that the potion had run through her system, she actually felt pretty great. She was just… embarrassed. Awkward. These kinds of things were not her forte. Her last real relationship would have been a good five years ago with someone she had met at one of her community college classes. It had fallen apart not long after first having sex. She did not want that to happen here.

She liked Brakkt. Having things be uncomfortable between them…

Shaking her head, Alyssa decided to not over think things. That was what happened last time and things had gone poorly. She couldn’t act like nothing had happened, but it wasn’t like some world changing event that shattered the foundations of reality. People had sex all the time and didn’t freak out over it. Why should she?

As she filled the basin with hot water, she realized one thing. I am definitely still over thinking everything.

Deciding it would be better to find something to distract herself, Alyssa finally got around to filling up the bath. The water was hot, but a few notches under scalding. It had taken a lot of practice to get the temperature right. The first time she had tried to create hot water, it had basically exploded in her hand. Luckily, it had been only a few tiny drops and hadn’t caused any lasting damage, but it had still been a shock.

Sinking into the water made most of everything better. A good bath could wash away worries just as easily as it washed away dirt and grime. A few blissful minutes passed until her fingers turned wrinkled. It was probably too long to spend in someone else’s bath, but she decided that she didn’t care about that either. A quick check through her sense of souls showed Brakkt sitting at what was likely his desk. Eating, judging by the movements.

Maybe she had eaten just a bit too much at the feast; Alyssa didn’t feel hungry in the slightest.

Deciding that she could stay in the bath a little longer since Brakkt looked busy, Alyssa settled deeper into the water, leaning back just so that the water level was just below her nose. Brakkt’s bath was roughly identical to Irulon’s, which was to say, large enough to act as a small swimming pool. Deep enough as well. She could float on her back if she wanted.

But it was probably time to get out. As much as she wished she could sit around and do nothing all day, she did have things she wanted to accomplish. Things beyond talking to Brakkt. Like talking to Irulon, Companion, and Kasita. All of whom were likely to comment on the current situation. It would be best to get those comments out of the way sooner rather than later so that everything could go back to normal, more or less.

Though, before she left the bathroom, Alyssa quickly destroyed the water then refilled the bath with fresh hot water. With that done, she took a deep breath, put on a smile, and stepped back into Brakkt’s room, wearing his robe.

“Soup?” she said, smelling the brothy flavor in the air.

Turning, Brakkt stared a moment before nodding. “Just something light. Bit of soup and bread. Not too hungry otherwise. There is some for you as well,” he said with a gesture to another wooden bowl set on the desk and an untouched bread roll that was probably leftover from the night before.

“Thanks,” she said, feeling her smile turn far more genuine than it had been. Eating a little would probably be good for her anyway, even if she wasn’t feeling too hungry at the moment. “I left the basin filled, if you wanted to take a bath. The water should be nice and hot. I freshened it up after I was done.”

“I’ll take you up on that,” he said, though he didn’t get up to go right away, choosing to finish his soup first. There wasn’t much left.

And there was only the one seat around his desk. So Alyssa picked up the bowl and sat on the edge of his bed. “You have anything to do today?”

“I was going to head back to Illuna, but I can put that off for a bit.”

“It’s fine.” The soup was good. Very flavorful compared to most soups that Alyssa had tried. She suspected it was made from the feast’s stock. “You’ve got your duties. I’ve got research to do… and I want to go check on that contraption that Jason and Guillem came up with. And I should say hello to Tzheitza too.”

“Ah. Tzheitza should be in the palace, actually. I learned last night that she is here on retainer as a watcher for Octavia.”

“Really?” She hadn’t actually considered it, but Octavia had probably been called to the pit along with all other infected when the Astral Authority attacked it. Being kept under lock and key, she had likely not been able to go. But… “Did Tzheitza… help her at all?”

“That is what my father said. Haven’t seen her for myself yet though. Given that she tried to take my head off last time we saw each other and I did take off her limbs… I’m not really sure that interacting would be a good idea. But she is, supposedly, feeling better?” Shaking his head, Brakkt shrugged. “I was planning on finding out a little more about the situation before approaching. I recommend you do the same. As I recall, you had a less than pleasant encounter with her as well.”

That was probably a good idea. Octavia hadn’t enjoyed Alyssa’s company back before she had been infected. After, Octavia had tried to kill her out in the corn field. “I might ask around and see if I can talk to Tzheitza without her around then… but I might put off that if Tzheitza is too busy.”

With a nod, Brakkt drained the last of his soup. As soon as he set the bowl down, he stood. “I’ll freshen up then. Feel free to…” he trailed off, looking around. “Look around, I guess? I don’t have as vast a library as Irulon, I’m afraid. I know you’re not that interested in weapons, but I do have a small armory across the hall from my room.”

Letting out a light chuckle at how despondent he looked, Alyssa shook her head. “That’s alright. I’ll finish my soup then probably head down to Irulon’s room. So don’t worry if you can’t find me up here.”

Brakkt disappeared into the bathroom with another curt nod.

Alyssa felt a small giddy feeling in her stomach, letting out a content sigh. That had been a perfectly normal conversation. Just like they would have had before. She still felt like they had some things to talk about, but there was no need to have that conversation this very second. Things felt… good. She hadn’t felt awkward. The more normalcy there was, the less awkward she felt like there would be when they did talk about their relationship.

Of course, taking a little time to figure out exactly what she wanted from a relationship wouldn’t be a bad thing. A boyfriend? Casual occasional fling? Nothing at all aside from close friendship? Alyssa honestly wasn’t sure herself. She wasn’t sure what Brakkt might want either. She didn’t know if he knew. This was a twenty step jump for her, it probably was for him as well.

One thing was certain: No more mulled wine for the time being.

After grabbing the dress from off the floor, though not at all sure what to actually do with it, Alyssa headed down to Irulon’s room. Despite it being nearly midday, she fully expected to find Irulon asleep when she entered.

Which was not the case.

Companion was face down on a mountain of pillows, but Irulon simply sat out on her balcony with Kasita. Their casual conversation stopped abruptly as Alyssa slipped through the door. Kasita was the first to actually turn, though Irulon picked up on the movement at nearly the same time. Both stared for just a moment longer than would have been comfortable. Kasita soon smiled.

“Ufu~ Have fun?”

“If you must know, then yes. I did have fun.”

Irulon didn’t look convinced. “Do you even remember anything about last night?”

“Yes. Mostly. Maybe like… ninety percent of it all.” Crossing her arms as best as she could without further wrinkling the dress in her arms, Alyssa gave Irulon a lighthearted glare. “You wouldn’t dance with me.”

“And my toes are still thanking me for rejecting you.”

Alyssa kept up her glare for another few seconds. Kasita giggling off to the side made it difficult to maintain, however. Soon enough, Alyssa found herself grinning as well, though she still didn’t break eye contact with the princess. Staring at her jogged a memory. It wasn’t anything huge. She was surprised that she remembered at all. But… “Hey, Irulon…”

“Hm?”

“A while back, when we were traveling from Lyria to Teneville, you and I talked one evening. After glancing at Brakkt, you told me ‘no’ even though I hadn’t actually asked anything. What was that about?”

Irulon didn’t respond right away, seemingly thinking back. Before splitting from Companion, she had possessed perfect memory. Alyssa wasn’t sure if that still was a thing, but for this particular question, she nodded her head after a moment or two.

“Ah. Right. Misunderstandings on my part, mostly. It was the answer to basically any question you could have posed regarding Brakkt and a relationship. I erroneously took your budding friendship as a deeper interest than you obviously showed in retrospect. Or maybe you were interested, given recent events?” she said, raising an eyebrow.

Alyssa could only shrug. “We’re still really only friends… I think.”

“Hm… In any case, some of the questions were, ‘Does Brakkt have a betrothed? Has Brakkt ever shown interest in someone else? Does Brakkt even like humans? Would Brakkt kiss a reptilian monster if he had the opportunity? Do I have a ‘shot’ with Brakkt?’ and so on and so forth.”

“Seems like you were wrong about a few of those.”

“It’s been months. Things change.”

“And really? He wouldn’t kiss a lizard monster? I find that hard to believe.” She didn’t, actually. She knew now that Brakkt was more… academically interested in them? That was the wrong word, but close enough. Even knowing that, she thought there might be at least a chance.

Uncertainty wasn’t a normal expression for Irulon. Frowning as if she realized that for herself, Irulon eventually shrugged. “I was wrong about those other things.”

“Anyway,” Alyssa said, deciding to not delve deeper into that particular topic, “I’m not sure what to do about this dress. And I need to grab some of my own clothes.” Having spent the last few days in Irulon’s room, she had some here.

“Leave it on the bed.” Irulon said, waving a hand back toward the rest of her room. “I’ll have Tess take care of it later.”

Alyssa turned, but stopped abruptly as a hand came down on her shoulder.

“Just a minute,” Kasita said, grin too wide on her face. “As your official sister, I want details. Did he treat you right? Did you treat him right? Just saying you had fun isn’t good enough for me, little sis.”

“Since when was I the little—”

“No changing the subject again. All the details.”

Closing her eyes, Alyssa sighed. She quickly did a scan of all the souls around them, mildly hoping that there was an army on the horizon or assassins hiding in the room. But she had no such luck at the moment. However, thinking about it, talking with Kasita might help her figure out exactly what she wanted. If she even wanted anything.

“Fine,” Alyssa said.