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”Are you absolutely sure that this thing is working as it should?” The Queen asked with a small frown. Unlike the two of them, most of the capital city was taking part in the grand celebration for the two princes, including Karna’s friends. The word about the battle with the vampires had spread, but the royal family had enacted hasty repairs, and the party was taking place to give the impression that the whole thing was not a big deal.

The Queen’s subordinates on the other hand had followed Amaranthine’s orders to a letter, following the guidance of the odd-looking artifact that Karna had created, and now surrounded the place where the vampires had escaped to. Dozens of dragons and their extremely powerful riders surrounded an enormous estate. The dragons were flanked by mute guards that wore golden scale mail. The Queen had gone all out in taking along people that she could rely on, so all of the guards and Dragon Princes were people that served the royal family personally. As for the artifact the Queen was holding, anyone that had spent time in a more tech-rich universe would recognize the artifact as a very advanced looking scanner. To the Queen though, the whole thing just looked strange.

“I’m quite sure. Judging by your expression, I’m guessing you don’t like the results you’re getting.” Karna replied. The two of them were surrounded by the elite of the elite among the elven soldiers, and Gem stood protectively above Karna in all the glory of her angelic form.

“You guess correctly. Not because the people at the estate are friends. It’s the exact opposite. They’re members of the faction of the court that revere the old gods, and they’re something of a rival to us. It’s just…” The Queen was hesitant to speak further.

“Dealing with them will have heavy political ramifications I assume?” Karna could guess what the problem was.

“Indeed. Well. It’s not something you’ll need to worry about.” Amaranthine knew there would be trouble in the coming years, but she didn’t need to burden Arjuna’s daughter with such things. And the artifact was telling her that several vampires were inside the mansion. After the attack on the palace, there weren’t all that many vampires left in the city, although they too were currently a little outside the city proper.

They waited for several minutes until one of the guards in golden armor approached them. These guards were clearly different from the usual ones protecting the palace. These people were battle-hardened and Karna could sense that they had all gone through countless battles, unlike the more ceremonial guards that usually protected the palace. There was a kind of hardness and an edge to them even when they were just standing still like statues, waiting for the command to attack. It wasn't just the rank of these people that made them dangerous, although they were strong in that regard as well. These people were warriors and veterans, not your standard guards. The Queen had pulled these people from somewhere else. Somewhere where they saw constant battle.

“So?” The Queen asked. The guard simply shook his head. “I’m not sure if I should be happy that they refused to surrender, or sad. It makes things much simpler, but…” She shook her head. The refusal to surrender also left her with little choice.

“Should I…?” Karna made a gesture of leaving. She was clearly in the wrong place here if things turned into a battle.

“You should, but it wouldn’t matter. There will be no battle here today. Only death.” The Queen gave a signal and the dragons took flight with their riders. When they were all above the estate, the dragons all opened their maws and gave a perfect example of why their kind were so feared in battle. The entire grounds of the enormous estate were soon covered in flames of the kind that could not be put down with simple spells or water. The dragon fire also easily punched through the defensive formations that had been layered around the ancient estate over the centuries. These were not young dragons fresh to their powers, but ancient wyrms with abilities that allowed them to all but ignore defensive magic. The oldest golden scaled dragon that was the size of a small mountain released a breath that lanced down like a laser and caused a small mushroom cloud to cover what remained of the entire estate.

The devastation was complete. The golden armored guards kept their sharp senses peeled in case someone tried to escape, but no one managed to survive the fire. Even the buildings had been reduced to nothing but specks of dust. Karna was reminded of an old song she’d heard.

“No one could outrun the crash

it was all reduced to rubble

And then again to ash

To the blinding burning light

It’s no use to fight

There’s no one out there.” She sang quietly.

“What does your artifact tell you?” The Queen finally asked once the sound of Karna’s voice had gone quiet.

"There's no one out there," Karna repeated. The scanner showed that the closest vampires of the same bloodline were out of range.

“Any tunnels underground or spatial disturbances?” The Queen raised her voice a bit more, addressing the golden-armored guards. The mute guards only shook their heads. This wasn’t the first time had to do something like this. They knew all the tricks the enemy could pull to hide from their senses.

“Go through the rubble. Make sure there are no surprises. See if you can find the artifacts. Something from the Divine Plane should be able to survive the devastation. Though I suspect the Chalice at least is long gone.” She ordered, and several of the warriors dashed towards the devastation.

“Now we’ll have to return to the party and act as if nothing happened.” The Queen stated firmly as she turned towards Karna.

"I'll have to swing by the inn first. I haven't had the chance to wash up or change clothes since the attack last night." Karna shrugged. She didn't really feel like taking part in a celebration, but she had to perform her diplomatic duties. She had already done enough, but it would leave a bad taste in her mouth if she half-assed things right at the end.

“I believe you’ve earned that and more. I would like to reward you personally for what you’ve done, though I suspect you’ll refuse.” The Queen had already gotten a rather decent impression on Karna.

“Well, you could throw enough spirit stones my way that I can cast a couple high ranked spells when necessary.” Karna surprised the Queen with her request though.

“Sure. That can be arranged.” Amaranthine nodded. “Anything else?”

“Keep your son away from me during the party. I know you were behind the whole thing with him, so now you can be the one to deal with it. I get why you orchestrated the whole affair, and I don’t really mind as I had fun as well. He served his purpose well. However, I don't need him making passes at me when I'm not interested in anything further.” Karna decided to dump the issue with Cendirion on the Queen’s lap.

To her surprise, the Queen burst into laughter. “Poor Cendirion. He really doesn’t know what kind of person he fell for. Still, I can understand where you’re coming from. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. I can’t blame him too much for his fascination or persistence though.” She gave Karna a rather blatantly evaluating look and nodded in approval. “I certainly wouldn’t mind if something were to develop between the two of you, but I can’t and won’t force it.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I want to accomplish my diplomatic mission that way." Karna shook her head and turned to leave. "As I said, I'll let this one slide since it also fulfilled my needs and there was no harm done, but I don’t really enjoy someone trying to manipulate me.”

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“So what are you planning to do now?” Karna questioned Travan as the two of them stood on the balcony overlooking the celebration going on down below them. Karna had arrived late to the party, but no one had questioned it as she had a special permission from the Queen. Her late arrival was definitely noticed though, as she did tend to draw attention.

“I’m...not sure to be honest. This mission didn’t go the way I expected. I have a lot to think about and I'll need to bring word to my family, so in that sense, I should probably return immediately. On the other hand, it might be better if I could get my mind off the whole thing, and traveling with you guys would be a great way to accomplish that." He felt genuinely lost.

“Well, you’ll need to come to a decision relatively soon. I think you’re welcome to join us, but it should be mentioned that I have no idea how long it will take us to return back home. If you don’t’ take this opportunity to go back, then it’s hard to say when the next opportunity will come.” Karna pointed out the obvious problem.

“I know. That’s what makes the whole thing so difficult.” Travan had also realized the issue. “I suppose I really should go back.” He scratched his hair, unsure of himself.

"Karna," Duskclaw called out as she approached the two of them. Karna simply nodded and smiled as a return greeting. “I think it’s fair to say that your mission here was a success. I can promise you a very good grade. Miralen didn’t do too badly either. She made a connection with the younger prince. No, not that kind of connection, get your mind out of the gutter. They became friends. Or at least friendly.” Duskclaw saw Karna’s grin and pre-empted the obvious joke.

“Good for her, although I have my suspicions. As for the grade, after what we accomplished? Yeah, I’d expect to get a good grade. This was supposed to just be a diplomatic visit.” Karna laughed. “What happens next?”

“Well, that’s what I came here to talk about. It seems the Emissary has returned to the Magocracy, so returning there might be a bit iffy. The problem is that the dimensional highways that would take us to our destination also originate from the Magocracy, and it’s not like the Academy has ships capable of making the trip stationed around the elven lands.” Duskclaw pointed out.

“Tsumi and Arjuna could probably both arrange a pickup…” Karna suggested.

“True enough, but that still leaves the route problem. We’d need to use the elven routes which won’t go directly towards our destination, and for that, we'll need the permission and guidance of the elves. Navigators don’t like sharing their secret paths.” Duskclaw argued.

“Well, the Queen does owe me…” Karna’s eye twitched a bit. She could already sense a potential headache coming, as she could sense what the issue would be.

Sure enough, she was right. The Queen actually grimaced almost apologetically. "I can arrange that, but Cendirion will most likely want to join you. I can't really argue against his participation either. He's among the most experienced people to travel the planes, and he would be an excellent guide. Plus, the captain of his vessel is an excellent navigator. It would also be good experience for him. He's eager to return to his training and…well we both know something or someone else he's rather eager about as well. He has many good arguments to make and he's honestly perfect for the job. I could overrule him, but to stop him from following you, I'd have to ground him effectively. And for that, I'd need a proper reason."

Karna knew that the Queen could stop the prince from going, but it would take a royal decree to confine him to the palace, as Cendirion was free to travel as he pleased. And as much as the Queen liked Karna and was thankful for the aid she’d provided against the vampires, she wasn’t going to effectively order her son’s house arrest just for some romantic foibles. “Fine. I’ll need to make things clear to him eventually anyway.” Karna decided. She knew from experience that leaving such things hanging could create more problems than it was worth. She had hoped to avoid the discussion, but it seemed that attempt had failed.

“I could see if he wants to take his sister along. Anaire could keep him in line and she’s been expressing her wish to travel with her brother for a while now…” The Queen extended an olive branch. She knew Anaire would make sure her brother would not get creepy. Not that she believed her son to fall that low anyway.

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In the end, the Queen's solution also provided them with a vessel they could use. Instead of a large military vessel, they were traveling with a smaller yacht that was apparently prince Cendirion’s private vessel. As he often traveled with companions, the yacht was easily large enough for all of them, although they had to bunk in pairs. Along with the group and the two royals, the yacht also had a small handful of elven crew to take care of the vessel when Cendirion was off fighting and ‘gaining experience’.

“Welcome aboard the Shining Star! The trip this time will take a while as we have to take some detours, but it should be relatively safe.” The female captain greeted them enthusiastically.

With a bit of amusement, Karna noted the way the captain was looking at Cendirion. Clearly, there was something going on between them, which was confirmed by the awkward look the elven prince wore at the moment. Obviously, the prince had not been living a celibate life before this, and the good captain was probably one of his previous partners. The awkwardness was enough amusement for Karna to let go of her troubles with the Prince. This whole thing could be amusing after all.

Princess Anaire on the other hand was filled with enthusiasm. She had a good impression of the group of students, and she was excited to finally get out and test her wings in the wider universe. She’d stuck pretty close to the elven capital so far, even though her training would allow something a bit more adventurous. “So we meet again.” Anaire had a genuinely happy smile as she greeted Miralen. She had seen the way the brown-skinned elven girl had fended off Finuwar’s advances, while also staying courteous and even befriending the prince. It had been quite tactful and impressed Anaire greatly.

“Princess.” Miralen still remained a little bashful, which was a little odd for her. That was mainly because the elven royals had a special meaning to the elves of this world.

“Now, none of that nonsense. We’ll be companions on this trip, and I won’t have you treating me like that the entire time!” Anaire mock-scolded the girl. Both of them smiled at the easy companionship they felt already developing.

The two of them quickly got lost in conversation, exchanging stories and little amusing tidbits. The more they talked, the more they found they got along. “Is there something going on with your brother?” Miralen finally asked at one point.

They both looked towards the prince who seemed somewhat awkward and didn’t seem to know what to do. “I’m not sure what’s going on. He’s been acting odd for several days now, especially when that Karna girl is around. In fact, my brother’s been acting weird ever since the first night of the festival.” Anaire complained.

“The first ni…OHH!” A realization hit Miralen. She put two and two together as she remembered that Karna had rather bluntly revealed what she had been up to that night. And she had also acted a little odd around the prince.

“What?” Anaire looked at Miralen sharply. “You realized something, didn’t you?”

“Well, this is just a guess. I think your brother and Karna might have run into each other the first night.” Miralen whispered conspiratorially. Normally she wouldn’t divulge something like this, but the idea was just way too juicy to keep to herself.

"Run into…OHH!" A realization hit Anaire as well. She looked at Karna with more interest “Well, I suppose I’ll let that slide then.” She couldn’t really judge her brother now that she had seen Karna in person. “But why is brother so awkward around her? It’s not like he’s never had any partners before.”

Miralen just shrugged. “That’s for them to figure out. What about you? You seem excited about this trip.”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to follow in my brother’s footsteps and become a cultivator of great power. Mother is just more protective over me as I’m a girl. Now I get the chance to go out and find out things on my own.” Anaire stated excitedly, still taking glances towards Cendirion and Karna as the two seemed to slip on the deck of the yacht, though separately.

“Well, I can somewhat understand the concern, though it’s not fair. There are worse things that could happen to girls like us out there.” Miralen speculated. The two went on to argue about the merits of gender for a cultivator for a while.

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“I was starting to wonder if you were going to ignore me the whole trip.” Cendirion pointed out as he stood next to Karna, leaning on the railing of the ship

“I was seriously considering it, but it's easier to just confront things head-on. So let's clear the air. It seems you're hung up on that night." Karna turned to look at the prince directly, instead of staring at the sea of trees below them. The ship had already taken off and was traveling towards the spatial channels.

“Well, you can’t say you didn’t enjoy that night as well. I remember quite clearly that you enjoyed our time together even more than I did, if possible.” Cendirion pointed out.

"I can't and won't argue that. I did enjoy our time together. That's it, however. I'm not looking for anything further. It seems you’re different in that regard.” Karna didn’t dance around the subject.

“I…you’re right. I was fascinated by you the moment I saw you. I admit that I’m quite smitten. I would really like it if that night was a sign of many more to come and wouldn’t just remain a memory of our only time together.” Cendirion felt a little awkward but managed to express himself. He wasn’t used to asking someone to start a relationship with him.

“See, I didn’t ever want to meet my partner of that night again, because it would make things awkward, just like this. That’s why I went out masked. That said, that ship has sailed. I’m a young woman with needs, and I would not mind fulfilling those needs with someone like you, except I don’t think you could remain emotionally distant enough.” Karna stated. The situation was what it was, so all she could do was to make the best of it.

"What do you mean? Why would you even care if I could remain detached if you don't want to form a bond? And would it be so bad if something further did develop between us?" Cendirion asked with a frown.

“Well, here’s the thing. I have absolutely no intention of being a one man’s woman or getting into a relationship. Besides, just because you have some feelings for me, that doesn’t mean I have them for you. Nor that I would develop any, or want to develop any. As I said, I'm a young woman with needs and desires, and many of those don't include you. If you allowed yourself to get even more emotionally involved than now, what would happen if I decided to indulge myself with someone else? This is a small ship. Could you handle it if you had to listen to me indulging myself, with say Sieg? Or the captain?” Karna bluntly explained the issue.

She didn’t want a relationship. She just wanted a bit of fun. It was just a fact that she’d done the monogamous relationship thing so many times before in previous lives, that she just desired something different and more fun this time around, especially if this was going to be her last life. That’s why she had made those changes to her body in the first place. She’d expected and planned for a life filled with all sorts of pleasures. And a steady monogamous relationship would simply be in the way. Besides, she had no feelings for the prince. He was a decent enough guy, but nothing that would make her develop deeper feelings.

“I…don’t know. I doubt I could be blasé about it.” Cendirion admitted. He didn’t consider himself jealous by nature, but he didn’t like the thought now that it was presented to him.

“And there you have it.” Karna turned away. “I’m not looking for a boyfriend or a husband. If you can’t deal with that, then you can’t deal with me.”

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