Kefira strode through the halls of the palace, heading toward the sitting room of her family. They all had their own individual courtyards, but those were mostly used for sleeping and appearances. Her family was quite close, and they spent the majority of their time in the "official" palace where all the work was done. None of her family members were idlers, though. They all had some sort of responsibility that they upheld, but being the leaders of the empire, they could set their own schedules. Her father, Gennet, spent the majority of his time in an imposing-looking office on the first floor, and her first brother usually accompanied him, learning the tasks of running the empire. Her mother, Silfa, would often accompany her father, but she had her own little pet projects that she ran, and her main responsibility was to look over the functions of the palace itself. She had a reputation of severity mainly from strictly enforcing the rules of the palace and making sure the staff did an impeccable job, though she was quite sweet in a personal setting. It was a bit of a running joke that her mother was vicious, and it was usually more to tease newcomers than it was true. That being said, Silfa could paralyze new staff members with a sharp glare of her prismatic eyes. As the Queen of Gems, her eye color incorporated the spectrum of precious gems, not just one solid color like Kefira's ruby eyes. And just because it was mostly a joke and not the whole truth about her being so severe, it didn't spring from nowhere. She could be as cold as a glacier when she needed to be, and she was extremely fierce when it came to anything to do with her baby. I hope she doesn't go overboard when she meets Reivyn, here in a bit, Kefira frowned. If I know mother, she's guaranteed to give him the cold shoulder for some time, but I'm sure we can get her to warm up to him over time. I just worry about how cold she's going to be, and how long it's going to take for her to accept him. The little remarks she had been making to Reivyn about how her mother would receive him had been more to prepare him for any eventualities and to make him think it could be worse. It would have been counterproductive to explain the nuances of her mother's personality to him, as he might not take it seriously enough to ever truly break through to her. A little teasing is also a bit of fun, too. The palace wasn't exceptionally large, but the sitting room she was headed to where she could meet privately with her parents and siblings wasn't located in a traditional location. Instead of being near the center of the palace, it was actually a bit of a way down one of the wings. It had never been truly necessary, but it was a holdover from a long time ago when her ancestors used a bit of misdirection to make it harder for infiltrators or assassins to locate their privacy as easily. Apparently, there used to even be a secret tunnel behind one of the central rooms that led to the private family space, but nowadays it was just in the hallway. There was no need for such subterfuge with their solid grasp on the empire and love from the people. It had just become a tradition of sorts. Kefira ascended to the second floor, and as she stepped into the hallway leading to her destination, she saw two young adults walking toward her. One was a girl who was several years older than Kefira, and she was being trailed by a young man who was just a bit younger than her. Their faces lit up in delight as they spotted Kefira entering the hall. "Little Fira!" The girl picked up her pace and hurried to greet Kefira. She was wearing a simple, yet exquisite dress and the fit and color of it fit her personality perfectly, in Kefira's opinion. It was a forest green that also matched her emerald eyes. "Sophia! Trevor!" Kefira rushed forward, arms out, and hugged her sister. "Little sister," Trevor nodded his head with a smile. His eyes were the color of amethyst, but he wore the uniform of the imperial army like her brother Kayzor. He wasn't armed and armored, though. He was still working his way through the ranks and hadn't yet earned a position as a commander like his older brother. "I was wondering when you would return," Sophia said. "Kayzor got back a couple of days ago with his army. I didn't listen in on the report he gave, but from what I gathered from the gossip, the army didn't seem like it suffered any losses." "Eh, they got there basically at the end, but they did help immensely with the final problem that we had," Kefira separated from her sister and gave a quick hug to her fifth brother. "Well, I'll listen to you tell the tale. You're always so much more interesting to listen to than Kayzor. He's quite the bore with his military-esque, boring reporting. I swear he's talking to father, not our uncle." Sophia rolled her eyes. Kefira's first uncle, the second brother to her father, was The General of the Army, and he had a much higher Level than his younger brother, the monarch. He didn't personally oversee too many operations anymore, but he took his job very seriously. Occasionally he would switch out duties with another one of Kefira's uncles, and he would go adventure in the bordering Tier 5 Region. Their family had to maintain their sharpness, and most of the older generation was actually practically living in the Tier 5 Region to the north. Kefira had even heard rumors that their older generation took expeditions into the Tier 6 Regions nearby. When one got to a high enough Level with enough Vitality, one's lifespan would extend quite a bit. It was nothing crazy like living for thousands of years, but Kefira knew that her great-great-grandparents were still alive and well, and they were well over 300 years old at this point. They were apparently still living the life of a high-end Adventurer, and her own parents were likely to eventually follow in their footsteps. Her family had a tradition of the reigning monarchs abdicating power to allow for the crown prince to take over, and then they would assume different responsibilities for the family. Namely, they would spend some time training the youngest before heading out to secure resources. It wasn't a good idea to let others handle the procurement of higher-Tier resources all on their own unless one wanted to see the name of the dynasty change. "Oh, sure, sure," Kefira nodded her head. She smiled at her youngest, older brother. "Are you upset that you didn't get to go?" "I was," Trevor sighed. "But then I heard the reports from Kay, and now I'm kind of glad I didn't waste my time." "Oh? You're saying it was a waste of time to travel out to meet your sister who was fighting for her life?" Kefira's eyes twinkled. "Hey, now! Don't put words in my mouth. That's not what I meant, and you know it." Trevor wiped the sweat that had mysteriously appeared on his brow with the cuff of his shirt. "Hmph!" Kefira turned her head to the side. "Since I haven't seen you in a long time, I'll forgive you... for now." "Of course, thank you," Trevor took a deep, calming breath. "Come, come, come," Sophia grabbed Kefira's hand, dragging her along the corridor. "Let's go meet Father and the others. I'm sure you want to see them, and I know they're looking forward to your return." Kefira allowed herself to be dragged along the hallway, eager to meet the rest of her family after being away for so long. Each of the siblings had been on multiple journeys to gain Life Experience, and this had been one of the major, culminating expeditions for Kefira. There was no telling if she would need to go on a longer, more dangerous trip in the future to secure a better Class at Tier 5 or 6, but she knew she was going to have great options for Tier 4, at least. In only a few moments, Kefira was being led into an informal sitting room, and she immediately spotted the rest of her family members. Her father was sitting in a comfortable-looking chair, reading a report. Her first brother, Garet, was standing behind him looking over his shoulder. There was a long coffee table in front of the chair, and there were several other places to sit around it. Off to the side, on a longer seat meant to hold three people, Kefira's second sister, Faria, was in the process of taking a sip of tea. There was an expensive-looking porcelain set on the table, and Faria had impeccable manners as she took her sip. She held one hand under the cup as she sat perfectly straight. Kayzor, on the other hand, was lazing in another two-seater, sprawled across it with his leg over the armrest at the other end of the table. Kefira rolled her eyes at the complete opposite decorum he had shown while leading the expeditionary army. "Father!" Kefira called out as she rushed across the room to give her father a peck on the cheek. Her father put the reports down immediately upon being addressed, and he gave a smile to his youngest. "Ahh, there's my girl. Back from the bug stomping, finally," he chuckled. Garet, straightening up behind their father, gave a little smirk. Kefira punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Brother," she leaned over and gave him a one-armed hug. "Kefira. Glad to see you're no longer... tied up," he laughed at his own joke. "That... was terrible," Kefira said with a straight face. "I know," Garet's face fell, but then he shrugged. "I couldn't think of anything better." "Try harder next time. How's a future monarch going to survive if they can't come up with the right words?" "Yes, I keep telling him he needs to work on his wit," Faria said, setting her tea cup down. "It's good to see you extricate yourself from the snare of adventure, Fira." "Not you, too?" Kefira ran her palm down her face. "Though, that was a little better." "I was just displaying my superior wit to our dearest brother," Faria sat primly, smug in her oneupmanship. "Hey, I'm the one who brainstormed the word snare!" Garet said, crossing his arms. "Yes, and then you promptly failed to use it." Faria patted the seat next to herself. "Come, Fira, have a seat next to me and enjoy some of this freshly brewed tea. It's recently been brought back by a third uncle from Terrezin." Kefira sat down where indicated and accepted a cup of tea. As she brought it up to her mouth, she looked around the room and noticed something amiss. "Where's mother?" She asked, realizing that the seat next to her father was empty. "These two," her father gave a long-suffering look, "drove her off with all their talk of spider-puns. You know how she is about spiders. She stepped out and said she would be back after you told your tale, and she said that you could catch up on everything else in private, later." Kefira took a sip and looked around the room at everyone else. Sophia and Trevor had taken their own seats by this time. "You guys do realize that I did a lot more than just fight some giant spiders, right?" She quirked an eyebrow. "Yes, tell us," Gennet leaned forward in his seat, eager to hear what she had to say. "For one I traveled into the underbelly of a desolate desert, meeting the lizaldons and doing some trading with them..." "To get spider silk," Garet interrupted. Kefira flashed a look his way. "And while down there, Serilla and I met a... companion..." "Who came out of a spider Dungeon," Garet snickered. Kefira leaned forward and slammed her fists down on the coffee table, rattling the porcelain. "Dammit! Will you let me talk!" She huffed, glaring at everyone in the room in turn. There was a couple of seconds of silence before everyone burst out laughing. Kefira sat back in her seat, folding her arms, and sulked. "Ok, ok. Let her speak," her father held his hands out to calm everyone down. "We're all very interested in listening to your adventure. Start from the beginning." Kefira took a deep breath and calmed down. "From the beginning... Let's see. Serilla and I decided to work as Adventurers in Drallo..." Reivyn relaxed in his seat, bouncing his leg over the armrest of the chair in boredom. The seat wasn't exactly designed to be sat in such a way, and the opposite armrest dug into his ribs. He didn't care, though, and he simply lounged while waiting for someone to come pick him up. He had taken his armor off after entering the sitting room, and he was dressed comfortably in a set of robes that Kefira had commissioned for him with some of her extra silk. He had also acquired a new Tessen, his old one having been left behind in their temporary house near the Revenant Dungeon, and he was fiddling with it. He looked up as the door creaked open, and a smile bloomed on his face as he stood up. Kefira stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "That was quick," he said, walking over to the door. "I thought for sure you would spend a bit more private time with your family..." Reivyn trailed off as he noticed something was amiss. He frowned as he peered into the girl's eyes. The newcomer looked very similar to Kefira, but after taking a closer look, he realized that her manner of dress and hairstyle were a bit different, and the shade of her eye color was slightly darker. Upon closer inspection, her face was a bit older, and the way she carried herself was more formal, as well. "I'm sorry," Reivyn stepped back and gave a little bow. "I thought at first that you were Kefira, returned from meeting her parents. You must be Sophia." He straightened up and held his hand out. The girl eyed his hand for a moment before striding forward and holding her own hand out, palm down. Reivyn had double-checked with Kefira about the etiquette in her empire, and he didn't make a faux pas this time. He bent forward and kissed the back of his own thumb after taking hold of the proffered hand. The girl smiled back at him and gestured to the seats. "Have a seat and talk with me for a moment," Sophia said. "Certainly," Reivyn nodded and pulled a seat out for his guest before taking his own again. Is she considered my guest in this situation? Reivyn thought, slightly confused. This isn't either of our places, but I was here first... but she lives in the palace... Reivyn shook his head. I'll never figure it out. Kefira hadn't gone into detail about what her other family members looked like, but she had mentioned that she was very close to Sophia. Considering the resemblance and eye color, and the fact that the girl didn't refute him, Reivyn was secure in his assumption that the person sitting with him was Kefira's fourth sister. "Kayzor's told me a lot about you," Sophia said. "And Kefira mentioned you a few times in the missives she was able to send before the whole war thing happened." "Good things I hope," Reivyn said, pouring a cup of tea for each of them. He settled back in his seat, but kept a straight posture, noting that Sophia did the same. She reached out and took the newly filled cup, sipping from it. "Eh, things," Sophia said, staring at Reivyn over the rim of her cup. "So, Little Fira has given you the position of her Imperial Liaison." It was a statement, not a question. Reivyn nodded his head. "I feel it's my duty to come and vet you, a bit. Make sure you're not taking my d, ahem, sister for a ride." Reivyn quirked an eyebrow at the statement. That was a bit awkward timing to clear her throat. Maybe the tea didn't go down right? "Of course," Reivyn said. "I know I would want to make sure any ruffians that swindled my sisters were on the up and up." "Just so," Sophia nodded, setting the cup down. "So you feel that strong family ties are important?" "Very much so." "And yet you're out all alone, bereft of any contact with your own family, following a strange girl into a strange land?" "That... was an accident," Reivyn felt sweat bead on his forehead. "Unexpected things happened. Kefira was in an entirely different Region than you guys, too." "She had her cousin with her at all times," Sophia pointed out. "And she had a device she could use to communicate with us in case of an emergency. Who accompanied you on your adventure, and what steps did you take to make sure you could keep in touch with your parents?" "Umm, I went on a school-sanctioned trip to a Dungeon with my classmates, and my parents had some of their subordinates follow me." "Hmm," Sophia sat perfectly straight and looked into Reivyn's eyes for a moment. "So you left your family behind, placing your trust into 'subordinates' that they could get a message to your family, and then you went gallivanting off to war with a girl you had just met. Then, once the war was over, you followed her home. Yes?" "That's hardly an accurate representation of the facts," Reivyn pulled at his collar and reached for his tessen. Is it getting hot in here? He flipped his tessen open and fanned himself in the face a couple of times. Sophia glanced at the fan, but she didn't otherwise react. "I'm assuming Little Fira told you about our mother, yes?" Reivyn nodded his head at her question. "How do you expect to get past her if these little questions get you so flustered? She's hardly a nice person. She'll tear you apart." Reivyn frowned at the characterization of Kefira's mother. "Hey, now. I think that might be a little unfair," Reivyn protested. "Hardly," Sophia snorted. "Just a couple of questions have you sweating." "No, not that," Reivyn shook his head. "I think it might be unfair the way you described your mother. From all accounts I've heard, she loves her children, and she has every right to be fierce when it comes to their business. I'm an unknown quantity, falling from the sky into your lives. I would be disappointed if your mother didn't take a strong hand with me." Sophia sat back and blinked in startlement. "You think it's appropriate that our mother grills you harshly?" "Of course," Reivyn nodded his head. "My mother's the same way. She thinks I didn't notice her attitude to some of my female classmates, but I noticed. Our parents just want what's best for us. Giving us what we want isn't always the wisest choice. Giving us a free hand to choose who we partner with needs to be balanced with weeding out the chaff, and I fully support that attitude." "I see," Sophia gazed into Reivyn's eyes to see if there was any hint of deception. Her questing look apparently gave her the answer she needed, and she promptly stood up. "Well, I think you'll do just fine when you meet her." Reivyn hurried to stand up with the girl. He rushed ahead of her as she turned and headed to the door, and Reivyn grabbed the handle and opened it for her. Sophia paused and gave a slight smile at the action before stepping through to the other side. Reivyn bowed his head slightly. "It was a pleasure meeting you," he said. "Yes, of course," Sophia replied, not stopping her stride to the door leading out of the house. Reivyn closed the door behind her and walked back to the table. He sat back down in his original posture, leg thrown over the armrest, as he fanned himself to cool off. Wow, I thought Sophia would be firmly in my camp, Reivyn thought. She's a lot more protective of her sister than I gave her credit for. If she's so tough, I can't imagine what meeting their mother is going to be like.