“The old saying that states that absence makes the heart go fonder had plenty of truth in it… with the caveat that they didn’t end up forgetting all about you instead, though.” - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.

“Aideen! It has been a very long time since We last saw you!” greeted Lucea happily when Aideen and Celia were brought to the audience chamber the next day.

When the two of them came to visit the Imperial Palace once more that day a bit before noon, they were greeted by a retainer who politely welcomed them with a bow. It turned out that after Lucea received Aideen’s letter the day before, she had stationed one of the servants to wait for them by the gate right from the start of the morning.

They were ushered immediately through the vast gardens of the palace – which Celia observed with more awe – into a rather opulent chamber where they were asked to wait for a bit, as Lucea was still occupied with work at the moment. There were various sweets and pastries at the table, and both tea of excellent quality as well as chilled fruit juices for them to enjoy while they waited.

It was not even thirty minutes later that another well-dressed servant politely led them towards the audience chamber, where they found Lucea already waiting, along with the rest of her immediate family who were present at the time. Curiously, Adelheid – Lucea’s half-goblin bodyguard – was also present, standing to the side of the thrones.

Tesruq – showing some obvious signs of aging, as his breed was somewhat shorter-lived than Lucea’s and he was already pushing two hundred and fifty by then – was seated on the smaller throne next to Lucea’s, while three of their four children were standing to their sides. Before the chamberlain made his announcement, though, Lucea had already leapt off her throne and wrapped around Aideen with her arms in an embrace.

“It’s only been a century,” replied Aideen as she stooped slightly and returned the enthusiastic embrace. Lucea was easily as tall as she was, but due to her anatomy, she rarely stood up straight like humans do, and instead stooped forward a bit, which made her look shorter than she actually was.

The Empress was dressed in plenty of loose, colorful silken fabric that was smooth and cool to the skin, which mostly covered her lower body. Her upper body was mostly left bare other than for some jewelry and a few strips that were more there to accentuate her white feathers than to cover anything up. Then again, as Lucea was a therian from a breed that resembled feather lizards, it was not like she had any mammary glands to cover to begin with.

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“Only, she said. Only a century!” exclaimed Lucea with some mock outrage at Aideen’s reply, which garnered some chuckles out of Tesruq and her children. “Either way, good to see you again. How was the northern continent? I always heard plenty of stories about it, but never had the time to see how it was for myself. You know, busy being Empress and whatnot.”

“Eh, some good, some bad, like every other place, really,” said Aideen in reply with a shrug of her shoulders. “You know how it is, no place’s perfect and all. They’re definitely a good bit more segregated there, most of the regions mostly with just one race living there and no others, while often refusing foreigners from other races, you know how it is.”

“Yeah, I’ve read my history books. We got over that phase much earlier than they do, I guess,” noted the Empress after she released Aideen from the hug. “And who is this one? I do not believe I’ve seen her before.”

“Ah, this is Celia, she’s an apprentice of mine, of sorts. Ran into her while I was in the north, shortly after she rose into unlife,” Aideen answered. “At first I thought she could use a hand and some guidance in getting used to life as an unliving, but I grew fond of her so I brought her around with me since. Celia, this is Lucia Miel Tessarii, First Empress of the Third Elmaiyan Empire, and her family.”

“An honor to meet you, Your Majesty,” said Celia as she bowed.

“Oh, feel free to ditch that somewhere else, at least if we’re alone. I’m not going to have those I call friends go all formal on me, now. You’re an apprentice of Aideen’s, so you count. That is Tesruq, my consort, and those three are my children, Aden, Ereza, and Luina, while that one there’s Adelheid, my personal guard and lover.”

“Keon isn’t in town I assume?” queried Aideen regarding Lucea’s eldest son, who wasn’t present at the room.

“Oh, he’s been taking up more duties in order to prepare him for when it’s his turn on the throne, which would be pretty soon if I have anything to say about it. He’s on a trip to visit the western regions at the moment,” replied the Empress with a proud, toothy smile. “Once that kid gets good enough at this I’m going to abdicate and let him do the Emperor-ing while I take some time to go around the world and enjoy myself, I swear!”

“And the other three?”

“They’ve been preparing to support their brother all this time, actually. Aden focused his learning on economics, while Luina wanted to help as a diplomat. Ereza actually joined the army, can you believe it!?” harped Lucea with some mock indignation, to the chuckles of her consort and some slightly embarrassed looks from her children. “Oh well, as long as the girl’s happy about it, I guess I shouldn’t complain.”

“To find the path one wanted to walk in the world from early on is always a blessing,” Aideen quipped.

“True, good point, I guess,” admitted Lucea in mock defeat. “Anyway, you’re both not in a hurry, no? Come and join us for lunch, at least! It’s been so long since we met each other that there’s bound to be many tales we can exchange!”