Eternal
You’ve played the brooding tortured loner for too long. You’re the damned Emperor, why the hell are you putting yourself through this unnecessary restriction and misguided attempt at “morality?”
The “damage” was done a long time ago and it isn’t like Decena is special in this regard. You routinely have propaganda pumped out to keep thousands of people brainwashed throughout the Empire. Decena just had the luxury of a personal lesson.
So you took advantage of her youth and your position of power. So what? You still trained her to be the best. Would she have grown to love you if you hadn’t done what you did? Doesn’t matter. It’s done. She loves you and you do love her. The years that have passed between the pair of you not being together have proven that your own feelings for her are genuine. They always were even if your approach wasn’t quite conventional.
You’ve done far worse things than the “corruption” of one young girl who has done nothing but thrive because of your guidance. No, it is a far crueler thing to deprive her of what she wants the most. And it’s a far more intelligent thing for you to accept her fully into your life as an equal.
And as for the long shadow of Alison…well… even Brenda moved on with her life. It’s been long enough.
You take look at Alison’s portrait.
“It’s true that I’ll always love you in some way. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known about how good such a crippling emotion can feel.” You chuckle.
“Thank you.” You say and leave your room.
Decena is currently still stationed in Nakol mostly keeping the potential chaos down while you rebuild and continue to establish order there. You have a message sent to her to return to the palace at once.
When she returns she’s in for quite the surprise when you immediately go to embrace her.
“Erm…not that I’m complaining, but what’s all this about my Emperor?” she remarks.
“It’s about us. Once and for all I see what was meant to be. We were meant to be together.” You answer.
Decena’s reaction is one of silent shock rather than the overwhelming happiness you believed.
“Are you serious?” Decena asks calmly.
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” you reply.
“…I…just…” Decena stumbles over her words.
“What? What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy with this news?”
“Well…yes…but…”
“Did you find someone else?” you ask believing that could be the only reason for her hesitation.
“No! There could never be anyone else! It’s just…I have to know…”
“What?! What is it?! Spit it out!” you exclaim.
“I have to know if this is real. I mean REALLY real. You’ll always be my Emperor, but I have known you in a more intimate way once before and you dismissed me, and I accepted it. In time I have even become used to that fact. But if we are to become intimate once more… I can’t go through losing you in that way again. I just can’t…so if this is just a flight of fancy or something I’d rather not…”
At this point Decena is getting upset, and you have to reassure her.
“Decena, this is real. No bullshit. I’m serious. I’ve searched my mind, body and what might be a soul about this and I know there’s nobody else I would rather become my wife.”
Now Decena is struck again with surprise. She probably figured you two were just going to start bedding each other again.
“Wife? You’re serious? But wouldn’t that make me…”
“Empress. Yes, it would. You would have an equal say in the Empire. Possibly more than anyone else besides myself.” You answer.
“Oh…I don’t know…I mean…I’m a soldier. I don’t understand all the intricacies of running a country like you do.” Brenda says.
“Pfft. You think I agonize over all of it? I let Kivan and other bean counters handle most of the boring stuff anyway. I’m just saying you would no longer have to feel subordinate or subservient. We would be equal. We would rule together. You understand?”
Decena nods and a smile forms across her face.
“I do.” And she leans in to kiss you.
In the weeks that follow, “I do.” is said by the both of you again at the ceremony when you finally make your joining official. There is celebration and merriment, though the wedding itself is not an excessively fancy one. It certainly has more security than normal however and is held in the palace.
Later as the night goes on, Warrick and Brenda sit at the table with you Decena. The pair of them have been in rare form the entire event with their intake of alcohol. While they aren’t drunk, they’re certainly less formal than usual, but then this isn’t exactly a time for formalities.
“See? Didn’t I tell you Brenda? I told you he’d marry her.” Warrick says.
“Warrick you said no such thing! In fact you kept telling me that I shouldn’t have opened up my mouth about it!” Brenda remarks.
“Bah, you must’ve misunderstood me. I always knew it was inevitable.” Warrick says refusing to acknowledge his mistake.
“Glad to know you had faith in me Warrick.” You say causing Warrick to raise his glass before taking a drink.
“Heh, well I’m certainly glad you said something Brenda.” Decena says.
Brenda leans in on the table speaking directly to Decena. You can smell the alcohol; she’s definitely been drinking more than Warrick tonight.
I just want to say, you’re fucking beautiful in that dress. Seriously I mean it. I dunno how you still look so young. Must be all those years you spent in that fucking tank.”
“Erm…I guess…” Decena answers.
“I’m telling you right now. HE’S the lucky one.” Brenda says pointing to you. Without you he’d just be moping about this palace all lonely and still pining over that human girl…”
This remark causes a bit of silence from everyone, and Warrick starts to tell Brenda to be quiet while Decena just looks at you.
“Erm, Brenda I think you’ve really had too much to drink now…” Warrick says.
“Now no disrespect to Alison…I mean she was a warrior. Certainly someone to be respected…but…”
“Brenda! Shut. Up!”
You wave your hand in downward fashion to Warrick.
“No, it’s fine. Brenda spoke her mind once to me before and this all turned out fairly well, so I’m sort of interested in where this is heading.” You say.
“Apologies. I’m a little intoxicated…” Brenda says.
“Brenda. Seriously. You obviously got something to say. So say it.”
“All right…Emp…I will.”
Brenda takes another drink.
“I’m just saying that you and Decena belong together for several reasons, but most of which is because you’re both Eternals! Doesn’t matter if you’re not from the same generation or not, you’ve got more in common than anyone could possibly know. All of us do. We NEED to stick together. I mean it’s not like we can breed…”
Well this is an unexpected twist and now a few bystanders are trying their best not to look like they’re listening.
“Why can’t we breed anyway? Have you figured that out yet, mighty emp? I mean we’re fucking superior to…like everyone! So why the hell can’t we breed?”
At this point Brenda’s voice is getting louder and Warrick keeps apologizing and begins to motion Brenda towards an exit. You reassure Warrick that he needn’t worry about himself or Brenda and to just get her to sleep it off somewhere. Kivan runs over to ask if everything is okay and you tell him yes, but that you and Decena are going to retire and the rest of the guests can continue enjoying themselves if they wish.
When you and Decena get back to your room, she addresses the situation that just transpired.
“What exactly was THAT all about? What was all that about us Eternals having to stick together, asking why we can’t breed and such?” Decena asks.
“I have no idea. Really. Brenda’s usually always been calm minded about things. I’d say it was the drink, but that was only the spark. It’s obvious she’s had these feelings for a while though. Maybe, I dunno. Maybe she wishes she could’ve had her own children. I know she’s thought of the third generation and now the fourth generation of Eternals as her children sometimes. She’s seen them all grown up and directly trained most of them. I guess a maternal instinct has kicked in.” you reply.
“You know…I do wonder too though sometimes. Why is it that we’re sterile?”
“Well the process isn’t exactly the safest. There’s bound to be a sacrifice somewhere. When the original emperor had us created, he probably did it on purpose or wasn’t concerned about such a sacrifice. When Marik created your group, he probably didn’t care about the sacrifice as well. And to be honest, I’ve never looked into the problem too closely either. I was more focused on potential combat ability rather than fertility.”
“Hm, perhaps you should.”
“You saying you would’ve wanted children? Barefoot and pregnant? Taking care of little monsters instead of out there on the battlefield brining glory to the Empire?” you ask.
Decena laughs.
“Well maybe not, but I dunno…I mean if you and I were able to have children, I might not mind it. I mean we would be bringing in another Eternal into this world. Certainly a worthwhile endeavor and still serving the Empire. I mean Brenda might’ve been drunk, but she was correct that we ARE superior to the other races. I mean I know we look human, but you know, and I’ll bet every other Eternal out there knows that we are ultimately better than humans. I know you’ve HAD to think it on several occasions. I mean you’re the best of all of us! If we could actually breed, we’d eventually replace humanity as the dominant race. You’d also be able to have heirs.”
“You’re my heir.”
“Well obviously, but I’m going to die too someday. The Empire needs a strong ruler to hold it together.”
“Wait a minute! I thought you always said I was going to live forever.” You say with some amusement.
“I said I WANT to believe you will, not that it’s actually going to happen. I guess even though I’ve never said it out loud, I am sometimes concerned about the Empire’s potential future.”
Never before have you heard Decena speak in such a manner. Oh you’ve heard her talking like a soldier or a general about ruthless battlefield tactics and strategy. But this…is a little bit different. She’s speaking with a prospective plan for the future of the nation.
She’s speaking like a ruler. Like an Empress.
Brenda was correct, she is right for you.
“Well, that is all certainly something to think about, but who knows maybe we’ll defy nature tonight.” You say and start moving Decena towards the bed.
The pair of you proceed to enjoy your wedding night.
The next day you’re informed of the latest problems on Nyttrus by Kivan who received a message about it in the middle of the night. The Iznac have apparently unleashed a powerful “secret weapon” in the form of three very large flying lizards. And these aren’t wyverns either. They are creatures that Casimir once told you were rare even back in his day. They’re dragons and apparently they’ve already destroyed one of your forts on the continent.
Looks like you and Decena will be taking your honeymoon on Nyttrus.
The “damage” was done a long time ago and it isn’t like Decena is special in this regard. You routinely have propaganda pumped out to keep thousands of people brainwashed throughout the Empire. Decena just had the luxury of a personal lesson.
So you took advantage of her youth and your position of power. So what? You still trained her to be the best. Would she have grown to love you if you hadn’t done what you did? Doesn’t matter. It’s done. She loves you and you do love her. The years that have passed between the pair of you not being together have proven that your own feelings for her are genuine. They always were even if your approach wasn’t quite conventional.
You’ve done far worse things than the “corruption” of one young girl who has done nothing but thrive because of your guidance. No, it is a far crueler thing to deprive her of what she wants the most. And it’s a far more intelligent thing for you to accept her fully into your life as an equal.
And as for the long shadow of Alison…well… even Brenda moved on with her life. It’s been long enough.
You take look at Alison’s portrait.
“It’s true that I’ll always love you in some way. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have known about how good such a crippling emotion can feel.” You chuckle.
“Thank you.” You say and leave your room.
Decena is currently still stationed in Nakol mostly keeping the potential chaos down while you rebuild and continue to establish order there. You have a message sent to her to return to the palace at once.
When she returns she’s in for quite the surprise when you immediately go to embrace her.
“Erm…not that I’m complaining, but what’s all this about my Emperor?” she remarks.
“It’s about us. Once and for all I see what was meant to be. We were meant to be together.” You answer.
Decena’s reaction is one of silent shock rather than the overwhelming happiness you believed.
“Are you serious?” Decena asks calmly.
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” you reply.
“…I…just…” Decena stumbles over her words.
“What? What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy with this news?”
“Well…yes…but…”
“Did you find someone else?” you ask believing that could be the only reason for her hesitation.
“No! There could never be anyone else! It’s just…I have to know…”
“What?! What is it?! Spit it out!” you exclaim.
“I have to know if this is real. I mean REALLY real. You’ll always be my Emperor, but I have known you in a more intimate way once before and you dismissed me, and I accepted it. In time I have even become used to that fact. But if we are to become intimate once more… I can’t go through losing you in that way again. I just can’t…so if this is just a flight of fancy or something I’d rather not…”
At this point Decena is getting upset, and you have to reassure her.
“Decena, this is real. No bullshit. I’m serious. I’ve searched my mind, body and what might be a soul about this and I know there’s nobody else I would rather become my wife.”
Now Decena is struck again with surprise. She probably figured you two were just going to start bedding each other again.
“Wife? You’re serious? But wouldn’t that make me…”
“Empress. Yes, it would. You would have an equal say in the Empire. Possibly more than anyone else besides myself.” You answer.
“Oh…I don’t know…I mean…I’m a soldier. I don’t understand all the intricacies of running a country like you do.” Brenda says.
“Pfft. You think I agonize over all of it? I let Kivan and other bean counters handle most of the boring stuff anyway. I’m just saying you would no longer have to feel subordinate or subservient. We would be equal. We would rule together. You understand?”
Decena nods and a smile forms across her face.
“I do.” And she leans in to kiss you.
In the weeks that follow, “I do.” is said by the both of you again at the ceremony when you finally make your joining official. There is celebration and merriment, though the wedding itself is not an excessively fancy one. It certainly has more security than normal however and is held in the palace.
Later as the night goes on, Warrick and Brenda sit at the table with you Decena. The pair of them have been in rare form the entire event with their intake of alcohol. While they aren’t drunk, they’re certainly less formal than usual, but then this isn’t exactly a time for formalities.
“See? Didn’t I tell you Brenda? I told you he’d marry her.” Warrick says.
“Warrick you said no such thing! In fact you kept telling me that I shouldn’t have opened up my mouth about it!” Brenda remarks.
“Bah, you must’ve misunderstood me. I always knew it was inevitable.” Warrick says refusing to acknowledge his mistake.
“Glad to know you had faith in me Warrick.” You say causing Warrick to raise his glass before taking a drink.
“Heh, well I’m certainly glad you said something Brenda.” Decena says.
Brenda leans in on the table speaking directly to Decena. You can smell the alcohol; she’s definitely been drinking more than Warrick tonight.
I just want to say, you’re fucking beautiful in that dress. Seriously I mean it. I dunno how you still look so young. Must be all those years you spent in that fucking tank.”
“Erm…I guess…” Decena answers.
“I’m telling you right now. HE’S the lucky one.” Brenda says pointing to you. Without you he’d just be moping about this palace all lonely and still pining over that human girl…”
This remark causes a bit of silence from everyone, and Warrick starts to tell Brenda to be quiet while Decena just looks at you.
“Erm, Brenda I think you’ve really had too much to drink now…” Warrick says.
“Now no disrespect to Alison…I mean she was a warrior. Certainly someone to be respected…but…”
“Brenda! Shut. Up!”
You wave your hand in downward fashion to Warrick.
“No, it’s fine. Brenda spoke her mind once to me before and this all turned out fairly well, so I’m sort of interested in where this is heading.” You say.
“Apologies. I’m a little intoxicated…” Brenda says.
“Brenda. Seriously. You obviously got something to say. So say it.”
“All right…Emp…I will.”
Brenda takes another drink.
“I’m just saying that you and Decena belong together for several reasons, but most of which is because you’re both Eternals! Doesn’t matter if you’re not from the same generation or not, you’ve got more in common than anyone could possibly know. All of us do. We NEED to stick together. I mean it’s not like we can breed…”
Well this is an unexpected twist and now a few bystanders are trying their best not to look like they’re listening.
“Why can’t we breed anyway? Have you figured that out yet, mighty emp? I mean we’re fucking superior to…like everyone! So why the hell can’t we breed?”
At this point Brenda’s voice is getting louder and Warrick keeps apologizing and begins to motion Brenda towards an exit. You reassure Warrick that he needn’t worry about himself or Brenda and to just get her to sleep it off somewhere. Kivan runs over to ask if everything is okay and you tell him yes, but that you and Decena are going to retire and the rest of the guests can continue enjoying themselves if they wish.
When you and Decena get back to your room, she addresses the situation that just transpired.
“What exactly was THAT all about? What was all that about us Eternals having to stick together, asking why we can’t breed and such?” Decena asks.
“I have no idea. Really. Brenda’s usually always been calm minded about things. I’d say it was the drink, but that was only the spark. It’s obvious she’s had these feelings for a while though. Maybe, I dunno. Maybe she wishes she could’ve had her own children. I know she’s thought of the third generation and now the fourth generation of Eternals as her children sometimes. She’s seen them all grown up and directly trained most of them. I guess a maternal instinct has kicked in.” you reply.
“You know…I do wonder too though sometimes. Why is it that we’re sterile?”
“Well the process isn’t exactly the safest. There’s bound to be a sacrifice somewhere. When the original emperor had us created, he probably did it on purpose or wasn’t concerned about such a sacrifice. When Marik created your group, he probably didn’t care about the sacrifice as well. And to be honest, I’ve never looked into the problem too closely either. I was more focused on potential combat ability rather than fertility.”
“Hm, perhaps you should.”
“You saying you would’ve wanted children? Barefoot and pregnant? Taking care of little monsters instead of out there on the battlefield brining glory to the Empire?” you ask.
Decena laughs.
“Well maybe not, but I dunno…I mean if you and I were able to have children, I might not mind it. I mean we would be bringing in another Eternal into this world. Certainly a worthwhile endeavor and still serving the Empire. I mean Brenda might’ve been drunk, but she was correct that we ARE superior to the other races. I mean I know we look human, but you know, and I’ll bet every other Eternal out there knows that we are ultimately better than humans. I know you’ve HAD to think it on several occasions. I mean you’re the best of all of us! If we could actually breed, we’d eventually replace humanity as the dominant race. You’d also be able to have heirs.”
“You’re my heir.”
“Well obviously, but I’m going to die too someday. The Empire needs a strong ruler to hold it together.”
“Wait a minute! I thought you always said I was going to live forever.” You say with some amusement.
“I said I WANT to believe you will, not that it’s actually going to happen. I guess even though I’ve never said it out loud, I am sometimes concerned about the Empire’s potential future.”
Never before have you heard Decena speak in such a manner. Oh you’ve heard her talking like a soldier or a general about ruthless battlefield tactics and strategy. But this…is a little bit different. She’s speaking with a prospective plan for the future of the nation.
She’s speaking like a ruler. Like an Empress.
Brenda was correct, she is right for you.
“Well, that is all certainly something to think about, but who knows maybe we’ll defy nature tonight.” You say and start moving Decena towards the bed.
The pair of you proceed to enjoy your wedding night.
The next day you’re informed of the latest problems on Nyttrus by Kivan who received a message about it in the middle of the night. The Iznac have apparently unleashed a powerful “secret weapon” in the form of three very large flying lizards. And these aren’t wyverns either. They are creatures that Casimir once told you were rare even back in his day. They’re dragons and apparently they’ve already destroyed one of your forts on the continent.
Looks like you and Decena will be taking your honeymoon on Nyttrus.