Paragon of Skills

Duke Dorian looks at Jacob and then Priscilla, then at Jacob again.

“What are you doing here?” he asks. Then, not giving Jacob any time to reply, he just turns to Priscilla. “Why did you come here? Is it because of your little bastard?”

Princess Priscilla frowns.

“I didn’t call you here,” she says.

“And who did, then?” Duke Dorian scoffs, looking at the mother-son duo. “Who would bother me other than you in this family? Do you think that I—”

“It was me.”

Suddenly, a presence appears in the middle of the room, and Queen Anthea Valemont materializes there.

“Mother.” Princess Priscilla takes a step in front of Jacob protectively.

“Calm down, child. I am here to greet my grandson and to put an end to the spat between you and your cousin.”

Queen Anthea has blonde hair with streaks of white in their midst. She doesn’t look much older than her daughter, Priscilla. At best, she looks perhaps fifty. And it’s easy to tell that she was a great beauty in her youth. But most importantly, she has a dignified and calm bearing — the few lines on her face lend her a poised demeanor.

“Your Majesty.” Duke Dorian stiffens. “What do you mean, put an end to our spat?”

“Dorian, child, I will have none of this any more. All of you, sit. Jacob, darling, on my side of the couch. Priscilla, Dorian, sit on your side.”

They look at each other in abject hate, but they obey. This is the Queen of Aurion. They have no way to disobey her orders. Not only can she order them both imprisoned, but she could probably tie them both up herself with one hand behind her back.

With a cheeky snap of her fingers, Queen Anthea makes four cups of hot tea appear on the table, and a plate of biscuits materializes between the four.

“So,” Queen Anthea says, “I was delighted when I heard that my grandson cleared a Primordial Dungeon — and not just any Primordial Dungeon, but an Original Primordial Dungeon. You’re the first to do so in possibly two thousand years. We have records of those dungeons appearing before, but we can date them precisely. When I heard that you brought so many people to safety, I had to have you come here, Jacob.”

Queen Anthea surprises both Duke Dorian and Princess Priscilla.

“What? You invited the bastard at court?”

Duke Dorian immediately regrets saying that, because the icy eyes of Queen Anthea bore into him, and she just says, “Jacob will be recognized from now on. What matters is that his blood, Dorian, is much more valuable than yours. So tread carefully when you speak to me or about him like that.”

The duke stiffens even more and takes the cup of tea, bringing it to his lips, trying to hide his shame.

“Queen Mother,” Princess Priscilla says, “so you are the one who wrote to Jacob?”

“Indeed,” Queen Anthea reveals. “I was the one who called him here. Now, I have been plagued with the matter of succession. I was trying to have an heir selected, and it appears that neither of you have fulfilled my conditions.”

“Your Majesty,” Duke Dorian says, and then just stops himself.

Queen Anthea proceeds as if she hadn’t even heard him.

“Dorian, your child accepted Asmodeus into his life in order to kill my grandson. You proved a sorry excuse for a father. A true regent must know when to ignore or even sacrifice their children for the good of the kingdom. However, that is much different from sacrificing their lives to a filthy divinity in order to gain more personal power.”

That’s when Jacob sees something break inside of Duke Dorian. The man looks defeated by those words. He just bows his head. Clearly, the loss of his child has had a big effect on him.

Queen Anthea turns toward her daughter.

“Princess Priscilla, your position has gone through many changes. You once coveted my throne so much that you were ready to do anything, no matter how shameless, no matter whose life would be turned upside down because of it.”

The queen turns toward Jacob, who immediately thinks, Holy, she knows. She knows that my mother had the child to get the throne. I mean, it doesn’t surprise me that much. She must have been surveilling her daughter pretty tightly, but still.

“I’m sorry, Mother. I—”

“I do not want to hear your excuses. Words are for cowards. From now on, I expect you to be a mother.”

When Queen Anthea sees Duke Dorian smirking at that, she turns toward him and says, “My nephew, you too — I expect you to be a father to your children. And in case any of you fail, you will be not just stripped of your titles, but executed. I realized my mistakes way too late. I let rot fester in this family. I tried reaching Jacob when he was still a child, but he was the only one here with enough dignity to refuse the power I wanted to hand him, to refuse the gifts, the help. He, unlike you two, carved his own life by himself. Nothing was handed to him.”

Princess Priscilla smiles proudly, but Queen Anthea, catching that just as she had done a moment earlier with Duke Dorian, snaps, “Daughter, wipe that smile off your face. You have done nothing for this child. Nothing that I know of.”

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“I’m sorry, Mother. I…” Princess Priscilla tries.

“I am not interested in hearing any excuses,” Queen Anthea replies. Then she turns toward Jacob. “I am very sorry that I had to lead you here through deceit, but I had to see my grandson.”

Jacob is actually speechless at what this middle-aged woman has organized throughout all of this. He had thought initially that he had been lured here by some evil power trying to kill him and maybe even his mother. For a moment, seeing Duke Dorian, he had thought that the duke had maybe gone so insane that he had decided to murder them both in broad daylight. One never really knows what happens between family members, especially royalty. Royalty is like an exponential multiplier of trouble when it comes to family feuds. But even he, the planner and strategist that he is, had not seen his grandmother inviting him here, signing with his mother’s name.

Now that he thinks about it, it is true that the only person who wrote to him was Queen Anthea, not his mother. And he could still not have deduced that his grandmother would write to him like this — because why would a queen lower herself to write under someone else’s name? From someone belonging to royalty, it makes absolutely no sense. Yet, the more Jacob sees Queen Anthea’s personality, the more he understands that this is no ordinary queen.

“That was a cheeky move,” Jacob says, smiling. “I didn’t imagine a queen would do something like that.”

“Well.” Queen Anthea smiles. “I heard that you’re a very crafty person yourself, grandson. Therefore, I had to be a little smart in how I got in touch with you. I’m happy that my little plot worked. And let me assure you — there is no danger here in Aurion for you. The Valemont family will always be your family. Whether you take our name or not, it does not matter. It does not make you any less our grandson. And whatever trouble our name shall create for you, I resolve to make it up to you with boons ten times over.”

Jacob is actually speechless.

“Thanks, um, Your Majesty?” Jacob asks, a little tentative with the royal title.

“I would like for you to call me grandmother or grandma.” Then Queen Anthea blushes a little. “Perhaps grandmother. It is a little more formal. We have just met each other.”

Duke Dorian, on the other side of the table, is about to tear his hair off. He has never seen Queen Anthea act anything like this.

Was the queen blushing in front of the bastard? he catches himself thinking. And, not knowing whether Queen Anthea in all her power could perhaps read his mind, he promises himself that he will not even think about the word.

But if Jacob Cloud is now in the good graces of the queen, and if the queen has just taken both Princess Priscilla and him out of the running, there is one question he is curious about.

“Your Majesty,” Duke Dorian says slowly, attracting a cold gaze from the middle-aged woman.

“Speak, nephew.”

“If it’s not me or Princess Priscilla, who is it to be the new heir?”

“If it were up to me,” Queen Anthea says, “and solely to me, and he were to accept, you would be looking at the heir to the Valemont kingdom.” The queen points at Jacob.

“What?” Duke Dorian shouts.

“Calm yourself,” Queen Anthea replies. “First of all, I do not have sole discretion over the choice. Our ancestors are involved as well. Yet, I am sure that if Jacob accepted, they could easily see a case for having him be the new king after me. And if you cannot see why, at this age, at this level of talent, then you would be a fool, nephew.”

The duke is left with his mouth hanging open.

Princess Priscilla, who knows her mother pretty well, can immediately see why she likes Jacob so much. In fact, she has never really connected the dots, but Jacob is indeed very much like his grandmother. The cold, calculating mind, the strategic genius. Jacob has just said that he had gotten nothing from his blood, but he is clearly about to find out just how much he and his grandmother are alike.

“Eat something, grandson,” Queen Anthea says, pointing at the biscuits. “These were freshly made just for you. I also had three trays delivered to your Squire. I am sure he will keep them warm for you if he were trained well.”

Jacob smiles, trying not to say that Lancelot most likely already ate all the biscuits for himself. It appears that not even the cunning of the queen can picture the infinite gluttony of his Squire.

- - -

“Well, grandson,” Queen Anthea says, “I think it is time we introduce you to the court. Therefore, if you allow me, I will arrange a banquet for tomorrow night. Tonight you shall rest. And after the banquet, you can enjoy the beach. I know you came here hoping for that. And then, about the Sacred Grounds — it will be up to you whether you’re interested in visiting them or not. If you are, know that one of our ancestors will want to speak to you first. They are very paranoid about who is granted entrance to the Sacred Grounds.”

“Of course,” Jacob says. “And by the way, who are these ancestors?”

Before Queen Anthea can reply, the door to the room slams open.

“Well, well, well. I hope I’m not late to the party.”

Jacob sees Vice Principal Lyanna enter and smile.

She’s tall and wiry, in a plain Academy robe with a leather satchel slung across her body, and her salt-and-pepper hair is bound in a hasty braid. She looks about the queen’s age.

“Hello there. Hello, Anthea. How are you doing?”

Queen Anthea gets up, and a terrifying aura is unleashed from her body.

“Lyanna, what are you doing here? How dare you barge into a family meeting?”

“Yeah, about that.” Vice Principal Lyanna smiles. “Jacob Cloud is a student of Ytrial Academy. As it happens, um, I’m here to ensure that you will not actually try to mess with him in any way, shape, or form.”

“Are you suggesting I would try and use my grandson for political purposes?”

“I’m not suggesting anything.” Vice Principal Lyanna raises her hands, walks forward, then bends and takes a handful of biscuits, popping one in her mouth. “I’m just saying that your kingdom has caused quite a few troubles for us. So just to make sure that, you know, nothing goes wrong, I came here. I’m taking a little break from the Academy — a summer vacation — and I chose the Kingdom of Aurion. Is that illegal?”

Queen Anthea looks coldly at Vice Principal Lyanna. Jacob looks at Vice Principal Lyanna and thinks, How strong is a Vice Principal compared to a queen? He is very curious and is about to sneakily check with the Grimoire when he hears—

“Jacob, if you use that thing on me, I will break your neck,” Vice Principal Lyanna says with a smile on her face. “Remember, I warned you about how to use your Skill a long time ago. Well, a year ago. Does feel like an eternity ago given all that happened in the past year — but don’t be rude.”

“Oh.” Jacob coughs and scratches his head.

He has never used the Grimoire on a Vice Principal or the Headmaster, fearing that the Rainbow Skill might alert them in some way, and it appears that he might have been caught somehow. As the Dungeon of Apocalypse has proven, sometimes Rainbow Skills can indeed be blocked. He doesn’t think Vice Principal Lyanna has the means to actually stop the Rainbow Skill, but he also isn’t sure if she can actually detect it. If she can, she might very well make good on her promise.

“Don’t threaten my grandson in front of me,” Queen Anthea says, and then adds, “You wench.”

Duke Dorian and Princess Priscilla, hearing the queen use such a word, inhale sharply.

“I see that you’re still a hothead.” Vice Principal Lyanna smiles. “Don’t you wanna catch up?” Then she turns to Jacob. “Your grandma and I were Academy students, both of us. We were in the same team of Champions. She was actually pretty strong, but then she chose…” Vice Principal Lyanna waves at the room. “Whatever this is.”

Jacob isn’t sure how to respond to that, so he just remains silent.

“Anyways,” Vice Principal Lyanna adds, “I would never show up without bringing something. So, I had the Headmaster give me your gift — a little first-year graduation present from him, since nobody else here seemed to think about it.”

She holds out a large metal box to Jacob and then says, “The Headmaster didn’t want you to have just one Skill, so, he got you a Skill Crystal from his personal collection.”

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