Chapter Forty The Capital City: Kamiria A Royal Welcome and Surprises (Patreon)

Arlie slipped her journal into her bag, having just finished another entry. Freshly dated with today’s date; Day Fifteen, Month One of the year Eight Hundred and Eight, Third Era of Man.  Even by river it had taken them weeks to reach the capital and she’d only received a few letters from her aunt in that time. Sure they weren’t traveling in a straight line, and the riverboat they’d chartered wasn’t the fastest, but it still managed a respectable average speed of 12 knots, when it was moving. That was with the usual caveats of course, they could go faster for wide stretches only to go slower when they hit a speed bump, like the canals. They were great for switching river systems but travel on them was generally slower than in the wider calmer waters of the kingdom’s rivers. The occasional stop for resupply also had to be factored in.

It wasn’t a short distance either, between the various canals and the rivers they’d sailed through several thousand kilometers of waterway. Yet the end was finally in sight, so she was grabbing a few things in preparation to disembark. She knew Dusk her horse would be happy to finally stretch her legs for more than a few hours. Three months of sailing hadn’t been easy for the horse. Arlie figured she’d leave her at the stable in Kamiria rather than take her to Blue Rock Isle. Arlie had every reason to expect she’d be back this way anyway. Sure there was a question about whether or not she’d be taking the sea route, or striking out over land to reach the Yellow Temple. Arlie wasn’t sure about which yet, either way it wasn’t going to be a short journey. The sea route was several months long and involved going around the greater width of the continent, and from what she had heard, would take the merchants past the Isles of the Soulless.

Arlie planned to inquire about it while she was here, to get an idea of the cost and time. However she already suspected that the route over land would be cheaper. Yet that route would likely take longer, ships could just move more kilometers in a day on average than a human on foot.

Putting all that aside, she shouldered her bag, took one last look around her cabin before heading on up to the deck. The first thing she saw were the gleaming walls of the capital. The towering walls of the capital reached far up into the sky, the stone a pure polished white with hints of silver in it. Evenly spaced were numerous watch towers. The walls were tiered with numerous bastions, battlements, and fortified positions. She could even see hints of the inner walls behind the main walls. The capital had several layers of defenses; the outer forts, followed by the main outerwall. Then the inner walls, before eventually reaching the palace. Which was also protected by high walls, towers and even a moat. Emilia had described the palace as breathtaking, but she’d never realized it until she’d gone on tour. Arlie was looking forward to seeing it. 

Right this moment they were sailing towards the sea walls, and would soon pass the harbor gates leading into the river harbor. Yet Arlie’s eyes didn’t stay on the city, something else had drawn her attention. Hikari was on the deck, all dressed up in her armored robes, with Polca hugging her from behind while she cried.

“Something happen?”

Polca nodded, “Yeah Hikari wanted to go into the city as a man, but she can’t change forms.”

Arlie blinked, “Can’t change!? But that’s a divine spell, the only thing...” She trailed off.

Hikari looked up, hope on her face, “Only what?”

Arlie blushed, “Well um... pregnancy. Uh, congrats?”

Hikari’s face fluttered through several emotions, “I can’t be pregnant! I haven’t even done it with a man!”

Polca suddenly paled, “It can’t be!” She ran off.

Arlie sighed, “Well, it’s possible for two girls to get each other pregnant.”

Hikari gave her a look, “Sure, with magic, but we didn’t do...”

She was cut off by Polca showing back up, holding a used potion bottle, tears in her eyes, “I’m so sorry! It’s all my fault I should have checked, forgive me!”

Hikari blinked twice and Arlie took the potion bottle. Arlie quickly inspected it with an identification spell, followed by an analysis spell. She let out a breath, “Well this will do it.”

Hikari glanced between the profusely apologetic Polca and Arlie, “Do what?”

Arlie held the bottle out to her, “This is a used fertility potion, my aunt’s work, if I don’t miss my guess, and judging on Polca’s behavior. She must have mistaken it for a standard Aphrodisiac potion. Or whoever sold it to her did, and she failed to check. Either way the result is the same.” Arlie paused, then spoke to Polca, “I think you two were playing with this a month ago, is your lunar cycle on time?”

Polca froze, blinked then somehow turned even more pale, “Oh shit!”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

Hikari sat there holding the bottle, just staring blankly at it, “... I’m... I’m pregnant? This is real? Shouldn’t we have grown a dick or something?”

Arlie sat down next to her, “That’s a bit more permanent then this potion. It causes ovulation and alters how your cum behaves. Wears off after a couple of hours and everything’s normal, aside from being pregnant after.”

Hikari frowned, “You make it sound like getting pregnant is certain.”

“Well this is Aunt Ria’s work, right?”

Hikari nodded, “Polca said so.”

Polca interjected, “Yup, it’s her work,” she cried. “I just wanted to enjoy a nice aphrodisiac with her! Ria’s ... I should have checked!”

Arlie sighed, “Well Aunt Ria is very good at making potions, the success rate of her potions is naturally high, ending up pregnant is basically certain. The real question is how pregnant are the two of you?”

Hikari shrank and Arlie pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back, while Polca just knelt deeply onto the ground and kept profusely apologizing for the mistake. At this point, she thought Polca had already apologized enough, but Arlie said nothing.

A moment later two more figures arrived on deck, each of them carrying their packed bags. The two boys stared at the scene for a moment or two before Horon spoke. “So, um? Did something happen?”

Arlie let out a breath. This wasn’t something easily explained and it was... rather private.

____________

Surprises aside, they docked on schedule. Hikari still seemed rather down and Polca was hovering nearby like a concerned mother hen, but at least she wasn’t still apologizing. It was an honest-to-the-gods mistake from the sound of things, but that might mean little in the grand scheme of things. Arlie was just glad she wouldn’t have to deal with the drama of that, not directly anyway.

Arlie found herself following Emila down the ramp, while someone else was leading Dusk off the ship. The horse seemed pleased to be off the boat. Yet Arlie couldn’t help noticing the crowd around the boat, or the presence of a royal carriage waiting for them.

A military officer in full ceremonial armor stepped forward just as they touched the ground. “Welcome back, First Princess Emila Grey. Welcome, Second Princess Arlie Contrey. If you two would follow me...”

Arlie sighed, she wasn’t looking forward to this at all, but she could already see it. Soldiers were out, ceremonial armor on display and they were being given the royal welcome. With little choice, she followed Emila down the polished path to the carriage. Guards posted on either side. While the other members of her party, and Hikari’s party were led off to a second one. She noted several guards take charge of Dusk and her cart. Dusk didn’t give them a hard time. A gathered crowd watched the events unfold. Somehow she had a feeling her coming was widely known.

Settling onto a padded seat, the first guard addressed them both. “It is not often that I get to welcome two princesses to the capital at once. It is an honor. Now, I get to go over your itineraries.”

Arlie blanched, “I have to get to the Blue Temple, what...”

“Do not worry, we know about that. It is part of the schedule. A ship has already been chartered, and will be available to convey your party to the Blue Isle in a few days. In the meantime, you have a busy lineup. Starting with your official debut to the court and a meeting with the king, followed by a private meeting with the royal family...”

Arlie wanted to shrink into her seat, as the plans for her time were meticulously explained. She glanced at Emila who commented, “Perfectly normal, you get used to it.”

“I don’t want to get used to it!”

Emila sighed. “And now you sound like me, before my first debut...”

“When was that?”

“By tradition, on my tenth birthday. You are technically five years overdue for your debut. Unfortunately that also means you are likely to have a fair sized share of suitors waiting for you.”

The guard commented. “She does. During the months we had to prepare, more than a few nobles heard that she was coming and sent their sons to secure a connection with the second princess. The usual politicking and whatnot, a marriage into any of the three royal families would elevate the position of most houses. Even if the Contrey line is known to only have daughters. The marriage would outweigh the cost of not having sons.”

Arlie sighed, “They do realize, that by our traditions, any man who marries into the house has little power, right?”

Emila chuckled. “Nobles tend to forget inconvenient details like that. Hell, more than a few of my suitors presumed I was a naive and innocent girl they could manipulate easily. Don’t worry, I’ll teach you how to spot the fools. And how to drop them off a proverbial cliff, so they can hang themselves.”

Arlie groaned. “This is going to be a pain isn’t it?”

“Sure is. Better get used to it.”

Arlie just gave the girl a look. No wonder she’d been parading around naked, or just about, for the last three months. She was dressed in a nice dress right now, but for a second she suddenly understood why Emila had been so attracted to just running around naked. It was a freedom of a sort she likely wasn’t allowed.

Thoughts like that filled her mind, as the palace drew closer. Outside the carriage, she could see the streets of the capital. Paved polished stones lined the roads. Many citizens had fancy stalls and shops along the edges of the roads. Most of the buildings were made from clean cut and polished white and silver stones. The same kind that was used in the majestic city walls, along with darker woods. The grain and cut looked familiar to her, and Arlie suspected the wood used here in the capital was all sourced from distant Varixiyies. She noted many houses with doors, shutters and paneling made from ironwood, which doesn’t grow here in Ukova.

Each building here however, looked to be a veritable display of wealth. Not only the buildings, but the shops had lavish goods on display. Some of them were rather rare; not only were there what looked to be many varieties of silk, but they also had the tanned hides of rare monsters alongside imported Elven Cotton and Dwarven Metal Cloth. Other displays included enchanted rings, bracelets, and necklaces. Some shops sold weaponry and had some fine swords and spears on display, including examples made with high-end metals like orichalcum.

It wasn’t long before they left the markets behind, and the palace came into view. Arlie just had to stare. It sat in the middle of a small lake. For the word moat didn’t apply, for in her mind that was a lovely azure lake. Its shores were surrounded by a thicket of trees. A bridge of ironwood and polished white stone, capped with orichalum and guarded by two watch towers on either side of a thick reinforced ironwood gate that led toward the castle walls. Walls that surrounded the palace in a gleaming white. The walls stood over the lake as soldiers patrolled the battlements. Each watch tower was capped with a roof of polished orichalcum. Beyond the wall, just peeking over the top, were the high towers of the palace keep. Each of them was capped with orichalcum.

Arlie wasn’t surprised by the use of the metal; it was strong, highly resilient and immune to the elements. It also had an unmistakable polished teal look. That teal color seemed to go well with the colors of the palace, especially with the silver white walls and the golden trim she spotted. It was as much a fortification as it was a work of art. By every metric it was a lovely structure. Within its walls, however, she realized her next challenge awaited: The Royal Court.