Chapter 283.1: Bonus Chapter: The Littlest Empress And Her Beloved

The night after finishing the makeshift cradle for Fal, Hekate watches Daniel as he sleeps. He needs rest, but many things have been weighing on her mind as well. She’s doing her best to keep her chin up through everything, but it all circles back to Daniel and his current state.

As if sensing her inner turmoil, Daniel’s eye opens, and it tilts to look directly at her.

“S-Sorry! Did I wake you?”

“No…” murmurs Daniel. He studies her for a moment, and she briefly fears that he’s going to ask her what’s wrong. Even if she sets aside her worry for Daniel, there are piles of problems that are stacking up.

But, without a word, Daniel simply pats his chest.

Hekate cocks her head curiously, and the human murmurs, “Come on. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Hekate’s eyes water, and she murmurs, “But… you’re… healing.”

“Never underestimate the healing power of cuddling,” replies Daniel wearily. “Come on.”

The feldrok teen hesitates for a moment, but she can’t overcome herself. She crawls carefully onto the bed with Daniel, and she curls up against his left side, where he can see her more easily, and her ears won’t be at risk of bumping into his wounded right eye.

She whimpers, “Daniel… I… I don’t know what I’m doing…”

“It’s not hard. Just sit here with me and relax for a bit. Maybe even get some sleep…”

Her ears briefly start to fold back, and she murmurs with a slight whine to her voice, “Not that!” Next, her ears fold down more sadly. She hooks her leg over Daniel’s knee and drapes her tail over them both. “I’m not cut out to be Empress… Not really… I can only sound smart when the answer is obvious… like sending relief supplies to Ahmpur, and trying to cover up…” She trails off, clinging to Daniel’s shirt.

The mechanic strokes her back gently, and his right hand gingerly pets her tail. And, he manages to let out a warm chuckle.

Hekate hums in irritation, but Daniel adds, “Do you somehow think I’m suited to be Emperor?”

“More than me!” whines Hekate as she looks into his only eye. Her own vibrant golden eyes are watering and on the verge of crying. “I couldn’t even figure out a bed for a baby!”

Daniel squeezes her to his chest a little to try to reassure her. “Hekate, listen to me. You did succeed. Truth be told, I’ve done things exactly like that on Earth, where getting ‘functional’ was far more important than function. Running control wires across whatever I needed to in order to get a piece of equipment up and running temporarily, tripping out a breaker from a receptacle because the labeling was awful…” Daniel scoffs and grumbles, “I’m not entirely proud of some of the things I had to do in order to get around the sloppy work of others… And, in so doing, I made sloppy work for myself that I had to fix later.”

Daniel moves his left hand up to her head, petting between her big fox-like ears gently. “Honestly, neither of us are good at this. But, for now, people are counting on us, and we have to live up to their expectations.”

Hekate rests against him silently for a moment, pondering his words. So, the mechanic adds, “Do you want to know the real secret of how someone comes to be known as smart?”

Hekate perks her ears up and looks at him.

Daniel smiles, and he leans his temple against her forehead. “Usually, they’re right more often than they’re wrong.”

The ravenette scowls at him as her face pinches in frustration.

Daniel manages another laugh, wincing from the pain eeking through the laugur decoction to gnaw at his cheek and eye. He adds gently as he continues petting her tail, “You don’t have to have the right answer to the meaning of life or the perfect strategies for battle. It starts as being right about doing the obvious, like sending supplies and speaking for me when I couldn’t. Then, you learn more, and you speak about those things, too. As you know very well, just as I do,...” Daniel smiles at her. “Being wrong is the most effective teacher. Mistakes are the enemy of a military operation, but they are a teacher all the same.”

“But… What if people want to overthrow me?”

“Well… normally, once it gets that far, it’s too late. But, you have more power than anyone. You can either fight them off as a tyrant, or escape something you might not be suited for after all. But, before you make that decision, you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. We’re all our own worst critics, after all, most of the time.”

Hekate looks at nothing in particular as she ponders Daniel’s words. He adds softly, “Always being right isn’t much better than always being wrong, Hekate. A person who is always wrong is refusing to learn. But, a person who is always right will become convinced that he or she can never be wrong, such that when it matters most, they will be unable to accept when they are. This can be just as dangerous. That’s why, I believe, the smartest person in the world doesn’t believe he or she is. That person believes that there is always something more to learn, is always diligent about the possibility of being wrong, and strives to learn more with every conversation, with every book read, and every experience gained. Even after everyone else bestows the title upon the smartest person in the world, that person continues to strive to be smarter.” Daniel smiles bitterly, thinking back to Earth, and how polarized people had become, such that even science could no longer be fully trusted. “There’s a saying on Earth, though its origin is dubious… But, it goes like this; ‘If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.’ I don’t fancy myself a genius by any stretch, just an adaptive guy. So, whenever I feel like I am the smartest person in the room, I’m terrified, because I refuse to believe I’m infallible. Even if I have to make hard calls, I make them as a flawed man who is aware of that fact. So, if someone has something important to say, I try to be convinced if what they say has merit.”

“And… the conversation with Zuzia and Rikuto? I-... I heard…”

Daniel’s smile dissolves away for the moment, and he replies softly, “Zuzia and Rikuto were right… to a point. The problem is, we had limited time, and if it were up to me, I would have detonated with less than one second remaining if I could have. I wish I could have. But, we had no way of knowing when second zero would reach us. That would be it. The end of it all. Rikuto convinced me how terrible the end result beyond second zero is, and I believe he was right. Zuzia was right that I had no right to take away the lives of innocent people when there appeared to be time remaining. Which is why…” Daniel’s eye starts to water now, and he looks up at the ceiling for a moment. “Someone… had a duty to draw the line… Right or wrong… that’s what I did.”

Hekate nuzzles against Daniel’s chest, and she asks softly, “Could… I have helped more? Was there… something I could have done?”

“No,” replies Daniel softly. “You did everything right with the situation I forced you all into. If, in the future, we know the easiest way to stop a mana fire, that lesson will have been paid for with blood, because there would be no world to save if we failed this time. Come what may, I don’t think I made the ‘right’ choice. I made the least-wrong choice available to me.”

Hekate nods as she remains against him, holding his chest as she clings to her own little island of safety.

After a moment, Daniel’s voice perks up, and he wipes his tears off of his face. “So, all of that is to say, as long as you strive for the right answers, but are cautious about your own potential for wrongness, at least you might avoid being a tyrant. No great King, Queen, Emperor, or Empress ever ruled without making some mistakes. Though, on Earth, there wasn’t really anything that could destroy the whole world during the peak eras of ‘Kings and Queens’.”

“I’ll do my best, Daniel…” She sits up to stare into his eye, which is a shade of brown that she likes. Maybe she’s biased because it’s Daniel’s eye color, but she doesn’t care. She adds seriously as she cups his right jaw and left cheek, careful around his wounds. “But, that is only so long as you are by my side. Tell me what else I need to do to keep you safe. If I need to give more of my mana to the Citadel, o-or harvest monsters… Anything that I can do so you can make better armor to protect yourself, or to give yourself magic… Anything…”

Daniel chuckles softly. “I know, Hekate. I’ll keep working on it. But, you really rescued me this time… I mean that. I will never, ever feel like you are useless, even if I tease you about it. Because, in all honesty, with your magical power, you hardly need me.”

The feldrok teen starts to object, but Daniel presses his finger to her lips to halt her, and he adds, “I know how you feel about it, and I’m flattered. But, I hope someday you’ll see how strong and clever you are, and as your wisdom grows, you’ll see that too. Wisdom to know when to believe you are right and hold your ground, and when to accept that you might be wrong and try to find the most right answer, instead of the least wrong one.”

Hekate relaxes, and she takes Daniel’s hand, but she playfully bites his finger. She doesn’t break skin, but she does nibble on his finger a little ‘aggressively’. She says afterwards, “That’s only the beginning, Daniel. I’d chew your face off, but…” She droops her ears, not sure if she should make the joke.

Daniel laughs, and it does cause enough strain in his face to cause a little pain, which draws tears in turn. But, he rasps out hoarsely with his ruined voice, “Finish the joke, Hekate. I can handle it. After all,...” He smirks at her and jokes just as warmly, “The ‘Daniel Game’ is also undefeated.”

Hekate smiles, though her eyes water from sheer happiness. She hugs his neck, which causes him some pain, but he grits through it. He’ll have to endure far worse if he wants to wean himself off of the laugur eventually. But, for now, he’s glad Hekate is able to smile.

The ravenette gets comfortable snuggling against Daniel’s side again, and he adds, “Hekate, you and I aren’t perfect. But, I wouldn’t want you to change. Not who you are as a person. I’d like you to continue learning all you can for both of our benefits, to master even more magic, but I want you to be more confident about you, Hekate fell Lawson. Even if you want to swiftly step down from being Empress, for now, it is your birthright, even if we don’t know if you were a peasant or royalty among feldroks.”

“Mmm… You just like the idea of having a bunch of princesses and Empresses all to yourself, Daniel. I know why you started all this…”

Daniel laughs again, doing his best to keep it subdued so he doesn’t keep hurting himself. “You’ll recall, I didn’t want to be Emperor… It just started because… Actually, how did it start?”

Hekate lifts her head for a moment to think, and her ears cock a few times to various positions. She replies softly, “I… don’t really remember either. I know we pretended I was a bratty conqueror for that Googly-lassal guy…”

After another moment of thought, the two say at the exact same time, ““It was Ryuo…””

They look at each other, and both of them start laughing, with Hekate’s laughter being much more hearty than before. As they calm down, she adds, “Evil temptress… Tempting me with ‘Empress Status’...”

“Oooohhh,” says Daniel suspiciously, though his voice is still pretty weak. “Now it sounds like you wanted to have yourself an ‘Emperor’.”

Hekate flinches, whining, “That’s not tr-...!” But, she stops herself, realizing how Daniel is teasing her, and that she jumped to the usual assumption of him trying to talk her into loving someone else, which he has pretty much given up on at this point. She blushes, saying proudly, “W-Well, if I have to stress myself out about all of these things, it’s only right that I also have the rewards I wish for, yes?”

Daniel winces, and she grins, showing off every one of her sharp, shark-like teeth. But, she adds softly, “Don’t worry, Daniel, my precious, precious Daniel. I won’t make that request yet…” She snuggles against him once more, and she guides both of his hands to her tail as a sign for him to keep petting. She adds softly, “Even if…” She yawns and trails off.

I wonder what she was going to say ‘even if’, thinks Daniel to himself.

Just as the mechanic is starting to relax as well, Hekate suddenly perks up with a start, lifting her head up. “Daniel!”

“I’m right here,” groans Daniel, having been jostled just right to cause some pain.

“Daniel! The family crest! Look!” Hekate digs in one of her belt pouches, and she withdraws a carefully folded –and miraculously still-folded– handkerchief, which she unfurls to show Daniel its surface. He studies it carefully in the dim light. The crest has three flowers of differing colors, each acting as the apparent pommel to a sword, the blades of all three being crossed. Across the top is a well-stitched wreath with some attractive looking black birds, each with threads of color mixed into the black.

Hekate lays back against Daniel’s chest so she can admire it with him. “Eri made it for us! This is the new Lawson family crest! She said that the laugur flowers sound a little like the start of our family name, and just as the poison protects the flower, we have stuff to protect us too! Also, the birds are from your soldier-sailor picture, because it was a part of your history, so she thought it was important to include it.

Daniel can now see the true work and thought that was put into the crest. Even though Hekate’s explanation was hasty, the fact that she remembered that much, likely having only been told once and having no real understanding of these kinds of things, is quite impressive. Hekate adds excitedly, “Eri said we can include it on our banners alongside the Fievegal’s banner because we’re the current ruling family, which isn’t always the same as the founding family, but it is for us. And we can decorate buckrokhs and armor and shields with it so people will know who’s kicking their butts! Hee hee hee hee!”

Daniel chuckles, which bounces her slightly since she’s laying so firmly against his torso. He pats her tail. It never crosses his mind to ask ‘our family’, since he has considered Hekate family for a long time at this point, as well as the others. He simply says gently, “It’s very nice, and very touching. I’ll have to wife her up immediately…”

Hekate scowls over her shoulder with betrayal in her eyes, and Daniel gives another warm chuckle as he kisses her temple. “You’re so easy, Hekate…”

She pouts briefly, hugging the handkerchief. “Well… I like it. You butt…”

“I’m serious! I like it, too!”

Hekate’s ears droop briefly, and Daniel adds, “You know,...” He trails off to spur her to look at him, and his bait works. Hekate turns to make eye contact with the mechanic, and he gestures at his right cheek. “Even after this scars over, it’ll probably be in good taste for me to wear something to both hide and protect it. So, even though the design comes from Eri… Would you mind making me something to wear that will match, so that I can proudly bear our new crest as a symbol that I won’t let this keep me down?”

Hekate stares at him, and her ears more dumbfoundedly ‘hang’ back, rather than folded when she’s irritable. He says softly, “It’ll mean that much more if it comes from you. Though,... You might need to practice with Eri, and perhaps Aramellianna can assign some tutors to help you.”

Hekate instantly puffs herself up, saying, “I’ll do it! Gladly! I’ll make one even better than Eri! One that you can wear all the time, and it’ll never be uncomfortable!”

“And sexy. Make me look sexy, too.”

This causes her to give him a skeptical scowl once more.

“Whaaat? Alright, I don’t care about that. But, do try to make it look professional so I can wear it when I’m in uniform or dressed up as Emperor.” Daniel hugs the ravenette gently, adding softly, “But, even if it’s not perfect, it will be perfect for me, since I’m not either.”

Hekate blushes and looks away from him. She nods sheepishly. “I… I’ll talk to Eri as soon as possible and start working on it… And, um…” She kisses Daniel’s cheek. “Thank you, Daniel… For always being so supportive of me…”

“Of course. Maybe I don’t say it enough, but I think you’re incredible, Hekate. I know a lot of people can use magic, but you manage to shine with talent and passion, never resting on your laurels. It has helped me stay focused when I need it most.”

She giggles softly, embarrassed. “Feel free to keep praising me, Daniel. Cuddles may be your healing medicine, but mine is praise and love from you.”

“Alright. Then, I also want to say I’m… impressed, but also concerned about how you managed to draw Nemaisol…”

This causes the teen to twitch, and she fidgets with the handkerchief in her hands. “Uhhhh… I tried really hard?”

Daniel chuckles, but he replies, “You know how dangerous that is, don’t you?”

“I-... I do. But, when I thought you were lost… Which you were by the way! You were going to die!” She reaches over her shoulder to grip his collar, but Daniel gently holds her hand where it’s gripping his shirt, easing her down. She continues, “I just… kept… trying. That’s all I know. It hurt… a lot. But, that was nothing compared to the thought of losing you.” Her ears droop a little, and she asks, “Do… you think Kaera will be mad at me?”

The mechanic sighs. “No. And, even if she is, we’ll just have to protect her so that the reason she’s angry never comes to pass.”

The human lifts a part of Hekate’s tail to inspect it. Most of her normal black has returned, but there are a few stray strands that are grey, and the blue glow is still pretty radiant deep within.

Hekate bashfully asks, “W-... Was I ugly?... When I was all white?”

Daniel replies warmly, “No. Not at all.”

Hekate smiles, but she suddenly twitches her ears as a different idea comes over her. “I was really pretty, wasn’t I, Daniel?”

“Jesus, Hekate,” blurts out Daniel as he laughs again. “You’re killing me with laughter today…”

“I was really pretty, wasn’t I, Daniel?” insists Hekate as she always does, and Daniel starts coughing from his laughter.

When he can finally speak, he plops his hand onto her head gently. “You’re always pretty, Hekate. A new look every now and then just freshens the vibrance of that prettiness. Or something.”

She stares at him for a moment, and he adds, “I’m serious. I can picture you with Sundenelle’s snow-white hair and red eyes, or even still with your golden eyes. Geira’s deeply auburn-red hair is a little harder to picture on you, but… Well, it’s still fun to imagine…”

Hekate’s eyes glow with a fire, and she asks, “Why specifically those two, hmm, Daniel?”

“Wha-...!? What do you mean? You asked because you were white, and I was just saying…”

“I was white with blue streaks of glowiness! Sundenelle’s white is more like diamonds! Or glass!”

“Well, that’s not…”

“It’s extremely different!” whines Hekate as she whirls on him grabbing his collar to shake him –gently, as much as she can–. “And Geira!? Why are you picturing me with her hair color!? Do you really want me to look more like her!?”

“Oh for f-! No! Yes! Either! Whatever you want to do, Hekate! I’m saying your cuteness can still match whatever color you turn into!”

She scowls at him, and she casts a spell that she vowed revenge on Doephluev for, but which is completely appropriate now –though, modified only slightly–. When she snaps her fingers at the end of the spell, her black hair, black, triangular, furry ears, and her fluffy black tail all turn to a shade of vibrant emerald-green.

Daniel is speechless for a moment, and Hekate asks with her head held high. “What about now, Daniel? Do I still look pretty now?”

Daniel’s words fail him for a moment longer, though he shouldn’t really be surprised. He has seen far more impressive magic. Hekate and Doephluev even tried to trick him by pretending to be each other with illusion magic.

But, there is a surprising level of charm to Hekate’s current color scheme that reminds him of his own teenage years.

He scoffs, and she narrows her eyes at him, but he adds sincerely as he touches her hair. “It might sound a little… ah, who cares? If you want the truth, you’re very pretty, Hekate. This reminds me of… a uh… crush I had on a character while I was in high school. Childish, I know, since she was fictional… But,...”

“Y-Your… first crush had this color?” asks Hekate, stunned. She thought she was picking something off the wall and gaudy, but Daniel smiles warmly.

“It’s awkward to think about, but… yeah. As you see in the animes on my phone, the ones that are drawn by hand, characters came in all shapes and sizes, with all colors of hair. But, in reality, without dye, most people’s hair were a shade of brown, getting as light to look more yellow like Ryuo’s hair, or dark black like mine or Rikuto’s. Elders often had grey or white hair, since it loses color over time. Anime added color for uniqueness, and to make characters easier to identify, since they can sometimes have faces that are too similar, and viewers might not form memories of them very effectively, meaning they’re forgettable.”

“But, this character wasn’t?” asks Hekate.

“Mind you, she’s fictional, so it’s not like I’m harboring some long-burning flame for someone that it’s physically impossible for me to meet. But, yeah… She was pretty memorable.” Daniel smiles with amusement, “Of course, people dying their hair more colorful selections like blue, green, and pretty much anything that wasn’t natural or a slight amplification of natural, like the reddish browns, were… Well, let’s just say the colorful dynamic was essentially co-opted. It became more of a warning sign rather than makeup or something.”

Hekate frowns a little, asking, “So, do you like it or not?”

Daniel laughs. “It looks good on you, but I like my little raven-haired Hekate the most, because that is your true color.”

Hekate smiles and blushes. She then says, “I… uh… hmm…”

“You forgot the spell to change back, didn’t you?”

“Mm-hmm,” replies Hekate as she cuddles against him. “But, since you like it, I suppose it’s okay. I’ll have Doephluev help me change back later. Though, I think it wears off eventually.”

Daniel laughs as he pets her head once more. “I don’t deserve you, Hekate…”

“Mm-... yes you do. I’m the judge of that, and literally no one else can have me. So sayeth the Empress.”

Daniel relaxes with a sigh as the feldrok teen gets comfortable against him once more, ready to never let him go.

Though the pain is still chewing at his senses, he is in such a good mood, that he’s at least able to relax a bit.

And, if he’s lucky, he might just get some sleep.

It wasn’t just Hekate who had a lot on her mind when Daniel noticed her. And, he’s thankful that she gave him some of the more ‘spiritual’ healing energy he needed.

***