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The peace and tranquility that governed Alrest after the new dawn of their world felt unjustly brief.
Peace would never last forever, that much she was always aware of, but a part of her had hoped that it would go on for much longer than this. Now only years after the world was finally safe from Malos’ threat, they faced a threat that could never be defeated by force. Destruction was imminent, out of a need for two worlds to fuse back with their missing pieces, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Although, they could still do something .
Origin was not a foolproof plan. It was complicated to put together and even more to execute, not to mention how practically impossible it was to break the news to the general population.
As expected, the idea of a plan that might not even work wasn’t well received.
Mòrag could not blame them. In reality, nobody expected any other result. All nations were required to get ready to quell the unavoidable unrest that would follow the revelation. Their job would be to listen and try to ease their concerns, explain that Origin was the best chance they had to protect the life of their world. Of both worlds. The merging wasn’t something they had a say on.
She found herself bouncing between nations, not having the luxury of being concerned only with the affairs of her own country anymore, nor wanting to. Though she did prioritize the Empire, she wanted to offer her help wherever she could. Which right now, took her to Tantal, waiting on a balcony in the palace until the King graced her with his presence.
“Lady Mòrag, welcome.” a voice greeted behind her.
Mòrag huffed. “Can you not?” she said, unamused.
Zeke laughed. He walked over, standing next to her by the railing. “I wanted to try it out. As King, I need to improve my fancy talk game.”
Mòrag made an incredulous expression. “Of course. I’d expect nothing less from you, Your Majesty.” she quipped.
He winced. “Ok, I hear it now. Don’t call me that.”
She chuckled, leaning forward to settle her arms over the stone railing. “You sure picked a poor time to take the throne.”
He sighed. “Tell me about it.” he said. “But I had to. This whole ordeal is way out of my old man’s league, after being isolated for so long.”
“I understand.” she said. “You had a duty and you stepped up to fulfill it. I find it impressive, considering how long you were gone.”
Zeke huffed. “I’m taking that as a compliment.”
“It is, you should be proud.” she said solemnly.
“Heh. Thanks.” he said, smiling. “How’s Niall handling it?”
“He’s doing well, all things considered. Thanks to that, I can take the time to offer aid where no one else can.” she said.
“Right.” he said. “Thanks for coming, by the way.”
“Of course.” she said, readjusting her gloves. “So, how are we doing this?”
“I’ve gathered a few soldiers, nothing that’ll draw too much attention.” he said. “We’ve located their base to the east of the capital, and we already found a good way to approach unseen. We’ve caught word of them planning to attack the Origin base, so the sooner we do this the better. Nia already has enough on her hands to deal with this.”
“Indeed. Though it seems you’ve already taken care of all the planning.” Mòrag pointed out. “Where do me and Brighid fit in?”
“Well, they are heavily armed. It’ll be reassuring to have you for the inevitable fight, considering the limited firepower.” he said.
“A heavily armed group of dissenters…” she said, sighing. “I knew we’d have people who’d oppose Origin, but was it too much to hope no armed conflict would ensue?”
Zeke chuckled dryly. “Seems so. These guys, they believe we should let fate follow its course and be destroyed, and it seems they’ll go to any length to achieve just that.”
Mòrag shook her head. “It’s ridiculous.”
“I know,” he said, resigned. “But there’s nothing we can do now except deal with it.”
She nodded grimly. “Indeed.”
That was what their job had come to be. Deal with things as they come, until everything is resolved. They couldn’t even know when the collision would happen, it could be a second or a century from now. And yet, they had no choice but to keep up the damage control until then.
Taking a closer look at Zeke’s face, she could easily see the bags under his eyes. He hadn’t been King for long, but it looked like the job was already taking its toll.
“Are you all right?” she asked. “You seem tired.”
He smiled sadly. “I have to admit, I thought I knew what I was getting into, but work is still kicking my arse.”
"I understand." she said. "Niall struggled at first, too. It's not easy at all, but I'm sure you'll grow accustomed to it sooner rather than later."
"At least he had a reliable Special Inquisitor to lean on." he said.
She smiled. "I suppose he did." she admitted. "And you have a friend to rely on. That's why I'm here."
He turned his gaze to her, surprised. She kept her eyes fixed in front, but she could see the surprise turn into a smile out of the corner of her eye.
Zeke laughed. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Mòrag."
"Anytime." she said. "You know, if you want, Brighid and I can take care of this and take it off your hands."
"Nah, not a chance." he said, some vigor returning to his tone. "I need to blow off some steam. I'm not missing the fun."
Mòrag looked at him amusedly. "Fun?"
"Of course! When was the last time we fought side by side? I'm sure you miss it too." he replied, grinning cheekily.
She chuckled. "Perhaps." she said. "Well, if that's your decision, we should go find Brighid and Pandoria. We have much to discuss."
"After you, Lady Mòrag." he said, playfully polite.
Mòrag huffed with fond exasperation.
They walked away from the balcony and back into the palace. They had a lot of issues to tend to, but even those burdens were more bearable alongside a friend.