The King and Queen took the Ashwoods and Sasha to a small dining hall. Four glasses of blood sat on the ornate green tablecloth. Two steak dinners and two glasses of wine were brought in shortly after the six of them took a seat.
"So, tell me Jubelle, what is your honest opinion of Brie?" Xavier asked bluntly.
Surprised he was addressed first, Jubelle said, "uhhhh-"
"Don't scare the poor kid my darling!" Mina said politely. "Go ahead Jubelle, be honest dear."
"I think Brie can come across as a little sassy and emotional sometimes, but she seems to always know and understand the audience she's speaking to. I know the late king Joseph was a big fan of her and was very happy that Sora selected her as his queen," Jubelle said confidently.
"What about in battle? Is she useful?" Xavier asks.
"Extremely. She has a very rare spell, called Vampiric control. It allows her to essentially manipulate the mood of the vampire no matter what state they're in. For example, Sasha told me the first day she met Sora, he allowed her to drink his blood. She completely lost control and would've sucked him dry but Brie was able to use her magic to get Sasha to stop drinking the blood and put her to sleep. She's also very quick-witted. When Sora used his linking magic with her, she told him to pretend to battle a tree as if it were a SS ranked demon and while he was casting spells, she took a katana and fearlessly stabbed herself in the stomach. With her help, Sora has been able to adjust quite nicely to fighting while linking with any one of us," Jubelle said calmly.
"Dorian, doesn't it frighten you that a human can control a vampire as strong as Sasha? She's also part of the Valencia family and turned by Soren himself," Xavier asked.
"Not at all. It's not like she could control myself or one of the originals but even if she could, I'm certain she would only do it to aid us in some way. She's a very kind hearted young woman who is determined. She's already SS on the quest boards. For someone who is about to be 21, that's certainly impressive. Sasha and Levi are also SS ranked, Sera is S ranked, Jubelle is A ranked. Leila's a dragon and Sora and Celeste are gods. If Joseph, Sora and Sasha trust her, then I definitely trust her," Dorian said with a kind smile.
"The young demon isn't with the party. He's being looked after by the party as his father is General Getz of the second regime of the demonic army and his mother gave her life to ensure he made it to Sorbella." Dorian continued.
"Sasha, you've been with Brie for quite some time. Celeste told us you two used to be adventurers for hire. Do you think the Uthra, humans and vampires will follow her as Queen?" Xavier asked.
"Unless you count all the young, single angry ones who are pissed Sora's a taken man, then yes, she'll be just fine," Sasha laughed.
"Look, I understand humanity betrayed the elves, but Leila and Sera get along really well and demons destroyed Leila's entire race. I think we need to start thinking about things with the current people we have and put our faith there. We could talk about this all day, but the reality is we all trust Brie and if humans become a problem, I'm sure Jackson, Elizabeth, Sora and Brie will quickly correct that," Camilla said sternly.
"She's right Xavier. Let's just align with them and be done with all this," Mina said sharply.
"Ok. Jubelle, what is the name of your party? What did Sora name it?"
"The Saviors," Jubelle said excitedly.
"That has a nice ring to it. Ok. So, my wife and I will go let them know and we will meet tomorrow morning to start assisting you with wedding preparations. Thank you all for your honesty and candor. The Chimera will join as well. They follow us now," Xavier said as he pulled out his wife's chair for her.
"The King and Queen are headed your way, Sora. Were you and Brie able to overhear everything?" Celeste spoke telepathically.
"I was. Brie, how about you?"
"They said so many nice things! I'm just glad they're going to join our alliance. How were we able to hear what you heard Celeste?"
"The gods speak telepathically more than they actually speak. Now that Sora is a god and you have Athena's blessing, I figured if Sora linked with me, we'd be able to hear the entire conversation," Celeste said joyfully.
"I never would have thought of that. Disabling the link. Thanks again!" Sora said.
*****
As Xavier and Mina informed Sora and the others, they politely bowed and thanked them sincerely.
"Thank you as well sir Bishop. It's great to know we have an Ancient Chimera, the Chimera, the elves, the vampires, Uthra, dragon, humans and even some demons on our side!" Brie exclaimed.
"Indeed. I will honor my late brother and lead the mighty Chimera fearlessly into battle! I have to start our training as soon as possible, with your blessing, your Majesty," Bishop said excitedly.
"Yes, you have our blessing Bishop," Xavier said.
"Now Brie. In elven culture, the groom must not see his bride for an entire week before the wedding," Mina said politely. "This also includes any type of communication of ANY kind."
"What's the reason if you don't mind me asking," Brie said as her face turned red.
"If you break any of these rules, your marriage will be cursed. However, if you follow these rules, elves believe your soul will be attached to your partners for all of eternity," Mina said with a serious tone.
"Just so I'm clear on this as well, I'm not to see or attempt to communicate with Brie in any way, shape or form, or my marriage is cursed? Cursed by who?" Sora asked politely.
"The goddess Tiamat, for reasons I cannot discuss," Mina said deliberately.
"Well, we will have to celebrate my birthday on our honeymoon?" Brie asked excitedly.
"One more thing for me to look forward to," Sora exclaimed with a grin.
"Well, say your goodbyes. Tomorrow is the 7th so at midnight you will officially be cut off from one another," Mina stated.
"Eye of Chronos," Sora thought and left only Celeste and Brie with him as time froze.
"We have to be quick but Celeste, will the party's sealing magic cause any complications with this curse? Is this curse real?"
"Your sealing magic will not but when you are married in Elven lands and embedded in their energy, yes the curse and blessing are real," Celeste said quickly.
"Hey system, please add an additional clause to my Seal with Brie Reinhardt. We will not communicate until the elves allow us too. Please block any means of communication until the seal is changed. Make it a heart on our left hands."
[Adjustment completed. Brie has accepted.]
'Release' Sora thought.
"Happy early Birthday, I love you and I'll see you soon," Sora said while giving Brie a kiss.
"Thanks, I love you too! Thanks for the preventative measures." Brie said while hugging him one last time and giving him another kiss.
"Alright Brie, please come with me," Mina said as she held out her hand.
"Bye everyone! See you soon!" Brie said as she left the room with Mina.
After saying their goodbyes to Bishop, Xavier took each of the members to their temporary bedrooms.
"Feel free to explore anywhere you would like while you are here," Xavier said and wished them, "Good night!"
'This is going to be a long week. Today already felt incredibly long,' Sora thought while lying in bed.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard Celeste speaking to him telepathically.
"Sorry I wasn't more up front about all of this with you."
"It's totally fine. I'm just glad everything worked out. Thanks for all you do for us Celeste."
"You're welcome. Being blessed by Athena and having your soul intertwined with your partner… I don't think any couple has ever done that before. You and Brie will be the first. That's exciting!"
"That's amazing news. Good night Celeste."
"Good night Sora.
'Well, this is going to be a long week. I just hope Bishop agrees to some friendly duels,' Sora thought as he fell asleep.