Ayelma made a high-pitched noise of excitement while Malson stared in shock. Meir’ril also looked surprised, but less so than his older brother - and Braelin just smiled.

“Stop with all that nonsense,” Owren huffed, “Kept going on ‘bout how differen’ things are here, now your gonna make a fuss over two old men sitting together…”

“Sure, just sitting together,” Ayelma giggled, “Not like they spent hours alone together beforehand…”

Owren’s face reddened, and he stamped his cane on the ground, “Enough of that, brat!”

Ayelma just laughed harder, falling back in her seat.

“So, how did you run into Abbay, Malson?” Braelin redirected, though he chuckled himself.

“Uh,” Malson cleared his throat - then cleared it again before answering, “So we made it! To the coast, I mean! And Abbay had gotten word of the usurpation by the time we made it, so had been escorting vessels leaving the country with refugees!”

“She really is a very impressive woman,” Beneford agreed, “She even rules Asalban, so her title as Queen is very real - even if it’s not the traditional one used in Asalban.”

“Asalban is real!?” Ayelma demanded, shooting back up in her seat.

“Did you think it was not,” Jurao frowned.

“Most people think Asalban is a myth,” Braelin replied, “Or more of a code for certain Inner Sea passageways than a physical location.”

“So there really is an island stronghold of pirates?” Meir’ril asked.

“It’s not just one island!” Malson replied, “It’s several chains of islands in the Eye of the Inner Sea! Past the Kraken Spines!”

“It’s a pretty place,” Nevve added, “Where I found a few human teachers back in my traveling days. Bit too warm by demon standards, though.”

“It is surrounded by volcanoes,” Beneford chuckled, “So it’s fairly warm by human standards as well.”

“I mean, we do most of our trade with the Inspired Triad through Asalban,” Minaz said, “So I never thought it wasn’t a real place, but I’m not aware of the specifics of it.”

“At the center of the Inner Sea,” Meir’ril said, “There’s a ring of mountains and volcanoes known as the Kraken Spines - between the ash clouds, mist, and rock formations, it’s very difficult to sail there.”

“Most pirates need an invitation to get there!” Malson nodded, “Unless they’re natives like Abbay! They use a series of waypoints and compasses utilizing siren lodestones for navigation!”

“The Safe Current,” Nevve grinned, “I got to set up some of those - it’s a pretty fun system. If you need that arm maintenanced, I have you covered - I don’t handle weapons, though.”

“My aunt has studied directly from siren smiths in the past,” Jurao added.

“Thank you,” Beneford nodded, “It’s probably overdue - as is Malson’s leg.”

“You lost your leg!?” Ayelma demanded, leaning over her brother.

Malson rolled his eyes, then rolled up his pant leg to show that one of his legs was also a siren-style prosthetic from the knee down, “Only half of it!”

“When did that happen?” Braelin frowned.

“When we ran into Abbay,” Beneford sighed, “Got a bit sidetracked from that story with the Asalban talk…”

“Right!” Malson said, “Like I said, she was escorting refugee ships! And we’d gotten on one and underway, but before Abbay arrived, Ferrick’s men attacked the ship looking for any royal family members!”

“And Malson, not wanting anyone else to get hurt,” Beneford sighed fondly, “Announced himself immediately, so we got captured.”

“Abbay attacked the vessel we were being held prisoner on, and a cannon rolled onto my leg when we were trying to fight free during the confusion!” Malson summarized, “Then she took us to Asalban to recuperate before we joined her crew to raid Ferrick’s ships!”

“That’s about it,” Beneford nodded, “Until Apaje showed up with word that Braelin was here.”

“Right!” Malson flinched, pushing down his sleeve, “I need to tell Abbay it was true!”

“What’s that?” Nevve asked.

Malson was wearing a blue-gray metal bracer with the unmistakably iridescent sheen of fae metal, a pearl-like stone set at the center of an etched magic circle. The human touched the stone, and a screen of light appeared in front of the former prince as he answered, “It was a gift from Eweylona! Abbay has a matching one, and it allows us to send each other correspondence faster than regular mail!”

“It only takes a few days, no matter how far apart they are,” Meir’ril said, “There are faster ones, but they’re more expensive to obtain.”

Malson was concentrating on the screen, words writing themselves out in a human script as he did.

“They’d already been corresponding for a few years when Malson turned twenty, so Eweylona thought it would make a good birthday present,” Braelin said, “Looks like it certainly came in handy.”

“Seriously,” Ayelma sighed, “Pretty much everyone thought it was just some random person pretending to be a pirate and telling you stories, but it was really the real Abbay.”

“Apparently,” Beneford chuckled, “Everyone thought the same about Abbay having a prince as a correspondence friend. Even when he sent the matching communication bracer, they thought he was more likely a well-off merchant or regular aristocrat.”

“Knowin’ it really was a pirate,” Owren huffed, “It’s a wonder they managed to build a correspondence at all…”

“Not really!” Malson said, finishing his magic letter, “Dad didn’t officially support the smuggling trade between the Strength and Inspired Triad, but so long as nothing too dangerous came through Jost, he turned a blind eye! Didn’t want to go against the Empire, but didn’t think their blockade against the Demon Realm was fair, either! Before the usurpation, though, he was in secret talks with Vede about joining the Strongarm Coalition!”

The Strongarm Coalition was the name of the countries that openly traded with the Strength Triad against the wishes of the Holy Divine Sacred Empire of Angelic Purification - Asalban was the core of the group since they stood the best chance against the Imperial Fleet in protecting trading vessels. However, Vede was known as the main entry point into the Demon Realm outside of the Imperial Gate and easier to contact than Asalban by prospective members.

“Ferrick went straight to the Empire after the usurpation,” Beneford sighed, “One of his many critiques of Ebener’s rule was his reluctance to form strong ties to them.”

“And now they have a proper foothold in the Northwestern Reaches!” Malson spat, “And if they manage to get enough naval ships through, you can bet they’ll annex Jost faster than Ferrick takes another wife!”

“Not that Abbay is making it easy for them,” Beneford snorted.

“I thought humans in Jost did not usually take more than one romantic partner,” Jurao questioned.

“Not like that!” Malson replied, face coloring, “I mean, plenty of people had multiple partners in Asalban, so there’s not! A problem with that kind of thing!”

“I would hope not,” Minaz snorted, “It’s common for people to have more than one partner here, too - I have two myself. Jurao was just curious, not condemning.”

“Malson meant that Ferrick keeps making political marriages to strengthen his ties to neighboring countries,” Beneford said diplomatically, “He’s not marrying them at the same time - he keeps divorcing them if they don’t have a male heir, but it’s mostly an excuse for the former. He’s on wife number six now, poor woman.”

“That’s right!” Malson nodded, “I wouldn’t condemn anyone for having multiple partners. That would just be condemning myself!”

“Oh,” Braelin said, “That makes sense.”

“What?” Ayelma grinned, “Oh! I need to hear about all of them right now! How many were there? Did you leave a string of broken hearts to come here?” she gasped theatrically, “You brute!”

“MOST OF THEM WEREN’T THAT SERIOUS!” Malson declared, entire face going red, “ABBAY WAS ONE OF THE ONLY ONES I COURTED THE WHOLE TIME, AND IT WAS NEVER EVEN ROMANTIC! AND MY SERIOUS ROMANTIC PARTNER ALREADY KNOWS ABOUT ME TRAVELING HERE!”

Meir’ril started laughing, curling over as he tried to contain it.

Beneford shook his head - but hesitantly slipped a hand into one of Owren’s.

Owren accepted the gesture and shifted just slightly closer to the other man in his seat.

Nearby, Milve’s tail twitched as he watched the pair before quickly looking away - and Jurao felt there did seem to be a wistful look in the priest’s expression.

“Demons have a few different kinds of courtship styles,” Braelin said, chuckling himself, “So it seems you’ll fit in fine.”

“WHAT!?” Malson demanded.

“Demons recognize three types of formal courtship,” Minaz supplied with a chuckle, “Romantic, queerplatonic, and sexual - though some people just choose not to define their relationships at all, so it’s not like you have to use one of them.”

“But come on!” Ayelma said, grabbing Malson’s arm, “I really want to hear about them! Like old times!”

“I need to return to work,” Jurao sighed, getting to his feet. He tousled his partner’s hair and added, “I’ll see you tonight - feel free to skip the staff dinner.”

“I think I will,” Braelin smiled up at him, “See you then.”

Petal climbed into his vacated spot, curling up and settling comfortably.

“See!” Ayelma whispered loudly, “I told you they’re cute!”

“That’s one moment!” Malson replied.

Minaz fell into step just behind the King, chuckling as she said, “They’re certainly getting more lively - can’t imagine what their parents are like when the kids have such a range of personalities.”

“It’s been said Braelin and their father share a similar temperament,” Jurao replied, “Though I have heard little of Eweylona’s personality directly. Any word about them.”

“Not as yet,” Minaz sighed, “Though it seems the priestesshood of Eleamera does intend to send an envoy - there are rites of passage the twins have missed due to the circumstances.”

“At least there is that,” the King hummed.

“He really is louder than Gnori,” his Right Hand laughed, as they both heard Malson shout something as they walked through the castle - though it was too indistinct to make out.

“It is surprising to hear in person,” Jurao agreed with a chuckle.

“Disappointing to hear we missed out on a trade partner, though,” Minaz sighed, “Especially in the Northwestern Reaches - that’s where the Kinfolk Realm Gate is. Kloy would have loved the opportunity to get a hold of their medicinal herbs in bulk, I’m sure.”

“Yes,” the King sighed, “And to have the Empire extend its reach is troublesome.”

“Yeah,” his Right Hand snorted, then added, “Was kind of funny to see his grace all love lorn over a human, though.”

“It did appear that way, to an extent,” Jurao nodded, “Though we may be biased by the rumors.”

“Always good to keep in mind,” Minaz agreed good-naturedly, “Well, I’m off - see you at the evening meal, my lord.”

Jurao waved her off, “See you then.”

When he was on his way to the evening Heads of Staff dinner after working for a few hours, he paused as he heard Malson’s voice down one of the administrative hallways.

“So are you this Captain Ɲori?”

Oh dear, Jurao sighed, changing course.

As expected, the demon Captain of the Guard replied, with an accompanying thump on a nearby surface, “WHO THE FUCK IS ƝORI!?”

Jurao rounded the corner to where Gnori’s office was, finding the captain, Malson, Gavven, and a guard standing in the hallway.

Gnori pointed to the nameplate next to the door to his office, continuing, “My name is Gnori - I don’t care how people think it’s pronounced! Look right here, here’s the ‘guh’,” he traced the part of the Demonae /ɲ/ character that resembled the Demonae /g/, “And the ‘nn’,” he traced the part resembling the Demonae /n/, then slapped the wall, “Plain as day! So why wouldn’t you pronounce both of them when they’re both there, huh!?

“The idea that smashing them together makes a different sound makes no damned sense, and I’m not about to change the spelling when they’re both already there!” Gnori crossed his arms, “Got that!?”

It was a speech Jurao had heard before - as had most of the Department Heads, since it came up fairly often when Jurao had first appointed the man.

The King stepped next to Gavven, wondering if he should intervene - and why Malson had sought out the Captain of the Guard in the first place…