Chapter 30 Surprise
Azrael had expected that Kassandra would figure out his identity but didn't think that she would want to meet him. He didn't have any problem meeting with her but he had to ask Aliyah before he gave an answer. He sent her a message, saying that he had to talk about something important. She replied that she was taking a break in her office so he could visit her if he wanted to.
Azrael walked towards her office. He knocked on the door and Aliyah replied, "Come in." He entered her office and saw her sipping tea. it was a special tea that calmed one's mind and it only grew in one of the small empires she had conquered. She offered him a cup which he accepted and asked him, "What happened?" Azrael looked at her and said, "I just received a letter from Kassandra Noxcor, the Queen of the Dark Elves, saying that she wants to visit me. Here in the Twilight Empire. But I don't think that I'm the only one she wants to meet. Her specifically mentioning the Twilight Empire indicates that she also wants to meet you. I haven't given an answer yet because I wanted to know your opinion about the matter." Aliyah was a bit shocked. If Kassandra visited the Twilight Empire, she would have to personally greet her as a sign of mutual respect for another ruler.
He asked her, "So what do you wanna do? Do you want to meet her or not?" Aliyah thought about it a little and sighed, "Agree to meet with her. I'll also write her a letter. If she is visiting, I might as well meet her and get this over with." Aliyah quickly wrote the letter and gave it to Azrael. He also wrote a letter indicating his approval of her request and sent them both to the biggest branch in the Eastern Continent via teleportation formations.
A few days later, the Royal Court of the Noxcor Clan
Kassandra was sitting on her throne with a letter in her hand. She had already read Azrael's reply and was reading Aliyah's. At first glance, it looked like a simple and polite letter welcoming her to visit the Twilight Empire. But if one carefully read it, one would find that Aliyah was actually admonishing Kassandra for not having the courtesy as a ruler to inform her, another ruler, that she would be visiting her territory. Kassandra wasn't angry, instead had a faint smile on her face and chuckled, "Fu fu fu, Looks like this visit will be really interesting." She had already used her connections to find all information possible about the Twilight Empire and its history. She was really impressed by how Aliyah ruled with an iron fist but was practically worshipped by her citizens. She just had some doubts if she was a real Empress or just a puppet. That's why she sent the letter to Azrael and not Aliyah, to gauge her reaction. If Aliyah and Azrael knew about this, they would truly lament their naivete as compared to an old monster like her. Kassandra sent another letter, this time to Aliyah, saying that she would be visiting with an entourage in a month's time. She also expressed her wish to tour the Empire.
A month later, Aliyah, Azrael, and Lily were standing in front of a huge teleportation formation with some officials behind them. This teleportation formation connected directly to another in the Eastern Continent. For safety purposes, both had to be activated at the same time for them to work. Azrael got a message on his communicator and activated the formation. It emitted blinding light and a group of people appeared. It was a group of High Night Elves led by Aleina and a devastatingly beautiful High Night Elf whose features were very similar to Aliyah. She was almost 7 feet tall, with pointed ears and shimmering silver hair that reached her waist. Her skin was deep indigo and her irises deep violet with specks of white. Azrael and the others concluded that she was Kassandra Noxcor.
Although she didn't show it, Kassandra was really shocked by the three of them. First by Aliyah because after she sensed her bloodline purity, she was shocked to find that it had reached an unknown level. But even that didn't prepare her for Azrael. When she tried to sense them, she couldn't feel anything. If she hadn't seen them with her own eyes, she would have thought that there was nobody in their places. Just then Azrael said, "It isn't polite to use your spirit sense on a stranger." Kassandra just smiled charmingly and replied, "It has been a long time since something truly interested me. You must be the mysterious founder of the Twin Dragon Chamber of Commerce, Azrael." Then she looked at Aliyah and said, "And you must the famous 'Eternal Empress of the Night', Aliyah Nightshade." She looked at Lily and asked, "You are?" Lily just smiled and replied, "I am the Royal Advisor of the Twilight Empire, the co-founder of the Twin Dragon Chamber of Commerce, and Azrael's wife, Lily Windsor Primis."
Aliyah could feel the slight tension in the air and said, "Let us retire to the Royal Hall, we have a lot to discuss." Kassandra's entourage was escorted to their guest rooms while the rest of them followed Aliyah to the Royal Hall. The Royal Hall was decorated in purples and blues and laden with exquisite delicacies that could satisfy any palate. Azrael, Lily, Aliyah, Aleina, and Kassandra sat around a round table. Servants served them tea and snacks.
They made some small talk but it was finally time for business. Kassandra looked at her and asked, "What is the name of your ancestor?" Aliyah slightly sneered and answered, "Remus Nightshade, the half-blood that was forced to run by the courtesy of your illustrious Noxcor Clan." Kassandra visibly flinched when she heard his name. She looked at Aliyah doubtfully and asked, "Remus was alive? Are you sure?" Tears had appeared at the corner of her eyes and her gaze towards Aliya changed. Aliyah was confused, as to why she was acting like this but she still asked, "Did you know him?" Kassandra smiled and replied, "Of course, I knew him. After all, he was my son." Aliyah and Aleina's expressions changed. Aleina looked at her mother, visibly shocked, because she never knew that she had a brother. Aliyah on the other hand looked like she didn't believe Kassandra.
Kassandra looked at her and said, "I know you don't believe me but let me tell you my story. I was about a century younger than you are right now was the Crown Princess at that time. One day I disguised myself and snuck out of the Palace with my best friend, Christina. We traveled our territory for years. During our travels, we met a young man, Julian Nightshade. I and Julian fell in love with each other and I became pregnant with his child but my mother, the Queen during that time, found us. She wanted to kill it and Julian but I threatened to kill myself if she harmed any one of them. After much persuasion, she finally agreed under the condition that Julian and I would never meet each other again. After Remus was born, Christina decided to adopt him and married Julian so that he could accompany them back to the clan. Even as I saw the discrimination that they faced, I could do anything to help them because of my mother. After a few years, Christina and Julian left for a mission but didn't return. Remus's treatment worsened and one day he disappeared with his life lamp. My mother told me that he had killed himself but I didn't believe her. I searched the whole continent for his traces but didn't find anything. I didn't expect that he would escape to the Central Continent. If you still don't believe me we can do a simple bloodline ritual."
Everybody present was shocked after hearing her story. Azrael looked at Aliyah and she nodded. He then used his Cosmic energy to construct a formation in the air. Then he looked at Aliyah and Kassandra and said, "You two just need to drip some of your blood on this formation and it will tell you if you are related." Both of them nodded and dripped their blood on the formation. Their blood started moving along the lines of the formation until it covered the whole formation. Then it started glowing and the lines started rearranging themselves until they spelled out Great Great Great...Grandmother and Granddaughter. Kassandra smiled with joy while Aliyah was still dumbstruck by the result. Azrael looked from the side and thought to himself, 'This explains why their facial features look so similar.'
Kassandra then looked at Aliyah and asked, "What happened to Remus? And how is your bloodline so pure?" Aliyah replied, "I don't know. According to the clan records, he suddenly disappeared. As for my bloodline, it is Bloodline Atavism." Aliyah didn't tell the truth because she didn't want to expose Azrael without his permission. Kassandra then said, "I won't force you to return to the Eastern Continent but I hope you will agree to three of my wishes." She replied, "It depends on the wishes, if they are not too much I will agree." Kassandra then said, "First, I would like to appoint you as a Princess of the Noxcor Clan and announce my relationship with you. Second, I would like for you to visit the ancestral house just once, to carve your name in the family records. And lastly, could you call me Grandma, at least once? I could never hear the word, Mom, from Remus due to the circumstances but..." Kasandra didn't complete her sentence but everybody understood what she meant.
Aliyah was a bit flustered by the sudden show of emotions. Her mother had died while giving birth to her so she never had a maternal figure in her life. Then she heard Lily's voice in her head, "Whether you want to accept or not is your choice but I can tell you that she is telling the truth. I can feel maternal emotions from her when she looks at you." She looked at Lily, who just nodded and took a deep breath. She looked into Kassandra's expectant eyes and said, "I agree to all of your conditions but, Twilight Empire will remain independent and won't be a part of the Noxcor Clan...Grandma." Tears of joy appeared in Kassandra's eyes and she stood up from her seat before hugging Aliyah.
Aliyah was overwhelmed by the hug but didn't push her away and just hugged her back. After the hug ended, Aleina looked at Aliyah and said with a mischievous and slightly arrogant tone, "I guess that makes me your aunt. Quickly call me Aunty Aleina and I will..." but was interrupted by her "I won't call you anything other than just Aleina unless you can beat me in a fight fair and square." Aleina looked at her mother for support but she just said, "She's right, you know. She has turned her empire into one of the strongest forces on the Central Continent. So unless you can defeat her, she can call however she wants as long as it is not disrespectful."
Kassandra did this to motivate Aleina and to show Aliyah that she wasn't partial. Then she looked at Azrael and said, "We also need to talk." Azrael nodded and said, "I've already given the order to resume business with the Dark Elves. Even if other merchants don't, you don't need them anymore." She looked at him deeply and just said, "Be careful, this much power can easily lead to other people's jealousy." But his answer shocked her, "In front of absolute power nothing else matters." What Azrael didn't tell was that he had an army of 10 million Elysian Mentors that could level any force if he ordered them to.
They talked some more and decided to tour the Empire the next day.
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