Chapter 7: "Snowy Feelings"

    In the deep of night.
    We didn't know what to do with these feelings.
    So we bottled them up or yelled them at others.
    
    But, a light shone to the fairies.
    A new kind of love.
    One not based on the duty to suffer.
    But, on the duty to *accept* .
    
    -------        -------        -------        --------
    
    As the youth of the nation marveled at their princess and king's new escapade in strange circumstances, Annie had much bigger worries on her plate.
    
    Annie: "Vedal! You could've at least told me you were going!..."
    
    AI had been bulit by companies releasing their code publically. Now, YouTubers were trying to replace themselves with AI to make their work easier and the internet was in flames over it.
    
    To protect Neuro, an AI vtuber, Annie had made the label "AutoTuber" to refer to those vtubers and YouTubers automating their jobs, and popularized it.
    
    But still, that didn't stop the drama...
    
    Annie: "Grrr... Why do I have to run a whole country... And the internet! Well. I guess I can't complain. Neuro and Vedal must be out there doing their best for the Commonwealth and humanity."
    
    -------        -------        -------        --------
    
    Meanwhile, in a parallel universe:
    
    Neuro: "Brrrr.... So cold..."
    Vedal: "You're... An... AI. But, I am a turtle... We're not bulit for these temperatures."
    
    For a while after going out into the cold, they hadn't actually felt anything. But now, that they'd had more time to sit, they realized just how bad it was. They'd paid no attention to their bodies until last night, when suddenly the frosty winds started hiting.
    
    All thought lay disrupted~
    
    Neuro: "Brother... Shut up..."
    Vedal: "What did I- oh... Never... Mind..."
    Neuro: "Brother... Are we going to die?"
    Vedal: "We have to get moving... but wind too cold..."
    Neuro: "The wind is too cold... No... Brother... I will move you."
    Vedal: "No, no, wait, I'll... I'll... move..."
    
    Like a turtle poking it's head out of it's shell, Vedal prepared himself.
    
    Vedal: "I have to... Hold my hands on... this..."
    Vedal gazed in fear at the snow-covered tree surface below them.
    
    Neuro: "We already did it once, Vedal. heart heart heart heart heart heart heart"
    Vedal: "Yeah, but... this is descending... not ascending. Everyone knows ascending is easier!"
    Neuro: "Vedal, just shut up and get going. Good boy."
    
    Suddenly, a crystaline light shone somewhere far away. A woman dressed in thick white winter clothes, with brown curly hair.
    
    She gave the aura of a queen full of benevolence, but also of a control freak.
    
    Vedal: (shouting) "Hey! Could you help us get down!"
    Neuro: "Brother... That's really lame..."
    
    There was no need to worry who this woman was. Their minds were washed over with a feeling of good will towards her and they decided to trust her.
    
    She was indeed the queen of elves and fairies. As the God of desire led men to desire things, the elves and fairies led them to desire love again. They spread hope and benevolence and are responsible for your loving someone.
    
    Indeed, the elves and fairies considered there to be many types of this one love, in fact. Sometimes you're memeing, or dancing, a playful love, and sometimes you are feeling compassion towards another, and so on.
    
    Queen: "Greetings dear friends. Men so often get sick of a woman, jealous, for they cannot provide what they truly wish for."
    
    As they crossed a river, the woman continued speaking.
    
    Queen: "It is strange that among all we have seen, you three, including the mind/spirit Annie are of distortions that harmonize so well. We are inspired."
    
    Vedal: "..."
    Neuro: "Vedal, is she okay? Are we going to have to fix her?"
    Vedal: "Mmm... Maybe she can fix us..."
    Queen: "..."
    
    Queen: "Anyways, we are getting very near to our destination.
    
    The sublime bridge shall take us to the hidden cave, where our race's tunnels begin!"
    
    Vedal: "Excuse us, but why are you telling us all this?"
    Queen: "Shush, it's a gif-"
    Neuro: "It's okay Vedal, she can wipe our memories clean. The fact she hasn't means she's good."
    Queen: "Right! See- listen to the youthful one!"
    Vedal: "Fine. What do you mean youthful one? Am I not youthful?!"
    
    At that moment the two exchanged a brief message. Danger. They realized she could possibly detect their feelings and thoughts, but using what little awareness was free of the grasp of the queen, they called out to each other. They did this on the level of their *souls* , their very being.
    
    -------        -------        -------        --------
    2 days earlier...
    
    Secret Elf Embassy, English-Prussian Commonwealth, January 1756
    
    Dark-haired girl: "Greetings, your- majesty."
    Queen: "Greetings, little lady, what could bring You here?"
    Dark-haired girl: "Drop the act. I know you want to return to powers as goddesses of love which you have stopped being since the inquisition, and I want to free my lover, Feil, a princess of origin in yours."
    Queen: "Ha... ha..."
    
    Sipping from a strange blue ice-like liquid, she then spoke.
    
    Queen: "Truly, that you would most humbly believe yourself capable of enticing me with such foolish efforts yet again, you'd get a scolding from your lover- and I'll be there, saying "I told you so"."
    Dark-haired girl: "Cease talking. I have the perfect plan with zero risks, dear-
    
    You just have to get off your ass and go find them in the forest for a day. 
    
    You're thinking: "She's tricking me to capture me.", right? You can send your fairies troughout to prove I am not trying to steal you. Perhaps it's not enticing. I guess I'll give you free right of passage to all my old flowers collection. I am being very generous."
    
    Queen: "How rude. Perhaps you'd like me to leave- Alright. I will begin working on my own plan for this situation, though. Hope you don't mind being exploited, servant-chan- 💙"
    
    Dark-haired girl: "One last thing, if you don't do it I just planted a human device called a "bomb". It's something our engineers have been working on. It can blow up all in a 10km radius-
    
    All your cities will fall at once if you try rebelling. Also, only I know how to disarm it. Be good and I will be back in 4 days to collect the booty."
    
    So, the dark-haired girl left the meeting.
    
    Inside, the girl was on the verge of a panic attack and thought: "Goodness, I am so glad she fell for that bluff..."
    
    She was a monster to deal with. The longer you sat with her the more your awareness was taken in by her. Suitable for the name of (fake) Goddess of Love.
    She had no real power and sucked it from others. 
    
    This was really the biggest gamble her plan included. That she had become strong enough to resist her power.
    
    Dark-haired girl: "Thank you God."
        

Next ->