Queen of cakes

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Ryaine then call the team to continue on their journey, now going West for their next checkpoint.
“Well thanks for the story Kabbu”
“You’re welcome”
“It was inspiring but also a bit tragic, hope you doing well”
“Don’t worry, it’s all in the past, we should just continue on our own journey”
“*grumble* My song is definitely better than that story”
“Ryaine, how much more walking we have to do, I feel like we have been walking for hours and hours”
“Vi, we just rested 5 minutes ago”
“I know but we have been in the Forsaken land for what feels like days, where are we even going anyway”
“Vi, we are going to the next checkpoint, it won’t be long, just half time we take to get to that resting spot”
“Checkpoints?”
“For easier navigation, I set up checkpoints in our path like the ones we were at, it’s set up as a flagpole in a middle of nowhere”
“How many more checkpoints we have to go...”
“There are three checkpoints, we just went by the first one so just two more”
“ARRGH!!! WHY DID I SIGN UP FOR THIS”
“Don’t be such a whiny bee Vi”
“I have an idea, how about we all play some trivia games about each other while we are on our journey”
“Sure”
“Ok”
“Yeah”
“Sounds fun”
“I will win this”
“Don’t worry Mothiva”
“Well… I guess…”
“Great, then how about we start with some trivia about the past of our own species”
“What do you mean by that”
“Like before we become sentient and live longer”
“For example...”
“Did you know, honeybees like Vi once use the movement of their body to communicate, in shorter terms, bees used to dance to speak with other bees”
“Vi, are you good with dancing?”
“No... well I never try to”
“You should try it sometimes”
“And teach us some moves”
“Kabbu, Leif, Gen, Eri, I doubt I can’t teach you any moves, I hardly dance, the last time I did was like when I was very young”
“I imagine Vi would probably be good at ballet or tango...”
“Uhh what is ballet or tango”
“Dance styles, something the trivia book says, not sure what they are supposed to be”
“Trivia book?”
“It’s a book that contain a lot of facts, trivia and cultures from around the world, at least that’s what the book says, I got it from Ryaine”
“Huh, can I see it”
“Sure”
Vi checks out the trivia book, she is unable to read it.
“What language is this written in, I can’t read it at all, Leif, can you read this”
“…Nope, this isn’t Bugnish nor Roach dialect, it’s another language entirely”
“Huh, Ryaine, do you know what kind of language is this written in”
“It’s written in the Common English, it’s the language the people from the Westland uses”
“So then… do you understand them”
“I am not really sure, it’s been more than 5 years since I used the language, I am already very rusty at that point”
“Say, that looks like a moth, what does that writing says”
“it says “Moths are nocturnal insects, which mean they are more active at night than day, this is also why their wings are commonly more dull than butterflies that are diurnal” end of sentence”
“Well that explains why Leif is very awake at nighttime”
“My wings are not dull, this book is a disgrace”
“Mothiva, your wings are fine, they’re not dull”
“Huh there is some writing beside a wasp picture”
“That says “Bees evolve from Wasp after they become accustomed to consuming pollen from flowers” end of sentence”
“What does “evolve” means”
“That means Vi and Zasp are related”
“What?!”
“No, me and him can’t be related, we don’t even grow up together”
“I have to agree with her, I am not related to her”
“No I mean like they are related by a common ancestor that existed was like several hundred thousand moons ago, you two are distinct species related by the same genus and are more related by genetics than you would think”
“Uh Ryaine, what is genetics and genus”
“Genetics is a study on how heredity and variations within a living organism”
“Evolve, genetic, genus, heredity, variations, organism, what the heck are these fancy sciency words and where the heck you learn any of this”
“The same trivia book”
“This book contains some interesting concept of science”
“I don’t know, I think both professor Honeycomb and Docter H.B at the hive would be interested in this, I am just confused on how me and Zasp are “genetically” related with each other, nevermind the fact I don’t even know what that word means”
“Well, how about this one, ants can lift 10 to 50 times their own body weight, in other words, Gen and Eri here can easily lift 10 to 50 of their own kind alone”
“10 to 50 times?! How the heck ants are that strong, I can’t even lift Kabbu for longer than 30 seconds without my body getting sore and meanwhile Gen and Eri can lift 50 ants easily?!”
“Thanks for the compliment though we are not that strong”
“Perhaps you never tried to push yourself to your limits, maybe you just haven’t realised your potential”
“Well thanks for the encouraging words, Maki, but we never seen another ant that can carry more than 3 other ants, let alone 10 to 50”
“For your question Vi, something about their muscle structure and their exoskeletons which allows them to have such strengths, terms you probably wouldn’t get it either”
“I have so much questions, like how what the heck is this books source and how the heck the book’s sources even get these kinds of facts and statements”
“Its sources were the old books the giant’s left”
“Wait… the giants?”
“Yup, those books were filled with all the knowledge the giants have left us”
“Huh”
“The giants must have been one cultured and scientific kingdom to have made such book filled with knowledge, science and culture of other bugs”
“Wonder why they haven’t contact with Bugaria”
“Well from what I can remember, there was a war 150 years ago that kills many of the giants”
“What kind of war? And how did so many died”
“Well, I don’t know… maybe when we get to the kingdom, we could check their libraries, it prob would have the answer”
“How about we continue with the trivia, did you know that there are more than 350,000 species of beetles, each with its own unique diet, body and colouring”
“350,000- How the heck, Kabbu you had 350,000 brothers and sisters?!”
“Ehh… no Vi I don’t…”
“No, Vi… misunderstand what species means, it’s just that there are 350,000 bugs that falls under the classification of beetles”
“So, what counts as a beetle”
“Well Bark beetles, Dung beetles, Ground beetles, Weevils-”
“Wait Weevils, the creature we fought back at Forsaken lands, the ones that ambushed us… is related to Kabbu”
“Yeah, they’re both on the order of Coleoptera, which also includes ladybugs-”
“Wait, Doppel is actually a beetle”
“Yup, same order of Coleoptera”
“Well, this is embarrassing”
“Well Leif, guess we settle that argument, give me the 250 berries you bet… later, when we get home”
“Still, he is a ladybug, that horn he has is fake, want to bet 250 berries on that”
“Nah, I stopped gambling since I just won 250 berries”
“…damn you Vi”
“Say Vi, since you’re a bee, do you know any bee that eats royal jelly”
“Yeah, maybe, why?”
“Well this books tells me that, new queen bees are born when a young bee continues to eat royal jelly, which allows them to mature their reproductive organs and become the queen of the hive when the old queen”
“Are you… kidding me”
“What is it Vi”
“SHE… WILL BE THE NEW QUEEN?!”
“Uhh… Vi, please calm down”
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME, she is literally the most snobbish bee I ever seen and she is the FUTURE QUEEN?!”
“Well, if it makes you any better, if multiple queen bees appear, they may fight to the death to get dominance”
“Well, she better not win this or so help me, say Lyra, does the book has anything about turning me into a Queen bee”
“Well, how old are you Vi?”
“I don’t know…16, 17 years old?”
“And how long does the average bee live”
“…40, 50, 60 years? I don’t really know how old bees can live, I only know that they can be very old, like both professors back at the hive”
“Well, you are way too late sadly, it basically takes just 17 days for bees to mature according to the book... so about 3-5 years”
“Ugh dammit, why am I a worker bee and not a queen bee, I can rule better than she ever will”
“Well, we like you just the way you are”
“Also, as a queen, you likely never be able to go exploring”
“Well if you think it that way, I guess I like being a worker bee now”
“Say you dorks done with trivias about yourself, what the trivia about me, Mothiva, the best singer in Bugaria-”
“Silk moth cocoons are killed to be harvested and reeled to be made into a fabric called silk…”
“…”
“Well, you didn’t ask what kind of trivia so”
“The giants harvested bugs for fabric…”
“Well, they aren’t truly benevolent, nor truly evil, some are very good while others are torturous, in this case, if nobody complains, nobody is stopping them”
“Now I feel like we are lucky that they haven’t come for us… or Bugaria”
“Well, most of them just avoids Bugs in general, some admired bugs due to their beauty, some are taking care of them for their own entertainment, another care them to keep some of their species alive, a lot care them for producing goods, and the smallest percentage kill bugs for some power trip, as I said, not everyone is truly good or evil”
“Jeez Ryaine, how did you know so much about the giants”
“Back where I was from, it was taught to many of us regarding their history and interaction to preserve our history and origins, our culture is somewhat build from their culture, we speak and write in their most common language”
“I have a question that is stirring in me for a while, if you know so much about the Westland kingdom, why didn’t the Queen tell me or team Snakemouth regarding them with this much detail you just gave to us”
“…well, nobody asked me more about it, I am guessing vague wordings also is a part”
“Anyway, we are about to reached our next resting spot, we will be camping the day now since its getting too dark for a safe journey, we’ll continue tomorrow, hang tight“
“Huh, I was having fun with the trivia, didn’t realised it was already dark”
“The fog is probably a part of why it did”
After that whole trivial discussion about everyone’s species trivia, they reached the second checkpoint of their journey, after a bit of flattening and arguing on who gets which spot, everyone pulled out their tent set and tried to assemble a tent following Ryaine’s instruction,
some were successful, some let their ego get away in making a successful tent and had to get help embarrassingly, once everyone set up their tent, they all went to have some of Lyra’s stew near the campfire and have some conversations.
“Well thanks for the stew Lyra”
“Your, welcome”
“It's very good, it's not Jayde’s level but it’s cutting it close”
“Admitably, it’s very delicious for a stew, not as good as the one I made”
“Safe those backhanded compliments for someone else Mothiva, let just enjoy what we have and just have fun in the journey”
“Say Lyra, what is your secret in making the stew”
“It's simply the use many different ingrediant to get a complex flavor and adjusting the amount of ingredients used to stick out two or three flavor profiles of the stew”
“Huh, what ingredients did you use”
“That’s a chef’s secret Eri, I’ll probably reveal it soon but not today”
“Well, I think this is a good time to recap the expedition's plan”
"We've just passed two out of three checkpoints, after the third, we will be out of the forsaken land and finally get to the Westfields, a grassy plain that will have sunlight coming through"
"So how much longer will it take to get to the Westland kingdom?"
"Still a while, we're still about two Bugarias away,"
"Ugh, couldn't we go any faster, my fans are probably missing me back at Bugaria"
"Nope, we're already on the fastest route, you shouldn't rush out of here since we can easily get lost in the fog."
"Ryaine?"
"Yeah, Sir Maki?"
"What are your plans for this expedition, especially one that gets the sponsorship of the Queen"
“A few reasons, I have a bit of a desire to lead an expedition, I wanted to go back where I was from”
“Say, how did you get to Bugaria from the Westland kingdom”
“Well, way back at 6 years ago, I was with on a team exploring this area, I can’t remember much but I think we were in the Forsaken lands trying to do some recon to find other civilization, then a beast attacked and I was the only survivor”
“Ryaine, I am so sorry...”
“I hope you are doing okay”
“Yeah, I am fine, I gotten over it very fast, I can’t remember much but we manage to get as far as the first checkpoint we were in. After the attack, I tried to salvage as much as I could before I ran away to safety, the few things I salvage include the clock, the map we had, this compass, a helmet and shield that I cannibalize for stuffs, and this”
Ryaine pulls out a small glass vial sealed in a wine cork, it contained a shiny and luminous substance in it
“What’s that, it’s so shiny”
“This substance is what we known, as Shifting Energy Matter or SEM matter for short, it’s a very rare substance that in very short terms allows magic in a magicless word”
“IDK, it just looks like some old shiny substance to me”
“Nope, he is probably right Vi, we could feel its energy from the vial, it is indeed likely magical”
“Well then, how does it work”
“I don’t really know much but if I remember correctly, its powers lies inside a living being”
“Ehh...”
“It means that its potential lies greatest when it is inside of you, literally”
“What kind of powers can you get from it”
“A lot, from what I know, it allows control of all the elements from fire to ice to lightning and probably some more”
“So, basically Leif’s ice magic but more varied”
“Basically, though you need more than a small vial to allow such potential to be unlocked, another reason why I set up the expedition”
“Say if Ryaine originally came from the Westland Kingdom, how about Lyra, you both look like your related”
“I may be very close to Ryaine but we aren’t related, he just raised my as a father figure, I was very much born in Bugaria, Ryaine found me in my cocoon and raised me to what I am now, I don’t remember anything past being born”
“All this talk about backstory makes me bored, you guys want to hear that song already”
“I think you all should go rest now, also Mothiva, it isn’t a good time to sing at this time, the beast is more active at this time”
“*grumble* fine then, only because I can’t die here, not alone in the middle of nowhere anyways”
“I’ll be on guard duty, in case anything tries to attack us, if you hear shaking or growling, then don’t move and make a sound before I say to do anything”
“Well good night”
“Good night”
“Good night”
“Good night”
“Good night, I guess…”
Everyone went back to their tent and went to sleep, the tent set include an extra bedding that can used as a thin yet slightly-more-comfortable-than-the-floor, comfortable mattress, though not everyone can easily on their mattress, especially if a tent is shared by three people and a chomper
“Kabbu, can you move, you took like half of the space”
“We think you should move a bit back and sleep horizontally to the mattress to fit more”
“Why me...”
“Vi, you are the smallest member of the team, you could fit in less space”
“Easy for you to say Leif, when you are the tallest member of the team-”
“...zzz....”
“You got to be kidding me”
As Kabbu, Leif and Chompy went to sleep instantaneously before Vi able to argue with any of them, Vi had to settle with the uncomfortable end of the mattress, still too small for the small bee, after spending several minutes unable to sleep, she decides to get out and check outside the tent, she only saw the campfire burning on a bunch of lit charcoal and no one else near it,
“Huh, Ryaine’s not here...”
“Wait, Ryaine is not here, didn’t he said to be on guard duty-”
“Hold up, a written message”
To anyone who found this, I am out to do some quick recon, if you don’t make a lot of noise, you should be ok. If you need my help, please hopefully don’t because you wouldn’t be able to find me out here at night, you probably should just wait and hope I came fast instead. If you see anything big, warn the other and quickly run into your tent and don’t get out till I said to get out.

• Ryaine

“Well guess I’ll be on guard duty…”
Vi then sat around the campfire and pull her notebook out, the notebook was a bunch of paper to a fastener made out of welded plastic and having a leafy cover.
She uses it keep around her tasks, her ideas, and sometimes her own fictional stories, she has been working on an adventure genre story inspired by her team for several moons now, today she is doodling on the notebook, well if you live with the most famous artist of your land, you probably learned a lot regarding how to draw, would you?
Meanwhile with Ryaine
“Well, don’t worry about it, it’s not going to be very long, I’ll get back before anyone notice”
Ryaine is currently inside a crater, collecting a shiny luminous substance into a glass jar, much to anyone’s knowledge, he was already out pretty much the second everyone went in their tent and took a half an hour walk towards the site following the movement of his vial
“Well, this is already all I can get from the crater, it’s a good yield for what’s it’s worth and rarity, better get to the camp now, Lyra would missed me”
Ryaine then went to the crater’s edge and scale out of the site, and plans to backtrack back to his camp, lucky that he already records the direction he takes,
“Well, another left and right and we are done.”
“…”
“This feels way too safe…”
Ryaine looks around twice
“It’s above me?”
He looks up, nothing on him
“Below?”
Not below him either
“Well probably paranoia, better get there fast, am I right?”
“Yeah definitely”
“Good, well I am-”
“Wait…”
“Well, fuc-”
Ryaine quickly make a dash back to his tent, with the beast following behind him, he makes jumps, quick dodges and the both-party-stops-for-a-moment-to-pant-and-quickly-chases-again thing, with his glowing jar lighting up the way, meanwhile back at the camp
“…zzz…”
Vi has fallen asleep next to the campfire, notebook on hand.
Meanwhile back with Ryaine
“F*ck, f*ck, f*ck-”
Back to Vi again, the grounds beside her starts shaking and wakes her up a bit
“Ugh… Leif, I am-”
“Oh, a dream, and some rumbling…”
“Wait, rumbling, f*ck, the beast is coming”
Vi then tries to get back at her tent
Meanwhile back with Ryaine, he is now beside the campfire, trying to deal with the beast
“RAWRRR”
“Well, still as loud as I remember”
Meanwhile back at Vi, she is now responding to Ryaine… wait a minute, how can she respond back, if she… right, Vi didn’t make it to her tent and witnessed the beast herself and its very loud roaring, reminiscence of the Primal Weevil roars mixed with Deadlander screeches
“Oh f*ck, Ryaine that’s the f*cking beast?!”
“…a little help here, would be nice”
The Beast encounter
Set:
Starts with Ryaine in the front, Vi in the back, Items disabled, turn relay disabled and spying disabled, the battle ends with Vi reaching 0 HP
Track played: “???” (Deadlander assault theme), track 79 by Tristan Alric
Ryaine (Playable stats)
HP: 35, Defence: 2
Basic attack:
Slash: 6 damage + 1 piecing, attacks by timing a button press like Chompy’s attack
Skills:
Charged strike: 10 damage + 1 piecing, attacks by holding down like Kabbu’s heavy strike
(3 TP)
Defend: Protects Vi for a turn, taking half the damage she would have gotten otherwise
(2 TP)
Heal: Heal itself or its allies for 12 HP
(3 TP)
The Beast
HP: 200, Defence: 5
Special:
Scripted to use a KO strike after turn 8
When one of the character falls, the battle ends
Moves:
Slap: does 12 damage
Rush: Does 7 damage to all party
Charge: Roars for a turn and gets charged
KO strike: Roars and does 99 damage to the front and middle party, only does so after a specific trigger
““RAWRRR”
“Ugh… it’s soo strong…”
“Hang tight Vi…”
Ryaine then pulls out a second sword and slash the beast with it
“RAAWRRR”
“It’s effected, Vi get-”
“[Stab noise]”
“Ryaine!!”
“[Crashing sound and glass shattering noises]”
“Urgh…dammit”
“RAWRRR”
“What is that noise, COULDN’T YOU-”
“Oh, F*CK”
“RAWRRR”
“AHH”
Mothiva awaken by the several very loud roars, went to check outside and see the beast outside near her tent, understandably she quickly panic in fear and went cuddle Vi who is also in fear as well
“[sword slashing sound]”
“RAAAWRRR”
“Maki, thank goodness you’re here”
“Get that motherf*cking monster of a beast out of here, I can’t die here alone”
“Same…”
“Kina get Ryaine some medical attention, I’ll deal with the beast”
“Maki… use the sword… it effects it”
“Jeez why did Maki think I should be a nurse when I am more than capable of helping him”
“Thanks… regardless… Kina”
Maki then uses the sword and slash the Beast with it, it roared for its last time and run away from the camp
“Is the beast are gone?”
“Yeah… it already ran away”
“Phew we are still alive”
“Yeah, that could be worse-”
“…”
“Vi, get off me”
“Well, I was scared, you were too”
“NO, YOU WERE”
“NO, YOU WERE”
“NO-”
“Please, everyone calm down”
“…yes?”
“We just had a run in with the beast, we should make sure everyone is doing safe and fine, I’ll check the surrounding, the rest of you check the inside of the tents”
“Kay”
“Fine, I guess”
Everyone then went to do their duties, Vi went to her tent and fine, Kabbu, Leif and Chompy still sleeping soundly
“COME ON NOW, that many roars and literally none of them wakes up, HOW DID-”
“Oh, heavy sleeper badge…”
Meanwhile at Mothiva’s tent
“ZASP HOW THE HECK YOU STILL ASLEEP-”
“Oh, WHY YOU WERE EATING MY-’
Meanwhile at Maki’s tent
“p-please h-help me m-Maki, there is a scary roar”
“Don’t worry Yin, I’ll protect you from any danger”
Meanwhile at Gen and Eri’s tent
“Last tent, I guess I’ll check it-”
“AHHH”
“Get away from us you monster”
“GEN, ERI, THE MONSTER ALREADY LEFT”
“Oh, Kina, well guess we’re fine Eri”
“Yup Gen”
“Ugh… why did they both even come along with us”
Meanwhile on Ryaine
“Well, seems like everything is fine- huh?”
Ryaine saw a shiny, luminous clump on the ground, he went to check it out
“Well must be the substance, well the jar broke, guess I’ll get a new jar-”
“Hey Ryaine, found something?”
“Nothing important, …I just finished checking, everything is fine”
“…Ryaine why are you stuttering”
“What do you mean”
“From what I learn from living you for 3 years, you never stutter even in stressful condition, that would mean you either hiding something from me or trying to make a lie against me”
“Well fine, I just found more SEM matter around the campsite, I am going to go and store it somewhere”
“Oh ok”
Ryaine then went to his tent and puts the substance in a wrapped box as he ran out of jars, everyone then went to the campfire
“Ok everyone, what did you find”
“A heavy sleeper badge”
“A missing drowsy cake”
“Two very paranoid Ants”
“Nothing important”
“Well good then, I also didn’t find anything important, we’re very likely to be safe, we also probably should go back to bed, we have a long day ahead of us”
“Ok then”
Everyone then went into their tents and went to sleep, except Vi who still can’t sleep very well, she decided to force herself into the middling portion of the bed, due to heavy sleeper badge, neither Leif nor Kabbu woke up even when they got thrown off to the less comfortable soil. It is a long day for the expedition team and a rest is more than deserved here, with the beast and all.

Meanwhile, in Bodeland.
Graham had felt he had learned a great many things from Marjory.
"You, John Graham are a headache." Said Marjory.
Graham smiled with embarrassment.
"I did ask you to teach me." Said Graham. "You said yes."
Marjory turned toward Graham.
"Perhaps you should read more, if you desire knowledge to improve oneself." Said Marjory.
"And what if I get a headache for reading." Said Marjory.
"Then you should probably read out in the snow." Said Marjory. "I think your brain would worry about the cold more than the sickness of a couple of words."
At once, they found themselves in the grassy valley where the home of Steward of Bodeland resides.
"Now why did you insist to escort me home again?" asked Marjory with a suspicious tone.
Graham was embarrassed.
"Well, um, chivalry, maybe?" said Graham with an embarrassed smile.
Marjory grabbed him by his collar with one hand, while another held a book close to her chest.
Graham was taller than Marjory, but once she grabbed him by his collar he crouched down below her height.
She looked into his eyes like she was trying to find cracks in a shield.
"Right!?' she said.
She let go at that moment, Graham caught his breath.
She had a strong grip for a girl, or maybe Graham liked to think that.
"Heh." Said Graham. "Some say the pen is mightier than the sword, then why not try training with both?"
Graham looked towards his right.
He saw a cross with a ring loping the arms and stem.
"Why is a Boru Cross made in the green field?" asked Graham.
"No one knows who built it." Said Marjory. "Although I guess it is a form of art, a Boru Cross in the middle of a large green field."
Graham started jogging towards.
"Where are you going?" asked Jory.
"To pray!" replied Graham.
"Why." Responded Marjory.
"Why not." Replied Graham. "I am still living, Jory, a prayer is always a good thing, remember the teachings from our church."
"I told you not to call-me." Said Jory, but the words could not come from her mouth.
She sighed then turned away to walk home, then a wind blew in her face.
She then turned her face in Graham's direction.
Graham was kneeling beneath the cross, with his sword stabbed in the ground.
The wind had stopped blowing hard and was now blowing lightly.
The air had now become light and peaceful, and Jory still saw Graham, bowed down in silence.
Graham stood still like a statue, even though the wind blew hair into his closed eyes.
His sword stabbed the ground next to him, with a firm grip of his strong hands, yet despite all this the boy still desired to prove himself, in fields you wouldn't expect him to be.
Jory smiled lightly by just looking at Graham in the peaceful atmosphere of wind and silence.
https://preview.redd.it/8b71scz8ul1d1.png?width=544&format=png&auto=webp&s=35847eb3bf3f033c7877ae4039a4a9586313d7bd
She then opened the door, entered then tried closing it but the wind was too hard at that moment.
At once another hand helped her close it, it was her father.
"Papa, you are done with work, earlier than usual." Said Marjory in surprise.
"That I am." Replied Mr. Halliday. Sitting down in a chair, "So what do you think of him?"
"Him!?" said Marjory in surprise.
"John Graham." Said Mr. Halliday. "I talked with him, and he has agreed to wed you, when you both come of age.
Marjory was shocked.
"W-Wed!?" she said in shock.
She then turned around, not facing her father.
Steward Andrew Halliday had predicted that his daughter may not take a betrothal well.
"Look, Marjory, I did this because I love you, I want what is best for you." Said Andrew Halliday. "I've taught John Graham as student-."
Marjory put her hand up to stop her father from speaking.
"I'm not upset, Papa." Said Marjory to Steward Halliday's surprise. "I admit Graham, he is an odd fellow, a bit hot headed at times..."
Marjory turned towards her father.
"But he at least is humble and tries to improve in areas he falls flat." Said Marjory, with a small smile, and eyes looking like they could water at any second but didn't.
She hugged her father.
Steward Halliday was shocked.
"Thank you for the splendid choice, Papa." Said Marjory.
Steward Halliday hugged back.
"I'm glad, you approve, my dear." He spoke.
While all this happened, Wallace and Ehou had finally arrived at the lands owned by the Okami clan.
"Woah." Said Ehou. "This noble clan of the land of Fire has taken a Boudican influence."
He gazed upon the Medieval Boudican stone walls.
On the walls, there was a mix of Boudican sentries, and Land of Fire sentries.
The Boudican sentries had spears, shields and arrows alike for weaponry. As for clothing, they wore either leather jerkins, or cloth tunics, embroldened with the colors of Fife.
The Land of Fire sentries wore an attire, surprising to Ehou, they were not Shinobi.
They rather wore attire similar to the Samurai of the Land of Iron, albeit different in their own style with some Boudican influence.
The wore leather jerkins with breastplates, with spears, arrows, and shields with the symbol of a wolf in the moon.
"Why don't they have Shinobi up here?" asked Ehou.
"Shinobi are for the most part exclusive to the main villages." Replied William. "Most clans of nobility connected to the Daimyo have their traditional private militias, because they wouldn't want the Hidden Leaf intermingling in their affairs."
"Sounds a bit like they oppose the Leaf." Said Ehou.
"Why else would the Daimyo's area forbid Hidden Leaf ninja's from operating in it." Said William. "Sounds like the Daimyo wants to be self-reliant on his own means."
William knocked on the front door to the new castle of the union of Fife and the Okami clan.
The door opened immediately.
"Are there Boudicans living here?" asked Ehou.
"Of course there are, Macduff the Earl of Fife lives here, so of course his pheasants and few clan members would come to live here with them." Said William. "Don't worry they don't hate me like Bodeland, or at the very least tolerate me, which I am thankful for."
An Okami clan messenger opened the gate.
"Well, Macduff's squire are you?" Said an Okami clan messenger at the gate.
"That I am." Replied William Wallace.
"And who might your brother in arms in be?" asked the messenger.
"A new Boudican squire named Ehou Norimaki, a squire of Shinobi and Boudican blood?" said William.
The messengers eyes lit up.
"Oh, Lady Tsukasa would be dyeing to see this, the both of you?" said the messenger with humble courtesy. "Might I direct you to her and Lord Macduff."
"That is why I am here sir?" replied William.
"They are in their private house on the mountain, I'm sure the both of you will be a pleasant surprise for them." Said the messenger.
The boys climbed the mountain on their horses.
Ehou was in awe as they climbed the mountain, the trees were of a different breed, there was more moss than usual.
"What happened here, this does not look like the Land of Fire." Said Ehou.
"Seems the Earl of Fife, has added Boudican greenery." Said William Wallace with a smirk, so big, it was like he threatened to smile. "It is like we are traveling to the ancient mytholigical city of Avalon, maybe we are knights of the round table of ancient Arthurian Legend, I am Sir Gawain, and you are Sir Galahad, perhaps Macduff is our King Arthur, and Lady Tsukasa is our Queen Gwenevere."
"No." replied Ehou. "I am Sir Gawain, you are Sir Mordred, the throne will be mine, once I take down you! You Usurper!"
"Alright Gawain, defend your king then." Said William Wallace in a joking tone. "Lets race to the King."
"Alright, Bordred! but not too fast, I have no desire to destroy the greenery." Said Ehou.
The boys ran with their horses up north, but not fast, for they did not wish for their horses to rip up the trees and the fine greenery.
Eventually they found themselves at a humble yet graceful settlement, a cross between an house and castle.
They found Macduff next to the house, in analyzing what it looks like a sword.
"Macduff!" said William Wallace.
Ehou was very confused, William acts more happy with Macduff then his own family in the Leaf.
"William, my boy." Said Macduff. "It has been a while."
Macduff put his hands on William's head.
"Hey." Said William in protest.
"William is closer to Macduff than the Uchiha." Thought Ehou.
Macduff looked towards Ehou Norimaki.
"And you must be Ehou Norimaki, one of the new squires to the band of Macduff." Said said Macduff.
"That I am my lord." Said Ehou.
"Please, a friend of William's does not need such courtesy." Said Macduff putting a hand to his beard. "And you have no idea who your father is?"
"That is correct, my- I mean Macduff." Replied Ehou.
"Interesting." Said Macduff.
Macduff then looked towards home.
"Huh you are just in time, our lady is up from our nap." Said Macduff with a grin. "Wait here, I will make us some drinks real quick."
The boys were confused by Macduff but ultimately obeyed.
Ehou decided to wait by practicing with his sword.
William Wallace decided to wait by reading a book.
After exactly like 1 minute.
"Alright boys, you may come inside now, there is sweet cakes and hot cocoa." Said Macduff.
The boys stopped what they were doing, and walked to go inside.
"Alright, maybe I should eat a sweet cakes with my sword." Said Ehou.
"Unless you want the red smile, I don't recommend you do that." Said William
Once inside, and in the living room with Macduff and Tsukasa, both Ehou and William were shocked beyond words
So shocked they forgot about the hot cocoa and sweet cakes in front of them.
Even after serving themselves with cocoa and sweetcakes, they were still shocked.
All Tsukasa and Macduff did was smile.
Yet still, Ehou and William were shocked.
https://preview.redd.it/dimjt16dul1d1.png?width=931&format=png&auto=webp&s=18f98927e50cc2f5bae2d1e67c624bac662326ed
Both Ehou and William stared blindly at Tsukasa, mainly her stomach.
Her belly was large like an egg.
She was pregnant.
A child of Macduff, a Boudican man, and Tsukasa, a Shinobi woman.
They both knew what this meant.
"Another Half Boudican!" thought both Ehou and William.
"We-we are happy for you both." Said Ehou. "Just wow, another half Boudican."
"This would be the fourth half Boudican to exist, including David Bruce." Said William.
"You know." Said Tsukasa. "I was worried how our child would come out, since he or she may have been the first you know half-Boudican, but upon seeing you, the both of you, my worries were softened, I am more optimistic now, especially after meeting you, William."
"You give me too much credit, my lady." Said William. "If anything, Ehou should be the half-Boudican your child should strive to be like."
"What me?" said Ehou. "I haven't even found out my surcoat yet."
Both Macduff and Tsukasa laughed.
"Only time will tell Ehou, but if you really wish to not be surcoat less." Said Macduff. "Perhaps you should do more digging into your family secrets."
"I suggested the same thing too." Said William.
"I will be sure to do that." Said Ehou. 'But if it is a chicken, I would prefer to surcoat less."
"What is wrong with a chicken?" said both Macduff and William.
Tsukasa laughed.
"I can see where he is coming from, Chickens are seen as jokes in the Land if Fire." Said Tsukasa.
"I would prefer a lion like William and Macduff." Said Ehou. "If not, maybe I'll accept a wolf like yours my lady."
"A-a wolf?" said Tsukasa. "You flatter me."
"Yes, I can take a wolf, a grey wolf's head in an icy white background, I'll take that." Said Ehou.
"What about a pig?" asked Macduff.
"No, a pig is not good, in fact it may be worse than chicken." Said Ehou.
"Oh, this is fun." Said Tsukasa. "What about a boar."
Ehou thought for a second.
"A red boar with a black background sound fearsome." Said Ehou. "I guess."
"It is no use seeing what surcoat you would be ok with." Said William. "What surcoat your father had, is the one you get, same way I didn't choose to be of the Wallace clan, nor did I choose who my mother was, or that I would be related-."
Macduff and Tsukasa were silent.
"I'm just speculating, by the way, what if it is possible my father did not have a surcoat?" Said Ehou.
"Only boys of nobility merely close to babes would undergo such hard training to have their body strong enough to wear chainmail." Said William. "So, in any case your father would have to be a Boudican noble."
"That is correct, although there is one rare case, I recall of a Boru man being knighted by the lordship of Boru." Said Macduff.
"Alright I am getting confused." Said Ehou. "Boudican, Boru and Gorman, this is just confusing, I thought Boudica was an umbrella term."
Macduff was about to speak, but Tsukasa put her soft hand on his hand.
"I will explain it to him, husband." Said Tsukasa. "From one of Shinobi background to another."
Ehou sat down in attention.
William and Macduff were silent.
Tsukasa held up three fingers.
"Well, you are right, Boudica and Boudican are an umbrella term, when we refer to all Boudicans in general." Explained Tsukasa. "However, Boudica the land and world itself, is more or less separated into three different lands, we have mainland Boudica, the largest one, south, we have Gormandy, then west we have the land of the Boru. All three are Boudicans, same culture, usually the same everything, but accents, like for example, Macduff and William here have mainland Boudican accents, the most common one."
"Oh, I see." Said Ehou. "I know what a Gorman accent sounds like...."
Ehou's emotion soured.
Tsukasa noticed.
"What's wrong?" asked Tsukasa.
Ehou didn't respond, so as a result Macduff was curious.
William put his hand on Ehou's shoulder.
"Don't worry Ehou, I trust them, and so should you." Said Ehou.
William looked at Macduff and Tsukasa with a determined face.
"There is something I need to bring up to you. Ehou killed a Gorman Squire named Scrope." Said William, without hesitation.
Everything after that was a haze for Ehou.
Everything was now darkness for Ehou, had he himself passed out?
To himself, it was like he fell into a sea of dark water.
He was drowning,
Drowning
Drowning.
His thoughts in this black sea had finally come to him, his thoughts. No, his memories.
The oldest thing he remembers is his mother drilling in him, certain things needed to live, reading, brushing teeth, tying shoes, telling him the greatness of his late father, Right, that is what he wanted, to be like his father, a great shinobi, yes that was what he wanted to be, what he strived to be.
"But no." thought Ehou. "Whoever my father was, he was never a Shinobi, no, he was a Boudican Knight, a regular mainland Boudican, Gorman or Boru, I did not know."
Perhaps Ehou will never know, for all he knew, he may never know, his memory is already a mess as it is.
He killed the squire, Scrope, he does not how or why, but he did. There is a gap in his memory of what went down, but in one second, he found Scrope confronting him, then the next he was dead. There is no way Ehou had eliminated a squire that quick, at least not quick enough that no one would see.
Ehou clutched his fist.
"Who was my father, but also who was I when I was younger?" thought Ehou. "Before my earliest memories."
"Ehou." Said a voice.
Ehou, who was in the dark sea, now saw a light.
"Ehou." Said the light.
Ehou swam harder and reached the light.
"Gasp." Said Ehou, "I-I'm awake?"
Ehou found himself in a forest, with his Boudican gear, along with his horse as well.
"Your finally awake, geez, are you ok?" Said William.
Ehou collected himself, then remembered what happened.
"You-you told them!" said Ehou with a face of betrayal.
"I did." Said William Wallace.
"Why did you!" yelled Ehou, grabbing the hilt of his sword, still in its scabbard.
William sighed.
"See, that is how a murderer would react." Said William. "And unfortunately, because of your reaction, we had to cut our visit with Lord Macduff and Lady Tsukasa short, especially because I don't want an emotionally destructive warrior boy around a pregnant lady." Ehou was shocked, but he knew William was right. So, he let go of his sword.
William Wallace put his hand on Ehou's shoulder.
"Macduff is one of the closest people to me, closer to me than any of the Uchiha." Reassured William. "He told me he will sort it out with the Boudican Church and whomever Scrope's family is, we will have a fair trial, a private one, so your mother or anyone else would ever know of this."
"Are you sure, I will be fine?" asked Ehou.
"Since we have no way of figuring out that you had a motive for murder." Said William. "I'm sure Lord Macduff will find a way to prove your innocence, he helped me in the toughest spot in my life, I'm sure he will help you."
"You think?" asked Ehou.
"I know?" replied William. "I've seen it myself."
Ehou looked down at his feet.
"I guess I will trust you then." Said Ehou.
"That's the spirit." Said William Wallace. "Now let's get going, onward to the Leaf."
"Wait what's that?" asked Ehou.
William and Ehou looked down from the mountain, and saw an outcast settlement, that looked linked to the Hidden Leaf.
"What's that place?" asked Ehou.
"I don't know." Said William. "But let's go check it out."
The boys went up to the door of the settlement.
There was rugged tape, preventing access, although from the looks of it, it looked dusty and rugged you could hardly tell.
Ehou saw a weary old flag with a gloomy ruined yet very familiar symbol.
"Is that crest the same as your cousins and aunts?" asked Ehou.
"It is." Replied William. "Judged from the state, it is like no one has ever been here for a while, the no-entry tape is run down and dusty."
"Why would they forbid anyone from entering?" asked Ehou.
"The fact, everything is so dusty, means that they could not care to prevent anyone from entering." Said William. "Or maybe they just did a really good job at hiding it, because let's be honest no one in the Leaf even talks about it, let alone mentions it."
"This?" said Ehou.
"A dark truth." Said William.
Both boys entered.
They were all in shock.
"Woah, is this it? Even the blood stains are still here" said Ehou. "They would never teach us this in school."
William Wallace stood dazed looking at the area.
There were still white illustrations of where murdered bodies were slain.
Dried 20 years and older blood was still splattered on road and walls alike.
Houses cracked and broken into.
A memory flash appeared before William's eyes.
He didn't need to guess what this place was, he knew, all too well.
This was the site of the Uchiha Massacre.
https://preview.redd.it/28rz06qhul1d1.png?width=738&format=png&auto=webp&s=e8955222972a9c05b311f0a42d513268cd8fcd01
William decided to look and explore the place.
He went inside a family unit.
He saw an warrior outline of a body at the door to the kitchen of that unit.
He went into the room next to it.
He saw a white outline of body that had dropped a book.
He went into the next house, saw something similar, then the next.
He saw the body outlines varied from size.
In one house, he found the outline of what look like a family having dinner then was slain.
The next house the same thing, except one of the youngest escaped to the closet, only to be dragged out and killed just like his or her family.
The next one may have been even more haunting.
A white outline of a body, a mother, reaching for a cradle, most likely her own baby.
But she was slain in the attempt, as for her child.
The cradle is slice clean in half, another outline under the cradle.
William remained unfazed after seeing all this, but all in all he knew what they meant.
"Huh, this right here is a peace of a cruel and brutal history?" said Ehou. "And we honor the perpetrator, Itachi as one of the greatest heroes ever in the Leaf."
"What do you make of this?" asked William.
"Well, it is horrible, I agree." Said Ehou. "But Itachi did the right thing, the Uchiha would have destroyed the Hidden Leaf, if Itachi did not deal with them."
"Huh?" replied William. "I have a bunch questions, first, how could the Uchiha that are not warriors, namely humble workers, old people, women and children be a threat to the Leaf?"
"Easy, once we eliminate the warriors, they would want revenge." Replied Ehou. "The thing is, the Uchiha are fueled by their emotions, it gives them power, it controls them, so that is why they should all be killed, when they were going to rebel."
"Sounds like murder to me?" replied William.
"It was self-defense." Said Ehou.
"Funny, I could use the same thing to justify a slaughter of certain people, I don't like." Said William.
"They would have destroyed the village." Protested Ehou.
"That is just objective, and an assumption at best." Replied William.
"And you are assuming they wouldn't." shot back Ehou.
"I didn't plus whatever the Uchiha planned to do?" said William. "I think why they did, is a better question then what they were planning to do."
"Tobirama is right." Said Ehou. "Think about it, they were responsible for lots of problems, remember Madara and Obito, after all remember what the Nine Tales did to the Leaf, many witnesses testify it had the tomoe of the Uchiha in it's eyes, plus remember the Akatsuki, as well as instigating the Fourth Great Ninja War."
"Sounds like the Leaf needs a scapegoat." Replied William. "What about the first three Ninja Wars, did the Uchiha start those I wonder, lets see, the Uchiha were relegated to a police force under Tobirama, and forced to locate to the edge of the Village after the nine tales attack, with no say in the direction of the Hidden Leaf, while other clans like the Hyuga had the privelage."
William pointed to Uchiha crest.
"Sounds like they were oppressed by the Leaf." Said William.
"Maybe they should have peacefully protested, instead of you know have an armed revolt." Countered Ehou. "I doubt the Hidden Leaf would allow freedom of speech." Said William. "Then again all nations do that, if I said Madara was right, the elders would demand my head. Plus if you want to argue a peaceful solutions, shouldn't that apply to the Leaf as well."
"Back then was a time of war, a peacefull approach by the Leaf would have made the Hidden Leaf look weak." Said Ehou.
"No, they could have a strong ally, through peaceful negotiation." Countered William. "The Uchiha clan are still ethnic to the Land of Fire, I doubt they would betray the Land of Fire and side with an outside nation."
"Agree to Disagree." Replied Ehou.
William Wallace stood at him at disbelief.
Ehou then looked at the sun.
"Well, it is getting late." Said Ehou. "I want to get home now."
William eyed Ehou suspiciously.
"Very well." Said William. "We will talk about this later, or not?"
The ride back to the Leaf was slow and quite.
Ehou and William did not say a word to each other.
When William and Ehou got back to William's house to undress out of their Boudican gear.
Ehou refuses to leave his chain male shirt, but rather still wear it.
"I am going to tell my mother." Said Ehou.
"Are you sure?" said William. "There is a chance she will try to not let you be a Boudican."
"But I saved many people this day, because of my Boudican prowess." Said Ehou. "I don't think it will be that bad, I hope."
"Well, whatever happens." Said William. "We are still brothers in arms, friends, even though we don't agree on everything."
William gave out his hand.
Ehou smirked
Eho shakes his hand.
"Not just friends, rivals, and fellow brothers that are Half Boudican, remember that?" said Ehou.
"I will." Replied William.
"I'll see you later, Will." Said Ehou, leaving.
"Alright, bye." Replied William, who was also leaving his house for dinner with the Uchiha.

(Not all albums can be seen, but I will list them below).
Disclaimer: Older albums have dust and wear. I will note if there's significant damage. Will not be providing additional photos but I will answer any inquiries. Also, willing to negotiate as I am trying to clean up.
Albums:
Ice Cream Cake Automatic Ver. Full Photocard Set
Red Summer Photocard: Wendy
The Reve Festival D1 Photocard Wendy
Russian Roulette - Water damage/Peeling on top edge of cover Photocard: Seulgi, Joy, Yeri
Rookie - Irene Ver. Photocard: Seulgi, Yeri
The Red Photocard: Group, Irene, Wendy, Seulgi
The Velvet Photocard: Wendy
Peek a Boo Photocard: Wendy
Bad Boy Photocard: Wendy
Really Bad Boy Photocard: Wendy
Reve Festival Finale (1) Postcard: Wendy Photocard: Wendy
Reve Festival Finale (2) Postcard: Yeri Photocard: Irene
Queendom Girls Ver. (1) Photocard: Joy Special Card: Joy Postcard: Irene, Wendy
Queendom Girls Ver. (2) Photocard: Yeri Special Card: Joy Postcard: Irene, Wendy
Queendom Queens Ver. (1) Photocard: Yeri Portrait Card: Joy Postcard: Joy Bookmark: Irene
Queendom Queens Ver. (2) Photocard: Wendy Portrait Card: Wendy Postcard: Wendy Bookmark: Irene
Wendy Like Water Case Ver. Photocard: Peace sign & Winking
Wendy Like Water Photobook Photocard: None; only unofficial cards Postcard: All Bookmark: None
Joy: Hello Cassette, Case, Photobook All original inclusions

The basic fare for a black deluxe taxi is 7,000 won, and a regular taxi is 4,800 won.
Deluxe taxis are not popular because there is no big difference in service.
However, if you are a foreign tourist, you will take an expensive model taxi standing at the front.
At Incheon International Airport and Gimpo Airport, drivers have many acts of calling, tout. Legally, all of these tout is illegal in Korea.
In particular, Model (deluxe) taxi drivers, who are luxury black taxis, engage in a lot of tout.
Deluxe taxis are mainly operated by luxury vehicles, so the basic fare and the additional fare per distance calculation system are different.
It can be said that it is roughly 1.5 to twice as expensive.
And the other driver is a Call Van. It is illegal to carry passengers without heavy luggage in a Call Van.
Call vans have a lot of illegal vehicles, illegal Chinese drivers, and force passengers to pay rip-offs.
Even though 60,000 won from Incheon Airport to Seoul Station is enough, There are reports that they took a fare of W130,000, which is double that.
If you are uncomfortable taking a taxi, choosing a taxi, worrying about the crimes committed by some taxi drivers, and having awkward conversations, it is better NOT to take.
Why don't you take the subway and bus, the most perfect Korean public transportation in the world?
Difficult because you don't speak Korean?
Take your time and ask the Koreans next to you. They are mostly kind.
If you ask why Korean taxi drivers are not honest, they are a very competitive industry and their income is not high.
The bigger reason is that you are a foreigner.
If something has happened to you, call 1330, the official tourist registration number. You need to report it to improve.
Those who went back to their country would say nothing, and if it wasn't good, they would answer by not coming back.
Tteokbokki with 10 rice cakes costs 4,000 won (approx. 6 dollars) and 6000 won (approx. Korean people don't eat soondae that costs 10,000 won (approx. Is it right to sell food that 96 out of 100 Koreans don't eat to people who flew from far away? No.
Most restaurants in Korea have free water on their tables. But they don't give cups to foreign tourists. Because they don't ask for it. But Koreans demand it of course.
Hanbok rental fees, fitting fees, haircut fees, etc. vary widely.
The cost of renting a hanbok is usually around 10,000 to 20,000 won for 2 hours, but a hanbok for a king or queen costs 30,000 to 35,000 won for 2 hours.
Some places said it was 15,000 won for an entire day, so I went in and was charged an additional 10,000 to 15,000 won for the basic hair set.
Rental shop employees do not prefer Koreans. This is because. Koreans carefully considered and are very demanding.
In conclusion, how about meeting and chatting with Koreans, whether it's a tour guide or someone you just happened to meet and chat with?
The power of one person can be everything. If you like people, a deep afterimage will remain on your trip, and those memories will make you want to go again.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/entertainment-news/king-charles-william-furious-harry-meghans-nigerian-tour-reports/ (Unarchived)
https://web.archive.org/web/20240516201107/https://www.newsnationnow.com/entertainment-news/king-charles-william-furious-harry-meghans-nigerian-tour-reports/ (Archived)
*** Article slides included in post
Some snippets:

How could [The F*cking Grifters] not be seen as hypocrites? When they were working royals, Meghan hated the tours.
However, Meghan and Harry lapped up the attention in Nigeria, doing everything they did in Australia … just without having to abide by royal protocol. This means not only did they bask in the adoration they can’t seem to find at home, but they could accept the trip for free and also keep all the presents they were gifted by local dignitaries.
Harry and Meghan have always made it clear they wanted to have their cake and eat it too — and when they requested a “quasi” half-in, half-out royal situation in 2020, they were denied by the queen.
And in response to Harry and Meghan’s Nigerian escapade, the Palace announced Thursday via the BBC that “Previously unseen photographs of the Royal Family make up a new exhibition at the King’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace.”... Not included? Any images of Harry or Meghan.

Ms. Froelich writes what is glaringly obvious to all but the Aspartames: the F*cking lazy, hypocritical Grifters want their cake and eat it, too.
Keep it coming, MSM!