Rubio and Kissa were sitting next to each other on one of the long benches.
The room was filled with guests, whom Kissa politely informed were a mix of the Queen’s friends, nobles, priests, and some of the wealthier commoners who paid their way in.
Astra and Thalia were separated from him and each other, led away by their own translators to participate in the party.
Thalia had relaxed almost instantly, joking around and entertaining a group near her.
Whereas Astra was more withdrawn, speaking quietly and sitting in an edge seat.
“I was wondering, do you think Universal has changed in the years since it was first made?
I mean, you seem to have a bit of an accent to me, but I’m wondering if there are any word differences.” Kissa rambles.
“Oh, sorry if I’m talking too much or if this bores you or anything; my job is to write papers and stuff on languages.
Or, well, to be more accurate, that’s the job I assigned myself.” She giggles.
“Mmm, there are a few words that have changed meaning over time, but I studied a bit of Old Universal, so I’ve been filling in the blanks.
It’s not that different; they simply evolved.
For example, you speak using Ic whereas in the newer Universal it’s I.” Rubio explains.
“I see, and how did Universal become so common?
I was always made fun of because it was widely believed the language would never persist.
But apparently, the opposite happened.” Kissa muses.
“Hm, that’s because of the first Great Piracy Era.
One of the first popular Pirates, Captain Bloodbeard, started saying there was a Sea full of ghosts, and that within that Sea lay a great boon of treasure.
However, when he went after the treasure, neither he nor his crew were ever heard from again.
This got people talking, and soon, people from all over were traveling the Seas to find this treasure.”
“Well, that ended up causing some issues where nobody could understand each other.
Pirates became a nuisance due to misunderstandings caused by a lack of communication.
To solve this issue, Universal was popularized, and soon, it became the most widely learned language.
In the end, nobody found Captain Bloodbeard or the rumored treasure, but cultures ended up mixing, opening up the Ten Seas into the place it is today.” When he finishes explaining, Kissa is staring up at him, her jaw agape.
“I need to write all this down immediately.
Do you mind?” She asks, practically vibrating in her seat.
“Go ahead.” He waves her away, and she peels off with a squeal.
He marks their spot in his mind, and then sneaks away over to Astra, as Thalia was now miming out a story to her onlookers.
“Okay, there might be a slight problem,” Rubio admits, leaning down to whisper rapidly in Astra’s ear.
“What problem?” He grits out, eyes flashing with worry.
“Right, so, apparently, they aren’t some ordinary underground kingdom.” Rubio starts.
“Ah yes, compared to all the other underground kingdoms.” Astra deadpans.
Rubio narrows his eyes.
“I know you know there are plenty of well-respected underground kingdoms.” He sniffs.
“I don’t know…do I?” Astra grins.
“Ahem, anyway, back to the point.
This isn’t like the current dynasty of people living in this kingdom.
These are the same people from when they first went underground.” Rubio states, grasping Astra’s shoulders.
“So?
Couldn’t they have only moved underground recently?” Astra asks, but the way he glances around suggests he doesn’t quite believe that either.
“Nope, I heard it from Kissa, my translator,” Rubio explains when Astra’s face goes blank.
“She said it herself; it’s been five hundred years.”
“Why is it that nowhere we go is normal?” Astra whines, burying his head in his arms.
Rubio opens his mouth to reply, but at that moment he spots Kissa, racing back with some ink, a pen, and a bit of rough paper.
“I’ll try to get more information; you tell Thalia what’s going on.” He orders, slipping away.
Astra nods, and Rubio slides back into his spot just before Kissa reaches him.
“Right, do you mind repeating all that?” She asks, and all Rubio can manage is a tight nod.
Once Kissa has wrung all the information she could from him, Rubio decides to ask a few questions of his own.
“Forgive me if this is a rude ask, but do you mind telling me why you chose to move underground?” He prods, and Kissa goes silent for a second.
“Uhm, sure.
You’ve helped me a lot, so I guess it’s only fair.” She sighs.
“Around five hundred years ago, an ‘event’ happened.
Nobody knows where it came from, but one day we saw a bright yellow light, and then everyone was stone.”
“Wait, so you weren’t always stone?
I should have realized; I just assumed you were an evolved species distantly related to Goliaths.” Rubio mumbles.
“Unfortunately not.
We were still able to move, but our hair, clothes, anything that was on us at that moment was turned to stone.
We were afraid, afraid that whatever did this to us would come back and do something else…something worse.
Or that people would find us and try to kill us for looking different.
So the Queen decreed that we’d move underground.”
“It took some time to build, but since everyone was working together, it went decently fast.
Years went by, and that’s when we realized something else was wrong.
Nobody was aging, and nobody was dying.
We probably should’ve realized earlier since most of our body functions had seized, but it still came as a surprise.
Some people here are hundreds of years old, but continue living in a child’s body.
It’s…not ideal.” Kissa finishes, looking forlorn.
“Then why haven’t you gone outside yet?
Searched for a cure?”
“Well, for one, the Queen has banned anyone from leaving.
A few people tried a long time ago; they never came back.
So everyone just kind of follows along.
The Queen wants what’s best for us anyway, and she’s kept us from getting bored and going crazy this long, so…” Kissa shrugs.
It gives Rubio a lot to think about.
A few things in her story were a bit…suspicious.
But at the end of the day, all he wanted was to get out safely.
So long as he could do that, he wasn’t going to waste time on curing the stone ailment.
Still…looking at Kissa’s expression, Rubio felt his heart clench with sympathy.
“The Queen would like to speak with you.” A sudden hand at his side made Rubio flinch.
A guard was staring down at him with a blank expression.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Kissa offers.
“No thanks, I think I can manage.” Rubio turns her down gently.
She doesn’t look offended, so he’ll consider that a win.
The guard leads him to the Queen, where she’s chatting animatedly with a younger girl.
They looked similar, at least in their face shape, except the younger girl’s hair was braided with a few stone beads.
“Ah!
There you are.
I wanted to introduce you to my daughter, Asenath.
She was curious about you and the other outsiders, though they seem a bit busy.” She chuckles.
Rubio groans when he glances in the direction she’s facing.
Somehow, Thalia had roped Astra into her storytelling, most likely when he had tried to inform her of the situation.
“Dearest Queen, this one apologizes for any untoward behaviour this one’s companions may exhibit.” He apologizes.
“Pfft, oh man, I didn’t believe it, but you were right.
He does talk funny.
Though it is pretty impressive that you can speak our language.” The young princess, Asenath, marvels.
“Would you mind entertaining my daughter for a bit?
You would be doing me a favor.” The Queen states.
“Of course, dearest Queen, this one is honored to be of use.” He replies.
Asenath loops their arms, laughing under her breath as she leads him away.
Rubio’s ears turn a bit red.
That’s it; as soon as he was able, he was going to learn Goliara the right way.
This kind of embarrassment was something he wouldn’t wish upon his worst enemy.
Rubio thought Asenath would lead him back to the tables, but surprisingly, she led him instead to a hallway.
She went through twists and turns until, eventually, they were left just the two of them, not a single servant or guard in sight.
She stopped in place, then grabbed his shoulders roughly and forced him to bend down.
She stared into his eyes, her expression serious.
And then she said.
“Please.
I need your help.
You need to kill my mother.”
Damn it all.