Prophecy Approved Companion

One could be forgiven for thinking that the news that the Temples’ powerful guardians, all disposed in the party’s favour, and several of whom were Royalty, were ‘special’ would be pleasing to Qube. After all, up until this very moment, she would have assumed she’d be delighted. Alas! While she had mostly put aside her jealousy regarding her position as the number one companion to the Chosen One, and become more comfortable in her limitations as a Healer, it turned out that she was not yet so free of any personal feelings as to be able to give up her specialness without a struggle.

It wasn’t that she didn’t find being one of the sole representatives of her realm, closely watched by entities that could end everything at a moment’s notice, extremely stressful. And she would have loved to have heard that the Devs were looking at more people than just their party before deciding the fate of the world. And, sure, a tiny part of her found it the tiniest bit unfair that she (and the rest of the party) had fought against incalculable odds and worked hard to become close to the Chosen One, and earn the frightening title of ‘special,’ while the guardians had apparently just listened to Scissors and/or anyone affected by [The Bard’s Ballad] and they were also designated as special.

But that was only the smallest part of the smallest part of her, a leftover from when she was a little bit insecure. Why, then, did the idea of the Temple guardians being special fill her with dread?

Her inner self, stronger ever since she’d entered the castle, helpfully surged forward with anger. The guardians were already extremely special, each of them selected by the Golden Prophecy to hold on to one of the gems needed to defeat the Evil Emperor. More than that, they weren’t exactly the most trustworthy of groups, with several of them actively working against the good of the kingdom.

Unfortunately for her inner self, Qube was also very well aware that, as a Prophecy Approved Companion, right hand of the Saviour of All Human and Human-Adjacent Beings, she too could be considered extremely special, even without adding in anything else such as the fact that her healing abilities could apparently strip people of their blinders and reveal the true nature of the world to them. So she couldn’t exactly complain that they were already special enough, and didn’t need anything more.

And, as far as trustworthiness went, they had a member in their group who up until earlier that week had been prepared to sell them out to the Evil Emperor. So their party wasn’t exactly sporting a spotless record. In fact, said party had managed to lose all the gems that the guardians had diligently guarded for who knew how many years.

The anger of her inner self gave way to a kind of baffled shame.

Still!

Qube put aside her unresolved feelings about the global status of specialness, and tried to pay attention to what was unfolding before her.

Which also included listening to one of her least favourite guardians, the Dryad Queen reply to the Chosen One. The queen had a history of being rather unpleasant to the half-elf Healer, all because of a simple misunderstanding that was technically the Evil Emperor’s fault anyway.

“So did the song really get to you?” the Chosen One had asked the Forbidden Forest guardian while Qube had stewed. “Like, did it make a big difference to how you thought?”

“No,” the wooden woman replied, the green lights that made up her eyes brightening into pinpoints of pain as she looked at Qube. Several roots writhed on the Dryad Queen’s face as she looked at the Healer.

Qube dearly wished the Chosen One would stand up, so she could hide behind him better.

“My thoughts had suffered a change long before then. But, being reunited with my love,” here the Dryad Queen looked at the Beast by her side, “seemed to unlock my thoughts even more than before. The bravery of my subject, in striking out for her own future, was also inspiring.”

Sexy Screamy Spider Briar rose from her deep, complicated curtsy/kneeling before the Dryad Queen.

“I thank you, my Queen, for giving me the grace to search for who I was,” the arachnid Hunter said quietly.

“I could scarcely deny my subject something I also needed,” the Dryad Queen said, in a stunning display of ignorance as to how Royalty was supposed to work. “It was partly your boldness, in fact, that inspired me to search for an exit to our confinement, when the Evil Emperor snatched us away from our grove and placed us here.”

The Beast, looking even healthier than the last time they’d seen him, and a far cry from the emaciated mess he’d been when they’d first found him, growled at the indignity of being teleported and trapped by someone like the Evil Emperor.

“Yup, definitely infected with specialness,” the Chosen One said, eyes still firmly closed.

“Thus we entered this chamber, and were discussing our options when you and your… friends arrived.” There was a creaking sound as the sharpened ends of her fingers curled into fists.

The Dryad Queen clearly still hadn’t forgiven Qube for [Heal]ing her, and the chaos that had ensued.

“It sounds like it just walked out of its room. Naturally the wood creature had an easier time than us,” the griffin said loudly to the Flitter Folk leader next to him. “It is only due to our great intelligence that we were able to escape the trap that fool had placed us in. He, at least, must have realised how great a threat our cunning was.”

The griffin, magnificent in his disdain, started cleaning his armpit. His wickedly sharp beak preened at the underside of his wings, knocking loose a few pieces of down. There was a minute of silence. Qube herself wasn’t sure if the griffin was waiting for someone to ask how they’d escaped, but she was pleased to see that the griffins and Flitter Folk appeared to have been able to put their differences aside and work together. The griff-lion-bird must have made tremendous strides in helping them reconcile.

As the silence stretched out, it became clear he wasn’t going to elaborate without prompting.

“Oh great and noble griffin,” Sencha Bard said, rising to the occasion. “What form of trap were you and the charming Charmed trapped in?” To make up for his rather lacklustre performance, the Bard swept the pair a truly elaborate bow.

The griffin instantly stopped cleaning himself, proving he was just waiting to be asked. “This one asks intelligent questions,” he said, smugly pleased.

“Many thanks, I —”

“We awoke from our afternoon sunbathing in a horrid contraption made of wood,” the griffin said, boldly cutting the Bard off. Qube expected Sencha Bard to look vaguely irritated, or show the kind of diplomatic blandness that meant he was really annoyed, but instead the Bard seemed indifferent to the rudeness of the griffin.

In fact, he’d seemed remarkably indifferent to all the very powerful beings in the room. The old Sencha Bard would have been practically falling over himself to talk to them all, whether it was to gain lore, or just to be noticed by those at the top of society. While, naturally, Qube wouldn’t dream of asking Sencha Bard why he wasn’t sucking up to anyone, she suspected that his internal barometer for what was important had shifted with the increased exposure to the Devs.

A strange thought blossomed in the corner of her mind. They knew there were people above the Devs, possibly even Royal Devs. Would there ever come a day where they’d dwelt in the Devs’ realm long enough that the Devs themselves would be … she struggled to even think of the word. Unimpressive? Less impressive?

Where one day she would look at the Devs, and think that they didn’t deserve to be special? Or that she was more special than them, as she thought she’d been, in some ways, more special than the guardians?

An odd idea, made odder by the sluggish way her mind chugged the longer she was around these mana-rich guardians. They needed to get away from them sooner rather than later, before either the Chosen One or herself started spouting total gibberish.

“We had to fly through a series of obstacles and land before finding the doorway outside of the hovel we were trapped in,” the griffin answered Sencha Bard’s question.

“Was nest.” Charmed fluttered back and forth as he corrected the griffin. “Giant nest. Difficult flying. Humans struggle.”

“I add, we had difficulty leaving too. I explain, we were trapped deep underwater, between two walls,” the Mermaid Princess softly added to the story. The other guardians, ignoring the Chosen One’s request for them to only speak one at a time, added their tales to hers.

The Chosen One, in response to this blatant disregarding of his wishes, lay fully down on the floor and pressed his cheek against the stone.

“Needing to fly? Ah! Like the feather we got! Or, I suppose, our wings. Trapped between two walls, that was another item wasn’t it?” Sexy Screamy Spider Briar said, returning to the Chosen One’s side. Or, more accurately, looming over his prone form. “My love, do you need us to take you into another room?” she asked him.

That was something Qube should have thought of! She was letting her mind wander in this overwhelming environment! Even the Chosen One’s ex-girlfriend was being more considerate of the Hero’s well-being than she was!

“While the presence of powerful people can be intoxicating, I rather think you’ve overdosed on it,” the arachnid continued. “And I want you to look your best when we talk to them about the reforms.”

Reforms? What reforms?

“Although it would probably be better to talk to them one-on-one about the matter. I find people tend to be more receptive to unusual requests when they don’t feel like their peers would shame them for it.”

What was the Hunter talking about? Was this a romance thing? What kind of romance thing could she possibly want to discuss reforming with the Temple guardians?

Neither Definitely Bad Guy nor Sencha Bard seemed surprised at what the giant arachnid was saying.

“We require the Wood Warrior,” the Dryad Queen, having gotten too close to Qube for comfort, rudely broke into their private conversation. “We need him to determine what course justice will take.”

“Justice is blind,” the Chosen One mumbled from where his face was pressed against the floor. “Just like me. I’m justice. Someone give me some scales and a sword.”

“Enough is enough!” Qube said, startling herself at how stern she sounded. “Sexy Screamy Spider Briar, can you carry the Chosen One? We’re taking him back to the other room.” She would have demanded the Hunter bring him to the Save Point, but there wasn’t a safe way to make him interact with it while in contact with a party member.

“Nah, ‘s fine,” the Chosen One nearly whispered. “I can do it. Just gotta get a few more hours, then I’ll rest.”

“No, you’re done here,” Qube flatly denied the Chosen One. “Pick him up,” she ordered the largest party member.

“You can’t ignore me,” the Hero said unhappily as Sexy Screamy Spider Briar shrugged and gently lifted him.

“Sorry, love, but you can’t expect me to turn down our cute Healer’s orders, can you?” the Hunter said, making small cooing sounds as she settled the armour-clad Fighter in her four arms.

“‘M okay. ‘M the Chosen One,” the Chosen One muttered as his face was eaten by Sexy Screamy Spider Briar’s thorax.

“And I’m your Healer,” Qube snapped. “And I say we’re leaving until you recover.”

As the party turned to leave, the guardians started to follow the nearly-fainted Hero. Qube stopped, motioning for Sexy Screamy Spider Briar to continue carrying the Chosen One to safety as she turned to face the group of guardians.

“We’re just going to go let the Chosen One regather some strength,” she said, giving the group her best Understanding Smile. “Such mana-rich presence is a bit much for him. So I’ll need you all to stay here until he’s ready to talk to you all again.”

“Once again, you overstep, little Healer,” the Dryad Queen whispered through razor-sharp teeth.

“This thing dares tell us where we can and cannot go?” The griffin’s beak was agape with shock.

“We protest, you act against his wishes,” the Mermaid Princess said.

“Ssso rude,” the King Salamander hissed.

“Filthy creature! We rule over the harshest lands in the world, do you think you can order us what to do?” The Akela was nearly trembling with outrage.

Qube drew herself up to her full height. Definitely Bad Guy and Sencha Bard stood behind her, while Squiggles raised herself on her tentacles.

“Yes,” Qube replied simply. “I am his Prophecy Approved Companion, his Healer, and his dearest friend. And I know you all want what’s best for the kingdom, which is why I know you’re going to listen to what I say. Thank you for your cooperation!”

And, with one last blinding Understanding Smile, she turned and followed the Hunter and Hero in their strategic retreat.