"Ben's my date," Astra laughed and ran her hand through the wolf's white fur while chatting with Abby. The two teenagers and Ben, the wolfdog, stood in an opulent hallway directly outside the Emperor's chambers. They were waiting and the conversation turned to the year's biggest event. "Is Turbo taking you to the wedding?" she asked.
"I'm going either way. If he can get a handle on 'Error 23', maybe he'll be my date...," Abby shrugged. "Every time he learns something new he gets pulled deeper into it. He hasn't left the lab in a few days."
"Well, I'm glad we get days off," Astra said. "It's nice to have a day without school or fighting monsters; thanks for coming by the way," she added with a smile. Ben was enough company; but, having a person around made it easier. It was a good, and much needed, distraction.
"Princess Astra...," the Emperor's door opened and his royal attendant poked out a wrinkled, silver head. "He wishes to see you... one final time," he said.
"Oh, thank you," Astra nodded and headed toward the door. "C'mon guys," she invited Ben and Abby.
"Oh, Princess, I don't think -," the attendant tried to protest; but Astra pushed the door open wider to let them through.
"It'll be fine, he likes dogs," Astra explained as they all walked into the cavernous bedroom.
"If you insist...," he nodded and stood aside. The two teens approached the bed while Ben climbed up on it and laid next to the Emperor. The frail old man managed to look surprised for a moment; but, he quickly noticed Astra.
"My little Princess...," he smiled and reached out a delicate, shriveled hand. He did not have the strength to lift his arm and merely slid it toward the edge of the bed. Astra smiled at him and took his hand. "... I wish we had more time...," he began to speak with a slow, measured pace. Then, Astra turned back to Abby.
"This won't take long," she said. "Waiting was the hardest part; but, you helped a lot with that."
"... the attendant is trustworthy...," the Emperor continued his final thoughts as the two girls conversed.
"Speaking of waiting...," Abby replied with a nod. "I'm working with Vivi to make our dresses for the wedding, and anyone else that wants. There's already a waiting list; if you want something let me know as soon as possible," she said.
"Oh wow, thanks," Astra nodded. "Yeah, I'll definitely take you up on that, I'll decide what I want and let you know." Her comment was answered by an offended whine from Ben. Astra and Abby both giggled. "Yes, you can make some very nice spider silk pieces; but, Vivi is a tailor. She has more practice and it's an important event," she explained. Ben chuffed and turned his head to face away from them prompting more laughter.
"... they are surely the ones responsible for my illness...," the Emperor continued droning behind their conversation. But, Astra was paying attention.
"Oh, here we go," she said and both teens went quiet.
"I urge you to visit great suffering upon their Kingdom. Avenge me my child." Said the emperor as he laid dying. Nearing his last breath.
"Nah, I'm good." Astra shrugged. The Emperor's eyes went wide in astonishment and he let out a final groan of disappointment as the life faded from his eyes.
"No?" Abby asked as they turned around to leave. Ben noticed and raised his head for a moment before lowering it again on the Emperor's chest. "Why not?"
"Eh, I already did that in the last playthrough." Astra answered, leaving the attendant behind with a confused expression. "It wasn't worth the resource investment so I'm going to try a different route this time. If I make peace with the neighboring Kingdom I can start researching the Trade tree early," she answered as the attendant closed the door for privacy.
"But, they killed your NPC dad," Abby giggled as they turned down the hall.
"Nah, it was a whole big plot. Last time I found out the attendant is the real culprit; he wanted to start a war."
"Oh, do you need to do anything about that?" Abby asked.
"Ben's taking care of it for me," Astra shrugged. "He counts as a 'wild animal' so I don't get any political penalties."