Chapter 25: Communication
"Should I interpret this as kisses being allowed now...?" asked Andrew, wearing a cheeky smile as he and Y'shtola relaxed in the bath, the latter straddling him with her arms linked around her neck since they had just been kissing.
"I would prefer if you didn't say such senseless things..." said Y'shtola, furrowing her brows but coming across as more 'pouty' than serious or upset. She was half-tempted to lecture Andrew about going overboard, but as she had also been rather 'insistent,' she just stared at him for a few seconds before leaning forward to continue kissing.
Moving his hands down to cup Y'shtola's remarkably toned ass, Andrew couldn't help saying, 'Thank you, Hydaelyn, Garnet, and whoever else is responsible for this situation...' in his mind. He had felt beyond fortunate to have won Garnet's affection, but now that he had experienced what it was like to win another's, it was impossible to put his feelings into words. All Andrew knew for certain was that Y'sholta wouldn't be the last...even if he honestly wouldn't mind extending the current moment for an eternity. Well, maybe not an eternity, but he could easily dedicate a lifetime or two to the sexually awakened cat girl...
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After updating Y'shtola's permissions and seeing her off with a relatively fresh batch of cum inside of her, Andrew exhaled a loud sigh and allowed himself to sprawl out on a sofa in his penthouse suite. In truth, there were no prerequisites for him to update a person's permissions and grant them access to specific functions of his system. However, as it was objectively better to have at least a basic organizational structure in place, he figured he might as well position himself and his women at the top.
Freeing Andrew from his listless, zen-like state, a text window appeared before his face, courtesy of Minfilia. Y'shtola has apparently wasted no time contacting and updating her on the situation, so the buxom leader of the Scions was, somewhat amusingly, thanking him. He was tempted to respond that she could come and thank him in person, but as he didn't want to devolve into a complete jackass, Andrew responded by sincerely expressing his own appreciation. After all, had Minfilia not been present during the discussion, Y'shtola likely would have been a lot more opposed to the idea of becoming a proxy...
Securing her status as the MVP in the world of Final Fantasy XIV, Minfilia followed Andrew's expression of gratitude with a couple of polite remarks before asking if and when he was free the following day. It had only been a few hours since their separation in Ul'dah, but that was apparently more than enough time for her to arrange a meeting between him and a handful of prospective proxies.
Though he was tempted to hop over right then and there, Andrew lied and told Minfilia he would be busy for a few days, barring any emergencies. In reality, he just wanted to give her a bit more time to work her magic while he spent time with Garnet and checked in on Zidane's progress. The latter had traveled to the Outer Continent with Freya, Steiner, and Vivi, who was discovered holed up in Alexandria's Dungeon. Their primary objective was to pick up Eiko from Midain Sari, the destroyed village of the Summoners, but they were also attempting to bait out Kuja, who was last seen flying in that direction atop his pet, a Silver Dragon.
While there was no need for Andrew to visit Zidane's group in person, he felt like it had been too long since he spent time with his da facto younger brother. They maintained contact through his system, but chat messages were a poor substitute for meaningful interpersonal communication. Thus, after arranging to meet in the afternoon, three days later, Andrew wished Minfilia well, and she did the same...
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Though incredibly awkward, Andrew recounted every juicy detail of his time with Y'shtola at Garnet's insistence. She was the one that permitted him to sleep with and court other women, so if she had questions about what he had been up to, Andrew felt compelled to tell her the truth.
After listening to Andrew's account, Garnet remarked, "It sounds like you are quite smitten with this woman." However, instead of appearing upset, she wore an untroubled smile as she traced the lines of his abdomen with her finger.
"She's definitely an incredible woman," affirmed Andrew, kissing Garnet's as he added, "Thank you for permitting me the opportunity to experience it for myself..."
"Just be sure she never takes my place in your heart..." whispered Garnet, but the look on her face made it clear she wasn't worried. She was a little jealous, of course, but since Andrew had been forthright about their time together, Garnet believed his sentiments toward Y'shtola were more lust-driven than caring. Y'shtola also presented herself as fairly dispassionate, so Garnet wasn't too worried about the scholarly cat woman endeavoring to steal Andrew away...
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Teleporting to Zidane, Andrew found himself in a largely destroyed stone building without a roof. It looked like someone had tried to repair it using bamboo, but they had given up halfway. More notably, there was a small pier overlooking a deep, waterfall-fed ravine, a large stone slab that was clearly used to prepare ingredients, an oven for bread, and an antiquated-looking stove.
"Long time no see~!" exclaimed Zidane, smiling as he gave Andrew a not-so-gentle punch in the arm.
"Missed you too, asshole," said Andrew, rolling his arm as he fought the urge to Spartan kick Zidane into the nearby chasm.
"They're multiplying..." said a tiny girl with cropped blue hair that framed her face, a large yellow bow atop her head, bright green eyes, and a horn growing from her crown. Het outfit, consisting of a red turtleneck, a pink bodysuit, loose yellow pants, and a yellow breastplate, wasn't appropriate for a girl aged six, but since she lived alone in the ruins of her destroyed village, he couldn't exactly blame her for wearing what she had on hand.
"You must be Eiko," said Andrew, adopting a faint smile as he pulled out a giant lollipop nearly as large as the young Summoner's face.
Snatching the lollipop from Andrew's hand, Eiko turned away as if she were afraid he would take it back before staring at him over her shoulder, licking the top of the swirl-shaped piece of candy as she asked, "Who's asking?"
"Did Zidane not mention me...?" asked Andrew, looking at the person in question with raised brows.
Shrugging his shoulders, Zidane contended, "We've only been here for two days and have been pretty busy. What, did you expect me to tell her my entire life story and about you as well...?"
Shaking his head in mild exasperation, Andrew ignored Zidane, returning his gaze to Eiko before placing his hand on his chest, giving a slight bow, and stating, "My name is Andrew Ashford Alexandros, Prince Consort to the Queen of Alexandria. If Lady Carol is willing, I will escort you back to the castle. Queen Garnet has been eagerly anticipating your arrival."
"You're a Prince!?" asked Eiko, eyes widening as she exclaimed at the top of her lungs. In response to her scream, a veritable horde of small, light-colored, incredibly fluffy creatures with brightly colored noses, bat-like wings, and reddish-orange pom-poms growing from the end of a singular antenna came rushing in, exclaiming things like, "Protect the Princess...!" and "Save Lady Eiko...!"
Before the mob of furballs could swarm Andrew and Zidane, Eiko began swatting at them, crying, "No, you idiots! He's a Prince! A real-life Prince! Show some respect...!"
"A Prince...?"
"Who's a Prince...?"
"He looks kind of dumb to me..."
"They both do..."
"I know, right...?"
Smacking the heads of the disrespectful creatures, known throughout the worlds of Final Fantasy as Moogles, Eiko shouted, "Watch your mouths! If you guys ruin this for me, I'll...I won't talk to you for a month...!"
Following a series of gasps, the group of Moogles flew out of the room as quickly as they had come. In their wake, Eiko exhaled the kind of sigh you typically only heard from very elderly people before returning her gaze to Andrew, smiling from ear to ear as she asked, "Are you truly a Prince? And you've come here to take me away to your castle...?"
"Yeah, our Andrew here is a real Prince Charming," said Zidane, rolling his eyes. Eiko had referred to him as her Prince Charming the day before, but while he didn't mind young girls, six was much too young.
Adopting a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, Andrew surprised Eiko and Zidane both by saying, "I'll be right back." Then, before the younger Genome could react, Andrew grabbed him by the scruff, threw him over the ledge overlooking the ravine, and leaped out to wrap his arms and legs around Zidane's upside-down body in a single sequence of motions. Andrew had personally confirmed that Genomes were 'exceptionally' durable, so while Zidane screamed like they were falling to their deaths, he was stone-faced as he suplexed his beloved younger brother nearly 50m into the frigid waters below...
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Though it would have been beneficial for Zidane's party to have a healer with them, Andrew ended up transporting Eiko, her pet Moogle, Mog, and most of the Moogles of Midain Sari back to Alexandria. He had informed Garnet about her true heritage the eve before her coronation, so she had been eagerly anticipating Eiko's arrival for quite some time, inviting her to live in the castle and even bestowing her the honorary title of a Dutchess, effectively making them family.
Fortunately for Eiko, though Andrew had been hesitant to believe it at first, Brahne's mental health had improved considerably since being put under house arrest. As such, when Brahne asked if they could meet and soon after volunteered to look after Eiko during the day, Garnet permitted it under the condition that Beatrix be present at all times. She could now hop over to Andrew's penthouse if she were ever in danger, so she didn't need a personal guard to watch her 24/7. Eiko, however, was just a child, so Garnet charged Beatrix and several of her most trusted Knights to care for her as a collateral descendant of the Royal Family...
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"Sorry, we're late..." said Andrew, wearing an awkward, slightly apologetic smile as he entered Minfilia's office, a spacious underground chamber with multiple potted plants, bookshelves, a red and gold carpet covering much of the floor, and a massive wooden desk trimmed with a metal that resembled gold. There was also a display behind her desk, hanging from the wall, that depicted the shattered scepter of the former leader of the Scions, Louisoix Leveilleur.
Arriving behind Andrew, Y'shtola wore a completely neutral expression as she excused, "I was showing Prince Andrew around the bay and teaching him how to attune to the Aetheryte Network." In truth, Andrew had invited her to his penthouse, enticing her with the flowery words she so despised before giving her a good dicking.
"Well, the important thing is that you are here now," said Minfilia, wearing a smile that implied she had seen through everything. Then, gesturing to the trio of women standing beside her, she smoothly appended, "Allow me the pleasure of introducing the Scions, Alisaie Leveilleur and Yda Hext, as well as a dear friend of ours from the Twelveswood of Gridania, Seedseer Raya-O-Senna..."
Though Andrew wasn't too surprised by the presence of Alisaie and 'Yda,' he never expected someone like Raya-O-Senna to appear. It made sense if she was to be the proxy of Gridania, as she was the sister of its current ruler, but while she should be in her twenties, she looked a little young for Andrew's tastes. Her height was only 137cm, and though her green eyes exuded intelligence and a hint of genuine wisdom, her rounded face, red hair that was styled into unique pigtails, and petite frame made her seem pubescent at best...
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Weekly Power Status
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