Angel Monarch

Discussions continued another week before an in-person meeting felt possible. The chosen city was none other than London. The Queen herself suggested her own city, since neither previous factions had connections to it.

Everyone trusted her the most, so it took little to convince them. The problem derived from somewhere else… Travelling…

Many city-states lay in Eastern Europe, making continental travel dangerous and difficult, even for Transcended.

Reluctantly, everyone agreed to let Vicky teleport them to London. This marked significant progress towards a better future. It required a lot of trust on their end from them, to even think about accepting.

For the meeting, everyone could send either a three person envoy, or attend themselves, while bringing maximum two people along.

This wasn't for safety reasons, since nobody was stupid enough to provoke the Queen's wrath. Everyone knew Her Majesty was proud and did not tolerate insubordination.

Sera spoke with her advisers, or, in other words, friends. None of them wanted to attend this event. People like Lucy and Cass were interested in the city, but would've rather fought a battle than suffer through politics. Experience exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire

Many shared that feeling, including David and Damien. They also didn't want to meet or even be close to the Queen. Her reputation wasn't the best. She treated all her guests well, but her ego could barely fit inside her gigantic castle.

Previously, while tracking Harold, he encountered the Queen. In his opinion, meeting her once sufficed for a lifetime.

Since nobody else wanted to, Sera decided to make it a family vacation. A week later, Bran could finally walk and even run again. He still looked extremely pale, but otherwise, he was okay.

Sera took Bran and Vicky to London. They already needed to transport several others, thus requiring her daughter's presence.

They departed early. Their first destination was the city-state furthest to the east, named Odesz. The smaller city laid on the northern shore of the Black Sea.

A married couple led Odesz, but at some point they introduced elections. They still get voted to lead the city every year. They were one of the cities which stayed unaligned.@@novelbin@@

After a quick introduction, Vicky teleported all of them away to the next city. The wife managed everything while he was away, taking two advisors for the meeting.

The next city on their list was Kiev. The city was one of the larger ones, close to the size of Rome, both in expanse and population.

The man leading it was a sort of dictator. He held no elections and ruled with an iron fist. His citizens, oddly, accepted his rule. Though a dictator, he was just aiming solely for their betterment.

It was definitely a weird arrangement. The man was also very sexist and only spoke with Bran, who ignored his every word. The air turned awkward after that, so they moved onto the next city.

Warsaw and Krak were relatively close to each other, and their cities had been working together for years. Some sort of family council led them, meaning a giant, polyamorous relationship.

Sera didn't ask many questions, because she found it extremely strange. They sent two wives and one husband. It took them only a few minutes to start flirting with both Sera and Bran.

These two cities were actually part of the United Front, but not necessarily by choice. Their family's head was the only Ethereal in Eastern Europe, and after he got locked away in another Realm, the cities became more defenseless.

Eastern Europe was much more dangerous than any other part except the far north. Here Horrors ran around, and fought turf wars constantly. Just in the twin city's proximity, hundreds of them lived.

Abominations also weren't as rare, and the Ethereal needed to either fight and kill them, or chase them away.

The cities further to the east didn't have as many problems as they were much smaller. Both Krak and Warsaw had over fifty millions residents, making them much more desired targets for monsters.

The cities were in an extremely precarious state. They really hoped to make a good impression on Sera, so they could have access to quick help when they needed it.

For now, they didn't speak about anything that serious, but Sera couldn't deny how kind they were. Out of everyone they met yet, these three were the most accommodating for Sera's previous enemy status.

They talked and acted like she was just another attendant in the upcoming meeting. Vicky also enjoyed their company, and the three were obviously great with children.

Soon they left for the last city, which requested their help in transport, Pragua. The city sat in the heart of Europe, led by a council of normal humans, instead of the usual Evolved.

They were perhaps the only city who fully relived on regulars in decision making. Although not discriminated against, the Evolved were typically satisfied with their army positions. It provided similar benefits, without all the confusing politics.

They sent one of their council members with two Transcended generals. Each of the three maintained a formal demeanor, speaking only as required.

Kiev's dictator constantly tried to joke with them, but the three were having none of it. When the atmosphere started turning awkward again, Vicky quickly opened a final portal, and they all left the city behind.

Yesterday, Queen Elizabeth sent the exact coordinates for their arrival. It was supposedly in a quieter part of the castle. Vicky opened the portal, and before stepping through, she checked the surroundings with her spatial sense.

Beyond was a larger area; several individuals were already there, but she detected no threat. One of them was Otto, and surprisingly, her mother was near him too.

For a moment, Vicky became worried, but showed no emotion. Inside, she was breaking down, but on the outside, she kept her cool.

After informing Sera about the destination's safety, she let everyone through. While waiting for everyone, Vicky moved next to Bran. She reached up and held his hand as they went through the portal.

Bran was a bit confused by the odd timing of Vicky's show of affection, but upon seeing Bea, everything fell into place.

Vicky had talked only a little about her feelings with Sera. Sadly, she knew her mother's emotional state couldn't provide the support she needed. But that's where Bran came into the picture.

During Sera's preparations and virtual meetings, he and Vicky spent most of their days together. She had a lot to do, but opening portals was easy. She didn't even have to be nearby to open them.

The first week, they just played and got to know each other more thoroughly, but after that, they became quite close.

Somehow, he became her close confidant. She shared all her emotions, worries and pains with Bran, and he advised to the best of his knowledge.

He suggested Vicky to stay in contact with her mother, and to be more accommodating to her. This wasn't necessarily for Vicky, even though Bran knew the girl hated being away from her other mother.

In a way, Bran felt guilty about the entire ordeal. He never wanted for Bea to leave. Even if eventually Sera would've chosen him, he wanted Bea to stay with them, for Vicky's sake.

Vicky felt conflicted about contacting Bea. She knew how hurt Sera felt, and wanted to be supportive towards her mother, but she also wanted to keep a relationship with her other parent. This decision was tearing her up on the inside, so Bran helped her.

Afterward, Vicky began sending messages, and even video chatting with Bea. This didn't mean she forgave her mother, in fact, she was using the communication as another form of torture.

Bran thought nothing of it. In his opinion, his support of keeping the relationship alive elevated the guilt. He wasn't responsible for Vicky's vengeful upbringing and vindictive compliance.

She wanted to hate her mother, and at the same time, have a relationship with her. The only way she could manage both was by being toxic. It was most definitely unhealthy, but all of Bran's remnant guilt evaporated upon seeing Bea.

The woman, whose entire world fell apart only a few weeks ago, now laughed and joked with the person she cheated with.

They weren't actively being intimate, but only a blind and deaf person would think they weren't a couple. Bran hadn't once heard Bea laugh so wholeheartedly. She also seemed a lot more happy.

Bran turned towards Vicky with concern, but all he saw was a calm expression. He hadn't even notice, that the little girl found Sera's hand too, and now the three of them walked together.

Sera wasn't taking it nearly as well as Vicky. Her head was slowly turning red from anger, and her empty left hand trembled, her knuckled turning white. Her nails even dug into her palm, drawing a few drops of blood.

A suffocating atmosphere appeared around the love of his life, and for a split second, Sera's eyes glowed green.

Bea was raising a glass of some drink to her lips when she suddenly dropped her drink and cursed while clutching her head.

After a few seconds, her eyes widened, and she began looking around the room. When her eyes landed on the three of them, they turned melancholic.

Vicky even rubbed salt on the wound by not even greeting her mother. She led the three of them away, to a large balcony, which connected to the lounge room. There they waited until Queen Elizabeth finally showed up.