Hiro and Relda stood before the door of the house. When Hiro knocked, he expected to be greeted by his grandfather. The last thing he expected was for his younger sister Haley to answer the door.
"Hiro! You've returned!", shouted Haley, cheerful as usual.
The elf boy and the Slime Queen stepped inside the house. Inside, they saw Hiro's mother, looking as though she had been crying. Her face was red and moist, with streams of drying tears still clinging to her cheeks.
"Why are you crying, mom?", asked Hiro, "And where's granddad?".
Mavis shuddered a little. "It's terrible! Your grandfather's been taken... by the Colonial Duchess!"
Hiro was shocked. "The Duchess? But why?"
"She owns your grandfather's debt. When your grandfather went out to play poker, he was playing against the Duchess. And after so long of not paying her, she's decided to take him prisoner instead!"
Hiro gritted his teeth, biting his lip with worry. "I need to see him!"
"No! Leave it be!"
"I'm going to the Colonial Palace! I need to see granddad, make sure he's okay!"
Before Mavis could say another word, Hiro ran off, out of the house. Relda looked back at Mavis, somewhat saddened herself. But she nodded to the mother, as an assurance that she would go with Hiro and make sure that he will be unharmed.
***
Hiro and Relda made their way to the Colonial Palace, a grand building at the heart of the elf colonies. The palace was adorned with intricate carvings and decorations, a true testament to elven craftsmanship.
The guards, however, were less welcoming. Armed and unsmiling, they barred the pair from entering further by blocking the doorway with their weapons.
"Who goes there?", one of them said.
"Meaning: Who are YOU?", said the other.
Hiro straightened his posture and introduced himself, trying his best to be strong. "My name is Hiro! I've heard that the Duchess has taken my grandfather prisoner as a debtor. I wish to pay a visit to my grandfather."
Relda introduced herself next. "I am Queen Relda III, the last Slime, and the Slime Queen! Hiro is my friend, and I have come to accompany him on his visit to his grandfather."
The two guards looked at each other directly in the eyes. Neither of them were sure of what to do. They paused, then one of them cleared their throats.
"We'll go check with the Duchess, see if it's okay for you to come in."
***
Duchess Vanity was a dark elf with short, white hair. She wore the finest clothing, and she wore them well. Her clothing was, however, rather tight and strained around her massive bulk. The Duchess was a rather rotund elf, with a pillow-like face, limbs the width of hams, and a massive, protruding belly.
Duchess Vanity sat in the palace, at a long table alone, eating a hefty feast. Guards surrounded her, to keep their leader safe as she ate.
Suddenly, she stopped eating to laugh. "Heheheheheh! I sure feel good after adding a new prisoner to my... collection! I deserve to treat myself after such exhausting work!" Then she continued to shovel food into her bloated face like a pig.
That's when a new guard came into the room. This one was plated in golden armor, unlike the black armor of the others. This golden guard kept its face concealed under a helmet. "Milady, you have a visitor! It's the grandson of one of your debtors!"
The Duchess swallowed, then gave a twisted smile. "Let him in. Let him beg me for the freedom of his grandfather."
***
Hiro and Relda walked through a hallway in the midst of the palace. It would have been a rather pleasant walk, had it not been for the prison cells lining the walls everywhere. Most of these cells were empty, but a few unlucky prisoners could be found here.
Hiro quickly located the cell where his grandfather, O'Brien, was being held. He rushed over to it. "Oh, granddad! Tell me you're alright!"
"You're a fool to come all the way here, worrying about an old man like me!", laughed O'Brien. He smiled, in spite of his situation. "That Duchess is a no-good snake, I say!"
"But granddad, you were the one who always played poker with her."
"You need to leave me to my fate, Hiro. I don't have many years left in me anyway. And as long as I'm in here, I won't be another mouth to feed at home. You and your mother won't have to worry about paying my debts. And I'll be taken care of for the rest of my days."
"Granddad, this is madness! Mom is in tears because you're gone! We're family! And I won't let anything come between us!"
Just then, Hiro and Relda heard a footstep. They turned around to see Lady Tiffany, looking rather concerned.
"Lady Tiffany! What are you doing here?", asked Hiro.
"I live here. This is my mother's palace."
"Oh, right."
"Say, uh, Lady Tiffany, we're friends and all. So do you think it would be too much if you could help me bargain with your mother for my grandfather's freedom?"
Lady Tiffany looked down, unsure. "I mean... I can try. I can't guarantee anything, but I will definitely vouch for you."
Just after she said that, a horrible laughter filled the hall. "Heheheheheheh!"
The Duchess came waddling into the hall. "What do we have here? You want to bargain with little ol' me? And what do you have to bargain with?"
Relda scowled as she eyed the overweight noblewoman.
"I won those poker games fair and square!", said Duchess Vanity, "Prison was the only way your grandfather could pay off his debts to me! From where I stand, I've done nothing wrong! If you want his freedom, you'll have to give me something in exchange!".
"Like what?", asked Hiro.
"If you can pay off his debt for him, then I'll have no need to keep him in bars! Have fun scrounging up the money to do that, though! Heheheheh!"
"Mother, you must know SOME way Hiro can earn enough money to release his grandfather!", protested Tiffany.
Just then, another guard walked into the room. It was the same golden guard who had appeared earlier in the dining hall. More importantly, the golden guard was holding a strange object in its arms, an Energy Crystal like the one Darius had, but much larger.
"Milady!", the golden guard said to the Duchess, "The Colonial Guard managed to find this Big Energy Crystal on the surface of the planet! It appears to be worth a lot of money!".
Duchess Vanity eyed the Big Energy Crystal greedily. "Ooh!"
The golden guard continued. "Our troops have reported three more Big Energy Crystals just like this one in the surrounding areas. Their locations have been put on a map."
Hearing this, the Duchess regained her composure and cleared her throat. "Young man, I have a proposition for you! You can pay off your grandfather's debts if you can supply me with three more Big Energy Crystals like this one! I'll have my guards give you a map so you can find them."
O'Brien protested behind bars. "What?! You want to send my grandson out into the dangerous wilds of this planet, just to grab you some shiny rocks?! The monsters out there are too dangerous for a young man with no training or experience! It's a fool's errand!"
"I'll do it!", Hiro blurted out.
"Hiro, you can't be serious!", yelled Lady Tiffany, "You'll only get yourself killed!".
"Listen to the girl!", said O'Brien, "Leave me here! I want you to live!".
But Hiro wasn't swayed. "I'm going to pay off that debt, no matter what! Besides, I won't be doing this alone!" He looked to his side, where Relda was. "I have the Slime Queen to help me!"
Relda seemed unsure for a moment, but then look at Hiro and nodded. "Right."
***
As Hiro and Relda made their way out of the front doors of the Colonial Palace, they decided to communicate with each other over what they had agreed to.
"I can't believe you would risk your life on such a dangerous quest, just to pay off your grandfather's debts.", said Relda, worriedly. "I have no choice but to tag along, to make sure my new friend stays safe out there."
Hiro smiled. "I knew I could rely on you, miss Slime Queen. Together, finding those Big Energy Crystals should be much easier!"
He produced the map, and looked at it as he walked. "According to this map the Duchess' guards gave me, we shouldn't be too far off from the first Big Energy Crystal."
***
The evening sky above Hiro's house was a bright orange. It had taken a long time to get back to the village from the Colonial Palace. And by then, there wasn't much time left to explore until sundown.
"Let's keep it a secret from your mother what we're doing.", suggested Relda, "She may try to stop you from going if she found out.".
"Right.", said Hiro.
"We'll depart in the morning. Best we start our quest as early as possible."
Hiro silently acknowledged the plan, then knocked on the front door. For now, it was time to spend his last day home for what would likely be a good, long time.
***
DIARY OF QUEEN RELDA III,
"Things have gotten quite complicated now. Hiro's grandfather is being held prisoner by that despotic Duchess, due to the poker debts he owes her. In order to pay off those debts, Hiro agreed to go hunting for 3 Big Energy Crystals. And I've been made to accompany the elf boy on his quest."
"I know a bit about Big Energy Crystals myself, during my time as Slime Princess nearly a century ago. I know that their energy can be quite chaotic in nature. They are not to be used without proper precautions. But I doubt that Duchess is bright enough to care."
"Hiro and I depart tomorrow. His mother and sister don't know about our quest. It's best we let them stay behind for now. They can learn about it when we return triumphantly as heroes, and not a moment sooner."
"On another note, Hiro has a rather big crush on the Duchess' daughter, Lady Tiffany. He even gave her a marriage proposal today. That girl seems rather nice. She has inherited none of her mother's despicable qualities. Perhaps he has a chance with her?"
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