Amelia and Ophelia: The Former Grand Duchess and Saintess.

A few days after receiving the go-ahead from their informant in the Demon Kingdom of Amma, the dual monarchs, with the Cheif Persephone of the Sirens and his wife Val, and Irly were standing on the deck of the HNS Amelia as it began its departure from Brightpoint on their voyage to the capital of the Demon Kingdom, the city of Nas. The sailors were moving about and doing their jobs diligently as the group moved from the main deck over to the bridge, trying to make sure they did not hinder the work of the sailors and give them space to do their work properly and diligently. 

"This is truly a fascinating sight to behold Your Majesties. I have only seen what it was like on small fishing vessels but this is entirely different" Irly remarked as she watched the crew move like clockwork, her eyes shining with fascination and awe as she shifted her gaze from one action to another, a smile on her face as she enjoyed the view 

"Irly speaks for the three of us as well Your Majesties. Me and Val have never seen anything like this!" Persephone added with excitement as he felt the ship moving and leaned on the railings to watch the ship cut through the waves. 

"What my hubby says is true Your Majesties. It is truly a thrilling experience!" Val also added while she did the same thing as her beloved husband,

"I am glad you all enjoy the experience. It was the same for us two as well when we first went out to sea with these ships" Ophelia replied with a small smile as she glanced at them, standing beside her beloved who was leaning on the railings in front of the ship's wheel. 

"It truly is an enjoyable and fascinating experience" Amelia stated with a nod

When the ships finally made it out to open waters, it was approximately going to be a 4-hour sailing journey to their destination despite the distance. This was due to the fact that unlike the ships being used by the merchant arm of the Kingdom of Amma that relied purely on the wind, making them travel much slower and reaching the port of Olertin City in half a day, the ships of the Halkare Navy used a combination of the natural free flowing wind and the wind given by the wind magic crystals embedded on the masts of each ship. This made them much faster than they looked and greatly decreased traveling time. With the wind blowing in the air and a sense of calm and stillness setting in, Ophelia and Amelia turned to the trio they had brought with them as their delegation. 

"Captain. The Imperial Cabin has been prepared for Her Majesties" One of the officers, a wolf beastkin, said as he appeared from the room directly below the bridge 

"Understood Bockom, thank you" Captain Dorchets, the commander of the HNS Amelia, replied with a nod before turning to the dual monarchs 

"Your Majesties. The accommodations are ready for you, the admiral is also inside waiting" She added with her lovely voice 

"Thank you Dorchets. C'mon now everyone, let's head inside" Amelia stated as all five of them walked down and into the cabin 

Stepping into the cabin, the group saw that it was ornately decorated and very fancy for a ship despite the presence of magi-cannons in their resting position facing upward and staying near the walls and set of small cabinets and drawers containing charts, weapons and other naval trinkets. The wall the cannons were resting next to was filled with wonderfully intricate carvings embedded into the woodwork, and the back of the cabin with the gigantic window looking to sea had one long and comfy looking bedding that was built into the frame, which could serve as a place for one to sit or sleep on next to the window itself. There was even a large and intricately detailed oblong-shaped table in the center of the room with a set of chairs, one of them being occupied by Admiral Ushana who was smiling at them as they entered. 

"You Majesties. I hope you find the commodities acceptable" Ushana stated with a bow of her head as she stood from her seat 

"It is, it's more than acceptable Ushana. So do not worry" Amelia said with a small smile as the group sat down 

"Right. Now that we are all here, I understand you three are wondering why you were chosen to tag along with us" Ophelia began as she looked at the trio across the table 

"That is true Your Majesties. While I understand bringing along Chief Persephone and Val given that we are going to a kingdom that is an island chain and that since they are sirens they can wield their magic at its full extent akin to them below the sea, I do not understand my purpose of being here as my job is to be the Minister of Interior Relations" Irly stated with a slightly confused expression 

"Well, it's because you are the Minster of Interior Relations that you are accompanying us" Ophelia replied 

{?}

"Pardon?" Irly asked with eyebrows raised 

"Let me explain what is actually going on. Although we told you three that this is a delegation to the Kingdom of Amma, it is actually not. In fact it is the opposite, we are going there to formally annex it and make it a part of the empire" Ophelia answered 

{!}

"What? What do you mean Your Majesties?" Chief Persephone asked 

"It is rather simple really, for the past few years, there has been a growing divide between the ruler of that land, King Alfonsis and his nobles, from what intelligence we have gathered from our spy, it was due to the accidental death of his wife during a dungeon raid but that is all we know. But it is due to this divide and the inability of both parties to manage their kingdom properly economically, and continuing to basically strip or destroy the numerous dungeons that dot the island chain, they are currently on a crash course to anarchy, that is where we come in. The nobles have rallied under the only daughter of Alfonsis, Princess Toria and she has asked us to basically annex her kingdom in order to save it" Ophelia answered 

"So the reason I am here is to formally introduce them into our governmental structure, make a good first impression, and then ensure things go smoothly...I see" Irly said with a nod as she leaned into her chair and had a thinking expression 

"Precisely, Toria will lose her status as a princess and be given the rank of Clan Leader while also serving as the primary Governor for the Amma island chain. Something she agreed to ever since she has been in contact with us" Amelia chimed in 

"To save her people and her kingdom, she sold them out to a more powerful entity....what makes us so sure she won't do the same when someone stronger than us comes around?" Admiral Ushana asked, her voice coming in after listening to everything so far 

"Well, we have thought of just implanting a race-wide spell that ensures their loyalty as it kills them via explosion if they dare to betray us but Amelia has shot that idea down for being too extreme, then there was another idea of just binding them to the nation via a spell that would give us full control of them but that was once again shot down by my beloved, so we have a final solution of just killing them all outright if they ever betray us for another power, but to prevent that from happening in the first place we will be binding them to us economically and socially via helping rebuild their dying region and show them how a true nation should be as to them, they have no other choice at this point" Ophelia answered the admiral, noticing her shocked expression as well the same expression of the others opposite to her when she mentioned the first two options

"Ahem...regardless of how we handle them if they ever betray us in the future, the actual problem of winning them over is rather simple as most of their populace lives in substandard living conditions compared to ours based on the reports and the picture that Toria has painted for us. And just like Ophelia said, they have gotten so desperate that they have no other choice but to accept annexation from us and absorption into the empire, they lack the tools they need to do it themselves and they know this and they also know they have no say in how this goes, better to leave a sinking ship and walk on land than die trying to save it" Amelia chimed in to get them back on track 

"True" 

"Indeed" 

"You are right about that Your Majesty" 

"That is a reasonable thought process" 

After their replies, the room fell silent for a moment as the sound of the ship sailing and the sea passing them by filled the air, a noticeable calm mixed with worry was present in the expressions of the four people across from the dual monarchs and they knew it too. Although this was in theory a very simple task at hand, it seemed much more complex the more they thought about it. But it was something that the dual monarchs were prepared to do and knew they could succeed in doing so as if they were not, they would not be here sailing off to the Demon Kingdom but instead plan more and more. 

"Right. Before all of that, we have a problem before us first that needs our immediate attention. The annihilation of the forces loyal to King Alfonsis and his son. From the reports given to us by the Undersea Reconnaissance Corp, the ships of the Royal Navy of Amma are somewhat of lesser quality than our own ships if I read the reports right. Here is the model they had sent us after capturing one and then sinking it with a leviathan " Ophelia stated as she placed down a model of a ship before them 

[A/N: Could not find a proper model that was free, so here is a picture and I will just describe it] 

The model plopped down on the table was that of a ship with three masts, there were no visible gun ports like the ones on the ships of the Halkare Navy but there were a set of slits in the deck right before the waterline and a set of what looked to be massive crossbow launchers bolted to the top deck. The ship had a much more early design by the looks of things when analyzing it and unlike the giant masts and sails of their ships, the masts and sails of this ship were smaller in every shape and form. 

Admiral Ushana took the model into her hands and began inspecting it, her eyes analyzing every detail she could find, the model itself reminded her of the many merchant ships that belonged to the merchant marine of the kingdom, except for the fact that these ships were armed with an array of massive crossbow launchers. 

"Thise look like an armed merchant galleon Your Majesties" Ushana remarked as she placed the model back down on the table 

"That's because it is Ushana" Amelia replied 

"Indeed. The ships of the Royal Navy are basically armed and more durable merchant ships purpose-built for war. But unlike our ships, they have no protective barriers projected by a crystal on the ship nor do they have magic monster crystals embedded into the masts that help produce wind, meaning they are fully reliant on natural wind. In terms of their firepower, Toria has described them as "Javelin Launchers" as they launch javelins that have their tips enchanted with fire magic, meaning when they are launched they ignite into fire lances that crash into enemy ships with force, but I doubt it will be strong enough to penetrate the defensive shield our ships passively project" Ophelia added

"Hmm, given the size of their galleons are barely larger than our brigs, the lack of protective projection, and their lack of firepower it is safe to assume that even our smallest magi-cannons on our sloops-of-war can rip it apart with ease" Ushana stated with a small smirk 

"It looks that way" Ophelia agreed with a nod

"On another note, it seems that the entire military is behind the king, meaning both army and navy" Amelia added 

"So we will have to fight them on the open seas...why not just sink them all the Leviathans under Her Majesty Amelia's command?" Chief Persophone asked 

"That is true, but rather than fully rely on them for everything naval-related, it was better for us to split it between the navy and the Leviathans. The Imperial Halkare Navy will be tasked with handling and crushing the Royal Navy while the Leviathans ensure that there are no survivors by pulling them under and either killing or capturing them depending on their orders. This ensures that our navy is able to earn battle experience while our Leviathans also get something to do" The raven-haired empress stated

"Plus, while the Leivathans at my command are willing to fight, what remains of their clan wish to be passive as their history has left a bitter taste in their mouths when it comes to fighting and I wish to respect that decision" The blonde empress added 

"I see...a question though Your Majesties, I was informed by a report that the Under Sea Reconnaissance group had listed several armadas scatted across the island chain, how are we to deal with them?" Ushan asked

"Simple. Split the fleet to go and handle them while we capture the capital and secure it" Ophelia answered

"Alright. Seems reasonable enough...let me just grab something" The admiral remarked as she stood up 

She walked over to a cabinet by the window frame and pulled out a set of papers and a map, papers she then handed over to her dual monarchs and then splayed out the map on the table before sitting back down, 

"This is the list of the ships of our fleet, a map of the island chain, and another paper regarding where the enemy ships are stationed. What are your orders Your Majesties?" The admiral stated 

[Tried to make a map via generator but failed. AI also failed. So yeah no visible map sadly]

The dual monarchs took a moment as they analyzed the map of the Demon Kingdom of Amma, it was an island chain of various islands of differing sizes that took the form that resembled the head of a sickle, the capital was on the blade tip of the sickle and was marked while many other spots on the map were marked as naval bases. They also reviewed the list of ships on the papers given to them, they had read the same report beforehand and had already come up with a plan, so this was sort of a refresher to see if their plan from earlier was right, and by the looks of it on the map, their earlier hesitation was thankfully quashed and their faith in the plan reinforced. 

"Well, based on the map and the reports, the largest set of ships is located on an island directly south of the capital, we will be sending out a pair of the Gaius Classes with escorts to wipe it out while sending the other pair of the class with their own escorts to crush another naval base directly opposite of the capital island on the chain, the HNS Ophelia will go on its own towards the base at the other end of the island chain while the HNS Amelia as our flagship will stay anchored off the capital city with her escorts and bombard the city and castle before sending in the Black Guard to help us sweep up the remainder of the place, those are the orders" 

"Understood Your Majesty. I will relay them to the fleet right now" Ushana stated as she gave a bow and then walked out of the cabin 

"With that out of the way, what shall we do?" Irly asked the dual monarchs

"You will be accompanying us as we attend the banquet and do your duties as representatives of the empire, of course, you will be expected to fight when things break out, so can you?" Amelia answered her 

"We can hold our own Your Majesties" Irly replied 

"That's good to hear then, so take some time to relax before we arrive there, we have a few hours remaining" Ophelia chimed in

"Yep! Sleep well while you can"

"Of course Your Majesties" They all answered

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Inside what used to be the warden's office now turned into her own personal one, Toria is sitting and writing down new laws and procedures and proposals for the future position she is soon to have, her handler who had received a signal from the incoming delegation told her all she needed to know about what was to happen in a few hours. Although she had practically handed over her nation to outsiders and sold out the family members she loved more than anything in the world, her mind was steadfast in the belief of the greater good she had chosen for all. 

Although she loved them to death, she knew that her father and brother had lost touch with the situation at hand and were absolutely driving the kingdom to its grave, and that was something she was not going to let happen despite of her love for them. In fact, Toria was very much tired of being a royal after she had seen the appalling conditions of her people and despite her many attempts to try and convince her father to help them, saw nothing happening. This also served as her main cause for loyalty towards the Halkare Empire as she had seen the living standards for this newly birthed nation and saw it was leagues above her home's own living standard. 

Education was freely given to anyone willing to learn and it was a requirement, free healthcare was a thing provided to all and the jobs of the nation all paid well no matter who you were, a literal utopia and haven had emerged and she was damned sure to get her people these benefits. But she knew it would not be easy, there would be some problems here and there like most things in life, but the main problem to tackle first was the one pertaining to her family, a problem that was soon to be solved she thought as she placed the pen down and stood up, looking out the window showing her the vast expanse of the sea and the silhouette of the capital island in the distance. 

"Soon it will all be better...they will have to accept it regardless, even if I have to drag them...for the betterment of all" She muttered as she thought of her people and the hardships soon to come.

A/N: And here we go! The newest arc and I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I had fun writing it. If you got comments or reactions, lemme see in the comments below and as always Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day!