Limitations 2 – Frozen Lady’s Goals

The party left the City of the Wastes in the middle of the night. It was deemed best they weren’t seen on the streets, lest they incite a spontaneous gathering of upset and unwise locals. It wouldn't be a threat to them, but why invite violence?

Aclysia flew, as did Apexus, carrying Korith in his arms. Reysha and Yuzuki snuck out on their own. They met up far outside the city bounds, then advanced about thirty minutes into the wastes before putting up the Mobile Estate. Once inside, Aclysia presented a question that had been on her mind since earlier.

“What, exactly, is your intention with us?” she asked of the Yuki-Onna. “It is my understanding that, up to the point at which Reysha’s dagger found its mark, you were guiding us on behalf of the interests of your clan.”

“An astute observation.” Yuzuki was once again comfortable in an armchair, her cultural clothing shifting as she swung one leg over the other. “Though I did not act purely due to my matriarch’s designs. What has been done, I do consider the most proper resolution to this chapter in the enduring conflict.”

“Lots of words, but ya didn’t get to her question.” Reysha filled a kettle with water and hung it above the fire that Korith had just started. Though Aclysia was typically the one to do housework, everyone else was capable of doing their part. “Tea?”

“If you are offering,” Yuzuki cooed. “Initially, I was simply the one chosen to be most likely to convince you. However, my personal agenda is much simpler: I want to get back to adventuring.”

“Missing it that much, mhm?” Reysha teased.

“Why did you stop?” Aclysia investigated. “I cannot help but observe that you were both apt and eager.”

“Do you know how many Yuki-Onna there are in the Sleeping Empire?” Yuzuki responded with a rhetorical question. “Less than ten thousand. Though I do not doubt that more of our kind exist in the Branches of the Omniverse, as far as this pocket goes our numbers are limited. We are all raised with this in mind. As an all-female species, we are further dependent on arranging marriages outside our clans.”

The whistle of the kettle informed them that the water had reached the desired temperature. Reysha used her demonic hand to move the scalding hot piece from the fire and poured the water into the five cups already prepared. Shredded pieces of herbs tumbled loosely within, lending colour and flavour to the water.

“After an incident that left me minorly marred…” Yuzuki brushed over the scar across her eye. “…I was pressured to return and settle down. At the time, I considered agreeing to be the proper choice. The incident had left me annoyed with my party members at the time, who I had never been especially close with in any case. Beyond that, I do want to do my part for the perpetuation of my people.” A long and weary sigh left her lips. “Alas, attempts to find a suitable partner for me have been difficult.”

“Why?” Korith wondered.

“A multitude of reasons.” The Yuki-Onna kept a finger on her scar. “To begin with what isn’t my fault: many prospective partners are unhappy with this blemish-“

“But it’s badass though!”

Apexus gave an abrupt nod to that, having quietly listened so far. “It is an aesthetic mark of battle.”

“Right?” Yuzuki smiled smugly. “Alas, those nobles that angle for a Yuki-Onna as their wife or concubine are usually powerful enough that they get a choice and it is to their preference to get a lady that acts and appears more demure than I.” She shrugged, her large breasts shifting up and down the with motion. “My adventuring background limits my range of suitors. Many men do not wish to have a partner whose Level exceeds theirs and… in all honesty, I do not want a weaker husband either.”

“And you're a pervert,” Reysha threw in.

“And I am a sexual deviant,” Yuzuki agreed. “A known one, at that. Though I managed to quash rumours that I had an impure life as an adventurer, I did not bother to deal with reports that I wear a harness under my robes. Loose lips of compatriots in sin divulged such truths.” The Yuki-Onna took a careful first sip of her tea. “I would like a husband that can match my freak, so to say.” She let out a long sigh. “Between those factors, matchmaking has been impossible. I have resolved to return to adventuring and hope for the best…” She shot Apexus a glance whose true meaning bounced off his contemplative denseness. “…but to do so would require the approval of my matriarch.”

“Why?” This time it was Apexus who asked. “What power does she have over you?”

“She does that thing where she wags her finger and tuts and it causes me great emotional upheaval.” Yuzuki mimicked the described motion to the collective amusement of those around. “She is my grandmother – on my mother’s side, if that needs to be said.”

“Why wouldn’t it need to be sai– Ooooh, right. Took me a second,” Korith blabbered, then blushed. “I'm stupid, you can laugh now.”

And they did, though a shoulder-bump by Reysha took all the bite out of it. “I understand correctly, then,” Aclysia moved to summarize the situation. “That you wish to leverage accompanying us to the capital so your matriarch allows your return to adventuring?”

Yuzuki took another sip, slowly to not draw in any of the leaves with the liquid. “I’ll go with you to the capital, make a final attempt at finding a husband among the most eligible bachelors of the empire, and then be released back into the wild without ostracization. Such is my hope.”

“Will the ball that we will have hosted suffice to that end?”

“Hopefully.”

Apexus hummed deeply. “Does the Church hold sway in the Sleeping Empire?”

“The Church loves centralized powers, it’s a lot less of an administrative burden on them when they can hook into a structure already in place,” Yuzuki responded. “So a fair amount, why?”

“We have some sway with the Church after we fought Parasytes on a nearby Infected Leaf.”

Yuzuki’s mouth hung open for a second. “Why didn’t you mention that earlier?!”