Chronicles of a Royal Pet: A Princess and an Ooze (Royal Ooze Chronicles Book 1)

by Ian Rodgers

  However, the robes were the most unsettling feature of the man’s outfit. Scrawling lines of black ink slithered and writhed across his body, forming terrible curses, unholy verses of dark scripture, vile truths, and shameful secrets. They were never at rest, and always seemed to be new when one tried to focus on them for too long.

  “Once is a coincidence. Twice is an accident. Three times means an active interference,” the man continued, sitting peacefully in a chair in the corner of the count’s study. “The Rose Worms were too subtle. The Poison Oozes were too brazen. And either of those foiled plans can be explained away by mere animal instinct on the part of the pet monster. But the Triach Effect served up at the feast should have been undetectable. Not even trained beasts can detect it since it is three components uniting as one that creates the danger. Yet this Ooze managed to uncover the threat, and now our efforts are spoiled and the king is aware of them. So, what shall happen now?”

  “Now? Now we go to war because of this!” Darpel screamed at the robed figure.

  “We? I’m afraid this is all on your head, Count Darpel. I have given what assistance was required, both in this matter and in others, as per our agreement. But I never said I would take the fall with you.” The man in the golden mask rose from his chair which caused a torrent of swears and curses to be hurled at him.

  “Bastard! You’re just going to up and leave me?! This is your mess too!”

  “Indeed it is. Already some people will begin to suspect me and my order’s involvement in the failed assassination. I wanted you to plant the tainted food in the private meals of the royal family, to make a quiet but none the less deadly statement, but you insisted on having it become a grand, bloody spectacle during the most auspicious festival of the year. Dozens of nobles and notables would have died, and while it would have advanced the plans greatly, now we both must deal with the fallout in our own ways.”

  “The Triarch Effect is far too infamous these days, and gives away my order’s involvement. The elves will hunt me. Though few still live from the last time I and my people arose the memories of death and humiliation linger. They will focus much of their power on eradicating us for good this time. And do not forget the World Paladin, whom once suffered at my hands. His wrath will not be quiet or subtle. So now we fight. You have your battles, and I have mine.” The robed figure stepped away, raising a hand to the door knob, before pausing.

  “Of course, I will honor our alliance, short as it may have been. A handful of my followers will aide you in battle. They will slip in amongst the mercenaries you will no doubt hire to bolster your own troops. You’ll never know who they are, in case you or they are captured. But I will help. I never lie, and I never break a promise.”

  “A cultist keeping their word. What will the gods think of next?” Darpel sneered. He quickly regretted that action as the room became filled with tension and the ozone tang of raw magic. His guest did not turn back to face him, but the reply was chillingly direct.

  “Mortals lie. Mortals steal. Mortals cheat. Such is the way of all sapient life. No species is exempt, no culture free of these sins. And yet me and my own strive to avoid such things, in spite of our admittedly devastating goals. Why? Because it gives us pleasure to know that no matter who we murder, maim, and harm, we still maintain the moral high ground. We do not lie. We do not steal. We do not cheat. We just kill and kill and kill. Without malice, without ill-will, we deal death and destruction equally to all. The world shall rebel, and the heavens shall shatter before us. And it will happen without us resorting to the petty tactics of those who seek to preserve this worthless existence.”

  The man in the blasphemous white robes turned his head slowly to stare at the count, and the noble couldn’t help but shiver in terror. For reflecting in the golden mirror was not himself and his room, but a landscape of fire and death and looming oblivion, presided over by an eldritch being composed of nothing, with infinite-yet-zero mouths and eyes.

  Darpel choked back a scream at the images, nearly retching in fear. The Hierophant of the World Rebellion turned away with a disdainful air, opening the door and exiting, softly closing it behind him.

  Wiping his lips free of spittle and froth, the count shivered before grabbing various documents and calling for his servants. Things were about to become very dangerous for him and his territory, and not all of the threats came from his brother-in-law.

  Chapter 16: A new member of royalty is born

  It was dark and cold all around me. It was a terror I thought I had long ago forgotten and escaped. The damp chill reminded me too much of the alley I was born in. How long did I live amidst the trash and refuse, the cold stones slick with moisture? I remembered hands, plucking me from the ground, and then being tossed without care into a glass tank. I remembered a time of darkness and isolation. I could not see beyond the confines of my tiny prison. How long did I spend, before I was saved, and shown the light of love?

  I recalled the first image to ever grace my newborn soul; a kind, caring face with eyes that wanted only to see smiles and happiness around her. Love. For the first time in my miserable existence, I felt such an emotion, and directed at me no less!

  How long did I drift in the blackness, seeing nothing, feeling nothing? A day, a week, a year? I did not know. I could not even properly pinpoint when exactly my mind “woke up” to process coherent thoughts and ponder the nature of this emptiness. I shuddered. I was afraid. Afraid of being lost and alone, of becoming unwanted by my savior…

  It was at that moment, as those thoughts sent shivers through my body, that my surroundings, once dark and gloomy, started to lighten as color rushes in to fill me. It was slow, and as the color returned so too did other things. I felt wet, as if I was submerged in liquid of some sort. I didn’t have enough control to focus on examining what it was, just enough to know that it wasn’t hurting me. Then came sound. Footsteps, oddly muted, rumbled around me, the vibrations shaking me about in the pool of liquids. Then voices, low and distorted, but growing clearer with every second.

  “My lady, you need to rest. Pacing around and worrying won’t accelerate the healing process.”

  “But Orleen, he nearly died trying to protect me! To protect my family! I, I just don’t want to lose him!”

  “He’ll be fine, my lady. Don’t worry. Didn’t Mage Petrus assure us – I mean you – that Jelly would wake up eventually? He just needs time to recover.”

  I could hear my dear owner’s voice and that of her maid, and I smiled inside. Liliana’s concern for me warmed my core, and I wobbled happily. Even Orleen, for all her gruffness towards me, had a note of worry for both the princess and myself that made me chuckle at how far we’d come.

  I wiggled around and started to struggle, trying to get their attention. Gods, I wished I could talk! My movements caused the liquid I was immersed in to slosh around and splash to the floor a bit, which seemed to alert my two worried visitors. Instantly I heard the sound of two pairs of footsteps rushing towards me, and moments later a pair of soft and small hands pluck me from my resting place.

  “Jelly!” Liliana cried ecstatically, clutching me to her chest in joy. I felt small wet droplets impact me, and I realized she was crying! I snuggled closer to assure her that I was fine. My vision started to clear up and improve as my senses trickled back into awareness. I noticed a few new things. First off, I could see. As in, actual colors and shapes, not just what my magical echolocation told me were shapes and colors! Second, my range had increased, but now I could see through two sources; the echolocation but also an “eye” of sorts, which seems to have formed from my core! It had transmuted in a pseudo-eyeball that I was using to perceive the world around me as a human might, which was something I didn’t think was possible, yet clearly was.

  Now I had to rotate and move the “eyeball” to look in a direction like a normal life form. Supplemented by my extrasensory ability as an Ooze, this was an incredible change!

  I explored my body and mind to see
what else had changed. I felt that I was producing a new form of gel inside my body, like when I assimilated the Poison Oozes. The concoction didn’t seem to be toxic, but I kept an eye on it regardless. Thirdly, I seemed to have a higher density of magic in my body than before. Checking it, I could not believe my senses!

  Mana! All living things produced this energy, even Oozes, but in the past my mana had been thin and watery. Now, it was thick, more abundant, and more akin to a human’s; vibrant and filled with colors and a purer grade of power. I wondered if I could cast spells?

  “I’m so glad you’re OK, Jelly!” Liliana sobbed, and I turned my attention back to my owner. “When you ate that poisoned cake and everything started to go wrong I was so worried! Thank the Divine Family for your safety!”

  Poisoned cake? It wasn’t poison, I remember that much. More like an alchemical reaction between different substances that made a ‘BOOM!’ Still, it had hurt like the Hells themselves had forced their way into and out of my body, and I didn’t normally feel pain!

  “It’s a good thing Oozes don’t need air or have lungs, else you’d be hugging poor Jelly to death right after he’s healed,” Orleen joked, making Liliana “eep!” in shock and she let me go slightly.

  “Sir Tomas Nierz identified the stuff in the cake as a mixture of substances that creates something called the Triarch Effect. He also said that your danger senses alerted you to what was in the food. He was kind enough to feed you an Elixir to heal you from the damage!” My owner continued, explaining a bit more about what happened. I nodded, or at least tried to. Dang, not having a neck was annoying! And I never thought I’d say that.

  “Father investigated and uncovered who tried to assassinate us.” At this, Liliana’s eyes turned wet. “It was Uncle Darpel! I don’t understand though, why did he and Aunt Liliana want to do that? I just…”

  She broke down a bit more at this reveal, days of tension and worry finally coming unwound and she let her tears free. I patted her arm comfortingly with a tendril, and she sniffed and recollected herself.

  “It seems Uncle Darpel tried to help his wife, father’s oldest sister, take control of the kingdom in a coup. Failure was the outcome though, and he was only spared death because he and his wife had been very careful not to give themselves away fully. There had been too little evidence for a summary execution. For years Darpel kept to himself, biding his time.”

  “Father has already mobilized the army and marched on Edelstein. The fighting was fierce, but he’s already wiped out most of the opposition. Uncle Darpel was slain on the battlefield, and now Cousin Einrik is fighting against father.”

  The princess wiped her tears away, and sat down on the bed. Ah, so we’re in her bedroom! I quickly took a look around, something I’d forgotten to do when I’d first woken up. Everything seemed the same, with maybe a bit more mess lying around. The only real change appeared to be a tin tub at the foot of the bed filled with Healing Potions, and of a high grade quality! I realized that must be where I’d spent my coma resting. It must have been expensive, filling the whole container with the potions.

  One other thing I noticed was that I felt different. Stronger, naturally, but in the reflection of Liliana’s mirror I could have sworn I had changed color.

  “It’s been three months already, and winter is going to arrive shortly. I hope father will be back before the snows start and he gets trapped out in Edelstein,” Liliana went on to say, which snapped me back to the conversation.

  Three months?! I’d been unconscious for three months?! I shivered, suddenly realizing how close to death I’d gotten. My owner felt this and quickly pulled me tighter to her.

  “It’s Ok, everything is OK, Jelly. You have to be brave with me now. Father will be fine. Just fine.” I relaxed and wrapped tiny limbs around her in a facsimile of a hug.

  What did three months really matter to me? In that time, my precious owner had lost an uncle, nearly lost me, and could possible still lose a father. Her suffering was so much more than mine.

  Within my core, I burned with rage. How dare they? How dare they?! Why did they do this, how could anyone let someone as kind and pure as my owner be hurt so badly like this?! When I find them I would rip them apart!

  Inside, I had a gnawing feeling that this was not the end, merely the beginning of something much worse. But she had me. I would stand by her side and never let her go! Nothing would hurt her so deeply again, I swore this on the Divine Family!

  Upon that declaration, I heard five voices whisper into my mind, “We’ll be waiting for your call.” Startled, I looked around trying to find a source of the voices, but could find none. Not even a trace of mana.

  When nothing else happened for a bit I tried to relax and burbled contentedly. This was a good spot, right here in her arms. Warm and soft and suffused with kindness.

  “Orleen, could you call for Sir Goyn? I want him to check up on Jelly, now that he is awake and seems to have changed colors,” Liliana instructed, and her maid bowed before heading out. Oh, I actually had morphed? Interesting.

  Petrus was here? Hadn’t seen him in a while, it’d be good to be able to again! I wobbled happily, and waited patiently in Liliana’s arms for the wizard.

  He arrived soon enough, looking flustered and out of breath, until his eyes landed on me and he brightened up.

  “You gave us all a fright, little one. I am glad to see you awake and in good health,” Petrus said, a tired but genuine smile on his face. “My lady, do you mind if I hold him for a bit? I need to check his condition.”

  Liliana paused, struggling against letting me go. But I patted her arm tenderly, and she sighed sadly before passing me over.

  “Alright…” Petrus started to fuss over me, peering into my core with a magical magnifying glass, taking samples of my outer body, and feeding me various potions and concoctions. As he worked he spoke to the princess and Orleen about various subjects, ranging from the situation in Geldstein to the latest advances in magical theory. Whenever the conversation drifted to magic and spells Petrus’ eyes sparkled with intensity and his words were full of awe. He truly loved magic with all his heart. His animated passion was infectious, and by the end I could tell Liliana was hooked. I knew that in a little bit she’d be asking her mother and father for permission to study more complicated and advanced spells.

  After a little while Petrus’ mood turned… well, it couldn’t be called solemn, but there was something tense in the air. He started flipping through thick tomes he had brought after a while, muttering to himself. The wizard was pulling them out of his robes even though they shouldn’t be able to fit. Based on the magical energy I ‘saw’ hanging around his pouch, I concluded it was a Bag of Holding. After a bit of mumbling and searching the books, he passed me back to my owner’s grasp and massaged his forehead.

  “Well, to alleviate your worries, my lady, Jelly is perfectly healthy. In fact he is even better than before.”

  “How do you mean?”

  Petrus steepled his fingers, unsure of how to explain.

  “Princess, what do you know of the various types of Ooze?”

  Liliana thought for a moment before speaking. “Well, I know about Green Ooze because you told me about them, and how various kinds can form based on where they live and what they eat. Other than that, I’ve read that rarer types of Ooze can only be born as such, and that much about this particular species is unknown because of their nature as semi-solid magic.”

  “Exactly,” the mage said happily. “So, in your research, have you ever heard of a Royal Ooze?”

  Liliana shook her head, as did Orleen. I merely wobbled left to right. Necks and heads were useful sometimes.

  “To be honest very few have. You see, there have only been three confirmed sightings of a Royal Ooze in the past two hundred years, and no more than three dozen in the entirety of the Academy and Guild’s history or records. There have been twice that many unconfirmed sightings, and dozens more wild tales and the like. But the point
is they are extremely rare, and extremely powerful.” He smirked a bit at our shocked expressions before continuing.

  “A Royal Ooze is deep purple with a golden core, and with flecks of gold floating around inside it, mainly concentrated around the center. It had the power to command all other kinds of Ooze, from the lowest ordinary ones to the vast Pond Ooze. It can actually cast spells, and not just use spell-like abilities. Royal Ooze can produce incredibly toxic slime or potent healing gel on command, and are able to dissolve even dragon scales in their gullet. The smallest one recorded was seven feet wide and eight feet tall. The biggest was over a hundred feet all around.”

  “What does this have to do with Jelly?” Liliana asked even as a hint of understanding came to her and myself.

  “I suppose we’ll have to change the records around,” Petrus mused with a smile. “Jelly here is not just the smallest Royal Ooze in history, he is also the first one known to have evolved to that stage. He is also, from just a cursory glance, easily a C-rank Mage in his own right. With training that could rise to B or even A-rank in just a few years of training.”

  “Wow.” The princess held me up and looks at me, smiling in pride. “I always knew you were special. Now I know just how much so!”

  “His diet won’t change, and as long as you do not overfeed him he shouldn’t grow to massive sizes. Just keep magical items away from him, as they may cause his growth to be unstable. Other than that, treat him as normal,” Petrus said happily, glad to see a genuine smile on my owner’s face again. From what I’d gathered from his talks during my examination, he had been put in charge of setting up various wards around the palace and acting as a liaison to the battle mages on the field, keeping the king informed of what happened in the capitol and the queen of what went on during the pacification. During that time he probably hadn’t seen my princess smile too often.

  “I need to double check the wards, and then I have a report to send to the king,” Petrus said, standing. “If you want me to send the king a message, I will do for you.”