"I would not mind staying here," Alycyrl licked her lips. "I think I can convince your part-nymphen secretaries to 'take a break' occasionally. I am also interested in your dryad and naiad gardeners who are hiding and watching us, not realizing that I am quite attuned to Nylameian presences." A gasp and a giggle were heard from the fountain. "Is there any dress code for this place? I am used to living in places enlightened enough to mandate nudity, and that does not seem to be the case here."
"Enlightened enough," Ashyr scoffed. "Caleldir would not see it that way! And Selene would hate to not be able to wear all her finery! I certainly don't care as long as everyone is attractive. What you're wearing works in the common areas. In the living quarters... well, you might scandalize Sornamal. He works for Duskhaven again, officially. Just not as Consort anymore. Obviously."
"I think that what I am wearing matches what your secretaries wear," Alycyrl replied with a grin. "But I will wear anything that I can remove quickly."
"A head-to-toe robe could accomplish that much. Anyway, what I meant to say is that you could go naked in the living quarters if you wanted to. Sornamal will just give you one of his Looks. Selene's Looks pale in comparison!" Ashyr smirked. "It's a lot of fun."
"That makes more sense," Alycyrl chuckled. "Anyway, I probably will not go naked where Sornamal can disapprove. Probably." She slumped a bit, looking very tired. "It is good to be back," she smiled weakly. "But all merriment aside, I need some time to think about what I want to do. Staying here will give me that time."
She looked towards the outer building carved into the crater. "It looks like it will take a few decades for most of our people to get used to the sun. Only you, me, and the enhanced ones are stirring outdoors. Not much is likely to happen until nightfall." She looked back towards Ashyr. "You just got back from somewhere, and I do not see Caleldir around. Is there anything interesting going on? Has Caleldir got himself kidnapped by insistent lovers again? I do seriously think that you should weaponize that."
"He was with your former mistress last I saw her. I do hope he comes back soon, or I really will worry that he has been kidnapped again," Ashyr responded. She looked slightly worried about it. "I would rather not try to weaponize Caleldir like that. I would prefer to hide him away and put a stop to that sort of thing for a while. When he and Selene come back, maybe we'll have an official family discussion about it."
"Caleldir is with Rubella?" Alycyrl said in mild surprise. "Well, that is... interesting. I am sympathetic towards most of the Succubus Queen's goals, of course, but she is very, very dangerous. She rarely shows it, but she is a fanatical follower of the Ur-Nymph, the Undead Archfey Astellodia, and her daughter Lilith. And Caleldir is the Son of Astellodia, Goddess of the Forgotten, and her husband the Cloaked Titan, the God of Searching. Your House Consort is a full brother to Aelsuna the Goddess of Beauty and Nymphs, Lilith the Goddess of Sensuality and Succubi, Aralolth the Goddess of Secrets and Drow, Corelath the God of Order and Light Elves, and Freyja the Goddess of War and Valkyries. For whatever reason, though, your demigod refuses to be a god of any type, demi or otherwise, and just lets himself get batted around by the infinite number of women drawn to his divine essence. He is a demigod with two gods as parents, but the most mild and frankly pathetic one I have ever seen."
Alycyrl sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Frankly, you need to get your husband some balls. Get him to seduce the women already predisposed to be obsessed with him, and use that to solidify power. If for no other reason than as Caleldir's true nature becomes known outside of us and Rubella's inner circle he will become the target of every god and goddess active on and around this world. If you and he do not have the ability to deal with some amorous succubi wanting to incubize the larval form of a god then you will never see the end of trouble. You need power, and lots of it. And forgive my bluntness, but right now your best bet to solidify that power is through his cock. Use him to bang your enemies into submission. Women who rape him end up being subservient to him more often than not, for some strange reason. But not because he does anything, but because you, Selene, and Althaia do. Especially Selene."
The rebel princess gave an apologetic grin. "Yes, we have been spying on you."
Ashyr looked as if she had just bitten into something unpleasant. "I know you've been spying - you just said you were. But how the fuck am I suppose to manage that without Caleldir becoming extremely unhappy? And Selene, too for that matter! Abyss, even I'm getting uncomfortable with how many women Caleldir has drawn to himself! Damn it, I didn't want all this! I wanted to fuck around in the wilderness and fight orcs and other random uglies! I can't handle all this!"
By the end of her speech, Ashyr was looking rather wild. As if she was on her verge of just sprinting off. Bard leapt to her side in a slight panic, though he couldn't figure out what they were supposed to be fighting.
"I am sorry," Alycyrl sighed. "I hate it, I really do. But you are Matron of Duskhaven now. And Duskhaven is now not just one of the most powerful Houses in the Drow Empire, but a Dark Elven rival to the Drow, the focus point of a millenia old struggle between Gods and Titans, and in de-facto control of the weapon arsenal of the only country in the history of this planet to put a credible threat against the gods of this world. You all do not seem to be aware of what position you are in, the fact that there is no way to leave it safely, and what must be done to maintain it. Maybe using Caleldir as a bargaining chip is not the right answer, but you will need to do something. I spent two hundred years as the expected heir to the Drow Throne. I saw all the games. I had to play a lot of them. And the storm that is coming your way is one that not even gods can stand against. You will have to fundamentally change the way you view the world if you want to survive as yourself, and not a mere pawn."
The woman slumped, her carefree facade slipping as the weight of centuries overcame her. She always looked very young, but right now her eyes showed her true age. "Caleldir has been a mere pawn for his entire life, and does not know how to act, only how to react. But Ashyr, you are not much different. You rarely act on your own, we only react to the situation we find ourselves in. We are not as bad as Caleldir, granted, but it is time for us to learn how to act instead of just reacting. We need to grow up." Alycyrl gave Uriel a tender touch. "Or our children will be swept away by the same storm that comes for us."
Having finished her tirade, the princess let out a miserable sigh and sat down on the side of the fountain, looking at the mossy stones beneath her feet. She was silent.
"You're just making it clear to me that I am the last person for this job," Ashyr grumbled as she sat down next to her friend. "I haven't had any experience. I can't even focus on simple paperwork for ten minutes. Selene, you, Caleldir, Sornamal, Tsabdrin - you're all smarter than me. I'm a ranger. I can manage simple creatures. Not drow or dark elves. And you're asking me to try to handle gods? And why? Because I'm the first woman to win Caleldir's heart? That's not exactly a difficult feat. Or is it because I was off fucking around in the wilderness instead of being assassinated?"
"Who else is there for the job?" Alycyrl sighed. "Caleldir may be smarter than you, but he is unable to stop himself from getting ravished every five minutes. Is Selene willing to be Matron? Tsabdrin is a good man, but he is not a leader. Sornamal is old and tired. Who else can lead Duskhaven besides you?"
"Selene isn't willing, no. I think she wouldn't mind doing most of the work if it was just out house issues that we had to deal with. But the main reason she's content with not being the official heir is because she doesn't want to deal with the whole city - she wants free time to research and stuff. And yeah, there are less drow now but there are so many other issues because we don't even know what the status quo is supposed to be. I'm the only one for the job, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm not qualified! I'm trying, but as soon as Caleldir and Selene take a week off, everything piles up and falls apart."
Ashyr put her head in her hands, her elbow rested on her knees. "Putting me in this job is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Sure, it might be the only piece available, but it still doesn't fit."
"Well," Alycyrl began slowly. "If the peg will not fit into the hole but must do so, you must either carve the peg, the hole, or both to be the right size and shape. So, you cannot do your job. But you must do your job. So, you either have to change yourself, change your job, or both. The answer is always both. Or you can find someone more qualified whom you trust absolutely, and try to get them to do the job instead. So, with that in mind, how can we make this work?"