~~Recap~~
"Got who to come?!" The honorary aunt that was the head of all things security challenged in zero to sixty kind of fury.
~~~~~~~~~
Queen Giovanna's midnight blue eyes glaring daggers in Zory's direction failed to phase their guest of honor in the least from the very beginning either. That flawless composure Zory continued to maintain despite already having been the target of wrath by not one but now two members of the famous Nine Crowns was beyond unprecedented. It was part of why her apparent partner in all sorts of crimes admired her so much.
Of all the things their visitor might be, afraid of any of them in the slightest most definitely wasn't one. Gia's long-standing status as the only true ally and friend Matilda had left among the Nine Crowns certainly didn't seem to register as a credible threat for Zory either. The heavy silence that was a purposeful slap in the face towards the authority any of them thought they had to demand answers was a special plan of attack in and of itself. As it hung over them while Zory seemed to finish arguing with herself about whether or not to respond to begin with, let alone how, Gia's rage only multiplied by the second. It was suffocating and maddening for almost all of their observers besides Nesterio, who was chuckling at how obstinate Zory must be when dealing with just about anyone.
"You got who to come?" Gia repeated as if daring Zory to ignore her for a second time. Her tone was fuller, direct, it was a demand for an answer Zory seemed to only oblige to grant her request as if yielding to a petulant toddler.
"No one you wouldn't have cleared anyways, Gia." Came the long awaited reply without bothering to spare her a glance either. "When I said when I do my homework, I do it well, I meant that… If Trixxie had just been honest with all of you about why she was planning even half of the things she was with who she was or how she was, none of you would have failed to offer her your support in every capacity you could."
Complimenting the adults in the equation while managing to scold the little girl that had been pulling far too many strings all on her own as of late was a special feat in and of itself. Any meddling with time had been forbidden for years now in the Nova Alliance and it was obvious it takes one to know one when it comes to meddlers. The knee-jerk reaction it solicited from Trixxie didn't come with more crocodile tears nor any other signs of the tantrum they would have expected had it been anyone else in the vicinity who made that statement.
"Oh, by all means." Zory continued playfully. "Do not ever bother to bite your tongues on my account."
"That's not fair at all!" Trixxie cried out in disbelief. "You don't know them like I know them, Mari!"
"You're right, I don't." Zory grinned with an earnest display of a real smile for the very first time. "Given how wildly out of sync you are right now, I probably know them better."
Watching her handle Trixxie so seemingly effortlessly now had poor Nesterio head over heels for what this woman would be like as a mother. He was rapidly spiraling off into a whole world of little daydreams and imaginings about taking Zory for his wife as soon as he could get her to give him the time of day to even get a declaration in edgewise. Nothing about all of what had happened with Matilda as of late would have made anyone still peg him for the reckless hopeless romantic type, and he couldn't bring himself to believe this woman was anyone but the one he belong with.
"Since when is avoiding the subject your style?" Zory then added with another nod in invitation to Trixxie to make use of having the floor with likely everyone but a distracted Nesterio. "Make the most of the time we have, yes…? Sure feels like you might let me feel like I'm wasting it for once."
"Are the fireworks going to start soon?" The disgruntled girl chimed with an unspoken plea to change the subject.
Zory shrugged with indifference to her desires to sideswipe every opportunity to clear the air with their family. "Mmmm, perhaps… I'll make you a deal, yes…? I'll cue the music the second you apologize to all of them like you mean it for not telling anyone what you were really up to."
"They never would have said yes." Trixxie grumbled tersely.
"One hundred percent not true, Little T." Zory denoted sternly. "Cross-verified at least a hundred times over by yours truly, Little Miss, so out with it."
Trixxie chewed on her cheek in thought before raising a brow in suspicion at Zory. "They really would have helped?"
Zory quirked an impatient brow at that one.
"Silly thing to waste time lying about, no?" Zory chimed without missing so much as a beat otherwise. "Waiting for some magic words in literally any language of your choosing, luvs… Out with it."
"I'm not sorry." Trixxie expressed in a dejected tone. "It's their fault even I don't trust them anymore, Mari, it is."
"Bingo." Zory chirped as she rose to her feet and folded her arms across her chest with a show of triumph.
"I don't want to play bingo right now!" Trixxie whined.
The devastation rolling off of her parents and their closest friends over her confession somehow did little to shake the atmospheric shifts Zory's demeanor could somehow manage to make light of whatever over.
"Is that so?" Zory cackled to herself almost maniacally as whatever inside joke reigned on. "That's another bingo by default. It just is and you know that."
Trixxie huffed and puffed at least four times before pointing an accusing finger up at Zory. "But you already taught me to never say sorry if I don't mean it!"
"Indeed I did." Zory shrugged again while their thoroughly captivated audience remained stunned into more silence, just clinging to every word of this exchange. "I also said to always, always, always say sorry for tricking someone if it hurt them even if you felt like you didn't have a choice."
"Bingo?" Trixxie monotoned in reply.
"Bingo." Zory nodded.
Trixxie looked to Gia first with sincere remorse in her eyes as she sighed and tried to formulate something Zory would let count. "I'm sorry I lied about some of the stuff I did, but I-"
"No but." The judge in question dictated sharply.
"Okay, fine." Trixxie sighed again before looking to both of her parents instead. "I'm sorry I didn't try to tell you the truth to at least see if you would understand… I figured that none of you would really believe me anyways."
"Bingo!" Their guest of honor declared in sync with a huge and abrupt motion to point towards the sky.
The symphony of semi-demeaning booms produced by the fireworks that began in that same exact moment Zory had reached her arm towards the sky marked a display that was far grander than anything they had ever seen before. All of the perfectly selected live music that sounded out from all around them in all directions and the large flash mobs of dancers that appeared out of nowhere was otherworldly indeed. It was now an overwhelmingly fantastical array of sheer chaos that High Queen Tawney had not seen in a very long time. She had seen something this worthy of the same hype back in her day when she was still little too but on a smaller scale.
As the name that had ceased to ring a bell began to ring many again, Tawney couldn't be any more grateful the woman who was really running the show behind the scenes had come home again at long last. This wasn't just some random mantle inheritor titled as Lady Ryomari like the ones who had come in the meantime. This Mari was the real one, she simply had to be and that's all there was to it.