The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Chapter 859: Clear the Way

The end of the week came all too soon, and with it the demonstration of Blaze's unparalleled genius. Or at least that is what Noble called it in her head. Even if he failed today, she was too proud of him to think of it as anything else.

Not that Noble thought his experiment would fail.

On the contrary, she had quite a bit of faith that he would succeed. So did the government and Clan Song. The contact that Blaze had made at the restaurant was more connected than Noble could have dreamed, and he brought high-ranking representatives without ever needing to use the ambassador's name as leverage.

Even a contingent from Clan Valor had asked to watch the display, but in the end, the scheduling had just not worked out.

'More like the Queen didn't want to let any of the King's Awakened sneak into her city.' Noble didn't tell anyone of her suspicions, even Fort, but deep down, she knew this was true.

That was just as well. There were far too many people near the edge of the volcano as it was. To control the curious crowd, some of the Awakened from Song had to form an insulatory line between the invited guests and the onlookers.

'All this to see a little light bulb." Noble smiled.

Of course, it was much more than that. This was the proof that the Dream Realm could be modernized. Whether people supported the cause or not, it would be a historic success. Who wouldn't want to witness it?

And Noble had a front row seat.

But rather than stare at the small bulb perched on top of a magical generator, Child of Promise was paying close attention to another bright spot in the world.

Blaze was holding a wrench, checking every bolt with intense focus. Sweat was pouring down his face inside the protective suit. Although Noble couldn't see the young man's face, she could feel his nervous energy. Her heart went out to him.

"Mom," Brock was fidgeting beside her on the specially constructed risers. "Blaze is doing that thing again. The one where he checks everything a hundred times and can't get out of his head…"

"I see that," Noble furrowed her brow.

"Want me to check on him?" Rain offered from the end of the bench.

Noble shook her head. "I'll get it."

Fort was sitting on the other side of her, in a deep discussion with another government agent who was insisting that they needed more wells in the lower city.

Fort was trying to find a diplomatic way to tell him that the resources were coming, just not as soon as the agent would like.

Noble touched Fort's arm and inclined her head toward their son. "I'll be right back."

"I'll come with you!" Fort stood, but the man on the other side took hold of his arm.

"I would also like to discuss the possibility of another set of public showers once the wells are installed. I think it would be good if…"

With a small smile, Noble left her husband to his work, much to his chagrin. He slid back into his seat to address the next concern with unending patience.

In his heat suit, Blaze was so focused on his contraption that he was ignoring everything else. Even the few questions by his sponsor had been largely ignored. As a result, the portly gentleman stood to one side in his protective suit, wondering how to best get the attention of the young man without breaking his concentration.

Seeing Noble approach, the host of the event breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're his mother, right?"

"I am, Mister Blim." Noble nodded.

"He won't answer me. I need to know when we will be ready to go." The gentleman had suited up and braved the heat to come and speak to Blaze. Noble could sense his discomfort. His large stature would have only made the temperature feel worse. Child of Promise was a little concerned that the host would faint.

"I can take it from here. You can go mingle with the crowd for a moment. I will return with news."

"Thank you!" Mister Blim did not wait to see if she made good on her promise. He walked swiftly away to where the stands and cooler weather lay.

While he was finding someone to get him some water and a rag to wipe his brow, Noble slowly approached Blaze and his machine.

She didn't like that he was still adjusting it now that it was over the fissure. The vents below were exceptionally hot, and the water was not so far away that Noble felt comfortable that they couldn't burst.

Oblivious to his mother's concern, Blaze was mumbling to himself.

"I can't let that bolt come loose, or the whole structure will be compromised enough... Perhaps I should check the reinforced casing again. The Soul Shard might do better if it is rotated fifteen degrees to the left…"

"Really? I think five degrees to the right would make more sense."

Blaze furrowed his brow. "That makes no sense. The casing is made specifically to…Mom?"

The young man turned his head, genuinely startled by his mother's presence.

"When did you get here?" His eyes dropped. "I am doing it again, aren't I?"

"Unless you were intentionally ignoring your sponsor and making him wonder if you had lost your hearing, yes." Noble smiled softly.

"I'm sorry. I just want everything to be perfect!" Blaze turned his head back to his machine and raised the tool in his hand.

"Unless perfection includes getting cooked alive, I will give you one more adjustment before calling it done." The motherly tone would not allow for any argument. "You have worked hard and done your best. It's time to view the results."

"You know what? You're right." Blaze lowered his arm.

Noble heaved a sigh of relief. Once upon a time, breaking the boy's concentration when he was fixated was almost impossible.

To see him willingly stop was something new and welcome. Blaze had grown enough to realize his tendency and trusted that his mother was acting in his best interest.

'He still needs me, just not in the way he used to.'

Parenting was an ever-changing task, and seldom did Noble reflect on exactly what that meant. Not that she had time now.

As Blaze went to speak with the host, Noble walked toward the edge of the volcano and the Awakened standing there.

"What's the verdict? Are we clear?"

Teddy took her gaze from the fiery pit and looked back at Noble, the lava reflecting in her eyes.

"The unfriendlies are all taken care of."

"That's good!" Noble had called Teddy out quite early to clear the area before the auspicious guests arrived.

"I suppose."

Noble furrowed her brow. "What's wrong?"

"It's probably nothing." The assistant chewed the inside of her cheek. "I just can't help but feel that they weren't alone this time."

"Of course, they weren't alone. If it's like the other day, they were in a swarm of tiny creatures." Noble paused. "Unless that's not what you meant."

"I don't know what I mean." Teddy pulled away from the edge. "As I said, it's probably nothing."

At that moment, a booming voice called from the bandstand. "Gather around, everyone. We are ready to begin!"