Once again, Leona found herself in the endless expansive horizon of the abyss, this time instead of a seemingly endless dark sky, there was actually a vibrant shade of blue with fluff white cloud above in the distance, the sun seemed to be just shy above them, giving a very warm and welcoming atmosphere to the otherwise strange water-like blade ground that stretched endlessly in all directions the eyes could see.
“Well, didn’t expect to see you so soon, Princess Leona.”
Upon turning around, she saw the same dark haze figure, though this time it was much more visible and unlike before, there was an actual form solidifying and turning into haze in a continuous cycle. He held what seemed to be a wine glass of sorts with a swirling liquid inside of it. Without lowering her guard, Leona decided to answer in kind.
“I can say the same, Lastraeous.”
He chuckled before taking a seat on a throne of water that formed from the ground. He drank the glass empty and made it disappear as he crossed his left leg over the other one, folding his arms and leaning in back.
“Leona, you are certainly an incredible individual I have to say. Crawling your way out of that hellish forest on your own with no promise of survival for the sake of another. Not many rulers would have done the same. At least not from this world.”
She leaned in a little bit forward with her eyes narrowed and fists closed tightly.
“You seem to be underestimating us. We humans are like that by nature, it is in our blood to help the fellow man and woman at our side.”
From the way the haze moved, she swore the god was smiling, but not in a welcoming way.
“Even demons? Your kind seems more focused on exterminating them. If anything, you humans forget history too easily.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Demonkind, it was once hunted to the brink of extinction very long ago. My fellow child created them in order to balance the ever growing human population, but to his demise, his sister turned them into mindless beasts that roamed the land. Which you now know as demon beasts.”
“Wait… so you’re saying Eleonora isn’t the only actual existing god?”
“Your people spread tales for a reason. Whether they can’t understand the reason behind why things happen, or because it is real.”
He flickered a small flame into existence, placing it above the water floor. It burned in a bright orange as if it was fueled by something else other than mana.
“Take this flame as an example. What do you say it is?”
Leona raised an eyebrow, she couldn’t tell if he was messing with her or being serious by his tone of voice. Deceptive as he was, it could be either or both. Nevertheless she decided to answer.
“A fire.”
“How do you make a fire?”
“Atriction? Casting a spell?”
He pointed his index finger while swinging it back and forth shortly.
“You grasped the concept of what a flame is. Congratulations.”
After chuckling he stood up and dissipated the flame, creating illusions of what seemed to be a bipedal beast made of haze the size of his foot before flicking another flame into existence. The small figure cowered in fear behind its creator’s left leg.
“But what would happen if you didn’t know what a fire was, or how it was made?”
She stopped to think, his questions so far always led to a rational answer, no matter what it was.
“I would… believe something else created it.”
“Bingo. That’s exactly how deities are created and how they live on people’s hearts. Unlike many worlds before this one, mana reigns supreme here. The more you believe in something the more real it’ll be.”
Leona looked at her own hands, they were clean and without a hint of bruises, unlike what her memory tells her. It was an odd feeling, despite everything that happened to her body previously, she felt normal, strangely so. She glanced at the god as he played with his bipedal creation before dissipating it into nothing.
“Lastraeous, I have a request.”
Those words coming out of her mouth picked the god’s interest. He turned to her with a certain expectation in his steps as he approached her, His haze figure looming over her, about half a meter taller than her. She gazed at where it seemed to be his eyes and took one deep breath before asking.
“Can you tell me anything about the other gods?”
The haze flickered for a moment before laughter echoed in the endless expansive horizon. His crackling only ended after he tired himself out enough to sit down on the water floor.
“Are you out of your mind? If I did that your journey wouldn’t be fun anymore. I live for the moment and the thrill of life of others. Nothing excites me more than the beginning of a new tale. Yours is truly a magnificent one, I won’t interfere by explaining anything more than I need to. It is up to you to learn the truths of this world you live in.”
It didn’t sit quite well with her, knowing other gods could just as well be watching her every move. But knowing Lastraeous, she knew it was a lost cause even if she was to insist. She instead sighed before looking at her hands once again. A flash of blood painted her hands for a split second and the moment she blinked again her hands were normal.
“I look forward to the story you shall weave, may it be of a hero or a villain, victory or defeat. I shall be watching. Until then Princess Leona.”
He snapped his fingers and she woke up to a wooden ceiling, the bright morning sun coming from her right was illuminating the room she was in just enough for her to see the inside. She tried to lift herself up from the surprisingly comfortable bed but a sharp pain in her lower back made her give up.
Whatever had happened before still affected her body greatly, although she didn’t feel any major issues with any particular part of her body, the build up soreness was still pulsating through the muscles of her back, arms and legs. She focused her vision and noticed the knight sitting on a wooden chair beside her bed, his arms folded and head hanging low, seemingly asleep.
“Krieg?”
Her voice was dry and her throat hurt the moment she uttered his name. However there was no reply, instead only the faint sound of his breath under the closed helmet.
‘At least take it off when you’re resting.’
She thought as a weak smile curled up on her face. Extending her left hand over his right knee she noticed her previous crooked thumb was now in the right place, albeit covered in a white rag with some sort of wooden stick to maintain it straight.
A few weak knocks from the wooden door on the far corner of the room startled her as the knob turned a click and it gently opened. A woman wearing a green tunic and brown trousers had entered the room holding a basket with clothing and a few white towels. She was rather tall, standing almost on Krieg’s height, her skin was tanned from the sun, the emerald eyes carried a serene expression as she put down the basket and started to tie her shoulder length brown hair with a piece of thin white fabric.
“Hm?”
As she was doing so, her eyes wandered off around the room before noticing Leona silently staring right at her.
“I see you are awake.”
Her voice was calm and very pleasant to the Princess’ tired ears, she approached slowly in order to not make too much noise to avoid waking up the sleeping knight. She kneeled beside her bed and even while doing so she was still tall enough to the point the Princess still needed to raise her head to look in her eyes. She gently held Leona’s left hand while asking.
“Are you feeling alright? Do you remember how you were brought here?”
Leona cleared her throat before answering.
“Yes, although a bit thirsty and… unfortunately I don’t remember how I came to be in this place.”
“Don’t worry we’ll see you recover in due time. I bid you welcome to house Loraexion, I’m one of the humble servants of this house, Karla Boulevard, it is a pleasure to finally meet you, Princess Leona Crossford.”
Leona was a bit surprised at first, not only did she know who she was but the name of the household was very familiar to the demi-girl she met back in the capital. For a second she exhaled in relief, but in the next there was a hint of sadness overtaking the expression in her face as she turned to ask the healer beside her.
“Did Krieg say anything about her?”
Karla simply nodded, giving a short pause before continuing.
“Mistress Fye was thankful for the information he shared, she was relieved once she knew Miss Selene was alive and well.”
Leona mustered a weak smile as she stared back at the ceiling, relieved that she was indeed somewhere safe. Karla gently squeezed her hand before standing up.
“You said you were thirsty, right? I’ll fetch you some water. Excuse me.”
She gave a small bow before heading through the door again. Laying on that comfortable bed made her remember all the times Adele would come in her room to wake her up. The breakfast the other maids made and the peaceful mornings she shared with her father and everyone in the mansion.
“All gone, in a flash…”
She closed her eyes and as if living in a nightmare, she could hear the sounds of screams and destruction that happened in the mansion. The stench of death of all those dear to her, so many lives lost for the ambition of a single man. There was a fine line between ruling and dictating, Leona knew about both and in her eyes, Alexander was nothing but a madman that would lead the kingdom her parents fought hard to protect to ruin.
Unity is forged through trust and goodwill, but how was she to nurture this unknown feeling if the people wished for war? How could they accept a ruler such as him, someone that would eventually bring death not to his enemies, but all his subjects? Questions and more questions arose as she thought for herself why everything happened. Maybe war wasn’t as simple as she initially thought.
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“Excuse me, Princess Leona, I’ve brought you water.”
Karla was standing beside the doorway holding a wooden tray in her left hand. She had brought a round short glass filled with water and a bowl of what seemed to be some sort of hot liquid as the Princess could easily see steam coming off from it just by turning her head at her.
“Ah, thank you.”
The caretaker approached her and upon stepping beside the knight, his body jolted awake.
“Sssngh- ah.”
He looked at Leona and a sigh of relief could be heard from inside his helmet. Karla went ahead and put the tray on the knight’s right side on an empty nightstand before heading out again. She stopped by the doorway and bowed before saying.
“If you need anything, all you need to do is call me.”
“Thank you Karla.”
Krieg replied as he turned to the weakened Princess in front of him.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you better…”
She gave a short chuckle.
“It’s not your fault Krieg. If anything, this is all on me from being too reckless.”
“Still, if I was stronger, you wouldn’t have the need to run away.”
She shook her head slightly.
“It’s in the past. I’m glad that you are in good health.”
He lowered his head a little, Leona put her hand on top of his right gauntlet and when he looked at her again she asked.
“Help me sit up.”
The knight nodded and gently slipped his hands between her arm and chest, pulling her up on the bed. She winced from the sharp pain in her lower back but nevertheless was able to sit up straight. He then took the glass of water and offered it to her. Her parched throat felt instant relief the moment she drank the glass contents, it felt strangely cold the moment it went inside her body.
Once she returned the glass to the knight, she took her time to look around the room she was in.
It was a rather spacious room with another bed across hers, on her left side there was a nightstand and a bed, though unlike the one across her, that one had messy sheets. On the right side there was a big window of clear glass which gave enough of a view of the dwarven city, parallelepiped tiles formed the wide street below, some citizens walked around wearing thick clothing while some others wore nothing but tunics under heavy dark aprons. One noticeable feature was the fact that not everyone she saw was actually a dwarf. Humans, elves, demi-humans and the sort walked the calm road, it really seemed just like another day in the citadel. Leona had a bittersweet smile on her face.
“It’s so peaceful. It’s hard to believe this is the kingdom most affected by the angels’ presence.”
She sighed and turned to Krieg who held the wooden bowl of stew to her. The moment she grabbed the bowl a cozy feeling started to spread out from her palm towards her arms, just knowing she could eat peacefully in the comfort of a bed made all her pent up stress wash away.
Floating on the red-orange surface of the thick broth were a few vegetables, namely, her favorite rich orange carrots and potatoes sliced in small cubes. The mouthwatering smell of the meat stew hit her nose and her body slowly started to come up to its senses asking for food through the ever growing rumble in her stomach. She looked at him slightly flustered.
“Ah. Excuse me Krieg.”
“Don’t mind me Leona. Here you go.”
He passed her a wooden spoon. She held it between her right thumb and index finger while looking intently at the stew in front of her, not quite sure from where she should start. Her eyes wandered for a split second which was enough to notice the knight staring at her with a certain anticipation.
“Krieg.”
“Yes?”
“Could you look the other way for a moment? I… I’m uneasy if you look at me like that.”
“Oh, I’m sorry it wasn’t my intention.”
He stood up and turned the chair in a ninety degree angle towards the bed across the room, facing away from her. Without looking at her, he asked.
“Will this do?”
“Yes, I apologize. I just become shy if someone is looking at me so closely like this.”
“Think nothing of it.”
She smiled at him, even though he couldn’t see it, before turning her attention to the bowl of stew in her hand. She started on the right edge, scooping a piece of sliced carrot and a chunk of shredded meat. Saliva went down her throat as she swallowed in suspense before taking that first bite.
Krieg heard a familiar soft clang of wood against teeth then complete silence. For a moment he thought she didn’t really like the food but then a very small weep caught his ears.
“Leona? What happened? Was it not to your liking?”
He asked without turning around.
“N-no, it’s not that… please don’t look at me right now Krieg.”
“...Very well.”
Left the wooden spoon halfway stuck inside the food, she used her right hand to clean the tears off her eyes. It had been so long she ate such a tasty meal that it reminded her of the peaceful days in the mansion.
As a noble, she had her duties to keep everything running, accounting of the servants monthly payment in coins, the maintenance of books, strategy meetings with knights and other influential figures in the security of the kingdom, but with all of that, it was peaceful, she could enjoy her days without struggling to survive another day. But ever since the day the mansion was attacked, her life turned upside down, there was no more peace and everyday became a fight for survival.
That small sense of comfort in enjoying a meal in a warm room became a reason of joy, for Leona who had never seen that side of life, it was truly a relief bigger than anything she had felt and one worth shedding tears for. She could hardly contain her cries, instead of waiting she just continued eating, with each sob and hiccup she took a spoonful of stew to her mouth, savoring the taste to its fullest until she was finally satisfied.
It took a bit of time before her hiccups calmed down and once she recomposed herself, she decided to talk to the knight who was now sitting towards her bed looking at her.
“I’m sorry Krieg, it feels like it has been too long since I could take my mind off things and just enjoy the food given to me.”
“I understand what you mean.”
She tapped her right index finger lightly against the empty bowl in her hands as she looked outside the window, the street below was starting to bustle with people, apparently it was time for lunch and everyone was either heading home or to a place to eat nearby. The sense of relief was soon starting to vanish once she realized they couldn’t stay in that place for too long since the eastern country was still very far away and the faster they reached it, the faster they supposedly would be able to reclaim Arcadia.
“Krieg.”
She turned at him, staring at the small slit of the visor while he simply waited for her to talk.
“How long until we reach the east country?”
“Sixty days on foot, probably forty five on horseback. Considering we don’t run into any death angels and ignoring the fact that we need a vessel for water transportation.”
She racked her brain in order to come up with a plan, considering Arcadia doesn’t really have a lot of knights at the current time, it would mean that if they would take at least a total of a hundred twenty days to go and come back, there would be a chance of war already starting before they could do anything about it.
“Then… we’ll need horses. Do you know anywhere here that we can buy some?”
He raised his right hand to her, before lowering his head, seemingly in shame.
“There is one slight problem I wished to discuss with you once you woke up. It’s regarding our expedition to the east.”
He stood up and called Karla, who swiftly answered by coming in the doorway.
“Yes?”
“Could you call your mistress? My liege is ready to talk to her.”
“Very well, I’ll be back shortly.”
The Princess’ eyes traced from the servant to the knight, who was now with his head hanging low. As unreasonable as their days were, it was the first time that she had seen Krieg in such a state, being nervous was unlike him so Leona couldn’t help but feel tense herself.
Footsteps approached the doorway, the somewhat small hallway made it echo the moment she set foot in the front of the room.
“I’m glad that you are awake, Princess Leona Crossford, honorable guest of the Loxaerion household. My name is Fye Loxaerion, mother of the girl Selene you found lost in your kingdom.”
She was stunned by her beauty, the long wavy dark purple hair was loosely covering around her neck with part tucked inside her thick dark green coat with fluffy fur around the nape, her lapis lazuli eyes had a gentle expression towards her. Most of her clothing was made for the cold as seen by the increased thickness of the dark green linen pants accompanied by the high dark boots that covered halfway to her knees.
Without knowing how to properly reply, Leona hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t exactly the first time she addressed an important figure but something about her made the Princess feel nervous.
“The pleasure is all mine, Lady Fye.”
The woman dismissed her servant by motioning with her hand while entering the room and sitting on the bed across Leona. She rubbed the tip of her left horn while observing the Princess’ expression, then after a few seconds of eye contact she started to talk.
“Your knight has told me of the details of your journey and how you came to Akrapocalis. But I wanted to hear for myself, what is it that drives you to such lengths?”
For a moment Leona was surprised by the question, it was not often someone would ask about her own feelings on the matter, much less expecting from someone she just met. Nevertheless, she was determined to answer with all her conviction.
“Because it is what I believe is right.”
Fye’s eyes narrowed in disbelief as she stopped rubbing her horn and interlocked her fingers on top of her lap.
“Then do you take the people’s pain in the war as nothing?”
Leona’s eyes went wide as her mouth was halfway open to retort.
“I-”
But a feeling of self-righteousness stopped her from doing so. Arguing there was not the answer, much less so with the person who supposedly offered her the needed shelter and respite. No, this time was meant for her to steel her resolve to see it through. Upon taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes with a glint of hope.
“I don’t intend to take my people’s pain lightly, but if we don’t make a path forged by peace, then what was the point of the bloodshed from the war? I wish for a world where we can all live in harmony and look for prosperity. I don’t believe a road paved in the corpses of our former enemies will make for a way for harmony.”
Lady Fye took her right hand in front of her mouth to muffle the short chuckle, which caused Leona to raise an eyebrow, but before the princess said anything, the lady extended her hand in motion for her to stop.
“Apologies, I didn’t mean to make fun of your statement just now.”
She interlocked her fingers once again, fiddling her thumbs around each other, while sighing regretfully.
“It is just as my daughter has told me about yourself. ‘Princess Leona Crossford would make for the perfect ruler of Arcadia. She welcomes everyone with open arms, may they be demons or fellow demi-humans.’ I wished to meet you in person, for you were the one who shined brightly like a guiding star for my daughter.”
Leona saw her serious expression turn into a bittersweet smile after mentioning her daughter. That same expression stung her heart like a nail through wood.
“I’m sorry for your daughter, we didn’t know she was from the citadel, otherwise we would’ve-”
She stopped after the noble started to shake her head slightly.
“It’s not your fault. My husband wished to work under your family because of how the rest of the noble families here took our marriage. Some of them reduced or outright stopped supplying us with materials necessary for our research and production.”
Leona tilted her head slightly.
“Does the house Loxaerion also make production in this city? I thought only the royal family was allowed to run mass production here.”
“Oh no, that was in the past, after the war had died down the king changed many policies regarding arms production and research. Our family focuses mainly on supplying the kingdom with means of transportation.”
“Then… horses and carriages?”
“Yes, but not quite. We are working on an airship, the kind that could take people beyond the great mountain ranges of the citadel, above the clouds.”
Her statement instantly sparkled a glint of curiosity in Leona’s eyes. A flying vehicle was something much needed for her if she was to traverse the whole mountain range without ever encountering death angels.
“An airship?!”
Lady Fye smiled, though her tone of voice could clearly tell that she was sad.
“I say airship but it’s more of a small vessel, we haven’t been able to put it to flight yet due to some issues with our engine, we’d like some advice from our associates in the north but with the constant threat of death angels we can’t diverge our attention to this matter that was deemed, ‘unimportant’ at the present moment.”
Leona tilted her head once again while raising an eyebrow upon asking.
“But then, the reason you’re telling me this… is because you want us to do this?”
The lady sighed regretfully before explaining.
“If I was given another option I would rather not leave family matters to individuals unrelated with this matter. However, our situation is dire and we have no other means of contacting our associates.”
She stood up, she wasn’t exactly tall, but her horns made her look somewhat more intimidating than intended. Once she extended her hand out to the Princess, she appealed to her.
“Therefore, I, Fye Loxaerion, head of the Loxaerion family, officially request your help, Princess Leona Crossford. Help us finish this project and we’ll help you in your journey to the east.”