Alex.
In the morning, as Sebastian prepared to head to de Forest, we decided to cancel our usual training session. I lay on his chest, enveloped in worry.
"What if this is a trap, Sebastian?" I asked, lifting my head to look at him.
He continued playing with my curls, as he usually did in the mornings after our passionate night. "Don't worry, my love. Several diplomats and Peter's squad will accompany me," he replied, looking into my eyes and smiling.
"Nevertheless, I can't shake off the anxiety. What if this letter is just a way to lure you out of Savoyar? Perhaps the count decided to disrupt our wedding in this way?" I pressed against him, as if afraid that if I let go, he would disappear from my life forever.
"The count may try, but no forces in all the worlds will prevent me from returning and announcing to everyone that you are my wife," he said, flipping me onto my back and hovering over me, still smiling. Sebastian removed the blanket separating our bodies and began kissing me passionately.
He interrupted the kiss, in which we drowned for a few minutes, and said, "Soon everyone will know that you are mine, my queen, and no one, neither the count nor anyone else, can stop it now. And you know what?" He looked at me with his piercing blue eyes.
"What?" I asked with a smile, sinking into the depth of his gaze, understanding perfectly well what would happen next.
"Most likely, I'll have to stay in de Forest for a few days. And before I leave, I want to feel how sweet you are to me," he kissed me, "I want to hear how sweetly you moan beneath me," he began descending with kisses towards my chest, "I want you to moan my name, Alex," he started descending lower, covering my body with kisses, "My sweet girl," Sebastian began kissing my thighs and captured my sensitive spot with his lips, teasing it with his tongue and sucking.
I arched and moaned deeply, my body writhing under his lips. When I was almost reaching the limit, he hovered over me again and took my lips, at the same moment I felt him enter me, sharply and deeply. Several deep thrusts, and Sebastian and I groaned simultaneously, merging into one and feeling the waves of release spreading throughout our bodies.
After the passionate morning, we simply lay in bed and enjoyed each other's warmth. After coming to our senses a bit, we headed to the bath. When Sebastian was about to leave my room, I called out to him:
"Sebastian, my tincture, didn't I leave a bottle with you?" I asked, carefully searching through my drawer where I kept the bottle away from prying eyes.
"I'll check now and come back. It's time to go down for breakfast, or the diplomats will think you've decided to take me hostage," Sebastian smiled and left.
At Samantha's advice, I started taking the tincture to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Although Sebastian and I were practically married already, we didn't want any surprises before the official announcement and wedding. We had never discussed children before and made no plans in that regard. The only time, after our first night together, he asked if I was aware of the possible consequences of our passionate moments and if I was taking any precautions. In response to my outrage that I wasn't naive and understood the consequences, he just laughed.
Since that day, after each of our nights together, I added a few spoonfuls of the tincture, which Samantha always procured for me from the herbalist, to the minty decoction. Apparently, amid all the news and events, I completely forgot to replenish my supplies. In the morning, I took out the last empty bottle from the drawer and sat on the bed, holding my head in my hands. Even if I go to Samantha now, preparing the tincture usually takes several days. Let Sebastian leave today, but throughout the night and this morning we… I groaned aloud, feeling desperate.
Suddenly I heard a knock on the door, and when I looked up, Sebastian was standing before me, already assembled and ready to go down for breakfast.
"What's wrong, my joy?" he asked, approaching and sitting in front of me.
"The tincture... The last bottle turned out to be empty," I said, showing him the empty bottle.
He took it and threw it into the trash. "Are you upset about this, darling? Don't you want children with me?" Taking my head in his hands, he looked into my eyes.
"What children, Sebastian? We've never talked about it, and we're not married yet. We can't have an illegitimate child," I said, looking at him, tears welling up in my eyes.
Sebastian sighed and sat on the bed, placing me on his lap.
"First of all, my love, we've been married for a long time, even if there hasn't been an official announcement. The ritual took place. Second, the likelihood of pregnancy after a few times is very low," he looked into my eyes again and smiled. "Most importantly, if you give me a little prince or maybe a princess, I'll be infinitely happy, darling," he said, kissing my hands.
"But if the child is born prematurely, rumors of his illegitimate birth will arise. And you already have too much attention on you, especially after the coronation," I still couldn't calm down.
Sebastian kissed me. "We'll deal with any rumors, and it seems I'll have to get another artifact when I'm in de Forest," he said, smiling.
"What artifact?" I looked at him with curiosity. I knew nothing about the existence of another ancestral artifact of de Forest.
"The heirloom artifact, my joy. My father passed one down to me, but there's another in our family," he stroked my ring. "Since your ring belongs to you, I'll wear my father's artifact after the coronation. The third artifact will belong to our eldest child. Initially, it was used to verify the child's belonging to the de Forest family in case of doubts about the fidelity of the spouses. But over time, weaved elements were added, and in its properties, it's similar to your artifact, only it doesn't allow the wielder to draw power. That's why I used my artifact in our ritual," he explained, kissing me on the hand and then on the temple. "So there's no need to worry about the child's affiliation with the de Forest family. The artifact will recognize our child, and all rumors about differences in timing and other nonsense will dissipate."
I sighed. "Alright, but I still hope that the second part, about the low probability of pregnancy, is true after all. I'm not ready for children now, and I'd like to do everything right. First the wedding, and then we can forget about the tincture," I said, leaning on Sebastian's shoulder. He just laughed and kissed me on the hair.
"I'm sure everything will be fine. I'll definitely return for your birthday, you'll have time to replenish your supplies for a month. And then we can discuss all the issues with the heir and even try something practical," Sebastian said with a smile, kissing me.
We went down to breakfast, during which Sebastian and the diplomats accompanying him discussed the course of action. It turned out that he had briefed some diplomats on possible mental influences on the king, and a mentalist had been included in the team to assess Frederick's condition and determine if it was critical and if the influence could be removed, restoring the damage caused by years of influence. Sebastian left.
The next day, I received a huge bouquet of white peonies and a letter from Sebastian. In the letter, he wrote that the situation in de Forest remained difficult, and he was studying archival documents from the past few years. They were trying to restore order not only in the castle but also in the kingdom. Over the past few years, while Sebastian was absent, things had deteriorated. The king's condition remained stable; the mentalist reported that there had been influence but not too deep, and if the source of the influence were removed, the king could come to his senses within a few weeks and voluntarily abdicate the throne. The actions and decrees of the king dictated by the count had undermined Frederick's authority, and he would not be able to retain power anyway. As for Count Lindwood, Sebastian reported that he had fled on the same day Sebastian received the Council's letter about the king's condition. Alicia was put under house arrest, and trusted individuals were stationed to guard the estate in case the count showed up.
Sebastian wrote that he missed me very much but had to stay in de Forest to deal with affairs and restore order. He promised to return to me for my birthday.
After that letter, I received many more. On average, Sebastian wrote to me every three days. He told me about the progress of affairs and asked me to be careful, as the mages still couldn't find any trace of Count Lindwood, although one of the traces was discovered near the border with the borderlands. Sebastian also wrote to Peter and asked him to strengthen my security and the security of Savoyar Castle since the mentalist helping Lindwood still hadn't been found.
And tomorrow, Sebastian will finally come to Savoyar, on my birthday, as he promised. I missed him terribly. The closer I got to meeting Sebastian, the slower time seemed to pass. I couldn't sleep, and at dawn, I decided to go to the rift. On this day, I always felt a special anxiety. It happened almost every year, and with trepidation, I sat in the guardian's uniform, listening to the rhythmic hum of the portal. I spent several hours, and everything seemed calm, only the hum seemed to be slightly increasing. I was about to leave and had already mounted my horse when I heard the magical toll of the bell. I began counting the vibration levels.
"One, two, three, four, five," the sound began to subside, but then it seemed to change its mind and rang even louder, "SIX," rolling even louder, "SEVEN," and then "EIGHT!" I grew cold. There had never been a level like this before; I had to take the horse further away. Last time, Sebastian's horse suffered. At the sixth level, there were about 30 of them, and they came out in groups of five simultaneously. The seventh level had never happened, and now the eighth one, they must want to congratulate me on my twenty-second birthday.
I stopped at a safe distance from the rift. Today, the active portal area was much larger than usual, which caused concern. It meant that more than five creatures could enter our world simultaneously. I gathered all the power available to me and filled my magical reserves. Then, I focused and felt the connection with the rift.
The outlines of the portal became brighter, and I noticed that there were at least ten Crowleys inside it, ready to cross over. They stood in formation, with another ten rows of creatures behind them. In total, there were about a hundred Crowleys. What caught my attention the most was the dark figure standing behind the monsters with outstretched arms. This creature was several times taller than ordinary mages, and its eyes burned with bright turquoise light. It noticed my presence and snarled, revealing long white fangs against its even teeth. A voice echoed in my head: "Guardian of chaos." I averted my gaze from the creature and focused again on the field.
With a deafening roar, the first Crowleys began to emerge from the portal. I was ready, my body filled with power, and I activated magical protective shields. The first wave of Crowleys rushed at me, and I was prepared for their attack. Several times they managed to break through my defense, and blood ran down my leg.
More relentless Crowleys continued to emerge from the portal, and I decided to use all my skills to delay them on the clearing. By scattering nets on the ground, I aimed to stop some of the creatures before they scattered to the border villages. Thanks to my father, who taught me this, I knew that delaying the Crowleys was crucial for the safety of the surrounding settlements.
I continued to create nets, one after another, until a portion of the Crowleys in the rear was temporarily frozen. My left hand was covered in blood, mixing with the blood splattered from the mangled parts of the monsters. However, time was running out, and I felt like I couldn't neutralize the arriving creatures fast enough, as they continuously flooded the clearing.
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Shutting off all my thoughts, I drew energy from the portal, creating even more nets. I tried to extend a rope from one of the nets and throw it into the portal, imagining the net pulling the Crowleys back. It worked with the first three, and the portal, as if obeying, began to pull the creatures back. This gave me a new impulse, and I felt like I had found a second wind. However, half of the Crowleys still remained, and judging by their numbers, almost all had already emerged from the rift. I realized that I would continue to pull them with nets. But this method required more concentration, and several times I narrowly missed the attack of the creatures, dodging at the last moment.
After three more nets, I failed to dodge an attack from behind and on my arm. Claws pierced my skin, and a severe bleeding started. "Chaos!" - I screamed, which was immediately drowned out by the howling of the creatures. I tried to throw another net, but my strength was running out, and one of the creatures, running from a distance, wanted to attack me. I grabbed its protrusion, and it threw me into the air like a doll. The fall was painful, and I felt a sharp pain in my ankle. For a moment, I had to close my eyes because everything went dark.
I woke up from an unknown warmth enveloping me - a fiery shield. I froze with fear, seeing Sebastian at the other end of the clearing. He was without his combat uniform, dressed in ceremonial attire, probably having just left the Council chamber. Several Crowleys lunged at him, while the rest hadn't yet oriented themselves, only sensing the smell of his elemental magic.
"Sebastian, chaos is coming for you!" - I shouted and rushed towards him, forgetting about the pain in my leg, fatigue, and wounds. If the Crowleys reached Sebastian, it would be his end. I filled my energy reserve and threw nets at the Crowleys rushing towards him. One after another, I decapitated the Crowleys, covering my reckless husband, and, running at full speed, bumped into him, feeling his hot hands on my waist.
"Back to back," I heard Sebastian's voice, and we moved back to back, me deploying nets and drawing strength from his reserve to speed up the process, while he shielded us, occasionally throwing a few creatures away with a wave of fire to the other end of the clearing.
After a long time, I managed to defeat those I hadn't sent back into the portal. Now there was no terrifying howling on the clearing, only blood and torn Crowley corpses.
I approached Sebastian, hugging him. "It was reckless. I almost died of fear seeing them rushing towards you!" - I hissed.
He hugged me tightly and replied sternly, "Now you understand what I felt when the artifact triggered in the middle of the Council meeting, and I saw you wounded and surrounded by monsters. Don't close your eyes when the connection is established again; I was afraid of losing you again." He kissed me and wiped the blood from my face.
"You saw that I'm alive. Why did you risk it, Sebastian? I would have handled it," I said, pulling away and looking into his eyes, which were amber again.
"Well, forgive me, beloved, for not waiting until you said goodbye again," Sebastian replied, continuing to hug me and brushing away the tangled hair.
I just shook my head; there was no strength to argue.
"I missed you," I whispered into his chest, pressing tighter against him. He chuckled, and we stood embraced for several minutes.
I felt a new vibration from the rift and stepped back.
"Another one?" Sebastian asked tensely, looking towards the portal.
"Doesn't seem like it, but we need to get closer and check. How's your reserve?" I looked at him, shaking the swords off the blood.
"Almost depleted. You used up most of it for the nets. The rest was consumed by the shields. I'm afraid I won't have enough for another fight," he replied, becoming tense and not letting me go.
"Understood. Will you wait here?" I asked, looking at Sebastian, hoping he wouldn't rush into battle with an empty reserve. He nodded and released my hand.
Slowly, I approached the portal. The flickering was steady, and I drew power from the portal, trying to establish a connection. Closing my eyes, I tried to peer into the portal, but saw nothing. After standing like that for a few more minutes, I exhaled. "All clear!" I shouted to Sebastian. It seemed there wouldn't be another breakthrough.
I was already heading back to Sebastian when he screamed piercingly, clutching his head, and fell to his knees.
"Sebastian!!!" I ran to him. He lay on the ground, screaming and writhing in pain.
"Mentalist," he wheezed with a hoarse voice from screaming.
I drew power and deployed a search net. Several dozen meters away, in a settlement, the net showed a person.
"Just hold on, my love," I soothingly said to Sebastian, stroking his head.
I stood up, gathering my strength, and filled my reserve, drawing power from the portal. Forming a mass of energy, I maximally charged it from the reserve and released it towards the mage indicated by the search net. A prolonged scream was heard, followed by a series of unfamiliar incantations. Sebastian fell silent and stopped writhing, seeming to lose consciousness.
I leaned over to check his condition and felt someone falling on top of us, darkness enveloping me. I blacked out.
_____________________
Upon regaining consciousness, I felt that I was lying on Sebastian, and I groaned, trying to open my eyes. However, the complete silence alarmed me. My head rested on his chest, but I couldn't feel his breath. I opened my eyes and sat up abruptly.
"Sebastian," I whispered. He lay with his eyes closed. Even before I blacked out, it seemed to me that he had lost consciousness. I pressed my ear to his chest - nothing, nothing at all. Maybe I was still dazed, and I hadn't fully regained my senses. I touched his face.
"Oh God, Sebastian, you're so cold," I whispered, trying to feel his pulse, but found none.
"No, no, no, no. Not now, Sebastian, please," I whispered, trying to find the pulse, but found none.
I poured the elixir into a small gap in Sebastian's lips. "This should work. Just hold on a little longer," I said, taking his hands in mine and trying to warm them.
I repeated, "It'll be okay, my love. Just hold on, this will help now. It's an elf's tear. It'll help." I rubbed his hands, caressed his face, and placed my hands on his chest, hoping to hear his breath or heartbeat. But nothing happened.
I leaned down and hugged his face with my hands, starting to cover him with light kisses, as if trying to wake him up. "Sebastian, please. This was supposed to work. Please, don't leave me. Wake up, please, do you hear? Breathe, just breathe. Sebastian, you can't leave me."
I leaned down again, hoping to hear a steady heartbeat, but heard nothing. In the distance, I heard the sound of hooves. I reached for the sword, stood up, and shielded the prince with my body.
A troop led by Peter emerged from the settlement. Seeing me, they hastened. One of the warriors was Peter's deputy, who accompanied the prince to de Forest.
I sat down again and continued to stroke Sebastian's hair, telling him what was happening, hoping he could hear me. Perhaps I was mistaken, and the elf's tear hadn't worked yet, and soon he would regain consciousness.
"Duchess, the prince ordered us to go to the rift. There was a serious breach. What happened?" the commander of the troop asked, approaching and shifting his gaze from me to Sebastian.
"The breach is closed, His Highness and I handled it, and then a mentalist attacked him. The search net indicated a mage in that direction," I pointed towards the settlement. "Check the area, he couldn't have gone far. It seems I wounded him, there may be traces. We both lost consciousness, but I woke up, and Sebastian hasn't regained consciousness. We need a healer," I said quietly, continuing to stroke Sebastian's hair.
The commander of the troop looked at me strangely, with sympathy and concern. He quickly gave orders to search the area for traces of the mentalist. The mages constructed a stretcher, and we headed to Savoyar. A messenger rode ahead to warn of our arrival and summon a healer.
I watched as the door closed behind him, and I heard cries and sobs echoing through the walls of Savoyar castle. I didn't move, just stood there, looking at my beloved man and stroking his hand.
"You're covered in blood," I whispered, taking a wet clean cloth from nearby, moistened it, and wiped his face. When I looked at the red water, I saw a ring on my finger.
I pressed the ring to one of his wounds so that the blood would touch the stone. "When I closed my eyes, you saw darkness. Now everything around me is darkness, Sebastian. Please, come back to me," I took his hand again and whispered in his ear.
"Sebastian, I beg you. You promised, tomorrow is my birthday. In a month, we have our wedding," I stroked his face. "It can't end like this, can it?"
"You can't just leave me like this, Sebastian. How can I live without you?"
For a moment, it even seemed to me that his hand twitched in mine.
I stayed with him until the next morning, holding his hand. In the morning, Samantha, swollen from tears, entered the healer's office.
"Come on, sweetheart, you need to wash off all this blood," she said, taking me by the hand and leading me to the room where my assistant, Kristy, was already waiting. She led me to the bathroom and helped me wash my hair and body. When I emerged from the bath, there was a dress on the bed, it was black.
Today is my 22nd birthday. At that moment, I remembered how for my 18th birthday, there was a light blue dress in a box on the bed, almost white, and in my head, I heard a familiar voice: "Will you allow me to be a handsome prince for you today, Alex?"
In Savoyar, the Healer, Peter, and several diplomats were already waiting for us at the entrance. Apparently, rumors had spread that the prince was injured. We headed to the Healing Wing, which was built near the castle. The soldiers carefully placed Sebastian on the table, and the Healer began his work. He paced, waved his hands, and applied various artifacts, while simultaneously asking me about the details of the attack and the prince's reserve condition. There was only one question I couldn't answer - how long I had been unconscious and whether the mentalist had approached us during that time. I even showed the Healer the vial with remnants of the elf's tear, which still hung around my neck.
I didn't know how long he spent on his examinations, but eventually he sat on a stool and asked everyone except me to leave the room. I looked around, not understanding why everyone was leaving. When the last diplomat closed the door behind him, the Healer pointed to a chair opposite. I shook my head, continuing to stand near the table, and grabbed Sebastian's hand. The Healer sighed.
"I'm sorry, Duchess, but I'm afraid your betrothed has already left us," he said, looking at me, and I looked at him.
I shifted my gaze from the Healer to Sebastian's face. "You're mistaken, maybe the tear hasn't taken effect yet? Maybe he's in stasis due to an empty reserve?" but the elderly Healer shook his head.
"No heartbeat, breathing, or any other activity is observed. Magical flows, which are usually present even in deep stasis, are also inactive. The tear didn't work, apparently, time was missed. And it won't help anymore, it can only heal. I'm sorry. His Highness has left us," he took my hand, squeezed it sympathetically, and quietly left the room.
I watched as the door closed behind him, and I heard cries and sobs echoing through the walls of Savoyar castle. I didn't move, just stood there, looking at my beloved man and stroking his hand.
"You're covered in blood," I whispered, taking a wet clean cloth from nearby, moistened it, and wiped his face. When I looked at the red water, I saw a ring on my finger.
I pressed the ring to one of his wounds so that the blood would touch the stone. "When I closed my eyes, you saw darkness. Now everything around me is darkness, Sebastian. Please, come back to me," I took his hand again and whispered in his ear.
"Sebastian, I beg you. You promised, tomorrow is my birthday. In a month, we have our wedding," I stroked his face. "It can't end like this, can it?"
"You can't just leave me like this, Sebastian. How can I live without you?"
For a moment, it even seemed to me that his hand twitched in mine.
I stayed with him until the next morning, holding his hand. In the morning, Samantha, swollen from tears, entered the healer's office.
"Come on, sweetheart, you need to wash off all this blood," she said, taking me by the hand and leading me to the room where my assistant, Kristy, was already waiting. She led me to the bathroom and helped me wash my hair and body. When I emerged from the bath, there was a dress on the bed, it was black.
Today is my 22nd birthday. At that moment, I remembered how for my 18th birthday, there was a light blue dress in a box on the bed, almost white, and in my head, I heard a familiar voice: "Will you allow me to be a handsome prince for you today, Alex?"
EPILOGUE
Several days later, members of the council from de Forest arrived in Savoyar, bearing a grim demand. Power was temporarily transferred to them since King Frederick had not yet recovered. They insisted that Prince Sebastian's body be handed over to them for burial in the family crypt near de Forest Castle.
Alex, who had been wandering the castle like a pale ghost all these days, initially refused, but the diplomats managed to appeal to the reason of the Duchess. She was not declared his wife, had no official rights or privileges.
The grim caravan, which was to transport Sebastian's body to de Forest, left the boundaries of Savoyar the next morning.
After it, one by one, the diplomats left the castle, leaving it in complete silence and solitude.
A week later, the Council recalled Peter's squads, stating that the agreement between Savoyar and the Kingdom of the Woods had lost its relevance. The servants previously hired by Sebastian gradually left the lands of Savoyar, and the villagers disappeared as if dissolving into the mist.
Savoyar became a place of grim emptiness, and only at night did a figure in black, like a ghost, silently roam its corridors. It glided through the silence, permeating every corner of the castle, reminding of loss and irreversibility.