15. Alessia
Idon’t think Aurelio realizes I’ve been watching him play with kids for the last hour instead of napping, but at this point, I don’t care about the telling-off I’ll receive later; this is too adorable to miss.
Aurelio is dancing around the street, little boys practically fighting one another for the right to hang onto him or climb him like a mountain. He’s playing tag with them, then he’s running away just to let them give chase, and then he’s letting them tackle him to the ground and proclaim victory over the Prince of Celestia. His laughter echoes all the way down the street; I swear, every time he laughs, the sun shines a little brighter.
I can’t keep my eyes off him. After the tender, sweet moment he gave me earlier, I could barely read without losing focus and daydreaming about Aurelio unexpectedly. I gave up five chapters in and came outside to talk to him, only to catch him in the middle of a game of bandits and knights with all the boys of the village. I’ve been transfixed this whole time, catching the way his face lights up every time a boy calls him a prince; the way his shirt flies open in the breeze and gives me a nice view of that upper body of his, and the subtle moments when I swear he’s on the verge of tears after a boy compliments him and calls him a hero. His uncaring, disinterested demeanor is gone, replaced by a paternal energy and a depth of care that I didn’t know he was capable of until now.
Is this what happens when people have kids?I wonder.
Then, horrified at the thought, I shake my head to clear it. Now isn’t the time to daydream about Aurelio holding our baby in his arms, teaching our daughters how to swing a sword, and reading our kids to bed every night. As adorable as that sounds, I have a whole country to run, and starting a family is a future formality I’ll attend to when the time is right. It’s not like I should be looking forward to holding hands on a family walk, tiny giggles across the dinner table, and afternoon naps together…right?
I feel my face burn hotter than fire and know that I’m doomed.
“I’m hopeless,” I sigh.
“Now, I wouldn’t say that about the woman who saved our village,” Ophelia says.
I nearly jump out of my skin. “Ophelia!”
She chuckles quietly to herself. “I’m surprised you didn’t see me. You’ve been out here for quite some time now.”
If my face was on fire before, now it’s molten lava. Ophelia’s been sitting on the bottom step of the front porch this whole time, and I didn’t even notice. That says a lot about how absorbed I was in watching Aurelio, and what it says is downright embarrassing.
“Sorry. My brain must still be foggy,” I lie.
Ophelia smiles knowingly. “You don’t have to lie to me, Queen Alessia. You’re a picture of health. You’ve certainly regained your color.”
I suddenly wish to blink out of existence, but resist the urge to find a way via magic, even though there must be a way to at least turn invisible.
“Where is my sister?” I ask.
Ophelia points to our left. “She can’t get those girls to leave her alone.”
I follow her outstretched hand, a smile playing on my lips as I see Daelia surrounded by a mob of girls, all of them of various ages, but equally obsessed with her. They’ve each taken a part of her armor to examine it, and now a group of them are taking turns trying to braid her hair. I’m not sure if it’s going according to plan, as I can see the frizz even from this distance, but Daelia doesn’t seem to mind. She’s patiently answering question after question, her sword unsheathed on her lap, which seems to be the hot topic of the moment.
“They keep calling her their new best friend,” Ophelia chuckles.
“That sounds about right. Daelia has a way with people, a very different way than I do,” I admit. “I swear it’s just the way the Holy Church trains people. They’re all so easy to talk to. You’d think you’ve known them all your life.”
“I look forward to receiving your missionaries with open arms, then,” Ophelia says. “Their company will be worth just as much as their aid.”
“Please, send word to the other villages if you can. We want to help everyone, not just your village,” I insist.
“Of course. I’ll find a way to spread the word.”
Just then, Aurelio spots me, and his face lights up even more than it already has. He waves to me like a crazy person, both arms flailing.
“Hey, Alessia! How are you feeling?”
“Much better, thank you!” I laugh.
“Awesome! I’ll make sure I give you another book when you finish that one!”
My face reddens to what must be an impossible hue as he turns back to address the attention-hungry boys. Ophelia wears an amused smile as she turns back to our conversation.
“You are one lucky woman. That man is something else,” she chuckles.
“You know what? I’m starting to think the same thing,” I whisper to myself, letting those butterflies flutter freely for the first time since I started feeling them.
***
We only stay in the village of Lihra for three days, collecting for the villagers several weeks’ worth of food, water, and supplies, before we leave for Celestia once again with haste. I see no need to linger when there is work to be done, missionaries to be sent, and political plans to make.
Halfway through our journey home, we’ve had an uneventful ride back with no monster attacks, but the extra time to think isn’t sitting well with me. Even as comfortable as I am with Aticus now, I can’t seem to wrap my head around Krasta’s situation. I don’t know the best way to make lasting change with a whole civil war going on in their capital. It would be an outright dissolution of the alliance and a declaration of war if I attacked, even if the purpose was to separate the warring factions. As in favor of war as I am at the moment, I know it’s a knee-jerk reaction that could get even more people hurt, our intentions confused, and solutions disregarded.
I have to go about this quietly if I ever hope to bring lasting positive change to Krasta. It will have to start with months of missionary work, bolstered labor forces, and religious revitalization to win total trust and make our intentions clear. After that, I’ll be walking on very thin ice to maintain such trust while infiltrating the nobility of an entire country. We’ll need information to dismantle this conflict before it can become an armed conflict.
I want to ask Aurelio if he knows anyone cut out for the job, but I worry that speaking about plans to infiltrate a country, even for information’s sake, will set Daelia off on a tangent of morality. I’ll be reprimanded by one of the leaders of the Holy Church for instigating conflict, no matter my intentions. The church strongly believes in delegations, discussions, and conferences when it comes to international problem-solving.
In this case, though, that’s not an option. The Krastan royalty is far too wrapped up in their own cause to care about a conference. In fact, it would probably be dangerous for them to leave to go to such a conference; it would expose them and their movements to rival factions. Daelia would tell me to leave it be and continue providing aid until the outskirts of the country can stabilize, but what happens when the civil war factions decide they can help themselves to the food, shelter, supplies, and people of their farming villages? I wouldn’t put it past starving young people to take advantage of the situation, especially if they believe they’re fighting for a just cause. The psychology of mobs can cause horrific atrocities if left unchecked.
I’ll have to talk about it with Mina first.She always knows what to do, even when I’m completely lost.
The sun rises in the distance, breaking through the gray haze of dawn. I watch the fiery colors mingle together in the sky, then slowly give way to bright hazy yellow as the sun rises above the trees. The golden halo of the forest returns just in time for us to stop for our daytime rest.
“I’m falling asleep on poor Luca,” Daelia groans, her eyes half-closed.
“When are you not tired?” I tease, punching her shoulder.
“Never. It’s the curse of being a hero. Everyone thinks you’re superhuman, and that includes the supposed power of never needing sleep,” she yawns.
“Well, even if I never needed sleep, I’d want to, anyway,” Aurelio says.
“I’m on board with that,” I sigh.
Just as I’m gathering my stuff off Aticus’s back, there’s a sharp whistle that zips right past my ear. Jolting away from it, I search for the missile-like bug that dared startle me, only to hear a sudden cry to my right.
“Daelia!” Aurelio shouts.
I hear the note of panic in his voice and whirl around. I clap a hand to my mouth, seeing Daelia shielding Aurelio with her entire body. Even through her armor, an arrow has pierced her upper back, right beneath her shoulder blade. She grunts in pain and falls into Aurelio, who barely catches her in time to hold her up.
“What happened?” I demand.
To my horror, Daelia yanks the arrow out of her back, a sharp hiss accompanying the movement.
“What the hells, Daelia?” Aurelio says.
“I need to look at it,” she pants. Her eyes scan the arrow, then her face turns white. “Oh, shit. We’ve got elves on our tail.”
“What? I thought elves were nocturnal?” I question.
“Nope. More crepuscular than anything.” Daelia glances over her shoulder, only for her eyes to fly wide. “GET DOWN!”
I hit the ground just in time for a series of arrows to sail over my head. If I’d waited half a second longer, I’d look like a porcupine. The arrows find their marks in nearby trees in quick succession.
“Alessia, set the trees on fire!” Dealia orders.
“Are you freaking insane?” I shout back.
“Just do it! They’re weak to fire!”
I should have thought of that. Leave it to my sister to be the know-it-all in battle.
Summoning all my energy, I unleash a volley of fire at the nearby trees and shrubs surrounding us in a ring of fire. The flames are so hot, they instantly eat up the drier trees. I hear a few cries of alarm, then the unnaturally light footsteps of running elves. There’s one call that’s much louder than all the others, and then there’s an elf stumbling into view, its whole shirt on fire.
I stare in shock. I’ve never seen an elf before, just heard of what they look like from adventurers and monster hunting manuals. I know their hair is made of real silver, but it’s a shock to see it sparkling in real life, shinier than the certified silver jewelry in my collection back at the palace. The elf is about my same height, with my same build and face shape, shockingly enough. Their skin is even a similar shade to mine, just a little darker. But their eyes—oh, gods, I can’t look at those eyes. They’re bright orange, and in Celestia, orange eyes are taboo, just like the number three. They’re both signs of demons and demonic activity.
The elves may as well be demons themselves. With as many adventurers as they’ve murdered, I wouldn’t mind them going extinct right alongside the demons.
I don’t hesitate to draw my sword. I step right through my magic fire, the flames rescinding before my presence. The elf rolls around on the ground, shrieking in agony, their skin bubbling bright red where the flames are. I’m surprisingly empty of all feelings as I approach. This thing is worse than those wendigos. Elves are dangerous, crafty, and murderous for no good reason. One less elf in the world will make it that much safer.
I raise my sword high, intending to strike.
CLANG!
The shock of my sword clashing with another vibrates in my hands, even after my sword goes flying. I stand there in shock, unable to breathe as I stare at the creature before me.
“Alessia, get out of there!” Daelia shouts.
“Get back here, NOW!” Aurelio demands.
I understand their urgency. This isn’t a game, and this isn’t a joke. This is far worse than a wendigo. Why one would be traipsing the forest all the way out here, I have no idea, but I’m staring one down nonetheless:
It’s a demon.
Those otherworldly purple eyes haunt me as they stare me down, not a hint of feeling to be seen. Her copper skin, black hair, and athletic build should be familiar, but something about her screams evil to me. It’s like I’m picking up on her unholy aura, something highly skilled mages have spoken of when facing down demons using divine magic. It’s an aura that surrounds them at all times, aiding in subduing their victims and stealing their will to fight. I feel it working on me now, sapping the strength from my body as I stand there, mortified, searching for humanity in eyes where I know I’ll find none.
She lifts her sword, leveling it at my throat. I gulp, watching her biceps flex, which are twice the size of mine, and certainly larger than Aurelio’s. I may be stronger than her thanks to my imperial human blood, but demons are considerably stronger than humans. She could crush Aurelio easily with one arm.
“ALESSIA! GET OUT OF THERE!” Aurelio shouts.
I’m rooted to the ground. I can’t move. It’s too late to move, anyway; she’s got me cornered. I’m at this demon’s mercy now. I wait for my fate, staring her down, waiting for her to make the final judgment of whether I live or die. My heart rate slows, and I feel my stress levels bottom out as I accept the situation.
The demon tenses, preparing to strike. I prepare for the end.
But just then, she smirks, lowers her sword, and chuckles quietly.
“I see. You do not fear death.”
And just like that, she sheathes her sword, throws her elf companion over her shoulder, and hauls him away, disappearing into the shadows of the forest. I stand there for the longest time, unable to move.
“ALESSIA!”
Suddenly, Daelia’s in front of me, shaking me by the shoulders, shouting my name. I snap back into reality when I see the bloodstain across her shoulder.
“Daelia! You’re hurt!” I cry.
“Me? I was worried about you, you damn idiot!” Daelia shouts, her face turning purple with fury. “Why did you just stand there? She could have killed you!”
“I know, I’m sorry,” I apologize. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”
Daelia opens her mouth to say something, then shuts it, looking away from me instead. I catch sight of her lip trembling.
“Just…don’t scare me like that, alright?”
She practically tackles me in a hug. I get crushed between her arm guards and her chest plate.
“Dae! Can’t breathe!” I gasp.
“You’re fine,” she teases.
Still, she lets go, and I get a good look at her wound. I try to use healing magic on it, but it’s no use.
“Damn it. What do they coat their arrows with?” I grumble.
“It’s a potion, as far as I know,” Aurelio says, appearing by my side. “It prevents the use of magic healing. We’ll have to patch her up the old-fashioned way until we get back into town for proper treatment.”
Before I can say a word, Aurelio goes to grab supplies from his saddlebags, and he’s wrapping Daelia in bandages coated in alcohol. I look on in surprise.
“Aurelio, do you need any help?” I ask.
“No, I’ve just finished.”
He ties off the last of the bandage, then Daelia puts her armor back on, smiling gratefully.
“Thank you, Aurelio.”
“No problem. Let me get stuff set up for the day. You stay here and rest.”
I start toward my horse to help, but Aurelio catches me by the arm to stop me.
“No, you go rest with Daelia. You’ve had a rough go of it, too.”
I frown. “But—”
Aurelio puts his finger over my lips to silence me. My heart beating a little louder than is normal, I stare at him in a stunned silence. His eyes glimmer mysteriously as he looks back at me. I can’t quite get a read on him.
“You need to rest. Okay?”
He leans down to kiss me on the forehead, then leaves to retrieve our stuff from the horses. I feel a small smile tug at my lips.
Oh. I scared him. And now he wants to protect me.
I return to Daelia’s side quietly, wondering what other kind of princess treatment I’m about to receive. Aurelio is certainly full of surprises lately.