Chapter 24

The Heir woke up every day by the King’s side. They both got ready to attend their duties. Merrick to rule a kingdom and Arline to serve in it.

They had spoken to Pauline about Larsin stalking on Arline, and the Oracle made them understand that the only solution for him to leave her alone was time. Time for Larsin to grow bored and disgusted by her.

While Arline trained with the Huntresses or helped people around the kingdom, she could dimension his spirit staring at her from the shade of trees. But since Merrick knew about his visits, Larsin kept his distance with her. Because even dead, the Young Prince was still terrified of his older brother.

One morning, Arline swiped her sword easily, with no voices rumbling her thoughts. The anger, grief and sadness were still present. And every time she slashed a dummy or hit the center of the target with her arrow, she viewed Pelagius dead.

“I didn’t know you were such a fierce Huntress, Arline,” his familiar figure appeared behind her while she was leaving to meet with the group of kids in the library.

“Take a look at Mount Suvlic, that can probably clear you mind,” she answered back, stepping outside the training grounds.

Larsin scuffed and admired her. “What will you do once you take his powers?” He asked her, already reaching for the gates of the public library where the kids were waving their hands at her.

“Sleep, now leave me alone,” she clarified for him with a bitter tone. “Hello kids,” Arline greeted them and opened the door for them to get inside.

The public library of the kingdom was probably one of the most beautiful places she had ever stepped in, and hated that neither her friends nor Merrick had ever give her a tour around it. The private library of the castle was precious and luxurious but this building was everything Arline could ever imagine to have as a library.

Despite being a five-story tall building, the shelves went all the way down below the ground as well and the smell of old book was delightful for Arline’s senses. Arline tried not to seem too surprised until Callahan whispered. “This place is scary.”

“Are you scared of books?” Lillian asked her friend with mocking eyes. Callahan elbowed her arm and Arline giggled under her breath.

They headed to a table and while the kids pulled out their books and paper, she went to look for what they would need to get the work done.

She searched the shelves and found pixies flying around the books, cleaning the dust and taking away spiders, worms and moths.

“Umm…excuse me,” Arline whispered to catch the pixie’s attention. “Do you know where can I find a book on the history of Reiska?”

The pixie was startled and opened his big round eyes, blinking a few times before answering. “Follow me, Ms. Cole,” the creature said in a surprising deep voice.

His curved wings fluttered rapidly as he guided Arline through the shelves and showed her a book that fitted her description. She grabbed it and thanked him.

“You are not supposed to talk to pixies,” Larsin’s spirit crept from behind her. “They are inferior to you, there is a reason to why they clean the books.”

“Really? I couldn’t care less,” Arline whispered turning a corner. “And I am sure that you made their job a living hell.”

“Their wings are nice to have around the neck.”

“Piece of shit.”

Arline just arrived with the kids and sat down, opening the book. Tobias’ eyes widened at the size of it and his jaw dropped. “This is going to take us a lifetime.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” Arline giggled. “We don’t have to read the entire thing, just what is important for your homework.”

Lillian laughed at their friends and began searching with Arline and the boys for the information to finish their papers and getout of there to enjoy the remaining afternoon. While Arline enjoyed the peace and quiet of the library, Merrick had to endure the annoying yapping of the Elders while he had a meeting in the Council Room in the castle. The King’s expression gave away how bored and tired he was of hearing the old men.

“Your Majesty, you need to begin the search for a Queen,” Victor said. “Balls can be arranged, trips as well.”

“What for?” Merrick asked playing the part of an uninterested and spoiled monarch.

“For you to meet a princess with a kingdom that can grant us a useful alliance,” Victor answered back with patience. “There has been enough time of you been a bachelor.”

“I already know who I will propose to when the time is right,” Merrick said, loosening his shoulders. “Her kingdom will be our greatest ally.”

“I don’t believe a water guardian like Arline Cole could be of use in your reign.”

“Careful,” Aidan smiled and said under his breath. “Remember who you are talking about.”

“Use her true title, Victor. And don’t disrespect her,” the King calmly said. “Do I need to remind you that you were the ones who suggested to pair my father with Merlina? We know how that turned out.”

“The entire kingdom knows of her presence in the castle, even the Army,” Nicholas mentioned. “No princess will ever agree to visit your lands if she stays here,” he added trying to take Victor’s side but in reality Victor was the only that hated Arline’s presence on the castle.

“Good. I don’t wish for anyone to visit the kingdom for me. And Ms. Cole stays here because she requires my protection,” Merrick replied losing his patience.

“On your chambers?” Victor fired back with visible disgust drawing on his expression.

“You are quiet, Samuel,” the King called for the youngest on the trio of men. “What do the people say?”

“They… The people love Ms. Cole, your Majesty. And since she is the one who helped you gain the throne and then executed the traitors to the crown, they just adore her,” Samuel mentioned for the King who just smiled at Victor, whose blood was boiling. “I think… they would be disappointed if you didn’t betroth the Heir of Pelagius,” this sentence was said almost in a whisper impossible to hear.

But Victor heard and rolled his eyes. “The people are not judges of anything,” he said bitterly.

“I rule for the people, not for you nor the High Council. If I want to betroth the future Goddess of Tides, I will,” Merrick greeted his teeth.

“I believe you should have more options in the table, your Majesty,” Nicholas tried to calm his mood and was quite unsuccessful. Again he was trying to side with Victor.

“Arline Cole will be my Queen, gentlemen. Now leave.”

With the wave of a lazy hand he dismissed them and sat on a chair letting out a very long sigh. And Aidan looked at him with a smile. “Why do they want to push you away from her?”

“She will become a goddess soon. They believe my wife should be below me. Not my equal and certainly not above me,” Merrick threw his head back at the image of Arline and smiled for himself.

They both stayed silent until the rasp on Aidan’s voice interrupted it. “When will she fight him?” He sounded scared and preoccupied.

Another battle for the girl who despised war. That was everything Aidan could think of when it came to Arline’s time of facing Pelagius.

“She doesn’t want to tell me,” Merrick said and looked into his best friend’s eyes. “No Aidan, I haven’t looked inside her head. I won’t do it either,” the King reprimanded his Frontlord for thinking he wanted to get into her mind.

“Why?”

“She doesn’t want me to join her.”

“It isn’t your fight.”

“I won’t let her go against him alone.”

Aidan scuffed at his worry. “Have you seen her? The way she has been training day and night? I have never seen power displayed that way, Merrick. She is angry and her powers have changed.”

“What are you trying to tell me, Aidan?”

“You can’t protect her all the time, Merrick. Arline isn’t the scared inexperienced girl you trained a few months back. Start betting how long the battle will last,” the King looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. “Arline has been requesting Calix to teach her how to bond her power to his.”

Merrick was in disbelief and stayed silent with palpable anger all over him. “How do you know?”

“He told me. It was one of the moves we pulled when we helped Valerya back in the war. I hope you don’t-”

“Is she insane or does she just wants to taste death some times?” Merrick interrupted him.

“Merrick, she wants an advantage and she is powerful enough to handle it,” Aidan took her side in this argument. “You know she believes to be below everybody.”

“Tell me about it,” Merrick mumbled and now Aidan looked confused. “She thinks she is unworthy of me. She hesitates to touch me, because she thinks-” he cut himself at the image of Arline avoiding him and grunted, lifting his body from his chair and began pacing the room while Aidan found his frustration funny. “How can she believe that, Aidan? Arline is living perfection.”

“Well you are a god. It is impossible not to feel inferior to you,” Aidan added smiling at him.

“Have you seen her? Every time I look at her, my stomach feels funny. A thousand butterflies slap me whenever she enters a room and she dares to call herself not enough for me. I feel like a child.”

Aidan threw his head back, laughing at his friend trying to understand the female mind and only patted him on the shoulder. “You are in love, that much I know,” and Merrick let his head down and smiled for himself.

While they sat on the oak table and ate their dinner, Arline was silent. She chewed on her food with distant eyes. Merrick noticed that look. She was plotting and planning, trying to keep her mind away from certain thoughts.

Merrick cleared his throat and brought everyone’s attention to him. “What is it about you wanting to bond your power to Calix’s?” Merrick inquired, and she snapped out of her thoughts and faced him. “Aidan told me.”

Arline gave the Frontlord a murderous look. “Don’t look at me like that. It is a dangerous game you are playing.”

Merrick left his dinner unattended and turned his entire body to face her. “Erasing memories of an entire city is one thing, but binding your powers-”

”Don’t,” Arline stopped him before he could end the sentence. “One was to try and find peace, the other one is to survive.”

“You don’t need to alter your power in order to defeat him.”

“You don’t know that. I have no idea what he can do with his powers and I will not be unprepared in front of him during battle.”

“Do you enjoy it? Training until the only way you can stop is because of pain and exhaustion?”

“I won’t fail,” she said with a hard tone and cold gaze and went back to her food, and just played around with it.

“I never said you would,” Merrick said back. “I would never think of the possibility of you failing, ever.”

“There is always a chance of failing. I am slimming it down as much as possible,” Arline said and that was it. She had the last word in this quarrel.

Only because if Merrick continued, Arline most likely would snap at him.

In the room, Arline bathed alone and changed away from his eyes. All in silence. Without ever facing him. And he only looked at her. “What are you staring at so much?” She asked from the vanity as she undid her braids, letting her hair breathe and fall down her back.

Merrick said nothing and approached her from behind. And began kissing her neck slowly, leaving a trail of burning kisses on her back, which arched every time his warm breath reached for the fabric of her gown.

“If you want to hate me, at least pretend to not enjoy this,” he advised when he heard the drowned moans coming out of her mouth.

“I’m not in the mood,” she said as she controlled her breathing and raised from the chair. Arline buried her body in the warm blankets and went to sleep, leaving Merrick with words on his mouth and an uneven breathing.

One night she found herself in company of Calix and Zeroun. They had agreed to help her bond her power to theirs. To move water in synchrony with the wind and to make it react to heat. It was a strenuous process.

She then understood why nobody wanted her to do it.

The bodies of guardians were forged to handle their own powers. If they tried to handle another sort of power, it gave up to exhaustion. Only people with loads of ability and strength were able to handle the process and training of bonding.

Calix and Aidan were some of those people. And now Arline was doing it.

Her power didn’t fight much against the wind. But fire was unbearable. It was her nemesis. Every time she tried to yield it, dehydration invaded her.

“How the hell can you handle this?” Arline asked with pearls of sweat on her forehead and neck.

“Breathe in and out slowly,” he advised her. “When I bonded to water I felt suffocated.”

“Are you sure-” Zeroun began, passing her water.

“Don’t use Merrick’s tone.”

“Arline,” Zeroun stopped her. “He is worried.”

“He-”

“He loves you,” Calix said before she interfered with a stupid excuse. “He is terrified of losing you… in any way. Arline, he is the most feared monarch on earth and yet he feels helpless regarding your safety.”

“Just… don’t. I need this advantage, I will die if I don’t have this.”

Both of them stayed silent and continued their session. And they hated how easy it was for her to bring up the connection with them. Her talent and capacity to understand the powers and techniques was unsettling.

Arline was resting on a rock when she heard someone clearing their throat. Everyone turned around to face the shadows, where the King was admiring them.

“Leave,” Merrick let out a growl as he stepped into the light.

“No,” Arline interfered. “I need both of you to stay.”

“You missed dinner,” Merrick mentioned absolutely ignoring her companions.

“I told Pauline I wasn’t going to be there,” she argued back.

“What the hell are you doing?” The King lost his patience with her.

“Practicing. You don’t teach me anymore.”

“I wouldn’t agree to teach you what you are learning on your own. Calix, Zeroun leave,” Merrick ordered them again.

“They stay, especially Calix,” Arline ordered them back. And Merrick sighed as they both stayed by her side.

”Why the hell did you agree to teach her?” The King inquired as he approached both men aggressively. “Both of you know what can happen,” it was pure anger showing through him in that moment. He felt as if he could fight both of them until death.

“Don’t take out your rage against me, with them,” Arline said from behind.

“Rage against you? The only rage I feel towards you is whenever I see you almost dead after every training session,” he turned around and went to her. “You want to know what enrages me about you? Your stupid need for perfection, your feeling of inferiority when you are the most powerful person in the kingdom, and that incessant need to train to be the best,” Arline fell silent as she registered his demeanor. “Calix is right, I love you and I am devoted to you. I won’t let you go against Pelagius alone, now wrap it up and go back to the castle,” he was towering over her and grabbed her waist and Arline was ready to slap him.

“Are you being serious?” Arline said back to him, pushing his chest to get him away from her. “You hate my training? I can’t bare the idea of him getting near you, ready to kill you,” she raised her tone at him. “I don’t want you to come with me. I need to do this alone because sacrificing you is giving up the crown you earned,” she had tears forming in her eyes. “I will not be the one responsible for leaving your kingdom without its king,” her voice was on the verge of breaking when she said. “Just leave me alone to handle my powers.”

“No,” Merrick sharply replied to her request as he reached for her, despite her attempts to get away. “What part of you believes I will ever leave you alone to endure all of it?”

He brushed his fingers through her hair, slowly, as he savored her lips. Enjoying every inch of them. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and he wiped them away with his thumbs.

“I can’t lose you,” she confessed laying her forehead on his chest and began crying.

He then understood why. The reason behind her alternating her powers. Fear. Arline felt hopeless on her sole abilities to beat the Deity of Waters that she believed she needed to change a part of her to be better and win.

“I won’t lose you either,” he whispered to her. “Show me,” Merrick wanted to see what she had been working on and how she handled the binding. Because if he saw at least one sign of struggle within her, he could try to convince her to drop this nonsense.

But with her sole focus the wind intertwined with the water in the cave, forming spiked and tall waves that crashed aggressively against the rocks. As one of the tallest waves was trying to return to the sea, Arline turned it into a spiral.

Steam began escaping certain curves of it, making the water to bubble as it boiled. With the boiling water, she crashed the spiral into one of the rocks hanging from the cave’s ceiling and cut it in half. When she finished, Arline was in pain and sweaty.

And Merrick just approached her in silence. “This is the only time you use the binding, Arline. Have the advantage, but…” He couldn’t finish as his mind went blank when he stood in front of her. “Just promise me.”

“I promise you,” Arline whispered as she reached for his hand and stared into his eyes.