Chapter 19: Pillow Talk

LYDIA

Lydia rested comfortably in the crook of Gabriel’s arm as the two of them lay on the cot, staring upwards at the night sky through the opening in the roof. After a moment of comfortable silence, the Slifer decided to hazard a question.

“So…” Lydia began. “What happens now?”

“So impatient,” Gabriel chuckled. “Give me a moment to regain my strength and then we should be able to continue.”

Lydia made a face and playfully slapped him on the chest. “That’s not what I meant,” she said. “What I mean is, what happens now that you’re back? Should we go with Aero and Lis back to Imarnia?”

Gabriel paused for a moment, pondering the question. “That may not be our wisest course of action,” he finally said.

“And why’s that?” Lydia asked. “You’re the king, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you be returning to your kingdom?”

“If only it were that simple,” Gabriel replied wearily, letting out a forlorn sigh.

“You and I may know the truth of what’s happened these last three months, but I doubt we would be able to convincingly explain to the people of Imarnia why their ruler vanished for three months and only returned to go on a murderous rampage.”

He winced a bit at his own words, as if saying them out loud physically stung him. “At the very least, it would certainly be a hard sell.”

“So, what do you suppose we should do instead?” Lydia asked quizzically. “Hide you away from our people until the matter is solved?

“Ideally?” Gabriel replied. “Yes.”

Lydia squirmed angrily out from under Gabriel’s arm and pulled herself up into a sitting position. “That seems a bit cowardly, don’t you think?” she asked huffily. “If anything, I would think the people of Imarnia would be relieved to hear their king has returned to normal.”

“There’s still the matter of Uzier as well,” Gabriel added. “And Evine. The two of them are still at large, and two of the missing Royals remain in their grasp. I can hardly be expected to focus on my duties as king while the threat remains.”

Lydia tensed at the mention of the two missing Royals: King Morrison and King Calix. Now that Gabriel and Adria had safely returned, she had almost forgotten that there were still two monarchs under Evine’s control. She silently cursed herself for her own shortsightedness.

“For now, I think it’s best if we allow my sister to continue as Queen Regent,” Gabriel continued. “There is no one else alive to whom I would be more willing to entrust my kingdom. In the meantime, we should endeavor to put an end to whatever Uzier and Evine are plotting.”

Lydia let out a sigh and lay back down beside Gabriel. His plan ~did~ seem to make sense.

“If that’s what you think is best,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. “In case it bears repeating, I’ll be doing everything in my power to help you stop them, and I’ll make sure she doesn’t take you again.”

“I know,” Gabriel said softly. “And I love you all the more for it.”

Lydia smiled and nestled closer to him, slowly drifting off into a well-deserved slumber.

***

GABRIEL

“Since my liberation from Evine’s spell, my recollections of these past three months have been a bit of a haze,” Gabriel began.

The king stood before the Congress of Magic. Though he spoke with a commanding presence, there was a slight crack in his voice as he surveyed the many eyes watching him.

Staring out at all the faces, some visibly trying to mask fear or concern, a disconcerting thought bubbled up to the surface of Gabriel’s mind.

~They’re still wary of me,~ he thought to himself. ~For all they know, I could still be under Evine’s control. And what’s worse, they are wholly justified in their suspicions. If I were in their shoes, I would no doubt be cautious as well…~

“However,” he continued, “now that I have been given time to rest and regain both my strength and my wits, many more details concerning my mental imprisonment have returned to my waking memory.

“Chief among them,” he paused to clear his throat, “is the location of the stronghold where Uzier and Evine are currently hiding out.”

There were a series of hushed murmurs amongst the other members of the congress. Chancellor Agatha raised her hand, and taking the hint, the other members of congress quickly fell silent again.

“King Gabriel of Imarnia,” she began, “while you have so far given us no reason to doubt your claim, you must understand that we will need further evidence to support it.”

Gabriel winced. He had suspected congress would still be mistrustful, but being reminded of the fact only served to rub salt in his wounded pride.

“As you know, Chancellor, Queen Adria was also a thrall of Evine and subjected to all of the same treatment that I endured while under her control,” Gabriel said carefully. “She will no doubt be able to corroborate this information as well.”

Chancellor Agatha nodded sagely. “Very well,” she said. “And for the sake of transparency, do you have any way to prove to the rest of this congress that both you and Queen Adria are completely freed of Evine’s control? That this is not simply a ploy to lure us into further danger?”

Gabriel ruminated on the question for a moment while the rest of the congress seemed to hold their collective breath.

~Did he?~

After a long, tense pause, the king spoke again.

“I suppose there’s nothing I can say that would adequately convince you and ease your suspicions,” he said, choosing his words carefully.

“However, the fact of the matter is that King Morrison and King Calix remain at the mercy of Evine and Uzier, and at the moment, I am providing the only lead that could potentially result in their safe rescue. In short: you’re going to have to trust me.”

More murmurs began to erupt throughout the congress. With an irritated sigh, Agatha raised her hand again and the audience silenced themselves.

“Thank you for your honesty, your majesty,” she said. “And I apologize that circumstances require me to question your motives to begin with.

“We are still struggling to decipher the nature of Evine’s mind control magic, as it’s unlike any spell we have ever seen before. You can understand why it’s necessary to proceed with caution.”

“I agree wholeheartedly,” Gabriel returned.

“Based on the patterns of the previous attacks, I find it incredibly likely that the next strike by Uzier’s forces will be on the city of Trinivan. I’ve motioned to deploy defensive measures to the area as soon as possible.

“As for devising a plan of attack on Uzier’s stronghold, I will leave this particular mission plan to Lucius Voltaire. Satisfactory?”

“Of course, chancellor,” Gabriel said humbly. He couldn’t have been more relieved to pass Alastair’s scrutiny, though a small part of him still didn’t think he was worthy of her trust. He was eager to prove himself to her—and the rest of Imarnia.

“Very well,” Agatha replied to the king, turning back to the procession. “The Congress of Magic is hereby dismissed.”

***

LYDIA

“Lydia!”

The Slifer turned her head as she heard a voice from the other side of the hallway. As she turned, she saw Dorian quickly running toward her.

“Morning, Dorian,” Lydia said as he caught up to her. “Sorry again about last night.”

“Think nothing of it,” Dorian chirped in reply. “You must be feeling in better form now, all things considered.”

Lydia quirked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, King Gabriel is back safe and sound, for starters,” Dorian explained. “The knowledge that he’s free of Evine’s control must be a weight off your mind.”

“Indeed, it is,” Lydia replied, relieved he wasn’t referring to the fireworks show she put on with Gabriel the previous evening. “To be honest, over these last few months, I was beginning to worry that I would never see him again.”

“Yes, what a shame that would be,” Dorian said in response. Lydia gave the wizard a quizzical look, but before she had the chance to speak again, he said: “I was just going for a walk down to the fountains in the courtyard. I wouldn’t mind some company if you’re available.”

“I have nothing more pressing at the moment,” replied Lydia. “I suppose it would be in our best interest to travel in numbers during times like these.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” said Dorian.

Just then, Lydia heard another voice from across the hall.

“Lydia!” Gabriel said, striding over to the Slifer and wizard.

“Gabriel,” Lydia said happily. “You’re back early. I take it your hearing went well?”

“About as well as expected, I suppose,” said Gabriel. “Tell me, who’s your friend here? I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced.”

“Dorian, your majesty,” Dorian said, extending a hand politely. “The pleasure is all mine.”

“Well, Dorian, it’s certainly a pleasure to meet you,” Gabriel replied, grasping Dorian’s hand in a firm handshake. Maybe a little ~too~ firm, Lydia noted. Dorian almost seemed to flinch at the intensity of the king’s grip on his hand.

Lydia had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Gabriel had known Dorian for less than a minute, and already he was doing his damnedest to intimidate him.

She knew that the king was overly competitive, but this shameless display of machismo was embarrassing to watch. Besides, it wasn’t as though she was some prize to be won…

...And she had no feelings for Dorian, of course.

Was he handsome? Perhaps in his own way. But in her eyes, no man could rival Gabriel. Particularly after last night.

“If you’ll excuse me, Lydia, I just remembered I’m expected to meet with Agatha to discuss the plans to defend Trinivan,” the young wizard said. “I’ll see you later?”

“Of course,” said Lydia. “It was nice speaking with you, Dorian.”

As Dorian quickly bustled away, Lydia shot Gabriel a look. “You know you didn’t have to scare him off like that,” she said sternly.

“Scare him off?” Gabriel inquired. “All I did was shake the man’s hand.”

“Nearly crushed his hand is what you did,” Lydia corrected. “And don’t think I didn’t notice you puffing out your chest like some preening bird. Jealousy is not a good look for you, Gabriel.”

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” said Gabriel haughtily.

Lydia rolled her eyes. “Honestly, if you’re going to start picking fights with every man I happen to speak to, things are going to get pretty exhausting pretty fast. You ~do~ trust me, don’t you?”

Gabriel was taken aback. “Of course I trust you,” Gabriel said. “I trust you with all my heart.”

“In that case,” said Lydia. “Maybe you should act like it.”

***

EVINE

Once the sounds of shouting and crashing had died down, Evine carefully walked back into the cabin. Shattered pieces of wooden furniture lay in heaps scattered throughout the room, and at the center of it all stood Uzier, still fuming.

Evine rolled her eyes. The man was centuries old, but when something didn’t go his way, he behaved like a petulant child.

“Years of planning,” Uzier seethed, to no one in particular. “Decades, in fact. And all of it destroyed by a mere application of brute force by some hapless Slifers. Now two of our most powerful pawns are lost, along with the secrets we worked so carefully to conceal.”

“You worry too much, my lord,” Evine said soothingly. “Perhaps instead of seeing this as a crisis, we could instead view these developments as an opportunity.”

Uzier turned to face her, staring down the queen with ink-black eyes. “And in what way could these incidents provide a boon to us?” he asked.

“For starters, we now know how my control can be potentially dispelled,” she replied coolly. “That means we can begin taking precautions to prevent these incidents from repeating themselves in the future. Additionally…”

She took a step closer and put a hand on his chest, easing her lover’s mood. “I’m beginning to think that maybe we chose the wrong targets to begin with. Wouldn’t you agree?”

The corner of Uzier’s pale mouth curled into a sneer as he realized what Evine was suggesting.

“I see,” he replied. “Why don’t you tell me what you have in mind, my queen…”