Galaga and Tryx left together to seek their contact with the Lost Men.
They told me that they would negotiate first, and if necessary, they would let me know and I would go talk to their contact myself.
Aaron, Rich and even Fred offered to come. Although I refused several times, they insisted until I accepted. They went to get supplies, including swords, bows and arrows.
When they told me, I realized that I had no idea how to fight if they attacked us. I did not communicate my concern to them, but trusted that nothing would happen, and that perhaps my strange power would be helpful.
Only Russell and I were left in the yellow house.
'Do you want to go for a walk?' he asked, and I nodded instantly. We didn't have much else to do.
I wished internally that he would take me to the lake, and as I wished, he did.
'I thought a little quiet would be nice, at least before we left.'
When we reached the lake, we sat down again at the foot of it, and watched the crystal-clear water sway from side to side.
Everything had changed so much since the last time we had come. I was no longer Milaia, now I was Gaia, the Princess of the Kingdom and he was no longer just my savior, but my subject, who had sworn loyalty to me.
'What are you thinking about?' he asked, taking me out of my thoughts.
'I'm scared,' I confessed, though I didn't even know I felt that way.
'Of what?' He turned to me, concerned and attentive.
'That I can't save us, that I'm not a good princess, the list goes on and on.'
'My princess...'
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
His hand reached up to my cheek and I felt him caressing me carefully. His fingers had calluses, from the bow and arrow, but the softness of his touch could not compare to anything I had felt. He took my face in his hands and we were face to face. Our eyes met, recognized each other after so much time together. His face was so close that his words came in a whisper and I could still understand him perfectly.
'No matter what happens, this will never change, you and I will never change.'
I closed my eyes, ready to seal his promise with my lips.
Someone cleared their throat.
'I'm sorry to interrupt,' Galaga's voice separated us instantly.
I got up from the floor and looked at her with a little shame.
'What happened?'
Galaga's eyes went from one to the other. She was interested in knowing what she had just interrupted, but the urgency of her message took her out of her curiosity.
'Our contact wants to see you, he says that if he is going to take risks he must see you personally. He is waiting for us in the woods, Tryx is with him.'
I didn't hesitate for a second to go with her. We needed their help, whether I wanted it or not.
I didn't dare look at Russell. We had been so close, so close, that I was afraid to see him and fall into his arms.
Walking around town was not as easy as it used to be. In fact, it was a complicated experience. Everyone was crowding to see me go by. I knew I was going to have to think of another option for the night, since it would be impossible for them to know we were leaving, especially now that the Comrades were watching us.
The tree opened up and let us pass. I thought about the first time I passed by it and how it let me into the Kingdom that I thought was my enemy, but was actually my home. Did the tree recognize me? The woods felt the same as usual, at least something hadn't changed.
Tryx greeted us as if she didn't think we would meet her.
Next to her, there was a boy, tall, very tall. His green eyes looked up and down at me and his smile was soon drawn. He was dressed in brown pants and jacket. He was wearing a hat, which he took off when he saw me.
'Princess,' he bowed excessively. I noticed that his hands were full of rings of different colors. Some seemed to be gold, but they were not.
'Call me Milaia,' I had decided that, as long as I could, I would continue to use the name I had grown up with. I was going to hold on as long as I could to what I once was.
'Address her as Your Majesty,' Russell's voice was heard behind my back. I didn't want to turn around and look him in the eye, I didn't know how I would react after what had happened.
The boy smiled mockingly.
'I don't know how much to believe in all this really, I mean, come on, from out of the blue a girl appears and says she's the Princess. It's a bit sketchy you know?'
I noticed Russell coming up to my side. He was ready to jump on the boy at any moment.
'What do you mean....? I don't even know your name,' I told him, with no intention of prolonging the conversation.
'Call me Rayn,' one of his green eyes winked at me, 'I'm saying that if you want my help, and my brothers, I need more than your words.'
'Oh, c'mon Rayn, you are not even the boss, where is Caelus?' Tryx complained at his side. 'Not even Polar deigned to show up.'
Although the name Polar sounded familiar, I decided to ignore it and concentrate on what the boy was asking for.
'Caelus is not going to waste his valuable time on an impostor, he wanted me to make sure that amber eyes is really who she says she is.'
Who was Caelus and why was I so embarrassed that he referred to me only by my physical appearance?
I didn't know the answer to any of those questions, but I did know what to do.
Magic was like breathing. I didn't realize it was taking place, but if I concentrated hard enough, I could feel it running through me. Of course, it would be difficult to use it in the middle of the woods, where the curse was prevalent. But if it was the only way for the Lost Men to help us, I would try.
I took a few steps forward and quickly grabbed Rayn's hands.
He did not back down, nor was he afraid of my action. He just stood there, with his mocking expression and glowing eyes.
I focused on what I wanted to accomplish.
I closed my eyes and visualized. Just one word.
Gold. Gold. Gold.
I let go of his hands and distanced myself to the place where I had been.
'I loved the physical contact, but I don't understand what you did.'
'Look at your hands.'
Rayn looked at me in confusion before looking down at his fingers.
The expression of surprise was instantaneous.
I turned each of his rings into gold. I had turned the metal into gold. I had created gold with just the thought of it.
His gaze went up and down from my face to his fingers.
His expression did not change. He was mesmerized.
'This is...'
'Magic. Don't ask me how I did it, because I have no idea. But there's your proof, now I need you to listen to me and pass on the message to that boss of yours who didn't even bother to show up.'
Rayn, to my surprise, remained silent and, although his gaze was still trying to assimilate that there was so much gold in his hands, he paid attention to me.
'We want to get to old Crescendo as quickly as possible.'
'I know, Tryx told me, but it's crazy, the place is surrounded by Bieno's army. If you go near the border, they'll catch you no matter how magical you are.'
'There must be some way, otherwise you wouldn't be here, right?'
Rayn crossed his arms, as if trying to protect his rings from the one who had given them to him.
'For the right price, we can make a deal.'
I felt Russell grumbling by my side. I could hear his words in my head. He was right, the Lost Men only cared about money, profit, earning something in any situation. They were opportunists, nothing more than that.
'What about getting magic back in all the Kingdoms?'
Rayn's eyes went from greed to sadness in a second.
'That's not possible.'
'I can make it possible. If you help me, I'll help you get your magic back, and then you can do whatever you want with it.'
'So you think you're that powerful?'
'I don't think so, I am that powerful.'
I had to pretend, I had to make him believe that I was in control, when actually, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The plan was crazy, extremely risky. None of us had ever been in combat, so it was likely that in the event of an attack, we would not know how to defend ourselves. And there was the detail of my powers, I didn't know how to handle them, I didn't even understand them completely. It seemed that if I concentrated too much on something, it would happen. There was no other explanation than what had happened.
But the worst part was that I wasn't sure I would find the sign by going there, yet there was a reason King Gelon had chosen to show me those memories. They had all happened in the Castle, it must have meant something.
'Caelus will be happy to help you, I even think he would like you. There is a way to get there, but it is risky.'
'Just tell her already,' protested Galaga.
'All right, don't get mad, sweetheart.'
I didn't rotate to see Galaga's face, but I felt her anger emerging from her skin.
'A few years ago, we found an old device, used before the war, that is a kind of portal. It's a little broken and rusty, but I guess it'll help you. If you can make it work, I'll take you into the Kingdom, we won't even have to go through the barrier.'
'A portal?' Russell scoffed at it. 'They haven't existed for years, we thought you'd have a better idea than that.'
'It's what we have, we offer you the device and I'll go with you.'
'Why you and not this Caelus guy?' I asked him genuinely.
'Because Caelus never risks his life unless it is something of extreme importance.'
'But he has no problem risking yours?'
I got him to laugh a little, with what seemed like bitterness.
'You have no idea what kind of person Caelus is.'
'Then bring the other one, the one Tryx also mentioned.'
'Polar.' Tryx's eyes lit up and for the first time I noticed her tone of voice was a little higher.
'I will do my best, Princess. Come here when the moon points to Anapos, this is going to be either fun or tragic.' Rayn walked away before I could say anything else.