Chapter 32: Chapter 16 [part 1]

The dream found me once again.

War was approaching the Kingdom of Bieno. My horse was breathing hard, my dear Lightning would accompany me to the end. Next to me was Russell, smiling despite the sight. Dragons were flying over me. And then, I looked to my other side, and there I found a second person.

A man... someone I was sure I knew.

He looked at me as fiercely as Russell did, and I knew he loved me as much as he did.

I raised my sword, and when I shouted, we all went straight to battle.

'She' s not waking up yet.'

'Maybe we should try the marigold.'

'We've done all we can.'

'Princess... come back to me... come back to me my love.'

'Daughter, Gaia, wake up!'

I opened my eyes and it took me a few seconds to find myself again.

I was definitely in a bed. The soft sheets were crashing against my aching body. The daylight led me to squint my eyes once again. The place was unrecognizable. It was a room, but it was definitely not my room in the yellow house. It looked like something out of a palace. The bedposts were so high as to be intimidating.

I was alone.

Although perhaps it wasn't the best idea, I decided to talk.

'Hello? Is anybody here?'

No one answered.

I tried to move, to even get up, but the pain reminded me of what had happened. I ran my hand over my stomach and found a bandage covering what looked like a deep wound. I wasn't going to take any more of that pain. I decided to concentrate on my wound.

Heal. Heal. Heal.

The breeze from under my skin felt weak, but slowly it did just what I asked. I hadn't understood the fear Fred had felt the day I healed his scar, or when I gave Tryx back her wings, until now. The feeling was similar to being wounded, only this time my skin was coming together instead of breaking apart. I tried not to scream from the pain and waited for it to pass.

After a few seconds, I checked under the bandage. My skin was healed, as good as new, with no traces of blood or scars, as if I had never been hurt.

I got out of bed, now in a very different condition than I was in.

My clothes were not the same. I was wearing a white nightgown that was dragging on the floor. I didn't want to think about how I had gotten to that place; all I cared about was finding the way out.

I went to the door, but before I opened it, someone came in.

'Your Majesty.'

Rythel was as surprised to see me as I was to see him.

'Rythel,' I answered him with the same respect he spoke to me.

'We didn't think that... you looked so poorly yesterday.'

'Yesterday?' Doubts began to creep up on me. 'How long have I been here, Rythel?'

Rythel's face was quite easy to read, quite easy to understand.

'You better sit down, there are so many things to talk about.'

I could have refused, I could have demanded that he tell me everything at once, but I decided to listen to him just this once. Perhaps if I had listened to him before, what happened wouldn't have happened.

So, I sat down on the bed and let him sit next to me.

'Explain,' I demanded more than I asked.

Rythel inhaled as much air as he could before telling me everything that happened.

'You have been unconscious for five days. When they brought you back, we didn't think you'd survive. The wound was very deep, you had lost too much blood. We don't have the magic that you count on, we have a limit to it. And our medicine is based more on herbs and prayers than on our inner power. None of those solutions seemed to help you. The fever would not go down. We thought the worst. We braced ourselves for the worst. It's a miracle to see you like this today, do you remember how you woke up? Maybe it was the marigold spices...'

Everything was so confusing that I had trouble answering his question.

I had heard voices, but they seemed to be part of the dreams I had experienced.

'I don't know, Rythel, I guess I'm just as surprised to be alive as you are.'

'Not surprised, grateful.'

I smiled at him genuinely. Of all the Comrades, he seemed to be the only one who appreciated me as more than just the heir to the throne.

'What did I miss?'

I noticed right away that this was even more complicated to tell.

'Unfortunately, I must tell you that your expedition did not have a good ending. You see, when you were wounded, everyone became desperate. They couldn't let you die, at least they were sensible about that. They jumped through the gate, but they didn't notice that the gate was disappearing before...'.

He stopped, as if he couldn't really tell me what had happened. It must have been bad, very bad.

'Before what?'

'Before Tullum's daughter Galaga went through it. Sadly, Galaga was left on the other side.'

My heart skipped a beat inside my chest.

What I didn't want to happen happened.

And now what was I supposed to do?

I had to rescue her, somehow, I had to save her... if she was still alive. No, I wasn't going to think that they could have killed her.

Tryx.

I thought Tryx would surely hate me for what happened. I had to talk to her. I had to talk to everyone.

Russell.

How would he be? I remembered being in his arms, but nothing else about what happened next. I remembered his voice calling me to wake up, even though I wasn't quite sure if it was a dream or reality.

'I must go, Rythel, I thank you for taking care of me, but I must go.'

Before I could stand, Rythel moved his hand and a wind blew me back to bed. I did not know Rythel's powers, although I could deduce that they were not half of what he had shown right there.

'I'm sorry to stop you like this, but I can't let you go. I don't think you understand what happened. You almost died, Your Majesty. We had been waiting for her for twenty years and almost lost her because she became infatuated with a silly idea. That kind of behavior is just unacceptable.'

I was angry at the tone with which he was addressing me.

'I am the Princess...'

'Not really,' he rose from the bed, leaving me sitting up. 'Until we crown you, you are still only the so-called princess. If you want us to see you as our monarch, then start acting like one.'

At this, I became enraged.

Without fear that he would throw me back, I faced him.

'Am I the one who acts incorrectly? At least I went in search of the sign, at least I took a chance to do something and didn't just sit back and watch time go by.'

I felt stronger and stronger. I wasn't going to let anyone talk to me like that, whether I was the princess or not.

'Who told you we didn't have a plan? We do, of course we do, but you're not going to like it.'

His answer took me by surprise.

What did he mean he had a plan? Why didn't you tell me this before? Maybe because I ran away at the first opportunity, or because I locked them up so they wouldn't follow me.

I didn't want to feel that controlled, but Rythel was right. I couldn't demand obedience if I didn't show responsibility.

However, I just wanted to talk to my friends, to know that they were okay, to tell them that I was going to do the impossible to rescue Galaga.

'Okay, I'll stay, but then I want to see my friends.'

'We''ll see about that later... there are a lot of things to do.'

He turned around, looking at a trunk at the end of the room. He walked over to it and opened it carefully. Then he stepped aside to let me see what was inside the trunk.

My eyes were filled with the image of various dresses.

'They were your mother's,' Rythel said, taking my breath away. One of her maids brought them in before they ransacked the old castle. We thought you might like to have them.'

Dresses were definitely not my thing. But how could I refuse to wear what my mother once wore?

'It's a nice gesture, thank you.'

'Get dressed, we'll be waiting for you.'

Although my heart was crying out to me to go find my friends, Russell in particular, my head was against it and forced me to get dressed.

I chose a classic, blue, with some gold details. It fit me perfectly. I thought for a second about what my life would have been like if that was all I knew. Different, that's for sure.

I opened the door of the room and found myself in a corridor full of doors in the same range as mine. I walked carefully, every step in the small slippers that had been designated for me. At the end of the corridor, I found an opening that led me straight to the large room where I had not long ago met the Comrades.

And there were the four of them, looking at me cautiously. I understood that, after all I had locked them in for, I don't know how long.

Sir Oskel snorted at the sight of me, his discontent with my person difficult to hide.

'The first time she looks decent, dressed like a real princess.'

His comment reminded me of the way my brother Marco used to talk to me. Even though he wasn't my blood brother, he had been raised like my brother, so it felt like he really was.

'No matter what I wear, I will always be your princess,' I dared to answer.

If I could face my brother, I could face anyone.

'Take a seat, Your Majesty,' Sir Gwen moved one of the chairs aside to give me a seat. The chair was almost higher than he was, it seemed to be heavy for him to move.

I sat down and waited for everyone to sit around the table.

'You wanted to talk to me, so talk,' I insisted, not wanting to prolong the conversation.

I had to think of a way to reach my friends, ask them how they were doing, formulate a plan to rescue Galaga.

'Your Majesty must understand the gravity of your actions, to put yourself at risk in that way... you must never repeat what you have done.' Sir Oskel could not wait to reprimand me.

'I understand that it was risky, and I also understand the gravity of the matter, but I could not stand by and wait for the dome to fall, leaving us exposed to the will of Bieno.'

Sir Tlinar seemed to smile at my response. Being so tall, his smile extended more than usual, each of his gestures exaggeratedly long.

'Thinking that we had no solution is to think badly of us.' Sir Oskel was not going to stop, he was going to keep challenging me.

'Why didn't you say so before? At no time was I told that you had an idea, no one mentioned it to me.'

'Because, actually, the opportunity, the offer was given when you left the Kingdom,' Sir Gwen interrupted his colleague.

'Offer?' I was afraid to ask.

What kind of plan did they have? I felt that it could not be anything good.

'First of all, we want to make one thing clear to you,' Sir Oskel took the floor again. 'From now on you cannot count on your friends, the decisions of this Kingdom must be made at this table, just as your father did.'

He was overreaching again. I was not to be forbidden to speak to my friends. So, I decided to strike them in some way.

'Do you know what I find strange? That in none of my father's memories you appeared, only Syform...'

The fifth chair.

I had not connected the information.

My father had referred to Syform as his greatest advisor and friend. Syform was part of the Comrades, the fifth member.

But why wasn't he involved now? Why had he left it out? Why hadn't any of them mentioned it?

'Don't say that name in this room.' Sir Oskel's face was extremely wrinkled, but his bright sky-blue eyes had not lost their brilliance and intensity when they were glaring at his opponent. 'Because of that clown, because of that abomination, we suffer what we suffer. He said the war was inevitable, but he did not let us look for another way out and your father believed him, he was blinded to the idea that only his friend was right.'

There were many things I did not know, but I felt that at every moment I came closer and closer to the truth of the facts, to knowing the whole story.

However, I was not even close.

'Are you saying my father was wrong? Do you really think he let himself be killed, that he gave up his only daughter by mistake?'

My cheeks were on fire and I felt the magic start to build up under my skin. I had to calm down, or I would explode against everyone in the room.

'I would never question His Majesty's decisions. I'm just saying maybe we could have found another way.'

I refused to listen any further. Maybe I hadn't met my father, but it didn't seem to me that these people were better than him. Beyond his title, King Gelon seemed like a good person, the kind of person who was willing to give up everything to save the lives of those he loved.

'Go back to the matter of the offer, tell me what it is about.'

I ignored his warning to trust my friends. I didn't care what he said, I would never fail to include them in my decisions. Perhaps they were the designated Comrades, but I had my own circle of advisors, and I trusted them much more than I trusted these four men.

'We got this letter...' Rythel took out a piece of paper from his jacket and offered it to me.

I held it in my hands and it took me a second to recognize the seal that was printed on the letter.

'It's from Bieno,' I said, shaking as I opened the envelope.

𝓣𝓸 𝔀𝓱𝓸𝓶 𝓲𝓽 𝓶𝓪𝔂 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓻𝓷,

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓪𝓰𝓷𝓲𝓯𝓲𝓬𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓛𝓾𝓬𝓲𝓾𝓼 𝓸𝓯𝓯𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓪 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓬𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓭𝓸𝓶 𝓸𝓯 𝓒𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓬𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓸 𝓲𝓷 𝓮𝔁𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓪𝓬𝓬𝓮𝓹𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓹𝓸𝓼𝓪𝓵 𝓸𝓯 𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓼𝓸𝓷 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓙𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓱.

𝓘𝓷 𝓬𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓪𝓬𝓬𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮, 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓛𝓾𝓬𝓲𝓾𝓼 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓼 𝓪 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼 𝓶𝓮𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼, 𝓽𝓸 𝓬𝓵𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓯𝔂 𝓬𝓮𝓻𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓭𝓮𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓵𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓮𝓪𝓵.

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝔂 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓭𝓸𝓶 𝓸𝓯 𝓑𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓸.

No.

This could not be happening.

No.

'Your Majesty,' Rythel tried to talk to me.

No, I escaped that fate, it cannot find me again.

'I won't, I can't do it.'

Sir Oskel snorted again.

'It is part of your responsibility as a princess...'

'I will not marry Jonah, nor will I ever return to that kingdom, they wanted to kill me...'

'We only ask you to meet King Lucius, talk to him and then you can decide,' Rythel wanted to reassure me.

'It just doesn't make sense, why would he want me to marry his son after all? He knows who I am, he saw me when he was in the old Kingdom.'

'Your Majesty, we suspect that King Lucius always knew your identity. That's why he chose you in the first place,' said Sir Tlinar, leaving me speechless.

Everything was beginning to make sense.

I had never figured out why it was me, why he chose the daughter of the woodcutter who had made such a fuss at his ball.

If he always knew I was the Princess of Crescendo, everything changed.

He had organized a ball in which anyone could marry the prince, giving a chance to a nobody like me.

He had planned it specifically for me.

But one question continued to haunt me.

'Why would he want his son to marry the heiress of the enemy Kingdom?'

'Isn't it obvious?' Sir Oskel answered viciously.

My face was enough of an answer.

'Because of the prophecy of Your Majesty.' Added Sir Tlinar.

Another prophecy? First that of my return and now what else?

'I have no idea what you are talking about,' I told them frankly, on the verge of losing my mind.

'The prophecy of the Fifth Element,' Sir Gwen named it.

'Just tell me about it.'

Rythel stood up and fixed his suit before he began to say the sentence to which I had been condemned.

'When the first male heir of Bieno and the first female heir of Crescendo come of age, and join in holy matrimony, under the sight of the great God, their child will be blessed to combine the power of the Fifth Element, and will be the most powerful person in all history, bringing about the unification of the Kingdoms and peace throughout the world as we know it.'

'So, Lucius wants...'

'He wants you and his son to get married and have a child, he wants to get that power, that power that will be able to control everything, absolutely everything.'