Princess Elencia led the way to her chamber with Percy walking behind her as he closely examined every inch of the castle for signs of intrusion.
The Princess opened the door to her chamber and walked in followed by Percy.
As soon as he entered the room and closed the door, the Princess rushed toward him wrapping her arms tightly around his back pulling him toward her.
It was a hungry kiss, one of desire and need…like a drowning man gasping for air.
The longer the kiss lasted, the more intensely she desired him…and he desired her.
No longer caring about duties and responsibilities, she tore off his shirt kissing his neck and jaw with a desperate hunger…her lips were firm and demanding as they pressed against his skin.
He let out a muffled sigh as shivers ran throughout his entire body.
The Princess threw Percy on her bed and she climbed on top of him as she deepened her kiss.
“My love, I don’t care anymore.
I don’t care.
I renounce the title, I renounce Camarax, I renounce the world.
I just want to be with you…I want to be with you intimately…the way a man and woman should be.
Please, I can’t take this anymore.
I need you.” She said in between kisses.
“Len (nick name used privately by those close to her), my love…I wish we could.
I wish I could take you far away from here.
Take you to the ends of the world…to be with you as husband and wife…but I can’t…you know we can’t…not like this.”
He continued in between muffled kisses, “I want to, but I want to do things the right way.
I want to marry you and live all my life with you as husband and wife.” Percy said as he desperately fought the urge to go further in their affection.
Elencia stopped, got up, and walked to her window.
A sharp, suffocating sob broke through her lips.
Her shoulders jerked violently with tremors as she sobbed painfully.
The room fell silent for a while…no one spoke.
Words did not fit in this confined space.
After a moment, Elencia cleared away tears of frustration as she calmed her desires and emotions.
She loved him…loved him with a passion that threatened to end her sanity.
Percy said nothing…what could he say?
He loved her…and he knew that love should never force someone to choose between two extremes.
He couldn’t do that to her…force her to choose between him and her family and her country.
After a long moment of silence, Percy said, “I talked to your brother.
He wants to help us, but there is not much he can do.
The laws and traditions dictate that you may only marry a Duke at a minimum.
Going against that law would upset the delicate political balance and would lead to rebellion from the lords.”
“I have been thinking about this a lot…the answer is simple; we ask Arthos for help.” Elencia said calmly.
“Arthos?
You seriously think he can help us?” Percy asked in disbelief.
“Yes.
My brother and I are convinced about his real identity…I know you don’t believe us, but there is no mistake.
His golden hair, golden eyes, the fact that he can use Dragon’s Breath, his immense strength…and the fact that he can’t promote…at all makes sense.” She said as she paced around her bedroom.
“What does promotion have to do with anything?” Percy asked not following that additional detail.
The Princess explained in a frantic pace, “in Camarax we don’t “promote” the way you do in Avalor.
Instead, we have something similar called “ascension”.
When a warrior or mage reaches a certain point, they ascend unlocking greater power.
That has been true for thousands of years.”
She continued, “our historical archives reveal that anyone may ascend, if their mana reaches a certain threshold, anyone except for one special caste…the ancient royals.
It’s their bloodline, it’s tremendously powerful.
They don’t need to ascend.”
She finished by saying, “my love…there is no escaping the truth.
Arthos real name is Arthos Valerius Auragon, he is the last descendant of the First King, and the rightful heir to the throne of Avalor.
All he needs to do is claim his birthright, and with a snap of his fingers he can grant you the status of Duke.
Only he can end our misery, my love.”
Percy let out a long sigh.
He said, “I’ve tried bringing up the subject with Arthos many times.
He always changes the subject.
He just doesn’t want to talk about it…to be honest, I think he is scared.”
“Sir Arthos?
The Verdant Knight scared?
Of what?” The Princess asked in disbelief.
“Scared of the truth.
What if the truth is far worse than being an orphan?
What if the truth ends up ripping away everything he loves?
He doesn’t want to take the risk…and I can’t in good faith ask him to do this for us.” Percy said solemnly.
[…]
[KING’S CHAMBERS]
“I can’t thank you enough for all your assistance these last few months.
Thanks to you, the number of villager deaths caused by monsters has drastically decreased.” The King said with a pleasant smile.
“We are happy to help your Grace.” Arthos replied cordially.
“No need to be so formal, its just us.
Away from the crowds we stand as equals…as brothers.
Call me Isandor.
With all these assassination attempts, one tends to think of one’s life and legacy.
Do you remember your parents?” Isandor asked with a certain hint of caution.
“I never knew my father.
My mother died when I was a toddler…too young for me to remember.
I do have vague memories of her like her voice and her smile…but not much else.” Arthos replied flatly.
“I see.
My father was a good man, a noble man.
He detested war and loved his people above all else.
Fifty years ago, Emperor Malvar from Amalot approached my father with a proposal to join forces and crush Avalor.
Malvar feared they had become too powerful and was convinced they were the cause behind all the magic beasts.
My father refused his offer of an alliance and instead encouraged we seek a diplomatic solution.”
Isandor continued, “Emperor Malvar had no desire for diplomacy.
His spies managed to infiltrate our castle and kidnapped my mother, my sister Elencia, and my brother Luceran.
I was away from the castle when it happened.
To this day, it remains a mystery how Malvar’s assassins managed to infiltrate our castle undetected…now we know who helped them.” Isandor said with a pain filled voice.
“My father was forced to wage war against Avalor for the sake of his family.
In the end, both he and my mother died during the Great War.
I ask you to please not judge my family on the actions of my father.” Isandor said as he lowered his head in apology.
“Isandor…that was a long time ago.
Your dad did what he thought was best…I’m not sure I would have done things any different if my family was threatened.
You have nothing to apologize for and nothing to explain.” Arthos said as he placed his hand on the king’s shoulder.
“Thank you Arthos…I feel like a tremendous weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
I just wanted you to know the truth.
Alliances are built on trust, and trust is built on honesty.” Isandor said with a tired smile.
He continued, “on that note, we have a usual request.
The Queen of Baleon has made contact and seeks your help with a problem.
This may prove to be an excellent opportunity to build an alliance with Baleon as well.”