"His spirit is strong—much stronger than others I've seen," Lein said as he examined Derek's possible damage.
"Is it bad? As bad as mine?" Shadow asked nearby, her tone worried.
"No, not as bad as yours. His spirit became unstable, but it isn't deteriorating—unlike yours."
"That's a relief." She sat down on a nearby bed, sighing.
Then the woman directed her gaze to another person—the attacker. They had tied him with rope and gagged him. Additionally, Zara stood beside him with a thick staff raised, with clear orders to strike him if he woke up.
"What will we do with him?" Shadow asked.
"I'll hand him over to Lord Halad," Lein replied as he made Derek swallow some medicine.
"Aren't you afraid there might be some kind of retaliation?"
"Oh, of course there will be," he said, stepping away from the wounded man. "But what would you prefer to do—kill him?"
"If necessary..."
"No, we won't do that." Now it was Zara who spoke. "It's certain this mage belongs to the Order. If one of them dies, two will come for revenge."
"But if he survives, he'll give us away!"
"The mage got confused and lost control, threatening to attack the defenseless villagers," Lein began to say, sitting on another empty bed. "But someone passing nearby helped us subdue him. That's what we'll say."
"It'll be his word against yours, and I'm sure his is worth more."
"Don't be so sure. The signs of combat and the fact that he's still alive will give us the necessary weight," Lein sighed. "Or at least I hope so."
It was a gamble. Shadow seemed worried—now it was Derek who was wounded, and as long as he stayed that way, leaving would be impossible for them.
"Curiosity is killing me. That Halad—is he the one who came yesterday?" Zara asked, receiving an affirmation from Lein.
"Who is he? I was unconscious when he came," Shadow said.
"He's the noble who rules this territory. He controls two villages besides this one and Fisherman's Rest. His mansion is near the town," Lein replied.
"And on top of that, he wants them to hand over sixty percent of their harvest for the war," Zara added.
"But that would starve many people," the woman said with a frown. "You can't accept something like that," she added, addressing Lein.
"And I don't. I don't accept it, but he threatened to declare us rebels if we don't comply." His expression turned somber. "I must choose between letting some die of hunger or having us all killed."
Rebels. In her history classes, Zara had read about them—they were always described as troublemakers, violent people seeking to destabilize the empire. But before her stood only a man seeking the best for his people. How many more like him were there?
"You shouldn't worry about that. The day will pass quickly after such an intense fight. Rest and wait for tomorrow."
Zara lowered the staff and started to leave the room. Shadow was going to follow her but was stopped by Lein, who grabbed her by the arm.
"I want you to listen carefully, woman, because I won't repeat myself." His voice changed to a deeper, almost threatening one. "Your brother and the princess seem like good people, but your aura is strange. It's impossible for me to trust you."
Shadow frowned. The healer did the same.
"I don't know what your goal is with the princess, but I'm sure it can't mean anything good." Lein released her arm. "Don't make me regret having healed you."
"What I do or don't do shouldn't matter to you, healer," the woman began walking to the door. "But you should know that I don't plan to harm Zara."
Upon leaving, she closed the door, leaving the man alone with the two unconscious mages.
Shadow went up to the second floor, reaching the room where Derek and Zara were staying—now she would take her brother's place.
The princess was sitting at the window, looking toward the center of the village, at the goddess statue, where the villagers had gathered to pray.
"They'll be praying not to have any more problems," the princess said upon hearing the footsteps nearby.
"It seems the goddess didn't smile on them much today." Shadow approached her.
"Technically, she did. Derek defeated the mage."
"A mage who came for us," Shadow emphasized. "If there hadn't been any resistance, he simply would have left with you."
Zara lowered her gaze. It seemed she still didn't fully understand how important she was as a princess. First her siblings, now a mage—everyone was trying to make her return to the palace quickly.
"Shadow, why does Tarzovia want me?" She looked at Shadow, frowning, with a curious but cautious expression.
"I don't know," Shadow replied.
Zara blinked a few times, raising an eyebrow. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
"You don't know?"
"I know it sounds stupid. I don't know. They gave us this mission, but they barely informed us."
"You risked your life so many times to complete this mission, without knowing why it's necessary?"
Shadow's face darkened a little.
"The reward was more than enough."
"What's the reward?"
"We would stop being slaves," she replied, making the room fall into silence for a few seconds.
"Derek told me about his scars," Zara said, looking away.
"He's always been a big mouth." Shadow sighed, sitting across from Zara. "Unfortunately, we can't get rid of those."
"So you're also after your freedom." Zara smiled. "Perhaps we're not so different after all."
The princess's smile was contagious—Shadow couldn't help but smile too. The woman stood up, stretching before heading to the bed.
"I'm tired—more than I'd like. I'll sleep for a while."
"I'll read. When I see my sister again, I'll have to thank her for that book."
Shadow lay down. Zara took the book and began reading. They were both silent for a while once more. Zara had come to think Shadow had already fallen asleep.
"Hey, Zara, I never asked what you thought of the nickname 'Shadow.'"
"I think I said you were too old for that kind of nickname," she said in a joking tone.
"Yes, you're right." The woman let out a small laugh. "I think 'Shadow' is a bit childish, though I must admit I like the style."
They both offered small smiles.
"I think it's time to drop the nicknames. You've done quite a lot for me, considering my goal is to hand you over to the enemy country."
The princess lifted her gaze, snapping the book shut, her eyes shining with anticipation—she seemed to imagine where the conversation was heading.
"Technically, we still haven't properly introduced ourselves, have we?" The woman stood up, giving Zara a small bow. "My name is Alice. A pleasure."
Zara blinked a few times before responding.
"That's your name!? It sounds way better than 'Shadow'!"
The woman nodded, laughing at the princess's reaction.
"Criminal. I can't believe I'd been calling you Shadow for three days when I could have been calling you that."
"When you're someone like me, you can't just drop your name left and right. I don't expect you to understand," she managed to say between laughs.
The princess pouted as she returned to her reading. This time, the woman did settle into bed until she fell completely asleep, still smiling.
At the same time, in the central provinces, in the royal palace, Olivia was walking through the hallways, downcast.
She wasn't used to solitude. The hallways, once enlivened by some mischief from her sister or her brother's sermons, were now deserted.
Added to that was her father's absence from the place, since he had apparently gone to visit the southern provinces. The only person who still remained...
"Princess, I didn't think I'd find you here," Melissa said, accompanied by a small bow.
"Sorceress, I'm not in the mood for your games."
"I must assume you failed, and spectacularly so." The woman paused her speech for a second. "Where is your brother?"
"That's none of your concern."
The woman clicked her tongue. Both walked without apparent direction, passing by guards and servants who watched them cautiously.
"I must admit it—you're not good at holding conversations," Melissa spoke again.
"I never wanted to converse with you in the first place."
"Ouch," the sorceress said with feigned drama.
They both went up some stairs. In the hallway ahead appeared a closed room, and outside it stood a servant.
The servant saw the two women approaching and quickly bowed.
"What are you doing here?" the princess asked again.
"Oh, I was just wondering how the young princess is doing," she said with a somewhat broken voice. "Tell me, please—is she all right?"
The day Zara was kidnapped, Matilde was the one who discovered the intruder. Though she couldn't do anything, her alarm was what made us react quickly. If it weren't for her, perhaps Zara would already be in Tarzovia, Olivia thought, looking at the woman.
"Yes, Zara is fine. The kidnappers have treated her with more gentleness than one would have thought."
"Strange, if you ask me," Melissa added.
"But it gives us an advantage. If they want her intact, it means they won't treat her badly. We'll bring her back," Olivia said, turning to look at Melissa with a frown.
The servant sighed, offering a small smile before moving away from the two women.
"She's a good person and a very good teacher. It's a pity Zara didn't pay much attention to her classes."
"You can't blame her. She'd find them super boring," Melissa said, walking to a window at the end of the hallway.
Olivia followed her in silence. To avoid being bored while waiting for her father's return, she had to converse with this woman—at least now that there was no one else to do so with.
Upon reaching the window, they observed the city expanding beneath them. Olivia glanced sideways and saw a macabre smile form on the woman's face.
"And what's that about?"
"It's nothing—just my own thoughts. Let's change the subject." The woman reached into a pocket of her tunic. "I'm sure this message will interest you."
The sorceress pulled out a scroll that glowed in a very faint bluish tone. Olivia was surprised to see through her monocle that it had traces of spiritual energy.
"What is this?" she asked, taking the paper to read it.
"A message, created and sent by my secretary's spiritual ability."
"Sounds like an extremely convenient ability."
"You know, people tend to think the spirit is only used for combat, and they couldn't be more wrong."
Olivia began reading the message:
"My lady, we lost contact with Charles approximately an hour ago. The last location Catherine detected was in a farming village about two days from Fisherman's Rest. We believe he may have had an encounter and was defeated."
The message was brief but gave the information it sought to convey: a mage had been defeated in a village where there shouldn't have been anyone capable of defeating him.
"Why was there a mage in that village?" the princess asked, crumpling the paper.
"Your father ordered me and High Priest Eramil to help in the search for your sister, so I sent my mages throughout the north."
Olivia stopped crumpling the paper and calmed down a little.
"What you're saying is that my sister is in that village?" the princess asked. "I thought they'd be heading to Fisherman's Rest."
"So that mage defeated himself?" she replied sarcastically. "There are few people in this empire who would want to face a mage—except perhaps people from outside. Who else do you think it could have been?"
Callen, Olivia thought. He said he'd go after them. If he thought the mage was a threat, he could have defeated him.
She set those thoughts aside. If there was anyone she didn't have to worry about, it was her brother. On the contrary, she knew Zara was in a delicate situation, and she didn't trust the mages too much.
"Princess, where are you going?" Olivia began walking away from Melissa, who ran after her.
"I'll get ready. I'm going to that village immediately. I should arrive by tomorrow morning," she said with clenched fists.
"Oh, well, I suppose I'll accompany you."
"Denied. You stay here."
"I'm afraid this matter directly affects my Order, so you can't prevent me from going."
The princess clicked her tongue.
"Come on, you don't need to react like that," the sorceress said, amused.
"We'll take some guards and a few mages, just in case," Olivia told her.
"As you command," the sorceress sighed.
Honestly, I don't think we'll be able to bring her back, the princess thought. We've had a lot of bad luck in that regard, but the matter has piqued my curiosity.
"It's been a while since I left the city. What will the people who live there be like?" the woman said, once again wearing that macabre smile.
Besides, all my instincts scream that I shouldn't let this woman go alone. I think she could cause some kind of problem.