A shiver passed Vivia's spine. A gnawing familiarity somewhere chilled her heart - a sentiment she couldn't decipher herself.
'Always be on the move. Nothing hurts your future as much as a lack of conviction. Your life can be filled with success, failures, joy or sadness - but never regret.'
She lifted her gaze and stared at the sky, the auroras seemingly drifting away the dark fog that had clouded her heart. It didn't mean her fear had completely vanquished. But the courage to continue fighting took further root in her heart.
Clairette…
Her pure heart, her compassion, her strong will gradually nudged away the thorny vines of self-doubt.
"I think...I know what to do."
A proud smile curled Zerath's lips. "Is that so?"
"I'll carry on Clairette's legacy. Ignorance is the darkness, and education is the only light that'll drive it away. That's what I need to do."
He gave a slow nod.
Sir Malphas…
His death reminded him of the grave matter at hand. "If I couldn't find the real culprit behind his murder, I won't be able to stop Father from confronting King Rosrell. Nobody, except me, knows that his dying words pointed at a human."
Vivia's heart pounded hard. Fighting for their future was the only way out, but if Elvin was indeed the one behind silencing Malphas, then the hope of bridging the differences between their races one day would be nipped off right in its roots before it could even get a chance to blossom. The peace between their two worlds hung in a delicate balance.
"I'll find what I can."
The disappearances and now this…
An uncomfortable foreboding gripped her chest, as if they were getting pulled into a deeper abyss they couldn't get out from. All of a sudden, the sky above them distorted, and the auroras scattered abruptly. Zerath's apparition before her flickered as if he was disappearing.
"Zerath!"
"I think the time is up. The lilybell's powers must be coming to an end."
Their expressions paled at once. Their time together felt too short. Not knowing when they would be able to see each other the next time only brought forth more pain and longing.
"I'll meet you again, Vivia," his golden eyes were resolute. "We'll definitely meet again soon."
Her gaze met his and she smiled, calm enveloping her heart. "Yes, we'll meet again. I'll be only your bride, Zerath."
—
Vivia jerked with a jolt, and a gasp escaped her lips. Her gaze wandered left and right until she realized she was back in her chamber, the sun's rays beginning to break out from the clouds outside.
"Teehee~"
She looked at the lilybell and grabbed the pot with sparkling eyes. "That was amazing! You actually made it possible!"
Though the flower didn't have a face, Vivia clearly sensed its pride.
"It was a bummer I couldn't touch him, but I got to meet him at the very least. Thank you so much!"
"Touch him? I didn't know you wanted to do that sort of things with him~"
Her brow twitched heavily.
What a dirty mind this flower has!
"So, so, when will I be able to meet him again?" She asked eagerly. "As long as I dance and entertain you, I can meet him, right?"
"Hm? No~"
"Why not?" That took her aback.
"My powers to lift your spirits in the astral realm only work when the moon shines the brightest in the sky~"
Shines the brightest?
"You mean a full moon?"
"I don't know what you call it teehee~"
Last night was indeed a full moon…
So I'll have to wait a whole month before meeting him again!?
—
Zerath's eyes slowly fluttered open and he scanned his surroundings in a daze. The eeriness of the dark forest hit his spine.
"Where…?"
"So you're finally awake, sleepyhead," he heard Silas's pointed voice.
Zerath rose, but a stabbing pain tore through his shoulder, making his eyes widen.
"That was a real bad time to get knocked out, idiot. We were in the middle of escaping!" Silas glared.
"I…"
Eurus jumped on his lap, looking up at him with reddened eyes.
"The brat thought you died. I was like, obviously no. He's too stubborn a soul to have a cup of tea with death that easily," he snorted.
Zerath patted his head. "Forgive me, I made you worry, Eurus. I'm fine now."
Eurus hugged him harder in response.
Silas asked, eyes narrowing. "What happened? Did you really pass out because of your injury?"
Could he talk about the astral realm and how his spirit was lifted into a never-seen-before realm and meeting the love of his life while Silas was busy hauling his ass out of a crumbling cave with the scent of death looming everywhere? He guessed not. If Zerath didn't die then, he was sure he would die now by his dear friend's hands if he so happened to even whisper the truth.
"I guess so, yes. The cave is all gone, hasn't it?"
Silas shrugged.
Zerath sighed. "Let's meet up with everyone and leave for now. We have…"
He stared at the hair ribbon Eurus was clutching onto - the evidence of his mother being imprisoned in that cave once upon a time.
"A lot of problems to work upon."
—
At the outskirts of Nethermoor a few days later.
Astaroth stared at the mess of the site where the underground cave had collapsed. It was nothing but a pile of rocks and rubble now. It hadn't taken long for the news to reach his ears.
With Zerath and Gressil barely escaping in the nick of time, the entire incident could have blown out of proportion. But information flow was tightly controlled. An order like this, he knew, could have only come from the top brass, that is, Zerath himself.
Astaroth wondered why. Why wasn't an incident like this allowed to become a big deal?
Though the sun was pleasantly shining in the sky, the tall canopies of trees in the forest blocked the light like a dense spiderweb. If not for his fire magic, he would have been walking in the dark. He turned and saw his useless minions huffing breathlessly as they tried to catch up to him.
"M-My lord!"
"Either you improve your stamina or you won't find your legs below your waist anymore."
"W-Why my lord?" The demon on the left was a little slow to catch on. He was immediately elbowed by his friend on the right but it was too late.
"Burning your legs isn't enough it seems," his gaze darkened.
Small town people are so damn useless!
"You cannot use your legs then at least use your brain. This cave that just collapsed a few days ago, what do you know about it?"
"W-We heard rumors that H-His Highness was trapped in that cave!" The demon on the right exclaimed.
"Tell me something I don't know!" He glared. "What was that cave even there for?"
In other words, he wanted an answer as to why Zerath felt it was so important to go all the way underground. And then go as far as try to block that information from reaching out.
His eyes narrowed.
The rumors of the mysterious disappearances had become of immense interest to Astaroth. He wanted something - some event to prove Zerath's incapability to lead Rudaheim. The humiliation at the royal court was still fresh in his mind as if it just happened yesterday. His whole ordeal to live in Nethermoor for a year was beyond his tolerance capacity. The stripped status of his noble lineage was a big blot on his life.
He wasn't going to sit still. He wasn't going to let Zerath have free reign to the kingdom while he rotted away in a small town. And this was his chance to splash the blot on Zerath's face for a change.
You won't enjoy that luxury for long…
The two minions looked at each other cluelessly.
"We didn't even know that this cave e-existed…"
Ughhh!!! Useless!
Suddenly, the nearby line of shrubs caught on fire. Astaroth's anger alone was enough to light them up.
"Fire! Fire!"
To his shock, it wasn't the minions who blurted out their panic but a petite figure who, out of nowhere, was escaping from the fire lit shrubs to prevent her dress from catching the fire. A small spark had managed to reach the edge of her dress, which she mercilessly doused out by slapping her big book on top of it. At a safe distance, she breathed out a sigh of relief and furiously checked her book front and back.
"Who the hell are you? Hiding in the bushes like that, were you spying on me?"