Zeya didn't mind the company Arius provided whilst he was staying over. Usually, she would rarely say a word unless Claire would ask her something but the past few days have been filled with small conversations, with mainly Arius asking questions out of curiosity.
It was also nice to have an extra set if hands to help out around the massive house. Zeya would often ponder on why she decided to stay in such an extravagant home whenever she had to help Claire with the housework. Nowadays with Arius around, it was fairly easier since half her workload was shared with the minister, who did his job earnestly each time.
But as days turned to weeks, she was starting to feel that Arius was not going to back down without a fight. Her sense of ease was slowly switching to a feeling of discomfort when Arius still hadn't left on the twentieth day.
"When do you plan to head back, Arius? It's already been a few weeks since you came." She finally asked at the dining table, where they were having dinner together with Claire. "Who are the citizens to go to for help when their minister of defense is here, enjoying dinner with an exiled princess?"
"I am sure they'll understand. It will, after all, effect Stygia quite badly if I were unable to get it's rightful ruler back where she truly belongs." He replied while he ate his food without much thought. "So don't waste your energy thinking too much about it, Your Majesty. I have it all figured out, rest assured."
"Are you really not intending to give up?" She asked, placing her utensils down with a thud before crossing her arms. "I already said I wasn't going back. Why must you be so stubborn?"
"You're the one to say, Your Majesty. Things wouldn't be so complicated if you weren't as stubborn as myself." He countered with a sigh, finally looking up from his dinner plate. "And also, with all due respect, it was also this stubbornness of mine that got me through two years of hell in order to become minister."
Zeya clicked her tongue in annoyance before getting up from her seat, her food only half-eaten despite this being her first proper meal in almost a week. "You're really testing my patience, aren't you?"
"Where are you going, Your Majesty?" He asked, standing up to follow Zeya. "You still haven't finished your dinner."
"To collect some wild berries." She replied bluntly, putting on her coat. "Claire wishes to make some jam for the winter and I'm planning to get some by tonight before all those pesky night critters devour them."
"I'll come with you." He offered, immediately getting up to accompany his very much dismayed friend. "It's getting late, and it is unfitting for someone like yourself to go out deep in the woods all alone-"
"That would be unnecessary." She instantly rejected, placing her hand in front of the man, stopping him from getting any closer to her. "I'm merely just collecting some harmless berries, not hunting down a wild beast."
"But don't you need a considerably large amount of berries to make a decent amount of jam?" He argued, turning towards Claire, who was just trying to eat her dinner in peace. "So surely having an extra pair of hands would be quite beneficial, wouldn't you agree Miss Claire?"
"P-pardon?" Claire stared in bewilderment at the mention of her name, all attention on on her as the two Roseabelles restlessly waited for her answer.
"... W-well, I do think that it would be better if you had company while you're outside, My Lady." Claire confessed truthfully, gently placing her utensils on the table. "I'm sure you are more than capable of protecting yourself but, it would give me much comfort in knowing that Sir Arius is beside you."
"So I suppose it is a yes from you?" Arius confirmed, smiling brightly at his victory. "Well, what do have to say to that, Zeya?"
"... I'll be back before midnight, Claire." Zeya said dejectedly, a silent admission of her loss. "I would be grateful if you helped clear up the table for us."
"You didn't even had to ask, My Lady." Claire smiled, finishing up her food before she was stopped against her will. "Do get back safely, both of you."
==========
It had already been two hours since they had started picking the berries and things still seemed rather peaceful... at least for now. So far, none of the creatures that lurked this place had attacked yet, which was surreal when Zeya knew that they were watching their every move.
The Dwellers; the second most largest group of creatures that resided here in Stygia.
They ruled over nearly two thirds of the world's 'bona vacantia', protecting it from any wanderers that dared to step in their territories. Despite having a large population, Dwellers were never in good terms with anyone, even with Roseabelles.
This was also one of the reasons why they lived so far away from the main lands; as long as they were left alone, peace among the hostile neighbors were still plausible. However, Zeya's presence in these unclaimed lands went against this little unspoken rule and that never meant good news.
A full moon occupied the night sky tonight, the gentle light illuminating the forest in an almost dream-like ambience. Once Zeya was satisfied with the piling bags of wild-berries they had meticulously collected, she leaned against a nearby banyan tree, one of the many other countless species of plants that thrived in this particular place. Arius quickly followed suit just when she closed her eyes, enjoying the light breeze that cooled her off.
"You seem to listen to your maid quite well." He mentioned suddenly, striking up a conversation. "I'm glad to see you finally become attached to a human after so many years of despising the kind."
"... She's a half-breed." Zeya corrected Arius' partially correct conjecture. "And she rarely reminds me of one so it's tolerable."
"... You sound like such a heartless person sometimes." Arius frowned, clearly displeased by Zeya's choice of words. "Claire would be hurt if she heard you say that."
The silence between the two began to grow after Arius' words, the only sounds coming from the wilderness surrounding them, though it wasn't nearly enough to ease the tense atmosphere.
"Tell me what's on your mind." Arius turned to look at Zeya, who continued to stare of into the distance, a habit of hers whenever she was thinking of something by herself.
"I don't know what to do if I ever go back." She confessed truthfully; her true emotions finally clear enough for Arius to see. "And I am scared of what I'll see once I do."
"The great Zeya Reyes, scared?" Arius scoffed jokingly, resting his head against the hard bark. "Just how much has the times changed you, my dear friend?"
"It would be more peculiar if it hadn't." She mumbled half-heartedly, her gaze on focused on the starry night sky above them. "... It's been two hundred years since the war happened, Arius. Two hundred years since I've stepped foot into Stygia."
"A rather long time without a doubt." He nodded his head solemnly, deep in thought. "So many things have changed since then too though, I wouldn't trust that you would believe me if I told you."
"I'm sure the treaty enabled many things to occur." She admitted, imagining how life at home was like. "But I'd prefer to not involve myself too much into it, Father probably made it to be more in favor of the others than his own kind."
"What makes you say that?" Arius asked, genuinely curious. "Wouldn't Stygia be in shambles if that was actually the truth?"
"He will never admit to that fact that we got betrayed by the Kaxarenes, he cared for them too much to ever do it." Zeya said scornfully, knitting her eyebrows in a frown. "So he pretended like everything was fine even when Mother died, blinding those who followed him with the same infection. An ignorant belief that our friendship with those traitors were still as strong as ever."
"But when you truly look at the damage done because of that, you would be amazed to see how much it kills you. So how can I be a just ruler when I still have these vengeful intentions towards them?" She asked, looking for a reaction in her unmoving friend. "Are you just that desperate for a ruler? Enough to ask me like this?"
"... By them do you perhaps mean him?" Arius confronted Zeya much to her surprise. "I would be lying to myself if I assumed you didn't hear the news of his coronation, is that why you've been so hung-up on remaining here?"
"... This conversation is ending here." Zeya got up, planning to leave Arius here and get back home alone. "I've had enough of your bullshit."
"Zeya, if you really plan to not take the throne, the royal council plans to merge Stygia with Exousia and make Varen the emperor."
Zeya stopped dead in her tracks when Arius revealed the truth. Suddenly, everything started to make sense in her head, the growing uneasiness she saw in Arius' eyes as the days passed weren't simply because he missed his job as she initially thought.
"I wasn't going to tell you this, but I have no other options. Half of the council have already voted in favor of this decision." He continued, knowing that Zeya was listening to every last word. "So if I go back alone like you insist, Stygia will no longer belong to the Roseabelles."
"I need you to make up your mind, Zeya." Arius insisted, his voice soft yet demanding. "Will you finally stop running away from the past and make things right or, will you let the man that killed you take everything you love once again."