CHAPTER NINE

King Lucius led his granddaughter to the sofa, thinking of how to explain her heritage in a way that she would understand. Before, he had no problems in educating his daughter of the intricacies of being a royal. But now, with his granddaughter, he did not know what to do.

He feared that if he teaches her, and she dies, who will take over from her? She was the last of his kin. Could he really take the chance and be heartbroken again if things would turn differently?

But when he looked back at Auria, all he felt was calm. She maybe young but she had shown great promise. If he could, he would shield her from the responsibilities that would come from being a royal. One with abilities at that.

“Did you find out who wanted me to be kidnapped?” she asked.

The king sighed and leaned back on the sofa. He gazed at the ceiling.

“Yes and no.”

“What do you mean?” Auria looked at her grandfather, noting the stress in his face.

“Yes, I found out who wanted to kidnap you and no I didn’t do anything about it. It is a complicated business but I do hope you did not have to find out about the intruders. I am sorry I did not let you know about the execution.” He took a breath as he digested the fact that he lied. She doesn’t need to know. “They have tried to take away my beautiful moon flower.” He mumbled while patting the princess’ head. She playfully scowled at him but he chuckled and continued to ruffle her hair. “They must be eliminated.”

“Well, I am all for destroying the enemy but I think we should have found out more on what do they want me for. They were not very clever to attack me but they were still able to infiltrate the castle. Precautionary measures should be done…” Auria replied but stopped when the king laughed.

“Ah yes, yes, my tactical war goddess. I will talk to the knights about the breach.”

“What do you want to talk about, grandda?” Auria asked curiously.

King Lucius looked towards the ceiling again.

“Let me tell you a story.”

Auria settle beside her grandfather as she listened with a rapt face. She had always loved the stories her grandfather would tell about her mother but she was a bit surprised when he talked about her grandmother instead.

“Did you know that I met your grandmother, Rosalind from a time when I was just an heir apparent?” When she shook her head, the king took her small hand in his and waved his hand in the air. The air contorted and soon fire and brimstone appeared. It was like a battlefield. The smoke cleared and Auria saw her grandfather, a younger version of himself, dressed in full armor and riding a white stallion.

“Is that you, grandpa? You looked so handsome.” Auria muttered in awe.

“Ah yes, well. Some would say I was a ladies’ man during that time.” The king admitted before flicking a finger at the image.

“I was known as the strongest soldier in the kingdom and your great grandfather gave me the task of suppressing a rebellion in Cambria, northeast from here. It was said that I was to neutralize the rebellion then bring home the princess as my bride. As you may know, none of our family ever conforms to what is expected of them. I arrived there in the middle of death; the lands were littered blood and almost all of the soldiers of the governor of Cambria were decimated. I rallied the troops and started to push back the insurgents. As I was delivering the final attack on them, I saw your grandmother standing in the middle of the battlefield, tending the wounded. I saw one of the enemies aiming a spear at her and that was the first time that I used a wind ability on a long range distance.

At first, she resisted. She was a Cambrian but the way I had killed her fellow men who were only trying to find their place under the governor’s rule was something that made me repulsive to her. I, on the other hand, truly adored her but then my pragmatic mind would tell me reasons not to pursue. One, I had to follow your great grandfather’s orders. Two, I was not there to wed a lowly handmaid, even if she was a powerful one. My bride to be was Princess Lucia. She was promised to me if I win the war so I do intend to win it.” The king waved his hand and Princess Lucia’s image appeared alongside Rosalind’s. Looking at them from before and still the king knew who his choice will be. It can only be Rosalind and no one else.

“Now, it happened that the enemy, Princess Lucia’s former lover, managed to kidnap her from the castle. I had to form a rescue team to get her back. Your grandmother was forced to join us as she was a healer. She didn’t have a choice in the matter as she wanted to return to her home after the war. The governor mobilized the rescue unit and I was chosen as its head. We managed to infiltrate the enemy lines and even rescue the princess from the man’s clutches.” King Lucius moved his hand again and the scene changes. This time it was the rescue being depicted in detail. Auria saw how her grandfather fought like he was the only one who could actually stop the war. His silver armor glinted in the sun as he slashed his enemies left and right, his broadsword a great compliment to his large frame. She could also see her grandmother at the background, she was busy healing the wounded but her eyes often strayed towards her grandfather. The scene shifts and soon, the missing princess was found and she could see them running down the corridor. They would have made it outside had it not been for an almost invisible arrow impaling her grandfather’s left shoulder, making him lose his grip on his sword. He pushes the princess aside, his knight managing to catch her before she could hit the wall. Another arrow pierced her grandfather’s shoulder and another on his thigh, making him fall to the ground.

“Yes, he does have a good aim.” The king muttered at Auria’s gasp. “I would have died that day. They were planning to behead me once I was down. I couldn’t bear to not do something so I used my last energy to conjure a barrier to protect the princess as my knight brought her to safety. I felt thousands of arrows being shot at me just to make my barrier fall apart but I wouldn’t be chosen by the king if I was just a weak assed warrior. A few measly arrows wouldn’t hurt me.”

“But those are too many. How did you survive it?” Auria asked, her voice turning quiet as the last arrow was supposed to penetrate the barrier and pierce her grandfather’s head. All of a sudden, a bright light appeared and disintegrated the arrow as well as the barrier around her grandfather. Auria gasped as she recognized the bright light.

“I thought I have died and gone to heaven when that light was enveloping me. I lost consciousness after but the heart would always remember what had happened.” His voice almost turned wistful as the scene unfolds. He lost consciousness from his wounds but somehow, her grandmother was there, her body enveloped in a bright white light, her glorious black hair lifted in the unseen air. She threw her hand forward and the men were thrown backward. The white light brightened further as she turned her head towards Auria’s grandfather. She waved her hand, pulling the arrows out of his unconscious body and closing the open wounds from his body. She placed her hand onto his chest, muttering something under her breath. The light slowly started to regress, turning into a small ball of white that entered her grandfather’s body. Auria stared as her grandfather wakes up and the two share loving glances before the scene turned into smoke and disappeared into thin air.

“As you can see, I am still alive because your grandmother did something to me that I did not know. In all the times we were together, she never once explained what had happened that day except when she became sick.” The king suddenly stood up, as if he couldn’t stay still. He knew he needed to explain to his granddaughter everything that his grandmother had done, what his daughter did and what his granddaughter did. It was like a vicious cycle but something that needs to be controlled as soon as possible because he knew that his granddaughter was more powerful than her ancestors. If she continues to be untrained, there might be more dire consequences than what had happened last night.

“Your grandmother told me that what she did was share her essence with me, her life force. To a normal person, it would be a healing of sorts that would just allow the patient to be connected to the healer until such time as the healer release him/her from the connection. But to a powerful being such as myself, she literally tied herself to me. She became my soulmate, my one true love. I can never look at another woman for that would be a betrayal of her trust. In effect, the patient would be immune to any magical or physical attack but the healer would receive the consequence tenfold. I was able to use whatever life she gave me and protect her as my queen. My parents were unable to stop me when I married your grandmother and we were happy. She became my world. When she was dying, she told me her secret.

When she gave me her essence, she lost her ability to reject any threat that would help her live longer. Her life was shortened because of it and I can’t help but feel guilty that I was the one who stole her life. She told me that she did not regret giving her life for me and that she releases me from our connection. What she did not know was that our bond was more than sharing essences, it was more than being soulmates. She is mine and I am hers. Forever it may be.”

The king knelt before Auria and took her small hand.

“You are my sire, a descendant of a powerful sorceress and you have the same ability as your grandmother. I don’t want you to use that ability unless you have to because as young as you are you have yet to understand the concept of giving a part of your life for someone else. You already did that for Lady Gwynn and I fear that your life will be shortened because of it. You will lead Illumia to its future. I am getting too old for this throne and I don’t want to see another family member die before they can unleash their potential. Please listen to a selfish request from an old man like me.”