Chapter 35: Delia (Part 8)

A few days later, Alexander and the rest arrived in the kingdom.

I greeted them at the gate where I and Delia first met, and we had a jolly time with each other.

Vane had told me about their adventures and how they fought a baby drake with Alexander and won with no one being injured seriously.

They also told me about the gorgon they met on their way. They found a cave in a mountain, and inside that cave were the corpses of hundreds of men, mutilated and eaten by the gorgon. They escaped, of course, since a gorgon's vision can turn anyone to stone for a few minutes.

Gorgons usually have the form of a beautiful woman who has its top naked but the lower body is that of a snake. It attracts village men to its nest and then kills them to satisfy its hunger. I personally haven't seen one but I did read about it from the monster's encyclopedia. A gorgon lives in mountains, jungles, and, sometimes, in a city's sewers.

Anyway, they followed me to the house I bought. The space in there house was not enough for us all, so we decided to rent an inn for the night and rest for a few days there until we leave for the sect.

The old man, Christopher, met Alexander and they had a good conversation with each other. He even agreed to let the old man teach me magic, and I would've grumbled under my breath if they weren't there since that old man didn't even wait for me to say yes before he forcefully made me his apprentice.

I mean, at least I'll learn how to do that cool twin dragon spell. Who wouldn't love to attack their enemies with that?

I sat on a chair in the courtyard in the back of my house. A small table was in front of me with a teacup on top of it. I drank some milk from it while staring at the two empty patches of dirt around the corner of the fence. Two gravestones were erected there, and the names "Delia Rockfeller" and "Fordelia Rockfeller" were carved there.

I buried Delia there, along with the body of her mother. I stole the casket of her mother that was buried under the royal graveyard in the castle and took it here with me. Her last wish was to be with her mother, and I gave her that. I hope that she is happy wherever she is.

The screen door beside me opened, and it revealed Vane, who is carrying Cordelia in his arms.

Cordelia is Delia's baby, I named her after her mother. I just added "Cor" in her name to sound more beautiful. It is a name befitting that of a princess. If times were different, and Delia managed to ascend to the throne of the queen, then, maybe, just maybe, this will also be her baby's name.

"How are you, Auguste?" Vane asked with his eyes full of worry.

"Fine. I don't know why but I just met her for one day, yet I feel so close to her. Are there any reasons for that? I find myself bewildered, staring at her grave." I said, with a hint of sadness existing in my voice.

He pats my head, and said, "I can only say that bonds can be created no matter how slow or fast time is. You could meet your enemy in a battle and be best friends the next day. The world is strange, Auguste, so don't always try to find answers. Sometimes, it's just fate acting on its own."

I nodded, "Yeah, maybe you're right."

As Vane sat by my side on the chair, Cordelia stretched her hand to touch my face.

"Ga," She said.

I let her touch my face as I looked at her with small tears dripping from my eyes.

She is Delia's legacy, and I will take care of her until she grows up.

I held her hand dearly, and said, "Yeah, you're right, Cordelia. I shouldn't be sad."

"Gyua!" She squealed, happily laughing.

(Scene Change)

It was night already, so I went to the kitchen to get something to drink.

But, as I put the glass down, I saw two balls of lights through the screen door, circling each other on top of Delia and Fordelia's graves.

I opened the screen door and immediately ran towards the ball of lights.

They stopped and slowly transformed into the shape of two women.

They had long brown hair, beautiful crowns, kind eyes, and they were shining under the light of the moon.

I saw Delia, smiling at me. Unlike last time, she looked much, much younger. A teenager.

Fordelia looked like the old Delia. Brown hair, brown eyes, and white skin. She looked beautiful and grand in her white dress.

Delia and Fordelia looked at each other and nodded.

Delia walked towards me, then leaned down just like the first time we met but, this time, she could lean.

She whispered into my ears, "I know who you are now; a lost family member. Your mother must've been a Rockfeller, somewhere on uncle and aunt's line of family… You have another blood in you… it's animalistic… it's wild… and it smells. I don't know what it is, and I think it won't show itself anytime soon."

"Why are you here…?" I asked.

She chuckled, and smiled, "Because this is my last goodbye to you. I'm sorry that I was so mean to you back then and I don't have any excuses for my actions. I know you would've been able to cure me; I could've lived a happy life with Cordelia but I chose the easy option. It's hard just to see my child, and it hurts me to remember that she will never grow up with a mother. I know that this is selfish but please… take care of her. I don't want her or you to pursue vengeance, I only wish for your happiness," She kissed me on my forehead, and continued, "And don't be reckless, I know how reckless you can be."

Then she returned to Fordelia's side, and said with a smile, "Well, see you."

In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

Only the light of the moon remained along with the darkness of the night.

A single line of tears dripped from my cheek, as I said, "How cruel can you be?"

"What are you doing?" I heard a child's voice.

I turned around to see Flame awake too. I wiped my tears away, and walked towards him as I said, "Nothing... just some weird twist of fates."

He drowsily rubbed his eyes, and said, "Why do you speak like that sometimes? You sound like that old man, always speaking in riddles." He refers to Christopher, who doesn't really speak in riddles, it's just that Flame is too dumb to understand some of his words.

"Heh, maybe it's just in me. Anyway, let's go to bed. We'll walk around the kingdom tomorrow." I said, then went inside with him.

(The Next Day)

It was August 29, The Year 1335.

A day passed since the ghosts of Delia and Fordelia appeared in front of me.

Even though Delia said that she didn't want vengeance, I still feel the need to wreak havoc on the royal family. I want to destroy them, kill them, and tear them apart! But I simply held myself back as I watched the kingdom from the roof of my house.

My house has two floors, 5 bedrooms, and a single bathroom. It is not that big and not that small either. And this is only one of the few houses with a second floor, so I can survey the kingdom on top of my roof.

"I'm sorry, Delia," I said, "I think I won't be able to hold myself back."