The Light and The Darkness

Camelia stood in front of Atherion's room holding a tray with bowls of porridge and drinks.

She hesitated to enter, still thinking that Atherion was angry with her.

So she stood for a long time in front of the door.

*** 

Atherion lay down, and staring at his bedroom door with a troubled feeling. He wanted Camelia to be in the room with him, but Heios' words still rang in his mind.

"If you love her, you have to be honest with her..." 

He placed his right hand over his burning eyes.

*** 

"Camellia?" 

Theon's voice startled Camelia, who was standing in front of the door.

"A-ah, grandpa Theon." she stammered.

Theon looked at her with a gentle gaze. He liked Camelia as if she was his own granddaughter.

"Are you going to bring this food and drink to Atherion?" he asked with an amused smile.

He knew Camelia's feelings for Atherion and vice versa. But he also felt sorry for the two of them.

It never crossed his mind that The Light and The Darkness would love each other like this. Both were destined to bring either destruction or peace to this world.

Theon hoped from the bottom of his heart that they could be together.

He opened the bedroom door and gently pushed Camelia inside. "Come in. The food will get cold," he said.

"Aa…" Camelia stuttered as she was pushed in.

Her eyes met Atherion's eyes, who was looking at them. Camelia immediately lowered her head.

'This person is really… why am I so afraid of him…' Camelia thought.

"Ahem." Theon cleared his throat, "Atherion, how are you feeling now? Feeling better?" 

Atherion turned his gaze to Theon, who was now standing beside his bed. He nodded weakly, then tried to sit up.

Camelia approached the table next to the bed and placed the tray on the table. She took the bowl of porridge.

When she was about to feed him, Atherion shook his head, took the bowl from Camelia's hands, and ate it himself.

Camelia stood quietly beside the bed.

Theon watched Atherion eating, and suddenly said, "Oh, I almost forgot again." He took out a small packet of cloth and gave it to Camelia.

"This is some kind of medicinal potion, I learned to make it when I was in the Mage Tower. Maybe it can help Atherion recover quickly. Could I ask you to boil it, so it can be given to Atherion soon?" he smiled at Camelia.

Camelia's eyes lit up as she received the package, then said with a big smile, "I'll be right back, grandpa. Wait for me, Atherion."

Atherion and Theon watched Camelia leave. When she was far away, Theon said to Atherion, "She is a sweet and kind child. You two are actually quite good together."

Atherion looked at Theon with a look that made him want to cry, then said, "Not you too, old man..."

"Haha. Don't worry, I'm sure one day you'll be able to overcome your biggest obstacle," Theon said with a laugh.

"I hope so too..." Atherion said softly as he spooned his porridge.

Theon put his hand on his shoulder. "You know, I used to think that The Darkness was this powerful, cruel, heartless monster. But I know now, you're not like that."

Atherion just stared at his bowl of porridge.

"But you will become that monster if you lose Camelia."

Atherion was shocked. "That's none of your business," he said curtly.

"Hmm. That could happen, seeing you like this," Theon persisted.

Atherion took a deep breath, then said, "I will try my best not to hurt anyone if I really do become The Darkness..."

Theon nodded, even though in his heart he wasn't sure.

Not long after, Camelia came back carrying a glass with medicinal potion. They both forced Atherion to finish his porridge and drink the medicine. Atherion grumbled afterward and lay down with an annoyed expression. 

Camelia and Theon, who had managed to get Atherion to eat and drink his medicine, left the room with happy faces.

"Camelia," Atherion suddenly called her.

Theon just glanced at them and then left.

Atherion signaled Camelia to sit beside the bed.

"After I get better, we'll go to Nefaria. It's very cold there. Did you experience snow in your world?" he asked.

Camelia nodded, "Yes. It snows in my country too."

"Okay, that's a relief. We'll leave without the others," Atherion said again.

Camelia tilted her head slightly to the side, "Why?" she asked.

"You are The Light, Camelia. Many are after you. The harpies from yesterday were one of them," Atherion answered, half-lying.

Camelia nodded, then she left him to rest.

Atherion sighed.

Queen Nefaria wanted him badly, wanted him to satisfy her wild lust, and he knew it. And he would finish off that lustful Queen, who was also a Demon Lord.

***

After a few days, Atherion began to recover. They prepared to leave for the Nefaria Kingdom. Gina, Abaya, Theon, and the others reluctantly let them go.

"Don't let Atherion cheat on you with another woman, okay?" Theon whispered to Camelia. Camelia's face immediately turned red. Atherion, who could hear the whispers, glanced at Theon fiercely and was greeted with laughter.

Heios, who was standing at the very back of the group that was sending them off, approached Camelia, gave her a bunch of camellias, and said, "If he leaves you, come back here. I will always be ready to guard you."

Heios' words confused Camelia, "What do you mean?"

Heios, looking at Atherion who stared back at him with narrowed eyes, replied, "You will know what it means later. Be well on your way and take care of your health."

After saying goodbye to everyone, they left. Atherion hugged Camelia, who was still sobbing, while one of his hands controlled Storm, the black stallion.

"I didn't know you could get so close to them," Atherion said.

With a blushing nose, Camelia replied with a pout, "Of course. They are good people."

Atherion smiled. "Do you want to return to your world?" he asked suddenly.

Camelia was shocked. As long as she was here, she never thought about going back.

She asked back, "Do you want me to come back?"

Atherion was silent for a moment, then answered briefly, "No."

"In my old world, I lived alone. My parents died a long time ago when I was twenty, and I was an only child," Camelia said. "I've been working to be able to eat, and it's really hard to make money there. I have to work in three places at once to be able to eat."

"Hmm… So you feel life is easier here?" Atherion asked.

"That's right. Here you can farm, raise livestock, or hunt. But sometimes, I miss the technology there, like cellphones, televisions, or cars," Camelia said with a laugh.

"Huh? What's a cellphone or car?" Atherion asked.

"A car can be ridden like a horse-drawn carriage, but it's not pulled by horses or other animals," Camelia smiled.

"Hmm? So how do you ride it?" 

"The car uses some kind of combustion from gasoline, umm, something like that. It'll be a long explanation later," Camelia said with a chuckle.

They were silent for a few moments, then Camelia called out to him, "Atherion."

"Hmm?"

"Umm… Were you mad at me these few days because I saw you transform?" she asked carefully.

Atherion's body stiffened.