章 136: Astral Sea
"Who?" Cyrus said.
Zariel blinked, once, then twice, and released his hold over queen Marigold, who violently began gasping for breath as she fell to the ground. Glimpsing the relief on Talia, his confusion about human emotions only grew. He stared dead at Cyrus, "My cook, Innis, your daughter's lover. Your stupid wife took her."
"Oh dear god," The king muttered hopelessly, cocking his head to Queen Marigold," Why are you making trouble for me." He said and turned to Zariel, " I can assure you that I knew nothing of this."
"Yeah, I don't really care; I just want my cook—"
"Innis," Aurelia cut in, "She has a name."
"Sure, Sure," He said, not bothering to acknowledge his mistake.
Aurelia took a deep breath, and her cheeks puffed, " No, say it!" She demanded, bothered that Zariel didn't consider Innis to be a person but a tool that provided him food.
"Say what?"
"Say her name!"
"Whose?"
"Damn it, dumb-dumb!" Aurelia cursed.
"You mean m'lord."
Clenching her teeth, a frustrative exhale left Aurelia's lips. She understood that this was how Zariel viewed people, probably even her. Sadden by this revelation. Aurelia stared at him. Sensing her gaze, Zariel turned, feeling something that made him frown. Unsure why he felt this way, he tilted his head.
"What's wrong?" He softly asked.
The young lass crossed her arms, and with the sternest voice she could muster, spoke. "You! Innis is my master, and you are treating her like trash, like a tool." she pointed out, stepping so close that Zariel could feel her intensity and passion. He could feel her heat pressing against his cheeks singed by the cold. "even if she is just a cook to you, she is something to me! that has to mean something, right?"
'No.' Zariel thought to say but held back those words. He thought long and hard. Pondering the connection shared and the time they would be sharing in the future. Was Innis not a typical moral, a mere soldier and cook he could find in any barricade? She had no divine bloodline, no extravagant beauty, like aurelia. She was plain, with the added benefit of being close to greatness.
"Yes," He hesitantly said, unsure if that was the correct answer.
A response Aurelia saw through the moment Zariel spoke. A defeated expression touched her face, and she shook her head, " Nevermind." She whispered.
Her words stung like nicks over his skin; watching the Fallens saddened expression, he reached his palm out and patted her head, "Sorry," He said, about to speak when King Cyrus chimed in.
"Duke Blackwater, do forgive my foolish wife's action. Lady Innis will be here within the hour.
"I'm not staying here for an entire hour," Zariel muttered beneath his breath, but under the chilling stare of Aurelia, he sighed and allowed her to have her way. At least this time around. Figuring this was a delicate situation, he was privy to a thought that suddenly came to him. Why not let Aurelia be the face during plots while he the mastermind?
"Mother," Talia could not help say, "Why? Why do all of this?"
"You're a shameful child, a meaningless waste I held the misfortune to bore." Marigold snapped. "How do you think the other nations will feel when they find this shameful secret? Our daughter, the princess of the kingdom of Ferrum, prefers the touch of a woman. Not even one of royalty but a mere commoner."
"So you saw to kill her?" Aurelia said, her voice overly grim.
"My order, if they could not bring you back, was—"
"Be silent," King Cyrus shouted.
" —To kill you," Queen Merigold finished, gripping her throat a deep black and blue; she glared, with a loathing stare. " you were raised to make a sacrifice for this family. We have granted you everything: the best master, the best education, the best of teachers, everything you could have ever wanted or needed was granted to you."
"Merigold," King Cyrus said low and slow. He lifted his gaze to his beloved wife, his eyes indifferent and his tone flat, "You will return to your quarters."
"Cyrus—"
"I will not repeat myself," The King calmly said, and a cold shiver ran through Merigolds heart like a knife through water. She dared not speak, not when she saw her husband grow silent.
Shooting her daughter one last glance, Merigold stormed out of her throne room. The King stared at Talia, admiration and loved all present but did not retort his wife's words. They were all true. Talia was being selfish. Even if he didn't mind his daughter sharing a bed with a woman, not everyone would be so forthcoming.
"Why don't we leave?" Zariel said as lingering silence ensued.
"But Innis," Aurelia said.
"We can leave Talia here to deal with this. I am sure the King will not try something stupid like Merigold did." He said, nodding and pulling aurelia away, " This is a family issue. Let's not get too involved. We secured Innis's safety and destroyed a relationship in the process. Let's be happy. Plus, we have something to do."
The duo made their way out of the palace into the open street. Zariel sternly glanced around and unsheathed his sword upon his back. Shifting it into Severance, a long katana sprung into place, and with a single swing through open space, under the direction of the Weave.
"Things have occurred faster than I would have liked, and it's time to unlock both our abilities." He said. As from the open space, a hair-thin line slowly appeared, growing thicker till a small oval portal revealed a familiar lake reflecting in Aurelia's eyes. She felt the young lord grip her hand and leaped through the spiral portal.
Appear just near the mirrored Lake, Aurelia stood shaken and peered up at Zariel, ' I thought you couldn't use the elements." she chastised, wondering why he lied. "We just teleported."
"I didn't use the elements but rather bent them to my will. You can make a fire when you rub two logs together, right? Well, if I cut with the help of the Weave through space, I could achieve the same thing," Zariel explained. "Severance was designed to cut the laws of space in half."
Tracing her eyes over the icy katana longer than the combined size of her and Zariel, she placed her hand on Morningstar, wondering if it could do the same.
"Why are we here," She expressed, "Again."
"We are going to steal the Astral Essence embedded in this lake. While it's only enough for one person, I think we will be able to share it. With Astral Force, we should be able to send our spirit to the Astral Sea any time we wish."
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