Two weeks and four days had passed since that discussion on the terrace between Helmir and the Hero, and since that day no one had seen him again. He had just gone to his daily appointments at the hospital, in the Nether and at the training tower, but the moment he left these places, he was never seen again. He didn't give any news neither to the queen, nor to his fairy, nor to Helmir, nor to Malalalivia and Lelelitio.
No one knew where he might be for the rest of the day. In the evening, the queen would try to figure out what he was thinking and where he was, she could feel it in his home in front of his holovision screen and he was thinking... figure skating. It was more than a little surprising. But that was the last thing he asked Helmir to bring back from the Universal Library and he told her it was extremely urgent so she had to have Sawyer accompany her on the return trip.
No one knew what he was up to.
However, the queen did not bother him, she had her own worries...like her studies to become an archmage.
She had never thought it would be so difficult to become one, she wondered how the Feline could have been one. She had to be crazy like her to have achieved such a feat. The list of things to learn was phenomenal, it was known that the Feline Marrynélia was passionate about occult knowledge, science, philosophy and even dead sciences such as astronomy... She could easily be called the greatest magician of her era before she sunk completely into demonic magic and became a witch. Unlike Audiselia who was only interested in human technology and everything related to combat, it is thanks to all these confrontations, battles and wars that she was able to acquire all her knowledge concerning her powers, and the significant advantage of her genetic attribute would allow her to acquire the necessary skills to take her magic to the supreme level once she is knighted by the other archmages of the kingdom.
In the meantime, she had to memorize countless spells, existing magic, unsavory potions, indecipherable runes, grueling rituals, and inimitable scrolls. Even for her, who had her brain working 24 hours a day, it was getting difficult.
That's why she was locked up in the royal library, surrounded by dusty books and parchments, a place where daylight no longer came through the windows because of the dirt that had stuck to it - the maids didn't want to come to this place anymore because of the number of times it burned and was restored, now it's luxinite torches that light it up, but the royal library still has a bad press with the people, it's nicknamed : the oven of autodafé. That's why it was rare to find more than one person in this room, the few times it was the case was when the archivists discovered new historical documents to archive, but everything had been moved to the new archives.
- If you mix three drops of bull toad slime with E'M'rio giant bee honey, you can...
- My queen.
Audisélia jumped out of her chair with fright. She had not felt anyone coming. She was so focused on her text that she had forgotten to pay attention to what was happening in the kingdom or who might be trying to assassinate her. The queen got up with dignity, wiping her dress and putting her crown back on her head with her long and shiny pastel hair, then addressed her interlocutor who was none other than the Fairy.
- How did you find me?
- Sawyer brought me," she explained, pointing to the space door behind her.
And before Audisélia can say a word, it closes instantly.
- Swelling..., she hissed.
In any case, he is using it more and more, which means that events are getting underway.
- Are you preparing for the "Supreme Archmage Magic Test"?
- What do you want from me, Princess Nameless?
- In fact, I'm looking for Nalo," said the Fairy.
- You also started to call it that.
- Everyone calls it that, what other name could I give it?
- "My son," exclaimed the queen.
The Fairy opened her eyes wide, not knowing how to take the Queen's remark. Was it a reproach or...
- ... finally when he will have said to me mom concretely, she enraged.
The princess laughed at the queen's amusing facial expressions.
- You have strange whims, my queen.
- You'll see when you're queen that you have to keep busy in order not to think about all the administrative stuff, and wars are very redundant, even in times of peace, since you have to prepare or get ready for the next one.
Audisélia brought a chair with her magic so that the Fairy could sit in front of her. Despite her cheerful face, the princess looked rather worried.
- What's wrong with it?
- You must know this because you can read minds.
- I wouldn't allow myself to do that in a direct discussion with someone, the queen reassured her, and that's a preconceived idea. It's complicated to explain but I only perceive the bad intentions of people so I can communicate them to the royal guards or to the Defense, so no, I don't know with what clothes you're going to go home to your friends!
- This is reassuring.
- We are in an absolute monarchy but I give myself certain limits. However, if you win the tournament, you will have to do it your way, and not blindly follow the steps of your predecessors.
- I know that.
The queen noticed that she was not in the mood to talk about her succession, so she closed the book she was reading and moved her chair closer to the princess.
- What's wrong with you? Are you missing your prince charming?
- Beneltig ?
- No! He is not a prince. I'm talking about the one called Nalo-vace.
- Do you find it charming?
- He volunteered to be your champion when he was in "mortal danger," so we'll say that... yes with gigaspoons.
- Huge tweezers like that," retorted the princess, spreading her arms widely over her head.
They both laughed. There was no way the Hero could be a Prince Charming, he didn't have the looks or the principles. He was borderline savage! Maybe that was what he liked about him, it was rare the moments when he behaved a little more dignified, so rare that when they occurred the Fairy was not indifferent.
- Notwithstanding, whether it was Beneltig or Nalo, both eventually disappeared, the Fairy remarked.
- Both have duties, they will return once these finished, reassured the queen by caressing her face.
- I don't know. I had a fight with Nalo during the Samarin party and since then I haven't seen him except for the training sessions he has with the head of the Saints and once outside when he came out of Jacob's hospital room. But in both cases, his face was darkened, he did not speak to me at all, even though I was helping him to improve his agility.
- But...
- And it's the same for Beneltig! cut her off, it seems that he avoids me since he came back from his mission with the royal guard. I try to call him, he doesn't answer me. I thought he was cheating on me but even his female friends don't know what he's doing or where he is.
For the Hero, the Queen knew exactly what he was up to, at least as far as the Feline Adepts were concerned, but Beneltig, who is associated with them, had no idea what he was up to in their company.
- Men are like that, you never really know what they're thinking in the back of their minds," sighed the queen, "and that seems to apply to all races. Then, as far as you are concerned, you have to tell me what you said to her that led to this argument.
- For what reasons would it be my fault? And anyway, you must already know about the fight that broke out because of us two?
- I've already told you no!
The queen hit her face with the palm of her hand wondering if all the girls her age were as nosy as she was. She couldn't even make the comparison with Malalalivia since she was twenty-six years old, and the other princesses seemed to be of the same caliber. Then she wondered if in the time she lived with Sawyer and her father, she was the same. It is true that in their tender youth, she was not the most sympathetic with them.
This simple fact brought a smile to her face. So she showed some mercy to her favorite.
- I know about the fight that took place, the guards told me about it, but the rest, what is private between you two, I don't know. I assure you!
- I believe you, it's just that I would have preferred that you knew because I myself have difficulty understanding what he is accusing me of.
- But what did you say to him, damn it? the queen lost her patience.
An exclamation that will make sense in a while.
- But it's just...! exclaimed the Fairy, it's just that I made a remark that he didn't like and I don't understand. I think there is nothing wrong with what I said.
- I'm waiting.
- I only expressed the fact that the people of the Basfond don't have our responsibilities as a princess of the Sanctuary and that I envied them to be able to wiggle in the dirt and mud without thinking about tomorrow. We always have to dress up to match what is expected of us, especially me who has no wings, and I thought my Down Under counterpart was lucky. I don't see what's so disturbing about that! Does she have to endure the mockery of her fellow fairies when she has nothing to be ashamed of? Do they blame her for her existence?
At her favorite's outburst, the queen kneaded her face to think of something constructive she could say to her to make her understand. She knew the fairies of Sanctuary well and was aware of the contempt they had for her, but didn't really hold it against them - after all, she could destroy Sanctuary and all of Sylvania with a single wave of her arm. Nevertheless, the Fairy's frustration was not insignificant and came from somewhere. She didn't say anything to let her express all the rage she had in her, she felt that the more she spoke, the more she wanted to explode.
- And then the champions... What stupidity! Why do they want to sacrifice themselves for their protégée ? To die suits them so well ? As if their lives were replaceable! They are replaceable by their lives. Their protégés will not mourn them forever, they will be only vague memories of the past that will be remembered once a day, then once a month, then once a year until they are totally forgotten. And Nalo! What is he doing to piss me off? I don't tell him so that we don't argue and he gets really angry, but why is he so keen to leave when he is fine here! He could live here, at the Sanctuary or even at the palace since he is your adopted son. He has the chance to have the life of a prince but he prefers to go back to this evil desert where no life is good, where evil and death reign. Can't he accept that his mother is dead and accept that he should move on instead of wasting his life unnecessarily?
In her anger, she rose from her chair with clenched fists, biting her lower lip, she had become so angry that her rosy face ended up turning completely red. The queen had never seen her in such a state, she had even wondered if one day she would be able to revolt against what she was being subjected to - it must be admitted that it was the queen's orders that led her to never protest when she was insulted for her handicap.
- Or at least... ask for my help... even if I'm not the fairy of the legend... I never know what he's thinking, he disappears for weeks and then reappears like a vlasy flower...
- Ah, but it's a vlasy flower that was missing from my potion! exclaimed the queen.
She returned to her scrolls and noted the last ingredient in her recipe for her invisibility potion, it makes sense that this flower would be one of the ingredients since when you get close to it its petals confine its pistils to its blood before making its flower invisible making it blend in with a simple herb. Then, once noted, she returned to her favorite.
- Are you done?
- Are you going to reprimand me for talking badly about your best friend?" asked the Fairy, worried.
- I don't see how you spoke badly about Elena, even if it may offend "Nalo", you are right on some points, concerning her obsession of course, the rest we'll come to later. Sit down.
The Fairy obeyed and Audisélia moved her chair closer to the Fairy and grabbed her hands.
- You must understand, young lady, that men and women are all looking for one thing: a reason for their existence. And some people can't be satisfied with just living, they want to live for a reason, a reason that will make them get up every morning and fight for them, for their own, for an ideal greater than themselves. The champions fight for you because it is their duty and for many of them it is because they love you and care about you, whether it is by love or by friendship. Nevertheless, some fight for the glory of having to protect a princess of your kind, and that is why they fight. Is this right or wrong? It's none of my business, but it's always been that way. You can reproach them for this selfishness towards themselves, that they should stop this selfish altruism and think about themselves, but they have defined the purpose of their lives in this way. Only they can know if it is futile or not. Do you understand?
- I think, although I don't really understand...
- Some people have lost that being that made them feel important, and this is the case of your friend and my son, they have lost their reason for living, their everything, and now live only to get it back.
- But how? cried the Fairy, trembling, she is dead! What is he going to get back?
The queen stroked her hands to calm her down, put a hand on her shoulder and continued her explanation.
- That's the problem: there's nothing to recover. They are chasing a chimera that has no place. And this chimera for the hero of the current legend and the one who bears his name, the Nemesis, the one who tore away his mother, who tore away one of the people I loved the most in the world... He can only live by roaming the desolate lands of Franca in search of his mother's killer. I don't even dare to imagine what his mind must be thinking about the fate of his sister Zelda, even though he never talks about it.
- I don't see how it's going to make me feel better to know that if champions or others lose their reason for living, they will lose all reason and go on a race to the bottom... or simply drown in depression and alcohol.
- The three are cumulative you know, smiled the queen, but this fate is not inevitable either. This princess that you say has no responsibilities because she has the name of Grave in her patronymic, even though she has been robbed of what we consider the most important part of our being, has not let herself be defeated. Malalalivia fights every day to be able to be queen of Sylvania and change things, but remains proactive on the problems that are within her reach.
- You know not to speak the names of those in the Grave family," the Fairy reminded her.
- And that fairies without wings have no right to life at birth, retorted the queen, I don't care about these meaningless rules. If you don't have wings...
The queen stopped, perhaps she was going too far this time. She couldn't tell him that.
- If you don't have wings, that doesn't make you a sub-being that should be forgotten, that the fourth king-fighter married a human and made her a child doesn't change the value of Malalalivia Talemilia Grave. She remains a perfect representative of our kingdom and in that I believe. Unlike me or Nalo, she doesn't let the vicissitudes of the fairy get her down and continues to fight despite the difficulties for this new goal she has set for herself, whether it's because of her admiration for the hero of the legend or for all the evils she has in front of her, she remains a strong and admirable woman. And I don't believe that if she died tomorrow, or even tonight, she would regret her choice to fight for others.
- If you say so, my queen...
The Fairy didn't seem particularly convinced by the Queen's plea, so she decided to indulge her young charge.
- Princess-Without-Name-And-Without-Wings... one day you'll have to find a real name because this one is endless.
- You know very well that this is impossible," laughed the Fairy sadly.
- Unless you succeed me. However, Princess, I must confess that there was a time when I thought a little like you. I, too, screamed and cried and asked Sawyer many times why he was protecting me against all odds, and he always told me one thing: "It's my duty! I was, and still am, both angry and happy to be the reason for his life and goals while I saw myself as nothing more than a liability to him. Yet we moved forward together, him protecting the last "member" of his family at an immeasurable cost. And every day I thank the gods for putting him in my path, and I thank him, not out loud, for always being by my side. He must think I'm silly to think that I don't know that he thinks I've put him aside to think about Elena all the time, but I don't! I would like to tell him but well... In fact, I want you to understand that the rules imposed by our kingdom are not there indefinitely, it is the rulers who govern the rules and therefore you do not have to submit to them because it is the tradition if you find something fight to make it fairer.
- I would like to, but I don't have the warrior's fibre that you have or the revolutionary fibre that the winged fairy has... Malalalivia, the fairy was sorry.
- So surround yourself with people who have it, people who push you to be better, life doesn't happen by itself, we need people behind us for that. And that's what the second half of the tournament is all about anyway.
- I know that, said the Fairy.
- Remember also one thing: I initiated the program of discovery of peoples and other civilizations so that you learn throughout your life that you are not the center of the world. I want you to learn that you, the children of the Sanctuary, are fortunate beings but not the chosen ones who must step on others and despise the poorest, especially those living in our kingdom.
- You say that as if you were not a princess of the Sanctuary...
- No I'm not, I am indeed a princess of the Underworld although I don't have the double syllable "punitive" in my name. However, I don't intend to dwell on it today.
- Okay, sighed the princess without garlic.
- I hope you remember what I said... or that it made you feel better.
The Fairy nodded and the Queen stroked her hair in encouragement and thanks.
- Ma'am, do you really love Sawyer?
- Of course, I tried to make him understand once, but he rejected me, I must be a huge ball and chain for him!
Behind the door of the royal library, Sawyer stopped spying on the two fairies and walked away, silently accompanying the laughter of his protege and whispered back to her without them being able to hear:
- You fool... You were never a pushover for me, Rosalie.
And wiped away a tear that ran down her cheek.