Two horses neighed against a couple dozen as Eliza and Naja went through the path to the Night Forest. They saw the knights Zed had left to head back and with the damaged look on their faces, Eliza empathized with them, she saw the color drained from their skin, their angry faces were signaling that such an event should never happen again. And no one disagreed with them, they all saw the royal face watching them before they all came to a halt.
"Eliza-sama…" One of the knights had already began speaking.
"My fellow knights…" She began…
"Please!! Help us!!" He pleaded. "Lore-san, Commander Trogan-san… Ivy-san… we were too weak to face the horrors of that dreadful woman!!" His head was down, disgraced of his title as a Syndicate troop as well as the honor bestowed upon him as a knight of Zephro. He knelt down, properly from his position, and begged with the last of his strength. Eliza's face just spewed confusion.
"PLEASE!! I KNOW YOU NEED TO HEAD TO THE FOREST YOURSELF!! BUT WE HAVE FELLOW KNIGHTS WHO CAN SURVIVE IF YOU GIVE THEM SOME FIRST AID!! JUST A FEW MINUTES!! PLEA…"
"I never said anything!!" Eliza began. "Honestly… what kind of leaders does the Syndicate have overseas??" She urged. Shocking everyone, even Naja, she wasn't shouting, but she had never raised her voice to anything, even a bit, for a while.
"Dear," her voice was back to normal as she looked at Naja. Despite her attitude toward… well, everyone, Eliza was a kinder soul than anyone else she had ever met before, so while she would… well… be normal around everyone else, there were times that Naja would forget her status and the personality she had that kept soldiers at bay in less than five worded statements.
"Yes… your Majesty…" she unconsciously replied.
"Huuuuhhhh???!!!!" Eliza's face was twisted with true disgust. "Why are people acting so weird??"
"Eliza-sama…" another knight began. "Why are you so… carefree??"
"WHO IS CAREFREE??!! CAN'T YOU SEE YOUR OWN FRIENDS ARE DYING??!!" She took a deep breath and spoke again.
"Can't you feel it??" She asked. Everyone felt the air breeze around them, the cold against their spilled blood within their armors was felt back on their bodies. Eliza noticed they wouldn't manage to get to the point due to their multiple distractions, she dismounted her horse and began walking toward them.
"Place the knights who need the most attention closest to me, cover the dead with whatever white cloth you have, if it's too small, cover their faces alone. Place them on the left. The rest of you injured, if you can wait, sit next to the critical, I will help each and every one of you." She sat down, the loose part of her kimono flapped against the wind that then settled down as the clouds began to clear.
"You can't feel it anymore, can you??" Naja asked. Confirming she knew what Eliza spoke of. As the knights held their fellow friends in-arms, some to mourn others to help, they all did as they were told by Eliza.
"It's gone… Its gone!!" One knight began.
"You're right… the beast… I can't feel it anymore." Another continued.
"King Zedlis-sama must've killed it!!"
"That's our King!!" They said as they roared in victory.
Eliza, as well as Naja's faces were covered in worry before Naja remembered and asked.
"Eliza-san… what were you to ask of me??"
"Please go on ahead to them. I can take care of things here."
"Alright." She replied as she held the reins of her horse and slightly yanked them. Her and her horse began moving forward before she increased the speed and she was treading along the grass, headed straight to the forest entrance.
*****
Zedlis held Alloy's head gently on his lap, her unconscious smile the absolute opposite of what Zed was feeling. Behind them, the head of the Arcane Syndicate in the country of Zephro, the commander whose tears balanced on her face, they reflected the purple pupils she had with the help of the moon's light just as one dropped down her cheek. The forest was dark, the moonlight dimmed below the shadows of the trees, despite this, her vibrant pink hair, voluminous and absolutely flawless, could be marveled by anyone around her.
"Commander Qete…" the king began.
She sniffled, her hands still crossed together and a pink handkerchief on her face. "Zedlis-sama…" she sniffled once more, "I don't need formalities…" her left eye created another balanced tear, her emotions were already welled up. Filled to the brim with what she saw on her way to to Zed and Alloy.
"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner… I could've stopped all this, I could've saved him." He said, the sound of his voice accompanied with a chill that she clearly felt, he was never late once in his life after Alloy came to Zephro. Just then, three of the Arcane Syndicate troops arrived, saluting to both the king and Qete. They gasped once they saw Alloy in Zed's arms, unconscious.
"ALLOY-SAMA!! Your Majesty, is she okay??!! What happened??!!" One of them pondered in a panic.
Zed's mind was already thinking quite a few things, his heart was burdened nearly entirely by less than four of those same problems, he didn't need more questions, he wanted answers… with too much going through his mind, he unknowingly glared at the troop with intensity that basically yelled out 'LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE… OR ELSE.' His surprise in being glared at by the king in such a lethal manner… which has never happened before, by the way… caused him to pass out right then and there. Immediately, he noticed what he had done.
"Damn…" he noted, "Sorry about that!!" He added as the troops rushed to see if their fallen friend was okay.
"What did you come here for??!!" Qete demanded.
They shrieked in fear before one of them quickly spoke, "Noble Commander Trogan-san's body has been taken outside the forest safely, Noble Commander Lore-san is with him as we speak. Our troops have surrounded the area to keep Eliza-san safe as well, but they say Great Advisor Naja-san was here with you… that is all, Commander Qete!!"
"Leave us." She demanded. Instantly, the two carried the one who passed out and they all disappeared far into the thick of the forest.
"You didn't have to be that harsh on them." Zedlis commented with a smirk on his face.
"You made one of them pass out." She replied.
"By accident… I apologize, these events rarely occur." He spoke, his entire expression filled once more with sadness.
"Only one faction is brave enough to disturb this country." She added, her tears dried against her cheeks as she wiped them off as well. "I wouldn't be so sure, they don't operate in the Calm Gale." He added. Just then, the sounds of a horse's trot neared them, they waited for its owner to arrive so they could continue their conversation. It was unexpectedly fast, but Naja had arrived.