A few hours had passed since Sam promised to look for Katherine. Gradually, Katherine grew impatient. What took him so long to discuss with the prince? Had he forgotten about her? At least there was no indication that the prince did something to the patient or else there would be a turmoil. Furthermore, to save the patient, she would be the first to be called upon.
She remembered the cold hand she'd held in hers. He'd seemed so fleeable. Was he alright? At least as alright as he could be with only half of his body-weight left...
Her restlessness drove her to wander outside again. The number of people there had more than doubled with the prince's guards added to their entourage. Some rested a few meters up the road, some warily guarded the camp. She discovered that the prince had his own batch of servants with him, they wore a different uniform and didn't look as muscular as the guards. In fact, two of them were beautiful young girls, Katherine noticed scornfully. Well,
My healer, had been what he wanted to say. It had been easy at first, when she was just that. But now that wasn't the whole truth anymore. She was his life-savior. Also, she showed him how to fly a kite, and gave her first kiss to him. Like a butterfly, he didn't really feel it, but the sight of it was nurturing to the soul. Then this hug... when he concentrated, the warmth nearly reached his skin, even if it was only a memory. This day had changed him. Maybe it changed her, too. But he wouldn't know, cause he pushed her away afterwards.Instinctively, he knew that she was the one to call him in his deep sleep. Called without a name, but full of hopes. Would she have called the earl the same way she'd called her patient? After how he treated her, it was unlikely. But pushing her away was the right thing to do. Yes, the right thing."Nathan?" A hand waved in front of him. "Did you just space out for real?"The prince looked like he couldn't believe it. His eyes w
Traveling with the prince was less irritating than Katherine thought it would be. He called her out once to ask about Hazel's recovery and then never talked about her maid again. Though she was glad, Katherine still thought of it as odd. Wasn't the prince a womanizer? Did she misinterpret his gaze at Hazel? Or maybe his own servants were enough for his needs.His arrogance, however, couldn't be called a simple misinterpretation. She'd felt him look down on her the moment she saw him. And then he dared tell her: "I'm here now, so you don't need to look after him anymore. Let him recover in peace."Though she politely smiled and outwardly accepted this command, she gritted her teeth in anger the instant she was alone. She spend so much time and work to get the patient on his feet again and now they wouldn't even let her see the result once?! Unacceptable!She called for Sam. "I want to see the patient. I saved him, so I want to see him!""Milady", Sam sighe
"Aston was acknowledged as a prince, yes, but his mother isn't the queen. Maybe that's why the earl hates him less. Waiving his right to be an heir could play a part in it, too." Nathaniel deliberately made it seem like he wasn't sure about the earl's motives. He was the patient now, so being too clear about the earl would be a flaw in his acting.Prince Aston being illegitimate son was new to Katherine. She wasn't a citizen of the Icelands to begin with, so it was natural not to know some dirty details. She felt a bit of schadenfreude and happiness to have spotted a weakness of that unlikable man. Counting the two factors together, this could be a reasonable explanation for the earl to not hate the prince. Maybe the prince, too, didn't like his family, and with that, they felt sympathy for each other.Pondering, Katherine lightly tapped her lips with her index finger as her gaze got unfocused. If it was like this, there was no reason to fear the earl being part of the
To be told goodbye suddenly left Katherine stunned for a second. She didn't expect he'd leave right after recovering. It was a shame, when they'd finally found a friendly basis with each other. Now he had to go and it didn't look like he planned to come back. "I thought you and the earl were brothers. Won't you visit each other?""We usually don't have much contact." Was she sad she wouldn't see the patient again? She would still see him as the earl, so she shouldn't start missing him. It felt strange to interact with her in two personas."Oh. Alright." She smiled a little awkwardly. There were a few other questions in her head, mostly about the earl, but she swallowed them back. The earl already payed for her service, so she shouldn't exploit his brother too much. "If you nearly die again, you know where to find me. But next time I will charge from yourself, so you better be careful!"With that she found her usual confident self again and stood up. "And if you
"The earl of Hymirhall!", the herald announced loudly, as the folding doors to the throne hall opened.With steady, long strides, Nathaniel walked inside, Sam on his heels. Sam's magic already vanished, leaving behind the earl's snow-white hair and red eyes, glinting dangerously. His face was expressionless, and even colder than normal. As he strode forward, his hands were clasped behind his back. He wore his usual black attire, only the cufflinks on his dress shirt changed as a concession to the special occasion. They were red rubies, matching his eyes.The throne hall had a simple structure: four-sided, longer than wide, with a floor and walls of black marble, a high ceiling, and big windows to the left. If not for the latter letting sunlight flood in, it may have resembled the dark cave of some wild beast. Now it was more suited for the civilized predators that resided in it.Nathaniel's gaze first wandered to the end of the hall. More than a hundred meters i
With this question the king seemed to finally find his footing again, and turned stern. "Your punishment. You are not to take one step out of the palace for the time being. All your necessities will be moved here. You are not to make contact with your mother, as well as participate in events were she is present. The medal ceremony is an exception. Finally, for as long as you are in the palace, you will wear a vessel. You know how it works."A ridiculing smile lingered around the corners of Nathaniel's mouth. As expected, he still only sees the monster. "Didn't we already try this? In contact with my magic, vessels work for a few seconds at most. And they only restrain it to skin-contact. Surely you don't want something this unstable in your vicinity.""Indeed.", the king agreed. "That is why I asked for a special vessels to be made. It should be able to curb your full power for half an hour, which is more than enough time to kill you. It also has a warning mechanism to
Katherine had just finished her first bath after the long travel, when she heard that the earl had arrived. As fast as possible, she put on some clothes, and let Hazel make her a simple hairstyle. Then she rushed to the entrance hall. Her heart was bouncing in her chest. How long had it been since she last saw him?The entrance hall was like a smaller version of the one in the mansion. When she reached the stairs, she could already see the earl standing down below, discussing something with Sam. His white hair shined softly in the light of the candles that had just been ignited. Relieve and joy flooded her. He looked as healthy as always!Before she knew it, she rushed down the stairs, calling out to him happily. "Nathaniel!"The figure in black turned around, his eyes widening, but it was too late to step to the side. Two slender arms clutched around his waist and a soft body slammed against his chest. "You're back!"Her momentum nearly made him stagger
A finger on her lips, Katherine pondered. Yes, the compensation now didn't match the difficulty of the request anymore. Not if her life was on the line. However, living in the palace was also a chance. If she could influence the nobles, it was possible for the Icelands to attack the Dragsa-kingdom, hopefully killing Ethan while they were at it. Though she would prefer to do it with her own hands, she was realistic. She knew that she was way too weak. It may not be possible in the future and it certainly wasn't possible right now.The problem with influencing the society behind the scenes was the fitting social status. If she was introduced as a simple noble or even a maid, her influence would be next to naught. The proud nobles in the palace would just ignore her. Also, she wasn't beautiful enough to get a big number of suitors without having a fitting status, so this option was also not the best. Her status as a noble of the Dragsa-kingdom would be even worse than no status
Five years later"Your Holiness - Uh, ah, Majesty, I mean!"Leaning on the newly-built rails atop the dome of the palace, with the view of the Capital in the background, Katherine scolded lightly: "Shht, Hazel, she just fell asleep."In her arms rested a baby, maybe a few months old, with a tuft of black hair and fair white skin. If she opened her lids, angelic blue eyes would blink up innocently at the viewer.Hazel's head appeared at the end of the staircase leading to the roof. Apologetically, she bit her lip and whispered. "I'm sorry, your Majesty. A letter arrived from Dragsa, and Prince Patrick hurt his knee while playing. He's on his way here.""Dragsa...," Katherine muttered and stretched out a hand to take it. "I wonder what they want. They were very quiet in the latter years."Lowering her head, she took a glance at the paper. Instantly, her brows furrowed, later followed by a deep sigh. "I almost expected it. What a shame."Her gaze wandered to the west, in the direction of
For once, the third wall belonging to the palace let nobles and commoners alike pass. They flooded in in masses and coagulated on the streets and the grass field before the dome. Everywhere, where they could hope to catch a little glimpse of what was about to happen in the throne hall.In front of the dome, Nathaniel dismounted and reached his hand out to Katherine to help her off as well. For a second, Katherine remembered how Pete helped her when she mounted Bell for the first time, and her smile grew shaky. Pete and Jack. One retired after suffering grievous wounds, and the other fell in battle when the undead attacked the palace to free the Queen, Emilian, and Helmina.The burial was in the time of Katherine's long travel back but she and Nathaniel visited the grave two days ago. Still, she could not believe that her funny, one-eyed companion was truly gone. It was delusional but she could not shake the thought that if only she'd been at the Capital, her power might have saved him
Weeks later, the couple reached the Capital and was welcomed with much tom-tom. Aston, it seemed, was back on his feet. The new scar parting his right brow even suggested that his exaggerated description of a battle with the best undead swordsman in history might be more than just bragging. Infuriatingly, however, the scar made him even more handsome, and he confidently put it on display at any opportunity he got. Especially in front of the ladies.Shortly after their return, King William officially announced his retirement in favor of his nephew. Though the commoners were confused at Nathaniel's sudden emergence, the prepared aristocrats soon placated them, and the rumors of his activities as the illusive sixth General did the rest.Katherine was surprised to hear that word of her ability had elevated her picture in the icelandic society to somewhat of a saintess. King William obviously prepared on this end as well, and thus nobody dared suggest that a dragsean noble was unfit to be
The ship of the king of the Glaciar Coast was a gigantic vessel with a kind of lofty wretchedness to it. In fact, Katherine thought that the silver ornaments on the dark wood looked like bones, and if the sail had been a bit more tattered, the "Charon" would've been the perfect ghost ship. When she mentioned it to Lady Brandon in jest, the sister of said king laughed out loud."Oh, he'd love to hear that! If his crew wasn't ridiculously superstitious, I bet he'd search the whole ocean floor for a sunken vessel to serve him!""Is that so?" Katherine lifted her brows, perplexed. "Isn't it already enough that it can fly?"Granted, the hovering of the gigantic vessel wasn't completely 'flight' as the ship was only lifted by the water the Glaciar Coast's mages manipulated with much afford. It could also only be implemented for short periods close to a water source. For the unsuspecting viewer, however, it looked exactly as if the ship was flying.It was this practical fea
Katherine woke up feeling fresh and well-rested. The plush cushions under her head were like soft clouds, and the blanket bore just the right amount of heat. The air smelled of salt and herbs, an unusual but welcoming combination."Hmmm." With a blissful sigh, Katherine stretched. She didn't feel so good since they resided in the hut in the Icelands with King William, his mistress, and son. Did she only dream of that long, arduous journey to a mountain in Dragsa?"You're awake." Her eyes snapped open when she heard that voice. It was undoubtedly the deep timbre of her husband, Nathaniel. And there he was, sitting next to the bed in a cushioned chair, a gentle gaze in his eyes.Eyes that rested strangely deep in his pale face. A face that was bare of the slight smile that sometimes tugged on the corners of his mouth when he looked at her. Instead, he seemed solemn, exhausted, plagued by a deeply hidden sadness that he maybe wanted to hide. Yet to her eyes, his feelings were an open
Deep satisfaction brought some power to Katherine's exhausted body, yet she did not like the feeling at all. The guilt over hitting an innocent civilian clouded her mind, together with the question if it was the right thing to do. Trapping Ethan in the other dimension was too easy. It didn't feel right.Days and nights she'd dreamed of how to take her revenge, how she would torture him and finally look into his eyes when he died. Now, she'd acted impulsively, and the results were anything but what she imagined. Yet, should she have let the chance slip by?When she'd heard him giving orders, she'd finally stopped in her path because she felt like a coward who ran from the only real battle she'd sworn herself to fight. At first, she only wanted to observe and hid where the canyon's wall stood out a bit, just in earshot of Ethan. But the opportunity was too good. She didn't know how her smart and cunning cousin could act so dumb. It didn't match his usual approach, yet maybe
It was Ethan. He stood just outside the rift, his usual harmless smile on his face, and the hands hidden in the pockets of his dark trousers. "Kitty. Fancy meeting you here."If Katherine had been raised in any lower class than aristocracy, she would've spit in front of his feet. Even so, her face soured as if she'd bitten into a raw lemon. "I don't... fancy it at all."Stepping aside to give the rest of the dark stream free access to the rift, she noticed that Ethan'd brought two helpers who lingered in the back nervously. The white lab coats outed them as researchers. She glanced them up and down and decided not to ask where Ve was. After all that happened today and with her magic nearly depleted, she wanted nothing more than walk away from this whole mess.So, she did just that. Turned around and walked along the canyon that was now almost free of the dark substance.After a second of surprise, Ethan called after her: "Hey, don't you want to know what I'll do with this? Aren't
Meanwhile, the Duke of Sleipnir got comfortable on the edge of the cave. Shortly after he'd disposed of the corpses by sending them into the rolling dark river below, some of Loki's staff came over. They were shocked to see only one person left in the cave. "Um, your Excellency, where... where is the leader?""Hm?" Ethan turned and blinked. "Oh... he... how should I put this? He was too enthusiasistic when he saw his experiment finally succeed. Look, the brilliant result of all his hard work is below this cliff. He didn't want to wait anymore and took everyone to follow him down. Which might have been the wrong decision, so to say."The staff carefully crept closer to the cliff, and when he saw the darkness below, though it was more a creek than a mighty river now, his eyes widened. "Do you mean to say the leader is...?""Dead." Ethan nodded unemphathetically. "Most likely."Unexpectedly swiftly, the staff got over his shock. For a moment, he pondered, then asked: "But the experiment
"Ahhh! It hurts! It hurts! You're tearing me apart!" Nathaniel felt the unusual urge to roll his eyes. He never knew that his magic was such a sissy. First, it asked for his help, and now it screamed like a pig on the slaughter bench because of a little pain. And why could it even feel pain? Its body was nothing but insidious black smoke that appeared like a black liquid in its compressed form. There were no tendons, no bones, no flesh, and no nerves - in short, nothing that could hurt. "Shall I stop pulling then?", Nathaniel asked sarcastically in his mind. Well, if that magic of his wanted to go by itself, all the better for him. "No, no, no! Please don't let go! Don't let goo-oo-ouuuuuuch!" It felt like mentally pulling on an elastic band, Nathaniel decided. Somewhere where he couldn't see, something else was pulling the other end, turning the band longer and longer. It got harder for him to hold on with each passing second. Then, with a last loud howl fr