It was midnight. The imperial capitol was asleep. Even the regal palace of Lesalia looked as if it was in deep slumber, tired after the long war that had disturbed its sleep. No one noticed two shadows moving quietly on the outer walls of the royal chambers.
In front of the king's chamber the two shadows stopped. They looked around; making sure nobody was coming, and then nodded to each other. One of them continued to walk, staying pinned to the shadowed wall; the other went through the window into the king's chamber without the slightest sound.
The king was asleep on the canopied bed at the end of that spacious room. Although it was the best and grandiose bed in Ivalice, the young king couldn't seem to find a comfort in his sleep. His brow was twisted and his breathe irregular.
The shadow padded silently across the room and stood by the bed, watching the pain on the king's face. Slowly he reached out his hand, meaning to tap lightly on the young king's shoulder. However at the light touch, the king jerked awake. The intruder clapped his hand across the king's lower face, stifling any startled yelp. Wide eyes stared at the intruder with shock. Then it flared with anger.
"Shout out and I won't hesitate!" the intruder warned, tasting his knife with his other hand.
The thick russet brows rose. Amusement became predominant on the king's eyes. He nodded then dropped his head back against the pillow in resignation.
"You have changed, Ramza." The king remarked.
"I learned from you, Delita."
Agrias swiftly avoided the night guards and let herself into the queen's chamber at the far end of the royal quarters. Shutting the door behind her, she stepped into the darkness of the room thinking how slack the security was around the queen. Maybe they thought that the royal funeral last week would end any attempt to intrude the queen's chamber. How wrong they were now that Agrias was there. But she won't complain because it made her goal easier to reach.
She walked silently to the queen's bed where her reason would lay in a slumber. How long had it been since she last met her charge? A year? Or was it two? Their brief meeting in Zeltennia in the middle of the war was still fresh in her mind. She remembered how she, in that moment, once again declared her oath to Ivalice and to the princess.
She had decided to leave the princess in Delita's care, to fulfill her duty to Ivalice. She assisted Ramza in his quest to bring a halt to Lucavi's evil plot. They succeeded. Upon coming back from their quest, she quickly learned about the marriage between the princess and Delita. The knave had become the king! It became clear what his intention was. Agrias was enraged. Dare he use the princess to obtain the throne! Had Ramza and Alma not stopped her, she would have gone to fetch that knave's head herself.
She had restrained herself until the news about the assassination attempt on the royal couple reached her. The attempt had killed the queen and wounded the king. That was the last drop of her patient. The knave must pay for his failure to fulfill his own words to safeguard the princess. She had warned him before; that his death would be swift should anything befall the princess.
But again, Ramza had stopped her. Ensuring her that Delita would not fail his own words, and that the queen must have been alive. That was why they were here tonight. Should she find the queen had been harmed, she would execute her words right away.
Standing beside the bed, she took in the sight of a peaceful expression on the refined face she knew well. The time had changed it into a more beautiful and mature one. Agrias smiled as she noticed the soft breathing from the sleeping queen. 'She is alive. Ramza was right.'
Agrias reached out for the queen's shoulder, shaking it gently to wake her up.
"Your Highness." She whispered.
The queen stirred. Her body refused to wake up. But whoever dare to disturbed her sleep, they must have something important to tell. So she opened her eyes.
A gasp escaped her lips as she took in the figure looming over her bed. "…Ag-…"
Her word was cut short, realizing Agrias' gesture to keep quite.
"Yes, it's me." Agrias eyed the surprised queen, pleading her to stay calm.
The shock on the queen's eyes slowly disappeared, replaced by excitement. She sat up.
"Oh, Agrias! You're alive!" She managed to lower her voice despite her enthusiast.
"And so you are." Agrias let out a quiet laugh of joy.
"But how? They told me how bad the ruin was. No one could have survived it." Ovelia looked into those hazel eyes she missed so much.
"It's a long story. But now isn't the time to tell a story." Agrias abruptly went on her knees.
"Your Highness, would you leave Lesalia with me?" She looked at Ovelia's eyes, her chest filled with hope that Ovelia wouldn't turn her down.
Surprised, it just drowned to the queen as to why Agrias showed herself that night. Agrias must have heard about her assassination and came directly to Lesalia to confirm it herself.
"…Agrias, I…" Ovelia lost her words. They hadn't known each other for long before she was kidnapped by those who called themselves 'the collaborator'. And yet Agrias had proved her loyalty more than once in that short time. Ovelia trusted her fully, but…
"Your Highness?" Agrias' voice was strained with worry.
"…can I really leave…? Can I really be free?" Ovelia's voice trembled. Confined, her life had never seen the light of the sun outside the cage she was in. Her title made her the object of people who seek power and authority. She hated her whole life, yet she wasn't allowed to die.
"Your Highness…" Agrias reached out to touch Ovelia's hand. It always pained Agrias to see her former charge hurt. A kind-hearted girl, yet treated so unfairly by the world. "It's alright. You will be alright. You will be free…"
"They would not let me! I'm the queen. I'm needed for this empire!"
Needed…?
A duty as a queen…
Agrias could understand that. But the queen was announced dead. How could a dead person still had a duty as a queen?
Agrias thought out her next words for some time.
"Your duty is no more. The whole empire believes you were dead in the assassination. The queen is dead. You are no more the queen. You are free." She paused. Her throat felt suddenly dry as she tried to say her next words. "Trust me…Ovelia…"
Her name came out very awkward, as Agrias wasn't used to refer her without any title. But, the queen definitely liked its sound.
Ovelia…
They said that name didn't even belong to her. She wasn't even the princess, rightful to the throne. The real daughter of Denamunda was long dead. She was only a replacement. She didn't have any name. She didn't even know her real parents.
Were they noble or just some peasants? Were they alive or dead? Did they know her daughter had become a replacement of the real princess?
Those questions had haunted her ever since she knew the truth.
But the way those hazel eyes were looking at her assured her that those questions weren't important. Agrias cared about her. A princess or not, a royalty or not, those facts didn't matter.
Taking Agrias' hand, that night she fled the capitol.
…may be continued…
