9. GRASSLANDS CAPITAL FORCENA (ANGELA)
Angela watched as Duran breathed in the air of the hills surrounding his homeland. It was refreshing to be out in the open again.
His mood brightened considerably, as he told her how this area was nicknamed the "Molebear Highlands" after the proliferation of the hedgehog-like creatures there. He narrated the story of the Gemstone Valley to the west, from whence the Jewel Eater had come, and described the walls shining in a multitude of colors. He even joked he would pick the gems she liked best out of the walls for her, to put in her hair.
Duran was not a joking guy, and Angela slowly realized that his buoyancy made a thin cover over fear and worry, which only became thinner as they came closer to Forcena. She thought he must have been very concerned with the rumors of the Altenan invasion of Forcena; they had not had current news in a while.
The evening of the second day, he asked, hesitantly, to make love to her. She had spent her time in the Dwarf Village gleefully wearing down his resistance to her advances, until he responded her just as enthusiastically; but now, she wasn't sure what surprised her more, his tentative questioning, or the tender words. She thought she would be irritated by his vulnerability, but she found herself saying yes, and somewhere in the closeness to her, he seemed to lose his fear.
It was the middle of the third day when they crested a woody slope to look down on the city of Forcena below. Something seemed terribly wrong.
Angela heard a vague din, the same as she had heard across the lake from Astoria, the night she found the Fairy.
The sounds of war.
Duran had heard it too, and suddenly went tearing down the slope towards the city gates, standing open. Angela had no choice but to chase after him.
--
Angela recoiled in horror as they entered Forcena to a scene of chaos. This couldn't happen, she thought as her heat sank, she couldn't let Duran's homeland turn into another Astoria! Worse still, she recognized the livery of her own country. The rumored invasion of Forcena by Altena had begun, and they had the bad luck to walk into it.
Her loyalties were divided; could she really attack her own people, if she could not find a way to stop the bloodshed? She certainly couldn't protect them, if they were determined to fight.
"We've got to stop this before there are any more casualties!" she shouted to Duran above the ruckus.
"Let's go check on the King! He'll be their primary target! Maybe we can stop the invasion right there!" Duran yelled back.
It was hard to run through the town past the Altenan wounded, people she might have known. She tried not to think about it, though tears came unbidden to her eyes. Duran must have felt the same, seeing fallen knights all around him. Unless they could stop this, she could not save her people without hurting his. It stung her to realize they were of two opposing sides.
Duran's sense of responsibility to his liege lord had obviously taken over, and he entered the castle with a look of single-minded determination on his face. Koren's arsenal had obviously extended to include creatures corrupted by foul Mana, and monsters dogged their every step towards their goal, but Duran whacked them out of his path with almost scornful swings of his sword.
Angela hurried to keep up with him before he lost her far behind, she not being as well-acquainted with the castle. Shortly they burst into the throne room, where an unpleasant surprise awaited her.
Koren, the Wizard of the Red Lotus himself, was facing off against King Richard.
"Stop!" Duran yelled, brandishing his sword.
Koren turned around with a look of annoyance on his face. "Heh, I remember you, kid. You were the stubborn one... and from the looks of it, the only one who survived."
The look on his face turned to surprise, however, followed by a smirk, as he noticed Angela bringing up the rear.
"Well, well, well. Look who we have here. Of all the people in the world, I never though I'd see you here, Angela. Wait till your mother hears about this! Richard, next time you won't be as lucky!" And with a swirl of his scarlet cape, and a flash of light, Koren was gone again.
"Wait! Coward! Come back and fight!" Duran shouted, gesticulating with his sword, though it was largely an empty gesture at this point. Sword waving finished, he turned back to Richard. "My lord, are you alright?"
"Yes, Duran, thank you," the King replied. "I sent my Knights of Gold to defend the castle gates, but then that... wizard... came right through the wall. It appears he was unprepared to deal with swordsmen, however strong his magic."
Or perhaps he didn't want me caught in the crossfire, thought Angela. Maybe he meant to keep her alive after all, though she had no idea what he would want with her now.
"But I'm glad to see you have returned to us safely, Duran," Richard continued. "How did your travels go? And who is the young lady you bring with you?"
Angela interrupted at that point. "Sire, I am Princess Angela, of Altena." Briefly, she wondered if being Altenan would count against her, despite having arrived with Duran.
"Princess... ?" Richard said, looking curiously at her.
"Your Majesty... surely you do know my mother, the Queen of Reason?"
"Yes... Valda and I have met before..." Strange, king or not, few people referred to her mother by name; she certainly had enough titles to choose from. "But I hadn't heard she had a daughter... Tell me, Angela, how old are you?"
"Nineteen," she said, pulling herself up as straight as possible. Suddenly, her age sounded rather childish, especially with the slightly paternal gaze with which he was looking at her.
Standing, Richard walked over to her and cupped her chin gently in his hand. "Yes... I see it now. I'm surprised I didn't recognize it sooner. You have the beauty and presence of a queen..." And in a quieter voice, he said, almost to himself, "And I think, the bravery of a king as well."
Angela had a funny feeling about this. Especially since she knew what type of man her mother liked. Tall, well-built blond kings of Forcena would be high on that list.
The Fairy had politely waited until that particular bonding moment was over, and then emerged to add her two cents. "Your Highness! Please! We are looking for the Mana Stones! Duran tells me you know where they are." It seemed surprising that the Goddess's messenger herself did not know, and Angela wondered if there was some divine politics involved between the Fairy and the Elementals.
"A fairy?" Richard blinked. Angela thought perhaps her presence had been enough surprise for the king for one day, but he recovered quickly. "I was accompanied by a fairy myself, when your father and I, Duran, killed the Dragon Emperor." The flinch was only in Duran's eyes, occupied as he was with maintaining the proper forms in front of his king, but Angela caught it. "But that fairy died at the hands of the Dragon Emperor... so this must be another fairy, and the world is in danger once again."
"We've found the spirits of Light and Earth," the Fairy continued, "but we don't know where to go next."
Richard was all staid regality once again. "Your next stop should be to find the Wind Spirit, Jinn. The others are located in hidden spots and enemy territory, but you should be able to make it to Jinn without encountering too much trouble from the Navarre raiders.
"When you return here with the blessing of the Wind Spirit, then I will tell you where the rest are, but I would not have you endanger yourselves further until then. He lives in the Corridor of Wind, in Rolante. I hear the Maia port is temporarily closed for fear of conflict with Jad, but the nearby city of Byzel still operates ships to Palo, the port city of Rolante.
"Duran. My Princess. Good luck. The Wind Spirit's blessing will make you stronger for what lies ahead." Duran bowed, and Angela nodded her head respectfully, royalty to royalty. Richard called for servants to show them to guest quarters.
--
Maybe it was just being back home, or maybe it was the freeing of the castle of Forcena from the invasion of her people. Whatever the cause, Duran was more relaxed than she had seen him before.
In his luxurious quarters offered by the king of Forcena - for some reason, she had heard him tell Richard not to tell his family he was here - that night he was more passionate than ever. Not that he ever lacked in that regard; for a man who didn't talk much, he certainly knew how what to do with his body.
Angela was used to pursuing attractive men, teasing them, catching them, discarding them. When the passion burned out, she moved on without a second glance. Altenan women had earned their reputation for a reason.
Oddly, she wasn't getting tired of Duran, even after a couple weeks of being in his continuous company. He was a good guy, all things considered; she hadn't minded the travel with him at all.
He rolled over to put an arm around her, nuzzling her amethyst hair, his favorite part of her - well, one of them, anyway. "Angela," he murmured. "I really like you, and I hope we're together for a while."
Well that killed her sex buzz right away. Her eyes shot open and she stiffened slightly before catching herself; it was definitely bad bedroom protocol to shoot down a comment like that.
Fortunately, he seemed content to have provided this revelation, and didn't expect a response from her. She had thought she and Duran were of the same mindset, together only for the moment. She didn't want him to start falling for her, of all things.
Damn.
