Nightingale's Song Chapter Eleven: A Promise Fulfilled
When the magician died, his freed servant pledged himself to the fire elemental and her descendants, foreseeing that one of her line would break the enchantment that still bound his beloved mate. With the magician gone for good, and the servant able to carry them, they left for her husband's kingdom. True, the subjects took longer than their new queen to accept the king's appearance, but his heart was as good as it ever was.
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Haru had to concentrate hard to keep the body in enough pain to keep the commanding mind disoriented without destroying the body. That had already been proven useless for very long. Baron got up and helped the preacher to his feet, neither seriously harmed.
"Sweetheart! You said you couldn't use fire!"
She turned an apologetic grin to her parents as she walked through the clear barrier, the surrounding people backing away several paces from her radiating heat.
"Sorry, Mother! Baron and I thought it would be a pretty good back-up surprise attack in case this thing tried to kill me again." Haru stopped at the base of the occupied tower. "Now; I think you stole something from this lovely lady."
The prince scowled at the girl while wincing.
"Oh? Like what?"
"Let's try her soul."
Toto, who had swollen to a proportion larger than Haru had ever seen him to try to peck through the barrier, watched the princess while hope began to swell within him.
"Heh. I've forgotten how to retrieve it." The look on Machida's face indicated his false sincerity. Haru smiled sweetly at him while pressing his body against the pillar, the pain disabling him from resisting.
"That's okay. I was told how to do it myself last night." Her eyes closed while she laid her other hand on the pillar. She concentrated harder on the searing flames. The blue fire flowed from her hand and traced the engraved designs leading up to the crow, which it then engulfed. Toto fought the urge to interfere as the flames swallowed the still form of his beloved.
"In fact, I was told quite a few things last night. A number of them were about you."
He went still, his eyes dawning with horror.
"Who…"
"I think it was Tara. She's been really bored, and she knew you would reveal yourself today, so she paid me a visit in my dreams. Toto, she's withholding her greetings to you until she can personally express them."
The giant bird nodded and wept at his wife's name. Haru shoved the prince harder against the pillar and increased the fire. Suddenly the prince started screaming and attempting to claw his way out of the princess's clutches. She remained firm as he tore at her arm and sleeve, so Baron moved in to help her.
"Stay back! I know what I'm doing!"
Knowing that tone, he did as ordered. Finally, Prince Machida gave a terrible shudder, and a disgusting dark smoke billowed out of the openings of his face and ears. The black tendrils spiraled up the pedestal, and were absorbed by the gargoyle, which began to move slightly. The dark stuff eventually ran completely out of the crown prince's body, and Haru let him collapse to the ground groaning as she cut off the fire.
"A soul for a soul," she uttered softly while backing into Baron's comforting embrace. She was so tired that he just swept her into his arms so she wouldn't collapse. The hems of her gown had taken a black tinge, like they were also about to burn. The wedding had been scheduled for sundown, and night was closing in fast. Behind them, the stone guards returned to normal.
When the last of both flame and shadow fled into the gargoyle, a cracking sound was clearly heard by everyone in attendance, and stone finally became flesh. Tara extended her wings as far as they would go, and took in a lengthy satisfying breath. Toto immediately shrank down to her level and flew to her perch. They wrapped their wings tenderly around each other and pecked affectionately.
"Toto." The female gargoyle had a sweet tenor voice.
"Tara. You always did like to make a grand entrance." The sarcasm couldn't mask the true joy the crow felt at being with his beloved once more. At the base of the pillar, Prince Machida slowly sat up, with one hand to his head.
"Man this hangover's a killer."
For some strange reason, the burns Princess Elizabeth had given him faded to a pale silvery color. He opened his eyes, surprised that everyone in the castle was gathered around him.
"Did I miss the wedding or something?" Disregarding what had happened just then, he had actually been fine about losing the songbird to a cat. The priest looked at the disappearing sun.
"Should we reschedule?"
Haru, who had been dozing in Baron's arms, shot her head up.
"No, that will add unnecessary expenses. Just condense the speech."
Baron nodded, obviously as tired of waiting as she was. The priest shook his head slightly while laughing.
"All right. Do you want her, Baron?"
"Of course."
"Do you want him, Highness?"
"Obviously."
"Then I pronounce you husband and wife, go ahead and kiss her already."
The groom was only too happy to oblige the priest, kissing his bride passionately while the witnessing crowds gave a loud cheer, and the bells began to ring, proudly announcing the long-awaited union. The Alonian king and queen were still adjusting to the fact that their daughter was a fire elemental and that she had fulfilled the promise to release Toto's mate, so they didn't quite absorb that their daughter had gotten married in under ten seconds until the crowds began to disperse to celebrate the marriage in their villages and the royal palace.
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"So why did Prince Machida try to kill my daughter again?"
Toto and Tara were perched on the back of the royal throne, watching the couples in the ballroom sway to the cat musicians spell. The princess Elizabeth had recovered enough to waltz slowly with her husband and with the other monarchs. The ones that weren't terrified of her from the fire display, at least. Tara answered him.
"The Kalmian is innocent, Your Majesty. His worst crime was feeling anger over not being the groom today. When the fire elemental first burned my old master, she was unaware that the body she burned wasn't the original body of my former master, who took to new bodies like a parasite. But when his body was burned, she took a portion of his abilities too, like permanent possession of bodies. It took him two centuries to possess bodies for over a minute. He was behind all the assassination attempts on Princess Elizabeth and the true reason she became a slave."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me; he changed the jewels you gave to Duchess Sarah into ordinary stones and slowly ate away at her heart until she died, leaving the princess to the debtors and the slave block. He would have been content with what she lived through as a slave if Baron hadn't come to her rescue."
The king looked back at the dance floor, where his daughter and new son-in-law had found each other again through all the passing royalty and nobility, lost in their own world.
"I would have helped her sooner, but I don't have the powers needed to directly influence her life."
The king laughed, standing up to have one dance with his daughter before she and her husband left for their honeymoon.
"I doubt anyone but Baron has that kind of power over her anyway."
The queen followed her husband out to the dance floor, commandeering her son-in-law who took the interruption with good humor. The other couples parted to see the current and future rulers perfectly circle each other, occasionally switching partners when their paths crossed. Toto was still perched close to his wife, drinking in her presence. She rubbed his neck while gazing at the future queen, the fire in her soul reflecting in her eyes.
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When the heir was born, he appeared as an ordinary human with a strange mark until maturity, when he could choose between the forms of his parents. He never displayed aptitude for fire, neither did his following descendants. But it is said by some that the potential is still there, waiting for the right time and person to unleash the dormant power and finish what the fire queen started, however long it may take.
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Lots of love to; Drifting One, Watersoul the Head Star Walker, LeafeKnight7, EarthGurdian, geminidragon76, 002fox, and Thundercat for all the interesting and funny reviews. Told you I wasn't done with the magician just yet! I really liked writing this story, but I can see why more people have been looking at this story's prequel.
Just to be mean, I'm going to post some new stories next week. I know; people are going to come after me one of these days. Too bad, because I'm having way too much fun.
Lots of love, YarningChick.
