The Shepherds followed Aversa to her palace. Everyone was glad that the nightmare has passed, but some of them were still shaking.
Inigo rushed to reach Aversa. He tried to overstep her so she would look at him when he asked "what were those things?"
"The things that attacked you? We call them the shadow people. Some sorcerers can bring back souls from the afterlife. Of course these souls can't have a body, so they just materialize as shadows" Aversa explained without stop looking forward.
"And are they dangerous?" Morgan asked, behind them.
"Not in that form. What they do is to take control over someone else's body. And that's when things get ugly" Aversa answered.
"How do you know that we are not under their control?" Kjelle questioned.
"That's easy. People who are controlled by shadow people usually have a purple glimmer in their eyes" was Aversa's answer.
Morgan's eyes opened wide when he realized something. "Like in the village attack!" he exclaimed.
"Excellent deduction, Morgan. If it also happens that these shadow people banish with the dead of the spellcaster, then we can confirm that both sorcerers were using the same curse" Laurent commented.
"Yes, that's way of getting rid of shadow people. But dark magic also works with them" Aversa said.
"Unfortunately, we don't have sorcerers on Ylisse" Inigo commented. He now was looking forward.
Aversa emitted a tiny giggle. "So your people still have prejudices against dark magic" she commented.
"How can't they? It had caused more damage than any other thing" was Inigo's bitter words.
"Of course, because your people have never harmed us" Aversa said with sarcasm.
Morgan cleared his throat to raise awareness about the tension that the royalty was creating.
"I suppose that there is not much difference between these shadow people and the risen" Severa commented.
That second named made the Shepherds shiver. Aversa stopped and turned to Severa.
"That's something that someone who have never confronted a risen would say" Aversa mocked the young girl.
"Well, I certainly haven't seen a risen. How could I? I was born after the war" Severa justified herself. She felt intimidated by the imponent queen.
"Exactly" Aversa said. Then, the queen started to walk towards Severa with a mischievous smile.
"That's why you will never know how terrific those monsters were" Aversa was in front of Severa. The queen was higher than the teenager, so the young Shepherd had to raise her head.
"Shadow people only enter and control your body, but the risen…" Aversa placed her hand on Severa's cheek and with her thumb traced a path near Severa's eye "…they would have ripped your skin from your skull."
Severa shallowed hard and everyone else was looking with astonishment the queen's action.
"You kind of sound proud of them. Do you miss the time when you commanded them against the Ylissean army, queen Aversa?" Inigo claimed.
Aversa let go Severa's face. Then she turned back and looked at Inigo. The Shepherd's commander noticed the hurt look on the queen's face.
Though she was offended, the queen walked forward with her head up.
"No, I'm not proud of them. And no, I don't miss the time when I led them against your father's army" Aversa said with a severe tone while walking.
When she stood up at Inigo, she told him "that's something that I will regret until the end of my days. I damaged this kingdom and yours, but I am doing my best to mend things as possible. I hope you can respect that." Then, Aversa continued walking.
The teenagers didn't move. They were taking time to process what just happened.
Kjelle approached Severa and placed her hand on Severa's shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked.
Severa looked at Kjelle with confusion. "Yes, I think. If she weren't the queen, I would have done something" she answered.
"She is crazy, as the kings who preceded her. We should escape while we can" Gerome suggested.
"Crankypants is right. We should go, Inigo" Brady seconded.
"I really don't like this place" Noire said. She was holding Jake on her arms.
"We can't go. The queen knows things" Morgan contradicted.
"I am with Morgan. Our primordial task is to gather information about the curse. We can hold on a little longer" Laurent stated.
Everyone looked at Inigo. They were waiting for a decision until a royal guard distracted them.
"You guys, the queen is waiting for you at the palace. Aren't you coming?" the guard asked.
Inigo hesitated for some moments and then answered "yes, we are coming."
Inigo started to walk, Morgan, Laurent, and Owain followed him without hesitation. The rest of the group stayed. They couldn't understand their commander's decision. Everyone looked at Severa, waiting for something.
"Why do you look at me? I don't know what is on his mind" Severa defended herself.
"Let's keep moving. We can't leave them alone" Kjelle ordered and started walking. Reluctantly, everyone followed her.
It didn't take long for Kjelle and company to reach their missing group of boys. All of them reunited in the palace's entrance. They had to climb three large stairs in order to get to the main building. Each level had a water channel that seemed to surround the castle. In the water could be seen different species of fish. Also, there were some lily pads floating.
The teenagers enjoyed the view while they were climbing. At the end, in the entrance of the main building, a couple of servants were waiting for them. Inigo was surprised that the servants were using fancy and colorful clothes, like red or purple. Ylisse's servants usually wore rags in brown or black color.
"Welcome to Plegia's palace, prince Inigo. We have already prepared a room for you and your warriors" a maid welcomed him.
The two maids guided the Shepherds through some corridors. The indoors of the palace were amazing. The rooms and corridors were spacious. The floor and walls were made of yellow bricks. Everything was well illuminated by natural light. The palace had many windows and doors that gave an excellent view to the city. Inside the castle could be found mini gardens, some of them had small ponds. The walls were decorated by craftmanship and Plegia's banners. None of the Shepherds saw a single painting of previous governors.
"I can't believe that in this place our parents fought against Plegia's army" Inigo commented.
"I don't know how someone could fight in a beautiful place like this" Morgan said.
"Oh, it hasn't always been this beautiful" the same maid as before spoke.
"Really? When did it change?" Morgan asked.
"Since Queen Aversa was coronated. She put much effort in changing this place. Before her, this place wasn't as bright, and didn't have nature too. The floor was covered in a purple carpet. It was really depressing to work in here" the maid explained.
The tour ended in a big room. This room was full of lounge sofas, chairs, and cushions. There also were various size of tables that had bowls of fruit, bread, cups, water jars, etc.
"Wow, this is a dream!" Cynthia exclaimed.
"And those two doors lead to a bathroom. You can take a bath if you want, the water is already prepared. And also, you can find new garments in there" the maid indicated.
"Thank you so much, how can we pay you for this?" Inigo thanked.
"Oh, there's no need. This is just the queen's hospitality" the maid answered.
"I see" Inigo muttered, he was thinking if this was enough to reconsider his judgement against the queen.
The two maids left alone the teenagers. Then, they checked the bathrooms and find out that the rooms were big enough for everyone to take a bath at the same time. Of course, girls and boys bathed in different rooms.
After everyone got clean, they decided to have a meal and lay in the different seats that were in the main room. The teenagers had a great time eating, talking, even throwing the food at themselves. They completely forgot what happened in the library.
Then the night fell. Everything became dark, but fortunately, the palace counted with many torches that illuminated the place. The environment was really cozy.
They were having fun until Aversa entered the room. Everyone got quiet.
"Please, continue with whatever you were doing. I just came here for Robin's son" Aversa said while looking at the tactician.
This alarmed Inigo who immediately stood up and asked "what do you want with Morgan?"
"I just want to talk with him, in private" when Aversa said that, she made emphasis in the word private.
Inigo couldn't object, he just looked at Morgan to see if he was okay with that. Morgan looked hesitant, but he accepted to talk with Aversa.
Aversa and Morgan left the room. The rest of the teenagers resumed what they were doing, except for Inigo. Inigo just stayed where he was, looking the doorframe from where Aversa and Morgan left. Severa noticed that and approached Inigo.
"He is going to be okay, he is not a child" Severa told Inigo.
Inigo got surprised to see that his retainer spoke to him. "Aren't you angry at me anymore?" he asked.
"No, I'm not. And I also think that we should talk" those words made Inigo worry even more. He didn't know what that would be about, but it looked serious.
Severa guided Inigo to the balcony, the only persons that noticed them leaving was Cynthia and Owain. Cynthia was excited, she was already imagining what it was going to happen, while Owain looked hurt. Owain took his sword and left the room to go to who-knows-where.
In the balcony, Inigo spoke first.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" he asked with a smile, but inside he was dying of nervous.
"Well, it obviously is about how I behaved with you. During the trip, I discovered that you flirted with all the girls that you met, and I kind of got the idea that you didn't try with me because I'm ugly. I know, it's stupid" Severa stared to explain. She sounded calm, but her eyes expressed worry.
"Yes, it is. But go on" Inigo agreed.
"And then, Owain told me that you actually had a crush with me when we were children, but he forbade you to telling me so. And that's why you never flirted with me."
"Wow, I can't believe that he told you that" Inigo said.
"It is true?" Severa asked.
Inigo looked at the floor, "yes, it is" he answered.
"I see."
An uncomfortable silence made present in the balcony. Neither Severa nor Inigo could look at each other.
But after some minutes, Inigo was able to look at Severa and asked her "and what do you think?"
Severa looked at Inigo, he noticed that she was blushed. "Well, I think it's cute. I didn't know that you have those feelings back then. But the truth is that I have always seen you as my best friend."
Inigo's heart broke again. He felt like if everything on his body stopped working for some moments, and then he felt a bunch of emotions take over him. Severa was looking at him, waiting for an answer.
Inigo wanted to talk, but he ended babbling. Severa couldn't understand a thing, and that made her worry. Some seconds later Inigo managed to say something.
"That is great!" he exclaimed with a false effusiveness.
"It is?" Severa asked.
"Of course, because that happened long time ago. I'm completely over you by now" Inigo tried to assure.
"Really? Then, there is no problem if I start dating Owain?"
"No, why would be? Actually, I'm completely happy for you. I wish you both the best."
"Well, I haven't spoken with him about this yet. So, there is nothing sure. Who knows? Maybe he doesn't want a girlfriend right now" Severa divagated.
Inigo noticed how Severa's eyes shone at the thought of speaking with Owain. It was then when he realized that he made the right decision.
"Are you joking? Owain really likes you, he would do anything for you" Inigo told her.
"Do you think so?" Severa asked with illusion.
"Yes. You should go now and talk to him" Inigo suggested.
"Thank you so much!" Severa said and then she threw her arms around Inigo.
Inigo was surprised at first, but he hugged her back. He squeezed her because he knew that he won't have another opportunity like that.
"Please be nice to him. He may be an idiot, but he has a big heart" Inigo asked Severa.
"I'll never hurt him. I promise" she said.
The pair of teenagers separated. Severa smiled at Inigo one more time before leaving. Inigo smiled back to her.
Inigo watched how the girl of his dreams went to look for his cousin. Inigo's smile disappeared when he couldn't see Severa anymore.
Then he turned to face the horizon. He approached to the balcony's railing and he rested his arms on it. He looked at the sky. He thought that maybe a shooting star would grant his wish of fading away his pain.
Meanwhile, Aversa took Morgan to her personal chamber. Morgan thought that the size of the room was too big for only one person. It had a big bed in the center, an area for her to get dress up, another area for her studies, and in the corner, a wooden table for tea and two chairs.
Aversa walked to the table and Morgan followed her. The queen sat in one chair and signaled Morgan to sit in the other chair. In the table already was a kettle, two cups and a sugar container.
Aversa took the kettle and poured the liquid into the two cups. Morgan looked the liquid with certain disbelief.
"It's black tea. My favorite" Aversa mentioned, Morgan just nodded. Then she used her spoon to add some sugar to her tea. After that, she passed the sugar container to Morgan. The tactician added two spoons of sugar to his cup.
Aversa gave the first sip, she seemed to enjoy the flavor. Morgan also gave it a sip, it tasted strange for him.
"I have never thought that I would meet you under these circumstances. I really was hoping that your mother would be the one to introduce us. If she is not here with you, I just can assume the worst. She is no longer in this world, right?" Aversa spoke in a serious tone.
"Yes, she passed away two years ago" Morgan answered. The tactician gave another sip to his tea in an attempt to distract him from the sadness that his mother's death brings. He didn't realize that the queen's semblance changed from serious to sad.
"I see" Aversa muttered with melancholy.
"You were close to her?" Morgan asked with curiosity.
"Yes, I like to think so. Though, our relationship was really weird. But you should know that" Aversa answered.
"Not really. She didn't talk much about you. I only know that you were a general in Plegia's army, but at the end you switched sides and helped the Shepherds to defeat Grima" Morgan explained.
"That's the only thing that she told you about me?" Aversa asked with surprise, and a bit hurt.
"Yes" Morgan answered in an uncomfortable way.
"So, you don't know anything about her story, her childhood" Aversa indagated.
"Well, she didn't know either. She had amnesia. She lost any memory before meeting my father" Morgan said. Then he gave another sip to his tea. While drinking, he realized a really big mistake.
"Why did I mention my father!?" he asked himself in panic. He looked at Aversa, she seemed to be lost in thoughts. Morgan hoped that she hadn't noticed.
"It seems that your mother hid a lot of things to you. And I don't know why she did that" Aversa commented with a mysterious aura.
Morgan was intrigued, and part of him didn't want to believe what Aversa said, but the other part knew that it was probably true.
"What do you mean?" Morgan asked with fear.
Aversa folded her dress' right sleeve, revealing Grima's mark on her right forearm. "What do you know about this mark?" she asked.
Morgan felt a hole in his stomach. He immediately started to fear for Plegia's future.
"Isn't dangerous for the kingdom that its queen has that disease?" Morgan asked.
"Is not a disease, it is a curse. And is not that dangerous. I'll tell you why later. But first, answer my question" Aversa commanded.
"Well, that's the mark that killed my mother, and it can kill us too. Everyone who bears it, eventually becomes crazy. In their madness they damage people. And the mark is related to the Grimleal cult" Morgan answered.
"Everything you said is true, but is just a small part of everything. How many cases of this have you seen?"
"Well, my mother, a sorcerer in a town, and the librarian from today."
"Yes, Sebastian. And tell me, what was the difference between your mother's case and the others two?"
"My mother didn't attack anyone…"
"That's right. The reason is that this curse affects different, depending on your gender. Both genres become crazy, the difference is that women lose all their strength and then die. But men… they become aggressive and die because someone kills them, or they commit suicide" Aversa explained, then she sipped from her tea.
"That explains a lot" Morgan commented.
"Do you know the origin of this mark?" Aversa asked.
"No, please, tell me" Morgan begged.
"Long time ago, our Plegian's ancestors communicated with Grima, the fell dragon. They wanted its help to destroy Ylisse. Grima promised to help them if they brought it back to life. But the only way to do it was with the perfect human. So they started doing some rituals were Grimleal people offered their bodies in exchange of Grima's power. As a result, the Grimleal started to get this mark, the Brand of the Defile. This mark meant that you were a possible candidate to bring Grima back to life. There is only two ways of obtaining this mark, either you offered yourself to Grima, or you inherited it from your parents."
"Wow! I can't believe all of this. To think that my mother could have resurrected Grima…"
Aversa laughed with mischief.
"Oh, she just didn't could have…"
"No…" Morgan muttered with disbelief.
"She actually did it."
"NO! It was Validar! He resurrected Grima!" Morgan screamed while getting up.
"Validar was your grandfather. He had power over your mother, and he made her resurrect Grima. She never wanted to do it, that's why she fought so hard the defeat Grima."
Morgan placed his hands on his head.
"I can't with this. This is too much information! I can't process it!" he exclaimed while walking in circles.
Aversa looked at him in a strange way. "Then, go to sleep. We can continue talking tomorrow morning" she suggested.
Morgan had a lost look. He nodded with nervous and immediately left Aversa's room. He walked in a rush through the corridors, not knowing exactly where he was going. Aversa's words made echo on his mind.
His thoughts were interrupted because he crashed against something or someone… Morgan fell on the floor and when he tried to get up, he saw Inigo doing the same. Both of them noticed the distressed look on each other.
"Are you okay?" they asked at the same time.
Thanks for reading!
Special thanks:
Mysterious guest: Well, those things were not risen, but you guessed, dark magic in general can destroy them. And yes, I love Aversa, she is such a powerful character. Thanks you so much for your comments, I love them.
YellowHello1: I'm glad that you liked the chapter. And I have to say, you got a point right there, but I won't say more. Thanks for commenting!
Duke: Thanks for your comment! And don't worry, I love to answer questions. Morgan and Lucina don't have the same mother, and It was planned like that since chapter 1.
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