Chapter Twenty-Five

How Time Has Marched On

"It has been far too long, dear. Are you still living in that quaint little abode? So admirable of you, able to settle for that."

"Yes, mother, we are still living in the countryside. We find the air so much cleaner and people so much kinder. It's so refreshing, seeing my children enjoy their youth."

"Oh, yes, I meant to write my dear granddaughter, but with how unstable education can be in the country, I wasn't sure if she could handle proper communication yet."

"Seeing as her father grew up in Queen Weira's court, rest her soul, and I spent years in Prince Phobos', we have both passed on all our knowledge to our children. I dare say my children are better educated than most adults here. Oh, that reminds me, is my little sister here? I have missed her. This is actually her first time in court? Is it not?"

"Why yes, Marina is here. I am sure she will be thrilled to see her older sister. I think it will do her good to see the effects a simple life has on one, don't you agree? Let her see the value in all options available to one as agreeable as her."

"Yes, I'm sure my sweet sister would love to see what life is like beyond the grand walls around her. It must frustrate, having to wait so long for just one event. I believe by her age I had toured near the whole kingdom? No?"

"Oh, indeed! You had such fun in your youth. I always wished I had been stricter with some things. As I believe you lost a few excellent opportunities. But that was my fault, not making steps to secure a good future."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, mother. I have achieved many great things on my own. You gave a strong sense of independency. Something I would never trade."

Slowly, both Will and Elyon slipped away, leaving mother and daughter to have their chat. As Elyon still had others to greet, and Will was unsure exactly what to do until dinner started, she looked for her friends, greeting people as she went.

"Will!" Irma thankfully called, rushing over, pulling a tall blond with her. "Look at the son-of-a-bitch I found!" she announced, shoving the irritated man in front of her.

"Cedric?" Will called, looking over the older man.

He didn't seem as tall as she remembered, but he was still thin, with fine blond hair and pale blue eyes. He was wearing a gray tunic with black embroidery that fit him well.

Taranee was quick on Irma's heels, who was near dancing in place as she answered for the man, "Yup! And guess who his old lady is! Guess!"

Old lady?

Wait.

Will looked back at where she could finally ditch the duchess, as Miranda was still chatting her ear off, smile wide on her face.

"Yup!" Irma answered again, following her gaze, making Cedric sigh and rub his temples.

"I did not miss this," he muttered, looking at the happy water guardian.

Irma went on, unfazed. "They are married! And have kids! Kids!" she gasped, pointing back to where they came from. Hay-Lin and Matt were talking with three small kids. One was older, a lanky girl with blond hair and green eyes. She was wearing a gray tunic, making her look like a mini-Cedric. Holding her hands were two twin boys with black hair and black eyes. They were wearing dark clothes and looked nervously toward where Cedric was, like they wanted to run to him, away from the two strangers now talking to them.

Taranee rolled her eyes. "Why are you so surprised? It's been almost a decade. They have lives, you know."

Irma laughed. "I'm just so used to dealing with princy! He's the same, so it's easy to forget everyone else has, like, aged and shit."

Phobos may look the same, but Will knew he had changed, too.

Cedric looked over at where his wife was talking with her mother, the older woman now fighting to hide a scowl, and then at Will.

"Lady Wilhelmina," Cedric greeted, no outward negativity visible.

"Will," both she and Irma corrected. Will glared at Irma before addressing Cedric.

"It's nice to see you," she said, meaning it. "How have you guys been?"

Cedric glanced at Irma, who was still excitedly staring up at him, and sighed, inching away from her. "We are well. It was surprising to receive an official summons from the queen this morning. It was so… last minute," he drawled, still eyeing the duchess. "But one can't ignore the queen's call, after all." He looked back at his children. "Yet, my oldest, Cecilia, has always wanted to see the castle and meet the queen. So it is helpful, in a way."

Will nodded. "And the little guys?"

"Rowan and Matthew. They are not use to crowds of this size."

Irma grinned, pointing at the Earth Regent bending down to talk to the shy twins as Hay-Lin chatted with the older Cecilia. "Look at big Matt with little Matt!"

Taranee shook her head. "Girl, you need to chill out."

"But look how cute they are! They are like bite-sized Miranda's and she's already fun-sized!"

Cedric frowned. "Do not call my wife 'fun-sized'. Or my sons 'bite-sized'."

Seeing that Irma was about to stick her foot in her mouth, Taranee clamped a hand over it and dragged her away while simply saying, "We're done here."

Will weakly laughed as she looked back at Cedric. "So, anyway, um, Miranda seems excited to be here."

He answered, voice lowered so only she could hear, "Queen Elyon was very upfront about why we were invited. Our original pardon included not returning to the capital. If Miranda helps with your… problem, we can travel as we please. The education in Meridian is the best around, and it's near time for Cecilia to receive external tutelage. Both magical and scholarly."

What the fuck? Was Cedric… a good dad?

"Oh, well, I'm glad you could work something out."

Cedric shrugged. "The moment Miranda knew her mother would be here, there was no stopping her." He looked away, a frown now on his face. "The queen also warned us of the dangers lurking, so we will not stay long, not with our children here." He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "I assume he has survived?"

Will's heart twisted, still feeling the pull of magic from Cornelia.

She nodded. "Yes, he has."

Cedric looked away, eyes lost, folding his arms. "That is… good." He cleared his throat. "Let me return to my children. It was pleasant to see you again, Will."

Will swallowed the lump in her throat. "Same to you, Cedric."


Elyon watched Miranda and Cedric a lot through dinner. Will knew it had to be hard seeing them, given everything that was happening with Phobos. The three of them had been a part of the worse moment of her life; had betrayed her and almost got her killed for their selfishness.

And now here they were, Elyon sitting at the head of the room, Miranda and Cedric at a lower table, sitting with their children, content with what they had.

It was strange, seeing the two. It made Will wonder where were the others from that time in her life. Over the years, near everyone either served their time incarcerated or received some type of pardon. There were some, like Frost, she heard stayed on a darker path that led to more pain and suffering. And some, like Tracker, just vanished, never to resurface.

Will looked around at the crowd, seeing skins of all colors, wisp of magic in the air.

Metamoor was beautiful, with how diverse it was. With the magic that spread like flowers across the land. She could see how someone like Weira could just focus on its beauty, not able to see what lurked underneath.

It was disturbing, hearing Phobos speak about dying at such a young age in such a casual manner. It was hard to understand what it really meant, how it affected him. She doubted he could explain it, even if he was willing to speak of it.

He didn't want their pity, or sympathy. He wanted no reminders of his past, of his mother.

Will had heard from so many the goodness of Weira. How she was a kind queen who loved all her people. And she clearly loved her son. To the point she lost the favor of Kandrakar to bring him back from the dead.

Why was even the love he received so… wrong? Why was nothing just easy for him? Why was everything laced with pain and death with Prince Phobos?

That question haunted her as she felt the pull on the Heart through dinner and while she tried to lay in bed. They planned on dealing with the mage tomorrow, as no one wanted to divert any magic from Cornelia as she worked, and it was best to let Taranee rest from her day reading dozens of minds.

It was well past midnight when Will finally felt the pull on the Heart stop.

With no second thought, she slipped from bed in her sleep shorts and shirt, and teleported away.


Invisible, Will slipped into the medical wing undetected. It was late, with a few people milling around, mainly near the same door she tried to break down earlier.

"He's stable," a Galhot woman said, blue skin dark, as she exited the room. "Lady Cornelia said to get her if his condition changes."

There were more guards around than normal, and Will was careful as she approached the room.

Another Galhot, a man with lighter features, sighed. "All this effort for-"

The woman promptly shushed him, eyeing the guards nervously. "Not the place," she warned.

The man nodded, closing his mouth as they hurried away.

Will knew she couldn't just walk past the guards, even invisible. And there were too many to compel to walk away with a bit of borrowed magic from Irma. So Will took a chance and found an empty room and teleported into Phobos'.

It was dark, lit by a few orbs of yellow magic. There were no windows and only one door. Will could feel Elyon's magic soaking the place and she panicked as the wards sensed her. Only it didn't send out an alert, just buzzed around her, watching.

"Knew I was coming, huh, Ellie?" she mused, realizing her friend was already planning for Will's impulsiveness.

Will took a deep breath as she walked towards the still figure on the lone bed covered by white sheets. He looked like he was sleeping, chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. His chest was bare and Will could not even see a scar from where his arm was cut, thanks to Cornelia's healing. The yellow light made it hard to see the color of his skin, but she doubted it was richer than what she saw yesterday.

"Phobos?" she called gently, voice hopeful.

No answer. No movement other than his steady breathing.

Moving closer, she tried again. "Phobos?"

Still, nothing.

Her eyes heated as she fought to keep her composure. Needing to distract herself, she looked around the room, only to see the black circlet on a counter nearby.

Right. Another thing she never got to ask him about. Why wear that so much? She was happy he liked it, but it seemed odd how often he wore it.

Will picked it up, the onyx cool to the touch and, like at the market weeks ago, there was a pull of magic from the Heart.

The circlet glowed with magic in response.

And not just a simple enchantment, but something complex and powerful.

Something that definitely wasn't there when she gave it to the prince.

There was another glow in the room, from near Phobos' head.

Calmly, she placed the circlet down and walked to the bed, seeing the glow under his pillow. Slowly, she lifted the corner and was greeted by the sight of a small, trembling frog. It stared up at her, its dark eyes wide and fearful, trying to push itself deeper under the pillow.

Will knew her frogs, so she was sure as she said, "You're that moon opal frog from Farshore."

The frog turned away, trying to dig further under, wanting to hide.

"He kept you?" Will said, surprised. "All this time?" She twitched. "And he didn't tell me?!"

She didn't mean to sound upset, but he had a pet frog this whole time! And didn't let her steal- play with it? Fucking asshole.

The frog croaked at her outburst, shaking, covering its face with its little paws.

"Hey, little buddy!" she called, worried. "I didn't mean to scare you!" She called on Xin Jing just in case she needed protection from the toxins like before. Only the nymph laughed.

Friend.

It was such a clear thought.

That and a name.

Will frowned as she repeated what was in her head.

"Achilles?"

The frog stopped shaking and slowly turned to stare up at her, dark eyes alert and nervous.

No way. Just no fucking way.

"Achilles?" she said again, shocked, as the frog crawled out from under the pillow and hopped from the bed.

The change was so graceful. Not rough like how a half-breed like Cedric or Miranda changed, but smooth like how Napoleon shifted. Like he was fluid magic.

The little frog boy stared up at her, fat tears sliding down his cheeks, and he rushed at her, wrapping his arms tight around her leg and crying against her skin.

"It's all my fault," he sobbed, voice loud in his heartbreak. "I messed up! I'm so sorry!"

There was a noise from the door and Will quickly grabbed the boy and the circlet and teleported away right as it opened.