Chapter Twenty-Seven

A Reflection of Who He Once Was

Elyon took everything well.

At least, she didn't outwardly seem angry.

They were in her office, with Achilles sleeping on the couch behind them in his human-like form. Will recounted finding the frog, both in the medical ward and on the garden balcony. She told her everything said between her and Cedric, trying her best to not let the worry in her gut show as she talked. Elyon, dressed in a white silk sleep robe, hair loose, just nodded along, eyes glancing behind Will from time to time.

Will didn't go into more details beyond that, as she wasn't sure what she really knew. She didn't know what role Achilles was playing as a familiar, if he was dangerous or if he was just the sweet kid that hid from her in the very gardens now cast in pale moonlight.

And what Phobos had done yesterday took a new meaning, knowing he was still seeking his freedom from the queen. He could have let Elyon die and no one would have known he had the chance to save her. He would have been able to walk away, as Will doubted she would have mentally been able to stop him. But he didn't. He risked his life and his plan for her. And while Will thought it meant something, something good, she knew the only person who could make that call was the young queen across from her.

Only the one he wronged could decide when he finally made things right.

Elyon stood, moving with the same graceful ease that Phobos stepped with, and approached the sleeping frog. Will followed and stood as Elyon sat on the edge of the couch, gently shaking the frog awake.

Achilles woke, looking nervously at the women hovering over him, but not scared as he sat up on his knees, rubbing his enormous eyes.

"Hello, Achilles," Elyon greeted sweetly, a smile on her lips. "Will told me a lot about you. But I have some questions I want to ask. Is that okay?"

He nodded while adding, "I have questions, too." His eyes flickered down. "If that is allowed?"

Elyon's smile looked more at ease as she agreed. "How about I ask a question, and then you ask one? And we both agree to try our best to answer honestly, alright?"

"Okay."

Elyon glanced at Will for a second before saying, "We can start with an easy one; Are you really Phobos' familiar?"

He nodded, suddenly excited, chest puffing out. "Yes!" He froze, looking down again. "But I'm not very good at it yet. I can't do much. He says I'm growing fast but I… still…" his eyes teared up. "I still failed."

Elyon reached out and rubbed the tears from his eyes with the robe's sleeve. "Hey, let's not worry about that right now. Why don't you ask me your question?"

Achilles lightly sniffed, trying to hold his composure. "No one has seen me in the castle except Lady Will. So I hear things… lots of things. Mean things. I hear how people hate him and are… scared. They want him dead." He frowned. "They poison him, hurt him, laugh at him." He looked up at Elyon and Will, looking confused. "But you both are still so nice to him and… and I don't understand. Is master… dangerous?"

Elyon stiffened, eyes holding his before letting out a deep sigh. "Yes, he is."

Achilles' face fell, a flicker of hurt flashing in his expressive eyes. "Oh." His hands balled into fist. "Is it wrong I still want to help him?"

"That depends. How have you been helping him?" Elyon asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. When he didn't answer, she pressed, "Achilles, we made a deal, remember? Please try to answer me. I know you killed the guards that attacked him. Did he make you do that?"

"No!" he quickly defended, eyes flashing with sudden strength. "I was mad! They-they found my first home, by the lake, when I was still a little frog. They tried to catch me and my…" he stopped, now shaking. "My memories before the pact are fuzzy, but I remember my brothers and sisters. We had hatched and always stayed together. Even when we grew legs. The guards tried to catch us, but were too slow. They got mad and started throwing rocks. They smashed… smashed a lot of them and my legs… they… they…"

"It's okay, Achilles, you don't have to go on," Elyon said, stroking his hair gently. "How about we just talk about what you do in the castle to help Phobos?"

He hiccuped, the sound like a croak, and went on. "I'm learning the castle. Learning who is plotting against master. Like the guards and cooks."

Will couldn't help but ask, "You knew the food was poisoned beforehand? Did Phobos?" Was that why he was trying to send her away before the hot springs? He knew?

"Yes. But he did not want to draw attention because he wanted me to kill them later."

Elyon finally frowned, eyes glancing at Will before addressing the frog. "He ordered you to kill them? And you were going to do it?"

Achilles shrugged, looking guilty as he looked away. "Yes, because they were laughing at him. They think the pain is funny. But I don't… don't like," he stopped, biting his lip.

"Don't like what, Achilles?"

He swallowed and took a deep breath. "I don't like killing," he admitted, like that was a bad thing. "I think they should pay for hurting master. For not listening to you. But I don't like it. It felt different with the guards. They killed so many of my brothers and sisters and I thought they were going to kill my master after he helped me. I was scared. But I'm not scared now. I know I'm stronger than the cooks. That I can stop them. But I had to hide and just watch him get hurt…" Achilles trailed off, looking troubled.

Elyon placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a light squeeze. "That's because it is different. You were protecting someone important to you, at Farshore. You didn't want to lose anyone else. It was wrong what the guards did to you and your family. What they were doing to Phobos. And I was wrong too, not paying attention to what was happening. Letting him suffer because I was scared of not being able to stop… anything." She forced a strained smile. "It's a good thing, Achilles, how you feel. It's something Phobos is still learning, that just because you have power, it doesn't mean you have to use it to crush those weaker."

Will winced at the word choice 'crush' given what Achilles said happened to his family, but she knew Elyon didn't mean it like that.

Achilles nodded at Elyon's words before asking, "You are master's little sister, right?"

"Yes."

"I had a lot of sisters. Some were bigger and some smaller… I miss them. When I went back after the pact, it was so different. I knew things they didn't. Understood how big the world really is. It was scary, at first, but I knew I couldn't stay there anymore. It was hard leaving them. I wish they were here, but I know they are dangerous to people. But I still love them. Even if master is dangerous too, do you love him?"

"Yes, I do," the queen answered with no hesitation. From the beginning, she had accepted Phobos as family. And even now was willing to put in the work to keep him alive, even against the wishes of her kingdom. Will hoped Phobos was finally getting his head out of his ass and realized having a sister like Elyon was worth more than his futile plans and misguided schemes.

"But he's hurt you, right?" Achilles pressed, craving answers. Wanting to understand the person who gave him new life. "People talk about it a lot."

"Yes, he hurt me badly once. It took a long time before I could forgive him."

"But you forgave him?"

"Almost, Achilles. I think I'll never fully trust him," she said, somberness in her admission. "But he saved you, and Cornelia, and… me. I want to believe that means something. That he's finally working at being a better person."

Achilles looked at the queen for a few moments, his brow pulled together in heavy thought, before saying, "I want to help master be free. But it's confusing because I think… he wants to stay, too." He looked up at Will. "He really likes you, Lady Will. And he wasn't mad when you found me before. He trusts you." He turned back to Elyon. "I'm sorry if I've done something wrong. I don't understand things sometimes. Everything is so different now, then when I was just little."

Elyon pulled him into a tight hug. Considering how potent his toxins were, and how panicked she was just a week ago in his presence, it was a sign of trust to have such prolonged contact.

"It's okay," she said with an air of soothing comfort to her voice. Elyon had spent years healing a kingdom from the pain left to fester from not just Phobos' reign. While Will was used to fighting on the battlefield, she was now realizing that Elyon's fight, one that was waged in people's hearts, was a far more daunting task than she could ever appreciate.

"You are still learning," Elyon encouraged with a smile. "I think you've been doing a great job. Because you told Phobos about the mage, right? If it wasn't for you, I would be dead. So thank you so very much, Achilles."

Slowly, he hugged her back. "I… I still… master was still hurt," he said, voice breaking. "He won't wake."

"I know," she said, rubbing his back. "We just have to wait. I promise you, he will be fine."

Achilles pulled away. "Is he in trouble? For hiding me from you? Are you going to send me back to the lake?" He sounded scared. He was so different from the other moon opal frogs. Living among them would be lonely for him. As much as Will disliked Phobos having influence over anything's growth, Achilles was bonded with the prince. Separating them permanently would hurt the frog deeply. And, Will wanted to believe, Phobos would care too.

But would he? Was Achilles just a tool? Was… she?

Elyon rubbed the tears from his eyes again. "No, never. You can stay here, in the castle. This is your home now. But you are going to be kept separate from Phobos for a long while unless me or Will are with you, okay?"

Like Will thought, he looked alarmed at being kept away from Phobos. "W-Why? Why would I have to stay away from master?"

"You are his familiar, Achilles. You can do powerful things he can't do right now. He hasn't earned his freedom yet. He hasn't shown good judgement in both his own safety and those around him. You can't free him. That has to come from me, understand?" she stressed, voice firm. "Not even Will can make that decision. So, until I'm sure he will not order you to go against my ruling, you have to stay away."

"Because you're the queen?" asked Achilles, still upset at the news. "We have to listen to you?"

Elyon gently laughed. "No, because I want him to be free more than anyone else. So you have to trust me. I'll do it. That I'll free him when it's time. Can you do that? Can you trust me? Can I trust you?"

Achilles bit his cheek and asked meekly, "So he can be free and still stay? There is a way for him to have both?"

"Only he can get there, but yes, one day, he can have both."

He looked between Will and Elyon. "Okay. I trust you." He leaned his head on her chest as she rubbed his back. "You can trust me."

Will hoped that was true, for everyone's sake.


Will left both Achilles and the circlet with Elyon, as the frog was now in her care. Elyon planned on keeping Achilles' origin a secret from all but the other Guardians, Caleb, and Matt until they could consult the Oracle, as this was a matter that affected the Heart of Meridian. Meanwhile, since she had already welcomed Cecilia to partake in a magical education backed by the royal mage council, she was going to add Achilles, as Cedric and Miranda knew about him already.

Elyon actually seemed excited, welcoming in children to learn, guiding the next generation. Oddly, Xin Jing was excited as well, glowing brightly and chiming along with the queen.

As much as Cedric and Miranda stressed Achilles wasn't a child, he was still young, in every sense of the word, and needed guidance more than most, if he really had a connection to the Heart of Meridian now.

After the day Will had, she was drained, both emotionally and physically. While she knew she should have just headed to bed, she still found her way back to Phobos' bedside. He was still unresponsive, skin pale, chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

Saying that the prince was complicated would be an understatement.

There was no denying that there was something strong between them. That she was willing to put in the work it took to make something real. But it wasn't as simple as them falling for each other. Realistically, he might never have his magic unbound, even after saving Elyon. Because he did stupid shit like make a familiar right under her nose.

After years working with Napoleon, she knew how strong and loyal familiars could be. And if Achilles was drawing his power from the Heart of Meridian, a far stronger magical Heart than Earth, who knew how strong the frog would become as he grew.

So, it felt right telling Elyon. She had been trusting Phobos far more than she should have given their short amount of time together. While Hay-Lin could confirm his emotions, and Achilles only added to that with his confirmation of trust, that didn't change his actions.

Phobos needed to trust more than just her now.

Will sat on the edge of his bed, reaching out to brush a few loose strands of blond hair from his smooth skin.

She made the correct choice, right? Taking Achilles to Elyon instead of hiding him away, like Phobos did? She was willing to hide his access to his magic, something she still didn't admit. Something she noticed Achilles didn't admit either.

Why was there a feeling in her, that he needed that?

Will reached out and took his hand in hers, rubbing some warmth into his stiff fingers.

Why did she have such a strong feeling that he needed it, because in the end, everyone fails him? From his own mother, his kingdom, to himself, he was always left defeated and broken.

In Elyon's care, people had tormented him for years.

And then, even next to her, he was poisoned. He almost was….

Will tuned those thoughts out.

When he woke up, they could figure everything out. What they meant to the other, what kind of future they saw, if his life in the castle would be fulfilling enough.

Not wanting to leave just yet, she pulled a chair over and settled in it, legs pulled up. For a while, she just watched the rise and fall of his chest, not sure if she had made the right choice.