Chapter 65
Alex sat in his bed, staring into the fire in the room's fire place. A variety of questions flooded through his mind. It took a tremendous amount of willpower to keep him from getting up to talk to what he was told was his father. It had been three days since he and his friends defeated him, but he had remained unconscious, making Alex feel increasingly impatient.
His feelings confused him, giving him a slight headache. He was somewhat angry that his father wasn't in his life for so many years, but he was also extremely eager to meet him and feel love from him, despite the fact that he had been reanimated.
As he thought to himself, Shion walked into the room, ready to have a full night of sleep. She noticed that Alex looked downcast, or rather, lost in thought.
"Alex..." She said, trying to get his attention.
He didn't respond, so lost in thought that he could hear virtually nothing, including her voice. She sat on the bed and hugged him from behind, bringing him out of his trance. He was surprised for a moment, then calmed down, holding his wife's hand.
"Sorry." He said, uncharacteristically quietly.
"It's okay." She said, kissing his cheek. "What's on your mind?"
"I'm thinking about...my dad." He said.
"Oh. Of course." She replied. "How do you feel about him?"
"If that really is my father, I'm so angry for him not being there." He said. "But at the same time, I love him. I don't know why because I've never known him, but knowing that he loved me makes my heart feel...strange."
"I don't blame you." She said. "Do you know what you'll ask him?"
"I'll ask him if he regrets dying for me." Alex said. "I'm a pretty disappointing son, so-"
He was cut short by Shion turning him towards her and slapping him. He was shocked by it, staying silent until he was spoken to.
"He will not be disappointed to have you as a son." She said quietly, but very seriously. "You're a wonderful person. You have accomplished so much, including becoming a king."
"I'm a murderer..." He said, remembering all the people he killed as an assassin. "Why am I remembering these things now?"
"You were set on the wrong path by the circumstances of your life." She said, gently holding his face in her hands. "Don't let that hurt you."
"Thanks, Shion." He said, holding her hands. "You know, when we met, I thought you hated me."
"I did." She replied, not seeing something wrong with being honest.
"Harsh." He replied, his spirits being lifted a little. "I fell in love with you the moment you took off your mask, even if I tried to hide it."
This sudden confession made her cheeks turn a rosy pink, making her look away from him. She soon noticed that turning away gave him a clear look at her scarred eye, making her feel rather sad.
"I am sorry to have become so unsightly in the time we've known each other." She said, touching the right side of her face.
"You're even more beautiful now." He said. "I don't care if you have a scar or two. Besides, your wings kind of make up for it."
"They're not beautiful." She said, her entire face now red.
"They are." He replied. "You should be proud of them. I'm pretty happy that our kids will have wings like yours."
"Our kids?" She asked.
"Yeah. I've been thinking about it and...when all this is over, I want to have a family." He said, putting his hand on her stomach. "Look at Louise and Saito. They're such a happy family and I started getting jealous. I want a part of that."
"Yeah, that sounds nice. Being a mother..." She said, thinking of how Louise was so happy with her twins.
"Well, if we're anything like Louise and Saito, we might need to start now..." Alex said, blushing wildly.
"Umm...yeah." Shion said, slowly removing her shirt.
However, just as it was about to come off, another voice shattered their private moment.
"There will be no love making yet!" Aigle said, laughing heartily and scaring the couple.
"Ms. Aigle! There's such a thing as knocking!" Alex exclaimed.
"I forgot..." She said after a long pause. "Anyway, I wanted to come here to talk to you about Shion's eye."
"What about it?" Shion asked silently.
"I raided Mariel's medical documentations and read about any ways to replace an eye." She said.
"Any good news?" She asked.
"It can be done, but it will be extremely painful." Aigle said. "Do you remember what Mariel did to Louise?"
"You mean how she modified Louise's body?" Alex asked.
"Yes. It is possible to isolate the operation to your eye, but..." She ended her sentence prematurely.
"But what?" Shion asked.
"It's a very risky operation." She replied. "It would require someone who is very knowledgeable about the intricacies of the eye. On top of that, it would be extremely painful."
"I am used to pain." Shion said.
"Not pain like this. To infuse the cells in your eye with magic will be...a pain you've never felt before." Aigle replied.
"How long will it take?" Alex asked.
"Forty eight hours on average. Twenty four hours for each eye." Aigle replied.
"Why both eyes?" Shion asked.
"For your eyesight to be balanced, it will have to be done to both eyes." Aigle replied. "If the operation is successful, your eyes will be enhanced. If it fails...you will be left permanently blind."
"What is the chance of success?" Alex asked.
"Approximately twelve percent." Aigle replied.
"So low." Alex said with a worried voice. "I don't think you should do it, Shion."
"I'll do it." Shion said with confidence. "I'll be okay, Alex."
After several moments of hesitation, Alex finally sighed.
"Okay." Alex said. "Please take care of her, Aigle."
"You can count on me, Alex." She replied, holding Shion's hand and leading her away.
As they walked through the hallways toward the operating room, Shion began to feel anxiety about the operation, making her stomach feel uneasy.
"How exactly does the operation work?" She asked.
"I will attempt to repair the injury to your eye using my magic." Aigle said. "Your eyes will be changed in the process due to the use of magic to repair them. If the operation is successful, your eyes will be better than they were before. Of course, if it fails, you'll become blind."
"I see. Thank you." Shion said. "Have you ever done this before?"
"Only a few times." Aigle replied. "In all honesty, I was not always successful. It's a difficult operation, even for me."
"I trust you." Shion replied quietly, despite being very afraid. "How bad will the pain be?"
"I will sedate you for the majority of the operation." Aigle replied. "I'll wake you up for a few minutes towards the end because I'll have to make sure your pupils dilate properly. That's when it will hurt. Don't worry though. Once the operation is done, I'll bandage up your eyes and you'll be able to recover."
Soon, they arrived at the operation room, where Aigle had Shion lay on a table. She fitted a device to her eyelids to keep them open, then injected a sedative into her arm, allowing her to fall asleep. When Shion was finally unconscious, Aigle began to work on her damaged eye first.
With a variety of sharp scalpels and other medical tools, she removed the scarred tissue, an operation which in itself took several hours. When she was finished, she put her tools away, then began to stick dozens of thin, sharp needles into both of her eyes.
When all the needles were in place, she placed her hands over Shion's eyes, allowing her magic to flow into the needles. After several minutes, the missing tissue in her damaged eye began to grow back, while her undamaged eye began to hiss as it was being modified.
Hiding behind the doorway to the room, Alex watched her work on his wife, feeling extremely anxious in waiting for her. As he watched, he felt someone grab his shoulder. When he turned, he saw Saito's eyes staring at him, contrasting brightly with the dark hallway behind him.
"Let her work." Saito whispered. "She'll be fine."
"Alright." Alex said reluctantly, following Saito away. "Is mom still with him?"
"Yeah." Saito replied as they walked into a dining room. "She insists on being there when he wakes up."
"I see." Alex said, making sandwiches for the two of them.
"Excited to meet him?" Saito asked.
"I don't know if I'm ready..." Alex replied, handing Saito some food.
"You have control over yourself. Don't worry about it." Saito replied. "How's that new arm treating you?"
"It hurt a little after the fight, but it feels fine now." Alex replied, looking down at the white appendage. "I hope Shion's eyes feel okay when her surgery ends."
"She'll be fine, man. Jeez." Saito replied. "She won't want you worrying so much, so just relax."
"You're right." Alex said, sitting back in his seat. "Hey, Saito?"
"What is it?" Saito replied.
"What's it like to have kids?" Alex asked, staring at the ceiling.
"Well...I haven't been able to be around mine too often." Saito replied. "When they were born, I was incapable of moving. But everything in my life centers around protecting them now. It's a weird feeling knowing that I'm so willing to give my life for them."
"So having kids makes you selfless. That sounds nice." Alex said.
"Why ask that all of a sudden?" Saito asked.
"Me and Shion want to start a family." Alex replied. "Seeing you and Louise have one kind of made me want one too."
"It's a lot of responsibility, Alex." Saito replied. "Besides, a lot of things are happening in your life right now. Are you sure now is the time?"
"Well, it took more than a year for your kids to be born." Alex said. "Shion and I aren't human either, so maybe it'll take the same amount of time."
"Maybe, but if it so happens to be a normal amount of time or less..." Saito said.
"You don't need to remind me of the possible dangers." Alex said. "I'm prepared to deal with it."
"Do you really want kids right now knowing that Brimir is out there?" Saito asked.
"Yeah. I've been thinking...if Shion and I somehow die, our country will have no successors." Alex replied. "I mean...I do want my own family to care for too, obviously."
"Well if you really want a family, then I suggest you ask Sasha about how long it'll take the kids to be born." Saito said.
"Alright." Alex said. "Kind of sucks that neither of us have had our weddings yet."
"Yeah..." Saito replied, remembering that his family wouldn't be there on his marriage day. "Just so many people to deal with."
"It's too bad you don't know what will happen anymore." Alex said. "That was a really big advantage."
"We've managed without it so far." Saito replied, now starting to worry about what was coming next.
Realizing that it was probably unhealthy to be having such morbid thoughts at that time, they decided to play games with each other, all of which usually revolved around getting to learn more about each other.
After several hours of playing games, they heard light groaning coming from Aigle's operating room. They got up to investigate, with Alex being worried that the surgery might have failed. When they arrived, they saw that Shion was sitting up on the table with her eyes wrapped with bandages.
She was very obviously in pain, but it didn't seem to be severe. Aigle was washing her hands at a sink, seeming very tired.
"How was it?" Alex asked.
"We won't know if it had been successful until the bandages are removed." Aigle said. "Until then, Alex, you will have to be her eyes. Take care of her."
"How long until the bandages can be removed?" Shion asked, struggling to speak with the pain she was feeling in her eyes.
"I would say no earlier than two weeks." Aigle replied. "Any earlier than that, and you may damage them if you use them."
"Two weeks..." Shion said in her quiet voice. "How inconvenient. Regardless, thank you, Ms. Aigle."
"Don't thank me until we know I succeeded." She replied, giving Shion a hug.
"You should rest, Shion." Alex said. "I can take you to bed."
"Thank you, Alex." She replied, slowly letting herself stand on her feet with his help.
"If she has trouble sleeping, give her these pills." Aigle said to Alex, handing him a bottle of small white pills. "They'll put her to sleep almost instantly. Just don't give her too many. Only when she really needs them to sleep."
"Thanks a lot, Ms. Aigle." Alex said, slowly helping Shion walk to their room.
"I'll give you a hand, Alex." Saito said, putting Shion's arm around his shoulders.
As they walked down the hallways to Alex's room, they heard his name being called. They stopped for a few moments to wait for whoever was calling him to arrive. Soon afterwards, Louise arrived in front of them.
"Alex, he's woken up." She said when she reached them.
"Okay." Alex said. "I'll leave put Shion in bed, then stop by."
"What happened to her eyes?" Louise asked, noticing that they were bandaged.
"Aigle worked on them to repair them." Shion said. "I'll be fine. Just allow me to rest for some time."
Louise gave her a hug, then left them to leave her in bed. Saito then left the two to follow Louise, with Alex deciding to stay with Shion until she fell asleep. Since they chose not to use the pills that were given to them, she remained awake for about half an hour before finally sleeping, at which point Alex tucked her in, then went to join everyone else.
They were all standing around one spot, which he knew was where his father would be. When he walked into the room, everyone turned to look at him.
"The last thing he remembers was his death, so at the very least, he'll be able to answer any questions you might have." Sasha said to Alex.
"Does he know that I'm here?" Alex asked.
"He has repeatedly asked if his son was okay, but we haven't told him that you're here." Sasha replied, whispering.
"Okay. I guess I can talk to him now." Alex replied, taking a deep breath afterwards.
When he was in view, Max looked at him for several seconds, taking in his face. After a while, he looked as if he finally realized who Alex was.
"Why is there another me over there?" Max finally said, to everyone else's disappointment.
"I'm not you." Alex said. "I'm...your son."
"Alex?!" Max exclaimed. "But if you're grown up...how long have I been asleep?!"
"It's been over 400 years..." Mariel said.
"400 years..." He said to himself, looking downcast. "I guess I didn't get to see you grow up, huh?"
"I was able to take care of myself, so it's fine." Alex said, trying to keep himself calm.
"I'm glad you inherited your mother's lifespan." Max said. "It looks like you inherited my looks though, unfortunately."
"Well, it could be worse..." Alex replied. "Listen, I want you to tell me what happened around the time I was born."
"It's been 400 years and Mariel hasn't told you?" He asked.
"I only found out she was my mother recently. She told me a little bit, but never went into too much detail." Alex replied, sitting down on a chair.
Max sat silently for several moments, thinking about where to start.
"Alright, I'll start from the day I found the kingdom of Elves."