New Year, New Job, new plans

Chapter 11 – The Princess, The Elf, The Demon and The Wanderer Part 11

The clean-up after the battle started as soon as it ended. Townsfolk who were used to heavy lifting helped out by picking up the bodies of deceased Defense force Soldiers or Order Soldiers. Other townsfolk carried buckets of water to pour on the bloodstains that were on the ground. Injured survivors were taken into care while Order survivors were killed on the spot. Koga was taken into care and Freya followed along with tears streaming down her face. The whole day consisted of cleaning up and getting things back to normal which happened pretty quickly. One Defense force soldier came out with the antidote bottle and began giving it to all who were affected by Lavander's poison-and they too were taken into headquarters to recover. Bean, Elfo, and Luci were in the headquarters dining room. Those who could move and weren't too injured were enjoying a nice hot meal. The Trio however wasn't hungry. They wouldn't be in the dining hall if they were allowed to see Koga. But currently, he was being tended to. Freya was sitting outside the dining room in a seat with her face buried in her hands.

"I don't see how anyone can celebrate when Koga's probably lying on his death bed…" Bean said as she didn't eat, but of course, she did chug a round of beer.

"Well you got to look at it this way; these wild bastards are all used to this sort of thing so Koga being down probably isn't all that new."

"I am worried about Koga but…I don't know, maybe he'll be fine?" Elfo said, staying optimistic.

Bean looks over at the outside of the dining room entrance at Freya. Bean places her beer down "I'm going to go check on Freya," She said as she gets up from the table and walks over to Freya. Bean sits down next to Freya and she looks up to see who it was. Her eyes were bloodshot and dry tears were seen around her cheeks.

"Hey…" said Bean.

"Hey…" Freya replied weekly.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine…" Freya lied.

Bean turned away from Freya and stares at the wooden floor below her. Bean would look up at her with a small smile. "You were great out there. I mean I hardly ever see another woman like you that's that good with a sword." Bean said, brushing her white hair aside. Freya looks at Bean and returns the small smile. "Thank ye. You weren't too bad yourself against that purpled-haired twat…" She giggled softly. Bean chuckles and rubs her left arm "I guess…" She then places her hands together and twiddles her thumbs.

"So why is a Princess away from her Kingdom and traveling with an Elf and a talking cat?" Freya asked as she places her back against the stone wall while keeping her eyes on Bean.

Bean sighs and she does the same thing as Freya. "Well, It all started when my dad, the King of Dreamland, decided to put me in a political marriage with a neighboring land. Of course, I told him that I didn't want to marry a stranger; especially someone who I DO NOT LOVE. But then he gives me the "It's your duty as a princess! We need this to solidify our alliance!" And all that other king talk…"

"Sounds like ye dad needs to get his head out of his ass…" said Freya.

"No it's been up there for so long it's his second home," Bean said as she let out a shallow laugh. Bean would then go on to explain the events that followed once the wedding began. This caused Freya to let out a well-needed laugh. Bean let out a few small laughs "It's not funny I killed a prince!"

"No, ye didn't Bean. He's the idiot who didn't watch where he was kneeling over! He didn't sound all that smart either!"

"No, he wasn't. Just another dumb prince…" said Bean bitterly as she held herself. "Once the first son died they tossed another one at me like right after their first son they had a replacement. It pissed me off so much. If it wasn't for Elfo crashing the whole wedding I'd…I'd probably be…well…you know…"

"Royalty doesn't sound as wonderful as people claim it to be," Freya said, reaching over and patting Beans lap "All of it sounds tiring."

"You have no idea…" Bean whispered with a long sigh. She then chuckled "I have Elfo to thank for distracting everyone when he came into the wedding hall. I broke a window, leaped out, and when I did Elfo fell with me and Luci. We've been on the run since."

"So they didn't send anyone after you?"

"No not that I know of," said Bean, lying of course. She didn't want to bring up Koga at all to her.

"I see…" said Freya as she turns her attention to the ceiling above them. She began to think about Koga again.

Bean looks over at her "You know…I've only known Koga for a few days but he doesn't seem like the type just die easily. He's a strong guy…I'm sure he'll be fine Freya," Bean turns to her and smiles.

Freya looks over at Bean and returned the smile. Her saying that made her feel a bit better. Freya then turns to look at the floor and she frowns a bit. "I know I shouldn't worry so much…but…seeing Koga like that…bleeding out…tired...and when he tilted his head to the right and he closed his eyes…I just thought I'd never see him again. And I said all of those things to him…" She whimpers a bit.

Bean scoots over to Freya and she wrapped her arm around her "Don't worry at all Freya…I'm sure Koga is going to pull through. HEY! Maybe even right now he's-"

"HEY WAIT! GET BACK IN BED!"

Bean and Freya turned to the left where the infirmary ward was. Stepping out of the room was Koga. His wounds were bandaged around his waist and arms. Freya and Bean gasped and they spring to their feet. "KOGA!" Freya screamed joyfully as she runs over to him along with Bean. "Oh hey girls," said Koga as he straightened out his hair. "Sup?"

"Koga we were worried sick about you! I mean hell we thought you weren't going to make it!" said Bean

"Oh what this?" Koga points at the stab wound on his side. "Just another one to add to the collection." He laughed, then groaned. "Oh yeah, that's a pain I'm too familiar with…"

"Ugh…Oh my god Koga…" said Bean letting out a sigh that was followed by relieving chuckle.

Koga looks over at Freya. She noticed how red her eyes were "Have…you been crying?" He said with a grin.

"NO!" Freya said turning away. "IT WAS THAT POISON! IT MADE MY EYES RED!"

"So I was just hallucinating when I saw you cry when I was passing out to blood loss?" Koga said in a snarky tone.

"YES! YE WERE!" said Freya embarrassingly. She sounded as though she was going to be on verge of tears again. Not tears of sadness…but tears of joy and relief.

Koga lets out a gentle chuckle. "Come on do you know how many times I've been slashed and stabbed at by crazy ass creatures and people? This is nothing!"

"You know Koga you could at least comfort her a bit? She was super worried about you," Bean whispered to Koga.

Koga down at Bean and then over at Freya. He sighs and he places his arm around Freya. "Sorry to make you worry Freya…" He said gently to her. "I'm here and I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere any time soon…"

Freya looks up at Koga and she smiled. She wipes her eyes a bit and sniffles "Good. Ye better not!" She said as she quickly began to feel better.

"Koga?"

The three of them looked forward. It was Fergus, who was accompanied by Barbara. "What are you doing out of bed so early you crazy man!? I can still see the blood on your bandages!" Barbara said with a worried and annoyed tone.

"What? I'm hungry." Koga said

Fergus sighed and he smiles "And to think I was worried about this kid…"

"You got right back to bed and get those bandages changed! NOW!" said Barbara pointing her finger at Koga.

"BARBARA COME ON!" said Koga as the medic took Koga back to his room.

"NOW!" Barbara snapped.

Elfo and Luci stepped out from the dining hall to see how Bean and Freya were doing. Luci looked at Koga in surprise "Wow. He's alive." He said in surprise.

"He survived a stab to the gut? That's incredible…" said Elfo in astonishment.

"Oh, Freya dear look at you! You look so stressed and tired! Have you eaten at all?" Barbara said she wrapped her arms around Freya's shoulders.

"Yeah, Barbara…you're right…I am hungry…" Freya smiled and nods at her.

"I could go for seconds!" said Elfo as he and Luci followed along.

"Let's head to the dining hall. I'll fix you up something nice and hot," said Barbara as she and Freya head to the dining hall.

"I could go for seconds!" said Elfo as he and Luci followed along.

Bean lets out a sigh and she sits down on the bench. "Mind if I join you?" asked Fergus. Bean looks over at him "Sure, I don't mind," She said with a smile. Fergus sits next to her with a groan and he pops his neck a bit. "I understand how Koga feels. Being stuck in a room and not being able to move is highly frustrating." Fergus laughs.

"Haha I bet," said Bean

"So Princess," said Fergus. Bean snaps her eyes onto him. "What now?"

"Y-You know?" Bean stuttered.

Fergus chuckles "When I got a good look at you when everyone came into my room. I recognized you right away. You've grown."

Bean looks at Fergus perplexed. "Have…we met before?" She asked curiously.

"No. But I was in dreamland with a few of my men years ago. We were there to take care of a few jobs. The king, well your father, greeted us and I saw you by his side along with your brother."

Bean turned away from Fergus and she looks down at the wooden floor. "Oh…I see…" She said softly.

"So, what now?" Fergus asked once more.

"Well…" Bean wasn't so sure herself. On one hand, she, along with Elfo and Luci wanted to see the world. But…would Koga let them? Was he still going to try and finish his mission? "I'm not sure right now…"

"Why not stay here?" Fergus asked.

Bean looks at him surprised "Are you serious?"

"Of course! Everyone here is acquainted with you. Barbara and Freya adore you, and from what I've heard you're not too bad with a sword. Although you could be better," He smiled.

"I…I didn't think about that…" said Bean as she intertwined her fingers together.

"Well it was just a suggestion," said Fergus. "Bean if you ever need a place to go when you're uncertain. Don't be afraid to come back."

Bean smiled at Fergus. This made her feel so happy and so warm inside. It was something that she hadn't felt in so long. "Thank you, Fergus…" She said sweetly.

"Care to join us for a feast?" Fergus asked.

"Yeah! I'm starving!" said Bean getting to her feet.

"You can say that again," said Koga, as Bean turned and looked up at him. Koga was wearing some fresh bandages and his hair was tied up in a ponytail. "I heard Barbara was fixing up something in the dining hall. I'm sure whatever she's making will top the best chefs your kingdom can make."

Bean smiled at him "I wouldn't doubt it," She said happily.

The three of them head to the dining hall. They were greeted by all of the Defence force soldiers who were there feasting. Sophie along with a recovering Archie greeted them. "Koga! I knew you'd be ok!" said Archie.

"You guys worry too much you know that," said Koga patting Archie on the back and he coughed "Oh my bad, too rough."

"Friends worry for other friends you big doofus," said Sohipe

"I know, sorry to worry you guys," Koga said with a smile.

Once everyone got situated Bean watched on as everyone laughed and continued celebrating. Barbara would bring out the food that she made along with the cooks. She passed down the plates to everyone and they dug in. Koga wasn't lying. This food is better than the cooks at the castle. Bean looks over at Freya who was sitting next to Koga. Freya and Koga were both laughing happily. Freya looked so relieved and happy. Everyone did.

…

Nighttime arrived and Bean was in her room with Elfo and Luci who were both fast asleep. Bean of course was still up. She wasn't struggling to sleep but she was in deep thought. She thought about her father once more…her mother…and…

Bean gets up from her bed and heads outside. Outside the air was warm and the stars covered the sky. The moon was full and the light shined down on Bean. This type of night was so nostalgic to her. As Bean stared up at the moon…a memory popped into her head.

So…on the first evening a pebble… from somewhere out of nowhere drops upon the dreaming world…

So…on the second celestial evening…all the children of the pebble held hands and composed waltz…

Soo..On the third celestial evening…the children's waltz spawned rippling waves across the waking world

Sooo…on the fourth celestial evening…the waves showered the ground upon which every child wandered…

Soo…on the fifth celestial evening…the showers on the earth became its beacon of existence…

Bean stopped. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Why am I thinking about that stupid song now?" She said bitterly. Bean at this point was beginning to feel sleepy. She looks up at the moon one last time…before she heads back into the inn, gets into her bed, and lays her head down on her pillow.

She would fall asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.