---[ POV: Amaryllis / Gwenvar ]---

Despite her fatigue and pain, the expression on the princess' face shifted after the initial stupor. There was so much to take in at once; her Warden had lost an arm trying to save her, she had Awakened to magic, there was a talking, human-shaped spirit and an unknown mage at her bedside and, to top it all, they had found the legendary warrior they were searching for. The one she had doubted even existed but to the tale of which she had desperately clung as it was one of her last hope to avenge her family and, one day, return to Osgarath.

Now that she looked at him, the man effectively wore an exquisitely crafted and exotic-looking black armor with a perfectly symmetrical and centered golden sun plastered on its breastplate. Of his legendary war hammer, there was no trace, but on his shoulders was thrown a roughly sewn red cloak whose upper half was lined with a wrap of death-singer scaly hide. The white scales almost reminded of the fur pelts some nobles liked to adorn their cloaks with, only, the scales were way more impressive and communicated both danger and confidence. Despite his fearsome attire, the man had an inviting face and an affable demeanor. His traits were soft enough that he seemed approachable but angular enough to convey sincerity and straightforwardness. His green eyes shone with a kind of neutral goodness and concern that were hard to categorize, but Amaryllis could also discern an attentive and questioning intelligence behind the viridescent facade.

Lord Flynn scratched the back of his head with an unsure expression.

"I think there might have been an error," he said. "I don't exactly know who you were searching for, but that couldn't possibly be me. I've been around for less than a month and you three are the first people I met since I arrived."

"No," said the princess, pointing at his cloak. "You definitively are. You fought a death-singer to get that, right?"

"Not just a death-singer. He routed a goblin army single-handedly," added Gwenvar.

"A death-singer? Do you mean the shrieker?"

"I don't know what a 'shrieker' is, but those are definitively the scales of a death-singer." said Gwenvar. "And a big one at that. The older they get, the whiter the scales."

"A large beast of the land drake family," explained Herman. "They are blind and normally live underground but some have fled to the surface and adapted to life in the forests or mountains after being driven out by the dwarfs."

"I see," said Flynn. "Then, yes, this was a death-singer. Nasty beast. Almost killed me."

"Almost killed me!" laughed the old wizard. "You're probably the only person in the world that can say that after killing one rather than simply pissing himself and fleeing for his life as soon as he saw one. Most people simply can't endure their screams. That's why we call them the death-singer. Simply hearing their song will paralyze you with fear and terror, transforming you into an easy prey for their ever-hungry maw.

"I was lucky?" tried Lord Flynn.

"Chance has nothing to do with this," said the princess. "I heard the tale of your battle. No amount of luck could explain what I heard. I see that Gwenvar was right; you are a model of chivalry, Lord Flynn. Humility is as important to a knight as valor and you have both."

Gwenvar frowned and looked at the princess with an incredulous look but Athena spoke before she could.

"Ha!" said the blue girl with a mocking and refuting tone. "If Flynn's humble then I'm a three-legged flying pig!"

"Hey," protested the young man. "Not true! And you could be a three-legged flying pig if you wanted to."

"Ew! No! I'm a goddess of wisdom, I don't want to be a pig!"

"You're not a goddess! You're just using the name of one!"

"Close enough! I can do things no human could."

"Fine. That's not the point." Lord Flynn dismissed his spirit companion with a small wave of the hand, then turned questioning eyes toward Amaryllis. "You said you heard of my battle? How so?"

"A right, you wouldn't know," she said. "A dwarven merchant spectated the battle from far away and brought the tale with him down the mountain."

"Mmmh."

Flynn was about to question the princess and her Warden on the reason they had been searching for him when the young girl's nose started bleeding. She tensed and put both her hands on her face with a feeble complaint. "My head!" Then she grasped her chest. "My heart! It hurt!" The golden eyes of the young girl started to shine again. Soon after, the burnt marks on her hands and arms started to glow like coal, and sparks of flames started to spew from them.

"What is happening?!" panicked Gwenvar.

Herman pushed her aside, put the palm of a hand on the princess' forehead and the other on her abdomen below the breasts, and closed his eyes. If the young girl was uncomfortable with the touch, she seemed too in pain to voice her concern. Gwenvar was ready to pull him back at first, but seeing the old man mumble some magic chant, she stayed her hand. After a couple of seconds, the princess' eyes returned to normal and the glowing marks on her skin disappeared. She wiped the blood from her nose and the painful tears from her eyes.

"What is happening to me?" she asked with fear in her voice.

"Your essence is not fully under control yet," said the old man. "It is normal for the freshly Awakened. Your core is especially dense and really turbulent. It will take some time before you are able to control it completely if it does not consume you beforehand. I think you should sleep and gather your strength. Maybe I'll be able to show you the essentials after that."

Gwenvar frowned again but kept herself from saying anything. Amaryllis was used to the forcefully serious face of her Warden but she had never seen her frown as much as since she had woke up.

"I already administered the princess with more than enough medicine to guarantee her physical recovery," said Flynn. "Unless magic prevents it from working, for some reason, she should be completely fine in a day or two, top. Otherwise, Herman is right. The best to do right now would be to eat and hydrate yourself, Princess, then sleep a bit to let your body recuperate. I'll go fetch something to drink and eat."

The young man left for the cargo bay, bringing Herman and Athena with him.

"Yeah, you should relax Amy," said Gwenvar. "Take it easy. I'll look after you and we will talk to Lord Flynn together once you're back on your feet. I know you're in a hurry to go back home, but at this point, a day more or a day less won't change much. Just rest, please."

Amaryllis offered her Warden a forced and sad smile. "I guess you're right, Gwen, but I have so many questions, so many fears, and so many doubts. There's so much I don't understand, and so much I regret... It's hard to just rest with all of this in my mind. That, and my memories and dreams are a bit hazy, but I don't feel at ease for some reason. I'm afraid to sleep..." Silent tears appeared in the corner of her eyes. She absentmindedly fixed the ceiling of the alcove while trying to keep in her tears. After a moment, she closed her eyes. "I can't forget their faces, Gwen. Do you think they suffered, or were they offered a quick and painless death? Were they buried properly or simply thrown in a ditch?" The silent tears she was trying to keep in fell down her cheeks.

Gwenvar face displayed panic for a moment. She was uncomfortable and did not know how to answer the princess.

"I don't know Amy. I truly don't know, but please don't torture yourself with that. It's not worth thinking about it right now. You're still alive and it's all that matters. I have you, and you have me. As long as you live, there is hope for Osgarath and the Second Realm."

"I don't care about the kingdom," cried the princess. "I just want to see them again..."

"Oh... Amy..." Gwenvar leaned toward the princess and caressed her hair as she had done when she was unconscious. The woman was lost. She was not used to dealing with pain and sadness other than her own, and her personal strategy could often be resumed to 'bottle it up and forget about it'.

Flynn came back with the food pill and more water bottles but, reading the atmosphere, he simply gave them to Gwenvar and returned to the cargo bay where Herman was waiting with Athena.

The princess shifted on her side, turning her back to Gwenvar, and fixed her gaze on the wall facing her. It was made of metal and the bed on which she was laying was made of an unknown material, soft and comfortable, but apparently immune to flames and fire. Such a strange place. But she didn't have the will to question it for now. Gwenvar clenched her hand and a depressed look appeared on her face. Afraid she had angered the princess or let her down, she was about to get up and leave to give her some privacy but the young girl pouted with a small and shy voice.

"I didn't say you could stop..."

Gwenvar formed a silent smile but quickly wiped it from her face and reached back to brush and caress the hair of her mistress. After some long minutes only perturbed by the muted voices of Flynn and company below, Amaryllis spoke again. "What should we do from now on Gwen? What if Lord Flynn doesn't want to help us?"

"I'm sure he'll help out if presented the situation properly. He saved us both from the goblins unprompted. He was in no obligation to risk his life as he did, but he did it. And he didn't ask for anything else in return, other than some discussion and explanation. Even when he learned that you are the Princess of Osgarath, his attitude didn't change. I did not sense any greed or ulterior motive in him other than curiosity."

"You're really bad with people, Gwen" laughed the princess after sniffing in her latest silent sobs. "You know that, right? I shouldn't just take your impressions of someone at face value..."

Gwenvar tensed up and bit her lips with a guilty face.

"But," said the princess, as if she was able to see the reaction of her Warden behind her back, "I believe you... I don't know why, but Lord Flynn seems trustworthy." She paused for a moment. "He's kinda cute too, don't you think?"

This time, Gwenvar choked and had to fight every fiber of her being to remain calm and silent. It was true Lord Flynn was not unpleasant to the eye, but she wouldn't say he was handsome either. But there was something more about his expression and attitude that complemented his features in a satisfying way, she couldn't deny it. She got annoyed at both Flynn and the Princess.

"I wouldn't know, my Lady," she said. "You know I don't care about men all that much. I'll leave those things to you."

"You should try, just once. You have so much to offer."

"I'm a knight, Princess. Your knight Warden. My primary and sole duty is to you, and you only. I do not have time to waste on love. I've already taken vows and do not plan on taking more."

"Who talked about vows, Gwen? Surely there is some space in your cold steel heart for a bit of love?"

"My cold steel heart is already full from your love, Amy. I don't need more," said Gwenvar with a vexed tone.

There was a moment of silence, then the princess chuckled. Gwenvar severe expression softened a bit and she smiled. She was happy the princess was able to change her mind a bit and forget about all the recent hardships. After all she had been through, she deserved a bit of rest. Gwenvar knew the princess would pull through.

Everybody at the court dismissed her as a simple young girl, gentle, soft, and timid, that had inherited the beauty of her mother and the kindness of her father, but not much else.

Gwenvar knew they were wrong. The princess was willful, diligent, and upright. There was hidden strength in her, and Orvellas would learn of it before long.