Honor, courage and love.

Three words that can create only three things:

Fools who will be deceived by others; dead who will be defeated by the strong; and betrayed people, who will be manipulated until they lose everything they love.

Drunkard – The bars of Markav

*

-Yvanna, we need to talk.

Alone in her chambers, the vampire welcomes the crown prince. The afternoon is at its hottest and sunniest point when Connor enters the room. Unlike the usual, he does not approach her with an innocent look, waiting for the vampire’s next move.

This time, he has a clear goal. He has important matters to deal with.

-You seem troubled by something. – She narrows her eyes as he approaches the bed. The vampire, who had been writing a letter on her desk, continues on her task. – Is it about Arthur?

-No. It is about you. – He answers in a calm voice, waiting for her reaction and sitting on the mattress.

Yvanna notices the sobriety in his voice. Usually, he handles all matters with the same tranquility and joy as a young noble. However, now his tone indicates that this is not one usual occasion.

She folds the letter and rests her quill in the inkwell before getting up and sitting down next to the prince.

-Come on, tell me what’s bothering you.

He takes a deep breath, looking at his own hands and avoiding eye contact.

-You know that I am the crown Prince.

Confused, she takes a second to understand that he wanted confirmation.

-Of course, I know that, Connor.

-In my position, marriage is not just a sentimental matter. More than that, it is a movement with political significance. It offers stability to me and my future kingdom. A marriage also means that your political and social power will serve as an affirmation of my power. At the same time, you gain status, power and the title of Queen. A title that opens many doors and makes you the second most powerful person in my kingdom and, consequently, in the whole world.

The vampire no longer smiles amicably. It is possible to notice, in her eyes, that she is analyzing each sentence said by her future husband. Her face rises and, instead of intervening, she lets him continue, as if she can read his expression at each new word.

-The opportunity I offered you is desired by all women in the kingdom. It is the opportunity of a lifetime. – He finally stops looking at his hands, turning to her. – It is much more than many can even dream of conquering.

-I never took you for someone who likes to sing their own tales. – She bites her lip, feeling her pride hurt by his insinuation.

-I’m not. I just want to remind you that there is value in the position I offered you.

-I would never forget that, Connor. I-

-And with the value of the position, comes the responsibility to keep it. – He interrupts, raising his finger and asking for silence. Yvanna is surprised by the gesture. – Unfortunately, an arrangement like ours implies an excess of political and social movements and I understand that the romantic aspect is removed of the equation. Let’s be honest here: The most romantic point of our relationship was the act we pulled up to pretend that my marriage proposal was a “spontaneous reward”. As if it hadn’t been a plan drawn in the course of weeks, coldly calculated by me, my supporters, my father’s supporters and even you.

The prince gets up, walking slowly in front of the bed. The vampire clenches her fists.

“Control yourself.” She thinks. “Don’t raise your voice. Don’t show anything. Wait for the best moment.”

-However, we are not normal people. Our arrangement took place precisely because we are special. Because something exceptional is expected from both of us. – He puts his hand in his pocket. – And, even if we have desires, we must be responsible. We must know how to act. And, more importantly, we must be careful.

-What’s-

-I did not finish. – He smiles. It is not his usual smile, used to please his father or in public situations. It was the cunning smile he kept for moments of real pleasure.

He waits and Yvanna, almost cutting her own skin because of how tightly she closes her fists, remained silent. Her eyes, however, displayed her irritation.

The prince ignores her look and continues.

-I’m aware of your… Nocturnal adventures. And I don’t judge you. I also have my lovers and I don’t want to stop. Your business is your business and it is not something that bothers me, as long as you continue to be useful. What bothers me is that you are not careful. I am bothered because you have been leaving personal items behind, allowing someone to use them against you.

-What are you-

The prince removes his hand from his pocket, revealing the handkerchief to her. Yvanna’s eyes widen in surprise.

-Where was it found?

-In Bernard’s quarters. He found it by accident.

-But I didn’t-

-I know you were not with him. But you were with some of his subordinates. Someone took the handkerchief and planted it among the items of a high-ranking officer.

Yvanna does not have an answer to his accusation. She had not seen that handkerchief since the time she was sent to Vivre. Before that, she looked for it and did not found it.

-Do you mean that someone is trying to diminish my credibility?

-I don’t care about the reason behind it. There wouldn’t be a problem if you had been careful from the start.

The future queen shakes her head, rising from her bed.

-It wouldn’t make a difference. They would have taken the handkerchief from my room and made up a story. I wasn’t careful, yes, but we both know that there is more to it.

The prince’s smile grows and the gentleness mingles with the darkness of his thoughts.

-My father was not explicit, but I believe we have the authority to… Deal with the problem.

-Any idea on who would be interested in harming my image? After all, it could hurt the marriage, maybe delay it, but… Oh…

-What?

-Your image. The goal is to damage your image, isn't it?

-I don’t know for sure yet. I may have an idea, but we both know that you will end up killing my suspect if you know who it is, so… Leave this problem to me.

-Are you sure? After all, it is a big responsibility to be the queen. I have to bear the weight of my power and… How did you say? I have to take care of myself, right?

He gets up, walking over to her and placing his hands on her waist.

-I also said that we must be careful. – The challenge in her voice does not irritate him. On the contrary. He feels excited by her tone. – Besides, the chance of finding the responsible person is slim. What I wanted to do was to make sure that you know the risks. – He takes her hand. – That we are taking the risks together now. – He hands her the handkerchief. – And that, if we don’t want to lose, we must take care of what is important to us.

Connor kisses Yvanna’s face before leaving.

The bedroom door closes and the vampire looks fondly at the embroidered handkerchief. The memory of a distant past.

*

The incorporeal does not hide from Arthur and Rinlia. Instead, he seems attracted by their presence and, once close enough to identify where they are, the creature dodges the trees, taking the quickest route to them.

-Arthur, this is your cue. – The elf announces, taking a step to the side, prepared to attack.

The incorporeal is very similar to Akemi on the first day Arthur met her: A luminous, plasma-like creature that floats as if it were a leaf guided by the wind.

The difference, this time, is the experience that was embedded in Arthur’s brain by the force of the recent events.

The light grows as it approaches them gaining height and imposing itself in a calm, but firm way. Upon realizing that Rinlia wants to move and take some protective measures, Arthur immediately steps forward.

The plan he had in mind was simple: Weaken the incorporeal to the point where Rinlia could not easily feel it, then leave it hidden, so he could pretend to have killed it.

The success of the plan depended on a control that Arthur himself would not be able to say if he had. And, even without knowing if he could do it, the idea of having a plan made him feel better than the certainty that he would have to kill another creature.

After another big step, Arthur is more than a meter ahead of the elf, with his hand close enough to feel the air moving around the incorporeal. It is not easy for him to think of “that thing” as something similar to Akemi. After all, she almost has a body now, while this creature is in its raw form, without any sign of the person who inhabits the luminous shell.

The boy focuses on his own magic, thinking about the river of energy and anticipating the feeling in his hand, when he would make the energy be transported to his body. He was inches away when he closed his eyes and took another step forward.

And, for a few seconds, he didn’t know how to react. He had to open his eyes, after all, he had not felt any sensation in his hand.

-Arthur!

Rinlia’s voice makes him turn around and understand that he had not touched the incorporeal. The creature, instinctively, dodged his hand in the last possible moment, launching itself towards the elf.

The light pulsates for a moment, casting light in all directions. Fiandel’s commander puts her arm in front of her face, drawing her sword and jumping to the side. Her movement is closely followed by the opponent.

She tries to hit the incorporeal, but her sword runs through it as if it were smoke. She casts a fire magic on him, but the flames are absorbed by its body and appear as small sparks behind it before going to the ground.

The elf continues to run, but cannot overcome the speed of the incorporeal. Arthur is not far from her, but he has difficulties to follow them with his physique. When he finally reaches them, Rinlia has her back against a tree, brandishing the sword with one hand and making a movement with the other. And, when she moves that other hand, the ground cracks under the incorporeal and the wind forces Arthur, several meters ahead, to kneel. He feels his body weighing a ton and, slowly, feels his back arch, throwing him face down to the ground.

The magic causes blood to flow out of Rinlia’s nostril, who feels her whole head hurt, as if it was about to explode. She was using too much strength because she wanted to keep the incorporeal far from her. The same amount of effort would be enough to kill several soldiers in a normal battle.

With a lot of effort, she is able to concentrate her magic and, after that, she pushes the incorporeal away. The movement also throws Arthur away, but, in the middle of an abandoned farm, she knows he would not be badly hurt.

After casting the spell, she feels her body weaken. The sudden release makes her fall to the ground, needing a few seconds to recover.

Arthur, thrown a few meters on the grass, immediately perceives the approaching light, thrown by the same magic.

The boy does not need to make more than one movement: Raise his hand and touch the smoky creature. Immediately, the movement of the incorporeal is interrupted, as if the boy’s hand were a magnet.

-What is your name? – Arthur asks aloud, aware that Rinlia has not yet recovered from the effort caused by the magic. – What is your name?!

The incorporeal does not answer.

-Can you understand me? – Arthur feels his own energy being absorbed by the incorporeal. He knows that he cannot allow that. – Look, I don’t have time to explain everything, but you need to understand that we were sent here to eliminate you.

The incorporeal does not react to the sentence. Arthur, feeling that he wants more energy, decides to reverse the flow of the transfer and, with some effort, is able to transfer the energy from the incorporeal back to his body, then to the ground.

-I want to help you, but you will have to trust me.

He does not have the time to wait for an answer. The procedure, as always, is fast and takes place in a kind of sigle movement, inducing Arthur to an almost hypnotic trance, unable to stop himself from taking the energy.

“The plan. I have to follow the plan.” He concentrates, trying to find the exact moment to stop, without realizing that he is still taking the energy.

Then, for a moment, his eyes are hit by the weak light, emanating from the creature in his hands. And, for an instant, brown eyes appear in the center of the luminous body. The light decreases in size and seems to gain weight, approaching the floor. It is a quick and sudden movement, in recognition of defeat and absolute surrender.

It is fast and disappears right after he sees it, but the sight of the brown eyes is enough to awaken Arthur’s sleeping mind.

“The plan. I need… To follow… The plan.” With much effort, he separates his hands from the incorporeal. He is tempted to continue to absorb the energy. For a moment, he feels like a hunter, removing his claws and ignoring every instinct in his body when he lets it go.

“Good. Go away.” He thinks, seeing the incorporeal move immediately, creeping back to the ground, like a bruised and scared animal towards the trees. The light that was once big and imposing is now a spark, hiding among the grass.

The incorporeal is out of sight when Rinlia approaches with her hand over her nose and a handkerchief in her hand.

-You did it. – She finds it hard to believe. – You really… It is over.

-I think so. Should there be something here? You know… A proof that… - He feels his hands tremble with the effort and celebrates internally when he concludes that she would interpret that as a sign of emotional problems. – What…

-My word will be enough. – She touches his shoulder, guiding him towards the city, looking around and still fighting her own incredulity. – You’ve done enough for today.

*

*