Chapter Thirty Five

*** Leo Cazador ***

After my victory there was a celebratory feast in my honor. The defeated could not attend, the knife wound I have given him had grazed his lungs and needed the attention of a healer. I, on the other hand, simply wrapped my arm in a sling after having it popped in place, without my healing magic it had swollen and hurt like a mofo to move.

I was allowed to retire early so that I may rest my weary body.

Before retiring to my chambers I was informed that Sora would be heading back to her tribe where she would wait for me to grow into the man I would become. By custom the next time we would have met would have been to have our first night, in consideration of my age she had not been allowed to meet me and I would not be allowed into Amazonian territory until I was at the very least thirteen.

The next day I woke with a severely sore body, one that was quickly mended by a visit to the hot baths. After getting dressed I found myself in the library sitting in a secluded spot between some book shelves. My mind was still a jumbled mess and I needed to sort it out before I started doing anything drastic, after all what I had planned would require a cool and collected mind.

“First my life...then the world…,” I said with a sigh after a long while of sitting on that hardwood library floor. I stood and went in search of someone that has needed answers from me for a very long time now.

*** Eleanor Cazador ***

“I know you are there,” I said without looking. I was currently sitting on my bed dressed in a simple red and black cotton dress, I had removed my shoes as I had curled my legs under me as I read a text book. I was studying for one of my many classes.

“So you do,” the voice materialized behind me, it’s proximity startled me. His breath tickled my ear.

I tried not to show my surprise but my voice betrayed me releasing a small chirp that I wish I could take back.

How had he managed to do it? I understood it when he had power, but now I could see that it was a gift of his to ghost around like a phantom leaving no trace of sound or ripple of presence. What surprised me most was the fact that he had not come in through the door.

After knowing him for so long I could just tell when he was ghosting around, even if I couldn’t point him out, but I could always tell.

“What are you doing here?” I asked surprised that his breath did not smell of alcohol.

I turned to face him, he was standing calmly behind me. After my question he went over to the desk in my room and pulled the chair close.

“I’m here to talk,” he replied.

“Talk?” I asked confused. “About what?”

“You are my fiance right?” he asked.

“Y...yes,” I was even more confused. What was he getting at?

“I have done a lot of things to make you upset, haven’t I?” he asked.

“...” I was too confused to say anything. Sure I was mad at him, but his questions were not letting me feel what I usually felt when I thought of him. Right now all I could think about was what is going on?

“Do you know what happened between the amazon people and me?” he asked.

“N...no,” I replied. “It was something about the fight? I...I don’t know your mom didn’t tell me about the reasons behind it, I mean, the fight.”

He rummaged through a pocket in his black leather trenchcoat, from it emerged his clenched fist, he gently unfurled his hand leaving an item on the bed in front of me. He pulled back his hand to reveal a ring.

“Do you know this ring?” he asked.

How could I not? “It’s mine.”

I grabbed it. It resembles the inferno sun pendant on the necklace around my neck, both forged by him. There were sun engravings all around the gold band.

I had seen it many times on Leo’s finger.

He pulled out another ring and handed it to me.

“Do you recognize this one?” He asked.

I looked at it closely, it bore a white and black diamond and topaz cut to resemble the moon. There was a lunar cycled engraved around the ring’s broad length.

“So...Sophia’s ring?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

after looking them over I looked at him and raised a brow. I was still confused.

“These rings will always connect me to you both,” he explained. “Even in my powerless state I can feel where you are, the moment you get hurt I will know. I need you to understand that I have never stopped caring about you, but...I also need you to understand that you have to share me.”

What?” I asked.

“Ever since I have known you,” he continued. “You have always been quite the temperamental one, always quick to anger and you have never liked to share anything. I wanted to explain everything to you when things became wrong but, I couldn’t.”

“Why,” I felt my frustration and anger returning. Was he just going to make an excuse?

“Do you know what happened to Sophia?” He asked.

“She was kidnapped,” I replied glaring at him, still not sure what he was getting at.

“Yes,” he nodded. “She was indeed kidnapped. Do you remember what prince David did to you and how you felt?”

“What he did?” I couldn’t remember.

“The kiss,” he said. It all came flooding back to me, I remembered. I had forgotten about it because of Leo, but not it seemed so unimportant.

“What about it?” I asked defensively.

“You were angry,” he said. “So angry, because he kissed you. You tried frying him, because he did something to you that you did not like.”

“...”

It took me a moment to realize he wanted a response.

“Y...yes,” I frowned.

“Imagine if he had done more to you,” he said. “Imagine if he had suddenly pinned you and used his own magic to suppress your fire.”

“But he didn’t,“ i shook my head.

“Imagine his hands all over your body,” he continued. “Doing to you as he pleased. Imagine that it was not going to stop there, that he was going to take your lips, then your clothes, and then something even more important...and you would not have been able to do anything to stop it.”

“Stop it!” I cried out as my skin crawled with disgust.

“That is what Sophia experienced when she was kidnapped,” he said.

I looked at him, my eyes wide.

“She was helpless in the hands of another when I found her,” he added.

I don’t know why but tears started to flow down my cheeks. Then I started thinking about what I would have felt if someone touched me like that, if someone...no!

My body trembled with my sobs.

Like the ghost he was he approached in silence wrapping his arms around me. I couldn’t help myself, i grabbed onto him tightly as I tried not to cry. My sobs escaped my lips as muffled moans and whimpers.

“When I returned I was so angry,” he explained, his voice a whisper in my ears. “I destroyed the people who hurt her, but Sophia is not like you. You are strong and independent, Sophia is a meek and shy child. What happened to her almost destroyed her.”

“I’m sorry,” I whimpered. I wanted to apologize for the way I had acted, I had been so spoiled. I had noticed how afraid the girl had been, how she couldn’t handle being around men, but it never occurred to me that she might have gotten hurt when she got kidnapped. I felt nothing but guilty about everything, about the way I treated her and then how I had pushed him away.

He stayed close to me until I calmed down.

“I...I am going to change from now on,” he said. “I know I hurt you by not telling you about her, so I will do my best from now on to hide nothing from you.”

“Liar,” I sniffled, but a smile spread across my lips.

“Well I will try,” he smiled mischievously.

“So what now?” I asked.

“I...uh...have one last thing I need to tell you,” he said rummaging his pocket bringing out one last ring. It was a broad gold ring with a white rose diamond, on it were engraved thorny vines.

I raised a brow confused. Who’s was it?

“Do you remember the day you spotted me when I first arrived?” he asked. I nodded. “Well the girl I...uh...hurt was an amazon. She is the second princess of her people and by their laws, because I defeated her, she is to be something like my wife.”

“What?” I asked, my heart beating hard in my chest. What does that mean?

“You will be Queen of Boraia,” he explained. “But, I must show respect to their customs and also have Sora as my wife as well.”

“B...but you could…” I was about to suggest for him to tell them to jump off the nearest cliff but he stopped me.

“The amazons control many rich mines,” he explained. “It makes them important in the Coalition headed by Bulbaria. I could turn her down, but the amazons won’t be happy with that, if it comes to war I imagine that we will win, but it will be long and bloody and leave the country in pieces. When Sola becomes queen Sora will be in a position to influence her older sister, if the Coalition is weakened should the amazons side with us we won’t ever have to worry about a war on Boraia.”

I wanted to retort, but he spoke again before I could collect my thoughts.

“As a future queen,” he began. “You will learn that sometimes you must give up a few things here and there for the sake of the country whether you like it or not.”

He got up and kissed my forehead.

“I have to go take care of some things,” he said turning towards the door. “Please get along with Sophia from now on.”

“I...I will try,” I slightly nodded my head still feeling the tingling sensation of his lips on my skin.