Hero's Retirement Doesn't Go As Planned

Chapter 6

"It's not like I have a choice," Asha sighed. "I just don't want to repeat my past mistake..."

Yulvia sat beside her friend gently. "You cannot change what happened, Asha. But now you can influence the future."

The hero was silent. Her head buried in her hands. Reliving the horror of that day six years ago.

"Honestly when I recieved the oracle, I was worried," Yulvia continued. Her hand patting Asha's tense back, the muscles slowly loosening under her soothing palm. "I don't know if life as queen will agree with you, but it can't be any harder than fighting beasts all day, can it?"

Asha snorted, but after a quiet moment she gave her friend a look of doubt. "What do I know of being a queen?"

"Well, you knew nothing of being a hero when you first got here, but you adapted well, didn't you?" Yulvia pointed out. That's fair, Asha nodded, it took time, but she did it in the end. "I see happiness in your future, dear friend, that much is for certain."

Asha sighed. "I hope your vision is worth its salt."

Yulvia snorted, "Well, of course. When am I ever wrong?"

=×=×=×=

"What shall we do now that the nobles know of the oracle? What if they spread malicious rumours?" Jonas asked his liege.

"We need to get the jump ahead," the king nodded to his faithful right hand. "Deliver the news to the papers. They had better make it seem like the pairing of the centuary."

"Yes, your highness, I shall see it done," but before he could excuse himself to see to his task, the king cleared his throat.

"What do you think of her? The hero?"

Lord Naz blinked at the ruler. At the slight nervous shuffle of his feet and the pink dusting his cheeks, "I think you both make a good match. She is straightforward and doesn't mince her words, even in the face of the aristocrats. And she is much more fairer than I had expected. I believe even the nobles were shocked by her beauty."

Mattius smiled into his hand, "She's quite something, isn't she?"

The aide nodded. "Not to mention she makes your highness laugh, which is rare," Jonas added making Mattius halt.

She did make him laugh, didnt she? It was just so refreshing meeting one so bold. Who did not care for others opinions and said what was on her mind as it was. Mattius found himself warming up to the thoughts of marriage. An idea he had been opposed to, but now found himself excited about. His demenour made Jonas see how his king was very much interested at marrying the hero. 

A good match indeed, Jonas smiled as he made his way to carry out his liege's orders.