Odette's POV.
She was more than glad that she survived, especially getting help from the Moniyan Princess herself. She didn't know who her allies were, but it was time for her to make new friends than sitting still in her swan castle all day. It was ruined already anyway. Some parts of it were completely broken, but some are still standing--well, barely.
She went back inside to observe how many rooms remained, which was most likely broken. To her surprise, a lot of them were still in decent condition. That's odd, she thought. Knowing Alice, she would destroy everything mercilessly. It was still a traumatic tragedy for her nonetheless, but if Alice truly wanted her dead, she could have done it so easily. No matter how hurt she was in this very moment, Odette knew this was only the beginning.
"Odette?" Silvanna called from behind. "You can't possibly stay here."
Odette was silent, hesitating to speak her next words. Half of her heart told her to stay. It was her home, regardless of how ruined it was. The other half told her to move away and stay in Moniyan, where she could have better days for the rest of her life. But who was she to stay there? She had a castle, she had her own region, and most importantly, she had her swans. Nobody would take care of them if she left.
"I can't leave," she simply said in response.
"Why not?" she asked back, following her tracks inside the swan castle. "It's, well, not quite a comfortable place to stay anymore."
"Oh, but it is to me," Odette admitted as she turned to face the princess, her voice soft and gentle. "A castle isn't just a building. It needs company to fulfill its beauty and strength and everything in between. I am loyal to mine, as you are loyal to yours."
Silvanna gave her a heartwarming smile. "You are as pure as you look, Lady Odette. Don't ever change."
"As are you, Your Highness," Odette complimented back. She accepted her sincere words, as a little grin formed on her face.
"Are you sure about this?" Silvanna reassured. "If anything happened again, you are more than welcome to stay in my castle."
"Why wouldn't I be sure?" Odette said. "It's my castle, I am responsible to take care of it no matter how broken it may seem."
"Then I shall see you soon," Silvanna replied. "May the Lord of Light be with you, Princess Odette."
"I appreciate your prayers," Odette thanked. "And I'm happy to meet your friends!" she smiled delightfully, giving them full attention and a small little wave for them to know she was a friend.
A short, orange-haired woman in a high ponytail smiled back in response. "I love your swans, Princess Odette," she said.
"Why, thank you!" Odette exclaimed. "They truly are majestic, are they not?"
"No doubts."
"We should be training by now," the princess interjected. "And we need to figure out a plan. If Alice is starting her voyage to our lands, it is up to us to defeat her." Her face was stern. She was born a heroine. However, Odette realized something odd that the princess might not notice.
"Your Highness," she started. "Don't you think it's strange that you did not have a single clue about this attack? I believe you received my letter, yes?"
"My friend Fanny did, actually," she admitted. "I knew it from my prophecy's visions, but there was indeed no sign of any abyssal demons. Everything seemed to be alright back in the empire. I'm sorry we came late."
Odette wanted to speak, but even she was mystified.
She observed Silvanna, who was walking around Azure Lake, trying to figure something out about this peculiar situation. She seemed to discover something when she touched the air, her fingers were covered in blood red dust.
"Your Highness...?"
"It's an enchantment," Silvanna muttered. "Alice had put an enchantment under her attacks."
"We don't have much time, then," said a blond man wearing a long blue jacket, mixed with light and dark colors, along with a pair of huge black boots. "Princess Odette, I think you'd be an amazing mage to slay our enemies. It'd be lovely if you were our ally."
Odette wanted to thank him for giving such an empowering compliment, but she saw a short leonin smiling proudly behind him, hinting himself that he was also, in fact, a mage.
"We shall see who's the better mage," Harith joked, folding his hands in an adorable manner. Odette released a giggle.
"I think it is clear who's better," she answered. "You are a leonin, you know more about magic more than I ever will."
"But of course I do!" Harith said proudly.
"Harith!" Alucard scolded which made the little cat look down, pretending to feel guilty. He probably wasn't. Odette giggled once again.
"You should probably go back," she suggested. "I'll be fine here."
They waved farewell, leaving Odette standing alone outside her castle gates, wondering how it was to live in Moniyan Empire; with all the fancy dresses to wear, lavish bedrooms to sleep in, and a grand training chamber to practice her magic. Despite the dreamy thoughts, Odette would never abandon her swan castle; her pride, her source of joy, and her only home.
Odette switched her attention to her pretty swans, swimming gracefully along the clear, sparkling blue lake. It was an unbelievably huge lake, and she did have a lot of swans. No wonder the Azure Lake had always been such a refreshing sight for everyone. The water, the swans and their cygnets, and every drop of magic that Odette had summoned to beautify its view...
Until she saw blood on the far side of the lake.
Lancelot's POV.
The pain wouldn't stop stinging him. Deep wounds shredded his weak body, burning every inch of it like fire. He groaned, hopelessly wishing the pain would vanish. He couldn't think of anything else, just the hurt he was suffering, like it was the only thing to ever exist.
He found a short tree nearby, releasing every bit of his remaining energy just to sit under. For once he really wanted mercy, begging to the gods and the Lord of Light to recover him from this agony, even though he knew damn well he deserved every single wound he received because of his arrogance. He had attacked a tribe of innocent elves, underestimating their strength, but they united themselves, giving back his damage he gave to them in an instant. They were innocent, but he was drunk, too drunk to think thoroughly.
He couldn't hold it back. The pain was far too much. He felt his head floating in the air, each and every part of his body was completely numb, and who knew how much blood flowed out of his body. He was ready for death to come and take his soul to hellfire.
He was a sinful man, but instead of witnessing the devil, he saw a beautiful woman figure right before his very eyes.
"Are... you... an... angel...?" he murmured every word through his short breaths, catching as much air as he could to survive.
"W-what? I'm certainly not... but are you alright, sir?" she asked warily. He wanted to tell her he did not deserve to see such a perfect sight, but all that came out was a groan.
"No, no, no..." he heard her sobbed. "I'll—uh, I'll take you inside. It's not that far I promise!"
He didn't know who she was or where she was taking him, but for once he believed that she was no enemy. Wherever he was right now, he wanted to be safe. He wanted to recover, and once he felt better he wanted to rebuild his life and start over, begging to the Lord of Light to guide his way from his lost tracks.
His eyes were still closed, but thankfully enough he was starting to feel conscious enough that he truly realized he survived the catastrophe, caused by his own egotism. She was still carrying him as she panted all along the way. He heard her footsteps going up the stairs, then a sound of a door creaked before him. He then felt a cool, soft, and cozy surface touching his back, making him shudder for a second.
"You're going to be alright," the lady said calmly. Her voice was crystal clear, soft enough to melt his frozen heart. She had to be an angel, he thought, for there was no real person who could ever have such a perfect voice and touch, let alone her face. Her face. how beautiful could she be? Lancelot wanted to open his eyes; he wanted to see her so bad. His hands touched hers, her palm was like cotton. His hands then traveled softly up to her arm, then her neck, then her face. She held him back like he was the only person who mattered to her. Whoever she was, he wanted to thank her for being his hero.
He opened his eyes, his vision was still blurry. Slowly he saw her figure, and he wasn't wrong. She was a gorgeous woman. Her hair was light auburn with small braids around the edges of her forehead along with a unique diadem, but her white dress was badly stained, filled with faded silver embroidery that traced the shape of her upper body. Something must had happened here. Something terrible.
"You're safe now," she said. "Nothing can harm you."
Lancelot was now conscious, but he still felt just as weak. He could now look at her with clear visions, which made him in awe of her pure beauty.
"You're in the swan castle, sir, and right now you are lying in my bed," she told him.
"Swan castle?" he repeated. "Are you... the princess?"
"There's no need to address me that way," she blushed, still holding his hand. "The most important thing now is you."
Lancelot could not help but smile. She was beautiful inside and out, which made her even more of an angel.
"May I know your name?" he asked.
"Odette," she said. "and you are...?"
"Lancelot of the Baroque family," he said. "You may call me Lancelot." He sat down, straightening his position to admire her better. She released her hand from his, looking at him as well.
"You're a hero, Odette," he said. "I thank you for saving my life. I don't even think I deserve to live after that tragedy—"
"Hush now," she said, slightly whispering. "Don't say that to yourself. You're a young man, you still have so much to achieve." She touched his cheek with her delicate hands that sent him shivers down his spine.
"Rest, Lancelot," she said kindly. "I'll find the cure."
***
Alice's POV.
"Filthy cowards!"
She was sitting on her dark throne, her left leg resting on top of the other. The abyss was filled with nothing more than darkness and emptiness, with a hint of evil dust spreading out in every single area. Alice glared at her blood demons, for they returned to the abyss with so much dismay. Her scarlet dress flowed all the way down to the surface of hell as she was tapping her overly sharp nails on the throne. Her eyes was wine red as a tiny source of light from the far side of the abyss reflected them, giving an even more terrifying stare. The queen of blood was ready to kill them at any given time.
"Clearly I demanded you to destroy her castle and bring her to me, and yet here you are, returned with nothing but disappointment." She gestured her hand in an imperious manner.
"Apologies, my Queen, but the situation was... not as we expected," a demon admitted, not daring to look at her directly.
"Well, you do know what happens to anyone who disobeyed me, don't you?"
"But she was there, my Queen," he continued, certain of his words. Alice was starting to get suspicious about who he was referring to.
She inhaled deeply, preparing herself for the upcoming rage inside her wicked body.
"Who?"
"The Moniyan Princess herself, my Queen," he revealed. "and... she had company."
Alice closed her eyes and took another breath, much deeper this time, and let out a small growl as she clenched her hands, filled with hatred and revenge. She opened her eyes, her creepy red eyes glowed, as if it was the only source of light among pure darkness around her.
Silvanna.
Alice could feel fire igniting inside her just by thinking of the half-witted whore; silver-haired and a reckless fool, but was blessed with beauty. Pathetic, she thought.
"Your jobs are done, weaklings," she stated. "But unfortunately you did not accomplish your mission. May the hellfire burn you into ashes." She summoned an enormous fire by her incredible dark magic abilities, knocking them off which made them fall all the way down to the deepest abyssal trench that only Alice truly knew what was inside.
She quickly stood up from her large throne and walked to a different place within the abyss to give another command to a trustworthy ally. She had better plans, and this time, she was certain that her devilish idea would be her triumph. Alice wanted her victory, and she would stop at nothing to gain what she wanted: the Land of Dawn itself.
She arrived in her destination as she teleported her way down to the steep tracks. This part of the abyss showed a rack filled with potions and books about dark magic, with a large black cauldron placed right in the middle. A witch was in charge of this territory, with her purple abyssal friends to accompany her while she was working.
"I have a task for you, Selena," Alice said.
"Lovely to see you, my Queen," she bowed, her voice was hauntingly beautiful. "Say it, and it is yours."
"Travel up to the surface of the Moniyan Empire and summon an abyssal trap," she ordered. "The princess is ready for us, and so must we."
"But, all by myself?" she asked.
"The less, the better. Drink a potion and transform your appearance. Pretend to be one of them. Besides, nobody would notice your little self."
Selena smiled widely, flipping her bright pink hair. Alice thought she had always been a cheeky little creature; seductive, cunning, and wild, especially when the demon inside her showed up, tearing enemies to shreds.
"Your wish is my command, Your Majesty," she agreed, starting to work on potions of disguise. Alice let out an evil laugh, knowing exactly how this would end up according to her nasty plans. She was ready to lead her abyssal tribe to victory.
You are nothing to me, puny princess.
-
[ an; here's the next chapter! first time ever writing from the abyss's point of view, i hope it's a decent one :') anyway i had so much fun writing this! enjoy xx ]
xoxo, cel.