How could this be possible? I thought I would never see him again.
Yes, I had recognized him in the dreams, in the visions I had had, but I thought it was my imagination using the image of someone I knew I could trust, someone I felt safe with.
But to see him again, after he had saved me from my fate of decapitation, and to know that he was Caelus was completely unexpected.
His dark blue eyes looked me up and down. Every detail of those eyes seemed so familiar, so intimate, as if I had known them since even before I was born. As if those eyes had come into the world for me to look into. His tanned skin, shiny, and without any detail that I could spot as an imperfection, intimidated me.
How could a human be this perfect? Suddenly I felt very disgusting. I was dripping, my hair although kept in a braid, was completely dishevelled. Instead, his black hair, the same shade as Thunder the horse's, wavy but not looking messy was hidden under a hat similar to the one Rayn wore. He took it off the second he noticed that I knew who he was.
It was true, he knew me.
'You're Caelus?'
'We meet again, Princess.'
"Rise Princess" those had been his first words to me.
When he opened the door I thought he was an envoy of the Gods who had come to save me. A miracle person of sorts. That's why I knew my dreams connected to that moment, because he was the person I remembered as part of a miraculous moment.
But now everything had changed.
Did he know I was a princess? Did he know before I did? How had he been in Bieno's kingdom that day to save me? Why?
I knew in an instant.
'Someone hired you to save me, right? That's why you were there that day, that's why you helped me escape. All this time I thought I had doomed you to a terrible fate, all that guilt and it had just been a job for you, right?'
My cheeks caught fire when I saw that he didn't answer me.
He was going to tell me absolutely nothing about what had happened.
He raised his eyebrows and took a step forward, leading me to take a step back. I didn't know if he would attack me, or what I should expect from someone who had been nothing but a big fat liar.
If he knew who I was, then he had also known who I was when Tryx had asked them for help. And yet he hadn't helped me.
'Holy gods, you really are scared of me,' he said smiling sideways and walking in the direction of the table. It amused him to have the power of the situation, to have me baffled, this was all a game to him.
He sat down in one of the chairs and pointed to one of the others with his head.
"You must convince Caelus," Syform had remarked again and again how important it was that he join me on the path to the tree. So I had to swallow my pride, and my thousands of questions, and focus on keeping my promise.
I took a seat in the chair he pointed out to me, right across from him, one at each end, as if we were the heads of an invisible family.
'So, to what do I owe the pleasure of the great savior of magic being on my boat playing with my stuff?' He said with a sarcastic tone that almost made me throw up.
He knew it had been me who had brought the magic back.
He knew more than I did, that was for sure.
'I don't know whether to answer that question, considering you haven't answered any of mine.'
He ran his hand through his hair, tracing the path in his curls.
'No one talks to me like that, but I'm going to make an exception for you because you don't know any better. Let's start over, shall we? Pleased to meet you princess, my name is Caelus and I welcome you to my humble abode.'
Who did he think he was?
He wasn't King of anything but mercenaries. This land did not belong to him. In truth, it belonged to the Kingdoms of Bieno and Crescendo if it had belonged to our ancestors. He was a thief, an usurper.
And I had to show him my respect? Syform was really testing me.
'You may call me Gaia.' Gaia was an unknown person to me, a person I had not yet been able to fully get to know, but I was ready to start feeling like her. I had to be her.
Although he was wary, I noticed that he was surprised by my greeting.
'I thought you would already introduce yourself as Gaia, princess of Crescendo, descendant of Crey, ruler of the Fifth Element, but hey, if you still don't accept who you are, that's your problem, not mine.'
I stood up from my chair quickly.
'Does this amuse you? Look, I don't want to play your mind games or whatever it is you're doing. I just came here to your humble abode to offer you something and I'm not leaving until you accept it. You must accept it. Do I make myself clear?'
He too stood up, reminding me that he was much taller than me, and also much more intimidating.
'I've already ignored your attitude once, I'm doing it again now, but I won't do it a third time. The moment you set foot on this territory, you are under my control, my authority, so either you treat me with due respect, or I will throw you overboard to watch you sink forgotten and alone, little princess. Do I make myself clear?'
I tried to remember Russell's sweet face to calm myself down.
I was doing it for him, for all the innocent inhabitants of the Kingdom of Bieno, for my people of Crescendo, for everyone.
I would put up with Caelus' mistreatment solely and exclusively for them.
'I'm sorry,' I mumbled.
'What did you say?'
I watched him warily, because I knew he had heard me the first time and was just taunting me.
'I said I'm sorry,' I glared at him and I swear for a second I wasn't afraid of him, or hateful, or anything like that. It was like deep down inside I knew this was what I was supposed to do.
He sat back down.
'Tell me what you came here for.'
I was about to sit back down, when a loud knock startled us. The door opened wide and there she was, my dear fairy friend in Caelus' chamber.
'I found you, worm,' she said and walked towards me.
Something came between us though, rather, someone.
'Aurora, what are you doing?' Caelus said to her very calmly. He had moved so quickly from the chair to in front of her and now just stood straight, hands behind his back, facing her.
'That little worm slipped out of my hands, I was about to crush her when Polar decided to make it harder for me. But, you know I love a challenge. She's mine, I found her so I get her reward, well of course I'll share it with you darling, but first, I'll make her suffer endlessly.' She said caressing his face. 'Let's do it together.'
Caelus took her hand, preventing her from continuing the caress and pulled her down to her knees. Aurora fell in front of him and he just reached up to her ear to say something loud enough for me to hear.
'You don't do anything without my permission, you don't think, you don't act, let alone decide. Nothing.' He replied in a stern tone. 'Leave, right now before I rip your wings off, you pretentious insect.'
I thought Aurora would force him to change his mind, that she would control his mind the way she did with me, that she would make him eat his words, but she stayed in that position, fearful, almost trembling at the severity of his words. Caelus still wouldn't let go of her arm, which was practically bent. If he kept holding it in that position he would break it.
I was about to say something when he finally let go.
Aurora fell forward, supporting her body with her hands so that she wouldn't hit the floor as a whole.
How could he get someone as powerful as Aurora to kneel before him?
After a few seconds in that position, she stood up and watched him painfully. Then, her eyes drifted to me and I could feel her murdering me with her gaze. I thought she would control me again, but she only turned around.
'Do whatever you want, she's just a filthy human, she's not worth it,' she said before leaving the room.
Caelus straightened his jacket. He wore black leather pants and a shirt of the same color. His jacket was dark brown and reached almost to his feet. His boots appeared to be leather as well, and matched both his jacket and his hat.
He took his seat again and for the first, and I hoped last time, I said something sincere to him.
'Thank you.'
He nodded his head without showing whether he was really grateful or not.
From the way Aurora had treated him, I could tell they were more than just partners in crime. And yet he had stood up for me against her. Gods, he had punished and humiliated her for what she had done to me. To her own "friend."
If that was how he treated his friends, I didn't want to find out how he would treat his enemies.
'So what did you come here for Princess?'
He wasn't going to stop calling me that, and to avoid another argument, knowing now what he was capable of, I just told him what I had come to tell him.
'I want you to come with me to find the Tree of Life.'