The trip was amazing and Ara was somehow starting to go back to her usual routine, she would go to the training grounds and spar with the knights but the difference was that she was actually the one to teach them.
Well, she did say that she had taught the legendary swordsmaster Paseton Robane how to wield a sword so I guess, this was pretty much normal for her.
Not to mention, Felix had been training very hard these days and been tagging along Ara, it seemed like she and he had had talked about something that made him follow her like a lost puppy.
Ara had also started going to her office and she started looking at the documents, though she didn't recall any of the details yet, she was still quick to catch up.
Well, she was the one who was set to be the Emperor of this empire at one point so, I shouldn't be surprised at the pace with how she worked.
Dad was worried about giving her work though but since she was doing well for the past few days he let her be. He was rather thinking that if she resumed working she might just recall something and that would be helpful.
I was used to visit her office and sat watching her while I tried to study. She would have tea with me and Dad and slowly it felt as if everything was getting better.
Until that one night.
I was in my room when the maid came rushing in.
"P-Princess, Her Highness Amara!" She heaved and my eyes widened.
"What's wrong? What happened to Ara?!"
I rushed to Ara's room and found several maids outside the room, I opened the door and found Ara inside sitting alone on the ground everything around her was shattered to pieces. It felt as if a hurricane had blown through her room.
She was sitting in complete darkness and I could hear her ragged breathing. It seemed like she was in pain.
"Ara?" I called as I took a step inside but Lily held my hand.
"No, Princess." She stopped me.
"I-It's better if we leave H-Her Highness alone for now."
"What are you saying?!"
"What's going on here?" Dad arrived with Felix and stopped beside me.
He looked inside the room and his eyes went slightly wide.
"What happened here?" He asked.
"We-We were cleaning close by when we heard H-Her Highness shouting, we rushed over to see if she was all right but when we got here... the doors were closed and there were sounds of everything being broken inside... We asked for her to open the door but... The room had already turned like this..." Hannah explained and I looked inside Ara's room.
Dad and I looked at each other before we stepped inside the room instantly feeling something crunching beneath our feet.
The only other sound that was assaulting the silence was Ara's ragged breaths which sounded like an injured tiger's.
"Don't come inside." She spoke in a low guttaral voice making me go stiff.
"Ara... are you in pain again?" Dad asked.
"Leave me alone." She spoke in the same tone and Dad and I exchanged a look.
"Ara, you can tell us." I spoke but she looked up and I could feel as if I was standing only a step away from death. Her hair hung over her right eye and her left eye glowed with fiery blue hue, her lips were curled back revealing her teeth as she snarled.
"I said, leave me alone!" She shouted and in the next second I and Dad were thrown out and the doors shut closed.
I coughed a little feeling the great pressure on my chest and felt a light groan behind me to see Felix who had cushioned the impact for me.
"A-Are you alright, Princess?" He asked and I got down.
"Yes," I looked at Daddy who was staring at the closed doors.
"Just... what happened to her?"
There were some guttural and growling sounds from within which only lasted for a few more minutes before everything turned quiet.
I and Dad reluctantly returned to our rooms while Felix and a few maids were around Ara's room in case she opened the doors but the whole night nothing happened. The doors to Ara's room where closed shut and nobody knew what to do.
Just when was Lucas going to come back?! It hurt to see Ara in so much pain that was making her seem more like an animal these days!
THIRD PERSON POV.
Athelinda had been trying her best to battle with the growing headache which made her feel as though her brain was swelling within her skull and if that wasn't enough she was starting to hear a voice that sounded like it came from within her.
Athelinda had decided that she would try and go back to her usual routine that so that she would try and recall something.
She trained with the knights and ended up becoming their instructor. Felix was more than eager to spar with her despite the fact that he always lost but he unmistakably felt the growing power when he used to spar with her and followed her precise instructions.
She wasn't just a 15 year old child for him anymore, rather she was the woman who had shaped the legendary swordsmaster of the history.
Athelinda had also started with her office work, something that even in her time she was well versed with. Despite the changes of 200 years she was managing to relate everything to the present well.
She was starting to take her responsibilities as the Crown Princess once again.
She could still recall the day when she was being pronounced as the Crown Princess, 200 years ago. She had been happy but there was a sense of guilt within her. She had promised her brother that she would make him the Emperor and stand beside him but, somehow she had ended up becoming the Crown Princess.
She knew Carax, her brother Athernitas wouldn't be happy with it, he would hate her for this and she had tried to make it up to him but at the end she just had to lose her life.
Athelinda shook her head to push those past life memories out of her head, she knew she would have nothing good with recalling them, what happened was in the past but for the present she had to gather power to face Athernitas again.
She had a solid evidence of him still being around and not one but two of them. One was Athanasia's blue ribbon and second was a brooch with a ruby on it, both of them were imbued with three people's mana, one was of Athernitas, another was of an unfamiliar person and third was of someone whom she had known very well. She still found it hard to believe as of how his mana would be there. He was supposed to be her close friend.
Was what the book of Athernitas said correct? Did the Mage really become Athernitas' companion after her death?
"Ridiculous. He must have stolen that mana as well." Athelinda said as she sat in her room feeling one of the massive headaches and suddenly she felt the aching in her chest.
She gasped for air as she felt her heart throbbing painfully.
"Just what the fuck is this?... This black magic!"
Suddenly, a presence stood before her, someone who made her eyes go wide. A pale faced creature with black hair and black eyes and glowing red pupils.
"My, my, look at you suffering so much." He teased and Athelinda glared at him.
"Ah, I liked the earlier version, that child seemed so adorable." His snake like tongue slithered out licking his lips and Athelinda clenched her fists.
"What a spectacle! To think I'd be greeted by a demon of all things." She said and the demon smirked.
"What deal did you and Athernitas make in exchange for my life?" She asked and the demon laughed.
"Oh, my dear. Athernitas? Who is that?" He said making Athelinda's eyebrows furrow.
"It was you who made a deal with me." He said making her scowl at him.
"What?"
"You took away the curse on your Father and made a deal with me seven years ago, child. You don't remember it but I do."
"Are you trying to fool me?"
Athelinda was confused, she knew the consequences of making a deal with a demon yet, she had done what?!
"No, dear. I've been really~ honest. After all, I had seen everything... so sad to know that you were betrayed in your past life. Yet, you kept up... All those gathered lifetimes and this mana... You were quite a good offer."
Athelinda's head was already pounding making her anger grow and the demon wasn't helping it, she had had enough of his nonsense.
"Ya," Athelinda's intimidating voice cut through the air and the demon tilted his head to one side.
"Do you even know who I am and what my mana is capable of?" She glared at the demon whose expression slowly turned hard.
"You must have thought you could fool my ignorant self from seven years ago but currently, I'm standing before you as Athelinda de Alger Obelia. I am stronger than the likes of you." Athelinda spoke with such authority that the demon grimaced.
"I thought something like this would happen that's why I came to see you tonight." The demon said as his appearance changed the dark red flames poured out of his body and his skin burnt off leaving behind the strong stench of burning flesh.
The skeletal demon stood in front of Athelinda with a sick grin on his face and the black shackles slithering like snakes around his hideous form.
"I've come to take what belongs to me." He said and Athelinda gathered her mana.
"There's nothing in this place that belongs to you."
The demon swung the shackles and she jumped away avoiding the blow which made the tiles where she stood crack. She created an aura sword and dashed towards him, he swung the shackles again wrapping them around Athelinda's aura sword.
The sudden flash of burning pain ripped inside her body and she let go of her aura sword making it disappear in an instant.
"Giving up? But I haven't even started yet." The demon smirked and the two fought again.
Athelinda's mana was strong, too strong for the demon to handle it even with his full power.
The shackles made contact with Athelinda's body burning her flesh and making the stench fill the air but she was still able to rest blows on the demon because her mana was that of a person who still had life.
"You will suffer the consequences of breaking the contract!" The demon shouted as he swung the chain and it wrapped around Athelinda's throat slamming her head into the floor making her grit her teeth and hiss. The scent of her blood clogged in her nostrils and she felt the warmth ooze out of her skull down her face sticking her hair to the right side of her face.
"Now, I've got you." He smirked but the deadly glint in her eyes didn't fade.
The sudden wind whooshed around the room and the demon looked around, Athelinda used an ounce of her mana and the divine power she had to throw the demon off its feet and across the room.
The demon gasped choking out the blood as black as its existence and it sat leaning against the wall while Athelinda sat on the ground surrounded by the ruins of everything in her room.
She heard Athanasia's voice and everyone outside her room as she breathed heavily. She had never had this kind of intense fight with a demon before, the last demon she had defeated was on a battlefield but this one was a stronger one. Besides, there were a lot of people around which meant that she had to save their lives along with defeating the demon.
She had the knowledge that demons and the dark energy was in reality weaker than the light mana of the living beings and the divine power. It was just that they were better at scaring others that's why they gained an upper hand.
Athelinda wasn't scared that was why she was able to hold up the fight, and she knew she was strong enough to make this demon run back to Hell with its tail between its legs.
The demon wheezed and Athelinda turned her eye to look at him.
"I... sense him..." He said and she heard Claude's, her father's voice.
The demon chuckled, "Guess I should head back to him... He was my original prey after all."
Athelinda saw her father and her sister at the door and then at the demon who was struggling to get up.
"Don't come inside." She spoke in a low guttaral voice as she saw them at the door. If they entered the demon would most likely succeed in taking over Claude again and that would put Ara's efforts to waste.
"Ara... are you in pain again?" Claude asked, the concern in his voice made Athelinda clench her teeth.
"Leave me alone." She spoke in the same tone.
"Ara, you can tell us." She heard Athanasia's voice.
"Two of them..." Athelinda could see the demon standing now ready to launch over to her father and her sister.
No!
Athelinda lifted her head and glared at the two with one of her most venomous looks.
"I said, leave me alone!" She shouted and used her mana to push them away from the door and closed the doors just before the demon could go back to Claude.
Athelinda put a protective spell over the door and the demon turned and glared at her.
"You... You little bitch!" He shouted as he dashed to her with his shackles swinging wildly around the room.
Athelinda released a low sigh before she casted the spell of purification around her right arm.
"Go back to the shit hole you crawled out from!" She grimaced before her arm shot ahead and pierced through the attacking demon's chest making it wheeze.
"Ugh..." It growled and Athelinda yanked her hand back with the black heart of the demon in her hand. The slimy black blood dripped down her hand before the heart crumbled and blew away like ashes.
The demon's body started to crumble filling the air with the strong stench of rotting flesh.
"Y-You will face the c-consequences." It spoke through its gurgling as the black blood flowed down its mouth.
It fell to his knees and its body crumbled away like a sand statue, Athelinda sat in her spot watching as the black remains of the demon slowly disappeared and she breathed a sigh of relief.
The overwhelming amount of exhaustion seemed to have started to pressurize her as she tried to stand up but fell down again.
She looked at the two portraits on the walls, they were ripped. She used the leftover mana and returned them back to their original state and stared at them for a long moment. The portrait of herself with her father and sister and the second portrait of her mother from this life.
She stared at them before eyelids slid closed and she was drowned into the deep oblivion.
***
THIRD PERSON POV.
"Whoa..."
"That was gruesome."
"She's cool, way stronger than me."
"You're not going to fight like this."
The younger female turned to look at her companion before sighing.
"Yeah, no. I like my fights clean. I don't like being drenched in blood and ash."
The older lady sighed, "You're just like him."
The younger female hummed, "I'll take that as a compliment."
"Besides, will she be okay?"
"Yeah, she's the strongest person. She'll be fine besides, it's almost time for Lucas to go back so, he'll look after everything."
"Did he get what he was looking for?"
"Yep, now, all we have to do is wait for them. They'll be here soon." The younger female lied down on the cool grass and her companion looked at her.
"Do you miss them?"
"Hm? I see them everyday like this, I'm fine."
The soft hand brushed over the young girl's head and she felt the rigid walls that she'd made around her heart shuddering. There was no way she would be able to keep her tough act before this person.
She released a sigh, "Yeah, I miss them."
An enchanting smile spread over her companion's breathtaking face.
"I'm sure they miss you too."
"They don't even know that I'm almost dead- Ow!" The young girl cried as she felt the strong pain as her ear was being pinched.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Let go, please!" She cried as she tried to make her companion let go of her poor ear.
"The next time you speak such nonsense I'm going to pull your ears out." The lady let go of the younger one's ear.
"Ow..."
***
Hello everyone!
Ahem, ahem... For those who loved the demon Berserif...
Hope you guys won't kill me instead.
Anyways, thank you all for voting and also for your wonderful comments, I really love reading them.
I hope you like this chapter and again... Berserif has just gone home to hell guys, demons don't die, that's a real fact.
Tell me how you find this chapter.
And, have a great day guys!