Quinn
It was an hour later when I, as well as Aldric and about twenty soldiers, were back at the dungeon, and Theo and Vincent led us down to the lowest floor. I felt my stomach churning sickly at the stench of the stale air, and it wasn't long before we came into what could only be another prison hall. If I had thought the first was horrible, this one was worse. All these people were at death's door, and I felt my knees go weak and my heart ache.
"We need to do whatever we can to save them, Quinn," Aldric said beside me.
I nodded. "Yes, we have to do whatever we can to save them," I said. This time, it wasn't saving them from the guards or being imprisoned or whatever it was they were subjected to here. Clearly, it wasn't working as slave miners digging all day. These, I could tell were different. They were subjected to something far more deprived and unholy and shocking. When I saw the animals in the next prison hall, caged and beaten, some already dead for many months, I knew what it was.
Experimentation. Unethical human and animal experimentation, and undoubtedly to do with magic and spells and the likes.
I went over to the pair of pups, burrowing their heads against their dead mother wolf. I could see that they had clearly been tested on, and beaten, too, with slash marks on their furry skin. Reaching my hand in between the bars of the cage, I said softly, "Hey there, little pups." I gently stroked one's side, and it jumped and growled and bared its fangs at me. "It's okay," I said. "You're hurt. Let me heal you." I released my mana, and within moments, the pup was completely healed, and it looked just a little bit confused. I turned my attention to the other one, I believe his brother, next, and healed him, too. This one was gentler, and the moment it could, it jumped up and wobbled over to me, whimpering. I supposed it must be starving.
"You're hungry, eh?" I said. "No worries. Here." I summoned my magic and out came a small pile of soft canine food specifically for starved, malnourished pups filled with protein and vitamins and minerals as well as a bowl of water. I hadn't a clue if they could eat it or not, and in sudden panic, I asked Vicky, "Can they eat that?" But of course, it was too late as the pair started munching.
Vicky said, You have an appraisal skill, you know, so perhaps use that before feeding them anything?
I chuckled. "Yes, of course. Why do I keep forgetting that?"
I heard an exasperated sigh from Vicky, who then said, These brothers are White Fenrir. They have no names, but they are majestic beasts with great strength and can use magic once they become adults. Feeding them any type of food rich in protein is fine. They love all sorts of meat.
I widened my eyes. "They're that amazing?" This was probably why they had been captured and experimented upon in the first place. "Then making them pets would be useful, right? Plus, they need family. Okay, we'll adopt them. I've always wanted puppies."
"I see we're adopting the pups?" a voice said from behind me. I jolted and turned to see Aldric. "They are quite cute."
I stood and said, "And the children would love them. That is, after we've tamed them. They are wild creatures, aren't they?"
He nodded.
"Perhaps Lilly could help. She's a monster tamer."
"Perhaps," Aldric said.
I spent the next hour healing the animals, mostly majestic beasts, that were still alive, and after feeding them, the soldiers took them up and transported them into the airship. When I returned to the other prison hall, most of the one hundred or so civilians there had already been treated and also taken to the bus on stretchers. I rolled up my sleeves and started healing those who still needed treatment, and I tried not to let it get to me at the sight of the injuries. On the outside, it was awful—with slashes and stabs as well as large needle marks with dark bruises and gashes that wouldn't heal—and I knew that on the inside, it was worse. Once they were healed, they'd stared at themselves, both confused and stunned, and despite that they were physically fine now, their mental state was far from it.
After healing the last one, a young woman named Rufina, with fiery-red hair, I helped her onto the stretcher. She held on to my hand tightly as she said, her voice soft and shaking, "You'll be with us, my lady? You won't let those bastards torture us no more, my lady?"
I clasped my hand over hers and firmly said, "Those bastards are no more. And I and Lord Aldric will never allow anyone to do such horrid things to you and the others ever again. You have my word."
She seemed relieved as she nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Thank you. Thank you."
I sighed, my heart heavy as I watched the soldiers carry her away. Maria wrapped her arms around me, and resting her chin on my shoulder, she said, "I hope we've found and saved them all."
"Me, too," I said.
It was three hours later when camp was cleaned up and the civilians ushered into the airship, and as we floated into the sky, the people gasped in astonishment as they stood at the viewing deck.
"We're flying," a man said, shaking his head. "We're really flying in the air."
"It's magic," a woman said, clasping her hands together.
The able children waved down at Vincent and the men who were left behind to further investigate the dungeon as well as clean up and fortify the place. In our minds, if it was that well-guarded—if having hundreds of men patrolling the place wasn't considered well-guarded, then I didn't know what was—then it could only mean one thing—there was something precious down below, and we had to find out what it was.
Though it was a little packed in the aircraft, we managed to find a space for tables to start serving a very late lunch, and within no time, the place was filled with the sounds of eating as well as, yes, crying. Tears were rolling down on almost everyone's face, and I chuckled. What was it with the people in this world? Why did they cry when they ate delicious food? Perhaps Vicky had put in an extra ingredient in the food whenever I conjured it with my magic?
There is no extra ingredient, came Vicky's voice in my head. The people are just not used to eating these types of food.
Well, I supposed she was right. These types of food might be normal to those back on Earth, but to the people living on Eseron, they were heavenly. Of course, chicken rice curry was always delicious and hearty and easy to please just about anyone, especially the children.
I glanced over at Lilly—the only One-Horn Demon here—sitting with Johnny, Zach, and Lana. She was enjoying the food tremendously, and Zach couldn't stop licking his lips. This rice curry was the sweet kind, after all.
As for the severely malnourished, it was Thai curry coconut and lentils soup, with the soup pureed to a fine liquid for easy eating and digesting. Most loved it as it was creamy and very tasty, and of course, they had never had anything like it before. Then again, there was no such thing as curry or coconut in this world, was there?
During the whole journey, those at the viewing deck refused to leave their spot simply because they enjoyed the view, and now and again, the children would say, "Look at that mountain!" Or "Look over there!" Or "Everything looks so small from here."
Four hours later, we flew past the ruined town, and despite it appearing insignificant from up here, it still brought a sense of sadness to the Norsewood people who had once had their home there. Then in the short distance, the sight of the lodge appeared, and noise of excitement could be heard echoing across the airship.
"Look! A palace! A palace!" Johnny said. "Mama, a palace."
Lilly looked up at me and asked, "Are we going to be living in a palace?"
"Eventually," I said. "But that's just Norsewood Lodge."
"Norsewood Lodge?" Lilly asked.
I nodded. "Everyone will be staying there until the town is rebuilt again."
"Everyone?" Lana asked. "Does that mean we're allowed to stay there, too, my lady?"
I chuckled. "Where else will you be staying if it's not there?"
"But we're not Norsewood people," Lana said. "And we're not... human. We're Valley Elves."
"Whether you're human, elves, or dwarves," I looked at Lilly. "Or One-Horn Demons, you're welcome and will be staying in the lodge." Turning to Aldric behind me, I said. "Isn't that right, my lord?"
He nodded. "Everyone is staying in Norsewood Lodge."
Lana sighed. She seemed relieved at hearing that, and she wasn't alone. Most of the civilians were pleased at hearing the words from the lord of the land himself.
"Why, I've never seen such a beautiful palace in all of my life," Les said. "It's the grandest, even more so than the one in the nation of Roven, and Roven is one of the richest kingdoms in Eseron."
"How is that built?" Klein said, astounded. "The buildings are so intricate. And is that glass as a roof? It must be very expensive and require very talented craftsmen."
"The craftsman is Vicky," I said.
"Vicky?" Les said. "But Lord Colt mentioned it's a skill. How is a skill able to construct such an extravagant thing that even the likes of us Elves couldn't even fathom?"
Well, I admit I had no answer to that. I said, "Magic?"
The airship descended, and there the hype of excitement increased by tenfold, with the children jumping up and down, saying, "We're going to be living in a palace! We're going to be living in a palace!"
"Look at all the people!" Johnny said, pointing down.
Indeed, there were a lot of people down below, waving. They must have undoubtedly been notified by the security team and were now here to receive us.
When the door opened and the stairs slid out, I could hear the lodge residents cheering and shouting, "My lord, the dragon slayer! My lord, the dragon slayer!"
I widened my eyes and turned to Aldric, who looked just as stunned as I felt. How the heck did they know Aldric had slayed a dragon?
"Vicky?" I said, chuckling nervously. "You didn't do what I think you did, did you?"
What? Airing the fight scenes on the televisions in the lodge?
"Yes?" I said.
Of course, I did, she stated nonchalantly. The Norsewood people need to know that their lord has slain a dragon, indeed the first man to have done so in all of Eseron.
"But what if Aldric didn't manage to slay that dragon?" I said. "What if he failed and..." I couldn't finish the sentence for I refused to even think about the prospect of Aldric losing his life while fighting the behemoth.
Relax. I edited all the scenes, cut out the nasty bits, and I only aired it after Lord Aldric defeated the dragon.
I sighed in relief. "Thank God."
Thank God? Thank Vicky is what you should be saying. Now, the people love Lord Aldric and have more faith in him than ever. Your mana pool just got pumped with an enormous amount that even makes me breathless. If we keep going at this rate, it won't be long until you'll reach the infinity level.
"Sounds great, but let's not think about this infinity pool of mana yet," I said. "Now, it's more important to get the new people back on their feet."
Well, yes, of course.
I said, "Looks like we'll be damn busy for the next week or so, again."
Indeed.
Turning to Aldric, I said, "Shall we head down?"
He nodded. Leaning in close, he said softly into my ear, "Thank you for demanding to come with me to rescue the civilians. I love you."
I felt delight washing over my body, his warm breath fanning on my skin, sending tantalizing sensations to dance down my spine. I said, "You're welcome. Just so you know, as the lady of the land, I will be demanding to do more things with you, even if it's dangerous. That's what husbands and wives do, we communicate and help each other during times of crisis."
"I'll work harder to become stronger, to protect you when that time of crisis comes."
"I'll work on growing my physical strength so I can protect myself, too." I grinned at him. "And yes, I love you, too, Aldric."
His eyes softened and he kissed me on the forehead.
"Can we go down yet?" Johnny asked eagerly.
I chuckled and then said, "Yes."
He went rushing down the stairs, followed by Zach and Lana and then Les and his men and Klein and his men, their eyes wide as they admired the building up ahead. Hand in hand, Aldric and I descended the stairs toward the thick crowd of people hailing at us while behind us were Maria and Elizabeth, the latter carrying Lilly, who said, as she pointed to Norsewood Lodge, "Home."
***
END OF SEASON 1
Thank you so much for reading Apparently, I'm the Infamous Earl's Legendary Bride. That's it for Season 1 (Books 1 and 2). Season 2 (Book 3) will start in May 2024.
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