Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

Drayce returned to the royal palace, while the silver-haired elf called Yorian disappeared among the trees. Despite the goodwill consistently shown by the elf, Drayce still didn't trust him enough to allow him to see his wife.

With how mysterious people were after her powers, it would be more prudent to keep her away from strangers, especially supernatural beings.

After Drayce returned to the King's study, he summoned Slayer to return. The knight hurriedly left the Queen's residence as soon as he got his message.

"Your Majesty." Slayer bowed to the King sitting behind his desk and asked without delay, "What happened? Did you catch them?"

Drayce nodded.

"Where are they? Did you put them in prison, Your Majesty? Let me start the interrogation as soon as--"

"You can relax, Slayer," Drayce commented, staring at his knight who looked impatient to get information. It was an expected reaction against those who were deemed to bring harm to the royal family.

Slayer took a deep breath. "Pardon my rudeness."

"They are not a threat to us," Drayce said and narrated everything that transpired to Slayer.

As someone who had never heard of Agartha, Slayer somehow found it difficult to believe it, but since they came from Drayce's mouth, he did not doubt the truth of his words. "So, such a hidden kingdom really exists. Folktales weren't unfounded, just that they had severed themselves from our world."

Drayce nodded again and Slayer collected himself. "How are we going to proceed from now on? We don't know their intentions yet."

"We will wait for Aureus to return from Agartha first," Drayce replied.

Slayer looked at his friend for a moment and asked, "You seem to trust this Aureus a lot. Is it because he is someone cared for by your mother?"

Drayce didn't expect his knight to ask this question. For a moment, he studied Slayer's serious expression. He then had a late realization--ever since Aureus appeared, he had taken him with him every time they had to look into suspicious matters. He even instructed Aureus to find out those two suspicious shapeshifters. To anyone with observant eyes, it would appear Drayce trusted Aureus more than Slayer; after all, for the past few days, Aureus was doing everything that Slayer had been doing for him before.

The shapeshifter had seemingly taken over the role of Drayce's right-hand man.

"Are we jealous here?" Drayce asked with a light smirk.

Slayer scoffed. "You are thinking too much, Dray. I just don't want to risk anything by trusting a stranger just because he helped us once or twice."

"Hmm, you are right, but we can trust him. So rest assured," Drayce replied.

Drayce's trust in Aureus was not just because of his mother but Drayce trusted his pet who had been with him for more than two decades. Though he was in his beast form, Dusk's loyalty shouldn't have changed. After all, his eagle had been his partner for years.

Even though Aureus had been deceiving him by hiding his identity, it did not change the fact that he was on Drayce's side. Furthermore, Drayce could understand his reasons for keeping his secret.

Seeing the young king's firm decision, Slayer could only step back. "I trust your judgment, but I am yet to be convinced of his loyalty. Pardon me for I won't be able to trust him completely yet."

"Fine." Drayce knew his knight wouldn't be unreasonable. "Only time will prove his trustworthiness in your eyes."

Just then, someone knocked on the door. His personal servant, Orion, entered the study and bowed.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

After receiving his greetings, Drayce allowed Orion to speak. "Your father, His Excellency King Theron, has gained consciousness and the royal physicians announced that His Excellency is completely out of any serious harm."

It was a relief for Drayce and he could finally breathe easier. Of course, he didn't show it on his face and simply gestured for his servant to leave if his report was done.

After the servant left, Slayer raised a brow at Drayce. Although his friend tried to hide his emotions whenever it came to his father, Slayer could see through him.

"Do you plan to go meet him now?" Slayer asked.

Drayce shook his head. "As he has completely recovered, let him rest. Paying a visit there would do nothing but aggravate his health."

Slayer sighed. "I wonder, when would you put an end to this?"

"Maybe never," Drayce replied dryly and resumed his work.

-----

Aureus had secretly left a note asking Lady Tyra to meet him in her quarters as soon as possible. As he was about to leave for Agartha that very day, he wished to wait for her to bid her farewell, but he could not simply demand for her presence when she too had affairs to take care of.

However, the moment the old lady saw the note, she dropped whatever she was doing and headed to her quarters. Aureus in his human form, seated on the only chair in the room, was waiting for her when she arrived.

"Did something happen that you wanted to see me right away?" Lady Tyra asked.

Aureus did not hesitate.

"I am going to Agartha."

The old lady, who was about to brew tea on the table, almost dropped the teapot in her hand. "Agartha? Why all of a sudden?"

Aureus narrated to her the entire incident.

Lady Tyra understood his decision, though she was somewhat upset at the thought of him leaving for his homeland. It was her own selfishness, but she wanted to prevent him from going. What if Aureus would no longer return to Megaris once he found himself among his people?

Despite that, she smiled at him in encouragement.

"You belong there so it's only right if you go there."

Aureus could hear the sadness evident in her voice. As if he could understand her worry, he assured her, "I will merely go to see my people, perhaps get some elders to tell me about my mother's past, but I will return once I finish."

Lady Tyra felt inwardly relieved and asked, "You have that map with you?"

Aureus put his palm forward and there appeared the small crystal orb given to him by Esther which had directions leading to Agartha.

The old lady curiously studied the item. "Her Majesty knew you would need it one day. She sure thought about everyone dear to her."

Aureus agreed, grateful for the previous queen's considerations, and then kept the orb back inside his body. "I will leave then. I need to find out why they are looking for Seren as soon as possible."

Aureus didn't bother to mention Seren with her title. As Lady Tyra was aware of his feelings for her, he didn't miss the opportunity to say her name which he found the most beautiful name to say. In his mind, he had said it countless times, but never had many chances to say it aloud.

"Aureus!"

"What?"

"...Nothing," she sighed in the end. Lady Tyra was taken aback that he called their Queen with her name, but she didn't have the heart to nag him.

'As long as he doesn't say it in front of others.'

The heart of a mother hurt for the one she thought of as her son and didn't want to take this small happiness away from him.

"I will go see her before leaving," Aureus informed her and Lady Tyra sighed. She took a small pouch from her hidden drawer, one that had a witch's potion she personally concocted, and handed it to him.

"Be safe."

Aureus nodded and left through the window after transforming into his eagle form, the small pouch tied around his neck.

-----

Seren was taking a stroll in her garden. As it was early winter, many of the trees were bare and she expected the garden to be the same. However, to her surprise, she caught sight of some shrubs adorned by pretty pink blossoms in full bloom.

"I do not remember planting these. Are these plants new?" Seren asked Lady Xena, her lady-in-waiting while looking at the beautiful flowers.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Great Lady had sent them here just yesterday. These are called Camellia and they have varieties that bloom in fall, and some even into late winter. They are said to be the previous queen, Queen Esther's, favourite flowers."

"They are beautiful," Seren commented.

"This garden used to have a lot of them but after the previous queen was gone, all of them died. The Great Lady tried to plant them here again and again but never succeeded. Imagine the gardeners' surprise because this time they didn't die and instead bloomed with countless flowers overnight."

'No wonder. I remember there were so many of these plants in Grandmother's garden. She must be growing them so she could plant them here,' Seren thought and then said, "It's good to have flowers that bloom even in winter. I would like it if this entire garden had more of these flowers."

"I will pass the message, Your Majesty," Lady Xena assured her with a smile.

With her mood improved, Seren continued to walk towards one of the garden gazebos. 'Should I make a bouquet of camellias and send it to his room? Dray must like these flowers as well. It will remind him of his mother.'

Just as she reached the gazebo, an eagle came flying towards her and landed on the railing of the gazebo.

"Dusk!"

Seeing him, Seren hurried her steps, a smile visible through her gaze.

Dusk had a passing thought as she approached.

'Will she act the same when she knows my real identity? Will she still be this delighted when she comes to me?'

Seren caressed his small head. "How come you are here? Were you flying in the sky then spotted me and came here?"

It was the truth. Dusk searched for her while flying so he rubbed his head against her palm to say 'yes'.

"Smart bird," Seren commented happily.

However, Dusk's feelings contrasted hers.

'I will be going away for a while. I know you will be fine because when Dray is with you, there is no need for me to worry, but...but I can't help it. It seems like I can't stop worrying for you.'

These were the words Dusk could never say out loud.

Not knowing what the eagle was thinking, Seren continued to enjoy the sensation of his soft feathers through her fingers. "So adorable you are."

'You as well,' Dusk replied in his mind.

The servants brought the tea for her and arranged it on the table inside the gazebo. "Your Majesty, please have some hot tea as you rest."

Seren caressed Dusk's head for the last time and said, "I will have tea now. So sad that you can't drink, or we would have it together."

Dusk felt sad as well that he couldn't even have simple tea with her. He rubbed his head against her palm, as if to brand the memory of that mild warmth into his body, and only then did he spread his wings.

Seren didn't stop him and watched him soar high into the sky.