Chapter 69: Chapter 69
King Malik
The Kingdom of Howard
The capital has been devastated greatly, they had suffered many losses and everyone had a somber demeanor. Houses were shattered, the gates were splintered, there was still blood on some parts of the pavement and the royal palace was almost in ruins. The bodies of the fallen Ecanus were being transported for burial, with the highest honors they could be given. Those who were still able to move helped out, finding people trapped in the debris of their homes, giving out food and just giving words of affection towards those who were severely saddened by the recent events.
King Malik stood in front of them all, his wounds were still undressed, the blood all over him had dried up and gave him such a scary look, but he wanted to address all of the people before he took care of himself. He wanted to give him hope, and thus, casting the spell once more that would allow the people of his kingdom to hear him clearly:
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the death of many of our people, children who had futures, adults who were going about their daily lives, soldiers who fought bravely and the elders who only hoped to enjoy the twilight of their lives. I grieve with all of you, those who have lost their sons, daughters, parents, friends. My heart will bear these sorrows for as long as I live. For what comfort is there to be found when the presence of one who had always been in your life is suddenly taken without a second thought? But we must find comfort still, the evil that has threatened to vanquish us has been cast off into the wind and never to be seen again. Dyron’s ambitions ended here, along with all of his armies and creatures. The darkness has been purged from our lands. Dyron’s damage will be healed, but the horrors will linger with us, but let us look forward to a future where we can smile again. A future where his evil will no longer torment our dreams. Let us move forward, as hard as it may be and heal from the chaos that was brought upon us because of one burning ambition. We have fallen hard but we, as a people, will rise again into the skies. Our lives will go on, let us take the memories of the fallen ones with us wherever we go and use that as strength to continue on.”
Everyone’s hearts swelled with inspiration and pain, but they let out a mighty cheer to honor the dead. Out of nowhere butterflies appeared and filled the place, it was a last show of love by the fallen to the loved ones they left behind. The tears came, even King Malik found himself crying at this sight.
“We will make it.” The king thought fervently, watching as his people slowly started to rebuild their homes, and their lives by proxy.
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Colter Howard
The Royal Palace, Kingdom of Howard
There were people in the palace, it was used as a station for the wounded and many able-bodied Ecanus had elected to help tend to their wounds. Colter already had his wounds dressed and was walking around, talking to the survivors and giving them hopeful words. His presence had actually given them a semblance of hope, because he had been missing all this time.
“Colter” a voice called him and he turned and saw Vida Vance standing in front of him, he let out a smile and swept her off in a warm hug, she let out a yelp and hugged him back just as fiercely.
“At least you didn’t lose a limb” Vida suddenly joked as they stayed in their tight embrace and she felt Colter chuckle into her neck.
“That’s very insensitive to those who lost limbs, Vida”
“Well, that’s why I only told you!” she said matter-of-factly and pulled away from him.
He felt her gazing at his wounds, wanting to take care of him but not knowing what to do, so Colter simply put his arm around her shoulder and walked around with her.
“Come on, let’s go check on the people.”
“I only want to check on you” Vida pouted and Colter laughed.
In a fluid motion, he turned to her and gave her a swift kiss on the lips, “I never did get to return that kiss. Also, consider this my thanks for breaking the control Dyron had over me.” Vida was blushing red now as she tried to comprehend what just happened, remembering how she charged into the fracas to break the poison that the evil king had implanted on Colter.
“I love you, Vida Vance” Colter whispered to her and Vida just smiled as they continued walking.
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Tessa
The Royal Palace, Kingdom of Howard
“Oh, shut up and just take your damned medicine” Tessa growled at the figure lying on the bed, like the others, she had also volunteered to help with the assisting of the wounded, “And you, what the hell are you staring at?” she said to another figure staring at her, she was sitting in between two beds and the two occupants of the bed were Gian Howard and Vergil.
“Take your damned medicine, don’t make me force it on you!” Tessa warned Gian, “I will not hesitate to shove it down your damned throat!” She had found him particularly cute and attractive, like Colter but older somehow. Gian grinned at her, “So this is the replacement for my mentor?”
“What do you mean mentor, I ain’t your mentor, boy. I am Tessa, you must have taken too many blows to the head.”
Gian chuckled and surrendered, finally taking the medicine Tessa was offering him. She had reminded him of a much more talkative and sarcastic Flora.
“I will do my utmost to protect this woman, should she be granted the status of oracle” Gian promised himself, thinking that Tessa was Flora’s powers reincarnated.
“And you, who the hell gave you the bright idea to get body piercings in the middle of battle?” she had turned to Vergil, who was wrapped up in bandages, but one could see the smile of contentment on his face. “Dumbass Silver haired moron, next time try to dodge them, okay?”
She had been worried about the captain of the royal guard, because she had been strangely attracted to him ever since they first saw him.
Tessa suddenly saw Colter and Vida moving around and waved at them, “Hey love birds, over here!”
The couple went over to her and Colter checked in on his brother and childhood friend.
“If he gives you shit Colter, tell me and I’ll smother his face with a pillow” Tessa snapped as she noticed the two brothers talking, all three of them, Colter, Vergil and Gian laughed heartily at Tessa’s comments. They had found it particularly funny, but it eased all of their minds when they noticed that the hatred between the brothers had now disappeared entirely. Peace was finally in them.
“I’m hungry” Colter announced suddenly, “Do you guys want any?” he asked Vergil and Gian who only shook their heads, Colter rolled his eyes “I’ll have some people bring you some food. Vida, Tessa let’s go to the dining hall.”
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Colter
The Dining Hall, The Royal Palace
He had missed this food, to be fair, the food on earth was good but he just really missed these kinds of food in his stomach. Colter devoured much of the buffalo, the steaks, the potatoes and everything that isn’t nailed down. Vida laughed at him, while Tessa tried to taste everything that could not be found on their home world.
It was pretty good, and Tessa seemed to be enjoying herself alongside Colter and Vida. King Malik appeared at once and approached them, his eyes glowed with kindness as he smiled. Vida and Tessa bowed their heads in respect of the king and in a strange turn of events, it also led to Colter almost choking on the steak that was in his mouth, King Malik bowed deeply.
Everybody stopped and gasped, but Queen Regina, who was watching the scene unfold smiled deeply at this.
“Vida Vance of Earth” The King started and everyone on the table listened to him intently, “I give to you my deepest of gratitude. I had always thought of humans as a rash and impulsive people, selfish and conniving. But you have proven me wrong. Though…” the king trailed off and glanced at Tessa who was looking at him with embarrassment, “You people could work on your languages, it is unbecoming for an oracle to spew such slurs and hate”
Everyone on the table chuckled, having experienced Tessa’s personality and she simply rolled her eyes at them.
“You are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you like” the king suddenly told them, “Our people will be eternally grateful for the assistance you have given us. Had it not been for your bravery, my own son would not have been freed from his curse. If it were not for your friend’s visions, we may have been caught unaware. So, think of this place as a home where you can stay as long as you want. But, should you miss the world you come from, all you need to do is to inform us and the royal guard will be more than happy to help you cross back into your world.”
As fun as it was for Colter to hear that they are welcome to stay in their world forever, he realized that even Vida would miss her life on earth, and no matter how hard he tried to deny it, their stay here was only temporary.