Chapter 13 : So I Shared The Moonlight with Her

Gornor is staring at the ceiling. He lost hope. And now in complete despair. I put a hand on his shoulder. He looks at me and says with a broken voice, "Mr. Agni, do you need something?" I say, "Yes. Can all of you please come with me? I need your help with something." Gornor says to Liorath, "Liorath, please go with the ladies and help Mr. Agni." Liorath says, "Alright. I am calling others." Liorath leaves the room. I say to Gornor, "But I need five of you now. Please help me, Mr. Gornor." He says, "Mr. Agni, I would go with you. But I have no energy to stand. I am useless now. They will help you." "Are you perhaps not coming with me because you know I can't repay you, Mr. Gornor? I thought I could always expect help from you. But when I really needed your help, you just abandoned me." I say with a sad voice. 

Mr. Gornor looks at me for a few seconds. Then he stands up. He says, "Let's go, Mr. Agni. I'll help you with everything I have." I smile.

Gornor and his party start walking with me. Elisa asks, "Where are we going, Mr. Agni?" "A bit far, but you can trust me. I won't put you in any danger." I reply. Liorath says, "We trust you, Mr. Agni."

After walking for a while, we arrive at the gate of the royal palace. Nordial and other guards open the gate as soon as we arrive there. Gornor says with a surprise in his voice, "Why, palace, Mr. Agni?" I say, "Don't worry, Mr. Gornor. Please come and help me. No harm will come to any of you, I promise." Darknia says, "Let's go. We are here to help Mr. Agni. We can't allow any hesitation to stop us. If not for him, we don't know what would have happened to us. So, we will help Mr. Agni no matter what." Liorath says, "Yes. Be ready, all of you. We may need to fight." "Thanks, Miss Darknia. And that won't be necessary, Mr. Liorath. Please follow me." I say with a smile. 

We enter into the royal court. Vaelya and the counselors are waiting for us. Gornor says, "Where is the king?" Nordial brings a big bag of gold coins and gives it to Gornor. Nordial bows and says, "On behalf of all guards, I am asking for your forgiveness. Please forgive us. We only did it according to the order we received. We are very sorry. And please accept this reward for the treasures." Mr. Gornor takes the bag and says with confusion, "How many coins are in here?" Nordial replies, "10,000 gold coins."

Everyone is in shock. Gornor loses his balance. Liorath holds him before he falls. Gornor asks with a trembling voice, "Why this much?" Nordial replies, "You deserve this much. And Your Majesty loved the treasures."

I say, "Now, I need help from all of you." Gornor says, "Sure. Ask Mr. Agni." "I need all of you to help me rule this country." I say with a smile. Everyone remains silent for a while. Hilishiya says, "Help with what?" I say, "To rule this country." Elisa says, "What do you mean by that? Who are you, Mr. Agni?" Nordial says, "You are standing before the new king of Alnovir." 

Gornor and his party immediately kneel before me. I say, "Raise your heads. I know this is sudden. So take some time. It's late now. We will talk in the morning." Gornor says, "Yes, your majesty." I say to Nordial, "Take them to the guest house. Show them the best hospitality. They are my friends." Nordial says, "As you wish, your majesty." I say, "Sorry, Nordial, I am giving you too much work tonight." Nordial kneels before me and says, "Don't apologize, your majesty. I am happy to serve you. Feel free to order me more." I smile and say, "Thank you, Nordial. Now go take them to the guest house. Make sure they are comfortable. Order the maids to provide them food. After that you can take a rest for the night." Nordial says, "As you wish, your majesty." Nordial turns to Gornor and his party and says, "Please follow me." Nordial, Gornor, Liorath, Elisa, Hilishiya, and Darknia leave the room.

Vaelya asks, "So they are your friends, Hero Agni?" "Yes. You have been very kind to me." I reply. I walk to Lukemir and say, "I am sorry to keep you this late. You all may take rest. But I have to ask." Lukemir bows and says, "Order us, your majesty." I say, "I want to offer something special to this lady. Can you arrange some food for us?" I lean toward his ear and whisper, "Somewhere romantic with privacy. But don't make it too obvious. She hasn't confirmed her feelings for me. And meats for her, fruits for me." Lukemir smiles and says, "As you wish, your majesty." All counselors leave. 

Only I and Vaelya are here. Alone in this room.

Vaelya comes closer to me and asks, "What did you whisper into his ears?" "That you like meat." She says, "Who doesn't like meat?" I nod and say, "Sure."

Vaelya says, "Let's sit on the balcony, Hero Agni." I say, "I don't really trust that one." Vaelya laughs. 

We sit on the balcony. The moon is very pretty tonight. Or maybe it looks pretty because Vaelya is with me. 

I say, "Tell me, Princess Vaelya, why are you here? And what happened to your horns?" Vaelya smiles and says, "You won't ask me how I am?" "How are you, Princess Vaelya?" I ask with a smile. Vaelya smiles beautifully and says, "Now that you've asked, I am fine. How are you, Hero Agni?"

- "I am great. Why are you here, Princess Vaelya? Won't there be any issue in the demon army now that their general is somewhere else?"

- "No. It's not like we are going to war anytime soon. And Darian will manage everything in my absence. Wait! You don't like that I am here, hero Agni?"

- "I love that you are here, Princess Vaelya."

Vaelya laughs and says, "I am just teasing you, Hero Agni. When you left the demon realm, I was, um, bored, you know. Just bored. It's not like I was missing you or anything." "Yes, yes. I know." I say with a smirk. Vaelya continues, "I wanted to help you in your plan. But if I, a demon, come into a kingdom of humans to help you, your plan would fail. So, I talked to the demon sages about illusion magic and aura concealment. One of them seems to be master of both of them. He gave me two rings. One for making my horns invisible and another one for concealing my demonic aura. No one can see my horns or sense my demonic aura as long as I keep wearing these two rings. After that I tell them to open the portal gate near the palace of the Elinshor. When I exited the portal, I found myself a short distance from this palace. It is night. No one noticed me. I walk for a while. Then I arrive at the left side of the palace. I was thinking about what to do. Then I saw you walking towards the palace with a box. I waited. You are escorted inside the palace by the guard. Then I understand that you started your plan. I was waiting for the right moment. After some time, I saw you hanging a royally dressed man by the leg from the balcony. The guards pointed bows at you. Then I attacked them with my sword. And went inside the palace to help you. You know the rest." 

I look at Vaelya and say, "Thank you so much for coming, Princess Vaelya. I really missed you a lot." Vaelya startles and looks at me. Our eyes meet. Vaelya says hesitantly, "The moon is beautiful tonight." I look at the moon and say with a smile, "Yes."

For a while, we don't talk to each other. We just keep looking at the moon. In this world full of chaos and suffering, this moment is pure beauty to me. I look at Vaelya. This beautiful person is looking at the moon. I smile looking at her. Vaelya looks at me and says, "What are you thinking, Hero Agni?" I say, "Nothing, just admiring the beauty of the moon." Vaelya chuckles and says, "But you are looking at me." 

- "Well, I am looking at the moon in my mind." 

- "Is that so?"

- "That is so."

- "It's your 4th night in this world, right, Hero Agni?"

- "Yes. It is. But it seems like I have been in this world for months."

- "A lot has happened since your arrival."

I smile and say, "Yes. So tell me, princess..."

- "Pardon my intrusion, your majesty."

I am interrupted by Lukemir. I turn around. Lukemir is standing a little distance away. He says, "Preparation is done, your majesty. Please come with Lady...." I say, "Vaelya." He says, "Please come with Lady Vaelya." I look at Vaelya and say, "Let's go, Princess Vaelya. Let's have dinner." Vaelya says, "Sure." 

We follow Lukemir to a room. Seven maids greet us. Lukemir gives a sign; a maid steps forward. Lukemir says, "This is Ferminaka, the head maid of this palace. Please let her know when you and Lady Vaelya need something." Ferminaka bows and says, "I am Ferminaka. At your service, your majesty." I say, "Sure. You can rest now, Lukemir." Lukemir bows and says, "Have a wonderful night, your majesty." I say, "Thank you." Lukemir leaves.

There are many candles in the room. In the middle of the room, there is a small table with two chairs. There is a beautiful vase holding midnight blue roses at the center of the table. Their fragrances and the moonlight coming from the window make the room more dreamlike. 

Vaelya smirks and says, "Now I understand why you were whispering earlier." "I don't know what you mean." I say with a smile.

Vaelya and I sit on the chairs at the table. Ferminaka, with other maids, serves. Then Ferminaka says, "We will leave your majesty and Lady Vaelya alone. We will be waiting outside of the door. Call us when you need something." "Sure." I say with a smile. All maids leave the room and close the door. 

We start eating. Vaelya says, "Wow! This meat is delicious. Have some Hero Agni." I say, "I am fine with foods, Princess Vaelya. Please enjoy." Vaelya says, "Alright. But you don't know what you are missing." I smile.

After some time, we complete our dinner. Vaelya says, "That's really a great meal." I smile and say, "I am glad that you liked it. Let's treat Your Highness some day." Vaelya says with excitement, "Yes. He will love it." I smile. 

I call out, "Ferminaka." Ferminaka enters. She comes to us and says, "Was everything to your satisfaction, your majesty? Lady Vaelya?" I say, "Yes." Vaelya, "Let the chief know he did a great job." Ferminaka says, "I will let him know, Lady Vaelya. Your Majesty, may I suggest something?" I say, "Sure." Ferminaka says, "There is a singer in this palace. Her song will be a beautiful addition to this moment." I look at Vaelya. Vaelya says, "Sure." I say, "If she doesn't have any problems." Ferminaka says, "She is already outside of this room. It was Mr. Lukemir's idea to have her ready." I say, "Well, then bring her in." Ferminaka says, "As you wish, your majesty." Ferminaka leaves and returns with a woman.

This woman has blue hair. There is a scar on her face. from the left side of her forehead to just below her left eye. Something knocks in my mind and tells me that I am forgetting something. 

The woman starts singing. The environment suddenly fills with heavenly warmth. Her delicate voice and beautiful song are trying to remind me of something. 

Vaelya says, "Ah! Mermaids are really talented with music." I startle and almost shout, "Melune!" Melune stops singing and looks at me with wide eyes.