Chapter 21:

Chapter 21-Is This Truly How To Reach My Happy Ending?

The Husband and Hero


After my talk with Erebus, I felt sure that Fern was right. 

He’s one of Robal’s spies.

I’m unsure if he’s general Birch, but he clearly is wrapped up with the Kingdom of Robal. 

But it just doesn’t make sense how Erebus could possibly be a spy. 

Has his character always been a spy in the original novel or could he have possibly been replaced?

My whole-body shudders at the thought. If he’s been replaced, then it’s possibly that everyone around us is a threat.

Scratching my head with both of my hands, I find that I’ve really put myself into a predicament. 

Fern: "What are you doing?"

Blinking my eyes a couple times, I remember that I'm in the middle of a meeting. Based on the looks of everyone else in the camper, I must look absolutely insane.

Taking my hands off of my head and placing them beside me, I let out a short awkward chuckle.

Devilynn: "I ah just had an itch. Ha ha."

Clearly irritated, Fern rolls her eyes and lets out a quiet sigh.

Fern: "Ookayy...anyways King Harness sent us a message regarding a battle set for June 10th."

Fern slams an unsealed letter on the table in front of her and darts her eyes around the room. A few of the men start to read the letter while Fern begins talking again.

Fern: "The battle on June 10th will be the final battle that we will face against Robal. My father has issued a heap-headed war after the capital building scare. We want to keep injuries to a minimal and finish this war as quick as possible. On our side, I have been elected as the official head. Although I have a huge target on my back, I refuse to back down from fighting on the battlefield! I know I am an essential asset to our team!"

When Fern isn't in one of her moods, she actually sounds like a good leader. I feel a bit ashamed that I'm just standing here just listening when I have the title of the commander.

However, considering my thought process this past evening, it may not be the smartest move to be in charge of something like this at the moment.

Knight A: "That's preposterous! You're just the princess of the kingdom! Why would he put his daughter out to be the head?"

As soon as Fern announces part of what the letter entails, the men around us begin to discuss in a rowdy matter. You can feel the heat from their rage.

Fern: "I have gladly accepted this position. As all of you know I am the heir of the throne. Being elected as the head in this war is only further proof that I am trusted to be a good ruler. "

A sense of pride rushes over her and on to her face. It is clear that she is oddly happy to be named the head.

Fern: "As you all may have guessed it, Robal has named their queen as the head. So, to win this war we just need to target and defeat her. It will be hard considering the other generals alongside her."

Fern continues to go into detail about our plan for winning the war. It is mainly describing how the original novel had ended. They want to eliminate all the villains in order to completely demolish the Kingdom of Robal.

Fern: "Though we have a battle on June 10th. There's no reason we cannot end this war quicker."

Chatter stops throughout the room. Everybody is looking at each other anxiously. Fern places her hand over the letter and bunches it up.

Fern: "Thanks to our tactical forces, we discovered one of the stations where those rats have been staking out. We will ambush them tomorrow night!"

As the group of men cheer in a harmonious way, I glance over to Erebus who's standing there with a grim expression; despite already knowing the news from earlier, he still seems rather shock. 

Regardless of whether he’s someone completely different or not, he must still be unraveled by the sudden turns of events.

Fern: "We will leave and make our way to their camp site which is stationed roughly 30 miles northern from ours as soon as the sun sets in the evening. Prepared for battle at once."

As Fern makes her last statement, our knights begin chatting among themselves while rushing over to exit the camper to begin making preparations for the next battle.

Still standing, Fern let's out a malicious laugh. She seems overjoyed with herself.

Erebus: "Fern?"

Instantly irritated, Fern looks over Erebus. She looks more upset than normal and is speaking in an awfully aggressive tone.

Fern: "What? Do you have a problem with my plan now?"

Erebus: "How do you know if the queen will be there?"

Fern: "I have no idea. But who cares if she's there? If she is there fantastic absolutely fantastic. But if not, we still get to stomp on a couple of roaches, right?"

Squinting his eyes at her, Erebus has a look of disgust on his face. He looks absolutely appalled at her and her demeanor.

Without saying anything more, he exits the camper and joins the other troops. I begin making my way over to the door when suddenly I feel Fern's soft hands grab the cusp of my sleeve.

Fern: "Where do you think you're going? I still wanted to talk to you."

Ferns eyes are beaming with glee as she locks them onto mine. I've never noticed it before but her eyes, although red and bold, seem to be lacking of light.

Fern: "You seem to have your thoughts all over the place today. Did anything happen?"

Devilynn: "I'm sorry I just was thinking about our date and what will happen when the war is over. You know, things like that."

Fern: "Hmmm...you shouldn’t think of such silly things."

Fern moves back over to the center of the room where the table is. Pulling up a nearby chair, Fern sits down comfortably while crossing her legs.

Fern: "Did you talk to Erebus at all?"

Devilynn: "Yes."

Fern: "And?"

Before I can speak, I question myself. Do I truly have anything to tell her? Even though I have this gut intuition, he hasn’t said or done anything to prove he’s a traitor.

I decide the best thing to do is to be honest and direct. After all, should I end up wrong, I would hurt Fern. She’s truly the only person I can really trust anymore; I wouldn’t want to lost her.

Devilynn: "I gave him the information. I'll just have to wait and see what he does with that."

Fern gently bobbles her head and places her hand on the side of her cheek. She looks lost in thoughts.

Fern: "So he didn't say anything out of the ordinary? Not a single thing?"

There's a part of me that wants to admit my true feelings, but something deep inside me refuses to let them out. 

Devilynn: "I'm positive."

Fern looks at me indecisively. She clearly doesn't believe me but as of this moment can't rebuttal.

Fern: “You did good Devilynn.”

Making her way over to me once again, Fern places her hand on the top of my head and ruffles it. Pride paints my face as she does.

Fern: “If you keep listening to me, I will make sure that you’re a king that is well respected. So, stand beside me.”

Fern redirects her hands and holds me tightly. 

While I can hear my heart beating through my chest, I can hardly hear hers.

Unlike what I imagined, there is a feeling of coldness rather than warmth.

Is this really what I want?

Wrapping my arms around Fern, I take in a heavy breath.

I don’t know.

But…it’s all I have.

BrittyBoo
icon-reaction-1
Werecat
icon-reaction-1