The group of six slowly made their way into a town and found a tavern as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. The entire party wore overcoats to keep their identities a secret. Martel didn’t want the King to know where he was, at least until he got Caelia to Camelot. At the very least, the King had ended the war, and troops had begun to disperse. He even went out of his way to mention that peace was what Martel had fought for.

Once in the tavern, the males got separate rooms while the girls shared one. Before they retired for the evening, the six of them surrounded a table to eat dinner. Aside from a few soldiers who had immediately given leave the previous day, the tavern was nearly empty. The only customers present were discharged soldiers that had gotten drunk and rowdy.

Caelia felt sick. She wanted to cry, yet her tears refused her. Her father was killed; Killed by the man who sat next to her. When she looked at his hands, all she could see was blood that had previously stained them. Nearly everyone knew all they had found of her father was melted armor, bones, and the stench of burnt flesh which Martel had gathered and thrown off the Seacliff.  

As the group sat in silence, the soldiers got rowdier.

“Did you hear?” One of them began. “The hero got himself a cute little girl for an apprentice.”

“Oh? Is he into little girls?”

“I can’t say, but the rumor is she was quite powerful. She made a fool of one of the high-ranking officers and scared a bunch of men with nothing but her Ki.”

“Seriously? A little girl stronger than what most men will ever become? I guess there is a reason why she became his apprentice.”

“Yeah. It seems her Ki was at the same level as the heroes and that the Demon King’s was stronger still, yet the Hero managed to defeat him.”

“Good riddance, I say. He was nothing but a menace; A monster; A savage.”

For the first time in a while, Caelia finally felt something; anger. [How dare they! How dare they badmouth my father who died trying to end this pathetic war!]

Her rage grew and grew until she nearly went over to smack them. However, Martel gently placed his hand on hers to stop her. With a small understanding smile, he got up, turned toward them, and reveals his face.

“I’m afraid I cannot let those comments slide,” He said as his expression turned into a serious one.

The soldiers looked at him strangely. “You a sympathizer?” One of them asked.

“Hey, isn’t that the Hero.” Another piped in.

“No way.” A third man replied before Martel continued,

“The one you slander fought an honorable duel. He had no tricks; he challenged me, and I accepted. Among the men that I have encountered in this world, I say to you this; that I have met very few men of his caliber, few men worthy of my respect.”

Martel’s words silenced the soldiers who did not dare retort.

“I think it’s about time we retire,” Martel said to the group who started to leave to go to their rooms as Martel continued to talk to the soldiers. “We would like to continue our travel back to Camelot in peace good sirs,” He said before he made his way to his room.

The soldiers went back to their drinking.

...

Caelia lay bed with an asleep Shiro next to her. No matter how much she wished for sleep’s peaceful embrace, it wouldn’t come to her. How she wished for her father. Anger began to consume her as thoughts of revenge filled her mind, and she entertained them for too long. She quietly exited so she wouldn’t wake Shiro and made her way into Martel’s room. She found him asleep in bed. 

[How dare he so peacefully. After what he did to my father, he deserves no sleep at all.] She thought in rage. She drew the dagger she kept hidden on her person and stood over Martel’s body and looked at his peaceful face. Her body started to shake, and she felt sicker. Just as she found her resolve, Shiro’s face appeared in her mind.

[Can… Can I truly take him from Shiro? She lost her parents already. Won’t… Won’t that make her experience this pain again?] After a couple of seconds, she regained a shred of her sanity and sheathed her knife. [Besides, it won’t bring my father back. Whether I like it or not, it is what my father wanted. I just wish… I just wish he couldn’t sleep so peacefully.] With that thought, she exited the room.  

When she entered her room, she saw Shiro, who had sat up in bed.

“Where did you go?” Shiro asked Caelia.

“I just needed some fresh air,” Caelia replied with a little white lie as she went to sit down next to her.  

Shiro hugged Caelia tightly. “Please, don’t hate Martel. He’s so kind. I know if there were any other way, he would have taken it in a heartbeat, even if it was difficult. Please, don’t hate him. I love him.” Tears began to form in her eyes.

Caelia gave Shiro a small smile. “Yes… Part of me always knew that to be true.”

A short time later, the two of them fell asleep.

...

A couple of hours later, Martel lay in his bed, half-asleep. He only needed about four hours of sleep, and that wasn’t real sleep. He managed to enter a state he referred to as meditative sleep. He was still aware of his surroundings and could rouse himself immediately. This meant he was completely aware of when Caelia had entered the room earlier and had completely woken up. In the darkness, Caelia hadn’t noticed this, nor had she noticed he had watched her through his cracked eyes. But he felt no anger towards her.

Caelia was overwhelmed by a bunch of complex emotions. Even though it would be evident to anyone, to Martel, it was even more apparent. Because Yggdrasil gave him the information about spirits and how to use them, Martel ended up with the byproduct of feeling the emotions of the people around them. He didn’t do it intentionally; he was just not skillful enough to block that information. As such, he could completely feel the negative feelings Caelia was currently going through. Perhaps it was because of his nature; maybe it was because he could sense them; or perhaps it was because he had caused them, he felt that he had to do something.  

[Is it even acceptable for the man who took her father away from her to console her? I have a responsibility to see this through to the end no matter what. I owe her, and I promised her father, even though I was against it.] He thought with a heavy heart as the weight of what he had done pressed down on him. As he continued to think about what to do, his door opened again.

Martel knew it was Caelia again. But this time, something was different. Her emotions were sporadic and strange. She made her way to the side of his bed, as she did before, and fell upon him. Martel prepared for, and successfully managed to grab her arms but, to his surprise, they were empty. Martel was pressed into his bed as Caelia fell on him. At this point, Martel was completely confused. He opened his eyes and looked carefully at her body, bathed in moonlight. Her eyes weren’t dead, but they were dull. Even more shocking was her previously white skin was now bronze. She almost looked like a different person and was even more alluring. Her expression made her appear to be drunk and half asleep, her breath lacked the smell of alcohol.

Martel finally concluded she was sleepwalking. Because he didn’t find a need to fight and didn’t want to hurt her, he allowed her to pin him to the bed, though he could escape at any time.

“Hey, make me feel good.” Caelia sleep-talked in a seductive tone. If that line wasn’t shocking enough, what she did next put Martel in a bit of a panic. She began to touch his body and even reached for sensitive areas. As he took hold of her hands, he looked at her face lit by the moonlight and remembered what Tom had said when he said first met. [“Let’s just say Caelia was conceived on the night of a full moon.”]

[Could dark elves have some connection to the moon? Is she releasing that power under the influence of the moon unconsciously?] He wondered as Caelia began to move even more seductively.  

At that point, Martel did the only thing that could be considered acceptable and knocked her out with Gentle Touch. Her unconscious body completely pressed into his, and he could feel her chest, her body, her pain. For a short time, he held her there without an evil thought. He wasn’t sure why, but perhaps he wished to convey the warmth of another living being, that she was not alone. Maybe he wanted to remind himself of the weight of his responsibility. Then he gently set her to the side and covered her with a blanket before he went back to sleep.

End of Day -178

 

Caelia drowsily opened her eyes as she woke up and sat up on the bed. She turned to find a wall.

[Weird. I’m sure the bed was in a different position when I went to sleep.] She drowsily thought before she turned around and saw Martel, who looked at her as he sat in a chair.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” He said with a smile.

Caelia blinked twice. “hiii!” She exclaimed as she covered herself with the sheets in a panic. She peeked out of the sheets and looked around and could see it was not the room she had fallen asleep in. “W-w-what am I doing here?”

Martel got up, walked over to her, bent to her eye level, and gently pulled her chin as he drew closer. “I took good care of you last night,” He said with the small wicked smile.

“W-w-w,” Caelia barely managed to stutter as her eyes started to swim and blood rushed to her face.

Martel came up to her ear. “Don’t worry, I’m still a virgin,” He said before he lip-bit her ear with excessive noise.

The blood rushed to Caelia’s head, and she felt faint and began to fall over.

“Woah now,” Martel said as he caught her. “I guess that method won’t work,” he mumbled under his breath. “You don’t have much tolerance against men do you?” He continued as he sat her back up and brought the chair over down next to the bed. He patiently waited for her to gather herself.

“S-so, how did I get here? She finally managed to ask.

Martel’s expression became complex. “Do dark elves have any connection to the moon?”

“Well… My mother did say she was always more active at night.”

“You… Don’t know, do you?”

“Don’t know what?”

“Well, it seems you sleepwalk and draw the power of your dark elf blood unconsciously at night. Possibly around the time of a full moon.”

“That… That does make sense. My father locked my room from the outside around that time. He said it was for my benefit.”

“You should work on controlling it. There were some physical changes, including your skin turning bronze. On top of this, how should I put this… As the moon rises, so does your libido.”

It took Caelia a second to register Martel’s words. Her eyes began to swim. “W-w-w-what did I do last night?”

“You… You were more honest with yourself.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“I have a particular disposition. Even if I didn’t, any fool would realize you are holding it all in.”

“Eh?”

“You haven’t shed a single tear,” He said softly. “It’s not good to hold all that in. So I’m going to cast a spell on you.”

Before she could react, Martel put his fingers to her forehead and seemed to inject her with something though she wasn’t sure what.

Caelia put her hand to her forehead instinctively. “What did you do?”

“I cast a spell to make you more honest with yourself,” Martel said as his expression turned soft. “Please, let me share your burden. Anger, sadness, take it all out on me. It’s okay to cry.”

Caelia sat there in a daze. After a couple of seconds, the tears she had been unable to shed started to stream down her emotionless face. She slowly reached out, grabbed his clothes, and used it to pull herself up before she began to pound on his chest over and over and over again.

She didn’t know how long she cried and pounded on his chest. All she knew was that Martel didn’t move at all. Even when she let her Ki flow freely and struck with more force than she knew she should, he didn’t move. He didn’t even protect himself with his Ki and took everything she gave him.

Once she began to settle down, he finally moved and gently embraced her. “I will take what I can,” He whispered. 

Suddenly, Caelia felt as though something had left her, and a weight lifted from her chest. She separated from him slightly and looked down to see a black flame, which reminded her of a spirit, as it exited her body. As it did, the sadness she felt lessened by a generous amount. She watched as the black flame entered Martel’s chest. When she looked up at his face, she could see his expression actively warp into a sad one as tears start forming in his eyes.

[Did… Did he take my sadness?] She thought in shock.

Martel looked at her softly. “I don’t expect you to ever forgive me for what I have done, and I hope you will forgive me for what I am doing.”

[Forgive him? For taking on my pain? How many are there who can and would do that?] She bewilderedly thought. As she did so, a new feeling began to emerge. A feeling she had never felt before. At the same time, another emotion followed, guilt.

...

The group of six had just eaten breakfast at the inn. Caelia had her appetite back and felt like she was a different person. Though she still missed her father terribly, it was not consuming her. As they left the inn, someone called out to them. “Hero Martel,” 

Martel turned to him, and his face turned solemn when he saw that it was a soldier.

“Yes? I am quite busy and wish to proceed back to Camelot with haste.”

“The King has requested your presence.”

Martel’s face turned a bit dark. “What about?”

“I don’t know. I was told to bring you and your five companions.”

“Those words exactly?”

“Yes, sir.”

“If I refuse.”

“We were authorized to use force.”

Martel’s face darkened as he noticed an entire squad of soldiers outside. While he could take them out, it would still be dangerous and would heavily damage his reputation.

“I suppose I’ll have to deal with this directly,” Martel said with a sigh. “Lead the way.”

The group of six turned to follow the soldier.

“Duran, same as with the Dark Troops,” Martel said quietly.

It took a second for Duran to understand and he replied with a nod.

“Stay close to me,” Martel whispered to Caelia as he believed he knew the reason why they had been summoned. The King’s habit of dealing with perceived threats was sending him on thin ice.

...

They arrived at the palace and entered the throne room. Upon the thrones sat a crimson-haired man and a golden-haired woman whose eyes appeared bloodshot. When they approached the throne, only Martel removed his hood.

“And so the triumphant hero returns,” The King said as he stood up with a sly smile and a hint of sarcasm.

“What business do you have with me?” Martel replied bluntly.

“Why? To praise the triumphant return of the Hero.” The King replied with a warped smile. “I must say, you received much praise from the soldiers for defeating an enemy stronger than you.” As he spoke, twenty heavily armored guards came in and occupied the space behind them, to block the exit.  

Martel feigned ignorance as he continued. “And I expect you to keep your end of the bargain. An official cease-fire and nonaggression towards the Demihumans.”

“About that, there is a complication,” The King said as he looked at Caelia, which made her blood curl.

“And what would that be?” Martel asked darkly.

The King nodded toward a guard. “I believe I told you to leave no evidence,” He said as the guard pulled down Caelia’s hood of her overcoat forcefully. Caelia could barely think, let alone move. The force with which he removed her hood caused her hair to go back behind my ear and revealed their slight tips.

“What is this? The Hero has been found colluding with Demihumans?” The King asked with a wicked smile.  

Martel stared daggers at the King. “That’s not very nice. She’s quite sensitive about her ears as they were a congenital disability.”

“Lies!” the King shouted. “She is the daughter of that traitor who dared dirty our bloodline with those monsters. Just as he is a traitor, so is she! Guards! Seize her!”

The Queen turned slightly pale as she rose from her throne. “Husband. I do not believe this to be a wise course of action. Besides, she is your niece.”

“Silence!” *slap* the King said as he struck the Queen, who fell to the ground. The King pointed towards Caelia. “Guards! Kill her!”

Martel didn’t move as the guards began to surround them. Duran moved to protect Callie, Shiro, and Morgan while Martel protected Caelia. Martel just stared at the fallen Queen before his attention turned the King. If states of mind could be expressed with sounds, Martel’s had snapped.

 A guard with a drawn sword came up to Caelia. Just as his blade began to fall, Martel appeared in front of her. He grabbed the gauntlet of the man whose face turned pale as the creaking of metal reverberated through the room. With a shove, Martel sent the man backward. None of the other guards moved as they were all petrified by the cold Ki Martel emitted. He did not release much, yet none could deny its potency.  

Slowly, Martel made his way between Caelia and the King and began to walk toward him.

“Oh King, I shall teach you the weight of your sins for raising your hand against your wife and for baring your fangs at my pride.”

With an even pace, Martel released an amount of Ki that many would have thought impossible as his Ki Flame became seven times what an average human should be able to emit. On top of this, everyone could feel the coldness of his anger and his Killing Intent. While it wasn’t as strong as the incident with Shiro and the Dark Troopers, it was still far more than any of the guards, and the King and Queen had experienced. Out of his group, only Caelia hadn’t experienced it, yet she wasn’t bothered by it at all. 

Caelia could feel his anger and killing intent, but she experienced something completely different from everyone else. Wisps of his Ki wrapped around her as if to protect her. From his Ki, she could feel something other than his anger and killing intent. She felt his resolve. It is almost like he said he would kill and die before he would let them touch her. The feeling she didn’t know grew, as did the guilt.

At his words, the King turned pale and fell clumsily on his throne. The Queen lay on the ground, unable to move, and the guards were petrified with fear. Only the sounds of movement and shouts for reinforcements from outside could be heard.

As Martel slowly walked up the steps, he gathered an enormous amount of Ki around his body. He reached out, grabbed the King by the throat, and lifted him. In response, the King grabbed at Martel’s arm, yet neither touched. Martel’s Ki was so thick and immense one could see the space between where their bodies should have touched.  

The palace guards immediately came to their senses and surrounded him. Though they had no guarantee to stop Martel, all they could do was threaten him. If he did kill the King, their loyalty demanded they die to avenge him.

Martel glared daggers and focused his Ki at the King in his grasp and spoke darkly. “You who have become so drunk with your power, you who feed the cycle of fear, you who knows not what true power is, I say to you this. You are weak, and I could snap your neck like a twig.”

The King’s eyes bulged and foam formed from his mouth. He soon fainted, and Martel set him back down on the throne. The guards all relaxed when Martel did so without killing him. At the very least, they would have an excuse to why they didn’t attack him as they did not wish to.

Martel the turned toward the Queen on the floor. She quickly righted and prostrated herself before him. “Please, forgive me,” She said in fear and panic.

Martel reached out to her and, in an instant, the pressure was gone. “Raise your head, your Majesty,” Martel said with a soft voice and smile. “There is nothing you have done that needs forgiveness. You stood up for her whom he should be protecting, his blood. So instead of forgiving you, I thank you.”

The Queen had a bewildered look on her face as she allowed Martel to help her up. “Thank you for not killing him.”

“He isn’t worth it. However, even my patience has limits. He thinks that he has the upper hand and thinks I can’t touch him, but I have a bottom line. I do not want anything like this to happen again.”

“I understand. What do you plan next?”

“I plan to return to Camelot. You wouldn’t be able to do something about the guards outside the door, would you?”

“I will see to it,” The Queen said as she caught her breath. “Given the King is incapacitated, I can act as regent.”

“Really? That is convenient. His death would certainly be unfortunate. So you would be regent as long as he doesn’t wake up?”

The Queen paused for a moment before her eyes flashed. “For a while. If he is incapacitated for too long, there will be complaints.”

“How long?”

“That depends on who complains; short six months, long ten years.”

“I understand. I’ll be sure to help out when someone complains. War isn’t a good thing, much less civil war. However, the fact that I was here when this occurred might cause scandalous rumors to appear.”

“... That won’t happen.” The Queen said as she waved it off. “After all, his majesty got drunk celebrating the end of the war, stumbled, hit his head. You weren’t involved in any of that.”

“I see. Well, I do know some healing magic. Perhaps I can help.”

“Please do.” The Queen replied as the two of them moved towards the King.

At this point, the guards didn’t know what to do. They weren’t stupid and knew Martel and Queen Morgan were acting. However, no one wanted to move first. Two members of the Camelot Royal Family and the celebrated Hero left them tangled on how to act in the situation. Additionally, even though they outnumbered them, they had no guarantee to apprehend or kill them. Their only hope would be to obtain help from the guards outside, but they would be the first to suffer and probably die.

The guards outside hadn’t moved because they didn’t have a grasp on the situation and could only barely listen in. Under the standard protocol, they were not to enter unless there was a request for reinforcements. If the King was kidnapped, rushing in could be bad. Additionally, they knew who was inside and were not thrilled about the possibility of conflict. Given that the conversation they could hear, everything seemed to be under control, so the commander decided to remain on the ready.

At the throne, Martel began to heal the King’s throat to remove evidence as he whispered to the Queen. “Do you have a plan?”

“Yes. There are a few poisons that can cause lethargy and induce a coma. While it is a little dangerous, it is possible.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“He deserves it after what he did to Tom; he deserves it.” Queen Morgan darkly replied.

Martel was surprised by her response as he felt her emotion change that made him believe she wasn’t lying. Perhaps the real reason for the King’s jealousy towards Tom was not about Tom’s martial prowess.

“Then what about me.”

“At least you tried. I’m sure the duel was Tom’s idea and going against you is dumb. Besides, we’ll be family soon.”

Martel carefully watched her expression and monitored her feelings, and she only came off as sincere, so he had no reason to believe she was lying. The last thing he did was to create a little damage on his forehead that would gradually appear before he spoke out. “Unfortunately, there seems to be nothing I can do.”

“Thank you for trying.”

“Well, we need to get back to Camelot post haste.”

“I understand. I shall guide you.”

Before they left, Martel turned to the guards. “Seeing as the King can not defend himself, it will be up to you to protect him. I’ll be sure to thank you all for your dedication and visit your homes and residences personally.”

At Martel’s words, the guards who intended to leak the news broke down into a cold sweat. There was no protection for whistleblowers so, if the news leaked, they and their families would be in danger from retaliation. Not only were they now unwilling to leak the news, but would ensure no one else would.

Under the leadership of the Queen who appeased the guards, Martel and party left the palace of Roxburghshire.

As they left, Martel began to assess what happened to see if it was a viable option to have done instead of the duel with Tom. The answer he came to was only a possible yes. Because he defeated the Demon King, he had far more reputation and goodwill. Without it, this would look far to suspicious. He got the peace he wanted and helped Roxburghshire, so he would appear to have no reason to harm the King. Additionally, the excuse would be less believable. However, even now, he had to tread carefully and hope the Queen could competently create the cover story.

With a worried heart, Martel led his party back to Camelot.