The Royal Mark-Chapter 164: Cranky Old Dog
The raging ocean calmed down and while the two furballs were enjoying the cold ocean breeze Elsa kept a small fire on her palm to keep her warm. It was dark and only the full moon and the stars could be seen.
"It’s the full moon. Werewolves are stronger during this time right," Elsa asked her girls.
[They sure are,] Ciel answered.
"That means, my husband and the rest should be fine. Maybe they took over the enemies’ ship and returned to Zemaria to turn them over to the king," Elsa uttered.
[Possibly,] Gaia tersely answered.
"I wonder if this boat is still sailing towards Qiryn. I am not sure if I also broke that spell. What do you think?" Elsa asked her dogs once more.
[Maybe,] Ciel replied.
Elsa frowned and her face turned sour noticing the short uninterested responses of her dogs, who were not even looking at her.
She followed their line of sight as they were looking down on the water, "What’s that?"
[We were trying to decipher as well,] Ciel said.
"It’s glowing, isn’t it? Or it’s just my eyes or the moon’s reflection?" Elsa pondered while staring at the faint light that an object under the sea was emitting.
[Go get it,] Gaia said.
"Why me? It’s your idea, you get it," Elsa responded.
[Err... Because you are human and we are dogs, that’s why.]
"What if it’s something that bites people?"
[Then you will swim away fast,] Ciel sarcastically said.
"Let’s just leave it."
[What if it’s something important? Didn’t you notice? The boat stopped moving and stayed right above it. I feel like it’s calling us,] Ciel stated.
"Okay, okay, I’ll get it." Elsa tried to do the whirlpool that she created a while ago but nothing is happening.
[Are you going to keep standing there all night? Should we sleep first?] Ciel impatiently commented.
"Cranky old dog..." Elsa murmured to herself.
[I heard that! This is a small boat you know!] Ciel retorted.
Elsa rolled her eyes before jumping into the water to retrieve the object that her dogs were obsessed with. The closer she gets to the object, the more familiar it becomes until she finally reaches it.
’So you survived the wreck, huh?’ she thought.
Elsa took the Moonstone Mithril Staff and swam back to the boat. Ciel helped her with the staff while Gaia grabbed her belt with her mouth, helping her climb the boat.
[This is a surprise,] Ciel said.
"Well, it looks like the staff doesn’t want to be left alone in the middle of the ocean and wants to go home with us."
The wind started blowing hard and Elsa cuddled with her dogs until she fell asleep.
When she opened her eyes, she was no longer at sea but in the middle of a burned forest with smoke still lingering in the place. She looked around and saw the snowy mountain she saw in her dream the other day.
"Am I in a dream again? But this feels so real," she murmured after smelling the scent of burning wood.
’Why do I keep that snowy mountain?’ she pondered as she began to walk towards it. But no matter how fast and how far she walked, she didn’t seem to come close to her desired destination.
"Why?! Why is this happening to me?! I just want to sleep and be with my husband again, is it that hard to get?!" Elsa screamed and heard her voice echoed back.
She hasn’t rested well after the attack, and her merging with Nile, and now she has to deal with her dream. It’s like a puzzle that she needed to solve but she doesn’t even have any interest in doing so.
Her dreams or rather nightmares, motivated her to learn more about herself and she did. But now she is happy with her life. She found out her true identity, met more of her family, and even married the most handsome and loving man that she could ever dream of.
Even though her parents are no longer with her, she still has her grandparents, uncles, and husband who support her. She also gained new friends and allies, so if she was going to choose which world she wanted to live in, she would definitely choose Vectus.
Her nightmares before led her to Chris and Zemaria, so it is a complete mystery what is her dream all about now.
She kept walking since that’s the only thing she could do. This time she was able to reach the end of the devastation that she created when she cast a blast wave, burning everything around her.
There was vegetation again but unlike where she came from before, where it was lush and green, here, it was like autumn. The trees’ leaves were turning yellow, orange, red, and brown.
There were falling leaves everywhere, and only the sound of her feet crushing the leaves that covered the forest ground could be heard. She kept moving forward hoping that there was an exit or portal that would take her home.
"When is this going to end, huh?" Elsa uttered.
After what seemed to be hours of walking, she decided to rest and sit under a tree laying her back against its trunk. While resting she heard the sound of water droplets. It was so loud that it was as if she was sitting next to it.
Hearing the sound of water made her thirsty, she examined her surroundings, trying to locate the source of the sound.
"I wonder if my water magic would work here? My fire did, maybe I should try," she said to herself.
She lifted her hand, closed her eyes, and concentrated. She recalled how she could configure fire out of nothing at the same time she tried to remember how she felt when she created a whirlpool in the water. Even though it was a new skill for her, she was able to recollect the different feelings that she felt during the time that she merged with Nile.
"I felt as if a heavy burden was lifted from my chest. My anger was gone. My breathing became serene, my mind was at peace. Right... It was peaceful and calm. Just like still water calm and the sound of water gives us peace. Nile is the opposite of Nuri. They are Yin and Yang!"
When Elsa opened her eyes, there were droplets of water forming what looked like a line suspended in the air. She decided to follow them.
After a few minutes of walking the water droplets led her to a well. Her eyes lit up and her lips curved into a smile. "Water!" she exclaimed.
She immediately ran toward the well and drank water from it.
"Free us! Save us! Free us! Save us!"
She heard it again...
She looked around but there was no one.
"Free us! Save us! Free us! Save us!"
"Who’s there? Show yourself!" She walked around but the voices became faint.
She walked back to the well and heard that it was where she could hear it the loudest. "Are you inside the well perhaps?" she uttered with hesitation.
"FREE US! SAVE US! FREE US! SAVE US!"
"Ahh!!!" Elsa screamed when the water in the well was sucked in including her.
[Elsa! Elsa! Wake up!] Gaia exclaimed as she used her paws to nudge her, just like what they used to do back in Novus whenever she had a nightmare.
Elsa opened her eyes upon hearing Gaia’s voice. She was catching her breath, she could still feel the sensation of falling from the well, and her heart was beating faster.
[What did you dream about? You were screaming,] Ciel asked in a worried voice.
"It was the same dream I had the other day where I burned a huge chunk of the forest. But this time I found a well and got sucked in it then I woke up," she narrated.
[The moonstone glowed before you screamed. It must be related,] Gaia said.
[It must be. Haven’t you noticed? All your dreams always lead you to something,] Ciel spilled.
*SWISH*
Arrows started flying towards their boat without warning.
"What the hell! Divinuum Presidium!" Elsa quickly cast her divine protection spell and looked around but found no one.
"Show yourself!" She demanded, only to receive flying arrows again.
"That’s it! No more nice princess for you!"
Elsa closed her eyes, gathered her fire magic on her feet, and cast fire blast before calming her mind and creating five sets of whirlpools circling their boat to protect her and her dogs.
The arrows stopped coming and a land from afar appeared and so were the two boats firing the arrows at them.
"Welcome to Qiryn, Princess Elsa of Zemaria. Or shall I say, Queen Elsa of Arcanis? Which title do you prefer, Your Highness?" A tall man with dark green hair and pointed ears asked her with a smirk on his face as if he had not fired arrows at her just a few seconds ago.
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU, ASSHOLE? YOU FREAKING TRIED TO KILL US!" Elsa yelled angrily as she started creating fireballs in both her hands.
