The Royal Mark-Chapter 229: Reunion
Andrius asked permission from Elandir to use the route from east of Zemaria going to the south of Qiryn to enter the waters of Vrenada in order to reach Arcanis. The Crown Prince of Zemaria chose to do this to avoid the patrol of Kurzen, Saldivar, and Arcanis. They usually roam in the south and southeast of Zemaria where they would likely expect their troops will come from.
By doing this, the water and earth mages could enter the river that lies between Vrenada and Kurzen. They will be in disguise and pretend to be the human slaves of Vrenada and are sent by King Stephan to help in the preparation on the night of the blood moon.
"Marina! What are you doing here?" Elsa exclaimed spotting the mermaid on the ship’s main deck. She was surrounded by her mages and other people who boarded their ship.
Elsa was having a meeting with her uncles and the elite alphas inside the ship when they heard a commotion outside. They have been sailing for two days now and have entered the territory of Qiryn where they are safe and will remain undetected by their enemies.
"Look who I’ve got!" Marina said as she turned around.
Elsa’s eyes widened and her tears quickly built up, threatening to fall any moment. She saw Rocco smiling in Marina’s arms, amused by the people surrounding him.
She ran to her son and immediately hugged him after Marina handed him over. "My goodness it has only been less than a week and you’ve grown already! What are you eating to be as heavy as this?!" she commented.
"Just your milk Momma. Thanks to Elandir he doesn’t need to drink cow’s or goat’s milk."
Elsa turned her head in the direction of the voice and smiled. On the other hand, her mages showed different emotions, upon seeing Hera board the ship.
"Princess! Is that really you?" Rylie asked, on the verge of crying.
"Even though I am thirteen years older now, I am still beautiful like before I left right?" Hera jested but Rylie and Arla did not laugh. Instead, they almost jumped and embraced the princess that they used to serve before Elsa.
"Hmm... Looks like you miss me that much..." Hera said.
Baahu, Kaizer, and Dasher were more calm than the two ladies as they approached her.
"We thought we would never see you again Your Highness. We are happy that you are well," Baahu said.
"And I am happy that you have found your mate!" Hera teased, causing Baahu to blush and scratch the back of his head.
"Not that I am complaining, but what are you all doing here?" Elsa interrupted their reunion.
"Well, since you are already in Qiryn, Marina suggested that we drop by so you could see Rocco. Plus, I want to introduce my grandson to my brothers and boast about how handsome he is. Where are they?" Hera asked.
"Over here sister," Andrius said.
Hera greeted Andrius with a wide smile and opened up her arms to hug him.
"It is so good to see you brother," Hear uttered.
"And it’s nice to finally meet you again. I was kind of jealous when I found out that you met with Drake when we tried to bring Elsa home but didn’t even bother to show yourself to me," Andrius pouted while crossing his arms.
Hera playfully hit his chest and said, "It’s because I don’t want to burden you with unimportant information when you already have a lot on your plate. But I am here now, alive and well."
"I’m really happy to see you sister. But introduce me to your grandson before anything else."
When they turn around to find Elsa and Rocco, they find the boy in Drake’s arms surrounded by Elsa’s mages and Chris’ elite alphas.
Everyone was talking and wanting to take Rocco, overwhelming him.
"Hey, all of you move! You are going to make him cry," Andrius said as he approached the little prince who was about to cry.
"Come here, our little prince," Andrius spoke to Rocco as he took him from Drake.
Upon Andrius taking him, his mouth immediately turned into a frown, and he let out a loud wail, startling Andrius and causing him to enter a state of panic.
"Is he okay? Did I hurt him?" Andrius inquired, directing his question to no one in particular, while gently swaying the little prince.
Elsa and Hera laughed at the crown prince before Elsa took her crying son from him, "You certainly did not. He probably got overwhelmed with everyone and is surely hungry too. I’ll take feed him first, you guys enjoy your reunion."
Hera waited for Elsa to get into the ship before she gathered her brothers, the mages, and the elite alphas.
"When you get to Arcanis, I need you all to make sure that Elsa stays calm. Whatever happens or whatever she sees you have to ensure that she will not lose her temper and self-control," Hera asserted.
"What’s the reason for that?" Andrius asked as he always does being the leader of the group.
"I can’t tell you. If I do then you might accidentally tell her and it will fail," Hera replied.
"Great... Another secret," Drake uttered, rolling his eyes.
"You know that there are certain things that need to be revealed at the right time, and consider this as one of those things." Hera patted Drake’s shoulder before following Elsa inside the ship.
Before reaching Elsa’s quarters, she found Ciel in the hallway.
"How is it going, Ciel? Any progress?"
[Still the same. She is constantly worried about everything. It’s giving me a headache.]
"I’ll talk to her..."
Hera knocked on the door knowing that Elsa was breastfeeding Rocco and made herself known. "It’s me, sweetheart, may I come in?" She heard Elsa sniffed before responding.
"Come in, Mom..."
"You’re crying again, dear?"
"I’m sorry. I promised you I would be strong before I left Qiryn but I can’t help it. I miss Rocco every minute that I am not with him. I know he is well and being taken care of but I can’t stop worrying. I am always thinking if he is hungry or comfortable and many other things," Elsa admitted.
Hera sat beside Elsa and gave her a reassuring smile. "That’s what you call motherhood and that is perfectly normal. I felt that way when you were younger and even more when I left you. You can’t stop the mother from feeling that. But can you promise me to try harder, dear? Or else you will also make me worried."
"I will try my best, Mom. But I will not make any promises. My emotions right now are unstable. I wish it was not but it is what it is. And I think it is best if you will leave as soon as I feed Rocco or else I will just miss him more."
"I understand, dear. Remember to meditate daily it could help you," Hera reminded her before leaving.
As soon as Rocco was fully and sleepy, Elsa sent them away. And she stayed standing on the main deck until their boat faded in the horizon.
"I envy you, Princess. Rocco is just perfect. Kaizer and I have been trying to conceive for a while now but still nothing. I badly want a baby and be a mother like you," Rylie said when she joined Elsa in the main deck, both staring afar.
"You will have yours at the right time, Rylie. You are lucky that you have none yet now. This period is not the best time to have babies. Just look at how am I doing now. We also don’t know what will happen after the war this period is full of uncertainties."
"You’re right, but I hope after this, I will get pregnant already. I tried so many methods and none had been effective," Rylie revealed.
Elsa looked at her and squinted her eyes, "Do you mean that you have been to other healers?"
"Yes, Your Highness. My mother suggested that because we suspect that there is something wrong with me, but no one can tell me what’s wrong," she said to Elsa.
"Okay, after this war I will check you, and let’s see what I can do medically, alright?"
Rylie nodded happily before they heard Andrius call everyone.
"We will enter the territory of Vrenada tomorrow if all water and air mages will help in steering the ships tonight. At noon we will stay in Vrenada and we will separate ways. Elsa’s team together with Elandir will leave at night to check and scout the Blackhart Castle.
Chris’ elite alphas will lead that mission while Drake will join the water and air mages heading to the south. I will join King Stefan’s entourage and disguise as his sister’s human blood servant. We will all meet each other on the night before the blood moon which is seven days from now," Andrius said.
He then looked at the mages and ordered, "Now everyone, get to work so we can reach Vrenada in time."
