The Royal Mark-Chapter 82: A Year Ago - Chris’ Story (1)
"I said body pain, Chris... Body. Pain. Not my soreness down there. I needed to pinpoint where exactly the pain was before my grandmother could heal it. Of course, I cannot tell her that I am hurting between my legs without telling her why because she will definitely ask why is it like that," Elsa snapped.
Chris pouted and rubbed his right hand against Elsa’s left leg, "So... My princess is still hurting then..." he said in a sad voice.
"Yes, I am..." Elsa replied.
"Did you ask the servants for medicine to help you heal and manage the pain?" Chris questioned.
"Yes, I did."
"So, it will lessen your pain right?"
"Yes, it will."
"So, you will be able to properly walk perhaps before the ball right?"
"Yes, I might."
"So, it means we can do it again when you feel better right?"
"Yes, we can."
"Ok, I will wait patiently then," Chris smirked mischievously while his hands were starting to roam on her body.
Elsa frowned, "Wait... What? What did you just ask?"
Chris pinched her nose and kissed her on the forehead, "I said get well soon. By the way, I might not be able to attend the memorial tomorrow. I already informed the king and he was okay with it."
"Why can’t you?" Elsa wanted Chris to be there since even though her family would be there, she still didn’t know them and it was only Chris whom she was close to in that place.
"Part of the marriage alliance is fighting for each other’s kingdom, and right now I have none. I still need to get my throne and kingdom back from my uncle. In order to do that, I must secure the support of the alphas of each pack. A lot of them are still loyal to my father and me, but some sided with my uncle. I have been gone for two years so in order to get their support my presence must be seen and felt. I must show them that I am my father’s son and more powerful than my uncle."
"Two years? How come it’s two years? I thought only one year had passed when you stayed with me in Novus?" Elsa asked. She was confused about a lot of things happening to her right now but the most confusing thing was the flow of time between the two worlds.
"I saved your mom remember? One year had passed that time too." Chris explained.
Elsa massaged her temples, "Argh... The time difference is so confusing. Thinking about it gives me a headache. I just realized that so much has happened since we met and you haven’t really told me what happened to you and her," Elsa said with curiosity.
"Well, I will leave tomorrow at dawn so I have time today, I can answer whatever questions you have right now," Chris offered.
Elsa’s eyes brightened in joy and put both her feet on the sofa and crossed her legs as she faced Chris comfortably. "Really? Ok, I’ll do that then. Tell me how you met my mom. I wanna know everything you know about her."
"Princess, Hera, and I were not close but I could tell you something related to the dreams that you’ve been having," Chris offered.
"That is fine with me. I wanna know everything related to her," Elsa answered eagerly.
"Alright then. So my father and your grandfather were friends and they have agreed to marry their children and form an alliance against Kurzen, the demon kingdom. I have a sister but she’s way younger than me so she can’t marry your uncles. My father told me when I was young that I would be the one to marry the princess of Zemaria.
And since I am already twenty-eight and I haven’t found my mate, I agree with my father. The chance of finding our mate in the vast world of Vectus is very low so I was not really expecting to find mine. I was supposed to marry Princess Milda. But the elders of the tribes in Arcanis suggested to my father to choose Princess Hera instead because of her power, which was more effective against demons.
They also found out that Queen Irina is not very fond of our kind so Princess Hera was the best option and it didn’t matter to King Allister who of her daughters we chose and that’s how I ended up with Hera. What we don’t know is that she had a different plan in mind."
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A year ago in Zemaria...
As the portal began to close and its dark yellow mist started to dissipate, Chris, wearing silver armor with a gray fur cloak stepped forward into an unfamiliar ground that he once knew. His eyebrows furrowed, his heart raced, and a mixture of anxiety and perplexity coursed through his veins.
He looked around and took a moment to catch his breath for he was overwhelmed by the sudden change of the surroundings that he was in just a few hours ago.
The ambiance of the place felt different, it was charged with energy that he was not familiar with. Tall trees, grasses, and thick bushes are all around him that were not there before. His thoughts returned to the elderly lady who held the open portal, granting him passage so he could rescue her granddaughter.
She was badly injured when he had entered the portal, but now, the old woman was nowhere to be seen at the spot where he had left her. The once familiar forest had undergone a complete transformation, now exuding an eerie vibe and showing overgrown vegetation.
"What happened here? Could someone have come to her aid?" he pondered aloud as he meticulously examined his environment.
But then he remembered – the granddaughter of the elderly woman, the very one he had managed to rescue from the clutches of the demon soldier donned in black scout armor. The initial distress that had gripped him began to subside, replaced by a sense of contentment as he reminisced about how he had defeated the demon soldier, shielding the woman from harm.
