Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 27

“I, uh, it hurts so much!” she cried out.

“Wait, let’s get you lying on the bed,” he said.

Yashiro carried her in his arms and gently laid her on the bed. Putting his hand on her forehead, he noticed that she was burning up and asleep, but not entirely. He rushed to the bathroom, grabbed a towel, opened the tap, and soaked it in cold water. He then wrung the towel and sat by her side. He brushed a strand of her hair from her face and set the towel on her forehead to cool her down.

He lightly stroked her cheek. A few minutes later, he sighed in relief when he saw that her breathing was back to normal. Her body was still glowing a silver hue, but the glow was not as bright as it was a few minutes ago. He was genuinely concerned about her and did not want to leave her side.

“Just what in the world is going on here?” he asked himself as he ran his fingers through his wet black hair.

He stared at the princess, who was now squirming and looked troubled in her sleep. He took out a few clothes and walked to the bathroom. When he came out, he was dressed in simple casual clothes. He took the towel and poured it with water, wringing it and placing it on her forehead again. As he watched her, he noticed her scrunching her face, but her eyes were still closed. She looked restless.

A memory of the day Nexi’s mother disappeared popped into her mind. She saw how terrifying and horrendous the orcs looked as they tied up Morvin, Naida, and Keya. She also saw how a stave struck Nexi’s mother and the queen. This memory brought goosebumps to her arms.

Another memory appeared. This time, Nexi was staring at a cake that Keya had baked for her 13th birthday. Although her siblings did not want to be there for her birthday celebration, they still sang for her and attempted to appear festive for her. Even though Nexi could sense how much her siblings did not want to be next to her, she was still delighted to have them around.

Another memory. This time Nexi was older, and she started her first day of magic school at the academy. Just like Astoria had read in her diary, she accidentally enlarged the teacher, Mrs. Elless. The whole class was laughing, and Nexi was a blushing mess. The student next to her, laughing, nudged her, and she stared at him.

“Nice going,” the student mockingly said.

Yet again, another memory played itself. This time it looked like a recent one. Nexi wanted to take a walk to the river, but she was sick.

“Keya, I want to take a walk to the river,” she told the elf.

“No, princess. You know you have a fever. I was given a strict order by your father to have you stay in your room and only let you out when necessary.”

Nexi pouted as she lay on her bed.

“But I’m so bored,” she exclaimed, dragging the ‘so.’

“Besides,” she added, “my father does not have to know. It’ll be our little secret.”

She winked at the elf who disagreed with her yet again.

“Please, Keya,” she pleaded, “It’ll just be for five minutes. Nothing more, but nothing less.”

She continued whining and pleading until the elf eventually gave in.

“Fine, but it better be five minutes and no more than that.”

Nexi jumped from her bed in excitement and almost fell to the floor. She grinned sheepishly in satisfaction.

“You have my word.”

They walked out of the palace and headed to the river. The day was sunny and mild – perfect for taking a relaxing stroll.

“You see,” she said as she hopped like a bunny, “it’s the perfect day for a lovely stroll. Besides, my father will not be back until later, and my siblings have extracurricular activities, so we’re safe from them finding out. The guards won’t say a word since you are with me.”

The elf just nodded in response and smiled at how cute the princess looked, hopping like an excited little child. Birds flew past them and sang sweet tunes. A cool, gentle breeze touched the warmth of their cheeks and neck. It made Nexi even more delighted. She tucked some loose strands of her hair, which had been blown by the breeze, behind her ear. When they reached the river, the elf lay down the mat she was carrying, and they sat down.

“Ah,” Nexi breathed out, stretching her arms in the air, “I love the smell of the great outdoors.”

The view of the scenery in front of them was breathtaking. The river flowed downstream. If you were lucky, you could see some animals coming to have a drink. As they sat in silence, admiring the lovely scenery and peaceful quiet, Keya kept count of the time. She did not want the princess to stay out for too long, afraid it would worsen her fever.

“Okay, princess. Time is up,” the elf said after five minutes.

“Aww, already?”

“Let’s go,” the elf said, standing up and taking the mat in her hands.

Nexi sighed, a sad expression on her face.

“Alright, I did say only five minutes.”

Suddenly, black bubbles began to form in the river. Keya quickly ran to the princess’ side and stood in front of her.

“Wh-what is that?” the princess pointed at the river.

“I don’t know, princess, but I don’t like the looks of it. I’m sensing bad magical energy,” the elf responded.

Her body was on high alert. Nexi looked panic-stricken as a black, smokey figure emerged from the river.

“My, my, my,” the Smoke Monster said menacingly, “if it isn’t the now grown-up princess.”

‘Oh no, this can’t be happening. It can’t be. Why is the Smoke Monster here?’

Nexi was terrified as she held on to Keya’s hand tightly.

“Teleport us back to the palace now,” she whispered to the elf.

“I’m trying, but my magic-”

“Teleporting won’t work,” the Smoke Monster cut in, “I won’t allow it!”

It growled in a deep, menacing voice.

“What do you want? Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Nexi asked the figure, a hint of fear and anger in her voice.

The Smoke Monster floated in the air and began to approach them slowly.

“I’m afraid I cannot do that, little one,” it said.

Nexi was beyond terrified. Her body and mind were too shocked and afraid of the Smoke Monster to even conjure her Silver Ocean to protect the elf and herself.

‘Come on, body. Don’t let me down. Snap out of it!’

No matter how many times she tried to focus, she could not summon the Silver Ocean. She knew that they were in big trouble.

“You are the biggest threat to my life and future plans, little one.”

She looked up at the Smoke Monster as smokey tentacles began forming out of its body. She looked at the green-haired elf, who looked just as terrified as she was. The elf knew what a formidable opponent the Smoke Monster was.

“Princess Nexi,” she whispered, “run as fast as you can back to the palace. I’ll try and distract it so-”

Suddenly, a tentacle wrapped itself around Nexi’s waist and pulled her towards the Smoke Monster. She was flung into the river and the Smoke Monster laughed menacingly.

“Nexi!” the elf cried out.

Astoria suddenly woke up from her sleep with a loud gasp. She clutched her dress tightly and found that her heart was beating like a wild animal trying to escape her chest.

“Hey, Nexi. Hey, it’s okay,” the fox cooed to her, wrapping his arms around her as she tried to calm her beating heart.

‘So that’s how Nexi ended up in the river? Oh no, this isn’t good. This is really, really not good.’