Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 43

“Nexi,” she began, eyes full of determination and hope, “if there is one thing I know about my older brother, it’s that he is the strongest fox ever. He will make it out alive, together with the guards.”

Astoria pursed her lips and stared at their clasped hands.

‘Actually, now wait a minute,’ she thought, tilting her head to the side, ‘Why in the world am I so worried about him?’

Ai observed her in silence, wondering what she was thinking.

‘Why? I mean, it’s not like I like him or anything, right? Besides, he is not even my fiancé. He belongs to Nexi. No, these are Nexi’s feelings, not mine. Yeah, that’s right.’

Ai continued to stare at her, not wanting to disturb her brother’s fiancé, who was deep in thought.

‘I mean,’ Astoria continued to talk to herself internally, ‘these are her feelings, right? There’s no way these can be mine. No f*cking way. But hold on, if my soul is in this body, doesn’t it mean that whatever I’m feeling or thinking is from myself and not her? But then again, I’m using Nexi’s brain, not mine. Man, this transmigration stuff is so confusing.’

Ai was wondering what the princess was pondering over so profoundly. She watched as various expressions flashed through her face, coming and going as fast as lightning.

‘Oh no,’ Astoria thought, letting out an exasperated sigh, ‘I am in trouble. I am in so much trouble. If these do turn out to be my feelings, this makes me a bad person. Falling for someone else’s fiancé? Since when was I so loose?’

“Are you okay?” she heard Ai ask.

She lifted her head and stared at Yashiro’s younger sister. Ai saw a glint of shock and sudden awareness in her cobalt eyes. Astoria let go of her hands and sighed, running her hands through her hair. She rubbed her eyes and sat down on the bed, staring at Ai.

“Yeah,” she replied a few moments later.

“I can stay if you want,” Ai suggested, “At least until my brother comes back.”

Ai felt that her response was not assuring. Clearly, the princess was not okay. Astoria shook her head no.

“No,” she stated, “You can go. I’ll be okay. Thank you for coming to check up on me.”

Ai clasped her arms behind her body, rocking back and forth.

“You sure?” she asked.

Astoria nodded, wanting to be alone to organise her thoughts.

“I’m okay, Ai,” she reassured her.

Ai nodded and opened the door.

“Well, if you need me, don’t be afraid to come to my room. You should get some rest, and don’t worry, my brother will come back alive,” Ai smiled and then walked out of the room.

Astoria collapsed on the bed and let out a long, heavy sigh. She spread her arms out and remained like that for a while, staring into space. Later, she tucked herself under the covers. When her eyes shut, she kept tossing and turning in the bed. Her sleep was being interrupted by thoughts of Saxhish and Yashiro.

“I cannot believe this,” she said, completely awake and restless, “You’re telling me that I’m in love?”

She facepalmed and let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Argh, I’m a homewrecker!”

She rolled in bed, internally screaming into her pillow.

“I’m such a homewrecker. What do I even tell Nexi when we meet once my mission here is done?”

She stopped rolling in bed and stared at the ceiling, covering her eyes with her hands.

“What do I tell her? ‘Oh, hi Nexi. It’s great to finally meet you. So, um, while I was in your body, I might have fallen in love with your fiancé?’ That sounds so ludicrous!”

While she was thinking of that, the battle with Saxhish was reaching its climax. Yashiro and her were neck and neck in terms of speed and attacks. Anyone could tell that both parties were utterly exhausted. She was getting aggravated and anxious because of the prince. Although they were neck and neck, she was in more pain than he was.

This was because of the previous injuries she had acquired from the guards. The carbon tetrachloride on their weapons was now making its way to her heart. This was becoming a problem as her speed and attacks were getting slower and less impactful. He smiled when he noticed that she was slowing.

‘Let’s end this while she is weak and before she tries anything to regain her strength,’ he thought.

With that, he activated his oriental element, but this time to its full capacity. Saxhish widened her eyes in shock when she saw his blade consumed by fire. She grits her teeth, and he jumped towards her at an incredible speed which she could not match to counterattack. She was instantly pierced in the heart, causing her to let out a loud shriek as the heat from the blade’s fire began to burn her heart.

He pulled out his blade from her heart, and she leaped back, falling to the floor. She placed her hand over her wounded heart. When she checked her hand, she noticed blue blood. She froze and stared with wide eyes at the fox prince, her hand covering her wound. Her breathing was now shallow, and she tried to stand up but instantly stumbled on her feet.

Gasping for air, the world seemed to spin around her. The prince strode toward her and crouched down. He stared into her crystal clear eyes with an enigmatic smile. An overwhelming feeling of dread took over her, and for a moment felt the pain getting worse and worse. She fell face flat and squeezed her eyes shut, her face turning to a grimace.

“Y-you,” she shakingly said, coughing out blue blood, “I w-will kill-”

She coughed again, slowly stretching her shaking hand to grab him, a glint of anger and pain in her crystal eyes. He stood up and scoffed.

“And how will you do that?” he asked her, a hint of amusement in his voice.

She grits her teeth and lets out a short grunt. The pain became disorienting, and it started to affect her vision. She slowly lifted her head and saw him walk towards his guards. He began slashing her webs which trapped the guards, thus freeing them. The guards that were released helped the prince free the others.

After a while, all the guards were free. Although they were bruised and wounded, it was not going to lead to their deaths. They would be fine after getting some medical attention. He walked back to Saxhish. She had stopped breathing. Her body lay lifeless on the ground. He raised his blade, activating the fire within it, and struck her head. It rolled a few steps away from her body, and he walked towards it.

“Reda Noctum, ” he uttered, causing a mellow, bronze stream of particles to emerge from his hand.

He placed his hand on her head, and the particles covered her head, turning it into dust. He stood up and put the blade in his scabbard, a sheath meant for holding his blade. He inspected the boundary and saw that it was beginning to disappear.

“Our work here is done. Let’s get out of here,” he told his guards and walked towards the entrance.

They nodded as they supported each other since they were wounded. They walked towards the entrance and stepped out of the boundary. When they were all out, they watched the boundary disappear into a smoke of dark energy. He sighed in relief that they could accomplish their mission and make it out alive.

He turned and faced his guards, a proud smile on his handsome, charming face. He stared at each guard, scanning their bruises and wounds. The guards had sweaty brows, some of their armour damaged from Saxhish’s attacks. He was extremely relieved that his guards who were trapped in acidic webs were not severely injured, thanks to the strong metals used to make their strong and almost impenetrable armour.

“Thank you for your hard work,” he began, “I know that it was not easy, and we were injured, but I’m glad that we all made it out alive. I will remove the barrier, and we will head back to the palace to get medical attention and a well-deserved rest.”

The guards nodded, and he removed the barrier. They walked to their horses, softly grunting at the pain they felt when they tried to mount them. They then began to head to the palace. At this time, the sun was starting to rise, and it was not as dark as it was before. He wondered how long they had been inside the boundary.

On their way to the palace, some of the citizens were outside. Some were busy setting up their shops for the festival, while others added the finishing touches to theirs. They bowed when they saw the prince pass by with his guards. Looks of confusion were plastered on their faces when they noticed that he, together with the guards, were injured.. He smiled as he passed them and they reached the palace gates.