Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 77

She had no time for this conversation, nor was she in the mood. She walked away from Naida and headed for Nexi’s bedroom. When she stepped inside the bedroom, she placed the portrait in an empty corner of the room and threw herself on her bed. She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, drifting off to dreamland. Half an hour later, there was a knock on the bedroom door.

“Nexi?” she heard Keya’s voice call out, “Are you in here?”

Her eyes fluttered open, and she stood up, walking to open the door. She jumped on the elf upon seeing her, giving her a big affectionate hug. This caught the green-haired elf by surprise.

“Oh, Keya!” Astoria mumbled in the elf’s neck, “I missed you so so much.”

Keya chuckled, patting her back.

“We have only been apart for two nights, and you already missed me this much?” the elf asked, slightly amused.

She nodded at the elf’s question.

“Of course,” she pulled away to stare at the precious servant elf, “Don’t you know that you are my soulmate?”

Keya softly chuckled and sighed.

“Okay, okay,” the elf said, shaking her head, “If you say so.”

“Come on in,” she told the elf, stepping out the way.

The elf stepped inside her room, and she closed the door. The elf ushered for her to sit by her dresser. Astoria, confused, did as she was told and sat down on the seat in front of her dresser. Keya pulled out a hairbrush from the closet and brushed Astoria’s hair.

“So,” she heard the elf say, “Tell me, how was your trip?”

Astoria closed her eyes as she felt relaxed while Keya brushed her hair in a slow, calming, and relaxing manner.

“I was right when I told you that I could not shake the feeling that something was wrong,” she told the elf.

Keya raised an eyebrow.

“Really? Did something bad happen?” she asked, a worried tone in her voice.

The elf saw the princess nod, and she stopped brushing her hair. This caused Astoria to open her eyes and stare at the elf’s reflection in the mirror.

“Oh dear,” she heard the elf say, “What happened? You are not hurt, are you?”

She shook her head, ‘no.’

“Thankfully I was not,” she said, sighing, “However, I was caught by some spider woman who poisoned me with venom-”

“What?” Keya gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

The elf’s eyes widened in shock.

“Yashiro’s royal doctor healed me, so I am okay,” she shrugged, “I also found out some interesting information.”

Keya removed her hand from her mouth.

“What interesting information?” she asked, setting the brush down on the top of the dresser.

Astoria turned around and crossed her arms, leaning back on her chair.

“Apparently, there is a bounty on my head,” she bit her lip.

“A bounty?” Keya asked in surprise, “A bounty by who? Why?”

“The Dark Lord,” she told the green-haired elf, “He is looking for me and wants me dead or alive. I was told that my body is the perfect vessel for him as his current body is weak.”

Keya bit her lip, deep in thought. She clasped her hands behind her body, pacing back and forth in front of Astoria.

“This is bad,” Keya kept repeating, “This is really bad.”

Astoria nodded.

“It is…Which is why I have a plan,” hearing the princess’ words, Keya stopped in her tracks.

“A plan?” she asked Astoria, who nodded.

“The Goddess, Lumina, visited me in my dream and told me that I have to find the Dark Lord and destroy him,” she began to explain to the elf, who looked mortified by what she said.

“She said the Dark Lord is preparing an evil army to rule over the world,” she continued, “He is going to summon demons and the sort. I am the only one who can stop him. Correction, the Silver Ocean is the only thing that can stop him.”

The elf kneeled in front of her and held her hands.

“But you cannot even summon it,” the elf told her, her hands were trembling, “Besides, it is way too dangerous for you to find the Dark Lord. I just cannot let you do that.”

She nodded at the elf.

“I know it is dangerous,” she shook her head, “Which is why I need your help. I need you to come with me to find the Dark Lord.”

“You want me to accompany you?” the elf asked.

She nodded and sighed.

“Keya, the Dark Lord…” Astoria paused, “His existence does not just affect me, but you and everyone else. If I do not stop him, he will bring chaos to this world. Creatures and people…The innocent will die.”

Keya stood up and wrapped her arms around herself.

“I know that Nexi,” she told her, “I know that very well, but what can the two of us do? My magic barely hurt him that day he appeared in front of us.”

“Which is why,” Astoria stood up and held the elf’s hands, “I will ask for help. I already asked prince Yashiro to accompany me, and he agreed.”

“He did?” she asked, her tone hinting that she was genuinely surprised.

Astoria nodded.

“Although just the three of us traveling on this treacherous journey will not be enough,” Astoria bit her lip.

“Who else could you ask who is willing to risk their life?” Keya softly asked, “Because, Nexi, this really is risking our lives. We could die…”

Of course, she knew that they could die. They were going to face off against demons from Hades. They will have to fight evil forces who are more powerful than them, but she was not going to give up. She would make sure that everyone survived no matter what. She would not allow the Dark Lord to kill any of her companions.

“Do not worry about that for now,” she told the elf, “I’ll think of who else to ask.”

Keya shook her head. Astoria could clearly see that the elf did not like the idea of finding the Dark Lord, and she did not blame her. It really was scary for her because if she died, she would really die this time. Her soul would not swap into another body. She would never be able to go back to her world, to her old body, and to her career, which she dearly missed.

“Anyway,” she sighed, “I just remembered that I have an upcoming assignment for Magic History.”

“Oh?” Keya smiled a bit, “Is it a quest or individual assignment?”

“I do not know,” she replied, “Mr. Shawix…”

She paused and nodded.

“Yeah, Mr. Shawix is his name. He will tell us this week whether it’s a quest or not. Laurelai told me she hopes that it is a quest.”

Keya laughed at the remark about Laurelai.

“Yeah,” the elf said, nodding, “That is so like Laurelai. Her father is so strict on her since she is the only child, so he barely allows her to travel to places.”

“Ah, I see,” Astoria said, nodding, “Is it because she is the only heir to the Summer Court?’

The elf nodded, and she understood.

“Then I understand why he is strict,” she told the elf.

She threw herself on the bed.

“Oh! I just remembered that I will be going to East C-coril?” she tried to remember the name of the place.

“East Corrilt?” Keya corrected her.

“Ah, yes,” Astoria nodded, “I’ll be going there for my Riddle Language Studies class. It is part of my assignment to develop my riddle skills.”

Keya nodded.

“Yes. Your father received the indemnity forms for him to sign. The trip will be from Tuesday to Thursday.”

“Huh?” Astoria raised her eyebrows in surprise, “What about my other classes? Won’t I miss them?”

“Exemption,” the elf simply said.

Astoria pressed her lips together. She thought it was pretty cool that the Riddle Language Studies students would be exempt from their other classes.

“I knew it,” she mumbled, “Schools here are definitely different from those in my world.”

“What was that?” Keya asked, “I could not hear you.”

“Oh, it is nothing,” she sighed, “Will I be safe from the Dark Lord though, I wonder?”

That was one of her biggest fears right now. What if he attacked her classmates and her while on the trip?

“The king offered to send two royal guards to accompany and protect you,” the elf informed her.

She internally groaned because she knew their presence would not ease her mind. They were not strong enough to protect her and her classmates.

“Plus,” she heard the elf add, “Your teacher, Miss Yalvina, is actually quite powerful, so don’t worry.”

She nodded, not sure if she should feel relieved that her teacher is strong as she was unsure if her strength would be enough for her to protect her students.

‘Well,’ she thought, ‘I will just put my faith in her for a bit.. I also need to sharpen my skills and familiarise myself with the magic leather book that the king gave me.’