Chaos was bandaging and applying oil to Carysse’s bruises on her feet.
The sun had fully risen and they were at a house of one of the civilians who was kind enough to lend his home to treat the wounded, especially Lord Adreic. He was in a critical state and they were preparing to transfer him to be brought to the royal doctors.
The ointment stung and Carysse was doing her best to not groan in pain because she didn’t want Chaos to laugh at her. None of them spoke for a few minutes. Chaos stood and cleared all the blood-stained cloths that he used.
Carysse saw the fresh stack of blue clothes at the table. Chaos saw her eyeing it and he said,”That’s yours. I will go outside while you change.”
He was about to stand up when Carysse spoke. “Can you do me a favor while you’re outside, then? I just want to speak with one of the noble ladies one more time.”
“And who may that be?” It was rare for him to be curious. Or was that the Chaos she knew two years ago?
“Liblei. Libeli Okkoa, a participant of the Zeikontour. She took me in when I was wandering the streets of Apharothia.”
Because it took you long enough to find me, Carysse was about to say but then she deemed it to be unfair because certainly, it would not be easy to find one person in the whole of Apharothia.
“Oh,” Chaos said.
“By the way, did you know that I would be there?” Carysse asked. It felt like it was too good to be true that the one who came to their rescue was Chaos. Apharothia was a wide place. Chaos and Carysse were both separated even before coming to the city. To think that they were reunited quickly was a miracle.
“The attack of the Mahan was a blessing in disguise. The messengers kept on coming. The king had already contacted his own magicians and they were able to keep track of what was happening inside. They reported a woman armed with a unique silver and an enabled fighter. And I don’t know anyone who fits that description better than you.”
Carysse hoped that she wasn’t blushing. She shouldn’t be. But with him sounding like he was proud of her, it was not easy to ignore it. This was Chaos, someone who never showed much emotions yet here he was with this friendly atmosphere.
Chaos walked towards the door. “I’ll send for Lady Liblei Okkoa to be here.”
He closed the door gently and Carysse was able to breathe. It was good that Chaos had some sort of character change but she didn’t understand why her body still felt that it was suffocating to be around him? No matter what good thought she had of him, even trying to relive their past friendship, she still trembled.
She wasn’t even aware of her own mind that it was suddenly flashing back that dark memory. Even if it was just for a couple of seconds, it was enough to make her uncomfortable around her.
Lean on each other. Those were Ashki’s words that she should never forget. Maybe she won’t ever get over what Chaos did, but she could try to live with it bit by bit. Carysse took hold of the blue fabric. It was a blouse whose sleeves didn’t even reach her elbows and a skirt that reached her knees. Both were made of the same cloth. When she put it on, only did she see that at the front of the blouse was an embroidered pattern of a black drake, the rumored beast that once ruled Apharoth. Carysse thought that it was familiar and realized that she saw it on the Chaos’ breastplate and even his golden brooch that held his one-sided cloak was a drake.
“Carysse, are you done? One of her maidservants is here.”
Carysse immediately put on her skirt and tied it securely. Finally, she was wearing clothes that weren’t too long to hamper her movements.
“I’m done. Please come in,” she said. The maidservant was one of those that pleaded with her to be with Liblei for Carysse to protect her. If she could correctly remember, her name was Azelle.
“Oh, it’s good to see that you are safe!” She cried and hugged Carysse. Carysse was taken aback by her reaction. She suddenly didn’t know what to do. Azelle pulled back.
“I heard from Lady Liblei of how you protected all of them.”
Carysse meekly nodded. “It’s fine. She gave me food and a place to sleep. Let’s just say that I was just paying her back. Where is she? Is she all right?”
“We had to rush her home to her medic. Her physical complications show in times of stress and if we are not able to prevent it, she gets sick for a long time. We were looking for you earlier.”
She didn’t know that Liblei was sick. She looked so healthy.
“I see. I’ll drop by when I can. I know that you are busy as you are the lady’s trusted one. I will see you and the others soon. I will just settle some things here.”
Azelle nodded. She bowed and thanked Chaos as he held out the door open for her. Carysse picked up her dirty clothes. Although she had changed into fresh clothes, a good bath and a breakfast was next on her list. After experiencing such a terrible night, she figured she had the right to demand sleep and food for the whole day.
Not soon after Azelle left was there a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Chaos said. The door creaked open and it showed a soldier. She noticed that he was wearing the same breastplate as Chaos because it also showed a black tattoo of a drake.
“It’s time to depart, sir. The king has asked for your presence.”
Carysse saw Chaos close his fists. He sighed. “All right, then. Rally the men. We’ll go in about five minutes.”
“Understood, sir.”
Chaos wouldn’t look at Carysse. He knew that she was full of questions and he wanted some time to formulate the answers in his head but Carysse beat him into it.
“You’re a prince of Apharoth,” Carysse blurted out. Chaos looked at her, fully receiving her prying eyes. It was a little obvious. Of all the soldiers that came to their rescue, he was the only one with a cloak, the soldiers seemed to revolve around his words, and everyone was bowing at him. She also could remember what he said at the village that he had already prepared everything here in Apharothia.
“You didn’t tell us. Is this related to why you left two years ago? Did you feel guilty knowing that the ones who attacked us were soldiers from Apharoth?” He was taking his time to answer. He just ordered that they would be leaving in five minutes yet it seems he will be the one disobeying his words.
“That’s a different story. But no, it’s not that I didn’t want to tell you my real identity. When I first came to the village, I literally had nothing left. Long story short, Mahan stripped me of everything that I had. And when I came to Thalisse, I believed that it was no use declaring myself as a prince. I lived among that peaceful village as a nobody and slowly, I started to gain what I thought I lost–my strength and my life. So when the Lifir family launched their attack on us and declared war on the throne, I had to do my part, as a royalty that lived among you. I just didn’t have time to explain because I feared that I would lose everyone around me if I revealed who I was, especially that I am related to the Lifir family.”
Carysse’s ears perked at that.
“You are?”
Chaos drew in a breath and slowly released it as if preparing to reveal himself–the one thing that he couldn’t do that day, as he claims.
“You are the first to hear this after how many years that I didn’t dare tell it to anybody ever since Mahan took everything away.” His eyes never left Carysse.
“I am Chaos Vahamor, the only son of the reigning king. And Prince Saizen Lifir is my cousin.”