56. Agreement

                                    

                                          



'Weakness'. The Queen was looking out of the window how her husband ran like a madman to meet his brother.
She was angry. She was furious at herself. She was ashamed for having thought that they were her weakness.
Coming back alive from Wisingam's palace, after humiliating him on the battlefield, that young man wasn't a weakness. He didn't even give them time to prepare his rescue and he was already back, miraculously.
How? What did he do to be free? She leaned against the window, holding her now big abdomen with both her hands to see if he was hurt.
No wounds, no limping, not even a scratch.
Did he manage to heal himself while coming? Did he escape?
He was wearing noble Ilonian (from Wisingham's kingdom) clothes, looked like he was well fed and treated and his face was as unreadable as usual.
'What happened?'
As he came up, Caleb, Emilia, Mika and Joy jumped around him and took him in a group hug.
Greg's face was pure confusion but his happiness was so overwhelming that it wasn't even visible.
'How ?'
Everyone wanted to ask.
Amiel was smiling warmly and as he saw the queen coming down the stairs, holding a hand on her stomach, he walked to her, bent a knee and delivered a message.
"Your Highness the Queen, I have a message for You from King Wisingham."
She was taken aback, hoping she would warmly hug him like all of his friends but instead receiving this solemner message.
As she read the letter, she was astonished:
A declaration of peace!
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Mister and Missis Leonheart were in their usual room. They didn't receive any news from their son for exactly forty-six days.
They sat in silence, the Duke holding in his hand the two Divine Wings their family received, one he received from the King for the solution found by his son concerning the war migration and one his son received from the Queen after he brought them victory on the battlefield.
One had an emerald, the other a white diamond lotus engraved in it, as a symbol of selfless love for the Kingdom.
They would be his pride and joy but without his son by his side, those were just amulets in the form of doves.
He was always proud of his son, hardworking, kind, mature. He was all a father could ask for.
He looked at his wife and his heart ached. She almost didn't eat or sleep. She was the strongest woman he knew but she couldn't stay strong in this situation.
Their son in the enemy's hand, the most cruel enemy of their Kingdom, after shooting an arrow straight at him. What would happen to him now?
He was never able to shoot an animal while hunting with his father but was able to shoot the king straight in the chest after predicting his plans. He always was a mysterious child...
When she heard Greg's voice, calling them, she expected the worst.
She ran down, her hand on her chest, her husband rushing to her in fear she would faint from the sudden movements and she froze, seeing him standing there, completely fine, his usual smile on his face.
"Mother, father... I'm sorry I made you worry so much..."
She couldn't hear. All she knew was that he was in her arms, alive and healthy. All she knew was that Amiel was home. Nothing else mattered.
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'You really think that will be enough for me to forgive you? You took innocent lives, burned villages, killed women and children, enslaved our people for years."
The cold dark eyes were looking down at Wisingham. He was desperate, he wanted to beg for the first time in his entire life.
"What else do you want me to do? Just tell me and I will do anything! I will give you anything you want!"
A smirk appeared on the young man's face. His eyes were crueler than ever.
He put his legs on the table and took a handful of grapes from the golden plate full of fruits and slowly started to eat, one by one.
"First, you'll have to repent. Go to the temple and beg the Goddess of Light to forgive you. You have to do it until your power is pure and white again."
The king was hypnotized by his every move. "I will do it."
"Then you'll write me a declaration of peace, sworn on your honour, with high consequences if your kingdom ever breaks it."
"I will do it."
"Then you'll free all of our people from slavery. You'll abolish slavery in your kingdom altogether."
"I will do as you say. Anything you want! What else do you desire?"
Noah's face grinned in amusement. He had ran out of ideas.
"Oh, and you'll compensate us for all the damage this war has caused in our lands."
The king got on his knees next to him and he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
"If I do all of that, will you forgive me? Will you tell me about yourself?"
Noah looked at the ridiculous scene with disdain.
"I'll maybe forgive you. But I don't trust you enough to speak to you that way."
"How can I gain your trust?"
Noah's long thin fingers grabbed his chin. He got closer to his ear and whispered, like his mother used to do when torturing him.
"You'll have to keep all of your promises to me. If you do everything we agreed on, I'll reward you."
He got up, put the King's cape on and walked out.
"I'm going to the garden. I want the declaration paper ready, on my table as I come back and then I'll leave. Once you finish fulfilling all of your promises, I'll pay you a visit."
The door closed behind him as he left the man alone, in a daze.



Thank you for reading!