That night Leo slept badly. Not feeling very rested, he walked through the city and looked at all the shops. It was very strange, the marketplace was filled as usual, all the stalls were open and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. For Leo it could only have one meaning, apparently their king was not quite as perfect as he thought. Many seemed liberated, as if a small burden had been lifted from them. The city was huge, even more huge than the human capital and had almost three times as many stands. Leo had to think of something for his future trip. Therefore, he looked for the best blacksmith in the city, because it was urgent that he had a weapon in his hand again. All the people referred him to an old raven man who owned a forge next to the palace. His store looked run down but Leo saw that these weapons were very well made. He was on par with the dwarven blacksmith he worked with. And his craftsmanship was of the highest quality.
"You certainly got here early, young man. I was just about to open, usually there are no customers in the morning. It seems it's something urgent by the look on your face."
He had gray feathers and was quite old but he had a very good sense of what his customers wanted.
"For a young man your size...you are looking for a short sword or a dagger? No, you want me to make you something, am I correct?"
"That's right, you have good instincts. I want to use your skills in other ways, I want to create my own weapon."
"Actually I don't do custom work anymore but I will give you an offer: If your weapon idea is exciting and new I will try to make it."
Leo drew him the weapon blueprint. At first it looked like a longsword, but towards the tip it took a slight curve. The blade itself seemed too long for that of a longsword, and the handle was also thin and wide, with a ring to hold it between the handle and the blade.
"And you want me to make something like that? With the way it's built, it's going to break right away, you realize that?"
"The weapon is not to be made like a normal sword. There is a way to make it stronger and sharper."
Leo used his blueprint to explain to him exactly how he wanted it made. He presented the blacksmith with a method that is very complex but makes weapons even more stable.
"This method just sounds crazy and hardly possible to do. Do you realize how many materials it takes? But you're lucky, I've been called crazy before so I'll give it a try. If it really works then my business will be even more worthwhile."
" How long will it take you to make the weapon?"
"Hey hey young man, don't rush me. Don't you see how complicated the steps are?This will take some time to get done. First of all I need to pick out a material to get to work with."
Leo grabbed his helmet and placed it on the blacksmith's workbench.
"This material should be more than sufficient. Be careful when melting it, there might appear black smoke but it should not be harmful unless I am present. I'll give you two days then I'll leave."
"Two days? I would have to work through day and night, besides I can't guarantee a good result with the effort. At the end of the day the deal could hurt us both so why don't you withdraw your offer and we'll re-negotiate.
"This is my only offer, either you try it in the 2 days or you never see this material again. Believe me, it's the rarest thing in this world."
The blacksmith gulped and sighed. He scratched his head, took a deep breath, and after a moment's hesitation, accepted Leos offer. After all, he had nothing to lose but his sleep. Leo had no choice but to believe in him. Besides, he had been planning to make a similar weapon soon. After visiting the blacksmith he went back to the tavern, there Lynia was waiting for him to tell Leo her decision.
"I can see from your face that you've reconsidered. So, what exactly is your next goal?"
"Wherever the stubborn, cold and heartless man goes. Even if it gets dangerous, at least I can train in combat and get better."
"If that's all you care about, then I can provide you with a training partner who will train you in a safe zone."
"That's just one of the secondary reasons why the trip will be good for me. But my main reason for participating is to be able to defeat you at some point."
"So I'm your enemy? Lynia, I don't have time for these games."
"I don't mean in battle. For me, just being able to see through you is a victory. I will defeat you by being able to see through your secrets."
"That's probably the dumbest reason I've ever heard, that's your goal?"
"You have vulnerabilities somewhere too, I think they're hidden inside you somewhere and I'm going to coax them out."
"So you don't care that you can just die? I've said before, even if you find out the truth you won't like it in any way. And I don't need an ally to mess up my plan because of his feelings later on."
"Either way, there are countless dangers lurking in this world, so what does a few more matter. And as long as it doesn't involve me or my family, I won't get in the way of your plan."
"Possibly innocent people who have families and friends will die. Without hesitation, they will suffer death."
"In the past few weeks, I have seen so many innocent elves die. What does a few humans matter, their race has nothing to do with me."
Leo got a headache from their discussion. Her reasons were absurd yet justified. He was hardly revealing anything about himself. With time Aiden, Lynia and later Auris were annoyed and pretty damn curious who exactly was standing in front of them.
"Tsk, do what you want..."
After the two agreed, they heard someone rumbling down the stairs. His eyes were red underneath and outwardly he was a mess.
"Hello fellow travelers, King Aiden reporting for duty. Give him a few more hours and three hot meals and he'll be as fit as he's ever been."
His blond hair was completely disheveled and his face distorted from fatigue. He went to the table and ordered a meal.
"So, what do we do with him? I don't like to travel with a half-dead person."
"He's in luck this time, we can't leave here yet. I still have an important conversation with the new queen and her guard."
Aiden didn't even notice that the two had left the tavern. On the way to the palace, they saw a large line of beastmen heading for the throne room. Without paying attention to them, Leo and Lynia pushed their way past them and entered the hall. When the queen saw them, she sent all her followers out of the palace. No visits were allowed for the the next time. Leo looked around while Serezia and Fenrias greeted them.
"You knew we would come sooner or later. And I knew you had a lot to do from now on, so I gave you some time. But now we are going to have an important chat about the future, however, first I have a few questions. Who exactly is sitting in front of me right now, is it the princess or the former slave?"
"A mixture of both, since I've been here things from my childhood come to mind but more and more memories of the previous owner of the body are disappearing."
"Her name was Auris, don't you dare forget her name and dishonor her family. Second question: who exactly are you two and where are you from? I could never communicate with Metsu directly. We only communicated through signals but it seems that he can understand you well after all."
Serezia told Lynia and Leo to come into a small room. There she told their story and where exactly they both came from. The young man couldn't believe it at first but after a short hesitation he accepted her answer.
"That means even though he has this form he can't talk to me directly?"
"In my time, each tribe had its own language that was very similar to the others. Over time, the forms of language and ways of speaking must have changed. I can only talk to you because Auris' memories allow me to. Fenrias grew up with my brother, he only understands our old language."
"Of course, something goes wrong with that again, great. So, do you still have enough memories about the deal with Auris?"
"I know your deal and I also understand your intention to establish a new ruler. But I can't grant you your wish, first I have to take care of my people. I can't just wage war against the humans. You must find another distraction for your trip to the human king."
At this point, everyone in the room understood how exactly Leo had planned with Auris from the beginning. To him, she was a tool for his plan.
"Even if I wanted to use her for that, it has given her a better life. She saw her family again and escaped the clutches of the humans. She had every reason to wage a war against the humans."
"You wanted to put her personal feelings above that of her people, wouldn't she be exactly the thing you are trying to destroy?"
Serezia had seen through Leo entirely, from his actions with Auris she could figure out his goal of killing the human king.
"The thing I want to destroy will soon threaten you with destruction, before that it would be better to take the first step yourself."
"I will not sacrifice troops for a plan that has no guarantee of success. If it fails I will have lost nothing but if it goes well I hope to have an ally in the human kingdom."
"So you want to leave me more work and not help even though you wouldn't even be here without me?"
"Of course I am grateful but gratitude only goes so far. This is what my brother taught me, his leadership strategy was impeccable so I will try to honor it."
"I have provided freedom, I have protected from death, I allowed Auris to see her family and in the end I have led her to the throne to some extent. But now a lost princess refuses to help me even though there will soon be a war between the humans and you anyway?"
"Fenrias was also very largely responsible for my rescue, so don't forget to mention him. I will use the time until the war in other ways. Hopefully you will manage to prevent this danger even without my help."
Leo became angry, his aura changed but Fenrias asked him to calm down by his signs. Leo knew that his partner had reached his goal after an eternity, but his target was still far away. Inside he knew that his Metsu deserved rest but his anger made him soon forget that.
"Now you also expect me to go on and achieve my goal without your help? Sounds to me like your brother's strategy is sneaky, cowardly, and without the slightest trace of honor. In fact, what about Auris, without her you would never have ended up here and yet she disappears without leaving even the slightest trace."
Serezia did not let herself be provoked on the outside but inside she was hurt by her brother's insult.
"It is true that her memories will soon be replaced by mine but her sacrifice was for the greater good."
"These two words mean nothing. They are only a justification for one' s purposes no matter how cruel or senseless they are."
"Actions weigh heavier than words yet their timing is decisive. I will not help you with your desired ways. Nor can I give you back your weapon, you know the reason better than I do. After all, it is from our people, isn't it? I was wondering how you could make a pact with Fenrias, and the weapon was the only way. Some of the runes are on your body, these glyphs are from our time. But I will not erase your pact with Fenrias. In his memories you have a big role, without you he would never have found me, so he asked me not to do it."
Leo could hardly believe what he was hearing. How simple these words of the princess were, she only thought about her future and wanted to let the past rest. Leo unexpectedly calmed down, he demanded to see the weapon one last time. Suddenly he cut his arm, the blood dripped onto the blade, but this time it turned white. The runes on his body disappeared. Fenrias got a big headache and wanted to take the sword from Leo. But before he reached him, he saw that the runes of the sword on Leo's skin and on his fur disappeared. He became sad, dropped to his knees and looked at the ground.
"You can have your sword back. From now on, I have no attachment to any beastmen. You have achieved your goal Fenrias so enjoy your freedom. I don't need a guardian of a princess on my side. Do not expect help from me when you are in need, princess."
That was the first and last time he called him Fenrias and not Metsu. The wolf felt a part of him disappear, the memories of his master and the memories they had together. The wolf yelped and looked Leo in the eye. The man turned around with cold eyes and left the palace. From now on his only friend was dead to him, he wanted no connection with Serezia and her people.
"It's a shame that you just leave him behind like that. But maybe it's better this way, now he can completely focus on his task-
Suddenly, an arrow shot toward Serezia, striking very close to her. Leo had taken Lynia's bow to make her understand what exactly he was.
"I can tell you one thing: even if the humans become your allies, your people are not safe from me. This is my answer to your statement. Who knows what will happen in the future, right?"
Leo's threat was serious, he would not hesitate for a second to kill a beastmen if necessary. Just as Serezia wanted to put her people before everything else, thus Leo became another possible obstacle.