The next couple of days Felixa recuperated in her room. She didn't have much to do except get fed at the right time with nourishing food. Flavia was very affectionate with her. And she was surprised to know that Julius is Flavia's husband.
She asked Flavia if she would prefer to be addressed as 'Lady' since she is the wife of a Knight, but she refused. She preferred to be called by her name and Felixa had to agree to the gentle order of the loveliest woman she knows.
Bits and pieces of memories of her past returned like passing clouds. Some from her childhood. It was funny how Tubby was there always. It was funny all those happy memories made her sob silently, making her bones melt from within.
In all her memories, he was with her. Be it the battlefield or as she toiled in the wheat fields and when she was running around the town being mischievous – he was there. He was there holding her hand when her parents died. She was sobbing like a child. She was a child, barely nine years old. He was her age too but he was there comforting her.
After her parent's death, she became depressed and stopped going out. Tubby came to find her with a wooden sword and asked her to play with him. That's how she got interested in swordplay. Her grandfather taught them some that developed her interest in swords.
She remembered keeping her first sword – the one that almost got broken to splinters, safe in a box under her bed. After she left for the academy, she didn't have the chance to return home.
The academy…
After that whipping punishment Tubby got, Luke became close with them promising to keep her gender a secret. Tubby was very accepting of him at first. Maybe it was Luke's insistence that they keep their friendship a secret from his peers of the aristocratic circle that made Tubby weary of him.
Well, she… she was stupid. Stupidly, in love.
[Love is dangerous!]
To be honest, she didn't want to remember much of Luke. She was not prepared for that. She tried to remember more about the large beasts she saw on the battlefield. She couldn't.
She could assume that something happened after Tubby's death and that is related to her being here now. She remembered feeling that if she was alive, Tubby wouldn't have died. Her desire for survival stems from that as she inferred.
She tried to find more about it but she felt like someone or something is blocking her memory. Only that particular memory is blocked. She could access other memories if she searched at the right places.
And another thing that bothered her was the shout of triumph she remembered.
'Dro-va-rys! Dro-va-rys!'
That's what the army shouted after their win. Drovarys means "Born of a Dragon". And if Luke was hailed as the son of the dragon, why was he recorded in history as "The Great King"? Why not be recorded as "The mighty Drovarys" or something?
All her thinking only drained her. She decided to gather more strength before gaining her memories.
She tried to get a hold of Pricilla but Julius was standing guard. Maximus told her that she can move anywhere she wants but she wasn't very pleased with how she will be watched all the time. So she mostly stayed inside.
The more she stayed in this body, she started to get more used to it. She started doing some workouts secretly inside the room to make the nourishment reach the body. She remembered some of her training from the past and she applied. It was hard for the body that was only used to beatings to do workouts but she knew she could get stronger by endurance.
She became a knight because of her endurance. She can still endure.
Maximus would go out in the mornings. She knew he has a lot of work to do. Although she didn't understand why they are still here. She never remembered her family. After that one day, she never met any of her family. She was told they are still not getting fed. She was alright with it.
At nights Maximus would join her and would hug her to sleep. And he would transfer his mana to her for healing.
Commingling - That's what he says it is. And it works wonders for her. It gives her a lot of strength.
That night, Maximus told her that the King of Deberia has agreed to his terms to adopt her as his daughter. He said that there is going to be a ball to celebrate the Grand Princess of Deberia.
She's heard of balls. The dance parties are arranged by the nobles and the wealthiest to show off their wealth and to proclaim their greatness. Yes, they're also used to making connections by mingling with others of similar status with them.
They say wine flows like the Yerakrak River and the people attending the Royal ball will be shimmering like the night sky. They wear the finest silk and the shiniest gems and they will feast on the table filled with every delicacy of the realm.
All intriguing stuff, really.
But she's never attended any of them. She was never in a position to show her face to others. She and Tubby would spend time drinking ale with others in a tavern.
There was one ball she wanted to attend in particular- their victory ball. She remembered buying a beautiful dress and jewelry to go with it. But she couldn't attend it. Because the person who was supposed to ask her to attend it with him didn't.
And that night as she was sitting on the roof of the inn they were staying at and gobbling down beer. Yeah, Tubby was with her listening to her ramblings.
Good days…
"Are you fine?" Maximus wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.
"Yes, I am," she smiled. "I stared at one thing for too long," she got behind him and helped him remove the robe. "And hurt myself."
[And I hurt Tubby...]
Her fingers trailed over his well-defined shoulder muscles. Even above the shirt, they were making quite an appearance awakening an odd feeling from within her. The tip of her fingers gluttonously slurped the feeling of the defined ridges of his sinews and trailed to his back.
Maximus turned and looked at her. With a slight gasp, she took a step back holding his robe. She thought he'd mock her for her desire to touch him.
But, no. He stayed silent. His lips parted a bit and she saw them trembling.
[So it is this reaction now…]
Either he'd mock her or he'd look at her as if he has a million words to say. She looked at him wondering if he'd say one or two of those words today.
[What do you want to tell me?]