SPARKLING GREEN EYES
***
"HAVE WE MET before?" asked the queen.
And without having to think of the words he might utter, Astier eagerly replied, his heart throbbing within his ribcage. "Yes, we have, my queen. Several times actually."
"Is that right?" Her eyes were squinting at the man whose eyes seem to appear like an emerald sparkling under the sunlight.
"He travels a lot," Ardelian inserted with unnecessary haste.
The queen thoughtfully nodded her head before turning back to her sister again. "Can you travel?"
The princess replied, "Yes, I can. But what about you? Are you sure you're feeling better now to travel back home?"
"We haven't got time to lose. Now let us go." But as soon as she stood up her body was quick to betray her when she loses her balance, fortunately, Astier was quick enough to catch her again for the second time.
"Unhand me, peasant or I'll freeze you," declared the queen with utmost graveness.
But Astier did not waver on her threat. "You used up a lot of energy from earlier. Your body must have been shocked by the sudden amount of power you demanded from it. You should rest a little more and you'll regain your lost energy. My friends and I will protect you in case another batch of Imperial soldiers arrives."
The queen quickly withdrew herself from Astier. She stared at his face, his sparkling green eyes looks sincere enough, but it can also mean that his deception might also be as good as the other humans.
She scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't need a human's protection. My sister and I can take care of ourselves. But thank you for your generosity. We'll be leaving now."
"Wait," he nearly pleaded. "I-I'm not human. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not like any of them."
A moment or two of silence has passed before the princess breaks it by approaching her sister, "It doesn't appear as though I'm taking his side but I think he's right, Neiryl. At this rate, I don't think I can handle another fight."
When the queen didn't answer, Grim decisively stepped forward. "You don't have to trust us, Your Majesty. But rest assured that I will be here to protect you."
Queen Neiryl's lips curved in a painful smile. Her icy blue eyes appeared as though a dark cloud hovered around them.
"Where was that when we needed it?"
♛♛♛
ARDELIAN AND GRIM left to gather firewood when evening came. Astier had himself occupied conjuring a new set of comfortable make-shift beds for his queen to sleep. He finished just in time when his companions returned. With the princess' fire, their evening was coated with warmth with quite only a few foods to eat.
"Forgive us, Your Majesty. We haven't had any food left for you," Ardelian deeply apologises.
"Don't be. You'd be surprised how I can survive without the consumption of food and drinks for days."
"If you're still hungry I will offer you my share. I'm not that very hungry," said Astier. But embarrassment had other plans for him when his stomach growled like thunder.
Fortunately for him, the colour of the fire matches the blush that stained his cheeks. He immediately averted his gaze out of shame.
"I think you need it more than I do."
She turns to Ardelian this time. "Why do you want to go to the Virgam Kingdom?"
"There is a sage there in which we are in desperate need of his assistance."
"I've known quite a few sages in our kingdom. Do you have a name?"
Ardelian transferred his eyes to Grim who was currently occupied with his last bread. He doesn't seem to be paying attention to them and he didn't want to hold the conversation for too long so he replied, "No. I'm afraid I don't have a name, Your Majesty."
Their conversation further went on with the queen inquiring for more convincing reasons from Ardelian as to why he and his friends are visiting their kingdom.
And for Astier Igreed, that moment has been the greatest one in his entire life. He had always dreamed about meeting his queen, the queen he only used to adore in the book. But now, the surreal moment has finally come to pass to him. He finally sees her with his own eyes and everything he read about her description in the story was more than accurate and true.
Her waist-length wavy silver hair glistens even in darkness. It has this texture of looking so smooth and he imagined that his fingers would softly glide through it if he runs his fingers through her hair. Her pale-white skin would shame his. Her eyelashes were somehow visible in his view and a few of them were white instead of a normal eyelash colour.
The queen suddenly moved and crossed her legs, her right arm was extending a little bit on the log as a support as she inclines her body. Astier's eyes landed on her palm and he began to wonder, 'Are her palms as soft and warm as how they were described in the book?'
But he held himself back lest his queen should think of him as a pervert.
"My sister and I will leave tomorrow at dawn. You noblemen don't have to go with us that early," the queen finally said.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Astier inquired.
"As I've said earlier, I don't need anyone's protection," she assured him with the utmost sarcasm. "Good night, gentlemen."
She went for her makeshift bed without waiting for their reply.
"Is she always like that?"
The princes smiled painfully. "She's just exhausted."
"And speaking of exhausted, I'll take the first watch," Grim eagerly volunteered. "You all can rest."
"Why, thank you. Have a good night, gentlemen."
♛♛♛
LATE WAS THE night, the wind brings a chilly blow, resulting in them shivering. And although the moon was bright its beam hardly penetrates through the wide open branches of the trees whose leaves are twice as large as a normal leaf.
His companions are already fast asleep, except for Grim who seems to have taken too seriously his word that he will protect them tonight. He took out several undead soldiers from the Underworld and had them surround their area.
Astier turned again. Their makeshift beds are distant from the queen and the princess. Astier can only perceive the queen's long, soft, and shiny hair from his position. His lips suddenly curved for a smile as his heart thumped.
He rose and seated.
"Can't sleep, my lord?" said Grim so suddenly, startling Astier.
He gently nodded his head.
"Does it feel unbelievable?"
His eyebrows crossed. "What's unbelievable?"
"Your countenance may not always agree with what your heart feels at the moment, but eyes never lie." He smiled before he continued, "They sparkle, my lord. They literally sparkle."
"But there is also one thing that makes me curious about you," he added.
"And what is that?"
Grim lifted his hand, his finger pointing directly at his hair. "Why is your hair glowing? What sort of magic did you put on it?"
If he know he could satisfy his curiosity but neither was he aware of its explanation. Astier only discovered that his hair can glow during the night after the event where he nearly died when the princess found him at Contella Town.
He told Ardelian about it but neither did he have an answer.
Astier went back to sleep after his short conversation with Grim. But one thing that got stuck in his head was when he pointed out how his eyes sparkles. What did he mean by that? Was he that obviously excited to have finally met the queen he had always adored?
♛♛♛
THE QUEEN WOKE up earlier than the rest of them. She pans her eyes around them and was quick to notice the familiar-looking soldiers from the Underworld. Their leader, the taker of souls, has unfortunately fallen into a deep slumber.
'They're all fast asleep.' she mentally concluded. She felt better now after that long rest. She regained successfully her lost energy. And apparently, that was the first peaceful sleep she ever had after so many years.
Like a raging arrow that pain struck her chest that very moment. Her eyes darted to the ground, the brown land whose former fresh green colour has now evaded it. She stretched her arm down and felt the rough texture of the land. The sensation it gives her reminds her of the harshness they all went through after the betrayal.
Her fists unknowingly clenches and the soles of her feet inadvertently released a freeze on the entire perimeter of their location.
'I will find you, Cordiena, and set free the others. Together we will bring chaos to the Human Land!'
Neiryl was immersed too deeply in her thoughts that her freeze had somehow scattered on the trees.
"Neiryl, wake up," Nyrinn yelled, resulting in the queen being awakened by startlement.
The queen gazed at her sister, suddenly wondering at what was transpiring.
Princess Nyrinn sighed. "You were in a trance."
"Is everything alright?" the Grim Reaper's voice alerted them both.
Neiryl glances around him and realises how she covered their surrounding in ice. The three men bore the same expression of wonder, their eyes asking "What happened?". Without saying a word, she withdrew the ice; it dissipated and vanishes into thin air.
"Everything's alright," answered the queen.
"You shouldn't have done that." Astier gently came forward.
"I beg your pardon?" remarked the queen in disbelief.
Astier repeated, "You shouldn't have done that."
"Well, forgive me for releasing the winter too early this season and sending chills to your unimmunized body unwanted coldness." Astier's audacity to speak to her like that made her regret her decision for freezing only the surrounding. She should have frozen him too.
But Astier did not falter on her sarcastic remark and even drew a bit closer. And his response somehow stunned them all:
"You shouldn't have to unfreeze everything. Your ice is too beautiful to be hidden."
His green eyes were once again sparkling.