I see bubbles.. So many bubbles...
It feels like I'm floating through the clouds.. Cold, and a little painful..
I only see light in front of me, but it's fading.. it looks so warm..
A hand reaches up. It felt heavy, but it stretched towards the blurring light. It would feel nice to just sleep right now. Eyes closed, resting in this dark place with no troubles in mind. Ildegard wanted so bad to run away from all her problems, and this could mean solitude for her. She could be free.
Something slithered around her foot, and she could barely pay any attention.
My vision.. is getting darker... and yet I see a distant....
figure..?
GASP!
Ildegard starts coughing roughly. When she opened her eyes, everything was spinning in and out of control, her vision slightly dimmed and her hearing was a muffled. She could make out what they were saying, but her chest burned and her eyes stung whenever she opened them.
"I found the Princess!"
An unfamiliar voice, who is it?
She turned her head to look towards the man who was supporting her. He looked unfamiliar. Was it someone with them on the ship? The ship.. what was she doing out of the ship? The last thing she remembered before blacking out was seeing Escoffier on the decks.. bleeding.
"Wh-where.." Ildegard gets cut off with yet another fit of coughing.
"I am a knight, your highness, please don't worry. I will bring you back to the ship," He spoke confidently, putting Ildegard's worries at ease, at least for a moment before she remembered how she almost sunk to her demise.
"Princess Ildegard!" This voice was definitely Escoffier's.
Ildegard was sure. Her eyes leisurely search for him. There, on top of the ship, a hand reached out towards her.
Escoffier was... how should she put it? He gave her very confusing signs sometimes. He would act like someone who worried about her. She hated the way his small gestures gave her vague understanding of his real intentions. She could just be switching up his genuine worry with something else. How else would she explain the way he stared into her eyes, the way he would caress her face when worrying about her? How else should she interpret the sad look in his eyes whenever he heard about her marriage?
Ildegard grabbed his hand and she was pulled up. Her arms ached, her dress clung to her skin and it felt heavy. The moment she was pulled out of the water, the cold hit her. She gasped out and started shivering, with Escoffier wrapping his arms around her.
"I need warm, clean cloths to cover up the Princess," Escoffier ordered, turning towards the maids onboard who had finally gone out of their hiding places, "Please prepare a warm bath for the Princess."
When they nodded, Escoffier swept the shivering princess into his arms. She held on to him like velcro, face buried into his clothing as she shivered from the cold.
"F-fier.." Ildegard mumbled beneath her chattering teeth, "I-it's.. cold.."
"I know, Princess," Fier tightened his grip around her as he made his way back inside the slightly tattered ship and surprisingly, it didn't seem to take a lot of damage, "You're okay now. It's okay, just hold on to me."
Ildegard failed to remember what exactly had happened. Even when she tried to piece the bits of information that she had before being thrown into the water. There was no more Kraken, and she didn't know how many minutes or hours had already passed. She kept shivering and the cold just seemed to have gotten worse for her.
That was until she felt something warm envelop her in a sudden moment. Her hands didn't feel numb from the cold anymore and her chest in particular didn't feel heavy. She felt calmer, and it felt comfortable. Was it because of Escoffier?
"Hilda?" Escoffier called out
"Yes, master Delafosse?" A maid approached, hands intertwined with her head bowed.
"Is the bath ready?"
"As you ordered, sir."
"Please take the Princess and change her clothes."
Ildegard swallowed a wince when Escoffier slowly placed her down. The maid took her by the arm and supported her inside the bathroom.
Just as she's heard from her brother's stories, describing how they'd have trouble with the Kraken once, knights would never leave without casualties. Without any royal on board, they went all out, even if it cost them the ship. In her case, it was different since their whole priority was to get her safely to the Port of Mytelona, and that also meant reaching the port with little to no casualties with the ship.
Ildegard's feet moved numbly as the maids assisted her in pulling off her dress. They worked quickly. She felt as if they were caressing her hair when they tied it up into a bun. It felt relaxing. She closed her eyes for while.
—————◇—————
"How is the Princess?" Faralad Bailefore walked in the room, his white hair stained with blood along with his armor.
"I think I made a mistake." Escoffier didn't turn to look at Faralad as he entered. His hands clasped together while he sat.
"It's not your fault and we've already taken care of the Kraken," Faralad crossed his arms, his eyes narrowed, "If anything, You should be praising yourself. You stood up almost too quickly despite being injured. You conjured up the spell while bleeding like a broken faucet."
"Even so!" Escoffier snapped, brushing a hand through his hair and clenching them between his fingers, "She still got hurt. My body moved on instinct. If I was a little faster, a little stronger.. She would not have been thrown twenty feet into the air and towards that sea!"
"Sir Delafosse—"
"And if you didn't run towards that monster after it tried to retreat, who knows what it might have done to our Princess!"
"Sir Delafosse, I don't want to have to resort to that method, I never would have. Because of the Princess, we managed to drive it away from the ship, so I was able to kill it without damaging the ship.. well, I still broke the front row of taffrails and almost.. the front deck."
"We should have never hesitated. If the princess is in danger who cares about a ship? We can fix this ship whenever we can."
Faralad rarely sees Escoffier this distressed. He was overthinking things, but since the Princess had appeared and although he didn't like how they basically used the Princess as bait, it was thanks to her that the Kraken swam a significant distance from the ship to try and take Princess Ildegard who it threw towards the sea.
It had been made clear that Princess Ildegard had a natural aura that attracted animals and monsters, even beasts. Like moth to a flame. This phenomenon is due to Ildegard's past.
When she was born, Ildegard had a disease that affected her heart. This was not something that wizards or sorcerers could easily use dark magic on to remove the problem. This happens only to royal bloodline and very rare as it causes death before the child reaches five years old.
They called it Royal Heart's Bane.
There was a myth in olden times, engraved in books and even fairytales. The goddess in the Heart of Alvenor can bestow a fragment of her body to the cursed child. That is, if the goddess even exists.
Ildegard's mother, Queen Aurelin Nylandra-D'ettore, left her daughter under the hollow of the Eldergrove situated in the Heart of Alvenor and spent seven days praying to the goddess. The goddess answered their pleading but at the expense of the queen's life.
The myths spoke of separating the animals from the monsters, where animals and certain beasts live in solitude within the elven forests and monsters are exiled to Velawyn. This is the reason as to why certain animals and beasts are particularly fond of the Princess, and monsters that are capable of malice... not so much.
The knights needed to be extra precautious when she had to go travel anywhere. It seems the Kraken wasn't any different. It probably saw Princess Ildegard as something it should take care of more than anything else.
"I never should have let her agree to this contract." Escoffier spat, slamming his fist on the table.
Faralad sheepishly scratched his cheek, he wasn't sure what to say or how to handle things like these. Usually, he would let Daenaerys do all the the talking, but with his sister back at Grucaelum, he could only manage a small hum.
"Sorry, Faralad," Escoffier addressed him informally, dropping his head to the table.
"It's alright, I don't feel particularly proud of what happened. I am one of the highest ranking knights in Grucaelum and yet I can't control my power even towards a mere Kraken. My carelessness and hesitation brought immense shame and disappointment to her highness," Faralad lowered his head, "I came also to check on the Princess. As her appointed guardian, I have failed to uphold my duties. Even as I promised her majesty, the empress that Princess Ildegard is in capable hands."
"You relied on me, Faralad," Escoffier raised his head again, to look at Faralad, "And you trusted me to resolve the issue without any casualties, as it was the best option we had. My arrogance led to our downfall today, and if this affects the Princess in any way... I will have my head under the guillotine."
"Master Delafosse, Master Bailefore."
The men turned their head towards the maid, Hilda, who had guided Ildegard out of her quarters and into the saloon where they were actually talking.
"Ild-- Princess," Escoffier stood from his chair, "What are you doing here?"
"Her highness has asked me to take her to you," Hilda lowered her head, "I will take my leave, your highness, masters."
When Hilda left, Ildegard was fidgeting with her fingers. She wore a beige, high-waisted, pinafore jumper skirt, those that looked like suspenders with broad straps that sit over the shoulders. Then it was fastened with two sets of brass-colored buttons on the chest. An ivory blouse is underneath the jumper with long, puffed sleeves that taper gently at the wrists. The collar is high and neat, while near the hem, golden embroidery lined the skirt with a regal crest on the center. She wore a hooded coat over the dress, the edge of the soft fabric laced with fur.
Ildegard held each side of the coat and felt the softness of the fur push against her hands, she further closed the coat to shield her body from the cold.
"I-I'm so sorry for–" Ildegard never got to finish her sentence.
Escoffier marched forward and pulled her into a warm embrace. The attendant let out a shaky breath, "Don't.. Don't apologize to me. I should be the one apologizing."
He pulled away, taking a step back and getting down on one knee. Escoffier lowered his head, "I am willing to take any punishment for putting your life in danger. I do not deserve this position, I do not deserve to be by your side if I cannot even protect you."
"Fier, stop it!" Ildegard grabbed his arm to try and pull him up.
Faralad walked towards Escoffier and knelt beside him, "As your personal knight, my title is but a useless trophy."
Ildegard then sighs, "Please, raise your heads."
The both of them silently moved their heads to look up at Ildegard. Something behind their gaze sent a confusing fluctuation of warmth and cold throughout Ildegard's body. She never expected anything like that to happen, no one did. She let her emotions run free, her body moved on its own accord when she bolted towards the decks, all while the Kraken was present.
She should have known well enough that her presence would only be a burden. But she couldn't bear to hide while they fought for their lives. Even if that's what their purpose was...
"How could I ever punish the people who saved my life?" Ildegard gave them a reassuring smile, "It's no one's fault. In fact, I'm glad your injuries aren't too severe. So stand up, you have a ship to protect and navigate."
The next few hours felt unusually peaceful. Casting her eyes left and right, getting up to strut around the ship, and mostly thinking about what she should do once she arrived. She also had a gift to worry about. She didn't know Leviticus just until a few days ago.
When the sun only had a sliver of its full circle left to peak at the distant horizon, fading golden light left the Elyssar Sea to glimmer and bask under the warm glow. Ildegard's heart throbbed, not with longing anymore but with emptiness and a little bit of regret.
And fear.
The only thing worse than letting this opportunity go was having to face her father afterwards.
☆☆☆