“I agree with Quylla.” Friya said.
She was wearing a gold embroidered emerald-colored evening dress with a v neckline.
Her hair was arranged into an elaborate updo, with several tresses knot together that left her neck exposed, emphasizing her leaves-shaped parure composed of golden necklace and earrings with black diamonds that complimented her dark eyes and hair.
“I’m glad you are the first of our class to become an Archmage, but I think the price you paid for it is too steep. No amount of glory is worth facing so many dangers and giving up your personal life.”
“Yet unless the excitement made me blind, I’m the one with a beautiful woman on my arm whereas you’re single. Am I right?” Lith said.
“You’ll pay for spreading salt on my wounds.” Friya’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment, but she kept her smile and composure intact.
Many noblemen spilled their drinks at that sight. Between the dress emphasizing Friya’s hourglass figure and the blushing highlighting her delicate features, there was not a single bachelor that wouldn’t face a Dragon to be the one on the receiving end of that smile.
“I really envy you.” Phloria sighed.
She wore an emerald evening dress and white evening gloves, emphasizing her olive-colored skin due to the prolonged exposure to the sun.
It was skin-tight, with a neckline that somehow exerted a push-up effect. She wore part of her hair down, like a silky black waterfall that reached her tights, while the rest formed a tress resembling a wreath over her head.
The ballgown was decorated with flower-shaped small jewels and Lith’s golden lily pendant was the only necklace she wore, drawing attention to her slim neck.
“I’m different from you two.” She said to her sisters. “I gave up on everything to join the army as soon as I could. I wanted to follow Dad’s footsteps if not even to surpass him, yet all I achieved is a big failure.
“I’m not as good with Forgemastering nor as a Mage Knight as he was at my age, I have no significant other, and despite I’m three years older than Lith, he outranks me on every level.” Her face was pale and her pain ran deep.
Yet Phloria’s smile was sincere and her voice never wavered. She would keep all of her tears, both those born out of joy and sorrow for later. She didn’t want to end up like Raaz, who was still crying so much that Elina couldn’t leave him alone and the King had a chair brought to him.
Many cruel people would have laughed at a grown man’s tears, but Meron was expressing Raaz his congratulations and sympathy. Contradicting the King’s opinion in public was still considered the closest thing to social suicide.
“I’m thinking about quitting the army as well. I’m willing to shoulder the responsibilities for my failures, but the thorny path that now blocks me is not of my making. I don’t have the strength and patience to fight invisible enemies anymore.”
Her words shocked and surprised everyone. Phloria was the only one among them who had always had her career path as clear as a beacon. Friya’s guild was just an experiment, Quylla had yet to decide if the academy was the best place for conducting her research, and Lith was clutching at straws.
“You can’t be serious, my little Flower.” Orion was back in his high uniform and without the helm, his face expressed all of his worry and outrage.
“You are the best Mage Knight I have ever seen, a natural-born leader, and most of all, it is your heart that matches your talent instead of your ego. You might not have defeated as many monsters as Lith did, but you care about our homeland more than anyone else.
“Your place is with the army or at least with the Association.”
“Thanks, Dad, but we shouldn’t spoil Lith’s night by talking about my career. We can discuss this later at home. Right now, I’m not complaining. I’m just telling my friends that probably I’ll have much more free time in the future and that I would like to use it to catch up with them.
“You have no idea how much I missed you all. Do you think I could join your guild for a while, Friya? Whatever I decide to do, I want to keep myself busy.” Phloria said.
Orion and Jirni felt their hearts as if squeezed in a vise, yet they both returned to attend to their allies. Phloria’s parents knew that her making plans for the future meant that she had one foot out of the army’s door already.
The King and the Queen felt the blow as well, but they kept smiling and laughing. To revel and be merry of their success was the only way they had to hide the magnitude of their failure.
If political pressure was enough to make even the daughter of the Ernas quit, a loyal officer who belonged to one of the founding families of the Kingdom, then the foundations of the country itself were rotten at best.
***
A few days later, village of Lutia.
After what he had lived as a near-death experience and hearing about Phloria’s situation, Lith needed to spend quality time with his beloved to recover from all the accumulated stress.
Before being discharged, the army had promoted him to Major and put him among the reservists to be called only in the case of a state crisis. It allowed Lith to hold his rank in the army even as a civilian and the access to military resources that such clearance level implied.
There was still a bit of time before he started his apprenticeship with Faluel and Lith didn’t want to spend it alone. During the day he would teach Leria and Aran how to read and write.
Once the kids’ limited attention span was exhausted, he would make them play together with Selia’s and Zinya’s children. Protector was busy renovating the huntress’ old house to accommodate their family once they moved back to Lutia.
Selia and Rena could use a hand since their newborns required from them a lot of attention, making Lith’s skill as a Healer a godsend.
He was weary of the situation, because Lilia and Leria had a hard time controlling their shapeshifting abilities and because now that he was not a member of any organization, it was the perfect moment for his enemies to attack.
The title of Archmage worked only as long as he could blame someone. It was useless against nameless assassins that left no evidence behind. Yet the kids could run and play freely in all the space encompassing the Verhen, Fastarrow, and Yehval households.
It wasn’t because of the arrays or the Queen’s corps. The former had limited range and the latter had too many people to defend to cover such a wide area. The reason for such freedom lay in the magical beasts who soared the skies, patrolled the ground, and burrowed the underground.
That and the three Emperor Beasts known as the Kings of the Trawn woods always keeping an eye on the children. They were all Lith’s loyal followers, eager to repay his gifts of knowledge and enchanted weapons.
At first, Zinya had been scared by the presence of so many mighty creatures, but after speaking with them and recovering from the shock caused by the discovery that beasts could talk, she learned to rely on their presence.
