Chapter 25 - An Unexpected Visitor

Hilda

The Black Islands - Kassarath (The Eastern Kingdom)

Lingering snow still covered the high peaks of The Great Black Mountain lining the horizon. Yet the warm breeze that teased her face did not fail to confirm the approach of summer. Hilda stretched and sighed as she stood at her window, indulging in the scenic beauty of the Black Islands stretching before her, vibrant with every shade of color that was anything but black. Clear blue skies hung above the Kingdom, while azure lakes and silver springs sparkled within lush green valleys. Red rooftops and purple wisterias decorated the city, glowing beneath the blazing sun and the shining gold of the castle walls.

Knowing she would likely stand here all day, getting lost in the scenery before her, Hilda forced herself to turn away from the window. She needed to catch up on some reading in the grand library before it was time for lunch.

She quickly changed into a traditional Eastern dress, a long robe with straight wide sleeves. It was made of wine red velvet embellished in black florals, and secured at the waist by a black silk sash. She styled her plain brown hair up into a bun to meet the latest Eastern fashion, before she lined her brown eyes in deep black. Satisfied by her reflection in the mirror, Hilda smiled before she hopped outside her room, heading off to the grand library.

Riki was already there, a new friend she had made soon after her father had left with Bernard and the others. He sat at his usual spot in the middle of the library, deeply absorbed in a large volume before him. He wore a fitting sky blue robe that complimented his tall willowy form, with delicate paintings of silver cranes decorating the shiny soft silk. His long straight ebony hair curtained his fair face, falling past his shoulders and down to his waist. 

Hilda almost smiled at the beautiful sight, before her eyes fell on the thick bruise that collared Riki's neck in different shades of red and blue. A bruise that could only be a result of being either strangled or hanged.

Being King Serenus's lover definitely wasn't an easy thing. She had concluded that the King was quite the sadist when it came to sex, but it seemed that he had gone quite a bit too far with Riki last night. Fury engulfed her. Despite being a few years younger than herself, Riki had become her best friend in this place. First of all, he shared her deep passion for reading, spending days and nights with her whether in this library, or in her chamber, or in hot springs, doing nothing but reading and discussing books, histories, and theories. And despite being nothing more than a sex toy for King Serenus, the boy was exceptionally smart. Smart, and witty, and funny...

"Hildy!" Riki greeted, having noticed Hilda at the entrance, and he flashed her a radiant smile that reached his dark brown eyes.

"Hey there, handsome," she responded with a wink, trying to avoid looking at the bruise around his neck, let alone asking him about it. It wasn't something anyone could speak of in this castle, if they wanted to keep their heads.

Hilda went and sat right next to Riki, snatching away his book to check its contents. It took her only one look, before her eyebrows furrowed at the unfamiliar words before her.

"What's that?" She asked in confusion. Riki had taught her the Eastern tongue, and Hilda could read any Kassarathi book as easily as any average Kassarathi could. But these writings were something she had never seen before.

"It's an ancient book, written in old Eastern. Even I struggle to understand it sometimes," he said.

"What is it about?" she asked curiously as she handed the book back to him.

"Some ancient spells. Like really, really ancient spells," he chuckled. "I doubt most of them are real anyway. Look at this one..." he flipped through the pages, until he reached a certain illustration followed by a long passage of old Eastern. "This is a soul connecting spell..."

"What the hell is soul connecting?" Hilda raised an eyebrow.

"That's what I was just trying to find out," Riki said as he looked down at the peculiar writing. "Here... soul connecting...," he started translating along as he read, "to allow the soul of one body... to completely or partially... migrate... to another body..."

Both Hilda and Riki remained silent for a long moment, looking at each other in awe.

"That's very... dark magic," Riki said nervously.

"Keep reading." Hilda ordered as she squeezed herself in even closer by his side, looking down intently into the book. "You either keep reading or teach me fucking old Eastern!"

"I can teach you an old Eastern word or two," Riki laughed, only to receive a warning glare from Hilda. "Alright, alright..." he sighed as he continued to read. "So apparently it's blood magic. Here, it says... spill the blood of the host... upon the shell of its Master..."

Another long moment of silence passed as they exchanged a wary look.

"And... there is an incantation..." Riki continued as he looked back into the book. "Damn it's so complicated. I can't even read most of the words." Riki shut close the book and stood up. "I am going to put this book back."

"No!" Hilda objected.

"Soul magic is no joke Hilda," Riki said. "Even the most experienced witches hesitate to perform such dark magic. The slightest mistake or misspelling can throw us all into doom. And we can't even read half what's written here."

Hilda frowned behind Riki as she watched him put the large volume back into one of the higher shelves. Well, at least I know where to find it later...

"Let's go have lunch," Riki smiled as he returned to Hilda, offering her his hand while she still sulked.

But how could she keep sulking when he smiled at her so sweetly? She accepted his hand without hesitation before they headed out to the great hall.

***

"My dear! Welcome back!"

Hilda and Riki could hear Serenus greeting someone inside, and as they entered the great hall, they found him hugging a tall winged man with long honey curls.

"Oh Hilda child, look who's here!" Serenus said, his deep black eyes sparkling as he saw Hilda entering the hall.

At that moment the man turned around, and Hilda's heart stopped for a moment.

Vilfred stood before her, as tall and handsome as ever, his warm green eyes as kind and gentle as she had always known. Thin vines stitched in fine gold thread decorated his deep emerald coat, adding an air of royalty to his strong demeanor.

"My Lady?" Vilfred smiled as he approached her, and she held her breath, her heart racing as he took her hand and kissed it.

"Sir... Vilfred..." she barely breathed and his charming smile deepened, making her heart race faster.

"Oh finally!" Serenus beamed as he turned to sit on his tall black throne, his scarlet red robes contrasting against the shining onyx. "I hope you have not forgotten my gold?"

"Of course not, Your Grace," Vilfred smiled. "I have got your gold, and more."

Vilfred, still holding Hilda's hand, turned around to one of his guards with a single nod. And next, several men walked into the hall, carrying large wooden chests with opened lids, revealing the thousands of glittering gold coins inside. Both Hilda's and Serenus's eyes widened at the tremendous amount of gold, which seemed to be much more than what they had initially agreed on.

Something didn't feel right. Why all this gold? Why was it Vilfred and not Mikal delivering it? Vilfred was still holding Hilda's hand, gently caressing her fingers with his thumb, as if they were lovers...

"Where is Mikal?" she found herself asking, and she instantly cursed herself in silence. What am I thinking, asking about Mikal, of all the people in the world?

"I was just about to ask the same," Serenus pouted.

Vilfred lowered his head in sorrow and Hilda's mouth hung open. What, was he dead?

"Mikal got captured by the enemy during battle and is now held prisoner at Vausterland," Vilfred said and Hilda gasped despite herself.

"What a shame!" Serenus's face fell. "I liked that boy..."

"King William tried to offer us his safe return on the condition that we usurp Lord Frederik and withdraw the Kassarathi forces from Grytia," Vilfred continued.

Hilda felt all the blood drain from her face and she looked up at Vilfred in horror, her heart pounding within her ears.

"But of course we refused," Vilfred added at once as he squeezed her hand in assurance.

"And as a result, we expect King William to gather more forces and reattack Grytia," Vilfred said with a solemn expression on his face. "That is why I have brought double the amount of gold we have agreed on." Vilfred then turned to Serenus and bowed. "Your Grace, it would do me great honor to request your assistance once more. If it pleases you, Your Grace, I ask your kindness to provide us with more mercenaries in order to secure Grytia against the Vausterians."

"Why, of course..." Serenus pondered, his pale thin fingers toying with his long black beard.

Hilda's heart was still racing, her mind spinning as she tried to digest the overwhelming news of Mikal's capture and the threat of a new war.

"There is also another important thing I would like to inform you, Your Grace," Vilfred said, lowering his head gravely. What now?

"It grieves me to announce that Lord Bernard is dead," Vilfred said, and both Hilda and Serenus turned to him with wide eyes.

"My, that is most unfortunate!" Serenus shook his head, his eyebrows furrowed in deep disappointment. "Mikal captured by enemies... Bernard dead..."

"It is unfortunate indeed," Vilfred nodded. "And with the absence of both, I now hold the great responsibility of ruling Nordenvania."

"You're... You're now Lord of Nordenvania?" Hilda gasped, unable to stop her mouth from hanging open in surprise. She had never felt so overwhelmed before.

"Lord of Nordenvania!" Serenus's eyebrows rose in wonder. "I ought to congratulate you then."

"Thank you. You are most kind Your Grace." Vilfred bowed. "And on this occasion, allow me to strengthen our friendship which my dear brother had started four years ago. As the new Lord of Nordenvania, I would very much like to deepen our alliance beyond a simple peace treaty."

Hilda looked up at Vilfred skeptically, wondering what he could possibly mean by that.

"And as a token of our growing friendship,"Vilfred continued, "I have brought along this humble gift."

Vilfred turned around and gestured silently to one of his guards.

"I hope you find it in your heart to accept it," Vilfred added as the large guard stepped aside, revealing a small person that had been standing behind him.

Hilda gasped as her eyes fell on the timid blonde boy who came into view.

Hans!

***********

Yes, Hilda is back! How do you feel about that?

And what is your impression of Riki?

I know there have been too many new characters in this book, so I just wanna make sure if you're managing to follow with all the new additions? Is it getting confusing at any point?

If you like this chapter, don't forget to leave a comment and vote!

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