by Tamryn Tamer
“Wha!” Prince Erik yelled as he was bucked completely off his horse. Hansel and Raullon barely managed to hang on but it didn’t matter. Neither could possibly leave without the prince.
“Hansel! Get the prince! Blessing of Speed,” Raullon turned around and pulled out a staff while rapidly casting spells. “Blessing of Defense. Blessing of Strength. Blessing of Magic. Barrier. Come unto me White Fairies!”
A sea of light immersed Raullon as dozens of tiny orbs rapidly circled his glowing body and Frost found himself somewhat in awe of the display. Raullon rushed toward them casting spell after spell without an ounce of fear or hesitation. He intended to fight to the death for his prince and somehow, it just made Frost hate him more. All of that power and conviction, wasted.
“Herald Frost!” Raullon yelled as an enormous fireball formed over his head. “Die! Fla…”
All of the spells vanished as Frost’s spear pierced Raullon’s chest and launched him off his horse. It wasn’t a lot of power, but it was more than enough to pierce Raullon’s barrier and his chest killing him instantly. If he’d mastered barrier like Adamus he probably could have stopped it.
“Jack of all trades,” Frost mumbled as Priscilla held him up. His world was spinning, and he felt like he might vomit. His strength was almost completely depleted. Even Hansel could probably kill him if he tried.
As soon as Raullon decided to use all those different abilities Frost knew what he was. He was an all-rounder meant to pivot into any role as necessary. He could alternate between healing, support, and damage at will giving the edge where it was needed. It was a great job for a strategist, but it was never meant for head to head combat. He belonged on the backline.
“Move one more inch and you’re dead,” Brynn said as Hansel tried to lift the prince onto his horse. Hansel looked at his father’s corpse and then back at Frost.
“Don’t think about it kid,” Frost said while trying not to show how tired he was. Hansel couldn’t scan him so he just needed to appear strong. “He tried to kill me, I killed him. He and I are square and I’m sure he’d say the same thing.”
“Kill them,” Prince Erik said while hiding behind Hansel’s horse. “That’s an order!”
“Hansel,” Priscilla shook her head as the elementalist stared at his staff. “Just drop it.”
“Hansel is it?” Brynn said. “I, Princess Brynn Hilde Leaucault, potential heir to the throne of Zira. I am ordering you to stand down.”
“I’m ordering you to kill them!” Prince Erik said. “Kill them you idiot or I’ll have your entire family killed!”
“Fine,” Hansel said while glaring at Brynn. “But I want it made clear that neither my father nor my family had anything to do with the assassination of the other princes.”
“Obviously,” Frost said. “It was a stupid risk and the duke wasn’t stupid, just arrogant.”
“Right,” Hansel glared at Frost as he dropped his staff on the ground and backed his horse up. “My father was not stupid.”
“What are you doing!” Prince Erik yelled while struggling to pull out his sword. “You have to protect me, you traitor!”
“You’re one to talk,” Brynn said as Frost jumped off the horse and began walking toward Prince Erik. Brynn quickly jumped off and ran after him, leaving Priscilla to tend to the horse. “What are you doing? Get back on the horse. I’ll handle…”
“No, you won’t,” Frost said while blocking Brynn with his arm.
“It’s my right!” Brynn said angrily. “He killed…”
“I know,” Frost said. “But he’s your brother too. Or something like one at least.”
“That’s right!” Prince Erik said while looking for a place to run. They had an audience now, both citizens and soldiers of Blackwater wondering what they should do. “I’m still your brother Brynn Hilde! You can’t let me die! Right? Order the herald to stand down! Order him! Somebody! Stop him!”
Several soldiers in the audience anxiously reached for their weapons while others faded into the background.
“Citizens of Blackwater!” Brynn was speaking more to the soldiers than anybody else. “I am Brynn Hilde Leaucault! This is a dispute between royals! Anybody who interferes better be prepared to suffer the consequences of their interference!”
If any of the soldiers were thinking of doing something, they weren’t anymore. The ones that would have been moved by their sense of duty to Zira were just given the out they desperately wanted and the remainder never intended to act unless they were forced to.
“What are you all standing around for!” Prince Erik yelled. “He’s the cursed herald of those filthy followers of Shalia! He’s a cursed herald! He’s nothing!”
“He’s my fiancé,” Brynn said smugly. “If anybody raises a hand to him, they will be acting against the royal family.”
“Fiancé?” Prince Erik looked at her with disgust. “You’d marry a disgusting elf-fucker!”
“I like to think I’m marrying the man who in only two days killed twelve giants, the eight slayers of Blackwater, rescued hundreds of villagers, and avenged my brothers,” Brynn said. “Even if he is an elf-fucker, the Herald of Shalia is the type of man any future Queen of Zira would be lucky to have.”
“Please,” Prince Erik begged. “Please don’t…”
Frost removed his head with a single clean slice of his sword without expending much energy. Unlike the others he’d faced until then, the prince wasn’t really anything of note. There were elves in the village who could probably have bested him in a fight.
“My sexy, handsome, adorable, beautiful, fiancé,” Brynn smiled while grabbing his arm. She was trying to make it look like she was being affectionate, but she was really preventing him from falling over. It wouldn’t be good if the onlookers realized exactly how tired he was. “Now that we’ve finished our task we should head back to your villagers.”
“What about the city?” Priscilla said while jumping down from the horse. She helped Frost and Brynn up and as soon as they were mounted, she ran to get a separate horse to ride. “Shouldn’t Princess Brynn Hilde stay…”
“Hansel was it?” Brynn glared at the young elementalist. “Send a message to my father that the city needs a new governor. I will be returning to my future husband’s territory with him. In the meantime, I imagine you can ensure the city continues to function, correct?”
“You would trust me with the city?” Hansel glanced at them. “What are you scheming?”
“Scheming?” Brynn said irritably. “I’m not my brother nor am I your father Hansel. If I wanted you dead or punished, you would be. Now, I’ve given you an order. Carry it out.”
“Yes, your highness,” Hansel stuttered out.
“Let’s go,” Frost said while turning the horse toward the west. “How fast do you think we can get there?”
“In your condition?” Brynn laughed. “Maybe by morning if you’re lucky. But don’t worry, when we get there, I’ll play you a nice lullaby. You’ll be asleep for a day.”
“I don’t think I’ll need the lullaby,” Frost chuckled as they started riding toward the west with Priscilla riding behind them. She seemed to be carefully watching in case Frost fell over. “But I didn’t know you could put people to sleep.”
“There’s lots you don’t know about me handsome,” Brynn said smugly. “But Lullaby’s effectiveness varies so it’s not really reliable. But as weak as you are, I imagine it’ll work just fine.”
“Shit,” Frost said as Sir Isaac and Adamus came speeding down the road on horseback. They were both a little worse for wear but still in better condition than him. He reached into his satchel to pull out a weapon as Brynn grabbed his hand.
“No,” Brynn said as the two injured riders approached. “The fight is over.”
“Princess Brynn Hilde,” Sir Isaac and Sir Adamus stopped in front of them. They both glared at Frost while gripping their hilts but neither drew on him. “What is the condition of the prince?”
“
Dead,” Brynn answered. “I am returning to my fiancé’s territory with him and I’ve left orders with Duke Raullon on what to do until my father can assign a new lord to Blackwater.”
“Duke Raullon’s still alive?” Sir Adamus said while staring at Frost.
“Hansel Raullon,” Brynn corrected.
“Oh,” Sir Adamus nodded. “That makes more sense.”
“Your highness,” Sir Isaac glanced at Frost and then back at her. “Respectfully, it would be better to kill the herald now before he has a chance to recover. Your father may be upset if we don’t take this opportunity.”
“Smart man,” Frost chuckled while mentally preparing himself for a fight.
“Herald Frost!” Priscilla snapped.
“Prince Erik and Duke Raullon were considered smart men,” Brynn said in a way that sounded more like a threat than an observation. “Would you consider yourself a smart man Sir Isaac?”
“No your highness,” Sir Isaac bowed his head. “Would you like an escort to your fiancé’s territory?”
“I should be fine with Lady Priscilla,” Brynn said. “And as you know I’m quite formidable myself.”
“That you are your majesty,” Sir Adamus chuckled and bowed. “We’ll leave you be then. Happy journey.”
“Oh,” Brynn said as if she remembered something. “Herald Frost, you’ll probably want to meet with the new lord of Blackwater when they arrive, correct?”
“Just have them send a delegation,” Frost waived his hand indicating to move along. He just wanted to ride back to the village and get some sleep. “We’ll talk about it later.”
“You heard him,” Brynn said as they started riding away from the two knights. “Have them send a delegation. Oh, they’ll probably want to bring apology gifts as well. Just a suggestion, they don’t have to take it.”
“Whatever,” Frost yawned. “Can I lean on your back again?”
“I don’t know,” Brynn said. “You’re kind of heavy and it’s a long trip. I hate to admit it, but I’m struggling to hold myself up.”
“He can ride with me,” Priscilla offered while flexing her bicep. “I’m pretty strong.”
“Brynn?” Frost asked.
“Fine,” Brynn said reluctantly as Priscilla moved her horse next to theirs. Frost quickly shifted over draped his arms over Priscilla’s shoulders. “Don’t get too comfortable handsome. You’re mine, remember.”
“Uh-huh,” Frost yawned again while resting his head on Priscilla. “But if it’s alright with you two I’m just going to rest my eyes a little. Is that alright?”
“Rest them all you want,” Priscilla said cheerfully.
“Try not to look so happy handsome,” Brynn said crossly. “By the way, I have no idea where the village is.”
“Just go west,” Frost gestured. “Priscilla knows how to get there, right?”
“Yes,” Priscilla chuckled and stroked Frost’s head. “So, you just rest your eyes and we’ll wake you up when we get there. Okay?”
“Okay,” Frost said while falling asleep.
CHAPTER 20
Frost experienced a profound sense of déjà vu as he woke up in bed naked and no memory of how he got there. He glanced around the room and it was undoubtedly Lysandra’s but she wasn’t anywhere to be seen although he could hear shuffling downstairs and outside. He looked out the window and it was probably around noon.
“Well that explains why there’s nobody here,” Frost said as he tried to climb out of bed. Every part of his body felt like it weighed ten times more than usual but otherwise he felt surprisingly fine given everything he’d been through. “Everything.”
Frost let the images and feelings of the last few days catch up with him. The face of Lady Filara popped into his head. The priestess was just doing what she was ordered, and Frost killed her without a second thought. The screams of Danni the sniper echoed in his ears and the blank look on Sir Thomas’ face when he’d realized he was dead popped into his thoughts.
The thing that terrified him the most though was how little impact it seemed to have on him. He wondered if he wasn’t seeing the people as real because he was in another world. Was he viewing it like a game because of the similarities? Or was he a psychopath?
He started looking into his abilities for anything empathy or communication related or mental fortitude. As soon as he thought of mental fortitude his stats shifted to his physical and mental power. His physical was still shockingly low but that wasn’t entirely surprising giving how he felt.
His mental strength was also surprisingly low and something clicked with him.
According to Lysandra his physical power was comprised of all things physical. It wasn’t simply his strength but how his strength, agility, stamina, and other attributes came together. His mental power was similar.
Things like his ability to cope with the tragedies around him were likely part of the mental strength stat. Even if he was coping, it was taking a toll and both physically and mentally he was exhausted. He continued to scan himself and noticed he had several restricted ability points. They were fairly dispersed between his combat abilities with sword earning five. He dispersed the points evenly across his secondary abilities like overhead slash, horizontal slash, and lunge. Since they were restricted to sword there was no harm in simply using them.
His other abilities had similar gains in restricted ability points and he assigned them in the secondary abilities thought would be most useful. Air maneuvers was surprisingly useful both defensively and offensively despite Lysandra saying it was useless. He looked into other dodge related abilities like acrobatics and added a few restricted points. He was pretty pleased with how many he’d gained, especially since he was running so low on free ones.
He mentally did the math on the skill points gained versus the number of high-level opponents he’d faced and began theory crafting again. He checked his level and it’d only moved up a quarter of a bar. Apparently gaining a level past sixty would require nearly dying four to five times.
His stomach growled and he decided to grab something to eat. Afterward, he figured he’d rest some more.
He yawned as he looked around for something to wear and found some underwear, cloth pants, and a nice tunic to wear. After he was dressed, he slipped into a pair of sandals and walked downstairs.
“Herald Frost!” Lysandra said excitedly as Frost joined her and the others in the main hall. Priscilla, Commander Grey, and Brynn were sitting across from Lysandra and several other elves. “You’re awake!”
“How are you feeling handsome?” Brynn smiled. “Did you sleep well?”
“I’m tired,” Frost yawned as he reached the bottom step. “Do we have any meat left?”
“Of course,” Renna jumped up from her spot and rushed toward the kitchen. “It’s not like we eat it.”
“I’m going to make sure she prepares it right,” Stormi said while getting up from her seat. “Would you like some bread, fruits, and vegetables to go with it?”
“Whatever we have,” Frost sat down at the table next to Lysandra and before he knew it, his hand was around her hip. He had the irresistible desire to be held and wondered if it had something to do with his mental state. Lysandra must have realized it because she quickly wrapped her arm around him and began stroking his back reassuringly. “I’m so hungry. I don’t think I’ve eaten in three days.”
“Six days cutie,” Brynn said while glaring jealously at Lysandra. “You should have sat by me.”
“You should have sat on the elf side of the table,” Frost said judgmentally as Brynn looked to her left and right. It must not have dawned on her that she’d surrounded herself with an old man and his daughter. “Did you say six days?”
“You’ve been asleep for three days,” Priscilla said. “The pink-haired elf said that you were just exhausted and to let you sleep.”
“Robin checked on me?” Frost looked at Lysandra who nodded politely while snuggling into him. “Was I that bad?”
&nbs
p; “Just worn out,” Lysandra said in a soothing voice while stroking his chest. “But everything is fine now. We’ve been handling everything. All you need to do is rest.”
“Everything?” Frost asked. “Six days, what’s happened?”
“I think she means it in the sense that everything’s fine,” Commander Grey answered grumpily. “Nothing’s happened. Blackwater hasn’t sent so much as a messenger and my men are patrolling the outskirts while your elves are patrolling the forest.”
“It’s only been three days since we left Blackwater,” Brynn said to Frost. “An interim ruler probably won’t be assigned there for at least a week or two and after that who knows when they’ll send a messenger and delegation.”
“It’s actually been pretty dull,” Priscilla said. “There’s nothing to do in the encampment and with Sir Malcolm leading patrols there’s not a monster within ten miles alive to hunt.”
“But on the bright side they’ve hunted plenty of boars,” Stormi said while carrying two large trays of food. One of them covered in bread and cooked pork while the other filled with fruits and vegetables. Renna followed behind the busty blonde with a jug of freshly squeezed juice. Stormi quickly moved to sit down next to him as Renna looked on in horror.
“I was sitting there!” Renna objected as the blonde baker set the plates down and leaned into Frost. Stormi’s ample chest pressed against him as she matched Lysandra’s gentle strokes. Renna kicked the bench angrily and pointed at Stormi. “That was my spot you hag!”
“Renna,” Stormi said teasingly. “Herald Frost is tired. Don’t cause a scene.”
“But,” Renna looked like she might cry out of frustration. “That was my spot…”
“Fine,” Stormi said reluctantly. “Only because you were going to cry.” The blonde elf stroked Frost’s hair several times before moving away.
“I wasn’t going to cry,” Renna objected as she quickly squeezed in next to Frost. She set the jug down in front of him and pushed her petite body against him. “It was just my spot.”
Frost chuckled while making himself a sandwich out of the meat, bread, and some vegetables. He took a bite and despite being completely unseasoned it might have been the best tasting sandwich he ever had. He looked up and caught Brynn smiling at him.