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  Fast Forwarding…

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  Celia had been quite clear about a single fact – she would only have a child after Arthur had become king. Right now, while his father was ruling the kingdom, there was no need for her to take on the stress of being a mother. She could have fun with her husband and take advantage of her freedom instead, and that is what she intended to do. Kids could be worried about later.

  Right now, she was sitting on her favourite chair, in her favourite balcony overlooking the hills that separated Helonia from her birthplace. Legs resting on a small stool and a pillow under her head, she yawned and stretched her arms, intending to go to sleep right here under the pleasant afternoon sun. The cool breeze insisted on her doing that, actually. So, she closed her eyes.

  It wasn’t until the sun began to set that Arthur finally found her. He had been searching for her at every single one of her favourite evening walk spots, only to find her resting and doing the exact opposite of her routine in their room. The prince walked up to her as quietly as possible and took out his knife. Slowly, he brought it very close to her neck and whispered in her ear.

  “Make a move, and I’ll kill you.”

  “Hmm.”

  She muttered something in her sleep, cutely moving her lips as if saying something. Then, she slightly turned her head and moved her hand up. Taking the knife by its blade, she pulled it out of his hand and threw it aside. Sliding, it landed on the very edge of the balcony and stayed there. Instead of saying anything else, she just pushed her hands up and reached for his head.

  Grabbing hold of it, she brought it closer to hers, until he was bent downwards against the chair. Celia smiled and opened her eyes.

  “You could kill me with your eyes instead.”

  “Well, isn’t that something?” He smiled, “Seven years and you are still not tired of sweet words, are you?”

  “As long as they’re coming out of my mouth, sweet words will never go out of fashion.”

  Arthur laughed and gave her a little slap on her cheek before freeing his head and standing up straight.

  “What do you want for dinner? The cook is a bit confused today because of all the new groceries.”

  “Anything he wants. Maybe tell him to make something he used to eat when he was a child? We could rate it and make him feel better. Or worse, I don’t know. Depends on the food.”

  “Alright, then. I shall do that. Now, stop sleeping and freshen up. Father said he needs to talk to you once before he sets out on the voyage across the ocean. Make sure not to anger him too much.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there.”

  Arthur turned and started walking to the door. As he did, he remembered the day that she had chased across this same room to make him leave it. That had been almost thirteen years ago. Six years of courting her, and seven years of being married hadn’t changed her at all. That was because this is who Celia Ingram was. No matter what happened, she did not lose the smile on her face and the confidence in her heart.

  He could not wait for the day that she would be his queen. The day that both of them would rule Helonia side by side with their child between them. Arthur wasn’t in any hurry to see his father die, of course. Being a king was a difficult job, and he would rather not have it thrust upon him anytime soon, but it was also difficult not to dream. To hear the term ‘Queen Celia’ instead of ‘Princess’ brought a smile to his face.

  “Arthur--”

  A suppressed croak from the back attracted his attention. Before he could turn, the sound of gurgling liquid also made itself known. And once he did, his heart shattered into a million pieces at once.

  Celia was standing beside her chair in the blue dress that he had gifted her for their third anniversary. But now, it was covered in blood, spurting out from the deep slash across her neck. Behind her, crouching on the balcony’s railings with Arthur’s knife was a person wearing overalls that hid their face and form. As the princess fell to the floor while clutching her neck, the assassin jumped back and down, falling out of view.

  Arthur ran forwa-

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  Rewinding…

  Zooming in…

  Flashes of the assassin’s face could barely be made out through the mask covering their face. This included the purple eyes and the near-flat nose. Above, closer to their forehead, it was easy to make out the blue-tinted bangs that reached out to the top of the eyes. As the princess fell to the floor while clutching her neck, the assassin jumped back and down, falling out of view.

  Arthur ran forward, rushing to the princess before she could hit the floor and grabbing her in his ar-

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  Rewinding…

  Focusing…

  As the princess fell to the floor while clutching her neck, the assassin jumped back and down. They turned right before they fell out of view to control their fall better. In that moment, the hood they had on slipped off. The long, pristine blue hair came into view at once. A hair stick with a lion-shaped engraving on its end held one of her buns in place. The woman then disappeared from the edge of the balcony, falling out of view.

  Arthur ran forward, rushing to the princess before she could hit the floor and grabbing her in his arms. Her blood spread uncontrollably, flowing out of the gash like a fountain and covering every inch of his clothes. Her hands moved up as she tried to scream, but could not. Crying and shaking, she reached for his face, but Arthur could not even move. He wasn’t sure what was happening. He wasn’t sure if this was even real. Why would this be happening?

  What had they done to anyone?

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Celia coughed, and more blood poured out. Holding his face between her bloodstained hands, she managed to utter her final words.

  “I…love you-”

  Then, her hands fell and went limp. Arthur stayed motionless. It was his fault. It was his fault to even think about how happy he was and how well things had been going. The universe had punished him for being satisfied. This was his punishment, from all the way back then. For being arrogant about who he was. He had been punished once more by the heavens for who he was.

  Arthur pulled Celia up in his arms and held her there. He didn’t know how long he stayed like this. He didn’t remember if he was the one who ended up calling the others, or if some attendant found them there first. Arthur did not really care.

  She was dead. He had looked away for a single second, and Celia was dead. She was never going to come back.

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  Fast Forwarding…

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  Arthur had given up on the throne. He didn’t need it. He didn’t need to rule a kingdom when the person he loved was not by his side. But that, of course, did not mean that he could just let Helonia die. To make sure that didn’t happen, he had decided to become the Commander of the Army instead. His father would rule until his death, and then the kingdom would be handed over to Celia’s brother, who had proven that he was a reputable and trustworthy leader.

  He was fine with that conclusion. Right now, all he needed was to make sure his pathetic life was useful to someone in some way. This was how he had decided to do that. But then, why?

  Why was a dragon, just like the stories his mother used to tell him, standing right in front of him?

  Why was a man wearing strange clothes standing on top of that dragon?

  Why had he helped them just kill a man who had powers as if he were the spawn of the devil and could control the Earth itself?

  Wiping his sword clean, the quiet Commander Arthur Cross let the man get down the dragon and walk up to him.

  “So, are you coming with us?”

  “No, sir. Please leave the land of Helonia as soon as you can. I do not wish to attract any more such freaks of nature to my father’s kingdom.”

  “Yeah, but I just told you that they’ll keep coming unless you, like, come with us and end this once and for all. Cause, you know, I’m you. Dee’s you. All that, yeah.”

  “I heard your ramblings, Elle. There is no need to keep reminding me of how delusional you and this talking beast are. Just take your leave and do not bother us ever again.”

  Elle groaned, threw his hands in the air, and looked at the dragon, who also grunted in agreement. Then, the strangely clothed man clapped his hands and looked at the knight once more, “All right, Arthur. How about this? If you come with us, the dragon will stay here and protect your kingdom.”

  “What? I did not agree to that.”

  “Dee, just shut up. Sir Arthur, do you agree?”

  “It appears your companion has some issues with that agreement. But by all means, even if it did not have any issues, I would not allow it. I do not want to leave a beast in my place to protect Helonia. I am more than enough to die for these lands.”

  “Yeah, but then you could totally die for no reason at all, you know? Like, someone stabs you in the back, and ‘Oh no, Arthur’s dead. Who will protect us now?’, you know? You don’t want something like that to happen.”

  “Sir, please leave me alone and stop bothering me.”

  Arthur sighed, sheathed his sword, and started walking back to the main gate of the city. “Please do not follow me either.”

  Elle spread his arms out in frustration and looked at the dragon. He whispered something, and the two shared a small glance before the man finally decided to make his final move.

  “Do you just want Celia to die? You want that, huh?”

  Arthur stopped in his tracks and immediately took his sword out once more. Without pause, he turned, walked up to the man, and put the sword to his neck, “What did you just say?”

  “Celia? You want her to die, yeah? If the assassins keep coming here, Celia will die. Do you understand that?”

  “Watch your tongue, boy. If you do not, then I will slice it off and shove it down your throat. Do not transgress your position if you want to see the sunset.”

  “Whoa, come on. I mean, yeah, I know you have a crush on Celia. Whatever. Who is she this time? The baker? The swordsmith? I don’t know. Come on. It’s just a constant. We all love a version of her in our own universes.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know, she’s everywhere. Like, you have your Celia, and Dee has his. Every Arthur has their own version of Celia, and they all love her. I didn’t spy on you or anything, just to be clear. It’s just something we all share.”

  “And you say…the assassins target her?”

  “Yeah, they do. I mean, if you’re very close to her, then they do. We’re always the main targets, but it doesn’t take long for the assassins to realize that they can manipulate us by taking advantage of her, you know?”

  “The assassin was from…this?”

  “What?”

  “Princess Celia Ingram is dead, sir. Do not take her name in front of me ever again. Leave at once.”

  “Oh…I’m sorry.” Elle gulped.

  Arthur let go of his collar and straightened his shirt before putting the sword back in its place and taking a few steps back. Then, taking a quick breath and giving the two a nod, he turned and started moving away.

  “We should go, Dee.”

  The dragon made a sound, and Arthur heard them start to pack up and move around.

  Had the assassin come from a world like theirs? From a different universe? No. That was impossible. Elle had been clear about what had happened. And whatever had happened had happened quite recently. It had been more than a year since Celia died. And anyway, another kingdom had already claimed the assassin as its own. A kingdom that had already been burnt to the ground and claimed as a territory of Helonia.

  Arthur was just trying to make connections where there were none.

  But now, Elle had put the two ideas in his head. One, that there were other Celias in all of these universes, and their lives could be in danger. Two, that he could see her again if he went with them. He wanted to protect her, more than anything else. She had helped him smile again, and now it had vanished from his face with death. Even she would never smile again.

  If he could protect her smile and her confidence, even if it wasn’t the same woman he loved, he wanted to do it. Maybe if he saved at least a thousand of them, he would be forgiven for his crimes. And maybe if he saw at least a thousand of them, he would be able to stay happy. He would be able to maintain that smile on his face. Yes, that could happen. It could happen every single day. He just wanted to see her once more. Just…once more.

  “I’ll come.”

  He cursed himself and turned.

  “I’ll have to talk to my father first, but I’ll come.”

  Elle smiled and hopped off the dragon, spread his arms once more, and ran up to Arthur to hug him, “I knew it! I knew you would make the right decision. Thank you, me!”

  “Yes.”

  Then, as he pulled back, he sighed, “Why do you sulk all the time? You could, like, put a smile on your face, you know? You’re gonna help us save everyone, after all!”

  “Uh, Elle…” The dragon tried to say something, but Arthur did not want to hear him. Elle’s words had struck a chord.

  Why couldn’t he smile? That was a good question. Celia would have wanted him to smile. And he could not just see her with a frown on his face all the time. True happiness did not matter. As long as he could keep a smile on his face and be merry, she would be happy to see him. She would see what she deserved. He just needed to smile. And he just needed to quip. He needed to be the Arthur she loved. The one who meant something and had life to him.

  He forced one on, and then immediately got rid of it, “Now, now. You do not get to order the great Commander of the Armies of Helonia around, got it? Come, I shall introduce you to our great king!”