Angel & Hero

7. Goodbye?

Léni's Point of View

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I was so stupid.

First of all, I had made a fool of myself in front of her by dropping my ornament in the forest, and I was lucky she had it or King Rédi would have sent me to the stars!

Second of all, I couldn't find the guts to stay with her for her protection or to at least make it seem like I was interested in her. What kind of hero was I!

I had come back in hero territory late in the evening, and went immediately in my royal apartments in the castle because of how tired I was. I suddenly felt lonely in those big rooms with little furniture and no one to talk to. I didn't usually spend a lot of time home, I was working most of the time so the place was pretty impersonal. I wished Emée would come live with me and give me a good reason to come back home at the end of the day.

I shook my head. King Rédi was right, this angel had made her way into my head and it looked like I couldn't forget her. We had met twice, not in the perfect circumstances but I already longed to have her lips on mine. I can't think like that!

The poor girl is alone and scared and probably can't trust anybody. I just hoped she felt in her guts that I was completely devoted to her well-being.

I wanted to find her, not just because I wanted to get to know her but because I had to protect her. She was in danger because of me and even if Alexandre had already been released, I knew I could possibly have King Rédi's men and informants with me. I would go see him first thing tomorrow.

I didn't sleep very well that night, my head was filled with bad thoughts and the worst scenarios.

I dressed up in my usual strict royal clothing that consisted of a dark grey tight shirt and pants of the same color with a few ornaments.

The only advantage of living in the castle's apartments was that work wasn't very far from home. I headed for the throne room where the King was most likely to be, greeting the guards on my way. I walked quickly, I knew I didn't have a lot of time, Alexandre was already on his way to find her.

I arrived in front of the gates, there wasn't anybody waiting yet as it was pretty early to meet the King. I nodded at the guards at the door and made my way inside. It was a rewarding feeling to be able to go inside without a special authorization.

I spotted the King on his throne in his usual royal attire and noticed more ornaments than usual on his dark red suit, someone was visiting. Effectively, I saw Queen Bali standing near King Rédi. She sometimes came to the castle to discuss some matters but the truth was that I didn't really understand why she was here constantly. I didn't like her, I suspected her to spy on us because she wanted to know everything that was going on in the Alderia and I believe that Alexandre being arrested the other day had something to do with that.

What bothered me the most was that I couldn't even ask her to leave the room while I spoke with Rédi because Bali was a Queen of a clan and had the right to know. She generally didn't speak but I had no doubts she was a listener.

"Good morning your majesties. I hope I am not interrupting anything." I greeted.

"Good morning Léni, what brings you here so early? Don't worry, you're not."

"I'm here to discuss about the matter of Alexandre, my King." I eyed Bali, her face wasn't showing any emotions, she was good at it.

"I have found the angel, sir. We can start a fair trial for the demon so he can answer his actions."

"Léni, you know very well that Alexandre was released yesterday morning. The deadline is exceeded, there is nothing I can do about it. Moreover, this obsession you have, whether it is over the girl or the fact you want Alexander arrested, is very unhealthy. It's not the proper behavior of a future King." He reprimanded.

"Yes my King." I answered, my jaw clenched. I was furious, it was no behavior of his, no behavior of a King! What kind of brainwashing had Bali done to him?

"I have bigger plans for you Léni, we have to start training you to be a King. Meet me in an hour." Rédi demanded.

"Yes my King, goodbye." I left without giving time to answer. Despite my rudeness I knew he would forgive me because it wasn't uncommon for me to be angry at a decision that didn't go my way.

I made my way to the royal canteen to have a small breakfast. There's wasn't many people in there, mainly the cooks, angels, demons and heroes who didn't wish to live in the same dynamic as their respective clans. That was the whole point of the Alderia: balance was kept because people did what they liked to do, according to who they were.

I went back to my room, I needed to pack a little something before setting up my plan B: staying at her side until the danger was out of the way, not that it was a particularly unpleasant mission. Now that I knew where she lived, it would be faster to find her. Plus, I had told her to stay home safe until I came up with a solution. Looks like I would just come up.

Alexandre didn't know where she lived, he had only met her and probably knew where she worked but that was it, since she wouldn't go back to work, he wouldn't find her before me.

I thought about her, Emée was a beautiful angel. Everything screamed angelic and pure, I had only seen her in impeccable white dresses making her long brown hair stand out. She had tan skin, it wasn't common for angels but maybe she had worked in fields or outside. The last thing that amazed me were her eyes: brown with eyelashes so dark they irremediably drew you in. It took all a hero's will not to bend on one knee and ask for her hand.

I had never given a thought about marriage before, King Rédi wished I was at least engaged before the ceremony of the coronation. He said that it gave more reassurance to the heroes, marriage was stability for us, a sacred and honorable thing. Rédi was himself married when he became King to another hero but not many people knew about her. He had mentioned it once to me, not giving her name, only saying that she had joined the stars a long time ago. It was a sad story, really.

Opening my door, I noticed an envelope on the ground. I often got mail because it was an efficient way of communicating in the Alderia. There was no address or name for the sender so I went inside and sat at my desk to open it. From the handwriting, I could see that it was sent by an Angel. They always wrote perfectly.

The letter was folded in a weird way and when I took it out of the envelope, only a line at the bottom of the page could be seen "I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble. Stay safe, Emée."

I didn't know what to think, why did she send me a letter? Was she in danger? And that end, does she want me away from her? I quickly unfolded the paper and began reading.

Dear Léni,

I hope you get this letter on time, I guessed that you lived in the royal castle of King Rédi, I hope I'm right for once.
I've come to realize that I'm now an almost experimented angel and that I have to face my problems by myself. I thank you very much for your offer of protection but I have to solve this by myself.
Thank you again for saving me during the celebrations of the Alderia, your bravery will never be forgotten.
Please don't try to find me, I've found a shelter until everything is settled.
I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble. Stay safe,
Emée.

I have to find her.