Snow White spent hours cooling and cleaning Grimilde's body, paying attention to her wounds, in an attempt to bring her fever down. After a couple of hours, the concoction prepared by Scarlet seemed to take effect, and the princess breathed a sigh of relief. She fell asleep at dawn, next to the bed, exhausted, her hand tightly gripping the Queen's. Derek had stayed awake with her; as soon as he saw she had dozed off, grabbed a blanket and draped it gently over her body.
He had watched over the Queen for long hours, returning to his spot when the princess woke up. He truly admired Snow White: even though he wasn't particularly attached to the kingdom he lived in, he was honored to serve two women strong, wise, and kind such as them.
At dawn the next day, the group organized themselves as best as they could, gathering what they needed for the journey, paying the innkeeper, and readying the cart. The start of the long trek was silent: everyone had their own worries. They were still shaken by what had happened, and perhaps talking about recent events would have shattered that fragile sense of calm.
Fortunately, they encountered no bandits, but the journey was no less difficult: along the roads and around the villages they passed, the signs of the disaster caused by the earthquake were clear. Desperate people were trying to salvage the intact harvest from the fields, but it was evident there was little left. Snow White saw the despairing faces of the farmers and the tears in the eyes of the children standing by the side of the road.
She thought of her kingdom, feeling the pressure of their destinies upon her chest, making her lose her breath. She brought her gaze back to Grimilde, who was still sleeping. A bitter smile crossed her lips: months ago, Grimilde woke her up from an eternal sleep with a kiss, but it wouldn't work on her... who knew when she would open her beautiful blue eyes again.
During the first hours of the journey, the Queen slipped into an alternating state of sleep and wakefulness, during which the princess managed to give her water to hydrate. In those minutes of semi-consciousness, she didn't say much; she whispered her beloved's name, reaching for her hand, and when she found it, she fell silent again.
"I'm here," her beloved whispered, leaving a warm kiss on her pale forehead.
"How is she?" Adelina asked softly, sidling up to Snow White. She handed her a bowl of water, which the princess accepted with thanks.
She took a sip, then turned to her friend: "She'll recover... that's what matters." The wound was healing well under Snow White's careful tending and thanks to Scarlett's concoction. Furthermore, Alex's magic had sped up the process.
"Where do you think... he is?" Adelina was the first to bring up Astrael. Even Snow White hadn't thought about him anymore: where was the demon? What had happened in the fight against the Ravenous One?
"I don't know..."
"Perhaps it's better if he doesn't come back... he is still a demon, after all," William commented, meeting Snow White's gaze. The man had not yet managed to reconcile in his mind the image of Grimilde he had witnessed in the past few hours with the woman he had known over the years.
An unreachable person: that was the first thought that crossed his mind. Grimilde had never appeared so unfamiliar and distant as she did in that moment. Powerful and shrouded in an aura of mystery, forced by that power to distance herself from ordinary mortals like him, to keep what she was capable of a secret. Furthermore, the mere idea that she kept a demon around made him shudder. How could she trust such a dark and evil creature? Before those events, he never would have thought the tales he read in his palace library could be real.
"Astrael helped us," Snow White commented, her voice faint. By now, she didn't even know what to believe herself. "It could be part of a grand plan, you can't know if—"
"William. This is not the time." Adelina warned him, and the journey fell silent once again. The princess recognized the Queen's friend's concern: she couldn't blame him, after all. Astrael was not trustworthy.
"Why don't you try to get some rest? I'll keep an eye on Grimilde for you in the meantime," Adelina offered sweetly, squeezing Snow White's shoulder. The latter nodded weakly and shifted to get comfortable and rest a bit.
William, meanwhile, continued to watch the changing landscape, which, as the hours passed, was being enveloped by a veil of darkness.
Historical records documented a devastating earthquake that dated back two centuries. William had read about the tidal waves it caused and the devastation it brought for a decade. Now he feared for his homeland, feared for the coasts, and wanted to reach his kingdom as soon as possible. But not before helping his friends.
He wished he were stronger, but since he was young, he had realized he wasn't talented with weapons. He still remembered his older brother's disdainful look when he told him to stop wasting time on things he would never excel at. He felt like a burden, and he hated that.
"Will?" Adelina, as always, managed to notice the boy's mood swings. "You're thinking too much, aren't you?"
"You know me. I can't stop them..."
Whenever it started, his chain of thoughts seemed to have no end; it was like an infinity of negativity and suffering. He belittled himself, lost his clarity, and suddenly everything became gray, a painting without colors. He loved looking at the sea, but when he felt this way, even that familiar sight was drained of its colorful pigments and seemed meaningless... just like his existence. Fortunately, when he was in a bad place, no matter how much he wanted to be alone, Adelina's presence was comforting and managed to bring him back down to earth.
"But you can stop them. It makes no sense to overthink right now; we need to focus on the present."
William nodded, taking a deep breath: he closed his eyes, rested his head against the cart's frame, and focused on what he felt with his body, with his senses. The sound of the wind, the galloping of the horses, the cool, damp air coming in from outside... then he opened his eyes again and looked at his friend's faint smile.
"Thank you."
William noticed his friend's dark circles and continued: "You should rest."
"I'm not too tired," she stated, smoothing the folds of her skirt. They both knew it was a lie. "Later."
Adelina turned her eyes outside, noticing broken trees and fallen boulders from the surrounding hills that redefined a landscape bearing the scars of the disaster that had also shaken the capital of Umgard.
The earthquake reached all the way here... Adelina thought. They had been traveling for hours and would reach the base of the mountain range by evening. Fortunately, the military had built a route through the mountains for caravans to pass. At the border, they would encounter Umgardian soldiers, but given the emergency, it was more likely they were helping the population. In any case, as soon as they reached the pass, they would plan their moves. Their current goal was to find an inn once they crossed the border, so Grimilde and the rest of the group could rest.
Meanwhile, Scarlet and her colleague, followed by Iza and Derek on horseback, were driving the cart. The path had been relatively clear so far: they had had to move some boulders and logs, but nothing more.
"So your Queen is a witch? Our Archmage always told us that magic isn't widespread. It's rare to find someone who can wield it without dying in the attempt." Scarlet cast a glance at the woman on horseback, waiting for her reply.
Iza remained silent: she had no intention of discussing this matter with her. Scarlet decided not to push it, but shot her a confused look. Derek, meanwhile, was lost in his thoughts, still steeped in guilt and inadequacy: he should have fought for the Queen, but in her time of need, he hadn't been by her side. Now, Grimilde lay on a cart like a dying woman being transported to her eternal rest.
He couldn't think about it: it was too painful. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He didn't want to appear agitated or vulnerable, especially since he felt Iza's persistent gaze following his every move. He still had a mission to complete and had to stay focused.
The group pressed on for a few more hours until they saw the border ahead of them. The military camp along the road looked deserted, far too quiet to be normal.
"Where did they go?" William asked, furrowing his brow. He expected Umgardian soldiers ready to ask questions and stop them at the border, but it was clear the place was abandoned.
"Maybe they're helping civilians," Adelina commented, having moved to the front of the cart to check the outside with William. She watched the Umgard flags fluttering from the poles driven into the ground and shuddered.
Snow White ignored the outside for the moment, too worried about the Queen, who seemed to be in the throes of a nightmare: her face communicated pain and sorrow, her body twitched slightly, and she was sweating. The princess wiped her forehead and neck with a damp cloth.
"Ilde?" she whispered, hoping she would hear her: "Don't be afraid, you're not alone..."
You're not alone...