Yet another day passed by and Athanasia had said nothing to anyone—-she barely acknowledged Cadwal and when she did it was to tell him she didn't need him doing any sort of servantly duties for her.

     He still thinks I'm some royal to serve? To please?, Athanasia began to ponder. Poor guy. Dammit… I need to make him realize we're not exactly playing castle anymore.

    And finally, as the sun started to sink towards the hills and the group started to slow for the night, Athanasia called out, softly, “Cadwal?”

     At first, the young man didn't hear her words, so Athanasia repeated it: “Cadwal?” She paused, adding on to the call, “...can I talk to you for a moment?”

    It took a couple of seconds for it to register in Cadwal’s mind that Athanasia was trying to get his attention—-but when it did, he slowed his pace to match hers, pushing back from the group since Athanasia had already been straggling behind quite a bit. “Yes?” He began, matching his friend’s soft tone as the fading daylight illuminated his darkened cheekbones. “Yes, your highness?”

    Athanasia held her tongue for a moment. That's another thing… ‘Your highness’. He shouldn't still be doing that. Yes, I might've been the crowned heir of the throne, but Cyeollaria is practically gone by now. The kingdom is gone… So is the line of succession. If anything, I'm not a royal… I'm just like him. I'm just a person. …But, I suppose I can't blame him for doing this… It’s what he knows. …and even after what happened in Cyeollaria, he still wants a bit of normalcy. It's respectable. Understandable. Honorable, even.

     Cadwal cleared his throat in hopes of pulling Athanasia out of the ‘daze’ he believed her to be in. “Your highness? Something I can do for you? Something I can fetch? Do you need me to make supper? Or carry your bags? Tell them to make camp? Are you tired? …I could carry your sword if need be.” He continued to ramble on, trying to list every possibility he could for her.

      “No, no,” Athanasia said rather quickly. “I think Visna’s quite content with sitting on my back,” she explained, talking about her sword. “And no, Cadwal… I don't require any of your services… I just…” She paused before continuing. “...I just want to talk to you.”

     Cadwal’s expression relaxed to something less on-edge. “Oh… About what?” He inquired, softly.

     Here goes nothing, Athanasia thought. She took a deep breath before speaking to her friend once more. “So… Cyeollaria’s gone… and because it is, I don't exactly feel like a princess, Cadwal.”

     Cadwal butt in. “...But, you are though. The Queen's daughter. That has to count for something… Even if the palace was ransacked.”

     “Maybe so,” Athanasia started to say in response. “But, I guess what I'm trying to say is this: Cadwal, you know I'm just like you… That I'm just person. I don't need you to refer to me with fancy titles… We're friends… That extends beyond royal bloodlines.” She paused. “Cadwal… I'm…” She stopped before starting up again. “Cadwal, I hereby relinquish your duties as my servant.”

    Cadwal stopped dead in his tracks. “You- You don't mean…” The words caught in his throat.

      “You've spent years working for me. …And that just doesn't sit right with me, Cadwal… You're my friend… You should be seen as such. …By everyone,” she said. “You're not my servant anymore. …You're my companion.”

    Cadwal swallowed, shakily. “I-I don't know what to say.” There was a small, shallow pause before he continued. “My whole life, I've done servant’s work. My father did… My mother… Even their parents before that… And so on. But, now… You're saying that I get an out? That I get a chance to forge my own path? Decide for myself what I want to do?”

    Athanasia nodded. “Yes.” She paused. “You’re my friend, Cadwal… My best friend. And I just want what's best for you… And that—- That’s something you'll have to discover on your own.”

    Cadwal paused, thinking for a brief moment before hugging his friend tightly—-which caught Athanasia off-guard for a second. “Thank you, Athanasia. Thank you.”

    Athanasia was stunned for a moment at Cadwal’s quick, sudden movement; she soon was able to free herself from her frozen status and hug him back. “You're welcome,” she whispered to her friend, holding him until he could pull himself back out of the embrace.

    Soon enough, Cadwal nodded one more ‘thank you’ to his friend before heading up to fall back into pace with Agnar, sharing the news with him, happily.

    Athanasia smiled faintly to herself, looking at the ground.

    Despite her conversation with Cadwal, she still didn't talk much to anyone else in the group for the remaining hours of daylight.

    When the group had set up camp for the night, Athanasia had sat herself underneath a tree, distancing herself from everyone else.

    Aculia noticed this and came over, sitting by Athanasia. “Penny for your thoughts?”

     Athanasia just responded with a stressed grunt.

     Aculia sighed. “Yeah… I get that. The past few days have been complete and utter shit… I can understand why you might not want to talk.” The Scottish princess paused before saying, “It’s Ilrok, right? He's what's got your mind collapsing in on itself… You're worried… You're stressing over him and what he's done… Or rather, what he will do.”

    Athanasia, still looking to the ground below her, explained, “Ilrok’s ruthless. We saw that much back in Cyeollaria. He showed his true colors. And I know that whatever the hell it is that he wants, he’s not going to stop until he gets it.”

    “Yeah… Definitely stressed.” Aculia exhaled, looking Athanasia up and down. She sighed. “You know, your whole ‘I-feel-like-I-fucked-up-and-damned-my-entire-kingdom-to-hell’ demeanor isn't justified.” Aculia sucked in a breath, slowly—-the moonlight shifting through the upper branches in the tree above the two, casting various shadows along her soft facial features. “...It’s not your fault.” She placed a gentle hand upon Athanasia’s shoulder.

     “Except for the fact that it is. It is my fault, Aculia,” Athanasia started to say, blaming herself for Ilrok's heinous acts. “I damned Cyeollaria. …and that fucking hurts… So bad. I didn't want to think about that at first, but now, that's the only thought that keeps playing in my mind. …the fires. …the screams of the towns folk. That’s my fault. I brought that shitty fate upon them.” Then, she added on, “I mean, didn't you hear Noaah's song? He was right. I fled… I didn't do anything to help them.”

    Aculia huffed. “Well, that's hardly fair to judge yourself on his song… You and I both know that Noaah was just pulling bullshit out of his ass… Spinning a tale just for the hell of it.”

     Athanasia swallowed. “Maybe so… But that doesn't erase the fact that Ilrok most likely was looking for me, regardless of whatever fucked up plan he has in store… I could've stayed… Protected people better. It was my fault he was there to begin with. I brought Ilrok to Cyeollaria.”

    “If you stayed, you would've died,” Aculia pointed out.

     “Better to die a hero than live like a coward,” Athanasia mumbled.

     “You're not a coward,” Aculia said. “You did what you had to. …and for the record, what happened back there isn't your fault.” She paused. “...if you wanna hear something that's someone's fault, it's this: when I first got taken into the Ciar family, I was scared. …scared that they’d hire hunters. …I did have vampiric blood after all… I came from a very undead part of the world.”

     “A village near Bloodletter's Peak, right?” Athanasia queried.

     Aculia nodded. “Yeah… I got scared… Freaked out and I…” She trailed off. “I bit Derbáil.”

     Athanasia raised a raven colored eyebrow. “...You turned her?”

    Aculia nodded yet again. “Out of fear, yes.” She exhaled, heavily. “...that was my fault. What happened in Cyeollaria wasn't yours…” She looked Athanasia right in the eyes. “Still… Despite my clear reassurance, you don't seem convinced. You're still stressed… Still tense.”

     Athanasia faked a laugh. “How'd you guess?”

    Aculia sighed. “It's written all over your face.” She looked over to the main part of the camp the group had set up—-almost everyone had turned in for the night… All except her and Athanasia. Slowly, the Scottish princess’s gaze drifted back over to Athanasia. She whispered, “Mind if I help get your mind off your woes?”

      Athanasia snorted a little at the sudden notion. “You can certainly try.”

     The edges of Aculia’s lips quirked up into a smirk. She wrapped her arms around Athanasia's neck, resting them on her broad shoulders. Slowly, Aculia scooched closer.

     The closer Aculia came, the quicker Athanasia’s heart raced. “W-What are you doing?” She stammered in question.

     “Taking those stressful thoughts off your mind~,” Aculia whispered, flirtatiously. Her heavily accented voice grew rough. “...that is if you'll have me.”

    Athanasia felt her face growing warmer and warmer by each passing moment. The beat of her heart roared loudly in her ears as she swallowed, nervously. “Y-Yeah. Of course I will.” I’d be an idiot to turn you down, she thought to herself.

    “Good,” Aculia whispered, slowly undoing the buttons on her tunic, allowing Athanasia to see the skin of her collarbone and then some. She placed her hands on Athanasia's chest and pushed her down, right into the grass—-right before sitting herself down on Athanasia’s hips. Then, Aculia leaned down for a kiss.

─┉─¡! • !¡─┉─

     The darkness of night surrounded Aculia and Athanasia—-who were still trying to catch their breath from where they lay in the grass, right next to each other—-nearly drowning them in complete shadow.

     Aculia fidgeted with one button on her open tunic. “That… That was pretty great…” She rolled over to look at Athanasia. “But, still… Your first time, right?” Aculia teased, playfully.

     Athanasia rolled her purple eyes in response. “Third. I've spent time with Manga before.”

     Aculia’s lips made an ‘o’ shape. “Oh… You mean the girl who dumped you for a guard, right?”

     Athanasia inhaled sharply at that reminder. “Yes. Her.” Her voice was coated in feigned annoyance at Aculia’s words.

     Aculia huffed. “Well, I'll be damned. Bitch was clearly dumb enough to let go of a real catch.”

     Athanasia’s face burned bright with blush once more.

     Aculia laughed a little at Athanasia's expression. She playfully elbowed her. “I'm serious. Any girl would be lucky to have you. She was clearly just not quite bright enough to realize that.”

    Athanasia groaned, embarrassed. “Flatterer.” She turned away to hide her blush, only for her gaze to fall upon a weirdly shaped rock lodged in between the roots of the tree—-it was oval shape in nature. Athanasia stood up, curiosity getting the best of her. She made her way towards the ‘rock’, slowly.

    Aculia sat up at that. “What? Do you see something?”

     “Yeah… It's just—” Athanasia held that thought, advancing forward still. She moved closer to the object, through the dim nighttime light. Her eyes widened with what she saw.

    It was a wyvern’s egg.