The rulers watched with varying amusement and interest.
I stood awkwardly, feeling every eye on me again.
Ah, the pressure was returning.
But on the contrary, my resistance was getting stronger: perhaps it's due to the suffering, and Izra had pushed some boundary inside me…
But Sakura was right; I did feel normal now. She healed me with a kiss?
Elara turned to the group, her voice cold. "We're done here! This is why I avoid these meetings."
Titania fluttered closer, her violet eyes wide. "C… Come visit sometime, Elar—!"
"No," Elara snapped.
She took my hand firmly and led me away, Marina following close.
As we walked, I glanced back at Sakura.
She wasn't the bustiest or most voluptuous, but her pale skin glowed, pink hair framing fox features like a goddess from old tales.
Then she winked at me just before we turned the corner.
*
Auralis waited in the clearing, her massive form shifting from ground stance to full winged majesty.
But damn; looking at her again, she was nearly as large as a private jet. Her body gleamed with those silver feathers and snow-leopard fur.
That wide saddle was strapped along her broad back, easily the size of a really big couch, ringed with low rails for safety.
Marina mounted the forward saddle near Auralis's neck, taking the reins with practiced ease. Then Elara guided me to the rear couch-saddle, helping me settle into the soft cushions before sitting close beside me.
The space allowed us to sit side by side comfortably, her body pressed warmly against mine as Auralis launched skyward with powerful wingbeats and tremors.
The ground fell away, wind rushing past as we rose above Gihon.
Elara's arm wrapped around my waist protectively, her head resting lightly on my shoulder. The vast couch let us stretch out if we wanted, but she stayed close, her warmth a quiet comfort after all the commotion back there.
ELARA POV
The meeting had borne less fruit than I hoped.
We only renewed our agreements—mutual defense against demon attacks, shared intelligence, and a united response to demon plans. A solid alliance against their eternal ambition for domination.
But their true goal this time remained unclear; resources? Relics? Or just something unfamiliar to us.
Speculation flew, but nothing more.
More claims for Benjamin flew, but I shot them down with sternness. I assured them I'd keep him safe and cared for; they didn't need to get in my way.
Being a queen is an exceedingly tedious task, one I've been performing for ages.
And now I've found a resting point, a place where I can be a woman instead: Benjamin Mark. But they see it fit to interfere, those greedy monarchs.
Nevertheless, I left the hall expecting relief, only to find my beloved in shambles.
Benjamin; carried like a broken doll by my wayward first born, Izra. The sight pierced my heart sharper than any blade; I knew what Izra was capable of.
Watching him heal my people, bring light to the dull Sara, endure my daughters' hassling and the villages frequent requests... it had awakened something inside of me—one I had never felt in my long life.
I reason that it could only be love. Real, aching love.
I yelled at Izra for her misconduct. She never learns.
She once caused so much terror in the village, men began to perceive mating with us as a feared phenomenon, rather than to be sought.
Her absence, after Renard requested that she accompany him, three thousand years ago had brought peace to the Spire. Somehow, he alone could leash her.
Then that harlot, Sakura, dared touch him again!
Why did everyone covet my Benjamin?
I held him close on the wide saddle as Auralis soared higher, wind whipping our hair.
Though, Benjamin recovered quickly under Sakura's healing—color returning to his face, and strength to his limbs.
"Uhm, I'm really sorry." He turned to me, voice gloomy. "I left with Izra and... I know I shouldn't have, but..."
"It's okay." I rubbed his cheek gently. "Izra is deranged and unpredictable, just like her twin. None of us could have known."
Looking at his blue eyes, I felt my face grow hot. Just looking at him made me happy.
I have to rein in these feelings; I am a queen—if I let myself get too absorbed, if I let my guard down, there might be unrepairable damages. To him too.
Emboldened by the quiet sky and the vast chesterfield cradling us, I asked shyly, "Benjamin, could you... kiss me?"
He looked at me blankly at first, searching for something in my eyes.
But then he smiled; that warm, earnest smile that would melt me any day.
"Of course." He agreed.
Such a mundane response, but joy flooded my heart, equaling the joy I feel whenever I bring children into this world.
Benjamin, I love you. and I'll never let you leave my sight again.
I beamed and closed my eyes, leaning in across the soft cushions.
But… his lips never met mine.
Confused, I opened my eyes—
"…Marina..."
—and immediately went cold.
"Where is Benjamin?"
I felt a sudden dip in my stomach.
The space beside me on the wide couch was… empty.
We were high above the clouds now, Auralis gliding smoothly.
He couldn't have fallen, could he?
Panic surged through me like ice water, I was hearing my heart beat inside my ear.
I stood on the swaying saddle, wind tearing at my robe, and scanned the vast sky and land below.
But there nothing. No signs of my Benjamin.
Without thinking, I jumped off.
The fall was endless; the wind roaring in my ears, the ground rushing up. And while falling, I still looked around, searching for even the faintest trace of him.
I landed hard in an open plain, earth shattering in wide cracks beneath my feet, shock rippling through my legs.
Pain flared up in my feet, but I ignored it. In blinding speed, I ran unorthodoxly around the plains; searching valleys, mountains, trenches… but nothing.
I had searched more than three miles around… Nothing. No body, no trace.
BUT THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE!!
I kicked off again, launching nearly a hundred meters upward, landing atop a tall tree that swayed under my weight.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I screamed his name into the wind. "BEEEENNNJAMIN!"
No answer… No glimpse. Only silence responded.
Marina landed Auralis nearby, face etched with worry. "Your Majesty... Sir Benjamin has truly disappeared!"
My chest heaved, as thoughts raced in terror. The tears fell silently as I searched the horizon once more.
Who—or what—could take him from the sky itself?
I leaped off the tree.
Marina approached me the moment I landed, then wiped my tears and cupped my cheeks.
She embraced me tightly, her voice steady despite her sadness.
"My Queen, Sir Benjamin is not weak. He's certainly fine, wherever he is."
"But he's new to this world." I sobbed, squeezing her back, "He'll need us… What I'm I going to tell the others… What do I tell Sara?"
"Benjamin is okay, my Queen! Trust him." Marina assured me, "For now, let us return to the Spire. Lotus, our greatest mage, might be able to do something. She might even find him instantly."
I only nodded, throat tight, with grief and determination warring in my heart.
As Auralis carried us homeward, but suddenly the sky felt emptier than ever.
Benjamin was gone.
But I would tear the world apart to bring him back.
Hold on for me, my beloved.
***
"Uhm… Sakura? Isn't this kidnapping?" I asked, observing the very important-looking place. Kind of, like an Asian temple.
"Nonsense," the pink-haired fox woman huffed and raised a hand fan to her face, "You should be honored to be captured by someone of my significance. Welcome to the Beast Kingdom—Shishi-no-su."