The War Of Crowns | #ONC2023

Chapter 11

Leia's POV

"Good, you're awake." Atreyu's voice was as smooth and deep as his skin color. His smile was a welcoming sight as Leia opened her eyes. She groaned, attempting to sit up. Atreyu reached over to help her and she stared at him, wondering how he knew what was happening in front of him without seeing it.

"I heard you," he said.

Leia brought her hand up to her mouth to stifle the gasp that sounded.

"No, I am not trying to read your mind. Your mind is simply trying to speak to me."

She watched him with both awe and fear. "How does it work? Does being in a crowded room give you a headache?" Leia imagined Atreyu in a crowd, his face set in that serene expression while thoughts screamed their way into his head. It was enough to make her cringe at the thought of experiencing something as horrid as that.

Atreyu's laugh was deep with an eccentric touch. "It can get quite loud for me, yes."

Leia started to laugh but winced as the pain at the back of her head throbbed. Atreyu closed his eyes, his hands clasped on his lap and the pain eased. She reached behind her head but there was nothing to feel but a small lump and lots of hair.

When he opened them Leia couldn't help but gape. "You can heal concussions too?"

Atreyu's mouth dropped into a thoughtful frown as he cocked his head to the side. "To an extent. I can tell the cells in your brain to heal themselves and the surrounding damaged tissues."

She nodded. The question she truly wanted to ask stayed frozen on her tongue as she stared at Atreyu. He was so unlike his brothers. Where they were fair and magical, he was dark and haunting. His face held no lines and his expression was often relaxed. Sometimes he would grace the place with one side of his lips slightly upticked.

"You may speak your request, little bird," he said. The nickname he gave her made her cheeks warm the same way it did when her brothers would sometimes do something nice for her.

Leia swallowed hard. A conversation with him was something that she had to get used to. "Can you fix him?" Was all she could choke out. He would know who she was speaking about.

"It would take a very long time for me to undo the damage done," he said. Leia took hold of his hands. They were rougher than she thought they would be. The callous on his palms scraped lightly against hers.

"I will help you convince my mother to let you enchant the water. Just promise me you will fix him." She begged.

Losing her memory of Dakath when they would be stuck literal worlds apart was a thought she could accept.

A month ago she would be appalled at such a suggestion. She would quicker lose her life attempting to murder them than give the control to them.

She trusted Dakath. She even admired him. He was a strategist, just like her. She trusted that he would take his throne and keep his people under control. She trusted that he would keep her kind safe in their oblivious lives.

Humans would find a way through the barrier if they remembered the faeries. They would always hunt what they feared. Wiping the memories of her people is the least messiest way to end the war. It was brilliant actually.

"I promise," Atreyu said, his voice calming. "Now your lady's maid, Ava, will dress you." With that he stood, his hand rested on his golden cane. Leia felt a weight lift off of her chest and she took a deep breath, welcoming the air that filled her lungs.

"For what?" She asked.

The glamoured girl walked in, her face still as dazed as the last time. Purple fabric spilled from both her hands. "For the ball Your Highness," she said.