The Saintess and the Villainess

A Tale of Two Princes - Chapter 9

Sebastian vaguely wondered if this was a dream, or some sort of strange hallucination. He was just drunk enough on elven wine to feel sort of floaty, and here he was, standing in a storage room watching the king of the elves use a magical hand mirror to talk to the goddess—who was apparently real, an elf, and the kind of older woman Sebastian suspected his friend Collette might one day age into.

"I'll admit my call isn't just for pleasure," said King Theodas with a smile. "But it is quite the pleasure to see your lovely face, Cory."

"Oh, you," said the Goddess, with a wave of her hand. "Always such a flirt. And how's Elincia doing?"

"Not quite well, I'm afraid. She's been spending more and more of her time in bed these days."

"I see," said the Goddess. Her expression didn't change, but suddenly there was something new in her eyes, a depth that was less human and more divine. "And when do you and your wife plan on taking your journey? I'd love to be able to meet you both at the threshold, perhaps put you up for a few days before sending you on your way."

Sebastian was startled by a sharp intake of breath beside him and he looked over to see Elyon staring at his father and the Goddess with an intense expression, his brow deeply furrowed. His right hand was clutched into such a tight fist that Sebastian worried he might be hurting himself.

Automatically, without really thinking about it, Sebastian reached out to touch Elyon's hands. Elyon startled at the touch, glancing over at Sebastian. When their eyes met, Elyon visibly softened. He relaxed his fingers and gently laced them through Sebasatian's, holding his hand.

That's when Sebastian knew for sure that he wasn't dreaming; the rough calluses of Elyon's palm felt far too real against his own too-delicate skin. They were both princes, yes, but the more Sebastian got to know Elyon the more he could see that the two of them had led very different lives. Sebastian only wished he knew more about what it was Elyon was thinking, feeling, going through—he wished he knew enough already to understand without words what it was that had upset Elyon so much in that moment. He wished he knew how to help, or at least how to offer better comfort. He wished for it so much it felt like a physical weight in his chest.

But there wasn't time to think about that right now. Sebastian swallowed, trying to push the feelings further down inside where he could deal with them later. Right now he needed to concentrate on the matter at hand: Anne and Corvina's safety. That was the priority.

While Sebastian was distracted, King Theodas had been busy brushing the Goddess off, shrugging his shoulders and waving his hands around dismissively and making excuses.

"One day, though," he finished. "Of course we'll go, eventually, there's just so much for us to do here still."

"Hmm..." said the Goddess. Her tone sounded a bit skeptical. "If you say so. Just don't put it off too long, okay? It's an important journey, you know?"

"Of course, of course," said Theodas. "Actually, you might find this interesting, just the other week Elincia and I were—"

Elyon still wasn't saying anything. He was just staring at his father and the Goddess with an expression of grim concentration. Whatever was going through his mind, it didn't seem like he was going to speak up. And it didn't seem like Theodas was going to get to the point anytime soon.

It was up to Sebastian, then.

Sebastian nervously gave Elyon's hand a gentle squeeze before letting go and taking a step forward. He cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, um, Goddess?" he said, embarrassed by how meek he knew he sounded. "May I have a moment of your time?"

"What? Who's that?" said the Goddess, looking all around. "Theo, you can tell me your story later, who's there with you?"