Tribal

16

The stag ride was overwhelmingly fast, and Acacia felt like she was in the middle of a storm the way the wind hit her face and how bumpy the ride was. Ghost looked out and saw Acacia struggling to stay upright, so he placed an arm around her and held her close to him. She wasn't being flung around anymore, but she almost preferred that compared to the embarrassment she was feeling now. The ride continued, and Ghost was anxious; he wasn't even paying attention to how he was holding Acacia. It was likely that the entire kingdom now considered them enemies; they would not have the time to take things slowly, they likely wouldn't stop until Ghost was 100% positive that they weren't being followed. Who knows how long that could take. The kingdom is massive, and Hollow had connections everywhere. They were fugitives.

"Ahem, Ghost? Would you mind moving your hand?" Ghost looked over and saw he had his hand wrapped around her waist; he embarrassingly let go and held her shoulder instead.

"Apologies," he said, with red covering his face. Acacia had to admit, she didn't truly mind, but she also truly believed that the knight did not see her that way. They had a mission, and they were both criminals. Nobody could be trusted besides each other. She was slightly saddened by this, but she would get her revenge first. What she did afterwards, she had no clue. Hopefully Ghost could return to his original life; perhaps she would live on the run, or maybe she would serve her sentence and allow herself to be put to death. She still had to decide.

"Aww look at the two lovebirds~," Shade's chilling voice could be heard in the seat behind them. "Adorable really." Shade could be heard giggling to themselves as the two tried to ignore their presence. "Hey! Don't ignore me! I'm talking to you!"

"What do you want, Shade?" Ghost asked.

"Oh nothing, just a little friendly chit-chat between parent and child. And child in law." Shade looked over to Acacia, who was afraid but blushed anyway.

"As I had said before, I am not your child. I never will be," Ghost said with disgust in his voice.

"How do you plan on doing that, hm? Last time I checked, you can't remove void from your being. That makes you mine, no matter what you do." Shade leaned over and had their face between Ghost and Acacia. "Like it or not, you both belong to me now." With those last words, they disappeared.

"I hate that guy," Acacia said.

"I do too, but we will hopefully be rid of him soon," Ghost responded. After a short while longer on the stag, they arrived at King's Station and got off to continue walking. "You may want to place the crown in your bag; we wouldn't want anyone to recognize us." Acacia did as she was told and removed her crown and placed it in her bag.

"What about you? I'm sure it'll be easy to recognize you," Acacia asked.

"I can do this." Ghost held a hand up to his face, and magic swirled around his body; when it cleared, Ghost took on the appearance of a male mantis. "It will be way less suspicious if I look like a mantis. Two mantises traveling together is not nearly as suspicious." Acacia admired his new look, she found herself thinking things about him, but shoved them aside. It was still just Ghost, don't start falling for an illusion Acacia! She thought to herself. Suddenly a question appeared in her head.

"Where did you learn all this new magic? When I saw you the first time, the only thing you had was offensive spells, now you have sleep spells, illusion magic, probably a lot more too. Where did all this come from?" Acacia was thinking of the time she had seen him when she was young.

"Well, after growing up some and Hollow taking over as king, I gained access to my father's library; it had all sorts of books on magic, and I wished to know everything I could. So now I at least know everything in those books. It's not just illusion, offense, and my non-lethal spells. I have defense magic too. I can cast barriers and the like; I also have physical enhancement spells, things that can make me faster, stronger, more durable, and things like that. I have teleportation magic, but that takes a large amount of soul energy and it requires a good bit of time to cast; it's really only ever used if I need to jump from one edge of the kingdom to another, and only if it's faster to use the spell rather than take a stag. I have access to other magic too, more situational than others, like a smokescreen or summoning weapons. There is a lot I can do with my magic."

Acacia was astonished; he was definitely a skilled swordsman, but he was also an advanced mage as well! Such skill. She definitely admired him. "Wow, I had no idea how skilled you were. Such skill with a blade and great magic feats as well. You truly are Hallownest's strongest." Ghost was flattered.

"Perhaps my skills with a blade are good, but a true master archmage could easily defeat me in battle; magic is so much stronger than regular weaponry, its only drawback is that using it too much can tire you out very easily; magic relies on soul energy, the only beings with an unlimited amount of soul energy are higher beings, and spirits. I am neither, I am a void creature so I have access to unlimited void resources, but void magic can only be used in offensive ways, the void can not heal, it can not defend, it can not support. It is offensive only. I rarely ever use it, and I only do if it is my last option. I hate that part of me because that part of me belongs to them. To Shade. I hate it."

Acacia could see it, the hatred for Shade in Ghost's eyes. She wanted to comfort him but she didn't know how. She was about to say something when they exited the stag tunnels and arrived at the capital of Hallownest, The City of Tears. The buildings weren't too complex, large towers made of glass and brick built houses; what she was interested in was how it seemed to never stop raining here. The rumors were true, the City of Tears rained eternal; the water ever flowed and never stopped. "How does such a place like this rain so much?" Acacia asked.

"Well, high above the city, there is a lake; it is massive and still, but the water in the lake drips down into the city," Ghost said.

"Does the lake ever run out of water?" Acacia wondered.

"Do you see the drain pipes under the sidewalk?" Ghost asked and pointed to the gutters. "They collect the water, then the Royal Waterways runs it back up to the Blue Lake. Whenever it rains on the surface, that rainwater is also siphoned into the Blue Lake."

"Don't you ever worry about flooding?" Acacia looked up to the sky.

"There are automated systems that redirect the water to other places should the lake rise too much. There is a reservoir in the Queen's Gardens that can hold more than enough extra water. They use that water for the plants and such. It's why things grow so well in Greenpath." Ghost loved answering her questions. Made him feel smart.

"This place is amazing, perhaps when we are done with our quest, we-uh-I could move here. The tribe is likely no going to take me back. And I will need a place to stay." Ghost looked down.

"I am sorry, Shade is only in Hallownest because I summoned him. If I hadn't done that, perhaps you would still have your life." Ghost sat down on a nearby bench. Acacia looked at him with sadness, and sat down on the same bench.

"Y'know, maybe you're right about that," Ghost sighed. "But, if you hadn't summoned him, we would all still be under threat of the Radiance; Hollow would likely be a crazed monster, Hornet would still be this realm's guardian, and your mother would probably still be holed up in the gardens. Never able to see her children again." Ghost looked over at her. "The Mantis Tribe would likely still be a secluded barbarian tribe, as would the Hive; Quirrell likely would never have gotten married to Hornet, who knows where that would have led him. Hallownest would have most likely fallen into complete and total ruin, or ended up completely infected and without anyone to save us." Ghost took her words into great consideration; maybe she was right. Maybe it wasn't all bad, then she said something else.

"And...if you had not summoned Shade...I may not be in the situation I am now, but...if I wasn't...I never would have gotten to spend this time with you..." Acacia's voice trailed off, and she leaned her head against Ghost's shoulder, blushing madly. Ghost was blushing too, but he hid it very well; he placed a hand on Acacia's shoulder, and they sat and enjoyed the rain together.