Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: Dark Elf Arc

Chapter 40

"Nnnnggg..."

Caspian woke up to the sound of someone groaning. At first, he thought it might be Elincia, but when he opened his eyes and glanced down, he saw that she was still fast-asleep, curled up against him like a cat. He blinked several times as confusion set in. If she hadn't been the one to groan, then who had?

"Mmnn..."

Rustling from the bed caused Caspian to look up just as Sylvia sat up in the bed, closing her eyes as she pressed a hand to her face. Her shoulders were slouched and her back slumped. He couldn't begin to guess what was going through her mind. Confusion? Anguish? Regardless, he felt an intense burst of joy and relief wash through him.

"Ele! Wake up! Sylvia is awake!"

As he shouted through the bond, Elincia slowly came to. She unfurled her body just like a cat. As she stretched her legs and even her cute little toes, she slowly blinked her eyes open.

"Wazzat? Someone... calling me...?"

"Don't go back to bed!" Caspian snapped when Elincia laid her head back on his chest. "Sylvia is awake!"

"Lady... Sylvia?"

Elincia became more awake as she laid there. Her head soon tilted up, and she looked at the woman now sitting up on the bed, still holding a hand to her face as though she was in great pain.

"L-Lady Sylvia!" Elincia suddenly shouted as she scrambled to her feet.

"Oof!!"

Caspian grimaced as Elincia slammed her noggin into his jaw. The feeling of his teeth clacking shut sent pain lancing through his nerves. Elincia was probably hurt too, but she ignored her own injury as she stood up and rushed to the bed.

"Lady Sylvia, are you okay?! How are you feeling?!"

"Elincia..." Sylvia finally opened her eyes and glanced at the elf. "You have returned. Are you the one who saved me?"

"Well... Caspian and me, yeah," Elincia admitted. "We also had the help of the Peacekeepers under the command of Commander Klein."

"Klein? Ah, yes. I remember him. He is a good man with a good head on his shoulders. A very capable commander, as I recall..."

When Sylvia trailed off, her eyes growing distant, Caspian and Elincia looked at each other, concern radiating between them through the bond.

"Lady Sylvia," Elincia began, "can we ask... about what happened to you? Why were Lady Cleopatra and Count De'Falco trying to have you killed?"

Sylvia grimaced as her body went into a series of shudders. "I suppose you have a right to know." She paused again, closed her eyes, and leaned backward until she was lying on the pillow again. That fact that she'd present such a weak front was not a good sign. "It seems I have been... betrayed. Lady Cleopatra has joined forces with Duke De'Falco in order to undermine my authority and destroy the Sorceress Council. She said it was for revenge, but I... I don't understand... I've never destroyed any villages with humans in them..."

Neither of them understood what Sylvia was talking about with her last sentence, but they understood enough to know that the duke and Cleopatra were working together in order to destroy the Sorceress Council.

"Sylvia," Caspian began, "If the duke has really plotted against the Sorceress Council, then it probably means we aren't the only ones in danger. There are many sorceress spread across Arcadia. We need to alert them to the dangers they are in."

"You are correct," Sylvia said with a sigh. "We should leave Cassadinia as soon as we are able."

Caspian and Elincia agreed. However, before they could discuss any plans to escape, someone banged on their door.