Angel & Hero

24. Happily ever after

Emée's Point of View

Four days after the trial, the Alderia was still restless from the news. Bali was no longer Queen of the demons and was apparently to be assigned to everyday affairs at the demon court. According to Léni, it wasn't the most pleasant job but she could have gotten so much worse. Bali wasn't innocent but she didn't know about everything so she got no scar. I wanted to believe in giving her a second chance, even if she despised me with all her being.

Demons were still waiting to see who their new ruler would be and one thing was sure: it wasn't going to be Alexandre. He had left the Alderia with only necessities to survive in the forest, just like I had been forced to do when he chased me. However, the revenge was bitter: I felt awful for the punishment and even if it was the only outcome for someone who already had a scar and threatened the balance of the Alderia twice, I couldn't help but not really wish it upon him. The forest of the Alderia wasn't an unpleasant place but I knew the hostile treatment reserved by some harsh days.

Deep down, I knew my mind would have never been at ease otherwise. The fact that he was never allowed in the Alderia again and Léni protecting me like the true hero he was, allowed me to live a kind of normal life again, minus the constant stares and whispers.

I had been used to them, but now it was for two different reasons. I was the angel who took down the Queen of demons, even if I believed I had nothing to do with that, and apparently I was also the next Queen of heroes, some even going as far as inventing very... creative links between the two.

In reality, I wasn't meant to be the next Queen of heroes anytime soon. Léni and I were far from being married and the coronation would take place soon. We lived together and Léni said I could stay as long as I wanted, my whole life if I deemed necessary.

As much as I liked the idea, I knew I couldn't live in his cabin forever, keeping him away from his duties. So I did all the chores around the house while he was away, giving us a sort of routine these past few days. I moved all my belongings here, I had decided to take a break from my old life and changing where I lived was the first step, that's why I was very grateful to have a place to stay.

On the other hand, I had never been involved in a real and healthy romantic relationship. We had silently agreed to go with the flow and let ourselves be guided by our feelings, to see where it lead us. I wasn't in a sufficiently emotionally stable state to do otherwise.

So we went on with the early stages of love, never wanting to let each other go, looking for the significant other when he wasn't by your side. I was enjoying it very much, I felt like I could thrive on that feeling of going to sleep and waking up happy forever. Of course, I was always afraid the Emée I knew wasn't enough, maybe he would like me differently, maybe there were some things I could change to myself, perhaps some things even annoyed him. I was like that by nature but he was so spontaneously reassuring, that was one of the things I liked the most with Léni, I knew that maybe I wasn't perfect but I wasn't afraid to be myself.

Once again, I was on my own on the couch upstairs, reading without really understanding the words that went through my eyes like meaningless lines. I knew Léni would be coming home soon and I was too enthusiastic to read.

I had done some cleaning in the house and prepared dinner, inspiring myself from Paul's vegetable pie I loved so much. With Léni, food and everyday necessities weren't hard to find, unlike at the cabin.

Since I couldn't read from the excitement caused by the idea of seeing the hero I loved so dearly soon, I decided to stand next to the fireplace, enjoying its heat while looking outside from the window, spying on his arrival.