Chapter 8 - The General Befriends a Phoenix
POV Katherine Evenhart
I woke up with a start, startled by sothing unknown. There was a strange feeling inside , as if a part of had died. Instinctively, the first thing I said was…
“Nathan!” I called out, trying to understand where I was.
I slept too long!
Forcing my mind, I started to rember so things. I had stayed awake for days waiting for Hugo's return, and we planned to leave the next day. I asked Nate to keep watch for a while so I could try to regain so energy.
My son didn’t call .
Sunlight was streaming through the carriage window, and I quickly got up. There was a bow next to , and I grabbed it. Opening the door, I ran outside looking for my son.
“Nathan!” I called for him, but I didn’t see him nor did he respond.
I climbed onto the carriage to check if he had fallen asleep on top of it, but he wasn’t there.
This can’t be happening. Where is Nate?
I jumped down from the carriage and scanned my surroundings. It was morning. The sky still had white clouds, but it was no longer raining. I ran to the horses to see if he was there, but I couldn’t find him.
I hoped he had just gone to the bathroom. If that’s the case… he’s going to get it. Doesn’t he know how dangerous it is to walk around alone?
Part of wanted to scold him, and part of was worried and just wanted to hug him. My son was sowhere outside, but the problem was that there were people who wanted to kill him to try to usurp the authority of House Evenhart.
My heart ached just thinking about what they might do to him if they found him. I regretted not fleeing to another country instead of staying in the kingdom, but I couldn’t. Things outside the kingdom were more dangerous, especially since his father died in those lands.
“Nathan!” I shouted, running around the area where we were.
What if they caught him? What if soone took him from ?
I was starting to feel my legs giving way at the thought that my son might be dead.
It’s my fault!
Running around the place, I started looking for any sign of a trail, but if there had been one, the rain would have washed away any trace of human footsteps.
“Nathan! Where are you!?” I kept shouting, feeling my heart ache more with the reality that was forming.
If he had just gone to the bathroom, he would have heard shouting by now… what if he was kidnapped?
Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I ran to the horses.
I swore to myself that my ti with the sword was over, but if anyone dared touch a hair on my son’s head…
A rustling sound ca from the leaves, and I aid my bow.
“Nathan?” I drew the arrow, ready to shoot. If it were my son, he would have identified himself already.
“It’s !” Hugo erged from the woods, covered in blood.
“Hugo?”
He sighed in relief.
“I’m back, Lady Katherine. I apologize for the delay. I’m glad you waited.”
I observed his condition. Hugo was in terrible shape, covered in wounds, his shirt drenched in blood, and he wasn’t wearing his armor anymore.
“What happened to you?” I asked, already guessing what might have occurred.
“After leaving a village where I sent the letter, I was ambushed. I was captured and tortured for about two days, but in the end, I managed to escape and killed my captors.”
I sighed.
"Don’t tell you took longer because you were having fun torturing them and getting your revenge?” Hugo looked embarrassed when he heard that.
"You know how it is… nobody told them to ss with an Evenhart Legacy. I had to take advantage of the situation and also got so important information. It seems they haven’t figured it out yet; they just wanted to get to try to remove important pieces from the board in this dispute,” he said.
“Where’s Nathan? Did you see him?” I asked, my voice tinged with desperation.
Hugo turned pale, understanding what I ant.
“The young master! Did sothing happen to him!?”
My heart ached, and I felt my soul leaving my body.
Nathan isn’t with him! I… I… I failed as a mother.
“Mom?” a familiar voice called.
When I turned, I saw the small person I loved, and my world made sense and had color again.
Why is he covered in blood!?
POV Nathan Evenhart
“Mom?” I called her.
She was the first person I wanted to see after everything that happened. As soon as she turned, I checked her with my eyes to make sure she was okay.
Katherine ran to , grabbing by the shoulders and lifting up.
She is strong! My god, she is really strong; she’s crushing .
“Mom, you’re a bit tense…” I said as she looked at , placing back on the ground and hugging .
“Nathan Evenhart!”
She used my full na; I’m in trouble.
“What happened to you, my son?” she started checking my whole body, running her hands all over .
Ah! I’m covered in blood…
“Y-Young master!” A bloodied Hugo appeared, running towards , trying to see how I was.
“What happened, Nathan!?” my mom asked while lifting my shirt, looking for injuries.
“I ended up fighting with so people…”
“Are you hurt? Did you get injured? My little boy, are you in pain?” she started asking a bunch of questions while lifting up in the air again.
“Ah! Holy mother of waters!” Hugo shouted, falling back.
A small red hawk had descended from the sky and landed on my shoulder.
“You really followed …” I said, looking at the bird that hopped onto my head.
“How did you get so covered in blood?”
At least she’s not scared of the bird.
“I’m fine, Mom, but the ones I fought aren’t.”
Hugo stood up, frightened and trembling.
“Y-Young master! La-Lady Katherine, stay away from that thing!” he shouted, drawing his sword.
My mom seed to have noticed the hawk chick on my head.
“What is that, Nate?”
“I think… I think it’s my new friend,” I said, trying to look at the small hawk perched on my head.
Hugo tried to approach.
“That’s a dangerous magical animal, young master. Move away from it slowly. This seems to be at least a Rank S. I’ve heard stories about these from old Sifu. This thing is a devourer of villages and ships!”
“What is it, Hugo?” my mother asked.
“A Phoenix, my lady. This is a magical animal that was said to be extinct! It’s dangerous to stay close to this thing. Move away from it slowly!” he said, trying to hold his sword, but he was trembling a bit.
This guy is all banged up. He probably had a tough ti, but he's scared of the little hawk? So this thing really is powerful. No wonder it saved from death.
When I was about to die, I felt my body heat up and a gentle warmth press against the wound on my head. That was one of the last things I rember before losing consciousness completely.
When I woke up, the little bird was sleeping on my stomach and there was no wound on my head. I got up frantically to find my mother, but the bird kept following . Along the way, I stopped a few tis, and it would fly down and perch on my head. I tried to send it away, but it said it would stay.
I know it said it would stay because I asked if that’s what it was going to do, and it nodded ‘yes’. I still don’t understand why, but I confird that it lives far from where we were and was too tired to make a long journey. I asked when it would leave and had to guess so words to see if it would respond ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and all I understood was that it was very tired and would rest near .
I assud it was very defenseless because of the ti spent chained, so I made a deal with it, saying it could rest as long as it wanted, and I would never chain it like the other humans did. When it had rested enough, it would be free to return ho.
A fair deal, I owe it that.
This little red hawk is a Phoenix, so kind of fire animal with healing powers.
Either way, I’m grateful it saved from death’s door, and as a reward, I’ll let it stay as long as it wants until it’s recovered enough to return ho. It’s the least I can do after it allowed to stay with the one I love.
I made my way here and found my mother and Hugo.
The only side effect of it saving and healing my head wound is that now I have soone who apparently doesn’t want to leave and sohow knows I’m talking about her.
“What’s wrong? Want to peek under my dress?” the Goddess Athena asked, laughing at .
Beside was a beautiful blonde woman whose beauty was truly worthy of being called a Goddess, though all I felt was disgust for this person. She was here with , accompanying in her revealing white dress and provocative cleavage.
“I knew you liked them,” she said seductively, placing her hands on her breasts.
I’m fucked…
I looked at my mother and Hugo, but it seed they couldn’t see her.
Is she in my mind? What happened? Did I go crazy when I got hit in the head?
“No, darling… you saw before you almost died from the skull fracture, rember? I just didn’t interact much,” she said, laughing in that pompous way.
I quickly glanced at her and tried to ignore her existence, focusing on the most important person in the world to .
“It’s alright, this little bird won’t hurt . It just said it would stay for a while to recover and then leave,” I tried to reassure the two adults.
“You communicated with this Phoenix!?” Hugo asked, startled.
I communicated with a Phoenix and a dead Goddess…
My mother stared at the small red hawk as it lay down.
“I’ll trust you, now tell whose blood this is,” she said, pinching my ear.
“That hurts, mom…”
“It hurts? This is nothing compared to the pain I felt seeing you like this.”
“My Lady! My Lord! Don’t you understand the gravity of the monstrosity that is this bird?” Hugo shouted, desperate.
“Tell us, Nathan Evenhart, what have you done?” My mother was so focused on that she ignored Hugo.
She used my full na; I’m really in trouble.
The two adults stared at , trying to extract answers. My mother was worried about being covered in blood, and Hugo was still concerned about the little phoenix sleeping on my head.
I sighed, imagining the scolding I was going to get.
If she scolded so much and always reminded of the ti I ssed up with the mana test… I’m in for it when she sees the beach.
Calling them to follow , I led them toward the beach, retracing the path I took that night and explaining what I had to do. I downplayed the events, saying they could barely stand and were resting, but it was hard to deceive two experienced warriors. From the position of the bodies, they understood that my enemies weren’t sleeping when I attacked them. To make things worse, one of them was without pants and had a slit throat, indicating that I acted stealthily and killed him in cold blood.
“That was dishonorable… but well done,” Hugo praised.
Well done? I’m just a child…
My mother glared at him, and he turned his head aside.
I had to explain the events of that night, saying I followed an orange light that I later discovered was from the little hawk that could catch fire and not be burned by its flas. Hugo showed his hand on fire without burning, using his elental power, and I understood that the bird did that with mana.
“Did your mother teach you the art of assassination?” he asked, looking at the two bodies on the beach.
One body was on the sand, and the other was inside the shipwreck where I found the phoenix.
“I would never teach my son that. I don’t even use swords anymore and wouldn’t want him to follow that path,” my mother said.
Hugo looked at .
“Then it’s in the blood. You’re the son of two warrior mages and a pure Evenhart Legacy. I’m proud of you, Nathan! Like father, like son… both killers of true humans,” he said happily, but the look my mother gave us wiped the smiles off our faces.
“We need to leave. It’s not safe to stay here,” my mother said, and Hugo agreed.
“Those who ca after might have more people waiting to be contacted. We still have a few days until we reach Evenhart Manor. Inside, we’ll be protected,” Hugo said.
As we turned to leave, I had an idea.
“Rember I said I took this phoenix out of a chain?”
They both responded yes.
“It seems that chain isn’t normal. Can you identify what it is for ? I thought… of taking it with us. But I don’t know how dangerous the chain is or if it’s possible,” I said to them.
My mother frowned, confused, and Hugo too.
I had to explain things, downplaying the danger. I just summarized that when I touched the chains briefly, it felt like my hands were being lted by acid.
They looked at each other and asked to take them to the chains.
As we entered, Hugo made flas co out of his hand to light the place.
“This thing?” he bent down and looked at the chain.
“Hugo, are you feeling what I’m feeling?” my mother asked him.
What? I don’t feel anything.
“Yes… a possible enchanted relic,” he said, stretching his finger.
As soon as he touched the chain…
“Shit!” he jumped back. “What the fuck is this?”
My mother stared at Hugo and then at .
“You touched this?” she asked with a severe voice.
I lowered my head.
“Yes…”
“Do you know the risk you took!?” she sighed, rubbing her temples and closing her eyes.
“Sorry…” I tried to say.
“She’s right, young master. Luckily, enchanted relics are just objects with ancient passive magic in them. These relics only serve their purpose and don’t pose severe risks, but you did sothing reckless. You might not be able to feel it, but this chain is emanating ancient mana,” he said.
I looked at the chain and couldn’t feel anything.
“I don’t feel its mana, to it’s just a normal chain,” I said.
“When you awaken your Gem, you’ll understand,” my mother said, still in a stern tone.
“Let’s say that in this world there are so relics abandoned by a very ancient people. They’re worth a fortune because of their utility. Great nobles and families try to have one in their arsenal… and you found one. Congratulations, the first enchanted relic of the Evenharts, and its discoverer is only five years old,” he said, laughing.
My mother seed to have cald down.
“Margaery will like the chains…” she said.
Hugo froze at that. “I presu she will. I only pity the poor soul she decides to tie up with this thing.”
“So, is it possible to take it with us?” I asked.
“Yes, Nate, a sacred relic can be transported in a simple wooden box or even a cloth. This one seems to be a relic that is always active, so we can’t touch it directly,” my mother explained.
“I’ll find sothing to put this thing in,” Hugo said, leaving the shipwreck.
We waited until Hugo returned with a cloth sack and a small basket he took from the carriages. My mother was examining the corpses of the true humans. We took the helts and swords; we would take them for what they called the ‘Evenhart Legacy’.
Hugo spat on a corpse, and my mother looked at them with hatred. It seed they had a personal grudge against the true humans, and I understood why. It wasn’t just my father who died in that battle but also the families of most of the loyal people who went with them.
Hugo wasn’t in the center of the battle but was in another part of it with others my mother described as trusted people. They didn’t explain much to , just that I would understand when I knew what the ‘Evenhart Legacy’ was.
As soon as Hugo managed to move the chains, the little red hawk jumped and flew at him.
Hugo fell to the ground.
“It’s alright!” I said to Hugo. “He just has a trauma with these chains…”
I tried to explain to the red bird, and the only thing I could say that cald him down was: ‘We won’t use the chain on you, but on the one who put it on you.’
After that, he seed to understand and returned to , this ti staying on my shoulder and constantly watching Hugo.
Hugo was sweating the entire way back to the carriage while being stared at by the little phoenix.
I think he got even more scared after seeing the lted face of that soldier…
We packed our things, and Hugo went to wash in the sea. My mother also washed , cleaning the blood off my body. I felt a bit embarrassed to be washed by my mother in the open, but I couldn’t complain since I was happy to be back alive with her.
I hid the fact that I almost died and that this bird saved ; it’s better to keep that detail to myself.
“And ? Didn’t you forget to talk about too?” asked the Goddess Athena.
I looked to the side and saw the blonde woman.
Go away, crazy woman.
I ignored her and went back to focusing on packing our things.
We got into the carriage, and Hugo took the driver's seat.
The red bird lay down on a bench and went to sleep; I think it was the first ti in a long while it could do so without feeling that infernal pain all the ti.
I spent a few minutes leaning against that thing, and it was agonizing. My whole body felt heavy and tired afterward. This little guy had suffered for a long ti.
“We’ll soon be within the protected territory of the manor, don’t worry,” Hugo said to us.
“After all this ti, I can’t believe I’m going back there…” my mother said as the carriage started moving.
I don’t know what awaits there… what will my family be like?
“I hope there’s so fun for us, Icarus,” said the Goddess Athena, sitting in front of in the carriage.
I’m really fucked…
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