Asuren spent hours sparring with General Kali. The latter only stopped when the strength of the former had been fully exhausted and could no longer get up.
"Asuren! What happened to you?" Thea hurriedly landed right next to him and furiously glanced at the general who was also tired but still on his feet and only sweating a bit. "You promised not to harm him."
"He did not," Asuren slowly sat up and leaned on Thea. "General Kali is generous enough to spar with me. I learned a lot from him," there seemed to be a grateful smile on his face.
"Since you are already here, Princess Thea, I will take my leave," General Kali bowed low to her before spreading his wings. "Take care of our princess, Asuren," he firmly reminded the exhausted fairy before soaring back to his fortress.
"Let's go back to Gia's house," Thea offered her back for him to ride.
"Thank you, Thea, but I only need to rest for at least an hour," Asuren shakily got up on his feet.
"Fine," Thea sighed and helped him walk. "I know there is a cave nearby. You can rest there."
They marched for an hour before finding a suitable sanctuary. As soon as they entered the cavern, Asuren slumped on the ground and leaned on the wall. He was sweating a lot and catching his breath.
"I told you it would be easier if you just get on my back," Thea settled beside him.
"You are a princess," Asuren reminded her with eyes closed.
"We are friends," Thea frowned and pulled Asuren down to the ground and laid his head on her lap. "Friends lean on each other," she smiled and stopped him from getting up. "Just sleep. Don't worry about me. I can protect you."
Asuren stared at her as if he wanted to say something but decided against it. He just closed his eyes and had quickly fallen asleep.
"Fairies here treat you well, right?" Thea quietly whispered. "Don't you want to stay here?" she let out a sigh and looked up at the mineral formations hanging at the ceiling of the cave. "I know you can't. Calix is growing impatient and worries a lot about his younger sister. Ayhan and Juliann are probably missing their family too. I know I can't make you stay. I'm just hoping that… even for just a little bit… maybe you should… take a breather... and relax here with… me…"
^#########^
Asuren jerked awake from another nightmare and accidentally bumped his forehead against the forehead of Thea.
"I'm sorry…" he rubbed his forehead and glanced at Thea. Her forehead was swollen but instead of looking hurt, she was staring at him with worry.
"Are you okay?"
"Your forehead…"
"Don't worry about this," Thea smiled. "It doesn't hurt that much and the swelling will subside in a few minutes. Yours, on the other hand, is bleeding."
"It will quickly heal," Asuren quickly wiped the blood oozing from his throbbing forehead and was surprised at the toughness of the forehead of the princess. "You… You are still hurt…"
"This is not your fault," Thea grinned wider. "I was the one awake. I should have reacted faster."
Asuren only stared at her with guilt.
"You seemed to be having a nightmare," Thea decided to change the subject and dared to ask, "What did you dream about?"
Asuren looked away and did not say a word.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. But some worries get a bit lighter when shared with a friend."
Asuren looked around the cave and asked, "Are you hungry? I will cook," he soared out of the cave and gathered plenty of branches. He used some to start a bonfire while the other, he turned into bowls, spoons, cups, and a ladle. From the stones he had picked, he crafted a knife and a cooking pot.
Within a few seconds, the cave was filled with warmth and a delicious aroma of vegetable soup. Thea had been served a bowl of it and emptied it within only a few minutes. She immediately took a refill and told Asuren, "Even if you are the son of the Evil Witch, my trust in you remains the same."
"You knew?" Asuren was shocked. His hands tightened against the spoon and the bowl. "Since when?"
"Not that long," Thea smiled apologetically. "Your friends don't want to tell me much about your life. I asked them countless of times but they refused to tell me the reason the Evil Witch had held you captive for thousands of years, why she inflicted that curse on you, why she made you suffer. That's why I asked Riz and Gia to help me."
"Then it was Juliann," Asuren sighed and finally loosened the grip on his spoon and bowl.
"It was after we destroyed the seal," Thea emptied her second bowl. "When Gia asked again, Juliann had finally given her a proper answer. He said we will eventually learn the truth."
"My friends knew I suffered a lot because of the Evil Witch but they had no idea how horrible I was before I met them," Asuren looked away, ashamed of his past. "I wanted to make my mother proud."
"But you changed your mind."
"I got sick of it…" Asuren closed his eyes to suppress the unpleasant memories. "I would rather endure her punishments than continue taking innocent lives just to please her."
"Would you—"
Thea winced when Gia shouted from within her mind.
Thea! Help us here! Calix wants to cross the deadly barrier!
"Calix wants to cross the deadly barrier?" Thea asked out loud for Asuren to understand the shift in her expression. "Where are you?" she spread her wings and soared outside the cave. Asuren quietly followed her.
Southern area of Opal Forest, Sel replied as if she was struggling with something. I am trying to knock him out but he is too persistent.
"We'll be there soon," Thea promised then grabbed Asuren by his hand and soared faster towards the northern part of Daybreak Realm. "But why does he suddenly want to cross the deadly barrier?"
We were checking this area when a fairy had soared out of the deadly barrier. His body was terribly burned but Calix still recognized him. He called him Albert.
Thea relayed everything to Asuren and then asked Gia, "How is he?"
He is… dead… Sel sadly responded. But before he died and faded into ashes, he told Calix that some of the children in the southern region of Nightfall Realm had gone missing. Thea, you need to hurry. Calix is testing my patience. I might get pissed and kill him before he crosses the deadly barrier.
"We're near," Thea glanced ahead of them. "Hold on for at least ten minutes."
Okay, Sel cut the connection.
"Let's fly faster," Thea grabbed Asuren's hand and soared hastily towards the southern area of Opal Forest.
^##########^