Chapter 8 - The General Befriends a Phoenix

  POV Katherine Evenhart

  I woke up with a start, startled by something unknown. There was a strange feeling inside me, as if a part of me had died. Instinctively, the first thing I said was…

  “Nathan!” I called out, trying to uand where I was.

  I slept too long!

  F my mind, I started to remember some things. I had stayed awake for days waiting fo's return, and we po leave the day. I asked o keep watch for a while so I could try tain some energy.

  My son didn’t call me.

  Sunlight was streaming through the carriage window, and I quickly got up. There was a bow o me, 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 ’t be happening. Where is Nate?

  I jumped down from the carriage and sed my surroundings. It was m. 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 goo 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 me wao scold him, and part of me was worried and just wao hug him. My son was somewhere outside, but the problem was that there were people who wao 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 try instead of staying in the kingdom, but I couldn’t. Things outside the kingdom were more dangerous, especially since his father died in those nds.

  “Nathan!” I shouted, running around the area where we were.

  What if they caught him? What if someoook him from me?

  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 pce, I started looking for any sign of a trail, but if there had beehe 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 f.

  If he had just goo the bathroom, he would have heard me 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 time with the sword was over, but if anyone dared touch a hair on my son’s head…

  A rustling sound came from the leaves, and I aimed my bow.

  “Nathan?” I drew the arrow, ready to shoot. If it were my son, he would have identified himself already.

  “It’s me!” Hugo emerged from the woods, covered in blood.

  “Hugo?”

  He sighed in relief.

  “I’m back, Lady Katherine. I apologize for the dey. I’m gd you waited.”

  I observed his dition. Hugo was in terrible shape, covered in wounds, his shirt drenched in blood, and he wasn’t wearing his armor anymore.

  “What happeo you?” I asked, already guessing what might have occurred.

  “After leaving a vilge where I sent the letter, I was ambushed. I was captured and tortured for about two days, but in the end, I mao escape and killed my captors.”

  I sighed.

  "Don’t tell me you took longer because you were having fun t them aing your revenge?” Hugo looked embarrassed when he heard that.

  "You know how it is… nobody told them to mess with an Evenhart Legacy. I had to take advantage of the situation and also got some important information. It seems they haven’t figured it out yet; they just wao get me 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, uanding what I meant.

  “The young master! Did something 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 cain.

  Why is he covered in blood!?

  POV Nathan Evenhart

  “Mom?” I called her.

  She was the first person I wao 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 me, grabbing me by the shoulders and lifting me up.

  She is strong! My god, she is really strong; she’s crushing me.

  “Mom, you’re a bit tense…” I said as she looked at me, pg me ba the ground and hugging me.

  “Nathan Evenhart!”

  She used my full name; I’m in trouble.

  “What happeo you, my son?” she started cheg my whole body, running her hands all over me.

  Ah! I’m covered in blood…

  “Y-Young master!” A bloodied Hugo appeared, running towards me, trying to see how I was.

  “What happened, Nathan!?” my mom asked while lifting my shirt, looking for injuries.

  “I ended up fighting with some people…”

  “Are you hurt? Did you get injured? My little boy, are you in pain?” she started asking a bunch of questions while lifting me up in the air again.

  “Ah! Holy mother of waters!” Hugo shouted, falling back.

  A small red hawk had desded from the sky and nded on my shoulder.

  “You really followed me…” 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 Katheriay away from that thing!” he shouted, drawing his sword.

  My mom seemed to have noticed the hawk chiy 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 vilges and ships!”

  “What is it, Hugo?” my mother asked.

  “A Phoenix, my dy. 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 time, but he's scared of the little hawk? So this thing really is powerful. No wo saved me 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 st things I remember before losing sciousness pletely.

  When I woke up, the little bird was sleeping on my stomad there was no wound on my head. I got up frantically to find my mother, but the bird kept following me. Along the way, I stopped a few times, and it would fly doery 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 uand why, but I firmed 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 some words to see if it would respond ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and all I uood was that it was very tired and would rest near me.

  I assumed it was very defenseless because of the time spent ed, so I made a deal with it, saying it could rest as long as it wanted, and I would never it like the other humans did. When it had rested enough, it would be free to return home.

  A fair deal, I owe it that.

  This little red hawk is a Phoenix, some kind of fire animal with healing powers.

  Either way, I’m grateful it saved me 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 home. It’s the least I do after it allowed me 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 me and healing my head wound is that now I have someone arently doesn’t want to leave and somehow knows I’m talking about her.

  “What’s wrong? Want to peek under my dress?” the Goddess Athena asked, ughing at me.

  Beside me 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 me, apanying me in her revealing white dress and provocative cleavage.

  “I knew you liked them,” she said seductively, pg her hands on her breasts.

  I’m fucked…

  I looked at my mother and Hugo, but it seemed 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 me before you almost died from the skull fracture, remember? I just didn’t i much,” she said, ughing in that pompous way.

  I quickly g her and tried to ignore her existence, fog on the most important person in the world to me.

  “It’s alright, this little bird won’t hurt me. It just said it would stay for a while to recover and then leave,” I tried to reassure the two adults.

  “You unicated with this Phoenix!?” Hugo asked, startled.

  I unicated with a Phoenix and a dead Goddess…

  My mother stared at the small red hawk as it y down.

  “I’ll trust you, now tell me whose blood this is,” she said, ping my ear.

  “That hurts, mom…”

  “It hurts? This is nothing pared to the pain I felt seeing you like this.”

  “My Lady! My Lord! Don’t you uand 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 ohat she ignored Hugo.

  She used my full name; I’m really in trouble.

  The two adults stared at me, trying to extraswers. My mother was worried about me being covered in blood, and Hugo was still ed about the little phoenix sleeping on my head.

  I sighed, imagining the scolding I was going to get.

  If she scolded me so mud always reminded me of the time I messed up with the ma… I’m in for it when she sees the beach.

  Calling them to follow me, I led them toward the beach, retrag the path I took that night and expining what I had to do. I dowhe 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 uood 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, indig 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 mred at him, aurned his head aside.

  I had to expin the events of that night, saying I followed an e light that I ter discovered was from the little hawk that could catch fire and not be burned by its fmes. Hugo showed me his hand on fire without burning, using his elemental power, and I uood 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 ihe shipwreck where I found the phoenix.

  “I would each my son that. I don’t even use swords anymore and wouldn’t want him to folloath,” my mother said.

  Hugo looked at me.

  “Then it’s in the blood. You’re the son of two warries 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 mave us wiped the smiles off our faces.

  “We o leave. It’s not safe to stay here,” my mother said, and Hugo agreed.

  “Those who came after me might have more people waiting to be tacted. We still have a few days until we reach Evenhart Manor. Inside, we’ll be protected,” Hugo said.

  As we turo leave, I had an idea.

  “Remember I said I took this phoenix out of a ?”

  They both responded yes.

  “It seems that isn’t normal. you identify what it is for me? I thought… of taking it with us. But I don’t know how dangerous the is or if it’s possible,” I said to them.

  My mother frowned, fused, and Hugo too.

  I had to expin things, downpying the danger. I just summarized that when I touched the s briefly, it felt like my hands were beied by acid.

  They looked at each other and asked me to take them to the s.

  As we entered, Hugo made fmes e out of his hand to light the pce.

  “This thing?” he bent down and looked at the .

  “Hugo, are you feeling what I’m feeling?” my mother asked him.

  What? I don’t feel anything.

  “Yes… a possible ented relic,” he said, stretg his finger.

  As soon as he touched the …

  “Shit!” he jumped back. “What the fuck is this?”

  My mother stared at Hugo and then at me.

  “You touched this?” she asked me with a severe voice.

  I lowered my head.

  “Yes…”

  “Do you know the risk you took!?” she sighed, rubbiemples and closing her eyes.

  “Sorry…” I tried to say.

  “She’s right, young master. Luckily, ented relics are just objects with a passive magi them. These relily serve their purpose and don’t pose severe risks, but you did something reckless. You might not be able to feel it, but this is emanating a mana,” he said.I looked at the and couldn’t feel anything.

  “I don’t feel its mana, to me it’s just a normal ,” I said.

  “When you awaken yem, you’ll uand,” my mother said, still in a stern tone.

  “Let’s say that in this world there are some relics abandoned by a very a 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. gratutions, the first ented relic of the Evenharts, and its discoverer is only five years old,” he said, ughing.

  My mother seemed to have calmed down.

  “Margaery will like the s…” she said.

  Hugo froze at that. “I presume 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 reli be transported in a simple wooden box or even a cloth. This one seems to be a relic that is always active, so we ’t touch it directly,” my mother expined.

  “I’ll find something to put this thing in,” Hugo said, leaving the shipwreck.We waited until Hugo returned with a cloth sad a small basket he took from the carriages. My mother was examining the corpses of the true humans. We took the helmets 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 seemed they had a personal grudge against the true humans, and I uood 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 ter of the battle but was in another part of it with others my mother described as trusted people. They didn’t expin mue, just that I would uand when I knew what the ‘Evenhart Legacy’ was.

  As soon as Hugo mao move the s, 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 s…”I tried to expin to the red bird, and the only thing I could say that calmed him down was: ‘We won’t use the on you, but on the one who put it on you.’

  After that, he seemed to uand auro me, this time staying on my shoulder and stantly watg Hugo.

  Hugo was sweating the entire way back to the carriage while being stared at by the little phoenix.

  I thi even more scared after seeing the melted face of that soldier…

  We packed our things, and Hugo went to wash in the sea. My mother also washed me, ing the blood off my body. I felt a bit embarrassed to be washed by my mother in the open, but I couldn’t pin since I was happy to be back alive with her.

  I hid the fact that I almost died and that this bird saved me; it’s better to keep that detail to myself.

  “And me? Didn’t you fet to talk about me too?” asked the Goddess Athena.I looked to the side and saw the blonde woman.

  Go away, crazy woman.

  I ignored her a back to fog on pag our things.

  We got into the carriage, and Hugo took the driver's seat.

  The red bird y down on a bend went to sleep; I think it was the first time in a long while it could do so without feeling that infernal pain all the time.

  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 time.

  “We’ll soohin the protected territory of the manor, don’t worry,” Hugo said to us.

  “After all this time, I ’t believe I’m going back there…” my mother said as the carriage started moving.

  I don’t know what awaits me there… what will my family be like?

  “I hope there’s some fun for us, Icarus,” said the Goddess Athena, sitting in front of me in the carriage.

  I’m really fucked…