Chapter 59: Chapter 59

Zas stared at the prince’s wife in disbelief. No human had ever acknowledged him as a Fae except for the old kings, Mary, and Genie. All three had their own experiences with Fae before. The old king, Tidas’ great grandfather Edmond, had met Maevis and Nicolas when he was a child, and one time again when he was older. Genie’s experience had been mild, and generally about gathering information.. Mary’s had almost ended with her death. It was how they’d met; when she was a little lass.

He’d saved her from sharing her family’s fate.. Zas was hunting a Barghest that’d been attacking the local villages along the borderlands. He’d found it and killed it, but not in time to save her family. Mary had barely been alive when he’d found her. It took months for him to be in the same room with her without her going into hysterics.

Zas reminded her of the black dog too much, so he left Mary in the care of an older couple who couldn’t have children. They raised her, and he paid for her clothes, food, and a basic education. Years went by before she’d finally tracked him down to thank him properly.

After that, Mary visited Zas whenever she’d get the chance. He treated her like a daughter, and even arranged a match for her when she’d come of age. Mary loved her husband until the day he died, about ten years ago. She had two girls that called Zas their grandfather, and they had children of their own now. Zas was content with his simple life, and grateful to the king for it.

The general had known Magnus the whole of the king’s life. Zas had been captured from the Southern Continent and sold as a cub into slavery. First as a pet, then as he grew and eventually came into his powers; he became a prized fighter.

When King Edmond’s fighter had won against him, he’d received Zas as part of the trophy. Zas had given up on life and was ready to die, but Tidas’ great grandfather gave him a reason to fight. After several decades in the RMC, he’d gained his freedom, but remained loyal to the crown.. So long as a good king sat on the thrown.

Skye stared at Zas, waiting for a response. She’d hoped asking hadn’t offended him, but she was curious as to what type he was. She’d never heard of a Fae like him before, but recalled Maevis saying most beast men and monsters were actually Fae.

.....

“You’re an interesting human, princess.. Not many have called me that. Tidas was right about your intelligence,” Zas smiled with a quirked eyebrow.

“Skye, please.. So?”

Zas’ smile went from amused to cocky as he replied; “Have you heard of a Zhang before?”

Skye thought a moment; nibbling on her thumb as she did so. The action reminded Zas of Mary as a child, and caused his grin to turn amused again. A moment passed before the princess popped her head up, and looked to the general. She focused on the large scar at the top-middle of his forehead. She looked at him hesitantly before asking what happened to his horn.

The general’s face never lost its joviality as he explained; “It’s alright, Skye. It was removed when I was a cub, to protect my owner.”

Skye’s expression shifted from shock, to pain, to anger in rapid succession. Zas chuckled at how honest she was with her feelings. So far, she was almost like a female version of the prince. At least in disposition, which made the general wonder a moment if she was going to join the RMC as well. But decided to ask about it later and continued his story.

“Don’t fret; I don’t even remember it due to my age at the time. That was well over a hundred years ago now, lass. I have a family, a business, and friends due to my circumstances. I don’t regret much about my life.. Because everything has led me to now.”

Skye smiled warmly at the general’s words. He was clearly happy with his life. She still felt bad about his horn, though. Zhangs were supposed to be a red color, have five tails, and a large horn protruding from their forehead. Zas was almost black with one tail. With or without the horn, he still didn’t look like the Zhang from her book. When Skye asked if her book was wrong, Zas barked with laughter before explaining.

“If I walked around like that all the time, I would’ve been killed a long time ago. Most Zhangs are like me, when calm. When we’re excited or angry, however..”

General Zas got up from his seat, and walked to the middle of the tavern. His laughter from before had drawn everyone’s attention. Tidas knew what was coming, but still watched the general as he closed his red-orange colored eyes to focus. A low, guttural growl came from Zas, sending a shiver of anticipation throughout Skye.

Taking a deep breath, General Zas roared; shaking the ground like lightning had struck close by. Before everyone’s eyes: General Zas turned a fiery red-orange color that matched his eyes. He looked like living fire as his tail split into five, resembling flames themselves. Instead of his horn, a deep blue flame burned as it took it’s shape and place.

Ronnie and Klaus were on their feet, cheering and questioning the general as they approached him. Within the blink of an eye, he was back to normal. The two lads stopped in their tracks with disappointment written all over their faces. They’d wanted to see if the flames from his tails were real, or if his blue flame horn was hot or not. Seeing their sad faces, the general replied; “Don’t worry, you two will be seeing that form often enough during your training.”

The two shared a hesitant look between themselves, then stated together in a monotone; “Yay.”

Skye was awed by Zas, and saddened slightly. ‘His horn would’ve looked so mystical covered in that blue flame.. Or is the blue flame there because he has no horn? He’s a power-based Tank, but has flames all over.. I wonder if he can manipulate them too?’ Skye was biting the tip of her thumb again as Tidas came up to her.

“Were you impressed with the general? This is your first official meeting, isn’t it?” Tidas inquired as he grabbed his wife’s hand and held it.

“He’s amazing! I can’t wait to introduce Maevis to him! I wonder if they’ve met before?” Skye’s enthusiasm brought a smile to Tidas’ lips.

“Did you say Maevis?!” Zas perked his ears and snapped his head up to look at Skye as he spoke.

When Skye nodded in the positive, Zas beamed as he walked over to the couple. He immediately started to ask what she looked like, what her magic was, and how they’d met. The newlyweds shared a look before giving the full story to Zas and the other two.

Ronnie and Klaus were sworn to secrecy about everything beforehand due to Tidas’ insistence. He still didn’t trust them, especially Klaus. But Zas vouched for them, and swore he’d take responsibility if they blabbed to anyone.

Skye started with the Nomads, Petrie, and Tidas being poisoned. Zas had given the prince an odd look when Skye’d mentioned saving him, but all the prince did was shrug. When Skye explained swatting the Queen of the Northern Fae like a bug, Zas looked like he could fall over with a light breeze. His jaw swung low and his shoulders slumped forward. To a passerby, the general probably looked like he’d just gotten the most shocking news of his life.

Zas straighten up in an almost rigid fashion before asking; “And Aero? How did he react?”

Skye finished explaining the full meeting before Zas relaxed. Skye hadn’t known it, but she could’ve caused a war with that simple accident. The queen was next in line to be Empress of the Fae Kingdom. If she would’ve died because of the careless action of a human, Aero would’ve used it as an excuse to go to war.

Zas knew the Queen and King Consort through Maevis and Nicolas. He’d been a key factor when they’d tried to convince the Fae to reveal themselves during Tidas’ great grandfather’s era. Aero had been the main cause for the failing of it. He’d accentuated the fact that Zas was only a newly freed slave. And he had centered his entire campaign around ‘how long would the Fae have to be enslaved before they would be treated equally?’

Most Fae lived hundreds of years longer than humans. Too many centuries of cruelty at the hands of humans had turned most Fae against the idea of a peaceful co-existence. They were taught from birth to fear and avoid humans as much as possible.

When Skye told Zas about the queen and king’s choice to start negotiations, Zas physically needed to sit down. Celestia agreeing wasn’t all that surprising, but Aero doing so had been more than shocking to him. Aero hated humans for what they’d done to his family. That Skye could make that hatred wavier was the real reason for his disbelief.

The general had sensed something different about the real Commander’s wife. She smelled, looked, and talked like a human. But Skye had a quality that he couldn’t really describe. Warmth and kindness radiated from her with no effort. Her presence was like peace in physical form. At the same time; Zas’ instincts felt something happening in the world.. and it was starting to center around Skye.

The group finished their food as they talked, and Skye finished her story. She’d skipped over the bit about their camping by the hollow, and the incident with Jacob. She’d only focused on the parts about Maevis, Nicolas, and their plan pertaining to the establishment of the Fae territory.

As she talked: Skye ate two full bowls of stew, and whole loaf of bread. Ronnie and Klaus were shocked at her capacity to eat. Zas chuckled as he looked around, pleased everyone was enjoying his cooking. Tidas ate twice as much as everyone, but Zas had expected that. The prince was the only person alive who could eat as much as he could. ‘Although Shasta does come close on occasion..’

After finishing up their food and paying their way(except for Skye), the group readied to go their separate ways. Ronnie and Klaus needed to head back to the gatehouse to talk to Lieutenant Tanner about the general’s proposal. Skye was fidgety at the prospect of exploring the markets.

As the two lads went to leave, they shook hands with the three. When Skye grabbed Ronnie’s hand, the weird feeling she’d gotten before was back. But it felt more.. threatening now, some how. When he went to pull away, Skye clasped her hands around his.

She stared at Ronnie with worry etched onto her features. Before the lad could ask what she was doing, Skye yanked him by the hand over to a chair that sat in front of the shop next door. She pointed to the seat without a word, only a stern look in her eyes.

Ronnie sat down as he was bid to, then Skye immediately placed her hands on the topsides of his head. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but got an idea when blood began to pour out of his mouth and nose. A chunk of clotted blood stuck to the back of his throat, causing him to gag hard.

After Skye removed her hands, she wiped them together and said; “Alright, Now we can go shopping..”