Chapter 8: Ninja

I yelped when mother took my hand and dragged me out of the ballroom.

She led us through the halls, then walked into an empty bedroom, closing the door behind us. With a raised brow, she turned, waiting for me to speak.

I cleared my throat. "Uh... So... I know that you must be angry that I left without telling you and father, but I had my reasons, which I will explain --"

"Where did you get this dress?" she interrupted.

I looked down at the garment that was much too revealing to be appropriate for a court lady, let alone a princess. "From a nymph." I bit my lip, waiting for a scolding.

"It looks good on you," she said, making me look up in surprise. "Now...you better run, darling." She started to roll up her sleeves.

I widened my eyes and dashed for the bed, climbing onto it and holding out my hands in front of me. "Mother, I will explain everything-- ahh!"

She jumped onto the bed and nearly caught me had I not moved in time to run to the window. "Do you have any idea how worried I was for you?" She grabbed a pillow from the bed. "How worried your father was? You ran away without a single word of warning to do Gods know what! And when I sent Nephos to bring you home, you somehow talked him out of it!"

She chased me around the room with the big pillow raised above her head.

"Mother, wait!" I yelped when the pillow came down on me, hitting the wall instead and catching onto a metal hook. Mother yanked it back, which ripped the pillow open, making it rain white feathers onto the wooden floor.

The soft pillow hit the back of my head when she swung it again. I spit out a feather and kept running from my furious mother.

"I come to Gora to find you, and what do I see? My daughter having a grand time with a young man. Didn't even have time to send me a letter to tell me that you were all right!"

"I'm sorry-- ahh!" She caught me and threw me on the bed, spanking me with a now half-empty pillow. I didn't feel any pain, but I knew that her point wasn't to hurt me. Just punish.

More feathers spilled out, flying around us when the door opened and a wide-eyed Eros took in the scene in front of him.

Mother immediately straightened, moving the pillow away from my arse and hiding it behind her back as if he hadn't already witnessed her ruthless spanking. Feathers were sticking out of her hair along with wild, loosened strands from all the running. From a quick glance in the mirror on the wall, I knew I didn't look any better.

"Could you please kindly close the door and wait outside while I speak with Cassia?" mother told the God with a warm smile.

Eros hesitated, glancing at the me, then at the mess in the room. His nod was slow, uncertain. "I will be right outside while you... speak."

As soon as the door closed, mother plopped down onto the bed, beside me. "Are you all right?"

I groaned into the bedding before lifting myself up and turning to sit. "No. That was beyond embarrassing," I whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" mother whispered.

"Because Eros is outside. He could hear me," I said.

She studied my face, then smiled. "His name is Eros?"

I nodded. Meeting her gaze, I whispered, "Are you done punishing me so we can actually speak?"

Mother laughed softly, picking out feathers from my hair. "Yes, darling, I'm done. I'll listen now. Tell me what happened."

As we fixed each other's hair and gathered all the feathers to stuff them back into the pillow, I told her everything.

"...and then we ran into Konstantinos and he invited us here," I finished.

After a long pause, mother spoke, "I don't think we should tell your father about this. Especially not about Eros. He won't be happy to know that you're spending time with the God of carnal love." She chuckled. "Gods, I'm glad I came here alone. Had he witnessed your dance today..."

I widened my eyes in horror. I didn't even want to think about what he would have done. "I... Yes, I agree."

Mother squeezed my cheeks. "My little trouble maker."

"I'm not little anymore," I reminded her.

She sighed. "I know, I know. Where did all that time go?" She rose to stand. "I won't interfere in your quest. I know that ghost chose to come to you for a reason, but," she held up a finger, "if you run into any trouble and need my help, you come to me. If you sense danger, you retreat. Every kingdom in Asterin can help you as well. Don't forget that."

I sprung to my feet and threw my arms around her. "Thank you, mother!"

She rubbed my back, then held me at arms length. "You'll be safe?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Be safe with him too," she whispered, glancing at the door.

"He won't harm--" I let my arms drop beside me and my jaw to the floor when I realized what she meant. "Mother!"

She laughed. "You can come in now, Eros!"

The door opened and Eros walked in, dragging one of his legs behind him with a huff. I stifled a laugh when I saw that a small boy was holding onto the God's right leg like a koala. His face was split into a wide smile with most of his teeth missing. The boy giggled when Eros tried to shake him off but failed.

"Again! Again!" the child demanded.

Eros sighed, then lifted his leg and shook it again, making the boy erupt in adorable and contagious laughter.

Mother approached him, squatting down to be eye level with the grey-eyed child who very closely resembled Konstantinos. "Did you run away from your mother again, Niko?" she cooed, tickling his little nose.

Niko's face scrunched up for a second before he released a soft sneeze. Then he smiled brightly at my mother. "I did!" he said proudly. "I'm a ninja!"

I now remembered mother mentioning that Queen Liana and King Leo had another child five years ago. His name was Nikolaos and ever since King Leo showed him an illustrated book from his late father's travels, he adored the foreign ninja warriors.

Niko's big grey eyes landed on me and with a barely-toothy grin he said, "Hello! You have feathers on your dress. Are you a bird ninja?" He patted Eros's leg that he was still hanging on. "He is a big ninja, but I caught him."

I looked down at the few stray feathers from the pillow that were still on my dress and laughed. "I am a bird ninja. How did you know?"

"Because I'm a ninja!" He raised two fists in the air and fell off Eros's leg. "Ow."

"He attacked me while I was waiting outside. Jumped on my leg and strangled it. Nearly cut off my blood circulation," Eros complained as he helped Niko up. "Who is this child?"

"I am Prince Nikolaos of Gora," a well practiced introduction came out of little Niko's mouth. He grinned up at the tall God, his eyes filled with awe at his height.

"So you're related to that human prince," Eros mused as he watched the child circle around him, observing him as if he was some otherworldly being.

Niko poked his hand and squinted his eyes. "Strong bones."

As the little prince kept appraising him, Eros murmured, "This is what the Immortal King must have felt like."

I snorted, remembering how in awe he was with uncle Cerius after meeting him for the first time.

Finished with his inspection, Niko suddenly jumped into a lunge and extended his hands in front of him, slowing drawing back one of his arms until one palm was almost touching his shoulder. His eyes were on Eros.

"I challenge you to fight me, Big Ninja," he said.

Eros looked amused, looking down at the boy who was less than half his height, with less than half his teeth. He raised one brow. "Are you certain you want to challenge me?"

Niko paused, rethinking his decision as the God towered over him with crossed arms. Then he glanced at me. Maintaining his pose, he shuffled his feet to turn in my direction, appraising me, before shuffling his small feet to face Eros again.

"Fight the Bird Ninja first," he announced. "Then you can fight me."

"Challenge accepted." Eros slowly smiled, meeting my eyes.

Niko grinned. "To the battle arena!"

~~~

I'd lost to him once. I will not let that happen again. Last time I didn't know of his skills and that's what helped him defeat me, I told myself as I cracked my knuckles, my gaze on Eros who was circling the arena, waiting to attack.

Mother and Niko were our only audience as they sat in the front seats of the arena, eyes filled with anticipation.

"You won't win this time, Thief," I said, unsheathing my sword.

Eros chuckled arrogantly. "I'll have to disagree." The words barely left his mouth before he lunged at me.

I grunted as I blocked his heavy blow, retreating when his blade came down again. And then it was my turn to attack.

Swords clashing against each other, this dance was much different than the one before, yet just as dangerous. Just as thrilling.

My heart was pounding in my ears, aggressively pumping blood through my veins as I battled with the God of Love. I could no longer hear my mother cheering for me. Couldn't see her and Niko anymore. All I saw was Eros.

And all I wanted was to defeat him.

"Argh!" I cried as I swung my sword one last time, disarming my opponent and making his sword fly from his hand, then scrape along the ground of the arena.

Smiling in triumph, I put the tip of my blade to his throat.

"I won," I said.

"The fight isn't over yet."

Eros maneuvered himself away from the blade and pulled me to him. My arms dropped to my sides and I lost all sense of reason when he dipped his head down to bring his lips so close to mine, they were almost touching. I could feel their warmth. I wondered if they would feel as soft as they looked.

I didn't realize that I'd closed my eyes until they flew open when he snatched away my sword and stepped back, pointing it to my throat now.

"That wan't fair!" I complained. "Y-You can't just...do that!"

"Do what?" He looked amused yet again. "We didn't set any rules." I wanted to smack that expression off his face.

"Big Ninja wins!" Niko cheered, running over with open arms toward Eros, the cheater. The thief of reason.

Eros lifted the little prince up and placed him on his shoulders, holding his small hands and running around the arena in victory as Niko screamed with joyful laughter.

"At least someone is happy," I grumbled as I watched them, fighting the urge to smile at Niko's contagious giggles.

"Never thought I'd see the day you hesitate in battle," mother teased, now standing beside me and watching the God and prince duo celebrate. "How cheeky of him."

"Cheeky? He's a cheater." I scowled.

I didn't know if I was more upset about yet another defeat or about the kiss that never came.

"The defeat," I said out loud. "Definitely the defeat."

"What?" Mother frowned in confusion.

I shook my head to clear my jumbled thoughts. "It's nothing."

Eros and Niko came back, and once the prince was placed on the ground, the God asked him, "Are you ready to battle me?"

The little prince shook his head. "Not yet. Not until I'm grown like you, Big Ninja."

"All right. I'll come back to battle you when you're older then." Eros extended his hand to the child and Niko shook it to seal their agreement.

"Deal!" The prince grinned, then ran off.

Mother laughed. "I better go after him before he stirs up any more trouble around the castle."

With mother and Niko gone, Eros and I were all alone in the big arena. The air seemed to thicken and it became harder to breathe. The loud silence was killing me.

"I got something in my eye," I blurted.

Eros tilted his head in question.

"I closed my eyes back there because," I cleared my throat, "I got something in my eye."

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, Lena barged in and I quietly sighed in relief. I didn't want to hear his response. Didn't want to speak more about that embarrassing near kiss.

"Aunt Emilia told me you were here," she said. "You've got to see what I found!"

Eros and I followed Lena to the royal library. I knew this place well. It was here where I first saw Konstantinos, brows furrowed as he concentrated on a book that was much too thick to have been written for boys his age. It was love at first sight.

Or so I'd believed. I was a child after all.

Lena leaned over a massive table and placed an old, leather-bound book on its smooth, wooden surface. "Konstantinos was showing me his grandfather's journals and something in this one caught my eye." She opened it and flipped through its pages until pinning one down with her finger. "Here. This is it."

"The weight of what I'd done hung heavy on my shoulders. I shouldn't have told them about the Helm of Darkness--" I stopped reading, exchanging looks with Lena and Eros before I continued. "Shouldn't have told them where it was. It should have remained a myth. A forgotten weapon that should only be in the hands of Gods. Not humans. I had to hide them in different places."

I placed my hand on the browning page, not believing my eyes. The late King Ira, Konstantinos's grandfather knew where the Helm of Darkness was? If only I could see where the third piece was. If only--

The paper started to feel hot beneath my fingers, travelling up my arm until my entire skin felt the heat. I screamed in pain and collapsed onto the carpet.

"Your Majesty, what are your orders?" a man in Kingdom Gora's royal guard uniform asked me.

"Don't let them out. Not until I've hidden the last piece," I said, looking down at the black chunk of metal in my hand. "Bring me the box."

The guard gave me a silver box. "But Your Majesty, you shouldn't strain yourself. The healer said--"

"Silence," I commanded, wincing at the pain in my arm. It was wrapped in a thick bandage. "I already know that I'm dying. There's no denying it, and no amount of rest will change my fate. But I won't die before I complete my duty. This can't get into the wrong hands again."

I placed the Helm piece inside the silver box and closed it.

"The lock," I said, extending my palm. A silver lock was placed in it.

"I told you that you shouldn't go into that snake cave, Your Majesty!" the guard suddenly exclaimed, tears in his eyes. "There were so many other places to hide that damned metal. Why did you have to go and get yourself poisoned?" he sobbed.

I swallowed a heavy lump in my throat, feeling my chest constrict with restrained pain. Clicking the lock in place, I said, "Ready the horse."

The sniffling guard prepared a grey horse for travel. He gave me the reigns. "I'm coming with you."

"I'm going alone," I fought to keep my voice even.

With the silver box safely tied around me, I mounted the horse.

"I love you," the guard croaked.

I clenched my jaw and sped away, tears streaming down my face.

"Cassia, can you hear me?" I heard Lena's voice. "Cassia!"

I was now surrounded by sand. Heaps and heaps of sand hills stretched across the landscape with nothing else in sight.

"This place will do," I said to myself, jumping off the horse.

Taking a shovel from the horse's saddle bag, I began to dig a hole. When it was deep enough, I untied the thick sack around me and took out the silver box. It was thrown into the hole and soon completely covered by sand. Then I took the reigns of my horse and started to walk away, dragging my feet.

Sweat dripped down my skin as the sun burned its rays through me. My legs gave out and I collapsed onto the gritty sand, lying down on my back and staring up at the sky.

"I love you too," I whispered before closing my eyes.

I was back in the royal library when I blinked my eyes open.

"Goodness Cassia, you gave us a scare," Lena worried.

"Are you all right?" Eros asked me.

My lips started to tremble and I let out a sniffle before I felt my cheeks dampen with tears.

Through the vision of King Ira's memories, I felt every emotion he felt. But the heaviest of them all was his pain. Oh Gods, the pain he carried could break mountains. He must have hidden his love for years. It only lifted in his final moments, before he took his final breath. His whispered confession lost in the wind.

My heart broke for him.

Eros wrapped his arms around me and brought my head to his warm chest, letting me cry into his tunic. He didn't say a word. Simply held me and gently stroked my hair as I released my emotions.

When I ran out of tears, I pulled away, wiping my cheeks. "I know where the final piece of the Helm is."

"You had a vision," Lena stated softly. She reached over and wiped off a stray tear that rolled down my face.

I nodded. "I saw King Ira's memories. I don't know how it happened, but it was after I touched the page of his journal."

"He bared a part of his soul in his journal. It's an extension of his spirit," Eros explained. "You must have been asking him something without realizing, and he showed it to you."

"I wanted to know where the third piece was," I gasped. "And that's exactly what I saw."

Lena widened her eyes. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Neither did I," I breathed.

"Where are we going then? Where is it hidden?" she asked.

There was only one place in Asterin with that much sand.

"Pesok," I said. "It's in Kingdom Pesok."

***

Love and peace is all I wish for this world. Hope we can come to that one day.

Sending lots of love your way <3