Chapter 29 (1/2)

“T-Tafel’s missing, milord!” A sentry said as he stood outside a storage room. The door opened and Zollstock stepped out. He had bags under his eyes and his hair was disheveled. His white robe was smudged with dirt.

“Where’s Prim?” he asked.

“She was found in Tafel’s room tied up and gagged,” the sentry said.

“Does Mina know?” Zollstock asked.

“Yes, she sent me to come find you, milord,” the sentry said while lowering his head.

Zollstock sighed and placed his forehead into his hand. “Just kill me now.”

“Don’t worry, milord. Prim wasn’t tied up long; we have guards searching for her now. She couldn’t have gone very far,” the sentry said, “would you like me to tell your wife that we were unable to find you? I can call you again after she’s found.”

“Please do,” Zollstock said as he raised his head up, “what’s your name?”

“My name is Retter, milord,” Retter said.

Zollstock nodded. “When she’s found, expect a promotion.”

“Thank you, milord,” Retter said with his right hand to his chest, “as a fellow husband, I understand your plight.”

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“He couldn’t be found?” Mina said as she stared at Retter, “is that so?”

“Yes, milady,” Retter said with his head down.

“So, he’s hiding from me too?” Mina said as her purple dress and hair fluttered, “very well, you’re dismissed.”

Retter saluted and left the room with a pounding chest. Mina turned to look at Prim. Prim was wearing a black dress with a white apron over it. Her white hair was curled and shoulder length. She had a single grey horn, three inches long, sprouting from the center of her forehead. Her irises were purple and wrinkles framed her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Mina,” she said, “she overpowered me and gagged me before I could do anything. I didn’t realize she had gotten so strong.”

Mina shook her head. “It’s not your fault. It’s Zollstock’s,” she said and gnashed her teeth, “that useless husband of mine. Abandoning her in the wild with a family of dragons. Why couldn’t I have married a better man?”

Prim didn’t say anything.

Mina sighed. “I didn’t mean to get angry,” Mina said and shook her head, “it’s just… whenever I look at Tafel, I see myself in her. I don’t want her to make the same mistakes I made. I don’t want to see her cry when her heart breaks. But she’s always fighting against me; I just don’t know what to do.” Mina buried her face in her hands.

Prim put her arm around Mina’s shoulder and pulled her close. “Sometimes children fall when they learn how to walk,” she said, “that doesn’t mean you should stop them from learning to walk.”

Mina leaned into Prim. “There’s no happiness to be found at the end if she becomes an adventurer,” she said and sniffed.

“Do you regret becoming an adventurer?” Prim asked.

Mina nodded. “I do. I miss the nights spent sleeping under the moon. I miss the thrill of winning against a stronger opponent. I miss the satisfaction of raising my level. I miss my companions who I traveled with. I miss him, most of all. My heart hurts every time I see him, knowing I can’t be with him, knowing that I have to be cold to him, pretending to hate him. It would have been better if I never adventured at all, at least I wouldn’t know what I was missing.”

Prim sighed and stroked her hair. “You poor, poor child,” she said, “maybe you should’ve gone with Tafel to see the dragons instead of Zollstock.”

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How’d they find out so quickly? Tafel thought as she crouched behind a house across the street from the demon lord’s castle. She was wearing a black cloak on top of her white woolen sweater and brown leather pants. The hood cast shadows over her face and only her mouth could be seen.

Sentries bustled throughout the streets calling for Tafel. Bystanders whispered to each other discussing the behavior of the princess.

“Oh? Isn’t that Tafel?” a voice called out from above her.

Tafel jumped and fell over. She looked up at saw her grandmother’s face looking down at her from outside her window. She shook her head and scrambled away.

Her grandmother smiled. “I can recognize your aura from anywhere, child. Would you like some tea? You won’t get anywhere with all those sentries around anyway. Come, keep your lonely old grandmother company.”

Tafel stopped for a moment. She sighed and went inside the house. Her grandmother was wearing pink pajamas. Wrinkles adorned her face and two horns sprouting from her temple wrapped around her white hair. Tafel took a seat on the chair opposite her grandmother.

She picked up the steaming tea cup and looked into her grandmother’s eyes. “You won’t tell?”

Her grandmother shook her head. “I’m too old to care about these things anymore,” she said, “just drink some tea with me.”