370 Reflection

Just thinking about Alicia's mother caused King Augustus to shiver. Alicia sat on her knees in front of King Augustus listening to his reprimand since she released everyone from her space. "Royal Father… Dad… I just wanted everyone to be safe..."

"Did you even think about how we would feel? Why would you throw your life away like that! Every single one of us, citizens, and all were willing to fight or die together but you! You! Haaaaah!" King Augustus was finally at a loss for words. He turned from Alicia to the young man kneeling next to her and pointed his finger at him "You damn fool! Blake, you said you would protect her yet the two of you are going out like star crossed lovers! Were things that bad that you both decided you would die together!?" 

King Augustus took a seat and stared at the two of them. "Why didn't the both of you just come with us? If anything Alastine would have been lost and nothing more. Rebuilding the country is always possible. There was no need for you to do what you two did. It was reckless and stupid! If you can't win, you run away and fight another day. If you are dead then that means you gave up without even a fight. That is what cowards do!" 

"Dad, I wanted to get rid of the enemy so that everyone else could begin a new, without the need for worry." Alicia tried to defend her actions. 

But her words fell on deaf ears as King Augustus slammed her with a question: "And then what? There are many powerful people in this world, some more powerful than the enemy we just faced. What would we do in the future? You can save us from one enemy by sacrificing yourself. But what about after that when the next enemy that's even more powerful comes. You would not be around to even be able to protect your loved ones then! Your idea was idiotic and stupid!"

"Dad those mean the same thing." Alicia couldn't help but chime in.

"You know what I mean, don't be a wise ass!"

Alicia ended up getting chewed out by more than just King Agustus. It was almost two days later when she finally got to stand up again. Fortunately, they had moved all of Alastine's citizens to the capital and the damage from the spell did not spill off into other lands. The only area that was destroyed was Alastine's original territory. Sadly though, all the farmland, cities, and towns were all destroyed as well.

Alicia walked out onto the balcony that was located off her bedroom within the castle. She rested her arms on the railing looking out over the capital city. "Death is a scary thing. To think I still jump headfirst into things. This time, I was lucky but next time… I don't even want to think about it. " Alicia turned her head skyward and reached her hand up towards the sky and motioned with her fingers as if she was plucking a single star from the endless sea of stars. "I wonder if Mother and Father are already on their way? By the time they get here, I will probably be well over one hundred with many grandchildren of my own. I'm sure mom would love to have a bunch of grandkids and great grandkids around."

Alicia began blushing just thinking about it. She knew it would be a long while before she would ever have a child of her own but she still dreamt of having a family with many kids. "I wonder if they would call me Queen Mother." 

Alicia continued to gaze up at the stars, lost in her own thoughts. The next morning Alicia woke up to Frey pushing on her cheek. "Mother…." 

"Hmm... Frey, what is wrong?" A sleepy-eyed Alicia asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Mother won't leave Frey alone again, right? Mother won't go anywhere and not tell Frey, right?" Frey's voice was filled with worry. She knew a strong enemy showed up and because of that, she was told to wait inside her mother's space. She had a bad feeling this time that something bad was going to happen. When she saw all the people appear within the space and no sign of her mother, Frey truly began to panic. 

Alicia felt like she dropped a rock on her foot listening to Frey's pleas. It was now that truly understood what King Augustus meant when she said her actions were 'idiotic and stupid'. "Frey, Mother promises to never do anything like that again. I will never leave the daughter I love more than anything in the world alone, I promise."

"You really promise?" Frey asked her eyes looking up at Alicia slightly watery as if she would cry any second. 

"Mhm. I promise! If I lie, I will buy you a million ice creams!" Alicia said, making an exaggerated motion with her arms.

This caused Frey to smile and laugh as she said: "I don't want ice cream, I just want mother to be happy and safe."

"Awe! Why are you such a cute little girl!?"

***

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