Chapter 75 - The World Below - The Music Of Another Wolrd

"Mifa..."

When I woke up, I was in Lobana's arms.

"I have to tell you..."

For some reason Lobana was crying.

"The fight is over and Athena won but..."

She seemed to have something lodged in her throat.

"Athena disappeared."

This is a nightmare from that day. The day I lost the love of my life.

Lobana explained to me what happened. She said that Athena disappeared after using powerful magic.

It wasn't a very convincing story, but it was Athena that we were talking about.

Everyone decided that Athena was dead but... I won't give up.

If she disappeared because of a spell, the spell can bring her back.

"Why don't you just give up? She's gone."

Trigan, you died for those words. I'm sorry your life was so cheap.

I wasn't okay that day.

"I still believe her majesty is alive. But I have to put on a mask. The people must have peace. Don't give up. Please Mifa. Find Athena."

In the end, everyone gave up except Serien and I.

I'll find you.

I will bring you back.

That's why I'm getting stronger.

***

In a place in the north of the world, a woman watched the snow fall as she sat on the edge of a frozen river where little imps played.

She appeared to be in her early twenties. Her skin was as white as the snow that fallen, and she had long white hair with a fading golden glow and black horns that pushed their way through her hair and stretched out, curling itself to back like a diadem.

The weather was freezing but, strangely, the woman showed no signs of cold despite wearing so little.

From a distance, a young man watched the woman with empty green eyes. He wonders what and who that woman really was.

(She woke up two weeks ago and she still hasn't said a single word...) The young man thought, feeling a little anxious. "Hey! Is it…Alice?" The young man called but the woman did not react. "So it's not "Alice" either..."

Since the woman woke up, the young man had tried several names, but the woman didn't react to any of them.

"Hercules, try Samir or Nusha." Said a girl with big pink eyes and deep dark brown hair. "You keep calling her these names that are just as weird as yours… She must think you're cursing her and ignore you."

The young man frowned at the recommendations and looked at the woman again. "Madalena?" He called and then widened his eyes when he heard her hum.

A/N: I recommend reading this part after listening to The Beatles' song "And I love her".

As she hummed, for the first time since she woke up, she had an expression on her face. She smiled.

"How can she know this song?"

"Hm? Is that a song?"

"Yes. It's a song from my world."

Her heart was racing and she unknowingly was humming to the woman. After who knew how long, he didn't feel alone.

The song was coming to an end and the woman opened her mouth, and looking long at the sky with her longing gaze, the woman sang in a soft voice. "And I love her..."

***

After seven weeks of travel, Lunnia, Anemus and Fotiá arrived in the kingdom of Veand north of the principality of Elsna.

A realm of just two seasons, summer and winter. Summer was always too hot and winter too cold, and now it was the beginning of winter.

"How can it be so cold? In Elsna it was still so hot..." Anemus complained and flapped her wings harder.

Fotiá bent her head and took off her overcoat. "I'm not cold. Are you Kima?"

Kima roared in response and no one understood.

The fact was that Fotiá was a fire nymph, and fire nymphs don't feel cold. Knowing this, Anemus rolled her eyes and quivered her chin.

"I'm not that cold either..." Lunnia said as she took off her helmet. "I grew up on the islands of Lenoherd."

"Are there people who live in that place?" Anemus asked in amazement.

Lunnia laughed and the capital of Veand, Serdun, appeared in the distance.

It was almost night when she landed at the entrance to the city. At the inn, the three of them rented the best room in the best inn in the city.

As soon as she entered the room, Anemus stepped into the hot tub. She was there for so long that Lunnia and Fotiá broke into the bath and they showered together.

In bed, Anemus was reading the book Athena had bought her three years ago at the Citadel.

She had already read that book thousands of times and had already learned all the magic in it. But she always reread. She was repeating this routine when she heard Fotiá's voice.

"I haven't been able to speak or feel Mom for two years. Do you think she's okay? She had promised to come back to us when the war was over..."

Anemus looked away from the book and looked at the girl who was like a little sister to her.

"She…" Anemus didn't know what to actually say, but she wanted to comfort Fotiá. "She's strong, sure she's fine. There must have been something urgent that..." Anemus pursed her lips with uncertainty in her mind. "Sleep. Let's get up early tomorrow."

***

"I already said that I will choose who I will marry!" Exclaimed the prince at breakfast.

"Then choose, Edrik! There are several good ladies at court and the daughters of nobles. Choose one and marry at once!" shouted the king.

"Huga, don't yell at the table." The queen scolded. "And Edrik, your father is right. We've been waiting for years for you to develop some romance with some lady, but it never happened." The queen looked steadily at her son. "I'll give you another month to find this girl you want to marry. After that, I'll choose for you."

"But Mom, how am I going to find love in just a month?"

"Here comes this love talk again." Hugo the king complained.

The prince was a hopeless romantic, or at least that's what he wanted people to believe.

"Yeah Dad, I don't want to marry someone out of politics and end up like you. Eating every bitch disguised as a palace maid."

"How dare you!? I should lock you in the dungeons for this!"

"Do it. Then I want to see who will succeed you." Edrik got up and left with nothing more to say.

"What are we going to do with him, Zanda?"

The queen looked at her husband with a smoldering look and silence reigned in the dining room.

In the gardens, the prince sneaks out of the palace and down to the city, but that's not the city he was going to.

Halfway there, he changed his route and entered the woods.

Disguised as a commoner, the prince followed the trail for three hours through the snowy trees until he reached a shed away from everything and everyone.

Edrik looked around to make sure he hadn't been followed and unlocked the lock on the chains on the doors of the place.

"I'm back, my sweetie." Said the prince in an excited voice. "I hope you didn't feel too cold."

***

In the world below, the young man was talking to the woman he had rescued years ago.

They were with three children in an abandoned hunting cabin.

The old structure creaked in the wind and had a few holes in it, but with a fire and food, the place was comfortable as a temporary abode.

"How do you know that song?"

"I'm a fan of the band. My dad introduced me to their vinylz and when I realized, The Beatles had become my favorite band." Athena replied.

"That-! No, how?" The young man frowned. "You can't have come from that world!"

"Why not?" Athena tilted her head to the side.

"Why not?! You have horns!" The young man replied by pointing to his own head.

Athena ran a hand over her head, founding her thick, hard horns. Upon finding them, she raised an eyebrow quizzically in her face.

"Well... A lot has happened since I came to this world..."

The children watched the two talking with curious and confused eyes.

"Idna, what language are they using?" asked the boy.

"I don't know, Kalta. It must be an ancient language." replied the girl.

"Sh! I want to learn."

The young man frowned at Athena's response and continued with his questions.

"What happened to make you fall from the islands of heaven? How can I go there? Who are you?"

Athena ignored the questions and looked at her hands. More precisely for her nails. They were white as the metal of a sword and they were also very hard.

(Now I understand how I survived....)