Hmm? And what about her life and her freedom? Those belonged to Sophie, so she wouldn’t be giving him those.
“And?”
Vyce spoke up just as Sophie felt her heart and body alike grow warm from Livio’s homemade soup, every bit as delicious today as it had been the last time.
“And what, pray tell?” Azuello asked, clutching a mug of soup and a spoon in his itty-bitty paws.
“And just how the hell does a god like you wind up hurt like that?”
“Ahh... Verily it is an unnerving tale,” Azuello explained with a nod. The bear looked entirely too adorable for such a serious topic. The cute form he’d taken on crushed any pretense of gravity as he spoke, but given that that same form was the result of the god conforming to Sophie’s wishes, she was in no position to object.
“I had taken on the shape of one of the monsters common to this land,” Azuello began, “but the moment that vexing mage laid eyes upon me, he assailed me. If he had attacked me to consume me or to use me as sustenance, then I would scarce blame him—such is the law of all living creatures.”
Azuello gulped down the rest of his soup before giving a satisfied sigh—a cute sight if Sophie had even seen one. “And yet...” he went on, “knowing full well that I was no monster, the craven sought to capture me.”
Sophie gasped.
“That wretched scoundrel tried to subjugate me ’neath his own magical energy. I lost myself in anger—ne’er had I seen such insolence!” Azuello’s words were steeped in rage, practically searing the air around them.
Sophie and the others knew all too well about the “creep or criminal” who’d likely been going around capturing monsters.
“Do you know what the bastard looked like?” Vyce asked, expression gravely serious.
Azuello tilted his head to the side as if to search his memory, placing his small paw on his chin—or at least where that would approximately be on a bear’s muzzle—in thought.
Azuello gave a nod and hopped down from Sophie’s lap.
“Both his hair and eyes were golden in color.”
A crash rang through the air.
Startled, Sophie looked beside her to see that Lunetta’s bowl had fallen from her hands.
“Lunetta!”
Sophie rushed to put a hand on Lunetta’s now-wet dress. Thankfully, it seemed her soup had cooled down—her dress was cool to the touch. It seemed there was no need to worry about any burns. Relieved, Sophie heard Lunetta draw a short breath beside her.
No matter how excited she was, Lunetta always remained expressionless, but now she was frozen in place. Her brow was furrowed in concern, and her lips were trembling. Lunetta’s small face was the picture of unease.
“Lunetta...?” Sophie called her name, only for her to blink as if she’d been startled before bringing a hand to her trembling lips.
“I-I’m sorry, I...”
“It’s okay, Lunetta. It’s okay,” Sophie cooed. “It’d be unfortunate if you were burned. Why don’t you go to the river for a bit?” Sophie smiled reassuringly. The tension left Lunetta’s scrunched-up brow, her eyebrows returning to their familiar droop.
Lunetta nodded. “Yes...you’re right. Thank you. I’ll be, uh, back in a bit.”
Sophie looked up at Lunetta as she shakily rose to her feet. She wished she could go with the girl. Sophie just knew she couldn’t leave Lunetta on her own—the girl would just sink even further into despair. But it had only been a day or so since Sophie had met Lunetta. How would Sophie feel if she were in the same situation? Would she be able to share her feelings that easily? Would she be able to open up her stricken heart for others to see?
The answer would have been no.
Sophie had lived her whole life with others at a distance. She didn’t know what to do in situations like this. Sophie bit her lip, feeling powerless and frustrated.
“Kataf,” Vyce said, calling his trusted steed. “Go with her.”
Vyce’s horse was bright red, as if its coat were on fire. The horse gave a slow nod and quietly followed after Lunetta. Is it just normal for impressive people to have horses that understand exactly what they’re saying?
Vyce watched his horse’s long tail sway into the distance before clicking his tongue unhappily.
Sophie looked back at him, only to see the wrinkles on his brow had done a magnificent job of multiplying. Vyce ran his fingers through his long hair, looking angry and fed up all at once.
“Godsdammit...” Vyce said, clicking his tongue again.
In response, Azuello drew in his little arms. He was probably trying to cross them—not that he was actually able to, though. It was cute—way too cute.
“I recall that the mages of Magyck all possessed golden hair and golden eyes,” Azuello said. “Is that still the case? And doth the witch have some tie to them?”
Sophie clenched her fists atop her knees.
Lunetta’s eyes and hair were both a beautiful black. They were a reflective, glossy black, but when Lunetta used magic, they shone red. Sophie herself loved seeing those colors that seemed to capture the eyes of all who saw them.
But it was true.
The witch of black and red was the princess of a nation marked by golden hair and golden eyes.
Their kingdom had hardly had any relations with the nation, so Sophie had never met a member of the royal family. Even then, tales of the kingdom’s beautiful princess—with her golden hair and eyes—were well-known. Those who’d seen Lunetta at the evening party had spoken of just how elegant and beautiful her older sister was—despite never being willing to say such to Lunetta directly. Bleh.