The winter sun was warm in southern Volaire as the fighting began to die down, however, the mood at Volaire’s basecamp became much lighter. Laughter could be heard for the first time in weeks and smiles could be seen on soldiers' faces, happy that the war was finally coming to an end. The Arista and Lumen forces had fully retreated and headed back to their respective nations, no longer seeing the point of wasting valuable resources on a stalemate.

  At the entrance of the medical tent, Carmen rushed inside with Caleb and Rivell following closely. They entered the western wing of the infirmary and saw Sarah sitting up in a bed, eating some food.

  “Sarah!! The war is over! We can go home tomorrow!!” Rivell yelled with glee, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Gah, you’re so freaking loud, dummy! Lower your voice!” Sarah barked back, trying to be considerate to the others that were resting inside.

  “Oh, sorry, sorry! My bad.”

  Sarah chuckled at Rivell's embarrassed expression and looked over at the rest of the group with a smile.

  “Geez, I’ve only been awake for a week and you guys are already causing trouble without me.”

  The group shared a laugh and began chatting, catching up on various topics while enjoying each other's company.

  When the following day arrived, Carmen, accompanied by her friends and Asiah, had loaded up into a carriage. Even though they were excited to go back home, the trip was everything but pleasant as they rode across the war torn landscape of southern Volaire. The once lush and rolling hills, usually flourishing with life, were burned and ripped apart.

  Many of the towns and villages had been completely destroyed as well, leaving behind smouldering foundations of wood and stone. Despite the war ending with a stalemate, the Nation of Volaire couldn’t possibly see this as a victory. The sheer amount of innocent lives lost would not allow such a conclusion to be made.

  Relief efforts had already gotten underway, relocating the people that had lost their homes or families. The Volairen soldiers were bringing them closer to the capital city, where temporary living accommodations were being made. As Carmen and company got closer to Ariana, they noticed a sea of new cabins being built off in the distance.

  “Woah, look at all those houses!” Rivell exclaimed as he looked out the window, having never seen so many homes in a single area.

  “Yeah, they got them up pretty quickly thanks to King Ravenfell. He sent supplies and workers from Melspire to help out. We definitely owe him big time for this act of kindness.” Asiah said, showing an appreciative smile.

  “You’re dad is awesome, Caleb! He’s alright in my book.” Sarah added with a smirk, happy to hear that a member of royalty was putting their power to good use.

  They continued to chat until they eventually reached the gates of the city, riding through the large walls surrounding Ariana. Caleb looked over at Carmen and noticed that she was strangely quiet during the trip.

  “Hey Carmen, how’s Queen Azhane doing? I haven’t heard anything about her condition.” He asked, hoping that she had an answer.

  “She’s still asleep.. It’s been four weeks since her fight and she still hasn’t shown any sign of waking up..”

  The carriage grew silent after Carmen’s reply until Rivell eventually chimed in.

  “Don’t worry Carmen, she’ll wake up soon! It’s just a matter of time, promise!”

  Carmen gave a slight smile and nod, appreciating the comment. The carriage finally arrived at Castle de Belouis and when they exited the cart, the group was greeted by multiple maids and butlers. Nadine quickly made her way to the front of the pack and gave Carmen a warm hug.

  “Welcome home, young miss! Welcome home!” She said, squeezing tighter and tighter.

  Carmen hugged back as she accepted the greeting with a smile. The group headed inside and took a moment to unwind after a long trip from the war torn region.

  Several days later at the turn of the year, a cool afternoon breeze blew into Azhane Belouis’s room. Graymoor, who was sitting next to her bed, had a fresh newspaper open. He flipped through the pages and scanned each line quietly, enjoying the breeze tickling his cheek.

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  When he reached the center, he noticed a sizable article detailing the sudden disappearance of the Boundless. It described the terrible state of their city and the ruins that remained, highlighting a possible massacre that occurred there. The paper also went on to mention that Olun officials had no idea who or what caused such damage, finding it quite mysterious. Having such a major threat be dealt with so swiftly and with no witnesses confused them to no end. The excerpt ended with a simple statement of, “Whoever is responsible, Alaira thanks you. Good riddance…”

  “Hmph, I think it’s best no one knows of what you did…” Graymoor whispered with a slight chuckle, looking over his shoulder to see Azhane still sound asleep.

  He smiled as he turned back to his paper, continuing to thumb through its coarse pages. However, it only took the flip of one page for him to suddenly hear a soft voice speak.

  “Graymoor?” It said with a child-like whisper.

  His head quickly jolted to the left and he saw Azhane beginning to sit up in the bed, holding her forehead as she grimaced slightly. Graymoor dropped his papers and stared in amazement as the sun from the window caused her silver hair to sparkle like diamonds. Even after being in a long coma, the Queen’s beauty shined like no other. He quickly grabbed her hand with both of his and held it tightly.

  “Your Majesty!! You’re finally awake!!” He yelled with excitement, showing a bright smile.

  Azhane was a little taken aback by his forwardness and shift in mannerisms, surprised to see him so animated. She nodded and smiled back at him before speaking.

  “Yes, Graymoor. My rest is finished. How are you?” She asked, not bothered at all that he was still holding her hand tightly.

  “Forget about me, Your Grace! How are you feeling??”

  Before Azhane could reply, someone knocked at the door and entered. It was Nadine, bringing a towel and some water to wipe down Azhane as she slept. However, to her surprise, Azhane was sitting up and looking directly at her. Nadine looked absolutely stunned as she dropped the bowl of water onto the ground.

  “My lady!! Thank the Core you’re awake!!” Nadine exclaimed, overcome with happiness that her master was alive and well.

  She quickly rushed over to the bed and Graymoor embarrassingly let go of Azhane’s hand, fearing that Nadine would see. She gave the queen a big hug and brushed her hair to the side, admiring Azhane’s face.

  “I will go and inform everyone that you’re awake!”

  Nadine stepped away from the bed and bowed before she quickly headed out of the room. Shortly after, multiple people rushed inside. Zalthia, Carmen, Sarah, Rivell, Caleb, the members of Six, and Priscilla all arrived and approached her bed.

  “Ah, I should step out and give you all a moment. Excuse me.” Graymoor said to Azhane just as everyone entered the room.

  Before he could stand, he felt something soft on his hand. He glanced down to see Azhane’s slender hand on top of his, gently caressing it.

  “No, please stay.” She said with a warm smile.

  He slowly nodded while slightly blushing, not moving his hand an inch from that spot. Zalthia noticed the cute moment and rolled her eyes, feeling slightly annoyed by the public display of affection.

  “Sis!! I’ve missed you!!” Carmen yelled as she happily gave Azhane yet another big hug.

  “Calm down child! She’s still really weak!” Nadine remarked, scolding her for the rough behavior.

  “It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

  Azhane chuckled as she held Carmen tightly and patted her head. They all got to chatting and the topic of war eventually came into view.

  “We managed to push back their forces thanks to everyone’s hard work. We lost a great deal of our numbers, but Priscilla here more than made up for that.” Ka-leel of Four said, sending a smile towards Priscilla.

  She nodded as she shyly looked at the floor, beginning to blush from the kind comment.

  “Yeah, and we also dealt a major blow to Lumen. Their Holy Core Saint Order is in shambles now. You defeated Von Melrose, I put Claudia Vandel in a coma, and well.. The rest are no longer around.” Zalthia added as she leaned up against the wall, recalling the events from that battle.

  “No longer around? What do you mean?” Azhane questioned, not understanding what Zalthia meant.

  “We’ll talk about it later…”

  Zalthia glanced over at Carmen with a concerned expression. Azhane nodded as Asiah stepped forward, asking the Queen a question everyone was eager to know.

  “How're you feeling, Your Majesty?”

  The room went quiet as Azhane sat up further, trying to get more comfortable. She glanced at her hand and made a shaky fist, clenching it together weakly.

  “I feel… Okay? But, my power is most definitely gone right now..”

  Azhane opened her fist and tried to generate a small black hole. A tiny black orb briefly appeared before quickly sputtering out, looking absolutely pathetic in the process.

  “I don’t even think I'm Pearl Class right now.” She added with a saddened snicker, having never felt this weak before.

  Everyone stood in stunned silence, unable to process what she had just said. The thought of someone as powerful as Azhane Belouis being one class away from the weakest was absolutely ludicrous.

  “Well, no matter! We, your swords, will fight in your stead just as we always have. We'll take on anyone that dares oppose you!” Felicity of Six said, breaking the silence and bowing her head towards the Queen.

  The other members of Six agreed and joined in, bowing their heads in unison.

  “Thank you. I'll need all of the help I can get over the next six or so months. Until I get my powers back, I will be in your care.”

  Azhane smiled and graciously accepted their show of loyalty, appreciating her subordinates even more. After a few more lengthy conversations, Azhane began to feel quite exhausted from the dearth of new information.

  “I’m so very glad to see you all back and alive, but.. I’m afraid I’ve grown quite tired from our conversations.” Azhane said as she let out a weak yawn.

  “Oh, of course Your Majesty! Please, get all of the rest you need.” Ka-leel of Four replied, motioning for everyone to leave.

  The room quickly emptied as Azhane laid her head down on the soft pillow.

  “Hurry up and charge, my Manifest.” She whispered, staring at her right arm as she held it up towards the ceiling.

  Azhane grew increasingly more worried, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to defend herself should anything happen. She sighed loudly before turning on her side and closing her eyes, falling asleep once again.