Chapter 47 - Mercy

"Dragon?" 

"Yes."

"Female dragon?"

"Err, that's a weird thing to focus on now, but yes, female dragon."

"She has been in your mind for many years, since Earth?" Aleyria's eyes glinted slightly.

"Erhm. Yes, since I was born, actually."

"WHAT?!"

"But she wasn't self-aware then! She was merely the silent observer of everything that happened to me."

"She observed EVERYTHING?!"

"Yes, everything, you know, from sleeping, to eating, to…" Alexander paused for a moment as realization finally dawned in his dark and sluggish mind. His eyes widened in shock.

Aleyria sighed. Finally he realized the significance of having someone observing every second of your life.

"Wait a minute, Flamewing, you observed EVERYTHING?!!?" Alexander gasped in horror. 

"Uh-huh." Flamewing replied non-chalantly. 

"Even… Even during my most intimate moments with my wife?!" Alexander choked.

"Wives." Flamewing corrected. "All three of them, yes. As well as various other women. Thankfully quite the contrary to the rumours, you've never had sexual relations with men. That would have been… painful for me to watch."

"More painful." Flamewing added hastily. "Not that I enjoyed remembering all those intimate details between you and your women, mind you. In fact, it was the reason why I ignored you for a few long hours when I first woke up. But I'm okay now. So don't make a fuss over it."

"I need to sit down." Alexander muttered as he looked around him for a spot where he could sit. He finally picked a large rock by a tree and sat there, completely stunned at the fact that he had an audience for all the intimate and embarrassing things he had done in life. 

When he first heard about Flamewing knowing everything he did in life, his mind had somehow subconsciously glossed over the intimate moments and focused on his achievements, which was glory itself. He hadn't really minded the idea of having an audience in his life. But now… He sighed. 

Aleyria followed him and sat next to him on the rock which was coincidentally large enough to seat two comfortably. She too, had to digest surprising news.

At this moment, Fluff-fluff decided that she wanted to take a nap, so she climbed up to Aleyria's head and curled up there.

The three of them remained in this position for quite some time, so great and shocking were the news they were digesting.

So it was truly an interesting sight that greeted Aldrian, Lilian, Rimett and Dylan when they rode into the Town of Valarin and proceeded towards where King Aloxandros was reported to be.

A distraught looking King slouched gloomily upon a rock, with a beautiful yet confused looking Princess sitting next to him with a cute little furball on her head. 

Aldrian and co leapt down from their horses and bowed formally to Alexander. "Your Majesty." 

Being powerful Red Archmages wielding a considerable amount of power within Rin-Turah with their ministerial positions, and especially because they were from an opposing faction, Aldrian had usually kept an aloof and arrogant demeanor towards King Aloxandros and Princess Aleyria.

He had never, according to King Aloxandros's memories, approached King Aloxandros this way and bowed so deeply at the very first moment.

Alexander looked at the four of them suspiciously. Could it be that they want to confess their crimes? He stood up and studied the four bowed figures coldly, not saying anything and allowing them to remain bowed for a few more moments. 

He definitely did not appreciate the fiasco that happened in the previous Royal Court where Minister of Foreign Relations Velaros had died at the hands of his own son, Minister of Agriculture, Velanos. 

Velanos was part of Aldrian's faction, and so Alexander had naturally assumed that Aldrian definitely had something to do with it.

A rustle from behind Alexander informed him that Aleyria had arrived by his side and had joined him in their cold study of the four powerful Red Robed Ministers. 

Both of them kept their eyes on the four bowed heads, not relenting for an entire minute, asserting Alexander's iron will which was heavy as it was hard.

During that long minute while the four Ministers quailed and hid their heads, Aleyria finally fully appreciated the stability, security and excitement which Alexander brought to both her life and the country. King Aloxandros was a king and gentle man, and Aleyria had loved him deeply. However, he would have never dared to treat the four ministers this way, whatever their transgressions was.

But Alexander was an entirely different beast altogether. He was not someone that people could cross easily and without consequence. He was inherently powerful and exuded a sharp, penetrating strength that seemed to be able to reach anywhere he wanted. At the same time, he was also as solid and steady as a mountain, his will fully formed and forceful. He was also witty and sometimes so plain naive about certain things that it's funny. 

All in all, Aleyria was irresistibly attracted to Alexander, and a powerful passion for him was growing very rapidly within her heart. 

She gathered comfort in that thought and transformed passion into hard purpose. She would make sure Alexander succeeds in his objectives and trample every single person who dared to present themselves as obstacles to him. 

Four Red Archmages may be a powerful force in this little continent, but in front of Aleyria, they were but cute little puppies which she could dispatch with a single spell. If they had nefarious plans today in seeking Alexander out this way, they were not leaving this place alive. Or even in one piece, for that matter.

"Speak." Alexander finally said in a frosty tone. 

The four Ministers finally straightened up with great relief. Aldrian steeled his heart and proceeded to inform his King about his betrayal, murder attempt and eventual repentance in a flat and emotionaless voice. 

Alexander had to marvel at Aldrian's ability to remain so aloof while narrating and confessing the crimes that he and his group had done. Crimes that were punishable by death. And in his case, death many times over. 

While Alexander was marvelling at Aldrian, beside him Aleyria was slowly seething in fury. She had dismissed these people as weak, much like a lioness would dismiss a group of cute little puppies. But these 'puppies' had just announced that they were in cahoots with an undead monster that wanted nothing more than to see her mate, the lion king, die a horrible death. 

To say that she was pissed would be a gross and disgusting understatement. 

For all the gentleness she showed Alexander and the patience she usually showed to her beloved three clowns who served as her personal guard, Aleyria was still a ferociously powerful White Archmage with a temper to match. 

She glowered at the four Ministers and released her magical aura at full blast. Although it was not as fearsome and as suffocating as Alexander's killing intent, it still pressed down heavily like a massive mountain upon the four Ministers. And so great was their guilt that they did not dare to release their own power to resist for fear of making Aleyria more angry. 

They could probably still survive an encounter with an angry White Archmage in control of her temper. However, they could kiss their lives goodbye if Aleyria ever got to the point of anger beyond reason.

Minister of War Rimett's legs trembled slightly as he struggled to remain standing. Aldrian gritted his teeth to regain his composure and gather his power to continue his confession. 

"After you recovered, I contacted the Lich King once more. He said that only the power of another God could counteract the poison which I gave you and he asked me to investigate. However, our group agreed that it would be folly to continue serving the Lich King, knowing that you too have a God behind you. And so here we are, Your Majesty. We would like to atone for our crimes and seek your forgiveness."

As he spoke to this point, he fell to his knees. Beside him, the other three Ministers fell to their knees as well. 

"Have mercy on us, Your Majesty!" They all cried out in unison. 

"We need to make an example out of them!" Aleyria snarled. Her beautiful face was already clouded with great anger. Fire seemed to course through her veins as her fury rolled off her like billowing waves. At this moment, all she wanted to do was to crush these four traitors into mincemeat, all future problems be damned. 

There were many things that she could be patient about, but her ultimate reverse scale was King Aloxandros, now King Alexander.

The aura that she released grew in intensity and practically smashed the four kneeling figures with great savagery. 

Alexander gazed at the trembling figures in front of him. Like Aleyria, he hated traitors the most and would dearly love to kill them. 

But he also believed in redemption. Well, at least for cases like this when no actual damage had been done. Plus, he was sure he could still make good use of them. It seemed such a waste to merely kill them. 

Working them to death suited his style more.