“I have been meaning to ask you something Eloim,” Alexia said tentatively from the cave mouth. “Why are you dressed so strangely? I have seen you quite often through the eyes of my minions and you were always so stylish.”
“I was in disguise, hiding from...” Eloim stopped realising what he was about to say.
Alexia turned around to look at him. “You were hiding from me?” she said sadly. “I behaved so badly towards you.”
“We got off on the wrong foot is all,” Eloim said, still not truly trusting how well the ring’s power would work.
“I am sorry, especially about your sister. I just have this bad temper when I don’t get what I want,” Alexia said, walking back towards Eloim to kneel in front of him again.
“What happened to Polly?” Eloim asked.
“She appeared in my throne room and instantly set about my priests and magicians with that sword of hers,” Alexia whispered. “I was left with no alternative.”
“You killed her?” Eloim asked, he didn’t want to hear but he had to know.
“If we just leave it at I stopped her killing my priests,” Alexia said. “I hope this will not affect our chances of settling down and getting married.”
“Getting married, when was that decided?” Eloim said, he almost yelled the question in his shock.
“Well you can’t expect an empress to just shack up with someone. We have to do things properly my love,” Alexia said sweetly.
“And doing things right should mean I have to ask you first Alexia, I have to say ‘will you marry me?’” Eloim replied.
“Yes!” squealed Alexia in delight and leaned forward to kiss Eloim, who surprised himself when he realised he liked kissing and was a little upset when Alexia pulled back.
“So we’re now engaged then,” Alexia said, smiling at a confused Eloim whose mind wouldn’t kick start after his first kiss. “You should get some sleep, I’ll keep watch, my love,” Alexia said as she stood up again and walked back to the cave mouth.
Eloim tried to work out what had just happened, he was still struggling to get past the kiss when the memory of where his face had been in their embrace turned up and he decided that being engaged may not be so bad if he got to do things like that, not to mention the kissing again.
Eloim stumbled again as they walked down the narrow ravine. Alexia, a step behind, suddenly grabbed Eloim and pulled him back just as a wraith landed where he had been seconds before. Another two wraiths landed behind the first. All three had jumped from their hiding place above the travellers. With a snarl, Alexia drew her sword and shoved Eloim behind her with enough force to send him to the floor. Instantly, he leapt back to his feet, ready to join the fight, but Alexia unfurled her wings, blocking the way forward for him. Within moments, it was over and the screams of the wraiths cut through the air as Alexia dispatched them with ease.
Turning back to Eloim, she returned her great sword and gave a pained smile to Eloim. “One of them touched me,” Alexia said, holding out her right arm. Her white skin was cracked and blackened from the touch of the wraith.
Alexia fell to her knees, a look of disorientation on her face. Eloim knelt down beside her. “Come on, we can’t stop yet, more of those creatures may be around,” he pleaded.
“Eloim, light of my dark, evil heart,” she said. “Those creatures will always be somewhere around us and soon they will catch us and I will have to watch as they destroy you.” Tears rolled down her face. “We are trapped in Purgatory and the creatures here will destroy us. We cannot run from them for eternity.”
“Alright, enough with our cheerful future together, Alexia,” Eloim said, pulling away, but Alexia grabbed his wrist.
“My love, I cannot face this punishment, to see those things capture you and drain the life from your body. I am now infected; I will not last long before I fall to the blight of their kind.” Alexia tried to suppress her sobbing.
“Well for our first day of being engaged, this really sucks you know, it’s going down-hill quick, conversation wise,” Eloim said, sitting down on the floor next to Alexia.
To be continued.