Chapter 4 The Heir Apparent

Lexie sat in a cellar weeping over her shortened hair. She felt much guilt being left alive while her friends were butchered on the beach weeks ago. She allowed a child mermaid to wear her magic crystal for only a moment and then they were ambushed. Her starfish tattoo etched in her arm declared her a member of the royal family of the northern seas. King Triton must be furious over his missing daughter-in-law about to give him his first grandchild. Every day she looked for signs of her husband Prince Wilz seeking her. A magic bird visited but she knew not where she was to aid her own rescue. Having lost her magic crystal, she can not use magic and reverts to a mortal being slowed down as her child grows inside her. Her captor descended the cellar steps in a joyous mood. A raven flew in behind him to land behind a group of barrels to rise as a dark figure.

“King Triton promises any ransom I want to get his daughter back, but you are not leaving when I have it. No, you are making too much money my sweet mermaid princess, even more when you give birth.” gloats the captor.

Lexie dreads every morning when he forces her into a cage to be dragged around villages inland to have him throw buckets of water on her to make her change into a mermaid. She hoped every morning her child would not be born in front of an audience of paid onlookers.

“Now where did that raven go with Triton’s message?” ponders the man.

He brushes off the confusion and returns upstairs forgetting what he came down to the cellar for. Princess Lexie leans over the barrels.

“Hello, my love. It is about time you found me.”

The cloaked figure extends his arms in an embrace and hearty kiss. Prince Wilz caresses her worried face and assures her of Alexis coming at nightfall. He wraps his cloak around his wife.
Hours later, the captor descends again in another joyous mood wielding a dagger.

“Come here, my sweet mermaid. I have a gift for you. Money from a customer wanting some of your hair. This won’t hurt a bit, princess.”

Where Lexie always sat was a jar of rotting fish. Searching for his prize, he found a man under a dark hooded cloak holding a golden harpoon. The man froze into stone. Alexis running down the stairs flicks his finger at the stone masterpiece Prince Wilz created.

“Alaric the Great could do no better.” gleams Alexis. “I’ll take those coins back now statue. You won’t need them where you are going.” Alexis makes the stone explode into fragmented stones.

“Alexis, I am so glad to see you.” embraced Lexie changing out of her rotting fish jar costume.

The trio left the stone rubbish behind in the cellar. They changed into human clothing in Alexis’s bag and slipped quietly into the night under the hazy moonlight. They snuck into the next village on the other side of the forest. They hide in a cellar near a barn where Homer stands guards while feeding horses resembling unicorns. Alexis paid a woman for the shelter and assured her repayment for her kindness. The escapees sleep soundly until an earthquake awakes them. Aroused from a dream, Homer realizes it is Lexie shaking the pair in great pain of labor. Lexie bites down on a piece of wood as Homer delivers her child in the cellar with Alexis standing guard in the barn. A proud papa, Wilz holds the babe first. Exhausted, Lexie barely clings to her child as she tries to feed him. She swears to Homer a life debt for saving her child after a difficult birth and whenever he needs something of her to just ask for it. Time passes and the sunrays peek into the cracks of the cellar door. Alexis quietly slips into the cellar. Soon voices are heard outside.

“Four of them. There are four of them.” whispers a woman.

“Thank you madam. Here is your reward.” whispers a man jiggling coins in his hand.

The cellar door creeks open and soldiers charge in with swords drawn. Screams arise from the dark cellar. Smoke drifts up to the treetops. Inside the cellar, the woman observed charred ashes lying beside shiny iron swords like scorched shadows of past bravery. Alexis appeared from the smoky haze to point his crystal at the shocked woman to turn her into a tree. The released captives raced up the cellar steps to hide in the barn. Unsaddled horses were ridden to a river gateway descending into the underworld. Horse archers chasing the magical creatures witnessed their targets vanish into the waves as they shoot arrows into the river. The bewildered pursuers waded along the shore to view no sight of their prey. Giving up, the soldiers returned to their village. The underworld gate had been sealed.

The quartet ride their horses to the River Styx. The horses melt into wicked demons and leave. They step into the boat of the sullen creature rowing across the river to meet the three head dog barking at passing souls on the other side. Lexie, Jax, Wilz, Homer, and Alexis ride the death boat to the fortress of Roanoke. Isis greets her guests and her husband Hato coos at the baby. Demons show Lexie to her room. She rests and Wilz cradles Jax to sleep. A servant brings meal trays for the guests. Soon they are guided to a nearby guest room where The Wizard’s wife Nix, sister Gilda, and sister Lixi give the new mother gifts. Nix gives her daughter a wool blanket she knitted. Gilda hands Lexie a cradle. Lixi gives Lexie tunics with her jewelry back that Eurick found, including the magic crystal Homer found. Alexis notices a moving animal under Lixi’s cloak. Eyeing Lixi smirking, she steps aside to reveal her daughter Lanie. Alexis stares in horror at his former wife. The women leave the couple alone.

“Still the hero, are we not.” speaks Lanie breaking the silence.

Alexis turns to the door. Lanie lifts her hand to release golden rays of light binding the hero Alexis.

“Oh, we are not finished here.” asserts Lanie.

“Lanie,” begins Alexis.

Lanie snaps her arm back.

“Silence!” shouts the scorned lover. “You made a nice poetic speech back when you deserted me.” Quoting Alexis,

“I came back a hero and you only saw me as an elf. When you gazed into my eyes when I returned from war to marry you, it was not of longing or joy. You remained still as the forest creatures embraced me as their long lost son. I tried to love you all I could, but never received any back from you.”

“Now it is my turn to speak, you wrenched excuse for an immortal!” begins Lanie.
Alexis patiently waits for the rage of Lanie to cease.

“Are you aware how difficult you are to love? I used Gilda’s magic mirror to find you and Lilia. Am I not to feel insulted at you claiming me as a heartless witch when it was you who stole our child Lilia from me? If there is a conceited one here, it is you. Can you imagine the pain I felt being called selfish, demanding, and vain? You tricked me into marrying you by rescuing me from the sky god Andos. What you were hoping for were god powers, were you not? Be the most powerful elf of Leesville, better than your upstanding brothers. Too bad you no longer have a village to rule over. Then on top of missing you for 10 years during the Elf War without a single note from your heart, you suddenly appear begging to get married. How dare you expect my love when you abandoned me? I looked at you in shock from presuming our relationship was over to see you appear smiling at me. Sorry no joy or admiration came your way. I only married you because I missed the elf you used to be. And you accuse me of thinking of you as an elf instead of a hero. I hate to tell you this, Alexis, but you are an elf. A sniveling, cruel, pathetic, gloating elf. You proudly recite glorious tales to vast audiences by firelight, but never reveal your battle scars to me when we are alone. Next during our marriage, you flaunt your female admirers in my face and expect me not to be jealous of all the attention you spread onto them. You spend more time playing with that fairy Abbykins than you do with me. Do I not have the right to be enraged about that? By the way, do not be fooled that I never saw our daughter Lilia again. Remember Eurick once had a purple salamander as a pet. You did not really think my uncle and cousin would deny Lilia contact with me. I was most disappointed to watch you abandon our daughter to run amok on the northern seas with your unruly crew to leave our baby with Uncle Alaric. I do give you credit for helping her escape Empress Minerva after those bad omens Uncle Alaric predicted though.

So why did I let you go? Because I love you enough to let you be happy without me. I do not desire to fight you over Lilia nor wish to harm you in any way, though you deserve it. Scoff and roll your eyes at me, I can still see through your emotional armor you hold up to protect your fragile spirit from pain. I will always think of you as the ambitious boy I used to know, the warrior I used to cheer, the father I had faith in, and the coward I see before me now. You may fool those whores you bed with, but you do not fool me. I see much of myself reflecting in your eyes, but one thing separating us is that I am brave enough to forgive you. Have a nice life, I will continue missing the elf you used to be. You may go now.” Lanie finishes with a wave of her hand.

Alexis drops to the ground most apologetic and humble before his former love. He gets up to grasp her hands.

“I am very sorry I hurt you, Lanie. I should not have taken Lilia from you or abandoned you like that. I did not know how to work out our problems any other way than to leave you behind and find another woman to love. I am sorry.” Alexis apologizes.

“You have already been forgiven, Alexis, a very long time ago.” answers Lanie.

The couple enters the hallway down to the banquet hall where Prince Wilz recites their rescue. Homer clings to Alexis gazing upon the mighty godly palace watching dead souls be judged on the scales of truth. Alexis sits next to Lanie at the table to catch up to what she has done since he left the Black Forest. Lanie was full of stories that bored Alexis, but he listens anyway. Gilda seemed proud forcing the former lovebirds back together. But will the pleasant feeling last? Alexis invited Lanie to his home in Laurel for a visit. Ishtar and Cassandra will be delighted to see their grandmother before moving to Illium. Lanie accepts the invitation.

“I can tolerate your presence if you do not ask me to simply forget your past behavior as if nothing happened.” speaks Lanie. “I no longer curse your name nor wish to reopen old wounds.”
Alexis agrees.