Valerian, The Legendary

193 Charmed.

Morgana was shocked and she could not help but say, “I sleep on the floor as well.”

She was compelled to show her heart by the innocence and sadness in the eyes of the young man in front of him. She knew that he was unable to cry or express sadness on his face, but his eyes did it very well. When he told her that he slept on the floor, she was moved and replied.

Valerian was surprised, he asked, “You were taken in the royal family at the time of your birth, right? Then why?”

Morgana shook her head and said, “Wrong, the real story is not known to anyone and they all believe the rumors circulated by the Emperor of Centaur.”

This confirmation shocked Valerian, his gaze was locked with the gaze of the girl beside him. Morgana let out a sigh, she opened her mouth but no words came out of it. Valerian did not intend to push her but he still said, “Your Highness, regardless of our connection, whether we end up being enemies or friends, I have found someone I can confide in when I talk to you. I hope you could find that same person in me.”

Morgana nodded and said, “I hope that we do not become enemies, Prince Valerian.”

Valerian shrugged his shoulders, “I am not your enemy until you cause harm to my family.”

Morgana sighed again and said, “That is not up to me, I am but a weapon held in the hands of Jamal Centurion.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “I beg to differ, weapons do not have their feelings and brain. You might think that Jamal Centurion controls your life, but let me ask you if he was so powerful, why would he send you here? The powerful one is you and not him. And in my understanding, the powerful ones dictate what they want to be.”

.....

His words moved Morgana, she has never heard such motivating words. This was also a reason why her heart, even after admiring the thoughts of the young boy, did not wish to rebel. She shook her head and said, “I am not as strong as you or the world think I am.”

Valerian smiled and said, “If you are not strong now, then you can be strong in the future. Why surrender? Pardon me for being overly optimistic here, but I have read in a book that even death is not the end. Then why do you talk as if you have lived enough?”

Morgana replied in a firm tone, “You also said that you read all this in a book. The things written in books are not always befitting the reality.”

“Do you believe in Vita?”, asked Valerian softly.

Morgana nodded and the prince said, “Why? Have you seen her?”

The princess was shocked, Vita was a goddess, and she was the source of life, and prosperity. However, there were only written mentions of her and not anything that anyone has seen in person. In this big world, some people did not believe in Vita and lived happily. Morgana was at a loss and could not come back to refute the boy.

She has been surprised ever since she met him, but this level of intellect was something she has never come across and was getting even more curious. Valerian looked at her silent face and said, “You have the whole night to think about this, I shall take you back to the palace, lest the people get worried.”

Morgana nodded and Valerian patted Linea twice, and the bird began to descend through the clouds. Lightning flashed through the clouds, and the princess was worried, when Valerian said, “Nothing to worry about, Linea is a thunder falcon, he can manipulate the lightning.”

Linea descended the clouds and came to the palace balcony. Valerian slid down from his back and landed on the floor, followed by the princess. He patted Linea on his head a few times before asking him to leave. Morgana watched from the side in silence, and the boy turned to her as he asked, “I hope you liked the magic.”

Morgana nodded and replied, “It was nice, thank you for taking me along.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “I have to play a good host so that the guests can relax. Or the Empress will get anxious.”

Morgana wanted to smile at him but she was unable to curl her lips upward and with a nod, she left the balcony heading to her room. Valerian followed her to her room and just when the Princess was about to enter her chambers, she heard a calm voice, “Sweet dreams, your highness.”

Morgana turned around and found a pair of silver eyes gazing at her with innocence. She bowed slightly and returned the greeting before closing the door. The prince then went to his bedroom. He found that Fortuna was sleeping with her body glowing slightly. He picked her up and cuddled her to sleep.

...

Morgana on the other hand did not have the luxury to sleep, although she had closed her eyes, her ears were ringing with the words from the young boy. The conversation was like a loop, repeating itself infinitely in her mind. It was not until the wee hours did she drifted off to sleep.

As soon as the princess entered deep sleep and her breathing rhythm became steady, Snare walked out of the shadows and mumbled, “Something does not smell right.”

Snare was an experienced veteran, he knew that the Centaur family had long trampled the will for freedom this girl had, but tonight when she came inside the room, he spotted a flicker that was unlike anything before, a struggle between submission or revolution. The flicker was just momentary, but his eyes and instincts did not betray him. He knew what he saw.

Thinking about this, he decided to make some checks of his own. He left the room silently and moved through the shadows and headed toward Valerian’s room. He knew that the Princess had gone out of the palace with this guy, and when she came back, she had a struggling expression. The root of all this lay with Valerian and he wanted to check out what skills this guy had.

Snare came to the door of the room and after checking for enemies in the shadows, he entered the room. He did not need to open the door to enter the room, just the minimal shadow under the door gap was enough for him to enter the place.

Valerian’s room was something completely opposite to the one Morgana used to live in. This place was luxuriously decorated, and fitting for the identity of a prince. Snare cast a gaze at the boy sleeping on the bed with a cat in his arms. Valerian did not look like a valiant prince at all, he gave off the aura of a young child who liked to be free and was pampered.

Earlier, Snare also saw how this child was arguing with the princess. He thought this guy was a pampered prince of the house and frowned. He walked closer to the boy and scrutinized him even more when suddenly, he sensed a gaze locked at his back.

Snare turned around and met a pair of silver eyes, these eyes were akin to a vortex that sucked in his soul. His consciousness went blank, on the other side, Valerian opened his eyes slowly, and let go of Fortuna. He smirked and said, “You thought, you can waltz in here and do what you want?”

Then he looked at the silver fox that stood in front of Snare and said, “Silk, you have grown stronger.”

This silver fox was the charming fox that he had taken in from the forest when he first fought the Valkyrians. The silver fox stayed inside the palace all the time, but she had resources that made even some humans envy her. The magical cores she gulped were higher than any other beast and as a result, her strength had grown to the point where she could even charm a grandmaster with ease.

The fox shook her tail in joy and came closer to Valerian, but the cat sleeping on the bed gave her a fright. Valerian got off the bed, picked up the fox, and coaxed her for a bit before he said, “Ask him about his identity and status.”

He used the language of beasts when he communicated with her, and Silk nodded. They were not connected by a magical bond, but she did not wish to leave his side. She knew what Valerian could do. She controlled Snare’s consciousness and the man spoke in a muffled voice, “I am Snare, my real name is Alvis, I am the shadow guard of His Excellency, Jamal Centurian, the emperor of the Centaur Nation.”

Valerian smiled widely and said, “To think even the Emperor’s guard is here to grace us. Such a high vision they have of us, no, Aunt?”

Fragrantia smiled as she walked inside the room from the balcony. She said, “Nicely done, child.”

They knew very early that a strong person has also entered the palace with Morgana, and the entire facade earlier was done to draw this person out and take control of him.