Valerian, The Legendary

296 Farewell. (2)

Fragrantia led the young man to the stables and was getting ready to board a carriage when he said, “Let us take Linea. He has not been flying around much lately. It will be faster too.”

The lady stopped and nodded. She hardly had any resistance against what Valerian said. The silver-haired prince took the beast pouch around his waist and let out a big blue bird. The bird flew to the sky and made two quick circles before it came down on the ground and rubbed its beak against Valerian’s chest.

The young man patted him and said, “It must have been hard for you to stay in that pouch all these days, right?”

Linea did not say anything, but the silence expressed his honest emotions. How can a bird stay inside the cage and still like it?”

The young man said, “Take us to the clearing this time.”

Linea nodded, and Valerian helped Fragrantia get up on the saddle. Just when he was about to climb, he heard a voice in the distance, “Valerian Verus, dare you to leave without me.”

The young man spotted Azula coming over with Priscilla and Adele in tow. Valerian chuckled and shook his head in helplessness. He said, “We will still need to take the carriage.”

Azula came forward without hesitation. She grabbed Valerian’s ear and scolded him for not meeting her. The young man did not say anything and just played along. The two of them had the longest of connections. However, that was not all. Since she discovered this guy was her cousin, she began taking brotherly liberties with him.

They often teased and mocked each other in healthy humor. Azula let go of the ear only when Fragrantia scolded her. Adele hugged him gently and patted his head. Valerian smiled as he basked in the warmth of a family.

.....

Then he said, “Linea can only take two people. Since we are five people now, we can go by carriage.”

Azula said, “Do not worry. I have a perfect solution for this.”

Then she beckoned Priscilla, who rushed to the stables and returned with four ice-blue deers. These were the primary mounts of the princess—the Blizzard Bucks. However, what changed in the situation was that these guys seemed to have grown by size before.

Valerian suddenly exclaimed. He said, “To think they grew the wings of ice.”

On the hooves of the beasts, there were two tiny wings each. They seemed to be ornaments carved out of ice, but the natural ability of these wings was to allow the deer to fly in the sky.

Azula nodded and said, “What do you think? Aren’t they magnificent?”

Valerian nodded, and then the princess tied the four beasts to the carriage, and after a short run-up, the deers ran and slowly flew higher and higher.

The young man sat on the saddle with Fragrantia and followed behind the carriage in the sky. They all knew the destination, the clearing in the woods.

It did not take them long to reach the place. The flying beasts were much faster than others. The carriage landed on the ground very naturally, which surprised Valerian. Fragrantia sensed this and said, “This carriage has a magic rune engraved under it. This is to cast a wind magic spell to soften the landing.”

Valerian asked, “How does that work?’

The empress replied, “The person inside the carriage can channel their mana inside the connecting channel, and the rune will cast the spell. I do not know how it works, though.”

Valerian nodded and said, “To think Lumen had a runemaster. I missed a chance to learn from that person.”

Fragrantia rubbed his silver hair and said, “You intend to go to the southern continent after this, right? They have a lot of runemasters there. So you can learn from the best of the best.”

Surprised, the young man replied, “Now that you mention it. I do not know much about the southern continent.”

The lady nodded and said, “It is only obvious. In ancient times, the southern continent was called the land of freedom.”

“Why such a liberal name?” questioned the boy.

The empress replied patiently, “There is no distinction in Love. The people have been paired up with each other based on their affection and not species.

Humans and beasts can be couples; the same is true for the same genders. The southern people believe that the heart was given to Love, which is the only emotion that the laws and the rules of the mortal world should not bind. Love is a transcendent emotion that everyone has the right to pursue.

There is a saying on the southern continent, ‘Amor est caritas. Numquam aspectum intuere, sed adfectus ex intimo cordis tui oriundos.'”

Valerian asked, “Meaning?”

Linea landed on the ground gently, and the lady said, “Love is Love. Never look at the appearance, but at the emotions that originate from the depth of your heart.”

Valerian nodded as he helped the lady get down. They were standing at a short distance from the tree. The sun was about to set, and the sky was dyed with a tint of pale orange. Looking at the tree leaves waving slightly in the wind. Valerian said, “It seems like mother is waving at me.”

He could imagine Flos standing under the tree, waving at him from a distance as if she was waiting for him. Fragrantia patted his head and said, “When we love someone from the depth of our hearts, we can see them. However, these emotions must be kept in check, too, because once your feelings get the better of you...”

Valerian interrupted her and said, “Go insane.”

The lady nodded, and then they walked over closer to the tree. Valerian did not say much when Fragantia stopped two meters from the tree. Instead, he moved closer to the tree and touched the trunk.

Azula led Priscilla and Adele with her and stood behind Fragrantia. Adele had never been here and asked in a low voice, “Sister Azula, why are we here? What is this place?’

Azula replied, “This is where Val’s birth mother and my mother’s sister rest.”

Her answer was polite. She did not call this place a grave but a place of rest. Adele was smart enough to pick this up and nodded. Then, she closed her eyes and prayed for the peace of the departed.

Fragrantia said, “Flos, my daughter-in-law is about to give birth. Bless her, okay?”

The canopy swayed, and a tree leaf broke away from the branch and floated over to land on Adele’s womb. She heard what Fragrantia said and was surprised. She did not expect the tree to react to the prayers.

Azula said, “This place is spiritual. Do not worry.”

Valerian said, “I will be going out on a long journey. I will come back soon.”

He did not say all this out loud but silently in his heart. The canopy waved as if Flos could understand his thoughts and was encouraging him to go on and see through the pursuit of his life.

After paying their respects, the people sat down on the ground. Valerian cast a light spell to ensure the darkness did not bother them and asked, “I heard mother say that we are about to receive another member in the family?”

Adele smiled and said, “Yes, congratulations. You are about to be an uncle.”

Valerian scratched the back of his head and said, “That makes me sound a bit old. Does it not?”

The ladies chuckled, and Adele said, “I intended you to name the child. But, since you are going on a journey, tell me what the name shall be?”

Valerian was surprised and said, “How can I name the child? This is too big of a thing for me to do.”

Fragrantia shook her head and said, “You cannot run away from the responsibilities of the youngest son in the family now. Now, be a good boy and suggest a name.”

Valerian began to ponder over things, and after a few minutes, he said, “If it is a boy, let him grow to be the sword of the kingdom. Instill in him the virtues like steadfastness, righteousness, and humility. Like a sword. So let us call him, Gladius.”

The ladies nodded. It was not a bad name. But Adele asked, “What if it is a girl?”

Valerian smiled and said, “Then let the girl with the light and glow of the family. A light that brightens up the nation wherever she goes, Meridiem.”

Adele smiled and said, “A great name. We can call her Meri for short.”

Fragrantia smiled and nodded. The night was spent chatting about casual things. None of the ladies put up any airs of being royalty. They were sitting on the grass, listening to Valerian about the stories from the dragon kingdom and how the dragons were kind to him.

The moment the darkness began to fade, Fragrantia said, “Come, it is time to go. I gave my word to, Her Grace. It is time for you to go, Val.”