Devilborn: Ashes of Valhalla (GxG)

Five

Athanasia didn't sleep well that night. She was plagued by nightmares. All that played in her head on repeat was her kingdom burning to the ground.

Finally, Athanasia couldn't take it anymore. She slipped out of her slumber and bed. 

She slid on her boots and fur jacket. Athanasia quietly opened the door.

Cadwal was asleep outside the door, in the nook of the window-sill. 

Athanasia felt bad that the man had to sleep there. She pushed forward, silently slinking through the corridors and down the staircase.

Two guards were on duty at the entrance of the castle. One of them just so happened to be Agnar.

Athanasia made a noise, trying to get Agnar's attention.

Agnar looked over to see Athanasia approaching the double doors.

The other guard, Egill, looked over too. "Hey! What are you doing out of your bedchambers? It's late."

"Egill, calm down," Agnar started to say. "The Prince and I are just going out for a drink." He paused before adding, "And you can't tell us no, because he's your ruler and I'm your commander."

Egill huffed, angrily. "Fine."

Agnar and Athanasia exchanged a glance before heading out of the palace and toward the tavern.

"Something on your mind?" Agnar asked Athanasia as they walked.

"I couldn't sleep… I was having these nightmares," Athanasia started to tell Agnar.

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of nightmares?" Agnar inquired.

"Our kingdom…. It was being burnt to the ground." Athanasia swallowed.

"By the rebel brutes from the west-end village?" Agnar asked.

Athanasia shook her head. "No. These were warriors. It almost seemed like they controlled the fires."

"Demons," Agnar started to say.

"What?" Athanasia questioned.

"You almost seem to describe it as if demons burnt it to the ground," Agnar explained to her. "How vivid are these dreams?"

"So vivid, if you only knew…"

"It's almost like you've been given the gift of prophecy then," Agnar said.

"Should I warn my father?" Athanasia asked.

Agnar shook his head. "Prophecy is too close to witchcraft…. The whole village will be outraged."

"Have you ever foreseen the future?" Athanasia questioned Agnar.

"I've done much more than that…" Agnar sighed. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Agnar, we've known each other for fifteen years… I won't tell a living soul," Athanasia promised.

"I'm a sorcerer… A male witch if you will," Agnar whispered to Athanasia.

Athanasia seemed surprisingly calm about it. "Fascinating."

Agnar reached forward, opening the door to the tavern. "After you, Princess."

Athanasia froze. "What?"

"Cadwal told me. He said something about thinking I should know since we're best friends," Agnar told Athanasia.

"Oh…" 

"Unless you didn't want me to—"

"No, no. I'm glad you know, Agnar." Athanasia entered the tavern with Agnar following. "It feels like a huge weight off my chest."

Athanasia and Agnar took a seat near the staircase.

Athanasia looked around the tavern, smiling a little. "It feels nice to get out of that stuffy castle every now and then."

"That it does," Agnar agreed.

Two figures approached Agnar and Athanasia.

"Mead?" The silver-haired boy with violet eyes asked the two.

"Sure," Agnar said.

The silver-haired boy sat the drinks down in front of Agnar and Athanasia. "I'm Noaah Iomharsson." He gestured to the tanned man beside him. "And this special man is a… colleague of mine, Altaïr Siraj. We have a business offer, if you two are interested."

"What kind of business?" Agnar asked.

"Glory… Fame… wealth… travels… They're all parts of our business," Altaïr explained.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think we're good," Athanasia said.

"Oh, of course. You must have duties as a royal. Just think about our offer, okay?" Noaah requested before he and Altaïr left the bar.

"You should have let us hear them out," Agnar complained. "I could do with some more wealth."

Athanasia downed her goblet of mead. "We have responsibilities. We have to find the brutes from the village and I have to get married sometime this week…" She sighed before getting up and saying to Agnar, "I'm gonna go take a walk. You need to make sure you don't drink so much that you're drunk tomorrow." She headed toward the door.

"I won't. I promise," Agnar called after her.

Athanasia then responded, "You better not. We're gonna try to bust the raiders tomorrow."