Chapter 23 - Five Years (Patreon)

The town of Sandy Branch was thriving.

In five years, the population tripled, and the town expanded both outward and inward, with new construction occurring on the outskirts and renovations enhancing many older buildings.

New roads to the town were built, and the largest single road was reinforced to make it easier to navigate. Sandy Branch used to be a stopping point along the route from Port Prosper to Egalete, one of the largest western cities in Zalevet. Now, it was becoming an important stopping point in its own right.

A port was constructed along the water. Small ships traveled to it domestically, and some from the Broken Bits had begun using it as a stopover as well.

New merchants and craftsmen had built stands and shops to establish themselves first in what many anticipated would become a thriving new town, potentially a city someday. The existing industries were flourishing in ways the locals had never imagined. Even emerging markets, like brothels, upscale tailors, and jewelry shops, were finding their footing.

It could all be traced back to Prince Christopher Zalevet and his Black Horned Guardian.

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Christopher donned a form-fitting golden tunic, black pants, boots, and a long black and gold coat. It looked elegant and simple, matching the long blonde hair he kept tied behind his head. The color compilation only made his green eyes stand out more. He also kept a sword at his waist as a symbol of power, even though he could easily have carried it in his codex.

Everything about his appearance screamed “ruler.”

“Your Highness, the brothel wants to buy the building next door and expand further into town,” said Atticus, one of the many young people who had flocked to Christopher’s side over the years. “Some families are concerned it’ll create an entertainment district closer to the market and that their kids will see it.”

“Why do they want that location?” Christopher asked as he waved to people he passed in the street.

“It was just the first piece of land that the owner, Melinda, bought when she arrived years ago. The town’s expansion wasn’t taken into account during her purchase.”

“We can’t get rid of it. There’s too high a demand for the product. The people will riot,” joked Christopher. “But I agree with the families. Having an entertainment district so close to the main part of town will create a future problem.” He paused in thought, running his fingers through his hair. “Grab a town map. Take some people and Melinda, plan out the district, and see if we can give her a tax cut in the future. Sound good?”

“Absolutely.” Atticus marked down Christopher’s words. “I’ll be off then.”

“And tell Melinda to stop bothering Yen,” Christopher told Atticus as he walked away. “She’s said no a bunch of times, and it’s starting to bother her!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

They slowly passed through one of the many new markets. It was alive with movement—merchants shouting their wares, the rhythmic clang of a blacksmith’s hammer ringing from the forge, the rich scent of roasted meat drifting through the air. Children darted through the crowds—one of them waving a wooden sword in mock battle while another, a boy with messy hair, announced that she was ‘Prince Christopher’ while a young girl said she was ‘his guardian.’

Christopher let out a quiet chuckle as he passed. He turned to one of the other people in his entourage escorting him through town. “What’s next?”

The weight of the day pressed heavier with each step. His responses came smoothly, but beneath the polished answers, his mind dragged like a blade dulled from overuse.

“The Guild wishes to push further into the Forest of Beginners,” said Yolanda, another one of Christopher’s aides. “The number of quests isn’t meeting demand. Even with the rise in bandits and other general crime, it’s not enough.”

“If we do that, it might make stronger Tiered monsters lash out and move toward the outskirts,” Christopher replied as he walked through the town center. People chattered, shopped, and laughed while live bands played. “Tannin said she wanted this?”

“She did.”

“Well, I planned to take a break at the inn and get a drink, so that works out. I’ll speak with her myself,” said Christopher. “That’s it for the morning, people. Good work. Be ready for this evening. The baron is coming in. Be prepared. This is what we’ve all been working for.”

The people following Christopher tried to call out to him, but he ignited the wind mana within him and sprinted away until he was in front of Beginner’s Rest.

“Welcome—oh, hey Christopher,” Gabby called from behind the bar of Beginner’s Rest as soon as Christopher walked in.

“Say my name louder. I don’t deserve a break,” chided the prince as he crossed the bar and sat before Gabby.

”No, you don’t. You could be solving another problem right now, yet you’re spending time on yourself,” joked Gabby. “Despicable. You should be ashamed.”

“Every single day.”

They laughed together.

“What brings you by?” asked Gabby. She poured Christopher a mug of beer and pushed it toward him. “Can’t be just for fun.”

“Time’s too precious to have any genuine fun,” agreed the prince. “No quitting in my future.”

“That felt like a dig,” huffed Gabby. She pulled back the mug of beer she gave. “Apologize.”

“I wasn’t making fun of you,” Christopher said sincerely. “You were stabbed in the shoulder and stomach, then poisoned. I don’t blame you for wanting a different life.”

“That, and your new bodyguard is much better than I am.”

“Very true.”

“You didn’t have to agree so quickly! At least save some of my dignity!”

“Isn’t that disingenuous?” he teased.

Gabby sighed. “Hearing it would make me feel better.”

Christopher touched his heart and looked at Gabby with absolute sincerity. “Gabby, there is no doubt in my mind you could raze this whole country and Paradise down to ashes if you so chose.”

Gabby lifted her chin and grinned. “Yes, obviously.”

“So I graciously thank you for allowing a weakling like Yen to struggle alongside me as we barely manage to survive without you.”

“Perfect!” The blond woman smiled. “Say that every time you see me from now on.”

“But of course.

“Kidding aside, what do you need?” asked Gabby. She leaned against the bar as she poured herself a drink, too.

“Nothing anymore,” admitted Christopher. “I was planning to bug Tannin about her contract expansion request, but I think I’ll save that for another day.” His eyes glazed the inn. “Where is she, anyway? And Bruno?”

“Dunno. They leave me in charge more and more recently. They’re investing in the port and some of the newer shops, so they’re probably out in town,” mentioned Gabby. “They’re gonna be the richest people in Sandy Branch before long.”

“Besides Melinda,” Christopher added. “We’re going to set up a proper entertainment district in the future with her at the forefront.”

“Far away from this place, I hope.”

“If I had to guess, Beginner’s Rest will be at the edge of it,” answered Christopher truthfully. “Lots of athletic travelers with aggression to burn pour through here daily. Melinda would be a fool not to take advantage of that.”

“Godsdammit.” Gabby’s head crashed into the counter. “Even more people are going to hit on me!”

Christopher smiled sympathetically at his friend’s head, which he patted lightly. “There, there.”

“Oh.” Gabby’s head shot up. “We’ve got the back room reserved for your meeting this evening with Baron Thorpe.”

“Let’s hope it’s to his liking.”

Gabby shrugged. “We’re not a city, and it’s a nice room with a separate entrance. I’ll serve you all in there, so it should run smoothly.”

“You got a nice dress picked out?”

“The best I could find,” admitted Gabby. “Who knows? Maybe the old man will take a liking to me and whisk me away to a life of easy wealth and luxury.”

“You’d have to produce an heir.”

Gabby smiled. “And that’s why the Gods blessed us with liquor.” She sighed. “Not that it matters. Yen will be there, yes?”

“Of course.”

“You could put a dozen naked girls in there with her, and she’d still outshine them even if she were covered in mud and wearing a sack,” whined Gabby. “Annoying. You going to see her soon? You know she’s probably deep in another experiment. Best remind her she’s got an obligation tonight. You know she forgot.” She sighed. “It’s got to be hard liking an idiot like her.”

“She’s not an idiot.” The prince paused. “She’s…passionate and focused.”

“Ah, I didn’t mean it like that. You know I love her,” said Gabby. “I’m grateful for what she’s done for us.”

“An understatement,” added Christopher. He didn’t even notice himself smile. “I went from being on the run to running a small slice of land. I’ve helped many people and saved many lives because of her. I couldn’t even begin to express my gratitude.”

“Even if you did, it’d embarrass the shit out of her, and she wouldn’t believe you.”

Christopher chuckled. “That too.” He looked down at his feet and tapped his side. “I wish Lars and Mom could see this.”

“Me too.”

They both hung onto the silence for a bittersweet moment.

Christopher cleared his throat and turned away. “See you tonight.”

“See yah!” said Gabby. “Tell Yen hi for me!”

“Will do.”

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A few minutes later, Christopher stood on the outskirts of town, a short distance into the forest, in front of a small, single-story home.

Weapons and tools were scattered across the expansive yard. Practice dummies—both pristine and damaged—lined the area. Many trees had chunks taken out of them or had collapsed entirely. The space surrounding the hut resembled a war zone, except for the immaculately maintained herb garden located just outside the destruction.

“It looks worse every time I come here,” muttered Christopher as he approached the front door. His hand tapped against the wood. “Yen? You here? Awake? Wearing clothes?”

He heard nothing.

Sighing, Christopher opened the unlocked door and stepped inside.

Bottles, weapons, and books littered the floors. Some bottles were empty, some were full, and others spilled onto the hardwood. The weapons ranged from bows and crossbows to swords, maces, spears, and staves. The books could fill the walls of multiple rooms if they weren’t stacked and opened haphazardly in every available space and on every piece of furniture.

Christopher tiptoed across the floor in the limited open spaces available. When he could no longer move, he would clean and stack items wherever he found room.

“We seriously need to have another talk about this,” he muttered as he placed bottles on top of a stack of books, then leaned a mace against it.

Christopher knew exactly which room Yen would be in. From the front door, one could only go left or right. To the left was Yen’s bedroom, and to the right was a living room she converted into a lab room.

So he went right.

Christopher instantly spotted Yen sitting on the floor, surrounded by bottles, herbs, and monster parts. She was in front of a giant boiling pot. Her eyes carefully watched the light green water boil. To Christopher, it looked like tea, but he knew better.

“This is it, isn’t it?” muttered Yen, oblivious to the world around her. “Gotta be it. I’ve increased the amount of mana crystals, ground them evenly with the dried leaves…it should work on people.”

“What should?” asked Christopher to get Yen’s attention.

“Don’t talk to me.” Yen held up her hand. “Almost done.”

“Yen—”

“—I said—”

“Put a robe on.” Christopher grabbed one that was sitting on yet another stack of books and threw it over Yen’s head.

Yen was wearing only underwear, leaving nothing to the imagination. Her skin was bare and sweaty. The Mark of Enslavement stood out on her belly, causing Christopher to clench his jaw.

“Huh? Oh. Right. My bad.” Yen lazily draped the robe over herself and cinched it tightly. Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. She hugged herself, attempting to conceal her body while maintaining eye contact with her concoction. “Not a pretty sight. Sorry.”

Christopher looked away quickly. Heat crept up his neck, unwelcome and undeniable. Godsdammit. If only you knew.

Yen crawled forward with a bottle in hand. She slowly tipped the contents into a phial as she softly spoke kind words to the liquid like a madwoman. Her robe was tight, but the sweat on her body made the fabric transparent. Her black hair flowed like silk between her long, curved back horns. She looked mythical.

I want to kiss her and pull her to the floor for the rest of the day, Christopher thought absentmindedly. His eyes widened at the thought. Quickly, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to turn away as he collected his thoughts.

“Done!” Yen grinned and stood up quickly. She held the phial in her arms like it was more precious than gold. “Let’s try you out!”

“What does it do?” Christopher could not help but ask.

“I’ll show you.” Yen scrambled over to her fireplace and pulled out a piece of steel with a flat circular end. The metal looked orange at the tip. “Here.” Yen gave Christopher the metal at the safe, non-heated end. “Use this if I need you.”

“For what?”

Yen ignored Christopher. She held her potion tight in one hand and grabbed a knife in the other. “Please work,” she muttered to herself. She paused for a moment. “Which finger matters least?”

“What?”

Yen flexed her ring finger. “This one, right?”

Christopher saw the knife flash down. His brain didn’t process it until the soft thud of flesh and wood sent a jolt through his spine. The world tunneled for a moment. Then, it hit him all at once.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Christopher’s voice came out sharper than he intended, rough with something he didn’t want to name—something too close to terror. He lunged forward, hands flying to stop the bleeding. “You—!”

“Hold on,” Yen gasped. “It’s fine—just a lot of nerves, haha…” She kept Christopher back with her foot. “Give me a sec.”

Tears came out of her eyes, and blood flowed from her self-created wound. She chugged a bit of the potion she made, then poured another portion on her finger while keeping her hand and the severed digit close to each other.

The flesh knitted together until her finger was back on her hand. It looked as if nothing had happened. She flexed the digit. It worked just as well as it had before.

Yen stared in awe. “Still need to find a solution to the blood loss, but I’d call that success!”

Christopher tossed the metal Yen had given him back into the fire and cupped her face in his hands. “What was that, you moron?!”

“New potion!” Yen smiled gleefully. “Reattaches limbs back with their original functions.” She frowned. “Haven’t figured out how to regrown them from scratch yet, but it’s a start.”

Christopher knew the potion was amazing and invaluable but was too angry and scared to think rationally. Yen did things like that regularly. Even so, this was a step too far.

“What if it hadn’t worked?!” he asked.

“That’s what you were here for.” Yen gestured to the metal rod. “To cauterize the wound. If I couldn’t stitch it back on.”

Christopher stared at Yen. “Don’t do that shit again!”

Yen blinked at him. She looked like she was surprised he cared that much. Then, just as fast, she grinned. “You big baby.” She flexed her reattached finger. “See? It’s fiiiine! Good as new.”

“You should have warned me!”

“You’d have stopped me if I did. By the way, you’re really close. Did you eat anything today? I don’t smell food. Beer, though. I smell beer.”

Christopher released Yen and cleared his throat. “You knew that, and you still went through with it.”

“Innovation takes sacrifice! That’s why I’m now the best alchemist you know outside of Camden. You’re welcome.”

The prince flicked Yen’s forehead. “Sacrificing yourself shouldn’t be your first option, ever.”

The archdevil rubbed her forehead. “There was no one else here. And I didn’t want to try it on someone else if things went wrong. I thought about finding some criminal and trying it on him, but that felt barbaric and time-consuming. I mean, my finger’s right here.” She waved her hand again. “Easy and accessible with no risk to anyone else.”

Christopher could feel his desire to continue this conversation completely drain away in the face of such stubbornness. “What you did was amazing,” he said in a bland tone.

“I can hear the word ‘idiot’ leaking out of your head,” teased Yen. She swished forward and tapped Christopher’s forehead like she did hers, though much lighter. Her robe swooshed as she did, revealing parts of her chest, stomach, and the Mark of Enslavement just beneath the fabric.

Christopher couldn’t help but stare at the mark. He’d given Yen enough contradictory commands that she’d never have to listen to him if she didn’t want to, but it didn’t assuage his guilt at having to keep her bound to him indefinitely.

“Whatcha looking at?” Yen looked down. She quickly covered herself. “Sorry. Ugly. No one needs to see that.”

A pained expression carved across the prince’s face. It wasn’t a joke on Yen’s part; she genuinely hated how she looked. Her childhood and the many people calling her a freak after her revelation as an archdevil had taken a toll on her psyche. She lacked self-confidence in her appearance and constantly disparaged herself in front of others as a defense mechanism.

What made it worse was that it was a stupid assessment. A person’s mana capacity did many things beyond granting elemental powers. It reduced a person’s likelihood of getting sick, improved recovery, corrected physical deformities, retained youthfulness, and enhanced a person’s physical abilities. As a result, people with more powerful eye colors tended to be more attractive, stronger, and naturally fit without effort.

Since Yen had white eyes since childhood, she blossomed into a stunning woman whom very few could compare. Even those frightened of her because she was an archdevil felt conflicted upon seeing her due to her striking beauty.

It didn’t register in her mind, though. Yen thought she was a monster, and that was reflected in how she treated herself.

Christopher: “You’re not ugly, Yen.”

Yen gave a sharp laugh. “Sure.”

Christopher frowned. “I mean it.”

She turned away, suddenly busy cleaning up her scattered books. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. All I’ve got going for me are muscles and tits.”

It was awkward for a moment.

“You want another peek?” Yen joked, teasing.

Christopher opened his mouth, closed it, and exhaled hard through his nose. “Don’t tempt me.”

Yen blinked. “Huh?”

Christopher pinched his brow. “This isn’t why I came by. Listen, we have a meeting tonight in the private room behind Beginner’s Rest. You remember, right?”

Yen paused. “Was that today?”

“Yen…”

“I’ll be there! Promise!” She paused and scratched her face. “Um…what for again?”

“Baron Burgeon Thorpe of Port Prosper is visiting our little town on behalf of Count Lemuel Prospero, the city’s ruler. I’m unsure of their intentions but plan to get something out of them regardless.”

“And you need me to put the fear of the Gods into them?” Yen slapped her fist into her palm. “Got it.”

“No. I need you to show up. That’s all. Your presence provides pressure and reassurance. You know that.”

“Sadly.” She crossed her arms over her stomach. “I can’t wear what I normally do, can I?”

Christopher stared at her. “What do you think?”

“Who cares what I look like? I’m a monster.” She frowned. “Besides, what you look like matters more. I’m there to look tough.”

“You need to at least wear shoes!”

“I haven’t worn shoes in three years!”

“Please.”

Yen frowned. “Dammit it. You got all serious and ruined my fun. Alright, I’ll dress nicely. Shoes included. Just for you. You owe me.”

“Thank you. I’ll treat you once we’re done.”

“You want me to arrive before, during, or after your meeting?”

“We’ll greet them as they arrive in town later this afternoon. Be ready and by my side before then. I’ll await you at Beginner’s Rest.”

“Yes, Your Highnesss.”

“Don’t say that.” Christopher walked to the exit with Yen at his heel. “Please, remember to be there.”

“I will, I will,” said Yen. “You want a hug or something before you go?”

“Haaaaa.” Christopher deadpanned. “Shut up.”

“Sorry, sorry!” teased Yen. “I know it doesn’t suit me.” She looked around her house. “Shit, it’s messy, huh?”

Yen turned away, her robe clinging to her back from sweat. She bent slightly, reaching for a book, the motion making the fabric shift again until—

Christopher yanked his gaze away like he’d been burned. He cleared his throat, sharp and deliberate.

“Be ready for tonight," he said, his voice carefully leveled.

Then, before he could second-guess himself, he turned and walked out the door.

Christopher stepped outside and just stood looking at the sky for a moment. His breath was shallow, his fingers tight on the doorknob. He forced them to relax, flexing his hand open and closed like it would shake off the heat curling in his stomach. And his heart was thumping loudly.

The prince tilted his head back and let the cold air hit his face, willing himself to calm down. It didn’t help.

Yen wasn’t trying to drive him crazy. She didn’t even think she could. But she might as well have been.

With a final exhale, Christopher straightened his coat, forced a composed expression onto his face, and walked back toward town like nothing had happened.

Like he hadn’t just barely resisted every instinct telling him to go back inside.