The witches' kingdom - TOG series

Chapter 3 | Dorian

And after the storm, calm arrived. Everything had passed, and against all odds, we had survived. At least some of us.

Amidst all the reigning chaos, I decided to focus on one thing to keep from going insane: Manon. At first, she didn't want to sleep or eat, too obsessed with counting how many of her witches had survived the war and meeting up with Glenis and Petra to plan their return and the reconstruction of the Wastes. She was frantic and couldn't stay still. I knew why. She wasn't allowing herself to grieve for her own losses. The moment she stopped, when she was alone with her thoughts, Asterin and the others would return to her mind. I knew her too well to know that guilt was suffocating her. Thank God she didn't sacrifice herself, but I knew perfectly well that's what she would have wanted if given the chance.

I had to thank the lack of rooms for all of us because it made it easier for Manon to share a room with me in the days following the end of the war. The castle was in ruins, but some parts had survived. We offered to sleep with most of the people who had fought alongside us in the crowded common rooms, but news of Manon's fierceness during the battle had spread like wildfire, and none of the survivors allowed her to sleep on the floor.

The room was cold and simple, with only a few tapestries adorning the walls to give it a less somber look. The bed, however, was large enough for both of us. I warmed the room with my magic and prepared a bath in the adjacent room. I practically had to undress her and force her into the tub. The many times I had dreamt of undressing Manon during my stay in the Ferian Rift, I never imagined it would be like this. She seemed empty, barely resisting when I asked her to get in, and I even had to undo her braid and wash her hair myself. It seemed like her strength had been depleted. I never imagined seeing Manon in such a state. She was devastated, and I doubted that in her nearly 200 years of life, she had ever looked like this.

I left her lying in bed, talking to herself about the rebuilding of the witches' city while I went down to the kitchens to get some dinner to bring back to the room.

I had never really thought about what Manon liked, in fact, I wasn't even sure if she knew herself. I took some leftovers from the kitchen. Feeding so many people during the weeks the war lasted had depleted the reserves, and all I could gather was some cheese and potatoes leftover from dinner. I don't know how, but I managed to find a piece of chocolate. I figured Aelin hadn't passed through the kitchen; otherwise, there would be absolutely nothing sweet left to eat.

I opened the door to the room without hands, using the remnants of magic I had left. I hadn't rested or eaten anything myself for a couple of days, but that wasn't my priority now. I found her just as I had left her, wearing a rather loose shirt that God knows who it belonged to and that we had found in the wardrobe. 

She was sprawled on the bed, staring at the ceiling and talking to herself again. I don't know what she was saying about building a warrior school when she turned to look at me. It wasn't the same look she used to have at the Crochan camp; now, it was more... vulnerable. She was unarmed, and I wasn't used to this new version of her. I think she wasn't either. I cautiously approached the side of the bed to sit down and place the dinner between us. She was so calm that I didn't know how to act. But she greeted me with a smile. "You took a long time, princeling," she said. Her reaction comforted me inside, and I thought that maybe there was hope after all.

"Did you miss me, little witch?" There was her inquisitive gaze again and a half-smile.

"Maybe," she continued, "I've been thinking that when I return to the Wastes, I'll build a school for warriors. I'll teach them how to use claws and how to command a wyvern, among other things. We will never be defenseless, and the Wastes will be the most feared land in all of Erilea."

"Will you teach me too?"

"I think you're not defenseless, but what exactly would you like me to teach you?"

"Well, many things," I smiled confidently.

"We'll see, princeling," she said with a half-smile.

"What did you bring for dinner?"

"Well, a little bit of everything and a lot of nothing," I smiled sadly. "There were potatoes and some cheese. It seems like we're not well-stocked with provisions. Hopefully, the supplies from Eyllwe will arrive in a couple of days."

"This is better than nothing."

"I also have a surprise," I glanced at her with a half-smile on my face. "I found some chocolate in the kitchens."

"It seems then that Aelin is too busy to plunder the sweet reserves."

I laughed at seeing that we had thought the same thing, as anyone who knew Aelin even a little would have imagined. I wasn't sure where their relationship stood, but knowing both of them, I knew they could become more than allies, even friends. Their temperaments preceded them, and although both were incredibly stubborn, they shared courage and devotion to their people. I was eager to see what the future held for both of them, two powerful women ruling over the strongest kingdoms of Erilea.

I got lost in my thoughts, and when I snapped back to reality, almost all the food on the plate had disappeared. God, it was clear that she hadn't eaten much in weeks. It was the first time I saw her so relaxed.

"God, I missed cheese. I love cheese very much."

"Cheese? You never told me."

"Why should I have told you something like that exactly?"

"I don't know, I guess I don't know many things about you."

"You know more than most people."

"But for me, it's not enough." I looked at her, and that laughter resurfaced.

"Shut up and eat the cheese, or I promise I won't leave you anything. I'm hungry."

I listened to her because I knew she was right.