Linda was finally awake. She looked around as she stretched.
"Man, my bones feel rusty," Linda said with a smile. She glanced at Davalin, who was standing to the side, and then at Ruel, who was right beside her. She quickly realized he was probably the one who helped her.
"So, you guys aren't going to introduce me to the new friends here?" Linda asked as she got out of the hospital bed. Ruel was about to stop her but decided against it when he saw how steady she was on her own two feet despite how bad she had looked before.
"This is Davalin—something something—trained Ellowen, survived the facility's destruction, now mayor of this city, and—" Zyphira started to say, only to be cut off by Ruel.
"And I am Ruel, a wolf angel, knight of dawn—but not that good at fighting. Davalin took me in when I was younger, and I've been with him ever since, madame," Ruel said excitedly. He wanted to introduce himself to yet another person he hoped to call a new friend. The "madame" part ticked Ellowen off slightly—it felt too fancy for Linda—but Linda, on the other hand, liked the sound of it.
Linda began laughing in an exaggerated, noble-like fashion, the kind often found in novels or movies. It was the annoying type of laugh.
"I think that's enough introductions from both sides, eh? How about we go rest?" Davalin suggested, smiling as he looked around the room, especially at Linda and Ellowen, who were both dirty.
"Take a shower, rest, cool off, and explore the city tomorrow. We've got plenty of time," Davalin added.
Ruel yawned widely, his wolf tail swishing behind him.
"And as for Miss Linda here and Ellowen—you both have a shared room. Seems like you've got a lot to talk about. I'll call one of the maids to show you," Davalin said, glancing between Linda and Ellowen. Ellowen didn't say anything, but it was clear he had a lot to discuss with her.
"Sure, that makes things easier for me," Ellowen said.
A few minutes later, a red-haired maid entered the room and led Linda and Ellowen away. They waved goodbye to everyone for the night as they walked down the hallway until they arrived at a door.
The maid bowed her head before leaving. Ellowen and Linda stepped into their room.
It was lavishly decorated with golden accents on much of the furniture. The bed was large—big enough for two or more people to sleep in.
Linda looked nervously at Ellowen as she walked around.
"Isn't the room beautiful? Don't you think?" she asked.
Ellowen just sighed.
"And the bed is big—meant for two people. How romantic, right?" Linda teased in a sultry tone before Ellowen sat down on one of the couches.
"We need to talk about a lot of things right now. Sit down and hush," Ellowen said firmly.
Linda looked worried but obeyed. She pulled up a chair and sat in front of him while he sighed, looking tired.
"I've been carrying you for hours on end—all the way until we arrived in the city," Ellowen said.
Linda nodded.
"And I still don't know much about you. There isn't much to know about me either—you seem to know more about me than I do. Plus, my memories are wonky. If I get more, I'll tell you," Ellowen said.
He paused, realizing that during the fight with the golem earlier, when he swallowed the blue marble, he had regained some of his memories. They were coming back quickly, but the methods were exhausting. He sighed, not planning to recover any more memories for a while.
Linda studied his face and then said, "Looks to me like you got some memories back. Mind sharing?" She pointed at him and smiled.
Ellowen grumbled instead of answering, which made Linda clear her throat, stop pointing, and drop her smile.
"Yeah, I did get some of my memories back. But right now, I'm not going to tell you," Ellowen said.
He pulled out the red marble and tossed it to her. Linda caught it.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked, staring at it curiously.
"Memory marble. Holds memories somehow—I don't know how. Swallow it to see them," Ellowen explained, his eyes on her.
"Before you do, you'd better tell me who you really are. Right now, I don't fully trust you. And I'm sure you don't fully trust me either. So, spill the beans first," Ellowen demanded.
Linda looked at him. He was right. She didn't fully trust him—just as he didn't trust her. Sure, she had risked her life helping him fight the golem and keeping him from being grilled alive by the dragon, but that was mostly because he could help her reach her goal of uncovering the secrets about her father.
She sighed and began speaking, recounting how her father went mad, capturing mermaids to fuel his inventions. How her mother confronted him, only for an explosion to follow. Then she revealed that she was the princess of the empire she had mentioned before.
"Wow. That makes sense—especially how my watch called you princess, and how you kind of act like one too," Ellowen said.
Linda giggled softly.
"Well, I am a princess—even if my empire is practically gone. Still a princess—and a hot one at that!" Linda exclaimed.
Ellowen giggled softly too, then sighed. He told her about the memories he had regained—through the marble and even the concussion he got from hitting his head while falling from that tree.
"Wow, it's not as dark as I thought it would be. At least now we have an idea of who destroyed the facilities," Linda said, crossing her legs and smiling at him.
"Yeah. But quick question. As far as I know, there are only four main races in this world. Mermaids weren't included in what I learned," Ellowen said, looking confused.
"Well, the four you're thinking of were the first to appear in our world. They're the ones who mostly populated it," she said, grabbing a pillow and setting it on her lap as she got comfortable.
"The ones not part of the four races are called irregular races. I don't know how many there are, but I know mermaids are one of them."
Ellowen listened carefully.
"Then what are mermaid abilities—other than controlling water and ice? Any special transformations I should know about?" he asked.
Linda shrugged.
"I don't know. Haven't seen any mermaids in years. My mom was teaching me, but then she died." She stretched and looked around the beautifully decorated room before glancing back at him.
"The only special transformation I can think of is the whole tail-and-water-everywhere thing," Linda said, recalling how her mother transformed when they were trying to escape.
Ellowen's tail twitched as he gave her a confused look.
"Don't look at me like that—I don't know how else to explain it, okay?" Linda pouted.
Ellowen sighed, stood up, and stretched. Looking down at himself and at Linda, he said, "We're so damn dirty right now. I'm gonna take a shower first. You can go second."
"What? That's not very gentlemanly. Isn't it supposed to be ladies first?" Linda asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ellowen just waved her off as he walked into the bathroom.
Linda laughed softly, then went out onto the balcony. The city was bright, music echoing from every corner. People danced in the streets beneath the starry sky.
"HEY, ELLOWEN, DO YOU WANT TO GO OUT LATER AND EXPLORE THE CITY FOR A BIT?!" Linda shouted from the balcony.
The sound of running water and steam filled the room.
"SURE!!" Ellowen shouted back from the bathroom.
Linda hopped with joy, already thinking that Zyphira might come along too.
"THEN HURRY UP ALREADY!!!" Linda shouted again, laughing softly as excitement bubbled inside her at the thought of exploring the city.