Everyone from inside the inn watched the fight from the window. When the Prince of Love had first joined the uneven battle, they couldn't help but cheer and yell in joy. But now, there was a depressing aura filled the room.
The innkeeper and several customers all wondered the same thing: what was going to happen now?
The fight had only been going on for twenty minutes, yet the fate of this kingdom was currently several hundred feet in the sky.
Elodie held the prince's throat tight, dangling him in the air. Despite her dainty arm, she held onto him with a firm grip, supporting his entire weight.
The prince reached to grab her arm, but Elodie scowled.
"Don't." She commanded. He listened, dropping his arm with a scowl. "James. It has been so long since we last met... but your fighting skills have only declined."
"Wh-What? You vixen... release me!"
"Such childish tricks... Have you been too busy warming the bed[1] to work on your martial skills? Hmm?"
Elodie spat insult after insult, staring at him with a blank face.
Even the soldiers shivered—who wouldn't be scared of such a bold girl?
"Elodie... what demonic powers have you used to revive yourself, huh?" Prince James croaked out.
Elodie's eyes widened as if remembering something. She pulled the prince closer to her face, whispering into his ear. But from the angle of the people inside the inn and the crowd of soldiers, it looked as if she had kissed him! The audience in the inn was growing more and more perplexed with the sight in front of them.
"Speaking of..." Elodie spoke below the volume of the howling wind. "Who else has your bastard of a family offended? I wish to know who brought me here."
"Brought you here??" The prince coughed. He was still being suspended in the air by his neck. "You were resurrected?"
However, for a split moment, when James met her eyes, he forgot who he was supposed to be against in this battle. Elodie's features were too angelic for him not to be affected, especially after seeing her up close.
A tiny, long-forgotten part of his feelings began to thump in his chest. The longer he stared at Elodie, the more he was reminded of them. Before the Great War and seven years ago. After all, the royal children, himself included, used to be quite close to the girl. Was it so strange that such feelings returned?
Elodie only hummed casually, not noticing the change in her opponent's demeanor.
"It seems so... I was brought back for a reason, no?" She looked up at him. "Well? If you aren't going to help me, I can drop you."
The prince was snapped out of his trance, hearing the harsh words. But his brain was already scattered from being so close to her after so long. He smiled enigmatically.
"Elodie. You can still come back with me to the castle. If you surrender yourself... I can make your life easy."
Elodie's face darkened instantly. Her aura returned to its icy coldness. "Excuse me?"
Thunder cracked in the sky. But Prince James must've been too muddled to notice and stop talking.
"Elodie, if you are my woman... you'd live an honorable life. Have my children, and then-"
Elodie didn't let him get another word out; she flung him high into the air above.
The hearts of everyone watching sank into their guts.
"Are you alright in the head?! How dare you!!" Her expression was so cold, and her long black hair was blown back from the intensity of the wind.
Many soldiers were scared to even breathe. What did the prince say to upset her so much?
Elodie, however, didn't need to think anything else through, and she wouldn't feel bad taking his life. The Prince of Love was responsible for locking her away for so many years. He was one of the people she planned on getting revenge on.
"Killing you now is simply what you deserve. A lustful prince such as yourself doesn't belong in this world." Her words cut through the wind. Horrifying the hearts of onlookers.
Elodie extended a hand back. Like a magnet, one of the dozen swords she had thrown at the assassins returned to her hand. An electric green glow surrounded it.
Seeing this, the soldiers screamed, mortified. "Your Highness!"
Elodie redirected her glare to them, pointing the sword as her eyes flickered green. "Another word and all of you will join him in a coffin!"
Thunder crackled in the sky. They all shut up immediately.
Elodie's eyes were dark, and her brows were furrowed. Everyone watching knew this would be the end unless, somehow, the Evil Witch was calmed. After all, physically stopping her didn't seem possible!
"Elodie!" A familiar voice rang loud above the wind; it caused the Evil Witch to look over to the source. The cracking of thunder came to an abrupt halt. Even the wind softened.
On a horse came a man dressed in a dark blue tailcoat similar to the suit he'd worn for the ball the night prior.
"Get back! It is too dangerous for you to be here!" Soldiers quickly warned him.
Instead, the man in blue leaped off his horse, running closer. From the sky, Elodie could only make out his dark hair and his blue top, yet she instantly recognized the person.
"Adam... why is he here...?" Elodie wondered, raising her brow. Her grip on the sword in her hand had momentarily softened. The green glow of death-inducing magic had come to a stop.
The people inside the inn watched closely. It seems whoever this man was,
He was able to calm the Evil Witch!
They all relaxed before realizing the prince was still in midair. Fear quickly returned.
"Elodie! The prince!" The gentleman, Adam, yelled. However, Elodie remained unmoving. Adam gritted his teeth. "What is it you want? You'll have it, alright? Just don't let him die!!"
She seemed to make a small reaction but still didn't move.
The soldiers watched in shock. Was this man currying for her favor? What was he thinking?
"You will only be killed if you continue!" A soldier yelled at Adam. The others started to agree.
Adam ignored them, still staring at Elodie, whose eyes never left him despite the royal man who was falling all too fast to the ground to survive it.
Time was almost up, and Adam didn't know what to do. It was in this grave moment that he remembered the last expression he had seen on Elodie's face before she teleported him to his house. It reminded Adam of a key characteristic of the witch, who was currently several thousand feet in the air. Her haughty and charismatic personality. Shouldn't he try to appeal to that side of her first?
Blocking his mouth with his hands, he whispered just enough for Elodie to make out his words. However, the soldiers surrounding the inn were too panicked on saving Prince James to focus on what he could've possibly been saying.
"I will allow you to stay with me," Adam whispered through the wind. He could only hope Elodie would've heard him. "Don't let the prince die!"
Adam didn't know why he would suggest such a thing, but something told him that she would be willing to negotiate like this. 'This is for the sake of the prince.' Adam quickly found a way to justify his doing.
Elodie was no longer in the sky by the time Adam's eyes blinked. Everyone grew confused until she returned like a blur, holding the Prince of Love in her arms.
Soldiers and customers of the inn watched, holding their breath as her feet touched the ground. The soldiers were too scared to try and pick their swords, and the customers of the inn were too scared to speak.
It was complete silence. Only once she dropped the prince, who had fallen unconscious seconds after being thrown into the sky, in a soldier's arms did they realize what was happening.
"G-Grab her!" The general roared. It only took one glare to shut the general up. Silence returned once again.
"I'll take my leave here. Such a big scene you all caused. Goodbye." Elodie said casually.
Adam sighed, feeling his knees go weak from how much anxiety he had. Yet, walking back to his horse, Elodie followed closely behind him.
"Let's leave. Quickly." Adam spoke casually to the Evil Witch, who took his hand as he helped her onto his horse. He sat behind her while holding the reins.
Everyone watching couldn't believe their eyes. What... what was happening? By the time their senses were fully recovered, the gentleman and Elodie had already left.
"Who was that man?!?" A general quickly turned to the plentiful soldiers, who looked between one another, unsure.
Of course, none of them had bothered to get a good look at the gentleman Elodie had fled with. Far too focused on the prince's near descent to death. If they had, they surely would've recognized Adam, commanding general of reserved army forces, son of the great General Adamandi.
But before anything could be figured out, they heard another horse heading to the inn. It pulled a gold and white chariot.
Not even five minutes had passed since Elodie's escape. Princess Isabella and the King of Solaria exited the chariot, scanning the crowd expectantly.
"Your majesty!!" All the soldiers bowed, seeing the king. He only looked around with cold blue eyes.
"Where is she?" He questioned.
They all cowered in fear, bowing deeper but not answering. The king clenched his fists. His anger was recognized by all the soldiers. They shivered harder.
"You lost to her? One girl, and you all lost?" None of the soldiers responded, causing his mood to worsen. "Impudent!"
The two assassins came forward.
"Your majesty." They spoke in synch. "It seems that she has only gotten stronger since her time away. We failed to complete your mission."
The king drew his sword, pointing it at their heads. "Do you know what happens to people that fail me?" He asked.
The assassins felt their bodies shake violently, bracing themselves.
They didn't have to for long, the sword piercing their napes and following through. Blood spilled messily, but no one dared flinch. The bottom of the King's white satin robes were stained with little specs of red. He scowled and threw the entire robe to the floor.
"Get this mess cleaned. Report back to the castle after." The king put his bloody sword away.
The soldiers quickly saluted his retreating footsteps.
The princess stared at them in silence, clenching her fists and grinding her teeth down. "Elodie.... Don't think you can escape me for a second time."
With that, they left the inn, along with the carcasses of the assassins on the floor.
[1] (A/N: warming the bed means to sleep around with many different people.)