1887 Lost Time (Part 1)

"How dare a mere Constable take what's mine! Dad your idea couldn't have been more stupid even if Uncle Morn suggested it." The princess threw the letter on the floor, stomping on it several times.

As the room burst into an uproar, only the General of the Army Orion Ernas smiled softy, keeping his cool.

'I'll be damned if this isn't due to one of Jirni's plans. Crossing my wife always backfires.' He thought with pride. 'She managed to get them back together, give Lith hope again, and force the Royals on standby.

'The more time passes the more desperate they'll be. At one point, Jirni will ask the Royals something outrageous and they will have to accept because now she holds the key to both Lith's help and the Council's.'

***

Blood Desert, outside Salaark's palace, at the same time.

The Banquet Hall was filled with delicacies from the Kingdom and the Desert. Plenty of sweets had been arranged in lovely presentations and many of them were among Solus' favorites.

Yet she was nowhere to be found. After taking a few bites, she had left the celebrations, looking for an isolated place.

As soon as Tista had noticed her absence from the sweets buffet, she had warned Elina and had gone searching for her missing friend.

She found Solus sitting on the shores of the lake, crying.

"Until yesterday, Lith and I taught the children how to swim here." She said after recognizing Tista from her footsteps. "We wore swimsuits, spent time together, and no one disturbed us.

"The other women wouldn't show themselves in front of him with skimpy clothes and the men would avoid me for the same reason. This was our oasis, literally."

"I'm so sorry, Solus." Tista didn't know what else to say.

"Don't be. This is supposed to be a happy day. That's why I left. I didn't want to ruin it for everyone." Solus replied.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask you. It's been a while since we have moved to the Desert again and even longer since you have gotten your body back. If you love him so much, why didn't you make your move earlier?" Tista said.

"Because it would have never worked." Solus shook her head before burying it in her own knees. "I could barely keep this form for half an hour. I couldn't leave the tower without suffering a world of hurt.

"I couldn't really be with him anywhere. I was just a temporary guest. Heck, even if we wanted children, we couldn't have them for the gods know how many years and Lith's days are numbered.

"On top of that, after Bytra told me the truth about my mother, I was too hurt to consider a relationship. All I wanted was to stop suffering.

"If I made my move then, I would have regretted it once I recovered, even if Lith said yes. Aerth is right, I'm still scared shitless of completely falling in love with someone.

"Lith is strong, but his life force dwindles and every moment we spend together I worry if it's going to be the last. Also, the more I get to experience life, the more I understand why he didn't make a move on me either.

"Compared to him, I'm childish. I don't know what I want or what I like. He is not the angry child that needs me to contain his anger anymore. Lith has become a full person whereas I'm not.

"Until I can stand as his equal, I knew that I would be more like a daughter or a sister to him than a girlfriend. Someone he needs to take care of while what he needs the most is someone he can rely on. Someone like Kamila." Solus sobbed.

"If you knew all this and you are happy for him, why are you crying so much?" Tista asked while wrapping her arms around Solus' slender shoulders.

"Because I hoped to have more time. More time to discover myself, to stabilize my body. More time to make my choice. I'm crying because I feel that it has been taken away from me." She replied.

"Well, you know Awakened and marriages." Tista tentatively said. "Also, Kamila is a human. Unless Lith Awakens her, she's not going to live as much as you do. Consider it as time you can dedicate completely to yourself."

"Wishing them unhappiness or death would only make me feel worse." Solus sniffed. "I hate waiting. I spent the last 715 years waiting. When will I finally be whole again?"

Tista had no answer to offer so she remained there in silence, keeping Solus company until the sun set and the moon rose.

***

Inside the Banquet Hall, Lith noticed Solus' absence, but he had no idea what to do.

Tista had already gone to find her and calling Aerth was likely to backfire. The Blue Phoenix cared about Solus, but his brash attitude and unkind words would only make matters worse.

"Do you want me to go talk to her?" Kamila asked as if she was reading his mind.

"Thanks, but no. As I said, time and separation are the only things that can help Solus now. I would feel like her if our positions were reversed. Our relationship is still toxic. We are too reliant on each other." Lith replied.

"Do you mind if we bid our guests goodbye and leave? I feel very tired." She said.

Between all the emotions she had gone through, standing and dancing until that moment, Kamila couldn't feel her feet anymore.

'Trion, are you sure you don't want to talk to Dad?' Lith said via the mind link while Kamila hugged Zinya and the children before Salaark returned them home. 'He is feeling great and I doubt that another occasion like this will happen anytime soon.'

'I'm sure, thanks.' Lith's older brother replied from his feather. 'Seeing me would only ruin this day for him and throw him back into the depths of despair. After how I left Mom and Dad the last time we met, I don't want to hurt them anymore.

'By the way, congratulations, my liege.'

Trion didn't feel like calling Lith little brother. There was no love between them and he felt like a parasite who clung to Lith for survival. Between that and the oath he had sworn, Trion now considered himself like a soldier.

He didn't like it one bit, but it was the result of a streak of poor choices of his own making and it still beat being a wandering soul. He sucked it up and just pretended to be still in the army, under the command of a General.

After thanking Salaark one last time, Lith informed Elina of his brother's decision and then the newlyweds went to his living quarters for the night.

"Thanks." Kamila said as she undressed. "I know that in the future we are going to spend a lot of time in the tower, but right now the idea of Solus spying on us creeps me out."

"She would never do that, but I can understand how you feel. She'll need time to get used to the new me just like you to get used to her." Lith gently held her shoulder and stopped her before too little clothing remained.