Chapter 13: More like a wildcat prince or a wildcat? Only these two choices…
Herbal medicine is a wonderful art, Sanova once said.
For example, to make a love potion, you need rosemary, dried rose petals, hibiscus, vanilla, the moonlight of a full moon, and different spells for different lovers. You also need water elemental magic to ensure the purity of love.
Ashlyn is a big fan of this art, and when Sanova is busy, she becomes his assistant, preparing herbs for guests. The process of crushing herbs, stirring petals, and cutting tubers is soothing and stress-relieving.
At least, that's true in the short term.
But does she really want to spend her whole life as the apprentice and assistant of the Kingdom Herbalist, and then inherit the position and become the River Bend Herbalist Witch?
It seems like a pretty good life.
Ashlin put down the medicine bottle; her arm ached terribly. Raven ticked off another order, gold coins were credited to her account, but there were endless new orders; she could never finish them all.
She didn't see Lucas and Zach; they had their own paths to follow.
“Herbal medicine,” the next guest said.
Ashlin stared straight at its blank face.
“You win,” she said confidently. “You want to scare me? I’ll tell you right now, I’m terrified, terrified, and all I want to do is run away.”
It's true. The thought of her life possibly being like this made her weak all over, broke out in a cold sweat, felt a tightness in her chest, and her calves trembled uncontrollably.
But it was this fear, this feeling, that made her realize who she was and where she was.
She sensed the location, the texture, and the form of fear, but she was not that fear. She simply recognized its existence.
Dragon Crystal instills fear, and lets fear guide its direction.
This is the only way to find a way out.
Lucas was wrong. You can neither pretend the fear isn't there, nor overanalyze and try to stay calm.
That played right into the hands of the Dragonfire Black Magic.
Besides, how can someone pretend that a certain feeling doesn't exist?
The guest asked, "What are you afraid of?"
“I’m afraid of a repetitive and boring life, where every day is a copy of the previous one. I’m afraid… I don’t know what I want to do.”
The guest's blank mask twisted.
It removed its mask, revealing Lucas's face.
Then, his clothes changed to the peacock blue cloak that Ashlin had worn to impersonate him.
prince.
He was elegant in demeanor, and his face showed a coolness that Lucas had never shown before.
“You wanted too much, Ashlyn Bailey. And fate just happened to grant you that, letting you escape a monotonous life,” said the fake Lucas. “I’m here just to give you a warning.”
"Warning?" Ashlin grabbed her hair.
“Your greatest enemy already knows what the four items needed to break the curse are,” he said. “He will complete the spell before you do.”
"And your prince, soon he too will be like that mouse, completely turning into a cat. In the end, he will lose all his human sanity."
Ashlin's heart sank; she couldn't tell if it was fear or something else entirely.
"Who are you? Isn't this Dragon Crystal's magical illusion? Are you trying to explain my fear?"
“It is indeed your fear, but it is also the future I see,” the fake Lucas’s eyes were no longer blue, but pure green. “Mortals call me Sylvina, and the only reason I help you is because you possess my magic.”
"Goodbye, Ashlyn Bailey. Be sure to act faster than your enemies. Remember: the greatest essence of the forest is purity, and your will has ultimately and has affected everything; and the story ends where it began."
The fake Lucas transformed into a cat and escaped like a shadow.
Ashlinn then realized that this was also a clue. She chased after the black cat, pushed aside the guests, and ran as fast as she could.
The guests tried to stop them, but were blocked by the grapevines that had sprung up from the ground.
Finally, she arrived at the Foxtail River. The river shimmered, and a few cat hairs floated on its surface.
Ashlin took a deep breath and jumped.
The icy river water rushed into her ears and her nostrils. All around was pitch black, like an endless abyss. She would suffocate.
Then she took deep breaths of fresh air.
The air was dry, and she wasn't wet at all. The dragon crystal was gone. She stood outside the cave; to the north was a long flight of stairs leading to the old camp of the dragon warriors.
She laughed heartily, relieved.
"Lucas! Zach!"
No one responded, which was really disappointing.
Ashlin's good mood began to fade, turning into worry. She had no choice but to turn back and re-enter the cave.
This time, she knew her course.
The cave changed again, and Ashlin found herself back in Dragontooth Village. People were pushing and shoving, stones were flying, and one of them hit someone.
It was a boy about the same age as Ashlin and Lucas, with gray-brown hair and a strong body. He didn't fight back, he just kept crying and shouting.
“I was forced!” he cried. “I am not a traitor… absolutely not! I am a knight of Dias!”
It's Zach.
“You have revealed the kingdom’s secrets to the followers of the Dark Witch,” a villager said. “You are not worthy to be a knight. No, you are not even worthy to live in this village!”
“You’re not my brother,” Lucy cried. “You’re just a big rat that’s always stealing food!”
Ashlin squeezed through the crowd.
"Stop denying it, Zack. You need to face your fears. Tell me, what are you most afraid of?"
“I…I…” Zach stammered, “I’m afraid of being scorned by my family, afraid they’ll think I’m a good-for-nothing, a stupid traitor.”
People stopped throwing stones at him, stared at him blankly, and made way for him.
“Great!” Ashlin said. “Just follow that road, and you’ll be out soon. Don’t worry about me.”
Where are you going?
"I'm going to find Lucas!"
Zack's world gradually faded, signifying his return to reality. Ashlin picked up another dragon crystal, silently reciting Lucas's name.
Soon, she arrived at Helian Castle.
Ashlyn had imagined she would see Lucas permanently turn into a cat, which seemed more in line with his fears.
But no.
This is the best study Ashlyn has ever seen.
The air was filled with the smells of ink, wax, and dried parchment. Inside the walnut bookcase, each row of books stood neatly aligned, their leather covers adorned with gold lettering, gleaming with the light of an bygone era.
The curtains were drawn, but Ashlin couldn't see any scenery. The sunlight, though filtering through, seemed to come from another world.
In one corner of the study stands a heavy, dark red sandalwood table.
Lucas de Vere had his head down, his dark, shoulder-length, curly hair hanging down naturally, almost obscuring his eyes. Despite the abundance of sunlight in the room, not a single ray touched him.
Before him lay a thick, massive book, and the quill pen in his hand spun so fast it seemed to take flight.
This is Lucas's greatest fear: studying in the study?
Ashley couldn't understand it; Lucas clearly loved reading and studying.
“Lucas?” Ashlin asked tentatively.
The prince ignored her, remaining engrossed in his book, tucking the hair that was obscuring his eyes behind his ear. Ashlyn noticed that this seemed to be a habitual gesture he made when he was anxious or deep in thought.
Ashlin stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Your Highness, it's me."
Lucas looked up, revealing a pair of bewildered blue eyes.
"You're inside the Dragon Crystal right now, you know that, right?"
“Of course, I’m working on that.” Lucas frowned, then relaxed, as if he understood something. “Are you one of my fears too?”
"What? No, I'm here to get you out of here. Listen, the only way out is to accept your fear."
At that moment, the door opened. Nicholas II strode toward them, seemingly unaware of Ashrine.
Lucas visibly tensed up, scrambling to his feet in a manner completely unlike how Ashlin usually saw him.
"Father."
“You fell far behind Elaine in last week’s swordsmanship assessment,” the king said coldly, holding a sheet of paper that looked like a table. “The same goes for horseback riding, archery, politics, and history…”
Lucas lowered his head.
“Acknowledge your fear, Lucas,” Ashlin said. “Look him in the eye!”
“I thought you were more like me,” the king said. “But I was wrong, terribly wrong. Elaine is the true heir to the throne. She is intelligent, brave, and has the blood of the Deville family flowing through her veins. She can win over the nobles and fight alongside the warriors.”
Before he could finish speaking, several more people appeared behind the king. Ashlin only recognized Princess Elaine at the front, who looked at Lucas with a mocking expression. Beside her was Queen Gracia, who looked dejected.
The rest were probably other lords, nobles, and ministers, all dressed in magnificent clothes and with haughty expressions.
"And you?"
Nicholas II looked at Lucas with the utmost contempt.
Ashlin was startled. Uncle?
Then she vaguely remembered that the Deville family did indeed have a young duke named Langrit. But people had long since stopped talking about him. More than twenty years ago, the duke died of illness. When Lucas first fell ill, people occasionally talked about it, saying that the illness was probably hereditary in the Deville family.
But was that Nicholas's reason for criticizing them? Ashlin felt a little angry; they hadn't chosen to be sick.
“You have disappointed me,” Queen Gracia said. “You are more like a wildcat than a prince of Helian…”
The nobles burst into laughter, their laughter so shrill it seemed to shatter their eardrums.
"wildcat!"
"If you're not a prince, then who are you?"
Lucas covered his ears.
Ashlin stared in disbelief, still reeling from the shock, when the study began to shake. The windows closed by themselves, sealed shut with chains; the door slammed shut as well, and a massive iron gate appeared in front of it.
The study has been turned into a prison.
Lucas was pale and breathing rapidly. A chain had somehow appeared on his hands, which he couldn't break free of. The chain was extremely long, stretching into the shadows.
"What...what is this...?"
The nobles gradually disappeared, but the ground continued to tremble, as if an earthquake had struck.
What are you afraid of?
"What?"
"Answer me now!"
“This isn’t real.” Lucas swallowed hard. “This is black magic. I shouldn’t be seeing this.”
“Perhaps you should see this,” a new voice said.
Either Ashlin is seeing things, or there's another Lucas by Lucas's side.
This Lucas looked even crazier, with messy hair and deep dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept for ten days.
"Who are you?"
Lucas tried to retreat, but was bound by chains.
“I am you,” Mad Lucas grinned, “the part of yourself you fear most, the part that is out of control.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a plume of black smoke rose from beneath his feet, like the smog left after a dragon's fire had burned out. Ashlin coughed repeatedly, choking on the smoke, and couldn't see anything.
Suddenly, two blood-red eyes opened from the darkness.
Lucas collapsed to the ground, motionless.
With a low growl, a giant black feline emerged from the black smoke, its mouth slightly open, revealing sharp fangs.
“You’re not real,” Lucas said weakly. “You can’t be… me.”
"On the contrary. I am the real you."
Just as the big black cat was about to open its blood-red maw and swallow Lucas whole, a huge crack suddenly appeared in the floor, and the two of them screamed and fell through.
They fell into... a ritual.
It's not just any random ceremony.
The stained-glass windows of the church filtered the sunlight, making it appear hazy. Lucas stood beside Nicholas II, wearing a lake-blue velvet cloak.
Opposite him stood a beautiful girl in a dark red dress. Behind them was the archbishop.
But to Ashlin's horror, she couldn't make out the girl's face no matter what she did; she only felt that the girl was beautiful. If she hadn't seen Lucas's face so clearly, she would have doubted her own eyesight.
"With the sun goddess Heliana and all the witnesses, Lucas de Vere, do you vow to take this woman before you as your lawful wife?"
Even the bishop couldn't utter the girl's name. The girl wasn't real; she was merely Lucas's abstract fear.
Lucas's face was downcast, his whole body tense.
"I……"
Lucas glanced at Ashlin, who seemed to have finally come to her senses. Then, he looked at the woman in front of him, whose face was blurred.
“I can’t promise anything, miss. I’m sorry, I can’t marry you… I’m afraid… afraid of a life I can’t control.”
The church dome collapsed with a roar, revealing the clear blue sky.
They finally reached the outside of the cave.
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