The king's eyes

Few hours sooner

Samael

It is very early.

I just woke up completely confused...

I know something happened to me... I can’t find what.

Consciousness and sleep mingle. I had moments when I mastered my conscience and others when I lost myself in sleep, my subconscious then takes over, but totally free without me understanding what is happening...

I have to take a trip into my subconscious to find what came to me.

I saw the moon, it was more present, the crescent was bigger, and Iris was closer and more vivid. I know I haven’t seen her, but I sense that she wanted to contact me.

I can’t reach in my subconscious what she transmitted to me... I have to undergo, a kind of hypnosis?

Who could help me? A wizard? I find it hard to trust them. Opponents are hidden everywhere.

A strong and well-experienced magical being…

Clarissa.

She is the mother of the fairies who are in the forest to the north, she had given me the elixir to defeat Shezaar. I have to get her to come, but it’s going to be difficult...

No, I have to go.

I will go there alone with my horse to go faster.

I hurry to get up so as not to waste time. I have to find the children who may still be asleep, the dawn has just appeared.

Satine is up, I take her to Joan’s room, who is still in his bed, to talk to them both.

“Kids, I have to make an expedition urgently, I have to go see the people of fairies who live an hour from here, in the forest of Euros. They will help me locate Iris.

I’ll go alone, you’ll prepare yourselves while waiting for my return, then we’ll go looking for her."

Satine: " I want to come with you, I won’t slow you down, I promise. I want to take part in this adventure, and I am ready.

She is so stubborn, I tell her "Satine, you never stop?... Aah"

I rub my face, what a headstrong one...

I give in: "Fine... We’re leaving in ten minutes, get your horse ready.

Joan, you’ll stay and organize our convoy. We will need one of the supplies, Nana will help you."

"Okay, we’ll take care of it. Go ahead, when you come back we will leave immediately." He said.

Satine and I set off to find the fairy people of the Euros forest.

Satine is doing well, she has been an excellent horse rider since she was young. Her appetite for adventure and her courage impress me.

She is very determined to act, travel, to work with everything she has. She has everything of a queen. Her bright blue eyes are striking, her black mane reminds me of my genes, darkness…

I am very proud of my daughter, a true warrior.

The path is not always easy to travel, we cross small rivers, wild woods, and muddy terrain. The rain complicates our task.

We are coming to the end of the race.

The forest of Euros is dense, and luxuriant. The rays of the sun warm the rain-soaked trees, and the smell reminds me of… Iris.

I have to find Clarissa, last time all I had to do was walk through these woods and she came to find me. I hope it will be the same because I have no idea how to get to her.

We continue to walk, I begin to feel the presence of magical beings. I stop. I know she will come to me.

“Clarissa?"

"… Hello my king." I heard clearly but I don’t see her yet...

I finally see her perched on a tree.

“Hello, Clarissa." I said, looking at her.

"Oh, Lord!! You have regained your sight! It’s fantastic!

My king, what is the object of this visit?

I’m keeping my people hidden, sorry but I’ll be the only one you can talk to at the moment." She told me.

I try: "I think you can help me, even alone. I need you to hypnotize me, to help me probe my own mind. I’m sure it’s up your alley."

"Oh?! What a strange request…" She said.

I briefly explain to her that I have to look for answers in my subconscious. And I don’t have much time.

But she wants to know the details… So I tell her about Iris, that she managed to make me accept my nature, that she was kidnapped, that I go in search of her and at the same time, fight the opponents.

"By heaven! You are a demon, Majesty!! I could not read you at the time, it is not our specialty, but I felt that you were an extraordinary human, you have that extra bit of magic... That’s what it is.

We’ll use it to find your mate." She said.

I’m not correcting Clarissa. Iris is my mate, that seems quite fair to me. I look at Satine, who might be embarrassed by this allusion… But she doesn’t seem to notice.

"Sire, you must lie down on the ground, we will have to draw on the energy of the forest. The soil is fertile, moist, sunny, and loaded with minerals. I will then place my hands on your temples. You will have the feeling of traveling in my mind, but it will be yours, I will open your subconscious, and your demonic part will do the rest."

I do, we find a patch of sunny forest, and I lie down and dig my hands into the ground.

"Perfect. Close your eyes, concentrate on what you are looking for, on Iris, and on her calls."

I feel her hands rest on either side of my head. She captures the energy of the air around her to open my mind.

I’m in the forest, but the one where Iris found me, as a wolf.

I see the castle in the distance. Above me, the moon was still the same crescent that I remembered this morning.

I have to look further, but I can’t walk for hours in nothingness...

We are in my mind, I want to feel, and use the senses like Iris did. I focus on silence.

How did she call me?

The voice of Iris, the elvish song... I imagine her singing...

I can hear her, in the distance...

I can hear Iris distinctly, I’m sure. It’s her way of calling me, of calling our connection.

Talk to me, please tell me where you are... Tell me where I can pick you up...

I hear nothing more, but after a few minutes, something calls out to me...

The smell... it smells... The ground is dug deep, and the smell of deep earth is familiar to me... Sulfur?

A ground dug and exploited… As in a mine.

I see images, a city, and stones on the ground, why stones?

I wake up suddenly.

" So? What you saw??!!" Satine asked.

"Stones… A city… But above all, it smelled of the exploitation of the soil, like mines." I answer, puzzled.

"Dad!!! Stones for gems! The mines of diamonds, crystals, it’s Drazzel!!" She said, excited.

"Drazzel... The mines, the town with its typical houses of this region, yes, that’s it... You’re right! We have to go to Drazzel!

How do you know this city Satine?" I asked.

"I remind you that my studies are fresh in my head, I’ve never been there but I’m very well informed about the whole kingdom, it’s part of the education of royals." She answered.

"Good girl, well done."

I warmly thank Clarissa, and we leave for Amben Castle.

A little later, we set foot on the more travel-friendly ground.

I decide to tell my daughter about Iris "Clarissa mentioned Iris as my mate earlier. Do you have a problem with that? I would like things to be clear between us, and I would understand that it is embarrassing, to know your father... With another woman, then Mom..."

"Dad… it’s been 8 years. Eight years of loneliness for you, of guilt, anger, sadness… You’ve suffered enough as it is. I’m practically an adult, I can completely understand that you need the affection of a companion.

And who better placed than the one who helped you out of the shadows? She is special. You deserve to be happy. I’m happy for you, so don’t hold back on me. I may be a bit harsh at times, but never unfair." She said.

"…Okay… Thanks, honey. And you then… No lover? I snatched you from Vorah, maybe you were mad at me about that too?" I asked, teasing her.

"Haha! No, no lovers. There was a boy very attached to me, but I couldn’t see him as anything other than a friend.

I want the thunderbolt, the electric shock... Great love. I know you loved Mom but you were a bit forced at the beginning... I don’t agree with that. I want to choose who I share my life with, I want a special connection." She told me, thoughtful.

"Sometimes our duty does not allow us to choose, Satine. But I will do everything so that you can, if he is worthy of you… I hope he is prepared because I am going to be hellish." I said, Laughing.

She's laughing to, and say "No, you won’t need to be hellish, because I’ll be worse than you!"

Oh, I’m sure. There’s a demon in her, there’s no doubt about it.