Age of Kings 1066

POV Rio

It was approaching the winter of 1059, and I was gathering supplies from the forest at the request of Mom. Ralts was with me, and we were chatting about who would win in a snowball fight. I was making valid arguments.

"I would win because I know how to create the optimal snowball."

"Please, as if that matters. I can stand the cold for far longer than you. And with my Psychic Control, I can launch numerous snowballs at once," Ralts said while rolling her eyes.

I raised my finger but then thought for a moment and had to admit that she had a point. Her Psychic Abilities were no joke, and I was on the receiving end a few times. 

'Stupid, Psychics and their cheats. They have too much physical strength, you can't outmaneuver them.'

I made sure my thoughts weren't concealed to see if she was being a jerk again.

"Hey! I am not cheating! I am just the superior lifeform!" Ralts puffs her chest in pride. Or rather, the washboard she calls a chest.

"Hmm, I don't recall saying anything."

She freezes, then starts to stammer.

"Uh, I-I-I don't know what you mean? Y-you clearly said it out loud just now."

"Sounds like someone has been peeking into others' minds. I wonder what Hatterene would say."

She immediately gets into a Dogeza.

"I'M SORRY! PLEASE DON'T TELL HER!" Ralts screamed.

"Hmm, I don't know. You said you wouldn't peek into my mind. How can I take anything of your word seriously if you don't even keep that word?"

She just keeps bowing, and when that doesn't work, she grabs my leg and refuses to let go.

"PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! I will do anything, just don't tell Sister Hatterene," Ralts pleaded.

"Let go of me!"

I try to get away, but I just fall over, and she keeps crawling towards me. But she does it in a really creepy way.

"No, stay away, you creep!"

"Just forgive me, please!" Ralts begged.

"HELP GUARDS I'M BEING ATTACKED!"

"What guards are you talking about?"

3rd Person POV

"Stop right there, criminal scum! Nobody breaks the law on my watch! I'm confiscating your stolen goods. Now pay your fine or it's off to jail."

A guard in Imperial armor appears out of nowhere and starts yelling at Ralts. This shocks her so much that she lets go, so I start to sneak away.

"Wait? What? Who are you?" Ralts cries in confusion.

"So, resisting arrest, are you? Then pay with your blood!" 

The guard then backs off and draws his silver sword. He starts swinging wildly but never hits Ralts.

"I've fought mudcrabs more fearsome than you!" He shouts at a far too loud voice, given that they were only a few feet from each other.

"Mudcrab? You can't even hit me, how can I be weaker than a Mudcrab? What even is a Mudcrab?"

"This is the part where you fall down and bleed to death!"

Despite all the threats, he still didn't hit Ralts once. This confused Ralts, so she tried to hit the guard. But he managed to dodge easily. 

"Why... won't... you... DIE!?!"

"Wait a minute? Where's Rio?"

She looked around, but Rio was gone. Then she caught on to what was happening.

"You dare oppose the might of the Imperial Legion?!"

That was the final straw, and she decided to be done with this. She created a flash of sparkles that spread all over, and when it hit the guard, the guard vanished. Once it was gone, Ralts just stood there for a moment. Then she screamed so loud that the nearby birds flew away in a panic.

"RIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

POV Rio

I hear the distant screams of Ralts and chuckle to myself. I was beyond exhausted. Using such a realistic illusion was not easy and drained a lot of my mana.

"Worth it."

I continue gathering the supplies Mom wanted me to grab. It was mostly herbs and a few natural spices. But something felt off about the request.

"She's been odd lately. At first, I figured it could be my birthday, but that has passed. Then maybe her period, but that doesn't explain it."

I was no expert on female behaviour, let alone human behavior, but I had extensive medical knowledge, and my knowledge and instincts were telling me something was wrong. I was so distracted that I didn't notice Ralts catching up with me. Or the fact that she had a face of rage, but that fell away right away for a face of concern.

"What's wrong, Rio?" 

"Huh, oh, I am not sure. It might be nothing."

"Well, I can listen if you want," Ralts said with a reassuring smile.

"Sigh. It's just that my Mom has been acting strange for a while now. Several months and I can't figure out why."

"How is she acting strange?" Ralts inquired.

"She's been avoiding me or sending me on random tasks. Sending me off to play with you. I love playing with you, but it's just odd that she seems to be acting this way. Then, when we are together, she rarely embraces me. She will avoid skin contact. Then there was that long trip she went on and refuses to explain why she left. It's been worrying me a lot, and I am not sure what to do."

Ralts stops walking, and I follow suit. I look at her, and she has a frown as well.

"You're right, that is weird. I may not know her as well as you, but I just now realize that she has been off lately. She also met with Hatterene a few weeks ago, and I was sent to go find you instead of being allowed to stay home," Ralts said.

"So it isn't just me. I am both relieved and worried that is the case."

"We should go ask your Mom. She should explain something," Ralts suggested.

"I guess that's better than nothing."

We gather the last supplies and then head back to my house. Once we arrive, I sense something off. I could smell my Mom, but she was on the floor. I opened the door and I saw my Mom collapsed on the floor.

"MOM!"

I run to her and check her pulse. I sigh when I notice she is still alive. Then I go through the rest of my medical checks, and by the end, my Mom wakes up. What I found worried me. She was burning up. I couldn't say for certain, but I knew she had a fever at least, if not a possibly moderate grade fever. I go to cast some spells, but my Mom stops me.

"No, don't use magic," She begs.

"Why not? Magic can help bring down your fever."

"I know why I am sick. It is a curse, and I got it from healing your father. I can't risk you being cursed as well. So no magic!" She demands.

"How long have you known about this?!"

She looks away and responds.

"Since before you were born. I will explain everything." 

"That's the least you can do. Now." I look to Ralts. "Help me get her into bed."

Ralts nods, and together we pick her up and place her in bed. Once she is settled, I send Ralts to boil some water and wet a rag. I pull out some herbs and start mixing them to make something that will bring her fever down, since this was a curse and not a virus. That was the best call. As I was doing this, I looked at my Mom and demanded answers.

"Now explain."

"It all started when I first met your father. He had appeared in our front yard severely injured. He warned me of the Curse, so I tried to treat him, and then I would deal with the Curse," She recounted.

"Where did my father come from?"

"He said he was from a far-off empire where creatures like him were treated as great spirits. But the temple he lived in was attacked by a cult of humans looking to harness him for a ritual. He fought them at first, but they were using cursed weapons, and so he fled. He fled to a temple where a Teleportation Ritual was set up, but the attackers followed him and damaged the ritual. It ended up sending him here, but not without first throwing him around. He ended just outside here under the old oak tree."

"What was my father?"

"He called himself a Kitsune. A great Fox Spirit. He didn't trust me at first, but he was too injured to stop me. As I was starting to heal him, the Curse reacted violently. I foolishly thought that there was no curse I couldn't deal with. I was wrong. The curse was at least Demi-God Level if not perhaps higher. The Curse spread to me, and I couldn't remove it," She said with a saddened smile.

"But I managed to save his life. But obviously at a cost, and I only managed to save his life for the time. The Curse was powerful, and I couldn't remove it, so it would slowly spread. After saving his life, he chose to stay. He even told me his name. It was Akiro. He felt terrible that the Curse had spread to me and vowed to help me remove it. We went on a journey to find a solution. With my Restoration Magic, I could delay the Curse. But then one thing led to another, and I was pregnant," She spoke with a distant look.

"It was a shock to us both. We didn't think that we could produce anything. He was very different from a human, and I am not a full human. But once we found out, we came back here. I didn't want to, but Akiro insisted. We were both terrified that the curse would spread to you, but thankfully it didn't. Haha, Akiro was a nervous wreck when I was giving birth. But when he saw you, all of it melted away. He gave you a few licks and then something changed. He started to record everything he knew in a series of books and scrolls. He said that he wanted to leave a legacy for his son," She continued, but this time with a slightly happier smile. But that faded soon.

"But... Then, once he was done, he decided to go on one last search. He knew he wouldn't live much longer, and taking you with us would be too dangerous. But he believed that even if it was slim that he had to try and find a cure for me. He came back, but he didn't find anything, and a few days later, he passed. You weren't even half a year old. Hatterene helped me creamate him as he asked," She said with tears in her eyes.

"I tried to find a cure. I really did. I never wanted it to come to this. But I couldn't find anything. I searched everywhere. Even prayed to the gods for help, but to no avail. I even attempted to reach Demi-God Level in Restoration, but I failed. I have been using my magic to delay the Curse, but I couldn't take it anymore and collapsed again today," She tells me with tears freely flowing down her face.

"Again? This has happened before?"

"Yes, just before my last trip, I collapsed. I knew then that I needed to try one last trip. I went to Mount Olympus to ask for help, but the gods were silent. So I came back and tried to hide it from you. I have had a fever for a couple of months now, and my blood is turning black. I am sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I truly thought I could find a solution. Please forgive me," She pleaded.

"Sigh. I was never mad at you. I was just scared that I was going to lose my Mom. I only wish I could help, but I know that... that... I am powerless to help."

I was trying to stop myself from crying as I wanted to be strong for her. She hugged me, and I just held her for a time. Once we separated, I decided to let Ralts in the room. I knew she had been listening for a while now, and I need some air.

"Ralts, please look after Mom, I need to get some air."

"Sure thing, just come back before dark, please," Ralts said with worry in her eyes.

I nodded and left the house. I had no specific place in mind, I just wanted to wander a bit.

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Authors Note:

A bit of a lighthearted start, but I figured it needed something light to ease you into the heavy ending. I hinted at this in earlier chapters. We are almost done with the child arc. Just 3, maybe 4 chapters to go. Until next time, Ciao.