Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 193: Reunion

Chapter 193: Reunion

The sudden appearance of bright flames shocked every single person standing in front of the forest. The tall wall of blue fire seemed both frightening and mesmerizing but what shocked the onlookers the most was how quickly and relentlessly it moved forward as if it were controlled by an invisible force.

Tillian stood frozen together with his knights and even though he was utterly confused, something strangely familiar could be seen in the blye flames mercilessly eating the dead trees of the forest.

"What is happening?" Stanis raised his eyebrows in shock, the rest of the knights followed his example. Although the initial impact of such a disaster rendered them all motionless, a sudden surge of panic caught up to them in no time.

Turning his horse towards the duke, Sir Nygard shouted, "Your Grace! We must leave immediately! The flames might get to us pretty soon!"

Unfortunately, Tillian seemed to have become completely deaf to his or anybody else’s urges.

Rooted deeply to the snowy ground, his red eyes were locked onto the soaring flames, their inviting cold glow was almost hypnotizing.

’Can this be..? But how?’

At last, as if to confirm his suspicions, the bright blue fire began to slowly part in the middle as if two giant invisible hands were spreading it open like heavy curtains. Then, to flare everybody’s shock, two figures appeared, born from the fire.

"Aideen?"

Duke Valentine’s eyes were not deceiving him. Indeed, it was his wife who emerged from within the raging forest fire, and to his fascination, she was not alone.

Draped in a long black cloak, the woman was walking confidently through the dying flames that still danced on the grave of what was formerly a shelter to the formidable beasts. Resolute and empowered, she marched forward, accompanied by the wicked runaway mage, and holding a small blue-colored creature in her embrace.

At first glance, Aideen looked exactly the same as she always did, however, there was still one drastic change about her––she exuded confidence; she carried herself with a prominent hint of pride and dignity about her each step.

She looked as if she were reborn. Reborn from fire.

Every knight, including Stanis, was stunned by the appearance of their lady. But what amazed them even more was the little creature cradled in her hands––it was the first real dragon each of them had ever seen, and it was truly incredible.

"This is Lady Valentine! My eyes cannot be deceiving me, right?"

"It must be her! And the magus! And..."

"Dragon! It must be it!"

The frantic shouts of his knights jolted Tillian back to reality. His men were right; it was Lady Valentine, she was alive, and she was right before him. He wouldn’t be scared of burning to death if it meant he could hold her one more time.

Fueled by that passionate thought, the duke jumped off his horse and ran towards his wife, his legs as fast as those of a magic beast.

He ran towards her, ignoring any danger that surrounded him. He ran towards her ignoring his own growing fatigue. He ran towards her because it was her. She was there. She was back.

And before any kind of sense could reason with his delirious mind, Tillian found himself hugging his wife.

"I found you... I finally found you..."

His broken whisper was buried inside the dark red curls of Aideen’s fluttering hair. Like a broken record, he repeated the same words over and over as if afraid that if he stopped, all of that would turn into a dream; into something unreal, something he only imagined.

The blue baby dragon that left Aideen’s arms the moment Duke Valentine approached, was flapping his wings frantically around the reunited couple, his big eyes widened as he couldn’t understand who was the man embracing his new master.

Attentive to Taru’s distress, Ahspid gestured for the dragon to get away from the princess and caught him by his pointy tail, ensuring that the creature would not interfere with such an emotional moment.

Aideen, startled at first, wrapped her trembling arms around her husband’s powerful torso and closed her eyes, burying her face into the cold and stiff fabric of his black cloak. She, just like him, needed a moment to simply be there in his presence; to simply be sure that her eyes were not deceiving her either.

At last, she brushed her pale hand over Tillian’s soft hair and lightly pushed him away, struggling to fight his resisting arms. Still reluctant, the man finally loosened his grasp and locked his dim red eyes on hers.

"Aideen, I––"

"Shh."

The princess placed her index finger over the duke’s lips and offered him a subtle smile.

As if falling under another one of his wife’s spells, Duke Valentine obeyed her silent command and remained silent and still. His eyes continued to run over her porcelain face looking for traces of illness or harm while Aideen seemed to be doing the same.

In her case, however, she was trying to get her memories back. The memories of the man she fell in love with, even before she knew what he looked like. The memories of the man who was once painted in her mind with the careless brushstrokes of her magic.

With her bright eyes wide open, Aideen placed her cold hands on her husband’s face and started softly tracing his handsome features, just like she did when they both had to spend the night in the royal palace.

Unlike her touch or the outline of her mana, at this very moment, she could clearly see everything. The rye-colored softness of his hair. The intense tint of his red eyes. The careful shape of his thick eyebrows. The subtle pink undertone of his skin. The trembling tenderness of his lips... Tillian was beautiful.

But it wasn’t only his features that made him that way. What made him look so mesmerizing was the way he looked at Aideen. And she knew right away that even if the only thing she could see was the way Tillian looked at her, she would have had no choice but to fall in love with him over and over again.

"You are incredible, Tillian," finally, the princess was able to utter what was cradled in her heart. The duke’s eyes widened as the shocking realization dawned on him. Sliding his thumbs carefully under the woman’s shining eyes, he parted his lips and asked in a trembling voice, "You... Can you see me now? Can you really see me now?"

Aideen only nodded and smiled, "I can. I can see everything now."

Tillian was overcome with happiness. The relentless surge of emotion within him left him speechless and all he could do was embrace the princess back in his powerful arms, offering her the loud drumming of his heart as proof of his never-dying feelings.

Aideen understood it all. Reciprocating his affectionate hug, she pressed her lips against his neck and whispered, "I’m tired. Let’s go back. Let’s go home."