New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

By the time Astaroth and Phoenix received the food for their chaperoned picnic, the second personal guard had also returned, and Astaroth smiled at her.

"So, how does it feel to reach the Legendary grade? Do you need time to acclimatize to your new strength? I don't mind giving you a few days off," he said, smiling at her.

Phoenix nudged him, knowing what he was trying to do.

"Nice try, darling. But what do you mean, Legendary grade?"

Astaroth looked at Phoenix, confused, before he realized he hadn't told her what had happened.

"Right, I haven't told you yet… Selena is now Legendary grade, because of some lucky circumstances. That's why it took a while for me to come back. She brought me to where she had established her lair in the past, and there was an Evolution Fruit."

Phoenix's eyes went wide.

"How was there a fruit there, after all this time, and nothing consumed it?" she asked in disbelief.

"That's what took so long. The fruit was practically petrified, and we had to pull some serious power into it to make it good again. There was a bit of fighting, a lot of pain, and the birth of a new Legendary defender in Stellar Woodlands!" Astaroth chimed, glossing over the story as best he could.

Phoenix looked at him with a twitch in her eye.

"And you didn't think to keep me in the loop? Or ask for my help?" she said in between clenched teeth.

"There wasn't time. You were the first one on my mind, but there wasn't much you could have done. It was a time-sensitive issue," Astaroth defended himself.

"He's right, my queen. The moment we started reviving the fruit, all hell broke loose, and there was no time to call for help. We were lucky the king can call on allies from within at any time. Or we would have died and lost the fruit," Selena jumped in.

Phoenix looked at them both with an angry stare. But Leon popped in behind them and confirmed their story, too, making Phoenix calm down.

"Next time, try to think before you act, Astaroth. It benefits everyone if you do and leads to stupid situations when you don't," she admonished him.

He tried hugging her to make her anger subside.

"I know, love. I just wasn't expecting a quest to pop at me like that. Otherwise, I would have brought more allies and figured a safer way to ripen the fruit before undertaking that task," he said softly.

"Wait. What do you mean, safer way?" Phoenix asked him, pushing him back.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. I mean, the cave was small and filled with enemies. So it was a dangerous situation," he lied, pulling a fake grin.

Phoenix looked at him, stepped forward, and grabbed his jaw.

"Don't lie to me, Alex," she seethed, using his real name.

"Hey, you aren't supposed to call me that inside New Eden…" he mumbled through his squished lower jaw.

"What did you mean by safer way?" she asked again.

With a sigh, Astaroth gave up and told her the truth.

"Sometimes, I really wonder if you aren't stupid…" she said, hearing his tale.

"Hey!" he complained.

"Aravelle told us not too long ago that Aether was dangerous for mortals, and you go ahead and channel a Ley line directly through your mind? Are you insane? What if it had killed you? Or worse, affected your real body outside of here? Seriously, Astaroth, you need to weigh your decisions more. You are way past reckless…"

Astaroth took her admonishment in silence, realizing she was right.

Silence permeated the corridor before Selena sniffed the air.

"What's that in your baskets? It smells good. I'm starving," she said, taking the conversation away from the subject.

Phoenix locked eyes on her, and a shiver went down Selena's spine. Novel Fire - novelfire.net

'I'm a Legendary grade, and she still makes me uncomfortable…'

"We were going on a picnic, and you were to follow us. Good of you to join. But I don't think I'm hungry anymore," Phoenix growled.

"Oh! More food for me, then," Selena said jokingly.

But Phoenix's death glare made her rethink the joke.

"I'm kidding, my queen," she said, lowering her head.

*Sigh*

"We are going anyway. Maybe the cold air will change my mood. As for you two, you better change your reckless tendencies in the future. Or else…" Phoenix said.

Astaroth and Selena both started apologizing and promising they would behave as the quartet walked toward the staircase that led to the top levels of the palace.

They would have to pass through the fifth floor, where the Sentinels resided, to get to the treetop, and there was a long walk to get there.

Selena offered to grab the baskets, as her strength was much higher than anyone else's, and Phoenix happily chucked and basked at her.

It took them almost twenty minutes of stair climbing just to reach the floor, where they were greeted by Commander Alena, as well as Castien and Coral, who happened to be on their way down.

"Your Highnesses," the three of them saluted with a bow.

Phoenix smiled at them, trying to keep appearances, even though she was furious. But Alena immediately felt her bad mood.

Her head turned to Astaroth, and she said with a blaming voice, "What have you done this time, King Astaroth?"

Astaroth huffed at the question.

"Why does everyone assume I'm to blame every time the queen is angry?" he whined.

Everyone present turned to look at him with raised eyebrows and slack jaws.

Astaroth could read the silent words on their faces.

"Fine! It's my fault. But it's not always my fault!" he defended himself.

Coral giggled before saying, "It rarely isn't, your majesty."

He huffed again, his face turning to a pout as he crossed his arms.

"It's not my fault she gets moody super fast," he grumbled.

An elbow landed in his ribs, making him lose his breath, and he leaned on the wall.

Phoenix looked at him with a satisfied grin.

"We were just heading to the treetop for a picnic. So we won't be holding you," she said to Alena.

"Oh? We were heading down for a meal in the privacy of the servant quarters. Care if we join you instead?" Castien asked, smiling at the queen.

"Eh, whatever. The more the merrier, right?" she said, shrugging.

'Well, there goes my plan for a romantic picnic,' Astaroth complained mentally.

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