Kicking a stone off of the land bridge, Narina pouted.
"We've only been here for a day, and we're on the move again… What if I get hungry…"
Turning away from Melaine, Leander stared at Narina.
"That's one of the reasons why we are leaving. The supplies we managed to gather from Melaine's garden will only last you one week if you ration them. The sooner we get to the Goddess' Kingdom, the sooner we can get you actual food."
Crossing her arms, Narina huffed.
Rolling his eyes, Leander accepted the bag of fruits from Melaine.
Turning her head east, Melaine held a stern, thoughtful gaze.
"To think it's finally happening. You realise this is practically the end of the beginning. Once you cross into her domain, everything will change."
Leander followed Melaine's gaze towards the morning sun, taking a moment to think of a response - Leander rolled his eyes.
"Melaine, will things actually change, or are you just being dramatic?"
Melaine's stern gaze held for a few moments before breaking, a pleasant smile crossing her lips.
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. I guess you'll have to find out for yourself."
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes again, Leander slung the bag over his shoulder.
"We'll be going then. Narina."
At Leander's prompt, Narina's body shimmered just as it had when they entered Funerary the previous day. Her furs disappeared, breaking up – and turning into blue sparks that blew away on the wind. Beneath the shimmer, her body began to morph into Narina's true form. Within moments, Narina the dragon stood tall outside the gates of Funerary.
Lowering herself to the ground so that Leander could get onto her back, as she stretched her wings, a voice called out to them.
"Wait!"
Narina, Leander and Melaine all turned to look at the voice.
Ilia floated out of Funerary's gate, a letter clutched between both hands.
Reaching them, Melaine put a hand on her hip as she addressed the ghost.
"Ilia? What's the matter?"
"I thought I had missed them."
Reaching Narina, Ilia held the letter up to Leander.
"I was hoping you could bring this letter to Silas."
Leander's brow furrowed as he accepted the letter, holding the letter. He looked from Ilia to Melaine and then back at Ilia.
"Silas?"
Melaine was the first to speak.
"Silas is the general of my army. Coincidentally, the same undead you're going to see. He's a hard figure to miss, a skeleton with a presence. Thinking about it, he kind of reminds me of you. Ha, I never noticed."
As Melaine began to chuckle to herself, Leander eyed the Lich Queen with a weary expression. Placing the letter into his satchel, Leander was about to prompt Narina to get moving when a thought crossed his mind. His hand resting where his empty scabbard used to be – Leander had returned it to Melaine as without a sword, the empty scabbard simply took up space – he asked Ilia:
"Why give me this letter? Surely it would be more efficient to have Ravenmother relay the message?"
Hearing this, Ilia scratched her cheek slightly, her ghostly visage pulsed with the same cyan energy that encompassed the entire kingdom – yet her cheeks seemed to gain a small red tint.
"It's… It is a personal message for Silas. Ravenmother has a wandering eye, and I would prefer for the contents of my letter to stay between Silas and myself."
With his question answered, Leander nodded.
"If that is the case, I will make sure Silas receives this letter."
Leander turned his attention to Melaine.
"Two questions for you, one which I meant to ask earlier. The undead in your courtyard – what are they doing? The chanting, the drawings on the ground. You are up to something, aren't you?"
Melaine's eyes narrowed as a mischievous expression covered her face.
"You should have asked me sooner, Leander. When you're next in Funerary, I will answer that question. Soo, what's your other question?"
Exhaling, Leander asked his last question.
"That thing I asked you to make, is it finished?"
During the dead of the night, as Leander had strolled the dark halls of Melaine's castle, a thought had crossed his mind. A thought he later relayed to Melaine.
Melaine huffed as if the question offended her.
"The artefact? Oh, come on, Leander, you only asked me a few hours ago. I haven't had the chance to start on it yet, never mind gathering the materials. When the ring is finished, I will have it sent to you with the utmost urgency."
Nodding, Leander rested a palm on Narina's back.
"I shouldn't need it soon, so take as long as you need."
Stamping her feet, Narina stretched her wings out wide. As she beat them against the air, powerful gusts of wind swirled around them, whipping through her tangled hair and sending small stones spiralling off the side of the land bridge. The gust of wind not only ruffled Narina's hair but blew against Melaine – gripping the hem of her dress with one hand to keep it from flying up, Melaine laughed.
"It seems you should be off, somebody is getting antsy."
"Yes!"
Punching the ground a few more times, Narina was finished waiting, bounding forward her reptile lips opened into a wide grin which was the opposite of the face Leander had begun to make seeing where she was moving towards.
"Narina! That's a cli-"
Before Leander could finish speaking, Narina lunged forward and dove over the edge of the land bridge, her wings snapping open as she plummeted. The wind rushed past her ears, a wild roar that drowned out Leander's unfinished words.
Looking at the spot where Leander and Narina had just disappeared over, Melaine let out a slow sigh, her fingers tightening around the fabric of her dress as she gave a solemn shake of her head.
"And I didn't even get to tease him before he went."
Leander and Narina shot upwards, Narina's wings working hard to gain altitude as they began to fly east.
Watching them go, Melaine faintly smiled.
"My lady, will he be safe?"
Ilia's concerned tone drew Melaine's attention.
"Safe? I'm more worried about anyone who's going to try and cross him."
It took a few moments for Ilia to find the words as she looked at Melaine.
"I don't mean to sound like I am doubting you, my lady, but how is it you have such confidence in the Hero? Didn't he die one thousand years ago, and with his death began the horrendous war between the Demon and human kingdoms?"
Not meeting Ilia's gaze, Melaine continued to stare at the horizon as Leander and Narina moved further and further away from Funerary. Despite Ilia's words of doubt, Melaine smiled.
"That is exactly why I trust him, Ilia. Leander failed once, and with his failure, millions of people of all races, both innocent and guilty, have died over the thousand years he has been gone from Ozaria."
Ilia frowned, still unsatisfied by her queen's answer.
"I just, I don't understand. My lady, you could end this war in one day, yet you've spent the last… thousand years preparing to resurrect him. I just can't understand why you would go to such extremes."
Melaine placed her hands on her hips and let out a light giggle.
"I could do something about this war… But there is a large difference between the Hero of Peace and myself."
"A large difference, of course, there is. My lady, you are the Lich Queen, one of the four strongest in Ozaria. Your mere presence keeps the other three in check."
Frowning, Melaine turned to Ilia.
"Whilst it is true that I am currently stronger than Leander, that is not what I was referring to. I may not be able to end this war in one day, but it is nice to see how much confidence you place in me."
Melaine placed a gentle hand on Ilia's shoulder, meeting her gaze with a soft, reassuring smile.
"He has one of the strongest powers in this world, the power to keep his humanity. If I were to indulge in my power over death, I know I would lose myself. That is why he will win. Because he has something I lack. An indomitable force of will."
Melaine gave Ilia's shoulder a reassuring pat before continuing her slow walk into Funerary. She intended to take her time, delaying her return to the castle for as long as possible. There was so much to put in order, and the weight of it all pressed heavily on her with each step.
"My lady, if you gave into your power. How long would it take you to end this war?"
Melaine came to an abrupt stop and turned her head to look back over her shoulder. The question Ilia had asked lingered in her mind, a thought she dreaded.
When she spoke, her voice was sharp and cold.
"I would only need three days."