The Only Son Amongst The Daughters Of Eros

Cautiously, the three princesses slowly moved toward the trio. The closer they got, the sound of shifting debris and strained grunts grew louder, dust filled the air.

For now, Rosette led the way, her hand resting lightly on her sword's hilt. Faeryn kept her spear angled low but ready, while Misty stayed close, her own sword free from her grasp and sheathed on the side of her waist.

The trio by the obstruction didn't notice them at first, their focus was entirely on clearing the rubble.

The girls came closer behind them, now standing close but still weren't regarded by the three who were so invested in their work.

Rosette cleared her throat. "Hello?"

One of them, a tall man with sharp, muscly features and a simple hair spun around, his weapon raised. The other two, a slender man dressed in dark leather clothes and a mask behind his face suddenly vanished and reappeared behind them. And a shorter woman — a girl mostly — turned around with a steely gaze, and quickly followed suit, stepping into defensive stances.

"Alright now, let us not do anything rash," Rosette called out, raising her hands in a calming gesture. "We're not here to fight! We're friends!"

The three exchanged glances but didn't lower their weapons. The tall man, Kael, narrowed his eyes. "Friends? Who are you people and how did you even get here? No other squad was supposed to be in this Lobby."

Rosette took a step closer, speaking with measured calm. "It's not my fault you guys are theatrically slow in clearing the Lobbies. We've been meeting you guys handwork in almost every Lobby we've entered. Which goes to show you all are really slow."

Kael hesitated, studying her, before finally relaxing his stance. "Our Dungeon is irregular… Rare, but not impossible," he muttered, lowering his sword. "We've been advancing through Lobbies with spiking Difficulties. This is just our third."

"Irregular Dungeons," Faeryn spoke up. "I've run into one or two myself. No wonder we caught up with you."

Rosette looked at the two of them. "Fine. All good. Pleasantries have been exchanged, so can you all stop pointing those weapons in my face."

Kael gestured to Bel and Ryn to lower their weapons which they obediently did. "Fine," he said. "But this better not be a trick. We ha—"

"It's not," Faeryn interrupted, her voice firm. She gestured toward the pile of rubble. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

Kael turned back to the obstruction, exhaling sharply. "Trying to bring this thing down. We've been at it for a while now."

Rosette frowned, stepping closer. "Why bother? This place doesn't necessarily lead to anything. Can't you just leave the Lobby and move on?"

"That would be ideal," the shorter girl, Bel, replied, brushing sweat from her forehead. "But…" She glanced at Kael, waiting for him to explain.

Faeryn's sharp gaze darted between the obstruction and the trio. Her expression darkened. "Where are your other two members? I presumed they were dead, but... Are they on the —"

Kael stiffened, glancing at her warily. "…Yes. Two of our members are trapped on the other side."

Rosette's eyes gleamed with interest. "Two?" she asked, her voice tinged with curiosity. "What roles do they play?"

Bel looked to Kael, who nodded subtly. The indifferent, masked man, Ryn, spoke up nonchalantly. "Alzera's our leader. Dagwood's our courier."

Rosette's mind raced. Alzera was a name she didn't especially recognize, but "Dagwood" stood out. What kind of name is that? She couldn't think of any of the Regions that such a name was accustomed there.

Curious. Could it be Aeric? No way he'd be leading this squad… Courier makes more sense. But who the hell was Dagwood? Could it be just some random name? That was possible. This could just be a random team and this Dagwood also a random guy.

Misty stepped closer, tugging on Rosette's sleeve. "Do you really think it's Aeric?" she asked in a low voice.

Rosette's lips pressed into a thin line. "It's possible," she said softly, her tone both hopeful and guarded.

"Who's Aeric?" Kael asked, his brow furrowed. Then, as if realizing something, his eyes widened. He stared at the three women in shock. "Wait a second… You're the Daughters of Starlight, aren't you? Our princesses. And you…" His gaze settled on Faeryn. "You're Daughter Faeryn of Elysium."

Bel's eyes glistened as she looked at them. Ryn only gave them a small glance, but Kael immediately bowed, followed by Bel, who looked equally astonished. Ryn, however, only scoffed, leaning lazily against the wall with a smirk.

"Your Majesties. It is truly an honor.'

Faeryn sighed, waving a hand dismissively. "It's fine. You can stand."

Rosette wasted no time. "This Dagwood," she said, her voice sharp. "What does he look like?"

Kael straightened, scratching his head. "Well, Daughter Rosette, he was quite the peculiar young man. He has dark hair, red eyes… extremely handsome, though covered in dust from his life in the local villages. He was quite tall, and his clothes were torn up from all this."

Misty turned to Rosette, her voice barely above a whisper. "Could it be him?"

Rosette's breath hitched, her thoughts racing. 'Crimson eyes… Not many people in the realm have crimson eyes. It has to be him. But what if it's not?'

Where would Aeric get torn clothes like that? Even though the eyes, hairs, and height were compelling evidence for her claim, she wasn't so sure. But there was one way to find ou—

Continue your saga on empire

Before she could voice her thoughts, a muffled groan echoed from behind the obstruction. "Ughhhhhhhhh!"

Rosette's head snapped toward the sound. She turned to Kael and Faeryn. "What's happening back there?" she demanded.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Kael shrugged helplessly. "I don't know," he admitted. "But Alzera's been crying out in pain for a while now."

Rosette looked at Misty and then Faeryn. "That doesn't sound like a cry of pain."

She narrowed her eyes, stepping closer to the obstruction and crouching to peer through the cracks. The gaps were too small to see anything substantial. Frustrated, she stood and turned to the group. "We need to get this obstruction down. Right away."