Aldred woke up on Mary's lap. The sky was bright with the sun shining on the sky. Clouds passed with birds chirping in the distance.
Mary caressed his head as she controlled the horse pulling the carriage.
"You've woke up."
Aldred nodded and sat up. "Thank you for saving me. I don't know what I would do without you."
He said his thanks to her. Even though she captured her and brought her to the throne hall, it was her job in the first place, yet the fact that she saved him couldn't be denied. Aldred owed a life to her. He finally got a second chance in life, a life he could be grateful for. Mary didn't just saved his life, she also saved his dream.
"Also, sorry for sucking your blood."
"It's fine," Mary said, blushing as she recalled the event yesterday. She couldn't believe that she would say this, but she actually enjoyed the feeling.
"Mary. May I know why you liked the empress so much?"
"She inspired me to become a soldier. In fact, she inspired a lot of women."
"Inspire you? How?"
Mary sighed. "Women aren't very well respected because we tend to be useless in battle. This make men think they can do whatever they want with us. The empress got her past lover killed and she was forced to marry the emperor. They passed her around like bread, not even considering for a second how she felt about that. With a single word, her world was shattered and changed for the worse. Yet, instead of breaking down and accepting her fate, she raised many powerful women and put them in various positions. In the military, there is a position called Commander of Knights. This position used to be all men, but now, almost half of them are women. All of these women answered to the empress. If she willed it, she could cause a terrible civil war inside the empire."
Aldred was shocked. He didn't know the empress was that powerful and influential. She was inspiring instead of breaking down in the face of challenge. He sighed. If he was that brave, if he was that courageous, would his past life become any different? Instead of fighting for his survival, Aldred jumped off a bridge and killed himself.
Compared to the empress, he was nothing but a loser.
"She's an amazing woman," Aldred said.
"She is. I almost suffered the same fate as her, but I trained myself every sunrise and every sunset. This pair of hands had swing a sword for millions of times. With my exponential growth, I ran from home and joined the army. Eventually, I became a guard under the empress herself."
Aldred smiled. "Both of you are awesome." His smile disappeared and disappointment washed over him. He sighed. Mary fight with everything she had, and so did the empress. 'I truly should learn from them. No matter what the situation, no matter what the hardship, I must keep on fighting with everything I have.'
"Thank you, Mary. For telling me this. You've changed my whole perspective about life."
"What about you? Who are you? How did you enter the bathroom for the concubines?"
"Me? I am nothing special compared to you. I am just a depressed boy."
Mary chuckled. "What are you talking about. You always seem to not take things seriously. Isn't that the cause why the emperor send you to the front line?"
Aldred scratched his head. He might act a little too childish there. He couldn't help it. He was spoiled so much by his parents. "You are correct. I apologize for that."
Mary smiled. "At first, I saw you as an arrogant, naive boy who doesn't know the reality of this world. Yet now, you seem to be a man who experienced a lot of things. You truly are something else."
Aldred laughed. "I think I am a little arrogant and naive. Don't forget to add depression into the mix. So, I guess I'll be counting on you until we arrive."
Mary shook her head. "I will take care of you until you become stronger than me."
"I thought you're just going to drop me on the front line? What about your job as a guard? Don't you want to be close with the empress?"
"Someone important told me to take care of you."
"Who? The empress? You did say that she told you to take care of me." Aidan wondered why the empress told her to do that. Did she like my song?
Mary ignored his question and kept her gaze forward. She believed Aldred's parents did not want their son to know about the truth. Mary did not know who that fairy was, but she understood that Aldred must be a child of a powerful being.
They went on a journey for a few days. And then they ran out of water.
"I am so thirsty," Aldred said as he tried to get the last drop out of the water bag. The water fell to his tongue and disappeared. He couldn't even taste the water. With his throat so dry, Aldred gulped his own saliva. His lips was dry too, so he licked it.
"Stop licking your lips," Mary said. "It will make it worse."
"What can I do? It's been three days since I have water."
Mary beckoned at him and told him to sat beside her on the driver seat. Aldred complied. He was confused by what she was about to do. Only when Mary opened her shirt did he understood.
"Drink from my breast. It will relieve your thirst."
"Are you sure?"
"You did it before, no reason not to do it again."
That was a weird logic but okay. Aldred grabbed her breast and sucked on her nipple. Mary put him on her lap, then held his head. Aldred heard her urging the horses to move forward while a warm liquid entered his mouth.
The liquid was much better than before. Something about the quality changed. It felt like there was some sort of power within it. Aldred couldn't explain it. The taste was sweet too.
Mary smiled when she saw Aldred excitedly suck on her nipple. She didn't feel embarrassed even if she show her breasts to the outside world. Men could show their nipples so proudly, then why women couldn't?
If Aldred heard that logic, he would definitely support it one hundred percent. If there was a civil movement saying that all women could show their breasts however they wanted, Aldred would be rising the biggest and tallest sign as he shouted at the top of his lungs for the government to pass the law, allowing women to show their breasts without censorship.
He continued on sucking her nipple. After a while, he switched to sucking on the other nipple while fondling the other one. He squeezed, knead, push, and pulled it like a dough.
All this while, Mary kept on smiling as she caressed his head lovingly. She still didn't understand why, but she liked this boy more and more. Something about him resonated with her heart.
The sun fell and rose a few times before both of them arrived at Ruandeurtin.
"We have arrived."
