Chapter 35: The king of nights and the two Fairies
It didn’t take Grégoire long to get everyone moving again. They left behind the comfort of their nighttime camps for the rugged path through the forest. After all, there was little to no exchange between Astroia and Invictus, making road maintenance a needless concern—nature had simply reclaimed its rights over the old forest trail.
They moved in a long, narrow line, forced into formation by the path’s width, which barely allowed three men to walk side by side without bumping shoulders. Grégoire and his men led the way, while Carla had chosen to take the rear, closing the march.
As always, Carla was dressed in her white uniform, the symbol of the Empire. Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail, and she carried herself with a dignity that would impress any onlooker.
Yet deep inside, she was troubled. She knew too well the fate that awaited them at the fortress. The only thing that reassured her, allowing her to maintain a composed exterior, was the trust she placed in Lady Iris—and the fact that the latter had never ceased to secretly work toward sparing them from that dark future.
"Oh Lady Iris, what would we do without you..." she thought silently, unaware that elsewhere, Iris was sneezing.
Truth be told, even Carla had been surprised by Iris’s subtle maneuvers.
In the days following their fateful confrontation, Iris had seized every opportunity to exchange what Carla would respectfully call trivialities with anyone she crossed paths with.
At first, this habit made her seem like nothing more than a gossip in Carla’s eyes.
It was only after a long hesitation, when Carla finally mustered the courage to ask her the reason behind such lighthearted behavior, that she understood—it was all part of the plan.
In Iris’s own words: "You have to plant seeds if you want to harvest fruit later."
Though reserved by nature, Carla couldn’t help but respect her incredible social skills. Iris had a way of captivating people, and everyone who interacted with her held her in fond memory.
When the time to depart came and Iris was nowhere to be seen, many grew concerned, wondering if something had happened to her. Their worry faded only when Captain Grégoire announced that she had volunteered to stay behind to watch over the children, allowing the group to travel faster toward their destination. Strangely, this only strengthened the image people had of her. Carla was no exception. She was even proud to have been the only one Iris had trusted to select the group assigned to remain with her and escort the children—something she did with the utmost seriousness, choosing only those Iris had spent the most time with.