14 Butterfly

"Fine, you're Alon from now on."

Astraea laughed and collapsed on the ground. She was lying on her back, staring up at the sky. "Even though I told you to stay with me, it's not my home." "I'm sure she won't mind, and you can use David's spot," Astraea grinned as Alon glanced at her in surprise.

"David?"

Astraea averted her gaze from the youngster, ignoring his curiosity regarding the name she mentioned. "All right, then, let's get started." She pushed herself up from the floor and began walking toward the cabin. Everything she needed to know about the trail was now in her head. She remembered the scents of the various trees, as well as the sense of the wind's direction. Astraea was confident in her ability to walk through this section of the woodland blindfolded.

When he saw she wouldn't accept his rejection of her invitation, the youngster whose name had changed to Alon followed her with a little smile, wondering to himself, 'What could possibly go wrong?'

He had no idea what he was getting himself into, as practically everyone who comes into contact with Astraea in any manner dies. Is he going to be any different?

Astraea had never considered that taking him with her would end up doing more harm than good to him. Despite her shifting appearance, she remained committed to assisting everyone she could. The shackles around her non-beating heart were getting tighter and tighter, and the demon inside her was slowly emerging now that the kind woman she met the day before had perished because of her. Astraea was completely ignorant to the situation. She had no idea that reclaiming the country from her brother would be the least of her concerns.

The modest, wonderful cabin appeared, and while its true beauty was shown at night, it was no less pleasing to the eye during the day. That was demonstrated when Alon gasped over its beauty and gazed at it with captivated eyes, and even Astraea, who had become accustomed to the cabin, paused for an extra five seconds to gaze at it.

Astraea dragged Alon inside when it appeared that if she hadn't moved him, he'd spend the entire day staring at the cabin outside. Ophelia was already standing there when they walked through the front entrance as if she knew they were coming. She wasn't surprised when Alon appeared; instead, she checked him over from head to toe and smiled an unpleasant smile, thinking, 'he'll do perfectly, now I need at least one more.'

Before Astraea could ask the question, Ophelia answered, "You can stay here." Ophelia stopped Astraea from taking him to David's chamber before she could take a step forward.

"He'll be following me, and your training will begin tomorrow for both of you." Ophelia left before Astraea could respond, leaving her to ponder her actions.

"What did she mean when she said both?"

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Ophelia led the boy to the back of the home, where Alon suddenly understood how large the cabin is, despite how small it appears from the outside. "What exactly do you mean when you say training?"

Ophelia giggled, and the boy felt chills down his spine. "Do you expect to be able to stay here for free?" Alon froze, and he had a million ideas about what the woman of unequaled beauty wanted from him, but none of them were correct, and when she gave him her needs, he was stunned.

"Don't you already know that Astraea isn't a commoner?" Alon smiled and nodded. He'd seen a lot of people and had learned to read people's body language, so he knew she was a high-ranking member of society. "Well, she is the princess of the world's second-largest kingdom,"

Alon's pupils dilated. He had assumed she would be a lady of a great home or a baroness, but he had not anticipated her to be a Royal. Someone like him would never have imagined meeting a Royal at any point in life.

"To cut a long tale short, her brother is a cruel scumbag, and she intends to wrest control of the country from him. This endeavor will not be easy, so she will require someone who will be loyal to her and her alone. She intends to marry the king of this country, which can be perilous in itself, so she will need someone to guard her against assassination attempts and assist her during the fight."

"Am I that person?"

"Right now, no. I'm going to put you through so much training that you'll wish you were dead. You can reject this, but here's a hint: if you stick with Astraea and follow her along her road, you'll eventually meet the person you most want to see."

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Astraea felt unclean after running for a while, so she went to the bathroom she used and stripped to prepare for the bath. A horrible pain that she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy suddenly ran through her as she was about to get into the bathtub. She collapsed to the ground and clutched her back, which was the source of her discomfort.

When she felt the jolt again, Astraea screamed and crawled on the ground towards the mirror. She dragged herself on the floor and turned her back with all the strength she could muster. She could see a big, bright image of a butterfly on her back. The butterfly was large enough to cover her entire back, leaving only a few vacant spots, and it was glowing a brilliant golden color.

Astraea clenched her teeth in an attempt to bear the pain, but it was futile. Fortunately for her, the discomfort gradually faded and she felt nothing again. Astraea gazed in the mirror again, and the once-glowy butterfly had turned black. 'Beautiful,' she thought, but not a second later, she remembered the suffering that came with it.

Astraea had no idea what it was, but she was certain it had something to do with one of her previous actions, thus the only person she could think of to answer her inquiry was Ophelia. She went into the water and quickly cleaned herself before hurriedly dressing and making her way to Ophelia's quarters, which she had never seen before.

When she arrived at the corridor where she always saw Ophelia enter, she became despondent as she glanced at the countless doors. One of the doors opened, and Ophelia strolled outside as if luck had been on her side. She instantly turned to face Astraea, but unlike the other times, she was taken aback when she found her standing there.

Ophelia approached her and inquired, "Why are you here?" for the first time since they met.

"What is this on my back?" Ophelia was perplexed when Astraea began her description, but when Astraea finished, Ophelia's face lit up with realization. "It glows and burns my back."

"Oh, it showed up? This was something I was praying would not happen." With a sigh, Ophelia said.

"What exactly is it? Is it a bad thing?"

"It has the potential to be both beneficial and destructive. It's known as the Butterfly of Fate, it's well known that butterflies represent fate, but most people are unaware that butterflies are the keepers of fate and destiny since they don't believe in fate and destiny."

Astraea nodded in understanding. "How come it's on me?" "Did I mess with fate?"

"Please don't interrupt me. That butterfly on your back has sprung to life and is now watching you. It was always monitoring you and observing your every move while it wasn't on your back. As you may be aware, no one can escape fate, but you have consciously altered your fate and destiny, so be aware that you are on a clock, and the butterfly has merged with you. And every time it burns you, it serves as a reminder that you must fulfill your destiny. It will glow once more. The more it appears, the faster it reappears, and the more pain you'll feel.

Astraea didn't want to think about it since it reminded her of how she felt only a few minutes before and hearing that it will be even worse the next time was terrifying.

"Is there any way to slow things down?"

"The butterfly would have appeared much sooner if you hadn't transformed into a vampire, so you need to become a witch and marry the king as soon as possible to keep it away."

Astraea nodded, but a concern lingered in her mind: "Will it go away if I fulfill my destiny?"

With a shake of her head, Ophelia expressed her dissatisfaction with the situation. "It's never occurred before, but if you fulfill your destiny, the butterfly will consider you worthy and become your companion. Butterfly guardians are formidable creatures, so if you receive one as a familiar, consider yourself lucky."

Ophelia turned around and went back to whatever she was doing before she spotted Astraea, and Astraea nodded and went back to her room.