A Caged Wife

Noticing that something was wrong with Ellie, Eric challenged his worn out body and rushed to her. He descended down a crater that was created from her attack, and upon noticing her limp unmoving body, he felt a pain in his heart. It felt like someone gripped it to the point where it became numb. Small, yet countless, beads of cold sweat filled his entire body. His clothes became drenched in an instant. He could do nothing but stare at her with his mouth slightly opened.

'This is not the time!' Eric banished all the thoughts that flooded his mind and put his hand above her heart. The first thing Eric did was to infuse her body with QI. However, the QI didn't remain in her body and left it as soon as it entered it. Eric felt like he was trying to catch rain with a punctured pot. 'Is this what Ed felt…?' Seeing that nothing he did was working, and the fact that Ellie wasn't getting any better, Eric felt like giving up.

Death. Unlike most people in this world, Eric was fortunate enough not to experience it, nor have anyone close to him experience it. The only ones that he felt sorrow over losing were the three Elders that laid their lies down to create a brighter future for everyone. However, at that moment, a close friend of his was dead. A feeling of hopelessness and weakness took over him. He couldn't help but think about how useless his training was if he wasn't able to save his friend when she was in front of him.

Even though the fight was no longer, neither the citizens nor the soldiers dared to approach the castle grounds. The silence that ensued the battle felt even more dreadful. Only three people stayed where the castle was. The despairing Eric, the deceased Ellie, and Gazef's wife. Gazef's wife Aaushi and she had pure white hair. She wore an equally beautiful white dress. Her eyelashes and eyebrows looked like they were covered by frost, while her cheeks carried a natural blush. She was able to fly, which meant that she was quite powerful, yet because she detested her husband, she didn't join in on the fight.

Still, Aaushi's eyes produced a single tear once she confirmed her husband's death. She descended towards the crater at a slow rate, yet Eric didn't manage to feel her approaching. It wasn't until her feet hit the ground, producing a galloping sound, that he turned around to look at her.

"You are…?" Eric's face had two trails of tears. He asked Aaushi as he gripped his sword, showing his intention of fighting.

"I'm but a woman that will be forgotten, no need to know my name. However, know that I am not your enemy, and what I'm about to do, will bring no harm to your friend." Aaushi, with a soft yet powerful voice, spoke to Eric. Noticing that she has no intention to fight, Eric released his grip over his sword and watched Aaushi approach Ellie's body.

"You may say that you bring her no harm, but I'm not so stupid as to allow you to do with her body anything that you wish to do." With a domineering voice, Eric told Aaushi before she could do anything. She looked at him and sighed.

"I'm going to save her, at the cost of my own life." The first part of her sentence shocked Eric, but the second part made him feel worse.

"I'm not so naïve as to stop you from saving my friend while saying 'I won't let you use up your life'. If it was up to me, I'll let you do it anytime. However, due to knowing her long enough, I know that Ellie will say just that." Eric explained his stance.

"Ellie Tigris…I've always admired her, even though the number of times we've met could be counted on one hand. She always seemed so alive…so free…Let me tell you, future king of Avalon. I love nothing more in this world than my life. Ever since I was born, I knew nothing except my future as the wife of Gazef. I've been in a cage even before I knew what a cage was. I've come to love my life, even though it was worthless."

Aaushi's words started to confuse Eric. She told him how she loved her life, but she was trying to save Ellie at the cost of the very thing that she loved. It didn't make sense.

"Didn't you have a son…?" Eric asked her, as he remembered Ellie saying that she and Emilie killed the prince of this kingdom.

"That was not my son. I've never known the pleasure of having children, as Gazef wouldn't allow it. I was his last lifeline. Only I could save him if he were to die. That is the only reason he made me his queen."

Aaushi continued, "This young lady, however, chose to return to the cage that she left, where her parents lost their lives, in order to free the other birds stuck in here. She chose death over turning a blind eye to the rest of the people. That is something I would never understand." Aaushi's voice seemed so distant…so cold.

"Then why save her?" Eric asked.

"Because I don't understand it. Because I would never be able to understand it. Because unlike her, I was never truly alive." Aaushi stopped talking and silence ensued over the crater again. After drawing in some air, she continued to speak.

"The king is dead, and the people are free. The people wouldn't allow me to live anyway, and if I were to flee, afraid of being found by the beastmen, it wouldn't be any different than being dead. So, at the very least, I want to make my life useful. I want my life, which was meaningless, to have some worth." Aaushi had finished her speech, so she put her hand above Ellie's chest.

A strong wave of pure white energy surged out of her body and went into Ellie's body. Ellie's complexion started to change immediately. Her face regained a pale color, while her whole body was losing the purple hue. Her legs started to regenerate as well, putting Eric's heart at ease.

"KUH!" A scream drew Eric's attention back to Aaushi. He noticed her biting her lips so hard that blood started to flow, dropping on Ellie's body. She dropped down to her knees, and once Eric tried to help her, he noticed something horrifying. Aaushi's legs were no longer there. He then noticed something else. She was turning into a state similar to Ellie's before she started healing.

"Are you exchanging the damage with her?!!" Eric couldn't believe what was happening. His brain couldn't process the idea of someone going through the pain of death, willingly.

"It's the sole cultivation technique that our family had ever learned," Aaushi spoke while bearing with the pain. "Please, tell her not to dwell over me. Tell her to watch over this kingdom. And tell her that her parents' last words to Gazef were 'I love you, Ellie.'"

Just as she finished those words, Aaushi dropped down to the ground with a smile on her face, and blood dripping from all over her body. Next to her now dead body, Ellie's eyes opened up as she coughed a mouthful of blood.