Aragorn and the Phoenix of Caspian (ENGLISH)

Chapter 45

CHAPTER 45

“Of course, you are my younger sister.” He patted the young girl’s head. She’s adorable, she thought. What she said touched his heart; he acted like a brother to Yosef, and he felt it.

“Amara, where’s mother?” Yosef asked.

Amara pointed to the riverside, where women were gathered to do their laundry. Some were talking aloud that they can hear it. They talk about other people in the village and their husbands.

“She’s there, older brother. She would be surprised to see you.”

Yosef held Amara’s hand. “Let’s go and see her.” The two walked as if they were in the aisle to the riverside.

Aragorn followed them. He can’t get his smile that almost wreck his handsome face. It was refreshing in the feeling to help and make others happy. Their happiness is also his happiness. This village seemed didn’t have any men. Maybe because they were wives of soldiers.

Women in here seemed independent, he realized. They can protect themselves and their family alone, and they have been doing that for many years. However, they only see the men in their life rarely since they were enlisted to train and serve the palace of Caspian for most time in their life.

“Mother!” Yosef called. A woman, who’s about thirty-five years old, stood up and dried her hands on her clothes. She looked at her two children with partially closed eyes. As she confirmed that it was Yosef, she bolted towards them and gave the two a tight hug.

“Yosef? Is it really you? You just visited about weeks or a month ago, and then you’re here again. I thought you’ll revisit us after many years, but here you are in front of me. Are you eating well? You seemed thinner than usual.”

“I’m eating well, mother. And I won’t be here if the crowned prince of Caspian didn’t let me. By the way, he’s with me.” Yosef trailed towards Aragorn, locked his arms on his arms. “Mother, this is Prince Aragorn, the prince of Caspian.”

Yosef’s mother grinned. She observed the prince like an investigator: very handsome face, slightly built, and he got the eyes of the queen. “Greetings, Prince Aragorn. Thank you for letting my son a visit in this village.” She nodded. “Let me invite you inside our home so you can enjoy foods that I will serve you.”

“I am very much pleased to accept your invitation. Yosef said that you’re one of the best cooks in the whole palace. The two of us also need to take some rest after hours of the ride.”

“Follow me, Prince Aragorn. I’ll show you the house where Yosef grew up from a child to what he is right now.”

As Aragorn and Yosef talked, the smell of roasted beef and chicken was all around the house. Amara was with her mother and volunteered to help her. How can a young girl like her help her mother in cooking? That must be amazing, Aragorn thought.

“Amara’s eight. She’s my only sister. She wanted to become a palace doctor, but that will cost a lot, and I’m afraid that she won’t fulfill her dreams in the future. My father and I were both soldiers, and I hope that our salaries would be enough to help my sister become a palace doctor when the time comes.

“When she’s three years old, she tends to treat my wounds. She’s great, Your Highness, and she can follow the steps that our mother had instructed her. She said she wanted to become a doctor to help people in the palace that wanted a cure.”

“Even though she’s young, she already knows how to cook and treat wounds. You’re lucky that you have a bright younger sister like her. I never had a chance to become a brother. My mother didn’t get pregnant after I was delivered out of her world. Doctors cannot find out why it happened, but at least the king and the queen got a child, so my father won’t be forced to have a concubine.”

“I remember that my grandmother used to tell me tales about concubines. She said back then that many leaders and wealthy people have many concubines, so their money and position would be ensured by their children. I don’t want that. I want to have a relationship like the king and the queen.

“No third party, very sweet, and one child is enough. I think contentment and trust were the most important factors of love.”

“You said it all. I am thrilled that I witnessed their love since I was zero years old. It’s just magical like the phoenix of Caspian.”

Yosef scratched the back of his head. “I’m curious about Sphyra and Burn. I hope they’re doing good in the royal palace.”

“I certainly believe that they were doing good. My mother cares to anyone even though they think of the phoenix as their enemy back then.”

The two stopped talking when Yosef’s mother appeared with plates in her hands. She placed the dishes on the table. Behind her was Amara with cutlery and other foods they cooked. Aragorn stared at the food; only the roasted beef and roasted chicken were familiar to him.

“What is this? I never saw this kind of food back then.” He pointed to the leaf that seemed steamed and to the rolled pastries; he didn’t know what it was called.

“These were the specialties of the women in this village. This leaf-like one was mildly steamed leaves of Brussel sprouts. We use it to wrap a piece of meat and eat it. The second one is pastries made of fig. I can make a pie out of it, but it will take a very long time to prepare, so I only created rolls.”

“They all seemed delicious.” Aragorn wrapped a piece of roasted beef using the Brussel leaves, tossed it inside his mouth, and chewed. His face lit after that. “You weren’t wrong about this. This is really great!” He repeated it again, but this time, he used the roasted chicken. “Yosef wasn’t wrong when he said you’re a really great cook.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. I am glad to serve my dishes to the only son of the royal couple. I hope you’ll enjoy your stay here. You should stay here for the night since the path’s dangerous. There were spare rooms that Yosef uses when he's coming home.”

Yosef and Aragorn glanced at each other as if they’re communicating through their minds, asking if they should stay or not. After seconds of staring, they gazed back to Yosef’s mother and nodded.

Night arrived in the royal palace of Caspian. Sphyra was wrapped with her clothing again, making her look like an ordinary citizen. She had eaten already with the other servants of the palace. She thought that being a servant was difficult, and she was exhausted from the cleaning that she did the whole day. She also had a conversation with Lolita and her younger sister Lola. She’s doing good in her stay in the palace.

The door in her room opened. She thought it was Zonia, but it was Queen Amira. She almost drops her jaw when she saw her. This is the first time that she has entered the room. She quivered in fear because it’s night, and she’s igniting behind the clothes that she’s wearing.

“Sphyra…” the queen called.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

“These past few days, I’ve been thinking about your ad you being a phoenix. The only symbol that I can trace on you being the phoenix were your eyes. Your eyes were igniting like fire. I haven’t seen your whole body. If you don’t mind to, can you let me see the fire inside you?”

Sphyra grabbed on herself. The queen was asking her to remove the clothing to show the fires inside her. She still wears other clothes, but she’s afraid the queen will react to her fire.

“I’m afraid that I cannot, Your Highness.”

“Just let me see it,” Queen Amira said calmly.

“I might scare you and cause you sickness. I don’t want that to happen. Aragorn protected me, and I don’t want to harm the most precious woman in his life.”

“That won’t happen. I just want to witness the fiery of the phoenix.”

She stared blankly at the queen. She’s second-guessing if she should let her see fires hiding from the flame-resistant cloth that she was wearing. Slowly, she removed her clothing and showed the blazing fire on her hair and the blinding igniting light on her back.

Queen Amira’s jaw dropped, and she stepped backward. She hadn’t seen a phoenix after a few years, and now she’s standing in front of her. Aragorn was right. This woman is the phoenix of Caspian. She’s dangerous, but her son loves her. She knew that as his mother, and she’ll do anything to protect the woman that her son adores.