Chapter 177 – Maca’in a Choice

“The situation was unexpected.” Maca began to explain what had transpired.

They ended up deciding to have this important conversation while they walked back through the forest. Max was still partially tired, so he rested on Anlesa’s back again. Maca offered to carry him, but based on Maca’s own injuries, Syrus felt it would be best if she continued with the heavy lifting.

The story had begun from where they all expected. The fight at Arisea Station, though, had commenced before the second phase of chaos.

Maca was deeply concerned when the group explained to him about the whole mind control fiasco. He had disappeared when the fight had begun shifting in their direction, so the horrible events afterwards were completely unknown to him. He regretted immensely not being there to help protect the people, but Syrus basically just told him to shut up; the whole place was in a trance, and he would be no different.

He was curious about how it ended, but Ethan explained he was locked inside his own home during the time, thanks to Cobalt sensing something, and Srysus explained she was still fighting the mutated creatures within the forest.

But this tangent would only ever last for a moment because they knew it would be quick. Now it was Maca’s turn to explain himself.

During the conflict, he exerted himself to push against the mutated horde, fighting the wave itself, trying to push it back. The deeper wounds he received were mostly from that; he just had no time to properly recover despite the many weeks that had passed since the incident.

Those injuries wouldn't have been a problem if he had been able to get proper treatment, but of course, everyone knew the story didn’t play out in that way. While he was fighting, he was ambushed by another group of people who utilised the chaos to capture him.

“Eh! He was attacked during that!”

“Max, let him finish first.”

“Okay…”

He was attacked by a group of people he had dealt with in the past. He said it was a personal grudge, but based on what was said earlier, no one exactly believed that. However, Maca seemed to truly believe the reason they attacked him at the time was because of an ‘old grudge’, but either way, they pulled him away from the city, where he was eventually knocked out and dragged away.

[Always have to be careful.] (Syrus)

[He can’t be blamed for that.] (Luna)

[I am not saying he should be blamed, just that it can be a scary thing being attacked while trying to protect others from a bigger threat.] (Syrus)

“Moo…” Beara cried and rubbed its face on Maca’s leg to comfort him.

[Beara…] (Eva)

Syrus asked, “The worst happened after that?”

Maca shook his head. “No, I was just captured for answers.”

He explained they wanted to know where he was keeping an item he had stored away ages ago from a previous journey. After a while of questioning, he managed to escape, which led to the slow resolution that the people here went on a journey to Eletscoep.

Though Anlesa, Mary, and Lavender didn’t exactly believe it went that smoothly as he tried to make it out to be or believe certain segments of his story. Anlesa was debating whether the reason he was captured was related to them or Mary.

Syrus complained, “So, are you going to tell us the truth? I am happy for you to spill some details if that is required.” She hinted at the topic they had discussed.

Mary added, “Maca, you were put in danger again, and for the safety of everyone here, it would be best if you explained why they captured you.” Her words were warm and calm but contained an air of authority that demanded the truth.

The truth eventually fell out; they had attacked him because of Beara. For a long time, Maca had been taking care of Beara far away from the town, but a few years ago, his interaction with Beara was noticed by a group of people who attacked him because of it.

[That could be because of a few reasons… They could want to hunt mythic creatures, or it possibly leans back to the connection that the creature has with Mary.] (Luna)

Mary pushed further, “Did they care about Beara, or what was connected to Beara?”

“They referred to Beara as Berllara.”

“They were referring to me…” Mary sighed, “Sorry for putting you in danger, Max, Maca, and everyone.”

Maca tried to interrupt, “It is not your fault. I will handle it.”

“No, you won’t; it’s too late for that.” Mary apologised, once again, to the group and explained, “My family were once nobles in Eletscoep but escaped when the plague hit, though I was the only one who made it.”

This was a massive surprise for Ethan and Max, but Anlesa, by this point, saw something coming after the small pieces of suspicion had grown within them.

[Lovely, this holiday just went from a fun trip to a nightmare scenario.] (Syrus)

[They… They don’t have to be mutually exclusive concepts?] Eva tried to shine some light on the situation.

[We appreciate the attempt, Eva, but we can’t ignore the fact that this job has potentially gotten far more risky.] (Luna)

Eventually, the talk went to how and why the attack on Maca even happened. Mary explained that Berllara

was considered a sacred creature in Eletscoep history–which Eva did not know about–but disappeared with her as they escaped Eletscoep. They purposely kept their escape as quiet as possible due to the fear and chaos that were occurring at the time.

“So, you want to return to Eletscoep, after all this time?” Syrus asked, “Why, because we have the choice to go back to the Station now that we know Maca is safe?”

“...” Mary was silent for a moment.

“Syrus–”

“Maca, this will be her choice to make; she is the employer, even if you were the one to pay for the commission.”

Mary swallowed. “I need to return. There was a disaster that had happened, and now it is my responsibility to repair the damage. There was security put in place if I, or a descendant of mine, ever returned, which I planned to utilise for my family’s safety.”

Luna asked, “What about Max?”

“...I need to keep him safe, and I know somewhere in Eletscoep where no one can harm him.”

Lavender said, “We could always keep him safe at the Station. Syrus isn’t exactly unused to taking care of children.”

Max declared from Syrus’s back, “I will stay with Mum.”

…

“No objections?” Syrus asked, and no one answered. “Then nothing changes; we will continue to take Mary and Max back to their ancestral home.”

They had returned back to the carriage and nothing had been disturbed. Everyone quickly got on, and they began moving again, the horses having fully rested by the time they had gotten back.

Travelling through the rest of the day and partially through the night, everyone chatted about everything. What had been learned? And Max tried to glean everything he could from his mother about his so-called family history. Eva was listening to this whole conversation as a way to learn about a side of Eletscoep she had never heard about before. Follow current novᴇls on novel✶fire.net

The day eventually had to end, and everyone went to sleep except for two who needed to talk. With the people and animals resting.

Finally, in the dead of night, Anlesa and Maca had their own private conversation.

“It has been a while.”

“Agreed.”

…

The night made no sounds to interrupt their talk, and the quiet silence wasn’t disturbed by even a sway of leaves.

Maca asked, “Have you been well?” The whole day, early, had been people asking about his well-being, but he could feel a tiredness leak from Syrus that wasn’t there before the conflict.

“Sailing by, one step at a time anyway.” Syrus looked at the calm night sky for a moment before dropping her sight back to Maca. “But it has been rough, honestly. I took this mission

“Bad attitude.” Maca paused and rephrased, “A lax response brings trouble.”

“I take all missions seriously.” Syrus clicked her tongue. “But there is nothing wrong with enjoying the sights if proper standards are being met.”

…

[Should we involve ourselves?] (Eva)

[Just leave it to Syrus this time.] (Luna)

“What else happened?” Maca asked, his tone and posture firm.

“I dealt with the people who attacked the city, the people who sent in the army.”

“Action like that will hurt.”

“I know, I felt it,” Syrus replied, unflinching in her response. “They tried to take what belonged to my family, so I continued my assault, and eventually, I will continue it again.”

Maca stared right back at Syrus. “You will fall apart like this.”

“I’m not alone, and I could say the same to you based on what you said earlier,” Syrus called his hypocrisy.

…

“Though, Maca, I do have a question about Mary.”

He stayed firm. “I do not answer questions unless she knows.”

“Oh, I will ask her.” Syrus said, “I’m just judging your reaction first.”

It was a question she had been meaning to ask for a long while now.

“Is she Royalty?”