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Wings Shrouding the Sky (Part 1)
“Nier.”
“Your Majesty.”
Nier sat up. Elizabeth signalled with her hand for Nier to not stand up. Elizabeth walked over to her and removed her cloak. She used it as a blanket then lied down with Nier. Nier trembled as she looked at Elizabeth, who was lying next to her. She desperately wiggled over as she was afraid it was too squishy for her Empress. However, Elizabeth didn’t mind. She grabbed Nier’s hand and, with a smile, said, “It’s all right, Nier. You don’t need to be so tense. Didn’t I tell you? You’re now my daughter, since you’re my son’s wife.”
“Your Majesty…This…this… Isn’t…”
While Elizabeth was right in saying that, Nier still struggled to come to terms with it owing to her past. Nier viewed Elizabeth as a noble existence, a holy soul who wasn’t to be defiled. Thus, she wasn’t to be approached. Nier had started coming into contact more contact with Elizabeth, but she still treated her with her old attitude. She always treated Elizabeth as the Empress and herself as the Valkyrie.
“It’s all right. Didn’t I say that you were a daughter to me? If you don’t want to change, you can, at least, be my daughter in private.”
“But… but… Your Majesty…, I… “
“It’s fine. It’s fine. My son is sleeping with that woman tonight. If I don’t have anybody next to me, I think I might sleepwalk and kill her.”
Elizabeth hugged Nier with a smile. Nier was so frightened that she froze stiff and didn’t dare to budge. Tone soft, Elizabeth chuckled: “You don’t need to be so nervous, Nier. You were once a Valkyrie I trusted, and now you’re my daughter-in-law who I’m proud of. Therefore, there’s no need to feel nervous.”
Elizabeth tried to be more intimate with Nier so as to not make her so tense. Elizabeth touched Nier’s head, and then pulled Nier into her embrace. Her long black hair covered Nier. Though it appeared to be cosy, Nier was fearfully quivering in her Empress’s embrace.
Elizabeth sighed. With a helpless smile, she said, “Sometimes, I envy you so much. Seeing you and Lucia reminds me of myself and Vyvyan back in the day. I don’t want to admit it, but I must say that Vyvyan and I were quite close at the time. I was still young back then just as you are now. Before I knew it, I’ve become old. I’m at the age where I emotionally sigh when watching you young ones.
In the past, I didn’t feel I was old. After all, I had lots and lots of things to do at the time. I, therefore, didn’t have the spare time to repent and redress my errors. When my son returned to me, though, I realised I was old. I realised that my son had come of age. Since he was so old now, that meant that I was old.”
Elizabeth then gently caressed Nier before going on in a tender tone: “I really am quite jealous of you. I’m jealous you get to live together with my son and accompany him into old age. I want to be with him, as well. I’m a failure of a mother. I was never there for my son in the past eighteen years. How much longer will I get to spend by his side? I wasted eighteen years of my life. How many more eighteen years do I have left in me? I’m human; I can’t compare to Vyvyan.”
“Your Majesty…” enunciated Nier. Even if Nier was hypothetically idiotic, she could understand what Elizabeth was implying with her story. She smiled helplessly: “Your Majesty, if you mean for me to approve of the suggestion, you just need to tell me. I am a Valkyrie, after all. I will never defy your orders, so you have no need to worry. I may be unhappy about it, but nonetheless respect and admire you. Therefore, I will definitely obey your command.”
“If I did that, I won’t be happy in spite of obtaining what I want. If you weren’t married to my son, I wouldn’t feel so guilty. As I initially said, you’re no longer a Valkyrie to me. You’re my daughter. That’s why I need to properly discuss this with you. You’re my son’s wife, which is why I don’t hope for this to impact your love with my son. It would be for the best for you two to be together forever. This… I hope you won’t consider this from the perspective of a Valkyrie, but as a wife, my son’s wife. I want you to consider this as my daughter-in-law.”
Elizabeth then touched Nier’s head. She softly continued, “This is very unreasonable, I understand that; I guess you could call it my wilful desire. I no longer have anything else that I desire. All I want is time. Only by having enough time can I continue stay by my son’s side. I’ve lost eighteen years. I don’t have many eighteen years. I truly want to spend more time with my son. I really do.”
“… I understand now.”
Nier looked at Elizabeth’s face and gave a slow nod. Although Elizabeth’s request was outrageous, no doubt, Nier understood Elizabeth’s true feelings. Elizabeth truly wanted the dragon egg. She was neither a dragon nor an elf. Humans had very short lifespans. Life was so short in front of a human’s loved one. As the Empress, Elizabeth had never pleaded anybody, but she literally prostrated herself in despair before Nier that day. As a former Valkyrie, Nier couldn’t refuse her.
Nier was upset about it, but there’s nobody who wouldn’t sympathise with Elizabeth when seeing the latter so despondent. Nier took in a deep breath. In a soft voice, she responded, “I could give up everything for you. You are my Empress. You are everything to me. You once gave me a purpose in life and courage. Therefore, I can give up everything for you.”
With a helpless smile, Elizabeth hopelessly replied, “This isn’t for me. We have to take into account my son’s feelings on the matter. With that said, given my son’s character, I think that he will agree.”
Nier nodded. Elizabeth then turned over and gently took hold of Nier’s young and strong hand, startling the latter. Consequently, Nier didn’t even dare to let her finger budge. Elizabeth smiled and closed her eyes. She ended their conversation with a soft goodnight: “Goodnight, then, Nier.”
“Goodnight, Your Majesty.”
Elizabeth slept very well that night, whereas Nier didn’t, because she was afraid of offending Her Majesty. Although Elizabeth said she didn’t mind, Nier remained awake due to her reserved mannerisms as a Valkyrie. Had she still been a Valkyrie on that night, she’d be able to brag for an entire year after sleeping with Empress Elizabeth.
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Current time in Irina’s room.
“Ugh…”
Irina’s finger twitched. Blearily, she opened her eyes. She sluggishly looked around.  Her dragon heritage granted her a strong life force and rapid recovery ability, allowing her to regain conscious within a short time frame. She blankly looked at the ceiling she was familiar with. Slightly perturbed, she wondered why she was there. What transpired resurfaced in her mind. She suddenly realised why she was there. She vigorously sat up and looked side to side. However, due to the painful sensation from her belly, she instinctively took in a breath of air and lay back down. She wondered, “What exactly happened?”
“Irina, you’re up.”
There turned out to be somebody next to her. She just didn’t notice her before due to the darkness. Irina lingered for a moment. She fearfully looked at Sylvanas. Sylvanas wasn’t angry. Instead, she, in an amiable tone, told her, “It’s all right. You don’t need to be afraid. Since you’ve come to, it means that you’re all right. Keep sleeping. You should be close to fully healed by tomorrow morning.”
“Queen Dowager Sylvanas… I… I… Umm…”
“Don’t mind it,” interjected Sylvanas, accompanying her response with a shake of her head. She didn’t let Irina continue stuttering her explanation. She subtly smiled: “I was very angry, but I can’t find it in me to get angry when I see you in this state. Moreover, you almost became the hope of the dragon race, so you should be more heartbroken than I am right now.”
“What… do you mean… almost…?”
Irina’s heart immediately stopped for a few beats. The words dunked her into an abyss of ice. A numbing sensation started at her fingertip and spread throughout. Her brain ceased functioning. She opened and closed her mouth, but no sounds came out. She touched her belly with her shaky hand. There was a slight painful sensation from her flat belly.
“Unfortunately, Irina, you had a miscarriage. Your egg was crushed when you were assaulted.”
Sylvanas sat by the edge of the bed and took hold of Irina’s hand. Irina spaced out as she sat there. It was pouring on her parade, yet she felt as if she was reborn. She had no idea what sort expression she was meant to wear. The future and bliss that she fought tooth and nail to attain was destroyed. Just hours ago, she was immersed in the panic and bliss of becoming a mother, yet it was all gone before she could really relish it. It seemed fake as a dream and terrifyingly surreal.
“I… I…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, Irina. Since you could get pregnant once, you’ll be able to get pregnant a second time. Don’t rush. Don’t rush. Irina, don’t be too sad about it. None of us expected this to happen. You’re still young. You still have a future. You’ll have another child… You still have a future…”