Ascension of the Monster Queen
Chapter 67 - 67: About home

"Here we are," Mazen said as they approached a shop that was selling food not far from the harbor. They sat at a table outside, and Nessa patted Akio before Mazen went to make an order.

"We will get the food in a few minutes, you look sleepy, Nessa," Mazen said as he sat with her and she smiled.

"To be honest, I'm a little tired today; are you okay? You're not overworking, are you?" He scoffed when she asked.

"No, I have limitations; how are things with the prince?" He inquired.

"That guy is quite the actor," She responded.

"Pretending?" He asked and she sighed.

"Yes, he's good at it; he's even fooling the king; he's a pain," She responded.

"Are you sure you want to get more involved in this, Nessa? This isn't looking very good, "Mazen said and she lowered her head.

"I know, but, I have to help, I can't just leave the king like this, he deserves to have his happiness back, I know I am being stubborn, but it is what it is, I will deal with the prince myself," She replied and Mazen smiled.

"Yes, you are stubborn, but it's also admirable; you want to help him despite the fact that he's a stranger; you know, you can get more help than you think; also I wanted to ask, how long have you been away from home, Nessa?" He asked.

"It's going to be more than a month now, at first I lost track of the time, but when I looked back, it's day by day," She responded with a sigh and he patted her on the shoulder.

"What do you mean when you say I can get more help?" He smirked when she asked.

"The people who are complaining that their king is not doing his job, they love him, they won't want someone to ruin his kingdom and his life," He responded and she smiled.

"I just got an idea from that, thank you," She said and he smiled.

"You're welcome, oh, the food, one minute," he replied, then stood up and went to collect the order he made.

Mazen then brought the food and drinks to the table, and Nessa gave Akio his share before disappearing into the shadow to eat, and Mazen and Nessa began eating their food because they were hungry and it was getting late.

Nessa looked up at the night sky while eating, wondering what the others were doing back in town.

Little did she know that a lot of housework had already been completed, as well as a few other things that were still unfinished when she left, they were all working hard to help her in their own way, but also taking days off to rest, the money she left with them came in handy and they used it wisely while they awaited her return.

Later that night, after they finished eating, Mazen stretched off and Nessa smiled.

"Mazen, thank you for the meal," She said and he glanced at her.

"Your eyes," He said.

"What?" She asked as he lifted her glass to her eyes, and she sighed as she noticed one of her eyes had turned gray.

"It's gray," He said, and she sighed, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes for a minute before opening them again, and they were back to normal.

"They're back to normal," He said.

"Thank you, it's probably something to do with a particular ability of mine," She replied, and he smiled.

"It's fine if you can't tell me you know, Nessa, we're friends, if you have special abilities, I'll wait for you to tell me, I won't pry, but I'd love to know exactly where you're from, and one more thing, I won't be here for much longer," He said, and she glanced at him.

"What exactly do you mean?" She asked and he sighed.

"I'm going home; I think it's time, and if I don't, a lot could fall apart with me and my family," He responded and she smiled.

"Well, since it is a family matter, facing it head-on would be the right choice, even if it might get out of hand or worse, I know how that sounds but still," She said and he laughed.

"I will actually take you up on that; I just hope that in the coming month, which is only a day away; tomorrow the month ends, we get the king back here; do you think this will be resolved soon?" He inquired, and she sighed.

"I'll start by trying something else; it'll be difficult for me, but it doesn't matter, should be over with before you leave," She responded and he smiled.

"If that's possible, that would actually be great; if you want, Nessa, someday you can come visit my home, it's bigger but nice, my family... I'm not even going to address that part, but you'll have fun with my sister," He said, and she smiled.

"I would love to visit one day," She replied, "but for now, I have a lot to take care of and a few things to tell you about."

"Well, I'll be here, I'm sure the ones back home enjoy having you around," He said, and she sighed as she lowered her head.

"Home, huh?" She asked, and he looked at her.

"What's the matter?" He asked, and she turned to face him.

"I'm just not used to calling where I am now home; I haven't had one in many years," She responded, and he smiled.

"I understand, so you don't have any of your own family with you?" He asked.

"No, I don't," She responded, "but where I am now, they are all different and quite loving; people have different opinions about them, but they are better than most."

"Sounds like they are the ones, one will be willing to fight for," He said and she scoffed.

"Yeah, they're the kind of family you'd be happy to have, anyone, can go to them and feel loved, even if you don't know them that much, they do their best to keep you in their lives," She replied as her eyes began to burn slightly and she closed them.