Seven years passed.
Aidine and Roune were standing on a hundred-year-old tree on the edge of the magic forest. The young princess scanned the horizon.
"Still not in sight."
She smiled mischievously.
"The king of punctuality is late for the first time. This is a historic event. I'm preparing what I'm going to say to him when he finally arrives."
"You're no longer a child, princess," Roune remarked, licking his front paw.
"Say the one who scratches the branch with his hind leg so impatient."
Roune laughed almost hysterically.
"How I can't wait for him to arrive."
Aidine and he exchanged a knowing smile, then suddenly a shadow appeared and seemed to cover the whole place. A cold, ominous shadow, then a violent wind rose and swept away the fiery hair that the young queen had let float freely down her back. She gracefully wore a spring-green battlesuit similar to her eyes, with a black band around the edges.
"Highness," said Roune, who had sensed the same sinister magic.
"Yes," confirmed Aidine, "but what's going on? And does it have anything to do with Master Foyne's delay?"
But she forgot all about it when she saw the reflection behind the barrier that sheltered her hidden kingdom."
A gigantic, evil reflection.
In fact, he didn't stay still for long, for he was already hitting the barrier with all his might, and it was only a matter of time before it gave way.
"Majesty, get on my back!" intimated Roune, who had also grown to twice her size.
"Yes!"
They were about to head for the shelter's platform, where a ship was always ready for this kind of emergency, when the barrier exploded in a terrible blast that sent them tumbling to the ground.
A giant entered, shapeless and hideous. He clearly had no talents other than brute strength and speed, which perfectly illuminated the situation.
He'd been sent to kill her, plain and simple.
Aidine and Roune got to their feet and ran among the creatures in the shelter who were also fleeing this mortal danger.
The ruthless giant crushed everything in his path, focusing only on Aidine.
A swarm of round flying robots swarmed towards the monster and fired at him together, slowing him down. But in one breath, he got rid of them.
Still, this gave the queen enough time to reach a vast, flat, spherical field engraved with magic spells.
She waited until her hunter was in the middle of it before glowing and activating the spells.
The giant sank into the now boggy ground. He tried to hold on to everything around him, grabbed a clod of earth and hurled it viciously at his two opponents, who were able to dodge it but just barely, injuring Roune.
He collapsed to the ground.
The monster was so powerful that Aidine could only half-bury him.
"I can do no more. Let's go to the ship," she said, helping her creature to its feet.
By the time the giant had climbed out of the swamp, they had reached the platform, but at that moment, their furious enemy created a tremor that crushed them to the ground, then jumped up and charged at Aidine, mouth wide open to devour her alive.
The young queen didn't even have time to think it was over when an extraordinary light descended from the sky and struck the monster with a terrific crash.
When it had calmed down, Aidine opened her eyes to find that the body of the monster struck by such power had completely disappeared under the impact, but more importantly, she saw an incredible creature standing before her, immense and powerfully built, whose coat was an electric blue dotted with golden yellow spots, as golden as its intense, intelligent eyes.
"Majesty?"
"Yes, I'm the Queen of Aedor. At least unofficially, and you...?"
"I'm Jeefol, we've been sent to rescue you. Let's go before more arrive."
"We?" raised Aidine automatically.
But Jeefol didn't have time to reply as a bolt of lightning struck him just as suddenly.
He grunted and turned towards the intruder. He knew immediately that this was a formidable opponent. It was a mercenary with long silver hair and a scarred face riding a huge lightning beast.
"I see they were right to send me after all, their stupid monster fell at the first blow."
Jeefol squinted, surveying the newcomer, sensing that with this one, it would be more difficult, much more difficult as he knew him by reputation.
"Given your power and your beast, you're undoubtedly Tirom of lightning."
The latter tilted his head.
"Oh, but you know me!"
He studied his opponent in turn.
"But I have the impression that the reverse is also true, that sparkling blue fur, and that great strength, you must be Jeefol, on the other hand I can never remember your...in fact what is he?"
"Never mind since I'm going to get rid of you now!"
And without further ado, Jeefol charged at his enemy with full power, and an epic battle ensued between them.
Aidine and Roune were admiring this incredible spectacle when the queen sensed a presence behind her, like a mist pierced by glowing eyes, so without hesitation, she turned towards this strange and rather devious individual attacking from behind, and inflicted a violent blow to his face, sending him to the ground. What she found was not a doom-laden being as she'd expected, but a young man of her own age, or perhaps a year older, wearing a midnight-blue and red combat suit, who had brought a hand to his cheek, his glass-gray eyes blazing with anger.
"But you're crazy!" he shouted again as he rose to his feet.
Irritated for some reason, Aidine pursed her lips and straightened up.
"I'm the one who should be asking that! No but, sneaking up behind the others like a fool to surprise them, especially in a situation like this, you'd need a freak to do that!"
"Freak! How rude, when we came especially to help you!"
Aidine pointed at Jeefol, who was fighting admirably against the galaxy's ultimate mercenary.
"He saved me, you did nothing!"
"Hey, we're together, so keep it down a bit!" he demanded, crossing his arms sulkily.
Aidine couldn't believe what she was hearing. She guessed at once that the individual standing before her had no qualities other than beauty and a little courage, apart from which, everything else left a lot to be desired.
"Who are you actually?"
"We're members of Gaazal, and elite ones at that."
"And it's certainly no thanks to you!"
"Jeefol is my Gournouk, so in the end, I'm the extraordinary one."
"Gournouk, what the...?" Then Aidine shook her head, "no, it's not important, you specified Gaazal...I think it's a galactic organization, isn't it? You're going to take me to their headquarters?"
"You could put it that way, if you'd like to follow me," he gestured to the ship they'd arrived in, which seemed larger and stronger.
"Who says I can trust you?" inquired the young woman, suspicious as she studied her interlocutor's face carefully, which was really sublime but…nothing special, right?
"We did save your life, though."
"Your Gournouk did."
"Yes, you said it, he's my Gournouk, and now let's go!"
Aidine actually had no hesitation in following him, all the same, she asked.
"Wait! And Jeefol."
The young Gaazal only shrugged carelessly.
"Oh, it's Jeefol, he'll be all right."
"You're not going to help him!"
Aidine was scandalized, for she had noticed that the blue beast was beginning to show rather serious signs.
Gaazal turned to the queen and simply confessed.
"I can't help him."
Aidine shook her head in dismay, then blazed and struck the ground with all her might, which collapsed.
"Jeefol, let's go!" she shouted at him. He obeyed, and together the others left the open shelter, of which there was little left.
They soon reached the space. The queen breathed a sigh of relief, then straightened up.
"Wait, you say you were sent to rescue me, so on the way here, you might not have met my teacher...?"
"Foyne?" completed Jeefol, who had taken command of the ship. "Yes, and it was he who alerted us to the terrible danger you were in."
Aidine almost collapsed with relief.
"Thank the Lord, Master Foyne is alive."
She laughed.
"I knew it was impossible for this paragon of virtue to deviate from his rules of life unless there was a reason as catastrophic as this one."
"Good for you, but let me point out that there are three, no eight, no ten ships doggedly pursuing us."
And that was an understatement, because they were fast and launched a flurry of super-powered fire at them.
"If we get hit, we're finished!" remarked young Gaazal with an obvious grimace as he considered the handful of enemy ships.
"Then do something!" demanded the Queen with eloquent gestures.
"All right, Jeefol, do something."
"All right...master."
The young sovereign rolled her eyes, then gasped as she heard the title.
"Jeefol, don't tell me you serve that incompetent!"
"Alas, Your Majesty."
"I managed to get Jeefol on my side, so it's not all about strength," asserted the incompetent with almost admirable aplomb.
Aidine didn't know what to say.
"Jeefol?" inquired his master.
"If Tirom isn't in his ships, I can easily get rid of them."
"How?" asked the queen, stunned.
$Chapter