While both of them left, inside one of the rooms,
William was sitting up in bed. His eyes looked at the pair of daggers lying in his hand.
After he woke up, he excused the medical team, wanting to be alone. His eyes were red, but no tears dropped from them.
He was exhausted mentally and physically. His whole body was bandaged, but the one that hurt most was his heart.
Many memories with Roxy appeared in his mind, reminding him again of what he had lost. Moments passed in silence before, finally, he gripped the dagger in his hand.
He forced his body to stand up and then left the room. Outside, he met Blaire, Aurora, and Sasha, who had just finished with their private talk.
Surprisingly to Blaire, Sasha didn't have any problem with Aurora marrying him. She also didn't resent Aurora despite her being the one who put her into a coma.
The reason for this is that Sasha has already heard many stories about Aurora. She knows how important Aurora is for Blaire.
Seeing William rise from the bed made Sasha worried; despite having just met him, she could empathize with what had happened. She almost lost Lily in that fight.
"You shouldn't be moving around yet, William. Take care of your body first."
William's lifeless eyes turned towards Sasha. He didn't respond to her words. Instead, he asked, "Where is…" His voice quivered for a moment; he tightened his grip on the dagger before he continued. "Where is she?"
Despite his cryptic words, they understood who he was looking for. But before Sasha could answer, Blaire beat her to it. "Her body is with Alex. But he is not here now."
"I see… Where is he?"
"He went back to that forest, but it's better if we just wait for him here," Blaire replied.
They knew he was going there since Lily sent a message to Sasha.
William didn't respond. Instead, he turned away, walking toward the exit. Sasha tugged at Blaire, silently telling him to stop William.
Blaire sighed, moved forward, then held his shoulder.
"Look, I understand you are grieving now, but you cannot just go out with your body . Did you think Roxy would want to see you get hurt again?"
Hearing Roxy's name made William's body shake.
He turned around, facing Blaire, then started saying in a high pitch, "Understand!? You say you understand!?
Have you ever lost someone important to you!!! What do you know about how I feel now?"
William moved his hand over his chest, grasping it; his breathing started getting heavy.
"Actually, I do know. I have lost someone important to me before, and I know how hellish it feels. But William, let me ask you once again, what do you think Roxy would want you to do now?"
Blaire said this since he felt, rather than convincing William with other reasons, using Roxy's name would be far more effective.
"She…" William was at a loss for words.
If Roxy were here, she would tell him to take care of his body first. Her last words reverberated again in his mind, making his heart throbbed even more.
William dropped to his knees, tears starting to fall again on his cheek; he didn't say any words.
Sasha moved forward, wanting to comfort him, but Blaire stopped her. "At a moment , it's better to just let him alone, Sasha."
"But Blaire, what if he?"
Blaire looked at William and then said, "No, he won't hurt himself. Let's just give him some privacy. I will ask some maids to bring some water and food to him."
Time passed; it didn't take too long for Alex and Lily to return back to the forest. Following Lily's pointer, they reached the place where the Guardian fought the King before.
To Lily's surprise, not everyone was there; there were a few people missing.
"Do you think it's possible for them to survive?" Alex asked as he looked around the area, seeing the marks left from the fight.
He could also see a trail of blood reaching deeper into the forest.
"I…" Lily's voice trailed off; she was too ashamed to answer the truth. At that time, she ran away without even assessing her comrades' condition.
Seeing her not answer, Alex didn't push her further. Instead, he started walking, following the trail of blood. Using his ability, it was easy for him to calculate which one was fresher.
Based on all the marks, he guessed the King didn't even bother to finish them all; he just did some massive attack, making sure no one could threaten him, before then leaving the area to pursue Lily.
Seeing Lily following him, Alex pointed to a different area, "It will be faster if we split up. Try to move that way; there are blood trails, too."
Lily agreed, and then they went their separate ways.
Alex was not worried Lily would meet the King or the fairy squad; he had gotten a message from Alice that they already moved to a different area.
Following the trail, Alex was surprised at how far the Guardian moved with torn limbs. Based on the marks, the Guardian probably crawled all the way here without her legs.
It's quite a distance, almost 2km (1.2 miles).
Looking at the end of the trail, Alex could see a few footsteps on it; he concluded someone was taking the Guardian off the ground. But he didn't know who.
Alex decided not to pursue further, instead going back to trace the other marks. He planned to ask Alice about this since he suspected the Fairy was the one taking her.
'Based on Alice's goal, they should heal the Guardian. It will make the Fairy look good and portray the King as the villain.' Alex thought.
It didn't take long for him to trace back the path toward Lily's location. In the chariot, he gave her a comm to allow easy communication and tracking.
Alex was surprised to see Lily had found her comrade.
'Why didn't the fairy help all of them?' he wondered.