Saving The Unfortunate Villainess: Chapter 6

Atlas

Looking in awe at the amazing ring that was just created around my finger, I couldn’t help but feel so delighted with today’s events. This was one hell of a way to cap it all off, what feels like the first day of the rest of my life. My connection with Chloe was just stamped with an exclamation point.

I’ve always known that I felt a little hotter than all those around me, but I was healthy, so I never cared. Who knew that the heat I was feeling was so grand and also a connection to the girl of my dreams? It really makes me wonder who brought me into this world and also how I specifically got this power. I felt the imprinting of a weird language into my mind during our kiss.

There are two things I know for sure. One, I was just soul-linked with Chloe through both of our powers. Two, I’m now capable of using a fire type of magic. No wonder I’ve always been mediocre with the sword and could never be anything better than average. I was meant to be a magic caster, not a swordsman.

Now I truly have the tools to protect Chloe from the dangers we will probably have to face in the future. Taking a look down at my body to see if everything was all right, I was shocked being completely naked and in front of a girl. No wonder she’s been blushing fiercely for the longest time now.

“I’m so sorry about my appearance, Chloe. Let me go get something real quick; hopefully everything in my closet is still safe.” I jumped out of the bed faster than I’ve ever moved in my life.

“It’s completely fine, Atlas.” She gave me a smile with a sweet-as-honey giggle. I couldn’t help but turn back and feel captivated by the beautiful girl, who was currently lying on my bed. To think I will now live the rest of my life with her. Those dead eyes she had earlier today were now full of energy, as if she was now reborn, ready to take on the new world she had just found.

As I entered my closet, which is the literal size of a bedroom, I started to break down the weird text. If I focus, I’m capable of translating it manually as I read it.

It seems that for both Chloe and me, we had just received magic circles on our hearts of the other's elemental attribute. So for mine it’s ice, and for Chloe it’s fire. My heart is a literal inferno, and to keep it under control, I have to increase my circles of ice. I’m assuming it must be the same way for her ice heart with fire circles.

There is no method to increase the circle number, but from what happened during the first activation, it must have something to do with our bond. In what way, I have no idea as of right now. From just a kiss, we both activated our dormant affinities, but I’m sure another kiss would do nothing.

If we had sex, I wonder if we would gain another circle. I pondered curiously, but at the same time, it’s too soon to go that far. It could just be that the proximity to each other can grow more circles over time.

The crazy thing about this is my heart actually has a name, but at the same time I’m not able to communicate with it. That name is also my middle name, Ignis. I wonder how in the world my parents gave me a middle name of what my heart claims to be, or at least from this text. I’m willing to bet that Chloe probably has the same deal with her middle name, Aspen.

After having some time to myself to collect my thoughts and get into some comfortable clothes. I heard a commotion coming from where I had just left Chloe. Most likely my mother, father, and sister had just entered the room.

I rush out of my closet quickly to handle the situation.

“Atlas, what the hell happened?” My father roared.

I saw a scared Chloe who put herself under the covers, shaking, with a worried mother and father looking at me with faces wanting answers. My sister was at the doorway being held back by a maid, not allowed to enter. The room was a literal mess and could be dangerous for her; it's better she stays out.

“Some things happened, but nothing bad, I can assure you.” I said with thin lips, trying to put on a confident front.

“What do you mean nothing has happened, Atlas?” My mother exclaimed as if questioning my sanity.

“Please just calm down, and I will explain everything.” I glanced over at Chloe, who was currently sticking the top of her head out of the covers.

“Yes, explain it now.” My father urged me to speak quickly as my mother looked on.

“Do you remember when I was younger and the doctors couldn’t explain why my body was much hotter than everyone else’s?” They both nodded their heads. “Well, my body has reacted to what’s inside of Chloe.”

“What do you mean by that?” Everyone in the room, all at the same time, looked over at her as she once again hid herself under the covers.

“For reasons I don’t understand, my heart is literally an inferno, and it has reacted to what’s inside Chloe. Her heart is one affected by ice, and both of them together have seemed to react with a powerful synergy to each other.” I explained.

“So, what exactly does that mean? Also, what’s up with the colorful ring on your finger?” My mother pointed out, looking skeptical.

“Well, in a matter of speaking, Chloe and I have just bonded with each other on a soul level through our attributes. This ring signifies coming together and could also represent the rings that go around our hearts. I’m confident about the former but not the latter.” I’m still very much in the dark about this whole situation and will take some time to figure it all out.

After my words, I watched as both my parents eyes widened. I can only assume what they’re thinking and could possibly doubt their decision to allow Chloe to stay here.

“I just want to say this before you two think anything bad about Chloe. If not for her quick action of coming to me in time, I might have literally burned to death in an inferno. We both need a counterbalance to our powers to use them effectively. One can’t live without the other.” Pausing to allow them to take it in, I continued, “The best way to describe it is in a way I’m literally fire and Chloe is like absolute cold.”

“Is that really true?” My mother mumbled after hearing my explanation.

“I’ve heard of this before, when someone is capable of resonating with an element itself. They usually become the most powerful spell casters of that generation. But for something like that to manifest within our family is really outrageous. There has never been a recorded case in your mother's or my family line. It’s as if it came out of nowhere.” I watched on as my father was deep in thought about the current situation. “Mages collect circles around their heart to increase overall power, but your explanation is different from the way they do it. They don’t use the actual element themselves.”

“How do you even know about that, Dad?” I asked curiously, wondering who he got that information from.

“With my dealings over the years, I’ve run into many mages around the kingdom who are developing new products to possibly invest in. Every now and then I will get a talkative one, and they will start talking about how magic works even though I don’t ask them.” My father sighed.

“What I understand from the text that was imprinted onto my mind…”

“HUH?” times two from both parents.

“You see, when Chloe and I solidified our bond, we were both imprinted with information about what was happening to us. It explained how we needed to keep acquiring circles around our heart to increase power and decrease the chances of being destroyed by that power.”

“Destroyed?” My sister exclaimed from the door with a panicked face.

Looking at me seriously, my mother asked, “Are you confident everything is ok?”

“To my knowledge, we should both be fine for now, and I’m pretty confident our emotional connection is what will increase the circles. I also expect just the act of staying close to each other could create more circles. Both of our powers seem to interact with each other seamlessly.” I commented.

“Do you think your visions were leading you to her to save yourself?” A very interesting question was asked by my father.

“That could be true, but we’re both each other’s saviors. If something bad happened to the other, both would have a tragic fate.”

“So in one day you’ve already become a married man,” I heard my father mumble, with the others in the room smiling while glancing at the ring.

“In the future I would like to have an actual ceremony, but I’ve also said nothing about this to Chloe with it all just taking place.” I’m pretty confident she’s going to say yes, but I still owe it to her to at least ask before making any arrangements.

“I accept.” Chloe said in a low voice, but everyone in the room heard her words. Her eyes were a powerful sapphire with little white snowflakes falling down. Almost like her irises are little snow globes.

Everyone in the room was stunned by her words even though it was already expected with the current circumstances. But this just made everything even more real and not possible to stop this runaway train.

My mother walked up to me, grabbing my hand to look at the ring. “It’s very beautiful.” After my mother’s words, both my father and sister come over to view this very unique, one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry. With our family currently in this field, they can very easily appraise its true value.

“Chloe, would you like to say anything about what just happened? You’re literally my other half now, so I would very much like to hear your opinion.” I walked up to her, currently in my bed with one of her hands exposed from under the covers, so I took it into both of mine. Her stunning eyes stared intently into mine. “Your eyes are so beautiful.” I blurted it out.

I saw her face instantly turn beet red as my sister gasped from behind me. In the original story, I never knew anything about her frozen heart. It explains a lot about her personality and her nickname of being an ice princess.

“Umm… My mother and her mother, every person on that side of the family who is female, has died before the age of thirty. Most are in their early to mid-twenties because of the curse we’ve had to suffer for the last few centuries.” Chloe takes a deep breath and continues. “It was always the greatest wish to find the one who could bring the end to our despair, but to do that we must find our counterpart. Luckily for me, I’ve just found mine, and this should hopefully put a stop to the curse plaguing my family.”

The room was dead silent with everyone paying close attention to Chloe’s words, tears dropping from her eyes. I looked back at my three family members, who all had somber faces. They all had good hearts and would, of course, feel for the girl. She’s family now, so of course they would sympathize with her situation.

“My mother died when I reached the age of five, but she would always tell me that I would be the one to bring about the end of the curse. Of course, she wasn’t the one who told me the details about my particular condition. It was thanks to my so-called family members after her passing that they would rub it into my face.” Chloe broke down even more after those words.

I quickly pulled her into a hug, whispering, “It’s alright, Chloe. You're now with people who will be there for you.” At those words, I felt the embrace of my mother and sister joining in as my father put his hand on Chloe’s head.

“Chloe, since you’re now practically my daughter after what happened tonight, I would be grateful if you considered us family. I will go have a talk with the king tomorrow and get everything squared away.” After about five minutes of consoling Chloe, we both moved to another room because of the damage and lay down together to get some sleep.

After what just happened, Chloe and I both wanted to stay close, with that being the most comfortable considering our connection. My parents said nothing and just smiled as we both went into the same room. Of course my sister tried to join us in bed, but I wouldn’t allow that tonight.