The Books of the Shadows III- Silver Tiger

2

"Do not even think about it!!" his head almost exploded at the impact of the voice and the power of the drive of his mother. 

Only with her voice and vital energy, she could make him stop, because he could feel so much pressure that Silver froze on the spot, unable to move.

She was a Warchild alright, her mind control was so strong on everyone, including her children, and she was not shy to use it even on them. Her words in his mind came with a push of dominance, making him bow his head instinctively and stop for a few seconds, falling on his knees and feeling petrified by her order. His brain was no longer working at that time, his muscles could not function. It took him a few moments to shake a little from the power that dominated him relentlessly, and shaking his head he became present and attentive to the environment again, just in time to observe the s*******r. His father could not hold his mother in place, obviously, and she simply threw her saruman demon out of her body, and this one just flew above the targets and halved the ranks of the invaders. 

That was the moment when he began to run down the hill, towards the halved army, and with the bow ready to fire, he tried to approach the line of troops, where He, the one who seemed to command them all, he was too focused on his mother and he had already prepared his bow to shoot at her. He also heard his father desperately shout "Protect the king's life!!!" when he saw his mother approaching that the one who seemed to be their leader.  Siver also noticed the royal guards approaching his mother's position in order to flank her and shield her the best they could.

At some point, trying to get closer he heard his mother screaming his name: "Silver!". 

She looked worried about him and watching the invaders he understood why. The one who was leading them had set his eyes on him and his bow was ready to shoot. He managed to duck the arrow but his mother had derailed the path of his arrow with her own, so as not to strike her son. How lucky he was that his mother was the best archer in the kingdom! When he saw that the arrow did not reach its target, the leader of the invaders got angry and turned his attention to those who fired, and heading for the place his parents were along with, his sister, and some of the royal guards that were accompanying them that day... They did not take too many because they did not know they would run into this! 

Going through the negotiations after he saw the power of his mother's saruman was the wisest thing these strangers could do. Because only that would keep the rest of them alive in these shadow territories. So he reached to his family just in time to hear the name of the leader. Kaion.

So, they were shadows indeed, and most surprisingly, they were shadows of the Warchild House, the ruling house of the other world too. That was not a problem, because Silver himself belonged to the Warchild House, just as his mother, the king, was. The problem was that in the other world, there were two main houses at war with each other, and their lands were split between two kingdoms, whilst here, those two houses were united under his mother's rule. And those shadows, were nothing here. 

They could understand each other, which was good, they were speaking the same language. The leader raised his hands in peace and tried to approach the group. That Kaion seemed smart enough to understand that he needed them in order to survive here. They even looked civilized, even with their slightly more advanced weapons and the full armor on them. They spoke civilized. They were looking for their females.

"Females" they called them! Ha! Silver looked at his sister boiling, with her red face showing exactly what she would do to these "so-called Men" as she would name them back. Yeah, that was a funny view to see, knowing that she could not just throw their assess back into the portals. 

He did not like how that Kaion looked at his mother when he presented himself as the crown Prince of the Warchild House. Well, it looked like he was his equal, as Silver was the Royal Blood of the Warchild and Shadow Assassins in this world. Not the Crown Prince yet but still. 

-I'm Kaion, he said. I came here to look for my females, please allow us to search for them on your lands. Maybe we could get some assistance?.

Silver paid attention to him, to this Kaion, thinking about those women looking back scared. Were they scared of him, maybe? In this world, they did not speak so low of the shadow women here, and to just call them "females" was not just an insult, but also a lack of consideration. They were human beings, smart and carrying, gentle and kind. And without them, there would be no men in this world, as they were the ones giving birth. So why so much lack of respect for them in their world? 

-You came to look for what? his father asked him, trying to let him know that it was not the right way to answer and maybe, just maybe, he was smart enough to reconsider his answer. But arrogant and like a fool, that Kaion insulted his father.

-What don't you understand, dog, females! 

That made Silver boil inside and even wanted to intervene, he instantly grabbed the hilt of his sword and realized that the royal guards had done the same, and this did not go unnoticed by these reckless strangers. But Silver stopped in time, not doing anything, because he knew better. His father showed his class though, answering the stranger.

-And, why are you looking for ... these females of yours on our lands? Did they run away from you? 

They all smiled, well not all, just them, because the "others", just seemed shocked by his father's courage.

But the best moment that made Silver's day, was the moment he saw the strangers' faces when his father just put them all in place. Arrogant like a stupid child, the prince tried to impress them all with his title and his belonging. But he did not find the right person for it. So when he asked them, no, he ordered them more like it to be treated like the prince that he was, Silver's father put him in place:

-YOU WILL BE TREATED AS I CONSIDER TREATING YOU! depending on how you treat me! The way you behave right now and the information we have so far, we already know that in your world, the houses of Warchild and Assassins were at war, but here they are not, so you will refrain from comments that will fly off your head, do you understand that, you, Kaion of Warchild? That is if you need help in finding your... females... that are on OUR lands... So they belong to us now... 

Kaion accepted their help. He had to...

He wanted to find his females as he claimed they are his sister and her maids and that he was responsible for them all. He kept his voice and head low, in order not to provoke these shadows that stated clearly that they are to claim his female for as long as they are in their territories now. He tried to behave and be as friendly as he could. 

He couldn't understand how these shadows could be an ally, because, in his world, the House of Warchild was at war with the House of Shadow Assassins. They did not get along. Yet here, they seemed united, working together and respecting each other... that was... interesting to see and maybe learn from if possible...

Silver thought about the women, looking scared over their shoulders, ready to die in another world rather than living in theirs. A princess? What would make a princess want to run away from home, from safety and comfort? Away from security? Was it him? Maybe he was not telling the truth? His mother ordered him to go in search of the women from the other world, and he saw how displeased of the situation that Kaion looked. The prince did not trust him. Good, that was a mutual feeling then. But, thinking about it, would he trust someone else if it would be all about his sister? No way!

He turned back on the road he had already come from, in order to reach the spot he had seen the females getting out through that portal. Then he calculated the distance, and he turned his attention to where they had entered the forest when he had to leave to reach his family. They should have been ... around here. He found exactly the perfect place through which they entered the forest. They didn't know how to cover their tracks, you can see how helpless they are. 

They would be sure victims for the light men if they would find them, but also for other shadows without women. How could a man lose some females like this? Silver could not stop amusing himself rewinding in his mind the way Kaion told them that they are his females, and he is responsible for them. And that he lost them. How can you lose them? Your own sister? He would never lose Moon. Ever.

Moon was only younger than him by less than two years. She was soon to be 16. She was just as beautiful as his mom, with long, silky hair, dark as the night; she had the body of a goddess, slender and a little curved, and she dressed herself knowing that very well. She was someone who could turn heads for sure, without even opening her mouth. And when she would speak, ha... Moon would just shame most of the young Lords of the House of the Sun, who were in charge of science. She was so curious and so bright, and so stubborn, just like their mother. She was great. He would never lose Moon. How could Kaion lose his own sister?

His "females", as he called them, they are not even trained in the field tactics; they know nothing. They could not even know how to hunt for themselves, they would surely starve to death, he thought. With that in mind, he hurried to catch up with them because it was almost dark, and at night everyone knows that the forest comes to life. 

The road was filled with trails they left out of out of carelessness or ignorance. He even wondered if it was the first time they had run away from home. She would never have managed alone in a wild and unknown territory. He had to catch up with them as soon as possible. And it wasn't long before he saw all three of them with long tree branches in their hands, trying to chase a rabbit. By the Gods, what were they going to do with those branches... they really thought they could catch that rabbit with them?? Incredible... He had a lot of fun. Of course, the rabbit didn't let itself get caught. 

He let out such a sincere laugh and scared the three of them into an amazing battle formation: the maids in front of the Princess, to protect her, or so it seemed to him. So that was the fugitive Princess, huh?

He raised his hands trying to show them that he was not coming with bad intentions and presented himself so as not to be scared more. 

-I'm Silver, from the house of Warchild and Shadow Assassins. Realizing that he had already frightened them by the expression on their faces, he remembered that the mask on his face probably would not have inspired too much confidence in them, nor in the united houses, he was heir to. So he felt the need to give them a little confidence - if a title could have won them so easily. 

-I am the Royal Blood of these lands, and I will not harm you. I don't fight women. 

And to his surprise, all three of them seemed to have calmed down. By all the gods, how could they be so naïve?? Of course, they didn't have to be afraid of him, because he wouldn't have hurt some women, but maybe someone else in his place would have done it. How to put all your trust in a stranger, on an unknown land? It was just like he said. These were females that could not fight and they were helpless here on this land. Someone had to be responsible for them. 

After him, they also presented themselves, only none of them mentioned the rank of princess. Okay, at least they were smart enough.

-Kale, Anterim, and Senere, one of them made a sign with her hand, presenting the names and the persons. 

-So what are you doing here, alone in these woods? The night is coming, and it is not that safe for you here. 

-But is it safe for you then? Kale, one of the maids asked a little naughty, rising from her head up in front of him. 

Hmm, only for doing that in front of his mom, she would have lost her head in this moment. 

-It is, he answered her, deciding not to take the insult in the count for now. He did present in front of them as a Prince but they were not from this world, so they did not know they were insulting his rank. 

-And how is that? She asked him again.

-Because I can climb faster than you three can, and that bear I saw about 500 m away, surely will be satisfied after it eats the three of you, and until it reaches me, it will not be hungry and will let me go. 

Hearing his words, the three young women looked at each other in horror and then looked around to see if the bear was approaching, not that they could have retaliated in any way. 

-Please, don't you let it eat us? Please? the naughty maid was pleading to him to protect them all.

-Hmm... I don't know what to say... You make so much noise in the woods, and you can't even hide your marks... Your clothes are not from here... and you are?

-Not from here, Senere, the Princess spoke her first words with such a beautiful hypnotic voice that felt like velvet enveloped his soul. 

-Runners, huh? Who are you running from? And when he saw that they were all silent, he went on to reveal that he knew something of where they came from, in order to gain their trust a little. I saw you all coming out from that portal. So?

The girls realized that they could not lie too much about their appearance, and already feeling threatened by the arrival of the bear seen by the stranger, they approached him cautiously but asking for his protection.