#5 town of Hope
1541 Words
the group made their way back to the waters edge in the moonlight. once they made it back to their camp the warriors sank back into their tent giving the two women time to talk. it was Zara who first broke the silence. "I have some extra clothes if you want to wash up in the water. it is actually quite nice. then we can get some sleep in my tent before we hit the town of fairies tomorrow. "
Avaly shook her head. "I'm not allowed in the town."
Zara gathered her hands squeezing them tight. " your days of isolation are over. you are the princess of this entire realm. you can go wherever you need to. I will keep you safe and so will the warriors. go clean up." Avaly went to the waters edge and undressed dipping into the water. Zara left a change of clothes for her for when she was done an retreated to her tent to set it up for the Princess. why were these people keeping her from taking her rightful throne? Zara knew it was her duty to find out these answers and restore the lost princess to her kingdom. the tent door opened as Avaly stepped in and sat down on the make shift bed Zara set up for her. "sleep princess. tomorrow we head into town and start restoring you to the crown." Avaly looked down at her hands as she balled them nervously in her lap.
"I wouldn't make a good ruler. even if my birth right is this lost princess, I wouldn't be good at it. a ruler has the respect of the their people like king Jonathan of the fire shifters..."
Zara Cut her off before she could finish her words. "did you say King Jonathan?"
Avaly looked at her confused. "yes," her voice cracked as nerves set in. "he has been ruling here for five years now. he is set to marry Princess Scarlett of the Earth ice shifters to seal his place in both kingdoms."
"it is not his place to rule here. only yours by birth and he never married Princess Scarlett. she is mated to my brother Prince Liam. Now everything makes more sense. His father must have had you taken at birth so he could claim this as his kingdom and rule both Ithica and Earth. it was all a power grab.your twin sister Princess Scarlett would never marry him. He was not her true mate."
"But King Jonathan has declared himself and the people of this land follow him. he isn't a good man here. he takes what he wants. he has people killed if they do not obey. I refused to marry him before I was shunned from my tribe. I wanted nothing to do with him."
"he was trying to force you to marry him so he could have a real claim to the throne. he knows who you are. we will get you your throne and he will be punished for his crimes. get rest princess." both women turned and closed their eyes. they knew the journey ahead wasn't going to be easy.
Avaly woke up to the sounds of twigs snapping outside the tent. she could hear men's voices whispering softly. she pushed up off her bed and looked around. she saw that Zara was not there and she was alone. She rose quickly from the floor jumping to the entrance of the tent only relaxing when she saw the warriors cleaning up and Zara sitting around a small fire eating food. Smiling at Avaly waving for her to come and sit with her. Avaly sat next to her as Zara handed her a plate filled with delicious different foods. "thank you. I don't think I have ever seen foods like this before."
zaras brows raised as avaly took in a bite. "what kind of food are you used to here?"
"well the fairies eat mostly vegetables and leaner meats like fish and some occasionally eat the warvoc but usually they have a plant based diet and then other creatures such as the dragon shifters we eat warvoc and heartier meats if we can find them. our metabolism needs the iron rich meats."
"warvoc?" Zara was confused.
it was then that Avaly noticed Leif and the warriors had joined them. Leif spoke up answering Zaras question. "warvoc is equivalent to our elk on Earth. very hearty meat for a dragon shifter or wolf. this forest is teaming with them since it has no known predators here. not even the fairies eat them often. come princesses we must be getting on our way. the camp is cleaned up." both women looked behind them noticing for the first time everything was put away and in their packs already.
Avaly smiled at the men. "you are all very efficient." she stood brushing herself off. it was foreign to her to have people to talk to. she had been alone for so long she wasn't sure how she was supposed to react or do things so she lowered her head bowing to the warriors out of respect for them.
"no princess we bow to you. we serve you." Leif, Finn, vald and Eric all bowed their heads to their future Queen. she was taken back unsure of what to do looking nervously at Zara who just smiled.
"trust me you never get used to it but you learn to hide the shock." Avaly watched as Zara grabbed her bag hoisting it onto her shoulders.
"I have nothing to bring with us for our journey." Zara winked at the princess.
" you will. just follow us to your destiny. the moon Goddess herself sent me here to you. trust me you will never want for anything ever again." they all started the journey into the town of Hope. two warriors in front and two following behind them. Avaly had never had anyone trying to protect her before. it was an entirely new feeling and she couldn't help but be nervous. She never let fear guide her before and she refused to let it dictate her now. she knew she needed to be strong. it was the closest she had ever been to knowing who she truly was. they had made it to the town of Hope by mid afternoon. the buzzing stopped the minute all the townspeople noticed avaly walking with the group. she could hear the whispers as they walked the cobblestone roads. everyone stopped as Zara made her way to the front of the pack they had formed.
"fairies of the town of Hope. I am princess Zara and I am here after finding the lost princess Avaly the rightful ruler of Ithica!" avaly looked around as the towns people gasped and started whispering.
soon a young girl came out of the crowd bowing her head to avaly and Zara. "are you here to help us and protect us from King Jonathan?" the little girl couldn't have been older than six and avaly looked surprised at her question.
"I shall try my best. what is your name?"
the little girl smiled bowing her head to avaly again then bending down on one knee. "my name is Rosalie your highness and I pledge my loyalty to you." Avaly shot a glance at Zara who nodded her head at her. completely shocked by this little girl. her eyes scanned the crowd that had formed as they watched the towns people kneel down and pledge their loyalty to Avaly.
"you are pledging your loyalty to me?" confusion written all over her face. "but you wouldn't even talk to me before. I was outcast in this realm."
the little girl grabbed her hand. "we were threatened death by king Jonathan." the warriors continued to scan the crowd to protect Avaly and Zara.
Leif was the first to talk. " we need a place to stay and some food before we head to the fire territory to claim your birth right. it is a hard long journey." Avaly nodded as Rosalie gestured towards the small tavern in the town. it was a cute little village with thatched roofs. each building lined cobble stone roads. Avaly looked around nervously never having been accepted into the community before and she was taking it all in. sitting down in the pub each one of them was given plates of food and stews. the warriors smiled at the servers while Eric seemed to look around nervously.
Avaly watched him for a short while before speaking up."what is wrong?"
Eric looked around. "I think my fated mate is here. I can smell her." everyone looked at him in disbelief. that thought had never occurred to any of them as they started out on this journey. what do they do? Should they bring her along and hope she was ok with the dangers? it seemed like a lot to ask of anyone let alone someone who had never gone to battle before. Zara was deep in thought when Eric suddenly jumped from the table rushing to another server and snatching her in his arms.
letting out a deafening roar as he pulled her closer to him. "mine!"Eric had found his mate.
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