Embers & Spells

28 – The Lost Princess

The sun rays made the cove more breathtaking. The forest in the mountain was thick and too green, towering trees and unfamiliar bushes and flowers bloomed, making the landscape more ethereal. There were towers that could be seen from afar, planted at the other side of the mountain. Nobody was strolling the shore, though.

Nobody but us.

I still could not decide what to do with all the knowledge I learned from Arawn. Should I trust him to get my soul and Erin’s back from hell? Didn’t he tell me not to trust him? But what if it was the only way? What if one life should be taken in exchange of my soul’s freedom?

“Where are we going now?” I asked, my legs slowly getting numb.

“To Warell,” he answered, leading the way, entering the forest.

“Is that a person? Or is it a place?”

“He’s a dragon lord, Tana Axle,” Arawn answered. “He’ll tell you more about the White Queen.”

To be honest, I was more interested to ask about my father. Maybe they knew him. Maybe he could tell me more about what kind of man he was and if he was still alive. After all, I heard he was a prince, a royalty of some sort. That was the main reason why his family wanted none of me. Because they all should keep their pure blood. But, did he ever looked for me? We continued to navigate the forest, the bulging roots from the trees told me these were ancients. Maybe, as old as the dragons living here.

I actually had no idea what to feel right now. Here I was, being hunted by the fallens, being a victim of a High Table injustice, and now walking into the depth of a dragon’s forest, with a guy I knew was a Hunter.

Great.

Luck wasn’t really on my side. There was this growing fear I could feel in the pit of my stomach, sinking deeply, weighing heavily. I felt like everytime I tried to solve and find a way out of this maze of conflicts happening in my life, I always turned into a dead end.

I am lost.

A few minutes of walking then, Arawn Rhys faltered, his hand motioning for me to slow down.

He then whistled, a unique rhythm bounced softly around, the birds chirping back to him. He repeated the whistle after a few seconds. The leaves on the trees rustled, the sunshine barely coming through the branches. A moment passed before footsteps came in, a man appearing from behind a tree.

He was old, like really old, white hair evident on his head. He had wrinkles around his eyes, posture hunched, but his stare still looked intimidating.

“I’ve seen your eyes,” he said, voice raspy but clear. “I’ve seen it many times than my own. You got his stare, the same pointed look.”

I took in a lungful of air, only realizing then that I had hold my breath the moment he showed up. “I don’t know what you mean,” I said, glancing at Arawn.

The old man smiled, nodding his head. “Come, little lady,” he said, beckoning me with his hand. “I’ll show you around ."

We travelled by horses.

Of course, for ancient race like them, they kept the nature pure, using the same transportation they knew like before. The old man was Warell, one of the generals under the dragon king’s rule and now a lord.

“You knew my father?” I asked, the moment he helped me climb down the black horse we rode to reach the castle.

“The whole hoard knew your father, little lady.”

Before me was a castle, the bricks still intact, four towers were planted, each had different color flags at the top. Long red banners were draped on the high walls, a symbol of the hoard was embroidered on it, a five headed-dragon and fire.

“What was he like?” I asked, unable to shut myself from being curious.

“The kind that everybody hates,” Warell muttered, his hands at his back. “The kind the dragon lords should compete so they could be seen by the king. Hot headed. A handsome kind.”

I fell silent, all the thousand questions I had when I was young about my father seemed to disappear. I was afraid to know he didn’t care if I was born or not, or if he ever tried to find where I was. Did he hated my mother for bewitching him? I would not blame him if he did.

“Kima was the crown prince.” Warell stated, saying my father’s name out loud. “But things happen. Mistakes were made and he suffered the consequences.”

“Where is he?” I finally asked, hearing my own voice break.

The old man gazed at me, as if letting my question sit first. “He’s gone.”

There it was, the ringing in my ears, the shifting of the ground as if I was the only one getting the earthquake. The surrounding became bigger, or maybe I felt way smaller, learning I was really an orphan.

I nodded, biting back my sobs threatening to escape. No. I refused to shed a tear to a man I didn’t know. To someone who might not wanted me alive. My existence ended his ruling to this hoard.

“The kingdom is lost, Tana Axle,” Warell stated, his voice lacing with authority. “It has been for quite many years now. The people rebel when the king passed down the crown to someone that did not deserve the seat. The dragons flee and we had no idea where they are now.”

Arawn kept his mouth shut. He was just like shadow behind me, watching us.

“The only way to redeem the kingdom and put things in order is to have someone take the seat.” He regarded with a look, and I wasn’t sure what he meant with it. “Someone who’s blood the same as him. Only the pure can ride and command dragons.”

“Are you telling me I should take the seat?”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “No, little lady. You can’t just take the seat. You need to take the claim and fight for it.”

I blinked, finding my balance again. “But I don’t want that. There is no way I will claim that seat. My father’s blood sure runs through me but his destiny is not mine to take. I have more conflicts in my own life that I have to solve and I don’t need another one to add to the list.”

Warell glanced at Arawn, who was standing behind my back.

I stepped back and turned to face the Hunter. “I want to go back home now.”

He cleared out his throat, his eyes shifting from me to Warell. He nodded at him and gestured his hand for me to follow his track.

****

My cell phone constantly dinged on the bedside table. But I didn’t have the strength in me to check on it. I was too tired, too lost to entertain text messages and face reality.

Tears rolled down my eyes as I stared unblinkingly up the ceiling of my room, as if it was the most interesting sight to look at. I could feel my hands warmed despite the cold air coming the window. There was this poison inside me lurking like a rabid dog, ready to bite me if I let my guard down. What I thought was just a simple date with Inigo turned out to be the opening of a nightmare.

Funny. I learned every crucial thing I needed to know in a span of a day. Now that things were clearer for me, all I had to do was to find myself again and face each problem head on. Wasting time only meant longer suffering of Erin. Also, it would mean my life getting at risk because of the fallens trying to end my life every time they get a tiny chance.

For the millionth time, my phone vibrated, Agatha’s name showing on the screen.

Sighing, I knew she wouldn’t stop so I answered. “Hey, Agatha.”

“Oh my God!” she shrieked on the other line. “I’m not trying to be clingy, Tana, but we’re worried about you! Inigo’s acting crazy over lunch today and told me you guys were attacked last night and he have no idea what happened to you. Apparently, he’s unconscious and you were gone! And he can’t reach you on your phone!”

I sat from my bed, pulling in my legs against my chest. Hearing her getting hysterical about my safety warmed my heart, reminding me that there was still someone out there who cared whether I live or not.

Swallowing the sobs back, I took a lungful of air, trying to steady my voice as I wiped the tears on my cheeks. “I’m okay. There’s nothing to worry about, Agatha. I’m safe.”

I heard her sigh. “Good to know. But Inigo can’t help but get crazy, you know. Like, the guy’s totally into you.”

That made me chuckle. “I’ll call him after this.”

“Who gets to be the hero, though? Inigo told me you guys were attacked by some bad people after the last cinema schedule show. He woke up with you gone.”

I sighed, remembering how Arawn looked that moment. He was full of anger and all in warrior mode, literally ready to kill. “Arawn saw us and help us. I also passed out and he took me home. So…”

“And you feel traumatized and skip school, right?” she said, voice soft.

I nodded. “Right.”

“Dang, I should have dropped by your house after school then. What kinda friend I am?”

“You still check out on me, Agatha. Thank you. But don’t worry now. I’ll be in school tomorrow.”

I heard her sigh as well. “Seems like you’re getting close to Arawn. Did he like you or something?”

I laughed. That was the first laugh I made since the attack in the parking area. “No, of course not. I don’t know what makes you say that.”

“Well, first he took you home when you said someone bothered you the day of the Founder’s event. Earlier that day, I saw you with him riding his bike. And just everytime you guys passed by each other in the cafeteria or hallway or whenever, your eyes just locked. Like there was a magnet or something. And, you also followed him when we saw him at the afterparty in Omoro Diner.”

That silenced me. I had never thought how observant she was, honestly. Also, I didn’t know that was how we were viewed together.

“We’re just friends, I guess.” I shook my head at that statement.

“Huh, okay,” she replied. “Friends. He looks scary, though.”

“He’s not, actually,” I countered, remembering how gentle he always held me knowing how sharp and could be use as a weapon his arms were. But then the memory of him on his Hunter mode who pushed his hand on my chest to get my soul contradicted everything else. “Or maybe he is. I don’t know. I think he’s all right, Agatha.”

“Well, I trust you, Tana. If you say so.”

“I’m kinda sleepy now, so,” I said, wanting to end the phone call before it reached to some topic I wasn’t prepared to tell. I didn’t want to lie to her but some of the things needed to be kept as a secret.

“Oh, yeah. Go have a beauty sleep. See you tomorrow.”

I nodded. “I’ll see you, then.”

I hung up, tossing my phone on the bedside table. Flicking my hand, I turned off the lights.

My body screamed for some peace. Soon. Soon, I would have my life living in peace.