CHAPTER TWELVE
1532 Words
The general raised his brows.
Lord this day couldn’t get any worse – he thought as he eyed the blushing boy. And that was what he is – a boy. He was not prepared to face such an eager face and he doesn’t have it in his heart to reject his question. There will come a time that he would have to recruit men and women to join the Illuvian knights but he knew he could not start with this young boy.
For one, he is an heir apparent. The son of his host.
Second, King Lucius would be furious to find out that he lost his focus on the mission at hand.
And lastly, Princess Auria would have his head.
She saved this boy from bullies. One of his bullies is a brother of a knight in training. He would be exposed to that young boy’s constant harassment and Leo knew that Auria would do everything in her power to approve Lysander’s entry as a knight of Illumia
He looked at the young prince and his words of rejection stuck in his throat.
The little prince actually expected to be rejected. His eyes held back his disappointment but a blush formed in his cheeks
“Why?” Leo challenged, before crossing his arms.
The boy looked startled at the question. “What do you mean, general?”
Leo raised an eyebrow. He would have had an answer if asked outright like this. But then he knew that this was just a boy getting ready to step into manhood.
“Why do you want to join the Illuvian knights?”
The boy’s confused eyes cleared up before he straightened his shoulders and looked at Leo in the eye.
“I want to stop the bullying. My people have been accused of being spies and traitors against King Lucius. I want to stop it. As an enforcer of peace, I know that I can make a difference and represent my people so that we won’t be categorized into some stereotype.” The little prince replied.
“You are the heir apparent of Gildan. Soon, you will need to assume the position. How will you do that if you become part of the Illuvian knights?” Leo pointed out. He needed to make this fact clear to the young prince. He would be turning his back on his heritage.
The boy looked at his sisters before the oldest of them stepped forward.
“We have spoken about this sir. I will take over for him, after all a queen is as good as a king.” The little girl replied bravely. Leon smiled at her kindly before turning his attention back to the boy.
“I mean no disrespect to your resolve with that of your sisters’ but the answer is no.” He held up his hand when the boy wanted to protest. “You are still too young to make a decision of this magnitude without informing your father. It will remiss of me to allow you to join our ranks without your father’s consent. I hope you understand.”
With that, he closed the door and was about to take his position on the floor when another knock sounded back. Sighing, he opened that door and would have closed it again once he saw the prince and the princesses standing there.
“Wait! I know a way to enter the Impenetrable Forest.”
His words made Leo stop in his tracks. He reopened the door and raised an eyebrow at the prince.
“You know of a way to enter the Impenetrable Forest? Or are you just joking? It is a criminal offense to make false claims against an enforcer of the Illuvian army.” He threatened them to make them stop making wild statements.
The prince visibly gulped before he squared his shoulders.
“I do, sir. My sisters and I would play in the forest while hunting. If you really want to find the missing prisoner, I can help you with it. In return…”
“In return…you want to join the Illuvian knights?” Leo could almost see where this is going.
He admired the prince’s determination albeit a little bit misplaced. The boy thought that he had the upper hand. He will soon learn never to test the patience of an Illuvian knight.
But it would be useful to an extent.
Leo sighed as he looked at the young prince. He felt it in his gut that the boy might be speaking the truth.
“If you can navigate the Impenetrable Forest for us, I will see what your father will say about you enlisting. I will not give any promises but you need to prove to me that what you say is true. Otherwise, you are not going to be happy with what I will do with you.” Leo warned, his plans for a telepathic meeting with his king placed on hold.
“I assure you, sir. You will not be disappointed.
Leo was sorely disappointed.
After calling the attention of Elder Farrah, he and his company of knights along with the children walked at the edge of the Impenetrable Forest. He wanted to ask the prince on what year do they plan to enter the forest. He was worried that the trail will go stale if they wait too long. They had been at it for a while now and his patience was growing thin. He was about to call a halt when the prince suddenly stopped at an underbrush. He gestured at them wildly.
“Here! We go through here.” The prince shouted excitedly. He was about to plunge ahead but Leo pulled him back by holding the back of his shirt.
“Stay behind me.” Leo ordered grimly.
Elder Farrah held the children as the knights formed a circle around her with Leo on point.
Studying the underbrush, he was able to detect remnants of an ancient power that he had not expected to see in a long time.
Druid Magic
His heart started to beat erratically. He knew of only one who had druid magic.
King Nadim
The company navigated through the dense fog which was surprisingly parting to make way for them. Turning slightly, Leo was surprised to see the prince was glowing as he held the hands of his sister. They were light bright beacons but the slight sense of druid magic seemed to be wafting around the children.
They pushed forward, the light the children were emitting seemed to split the fog in half and seemed to be directing them forwards. Suddenly, the beacon of light focused on something on the forest ground. Leo approached it slowly, the smell of magic and death coating the pile like a dense mist, thicker than the fog that was surrounding them. The small company surrounded the small pile of ash like it was something fascinating to look at but Leo can feel the horrifying truth behind it.
Elder Farrah knelt down and held her hand towards the ash, her eyes turning into silver as she tried to delve on what happened to create such an unknown object inside the impenetrable forest. Leo and his company looked at her as she was in a trance like state for what seemed like hours but it was only fifteen minutes. She sighed before she dusted her dust free skirt and looked upward towards the sky. She seemed to be thinking things through before she waved her hand and the pile of ash was lifted into the air and burned brightly like the sun before falling down the earth in sparkling dusts.
“We must leave. This place is not safe for these children.” The elder gestured for them to move the same way as they entered. The little prince called upon his ability again and soon the company exited on a different area of Gildan, almost near the village. So the magic of the forest would disorient travelers into believing that they came from the same entrance.
“Prince Lysander, the assistance you and your sisters have given us today is very invaluable. I’ll be sure to speak to the king of your wish to be a part of Durin’s enforcers.” Elder Farrah smiled at the little prince. She was aware of the deal that Leo had struck with the little boy but neither gave definite replies.
As they made their way back towards Gildan’s castle, Leo whispered to Elder Farrah.
“Is it as we feared, madam elder?”
Elder Farrah sighed again and looked at Leo in the eye.
“It is more than that, I’m afraid.” She shifter her gaze back at the forest. “The forest enclosed the magic that killed Lady Sandra and was able to give me a snippet of who our enemy might be.”
“Who is it?” Leo was almost afraid to ask.
“He is back.” Elder Farrah replied.
- Writer
