The Heart of Illumia

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Auria looked at the tip of the arrow and gulped.  Her eyes trailed from the silver point to the bowman who was dressed in forest green clothes.  She slowly stood up and raised her hand in a gesture of surrender.  She let her eyes look at the bowman’s face.  It was a handsome face.  It was the first time that Auria had come face to face with a man who did not have Durin stamped all over their aura.  He had strong chiseled features with a strong aquiline nose and frosty eyes.  His dark red locks kept on falling down partway on his right eye but his bow did not waver.  He was lean and athletic, not as burly as Aidan, Valen and Leo but his face did not detract from his steady hold on the bow.  Auria acknowledged the richness of his clothes as the sun glinted on the costly quiver and belt adorning his tall frame.

            The man’s eyes widened as he took in her features.  It was then that Auria remembered that she forgot to wear her mask. 

            Quickly, she turned her back from the bowman and donned her mask.  She turned her back from the man and made to leave to join the company.

            “Wait!” a husky voice called out to her.

            She whipped around and looked back at the man.  He withdrew his bow and arrow as he resumed gazing at Auria, his silver grey eyes widening with each second.  There was a certain tinge of recognition that Auria saw in his expression but she could not, for the life of her, remember who the man was.  Admittedly, he was very handsome but Auria has always been surrounded by handsome men.  Some with no good intentions.  She did not want to be involved with any boy, man or beast.

            “I have to go.”  She muttered before turning her back again on the man.

            But he was persistent.  As Auria made to walk away, she did not notice that he had crossed the stream at a run and grabbed her wrist.  Auria’s back stiffened before turning to look at the man.  She had to look up as the man was a foot taller than her which was already something to note.  In Durin, she was almost as tall as her uncle Leo which intimidated most of her so-called suitors.  Her height was not the issue as most of them were after her title as the princess of Durin.

            It was quite different with this man.

            With him, she did not feel the usual antsy feeling she gets when men flock around her.  She saw that he was as conflicted as what she was feeling but with him, there was something different.  He seemed to be under the delusion that he knew her.  Since this is the first time that she had travelled out of the kingdom, she could not recall who this man was.

            “Yes?”  She hesitantly asked.

            The man continued to stare at her.  Auria’s fringes were falling and parting at the sides, given the sunlight access to the green depths of her eyes.  The man’s eyes widened in disbelief and that is when alarm bells rung inside Auria.

            He knew her.  He recognized her.

            “Do I know you?”  Auria’s eyebrows knotted as she asked in a whisper.

            “It really is you.”  He murmured in wonder, his hand making its way to touch her cheeks.

            Just as suddenly, as if he had just woken from his trance, he immediately stepped back.

            “Hey!  What the heck are you doing?”  Aidan shouted out as he saw the way the man was standing near her.  The soldiers were alerted and looked back at what Aidan was running at.  The company immediately sprang into action, their weapons ready.

            “Halt!”  Leo loudly barked.  The company stopped in their tracks and looked up at their general.  The general unmounted from his horse and briskly walked towards the two.  The man stood tall beside Auria, unfazed at the blazing fury shining from Leo’s eyes.  He was almost near when two figures emerged from the foliage near the stream.

            “Big brother, we should get back.”  A young woman dressed in blue came and called out in a loud voice.  She was with three other ladies dressed in pastel colors.  They stopped when they saw their brother standing beside a woman dressed quite manly for their tastes.  Their eyes widened when they saw the horses and armored men standing a little bit farther from where they are, their weapons in their hands.

            Immediately, they approached the pair standing near the stream.  The girl who spoke earlier, clinging at the man’s arm in fear.

            “There is nothing to fear, Julia.  I think that they are just passing through.”  The man reassured the young girl before turning towards Leo who was now pulling Auria behind him.  His eyes betrayed his disappointment but he kept his regal stance.

            “My Lord General Leo, it is an honor to be once again in your presence.”  The young man made to bow slightly in respect.  Leo’s eyes widened in surprise.

            “Prince Lysander!  What are you doing here?”  Leo bowed forwards at the royals.  Auria mirrored his action and stood meekly behind him, flanked by both Aidan and Valen.

            “I should be asking that question, general.  You have entered my lands and did not give the courtesy of informing me.  My representative failed to mention this to me.”  Lysander said, his eyes arrogantly sweeping from the group of knights standing at the side before settling again on Auria, his eyes softening somewhat.

            “Ah yes, you were absent during the conference with the leaders of each quadrant.  I assumed that your representative has informed you of the importance of this visit.”  Leo smirked.  The little brat has grown into an arrogant prince.  He had not expected time to bring about such a drastic change.

            He could still remember when the boy had asked to be trained as a knight.  After the discovery of the remains of Lady Sandra, Leo had approached King Cathmore to allow his son to be trained as an Illuvian knight.  Unfortunately, the king had refused outright, saying that the boy is his heir and must learn to govern his kingdom before serving in some other kingdom’s regiment.  The boy even threatened to forfeit his birthright if his father did not allow him to stay in Durin.  But the young boy was dissuaded from joining when his father threatened to have one of his sisters marry a monarch from another kingdom.  Since his sisters were still young and fear that his father would barter his sisters without batting an eyelid, the prince decided to not push forward with his plan.

            It was good that the boy had turned into a man.  Leo can see how time had given the young man what he needed to grow although his rejection might have soured his mood towards Durin.  Even the princesses were wary of the knights.

            “Oh is this about the sudden change in the Impenetrable Forest?”  Princess Penelope asked all of a sudden.  Her brother and sisters looked at her in warning.  She slapped her hands onto her mouth but Leo heard her.  He remembered that these siblings had a certain affinity with the energy inside the Forest.

            “If it is alright with you, your highness, I would like to have an audience with the king.”  Leo bowed in respect.  Lysander nodded absently, still fixing his gaze onto young Auria.

            “Of course, of course.  Come and follow us.  We can give you food and shelter for your soldiers and your horses.”  He murmured before turning back from where they came from. 

            “Are you alright?”  Leo asked Auria as Aidan and Valen followed the prince and his sisters.

            She shook her head before looking at the retreating figures.

            “He knows who I am, uncle.  I do not know who he is but he knows me.”  She replied.

            Leo chuckled.  He knew who that boy was but Auria could barely remember anyone from her childhood except for a few who made a lasting impression on her.  Leo thought if he should relieve her of her stress but decided against it. 

            “Oh, I forgot.  We need to talk.”  Auria suddenly blurted, halting their steps.

            Leo nodded at his second in command.  Soon, the company were galloping their way towards Gildan.

            “What is it?”  He asked.

            Auria related to him what the fairy queen had shown her last night.  She told him everything.  From who the creatures were and how they became abominations until the mission to destroy their nesting grounds guided by the magical map.  Once she showed it to him, it glowed with a bright light, indicating where the next area and portal would be.  It was right there in Gildan.

            “Two birds with one stone, eh.”  Leo chuckled.

            Auria shook her head in defeat.  Gildan is a hunter kingdom.  Lady Giselle did mention to look for the wolf, the hunter, the warrior and the scholar during these journeys as they would be invaluable in this mission.  She hoped that the hunter can be found in Gildan without any hitch.