Chapter 34
2193 Words
“Sir!” called Damian and Xavier, as they ran into the throne room, and Gale and Liam turned to them with a questioning look on their faces.
“It’s the princess. Something has happened in the Garden of Eternity,” stated Xavier.
Seriously, Gale looked at them with worry and then he pointed to the door.
“Go!” He demanded, and quickly, the two guards left the castle. Lashanna saw them from the stairs and she ran after them.
“What is going on?” she asked, as she reached them and ran along with the two men.
Damian looked at her with worry written all over his face.
“Something has happened to Ashta,” he said, as they reached the garden’s entrance and stopped.
Surprisingly, Ashta was lying on top of the boulder and she didn’t move. Immediately, Lashanna’s hands flew to her face, as she stared at her friend in horror.
“Oh, my god, is she?” Lashanna asked, unable to say the word dead.
Cautiously, Damian walked up to Ashta and looked her over. Relieved, he saw that she was still breathing.
“She is alive,” he called, as he looked back at Xavier and Lashanna.
Gently, Damian reached under Ashta’s legs and her head, and he slowly lifted her off of the large rock. He carried her back over to Xavier and Lashanna and looked at them.
“What happened to her?” Lashanna asked, as she pushed Ashta’s sweat plastered hair out of her face.
They were already headed back to the castle and the villagers watched them as they passed.
“She was glowing high in the sky and then she came falling down into the garden,” said a woman, as she looked at the group.
“How did she fall?” Xavier asked, as they continued to walk toward the castle.
“She was pretty far up,” said a man quickly.
Damian held Ashta snuggly in his arms as he carried her to the castle.
“We do not know what happened to her,” said another woman, and Lashanna nodded.
Suddenly, Ashta’s eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Damian.
“What happened?” she asked, alarmed, as she looked around, and Damian looked down at her in surprise.
“Oh, thank the gods, you are okay!” he said, happily, as he hugged her, close to his chest.
At that moment, Lashanna and Xavier joined in the embrace, and Ashta felt smothered.
“Whoa, whoa!” Ashta said, and Xavier and Lashanna backed away.
“Will someone please tell me what is going on?” she asked, as she looked at all three of them.
“Someone told us that you were glowing in the sky, and then you fell to the ground,” Lashanna explained, and Ashta looked at her for a moment.
The gods wouldn’t intentionally try to hurt me, she wondered as she shook her head in disbelief. Why would they have just let me fall?
Ashta moved her legs, Damian chuckled and she looked up at him in question.
“Would you like me to put you down?” he asked, and Ashta looked at him thoughtfully, as she shook her head.
“No,” she stated, and then linked her fingers together behind his neck.
Evidently, she didn’t mind being in his arms, and she didn’t want to be left alone.
“Okay, then,” he said deeply, and Ashta smiled at him. Then she looked over at Xavier and Lashanna with a grin.
“Do you guys want to go on a small hike?” she asked brightly, and Lashanna grinned at her, as she nodded enthusiastically.
“Okay, but we are going to spend the night out there. I want to see what happens at night out there,” Ashta added, and Damian looked at her thoughtfully.
“Spend the night out there? Xavier and I have to work in the morning.” He stated, softly, and she looked up at him gently.
“Don’t you worry. We will be back in time for you to go to work,” she said, as she looked at him through her eyelashes.
Ashta knew that look got to him every time she had given it to him. He couldn’t say no to that look, and Ashta sometimes used it to her advantage when he was being a poor sport. Damian couldn’t resist, and he jumped at every opportunity he had when Ashta wanted to spend time with him. Seemingly, his plan was starting to work because he could feel them getting closer and closer.
“Okay. We will come, but don’t get us in trouble with your uncle,” he stated, and Ashta nodded.
“Don’t worry about my uncle,” she said.
“You must stay focused!” whispered an angry voice, and Ashta quickly looked around.
“What?” she asked, as she looked back at Damian.
Did he whisper that? she wondered.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned.
“Put me down,” she stated, and he obediently did what she asked him.
“Mend the bond!” the angry voice whispered again.
Quickly, Ashta looked around startled.
Who was that strange voice?
“Ashta, what is wrong?” Lashanna asked with worry.
“You didn’t hear that?” Ashta asked, as she looked at her friend.
“Hear what?” Lashanna asked, and Xavier shook his head.
Gently, Damian put his palm to Ashta’s cheek and he looked into her eyes softly. Nervously, Ashta chuckled.
“Maybe you hit your head when you fell on top of the boulder,” he said, as he searched her eyes.
“Yeah, maybe you are right. Maybe we should go camping another night,” suggested Ashta, and everyone nodded in agreement.
“Besides, you should get some rest for your big day tomorrow,” Lashanna added, and Ashta nodded.
“I guess so,” she agreed, as they all headed into the castle and turned in for the night.
*********************
Suddenly, Roman felt a sharp pain in his chest, near his heart, and he yelled out as he dropped the weights that he was using. At that moment, Ray ran over to him and looked at his cousin with concern.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, as he reached Roman.
Suddenly, Roman was forced to his knees and Ray watched in horror as he watched Roman’s arms forced outward by an unseeable force. Then the symbols on Roman’s back began to glow.
“Roman!” Ray exclaimed, terrified, and Roman looked up at him.
“I can’t fight this!” he growled through gritted teeth, and Ray didn’t know what he could do to help.
At that moment, the training room disappeared and he was in the mysterious foggy garden.
“Roman,” called the moon god in a whispery voice.
“Where is Ashta?”
The glowing green eyes of the god appeared in front of him, and he looked at them nervously.
“We parted ways. Things didn’t work out,” he stated flatly.
“You have been blinded by jealousy and your own greed! The bond had already been made!”
Roman looked at the glowing eyes in question.
“Bond? What bond? She isn’t my mate,” he sneered, as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Suddenly, the green eyes grew bigger and they glowed brighter at Roman.
“Oh, unwise boy. She is, but the bond must be mended, or else all is lost,” the moon god stated, and Roman rolled his eyes.
“Sounds like you may want to get in touch with her,” he said flatly.
“You are not as powerful as she is! Know that boy!” snarled the god, and then he growled a low angry growl at Roman.
At that moment, Roman looked up at the glowing eyes angrily.
“What do you mean, dragon?” he sneered, and the glowing eyes began to fade away along with the garden.
“Hey, wait! Answer me!” Roman snarled, but the moon god and the garden disappeared and the training room reappeared before him.
Startled, Ray stared at his cousin with wide eyes as Roman got to his feet.
“Yeah, that happens,” Roman growled, angrily.
“What are you?” Ray asked, as he blinked at Roman, and he shrugged his shoulders, and grinned.
“Come on. Let’s go see what the kitchen has prepared, I am starving!” Roman said, and Ray only nodded.
Roman was not going to let what the moon god said bother him. He was as powerful as Ashta and that was that.
***********************
“Ashta.” whispered a voice, and she slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at Damian’s face hovering above hers.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi, come on. I have got something I want to show you,” he whispered, and she nodded.
Quietly, she followed him to the end of the hallway and then they slipped through a doorway. Silently, they climbed up two flights of stairs, and then Damian opened another door. To her surprise, he led her out onto the roof of the castle, and noticeably, the sun was beginning to rise.
“Wow, this is amazing,” whispered Ashta, and Damian smiled.
“I thought you might like this,” he said softly, and gratefully, Ashta nodded.
At that moment, Damian walked up behind her, bent his head down and pressed his cheek to hers. Suddenly, Ashta froze.
What was he doing? she wondered.
“Look,” he said quietly, and then he pointed to the clouds above the rising sun.
Obediently, Ashta looked, and to her amazement, she saw a dark and light dragon circling each other in the puffy white clouds.
“What are they?” she asked, and he chuckled softly.
“That is the moon and sun god. They can only meet when dawn meets dusk. This is their morning ritual and it has been for centuries,” he explained, and Ashta nodded.
“They’re beautiful,” she stated, as she sighed happily.
Damian was surprised at the fact that Ashta didn’t pull away from him.
Maybe the subtle approach was working, he thought to himself as he placed his hands on Ashta’s shoulders. At that moment, Ashta stepped away. She liked Damain, but being more than friends just didn’t feel right with him. Evidently, Damian sighed.
At least I got to hold her for a moment, he thought, as he looked at her.
“Today is the big day,” he said after he cleared his throat, and Ashta turned to him as she looked at him thoughtfully.
“Yes, it is. Today is the day I put that arrogant bastard back in his place,” she stated, and Damian looked at her with a worried expression.
“Do you think that you can beat him?” he asked, and Ashta scoffed.
“Ye, have little faith in me, my friend. I have been practicing and training non-stop, plus I have this, and he doesn’t,” she said, as she produced a fireball in her hand, and Damian only nodded.
He knew she was very powerful and strong, but that mutt had the same powers as she did now. However, he did have faith in her, but he also knew that mongrel was a very powerful creature. Thankfully, this was not a fight to the death match.This was a pin fall or a submission match. That meant that when one person could get the other to tap out or hold them down for a count of five, that person wins the match.
“I don’t have to be stronger than he is, I only have to be smarter,” Ashta noted, and Damian looked at her, as he searched her eyes.
“Just don’t get yourself killed,” he stated, as they turned and headed back to the door to go back inside.
Ashta giggled and placed her hand on Damian’s shoulder.
“You worry too much,” she laughed.
Damian turned and looked at her seriously, and Ashta put her hands up in defense.
“I know. I know. It is your duty,” she laughed, and Damian looked at her, as he gave her a clipped nod.
“Yes, ma’am, and now it is time for you to prepare,” he stated, as he held the door open for her.
“Thank you, kind sir,” she said, dramatically, as she curtsied.
Damian couldn’t help but laugh. He liked their little flirty games that they played with each other. Everything that morning had been a nice breather, but now it was time for her to focus on the match against Roman. Seemingly, Ashta was not looking forward to this one bit. However, once this was all said and done, Roman’s pride would be knocked down a couple of notches, and then hopefully he would see that they should be working together to save the kingdoms, and not against each other.
- Writer
