Azura

A mysterious new friend

"Race you to the mouth of the river, first person their wins" Princess Ariel tells her friend Steff as she mounts her prized horse. "You know we aren't to venture through the forest Ariel, if your father finds out he would surely banish me" steff tells her. "Oh come on Steff dont be a coward, dont you want a break from being cooped up in the gates?" Ariel asks. "Fine but we cant be long," Steff says while straddling her horse. The two ride off into the distance. "I beat you again" Ariel says while chuckling to Steff at the mouth of the river. "Ok ok, you've always been the better rider" Steff says while rolling her eyes. "now lets just go before the king misses us" she finishes. "I wanna go for a swim" Ariel says while removing her clothes. She dives into the water and taunts Steff to get in but she refuses. Ariel had always been the braver of two. Steff was the more cautious friend but after being friends since the age of six the two had gotten accustomed to each other and understanded each other well. Ariel splashes around in the water and at one point holds her breath underneath pretending to be drowning before popping up to see a terrified Steff getting ready to jump in to rescue her. Ariel laughs hysterically while Steff screams that it isnt funny and she wants to go. The two girls are interrupted when they hear noises in the far distance Steff immediately bolts to her horse and hops on before riding off leaving a worried Ariel behind calling out to her. Terrified Ariel hurries from the water and puts on her clothes. She is about to mount her horse when she hears a voice yell "hide behind the tree" in a broken low voice she responds "who..oo..ooo who are you?" "please dont hurt me!" she mutters. "I'm trying to help you" the voice returns. "I'll tell you when its safe to come out" "hurry!" the voice whispers. Instinctively Ariel leads her horse with her and ducks behind a tree just in time as a group of men emerge from amongst the trees. "What a loot!" "we've made a small fortune in one day" they say amongst themselves. They give each other approving smiles while arranging a bag filled with gems, fine linen and other items. "Hey danny boy it was hilarious how you bonked that old geezer over the head, i never laughed so hard before in my life" one of them says as he bursts out into laughter. "He kept saying please dont hurt me, hurt me" one says in a mocking tone in a child's voice while gesturing to the other. Ariel listens on in terror crouching down behind a small willow tree when she spots a scorpion crawling up her leg. She shrieks and gives out a low cry as she brushes if off before instantaneously covering her mouth. "What was that?" one of the men gives out as they all go silent. They start scouring the trees with their eyes before slowly making their way to Ariel's direction. Suddenly a great white bird flys out of the trees and screeches before landing on a limb before them. The men see this and one of them remarks "its just a dumb bird!" "Come on its getting late" another says as they ride off into the forest. A relieved Ariel slowly appears shivering from behind the tree. "Are you there?" she calls out but no one answers. "I just want to thank you!" she yells. She listens for a moment but hears no one answer her. She is about to mount her horse when she hears the voice say "your welcome." She looks around again but sees no one. "Can you show your face she yells out?" she yells again. "I'm right above you" the voice replies. Ariel lifts her head immediately but only sees a white bird before her. She examines the bird and is amazed at how majestic he looks. His feathers are as white as snow and he appears very statuesque. She thinks for a moment that she had never seen such a bird before. She wasnt sure what kind he was either. He looks like an eagle she thought. Reality sets in and she shrugs her head as she whispers "birds cant talk, i must have bumped my head." She mounts her horse and takes a final look when the bird flies on a lower limb before her and says "its me!" Ariel stares for a moment in disbelief. "What you've never seen a talking bird before?" "The name is Azura" the bird says. "You can talk?" Ariel says again in amazement. "Yes maam" the bird says again. "My mother always liked the name Azura and she thought i was a girl. So i ended up with a feminine name" he says. "She stares again for a moment before finally muttering. "Im Ariel princess of Capernicum, thank you for helping me" she says. "I know who you are and you're welcome" he replies. "Wait how do you know my name?" Ariel asks. "I know alot of things my dear" he answered. "Such as?" Ariel asks again. "Well i know for starters that you go riding further than you should into the forest every tuesday, i know your favorite fruit is wild berries and i know that you like to pretend as if you are tough but deep down you are a soft and caring person who is willing to sacrifice anything for her father and her people" he adds. Starring in amazement Ariel asks him how he knows all of that information to which he responds by saying "I know alot of things my dear." Ariel marvels at him and tests his knowledge a few more times but each time he answers correctly. The two start talking more openly and Ariel realizes that they both share a love for nature and for seeing peace and prosperity brought to all of Asia.

"Where has the time gone, my father must be worried out of his mind" Ariel blurts out. "Yes you should be heading home before it gets any later" Azura replies. "I'll fly over you till you the reach gates to make sure you get home safely" he tells her. "But how will i see you again?" she asks him. Azura points to a tall tree near the river and tells her thats where he lives. "If you don't see me just whistle and ill come find you" he tells her. With that being said she rides to the gates and looks up and waves goodbye to her new found friend. Inside the castle her father inquires about where she has been and scolds her for riding into the forest without any escort and being out so late. She reassures him that she was safe but she will not go alone again, choosing not to tell him that Steff was there with her but rode off and left her in danger knowing that her father would be furious. She tells him that would like to get cleaned up and walks off to her chambers to have a bath. For the rest of the night she finds herself pondering on her new mysterious friend. She thinks of telling her father about him but she knows he will not believe her she knows that others may try to exploit him. She wonders how he knew those things about her. He had never really explained that. At dinner she toys with her food as the thoughts fill her mind. Finally she retires to bed early so she could get up at day break and return to visit her new friend.