THE WRETCHED

ROYAL PHOENIX

It wasn't the way she looked at him, it was the way her eyes pierced into him. He could feel the intensity of her strong gaze burn through his skull. He had just come back from a day of training with Aemilia who had been surprisingly nicer to him than the past few weeks. He had even seen her smile once when he managed to hit the target. It had been a good day until he was in the same circle with an angry Jenna. He sighed and went towards her. They were standing in a circle, Benna was at the centre of it, he had assembled them for an important discussion but all Arold could think of as Benna spoke was Jenna's scathing look. She warily watched him approach her from her side, his fingers tightly crossed at the back hoping she wouldn't jump on him, "you seem quite angry," he commented, a tease in his tone.

"Would you like a slap?" she asked sarcastically.

"I wouldn't want that," he replied, her gaze fell o the talking man, her whole focus on Benna rather than the awkward boy who squeezed between her and Maia, "am sorry," he said, " am sorry for shouting at you,"

She was quiet, not a bother to look at him, "I was wrong, I should learn to hold my own without expecting some magick to help me,"

"Good for you," she replied barely glancing at him. In truth, she felt awful for the way she had treated Arold. He wasn't a coward or an incapable person. She somehow felt jealous that he had heard the opportunity to help their fellowship when she hadn't done anything praiseworthy to help them. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry for making him feel incapable but she held her tongue, the words couldn't just come out, it was one of those hard pills to swallow. She had often found it hard to swallow her pride.

"Am sorry," she blurted out and looked anywhere but at his shocked face that slowly brightened up and a coy smile spread on his wide thin lips, "what did you say?" he faked pretence.

"Joan would love to hit you," she replied, a tight smile on her face.

"Who's Joan?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"My sword," she saw the way he raised an eyebrow, "after Joan of arc?" she said, exasperated.

He nodded and turned to face Maia, "dangerous this one," he mouthed to which Maia shook her head and smiled, "what's he saying?" he asked.

"We're going hunting," she replied just as the circle disbanded and everyone spoke in hushed tones in pars, "what are we hunting?" 

"A Chimera," she replied.

"It's a monster with three heads," Kastor cut in, "it has a lioness and goat head on it's front and the tail is a snakehead,"

"We might as well through ourselves in a pit of fire," Arold answered sarcastically.

Nike joined them, "it releases fire from its mouth and from what Gregory says, there are two of them,"

"We're officially dead," Kastor cried out.

"Speak for yourself," a deep voice next to Arold spoke. Arold was a bit taken back to see a tall muscle built boy next to him, he resembled Aemilia especially the big feline eyes that looked so predatory, he took a step away and smiled uneasily. His eyes searched for Aemilia and found her staring at him as if daring him to speak, he chuckled and  got his head back in the conversation just in time to hear Kalli's concerned voice, "wouldn't we be late in retrieving the rings if we engage in another hunt?"

"We have been here for three weeks," Hero cut in.

"Deimos and his monsters can only guess where the rings are. He hasn't figured out where the first ring is yet," Greg explained.

"How do you know?" Maia asked.

"We are phoenixes, our eyesight is the best you'll ever find. Our scouts patrol these areas thoroughly, he's headed North instead of going West," Aelius offered, "and anyway, a month in the Phoenix camp is like a week outside these confines,"

"That's comforting," Alec replied half happy.

"Why are we going after a Chimera?" Arold asked.

"Are you scared, kid?" Aemilia's small voice cut in, her eyes challenging Arold.

Arold straightened his back, "I am not! A little caution is necessary,"

"He speaks facts!" Aelius replied, his big hand resting on Arold's shoulder heavily, "we go there in two days, we need to be very cautious. If they catch the scent of us then they will spread more fires in the forest,"

"So that's what's happening," Arold muttered softly.

"How are you supposed to kill the Agramon?" Aelius jested but his eyes hardened like the cold ice, the coldness in them piercing Arold in the heart. He wanted to ask what Agramon was but he didn't trust himself enough to handle the truth, a cold shiver ran through his spine and a cold wind swept across his face simultaneously. He didn't like it.

"What's Agramon?" Jenna who stood rubbing shoulders with Arold asked, curiosity bubbled up in her brown eyes.

Aelius shook his head, "It's not what... it's whom," he replied. He was cut short by Benna's loud voice ordering them to go to sleep. Aelius' mouth curved into a hard smile, his eyes drilling into Arold before he turned around and followed Gregory to their tent.

"You're getting good with the bow," Aemilia now Aemi to him rubbed his shoulder with the palm of her hand as she walked past him to quench her thirst with the water they'd carried in the Green Lion skins. Kastor still got chills from the sight of them and rarely drunk from them. Arold smirked, "am a first learner,"

Aemi sat on a rock, her legs spread out, "but you don't know the real heat of the battle Arold," 

Arold shot one more arrow and it hit the eye of the vampire, his eyes lighting up. It was his third time hitting it and he's learned to become flexible with his hands, he could quickly retrieve an arrow from the quiver mounted on his back. He had finally understood what the seer had meant when she said that the arrows were special; they never seemed to end, he couldn't count how many he'd used but they kept filling up, it was bizarre. 

"For the first time in my life, am not afraid," he replied, turning towards Aemi, "I want to know what it feels like to be in battle," he said, "sometimes when I think about it, freedom is what comes to mind. I feel a sense of freedom when it's just me and my arrows and my bow," he took a seat next to her, grabbing the water skins to take a gulp.

Aemi turned to him, "you would be a fool not to be afraid Arold," her grave eyes hunted his free spirit and he didn't want to acknowledge that she might be right otherwise he would get too scared for his own. good.

"Who's Agramon?" he asked her, his hands resting on his knees. A cold wind whispered in his ear like the howl of a wolf far away. His back tensed up, his eyebrows furrowed, "what's wrong?" Aemi asked.

"Nothing," he shook his head. His imagination had been running wild of late, "you were going to tell me who Agramon is," he reminded her.

She sighed, standing up, "we should get back to practice, you're not going o your first hunt half baked," she said, her voice leaving no room for negotiation. Arold picked his bow and arrow and followed her.

"If I were to tell Kara about this world she would believe me," Jenna was saying when Grego joined in. They sat outside basking in the sun, their bums on rocks carved to look like chairs, it was one of those things that made sense to Arold...very few things had made sense to him for the past one month.

"Rocky would think you're nuts and he would wake up from his crush," Arold commented, his eyes laughing at her, "and let's not talk of Scott," he added, knowing it would irk Jenna.

 Jenna made to jump on him but Maia held her back, her eyes shooting bullets in his laughing face, "pig face," she cussed taking her seat, "goat face," he replied, she stuck out her tongue at him.

"Children," Kastor sniffed out.

"I have something to tell you," Gregory spoke, his deep husky voice bringing down the bunter going on between Jenna and Arold that Kalli had joined in on, calling Nike a mouse for sticking up for Arold. Their attention shifted to Gregory, even Maia who had been staring at Hero the whole time Jenna and Arold were arguing.

"Recall the separation of the stars?" he asked the group, hoping they would recall the night when they had come and Benna had taken them out to see the stars, they nodded. Nike being confused for a moment before Alec explained to him, "it's you. Five of you will head West to retrieve the rings while the three of you will go South for the royal hunt," he said. He didn't expect the group to be happy with the announcement but it had to be done. They needed their help, they had always needed them and that's why Benna had gone through the trouble of training them. He hoped the hunt the next day would go well and they would come back home unharmed.

"What? Why?" Nike jumped in with the questions Greg had anticipated, it was time he told them what had happened to the Phoenixes.

"A year ago, in the winter; the royal Phoenix was abducted by the Ice Queen of the South. We want the three of you to join some of us on the hunt for her," he replied.

"There's a royal Phoenix?" Hero asked, perplexed by the unfolding story.

Greg nodded, "There can only be one royal phoenix; The Bennu," he explained, "but he was old so he went to the Phoenician fields to be reborn and as the ritual goes, he is reborn on the third day as a reincarnate and as he carried the shes of his father to Heliopolis, the goons of the ice queen abducted him before he could lay his father's ashes,"

"What have you been waiting for all this time?" Alec asked. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that they could have formed a rescue party in all those months.

"Only the blood of a pure human can awaken the spell placed on the young Phoenix and we haven't been able to find a human, no Phoenix could get through the magical curtain placed on the Living Lands," he explained, "it's destiny,"

The group was quiet for what felt like an eternity to the anxious phoenix. The knew he couldn't force them, it had to be their decision. Days had gone by, months had passed and the sun had come and gone but they couldn't be able to save the most important thing to them as a community.

"Why does the Ice queen want the Royal Phoenix?" Arold asked, his teeth biting the soft walls of his inner cheek.

"A phoenix's blood is an ingredient of immortality, one drop and it can cure the most adverse illness. A phoenix of royal blood can grant immortality to anyone who drinks it," Gregory explained, the sorrow in his eyes dimming the blue in them, "the ice queen has been plagued by the goddess Hecate's wrath to never know health but a Phoenixes blood can lift the curse and bring her health back,"

"If it's been a year, hasn't she already killed the Phoenix," Maia reasoned.

"It has to be in the presence of the ice moon, her birthplace. The ice moon hasn't been seen in millennia but there are talks... and talks are never far from the truth," Benna unexpectantly joined in, he stood behind Hero, "If we can get the Royal before the ice moon, then we will be safe," he added.

Nike thought about it. He wasn't the bravest knight but he saw the pain in Greg's eyes. The Royal Phoenix meant a great deal to them. It wasn't just about royalty to them it was also about community and love. He saw the way they mingled, how they helped each other. He had noticed the sadness in their eyes that seemed to dim the blue in them. They reminded him of his own home; the family he had left home and the friends he feared he would never see again yet he had hope. He always carried that small hope to warm him during the night even when they had slept in the cold. He saw the same hope in Aelius' eyes, in Greg's eyes and the sorrow in Benna's eyes, it touched his heart, melting it like chocolate in the sun, "I will go with you," he abruptly said, only hearing the sound of his voice as the words came out, his brain froze in shock but he didn't regret it, his heartfelt a different emotion that his mind wouldn't understand.

"Are you crazy!" Kastor scolded him. Kastor couldn't imagine his best friend being away from him, it had never happened and he wasn't going to allow it. They had known each other since they had been toddlers, playing in his mother's garden when their mothers were out gardening, they had grown up like brothers. The thought of letting Nike go alone didn't sit right with him.

"Yes," Nike replied, a resolute expression on his face, it was clear he'd made his decision, "isn't it the same Kastor? We are on a quest to save our land and they need our help to save their own. Wouldn't it be selfish to refuse them?" he asked, "just look at us," he paused, "you and I can throw knives like ninjas, Jenna and Hero can swing the sword like pros, Maia and Kalli can work the spear-like lethal queens, Alec can use the knives like he was born to handle them and don't get me started on Arold's skills with the bow and arrow and a month ago, he could barely hold it together!" he addressed the lot, his eyes a burning fire of passion that made Benna smile, "we're so different than when we entered here... thanks to them," he pointed at Greg and Benna.

Arold sighed, he didn't want to admit that he'd had no basic skill when he entered the camp but he had long tried to tame his ego, "he's right. I will come with," he announced.

Benna shook his head, "you can't come, kid, you have a different destiny,"

"I will come with," Jenna said to which Benna nodded pleasantly.

"The three of you will join Aemilia and Aelius. I am honoured that you have accepted to help us," Benna said.

"If it wasn't for you, we'd probably get killed out there," Jenna said.