The Forgotten Queen

Isla to the Rescue

Edward stared up at the night sky.

He slowly closed his eyes, feeling a chilly breeze caress his face and listening to the leaves rattle. He knelt and placed his palm on the grovel.

His eyes snapped open.

Blue flames beamed under his palm, then danced on the ground, creating a magic circle beneath him. The fire rose, and a fiery orange-red magic circle appeared above him.

Edward stood, lifting his gazes to the magic circle above him, and frowned. This spell looked unfamiliar, but looking closely and a realization hit him.

He huffed, closed his eyes, and aggressively waved his hands. The fire exploded, spreading to the woods.

None of the trees burnt, except for the fiery orange-red magic circle. Another chilly breeze blew as the magic circle burnt and the leaves rattled.

"Black Raven coven..." Edward muttered in his sigh.

He spun, and his white robe surrounded him until he shifted into his bird form. His large wings spread wide open, slowly lifted, and once it flapped to the ground, Edward shot to the sky.

In speed, Edward flew through the clear night sky and skimmed down at the shadow forest. His gaze narrowed at a flicker of light peeking through the dense woods.

Edward pieced through the thick leaves and quickly shifted into his human form upon landing on the ground.

He glanced around the camp until his eyes met with a worried-looking Isla. He sighed in relief, stalking towards her as Isla stood. He pulled Isla into a warm embrace.

"Thank the gods," Edward said. He pulled away from their embrace, holding Isla's arms as he scanned Isla, ensuring no harm fell upon her. "Are you okay? Did anything happen?" he asked.

Isla shook her head and awkwardly smiled at Edward. "I'm fine. But we were attacked by Veritas troops--"

"Veritas troops?" Edward asked, frowning his brows in confusion. He took members of the Black Raven cover would responsible.

After all, they cast a spell to get them lost.

Unless...

"What happened when the Veritas troops attacked?"

"Aiden and I fought them when out of the blue, they disappeared, and Aiden was on the ground, and Sara went missing," Isla said.

"And if you wondering, I'm Aiden, and I'm down here!" Aiden said, lazily waving his hand.

"They disappeared?" Edward asked Isla, ignoring Aiden.

Isla nods, "but they took Sara. I think they mistook her to be the Guardian. What are we going to do, Edward?"

The Black Raven's created the spell, and Veritas troops attacked the party. Were they working together?

"Edward!?"

Isla called out, snapping his attention back to her. She furrowed her brows, and her hand clenched on the cuff of his sleeve. "Sara? What are we going to do about her?" she asked.

"What about Sara?" Edward asked.

"She was kidn*pped!" Isla and Aiden both said.

Edward glanced down at Aiden, who lay on the ground. "Shadow dust..." Aiden said.

"Edward, we need to find Sara. She in danger!"

"What can we do? We have a schedule to follow. We wasted it today, and going after Sara would set us back."

Isla's face fell, and her hand that held Edward's sleeve cuff dropped. "But she's my friend..." Isla said, taking a few steps back.

"There is nothing--"

"There is!" she said, stepping back, and Edward's hands slipped from holding her arms. "First, you lied to me about the monsters within these woods and had Aiden run errands to eliminate them. Almost as though you doubt my abilities. Now you want to leave one of our own for a mission."

"We have time! As long as I have a pulse," she said.

Isla stomped her foot on the ground and walked away. "That's cold..." Aiden said.

Edward glared down at Aiden. "Her Grace is our responsibility and needs to move forward," he said.

"Isla is her own person, and she has a big heart to protect those in her life. Do you want her to leave you behind?"

"Go to sleep," Edward said, rolling his eyes.

He turned on his heels and walked away. Aiden loudly cleared his breath to get Edward's attention but was ignored.

"Then we will not talk about the mysterious figure that blew shadow dust at me?" Aiden asked, closing his eyes and sighing.

Edward stopped on his track and turned to face Aiden. "Did you see their face?" Edward asked.

"No."

"Then you are no use," he turned away.

"But they wore all black and did not look like a Veritas' knight. Do you think Veritas is getting assistance?"

"Just focus on recovering..." Edward said, walking away.

Everything was indeed off, Edward thought to himself. Veritas' knight attacked the party after he went to investigate the woods. A spell created with black magic caused the team to get lost.

The own coven known for its use of black magic was Black Raven coven. The coven knew Edward was the problem. That was why, after Edward left the party, then the knights attacked.

Of course, they would not be a match for Aiden, and someone had to step in. The mysterious person was talking about could have been a Black Raven, weakening Aiden.

Black Raven coven and Veritas were working together to capture the Guardian. Or Black Raven coven was aiding Veritas.

"The sooner we get to the Black Mist. The sooner this would be over," Edward muttered to himself.

The following morning, Edward woke up to prepare for their horses. Edward approached the firepit to make the fire but froze by Isla's sleeping.

He furrowed his brows as Isla never covered her head when she slept. Edward narrowed his gaze and hesitantly approached Isla. He did not see breathing movement.

Edward hurridly removed Isla's blanket, and his eyes widened, seeing nothing but pillows and bags underneath.

He cursed under his breath and stormed over to a slumbering Aiden. "AIDEN! Isla is gone!" Edward said, waving his hand and commanding a gush of wind to Aiden.

Aiden's eyes widened as a cold wind blew him across the camp. Aiden snapped his fingers, and his shadow appeared to catch Aiden. However, his magic was still weak, causing Aiden to fall on his face.

"What is the meaning of this?" Aiden asked, groaning as he pushed himself off the ground.

"Isla is gone!" Edward said.

"So, did that mean throwing me off the ground while sleeping?"

"We need to find her."

Aiden brushed the dust off himself, glaring at Edward. "It's clear that she went to find Sara. Find Veritas camp, find Sara. Easy," he shrugged.

Aiden was right.

Isla woke up before dawn, sneaked out from the camp, and tried tracking the knights' camp. It surprised her that she had found their base. She hid behind a bush, trying to find Sara.

All the tents looked the same, except for the one in the center. A big scarlet red tent settled.

Sara should be in there.

Isla nervously bit her lower and took a deep breath. "I have to do this. For Sara," she whispered.

She was about to stand when two knights entered a tent with their armor in hand. She waited as they entered until they exited without their armor.

A grin lifted the corner of Isla's lips as an idea planned out in her head.

Isla peaked her head out from the bush, checking if the coast was clear. No one has insight. Isla quietly dushed towards the armory tent.

She slipped inside the tent, seeing no one but polished armor.

Everything outside the tent was peaceful. People passed the tent, and the curtain of the tent opened. An armored person peaked their head out before stumbling out of the tent.

"How does anyone person wear this?" Isla asked, groaning in annoyance within the armor.

She huffed, trying to hold up the armor onto her body. She looked around, and there was no one about before making her way through the tent maze to the center. Her heart raced when a couple of knights approached her, but she kept her head high.

She prayed to the gods; they never questioned her for wearing a helmet in the camp. She walked in her direction in confidence, and they chatted amongst themselves.

As they pass each other, the Veritas' Knights nod to Isla, and she nods back. Nothing happened as they walked passed each other. Isla did not glance around, and they continued with their conversation.

Once, they turned a corner. Isla released her breath and sighed, picking up her pace and looking for the scarlet tent.

Isla sighed in relief, coming across the tent. She glanced to see no one was around as she approached the tent's opening. She peaked her head through the doorway, looking inside the tent.

Her eyes rolled, not surprised to see the luxury within the tent. She took a deep breath, taking in a familiar scent and her body tensed.

Aeson Leo Luminis...

Why was he here?

He never leaves the palace.

Isla's mind raced with thoughts, afraid of seeing him. She went through these five years not seeing him, forgetting everything that happened to her.

A groan snapped Isla from her train of thought, and she turned her gaze to where the sound came from. Isla inhaled sharply, and a smile tilted, seeing Sara was in the room.

Sara was tied to a chair and placed in the tent's center. Her head was down and eyes closed, with sweat beads covering her forehead.

There was no one in the room except for Sara. Isla glanced over her shoulders, checking the coasts, and it was clear.

Isla stormed into the tent, knelt before Sara, and cupped her cheeks. "Sara?" she whispered as she lifted Sara's head.

Sara whimpered and furrowed her brows, her body shivered, and sweat fell down her temple. Isla's eyes widened in fear, realizing they had given Sara shadow dust.

"Don't worry, Sara. I will get you out of here," Isla said as she gently lowered Sara down before moving behind her.

"I-Isla... you n-n-need to get out... here..." Sara breathed out, struggling to lift her head.

Isla shook her head. "I'm not leaving you... What kind of Guardian would I be if I cannot protect those closest to me?"

She drew her sword, took a deep breath, and cut the chains. Sara's arms dropped, and her weak body slowly moved forward. Isla gasped, dashing at Sara and catching her. "Are you okay?" Isla asked.

Sara moaned, rubbing her face against the chill armor. "I feel sick," she groaned.

"Okay, I'm going to get you out of here."

Isla carried Sara's arm over her shoulder as she stood steadily.

"And who do you think you are?"

Isla froze, holding Sara close to her side. "I asked you a question! What are you doing in my tent!?"

Hesitantly, Isla turned her head, and her eyes met with familiar angry eyes. "Aeson..." she whispered under her breath.

He was here, but why?

This was never his place.

Aeson glared at the intruder, who held his key to saving his title and mother. "GUARDS!" he yelled.

Isla rolled her eyes. He was indeed the same person who would rely on others. She shrugged to take her to stand with Sara holding onto her side and her sword on the other.

She was going to fight for her freedom and save her friend.

Guards ran into the tent with their swords raised and ready to attack. Suddenly, a gush of wind blew into the tent, causing confusion. The strong wind blew the tent away, and guards stumbled back.

Isla grunted, clenching her eyes closed until she heard a thump in front of her. She opened one eye, seeing Aiden's back frame in front of her. "Has anyone told you that armor does not suit you?" Aiden asked, lifting his sword.

"What's with that sword?" Isla asked.

"I haven't recovered, and Edward is angry. Now wave hello to Edward," he said.

Isla glanced over her shoulder, seeing a giant snow-white bird beat its wings. Their eyes met, and Edward, the bird, nodded in a direction. Isla glanced, seeing a magic circle realizing it was a teleport circle.

"Let's go!" Aiden said.

The trio moved backward to the circle. Aeson realized they were trying to escape as he roughly grabbed his guard's sleeve and pushed him. "They are getting away! Stop them!" Aeson yelled.

As the guards stumbled forward to stop Aiden, Isla, and Sara, Edward glared at the guards before beating his wings with force. The gush of wind caused the guards and Aeson to stumbled back.

The trio stepped onto the circle, and Edward screeched, and a light beam rose over them.

"NO!" Aeson yelled, pushing himself up.

The light fades away, and the magic circle disappears. Aeson growled, stomped his foot, and clenched his fists. "This is not the end," he said under his breath.