The Forgotten Queen

The Black Mist Voyagers' Camp

Aiden, Sara, and Isla raced their horses toward the Mist Voyagers' Camp. The gems attached to the horse's forehead glowed brightly as they closed towards an invisible barrier. The barrier parted for them, entering the camp.

Aiden takes the lead, Isla tailing behind him and Sara squealing behind the pair. All three pairs of eyes landed on the wall in the center of the camp.

Clearly, their finish line.

Both Isla and Aiden encouraged the horses to gain speed down to the wall. Isla gained momentum, and her horse closed Aiden. He smirked slyly without glancing over Isla, sensing her presence. He encouraged his horse to increase its pace, leaving Isla dust.

Suddenly, someone appeared in front of the pair surprising the horses to neigh and squeal, jumping and kicking their front legs.

Aiden quickly calmed his horse, turning the horse away from hurting the person. He glanced over to Isla, who gasped under her breath and tried to calm her horse. However, she had difficulty calmly the horse as it jumped and kicked.

Isla felt her body slipping off her saddle. Aiden's eyes widened, feeling his body jump to catch her. But he stopped as the person who jumped in front of them earlier, had caught Isla.

Isla released her breath, feeling strong arms embracing her from behind. Her widened eyes turned to see a familiar wide grin and golden brown eyes. "Duke Blaise?" Isla asked under her breath.

He chuckled and lifted one hand, brushing through his messy fiery orange hair. "My father would like to hear that I look like him," he said.

Isla realized she was leaning against the young Lord and stumbled away from him. She nervously smiled and faced her savior. "Thank you for helping me, Lord Kai Blaise," she said.

Lord Kai Blaise placed his hands on his hips and roared laughter. His personality and appearance are a precise copy of his father, Duke Blaise. Twenty-one years of age, he commands the voyage and holds the classic Blaise warrior spirit.

"There is no need to concern yourself, Your Grace. It is an honor to be present to witness history in the making," Lord Kai Blaise said, bowing to Isla.

"Lord Blaise--"

"Please call me by my name, Kai..." he said, holding her hand. He placed a warm kiss on Isla's knuckle.

Aiden's eyes narrowed, watching Kai being too friendly with Isla. He cleared his throat loudly, causing Isla and Kai to glance at Aiden. "You need to apologize after it was your fault," Aiden said.

Kai chuckled nervously and turned to Isla. "Apologize for scaring your horses..."

Aiden wanted to voice his concern, but Edward approached. "Lord Blaise, it is a pleasure seeing you. Thank you for your welcome to the camp," Edward said.

"Your Holiness," Kai bowed. "Let me accompany you all to my tent as I need to address the rules of the camp and rules of within the mist."

"Rules? We just got here..." Sara whined, dragging herself to Isla.

Isla chuckled as Sara wrapped her arms around Isla's arm and looked up at Isla with puppy dog eyes. Sara pouted her lips, ready to grumble and whine. "Can we do this tomorrow?" Sara asked.

Edward rolled his eyes as Isla giggled, "we'll be leaving for the mist voyage tomorrow."

"There is no voyage tomorrow, but we will be training..." Kai said, grinning, then turned on his heels and walked away. "Follow me, please."

Isla furrowed her brows in confusion and glanced over at Edward. He smiled warmly, nodded his head, and suggested they follow Kai.

"Training!? No one said anything about training!" Sara exclaimed.

"This training Lord Blaise is talking about is for the voyage. Surviving within the mist and finding your way back." Edward said as they followed Kai to his tent.

"The mist looks scary for a reason. It is thick and dark. Even our oldest adventurers would get lost for days. But as long as one has the skills to fight the shadow beasts, then there are no worries," Kai said.

Kai pushed the curtain of his tent open and glanced at his guests with a wide grin. "Welcome to Mist Voyagers' Camp..."

Everyone entered the tent, walking towards the elegant table with the map. "We enter the mist once, and on the second week, we return. It is a dangerous mission. Very stressful," Kai said, standing at one end of the table.

He watched everyone gathered around the table, staring down at the map. However, the mist area of the map had markings. It showed the different directions to and from the mining site and back to the camp. It looked plain and simple, but that was not the case.

"Your Grace, I understand this mission is for you to gain your gifts. But I advise you to remember this guide and look for the light points that would look like a lantern. You must follow them, even though you may be led to the mining site..."

"Wait... What are you talking about? We will be companying Isla," Aiden said, furrowing his brows in confusion. He glanced at Kai and Edward, wanting answers.

"Yes, we will accompany Her Grace into the black mist, then..." Kai glanced at Edward.

He cleared his throat and sighed. "The gods will guide Her Grace into the spirit world. She will need to tap into her powers, and Her Grace would become the all-powerful Guardian of Aurora." Edward said.

"What happens to us?" Aiden asked.

"We return to camp and wait..." Edward said.

Aiden's furrowed his brows and glanced at Isla, who lowered her gazes. Sara bit her lower lip, glancing at everyone, and tension was high. The Black Mist was no joke, and going in there alone was treacherous.

"What about the shadow beasts?"

"I shall be personal training, Her Highness, and I trust my abilities," Kai said. "By the time we enter the Black Mist, she would know the tricks and trades of taking down a shadow beast."

"How sure you about this?"

Aiden placed his hands on the table, narrowing his gaze at Kai, and leaned forward. Kai smirked, tilting his head to the side, and chuckled. "I would never put our Kingdom's Guardian in danger."

"But--"

"Sir Aiden, this has been the kingdom's tradition, and every Guardian has taken this final step to becoming Guardian. You must understand and also trust Her Highness with skills. After all... We have gotten this far," Edward said.

Aiden snapped his gaze at Edward.

"Enough!" Isla said, rolling her eyes and lifting her head. Aiden turned his gaze to Isla. His eyes were filled with concern as she stared back at him with a 'stand back' expression.

He wanted to voice his concerns about this plan, but this was the way to becoming a Guardian. Isla gulped nervously, lifted her head high, and took a deep breath.

"I, Isla Trivia, accept this mission and will emerge as the eighth Guardian of Aurora..." Isla said, staring at Aiden. "I have worked hard for this. I need you to trust me..."

Aiden hesitantly sighed and bowed his head, leaning back away from the table.

"Any request?" Edward asked.

Sara lifted her hand awkwardly with a pout. She shyly glanced around, and Edward sighed under his breath. "Yes, Sara?"

"Can I stay in the camp as you all adventure the Black Mist?" Sara asked.

"Not happening..." Edward said.

Sara groaned and whined, stomping her feet and tilting to Isla. Isla remained silent and placed her hand on Sara's shoulder, trying to comfort her.

Kai loudly cleared his throat and puffed his chest, grinning ear to ear. "Okay... Tomorrow morning we start our training. I'll have my guards guide you to your tents," Kai said.

The guards in the camp entered the tent and bowed in respect.

"Thank you for your kindness," Isla said with a warm smile.

Kai placed his hand on his chest and bowed his head. Isla and Sara walked ahead, followed by Edward, and they followed the guards out of the tent. Aiden stood at his stop, glanced at Kai, and narrowed his gaze.

Aiden turned on his heels and walked out of the tent without saying anything. Aiden does not like leaving Isla alone with various monsters and no direction.

He wants to argue this matter with Isla. Aiden felt they would have a better chance to get through the mist with his shadow magic.

But he never understood why Edward would not worry about this, especially since Edward had been a thorn in Isla's side.

The party was shown their tents. Isla and Sara were sharing a tent, and Edward and Aiden, too, were sharing. "I just want to sleep the whole week," Sara said in a yawn, throwing herself on the bed.

"Then who's going to help me out?" Isla asked jokingly.

Sara's eyes were closed, lifting her hand and waving at Isla lazily. "You got Edward, Aiden, and Lord Kai."

Isla chuckled, grabbing a pillow on her bed and throwing it to Sara. Sara giggled, pulling the pillow off her face and turning to lay to her side. She looked at Isla, grinning ear to ear.

"But we got this far. Don't you want to see what is in the mist?"

Sara hummed, looking as though she was thinking, but shook her head. "No!" Sara said, turning to her back and folding her arms across her chest.

Isla giggled, sitting on the edge of the bed, and sighed. She could not believe she was close to becoming a Guardian. She was both nervous and excited about this turn of events. "I'm going to be a Guardian..." Isla whispered.

"But you are," Sara said.

Isla glanced at Sara, who had her eyes closed and laid on her back. Isla smiled and hummed, uncertain about what to say. She lowered her gaze down to her hands, especially her left hand.

Her future changed, and she was close to her destiny.

Once Isla becomes the Guardian of Aurora, she will fight for her kingdom's safety. The Veritas kingdom needed to pay for what they did to her and her kingdom, for her past life and currently.

"What am I going to do without you?" Isla asked under a chuckle.

Sara shrugged her shoulders and smiled warmly.

Isla stood up, headed out of the tent, and bumped into a pacing Aiden. Isla gasped and stumbled, and Aiden caught her, then pulled her close to him. Her eyes widened, staring into Aiden's eyes, and he stared back into hers.

"Aiden?"

Aiden snapped out of trace, pulling away from Isla, and awkwardly cleared his throat as he stepped back. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Isla nodded her head 'yes.'

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I need to talk to you."

Aiden glanced at her tent, and she followed his gaze. It looked to be a necessary discussion. "Let's walk and talk, " she said.

He nods.

They strolled away from the tent in silence. "So, what is it that you want to talk about?"

"I do not like leaving you in the mist," he said.

"A--"

"I know you need to do this, but I think I should stay with you. With my shadow magic and swordsmanship, you will be safe. I am your knight, and I have to protect you."

Isla stopped and faced Aiden. "I know you mean well, but there is no avoiding it. I have to do this on my own," she said ad held his hand. "This has to be done..."

Aiden looked down at Isla's hand that held his. He was hesitant to accept this notion.

"Are you worried about losing your pay?" Isla asked jokingly.

Aiden glanced up, seeing a warm smile on Isla's lips, and chuckled. "You know it," he said in a sigh and pulled his hand away from Isla's hold.

They chuckled.

"But seriously, are you okay with this?"

Isla sighed, lifting her gaze, and stared at the dark cloud wall. She gulped nervously, took a deep breath, then stared back at Aiden and smiled. "This is my fate, and I am okay with this..." she said.