The Lost Story

Chapter 8

As I walked through the crowd, I exchanged smiles and polite gestures with those I recognized. Soon, I found myself seated next to Elder Mavis from Furvus. Picking up where we had left off earlier, he began sharing more about Furvus's history and its combat strategies. Our conversation flowed effortlessly; it was clear he enjoyed talking. "Mavis, let the girl be," chuckled one of the elders as he settled in beside him. “You're bothering the child," he added with a laugh. “How can you say that? Renata and I are good friends. I can’t wait until Phalis arrives. He is going to enjoy meeting her,” he says, taking my hand. “If I didn’t know better, I'd assume you were trying to make her our next queen," the man chuckled. I could see the wheels turning in Mavis's head at that comment. Before I could shut any wild ideas down, Durare approached us with a smile on his face. “Excuse my interruption,” he says, bowing his head before focusing his eyes on me. “It looks like we meet again,” he says, causing both elders to look between us. “It appears that way. Elder Mavis, Elder Anok, allow me to introduce you to one of the candidates, Durare. Durare, these are the elders from the Furvus domain.” I say, introducing them. “Aw, yes, the son of man, right. No offense, but it doesn’t seem as though you will be getting selected tonight,” Elder Anok chuckled. “Aw, you believe so. I doubt that,” Durare says, chuckling. “I see he has hope. I can't remember a time when a son of man, or anyone of pure human line, has descended to the throne,” Anok continued. I don’t know if Anok was trying to test Durare or give advice, but he did have a point. “I beg to differ. Here you have a pure daughter of man sitting among you. She holds a title equal to that of Rey, and I have a feeling she will ascend to a higher position soon. Who is to say that she and I won't end up changing history?” he says, smiling at me. “Oh no, I have no desire to ascend any higher,” I say, shaking my head. I had no desire for my current position, let alone a higher one. “The boy does have a point. We may be witnessing history,” Mavis says, rubbing his chin and looking between us. “Do you honestly believe he will make it to the end?” Anok says, pointing to Durare. Mavis stared at him, then at me. “Hmm, I guess time will tell,” he says, smiling as if he has already made up his mind. Anok started to laugh once again. “Well, Durare, let us be the first to congratulate you on making history,” Mavis said, extending his hand to Durare. “Thank you,” he says, shaking both elders' hands. “So, you're guaranteed to be chosen tonight?” I asked. “Well, no. It seems no one here would even entertain the idea of me being in this selection,” he chuckled, making both elders laugh. “And here we thought you had it all figured out," Anok chuckled while taking a sip. "I'm confident I will be chosen; I have no doubts about that," he said, glancing at the audience with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at his delusion; if no one selects him, he won't be getting anywhere. “Well, to your success,” Anok chuckled once again, drinking. Before I knew it, the four of us were having a light and fun conversation. Anok began to tell us stories about himself and Elder Mavis in their younger days, and when I say I have never laughed so hard, my side ached.

“Oh, look, the weaklings are having fun.” Astia’s voice cut through our laughter. A chill shot down my spine as I turned to see not just Jirndi but also Jiryis watching me. “Ah, Jiryis come join us! We’re having such a wonderful time with little Renata here,” Mavis exclaimed, wrapping his arm around me. “Renata, I’ve been searching for you everywhere. Why didn’t you come find me?” Jirndi said as he approached me. “She was keeping us old folk entertained, and what brilliant company she and young Durare have been,” Anok remarked, giving Durare a friendly pat on the back. I noticed that everyone seemed to overlook Durare, even when Elder Anok spoke. “Even so, let’s go. We haven’t had any time together,” Jirndi said, reaching for my hand. “Excuse me, Renata, are you ready for that dance?” Durare interjected, pulling me back. “Dance?” I replied, confused. “Yes, I believe you promised young Durare a dance. You shouldn’t keep this fine young man waiting,” elder Mavis chuckled. “What do you think you’re doing?” Jirndi questioned, glaring at Durare. That signature smile was on his face as he replied, “I'm going to share a dance with my Reina.” I don’t know if Durare had a death wish, but the pressure coming from Jirndi began to make even me uncomfortable. “How dare you speak to my son this way?” Jixy screeched, storming to Durare. Before I could do or say anything, she struck him. “No, your place,” she says, staring at him. Before I knew it, I was in between them, grabbing Durare's face. “Durare, are you okay? Why would you do that? He did nothing wrong?” I screamed at her. Tears burned the side of my eyes; I don’t know why, but watching him get hit for no reason struck a nerve in me. I pulled his face down to my eye level and examined it. He had a little scratch on his lip, but other than that, he was fine. “You’re okay,” I said, finally looking him in the eyes. I don’t know what the feeling was, but it made my stomach quiver. “Who do you think you are speaking to?” I felt the back of my hair being yanked, and before I knew it, I was on the floor. Jixy was over me, glaring at me. “Who do you think you are to speak to me like that?” she says. I could feel her rage as she towered over me. “I..” I started to tremble, staring at her. My eyes darted around the room, which was now quiet, as everyone stared at me. No one offering me any support, no one… “No, who do you think you are?” I hear Durare's voice colder than I have ever heard. Before I could blink, a low crash sounded, and he had Jixy by the throat pinned to the ground. He…. he shatters the ground under her. Wait, wait, what was going on? I watched Jixy's eyes begin to turn red. She began fighting and clawing to free herself. “Release her!” “What do you think you're doing?” people began to shout. “Take one step and I will remove her head from her body,” he said, freezing the entire room. I was honestly frozen in place while watching this. “Now, let me make something clear to you and the rest of your little group. Renata is our Reina. She holds a position that is superior to yours. Should you continue to be disrespectful, belittling, or show any abusive behavior towards her, I will take it upon myself to defend her honor and take necessary measures against anyone who has caused her distress. Do you understand?” he said, cutting his eyes to Astia and Xyephire. “Do you understand?” he says, lifting her and slamming her again. I could see her nodding, blood spilling from her eyes, nose, and mouth. “Good,” he says, releasing her. She gasped for air and began vomiting blood. He turned toward me; the smile was back on his face. “Now, that dance,” he says, pulling me to my feet. “Arrest him!” Astia screams. “Did you not see what he did? Someone!” she yells. I watched as guards began to move forward. Zyarni raised her hand, stopping them in their tracks. “Return to your post,” she says, dismissing them. Everyone in the room is now staring at her. “What do you mean! He attacked and threatened Jixy’s life, our Aela!” Xyephire screams. Zyarni c****d her head to the side and strikes him so hard that it echoes across the room. “Renata is Reina! Whether any of you like it or not. What Durare did was to honor and protect his queen. He understands the hierarchy, do you?” she says, yanking him up by his hair. For the first time, I see true fear in Xyephire's eyes. “But she is just a human!” Astia screams. Zyarni’s icy gaze lands on her. “Human or not, she is worth more than the two of you. You say young Durare has forgotten his place, but it seems you, along with your mentor and my foolish apprentice, are the ones who have forgotten your place.” She said, looking down at Jixy with a disgusted expression. She turns to look around the room. “Well, it seems as though many of you have forgotten your place, your job! Why is it that young Durare was the only one to defend our Reina? Guards! Not one of you stepped forward to defend your Reina. Candidates who would ever allow you to rule if you can't even defend your queen, your future wife? Such a disgrace!” she shouted. “Young Durare, from this moment on, you are my candidate for this selection," she declared, reaching out her hand to him. “Well, would you look at that?” I heard Anok chuckling. “Thank you, my queen,” he says, bowing his head to her. She turned to me before bowing her head. “Than…thank you,” I said to her, still in shock. Now, Zyarni was never outright mean to me, but it was more that she was indifferent to me. “Now, everyone, please enjoy the rest of the night,” she said before turning and picking Jixy up. I watched as Sanxi appeared at her side and took one of her arms, assisting Zyarni in taking her to be checked out.

“What was that?” Anok exclaims, wrapping his arms around Durare. “I had no idea you could do that! What’s your secret?” he laughs. Even as everyone resumed mingling, I noticed some stealing glances at us. “Why would I spoil the fun?” Durare replies, smiling as he pulls Anok’s arm away. “I’m eager to see this challenge. If things don’t work out for you here, we’d love to have you back in Furvus. And Renata, if you both ever decide to run away together, we’d welcome you with open arms,” Mavis says, grinning. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now, Renata, may I have this dance?” he says, offering his hand to me. “I’m not the best dancer,” I respond as I take his hand. “Luckily, I’m a good leader,” he says, just before spinning me around.