Chapter 83

"Are you certain that my son is inside of there?" George had been around Leon before he knew it didn't take much for someone to betray you. There was no logical reason for Alexander to venture into the forest. And why was Leon out of the forest while Alexander remained?

"I know that this sounds unbelievable. Trust me, I am trying to understand what it is Alexander has planned. I am only as told by Alexander which is to bring you to him. I am not holding any weapon so if we go in and you do not see your son, kill me," Leon proposed a plan. He understood George's concern for not wanting to enter a forest where people never return from.

George stared at the forest for a long period of time. No one was able to locate his son and none of his men had gone into the forest to see if Alexander could be there. How could he trust that Alexander was in there and still alive? Leon made it out so maybe there was a chance? "Storm this forest in ten minutes if I do not return. I will kill you if you have lied to me and betrayed my son," he told Leon.

Leon didn't doubt an ounce of George's threat. The only thing the man cared about was his son which was why he was marching his army to the palace for an explanation. Leon found life funny because Alexander had sent him out of the forest at the right time to be able to meet his father.

George got off of his horse and handed the reins to his second in command. Instead of blindly trusting Leon, he pointed his sword at his son's childhood friend and said, "Make one wrong move and I will be sending your remains back to your family."

"Got it," Leon replied while holding his hands in the air to show how defenseless he was. He started to lead George back into the same forest he had just come screaming out of. At least this time he would have someone to fight alongside him if the strange woman were to show up again.

When George and Leon entered the forest and were out of sight from George's army, Leon took it upon himself to start a conversation to ease the tension. "So, Alexander is not normal? Ah, okay okay, I won't pry," he told George when the man pushed the sword against his back.

"Who spoke about Alexander not being normal?" George asked after a moment of silence. Alexander knew nothing concerning his birth and George made sure no regular person like Leon would ever find out.

"Sir, I understand the position we're in with you looking for your son but I don't think it's fair for you to stab me in the back and then ask for information. I have always been loyal to Alexander which is why I ended up in this position. I'll lose everything I worked hard for soon all because of my friendship," Leon told George so that he would realize Leon was on their side.

"When I see my son, I will apologize for this but you have been around our home long enough to see how easily people have betrayed us. When it comes to my son-"

"-You would start a war if it means keeping him safe," Leon finished the sentence off for George. "I completely understand that. I wouldn't trust anyone in this situation if I were you. It doesn't make any sense that Alexander, the best fighter in the kingdom, would suddenly go missing."

"Help me!"

"Uh oh!" Leon halted his steps when he heard the familiar voice from earlier. "Run and don't look back."

"What?"

"Run!" Leon shouted when he spotted the woman heading towards them. The forest opened up a path for him just like before, leading him to the lake where Alexander and Artemis were waiting for them.

Leon could hear George's footsteps right behind him and was thankful the man had enough common sense to not question why they needed to run from the woman. Leon did not want to have to turn around to fight whatever the woman was. His heart felt less tense when he saw the lake not too far away.

"We will survive," he sang to himself.

George remained silent as they made it away from whatever was chasing them and found a grassy area surrounding a lake. "Where is my son?" He immediately started to look around for Alexander. He didn't care to question what they just encountered in the forest.

Leon panted, trying to catch his breath as he hunched over. He felt embarrassed seeing George unaffected after running since the man was much older. 'I got to start working out more,' he thought.

George left Leon's side since he was of no use and started to look for Alexander on his own. There was no one around besides him and Leon. "Alexander!" He yelled so Alexander would know he was here. "Alexander!"

"I don't know if yelling in here is such a good idea," Leon said after catching his breath. "Definitely not a good idea," he stated after catching a glimpse of Artemis walking over the water in their direction.

George looked out at the water seeing what was certainly not human. He was surprised to see beside the strange woman was his lost son.