The Journey To Fortis (2)

They left an hour after they finished their meals and have been riding ever since and they've finally reached the border. Diana is finally about to leave Malum.

"We should be able to reach the palace today," Hunter announced.

"Hey Diana," Kylo called out.

"Hmm," she acknowledged.

"Is this your first time coming to Fortis?" he asked.

"Yes," Diana answered while surveying the surrounding area.

"Then welcome to The Kingdom of Fortis," Maddy welcomed Diana as they entered Fotis' borders.

Diana just smiled lightly as they continued to ride to the palace it will take them until nightfall at this current pace.

After riding for half an hour they're well within Fortis kingdoms borders.

"Your going to love it here!" Crystal exclaimed.

"Hmm," Diana hummed in acknowledgment too Maddy's claim. 'Maybe I will,' Diana thought to myself.

They've been riding for the hall day with laughter and banter guiding their conversations. As the sky started to become crimson the palace turits came into view.

"Diana you'll get to meet the rest of the royal family of Fortis soon," Hunter explained.

"Hmm," Diana answered before releasing Luna's reigns and taking off her hood revealing her hidden ocean blue eyes and releasing her long, silver hair which is still tied in a ponytail.

Then Diana took off the cloak itself folding it up and putting it away in her satchel revealing her simple night blue top.

The others except for Alex stared at Diana as she gripped Luna's reigns again, Diana's hair swaying in the breeze.

After a while Diana spoke up "Stop staring at me it's becoming weird," she pointed out brining them back to reality.

"Sorry," Crystal apologised blushing in embarrasment.

"Is it alright for you to take off your cloak here?" Hunter asked Diana.

"Well I would have liked to keep it on for a little longer but it would make me look a little suspicious." Diana explained.

"That's true," Crystal agreed with her reasoning.

"Diana what made you choose to come to Fortis instead of Noblis?" Kylo asked out of curiousity which also grabbed everyone else's attention.

"Hmm, I wonder," is all Diana said.

"Really? You won't tell us?" Maddy protested.

"Or you don't know?" Kylo added.

"You can decide for yourselves," Diana answered nonchalantly as they continuing on their journey, everyone except for Alex slowed down and stared at her. "Come on, I thought we were trying to reach the palace before nightfall," she pointed out and the other other four quickly caught up with Alex and Diana.

'I wonder why I chose to come to Fortis instead of Noblis,' Diana thought to herself as they continued on their way 'but then again Fortis is the best place for me to become a knight and hopefully find out what my parents are up to.'

"Diana, Diana." Crystal called.

"Hmm," Diana answered, realising she must have been spacing out. She reminded herself that she needs to fix that habit otherwise someone will be able to catch her off guard.

"Are you alright Diana? You seemed to be spacing out," Alex asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine I was just thinking," Diana replied.

"Anyway back to what we were saying Diana," Crystal butted in "how much do you know about the royal family of Fortis?"

"Queen Valeria is the eldest daughter of the house of Pugnator which is Latin for fighter and she is an incredible knight especially when it comes to using dual swords. King Brian is an unbeatable opponant when it comes to one on one combat and is a master swordsman. Alex' younger sister is eight years old and is a master at archery she has defeated opponents at least three times her age and can hit her targets with frightening accuracy however, she has never fought in battle. Alex is the crown prince and is a master at the sword taking after both his mother and farther. I also know the Fortis family tree going back a thousand years." Diana mentioned only a few facts she knows about the royal family of Fortis.

"I don't even know that much about the royal family," Hunter pointed out.

"I don't even think Alex knows that much," Kylo joked making the others laugh.

"Diana," Alex spoke up.

"Yeah," Diana answered turning her head slightly to face him as they continued on their way.

"What do you know about the royal family of Noblis?" Alex asked out of curiosity.

"Well, Queen Ava inherited her crown at the age of eighteen after her farther passed away and she was married to King Rory by the age of twenty. They then went on to have a child who was supposedly miscarried and are known to be excellent in all forms of combat. I know more about them, if you have any questions about them just ask."

"What do you mean by 'supposedly miscarried'?" Alex asked curiously as they came closer to the palace.

"I once heard my parents talking about the princess of Noblis and how the king and queen believed that Fortis was responsible for the princess' kidnapping but instead spread the story that the queen had a miscarriage," Diana explained.

"Are you serious?" Hunter asked.

"Of course, I thought that you knew I also suspect that's why they declared war on you but that's just speculation," Diana further explained what she meant.

"But why did they think Fortis kidnapped their daughter?" Crystal asked.

"I'm not actually sure," Diana answered honestly as everyone fell into deep thought.

******

After half an hour they finally reached the palace and as soon as they entered the castle grounds and unmounted their steeds who were then taken to the stables. The inside of the palace is gorgeous but before Diana could look around she heard a voice call out to Alex.