Chapter-25

The night was full of sleepless turning and tossing on the floor. The way events took a turn today was overwhelming but what kept me awake was the honest promise I made to Aiden. I knew I would do whatever it takes to keep him alive but I was afraid of my efforts not being enough. I was afraid of all my sacrifices going futile. I didn't realise when the sun was up and it was eerily quiet. I wondered where was everyone? I stepped out of my tent and no one was up. I went to the nearby tent and peeked inside to find seven soldiers sleeping peacefully. I decided to go for a walk, manipulating my gut's unsettling feeling by a logical theory of getting up too early.

I was taking a stroll by the river listening to the beautiful melodies the birds were creating unknowingly. My mind was busy making stupid verses in my head, and after a lot of trials my mouth gave in and I started to recite my words out loud.

"I feel too drenched,

Into my sorrows holding the bridge,

Of my crumpling anxiety.

I am afraid and scared of fate,

Not the one we can't see,

But the one controlling my destiny.

I am frightened of the results,

The sorrow of losing it all,

To the hands so undeserved.

No, I am no warrior I assume I am,

I feel all my courage has been abducted.", before I could continue, I was disturbed by a rustling sound. I turned around frightened, my hand involuntarily reaching for my sword. And then a voice said-

"But I will find it for sure."

Aiden walked out from behind the bush. "Huh! What will I find?", I asked relieved that it was him. "The courage.", he said.

"But I will find it for sure,

I know it lies inside my heart,

Somewhere locked up with my fears of facing a lost war.

And for once,

I will look into the eyes of death,

Staring with courage and not beg,

And I myself will break that bridge,

So that I don't fear my crumpling anxiety ever again.", he continued.

The whole setting was a déjà vu. I had no words to express my feelings but my eyes were not keeping it cool. Tears rolled down my cheek. I could see Lee and not Aiden standing in front of me. I stared right into his eyes and he didn't look away either. I felt a gush of emotions and I was no longer in control of my brain. I ran towards him and hugged him tightly. My hands wrapped around his torso and my head was resting on his chest. I could hear his heart beating. Shockingly he wrapped his hands around me as well. He kept his chin on top of my head and sighed. "Lee, I missed you so much.", I couldn't control my words. The moment these words left my mouth I could feel the environment change. His grip around my shoulders loosened and soon his hands were no longer embracing me. He held me by my shoulders and he pushed me away from him. I looked at him hurt and confused. "Wh-what happened?", I stuttered. He didn't answer but his face was full of anger. He turned around to leave but I held his hand. "What happened?", I asked a little loud this time. he turned around, his eyes fuming with anger. "Who am I?", he asked in a low voice. I looked at him confused. He held me by my shoulders and gave a violent shake shouting, "Who am I?". I was scared now. What was wrong with him. I pushed his hands away, they were literally digging inside my skin, hurting me. "What is wrong with you?", I asked. "I am not Lee! I am Aiden. And if you want to appreciate someone, appreciate Aiden and not Lee.", he screamed frustrated. What! Isn't that the same person, I thought. "Lee and Aiden is one person.", I said. He was busy rubbing his forehead and listening to my words his angry eyes again snapped back to me. "No! Lee is a part of me! Lee can die, Aiden is immortal.", he said looking into my eyes. when he said this, I realised what he was going through. He was scared to lose. He was scared to die. I sighed. Gosh! How is he even a god with such anxiety issues? I looked at him and he was shivering with anger. I stepped forward and took his hands in mine. He looked at me, his eyes clearly giving me a warning sign to let go. But I ignored the signs. I held his hand tight. "You will always be Aiden. And if you fight today like Aiden, I am sure Lee will get to live too.", I said. his eyes softened a little. He was acting like Lee lately. "Your name was changed, your attire was changed to Lee, but you are still Aiden from inside.", I continued. "But don't you like Lee more?", he asked. "I do! Everyone here does, but what we need right now is an Aiden. A fearless leader. And Aiden, Lee is just a part of you as you said, Aiden is so much more than a coward young prince.", I gave him a reassuring smile. He looked at me and nodded. his eyes were a little more confident now. I realised we were still holding hands. I pulled my hands back and he just smiled shaking his head. I looked around to see that nobody saw us.

At that very moment, we heard a weird sound. We both stood still and focused on the direction of the sound. The sound came from a tree behind Aiden. We both were alert and focused on the tree. The moment Aiden took a step ahead, someone emerged from behind the tree. We both sighed, looked at each other and started to laugh. The one who revealed himself was no one else but Wildfire. We went near him and Aiden patted him on his head. "You need to stop scaring us like that again and again.", he said. Wildfire totally ignored us and kept eating grass. "What is he doing here? Didn't you let him go?", I eyed Aiden suspiciously. "I did!", he screamed getting all defensive. "Then why is he still here?", I asked. "First milady he is a free soul, so he can go anywhere. And second, I feel he has fallen in love with me and wants me to be his master.", Aiden said. I rolled my eyes at his illogical explanation. I stepped ahead and patted him on his head. "Let's go and let him enjoy his freedom.", I said. "No! trust me he needs me.", Aiden whined. "No, he doesn't. Come on, let's go.", I said ignoring his whining and turned around to leave. "Wait! How do you know he wasn't looking for me?", Aiden argued. "You said yourself, he is a free soul and look he is interested in grass more than you!", I stated the fact. "Okay! But if he follows us, I am not letting him leave. And if he doesn't follow us, I will never talk about keeping him. Deal?", he asked. I thought about it and finally gave in. "Okay! Deal.", I said. He smiled goofily. "Shall we go now?", I asked smiling at him. He nodded and we started to walk back to our tents. Not even once did we look back and there was this unsaid mutual understanding of finding the result of the deal on reaching his tent.

We reached his tent and we looked at each other. "We turn together. Okay?", I asked. He nodded. "Hana, Dul, Sett.", we both jumped and turned around. There was no Wildfire. "Hah!", I exclaimed excitedly. I was busy doing my victory dance when Aiden tapped on my shoulder. "What!", I asked annoyed. He disturbed my victory dance, the reason should be worth it. He pointed towards the direction we came from. I looked in the direction he pointed and I could see the area was a little blur, and then a blurred figure was visible running towards in our direction. The figure soon became clear and I saw Wildfire coming towards us. I sighed in defeat. Wildfire came running and stopped in front of Aiden. Aiden patted him happily, "Good boy! And you are my best friend from now.", he said and motioned for the guard to bring the saddle. "Hah! In your face.", he said to me. Even though I lost I couldn't help but smile at his immature but happy self. Maybe I was right back then, there are so many undiscovered sides of Aiden. He is a lot more than just a ruthless god.