Chapter 27 - Betrothed (1)

A low hoarse voice sounds right next to Raiene's ear, his voice reverberating through Raiene's spine startling her into widening her eyes on Artha. Not noticing her gaze, he pulled her from within the crowd into a secluded road.

Raiene finds all of this baffling, being led into a secluded road by a questionable guard of Qye's who not so long ago finds her highly suspicious. Despite all of that, she felt safe. She was about to pull off her hand when her sight fell upon one store.

This store is located a bit hidden from the main road and only a few creatures seem to loiter around. At one corner little kids are seen playing hide and seek, while a black cat stands guard in front of the store, licking its paw in a serious manner.

"Let's go," Artha pulls Raiene inside the store.

From outside the variety of its product seems limited to colourful potions and a few silk and fabrics with intricate patterns. However, inside the store could be found numerous varieties of ceramics, cups, different sizes of bags, a few beautiful delicate jewelries and various types of trinkets.

Some are designed to complement the royal crest of Qye, others are designed with sophisticated patterns and beautifully unified colour, a few exploded with a blinding splash of colours.

Raiene's sparkling eyes couldn't blink as she darted from one thing to another, once again lost within its beauty. Her sight caught a plump figure coming out of the corner, face adorned with black rimmed monocle along with white pattern shirt and black pants, her braided blue hair placed on her left shoulder.

Another thing visible is the elaborate horn on her head, yellow in colour and shining brightly inside the store, her sharp eyes crinkled with amazement as she smiled and greeted Raiene.

"Any caught your eyes."

Blinking hard, Raiene takes a deep breath and soon retracts her gaze, finally realising how rude she has been. She tried hard to keep her expression under control before smiling at the woman.

"I'm a… visitor," Raiene mumbles, "It's my first time here so I don't really know what to buy."

"Oh dear, welcome! I hope you find Qye's a pleasant country, do enjoy the festival while you're here!" she excitedly clapped her hand, eyes turning into slit from laughing wide, before she turned around and inspected her surroundings.

"Hmm… first is there any specific type of thing you're looking for? Not to brag, but my collection is pretty abundant. If you can't find it here, there's a high chance you can't find it anywhere else!"

Raiene bit her lips, a bit flustered by the varieties of things the store offered, "a gift?" she inquired, "It's for my mother, she wanted to come but her health doesn't allow her, it'd be nice to bring something from here."

The woman smiled, "Sure! We have beautiful brooch, some jewelleries, tea sets, intricate fans, and head accessories," she pointed to each product she mentioned, pride filled her voice, "beside that we also have book covers, bookmarks, quill holders, silk scarfs, hand warmers and sweaters." she turned to Raiene, "If she likes sweets, we have snow pastries, some candy bread, and fruit biscuits. Tell me if she happens to have allergies, I can give you a list of the ingredients of each product we have. If you want one of those, we can put a spell to protect it from spoiling which lasts for a month. Of course free of charge!"

Overwhelmed, Raiene could only blink with her mouth open.

"She'll look around first."

A husky voice interrupted from the corner, Artha stands leisurely with his sharp eyes pointed at the woman. She seems surprised to find his presence, however, she smiles after and nods with understanding.

"Sure! If there's anything you take fancy into, just whisper Bia. I will come within a second, I will be in the warehouse in the meantime," she flicked her finger and disappeared. Surprised, Raiene turned to Artha, "she… she," stuttered, Raiene blinked her eyes at Artha.

"A witch, never seen one before?"

"No! but… the horn?"

"A mixed blood," as time goes Artha wasn't confused anymore. He is convinced Raiene is a runaway daughter being raised sheltered since childhood. Most likely she comes from Wasteland.

"You're not going to browse?" he inquired, ebony staring straight on her amber ones. Looking flustered, Raiene nods her head immediately.

"Ah yes!... What should I buy?"

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Elrin lowered her head, staring at her bare feet sinking deep within the deep pile of snow. The cold seeping through her skin but there's undeniable strength coursing through her nerves which creates a smile on her lips, raising her head, she finds her mother watching her just like always.

"Mother," she whispered.

A little bit reluctant to continue, afraid this question would cause her to disappear into thin air, but she gathered her courage before mumbling her question.

"Why can't I tell Father?"

The silence of the forest greets her, unsure whether she's still here, Elrin raises her head to find her mother's eyes had turned dimmed. There's undeniable struggle a child as young as Elrin could visibly decipher, before her mother whispered.

"I don't want to trouble him," her eyes  sparkled once again, fingers tracing Elrin's soft cheek, a cold sensation sending shivers down the child's body.

"I don't want to trouble you as well," she rubs Elrin's head, pushing a few strands of her shining silvery hair behind her ear. Confused, she tilted her head to the side, eyes blinking in question.

"Trouble?"

"I don't want him to seek you every single time. I don't want him to see you as a tool to communicate between us," she seems exhausted, but a smile still etched on her lips, "I believe him, but I don't want to hate him," she held her daughter's hand tightly.

"I know he will wait patiently for me, so keep this a secret between us, okay."

Elrin's doubt vanished a little, although inside she felt tortured she still believed her mother's decision.

She nodded, "Okay."

• • ⊱∘────·☽༓☾·────∘⊰ • •

As the sun set within the horizon, the street lights lit up and provided some warm atmosphere within the bustling crowds, curious murmurs and cheerful laughter filled the entire Aola's Market as various stalls and carts created wonderful scenes. However, it still wouldn't hinder Alron from running around.

"Ron! You shouldn't!"

Ezana firmly holds her nephew's shoulder, stopping him from disappearing into the crowds.

The stiff guard five steps away from them finally releases their breath, they can't seem to calm down at this moment. They had turned into alert mode the minute the young prince steps into the crowd of Aola's road, it will be complicated once he gets lost.

Alron and Ezana had insisted on strolling the road without proper royal attendance, opting to walk instead of using the heavily guarded carriage.

Their average looking attire makes it worse, especially Alron's command for them not to wear royal armour, with absurd reasons like increasing ability to blend. Now, the potential of danger has exponentially risen.

Ezana pulled Alron into Grea's Bakery. The sweet fragrant filled the two story bakery with brimming visitors, creature's lined up to buy the famous treats, especially the limited seasonal edition of blue muffin.

Grea's Bakery is decorated in accordance to Qye's crest with an elegant colour combination of royal blue and silk white, giving it a serene and classy element.

Familiar with the establishment, Alron finds himself walking upstairs, where the space is closed off from ordinary visitors.

A new employee who was just about to ask him to get back downstairs, immediately stopped by one of the guards and after catching sight of a badge the guard presented, he understood and backed away within a second.

Alron takes a seat at a table near the balcony, viewing the streets of Aola with keen eyes. Ezana sits down opposite of him, while the few guards sit at a table not far from the two royals.

"Why are we here again?"

Ezana crossed her arms, eyeing her nephew with persistent stares, however the subject of her stares only kept his sight within the crowd of streets. Once Alron orbs turned blue, Ezana jumped forward and blocked his vision, her eyes turning vicious in an instant.

"Alron."

Alron snorted, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he slump back on his seat. Ezana only sighs and takes her seat once again, feeling quite nervous about Alron's action just a second ago.

It was one of his abilities that he shared with Artha, the ability to trace memories and vividly recall a past event, as if what you're seeing happens exactly in front of you.

However, Alron had a weaker version than Artha, he could only withstand for one hour before falling into deep sleep for a week. On the other hand, Artha could recall past events for repeated times, though it still obviously affected his health, the ability did not cause a huge toll on his body.

Perhaps that is why Alron insisted on coming to Aola's crowd road. He wanted to recall past events while also consuming the crowd's energy to replenish himself. Even though that can still be done, it still caused him pain. It won't stop with him falling into deep sleep just for a week.

Ezana doesn't know what to do, even though she doesn't know for sure which memories he wanted to recall, Ezana could at least guess that Alron wanted to see his mother.

No matter what, vision is not meant to be shared. Endure, let it happen.

No matter what.

Ezana still remembered what Elleryn once told her, it still echoed repeatedly, especially when she was about to tell Alron everything. Feeling helpless, Ezana rubs her nephew's head, wanting to console him a little bit.

Everything will be alright.

Hopefully.

• • ⊱∘────·☽༓☾·────∘⊰ • •

Werewolves only had one Mate. They will find one when the time has come. Though there are certain circumstances where they couldn't find the one. Of course, only the high above can answer such affairs.

-Excerpt from The Essential Book of Human Survival.

Jonathan Lorth.