Chapter 12

Aunt Val always said that nothing could ever bore me because I always got so involved with the task at hand that I would end up doing more than expected. She was wrong, as there was one thing- Hunting trips. I hated killing innocent animals for pleasure but I had to go anyway. Every year after the festival, father would take us all to the royal lodge, along with his ministers, nobles and trusted officials as a holiday for a week to pump up their spirits. Vass loved hunting and would generally accompany father, but I on the other hand stayed back and avoided going out to hunt. Hence , the boredom!

As I finished getting ready to head out with everyone for the Lodge I noticed Shayla who was lost in thought.

"What's the matter? You look tensed. Is something bothering you Shayla?"

"Huh. No. I'm fine." She said as she tried to give a reassuring smile.

"I know a frown when I see one. So go on. Tell me."

She sighed and spoke " it's about Va-, the prince, I was wondering why he chose me over the other finer ladies at court? Especially when they could provide him with wealth and power. He is a prince afterall."

"I see. Yohara talked to you, didn't she? And by talk I mean tried to put you in the place she thinks you hold, which is a low ranking noble who has no connections here and is merely here for kingdom's ties with Glikaraach. Who possibly has no cards to play at court?" She nodded.

"Shayla, remember this for the Nydalidian court, and maybe for your entire life, people will treat you in the way you allow yourself to be treated. If you allow Yohara to stomp on you, trust me, she won't miss the chance, Nobody will. So incase you don't want to end up like a carpet, I suggest you stand up for yourself. And she is wrong, you do have something you can give to the prince that she can't, and that's peace of mind and strength. "

She had tears in her eyes as she smiled at me. I hugged her reassuringly.

We head out in a large group with almost every important person at court. Their personal guards, the common staff as well as the king's guards also accompanied us. The journey was around 3 hours long before we reached the lodge that bordered the Mistos forests. The lodge was grand, fit for royalty. It had almost a 100 guest rooms and 10 royal chambers in it and the architecture itself was mesmerizing. The open fields with the lake only added to its splendor. The morning sun was shining bright and this just added to how wonderful the day was.

As soon as we arrived, father summoned all of us to his chambers to discuss something important regarding our security. This was a bit odd considering that father never did that before. I, Evanthia, Vasilios and Aunt Val waited for almost an hour for father and uncle to arrive. When they did, they looked pensive.

"As you all know" father started saying "the Astmathians have been getting more and more aggressive these days. According to the intel that we received they might be planning something big. That's why I didn't want to do this trip but your uncle here insisted that we do. Anyway, that's the reason I have called you here. You all will be assigned personal guards tomorrow, including you Verina. I know you hate this and you can defend yourself but I think it's required right now since you and Evanthia with the other ladies will mostly be here at the lodge alone while most of us will be out hunting. As for the hunt. We will only go out twice this entire trip instead of everyday." Vass tried to protest but to no avail. He was shut down by uncle and they asked us to be extra cautious.

As I was headed to my chambers I noticed Nayella walking towards it.

"Nayella?" She turned around with a really pale look on her face. She looked scared as she handed me a piece of paper hurriedly and left. I went in my chambers and made sure nobody entered it while I read the paper.

The old guard leaves and the new guard awaits.

Strike the bell at the midnight hour of the day of union.

- Nef fi

This made my hands shiver. My heart was beating loud and fast. It was in Lord Glissen's handwriting. Was he indeed planning to betray Nydalidia? I sat down on my bed and read it over and over again. This meant that every step we took was already known to the Astmathians. That's why our gold and resources were being looted so often. I was furious and scared at the same time. Who was the old guard and where was he leaving? It could be anything. Either the borders or the specific location of the strike. Or even a person. I sprang up from my bed, changed and grabbed my sword and raced to father's room. When I took a final turn to reach his room I noticed uncle Vasilikios entering the room. Perfect!

I tried not to scare them or barge in so I just entered the room quietly. None of them noticed me enter as they both were looking out a window as they spoke.

"How can I do this to them? My own children? You know I only loved one woman all my life Vasilikios. To marry another would hurt them. They loved their mother. The kingdom loved it's queen." Father said teary eyed.

"There will be no kingdom, there will be no king or queen if you don't do this Varyon. For the sake of this kingdom I beg you to. She is princess of Glikaraach, sister of the king. Right now, honestly, that's the only alliance strong enough that we have. I hate to say this but Astmath has grown stronger since their crown prince Leo returned. They are also making an alliance with Azure by arranging a marriage between their princess Lyssandria and crown prince of Azure. We need this Varyon. No matter how difficult it sounds. I wish that we were-" uncle stopped talking when he saw me.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. Loosing a mother was hurtful, but to let someone replace her, I couldn't. My mother meant the world to me and with her gone I imagined father too was as miserable as I was which was true. But even the thought of him marrying someone else, even not out of love but a pure agreement felt unacceptable. I started feeling dark again. Like the time I had felt when I hit Yohal . I forgot all about the letter that I hid in my belt overlaps and I ran outside. I could hear them scream out my name and ask me to stop but I didn't. I didn't care.

"Leave me alone!" I yelled back.

All I wanted was to get away from all of this. So I went to the stables. Kalsione stood close to the entrance grooming a horse. I snatched the reins from him and mounted the horse only to realize it didn't have a saddle on. But I didn't care.

I started going towards the woods. I could hear Kalsione protesting but I didn't care. I kept going deeper and deeper into the woods in the hopes of getting lost and never found by anyone. That's when I realized the horse had started behaving awkwardly and then it hit me. It was a rogue, wild horse that was still under training to be tamed. So it naturally didn't stop. I was panicking by now. That's when I saw a sturdy branch of a nearby tree. I grabbed it and let go of the horse. As I hung from the branch I saw my ride go farther and farther away. I let go of the branch and landed. It felt like I was gradually coming back to my senses. My head felt heavy and I felt as if I was gaining back my control that I had lost.

I looked around to see that I was deep in the woods as the trees were thicker and grasses were wilder. This meant that I was in danger. Not just because it was inhabited by wild predatory animals but also outlaws and rogue tribes. I tried screaming for help but then I realized that it wouldn't help. So I started walking towards one direction. Only it didn't help. I realized I was going in circles. Hours went by. I got tired and sat down beside a tree. I started to think about the events and feel my tears roll down my face. What was happening to me? Why was I loosing control like this? I had always been impulsive but never lost control. It felt like hours went by and I stood up. I had to find a solution. That's when I heard someone approaching. I couldn't see who it was but I heard it come closer and closer and closer. To say that I was scared would be inaccurate. I was terrified. It could have been anything or anyone. I was trying to walk as silently as possible in the other direction when I heard a group of angry men yelling and swearing.

That's when I bumped into a tall, muscular man and fell. I turned to look who it was and immediately regretted it.

"You?" I said sounding annoyed.

"Missed me Raven?" He said with an annoying smirk.

"What are you doing here Lycargos?" I asked

"I came for you of course." Liar!