Chapter 24

     Everything in the wild stopped as Zinjo entered the camp filled with nervous silence. Zinjo walked until ten feet separated him from Aurelia. His stare still brought out Aurelia's girlish side, and it still made her feel like the only woman on earth. Broken trust does not mend easily. Aurelia approached Zinjo. She walked with the grace and dignity of a regal lioness, as she came within arms reach. She drew her paw back and struck Zinjo with all of her might. 

   "If you ever do something that stupid again, you and I will have problems, understood?" She glared at him and drew herself up to her full height. Aurelia expected resentment and anger to be in the fierce yellow eyes. Instead, she found undying devotion and affection. "Perhaps I was too harsh," her voice softened against the affectionate gaze of Zinjo. 

   "No, dark princess, you were not. I expected worse," Zinjo rose from his knees, and held out his hand, "I would still be honored to make you my wife." The sincerity and kindness in his voice, had Aurelia's girlish side, screaming yes at the top of its lungs. 

   "Give me a day or two to think about it. You changed my entire life without my permission."

   "I thought after we talked earlier..."

   "You thought wrong, mister. You will find a way to make it up to me, I suggest you think hard," Aurelia's romantic side devoured every ounce of the domestic squabble. It made their relationship real in her eyes. 

   Mshindi and Redford's men chuckled at the warrior laid low by his mate. Neither were strangers to such situations themselves, "It seems you have found the fiercest of all, Zinjo '' Mshindi teased from afar. 

   "Hmmm," Zinjo grunted as he nodded, "I won your heart once, dark princess. I shall do so again," everything about Zinjo became determined, and his words sent a pleasurable shiver down Aurelia's spine. 

   "I look forward to it." Aurelia gestured to Mshindi, "Now you can start by talking to Mshindi without  tearing his head off."

  Mshindi bowed, "I welcome you to our fire."

  Zinjo glanced at Aurelia before he bellowed, "I accept your hospitality."

  Redford took a seat next to Mshindi. He tossed a couple of logs onto the small blaze and began to cook some meat over the fire. "I'm surprised nobody has asked about me."

  Mshindi, Aurelia, and Zinjo all stared at the brigand with dour glances, "You are here because I allowed you to live," Mshindi growled. "I like Mashek better than I like you. At least he has some morals."

   "Speaking of the thief, where did he go. His sister told us he was here with you," Zinjo leaned the partisan next to him. 

   Mshindi gave a wry smile, "We sent him to the Cherish empire to gather evidence Kivuli is among the people. He volunteered as I recall."

   The aged eyes of Redford gave the fire a thousand-yard stare. Why would a brigand join the hunt for a lethal creature? Dead men didn't get paid. "Redford, why are you here, besides the obvious."

   Redford looked around, "Your Kivuli sounds awfully like a monster from my home country. We called him Kludde." Redford shivered, "Should one Kludde die, seven more will spawn from the broken corpse."

   "That means the monster has been here before," Zinjo growled. 

    "No, " Redford shook his head, "It means the monsters exist everywhere. Our legend says Kludde are born from the souls of evil magic users. Our imperial mages are taught a soul-cleansing incantation to prevent such creatures from arising. 

    "You had a problem with the creature?" I don't believe I heard about that. Usually, we get steady news from the Cherish empire." Aurelia gazed at the tender meat on the stick, it smelled heavenly. 

    "It's not something you go around advertising as a nation. Before I worked for your mother, I was in service to the Cherish empire. Anyway, like Brismond our king shut the door to the throne room and began to drive the kingdom into the ground." Redford poked the fire with a long stick, "Our king was a decent man, he would never treat his subjects like that."

  "Did you find the king's body?" Aurelia asked, remembering her first glance at Horace's bloated Corpse. 

   Redford shook his head, "No. I don't know what the fell creature did with it, but without me,t I can't prove the king on the throne is a fake."

   "Then I guess we are going to the Cherish empire," Aurelia stood up, "Zinjo and I will gather some supplies for the journey, please wait for us."

   Gratitude and hope emanated from Redford, "You don't have to help. Cherish is not your home..."

   A hand silenced the brigand, "I seek to restore Shadowfen to its former glory. Helping other countries is a part of that." Aurelia gestured for Zinjo to follow her. "Now, we should be back in a day or so, be prepared for a long journey."

***

   Awkward silence separated the young couple. Both seemed afraid to make the first move. Zinjo went to speak several times, only to close his mouth again. Aurelia knew of his struggle and did nothing to make it better. Thirty minutes passed and Zinjo finally said, "I can teach you to regain your human form."

   Aurelia spun around and crossed her arms, "I'm listening. Is it going to hurt?"

   "No, it shouldn't. I want to say..." He froze in the blazing heat of Aurelia's deathly gaze, "Close your eyes, and breathe deep."

   "Keep your hands to yourself," Aurelia said in a dignified tone, "I am a princess you know."

     A slight smile appeared on Zinjo's face, "I wouldn't dream of it, dark princess."

    Hiresponseed reassured Aurelia their relationship would survive the bite. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She said nothing but waited for Zinjo's words to guide her. 

   "Pretend you are taking off a set of clothes, start at the head." Zinjo's disembodied voice said. 

    Aurelia did as her future husband asked. She unzipped her face in her mind and revealed the gothic princess beneath. In real life, her face felt like it was being drained of water. Elated by the sensation, she removed the rest of her lion skin in her mind. She could still smell and hear everything, but her body felt lighter. She opened her eyes and saw the pink flesh of her hands, and fingernails. 

    "How do you feel?" Zinjo dared to approach her.

    Aurelia smiled, and nodded, "Much better. Are you ready to explore the Cherish empire?"

    "We have to be," Zinjo replied.