Returning The Favour

King Marcus was pacing in his room when a knock stopped him on his tracks. With a wide smile plastered on his face, he went and opened the door. A man, probably in his mid fifties, stood there elegantly.

"I'm glad you came Lord Lukas," the king said smiling at him.

"The pleasure is mine my King," he replied courteously while bowing at Marcus. The king took a quick peek outside searching for any souls. Nobody was there except the guard who stood by the door. He ushered Lord Lukas in his aboard before turning to the knight who stood by the door."Make sure nobody comes in until instructed otherwise."

"Yes my King." The knight held the hilt of his sword and surveyed his surroundings before the king closed the doors to his chambers.

"So, how have you been Lord Lukas?" Marcus asked while striding across the room. He took a jug of wine that was on the table and poured it in two cups. He handed one of the cups to Lord Lukas who was seated by the parlour.

"I have been doing well My King. Apart from several issues here and there, I can say that my life is best." Lord Lukas took a sip of the wine before complimenting,"all this is thanks to you my King."

King Marcus nodded in understanding before he also took a sip of his wine. He had helped Lord Lukas to get a post in the Council many years ago. He thought that this would be the best time for him to return the Favour.

"The reason why I called you here is to ask for a favour from you," Marcus released the breath-held statement. It was unusual for a king to ask for a favour from his subjects. But this time it was different. This was about his one and only daughter, Aria. Still, Lord Lukas could easily refuse to offer help as he was a member of the council. The council had such great powers that it could even defy a king's order and overthrow him.

"Anything for my king," Lukas said taking a quick peek at the sad king. King Marcus breathed heavily before looking at Lord Marcus with hopeful eyes. What he was about to tell him carried a deep meaning to his heart and the whole of Avon kingdom.

"As a member of the council, you are able to disagree with any decision made by the council as there will be no consensus." Lord Lukas nodded in understanding while taking another sip of the wine."It is with this in mind that I would like to request you to disagree with the decision passed against my daughter," king Marcus looked at the reaction of the Lord and he seemed disturbed by the news,"I know that it is a difficult task but I would urge you to look at it the way a father would."

Lord Lukas seemed lost in his thoughts. He was torn between his loyalty to the council and his conscience. If it were his daughter in the princess' shoes, he would have done whatever it takes to rescue her even if it meant to die for her stead. Furthermore, King Marcus was the one who had helped him secure a seat in the chamber of the council. Breathing heavily, he turned to the expectant king and gave his reply.

"As a member of the Council, I decline your request," the king's face suudenly turned from that of an expectant person to that of a hopeless person,"but as a father, I will do anything in my capability to help you." The king's face lit up and at that moment he felt like crying.

"I don't know what I can do to thank you or give as a token for your humane gesture," the king said with all the emotional scene he could create at that moment. Anyone who could see him right now could not believe that this was the ever cold and unemotional King Marcus.

"There is no need to thank me my King. You have already done enough for me and my family. I am forever indebted to you my King." The king rose from his seat and collected himself. He squared his shoulders and wiped his watery eyes before taking a deep hopeful breath. He knew that he had done his best to save his daughter to the extent of begging. He could not help but wonder where his daughter was at that moment.

Aria and Blackwood were having a training session in the forest when Lylla came panting. They both halted and looked at her with a thousand questions written all over their faces.

"Why are you here?" Leon questioned her while she was still panting. Lylla gestured Aria to give her a cup of water which she gladly did. She gulped the contents in one go and let out a long sigh of relief. Looking up at the duo, she was met by faces with worry and unanswered questions written all over.

"I,m glad I found you on time," she paused before Leon gave her a 'get straight to the point' glare, "I'm sorry. Lord Blackwood found out who I was. Fortunately, I ran away before they caught me."

"How far were you they before you escaped?" Leon asked her.

"I was able to jump through the window before they broke the door to my room." Aria surveyed her surroundings to make sure that nobody had followed Lylla. When she was certain there was none, she looked at the tree tops and spotted a crow that was surrounding the sky in circles.

"Leon,"she called stopping them from their interview. She pointed at the sky and Leon's eyes widened in realizement. He looked at his sister before drawing his sword.

"You've just led them straight to where we are." He said before hurrying to put off the fire.

"What exactly is that?" Aria asked following him closely behind.

"It's a crow that is controlled by magic. It is used to track people in forests and other crowded areas." Leon said while packing his belongings."We need to move princess." Immediately those words left his mouth, the sound of dogs barking was heard a distance not too far away from where they were.

"Shit. They have found us. Move swiftly princess." Lylla stood there with guilt written all over her beautiful face. She would be the cause of their death because of her naivety.

"Snap out of it Lylla,"Leon called getting her attention to the matters at hand now. They could not just stand there idly and wait for death. The trio ran away as fast as they could before the trackers could catch up with them. The barking increased sending fear in their hearts as they ran through the woods.