161 Follow the Breadcrumbs

AUTHOR'S POV

"Sh sh sh!!", Stellan lifted his hand and shut Conrad's mouth with his fingers before the warlock go into more details of their love making with his wives. "I don't care about any of that, Conrad!", the paladin wet his dry lips and collected the littlest amount of patience he have left. "I don't wish to hear your love affairs, and how enjoyable your wives are in bed… with all due respect. What I want to know is… what happened here?! What happened to your barriers? The King wouldn't personally break the barriers for whatever reason there is", Stellan blurted out to instantly point out his ulterior interest before letting go of Conrad. The barrier is a contract between the palace and the Wiccans that can't be easily broken, he thought. "Is it the prince?", he assumed.

"Oh, I thought…", Conrad grinned as he falsely assumed that Stellan is curious in his growing family. He misunderstood the paladin after seeing him with his lips curved down and knitted brows as soon as Stellan entered his home welcomed by his wives and children. "Oh well.. hmm.. ", he cleared his throat after finally realizing Stellan isn't interested in his personal ordeals. "Yes Stellan, It's the prince. It's not really a surprise for him to go on a rampage. He does it all the time. It's just, now, he went extremely overboard and unpredictably dangerous", he revealed.

"Why would he do this?", Stellan mumbled. The last time he saw the prince, he wasn't delirious to a certain point that he'll harass the Wiccans and destroy the century old agreement.

"He was looking for a woman… With the sword of the kings in his hands, he broke the barrier and ordered us to find her with a threat to kill one Wiccan on each day we don't find that woman. You know our magic don't work on the royals, so we can't go against a raging prince. Our best warlocks and witches are tracking her down now", Conrad explained that sends shiver down his spines. "He killed one of ours last night. Iaso said, it's best that we abandon Wicce at nightfall since tracking magic is hard to do", he continued with great sadness across his face.

"What's her name? Who the prince is looking for?", Stellan asked softly even though he's fully aware whom the prince is obsessed with. He just wanted to hear the answer out loud.

"How can I forget the name. It's Haelan", Conrad clearly said that made Stellan jump on his feet.

"A-are you alright?", Conrad was startled at Stellan's sudden reaction.

"I just remembered, Wicce is no longer protected by the barriers. Monsters would be surging any moment. Forgive me, I'll be on my way", Stellan picked up his sword and made his way to the front door. "I'll be back", he said.

"Oh right I forgot. Paladin's have that urge. Take this coat with you. It's especially chilly today, and there are constant scattered rains", Conrad handed Stellan a thicker velvet black coat.

"Thanks, by the way Conrad, the woman I'm with… Do you know her? It seemed like you all do", Stellan wanted to confirm more of his great assumptions.

"Of course, that's Agalea, one of the best students of Iaso. She ran away long ago, thanks for bringing her back. I didn't know you two were… intimate", Conrad said. Stellan slowly nodded as he started to clearly grasp the tangled fate of Helena in this kingdom.

Troubled with Helena's plethora of issues, Stellan decided to follow the breadcrumbs that Helena has been leaving. He cleared his head while he get rid of the monsters lingering closeby Wicce. Surely, the Wiccans still have no idea that the person whom they are tracking for Galen is in fact in Wicce. And if they do realize that, the Wiccans would not think twice to give Helena up to the deranged prince given that their mere existence is at stake. It's a dirty game the prince love to play. If it comes to that, the paladin knight have no choice but to protect Helena, even if it means he'll become an enemy of two worlds - the royals and the Wiccans.

Stellan continued to face the wrath of the beasts twice his size with only one grip on his sword. He released all the tension that sinks him in his swamp of weariness. He never knew fear. Knighthood and paladinship made him numb. However, crossing paths with Helena made Stellan stumble over a bunch of fears he never imagined he would have. He cowered in fear that Helena could leave him anytime and never to return again. In every swing of his sword, Stellan trembled with a thought that he isn't right enough for Helena and that his soul traveler half brother would be the best for her. Thus, each time he hears Helena call his name, even in deep slumber… it gave him a glint of hope which he cherishes with anticipation that he might have filled a certain space in the soul traveler's heart.

Stellan amplified his strikes and punches more as he suffocate in his assumptions that Helena wouldn't entirely catch his feelings. Given that she have had a very strong will to soul travel back home even though she have no one to return to, it saddens him that he isn't someone who could easily stop her to soul travel away. . .

Soon, Galen will come back to Wicce and nothing will definitely stop the prince once he knew Helena is here. From there, Stellan feared the things he'll do to the prince who assumes ownership on Helena like a trophy. He knew he had to do something before that time comes, with hopes that no blood has to be shed.

With sweat mixed with raindrops dripping on his forehead, Stellan paused as he catch his breath. He can't stop thinking of Helena. Stellan couldn't help but think savagely of the Wiccans who appear to be cornering her and using her for their own advantage - something he intend to find out why. Inconclusively, Helena couldn't soul travel because of her broken crest, the source of power of a soul traveler that is supposedly outpouring with manna. Stellan thought that it's absurd to assume that a crest of a strong celestial traveler like Helena would just lose its power so easily. After hearing that Helena is in Agalea's body, Stellan figured that it's definitely not an accident for a soul traveler to land on a witch's body. Most likely, the Wiccans are blocking the power of Helena's crest too. Wiccans are clever, and too careful in every move they make, only with important reasons. However, the paladin knight couldn't fathom why. As soon as the perimeter surrounding Wicce is cleared of beasts, Stellan decided to return to the village with a clearer view of the unfolding truth right before his eyes.

"Stellan!", Conrad called as Stellan appear from the bushes. "I have news for you!! We found a black horse nearby the stream. I recognized him and realized it's Areon. . . Your horse!", Conrad excitingly said. "He's wounded, but don't worry, Lerena is treating him in the stables already. He'll recover in no time. And uh I just brought its pack in Iaso's hut. You can check it there", he added.

"I appreciate it, Conrad", Stellan swept his wet hair back as he breathe heavily.

"What are friends for, huh? And why so formal? Don't tell me you don't see me as a good old friend now that you're a great paladin", Conrad jokingly said.

Stellan smiled. "You know it's nothing like that", the paladin knight shoved Conrad lightly in his shoulders, but for the warlock, Stellan's hand was so heavy it hurts.

"He he I know, I'm just playing with ya", Conrad brushed it off with a forced smile. "Anyway, just go inside the hut. The clouds look like it's going to pour some more rain again", he said as he ran after his third wife into the woods. "See you later?", he said as went along.