As we were ushered into the safety of the castle, we could not help but notice all of the elven soldiers marching out in different directions and coming into multiple platoons. All of them were dressed in dark green outfits that would blend pretty well with the environment.
“This way, highnesses.” The elves who escorted us ushered us to the same rehabilitation room.
Once we got inside, we found Ace pushing Nora behind his back. On one of his hands has his bow ready and pointing the sharpened edge towards us. When he saw who we were, he immediately lowered his weapon. He frowned. “What? Do I have to babysit the rest of them? I only care about protecting Nora!” He protested.
“Apologies, your highness. But it was Queen Sierra's orders to keep the guests as close as possible.” One of them said.
“Hang on. I do not need protection.” Ren looked offended as he looked at the elves. “I am the Prince of Sanver. In our custom, a royal hiding from a fight is a disgrace to our kind. Let me go out there instead of staying here and be protected.”
“Prince Ren, this is Tordis.”
“So? Customs don’t just apply to the place. It applies to a person’s values as well.” Ren was holding his ground pretty well as he refused to go inside of the room.
“No. Queen’s orders-”
“And I am the current Queen of Thalia.” My aunt intercepted them when she noticed that Ren started to bare his fangs at them. “Last time I checked, my authority weighs more than Queen Siera. I mean no offence to her but that man is after my Nieces. I cannot sit idly and let others punish that man instead!” She bellowed.
It wasn’t the right time but I really want to applaud her at this moment.
Now, the two elf soldiers were troubled. “But your majesties...please-”
“If my wife goes, then I will go as well.” King Luke chuckled and placed a hand on my aunt’s waist to show his support for her. My aunt looked up and smiled gratefully at the king.
“Well, since the three of you are going, then I guess I will be going as well.” Nate sighed while brushing his hair back charmingly. “Who knows, maybe I can rescue a few damsels or two?” He grinned.
I looked at the four of them and wondered if I should join. I tried my luck and started to raise my hand to volunteer. “I-”
“DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!” Honestly? I lost count of how many of them said that to me at the moment. But I was pretty sure that almost all of them did.
“Okay okay. No need to yell. Geez.” I grumbled and crossed my arms over my chest. “It’s not like I wasn’t trained by Sir Terrence anyway.”
“You don’t have what it takes to kill someone.” Ace said as he walked to my side and addressed the others. “I should-”
“No!” The King, Queen, Ren and Nate scolded them as well. Even Nora disagrees.
And now, I was laughing silently at him while pointing my finger. Serves him right.
He glared at me before looking back at the others. “And why the hell not!? I can take down twice as many compared to the rest of you! And no one can tell me what to do! I am a PRINCE!”
“And I am the QUEEN!” My aunt placed her hands on her hips as she glowered at the young elf. I almost bursted out laughing when my aunt mimicked him.“And I say that you stay here along with these children.”
“Um...excuse me. Three children and one adult.” I corrected her.
My aunt’s eyes widened at me like how Asian parents look at their kids when they are misbehaving.
I gulped. “Yes. F-four children then.” I corrected myself.
“Dear,” The Queen addressed me fully. “I am not treating you as a child right now. I am treating you as an adult. I want you and PRINCE Ace to stay here in order to protect the young ones.” She says while addressing Kellar, Stella, and Nora.
“I can help you out there! I already took down most of them single-handedly.” Ace still insisted. Because of that, Viex and Custard snorted at them. “Fine. I had some help.” Ace grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest. He even clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“No. You need rest! And I need you here in case anyone pushes past us. You want to help? Then help us by staying here. You are capable of doing that, am I right?” My aunt gave him a stern look, a look that tells you that it is no longer up for debates.
I saw Ace trying to process her words and finally coming to an understanding that my aunt has a point. In the end, Ace sighed in resignation. “Alright fine.” He finally agreed. “But just so you know, they all fight dirty. Keep that in mind.”
Ren scoffed. “Of course we will be expecting that. They are called rogues for a reason. They don’t have to fight like a noble person.”
I ran towards Ren and Nate and gave them a hug. “You guys better not do anything stupid.” I said.
Ren placed a gentle hand on top of my head. “When it comes to a fight, you always know that I take it seriously.” He says.
“Hug me more and I will never leave!” Nate jokes and tries pushing Ren away from me.
Ren kicked him out of my embrace instead as he returned my hug. “Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to give them all a good beating for you and for your sister.” Ren promised and flashed me a smile.
“Don’t go soloing her hug!” Nate tried pushing Ren back so he could reach me. Unfortunately, Ren moved me to the side and away from Nate’s arms. The two of them continued to curse and kick each other until they heard my aunt clearing her throat. Immediately, the two stood in attention and I was finally free from their grasp.
I turned to my aunt next. “Are you really going out there?”
“Dear, I am not the queen of Thalia because of my knowledge alone. I am also a very powerful summer Fae.” She says.
I looked at King Luke, he was watching my aunt and I exchanged words. “You better keep her safe.”
“Of course. I would gladly take an arrow or two for her.” He joked and earned a light slap on the shoulder from my aunt. He laughed.
I bid them farewell one last time before the door closed behind them. Ace, Nora, Stella, Kellar, Viex, Custard, and I began to huddle into one group. All of us nervously sat in silence for a long time before Stella decided to entertain Nora with her magic to keep her from crying.
“Do you think they’ll be okay?” I wondered as soon as I saw the younger kids leaving our side.
“I don’t know.” Ace says while looking at the younger kids playing at a corner. Stella was now creating enough snow for them to build a snowman. Ace’s gaze went back to me. “She’s really good with magic.” He commented.
“I know.”
“Makes it hard to believe that you two are related.” He says. “But spiritual magic is unknown. Maybe it’s just harder to control your magic. Or maybe she’s just a genius.”
“Gee. I don’t know which of them will make me feel better.” I sighed. “Still, I am happy that she knows her own magic. That way, she can protect herself when needed.”
Ace nodded. “It seems to me that she can handle herself perfectly. She’s a big help during our escape.”
I blinked in surprise and smiled with pride at what I just heard. “Is she?”
“Yes.” Ace says before his gaze darted to the door where we last saw the others.
“You’re worried for them too? Both them and your family, right?”
“Maybe.” He answered.
I slumped on the ground and started stroking Custard and Viex absentmindedly. “Just how much did king Ferius send to attack Tordis?”
“That’s what I want to find out.” He placed his hand onto the dirt and began to close his eyes. It was a gesture that tells us that he was using his magic. Viex, Custard, and I were looking at him as we waited patiently. When he opened his eyes, his brows furrowed. “And here I thought I actually took down a lot when I was there.” He grumbled and followed by a really low curse.
“What is it? What did you see?” I scooted closer.
When he looked up at me, I could see the faint thin scar on his right face. A scar that he got when he was in Tereau. “Ever wondered why Tereau is called the counterpart of Thalia? Well, it’s because Tereau is as large as Thalia. Tordis won’t hold for long.” He says. Even though he was talking about the potential demise of his Kingdom, his voice remained calm.
I, on the other hand, started feeling guilty. “I’m...sorry. This happened because we’re here, right?”
Ace shrugged. “That or the fact that I probably offended the king in so many ways while I was there. Also, there are a lot of factors in this room that the king is after.” He says while looking at Kellar placing sticks on the snowman’s body.
Then, he flinched as if he remembered something. “Or maybe because your wolf pulled out the arm of his eldest son.”
If I didn’t believe Custard at first when he told me about it, I definitely believe him now.
“Ace, is there anything that we can do? At this rate Tordis-” Ace covered my mouth with his hand as he glanced at Nora. When he saw that she was still distracted, he breathed out a sigh of relief.
I removed his hand from my mouth. “I’ll take Stella and run as far away from this place as I can. Maybe that will draw them away. We’ll ride Viex since he’s the fastest.”
“And go where? To Thalia? You’ll just bring their troops there.”
“Then…” I looked at Stella before looking back at him. “Where should we go?”
Ace paused for a minute as if to think. “If these were the old times, Tordis could definitely survive this raid.”
“Old times? What do you mean?”
“The dead tree bark that surrounded Tordis is actually a live spiritual tree that would protect the elves from outsiders. Now it is nothing more but dead barks.” Then Ace looked at his hands and his eyes widened as if he was struck with an idea. “My magic could work to revive it but it wouldn’t be enough.” He muttered and then he abruptly got up when he saw Stella and Nora rolling another huge snowball for the snowman’s head.
“Ace?” I questioned him as I followed his movements. He was searching the garden for a few moments before he got down and picked up a leather bag.
“This will do.” He says as soon as he peeked inside at the mysterious item in the bag.
“What is it?” I asked as I took a glance inside the bag. It was a black orb with a strange dark mist inside of it. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s the orb that brought your sister here. And my guess is that it is also responsible for the loss of your sister’s memories.”
I took a step back and frowned distastefully at the item. “Does my aunt or your mother know about this? Because I am pretty sure that it wouldn’t be here right now if they knew. They would keep it safe somewhere.”
Ace smirked. “Look who’s finally learning.” He says. “But you’re right. If they knew then I wouldn’t have it with me. But elves respect each other’s belongings, that was why my valuables remained untouched. And it is a good thing as well, because I have a plan. And I am planning on using this.” He says while lifting the bag.
“What exactly is your plan?”
“To revive the ancient Tree of Tordis.”