“If we are in search of something that is missing, no one knows what it looks like, where it was found. It’s origin…”, Dragomir trailed off, “What is the first step we have to take?” “There has to be someone that knows something, someone still alive you know?”, Raisel asked. “Not just anyone. A wise person who knows something that is not written in the book” Her eyes widened. “Yesss" Dragomir smiled, “Of course, lucky for us we are in Mercia. The wisest man to ever live happens to live in this quiet city” “That’s great to know”, Raisel smiled, “When do we go to meet him?” “Immediately. He is a very busy person. We can’t stay in this city any longer, we can be caught out any time soon”, Dragomir answered. Soon they set out. Dragomir glanced at her, “You’re not going to faint now are you?” She glared at him, “The corset is just fine” “Good” They walked into the large cottage and were offered seats to wait out. The lady attendant came back with two cups and a jug containing tea
Raisel watched as his chest heaved as he deeply slept. One of his hands was behind his head. His hair was overgrown and a few locks were drooping just over his eyes. She carefully pushed it backwards. It fell forward, she moved it again. This continued for a while. He stirred in his sleep but he did not wake up. She loved watching him sleep but they had a long journey ahead of them and they needed to leave immediately. She pushed him slightly then shouted into his ears, “How do we find a dragon?” He got up abruptly with a start, “What? What do you mean?” She rested her chin on her arm and peered closely at him, for some reason she didn’t understand he seemed pretty haunted, “There’s a lot of questions that need to be asked. Where do we find a dragon?, How do we know it’s a dragon? What if they don’t even want to be found at all?” He sat up and relaxed, “Someone seems to be very excited this morning” She smiled at him and played with the trinket on her neck, it was her heart-shaped
“Trent you'll gather a few soldiers and get ready to leave at first daylight”, Aldrich barked out orders, he walked the length of the large castle, his hands behind his back. His red robe trailed behind him. He stopped at one of the large castle windows and looked out, he didn’t want to be a part of any of this as much as possible he wanted to steer clear but Nikolas was right, if the heart of magic fell into the wrong hands it would be trouble for everyone. He studied his reflection in the mirror, his greying hair and saggy eyes were just a few of the indications that he had not slept in a while. He turned around, “I need you to find the heart of magic and bring it back to me before anyone gets to it” “That’s impossible my king”, Trent replied a look of incredulity on his face, “It has been missing for…” “Blah blah blah and all the unnecessary bullshit”, King Aldrich interrupted, he walked close to Trent and stopped just short of an inch from him, “I gave an order that I believe i
Allerick stormed into Marcella’s house, Mart trying to keep up with him but failing at it, “Marcella?”, he called out repeatedly for a while. When he realized no one was inside, he waved his hand inviting the guards in. “You know what to look for right?” “Yes sire”, they chorused. “Get to work then”, he waved them off. He stood with hands akimbo supervising the activity. After a short while the door was pushed open and Marcella’s head popped in, a shocked expression on her face. Allerick was sitting on a chair and going through Ryker's diary. “What in heaven’s name is going on here?” Allerick stood up and slowly walked up to her, “I have the king’s authorization”, he showed her a document with a seal. “The king would never do this to Ryker’s family, he would never breach our rights to privacy”, she retorted through clenched teeth and snatched the document from Allerick. He chuckled. She quickly scanned through the document, her eyes widened in realization, “This does not have
Raisel couldn’t figure out what exactly Dragomir had told the lady but they were inside her little cottage and she had served them bread. Raisel slowly pulled off Dragomir’s shirt, she soaked a clean washcloth in water and wiped his wounds. She flinched any time she touched the bruises, however, he didn’t react. “I’m sorry for hurting you”, the lady apologized over and over again. “It is fine, I understand you were only protecting your son. You have been victimized for years now”, Dragomir replied to her for the umpteenth time. Raisel reached for his injury and applied an ointment to it. The ointment tended to burn a little, so she cringed when she rubbed it on… He took her hand in his, which caused her to look up at him, “I am fine Raisel it doesn’t hurt that much” She nodded in response. The lady set a bowl of water before them, “I am sorry I can not offer you anything tangible as to the former or recent location of the heart of magic”, she paused first and searched their face
He mounted Fury and extended a hand to pull her up, when she was comfortable behind him, she asked the question that was bothering her, “What did you guys talk about, You and…” “Ariel, Ariel is her name” “Yes”, Raisel answered, “It was pretty intense and I caught the glances that passed between you two occasionally." They rode gently through the deserted streets., “You want the undiluted truth?”, he asked. “Affirmative!”, she answered, “We are partners remember?” “Well Ariel asked if we were a couple, can you believe that?”, he asked, a look of astonishment on his face, “I was appalled by the mere thought of it but she was serious. She said she saw how you kept on giving me subtle love glances…” Her forehead creased, “What?” “The time with the injuries, you were in pain because I was in pain…” “Dragomir”, Raisel called, “Keep quiet, don’t say a thing. You have no idea what you’re saying” “Chill miss, you don’t have to be all so defensive, like the mere thought of being with me
It was dusk when they got to Nevera. They surveyed the city from a safe distance. He turned to look at her, “This sure is a busy town, I don’t think dragons will come here to hide if they needed to stay out of the public eye” “Well if there are rumors there could be a hint of truth in it”, she answered, she observed the town. He nodded absentmindedly, he stared at her as her eyes lit up at the sight before her. There were a lot of people engaged with one thing or the other. Kids chased one another on the streets, they were giggling young girls talking to each other and subtly admiring the young boys down the road. “So where do we go from here?”, he reluctantly drew his eyes from her. She turned to him, “You are the one with the broad knowledge of kingdoms and towns…”, a hint of a smile on her lips. They stood quietly beside each other, the breeze billowed around them, sending papers flying around. One landed on the feet of Raisel, she picked it up and read through, “I think we mig
Allerick and his aide Mart stopped to rest for a while under the shade of a large tree. Unknown to him the ensemble his father sent after him where hiding behind the cover of the dense forest. “Mart quickly tend to Buck, we have to continue our journey soonest, we should approach the city before dusk”, he barked out orders. Mart stood up almost immediately, “Yes sire”, and began tending to the horse. Allerick placed his head against the large bark of the tree, now that he was out of Avalon with no host of soldiers and servants to tend to all his needs, save for a little peasant boy, he had no idea why he had put up with him for as long as he had, it didn’t make any more sense. The more he thought about it the more he thought his decision foolish, Raisel could be anywhere, any town, any kingdom. He would never be able to find her, especially if she didn’t want to be found. This was why he wanted to travel solo, so as not to attract unnecessary attention to him, so she wouldn’t know