Zara began to open her eyes, surrounded by trees and bushes. Nearby stood the cart with the horses tied to a tree. Lying close to the now-extinguished campfire was Derek, sleeping peacefully.
"Are you awake, Princess?" Shadow spoke, seated across from her, poking at the ashes with a stick. "How did you sleep?"
"Better than in the tavern, that's for sure." Zara sat up, stretching a little and touching her head. "Now that I remember, what did you do with my tiara?"
Shadow reached into her bag and pulled out the tiara. Once Zara saw it, Shadow put it back. "The gems are surely worth a lot of money," she said with a small smile.
"Couldn't you give it back to me?" the princess pleaded with puppy-dog eyes.
"No. Right now you're a 'slave,' Princess."
Zara crossed her arms and pouted. She also sat down, looking in Derek's direction, turning her back on Shadow. Though it wasn't very late, Zara realized that morning had already arrived.
"Why isn't your brother awake yet?"
Shadow sighed. "He's probably tired. He had a lot of spiritual strain yesterday."
"Really?" Zara approached him to examine him—at first glance, he looked normal. "He didn't use his ability that much to suffer that kind of strain."
"Let's just say his spirit isn't very large. He tires easily."
They both fell silent for a while. Zara took the opportunity to pull out her notebook and quill. She thought about drawing a little, but upon seeing the drawing of the palace, she frowned. In the end, she set the notebook aside, crumpling the page slightly.
"You have to leave it behind. Blaming yourself won't solve the problem," Shadow noted, having noticed Zara's discomfort.
Zara didn't seem to react.
"He's your brother. It's clear he cares about you a great deal. I'm sure you'll manage to work it out," the woman added afterward.
Zara sighed, closed the notebook, and then noticed that Derek seemed to be waking up.
"Well, after all, he didn't seem that tired," Zara joked, still close to him.
The mage blinked a few times, seeing Zara looking down at him. "Move back a little, child."
"Child!? Brave words for someone who seems to be my age!"
"Physically, perhaps. Mentally, it doesn't seem that way," Derek said with a smile.
Zara clenched her fists. "Shadow, can I hit your brother?"
Shadow stood up. "Of course." Then she headed toward the horses.
"Hey, I'm your brother! Don't take the hostage's side!"
Zara lunged to attack Derek, though he kept her at bay with relative ease.
"Stop playing around over there. You'll attract an animal's attention," Shadow scolded them as she untied the horses and let them go, putting the rope in her bag.
"At least I'll take off your mask!" Zara began to reach her hand toward Derek's face.
"Never!" Derek managed to block her, though barely.
"I've already seen Shadow's face! Someday you'll have to show me yours!"
"And that's why she complained when I gave her my name." Shadow felt a chill run down her spine—it was obvious her brother's gaze was fixed on her.
The woman separated them both and pulled out a map from her bag. Using her quill, she marked their approximate location—a forest that extended to the border with Tarzovia.
"Before leaving Tarzovia, we were informed this was the safest area, since Luneria's forces don't venture this far." Shadow then pointed to the border. "That's where we're heading. It's several hours of travel, so be prepared."
Zara raised her hand.
"Why did you release the horses, then?" the princess asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Taking them through the forest will be complicated. They'll end up slowing us down."
The three prepared themselves. The princess specifically picked up her quill and notebook again.
As they walked, Zara seemed entertained by anything. She'd stop still to watch squirrels in the trees or deer running in the distance. She drew every flower she saw, marveling at their shapes and colors.
Though when she looked up, she couldn't see the sky through the foliage. She could feel that feeling she'd been searching for her entire life—she could feel the freedom she so desperately longed for.
"Come on, Princess, don't get distracted." The group reached a small stream. Shadow and Derek had already crossed, but Zara remained on the other side, drawing.
"Just a moment—I almost have it." Derek turned to look at Shadow. She nodded, and immediately her brother crossed back over.
"Come on." He grabbed Zara's arm and dragged her almost forcibly to the other side, getting their feet wet.
"Ah, what a pleasant feeling. I didn't know river water was so cool," she murmured, splashing a little as Derek pulled her along.
Once on the other side, they kept walking. Derek moved closer to her to observe how much she was drawing. An entire page of her notebook was filled with drawings—trees, bushes, flowers, animals, and finally the stream.
"You really like drawing."
"I'm good at drawing landscapes, though horrible at people."
They both kept talking for a while longer until Zara put the notebook away again. The farther they walked, the light that managed to pierce the foliage shifted direction slightly—something that didn't go unnoticed by the princess. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
"How long have we been walking?" she grumbled. "The first time was nice. Now it's a little disappointing."
Derek stopped to look at her. "Don't complain and walk. You're not on vacation." Zara stayed still for a moment, ignoring him.
"It seems someone wants to go back to the rope," Derek joked.
"What are you talking about? I see no reason for that." The princess quickened her pace, walking past the mage.
With that said, the princess returned to normal and kept walking as if nothing had happened. Though shortly after, she bumped into Shadow, who stopped her.
"What's happening?"
Three arrows fell in front of Shadow. She drew her weapon, and Derek prepared a fireball.
"Wait, you can't use fire in a forest!" Zara grabbed Derek's hand, and he extinguished the fireball.
From the bushes, several soldiers appeared, surrounding them completely—some armed with bows while others carried swords or axes. Their attire was similar to Shadow's and Derek's, but with leather armor.
"Identify yourselves or die!" From the group, another person appeared. He also carried a sword, and his armor was visibly better than the others'.
Shadow reached into her pocket and pulled out an emblem—a red spear and shield. The leader of the soldiers lowered his weapon, and the others did the same.
The soldiers looked at each other as they whispered. From the way they spoke, they seemed bewildered.
"Damn. You actually did it? Is this her?" the leader asked in disbelief.
Shadow nodded.
At Shadow's confirmation, the soldiers began to celebrate. Though Zara didn't understand why they would do such a thing.
"You'll have to forgive me—I didn't know you'd take this route," the soldier leader apologized. "Come this way. I'll take you to our camp."
The soldiers guided the group through the forest to a small clearing. There were more soldiers here—about twenty in total now. They had a camp, two campfires, and several tents.
"We've been preventing Luneria groups from passing through here. They've been trying to flank the front for a few weeks."
Shadow was surprised.
"I was informed this forest was a safe zone," she said, raising an eyebrow.
"It was—a month ago, at most." They brought the three some plates with a little food. "Then they started attacking from this side too."
As he spoke, he drew a small map in the dirt with a stick.
"When he realized, the commander ordered a small group to block it." He took a bite of his food. "So here we are."
Everyone began to eat. Zara analyzed and analyzed the wooden bowl—she didn't think they actually ate just the broth inside. But upon tasting it, she was surprised to find it was quite good.
As she ate, she noticed how everyone seemed to look at her sideways. They seemed attentive—as if she could suddenly do something. She could tell—they were afraid of her.
"Finally, this will all be over," the leader said, offering a small smile. "We really thought we were done for."
"Is that so? Tarzovia is strong. It could easily endure a war of attrition," Shadow murmured beside him.
"Haven't you heard the rumors?" he asked in a whisper.
The woman shook her head.
"They say Luneria is preparing to launch a full-scale invasion. Some of us believe she's our last chance for victory." The man took another bite of his food. "Some of us here would prefer to return home alive."
Shadow looked away slightly, also eating what they'd been given.
"We have people waiting for us, you know?"
The woman glanced around the camp. Though they seemed calm, it was nothing more than a facade. These men and women were constantly on guard—tense even in their sleep. Some hadn't even touched their food.
The leader then looked at Shadow's sleeve and saw something blinking.
"What's that on your arm?" he asked, frowning.
Shadow rolled up her sleeve to reveal the device Olivia had stuck to her arm.
"A bomb!?" the man squealed, spilling his food.
"No, no, calm down—it doesn't do anything!" The woman tried to calm him, then explained what had happened and where it came from.
"It just blinks? Really?" The soldier examined the device closely, but at first glance, it didn't seem to do anything else.
Derek approached and tried to pull it off, but stopped when his sister told him to stop.
"I've tried to tear it off, but it's stuck to me. It won't come off for anything in the world."
Specifically, a phrase: "I don't carry things with me that put me at a disadvantage." That made her think—if nothing she carries puts her at a disadvantage, what was that device for?
She turned to look at her arm. The world seemed to move slower around her; the sounds were much quieter. Her mind returned to the brief fight she'd had against Olivia in the city, but nothing came to mind regarding how the device might have been used.
But there was something that didn't add up—the fact that Olivia had been able to detect her so easily through the smoke. Not only that, but she'd found her in the city so quickly. Perhaps she wasn't the stealthiest, but it was as if the siblings knew exactly where to go.
A chill ran through her entire body. She began to look all around with trembling eyes. Bushes that seemed to move, shadows where there shouldn't be any. She realized too late.
"This device isn't a weapon." She drew her weapon just in time. All around the camp, soldiers began to appear bearing Luneria's emblems. "It's a tracker! Ambush!"
The soldiers launched themselves at the camp in a frenzied attack. The sound of clashing metal echoed throughout the area as Tarzovia's forces began to fall under the numerical disadvantage.
"You led them straight here!" the leader shouted as he drew his sword. "To arms! Push them back!"
Shadow gathered everything she could, then approached Derek and Zara, handing everything to her brother.
"Get out of here. Take the princess."
Derek took the bag, confused, but quickly stood up.
"And what will you do?"
Shadow drew her sword. This was a death sentence for Derek.
"No... I won't leave you here!"
"It's enemy territory. We knew something like this could happen."
Derek threw the bag to the ground and generated two fireballs.
"I can fight! We can beat them! Just—"
"No!" Shadow's order was clear, but Derek couldn't accept it. "Complete the mission for us. Go now."
Zara could see how Derek clenched his fists tightly and how he trembled slightly. Leaving his sister behind was not an idea that pleased him in the slightest. She understood that, to some extent.
But this was no time to stand by and do nothing.
"Come on, quickly! Listen to your sister!" Zara took the mage's hand—warm, possibly a side effect of using so much fire. Then she grabbed the bag and ran, pulling Derek along with her.
The mage let himself be led at first, but quickly regained his composure. He narrowed his eyes, released Zara's grip, and attacked some soldiers blocking their path with fireballs. Thanks to this, the two managed to escape successfully.
Shadow, for her part, had joined the group's leader. Side by side, they managed to defeat a handful of soldiers.
"I appreciate you staying, but this is a losing battle," the soldier said.
"I didn't stay out of altruism." She looked at the device blinking on her arm. "Without me, they won't be able to track them anymore."
"That's a pity." Shadow's eyes opened wide—she could recognize that voice anywhere by now.
"Prince Callen."
"Kidnapper."
From between two soldiers, Prince Callen appeared, wielding his two scimitars. It was already normal to see him angry, but this time something had changed in him.
"Did you leave the little princess at home today?" the woman joked.
"There's no need for her to be present today."
"Let's attack together. We could overwhelm him," the soldier suggested, gripping his sword hilt tightly.
But Shadow stopped. Something didn't fit. The prince looked calm, relaxed. He was strong, and she knew it, but he wasn't that confident—not without a plan.
The soldier didn't wait and launched himself into the attack.
"Death to the conquerors!" he shouted as he raised his sword.
"Wait!" Though she tried to stop him, she couldn't.
Callen's attack was barely visible. Shadow stepped back nimbly to see the man's body fall to the ground, cut in two. Not only that—a tree behind him had also been cut in two.
"I hope our previous encounters haven't given you a mistaken impression of me." The prince's scimitars gave off a scarlet glow that completely enveloped them.
Shadow did nothing. No, she could do nothing. The person she'd fought in the city wasn't even half as strong as the one standing before her now.
The woman dropped her weapon and simply fell to her knees, raising her hands. The remaining Tarzovian soldiers did the same. The battle ended as quickly as it had begun.
Callen began walking toward her.
"It seems you're quite clever after all." He brought one of his scimitars within a hair's breadth of Shadow's neck. The woman looked into his eyes but only saw the reflection of overwhelming hatred.
"Now tell me," he began to speak, changing his tone to a more threatening one. "Where is Zara?"