Established Scroll belonging to the Witch Hall Chamber Museum.
The misted forest had a cold bite to it when we returned to the campsite in the morning. My body ached subtly from the fitful sleep I had last night. One would think sleeping in an actual bed after twelve years would mean an easy blissful sleep yet that was not the case in the Old Queen’s bedroom. Other than my body not being accustomed to the softness of the mattress, my dreams were haunted by glowing blue eyes and a red gem. Some relief settled on me knowing that we would be leaving Viridis Aurum, the land that held so many answers and yet, consumed old secrets like a plague. The shadows and darkness in my heart had settled and hid back into the prison within me. Making it much clearer to think and put all the strange events that had occurred in the back of my mind. My focus was to only speak to the prince when necessary, protect him- and not think about how his eyes had looked at me last night.
"I had a great time, Mor. Do you think we’ll ever be able to visit again?" Red spoke up from behind me, bringing his grey mare and my stallion towards me.
"No," I gave a curt reply. I tightened my armour straps, stiffening when I scented the faint smell of the Old Queen's dress still on me.
Red frowned and mounted his mare, moving his horse in direction to Inanov. I sighed in regret. I guess some part of me should understand what freedom buys. It makes you appreciate the world and experiences around you more, making every moment in life more enjoyable. It is hard to hold onto that joywhen the sole person you know is not sharing the feeling, he was still just a kid that hadn't known what freedom was.
I felt like a rotten mole.
I spotted a white pebbled stone that sparkled from the few rays of sunshine that managed to push through the mist. I picked it up, mounted the stallion and kicked off into his direction.
"Hey," I called out to Red and threw the stone. He luckily caught it in time before it could cause a minor concussion. He looked at it with confusion. "A remembrance for your visit," I answered and gave him a smile. He answered back with a grin and shoved the stone into his pants pocket.
"A good remembrance would have been a night with that she-vamp you spoke to, huh Red?" Hulin shuffled his hair, nudging through with his own horse. His crooked nose scrunched into an almost comical look when smirking. I raised an eyebrow at them. "Oh, he didn't tell you?" Hulin asked, his eyes sparked playfully.
"Hulin—" Red was cut off from saving himself from embarrassment.
"He was trying to chat her up. A fine job he did, however, all the girl spoke about was which variation of rat had the best blood."
I chuckled. "That's Red for you, sweet little boy," I teased, and Hulin broke into a laugh.
"I am not! I just... didn't want to get eaten by her either," he muttered with an annoyed expression. I may have teased him for it, but I was grateful he didn't become that vampyre's meal by inviting her to his bed. Inanov was stone faced through the whole conversation, listening while Akiel held a map in his hands. Pointing. I moved my horse forward, instantly spotting where we were situated, watching them point to Litara.
"We are only an hour away from Abdera. It could honestly be less, if we ride fast," I answered without them asking.
"We have to go to Litara. Prince's command," Inanov answered, not looking at me as he handed the map back to Akiel.
Confusion racked my brain as I stated again, "We will only make it to Litara at night. Navigating the routes through the Archangel Hills will be more difficult than it already is during the day. You can only imagine what it's like at night." My tone was grave, trying to reason with them.
"Then it's a good thing Akiel is one of our best trackers," that cold teasing voice said from behind me. The prince's white horse, proud and pumping out hot steam, as if it was an alpha of its own—made its way through. The other horses moving aside instantly. I made mine stay in place, refusing to submit even though it made my horse tense up and have its hooves beat at the ground in nerve.
"Nice for you to make an appearance," Akiel mumbled under his breath. I then spotted a dark purple bruise under the prince's jaw. A mark, that had no doubt come from Serena. The prince caught my stare, looking at me in amusement. I looked away and held the reins around the horse a bit tighter.
"Abdera is the best route to start," I answered. A gut feeling was urging me to fight for it, my very instinct pointing us in a direction that was only an hour or less away.
"Unfortunately, those enemies I spoke about. Still seem to be occupied in Abdera—well at least that's what the spies have informed me," the prince answered.
"Glad to see you are—" I paused.Not drunk, is what I wanted to say.But to remain polite, I said, "—in good spirits." A nearly incredulous look came from the prince; an emotion that made him look like a deer caught by a noose. He knew what I was referring to just then, and schooled his facial expression. Inanov chuckled softly from behind me.
"If we expect to get to Litara before the sun sets, we need to be fast. And that means starting now." Akiel emphasised.
***
Immediately after commands were given, we began our departure from Viridis Aurum. The wind whipped into my face, the wisps of my hair flew right off my cheek as we descended down a steep hill. The feeling was nearly energizing; the reprieve one has by the harsh beats of hooves as you make incredible distances between grassy fields. I embraced it as much as I could, knowing that this was as close as I would ever get to freedom in this lifetime. Adrion's stallion led first, prideful just like its master, his horse making immaculate speed. His gold cloak flowed in the wind.
"I think we can make better speed than that, don't you think, Fluffcake?" I said against my stallion's mane, who didn't seem to be as confident as I was. The heel of my foot bit into my stallion's side, urging him faster. My body surged forward as the stallion began to pick up more speed, passing Inanov, who gave me a surprised glance and was passing both Akiel, Hulin, and Red who cheered into the air. I willed my horse faster, hot steam exhaled from my grey stallion. Hooves now beating in rhythm with the prince's stallion, now side by side. The prince didn't acknowledge me beside him, but from the slight tic from his tensed jaw, it was enough of an answer. And to put the cherry on top, I dared to pass the prince who took cheap shots by taking sharp curves around the hill, trying to make my horse lose pace and at some point; if I weren’t holding onto my horse tight, I most likely would have fallen off. The prince did not want to lose. I did not know if it was the Litaran air I was breathing; the taste of freedom or even the adrenaline of this petty race that awoke something in me that had tendrils of shadows seeping out of my hands. I didn't notice at first that it went into my horse's body, seeping into his skin and breathing in like smoke going into its nostrils. I nearly got thrown off as my horse surged upward onits hinds and then landed back down, racing to the royal stallion. I had to hold on tight to not get swept back into the wind as my horse began to pass his with ease, leading the group at last. I held in the reins of my horse, pulling back, but he wouldn't slow down—still racing at that impeccable speed he was urged to go at. It was only until I noticed the devious dark whisplings that had nearly covered the front of my horse that the shadows slowly evaporated and allowed the horse to slow down. My mind whirled with a thousand questions as I kept my horse riding at a more durable pace, the prince now starting to catch up with me. A loud whistle was sounded by the east wing of soldiers.
They found something.
I followed in the direction everyone seemed to gather in.
Hulin and Akiel stood in front of a huge tree with no leaves. I got off my horse to have a closer look. On thin branches, long ropes hung ten men from their wrists, skinned from top to bottom. I immediately covered my nose at the bitter strong stench of their blood.
Behind me, Red asked softly, "Vampyres?" A loud neigh came from the prince's horse as he jumped off to inspect the bodies.
"No. Vampyres don't torture their victims by skinning them," the prince answered.
