BEIGE material fluttered above Zephrain as he woke up, the cloth caught in a gentle breeze. The top of the tent that Celine, Marjien, Angelica and Vivien shared was the same color… this was the tent. Memories flooded back to him as he remembered the course of the afternoon, how Marjien had almost been captured by bandits, how he had used his power.
Emotions raced through him, vying for dominance. He wasn't a violent man. He intended to make use of his power once the Blood Star was born and the Great Witch appeared. He felt guilty for not being able to protect the villagers better, shame for being down and exhausting his inner core even before he controlled it, gratitude that Marjien was there to finish off what he started. A touch of lingering excitement, leftover from the way using his powers had made him feel like he gave justice to the oppressed, as if he truly was a king. And worry, worry for Vivien once she finds out, for the villagers, but mostly for Vivien.
Worry
VIVIEN let the notes of the funeral song fade as she stood in front of the pyre, her hands clasped in front of her. The funeral preparations had moved quickly with the village helping to prepare the pyre and one of the elders delivering the rights as the family wept. As the wailing continued and villagers crowded around the pyre, Vivien stepped back, fading into the crowd. She spotted Marjien and Celine standing hand in hand nearby and she slipped their way, coming to Marjien's other side.There was such desperation and despair in the lands of the Graire Province, they could almost feel it in the air, like an oppressive blanket of melancholy. Vivien bowed her head as flames grew higher and the mother who had lost her son screamed louder. It was aching sound that pierced her, and she wanted to help, but only time could soothe a painful loss like that and even then, it would never truly leave.A hand slipped into hers and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. She glanced over
ELIJA smiled at her before reaching over and pulling her hood up and over her head, hiding her face. "Don't cry. It makes your face all red."While Elija tended to the stew, Vivien decided to make herself busy. She got up and started finding their bowls and utensils so everyone would be able to eat once they returned to the camp. She had all of them lined up by the fire when Lukas tumbled out of the tent, followed by a harassed-looking Dan."You're so boisterous, it's impossible for anyone to get rest when you're around," Lukas said, shoving his hair back with both hands.Dan skipped away with his happy mood and Celine went out right after them. She looked over at both Lukas and Dan's departing figures and she sighed, then she narrowed her eyes at Elija. "Are you burning that?""Nope, Mother, I'm stirring it diligently," Elija joked, holding up the spoon as proof. "I'm not an expert, but I do think it's almost ready.""Mmm…" Celine walked over and then
VIVIEN'S eyes widened and whipped her head towards him. Their faces were inches apart and his emerald gaze went down to her plump lips. He raised his gaze and smirked when he saw the red face once again. He pulled away from her and laugh loudly. Realizing that he was only joking around, Vivien started to slap his arm repeatedly."Stop it. Stop it," Zephrain giggled as he tried to protect himself from Vivien's onslaught."You pervert! I hate it when you do that!" she shouted at him. Zephrain gasped when he felt his stitch straining. Vivien stopped abruptly and checked on him immediately. "Did it hurt? Are you okay?""No, no. I'm fine," Zephrain said, amused. He pressed his side and sat straight. Then he saw Vivien looking at the two swords sheathed in a cross at his back."I should practice with sword but Celine said I must wait until we get to the Land of Markus," she said before she brighten up. "Next time when you practice your swords, I'll practice with th
THE sun had set on the village and the night had grown cold when Zephrain saw a bright light erupt in the sky and shimmer out. He and Vivien were sitting on the edge of a porch, enjoying the quiet moment and watching the stars bloom in the evening. But when the light flashed, Zephrain stood up and watched the explosion. He had seen a light like that enough times to know what it could mean.The first time he had seen one had been during the inauguration of the Saeri ust Trux. To let everyone in the Kingdom of Demetrius know that there was a Saeri ust Trux appointed, the Krystalline Palace set off a large cannon-like ball that exploded in the sky, making a huge firework that lights up the whole sky. Smaller fireworks were used to celebrate festivals and other events. But there was nothing to celebrate here. Fireworks could also be used as a warning or an alert, a call to arms or a signal.Someone had sent up a signal."What was that?" Vivien asked, standing up beside
"THAT was more excitement than I was looking for tonight," Lukas said. He sat down beside the fire, his back to the village, looking out toward the plains. "It's made me hungry.""Hungry is our middle name," Dan chirped. He dropped down beside the fire as well, his back to the plains. "What are we eating, Celly?" He looked at Celine expectantly, and the woman made a face."I haven't had a chance to cook, go to sleep and dream of food," she said, but she was already setting up to cook their meager meal. Marjien kept an eye on the troops until they completely disappeared from her sight. She bent down and touched the ground, closing her eyes for a moment."What are you doing?" Elija's quiet voice asked behind her.She opened her eyes and stood. "I scattered the jewels around a certain perimeter. If someone is coming for us, the jewels underground will alert me.""Why didn't you use it before?" he said.She turned to him and smiled. "It will drain my
"VIVIEN, Marjien! I have something for you two."It was evening, and Lukas had just arrived at the edge of their camp, dusty from two days of traveling around the land of Vestia. The crew was sitting around their camp fire outside of one of the Graire Province's villages. They were all together, which did not happen all too often lately. Usually they were spread out, a few of them in one village and the rest in another, in an effort to protect multiple places. However, Gregori was starting to change things with the Krystalline Army's 31st Battalion. He managed to convince the commander of the Battalion to help out some impoverished villages under Lord Brail's nose. He made it seem like it was the Saeri ust Trux's discreet order and the lord must not know about it.Zephrain looked up from where he was sitting next to Dan, the two of them playing the hand game that involved slapping the ground and animal names. Dan had won every round, but Zephrain was learning about new
LATER that evening, Vivien was perched on a rock at the outskirts of their camp, the bow - now had a string attached to it - spread out in her lap. Lukas had promised to start giving her lessons the next day, which was sweet of him. She guessed that she would have to switch lessons with Zephrain for lessons with Lukas, since Zephrain seemed annoyed about her new weapon.She had known that he hadn't totally liked the idea of her arming herself, but she had hoped that maybe his opinion had changed or that he would at least see that it was important to her. But instead he had sort of stared in a way that she knew meant he wasn't entirely happy.Sliding one foot down the rock, she leaned back on her arms, palms against the cool stone. Overhead, the sky was overcast so there weren't any stars and the moon wasn't visible. It was a dark night, not very inviting. She was technically on watch, but she knew that at least one other person would be awake as well. For some reason,
ONE MONTH LATER, Chloe Rein and the Seven Geniuses got a message from Prince Ciaran himself that Drake Lornn, Theo Jon and Vivien Li were awakened. Princess Zillah told Ciaran was truly happened, and the queen demanded for information but the two remained mouth shut. The atmosphere in the palace was getting gloomier as time went by.After rescuing Jucel from being hostaged by the queen, Chloe began to become attentive to her surroundings. Neptos was gone for a month already, saying that he had to attend to something important. Chloe, however, trained nonstop every chance she gets. Her ability in archery drastically increased, and her swordsmanship was - in Jucel's comment - scary. Barbie and Kieran became her regular opponents in close combat.The only thing that Chloe couldn't master, and hated so much, was the Inner Core Enhancement which required her to meditate. Every time she attempted to close her eyes and turn her mind blank, it's as if her inner core woul