Aide Me

Chapter Twenty - Seduce Me

[Picture of Emaia and Aide, drawn by me]

That night Emaia slept horrible. Not only did her and Aide seem to be gliding apart, she also felt like this whole thing they all were doing, was becoming more than they could handle. Aide seemed to be losing interest, too. He had been very shy these days. He was off right now for example, doing only Lord knows what. She honestly didn't care anymore.

At dawn when the sun arose, Emaia hadn't closed an eye. She stretched her limbs in the cramped tent, when suddenly a horn sounded, and not just any horn; It was the warning beacon from Restriction Town, which could only mean one thing...

Emaia rushed out of her tent and saw that everyone was doing the same thing. They looked around while the horn blared. They couldn't believe it either.

The warning beacon of Restriction Town was installed many years ago to warn everyone if there ever was a breach in their prison. It was loud enough to reach the towns around them, which then would blare their horns, and so on, to alert the entire kingdom.

The Southern Elves had been locked up in there for their 'safe keeping', restricted to live within four large impenetrable walls. Guards roamed the ground around it and held watch from the towers. It was impossible to get out without getting caught. That's why the sound of the beacon had them all speechless; No one had ever heard it before.

Finally, after two whole minutes of blaring throughout the kingdom, the horn finally stopped. What followed next was an even louder silence.

"The elves have escaped," Dashel finally said. He looked as pale as the rest of them. "I don't believe it."

"It's impossible!" Hanke barked angrily. "It's gotta be a mistake! That fortress is guarded better than the King's castle! They must've screwed up!"

"The King doesn't screw up," Emaia said. "If he was told there's been a prison escape, that warning beacon will be the first thing he commands to be sounded. It can't be a mistake."

"It's not."

Everyone turned by the sound of Aide's voice. He came out from woods, pulling off his mask. He looked exhausted.

"Wait a minute..." Hanke slowly said. You could see the cogwheels turning in his head. "Are you saying that ye--"

"I broke them out," Aide finished for him and stepped into the center of the group. "It had to be done."

Hanke imploded. "Are ye' out of ye' goddamn mind?! Out of all the stupid things ye' have ever done, this is the most stupid one of them all!"

Froth was flying from his mouth as he kept shouting profanities and taught Emaia a few new words. Aide let him rant and patiently waited for him to stop screaming. Then finally, when he stopped to take a breath, Aide spoke.

"Are you done?" He asked with a flat voice. "Will you let me explain myself now?"

"I'll fucking let ye' kiss my big--"

"Hanke, for goodness sake, there's a woman present," Dashel frantically cut in. "Could you please try and keep the swearing to a minimum?"

Hanke looked like was choking on all the things he wanted to say, but finally, he swallowed them, after a glance at Emaia. He then turned to Aide. "Listen here, elfboy. I know we're fighting for ye' kind, too. But attacking Restriction Town, setting loose all those elves when ye' know we're already on the King's naughty list--"

"Which is exactly why I did it," Aide interjected. "While you were in Daleon, I took the liberty to scour the news of what Ragnar had in store for you," He told and looked around. "I finally found out he was planning a big ambush for you in Quail; You step into that town, you're dead."