The Bleeding Heart

Chapter 9

The Bleeding Heart

Chapter 9

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She saw only a blur of trees from her peripheral vision as she raced down the path. Elysia need not look back to know what was happening. Her ears were almost deaf to the clashing of the swords and the sounds of blood shed and death. She had been one of those in the front - the lucky ones, she thought grimly. They were outnumbered, that was obvious but they still had to protect William at all costs.

She looked towards her left and caught the message in Keith's face. She nodded once as a sign of agreement before making a signal towards the archers present amongst the peace envoys. Elysia then deviated Legion towards the slope, intending to go far up - maybe standing by at a plateau or some sort of cliff, ready to aim and shoot arrows from above. The archers followed.

Arden yelled, "Conrad! Get Will out of here!"

Francisco Conrad and three others rounded up Will's perimeter automatically as if by instinct. Francisco Conrad was one of the best in close-range combat, making him the most suitable to be Will's protector. Arden and Keith shared a look before nodding, turning their horses to the opposite direction - to the enemy. The other Orion knights skidded to a stop and understanding the silent message almost immediately, turned around as well. They were to face the enemy head on. And nobody's going back home until this battle ends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erielle came into Adrian's study stealthily, tiptoeing her way to his desk, her hands gingerly lifting her floor-length dress so as not to trip, trying her best not to make a sound. She suppressed a giggle at Adrian's face - his hand supporting his head, his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes narrowed, his lips pursing every once in a while, as he's so engrossed in the book he's studying. As much as she thought that the expression on his face was rather adorable, Erielle couldn't help but roll her eyes. A day after settling back in the Royal Academy and he buries himself in the midst of books!

Really!

"Boo!" Erielle suddenly slammed both hands onto his desk, a wide grin on her face.

Adrian's head jerked upwards at the disturbance and tensed. When he saw Erielle, however, he relaxed and raked a hand through his hair, "Erielle, my God, you scared me."

"Mission accomplished," Erielle giggled, snapping her fingers.

"So, would you mind telling me why you're here?"Adrian raised an eyebrow, his hands clasped together.

"Well, I thought that maybe you and I could talk or something," Erielle twirled the tail of her braid with a finger, biting her lower lip. "It's been over six months and well, we still have a lot to catch up on."

"Yes,"Adrian laughed. "I buried myself in the pillows right after our conversation yesterday. I wasn't able to visit him too...Eugenie's going to kill me."

Erielle stiffened. Eugenie? She's heard of that name before. "Um, Eugenie's going to kill you?"

"Well, she wouldn't kill me per se,"Adrian stood up with books in hand, placing them in the shelf. "But if she visited him the same time I'd have my first visit, well I'd be in trouble. I mean, last time I checked, she was still visiting him on a daily basis."

When he saw Erielle give him a questioning look, Adrian answered the unspoken question, "Eugenie knows I don't visit him two days in a row and so if she saw me today...well, let's leave it at that."

"Oh," Erielle forced a laugh out of her larynx. Eugenie...he was afraid of her now? "You must be busy then."

"Yeah, kind of,"Adrian nodded and crossed his arms, leaning lightly on the shelf. "After visiting Ryan, I've got to discuss a few things with Gwyneth."