The Dragon Knight; The Secrets of the Desert

The Secrets of the Desert (Chapter 18)

Sofia had thought the same thing earlier, though she chose to be cautious with deities, you never knew for sure what they could do. However, it was a relief to hear her say it herself; it was the tiny bit of reassurance that she needed to not be entirely frightened. So Sofia gave the Goddess a nod and followed after her to the house.

Florica was still tending to her flowers, and didn’t notice either of them until Tien came to a stop in front of her. Gracefully the Goddess folded her hands behind her back and smiled at the young woman. Florica straightened up, holding a hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun. First she looked at Sofia, but then her eyes glided to Tien and she, hastily but almost as gracefully as the Goddess, sank into a deep curtsey. Of course she did, Tien had been her Goddess when she had still been alive.

“Stand up, Florica, my dear, there is no need for such formalities,” Tien smiled down at the woman. “I need to speak with you and Sofia both; why don’t we go inside?”

Florica stood up straight and gave a nod, looking particularly pale even for her. She had always had a fair skin Sofia had noticed, she must have had it when she was still alive as well; for some reason, it was still possible to get a tan here but much harder. Her long dark auburn hair was pin straight and fell like a curtain across her face as she led the way into her manor house.

She allowed Tien to walk past her but then grabbed Sofia’s arm, ready to ask her all the questions the Knight could see in her eyes. However, before she uttered as much as a single word, Tien called from her seat in the armchair.

“Come and sit the both of you,” she gestured to the other seats in the room. “Florica, Sofia does not know why I am here but let me explain myself. Seelan has been awakened after centuries, and the girl who triggered the prophecy has allowed Sofia and her fellow Knights to come back to life. Now, as I have come to understand, you made an arrangement together, have you not?”

Florica dropped her head in front of her Goddess before she said softly, “Not so much an arrangement as an agreement. When Sofia heard that the prophecy had been set in motion, she came to me, knowing that I would mean Seelan’s awakening. She promised me that she would try to pass along information about how he was doing.”

“That is it? Nothing more?” Tien asked surprised.

“We never got further than that,” Sofia nearly snapped though she quickly got hold of her anger. She just didn’t like seeing her friend like this. “I was brought back to life before we could decide anything. This is the first time that I have seen Florica again.”

“Oh,” was all Tien said, though she sounded almost disappointed. She perked up quickly after that though, “Oh well, it doesn’t really matter. After hours of searching and using magic I have finally found him. Ever since he rejected me, I haven’t been able to see him, I haven’t been able to keep an eye on him like I keep an eye on everyone. Earth and Varteni suggested that although he had rejected me, I might still be able to see him, and I can. I found him hiding out somewhere. I can’t tell you exactly where but I think that, now that I know where he is, we can keep an eye out and prevent another massacre like a few nights ago.”

Florica gasped, “What did he do?”

Tien must have realized her mistake before she stiffened. She looked at Sofia in the hopes that she could explain to her friend what had happened but she looked just as clueless, neither of the women knew about the village in Tubig Libis. Sofia would find out soon enough but the Goddess didn’t have it in her to tell the other woman what she had done. It wasn’t hard to guess that Florica still cared for him; she had, after all, died of a broken heart when Seelan had gone rogue a year or so after her wedding.