The Curse Of Asara Lubat

XVIII

Asara Lubat swallowed hard and tugged at her shawl with her eyes firmly fixed on Rodan.

"You may draw back your sword now, Prince Rodan. I and my attendants did not embark on a day-long journey, following you covertly from behind, only to emerge from the shadows to take your life and that of your men. Violence has never been and would never be my way."

Rodan immediately found himself in a whirlwind of emotions. From the moment he sensed the company of foreign elements in his midst, he could not help but mentally travel back to the ill-fated Battle of Hledac where he and his men where down to abject nought. His resounding failure to prevent their eventual capture by Commander Zardana fueled his desire to prevent a similar occurrence from rearing its head. He swore he was ready to take the life of the seeming assailant in a heartbeat.

But he could not have fathomed the twist that followed. Not in a thousand years.

He was short of an appropriate response to the Rhonn-Dey princess' presence, especially upon mention of her father's name and her comment on the length of his hair. Taking his life-changing experiences in the past few days into fresh account, he was soon overwhelmed by intense disgust. His sword remained unsheathed and a hair's breadth from Asara Lubat's chin.

"Whether or not it was your intention to ambush and kill me after a long day," Rodan began, "you and your minions have absolutely no right to have followed I and my companions in the first place. That can only stem from utter ignorance of, or disregard for what we have suffered in your father's hands. Your talk about violence being the way holds no water as long as you are not the king. It is in your best interest that you immediately depart from here, before I give in to the strong temptation to take your life!"

"Prince Rodan!" Homir beckoned, sheathing his sword as he approached Rodan. "More than anyone else, you know you cannot afford to make this move. Even if her death could bring back my brothers who perished in her father's hands, I would not jump at it myself. Please, my Prince. Lower your sword and let us hear whatever she has to say."

Following a spell of inaction, Rodan brought down his sword and sheathed it, prompting Jukko to sheathe his dagger as well. Asara Lubat's companions, two young men and a young lady, took a few steps further in light of the dissipating tension. The arrival of their torches offered Rodan a better view of the mythical princess whom he never thought he would ever set his eyes on. Even with his sword out of the picture, he could not quite escape the threshold of hostility. His mind swarmed with more questions than he could afford to ask, leaving him with only one logical course of action.

"Your father already gave us the closure he thought we needed. I cannot exactly figure out what he left out, if indeed he left out anything, which made him so willing to let you follow me all through to this point."

Asara Lubat maintained a straight face, seemingly unfazed by Rodan's recent outburst. She darted her eyes at her companions, before she began. "What you have been through at the hands of my father, and by extension, Commander Zar-"

"Do not say his name," Rodan interjected, "and save me the sympathy talk. That is the last thing I want to hear. It will not change anything."

Albeit visibly taken aback, Asara Lubat took Rodan's words in their strides. She willed herself to endure Rodan's barrage of toxicity as the least she deserved for all that had transpired between their respective armies in the preceding days, even if she feared the likelihood of herself reaching her own breaking point and responding in like manner.

"Very well then, Prince Rodan. I would begin by debunking the notion that my father sent me here or knows of my present whereabouts. This has absolutely nothing to do with him. After witnessing the horrors you and your comrades were subject to in the Bleeding Hollows, I fought hard for my father in particular to let me leave the Palace for my aunt's abode halfway across the kingdom, for a long overdue change of scenery. After a considerable degree of wit and misdirection on my part, which I earnestly hope my attendants forgive me for, we are here. I am here."