Memories

Chapter 4

I was woken suddenly when I heard something. "What is it," Balthazar asked sleepily. I looked over and noticed Yulen and Lui weren't in bed. I then could hear the boys scream and I was up and out the door, sword in hand a second later. I followed the sound of their screams and found them trying to get away from a massive white Timber Wolf. I dropped the sword and stood before it, arms out, "Stad!" It was the word for halt in my native tongue. The timber wolf slid to a stop, tongue out, tail wagging. 

"What is that," Balthazar asked as he and Laceria caught up to us. "It's a Timber Wolf. They were trained to guard our lands. In the war the vampires nearly wiped them out," I explained. "How the fuck did a vampire kill those things when it caught my sword in it's mouth and snapped it in half," Yulen asked. "Vampire venom," Balthazar replied as I nodded. I ran my hands through it's fur, my hands finding it's collar under it's thick fur. 

I moved the fur to find it's ownership tag. The glow of magic told me, it's owner was still alive. "Azula, what are you doing," Balthazar asked when I mounted the wolf. "It's owner is alive," I told him. "I'm going to find them and get some answers." "Then I'm coming along," Balthazar said before mounting it. "We'll take Destroyer," Lui said and the three ran off to the field where our dragons were resting. I had the wolf go to the field and wait for them to be ready. Once ready I gave the command to take us to it's owner. 

It took us outside of the kingdom, to a settlement hidden behind hills of ice and snow. On the border, Lui landed Destroyer and we unmounted the wolf. To say I was shocked to see the number of ice fae still alive and thriving, was an understatement. Many of the warriors gathered, weapons ready as they faced us. 

"Lower your weapons," an elderly man said, his long white beard braided down the front of him. "We do not point them at our kin." "We do not know her," one of the younger warriors said. He was far younger than I was. "She's princess Azula Dimion," the elder stated, causing whispers around the group. "It's Queen Azula Parthos," Balthazar corrected firmly. "My apologies," the elder said with a bow of his head. "We have been out of touch with what has been going on in the world since the war ended. We knew demons had won and taken over, but that was all."

"So you've been settled here this entire time," Lui asked him. He nodded, "We have." "Its because they're protecting the Heart," I realized. The elder studied me, "I see you do remember." "I'm remembering bits and pieces," I told him. "It was mostly because we discovered a book that our enemy had taken from the library that spoke about the heart. We came to ensure the Heart was still here and not have fallen in the wrong hands."

"So what, so you can give it to the demon kingdom," the young warrior scoffed. "The demon kingdom doesn't not need the Heart," the elder interrupted. "Queen Azula is far more powerful than the Heart. She just hasn't come into her full powers yet." "What do you mean," Balthazar asked him. "By Fae standards, Queen Azula is still a child. She has the ability to use some of her magic, but it won't be until she's reached a hundred when she'll be able to access the full scale of her powers," the elder informed us. "Let's go where its warmer to speak."

He began to lead us to a large hut where a fire blazed inside. We stepped inside and I could see my family visibly relax a little, now they're somewhere warmer. The man sat in a chair beside the fire. He gestured for us to sit on the couch. I sat in the center with Laceria and Yulen on either side while Lui and Balthazar stood behind the couch.

"If you're all the way out here, how did that Timber Wolf, find us in the palace," Lui asked him. "That is Atros', wolf," the elder said. My heart skipped as my eyes widened, "Atros lived?" He nodded, "He did indeed. Terris likes to run off on him often, usually wanting to be lazy and not assist in the hunt. This time however, he probably caught your scent your highness. Although he was a pup and it was many years ago, Timber Wolves never forget a scent."