Allaura Aislinn
"Where would she take the war?"
We decided to plan what we are going to do with Diona, and how we're going to find Katlynne. Two nights ago was the best day of my life, i've turned nineteen but I couldn't shake off the fact that Katlynne wasn't here to experience the day with all of us.
"In open land. There's a deserted forest about two days away from here, that's probably here she would take her own army." Gabriel says and point to a spot on the large map.
"Would your troops would be willing to do that?" I ask.
"Doesn't matter if they want to or not. They'll be going either way, and so will I."
"Who will look over your kingdom?"
"The people will. Nobody is going to be willing to step foot inside. They'll be safe." He says confidently.
"And what of Katlynne?" Dominics asks.
I thin my lips. She could either be with Diona, or on her own. But i'd be better if we searched with Diona first and if she's not with her, then we can check that off the list.
"Lord Aislinn." A villager bursts through the doors breathing heavily. "They have a message for you."
Gabriel and I exchange a few glances before we both stand up and make our way to the doors. The villager says no more other than, 'they have a message for you.' But he looks scared—young too.
When we push open the doors of the palace, I first see Diona's men—or man.
A single man is in a horse, no weapons at hand.
"Lord Aislinn. And Allaura Aislinn." He calls out straightening on his horse. "Lady Diona has sent me here to deliver a message."
We both continue to stare, not uttering a word.
"You have a week." I stiffen at his words.
"And if you do not appear at the clearing near Sitium river's. We will tear down your nation."
The air around be drops and becomes much more colder while I feel Gabriel grow angrier. "I'd like to see you try." He says too calm.
"I am only here to deliver the message." The soldier says and turns his horse around.
But my father smirks. "And I shall return the favor."
He whistles and both Niko and Kaan slowly walk in front of the mans horse.
"Dismount the horse or we will have to use force." Niko says.
Diona's guard stiffens but he doesn't dismount his horse. Which makes Kaan appear by his side and drags him off his horse.
The man curses when he hits the floor but Niko and Kaan are already beating him.
They punch him, kick him until it looks like he can't even walk on his own.
Gabriel watches in silence and the air around us still remains freezing.
"Put him on his horse." Gabriel says and Kaan obeys.
He lifts the man off the ground and throws him onto the horse. He groans we he hits the saddle and his face twists in pain.
Gabriel slowly descends the stairs and makes his way over to the man. He chuckles and grabs him by the hair, forcing him to look to my father.
"You made a grave mistake coming into my kingdom to threaten my nation." He seethes and I could have sworn the man whimpered. "So you will return with a greater message. Tell Diona that if she even thinks to step foot into my territory." My father smiles and whispers into the mans ears, something I am no longer able to hear.
The mans eyes widen in fear. "No, please don't." He pleads but my father only smiles wider.
"No-" And then he screams in pain.
I almost have to cover my ears from the sound but my father stays near him, smiling at whatever work he has done.
He then whispers one last thing into the mans ear while he cries in my, clutching his eyes. Then smacks the horse and sends it running off back to its master.
"What did you do?" I ask while he climbs the stairs.
"I sent a message." That's all he says when we walks passed me, going back into the palace.
I turn around and watch the horse disappear.
"Guard the gates." I tell both Niko and Kaan.
They both nod.
I rub over my mouth and clench my hands into tight fists.
A week. We have a week to be ready. Which only means I have to start now.
I walk back into the palace, making my way over to the war room where everyone else still awaits.
"We have to train. Now." I say and everyone looks to me. "She gave us a week, so we have to make the most of it. Caspian, you're with me. Aeryn and Dominic are together, Landon and Jo will be together."
They all push away from the table and near me.
"You may train with my soldiers. They can teach you our techniques." Gabriel says.
"Okay. Bring your best of guards, one for the each of us. Kaan will be with me and Cas, Niko will go with Dominic, we need another for Landon and Jo."I say.
"I'll get Aneth. She's one of the best." I nod and thin my lips.
"Where can we train?"
"We have a place away from the people. It's protected just as the city is, we'll go there. I'll also give you clothes and weapons to train with." Gabriel explains and we all nod.
The room is tense, I can feel it but there is nothing we can do. We have to allow ourselves to be stronger, we have to train. I have to get used to my wings and magic in order to be able to actually use them.
"We start today?" Jo asks.
"Yes. We have absolutely no time to waste." It was Caspian who answered.
"Then let's go. I'll give you all training clothes and you must tell me what weapons you use." My father says.
Everyone tells him their weapons. A staff, blades, sword, daggers, a bow. All different weapons for all different people.
"Alright. I'll have your things ready in the next ten minutes. Grab anything you need from your rooms, and if you don't need anything, follow me."
None of us move from the room. None of us step out to walk to our room because we need nothing.
"Good. Now follow me."
And we all do.
£
The clothes are comfortable to move and fight in. They're made of black leather, keeping us warm enough. I've been given my set of daggers, and Caspian carries a large sword, so does Kaan beside us.
"Play with each other. I want to see what you know." Kaan says to Caspian and I.
I shake my tense shoulders and get into position, keeping my eyes directly on Caspian, making sure he doesn't attack me suddenly.
Kaan stands to the side, watching us closely, inspecting.
Caspian and I circle each other, waiting for the other person to attack. And then Caspian smirks when he strikes.
I easily block his attack and spin away out of his reach. I put my blade high, protecting my upper body while I watch his feet work.
His left foot moves slightly and this time I am the one to smirk.
I move before his blade is able to even move. I slide to the right, spinning on my heel and then grabbing his shoulder, slamming my knee into his ribs.
His body folds over in pain and he coughs, trying to regain his breath. But I don't give him enough time to recover. I hook but leg around his knee and push at his chest so he falls onto the floor. I then put my knee on his chest, blade pressed against his neck.
I look up to Kaan who watches us with an amused face. "That was fantastic." He says and I smile slightly. "But I suggest you both work on your speed." At this Caspian frowns deeply. "Again."
I push off of Caspian and get into position once more.
Caspian pushes off the ground with a hard face.
Okay he's mad.
I almost want to smile but I know it'll only make him more mad.
We circle each other, waiting to for the others strike, or waiting to block a strike.
"Stop dancing." Kaan says impatiently.
I relax my shoulder and step closer to Caspian who watches my every move like a hawk.
And to my surprise, Caspian throws his sword straight towards me. I duck my head but then feel arms around my body, and then i'm suddenly being lifted in the air, only to fall straight onto my back.
I cough and struggle to get air into my lungs and when I open my eyes, Caspian's boot is coming straight for my face. I roll my body out of the way and jump in a squatting positions, keeping my fingertips on the ground for extra balance. Swiping my leg under his own, he falls straight to the ground, hitting his nose on the floor and hisses. I straddle him and start to choke him. Not hard enough to pass out, but just hard enough for him to be weak and hazy. But I paid to much attention to his face, I didn't see his arm reach for his sword that was near him.
He brings up the sword and knocks the end of his sword into the side of my head.
My body is knocked off his and now he's the one straddling my hips, choking me.
"Did you imagine this too?" I struggle to get out and smirk when his eyes widen slightly and his grip loosens.
I buck my hips, making him lose balance, but to my surprise, he rolls over my body and grabs my neck from behind, putting me into a chokehold.
There's no way I could get out of this position, my legs are useless in front of me. I can't use my hands or arms to hurt him, not even my head. So I tap out.
Caspian releases me and I cough, trying to regain the air in my lungs.
"That was a good save, Caspian." Kaan says and nods in approval.
Caspian grunts and stands up to pick up his sword.
"Caspian let his guard down, but he made a comeback. You, Allaura, underestimated your opponent. Never underestimate your opponent." Kaan instructs and this time I do frown. "The enemy will not hold back. They will push you, intimidate you. You can't let them get under your skin." Kaan says.
"Okay," I breath out. "Then you fight me. And don't hold back."
Caspian tenses and shoots me a warning look but I look away.
"Is that what you want?" Kaan asks.
"Yes. I have to be ready for anything."
He nods and strips off his heavy pieces of armour before picking up his own sword.
"Caspian." I call out. "Don't stop this."
"Allaura. You know I can't watch this." He says. "I don't want you—I can't watch you willingly getting hurt." He stresses.
"I'll be fine. Kaan knows not to kill me, or my father will behead him." Kaan snorts and I smile. "You don't have to watch, but you can learn a few new things if you do." I say.
He rubs a hand through his hair. "Just—just get it over with." He crosses his arms over his chest, as if he's resisting the urge the reach out to me.
"Alright." I inhale a deep breath and get into position before Kaan.
Kaan smirks and spins his blade before spreading his legs, getting ready.
I all of a sudden feel slightly nervous. I don't know Kaan's fighting style. I don't know how he moves, his speed.
We start to circle each other. I keep my eyes on his feet, his sword, his eyes. Anything that could be able to tell me what his next move might be. He steps a single step closer and I slightly tense. He steps another step closer and then thrusts the tip of his blade to my abdomen. Luckily, I saw the move coming and swung my blade downwards, causing his wrist to bend. I use this to my advantage and kick his wrist, making him stumble back.
And then he lets loose.
He attacks me, swinging his blade with no mercy. My daggers take most of the impact, they clash and sing together and I try my very best to get my own hits, but he's fast. Faster than i'm used to.
He swings his sword to the side, I block. He swings it to my neck, I duck. He swings and swings, attacking me, wearing me down and all I can do is block.
My breaths become heavier and I feel myself becoming angrier. Angry at the fact i'm not able to get any hits in.
I growl and block his blade with my own before pushing it back with my full strength, making Kaan lose slight grip on his sword. I use this to my advantage.
I drop my left dagger and run to his left side. My hand attaches to his neck and I jump up, twisting my body around his own so that my legs are gripped around his shoulders.
His face gets buried between my thighs and I push my body backwards, making us both fall to the floor.
I grunt when I hit the ground but quickly get onto his back and press my blade in the center of his spine, putting enough pressure to draw blood.
He snarls and kicks my back with his heel, making me jerk away slightly. He then pushes his body off the ground, bringing mine up with his and throws me onto the floor.
I cough when the air gets knocked out of me but then Kaan's fist connect with my nose. And then his fist connect with my jaw, my cheek, my eye.
I blindly swing my hand in an uppercut and thankfully is connect with his jaw, making his head swing back. I knew him from behind and put my palm on his cheek before throwing him beside me.
He grunts when his cheek connect with the floor but my fists are already flying. I punch and punch, I don't count how many times I hit him, but I don't hold back.
His hand wraps around my throat and he squeezes so hard that my hand automatically grabs into his wrist. My eyes widen and he throws me over his body so I roll onto the ground.
I jump back to my feet and spit blood onto the dirt before wiping my mouth clean.
We both lost our weapons, so we only have use of our hands—fists.
My face is stiff from his punches and I feel the blood dripping from my nose, mouth and eyebrow. But I smirk when I see the same damage on his face.
We're even.
He jumps towards me but i swirl out of the way and kick the center of his back. He falls over, back turned to me so I quickly turn around and pick up the weapon nearest of me, which happens to be his own sword.
His sword dangles from my hand and right when I turn around, he tackles me to the floor. I'm fast to react, putting the sword in between us. I push him, making the sharp blade slice his palms and he doubles over in pain.
I push my knee into his stomach and press the blade onto his neck.
"Yield." I snarl in his face.
He says nothing. His face becomes hard with determination, yet he can't do anything.
"Yield." I say coming closer until our faces almost touch.
He bares his teeth and taps on the blade, yielding.
I throw the sword to the side, standing up and wiping my hand under my nose.
I offer my hand to Kaan, he looks at it debating to give in or not but thankfully he grabs my hand and I pull him to his feet.
"You did good. Very good." Kaan says and squeezes my hand.
"You as well." I reply and nod before letting go of his arm.
The adrenaline is dying down and I can finally feel the full force of pain on my chest and arms.
"Damn, you really did a number on me." I say and hiss through my teeth when I touch a cut along my brow.
Kaan chuckles under his breath and presses a finger under his nose then checking it. "I can say the same about you." He says and wipes the blood from his finger.
I laugh and turn to where Caspian stands. His head is hung low between his shoulders and his posture is tense.
I walk my way over to him. "Cas?" His head jerks up to the sound of my voice and his arms shoot up, cupping both of my cheeks.
"You're okay? Does it hurt a lot? Fuck, i'm sorry. I couldn't watch, I wanted to just jump in and pull him off you." He says frantically and scans my face.
"I'm okay." I place both of my hands on his own. "It barely even hurts. You should see the other guy." I joke and a small smile breaks onto his face.
I feel his hands pulse with heat and the tightens on my face eases.
"All better." He says and wipes under my nose, removing the dry blood.
"It'll be worse in battle, you know." I state and his thumb pauses.
"That's what i'm scared of." He admits.
"With you there, i'll be alright. But you can't be distracted by me, when you fight, your focus should be on the battle." I say sternly.
"I know." He says quietly.
"You wanna give it a go?" Kaan's voice says behind me.
"Fuck off." Caspian calls out over my shoulder and I have to cover my mouth to muffle my laugh. Caspian scowls at me.
"Do you want to continue with training?" Kaan asks.
"Yes."
"No."
Caspian and I say at the same time. I scowl at him. "Yes, we will. But I want to practice with my—my magic." I say.
Kaan hesitates but nods.
I tug Caspian and motion to the fighting area in front of us.
"What would you like to try first." Kaan asks and stands next to Cas.
"My wings. I want to be able to learn how to stabilise myself while I fly."
They both nod and wait for me to start.
I call for my wings and the shadows within me willingly allow them to be set free. They shoot out of my back and flare behind me.
"Now do what you did the other day. Flap them hard enough so your feet lift off from the ground." Caspian instructs.
I nod and start to flap my wings with much force, making boxes and crates around me rattle from the strong winds. I feel my body being pulled up from the ground, so I flap, straining my back muscles and my body finally shoots to the sky.
I let out a small shriek when I fly ten feet off the ground.
"You're fine, Aura. Just keep a steady pace, stabilise yourself and once you do, slowly start to move forward." Caspian reassures.
I visibly gulp and test the waters, tilting from side to side, forward and backwards. My arms are stretched out so I don't lose my balance as well.
"Okay, i'm gonna try to move forward." I call out.
"Lean your body forward and flap your wings slightly, so they push you." Kaan calls out.
I do as he says. I hunch forward slightly and flap my wings. My body shoots forward and I completely stop.
This is terrifying.
"You're doing great." Caspian says.
That's not helping.
I take a deep breath in and exhale before respecting the same moves.
It can't be that hard.
I lean forward and flap. I move forward at a fast pace but thankfully I don't lose my balance.
"Just like that!" Caspian yells when I move further away from them and circle the whole training arena.
I laugh and smile wide. I'm soaring through the sky and I feel so free. I feel like nothing can touch me from up here.
Up here.
I turn around and fly back to Caspian and Kaan. "I have an idea, stay down here in case anything happens." Caspian looks confused and open his mouth but I tilt my head to the sky and shoot upwards.
"ALLAURA!" I hear Caspian bellow.
I'll be fine.
I fly upwards, nearing the foggy clouds. I shiver and my wings threaten to drop at the sudden cold temperature. But I force them to stay out.
When i'm high enough, I stop and stabilise myself in the air, scanning the area.
I see the whole city underneath me now, I can't see Caspian or any of the people on the ground due to how high I have flown. I finally look passed the ice nation and see the dark woods. I see the snow stop and notice how it changes into dirt and leaves. But beyond that, I see Diona's kingdom. It's small, but I do see it. Everything up here looks so calm and peaceful, it seems like no battle is about to break loose at this very moment.
I shudder when the cold finally seeps into my leathers and tilt my head up, seeing the clouds turn a dark shade of grey impossibly fast.
"What the hell?" I whisper staring at the clouds that now turn a dark grey.
In the distance, a flash of light comes from within the clouds and I flinch at how bright it is from this close.
I remove my arms from my face and squint in the distance. "What-" But a bolt of lighting strikes directly in front of me.
The force has me stagger back but I flap against it and shoot my way back down.
Another bolt shoots to my right and I veer out of the way while I plunge back down to solid ground.
Fuck, how how did I go?
I clench my teeth and tuck my wings tightly into my back, now free falling through the air. Another bolt of bright purple lighting strikes closer to my body and I spin out of its way. When I look back down, I can finally see the training ground, coming back into view at a fast pace.
Too fast.
"Shit!" I curse and try to spread my wings but another burst of lighting strikes at my left, causing me to lose control.
I spin around in the air uncontrollably before finally flaring my wings.
I look down and see myself approaching the earths floor, still too damn fast.
I ground my teeth and push my wings up with such force that my body jerks back, but it isn't enough to stop me from falling to the ground.
Once my toes touched the ground, I roll once but then I place my hand on the ground and dig my knee into the earth, making me slide backwards.
I flare my wings behind me and finally stop sliding on the floor. My shoulders slump and I droop down to both knees breathing heavily.
"Allaura! Goddamnit." I hear someone curse and listen as their feet approach me.
Caspian kneels in front of me. "What the hell happened?" He demands looking over my exhaust features.
"I flew to see Diona's territory, but lighting started to strike out of no where." I breath. "I think a storm is about to come, we should go inside." My face contorts in pain when I feel the dryness in my throat.
Caspian looks over my shoulder, sharing a confused glance with someone behind me before looking back to me. "Allaura, there wasn't any lighting. There aren't any storm clouds."
I look up to the sky in confusion and notice that he's right, the sky is covered in light clouds, not the dark grey ones I saw.
"They—they turned grey when I was there, the lighting was coming down near me." I sputter out.
"You're sure?"
"Yes!" I exclaim and run a hand through my hair. "Why the hell do you think I came down so damn fast. It was like the fucking lighting was chasing me down here." I sigh and pinch my nose.
"I believe you, Aura. But we saw nothing." Caspian explains. "But just because we didn't see it, didn't mean it didn't happen." He says standing up and offers his hand for me.
I grab it, "I really need a drink of water." I rasp and rub my dry throat.
"Do you want to train more?" Caspian asks.
"Of course. I'll grab some water and then get back to work, practicing but abilities. They could come to use."
Caspian frowns but doesn't object.
I bring my hand up to my neck and rub the sensitive mark.
I still have yet to figured out what I am.
£
Whewie