They followed Alovia's group and they could hear them loudly bickering as they sauntered calmly. There were two men on either side of her riding their own horses with the woman between them. She had on a cape with the hood slung over her head, shadowing her fair face that glistened with sweat. The expression she had on was neutral and commanding, like the noble she was.
"Are you sure we are here?" She asked the man to her right. "This cannot be it, right?"
"There can no other be Ash Canyons bordering the Golden and Artlen Deserts, milady."
She harrumphed. "You made sure no one knew I left the palace."
"Yes, Lady Sidar."
Valeriana unwittingly lifted a brow as the form of address fell on her ears. "Alovia Sidar. What position does she have as a noble again?"
"Countess of Sidar." Gavin answered.
They continued watching until a net flew out, its body spreading out like a spider preparing to attack its prey. Its sides were weighed down by big rocks and they landed square on target, caging Alovia's group in place and pushing them off their horses. The animals immediately scampered in panic, leaving them behind.
It happened so suddenly they could barely react. Traps burst and activated. Two, well-built men dressed in robes appeared a few moments after and drew their swords.
"This is ridiculous! Get me out of here! Who dares do this?" She shrieked in distress and rage. "Pepper! Ginger!"
"Is she trying to season something? In this situation?" Valeriana wondered as they continued to watch.
"Those must be the names of her companions." Gavin concluded. "Must we continue to watch, Corvan?"
"As despicable as this sounds, I think we should." Answered the young lord.
Valeriana felt mildly sorry for Aloe Vera, her decided nickname. She did hold a grudge for the way the girl acted, but she wasn't the type to hold her hatred too deep. It was through these name-calling and degradation that she expressed her dislike, but no one deserved going through bad experiences. She brought it to herself though.
Corvan and company watched Alovia and her companions hauled from the ground one by one. Their hands and ankles were tied together with their mouths gagged so that they could not talk. Afterwards, they were blindfolded and thrown into sacks where they were slung over broad, muscular shoulders then carried towards the direction of the Ash Canyons.
"We should follow." Said Corvan in a hushed tone.
"What if there are more of those guys hanging around?" Valeriana voiced out in concern, grabbing her fellow ranker by the sleeve and pulling him back.
'Valeriana is right. I recommend thou dost not be too careless, heilm juaire.' Avaro advised. 'The Ash Canyons is a place full of surprises.'
"We have no choice. The only thing we can do is try and not get discovered. If we are to penetrate this place, you must be aware of the dangers." Corvan reasoned out. "Knowing that, do you still want to continue? I am unsure of what to expect."
"Corvan not being sure is a bad thing." Valeriana quipped.
"It's alright. Nothing is ever easy." Said Gavin. "So we'll apologize in advance if we get abducted and you have to save us."
"Okay. But, how exactly are we going to follow them without getting discovered?"
"The old-fashioned way. Follow me." He waved at them.
"You really find the time to be arrogant in times like this?" Valeriana rolled her eyes.
"I meant none of that at all."
As Alovia and her companions got dragged into the ragged valleys called the Ash Canyons, Corvan and his troupe tailed closely. It was hard to act as stealthily as the first-ranker did, since the two lacked in stalking prowess. As a result, their careless mistakes and Valeriana's unbelievable tendency to be clumsy at the most crucial of times nearly had them discovered.
"You two!" Corvan scolded. "This is why I did not like to bring you along!" He told Gavin through a harsh whisper.
Gavin chuckled humorlessly, a bit embarrassed. "I deeply apologize."
"At least I'm not alone. Right, buddy?" Valeriana casually slung her arms around Gavin's shoulder—or at least tried to. The lord's height made it somewhat tough since Valeriana only reached his chin. "Damn. Whatever." She eventually gave up.
The man gave Valeriana a small smile. "I do not think that if she were an accomplice, she would be taken hostage like this." Gavin concluded.
Alovia's shrilly protests was unmistakable. Though she was unable to speak, she was the loudest and the highest pitched among her squad.
Her abductors did little to hear her out. They were travelling along the edges of tall rocks, down an abyss where sight of the ground was impossible to find. Corvan was hesitant to follow. If they were to tail them now, it would be hard to hide from plain sight. As a result, they decided to stay on top and watch as they descended.
"Where are they going?"
"The lion's mouth." Corvan muttered, his mind working. "It is this."
"What?"
"This is the lion's mouth?" Gavin echoed. "Which one?"
"Quiet down." Corvan commanded softly. "I have forgotten a very important historical fact about the Ash Canyons. This entire place is shaped like a lion's face when viewed from the sky. This abyss . . . it is the lion's mouth."
"Whoa." Valeriana gushed. "That is so cool!"
"Wait a moment." Corvan halted as he turned to his companion. "This does not feel right at all." His brows were furrowed. "Something is gnawing at my instincts and it's not a good thing. Why don't you two stay behind?"
"I don't think that's a good idea." Valeriana crossed her arms. "I mean, sorry to burst your bubble but I think the outcome will be the same. Whether you leave us or not, we are not that capable of holding out against these guys." She shivered.
"What happened to 'I can fight'?" Corvan asked.
"I can knock out about two or three, but I don't think I can fight against a whole squad of them." She reasoned out. "I am still just a few months into training."
"You can have Avaro guard you."
"And risk you going in there alone? Nu-uh. Dream on, you douchebag."
"She makes a point." Gavin nodded.
"At least I won't have to worry about you."
The two thieves disappeared into a crevice within the walls. This was their cue to follow.
"Stay." Corvan told them.
"But we—"
"Just listen. Avaro, stay with them. I'll go do this on my own."
Corvan advanced forward eagerly and left them standing there in awkward silence. Valeriana felt somewhat pissed—really pissed—but he made sense. She could take on one opponent at a time but she was never in a situation where she had to fight with dozens of people.
'I think that he's comfortable knowing thou art not in immediate danger.' Avaro told them. 'He could not risk thy safety.'
Valeriana crashed on the ground and leaned against a protruding rock.
"He's always like that." She muttered. "Ever since I've first met him."
Gavin sat on the floor beside her after watching the first-ranker disappear into the same path the thieves took. He seemed a bit relieved. "How long have you known my cousin?"
"Oh, you know . . . close to four months. It hasn't been long but a lot has happened it felt like a year. I wasn't exactly like this just a few months ago."
"The course of your life is not measured by the time." He told her with a smile. "It's the things that you experience and the people you meet. How many things can happen in such a short span is truly unbelievable."
"You're right." She whispered. "Not to mention I felt like I've known the Twelve since forever. They're really good people. It's not hard to love them." She pulled her knees close to her chest as Avaro rested on the spot beside her.
'I agree fully with Gavin.' Said the twin-tailed lion. 'Be happy, lheuim ansur. When things happen, it gives you the reason to keep living.'
"Corvan has been like that for a long time, I suppose. But he wasn't always that way. He merely assumed that attitude and behavior after . . . certain things took place." He hesitantly finished. "The life of a noble is a serious one. Threats are everywhere. They don't merely exist in demons. There are some things that cannot be eradicated just by the presence of a common enemy. Vices, corruption . . . those things will never disappear." He told her.
"I can see that. I don't think these people would be doing these things if they weren't . . . provoked." She said. "But I don't understand. How is being arrogant and domineering doing the trick?"
"It pushes people away." He said. "Pushes the bad people away—the good ones too. These people will show you that they are cunning, provocative, intimidating . . . the list goes on, but if you show them you're better, or maybe worse, then you can push them down and suppress them. I believe that is what Corvan thinks. He has found this effective for so long, I do not think his ideology will be changed."
"I'm afraid he'll be a tyrant if it continues."
"Perhaps, but he has a soft heart." Gavin smiled. "No matter how much he steels himself, a rock will be a rock, cotton made of cotton. Burn it, still, ash will be ash. I've known him for a long time. He is himself as much as he has changed."
"Shiznits, that's confusing. How come you're so wise, though?"
"Oh, well, I'm part Aetherian."
"Heck, no wonder you're so patient."
"I take after my mother, thank you. In fact, I am a brother to Rowe."
"Ok—YOU'RE ROWE'S BROTHER?"
"Not in the biological sense, no."
"And here I thought . . . another revelation."
"But we are cousins."
"Hol—how many people are you cousins to?"
"Well, the high families often intermarry. It's a bit complicated. Just like I am cousin to Rowe and Corvan, Corvan is a cousin to me and Keelan."
Her eyes bulged "Corvan and Keelan are . . . related?"
"In that sense, yes. You didn't know?"
"Well, I'm only finding out about them. They don't tell me everything, they just let me find out."
"The Twelve are very private people, but I assure you, they all have interesting backgrounds. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in the Twelve. The past can sometimes determine how you fare in this world. It reinforced them to be who they are."
"You're right. You're a sage."
"You admire Corvan despite his attitude, don't you?"
She blushed. "Admire him, what?"
"I meant that platonically, but it seems you have something for him."
"Yeah, well . . . a teensy-weeny little bit of admiration, I guess." She smiled.
Hearing Avaro chuckle, Valeriana looked to his direction and glared at the twin-tailed lion. "Don't you dare tell him, Avaro! It's gonna inflate his ego really bad. I won't hear the end of it."
'Trust this one, Valeriana. He shall hear none of it.'
"So, care telling me what that ring on your finger is all about?" He asked.
"Well . . . he kinda asked me to pretend to be his fiancée to scare off that girl. Turns out he didn't have the hots for her."
"I see." He chuckled. "He approves of you, then."
She didn't know how to feel about that. "What's that supposed to mean? He approves of me?"
"In the Corvan sense, yes. That will be how he words it. I, however, will say that he . . . what's the word?" He trailed off teasingly. "Anyhow, he will not let himself be seen with a person he doesn't like. He'll avoid them, scare them off, beat them with his glare and words 'til they scram. He's that sort of person. To think he would allow himself to be in this situation, I say he approves of you."
"He doesn't approve of me then, he does that to me all the time."
"Well, he is a bit confusing."
She sighed. "Over four months . . ."
"Four months is a long time, especially if you're together a lot. I know someone you see, we became friends over the course of five minutes."
"Who?"
"I will keep that a secret." His eyes glinted knowingly. "But she is easy to talk to. She's someone from the academy."
"A part of the Twelve?" She pressed.
"No." He answered. "A simple lady, really. Very humble with such bubbly attitude."
"Wow. I hope it works out."
"Hopefully, I hope she can handle my wanderlust tendencies. I cannot stay in one place for too long. My nomadic self makes it hard to get attached to people."
'Valeriana,' Avaro alerted her.
"Oh, well—" She felt the sudden approach of presences. They've entered her twenty-five meter radius, about south of their current position. It was steadily approaching. And fast. "Someone's coming."
Valeriana jumped, her hand flying to the sword on her side. "It isn't Corvan, surely. It's not coming from the cave."
She gasped. It was directly behind them!
She shifted and swung her sword to the spot she felt the presence. A clung resounded and a booming laughter echoed.
"Boom! Nice one." A childish voice said. "Bad thing you missed."
"Shucks." She muttered, standing eye to eye with a boy as tall as she was. Her sword was in contact with his metal staff.
"Saeed!" He yelled. "We have intruders."
"Oh, boy." Gavin whispered beside her.
It wasn't long before Avaro let out a roar.