Seliaryn got off his horse and sighed for the hundredth time that day as he walked towards the Mayors office.
He was let into the office immediately and was greeted by the surprised face of the Mayor.
"Seliaryn."
Seliaryn bowed before he spoke. "I'm sorry to have to do this without any earlier notice, but the King sent me here to keep watch on you."
The mayor raised an eyebrow. "Me?"
"Yes. The King got news that you were sympathetic to the cause of the group called the Hidden."
The mayor was surprised by this, but he knew he should have seen it coming.
He wasn't worried though. He knew well that Blood and the others would hide themselves well.
Blood probably already knew Seliaryn was here. And he probably already knew why too.
“You have heard of this group?” Seliaryn asked.
“Of course. I’ve been getting constant letters from the Ruby City about what had happened.”
“About what happened with the King?”
“Well, he was confronted by the Hidden… and challenged, am I right?”
Seliaryn nodded.
He didn’t suspect anything though. Because he knew there were letters going around. After all, the rest of the country had to be prepared if there was an attack on the King… especially Amberdyse, the town with the best knights.
“That sounds about right.” Seliaryn said.
"Well then... Welcome to Amberdyse. Please make yourself comfortable and consider this a vacation. As I have nothing to hide."
Seliaryn smiled at that, though he hated vacations.
"I will ask for Lord Din to get you a room in the inn."
Seliaryn bowed. "Thank you." He said. "Please ask him to have it ready for me. Right now I'm going to head down to see the Kyrus family."
The Mayor nodded. "As you wish."
Seliaryn bowed once more and then left the office.
His horse strutted down the dirt road of Amberdyse and Seliaryn smiled and nodded at the familiar faces.
Children ran up to his horse, trying to get Seliaryn to jump down and play with them. Though he felt bad about it, he had to say no to the kids.
He arrived at the Kyrus household soon and a smile formed on his face.
He wondered if Meenu was home.
He always felt welcome in the Kyrus home, even though the family wasn't too familiar with him.
But he especially loved how welcoming and kind Meenu was. He felt that was the only upside of being stuck on a 'vacation' here.
At least he got to see Meenu.
The servants of the Kyrus family greeted him at the gate. Of course, they were called servants but they weren't really servants.
Serving in the Kyrus household was considered a luxury. The servants were treated graciously by the family. And every one of them was grateful for that.
Seliaryn could see it on their faces. They were smiling, joyful and even having a good time as they worked.
The Kyrus family was a good family.
Which was why it was so hard to comprehend why they were punished with so many hardships.
"Seliaryn?" Lady Kyrus greeted him with a smile as she stepped out of her prized garden.
Seliaryn bowed and took her hand, kissing it. "How are you, my Lady?"
She smiled and gave him a kiss on his forehead as he straightened up.
It surprised him.
"Well, thank you." She smiled. "What brings you here?"
His cheeks warmed up slightly as he cleared his throat. "The king sent me here for a job?"
"A job?" She asked. "What sort of job?"
"I'm looking for some treasonous criminals." Seliaryn said, shifting his weight to one foot. He suddenly felt like he was talking to his own mother. "They wear masks and one of them is called Blood. They're rather ferocious but out of their minds."
Lady Kyrus dropped her shoulders when he said Blood, but Seliaryn didn't notice.
"Blood? How odd." She simply said. "But why are you standing here? Come in and have something to eat."
Lady Kyrus grabbed the young mans arm and guided him into the home.
She prepared a meal for Seliaryn and they sat and chit-chatted about his recent stresses. Soon, Lord Kyrus had arrived home and joined them.
All of them avoided the topic of Meenu's engagement.
But shortly after, Meenu was home, a bright smile on her face.
She walked into the dining room with her bow over her shoulder and was surprised by Seliaryn. "Hi Seli!" She said as a grin grew on her face.
He stood up when she arrived. "How are you?"
Meenu walked over to him and grabbed his arm. "Come! I have to show you something!"
Seliaryn hesitated, but Lord and Lady Kyrus chuckled and let him go.
Meenu took him out to their yard and startled Seliaryn when she pulled out her sword.
"Where did you get that from?" He asked.
"I found it." She said. "In Feyran. My father said I can keep it until someone claims it."
"He let you keep a sword?"
Meenu nodded. "Wait till you see how good I've gotten."
And with that, Meenu demonstrated her newly found skill and impressed Seliaryn greatly. "I've been practicing a lot." She said to him before he asked. "What do you think?"
"I'm impressed." He nodded his head as he said it. "But where did you learn?"
Meenu hesitated. "I watched other knights." She lied. "And the I practiced."
Seliaryn kept nodding his head. "Very impressive."
When she put her sword back in its sheath, she rushed over to him and sat next to him. "So what are you doing here?"
"The King sent me to look for a treasonous group. The Hidden."
Meenu hesitated. "The Hidden?"
Seliaryn nodded. "They walk around wearing masks. Have you seen anything like that around?"
Meenu thought for a moment before she shook her head, not wanting to respond too quickly. "Nope."
"I see."
Meenu looked at Seliaryn, trying to find a way to change the topic before he found out she was lying. “How are your mother and father?”
Seliaryn sighed. “I haven’t seen my mother in a while, but she wrote to me and said she was well.”
“I would like to see her… it’s been a while.”
“It has, hasn’t it?” Seliaryn said, thinking of his quiet and submissive mother. She was said to be the most fragile and passive member of the Lumynos clan. The exact opposite of her husband.
“And your father?”
“He’s been at the castle for the past few days, since the day you left, actually.”
Meenu wanted to sigh in relief, glad that she left before he arrived. As noble and great as Lord Roviaryn was… she did not want to see him. “Why is he at the castle?” Meenu asked, knowing that he was usually there when there was a problem.
“Well, because of the whole commotion with the Hidden.” Seliaryn said. “My father is there to give his advice or whatnot.”
“Is that… why you came here?” Meenu asked, a little cautiously.
Seliaryn was surprised by that question, and for a moment, he didn’t know the answer.
He thought about it as Knight rested his head on the young man’s lap. Of course, the King was the one who sent him to Amberdyse… but as much as he didn’t want to go, he didn’t argue with the king.
“Maybe.” He simply said, petting Knight’s head.
“Are you scared of your father?” Meenu asked, curiously. She wondered if they were close enough for him to tell her.
But the question made Seliaryn snort. “No.” He said, but a small smile formed on his face as he looked down at the tired Knight. “I have no reason to fear him. We just don’t… agree much.” They never had.
Meenu nodded her head, completely understanding what he was saying. After all, how could a kind and gentle man like Seliaryn be agreeable with the harsh and frightening Lord Roviaryn?
It was strange how they were father and son.
“Your mother told me that you’ve officially decided to become a warrior?” He asked her, wanting to change the subject again.
Meenu looked at him. “My mother said that?”
“It’s not true?”
“Oh… it is… I’m just surprised my mother said it.”
“Why?” Seliaryn asked. “She seemed proud to say it.”
Meenu hesitated. “Really?”
He nodded.
“Oh.” Meenu felt her heart grow light in happiness. She never realized her mother was proud of her decision.
“She should be proud.” Seliaryn said. He reached out and patted Meenu’s head, making her chuckle. “You’re not like the other girls.”
She looked at him with a smile. “I used to think that was a bad thing.”
Seliaryn shook his head, and before he pulled his hand back, he pushed away the strands of her curls that fell over her face.
That made her blush a little.
But as he did that, he hesitated, his heartbeat rising ever so slightly. So he dropped his hand back onto Knight’s head. The sleeping wolf shifted slightly, but didn’t wake.
“It’s not a bad thing at all.” Seliaryn said. “Women are the wisest and most righteous fighters. And I’m very sure you’ll be the best of them all.”
Meenu chuckled, her cheeks still a little red.
Seliaryn looked at her with a smile.
And as he looked at her, he wondered why this girl was able to make him feel so relieved.
Whenever he spent time with her, he was always so relaxed. And relief and relaxation were the two things that were hardest for a Lumynos man to attain. A Lumynos was meant to constantly be on his toes, constantly thinking that someone behind him or her was trying to kill them. They were all raised to think like that. It was in their blood.
But with Meenu, Seliaryn could sit back and just… not worry.
He liked that.
But the more and more he thought about it… the more and more he realized that Dukaryn was a fool.
If only he was kinder, smarter and less egoistic. If only he had given himself a chance to accept Meenu. And if only he had tried to let her love him… He would have made a good choice.
Because Seliaryn was starting to think that a girl like Meenu was perfect for a Lumynos man. Almost too perfect.
Her kindness, her innocence and her loving nature were exactly the qualities needed to tame the cruel soul of a Lumynos man.
And the Lumynos men with the tamed souls were the ones that became the best, the most noble, and the strongest.
Of course… that meant they would be the best kings as well.
So yes, Dukaryn was a fool. A fool who had lost his chance to be a good King.
But then again, maybe this was just destiny. After all, everyone knew that Dukaryn was not fit to be king.
Or maybe it was because no Lumynos man deserved a young woman like Meenu. After all, both the Lumynos men that had gotten a chance to be with her had thrown the chance away stupidly.
Whatever the reason though, Seliaryn knew that there was no way in hell that he would lose her.
He knew he would protect her with his life because she deserved it.
And he would not make the same mistakes the others did.
Meenu woke up the next day with a grin on her face.
Because, for the first time since she could remember, she had a great day. First she got to kiss Blood, then Seliaryn came and was apparently going to be staying for a while.
Unfortunately, Seliaryn told her he’d be busy the next day since he had to question people about Blood and his group.
And as much as Meenu loved Seliaryn… she knew she had to warn Blood.
So she ran as fast as she could towards Feyran and hoped that Blood would be there.
After trying to run continuously without stopping, and failing, Meenu sat down and tried to catch her breath. She really dreamed of the day when she could run kilometers and not get tired.
Just like Blood could.
"One day I'll be good, right Knight?" Meenu smiled to herself as she looked around.
But she couldn't see Knight. "Knight?"
She stood up and looked around. When she couldn't spot him, she began to panic. "Knight?" She called. Knight never disappeared like that. Had an ogre got him?
But how could an ogre be so quiet? They were never quiet.
She suddenly heard a thud and turned herself around quickly.
There was Knight, lying down, whimpering.
Her heart stopped when she saw a knife stabbed into her wolfs hind leg.
"Knight!" She screamed.
She was going to run to him but froze when a figure appeared in front of her. "I was going to kill it... But his coat is rather nice looking. I think I'll keep it once we get married."
Tears ran down her cheek as she stared at Dukaryn. "Why did you…"
The small smile on his face disappeared. "Who do you think I am?" He asked. "To ask your father to call off the marriage? Are you a fool?"
Meenu couldn't think of that now.
She ran towards Dukaryn and tried to get past him to her wounded Knight. But he grabbed her and held her back easily.
"Let me go!" She squealed. "Please!"
She could see the whimpering Knight when she fought in Dukaryn’s arms, and every time she saw him, the more she cried. "He's going to die!"
Dukaryn suddenly pushed her back.
She fell hard on her back, her bow pressing hard against her spine, and couldn't breathe for a moment. But when she finally caught her breath, she pushed herself back up. She pulled out the sword that Blood had given her and held it in front of her. “Move!” She yelled, her anger overwhelming her.
Dukaryn laughed. “You think you can hurt me?”
“I will if you don’t move!”
Dukaryn shook his head and ran his fingers through his black hair. That cocky smile of his remained on his face as he looked at her with a cruel look that showed her exactly what he thought of her.
He started walking towards her, making Meenu flinch. But she didn’t step back. Instead, she lifted the sword above her head and ran towards him, yelling in anger as she did.
When she swung the sword, Dukaryn looked a little shocked. But he grabbed it with his hands and pulled it right out of hers.
Meenu stared in shock, but before he could hurt her, she ran past him towards Knight, falling onto her knees next to him. Knight looked up at her with apologetic eyes, whimpering not of pain, but of the sadness that he was unable to protect her.
She tore the bottom of her brown skirt, ripping off a large strip of cloth as fast as she could.
She had to stop the blood from leaving his body, that’s all she could think of.
But when she heard Dukaryn snort, she turned to look at him.
With unbelievable ease, he snapped her sword in half and tossed it aside. “Stupid girl.” He said as he took a step towards her.
Meenu grabbed her bow and an arrow, loading it with a speed that took her years to master. “Stay away!” She yelled, stopping him in his tracks.
“You know, I could have you killed for raising a weapon at me.”
She didn’t respond. She didn’t care for that matter.
Right now, she had to find a way to buy enough time to wrap up Knight’s would and get him out of here.
Back home. She had to go back home.
Dukaryn couldn’t hurt her there. Her or Knight.
So without another hesitation, she released the arrow.
Dukaryn was again, shocked. He never imagined that she had the courage to attack him.
Him.
The King of Raffyre.
But he thought she was weak.
Weak and stupid.
He didn’t fear that arrow of hers at all.
So he hadn’t expected it to touch him.
And when it did, when it stabbed into his shoulder, he stared in shock.
Meenu didn’t waste a second. She turned around, pulled the knife out of Knight’s leg and tied the cloth around it.
The wolf winced, but started to growl moments later.
Meenu looked at Knight, knowing he was trying to warn her but acted too slow.
Dukaryn grabbed her by her curls and pulled her back, making her shout in pain.
She then felt a tug against her chest as he pulled the bow. The string broke off and Meenu gasped when the man let go of her hair. She turned around to face him quickly, not trusting him with her bow.
But just as she did, she watched as he snapped her precious bow in half.
Her eyes widened and a whimper escaped her throat. “No!”
She didn’t know why but an unbearable sadness filled her heart… like she had lost something extremely important.
“Stupid bitch.” Dukaryn said. As he said it, he pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with just a wince. He tossed it aside and walked over to Meenu. “You underestimate me.” He said as he knelt down in front of her.
The crying girl stared in shock. How was he not in pain? How could he do this?
“Do you know what my people do to girls like you? Girls who refuse to listen to their Lumynos husbands?”
Meenu glared. “You’re not my husband.”
“I will be.”
“Why do you want to marry me so badly?” Meenu asked, raising her voice. “There’s nothing special about me!”
“Nothing special about you, yes. You’re right. But marrying you would mean that I’d be married to the daughter of the most respected knight in Raffyre.” He said. “Plus, it’d piss off Avaryn, don’t you think?”
Meenu narrowed her eyes. “What?”
Dukaryn smiled at her. It wasn’t a friendly smile. “Let me show you what happens when you defy me.”
Meenu hesitated.
“My family has a way of dealing with women like you.”
She hesitated for a moment longer, but that moment was enough to realize what he meant.
She spat in his direction and got up to make a run for it but he grabbed her by the arm. He then shocked her by slapping her hard across the face.
So hard that blood dripped from her lip.
Meenu froze in terror.
She had never been slapped before.
Not even by her own parents.
He grabbed both her arms tightly and pushed her down against the floor. She tried to scream but her voice wouldn’t come out.
Her heartbeat was so loud that she could barely hear Knight’s angry growls and barks.
But as she was reminded that Knight needed her help, she managed to muster up enough strength the kick him hard in the abdomen.
She knew that it probably didn’t hurt him, but she had kicked him hard enough to push him away from her.
She got up and ran, trying to figure out how she would carry Knight. But of course, she was too slow.
Dukaryn grabbed her again. “Stop fighting and this will hurt less.” He hissed.
Meenu tried to pull her arm away, but she wasn’t strong enough. So instead, she took her other arm and punched him hard on the wound that her arrow had left.
He winced and growled in pain but lifted his hand up to hit her once more.
She closed her eyes, trying to blink away the tears. But when she opened them again with a glare to show that she wasn’t scared of him, she was started by someone standing in front of her.
She heard bones crack as Dukaryn flew backwards onto the ground.
When she lifted her head, she felt a relief she had never felt in her entire life.
“Blood.” She whispered.
He didn’t respond as he watched Dukaryn stand up.
“Blood!” Another woman’s voice called.
Meenu looked up and recognized the masked girl named Fury.
“What the hell are you doing?” She hissed at him.
He still didn’t respond.
Dukaryn wiped the blood from his lip and looked back at the warrior. “Do you know what the hell you’ve done?”
“I made a sorry excuse of a man bleed.” Blood finally said.
“Do you know who I am?” Dukaryn’s voice started to rise. “Me? I’m Dukaryn! King of Raffyre! A Lumynos!”
“And that is supposed to scare me?”
“Blood!” Fury hissed.
Meenu watched as Dukaryn glared at Blood. “You’re a fool.” He said. “I can rip you apart if I wanted too.”
“Give it your best shot.” Blood challenged. “I’m not afraid of a man who hides behind his family name. Too many of you Lumynos men are like that. Cowards.”
Dukaryn looked to be getting angrier and angrier. “I’m going to kill you.”
Meenu held her breath as something strange began to happen. A dark red glow started to form around him, like an aura of some sort. But as the whites of his eyes turned black, Meenu knew what was happening.
He was releasing his evil.
Her father had told her about this once before.
He had told her that once a Lumynos released their evil, they could kill a hundred people if they wanted. Her father had told her that once he fought a Lumynos man. It took everything he had to defeat him, and even then, her father was in bed for weeks trying to recover from that battle.
They were not people to challenge.
Her heart started to panic as she looked up at Blood. “Blood… we have to go.”
He ignored her, but she saw his hands ball up into fists. “Fool.” Blood hissed. “Do you think you can scare me? I’ve killed many of your kind with ease.”
The angry Dukaryn growled a strange growl that made Meenu shudder, and just as he did, blood dripped from his eyes.
Meenu shuddered again.
Never in her life did she think she would see this with her own eyes.
A crying soul.
Her father had told her that a Lumynos’ evil was so bad that when it took over, it made the soul of the user cry in fear and despair. Tears of Blood.
The body cries water.
The soul cries blood.
Suddenly, Dukaryn dashed towards Blood.
Fury jumped back, cursing and Blood grabbed Meenu, tossing her away towards Knight.
Meenu rolled until she hit a tree, but lifted herself up immediately and looked at Blood as he grabbed both of Dukaryn’s hands.
Blood pushed him back, but Dukaryn ran towards him again.
This time though, Blood punched him hard in the face.
Dukaryn flew back once more, making Meenu gasp in shock.
Blood was stronger.
She never thought it could be possible, but he was stronger.
But just as she realized that, he disappeared.
Moments later, Meenu heard crashes and thumps and cracking bones. But she saw nothing but blurs, they were moving too fast.
And suddenly, Dukaryn was thrown against a tree, so hard that the tree tilted over. Blood grabbed him by the neck with one arm and pinned him there.
Meenu now saw them clearly.
Dukaryn had returned to his normal self and was covered with blood and bruises.
Blood looked only slightly scratched up.
“Listen here, you fool.” Blood hissed. “If you ever touch Meenu ever again, I swear to you I’ll rip you’re head off your neck and stick it up your ass.”
Dukaryn growled. “You’re going to regret this.”
Blood pushed his hand harder against his neck. “Step down from the pedestal you put yourself on, you ignorant ass. Don’t think that just because you are a Lumynos, you can get away with anything.”
When Blood let go, Dukaryn stared at him in anger.
“Get lost before I change my mind and kill you.”
With that, the angry Dukaryn disappeared.
Blood turned to Meenu, but just as he did, Fury appeared in front of him. “Are you crazy?” She yelled.
Blood rolled his eyes behind his mask.
“You run from our mission to do this? To attack the King? Are you crazy Blood?” She asked.
“Fury, leave.”
“We need to get back–”
“I need to take Meenu home.”
“No, you don’t!” She argued. “The girl is fine! Let’s go!”
“Fury, don’t anger me.”
“I’ll tell Master Red!”
Blood looked at her for a moment, but then walked past her towards Meenu.
The woman scoffed, but then disappeared.
Without worrying much about it, Blood walked over to Meenu and knelt down next to her. “Are you okay?”
He saw the red on her cheek from where he hit her, and when he reached out to touch it, she started to cry.
But just as the tears escaped, she wiped them away and looked at Knight. “We have to help Knight!” She cried.
Blood looked over at Knight, who calmed when Meenu touched him.
Though Blood was amazed by her strength after all that that man had just done to her, he immediately began to treat Knight’s wound. When he was done, he wrapped it up with some extra bandages he had in one of his pockets.
He then looked at Meenu. “Let’s get you home.”
“No…” Meenu hesitated. “I can’t go home yet.” She said, knowing that her parents would know that something was wrong.
“I’m not leaving you here.”
“Can you take me to Alissa?” Meenu knew that she could trust her. She knew that Alissa would keep quiet even if she knew what really happened.
“Alright.” Blood said.
He then got Meenu onto his back and lifted Knight in his arms.
In an instant, Meenu, Blood and Knight were in front of the Mayors home. When Meenu got off Blood’s back, she rushed in front of him and held her arms out.
“Are you sure you can carry him?” Blood asked.
Meenu hesitated, but just as she did, Alissa stepped out from her gates. “Meenu?”
Meenu turned around quickly. “Alissa–”
Alissa gasped, eyes wide as she looked at Meenu’s face. “What–”
“Just… Is Linkyn there?”
“Yes, he’s inside.”
“Go get him.”
Alissa hesitated. “But–”
“I’ll explain later.” Meenu said.
Alissa nodded and then ran back into her home.
She turned back to Blood and saw him place Knight on the floor. He then quickly got up and looked at Meenu. “Are you going to get in trouble?” Meenu asked him, reminded of Fury.
“Don’t worry about that.” Blood said to her. “I want you to stay here and be safe for the next little while, until I come back. Do you understand?”
Meenu nodded. “Okay…”
“I’ll be near… so if he comes back for you, don’t worry.” He said. “I’ll protect you.”
Meenu smiled and nodded.
He touched her swollen cheek and watched her for a moment, but then he hugged her quickly and then disappeared.
At that moment, Linkyn and Alissa came running out, and as Linkyn lifted Knight and took him in to see the Stable Master, who knew a lot about animals, Alissa rushed to Meenu.
And as her arms wrapped around her best friend, Meenu started to cry.