Chapter 36
As Arriana ran, she saw a flash of red go past her face.
RONAN!
She ran faster as she saw the chestnut red horse run up beside her.
"Quick, jump on!" he shouted at her.
"We're still running! How am I supposed to do that?" she shouted back.
"Do it just like you would any other time. Grab my mane; put your hand on my back and JUMP! NOW!" Ronan yelled.
"Alright!"
Arianna grabbed onto his mane, pacing herself with him, she placed her hand onto his back and jumped as they ran. She was not sure how she did it but she landed on his back. Ronan took off as Arriana turned her head to see where the short man was.
Nowhere. Where did the little creep go?
Arianna's heart raced almost as fast as the horse between her legs. She gripped his mane as tight as she could as they ran through the forest. Ronan's speed was unmatched. He appeared to fly through the trees effortlessly. Arianna kept her eyes forward, anxious to be in safety. In no time they were back in the clearing. Arriana jumped off of Ronan's back before he could even stop and ran to Deacon. Marc, Zoe, Barwick and the clan of horses were standing around at arms.
"What happened? Are you okay Arriana?" Barwick asked as he scanned the wood line behind them.
"I'm fine. I was ambushed while doing a perimeter check," Arriana told him, breathing heavily.
"Why were you alone? Where were you Deacon? Why weren't you protecting her?" Barwick turned his attention to Deacon.
"I, I, I'm sorry*," he stammered.
"Sorry? You're sorry? You almost cost Arriana her life! You were almost responsible for the queen of Coresova being killed and all you can say is sorry?" Barwick shouted at Deacon.
"Barwick, it's not his fault. I told him and Ronan to check one end of the clearing while I took the other end," Arriana explained.
"Why would you do that Arriana? Times are dangerous right now! You could have been killed!" he said shocked and dismayed.
"I know that. I honestly did not think there was anything in the clearing. I thought that they had gone after you guys. I was surprised and the guys grabbed me before I could run away," she explained to them.
"Where are they? Did they follow you?" Marc asked.
"No, Queen Arriana managed to get on my back before they could regain their senses and follow us, but they know where we are. There is no telling how many more will be with them. We must make haste and go back to the village. Father we must move the herd into the protection of the wizards and witches. Lucas is making his army ready now. He is not waiting for the queen to make the first move," Ronan told them.
"Well, that does pose a problem now doesn't it? My thing is how did they find the training grounds? We're going to have to move all training and practice to the village. Nobody is going to be able to leave, for any reason. Especially you Arriana, I do not want you leaving the village. Don't bother arguing with me. You haven't been crowned queen yet. I'm still in charge of you," Barwick said.
"I wasn't going to argue. I won't go anywhere," Arriana promised.
She knew there was a lot to learn in a short amount of time. Knowing that Lucas was on the move full force, recruiting more witches and wizards put a major kink in their plans.
"Did you recognize the guys who snatched you?" Zoe asked.
"No. I've never seen them before." Arriana shook her head.
"What did they look like?" Arion asked.
"Well the big guy was rough looking. He had choppy brown hair, brown eyes and he smelled bad, like rotten eggs and sulfur. The shorter guy had black hair and black eyes. He scared the shit out of me. The dude was seriously evil. When I saw him it just struck this awful fear in the pit of my stomach." She said, shuddering at the thought.
"The short guy did his voice remind you of a snake?" Barwick asked.
"Yeah, sort of. It was really low and creepy. It sent shivers down my spine. He tormented me with his wand. I'm not sure what he was doing but it felt like I was being electrocuted," she told him, thinking about the shorter man who had zapped her.
"The tormenters curse. That is another forbidden magic that is not to be used on any living creature. Was he short? Not all that much taller than you, black hair and beady black eyes like a rat?" he asked, pursing his lips.
"Yeah. How did you know his eyes were like rats eyes?" Arriana asked.
"I know who they are. They are Lucas' right-hand man and top assassin. He really isn't fooling around if he already sent them after you. Those were the men that killed your parents, Arriana," He looked at her with tears in his eyes.
"What? They...those were the guys who...oh god I'm going to be sick!" Arriana ran to the nearest bush and began to throw up.
She couldn't believe what she had just heard. She met the men who had murdered her family and had no idea.
"The short guy is Noni. He was one of your father's closest advisors. We're not sure how long he was conspiring with Lucas but we're thinking he was one of the first traitors. The big guy is Fertharro. He is Lucas' number one assassin. You are lucky to be alive right now. Do you understand how close you were to dying? That smell coming from Fertharro is death. He has been instrumental in all the murders and assassinations here over the past seventeen years," Aroman finally spoke up.
"Well, I doubt he's going to be doing a lot of killing any time soon," Arriana said with a coy smile thinking about how much pain the murderer was in.
"How do you know?" Arion asked her.
"I hurt him pretty badly between magic and self-defense," she told him.
They all stared at her, mouths wide open.
"What?" She asked, "He was attacking me so I defended myself. I was just a bit more upset then usual so I really hurt him. Hopefully I maimed him."
"You took out Fertharro? Without weapons?" Marc asked her.
"Yeah. Why? Was it supposed to be hard or something?" She was confused about what the big deal was.
"Arriana, my dear you don't really understand what exactly you did. You could possibly have taken out a major player in Lucas' army without trying," Aroman told her.
"He wasn't exactly taken out? He'll just be hurting for a while," She replied baffled.
"At least for a few weeks, how fast do you think you can learn to use a sword and your magic?" Marc asked her.