The First Battalion slithered through the night. They were fierce warriors on horseback ventured into the darkness and as they moved, all the sounds of the night were silenced.
'Frisir,' one of the warriors halted, sniffing the air. 'I smell fire.'
The First Warrior glanced at the Tracovian fort. Why would anyone spend their night outside? Tracovia was a safe province, even for the homeless. Furrowing her brows, she ordered one of her warriors to climb a tree and see if she could see any smoke rising from the woods.
There was no trace of it for miles.
Felicia trusted her battalion. Without a doubt, if her warriors told her something was burning, then it had to be.
She ordered her warriors to pursue it.
Within half an hour, all of them came back and informed her that they had located the Chosen Heir.
She was with another man.
Felicia's rage knew no bounds but she willed it behind a mask of indifference. Amara ran away with some man! How scandalous!
The First Battalion surrounded them, tuning themselves with the darkness that prevailed.
'It must have been really hard,' Amara whispered sympathetically as she offered him a small smile, 'to leave everything behind.'
'It was... it still is.' The man's voice was strange.
Felicia found herself unable to recognise it. She watched as Amara drew her knees closer to her chest and stared at the fire.
'I chose to leave,' He lowered his head in shame, 'I chose to run away. I knew I had to do something after I leant the truth. I couldn't stand to bear it in silence.' He shook his head, 'I could have stayed and fought but I knew that no one would understand.' He exhaled, 'I didn't have any other option. They would kill me if I raised my voice against Queen Seyanora.'
'I don't think I'll ever understand what you're going through, Raphael,' Amara admitted, 'But what you've done for us, for Prince Damien and our Kingdoms, I promise you, I'll never let your sacrifice go in vain.'
'Thank you, Amara.'
Felicia was confused. She had never heard of any Raphael. Was he a Dithrai spy? And if so why was he talking about the Demon Queen? How the hell had he helped Damien?
None of it made any sense to her.
One of her warriors signalled her from her hiding spot.
Felicia's blood ran cold when she recognized it. The first signal taught to all warriors.
Demon.
Raphael was a demon.
Felicia raised her hand signalling her warriors to prepare. As soon her hand became a fist, the warriors jumped out of their hiding place and commenced their attack.
Raphael sprung into action, struggling to fight against the warrior that was clutching his neck.
'Step back!' Amara ordered. With a wave of her hand, she sent them flying away from him.
Felicia snarled. 'You'll protect a demon?'
The Chosen Heir stood protectively in front of the demon who was gasping for breath as he struggled to rise. Her green eyes were dark as a look of pure rage shone on her face. 'For as long as he is on Dithrai lands, he is under my protection.'
Raphael's eyes were wide with disbelief. He cursed himself for drowning in his emotions so much that he failed to notice that they were surrounded but at the same time, he felt hopeful. Amara had chosen to protect him.
She was much like Prince Damien.
'You would dare stand for a demon! Did you not forget what demons did to my father... To you? They are our rivals!'
'Raphael is not our rival. He is our strongest ally.'
'You're being naive.'
The thought of running away did cross his mind but he did not want to take the coward's path. A woman was standing up for him, offering him protection, going against a very skilled set of Dithrai warriors led by the Frisir for his sake. The legend of the aforementioned female warrior struck fear into the hearts of all demons. She was a force to be reckoned with.
He swallowed as he wondered who Prince Damien had sent him to.
Who was Amara Octavius?
Her gaze rivalled that of the First Warrior's, her stance told him that she was trained, her manner of speaking was refined and her powers... they left him speechless.
'Frisir, Raphael has given me a lead on Prince Damien's disappearance.'
The First Warrior stepped back as if she had been struck, 'What?'
'He also knows where Queen Seyanora is holding him captive so I suggest you start treating him as our valuable ally.'
'How could you believe the words of a demon?'
Amara smiled softly. 'That is for me to know. All that I can tell you is that he saved Tracovia.'
'Care to tell me how this measly demon saved our mighty province?'
'Why don't you tell your warriors to stand down? We can talk after that.'
Felicia eyed the demon with great suspicion before she relented, 'Fine but one wrong move, and I will end him.'
Amara waved her hands and the green tendrils retreated. Loud gasps from the warriors of the First Battalion filled the air as they regained the control over their bodies.
The tension that floated around them weighed heavy on Raphael's shoulders. He hadn't even spent a day in Tracovia and he had come across two powerful women. It was a little nerve-wracking especially when the First Battalion looked like they wanted blood.
He kept his mouth shut as Amara explained everything.
'So you-' Felicia glowered at him, '-claim that Prince Damien is in the Demon Castle?'
He cleared his throat before speaking. 'It is the truth. As Amara-'
'That's Princess Amara to you,' she interrupted him. 'Show some respect.'
He stilled.
Princess?
He stared at the young Octavious who exhaled.
She was the Dithrai heir?
Raphael lowered his head at her, 'I apologize. I did not know-'
'Let's not waste time, Raphael,' Amara waved her hand dismissively. She turned to Felicia, 'Now that you are here, we can form a plan of action.'
'My orders are to bring you back, Princess.'
'I am not going anywhere,' she hissed. The woman's eyes shone with determination. With her hands fisted she gave her order, 'This is what we will do. Frisir, you will send a message back to the castle informing the King and Queen about our development while we create a plan of action. After that, we will send a message to Lord Tyhane requesting back up.'
'With all due respect, Princess Amara,' Felicia began, 'We cannot simply march into battle. It could be a trap.'
'You misunderstand me, Felicia. It is not my plan to lead the Dithrai army into battle. Our kingdoms cannot go through this calamity called war. It will be too great a burden on our subjects.'
'Then what is it that you're trying to say?'
'Raphael, please tell Felicia about your King.'
The demon bobbed his head. 'As you may have heard, First Warrior, my King is no more and his head is missing. With no doubt in my heart, I can say that it was Queen Seyanora who killed him.'
'And why would she do that?' Felicia schooled a calm expression.
'Queen Seyanora has been ill ever since her son, the Demon Prince, died. My King had come to accept it a long time ago and had ceased his search for the head but the Queen was unable to do the same. She cursed the one who had robbed the Prince's head. She could never let go of the past. She wanted war but the King was against it. So she murdered him and blamed it on the Dithrai Kingdom knowing that the tensions between our Kingdoms would escalate. She even went as far as hiding his head so that none could revive him.'
The First Warrior looked sick.
'You know the demon messenger that presented himself in the Dithrai court?' Amara spoke up.
'Yes.'
'That message was from Queen Seyanora and the precious thing she referred to was the Demon Prince's head.'
Felicia pursed her lips, 'So she plans to revive him?'
'If she gets her hands on the head, she indeed will,' Raphael told her.
'Who was it that robbed the head in the first place?'
Amara turned away drawing her lips into a thin line.
'It was Prince Damien,' he replied.
The Frisir shot to her feet. Her body quivered with rage. 'How care you accuse our Prince of such a crime!'
'It is true, Felicia,' the Chosen Heir spoke quietly.
'This is outrageous!'
'It makes sense. Damien never told any of us about the curse, did he?' Amara didn't wait for an answer. 'He never wanted us to know.' Tears welled in her eyes. She wanted to cry. Her brave love had sacrificed so much for the sake of his subjects.
She didn't want the Demon Prince to rise again.
'I-I-' The First Warrior was speechless as sat down. 'I do not want to believe it.'
'We could give Queen Seyanora her son back but I doubt that it will help us. If anything, it'll make the matter worse. '
'It is simply not possible. There has to be another explanation for this. This demon is lying!'
'Felicia, get a hold of yourself. After all, Raphael saved Tracovia.'
The compliment made Raphael blush. He turned away from the women. 'I wouldn't say that,' he mumbled under his breath. Nevertheless, it felt nice to be complimented by a woman of her stature.
'So what if he did?' Felicia snarled, 'He is a demon!'
'Enough of this!' Amara commanded which made the warrior back down. 'I have already told you, First Warrior, Raphael is under my protection. A word against him is a word against me. Tell me, would you go against the Princess?'
The Frisir looked away. 'My apologies, Princess.'
Amara calmed down. 'What I am trying to say is that you and I will lead the First Battalion into the Demon Castle. With Raphael's help, it should be easy for us to get Damien out of there.'
'There will be no war,' Felicia whispered to herself as the pieces came together.
'That's right. I don't want to burden our warriors nor do I want the same for my people. Queen Seyanora broke into our castle and abducted our Prince. It is only fair that we return the favour.'
The First Warrior smiled when she realized what the Chosen Heir was trying to say. 'Of course, Princess Amara. Your will is my command. We will get our Prince back.'
The determination that flickered on Amara's face sent a chill down Raphael's spine. For some odd reason, he feared... but it was not for his life. The Queen of Demons was unaware of the young Octavian who was coming of her and she had every reason to be afraid.