Go After Chris

Christopher's brows drew together, seeing the bruise on Amanda's right leg. He looked up to her in anger and said, "Is it worth it to break your leg?"

"Pfft! Seriously, do you know how strong are our leg bones?" She paused and thought for a second. "Given we have the same bone structure."

"No, it's our upper leg that is stronger, but you can't use it in a fight," he pointed out, holding on to her thigh.

Christopher was down on one knee, facing Amanda as she sat on her bed. They were in her room, checking on her right leg after arriving at the castle. He sighed and said, "We don't have ice here."

He held on to her bruised leg and somehow wished his cold hands were enough to ease Amanda's pain. He closed his eyes, wishing the evil magic inside him would lend him a hand.

"Chris, I am really fine - Woah, that is cold. Chris? Your hands are so cold!" Amanda exclaimed.

"Oh, that mark on your abdomen is back again," Amanda added, seeing the swirl mark on his stomach.

Christopher had earlier taken off his armor, leaving it with Kyle and Amanda could clearly see the appearance of the same mark days back.

Only after her words did he let go of her leg. He instantly got up and stepped away. He looked down on his abdomen and puffed. He said, "I'll get changed." He leaned over to peck on her forehead and said, "rest for now."

For a second, Amanda thought she saw fear in his eyes. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but he left outright, rushing to the other wing of the castle.

Christopher had been battling the voice inside his head. Lately, every time he was with Amanda, the voice seemed to find the strength to speak through the seal.

The swirled seal would disappear during midday and reappear in the wee hours, exactly when he was with Amanda.

He knew he had to find the healer, Basalt, once and for all. He would not be able to hide the seal from everyone.

He went straight to his father's chamber with his arms crossed against his abdomen. His father was the only person who would strongly support him in his next plan.

"What is is Chris?" Theo asked, after seeing his son walk through the door. "It's already late. You should rest now."

"Father." He slowly opened his arms and revealed the mark on his stomach. He said, "Look."

A frown appeared on Theo's face. He walked up to his son and said, "Is that - when did this appear?"

Christopher looked down and said, "Father... It - it had been reappearing now and then since about five days ago."

"Whaat?!! How could you keep something like this from me?!" Asked Theo.

"Father, I did not want you and the advisers to look at me again like I am cursed!" He reasoned before he told, "Martin came from mount Devias and unfortunately learned that the healer, Basalt, is missing. It is said that Basalt was kept by the Oscorians."

"What?" Theo asked.

"Martin asked the other healers in the mountain, and they said that Basalt was taken by the Oscorians... approximately three years ago," Christopher added.

Theo was in deep thought. He muttered, "Three years ago. Three years."

"I know... Three years ago. Exactly the time that the Oscorians have demanded for my surrender," said Christopher. "It could only be related to the healer."

"This is why, father, I thought to go to Oscoria and try to find Basalt - "

"No. It's too risky," said Theo. He looked at Christopher right in the eye and said, "Let's assess the situation first. In the next few days, capture one leader from the Oscorians. They are bound to attack again. We could exchange one leader for the Basalt."

"If they won't care too much of their leader, we could at least extract information from one of them, " suggested Theo.

In the next few days, Christopher temporarily rested in his room at night. He often told Amanda he was tired. Nevertheless, he spent at least two hours with her in the morning before leaving for the borders.

While his actions dismayed Amanda, she had more time training on her own with Cassy. It worked well for her, except during the night when she would feel lonely again.

Unfortunately for Christopher and his men, most of the Ocscorians sent to disturb the borders of Aeros were mere foot soldiers. Their leaders, as usual, stayed behind from the back, watching their soldiers die before their eyes.

One evening Christopher and Kyle returned to the castle with another failure. They could not capture a leader from their enemies, and they reported this to Theo.

They stood in front of their ruler from the great hall when the general said, "I think the best solution is to have a group stay behind, outside the borders for days until the Oscorians would attack again. The group to stay behind would could attack the leader's force in surprise."

"It's a good idea, but the those who would stay behind should be very - very good and ready to fight any surprise opponents," said Theo.

"Then, father," said Kyle to the general. "Chris and I can go along with maybe ten of the best of our men. We are the only best bet to survive outside the borders."

Christopher agreed, and so did Theo.

Christopher did not know for how long they would be out, waiting outside the borders. He had to let Amanda know.

In the wee hours, he climbed up to Amanda's window and woke her up. She merely frowned at him and turned away. She said, "Rest in your room. You may be tired."

Christopher had to force his way in, kicking her window grill open.

He chuckled and hugged her as he lay himself on her bed. He pecked on her cheek and said, "I'm sorry, Amanda. I have a lot in my mind and worries over the nation. Will you forgive me for not coming here these past few nights?"

Seeing her unmoved, he hugged her tight and said, "Me and Kyle, we will be venturing the outside borders for a while. I don't know when I'll return. Please don't ignore me."

She turned to him and asked her forehead creased, "Why do you need to do that?"

He sighed and explained, "The Oscorians have someone that is of interest to us. We need to capture a leader from their side and find out where this person is."

"I want to come with you," she said.

"No. It's too dangerous," said Christopher.

Christopher held her face and sealed her lips with a kiss. They made out for minutes and the second he pulled away, he embraced her tight again to say, "The best you can do for me is to stay safe. Give me a good embrace and give me strength, Amanda."

Before they went to sleep that night, the last thing Amanda heard from him was, "I promise, I will return."

Amanda had been so tired, training her strength over the past two weeks, that she failed to wake up when Christopher left. She did not even get to say goodbye.

Another two days passed and with no word about Christopher, Amanda concluded, she had to go after him. She just could not rest at night, not knowing he was safe.

The next morning, Amanda stormed into Cassy's room and said, "I want to go after Chris."

"No," said Cassy.

"If you don't take me - "

"Then what? My brother will punish me more than you could get a chance to do so. So don't threaten me, Amanda," said Cassy. "You are safer here in these stone walls! You don't have a fighting chance against those Oscorian men!"

"If you won't take me, I will leave here in the middle of the night and find him myself. You decide which is easier," said Amanda. "Either way, Chris will be upset with you."