33 Set Aflame

"Thank you, Mrs. Hellen, for pushing yourself to meet me even in your weakened state. I wish for your recovery; I also appreciate the information you told me," the side of her eyes wrinkles with the smile she gives me.

Funny story, about a minute ago, a fuming mad knight emerged inside this village to look for a stubborn girl who ran away. Now that he had found me, he planned to drag me out despite my complaining. Fortunately for me, Mrs. Hellen stepped in, saying that it's rude to disturb an important conversation between her and me. And that he should learn his manners.

If only I had a device called the camera, I would capture the image of Rhys obediently sitting on the ground beside me with a frown on his face looking utterly defeated.

"I'm so glad I got to meet you, dear," she thanked me, placing her hand on top of mine, "Rosetta and I weren't as close, but I introduced her to these woods, and we even trained together."

"It's unfortunate that you have to hide the beauty of this village, concealing it from the eyes of many."

She sighs, "the night your mother went missing, the whole kingdom was chaotic. They lost their newly crowned Queen, and the Prince of Beorene attacked out of the blue," terror overtook her face as she must have been reminded of that tragic night.

"What happened," I ask, which came out as a disbelief-whisper.

"Those vicious beasts attacked the castle and roamed the Kingsto woods. They found the village defenseless without me and the others there; we lost many lives that night and returned to a ruined village. I'm grateful that everyone led the children to safety as soon as they heard the warning horn from the castle."

I feel as if the energy in my body drained until I'm left empty. With everything Mr.s Hellen discloses, it's like a punch to the gut. My mother leaving left an awful impact on this kingdom, and she didn't even know.

Yet, they never hated my mother for it. They continued looking up at her. They even treated her daughter kindly, giving her shelter and food to eat and provided her protection.

"I'm sorry about what happened," the story is truly upsetting; I can't help but question again why my mother would leave this place.

"I don't know her reasons for leaving; I wish I knew," as if Mrs. Hellen was listening to my thoughts says, "for whatever reason, that may have brought you here, I hope that the gods will be with you to keep you safe with what you may encounter."

She turns behind her, motioning her hand for something; I tilt my head to see Aryll going in the cottage before appearing out with an object wrapped with a clean white cloth.

"This isn't much, but we prepared a gift for you," Mrs. Hellen finally shows excitement in her eyes. She lifts the cloth off the object to reveal a dagger with a yellow blade of irregular shape, "it's a sun blade; use it on someone, and they will feel an agonizingly burning pain on the wound you inflict."

"It's beautiful," I move closer to get a good look at the blade, my eyes sparkle with admiration, but I feel someone's face closing beside mine. Rhys admired the blade with beady eyes; he looks like he's going to snatch it at any moment we turn our eyes away from it.

"Do you have a spare?" he shamelessly asks, and Mrs. Hellen shakes her head.

"We bought the blade from the Town of Tinkers."

I push his head away, smirking at him, and he shoots me a glare. I receive the gift with a grateful heart, "it's beautiful, thank you."

"Now you should head back before this knight can break his face frowning too hard," she chuckles, and I joined her after seeing Rhys' face.

The sun is setting, so either way, we'll need to head back. I know the rough scolding that awaits me, especially that I can still feel Rhys' glare on my back.

I got up from the ground, my legs jelly-feeling from sitting crossed-legged too long. I wipe away the creases on my dress and dried leaves that fell from the trees that covered the sky.

Maru comes near me, handing me the leather sheath for my dagger; I thank her when receiving it. I turn the other way but not before waving goodbye for the last time. Their brilliant smiles bring joy to me. Coming here was worth it.

Again, eyes were on us as we walked past the busy elves. I walk nearer to Rhys as he leads our way out. We walked without realizing that we had already stepped outside.

I stop and look back at the village once more, but it's gone; going through the barrier silenced the noise of busy elves everywhere. It's the usual empty field; you'll never know what's inside it.

"Hey- let's get going."

I avert my eyes away from it, meeting Rhys, who stopped to wait for me. I rushed towards him and slowed down as we resumed our walk. Walking in silence was awkward. There's this dull tension surrounding us.

"So uh, how did you find me?" to rid of this uncomfortable atmosphere, I pop the question.

"You only know a quarter of the woods, so I knew you'd either be near the cottage or the village. I also know you made friends with those tiny elves," he replies, which surprised me. I thought he'd keep up with his overly-frustrated attitude with me, but he sounds calmer now.

My eyebrows meet; I've been itching to have this question answered. Maybe Rhys would know, "aren't you and those elves somewhat related? I mean, you're an elf, and they-"

I stare at him with wonder in my eyes. He sighs from my question but answered it anyway, "no, they're a different kind; they're mushrooms given life by Beorene's curse."

"Beorene could create life, something compelling yet; she was so careless bringing almost anything alive."

"I don't think the existence of mushroom elves was a bad thing; they're so friendly," I mumble, but Rhys hears this.

"Right but bringing life to the creatures of the night?"

"Oh-"

He chuckles, "exactly."

Hiking toward the village with Talus and the elves felt like only minutes. Going back to the castle feels like it's taking forever. The sky has already dimmed if we take our time, then we'll be out by nightfall.

But could it be that we're lost?

"Rhys, I swear we could have been out by now," I complain, hugging my arms. The temperature is dropping, getting colder, and the thin fabric of my dress is flexible but doesn't keep me warm.

He halts, ruffling his messy blonde hair with a sigh. His icy blue eyes meet my worried green orbs and widen, "no-no, we're not lost. Let's take a breather; the air feels a bit thin here, don't you think?"

"Here? We've passed those bushes the second time now," I point at the bushes with bright purple flowers.

"Are you implying that I have a bad sense of direction?"

With arms crossed, I argue back, "am I? Then yes, you do!"

He lets out a laugh of disbelief, "hey, we wouldn't be lost if you hadn't run away in the first place," he dares points his finger at me, which I smack away.

I smirk, "so you admit that we're lost, and you have a bad sense of direction?"

"Hey, you're not allowed to talk to me that way-" he grumbles, but I bring my hand to his mouth to shut him up. He grips my hand, pulling it away, "your dirty hand just touched my face!"

"Stop it, look," I point toward the huge amount of dark smoke coming from our right. It seems to be coming from the edge of the woods, and if it's the outside, then that would mean-

"The castle is under attack!"

With haste and Rhys already gripping my hand, he pulls me while we dash out of the woods toward the castle.

By now, the sky is engulfed with darkness, and so is our surroundings, only the massive flame up ahead serving as our guide—the guide toward a burning castle.