9 Chapter 9 - Potion (1)
Remember. Stay safe and sound. If that is impossible. Better stay at home.
-Excerpt from The Essential Book of Human Survival.
Jonathan Lorth
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It took a few minutes before she was able to finish the first ten pages and Ruby quickly lifted the spell around Raiene. Allowing the girl to move around freely now, with renewed excitement and exhilaration she dashes through to the back door that leads to a dense tree surrounding the backyard.
Ruby had informed her along the way, Alin used most of her time practising her archery skill inside the forest, the girl wouldn't return before she was able to catch a considerable amount of prey. Despite Ruby voicing out her disagreement with her choice of skill, she still leaves and rushes inside the forest first thing in the morning and returns with a few coins before sunset.
At first, Raiene wanted to rush forward and find Alin. However, she turns around and finds Ruby's gem-like eyes, her own black pupils filled with hesitation.
Countless thoughts surges into her mind, questions she wasn't quite aware of the answer yet. She feels hesitant to reach out further into this journey, afraid that once she decides to plunge into it, it will evaporate that very second. Part of her wants to be free of those thoughts and a stronger part of her manages to securely tie her feet with soft whispers of doubt that haunts her.
It has been a far reaching dream so far, to be able to leave the land, the possibility she never had the courage to ever dream about, fly across the blue sea, experiencing all there is to it and encounter new creatures along the way.
However, now she has permission to learn archery?
It all felt too good to be true, despite the many times she pinch her arm to be able to differentiate between reality and dreams, despite all realisation she received once she felt pain, it all still felt surreal to her.
The many things that were once forbidden to ever think about, the things that she can do over here without considering anyone's comments or obvious glare, without those judgement that she is below every single human inside Arrenquile and so does she have to behave herself.
Now, though she is still cautious about almost everything, at least here she doesn't have to think twice or hide her abilities. And all of that sent a huge relief of the suffocating life she used to have.
However, Raiene is afraid that within a second everything will suddenly crumble and tightly wrap her into something she didn't want to admit. Forcing her to face the reality that she shouldn't leave the Palace in the first place.
That she has made a grave mistake.
But Ruby smiles warmly at her, silently assuring her that everything is under control.
That smile sends an enormous amount of courage into her veins, pumping her heart and creating a beautiful smile on Raiene's face. She turns around and rushes into the forest without a single doubt in her mind.
Ruby sighs. It is time after all.
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"The King has received the news. He is furious at the moment," a slender maid informs the Queen, chin lowered down to her chest with eyes glued to the marble floor. Showing absolute submission.
Queen Asla glances outside, feeling the warm sunlight that passes through the closed windows softly humming a soft tune before dismissing her with a wave of her hand. As the maid leaves the room her eyes turn cold and a smile crept on her lips, taking over facial features.
Queen Asla's eldest daughter smiled alongside her. Princess Mirya had been the one that received the juicy news, a certain lovesick merchant son had followed her every single day, he had always informed her news about Raiene whereabouts and what kind of absurd thing she had done.
Princess Mirya never thought this boy would turn useful in the end.
Asla Murdi is the current Queen of Arrenquile. House of Murdi had long been a part of the Royal Family and a founding member of Arrenquile, royal blood flowed through her body. She has the certain authority as the Queen, known through the entire Kingdom of Arrenquile.
However, everyone knows that Estalle Yurille is the favoured one among the King's women, she received the King's attention despite only meeting once. Not only that, The King even had the audacity to mumble her name while sleeping beside her.
Hatred couldn't describe the feeling Queen Asla felt for years since that time The King allowed Estalle into the palace.
Truly, fortune always side with the true one.
Who would have known that the child Estalle conceived was cursed?
Not to mention that child was able to live through that curse, resulting in everyone's fear and causing her to receive resentment and contempt by everyone within the Kingdom.
It was The King's decision not to disclose the reason why she isn't normal, he wants to protect that child by making her clueless, no one even dares to stay close with that child. The Officials then had decided that the child shouldn't receive any title, at that time The King could only agree to the unanimous decision.
But since then, she was labelled as cursed.
Queen Asla had been waiting for this time, the time when she could finally banish Estalle from the Palace. With this child receiving punishment for her unthinkable action, Estalle will surely step ahead and choose to be punished in her stead. A few lashes would be the lightest punishment, but a few could be deadly with the state that Estalle had to go through at the moment.
Death was a possible end.
Asla takes a few sips of her tea, taking a time tasting the strong and sweet taste of the refined tea.
Her smile gradually turns wide as she takes her eyes off from the cup and chooses to take in the scenery beyond the window, slowly imagining fear taking over everyone and turning into madness.
That's what everyone inside the Arrenquile felt. If they know that the cursed one has stepped out across the sea and returned. There would be chaos and an uproar. The child will have to leave the Palace, perhaps even leave Arrenquile.
Asla thinks to herself. What a sweet tea.
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Alin takes a deep breath, eyes turning into slits in concentration. Her heart raced within seconds, as her surroundings turned quieter as time went by. With a single shot of the arrow, the crow fell to the ground, flapping its wings for a while before the movement ceased into nothing.
Her expression is still cold and indifferent, she takes a few steps towards the crow and putting its body into a bag that she had prepared beforehand.
Growing up, Alin never considered anything valuable in life. Nurtured since childhood to obey others and tortured every single time even when she didn't make a single mistake, caused her to become ignorant towards all living things.
Her heart has long wrapped with a thick frozen ice, not allowing a single warmth to melt her heart. However, ever since Ruby purchased her, treated her as an equal and communicated with her like normal living beings, she could slowly accept someone. Slow and it truly needs time.
Ruby is someone she considered as her saviour, the only light that she holds precious within her mind. Although Ruby treats her as a family, Alin never dares to consider her more than a master she should serve. The word family is foreign to her ears and she couldn't exactly treat her as a family.
However, deep down Alin secretly holds Ruby dearly, like a mother that she never had. She can't hide the fact that she is envious of Raiene.
Not that she is aware the feeling surged through her heart is called jealousy.
She can't hide the contempt she felt when the girl Ruby had come along with suddenly appeared right in front of her eyes. Deep sparkling night orbs, smiling with admiration flitting through those pairs of eyes, filled with expectations directed at Alin.
Turns out ignoring her presence isn't going to stop the girl from approaching her, Alin grit her teeth and turn around to leave. Her steps falters when she sense that Raiene has started to follow along, hands slowly clenched tight into fist.
She took a deep breath to calm her mind. She didn't want to kill this girl whatsoever.
Raiene on the other hand became confused, Ruby had mentioned that she had particularly asked Alin to teach her archery for hunting.
So she thought that her reaction was a bit odd.
Did I do something wrong?
Alin turns around, eyes the colour of frozen ice, cold and frosty. Raiene takes a startled step back, feeling the wrath that flitted through Alin pupils. Gulping a few times, she turned her head down, staring at the white soil of Two Mountains contrasted with the light green grass surrounds the entire ground.
Raiene still couldn't adjust with the peculiar phenomenon, each step she took reminded her of the sandy beach near Arrenquile, though it wasn't as fragile as sand, the bright colour still managed to light up the dense forest even when the sun isn't up high in the sky yet.
"You better stay away from me."
