Chapter 173

Princess Isis trudged her way through the mountainside. After abandoning her horse she made her way towards the temple. Doing her best to avoid getting swept up in the battle between her father's knights and the temple.

Wearing a temple cloak she borrowed from a corpse outside the wall. She got closer to the temple wall carefully from the battlefield. Slipping her way inside the temple grounds with the cloak's hood pulled down. The temple accepted all races so her race was not a problem. It was her identity that would bring her trouble after sneaking inside.

Moving about the temple grounds she paid close attention to her surroundings. Trying not to be noticed while at the same time looking for that familiar being.

Thump! Thump!

He was there in front of her but she could not call out to him. Someone else was with him so she slipped quickly into an empty room and closed the door. Leaving only a crack open to listen outside.

Am I crazy? She sighed to herself. Her ear twitching as she understood how dangerous it was to sneak into the temple.

"Rest well, sir!" Mai's voice called out to Vorbuk as he left.

Making his way along the side of the temple his footsteps grew closer. Followed by a long pause of silence when they neared the room.

"What are you doing here? Don't you realize how dangerous this move is for you princess?" Vorbuk's voice was cold and low as a whisper from outside the door. He was speaking with caution so that others would not hear him talking to her.

"Are you angry with me?" Isis asked as she could sense the cold tone in his voice. Honestly she could understand why he would be angry with her. It was her father who did such reckless things and attacked the temple under Chynir's order.

"What-?" Vorbuk sounded stunned for a moment.

Crrrreaakk! Slam!

The door was quickly opened and shut with Vorbuk inside the room. Everything remained dark as neither of them turned on the lights. They did not want others outside to become aware of them inside so they could only glance at each other amidst the darkness. Vorbuk's eyes were complicated as he gazed at her.

"Are you really asking if I'm angry with you?" Vorbuk's voice was cold and his expression didn't change.

"I'm sorry." Princess Isis did not know what to say at the moment. The only thing she could do was apologize for upsetting him.

"Do you even understand why I would be angry in the first place?" Vorbuk brushed his palm against his forehead feeling tired from this situation.

"What do you mean?" She asked him as she stood there against the wall.

Walking over to her Vorbuk's fist slammed against the wall beside her head. His body leaning in close to hers as their eyes met. She gave off a sweet and gentle scent like flowers in spring. It was a comforting scent that could easily relax someone.

"Princess, you could have died if someone had caught you on the way inside. I am angry because you did something stupid!" Vorbuk scolded.

He wanted her to understand that what she had done could have ended very badly for her. It was not comfortable for him to know she could be so reckless with her life. Though if she wasn't reckless he would have never met her the way they had. He did not hate that part about her. In fact he loved that side of her. The fact that he worried about her was what caused him to feel annoyed with what she'd done.

"I did not know who else I could go to right now.. Father left to fight you guys at the temple.. and everyone in the palace had me under heavy watch.. I couldn't stand to sit there and wait.." Princess Isis was trembling as she tried to explain. There was nobody she was close to in the palace. She had never been treated as anything more then a mere doll to those who worked for her father. If the palace had been a warm place for her she would never have left it to begin with.

"Alright," Vorbuk used his free hand to pull her in against his chest. He could feel her body trembling against him.

It was not something that he had not expected. Before he came to Theapan he knew the fight against her father would cause emotional pain for Isis. No matter how distant a child is they will always be affected by the fate of their parent. The same could be said for it in reverse as well. That was why he had parted ways with her so easily.

"I suppose you had some other reason you came here?" Vorbuk asked if there was something further to her visit casually.

"Oh," Isis tilted her head up to look at Vorbuk. Her face flushing from how close they were. It felt embarrassing to be in such a stance with Vorbuk but she did not want to embarrass herself by pulling away either so she simply endured her current situation. "The god, Chynir, he was at the palace when I left. He seems to be injured. Its not a bloody type of wound but like some kind of internal damage. You should still be careful."

They were both aware that the princess was making up a reason for being there. She clearly had no other reason to come except to see Vorbuk because she wanted some form of comfort. Since she could not find comfort in her own family she could only reach out to the person she wanted to see most in her emotional state.

Vorbuk did not find her words entirely useless even if she was just using them as an excuse. Any information he could gather on Chynir was useful to him. It was always best to stay alert of everything that happened as much as possible.

"You shouldn't be so reckless next time." Vorbuk sighed heavily.

"Yes! I will be careful in the future." Princess Isis blushed deeply and looked downward.

The problem was that he was not sure where she would be sleeping. To announce suddenly that the princess had gotten inside the temple could backfire. If he was going to hide her it had to be somewhere others would not check so easily.

"We should leave this room." Vorbuk said as he thought about what to do.

"If we go outside I could be noticed by the others easily. I am the princess of Theapan and this is Theapan's Temple. It would be hard to not be recognized here." Princess Isis knew that clearly. That was why she kept her hood on even inside the room with Vorbuk.

"We can't stand around here forever someone will find us eventually." Vorbuk said to her while grasping her hand and leading her outside.

"Where are we going?" She whispered to him while pulling the hood down over her head so nobody would recognize her.

"Just follow me." Vorbuk repeated quietly. "Unless you intend to sleep outside where others can easily find you?"

"Hmph!" Princess Isis lowered her gaze to the ground and followed him. Her hand held firmly in his.