Chapter 13

"What do we do now?" Ron asked his uncle looking around the mess.

"The Duke is sending his forces, we sent a message, we'll wait for them, there might be danger ahead so we'll go along with them, till then we'll bury those who we can, give them a proper burial and they better not attract more predators," said his uncle.

"Yeah, I'll help," said Ron.

"No you look after the girl, she probably lost all her family today, and since you saved her she will trust you," said his uncle.

Fiona was sitting in their cart her head in her arms quietly sobbing.

Ron had no idea what to do, but he approached the cart's back and stood beside her.

"Do you have family nearby?" he asked.

She raised her head to look at him but didn't say anything.

Ron then remembered Ash's letter, and a bad feeling spread through him when he realized his family might have been among the victims.

"Did you know the Blakes?" he asked the girl.

She looked at him confused.

"How do you know the Blakes?" she asked.

"I have a letter for them, from Ash" As soon as he said Ash's name the girl sat straight.

"You know Ash? Where is he?" she asked immediately.

"I can't tell you that, do you know him?" he asked.

"Of course I know him, I am his older sister" she shouted.

"You are Fiona!" he exclaimed, now that he focused he could see the resemblance.

He pulled out the letter at once and handed it to her which she opened in an instant.

"We met at the North Tower, that's where I work, he is not there right now, he had to travel somewhere, he gave the letter to me when I said I was coming here," he said while she poured over the letter, fresh tears emerged as she read her brother's words meant for her dad and mom.

"I am sorry," Ron said once again and left leaving her alone with the letter.

Fiona read the letter at least a dozen times, it was so obvious it was written by Ash, it was like he was right there. He was the only family left to her, then a bad feeling came in her mind, he had gone to a dangerous place, no matter what, being a warrior was a dangerous life, and she couldn't afford to lose anymore, she needed to see him. She will force him to come back to her. She got out of the car and went to Ron who was helping the injured people nearby.

"I want to see Ash," she said to him.

"Well of course, he would kill me if he found out I left you alone after all this, but you'll have to wait, we are going south right now, and anyways Ash isn't at the tower right now," he said.

"No, I can't wait, I need to see him as soon as possible," she said.

"You don't understand, don't tell this to anyone," he said whispering "But he is not in the kingdom, he is on a mission, not a dangerous one," he said seeing the expression of worry on her face.

"Then I'll wait for him at this tower you were talking about, I can stay where he is staying," she said.

"Well yeah, you can stay in his room, so there shouldn't be a problem, I don't know what Sir Derek, would say though, but still you can't go there alone," he said.

"Then come with me," she said.

"What? It's not an easy journey, there are all kinds of things living in the forests on the way," said Ron warningly.

"Can't be worse than the Urks and we managed them fine," she said. 

Ron would have refused anyone else, but either because he was feeling brave after killing two Urks the likes of which the guys at the tower used to boast of killing, or because it was Fiona who was asking, her determined expression was too hard to refuse.

"Let me go talk to my uncle," he said. 

Ash woke with a pleasant feeling in his heart, the last dying embers of last night's fire were sizzling. Aria was curled in a leafy makeshift blanket that she had brought with her. He remembered with a fondness the last night. After taking the magical fruit Ash had gone back to his normal self and even better than before. Then he had with a newfound courage, taken Aria's hands and pulled her towards him. Their lips met with an explosion of emotion. Ash felt like he was biting on another soft and juicy fruit. He was over the cloud, he touched his lips trying to remember the feeling when her tongue went over them. His senses had sharpened taking in everything about her, the sweet smell and the soft curves. But then Aria moved back, she was having the same effect as him, but it was also her first time, and she wanted to slow down. He tamed the beast that was trying to burst out of his body and went to sleep. The next morning the clouds were dark. The weather had turned in one day. 

"How did you sleep, haven't strained your back I hope sleeping on the ground," said Aria who had stood up without him hearing anything.

"I am fine, better than fine, I have camped among the trees plenty of times with my brother and father," he said. 

"Good, let's get going then, we aren't too far now, once we reach a settlement, we can take a trolodyte," said Aria.

"What's a trolodyte?" asked Ash.

"They are domestic animals, we use them like horses, much faster than them, but not very useful in fighting, not very sturdy, so we only use them for fast travel in between the cities," she said.

Derek was right, the elves were pretty different, it was like entering a different world, and they don't share their secrets easily. 

"Can't you use your wind magic to get us through the last stretch?" he asked remembering the warm feeling that had covered his legs.

"I am using it, only on myself though, if I'll use it on both of us, I'll deplete myself, and we might need it just in case, you are much heavier than myself after all,' she said.

Ash couldn't wait to start using magic, and the first thing he would do was figure out a way to travel fast, he was sick of this torture. They walked for hours, the terrain changed, and the trees got taller and much browner. Now it felt like he was in a garden, even though he still was in a forest, the trees were beautiful, and there were no ugly snakes or spiders on the trees, but butterflies and other glowing insects. The other thing he felt was the strange vibration in the air, it was like the air was mixed with some kind of energy. It felt familiar, and as he breathed the air, he felt the spark inside react to it and grow bigger.