Stelan sat quietly beside the great, black mare; awaiting the return of the knights and squires. Morgan watched as the young prince tore patches of grass out from the ground and ripped the green stems into tiny bits.
"Stelan," She said gently, her velvet nose brushing the side of his face. ''Are you alright? You've been awfully quiet."
"Yeah," He muttered as added the green bits to the little hill he made out of all the grass he ripped up. "I'm fine." The mare wanted persist further, but she felt it would only upset the boy further if she did so.
"Morgan?" He asked softly, his voice shaky and cracking.
"Yes, dear?" the mare replied, only to be responded with the child clinging to her snout. Tears trickling down his cheek and splashing onto her own black muzzle.
"I don't want to be an only child!" He blubbered through his weeping. "I want Aslan here. I want my brother!"
"Shh," the mare said calmly. She had a good hunch that was why he was so quiet. He feared for his older brother. Just as she feared for him too. "Stelan, when I saw your brother last he was perfectly fine."
"How do you know? You didn't even see the knights go into battle. What if Dark got him? " Stelan said, trying to rub his ceaseless tears away.
"Have faith in your brother, Stelan," the mare neighed. "Nothing was ever accomplished by doubt."
A distant sound of horse's whinnies and brays came from the forest. Stelan's felt his heart pounding hard against his rib cage. The knights were back!
"Aslan!" The young prince cried happily, running towards the edge of the forest.
He stood in the middle of the path of the troops. Bobbing up and down on the balls of his feet in eagerness. He saw Lilly, Bailiff, and Sir Gilsdorf all at the front of the line. The squires could not be too far away!
"Lilly! Bailiff!" The child greeted, running up to the hound and maiden, giving both of them a hug. "Where is Aslan? Is he hurt? Where's the Stag?'' The young prince's eyes scanned all the tired and sweaty faces of the knights. Not one of the faces he saw matched that of his brother, or any of the other squires. Doubt raced back into his thoughts. He pictured his brother chained up, Dark standing over him. An evil cackle coming from the cloaked figure as Prince Aslan screamed in pain. There was so much that could happen to his sibling that he would maybe never know about.
Tears welled his jade eyes as he asked Bailiff and Lilly the question again. "Where's Aslan?"
Lilly looked to Bailiff for an answer. The hound's wrinkly face looked uneasy. Their plan's chance at succeeding was starting to dwindle. It fell short once Sir Gilsdorf's voice chimed into the conversation.
"Yes, Bailiff, where are my squires?"
The dog knew he was in trouble. It was his job to bring the squires back to camp. His job to make sure the four of them were safe.
"Erm," the hound stammered, looking back and forth from the brink-of-crying prince to the raised-eyebrowed Sir Gilsdorf. "They-uh-well..."
"They're not here," the prince muttered, his eyes wide in a horrified understanding. Tears now overflowing out his eyes and down his cheeks. "You don't know where they are. You lost my brother you stupid dog!"
The hound lowered his head in shame. "I truly am a stupid dog." He whimpered to himself. Lilly comfortingly scratched one of Bailiff's floppy ears "It was my idea for them to leave. It's just as much my fault." She said softly, though the hound didn't feel any better with her saying that.
Prince Stelan turned around and went running back to camp.
"Stelan! Wait!" The maiden called, going after the young boy. She followed him all the way back to the wagons. He was hiding inside the wagon that just so happened to be crying as well.
"Please, Stelan, come out." She pleaded.
"Go away!"
"Oh, you all finally came back!" Morgan sighed contently, trotting up to the gardener's daughter. "I was terrified the battle would continue through the night. Where are the boys, Lilly? None of them are hurt are they?"
The maiden's eyes were upset, and the black mare could see it. "Don't tell me they're-!"
"No, we-we just don't know where they are." She replied hastily.
The horse was lost for words, her mouth was open in distraught. Just as Stelan, she was probably picturing all the horrible things that could have happened to them.
The troop finally made their way out of the forest and into the camp, Sir Gilsdorf came up to the maiden and the dumbstruck mare.
"Lilly, many of my men are wounded. I need you to tend to their wounds. Morgan, you can come with Bailiff and me. We will try and find the squires."
Without any hesitation, Morgan followed the knight back into the dense woods.
After a long, persuading argument, Lilly had finally gotten Stelan out of the wagon and took him with her to help deal with the injured soldiers.
The small search party returned just as the sun began to set. Defeat and anxiety was creased in all of their faces. They found no sign of the squires. Both Sir Gilsdorf and Morgan were silent coming back to camp and refused to answer any questions having to do with the whereabouts of the missing boys. Poor Bailiff was in tears when he stepped foot back in the camp. The feeling that this was all his fault was nagging away at him. Lilly offered the dog to stay in the tent she was working in, but the hound declined the offer and found rest underneath the shadow of the wagons. Far from anyone who would blame him further for what he already knew was his fault.
The gardener's daughter had looked, tended, and healed all knights that claimed themselves wounded. Fortunately, few were severely injured. All of them would survive the night.
However, the idea that her four friends would make it to morning diminished every hour they hadn't returned. When the moon finally came out, she was found sitting under the shade of a tree on a hill. The same place she was just the other night. She could still feel the warmth of the Prince's body next to hers, even now, when she had not the slightest idea where he was. She could still remember the tune of the song he was singing. Quietly, she hummed it to herself, trying to make the loneliness she felt right now less obvious.
Her green eyes blinked toward the moon for a moment. "Oh moon," she mumbled quietly. "Your eyes can see everything that is so far below you. You brighten even the darkest places in this world. Please, as part of creation, as part of the Nameless Emperor, shine down on this place, the darkest of dark spots. Bring them back."
She felt slightly embarrassed saying her prayer out loud like so, but she was desperate. She wanted nothing more than to see Charon's icy eyes, Xavier's curly, brown hair, Tomas' naturally timid face and Aslan's soft, gentle smile. Not one thing in the world could make her happy, not until she saw them again.
Her hopeless eyes blinked forward. The small field of grass ahead of her was colored blue in the moon's light. Except for one little patch near a cluster of trees, which was bleached white.
"What is that?" She muttered to herself, standing up and squinting her eyes to get a better look. The white patch of grass appeared to be moving toward her way. As it got closer, she could see a tall, pointed rack of antlers and three figures standing on each side of the white blur.
The joy ran rampant in her veins. Her mouth stretched, revealing an overjoyed smile.
The squires came back.
The sudden urge to run came upon her, and she obeyed it. Sprinting towards the boys, she screamed as loud as she possibly could.
"Aslan! Charon! Tomas! Xavier!"
"Lilly?" was the unison response.
The girl flung herself on each of the squires, all of them responding back by embracing her as well. Only after she hugged the three did she realize the fourth was missing. Her nervous, green eyes blinked to the other boys.
"Where's-?" The question was answered when she saw Prince Aslan propping himself against the white beast. His arm weakly hanging over the Stag's large neck. He looked as if he hadn't had rest for days. His eyes were half-way shut and his teeth were clenched in some sort of agonizing pain. Lilly was extremely concerned about the Prince's state. Last she left him his only injury was the cut on his arm. Surely, that was not the cause of this.
"What happened to you?" She asked as she looked over him for any other open wounds.
"He can't remember," Tomas responded. "When we found the Stag a group of Dark Magicians spotted us. One of them knocked him unconscious. We got him to stir but he could barely stand on his two feet."
"So what, the spell hasn't worn off yet?" Lilly asked the trio of squires.
"It's not only that." Charon added in.
"Well, what is it?" Lilly asked impatiently. She didn't understand why none of them could give her a straight answer of why he was in this state.
"The chain around his neck," Charon went on. "I think when the spell was cast the charm was reversed. Instead of protecting him..."
"It's harming him!" Lilly gasped, finishing the squire's sentence. Quickly, she pulled back the collar of the Prince's tunic and pulled out the gold chain which was believed to be the source of his pain.
"Is this what is hurting you?" She asked Aslan. His head nodded violently as he managed to choke out the words. "Get it off me!"
Lilly pulled the necklace over the his head, and in seconds, the color came back to his face. His eyes blinked away the exhaustion and pain. Though he was still covered in blood and sweat, he looked much better than he did before.
"Thank you," He panted resting his head against the Stag's white, furry neck.
"We should make for camp. Based on how Lilly greeted us, Sir Gilsdorf must be close to ripping his hair out." Xavier suggested to the other two boys.
"Shouldn't we wait for them?" Tomas mentioned, referring to the Prince and Lilly.
Xavier and Charon looked at each other and back to Tomas. "Tomas, do you really not know?" Charon asked, wondering how stupid the squire was.
"Know what?"
"Just forget about them and follow us. They'll make their way over eventually." Xavier sighed with annoyance. And with that, the trio walked off leaving the two and the Stag behind.
"We've been worried sick for all of you." She murmured to Aslan. He caught the mix of anxiety and relief in her eyes. A small smile bent the corner of his lips.
"We're here now." He remarked, pulling his arm from over the Stag.
"Your arm!" She exclaimed. The cut somehow turned into a gash, swollen and bruised to the point where it was even hard for her, the one who had spent most of the afternoon looking after bleeding men, to look at.
"It's just a scratch." He claimed, implying her reaction to it was over exaggerated. This was one of the many things Lillian Anna Swanwhite hated about boys. They never admit that their injuries are serious, even when they are looking at a maiden who has a specialty in medicine straight in the eye.
"Scratch or not," She stated, her eyes flashing with a hint of irritation for the Prince's lack of care for the wound. "This could be infected. I want to have a look at it when we get to camp. Can you even move it?"
The Prince bit his lip. He knew better than to tell her he could. She understood the opposite sex's language better than any other girl he had met. It was better for him to tell her directly than to have her think he was too cowardly to admit that he was unable to bend his arm.
"No..." was the final, reluctant response.
"Come on," She said grabbing the Stag by the reins. "There's a little boy back at camp who wishes to see you."
The two of them, along with the white beast, caught up with the three squires and all six of them entered camp. Morgan was the first to spot them.
"Oh Nameless Emperor! They're back! They're back!" She brayed ecstatically. Her screams woke up the entire encampment. Bailiff came running up and greeted each squire with a slobbered-drenched tongue. The knights also expressed their joys of the squires return. Only theirs were more reserved and masculine.
"Aslan!" There came running up the jade-eyed child, arms outstretched and crying with joy.
The Prince got down on one knee and braced for impact. The boy practically choked him from how tight his scrawny, little arms clasped to Aslan's neck. Stelan's head attempted to bury itself in the shiny breastplate. Tears streamed down the armor like a river.
"I thought Dark got you! And I was gonna be an only child and I was gonna have to go back home and tell mama and papa that you died and-." the rest of his sentence was muddled by crying.
"Everything's fine now, Stel, alright?" Prince Aslan murmured kindly, wiping some of the tears off his brother's cheek. "I'm sorry I frightened you like this. I didn't mean for things to plan out this way."
"It's okay." The younger prince sniffled, helping his brother wipe away the tears. "I'm glad you're back."
"I am too," came the gentle whinny of Morgan. Her velvet black nose nuzzling the Prince's face. "You attempt something like that again and I will welcome you with a horseshoe to the face." She said sternly, though the joke was prominent when she added softly; "You stupid prince."
"I will keep that in mind." Aslan said with a smile.
After all those who came out to greet the missing squires, Charon, Aslan, Xavier, and Tomas were requested to tell the tale of what happened to them. The Prince turned down the offer, for specific and obvious circumstances. The other three were left to recount events from earlier that day. Aslan ceased the opportunity to have Lilly take care of the wound she was so worried about.
He made his way to the tent, opening one of the cloth flaps to reveal a room filled with herbs and medicine concoctions.
"Lilly?" He called, slowly stepping into the tent.
"There you are!" She said with a sigh. The maiden told him to sit on a small table, while she took a look at the wound.
"Does this hurt?" She asked, gently squeezing the lower part of his bicep.
"No," He replied. Then she squeezed closer to the gash, and he hissed in pain.
"Well, you didn't break a bone. You just bruised it pretty badly. I'll clean it up and see what I can do." She left for a moment to grab a towel and a bowl filled with water. When she returned, she assisted the Prince in taking off his armor. Once she carefully pulled the white under shirt over his head was his bare chest revealed.
Some time ago she followed the same procedure, when Aslan had gotten scratched up the first day they got here. However, that day she was wearing a helmet, which concealed her facial features. Right now, at this moment, she could feel her cheeks burning as if she had a fever. The smile on the Prince's lips told her that her face was probably turning red.
As one would expect, he was very well built. There was no sign of any thin, flimsy muscle anywhere. It was an upper body any man could wish for, or for any woman to see for that matter.
"Are you alright, 'Lil?" the Prince finally asked.
"Sorry,'' She said embarrassedly, sitting down beside him. "My mind trailed off for a moment."
"Mhm," was the curt response. He may have been a bit dazed, but Prince Aslan was no idiot.
Though the cleaning process was painful, the cut looked less messy than it originally did, but that didn't make it look less disgusting. The blues, purples, blacks even some nasty color of green surrounded the red gash, which was now clotting and was hardly trickling out any blood.
Lilly went off to a part of the tent and pulled out a jar of some sort of clear liquid, along with a roll of cloth.
"This should stop the swelling and help loosen the muscle." She explained as she dipped her fingers into the clear liquid and rubbed it on and around the cut. She then took the cloth and bound the injury up.
"That should do." She said after tying the knot.
"Thank you...again." Aslan remarked, slightly bending his arm, now that the ointment she had put on allowed him to do so.
"You're welcome...again" the maiden replied with a laugh as she put the supplies back in a bag. "I just can't believe that that was my first battle ever and I didn't even get so much as a scratch. But somehow you managed to do that to your arm and you have seen more fights than me."
"You fought well today," was the Prince's reply. "You have a natural talent in archery."
A strange looking smile came upon Lilly's face. "I could tell you were pleased."
"What?"
"I saw how you were staring when I was trying to hold off the Dark Magicians."
The Prince's cheeks tinted pink. "I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Oh, I think you do," She laughed, determined to make him say it. Even if she had gag the words out of him.
The Prince noticed then how close her face was to his. Her unblinking, forest green eyes beamed in the soft candle light. He could feel her finger tracing the Deep Mark on his breast. He didn't protest her advances, in fact, he took a hidden pleasure in them.
"Lillian Anna Swanwhite, are you seducing the Prince?" He stated jokingly.
"It's only seduction when the other does not approve of it." She replied. His hand ran through her curls. The aroma of lilies tickled his nose. It was her scent. No other person he had ever met had such a distinct, sweet smell as his Swanwhite.
"Then I guess that changes things, doesn't it?" the Prince murmured as their foreheads met.
As their eyes closed, both their lips slowly inched forward. He could feel her breath rush down his throat. For the longest while he wished just to feel the softness and warmth of those beautiful lips pressed against his own. He was only centimeters away from having that wish granted.
"Aslan?" The voice broke the silence so abruptly, it caused the two to snap their heads around to see who so untimely interrupted them. It was Tomas, who looked as if he was going to faint from shock. His jaw was dropped and his eyes were wide in dismay. It could not be denied, what he saw in front of him could raise one's eyebrow. The Prince, heir to the throne of the highest authority next to the Nameless Emperor was shirtless, about to passionately kiss a peasant, a servant, a gardener, an absolute nobody. It was a paradox that a given many would find improper; except for the two creating the paradox, of course.
"Um-uh-S-S-Sir Gilsdorf wants to see us. So-erm-yeah come to his tent when you have the chance." The squire shut the flap as fast as he could and ran off to find Charon and Xavier. I think it was safe to say that he understood now what the other two squires were talking about earlier in the meadow.
Once Tomas disappeared, the Prince turned back to Lilly. The humiliation was profound in her eyes. Her hands that were so gently caressing his shoulders before, now slowly made their way back to her side.
"You should get to Sir Gilsdorf." She muttered, getting up from where she was seated.
"Lilly," The Prince pleaded. She wasn't afraid of him now, was she?
"Here," the maiden said as she handed him his white undershirt and put his necklace back around his neck. The whole time her face was low, avoiding direct eye-contact with him.
"'Lil," He murmured again, this time raising her head up to his own. The two communicated between one another with just their eyes. A skill they excelled at.
Why are you ashamed to admit it?
I'm not. I'm ashamed of the others.
We don't have to worry about them.
Yes we do Aslan! Don't try to deny something that is true.
"I'm going to bed," She said aloud turning from him and heading toward the tent's entrance. "Goodnight, my Prince."
Aslan said nothing in response, but only watched her leave. Defeat distorted his face. There was no one else he wanted. No other woman would appease him. He was proud to admit it. He had fallen in love with a servant. Now, it was Lilly's turn. But, would she ever give in to him? Would she ever confess it? The Prince was starting to wonder if what he was chasing after, really was ever there to begin with.
Within a few minutes, Prince Aslan met up with his fellow squires, who were all standing outside Sir Gilsdorf's tent. Judging by how closely together they stood and how quiet their voices were, the Prince guessed that Tomas was telling them what he saw in the tent.
"Aslan," Charon called out loud, causing the other two to fall silent and stare as the Prince walked toward them.
"You don't have to dumb up," He muttered. "I know what you were talking about."
"Boys!" came Sir Gilsdorf's raspy tone as he stepped out of the tent. The four boys all stood side by side, silent, waiting for what their teacher had to say to them. The knight paced back and forth, scanning each and every squire's face.
"I will tell you this now," He began gravely. "I've never seen a more (saying this he looked to Charon) cocky, (saying this he turned to Xavier) impatient, (saying this he looked to Tomas) inconsiderate, (and saying this he turned to the Prince) stubborn group of squires. I would raise you four, that if I trained a group of babies, they would behave better than you all have over these six years. I would teach you something and you would never learn from it. Not until you were injured making the mistake. Rarely did you ever obey my rules. You only paid attention to what you thought was right! Not what was best or safer to do. Even today, you disobey my orders so you could go find the white beast! Do you have any idea of what I felt when you four were missing? Well, do you?"
The squires blinked to one another, unsure if they should respond or not. Sir Gilsdorf's cold eyes scanned the squires. None of them dared open their mouths. Then, a noise was heard. The four boys were told that the sound was a myth, that no one has ever heard it before. Laughter. Sir Gilsdorf's rare laughter. Seldom heard by any knight or squire prior to them. "I felt I had lost the best group of knights I would ever have! My squires, my men! Despite what you lack, you gain in strategy, intelligence, and courage. Those are deficient in many a men. The four of you understand what you are fighting for, and why you are. I am proud of you four young men. Come, kneel before me."
Each squire did as told, all of them letting out a breathe of relief and anticipation. Finally, they had won their spurs. Sir Gilsdorf knighted the four of them there that evening. The squires went to bed as knights. No greater feeling overcame that.
The next morning, the camp was being taken down. The White Stag was caught, and the squires had now become knights. It was time return home. The journey back to Mohthelieum was easy and much more pleasurable that the previous ride from the island. Upon returning to the castle, the newly dubbed knights told the Emperor about the battle at the deceased Prince Demitron's castle, and the Stag was put to its use by granting the wishes of its captors.
The days, the months, after this journey were quiet, news of Dark was rare. The squires now had more time to themselves, now that they no longer were being trained. Which, depending how you looked at it, was either a good or bad thing. You know what people say about newly christened knights: They become cocky, impatient, inconsiderate, and stubborn. Luckily, for Sir Charon, Sir Xavier, Sir Tomas, and Sir Aslan this was not a difficult saying to live up to. After all, they were the ones who set the standards in the first place.
A/N: Oh wow! Very long chapter here! The next chapter shall begin Part 3 (which may be one of my favorite parts in probably this whole book, I got a lot of fun ideas planned!) Ok, so for the ref...I had to fix some things, so it's more likely by NEXT chapter I will have it posted. :) Sorry if I just downgraded your excitement, but by being a drawer, I am an extreme perfectionist of my work.
Tell me what you thought of the chapter, guys!