Hyun-min eyed doubtfully the canine lying near the fallen log that Lena picked for herself, "Are you sure he won't change his mind and decide to chew us?" He frowned while throwing his torch to the dying campfire. The rest of the men that were as unsure as him swiftly followed his suit, "How do you know they are only half-wild to begin with?"
Ley scratched the wolf behind the ear once again causing him to close his eyes in a bliss, "I know that because we've already met this pack a few months ago," she scowled at the stiff Leones, "Right after Shine ordered his tribesmen to dump the two of us, unconscious, in the snow, that is. The wolves were the first to greet Lucien and me. Though, indeed, at that time they wanted to 'test out' their fangs on us."
"You did what?!" Eric turned to the fidgeting Shine with an arched brow, mutely demanding an answer.
A reasonable one, that is.
The Patriarch frowned in confusion at his son, "Why would you do that to them?"
To Ian's growing amusement the normally cheeky guy, who loved to tease almost everyone around him and was doing it with terrifying ease, actually blushed.
With his cheeks slightly warm and flushed Shine cleared his throat uncomfortably, "You see, as Gideon was paying us a brief visit… he somewhat asked me to do him a favour… He told me where I should leave the two of them," he shrugged, trying to act as nonchalant as possible under their disbelieving gazes, with the exception of Lena, whose mouth was curved in a satisfied grin at his rapidly growing discomfort, "There weren't any wolves at that time!" he tried to justify his actions, as if that was going to help him now.
Michael scowled even more annoyed, "And what was that for, huh? Why would you separate us all? So, not only you drug innocent people, but also dump them in the middle of nowhere? Long way to go to be truly hospitable!" he sneered.
The second in Leone straightened and looked down his nose at the Sevian, "Hospitality implies that you were invited, which in fact you weren't to begin with. And regarding what that was for, you'll have to ask the prophet himself, I merely did him a favour," he shrugged casually and raised his chin defiantly.
"Why is it the first time I'm hearing about this?" the Patriarch braced his hands on his hips demandingly.
"Father, it was you who entrusted the border matters to me, stating that you didn't want to have anything to do with foreigners EVER again…" Shine swiftly pointed out, folding his arms defensively.
As an embarrassment flashed over the older man's face, Michael noted that even in his flustered state the teasing bastard had his head screwed on straight, and knew how to wiggle out of a difficult situation.
Dang it…
"Oh sit already! My neck hurts because of the constant craning! Leaving that aside," Lena benevolently decided to save the Leone from the further interrogation since, anyway, it was a waste of time, not to mention, that sure as hell, she didn't want to 'unveil' this particular matchmaking scheme of Gideon, "We managed to chase the wolves away. Later on we encountered a strange village, where the locals had a nasty habit of poisoning their guests and robbing them after they died. When I was doing a little reconnaissance I met the same pack herded in a secluded place, their master supposedly teaching them a lesson because they didn't kill any wanderer that day. A funny thing that place was… to think that they trained the wolves to attack travellers to get the loot without needing to face danger head on. Quite a convenient arrangement, don't you think?" she rubbed the wolf's belly affectionately.
"Wait, just wait a bloody moment!" the Korean shut his eyes briefly, put one hand on his waist and raised the other one in the air, praying silently for patience, "Are you telling me that we are currently surrounded by the trained animals, who served their masters by killing the travellers?"
"Well, you are correct in a way…" she cocked her head slightly. "Though, I wouldn't put it like that," she shrugged and resumed the caress.
Hyun-min gaped at her, "Are you serious?!" he snapped, "How can you be petting him so casually, if he has already tasted human blood, huh?! Are you nuts?!"
"Stop fretting! If not for these guys I would have never been able to drag the king, who at the time was barfing every few seconds, safely from the town all on my own!"
"I certainly did not– " offended Lucien started to protest in vain, as nobody listened to him too shocked by the woman's revelation.
"Barfing?" Shine's lips curved in a crooked smile.
"That was an accident! And I certainly did not throw up so frequently, as you say!" his only answer was a minuscule shrug and a slightly quirked corner of Lena's lips. "We went to an inn, ordered some food and place to sleep… How were we supposed to know they'd try to poison us? It wasn't my fault that– " the young king grumbled defensively, but Ley only snorted divisively.
"Oh really? Apart from the guy we met on our way there, we were the only visitors in their town. Didn't it ring a warning bell? Seriously? An inn without any guests so close to the border? And who asked you to eagerly drink whatever they put in front of you? One set of huge boobs and you readily accepted their 'hospitality' without thinking twice," Lena shook her head in disbelief, "Truly, I'll never understand how man's brain can turn into a complete mush whenever a curvy female is rubbing eagerly over him…"
"I did not–!"
"C'mon!" Ley smirked, "You could have fooled me with the way your gaze was constantly gravitating to her ample bosom~"
The Tamirian flushed slightly, another strong objection ready on his lips when suddenly he speculatively glanced at Lena and grinned, "You were watching me? Jealous, perhaps?" he switched the tactic, despite his better judgement and previous experience currently little clouded by the slightest possibility it may be actually true.
Lena cocked her head in a total puzzlement, looking so honest that other men nearly pitied the young king, "And why would I be? We didn't even know each other very well back then, and it wasn't my business what you do in your free time, or 'who' you sleep with… My only duty was to keep you alive," she shrugged and scratched the wolf once again already losing interest.
Ian petted Lucien's hunched back to comfort him a little. Damn, but that woman knew the most efficient way to hurt man's pride in one blow. And the worst part was that she didn't even seem to be aware of how much damage she caused. Good his Lydia wasn't like that. Perhaps, he should light a candle to thank some saint for it.
Eric didn't know if he should be worried or proud of Lena at the moment. It was good she wasn't easily swayed or infatuated with sweet words, but her 'ignorance' was quite dangerous, "How is that you weren't poisoned?" he tried to change the topic to something more neutral.
"Ah? They offered beer, but I don't drink alcohol…" Ley shrugged, "Besides, the way they were observing us was so unnerving and suspicious that I sneaked out of the tavern to investigate a little. That's when I found out about their little secret."
Hyun-min was more and more unnerved with the way she treated those dangerous animals, "How is that you are so calm around them?" he finally asked, as couldn't hold it down any longer. His modern mind could not accept the scene, incapable to adjust to the concept of a really wild forest filled with many dangerous animals, when their 'rightful' place was behind the bars of a ZOO, preferably, far away from him.
"That's because…" the Tamir king pinched the base of his nose tiredly, "When we were escaping from our 'honourable' hosts, we somehow ended up surrounded and– "
"And whose fault was that, o barfing king? I'm surprised you remember so much, considering your state back then," Lena smiled innocently.
"ANYWAY..!" Lucien growled warningly, "The villagers caught up to us and attacked not wanting the tale of their 'hospitality' to spread and scare away potential victims. Then, unexpectedly the entire pack launched from the shadows at their former masters and created a distraction, thanks to which we were able to sneak out from that melee safely."
"Why the heck did they turn against people who raised them? It's completely illogical…" Ian scratched his neck in puzzlement.
"Err…" it was time for the woman to blush slightly, "I might have accidentally changed the tabs a little…" Lena wondered aloud trying to act nonchalant, "After I saw the guy whipping the animal in a blind rage I… khm… kinda slashed his whip into tiny pieces. He didn't like that at all, not to mention that the supposed 'prey' was snooping around instead of dying docilely in the inn." She shrugged apologetically, "When that guy rushed at me to get rid of this unpleasant complication, he …" she scratched the wolf behind the ear once again, a soft smile playing on her lips, "Killed his master in my defence." She turned her calm eyes to stunned men, "Don't be so shocked, from his perspective I made the pain go away, that was an easy calculation. Me – freedom from pain. The former master – eventual death. But then it occurred to me, that when villagers found the body of the 'wolf-master', they'd probably kill all the animals from fear to be the next, so I released them from their cages," she scowled seeing their disbelieving stares, "What?"
"Child, are you feeling well?" the Patriarch mumbled weakly, "You witnessed the animal bite the hand that was feeding him for years, and even more than that, and you simply released the entire pack?"
"Huh? But I jumped inside the enclosure from the very beginning, the wolf was behind me the entire time and he didn't hurt me– "
"Woman! Do you have a death wish?!" Hyun-min growled at her hotly, the wolves around them long forgotten.
Hearing his angry agitated voice the alpha froze, rolled on his stomach and bared his fangs warningly the ungodly growl immediately picked up by his brethren that have been rather 'docile' this far.
"It looks… like they don't like your tone, Hugh…" Michael observed a little green in the face, doing everything in his might to prevent himself from grabbing his sword, knowing very well that it could be a fatal mistake.
As the men were thinking furiously how to avoid a possible attack and what to do in this complicated situation, Lena tugged at the canine's muzzle and swiftly closed it not-so-gently with her palm, silencing the upcoming growl, "Cut it out!" she waved her finger in a warning.
The scolded animal cocked its head in puzzlement and licked her fingers, the tongue lolling out innocently, as if that was going to fool anyone now.
"That's wrong on so many levels, that I don't even know where I should start!" the Korean muttered seeing how the wolf played a fool, trying to look as harmless as possible once scolded.
Ha! Far too late for that buddy..!
Ian eyed Lena speculatively, "You sure you're not related to Cid?" he chuckled, "The way you behave around them, so naturally, it's something I imagine he could do. If not for his winged messengers, our communication would be even more difficult during the last war if I reckon correctly."
Suddenly they heard a muffled sound of a startled yelp, and a wolf, that was only slightly smaller than the alpha lying before them, raced with his tail between his legs towards Lena's log to hide behind it.
The confused men gaped at the trembling animal. It was actually very young, its proportions slightly disturbed, legs a little too long compared to the rest and one ear even floppy – the remnants of its not so distant puppyhood.
"What the hell?" Shine turned in the direction from where the wolf escaped and suddenly chuckled, "And here I wondered why the horses weren't panicking…" The huge black stallion snorted and resumed chewing his oat not really interested in the canines, who actually kept a healthy distance from all the steeds, far away from the range of the 'devil's' hooves. "Damn, Ley! Even half-wild predators are afraid of your horse," he tried to stifle another sudden attack of merriment, "What the heck Princess Freya has been feeding him, to make him this sinister?"
"Her venomous personality…" Lena muttered under her nose, glancing at the trembling fur ball behind her, though he was far too big to be described like this, "Buddy, what did you try to do with my horse, huh? Don't tell me, you were curious about his food! A fatal error on your part I have to say... He bites, you know?"
"Ley… You are conversing with an animal again, you know? And I don't think you are supposed to explain this to a carnivore…" Michael tried not to follow Leone's steps.
And he wasn't the only one losing the battle.
The men tried to not to make any foolish move, though it was quite a feat considering the fact that the curious animals tried to put their noses almost everywhere, disturbing their job of packing the camp.
Unfortunately, the same caution couldn't be said about Lena, who, to her companions' utter misery, wandered freely among wolves, as if they were eager puppies and not dangerous predators. It turned out the unlucky canine who had a nasty encounter with the woman's steed, was the most curious of them all. He was constantly getting in everyone's way and since he was quite big already, it was hard to not notice or simply by-pass him. Thankfully, he was awfully friendly and while the men had no illusions about alpha's real personality, the silly, almost childish behaviour of that one relaxed them a little bit, if that was even possible in these circumstances.
They consoled themselves with the fact that their uninvited guests had a huge respect for the sable mountain of a horse. It was good to know that there was something unnerving even for those ubiquitous canines.
In the end, they broke the camp in record time, all the while glancing warily at their wild guests. With time, wolves lost interest in humans and looking slightly bored disappeared one by one in the forest until only the alpha and the 'nosy parker' were left. The older wolf rubbed affectionately against Ley's legs and with the last pat followed his pack. When the younger one tried to follow him, he bared his fangs and growled menacingly, causing the youngling to sit on his butt in shock reflexively, one ear flopping yet again. The confused men eyed the bushes where the leader of the pack disappeared and then turned to the 'puppy' who was as stunned as them.
"Good luck in your adulthood, kiddo…" Ley smirked and resumed her packing.
"Why would he leave him behind?" Hyun-min wondered aloud feeling a little bit of pity for the miserable fellow, who clearly didn't know what to do with himself at the moment.
"Because he's almost as big as his father and one pack can't have two alphas, even if one of them is as young and inexperienced as this one," Lena answered a little distractedly while tightening the girth.
"How do you know the pup is a kid of that sinister creature?" Ian knitted his brows as he checked if the campfire died completely.
"He isn't sinister!" she amended with a smirk, "Too sinister … Since this encounter on the border was somewhat unusual, later I asked Cid about wolves. He told me that within a pack only the leading pair – called alphas – can breed. That means only they will have pups. From what I understood, the hierarchy is very important within this kind of group. That's why, back then, once I narrowed down who the leader was, I tried to force him to face me one-on-one. But, of course, you had to interfere..." she pointed her forefinger at frowning Lucien while giving them her lecture.
"The alpha is an ultimate ruler within the pack, every member follows his orders. He decides whenever they should hunt or rest and so on. Once you subdue him, you practically have the entire pack within your grasp. Since I saved him from the whip of his tormentor we formed some kind of bond, and once you befriend an alpha, the entire pack likes you. Cid assumed that the reason why the wolves attacked the villagers, even though they raised them, might be because they started to consider me one of them after I returned them their freedom. For the wolves the villagers were their tormentors, while I became something close to an adopted pack member." She shrugged her shoulder while checking the saddle for the last time, "And nobody messes with their family."
"Are you saying," Michael folded his arms and evaluated her curiously, "That in a way, because of your interference, you became their pack-mate, whom they decided to protect?"
Lena cocked her head as she grabbed her saddlebag, "Huh? That may be… At least Cid thought it was something like that."
"Why they came here?" the Patriarch muttered, a little unnerved by the entire conversation, or more precisely, by the nonchalant if not reckless actions of the young woman.
"To pay a 'family visit'?" a faint amused smile played on her lips at their disbelieving expressions, "I suppose they recognized Lucien's and my scents. Once I saw the alpha, I knew we don't have to worry. It's not like they would eat us after they went through all that trouble of saving our skin from the townspeople months ago."
"You could've said it from the very beginning!" Hyun-min muttered under his nose tartly.
"Oh? But I said there was nothing to worry…"
"But you didn't explain your reasoning," Michael pointed out while pinching the base of his nose, "True, King Lucien could remember the incident, but what about the rest of us? You could tell us from the very beginning about that talk with Cid. Perhaps then we wouldn't glance over our shoulders constantly in fear that the animals would change their mind," he chided her only half-jokingly.
"That doesn't explain why the pack left the pup here…" Eric observed while scratching the wolf to cheer him up, slowly crouching next to him.
"He is big enough to start his own pack. He is supposed to find his mate and form another group," Lena shrugged.
"Poor guy… He doesn't look mature enough for that task. He seems lost and lonely," the Aran king murmured with a sudden worry. He was wary of the old alpha, but who would be afraid of a lanky young canine with a flopped ear at that? If not for his stature and size, he seemed almost like any other dog. No, a puppy...
"Huh? And Sean doesn't look or behave like a prince, and yet he's a real one," Ley pointed out, "That's the course of nature, either the wolf will adjust or he'll die."
"Die?" Eric hugged the animal protectively which earned him a sloppy lick on the cheek, "He's too cute to let him die!"
"We can't possibly take him with us…" Lena put her hands on her hips.
"Why? We can share our food with him, and we can even take him for a hunt…"
"And what will we do with him if he follows us all the way to Sevia? We can't have a wild beast wandering within the palace. This is his natural environment…" she gestured around them, a slight irritation entering her tone.
"You already have one nasty bea– " a loud neigh interrupted, "I meant, an honourable steed who values his freedom, roaming in your gardens," the king amended quickly, "Will it make you any difference if eventually you keep watch over one more animal? It's not like we know for sure if he follows us. He can wander off somewhere any time… You just said he's half-wild and that you never feared the pack. That means he is partially used to humans. It would be too cruel to leave him behind…" Eric peered at frowning Lena above the wolf's fur and made a face she dreaded the most – he actually used his deadly weapon of the last resort.
He made the damn 'puppy eyes'.
The woman froze, her eyes widening slightly in panic. No bloody way! Don't you even try! Not again! She snapped her mouth shut, forming a firm line and tried to strengthen her resolve as much as possible, but strangely this particular tactic of the Aran king never failed thus far. Sensing that her will was crumbling, she folded her arms defiantly to preserve the little that was left of it and didn't utter a word.
Michael stared in silence at the pouting monarch, not sure if he should applaud his determination or laugh at Ley's rapidly vanishing resolve, "You know…" he whispered to Ian, barely containing his amusement, "If I didn't know better… It is almost as if their roles are reversed..."
"My thought exactly," the chieftain chuckled back in a hushed tone.
After another pause they knew the winner.
"Fine!" Lena tossed her hands in the air in resignation, "I doubt he'll follow us, but if you will make sure, Sire, he won't cause any trouble. I guess, we can feed him for a while…"
Eric immediately beamed at her. Bingo!
Even though they were supposed to cross the border some time ago, nothing seemed different or out of ordinary and nobody 'welcomed' them. It was quite disappointing in a way… Shine assured that they were observed by border patrols, but since his father and he were with them, their presence was 'authorised'. Good that Eric decided to take Shine. Without the Leone it would be almost impossible to enter their territory, not to mention, they had no idea where the 'sages' resided.
Even though the three of them supposedly travelled by this route once before, none of them remembered anything because of the drug. All in all, everybody looked around curiously trying to figure out what would await them. The only person, who visited Leone while being coherent, was Lena, though, that time she entered their land through the river with her two babysitters. The rest of them didn't know what to expect once entering this mysterious land right from legends and fairy tales for little children.
The time proved that it was useless to make any assumptions in this matter at all...
Hyun-min discreetly observed Lena who took the lead with the Leones and discussed details of the next lap of their trip. For the hundredth time he tried to fit the puzzle given to him, but nothing worked. The minor gestures, reactions, omitted half-words, the behaviour of the people around her was telling him one thing, but his past shared with Lena – a totally different thing.
Why would she be so unnerved by the powers inherited from people looking very similar to Koreans, if she belonged to the XXI century? There was also the matter of a true affection of the big guy – the adoptive father – not to mention the tale about that Zara and some 'LENA'.
The easiest answer would be that they were talking about one and the same person – his Lena – who was related to Zara and somehow got involved in this all mess. But… How could that be, if he met her in the modern world, and more importantly, everyone back there believed she WAS a bastard child of his 'honourable' father. Even his mother thought without a shred of doubt that it was the truth, hence the way she overreacted and caused so much pain and death…
Besides, it was hard for Hyun-min to picture his reserved, sceptic and distrustful father being tricked in such a sensitive matter as a supposed child of his mistress. What about a damn DNA test then, huh?! It was impossible that his cautious dad wouldn't take any precautions. That would be so not like him…
And why would Lena immediately announce their 'sibling status', as if she had to state it firmly to make it more 'real'? It was as if she was chanting it over and over again only to make everyone believe in that, herself included.
But IF…
If that was true…
If Lena belonged to 'this' realm…
Then they never committed any taboo and their feelings weren't forbidden.
The mere idea was so unbelievable and unrealistic that he immediately quelled his rising elation. He can't allow this possibility to blind him, not when so much was depending on it.
On the other hand, if that was true and they weren't really related, then what about those who died because of these feelings? What about Hee-Soo and Lena's mum? Did they die because of a lie then? This idea was almost as unnerving as a thought that he might have a future with her.
His emotions were in such turmoil ever since coming to this realm, that he didn't know how to react anymore. The theories and empty guesses were plaguing him constantly, not allowing to regain his peace and think calmly. On top of that, there were awfully many men lurking around his Lena. The men who obviously saw her as a 'woman' and with little push would eagerly try to win her over, right under his goddamn nose!
He didn't have time to waste on dillydallying while they could make their move. Because of his indecision, his reluctance to face Lena and learn the painful truth, they were getting closer and closer to her. She already formed 'bonds' with some of them, and perhaps because of that, her guard was slightly lowered. Certainly more lowered compared to how she was in the 'past'.
Hyun-min forced himself to make an ultimatum to Lena before leaving Sevia. He decided he couldn't torment himself with speculations forever. He had to know, and once he'd learn, one way or another, only then he could decide what to do next. At first, he didn't know what to think of this dotting dad whose overflowing feelings for Lena constantly complicated many matters. Now, he was somewhat grateful for King Eric's presence and massive 'over-protectiveness'. That way the monarch kept the men safely at bay, buying Hyun-min more precious time.
Either Lena will 'introduce' to him to the pink elephant in the room, or the Korean will experimentally 'tug' at the animal's trunk, the consequences be damned!
When they entered a little town near the border hidden within the forest, it was as if they were transferred into another dimension. The overwhelming peace, the idle atmosphere and lack of rush, as if its inhabitants had the time of entire world in their disposal, made this little town 'lethargic' in a good way. There were no traces of the last war which they saw on their way here. No abandoned houses or fields, no burned bridges and no refugees slowly returning to their homes in hope that the new regime would change something.
The Leone town seemed like an oasis of serenity, harmony and peace compared to the rest of the vicious world they left behind. It was so idle that it seemed totally unreal, as if those people never had to go through any hardships or wars despite the fact that the companions knew it was a false impression.
The strange, almost dreamy atmosphere, changed the moment they crossed the town's gates, surprising everyone, even the Leones who were leading them.
"Dear God!" Hyun-min mumbled weakly, "THEY ARE DAMN CLONES!"
Once the guards, who appeared out of nowhere, respectfully greeted their leader and his son, the companions were immediately surrounded by a curious crowd of adults and children behaving alike, pelting the travellers with innocent questions. They seemed filled with elation that they lived to the day when they could meet a real foreigner and tell their descendants about it later on.
When Lena dismounted, some people greeted her by her name with clear joy that they had met once again. Little kids, who were looking almost as like two peas in the pod, stared at the men openly, whispering between themselves from time to time, pointing fingers in their direction and giggling at some joke. Actually, the adults weren't any different only managed to do it with more dignity.
"Why are they so damn cheerful and bloody curious?" Ian fidgeted as some hand touched him almost reverently only to disappear within the crowd and to be replaced by another one from the opposite direction.
"They never saw a person looking like you… They only saw faces of their fellow tribesmen. They never had an opportunity to talk or touch a foreigner apart from Ley," Shine explained between the greetings, "A pity you didn't see how agitated they were when she arrived with her two companions a few months ago. Once she was allowed to roam freely within the city, while awaiting the father's decision about the war, some followed almost her every step. Now they are quite behaved, think how it was back then."
"No wonder Ley objected so strongly to stay here during her training, even if only for a while," Michael muttered under his nose, when something tugged at his breeches.
As he warily looked down, he saw a small boy with the thumb in his mouth, the perfect miniature of other Leones, evaluating him curiously with his sapphire eyes hidden under a silver tuft of curly hair. The kid was barely three years old and the petrified Sevian was completely at loss what to do with him or how to detach the pulp fist from his trousers. The only thought circling in his panicking mind was a question just where the heck was the mother.
Michael smiled hesitantly, praying the child won't start crying, and muttered with the corner of his mouth to the grinning bastard, "Why the hell is he staring at me so hard?"
The boy sucked his thumb some more and then released it with a loud plop only to grin back at Sevian and quickly resume his further examination.
"You look like us, yet you came from the 'outside'. Perhaps the kid thinks you are one of us. Ever thought about that?" Shine winked knowing very well what dilemma was troubling the man.
"The hell if I am!" Michael growled reflexively, but had to curb his rising anger swiftly, since the little rascal frowned and his chin wobbled dangerously, heralding upcoming trouble.
The Sevian crouched down as slowly as possible and forced to smile, "Hi there, little one…" he tried to appear calm and reassuring, "Where is your mommy? Did you get lost in the crowd?"
The child shook its head and looked at him questioningly, "Daddy..?" the boy mumbled around his thumb hesitantly.
For a moment everyone who was standing close to the stunned group froze. Michael's jaw was doing its best to reach the ground in the record time, but try as he may, he couldn't utter a word.
The little boy took the silence as a confirmation and smiled widely, a little dimple appearing in his left cheek, and then he hugged the petrified man trustingly.
"Well, well…" Lena was the first to overcome her shock. She smirked seeing the panicked stony face of the Sevian, who loved to joke at her expense about her wary attitude towards little children, "I knew you were really good while dealing with women, but now you made a new record. To have a kid without even meeting his mum first, should I applaud, Mr. Lady-killer?"
"This is not funny!" he hissed back reflexively above the tiny head, noticing with surprise that his damn tongue decided to cooperate this time.
Shine snorted, and once the dam broke, he chuckled openly while clutching at his stomach, "See? Even little ones can mistake you for their brethren. Good luck… 'daddy'!"
"When will you shut the hel-" Michael growled at the infuriating bastard when an agitated young woman rushed to them.
She looked quite 'young', but you never knew with those damn Leones. She was around Ley's height and wore simple burgundy robe-like dress so favoured by the tribe. Her hair was as wavy as the boy's, gathered in a messy bun, though its shade was more warm, falling into gold rather than silver. Her eyes had the same unusual colour as the kid's.
"I'm truly sorry for my son, sir!" she picked up her troublesome tot, "It's because of your hair…" she blushed slightly, "Once he learnt how to walk and talk he constantly accosts various men while searching for his father. I really don't know why he keeps doing that!"
Eric leaned over her shoulder and tickled the round tummy of the boy with his fingers, bringing out a cheerful carefree laughter, "It's a fine healthy young man. You should be proud of him, young lady," he made a silly face prolonging the elation of the child, "Though his dad should teach him not to trust strangers so easily…" he added in a distracted tone.
At first the Leone woman stared warily at the big man who clearly was a foreigner and huge one at that, but once he started making faces she calmed down a little "I… I'm sure he'd do that…" the woman hugged her son tighter, the sad melancholic smile tugging at her lips, "Though now that would be impossible…" she whispered.
The startled Aran king straightened immediately, "Pardon, I didn't mean to–!"
She shook her head slightly, silencing his further apologies, "It's all right, sir… You couldn't possibly know…" she kissed the temple of her child fondly, who was gazing at them with pure innocence shimmering in his big blue eyes, "My husband was a merchant. We don't have much of those, but there are still a few men of this profession. He died by the hands of some thieves while returning home. The last war caught him by surprise, or at least that's what his companions told me."
The idle illusion of warm peaceful oasis shattered with this one hushed admission.
"I'm really sorr-"
"Sir, if you apologize to me one more time I'll take it as offence," the woman frowned successfully silencing the embarrassed monarch. Then she turned to Michael, "I hope Neil didn't cause much trouble," her gaze lingered on his hair for a moment, "My name is Aine," she paused and after gathering her courage she asked shyly, "Pardon me, sir, but could you be related to my late husband? In which part of Leone you and your family live?"
The Sevian felt his throat tighten for a moment, but then he flashed her a pale embarrassed smile, "My name is Michael and, unfortunately, I cannot answer to your question since I'm an orphan, not to mention I'm not Leone at all. I come from Kabul…" he shrugged as casually as possible.
The sapphire eyes widened briefly in surprise as the woman eyed him doubtfully, "Then I'm even more sorry for touching such a painful topic," she murmured in the end.
On the Patriarch's discreet gesture Shine herded the new 'tourist attraction' in the direction of the main house, the summer residence of the tribe's leader. Compared to the last time the townspeople had an occasion to see a foreigner, now their excitation was blown out of proportion.
In a way, perhaps, they should have expected that.
Three people with similar features and colouring, from which two, at the first glance, were looking almost identical to each other.
A female – the famous Child of the Prophecy – had now a jewel of her own, despite the fact that it wasn't there the last time she visited Leone.
One huge man who was, surprisingly, fond of little children, towering above most of them with his stature and height, accompanied by a young grey wolf trotting at his side, behaving like an actual puppy.
A man outwardly no different from Leones themselves, who claimed to have nothing in common with them despite the naked facts of his appearance.
And a young royal, whose role was so important during the last war, with long black wavy hair so unique to the eyes of locals.
Yup, they filled the criteria quite nicely. A true 'tourist attraction' in every sense of the word. An attraction, that successfully disturbed the harmony of local residents.
Sean was sitting on the fence and observed an afternoon archery practice. Once Troy learnt that Sharris was respected for her skills with a bow, he invited her to train with him, to distract themselves a little from the pervasive rush preparations for the upcoming event.
Every male villager from the Forest of Evil was supposed to train both sword and archery in order to not only provide protection, but also to ensure stable food supply. It was no surprise that they quickly found common language and soon behaved like best friends, despite the age difference and the fact that they never really met each other before.
Meanwhile, here Sean was sitting petulantly with them and was suffering from his growing boredom as they were having their 'fun'. Sure, Frey sparred with him a little, and the Laoudian was fairly sure just who had sent the man to him and 'why', but strangely the young prince didn't feel like training lately, especially in a 'pity duel'. He had his pride as the successor of Laoud after all! Teasing anyone at the moment wasn't an option either. Most of the time they simply ignored his attempts to lighten the mood, and in some extreme cases they snapped, just like Cid recently.
How was Sean supposed to know it was a sensitive topic?
The kids weren't much fun too, the ungrateful brats! They even blamed HIM for the growing animosity but not between the palatial and Jegger kids like before, but between one team and the other. So what if he got easily excited while refereeing? That only proved how passionately he loved this new game!
All in all, everyone had something to do. But he, not only was he left behind by Ley, but also now abandoned by the rest of them, who were too preoccupied with their duties and plans, to pay much attention to his ideas.
Even Sharris found something enjoyable for herself, though how could she smile so idiotically to the boring old guy whose chin was constantly covered, was beyond him. I bet he has a nasty scar! Or even better, awful acne scars! Seriously? What does she see in that Troy anyway?
Sean frowned at the last disturbing thought.
And why the heck am I bothered by that?
He glared resentfully at the pair standing next to each other while aiming to the target, far too close if someone would ask about his humble opinion.
With a resolute frown, the prince jumped down from his perch and marched angrily towards the palace, a little annoyed that nobody noticed his sudden departure.
It's not like he can't have fun on his own, dammit! All his life he had to play alone, since normal kids were rarely allowed near the future king, whose only responsibility was to learn about law, taxes, math, languages, geography and other boring things, till he'd drop dead out of exhaustion. If not for his habit of sneaking out for short breaks for sightseeing trips around his own damn castle, Sean was sure he'd have balked earlier and went on his little 'journey' far sooner than he did.
Suddenly a thoughtful expression passed over his face and then the faintest of smiles quirked one side of his mouth.
Indeed, I used to do it quite a lot back home, didn't I? The prince mused, his mood suddenly lighter. I wonder… these hidden passages here that Ley likes to use so much… are they any different from those in Laoud?
With a renewed resolve, he quickened his pace, each step vibrating with more and more enthusiasm.
It was late afternoon when they finally moved out, leaving their steeds and weapons behind at the feet of the mountain, just as the custom dictated. The climbing was supposed to take only one hour or so, thanks to the stairs engraved in stone leading straight to the abode of the sages. No matter how many times they asked about them, the Patriarch only shrugged and refused to elaborate, telling they'll have to make their own opinion as they meet them. Sufficient to say, he only warned them once again that the people up on the top of the mountain were quite eccentric, and that was all of his explanation. Surprisingly, Shine knew just as little as them, since he never actually met the sages, so he couldn't help to sate their curiosity either.
And thus, the companions were left to their own assumptions while climbing up the peak. It wasn't actually big, or steep, the stairs surrounded first by a pine forest and then by mountain pine made the trip even enjoyable. To Lena's frustration Eric was spoiling the wolf terribly and now the animal followed his each step curiously disappearing in the bushes only to reappear with the tongue lolling out happily.
An hour later, just as promised, they reached a huge ledge, which was big enough that the greenery could form an actual dell, once again filled with something more than mountain pine. The sun left its zenith quite a while ago, but they didn't know how much it annoyed them until they entered a light shadow of the trees. The stairs led only to the dell, further ahead of them, there was a paved path leading to something unnervingly similar to a wooden five-story pagoda. It was around thirty meters high, and the width of each story was around twenty on twenty meters.
The Koreans froze once the building appeared before them, a little unnerved to see here, in the other realm, something so similar to what could be easily found in the Far East. Their slight hesitation went unnoticed, and after a moment of exchanging looks Lena and Hyun-min tried to prepare themselves for what was to come.
Even as the group entered the old building, to a deep consternation of the Leones, nobody went out to invite them formally, forget about greeting. If not for the fresh flowers in the ancient vases accompanied with candles here and there under colourful frescos, more similar to arabesque with all their geometric figures combined with floral motives, the building would seem almost abandoned.
Not a soul in sight, so to speak.
"Isn't there a gong or something, we are supposed to hit to announce our arrival?" Lena whispered to Shine, her voice somehow lowering on its own in this eerie silence within the 'pagoda'.
"As far as I know, they were informed that we were arriving soon…" he whispered back, the atmosphere getting into him too.
"What now?" Eric cocked his head, the canine peering cautiously from behind the big man.
"Why is the wolf also here? What if they got offended that the animal entered their threshold?" Hyun-min frowned, getting more and more unnerved by the fact that just as the building looked like a normal pagoda from the outside, the interior escalated this impression tenfold.
"I don't think that's the case, young man…" the Patriarch muttered under his nose a little distracted, "Have something changed here? I don't remember seeing these decorations during my last visit… Or am I wrong?" he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"What do we do now?" Ian surveyed the first floor suspiciously, "It looks like some temple… We are supposed to light a candle, or what?"
Lena sighed with exasperation and stepped forward looking curiously around, the old wooden floor squeaking under her weight, "Are there the stairs to another level?" she gestured at the other end of the room, with a strange colourful partition of sorts. At a confirmative nod from the Leone she shrugged, "Maybe we are supposed to get further inside? It has five levels, as far as I can see. I doubt that someone who is staying in the middle floor or even higher would know about visitors in the ground floor."
"That may be," the leader of Leone scowled, a little annoyed, "I hope they don't want to play hide-and-seek with us…" he grumbled under his nose as he strode decisively towards the stairs.
"'Hide-and-seek'? " Lucien glanced at him in disbelief, "Is that a joke?"
"I'd love if that was the case, Your Majesty…" the Patriarch sighed with resignation.
Michael kept his mouth shut despite the fact he had an urge to curse loudly to his heart content. They had to go three more floors up, that were no different from the first one. It was as if they were walking in circles and entering one and the same floor over and over again. Now they reached the top floor and still met no-bloody-one on their way. It's not like they had all the time in the world to 'play' some frigging game, dammit!
As he glanced sideways at Ley and noticed her thunderous expression, his mouth curved in a satisfied grin. Yup, the Child of the Prophecy was running out of patience too. Their 'invisible' hosts would have an opportunity to enjoy her temper in all its furious glory.
Was it petty of him to desire to witness the tongue-lashing that he would love to give the Leones himself?
Sure it was, but the satisfaction that they would have to hear a word or two, and, more importantly, from a person they couldn't hurt and strangely valued as some mystic creature, that made it even sweeter.
He was fed up with the way they constantly asked him about his past and roots so casually, immediately labelling him as one of them. He hated to the bone their discreet glances and open surprise once he was telling where did he actually come from. The scene with the little kid was the last straw.
They were constantly asking him the questions he could not answer. On top of that, he truly despised them for keeping their distance from the rest of the world. They were living here so happily while the world around them was bleeding, and had been doing that for goddamn years. He could bet anything, that if not for Ley, they still would only observe from afar, as if that all wasn't concerning them in the slightest.
True, nothing is perfect in this world, and even the idyllic atmosphere they lived in wasn't so complete, but this peacefulness, this serenity… They bought it with the blood of other people, pretending not to see the madness around them, even though the person who caused most of it was no other, but the damn granddaughter of their leader.
Why were they so persistent with labelling him anyway? What for? For the first time in his life he was happy just where he was, he didn't need their meddling. So what if he didn't know his parents? In the past, he might have been curious or even longing to find them, to learn more about himself, but now? Now, after all what he went through, he didn't need that anymore. They should leave him alone, instead of forcing him to seek answers for the questions he had long forgotten. Honestly, he had no desire to touch this part of his life. He sealed it firmly, for the first time in his life allowing himself to hope for a happy future.
His earliest memories were that of Eleanor's face hovering above him as he was lying on the ground. The rest, the things what were before that… He had no recollection of them, so there was no point in pressing and searching for something that didn't 'exist' for him.
As he was debating with himself angrily it turned out that he was so absorbed with his thoughts that he nearly crashed into the rigid back of Ley.
Lena had enough of this.
She had an upcoming coronation, a bloody country to rule over (not that she asked for that one) and here she was climbing one frigging floor after another because some old geezers were too lazy to give a sign of life, despite the prior notification. Sure, she didn't expect them to 'come down' readily. They were sages, not to mention their hosts. She could do them a favour and climb up to save them from trouble, but one bloody note that they WERE up there waiting for them, would be really nice. As it was, they were going up some frigging pagoda-like tower with no certainty if there was ANYONE home.
Would it really kill them to let them know at least that there was someone up there? She could bet that they had some servants on this closed geriatric unit. Why not to send one of them down, if they knew they had guests?
She was grumbling under her nose every profanity she could come up with in every bloody language she knew, when the stairs ended abruptly. She was staring with widened eyes at the even wooden floor, strangely similar to the laminate flooring straight form the frigging IKEA.
Her head immediately snapped up at a startled gasp of Hyun-min, only to see a certain classroom from Korea.
"Aidan! Wake up, you lazy bum! They're finally here!" an excited female voice echoed within the room identical to one from the school Lena and Hyun-min attended 'ages' ago.
"Who the hell are you calling 'lazy', huh? The one who actually IS, it is you, Ronit!" a tired male voice grunted, "I cannot believe, I let you be talked into this mess."
"You are both raising unnecessary ruckus~" a sultry female voice chided the arguing pair.
"Don't butt in, Maeve!" they snapped back in unison.
"Someone has to, since you're upsetting our guests with this needless quarrelling. It is unsightly to do so, especially in front of strangers."
"Oh shut up!" the pair grumbled petulantly.
"The only thing you can do, it is to lecture everyone with this high attitude of yours," the woman called Ronit observed in irritation, "You are only a few years older than me, but you behave as if you know all the answers..."
"Maybe that's because I know?"
"Oh, you snobbish– !"
The trio kept quarrelling, oblivious to the shock they caused with their appearance only. Even the Patriarch seemed to be as stunned as the rest of them, his mouth creating a perfect 'O'.
Lena and her companions stared at the interior of the fifth floor of the 'pagoda', their jaws sagging slightly. Contrary to their expectations, they were not seeing any old sages in ancient robes, with white beards past their knees and wrinkles all over their faces, but…
Three teenagers.
They looked to be around the age of Sean or Sharris and had the most unusual clothes, looking almost as if they were straight from XXI century.
That alone was confusing the hell out of the Koreans, but on top of that, it looked like the clothes were put together randomly, or rather without prior knowledge how they were supposed to be worn and by whom.
Ley looked around the vast room with widened eyes. It was almost a perfect replica of the classroom she vaguely remembered from her high-school days, up to the windows forming the whole opposite wall, the colour of the paint on the walls, chalkboard, about twenty school desks, neatly arranged in front of the board, and the teacher's desk facing the students' seats.
But that wasn't the most disturbing thing.
Behind the teacher's place there was sprawled a young man, his legs were placed defiantly on the desktop and crossed in ankles. His boots were looking suspiciously like those that Hyun-min had when he came to this realm. His face has completely covered with an eyeshade of an actual baseball cap. He was wearing a brown leather jacket with a blue T-shirt beneath and snug black jeans. His hands were braced behind his neck and he was swaying dangerously on the hind legs of his chair, not even once losing his balance. The thin silver braid, barely one centimetre in width, was reaching the floor behind him, the rest of his hair probably cut short, since not much could be stuffed under the cap. Despite the fact he was only grunting from time to time in a clearly exhausted voice, he didn't stay far behind his two companions in stating his displeasure.
The owner of the sultry voice sat near the window in the back of the 'classroom'. The woman was wearing some kind of pink summer dress with vivid floral pattern and ridiculous amount of girly ribbons and frills. Despite the fact that the colour and design were more suitable for a very little girl, she managed to pull it off quite nicely and looked perfect in it. Though on the second thought, she was that kind of a woman who would probably look good in whatever she wore, even in an old sac with a hempen string as a belt.
Her pose was graceful, her white pearly skin seemed to shine in the last rays of the slowly setting sun. Her hair was straight and completely white around her heart-shaped face with the set of whisky-coloured eyes. Neither golden, nor silver, but pure white, quite unusual for hair, though it didn't make her look old at all. They reached past her shoulder blades, but since she was sitting, it was hard to tell how long they actually were. Currently, she was taking part in the verbal sparring with the other female. She spoke in a slightly bored naughty tone, as if the topic of their quarrel didn't really concern her…
Lena blinked in surprise. Is she painting her frigging nails?!
The young woman extended her hand and eyed critically her handiwork. She nodded with satisfaction and raised her honey gaze slightly, only to wink at the gaping group, her lips curving in an inviting smile, especially towards the men, as if she was sharing with them some internal joke.
"Huh? Why are they so freaked out? I thought familiar surroundings will put them at ease…" Ronit commented in a worried voice, while chewing her bottom lip. She was around Sharris height, had a petite figure accompanied with slightly slanting green eyes, similar to that of a curious cat. The mass of straight light-blond hair surrounded her triangular face like a halo left after a thunderbolt, which apparently had to strike her at some point. The curious thing was, that it was cut quite short for a female in this era. It gave her an appearance of a playful pixie ready for any mischief, though now she seemed really confused, if not downright worried. She was the one with the most surprising outfit, she wore a female uniform from their high school, though her vest was unbuttoned and the tie was rashly tied in messy half-bow.
"You had to mess something up, Maeve!" with a flutter of her knee-length skirt she turned to the other woman, pointing her thumb almost accusingly in the direction of the guests, "Just look at them, dammit!"
"I certainly did not. It was your idea to transform this floor, so they wouldn't feel out of place. I guess, your idea simply didn't work. As usual, if I may say," Maeve turned her attention to her other hand to finish the rest of her nails.
"You had to screw up something! See?! It's not like it was supposed to be. They are everything but relaxed at the moment!" the disarray on the head of the 'elf' jumped slightly in every direction, because of her growing agitation. It looked like it was cut about down to her chin but higher in some places only deepening the impression of her complete free-spirited personality.
"For the hundredth time, it's not my fault. If there is something indeed screwed up, it has to be Aidan's fault. Perhaps, if he'd chang– "
The man behind the teacher's desk raised his cap abruptly baring his handsome face for the first time and growled menacingly through his teeth, "If you think even for a second that I'll rearrange this bloody floor, because the two of you fucked something up again, think some more! There is no bloody way I'll go through this again!"
"It's not like you have to dirty your hands to do this…" Maeve pointed at him with her pencil nonchalantly.
"You have no idea how draining it is to conjure the interior of a room this big! Or perhaps should I take back the clothes I created with the help of your vision, huh? Maybe then you'd appreciate my hard work more! Shall we test it?" he smiled innocently baring his white teeth.
"You wouldn't dare! If you'll try to strip me naked in front of our guests, I'll–!" the 'nail-girl' suddenly paled only to glare at the young man in a mute warning.
"Oh~! Do I hear a challenge?" his smile widened and his strange pale-blue eyes twinkled provocatively, proving he wasn't blind at all.
"SILENCE!" the pixie yelled at the top of her lungs, successfully rendering her companions speechless. She cleared her sore throat and massaged it slightly with her left palm, wincing momentarily. Then she turned to the dumbfounded 'guests' and smiled, though her grin wobbled here and there. Clearly it wasn't a meeting she had in her mind at all. "Welcome to our home, dear guests. We didn't want to cause you any discomfort. Perhaps, we misunderstood something. We only wanted you to feel here more at home, not distressed," she bowed her head slightly, a faint blush appearing on her face, "Please, accept our deepest apologies…"
"Bloody hell…" Hyun-min whispered under his nose so low, only his companions could hear him, "We ended up in a honest-to-God loony bin…"
Fortunately I was able to edit this part sooner than I expected (^.^)V
I'd like to thank here VenG who is helping me with something close to 'beta-reading' and corrects mistakes I tend to overlook 'in the heat of writing'.
Short technical information: I post chapters weekly (or at least I try), they appear first on Mangafox and my blog 'Saver the New Journey' (raw versions), only when the chapter is re-read and checked for mistakes, it is published here, so there is big possibility that blog and Mangafox are further with the story than Fanfiction.
Lillend.