Chapter 7
Author's Notes: I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm sorry if the other chapters have seemed slow but I promise this is where it starts to pick up. Well, at least I hope so. Please enjoy this chapter.
Selena spent all of her remaining free time with Glen now. No one else could go with her. The village children were all said to stay inside by their mothers and fathers due to the war and Duessel was off training green recruits. She realized that even Duessel couldn't spend time with the one he loved anymore. It was so sad. "War is only heartbreak…," she whispered to herself one day.
Selena sat on a bench in the garden waiting for her beloved Glen to come and cheer her up. Selena knew she could wait here for him forever because he would always come anyways. She also loved sitting here now because while the world around it is changing, this great garden isn't. It made her feel like she was still living in the past, the past she and Glen always spoke about.
She shut her eyes, letting the rest of her senses discover the beauty of the garden. Her ears heard soft footsteps and when she opened her emerald green eyes, she saw Glen sitting beside her. "Glen…You don't look happy…"
He looked down at the ground and sighed. "When can you feel happy in this time of turmoil?" He knew had made her feel a little depressed by saying such so apologized immediately. "Sorry…"
Selena grabbed his wrist with her right hand and held it firmly. She could understand what he was going through. Having lost the ones you loved was quite hard to bear. Cormag had gone off to do espionage and of course everyone in the world of Magvel probably knew by now how Selena had lost her family. Selena let out a breath and leaned her head onto his shoulder.
They sat in that position for a while until a familiar, friendly voice spoke to them. "Selena, Glen," the voice belonged to no one other than Duessel.
They opened their eyes and saw Duessel right beside them. Selena looked at his face and could see dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. She couldn't blame him though. He had to train the green recruits day in and day out. It was amazing how he could even think straight through all of this.
"Duessel, why are you here," Glen asked quietly just in case a spy was watching them.
Duessel himself made sure no one was watching and continued talking, "Cormag had come to me one day ago and he wanted me to tell all of us to leave the castle. He says that there is 'evil' lurking in there and he didn't want any o fus to be involved."
Selena had a lot to reject about that idea. "Even if we did leave, what would we do? If we leave, this war will still continue on. Besides, where would we go?"
Duessel looked down at Selena and couldn't believe what he was hearing her say. Obsidian had always known her to be the most optimistic person he had ever known. She always cheered up the group in the worst of times but now everything was going downhill. "What are you talking about Selena? You of all people should never say such. Besides what are you doing here to improve the war?"
"Nothing…" That was Selena's simple reply.
Duessel calmed himself down before continuing his speech, "Look Selena, I promised Cormag that we would go meet at my house during one night so we could discuss plans. Those plans could help this war end and less lives will be wasted."
This caught both Selena and Glen's attention. They had always wanted to hear about a plan that could stop this pathetic, useless war. Their eyes told Duessel to continue, "Well now that I got your attention, I want you two to leave the castle at nighttime and ride on either horse or wyvern but as long as you get to my cottage quietly and quickly. There we will discuss our plans."
"Why not now," Glen asked
"I have heard rumors that Vigarde does not trust his own Imperial Three anymore and has sent spies to do some eavesdropping."
Selena looked around, "And how do you know they aren't spying on us now?"
"Just trust me they wouldn't dare look in the garden for us. And even if they did hear us, they would be foolish to try to stop us. All they're proving is that they want this war to go on if they do." The toll of a bell rang a couple of times and Duessel needed to go back to his recruits. "Good-bye you two. Please do not forget about tonight either."
Glen nodded and replied, "We won't forget."
They watched Duessel depart and then continued holding hands and watching a bird or two fly by and fly off. Selena sighed and whispered, "I think I should be going now…Vigarde has told me of my mission I had to perform with Caellach."
Glen nodded and embraced her tightly before she had to leave. Selena always did like it when he did such things. When they pulled apart, she left the garden and into the throne room.
Just as expected, Caellach was waiting in there. He was being quite impatient. When he caught a glimpse of her, he scoffed and said, "Took you long enough. What were you doing? Hanging out with that boyfriend of yours huh?"
Selena had always lost her nerve when it came to talking to this guy. It was as if he enjoyed seeing her mad. "Shut it Caellach. I stay out of your business and you should stay out of mine." Her voice no longer quivered as it did before, and she was proud of that.
"Whatever." Caellach looked up at the emperor and continued talking, "So you said something about a mission. What is it emperor?"
Vigarde looked at Selena and she could see that his eyes showed maybe a little regret but it was gone in a flash. She had seen that a couple of times in Lyon's eyes but just the same as his father they also disappeared. "I want you two to go destroy the Sacred Stone that Frelia homes."
Caellach cracked his knuckles and smirked, "So we get to invade the Frelian Castle, eh?"
"The Sacred Stone of Frelia lies in the Tower of Valni. My spies say that the stone is not well guarded. I believe you two would have no problem at all." Vigarde turned his back to them once he was done with his speech.
Selena was flabbergasted. For a king such as Vigarde to think so low was definitely unlike him, but then again she remembered that this wasn't her beloved father. Plus she promised she would follow her orders to avoid being hurt or worst yet, killed. At least that was what the rumor she heard was about. A fellow Grado soldier was killed for disagreeing with him. Reluctantly she let out a slow breath and replied, "We'll go this instant…"
Caellach smiled and grasped her hand and pulled her close to him, "This is going to fun. Just the two of us. And after the Sacred Stone is destroyed, we have the whole day to ourselves."
Selena pulled herself back from him and said, "Don't bring your hope up too high Caellach. I'm coming back right after." She turned on her heel and left to the horse stables to get her horse. She knew that Caellach was following her but she acted as though she was oblivious. She picked up the reins on the barrel by the door and got out her horse. "Come girl," she whispered.
Caellach yawned and said, "Are you done talking with that horse of yours? C'mon we have more things to worry about."
Selena glared back at him, "No one said you had to come. I would prefer to do this by myself." She was definitely losing her nerve but she had to keep herself from hitting him was her problem. Breathe Selena…Just get rid of this Sacred stone and then it'll all be okay…You can come home and see Glen.
She fastened the reins on and got on. She began riding while Caellach called at her, "Hey! You can't just leave me!" He threw his hand axe with such great accuracy that it landed beside Selena's horse. She immediately pulled the reins and waited for her partner to come catch up.
"How about you let me on this horse of yours?"
Once again she gave him this glare, telling him her answer.
Caellach began talking like a pervert again and said, "You know, a woman should always have a knight to let her ride with." He placed a hand on hers and she snatched it back.
"If I ever needed a knight, it wouldn't be you."
"Oh right. It's that Glen isn't it? I've seen you two kissing in that garden. I wonder if you guys have been sleeping in the same bed…?"
"Forget it. Walk on your own two legs Caellach." Selena rode off at a quick speed so he couldn't throw his axe at her again. But at that pace, she made it to the Tower of Valni in no time. There were only two measly guards guarding but she could understand why Hayden couldn't put more out to guard. First, he would never expect Vigarde to send out a little pair of two just to eliminate the Sacred Stone and there was a war that was going on and it needed men. Selena felt much regret when she opened up her book. How could she hurt a fellow citizen? This wasn't why Vigarde raised her. To be a killer was the near opposite of why he raised her. He raised her to be a helper and a lover. There was no right in killing those that meant no harm. She sighed and whispered, "I'm sorry…" Selena released a ring of fire on the two who had no idea where it had come from. It didn't take long before they died. "I'm so sorry…"
Caellach, who had managed to catch up with her somehow, had watched the whole event and smirked. "'Atta girl…" He walked up to her and saw tears drip from her eyes. His eyes showed shock when he was her face. It reminded him of someone. Someone he hurt long ago. Caellach shook his head and got himself out of this dream.
Selena looked up at him and said, "What? Aren't you going to go get at the Sacred Stone now?"
"Yeah…" He left off into the tower without saying anymore words.
Selena was too depressed to notice how Caellach had changed. She took in a deep breath and headed into the tower.
The tower was beautifully crafted and it was made with eight floors. Selena wished she could see more of it but Caellach was far ahead of her and she didn't want him to hurt any innocents that could be spared. They reached the top and found two more guards. Caellach killed one of them and was ready to kill another one until Selena held his axe.
"That's enough Caellach. There's no use good in killing these men. Vigarde did not order us to kill them. Just destroy the stone."
"That would be no fun though. I came here to have fun Selena, not to listen to someone tell me what's wrong and what's right." He snatched his axe back form her hand and brought it down on the defenseless man before him. Once the man was just a mere body Caellach stepped aside and said, "You may have the honor of destroying the stone of Frelia."
Selena looked away in disgust, "There would be no honor in destroying a stone created to seal away the blasphemous creature. I will have no part in destroying it."
Caellach shrugged, and shattered the stone. The beautiful, shiny rock crumbled onto the floor and Caellach said in a disappointed tone, "How can a stone made to seal away the great Demon King be so easy to break? I thought it'd be more of a challenge to destroy it."
Selena looked at the stone and remembered the story Vigarde had told her all about the five legendary Sacred Stones. She remembered that each one of them was created by each of the five heroes who sealed Fomortiis away. Because of their valor and strength, the five continents were named after them. She wondered that if the hero that created the stone of Frelia was watching, what would they be feeling right now? That the sacrifice they made and the conquest they had to go through was all for naught? That is at least what Selena would think if she were them. "Come on Caellach. It's getting sate. Let's return back to the castle."
"What? That's all we're going to do?"
"What did you expect? This wasn't supposed to be a place where you could have fun."
"Geez, you always have to be so cruel don't you?"
She looked back at him with sharp eyes, "And you always have to be so ignorant don't you?" She walked down the stairs without him, caring not about what he did next.
Once she got outside to her horse, she heard it neigh with delight. "Oh my sweet horse, I wish that I could be you…So oblivious to what's happening to the world around you and so carefree. I really wish I could be you…" The horse nudged her with its nose. "Right," Selena whispered, "we really should get going now." Selena leaped onto her brown horse and rode off with the sun setting behind the purple mountains. She never knew that time flew by so fast. It was always thought that if you're having a fun time then time goes by and before you know it, the next day is starting. But for bad times it's said to be opposite but not for today.
Some time after, Fluorspar arrived back at the castle to tell the king that the stone of Frelia was now demolished. She didn't explain much but all he did need to know was if it was destroyed or not. He got the answer he wanted and she left, ready to go to Duessel's house. She snuck into the horse stables and took out her horse for the second time. To make sure she would not be recognized by any Grado soldiers out on the road, she wore a cape and put the hood over her head. Selena grabbed the reins and guided the horse to make sure no one would see them. "It's all clear. Come on." She clicked her tongue and led the horse onto the rode before riding him. "On the border of Grado…That's where we're heading Gallant. Let's go." The two rode off into the night.
The night was peaceful and she wasn't stopped once by any guard, at least yet. She had to admit that the moon that shined above Grado unleashed Grado's beauty, giving it a nice soft feeling to it. An owl perched itself onto a tree and looked down at Selena and Gallant. It cocked its head to one side then to the other. Selena pulled on the reins and looked up at it. The owl hooted, making Selena shudder. She didn't want to waste any more time staring at this bird that gave her the chills. Gallant rode off with the owl still watching them.
Selena stopped the horse again and scratched her hair, confused. There was trotting from behind her and they were coming fast. Did they actually find out that I had gone missing, Selena thought, worried. She whispered into her horse's ear, "Ride Gallant." The horse obeyed and quickly rode off into the night.
Faster her horse ran but the trotting from behind her did not. Selena knew she had to get them off her trail so pulled her horse off to the side. She hid Gallant in a bush while she hid behind a tree. If they were in the beaming sun at this moment then of course they would've been discovered. But luckily it was almost pure black. She waited until the trots came running past then she could continue her ride.
As Selena waited, she heard one of the soldiers yell out, "I can shoot him down now! Just give me an arrow!"
Shoot him down? What does he mean by that? Selena heard a wyvern's wings flap above her and Gallant and looked up. She almost gasped but stopped herself in the knick of time. Glen was flying right above them with only a measly iron lance. Selena worried not about Glen getting shot down. He was one of the best dodgers around. Nothing could hit him.
Selena watched Glen dodge the arrows that went flying at him and wondered why he still wasn't going. She pondered on that for a second and realized that he didn't want to lead them to Duessel's house and if she knew how these Grado recruits were trained, they would of course not stop attacking him until they got him. This would last on all night so she had to make a distraction for him. She found a pebble and threw it. No use. These soldiers were too engrossed in the idea of getting Glen that they didn't hear. There was nothing left for her to throw so she had to come up with a new idea. She looked at her horse and smiled.
"Gallant," she whispered, "I need you to go run over to that tree okay?"
It gave her an empty stare and snorted.
"I promise you won't get hurt Gallant. If those men dare lay a hand on you I promise I'll make them regret it. Besides, we'll get you back once Glen has gone all the way to Duessel's house."
As if the horse understood her, it seemed to nod and ran off, making a lot of racket all about. The guards looked over and said, "Hey, another one!" Showing how ignorant they were, they all went after Gallant and not one stayed to watch Glen.
Glen cocked his head to one side and wondered about what that was until he looked down and saw Selena waving. He flew down and got to her, "Selena, was that your horse?"
She nodded, "Yes…I felt bad for making him do that but I'll get him once you get to Duessel's."
"You would really risk such for me?"
"Uh-huh. Now hurry and go while their distracted." She began running off after her horse but felt a hand grab onto her wrist. "Hey just go on. I'll be fine. Gallant and I can outrun them."
"I know that quite well Selena but I promised to protect you. We'll ride together."
His words always seemed to persuade her so she had to let him come with her. He got off his wyvern and told it to wait and it obeyed as well Gallant did. "Come Selena." He led her through the darkness and to where the soldiers were. They were all scratching their heads to the horse without a rider.
"How do you think it got here?"
"Dunno. Probably one of those wild horses that always lose control and run off during a ride."
"If that's so, we better see if there's an injured rider around here."
The search began and they scattered except maybe being a little smarter for one guard stood watch of the horse. Glen and Selena spied on him waiting for the right moment to knock him out. The guard turned around and looked at Gallant. He had a hand on his chin thinking. "I've seen a horse like you somewhere…That saddlebag, the reins…It seems all too familiar."
Glen nodded at Selena and then Glen smacked the sentry's head with the end of his lance. Before the sentry knew it, he was lying unconscious on the floor. Gallant neighed wildly due to the sudden attack.
"Shhh…Gallant, be a good boy now." Selena rubbed him tenderly then jumped on his back. "Are you going with your wyvern Glen?"
"Yes. I won't leave him back there."
"Okay. Don't get caught."
Glen smiled back at her, "You don't need to worry about me. You just go on to Duessel's."
Selena smiled and clicked her tongue, getting her horse trotting at a nice pace. She was hoping that Duessel's house wasn't too far from here, she was definitely getting tired of riding her horse.
As she rode, she looked up and saw Glen right above her. No trotting was heard, besides her own, and she was definitely happy about that. Glen squinted and looked through some trees seeing a cottage with smoke coming out from the chimney. "Selena, we're not far from the cottage. Just a few more minutes and we'll be there."
Selena looked up at him and said, "You know Glen, a wyvern is much faster than a horse but you've been flying above me at a very slow pace, right?"
"That's only because I want to protect you. If anything bad were to happen, I would never forgive myself."
Selena giggled, "Again with your chivalrous ways. I get flattered whenever I hear you say such."
They continued talking to each other and soon they were at Duessel's house. Before they could knock on the door, it opened and a little girl with a big grin on her face opened it and greeted them. Selena smiled down at her, "Hello there. Who's this?"
The little girl held out her hand, "I'm Maray."
"Maray? That's a beautiful name."
From inside the house, Glen and Selena heard the gruff voice of Duessel's call, "Who is it Maray?"
She turned around and said, "It's a lady and man, Daddy."
"Daddy?" Selena and Glen turned towards each other with perturbed looks on their faces. This little girl didn't look at all like Duessel so it had to be his wife who gave Maray her looks.
Duessel went to the door and let them into his house, "Cormag has already arrived. Please be quiet though. My wife is asleep in the living room."
The two got in and discovered how comfortable and warm his house was compared to the castle. It had one fireplace and nice red carpeting. It was very inviting and the family that lived here seemed to be the regular traditional family. Duessel told Glen to take off his armor and lay down his weapons. Glen did as told and sat in front of the fire. Selena sat beside him and looked around, "Duessel, you said your wife was in the living room. Is this not the living room?"
He looked around the room and scratched his head and then a very beautiful woman came walking in the room. She had very beautiful, light blue hair that went over her back. Could this woman really be Duessel's wife? Selena wondered.
Duessel went to her and asked, "You should be asleep Botan…Please go on back to sleep."
She pulled out of her husband's arms and whispered, "You have guests darling. I want to help them feel well at home."
Selena could see how sleepy she was and interrupted by saying, "Oh Miss, it's okay. We already feel well at home. You can go on to bed."
Botan looked past her husband and went to Selena. She sat down beside her and held both her hands and then closed her eyes. Selena was nervous as well as confused but wouldn't be rude to this gentle woman. After a few more seconds, she let go of Selena's hands and smiled, "You have a very pure heart my dear. But in that pure heart of yours there is a disturbance is there not?"
"Um…I guess so…"
Botan's face frowned a little, "Oh, I'm sorry. I hope I didn't offend you in any way. That was quite rude of me to do that all of a sudden."
Selena shook her head and replied, "Not at all ma'am. I'm just wondering how you did such."
Before she could answer Selena's question, Maray came and said, "My mommy has been doing that for years. It's a habit."
Botan looked at her daughter then back up at Selena, "That's right. My daughter knows practically everything about me. I confide secrets to both of my daughters."
"Two daughters? I only see one."
"My sister Lily gets sleepy so easily. Besides, even if she was here, she wouldn't be able to speak up to you guys as I can. She's always nervous and shaky." Maray was the firebrand of the two daughters and Lily seemed to be the gentle lamb. But even with the different characters, Selena could see that Botan loved them both.
Duessel came to disrupt them, "Selena, Glen, why don't you two introduce yourselves to the family?"
"Oh yes. Forgive my rudeness. My name is Selena."
"And you may call me Glen." The two have decided to no longer be called by the names that the emperor had made up for them. They were sure Duessel had decided the same thing.
"My name is Botan and this is Maray and my older daughter that is upstairs in bed at the moment is named Lily. She happens to pick them everyday and put them in that vase of ours."
Selena smiled and asked Duessel, "Aren't we going to discuss things now?"
Duessel shook his head. "No Selena. We're going to wait until tomorrow. It's too dark now and Botan has thought that we all need rest. So Glen, Selena, you may go change your clothes and find a place in the house for the night."
Duessel was ready to head upstairs until Glen called after him, "Wait. You said Cormag was here."
"Asleep. He couldn't even sit up straight due to his fatigue. I don't know what he went through but he was sure tired. Let him rest Glen."
"Alright Duessel."
Botan looked at the two and said, "Well, I better get to bed too. I could hardly keep my eyes open. Goodnight. Oh and Maray, you need to get to bed as well."
"Fine…" The little girl grumbled. Maray looked at Selena and grasped her hand with her two little ones. "You can go to sleep with me Selena. I share a room with my sister but she won't like you much. To be honest, she doesn't really like anyone new."
"Shouldn't you speak only nice things about your sister?"
"Lily doesn't mind. Come on."
Maray dragged Selena up the stairs and into her little room with two beds in it. One bed had a girl in it with blonde hair and she was asleep or at least she used to be until Maray woke her up. "Lily! Wakey wakey sis."
The girl sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What is it Maray? Daddy's going to get mad again if you don't go to sleep." Before Maray could reply, Lily sank back under the covers and fell asleep.
Maray then pouted and said, "Fine. C'mon Lady Selena. My bed is on this side." Maray guided Selena to her bed filled with stuffed animals and toys. The whole side of this room was messy while Lily's side was organized. "Sit. I'm going to get a book from Lily's bookcase and then you can read me a bedtime story." Selena sat down on the side of the bed while Maray crept over to her sister's side and took out a big red book. While she was making her way back, she accidentally dropped it on Lily's head.
"Ow…Maray, that's my book."
"C'mon Sis. Just let Lady Selena read it for just tonight."
Lily looked confused, "Lady Selena, who's that?"
Maray pointed at Selena and introduced her, "That person is Lady Selena. If you didn't go to bed so early maybe you'd know who she was."
Lily looked away and grew nervous. Maray placed her hands on her hips and said, "I told you she'd act like this Lady Selena. She's a fraidy cat."
Selena walked over to Lily and told Maray, "Maray, be nice to your sister."
"Why? She knows I'm just joking around and she won't leave me or anything like that."
Selena remembered about Lyon who she treated as a little brother and he left her. She took him for granted and she denied it. "Maray, you might not ever know…" She then cheered up and continued, "Just be nice to her okay?"
"Fine…"
Selena looked down at Lily and stroked her hair, "You have very beautiful hair Lily…"
Lily jumped and staggered, "Oh…th-thank you…"
"You're welcome. Would you like me to read you a story too? You seem to be having a hard time getting to bed."
"N-no Miss…You can just read it to Maray…"
Selena had never seen a girl as nervous as Lily and felt a little pity for her. She sat on the edge of the bed and put her hand on her shoulder, "Lily…you don't need to be scared of me. I won't hurt you." Lily didn't say anything so Selena continued on, "You know, I used to be just like you. I was always nervous of people until I learned how to talk to people and soon I understood them."
Lily sat up and looked up at her, "You mean you were like me?
"Uh-huh. But then I grew up to be as talkative as your sister here. I'm sure you could do the same. Just don't think of people as different as you think they are and you'll be fine."
Lily already began to enjoy Selena so replied, "I don't really want to be like my sister though. She's a loudmouth at times."
Maray then blurted, "What! Loudmouth!?"
Lily giggled, "See?"
Maray then sat beside Selena and said, "Read me the story now." She handed the book up to her.
Selena looked at the cover and read the title: Fale's Wings It was weird to think that children such as these two little girls would be reading such advanced books. She remembered that Lyon was reading it for the Father. "Are you sure you want this book to read Maray?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. I just took the best-looking book."
"Okay. Lily, would you like to join me and your sister for the story?"
"I'll join."
Selena opened up the first page and began reading the book. The two girls seemed to enjoy it quite well and so did Selena. She always knew that Fale was a hero but she never knew he went through hardships. In fact the hardships were much like the ones she was suffering now. Selena closed the book and said, "Alright girls, it's time to go to sleep." When she looked down, Maray had her head on her lap and snoring and Lily had her head leaning on her shoulder. She smiled and gently tucked them under the covers in the same bed. "Goodnight girls…" She closed the door and left the room.
Selena turned around and saw Glen. "Glen, it's you."
He smiled and hugged her tenderly, "Selena, you don't mind if I keep an eye on you while you're sleeping do you?"
Selena blushed and asked, "What?"
"I want to make sure you sleep well, without worry. You haven't been sleeping well at the castle so you should enjoy your sleep here."
"Thank you Glen but you should get rest too. I wouldn't be getting good sleep if I knew you were worrying."
Glen stroked her face and said, "I'll sleep once you get to sleep."
"Okay…" She got back into her room and got in the bed with both of the two girls. Selena slowly sank to sleep with the rain pelting outside.
"Selena, meet your brother, Lyon."
Selena looked down into the crib and found a little boy with periwinkle colored hair. He was so soft and she lifted him up.
"Welcome to the family Selena. You're apart of our family now…"
"Yes Vigarde…"