Chapter 21 Hurt feelings and girl talk

Marianna was the first one to wake up the next morning. That was probably because she couldn´t sleep well. The fight she had with Rath was still fresh in her mind and bothered her more than she let on. She didn´t know why he reacted so strong about her statement. She only vocalized what they both were thinking or at the very least her. How did he think their relationship would continue when they came back to the castle? Just like it began? Even he had to know that this was impossible. After all his parents arranged the engagement between him and Vilandra. Did he thought that they would be happy when Rath would announce that he fell in love with her? Or that they would realize their mistake and go all " Of course we break the engagement so that you can love Marianna"? She knew that this wasn´t the case and she accepted it. Now the only problem would be to get Rath to accept it without starting a fight again. Yeah fat chance of that happening. Marianna knew that she was facing a hell of a challenge. Rath was the most stubborn person she met in her life and to get him to listen to reason was slim to none possible. But she wasn´t someone who shied from a challenge because it seemed to be impossible, no she was the exact opposite. And she would get Rath to listen to her, no matter if he wanted or not. He should dress himself really warm, because he just found his master when it came to who can get one´s way better. Furthermore she had one advantage on her side, she was a woman and woman could talk as long as they didn´t get tired or bored. She should know it, because she made arguing an art form. Well that was the opinion of Lykus at least. He told her once that if babbling would be a weapon she would be leader of all armies in the whole universe. Until today she didn´t know if it was an compliment or an insult. Thinking of Lykus, she wondered how he was doing, if he was sad about her death or if he didn´t think about her at all? Did he believe that she would kill her own mother or did he really know her to not believe such a thing? Lykus was harder to read than Rath and that meant something, because Rath was like a closed book sometimes. Marianna turned her head to Rath and watched his face for awhile. He really hurt her last night. The things he said to her were more painful than the injures she got from her escape. How could he think she would fake her feelings for him? How could he think she was capable of that, considering her experience with unrequited love and how painful that could be? He as an empath should know better. You can´t fake feelings, either their there or not. End of story. Marianna stood up from her sleeping bag. She walked a few steps to the boiling spring and sat on the edge of it. Carefully she touched the water surface and watched how the water moved under her hand. She should stop thinking, it did her no good. The only thing was just that she got more confused the more she thought about everything. Suddenly she saw the reflection of another person in the water and startled. Until she regnorized the face of Rath. He was standing behind her with an sad expression.

" Hey", He seemed to feel guilty. Good, he deserved it.

" Hey".

Rath planted his butt next to Marianna. He was a little scared, because she was obviously still angry at him. And he couldn´t blame her. He acted like an ass the last night, he knew that. He said things, he regretted now. Of course he knew that she didn´t fake anything and that she felt exactly like him, even if she didn´t say it out loud. " How much do you hate me now?"

Marianna breathed deeply out. Hate was such a strong word and no matter what Rath would do in the near future, she could never hate him. " I´m angry with you, but I don´t hate you".

" I´m sorry for the things I said last night", there it was out. Rath wasn´t used to apologize to someone. But it was important for him that Marianna didn´t think badly of him. He was not someone who hurt people because he was in a mood. Ok she would say something different about him, but in reality it wasn´t so.

Marianna slowly faced him. She didn´t expect a earnest meant apology. It must have taken a lot for him to admit that he made a mistake. Not everyone had the guts to do that. She had to give him credit for it. " You should be. You really hurt me, you know".

" I didn´t want that. Honestly. You´re the last person I want to hurt. But I heared that you wanted to end things with us and I overreacted", and now he had a bad conscience because of that.

Marianna thought about last night and the things she said, but she couldn´t remember in all the time to say anything about breaking up. " That´s not what I said. I just said that things would change, nothing more".

Rath nervously scratched his right eyebrow. Now he felt stupid for making a scene about nothing at all. After he heared the word change he assumed that this was the end and he didn´t bother listening after that. " Yeah, but change is the same like breaking up".

" Maybe in your twisted little word. But I meant that we have to be careful from now on. We can´t act like a couple in front of a few people, like your parents, King Salem and Queen Lutezia. We have to keep our relationship to us", Marianna had thought about it the first night they made love. She imagined how they could make their relationship work without nobody knowing it. And all she came up with was they had to act like usual and if they were alone they could do what they wanted.

Rath was a bit disappointed about the fact, that they had to hide their feelings in front of the others. But he understood Mariannas thinking, ok at least the important things. He may not happy about it, but he could accept it. " And how should we do it?".

Marianna smiled inwardly. It was not that bad to get Rath to listen to reason after all. Of course only if he wasn´t insano boy. Marianna arose slowly to her feet and looked down on him. " I´ll tell you on the way to the castle. I don´t know about you, but I´m starving".

" Since your talking about it. I´m starving, too", Rath rubbed his belly. Then he jumped to his feet and followed Marianna, who was already on the process to put away their things.

Both worked fast to get the sleeping bags in their backpacks and cleared the place where they put the fire. Within a few minutes they had everything in order and were ready to get back home. Both with their heads already in the dinning room and at the table full of food. That was all the motivation they needed when they started walking again. All the way back Marianna told Rath about the things she thought about and how they could make it work.

The same time in front of the gate

The whole royal family was eager awaiting the arrival of their homecomer. Mael and King Salem were curious if the both had found the treasure and if the plan about trusting each other was working. Zan, Ava, Vilandra and Larek were placing bets if Rath and Marianna would come here peacefully or if they would bicker like usual. Ava and Zan wagered for the last, while Larek and Vilandra were holding against it. Queen Lutezia was holding the hand of Abidale, who was still worried that something happened to her son and Marianna.

" Something bad happened. I can feel it".

Queen Lutezia squeezed Abidales hand reassuringly. " Don´t worry. Nothing bad happened. Rath knows this forest and they have a map. You will see, in a few moments we´ll probably hear them coming".

Abidale send a mean glare in the direction of her husband. It was his fault that his son and Marianna weren´t where they should be." I shouldn´t have listened to you. I knew it was a bad idea. But no you thought it was for the best".

" And I still think it was a great idea. It was necessary to do that", Mael didn´t understand why his wife made such a fuss about the whole thing. It wasn´t like he send them into something deadly. It was just a little trek through the forest and back. How dangerous could that be?

Abidale just wanted to open her mouth to fling an angry curse at her husband, when Queen Lutezia gave her a little nudge in her ribs. Immediately she looked ahead. And there she saw her son and Marianna walking in their direction. Obviously still alive and relative unharmed, as much as she could see at the moment. Finally the knot which had built in her stomach when Rath and Marianna left her sight was dissolving. A smile broke out on her face at the sight of her son deeply in a conversation with Marianna.

" There you are! We thought you weren´t coming back at all", Mael didn´t want to admit it, but he was relieved that his two protegees were back again. He was a little worried after all.

Marianna dragged her body the last steps to the others and let herself slump to the floor there. " We would have been sooner if someone would have known to read a map!".

" Hey! You couldn´t read it either. So don´t try to put all the blame on me here!", Rath pointed with his finger at her and tried to send her his meanest glare.

Marianna lifted her head to look up at Rath. " Why you´re getting your boxers in a twist? I didn´t say you couldn´t read it, I said someone. That means we´re both were incapable".

Ava and Zan turned to Larek and Vilandra and stretched their palms out. " We won. So Pay up".

Reluctantly they both fetched two silver coins each and passed it with a barrel of some antarian cusses. How could they lose that bet? Vilandra was so sure after Larek told her what he had witnessed that Marianna and Rath would be closer now? She should have never listened to Larek. What did he know anyway? He was a guy and wouldn´t regnorize a amorous couple even if it bit him. But when she watched Rath embracing his mother she noticed a big hickey on the right side of his throat. She turned her head to Marianna and discovered she had one, too? Concidence? Absolutely not.

" Are you alright? Did you eat enough? Are you cold?", Abidale checked her son for injuries or other indication that something wasn´t right.

Rath, who hated to be mothered, tried to get away from his mother. She was doing like he was gone for a year and not just three days. " I´m okay. Really". Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed the smug smile on Mariannas face and swore to wipe it away. " But you should check Marianna. Some animal bit in her finger".

" Oh dear. Let me look at it", Abidale turned away from her son, who was obviously alright, and went to Marianna. She grasped her hand and took a look at the fingers.

Marianna mouthed a bad word to Rath without anyone noticing it. He did that on purpose. " It´s ok. Nothing hurt. See all fingers are still at their place", to prove her point she wiggled every finger on her hand.

" I´m so glad that your here. Both of you", Abidale kneeled on the ground, which was a little difficult because of her dress and huged Marianna tightly. And for the first time Marianna huged her back as tightly. For a moment she let herself believe that it was her own mother embracing her so lovingly.

Rath observed the scene with a grin on his face. He didn´t know why Marianna was so upset about her parents knowing what happened between them? They loved her like she was their own child and she was part of the family. His mother didn´t hug just anyone or was worried about them. That was only reserved for people she loved or were close to her.

" I don´t want to appear like I´m not happy that Rath and Marianna are back, but my stomach is growling and he wants to be feed", Zan rubbed his belly for emphases. Besides he wanted to prevent that his aunt would squeeze Marianna to death.

Ava and Vilandra turned both to him at the same time and were throwing him a angry look. " Zan!". Ava even hit him at the back of his head.

Zan rubbed the spot were Avas hand made contact with his skull. " What? I was just saying".

" No. I think Zan is right. We should go inside", Mael was hungry himself and now that he knew that his son and Marianna were save and sound home again he could stomach something solid. Then he saw that his wife was still clinging to the poor girl. " Honey, release Marianna. I think she´s slowly turning blue from all your squeezing".

Abidale let Marianna go immediately. Like she noticed just now that she was still holding onto her. A little embarrassed and with red glowing cheeks she arose from her position. Instantly Mael took her hand and led her in the castle. King Salem and Queen Abidale followed them, with Zan and Ava in tow, which where in a discussion about proper attitude. The last were Larek and Vilandra, who smirked at Marianna and Rath with a knowing twinkle in their eyes, before they although made their way back.

" Did you see that? Do you think they both know anything?", Marianna jumped to her feet, ok she slowly stood up, because she still had her backpack on her shoulders and she was wasted. Maybe she was imagine things, but it looked like they knew something.

Rath faced Marianna with a interrogatory glance. Why did she ask that and why would it be so bad if it would be the case? " How should they know something?".

Marianna turned to Rath and just in that moment she noticed the big hickey on his throat. No wonder Vilandra and Larek smiled like that. Rath had the evidence that something happend at a place everybody could see. " Because you have a hickey, right there" Marianna touched the spot tenderly.

" What? Really? Cool", Rath was glowing over his whole face. He was marked as taken and damn proud of it. Everybody would see that he had a girl and was very much off the market. Maybe he should mark Marianna, too. Just as he wanted to work on the hickey, he saw that it wasn´t necessary. There was already one. " But I´m not the only one".

Shocked Marianna touched every part of her throat, like she would feel the hickey there. No that couldn´t happen. How should she explain that? It wasn´t like she could excuse it with a imaginary boy, because there was just Rath. Sooner or later everybody would add two and two together and know what they did. Damn men and their urge to mark their terrority! " Oh no. What should we tell everybody?".

" Nothing. Maybe nobody noticed anything", Rath wasn´t concerned about the situation. It wasn´t the first time his family saw him with love bits or other things that would indicate what he was doing. Besides they both were mature enough to do what they wanted.

Marianna glanced at Rath like he was stupid. Yeah nobody saw that thing that covered almost his whole right side of his throat. Nobody was blind and the hickey was too eye catching to overlook. But before they would start to fight again, Marianna let him believe that she had the same opinion. That´s why she just nodded a okay at him and walked to the castle, before anyone would question what was keeping them so long.

After breakfast in the dinning room

Everybody was sated and the dishes were just cleared. Now all were calmly sitting in their chairs and tried to digest the wonderful meal. Marianna ate so much that she felt like she would puke every moment. She never was so hungry that she scarfed down her food, but now she regretted it. Hopefully nobody was expecting her to stand up the next few minutes, because then she couldn´t garantee for anything. Judging after the position Rath was sitting in his chair he felt not that different. Well it was no wonder, because he seemed to swallow everything without chewing. Marianna wanted to laugh about the face Rath was making, but she knew that every wrong move would have bad consequences. So she tried to prevent every movement and rubbed her stomach. Thankfully they already told everybody what they did in the last three days and what happened on their way to the treasure. Ok not every last detail, they skipped the part where they made love and all that. But apart from that they knew everything what they had to know. Even the funny story about the little accident at the cottage, where Marianna fell on Rath. Larek couldn´t keep his big mouth shut and anybody had a good laugh about it, except of course the two people that were the reason for the joke. Marianna just wanted the ground to open up and swallow her, it was so embarrassing. Contrary to Rath, he found it just hilarous, because afterwards he was finally rewarded for all the waiting.

" Can we get up now?", Vilandra was bored and curious. She wanted to know how it came to the hickey and if she didn´t do it quickly she was going to burst out with the question in front of her family.

King Salem regarded every member of his family. When he was sure that there was nothing else to tell anymore he turned to Vilandra. " Of course".

Immediately Vilandra jumped to her feet, something she never did, because she knew that a princess had to behave properly, but in that moment she didn´t care about it. " Great". Then she grasped Avas hand, pulled her off of her seat and dragged her without a word out of the dinning room. She wanted to be in Mariannas room before her. At last she couldn´t avoid her and Ava there.

The others watched the scene with a smile on their faces. Vilandra changed so much since there was another girl in the castle, besides Ava. She was more happy and not so snobby anymore. Actually all the children had changed. Especially Rath, which was a mystery, because he told once that he wouldn´t change for anybody. Either they accepted him like he was or they could screw him. Strange how that could shift when you´re in love.

" I think that´s our cue to leave too, don´t you think Larek", Zan finally noticed the hickey, with a little help of his friend. And now they both wanted to know if Rath had more at other places and how far he went with Marianna.

" Yeah absolutely", Larek slowly arose from his position and waited for Zan to get his butt in gear. When he saw that Rath didn´t seem to stand up in the near future he faced him. " Aren´t you going with us?".

Before Rath could reply that he wanted to sit a little longer until his meal was finally digested, his father spoke up. " No. He and Marianna have something to do with me. He will join you and Zan later".

" Alright. We will be waiting in Zan´s room", with that Larek and Zan were gone.

Marianna and Rath were looking at each other when Mael said that they had something to do. Hopefully it didn´t implicate exercise or moving, because they wouldn´t endure it for sure. All they wanted to do right now was resting and nothing else. For anything more Mael had to wait another time, preferable the next day, when they felt more like themself again.

" Oh Lutezia look at the time. Didn´t we mean to do what we spoke about?", Abidale was probably the worst liar on this planet. Everybody could see right through it or maybe she wanted it to look that way.

" You´re right", Queen Lutezia gracefully arose from her chair and went to her husband. " We´ll be in town for a few hours. We´re back before dinner" quickly she gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked out with Abidale, who had done the same with Mael.

Marianna and Rath got more confused by the minute. Why did everyone act so strangly today? What was lying ahead of them? And why did they all disappear so suddenly? The confusion got worse when King Salem left the room with the excuse that he had something important to attend and Mael smiled frightening at the two. Oh Oh that smelled of trouble.

" So now that we´re alone, I´ll show you something", Mael stood up and glanced down at Marianna and Rath, who were looking a little green around the nose. They were probably thinking that it was something bad. " Move it. I don´t have all day".

Instantly they both were jumping to their feet, thankfully without puking their meals out on the floor and followed Mael. He was making his way through the long corridors with long quick steps. He seemed to be in a hurry. Marianna and Rath were trailing a little slower behind him like two criminals who were on the way to the shambles. Both had the same thought : Damn! It didn´t look really good for them right now. After they passed the training room, the library and the bedrooms they went down where the laundry and the dungeons were. There they walked through the slightly lit path, who was more scarier than the little piece of forest. Marianna started to shake, because it was just like in the castle of her father. Cold, lifeless, dark and terrifying. But it stopped the second Rath took her hand in his and squeezed it. Marianna smiled gratefully at him, before her view fell at Mael again. A seemingly endless while later they finally came to a stop in front of a wall made of stone. Puzzled Marianna and Rath watched Mael wave his hand over it and suddenly the wall was disappearing. And what they saw behind it let them lose their breath for a moment. Althrough Rath was growing up in this castle and he knew almost every room there, he never was in there before. The armoury.

" Wow", Marianna was twirling around trying to see everything at once. She had never seen so much weapons at once. There were laser swords, laser guns, cross bows with the fitting bolts, normal bows with arrows, shields and of course the armaments. All cleanly stacked side by side.

Mael smiled at the glowing face of Marianna. She was reminding him of his daughter when she went into a clothes shop. They shared the same expression of awe and happiness. " It´s overwhelming, isn´t it?".

" That´s a understatement. I want to move in here", Marianna stepped closer to a rack where many laser swords were hanging. Carefully she took one in her hand and tried to get a hold on it. She missed her own sword. It was handmade for her and a gift from Hewlik. It was the most precious present she ever received. Too bad that she had to leave it behind.

Rath, who was busy with a laser gun the whole time, finally found the time to watch what happened around him. He saw his father eye Marianna with so much pride that he got jeaulous for a moment. But the feeling went away as fast as it came, because he knew that his father felt the same way with him. Besides it was a sign that his father considered Marianna as a full member of the family. " So, why are we here for?".

" To get your reward for the successfull mission", Mael pointed at the wall behind them. He used the time the kids were away for finishing a few things he thought were necessary for their future.

Marianna and Rath turned around simultaneously and noticed for the first time the two armaments hanging on frames. One was large with a chain mail shirt, a bronze breastplate with the royal sign on the front, the matching leg and shoulder armor, a black belt for the weapons and metal boots. Except for the size and that it was silver the other armor looked like a exact replica of it. Slowly Marianna and Rath moved in the direction of them and took a closer look. They were both touched deeply and it could be seen on their faces.

Mael was relieved that his surprise had worked so good. He would keep this picture of his son and his almost daughter with so much joy on their faces forever in his mind. " Don´t be so shy. You can touch it if you want".

They didn´t need to be told twice before they started to examined it carefully. Marianna was impressed with the detailed work on her breastplate and the royal sign that seemed to be burnt in it. Then she noticed the chain that was hanging at the shoulder armor. Nosily she took it in her hands and eyed it particularly. On the chain were two tags with her initals, her age and the position she held. Surprised she read the words Leading Commander on it. Judging after the holy shit she heard beside her Rath found the dog tags, too. Now it was as good as official that they would be the second most important people after the king. Marianna couldn´t fight her tears any longer and with a quick movement she hugged Mael tightly.

" Thank you. You don´t know how much that means to me", could be heard through her sobs. Usually she wasn´t someone who would cry in front of others, but since she came into the castle it changed. She was a completely different person now. A person with people who loved her, a boy who meant a lot to her and friends who cared about her friendship.

Mael had to blink his tears away. He didn´t expect such a emotional release with Marianna. She wasn´t like that normally. But if he was honest, he liked her much better that way. " You don´t have to thank me. You deserve it. Both of you". At that part he looked to his son, who was remarkable quiet.

Then he saw something that was more unusual then his quietness. For the first time he saw Raths eyes shining with unshed tears. Before he knew what was happening his son was threwing himself in his arms or rather the arm, because one was already occupied with Marianna. For a few minutes the three were standing in the armoury tightly interwined with each other, before they noticed how it must look like.

Marianna was the first to detach herself. Quickly she tried to wipe away the remaining tears on her face and destroy any evidence that she cried. It was one thing to open up to someone who understood you, another to show your weakness to people who thought they understood you. Meanwhile Rath was rubbing his eyes furiously with the sleeve of his shirt. He wanted to hide the fact that he cried like a girl. He didn´t get emotional with other people around, but it was save here, because he saw his father brush something wet from his face.

Mael noticed the look from his son. " I just got something in my eye".

" Yeah right", Rath didn´t believe it one bite. His father had to be smarter than that. He laid an arm on Maels shoulder and leant closer to his ear. " But don´t worry thats a secret that stays between us".

While Rath and his father were teasing each other, Marianna had discovered a door at the far end of the room. It had weird symbols on it, the same she saw on the book. The book that everybody said it didn´t mean anything, althrough Marianna had the feeling that they were lying about that. Why else did it react so strangly when she and Rath touched it? Or why were they words nobody could understand? Question over questions, which nobody wanted to answer them.

" What´s behind that door?", she pointed at it. Maybe it was one answer she would be getting.

Mael turned to Marianna and then to where she was pointing at. " Oh. There´s our newest weapon. It´s still in the making. But when it´s finished it will be the most powerful weapon on this and probably any other planet".

Now Rath was curious. He didn´t even know that his father was building something new. " Can we see it?".

" I´ll show you when it´s done", Mael went to the armaments, took the dog tags and gave it their rightfully owners. " I think it´s time for us to go".

Marianna and Rath attached the chains around their necks and followed Mael out of the armoury. The way to their rooms was relative quiet, which had probably to do with the fact that Marianna and Rath were starring proudly at their dog tags the whole way. Both deeply lost in their thoughts. When they walked by the training room, Mael took off without a word. After all he had still a job to do, his men weren´t waiting for him, or rather they would make trouble like usual when he wasn´t around.

Mariannas room

Vilandra and Ava were sitting excited on Mariannas bed. They wanted to know what they weren´t told about the adventure. Actually Ava didn´t know about the hickey´s until Vilandra told her about her observation. Now they were waiting for the owner of this room to appear. Just as Vilandra wanted to stand up, the door flew open and Marianna came through it. For a moment she was shocked to see that she wasn´t alone.

" What are you doing here?".

Vilandra smiled over her whole face. " We´re waiting for you".

" And why?", Marianna could picture the why, but she wasn´t in the mood to tell them anything. She was bodily exhausted and her mind was almost in the same condition. She just wanted to lie down and rest for a few hours.

Vilandra arose from the bed to get a better look at Marianna. " You know why. Don´t play dumb with me".

" Can we do it later. I promise that I will tell you all the details another time. Just not now", maybe they would be indulgent with her and respect her wishes. But after she saw Vilandras stubborn face she knew that they wouldn´t leave her room before she told them everything. Ava didn´t say much, she was just sitting there and let Vilandra talk. However she was as curious as her friend beside her. Defeated Marianna walked to the cosy chair near her bed and sat on it. " Ok. What do you want to know?".

Vilandra made herself comfortable on the bed again and started preparing for a hell of a story. " Everything".

" And don´t leave the good stuff out", finally Ava opened her mouth. It wasn´t like she had problems with communication to other people. She was just a person who only talked when she had something to say. And she respected the privacy of other people, usually.

Marianna groaned inwardly. They would be here for awhile if they wanted to know every last detail of her trip. But on the other hand she could give them the highlights. The same information in less time. That meant she still get a few hours of rest until dinner was served. Neato! So Marianna started to tell them how everything began. At least the part where she let Rath see another side of her.

Library at the same time

Larek was pacing the floor like a trapped animal. From one side to the other and back again. Zan was trying to follow him with his eyes, but at one time he got dizzy and stopped it. Now he was reading the title at the side of the books. Some seemed to be really interesting and others were just plain boring, or at least according to the cover. He didn´t understand how someone could spend hours with the nose in some book and read what a person wrote. Except the book was about important things that were nesecarry for their future.

" How can you be so calm? I´m on the brink to climb up the wall and you´re reading the titles of books!", Larek was acting like they were criminals and waited for the verdict for their crime. He was extremly nervous and played with the ring on his forefinger all the time.

Zan turned to his friend and eyed him carefully. Why did he act so strange? They just wanted to know about the love bite Rath got from Marianna. They wouldn´t learn the mystery of life, dammit! " Relax will you, your driving me insane".

Larek lifted his arms like he wanted to strangle Zan when the door to the library opened with a squeaking noise. Immediately Zan and Larek turned to it and saw Rath with a big smile on his face standing there. He finally realised what just happened and what it meant for his future.

" Who put the smile on your face?", Larek pushed Zan aside and went to Rath. Finally he would the answers he was waiting for so long. Ok since a few hours, but to his defence he had no patience at this things. Maybe he could charm a few dirty details from his friend and learn some new tricks by the way.

Rath faced his old buddy. " My father".

Larek and even Zans eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Either they would hear something kinky, which they didn´t want to know or they misunderstood him. " Ewwww".

" Not like you think, morons. I just got my new armour as the leading commander of the army", it sounded even better when he said it loud.

" That´s great", he was really happy for his friend, but they weren´t here to talk about something trivial such like a promotion. " Now tell us how you got the hickey".

Rath should have been surprised that Larek just wanted to know what really happened in the three days alone with Marianna, but he wasn´t. Contrary to Zan he had no patience and no tact. One of the many reasons why he was one of his best friends. " Why do you think I will tell you anything?".

" Come on, old buddy of mine. I have no love life and I want to know what it´s like to be with a woman".

Now Zan felt a tad bit insulted. After all he was with a woman and Larek seemed to have no interest to know anything about that. " Hey. I have a girlfriend and you never asked me about some details".

" Yeah, because you´re boring. If I need a few tips to get rid of my food then I´ll ask you", like Larek wanted the details of their sweet and happy relationship. It was bad enough to see, but to actually hear everything. No, that was a nightmare he wanted to prevent.

Zan glared at Larek. " What do you mean by that?".

Before he could open his mouth to say something indiscreetly, Rath jumped in. " What he meant is that you and Ava have a relationship that makes us all sick just by watching you two" Ok that was not better than what Larek would have probably said.

" We´re not that bad", what was wrong with showing their affection towards each other? They were in love and didn´t need to hide that. Besides they were almost husband and wife.

Larek rolled his eyes. Not that bad! He just said that because he couldn´t see himself. They were scary at times and other times it was just disgusting. " Alright my bad. But we´re not here to discuss your love life", Larek turned to Rath. " We´re here to discuss yours".

" I don´t have a love life", after he received two unbelievable looks from his friends he continued. " Really. That mark on my throat is just a bite from an animal".

Larek wanted to laugh out loud. What kind of story was that? He was bitten by something! Who was he kidding? " You have to show me that animal, because I want to be bitten by it too".

Zan nodded in agreement with Larek. It was just to impossible to believe. Besides what animal would leave such a big red mark without hurting the spot? It was definitely a hickey and he knew who left it there. " Give it up. You´re not fooling anyone with your lame story. Tell us the truth".

Rath sighed extra loud. What could he still say? " Ok. But you have to promise me that you keep that to yourself", Zan and Larek both nodded eagerly". Alright. It all started with the treasure...".

Mariannas room after dinner

Marianna was standing at the window and watched the scenery outside, at least the part she could still regnorize. The suns were in the process to disappear completely behind the big mountains and just a orange glimmer was illuminating the land. The dinner tonight was different than every other she had so far. It wasn´t bad, absolutely not, but for the first time she really felt like part of the family. Abidale was asking every few seconds if she and Rath were alright, Mael was loudly talking about the things he would do when he wasn´t leading commander anymore, King Salem and Queen Lutezia just listened and made a few suggestion here and there, Ava and Vilandra giggled everytime they looked at Rath, while Zan was blushing when his view met Mariannas. It was like a normal dinner with a normal family. Something she never had with her own family. Suddenly she saw movement out of the corner of her eyes. It looked like Vilandra was speaking with a boy. It must be this ominous Davico Vilandra was always talking about. But she couldn´t be sure, because he was in the shadows and hard to identify. Marianna tried to look closer, when a strong feeling hit her. A feeling she always associated with her father. It felt like all the warmth was gone instantly and in its place was just this coldness and hate. Her heart started beating fast and her whole body shook with fear. Just when she thought it would crush her, two strong arms was embracing her from behind.

" What are you looking at", Rath had sneaked in her room and saw her looking intently out of the window. When he was near her he could feel a strong vibe of fear coming from her. But why?

Marianna startled for a moment. She didn´t notice Rath coming into her room. " Just Vilandra with someone", she turned around in Raths arms and saw in his eyes. " What do you actually know about the guy she´s seeing?".

Rath was surprised about the question. Why did she want to know that? " His name is Davico and he´s new here. Why you´re asking?".

" I just want Vilandra to be safe, that´s all. I have a bad feeling about him", and her feelings never let her down so far. Except for the thing with her father, but that wasn´t entirely her fault. After all it was her father and no matter how cruel he was, she had loved him.

Rath was sure that it wasn´t all. There was something in Mariannas eyes that bothered him. Something that said there was to it than she let on. But he knew that she wouldn´t tell him what was bothering her if he asked, that´s the reason why he dropped the topic. After all he wasn´t here to talk about Vilandra and her new boyfriend. " Don´t care about Vilandra. She´s old enough to know what she´s doing".

" Maybe you´re right", Marianna knew that it wouldn´t bring anything if she worried about everything. She just hoped that Vilandra was smart enough to be careful. Sometimes there was more than meets the eye. And she didn´t want that someone hurt her, she was like a sister now. " By the way. What are you doing in my room?".

Rath pulled her tighter to his body and gave her his come hither- look, which Marianna had to laugh about. " I can´t sleep alone anymore. My bed is so cold without you to warm me".

" Oh poor Baby. Maybe you should sleep in mine then", Marianna took his hand and lead him to her bed. Carefully she threw the cover back and waited till Rath was comfortable lying on the mattress, before she joined him. Within a few minutes they both fell asleep. Tightly interwined with each other.

TBC