Chapter 26 When the rain beginns to fall
The next day the whole kingdom was in deep mourning because of the death of so many people and the almost erasement of the royal family. Every resident came to the palace and eyed the destruction of the attack . Some were openly crying and others just laid their hands on their hearts and prayed. Prayed that the death of this many would be revenged. The carcasses which had been lying on the grass outside the castle, were finally with their beloved ones and all that was left behind were the imprints of their bodies on the grass. Parts of the stone walls were still lying where they fell down, broken bits of glass from the windows was scattered almost to the outer wall. Everyone was shocked about the appearance of the castle, which was until now the eye catcher of this kingdom. But at the moment it looked more like a wreckage than a properly housing for the royal family. On the inside it looked a little better. The soldier and most of the surviving servants had worked all night to get rid of the havoc and tried to make the ball room and other rooms that looked like a battlefield more presentable. The major part of the broken furniture, the curtains and tablecloth were either replaced with another or just thrown away. Nothing should remind what happened here the night before, especially for the kids, who were gone through enough. Nolak observed the progress and looked after that everything went smoothly. He wanted to spare the children to have to take care of that themself. After all they would still have enough to do in the near future. When he was sure that his soldiers were capable to do their work alone he made his way to check up on Marianna. She was the one who suprised him the most last night. She stepped up to the enemy, in her case probably family or friends, without a weapon at hand and still came back alive. Not even he would have had the guts to do that and he had years of experience, apart from the fact that he was older and bodily superior. And what he heard from a few soldiers she saved so many lifes during the attack. She really was a born warrior like Mael always told him and now he believed that. She earned all his respect and not everyone did that. Suddenly he was thrown out of his thoughts when he bumped into someone. Startled he looked up at the person which was standing in his way.
" What are you doing out of bed so early? You should still rest".
Marianna looked at him like he was crazy. What did he think he was? Her father? She was old enough to know what she was doing. " I don´t have time to rest. Besides I´m feeling fine".
Nolak looked at her left arm, which was lying in a sling. That was her definition of fine? Quick he shoot his hand forward and poked her shoulder really hard. The cry that followed was extremly loud and almost woke the whole building. " Yeah. I see that".
Marianna glared at Nolak. Alright she wasn´t fine, but she felt better than yesterday and that was a wonder in itself, considering the circumstances. " I don´t have time to argue with you. So I suggest you move out of my way before I have to get nasty".
" You recovered really fast, considering that you couldn´t phrase a normal sentence last night", althrough he was glad the Marianna acted more like herself this morning, he was worried that she tried to repress her memories.
Marianna didn´t remember anything after she crashed at the big tree. She just woke up this morning in this strange bed, she laid when she first came into the castle. At first she thought it was just a dream, but then she saw the other wounded persons lying besides her and the memory of last night came crashing back to her. Followed from this deep sated hatred and the thought to destroy something. " I was in shock. I don´t remember anything anymore".
Nolak hoped that she just forgot the part where she was brought here and not the actual battle itself. They had to find out what happened when she disappeared. " Can you remember why you chased after Vilandras boyfriend?".
Marianna was thrown back to the spot where she tried to keep Mael from crashing to the floor, because he was stabbed from Nikolai. She relived every part of it again. The cocky smile of her brother and the rage that seethed in her body. " He killed Mael and I wanted to take revenge for that".
" Why would Vilandras boyfriend kill the commander?", Nolak didn´t understand that. He seemed to be nice guy and he obviously felt something for Vilandra, otherwise he wouldn´t have got the blessing from her father.
Marianna wiped a few tears, which had leeked from her eyes without her noticing it, from her face. " Because he isn´t who he appeared to be. He´s a soldier in Khivars army. To be exact he is his son"
Nolak was left breathless for a moment. That twist he didn´t see coming. But that would mean he was Mariannas brother. However before he could say something a sound behind them disturbed them. Immediately he looked over Mariannas shoulder, while she turned her head around and they both noticed simultaneously the form of Vilandra. She was pretty pale and her eyes were wide open. Obviously she overheard their conversation.
" It´s all my fault, isn´t it".
Instantly Marianna twirled around and went to Vilandra. " No it´s not. Don´t say that".
" But you just said that Davico was not who he appeared to be. Why do you think he did that? Because he wanted information from me. He used me", Vilandra hid her face behind her hands and began to cry.
Marianna tried to embrace her with her good arm. " You couldn´t know that. He´s a really good actor. He even would have me fooled, if I wouldn´t have known him better".
At that Vilandra dropped her hands from her face and her eyes glistened with her tears. " I killed my parents. It was my fault that they were killed", with that Vilandra pushed Marianna aside and stormed away.
Marianna didn´t think long about what to do, before she broke out in a run herself. She left a rather baffled Nolak behind and tracked after a distressed Vilandra. On her way she dashed past Larek and Rath who seemed to be on their way to her actually. But she didn´t pay attention to them and pushed her body faster forward. She thought that they would stay back and wait for her. At least until she heard them screaming her name and their steps following her. Great. She didn´t need an audience for her talk with Vilandra. When she made it almost to the door, which led to the garden outside she used her powers to let Rath trip over his own feets and fall. During his way to the ground he tried to grasp Larek to prevent him from crashing down. Unfortunately for them Larek lost his balance and they both landed with their faces on the floor. Without turning around to look if someone was hurt Marianna raced through the door and stopped immediately at the entrance. Slightly out of breath she stood back and watched how someone was comforting Vilandra, who was sitting with her head down on the bench near the fountain. And that someone was familiar to her.
" Get your hands off of her".
Startled Lykus jumped from his place and looked back. For a moment he didn´t know what he should say or if he should do something. He thought that the girl sitting on this bench was Marianna. He was open and closing his mouth like a fish and if the situation wouldn´t have been so complicated Marianna would have laughed about that. " I thought...I mean...I was so sure...".
" What do you want here? Finishing what the others couldn´t?", Marianna couldn´t believe that he had the nerve to show up here after what happened. Truth to be told, she didn´t want to know what his reason was for coming, but he sure wasn´t going back anymore.
Lykus removed himself from Vilandra and walk in her direction. " No. Do you think I would come here without backup to attack you? You should know me better than that".
" I thought once that I knew you. But now I´m not so sure anymore", Marianna was torn between her instinct, which told her to tackle him down and her heart, which told her that she should listen first and then tackle him.
Lykus suddenly began to smile, something Marianna had rarely seen on him. " You still know me. I haven´t changed".
" But I have. I´m not the girl you grew up with", Marianna got nervous and her heart started fluttering in her chest. Damn. Her feelings for him hadn´t disappeared like she thought. There was still a part that loved him. Even if it was a small part.
Lykus stopped in front of Marianna and touched her cheek with his hand. " I don´t care about that. I´m just relieved that your alive", he started to caress it with his thumb." Do you know how devasted I was when I heard about your death? I thought I lost part of myself".
Marianna wanted to stop him. She shouldn´t do that, she wasn´t in love with him anymore. She loved Rath now and nothing Lykus would try could keep her from this. " I´m sorry for causing you any pain. But you have to move on. That´s all in the past now".
" We could still have a future together. My feelings for you haven´t changed. I love you", slowly Lykus bend forward, prepared to kiss Marianna.
In an instant she pushed him away from her. How dare he come here and try to seduce her. She noticed that Vilandra, which was still present, watched the scene between them rather interested. Why didn´t she went inside to get help? " But I don´t love you. Not any longer. I don´t think I loved you at all"
At that Lykus´ face changed from friendly to angry. His whole demeanour seemed to change drastically. " Is it because of your new boyfriend? This Rath?".
Marianna was taken aback from the outburst. But thankfully she was saved from answering his question in the form of Rath and Larek, which was storming through the door and were heading furiously in their direction. And it got worse the moment Rath noticed that someone not him was touching his girl. Even Larek seemed to be pissed off. Something Marianna didn´t see on him and she was a little stunned. Immediately she stepped back from Lykus and made her way near Vilandra. Just in case there would be a fight. She was still wounded partly and the other unjuries were just healed, hence she wanted to avoid any kind of situation which could harm her again.
" Did somebody call my name?", Rath went straight to Lykus. He disliked him, althrough he didn´t know him. But something told him that he was trouble. And Rath was just in the mood for a fight.
Lykus twisted his head in Mariannas direction. That was his replacement? " You´re sleeping with him? Because of him you betrayed your family?".
" I did not betray my family. They betrayed me", Marianna was afraid of Raths reaction. He wasn´t in the best mood, judging after his expression. And that her ex fiance was here wouldn´t help the situation.
Rath finally stood in front of Lykus and eyed him from head to toe. That was her ex fiance then? He didn´t seemed to be a threat to him. He could take him with just one of his arms. " I suggest you bail while you still can or I´m forced to harm you".
" Is that a threat? Did you win Marianna over with that charm?", Lykus wasn´t impressed from Rath. He was just talk but no action.
Rath balled his fist and was prepared to smash his opponents face until nobody could regnorize him anymore. What did that miserable wretch think he tried to do here? He obviously wasn´t the smartest cookie in the jar. " I´m not in the mood to waste my time on some little wannabe warrior. I have actually more important things to do".
" Yeah. Like what? Cleaning the mess which we left behind or counting the dead bodies", Lykus couldn´t contain his smirk any longer. Rath was so predictable.
Rath reacted instantly. With one swift move he gripped Lykus throat and squeezed it really strong. Vilandra, Larek and Marianna watched that with mouths and eyes wide open. It didn´t look good for Lykus, because Rath was taller, bodily superior and had no conscience to hold him back at the moment. " Tell me one reason why I shouldn´t kill you. Just one and I might change my mind about choking you".
But Lykus couldn´t utter a word, because Rath was crushing his windpipe and he needed all his strength to keep his awareness. He realized that no matter what he said now, he would definitely die. Until he saw from the corner of his eyes that Marianna was trying to stop Rath. " You´re not a murderer".
Rath was confused why Marianna said that to him. He turned his face to her without losening the grip on Lykus, which was fighting for air. " What?".
" You wanted one reason why you shouldn´t kill him. I named one. You´re not a murderer", Marianna couldn´t allow that Rath would do something that he would regret someday. It was one thing to kill someone in war. But just because of jeaulousy? Rath would probably never revover from that.
Rath couldn´t believe his ears. She wasn´t serious, she couldn´t be. " You´re siding with him? After all we shared!".
" I´m not siding with him. I´m just trying to look out for you", why wasn´t she surprised that Rath understood everything wrong again. She just wanted to prevent him for making the biggest mistake in his life.
Rath seemed to think for a moment. Everybody was holding their breath and waited what he would do in this situation. At first it looked like he wouldn´t listen to Marianna. But then he released Lykus without saying anything and tramped angry away.
The others looked worried after his retreating back. Then Larek and Vilandra turned to Marianna. They couldn´t believe what just happened here. Perplexed they eyed her like she was a stranger to them. Why did she do that? Why didn´t she let Rath kill him? He was after all the enemy.
Marianna noticed the glances, but she ignored them. She had time to explain everything when they were alone. Slowly she bend down to Lykus until she was close enough to talk to him without that the other two could hear them. " Don´t think that I did it for you. If I wouldn´t care so much about Rath you would be dead. That was just a warning. The next time you will have to reckon with me and believe me when I say I´m not so charitable like Rath".
Lykus scambled away from her. The look in her eyes scared him. Now he understood what she tried to tell him. She really was changed since he last saw her. When he finally made it back on his feet he ran as fast as possible.
" And tell your king that he should prepare himself for his death", Marianna screamed after him. Then she twirled around and saw to Larek and Vilandra, which were still standing there and were rather confused looking. " What?!"
Larek was the first to recover and took a closer look at Marianna. " Is everything alright with you?".
" Of course. I´m just peachy", althrough the words were not matching her tone. She was extremly pissed at the moment and it wouldn´t take long before she exploded.
Vilandra couldn´t keep the question for herself any longer. So without waiting she blurred it out. " Why did you spare his life?".
Marianna rubbed her face, like she wanted to wipe dirt from it. How could she explain something that was partly a mystery to her too? " It wouldn´t have been right".
" Do you still love him?", everybody was surprised about the question from Larek. He seemed to see more than he let on.
Marianna was scared to tell them the truth. What would they think from her when she would say that a part would probably always love him. Not in the romantically way, but he was a friend, something like family actually. They shared everything with each other. She couldn´t just erase all the memories they had in common. She knew him almost her whole life and that was pretty long. " No. But he was at one point everything for me. I can´t just forget that".
Vilandra thought about her situation at the moment and she could relate to her. No wonder she liked her so much. They both were more alike than they thought. Just that Marianna wasn´t responsible for the death of her whole family. " I know what you mean".
Larek was slightly out of the loop. What were they talking about? Maybe he should go looking for Rath before he did something stupid or worse. Besides he had the impression that he was unwelcomed here and he didn´t want to listen how two girls started talking about their feelings. Without saying anything he walked away.
Marianna waited till Larek was out of their sight, before she embraced Vilandra and sat with her on the bench again. " You´re not responsible for what happened. I hope you know that".
" I wish I could believe that. I was the one that opened the door to the enemy. If I wouldn´t have been so blinded by love I could have stopped everything", Vilandra started to cry again. The knowledge that she could have prevented all was depressing her.
Marianna caressed her back tenderly with her hand. If somebody should feel guilty it should be her. After all she was the one who had the feeling that something would happen and she didn´t do anything against it. " I don´t think it would have made any difference. The attack would have happened, even if you didn´t have started something with Nikolai".
" That was his real name?", Vilandra didn´t think about his true identity till now. Was it only just a few weeks since she met him? She was so sure that he loved her like she loved him. What a fool she was to believe all the things he said to her.
Marianna startled for a moment when Vilandra laid her head on her shoulder. She didn´t want to imagine what went through her mind just now. It was painful to loose your parents, but when you thought you could have stopped that it got worse. " Yeah that´s his real name".
" I thought he really felt something for me. He was so sweet and caring", Vilandra wiped the tears off of her face with the back of her hand. How he mislead her and she didn´t even notice it. She would never fall in love or look at a men again. From now on she would guard her heart and don´t let someone get close to her.
" I think a part of him was in love with you. He´s just so obsessed with pleasing his father that he didn´t realize how many people he hurt by the way", Marianna just described her relationship with Nikolai. He was always so busy with kissing his fathers butt that he didn´t notice what happened around him. Sometimes she wondered if he would be different when he would have spent more time with their mother or his father would have been nicer.
Vilandra shook her head. Actually she didn´t want to rack her brain with all this question if he really loved her or not. After all they had to worry about more important things at the moment. Namely what they should do now and when they would bury their parents. " Let´s not talk about it anymore. I just want to forget last night ever happened".
Marianna was relieved that they didn´t have to talk about it anymore. It just brought more question and even if she grew up with Nikolai, she didn´t understand him yet. Maybe she would never figure him out or get to know his inner workings. Carefully Marianna moved her shoulder, because it started to pain actually. Vilandras head seemed to be heavier than she thought. " Where´s Zan by the way? I didn´t see him today.".
" I don´t know. I wanted to look after him, but he wasn´t in his room", Vilandra just shrugged her shoulders.
Mariannas instinct were immediately on alert. That didn´t sound good. After his condition last night it wasn´t good to leave him alone for too long. You didn´t know what he would do to himself. Slowly Marianna untangled Vilandras head from her shoulder and arose from her position. Great now her butt fell asleep. The bench was really uncomfortable if you sat on it for a longer time. " Then we´re going to search for him. He can´t be too far already".
Vilandra made a face that wanted to say that she didn´t have the nerve to go hunting for her brother. But she didn´t want to be alone right now and she didn´t have something better to do anyway. Therefore she arose from the bench and followed Marianna back in the castle. On their way they noticed that every soldier who was not hurt and many citizen were heading to the war room. Both were a bit suspicious about that and if they would have had the time they would have probably asked what that was all about. But at the moment they had other things on their minds. And so they continued their way. In the corridor where the stairs would have been they separated and went in different direction. Vilandra took the common rooms where the whole family was usually and Marianna took the bed rooms. She was sure that he had to be somewhere. He wouldn´t just disappear without anyone knowing about it. At least a guard or someone other would have seen him. But after she rummaged through every room she could think of, she was sure that she wouldn´t find him here. She hoped that Vilandra had more luck with her search. However when she came to the last door, Avas room, she heard crying noises coming from it. Carefully she opened the door and looked inside. And there Zan was, with a beautiful white dress in his hands and his face buried in it. Strong sobs were shooking his whole body and the sound he was making told from deep sorrow. Quietly Marianna stepped into the room and made her way to Zan, who was sitting on the floor in front of the bed. With caution she placed herself besides him. For a few seconds Marianna tried to say something to him, but she didn´t know what. She didn´t have the strong bond which she had with Rath, Larek or Vilandra with him.
" What do you want?", Zan had finally noticed that he wasn´t alone anymore. But he didn´t lift his head or dropped the dress. Even if the sobs were not so strong like before.
Marianna was tempted to lay her hand on his shoulder to show him that he wasn´t alone. Yet she couldn´t. She didn´t know if he wanted it or not. " We were worried because you weren´t in your room".
" Now that you found me you can stop worrying and leave me alone", Zan wasn´t in the mood to listen to someone who wanted to comfort him, althrough nobody knew how he felt. He just wanted to be alone and mourn. He didn´t need somebody telling him that everything would get better. Because nothing would get better any time soon. He lost everything and he didn´t know why he still lived actually. The world in which he lived all his life crumbled in front of his eyes and he couldn´t stop it.
Marianna knew, contrary to what Zan believed, what he went through at the moment. She herself made the same experience. Only it happened the second time to her. " It´s not good for you to be alone right now".
Finally Zan raised his head and looked at Marianna with his tearstained eyes. " What do you know about what it´s good for me or not? You don´t know how I feel".
" Really. Let me review for you. I saw my mother getting murderer by someone who I thought was my father. He gave the order to kill me and they almost made it. Then I found people who I cared very deeply for, just to see them die, too. And I learned something interesting. My father wasn´t khivar but Hewik, a man who showed my everything what I know today. Do you know what I did to him? I killed him", Marianna didn´t plan to say that much, but she was angry that he was so busy with his own pain that he didn´t notice that others were suffering, too. He wasn´t the only one who lost everything in that attack.
Zan was speechless for a moment. He forgot completely to whom he was talking to. " I´m sorry. But I just don´t want to talk about it at the moment. Give me time, alright?".
" Alright. If you´re ready to talk, you know where to find me", quickly she squeezed Zans shoulder and jump to her feet. With a little wave she disappeared through the door.
Just as she stepped into the corridor, Nolak almost run her over. He seemed to be in a hurry and was looking for someone. Immediately when he spotted her he went straight to her and grasped her good arm. " Just the person I was looking for. Where were you? We´re all waiting for you".
Marianna was stunned. Why were they looking for her? Hopefully they didn´t blame her for the attack and wanted to execute her in front of the whole kingdom. She had a queasy feeling in her stomach. " I was just looking after Zan".
Without a reply Nolak dragged her with him. They were heading for the war room and Marianna got confuser the closer they came to it. What was happening in there? The moment she set one foot in the room she was amazed how full it was. She didn´t know that so many people would fit in there. The tables and the chairs got removed and the space looked, despite the crowd, huge. Nolak didn´t give her enough time to soke everything up and dragged her further in the room. Then he placed her directly besides Rath, who glared angrily at her.
" Glad you could join us", he threw nastily in her direction. After that he turned his attention to the people in front of him. " You probably know the reason I wanted this meeting", he waited until he saw that everyone was nodding before continuing. " Last night our kingdom was attacked from our enemy. Many people lost their lives and there will be probably more if we don´t do anything now".
A older man in the back raised his hand. " And what it our task in all this exactly?"
Rath glanced at him with a stony face. " We need everybody who is old enough to hold a weapon or is still in the position to do that. Last night was just a little battle. We are facing a war and therefore we need all the help we can get".
" But it will be dangerous. Many of us have family or at least a wife at home", a man of middle age added. A few men agreed thereupon.
Rath thought about that. And he knew the risk of a war. But they had no different option than fighting. " Everybody who thinks it´s too dangerous for him is free to go. We´re not forcing anybody. But everybody who thinks it´s worth the risk to protect your family from harm is welcomed".
" And when do we start?", a soldier in the front asked.
Rath looked around the room and observed the mostly frightened or determined faces. " Now. We want to attack as fast as possible". That earned him a snort, which came right besides him. Furious he faced Marianna, who was just standing there with her arms crossed over her chest and a bored face. " What?".
" I didn´t say anything".
Rath didn´t buy that. She had obviously something to say. " If you have anything to add your free to do so".
Marianna was a bit surprised about his attitude towards her. Alright she knew that he was still a bit angry with her, but he didn´t need to be so rough. " I´m just worried about the date for our attack. That´s all".
" And what´s wrong with it?", Rath hadn´t the time nor the patience for her little game that she always played with him. And after the scene out in the garden his trust in her sunk a little lower. He wasn´t so sure anymore if Marianna was on their side or not.
Marianna changed her stance and let her arms fall down her side now. " Don´t you think after what happened Khivar won´t expect a attack immediately. He may be cruel but he isn´t dumb".
Rath inspected her like she said something rather stupid. Did she think he didn´t know that. But they had to take that risk. " If you´re so smart. Why don´t you come up with a better plan?".
" Me? You´re really willing to trust me on this?", Marianna saw the distrust in his eyes the moment she stepped foot in the room. He was unsure about her position in this war, althrough he should her know better now.
Rath thought about that. If he trusted her enough to lead a battle? Of course. But if it was their soldiers she would lead? Just partly. " Actually no. But I have no choice right now".
" If that´s your opinion about me, then I don´t have to be here any longer", Marianna was so sick and tired of this fight. Everytime something happened he started to mistrust her. When would he finally accept that she wasn´t here to get information or to spy for the other side? Without saying anything more she turned around and left the room.
Nolak faced Rath pretty confused. What just happened here and what did he miss actually? They should keep together right now and not attack each other in front of all the people. That wasn´t the reason why Mael nominated them both as leading commander. " Why did you do that? She risked her life last night and you have nothing better do to than making an assault upon her".
" You don´t know what she did before she came here", Rath was still hurt that she put the life of her ex fiance over his. If she really loved him she would have let him kill that bastard. But no she prevented him from doing it.
Nolak shook his head. " And I don´t care. She earns a little respect. Did you know that she faced her brother yesterday? What she had to sacrifice just that she could protect the people she loved? I don´t know about you, but I wouldn´t want to fight against my own family".
Rath was shocked about the things he heard. He didn´t think about what it was for her. He just saw the enemy. But she saw friends or family. People she grew up with or hung out. " I completely forgot about that".
" I know you do. But try to keep that in mind the next time you see her", Nolak glanced around him and eyed all the people who were still standing there and listening to all the things they said. Obviously they were all interested what happened now or they would have gone already. " I think Marianna has a point. We shouldn´t rush into anything. The surprise should be on our side this time. Besides it gives us enough time to train those who don´t know how to handle a weapon". Nolak turned to Rath and waited for a sign of approval. When he got a nod from him, he faced the people again. " Exercise is everyday at noon in the trainings room. Those who are willing to help have to meet there".
A general murmur was sweeping through the room and everybody were discussing what they should do and what they could do. Most of the younger men were immediately ready to join the soldiers, while the olders were still unsure. Nolak knew that it wasn´t a decision that was easy to make. It needed time to think about all the possibilities and the risk. Therefore he dismissed all and watched them retreating out the door. When he was alone with Rath he took him aside, because he wanted to have a talk with him. After all he went through hell last night and maybe he needed someone to talk to.
Outside
Marianna wandered through the garden and observed the destruction that happened here. It wasn´t as bad as the front or the inside, but it was noticable that some fighting was done here. The fountain was missing the head of the snake and the dragon lost his wings. Flowers were trampled and the grass was crushed under the feets that walked over it. Marianna tried to repair most of the damage to the flowers. With the help of her powers she attempted to let them bloom again. Maybe then she could keep her mind occupied long enough to not think about the scene with Rath. About the icy glare he threw in her direction or the hostile comments. What possessed him to think she wasn´t on their side? It couldn´t be just that she kept him from killing someone. Even if Lykus wasn´t an innocent, he still was a living person. And he was unarmed, which put him into a disadvantage. You don´t kill someone who can´t fight back. It isn´t right to do that. Maybe it was a sign that they weren´t meant to be or her punishment for murdering her father. Slowly Marianna rubbed her eyes furiously with the back of her right hand. She didn´t allow herself to cry now. Crying wouldn´t bring her anything at the moment. It only showed others that she was vulnerable or they would think she was weak. She didn´t want that, especially not at times like these. Suddenly a hand was grasping her shoulder. Immediately she twirled around and gripped the hand rather rough. Thankfully she had good reflexes or else she would have hurt Vilandra, who was looking at her slightly startled.
" Is everything alright?".
Marianna released her hand from her tight grip. " Yeah. I´m just a little jittery", she looked at Vilandras wrist, that was a little red. " I´m sorry about that".
Vilandra eyed it herself for a few seconds. It didn´t hurt at all. " Forget it", with a gesture that was showing that it didn´t matter she was ending this topic. " Where were you? I was searching for you. I haven´t found Zan yet and I wanted to know if you have".
" Yeah. He was in Avas bedroom", Marianna was thinking about the picture of Zan sitting alone in this big room by himself and crying his eyes out. It must be devasting to loose his lover so tragically that way. " We should leave him alone for awhile. He needs time to progress everyting right now".
Vilandra was glad to hear that her brother was still in the castle. But she was worried about his condition. Zan was always a pretty emotional person ever since she could think about. That the death of his soulmate would destroy him was no wonder for her. However she trusted Marianna on this and would keep her distant from him, until he himself decided to talk. " Ok. I will tell the others about it".
" Do that".
Vilandra took a closer look at Marianna. For the first time she noticed the red eyes. Something seemed to be bothering, aside from the obvious. " What is going on? You don´t look to good right now".
" It´s nothing", after she received a rather unbelieving glance she continued. " Really. Don´t worry about it". But Vilandra wasn´t convinced about it. So Marianna couldn´t do anything, besides telling her what happened. " There was a meeting of the soldiers and citizen of the kingdom. We, or rather Rath, spoke about what he wanted to do right now".
Vilandra listened pretty intently. But when she realized how Marianna just stopped in the middle of it,she got worried. " And what then?".
" Rath was so nasty towards me. Like I´m a traitor or the reason for all this death. It hurts that he thinks so low of me. He even said that he didn´t trust me anymore", Marianna noticed that her hand began to shake like mad. The argument hit her more than she thought.
Vilandra was shocked. How could he say something like that to her? If it wasn´t for Marianna she would have been dead already. She saved the lifes of so many people. And she fought against her own brother. If that didn´t show where her priorities laid then what would? " Oh that bastard. I can´t believe he said that".
Marianna was grateful that Vilandra didn´t think the same about her. It was a good feeling that she still had at least one friend. " I couldn´t either. But it´s true".
Vilandras face was looking like a mask of absolute anger. How dare he attack Marianna. If someone should be blamed for all this, it should be her. After all she was involved with the enemy and invited him to the castle. If Rath wanted to be mad at someone he should be mad at her. " I will talk with him".
" And say what?", Marianna didn´t want Vilandra meddling in her things and maybe making it worse in the process. She was thankful for the help but she would do it alone when the time was right.
Vilandra said the only thing that made Marianna nervous. " The truth".
Marianna was confused. What truth? About what was she actually talking about?" Which would be?".
" What really happened", Vilandra saw the worry in Mariannas eyes. Carefully she laid her hand on her arms. " Don´t worry. I know what I´m doing". With that Vilandra turned around and went inside again.
Marianna watched after her. She hoped that she knew what she was doing. She really hoped so.
TBC