The Forgotten Prophecy

Chapter 21

In the golden hour of dawn, the cool breeze of the night had been replaced by the heat of the sun, threatening the snow that had covered the ground. The crowd was a river of people, everyone moving in the same direction. There were only joyful faces, there was chatter between sellers and buyers, old friends catching up. She had walked those streets her whole life; she knew them just the same as if they were etched in her head with a sharp knife.

Her feet reached the camp, and she entered the training grounds. She saw Matthew polishing his sword and approached him. He raised his head and glanced at her. He looked even more tired than the day before, with bags under his eyes.

'I bet someone didn't get any sleep last night,' she said.

'Well, I feel as fresh as a daisy.'

'We will see that in the training grounds.'

They took a bow and arrows to practice archery. Her arrows' tips mostly found home, but Matthew was doing terribly, most of his missing the target altogether.

'You are doing so well, buddy. If you were in the battlefield, you would have been dead by now.'

'I'd prefer not to be perfect in everything. It would make you guys look like losers.'

'Thank you for your understanding, oh great warrior.'

Matthew chuckled.

After a while, he obviously realised that archery wasn't his forte, so he gently pushed Ines to the fighting grounds. Ines knew he had no chance in winning in that shape, but she wanted to have something to tease him about. They took their positions and watched each other.

The duel didn't last long. Matthew barely missed her strikes, his moves slow and lethargic. She kicked him on the ribs, careful not to injure him, and took him down in a single move. He was too surprised to react and stared at her with a coy smile on his lips. Ines stood up.

'Matthew, even a child could do better.'

'One more. I will—'

'No. I'm not going to do this again.'

Matthew sighed but didn't say anything.

'Peter! You have training in five,' she heard the captain shout at her.

'On my way, sir. I'll be back.'

He stood up, and reached out to her. He touched her belt, his rough hands fixing the clasp. His face was so close to hers, his brows knitted in concentration. She was shy of such affections for good reason; no one had ever dared to break in the boundaries she herself had put around her.

Ines' eyes glanced up at him with a fire blazing in her gaze. Now she could see through the surface; she could see his gentleness, his compassion, how his every emotion was painted on his face, coming together to form the art of his soul.

At first, she had completely misread him; she thought he was only an arrogant man who craved for glory and recognition, but as the days flew, she learned that he was more than that. Matthew sensed her burning stare, and their eyes locked. Time slowed down; it was like they were alone in a place of their own. His look was one of an honest soul that was calling for hers.

At that moment Ines felt a wave of emotion she had repressed for long come to the surface and overwhelm her heart. She realised that the man who stood before her was the cause of those new feelings she had never felt before, feelings that shook her core. She tried to make sense of the storm that raged inside her, but it was something unknown to her, she didn't know how to handle it.

Even though she was ignorant of it, his eyes had caught her soul, even if she weren't aware of its falling. Before she could turn away with shyness, a genuine grin spread across his face. 'Don't torture those poor children.'

'I'll try,' she mumbled looking at the ground and rushed to the group of children that were waiting for her. At least for the time being she could have something to distract herself. 'Gather around kids!' she called confidently.

They quickly gathered together before her; they had learned not to object to her orders. There were 11 boys, all noble born. During the last months more and more rich families sent their sons to train in the art of battle, maybe as a countermeasure in regards to the sudden disappearances.

'Alright, boys. Today we will practice the self-defense techniques you have already been taught.'

'Again?' a boy protested.

'When will we learn to fight like the others?' another asked.

'You are too young for that,' she barked in finality. 'Stop whining and split in pairs.'

The boys did as they were told and started practicing the moves she had shown them in their previous lesson. Ines walked around, observing their movements, and made any corrections that needed to be added.

'Elbows down, John. Mark, open your legs more. He will easily trip you,' she said in a chiding tone.

Ines moved closer to another pair who were talking lively to each other. One of them was the son of an advisor of the king, and he always bragged about his father's connections. The other one was the son of a humble well-off merchant, and always enjoyed what the other had to say.

'...and he found it. It was huge!'

'What did it say?'

'Weird stuff about magic and elves. I didn't read all the book, because my dad had to take it back to the library. He said it is kept somewhere very safe. He said only he is permitted to see it.'

'Wow. You dad is very powerful!'

Upon hearing that, an idea popped up in her mind. 'Okay, enough with the chit chat,' she scolded them. 'You will have plenty of time to do you catching up.'

. . . . .

Ines walked out of the camp. She hadn't seen Matthew anywhere, which disappointed her a bit. Her pout, though, didn't last long, because as soon as she exited the camp's entrance, she saw him dozing off under a tree. His expression was relaxed, his head tilted to the side. She didn't know how he managed to fall asleep in such an uncomfortable position. With a smile on her face, she lightly nudged him.

'Hey.'

Matthew opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. 'Is it tomorrow already?'

'You wish,' she said chuckling. 'Come on. I've got an idea.'

'Should I be worried?' he raised a brow.

'No. So, I didn't get the chance to learn more about the medallion, right?'

'Right.'

'What if there was a book we could look into?'

That seemed to attract his attention, and he stood up next to her. 'About elf medallions?'

'Yeah.'

'I don't think there is such a book. They burned all of them during the Great Purge.'

After the humans decided to cut off all communications with the elves, they destroyed any books that contained information about their people. There weren't many, but it remained in history as The Great Purge, even though it wasn't that great. It was the biggest sensation of the time.

'I heard a boy claiming that they keep one in the library.'

'And you believed a spoiled 10-year-old kid?'

'It's worth a chance.' She gave him a mischievous look and walked away towards the library. 

Matthew shook his head in disapproval, but his eyes sparkled with something deeper and more intimate. 'Just as I was getting a much-needed sleep,' he murmured, and followed her footsteps.

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A/N: If you wish Matthew was less sassy, leave a vote or comment. Thank you for reading!

Phrase of chapter: ὁ δε ἀνεξέταστος βίος οὐ βιωτός ἀνθρώπῳ / an unexamined life is not worth living - Socrates