Light from the Shadow

Chapter 14

"Princess, are you excited? This is your first time going to the east anyway!" Maria sounded like she was more excited than Ayna. Her twin, Aria, was busy making sure everything was in order. Clothes. Accessories. Food. Gifts. Nothing left out.

Jyaga came to send her off. He looked like he had not slept properly the night before. "Please take care of yourself. Don't wander anywhere on your own. Don't sleep too late at night. Have the guard check your food before you eat. Be extra..."

"Jyaga, I am just attending a festival, not going to war." Ayna cut her childhood friend's endless rules.

"...I'm just worried." He wished he could accompany her. She had never been away from Remblan without him.

"Are we leaving anytime soon?" Rishi came to ask.

Jyaga turned to the librarian. "Mr. Rishi, I trust the princess' safety in your hands. If I find out you try to do anything funny... I won't hesitate to remove that head of yours from your body."

Rishi smiled. "I'll keep that in mind, My Lord."

With that, the entourage left the kingdom for the east empire.

"Mr. Rishi..." Ayna called the librarian once they departed. They were sitting in the same carriage.

"You should stop calling me that. Just call me by my name. This time, I'm travelling with you not as the Head of the Grand Library, but as one of your servants." Rishi said without looking up. His attention was on the book on his hands.

"Right, Rishi..." Ayna corrected herself.

"What is it?"

"I've been wondering why you agreed to come with me."

"Your friend asked me too." He replied promptly as if he had prepared for it.

"I mean, it's not even your job..."

"I can always go back if you don't want me to." Again, he answered her as quickly as she asked, without looking at her. The librarian was clearly upset about something.

"Are you... okay?" Ayna asked.

"I'm fine. Please let me read in peace if you have nothing important to ask."

He should just reject Jyaga if he doesn't want to come! What's the use of getting angry with me now??? Hateful man! Ayna grumbled silently. She turned to the window, trying to find something to distract herself. She could not remember how long it had been since her last trip outside the kingdom. After the queen consort's tragic death, the king had not taken any long breaks from his work. Ayna glanced at Rishi. The travel to Solbaru would at least take 5 days. She was not sure if she could survive this awkwardness for that long in the small closed space. She leaned to the window and closed her eyes. She hoped they could reach Solbaru soon.

The first day ended peacefully. They had stayed the night at a noble's mansion which had been arranged before. Ayna felt tired at the thought that she would spend another day getting ignored by Rishi.

"I don't mind switching place with your maids." Rishi told her as she was about to enter the royal carriage.

"Huh? But..."

"You looked tired. It is better to have them around to attend to you." Rishi continued.

"I... I'm sorry... Thank you, Rishi." Great. He is now avoiding me.

They boarded separate carriages and the entourage continued their journey.

Halfway through their way to the second resting place, Rishi sensed something amiss. The carriage was moving much slower than before. He popped out his head from the window and asked one of the coachmen.

"Is there something wrong? We won't be able to reach Lord Kanan's place this evening at this rate..."

The two coachmen looked at each other. They looked worried.

"Actually, Sir, we found a problem... with the tires."

"What is it?" He asked.

"They may be... punctured."

"Is there no way..." Rishi was thinking how to reach the mansion before the sky turned darker when he suddenly heard a loud screeching sound and screams from behind.

***

It was late in the evening. King Ekua had just received a message from his old friend, Lord Hao that the princess had safely arrived at his mansion on their first day of the journey.

Looks like there isn't any problem, he thought.

The king leaned against his chair, thinking. He could feel the amount of magi changing in the air – it became thinner. It was not unusual, after all, his daughter, who had almost the same amount of magi as him, was not around.

His thought shifted to his recent meeting with the young librarian. Rishi had told him his wish to travel to Solbaru with his daughter. The king was hesitant. He did not think it was a wise idea for him to go but Rishi insisted that the princess' safety should be the king's primary concern, above everything else. In the end, the king reluctantly agreed.

King Ekua closed his eyes, trying to remember the days of late. There were a few times when he felt a sudden change in the air. Only a few people could use magi in the kingdom and the people he knew were not someone who could cause a disturbance this big. And he was certain that he did not cause it himself. The king opened his eyes and looked at the family photo on his desk. Ayna, are you hiding something?

***

Rishi jumped out of his carriage and ran to the royal carriage behind his. He saw the carriage carrying Ayna and her maids had fallen on its side. The guards were trying to help the princess out of the carriage.

"Your Highness!! Are you alright?!" They had shouted from one of the windows. It looked like the door had stuck.

"Move!" Rishi pushed the coachmen to the side and pulled the door by force. He broke the door and extended his hand to the frightened passengers. "You can come out now."

Except for a few small cuts caused by the broken window glass, no one seemed to be badly injured. Aria treated Ayna's wound while crying her eyes out while Rishi sent two of the royal guards to inform Lord Kanan about their problem. The sky was getting darker and the two messengers were not expected to be back for at least a few more hours later.

After a quick simple dinner, Ayna examined all the punctured tires. How did they get like these without us knowing...? She felt something thrown on her shoulders. She turned and saw Rishi putting a blanket over her.

"Don't catch cold." He told her.

She was about to thank him when Rishi suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her in. She could hear him whispering in her ear.

"Stay close to me. I think we've got company here."